For those who like to share

The GOP will be thrilled to hear that. Third party candidates put Trump in office.

I know. The future looks bleak for democracy!

I know. The future looks bleak for democracy!

There's no requirement in democracy to have any more than one party. Americans just prefer lots of choices even if two are viable and any others are pipe dreams.

Been thinking about relationships and what we allow to influence them negatively. Since I retired I feel certain relationships have grown distant. Other relationships have become strained because of opinions. Even others become difficult because of a comment that didn't come out right or that was taken differently than was intended.
I value all my relationships even when there is disagreement over a subject. We get to choose what we get offended by, we can choose to allow it to damage our relationship or move on from what has offended us.


Some of the things that will damage my relationship with people is breaking trust. I see this a lot when folks feel as though there was a bond. Politics is a good example. I know folks who voted for President Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, who think I was wrong for my 3rd Party Vote in that election. Folks just can't understand. The thing is, I am just as perplexed by their vote. I shared the other day some very hard truths about Former President Trump that I believed and was castigated for understanding this and still voting 3rd party. Although I certainly did not like my vote I would have hated myself for voting differently. My attitude about politics started to move more middle of the road when we invaded Iraqi. I hadn't voted for a Democrat for President up to that time. My positions changed. I liked programs that helped people go to work and make a positive impact. President Clinton had a program that for me was one of them. President Bush when he took office canceled it. I used to believe we shouldn't be in places we aren't wanted or appreciated but being the tip of the spear to protect our homeland is important and if it means helping places like Germany, Japan and South Korea remain safe then so be it. I used to believe in trickle down economics but now am leaning more to a Flat tax mentality with no tax breaks for anyone including businesses. I believe in Social Security and Medicare and "Obamacare". I believe that Ameicans should make their own products and not get them from overseas and I drive a Toyota. I believe is a Strong Defense and support Cops but like in everything there has to be accountability. I believe Black Lives Matter not because they are black, because they are people. I believe in the Constitution of the United States and that it is a living document and as Jefferson said can change with the times. I believe that ANTIFA does more harm for their cause than good. I believe January 6th was an insurrection and that we as a Nation are fortunate there was restraint by the Capitol Police. I think if we can arrest over 500 people for the that riot we should hold people accountable for riots in our cities.


I tell people that it doesn't bother me what others think of me or what I believe. It has taken me 61 years to evolve to where I am. I don't go out of my way to kick sand in people's faces, call them names or goad them into a debate. I can't worry about your belief system or who you vote for. I am not looking for bringing people together or changing their perspective. What I can do is tell you why I am doing something. If that influences you great, but if not so be it.

Been thinking about relationships and what we allow to influence them negatively. Since I retired I feel certain relationships have grown distant. Other relationships have become strained because of opinions. Even others become difficult because of a comment that didn't come out right or that was taken differently than was intended.
I value all my relationships even when there is disagreement over a subject. We get to choose what we get offended by, we can choose to allow it to damage our relationship or move on from what has offended us.


Some of the things that will damage my relationship with people is breaking trust. I see this a lot when folks feel as though there was a bond. Politics is a good example. I know folks who voted for President Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, who think I was wrong for my 3rd Party Vote in that election. Folks just can't understand. The thing is, I am just as perplexed by their vote. I shared the other day some very hard truths about Former President Trump that I believed and was castigated for understanding this and still voting 3rd party. Although I certainly did not like my vote I would have hated myself for voting differently. My attitude about politics started to move more middle of the road when we invaded Iraqi. I hadn't voted for a Democrat for President up to that time. My positions changed. I liked programs that helped people go to work and make a positive impact. President Clinton had a program that for me was one of them. President Bush when he took office canceled it. I used to believe we shouldn't be in places we aren't wanted or appreciated but being the tip of the spear to protect our homeland is important and if it means helping places like Germany, Japan and South Korea remain safe then so be it. I used to believe in trickle down economics but now am leaning more to a Flat tax mentality with no tax breaks for anyone including businesses. I believe in Social Security and Medicare and "Obamacare". I believe that Ameicans should make their own products and not get them from overseas and I drive a Toyota. I believe is a Strong Defense and support Cops but like in everything there has to be accountability. I believe Black Lives Matter not because they are black, because they are people. I believe in the Constitution of the United States and that it is a living document and as Jefferson said can change with the times. I believe that ANTIFA does more harm for their cause than good. I believe January 6th was an insurrection and that we as a Nation are fortunate there was restraint by the Capitol Police. I think if we can arrest over 500 people for the that riot we should hold people accountable for riots in our cities.


