When I wake up very early in the morning and be in the middle of a discussion during work hours from about 20 years ago, I have to wonder, now what? This time I turned over and went back to sleep only to wake hours later in the same type of work conversations...
So I began to explore...what's happening in life that has brought back PTSD nightmares--remembering the confusion and anger that led me to realize I had no choice but to retire, earlier than I'd planned. I had been fortunate in my career, loving the work I was doing as I moved from office to office, getting promoted, better pay... Until I was promoted into a position that was beyond the clerical roles there... To a boss who taught me what was needed to centralize classroom scheduling and management for an entire campus... Something you must learn on the job, since there is no training, at least at that time... Again, I was loving it, gaining knowledge, working with faculty and deans and the Provost for Instruction, with whom I'd had an earlier position as his secretary...
All was fine until 3 military individuals from the campus ROTC were hired at a new level above our office. My former boss was "moved upstairs" which was a way the university officials sometimes used to get rid of somebody they wanted to replace... My new boss came in and did exactly nothing to even begin to understand the details of my position, which had been Assistant Director at that time... I've already covered what happened at that time in another post... So, this morning, what had made my inner mind...panic...
Ahhh... Today was Election Day! Was that part of it? For everywhere you turn there are ads to vote for this person or that person... Have you ever notice that none of them tell their political party? It's like, we're keeping everything low-key... Some might be playing the blame game about the opposite party... To me, there really is no reason to listen. There is only one way that an individual can reasonably vote... Against the majority party that is in the midst of tearing our nation apart...
Or, maybe, it was the last commentator I listened to before turning the television off to begin reading... It was about Trump hosting a lavish party, while at the same time, attempting to stall the latest judge's ruling that he had to return SNAP benefits to the millions affected... He has learned to softly lie--have you noticed that... He used to scream and shout. Not with his confidence back by million and billionaires who are quite willing to pay for the use of his presidential power, we see millions being fired, with no reason or justification, often illegally... We see citizens grabbed off the streets or from cars or from their homes... Nobody is safe... This is a time when the whole world is being disturbed by those who have gamed the system to get and remain in power for their own desires--not to serve the people in their countries!
Or was it my reading of books such as a woman who committed suicide after having been trapped in a human trafficking situation which is now spreading across the headlines because the republican party are delaying releasing the records on the Epstein case, while the administration has moved Maxwell to a posh jail where she is free to be the bully she was to our young teens?
Or was it reading about a father who is teaching his son about his religion, yet ensuring that the boy will keep his mind free to listen and learn, for their are fanatics in his religion just as there are those in the Christian religion--now Christian Nationalist--who have been taught that violence is necessary to retain their "religion."
Or, maybe, it's the awareness that Gaza people are still being starved, Israel prime minister is still leading bombing there, while Trump and his "negotiation" group have achieved the funds to do what they want to do--create a Trump Tower or whatever a place for the rich to party on the beach will require...
Or is it something much more sinister about how those of us who pay our taxes or get jailed are seeing what has happened when the "rich and famous" are allowed to be in control, including the government which was created to ensure our rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." (this is true across the world right now!) Promises are made, ignored, and the rich get richer and the poor get poorer...
Let's look at some of the words which have made this one of my favorite songs...
The Sound Of Silence
Lyrics:
Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Many wait 'til after dark, perhaps when kids are sleeping, or perhaps traffic noises become less bothersome... Me, I substitute the word darkness and use Silence here too... For when your mind is so filled with anger, frustration, hopelessness, and, worst of all, fear, I pull within, I retreat from all that is outside, perhaps I'll read, if I can, but the silence sometimes is the only thing that will help... Maybe some turn on the music at high blast, hoping to shout out the sounds... Maybe others will go somewhere outside, and alone, and scream so loud just to know that their voice can be heard, even if that person is the only one who hears it... Silence, for me, is my old friend and that's when I talk, and possibly hear, if I can hear, "My Child you are not alone... Remember, your thoughts are my thoughts. I hear the painful noise in your mind... If you can hear My Voice, Be Still and Know that I am God..." Sometimes I hear...
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a streetlamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dare
Disturb the sound of silence
I'm not comfortable in a crowd... it can be the same with just ten people or ten thousand people... So many people talk just to be talking... Hearing their own voice is more important than listening to what others have to say... I'm not comfortable with people with whom I have no connection. Right now, I don't even know if I could talk to a pastor, because he or she might have accepted that violence is needed to please God... They'd rather stifle voices through stun guns, their fists, or even their guns, than listen to anybody who disagrees with them... My interaction has been cut, personally, to just two people with whom I can share my real thoughts and concerns...
As a consumer, companies have turned off communications other than phones, which they "think" everybody has access and full use of, which I don't. Those who you do call, may hear "this call may be monitored for... whatever they claim" while I'm wondering "why?" Others send you thousands of emails--from companies wanting your money... But don't expect to be able to actually respond to their email, because it is marked "Do Not Reply..."
Seriously... I bought a washing machine and dryer from a local store... Repair problems began; I find it was made overseas, and there is no law that they have to provide repair service...
Seriously... I needed a landline to continue service... I did not want auto pay... they stopped sending bills by slow mail... I don't have bills to pay... They shut off the phone, without notice... I stop in their store... Am told I have to start over because I didn't pay my bill... Seriously... is this what happens when a company gets so big that mistakes by their own people are ignored and the customer is therefore wrong and deserves punishment--Shut her Off; Make her work to solve the problem even if we caused it..." After all, she should be using a cell phone rather than a land line... She should relocate if she can't get cell service... Yeah, right...blame somebody else... Even the president does it, so why shouldn't we?
