TRUMP – Instant Coffee Wisdom

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS!

The American way!

life liberty and the pursuit of happiness

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.– Excerpt from the United States Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776

Today is Sunday July 5th, 2020. It is Independence Day Weekend in America. Because the actual date fell on a Saturday, some businesses and institutions were closed Friday as well. Fireworks have been occurring each night across our great nation. On Friday Night President Donald J. Trump delivered a brilliant and stirring speech to a crowd of 75,000 Americans assembled in front of Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. The event concluded with a patriotic music program entitled ‘The Spirit of America’, the largest fireworks spectacle I have ever witnessed, and a live rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic preformed by the US Air Force Band.

My personal celebration took place on Saturday morning. I ran The Medal Dash ‘ALL AMERICAN’ virtual half-marathon, my 5th race of this distance in the past two months. A half-marathon is 13.1 miles (21 kilometres if you live outside the USA). A year ago, this level of personal athletic ability would not have been possible. I am stronger, faster, and fitter now because I have been training hard this entire year in anticipation of my first full marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon slated for Sunday November 22nd, 2020. I am determined to earn that Liberty Bell Finisher’s Medal, awarded ONLY to those who complete the race in its entirety. I’m proud to be an American, because AMERICAN ends in ‘I CAN’!

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GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Philadelphia PA is the birthplace of America. 244 years ago, 56 patriots risked their lives and gathered there to sign the Declaration of Independence, creating the most free nation in the history of the world. America is a land of opportunity. Sadly, there are those among us who would wish to destroy our great nation. They claim racism, injustice, and a host of contrived social ills. These are lies delivered by self-deluded individuals with no moral compass, and no direction in life. They feel the world owes them a living.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

Your life IS YOUR LIFE. You are responsible for you own wealth, health, success, and happiness. The world owes you NOTHING. It is your job to pursue your own personal path to success. It is out there. Opportunity abounds and the possibilities are endless. You yourself have to do the work! No one is going to do it for you, and even if they did, could you truly appreciate it? There is pride in personal achievement. Every medal on my trophy wall is hanging there because I did the work, put in the time, and earned those medals. You can be successful, if you choose to be. That decision remains entirely in your hands. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Your life IS YOUR LIFE! So go forth and start living it! Seize the day! As always, I wish you success and happiness!

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HAPPY(?) MEMORIAL DAY!

GOD HEAL OUR COUNTRY!

happy memorial day

For many Americans, Memorial Day has two meanings:

First and foremost, it is a day of remembrance to honor our fallen military service men and women who gave their all defending our nation so that we can enjoy the freedoms that they died to protect. Secondly, it is the ‘unofficial’ start of the Summer vacation season. The weather is nice enough usually to have a picnic and grill, take a day trip, or enjoy a 3-day weekend if you don’t have to work Monday.

I consider myself to be a very patriotic person, I love both God and our wonderful country. I make no secret of the fact that I am a Christian first, an American second, and a Trump supporting Republican third.

When I first started writing http://www.InstantCoffeeWisdom.com three years ago, I was because I had just enjoyed a great Summer vacation, and I wanted to share how The 52 WEEK CHALLENGE helped make it possible. So the first year my articles focused on ways to save money, spend wisely, and try to simplify matters of finance. The second year of articles was more about demonstrating how negative thinking and bad information hurt your chances for success and happiness. I focused on The bigger picture and discussed how religion and politics played a very important part in your success. The freedoms that we enjoy in this Christian nation are always in peril if the wrong leadership is voted into office. As for this third year, I have been writing mostly about health, diet, and exercise. The purpose was to show that your health is form of wealth. What’s the point of being rich and successful if you’re sick and miserable? You want the trifecta! You need to hedge your bets on being happy and successful by being strong in mind, spirit, and body.

For me personally, during this three year odyssey I have seen vast improvements in my life. I’ve lost 90lbs, took up competitive running, and am currently in training for my FIRST MARATHON! The Philly Marathon on Nov 22, 2020 has been a goal that I have been working toward since I ran my first 5K over a year ago. The finishers of the race receive a very patriotic Liberty Bell Medal.

finishers medal

I felt amazing and empowered! 2020 was starting out to be my best year ever! And then COVID-19, the virus that shutdown the world struck in mid-March.

At first, American were asked to make ‘small’ and ‘temporary’ sacrifices to preserve our nation. We were reminded of the sacrifices of life and limb by our military, and that this was nothing compared to what they sacrificed for us. And then the small got larger, and the temporary became long term. Days turned into weeks then became months. The forever quarantine seems to have no end in sight as non-essential workers are still sitting at home with no income wandering how they will feed their children. For them, there will be no ‘Summer vacation’, just this soul-crushing ‘Corona Vacation’ with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one to do it with, because half the country is terrified of contracting the virus.

I am a runner, and a runner runs. Since the start of this viral outbreak, I have seen ALL my April, May, and now June, possibly even JULY races being cancelled one after another because of restrictions in assembly of large groups and social distancing. Even non-running events like the Bowers Chili Pepper Festival that I attend in SEPTEMBER are now being cancelled! Fall County fairs are being scrapped this year, and I’m even wondering if JEEP WEEK in OCMD will actually happen now.

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Fortunately my small group of running friends, The Pack have stood together throughout this shutdown substituting virtual races for official events. So we have been having regularly scheduled weekly races, and running virtual half-marathons So for the near future, reality is virtual. But virtual races are really just not the same as actual races. My nightmare is that the biggest race of my entire life, the one that I have been training so hard for The Philly Marathon might get cancelled this year.

Yes, The Pack has vowed to set up support stations for ME along a virtual 26.2 mile course should the Philly Marathon SIX MONTHS AWAY be postponed due to COVID-19. But I don’t want ‘MIKE’S MARATHON’, I want the real thing! The annual event hosted by the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the third Sunday of November each year since 1954. The one with over 30,000 runners, 60,000 spectators and 3,000 volunteers! The one with the course that takes you past historic landmarks, and past the Liberty Bell! It actually brings me to tears just thinking that my first Marathon might be the next victim of this cursed virus.

So yes, it is Memorial Day Weekend, and I am going to have a picnic with my friends. Hopefully some part of the Summer may be salvaged, but I’m finding it very hard to be optimistic while being bombarded by this constant stream of negativity. So God bless America, God Bless President Trump and his family, and God heal our country. As Always I wish you success and happiness!

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THE POLITICS OF DOOM!

WE THE PEOPLE VS LOCKDOWN!

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There has been a lot of COVID-19 fear-mongering being generated by both the ‘LEFT’ and ‘THE LIBERAL MEDIA’. COVID-19 AKA ‘the Wuhan coronavirus’ has infamously become the virus that shutdown the world. There have been cases in nearly every country on the planet, and many countries including the USA have been virtually shutdown. Non-essential businesses have been shuttered, and a fair amount of they will never re-open. Even with the recently passed CARES Act providing Small Business Loans, many businesses will face an uphill struggle once they re-open whenever that may be.

