Eating Healthy Is Overrated

by | Jun 12, 2021 | Health, Life

Let me make several points very clear before we get into the heart of this article. I am not saying eating healthy is a bad thing, because it’s obvious that everyone should do such. But for many people, such as myself, that’s never going to happen. I want people to know there are other factors, which in my opinion, are every bit as important as one’s diet, possibly more important. Don’t beat yourself up if you have poor eating habits, try to make up for it in other ways.

Next, this article is not based on science, it’s nothing more than my personal opinion. So please don’t refer me to scientific data proving a certain type of diet is better or healthier for you. That’s a given, nobody’s disagreeing with that premise. From my perspective, lifestyle choices are every bit as important as what you eat. I’m talking about regular exercise, which everyone in the field of medical science agrees pays huge dividends. Did you know that most surveys reveal approximately only one out of four Americans participates in a regular exercise program? That’s hard to believe.

But there’s a lot more than exercise, such as avoiding alcohol, cigarettes, and prescription drugs. Yes I said prescription drugs. Americans are like junkies, strung out on array of prescription drugs. All one has to do is listen to those never-ending drug commercials on TV when they get to the disclaimer. This drug can cause strokes, tumors, heart attacks, and on rare occasions, even death. Why would anyone voluntarily choose to take a prescription drug with so many negative possibilities? Yes, I realize that for people with certain health conditions, they must take some prescription drugs. However, I am talking about the millions of Americans who see a drug commercial and ask or demand that their doctor orders a prescription for the drug they saw on TV. Why do you think drug companies spend millions of dollars on this type of advertising? If you watch those commercials, the message is very clear. Take this drug and your life will become better in so many ways.

Before I leave this subject, allow me to summarize an article I read a few years go. It was written by physician who talked about the perils of prescription drugs. He described the following scenario for many of his patients. He said I prescribe prescription A for one of my patients. About 3 months later, I have to prescribe prescription B to treat the side effects of prescription A. Fast forward another 3 months, and then I have to prescribe prescription C for her, which counters the side effects of taking the combination of prescriptions A & B. He said it’s a never-ending cycle, which I’m sure which enriches America’s drug companies, but it probably creates more health issues than it resolves.

We all know that breathing in cigarette smoke is extremely harmful, but let’s talk briefly about alcohol, something most Americans regularly consume. Multiple studies revealed the kind of damage alcohol does to your body and possibly your brain. The type of alcohol (beer, wine, whiskey) is irrelevant. All forms are harmful when regularly consuming alcohol. By the way, I don’t believe the claims that a certain level of alcohol consumption is actually good for you.

Let’s move on to the subject of one’s diet. As for me, I’m the role model for everything doctors tell you to avoid. My lifetime diet primarily consists of burgers, fries, steaks, chicken, Italian food, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, and cake. Hmmmmmm, I’m getting hungry just thinking about the above. I know, you’re probably thinking I’m 50 pounds overweight, can barely buckle up my belt, and I’m burdened with an array of medical issues. You would be wrong. I’m about 5 to 6 pounds overweight, which isn’t too bad for a guy my age. But here’s the good news. With exception of allergy medicine, I do NOT take any prescription drugs!

I never smoked, I never drank any form of alcohol, and I’ve been physically fit my entire life. I try to make it to the gym every morning. Five days a week, I do cardio, and twice a week, even though I hate it, I do circuit weights. No, I’m not training for the Olympics, I do just enough to maintain a decent level of fitness. When my father was my age, he could barely walk up a flight of stairs, while I take them two at a time. I have yet to meet a woman who can outlast me on the dance floor. I’m LOL. I can still go to a dance club and dance the night away. If disco would somehow make a comeback, I would be so happy.

Every year I go for my annual physical. Last year, my blood pressure was almost the same as it was 25 years ago. My cholesterol is slightly elevated, and my triglycerides are way too high. That’s the price I pay for eating so many cookies and lots of ice cream and cake. Yesterday I went to the Cheesecake Factory and couldn’t decide between Chocolate Oriole or Hershey’s chocolate cheesecake. But have no fear, I knew whatever I chose would be delicious. I just had to work a little harder in the gym this morning.

