Tag Archives: child

22

May. ’22

What About Abortion

There is one schism in the abortion issue. Is it the right of men to dictate to women on what to do with their body? Then it can be asked, is it the right of a woman to demand that another woman do or not do something to their body? Does a woman have the freedom to say what they wish to be done to their body or must they concede to what another wish? These are the questions to be asked. These are the demands a law be passed to secure those wishes be legal with a penalty for it not being done. I have been through this and, at the time, asked myself those questions. Back in the eighties, when my unmarried daughter got pregnant (she was seventeen at the time), we sat down and discussed the situation. We talked about the pros and cons but, in my mind, the final decision was hers. She decided to have the child and that was that. Her body, her decision.

               Now we are on the cusp of the overturning of Roe v Wade. Older White men want to decide what a woman legally is to do with her body whether she agree or do not agree. There are women that are fearlessly saying they want a law to stop abortions. All of these people are saying it is killing a child, a human. They are saying it does not matter if it is rape, incest, medical or whatever, it should not be done. They want the doctors and aides jailed and fined. They want a person that aided the person by telling them of a way to have the procedure done and the person that provided the transportation to have the procedure done be jailed and/or fined. There is even a bounty in several states for the information about the culprits.

               There is not a law telling men not to procreate. Some men, after they impregnate a woman, get lost and is never seen again. Some continue to procreate time and time again although they can not afford to do so. Some men say a man must impregnate a woman to say he is a man. Is this what the assembly of men and women that make the laws or the men and women that adjudicate the laws are saying?

               We knew this was coming when the Republican party stacked the judicial system with mostly unqualified (at least suspect) MEN and hinted at what would be happening with Roe v Wade. It should not be a surprise. Now, all we can do is wait for the results from the fruit of the labor from the extreme right. I wonder what would be said and done if there is a law sterilizing men.  It takes two to tango, but the woman is the one that must bear the pain and care for the child. Will the government finally step-up and provide the help that is needed for the care of the child? The right has voted down the needed help time and time again. This is only the beginning because I believe we will be fighting for and against this for many years.   

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08

May. ’22

Politics, Politics, Politics

Seems as though two things I wrote about some time ago is coming true. I am not a prophet or a fortune teller, I just call it as I see it. There are times I am wrong but this time I called it right. The news of the day is about release of the first draft of the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion. This is an unusual case and it have not happened before. All Supreme Court decisions are kept in secrecy until the final ruling.

               My thoughts on the release of the document are that it is unlawful. Whether the release is illegal enough to go to court and the guilty person spend some time in jail is for the lawyers and courts to decide. I am not a lawyer. I am a clear minded person giving my opinion about a subject that does not affect me but effects members of my family and the populace as a whole.

               I do not understand how any man can make rules on a woman’s body. They say it is not about the body, but it is about the life of a child. I read a quip from a social media post that went something like this…tie a woman’s tubes and save one child but give one man a vasectomy and save many children. Many men have concerns about alimony and payment for children. The men make the children but don’t want to pay or care for them (nor does Congress). It is fact that people that want to do away with the Roe v Wade ruling are in the minority. Then there are those that are in the minority that are there because of their political party. That is a hell of a reason. This should not be political; it should be only between the woman and her doctor.

               I said that the new makeup of the Supreme Court will have bad repercussions and the new (one is not new) people lied during vetting. They are not worthy of being on the Supreme Court and their qualifications are suspect at best. They were put on the court to do the will of a political party. That is not a separation of the three parts of the federal government.

               When everything else is said and done there is the conflict-of-interest issue. In this case I will call it ‘bedroom whispers’. When a bed partner is a hard core whatever and is for or against a particular subject and the other person is a justice that is preparing to make an important ruling on that subject, the justice should recuse themselves. I never thought this justice should have been selected for the Supreme Court.  However, politics stood in the way of a more qualified, honest person.

               Politics have messed up quite a few things and it is not finished yet. I believe this is only the beginning. I have mentioned before that the book ‘The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire’ shows what is happening here. All great nations have risen and fell and so will we. We are slowly on our way out and this fight at the Supreme Court, with its political influence, is only the beginning. I am afraid we cannot stop it.

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03

Oct. ’21

True History Is Not Pretty

There have been a lot of fuss about teaching history in school. In particular, what is taught about history. I agree with only one thing in history and that is some, if told correctly and factually, will be too sensitive for very young children. However, the rest of us, child and adult, does not really know the bare bones of factual history.

               History have been distorted for hundreds of years and, today, it is still happening. For instance, I am presently halfway into reading “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead, who won a Pulitzer Prize. It is a fictional novel because the people names are fictional, but the story is one of many like it. It is a story that is not in history books and probably will never be.

