Old Fashioned Debates

 By Chuck Marshall 

Dear wise readers, 

     I posted again on FB today my humble opinion regarding politics.  I cannot help myself.  I'm a zebra with stripes.  A cheetah with spots.  A frog with a ribbit.  I am what I am.  Anyway,  what was my "beef" today ?  I can't stand the idea that I have friends on FB that have actually blocked my posts or would potentially de-friend me if I uttered a political comment to the contrary of their own opinion.  It's just so immature and dimwitted and really, at the end of the day.. boring  !  Why shy away from debate- aren't people curious why some people think the way they do ?  I love hearing opinions, even if they aren't my own.  My problem is when an opinion or category of opinions is muzzled.  It tells me the people doing the muzzling are up to no good because they cannot debate.  They have no answer but to shut you up.  That's not what our country is about.  We will NEVER solve our problems until we start listening to each other. 

     The Mainstream or corporate media is the most guilty of this.  They want to control the thoughts of people not listen to other ideas.  Why don't they see that the concept of hearing opinions equally and fairly debated is actually quite interesting AND can be entertaining !  Maybe even more entertaining than hating Donald Trump !  

Anyway, here's what I said;

"I am very vocal with my opinion because that's just who I am. I care about every FB friend I have but I often wonder about people not willing to hear other opinions. I know some people have un-friended me and blocked me for disagreeing with them and for expressing an opinion "too far to the right" or horror of horrors- defending Prez Trump. To those people that defriend people for their opinions I want you to know that I feel sorry for you for living such a shallow, narrow minded, uninteresting life in an echo chamber. This is a free country, if you want controlled thought then move to China, Venezuela, Cuba or North Korea. In those countries there's never a contrary thought because if it comes up that thought goes to prison along with the human thinking it."

In My Humble Opinion !

Follow me on X

Follow Me On Facebook

The Silent Tyranny of Modern American Media

Mad King George- The Tyrants Among Us 

By Chuck Marshall 

Dear wise readers,  

I had a post on Facebook that I left up for a few hours but decided it was too political to leave up. It is not too political for this blog though ! It was in response to a "friend" demonizing Fox News for "ruining" America. So, here it is;

"To all of you that hate Fox...the solitary voice of conservative thought on the national scene ! I rarely watch news anymore but I have found it a comfort that Fox is there with an opinion that leans conservative & not in agreement with the rest of them. Diversity of thought. .Corporate media control the thoughts of the public that watch them & are puppets of international conglomerates. They broadcast opinions of the left because it's far easier to control a left leaning government that feels entitled to maneuver the laws in their favor according to the wishes of corporate lobbyists. Disney bought Fox & it's slowly shoving it towards the left. Eventually it could be to your liking but any voice in favor of free thought & small controlled government on the national scene will be lost. Such ideas are a threat to those at the top of our society, in government, corporate, etc... You think you're supporting the little guy by cheering on mainstream journalists but it's actually quite the opposite. Liberties enshrined in the constitution could become vulnerable to shrill, hysterical, mob rule of the far left. Freedoms that even you consider important will be in danger of obliteration by a despotic government. Muzzle the voice of opposing views with great care. Eventually, it will be you who's muzzled."

     In several earlier blogs,  I labeled the idea of a Deep State or the "powers that be" as "Mad King George" because they are so much like the crazy king of England that managed to lose America due to his reckless thrusts at demonstrating power and refusal to see reason.  Our King George is a motley crew of career politicians,  corporate lobbyists, virtue signalling executives, a tyrannical media (that does the thinking for a lot of dimwitted people),  Hollywood superstars/executives cooped in their mansions with bodyguards and a sack full of obsequious bullshit,  and an academic/scientific community that feels it has now taken the place of God.   I don't believe in any conspiracy because to do so would imply something intelligent is going on.  It's not intelligent, it's just tyranny doing what it does- silencing the opposition and imposing its ideas on all of us  whether we want it or not.   All in the name of equality and "fairness".   They impose their will on the American people.  This is a very dangerous thing to do.  

Have a good day.  