Last Wednesday, US President Donald J. Trump expressed his strong desire to re-open the USA, ASAP, preferably by the end of April, if not sooner. He also stated that the re-opening would be on a case-by-case basis, according to the wishes of the governors of each state, and with the support of the Federal Government. Almost immediately, the president was slammed by the Left and their supporters. Democratic state governors vowed to extend the lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions into May, and possibly beyond.

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin

Like a growing percentage of Americans, I for one am sick to death of being told what to do, where to go, what I can or cannot buy, and that it’s to prevent the deaths of sickly people who cannot fight off the disease if they should contract it. You quarantine sick people, you do not quarantine healthy people. COVID-19 is a virus, just like the flu is a virus. Just like the flu comes back each year, in all likelihood we will have resurgences of COVID-19 annually for some time. I’m not a virologist, but it seems like a logical assumption. Does this mean that we will shut down the nation for several months every year?

I want my life back! I want to go into stores and buy six cases of water if I so desire. I want fully stock store shelves! I want NORMAL shopping hours! I want to do to my gym and be able to exercise on my way home, and to be able to sit down at a diner for breakfast. There are friends that I haven’t seen in weeks, and probably still will not be seeing weeks from now because they are terrified of contracting the virus, and I don’t see their mindset changing even when the restrictions are lifted. When you live your life in fear, you are afraid until the day you die.

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At state capitals across the nation protesters are gathering in mass to demand the shutdown be ended. People need to feed their families, people need to go back to work, and life needs to go back to normal.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. –Isaiah 41:10-13 NIV

As of the writing of this editorial, the current counter for COVID-19 in the USA stands at:

Cases- 957,362
Deaths- 54,145
Recovered- 116,201

With a total US population of roughly 330,000,000 people, 54,145 is a statistically insignificant percentage of the population dying from the disease. Most projection models of the virus indicate that not only are we past the peak, but that we also did not see the millions of deaths indicated by the ‘prophets of doom’ who told us all to shelter in place. We are barely at a million cases, about 10% fully recovered, and 5% died. So overall, only one person in 330 caught the virus, and that person had a 95% likely survival rate. To put this is a ‘real world’ microcosm, let’s look at my job:

My day job is considered an essential service. I have been gainfully employed since the first case of COVID-19 appeared in the USA back in January. I have co-workers who wear gloves, facemasks, and practically bathe in hand sanitizer. I for one, do not. I refuse to live my life in fear, and I do not kowtow to the socialist propaganda of the lunatic fringe. Last week a masked coworker cursed me out and practically accused me of attempting to murder his entire family. I did not retaliate. I stood there calmly listing to him rant and rave, but I was rather annoyed at the least. I get it, this man was AFRAID. To me his fear was totally baseless, but it was very real to him. If he feels a mask, gloves, and sanitizer are essential to his health and safety, by all means he should be allowed to use them. I refuse to be forced.

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We have more or less, about 300 employees spread across 5 branches, and about a dozen zones. Yesterday, the ‘big-boss’ announced that ONE person has JUST this week tested positive for COVID-19. And I’m willing to bet that that one anonymous co-worker has a 95% chance of making a full recovery. They won’t tell us who it is because of privacy laws, but if we came in contact with he or she, they will inform us personally.

“I now believe that television itself, the medium of sitting in front of a magic box that pulses images at us endlessly, the act of watching TV, per se, is mind crushing. It is soul deadening, dehumanizing, soporific in a poisonous way, ultimately brutalizing. It is, simply put so you cannot mistake my meaning, a bad thing.” – Harlan Ellison

Listen up, while many of you are still sitting at home locked down in state-imposed, or self-quarantine, you’re probably spending a lot of time sitting in from of the TV. If you are listening to newscasts or talk shows that are left-leaning, you are probably being inundated with a constant deluge of negativity concerning both COVID-19, and how President Trump is handling the situation. Understand, whether or not you believe it, the president is doing everything humanly possible for the good of the American people. The CARES Act is providing COVID-19 Impact stimulus checks that are being sent out nationwide.

a stack of three example u s treasury checks for stimulus paymen

Not one person in the USA who needed a ventilator due to COVID-19 has been denied a ventilator, and the hospitals still have not been overrun. When Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat governor of the state of NY cried he lacked hospital beds, the Army Corps of Engineers converted the 1,800,000-square-foot Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City into an alternate care facility for more than 2,000 non-COVID-19 patients in a matter of days! The USNS Comfort Hospital Ship was sent to aid New York! Neither was needed.

And regarding the recent $484 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) was the only Democrat in both the House or Senate to oppose the bill. Her reason? She felt the Republicans and the president were getting too much of what they wanted. The Government SERVES the people, not the other way around.

This virus is NOT a death sentence. Your best defense against COVID-19 is a healthy immune system. You get that from having a healthy and active lifestyle. You get that by eating healthy and exercising, and avoiding stress and negativity. The GOVERNMENT cannot protect you from getting ANY disease, or virus. Your health is up to YOU. This lock-down is purely political. This is an election year and the Democrats are desperate to retake the government by making Donald Trump look bad. Don’t be cattle led to the slaughterhouse. If President Trump is not re-elected in November, America will be the final victim of COVID-19. It is my sincere hope that my fellow Americans see through the Democrat’s deceptions and re-elect this great man. KEEP AMERICA GREAT! God bless America, and God bless President Trump and his family! As always I wish you success and happiness!

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WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…

Make lemonade!

When Life Gives You Lemons

We’ve all heard the old saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” It is a cleaver way of making the best of your situation. Lemonade is such a simple thing to make, the most basic recipe uses just three ingredients. lemons, water, and sweetener of choice. You can even make it healthy by avoiding processed white sugar. Sweeten it to your taste with stevia, or honey, just avoid the artificial sweeteners, that stuff is worse for your health.

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Covid-19, AKA ‘the Coronavirus’ has shut down nearly the entire USA, as well as most of the world. As I happen to live in the USA, my focus is on what is happening in my country. As of April 1st, 2020 there are over 300,000 cases of the disease in the USA, and over 8,000 deaths. Everything is cancelled or closed. Today is Palm Sunday, next Sunday is Easter, and for the first time in the history of the USA, people will not be allowed to gather in churches to celebrate Holy Week. Any worshiping of Almighty God has been relegated to whatever private citizens are doing in the privacy of their homes, with their family members who live under the same roof. Guests need not bother visiting, least they bring the plague with them. People are scared, people are unemployed, and people need hope.

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This past week during a Covid-19 press update from the White House rose garden, President Donald J. Trump invited Michael J. Lindell to speak. Lindell was one of several CEOs present to speak at the conference, and he owns the My Pillow brand. Like many companies eager to do what they can to stop the spread of this highly infectious Coronavirus , Michael Lindell explained how his company has temporarily stopped making pillows and re-tooled to start making surgical face masks. He concluded his portion of the conference by encouraging people to enjoy the time spent isolated with their families, and to spend time reading their Bibles.

