A Look At Reality. Is It Facts Or Fiction?

INTRODUCTION:

Greetings to all and HAPPY HALLOWEEN. As much as it feels like yesterday when I used to take my children out trick or treating, sadly, it was many years ago. I hope everyone enjoyed their evening. On to tonight's topic.

Last weeks post was a precursor to tonight's post. I will save my opinion for my closing statement. However, I have an opinion to share in tonight's post.

When we discuss facts, not fiction, certain variables must be removed from the equation, depending on the topic. For tonight's discussion, we MUST remove your political choices from the equation to look at the facts, and dismiss the fiction. As with all topics, there are always more than one view. Simply put, people have different perceptions of things and their own opinion. The important thing to remember is this. Like is or not. This is not only reality, but the facts. Facts are the truth.

NO ONE'S PERSONAL OPINION MAKES THEM RIGHT AND EVERYONE ELSE WRONG!

With that said, I strongly believe that regardless of your views or affiliations, political or otherwise, we can all agree we are living through what is at best, challenging times. Not just in your local states or communities, but globally. Here is another fact we must all swallow.

MOST PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE THE FACTS BECAUSE THE FACTS REPRESENT THE TRUTH, WHICH DOES NOT ALWAYS MATCH THEIR PERSONAL OPINION.

At this point, if you agree with me so far and are open-minded, you will read on. Those who are closed minded will move on.

SOME THINGS WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES:

Here are the major issues affecting most of us. For some folks, they are affected by them all. These are not listed in order of importance.

Inflation
Increased crime rates
Unsecured border
School issues regarding children and what they are taught and when
Food costs
Energy costs and reserves, fuel prices
The debate on Pro-Life or Pro-Choice
The increasing threat of global conflict
Unecessary government spending
Imigrant re-locations
Stock market (affects 401k's)
Drug overdoses
Defunding civil services
Sports
Gender Idenity

There are more, but these are the most common issues at stake right now with the mid term elections upon us.

The snart media networks ask this question. The ignorant ones do not. I will ask you to think about this one question.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE BETTER OFF TODAY THEN YOU WERE TWO YEARS AGO?

Why is that such an important questions? LAdies and gentlemen, the answer to that question is simple. That is where the POLITICS come in. Meaning, whether you agree with the left, (Democrats), or the right, (Republiicans). Traditionally, the Democratic party has always been considered the more liberal party, and Republicans, the more conservative party. However, these parties have managed to expand their platforms to the extreme left, and extreme right. This causes turmoil within each political party when it comes to how the party is run. The quickest way to breakdown anything is to have internal conflict and lack of unity. Actually, that concept applies to everything in life. Politics are just more in the forefront. The media makes sure they stick it it right in your face.

The days of impartial and unbiased news media networks seems to be gone. The very few that are fair and equal take a pounding from the others. Somewhere along the trail, the concept of fair and equal reporting has been overcast my personal agendas, money, and greed.

Inflation from the list above, is the result of many of the other items listed. It all starts with energy costs. The more it costs to move things from point A to point B, the higher the price for those items becomes. Simple right? The more money the government prints and spends and does not have the resources required to back it up, the higher the national debt becomes and inflation rates increase. Simply put, the dollar is not worth as much.

Yes, a dollar is still and always will be 100 pennies. However, as that cost of goods rise, and you cannot buy as much with that dollar, the makes the dollar worth less. Below is a link (1) to a current look at inflation rates over the past two years. In two years our national debt has increased by over two trillion dollars. We all hear the word 'trillion' so much, we lose conception of how much money that actually is. Somewhere in all of this mubo jumbo sits the stock market. How many of you remember years back when people lost their entire 401k's? Their retirement money. Investment invest based on futures. What they believe commodities will do. When something goes astray, they sell off and the market takes a nose dive. Many things, such as inflation reports, job reports, and more, goes into what the market will do. It's can be a dangerous game to play.

Pandemic relief spending in my opinion was the biggest joke. Over 4.4 trillion was spent on what was suppose to be pandemic relief. Things related directly to Covid-19. See link (2). The issues was, at the time, almost every bill passed had money allocated for things that had nothing to do with Covid-19. However, that's the political game. You want this, than gives us that. Many say much of the non-covid spending was wasted money that went to private business entities. That is all on the internet and easy to search if you care to.

