If I was a Juror I would find Rittenhouse guilty!

 My two cents -

as a Security Tech and a ex Navy Master at Arms,

I say without a doubt that Kyle Rittenhouse is guilty of murder.

For one he lied about being an EMT,

he lied about protecting a business,

a business he knew nothing about,

he was not even from Kenoshi WI,

in fact he was from a different state IL,

he illegally obtained the semi automatic AR15

which he used in the murders,

he had no business being there at the BLM protest

and no business carrying the AR15,

he brought it there looking for trouble,

he put down a fire extinguisher he was carrying

and pointed the weapon at innocent bystanders,

therefore he became the aggressor threatening them,

and the bystanders became the victims,

the bystanders were the ones that became the defenders,

and Rittenhouse could therefore no longer claim self defense.

It was murder plain and simple!

He murdered two people and wounded another.

Guilty as charged.

And that is "my two cents".

Break down of the 3 day Halloween Holiday:

 

October 31st - All Hallows Eve (Halloween)

November 1st - Hallowmas (Souling)

November 2nd - All Souls Day (Day to honor the dead)

On All Hallows Eve in America the children go out for

tricks or treats; but in the ancient Celtic times of Ireland

it was the feast day of Samhain - day of the harvest.

On Hallowmas in Gaelic Ireland the children went out for souling -

begging for food to give to the poor families of the village.

Today in America the Catholic Church made it All Saints Day -

to honor all the saints of old.

On All Souls day it is a tradition to wear costume to disguise

one self to avoid the evil spirits as one honors the dead

of those family members whom have passed.

My wife and I go visit the graves on this day.

In Ireland Halloween is a week long holiday with fireworks;

and kids are off from school.

3

Thankful for my Life

 Today I am thankful for my life.

For it has been good and bad,

but through my journeys in karate,

the navy, and in life itself;

the bad times made me stronger.

I wanted to be an artist go to Blackhawk College for my AA,

go to the Chicago Art institute for my BA,

and go to the University of Prague for my MA;

but instead I joined the Navy served on a Battleship,

held three ratings a Boatswains mate, Cook, and Master at Arms,

traveled the world, explored, met different people,

learned about different cultures.

While I was in I earned 3 associates degrees AS Culinary Arts,

AAS General Education, and a AA in Business.

When I got out I earned a BA in Art from WIU,

a BA in Theology, and a MA in Sociology.

I got married before my first cross rate to MS

at an apple orchard in Stanwood Washington.

Which we, Jill and I, are still married today after 30 years.

We had Timmy and Kenny who grew up in a happy home.

Then on top of that I had a long karate journey

which started at age 10.

A karate journey full of struggles as a strived to learn basics, techniques, forms and kata's.

From my white belt through the kyu ranks and to my dan ranks

I keep going up through my promotions in spite of many injuries

acquired in the navy and in the martial arts,

now at a 9th dan red belt I strive to complete the circle to my

10th dan grandmasters white belt;

starting with white ending with white - full circle.

And in life itself as I have been bullied, called names, put down,

stepped on, overcoming death of a son, a house fire, been in fights,

been kicked, beaten, knocked unconscious, fought in combat,

been injured, knocked down a ladderwell, yet always overcame.

No matter the curve balls of life, the anger, frustration, pain,

I came out strong; and now on a new journey as my wife and I prepare to move to New Mexico

and start the last chapter of

our life's as we retire, travel the states and the world together,

and one day raise horses on our ranch.

And hope my legacy will live on.

Today I am thankful for my life.

#ThankfulThursday

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We are too polarized in America!

 We are too polarized in America; 
can we get our unity back? 
By: Timothy L. Kerofsky, MA

2021 - 

Climate change deniers!

Hate and division!

Way too far right or left!

Anti vaxxers! 

Covid conspiracies! 

Parents yelling at other parents because their kids wear a mask!

What has happened to America? 

The simple answer really is FOX news and the lies being spread. 

But goes deeper than that. 

As a man with a MA in Sociology I do agree that social division is rooted in 
not just our history,        
but in the history of the world and how man has evolved. 
And hatred is rooted, many times, in the way we are raised. 
As a toddler we do not see black or white, Hispanic, Indian, or what not; 
we just see another toddler, 
yet our parents teach us to hate. 

They teach us the color differences and prejudices. 
Now with that said, the Christian church teaches us to 

love one another and respect one another.

Jesus teaches us to love thy neighbor as our self. 
Yet society, sadly, has always been divided, full of hatred, 

and war as nations battled one another for land, power, greed, monies, and oil.                       
And the slaughter of many Indians in the Republic of  the United States of America. 

Here is a bit of history...

1492 - Columbus sailed with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria under the orders of                                  Queen Isabella. 

1619 - The first settlers came to Jamestown and brought slaves to America. 

