Winning Regardless of Cost

What do Lia Thompson and Vladimir Putin have in common? No sense of fair play whatsoever. If Thompson would turn out to be the best swimmer in the history of the world there would be no respect coming from me. I can't even address Thompson as she, because to me she is a he. Period. And not an honorable one at that.

In doing a minimal amount of research for this post I've found that there are supposedly 7 genders. Minimum. Wrong.  There are two. DNA will prove this and DNA cannot be altered. The others are wishful thinking. Sort of like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It still started out as a sow's ear.

Understand, this post is coming from an elderly woman who grew up in the day when men were men and women were women.  Yes, there were those who thought themselves something other than what they were. It was an issue they would have to deal with, to be sure, but not foist it upon the rest of the world to the point we're expected to bow to it. Accept it, perhaps. Bow to it. No.

Lia Thompson

I am not unsympathetic to the plight of the LGBTQ+++ community. As the cliche goes, I have members of my family who are gay, and yes, trans. The situations have been handled very differently and I daresay the state of mind of each is very different from the other.  

I do know they had no one trying to give rise to the issue from kindergarten to 3rd grade or for several years beyond for that matter. Each lived what would be considered a loving, normal, and happy childhood. 

Back, for a moment, to Thompson. Some of what I read tells me that over time some characteristics might fade. Muscle mass, body hair, etc. I daresay Thompson is not yet to that point and that is why allowing competition with genetically authentic women is just plain wrong. And selfish.

There is a simple solution to the problem of trans athletes.  Let them have competition among themselves. Think of the boon to collegiate sports.  A whole new category of competition from which to raise revenue.  If anyone would watch.

Of course, that would level out the playing field they so want to tilt in their direction. It also would stir up a whole new set of issues, like could trans men compete against trans women? But wait! Isn't the fairness of competition what this whole issue is about in the first place?

What Manner of Men (and women)

 I keep hearing that Biden is leading from behind. It may have come before, but I first heard the phrase during the Obama administration.

It is murky at best.  To me, the phrase is an oxymoron.  To lead means to be out front.  To be behind is just that.  Being behind.

With this administration, it seems even worse. Leadership is an illusion. I have never in my life seen so many in leadership roles, of both parties, deny to the country that which has worked well because they so hate the man who held the presidency when put in place.

This is more than petulant, it is sick. How can all these elected officials march in lockstep?  Surely, there are a number of them, again on both sides, who know how wrong they are and what damage is being done to the country. Why do they not step forward and say, "Enough! This has to stop!" What manner of men and women are they?

This goes far beyond the decisions about Ukraine that are dithering in the netherworld of Washington. It goes to the elimination of the Keystone pipeline in favor of reinstituting the Iranian Nuclear Deal which will give Iran a free hand in their pursuits while we get nothing. Having Russians as mediators, to boot. 

This has to do with pushing the Green New Deal when the technology is nowhere near ready for prime time. 

This has to do with allowing an egomaniacal and corrupt Agency head to dictate policy that has destroyed lives, physical and mental well-being, and economic stability for over two years, and who would still be doing so had not the war in Ukraine taken front and center.

This goes to the open border policy in our own country with everything from drugs to children and sex traffickers, to gang and cartel members, and who knows who else, free entry. And I mean free for we, the taxpaying citizenry, are footing the bill for all of them.

 It's sad. It's disheartening. Whatever happened to the swinging pendulum? If it's still out there, the time is past due for it to start swinging back.  If it's going to get hung up, let it be in the center.

What Price Escalatory?

 

An item on the news last evening made me laugh before sending a chill down my spine. A Russian official has demanded we return Alaska; no matter that it was bought and paid for. Return Alaska?? Really?

It made me think. What if Russia invaded Alaska to destroy our oil reserves, say. And we were having a hard time because we didn't have what was needed to drive them back. We asked Canada for help - munitions, guns, food, sanctuary for Alaskan residents, and maybe even planes no longer in use. Canada drags its feet while Alaska is being decimated because any help they might give could be considered escalatory and would bring upon them the possibility of World War III.

Sound ridiculous? Maybe.