Putting the Covid19 Viral Outbreak in Perspective

 By CE "Chuck" Marshall

Putting it all in perspective 

     Dear wise readers, 

     Although it was tempting to write about the political conventions of this past couple of weeks, I honestly did not watch any of the Democratic convention and only watched a few of the speakers from the Republicans and the President's speech.  I haven't felt moved to write on them, but I will write on my own perspective from the center.  Stay tuned. 

     Meanwhile, the world is still agonizing over the Covid19 pandemic that has spread throughout the world.  Since it began many have been puzzled (myself included) by the reaction from society and from the world's governments.   Was -and is -shutting it all down really a rational and intelligent thing to do  ?   There have been other flu epidemics and the reaction was hardly close to how we're reacting to this one.  What's different ?  The differences are; 1) It's highly contagious and can spread through close contact very easily.  2)  It has a much higher mortality rate than your normal seasonal flu.  3% death rate VS 1/10th of 1 %-- so it's 10 to 30 times more lethal.  3) The media is using the pandemic as a boost to their bottom line as today's society increasingly avoids them, they need more and more aggressive and alarming stories to keep people watching.   4)  The political extremism in today's society has boiled over into how we all react to a real risk.  "Are you a kind and considerate Democrat or a brave and rational Republican ?"  seems to be what's implied.  Consequently, like everything else these days, it has become political.   

     As you can well imagine, I'm in the middle !  I wear a mask because I understand that this is alarming to a lot of people so I take their feelings into consideration.  I don't think the mask makes much of a difference though and the symbolism of the left- leaning media and our governments covering our mouths is a troublesome fact.  I keep social distance because that makes the most sense to preventing the spread,  but I do go out to dinner with very little anxiety.   I intend to get out to nearby Walt Disney World soon before things start getting busy again because I've been wanting to ride the new Star Wars ride but I've never been willing to wait 2-3 hours for a 3 minute ride.   The risk for COVID vs wasting two hours of my life standing in a line is worth it !   

     Let's take all this in perspective though.  What are your chances of dying from the COVID19 ?  Statistics and odds can be very confusing because it depends on what group you're talking about and the situation.   I already mentioned that the risk of dying from COVID is 3%, but keep in mind that's IF YOU GET IT !  If you're under 35, the mortality rate drops to 1%.   So here's an easily understood scenario;  The chance of catching COVID19 on a commercial airplane assuming all passengers are wearing masks is 1 in 4500 OR- .0002. (CNN study)  Let's compare that to other statistics.  

- Chance of taking a commercial flight (as an example of being in a cramped area where people cannot move)  and catching COVID19 and then dying (not accounting for age) ;  .00006% or 1 in  60,000 

- Chance of dying in a car accident in your lifetime- 1 in 115 or nearly  1% 

- Chance of being being struck and killed by lighting- 1 in 6,000,000

- Chance of developing and dying of cancer in your lifetime-  1 in 7 - 15% 

-Chance of developing and dying of heart disease 1 in 6- 17% 

- Chance that you will die of ANYTHING next year-  1 in 715 or .0014%

      My point is, if society is really so worried about dying that they are willing to see everything shut down- as happened for the entire country in April and continues in places like California-  then consider this;  your chances of reducing the death rate and suffering of your fellow human would be much more effective if you and all the people you know were encouraged to stop smoking, stop drinking, eat right, get regular exercise, and don't have sex with strangers.  Take care of your body and pay attention to your family's habits and stop deciding for the rest of the world that your fear of death justifies we be equally alarmed and hysterical such that we are prevented from living and moving around as free citizens.  

Have a good day.  

To Wear a Mask or Not to Wear a Mask... That is the Question

By CE "Chuck" Marshall

       To wear or not to wear a mask ?  It depends on who you ask of course, but in my humble opinion,  it depends on the situation.   

How the Left Looks at it:

     The left sees wearing a mask as necessary to protect the innocent and to prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus.  They think anyone that does not wear a mask or demonstrates a lack of concern to wear a mask is not as human as they are.  These violators are defined as "not caring" what happens to other people.  This is usually their opinion of conservative ideas.  The mask itself is a highly symbolic example of them as a political group that has morphed into a hysterical mob of virtue signalling dilettantes (in as far as their understanding of REAL oppression) who have never seen a victim they didn't love, unless it's a white heterosexual man of course.   By all means, muzzle anyone that disagrees with their outrage.  They love to control other people and they demand we all react to their specific worries and sensibilities.  How dare you doubt their concerns ?  