As it stands at this time, the shut down continues, and will last the reminder of the month of April.

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God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.– Reinhold Niebuhr, 1943

This is the first time in the history of my country that the entire nation has been shut down for weeks. The last time we had widespread shortages and rationing was during World War II. At Heath Evangelical Union Church in Heath, Massachusetts, Reinhold Niebuhr first spoke his famous Serenity Prayer at a sermon delivered while the country was embattled in war. Today, like then, we are fighting a war, only it is now against an invisible enemy. We cannot control the virus. It is a force of nature, and it must run its course. We cannot control how long the shutdown remains in effect, and we cannot control who dies from the disease because their immune system was just not strong enough to fight the virus. There is no cure. There is no vaccine. They can treat the symptoms, isolate you if you get it, and in extreme cases put you on a ventilator if you stop breathing, assuming there is one available. The only thing you have control over now is yourself. If you are unsure of how to avoid the virus, or what to do if you are sick, consult the official US government website at https://www.coronavirus.gov

God tells us not to waste our lives worrying about what may come to pass, or obsessing over things which we have no control over. God is real, and God is good, ALWAYS. You can choose to curse the darkness, or you can choose to be a source of light in the world. No matter what the situation, you can choose to make the best of the hand you are dealt and rise above your circumstance. The economic ripples from the impact of the coronavirus will be far reaching, but for now we just have to hunker down and get through it.

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For me personally, the last Sunday in April is a special anniversary. One year ago, on April 28th, 2019 I became a runner. That was the day I ran my first ever official 5K race. Over the course of the year I would run nearly a dozen races, including 2 half-marathons. This year I had planned to run more than two dozen races as I trained towards running my first marathon in November. Now all of my official races in April have been cancelled, as well as some in May, and possibly even some in June. I cannot go to the gym and train on a treadmill, gyms are closed. Fortunately my small pack of running friends and I have been hitting various trails and making our own fun.

The Wolf Pack 2

Yeah, there are no race t-shirts, no medals. It’s just fun-runs. I had been looking forward to running a half-marathon on the last Sunday of this month with my friends to celebrate, but that race was cancelled. The best thing about half-marathons and up is that you get a finishers medal when you complete the race.

It is my firm intention NOT to allow this virus to destroy all the progress I have made this past year, and moving forward. My official races have been cancelled but I am doing more running now than I ever have with the support and encouragement of my friends. Today The Pack will be running at least 8 miles. A runner runs! Just because you cannot do the things you normally would, you don’t quit! A runner runs! You find an alternative. A runner MUST run!

Going Virtual

MEDAL DASH is hosting a ‘virtual race’ The #CRUSHCORONA 5K/10K/13.1/26.2

https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/VirtualRun/CRUSHCORONA5K10K131262VIRTUALRUN

A ‘virtual race’ is one in which a person signs up online, pays the registration fee, and you run the race ANYWHERE during the appointed time period. You submit your time to the website, and they mail you your t-shirt and medal for completing the race. So today I’m going to encourage The Pack to help me celebrate on April 26th and run this virtual race when we meet this morning for our run. There’s about 8 in the group, and the line-up changes depending if people are available to run when we meet up. Usually it’s always been about 4 or 5 at a time. At least two of them will definitely run 13.1 miles with me, and another two may opt to go 10K. If it rains that date, we’ll do it the following week. You can’t control the weather, and The #CRUSHCORONA 5K/10K/13.1/26.2 virtual race can be run any time prior to May 31st.

Now some people are un-employed at the moment due to this shut down, and maybe paying money for a virtual seems frivolous. My situation is good, for now.

There is also a totally FREE series of virtual races The UnCancelled Project offered by RUN THE EDGE just for fun during the month of April, and I will be doing these as well.

https://runtheedge.com/pages/un-canceled-project-registration

Being healthy is your best defense against COVID-19. Getting outside for fresh air and exercise is recommended by public health officials in most areas at this time, but precautions are necessary. It’s important to follow careful guidelines:

DON’T go out if you’re sick! Stay home and help protect others.
DON’T organize workouts in large groups. Keep it small.
DO announce your presence to others to help maintain the recommended six feet of social distance.
DO stay informed on your local rules and regulations in response to COVID-19.

The Wolf Pack

If you are in an area that’s under a total lock-down, use your time at home wisely and do things to improve yourself. There are all sorts of home exercise programs you can start, if you have the internet, you have the sum total of human knowledge at your fingertips! Read, especially read The Bible. Catch up on all those chores you’ve been putting off. Don’t just sit there feeling sorry for yourself, enjoy your life! As always I wish you success and happiness!

The virus that shut down the world!

When you live your life in fear, you are afraid until you die.

THE VIRUS

I’m a few hours late posting today’s blog. Honestly, I was struggling whether or not to even post it, because it reflects my personal opinion, and may generate a bit of a backlash due to its controversial nature.

You may have seen Venn diagrams before, though you might not have known what they were called. In a Venn diagram, you group items in two or more circles, and if they have anything in common, the circles overlap. It is a way of listing interrelated content to show how things connect.

Venn-Diagram

When I started writing my weekly blog InstantCoffeeWisdom.com it was with the intent of demonstrating that success and happiness are yours for the taking. A way of showing you ‘the possible’ where you only saw ‘impossible’. These weekly articles are a sort of a series of interlocking Venn diagrams. I started out writing about microeconomics, built up to macroeconomics, then discussed how your views on finance, religion and politics are connected. Since the beginning of the 2020, I’ve been focusing on how your health is interconnected to your finances.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room, Covid-19. I honestly do not want to write about the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, but if there is a bigger Venn diagram linking health, wealth, politics, etc, I certainly can’t think of one. Because Covid-19 is such a hot-button topic impacting every major country on Earth, I feel a duty to my readers to discuss the subject. You may not like what I have to say.

Full disclosure: I am a Trump supporter, and I am of the opinion that the virus is being politicized. By that I mean that the liberal media is using it to stoke fear, to spread misinformation, and to make President Trump look bad in the eyes of voters in a effort to deny him a second term. This is an election year.

If you hate Trump, nothing he says or does will ever be good, right, or intelligent. Nothing I say on this subject will change the way YOU feel. Likewise, bashing Trump will not go over well with me. I support my president 100% and no person on Earth is more qualified to lead the USA during this crisis. Whether you chose to believe it or not, President Donald J. Trump cares about you and your country, and is doing everything in your best interest.

Yes, I am ‘concerned’ about Covid-19, but I am more concerned by the economic ramifications than I am by the health implications. Covid-19 ‘can’ kill you, but so can the flu and countless other diseases.

It is my personal conviction that the very best way to beat this disease is to be healthy enough in the first place by living a healthy active lifestyle.