This morning I watched an interview with a very frustrated man asking if writing a check for aid wasn't just as escalatory only on a different scale? His conclusion was that it should be considered such. Is the fact that we're sending Ukraine weaponry not as escalatory as allowing planes to be delivered by other than the U.S.? World War III is most likely not in Putin's game plan because he, too, would be destroyed and his mission of resuscitating the old Soviet Union would be gone forever. He would have failed.  He'd not like that to be his legacy.

So what else could be happening? Why is Biden, the weakest link in NATO, holding up aircraft that Ukrainian pilots are perfectly capable of flying? Why does he toss "escalatory" around with abandon while Ukraine is being destroyed?  Never mind why the other countries are bowing to him.  That's another subject for another day.

I'm going to put on my conspiracy theory hat and suggest this.  We know that the Bidens had deep ties with both Ukraine and Russia when Ukraine was under a Russian puppet government.  We know Biden's brother and son, Hunter, held undue influence and received obscene amounts of money in return for access to Biden while he was Vice President.

My question is this. Just what does Putin have on Biden that we don't know? Is it, heaven forbid, possible Biden wants Ukraine destroyed so that any evidence that might remain in that country is destroyed? Destroyed so that Putin cannot resurrect it to use against Biden?

Oh, my, this has been an exercise in what-ifs. Or could there be a modicum of truth in the suggestion?

Benjamin Hall vs. Greg Gutfeld

 Benjamin Hall lays in a hospital in Ukraine where he was wounded and his cameraman and producer were killed while covering the war.

Gutfeld sits safely in New York City putting together his late-night comedy show - or what he thinks passes for comedy.

Hall had become a fixture on FOX News reporting on the war in Ukraine from Ukraine. How could Gutfeld state that the media is manipulating the news in order to generate a profit?

His point is they are using clips over and over again, making things look worse than they are in order to evoke an emotional response. If you begin watching coverage when you first arise and watch until you retire some 14+/- hours later, yes, you are going to see redundancy in the footage. Getting what they do show is harrowing, and as Ben Hall will tell you, not without danger to life and limb.

Does that repetition diminish the horror that's taking place? Not to me. We're seeing, often in real-time, offices, apartments, hospitals, and schools being leveled. Dead citizens in the streets which are full of bullet-ridden, burned-out cars. Streams of people are flooding pathways, highways, and railroad stations in an effort to get out. Many are women with toddlers in tow.

Hall and his colleagues, from all the news outlets, are there as the warning sirens wail in the background, to keep us informed as to just what is happening. 

Perhaps Mr. Gutfeld would like to take Mr. Hall's place and report on the media excesses in real-time. Let him get a crew together and visit the action. Hopefully, he wouldn't suffer the same fate.  I'd not wish anyone to be injured. I would like to see him rethink his glib observations and ground his sophomoric humor long enough to apologize to Benjamin Hall.

You might get the idea I'm not a fan of Greg Gutfeld. You would be correct. I don't have much time for anyone who designates themselves an arbiter of truth when they've been nowhere near the source of their suppositions.

The Measure of a People

President Zelenskyy was not the most popular of Presidents when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. That turned instantaneously when asked if he needed a ride to safety and his reply was he didn't need a ride, he needed ammunition.

That, my friends, is the measure of a leader. He has done nothing but enhance his image ever since.

Now, what about the Ukrainian people? Right or wrong, I often judge people by how they treat animals in general and pets in particular. If they don't like animals I doubt I'm going to like them.

The news clips I can't escape have shown hundreds and hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing their country with little more than a backpack and, yes, their pets. Everyone from the tiniest of children to the elderly. 

Pair that with both the men and women who have stayed to fight and you have a people worthy of the admiration, and yes, the staunchest of support, from the world. Why are they not getting it?

Well, take a look around at the hand wringing of the world's leadership.  Heaven forbid we should irritate Putin. It might escalate the war. I don't think the Ukranians want to hear it.  They're losing the country they love chunk by bloody chunk with every day that passes. 

Do our leaders really believe Putin will stop with Ukraine? One thing he is known for is telegraphing his intentions. We knew this is coming.  We also know the Baltics are next. And NATO. 

If I were a young man and able, I think I would probably join the Ukrainian cause. Even if in reality it would be tilting at windmills. Putin's wars have to stop. If our leaders don't have the moral courage to do so, may the people have the strength. 

If someone doesn't come forward, and soon, we too shall be hit one way or another.  All because we're afraid of one man.  What's wrong with us?