Pain

Everyone has pain. At some particular point in life or ongoing, pain has been or is present for all of us. Pain can come in a variety of forms: physical, mostly, but emotional, psychological and spiritual, too.

No one is immune.

Though physical pain is prevalent, the others can be most painful to endure. They can leave lasting scars, unseen to those around us, making the suffering a very private and personal affliction. That unseen pain, much as we try to bury it, always revisits, some with more frequency than others and often at inopportune moments.

The key in dealing with this unseen pain is controlling it, reconciling in our minds its creation, purpose and reason. Recognizing its effects and taking measures to limit it.

How do we accomplish that?

You must embrace it, absorbing the darkness that it is and find the good in it. The positive is there in the pain for us to see if we look closely. Own the pain, no matter its cause, and master it. Listen to its lessons, especially if the pain is from a past event, and learn from it. Use that painful lesson as a strengthening tool. Become better because of it and live your life. Don’t use that pain as an excuse to self-medicate or drown it with alcohol because, eventually, you’ll sober up or come down from the euphoria of drugs and the pain will still be there, waiting for your next weak moment. The cycle will repeat itself over and over, at which time the emotional, psychological and spiritual pain owns your very being.

And we must never, ever let the pain own us. 

The Coming American Crisis

Just watched video of Fox News' Tucker Carlson interviewing Hollywood actor/comedian/producer Rob Reiner, who recently released a video spot with Morgan Freeman that says America is at war with Russia...a cyber war.

It got me to thinking....

Every major nation on earth engages in cyber-war, including this country. Every one. Remember over a decade ago when the Stuxtnet virus was introduced into the top-secret, highly-'secure' Iranian computer network on which Iran was developing its nuclear program? That was the U.S. and Israel, working in concert to cause a major delay in Iran's production of fissionable, weapons-grade uranium-235, the key component used in construction of a nuclear device. Not being a computer geek, I still don't understand how that was accomplished, but it served its purpose. Stuxtnet was a very evolved, sophisticated virus that set Iran back at least a year.

A couple of weeks ago it was announced that Equifax, the mega consumer credit company, had been breached by hackers, exposing the personal information of 143 million Americans. Equifax, I am quite sure, believed they had a highly-secure network on which they stored this information. Our government websites have been hacked; worse, it is quite probable that highly classified information from the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been compromised, though these agencies would never publicly acknowledge breaching events of this nature.

Kind of scary, isn't it? Well, I'll make this prediction right now: Someone, at some point, will introduce some type of  delayed-action virus into our stock-market system which ultimately will cause the markets to crash in epic proportion...virtually destroying the economy of the United States. A disastrous event, to be sure, one that will bring this nation to its knees and render it vulnerable to enemies both domestic and abroad. Anarchy and chaos will rule the day.

I pray that I am wrongly painting this dark scenario but, with world events unfolding as they have, I fear it will happen.

Michael Isaacson, the ANTIFA Professor

You may have heard the name Michael Isaacson over the course of the last few days; if you haven't, here's what the John Jay College of Criminal Justice adjunct professor tweeted on August 29th: 'Some of ya’ll might think it sucks being an anti-fascist teaching at John Jay College but I think it’s a privilege to teach future dead cops.'

Let that sink in for a second.

'...teach future dead cops.' Here is a boy (I refuse to bestow the title 'man' to this individual) who earns his living instructing students at a criminal justice-based college who marginalizes the lives of law enforcement officers; it should come as no surprise that he also considers himself a leader in ANTIFA, the alleged anti-fascist rabble whose actions at any function or gathering even remotely associated with conservative values more resembles Adolph Hitler's pre-WWII brown shirts than that of a group opposed to fascism. Since his view on law enforcement officers came to light, Isaacson has been suspended by the college due to massive backlash from the public and police unions. Why he wasn't terminated immediately, as he should have been, I don't know, but Isaacson then took a bizarre turn and issued a statement calling ultra-lib New York City mayor Bill DeBlazio 'anti-police'.

Isaacson, as expected, is shielding his 'dead cops' tweet using the first amendment right of free speech. He does have a right to express his views, but here's the rub: there are consequences to that right, especially in light of where he is employed. Karol Mason, college president, placed Isaacson on administrative leave...only it was out of security and safety concerns for students over what the boy said, not the substance of his message.

And that, my friends, is deplorable.

Isaacson isn't fit to shine a police officer's shoes.