Worldwide over 650,000 people have gotten Covid-19. 30,000 have died, but 100,000 have fully recovered. In the USA we have over 100,000 confirmed cases, and less than 2,000 deaths. The US population is 330,000,000. Some smaller countries like Italy have been harder hit. Yes Covid-19 is highly contagious, so if YOU are sick you need to self-quarantine. Same goes if you have a weak immunity system. Stay home. From my perspective, the percentage of getting the virus is so small, and the chances of dying so small that I’m not worried . Everyone of us is going to die from something, someday. By having a healthy active lifestyle, we increase our chances of living a long and productive life. No matter what precautions we take, risks we dare, or calculations we make, NOTHING is guaranteed in life. I refuse to let fear run my life. God is in control.

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I have co-workers and friends who are freaking out with worry and blind panic over this disease. If you accidently sneeze or cough, you are treated like you’re trying to kill them. They wear masks and rubber gloves, and I keep waiting for one of them to show up wearing a full hazmat containment suit one day. I don’t wear either gloves or a mask, and maybe I’ll use hand sanitizer once or twice a year on a whim. I certainly don’t bathe in gallons of the stuff like the people around me are doing right now. Either I’m right, or I’m wrong. Ask me next year how I made out.

There’s an epidemic of what I call ‘well-shaming’ and ‘single-shaming’ going on. If you’re healthy and well, you’re being told that you’re asymptomatic and just because you feel fine doesn’t mean you don’t have the virus, so YOU should stay home so THEY can be safe. And if you’re single and well, you’re being told the same thing, that YOU should stay home so that THEIR family will be safe. If YOU are worried that I MAY infect YOU, by all means please stay as far away from me as makes you feel safe for as long as you need to. If you are immune compromised with a weak immune system you need to be very careful with everything YOU do and YOU need to take every precaution that YOU need to take to ensure that YOU don’t get the virus. I want you to be happy and healthy. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, and I am doing what I think is right for me. Just don’t tell me what you FEEL I SHOULD be doing, because I just may tell you WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO! This is still a free country.

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LET’S TALK HYGIENE!

Proper hygiene is essential to good health. As the old saying goes, ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’. You should always practice good hygiene, pandemic or no pandemic.

Wash your hands frequently, especially after going to the restroom, or before handling food.
Avoid touching your face
Cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing, use a tissue if you have one handy.
Clean and disinfect frequently used items and surfaces.
Bathe daily
Wear clean clothes
If you’re sick, stay home!

I’M ALL OUTTA BUBBLEGUM!

Aside from illness, the Covid-19 panic has lead to widespread shortages as people began hoarding various goods. Most Americans have never faced such widespread shortages of needed groceries, shut downs of shops and services not deemed essential. We are not used to being told NOT to go to church, not to travel, not to gather socially. The last time we had nationwide rationing of foodstuffs was probably during World War II. It’s certainly the first time in my lifetime that the nation has been virtually locked down.

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Again, if you’ve been reading my blog from the beginning, you may recall my early article Oh no! Not Again! from October 22, 2017. If you followed my advice, you had a fully stocked larder with plenty of supplies to fall back upon. You had cash reserves to see you through as businesses closed under government orders, and people were told to stay home.

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If you failed to follow my advice, sorry, but I did try to warn you. My heart bleeds for the single mom struggling to make ends meet who went to buy the ONE pack of diapers she desperately needed only to find bare shelves. Or the person that needed toilet paper, and tried pleading for ONE pack with a greedy hoarder who filled their shopping cart with every last roll on the shelves. These people never expected to encounter these types of shortages. It’s like telling little Billy not to touch the hot stove, only to hear an ear-splitting wail of pain not five minutes later. Pain is a powerful teacher . It is sad and unfortunate that some people must experience hardship in order to learn valuable life lessons. Things will get better, most of us will be just fine. Some of us will sail through this unscathed, and some of us are going to suffer either because we filed to do the right thing at the right time.

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Fortunately On March 27, 2020 President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act, a relief package aimed at mitigating some of the economic fallout caused by efforts to allay the spread of Covid-19. Employees furloughed, laid off, or fired will begin receiving a onetime stimulus check to help tide them over. Retirees will be getting checks also according to AARP. Payments may be arriving as early as this Monday for some. The quicker that people get back to work, the faster life will get back to normal. The longer business are shut down, the less likely they will be able to ever open their doors again. There are provisions in the CARES Act which will provide business both small and large with government loans. Hopefully the country will heal as a nation and become stronger. Hopefully people will learn from their mistakes and be better prepared for the next disaster. We hope for the best, but should prepare for the worst. As always I wish you success and happiness!

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DREAM BIG!

Just start small!

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Many historians and scholars regard Leonardo da Vinci as the prime exemplar of the ‘Universal Genius’ or ‘Renaissance Man’, an individual of unquenchable curiosity and feverishly inventive imagination., He is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived. Leonardo da Vinci was also possibly the greatest painter of all time. He died just over five hundred years ago at age 67 on the 2nd of May, 1519. Leonardo da Vinci dabbled in many different fields. He was a dreamer. His surviving journals contain sketches and diagrams of fantastic devices such as flying machines and military tanks. Funny thing though. He NEVER published his discoveries and kept his journals secret. He also NEVER built any of the machines he envisioned. On his deathbed, he is said to have lamented that “he had offended against God and men by failing to practice his art as he should have done.”

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“But he was a great painter” you may be saying to yourself. What you do with your life, and what you WANT to do with your life are two entirely different things. da Vinci was great at painting, but painting was his JOB. It was how he financed his livelihood. He may have been passionate about it and enjoyed doing it, but there was more to life that the man dreamed of doing. For whatever reason, he just never did the things he REALLY wanted to do. Regret is a terrible thing.

There are many reasons why people do what they do, and just as many reasons why they don’t. You can break the reasons down any way you choose, but I prefer to narrow them down to five.

The five reasons people don’t do things come from weakness–

Ignorance
Fear
Indifference
Laziness
Spite (Or Hate if you prefer)

The five reasons people do things from strength–

Wisdom
Courage
Caring
Determination
Love

We are not born strong. We grow strong by working on our strengths. It isn’t instant, it takes time but it will not happen unless we start. Starting is the key to going down the path of life that we wish to pursue. We have to do it ourselves, no one can do it for us, and it can be a truly terrifying thing to begin to do something you’ve never done before. It is the determination and courage that keeps us going. With each new success we gain the wisdom of knowing that we can do it. We did it before and we can do it again. In time we begin to enjoy and even love the little bumps in life’s road because we see them as challenges to overcome instead of obstacles blocking our path. You only get one life here on planet Earth, there are no do-overs or dress rehearsals. Life is meant to be lived! Instead of merely choosing to EXIST I urge you to experience LIFE, I urge you to LIVE. It is okay to dream, and dream BIG, but more importantly, YOU MUST START! Don’t be afraid to start small. Great things grow from modest beginnings. Baby steps are your friend, not a source of ridicule. Just do it. Ignore all the naysayers and negative know-it-alls. Their dreams have long since died and they can’t stand to see you succeed where they have failed, and. Now the only way they can feel good about themselves is by bringing you down. What they think of you says more about them than it does about you. You need to cut ties with all the negativity in your life. This goes for both things and people. If it’s not helping you to grow, it’s holding you back and poisoning your mind with negativity, fear, and doubt. You will never have a positive life if you have a negative mind.