I know several people who eat a very healthy diet, but they still suffer form an array of health issues. It could be genetics, or maybe it’s a combination of a lack of exercise, too much alcohol, and/or a reliance upon prescription drugs. From my perspective, the good eaters I referred to are proof that a healthy diet isn’t enough. I’m sure everyone will probably think my next comment is nothing more than wishful thinking, and you’re probably right. Eating healthy is a good thing, but it may be overrated. Despite what so many scientists tell us, I think one can make up for a poor diet with an array of lifestyle choices which I described above. I want to believe those lifestyle choices may be more important than a healthy diet, but who am I to counter what the world of science tells us.

The Democrats HR1 Bill is Another Idiotic Bill from a Party Which Often Demonstrates Stupidity

by | Jun 7, 2021 | Life, Politics

America is in big trouble. We need two strong political parties which act as a counterbalance to the other. That would hopefully result in common sense compromises to solve problems and/or resolve issues. This is what the majority of Americans want from their representatives in Washington, DC. At this point in time, the Republican Party has numerous bigots, racists, people who are anti-science, and those who have no interest in facts or the truth. To compound matters, they are a Trump CULT, worshipping an egomaniac, a pathological liar, a criminal, and an imbecile. They will do everything Trump wants, even if it is suicidal for the party.

On the other side of the ledger are the Democrats, who mean well, but can’t think their way out of a paper bag. They come up with one dumb policy after another. They are the party which came up with the idiotic slogan to “Defund the Police”. Are you serious? They also impeached Trump over one phone call, while never utilizing the 10 accusations of Trump Obstructing Justice, provided by the Mueller Report. How stupid can one party be?

The other problem with the Democrats is their inability to come up with focused legislation, which deals directly with a specific issue. Unfortunately, they try to change the world with every bill they craft. A good example is the infrastructure bill, which America needs badly. Instead of concentrating solely on roads, bridges, rail, and the Internet, they threw in the “kitchen sink”. Guess what? They did it again with HR1, the bill they crafted to counter the Republican Party’s attempt to thwart democracy by imposing numerous voter restrictions.  The Republicans enacted a series of laws which did serious damage to voter rights. But the biggest threat to our democracy are their laws which give a state legislature the ability to overturn the results of an election. Every American should be terrified of that dangerous component of the Republican Party’s pathetic attempt to stay in power and thwart our democracy.

Back to the idiots in the Democratic Party. Instead of crafting a bill, with a laser like focus on the most important issue, they once again tried to change everything which is wrong in the world with their HR1 bill. They should instead focus primarily on blocking the ability of a state legislature to overturn an election.  Thank you Joe Manchin for voting against it.

Here are some of the idiotic components of the Democratic bill.

  • H.R 1 would prevent election officials from maintaining accurate voter lists and make it harder for them to determine if voters are registered in multiple jurisdictions. This increases the likelihood that voter rolls are outdated, inaccurate, or contain ineligible voters.
  • The bill would dramatically expand automatic voter registration.  People who never give their consent could be added to voter rolls. H.R. 1 goes so far as designating colleges as automatic voter registration agencies. Are they crazy?
  • The bill would prohibit some commonsense voter ID rules and allow convicted felons to vote.
  • It enables same day registration during early voting and on election day.
  • Provisional ballots cast outside a voter’s precinct must be counted. What are they thinking?

In sum, what the Democrats are doing with this proposed bill, is trying to take the voting process and verification protocols away from the states, thereby giving it to the federal government. I understand why they want to do that, but it’s a mistake. Even if it passes, which is unlikely, I’m confident the Supreme Court would vote it down. They should instead concentrate on a very focused bill, which doesn’t allow state legislatures to overturn an election, or in any way, prohibit citizens from registering and voting. They need to incorporate some commonsense oversight which most people will agree with, as well as the Supreme Court.

Minor Events/Comments/Issues Which Irritate Me

by | May 15, 2021 | Life

Everyone has quirks and/or things which bother them, and possibly no one else. Here are some examples of issues, comments, or actions which get on my nerves.

