truth

Nuance Revisited

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I often write about things and try to add an anecdote to illustrate what is being written. Sadly, my aging memory is like the rest of us seniors: remembering anecdotes takes time, and their memory comes at odd times and places. They most often return to me in my car during the 15-minute drive to the Fitness Center at Turning Stone Resort and Casino, when “all hands are on deck” making sure there is no deer in the road and I stay between the lines. Yes, I could take the time to make audio notes, but how many of us–at any age–are so smart early in the morning?

Last Tuesday, a perfect case of “Nuance” was retrieved from The Deep Files*. It is also an example of other essays about critical thinking, as well as the admonition to “do your own research”.  Hopefully, you’ve read enough essays to be aware of all these issues.

The Case of the Absent Nuance is also a story about click-bait, silo information, and “new versus old journalism”, but for now let’s only ponder Nuance.

The breathless headlines stated variations of this theme: “Thousands of dead voters Found on Voter Registration Rolls.” Wow. Maybe Trump was right about election integrity? There really is Election Fraud? Several versions of the story did not get the facts wrong and did not seem to be biased, but there was an odd emptiness to the story crying out for more information. “Dead voters”?

North Carolina is the state where all this “seemingly” unreasonable electoral action “allowed” 34,000 dead voters to remain registered to vote. I lived in NC, a Republican controlled state, and know if there IS election fraud in NC it is by Republicans. (Google it, and enjoy, it’s old school and kind of cute, in a way.) But the actual cases of fraud in NC did not involve more than hundreds of votes. Was the fraud even deeper than reported?

By now you may have guessed the story of dead voters is an empty, inconsequential issue probably written about for its “click bait” power. Imagine both Dem and Repub readers wondering which party was “frauding”** now.  Imagine the clickers, commenters, and criticizers of all stripes.***

Here is the nuance: in any given year approximately 100, 000 North Carolinians die. A lot of them are registered voters. How do dead registered voter names get removed from current voter registration rolls? And does it happen in a timely fashion? Think of your own death: who notifies any election commission in any state of your death? Imagine if you lived half your voting life in NC and half in New York, for example. After googling how many died in NC, I googled how is the NC Election Commission notified of a now-dead, registered NC voter? You should google your own state and see if its procedures are any better than the Rube Goldberg****system in NC.

Is it a fact that 34,000 deceased voters are still registered to vote in NC? Yes, it is. But is it good journalism to call them “voters”? So far, no version of the story has articulated a very important “nuance”: did any of the 34,000 cast a vote? If so, how did they get to the polling place?

Kidding. Having dead voters on your voting rolls is a nonissue until we all get implanted microchips to send an immediate signal to the pertinent Election Commission not to expect us next voting cycle. The Chip could also tell our credit card companies to stop waiting for payment and our life insurance companies to send checks to beneficiaries seconds after we pass away.

There is an urge to ask this: Does a bear shite in the woods?

If it’s related to this essay, research it and figure it out.

Honor Nuance!

*The inner-sanctum memory area in some Latin-named part of another Latin-named part of the brain. Retrieving memories in old age is like being in a large warehouse where you know where everything is but someone has turned off all the lights. Advice: be patient.

**New word. Like it?

***Not lost on me is the irony of me being one of “them”.

****A lost Art. Ai or google, please.

Another Amusing Thing About Old Age?

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As if physical decline (PD) wasn’t enough by itself, there is mental decline (MD) to worry about as a bonus for living longer. A strange oddity about MD is how does one observe said decline if one is the victim of said decline? Aching knees and joints are positive (WTF! Positive??) indicators of PD both my inner voice (IV) and outer voice (OV) easily recognize and process. Neither IV or OV is happy about it, but knowledge is power, and uncertainty is emotionally crippling. So when it comes to MD who will be the canary in the coalmine, IV or OV? Those two are already debating the issue in internal memos and hints of MD are leaking out through OV. IV has noticed lately, memories recounted by OV are being…embellished. Not outright fabricated stories but as IV searches the files it is finding inconsistencies in the tales OV is passing off as historical fact.

