One definition of insurance is: A thing providing protection against a possible eventuality.

The verbiage “possible eventuality” had me befuddled since it seemed as confusing as “could happen but, will happen”.

My definition of insurance is something you have while anticipating the unanticipated.

There are insurance policies available for just about everything. Tom Jones’ chest hair is insured for 7 million dollars, and if you go to Thailand you can purchase Thailand Riot Insurance…$10,000 max per tourist. Apparently, being trampled in a Southeast Asian country is not as catastrophic as an aging sex symbol developing Alopecia.

Homeowners Insurance is something that most people grumble about paying into, and never getting anything back. From someone that had their house burn down (2001), I can tell you, that unlike life insurance, you can not only recover, but benefit from having paid for insurance.

Look at it like this, regarding “things” not people, there will be two outcomes for everyone that pays Homeowners Insurance: 1. They never must suffer the traumatic experience and they still have all the heirlooms and memories they treasure, or 2. They lose the things of the past and replace them with all new items. There are upsides for everyone depending on how you look at it. (I’d like to put a plug in for Prudential…they were terrific).

Your home insurance is based on the value of your home and its contents. The more expensive the home, the more the policy will cost based on ability to pay.  The more expensive the home, the higher the income. The percentage of insurance to income is no doubt very close regardless of income bracket. Another thing in common…the homes are just as valuable to each person, no matter a castle or a cottage.

Health insurance is like homeowner’s insurance, in that everyone values their health and the condition of their body, since it is the only home they have for their spirit. This does not mean that one person’s body has greater value than another person’s. The only difference is income and ability to pay.

Why not develop a program where everyone pays the same percentage of their income into Medicare?  Unlike today’s system there will be no loopholes, tax breaks or extra deductions. Everyone pays the same percentage, cut and dry. Everyone gets whatever coverage they need for the unanticipated.

The argument that GOP supporters of the Trump Care bill give is that people can CHOOSE to buy insurance and are not forced to buy insurance they don’t need. They propose that the people that need insurance the most, should be the ones to pay for it.  (Now that’s a Christian concept if ever I heard one!)

Spoiler alert…it’s tough to sign up for insurance in the emergency room.

For those that have little or no income, they would be able to pull from the pool for coverage…we could call it Medicaid.

I know, I know the Healthcare issue isn’t quite that simple, but I also know it doesn’t need to be as complicated as it’s seems to have gotten.

And, for my friends living around Area 51, there is an insurance for you.

Alien abduction, impregnation and consumption: $1.5 million
There are over 20,000 people in the US alone who pay a premium for insurance against alien abduction. Hopefully the impregnated are not planning to use Planned Parenthood. The consumption coverage…well, that’s a tough one to prove.

If I ruled the country I would immediately call a joint session of Congress. Once everyone is seated I will begin to speak.

“Fellow Human Beings, I want you each to consider yourselves just that.  Equalize yourself to the people you represent and whose future you will impact. There are no Political Parties here, at least not regarding the topic of Healthcare.

This isn’t a competition to see whose name is on the Bill and or which Party won.

Let me make this very clear…we do not want Obama Care, or Trump Care, or GOP Care or DNC Care. We want Jane and John Doe Care.

Take every person out of their environment and line them up wearing only the same drab colored gowns. Note, they have all different medical conditions both good and bad. Not equal in what they need to help their body survive life’s journey.

Now, have the Spirit of each person step forward and outside their bodies. Look up and down the line and you’ll see that God’s greatest creation has total equality. Not one of those spirits is loved more than or less than every other spirit in existence by Him. Not one better or worse than all the others. And that applies Universally.

If you have Faith, as you all claim you do, you believe that the Ultimate decision maker is God. Talk about Veto power!!!Yikes!

He will be watching to see how we treat our fellow “equal” spirits when they return to the vessels they were given at birth.

The “Doe Bill” must put in place a system that will help us equalize the vessels as best we can. We must all master the art of seeing the spirit inside and developing the Doe Bill from there.

Starting today, there will be no more Congressional time spent on “revisions and repealing” the status quo regarding Health Care.

In two days, I want a committee formed that will travel to Australia and spend two weeks studying their Universal Healthcare Program.  (It’s funded by their Medicare…ironic) This totally bipartisan group  will look at what works, and what hasn’t.

This Committee will be comprised of 9 people. There will be a Senator, Representative and State Governor from each party, DNC, GOP and IND.

While they’re gone, a similar Committee will be formed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of our existing program.

