Veterans, Elections, COVID, and Nature

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.  They DO NOT represent the thoughts of any organizations that I am a member of.  

Bring Veterans Home.  I heard something today that makes absolute sense - it is long past time to bring our troops home.  Yes, it was on Fox News, but it was a liberal congressman AND a conservative TV host who actually agreed.  We've been at this shit for 19 years now - that's just our latest war.  We've spent money that could have been put to better use.  We have young people and their families and loved ones whose lives have been changed for the far worse.  

It is long past time to stop with our propping up Europe - they need to start pitching in for their own defense.  It should never have been the intent of America to have a 75 year defense blanket there.  Again, how much money have we spent there?  

I love my country and I wouldn't change a thing in terms of my service, but it is time to rethink what we are doing.  It's time to get out of the Middle East.  It's time to get out of Germany.  Now with that being said, I do agree that we should have some presence in South Korea and Japan.  

But it leads to a larger question - what do we do with our military?  OK, I can see the argument coming - what about those jobs?  Well, I've got an answer for that - augment the VA who desperately need help!!!  Just like recruiting, veterans need help too, so why not send our troops to help there for the rest of their enlistment?  They can provide security, drive veterans to appointments, the medics can help with those shortfalls, the cooks can do stuff, and hell even the maintenance/construction folks could help...

Presidential Election.  OK look, it's clear to me that at the very least we're a 50/50 country and that every vote literally counted.  But no matter what side you are on, you have to agree that it doesn't look good when big cities have significant delays in reporting results - particularly when in the past it never seemed to be a problem.  I'm not casting aspersions exactly because we are a 50/50 country, but when "delayed" ballots come in that are going significantly one way, of course people's radar is going to go up.  

"Not my President."  As for this statement, Democraps have absolutely no room to complain when the Republiturds do this.  They did it with Trump, but more importantly they did it with George Bush in that close election - so I don't want to hear the complaints - nor do I want to hear calls to "come together."  They fall on deaf ears to me until you can show that you can play nice.

COVID.  I see where Los Angeles telling everybody to "hunker down and cancel everything.  If it isn't essential, don't do it"  You really want to tell that many people in a place where going outside is everything to do this?  Good freaking luck.  

Nature.  When I was a kid growing up, my parents always took us on vacations.  Well, one year they took my brother and I to Tennessee and it was incredible.  Coming from Florida, I never saw mountains, nor was I used to temperatures lower than 78 degrees, but man when we got to the Smoky Mountains, it was simply amazing.  Well, 45 years later, I am reminded of those vacations when this was put out this past Sunday Morning.  

Of course decades later I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and my admiration for Autumn in the mountains hasn't changed one bit.  We're at the lower elevation and the last of the leaves are changing color and the next wind will blow them  off the tree.  

While I'm on a Nature kick, I thought this was also pretty cool:

Final Thought.  Things are just stupid right now, but then I look at the wonders of Nature and I think about things and how this world continues to go on, despite our generation screwing things up.  It is my hope that the next generation is free from the chains of group think and straightening things out.