1622 - Jamestown Massacre 

1644 - Powatan Massacre 

1675 - Great Swamp Massacre 

1676 - Turner Falls Massacre 

1704 - Apache Massacre 

1704 - Deerefield Massacre 

1830 - Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act 

1890 - Wounded Knee Massacre 

In the beginning of the creation of America, we came here 

and slaughtered the Indian natives. 
We, I mean the Colonial Americans, are really the first terrorists. 

Then from the beginning of Colonial America we had slavery of the blacks 

until Abraham Lincoln freed them after our civil war in 1865. 

Like I said racism, division, and hate as always been rooted in our history. 

Then after the Civil War we held the blacks back with laws that 

 prevented them from owning land and they were still forced to do slave work.                                  

Than later in the 1960's were the Jim Crow Laws separating whites and blacks.                                      

It was not until 1964 until the Civil Rights Act was signed by Lyndon Baines Johnson. 

This was supposed to unite the nation, 

but we were really not united until, sadly, the fall of the twin towers of 9/11

and the terrorists attacks on our nation in which we started treating the Muslins badly;

blaming them for the attacks, though really we should not have treated them bad

for it was not Saddam Hassan, but Usama Bin Laden funded by Saudi Arabia. 

Muslims are not to blame, they really are a peaceful religion. Anyway...  

In 1917 we became a warring nation and have been since. 

World War 1, 2, Korea, Vietnam, War on Terror, etc. 

Sadly now we are completely divided again 

and we went backwards under the tyranny of Trump. 

Germany had its dictator of Hitler from 1936 to 1942,

We have our dictator of Trump from when he took power in 2016;

which he is still hurting this country today even after being twice impeached;

and under a new president, Joe Biden, who is trying to unite us again;

and bring back our nation - building it back better.

He, Trump, used FOX news and people like Tucker Carlson 

who still gets away with spewing hate, lies, fake conspiracies, 

and stirs up anger and division. 

Tucker is the reason for much of the hate and anger today; 

the reason for the Covid conspiracies, 

for parents yelling at other parents for kids wearing masks, 

and the reason for much of the anti vax conspiracies.

He should be banned from FOX; 

in fact FOX news should be shut down and banned!

Trump spread his hate, bullying, fake conspiracies theories, propaganda, and such

on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. 

He spread fake conspiracies on Obama's birther movement, 

on the Covid crises which now over 600 thousand died 

(which makes Trump a murderer, like Hitler was in my book),

and with the Climate change and denying.

He was finally banned on Twitter and Facebook for life, 

but still spreads his lies, fake conspiracies, and propaganda with his rallies,

sadly millions of people still follow him. 

Instead of following him, follow Jesus, follow Jehovah, 

follow someone who is Christ-like. Trump is not Christ-like. 

If you believe in or follow Trump than you are not Christ-like;

If you follow him, you follow evil, hate, lies, bullying -

these things are not Christ-like!

To be Christ-like is to be like Jesus!

Is to be kind, caring, giving, 

is to stand up for others and what is right. 

It is not about greed or monies which Trump values. 

If we are ever to be reunited, instead of divided again; 

we have to come back under a common cause, 

but not in war - we had enough war. 

As a 26 year combat veteran I fought enough. 

When President Biden brought the troops home from Afghanistan

(though I do not agree on how he brought them home, 

I am not here today to debate that)

I cheered, because we do not need any more wars.  

It is time to bring our nation back and be an example for the world again.

It is time to get the infrastructure bill passed, the build back better act passed,

the climate change action with greener new jobs, and for the people act passed. 

As a Progressive Democrat I feel not even the 3.5 trillion is enough. 

It just chips away a bit, especially for the climate change in like Greta Thunburg says -

we need action now and Bernie Sanders says - time is running out.

We Democrats and the Republicans are in agreement with the infrastructure;

but with the other programs like free community college, child care, elderly care, 

housing, family leave, universal pre K, homeless shelters, and such 

the GOP calls socialism. There is nothing wrong with these programs. 

If we want to move this country forward we need programs like this. 

Canada, Qatar, Sweden, New Zealand, and the UK have programs as such. 

Not every American is a multi millionaire or a billionaire Senator or Congressman. 

We common people vote them in to fight for us, to have programs to better our lives.

Many hard working Americans can barely pay for housing or rent, 

yet alone put food on the table for the kids or families. 

A point I made in a blog before - 

Dwight D. Eisenhower had the corporate tax rate at 68%.

He used this tax rate to build the interstate highway system. 

Yet since then the infrastructure has been crumbling around us. 

We never really had a plan in place to rebuild our roads and bridges since then. 

All Biden wants to do is raise the corporate tax rate 5 points 

and have corporations pay their fair share. 

Many corporations cover up their monies and pay little or no taxes (Pandora Papers),

while a teenager flipping burgers at BK pays more taxes than a billionaire does. 

This is not right! (I am doing a blog on this on other post). 

My friends congress itself is much too divided. 

If they, especially the GOP, cannot come together for a common cause 

and pass these Climate Change Bills, Build Back Better Act, 

and the For the People Act passed; 

how are we ever going to get reunited?  