  • You are standing online at the grocery store checkout and the lady in front of you is paying for her groceries with a paper check. Yes, in the 21st century, she’s using a paper check. But it gets worse. She waits until all of her groceries are rung up by the cashier. Then she opens her pocketbook and starts searching for her checkbook. And of course, she can’t find her driver’s license.
  • When you leave for work 15 minutes early, every traffic light is green and there’s hardly any traffic. But when you leave for work 15 minutes late, every traffic light is red, there’s a school bus in front of you, and/or a motor vehicle accident.
  • You’re working at home and the phone doesn’t ring for several hours. When does it ring? It rings as soon as you step into the shower.
  • People who drive 15 to 25 mph slower than the speed limit in the fast lane.
  • Dangerous people who ride your bumper on the highway. Tailgating will probably save them all of 2 seconds, but they still do it, endangering themselves and you. In my opinion, the majority of accidents on our highways are a result of tailgating.
  • What about those non-stop drug commercials on TV where they show people living a fabulous lifestyle, but only if they use the advertised drug. Do you listen to the caveats in those drug commercials? Use of this drug may result in strokes, heart attacks, and occasionally death. Are you going to use a drug with those potential side effects?
  • Adults on TV talking about a list of reasons, while counting them, using their fingers, as if they are still in the second grade.
  • Why do web designers, or others who create forms, place the area code portion of a phone number in parentheses?
  • Why do web designers make the log in button prominent, but hide the logout button behind an icon?
  • I hate it when someone is talking about something positive happening in their lives, then they say or actually KNOCK on WOOD. What? Do they really believe knocking on wood will continue their good fortune?
  • After talking with somebody for several minutes, they preface their next statement with, “To Be Perfectly Honest With You”. It makes me wonder if much of what they said up to that point in time was dishonest.
  • He was shot in Broad Daylight. Is that different from NARROW daylight?
  • She gave birth to a baby boy.  Thanks for clarifying, or else I would have thought it was an adult boy.
  • It was a gruesome murder. Really? Are there happy, friendly murders? They are all gruesome.
  • NBA players who repeatedly foul jump shooters, especially behind the 3-point line. They probably block one shot for every two hundred fouls they commit. Why don’t coaches take them out of the game for repeatedly committing those dumb fouls?
  • The never-ending commercials in an NFL game. The game itself is only 60 minutes, but it usually takes 3 hours plus to finish it because they have so many commercials.
  • NFL coaches or players who waste a valuable timeout over a possible 5-yard delay of game penalty in the third quarter, or early in the fourth quarter. Don’t you realize that timeout is much more valuable than a 5-yard delay of game penalty?
  • NCAA college basketball, where they stop the game after the first whistle at the 16, 12, 8, and 4 minute mark of the half, for a series of never ending commercials. It ruins the game.
  • What is your reaction when someone says, I saw it with my own eyes. Your own eyes? Really?
  • Instead of saying “First of All” or “Second of All”, why don’t you simply say, first or second?
  • It’s absolutely free, as opposed to just free?
  • I’m writing with an ink pen. Is there another kind of pen?
  • The rear taillight is malfunctioning. Thanks for letting us know the taillight is located in the rear of the vehicle.
  • Things which happen very often by accident, but you couldn’t duplicate it, no matter how hard you try. For example, I recently dropped a quarter on the kitchen floor. What happened? The quarter somehow rolled on it’s edge, right between the very narrow opening between the stove and refrigerator.
  • I waked onto a room with my gym bag on my shoulder and was stopped in my tracks. Why? Because the shoulder strap somehow became wrapped around the doorknob. I repeatedly tried to do that on purpose and never succeeded.
  • Here’s something a little different, which hopefully happens to everyone. You climb the stairs for a purpose, but when you reach the top step, you completely forgot why you came up the stairs.

