WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA?
   By now you all are aware of the big debate in America over human rights and disrespect at NFL games.   You all have seen the open and public defiance against government by members of the NFL.
   It has become known as the ‘ONE KNEE’ syndrome.    Players in retaliation to their government choose to one knee during the playing of the national anthem.
The debate has been... do the players even though they  have the right and freedom to express their defiance towards their government.  Should they be allowed to do it at a national sporting event.
Some have argued that the one knee is no different then if patrons in the stands all of a sudden stormed the field in protest of the government.   Technically they have a right to protest any place.   Does this mean the stadium owners can’t throw them out?   Does it mean that the majority of us must allow this to happen? Is the act not anti democratic?
Is democracy not the will of the majority?
I think what both sides of the debate have failed to recognize is the difference between a right and rite (a social custom, practice, or conventional act. synonyms:    ceremony, ritual, ceremonial; service, sacrament, liturgy, worship, office; act, practice, custom, tradition, convention, institution, procedure).
Just because the constitution of America allows us to have freedoms and rights it does not necessarily mean that by rite we can  exercise it any place we so choose.
In the case of the NFL players.  They are basically property of their football institution team.  As such they are not only role models for youth but in part representing America’s most popular sport.  As such are they not bound by professional integrity to maintain the image of America?
If so then, do the owners of the clubs not have the right to discipline the act of not fulfilling their responsibility as professionals.
Think of it this way.  It be like a police officer that is anti America all of a sudden decide to not wear his/her uniform and opt to show up at work wearing a burka.  Claiming religious and cultural preferences.   How far will the battle between rights and rite go before the line is crossed where we say ‘NO MAS’.
The other day, I was watching a world cup soccer game between Brazil and Peru.  Two countries that have a long standing reputation for human rights violations.  For government corruption.  For civil right abuses.   For historical atrocities not imaginable to north Americans.  Two countries that have and still commit horrendous crimes against it’s own people.
The two teams proudly standing hand to heart singing their national anthem with a pride that have no words to describe.   A pride that is so deeply rooted in their souls that it has no compromise.  A pride rooted in culture, values and family.    As the camera made it’s way through the crowds.  The pride of every member of that country was evident.  They sang their national anthem with the same pride as those of the players.  Some in tears and in song with great passion for their nation.
I remember visiting Uruguay years back and attending a professional soccer game.  It was 100 degrees.  The sun was blazing down.  I was wearing a baseball cap.   The national anthem began to play.  Everyone put their hand to heart.  Sang the national anthem out of the top of their lungs... there I stood in awe... someone from behind... smacked me in the back of the head as my hat flew off.   The person I was with said.  Oh yea take your hat off.  
The National anthem played loud and proud.  After it finished... the person that knocked my hat off came over and apologized and got my hat.
Wonder what would happen if one of those soccer players would have taken a knee?
What is it about us in the northern hemisphere that we have lost that essence of national pride. Of belonging and of respect for the mother land no matter who is ruling and or how just or unjust the political climate may be.
I think that we in the north have lost our sense of communal responsibility.  We belong to what we can directly benefit from.  Not from what is best for the betterment of the nation.
In the north we have also lost the importance of family and family values.  Something that teaches responsibility and sacrifice.  Something that is crucial to developing solid character and self esteem.
We have become so distant from the many realities around us that we allowed ourselves to be brain washed by what we see on television. In countries like Brazil, Peru.  Reality is a daily thing.  Poverty, abuse, neglect.   Television is used for entertainment.  Not as a means to form opinion on issues and events.
The term Boob-tube.  First recorded in 1965–70; rhyming coinage, from the notion that television programming is foolish, induces foolishness, or is watched by foolish people.  How true today in modern times.   Fake news outlets like CNN for example or FOX all attempting to sway popular thought have in many cases brain washed the population.  TV today has become addictive and controlling.  Our moral and principles are compromised by false demistyfication of our fears.
Our opinions are played on like a fine instrument and our emotions and feelings are tugged on to shape our thoughts.  I have a question.  Why is it that there are no ‘TERRORIST ATTACKS’ in south America?  Answer.  Anyone attempting to attack any national building or property in any of the latin American countries would mean instant death to the perpetrator and all his family.   Some of these nations still operate on neighborhood justice and neighborhood pride.
Something we in the north have no clue what it is.  Our equality is oppress bias and prejudice.
Our civil rights are nothing but false fallacies in order to keep up oppressed.

