tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221170332024-03-14T06:05:29.179-07:00SaberpointRiding Roughshod Over the Asinine and Idiotic.Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.comBlogger4130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-62785017686152275852023-08-03T18:19:00.008-07:002023-08-03T18:26:24.046-07:00A Democrat Revolution via the Courts: Railroading Donald Trump<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Donald Trump was arraigned today on a third indictment by radical prosecutor Jack Smith. The goal of the Dems is this:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">1. Prosecute and convict Trump of crimes so that he can be jailed and made ineligible to run for president;</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">2. Drain his resources by making him pay high attorneys fees while defending himself, thus damaging his chances to be elected, in the event he is acquitted;</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">3. Harm Trump's reputation and sow doubt among voters, making them less likely to vote for him.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">4. Provide a counterweight to President Biden's coming impeachment and divert public attention away from Biden's massive corruption and incompetence.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The charges against Trump are very weak, according to some well-known legal experts like Dershowitz, so it is obvious the Dem strategy here is very corrupt and unjustified. This is the stuff of banana republics and tin hat dictators, and could spell the end of our democratic republic. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It is hard not to become enraged and depressed over this injustice. </span></p>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-50017007007136106452023-07-30T16:18:00.015-07:002023-07-31T12:29:42.629-07:00Is San Francisco Becoming a Ghost Town?<span style="font-size: large;">What happens to a once vibrant city after it is captured by the far left? In a nutshell, this:</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">1. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Crime soars and goes unpunished as police services are curtailed and defunded</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">2. Businesses close and move out due to massive shoplifting</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">3. Homelessness and joblessness grow exponentially</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">4. Streets become filled with camping tents, used drug needles, graffiti, rubbish, human excrement and the stench of urine</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">5. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Streets become dangerous for muggings, robbery and rape</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">6. Drug dealing, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">drug use and prostitution become rampant</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The following recent video shows the effects of progressive policies on the downtown business sector.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5UWIyGDnHmk" width="635" youtube-src-id="5UWIyGDnHmk"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Progressivism is anti-human and anti-civilization. It is more of a form of madness than a political philosophy.</span></div><div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-61173805667185239242023-07-27T20:29:00.004-07:002023-07-27T20:34:41.007-07:00My New Dell Solid State Laptop<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">This month I got a new Dell laptop computer. It is solid state, no hard drive, and boots up and operates very quickly, running Windows 11. I love it. It is the best computer I have ever owned, and I have owned many.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Since there is no hard drive, files that are created are stored in the Cloud, so if you are not connected to the web, you can't access them. I work around this problem with an external hard drive, i.e., a 2 Terabyte Seagate Portable Hard Drive (Cost about $69). I put all of my files on the portable hard drive, as well as in the Cloud. Eventually I will delete the files in the Cloud to make room for more.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So I am back to writing in my blogs. </span></p>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-79106571198532369892022-10-22T15:18:00.001-07:002022-10-22T15:31:20.967-07:00Tales From the Darkside<font size="4">A couple of weeks ago I watched a vlog post on YouTube by the Grimmlife Collective. These vloggers specialize in spooky stuff and horror fiction, so they did an episode on a TV series from 1983 to 1985 called “Tales From the Darkside.” I was intrigued and looked for somewhere online where I might stream the series. Alas, I couldn’t find one, so I ordered a pack of DVDs containing all three seasons, and began watching them on my laptop. </font><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Frankly, I was disappointed. Most of the stories are pretty lame. Each episode is only 22 minutes long, not counting time for commercials, and it’s hard to generate much of a plot in so short a time. Most stories start off interesting but due to time constraints seem to slap on a weird or abrupt ending to finish it. So in literary terms, there’s no denouement or epiphany. The endings are usually less than satisfying. “What?? That’s it??”</span></div><div><br></div><div><font size="4">.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-14809904480056653852022-10-22T14:28:00.001-07:002022-11-03T00:03:17.643-07:00Fall Weather in Northern California<div><font size="4" face="Arial">I’m sitting here in my backyard, just enjoying the Fall Weather. I love this time of year. The world always seems quieter in the Fall. Big white clouds are drifting by on a blue sky. Very peaceful. </font></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Next month I turn 78 years of age. My wife and I saw our doctor this past week, and were told we are both in disgustingly good health. That’s good, I suppose, but I don’t fear death. Both my brothers are gone and I have a small amount of survivor guilt. It’s hard to communicate with those on the other side. I look up at the sky and wonder “Where are you? When you’re dead, do you know you’re dead? Do you remember life in this realm?”</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></span></div><div><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size: large;"> I </span><span style="font-size: large;">suppose I’ll find the answers sooner or later.</span></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><sup><br></sup></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><sup><br></sup></font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-23145597828370972432022-07-20T11:56:00.001-07:002022-07-20T11:59:08.274-07:00Suicide: the Selfish and Cowardly Way Out (Usually)<font size="4">When I first heard about my niece’s suicide, my emotions were not of sorrow and sadness. My major emotions were disgust and anger.</font><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Shannon threw away 25 years of life that could have been spent watching her three children grow, marry and have children of their own. She made herself into a pathetic, tragic figure, losing respect in the process. In the minds of many family members and friends, she will be forever thought of as someone who had something terribly wrong with her. That’s not a great way to be remembered.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-30961447572600874852022-05-28T20:06:00.001-07:002023-07-27T20:04:35.534-07:00My Niece Commits Suicide<font size="4">My niece Shannon lies comatose in a hospital bed tonight. Today is her birthday, the last one of her life. Tomorrow they will cease life support and turn off the machines that keep her heart beating and her lungs respirating. Less than a week ago she went into the garage of her home in Santa Clara, California, stepped up on a sofa there, wrapped a curtain drawstring around her neck and stepped off.</font><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4">Minutes later, her husband Dan and eldest daughter found her hanging in the garage. They quickly cut her down and applied CPR, as did the medical alert team that quickly arrived. She was taken to the hospital where she was put on life support and tested for vital signs. After two days the doctors could find no sign of brain activity; she was in a vegetative state. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4">Shannon had been experiencing Covid 19 symptoms for several weeks, which started after she was vaccinated against the disease. She was told by her employers at San Jose State that she could not resume her teaching position until she got the booster shot. She got it and the symptoms worsened. She was in constant pain and suffering from anxiety, but her doctors said she wasn’t dying and death was not expected. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4">What drove her to commit such a terrible act? Did the vaccine cause insanity? I am no doctor and can only speculate. She leaves behind a husband, a son and two daughters, the youngest of whom will graduate from high school on June 1. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4">Shannon is 53 years old today, forever 53.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4">Update: She passed away peacefully at 12:13 Pacific time today, Sunday, May 29, 2022.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-53339964308086478772022-05-02T10:32:00.001-07:002022-05-02T10:32:36.453-07:00Reading Charles BukowskiLately there has been a few YouTube documentaries on the life and career of author Charles Bukowski. I found him intriguing so ordered three books of his works.<div><br></div><div>The first was “Post Office,” his first successful publication. The common advice to young authors is “write what you know.” Bukowski worked for the Post Office as both a mailman delivering mail and later as a clerk sorting mail in the office. His character Chinowski reprises that role in this seemingly autobiographical novel. The writing is entertaining but there is no plot per se, no denouement, no epiphany. The same is somewhat true for his novel “Pulp.” However, the latter shows some interesting flights of fancy. </div><div><br></div><div>In “Pulp" Bukowski is a private detective (named Nick) in Los Angeles. One of his clients is a beautiful woman called “Lady Death.” She is the feminine version of the Grim Reaper. She wants Nick to track down a man named Celine, who in previous decades was a buddy of Ernest Hemingway and his literary entourage in Paris. Everyone of the members of the group have long since died except for Celine, who has fled and hid and escaped death. </div><div><br></div><div>Another client claims he is being harassed by an alien from outer space, and it turns out to be true. </div><div><br></div><div>My biggest gripe about “Pulp” is its ending. It appears to be a rushed and arbitrary ending just to finish the book and get on to other things.