The very moment, the precise second you are conceived, you are at the mercy of your earthly god. She decides whether you should live or die. Her power over life and death is the ultimate authority. In America, she has legal, Absolute Power. But pregnant females aren’t the only people who play God. Notable among others are serial killers who admit that taking a life is like no other rush. Murder aside, millions of Christians believe in Genesis 1:27: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” You are altogether free to interpret this entry. You might suggest that humans have God’s authority on earth — to act as His surrogates, so to speak. You naturally might assume the Clergy already view themselves as His official deputies. Human behavior, even among atheists, lends credence to these suppositions. In fact, all manner of evidence suggests it. Practically speaking, Hitler, Stalin and other former megalomaniacs were nothing less than military gods, wielding power through genocide. Most of human history records the divine right of royal families to be God’s instruments. Their reverent “subjects” treated them as such. In England, millions line the streets to catch a view of the Queen. More recently, you witnessed a similar type of obsequious behavior in America. Led by a fawning media, an enraptured populace worshiped at the altar of one B.H. Obama. Barack’s adoring admirers bowed before his haughty style, in much the same way this god from America bowed at the feet of his Muslim betters. But world leaders, royal families, mothers and Planned Parenthood aren’t the only gods that walk the earth. The rich, the famous, the power brokers — they know the feeling. They indulge and bask in celebrity limelight. These are the upper crust, the moneyed class, wielding god-like power. You behold sport heroes as they triumphantly raise their arms to the heavens as 80,000 voices scream in exaltation. In those moments of accomplishment, exceptional athletes know the god-like feeling. And so do you, when you come face to face with all manner of human brilliance. You salute genius, talent, superhuman effort and heroism. Their accomplishment deserve respect and reward. But there your idolatry ends. Great achievers are not gods — not now, not ever. Award winning movie idols have no more credibility than your golf buddies and barber. Talking heads and stand-up comedians are just that — talkers and comics. Unfortunately, television gives air time to celebrity opinions because programming execs believe the audience is star-struck and mostly brain dead — and likely they’re spot on. You don’t want to believe that millions of actual human beings apply god-like status to the likes of De Niro, Damon, DiCaprio and Depp; but reality says they do. Like all actors, these box office heavyweights spend their days pretending to be somebody they’re not with the help of artists, writers, directors, cosmeticians and stunt doubles. Devout fans admire and respect them. Who could view Saving Private Ryan or Forest Gump and not believe in Tom Hanks? It’s called playacting, Matilda. Thankfully, in the real world, truly great men and women live and work in anonymity, advancing the cause of civilization, protecting a free society. They are not Gods either. Their opinions also are no more important than your neighbor’s next door. But in their life’s work and through their meritorious actions, you get a glimpse of something in the wind. Like an inspirational melody, you get, you sense, a hint of something divine. You remember one such person. Born in Shanghai to missionary parents, Brit John Gillespie Magee came to know the feeling. In December, 1941, his Spitfire collided with another plane and he crashed to his death near Ruskington, England. He was 19. Two months earlier, he had sent his parents a 14-line poem entitled High Flight. The last lines read:

And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

 

To be thoroughly trite, you’ve had it. The Offended Generation (OG) now has a new convert. To be clear, you’re not partially offended, or totally offended. Neither are you casually offended nor seriously offended. What you are is wrathfully, psychotically, hysterically, walking-dead offended. To be fair, you do have it within your power to cleanse yourself of this mental distemper. Simply tune out. Disconnect. Disengage from all electronic communication that doesn’t qualify strictly as self interest business. Purge all political contacts and connections. Avoid all socio-political discourse. It’s time for someone to follow in the footsteps of now deceased actor Peter Finch who in 1976 won the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Howard Beale in the movie Network. In this role, he famously cried out on live television — “Bullshit.” Simplicity resonates, wouldn’t you say? There’s no other single word that better defines the muck you call the Federal Government. Speaking of which, please consider the State of the Swamp:

Last time you looked, Congress consists of 535 elected officials — 435 in the House of Representatives and an even 100 in the Senate. You, the American people, put them there. You pay them to do a job. They take an oath to obey rules — the rules are contained in a hallowed document called The Constitution. There is no ambiguity to the rules but don’t tell that to Supreme Court Justices who, in their brilliance, decide the Founders were careless, ill-advised and unenlightened. So they decide to add over 2800 pages to the original rules. While the Court eviscerates The Constitution, Congress and various Presidents decide simply to ignore it.

Day by day Congress and Presidents decide to create agencies and seize authority that belongs to the States.

Jimmy Carter creates the Department of Education. (Today over 4500 employees and $70B annual budget).

Obama and Congress decide to take over Healthcare. Tyranny at work.

Presidents and Congress decide to ignore immigration laws. Sheer bedlam.

Through deceitful and corrupt practices, Congressional leaders and Federal Law Enforcement attempt to overthrow the election of a US President. Attempted coup.

Congress decides to allow high ranking Federal officials to violate their oaths of office, to lie repeatedly under oath and to engage in treasonous activities. No sanctions; no justice.

Congress repeatedly decides that elected and appointed officials are above the law.