I HAVE A HUGE QUESTION WHY IS HENRY RUNNING? By Joe Ingino b.a

By Joe Ingino b.a.
I HAVE A HUGE QUESTION
WHY IS HENRY RUNNING?
   I have a question as a taxpayer of Oshawa.  Why is John Henry running for regional chair?   What has he accomplished in his two terms as mayor.  What did he bring to the table that justifies him moving up the political rat race?
If anything he is responsible from driving the city further in to debt.   From $100 million when took office as mayor to now Oshawa $300 million.  This is the type of leader that wants to take over the Region with a AAA rating?   Henry has left Oshawa in such a poor economic position that every tax payers needs to come up over the next 8yrs with 462 million dollars.  This means raising taxes or borrow and to be blunt... they would take all the borrowing capacity away from every city in Durham and the Region and jeapordize the AAA credit rating which will mean higher interest payments and higher taxes for all of Durham.
What has Henry done with the marina and the lands that came with it from the Federal government?  How many millions are the people of Oshawa on the hook for?
I don’t understand the thinking?  Well, I should not say that... I know understand that if he is successful his pay will double.   Can the voters be that ignorant and keep making the same mistake?   For everyone sake I truly hope not.
We can’t afford to pay, pay, pay for other mistakes.   Have we not learned this from the Diamond era.   A 10 million dollar brand new airport terminal and no one to lease it to except a radio station.   Like really.   Now under Henry’s watch we build a second runway tower at the airport but we have a handful of aircraft using the airport?   Like really who is doing the thinking.
The real sad part of all this is that most taxpayers have no clue on the poor state our city is in financially.  
The City has in my opinion no real plan.  No real vision.    Yet the City CEO decides to bail out one sinking ship and expect to be elected to a bigger better ship....  Henry lucky we are lost the war against Japan or you would have to have done the honorable thing and commit Hara-kiri.
Then again Henry would try to poke himself with the handle and cut his hands in the process and further costing us more in medical services.
We as voters must be informed and educated on  the realities that affect our lives.  Henry has a proven track record of failure.   He does not lead he is a real bad administrator.  Is it not time that we are lead instead of mislead?

North Korea By Joe Ingino

North Korea
  Trump in my opinion is accomplishing what no other President could have ever dreamt to accomplish.   Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t like everything he does... but you have to factor in that he is human and perfection is no ones please all bargain.
   Since he has come in office.   The economy has boomed.   The dollar has sky rocketed.    Terrorist and public beheading have become a thing of the past.
No more televised executions.  No more middle eastern types threatening American on International television.   In fact no more terrorists.
Between the Russians with shoot first and ask question later... to the new Trump ‘GLITTER DONE’ mentality.   Terrorist have pretty much been stomped on.
And here come the Palestine and Israeli conflict.   Trump took the initiative... Good or bad, he did what was right and that conflict even thought constantly erupting... appears to be under control.
Now to the orient.   For the last 30 years a silent and covert war has been active against the west.  Slowly but surely.   China and most of the Orient world has slowly chipped away at Western industry, trade and commerce.
I remember my days in the steel industry.  How China, Japan and others would send teams of engineers to study our production and our output.  How they would with military precision look at our operations.
With the internet.  The Orient exploded into a major assault mode against the west.  We come up with it in the West.  Within months it is being mass produced in the Orient.   Copyright laws are violated.   Patent protection is a thing of the past.  
These orient countries have master the silent assault.   I ask how can they ship a product from across the planet at x dollars and I can’t ship the same across the country for nothing less than x+10?    The attack on the west has been swift and deadly to our industry and trade.  Not to mention our jobs.   Look at retailers like WALMART.   How many of their products come from China?   Look at the commerce on the net? 
I think what Trump is doing by increasing tariffs is the right thing to do that no other president dare to do as it is risky.... From being seen as prejudice to the possible loosing of jobs due to the reluctance of our enemies to continue exporting out of  show of force to pressure the government to back down on tariffs.
And now to the real threat...like really?  North Korea!!!  You got to be kidding me.  North Korea is no threat to America.  But a huge threat to other neighboring countries.  This instability is the real reason Trump must act now in order to stop the aggression  being shown by one small nation amongst titans.
The key is not to divide and conquer but instead to unite and convince razzle dazzle the leader of North Korea so that he will put his energy in to something more lucrative.
There is money in terror.   The fact that they are talking is pretty much a sign of good things to come.  Trump is driving the international bus as he should.  He is eliminating the bias we silently have been undergoing.  He will control the area as they have been controlling us for years.

