“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
Tag Archives: United States
The Queen Died…So?
I can only imagine many Britons are still in mourning over the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8. But, like many Americans, I don’t really care. While much of the American media still treats the British royal family as iconic figures, the overwhelming majority of us couldn’t care less what they do or say.
The only member of that tribe I liked was the late Princess Diana. I always felt she had more class in her little finger than the entire gang put together. When she and Prince Charles wed in 1981, many Britons had begun questioning the purpose of a royal family. Their political power had officially been stripped decades earlier. They’re figurative leaders, and Elizabeth was considered a “Sovereign Head of State”. But there’s no question the Windsors remain deeply influential. They were among the few European royal families to survive the carnage of World War II.
Regardless of their heritage, I consider Elizabeth and the entire Windsor clan representative of the legacy of colonial repression and European superiority complex. What purpose do they – or any of the other royal families around the globe – truly serve? The Windsors own a multitude of properties in the British Isles and cost local taxpayers billions every year. England is currently in an economic crisis. The Windsors pay some taxes, but – like the wealthiest citizens of most every society on Earth – the actual percentage is questionable and unknown. That’s by design.
If you want to get an idea of what many in the British Commonwealth think about Elizabeth, watch this piece on Jamaican reaction to her death. Like the peoples of many former British colonies, Jamaicans were forced to give their lives to enrich the “Crown”. England, like France and other European powers, slaughtered millions of Indigenous Americans and then snatched millions of Indigenous Africans to replace them. After World War II, the British Empire was compelled to relinquish two of its biggest colonial prizes: Canada and India. The fought bitterly to hold onto the Falkland Islands in 1982, but eventually gave up Hong Kong in 1997.
I have to commend the British for doing something positive overall to make some kind of amends for their activities in many parts of the globe, especially Africa.
Years ago many conservative Americans criticized President Obama and his wife, Michelle, for not bowing or curtsying to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. I reminded many that our president doesn’t bow or curtsy to the British monarchy or any royal family. While the U.S. and England are historically and inexorably bonded, the American Revolution was about divorcing ourselves from the power and influence of British royalty. We represent a true democracy – not a monarchial federation.
The world knows what the French and Russians did to their royal families. I don’t suggest the same fate befall the Windsors or any other regal clan. But no one can seem to answer – what purpose do these people serve in a modern world?
I have a tenuous connection to the Windsor clan – emphasis on tenuous. Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, was a chronic smoker. So was my paternal grandfather, Epigmenio De La Garza, who was born in 1893. In February 1952, both George and my grandfather had surgeries to remove part of one lung. Both the surgeons who worked on King George and the ones who worked on my grandfather attended the same medical school. King George died. My grandfather survived and lived for another 17 years.
Fate, like irony, makes for strange outcomes in life.
Filed under Essays
Happy Fourth of July 2022!
“One of the most important of life’s lessons is to learn independence, to understand freedom. This means independence from attachments, from results, from opinions, and from expectations.”
Brian Weiss, Messages from the Masters
Filed under News
Memorial Day 2022
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
Filed under News
Happy Independence Day 2020!
“It’s Fourth of July weekend, or, as I call it, exploding Christmas.”
“True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth…”
“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.”
“I always have the most fun on the Fourth of July. You don’t have to exchange any gifts. You just go to the beach and watch fireworks. It’s always fun.”
“In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.”
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle. But with family picnics where kids throws Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”
“All people are born alike. Except Republicans and Democrats.”
“And one day people will celebrate this day by getting shit-faced and lighting Chinese explosives – Thomas Jefferson 1776.”
“The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous.”
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Filed under News
COVID-19 Safe Distance Measures by State
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health have recommended individuals remain at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) from one another to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The minimum distance is based on the average trajectory of nasal droplets once expelled from the nose, mouth, or whatever infected orifice a person might have. (If this person can expel nasal droplets from more openings than their mouth and nose, I suggest they be put to death. They will be a danger to humanity, no matter what contagion is in the air.)
This “social distancing” has caused some consternation among many people. For introverts, however, it’s called life as we know it. But, in order to help people understand exactly what the 6-foot minimum is, each state has comprised analogies for their particular citizenry.
Alabama – 2 outhouses
Alaska – 12 salmon or 2 Alaskan King Crab
Arizona – 5 Native American bead necklaces or a blueprint for Donald Trump’s “Wall”
Arkansas – 5 lists of the state’s 3 family trees
California – 1 surfboard or a chest of old Kim Kardashian press-on fingernails
Colorado – 1 miniature horse
Connecticut – 25 recordings of Donald Trump trying to pronounce Connecticut
Delaware – 6 bags of used Joe Biden hair pieces
Florida – 1 adult alligator or 4 motorized wheelchairs
Georgia – 10 DVD sets of “Gone with the Wind”
Hawaii – 5 floral lei wreaths or 1 lost mainland tourist
Idaho – 1 “No Californians Allowed” sign
Illinois – 5 Chicago pizzas (or 10 boxes of .32 caliber bullets if you’re actually in Chicago)
Indiana – 10 lists of the top 10 names indigenous peoples had, before some drunk White people arrived and screwed up everything
Iowa – 10 late-model voting machines
Kansas – 3 sheaths of whole-grain wheat
Kentucky – 5 cases of moonshine
Louisiana – 10 Mardi Grass beads (preferably neon) or 5 indictments of state governors
Maine – 1 lobster (unboiled)
Maryland – 10-15 bricks from a now-dismantled wall built around Washington, D.C.
