Reality denied. On 01/06/2021: trump egged on the crowd. “And after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down, we're going to walk down. Anyone you want, but I think right here, we're going to walk down to the Capitol...” 1/5

“& we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to…

On Tuesday, December 28 at 7 p.m. on Civil Discourse Now we shall discuss guns and violence from a consumer’s perspective.

People have a right to know if a product can kill them. Tobacco companies knew, from their own research, for years before the Surgeon General’s 1964 report, that mainstream smoke kills, yet TV ads had doctors saying cigs prevent colds.

If you think buying a gun protects your home, you have a right to know if that gun is more likely to prevent - or cause - harm…

An amulet is “an object superstitiously worn to ward off evil; a protective charm.” The American College Dictionary, 1962 ed. A handgun holds one or more “rounds,” but no magic. A person has to (1) have opportunity and (2) know how to use that gun, for the gun to work. 1/7

Opportunity: People buy guns for defense of their home. Guns do not emit force fields to ward off bad guys. People assume crime rates drop when ‘good guys’ are armed. (See Wenner-Moyer, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,…

People have a right to know if a product can kill them. Tobacco companies knew, from their own research, for years before the Surgeon General’s 1964 report, that mainstream smoke kills, yet TV ads had doctors saying cigs prevent colds. 1/7



Cigs prevent colds, but only if you count death as an event that stops colds. If you think buying a gun protects your home, you have a right to know if that gun is more likely to prevent - or cause - harm to you and your loved ones. We have that…

Dating on-line? A bite in the butt, & I don’t refer to a fetish. In the past (nearly) 7 yrs, I h’ve tried several dating websites. eHarmony consistently has received high marks & is one to which I had the misfortune to subscribe. 1st: science in dating that they tout? They have disclaimers. 1/4

(I’m a lawyer but despite pages of fine print there’s supposed 2 B fairness in online commerce.) 2nd: I spent a lot of time answering their questionnaire (to zero in, 1 infers, on…

What is “reality”? A woman lectured me yesterday about my having worn a mask into the place where I was meeting a friend for a beer. She told me masks are useless (viruses go right through them), no one has died from COVID, and January 6? 1/6

She said those people who stormed The Capitol were placed by Democrats to make trump look bad. The “media” has brainwashed everyone to believe what was shown on TV screens that day. I pointed out “media” is plural and the images were caught by…

PART III: DCS RECAP Tonight, 9 p.m. on FB, I’ll discuss DCS a/k/a Dept of Child Services on “Mouthwash,” John Schmitz’s podcast. Just so you know, DCS can take your kid forever. The statutes were written to favor DCS & judges’ discretion is limited. 1/5

Glossary of abbreviations is helpful. FCM: Family Case Mgr; IA: informal adjustment; ChINS: Child in Need of Services; TPR: Term’n of Parental Rts. 310: DCS intake report. Steps toward TPR: 1) 310; 2) IA; 3) ChINS; 4) TPR. FCM’s…

PART II: DCS PROBLEMS. Tues., 11/16, 9 p.m. on FB, I’ll be a guest on “Mouthwash,” John Schmitz’s podcast. Topic: Department of Child Services a/k/a DCS. If you’re affluent, you might not know about it. But DCS can take your kids. 1/10



Fed law requires DCS to seek Termination of Parental Rights (“TPR”) if a child’s been out of a parent’s home for 15 of the most recent 22 months under a dispositional (ChINS) order. If DCS doesn’t that can impact DCS funding. Sometimes DCS changes…

PART I: DCS PROBLEMS. Tues., 11/16, 9 p.m. on FB, I’ll be a guest on “Mouthwash,” John Schmitz’s podcast. Topic: Department of Child Services a/k/a DCS. Affluent ppl rarely encounter DCS. DCS is pivotal in TPR, Termination of Parental Rights, proceedings. 1/8

TPR usually starts with a call to a DCS hotline that a child is abused or neglected. The identity of the caller is kept confidential. Confidentiality can be good but also serves to keep much of the process secret. A DCS FCM…

Corpses have value. Network news, on Vietnam, each night 1965 on, flashed the number of U.S. military dead & wounded, offset by greater numbers of then-enemy (now trading partner), dead.