“Fools” said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grow
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
Words are thrown out so fast and frequent, that overload comes quickly... It's done on purpose--for a reason-- they are hoping you don't see that more money is being given to those buddies who are rich and famous... Who cares if they traffic young children for sexual purposes? We've got a party to go to... Or retribution to achieve. After all, this Attorney General had the audacity to document my guilt and brought charges against me! How dare she? But I will repay, saith the political power who you foolishly voted for... Why is she even still working--she's DEI, we must get rid of her, along with everybody else who were once allowed to live a little better with government help... Or another person had the audacity to send people and find records that I wanted to keep--thinking I could maybe get some money out of this lousy job that nobody allowed me to do the first term...Now, I know better...and have the help of other big-money power-grabbers...who just wanna have fun...and not deal with the losers who voted based upon all those lies I told... And, they never even caught on after 4 years! So, screw them, I've taken over... yet...there are some who who actually see me! I hate them! I admit it! And, I'll make them pay... I'll send people to stop their voting... I'll show them...
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said “The words of the prophets
Are written on subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence”
Wait, my base is getting smaller... They saw those men come into the tenement halls to take away their homes, to send them out of the white country I want to build... Why do they not treat me like the god they thought I was...they prayed for me, laid hands on me... Now, even the Pope and many religious leaders are speaking out against me! Why? They knew who I was and still voted me in... I'm gonna...get back at them... close public schools, take food out of the mouths of children... I told them I would be their retribution, but I was really talking to my fellow rich people... not those who come from the "shit holes" of the world...
By the time I was promoted to Associate Director of Facilities Planning and Management, which I later learned had been negotiated by my former boss, Bill Campbell, Director, I'd had over 30 years in the administration of West Virginia University.
The last years of that career were changed by...white men seeking power... until I went into Job Burnout trying to deal with men who knew nothing about my job...
It is now Day !?! (Who knows how long it will last?) of the shutdown, with soldiers not being paid, their family begging for exempting them from the closure... With more people being fired, with the democratic party being blamed for not being willing to support a decision to take away health care to millions... Do they really think anybody other than these White Supremacists Men think we believe their shenanigans, their lies, their game playing?!?
I've been listening to Frank Shaeffer who says that he's an atheist who prays... I liked the fact that he is willing to share that, with his background, he is not quite sure how to come right out and say he believes...
After all, he was the son of a major Evangelical Christian preacher who led us into the present crisis in 2015 when that group chose and openly supported a man who has been proven over and over to be a criminal... and a racist, which he learned from his father as they formed a policy to not rent spaces in their apartments... Buildings his father had received government financial support to construct. (Read Mary Trump books on BRH.)
But Schaeffer in this video was the first who mentioned what I had already connected--I'll be writing more on connections--which, I believe, was the beginning of violence in church families...
I learned about a man named Dobson from this book--I did several posts on this on BRH so do check it out if you have not already read these articles.
First, Dobson was head of the family organization who came to lead the Christians. I'd heard of him, but never thought of learning more at that time. Until I read this book. You might say that Dobson was much like Trump. He was not a leader in the church, he was a psychologist, or some other title in the sciences. But he became a cult leader, much like we had today. Tell me, why do Christians depend upon somebody other than God if they believe in God? I have the same question for the Catholica church... Why do they need somebody between Jesus and me... Plus all those saints... I'm not ridiculing what that church offers. I am merely asking the question... As part of the discussion...
Specifically, Dr. Dobson, when asked about the rod and the child from the Bible, he decided it was proper to punish children... If you immediately see the connection I did, then you are beginning to understand my thinking... If you disagree, let's talk about it...
If a child is physically touched in anger from the parent, that is not what Jesus teaches! He said to have the children come to Him... Can we then connect that those who followed the Dobson cult that they also believed in guns, guns, guns... and all that that has led to, including the murder of children, often by other children. Surely we must connect the possible abuse of children by parents to the later abuse and bullying of other children, and ultimately to take a gun and shoot other children??? All within the Christian family who were Dobson followers?
Let me just say that the only other important point for me in relation to politics, was that Dobson refused to even talk with Candidate Obama, who later was elected for two terms!
Was that when the underbelly of hate, power-hungry white men started to plan for Project 2025? And the catastrophe that has become Today's Republican Party which cannot do their job without bowing to King-wannabe Trump? I tend to think so. Because we all know by now that Trump was not competent enough to do in his first term, what he is now doing...direct from his mandated playbook from the richest and most powerful groups who obviously are white supremacists... I didn't read the book but Velshi, MSNBC news commentator has devoted many sessions going over that close to 1000-page book which details specifics of accomplishments to be achieved... Those, we know, was what were signed by Executive Orders when Trump came into office, often not even knowing what the Order was about, but signing anyway... Those smarter than Trump knew they could achieve their secret desires to move white supremacy with Christian Nationalism as the United States religious mandate... Just like so many immigrants came to America to escape, these strongmen wannabes are striving to recreate a power structure that will smother out any thought of freedom... loss of Freedom of Speech is already in effect in many ways. Don't believe me...keep reading because I'll be talking more about it... using another past Christian leader to start the conversation...
A final thought... Recently as I talked about what is happening with my best friend, these words came out of my mind... "When Jesus died and his words were recorded, the Old Testament should have been Archived..." Was that just my own thinking from all the reading, or a God Incident giving the words? Think about it and I'll be talking about it more later...
