We are living in an interesting time, to put it mildly. We are not merely at a crossroads, we are at a strange, almost frightening intersection—a convoluted one—of threats and opportunities, influences and ideologies. Daily, we are challenged to decide, is this fact or fiction? Can I trust what I am hearing, or what I see with my own eyes?  Who can I believe when even the “experts” disagree? They change their stories so often, much of the time I just tune it all out go with my gut.

Some people have thrown out a kind of anchor to the world, as if to tell us all that, by gosh, they know where they stand on things. You’ve seen them—the little signs in front yards with multiple cute slogan lines that begin, “In This House, We Believe…”

If you have one of these signs in your front yard, please don’t take what I am about write, wrong. But as someone who has worked in media for a few years, I have discovered that we sometimes forget that communication between individuals is a two-way street. We get so caught-up in formulating the “transmit” side of the equation, we forget the “reception and interpretation” side.

What do I mean? Well, for instance, it took me more than an hour to compose the previous three paragraphs you just read in a few seconds. Seriously, it took that long.

The reason I don’t have a sign in my yard is that I know how my mind works, and when I read the words on signs like those my head is instantly flooded with thoughts and questions. And I assume that’s true for other people, so I would want my message to be crystal clear.

I’ll use one popular yard sign I’ve seen in my neighborhood as an example, and share some of my thoughts about each line on it. The sign begins with that proclamation, “In This House We Believe:”

Line 1: Black Lives Matter

My first thought is the politically incorrect one—”of course they do, as do all lives!” That includes those not yet recognized for their unique DNA—unborn children of every race.  It also includes the lives of mostly young black males who die in gang violence every day, who are rarely considered worthy of media attention. So far this year, as of September 13, 2020, there have been 538 homicides in the city of Chicago alone. Not all of these were young black males of course, but most were. This is primarily black-on-black crime, clipping along at a rate of just over 63 killed per month, or 2.1 dead per day.

With this in my mind, I then ask myself, “Was this what my neighbors were thinking when they bought and planted that sign? These types of numbers have been sort of commonplace for a long time, not just in Chicago, but in many big cities throughout our country. Why did the sign just go up a couple of months ago?”

Then I remember and say to myself, “Oh yeah—George Floyd.  He was killed and the African American community, in toto, said, ‘That’s it; we’ve had enough killing of blacks by police. White people in this country must realize—they must admit—that the police are murderers. And if those white people don’t repeat this mantra that we (the Spokespeople for All African Americans) coined a couple of years ago in Baltimore—that “Black Lives Matter”—they are then, by default, racists.”   

But then I think, “Well, wait a minute. What about those hundreds of black people who died last year in Chicago, and those who died in Detroit in 2018, and the ones the year before that, and for all the years before that, too? Didn’t you (the Spokespeople for All African Americans) know about all those killings? Maybe because most of the black people who were murdered were killed by other blacks, so does that mean their lost lives are less valuable?” Personally, I don’t think that, but maybe my neighbor with the sign does.

After my mental gyrations over line number one on the sign, I just do what I suggested above—I go with my gut (which, by the way, isn’t a “thin air” thing; it’s about a few years of experiencing life).

I figure that BLM has something else in mind aside from their clever, emotionally charged, white-guilt-inspiring slogan. Looking at it logically, the Spokespeople knew the numbers, but chose a particular incident at a particular time to press forward with their “movement”—one that has very specific political, economic, and social objectives that are quite far removed from any notion of preserving lives—of any race.

My gut also tells me that my neighbors’ sign-posting motivations are a weird mix of psychological reflexes that are a blend of BLM-inspired white guilt, and BLM-inspired fear. It may be their way of saying to other white people in the neighborhood, “See, I am a good person. I am not a racist (but you might be if you don’t have a sign), and that makes me, at least a ‘little better’ than you.”

It simultaneously says to blacks (and the “edgy” activist whites) who might drive by, “See, I am good person because I am repeating ‘the mantra’ that proves it. I am not a racist (but my neighbors who don’t have signs might be), and by the way, if you decide to start breaking stuff, setting fires, or chanting and yelling in the middle of the night, you can pass this house because ‘we are on YOUR side.’”

Line 2: Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

I’m a little unsure about what this one is all about. Is the poster saying some people think women aren’t human? Do they think the laws are unjust—that women don’t currently have the same rights as men in America? Or are they saying that women don’t have the same “opportunities” as men? We’ve all heard the claim that, on average, women earn only 57-70% of what men earn doing the same job.   

Okay, maybe I am a blind idiot, but in my 65 plus years of living in this country, I have never seen, known of, or heard about a single case where a woman was not afforded the same rights as men. Now if we are talking about something like the military draft, I don’t really know—do women have the “right” to be drafted into the service, should selective service again be activated? Do they want to be drafted if war breaks out with North Korea?

