AGAINST MY BETTER JUDGEMENT

I WATCHED THE DEBATE LAST NIGHT:  I really had no intention of doing so. But, there was nothing else on TV that appealed to me and I just got started watching and so continued till almost the end.  This morning I have been watching the news on NBC, AKA the today show, and it is obvious that Matt and Savanna and company is all for Hillary and against Trump.  It is also evident that they watched a different debate than I did, although I did hear a couple of comments that I agreed with.  So, while they are giving their spin on what took place, here is my spin on the debate.
I want to mention Lester Holt.  I like Lester, but last night he stated that the questions were his. And the first question out of his mouth was   "tell me how you will handle the economy better that your opponent?  I hated that form of question.  Better, Tell the public what you will do to improve the economy and the job situation.  And then the candidates need to both go back to school to learn the definition of the word debate.  Lat night was not a debate, it was an argument. And a bunch of accusations. You did this, will you said this  etc. the 15 minute time limit for each segment got totally away from Lester and he had little control over the actual content of the debate. The candidates also got into the performance of President Obama. I have lived through the last nearly 8 years of his Presidency. I don't need these two hashing over what he has or has not done. I want to hear what they will do to improve the country. What will they do with the military. What will they do with the economy and jobs and taxes. And why do they think their plan will improve the situation.  What will they do about foreign policy. I'm not really concerned about climate change, since I know who is in charge of the climate and it ain't them. And that is a subject for a future post.  I also noticed that Lester would let Hillary carry on for as long as she wanted and say whatever she wanted, but he often interrupted Donald when it seemed he didn't like what Donald was saying.  A debate moderator should be neutral, and Lester didn't come across that way. I am disappointed in that.
Now a comment of three or more about the candidates.  While I expected it, I was disappointed that they went on the attack, instead of talking about a plan they would have for improving the country. What they did say was from different view points.  Hillary was from a politician point of view and Donald was from a business man's point of view.  Hillary's plan is to raise taxes and throw more money at the problem. Dona;d's plan is to lower taxes and bring back jobs and companies to this country. Having spent my working life in an environment where taxes and government over regulations often devastate companies, I agree with Donald on this. I don't really like his demeanor or his persona,  but I do agree with him on that. Also, Hillary's answers were very scripted, while Donald spoke off the cuff, as it were.  Donald said what he thought needs to be done to bring law and order to the country. Hillary, in spite of recent FBI statistics to the contrary, said that crime was down under President Obama's administration. Although they didn't really get into this item last night, Hillary wants to dis arm the citizens of the country and rewrite the 2nd amendment.  I hope this is addressed in a future debate.
One final thought. Or two.   Neither Candidate won.  neither candidate convinced many undecided voters to vote for them.  Both probably solidified their own base voter block.  So, for the next two debates, I think we need a little diversion.  Let Gary Johnson be included in the debates. He is on all 50 ballots and is polling at 10%.  This will give another viewpoint to the current two party system.  Who knows, he may have a point of view that will appeal to some, and provide a little relief from the snippyness of the two current leaders.
AND THAT IS THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK  

I MUST BE CRAZY

IF I AM NOT, THEN SOMEONE IS:  Just a few things that I have on my mind as I get older.  Have you noticed it?  If not, then you are probably part of the generation that understands what the heck is going on.  confused yet?  Well, join the club, as I try to explain.  I said Try.
The local TV stations have been hiring young people to give the news.  They talk fast and they don't use proper punctuation. They put periods in their sentences where there should be nothing, or if something, then just a comma.  They start and stop in such a manner that it hurts your head to listen to them. 
Do the commercials on TV bother you?  If not, then you are not part of the crazy generation. I can watch a commercial and by the time they are through I have no clue what they are trying to sell.  Whatever it is, they are obviously not trying to sell it to me. They are reaching out to that young generation that seems  to understand all that stuff.  
I do have a cell phone, even though I have never been in jail.  But I don't stream movies or music or TV shows on it.  It is, after all, a phone.  So I use it to make a rare call to someone, and it is turned off as much as it is on. I am just not tied to the phone, or the TV. Yes, we do watch a few shows.  We watched the opening show of Survivor a few nights ago.  One of the teams is a Millennial group.  Young people.  They won the first round because they won the game.  I suspect that they will win more rounds on the games.  Some of them are gamers.  One girl said she plays video games for a living.  In my time, back before I went crazy, we worked for a living and played for entertainment.  How do you play video game's for a living.  
The more I watch and look at the world around me and the things that people are doing, I just have to assume that I am crazy.  Or they are.   AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