There are several memories (about five) from my past which are important milestones, or “forks in the road” for life as it unfolded. The memories used to be accurate recollections of times when life could have gone either way or at least changed direction. OV has retold those stories for years without inner turmoil or even discussion. The recollections were part of the story line of my life, with each recollection supporting each decision made and subsequent, related actions taken. Each story had its flaws, and its revealing moments where I might not have looked my best, despite persevering, and moving on with life.

But many times, in the last 34 months, as the stories have been recounted for medical professionals, new friends, or old friend wanting to know more, IV has raised its hand and suggested “That ain’t the way it happened.” For example, I’ve always told the story of a young, long-haired, hippy, radical Colgate freshman being escorted out a rural bar at the end of a shotgun. The listener is left free to assume a political or societal issue related to a liberal hippy in rural America. But here is what IV says: it was a drug deal gone bad, and I’d stepped on the toes of a local dealer running his operation out of the establishment in question. IV correctly points out I was a common criminal not a rebellious, anti-war icon. My power as an umpire over OV and IV is questionable, but there is no reason to believe IV wrong, as IV’s version of events paints a negative picture of the hero OV must want me to be.

But the real important issue is two pronged: 1. When did the story change? All of my internal voices knew the exact truth in November 1970, so when—and how—did the story change? And 2. How many of those “very important” memories have been infected with the “Need To Make It Better Virus? (NTBV). And is there a cure for NTBV and its possible variants?

My first hope is OV, IV and me are normal issues and the upgrading (upselling?) of memories is a normal function suffered by all who age gracefully. In other words, my extremely agile mind-group has found a way to get me to believe I’m not only normal, but also special for noticing it.

And I am heroic, as well, for talking about it in this open space.

Okay. To summarize…I may have some personality issues needing therapy and it is not heroic to note that, it is good, common sense.

But what if all of this is woke mumbo jumbo. What if IV is wrong? What if OV HAS been right all these years? What if…

All I know, now, is I wish God made easier signposts for MD. We need them.

It’s My Fault, It Has To Be

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I’ve spent a good part of this afternoon “chatting”, talking, and inventing new words to help in talking with customer service reps both human and Ai. Ai is starting to be as disappointing as humans. Twice Ai warned me. Once a disclaimer at the bottom of a search result: “Gemini can make mistakes, so double-check it.” The second time, on a phone call it said “You are speaking to an Ai generated agent and my information may not be precise or accurate.” Guess how I responded. There are two unopened bars of 100% pure Ivory Hand soap in my bathroom and if my mom were here…

To be straight, I’ve never used the internet singular for research of importance. Much as I use Amazon as a “shopping idea and reference”, so, too do I use an internet “fact”. It’s a starting point. So imagine when the new, super-charged search engine called Ai warns me they might be wrong, what is the point and who is kidding who about the efficiency of Ai in our future? Oddly, who would I double-check Ai with, anyway? God?

Is the internet good for anything, anymore? Yes. It saves legwork and time. My research finds a starting point and then looks for back-up, confirming, and supportive facts from other sources. Most often, those facts come from BOOKS or writings originating someplace else that wind up in the realm of public knowledge. News “aggregators”, sites that collect news stories the reader might like, are a case in point. The origin of the site’s stories is the most important thing to check in this click bait world. As a journalist by training, I know stories and articles from “legacy” media will not just be some podcaster’s opinion, but a researched, reviewed, edited, and approved work. An organization with some sort of review and edit structure has a better chance of giving us the truth than one, single mouth. I look for the source and hope it is The New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, even CBS, NBC, and CNN…and Fox.  These organizations’ stories may contain some bias, but it is obvious when it happens. Watch Fox for half an hour and see. If a news article is from The Czech Daily, or John’s Basement Tapes, or an individual mouthpiece like Limbaugh, Bongino*, or Grandmas Knickers, it is more than likely click bait. It’s easier to see this with Medicine where excellent websites are available from The Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical, Johns Hopkins, and your own local newspaper. As a bonus these types of sites also include patient blogs which can be invaluable for your own unique situation.

The internet is still a wonderful place for pure entertainment. You can not only see a man get hit in his gonads but can also see The Benny Goodman Quartet at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1938.** But you are all aware of those neat things, already so it’s YOUR fault if you don’t find them and safely enjoy them.

