28 Dec 2018 What Do We Do About Opioids?

What Do We Do About Opioids?

Rarely does a day go by that there is not an article in the news about opioids. Now I have to admit I have no experience in dealing with this issue.  I don’t know anybody hooked on them.  I probably have some very misguided opinions about it.  

Can we as a society do anything about it or does it come down to the individual? Does the person have to hit “rock bottom” before they can begin to change?  I don’t know.  I am not the most sympathetic person for drug addicts.  If you have to physically do something to take the drug, then just don’t do it.  Yes that is extremely simplistic and maybe naïve.  If you don’t just stop then how will you ever stop?  In the end it all comes down to an individual’s discipline. If they have it they will stop, if not they probably end up killing themselves.  No amount of hand holding or tough love will do it.  Is it hard to stop, it seems to be or all would.  Just because it is hard does not mean we shouldn’t do all we can to help the person help themselves to stop.  

I don’t buy into the argument that it is not in the addicts control. That is an excuse pure and simple. If that were the truth than nobody would be able to stop cigarettes cold turkey.  Somehow people do.  I know someone who stopped cold turkey after decades of smoking and never had another one. It was his choice it was his to control.  That’s why I asked, until the addicts chooses can we help at all?   

We can’t get rid of opioids. They have a valuable medical purpose when prescribed and used as intended.  We can and should invest in rehab facilities. We should only treat addicts as criminals when they commit criminal acts.  We should help addicts when they want to help themselves.  If an addict chooses to continue down that path, I don’t think investing in them is the best use of resources, find someone who wants to change and help them.  

We can’t save everybody.  We can only save those who want to be.  Adult addicts are still adults. Make them responsible for their choices and not excuses for them. 

27 Dec 2018 How Do You Find The Truth?

How Do You Find The Truth?

There are so many news outlets it is tough to decide which one(s) are trustworthy. I sometimes turn on MSNBC and Fox News and flip between each one to see how they are presenting a particular story. It is funny, or kinda sad, that the same story can be told in two very different ways.  Both sites claim to have journalistic integrity. If that were true, wouldn’t the stories sound the same or at least close?  MSNBC is considered a Democratic/liberal leaning station and Fox News is the Republican/conservative place.  Each has an audience it wants to sell advertising.  As with any business, it targets its message to who is viewing. 

I have no problem with each station making money.  However, don’t claim you have journalistic credentials and then report in a way your viewer base agrees with.  State that what you say is the subjective views of the station/reporters as told by the presenters.  That would be the honest way.  Do not sell anything as objective.   

So where would we get “objective” reporting.  Some would claim that National Public Radio is the objective platform.  I would argue that most of the Republican/conservative crowd would laugh at that say it a very liberal organization. 

Where does that leave us?  People have to listen to or read multiple sources in order to be informed.  They can’t accept at face value that their “trusted” network/paper will give them objective reporting.  It is critical that we are knowledgeable as society in issues that affect us all.  How we get that knowledge is just as important as what the knowledge is.        

26 Dec 2018 Will Others Follow General Mattis?

Will Others Follow General Mattis?

I was finally glad to see a Senior member of the cabinet leave the administration of Pres. Trump. UN ambassador Nikki Haley left earlier, now Gen. Mattis has prepared to leave as Secretary of Defense.  He was scheduled to leave at the end of February but Pres. Trump did not like the positive press the General was getting and is giving him one more week.

I hope this is the start of a mass exodus of cabinet members. I don’t think it will change how Pres. Trump leads, but it will at least tell him what people think of him.  If Gen. Mattis resigned out of disgust, what is it going to take for the others to follow? I would be stunned if the cabinet members really believed in and supported what Pres. Trump does. I can’t see how any rational person would believe what he is doing it’s good for the country.

But I have to remember it is all about politics. It has nothing to do with how good it is for the country or how bad it is. It is all about keeping whatever political influence you have. That may be a cynical view, but it seems to be reinforced every week. There is no other explanation for why the other cabinet members remain.

I really want our administration to do well. I want the country to do well. It helps no one if the country is not on the right track.  Will others leave? I am not holding my breath. All I hope is that the damage is able to be minimized over the next two years. In 2020, winter is coming for the Republican Party.

25 Dec 2018 Do You Have Gratitude?

Do You Have Gratitude?

I used to not be grateful for all I had in my life.  It was not I felt like I deserved any of it, I just didn’t recognize how fortunate I was.  Today I have a deep gratitude.  You have a pretty great life if you can say that the vast majority of decisions were made by you and not forced by someone else.  There have been very big consequences for my choices, but they have been mine.