Expect a toothless IG report: More cover-up! By Larry Klayman

Expect a toothless IG report:
 More cover-up!
By Larry Klayman
I conceived of and founded Judicial Watch on July 29, 1994, almost 24 years ago, to watch and police judges, who I had learned in my 17 years of legal practice at the time were generally unfit to be on the bench. There is an old joke in this regard: What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 71? Answer: Your Honor!
But the crisis on the judiciary went far beyond the simple fact most judges are not that intellectually astute. I had also found many to be outright dishonest, particularly on the federal bench, where they have life tenure and feel that they can say and do anything they want without fear of removal. Yes, the House Judiciary Committee has the constitutional power to begin impeachment proceedings, but over the years it has shied away from policing federal judges, lest they be caught red-handed with a bribe, and even then that has not proven to be a substantial reason for remedial action. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which itself has become a cesspool of corruption, is loathe to have its Federal Bureau of Investigation investigate ethical abuse and corruption by federal judges because the department depends so heavily on them to be the stooges that further if not get them convictions.
With what we have seen at DOJ and on the federal bench of late with regard to the rubber stamping of government tyranny – be it a Bunkerville, Nevada, with the Bundy family, or the unchecked legal jihad of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in which Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein, both political hacks, are complicit – as a young lawyer I no longer would have accepted a position with DOJ as a federal prosecutor, if I had to do it all over during the early part of my legal career. Candidly, I would have been a criminal defense lawyer, which is part of my legal practice today. This is because based on experience I have come to the point of not believing a word the federal government says, but also have developed a heightened disgust for the government "yes men and women" who infest the federal judiciary, with some exceptions.
Let's also take this a step further in dissecting the rank lying and deceit the American people are fed on a daily basis from the elite government establishment in the capital of corruption, Washington, D.C. This lying and deceit is then amplified by the cable networks in particular, which tout federal government actions as if they are for real. Of course, the likes of CNN, MSNBC and, of course, Fox News give their reporting their own special political spin, but the effect of furthering government misinformation from elite establishment so-called leaders, is the same nevertheless. That is why our president and yours truly harbor such disdain for the mainstream media, as it rarely reports anything resembling the full truth about the charade in our justice system and the government in general.
The most recent example concerns the anticipation of the soon to be released report of DOJ's inspector general (IG). This report is "reportedly" centered on the actions of former FBI Director James Comey and others with regard to the Hillary Clinton email scandal and the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. To boost viewership and ratings, Fox News, in particular, has been touting how this report will likely be a "game changer" when it comes to holding Comey, the Clintons, Obama and the rest of their co-conspiratorial criminals to the rule of law. But contrary to Fox's hopeful and opportunistic predictions, our compromised and worthless attorney general, who has failed to use the full power of DOJ to empanel grand juries, gather evidence and indict these criminals, has used the department's IG as a subterfuge to do little to nothing about holding these establishment elites to the bar of justice and the rule of law.
Indeed, this week there were predictable leaks concerning the content of DOJ's IG report, which obviously has been delayed to give the elites time to water it down, and the word on the street is that it will merely give former FBI Director Comey and others a slap on their proverbial wrists. With regard to Comey, he is apparently being fingered merely for "insubordination," and with regard to former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch and her infamous "tarmac meeting" with Bill Clinton, mere criticism for its seemly appearance. While it is common knowledge that the DOJ's IG has no real teeth in enforcing ethics and the law, this apparent whitewash is, coming from an internal DOJ watchdog, only more confirmation of the continuing cover-up.\
And, this again points out the importance of Freedom Watch, the public interest group I founded after my run for the U.S. Senate in Florida in 2003-2004. We at Freedom Watch are the "People's Justice Department," as we have no governmental Justice Department that will hold the establishment elites accountable. From cases charging the Clintons with criminal racketeering, bribery and wrongful death, to Obama's unconstitutional mass surveillance, not to mention our strong efforts to legally take out Special Counsel Mueller, we are your public advocate for justice and the American way.
Freedom Watch and I are also your main source for the unvarnished truth and that cannot only be found at www.freedomwatchusa.org but also www.radioamerica.com, where my weekly radio show is posted. You can also find local listings there and on our website, as the show generally airs throughout the nation at 3 p.m. Sundays. Please share this with your colleagues and friends, as the masses need to be properly educated.
We the People need to unite, rise up and do the job of cleaning out the rats' nest in our nation's and states' capitals. This vermin, if left unchecked, will destroy our body politic and the republic. Join our citizens army and be a true patriot. Uncle Sam, Larry Klayman and Freedom Watch need you in our war effort to restore the country to the vision of our Founding Fathers.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE TOWN OF PINE GROVE, WETZEL COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO EVER GET ITS SHIT TOGETHER?