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When I first started http://www.InstantCoffeeWisdom.com on Sept 10th, 2017 I did it with one goal in mind. That goal was to prove that the life you wish to lead was within your grasp. It wasn’t going to be given to you, you had to work for it if you really wanted it, and it was there for the taking if you did. The first blog post was THE 52 WEEK CHALLENGE . The entire first year was spent producing weekly posts to show you ways to cut costs, save money, and budget. I focused on microeconomics , or personal finance in order to educate you to the larger issues. What good does it do to discuss index funds if you don’t even have two pennies to rub together? And how could you possibly even comprehend the national debt if you don’t know how to balance your own budget? The second year was spent focusing on macroeconomics, and explaining as well as demonstrating the interconnectivity of the three big no-nos of polite conversation: politics, religion and finance. By sharing my ideas, knowledge, and opinions, I not only encouraged you to improve your life, I also re-enforced my own goals and improved my life as well. I am not some ‘do as I say, not as I do’ hypocrite, I’m sharing my success stories with you and encouraging you to ignore the fake news and trust me when I tell you this is all for the best. If you have the privilege of living in America you have a charmed life. We currently have a great President who is doing everything in the best interest of the country, and putting America First. This is a land of endless opportunity and you can dream big. You can succeed easily if you are willing to do the work. Always remember American ends in “I CAN”!

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If you only started reading my blog recently, I encourage you to begin reading at the beginning over the next few weeks while http://www.InstantCoffeeWisdom.com goes on hiatus during my summer vacation. This year I’m spending even more time at the beach, enjoying my new Jeep, and running my first half-marathon the Saturday after Labor Day. I hope you have an awesome rest of the Summer and as always, I wish you success and happiness!

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HERE’S THE SKINNY!

Words of wisdom from ‘the Mayor of Hollenbach St.’

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“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

The ‘Skinny’ is a slang term meaning the inside story, or the real truth. The first use of this term is listed as being 1959 and may have developed out of other related slang phrases like ‘trimming the fat’ or ‘getting to the meat of the matter’. It’s appropriate because sometimes truth can be hidden under layers of deceptions so thick that all you can see is the big fat lie being presented and not the real truth. You may also of heard another catchy phrase, ‘you are what you eat’. That is a bit older and was first used by French author Anthelme Brillant-Savarin in 1826. It also needn’t apply to physical food but can also relate to concepts, knowledge and motivations. What you put into your mind changed the way you think and becomes the lens with which you perceive reality. Wearing ‘rose-colored glasses’ doesn’t change reality either, it just changes the way you view things and means having a positive outlook. That phrase goes back to about 1830.

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Mahatma Gandhi was a man of peace who freed India from British rule in 1947. He is attributed with the pithy quote ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’, but this is not his actual quote, just a highly shortened paraphrase of the wordy quote listed at the beginning of this blog post. He wasn’t Christian, but he had some good things to say about life and living.

If you ingest a constant stream of negative, depressing, miserable lies, you will become negative, depressed, and miserable. The lies will become your reality, and you will call truth a lie whenever you hear it. If you put garbage into your mind, you get garbage out so remember that. GARBAGE IN GARBAGE OUT or G.I.G.O. for short. It is no wonder that the phenomena labeled ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROM’ has been coined to describe leftists who totally lose their minds whenever conservatives praise our wonderful president for all the good that he has accomplished (and continues accomplishing) during his first term in office. It’s also why conservatives claim that ‘Liberalism is a mental disorder’ sometimes even go so far as to label them ‘Libtards’. Libtards truly believe the lies and fake news they hear, see, and read. For them, Donald J. Trump is literally the same as Hitler, and all his followers are racists , misogynists, gun nuts. They think socialism is a wonderful idea and believe in a free lunch . They ignore the fact that unemployment is at a historic low, the stock market is at new record highs on a weekly basis, and our wages have increased while taxes have dropped. And they are aghast that we are going to re-elect Trump in 2020.

The modern Democratic party has done more harm to the American way of life than can possibly be written in a single article. Whole books have been written. Saul Alinsky’s protégés had nearly succeeded when Trump upset their apple cart in 2016! You may ask yourself why any sane person would want to destroy their homeland, especially a shining beacon of hope and freedom such as the USA.

That’s easy. It’s because they are globalists who reject American exceptionalism and crave power at all costs. To them American citizens are nothing but cattle, a resource to be controlled and exploited. Wolves like fat sheep.

The Mayor of Hollenbach St.

If you go to the intersection of Schuylkill Ave and Hollenbach St. in Reading PA, you will see a mural painted on the side of a house. The portrait is of my late friend and former co-worker Harvey W. Kimble. Harvey died from a fatal heart attack on January 19th 2014. He was only 55. He owned several properties on that small city block, several of which he rented out as Section 8 housing. He lived in one house on the block with his family. He was a US Marine, a postal letter carrier, and a very kind and caring man. I never saw him in a bad mood or angry, and he always had a smile on his face that lit up the room. He cared about everyone, and the people on HIS block called HIM the Mayor of Hollenbach St. He always had lollipops for children and would give you the shirt off his back. A great guy.

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Harvey was also very up on politics and current events and studied the newspaper daily, clipping articles for his files. He would write up editorials and pass out copies to his friends. I always kept the copies he gave me, which was a good thing because one day his hard drive got accidentally re-formatted and he lost everything EXCEPT the dozen hard copies he had handed me over the years. Perhaps his most important editorial story was an allegory titled THE SKINNY COW. Harvey encouraged people to think for themselves and read between the lines. Always remember that ANYTHING the government provides was first taken from someone else. If you wonder why the DNC continues to entice it’s base with offers of FREE FOOD, FREE COLLEGE, FREE HOUSING, and FREE MEDICAL CARE you really need to read the SKINNY COW, which I now present in its entirety.

There once was a skinny cow. A lonely, scared skinny cow. One day The Farmer came along and told The Cow, “Come along with me I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry about the food. Don’t worry about the water. Don’t worry about a nice, warm, dry place to lie, I’ll take care of you, you can trust me. You can depend on me to be there for you”. The Cow could eat, drink and sleep without worries. The Cow was happy and satisfied not a care in the world. The Farmer gave The Cow some special hay, which made The Cow eat more and sleep. The Cow loved this new life-style and thought it would last forever.

