There are people out there who call themselves Americans who are followers of Q who are a couple of guys named Ron Watkins and his father Jim Watkins who lived in the Philippines and now perhaps in Japan. Jim recently was found by the Philippine government to be someone they did not want living there so he sold his pig farm and headed elsewhere. Son Ron allegedly lives in Japan at the present time. Jim is an Army veteran who enlisted when he was 18 years old and after a few years established a site that involved itself with Japanese pornography and some suggest child pornography.

The Watkins run 8chan which is the vehicle through which Q communicates. Watkins formed a super PAC called “Disarm the Deep State“, which backs political candidates who support the QAnon conspiracy theory. One of the theories propounded by Q is there are “Satan-worshiping pedophiles running a global child sex-trafficking ring . . . plotting against former President Donald Trump who is battling them.”

The Dodo Birds I believe must be the new symbol of the Republican Party because it will eventually become extinct. It knows that. We see it in the idea of making America great again which suggest that if you elect a Republican to the nation’s highest office he will take us back to those days when we were great. The pitch is so clear that it tells us the future is something we should fear while the past will offer us the comfort of a mother’s embrace. The Republicans offer the people nothing to look forward to.

The idea of going backwards is mainly Trump’s idea where he leaves open the time when he believes we were great. It is not a call to all Americans because many believe there was little greatness in the past for them. But it is a call to White Americans who were in the ascendancy in the past.

Life has its many mysteries. Some are probably never going to be solved; others at a future date may be solved, or if not that, at least better understood. Here is one: “Three months after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to overturn his November election loss, about half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists “trying to make Trump look bad, . . .”

Here’s another great mystery: “Six in 10 Republicans also believe the false claim put out by Trump that November’s presidential election “was stolen” from him due to widespread voter fraud . . . .”  

Unfortunately, with respect to the raid on the Capitol on June 6, 2021, we are simply told not to believe what our eyes told us and that it was non violent. Nor are we to believe that all the folk who have been arrested, 400 so far, were Trump supporters.

Happy Easter to All Who Celebrate the Day.

It seemed to come upon me very quickly – the isolation from real life has thrown much off, even the calendar.

The Orthodox Easter – that church still follows the Julian calendar unlike the other major Christian faiths which follow the Gregorian calendar – is not until May 2, 2021. I believed the calendar that determined Passover was similar to the Julian calendar but it differs. I learned – at this late date –  Passover begins on the 15th day of Nisan which typically begins on the night of a full moon after the northern vernal equinox.

The last full moon before now was  the worm moon which occurred on March 28. I was curious about its name so I had to look that up. It  got its name from the earthworms that emerge at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. In most years, the Worm Moon is the last Full Moon – before the March equinox, which can take place on March 19, 20, or 21. This year it came after the spring (March) equinox (anything to do with global warming?) so Passover began on March 27 (don’t know why the day discrepancy – might have to do with the  way the day is calculated starting at sundown). It continues on to April 4.  So these subtleties caused me not to wish those who celebrate Passover a Happy Passover. So I do so now.

I have asked myself since January 6, 2021, the question what do the Trump supporters expect? On that date we saw Trump inspired insurrectionists invade our Capitol, shut down the vote for certifying the election results in the states, cause the death and injury to police officers and others, and cause extensive and unnecessary damage.

What did Trump, his friends and followers think would be the result of this had they succeeded? No one seems to have focused on this. Did they really believe that if they prevented the vote from being certified Trump would remain as president? Would Trump have claimed that he was still president?

I have to think that is what Trump hoped the ultimate outcome would be. He posits the idea, still to this date, that he won by a landslide having attained millions of more votes than President Biden. We are told that somewhere, somehow, and cleverly, votes for him were changed to votes for Biden. He believes in his mind that he is still the president. Those who went to Washington on January 6, 2021 believe that to be the case. There are still some Republicans in Congress who refuse to recognize Biden as president.

The sad case for a human went into a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado with a Ruger AR-556 ..223 REM / 5.56 NATO 16.1″ Barrel 30 RDS and murdered ten (10) people. It’s advertised on the site GrabAGun for $949.99 “or as low as $56.02 per month with Shoot Now Pay Later.”

The site went on to say: “The Ruger AR-556 is a great deal for an AR without breaking the bank. The 16-inch barrel provides great accuracy and balance while the 30 round mag allows for plenty of follow-up shots. With improved balance and handling, Ruger AR 556 .223 Rem / 5.56 NATO is versatile enough to give you all that you’re looking for in a sporting rifle. Get one today from Grabagun at a great price.” 

You did notice that it is called a sporting rifle. I suppose the sport is using it at a firing range. I cannot think of any other sport where it is useful. But why do you need to have a cartridge with 30 bullets at a range. You can have as much enjoyment with a single shot gun or if you are desperate a gun with 8 rounds.

What is it that makes America the nation that so many want to live in unlike nations such as Russia, China, or Turkey? What is it that it offers that attracts so many people to its shores?

I suggest it is one word: opportunity. The opportunity to be whatever you want to be and to be protected in that right. The opportunity to have something for yourselves or your children that you would not otherwise have. The opportunity as Boston Municipal Court Judge Elijah Adlow put it: “to have peace, quiet and the right to enjoy life.”

Thomas Gray spoke about those who lived and died in the English countryside. He wrote:

“Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid –  Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; – Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway’d, – Or wak’d to ecstasy the living lyre.

But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page –  Rich with the spoils of time did ne’er unroll; – Chill Penury repress’d their noble rage, –   And froze the genial current of the soul.”