Coronavirus Nonsense

Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the [commmon cold] flu kills 290,000 to 650,000 people per year, but no one freaks out about that. People go to the drugstore, get some cold medicine, get some chicken soup and then go to bed. You work through it, and life goes on.

With the coronavirus, the Powers That Be were calling it a “pandemic” after 20 deaths.

There have been 95,734 reported coronavirus deaths as of April 10, 2020, since the first case of the virus was reported on Nov. 17, 2019 (6 months). Even at the lowest WHO fatality estimate for the flu, the coronavirus is on track to be nowhere near as deadly. Not even close.

The government’s ‘cure’–fear mongering, closing businesses, restricting travel, collapsing our economy, forcing people apart (stopping protest groups from forming), eliminating mom-and-pop independent business competition for Big Box stores, basically instituting martial law, loss of jobs, etc.–is unwarranted and obviously politically motivated.

Take reasonable precautions? Wash your hands? Practice good hygiene? Keep surfaces in the home clean and sanitized? Absolutely. No one says you shouldn’t play it safe.

Destroy economies? Institute martial law? Put people out of work? Make it difficult for many parents to feed their kids? Paralyze people with fear–all over something that doesn’t even compare to the common cold? Absolutely NOT!

It’s time to end the nonsense and get everything back to normal!

#notstayinghome

An Open Letter to DC Comics

A personal opinion and plea:

First of all, let me say that I love collecting comic books–especially your Batman series–and I love a lot of other nerdy and geeky things. I have a lot of it in my playroom (my “happy place.”)

Because I have a love for these types of things, I want them to be readily available so that I can enjoy them, but if you don’t learn a lesson from Marvel Comics (owned by Disney), I fear you will end up down the same path of failure.

For the last 2 or 3 years, Marvel Comics has experienced a significant drop in sales of their comic books. Do a web search for “marvel comics sales down” and look at what pops up.

According to ICv2, a Marvel-hosted meeting between Marvel Comics, retailers and distributors got ugly and had to be shut down, during last October’s NY Comic Con. The reason? From what I have seen posted on marketwatch.com, breitbart.com, comicvine.gamespot.com, bleedingcool.com, hollywoodreporter.com, etc., and from talking with other comic book fans, it seems I’m not the only one feeling that Marvel Comics has been shooting themselves–and their business partners–in the ‘foot’ by engaging in the practice of embedding biased, political messages in their stories, along with unnecessary–and unwanted–character changes, simply for diversity and political correctness.

We get bombarded by political crap from every direction, every day. We get it from cop shows, nightly news, sitcoms, radio, magazines, comedians, billboards, movies, street signs, books, newspapers…you name it. Most of the comic books fans I have spoken with don’t want politics, indoctrination and preaching in their comic books.

Comics are escapism. Leave it that way!

Disney also experienced backlash with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Box office receipts were down by a few percentage points, and Chinese theaters even pulled the movie after only two weeks, because of poor ticket sales.

Personally, this is the first time I did not go to see a Star Wars movie multiple times–and I am saddened, and a little angered, by that.

In the Star Wars movie, there were quite a few PETA-style embedded messages, along with what seemed to be “evil rich people get what they deserve” kind of nonsense. The setting even felt like they shoehorned it into the movie, with obvious intent.

Marvel Comics is now about to do a reboot on their comics, called “Fresh Start,” from what I’ve been told. Apparently, they plan to try to fix things and bring “lapsed readers” back to their books. (I’ll believe it when I see it!)

I used to spend a LOT of money on comics, each week. For the last couple of years, I have bought just a few books, here and there. I dropped every single one of my subscriptions for Marvel Comics–and most of my DC Comics subs, too. Now, I mainly collect the Batman title, and one or two other books that might catch my eye once in a while–and I know of others who have done the same. That’s a big loss, for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

Now, I’m rethinking my Batman subscription–and that’s painful!

In the last couple of DC Animated movies I watched, there was a lot of “climate change” (discredited junk-science) and “green” nonsense embedded in the stories. Now, with the new Poison Ivy story arc in the Batman book, it’s a new story about “the green” and forced world peace. (What is this, a Batman comic or a Miss USA Pageant?)

DC Comics, please…STOP! Just stop.

It’s gotten to the point where if I see Poison Ivy or Swamp Thing in a new story, I want to leave the book on the shelf, because it’s a pretty good bet that you guys are going to use them for another political message–and I refuse to pay my hard-earned money for that! You can keep the preaching, indoctrination and political nonsense to yourselves.

When comics cease to be fun and entertaining, they stop ending up in my collection. I have standards.

Please, PLEASE change course, before you end up like Marvel Comics! I want nothing more than for you all to be successful, because I want to continue to read amazing stories about my favorite characters.

The Bat/Cat engagement stuff was very entertaining–until Ivy showed up, that is.

The Justice League’s “Darkseid War” from 2 or 3 years ago (The New 52) was one of the best story arcs I had read in a long time. The Fabok art was absolutely AMAZING! Give us more of that stuff.

Here’s a novel idea: Create some new characters! That way, the old, beloved characters can remain as they have been–and their longtime fans can remain happy–while adding something new to the mix, for those who would appreciate something different. Just, please, leave the embedded messages out of the picture. (Thank you!)

So, here’s to the future of great comics…EXCELSIOR!

(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Lessons Government Officials Should Learn From Charity Baseball Game Shooting

On Wednesday, June 14, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, and four others, were shot at a Republican congressional baseball practice, by a gunman who appeared to have targeted Republican members of Congress. The alleged shooter–James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Illinois, who is reported to have been a disgruntled Bernie Sanders supporter–died following a shootout with police.

