Update no.1028

 Update from the Sunland

No.1028

20.9.21 – 26.9.21

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

           To all,

 

The autumnal equinox occurred at 12:20 [T] MST, on Wednesday, 22.September.2021. At that moment, as with the vernal equinox, days and nights are exactly of equal length worldwide, Northern and Southern Hemisphere alike.

 

To me, for what it is worth, getting vaccinated, especially during a pandemic, is a civic duty of all citizens quite akin to public service like the military, law enforcement, firefighters, et al. Whether you have served in uniform under arms, I strongly urge every citizen regardless of the social factors to get vaccinated. It takes just a little time and no cost to you. Please get vaccinated as soon as possible. Help protect yourself and other citizens around you.

 

            The follow-up news items:

-- We exceeded another grim milestone in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic [946]. The CDC reported 675,722 COVID-19 fatalities as of 20.September.2021, surpassing the 1918 influenza pandemic [4.3.1918] of 675,000 U.S. fatalities [two years, until April 1920]. To me, that milestone is far worse for several reasons:

1.     We are still in the middle of this pandemic and may have another six months or more to endure

2.      We have 100 years more advanced medical treatment practices, which should have significantly reduced the fatalities. Conversely, it means the current pandemic is appreciably more infectious and lethal than the 1918 influenza pandemic

3.     We have a larger, denser population today that makes us more vulnerable to viral infections than they were 100 years ago

4.     For a variety of reasons, today, we have a substantial portion of our citizenry who equate suicide with freedom, and they are perfectly comfortable playing Russian roulette to aggrandize their sense of freedom without the slightest concern for the welfare of any other citizen

These are the burdens we must carry and endure.

-- In the 2020 election [982], President Biden won Arizona by nearly 10,500 votes. With 2.1 million votes cast in Maricopa County alone, President Biden won the county by more than 45,100 votes. Two statutory post-election audits confirmed the result. However, the BIG LIE perpetrated by the [person who shall no longer be named] and perpetuated by his fBICP minions fraudulently claimed that the recount found 250,000 fraudulent votes. No evidence was presented to even remotely suggest the accusation was true other than some fool offered up the accusation. Nonetheless, the fBICP controlled state senate was not to be deterred by facts or evidence. The Arizona state senate fBICP members ordered a full forensic audit of only the Maricopa County 2020 election results and engaged a novice Florida company known as Cyber Ninjas that had no election audit experience (but came highly recommended by the [person who shall no longer be named]). The audit began 23.April.2021. The final results were reported to the senate fBICP members on 24.September.2021. They found no evidence of fraudulent or anomalous votes—a very long way from the 250,000 claimed by the fBICP. Further, the Cyber Ninjas audit showed that President Biden received 99 more votes, AND the [person who shall no longer be named] received 261 fewer votes; thus, increasing President Biden’s margin of victory. The senate fBICP members spent millions of taxpayer dollars and compromised the voting machines of an entire county (resulting in more unnecessary expenditure of taxpayer funds) just because of the BIG LIE. Of course, the fBICP has never been constrained by facts or evidence (or paucity of same). The state fBICP publicly stated they would conduct additional investigations in their desperation to prove the BIG LIE, and other states, citing Arizona, are in the process of initiating their own similar audits. From what we have seen so far, the fBICP from the [person who shall no longer be named] on down will do everything within their power to perpetuate the BIG LIE into the 2022 election and beyond.

Watching the shenanigans of the fBICP and the ridiculous BIG LIE boondoggle to squander precious taxpayer funds, I am reminded of two important axioms of life. First, desperate times lead desperate people to do desperate things. We bear witness to a very desperate fBICP that saddled their future to a con man who sells worthless ‘magic’ snake-oil elixir to oblivious people who prefer ignorance to knowledge. Second, an observation of defense lawyers: when the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the facts are not on your side, argue the law. When the law is not on your side, pound your fists on the table. What we have witnessed for at least the last year is the fBICP pounding their fists on any table they can find. The long and short of it is, facts do not matter a twit to the fBICP. Even the storied history and legacy of this once grand republic do not matter to the fBICP. All that matter to the fBICP is power that gives them the authority to dictate everything to the rest of us—morality, laws, rules, guideline, anything that strikes their fancy. The best we can do is vote them into oblivion—never to be seen or heard from ever again.