 H. J. Rogers
Harvard Law School '66  

 IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE TOWN OF
PINE GROVE, WETZEL COUNTY,
WEST VIRGINIA, TO EVER GET ITS
 SHIT TOGETHER?
       "In the conservative state of Alaska . . . everyone received $2,072 in 2015 simply for living and breathing from the Alaska  citizen's share of oil royalties." Scott Santens, Huff Post
Single-handedly, the Wetzel  Chronicle's great Investigative Reporter Ed Parsons forced this municipality to take the first step in dealing with its chronic and acute sewage problem.  And what is the First Step, you ask?  Well, dear reader, as any member of a TWELVE STEP PROGRAM can tell you, THE FIRST STEP IS TO ADMIT THAT YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.  My personal roots in Pine Grove go back over a 150 years more or less on both sides of my family tree and I myself didn't believe that Pine Grove had a problem until Ed Parsons dragooned me into going out there in the latter part of May.  Like the rest of Wetzel County, the State, and the Nation, I believed the party line put out by the recently elected Mayor BARBARA AMOS KING.  The Town told the outside world "Our problems have been solved" and the leaders told the residents "When Phase III is completed all of the shit that's presently in your basements, filling the creek, running down Alley addition will miraculously be sucked down your sewer pipes and back into our state-of-the-art treatment facility."  Trust us.  The problem here was that no one could tell the populace when Phase III would start.
       (I do not mention Mayor King's name to in any way criticize, malign, or otherwise impugn her character.  Mayor King inherited this mess, the remediation of which would be akin to one of the TWELVE LABORS OF HERCULES of classic mythology, i.e. cleaning the Augean Stables.  This was such a disgusting job that (as I recall) that the great Hercules puked his guts out early on and had to finish the job on an empty stomach.  Mayor King is to be pitied rather than censured if for no other reason that he comes from an outlaw family.  Her Mother's great uncle--one Paul Ice of Lumberport robbed the street car that ran between there and Shinnston and died in the Moundsville Penitentiary.  And her first cousin was a shameless extrovert who was alleged to have practiced celibacy first his first--of several marriages--and was such a liar that both of his own "love" children would continually turn to their sainted mother asking plaintively "Mama, is the Old Man telling another lie?"  All this poor woman could do was nod her head.  'Nuff said.)
       When Ed Parsons and I came into Pine Grove, our first stop was the Post Office (where POB 144 had been in my family since WW II.)  We asked the town's one emissary from the Central Government in Washington, if he was having any problems.  "Some mornings when I come to work, it's like someone killed a corn fed pig in the bathroom,"  the clerk said with a half smile.  "I just got the bathroom cleaned up but there's still some sewage in the sink in the back room.  You guys want to take a look?"
       I did and I'm still sorry.  When I first sniffed the pungent aroma, I was afraid that I would emulate the great Hercules in his revulsion at his first encounter with the years of  accumulated horse manure from the steads of King Augeias.  Great investigative reporter that he is though, Ed Parsons was taking pictures left and right.  I retreated to the fresh air outside.  I was still reeling from the fumes when a man came up behind me, giving me a start.  It was if he had materialized from no where.  "Rogers," he said, "I've been waiting a long time for you to come and pick up your mail."
       "Do I know you?," I asked timorously.  From the way he looked, he could have walked off the set of The Beverly Hillbillies.  His long beard was matted with the overflow from the chew of tobacco in the corner of his mouth.  ''No.  We have never met but I know who you are.  I knew your grandfather John Henry Stewart with his wife Mary up there on Simpson Hill.  You and your mother Ruth lived with them after the two of you came back from Ft. Polk in Louisiana in 1942 after your father shipped out for WW II.  You and your mother road "The City of New Orleans" up from the Delta to Carbondale, Illinois, where you caught "The National Limited" to Clarksburg  where your grandfather picked you up and brought you back to Pine Grove."
       "Sounds like you been readin' my mail," I said with a smile.  Like Coleridge's ancient mariner he had "fixed me with his evil eye".
       He didn't smile back.  "You shut up and listen, Rogers, I've got something to tell you.  That's always been your problem, you know.  Your mother told me that this old southern planter on The City of New Orleans asked her 'M'am, was that little boy of yours vaccinated with a phonograph needle?'  Don't you know that you never learn anything when you're talkin'.  There is a chance--a slim one maybe, especially around here--that you might learn somethin' when you're listenin'.  Are you ready to do some listenin'?"  I nodded.
   "Pine Grove is floating in a SEA OF SHIT and it's going to get worse.  Dr. David Board, Community Organizer for THE RICHARD EVANS MEMORIAL CONSERVANCY, will soon be issuing a paper comparing it to Haiti.  This man was appalled at what he saw.  He has traveled the world and has see it all.  Tunisian prisons, he was part of the Dalai Lama's entourage, and a professional pilot.   Once he landed a Sopworth Camel on I-70 in Wheeling, fixed a defect in his fuel tank, and was in the air before the first of WHEELING'S "JACK-BOOTED THUGS" [the phrase is not original with the speaker but borrowed from the NRA] showed up."
       "Anyhow, Dr. Board will say that with such an elderly population and the approach of summer, there is a major public health issue.  There is nothing more dangerous than human shit.  You remember what your client Jeff Summers told you, don't you?  He was Wetzel County's most decorated veteran of the Viet Nam War.  The VC would shit, let it get really fetid in the sun, and then soak a sharpened bamboo stick in it.  If it got into one of your limbs, the only cure was amputation.  Pine Grove's back up could infect every thing all the way down to New Martinsville.  Of course, it would be no great loss if all of the "Parlor City" went down the tubes, but I digress."
       "But, don't you try to talk.  I don't have much time.  The cause is  quite clear.  It's those O&G bastards that THE RICHARD EVANS MEMORIAL CONSERVANCY was created to fight.  Here, it started with "Old Mother Hope", which if you traced it was a part of Standard Oil of New Jersey, i.e. ROCKEFELLERS!  Now, it's Dominion which is using Pine Grove's sewage system.  But that's nothing compared to MR. GUMP.   You worked construction when you were young.  You were even a pipeliner for Carl Smith from Sandyville in 1962.  You know what goes into those portable toilets.  Feces and urine is the very least of it!  Why bury an old pair of coveralls when you can toss them into Mr. Gump's?  All sorts of vile concoctions goes into those toilets and then in the Pne Grove system.
       The Post Office door suddenly swung open and Ed Parsons came out.  "Hey, Mr. Rogers, who you been talking to?  We could hear the noise inside." "Why this old geezer standing behind me," I said as I turned around, but there was no one there.  I could see behind the Post Office the retreating figure of a human body ascending the hill in a cloud of smoke.  Then I heard a booming voice: ''THAT WAS THE PATRON SAINT OF WETZEL COUNTY, THE HONORABLE OLIVER H. GALLAGHER, KNOWN TO ONE AND ALL AS 'OL GALLAHUE'.  HEED HIS WORDS INFIDELS.''  "Ed, I just met the man who gave the great speech about Wetzel County.  It's in the Myers, History of Wetzel County.  Didn't you hear that voice from up on Simpson Hill announcing --- "
       "Mr. Rogers, I didn't hear anything but that big rush of wind when I opened the door of the Post Office.  You ought to get out of the sun, or maybe --- the last time I saw W.V. Wildman, he was Chief of Police here, you know, and he asked me 'Does Herbie Rogers still drink like he used to?'  You haven't been taking a couple nips while I've been in there working, have you?  Come on we've got some work to do."
       And Ed Parsons carried the message to the powerful.  Within a couple days, he brought STATE SENATOR CHARLIE CLEMENTS and a reporter from W.Va. Public Radio.  A couple days later he cornered Congressman David McKinley and convinced him of Pine Grove's problems.  [Rep. McKinley like so many people in the outside world had been told that the problem had been solved.]  Sen. Clements paid a personal visit on Mayor King and asked her what he could do to help.  She asked for an audit and Clements quickly convinced the State Auditor to pay a visit.  Finally, it should not be forgotten that DELEGATE DAVIS PETHTEL was the first person Ed Parsons contacted and he pledged his support.   AND DON'T FORGET THAT ED PARSONS INSPIRED MIKE MYER, EDITOR IN CHIEF OF THE OGDEN PUBLICATIONS (and a man not unfamiliar with Wetzel County or New Martinsville) TO PEN A GREAT EDITORIAL ON THE 3RD OF JUNE ABOUT THE TOWN'S PROBLEMS.  PINE GROVE HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN ''OUTED''.  PTL!
       I also have done my part for the town where, e.g. Dr. Ed Watson, Terry Kiggans,  Harry Eastham, and I began the FIRST GRADE together in 1946.  I HAVE INVITED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND JOE MANCHIN, OUR SENIOR SENATOR, TO COMPETE IN SHIT-PITCHING CONTEST TO SEE WHO CAN COVER A LIFE-SIZED ICON OF DON BLAKENSHIP UP TO HIS NECK THE QUICKER.  This way Don will get what he deserves on this earth, and not what he wants.   My money's on Manchin.  Any takers? 