It can be a neat, easy, and productive foray into the the nether world, out there, as long as you know who your guide is, and what they want from you. It isn’t always peace and love.

*Props for Mr. Bongino, the FBI Deputy Director. When asked about his false conspiracy claims from the past he said, truthfully and honestly: “I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. …but that’s not what I’m paid for now.”

**A special performance, The first “mainstream” jazz concert.

Odd Things of Importance. Maybe.

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Trump Burger, a Texas chain of hamburgers, closed in October 2025. The owner was arrested by ICE and is scheduled for deportation. Ironic news, but the more salient fact is Trump was suing the owner to stop using Trump’s name. Bet there is a real, juicy story waiting to get well-done before it’s made public. Yes, apologies for poor buns. Puns, puns.

On December 3, 2025, a lab downloaded my pathology report for last week’s follow-up colonoscopy. The previous May colonoscopy had found irregularities. In reporting on the samples sent by the doctors this time, the report said: “NO NEGATIVE DYSPLASIA”. This is a new phrase never heard during my days of prostate cancer or any other tests and treatments and appointments…so I googled it. For the first time in over 34 months, cancer is no longer part of my health conversations. I’m free of it. But it’s hard to celebrate. Both voices in my head (see past posts) say the same thing: “Yeah? Till when?” This is the perfect time to remember the nature of life and death, and hope one lasts long enough for the other to be a kinder, gentler event. And sudden, too, maybe.

A recent letter to our paper’s editorial section says Trump and Hegseth cannot be guilty of war crimes, because there is no “official war”.  For the anxious among you, I did suggest the writer send a note to Hegseth asking Hegseth to stop calling the bombing event something that happens in “the fog of war.” The local letter writer also suggests it’s okay to “kill criminals.” There was no distinction between being accused and being convicted. And the letter writer also added a “whataboutism” concerning the civilians accidentally killed during the Biden era. For those who think about these things, it was never mentioned what Biden Era military people said or did when they saw survivors. Our current leaders said “Kill them all” and sent a second bomb.

Two of these paragraphs are not about Trump, so my promise is kept. They are about the people Trump put in place to run his government and his affairs. He says he knows nothing of the things his appointees and lawyers do. He deserves the benefit of his(sic) doubt.

Today, in upstate New York, on December 4, 2025, one week after Thanksgiving and three weeks before Christmas, we are getting bombed by snow. Overnight temperatures will get to minus two degrees.* I do not like it. If any reader “knows someone” who can do something, let me know? Quid pro quo, by the way. You wash my hands, I wash your hands, capische?**

If anyone was wondering, public discourse has not improved. The Oxford Dictionary people have recently revealed a hint as to why. Oxford’s 2025 “Word of the Year” is “rage bait.” *** Google it for a detailed definition. It describes a conscious attempt to NOT engage in serious discussion, but to get a type of action or response often totally unrelated to the subject. How freaking depressing. After learning of the “word” it’s become hard to read or hear any public comments without wondering about the originator’s purpose. There is not enough time in my life to correct a mistaken person when all they really want is to get me to respond,  and they have no interest in the grammatical and logical jewel of a comment with which I bless them. Hopefully, not too much commentary will be wasted on sow’s ears, but I’ll never really know. And there are others in need of it. Oh, the humanity. Thanks, Oxford.

*Otherwise stated as -2brrr

** Stupid “The Untouchables” Movie. De Niro gets in your head.

***They give no public reason why it is two words, this year. Inflation?

Not Again…

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Its hard to not think about death when you are an old person. Death’s proximity is the main problem, not fear. It’s like having a root canal on your calendar and you can’t reschedule. (Apologies to all Dentists. You do good and necessary work. You’d all be Gods if you could make the work painless. * Hm. Dentist playing cards?)

