Memorial Day for the heroes

The word memorial is identified as a commemorative act to perpetuate the memory of a person, event, etc., usually carried out as a monument or a holiday. Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day was inaugurated by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic [U.S. Army] in 1868. It was for the purpose of honoring the 620,000 soldiers killed in the Civil War. In comparison, 644,000 were killed in all other conflicts. In going to war, the participant realizes his or her chance of not coming home alive. That's a hero, and we have many of those today.

There are 22 million veterans in the U.S. (10 percent are women) meaning that 7.3 percent of all living Americans have served in the military at some point in their lives. There are lots of reasons for joining up but then there is also the draft, initiated when personnel were needed for the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In other words, the military is made up of a complex group of individuals, but no matter how they entered the service, they were there to fight for, and, if necessary, die for their country. Those that died are the ones we pay tribute to today, honoring their lives and commitment.

Here are three things you may not have known about Memorial Day...

• John Logan originally meant Memorial Day for Union Soldiers only
• The Vietnam War was responsible for Memorial Day becoming a national holiday
• Although many towns claim to have been the birthplace of Memorial Day, Waterloo, New York is officially recognized as the first to commemorate the day

Along with my fellow veterans and all the rest of you out there, we want to convey our gratitude to those who didn't make it back and our heartfelt thanks for your ultimate sacrifice.

Don't let someone steal your new Medicare card

My insurer, United Healthcare, in connection with my AARP membership, just sent me their guidelines to help avoid someone scamming your new Medicare card which you should be receiving any day, if not already. Their points are:

• No action is needed. New Medicare cards will be automatically mailed to the address that CMS has on file. Medicare beneficiaries should not provide any information to anyone claiming it is needed for the new card.
• A temporary card is not needed. Medicare beneficiaries can continue to use their existing card until they receive a new one.
• CMS does not charge for Medicare cards.
• Medicare will not call. Be suspicious of anyone calling about the new Medicare card.

The most frightening thing you can experience today is medical identity theft. Here's the worst-case scenario. Someone steals your medical records, say, by having your new Medicare card info. They go to the hospital with a life-threatening diagnosis of diabetes. Because they have stolen your medical records, this information is entered into your file. You are not diabetic and at some point something happens to you that you are taken to the hospital unconscious. Because your record now indicates you are diabetic, it could be assumed you are in a diabetic coma, thus, doses of insulin to revive you.

Depending on how much insulin you were given, you could have dangerous side effects like hypoglycemia where blood sugar levels are so low that the body is not able to function properly. or it could even cause death. OK, this is the extreme, but I use this example to point out the fact that you should guard your medical records as much or more than your financial information. It is my understanding that one of the primary reasons for issuing new Medicare cards is to get rid of the Social Security number as you Medicare ID number.

That means you must protect it now the same as you have always been advised to protect the SS number.


   

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Mexican gun violence stems from lax U.S. gun laws

There is only one gun store in Mexico, just outside Mexico City, heavily guarded on a Military base. To even get inside the store, buyers must go through months of background checks. And Mexico has its own 2nd Amendment, but it stipulates that federal law "will determine the cases, conditions, requirements and places" of gun ownership. And while each day the army gun store sells only an average of just 38 firearms to civilians, "an estimated 580 weapons are smuggled into Mexico from the United States." Clearly, their problem is U.S. gun laws, making more guns available to the public.

The LA Times reports...

"About 70% of guns recovered by Mexican law enforcement officials from 2011 to 2016 were originally purchased from legal gun dealers in the United States, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives."

How does this all stack up? It's the American connection where the National Rifle Assn.'s head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre, believes in spreading guns around the country like the spreading of seeds by farmers in the Spring planting. Guns proliferate on the streets much like the crops in the fields. Except, they end up killing the innocent rather than feeding the hungry. It's an American tradition that is now seriously affecting our southern neighbor, adding to the drug cartel violence. There are 67,000 licensed gun dealers and gun shows in this country, the latter where just a warm body can buy a gun.

Mexico has a ban on assault weapons but, once again, enough come across the U.S. border to satisfy the appetite of the bad guys, especially cartels, in this case. Chelsea Parsons of the Center for American Progress touts the problems of International drug trafficking in a report that "found that 66% of Mexico's homicides were committed with a gun in 2017, up from 15% in 1997." It's beginning to look more and more like the U.S. and they don't like it. Ricardo Anaya of the National Action Party said recently...

"Instead of threatening walls, instead of threatening to militarize the border, we demand that they stop the flow of arms from the United States to Mexico."

Illegal immigrants coming north and illegal guns going south. What should be the priority with such a good nation that has been our partner for years? 

Did No. Korea call V.P. Pence a "political dummy?"

Mike Pence

Donald Trump has cancelled the Nuclear Summit with No. Korea's Kim Jong-un due to rhetoric on the part of Kim. Choe Son Hui, a vice-minister in the North Korean Foreign Ministry then said...

"if the US continued on its current path, she would suggest to North Korea's leadership that they reconsider the planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un."

