Polarization of America

    Many people notice and comment on the polarization of our country.  It is real and it is everywhere, but it is not all people.  I believe it started with the Bush v Gore lawsuit over the Florida recount in the 2000 election.  It may have started sooner for some, but it became a national phenomenon after the hanging chads.
    Last night the Senate voted to pass the new tax cuts bill which has been debated for weeks if not longer.  House Minority Leader Pelosi called the bill "Armageddon".  Really?  End of the world?  Kill all humans?  And that brings me to the real problem with polarization.
    It seems to me that liberals, progressives and democrats (not all) cannot argue their political points of view logically, and resort to insults and name calling.  I've mentioned this in earlier blog entries, but here are a few examples.
 - If you disagree with abortion, then you hate women.
 - If you disagree with tax cuts, you hate the poor.
 - If you disagree with allowing transgenders into the opposite sex locker room, you hate the LGBTQ community.
 - If you think we should build a wall, you hate Mexicans specifically, and immigrants in general.
 - If you think we should vet Muslim refugees before allowing them into the country, you hate Muslims.
    I could go on, but I think you get my point.  Once one side of the debate goes into this 'you're a hater mode', the debate ends without any real resolution.  As I see it, the political left does not want to actually debate issues thoroughly, but rather wants to rule as they see fit without debate.  For there is no quicker method to ending debate than resorting to name calling and insults.  For how can anyone argue that they don’t actually hate any of those groups above, or countless others?
    I ask my friends on the left to consider this, and try to refrain from this dialogue killing action.

Protests or Riots?

   Ever since the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO, there have been many protests which have turned into, or have been coopted, into riots.  Violence begot damaged or destroyed property, injuries, deaths, but very few arrests.  Few arrests due to police standing by watching in many cases.  Standing by in some cases because they were ordered to do so.
   Regardless of what events led to the protests, riots are and should be illegal.  Protests are protected free speech, but riots are an assault on civility and civilians.
   Not only did authorities not stop the riots, but the media refused to call them what they were.  Instead they referred to rioters as activists.
   A few groups have been born during this period.  The Black Lives Matter movement is a response to police shootings of unarmed black men, but has also led to the killing of police officers by BLM supporters.  The Antifa (short for anti fascist) group is much more violent, often piggy-backing on other groups protests to turn them violent.  The Antifa folks are actually anarchists.
   Antifa has been successful is stopping others, mainly conservatives, from speaking on college campuses, most famously Cal Berkeley.  They threaten the college with protests, which evolve into burning, looting, rock throwing, and general rioting.
   The BLM movement concerns itself with all things deemed racist, which now includes anything on display related to the Confederacy, including the flag and statues and monuments.  Many of these people think  it appropriate to remove all these things since they are "offensive to blacks", who generations ago suffered under the slavery of the confederates.  Apparently, any reminder of slavery is to be removed.
   One wonders what they will want to remove after all flags and monuments are torn down.  Books?  Historic places such as Gettysburg?, Antietam?  How about the historic homes of founding fathers like Monticello or Mt. Vernon?
   The time has arrived when we should say enough is enough.  The police need to become actively involved in preventing protests from turning into riots, and arresting any and all rioters.  The media needs to accurately report on what activity is taking place and by whom, using the accurate descriptors for those events and people.  And citizens need to educate themselves about history, current events, and understand who is doing what to whom.

It Has Been a While

I have not posted to this blog in quite some time.  In November 2016 I was given early retirement, and closely following that my wife's mother passed away after a battle with lung cancer.  The holidays were busy, the things got crazy in 2017.
In January I slipped and fell hitting my head on a cement floor.  Several weeks later my wife and I decided to move to Louisville, and purchased a condominium that is under construction.  We then sold our home in Newport, and moved into temporary housing while construction is completed.
In March I developed stroke like symptoms resulting from my fall, and over the next 60 days I underwent two craniotomies for bleeding on the brain, a couple weeks of therapy, and home recovery.
During these 8 months I had no desire or time to write on my blog.  Today I decided to resume blogging.