Trumpism Is Not Going Away

by | Mar 18, 2021 | Life

Although Donald Trump is under assault from an array of civil and criminal court cases, and it’s very possible he may wind up in prison, Trumpism is here to stay. When Trump first became President, I asked myself how he managed to con so many rural Americans, who perceive themselves as honest, decent people. Why do they worship a pathological liar who insults people every day of the week, while surrounding himself with an array of convicted felons?

Donald Trump is also admired by millions of uneducated blue-collar workers. It took me awhile, but I finally figured out the dynamics of Donald Trump and why he became the cult leader for millions of Americans. Before I get into this subject and explain my theory, let me make it clear that I am not talking about all Trump voters. Many people voted for Trump because they liked the direction of the stock market, they thought he was good for business, they don’t like the Democrats and their policies, they didn’t like Joe Biden, or for whatever reason. That doesn’t make them all cult members. However, I believe the majority of Trump voters are in fact members of the cult. Therefore, Trump can do nothing wrong in their world and they will never hold him accountable for his pathological lying, horrible behavior, assaults on our democracy, and/or his policies.

Let’s get back to my theory. Trump didn’t con rural and blue-collar America into following his leadership. No, Trump is worshipped  because he represents them and how they think. Over the past 4 years, we learned how scary that is. They are people who are terrified by the demographic changes in America and will do anything they can to prevent that from happening. They perceive themselves as victims of the liberal elite. In their view of the world, the so-called liberal elite only cares about minorities, which makes liberals their mortal enemies. They are also people who never do research, do not read, and  believe one bizarre, radical right wing conspiracy theory after another. Facts and logic mean nothing in a cult.

Even if Trump goes to prison, loses hundreds of millions of dollars in civil court cases, or if his obese, Covid-19 health deteriorates, their view of the world isn’t going to change any time soon. We saw how they think on January 6th,  when Trump supporters assaulted the symbol of American democracy, the Capitol building in Washington, DC. The intent of many was to kill Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and VP Pence. And they didn’t allow the Capitol Police to stand in their way. So much for their love of law enforcement.

There’s no doubt in my mind those people are so stupid, they believe Trump won the election and it was stolen from him by massive fraud. Although there is zero evidence of significant fraud and Trump supporters lost over 62 cases in the court system (including Trump’s Supreme Court, plus cases decided by many judges he appointed), they still incredibly believe his massive lie reference the election. Back in November, surveys revealed about 2/3 of Republicans believed Trump won the election. Even though Sydney Powell, Trump’s attorney, told the judge in a court of law the systematic fraud allegations was a big LIE, it has no impact on what they believe happened. Remember, cult members never allow facts and/or logic to interfere with what they believe. I often wonder if they realize Trump is a pathological liar, because they believe everything he tells them.

Why would any rational, intelligent person believe this dynamic will change if Trump goes to prison or disappears because of failing health issues? They are people who easily fall prey to propaganda, conspiracy theories, and massive lies spread by Fox and social media. Even without Trump, none of that is going away. They will find another person to take over the leadership role, possibly even a white nationalist. Don’t believe that? Come on, the GOP just censored many of their own members in several different states because they followed their conscious and the evidence, by voting to impeach Trump.

What happened to thinking for yourself and doing what you believe is right? Recently, the Trump cult members in the GOP, who are dumb enough to believe there was massive election fraud, are trying to suppress voter’s rights in a large number of states.

Members of the party haven’t figured out that supporting Trump and Trumpism is a losing proposition because Trump’s base is only approximately 40% of America, possibly a little less, The majority of Americans are appalled by Trump, his behavior, and his policies.  In 4 years under Trump, the Republicans lost the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. But in a cult, they will never hold the leader accountable and/or responsible for negative results. They always come up with a scapegoat. In this case, Trump didn’t lose the election, it was stolen by the incompetent Democrats.

We really need two strong political parties to create balance, but they are unfortunately turning the Republican Party into a third world banana republic, authoritarian party. This is scary. Most people want to see members of Congress working together to do what’s right for our country. They do not want to see cult behavior, where everyone in the party must adhere to and follow the party line or they will be punished.  And right now, that party line is following whatever Trump says or does, instead of what’s best for America.