"Come on out, Mike," the man said in a deep, self-assured voice. "I mean you no harm. I'm here to help you." Help, my ass. That voice couldn't possibly belong to the one Milton's men had left behind. True, Mike had called for backup, but they wouldn't be looking for him in this dump. Besides, he knew everyone on the force and, despite the darkness, Mike felt positive this guy wasn't one of them. "Hiding is pointless. I can see you." It was a trick. Mike ground his teeth together, itching to pull the trigger. Suddenly, the need for revenge overpowered common sense. Mike felt a rush of hatred, so powerful it overtook all sense of reason. Like a slow but insidious poison, revulsion seeped through his veins. Scrambling to his feet, he lunged toward the silhouette in the darkness, still clutching his weapon in his right hand. With lightning reflexes, the man gripped Mike's wrist with one hand. "You ready to talk now, Mike?" The man's bone-wrenching grip dug through Mike's skin and straight to the marrow. Forced to his knees, then immobilized, Mike clenched his teeth, struggling against the urge to drop his gun in surrender to this strange and powerful enemy. "Who the devil are you?" The man chuckled—the sound echoed mockingly through the vast emptiness. "Ah, now that's an interesting choice of words. I probably should thank you for the promotion." Mike shook his head, trying to determine which words the man found interesting. "Go ahead and kill me—get it over with, you bastard." "Oh, rest assured, I've been called worse." The man sighed, then jerked Mike's wrist until his gun flew across the room as if propelled by some invisible force. "Your weapon is useless against me." "Oh, yeah? Why don't we give it a try? I'd like to see for myself." The intruder laughed again, a sick, menacing sound that made Mike shudder. "There isn't enough time for that." "I've got all night," Mike said steadily. "And I have tonight and eternity." The man sounded bored with life. "Trust me, even that isn't enough time." Mike shook his head as his own mad laughter consumed him, shaking the foundations of his sanity. This was too damned much. Why the hell didn't his captor just kill him and get it over with—put him out of his misery? What about Carrie? "Yes, what about your darling sister, Mike?" Mike's laughter died an instant death as he jerked his head around to stare through the darkness at the creep who still imprisoned his wrist. He blinked several times, continuing to gape at this strange man. "How—" "There's something you want. My boss sent me here because I know there's some way I can be of...service to you," he said in an infuriatingly calm voice, though there was an intensity to it that belied his more obvious attempt at sincerity. "All you have to do is name it, Mike, and it's yours." "Something I want?" Mike swallowed hard, feeling strangely desperate to reveal his need. It was a need more powerful and insistent than any he'd known in his entire life. It was almost as if this man drew it from him—reached right inside his core and yanked the truth from him. "Yeah, there's something I want, but you can't give it to me. Nobody can," Mike confessed before he could stop himself. "I'd give anything..." What the hell did he have to lose?
"Anything at all to—shall we say—turn back the clock?" His voice took on a mesmerizing song-like quality, luring Mike into a trusting state. "Turn back the clock?" Mike echoed, trying to resist being sucked in by this guy's hypnotic voice, but it was a constant battle. There was an odd, powerful presence about him, more significant than the superhuman strength which enabled him to hold Mike powerless at his feet. "Of course." The peculiar man gave a dramatic sigh. "Really, Mike, how else can we undo all that's happened tonight?" "What...?" A cold sweat popped out on his forehead. "You're frigging nuts, man." "Let's see—today's June twentieth, so all we have to do is make it June nineteenth. Right?" "Sure. Just snap your fingers and make it yesterday." Mike squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. God, how he wished he could really do just that. If only he could go back in time to stop what had happened, to make Barney live again. "So be it." Fool! he chided himself, trying to regain control of his thoughts and actions. No one could undo the horrible events of this night. Not even God. The man suddenly threw his head back and laughed out loud. It was a terrifying sound. Monstrous. A streak of lightning illuminated the mansion, sending dancing sparks to the tips of the man's fiery hair. For a brief moment, Mike's gaze locked with his. The man's eyes were— Impossible. Another lightning bolt revealed the truth. The man's eyes were red, glowing with a feral power that left Mike paralyzed. The flesh around his mouth tingled and he felt hollow inside. Now, even in darkness, those red eyes glowed, holding Mike prisoner in his own body. He had to fight this, whatever it was. This madman wanted something, and every instinct in Mike's body screamed in favor of escape. Every instinct but one. His need for revenge. Common sense rallied, trying to seize control for a flickering moment. Mike jerked his wrist, but the stranger held him fast. "I don't know who the hell you are or what you want, and I really don't give a rat's ass," Mike lied, unconvincing even to his own ears. "Mike, Mike," the man said with that same taunting, strangely soothing tone. He was like a used car salesman moving in for the kill. "I'm here to give you your heart's desire—what you want more than anything else. I'm going to allow you to go back in time." He chuckled quietly. "You said you'd give anything..." A sense of foreboding filled Mike, but he forced it into submission. "Yeah, anything. Everything." His voice sounded hoarse, barely more than a strangled whisper. Why was he buying into this jerk's sick game? Then the brilliance of those red eyes intensified, forcing Mike's doubts to whither beneath an onslaught of fierce hunger. Blood-lust. He would have his revenge. Satisfaction. And more importantly...Barney would live to raise his child. Madness claimed him and Mike barked a derisive, and strangely victorious, laugh. Though the bastard hadn't yet spoken the words, here it was, out in the open at last. Mike knew. "Yeah, hotshot. Even my worthless, fucking soul!"