In the October 2018 issue of ALIVE I wrote about a film entitled, The Red Pill: A Feminist’s Journey into the Men’s Rights Movement, by film producer, Cassie Jaye. (https://aliveeastbay.com/?s=jaye). Cassie was, at the time, an avid feminist who embarked on a mission to expose American “patriarchy,” and set things aright in terms of women’s rights, equality in the workplace, etc. By the time she was finished, she no longer considered herself a “feminist.” What Cassie discovered was that most laws and benefits in America favor women over men, as do health programs.

The statistical data generally shows that men, by and large, do the “dirty work,” that most women simply don’t want to do. Don’t believe me? While women have the right to work as firefighters, how many are working right now in California, on the front lines of all the wildfires we’re having? As of 2018, nationwide, only 4% of firefighters were women. Now maybe it is because the departments just won’t hire them—that’s wrong—but I think the real reason is, there just aren’t droves of women applying to fight fires in the first place.

Have you ever seen a roofing crew in the summer pouring hot tar on a roof? Have you seen your neighbor up on a ladder cleaning out his rain gutters? Is he married? Ever seen his wife up there? You get the idea. While women can do anything they want, by and large, they’re not clamoring for the ditch-digging, roof-taring, rodent-exterminating, sewer-routing, window-washing, wheel-changing, enemy-killing jobs.   

Men have higher rates of homelessness, drug and other addictions, incarceration, unemployment, and failure in school than women. Little notice, if any, is paid to the fatality rates of men vs women, whereas 75% of suicides are men, 76% of all homicide victims are men, 94% of work-related deaths are men, and of course, 99.9% of combat deaths are men. And men receive 63% more prison time for committing the same offense as women.

My gut (and life) tells me that while women have all the rights that men have, they are (again, I know this is not politically correct) not men. We are quite different in many ways. Take the “me too” movement for example. I get confused by this. I understand that women, men—everyone—deserves respect, but who, exactly, are these women appealing to here?    

Back to the “Red Pill” for a moment. Consider the term “domestic violence.” It is generally conflated with violence against women. However, data from a 2014 CDC report showed that while 4,774,000 women were victims of intimate partner violence during the previous 12-month period, 5,452,000 men were victims over that same period—nearly a million more men than women. And while on average, 43% of domestic violence victims are men, government funding supports over 2,000 battered women shelters nationally—shelters that do not accept men—but only one shelter in the entire country serves the needs of men.

As for my neighbor’s sign, now that I think about it, I probably did see his wife up on their roof cleaning out the gutter. Good for him for recognizing her “rights!”

Line 3: No Human is Illegal

Okay, I will admit, maybe the term is a bit imprecise and it’s possible that the sign-planter and sign-designer don’t really know what the term means. I assume, of course, they are both referring to the term “Illegal Alien.” I will try to translate this in what might be more accurate terms that both parties can understand.

The “Alien” part of the phrase means we are talking about people who are not American citizens. People who are citizens of other countries are routinely called “Aliens.” It is not a pejorative. It just means, “They are not Americans; they are from someplace else.”

Now, as far as the “Illegal” part. The Constitution of the United States is the over-arching “law” that specifies certain rights and obligations for “citizens,” not “people from anywhere.” The “Illegal” part of the phrase refers to “criminality,” as in “people who have violated or broken a U.S. law, or several laws.”

So, a better way to describe these people might be: “Criminals who came into our country from another country, without our government’s permission.” How do we know they are criminals? Because the very act of coming into our country—crossing our sovereign national border—without permission, is, by definition, a crime, It is clearly a violation of our laws, so also by definition, the person is a criminal.

So, yes, they are people, but what they did makes them criminals. So, instead of rattling off that long, cumbersome sentence that accurately describes their status, we say, voila, they are… “Illegal Aliens!”

Line 4: Science is Real

Oh man, where do I begin? Again, the sign-posters seem to be implying that there are a bunch of people out there who don’t think science is real, or who don’t “believe in” science. These “science is real” or “I believe in science” phrases are akin to the “facts are facts,” or “facts don’t lie” mantras.

The first question that comes to my mind here is, “What science is my neighbor using to suggest this idea? What is his ‘data?’”

We are hearing and seeing this a lot lately, used mainly as a political communication device—a weapon, really—primarily involving medical and environmental issues. Treatments for Covid-19 and climate change (aka, global warming), are the two hyper-active subjects, followed remotely by economic theory.

This whole issue is bothersome. In fact, I find it extremely disturbing because it seems to arise whenever someone questions something? Have you noticed that? I have always believed in the wisdom of the notion or policy that says, “There are no bad or wrong questions?” What ever happened to that?

In fact, to say, “I believe in science,” doesn’t really frame what’s important. Understanding how science works, is, to my way of thinking, more important. 