In two weeks, we’ll meet here again and listen to the reports from both Committees. Creation of the “Doe Bill” will be done in the next two weeks using the information gleaned by the two committees. but expedited…and not behind closed doors.

Any amendments must be made during these two weeks before the Final Bill’s presentation.

The Bill will be ready to be created,  presented, debated and voted upon within a month.

While these 18 people are working on that, the rest of you get back to work on ways to improve your constituents lives without getting distracted with the Russian debacle. There are experts working on that.

And remember, there will be a day that each of you will put this Bill on God’s desk for approval. Give Him one He’ll sign.

If I ruled the Country…Yikes…I’m just starting!

Gun control is an issue that truly challenges my sense of logic. I do not understand how so many people have legal access to weapons and go on to commit murder. The vetting system must be very similar to the one used to select Trump’s administration and cabinet.

I am not opposed to gun ownership for hunting that is legalized. The “hunter and gatherer” instinct is one that I really appreciate in those that still feel its call. My favorite uncle was a Game Warden in the Black Hills of SD. He had a gun for every season.

He never used a semi-automatic rifle when hunting Bambi’s dad, and he never quieted Thumper with a gun that had a silencer. He entered the “hunt” with an appropriate weapon for hunting the “in season” prey. His favorite part was hunting on “their turf” and absorbing the nature around him. It was as fair a fight as he could create.

As a true hunter, his goal was to bring home the venison and he did, which we all enjoyed…in many forms…for a very long time.

I would never want to take this experience from anyone. Think about it. If we didn’t kill the deer, we’d be watching “Planet of the Elk”.

His job was that of an “Animal & Nature Cop”.  His responsibility was protecting endangered plants, sites and animals. I’m thinkin’ we should add Human Beings to that “Endangered Species List”.

As for self-defense, I again just believe we must re-evaluate not eliminate this “right” and reason to own a gun. When the authors of the Second Amendment in The Bill of Rights wrote it, they were in a different time and a different world. In today’s world, they may have qualified which “arms” you could own and required you to take the CLEE test before issuing you a license.

CLEE is an anagram for Compassion, Logic, Education and Experience. It’s a test that is conceptually mine, and still needs creation and legislation.  I believe if someone scores 80% or above in at least 3 of these categories, they’ll probably be approved.

The Education and Experience segments are questions specific to whatever it is that you are getting a license for. (ex: Do you know how to use a gun? and, What have you done with guns before?). The Compassion and Logic are general human nature questions (ex: Do you value human life? and, Why is is bad to hurt other people?).

The way the world is going, we may need this test for drivers licenses too.

This makes sense to me more than whatever the system is now. I don’t want to take people’s gun rights away, I just want the right people to get them.

I know my concept has an ice cube’s chance in Hell to ever  materialize under Trump. Face it, if there’d been a CLEE test for “presidential candidates” he would’ve scored low, if at all, in all categories.  Regardless, , he still may have gone on to get elected…while we waited for him to release his test results.

The Bizzarro world that we’ve been living in for two plus years is beginning to implode before our very eyes.

The members of the Trump brigade are scrambling for lawyers. I believe that both the Russian and the financial investigations, plus the discoveries involved that are surfacing, how shall we say, “are concerning”. It should be easier for them to find legal beagles now that Donald has put 46 Attorney Generals on the “Available for Revenge” list.

When Trump took on Comey and the FBI, he made a big mistake. He’s obviously never watched “The Untouchables”. As I watched Comey testify, I felt like Grace Kelly watching Gary Cooper walk down the street in “High Noon”.  (I know, I know, but life to me is theater, and I like to recast sometimes).

Corruption aside, what other collateral damage will be created in the wake of Trump’s “pass through power”? How many regulations, that he’s eliminated, will be fought for again after another victim dies from neglect? How many people will regress into misery, and for how long, before we recognize it again and fight for their right of spiritual and human equality…again?!

As I am writing this, he is installing bans on Cuba. You know, the good thing that Obama was involved with. That country must feel like they’re holding a daisy, and now it’s “love me not”. There’s so much work ahead of us.

Add to this the shooting at the Congressional baseball practice. The revelation for our Congressional members was that they REALLY are one of US! What was an isolated incident for them, is the daily existence for far too many people in our country. Now maybe they will reconsider some of their votes regarding gun regulation…or the lack of it.

Maybe if we cut their healthcare like they propose to do to us, they would be holding a fundraiser to help cover Steve Scalise’s medical bills because the deductible is more than his family could afford.

Or we could really hit them below the belt and move their parents into assisted living situations, even if it was only to have the one meal they will eat each day, cease to exist.