The problem lately, is in the structure of the human being. The history of psychological understanding is complex and often controversial with Ids, Egos, Super Egos, and the two-faced beings of Aristophanes’ Myth of origins. Brighter, larger minds will eventually sort it all out but on a personal level I recognize three parts of human existence, at least my human existence. There is an Inner Voice (IV), an Outer Voice (OV) and The Body (TB). These components are slightly in tune with conventional Freudian and Transactional Analysis concepts, but I’ll take credit for making it easier to understand. My IV is the quiet, mercurial voice, sometimes reasonable but often impulsive and self-destructive. “Eat that last doughnut.” The OV is the rational face presented to the world after much consultation, debate, argument and bargaining with the IV. “But someone else may want that doughnut.” TB is just a handsome structure supporting us all and does whatever it’s told, often with a slight, painful delay. (See the tennis story from last March where OV instructions to TB were overridden with disastrous results by IV.) It’s important to note IV and OV are flexible, devil’s advocate-types and often take positions opposite each other apparently just for the fun of it.

The problem, now, is death used to be an afterthought for OV and opportunity for IV to take OV down a peg when things were going too well ** for the entirety of US. When cancer was beaten and TB and OV celebrated, IV was the voice in the background saying “So what? You’re going to die, anyway.” And when recovery from surgery was OV and TB’s main focus, IV tried hard to remind all “you’ll never be as good as you were at age 30.”

But now, death has become OV’s subject of conversation. Again, it may be proximity, or it may be because of the nursing home visits these last few weeks. Notably, those visits deposited death into daily conversations and OV had no choice but to participate. When I returned home from visits, TB sat quietly as OV wondered how long it would be before we all, three, would be living in such facilities. It was IV, then, who suggested we think better thoughts like dying quietly in our sleep. It makes me feel sorry for TB. It’s doing the best it can but more time and telomeres *** have been lost to the past than are left for the future. It comes down to simple math and TB doesn’t do equations.

But OV and IV do, and its hard to escape the constant, internal bickering, especially when the environment is added to the mix. Bright, sunny, beautiful fall days allow IV to tell OV to “shut the f^&#” up when death enters the conversation. Then, on rainy, cloudy, cold days OV lords it over IV with a smirk. For the record, TB never says a word. It lets its nerves do the talking.

It’s a wonder any of us worry about death. Ai estimates over 100 BILLION people have died over the course of history. Ai even says 173,000 die each day. Me and my components will join them, as will you.

Alred E. Neuman *** used to say: “What, me worry?” Honestly, there’s nothing like truth from the mouth of a fictional character to help manage our endings.

*And cheaper.

** Lost time trying to remember good and well rules. Is this one correct?

*** Do I need to point out you should google things you may not know about, anymore?

Things you may not know in 2025…

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Viet Nam was negotiating tariffs with Trump. One of their offers included a “fast-tracking” of a $1.5 billion Trump hotel in Viet Nam. Update: story disappeared so…Update Update: Trump was recently overheard advising an Asian head of state to “Call Eric.”

A bitcoin mogul was fined $4.5 billion, spent 4 months in jail for money laundering and “illegal activities’, agreed to not operate in the US, and accepted regular operational monitoring from US agencies. He is now offering his companies’ “global distribution services” to Trump Enterprises. All the mogul wants in return is to have US regulators stop monitoring his company, and a pardon.

An expensive new missile defense system is being advocated by Hegseth and the Defense Department. Elon Musk’s Starlink is the preferred vendor.

Trump has paved over the Rose Garden, is building a ballroom attached to the White House, and is now floating a design called the “Arc D’Trump.”

America is helping “bailout” Argentina’s government by trying to give them $40 Billion dollars. Don’t cry for me, Argentina. *

Charlie Kirk and Rudy Guiliani will soon join Rush Limbaugh as recent American Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners. Wonder which Rudy will show for the ceremony.

Trump is deploying troops to states and cities to fight crime. None of the states are in the top 5 crime states. Only one of the cities is in the top 5 crime rates.

The FBI is changing how crime rates will be collected and administered.

I am not getting any younger.

Neither is Trump.

Nearly every state in America is now redistricting or planning on redistricting. American politicians and leaders of both parties will now spend more time on claiming and retaining power than governing. Thank you, Citizens United and other “election reformers”.

Why do we call it “change” when it happens all the time? When has ANYTHING ever stayed the same? Oh, yeah, corruption and greed.

Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize. I hope events prove him right and he gets it. What will he do, though, when the middle east returns to its “normal” dynamic of hating and fighting each other, and the United States?

Do not go boating with a power boat in the Caribbean, at least off the coast of Venezuela. There’s little doubt about the boats our military is blowing up, but there is doubt. Do we let our police operate the same way?