Take climate change as an example. Yes, it’s true that a “majority” of scientists contend that mankind’s carbon emissions are contributing to an increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature. But many of the scientists who are a part of that majority are not climatologists or atmospheric physicists, they specialize in other sciences with only marginal knowledge about the climate. That aside, even is we concede that a majority of climate experts feel certain that humans’ carbon emissions are to blame, one of things about understanding how science works is that the statistical components, that is, how “many” people “believe” one theory or model over another, isn’t really a factor in whether something is a “fact” or not. What do I mean?

I mean, just because a majority of people, or even scientists, believe something, doesn’t make it so. In my limited understanding of science and how its processes function, the voices of minority points of view regarding what is to be taken as “fact” are of critical importance. But many people today seem even angry with others, or they mock them, if they disagree or ask questions They smugly say, or put up a sign that says, “Science is Real.”

As a matter of fact, many, if not most, of scientific progress through the ages has been, not because of the status quo of thought, it has been due to outliers—the rebels who differed from conventional ideas.

Being “angry” that someone might not agree with “consensus” conclusions is the reason Galileo was imprisoned because at that time, 97% of the most respected scientific community “knew” his ideas were wrong. In fact, they were “dangerous!” Again, my understanding is that it is by way of challenging largely accepted ideas that true scientific progress is made. As far as I know, scientific principles care not about statistics.

So if 97% of scientists are long-convinced that the universe exists in a “steady state,” then along comes some single maverick with a “radical” notion of a “big bang,” do we stay with the steady state model because the majority says so? Copernicus, Pasteur, Lister, Einstein, Hawkins… none were part of the “97%” in their time.

Lastly, I would argue that when people become “angry” towards others for questioning so-called “settled” science, they have departed from the realm of rational, healthy scientific debate, into the area of emotional insecurity, dogmatic thinking, or political manipulation and power, which I would argue, is what a lot of what this is really all about.

Our governor here in California, Gavin Newsom, recently spoke about climate change in relation to our recent and current wildfires. I could be mistaken, but I think he placed most of, if not all of the blame for these wildfires on “climate change.” But I have a real problem with the governor’s statement. Why? Because he said what he said for political reasons, not practical ones. The fires in California have a lot more to do with forest management, water use policies and management, state government environmental and building regulations, public utilities, and infrastructure, than they do with climate change. Even Newsom stated the other day something to the effect of, “We’ve known this was coming for decades.” So why didn’t he do things to prepare or prevent these fires? Even if we all had solar panels and Teslas, we’d still be burning here in California because of the things I just listed.

So the sign in the neighbor’s yard does nothing and means nothing, other than being a feeble, not-so-subtle way to try and belittle his own neighbors, all while demonstrating either a misunderstanding, or outright ignorance, about science.

Line 5: Love is Love

This one seems out of place. All by itself, I’d think it’s great, but since the previous four make my brain hurt, I am suspicious that this neighbor is hiding something from everyone. Is this one of those houses on a neighborhood “you know what” watch list? I won’t go there.

I’ll just assume the sign makers were at a loss and needed something that sounded okay in position number five.

Line 6: Kindness is Everything

Okay, this one takes the cake. Kindness? Really? Since sign-list items one, two, three, and four are obviously meant to be a kind of “in-your-face-like” challenge or something, I doubt kindness was in their minds when they ordered the sign.

I think it was more like, “We’ll show you, you racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, science-deniers! WE are one of the good and noble people in this neighborhood, but the rest of you are… you are… you are… ah… ah… ah… well, you’re just not!”

I have a suggestion. If you really want to help make things better, think about both sides of the communication. Sure, you can put up signs and paint slogans in giant letters in your driveway, but be certain you understand your goal—what you are trying to accomplish—and be prepared to explain your point and why you’re making it.

In our case we don’t have any signs on our front fence, just a couple of simple, “symbolic items,” that we hope clearly expresses some of our beliefs. The first is a “Blue Line Flag,” and the other is “Old Glory.” 

If you need me to interpret these for you, I’ll assume you’re one of the “good and noble” neighbors with a sign in your yard.

For some science stuff about climate science, this is pretty informative: https://www.prageru.com/video/climate-change-what-do-scientists-say/

To the average, normal, everyday American who has been competently educated in world history and has a passing familiarity with the past, certain phrases mean certain things. In the last several decades, unfortunately, the Cultural Marxists in our education establishment, entertainment industry, news media, and Big Tech, have turned the language upside down. I recall the forces of The Left labeling Richard Nixon a “racist.” And Ronald Reagan. And both Presidents; Bush the Elder and the Younger.

Remember when Kanye West blamed the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina on the fact the president “hated black people?” Of course, John McCain and Mitt Romney were racists also. And not just American presidents who belonged to the Republican Party. No, anyone who leaned to the Right—socially, philosophically, culturally, or politically—was “racist.”