     Their hysterics are fueled by the corporate media that is delighted with President Trump's falling ratings.  The fact that all this hurts Trump's chances of continuing as President gives the media great motivation to keep the "death tolls" running on their daily reports along with shrieking headlines about the "rampant spread" of this dangerous virus  (that has a less than one in a thousand chance of killing you - IF YOU CATCH IT-  for those younger than 40).  They even go so far as to exaggerate the rates of spread according to Red state VS Blue state.  Blue states good.  Red states bad.  

How the Right Looks at it; 

     The right sees it as another example of their freedoms being taken away.  Twitter lights up ablaze with warnings that it will be your freedoms of religion and speech that are taken away next !  They warn these will be removed systematically as a consequence of this suspicious virus (in their mind) that interestingly comes from communist China, one of the least free countries in the world !   In addition, with the virus are connections to other suspicious characters such as Bill Gates who we all know is out to halt all reproduction in the world and make a trillion dollars on the vaccine.  (Sarcasm) 
     

     The right is once again, seen as anti science as they ridicule the ineffectiveness of the mask to prevent the spread - especially since Fauci said at the beginning of all this that a mask is ineffective.  He did change his mind,  after all !  (Of course he had his reasons for this pivot if you look into it).   They follow the back and forth over a drug the President claimed would stop the virus but has not been sanctioned by the scientific community- another example of the "deep state" looking to bring down Trump.  Conspiracy theories are never ending.  The right looks on in disgust as they see the left defining  "hate speech” and “racism” and “xenophobia”, their usual rallying cries and they twist themselves inside out to find the latest victim to advocate for existent or nonexistent oppression.   Always there is  a reason, in their minds, to keep conservatives quiet but now they can literally cover their mouths !  

How Marshall in the Middle Looks at it;  

     At the end of the day;  Given the likely reality of more people getting sick if people do NOT wear their mask I don’t think it’s asking so much to wear them when around other people.   Demanding they be worn as soon as you walk outside is draconian, though.  Shutting down an economy is absolutely absurd.   I understand the concern from the left but I also understand the anger from the right.  Our ancestors came to this country in order to NOT be told what to do.  It’s in our blood.   You, those that demand we all see things the way you see them are the true oppressors. 

The Star Spangled Banner is not Sacrosanct

Published in the Orlando Sentinel - Today  July 11, 2020

**Other Options for our national anthem should not be dismissed. 

 

By CE "Chuck" Marshall 

     I wrote this letter to the Orlando Sentinel in regards to a column written by a guest columnist, Choice Edwards.  They did print my letter with some adjustments.  I actually liked their version a little better, which is unusual as they typically hack away at my letters, sometimes removing the meat of what I was saying.  The struggles of a writer !! 

Anyway, here is the original version.  If you don't get the Orlando Sentinel and want to read their version, then comment below and I'll send it to you.  

      "I read the column by Choice Edwards regarding a change to the National Anthem (Banner should give way to more unifying anthem) with great interest as I see the Star Spangled Banner as a song that sprang from a relatively minor war (the war of 1812) in our nation's history and that focuses on the flag of our country rather than our country !  In addition, it has only been our official anthem since 1931 so is not a sacrosanct aspect of our nation such as the constitution.  Mr. Edwards points out one of the historical reasons for the Star Spangled Banner becoming our nation's national anthem was at the hands of American leadership ever worried about offending the citizens of the south back in the early 20th century.   We should all step back and recognize, finally, that the Confederacy was a traitorous rebellion that ended the lives of 500,000 young Americans in the Civil War in a futile effort to maintain a southern economy based on human bondage.   It's certainly no longer necessary to be cautious regarding any nostalgia for the old south (and I say that as a son of the south on both sides of my ancestry).  It is appropriate to consider a new national anthem that holds us together as a multicultural people victorious against tyranny and oppression.   A national anthem that celebrates the beauty and ideals of America.  A song that draws us all to stand up." 

Kindly Yours 

Chuck Marshall