GREAT DAY TO BE FRENCH By Joe Ingino

By Joe Ingino b.a.
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”
  
GREAT DAY TO BE FRENCH
   What an election it has been.   Ford is now the new Premier of Ontario.  The PC have cometh like the black plague.
   Across Durham it appears that it has once again been painted blue.   With the exception of Oshawa.
Now  you got to wonder what happened in Oshawa?
Well, two things happened.  The first Jennifer French has a very sophisticated group of people that are supporting her.  They work behind the scenes and have strong influence with many of the powerful unions.   French practically had very little to do in this election as the NDP machine behind the candidate was working full throttle.
The PC were left in the dirt.  One  because the candidate they put forth was weak and has a bad history in Oshawa.   Bob Chapman has sat in municipal office for at least two terms and has accomplished little or nothing.  He in part with the rest of council is responsible for increasing the debt in 2014 from $200million dollar to today $500million.
To boot during the election many hard core PC supporters felt betrayed by Bob Chapman as he ignored them and or avoided contact with.   Chapman is your typical ‘YES MAN’.  He follows the ‘OLD BOYS’ club group made up of the Real Estate Board the Oshawa Chamber of Commerce and in part Oshawa Golf Club.
This trio go around pretending they have some sort of influence in the community.  In reality they do not.  They are in part the reason why nothing happens in this city and we keep enduring debt.   A prominent member of the Real Estate Board and former councillor was at one point during his term at the center of a scheme that was never proven in law.. to over pay with tax payers dollar the infamous city depot.   The million dollars according to sources was to be split three ways.   It never happened as someone in council blew the whistle and the deal fell through.  The City of Oshawa has had one scandal after the other.  From members of the public assaulted by Durham Regional police under the instructions of Oshawa legal team/council to the many money waste schemes.   The hiring of consultants to investigate the friend of the investigator... and so on and so on...  Thank God that French won.  At the least she sat for a term really did nothing but did not cost the people of Oshawa a dime, except her pay.

