tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-168372768067240882024-03-04T23:35:35.847-08:00Articulating IdeasJohn Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.comBlogger518125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-89224147270300071712023-12-06T13:38:00.000-08:002023-12-11T08:35:09.657-08:00How To Calculate How Long An Oxygen Tank Will Last<p> Your question. <span style="color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">how long will a b oxygen tank last with a pressure of 2000 and a liter flow of 3lpm</span></p><p>My humble answer. </p>To estimate the duration a portable oxygen tank will last, you can use the following formula:<br /><br />Duration (in hours)=Tank Pressure (in psi)×Tank Factor Flow Rate (in LPM) Duration (in hours) = Flow Rate (in LPM) Tank Pressure (in psi)×Tank Factor<br /><br />The "Tank Factor" is a constant value based on the size of the oxygen tank. For medical oxygen tanks, the typical tank factor is around 0.16. So, for a tank pressure of 2000 psi and a liter flow of 3 LPM:<br /><br />Duration=2000 psi×0.163 LPMDuration=3LPM2000psi×0.16<br /><br />Duration=3203≈106.67 hoursDuration=3320≈106.67hours<br /><br />So, the oxygen tank with a pressure of 2000 psi and a liter flow of 3 LPM would last approximately 106.67 hours. Keep in mind that this is a rough estimate, and actual duration may vary based on factors such as the tank's condition, environmental conditions, and the accuracy of the flow meter. Always consult with a healthcare professional or the oxygen supplier for precise information regarding specific oxygen equipment.John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-81059431683934472072023-12-05T11:14:00.000-08:002023-12-06T11:15:57.082-08:00I am cool, and that's not being egotystical<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzWavCjWZDdaBO3H7UOhmPWA80Tmppz-CBxG79WRCZGfQ17wiawDZ5DV5oNNtZkm6CfoBki9k4ZNNjydqdn0OhEyeOXWCmNqjS8y6CJ5ioQWpAOC41W65eYLmdeXe_ox-C0bRQlAelKWaQGjUhoyay-O0B-HvZ6NDkSvfyZYE7ljZnXWuAcn29zG1QA/s1000/cool.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzWavCjWZDdaBO3H7UOhmPWA80Tmppz-CBxG79WRCZGfQ17wiawDZ5DV5oNNtZkm6CfoBki9k4ZNNjydqdn0OhEyeOXWCmNqjS8y6CJ5ioQWpAOC41W65eYLmdeXe_ox-C0bRQlAelKWaQGjUhoyay-O0B-HvZ6NDkSvfyZYE7ljZnXWuAcn29zG1QA/s320/cool.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>EVS jokingly quipped, "Is that all you do—walk around and look cool?"<br /><br />I retorted with a grin, "Yep." Pausing for effect, I continued, "Actually, I've been exceptionally busy today. It's just that I'm so fast and efficient at what I do compared to my coworkers that I get to enjoy more leisurely strolls, looking cool and all."<div><br /></div><div>It's not being egotystical. It's just that we all have different personalities. And we all go about the same job in different ways. </div><br />Individuality in the workplace is indeed a beautiful thing. We each bring our unique styles and approaches to the job, fostering a diverse and dynamic environment. It's not about ego; it's about embracing the richness that arises from our distinct personalities and methods in tackling the same tasks. Personally, my individuality creates an ambiance of coolness and calmness. I get the job done with a grace of cool. It's just that my individuality contributes to an ambiance of coolness and calmness, allowing me to get the job done with a sense of grace and ease.<br />John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-15669248161072543902023-10-25T10:00:00.003-07:002023-10-25T10:21:59.222-07:00Here Is Why Israel Is Not The Oppressor Of Palestinians<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE5xxmNiRPyXmk83HH8Sh3nFk1gwQnBH-qP2IPFz5oPTxWpncfGMPA27_GHYC3e_I6sZFRsIHk4uaibhNx0puvSnLZUS1V-I4OMa0Zd0Gs-KUBIc2OPtuog0FLwk2mGQHjm09PBUB8ANKcAydF-ar02_sYU3CbzPu9TUjEFd4hmS7bQWh6p8OmbPYX6_g/s750/hamas.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="750" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE5xxmNiRPyXmk83HH8Sh3nFk1gwQnBH-qP2IPFz5oPTxWpncfGMPA27_GHYC3e_I6sZFRsIHk4uaibhNx0puvSnLZUS1V-I4OMa0Zd0Gs-KUBIc2OPtuog0FLwk2mGQHjm09PBUB8ANKcAydF-ar02_sYU3CbzPu9TUjEFd4hmS7bQWh6p8OmbPYX6_g/w400-h279/hamas.jpg" title="This Cartoon Is A Lie" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This cartoon is a lie.</td></tr></tbody></table>Why are people in the United States saying that Israel is the aggressor after it was Israel that was the victim of aggression by Hamas, a terrorist group? Why are people in the U.S. and around the world saying that Israel is not removed from the blame for what Hamas did? Why are their anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests here in the U.S.? <div><br /></div><div>To put it in perspective, you can compare the Palestinians with Black Lives Matter (BLM) here in the U.S. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>BLM</b>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here in the U.S., many blacks live in poor neighborhoods. Many of them are in the underclass: they have low paying jobs and live in poverty. Many prisons are filled with blacks. And the reason for this is oppression by white people. I'm not making this up. This is what BLM says. </div><div><br /></div><div>If black people commit crimes, it is not their fault. It is the fault of their white oppressors. So, this is why you have BLM calling for defunding the police. This is why you have a surge in shoplifting and the police doing nothing about it. It's because blacks are just doing this to make a living because they are being oppressed by white people. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Palestinians</b>. </div><div><br /></div><div>They are lead by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). And they have a stated mission of creating one Palestinian state with now Jews. They call for the elimination of all Jews and the elimination of Israel. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now let's get a little back story. The State of Israel was created in 1948, following the Hollocaust. This was just a little sliver of land in the Middle East. At the time, both Jews and Muslims lived on this lant. And the State of Israel welcomed all to stay. All of the Jewish stayed in Israel. And about 80% of the Muslims left and became the Palestinians. </div><div><br /></div><div>At first, when there were only a few Palistinians, Israel said you are welcome back in our land anytime. But, the Palestinians did not want to go back. And, since then, they have voted for some sort of terrorist organization to rule them ever since. At first it was the PLO. Now it is Hamas. And all of these organizations have had as their charter the destruction of Israel and the creation of one state of Palestine with no Jews. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's not like they are secretive of this either. They are very open about it. Even today members of Hamas say openly, "Our goal is to destroy the Jews." They said this sort of stuff before, during, and after the most recent attacks on Israel. And, yet, there are still Hamas and Palestinian sympathizers. Why? </div><div><br /></div><div>And, of course, the reason is because there is this myth that Israel is the oppressor. How could this be? Well, they say that Israel should let the Palestinians back in to Israel. The problem is, the number of Palestinians since 1948 has grown exponentially. So, if Israel welcomed them back in now, Israel would be overcome by the Palestinians. And, remember, the Palestinians do not want to live with the Jews; they want to live in the land of the Jews with no Jews. They want a Palestinian state from coast to coast with no Jews. </div><div><br /></div><div>Okay? So, Israel cannot let the Palestinians in for that reason. </div><div><br /></div><div>And think of it this way. If the Palestinians truly wanted a home, why then do they not get absorbed by the neighboring nations of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey? All of these nations are nations with 100% Muslim populations. While Israel welcomed the Palestinians to stay in Israel in 1948. And Israel also allowed any homeless Jew to come to the State of Israel. Not one of these Muslim nations welcomed any Jews into their nations. And they have stated why many times. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, the people like those who are currently protesting on behalf of Hamas and Palestine are obviously not aware of this history and these facts. Lacking this wisdom, it is easy for them to fall victim to the lies of the PLO and Hamas, who make it look like THEY are the victims here because THEY are oppressed by the Jews. </div><div><br /></div><div>In Israel, there is a 20% Palestinian Population. And they live in peace with the Jews. In all of the seven Muslim nations I listed above that surround Israel, there are zero Jews in any of them. And they easily could take in the Palestinians. But they don't want to. Because leaving the Palestinians where they are gains them sympathy from the media and protesters in the U.S. and around the west who fail to understand this history and these facts. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, then, who are the actual oppressors? Is it Israel? I say not. </div><script type="text/javascript">var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-43297876894909703372023-08-30T12:26:00.003-07:002023-08-30T12:28:27.025-07:00My Smart Strategy For Resolving So Called " Climate Crisis"Let's put aside the debate over man-made global warming or climate change's evolving concept, and for now, assume its reality. This shift in focus lets us delve into productive discussions without debating its existence.<br /><br />Starting from the premise that human actions contribute to global warming and air pollution, what steps can we take to address this problem?<br /><br />Halting car production isn't practical; it might damage the economy. Stopping oil drilling and coal mining could also backfire economically. Stricter industry regulations could make things harder for manufacturers and raise consumer prices. Thus, this approach might not yield positive economic outcomes.<br /><br />While we aspire to a future free from fossil fuels, we're not there yet.<br /><br />Promoting electric cars is challenging but a step forward. Raising taxes for Green New Deal initiatives is another option. However, none of these solutions can remove existing CO2 from the air. And they might further slow the economy, which wouldn't benefit our nation.<br /><br />The mentioned measures, whether implemented or discussed to counteract global warming's impact, could undermine our national interests. Such actions might even favor China, which seems less concerned about global warming's urgency.<br /><br />This situation requires carefully designed strategies that balance environmental needs with economic stability.<br /><br />I envision a continued reliance on fossil fuels, given their current effectiveness and economic impact. However, we must simultaneously encourage automotive manufacturers and other stakeholders to transition to exclusive electric vehicle production. This shift requires patience and perseverance, recognizing that progress toward this goal is inevitable, though not immediate.<br /><br />This approach would be prudent for addressing potential anthropogenic global warming, assuming human activities play a role. Even if it's unrelated, transitioning to electric vehicles offers advantages. Just as innovations like iPhones and computers have seamlessly integrated into our lives, the embrace of electric cars will likely follow suit once they're affordable and as functional as our current vehicles.John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-7445172859174136902023-05-24T04:28:00.004-07:002023-05-24T04:28:38.183-07:00Thinking back on COVID<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogE9LcJFzMkezJZgyrvuloswhcwK_hymE82YnEH9ai8z31v0iXzYgIkbsgI4_OGUFLNRy0LDUkWXSm4cGQLwA6PUrkv7tMaTGZXCrThW4SBPKZ2ybB0Hsl0hbM1DD_lHJpjjKBanf7fBaBbUuZJl6NsGU68Frz1QjzuYgdhYN1q06jUfdZveJ4vs/s231/healthcare%20hero.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="231" data-original-width="218" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogE9LcJFzMkezJZgyrvuloswhcwK_hymE82YnEH9ai8z31v0iXzYgIkbsgI4_OGUFLNRy0LDUkWXSm4cGQLwA6PUrkv7tMaTGZXCrThW4SBPKZ2ybB0Hsl0hbM1DD_lHJpjjKBanf7fBaBbUuZJl6NsGU68Frz1QjzuYgdhYN1q06jUfdZveJ4vs/s1600/healthcare%20hero.jpeg" width="218" /></a></div>COVID was one of the more interesting times in our history. It was something that we have never experienced before. And hopefully never will again. We were so busy. There was one day I came to work and we had seven high flows and three ventilators. And I was the only therapist available to take care of them. It was unsafe, but that's all we had. <p>I did have a coworker, but she had her half of the hospital to care for. And she was equally as busy. And I remember one time when ER called and said they needed me STAT in the ER. And I said, "Sorry, I can't go. I have two patients up here that we are about ready to intubate." </p><p>And there was another time I was so busy that, when ER texted that they needed me STAT, I never even had time to respond. It was just so busy. </p><p>I was so busy, one of the nurses asked if I would help prone a patient. "Nope! I'm sorry, I am just too busy." </p><p>I was asked to help take a ventilated patient down to cat scan. "Sorry, I am unavailable right now." </p><p>And there was no way to get more staffing, because it was this busy at every other hospital too. And at one point we needed more ventilators. And I talked to my boss about this. And he said, "Sorry, every other hospital needs more ventilators too." </p><p>Gosh, it was so busy. And it was fun. It was monotonous, but it was fun. It was fun because we really got to use our skills. We got the utmost respect from doctors and nurses AND the community. There was one day I got home, feet hurting like crazy, mind spent with burnout, and there was a sign in my front yard that said, "A Healthcare Hero Lives Here!" </p><p>That was neat. And that same day, as I was walking up to my house, the neighbor lady came over with a pasta dish. It was hot and ready to serve. And she said, "I just appreciate what you are doing so much. I didn't know what else to do for you. So I made you this." That was neat. </p>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-86488112676002408912023-05-11T08:56:00.006-07:002023-05-11T09:27:51.014-07:00IndividualJustice Versus Social JusticeLiberals in our society conflate justice with social justice. And this does not bode well for justice and a free society.