 

On the 21^st, the House passed H.R.5305 - Making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for providing emergency assistance, and for other purposes, on a strict party line vote [House: 220-211-0-1(3)]. The bill extends 2021 funding levels into the Fiscal Year 2022 to keep the government running. The sticking point with the fBICP in the Senate is Division D, Title III—Temporary Extension of Public Debt Limit, to 16.December.2021. The fBICP has vowed to reject the whole continuing resolution because of that one point alone. If they do, the U.S. Government will be at risk of closing down at the end of the month (the end of Fiscal Year 2021), and the United States will be at risk of defaulting on its debt by the middle of next month. (Please see axioms noted above.)

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.1027:

Comment to the Blog:

“I wish you well with respect to your new book. It is at least an interesting conjecture, which is the heart of science fiction.

“I'll point out that the bulk of addicts are dangerous in only two ways. Those are getting their substance(s) by any means and the fact that too many of them drive while using. Some people with violent tendencies let those tendencies out while using, but their central problem is violence rather than addiction. We've seen all of that in the Prohibition of alcohol.

“I don't understand how the heroism of the Fire Department of New York would have any bearing on a conspiracy theory, but then I don't buy into conspiracy theories in general. I remain aware that George H. W. Bush came to politics from the spy community and his son's Presidency was failing, but one person's possible actions don't make a conspiracy.

“I don't care what Shrub said about the Chump. I don't respect either of them enough to pay attention to them. ‘The security measures incorporated into our lives’ are more a new threat to Americans than a source of comfort for me.

“All of this ‘nation-building’ is bullshit designed to enrich the military-industrial complex, as is the war on Islam. Regardless of the debacles (Afghanistan, Vietnam, et al.), the Defense budget continues increasing, not in service of national readiness or even troop strength, but for sales of goods and services.”

My response to the Blog:

Thank you. The new book is different; just something that has been percolating in my little pea-brain for several decades. It’s finally done—for better or worse. If you read it, please let me know what you think—good, bad, or ugly.

That is one of the central premises of the book & the story. The overarching object is freedom of choice and a citizen’s fundamental right to privacy. The conjecture is how do we make their consumption safer for them and safest for the public at large. The propensity to violence in some folks does present in the book, not in a big way, but it is still recognized. Again, the object is how do we make it the safest we can for everyone. Yeah, again exactly, our ancestors learned the reality of prohibition in a free society a century ago. It has been 50 years, and we still have NOT relearned that vital lesson. Foolishly, we tend to ignore what does not touch us directly. Most of us just do not recognize (or even wish to know) that the impositions upon freedom of choice affects us all. I have come to see that far too many “free people” choose ignorance over knowledge, and the USG was all too eager to exploit that reality, their morality, on everyone, like it or not.

Many hardcore conspiracists claim it was all fake. The USG brought down the towers and made it appear that 3,000 people died. I do not buy into conspiracy theories, period. I always search for hard evidence; not easy, but the search continues. I saw the live broadcast that day. There is no doubt in my little pea-brain what happened. OK, I’m curious, and I’ll bite. What did Bush 41 have to do with the attack on 9/11?

The point is, ‘W’ did not say anything about the [person who shall no longer be named]. There are an awful lot of guilty souls out there who jumped to that supposition, thus my comment about Douglas Andrews. His words express the defensiveness of guilt. I acknowledge that I may well be inadequately informed, so I eagerly await enlightenment.

There is NO war on Islam; never has been, never will be. The majority of Muslims are peaceful, friendly, respectful, law-abiding citizens of many countries including ours. There is a monumental difference between Islamic fascism and Islam, just as there was between Nazis and Germans.

Well, therein lies the mistiness. Since its inception, this republic has stood for freedom of commerce in all its forms and locations. Respectfully, I do not share what appears to be a rather pessimistic view of international relations. For the record, I do not absolve the United States of its mistakes, but to attribute U.S. international efforts to greed and avarice is not worthy, it seems to me.

 . . . Round two:

“I'm not interested enough to follow up, but I always notice who benefits from a given crisis. Two parties benefitted from 9/11. (A) Al-Qaeda, who successfully undermined the freedom and unity of the United States and cost us the expense and loss of freedom of the Department of Homeland (in)Security; (B) W Bush, whose floundering Presidency survived and achieved re-election.

“Wait, did you just defend nation-building as freedom of commerce?”

 . . . my response to round two:

Interest waxes and wanes by a wide variety of stimulants. I write what comes and accept the consequences. Thank you very much for whatever you wish to share.

Yes, al-Qa’ida attracted considerable attention with the success of their 9/11 attack on the United States. I imagine some of that attention was not what they wanted.

Are you suggesting that Dubs started or enabled 9/11 for political purposes? If so, I must object.