In direct violation of The Constitution of the United States, Governors and State legislators allow the Federal Government to hijack their sovereignty, without so much as a whimper.

Congress decides to spend money willy-nilly and pile up debt — which now stands at $24 trillion plus. Unprecedented criminal behavior.

With knowledge and forethought, Congress allows the existence of millions of illegal votes in local and national elections.

Meanwhile, Congress and Federal agencies allow the U.S. to become a debtor nation — to become a nation dependent on foreign sources for critical products bought by slave-like labor.

BTW, don’t be misled. These grievances didn’t provoke you to join the OG — not in the least. You’re not offended by the contamination and desecration of The Swamp. And not offended because crooks, thieves, fascists and liars occupy it. This is your government. It’s business as usual. The Founders knew it. They expected it. They predicted it, 230 years in advance. So, then, what’s your beef, pilgrim? It’s this. You’re suicidally offended by the inundation of emails, snail mail and calls sent by sitting members of Congress, by the NRC, by former elected officials and a host of sundry political pundits. These people don’t know you, don’t care to know you and have no interest in what you think. But they have the unmitigated gall to ask you for money. They explain they need your money to fight the politicians and organizations who are responsible for all your grievances — for the attacks on our Constitution, for the specter of socialism that threatens your way of life. Think of it. Day after say, month after month, the very people responsible for taking down America are the very people who want your chump change to help them remain in power so they can continue doing nothing about The Swamp. You get it yet, Matilda? Congress does nothing about the Swamp because Congress is the Swamp. It’s easy enough being outraged by that fact. But, knowing that swamp dwellers think you’re stupid enough to believe the bullshit — that tears it.

 

 

COVID 19 wouldn’t phase Howard Hughes. Who in blazes is Howard Hughes? You can see the under-55 crowd now, frowning. Some remember the name but don’t know why. Sure you do. In his early 20’s, silver spooner Howie inherited a bundle of millions and turned it into a bundle of billions. He struck the mother load in Hollywood at a time when Tinseltown deserved some measure of respect. Those days are belly-up. The billionaire tycoon was a record-setting pilot, movie producer, womanizer and owner of Hughes Aircraft Company. Howard was man about town until the day he occupied his penthouse hotel rooms where he remained in isolation until his death 20 years later. Yes, you read it right — 20 years of self-imposed solitary confinement. Hughes was OCD before the disorder was urban slang. He was a genuine germaphobe, ready and waiting for the likes of a COVID 19. He didn’t need the CDC or the Fed or the Governor to mandate his behavior during any kind of epidemic. As the years passed, his paranoia inflated. One account of his phobia has him, near the end of his days, “lying naked in bed in a darkened room in what he considered a germ-free zone. He wore tissue boxes on his feet to protect them. And . . . burned his clothing if someone near him became ill.” He issued strict protocols, ordering his employees to scrub their hands incessantly and layer their hands with paper towels while serving his meals. Compulsive to the core, he wrote a manual instructing his staff, among other things, how to open a can — how to remove the label, scrub the can down to bare metal and “pour the contents without touching the can to the bowl.” Hughes fear of germs began early in life and never left him until, finally, he descended into full bore OCD, convinced that if he stayed “outside,” he would be contaminated from the outside. He chose seclusion. Also chose an addiction to codeine until his death at age 72. Cause of death? Heart failure. Not a germ in sight. Well, Howie, the germs are still out there. You don’t obsess over them. You don’t obsess over smallpox, typhoid, HIV, diphtheria, syphilis, polio, yellow fever, influenza and over 100 other infectious diseases. You don’t sweat it because almost every disease is treatable. COVID 19 changes that attitude, doesn’t it, Matilda? Now you have just the barest inkling of the panic that Middle Ages Europe felt during the Black Death that eradicated one third of the population. But there’s absolutely no comparison. You have communication outlets, guidance, medical facilities, electricity, food on the table,  knowledge and unity of purpose. Yes, for an indefinite period of time, you must take a sabbatical from your life as usual. Maybe some people will learn that life doesn’t suck after all. Being quarantined is a good deal more desirable than  hospitalization or interment. In time, Americans will be in school, go to work, play games, travel, have the opportunity to recover financial losses and mourn those who perish. Still, for some time yet, you will be sociably suspicious. Handshakes almost certainly will disappear and give way to elbow bumps. Intimate embraces may morph to hip bumps. Morality may flourish as illicit sex diminishes. Quickly, COVID 19 will yield its own strange stories. So get ready for the deluge of books, movies, propaganda, lies and lessons. Especially conspiracies. Try this one. COVID 19 is the brainchild of a militant Chinese feminist scientist, since more than twice as many men are dying than women. If that assertion seems bizarre, you can expect Hollywood to expose Big Pharma as evil doers, accusing them of orchestrating a cataclysm for a financial bonanza. Then, again, the Dems will yell, “IT’S ALL TRUMP’S FAULT FOR TWEAKING CHINA’S NOSE.” Naturally, Pelosi will impeach. Meanwhile, somewhere, Howard Hughes must be shaking his head in dismay.  If he knew anything, he knew germs. He left life and humanity behind to exist in a “clean room” environment, worry free. Mental illness is its own germ.