You know folks, I am constantly amazed at the creative genius of writers! After reading thousands of books, reviewing them carefully, I find a much broader appreciation for the creatives in our world than ever before. Especially women... I could be biased or selective in reading what I want, so admittedly that bias could be just in my selection to read... So, I'm just close out that thought...you readers will have to decide whether or not what I have come to think is true--women are more empathic in presenting their thoughts to potential readers.
One of these books to consider is this one.
How many of you believe that this book would be banned by those who, perhaps, just see the cover and report it? Indeed, a demon is a key character. And, the way I connected this character, I point out that this was a man killed early in life--intelligent--and really didn't like his boss! One of his skills is mind-reading. In my opinion, he planned the ending himself! LOL Or at least the writer who created the character did...
You could ask how I could arrive at this conclusion!
I made the connections...
Slick came to Mike when he was lost in despair. He knew he would be willing to deal... He also knew that Mike, before long, would be sorry that deal had been made! He led Mike throughout the book...
Now, what is a demon? I checked Wikipedia and could have read an entire article on them, but I didn't. You see, I'm no longer afraid that they might be real...
And that's a major change from when I was learning in my early years about "these things..." Take for instance the children's song I learned
It was through a book I read by John R. Tucker, a study guide, that I first made the connection! This song did not follow the meaning of the Bible scripture... And yet, I had sung it so many times that even I could not imagine that it was not a joyous occasion about which we sang...
I had connected the creative joy from a song that did not support the words upon which it supposedly had been written. Instead, we were telling young girls who had been lazy and had not prepared for the arrival of Jesus that we could still sing Hosanna... that it was alright to turn to those who were prepared and assume that their oil would be shared...
There are many instances where I've found such issues of logic related to scripture. How did all that happen? But let's go to a very recent event in the U.S.
The nation we have now is based upon many connections, some of which have been despised by a few, but financially or politically powerful people. They had prepared for a specific man to lead. We all saw him as who he was...
Even though he was seen differently, perhaps through eyes that would not see... Or, could not see because of a constant barrage of words that were used, meant to stir some type of emotional response. It didn't even need to be the same issue... It only had to be one that was important to each who heard it.
Both Mike and Abigail had issues that were important to them. One was his family. One was her family...
One had lost a family member through violence and criminals--fear and retribution drove his actions thereafter... He lived in a world where people had long ago been separated by their personal feelings of good or bad--using their free will. He had chose to fight for the good, yet the fight never seemed to end, no matter what time or place he found himself in...
One had gained a child through rape and violence... Through the theft and loss of all worldly goods... through death of loved ones from the violence of war... initiated by those who were rich due to the ownership of slaves... One had known of slavery, yet when black people came into her presence, she made them friends and kept one close as she faced an unknown future...
Another Civil War had earlier been questioned during this republican administration... Now, wars all over the world are gaining further backing by those who see it useful for profit... Or for cleansing the world they want to have where white men were still in control of all things...
But to achieve that, many lies, cruelty, illegal actions are being performed... A book--Project 2025--was written mandating exactly what was required...and it started immediately.
They did not realize that the power of the people would rise up against them... Those people who saw the connections--the realization that lies and fear had been used to deceive the real agenda of those mandates. Few of us actually read the book... But many had already seen what was happening and knew it could, or would, get worse...
Abigail and Mike Connected... from across Time... from different backgrounds... from fear of criminal violence... from one race to another... from finding love after rape... just by connecting and trusting. Learning to trust can be hard when liars and criminals say one thing and do another... Whatever you're doing these days, start making Connections:
Even if you think it, that doesn't mean it is right...Stop before you believe that violence, hate, and fear can ever be the right choice with your neighbors, no matter who they are...
Even if what you are hearing is from your family, your best friend, or your spouse... You are unique, you have a mind. You have a heart and conscience... Listen to your inner thoughts and concerns... Do some research... Make sure if you think you are acting for the good? Make sure it's true... learn to trust again, by making the connections that feel and sound right to YOU!
I’ve noticed something interesting lately: that both conservatives and progressives are both trying – in their own way – to bring people together. Now, if you’re chuckling at that statement, I...
Hi Everybody, I hope you read this post first because I wanted to share my personal growth of what has evolved in my own relationship with God... It is quite interesting, or, I suppose, uniquely my plan for life as written by the Great I AM... For He has certainly taken my thoughts in early life and changed me into an individual who is quite the opposite of what an individual may be, given my background and family.
Before going further, I just have to hope that you enjoyed the last several videos above that kept popping up... Maybe when Bamm Bamm was over, the YouTube genies decided to continue the music... I loved them all--they have a wonderful message with lots of emotions!
I just finished Some Like it Hotter, yes, a free book that I automatically signed up for and really didn't take the time to know what it's about, although I recognized that the title was an offshoot from an old production...
These days I'm having problems with names, like most older folks ultimately begin... Yet, it's extraordinary that our brain still connects and continues to absorb. We may not remember just who we got the information from, but the importance of the speaker--his or her issue being covered--is able to be retained sufficiently to bring back the entire situation with the help of the genies...
Take for instance, my sharing of the latest from Harold Michael Harvey. I wanted to add a video for confirmation of all that he was saying... And, I was able to pull up a news blurb I had listened to through a connection of an issue to what Michael had written. One of the advantages of being able to do this is when people are like-minded in the truth of a situation...