No, absolutely not. I am not defending nation building. I am defending the premise of you break it, you fix it. The U.S. tried mightily to fix the Afghan government after we broke it in 2001. Ultimately, there was nothing that we could do with all of our resources to instill the will for freedom, and that was the essential reason the Afghan government evaporated in a virtual instant; there was no spirit or substance. I am saying freedom for commerce is a long-standing national interest of the United States.

 . . . Round three:

“I'm not suggesting that Dubya was the brains behind much of anything. He doesn't have that much brainpower. However, his father ran the CIA and went on to be President. I haven't studied any of the details, but the old man could have been in a position to benefit his son without the boy having to know anything.

“We destroyed Afghanistan by propping up the Taliban against the Soviets back in the '80s. We couldn't have repaired that damage and our meddling just made it worse. It's not possible to "instill the will to freedom" in anyone, and the concept is an excuse for manipulating other governments.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Well then, are you suggesting Daddy Bush (41) caused, organized, or enabled 9/11? ‘Could’ is always an ambiguous word choice in such circumstances, i.e., an asteroid could impact earth and extinguish 90% of all life.

Oh no, I cannot agree. Afghanistan has been a hotbed of tribalism for millennia, long before the United States came into existence. Yes, we supported the Taliban in the 1980s against the Soviets because they were the only viable resistance element within Afghanistan. How do you think we could have repaired that damage back then with just a bunch of special operations personnel? Exactly correct. The will for freedom comes from the heart, the spirit, the soul of every person who band together to defend freedom. The sad reality is, some folks do not want freedom. The United States was founded upon and exists on the premise that everyone wants freedom, which is a fallacious assumption that does not recognize reality. There are real reasons Ho Chi Minh was so popular in Indochina, but we failed to accept that reality, thus the Vietnam War.

 . . . Round four:

“I don't know any more than the general public about 9/11. I was merely speculating, as you and I often do. I'll point out that the official story about any given major incident is incomplete, inaccurate, or outright lies about 70% of the time when the historians get around to it.

“I'm not sure what you meant to say about Afghanistan. You stated your disagreement but then you repeated my argument.”

 . . . my response to round four:

We can all speculate . . . the genesis of conspiracies. Of course, information regarding any given incident is incomplete, e.g., TWA 800—25 years hence, we do not have all of the information. The information will be available eventually, but it will likely be the next generation of historians who plow through it and derive conclusions. In the interim, we tend to reach the most likely cause in most events; 9/11 is no different. The preponderance of evidence tells me 9/11 was perpetrated by al-Qa’ida inspired jihadis in response to bin Laden’s fatwa.

OK; we agree. I was responding/reacting to “. . . an excuse for manipulating other governments.” While we might apply that criticism to earlier incursions, I think it is a stretch in Afghanistan. An example from history that supports your “manipulation” accusation is Nicaragua (1926/33), or perhaps on a larger scale, Panama (1903/04). Yes, such imposition incursions occurred. I just do not attribute that motive to Afghanistan (2001).

 . . . Round five:

“I see the entire ‘War on Terrorism’ as a claim to attack a concept, much like the War on Drugs or the War on Poverty. This is the stuff of marketing. Of course, it has quietly been revealed that Afghanistan has mineral wealth that remains to be exploited.”

 . . . my response to round five:

I do not see the war on Islamic fascism in the same light as you apparently do. Neither the fallacious war on drugs nor the war on poverty seek to cause injury to or kill others, to impose their will on others. Islamic fascists (jihadis) seek to do just that. Addicts and poor folks do not want to hurt anyone; they just want to live their lives. We could argue that drug abuse and poverty do cause injury to others when those folks are driven to crime to survive, but to me, that is an incidental consequence, not a direct objective or product. I do understand and appreciate that none of the objects are nation-states per se.

Whether Afghanis decide to exploit their territorial mineral wealth is their choice entirely. If they do, I imagine there will be takers willing to assume the risk. I cannot see the United States or any other allied nation taking that step by force of arms. We shall remain vigilant.

 . . . Round six:

“With respect to Afghanistan's minerals, two nations in recent times have attempted to ‘take that step (exploitation) by force of arms.’ That would be the USSR and the USA.”

 . . . my response to round six:

I confess my apparent ignorance. I am not aware of such exploitation. Do you have evidence to substantiate your accusation?

 

Another contribution:

“Trust all is well with you both. We start another round of Jabs next week-this time the anti-flu vaccine and then our top up third Covid jab.”

My reply:

Yes, indeed, all is well here. We remain healthy and active. Writing continues to consume the preponderance of my time.

We are looking to our booster soon. Plus, it is time for our influenza vaccine as well. We should get ‘em in a week or two.

 

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)