ARE YOU A FASHIONISTA

ARE YOU?  YOU KNOW THE ONES, DONCHA? The ones that have to have the latest in fashion.  Fashion dictated by someone who decided that something should be in style.  So, hair styles change and shoe styles change and the clothes you wear also changes. And you just have to have the latest in fashion.  It don't really matter if you are comfortable or not. It don't matter if you can walk in those shoes or not.  It don't even matter if you are modest or not. It is OK, because someone somewhere said that was what the fashion was. 
I wear western clothes.  Cowboy boots, Wrangler jeans, and western cut shirts and suits.  And, of course, a cowboy hat.  I have worn that style of clothing for over 7 decades.  I know, I know, my family feels that I need to get with the times and update my wardrobe.  So, I thought, OK, I will just do that.  And here is what happened.
A few weeks ago My wife and I were in a shopping mall in a large city on our State. I went into a store to look at a pair of Jeans they had on display.  Man, they were the latest fashion.  They were faded and had holes in them.  Really, there wasn't much thread there holding all the holes together. Wow, I thought. Now here's a pair of pants I won't have to go to the trouble of breaking them in and wearing holes in them.  I can buy them already broke in.  So I went in and ask the price.  $70.00   Yep, that is not a misprint.  $70.00. Well I guess they are worth that much to get them already broke in and faded worn.  But, I had to turn away. No way could I afford that pair of pants. 
I guess I will just have to continue paying $25.00 for mine and wearing them out myself, until I can save up enough money to afford these jeans already broke in and holes worn in them and not have to go to all that work myself.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

I WASN'T HERE THEN

YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE DAY, when Dinosaurs roamed the earth. At least history tells us that they did.  I have only the history books version of that, so maybe they did and maybe they didn't.  Your choice.  As I stated, I wasn't here then.  But now, in this day when I am here, we still seem to have animals that I know nothing about, Namely;

Buffalo.  Oh we have Buffalo. I have seen them. A couple of them up close and almost personal. In New Mexico, and Arizona and Wyoming.  And they looked just like Buffalo are supposed to look. At least as far as I know.  But I keep seeing on Restaurant menu's this offering for Buffalo Wings. And I just have to ask myself, where do they get them?  As I said I have seen Buffalo's. But I have never seen one with wings. 

And Chickens.  I was raised in the country.  We had chickens.  They had feathers, and laid eggs, which I had the opportunity to gather from time to time.  I still know what a chicken looks like. I have never seen one yet with fingers.  Yet, in restaurant menus they list chicken fingers as a food to eat.  I have also heard people say they are as fine a hens teeth.  Guess they don't know what a hen eats with, cause they got no teeth.  Saying they have teeth is a plausible as the syntax of the previous sentence.    And they saying   Fine as Frogs Hair.  I have seen several frogs.  Never seen one with hair.  They must have been barbered by a hen with teeth, and fingers. Who knows, maybe they caught a flight on a flying Buffalo.  And maybe all these animals are actually from the Dinosaur era and so they don't really exist any more, and some one is just plagiarizing the name. 

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

IT CAN BE HEART BREAKING

MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN:  There has been several things on the local news lately that just makes you shake your head, and even choke up a bit and maybe even shed a tear or two. And you just have to wonder,  WHY?  What is going on.
Recently a young mother was walking home in Chicago after walking her children to school. She was shot in the head.  What did she do to deserve that?  Nothing. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got caught in a cross fire of two men having a gun battle.  Chicago registered 90 gun deaths during the month of August. The first time it has reached 90 in a month for several years. 
I dare say here that none of the people involved in these gun deaths, or the instigators of such, were legal and registered gun owners. Most of them are not.
On August 12, 2 felon's running from a murder charge in Ohio, were pulled over for a traffic violation in the small town of Hatch, New Mexico.  They shot and killed the police officer, high jacked another car and ran from the police.  They were later apprehended after a police chase and other things that took place.  They are now in jail.
A couple of weeks ago, the police in Albuquerque answered a call of domestic violence. Arriving at the apartment they apprehended a woman, her boy friend and a female cousin of the boy friend. The female cousin jumped from the apartment balcony to escape police, but broke her leg in the jump so was apprehended.  Their crime.  They had tortured, raped, then killed and dismembered the woman's 10 year old daughter. They were attempting to burn the body in the bath tub when police arrived.  The girl had just turned 10 years old the day before.  The boy friend and his cousin both had long rap sheets and the cousin had just been released from jail a few days before this incident. The girl was a pretty girl and it just hurts to even see the news reports.
A day or so after the above incident, also in Albuquerque, a woman and her 11 year old daughter from Vietnam had recently arrived in Albuquerque to join the woman's new husband.  The husband shot them to death then shot himself. No one seems to know why he did this, but it cut short a life of someone who thought they were on their way to a better life her in the U.S.
Just two days ago, in the small town of Alamogordo, New Mexico, a police officer contacted a felon who had 4 active warrants for his arrest.  the felon shot and killed the police officer, before being shot and killed by other officers who arrived on the scene.  The felon was just that, a felon who was not supposed to have a gun.  But he did. Against the law, but then I'm sure he didn't care.
This is just a small smattering of things that have happened in the past month. I am sure it is also just a small smattering of the thing that have happened nation or even world wide.
A lot of this kind of thing is taking place, and the general populace is getting fed up with it. Hillary nor Trump, with the help of congress, will not put an end to this. It will be the "uprising" of the general public that will finally stand up and say  enough is enough, and put an end to the madness that has taken over the nation and the world.
And that is the View From the Ditch Bank 

I'LL TAKE A BREAK

I ASSUME BY NOW, most everyone has made up their mind on who to vote for this November. Therefore any thing I say will have little to no effect on any one, so what ever I say is just an opinion.  Well, I guess all of my blog posts are my opinion and rarely agreed with by any one. So be it.  I'll take a break from bashing the tics and go on another tangent.  Here goes.