So, getting ready to do my review of Some Like it Hotter, I immediately thought of one song, which you'll see leading that post...
The other immediately followed... Of course, I found it for use pulling it out of my memory of songs I learned when young... Actually, I learned the song earlier than Pebbles and Bamm Bamm even existed within the mind of some cartoon genius...
Some of you may have picked up on the fact that I'm a literalist as it relates to words (that's why I'm such a great proofreader, each word must make sense for me to continue to read, otherwise I correct or search the meaning). So, imagine, if you would, when I learned the song as I sang it then:
Mommy told me something, a little girl should know. It's all about the devil and I've learned to hate him so...
You know, I've come to realize that one song and more of what was being preached early in my life, affected me for most of my life. How? Well, listen to the words... Now I know what the intent was of whoever wrote the song... But... it was wrong to do so. Why emphasize that all of your emotions must be hidden--giving the impression if a child had been hurt emotionally, that they could not show it, but rather must work to let the sunshine in...Notice, it only names the devil... NOT Jesus... Thus, the name that was being repeated over and over, was not the name for Love...but...hate, fear, scared, worried, confused and any other normal feeling all of us must have as we learn to grow older...
I remember when "The Exorcist" came out, a friend or mine and I went to see the movie... I was so upset that I nearly fell when we were leaving and had to be helped to steady my walking... You see I believed so strongly in the demon and knowing they were real, that I became afraid, scared, confused... But I had to hide that feeling from my friend, just like I was taught by a song... Don't laugh. This is not funny. Science has shown that the basic age of a child knowing right and wrong is 4... That means that parents and a child's environment is affected for most of your life by that age. I had learned that the devil was to be hated... Yes, at the same time, I learned of Jesus Love, but that was not until I was 13 when I understood what that meant. My childhood fears had been ingrained by that time...
A child who is influenced in any way by a religious life can be affected for the rest of their life... I was...
It was not until I was 18 in my first job on a campus with many diverse people, that I learned just how many people there were who didn't look or speak like me. But, that they were...people...just...people... My first two friends when I left for school outside of my small hometown, were a black girl and a white catholic girl (the latter about which I had read small brochures shared by my southern baptist pastor uncle who spoke against that church). But, thankfully, my brain was functioning by that time... Carolyn and Marian were two girls who had immediately opened their lives to me a stranger and we were no different than friends should be, other than that one happened to be black and one happened to be going to a "questionable" church according to my uncle... So, it was about the 7th grade in school when I started questioning Truth...
To close out, briefly, being on a DEI campus for over 30 years, and then on top of that, seeing what has happened through a political party doing so much harm for no "good" reason other than power and control, I'm going to say just one thing... We can BEAT THE "D"--no matter what it stands for. THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD!
I'll be posting on this book, as usual, for Book Readers Heaven, but while I was reading, I found myself again wondering... How does a single book get to my attention at a time when they seem most appropriate for TODAY?
This book takes us back to the beginning of time and presents, mainly, the ongoing arguments between religion and science... My faith in God is real. There is no questions in my mind that there is the Great I AM!
Other than that, and as you already know, I do not even know what "Conservatives" are supposed to be as it relates to politics. E.G., I'd never heard of Charlie Kirk until he was...dead... What I mean by that is that, apparently wherever this man was, he was never on any of the news stations I've watched. So, this morning, a video pops up as I was looking for the book trailer for Old Earth.
I was not impressed. There I said it. But, really, folks, when an announcement that somebody is dead, do you immediately go into mourning? Even when you don't know or even of the individual? I don't and never did... Death is a natural event, even though moving toward it is extremely tedious at times... LOL
I can generally quickly form an opinion about somebody I don't know--I watched this video for 10 minutes. And I became sad... Sad that this man who is obviously intelligent has chosen to speak for Trump and Conservatism to our young people. It is clear that there was no early distribution of material of any kind. Questions were asked and answered. In my opinion, by Kirk, snidely. And he did it on purpose, so that "conservative" students would pick up on his attitude toward the speaker who was unprepared, but still very sincere about their opinions... But, totally unprepared for a master manipulator of a speaker...
In any event, I add that, just because the video poked itself into my face on YouTube...
But it does lead to the activities now underway, by this administration, to snidely take over higher education... After all, I had watched this closely since I'd spent the majority of my life on a university campus...
So, as it happens, the main character is a professor now at Yale but had just arrived from Harvard... which led me to enjoy comparing some of the details in Old Earth, with my own life... I remember, in particular, I was in our Physics Department area when one of the vice-presidents and a distinguished professor who was teaching in the department walked by. I was introduced as we passed in the hall and I explained my role in support of the academic program, including in Hodges Hall... I have no idea how we got on the science/religion discussion. Nor do I remember what issues we discussed. From my standpoint, as mentioned above, I was firm in my belief in God... Finally, the professor gave up and we laughed as we parted...
Obviously, it was easy for me to ponder just when my faith had been formed. A thought passed in my mind. I remember a discussion or a moment of reflection when, logically, I had concluded to myself that it made no sense to be waiting for Heaven--I expected it right then, while I was living... At the same time, last night, I thought about this decision, I felt a flash of heat that accompanies my awareness of His presence... A God Incident confirmed as I was reading this book, that I had known from that point on, during my early life, that God lived within me...literally...
It is said that we must come to Christ as a child of God. Perhaps sometime as I would sing this song, I knew it was true--perhaps at 13 when I was baptized. Details like that are really not important, rather it is the awareness that we have the ability to listen, learn, and be guided daily as we open our minds to that option...