<div><b>Individual Justice</b>. That's a reduntant term as justice is always thought to be on an individual basis. If something happens to you on an individual level, YOU should have justice. This is because YOU were the one damaged. If you do harm to someone else, Justice should be after YOU. Justice, therefore, is always individual in nature. </div><div><p><b>Gorup Justice</b>. <b>Social Justice</b>. There is no such thing. It undermines the notion of individual justice. </p><p>We have a tendency in our society to turn everyting into a referendum on groups. </p><p>Example. Matt Araiza. He was charged of gang rape. He was a member of the Buffalo Bills. And, rather than waiting for him to be found guilty or not guilty in a court of law, the Bills released him. They told him to deal with his problems. </p><p>As it turned out, he was not charged. It turned out he wasn't even present and a gang rape never even occurred. But, he is still unable to get a job in the NFL. And this sucks. It is so unfair. Why is he not able to get an NFL job? He would dominate as a punt returner. He shined in his brief stint with the Bills. </p><p>Another example is Trevor Bauer. He was accused of rape. And he was released from the Dodgers before he even had a triel. Justice was not served here. And the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. Yet he still cannot get a job. </p><p>Why? He is innocent until proven guilty. </p><p>In a court of group justice, he is guilty. He is guilty by association. Because these two athletes were not treated on an individual basis. They were treated as thought they are part of a group. And he is judged as part of a group. </p><p>The reason Araiza was kicked out of the NFL was not because he committed a crime. It was a stand in for every ME TOO incident. This is what we not do with every incident that turns into a media narative. This is indicative of a broader issue and therefore we must make an example of this individual. We have made a decisoin as a society that the minute an accusation is made against a man that he is guilty and we are going to destroy his life. </p><p>If he is convicted of this crime, his life should be destroyed. But, if you are not, then you should be set free. And you should be able to rejoin society. But, that is not the case with social justice. And this is why social justice is so wrong. </p><p>The idea that our society is based on white supremacy patriarchy. And the only way to break down the patriarchy is to break some things. So, if allegations are alone to convict someone, that is the important thing. It sets an example that we do not tolerate such behaviors. Such was the case with Matt Aeraiza. It was also true for Bauer. It was also true for Brett Kavenaugh. They also tried to do this with Trump, but in that case they failed. </p><p>The opposite is true too. You have people getting arrestede and doing horrible crimes. And if a white person did such crime he'd get a long prison sentence or jail sentence. But, if a black person is arrested, he gets off or gets a short jail or prison term. This is because they are victims of white supremacy. So it's not their fault they committed crime. So they are let off. </p><p>The victims here are those crimes are committed against. That person does not get justice. Plus, with all these criminals being put back on the streets, then you have a greater risk for more crimes being committed. </p><p>So, group justice is bad. It is horrible. In fact, social justice may be the result of the perversion of our Bible. Or the fact that so many people have gotten away from the Bible. For, in the Bible, we have Levaticus 19:15 which states: "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the gret, but judge your neighbor fairly." </p><p>Today, with social justice, we treat one group one way and another group another way. And this has messed up our society. And, hopefully, it will wrech the democratic party which is partial to social justice and impartial to justice. </p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px;">‘Do not pervert justice;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px;"> do not show partiality</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px;"> to the poor or favoritism to the great,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px;"> but judge your neighbor fairly.</span></p></div>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-84762180428821159312023-03-14T16:37:00.010-07:002023-03-14T17:00:48.360-07:00What Happens When You Forget The Purpose Of Sex/ Life?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkKOnvYnJWWFjtlglJAteogQT1TjuyQF7mcTL3K_RhEk1oCiBQMchjBuQfLaifVqZVza1qAPzvl1YOhe8jFsOORM8O48G2Z4PC9iZiaO1EcwDM6n3j5Pz4GKYBdaWAzcST1QKDSB8qf1Jbr22dO3L0qiPM6bsG7HSSEtLTOCh3K1Tspg7gBAS_dE/s225/transgender.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkKOnvYnJWWFjtlglJAteogQT1TjuyQF7mcTL3K_RhEk1oCiBQMchjBuQfLaifVqZVza1qAPzvl1YOhe8jFsOORM8O48G2Z4PC9iZiaO1EcwDM6n3j5Pz4GKYBdaWAzcST1QKDSB8qf1Jbr22dO3L0qiPM6bsG7HSSEtLTOCh3K1Tspg7gBAS_dE/s1600/transgender.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div>Andrew Tate argued<b> </b>that he would rather have sex with a really good looking woman who is really a man than an ugly woman who is a natural woman. <p></p><p>Huh! </p><p>Like, what is he talking about? This makes no sense. </p><p>Allow me to make sense of this. </p><p>Here is his initial question: </p><p>"Would you rather have sex with a transexual, which is a legitimate 10, or woman, which is a legitimate one?<span face="Lato, sans-serif" style="color: #33383d; font-size: 1.125rem;">"</span>And everyone is sittin' there clicking woman, woman, woman 'cuz they think they're gonna be gay if they do anything else, but they're not actually thinking about the question. I am so smart, I operate on so many levels higher than the average man. When I say a one and a ten, I mean Megan Fox with a d*ck – that's the tranny. Or Hulk Hogan with a p*ssy – that's the girl. This is the question I'm asking. Megan Fox or Hulk Hogan?"</p><p>This is similar to people who say we should allow transgender women with male body parts to use female bathrooms, the same bathrooms our daughters use. And this is similar to people who say that transgender women who have penises should compete against our daughters in female sports. </p><p>So, how did we get here as a society? </p><div>It's because we are seeing the death of masculinity and femininity. We, as a society, have lost sight that things were created with a purpose. God created us with a purpose. Or, if you don't believe in God, Evolution created us with a purpose. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>The purpose is reproduction. </b></div><div><p>Life is created with the purpose of creating life. If reproduction does not happen, then life stops. If bears stop having sex with the purpose of reproducing, then the bear species will be discontinued. The same with humans. The same with any beings: The purpose of all life is to reproduce. </p><p>You date with the purpose of some day having sex and reproducing. Sure, sex can be done for fun. But, the idea is to make a baby, which is the purpose of life. Males and females are built around this purpose</p><p>The same with the roles of men and women. The role of women is to get pregnant, give birth, nurse, and comfort children. The role of men is to make babies and then to protect and defend them. </p><p>We as a society have blown this all up. Our society now claims that there is no purpose to sex other than to have fun. When you disconnect sex with the purpose of life things get crazy really quickly. And this is what leads to men who think they are women who use women's restrooms and crazy stuff like that. </p><p>When you separate male and female sexual bonding. When you sever that connection, all the rules go away. Now you can do whatever you want. And the only thing that actually matters is sexual pleasure. </p><p>But, there is a problem with that. The problem is the animal instincts remain. Evolutionary and biological male and female instincts remain. Men have a natural instinct to have sex. And now you hear stories of men raping women in women's restrooms. Women have a natural instinct to attach to men they trust and who provide protection and offer sexual comfort. When you promote rules of monogomy and chastity all this works out fine. But when you throw these out in favor of having sex with whomever you want so long as you have fun, then chaos ensues and you end up with questions like the one Andrew Tate asked. </p><p>You end up with people like Dr. Jill Biden giving the woman of the year award on International Women's day to a biological man. </p><p>The people this really hurts is women. Women feel less safe in bathrooms. They feel like sports for them no longer matter, despite all the progress that has been made over the years. </p><p>By the way, the normal answer to Tate's question is you have sex with the woman because you can only make a baby with a woman. When you get rid of that you end up in weird Andrew Tate world. You end up in Chaos. </p><p>Look, I am fine with whatever people decide they want for themselves. As a Christian and a Catholic, I love all people. Yet that doesn't prevent me from putting flaws in our society in perspective. </p></div>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-77059968076345646072023-01-22T05:29:00.001-08:002023-01-22T05:29:11.544-08:00I Want My Kids To Grow Up As Conservative Christians. Since Rush Limbaugh died, I spend a lot of time listening to Ben Shapiro podcasts. He recently talked about how Mitch McConnell cried at Nancy Pelosi's going away party. And he said something like, "My daughter's, who are both liberals, love her. She has done a lot of good for the liberal causes in America." <div><br /></div><div>And Ben said, "Name one democrat who has two conservative daughters." </div><div><br /></div><div>You can't do it. </div><div><br /></div><div>He said, if you are a conservative and a Christian, which McConnell is, and your children grow up with values the opposite of yours, then you are a failure as a parent. </div><div><br /></div><div>This statement by Ben has caused me to do a lot of thinking over the past few weeks. I am a conservative Christian, and I'm wondering if my two oldest children have opposing values as me. And it is very frustrating. </div><div><br /></div><div>I still love my children, don't get me wrong. Yet, it's very frustrating to see that neither of them goes to Church. And they often say things that are in line with liberal thinking. Does that make them liberals? No. Does that make them atheists? No. But, still, it does make me wonder. </div><div><br /></div><div>Will I give up on them? No. </div><div><br /></div><div>But it does make me wonder. And I have decided that Ben Shapiro is wrong. It is not that we conservatives are failures if our children do not grow up with similar beliefs. I say this for two reasons. 1. There are many children prior to our current situation who grew up opposing their parents. I can name a couple aunts. And there's also Ronald Reagan Jr ,who is a liberal (Ronald Reagan was as conservative as they come). </div><div><br /></div><div>Thankfully for Reagan he has another some Mike who is a true conservative. So, that children grow up with to develop liberal views is not new. </div><div><br /></div><div>2. Liberals have an advantage of controlling the schools and the media. So all our children hear all day is liberal propaganda. So, it only makes sense that my kids, who listen to this stuff every day, are easily pulled over to that side. And it is this that makes it extra hard for conservatives like me to make sure my kids develop conservative thinking. </div><div><br /></div><div>My oldest two I decided not to talk much about politics. I figured that they would develop conservative values based on the fact they'd want to be like their dad. But, with my two younger kids, I will not take this chance. I talk about politics as much as I can. And I have politics on TV as much as I can. I want to have that discussion with them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Will it work? I don't know. There remain a lot of opposing forces. My kids go to school and learn that global warming is caused by man, as opposed to being caused by the natural cycle of climate change. They go to school and learn, as Al Gore teaches, that climate change is a global crisis. And yet, you wonder why kids are so depressed. </div><div><br /></div><div>The easiest thing to do is to become a liberal. All you have to do is to say, "I feel your pain," and create a government program that you don't pay for. And the people think you are doing something productive, and yet you solve no problems. </div><div><br /></div><div>A perfect example is the recent attempt by Biden to pay off student loans. They wanted to give each student with a load $10,000. This, they say, would solve the college loan crisis. But, in effect, this does nothing to solve the problem. It merely makes a bunch of kids happy so they vote for democrats. It did nothing towards solving the problem with colleges overcharging. Typical liberalism, as conservatives would say. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yet they are winning. As I am, as a conservative dad, a victim of. It's easy to be a liberal. Liberalism is the default setting. Conservatism takes a lot of thought. To be a conservative, you have to ask questions such as, "Will that work? If we do this (Obamacare for example), what will be the long term effect?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Conservatives are doubters. They want evidence that something will work before they vote to make that change. Conservatives believe in the institutions that have been built over hundreds of years and have been tested year after year after year, such as the institution of marriage. Liberals are opt to come up with an idea that sounds good, and vote on it, even without any evidence that it will work. They vote based on feelings as opposed to thinking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Conservatives believe in God and the Constitution. Liberalism cannot live side by side with God because God is a capitalist -- yes he is. God gives you a choice. You can choose Him or you can choose the Devil. And you are responsible for the consequences of your decision. That, my friends, is a capitalist view. And liberals want to control you, to make you do things the way they want (or, to at least nudge you in that direction). </div><div><br /></div><div>So, I am a conservative because I don't want my government telling me what I an and cannot do. And I love God and the Bible and I love Capitalism and freedom. And, Lord, I pray my kids see the value in that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Most important, I want to do more than watch TV with my kids. I want to have discussions about politics and about the world and know that my kids are on my side. If nothing else, this is the most basic wish I have as a father. </div>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-91635397133135385742022-08-17T06:58:00.004-07:002022-08-17T07:06:55.706-07:00The Honeymoon Phase<p></p>S<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO52_S26NhMnDB3BmHqbaPsviqTbxLmyEpiEyUE7uwY3r6kbdz6cERFT0q6sppekD10Il3IjBucziFqxI17aiR6st1iUwtLo6jMZ2VFybV-iZwTtDf2Ou57avx7V-PBj4hrtXa46_meSnYjLTIO-gx10rr1SKnOZDTwdzXdVCUkdtQ9V8lvuJFlpQ/s257/honeymoon.