Lying King

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“It is harder to crack prejudice than an atom.”
Albert Einstein

Lying King

 

How apropos that Saturday evening, I happen to watch a Star Trek episode aired on January 10, 1969, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”. It has a culturally relevant plot, reflecting the conflicts of its era, touching upon social issues such as racism, the Vietnam War and the threat of nuclear annihilation. Some things never change in this country.

We are living in unprecedented times in the history of America. Not only because of the pandemic but because of our current President. We have a President that is morally bankrupt, blatantly lies, prejudice, hateful and is self-serving as well as unapathetic. We already knew these personally traits of Trump before he was elected.

Our founding fathers laid down the beginning rules and shapes of the American government. They started it all. They were intelligent men who used what they had to create a nation that has become big and powerful and influential in the world until now.

The United States may have been founded on the idea that all men are created equal, but during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, slaveholding was common among the statesmen who served as president. At least 12 chief executives, over a quarter of all our presidents, were slave owners during their lifetimes. Of these, eight held enslaved people while in office.

At this particular moment, the most-watched show in America is a seven-part documentary series on Netflix, Tiger King. This says a great deal about the people of this country.

I’m proud to say I have not watched Tiger King. What I’ve heard about this show is, there’s something undeniably Trumpian about Joe Exotic, a televised carnival sideshow. It’s said that there are similarities between Trump and Exotic, including the fact that both appear to be crazy, make everything about themselves, and they see conspiracy theories everywhere. Joe Exotic loves portraying himself as an expert in his field, when the truth is, he has no idea what he’s talking about. He’s just winging it. Which, uh, again, should feel very familiar.

As I watched the riots, looting and violence unfold on every news channel this weekend, I couldn’t help but think how sad that our society is mirroring Trump and how backward this country is going. Lack of respect for people and lack of empathy is destroying this country. This nation began with hate, prejudice and lack of empathy towards its Native people when Columbus arrived here in August of 1492. Most likely, our country will end without any end to rampant racism.

When it comes to racism, we have made little progress in the last 528 years. While we did abolish slavery and gave rights to women, we have done little to abolish racism. We did elect a black president for not only one but two terms. However, during Obama’s presidency, hatred and lies were spread by Trump and his minions about Obama and his questionable US citizenship. Trump recently spread lies about Obama and his responsibility for our current pandemic. Trump and his allies have added a new dimension to his deceptions, the conspiracy theory known as, Obamagate.

What new deceits and lies will we hear in the coming weeks after the George Floyd riots from this lying king?

Shine On

The Beach After Quarantine

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“We have been endowed with just enough intelligence
to be able to see clearly just how utterly inadequate
that intelligence is when confronted with what exists.
If this humility could be imparted to everybody,
the world of human endeavors
would become more appealing.”
Albert Einstein

RB After Quarantine Lifted

Shine On

Lady Liberty

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“Those who stand for nothing,
fall for anything.”
Alexander Hamilton

Lady Liberty

Edward Moran’s painting of the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886

Standing tall in New York harbor, the Statue of Liberty can only be viewed from a distance right now. However, last summer, architect Paul Davidson spent ten nights inside of the Statue of Liberty. During the hours when it wasn’t packed full of tourists, he and his team carried out a first-of-its-kind laser scan, capturing the statue’s interior. They’ve been documenting the statue as part of the National Park Service’s Historic American Buildings Survey. The new virtual tour is just part of the project. This scan will serve as a high-tech, three-dimensional blueprint for everything from research to reconstruction – if anything ever should happen to the statue.

The biggest challenge for surveying the statue is the fact that it is never still; “it’s constantly moving in the wind,” he said. “And when you’re surveying, you want it to be static. But, when we were in that torch, the wind was probably five or ten miles an hour. It was swaying, about three or four inches. It was kind of like being on a boat.”

Most people don’t know that the statue was meant to sway. Its flexible support system was designed by French architect Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. Perhaps you’ve heard of his tower in Paris. When “Liberty Enlightening the World” was dedicated on October 28, 1886, it was the highest structure in all of New York City – a triumph of engineering, and an instant international icon.

For all those who can’t visit in person, you can now explore the statue online like never before. To experience this virtual tour, featuring every nook-and-cranny of the statue’s interior, including areas traditionally off-limits to visitors of Lady Liberty, go to:

https://www.nps.gov/hdp/exhibits/stli/stli_tour.html

Shine On

Lip Service

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“May we think of freedom,
not as the right to do as we please,
but as the opportunity
to do what is right.”

Peter Marshall

 

Lip Service

 

Today is Memorial Day. Celebrated to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. First known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

Did you know, that as of today, only 13,289 veterans have been tested for the Coronavirus and out of those tested, there are 1,129 known deaths? That’s almost a 9% mortality rate. A rate which is most likely higher due to the fact that currently, the VA has no exact number of how many veterans have died from the Coronavirus. Some 25 or more states are not even counting veteran deaths from the Coronavirus.

These veteran deaths are only deaths reported in VA hospitals not veterans who died at home, on our streets from homelessness or in civilian hospitals. To put this into perspective, just one State run veteran facility in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a 247-bed facility, 88 veterans have died. The majority of veterans dying are over the age of 65. Their living conditions are poor and many veterans have preexisting conditions such as respiratory diseases as well as conditions caused by exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

With the lack of accuracy about the veteran deaths from Coronavirus, and the amount of deaths happening, my question is, where is the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilke and President Trump? Why are they not addressing this problem?

It breaks my heart to hear once again, we are letting down the people who are supposed to matter most. There’s just no excuse for us treating them the worst, when they have given us the most.

As our politicians and White House officials show their celebration for this national holiday and tell all our veterans, “thank you for your service “, in my opinion, they’re just offering nothing more than lip service.

Shine  On