"AS SEEN ON TV"

                        “As Seen on TV”  

        

I don’t know about you, I can only speak for me

This Christmas, all gifts come from “As Seen on TV”

What great deals, get one free, pay only an extra fee

No traffic, no lines when you just shop “As Seen on TV”

Knives to cut, glues to mend, and sunglasses to help you see

Widest selections and best prices when you shop “As Seen on TV”

Glenn <><

Just West of Yesterday

REVERSE ENGINEERED POLITICS

                                     REVERSE ENGINEERED POLITICS

Forget Roswell, Area 51 and Hanger 18; instead, think Washington, D.C. For those who may have stayed too long in “Sleepy Hollow”, UFO advocates strongly contend alien spacecraft were recovered in the 1947 Roswell, NM crash, secretly taken to Hanger 18 on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and then transferred to the impenetrable Area 51 where scientists have reversed engineered the out of this world technology and constructed similar craft, maybe, even new and improved versions.

I personally doubt the reversed engineered hypothesis concerning UFOs. I have no such doubts when it comes to politics that constantly, predictably, and inevitably swarm into our print and electronic media from that great ”Twilight Zone” situated in our nation’s capital. Here’s my reasoning:

1.     Pick any political topic and advocates from the Right or the Left will take a stance solely dependent, not on any logic, but simply on party affiliation. In other words, skillfully constructed lines of “reasoning and sure fire evidence” that are determined not by merits or truth, but where the politician stands. Sadly, they prove again and again the old political axiom, ‘Where you stand depends on where you sit.” Reverse engineered politics.

2.     A previously shared true illustration drives home this point. During my military career I took a very long and detailed communication and electronics course at Keesler AFB, MS in 1966. One of my instructors was a college-educated and technologically knowledgeable person from the local area. During a classroom break, I mentioned Ralph Nader’s book--- “Unsafe at Any Speed”--- and I said former Attorney General, Robert Kennedy supported the book which described the many safety hazards in the Chevrolet Corvair.  The time and the location are crucial to understanding his immediate response, “If Bobby Kennedy is for it, and then I guess I’m against safety.” Reverse engineered politics.

3.     The current maelstrom over President Trump’s nomination of Judge Kavanagh for the Supreme Court represents my contention to the maximum degree. If Trump is for it, the Democrats and their supportive media acolytes are not only against the nomination, there is a not so covert attempt to fight a classic military delaying action until the cavalry—make that November elections---arrives. Reverse engineered politics.

Regardless of the Kavanagh outcome, the American public has daily witnessed the bloody “open heart surgery” of reverse engineered politics.

Glenn <><

Sign of the Times

                                             MY OPINION  

If uncorroborated and unproven allegations become the new criterion of guilt, Lady Justice can remove her blindfold, hock the scales of justice, and make a swift trip to the supermarket and purchase the latest tabloid issue and go home with a clear conscience. 

(Submitted to “The Daily Oklahoman”  9-17-18)

Glenn <><

Just West of Yesterday

Another Letter to Editor of Local Newspaper

                                               Maybe it’s the Corn

Maybe it’s the name “Ben.” Well, it could be a combination of both. The fact remains those two Nebraska U.S. Senators named Ben, though a decade apart, has captured the national political spotlight. Oklahomans know all too well Nebraska is called the Cornhusker State. Consider:

1.     The fiercely debated Obama Care legislation was passed in the U.S. Senate in 2009 with several widely publicized “incentives” to secure the votes of some senators that were on the fence. Several Democrat senators received additional motivation to secure the needed 60 votes. Tennessee received federal funding for hospitals in rural areas of the state. The State Bank of North Dakota, yes, there is a state bank in North Dakota, was the only state granted permission to continue to process student loans. One of the most widely publicized holdouts was Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana who earned $300 million dollars in additional Medicaid funding for her 59^th vote. The media dubbed her support as the “Louisiana Purchase.”