               Remember, I have only read about a half of the book, so far, and many parts I remember being told to me when I was a child, even the sensitive parts. As kids, we had to know what was out there against us. Like it has been for thousands of years, what took place years ago is passed on orally. This is still done in many parts of the world today, however, many young people do not want to hear it or call it a bunch of bullxxxx. It is said that those that do not study history is doomed to repeat the same mistakes (another say is ‘doomed to failure’).

               In the start of the book, that I mentioned, it starts by telling what the slaves on this plantation were doing and how they were treated, in gruesome detail. This is factual and young children cannot deal with the descriptions without having nightmares or worst. Regardless of what have previously been told, being a slave was a nightmare. Besides the labor, all sorts of atrocities were meted upon the slaves. This certainly would not be in a history book. Much of the atrocities are too egregious for young people to hear. At the time of these things happening, the young children had to be taught what to do, say, and act to keep them as safe as possible. Most of the time it did not make a difference. It happened anyway.

               Situations of this sort not only happened to American slaves but some of it happened to American Indians and others around the world, especially if they were dark skinned. History books do not properly portray Egypt as it should because most of what is written distort the truth and the truth is seldom pretty. Even the truth about Ireland is distorted, including the surrounding areas.

               A few days ago, I saw a picture of a Woolworth store in Facebook and the question was does anyone remember the store. If you remembered the store, it showed how old you were. I remember it for a different reason. I grew up during segregation and I participated in sit-ins and peace marches. Only part of the truth is mentioned in the history books. Most of the full stories are never told. Only the glorious portions are ever told and just a tiny portion of the bad.

               Many people say that was then and this is now. I say, just a few years ago a man in Texas was dragged behind a car with a rope tied around him until there was only a very small piece of him left. That is now, history is now, true history should be taught but with caution to the child’s age. Again, history is not pretty but we are attempting to teach something that is beautiful.

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22

Nov. ’20

Temper Tantrum

How many times have you witnessed a child throwing a temper tantrum? Almost impossible to abate, is it not? As I see it the same thing is happening with Trump. He cannot have his way, so he is in a destroying mood. He has had his way from the day he was born and, as an old man, he cannot change now. For the short time he has left in office he wants to and can do much damage and make things exceedingly difficult if not impossible for the elected administration to correct.

               My main fear is he may intentionally or inadvertently start a war (something he twice wanted to do a short while ago). He and his enablers, including the Senate and the Republican party, are trying everything in their power to disrupt, not only the smooth transfer of power, but anything the Democratic administration need to get done. They not only will not certify the new cabinet, allow incoming briefings, nor have office space. They were not treated this way nor have anyone been treated this way.

               Then there are the frivolous lawsuits concerning the election, the ballots, the ballot counting, and the result. So far only one out of fifteen lawsuits have been won and that was a tiny win that did not amount to anything. Then there is the South Carolina Senator poking his nose in the Georgia election. If he lived in Georgia that would be okay, but he lives in another state.

               I can not leave out the Senate majority leader that have publicly said he will block everything the incoming administration tries to do no matter what it is. He did this to the Obama administration and now he wants to do it again. He has many bills sitting on his desk that he will not allow action to be taken and one of them is the stimulus bill. It seems he want to pack the courts with as many Republican federal judges as he can, therefore, each day, on the Senate floor there is only voting on certifying judges.

               Mixed in this is the temper tantrum man playing golf instead of trying to get this pandemic under control. All that I hear from him is the untrue accusation that the election was rigged, and he won the election. He knows he lost but, like a child throwing a tantrum, he can not accept this and want it his way. Putting him into time our will not work because his mental state could not handle it. Therefore, he pouts, sit, and do nothing. He will not do his job. He is still saying things to get his enablers to act. When his enablers are stopped, he has another tantrum. He has his agenda, and it is not to help us. His agenda is to help him and only him.

               Being an ex-president will expose him to many lawsuits because he will then be a private citizen. When the lawsuits are levied the temper tantrums will increase beyond what we have seen. During the tantrum, he will do anything and everything. The child is still kicking and screaming. He will not stop.