I tell people that it doesn't bother me what others think of me or what I believe. It has taken me 61 years to evolve to where I am. I don't go out of my way to kick sand in people's faces, call them names or goad them into a debate. I can't worry about your belief system or who you vote for. I am not looking for bringing people together or changing their perspective. What I can do is tell you why I am doing something. If that influences you great, but if not so be it.

So this is the thing. Most of society will agree on more things about life and purpose than disagree but then when we talk about politics all bets are off. The two party politics that is supposed be about checks and balances on power, between we the people and government, has become dysfunctional and that has changed us. Both political parties want power and to keep power. So depending on our perspective as a part of society and our own individual values and needs we are never going to agree on everything which is okay. What is not okay is when we lose respect for each other because of our different perspectives. When Obama was elected President there was a small group of republicans that formed the tea party. The tea party did not believe in democracy. They believed that compromise (which is another way of saying checks and balances) no longer works for them and set out to completely change the dynamics of a working congress. You were either with them or against them. Their motto was lock and load and take no prisoners. That was the beginning of the end of our democracy. Trump not only took advantage of what the tea party started but his whole life was exactly that same very flawed belief that democracy is too slow to be effective and would require him to share the wealth instead of concentrating wealth. Matt was right. We only need one political party to have a democracy but in my opinion I believe that humans are flawed and giving one party complete power is too much risk. So I decided that my vote really does matter after Bush vs Gore. I would love to have many choices from which to choose a representative of my values but I don't. Those 7 bankruptcies, the things Trump said about women and the way he talked more about himself than anything else seemed obvious that he was not someone we could trust with power. Then the obvious suddenly became a nightmare for democracy. I started finding myself losing respect for people including many in my own family. Well, that is a miserable place to be and life is short so I spent a lot of time trying to figure it all out. I started with posting in this forum during the discussions about the Confederate flag and I found a lot of disrespectful behavior including myself. I would accuse others of being disrespectful and yet I was doing the same thing. I finally figured out there is a better way. Listen, learn and then respond. I am not that good at it but I have learned from you, Poppaj and many others who I respectfully disagree with sometimes. I also may not always understand but when we have respect for each other it is okay because we can keep listening and learning and sometimes changing our minds about something. I want better relationships with people and I accept responsibility for my failures in communication. I believe in democracy and unity and checks and balances. My wife not so jokingly told me one time that I may want to be a peacemaker but I am a warrior at heart. Well, I am using that as a challenge to try and be something I am not but what are the chances

Do you believe that Trump was responsible for the insurrection and if so should he be arrested? Do you believe that the election was fraudulent and Trump really won? Do you believe that the new republican party passes voting legislation that is good for democracy or undermines our democracy? These are a few of the questions that I ask those that voted against Joe Biden. I am just trying to learn and I promise you I trust and respect whatever your answers are.

I didn't write this.

"Transactional relationships are built on the expectation for reciprocation. Both individuals are concerned with how they will benefit. ... Within a transactional relationship, bonds are broken the moment one party does not hold up their end. For this reason, these relationships tend to be fragile and do not last." I didn't write this but was looking for the definition when I found it.

I don't know anything really about transactional relationships but I do know when someone is being disrespectful. I put a lot of effort in being respectful. I don't always get it right but the effort is important. When I don't understand the thought process of what causes people to vote a certain way I ask questions. I am very interested and want to understand. You can take a person's word or you can reject it. You can accept that humans are flawed or have unrealistic expectations. In other words it is a choice to be fragile and end a conversation or to take the risk to grow and benefit socially. You do not have to answer my questions but I promise you when you ask me a question I will try my very best to think about it and answer it truthfully and honestly.