Eventually the label became tired and worn out. Those who hurled the epithet of “racist” were considered less credible than Aesop’s legendary Boy Who Cried Wolf. Average Americans of all races grew weary of hearing the word, and it eventually lost its sting.

So a new phrase had to be employed: “white supremacist.”

When the average American of any race reads or hears this phrase, an image comes to mind of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party that ruled Germany for almost a dozen years and was engaged in a war with half the civilized world.

Or, that same average American might conjure up images of the Ku Klux Klan, riding through the South burning crosses, horsewhipping, and lynching former slaves in a campaign of terror.

Since the Third Reich was defeated more than 70 years ago, and the KKK has been a spent force for over 50 years, everyday Americans might instead consider some other marginal figures as racist.

Those who have rejected Christianity in favor of ancient paganism, for example, who and are out in the woods worshipping Odin while sporting runic tattoos, dancing shirtless around bonfires, and baying at the moon. Maybe these would be better examples of what is left of, or what amounts to, white supremacy today.

Most any American of any race who is reasonably educated and conversant with history understands that “white supremacists” wore a swastika armband over 70 years ago, a white hood and sheet over 50 years ago, and those of today are on the fringes of mainstream society, being  almost laughable figures in their marginalized role as misfits and outcasts who loathe and scorn the foundational roots of American culture: civil rights, civil culture, and civil law.

Unlike the Nazi Party in Germany and the KKK of the Jim Crow South, today’s genuine white supremacists have no relevant political influence—except when the media decides it needs a boogeyman, like a George Lincoln Rockwell, a David Duke, or a Richard Spencer to generate the specter of “white supremacy.”

However, definitions are changing now, and they’re changing fast. And so are labels. The Italian navigator who sailed across an uncharted Atlantic Ocean, who was once an explorer, is now a “monster.”

The saintly Franciscan monk who was once a missionary, is now a “mass murderer.” The brilliant general and first president of the United States who was once The Father of Our Country is now merely a “slave owner.”  The Confederate soldier who once was a secessionist is now a “traitor.” And all of them – and many, many more – from the composer of our national anthem, Francis Scott Key, to the conservationist who founded our national park system, John Muir, are all “white supremacists.” Even pancake syrup has been labeled, with a straight face,  as “white supremacist.”

When AntiFa, BLM, or the anarchists of Unicorn Riot use the term “white supremacy,” they’re not talking about the Third Reich, the Jim Crow South, or neopagan cranks. Unlike the radicals of the past, they’re not labeling major corporations based in New York, the largest political party in the country based in Washington D.C., or the global media conglomerates based out of Los Angeles, as “white supremacist” either.

Why would they? The corporations, the Democratic Party, and the mainstream media willingly acquiesce and collectively bend their knees to the Cultural Marxism of the revolutionaries, all while funneling huge financial offerings and contributions to further subsidize the causes espoused by this radical collective of socialists, communists, and anarchists.

No, to today’s left, white supremacy means the average, normal, everyday American! The same patriots; the same occupants of the heartland who love God and America; the same citizens whose grandfathers sailed ships and submarines, flew fighters and bombers, and fought from the beaches of Normandy, across France, and into the heart of Germany, are all now white supremacists.

Because the average, normal, everyday American who stands for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem; who honors first responders, law enforcement officers, and veterans of every branch of the military; who respect the sacrifices of their ancestors—the pioneers, the settlers, and the later, the immigrant who sometimes reached American shores after defeating overwhelming odds, are today called “white supremacists.”

Indeed, those who still hang onto the principles upon which the United States was founded, are all now considered to be white supremacists by the anarchists, racial hustlers, and fascist “anti-fascists” who are hell-bent on waging war upon these same Americans until they surrender their pride, their dignity, and their past.

To those who are ignorant of, incapable of understanding, or miseducated about the American past, all they are aware of are the warts of American History. The glories are swept aside or dismissed.

The Lewis and Clark expedition? White males. The manned exploration of the moon? White males. As Edward Welsch has written, “A relentless campaign to portray whites as inherently evil and guilty of the oppression of every other racial group in the country has captured half the nation.”

How has this been successfully carried out so far? Many Americans have had their natural pride in their country’s history and legacy reduced by decades of indoctrination from the public schools and the university system. Because of their lack of knowledge, they easily buy into what the Cultural Marxists say about them as being factual. Many now have become “woke” “allies” and march in lockstep to, as Edward Welsch has written, “the nearest monument of their ancestors, placard and club in hand.” These do this because they do not know their history. And if they knew their history, they would remember the old communist saying, “Liberals get the bullet too.”

Your average American still loves this country though, but sadly, they can no longer rely on the civic institutions which used to instill pride and duty and love of this country’s past to transmit to their children. Now every American father and mother has been forced to do this alone. They can’t rely on popular entertainment any longer. Davy Crockett, Wyatt Earp, and The Lone Ranger are out, and The Descendants of fairy tale villains are in. Your children won’t be hearing or reading about The Battle of New Orleans or The Battle of the Alamo any time soon either. Major league professional sports? Forget it. School? Have you seen our children’s history textbooks lately?

