My letter to the Justice Department

 It has not escaped mine nor anyones notice that Fox News not only peddles misinformation, but helped give the messages for Jan insurrectionists. To make matters worse we are now on the brink of war and Tucker Carlson Purportedly parrots Kremlin Talking points with nothing done. Moreover their blatant misinformation on the virus and masks are killing and maiming people.

Now I was always told you could not scream fire in a crowded theatre, that there was a limit to our first amendment freedom. Common sense would dictate that treason or going against the public well being would be that limit. That was verified through Charles Manson getting life imprisonment for encouraging his followers to murder some people. They were brainwashed we were told. I remember seeing the bloated bodies on tv of the Jonetown Massacre, nobody hesitated calling that what it really was, but the refrigerated Reefers in front of hospitals all across the US largely filled with victims of similar rhetoric of people being told to breath deep, to inhale, it's not real. Would that not be intentionally telling people to commit suicide? If they were openly asking people to play Russian roulette, would you not act? That is what this is. Last your charges against the insurrectionists in the capital riot are laughable, I live in Montana and have lived and worked among people of that mindset my entire life. I see the Trump flags, the bumper stickers saying they have a bullet for Biden and they mean it. Every time you let off one of "Theirs' with house arrest, they are emboldened and emboldened some more. While I am sure you think these are just dumb hicks, that is true, but they are armed, dangerous and motivated to the point I can no longer argue with them at work as it's not safe. We all know it, we all know they are no longer right in their minds and are ready to go off at a moment's notice. These are not normal times you need to act strong, swift and with the full force of the law.

Putting Mega Billionaires Extreme Wealth Into Numbers You Can Understand

 Warren Buffet with a purported net worth of 111 billion dollars just eclipsed the worth of Mark Zuckaberg with a net worth of 104 Billion.  

Sounds like a lot right? Let's put it into perspective. 

Their combined wealth is worth 214 Billionaires  or if we take Trumps claimed wealth of 3 billion then it would their combined wealth would be equal to 71 Trumps. 

Still sounds like a lot? Now get ready to have your mind blown. 

One billionaire is equal to 1000 Million Millionaires. 

The average US Household has a net worth of 106 Thousand Dollars, so would take 9 HOUSE HOLDS to equal the wealth of one millionaire. 

Still think your vote matters? 

 

The Pandemic is real and worse than the Spanish flu, here's how we know.

First off, I want to be clear, I am not a doctor, I am not a medical professional, I am just a guy who is factual and likes to do research. I don't feel it benefits anyone to have more people to claim they are someone they are not spreading misinformation on the internet. I pride myself in being accurate, honest and open in my blogs. I can assure you this however, this will be reviewed by medical professionals who are close friends and not afraid to tell me when I am wrong. 

There has been debate on if this pandemic is real and if it is how severe it is, one thing most agree on is it's not as bad as the Spanish Flu and the 50 million people who died form it worldwide. The problem is people often skate past the estimated 675k which died in the US alone.  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html

First off I want to clear the air on the Spanish flu, it was only listed as such as a Spanish Newspaper broke the story on it, the label was used to slander the Spanish who were neutral in the war and it stuck. The exact location of the flu is unknown although America is one of the places it possibly originated in was Fort Riley Kansas. Possibly American soldiers being shipped to Europe carried it with them and spread it.  https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic

Now with all that said and the immense numbers shouldered by the Spanish Flu how could I possibly think this one is worse? Easy, here are my reasons. 

1. Clean water, at the time clean water was not something fully understood and not available to everyone, in fact basic sanitation was still in its infancy. 

2. No Antibiotics; Antibiotics had not yet been "invented" and secondary infections were a leading cause of death at the time, that means if you caught Pneumonia from it, there was no treatment other than to wait it out. 1928 was the year that Flemming would come to understand Antibiotics, ten years after the Spanish Flu! 

3.  Assisted living;  People struggling from air clearly did not have the ability to so much as have oxygen and the famed "Iron Lung" would not even come into being yet. 

4. Longterm Effects: While anytime your lungs sustain damage you can have lasting effects, recipients generally did not suffer from the multitude of side effects such as blood clots, organs damage, strokes and even hallucinations. 

5. Vaccination, something which again was still largely in it's infancy, vaccination against the flu was not something available as yet, not to be available until 1945. Other forms of inoculation were used dating back to our own Revolutionary war when George Washington would force Inoculation on our own Revolutionary Troops against Small Pox.  One thing which people seem to be confused on is being vaccinated does not necessarily stop you from getting a virus, but it does prevent you from having the severe side effects or long term effects that can be associated with Viruses such as Polio, Measles and Mumps. In the case of Covid19 the vaccines developed had an excellent result up to 96 percent prevention initially, but that dwindled as the virus mutated down to 35 percent with Omnicon variant. 