We could require that all the property that they and their family  reside in, or purchase, is located on shorelines only.  Can you say depreciation?

Yes, we could see the compassion in their eyes and see the oneness that they all felt. The image of all the Who’s circling the WhoVille Christmas tree singing and swaying hand-in-hand came to mind. I DO so hope it’s solid and has permanence.

But I’ve been fooled before. I felt the same cumbia when the Pope was here. That seems to have faded into fairy dust.

I do believe that this is the time in History when the festering pimple will pop. There is no option, the world is going through a metamorphosis, led by our country. We are responsible for the consequences of his impulsive, megalomaniac behavior… because it’s IN OUR NAME!

SO, let’s hope that this attitude of unity and good for everyone does become the norm. That we can come closer to a culture that believes that life, and the quality of that life is far more important than any profit or bottom line…or Party line. We’ll be watching.

I want to leave you with something that should be required viewing by anyone in a position of leadership. It’s from 1940 and worth every one of the 4 minutes in length.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8HdOHrc3OQ

The title of this post is the English pronunciation of the Russian word for “Gas lighting”, and this is what I witnessed in the Megan Kelly interview with Putin.

Although we’ve been witnessing it here on the home front for far too long, it was interesting to see how Putin tried to pull it off. I’d give him a 4.5 on a scale of 10.

There is no sincerity behind his eyes. The next time you get a chance to watch him speak, note that his eyes are one-dimensional. They are flat and dull, with no spirit showing through. It’s like his corneas are made of darkened auto glass…he can see out, but we cannot see who is behind the glass.

His responses were not surprising.

In my February post “Gaslighting Alert” I listed the 11 tactics that are used by people who are using this method of control. As a reminder, here they are again:

1. They tell blatant lies
2. They deny they ever said something even though you have proof
3. They use what is near and dear to you as ammunition.
4. They wear you down over time
5. Their actions do not match their words
6. They throw in positive reinforcements to confuse you
7. They know confusion weakens people
8. They project
9. They try to align people against you
10. They tell you or others that you are crazy
11. They tell you everyone else is a liar

Sound familiar? Recently, Trump has called the Democrats ,obstructionists. This is an example where #8 from the list comes into play

8. They project. They are a drug user or a cheater, yet they are constantly accusing you of that. This is done so often that you start trying to defend yourself, and are distracted from the gaslighter’s own behavior.

Every time you see a headline generated by the present White House, it will be done to draw our attention away from the Russian connection investigation. Do they lie? No, they give alternative facts.

One new gaslight attempt is taking the “Immigration Ban” to the Supreme Court. Can’t wait to see how the Trump gang tries to convince us, and the Judges themselves, that the members of the highest court in the country are crazy…bigly.

The newest distraction item is privatizing the country’s Airports and Air Traffic Controllers. Ignoring the fiasco that resulted the in the 1981 Air Traffic Controllers strike, the only result he sees is the “bottom line”.

The biggest illusion that is being forced upon us is that Trump’s actions are Politically motivated for the betterment of America, or in his words to “Make America great, again”. What is truly happening, before our very eyes, is that the country is being moved from a Political machine to a Business venture.

Every defense that he and his pundits have offered for his actions always come down to money. He and many of his supporters, excluding anyone with a blue-collar, are purely about the “bottom line”.

As people in the world are dying, starving, struggling on a planet that desperately needs our attention for its mere existence, he has the audacity to ask Congress for 1.6 billion dollars for the Wall. (The great negotiator lost that one with Mexico.) You add to that the “bottom line” of keeping 3 White Houses and those to me are glimpses of his true priorities.

When you consider that he has cut “Meals on Wheels” by 3 billion dollars, you realize that “the common good” is not a concept that he is capable of understanding.

To conclude, I’ll remind you of a few things:

• Putin and Trump undoubtedly have a bond like two vampires feeding off each other. Trump is seeking money and notoriety while Putin’s goal is power and control. They seem to be providing what the other one needs to obtain their trophies.
• Steve Bannon is working behind the scenes to de-construct the Washington DC political machine, which is happening while we watch. The important thing is how it is restructured.
• This entire “gig” as President will end for Trump when, the writing is on the wall and he files “bankruptcy”. He will walk away with more money and notoriety than he deserves. Just another business venture that didn’t pan out.
• Finally, and most importantly, God will never ask “Was it profitable?” His question will be “How many lives did you benefit?” We just need to remember that Donald doesn’t think he must answer to anyone.