And in our modern world of fakes and disinformation, how much of this is…something? Hint: I am getting older.

*google it.

How to Fix The American Political System Part 1

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The Citizens United Case in 2010 reversed centuries-old regulations and norms governing electoral financing mechanisms. Since then, money has become the American Electoral Currency, and spawned a non-productive system of consultants, advisors, think tanks, pod-casters, and big-mouth know-it-alls. None of whom do any real work but make a lot of money. Here are some ideas to sort the mess out. And, no, none of them will ever be considered, but what if…

  1. In any election, the Candidate with the most money automatically loses. Saves time voting and counting ballots. ALL unused money from every campaign goes to a charity of the winner’s choice.
  2. Mandate no legislator can vote for his party over 80 per cent of the time on “consequential” legislation. Naming Post Offices does not count.
  3. No Majority and Minority Whips. They sound cruel, anyway.
  4. Outlaw consultants and advisors. Use reports from Bi-Partisan appointed committees of legislators or independent personnel, for guidance on bills. Committees would be made of equal bias and report both sides of a bill or issue for both sides to read. Perfect use of inexpensive, existing Artificial Intelligence.
  5. Mandate “result’s oriented” committee investigations. Any committee investigation not culminating in a previously defined result, loses one member from the instigating party on the committee. Scoring political points does not count unless specifically noted. For example, Hillary Clinton and Benghazi multiple investigation’s purpose? Among many others from both sides.
  6. Set Term Limits with “laddered” terms so the same number of seats come up for election each year. Phase in necessary?
  7. Any candidate who does not complete their term is replaced by a candidate appointed by the opposing party to complete the term. Death or serious illness are exceptions. Keep in mind if we do Number 4, most politicians will have nowhere to go to do nothing and get paid for it, so they may stay to term.
  8. Every legislator files “open and on time” tax returns for every year in office. A separate tax preparation firm can be employed if used by ALL legislators.
  9. IRS sets specific guidelines for auditing legislators. Everyone gets audited at least once during their term. Yes, a second audit could be done for good cause.

I’ve run out of space, but the point is, governing for the entire country should not be bound and gagged by monetary demands. If implementing these steps means only poor, ethical people can run for office, is that so bad? We could use all the new ICE agents to help enforce the new rules, too,

A lot of these ideas are terrible but one thing to remember: when most politicians get into office, these days, the only thing they are worried about—and work hard for–is getting re-elected.

How does that help make our country ok, again?

Many Big, Beautiful Questions

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One. Big. Beautiful. Bill (OBBB). WTF? If the Republicans crammed all Trump’s legislative plans into OBBB are they done working for the rest of his term? What else is there for them to do? Investigate The Bidens? The Obamas? The details of OBBB will matter, soon, but right now, the sheer foolishness of putting so much legislation in one legislative bill makes you wonder why? Nearly every Small Ugly Bill (SUB) usually has one or two things a legislator can vote for and one or two things he/she is against, so imagine the love/hate salad of OBBB. The chutzpah of the Republican OBBB effort is astounding and revealing. Insecurity is the driving force of the Modern Republican Party Grievance Machine (MRPGM) and that insecurity is highlighted by OBBB. MRPGM knows they only have this year to get things done before voters correct themselves in 2026, just like they did in 2018. The MRPGM has to take a big bite of the political apple now, while they can. Plus, with all the legislative work done in 2025, MRPGM members are free to spend all of 2026 campaigning and spinning the damage assessments, and trying to get re-elected with more smoke and mirrors.**

Why are ICE and DHS making so many mistakes in their deportation zeal? Time will tell how much it is going to cost to fix the lives of present and future American Citizens who have been unlawfully detained and even deported. Wouldn’t a slower, steadier, and more measured deportation process make more sense in the long run? In fact, their idea of paying people to self-deport is probably the better way. It’s fair to guess some immigrants who are here legally, might not want to be here, anymore, America is so great, now. Note, too, all the stories about the troubles our tourism industry is having, these days.

And where were local law enforcement agencies when all the illegal immigrant murderers and rapists and drug dealers were allegedly cavorting freely in our towns and cities?