It is odd how some attitudes change about a topic when it hits close to home. I have met folks who were adamant about a topic or issue until it affected them or those close to them personally. It wasn't that they didn't see what was going on around them, it seems that like all of us, we take the attitude it will never affect me or if it does it won't be as bad as it has been for someone else. We can cast aspersions towards the perceived cause or the possible answer. It is almost biblical. People mocking those who are there to warn of the coming. Denying the opportunity that is set in front of them because "our belief system" isn't ready to buy in or accept it.

Yes indeed it is. I have family members who refused to get the vaccine...until a close friend of the family in his 50's died of Covid just this week. They are now getting the vaccine even though I have been explaining the science, explaining the math and explaining what the greater good actually means. I failed in reaching them but death got their attention. I want to say to them that maybe just maybe their attitude contributed to this death but I won't. They are hurting and even though they have hurt themselves and others I will find a way to forgive their behavior in refusing to wear mask and refusing to get the vaccine. They have told me to my face that it is all a hoax and I am just a sheep for believing in fake news. Yet I love them all dearly and want them to be safe...

Afghanistan
Seeing some of the images from Afghanistan and reading a variety of thoughts about what is occurring. I get that this is President Bidens withdrawal now and I also remember that President Trump was going to do it had he been reelected. I think about those my Country has lost and the money we spent to occupy and the money we spent to train the Afghani military. I see the images of people running down the runway, many appear to be young men. It bothers me that the Afghan military couldn't do their job. It bothers me that people would rather leave their country than fight for it. What I see there is the people of Afghanistan have come to believe in a mentality of entitlement, that my Country was somehow obligated to provide for their security and if that wasn't going to occur those folks would just leave. Do I feel we have an obligation to those in Afghanistan. There are some I think we should help, those who assisted my Country in various ways. But I will say this, if they were patriots, they would stay and fight for their lands. This seems about par for the course with our attempts at nation building. Seems we have done it multiple times with limited success. I understand why my country went there. But folks today want to have issue with the exit. Did anyone really think the results would be different as for what was going to happen no matter who the President was. I thought a civil war would happen, shocked that the taliban was able to do what it did in the time they did it. Those who seem to have issue with the exit, I wonder how long they thought we should have stayed? How much more we should have expended? How many more we should have been willing to sacrifice? I have no doubt at some point we may be engaged in that country again. What I hope though is that we do what needs to be done and get out. I wonder if we had taught the man to fish rather than gave him a fish if the outcome would have been different. I may be wrong in my assumption that we did most of the heavy lifting but with the speed the taliban took control you have to wonder what they learned.

Nation building is a fools game. Bootstraps is the only sustainable way and that may not be possible in the modern era. America slid through the closing doors on that one a couple hundred years and change ago. The lives lost and $273,000,000 per day by one estimate calculated using 20 years and 2 trillion dollars. Ludicrous sums. Gotta have ludicrous sums to hide the graft and sticky fingers though.

It doesn't bother me that people would rather leave their country than fight for it, I just think they could have started the process a lot sooner. The writing has been on the wall for more than a few years.

The fact that there was no civil war means that our exit was correct. Biden's words sometimes are off the mark but I give him strong leadership ability credits because this was the right thing to do. The bottom line is that the Taliban is the dominant force and 20 years of American intervention could not fix that. Biden will suffer politically for those images because media is very poor at anything but sensationalism. I would even give Trump credit for getting us out of there. That said, I can not imagine what the Afghan women will suffer through. That culture is abusive to women. Culture is a powerful force. I have no answers for what it takes to correct cultural flaws like that. I wish I believed in miracles...

The fact that there was no civil war means that our exit was correct. Biden's words sometimes are off the mark but I give him strong leadership ability credits because this was the right thing to do. The bottom line is that the Taliban is the dominant force and 20 years of American intervention could not fix that. Biden will suffer politically for those images because media is very poor at anything but sensationalism. I would even give Trump credit for getting us out of there. That said, I can not imagine what the Afghan women will suffer through. That culture is abusive to women. Culture is a powerful force. I have no answers for what it takes to correct cultural flaws like that. I wish I believed in miracles...

Reading various reactions it seems many religious right wing zealots are somewhat jealous and inspired by the Afghan situation.
Also, is the America first movement over?