She then called V. P. Mike Pence a "political dummy" for warning "North Korea that it could end up like Libya if it fails to make a nuclear deal with Washington." Choe called the comments "unbridled and impudent." Pence said on Fox News, "As the President made clear, this will only end like the Libya model ended if Kim Jong Un doesn't make a deal." And then John Bolton commented, "the US would look to the negotiations with Libya during the early 2000s when dealing with North Korea." You would think they were already in the war room with these remarks.

Adam Mount, the director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists said, Pence's comments were the "most explicit regime change threat yet" from the Trump administration. Jean Lee, the director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Wilson Center commented, "They (the North Koreans) are very proud, they don't like being bullied and they certainly don't like the repeated references to Libya and the repeated reference to its poverty." Unfortunately, our negotiator is perhaps the world's top bully.

Warmonger John Bolton avoided Vietnam War

John Bolton would have us here

Yes, John Bolton is a wimp, according to Slate, declining to go into combat, he enlisted in the National Guard and went to law school. His words: "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy," That's a touching statement from the man Donald Trump just appointed his national-security adviser, a move that refutes another of T-rump's campaign promises, to get us out of these stupid wars. Bolton is a warmonger who has never seen a war he wouldn't promote and he has Trump's ear.

The Nation reports that...

"Under Bush, he cooked intelligence to fit the case for the Iraq War. He still defends what was the greatest foreign-policy debacle since Vietnam."

In more from the Nation, John Bolton believes that any negotiations with No. Korea is a time waster and was known to be thinking of steering Trump away from the talks he had planned with Kim Jong-un. Well, apparently it worked because T-rump said on Tuesday he was afraid that the summit will be a "political embarrassment," The administration noted the fact that No. Korea was not ready to denuclearize, something Trump has demanded. The move by Kim Jong-un is very convenient for Bolton who is for going to war with No. Korea now, something Congress hasn't ruled out.

Back in August 2017, The Atlantic reported even then that it could be the most destructive war ever and noted that with No. Korea's current nuclear set up, it would take only 30 minutes for them to hit Los Angeles with a nuclear missile. This whole fiasco has been going on for decades but Donald Trump is the first totally unhinged U.S. President to be involved. If you compound that with John Bolton at the help of national security, it is very frightening to think what could happen. I'll leave you with this...

"Trump has also tweeted [2017] that North Korea is 'looking for trouble' and that he intends to 'solve the problem.' His administration has leaked plans for a “decapitation strike” that would target Kim, which seems like the very last thing a country ought to announce in advance."

Has the Oval Office lunatic learned anything since then?

NOTE: It's official, Donald Trump canceled the summit with No. Korea's Kim Jong-un. Enter John Bolton?

U.S. No. Korea summit off...Will John Bolton decide the next war?

The culprits

Donald Trump has cancelled the Nuclear Summit with Kim Jong-un's No. Korea and there is no indication of what the next move will be. South Korea is totally confused over T-rump's decision, apparently based on this comment...

"Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting."

 You can see his letter to Kim, here, with a semi-friendly dialogue, but still interlaced with the typical Trump boasting...

"You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used."

Was that a threat? Was it written by John Bolton? Will we end up in a war before we can get rid of this raving maniac? It's a circus, folks, and someone is about to kick the poles out from under the tents.

Texas mentality always thinking about guns

Typical Republican campaign advertising 

The centerpiece of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's reelection bid was the giveaway of a “Texas-made shotgun“ in a campaign contest. That's the way gun nut political candidates impress their gun nut supporters. After a gunman used a shotgun in a Friday rampage that left 10 dead in a high school near Houston, he changed the contest gift to $250. But in February Kansas candidate Tyler Tannahill stuck to his "campaign giveaway of an AR-15 rifle despite criticism in light of the prior Wednesday's mass school shooting in Florida." The weapon used in the Florida massacre was an AR-15.

It is a given that these gun huggers value their weapons more than the lives of their family, friends and neighbors, even their children. but this Kansas imbecile, a Republican, of course, also cares more about winning his election than the values listed above. Even John Fredericks, a conservative talk radio host, criticized Tannahill's giveaway, saying he felt it was "in really bad taste." Folks, we are talking about giving away the same kind of assault weapon that has been used in most of the recent school shootings, a good indication of how guns can get in the wrong hands in this country.

This kind of lunacy exists all over this nation. A Virginia politician gave away an AR-15 in 2016, Georgia candidate for Governor gave away a bump stock in 2017, and as far back as 2014, the hottest conservative campaign gimmick was free guns. It is an obsession for something that is designed for only one purpose, to kill. Yes, some guns are used for hunting, but I wonder about the ratio between the quarry of hunters and the fact that guns have killed 5,574 people already in 2018, with a total of 22,587 incidences of gun violence.

It is obvious that America has a gun culture built around the protection of the 2nd Amendment ratified in late 1791, over two hundred years ago. It is currently a ruse in the U.S. Constitution put there by men thinking as people in a new country, at the time, who believed governments used soldiers to oppress the people. In modern day, the military is known as the national force that protects Americans. Only a mentally deprived gun nut would think today that the 2nd Amendment still gives him or her the right to do anything they like with a gun. Not only nonsense, just plain stupidity.