DJT

Donald John Trump has lost his bid for reelection and now he wanders from room to room pondering his fate. His team files meaningless suits to try and change the results. Nothing is working. The team efforts are futile. The work to fight the pandemic and salvage the economy is neglected. What could he do?
He could sit in the oval office and refuse to leave like a bratty kid. Could men in uniform carry him out of the Whitehouse? Maybe under dark of night.
He could attempt a military coup. He has experimented with activating (uninvited, unwelcome) the National Guard, and has talked of bringing home 2500 battle ready troops. He has millions in the NRA militia, some of whom would follow him. Our Constitution would be stomped into the mud. Trump seems to admire the political system of Putin, Xi, and Kim where he could be president for as many terms as he wanted. Where he could make his own rules and laws.
He could try to bribe or coerce some poll workers to change the election results so that he would win. That one is currently in the works. He is currently exploring the idea of pardoning himself and his family from current misdeeds and crimes yet to be committed. If he has done nothing wrong, why does he need a pardon?
I am not a slave of any political party. My political decisions are based on what I believe to be fair to all, one person – one vote, no bias. Based on the constitution with all people participating. Not always agreeing but willing to work for compromise.
Some points to consider:
Trump personally owes half a billion dollars. As long as he is President, he is protected from his creditors.
He also has some legal charges or civil suits against him from which his office protects him. Motivation to stay in office?
Other nations look to us for leadership and support. Is the lack of moral truth the image we want the rest of the world to see and believe for the United States of America?
Our common enemy now and for months to come is the Coronavirus. If we control or limit this disease, the economy will follow.
Trump hopes one of his suits will get his question of the election before the Supreme Court where his three appointees owe him a vote in his favor.

Science

When we talk about treatment of a disease such as Covid-19 we base our studies on science. Some people say we can’t trust science because they keep changing their mind. But finding the answer involves some trial and error.
Think back to ninth grade science when you learned the scientific method. All the science guys use it.
Remember Thomas Edison? He tried 999 different designs for the light bulb before finding one that worked. A lot of failures you say? Well, flip the wall switch and see what happens. He used the scientific method on each one. This is an organized method of finding truth.
The Scientific Method
1. The question – what are you trying to discover.
2. Hypothesis – the design and prediction of results of the solution.
3. Testing the hypothesis – doing the experiment.
4. Analysis – observation of results
5. Share results and invite other scientists to duplicate the experiment to seek similar results.
6. Go back to 1.
After many trials we may develop a theory based on what we know so far, understanding that our theory will change many times with many challenges before being accepted as law. Laws rarely change and are said to be facts (Law of gravity, etc.)

[ 2 ]
A virus is not a complete organism. It cannot “live” on its own, cannot replicate or feed itself. To complete its life it must find a host cell and insert itself into the mRNA of that cell so that the virus is in control. The cell becomes non-functional and is infected. The virus gets nutrients, resources and the rest of the RNA chain.
The Corona virus likes nice, soft, moist respiratory cells that it can easily insert itself into. From there, its offspring can travel to other parts of the body.
The moist respiratory particles can travel in air currents (usually 6 to 8 feet) and can carry many viruses. The simplest way to protect ourselves is to keep the virus from travelling person to person. One way is to stay away from infected people. It is difficult to tell who they are. It would be easier if we had some type of fence or stop sign to keep them out of our respiratory system, but they rarely read signs and they are small enough to pass through most fences. If only….
Fortunately we have developed a fence capable of blocking even the virus. To work it must fit properly against your face, and cover both mouth and nose. Wearing it on your chin does not work. Properly worn it keeps the virus either in or out.
Theories concerning the behavior of the virus are changing (improving) daily. People sometimes say “Oh, the doctors keep changing their minds. Look back at the scientific method and you will see they are merely enhancing their knowledge base. As we learn more about the behavior of the virus we tweak the methods of fighting it. We are following the same course in developing a vaccine.

[ 3 ]
A herd immunity happens when a population has enough individuals immune to a disease that it effectively “disappears” The disease agent is still present but there are not enough susceptible people to spread the disease from person-to-person. By the year 2000, no cases of measles were being reported in the US. In 2019, because less children were being vaccinated, people bringing the disease from abroad caused a new outbreak. Because of fewer vaccinations we had lost the herd immunity. When a vaccine is available, the scientific key to defeating the virus will be in vaccinating 90 to 95 percent of our population. If not enough people are vaccinated, we will continue to have new outbreaks for many years to come.

Games

No, Don John, Sleepy Joe can’t
come out to play. Some people
made a horrendous mess of our
house – bluebird droppings on the
furniture, shredded facemasks
scattered all over, diet Cokes
spilled into the carpet – like
some ginormous party.

No, Don John, ‘Mala can stay,
she is helping Joe. They got lots
of work to do. People are sick or
don’t got a job or not enough PPE
or testing or doctors and nurses or
intensive care rooms.

I think you’ve worn out your welcome
here so it’s time for you to go back
to Florida. Go on now.

Global Warming

Lots of discussion these days about what we mean by the term. Arguments and maybe battles over how such a thing might affect us and who caused the change are being waged.

There are those who, during a winter storm will stick a thermometer into the air and say “not warmer yet.”

That is why I don’t like the term “global warming.” I prefer something more descriptive, such as global energy gain.

