Freedom and Liberty

• freedom (noun)- the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hinderance or resistance.
• liberty (noun)- the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.

Do we really have it in this country (US)? Do we have freedoms and liberties? I say no, we are controlled for everything.

I bring this up for a number of reasons. Mostly to point the hypocrisy that many cry about their freedoms, while oppressing others' liberties. In other words, "as long as I got my liberties, I don't care about yours."

I could write a long laundry list of examples of the insincerity of the people in the US about their freedoms and lack of empathy towards others and their freedoms. I am going to go with following as the lone example;

Colin Kaepernick (I had to look up the spelling), a quarterback for San Francisco 49ers, is expressing himself (using his liberties) to not rise for the playing of the National Anthem because of the inequalities that still exist in this country. Kaepernick is taking a lot of criticism for his actions and will most likely be punished (fined) by the NFL for continuing to follow through with his actions.

I personally think he is being disrespectful, as I will stand for other countries' anthems out of respect. I found what Usain Bolt did during a live interview at the Olympics very noble and he gained much admiration from me for his act in suspending that interview for an anthem being played during a podium presentation (it just happened to be the US).

IMHO, Kaepernick needs to find another mechanism in which to express his displeasure with the state of our country. I support Mr. Kaepernick and believe he is correct, in that there still exists a huge divide in the treatment and equity of certain minority groups in this country. He has a right to express himself anyway he feels to promote his cause. What bothers me even more than his mode of rebellion, are the outspoken critics against him and trying to quash his stand against injustice, proving his point even further.

So, no, we do not have freedoms and liberties in this country, society will not allow it to happen. Society will stomp out anything that expresses opposition to the 'norm', no deviations allowed, it makes everyone uncomfortable.

A Hidden Agenda

I am not a big believer in conspiracies or the theories that coincide with them, but every once and a while something pops into my head and makes me question what is really going on.

As I scroll through social media, I am bombarded with posts and memes about the astronomical prices associated with certain pharmaceuticals here in the US, latest is the EpiPen for allergic reactions.

This has set off a maelstrom of comparisons for a lot of other drugs and their costs here in the US in contrast to various other countries.

Many allopathic remedies here are two to seven times the cost in other countries, this has led me to thinking that there is a secret hidden agenda amongst the powers that control the corrupt free market in this country. That secret hidden agenda is to fight immigrants coming to this country for cheap medical care...

Now hear me out, please... There are many that believe all the "illegals" in this country come for "free" handouts including medical, so are the powers that be in the "free market" driving costs of medicines up to make the US unlivable for those that seek a better lifestyle, including the citizens already here (we are just collateral damage)? If medical is cheaper elsewhere, won't those seeking that flock to those elsewhere places? There have been crazier schemes put into action...

I am allergic to Vespidae stings, but I also have reaction issues to epinephrine, so I avoid the use of self field injections and have found that a simple homeopathic remedy works just as well and as quickly with no side reactions, that and a good nap and I am usually fine in a couple of hours...

Potential Nightmare

I am not one to complain about government efficiency, good or bad. The powers are going to operate as they do and there is very little we can do to change that. You can't fight city hall...

With the relocation of my daughter, she had to register for school and some paperwork was missing to get her properly sign in. So I went to get a copy of part of her adoption from the local probate. I gave them the details, including the date of the proceeding, and they could not locate the document I was asking for. After an exhausting 90 minute search the decree was found (under her brother's name), and paying just a mere $10, I was given a certified copy.

We are good right? Well, we need to prevent this from happening again.

So..., I asked about why the state never certified her foreign adoption and that the state said the probate court was the hold up. Once again after a shorter exasperating search we found the cover of the documents, but no accompanying paperwork. Because someone misplaced the necessary documents it was never processed. It should also be noted that the court never notified us that we were missing important parts for this to be completed.

Move ahead one week...while cleaning out a box of papers, I found the original rejection from the state for certifying her foreign birth and adoption. I also read the cover document that I was given and noticed that the box was checked that all appropriate paperwork was filed and it had a stamp received with a date one month or more prior to our hearing. If it was incomplete why would they have moved forward with the hearing?

Back down to the court, point out the issue, along with presentation of state filing. Still need the paperwork that is missing, even though they accepted and have misplaced, and then I can start the process all over again 9 years later and for a low low fee of $225, instead of the previous $45 that was paid the first time...

To be continued...

<In case anyone is wondering why this is important for my daughter, without it she may not be able to get a driver's license, financial aid for college, a marriage license, any professional license for that matter...irony of it all, she has a US Passport and became a US citizen the moment she landed on US territory>

WTF, Monday? What did I do?

I am not one to complain about it being Monday, but every once in a while you have one of those days that it seems that nothing is going to go your way. For me it just happened to be a Monday. Don't worry Monday I will not discriminate against you, you did nothing wrong.