Some say numbers of “enemy” dead were as fictional... 1/6

as U.S. efforts to use militaristic dictators to instill democratic values in South Vietnam. Flag-draped coffins returning from Southeast Asia were difficult to ignore. With only three networks, news was not as fractured.…

The person who has posed the most destructive threat to our political system in the past few decades left the Oval Office on 01/20/2021, replaced by President Biden, who won the 2020 election by over seven million popular votes. Now trump has surprised me. 1/3

I still am a primary-qualified Republican & precinct committee person (Marion County, Indiana, Washington Twp 21-01). I agree w/trump, in part. He said: “If we don’t solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020" the “single…

Guy in his 20s, charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, was entering into a diversion agreement. If he stayed out of trouble for a year, followed other terms, there’d be no conviction. His Honor held the agreement up & asked the guy how much that was worth. 1/7

The guy, politely, said “I don’t know, sir.” His Honor said, “One Million Dollars” & explained how a criminal conviction, even for a misdemeanor, could block things in the future: student loans, enlistment in…

John Schmitz hosted episode 32 of his podcast (on FB) “Mouthwash,” Tuesday, Sept 14. The primary focus was U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Panelist Tiffanie (on the right) said this country has been blessed be cause we never have had to fight a war on U.S. soil. 1/10

Tiffanie’s statement is wrong and implies divine support for this country. “God” has not spared the soil of the U.S. of A. We have fought five wars. (U.S. Const. Art. I §8.) War #1: The War of 1812 was fought mostly on…

If we fail to learn from the attacks of 9/11/01, we are more likely to see such acts repeated. They were abhorrent, but not “senseless.” They were carried out by cowards, but there were reasons for the attacks & why others in the World supported them. 1/6

First, we should not celebrate the day with shows of military strength. 1) Conventional military is not effective vs small bands. (See: U.S. revolutionary war; or Vietnam). 2) U.S. military support of and aid to dictatorships was…

6 Hair a bit wet from the shower & the garb seemed odd. The now-former franchise Prez (oddly) left a tux in 41-regular w/cumberbund festooned w/flamingoes & penguins in a weird trop-arctic environment, but neither is a predator of the other so maybe it’s cool.

Drawback 2 bagging classes in undergrad? Impact to GPA. Advantage? Slackers watch > tube & ∴> press conferences. This room was full & hot & the podium held a dozen mics w/a few more hanging from rods.…

Society has a right to defend itself when children become weapons of ignorance. The defense is knowledge. The attack crystallized on 1/20/1981. Reagan demeaned knowledge. As California’s governor he gutted the State’s system of public universities.

Reagan was far from original: “Government isn’t the solution. It’s the problem.” He cribbed that from Eldridge Cleaver, one of the founders of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Reagan was pro-2nd Amendment for others, but wanted the…

‘War” did not end for the U.S. in Afghanistan. “Congress shall have Power ... To declare War ...” U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8. The last day the U.S. was in a war was September 2, 1945. After 9/11, a lot of the rest of the World supported the initial responses of the U.S.

U.S. forces hit camps in Afghanistan where terrorists (remember the reasons?) trained for 9/11 & U.S. forces required materiel. Lots (LOT$) of money (pallet$ of bundle$ of C-note$) was lost on mountainsides & in…

5 Enjoying the preseason? This is what happened in a preseason past, after the reporter slipped a “Mickey” into things. But you know what? That gave me a “reasonable and even” view of a game I only ever had watched. 1/8

The night-long conversation was bizarre. The orange bear, @ 1st, made more sense, her/his/its voice quite mellow. The bear’s pal, no more than 3 feet tall, was swaddled in brown rags and only grumbled. The TV was tuned to a traveling team of acrobats from China.…

When people discuss public education, some things are lost. Several of the best teachers from whom I learned were right-wing as could be. In 8th grade Lance Alter was our teacher for Reading. He also taught English, later on in the academic sojourn. 1/5

Sophomore year we had to write a book report (one of several). He asked if I had a book in mind. After a pause, he said I might like “this” book. Until then I’d read sci-fi (e.g., The Foundation trilogy) or political novels (e.g.,…

4 “This way?” I asked Debi and gestured toward a door marked “President” beside a chair w/a very large, motionless man. Firing the club “President” was easy. I opened the door & yelled: “That’s disgusting and a violation of team morals policies! You’re fired!” 1/9

Guys with hand trucks materialized. “I figured you’d need them to move stuff,” Debbie said & added: “This franchise has a vibrant history w/moving companies.” They had that office cleared in 5 minutes. They left a…