</div><div><br></div><div>The third book I bought is a collection of Bukowski’s short stories. Some are pretty good, like “The Most Beautiful Woman In Town.” Others are crude and pointless, like “The Gut-Wringing Machine.”</div><div><br></div><div>If you like a gritty protagonist, a hard drinking, rough looking, cigar smoking and anti-social hero who gets into lots of fights but occasionally gets laid, you’ll like these figments of Bukowski’s imagination. I do so I’ll keep reading.</div><div><br></div><div>Charles Bukowski</div><div>1920 - 1994</div><div><br></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-22484018110499922402022-04-21T11:27:00.001-07:002022-04-21T11:31:14.552-07:00Resting and Refreshing<font face="Arial" size="4">The tax season has ended and I’m home trying to rejuvenate and lose this feeling of fatigue and angst. It was a brutal tax season. </font><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">The good things for today is that I have a remaining cigar, the company of my dog and cat, and it looks like rain. I like rain.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-40154789452955185092022-04-14T17:08:00.001-07:002022-04-14T17:08:13.152-07:00Rainy Weather<font face="Arial" size="4">Today the sky is filled with big dark fluffy clouds, portentous of rain. I am working on tax returns but this coming Tuesday I will be able to sit on my couch and watch YouTube videos while cuddling with my dog and cat. </font><div><br></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">I can hardly wait.</font></div><div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-82217216544815176372022-04-10T21:40:00.001-07:002022-04-11T22:50:15.833-07:00Fear of DeathWhen I was young, the fear of death bothered me a great deal. I remember taking my first business course at West Valley Junior College, when classes were still being held on the former campus of Campbell Junior High School, before it moved to a permanent campus in Saratoga, California. During a break, I stood outside the classroom drinking vending machine coffee. I was filled with horror and dread at the knowledge that I would someday die, that the world would go on without me. Traffic would still fill the streets, people would still go to work, students would still attend classes but I wouldn’t be there. <div><br></div><div>As the years passed, the dread and horror lessened and now, in old age, they have ceased completely. So many friends and family members have preceded me in death that I feel somewhat guilty at having survived them. Why am I still here? Am I being punished?</div><div><br></div><div>A subject that interests me greatly is the near death experience, a common phenomenon among those who have flatlined but still survived. A common characteristic is that the experiencers have felt enveloped in a bright light and immersed in feelings of great love, i.e., that they feel loved beyond all prior experience. They meet loved ones who died before, and are even reunited with deceased pets like dogs and cats. Most do not want to come back but are told they have no choice, that their time is not yet. </div><div><br></div><div>An original researcher into the phenomenon is Raymond Moody, whose book “Life After Life” introduced the subject to millions. Moody reported that after studying thousands of NDEs since, he finally just accepted it for what it seems, that there is an afterlife and that we survive physical death.</div><div><br></div><div>I hope so. I would like to rejoin departed friends, family and especially my dogs, in another dimension, in a better world than this. Is it true? Hope costs nothing and I will find out in not too many more years. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-45611568160691292522022-04-09T23:50:00.001-07:002022-04-09T23:50:03.104-07:00One More Week of Tax Season<font face="Arial" size="4">Only one more week of labor in the tax office. I will be glad when it’s over. </font>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-66020593984799703862022-04-03T06:06:00.001-07:002022-04-03T06:11:59.490-07:00Will Smith’s Nervous Breakdown: the Cure<font size="4">Will Smith’s pugilistic demonstration at the Academy Awards was really a nervous breakdown. The man is deeply grieving the end of his marriage, which is not so much an open marriage as an open wound. For that there is only one cure: dump the bitch. Only then can the wound begin to heal.