POLITICAL OPINION EDITORIAL

It appears to me, from all the reports I have been reading on the Internet that President Trump has announced a brand new government program designed to find people engaged in fraudulent activities and that any citizen can report somebody and receive a reward under certain circumstances: READ MORE HERE.

That news almost completely whets my appetite for adventure and reward. Now I am starting to wish I could catch somebody committing some kind of fraud that would qualify under this program.

It is good that the President and the Administration are taking effective actions to stop the waste, fraud an abuse that has been plaguing our country for God only knows how long but I have some ideas of my own that I would like to throw into the pot for consideration:

I think we need something like the Cubans have (Or had, whichever the case may be:

Cuba’s Neighborhood Informant and Surveillance System

In Cuba, the Communist government maintains a nationwide network of neighborhood informants through an organization called the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), or Comités de Defensa de la Revolución.

Established by Fidel Castro on September 28, 1960, these committees were designed to place revolutionary watchdogs in virtually every neighborhood, apartment building, and residential block throughout the country.

How the Block Monitor System Works

Each neighborhood committee traditionally has a local leader, sometimes called a block captain, responsible for overseeing activities in the neighborhood.

The system has historically operated in several ways:

1. Watching neighbors: Committee members observe residents’ daily activities, visitors, personal associations, and political behavior.
2. Reporting suspicious activities: Residents suspected of criticizing the Communist government, expressing opposition to socialism, or associating with political dissidents can be reported to state security authorities.
3. Maintaining information about residents: Committees have gathered information concerning individuals’ political reliability, employment, personal relationships, and participation in revolutionary activities.
4. Encouraging neighbors to inform on neighbors: Citizens may be encouraged to report statements or behavior considered hostile to the revolution.
5. Identifying political opponents: Information gathered by neighborhood monitors can help authorities identify dissidents, independent journalists, and other government critics.

The U.S. State Department has documented the use of these committees to monitor government opponents and report their activities. State.gov

The Consequences of Being Reported

Being denounced by a neighborhood informant can have serious consequences.

Human Rights Watch has documented how political surveillance in Cuba has contributed to intimidation, harassment, interrogation, and repression of government opponents.

The committees have also participated in organized demonstrations against dissidents, sometimes called acts of repudiation, during which government supporters publicly confront and humiliate individuals accused of opposing the revolution. Human Rights Watch

More Than Just Political Surveillance

The Cuban government presents the CDR system as a community organization dedicated to protecting the revolution and promoting neighborhood cooperation.

The committees have also organized blood donations, vaccination campaigns, sanitation projects, and other community activities.

However, critics argue that these beneficial activities coexist with a system of political surveillance that discourages freedom of expression and creates distrust among neighbors. Cambridge University Press

A System Built on Fear and Suspicion

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of Cuba’s neighborhood surveillance system is its effect on ordinary human relationships.

A citizen expressing dissatisfaction with the government cannot always know whether a neighbor, acquaintance, or even a trusted friend might report those remarks to the authorities.

This uncertainty can encourage self-censorship, discourage political discussion, and undermine trust within communities.

Although the influence of the neighborhood committees has reportedly declined from its historical peak, the system remains an important part of Cuba’s political history and mechanisms of social control.

In essence, Fidel Castro created a system in which the government did not need a policeman on every corner because it could rely on ordinary citizens to watch and report on one another.

That is what makes Cuba’s neighborhood informant system particularly significant: it extends political surveillance into the everyday lives and personal relationships of ordinary people.

Sources include the U.S. State Department, Human Rights Watch, and historical research on the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. Refworld

I would be among the very first to jump into such a program as this so that I could get even with a bunch of assholes.

I also believe that this kind of program would fit the evolving political scenario here in the United States.

The more I am forced to spend more and more money at the grocery store and the gas station and on my home heating bill and on my doctor visits and on my prescriptions at the pharmacy and every other bill that I have to pay that keeps on skyrocketing, the better I believe the Economy is becoming.

Yes, the fact that I am spending more is a sure sign of economic growth… for somebody somewhere.

So if the economy is this damned great why are so many people griping and bitching about it?