Christians around the world celebrate today as the birth of their religion.   Though I do not have a strong Christian faith, I do have beliefs that our lives do not end with our physical deaths.  Today is a day for reflection and to give thanks and gratitude.

There are groups of “families” I am a part of and people that have been and are part of my life.  I have love and gratitude for all of them.  I may be remiss in not expressing that gratitude, but it is there.

To my biological family, well we have a lifetime of experiences, but we still have that bond.   My Australian family, my love for you has grown deeper every year.  My Navy family, to those alive and those passed, I treasure our time together.  To my WDS family, thank you.

Ariel, I can’t put into words how much you mean to me and my love for you. You have an inner light that shines so bright.  Our journey continues.   

I know I should single out so many more people.  Thank you for your gift of friendship, love, guidance and laughter.  I am a better person for knowing each and every one of you.  

Merry Christmas

24 Dec 2018 Can You Be Too Young For Congress?

Can You Be Too Young For Congress?

The Constitution states you must be at least 25 years old to be member of the House of Representatives and 30 years old for the Senate.  These ages were set over 200 years ago.  At that time 25 was “old” and 30 was very mature. The country was also vastly smaller then in physical size and population.  

It would be the very rare person whose breath of experiences at those ages would allow them to be effective today.  I would be hard pressed to think of anyone in their 20’s who could be a good Congressperson.  This is not a critic of the individual, just the immense responsibility the job calls for. The same for a Senator in their early 30’s.  Are there people out there who could do it, I am sure there are.  I would still have significant reservations and would need to have careful study on what thay have done.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at age 29 will be an interesting test of this.

I also believe you can be too old for Congress.  You would be hard pressed to convince me that someone past the age of 80 can be an effective representative. If airline pilots have to retire at 65, so should people in Congress.  A state and district need to have turnover in the political offices in order to get new ideas and thinking.     

There will be more younger people elected to Congress in 2020.  It will be interesting to see how well they are able to do the job.  

23 Dec 2018 Should I Respect Ignorant People?

Should I Respect Ignorant People?

Free speech is hard at times to support.  You have the “liberal” whinners in college who won’t tolerate any speech that is different than theirs and you also have the “conservative” Congressmen like Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows who prove every day just how ignorant they can be. 

I would love to have the opportunity to talk each of these groups.  I like getting into to discussions with people who can’t defend their positions.  I am amazed they take it as a badge of honor to look stupid.  They passionately believe they are right.  What they fail to see is everybody is not right all the time or wrong all the time. Like the line in the movie City of Angles, “just because you believe it does not make it true.”

I am sure there are many people who would vehemently disagree with what I believe. That is ok, that is what free speech is all about.  I would not block someone from having opinions just as I would expect the same courtesy. 

What we need to be very careful about is people who are able to force policy positions or laws that don’t represent the values this country has defended for over 200 years, with free speech at the center of it.

There are extremes at both end of the political spectrum who want to prevent free and open dialogue, disagreement and discourse.  We must be ruthless in letting either side dominate “their way.” I could never respect either of those extremes.

22 Dec 2018 Do You Want The Wall?

Do You Want The Wall?

Congress is trying to pass a sort term spending bill to keep government open for a couple of months. Everybody thought it was a done deal until the President got some criticism from the “conservative” pundits that he was weak.  Of course, his ego could not accept this, and he decides to not support the bill because it does not fund the wall.  I keep saying everyone should tell him he said Mexico would pay for it and we will build it when they start paying.  His has no argument against, it was the cornerstone of his campaign.  

Do I want the wall, of course not.  It will be a waste of money and not keep people out. Other than the Great Wall of China, there have been very few that met their purpose.  The Maginot Line was the great wall to keep Germany out of France during World War II.  You know how well that turned out.

We need secure borders.  We need a vetting process to determine who should come in.  We can’t support unlimited immigration.  There is not a country in the world that allows that.  I understand why people want to come here.  I would ask why don’t the other Central and South American countries open their borders to more people?  I know Columbia is dealing with a major problem of people from Venezuela. It rivals our challenges.  

I want Congress to stand strong and not fund a wall.  The President can complain all he wants but only a minority of the country wants a wall.  Most want immigration reform, but not a wall.   

The only thing Congress should send the President is document for him to fill in saying how much Mexico gave this year for the wall. Congress can then add that to the budget. Until then, no money for any wall from the US taxpayers.