The Capital Police were only there, because a high-ranking official (Scalise) was in the group, practicing. If he hadn’t been there, with the armed detail, the situation could have been even worse.

‘Joe Six-Pack’ can’t afford, and is not allowed, to have an armed security detail follow him everywhere he goes, but these elitist government officials have access to such. That’s just another example of Animal Farm, in my opinion.

But I digress.

One witness said the scene was like being in Iraq without a weapon.

Sen. Rand Paul said it would have been a massacre if the Capital Police (people with firearms) hadn’t been there.

Sen. Chuck Schumer said that if it hadn’t been for the Capital Police (people with firearms), there would have been no one there to stop the gunman.

That’s right, because ridiculous gun control laws–and a court system that seems to love to prosecute people for self-defense–get in the way of people being able to protect themselves!

Wouldn’t it have been awesome if a bunch of peaceful* people, who were carrying concealed firearms, had taken this guy out from the start of his rampage? I have to wonder how many of those five injured people would have gotten out unscathed.

And wouldn’t it have been awesome if the gunman had decided not to risk shooting anyone, in the first place, because he would have known anyone around him could have been “packing” a firearm?

I hate to say it, but this is a case of reaping what you sow.

You want to limit self-defense, Government officials? Well, self-defense was also limited for you, because of it. You paid a high price, because of gun control nonsense.

There is a lesson to be learned, though: Now is a great time to eliminate gun control that gets people shot and killed!

MAKE IT HAPPEN!

 

*I absolutely detest, and completely disagree with, having to get a government-issued Permit (permission) to carry a concealed firearm for protection. Having gotten that off my chest and out of the way, statistics show that concealed carry permit holders cause less crime than even police officers.

Fashion: An Exercise In Collectivism

Everywhere you turn, you are being bombarded with ads for the latest “fashion trends” and “latest styles.” These messages attempt to get you to buy new clothes, phones, accessories, etc. so you can feel “hip,” “cool,” “stylin’,” “up-to-date,” “in”…whatever.

The Fashion Media have a vested interest in promoting the latest decrees from the clothing industry, because it’s a symbiotic relationship, for profit; the manufacturers come up with new styles, and rely on the media to promote them. In turn, the media rely on new trends to generate money from selling magazines and advertisements. If they don’t get a lot of traffic (web page views), or sell a lot of mags, they can’t make the big bucks.

All of this is designed to make sure you do not stay satisfied with what you have for very long, so that you will spend money to get more stuff when they tell you it’s time to do so. And just like mindless sheep, you follow right along, because you don’t want the rest of the Herd to look down on you, or ridicule your lack of compliance with the fashion police.

It’s all about peer pressure, because people with low self-esteem either want to be “cool” like everyone else, or they don’t want anyone else to break free and think for themselves–which means the insecure will actually have to re-evaluate their decisions and purchases, and they don’t want to take the risk that they might have been stupid idiots, all this time. The Fashion Police can have none of that, if they are to remain cool!

On a related note, the Dr. Pepper commercials of late have me shaking my head. I hope others see what I see in them: Pepper drinkers claiming to be individuals, all while wearing the same red shirts, drinking the same soda, and all grouped together in a pack. That is just another way advertisers sell collectivism: Disguising it as individuality.

The thing that really chaps my hide the most is the barrage of commercials, around the time school is about to start, targeting kids with fashion peer pressure–and the parents who then scrape and save in order to give their spoiled, insecure children the fashion, brand-name items they feel they need in order to “fit in.” Disgusting!

If you really want to raise healthy, happy children that will go on to be healthy and happy adults, teach your children to be satisfied with who they are and what they have. And don’t say it can’t be done, because I’m living proof that it can–and I’ve been that way (a nonconformist) since I was a young child, and I helped raise a couple of kids to be secure adults.

I see ads for “empowerment” seminars, camps and self-esteem workshops. Seriously?! Why don’t you try telling the Fashion Police to piss off, and learn to be happy with whatever it is that makes you the happiest and most comfortable? Don’t worry about the Herd and what they value this month; we all know it’s going to change soon, anyway. You will have saved a lot of money, in the process!

And how many times have you looked back on pictures of yourself from 20, 10, maybe even just a couple of years ago and said, “Oh my goodness! What was I thinking? That’s hideous! I can’t believe I ever wore that!” If that’s the nature of fashion, and you’re going to look back and be embarrassed anyway, why not be comfortable and do your own thing? And you never know; what you choose to wear might look a lot better in pictures, in a few years, than what the current “trend” says you should have worn during that time.

Let’s all make a point, today, to consciously reject fashion trends and develop our own individual styles. If you happen to like something that just happens to be “trendy” at the moment, fine–but don’t do it just because the fashion industry pressures you to do so.

Let us teach our children to believe in themselves and be happy with who they are. Let us break down the building blocks of collectivism and assert our individuality and freedom of expression. Let’s not be slaves to the corporate machine that tells us we have to set aside perfectly good clothes, and buy new ones, simply because some fashion clown says we should.

If you want to take a serious stab at collectivism, fashion is a good place to start.

Rant

This is not political commentary, but I need to get this off my chest.

More and more, I’m hoping that the word “like” is one day removed from the English language, because I’m like just about ready to scream, and like you know how it feels when you are just going to like blow a fuse or something? Like that’s how I’m feeling, now. It’s like driving me crazy!

I was like telling my friend about this the other day. I was like, “You know what I mean?” He was like, “Yeah, like totally. The word is like sooooo irritating, and like everyone uses it the wrong way, but it’s like we can’t stop and stuff.”

Get a grip, people!

[/rant]