I will not going into details as some is very personal and the other involves confidential business matters. I had four very huge "fires" I had to deal with, and while all the "fires" seem to be out, none had a favorable outcomes. At least not at the moment, but things have a way of sometimes working out...

To basically sum it up....it is like riding a bike, except the bike was on fire and you are on fire and everything was on fire and you are in hell...and you survive.

New FDA Rules

On Monday (8/8/16), some of the new Food and Drug Administration regulations came online for cigar and pipe tobaccos. I will not go into the details of it all; one, because it is complex and I do not understand it all and two, it is complex and I don't understand it all.

In a synopsis, the FDA was given the power to regulate tobacco (no longer the ATF. I wonder when the power to regulate guns will be passed on?... Lets not go there right now) by The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. Some are trying to blame President Obama, but he did not co-sponsor this act and as a smoker himself, not sure how personally he was behind the Act. It was passed by Congress 298-112 and 57-43, so it had enough votes to override any veto, so it was cost and time saving for Mr. Obama to just sign and move on. So lets point fingers where they belong, at your representatives...

The thrust of the measure was to prevent children and young adults from smoking. There has been strong regulation in place for awhile on cigarettes and advertising of cigarettes. This new act is aimed more at the vaping and e-cigs, but they threw a tent over the whole issue and included cigars and pipes. The FDA reasoning was manufacturers and retailers were targeting children and adolescence.

I can understand that with vape and e-cigs there are a gazillion different flavors like pina-colada mango bubblegum hazelnut or juicy steak lime popcorn, and the powers are worried that this is 'enticing' to the impressionable ones. There are also may infused gas station smokes in small cigars that maybe a lure to today's youth. As a seasoned cigar and pipe user, I am not sure why any of these flavors are palatable let alone a draw into the smoking world, but OK...so go after the things that are 'appealing' to the demographic you are trying to protect.

I work at a brick and mortar tobacco establishment, have been there almost five years, and I can count on one hand the number of times an obviously under age person has come in looking for high end cigars (we card anyone that looks under 27, even have a sign above the register that says exactly that, so yea we have caught a few that are a few months short of the legal age), that would be nothing, nada, zilch, zero...same with pipes and pipe tobacco. Granted I work in the top shop in my state and carry most of the pricey stuff and children can just not afford what we have to offer...so why regulate this part of the industry where there is not a shred of evidence to support the stiff oversight.

Now here is the real irony, a beautiful candy store located across the street from an open campus high school which carries a plethora of old fashioned candies is still allowed to display and sell candy cigarettes, chocolate cigars, and bubble pipes. This is not the gateway into dangerous habits? Didn't the FDA already have jurisdiction over candy before the Tobacco Act of 2009? Where is the overreach in the candy industry? Let that all sink in...

I See What You Did There...Well Played.

I just wanted to take a few minutes and point out a couple of things that are happening but you may not be aware of it.

• Everyone always goes to the store and tries to find a place as close to the entrance as possible because we are basically lazy. But has anyone observed where they place the cart return corrals in the parking lot? That is right, further out in the lot so you have to walk (if you are playing nice and actually return the cart to safe place and care for the protection of others vehicles) some distance from your lucky spot close to the entrance. Forcing us to get exercise whether we want it or not.
• I recently had to update my "smartphone", along with going back into a two year contract in order to get a nifty pocket computer. Part of the upgrade included some wicked cool apps, but they expire unless I feel like continuing them at a "small" nominal monthly fee. One of those features is Caller ID, are you serious, that was once a regular feature on most modern phones and included as part of a package of features (call waiting, three way calls, speed dial, etc...) that normally come with any phone service. Now we have to pay extra for this feature...first of all, I usually don't answer the phone if I do not recognize the number and sometimes will choose to ignore a call even if I do recognize the number. So without the Caller ID, I guess I will be letting all the calls go directly to voicemail. BTW, I can also pay for an extra feature that will read my texts and type out my voice mails into text messages, no thanks. At least I still get unlimited calls and texts, but I am sure we will be going back to roaming charges soon as no one actually talks on their cell phones.

I did a cool feature at no extra charge, the new smart device has new setting for when I am driving similar to airplane mode, except it replays with a programmed message that tells the caller/texter that I am driving and will return any messages or calls once I am in a safe and convenient place. 

Writing

I have a job interview coming up in a few weeks and as part of the process I have to respond to a writing prompt. One of the reasons I started this blog was to have a reason to write and try to improve my voice in the written word. Having worked in the science/engineering world, I was trained to be a technical writer and not overly verbose (see example below).

My concern of writing the directed prompt is that I will be too short and concise, that I will not put enough color and redundancy into the piece, leaving the reader/grader thinking I lack basic writing skills and vocabulary.

I just have to relax and utilize the 30 minutes that will be allotted me to complete the task and what is necessary...although it is for a technical position, so maybe a to the point bulleted structure is the way to go...