Stranger In A Strange Land

Stranger In A Strange Land
  Our marriage, I thought, was a great one. So did everyone else. Then after 15 years my husband suddenly announced he wanted a divorce. Now, he says, everyone “bought into the big lie.” But I know he loved me, and I believe he still does.
When we separated he was 36. Two weeks later I found out he was involved with a woman he met online. He swears it wasn’t physical until he moved out, but he’d been talking to her for a while. He claims not to know me anymore, and I am the source of his problems. I have OCD and was a trial to live with, but he knows how hard I struggled with it. Now he says it was an act, and I wasn’t really trying. He was always the best husband any woman could have—understanding, thoughtful and supportive.
He never dated anyone before we met, thus he had never “been” with anyone else before. A few months before he left, he started saying things about getting old. He started working out. We both got contacts, and he seemed to be bothered that his hair was falling out.
The divorce went through six months ago, and he is still seeing the other woman. She is older than either of us. We weren’t able to have children, and she has two teenagers. I thought maybe that was part of it, but I don’t know. He acts so different. During our separation he said the most hurtful things, like he was trying to push me away. He moved in with his folks and bought new clothes. I truly love him, and I know he isn’t as happy as he acts. I lived with him long enough, I can tell in his eyes when I see him.
Does this sound like a midlife crisis?
Gretchen

Gretchen, science fiction drops us into new worlds. In old science fiction stories, one character might explain things to the reader by saying something like, “As you know, Tom, here on planet Merganser computers select husbands for the women and only women can hold elected office.”
These days science fiction writers are more sophisticated. They drop us in the middle of the new world, then let us figure out how things work as the story unfolds.
That’s what’s happened to you. You were dropped into a new world, and you don’t yet understand the rules.
You’d like to believe your husband left because he had a midlife crisis or sought a woman with children. You’d like to believe you can read unhappiness in his eyes, though you couldn’t read it in his eyes while he made plans to leave. You write as if you can get him back. If it’s a midlife crisis, then the two of you simply need to get past it. But your divorce was final six months ago. He came to terms with what he wanted, and that’s a new life with someone else. We are not going to comment on your OCD except to make one observation. Though you struggled with it, so did he. He didn’t have OCD, but he suffered under the effects of a condition he didn’t have, like having a cast on a leg that wasn’t broken.
Perhaps he faked being okay with it.  Perhaps he felt everyone’s got their troubles. Perhaps he feels he never truly loved you. Or perhaps he just wanted out.
Like the reader of a science fiction novel, you were dropped into an unfamiliar world. There is no author here to explain the rules to you. If you can’t figure them out on your own, enlist the aid of those who help you manage your illness. The only choice you have is to adapt to this new reality, no matter how hard it is.
.Wayne & Tamara