Thus, reading this book does not raise the type of questions that somebody like Charlie Kirk would challenge young people with...How old is the earth? To me, it is irrelevant. Do I accept creation or evolution... It is not something that needs to be established as right or wrong, because we are always learning...more... Take for instance, the Bible. how you see it and use it as part of your life is related to how you view God's living today! Either He is alive in you...or not... The Bible does not provide the day upon which a child of God turns and opens her heart to God, does it? It is not recorded for historical purposes there... Because God is NOW... He is living and guiding all of us NOW...
The point of writing this right now is that Old Earth brings us into this type of separation that is being used right now in the United States. Students are brought into one setting for an architectural summer site investigation. Science and Religion are going to be brought forward in moving forward in what happens. Those differences are based upon each individual's relationship with religion; i.e., what they have come to believe is true as opposed to what they believe about his or her relationship with God... There is a difference...
“Time. Time is how we measure our lives. It is the space we inhabit as we figure out the manner in which to fill it. We wear time. We breathe time. We run…” Kavanaugh paused, “we run out of it.”
“Insightful,” Gruber noted. “I prefer to consider Tennessee Williams’s view from The Glass Menagerie. ‘Time is the longest distance between two places.’”
Kavanaugh liked the quote. The longest distance between two places.
“And the job, no the duty you’re inheriting, is to maintain that critical distance between the two places that we guard. Then and now.”
Now is always the point we daily consider...
And what is happening in the United States is unlike any other since the first landing on North America.
However, one of the bases upon which things are being done NOW, is based upon religion. A religion that has, for many, remained stagnant, or even new, as they first come as young people to consider who exactly created the world in which we live. There is one book that has traditionally been used...
Yet through science, books that had been lost or hidden are now available to all of us, which places a much different slant on what is now happening. Even the Pope has spoken and acted on today's world. Many ministers are speaking out against how religion is being skewed...
Recently, I got up, did the routine of feeding my cats first, and then turned on the 10PM news from the previous night. I normally start reading around 5PM most days and, if a book is really good or close to ending, I may continue to read on until I give that latest read a ranking which is sent to GoodReads and Amazon...
I was, as so many others were, devastated to learn of more children being killed or hurt at a school... I am, I now admit it, in deep depression during which I can be triggered constantly by outside actions... How can we continue to claim to be a land of the free when children are murdered by those who are allowed to have guns to enter schools and shoot!
And the very next report shows a man attacked on the street by ICE, taken to the ground and beaten by at least 4 men! This is not the exact video from that program, but it occurs so frequently that it always shows the exact image--a lone man, or woman, being attacked violently by men wearing masks, sometimes with no identification... but assumed to be working for the President who has declared it quite legal, since he is able to do anything he wants, to stop people and beat them up and take them away! I admit it, God may be in control of the overall situation, but seeing the daily effects of millions of people in America being physically or mentally abused--and murdered--for no other reason than to prove that one man can get away with having total control of our legal system, tends to set me up for the day...
Between Trump and Kennedy, both incompetents for their respective positions have fired women and/or Black employees for not being willing to act against the rules of both their congressional duties and responsibilities... Of course the need for Trump to have full power has nothing to do with the good of the country in accordance with the laws of the nation as well as the Constitution...
So, I was already upset with the lack of control now occurring within the United States Government and all organizations with which we all must deal with to live in America...
Setting me off was a call that had come in from the bank that has my money but had taken away control through their ridiculous software deficiencies and actions in the name of "security"--yeah, just like how those people are being grabbed off our streets and charged to be guilty without any type of due process... to "secure" our land from criminals... But WHO are the criminals, I ask?
I had received a call that was identified with PNC as the caller. Thereafter, a voice began to ask questions: Was I...G...B... Did I use my card to purchase... This has been rejected... There was not only NOT a reason given, but it then went on to ask about, say, 10 different purchases, identifying the date, amount. I don't remember that the vendor was identified. But I was more concerned about it being some type of scam! (Which is what my caretaker said this morning when I told him)... How did I know whether this was itself a scam?) After all, I've been scanned and learned the hard way!!!
I had two scheduled tests at the hospital, so told my friend who was driving that I needed to get something to eat and talk to her about what would be happening that day... By the time I had gone through those tests and clearance of "no malignancy" had been delivered, I was feeling pretty good, so indicated that I did want to stop at PNC...
I asked to see the banker (only had seen her once before) that I had earlier. I asked her if she remembered me and we agreed I'd need to go over things... But I wanted to ask her about this call I had received. I started, by, unfortunately, saying that the call was made by AI (who knows, these days?). She interrupted and said that it was not AI and that they did make such calls... My PTSD took over and I was no longer in control... I said, Excuse me, I wasn't finished and then proceeded to explain that the requests had been for other possible purchases and the only thing I could do is respond with a yes/no button... Now, before she had interrupted me, I had already said that the purchase had been rejected by the bank...
She either didn't hear that, ignored it, or didn't think I should even be asking her about it (who knows?) Later I came back and asked that a formal complaint be made... which will be covered in another post probably tomorrow... Note: I have been unable to have PNC staff work with me on email. They demand phone, which, through no fault of my own, is hard to get near my home... Another letter was received. I wrote again... stating that I wish to communicate by email...