I believe that spending more money on things I need is a small price to pay for a strong economy.

I don’t hear any Republicans bitching about the economy, do you?

In like manner, I also support the war in Ukraine because like some toothless vacuum head from the MAGGOT side of the aisle has remarked, “Better to have the war in Iran than to have a nuke dropped on my head.”

I guess the MAGGOT forgot to think about the possibility that if Iran wanted a nuclear weapon all they would have to do is go to some other oppressive regime that already has them and buy one– or more — or many.

Me? I like the Iran war because it is making me spend more on my groceries and condoms and to me, that is a sign of a great, active and energetic economy– in fact, the greatest economy in the History of America!

On another note — aren’t you glad the president had the foresight to get rid of all those old ugly and useless trees in the area where he is building his new beautiful golfing resort? Who needs natural beauty for the ignorant masses when you can have a brand new impressive golf course for the rich? Makes sense to me.

Also, don’t you think it would be a great idea for the president to put some tits on the Statue of Liberty and add a few vivacious curves to her saggy body?

POLITICAL OPINION

We hear all the propaganda coming from both the Liberal and the Conservative sides of the political spectrum and it is no surprise to discover all the chaos and confusion that reigns between the two sides.

Today I am going to discuss my experiences with both the Left and the Right because, in my long and eventful life, I have been exposed to both Conservatism and Liberalism.

There will be no sugar coated bullshit in this article– i will tell it exactly as i lived it and the things that i saw, heard and thought on the long trip.

I was born and raised in a starkly Republican community in a severely Republican county and an unmistakable generational Republican state called Ohio.

My daddy was a die-hard Republican, not always because of what he believed, but more often on the fact that his grandfather and his father had both been Republicans so, in his view, Republican was the only way to go and “Damn The Rich Bastards” on the Democrat side.

To my daddy’s way of thinking, Democrats were all the wealthy people in America and the “Poor” Republicans like himself were the only people in the country who had to work for a living.

Did I mention that my daddy only completed three grades of elementary school and lived the rest of his life by his wits?

At an early age, I was taught and believed that the sun rose and set on Republican ass and if I knew what was good for me, I had better always vote that way too.

My staunchly Republican daddy worked most of his life at low-paying severely labor-intensive jobs that paid a pittance rather than a living wage. He was a most willing malleable puppet in the hands of his Republican over-lords and he felt privileged to have whatever shit job he could find.

We lived in a run-down, unstable, fire-trap of a centuries old 4-room house in the middle of a small farming community. The house had black wooden shingles on the roof and dark, decaying almost black clapboards as he sides.

The house was drafty in winter and hot in summer because we had a single coal-burning stove in the kitchen, cold linoleum on the floors, cracks in the walls, an old brick chimney, and a government-built primitive privy (Outhouse) (Shit House) a few yards away from our back door. There was no running water in the place at all.

My had had taken out a loan of $1,500 to buy this place, and by some miracle the Republican City Council had decided to let us live in the run down ramshackle firetrap. Daddy paid $30 a month on the house loan. Himself, he only made $35 per week, paid every two weeks, for digging graves and maintaining the grounds of the local cemetery.

Whenever I would dare to mention all the normal homes around our town, Dad would remind me, with a great deal of displeasure, that all those “Sons Of Bitches” could afford to live “High On The Hog” because they were either “Rich Democrats” or relatives of Rich Democrats, were “Too damned good” to associate with “Us common people”and then he would remind me, “What;s the matter? Isn’t the roof over you head good enough for you?”

Daddy’s precious Republican bosses made sure that he never got raises, never had any kind of hospital insurance, never had sick days, never had vacation days, was on call 7 days a week, 8 hours a day, and when he died, none of his precious Republican bosses ever came to his funeral, came to our house to express their condolences, never sent a card, but they did send a representative to the house to collect the cemetery tractor keys.

Me?

Daddy had secretly hoped that when I got old enough to hold down a “Respectable Job” that I would pick up a shovel and walk in his footsteps.

I decided to work my ass off to become one of those “Rich Democrat Sons of bitches” and– I did!