To believe the liars and assent to their assertion you and everything you believe in is white supremacist is to publicly exhibit a lack of historical knowledge. Don’t believe the liars when they compare our ancestral heroes to Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels. Our ancestral heroes were nowhere near these truly evil men. Don’t believe the liars when their touchstone of the American past is exclusively the KKK. There is much more to American history than the KKK.

Don’t believe the liars when they label everyone and everything from the President of the United States to a country music band (“Lady Antebellum”), to a beloved old television program (The Dukes of Hazzard), to Uncle Ben’s Rice, as “white supremacist.”

Don’t believe the liars when they label black men like Allen West, and black women like Candace Owens, as white supremacists. Don’t believe the liars when they label Asian men, like Andy Ngo, and Asian women, like Michelle Malkin, as white supremacists.

Don’t believe the liars. Laugh at them. Challenge them. Correct them. Educate them.

And then teach your children the truth about our history. Smokey The Bear has been saying for decades now, “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires.” In the same way – to those of us who know the truth about our past I issue a similar challenge, “Only You Can Teach Your Children the Truth About America’s History.” No one else.

Not your child’s coach. Not your child’s scoutmaster. Not your child’s music instructor. Not your child’s teacher.

Only You.

Do your duty, America, or you may find your grandchildren someday labeling you—no matter what your race—as a white supremacist.

If you want to make people fight, there are few better ways than attacking their ancestors and war memorials. The Left will find Confederate flags flying more places, not fewer. – William S. Lind

Like many in our community, I could use “a little something” when it comes to extra income. My full- time job as a commercial real estate agent has been decimated by this little pandemic. It might also surprise the readers to learn, I get paid very little for coming up with these brilliantly crafted monthly humor lifestyle nuggets for ALIVE. In lieu of a salary or reasonable hourly wage, I am compensated with a certain amount of recognition, notoriety and, dare I say, celebrity status in the community. Yes, I take pride in my craft, but pride doesn’t pay the bills. That said, when Eric “Chief” Johnson tasks me to write “a little something” that might lighten the mood for our readers during an otherwise dark period, then “a little something” is what he’s going to get given that “a little something” is what I’m being paid.

The word “little” is defined as small in size, amount or degree. In this case, it will also include effort. It’s not that I don’t have a little free time on my hands, it’s just I have very little incentive given that I’m getting very little compensation. As is usually the case, when I’m a little short on ideas, I rely a little on the internet. thesaurus.com gives the following synonyms for the word “little”: insufficient, limited, meager, scant, slight, Lilliputian, bantam, brief, diminutive, dinky, infant, infinitesimal, miniature, mini, peanut, petite, short, toy, wee, babyish, elfin, embryonic, fleeting, hasty, imperceptible, inappreciable, microscopic, not big, not large, short-lived, shrimpy, skimpy, sparse, stubby, stunted, teeny, tiny, truncated and undeveloped.

Given my that my vocabulary is a little insufficient, limited, meager, scant, slight, diminutive (you get the picture), I take on this challenge to come up with “a little something” on each of these words that essentially mean the same darn thing, “little”.

Insufficient; The insufficient pay as an Alive magazine columnist, coming up with one brilliant column after another, is depressing.  

Limited; I have a limited amount of brilliant ideas, but an unlimited amount of charm.

Meager; Chief must have a meager budget for paying writers and hosting holiday parties. Meager doesn’t begin to describe the cheese and cracker spread at last year’s staff Holidaypalooza.  

Lilliputian; I wonder if other regional lifestyle magazines compensate their writers such a Lilliputian amount of money? Truthfully, I thought a Lilliputian was one of the tiny residents of Lilliput from Gulliver’s Travels. I wonder if Lilliput has a magazine looking for brilliant, albeit tall, columnists?

Bantam; Bantam weight boxers get paid less than heavyweights because they’re littler. It’s like that in the magazine business too. The New Yorker, AARP, Good Housekeeping and People are heavyweight magazines. Alive – Bantam weight. 

Brief; This is going to be a brief article because I’m not getting paid for it. FYI, I wear boxer briefs if anyone’s interested.

Diminutive; I suppose most regional magazines have a diminutive budget when it comes to compensating their columnists, however, my resume and body of work is not diminutive.  

Dinky; Over my career as a columnist, I have only made a dinky amount of money. Dinky is a funny word

Infant; Infants don’t read magazines. They’re too…..wait for it……little.

Infinitesimal; The infinitesimal amount of money in my bank account is either scary or laughable.

Miniature; I could probably buy a miniature horse if I got a miniature amount of money for my articles.

Mini; I could probably buy a Mini-Cooper if I got even a mini amount of money for my articles. Confidentially, I was always a fan of the miniskirt. Let’s bring that back to lift our spirits.