2.     Former Democrat Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, the needed 60^th vote, received $100 million additional Medicaid dollars for his state. His vote was widely heralded as the infamous “Cornhusker Kickback.” Subsequent action by the House of Representatives removed the $100 million from the budget. Most readers know Obamacare was passed without a single Republican vote.

3.       Enter Republican U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, (another Ben), he told a nationwide TV audience Sunday on “Meet the Press” that he often thinks of leaving the Republican Party to become an Independent. He cited his frustration with the gridlock in Congress as his reason. Also, he said he had no plans to run for the presidency in 2020. In my opinion, the timing of his appearance might, repeat, might signal his requirement for some sort of concession from the Trump Administration. President Trump is well aware every Republican senator will be needed to secure the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. Furthermore, a threat, even a veiled threat, to oppose President Trump in 2020 is something the president will surely want to avoid.

4.       I find it interesting, probably coincidental, that two U.S. Senators, one former and one current, both named Ben, and both from the Cornhusker State are such key players in our national political agenda.

Glenn <><

Just West of Yesterday

POETRY IS EMOTIONAL SHORTHAND

What follows are two recent poetical efforts:

           Any Day Now

Come late winter or early spring

I’ll tackle this oft-delayed thing

My intentions are honest; my motives pure

But putting off afflicts even the mature

Any day now I’ll get started; no more debate

Just permit me one more day to procrastinate!        

 

                            Fancy Company Dishes

Unmatched deeply cracked plates and chipped cups were for daily use

Yet porcelain soldiers rested expectantly and never wounded by abuse

These exactly alike dishes were used only when visitors came for a rest

We were forbidden to touch them; Mom cautioned they were her best 

Mom and the dishes are gone; yet we recall her constant dining wishes

At the Banquet, when she arrived, she saw only Fancy Company Dishes  

Glenn <><

REMEMBERING JOHN MCCAIN

 

                       John McCain Remembered

 If you live long enough, many things from your past will greatly help in    understanding the present. Specifically, the late Senator McCain’s POW experience in the “Hanoi Hilton” comes into a sharper focus as I recall the three personal discussions I have had with former American POWs. One of the WWII POWs was imprisoned in Germany and the other survived the Bataan Death March. The Vietnam War POW was a “guest” of the North Vietnamese. I have no words to adequately describe their physical and emotional terrors. Hopefully, what follows honors his wartime experience and attempts to describe his sometimes confusing role in the U.S. Senate:

1.  John McCain was the son of a U.S. Navy Admiral and a grandson of yet another U.S. Navy Admiral. No doubt there were a lot of expectations placed on his young shoulders. Nevertheless, the choice was ultimately his to not run to Canada and to enter the U.S. Naval Academy. His four years at Annapolis, coupled with rigorous flight training, especially, flying an A-4 jet aircraft off of the aircraft carrier Forrestal into hostile skies over North Vietnam surely places him on the doorstep of hero status. (I leave to readers to sort through the supposed reports of an alleged nickname for naval pilot McCain--- “Johnny Wet Start”--- and the tragic fire aboard the Forrestal that claimed 134 lives.)

2.                       Life in the “Hanoi Hilton” is well documented in Admiral Denton’s revealing     account—“When Hell Was In Season.” The five plus years as a POW and torture surely earns the accolade of “Hero” for John McCain. Seldom mentioned, but well documented, is the fact John McCain made recordings while he was a POW expressing an apology to the North Vietnamese.  (AZCentral.com). While this is a clear violation of the U.S. Code of Conduct, there is some consensus this action was coerced.

3.  John McCain. Senior Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona seemed to relish    the “Maverick” description given to him by the print and electronic media. Over the course of his long political career, he had about an 87% record of supporting Republican positions; however, his rating with the American Conservative Union at times dipped to 50% on their rating scale. He will always be remembered for his thumbs down vote on scraping Obama Care. (fivethirtyeight.com).

     Glenn <><