Reading various reactions it seems many religious right wing zealots are somewhat jealous and inspired by the Afghan situation.
Also, is the America first movement over?

People who are jealous and inspired by the Afghan situation may be zealots but are not right wing religious people in my observations. Probably more closely related to anarchist.

People who are jealous and inspired by the Afghan situation may be zealots but are not right wing religious people in my observations. Probably more closely related to anarchist.

There is a history of zealots that were Christian. Group such as ANTIFA and BLM have been considered anarchist and if you were to take a survey of all those who stormed the Congress Jan 6th, I bet they would identify as Christian.

There is a history of zealots that were Christian. Group such as ANTIFA and BLM have been considered anarchist and if you were to take a survey of all those who stormed the Congress Jan 6th, I bet they would identify as Christian.

Doing god’s will. Just ask pillow man who guides him.

Doing god’s will. Just ask pillow man who guides him.

Of course there are religious zealots like pillowman but extremism exist in almost all groups of people whether right or left. My point is the people I know who are religious are extremely upset by this (my observation). I understand what you are saying trust me but I am trying not to blame everything on one group of people when there are multiple layers of corruption in society.

Of course there are religious zealots like pillowman but extremism exist in almost all groups of people whether right or left. My point is the people I know who are religious are extremely upset by this (my observation). I understand what you are saying trust me but I am trying not to blame everything on one group of people when there are multiple layers of corruption in society.

The biggest fear mongers of sharia law are the same ones pushing for Christian law. I see little difference.

The biggest fear mongers of sharia law are the same ones pushing for Christian law. I see little difference.

I see a difference but I am not condoning the group calling themselves Christians while fear mongering and worse. There are many parts of society with entitled behaviors that hurt others. All I am saying is that we should probably clean around our own backdoor before casting stones. I get that you are not inhibited from throwing stones but for many reasons I believe that the act itself of calling out specific groups may not lead to the desired results. We disagree I know.

I see a difference but I am not condoning the group calling themselves Christians while fear mongering and worse. There are many parts of society with entitled behaviors that hurt others. All I am saying is that we should probably clean around our own backdoor before casting stones. I get that you are not inhibited from throwing stones but for many reasons I believe that the act itself of calling out specific groups may not lead to the desired results. We disagree I know.

I like to identify the problem so I can best deal with it, but hey, you’re free to do it your way.

There are people in the County who feel that there is ongoing illegal activity in our local government.

In the past there was a supposed FBI investigation that seemed to not really uncover the public corruption people thought was here. We have folks who are doing their own investigations claiming malfeasance, corruption and the like. People seem to think Walton is the only place questionable practices occur and conspiracies are around every corner.

During the Trump administration a local lawyer was appointed as a United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Lawrence Keefe. During Mr Keefes term he seemed to have been a bulldog when it comes to the public trust. He has brought charges of public corruption to people in government to our east.

My point is, bias is a terrible thing. If you can't or haven't been able to get those authorities who could do something with the information it concerns me that the info is biased or doesn't reach the point of corruption. It is said that you can indict a ham sandwich in a Grand Jury. Now I may be surprised in the next year but if the past is any indication there is probably a better chance for a lawsuit than a Federal Indictment.

Larry very much tried to root out public corruption. Unfortunately what people think is public corruption and what IS public corruption are two very different things.

The only thing that the last FBI probe uncovered was that Suzanne Harris is an older woman with a penchant for young men.

Unfortunately for many new comers they are discovering an old adage many small town southerners already know, if you have a small population there's a good chance that everyone in town is related. Does that lend itself to corruption? Not if you look to the East, not one of those accused is related and most aren't originally from here.

Once again people want to arm chair quarterback county government and won't get involved.

I'm still waiting for the huge reduction in Mosquito District Fees the last election promised.

I laugh a little when someone complains about government and they live in a neighborhood with an HOA.

Larry very much tried to root out public corruption.

Agree. Larry very much tried to root out others' public corruption.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “In a free society with a government based on reason, it is inevitable that there will be no uniform opinion about important issues. Those accustomed to suppression and control by governmental authority see this as leading only to chaos. But a government of the people requires difference of opinion in order to discover truth and to take advantage of the opportunity that only understanding brings.”