Peanut; In reality, magazine writers in general make peanuts unless you’re Dave Berry, Rick Reilly, Rona Barrett or Charles Shultz. See what I did there, Charles Shultz created the comic strip Peanuts. I crack myself up.

Petite; I have been called many things in my lifetime, but petite is not one of them. My Visa debit card could be said to have a petite balance right now.

Short; I’ll be coming up short paying next month’s mortgage unless my Door Dash deliveries start picking up a little.

Toy; I’ve never been fond of Toy Poodles unless I could breed and sell them for more than toy amounts of cash.

Wee; Me articles are filled with a wee pit of the blarney and a wee bit of shenanigans.

Babyish; I know it sounds babyish to complain about my lack of compensation, but even babies have got bills to pay. Diaper bills, formula bills, toy bills, (both little bills and bills for actual toys).

Elfin; Chief expects me to exist on an elfin compensation which would be acceptable if I were an elf or hobbit, or a troll, but I’m a big person.

Embryonic; My daughters have an embryonic knowledge of writer’s compensation rates.

Fleeting; My fleeting bank account balance could use an infusion of capital.

Hasty; I’d be a bit hasty if I started fielding another magazine’s offer right away.

Imperceptible and inappreciable; That’s exactly how appreciated I’m feeling at ALIVE.

Hasty; I won’t be hasty when I’m fielding other offers.

Not big and Not large; Too obvious. You don’t need to be a highly sought-after humor lifestyle columnist to get these little compensation references.

Microscopic; That will be my ALIVE W2 tax statement in 2020. Microscopic.

Short-lived; My career at ALIVE might be short-lived if I keep this banter up much longer.

Shrimpy; Shrimps are delicious little fish thingies, but who can afford them on my salary?

Skimpy; I wonder if the other columnist at ALIVE are paid as skimpy as I am?

Small; I don’t like or respect small-minded people, especially when it comes to issues of race, religion, sexual orientation or magazine article topics. 

Sparse; Advertising revenue must be sparse at ALIVE world headquarters.

Stubby; When I think of stubby, I think of little guys who are packing on a few pounds. I’m a lean, mean writing machine. There’s nothing stubby about me except the size of my wallet.

Stunted; Magazine writers typically have a stunted self-worth given our lack of income generation.   

Teeny and Tiny; I wish my overhead was teeny tiny, but the bills keep coming.

Truncated; I had to look this one up, but while it is assumed that my salary was truncated when we went from a hard copy magazine to an online periodical, but in reality that had no impact at all.

Undeveloped; The compensated package at ALIVE is undeveloped as is my sense of humor.

I’m obviously having a little COVID 19 fun with my boss at ALIVE. He’s a great guy for an elfin Lilliputian magazine publisher. This Coronavirus has proven to be more than a dinky inconvenience for everyone reading our diminutive periodical.  What many of us assumed would just be a tiny adjustment to our daily/weekly routine has proven to be a life-altering change for this community. The key is to not be overwhelmed with negativity. Life will get better, probably right around November 5^th. Just a guess on my part. In the meantime, let’s all try to find a little something to make life more enjoyable for ourselves and those around us.

You would think that the title of this here piece might be about M&Ms or Marilyn Monroe, or it might mean mmmm-good! No, it is actually the opposite. What my title stands for is Mainstream Media’s Misinformation Machine. And, let me tell you, the Mainstream Media are a very disturbed lot. What they tell us and what the facts are, are two quite different animals. Why, I could have added a couple more M’s to the title, for instance, Malevolent, Misguided, or even Malicious, but that would have made the title sound ridiculous. The four Ms are just right.

What we are being fed by MMMM, whether it is on television, online, or in print, is a very carefully-sculpted load of cow manure. Take for instance COVID-19. To this date, according to ‘MMMM’ it is the number one killer of humans in the world. Not only that but, it is getting worse. In cahoots with the liberal politicians, they have managed to do their best at destroying this country’s economy and will keep at it because they hate Trump!

Here is a recent headline by ‘America First Reporting, on the web:

Schiff: 130,000 Dead Americans Because the Republicans Wouldn’t Remove Trump During Impeachment. This, coming from a leftist politician who has failed the sanity test and, who by the way, is not a medical doctor, or doctor of any kind.

Then, we have another know-it all who happens to be, unfortunately, our governor. He has changed his mind on reopening California’s economy about as often as I wash my hands (and I wash them a lot). And just so you know, his restaurant and winery stay open because he hasn’t closed down Napa Valley. Very clever of him, don’t you think?