6. Masks; Now this part is interesting as history tells us people masked up for the most part to do their part. In an ideal situation I would be able to say "our masks today are superior to then and readily available" that of course did not happen as masks quickly sold out and people were forced to make their own for the better part of a year. Since that part has ended, so has restrictions and masking is almost not a thing at all. I will therefore abstain in this respect. 

I realize this is not perfect, but they are my thoughts on the issue for a while now. We are living in unprecedented times with nearly 900k people to date dead already, that is confirmed just in the United States. The Refrigerated Reefers outside major hospitals should be a grim reminder how serious this is as should ford having converted a manufacturing plant to make respirators, yet sadly America is still arguing. 

Folks you can believe what you want, but it's to your best interest to take this pandemic at face value, it would do you even better to realize it is nearly as dangerous when put into perspective as other Pandemics the world has seen. The fact we have modern medicine and healthy sanitation to mitigate it should also be brought into your consideration. 

I hope this helps, please, for the love of all that is pure and good, take this seriously. 

How I ended up Backpacking/Eurailing Europe

 I was working at a bar, making great money in tips, had a great trailer next to a river (I am from Montana, trailers used to be a luxury :P) and actually liked my job. 

I was doing some Amateur kickboxing and training easily as much as I was drinking, both were nearly daily.  

One day I was talking to a friend I had met who was an exchange student from Denmark, he was also a kickboxer, who  mentioned he could probably get me some fights across the puddle. 

A light went off, I hung up the phone, went to the bookstore bought two books on how to back pack Europe on my way to work and gave a months notice to my employer. 

People of course thought I was nuts but thought it a grand Idea for a young guy to do. One lady who frequented the Casino was a financial advisor who would give me a 50 dollar bill as a going away saying "Make sure you save that for a special investment down the road, you will know when it is time" I would end up saving that 50 for 8 more years, tucked neatly away in my wallet until I purchased my first house, that Fifty would be party of the downpayment! She was right, it grew and I would buy another house renting out my first, but that's another story. 

My GF at the time was sort of on board but pretty sure I should just camp out with her instead asking "Why Europe?" 

 "Because it sounds good and I can get fights" 

"oh ok" she would reply with the usual female eye roll super excited female voice, this guy's a moron going through her mind I am sure. I did not shack up with her, which on one hand is a unfortunate as she was truly an Amazing person, but had I would I have continued my trip? I'm not so sure. 

I really had no Idea what I was getting into as at the time was the end of the Cold War and years of American propaganda flooded my mind. I still believed that Europeans lived way behind us and it would not have surprised me if they still pee'd in a can and dumped it out the window. I was sure they could barely eat and lacked creature comforts of America. Did straw beds filled with bed bugs await? Would the lanterns be burning whale blubber at the local Inns? I voiced my concern to my friend in Denmark who assured me "Everything is the same just different, just pack like you are going on a normal trip, dummy"

I set a date and was ready to go, sure that I should go and get blitzed at Octoberfest in Germany, however I would mention to a friend my plans who decided he would go as well, but needed an extra month to take time off work so he could go with me, why not I thought? His Idea was also to see Europe in December to make it special so we could also see how "Other countries celebrated Christmas' now that sounded grand but ultimately would make the trip a real pain in the ass, more on that later. 

So I scrapped the plan of getting passed out under tables in Germany and settled for getting bloody noses in Denmark and  seeing the rest of Europe by Train. 

I would give up my luxurious trailer by the perfect River, load up everything I owned (Should have sold it to be honest) and head to crash at my Pa's place for the next month until I left. 

That time would be spent procuring the Eurail Pass, finishing up the books I was reading and getting whatever I deemed necessary packed 

https://www.eurail.com/en?gclid=CjwKCAiA_omPBhBBEiwAcg7smWjqgCwdWpzdTQnSWgDw2wZpd3ldiCyz8EWYu_sHc7X7F-AUY1rR0RoCGX4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

During that time I tried hard not to get sidetracked, there was a real cool Ar15 I could buy, but that was my train ticket, better not, the Ar would be there when I got back. 

A house came up for sale by a friend for the low low price of 10k, I had the cash and was super close to buying it as it was an incredible deal, but of course did not. (Crazy how cheap you could buy homes for in SW Montana 28 years ago!" Again, had I bought that house I would have made the trip. Mind you it would have paid for itself several times over, but damn it, trips are where it's at! 

Finally I needed to find a safe way to spend money, which at the time and according to my books were travelers checks. I was also sure I could see Europe on five dollars a day, one of the books I read was titled that and I was naive enough to believe it.  Wow would that prove to not only be erroneous, but a complete fabrication. 

First my trip to Denmark where huge fights awaited, glory, women and great beer! two months there then my friend would meet me, we would hit the train and off we would go. 

I would spend my last two days not sleeping, I hung out with friends, my favorite cousin (I know she's reading this now) and finally a early morning flight to Europe. 

Next up, the Journey begins