Did DOGE members label anything they didn’t understand as “waste, fraud, or abuse (WFA)’? Did the DOGE people understand any of what they were looking at? Did DOGE know the long-term benefits of the WFA they stopped? A program in my hometown is closing because DOGE has convinced Trump’s Office of Management and Budget not to spend the money already allocated to this program. It is a Grandparent Mentoring Program where grandparents “adopt” an elementary student and help the student learn both educationally and socially with in-school activities. It helped both students and grandparents for years. But not this coming school year. WFA?

Does the average American understand most of the WFA “discovered” by DOGE was legally researched, proposed, and voted on by elected American Senators and Representatives who knew why they were approving the expenditure and how important it might be? For example, due to cuts in “climate change research”–a favorite MRPGM bugaboo–farmers will no longer have current and extended weather forecasts to help them plan for crop planting, harvesting and even selection. WFA?

A reread of these questions points to one thing in common: lack of critical thinking. The Political Power Surge felt by the MRPGM, along with the knowledge The Surge won’t last long, has spurred the MRPGM into hasty, poorly thought out and even dangerous actions. One last question: WHY????

In Proverbs 12:19 King Solomon states: “Truthful words stand the test of time but lies are soon exposed.”

Let’s hope so.

** and the Democrats, too. lets hope someone learns…

Truther(sic) Words Were Never Spoken

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Mark Twain is a personal idol and national treasure. He was born November 30, 1835, raised in the 19th Century and died in the early 20th, on April 21, 1910, but his observations are timeless. They defy the centuries. He recognized enduring human traits which were humorous on the surface, often dangerous to society, and funny. If you have the long view of life and believe living a good life will get you to a Good Place, Mark Twain is your prophet/guide. His life is one of triumph and tragedy as he lost 3 children to the illnesses of the times, and suffered some, himself, but his reported last words as he lay dying of a heart attack (which happened to people in those days) were “Give me my glasses.” He had more to write in the afterlife.

Most of us know Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, even though forcing a student to read something is not the best way to introduce authors and their works. Ai says the books are still being taught in “some Schools” but the subject matter can be “controversial”. Since talking about race is always controversial, Twain would be happy we are just discussing it, these days. Of course, he would point out we shouldn’t need to, anymore.

Unfortunately, our modern societal and political conversations are not about facts and truth. Pick any issue in America and you’ll find arguments, facts, and opinions to support either side, with both sides thinking the other is—at best—uninformed. My personal opinion is one side of the national debate is intent on obscuring facts and making opinion the determining factor for truth or fiction. But the opposing side doesn’t seem interested in sticking to the facts, either. Having truth be so “fluid” brings to mind this Twain Quote: “Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

I’ve written about the rhetorical skirmishes from my local paper’s opinion section, how writers pronounce themselves as know-it-alls, and lack humility. (Knowing and talking about humility, by the way, does not sound humble, does it. If there was any other way…) In speaking (figuratively) with these writers, this Twain quote often comes to mind: “The truth is no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.” Please note in repartees with local writers I never profess 2 plus 2 equals anything, just that 2 plus 2 does not equal 5. So many political party supporters are intent on believing anything the party says. See my post about “Tribe over Truth”. An additional point is to reveal, slyly, not everybody you disagree with is wrong all the time. You agree?

But, alas, it is the fate of a semi-professional Devil’s Advocate and self-appointed Fact Watcher to learn there will always be a part of society unfazed by brilliant and cohesive skewering of a particular viewpoint. ((I honor myself un-humbly(sic), with the previous statement and arbitrarily assign myself the role of Twain in 2025. Just for this day, I promise.)) These “skewerings” are not meant to denigrate anyone or any viewpoint, but professional political statements from professional politicians are getting comical, as each one tries to satisfy what they think their tribe/party needs to hear the professional politicians say. (Hope you get the sublte, sophisticated, elitist sarcasm in the repetition of a phrase.)

This “adherence” to party dogma and debate (alliteration) leads to this post’s final Twain quote:

“It’s easier to fool people than convince them they are being fooled.”

Final declaration: Professional Politicians (Again?) have always tried to fool the voting public. Most of them do it on the fly, reacting to polling, upcoming elections, or current events. But some do it on purpose with carefully designed and artfully thought-out schemes, often involving years of planning and manipulation.

