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…

Umtell: a cheat, bully, coward, spoiled as hell, not the sharpest knife (or spoon) in the drawer but felt entitled to > everything; i.e., a classic American “businessman.” He grabbed & guzzled his 3rd (by my count) bottle of single malt. His BAC had to be fast approaching his IQ. 1/10

Things moved fast. A woman (had to be Debi), early 20s, entered. The leather of a satchel in her hand matched her bodice (w/plunging neckline) and boots. Umtell grabbed the satchel and tossed it…

2: He shuffled, didnt offer a cut & dealt off the bottom of the deck badly. He caught my stare. I asked “Why bother stacking the deck when you’re using marked cards?” His voice came from behind me: “Because I can.” I turned around. His face filled the TV screen. 1/10

A voice-over explained how Bill Umtell was the first pro sports owner to realize American cities will whore themselves out to get an NFL® team. His realization meant his team might have the worst record, but it…

A hot, Hoosier 105% humidity day had glued the polyester suit I’d worn for the nonexistent job interview to my skin via sweat, but at least I looked presentable. A mask dangled from an ear. The bartender kept track of beers vs money on the classmate’s tab. 1/9

Mid-afternoons on weekdays are “down” time in most bars, even more so in a club. The 2 other habitues were playing gin as the TV played sports. One gin player, in his 60s, looked familiar. He bitched for another round. Bartender…

For your amusement ... c. 2021 by mark small. a novel: "Sideline$" CH 1. Liberal arts degrees land one in odd places. In high school I was skinny and short, so sports were not my “thing.” I was president of the Latin Club. Yes, a real “chick magnet.” In college I was only slightly heavier, plus I was a hippie. 1/5

At least I was creative. I could figure out how to solve things, in general, just not how to end my unemployment after they made me receive my degree. I didn’t want to leave…

Ignorance has driven the COVID outbreak. Many who question viability of vaccines and cite “variants” as support also scoff at evolution as “only a theory.” But theory is “carefully thought-out explanation for observations of the natural world that has been constructed using the scientific method, and which brings together many facts and hypotheses.” The Field Museum. Where possible it is subject to testing. Stanford Encyc of Philosophy.

Variants have emerged because COVID has been…

If we are the “land of the free,” we should not have 25% of the World’s prison inmate population with only 5% of the World’s total population. The notion of providing incentives to corporations to warehouse more people in prisons is bizarre.



Tonight, July 27, at 7 p.m. Indiana time (about 1958 on others’ calendars), Indianapolis attorney Andrew Maternowski will join me on Civil Discourse Now civildiscoursenow.com to discuss privatized prisons. So many people talk about crime, maybe…

Texas has demonstrated the racism is alive. In June its governor signed into law a prohibition against Critical Race Theory (“CRT”), a view that racism “is embedded in our society and legal systems to uphold supremacy of white persons.”

Of course our Nation’s history is steeped in racism. Slavery was protected by The Constitution. Only in 1954 did the Supreme Court rule that “separate” was inherently “unequal.” The Texas Senate has passed S.B. 3 that drops some requirements for school…

Abdul Latif Nasser was released from captivity after 19 years. He never was charged with a crime. He never was given the basic right of a trial. The “Great Writ” is habeas corpus, Latin for “you have the body.” Black’s, 10th ed., and means the government has to justify detention.

Even former (temporary) Hoosier Chuck Manson was given due process after the 1969 murders for which Manson was infamous. To hold a person without charges indefinitely is unconscionable. We neither won “hearts…