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="257" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO52_S26NhMnDB3BmHqbaPsviqTbxLmyEpiEyUE7uwY3r6kbdz6cERFT0q6sppekD10Il3IjBucziFqxI17aiR6st1iUwtLo6jMZ2VFybV-iZwTtDf2Ou57avx7V-PBj4hrtXa46_meSnYjLTIO-gx10rr1SKnOZDTwdzXdVCUkdtQ9V8lvuJFlpQ/w400-h305/honeymoon.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>o, you start dating someone. You enter into what is called the "Excitement Stage." You are excited about the prospects to be. And you can let your imagination run free here. <div><br /></div><div>This stage is short lived. Then you enter into what is referred to as a the "Honeymoon Period." This period may last anywhere from several months to a few years. This is a period early on in a relationship where everything seems carefree and happy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, he or she cannot do anything wrong. Everything seems so perfect. And this period only lasts so long, and reality sets in. You learn that your partner is flawed. </div><div><p></p><p>Of course, then you spend time introducing her to your friends and family members. And, of course, before that you introduce her to your family. You take her to your favorite hangouts and restaurants. You take her to see the sunset in your favorite location, etc. etc. And everything works out great. She loves your friends and you love hers. She loves where you enjoy watching the sunset. And you enjoy whatever she shows you about her life. </p><p>So, for quite some time, during this honeymoon period, you are introducing her to your life. And, of course, when you are visiting her, it's the opposite: she introduces you to her life. Oh, the honeymoon days. </p><p>At some point, the honeymoon period will end. Reality sets in. You learn that she is a flawed individual and she learns your flaws. This is called the adjustment phase. Then, if you survive this, you travel to the adjustment phase. And then you get married and live your life together. </p><p>So, basically, you'll eventually run out of new things to show her. At that time, you basically sit around hoping that you don't annoy each other. Can you survive this part of the relationship? That is the question. </p></div>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-62683004265761073102022-08-17T04:59:00.004-07:002022-08-17T04:59:44.505-07:00FBI, DOJ Weaponized Against Trump<p>I wrote a while back how my biggest fear is the weaponization of government against the private sector. And today we read in the news how the Florida residence of Donald Trump, Mar'a'Lago, has been raided by the FBI. Attorney General Merrick Garland has admitted that he ordered the raid. And, of course, Merrick is the head of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). </p><p>Garland has said he ordered the raid. He said they are looking for classified documents that the Fed has asked Trump to return. Trump has not turned in those documents. And so, Garland ordered the FBI to raid Trump's home. </p><p>Garland must know that the person he ordered the raid against is probably going to be the person who will challenge his boss in 2022. So, the risk of this search is insurmountable. This search better turn up a smoking gun. Or Garland will go down as one of the biggest bumble head in U.S. history. And this could be one of the biggest blunders in history. It could be akin to Al Capone's Vault. </p><p>This brings up a few questions. </p><p><b>Is there a potential crime listed on the warrant? </b></p><p>No government organization can legally search anyone's home without a warrant. A warrant must list a reason for the search. And it cannot just list that it is searching for documents. It must note a potential crime. As in, it must note that the president was charged of X crime. And the search is looking for evidence. </p><p>The warrant says that the FBI has been ordered to search Trump's home for classified documents. It does not list a crime Trump has been charged with. </p><p>This raises a huge red flag. </p><p>You cannot order a search warrant without stating the crime that was committed. So, in this case, it looks like this is a situation of a warrant in search of a crime. The goal here is to grab every document with the hopes that one of them reveals a crime. </p><p><b>Is this search politicized? </b></p><p>Democrats spent the entire four years of the Trump presidency trying to convict him of a crime. You had the Russian scandal where they spent four years trying to convince Americans that Trump was colluding with the Russians. And it was proven to be a complete hoax. </p><p>Now they are still going after him long after he was voted out of office. And there is a good chance he will be the next challenger to Garland's boss. And this makes it look like the FBI has been weaponized or politicized against a future presidential challenger. It makes it look like they are scared to death of Trump politically, and they will do anything in their power to get rid of him. </p><p>So far they have failed miserably. And so, here you have the FBI going into Mar'a'Lago and grabbing every paper they can get their hands on. And they are hoping that one of those documents reveals a crime. Or perhaps one of those documents proves Trump colluded with Russia. Anything to get rid of Trump. </p><p>This raises another red flag. </p><p><b>Are they declassified documents? </b></p><p>Trump has said that all the documents obtained by the FBI were declassified. If this is the case, then the raid was pointless to begin with. </p><p>Presidents have a lot of work to do. So they often take work home to review. Obama did this. Clinton did this. Bush H and Bush W did this. And Trump did this. So, it is not uncommon for former presidents to have documents in their homes. </p><p>To take documents home they need to be declassified. Interestingly, the president is the only person in the U.S. with the power to declassify documents. And all he needs to say is, "I declare these documents unclassified." He does not need to go through a ceremony, or even write his signature, to make documents declassified. </p><p>And even if Trump forgot to do this, he certainly would not be the first. And all he would need to do is say he declassified them, because how would any lawyer be able to prove that he didn't declassify them. So, on this ground, it would be awfully hard for any lawyer to submit any of the documents obtained during the raid into a court of law. </p><p>And this raises another red flag. </p><p><b>Conclusion</b>.