What has America become?

[cavaliereagle]

Decav, after reading what that ass wipe wrote, I have one question. If he doesn't want an opposing viewpoint, what's to discuss?

[1 CAT FAN]

Remember Saturday morning cartoons?

The events of the day on the evening news?

Now, they're a smorgasbord on a continuous cruise ship.

Journalism has become huge in the entertainment business. "The world is your oyster." I don't care for snot, myself.

“If I were the prince of darkness, I would want to engulf the whole world in darkness. I’d have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — thee. So, I would set about however necessary to take over the United States.

“I’d subvert the churches first, and I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please.’

“To the young, I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince the children that man created God instead of the other way around. I’d confide that what’s bad is good and what’s good is square. And the old, I would teach to pray after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington ...’

“Then, I’d get organized, I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

“If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves and nations at war with themselves until each, in its turn, was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.

“If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellect but neglect to discipline emotions. I’d tell teachers to let those students run wild. And before you knew it, you’d have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. With a decade, I’d have prisons overflowing and judges promoting pornography. Soon, I would evict God from the courthouse and the schoolhouse and then from the houses of Congress. In his own churches, I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science. I’d lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money.

“If I were the devil, I’d take from those who have and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. What’ll you bet I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich?

“I’d convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun and that what you see on television is the way to be. And thus, I could undress you in public and lure you into bed with diseases for which there are no cures.

“In other words, if I were the devil, I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.”

Paul Harvey - “Now you know…the rest of the story."

[cavaliereagle]

Paul Harvey... haven't heard that name in a very long time.

[DeCav]

It’s interesting.

I was chatting with BYRNES#1 last night. I mentioned that my son who is 18 now is light years ahead of where I was when I was 18.

When I was 18, my parents had just divorced and my little brother had dropped out, was well on his way to becoming a hard and fast alcoholic, and was a prolific drug user.

I’d graduated high school easily enough but my future turned out to be no college, small menial jobs, and touring in a band that ultimately fell short of providing me any kind of income. I’d probably been an un willing witness to severally hundred house parties rife with drugs, booze, and sex. When I was 18 I had no car and wouldn’t have one for another 3 years at least. After school one day I had to take my own mother by myself to the emergency room for suicidal thoughts.

My son at 18 is on the Dean’s list in college, has a corvette, a Miata, and a motorcycle. Runs his own auto repair business, works at BMW in the rework department making the kind of money I didn’t earn until I was maybe 35 in a higly specialized trade, and he works part time at another auto shop just because they call him and he doesn’t wanna tell them no.

He’s got a stock portfolio that’s increasing in value, hasn’t been exposed daily to drugs or alcohol much less tried either of them and has never been to a party.

Asked Chris Brown if his daughter was better off now than he was at her age and he said Hell yeah, no question.

My nephews kids are gonna have a rough go at life though.

[cavaliereagle]

It’s interesting.

I was chatting with BYRNES#1 last night. I mentioned that my son who is 18 now is light years ahead of where I was when I was 18.

When I was 18, my parents had just divorced and my little brother had dropped out, was well on his way to becoming a hard and fast alcoholic, and was a prolific drug user.

I’d graduated high school easily enough but my future turned out to be no college, small menial jobs, and touring in a band that ultimately fell short of providing me any kind of income. I’d probably been an un willing witness to severally hundred house parties rife with drugs, booze, and sex. When I was 18 I had no car and wouldn’t have one for another 3 years at least. After school one day I had to take my own mother by myself to the emergency room for suicidal thoughts.

My son at 18 is on the Dean’s list in college, has a corvette, a Miata, and a motorcycle. Runs his own auto repair business, works at BMW in the rework department making the kind of money I didn’t earn until I was maybe 35 in a higly specialized trade, and he works part time at another auto shop just because they call him and he doesn’t wanna tell them no.

He’s got a stock portfolio that’s increasing in value, hasn’t been exposed daily to drugs or alcohol much less tried either of them and has never been to a party.

Asked Chris Brown if his daughter was better off now than he was at her age and he said Hell yeah, no question.

My nephews kids are gonna have a rough go at life though.

Even though you had a rough start, it looks like you still did a good job with your kids. As a father, you have to decide, the buck stops here. Your kids are a reflection of your work as a parent. I can tell, by the way my kids turned out, the ones I spent the most time with. Any time not spent with them was due to work. So, it's not as though I was doing something wrong. However, right or wrong, our kids need our time more than anything else. JMO...