The Cow did nothing to disturb The Farmer. The Cow stayed where The Farmer said stay, walked where The Farmer said walk, ate when The Farmer said eat. The Cow utterly respected The Farmer. The Cow, always trying to please, wouldn’t even pass gas when The Farmer was near. The Farmer told The Cow “It was special and better than those other cows. Don’t worry; I’m here for you, I’ll take care of you. You can depend on me. I’m here for you. You can trust me. Don’t I take care of you? Here, eat some more special hay, just for you”. The Cow really believed it was better than those other cows because The Farmer said so, then happily ate the hay.

One day there was a commotion by the fence. The Cow never went close to the fence to see what the other cows was looking at even when they called The Cow over saying “There’s a hole in the fence come see the other side”. The other cows saw things they wasn’t supposed to see and started talking about it. The Farmer didn’t like that so he locked the other cows in the barn, while telling The Cow “Watch out, don’t trust those other cows they’re nothing but a bunch of lying, troublemaking, know nothing, jealous cows. Trust me, they won’t get much food or water and might not have a place to sleep if they keep it up”. The Farmer gave The Cow some more special hay, a pat on the head then said, “Trust me, you’re not like those other cows you’re a good cow, one I can talk to, you can depend on me to be there for you”. Then the Farmer walked away, smiling, on his way home, leaving The Cow near but not with the other cows.

When the other cows stared telling some of their horror stories of the things that they had seen, The Cow didn’t listen and even defended The Farmer. Telling the other cows not to worry, we have food, water, and a place to sleep. The Farmer will take care of us. We can trust The Farmer. We can depend on The Farmer. The other cows told The Cow not to believe everything you’re told and if The Farmer does something, it’s because he will benefit from it. The Cow turned his rump to those trouble-making cows and refused to listen. The Cow always avoided those scary troublemaking cows.

The Cow soon became the favorite of The Farmer. The Cow got extra food and water while the other cows went without. The Farmer was always telling The Cow, “It’s their fault they don’t have enough to eat, enough to drink or a place to sleep. Don’t worry trust me. I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry yourself about them, it’s all their fault anyhow”. The Cow believed, trusted and loved The Farmer more than those other cows. The Cow had dreams of becoming a farmer. The Cow grew to be healthy, plump and soft. Never talking to or looking at those other, now skinny, cows. Never looking back at its past. Never reflecting on its action. Never thinking back to just a few short months ago. Never thinking about tomorrow. Just surviving day to day thanks to The Farmer. Thank you Farmer. All thanks to The Farmer. ALL THANKS to The Farmer.

One day The Farmer took The Cow for a walk. At the end of the walk, he told The Cow to stand in line with those other healthy cows and move forward. Before leaving he told The Cow, “Don’t worry, I’ll be here to take care of you. I’ll see you in the barn my special, favorite cow”. The Cow couldn’t see far enough ahead to see where the line ended, so The Cow moved forward with the heard. When the cow behind asked The Cow to ask the cow ahead what was happening The Cow said, “Don’t ask any questions, don’t worry, we just have to do what The Farmer said and move forward. Trust The Farmer.

The Cow could now see the barn door, which let one cow in at a time. After standing in line for ours, The Cow wanted nothing more than to get through that door, out of the sun and to The Farmer for some special hay. Rumors began about how cows go in but not out, it don’t make any sense. Something weird is going on. The Cow said, “Don’t worry and don’t listen to that crazy talk just move forward. The Farmer will take care of us. Trust The Farmer”.

The door opened. The cow ahead moved through the door. The door closed.

The Cow heard a muffled cry, silence then laugher.

The door opened. Too late The Cow became worried. The Cow didn’t know what was on the other side. The Cow wondered what the other cows had seen. The Cow tried to back up but the cow behind said, “Don’t worry, move forward, I see your friend The Farmer inside”. The cow moved forward. The door closed. The Cow slipped in something that looked like blood. The Cow closed its eyes not believing what it was seeing. Afraid, scared, confused and unsure, The Cow squeezed its eyes shut tighter. Then The Cow heard the soothing voice of The Farmer saying “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you”. Reassured, The Cow opened its eyes in time to see The Farmer standing overhead swinging a sledgehammer with all his might straight to its head. The shocked and unbelieving cow gave a muffled cry and dropped dead. A friend of The Farmer gave him a pat on the back then said, “You sure took care of that cow”. The Farmer said, “Yea. I always said I would”. Then laughed while opening the barn door.

THE END

I hope reading THE SKINNY COW by my late friend Harvey W. Kimble has enlightened and entertained you. As always I wish you success and happiness.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS!

The truth behind the Democrat’s deception!

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July is a hot month and it is the middle of summer in the USA. The hottest movie this month has been Spider-man: Far From Home. This is the third straight MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) film to cross $1 billion dollars, and the first Spider-man movie to ever hit that mark. It’s money well deserved because I’ve seen the film and think it’s the best Spider-man film ever made. The box office bonanza WON’T be going to Disney Studios because of a complex game of hocus-pocus with Sony Entertainment which technically still owns the movie rights to the character. Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters owned by Marvel Comics, and back in the 1990’s the company was falling on hard times and even filed for bankruptcy on December 27, 1996. While the company was struggling, it kept selling the rights to different characters to different movies studios like Fox, Sony, and Disney. When the Marvel Cinematic Universe was created the first film in the series IRONMAN was made by MARVEL STUDIOS in 2008. In 2009 Disney purchased MARVEL and all its properties for $4.3 billion dollars. Unfortunately the film rights to Spider-man were still stuck in a web with SONY while Disney went about creating an ambitious shared universe of interlinked movies which told a continuing story over the course of (currently) twenty-three films. As Spider-man was integral to the MCU, a deal with SONY had to be hammered out at all costs. A superhero universe without Spider-man was like a sundae without whipped cream and a cherry on top. Fortunately, Spider-man was introduced in Captain America: Civil War in 2016, and officially joined the MCU with shared custody of the character hammered out between the two companies. The current Spider-man film also introduces another long-time character to the MCU, Quentin Beck AKA Mysterio. Mysterio has the ‘superpower’ of creating illusions so real that you are deceived into believing that they ARE real. When you can’t believe your own eyes and ears, it is nearly impossible to distinguish fact from fiction, or truth from lies. Evidently Mysterio must be a Democrat because he has the same powers that they do.

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BUT WAIT! There’s more!

July is a special month in US history for two important reasons. The USA was born on July 4th 1776, and on July 20th 1969 American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the noon winning the ‘Space Race’ with the former Soviet Union. Although this historic event occurred 50 years ago this month, there are a small percentage of misguided individuals who believe that it never happened. Right behind Neil Armstrong was Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon. In 2002, Buzz Aldrin was heckled by a moon-landing denier who asked him to “swear on the Bible, that you walked on the moon.” The idiot kept insulting and jeering at until he finally crossed the line and called Buzz “a coward, and a liar, and a thie-“. He never quite got that last word out because Mr. Aldrin punched him right in the mouth. This is what liberals always do to conservatives. They insult them and laugh at them until they lose their temper and lash out. Then they claim it’s our fault and that we are the problem. The left doesn’t believe in credit where credit is due, personal responsibility, courtesy, American exceptionalism , God, guns, the Constitution, and I could go on.