Don;t stop, keep reading, it gets even more interesting. Remember earlier on I asked you to think to yourself if you are better off today then you were two years ago? Well the first link clearly shows how inflation has increased almost 7% in two years. Interest rates have increased almost 5%, and are still climbing to fight inflation, gas prices have risen nearly 50% higher. Check out Link (3).

FACTS NOT FICTION:

Facts are facts. They are the truth becuase they are based on real data. Therfore, they are NOT fiction. This data is not about your opinion or anyone else's opinion. THESE FACTS ARE NOT DISPUTED. No one can successfully dispute the truth. This is where politics come into play. What the left believes, and what the right believes. What the candidates platforms are. I have always said I DO NOT believe in political parties. I believe in voting for the individual I believe will do the job. Regardless of their political party. The problem in politics is, over the past few decades, there have been very few Presidents that do what they want rather than what their political party tells them to do.

There is very little if no consistency between the President and the party he/she belongs to. Better then half of the statements President Biden makes, the White House retracts. All of this certainly makes me wonder who is running the country. The days of voting for a candidate in every level of government based on their campaign promises seems to have gone away in today's political climate. The biggest campaign promises we always hear is, 'I'm going to cut taxes and government spending.' I'm still waiting.

Facts, not fiction. Comparing most of the things I listed above, everything was better and cheaper in the last administration. In less than two years we have over 2 million immigrants, that we know of, cross our southern border. In influx of illegal drugs into our country is out of control., and all we know about is what we sieze, we have no idea how much is actually getting through. What abouve the know terroists that have been caught trying enter our country? How many have entered that we do not know about? All individuals that we as tax payers are paying for. During this time, over 740 immigrants have died trying to cross the border. Needless deaths. Where is the humanity in that? See link (4).

This has been the leading cause of increased crime and drug overdoses in the U.S. The strangest part being, all the states that wanted to be sanctuary states and cities for migrants to come to are now complaining they cannot handle them all and are requesting federal assistance. Or, they become like Martha's Vinyard, and bus them out. So much for their commitment to humanity.

POLITICS:

Politics, it all comes down to politics. Remember, my opinion will be coming soon. Obviously, the Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on anything. They rarely can find a compromise. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was the smart one. He took the idea from the "GOP's Contract with America in 1994," which by the way was successful, and came up with a four-part Commitment to America on September 19th., if Repblicans won in the midterm elections. Some call it a contract. It made up of promises to the America people of what they will do if elected. See Link (5).

Folks, we as a people do not know who or what to trust anymore. All we know is that life as we used to know is crumbling around us. The housing market prices are overinflated. The average blue collar worker cannot afford to buy a home. Most homes in States such as Connecticut are being bought at 30% higher than value, and in bidding wars by people from New York. These people what out of that city, and with their salary ranges, they can afford it. Yet, the people of that state cannot. Their are other states experiencing the same issues.

It is similar to a mass exodus from some states. Most are moving to Florida. Somewhere to the rate of almost one thousand new residents a day. I ask you, can politics continue like this? Frankly, there is no sign of change on the horizon unless other changes are made. How far can you stretch any rubber band before it will snap?

We have lost our energy independence. Our strategic oil reserves are done 30% to try to keep gas prices down. Now to replace that oil, we have to import it at higher prices. What makes even less sense is, this administration shut down the KEystone Pipeline which in this country makes cleaner fuel that any other country on the planet, and now we are forced to buy it from other countries. This makes climate control an even higher problem becuase they do not refine as cleanly as we do in the U.S. More things that do not make sense. We are NOT gaining ground, we are losing it.

You do not need a college degree to see this is NOT working. Things are not getting better, they are getting worse, and are on track to get much worse. The more dependent we become on other nations, especially nations that we are not exactly on friendly terms with, the more we lose global standing. As Tucker Carlson said referring to Brazil, 'Once another country controls your energy, they control your country.' Are we getting close to that? We have sold so much farming land to China. A country we may be facing should something develop in Taiwan.

IN CLOSING:

I believe in the brief summation, I have made my points. Points based on FACTS NOT FICTION. Now for my opinion.

Inflation is way out of control. To a point it should have never gotten to. That is due to a poor administration.