Which type did YOU vote for?

Waste. Fraud. Abuse.

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For the sake of this short rant, we will consider those three words as one threat to America, for the conservation of space.

It’s time we all learned fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) is not a new, momentary, correctable problem. In fact, we need to  admit we can’t “eliminate” it. We can just do the best we can to mitigate it.

America’s economy is a Capitalist economy. AI describes Capitalism as “an economic system where individuals or businesses own the means of production and make decisions about what, how, and for whom to produce, with the goal of generating a profit. Key features include private property, free markets, competition, and relatively limited government intervention”

As you read this description, did the term “government intervention” seem to be in the wrong sentence with the words “free market”? And how about the words “relatively limited”? There are two major ways governments can intervene in any economy, with the end result in both often more of a hybrid mix.

One is by proactively deciding “what, how, and whom to produce for”, and make those decisions before any production starts. Picture a government directed economy much like China and Russia. (Loaded with FWA, by the way.)

Two is by monitoring “what, how, and for whom to produce” after production, and then setting a regulation for further production. Picture a business making and selling poison as a health cure. After a few deaths, a government would (hopefully) stop that business and regulate the future manufacture and sale of poison. Plus truth in packaging and advertising.

Another ambiguous term is “free markets”.  What free markets want is to be able to get away with making and selling poison marked as a health cure, only stopping when enough consumers stop buying it due to “competition”, an innocuous term defining how consumers “learn” about the product’s real properties (death) from the “free market” activity and stop purchasing. Picture a “consumer group”, after “X” number of deaths, organizing and advising people not to buy the “health cure”.

Neat. Tidy. Understand? The Theory is easy to understand, when we add FWA, some realism, to the plot, things get muddled.

FWA has been around since cavemen (Cavepeople?). Picture one caveman (Lou) desiring the other caveman’s (Abbot) food. Lou points to the sky, Abbott looks up, and Lou swipes the mammoth rib from Abbot’s hands. Fraud. Or Lou has some tasty berries, and Abbot has another meaty rib. Lou offers the berries to trade for the rib. Abbot declines, so Lou throws the berries away. A female nearby (Phyllis) has neither meat or berries and goes hungry. Waste. (Yes, a female was used on purpose.)

Phyllis finds the berries, cleans them up, and offers them to both Lou and Abbott as “fresh”. This could be both abuse and/or fraud. Abuse comes from using something for bad effect or purpose, so we’ll say Phyllis is abusing the current fireside free-market system.

The real point is as long as human beings are involved in any economic system, FWA will be a companion and will factor in the system’s functions. Even in Communism’s directed system. FWA is historical, unrelenting, and maybe important? Like plecos (sucker fish) cleaning the aquarium?

What can be done about FWA? First, it is very, very ignorant of both the nature of man and history of capitalism to think you can root it out, entirely. Trump, Musk and DOGGIE say they are doing it, but all they are doing is throwing out the bathwater with the baby, and new bathwater will get just as dirty very quickly no matter what baby you wash in it. That’s life when money and power are involved.

Free Markets need regulatory activity to work best for the population. Free Markets work best with post-activity government intervention. It’s akin to weeding a garden, as long as the weeds don’t infect the regulatory system. But you know how weeds are…same as FWA.

As small government MAGAns, and Republicans look to shrink the government and regulatory intervention, all hell is going to break lose as man’s (better? Nooo) nature is given free rein. Trump and Musk, however, are not being ignorant of human nature and history, they are using it to their advantage. They know a small government and a diminished regulatory framework is good for Trump and Musk, and people like them. At least 5 pre-2025 government “interventions” in Musk’s potentially illegal activities are now moot, as there is no one and no framework to investigate him. Ditto Trump.

And a large part of America still thinks Trump is good for them. Those are the people ignorant and unaware, with no grasp of mankind’s FWA history.

FWA can be caught and corrected, but never completely eliminated as long as man (and maybe a woman or two) see dollars signs and political power in whatever system they think they can manipulate. Know that, understand that, and don’t look away when it happens. In the meantime, profound waste has become normalized: compare professional sports salaries to your local teachers/cops/firemen. The Free Market at its finest.

And please, don’t fire the weeders. They are our only hope.