The 2018 Drunken Debate By Joe Ingino

The 2018 Drunken Debate
   Has anyone but me seen the recent Rogers cable transmission of the Durham College all Oshawa MPP candidates debate?   In my opinion it was a clear example of all that is wrong with Oshawa and Canadian politics.   We might have had a debate between Curly, Larry and Moe.   Instead it was Jennifer French,  Makini Smith and Bob Chapman. The questions asked by the moderator were as out of left field as they came...  Chapman could not even pronounce the word ‘MODERNIZATION’, never mind knowing its meaning.  Here is a guy that has sat on council for two terms and what has he accomplished?  He in part is responsible for Oshawa’s debt of $548 million.  When asked about the Provincial debt he gave pie in the sky answer failing to acknowledge he has sat for 8 years on city council and done nothing to reduce Oshawa’s debt.  Why should he be paid more at the province to do nothing...Chapman has a proven record to do nothing for the city of Oshawa.  He is arrogant and exclusive to his buddies in the real estate industry.   The Chapman old boys club includes Mayoral candidate Dan Carter and the chamber of Commerce.   A well known good old boys club that goes around with their noses up in the air, thinking about no one but themselves.
What has the chamber done for the city of Oshawa in the last 5  years?   During the last election they clearly showed bias and prejudice towards hand pick ‘YES MEN’ the picked.
When questions were put forth to the Liberal Candidate Makini Smith, her resemblance to deer caught in front of car lights was precious.  Did this woman not prepare.  She had no real information. No real direction and looked confused when asked simple questions.  
Jennifer French, in her usual manner.  Answered questions with the usual orange overtones as expected.  At times she kept going off topic and also appeared loosing her train of thought.
Over all this was the worst debate I have ever seen.  I feel for the people of Oshawa that we lack leadership and direction.  On the one hand Chapman attempting to give himself a pay raise to continue to do nothing for Oshawa.  It would  be a political/social crime to see him win.  The Liberals really scraped the bottom of the barrel with Smith as she has no substance and or idea  what the Liberals stand for.  Out of all the evils my money is on French.  I say this because, we have no choice.  Any other candidate would be a step backward.  So, let’s let French continue to sit in her trench for another term until the next election and hope for better candidates.
Oshawa politics is putrid with incompetency as clearly shown in this debate... and without doubt Oshawa politics is putrid by bias, discrimination and the ‘GOOD OLD BOYS’ club.   Don’t believe me... Where was the  Libertarian Party candidate Brett Van Ginkel.  Was the candidate  not invited or available?    Case in point.

Old-school Bully

Old-school Bully
   I am from another country. I have a mother-in-law I believed accepted and liked me. My father-in-law is condescending and just plain rude. Over the years he made numerous comments I ignored. My mother-in-law was aware of the problem and always told him to stop. I believed she was supportive in her own way.
After 10 years it became too much.
I told my father-in-law to speak to me with respect. My husband got involved and explained to his parents how his father’s behavior affected him over the years. He also said, though his father has people in his life who accept this behavior or brush it off, he needs to be aware of his mouth.
Days later, my mother-in-law turned on me and said, if I am not willing to “try,” there is no point in continuing our relationship. This surprised me. We have children who love her and whom she supposedly loves, and I have been nothing but kind to her.
In the last few days she’s been cold to my husband, her son, acting as though she does not care to know us. Today, when my husband called her, she was all sweet and nice, asking him how I am and acting as though nothing is wrong.
How do I deal with this woman? In two weeks she is giving a party for my youngest. I am expected to go there and be sweet and nice knowing she once said to my husband there were no issues in their family prior to the two of us getting married.
Lucia

Lucia, an old sailing expression reminds us we can’t change the wind, but we can adjust our sails. That’s what your mother-in-law did. After you and your husband stood up for yourselves, she adjusted her sails based on the hot breeze blowing in her face.
She had a couple of bad days because of her husband. Then she readjusted her sails to get back in your good graces. When she said there were no issues in the family prior to your marriage, she made an unconscious admission. What she confessed was that everyone in the family has always kowtowed to the man with an unfiltered mouth.
Some people think they get to live by radical honesty while others need to hold their tongue. Your father-in-law can’t believe you would stand up for yourself. He can dish it out but he can’t take it.
Why people like him think they should be treated nice by those they treat nasty is a mystery. But it gives a clue to their primitive interior world. You’re either for me or you’re against me.
Grandpa thinks he can say mean things and get away with it. But he’s not stupid. He’s not senile. He can learn a new piece of technology. If he wanted, he could stop doing what he is doing. But he gets pleasure out of it, and when he gets away with it, his chest swells.
What’s missing from your letter is the talk with your husband. The two of you need to make a plan. What do we do when grandpa says nasty things? How will we explain this to our children?
After you and your husband decide on a course of action, he needs to tell his mother what you intend to do. If you have qualms about acting, think about the impact your father-in-law’s spite may have on your children. They can love their grandfather and at the same time not respect his bad behavior.
Wayne & Tamara

The gut-skin connection from Marissa Liana

The gut-skin connection

There is a major connection between gut health and skin health. Research has shown that people who suffer from digestive related issues such as bloating, gas and constipation are much more likely to suffer from acne than those who do not.

Why? Imbalances in gut flora, particularly in individuals who have more bad bacteria than good bacteria, increase their risk of digestive issues, illness, altered immune function and skin issues.
Having a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria and having a well established *diversity* of good bacteria is so important for many reasons. Some of these include:

a) Good bacteria help to reduce markers of inflammation in the body. Acne, eczema and rosacea are inflammatory conditions.?

b) Good bacteria help to metabolize our food and regulate healthy bowel movements, preventing diarrhea and/or constipation. Properly formed bowel movements are crucial because this is a method for eliminating hormones. (After the liver has broken down and packed hormones for removal, they are sent to the bowels to be removed in our feces).