Massachusetts – 5 cases of Irish whiskey
Michigan – 10 cases of German beer or 1 illegal Canadian immigrant (in Detroit, use anything that’s bullet-proof)
Minnesota – 5 maps of the 10,000+ lakes in the state (complete with detailed explanations why no one has made a concerted attempt to count the exact number)
Mississippi – 50 audio recordings of school children trying spell Mississippi
Missouri – 50 video recordings of school children misspelling Mississippi as Missouri
Montana – 3 taxidermy moose heads
Nebraska – 1 bovine calf or a University of Nebraska cheerleader (whichever is closest and not sleeping at the moment)
Nevada – 500 poker chips or 1 topless showgirl
New Hampshire – 1 10’x 6’ slab of granite or 5 “We Are NOT Vermont!” signs
New México – 1 saguaro cactus frond (unshaven)
New York – 1 life-size inflatable Donald Trump doll, 5 yamakas, or 10 Brooklyn-made calzones
North Carolina – 5 vintage “Missing: Roanoke – Have You Seen Us?” flyers
North Dakota – 25 copies of “Why God Created North Dakota (Because Minnesota Was Too Cold)”
Ohio – 30 unpublished “Best Reasons to Visit Cleveland” pamphlets
Oklahoma – 15 editions of the latest Indian casino directory (also still accepting donations for the “Back to Europe” movement)
Oregon – Any still-living Grateful Dead fan
Pennsylvania – 25 king-size Hershey bars
Rhode Island – Rhode Island
South Carolina – 10 editions of “25 Reasons We Keep Fighting the Civil War and Still Haven’t Won”, © 1964
South Dakota – 3 cases of malt liquor beer or 1 “White People Don’t Let the Sun Set on You!” sign
Tennessee – 1 statue of Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, or Tammy Wynette
Texas – 1 rifle and a bottle of tequila (preferably José Cuervo)
Utah – 10 Mormon bibles or 25 unused “Romney 2012” posters
Vermont – 10 “Sanders 2020” banners (previously 5 cases of maple syrup) or 5 “We Are NOT New Hampshire!” signs
Virginia – 5 replicas of Cutty Sark clipper ships or 10 bottles of Cutty Sark whiskey
Washington – 5 buckets of rainwater or 200 bongs
West Virginia – 25 “There Is NO East Virginia” bumper stickers
Wisconsin – 5 crates of Gouda cheese
Wyoming – 1 life-size replica of a buffalo (NO live buffaloes permitted, as they’ll kick your ass)
“Don’t move any closer, bitch!”
Filed under Wolf Tales
Retro Quote – Isaac Asimov
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge’.”
If Being Liberal Means…
Here in Texas, as well as in other predominantly conservative regions of the United States, the term “liberal” is equal to demonic. Personally, I consider myself a political and social moderate – which, to most conservatives – still means liberal. Anything to the slightest left of the small-minded rhetoric of right-wing, Judeo-Christian ideology is blasphemously liberal. But, as you surely know by now, I deplore being placed in boxes to suit other people’s needs and desires. Those who have dared to always end up with a rectal thermometer-style rebuke from me. Their rules don’t apply to me.
But, for the past 30 years, liberals have allowed themselves to be defined by the opposition. They’ve hidden their true sentiments about politics and social order within the lockboxes of their minds. Outspoken liberals have been relegated to the coastal U.S. and urban America. Thus, they are viewed as elitists and globalists; cretins who dismiss the notion of “American exceptionalism” (whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean).
In truth, liberal means educated and open-minded; compassionate and understanding. I’m steadfast in my own outlook and opinions. Overall, I’m just left of the center, which – again – means extremist, bleeding-heart, bed-wetting liberal to the right-wingers. They can call me whatever name they wish, if it makes them feel empowered in their MINI Cooper of a mind. I’ve endured worst name-calling grade school.
But, if being liberal means…
- I believe true freedom begins with free speech and the right to vote and not with a gun.
- I believe the United States was founded on religious freedom and separation of church and state and not Judeo-Christian beliefs.
- I don’t believe White males have all the answers.
- Europe is not the foundation of civilization.
- I read more than the Christian Bible and a TV guide.
- Men and women possess different attributes, but are still equal
- The human race is really the only race on Earth.
- There is life beyond this planet.
- Industrial enterprises don’t have the right to profitably pollute the environment.
- Queer people aren’t diabolically dangerous.
…then you can call me a liberal. I call myself a human being with my own thoughts and opinions. And I don’t have to run any of these by other folks, just to get their approval.
Filed under Essays
Chief Writing Wolf 