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Pick a card, any card

The Democrats use their power of illusion to create one existential crisis after another in an attempt to convince you that they are the party of ‘Hope and Change’ while fleecing the American tax payers and destroying the nation. Like a magician performing card tricks, the audience is either amazed or impressed by the illusions. The truly smart members of the audience see the deception and know that there’s really no such thing as magic. The truly dumb people believe that it’s real and the magician has special powers. After the curtain falls, the magician leaves the show with his cut of the money, while the audience goes home empty-handed. It’s all a game of cards with the Democrats, and the only power they have is what the American people give them. They only way to take away their power is to pull back the curtain and look where they don’t want you to look. WE hold the real cards, not THEM!

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The Race Card

Democrats love to play ‘The Race Card’ and tell you that Republicans are racists, and Trump is a racists, and that white privilege exists. It’s all just Swamp gas. Democrats are elitists who have supported slavery and racism from the beginning. All Americans black, white, brown, yellow or red all share the same privilege. The privilege of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness granted them by the Constitution. These are inalienable rights granted them by a sovereign God, Jesus Christ. They DO NOT come from the Government, and they especially DO NOT come from the Democrats.

The Social Security Card

Another deceptive tactic used is the claim than Republicans will end social security and have been taking money out of the ‘Social Security Fund’ to pay for various pet projects, such as The Trump Wall. There is no ‘Social Security Fund’, there never was one to begin with. Social security is an enforced tax paid by taxpayers, with the understanding that they will get it back. Unfortunately Democrats expanded the entitlement base and started giving payments to people who never paid in, or who paid the very minimum. The game is based on you not living long enough to collect everything paid in, but as modern medicine has improved, people are living longer. Also with the record unemployment caused by previous administrations, people sitting at home and not working were both NOT contributing Social Security, but in some instances taking early retirement or claiming social security disability. The reason social security will someday ‘run out’ is because the country is bankrupt and heavily in debt due to massive spending by prior administrations. Just like a household budget, spending more than you earn has serious consequences. Social Security is a shell game, and needs to be replaced with something better. Republican are in favor of entitlement reform, but Social Security will be here for years to come, and will never disappear in a day.

The Government Card

Democrats always claim that they have the solution, bigger Government, higher taxes, more spending, more programs, more, more, more. Let me make this perfectly clear. There is no such thing as Government Provided Anything. It’s all taxpayer funded EVERYTHING. Anything the government gives you was first taken away from someone else. Taxation is theft!

The ‘HEART’ Card

They are always claiming that all these entitlement programs are needed, and that anyone who opposes them is heartless. If you offer something for ‘FREE’ rest assured people will line up to take it, whether the need it or not. While some people are in dire straits from time to time, the American taxpayer is not the solution. Working for a living is! You get what you pay for.

The Wild Card

You always hear about how Republicans are trying to take away rights. Many of these so-called rights never existed in the first place, like the ‘right’ for gays to marry, or the ‘right’ for transgender people to use whatever bathroom they please. Transgender athletes who were born MALE are competing on women’s teams and beating REAL women. There are only TWO sexes. Male and Female, and God made both of them. Cutting off your penis and getting breast implants doesn’t make you a ‘woman’, it makes you an idiot, and a mentally ill one at that.

The Democrats have made a game out of government and created a house of cards that is unsuitable and unsustainable. When the curtain falls on these purveyors of illusions, WE THE PEOPLE don’t get to go home, because we ARE home. If we want to Keep America Great we need to play our ‘TRUMP CARD’ in 2020 against those Democrats and some RINO Republicans who are only in it for themselves. We have a great country. The real power lies with us. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, and God will bless America when America starts blessing God. As Always, I wish you success and happiness.

SWAMP GAS!

Don’t breath the poison!

SWAMP GAS

(This is the second half of two articles. For part one, read Drain the Swamp)

Swamp gas is a methane gas produced in a swamp by decaying plants that are covered by water. It is flammable, and sometimes combusts forming what is known as a will-o’-the-wisp. In folklore, a will-o’-the-wisp, or ignis fatuus (literally “foolish fire”) is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. An ignorant person seeing such a phantasm might be scared witless, but an educated one would know it for what it really was, just swamp gas. Swamp gas is also a figure of speech used to describe noxious lies used to confuse and mislead the uninformed.

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Even before President Trump won the 2016 election, one of his promises to grassroots Americans was that he would ‘Drain the Swamp’. It is a common misconception that our nation’s capital Washing D.C. was originally built on swampland. Draining a swamp was an early method used to fight malaria by removing the breeding grounds and killing off the disease carrying mosquitoes. You can see how this catchy term could apply to two-legged political bloodsuckers. Trump has been doing a stellar job of following through on ALL his campaign promises, including slowly ‘draining the swamp’, much to the horror and dismay of leftists. His sweeping ethics reforms and downsizing of bureaucracy has been rapidly restoring our government to an honest one which the Founding Fathers would approve of.

There wasn’t a Republican party (GOP) when George Washington was unanimously elected first president of the USA. If the GOP had existed, rest assured ‘The American Cincinnatus’ would have been a proud member. The greatest presidents of the 19th, 20th, and now 21st centuries have all been Republicans. The Democratic party (DNC) has been trying to destroy this country since the beginning.

In the nineteenth century, the southern Democrats were slave owners, and started the American Civil War. They wanted to split the nation in two so they could continue to enslave their fellow man. The FIRST Republican president Abraham Lincoln ended slavery and preserved the Union. A supporter of the DNC, John Wilkes Booth assassinated ‘the Great Emancipator’ in an attempt to make the South ‘rise again’. Lincoln’s successor, the Democrat Andrew Johnson cancelled the slave reparations that would have been bestowed by Special Field Order 15, approved and signed by Lincoln a few months prior to his murder at the hands of Booth. Members of the DNC started the Klu Klux Klan to terrorize their former slaves.

In the twentieth century, Ronald Regan ‘the Great Communicator’ brought us a decade of prosperity. The ‘Gipper’ brought the Soviet Union to its knees and by proxy, tore down the Berlin Wall demonstrating once and for all that free market capitalism is the greatest economic system in the history of mankind. A deranged John Hinckley Jr. tried to take the life of this great man in 1981, but ‘Rawhide’ survived the bullet wound meant to kill him. In 1984 Reagan won re-election in taking 49 of the 50 states in the largest landslide election in the history of our great nation.

Now, as the second decade of the 21st century draws to a close, the DNC is trying once again to take down another great Republican president, Donald J. Trump. Building upon the four principals of ‘Reganomics’ , ‘The Donald’ has now gifted us with unprecedented economic growth, higher wages, lower taxes, and the lowest levels of unemployment across all demographics. It’s no wonder that the entrenched swamp rats of the DNC are so enraged by the accomplishments of the Greatest President of our lifetime. These parasites have all been living off the American taxpayer and sucking the life-blood of our nation. They have been strangling the economy for years and attempting to take away our individual freedoms one by one. They have trodden on our flag, and want to change the constitution.