 If we are not eliminating feces properly from the bowels and our stools are poorly formed, hormones stick around too long in the intestines/colon and can be reabsorbed back into the bloodstream. This is not good and results in hormonal acne and imbalances.

If you’d like to learn more about the connection between inner health and skin health, I’d highly recommend my Healthy Skin From Within Ebook at www.marissaliana.com under the SHOP tab.

Until next time, stay well.
Marissa

What Women (and Men) Should Know About HRT By W. Gifford-Jones M.D.

By W. Gifford-Jones M.D.
What Women (and Men) Should Know About HRT
          The year 2002 was a worrying year for women who were taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to combat troublesome menopausal symptoms.  Bold newspaper headlines reported that a study called The Women’s Health Initiative, conducted by the National Institute of Health, showed an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease and blood clots in the legs and lungs of those taking HRT for longer than five years. It was hardly prime time to be prescribed estrogen. But what are the facts in 2018?

          The passage of time often changes opinions in many areas. Treatment of   menopause is no exception. Now, after 18 years, the Women’s Health Initiative says the potential harm of HRT was overstated for healthy women younger than 60. And that the benefits of HRT outweigh the risk.

          Some women require speedy help when menopause begins. One patient of mine, a high school principal, not an easy job, was always upbeat during her annual examinations. But one year she immediately burst out crying, complaining she had lost complete control. But when prescribed HRT, she was back to her normal self in a couple of weeks.

          Some women suffering from troublesome night sweats, insomnia, emotional instability, or sexual problems, may experience milder symptoms. But whether mild or severe, the question of safety of HRT always arises. Women must then   seek their own doctor’s opinion.

          The good news is that HRT cures the majority of patients who complain of hot flashes, night sweats and insomnia. But often overlooked is that HRT also   alleviates vaginal dryness, a cause of painful sex, and may reduce urinary frequency, incontinence, joint pain, and bone loss.

          So who should then use HRT? Most authorities now say the benefit of HRT outweighs the risk if the patient is younger than 60, has no history of, or not at high risk of, breast or uterine cancer, stroke, blood clots, and does not have liver or cardiovascular disease.

          But suppose the patient is over 60 and has had hot flashes lasting several years? The North American Menopausal Society issued a statement that women over 65 who suffer from moderate to severe symptoms can take HRT as long as benefits outweigh the risk.

          Here is a cardinal rule of medicine. There is always risk with HRT, hip replacement or any other medical treatment. But with HRT the risk can be decreased by using the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time. It’s also important to get regular medical checkups.

          The next question is the best type of HRT. If there’s not been a hysterectomy, doctors usually prescribe a combination of estrogen and progestin. Estrogen eases symptoms, but may stimulate the uterine lining, resulting in malignancy. Progestin decreases this possibility. After five years of use there can be a slight risk of breast cancer.

          After hysterectomy, there’s no need to worry about uterine malignancy, so only estrogen is required. Estrogen alone also carries decreased risk of breast cancer.
          There’s another important point. Lack of estrogen often results in thinning of the vaginal lining, known as atrophic vaginitis. In severe cases this can result in tiny vaginal ulcers. Left untreated, it may eventually narrow the vagina making sexual relations impossible. It’s tragic that some women have lived with this condition for ten or more years, when it could be cured by local estrogen in a few weeks.
          Atrophic vaginitis is one of the most overlooked gynecological problems. It happens because women are often reluctant to discuss this matter with their doctor. Or, the doctor does not do a pelvic examination. I once advised readers to remember that Engelbert Humperdink can’t sing with a sore throat, and women cannot have sex with an inflamed vagina!

          Patients who still have a uterus and are taking HRT must immediately report any bleeding to their doctor. This may be due to a benign uterine polyp that can easily be removed in the office. But it can be due to early malignancy even when   not taking HRT.
Online docgiff.com Comments info@docgiff.com

THE DEBT GAME By John Mutton

By John Mutton      
THE DEBT GAME
  We hear a lot of talk about municipal debt and other such topics that the public are being lead down a garden path that all is great, all is fine.

  The BMA study is a study that comes out that measures municipal finance health on debt per capita and other areas that ensure the factual to numbers are in the public domain.

So how is your municipality doing?

Well the average municipal debt per person in Ontario is $198 (remember per person), so in Durham Region, reportable debt is as follows:

Brock $104
Clarington  $196
Pickering $234
Oshawa $548 (nearly 3 times the Ontario avg)

While debt is an inevitable part of government with crumbling assets, we must be very careful with the issuance of debt. For example, Durham Regions excellent triple A credit rating could very well be impacted by rogue debt spending and that would effect the interest rates paid for every city and the region itself.

We must be even more stringent at the Region as the Region is in charge of debenture (debt) issuance and poor financial health and budgeting in once city could effect every taxpayer in Durham. This will NOT happen on my watch.

Till next week