Recently there appeared on facebook an article from somewhere about what it takes to turn a boy into a man. I am paraphrasing here, and will continue to do so when I say what was in the article, mainly because I only remember the tone of the article.  The author of the article said that in order for a boy to become a man he had to know how to fish and hunt and fix a car, maybe even rebuild a car, how to work and drive a truck and equipment and well, you get the picture.  Do I agree with this article?  Only in some respects.  A boy does need to know how to work. he needs to be taught a work ethic. He needs to be taught that he needs to have an occupation to support himself and his family. If he is interested in fishing, then he needs to learn how to fish. If he is interested in hunting, then he needs to learn how to shoot a firearm safely as well as perhaps a bow and arrow. Depends on the type of hunting he wants to do. If he wants to fix or build cars, learn how to weld or any of the other "trades" then he should do so.   BUT      he does not need to know how to fish or hunt or build a car or drive a truck or operate equipment.  A basic working knowledge of an automobile for maintenance purposes would be helpful, but is not required knowledge to become a man.  The main thing here is that he know how to work at something.

I watch house fixer upper programs on TV.  All too often the "Man" of the house needs a MAN CAVE.  What the heck is a man cave, and what is it's purpose.  Do these Men really need a cave to feel like a man?  The concept baffles me.  What is wrong with a FAMILY CAVE, if you really need a cave. Be a real man and spend time with your family, in a family space. Yes, there is a time and a place for friends, Buddies, if you like, but you house should be a space for your family. Friends can be and should be welcomed there, but not into a "cave" that is the exclusive use of the Man of the family.  be a real man and spend time where it belongs and teach you son to be a moral and responsible man.  And if he wants to hunt and fish and whatever, then OK, but that is not the important thing to his being a man.

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK 

I'D LIKE TO SAY THIS WILL BE THE LAST ONE

BUT SINCE IT PROBABLY WON'T BE, I'LL TRY TO HOLD IT DOWN.  I want to comment on a few more things political, from the point of view of an uneducated person. So here are a few more observations.

1. Hillary said she was in favor of religious freedom.  Well, that is not really a lie, exactly, but her version of religious freedom means something different than mine. Hew view is that if a religion has a certain belief and someone else believes differently, the the first one has to accommodate the individual or group that believes differently. I say no, I should have the freedom to believe what I want and the other individual or group can believe what they want, and neither one should have to cater to the other one.

2. I have said that I don't particularly like Trump.  I will vote for him, however. And here is why. I see in the news reports that several influential Republicans are against him and trying to get someone else to take his place.  All this will do is help Hillary to win.  Here's my opinion of what is going on.  Trump is not part of the good old boy group. He is a lone wolf. he is a business man who has made his millions + and he is not owned by any of the people that are in office. And they are afraid that he will get elected and upset their little money making apple cart. You know the one. The one that is operated on the backs of taxpayers.  So, they will do whatever they can to defeat Trump.  I think the people of the country are smarter than that.  Well, us older ones are any way.

3. I have stated in the past and in my profile that I am a member of the LDS (AKA Mormon) Church.  The pollsters have commented that Trump has upset the Mormons of Utah and so they will vote for Hillary, even though Utah is primarily a republican State.  Little do they know that there are a lot of Mormons outside of Utah and not all of them are as upset at Trump as they are with Hillary. 

4. Trump wants to eliminate the death tax. Hillary says it won't help any one but Trump. Well, it will help the Clinton's also.  And while it won't effect me, it will effect may rural people. Farmers and ranchers that are lucky enough to still be in business will be effected. While they don't have a lot of cash, they do have a lot of funds invested in land and equipment, and the death tax can, and does, devastate many families, and farms and ranches, as well as other family owned businesses are and will be devastated with the death tax.  land and funds that have been taxed at least once already and now the government wants to tax it again just because you die.  Yes, I am with Trump on that one.

5. Environmental regulations. Trump wants to change them. Hillary wants to strengthen them. They have already shut down many operations. The environmental groups just don't realize that livestock actually is good for the land. Over grazing, no, but good conservation efforts are good.  And they have had the Forest service shut down logging, so now instead of having good forests, we have millions of acres of timber going up in smoke every year. And it is not the fault of global warming.  That one lies squarely on the backs of environmental groups.

6.  Last, for now.  There is WOTUS.  Never heard of it?  Look it up. This is the government trying to take over every drop of water that we use. Every lake, every river and stream, every irrigation ditch and every puddle of water that we may even think of using. And this will also harm the folks living in rural areas.

Again, I don't think we will be in good shape no matter who gets elected, but with Hillary it will definitely be worse that Trump.  Maybe they both have lied to the public, but Hillary is worse. AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK