From the Inbox - interesting read --- I sent this to the blog in SEPTEMBER 2020 BEFORE the Election. It just FINALLY showed up

So you tell me, WHY it takes 3 months for a message to be sent from my Gmail account to my Blogger account.... Now on the the e-mail _________________________________________________________________________ I am a registered Democrat, and I found this interesting. This is an open letter to all Democrats from a Democrat. I did not write this, but it needs to be shared... I just have a few questions for you....Let me start with, I already know you don't like President Trump...that's a given, SO let's move on from that... How about the division of America.... Do you really blame Trump for that? How about when NONE of the DEMOCRATS showed up for his inauguration? Don't you think that started the division? He hadn't even been president yet, and EXCEPT for Clinton and Obama, not one democrat showed up....Is that when Trump divided America? Can you imagine if the REPUBLICANS didn't show up for Obama's inauguration because they lost??? Can you even start to imagine what would have happened? How about when 19 minutes after Trump was inaugurated, the Washington Post declared the IMPEACHMENT CAMPAIGN has STARTED? Was that when Trump divided America? How about when Nancy Pelosi ripped up Trump's state of the union right in front of the world, showing complete disrespect for the President of the United States? Did that bring the country together and is THAT when Trump divided America? How about when America had to endure, 3 years and over 30 million dollars spent on trying to PROVE that Trump only won because of RUSSIAN COLLUSION and NOT because America voted him in and 17 democrats did EVERYTHING in their power to PROVE that there was Russian Collusion...and came up with ZERO...? Was THAT when Trump divided America? I can't even start to go over the NEGATIVE PRESS he's received since his surprise win... Remember, the DONORS, the likes Bloomberg, who gave 27 million, Tom Steyer who gave 17 million, George Soros who gave 9 million and MANY MORE that gave MULTI-MILLIONS to Hillary, wanted a return on their investment... Do you really think that donors give MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS just because they love Hillary? NO, these weren't campaign donations, they were INVESTMENTS into what HILLARY had promised them when she became president.... They were so sure she would win and they would be SHOWERED with HUGE RETURNS, and when it didn't happen and they LOST all those millions, they went all out to TAKE TRUMP out of OFFICE by any means possible... DID YOU KNOW that 90% of the Mainstream media and the corporations that own them, are owned by or run by BIG DEMOCRAT DONORS? You can verify all of that for yourselves...I did... Since the moment Trump won, even before he was inaugurated, the mainstream media's reporting was 92% negative on Trump, do you know why? It was those big donors that lost their dream of MILLIONS of dollars, on their returns that they were going to receive when Hillary was president and they weren't going to take that loss lightly...They needed to PUNISH TRUMP and those that VOTED HIM IN... I've said this since the night he was elected... "There is NOTHING the left won't do to take down our President", our country and us, no low they won't go to, to get their power back", and sadly, we have seen this every single day since his election. Let me ask you this...Have you ever listened to Trump or appreciated any accomplishment or campaign promises he's kept, have you ever gone to one of his rallies or have you just closed your mind to ANYTHING he does? Please ask yourselves the following questions, if you dare... What has Joe Biden done for America for the last 47 years that he's held an office? What did Joe Biden ever do for BLACKS when HE and Obama were in office? What has Joe Biden ever done in his entire life to create a private-sector job? What has Joe Biden done to help the American middle class worker? Let me also ask you this...Why do you think there are so many people tearing down statues, our burning flag, beating up police officers, disrespecting our founders and hating our country? It comes straight from our SCHOOLS that have slowly been tearing down our history... If there is a teacher out there, please tell me the following: Do you teach the truth that it was the DEMOCRATS that were the KKK? That the GRAND LEADER of the KKK was Robert Byrd, who was elected to congress and served for decades, and that it was Hillary, Bill, and Obama that gave his EULOGY praising him? That the DEMOCRATS fought the Civil war to KEEP SLAVERY? That the inner-city ghettoes were created by DEMOCRATS to keep control of slaves after they were freed? That planned parenthood was founded in inner cities to CONTROL the BLACK POPULATION? Is any of this in your history books? Let me ask you this as well. Can a student speak up when he/she disagrees with a teacher when they say that Trump is a horrible president or the electoral college has to be eliminated? I don't think so? Well, I know a student that actually happened to...When the teacher said it had to be eliminated because Hillary lost, and he stated the reason it should stay, She ripped him apart and gave the entire class a 5 hour test, and stated it was because he DARED to disagree with her... Is that happening in your schools? I'm only asking questions....I'd like your answers.. President Trump and his entire family has been vilified, demeaned and disrespected, for one reason and one reason only.......HE WON... Have you noticed the DEMOCRATS only throw tantrums and OBJECT to everything he does and have NEVER ONCE gotten behind him to make America the best it can be? WHY? They can't afford to get behind him...he would WIN AGAIN, and they can't let that happen....if he wins again, the Democrat party will be destroyed and they know it... Did you notice that the "CAGES" the left claimed that Trump built to put Illegal children in, WERE BUILT BY OBAMA for the very purpose of PUTTING ILLEGAL CHILDREN IN? Was THAT all over the news when Obama did it? The very same "CAGES"...but the media was silent!! How about when Trump commuted Roger Stone's sentence, and was DEMONIZED 24/7 but NOT A WORD when Obama commuted 1715 inmates, which included 330 that he granted on his last day in office... DID WE EVEN HEAR one WORD about it? >Were there reporters even reporting it...NO! Just look at the difference in the reporting. By the way, since Trump's been in office he's commuted 10 people...compare that to Obama...Is that reporting fair? How about when Biden and Obama allowed the H1N1, the SWINE FLU, to INFECT MILLIONS of Americans before declaring it a health emergency.... Was the press losing it's minds and calling it the OBAMAFLU AND BLAMING OBAMA and BIDEN for the spread ? SILENCE! Compare this to the NEGATIVE COVERAGE that Trump got when, he immediately halted travel from China when, in February, Nancy Pelosi went to Chinatown and said come on down, or when DeBlasio, in March, said ride the subways and go to broadway...BUT those same people are blaming Trump for the spread of coronavirus.. A FINAL QUESTION: What have the DEMOCRATS done to help make America the best, to get behind a president that works tirelessly to care about WE THE PEOPLE instead of using us as political pawns.. What have the democrats done for people of color EXCEPT for GIVING ILLEGALS more rights than citizens and having us pay for it... JUST imagine what this country could accomplish if the Democrats worked with him on the economy, the coronavirus, the inner cities where he's created opportunity zones, job training etc. When Trump tried to get school choice for inner-city students they ran Betsy Devoss out!! The dems running those innercity schools wanted no part of school choice. Have you ever wondered why it's cities that have been run, for decades, that have the MOST HOMELESS, the MOST CRIME, the most MURDERS, the worst INNER CITY schools, ARE ALL RUN BY DEMOCRATS??? If you haven't started asking yourselves those questions, maybe you should.. As I said, my entire family used to be democrats, but NOT ONE will ever vote for a democrat again....They asked themselves the same questions and the answer was clear.... I'm not looking for debates on this. I'm a Christian, and will not support the Democrats in Nov.

Added some new stuff to "Specialization"

Here is the link to the full list if you don't see it over there on the right.  "Specialization"

Overcome your fear and stand for what you believe, whatever the opposition.

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Those who have the ability to act, should. Those who do not, only support the actions of those who are evil.

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Remember; anythin’ worth shootin’ once is worth shootin’ three or four times

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See, here's the problem: When I talk to hallucinations, people think I'm crazy.

But when I don't, the hallucinations think I'm being awfully damned rude.

my hallucinations tend to cut me out of their conversations.

the voices in my head aren't talking to me anymore...

It's even worse when the voices in my head start whispering behind my back.

Tequila will fix that. It has always had my voices ramp right on up. Then they get funny just can't hold their happy juice.

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I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant

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"Take sides! Always take sides! You will sometimes be wrong-but the man who refuses to take sides must always be wrong! Heaven save us from poltroons who fear to make a choice. Let us stand up and be counted."

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"I am not a pacifist. Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay-and claims a halo for his dishonesty.

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Never chase women who are a lot smarter than you. You won't catch them, or, what's worse, you might.

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"Never expect the enemy to do what you think he's going to do, and never expect that schedules will be met on time. And, most of all, always remember the first law of battle: everything gets fucked up as soon as the enemy arrives. That's why he's called the enemy."

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“What if something happens to you?”

“I’m what happens to other people."

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Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.

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"What people do behind their closed doors is nobody's business and
shouldn't be anyone else's either. Making one's self a public display
because of your sexual orientation is a direct insult to everyone else.
It just shows that they have no respect for themselves or anyone else."

SIX BOYS AND THIRTEEN HANDS

SIX BOYS AND THIRTEEN HANDS

Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the eighth grade class from Clinton, WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capital, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.
On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II
Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?'
I told him that we were from Wisconsin. 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.'
(It was James Bradley who just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, DC, but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night .)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)

'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers'. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.
'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.
(He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire, If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph... a photograph of his girlfriend Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men.
'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country' He knew he was talking to little boys.. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'
'The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes was one of them who lived to walk off Iwo Jima . He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'
So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down, drowned in a very shallow puddle, at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken).
'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky. A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.
'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing He didn't want to talk to the press.
'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a combat caregiver. On Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died on Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the pain.
'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'
'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.'
Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.
One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is . . that if you look at the statue very closely and count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th hand was the hand of God.