</font><div><br></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-50260633246285394602022-04-01T08:45:00.001-07:002022-04-02T15:18:50.912-07:00Will Smith the Cuckold Husband<font face="Arial" size="4">The Real Reason Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock</font><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett, likes to have sex with other men than her husband. Will Smith says he’s okay with that but his outburst at the Oscars says something else, when he slapped Chris Rock for telling a mild joke about his wife. </font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">In my opinion, Will Smith is is very chagrined that he is not enough for his wife in bed. He alone cannot satisfy her. </font></div><div><br></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Smith’s over the top anger at the Oscars was really a frenetic attempt to assert a masculinity that he does not feel, an attempt to prove his macho bonafides to his cheating wife. </font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">If so, it didn’t work. </font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-68518188681316127462022-03-30T21:21:00.001-07:002022-03-30T21:21:36.071-07:00When Life’s Major Goals Are Complete<font face="Arial" size="4">Life seems most worth living when one has important goals to accomplish. However, when all those goals are accomplished, what further purpose is one’s life?</font><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Important life goals include:</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">1. Getting an education; graduation</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">2. Achievement of expertise or professional designation, MD, Attorney, CPA.</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">3. Establishment of a career or occupation</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">4. Finding a true love, marriage</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">5. Buying a home</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">6. Having children</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">7. Retirement</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">8. Travel</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">And other specific items for one’s “bucket list.”</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Striving for goals makes life worth living. With no goals a person becomes an object with no purpose. If you no longer have a purpose, is life worth living? </font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Maybe. If you have a good stash of cigars and a dog, then it might be worthwhile to stick around for a little longer.</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-24743360895908214602022-03-27T20:56:00.001-07:002022-03-27T20:56:55.345-07:00Another Death of a Friend: Life Sucks and Then You Die<div><font size="4">Questions About Death</font></div><font size="4"><div><font size="4"><br></font></div>When you’re my age your friends and family members die at an increasing rate. Yes, I know my own departure awaits out there within time and circumstance. This week I learned a friend since 1969 passed away from cancer, one Danny Bassler. He was younger than I am and I never thought he would die before me.</font><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">When my older brother Ted died on Aptil 5, 2019, Danny observed “He was my best friend.” Now perhaps they are reunited.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I have so many unanswerable questions about death. When you’re dead do you know you are dead? Do all of your memories and personality disappear like smoke in the wind? Does your essence somehow survive and continue on?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Also, how does your body know when to die? How does your heart know when to stop beating?</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-47396300188631920082022-03-14T11:29:00.001-07:002022-03-14T11:29:10.148-07:00Russian Trolls Infest Gettr<font face="Arial" size="4">When I first went on Gettr, a social platform similar to Twitter, I feared I would be bored. Gettr is a conservative site and there would be little in the way of debate. I was wrong.</font><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Lately there have been a number of Russian supporters there, trashing Ukraine and President Zelensky and even posting official Putin propaganda claiming the Ukrainian leaders are Nazis. I challenge them whenever I find them. </font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-9269509459379929582022-03-11T20:38:00.001-08:002022-03-11T22:17:21.867-08:00Tucker Carlson, Russia’s Advocate on Fox<font face="Arial" size="4">Tucker continued his strange defense of Russia tonight. He is aghast that we would impose economic sanctions on a “sovereign country,” i.</font><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">e., Putin’s Russia. This, even though that “sovereign country” is invading another sovereign country in a war of conquest and killing people and committing war crimes. </span><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Tucker is also upset that we have now put sanctions on Russian oil. He’s wrong about that. Those sanctions are necessary but should be offset with a great increase in American oil production</font><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"> to replace Russian oil in the market place. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Unfortunately no good solution is possible as long as the crazy Democrats control both Congress and the White House. Somehow we must struggle through until we can change the situation. </span></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-49946193329910894152022-03-08T13:35:00.001-08:002022-03-08T13:35:41.639-08:00Price of Gas Today in SF Bay Area<font face="Arial" size="4">My weekly fill up this morning cost $85.68. Regular gas was $6.00 a gallon.