Increased crime rates are due to this countries open border policies because our borders are NOT secured. A secured border is a border that someone cannot cross without going through checkpoints, having the proper paperwork, etc. Not just walking in wherever they can.
School issues regarding children and what they are taught and when? Parents should be knowledgable and have a say in what and when their children learn things. In a blog post a few weeks back I provided the data that showed that at these young ages, children do not have the mental capacity to understand these issues. Already we are seeing an increase in our youth with emotional problems due to all this talk and teaching about gender identity. Some things are left best to develop they will. Of course, we, and well as parents, must be open-minded about how our children develop as they grow. However, not to be influenced or taught to at such young ages.
Food costs are a product of energy costs. Get on under control, and the other will come down.
Energy costs and reserves, fuel prices. It is a threat to our national security to have our oil reserves depleted as they are. I also feel it is a threat to our national security NOT to be energy independent.
The debate on Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. This is a difficult and complicated topic. There are certainly circumstances that completely justify aborting a pregnancy. However, to be able to due right up to birth, when for a fact, that fetus is a living human being, in my opinion is murder. In my career as a PAramedic I deliver 13 babies. I cannot even think of possibility of aborting a birth in that stage. YEt, I agree with the within the first trimester choice. ASlo I have seen things happen as a Paramedic where the life of the child or mother is at jeopardy should a problem arise. There are also issues of rape that need to be considered. I think the Supreme Court Ruling to leave these choices up to the voters of each state was a fair and proper decision. LEt the people decide.
The increasing threat of global conflict. Most of this comes from a weak administration. When the leader of another country has little or no respect, and to some degree, question or fear of another leader, they will push the envelop. Think about this. When Trump was President, Putkin and China took no aggressive actions, and North Korea was held in check.
Unecessary government spending. Unless you have the resources not to put yourself in ridiculous debt, you don't spend money on things you do not need. The wasted money on the Pandemic proved that.
Imigrant re-locations. No one state has the resources to foot the bill for this many people, and the year is not over yet. The Federal Government cannot afford it as well. Tighten up the border. Finish the wall, and stop all these people from walking in and having to have us support them. Fix the immigration system to get them into the country properly and more quickly.
Stock market (affects 401k's) What your investments closely and do not take foolish risks.
Drug overdoses. Overdoses will never go away. As long as we have those addicted to drugs, we will have overdoses. However, we can control the amount of illegal drugs crossing our borders by fixing the border problem. You know, the problem this administration says we don't have.
Defunding civil services. In a perfect world we do not need police. However, we are not living in a perfect world. Since the loss of many officers, crime has been steadily on the rise. Refund the police. Get more officers on the street and most importantly, back them up. Stop these aggressive prosecutors from having no bail laws, and just releases people arrested for serious crimes. It will not be long before people will start taking the law into their own hands. Most of these criminals they just release after they arrest them commit another crime. Some even murder. Many of these have been migrants.
Sports. I think this one should be obvious. A biological man should NOT be allowed to compete in a female sport , regardless of how they identify themselves. There are major physical differences in size and strength that does not make it an even playing field.
Gender Idenity. I believe people have the right to live their lives how they choose, and what they choose to be in their lives. However, things such as hormone blockers for young children, and influencing them in school at young ages is not life taking it's natural course. With that said, should any person reach an age when they have such questions, parents should be there to support them and their choices. I do NOT believe that is the job of the school system. Should they identify an issue, the parents should be immediately notified. Teachers are trained for this during their education. However, they are NOT raising your child, and they are NOT their parents. I do not believe any teacher has the right I influence their students on their own personal life values. Do your job and teach them the basic skills they need to get a good education. Saty out of raising them.

Those are my thoughts on each issue. I ask you to respect them as I respect yours. We all have a right believe what we choose. However, is it really a matter of political parties, or is it a matter of what your morales and values are combined with common sense. Just becuase a man wishes to identify himself as a woman, yet, is still a biological man, should he be using a female restroom where a younger female child may be? Does that make common sense to you?

However, the political parties have decided to take sides on these issues. Therefore, with the upcoming midterm elections, we all must decide who we will vote for. That will depend on your beliefs. You can be either a Republican or Democrat yet not agree with their platform. This is where you must decide. My choice is made and based on my opinions, I shouldn;t have to tell you how I will be voting. Yes, that is my choice as it is yours. Don't make it about the fact that you are a Republican or Democrat. Mkae it about what you belief is right. What morals and values you carry with you. How you as a parent feels. Once you have decided that, only then can you choose who you will vote for. However, VOTE. The future of this country for the next two years sits with us all, and it's important.

LINKS:

(1) Inflation Rates

(2) Covid-19 Spending

(3) Gas Pricing

(4) Migrants

(5) Commitment