She had already confirmed that the system was up and she needed to get into my account to proceed. I was ready, had the two sheets to be used... The first one was what was given to me at the end of the last session. She verified that was the used ID, but I explained that I couldn't get into it the second time...Her attitude was becoming more agitated... At one point I stopped and said. "If you think I am giving you a hard time, I am reacting to your attitude... She apologized and then proceeded on without caring or, remembering, that I had not been able to get on? In any event to document here, when I had tried to get on the second time, there was a question about the telephone number. I had recently switched phones, but even though the new phone number was there and I selected that number, when I got the "incorrect" notice, I looked up and saw at the top of the page was my old telephone number which I no longer had connection to... Again, there is never an explanation about what the issue was, I was directed to call... I stopped immediately... I have been unsuccessful for any phone to adequately ask me, "Can you hear me now?" and actually be able to answer from my home...
I had already slid over what my new ID and password would be. She slid it back and said she couldn't read it... But, then I said I would type it in and the computer wouldn't reach...Yeah...I was getting mad... At one point I called out Capital C, etc... and pointed out that I had learned the difference between cap and little letters over 50 years ago... Yes, I was being sarcastic...
I then slid my paper over to my friend who was closer to the computer. Interestingly, although she had not seen what the paper said, she was able to read and direct the rest of the insertion... It was updated and closed. I asked for a copy of exactly what was entered. The banker said no. I said get a screen shot. She practically went ballistic...declaring she would not open the account again... I walked out after saying to file a complaint... and adding needed information...
You know, folks, after seeing how our federal government is being destroyed, unit by unit, without action by the Supreme Court to stop what they helped to create, I find it hard to trust any organization with which I must interact financially. I am aware of my limitations which results in flashbacks to my past job burnout and an instant reaction when somebody who is in a job refuses to assist in responding to questions asked... I am working on that issue knowing that there is a problem...but, how do you solve the problem when those who are in control are the very ones who create the situation with attitudes, unwillingness to accept when somebody doesn't understand and is concerned enough to ask a question...
My only personal result is that I know a have a problem and I continue to work to strive to get needed help...but if nobody else in power is also working to deal with the realities and solve the problem, then I feel I have no choice but to continue to work against those who feel it is more advantageous to pull us down on the street and beat and kick us. But I plan to keep getting up and fighting back to ensure America keeps the democracy that so many have died for!
Somewhere, if you were interested enough in confirming my earlier prediction of the latest announcement from The Last Word last night, you will find my immediate guarantee that within the first week of DOGE action under Musk, that a complete copy of all files would be copied outside of the government's computers! The latest is about our own records--yes, all of us who are members of the Social Security Activity under our Federal Government...and our information is out floating in the cloud... Look for signing up for a class action suit against the government!
Hi Everybody, Aside from sharing the above video for your information, once again showing just how bad it is here in America, I wanted to steal from DJT for the first time in my life, stating, "I hadn't thought about it..."
Yesterday, I had what most people call a "last straw" moment... Do you ever get to a point when you know there is nothing you can do, but you are frustrated so much that you decide I just have to protest! Yes, of course, I've been protesting regarding the administration in the U.S., but this was much more personal...
You see, a number of years ago, I had to have cataracts removed from both of my eyes. But, at the last moment, at least it now seems to me, I was "told" that they would be adding my prescription for my eyes directly into my eyes... Not having time to even think or realize what that might mean for my life, I responded "Cool!" and the procedures were schedule one right after the other.
Now I want to quickly point out that there was NO discussion about the ramifications or possible issues that might arise by placing my prescription, the same as what my glasses were, directly into my eyes, permanently...
Had I had a chance to consider and discuss this, I might have soon realized that my prescription was for "distance..." which I only used for driving. Further, I had become a patient for primary care at this university. I had also had a tumor removed from my brain and a hip replacement surgery, all of which were full of discussions and a developed confidence to proceed...
As I look back I spent more time with students as opposed to the doctor who actually was to do the surgery. This may be the normal process for a teaching hospital, but for me, it has negatively changed my entire life!
So, yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment with my primary care physician. My medical caretaker was driving me to the appointment. Afterward, I just wanted to sit and spend some time with her and her child (she's my great-niece) so I decided to go to Bob Evans for breakfast... Once seated, and the baby set up for a while, I turned to the menu. I could not read it. I peered closely and did pick up the price of one thing and thought it was extremely high since the last time I'd been there. So I started looking around just from the standpoint of price and found a small corner of 4 selections. But I could not read any of the descriptions for the meals for any of the options. Restaurants apparently are squeezing more options on fewer pages by decreasing the size of description. I found myself very upset that I could not even have an option of reading and selecting my own choice rather than depending upon somebody reading it to me! Just like with what the government is doing, we who are older or physically impaired are being ignored by corporations who are more concerned about making money than with the needs of the customers. I got a meal that I was very unhappy with--the first one ever at Bob Evans where I'd often eaten for half of my life, at least... Was the cheaper deals purposely poorly prepared? Mine was and that was all that mattered to me... I found I had had enough, decided not to do anything else but head home... And later decided to write this opinion piece...
First of all, IF somebody had asked about my personal life, any doctor would have been told that I'm a reader and book reviewer and have been doing this for over 20 years. My NORMAL eyesight did not affect my ability to read on a continuous basis...
The effect to my life was as instantaneous as was the removal of the eye patches from my eyes after surgery! I could no longer read a book--any book. I had to switch to ebooks to increase the size of the print... In order to read as I wished, I have to use two readers because the batteries do not last throughtout my normal daily reading periods. With Kindle, I can sync and move from one reader to another fairly easily. I had to stop accepting requests for reviews since often there is no options other than a print copy.