And Ladies and Gentlemen, that is why we can’t go to church, eat inside a restaurant, enjoy a movie at a local theater, or attend a concert at the Concord Pavilion. However, you have noticed that these very same entities are more than happy to laud discontent by unruly mobs in the streets, burning and destroying property, attacking unarmed civilians, and even killing them as they try to protect what is theirs, all the while encouraged and cheered on by the likes of Chris Cuomo, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper, Stephen Colbert, Al Sharpton, ‘Blitzkrieg’ Wolf Blitzer, basement dweller ‘Foggy’ Joe Biden, and Pompadour Newsom, as well as  too many other loons to waste good space on. And one more bit of news about our great governor, from the web: The California Department of Corrections has just informed news outlets that Governor Gavin Newsom has allowed for the release of 18,000 prisonersto prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Now, here are some facts for you to process in light of what I stated at the beginning. These are figures that the MMMM will not publish, in order to give priority to COVID numbers:

• So far this year, about 150,000 have died from COVID-19 in the United States, from this virus which was created by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
• According to the CDC, about 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s one of every four deaths. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
• According to the American Cancer Society, in the U.S., an estimated 606,520 people will die from cancer in 2020, a close second to heart disease.

Again, according to the CDC, here is a list of other leading causes of death in the USA:

Accidents or unintentional injuries, 169,936; Chronic lower respiratory diseases, 160,201; Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases), 146,383; Alzheimer’s disease, 121,404; Diabetes, 83,564; Influenza and Pneumonia, 55,672; Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis, 50,633; Intentional self-harm (suicide), 47,173.

Here is an interesting fact that does not get mentioned very often by MMMM: Deaths from Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, also produced in Communist China, is shipped to Mexico and smuggled into the US by the drug cartels, as another way that Red China is actively working to weaken the USA. And most of this, flies under the radar. You have to really dig to find statistics.

For instance, from 1999 to 2018, 450,000 people died from synthetic opioids including Fentanyl. But then, in 2019, the death total jumped to 71,000, for one year. Not much is broadcast about this problem, as I have said. And it is just another way that our Communist Chinese friends help to reduce our populations. If you want to learn more, check out the CDC website. These deaths just get added to the final tally, below, without much fanfare.

Finally, from the CDC, the total number of deaths in the USA from all causes in one year is approximately 2,813,503.

I am hoping that you are starting to get the picture. According to the MMMM you would think that the leading cause of death in the United States, was COVID-19. However, according to my calculations, COVID-19 Deaths are but 4.87% of the total death toll for one year, so far. So, should the numbers double for the year, it could rise to 9.7% of the total deaths, with heart disease and cancer still in the lead by several hundred thousand.

BLM: Black Living Marxists

The very same cowardly politicians who “manage” the masses for political reasons have not had the guts to stop BLM protests that have turned into nothing more than organized arson, looting, mayhem, and thuggery. As a matter of fact, all these deluded individuals have encouraged not only the protest, but the actual destruction of whole neighborhoods, and even whole cities, like Minneapolis, to the tune of several billion dollars.

Yeah, I’m burning your business down and looting your merchandise because I don’t like the fact that you have worked so hard all your life and built something for you and your family to be proud of. And me, I’m just a lazy malcontent that likes to get stuff for free because I’ve been deprived and the system is stacked against me, just because I’m a lazy good-for-nothing who likes to lay around and do nothing, and maybe do some drugs, so others can take care of me, the way it should be! It’s my right to take all you all’s stuff!

Well, according to MMMM, the Left and the Believers, BLM will take care of the lazy thugs who fight to destroy this country. Just remember, MMMM and the Left do not mention that BLM is a Marxist organization, based on Marxist principals and run by trained Marxist leaders, in other words, Communists. Yes, these are the same “socialists” we fought in Korea, Vietnam, and opposed during the Cold War days—the Soviet Union.

A war of ideologies is going on right now in front of our eyes, but MMMM and the Left are NOT telling us about this conflict in its entirety. They are lecturing us about “Institutional Racism and White Privilege,” and how our nation is “Irredeemably Racist,” It’s all a bunch of hogwash! These un-useful idiots have all been brainwashed by followers of Saul Alinsky, the mentor of Barack Hussein Obama.

And BTW, something the MMMM will not tell you is that most of the donations going to BLM are all funneled to the DemocRat Party, to help elect the Sleeping Genius, Joe Biden.

You see, the reason MMMM does not tell us the truth is that they believe that bad news and lies sell papers and keep our country divided—especially, if they keep repeating the lies and we keep believing them.

Here’s an article from the Daily Wire: A 24-year-old mother was shot to death shortly after a dispute in Indianapolis. Jessica Whitaker believed ‘all lives mattered,’ tragically and ironically, that was her fatal flaw, according to one man who shot her from a bridge shortly after she proclaimed her beliefs. Jessica’s husband is mourning the loss and he is more than concerned because the son doesn’t fully understand what happened to his mother.

A cowardly scumbag killed an innocent woman for her beliefs. This coward should fry in an electric chair!