If we consider the average world desk globe, say 16 inches in diameter, our breathable atmosphere could be represented in thickness by thin tissue paper and mountains by a tiny grain of sand. That atmosphere is where we live. The only place we can find a tolerable temperature and harvest energy. A place we can find water in all three states. It is also the place all meteorological events occur.

Along about this time you are probably asking “well, is he fer it or again’ it?” What I think doesn’t matter. What is important is that we arm ourselves with the facts. When we talk about solar energy gain, we are NOT talking about the temperature of the air we breathe, our atmosphere. We are talking the total kinetic energy in the effective surface of the earth. In other words, the interface of surface and atmosphere.

You will remember from your ninth-grade science class that all particles (atoms, molecules) are in constant motion with respect to each other, and the measure of average kinetic energy (motion energy) is called temperature. Also, since they are constantly running into each other, the faster the particles move, the farther apart they become (expansion.)

As water molecules gain energy they move farther apart and take up more space. This is not an opinion, but a fact we must live with. Ask the people of Miami. They are now experiencing street flooding at high tide as water flows backwards from the Atlantic through storm sewers. In other areas of the world, people are being moved out of houses which must be rebuilt on higher ground.

Most of the earth’s surface is covered by water and water is about seven times more efficient in absorbing and storing energy as air. Remember that energy is not created nor destroyed (except in nuclear reactions) but can be converted from one form to another. Energy always flows from greater to lesser (downhill.)

When you see a tropical depression form off the west coast of Africa, it gains strength as it travels over water, especially over the Gulf Stream. This current brings warmer water to the surface, primarily near the Gulf of Mexico.

Two factors vital to the strength of hurricanes are moisture and energy. Plenty of  these over open water and hurricanes are gaining strength each year. But whatever kind of storms, even winter storms, they all take energy from global energy sources.

Great Day

Great Day

Last Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I went to a local supermarket to get a few last-minute items. We always seem to forget something in our main food purchases. The parking lot was filled to overflowing and I had to hunt for a spot.

As I walked the aisles, list in hand, I found lines of shopping carts end-to-end plus stockers trying to replace items on empty shelves. This would not be a quick trip.

I marked my list, interrupted occasionally by a near collision, and the challenge began to take on a dream-like quality. I saw no frowns. Stockers cheerfully rose from their shelves to help customers find what they needed. Smiles acknowledged the call for teamwork and everyone played fair.

The lines were long, but checkout was efficiently and joyfully done. As I worked my way across the parking lot, I looked back toward the storefront to see if the appearance had changed into something more Disney-esque.

At this point in the story I could pull the old gag “And then I woke from my dream.” But this is the way it really happened. Almost a week later my mind goes back to that magical hour when people realized the situation and decided to go with the holiday spirit, respectfully working together to make the best of it.

 

A quote from Teddy Roosevelt

“At many stages in the advance of humanity, this conflict between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess is the central condition of progress.”

Meltdown

                        We can stop gun violence when more people have guns…Wayne LaPierre

                        Texans should have open carry permits…Rick Perry

Saturday movie night in

a Texas theater

“Star Wars”

I hear a shot, see a man

in the aisle, aiming a Glock

take him down with mine

feel a bullet slap my shoulder

another shatters the wall beside me

gunshots flare like popcorn

muzzles flash like fireworks

then it stops

nineteen killed, thirty injured

only one knows

who fired the first shot

Debts

I am far behind
on my opportunities to use
those three words
so often thought, infrequently heard

I find myself wishing
for one more hour
with my parents

wishing I could go back with
my kids back to a younger age
to make up the deficit there

to listen a few moments to a friend
when I didn’t have the time

and my wife to whom
I can never say enough
I love you

Thankful

The yard looked stunning yesterday.

When I finished mowing,

I trimmed round the roses,

headed the geraniums,

and walked to the street to look back on my work.

The house, as grey as

springtime fog,

with sage green shutters

was trimmed in gold by the brush of afternoon sun;

all now just a memory.

My yard is there, somewhere

beneath a pile of

cars, shingles, fence posts,

the house an open dance floor,

no orchestra in sight.

Perched like a giant bird

in the stub of a tree,

my refrigerator still holds yesterday’s leftovers

and eggs for today’s breakfast,

forever scrambled.

From a shredded branch of a magnolia tree

a mockingbird sings his joy:

for the bright sunshine,

for living another day.

I nod and sigh,

and a hesitant smile swells from deep within me

as I must,

in spite of everything,

join his celebration.

Infamy

For our fallen military – Veterans Day

Fair Sunday morning

port of pearls

a child draped within mother’s arms—

battleship quays strung and fastened

swarms of flies disturb        awaken

a sleeping force gathers itself

to swat them away

fighter planes perched tip to tip

flightless, fall easy prey

Arizona, hit by piercing flare

ripped, gutted by stowed magazine

settles to her watery bed

as hundreds float stillborn within

Desperate dancers

search for space between bullets

a twisting, arching ballet

to tympani fortissimo, staccato snare

hot bite of shrapnel in treble screams

between oil and flames

a human log jam crowds the sea

with glass eyes and waxy fingers

wayward toe

torn lip that last kissed mother goodbye

others lie on stretchers

awaiting trial by triage

Uncle Roy’s dreams                Billy’s future             generations dissolved

suspended by marriage of powder and steel

in frothy, bleeding brine