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They are attempting to poison you against Trump with a constant barrage of ‘Swamp Gas’ in the liberal media. They think you are too stupid to handle your own affairs, and believe that they are better suited to handle your money than you are. They are tax and spend Democrats who have gotten rich by taking lobbyist money. They are supposed to be working for the American people, NOT the lobbyists who have made them rich in exchange for political favors.

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President Donald J. Trump has not taken a single dime in salary and they hate him for it. Trump has worked hard these past three years to ‘Make America Great Again’, and he succeeded. Now he needs your help to ‘Keep America Great’. You need to stop listening to FAKE NEWS and trust that ‘The Second Father of our Country’ knows what he is doing. Trump loves our nation more than possibly every great president in our nation’s history. If you don’t support Trump, you are either a very ignorant person, an extremely gullible breather of swamp gas, or a deeply disturbed person who hates the USA and everything great about freedom. If you believe eliminating the Electoral college and changing the constitution are a good idea, you are a fool. Those who trade freedom for security deserve neither, and man is not free unless government is limited. There is no such thing as a FREE LUNCH , everything the government provides you was first taken from someone else via taxation. Taxation is theft! Honestly, how much of MY money belongs to YOU? I work hard for my money, and my money belongs to me. I have made more money, (and kept more of it) under Trump than under any prior president. If most of the voting citizens in this country feel the same way as I do, then I predict that President Trump will not only win re-election in 2020, but he will win in a landslide, taking all 50 states, the first president to do so, and the liberal tears will flow like white water rapids. I urge you to back Donald J. Trump in 2020, and ignore all the character assassination, lies, and swamp gas bombarding you about the man. Trump is on your side whither or not you believe it, and he is working in the best interest of our country . God bless America, and God bless president Trump and his family. As always, I wish you success and happiness!

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DRAIN THE SWAMP!

Pulling the plug on the Deep State.

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Since winning the 2016 election for U.S. President, Donald J. Trump has kept ticking items off his campaign ‘To Do List’. In less than three years, he has accomplished more positive things for our great nation than any prior president, except George Washington. Despite his growing list of accomplishments Trump has been constantly and continuously attacked by the liberal media and members of the Deep State. Having done his very best to accomplish to deliver on his Make America Great Again campaign slogan, Donald J. Trump needs to win re-election in 2020 in order to Keep America Great. The ‘Deep State’ refers to the self-righteous, egotistical, and subversive people who have infiltrated the US Congress and have raided the treasury as if it were their own private piggy bank. Many of these so-called representatives like Maxine Walters, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi have done nothing besides claiming to be working in the best interest of their constituents. Many areas like the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York have gradually become crime zones with outrageously high taxes under Democratic leadership. Donald J. Trump has been working to ‘Drain the Swamp’ of American politics by removing these swamp rats from office, but he needs your help to do this. The American people are the ones who voted these destructive elements into office, and the American People are the ones who must also vote them out. Mind you, these people are USUALLY Democrats but there are a few RINO (Republican In Name Only) Republicans who need to go as well. Not all states have term limits regarding their representatives in congress, and some of these negative elements have exploited this loop hole to remain in power for decades, if not for life. They will say anything negative about Trump in order to retain their stranglehold over the American People. We have the power. Congress work FOR US, and we can effectively FIRE THEM by voting in competent reformers.

What does a member of Congress do?

Members of Congress represent the people of their district in the United States Congress by holding hearings, as well as developing and voting on legislation. All bills must pass Congress before they can go to the President to be signed into law.

What are the qualifications to run for office in the House of Representatives and Senate?

The required qualifications are found in Article 1 of the Constitution:

House of Representatives

25 years of age
A citizen of the United States for at least 7 years
At the time of election, be a resident of the state

U.S. Senate

30 years of age
A citizen of the United States for 9 years
At the time of election, be a resident of the state

How many members of Congress are there?

There are a total of 535 Members of Congress. 100 serve in the U.S. Senate and 435 serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

How long do members of Congress’ terms last?

Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are considered for reelection every even year. Senators however, serve six-year terms and elections to the Senate are staggered over even years so that only about 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection during any election.

How many members of Congress come from each state?

Each state sends two Senators to represent their state in the U.S. Senate. However, in the House of Representatives, a state’s representation is based on its population. For example, smaller states like Vermont and Delaware have one representative while large states like California have 53 representatives. (This is why Democrats want to eliminate the Electoral College. If they did, smaller states would never have a voice in government and the ‘big states’ would pick the president.)

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How many people do congressmen and senators represent?

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives each represent a portion of their state known as a Congressional District, which averages 700,000 people. Senators however, represent the entire state.

How do the House and Senate chambers differ?

In the House of Representatives, the majority party holds significant power to draft chamber rules and schedule bills to reach the floor for debate and voting. In most cases, House rules will limit debate so that important legislation can be passed during one legislative business day.

In the Senate however, the majority has the power to schedule when various bills come to the floor for voting but a single Senator can slow legislation from coming to the floor for a vote. Since debate in the Senate is not concluded until 60 senators vote for a cloture motion to approve a bill for consideration, the majority must also coordinate with the minority part to set the rules for debate on legislation. Under this system, legislation can be debated for one or two weeks on the Senate floor alone.

Why does Congress use the committee system?

Congress deals with a broad variety of different policy issues and it is more efficient to have work done at the committee level than on the House or Senate floor. In addition, this system allows members to gain expertise in specific issue areas they are interested in. Throughout history, committees have been created to address particular issues before Congress. The House has 23 committees while the Senate has a total of 20 committees.

How does a bill become a law?

Passing legislation into law is a complicated and lengthy process between the House and Senate before the bill is presented before the President to be signed into law. For a thorough explanation of the legislation process, please see the How a Bill Becomes a Law section on the House website.

Do Members of Congress pay into the social security system?

YES. Since January 1, 1984, all Members of Congress participate in the Social Security system and are required to pay Social Security taxes.

What kind of retirement plan do Members of Congress have?

Members of Congress who were elected after 1984 are automatically enrolled in the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS).

What kind of health care do Members of Congress receive?

As written into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, P.L. 111-205), on January 1, 2014, Members of Congress are no longer eligible for health plans offered to federal government employees. They instead must enroll in the District of Columbia’s Health Exchange in order to obtain employment related health plan coverage.

Remember, these snakes and swamp rats need to be held accountable. Some have become multimillionaires by accepting lobbyist money while their districts have fallen into poverty. President Trump accepts no salary as president. He is only the third president to do so, the other two were Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy. You need to examine the issues potential replacement candidates stand in favor of, or against. Once elected you need to examine their voting record before re-electing them. It will take time, but it can be done, you can help Trump Keep American Great. As always, I wish you success and happiness!