But that only took care of my love of reading...
I quickly found that I could not read my prescription bottles, I could not read descriptions for food products... Ok, yes, I bought 3 times the size, magnifying glasses which I can never find, but that means that, if I drive myself, I use my prescription glasses with dark lens for sun, which I could then have to remove, to put on other glasses to read a menu, or be able to call in a prescription using a number I cannot now read...
I tried to use the Internet to turn in for refills of medicines. This is what I had to do. I put on my magnifying glasses, read one small item on the label, took off my magnifying glasses, got to the page where I had to submit a request, and HOPE I remembered the number of the specific prescription to enter on my desktop screen... Well, with my memory of numbers not too good these days, I have to repeat this process of putting on glasses, taking them off, typing a little more, then putting on the glasses to verify, verify, verify...
A major problem occurred with my use of a cell phone. I could barely see anything. That was ok because I could use my desktop for just about anything. But phone corporations were not willing to deal with the fact that I did not want all they wanted to provide on that cell phone! The frustration kept mounting... I discarded 3 phones because of this inability to easily use the phone like I had prior to the placement of a "distance prescription" into my eyes permanently.
I've had to give away all of my print books. Reading a book with magnifying glasses is difficult for a book reviewer... There is no way to legibly write notes in a book. There is no way, to easily sit down to read, leave the book for awhile and then come back and pick up where you were... Putting on and taking off magnifying glasses is not easy on a routine day... Normally I'm moving from doing dishes, then stopping for a chapter or two, and so on... Every time a reader is disrupted for mechanical issues, places a book at a disadvantage for the reader who is trying to keep track of the plot... Some of the print used by some publishers is less than the 12 point standard that is normally used for paperbacks, or at least as they were once printed... Many of the books were written by my favorite authors and kept on a TBR basis when I was "no longer reviewing..." That print was so small and all I used to have to do was move my book closer to my eyes... That was lost when my normal eyesight became a distance prescription that I rarely needed to use...
What a mess...
Sure, I could go on and give other specific examples, but I hope everybody who reads this will become super conscious when a eye doctor proclaims that he's going to give you a gift... Because that gift may just be the worst disaster that some elders will have happened to them in their lives...
You know, folks, I am sick and tired of the government and its lies, as well as corporations and their insensitivity to customers/clients so much so that they don't take the time to at least obtain a basic set of issues that would be affected by the medical care given... Or the specifics needed to make a good purchase. I've already told you about the purchase of a door that did not include a handle! I learned that a very small square on the box in which it was purchased said "something" but I would not have even thought to look for what was an important fact of that purchase--that I would have to return to get a handle for that door!
My brain doctor allowed me to ask anything I needed to know and spent the time with me. So did the doctor for the hip replacement, who also provided a complete notebook of the exact step-by-step process that would be used... There was no such thing for one of the most important aspects of our lives--the condition of our eyesight. Sure there were tests, discussion on problems, but not once was the placement of my prescription in my eye brought up in advance of scheduling the surgeries... I call that a significant failure on the part of a teaching hospital. And that's why I'm saying, be very careful what is being "told" related to any eye surgeries you may need in the future...
No, I haven't gone back to the doctor. What could I say? "You should never had done this to me?!
And, by the way, if you are having an eye surgery, and you can actually see the doctor working on that eye, hold up your hand and ask a question... This happened to me on my first surgery. They had warned me to not move, so I lay there seeing the doctor, pull away the cataract, and then later, add, I guess, the prescription... On the second surgery, the anesthesiologist came to ask how I was doing. I said I'd prefer not to have to again watch the doctor do that surgery. He was shocked and hurried away to make sure that didn't happen...again...
I want to close with the statement that I did not have problems with the actual surgery, other than not being able to deal with a dry eye problem which I was never able to resolve. And, that I've also had other medicines for incontinence that caused eyesight problems until I learned that the medical was the cause...only to be given different types which continue with the problem, until I just stopped taking that medication, knowing that my eyesight was more important than the other issue... Still, there is never a day that I do not struggle to do my normal work activity that I had been doing just before those two surgeries... My eyes quickly tire, and I'm still not sure of the reason... Is there some other medication that has been prescribed that causes problems to my eyes? All I can tell you is that as I type my vision is blurred for the majority of the time.
Let's face it, all of these issues occurred prior to the second term of the republicans now in office. We have seen the devastation to especially women whose healthcare concerns have been ignored or declared as too costly or against some religious belief that was being used to override the constitutional rights of all people.
I am finally speaking out on this issue. Like I said I had the last straw yesterday... When an individual cannot go to a restaurant and able to see the menu that was quite easy prior to an operation placing a "distance prescription" into eyes that were normal in all ways for daily needs, then I, as the result of that doctor's decision, have a right to declare that I am angry, frustrated, disturbed that the doctor did not ensure that my prescription was actually needed as permanent insertions, prior to the time I was told what would be happening, without any discussion of the ramifications whatsoever...
Please begin to realize that this world is no longer the one that had the slogan, "the customer is always right..." We are being abused, used, and thrown aside by, especially men, who are in power for the purpose of making money and if they need to lie or ignore the majority of Americans, then that is what they are willing to do... I just didn't expect this after having 3 caring doctors preceding the last set of surgeries I had been in need of... I can only give a statement that I could see that the doctor had too many patients and too many students under his wing...But that really means little to me, the person who was given (used as a test case) something that I never should have had done based upon my prescription requirements.
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