A Lot of Bull

I had to read this headline a few times before I was sure I was seeing it right:

150 feral cattle to be shot from sky in New Mexico national forest as US Forest Service issues kill order

Seriously? Where's PETA?

Organizing an aerial cattle-shoot instead of finding a more useful, less wasteful solution to the issue of "feral cattle" (who knew?) does fit in with the current destructive activities of our federal government. According to the article, the cattle began free ranging in the 1970s. Suddenly, after 50 years, they've become a threat to "public safety." Other concerns mentioned in the article fall under the "bull" heading, in my estimation.

The doomed cattle are roaming, for the next couple of days at least, in Gila Wilderness. It's described as a "protected backcountry area in New Mexico." If they could, the cattle might argue that it's not quite so protected.

Cruelty, laziness, and stupidity are always a terrible combination. Unfortunately, our national officials seem to have that triple play down to a science.

At the Edge

But you tell me over and over and over again my friend 
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

~ Barry McGuire

Eve of Destruction was a hit song when I was a teeny-bopper. It was a protest song, primarily against the Vietnam war. In that, singer/songwriter Barry McGuire was far from alone.

The 1960s are now sixty years ago. If we were on the eve of destruction back then, we're closer to midnight today. We live in a much more frightening world than anyone in the mid-'60s could imagine. In the 1960s, the US Constitution was the law of the land. There was no question about that among everyday citizens. That is no longer true.

We in America--formerly famous for being a free country--find that the First Amendment has been rendered largely meaningless. We labor under growing restrictions on free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, and endless attacks on the Second Amendment--our right to bear arms. Many of the impediments to our freedoms emanate from unelected Federal bureaucrats. There is often no legal recourse. Legitimate cases are dismissed by district attorneys and judges that care more about criminal rights than those of taxpaying citizens.

In the past 60 years, the United States has withstood the turbulence and tragedy of several wars. We united and rebuilt after September 11, 2001. We have recovered from severe economic hardships--inflation and sky-high interest rates in the 1980s, the dotcom market bubble burst around Y2K, the financial reverses of 2008's Great Recession. In all my years, I've never worried about the USA surviving any trial.

Until now. Now, we are so fractured and degraded as a society, our government is so corrupted and incompetent, that I worry we are at the very edge of a national disaster that can never be remedied. It has happened to every great civilization in history. The Roman Empire fell for reasons disturbingly similar to conditions in America today. Among those reasons were border collapse, economic crisis, and government corruption. Rome lasted for a thousand years. But if the USA can't begin to turn the tide of chaos within our country, I think we're on a much more rapid path to self-destruction.

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Up in the Air

Whoa, it came out of the sky
Landed just a little south of Moline

~ Creedence Clearwater Revival

Well, I'm not sure where the landing spot would be. But if I were in charge, that Chinese balloon would be in a zillion pieces. It would be the "flying machine in pieces on the ground," to quote further from classic rock tunes. If I were running the show, the Chinese Communists would definitely see fire and rain on their computer screens instead of US secret sites.

Sure, it's a "weather balloon" that just happens to be drifting over U.S military bases and nuclear silos. Does anyone in this country actually believe a single word that comes out of either the Biden administration OR China? Pardon the rhetorical question. It beats cursing and swearing.

The current "president" has parked our national security in a continuous state of suspended animation. From the border, to illegal immigration, to crime, to fentanyl, to sucking up to China and other enemies, Biden has left any action to protect or benefit the US up in the air. Biden has consistently demonstrated that he is not interested in what American citizens want or need. He owes too much to too many shady players.

In his weak and timid response to the aerial invasion of our country by a belligerent China, Biden acts as though his first allegiance is to Beijing. Allowing China to leisurely spy across the continental USA makes me wonder--is Biden's first loyalty to China?

Is that a rhetorical question? I'll leave that up in the air.