Again, from the Daily Wire: Jessica’s grandfather posted the following on his Facebook: “Why isn’t anybody outraged about this?” the grandfather asked. “Is it that BLM was involved or that it was white young adults that [were] the victims?” I guess black lives are more important than any other ethnicity in America. I guess we did not hear Chris Cuomo or Don Lemon eulogizing this young woman because, after all, she was white.

BLM and MMMM agree that there is systemic racism in America, and they both promote this lie. The Systemic Racism myth is perpetrated by these very same organizations, in their own words. BLM is a Marxist organization in business to ruin the capitalist system that makes our country thrive. And what BLM will not acknowledge is that many in the “Millionaire-Billionaire” category are, in fact, African Americans.

Here is a good example of White Privilege: about 160 years ago, over 700,000 mostly white men, gave their all to put an end to slavery by defeating the Confederacy. All those men proudly rode into death and history, to end a practice that should not exist in the modern world. And yet, anti-American organizations like Black Lives Matter, as well as MMMM, never mention this historical fact. Do you realize that in 160 years, no one in America has owned any slaves, and yet, by what you hear in the news, you would think that slavery is alive and well in the United States

MMMM is so scared of Black Lives Matter that they have basically given up on telling the truth about anything—the pandemic, the police, and those in need, in favor of bowing down and lauding the accomplishment of this deranged mob of terrorists. So, when will the general public (that’s us) tell these hooligans and the news media that enough is enough and start taking our country back?

Two police officers were ambushed and killed in Texas, but other than FOX, none of the other MMMM channels spent any time reporting on these unprovoked killings. Of course, cops are in disfavor now, so why waste a report about their demise? As a result of their words and actions, MMMM are complicit in whatever happens to the brave men and women who have to endure the hatred and disdain. Crime rates have gone up in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and every large enclave of poverty-stricken people—the very people who now need the Police more than ever. It’s no surprise that some police may now be reticent to help people, and it’s BLM creating the chaos in our inner cities.

All the while, the MMMM is blaming this carnage on the one person who has done more for minorities in the inner cities than any other elected official in quite some time—President Trump. According to the 4Ms, the carnage is his fault, as is the COVID Pandemic.  

Now, let’s revisit the COVID-19 situation in New York State. So far there have been about 405,000 cases, with about 26,000 deaths, while Florida has had about 310,000 cases and about 4,600 deaths. Yet, the way the MMMM portrays it, Cuomo is doing a marvelous job while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is doing a poor job. Isn’t that a bit strange?

MMMM actually stated on numerous shows that Governor Cuomo had done such a marvelous job of lowering the curve of the COVID infection, yet they never mention the fact that Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio forced nursing homes to take in Covid infected seniors and house them alongside healthy senior residents, causing at least 6200 senior deaths, although some say it was many more.

Here is a bit of deep thinking from the mayor of NYC, De Blasio. He claims that the rise in COVID-19 numbers is due to too many people going to church. Which is why, churches may be closed but, BLM protests are not only permitted but encouraged. All the while, he has tied the hands of New York’s finest, by taking away one billion dollars from their budget. Now that the NYC PD is short on manpower, crime has skyrocketed. Just the other day, one of those peaceful protests on the Brooklyn Bridge turned ugly, when the peaceful protestors were handed baseball bats from an unmarked van and encouraged to go after the cops. Several NYC officers were left bloodied by this organized attack.

Now, here is a bit of wisdom that was publicized by the MMMM, coming out of the mouth of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, “…people are doing all the looting because they are hungry from the Trump economy, and they need bread.”

An opinion editor at the New York Times, Bari Weiss, resigned recently because she claims she was harassed by co-workers. Bari Weiss is Jewish but that didn’t stop her leftist colleagues from calling her a Nazi, simply because she had a more “middle-of-the-road” philosophy and having run a piece by Sen. Tom Cotton, backing a military crackdown on the BLM protests.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Bernell Trammell, an African American supporter of President Trump was shot to death, execution style, in front of his printing business for supporting the President. I guess some black lives matter less than others.

Just in case you thought I had lost my mind, read below some of the nonsense coming out of MMMM, on the web:

Smithsonian Museum says Objective thinking is a sign of Whiteness. I used to support the Smithsonian and even visited it in the dim past. No more!

North Carolina city approves ‘Reparations’ apologizing for role in slavery. I didn’t know that there were still slaves or slave owners in North Carolina. Who exactly are they going to give the money to?

NY State Troopers want off of NY City streets, as cops face new criminal and civil liability on the job. Who is running New York State, BLM?

Florida Police Union pulls endorsement of Orange County Sheriff who took a knee with Protestors. This Sheriff is nothing but a politician.

Minneapolis parks board to vote on repealing rule Prohibiting Women from Going Topless. This is not going to add to the chaos in Minneapolis; NO siree Bob!

Is it any wonder that the National Association of Police Organizations has endorsed Donald Trump for President?

The more a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak out.— George Orwell