Isaacson

Another 'What Were They Thinking'...The Smell-Good Edition

Over the course of my law-enforcement career I made plenty of driving under the influence arrests. In a few instances, the offender tried to mask the odor of alcoholic beverage on their person and in their vehicle by using copious amounts of cologne/perfume.

Patrick Butler of Rock Hill, South Carolina used a more extreme tactic.

While on patrol in that city, officers observed a vehicle jerk to the left after nearly striking a curb and decided to trail the car. Observing several lane violations, officers activated the overhead emergency lights and initiated a stop of Butler's vehicle. As they approached, Butler was observed to hold a spray-can to his mouth and administer several doses.

Butler, grabbing the only masking agent in his car, had sprayed his mouth full of Axe Body Spray.

When officers inquired as to why he had performed the act, Butler replied that he had been spraying himself "...from head to toe." Butler admitted to having consumed two beers and a shot of whiskey, later testing .13% blood-alcohol content. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

                                                                    Patrick Butler

ANTIFA are the new Brownshirts

What exactly is ANTIFA?

It is an acronym for ‘Anti-Fascist’, and the group’s aim is to eliminate fascism in the United States. CNN claims this group’s roots can be traced to Nazi Germany as part of the opposition movement against Hitler and, if you follow current events, you know that ANTIFA associates President Trump with Adolph Hitler. For the life of me, though, I don’t see that connection. 

At all. Not even close.

CNN is right in one aspect; ANTIFA does have at least one connection to pre-WW II Nazi Germany, though it isn’t one they intended. If you follow history, you know who the Brownshirts were: Adolph Hitler’s Sturmabteilung, or SA, whose methods of violence and intimidation greatly aided the Nazi despot’s rise to power. They were a paramilitary group that marched in parades in support of Hitler, protected Nazi party meetings and violently attacked anyone who opposed him. They were the first Stormtroopers.

Gee, that sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it?

I can see more similarity between ANTIFA and the SA than I can between Hitler and President Trump. All I have to do is watch coverage of any event in which a Conservative group assembles and there they are, dressed in whatever black clothing they may possess with bandanas around their faces. Lately, this alleged ‘peaceful’ ANTIFA group has been filmed wearing an assortment of protective headgear, ranging from motorcycle helmets to baseball helmets. I’ve watched them chase down and assault people whom these ANTIFA members believed to be Trump supporters and beat them to the ground. I’ve watched them spray peacefully-gathered supporters of Trump with pepper spray and throw bottles filled with urine at them. They oppose anyone with a Conservative point of view to the extent that they will make a college or public venue too dangerous for a speech by anyone who is even remotely connected with conservatism.

Yet they endorse free speech, right? Free, that is, as long as the speaker is in line with ANTIFA’s skewed view of American politics and perceived injustices in our social landscape.

America’s neo-Nazis and white supremacists and their violence and hatred cannot be tolerated; neither can we tolerate ANTIFA’s actions. 

Both ends of the spectrum are more alike than they know.

Another 'What Were They Thinking?', the Fishing in Florida Edition

It wasn't the kind of 'bite' the man was hoping to have.

While fishing off the St. Augustine pier, an unidentified man became the target of a cursing, drunken woman who was swimming naked, according to the St. John's County Sheriff's Office.

During the unusual encounter the woman, identified as 22-year-old Alexandria Turner, swam up to the man's fishing line while cursing him, bit the line in two and swam off with the line's rigging. The man called deputies and pointed out the still-swimming Turner, explaining that he'd rented the pole and was concerned he would have to pay for the loss of the pole's lure.

Deputies coaxed the intoxicated woman from the water but Turner refused to accompany them to the pier office, instead cursing the deputies while shouting "I'M (expletive) NAKED!" Turner was arrested and jailed on suspicion of public intoxication and resisting arrest without violence.

It remains unknown if the fishing lure was recovered.

                                                                  Alexandria Turner

Don't Like History? Liberals Say 'Change It!'

Some 'progressive' movie critics, in an effort to show the world they are champions of political-correctness, are complaining that the film 'Dunkirk' has no significant female or minority roles.

The Battle of Dunkirk is a World War II historical event that occurred May 26 through June 4, 1940; it involved the evacuation of British forces from the beaches of that French village while under nearly constant air and ground attack by Nazi Germany.

Minorities and women, at that time in history, had no significant involvement in combat action, yet these handful of movie reviewers would have history re-written to reflect them as central characters in this battle, regardless of facts.

When history has to be changed in order to assuage the feelings of a handful of malcontents, we will have started down a very dark and dangerous path from which there is no return.

I am truly living in a world I don't understand.