</p><p>So, we have determined that many former presidents have documents in their home. The reason the White House might want the documents at Trump's home is because they believe they pose a security risk. And, of course, keeping us safe is the #1 job of any president. Still, are documents stored in boxes or in safes at Mar'a'Lago a security risk. </p><p>Let's look at it this way. Let's look at Hillary Clinton. She had classified information on her emails. And she does not have the ability to declassify them because she was never president. She had information on her emails. And I'm sure some of the information was top-secret information. </p><p>And she had these emails on an unsecured server. And she conveniently lost those emails. So, what documents are at greater risk for being a security risk: documents stored in boxes or in safes in Trump's home, or documents stored on an unsecured server? </p><p>And Clinton's home was not raided by the FBI. </p>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-12743898058760496602022-07-28T12:48:00.001-07:002022-07-28T12:48:04.711-07:00What Is The Cause Of All This Divisiveness?<p> Who caused the divisiveness in our country? Republicans? Donald Trump. I don't think so. The divisiveness was caused by those who believe in free speech unless you are a republican. The divisiveness was caused by people who force others to think the same as they do. </p><script type="text/javascript">var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ks8LQ8ojkktkWv67ryUlJTNnMLOK-0Z3HqE26ZYlKK6UAKOI0TBR58Cw0Zr12ggOuX-f0oaKJEAT7_hLpCfIJFVSUFcaM7cGNMGI8q-m2Z8b8evkSSwZ6KpP8zcIIGS97LHBYYtP_YGQdg4moAXQfIgROKU2Stmqs7eWWYB2JiZtICUI46URrQM/s880/divisiveness.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="880" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ks8LQ8ojkktkWv67ryUlJTNnMLOK-0Z3HqE26ZYlKK6UAKOI0TBR58Cw0Zr12ggOuX-f0oaKJEAT7_hLpCfIJFVSUFcaM7cGNMGI8q-m2Z8b8evkSSwZ6KpP8zcIIGS97LHBYYtP_YGQdg4moAXQfIgROKU2Stmqs7eWWYB2JiZtICUI46URrQM/w400-h300/divisiveness.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>I can give you many examples. Let's start with abortion. Rowe probably would have stayed had democrats not tried to expand abortion rights all the way to birth. Then they added late term abortions, meaning that a baby is killed that was perfectly capable of being a fully functioning human being. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then you had democrats making laws where republicans were forced to pay for abortions through their taxes. Look, I don't want you taking my hard earned money and spending it on things I don't approve of. </div><div><br /></div><div>And from here I can segue to global warming. Democrats believe in global warming. That's fine. But then democrats want to tax republicans and force them to pay for global warming via their taxes. Is that fair? It is if you are a democrat. But it's not fair if you are a republican. </div><div><br /></div><div>And republicans aren't necessarily anti-global warming. Some are. Some are not. Still, we know that raising taxes for Americans and increasing regulations to businesses is not the way to improve global warming. If they worked, then at what point have you taken enough of our money? When do you decide: Okay, we are done. The answer is you will never be satisfied. </div><div><br /></div><div>And you wonder why we are divisive. </div><div><br /></div><div>You have democrats believe illegal immigrants should be allowed to freely come into our country with no checks on whether they carry deadly diseases or are criminals. And then they send these people to republican areas of the country and tell us we have to feed and take care of them. How is that fair? </div>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-32214655009957954082022-07-05T05:26:00.001-07:002022-07-05T05:26:00.172-07:00It's Not Fair To Make Me Pay Off Your Debt<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5NmY3ap168EQLW3hjmz97a1I9jOP_BSsY9S9ytfSGTxvhK7En_uenOeM_qt-W7p_vh9s1r2-HcVv2xH8LBRxDf1SCO_P1LXrULEwjMMjPDL2z7RVo6fpttR_qSK1jIqHA5mHjy5I4gLNT2yofF5ARNlyrreOshASAbhf8QjhqKnDGM0Cv2vUEZQ/s235/student%20loan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="235" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5NmY3ap168EQLW3hjmz97a1I9jOP_BSsY9S9ytfSGTxvhK7En_uenOeM_qt-W7p_vh9s1r2-HcVv2xH8LBRxDf1SCO_P1LXrULEwjMMjPDL2z7RVo6fpttR_qSK1jIqHA5mHjy5I4gLNT2yofF5ARNlyrreOshASAbhf8QjhqKnDGM0Cv2vUEZQ/w400-h286/student%20loan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>My liberal friend said Biden is going to help students pay off their debt. He said his kids have $60,000 in student loan debt. And he thinks it's not fair they have to have this debt. So he's all for Biden at least giving $10,000 to each student. </p><p>And I said that's not fair to me. And he said if I don't think it's fair, then I don't understand the student loan debt problem. And I said that it's not fair that you take on a big debt and I have to pay it off. I don't think it's fair that I work my ass off, I work two jobs to pay off my debt and maintain a life. So it's not fair that I should have to pay even more in taxes to pay of your debt so you can maintain your life too. That is not fair. </p><p>I do agree there is a student debt problem. But I am not responsible for it. If you want to help kids with high student loans, then make the colleges and universities responsible for overcharging. Make the colleges and universities find ways of lowering costs, rather than punishing people like me. </p><p><br /></p>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-82571069497537806962022-07-01T02:26:00.015-07:002022-07-26T08:15:52.276-07:00Democrats Are Responsible For Dividing Our Country, Not Republicans<p>My friend told me Trump is responsible for dividing our country. it is not true. He said it is because of his mean words. Him calling democrats and people he doesn't agree with stupid. But we know this is not true, as democrats have been mean to republicans for years. And republicans continue to take the high road. And it gets them no where. Until Trump came along and gave democrats some of their own game. And I talked about this <a href="https://articulatingideas.blogspot.com/2022/06/trump-did-not-cause-division-in-our.html">yesterday</a>.</p><div>Today I can take this a step further. Think of the things democrats are trying to do to America. Democrats are the ones who want to take guns away from law abiding citizens. Democrats are the ones who are allowing illegal immigrants to come across our borders to take our jobs and rape our women. They are for no borders so drugs can pour across our borders. </div><div><br /></div><div>Democrats are the ones who want to take your well earned money to give it to causes that you don't support. They want to take your money to pay off the loans of college students, when you had to pay off yours on your own. Heck, my friend said that, since I don't want to do this is because I don't understand the loan problem facing young adults today. Really? I am struggling to pay my bills because of high gas prices and inflation. And my friend thinks my money needs to go towards giving $10,000 to every person with a college loan. Why is that my responsibility? Why do I have to pay off the debts of people I don't even know? And all that is going to do is add to our inflation problem. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's democrats who want to allow men who think they are women to compete against our women in events like swimming. It is democrats who want men who identify as women to use the same bathrooms as our daughters. It's democrats who want to teach our children about sex when they are in elementary school, and they want to do this against the will of parents. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is democrats to fire our white male teachers and coaches who pray with our children after a victory on the soccer field. It's democrats who want to take God out of our lives, and they make every effort they can to take God out of our kid's lives. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is democrats who are teaching our kids the opposite of what we want them to learn. It is democrats who want to teach our kids that our great nation was built by slavery, while we want our kids to be taught the truth, that our nation was built despite slavery. They want to teach our kids that America is the cause of all the problems in the world. While we want our kids to know the truth, that other nations are free BECAUSE of America. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's democrats who forced people to wear masks against their wishes during COVID. It's democrats who tried to force people to get vaccines during COVID. And yet they say things like, "My body my choice," in regards to allowing mothers to murder their babies. It's democrats who ignore our constitution and force things on us that that we do not want. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is democrats who try to make one group of people less offended while at the same time offending another group of people. It's democrats who make sure minorities are respected and are the focus of policies, while at the same time denying the rights of the privileged. And they have bias training for white Christian men that forces them to agree to things that are against their faith and traditions just to keep their jobs.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is democrats who call republicans "a basket of deplorables." And yet Trump calling Hillary "Crazy Hillary" is what is causing a national divide? It's crazy. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's democrats who give those accused of crimes no bail. And it's democrats who get criminals out of jail for free, only so these people can commit more crimes while they are free. And then they wonder why crime rates like murders are soaring in our cities. </div><div><br /></div><div>Trump cut taxes and regulations. Trump had the economy soaring. Trump closed our borders and made sure illegals stayed out. Trump made it so black and Hispanic unemployment was lower that it has ever been in recorded history. Female unemployment was lower than it was for more than half a century. The economy was doing better than it had in decades. </div><div><br /></div><div>Democrats see two Americas: Those who are wealthy and those who live paycheck to paycheck. Those who are traditional Americans (white, Christian) and those who are minorities (black, women, Indians, Hispanic, etc.). Democrats view those who worked hard and succeeded as the enemy, and those who struggle are, and the good guys are the poor and underclassed. And they aim to pit these two groups against one another by their policies and their words. They say the rich are greedy. They say the rich don't pay their fair share. They say these mean things, they do all these mean things, yet they want you to think Trump is mean. </div><div><br /></div><div>And, of course, the end result is an America divided. </div><div><br /></div><div>And yet Trump is responsible for our national divide? Yeah! We know the truth. Trump is the result of their divisive politics. The the cause of national divide is liberalism and the democrats who spread it. </div>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-67317013349657581192022-06-30T17:19:00.002-07:002022-07-28T12:50:23.081-07:00Trump Did Not Cause Division In Our Country<p>I had a coworker tell me that Donald Trump caused division in our country. I had no choice to call him on it. The people who caused division in our country are democrats. </p><p>Democrats for years have talked down to republicans in an arrogant and condescending way. They have ripped and trashed republicans. And all republicans do is take the high road. </p><p>And, of course, the media paid no attention to democrats when they did this because the media agreed with democrats. And this is because most people in the media are democrats. </p><p>The entire eight years of Bush that's all democrats did was trash him. They trashed him so much they drove his approval numbers into the 30s. And the reason his numbers went down so low is because he refused to defend himself. Like other republicans, he took the high road. He did not defend himself. He even said that it's not his job to defend himself, it's history to do that. </p><p>And here comes Trump. He calls democrats on for what they were. And he was the only republican in modern history to do this. And he did such a great job at it that he was elected president. </p><p>And now democrats have the nerve to say that Trump is the meanest guy and he is the one who caused division in our country. </p><p>I have a good analogy here. There was a man who was married. And his wife for years nagged him. His wife complained about just about everything this guy did. And he took the high road. He never said anything back to his wife. He just kept taking the hits. </p><p>He did this for years and years. He would clean the house. And she would come home and say, "This house looks like shit! </p><p>And finally, after many years of marriage, he hit a wall. He was fed up with how he was being treated. So he decided to talk to her. And a fight ensued. And the wife said, "You are so mean!"</p><p>The truth was, that his wife was mean. She was mean to him for years. And the one time he got the nerve to stand up to her, now she calls him mean. </p><p>The same thing with democrats and Trump. Democrats were mean to republicans for years. And finally republicans get Trump. And he calls it how it is. He calls democrats on their skulduggery. And now he's the mean guy who causes division in our country. </p><p>This only happens because the media only reports meanness when it's republicans doing it. Democrats have been doing this for years. If you listen to Fox or conservative media, you are aware of this. But, if all you do is listen to CBC, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, etc, then you are blind to the truth. Sorry, but it's true. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-62008153322164579962021-06-03T04:19:00.002-07:002021-06-03T04:19:11.044-07:00Tip #21. You can learn how useful wisdom is by asking an RT with 20 plus years experience<p>So you are an RT student. You have a question. Perhaps it's a question you need to know for a test. Perhaps it's information you need for your RT or CRT test. Then you need to know the answer for that. </p><p>Yet sometimes I witness RT students asking us RTs questions. Well, actually it happens a lot. And most of the time we have answers. And the reason we have answers is that it's the information we find useful and that we use, at least from time to time. </p><p>But if you ask an RT of 20 plus years a question, and they don't know the answer, it's probably because it doesn't matter. The answer might be useful to help you pass a test or impress someone. But it's not a bit of wisdom needed in the real world. </p><p>Example: </p><p>Student: "What type of a ventilator is this?"