The bible says - 

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of JHVH (God);

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: 
from such turn away."

2 Timothy 3:1-5 KJB (1611) 

Sadly I believe end times like this are near,
especially if we do not unite again. 
If people keep following hate and lies,
and people like Tucker Carlson and Trump,
we shall never reunite. 
We have to settle are differences and love one another,
not hate or bully, not spread conspiracies or lies. 
Let us find our common cause in America, 
rebuild it and be good ambassadors to the world again. 
Then we can reunite. 

 

My Two Cents - Get your vaccine!

 Alright here is another "My Two Cents."

When I started elementary school I had to get mandatory vaccines,

when I joined the Navy I had to get 20 shots,

every year I get the flu shot.

Yet now people want to make the Covid vaccine political, why?

As soon as the vaccine came out I got my shots -

I got the Moderna.

Come on people get your shot and let us end this crises.

Now, I understand if one has a medical condition

which prevents them from getting the shot.

But if you do not have a valid medical condition -

get your shots.

People say that Biden cannot make shots mandatory;

yes he can - Here is a little history:

Washington (1732 - 1799) mandated small pox vaccines

for the continental army,

FDR (1833 - 1945) mandated the Polio vaccine,

Jimmy Carter mandated the nation wide vaccine program

for school children...

When the Spanish flu happened in 1918 people wore masks

covering their faces to prevent the spread.

Yet now there are anti mask protest.

What has happened to America?

The world follows us. Let us be good ambassadors again.

I tell you one thing - I would not want to be in a ships berthing

with a shipmate who is not vaccinated.

And that is "My Two Cents"

T.L. Kerofsky, MA

Some 9/11 facts:

1. 15 of the 19 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia,

yet we never set sanctions against Saudi Arabia because of oil.

(one from Lebanon, one from Pakistan, and two from Afghanistan)

2. The FBI suspected attacks were going to happen,

but there was no communication

between them, the CIA, and other agencies.

3. American flight 11 hit the North tower at 8:46 AM NYT.

4. United flight 175 hit the South Tower 17 minutes later.

5. American flight 77 hit the Pentagon at 9:36 AM Eastern time.

6. United flight 93 crashed into Shanksville field

in Pennsylvania at 1003 AM; which the Passengers on-board

stood against the terrorists and the quote "9/11 Lets Roll"

was formed and lives in history.

7. At 9:59 AM the South tower fell

and 29 minutes later the North tower fell.

8. A new organization was formed after 9/11

called the Department of Homeland Security

in which Thomas J. Ridge was the first director.

9. Bush enacted the global war on terrorism

in which troops went to Afghanistan to hunt for Bin Laden.

(And we stayed there for 20 years and it was all in vain,

as we sent the troops home and the Taliban took back over)

10. Obama sent seal team 6 in to kill Bin Laden

on May 2nd, 2011.

11. The Iraq war really had nothing to do with 9/11.

It was based on lies and falsehoods on

Weapons of Mass Destruction which was never found.

A little history on 9-1-1:

 

Osama Bin Laden hated us since we used the

sacred soil in Saudi Arabia to defend the Saudis against Iraq

in the first gulf war in 1991.

The CIA was funding him and supplying him stinger missiles

to use against the Russian Red Army in the early 80's.

Yet, because of a grudge, the twin towers are no more.

In 1993 the first attempt on the twin towers failed,

so Bin Laden came up with a plot,

to kill many infidels as the radical Islam call us.

The original plan was to attack the Sears Tower in Chicago,

a nuclear plant in Texas,

and the city of Las Angeles as well.

In 1996 President Clinton sent cruise missiles

to retaliate from the 1993 attack,

to factories in Sudan and Afghanistan.

This was called - "Infinite Reach".

In 2000 there was an attack on the USS Cole DDG-67

in Aden Yemen,

in which 17 sailors were killed.

These attacks should not have happen,

for one we should have let Bin Laden

and his holy soldiers defend Saudi Arabia,

and two we had several chances to kill him.

In 1992 The CIA had a mission to kill Bin Laden,

but it was scrapped due to Bin Laden was meeting

with a Saudi Prince.

Before that Clinton scrapped another chance to kill him,

because there were children in the area.

In the Philippines in 1996 one of the terrorist lap tops

was confiscated by the Philippine National Police

with info on terrorists plots to attack several buildings

in the United States, yet it was never reported to the CIA or FBI.

Think about it. 9-1-1 should never have happened.

Then after the twin towers, the pentagon,

and the United 93 crash in the Pennsylvanian field;

President Bush enacted the War on Terrorism.

However, we lost focus on the Afghan War

and hunting for Bin Laden;

to an Iraq War, which we should not have been in,

and the fall of Saddam Hussein.

It was not until 2011 when President Obama enacted

Operation Neptune Spear;

until Bin Laden was finally killed

and justice was served.