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20

Jun. ’20

I Could Be Next

I never think about racist people because, all my life, in every facet of my life, they were always there. Sometimes overtly but most times covertly, always there. It is impossible for White people to understand living through constantly watching your back, looking over your shoulder all your life, knowing they are always there. Literally. In fact, before I reached my teenage years, it was natural to be forever on guard for the comment, subtle action, where I am always, escape routes, and other things White people never have to consider as a life mechanism for protection.
As a child, as far back as I can remember, I was taught how to act, what to say and not say, around White people. I was especially taught to be on watch for the police and, as a child, I have seen the aggressive actions police have toward Black people. I learned that what a White person does and say is always right and a Black person is considered wrong while doing or saying the same exact thing.
It was drilled into my head many times that as a Black person, applying for a job, would have to know two or three times as much, be much better at, if not perfect, and present a better dress and attitude to even be considered than a White person. I remember my first real job where I did almost everything there was to do on the job except, I could not touch the cash register, I had to wait for a White clerk to receive the payment. I still remember some of the rude remarks made to me or about me when all I was doing was my job, silently. A White person would never bear that nor understand that. To the Black people, I was a big successful person because I was the only Black person working in an all-White store.
While in the military I endured, over and over, many rude comments, missed promotions, uncalled for actions but I made it to retirement. I was told, to my face (after the Bill of Rights was passed), that I could not be in a particular corps of military duty because I was Black, it took me three years to finally make it into the outfit and another four years to be its leader. However, I had to endure many, upon many racist attacks. I constantly watched my back and trusted no one at all.
Upon retiring from the military, I joined the police force and immediately met racism that was everywhere within the force. I have seen racist actions, heard racist comments and endured every type of racism there is. Who could I turn to? What could I do? Who could I trust? No one. If I did or said anything I could be like my cousin, the first Black policeman of the same force years ago, setup and killed.
Yes, I have been around it and have seen it all my life and the marching today are echoes of when I marched in the ‘60s. In my blogs, this one and http://www.faithingodministries.net, I often have said that history repeats itself with the only difference being the date. Blacks have died for thousands of years (it goes back to before the Pyramids) because of racism and it is not over yet. Although I would like to see the end of it all, I won’t hold my breathe. I have lived a full and interesting life and, today, I still watch my back. I am still very, very careful. I could be next. I could be stopped by the police for anything at all. I could be erroneously accused by a White person and be killed for being Black. I am in my 70s and I could be next.

 

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28

Apr. ’19

School Problems

I have heard the numerous candidates for President of the United States concerning our schools. I have heard and seen what the present administration is doing for our schools. Depending on the locality, parental and community income and federal help, shows the condition of the buildings and study material used in that school system.

I saw an article on Facebook (re-posted by a friend) that made me think about my childhood schooling. Paraphrasing, the article talked about children going to school with shoes that cost more than the teacher’s clothing, but the children does not have enough money to buy notebooks to help themselves in classwork. The children will pitch a fit for not having a two-hundred-dollar pair of shoes for school but do not worry about getting a two dollar note book for a class.

When I was in school, I seldom had new clothes for school, but I did have the necessary material that made learning easier. Getting class material was the priority. Most of my classmates were in the same boat, but we learned and did not fret. No, I do not come from rural America. I come from the city and never, if ever, thought about what I wore. I remember, all I thought about is learning for the upcoming tests and whether I studied hard enough.

Money is spent for ultra-modern schools, décor for the campuses, and not so much on the learning. Today, most children think about socializing and dress. I remember bringing home, each day, all my school books because I had homework to do for each class. After at home chores, I had hours of homework, including weekends. I had pop quizzes on, not only what is learned in class that day, but what was learned a while ago. That is not done today, so I am told.

My parents made sure I was prepared and enforced it. They did not condone skipping school, acting up in class, bringing home anything less than above average nor did they condone not bringing home my books and not doing my homework. They encouraged doing more than is required and attended all parent-teacher conferences to see that I was doing the schoolwork and my deportment.

The teacher was always right unless proven, without a doubt, they were out of order. Today, the child seems to be the adult and must be given what they want, and they are the ones that are right. It seems the child knows what is better for themselves. If they know as much as they think they do, maybe they should be the teacher. Maybe they should get a job and get their own two-hundred-dollar shoes, or pants, or dress, etc. Maybe they should be their own keeper and we, as adults, sit back and relax.

Yes, I agree the school system need more and better schools. But, at the same time, parents need to control their children, teach their children values at home and the children need to learn much more and socialize less. Too many things have been dummied down to satisfy the child. In some homes, it seems as though the child rules. Nothing in this world is given freely or easily. It takes a long time in continuous learning and then it takes a little more. I learn something new almost every day and I am an old man. I don’t know everything and there is always someone that know more than I. These are just my thoughts on the subject. I guess I am old fashion and need to (as I am told) come into the twenty-first century. If so, we will always have a school-teacher-child problem.

 

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31

Mar. ’19

Training

Life is rough. A child must learn from a strong hand guiding, pushing, and disciplining. This is for a child to acquire the attitude of an upstanding person. Likewise, I have written in my other blog (www.faithingodministries.net) about leading a good life for God. Leading a good, upstanding life is not easy, to begin with, but it gets easier as time goes by, mature guidance.