[DeCav]

Yeah, I love that Andy Griffith episode. I was binging on AG while me and my wife were separated. Got to watch every one of them on Netflix in order. Great experience.

That clip is a great one. Of course I have no problem with spanking or the wood shed. I used to spank Ash when he was little. My wife felt sheer rage when I did. She said watching me hit her son made her want to murder me.

I beat him a couple of times for coloring on our carpet with permanent markers. The last time it happened it was Passion Of The Christ. No joke, I drug him out back and shut the doors to the house so my wife wouldn't see or hear him screaming.

The next time he colored on something with a marker, I realized something. Spanking wasn't working. I wasn't getting the results I needed. So I went to the library and brought home a stack of books. Poured through them until I read something and I was like, "Aha!"

Said my wife and son down and told my boy he was hence forth going to be part of a committee on his own behavior. I outlined the things he's not supposed to do and he signed on that he wasn't supposed to do them. Then I asked him what a good punishment would be that would be fair but harsh enough to discourage him from being bad. You'd think he would've picked some harmless punishment for himself.

But no...once he felt he was part of the team and on the inside of him becoming a better person, he totally engaged. Detached himself from his own self interests and really leaned into coming up with some really good ideas of his own.

Eventually I bought a digital locking cookie jar. Put his video game controller or his phone in there when he broke the rules.

I never had him throw a tantrum in front of anybody. That's for sure. Not a day in his life.

[cavaliereagle]

Yeah, I love that Andy Griffith episode. I was binging on AG while me and my wife were separated. Got to watch every one of them on Netflix in order. Great experience.

That clip is a great one. Of course I have no problem with spanking or the wood shed. I used to spank Ash when he was little. My wife felt sheer rage when I did. She said watching me hit her son made her want to murder me.

I beat him a couple of times for coloring on our carpet with permanent markers. The last time it happened it was Passion Of The Christ. No joke, I drug him out back and shut the doors to the house so my wife wouldn't see or hear him screaming.

The next time he colored on something with a marker, I realized something. Spanking wasn't working. I wasn't getting the results I needed. So I went to the library and brought home a stack of books. Poured through them until I read something and I was like, "Aha!"

Said my wife and son down and told my boy he was hence forth going to be part of a committee on his own behavior. I outlined the things he's not supposed to do and he signed on that he wasn't supposed to do them. Then I asked him what a good punishment would be that would be fair but harsh enough to discourage him from being bad. You'd think he would've picked some harmless punishment for himself.

But no...once he felt he was part of the team and on the inside of him becoming a better person, he totally engaged. Detached himself from his own self interests and really leaned into coming up with some really good ideas of his own.

Eventually I bought a digital locking cookie jar. Put his video game controller or his phone in there when he broke the rules.

I never had him throw a tantrum in front of anybody. That's for sure. Not a day in his life.

I had my boys and my nieces exercise when they misbehaved. You could tell which of my boys was the worst behaved, he was ripped from the time he was about 12/13 years old. It didn't seem to change his behavior, but he is a physical specimen. He has asthma, but he was always in so much better shape than everyone else, you hardly knew it. He has, maybe, used his inhaler 4 times in his life. I think different kids respond to different things. The cookie jar is a great idea. When I misbehave, my wife won't let me play in the cookie jar.

[DeCav]

Lots of material posted in this thread that I’m inclined to respond to.

It’s been my aim to go ahead and publish the conversations between my and this Prophet guy.

Interestingly enough I saw him get the same treatment to a good friend of his on his thread excoriating the Springsteen/Jeep commercial.

As a result I im’d that other guy to offer offer my support to his side of that debate. That guy admitted privately to me that his friend is intelligent but acts like he wants to be a cult leader.

The most recent development unfolds thus...

I’ve just been released from Facebook jail after 30 days in the hole.

While my main account was restricted I was posting under a secondary account with a pseudonym. That’s the account that got blocked by Sean Prophet.

What’s funny as Hell is that I’d told him in a PM what my real name was but he apparently forgot.

Now that my main account is back up and I’m posting again he’s come along and commented on some of my posts and been quite friendly.

My plan now is obviously not to bring up JP’s name but start feeding him JP’s quotes and ideas a little bit at a time. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.

[1 CAT FAN]

YOU tell'em "CAT" in the hat.




Dr. Seuss books are taking over Amazon's bestseller list

No. 1? "The Cat in the Hat," followed by "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" and "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/04/us/dr-se ... index.html

[1 CAT FAN]

“Show me a man that gets rich by being a politician, and I'll show you a crook.” - Harry Truman