I had my first Million Dollar credit rating when I was 35 years old.

Needless to say, when daddy finally died, i paid off all his outstanding bills. i was glad to do it. Proud to do it. because besides the fact that he was an abusive, angry, unstable being, he was my dad and I loved him. I had remnants of stripes where he had beat me as a child on my back until I was 21 years old.

But I never became a “Respectable” Republican. I became one of those tight-assed democrats, achieved a vast amount of wealth, went bankrupt in 1978 because of the antics of a spendthrift wife– walked the streets for a year — finally got a break and now am living a comfortable retirement with enough money to get whatever i want, whenever i want and no thanks to the Republicans either…. not directly anyway.

By the way, I am no longer a democrat either because now I can afford to be a Republican but I don’t play politics anymore either. I am too damned old.

Who Knew an Ant Could Be So Entertaining?

Some people have dogs. Others have cats, birds, or even hamsters. But me? I once had something a little more unusual. I had a pet ant!

Yes, you read that correctly. An ant. One of those tiny, six-legged creatures that most people wouldn’t give a second thought. But my little ant became a source of endless amusement, and I wouldn’t have traded the little fellow for anything.

I discovered that even the smallest creatures could have surprisingly big personalities.

A Busy Little Fellow

One of the cutest things about my pet ant was that he never seemed to take a vacation.

From morning until evening, he was constantly investigating something. He marched around like a tiny security guard, inspecting every corner of his surroundings as though he were responsible for protecting the entire neighborhood.

Sometimes he would stop suddenly, wiggle his antennae, and appear to be contemplating one of life’s great mysteries.

I liked to imagine he was thinking, “Now, where did I put that enormous crumb of toast?”

Then off he would go again, determined to accomplish whatever important ant business was on his schedule.

His Love Affair with Crumbs

My ant had what I could only describe as an enthusiastic appreciation for food.

A crumb that would have been insignificant to a human being became a magnificent treasure to him.

Watching him investigate a tiny morsel was hilarious. First, he would approach cautiously. Then he would circle it, touch it with his antennae, and apparently decide whether it was worth the effort.

When he found something particularly interesting, he behaved like a prospector who had just discovered gold.

I sometimes wondered whether he considered me the world’s largest and most generous restaurant owner.

The Great Ant Olympics

Another adorable habit was his apparent enthusiasm for climbing.

Give that little fellow something to climb, and suddenly he became an Olympic athlete.

Up he would go, navigating obstacles that must have seemed like mountains from his perspective.

Occasionally, he would reach the top of something, pause dramatically, and wave his antennae around.

I imagined him shouting, “I’ve conquered Mount Everest!”

Of course, his magnificent mountain might actually have been nothing more than a small pebble.

But who was I to spoil his triumph?

A Friend Who Never Complained

Perhaps the nicest thing about having a pet ant was how undemanding he was.

He never barked at the mailman, scratched the furniture, or woke me up at three o’clock in the morning demanding breakfast.

He didn’t need expensive toys, fancy bedding, or a trip to the groomer.

And best of all, he never argued with me about what was on television.

He simply went about his tiny adventures while I enjoyed watching him.

Little Creatures, Big Joy

My pet ant taught me something important: happiness didn’t always come in large packages.

Sometimes it arrived on six tiny legs.

In a world filled with noise, worries, and complications, watching one determined little ant go about his business was wonderfully relaxing.

He never fetched a stick, curled up on my lap, or came running when I called his name.

But he made me smile.

And for such a tiny little creature, that was a pretty enormous accomplishment!

I don’t have my little ant anymore, but I still remember the amusement he brought into my life. It’s funny how something so small could leave behind such pleasant memories.

After all, friendship isn’t measured in pounds. Sometimes it’s measured in milligrams!

And although my little six-legged companion is gone, the smiles he gave me remain.

His name was “Antly”

I couldn’t pet him, but he would sometimes sit on my finger and give me love nips.

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If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice, what would it be?

Answer: If I could go back in time and give my younger self advice, here is the advice I would give to myself:

“If you ever go back in time, never ever try to go back in time.”