</font><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Last week it was $74.58. The week before that $64.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-14282717700647260682022-03-08T07:39:00.001-08:002022-03-08T07:58:49.438-08:00Tucker Carlson Blows It<font size="4">I generally like Tucker Carlson and agree with him, but last night was different. When discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine he really lost credibility with me. He seemed silly and frivolous and unserious.</font><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Basically, Tucker believes we should do nothing to help the Ukrainians survive Russia’s naked aggression. Why not? Because Ukraine “is not our ally” and their fate has no impact on whether a plumber can afford a vacation in 2022. Or something like that.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Tucker was at his worst when he made fun of Nancy Pelosi’s calling the Ukraine “Russia’s Sudetenland.” It was a “Nazi reference,” and that made Tucker laugh hysterically. But Pelosi’s comparison was spot on. Both regions were previously owned or controlled by the aggressors who believed they had a right to repossess them.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Last night Tucker acted like a jackass and lost some credibility because of it. We should do everything within reason to help the Ukrainians even if it means plumbers have to postpone their planned trips to Yellowstone. It is the humanitarian thing to do, and Putin is not likely to stop with Ukraine if his aggression is allowed to succeed. </font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-63188194342241932802022-03-07T10:35:00.001-08:002022-03-07T10:35:09.190-08:00Ugh<font face="Arial" size="4">Ugh. The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. I exult over every Russian tank destroyed, every Russian plane or helicopter that is shot down. </font><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">My far less important issue is the tax season. I’ll be glad when it’s over. Five more weeks. Then maybe I can learn to fly my drone and make videos for YouTube.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-76049300084579007422022-03-03T20:31:00.001-08:002022-03-03T20:31:29.890-08:00Troubling Times<font size="4">It is very distressing watching the evil tyrant, Vladimir Putin of Russia, invading the Ukraine, bombing and bombarding civilians and infrastructure and committing war crimes. This kind of aggression has not been seen in many years. The Ukrainians continue fighting and bravely resisting the World’s latest conquest minded thug. We can only hope the Ukrainians can continue to survive.</font><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Biden gave a State of the Union address this week, and sitting behind him was airhead Kamala Harris and slippy dentures Nancy Pelosi, the latter who had a stupid and fake smile to express her joy at having an inept moron as president. Every time Biden made some irrelevant point, the two women would stand up and applaud in transparent political theater.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">What can be done to stop Putin’s aggression? I wish we knew.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-9743722095930231392022-02-25T02:23:00.001-08:002022-02-25T02:23:36.399-08:00Putin’s Tyranny<font face="Arial" size="4">Russia has invaded the Ukraine, in a wanton act of pure tyranny and aggression. Just like in the 1930s, bad actors seek the control and dominion of other nations for purely selfish reasons. They want what others have and mean to take it by force. </font><div><font face="Arial" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="4">Putin, the leader of Russia, will go down in history as just another thuggish dictator like Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon and Abraham Lincoln. There is a nasty impulse in people that makes them want absolute control of others, and they are adamant that their desires are sacrosanct and holy. This lust for power is the ugliest of human impulses and how to control and contain it is a perpetual problem of those who seek liberty. </font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-56554693497351899922022-02-22T16:35:00.001-08:002022-02-22T16:35:43.687-08:00Eat a Frog<font size="4">Mark Twain once advised: If you have to eat a frog, do it first thing in the morning. If you have to eat two frogs, eat the biggest one first.</font><div><br></div><div><font size="4">Mark Twain was using a metaphor to describe how to handle unpleasant tasks. Take care of the worst tasks first and the rest of the day will seem nicer by comparison.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117033.post-11271841406763240432022-02-19T13:03:00.001-08:002022-02-20T12:16:07.940-08:00Meandering Thoughts<br><font size="5">Lately the weather here in Northern California shows warming tendencies. Soon my skeletal persimmon tree will break out in green buds that will later erupt into leaves.</font><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font size="5">I’ll be glad when it’s warm or even hot. I love sitting at the teak table in our backyard, presiding over our plants and flowers as I puff on a fine cigar. Maybe then I can finish Mollie Hemingway’s book “Rigged,” all about the 2020 election.</font></div>Stogiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.com0