While serving in the military, I became the kennelmaster and had many talks with my men. I have told them, many times, that you train your dog as you train your child and train your child as you train your dog. They both learn by repetition and discipline. I trained many dogs that way and I reared my child that way. I was never sorry I did it that way. All my dogs, military and civilian, were well trained and loved me. My child, a girl, and I was very, very close although she felt the reality of corporal punishment.

In today’s time, there are so called animal experts that do not want anything that resemble a cruel act toward the animal. No corporal punishment. There are agencies and courts, that frown upon any type of a hitting discipline. Of course, there are people that go overboard. They can not control what they are doing, or they do not know any better. I will put them in another category. I want to speak about normality.

Let me start with the dog first. Not wild dogs but the domesticated dog. There is a difference. My dogs all wore the choke chain, coupled with voice commands. This was for control and discipline. There is a right way and a wrong way to place the chain around the dog’s neck. I have been to many vet offices and civilian kennels that didn’t know the correct way. When the choke chain is on wrong, a tightening on the chain will leave it that way when the tightening is released and continue to choke the dog. When it is placed correctly, the chain loosens when pressure is released. The dog is only choked momentarily. The dog is not injured. The dog is disciplined. The dog learns that when it does a certain thing or does not listen, it will be disciplined.

The child learns the same way. Not with a choke chain but minor hitting and your voice. The child, as will the dog, will do as much as it can safely get away with. They will attempt to control you to do what they desire. These are the ones that grow-up out of control and on the fast slide to be incarcerated. Most of the time it is too late for correction, they hardened when they are incarcerated.

As a police officer, I have seen these kids acting out with their parents present. Cussing and striking their parent or parents. The child is told they will be punished, and the child will tell the parent that they can’t make them do something or they refuse to do something, or they threaten to call social services, etc. I love kids. I don’t like a child that is disobedient and out of control. Society caused this, for the child and the dog. I have known people to call animal control because someone jerked the leash of a dog. In today’s society, the dog cannot be corrected, and neither can the child.

I only touched lightly on this subject. However, all I want you to do is think about it objectively. I do not know a kid from my era that did not get whippings (that is what we called them), and no one have suffered because of it, and neither are we incarcerated. I have trained many dogs and have used rough treatment at times. The dogs are fine. They have learned and obey instantly. Bottomline, train your dog as you would your kid. Train your kid as you would your dog. Being soft and being on the same level as the child or dog is not the way.

 

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11

Nov. ’18

Young People And Education

As usual, my wife and I went on another trip (casino/horseracing), this time to Hollywood Casino in Charlestown, West Virginia. We drove from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Imperial Plaza Senior Living in Richmond, Virginia. I ate breakfast with some old friends, went around the place greeting other old friends. We boarded a bus with the group that was going to the casino and had a pleasant trip. We stayed overnight because horseracing is always in the evening, and that was a lot of fun. We returned before the rain hit and got a hotel room in Richmond.

That same evening, we had a birthday celebration at Outback and had a good time being with a daughter, her husband and three daughters. The food and shenanigans were good which made me really miss seeing them as often as we used to. After saying our goodbyes, we went back to the hotel and I started reading messages on my pad.

The more I read the various messages, the more my mind kept straying to the English language structure and what I was reading. It seems that young people think it is so hip, cool or in fashion to misspell and/or butcher the English language. It is now natural to write in a bad way or to shorten a sentence or word. It is funny to them to write in such a way as it makes a normal person (senior citizen) cringe.

I know cursive writing is not taught in school these days. I’ve been retired from employment for a while and I wonder what employers think about this or are they making amends? I also wonder about banking; are banks making amends? What about misspelled words in the work place (ex: ‘your’ instead of you’re’)? In government as a whole? I remember, when I was in school, a child was graded on penmanship. Not anymore, I guess.

Today, young people write as if they are texting and must minimize the number of letters that are used in a message. Then, after all is said and done, it is a habit as well as ‘cute’, make them stand out among their peers. A few young people have tried to quantify the usage of such writing and have even suggested I should do it because it the way it is done now. I can not see myself putting a ‘z’ in place of ‘s’ or writing shorthand for words.

My own personal thoughts; the USA educational system is going to hell in a handbasket. I have asked college students common, easy questions and can not get an answer because they do not know. They have no idea what I am talking about. Something I knew in high school years ago. I have talked to high schoolers about things I knew in elementary school, they had no idea what I was talking about.

We, as Americans, supposed to have or want to have the best education system among all nations yet we are under-educating our children and putting up with the bad habits that they show. Why? What is the reasoning? Some say that they must try things on their own and become adults. They can not become adults and know right from wrong if they are never taught the right way and the continuous bad way is tolerated. We as older adults and the teachers and the educational system are doing our kids, our future, an injustice. Many other nations are not surpassing our system, they have surpassed our system. Our young people have been dummied down and will stay that way because I do not see any plans to change this.

 

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