</p><p>RT of 20 years: "It's a Servi i." </p><p>Student: "No. I mean, is it flow cycled or pressure limited." </p><p>RT of 20 years. "I have no idea. I remember studying those in school. But it's information I forgot as soon as the test was over." </p><p>This information is not important to the typical therapist. It may prove helpful to engineers who are developing such equipment. But it's not helpful in the field of RT work. </p><p>Example #2. </p><p>Student. "When peak pressure and static pressure both increase, what does that mean?"</p><p>RT of 20 years: "It means that your compliance has decreased. It means your lungs are stiffer. Severe COVID-19 is a perfect example of this. Their lungs are stiff, and therefore there pressures are higher. This is why we use low tidal volumes and high respiratory rates and are happy with some degree of respiratory acidosis." </p><p>Student. "Wow! I am impressed with your knowledge.</p><p>This information is very helpful in the line of RT work. I guarantee there will be one or maybe more questions about peak and static pressures. There may be a question about what it means if they both go up. There may be questions about what happens when the gap between them increases. So, know this wisdom. You will definitely benefit from this wisdom when you are a real RT.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>If you ask this question to an RT who has worked at a certain hospital for 20 years or longer. And that therapist doesn't know the answer. Then it probably doesn't matter. </p><p>Think about it. That RT has worked </p>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-65326191011105319622021-05-22T04:20:00.001-07:002021-05-22T04:20:10.485-07:00Here's why I will never own an electric car<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDbNtA4SMWE0jWjaMhavpFygTZFe02t1OrLlv55QbycjI8k9uwZw9LKfIWxUXHOwcWFBCW2OjEEEC_v3pP4f0m5p5R_04quLFNm_zsHXYI83cG0C2-RUa7hKBua0yqsAKKR37i5FeYA/s547/taxpayer+electric+car.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="547" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDbNtA4SMWE0jWjaMhavpFygTZFe02t1OrLlv55QbycjI8k9uwZw9LKfIWxUXHOwcWFBCW2OjEEEC_v3pP4f0m5p5R_04quLFNm_zsHXYI83cG0C2-RUa7hKBua0yqsAKKR37i5FeYA/w400-h293/taxpayer+electric+car.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />My friends were trying to convince me to buy an electric car. This conversation was spawned by the increasing gas prices. They told me since gas prices are so high, this would be a good incentive to by an electric car. <p></p><p>I said, "I will never in my life buy an electric car." </p><p>And of course, my friends were concerned about this. "Why would you not want to buy an electric car? Are you selfish? Do you not care about the Earth?'</p><p>I said, "None of that. The reason I won't ever buy one is that I am 51 years old. And right now the least expensive electric car is $100,000. And that is $88,000 over my budget. Plus electric cars require new batteries every few years. And I don't want to have to pay $3-5,000 for a new battery, or whatever that cost is. For me, it's more cost-effective to buy a car run by gas. And I am certain that the price will not come down to fit into my budget by the time I need a new car.</p><p>"Plus, I continued. I only buy used cars. So, by the time a cost-effective electric car is on the market, plus one that fits into my budget, I am certain I will be long gone by then." </p><p>And of course, there are others reasons too. I live in Michigan. I have learned that batteries have moving parts in them. They have lithium-ion batteries including the ions. And in cold weather, they freeze the cathodes. And this makes it pretty much a solid rather than a jelly. And if these ions can't move the battery cannot make the electricity needed to start the car. </p><p>Also, in cold weather, there is no wind. So, there won't be any way for the wind turbines the liberals want to create electricity with to spin. And when this happens there will be no way for people to charge those batteries for those electric cars. So, unless some engineer figures a way to solve this problem. And enough time passes for the patent to expire and the cost to come down to earth. There is no way an electric car will be available for me during my lifetime. </p><p>And this is just me being honest. It's me looking at the bit picture. And this is something liberals fail to do: look at the big picture. They just look at the idea and say, "Yeah, this is what we need." And this is another good example of idealism (liberalism) versus realism (conservatism). </p>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-43948983995241081652021-05-06T11:37:00.003-07:002022-07-18T17:51:23.465-07:00America Is NOT inherently racist<b>Critical race theory</b>. <div><br /></div><div>It’s a theory that America is inherently racist. And it was true prior to the 1960. But it is not true today. But, according to democrats, it is true. <br /><br />In the 1960s people were defined by their color. Today, people are not defined by their color. In fact, we even had a 2 term black President. This in itself proves America is not systemically racist. But don’t tell a democrat that. <br /><br />Democrats want you to believe America is still systemically racist. That all our systems are racist from the top down. And this is simply not true.<br /><br />Studies show that COVID hit the black population harder than the white population. So, democrats think this is proof of systemic racism in the healthcare system. So this explains why Governor Whitmer said the hospital system is inherently racist. That some poeple are being turned away just because they are black. Which just isn’t true.<br />Still, based on this theory, she has decided that we healthcare workers need race training.<br /><br />This is B.S. I have been working in a hospital for 25 years not. And I have never once seen a patient turned down due to color. If they choose not to seek treatment, it is their own fault for not coming in. It is not our fault. <br /><br />In fact, it is even a law saying that we cannot turn anyone down for treatment. There would be peokple going to jail if what governor Whitmer said was true. <br /><br /><b>1699 project. </b><br /><br />A project that claims that the Revolutionary war was fought to preserve the institution of slavery. And this is not true. Still, the left is insisting that this be taught in schools. In California it is already being taught. So, our kids are basically being taught a lie by the left leaning school systems.</div>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-84867718692671995452021-05-06T02:42:00.003-07:002021-05-06T02:42:33.214-07:00The founding fathers from the north were not racist<p>The left is trying to insinuate that America is inherently racist. That we are systemically racist. And it begins with the founding fathers. And it includes the "good guys," the founding fathers who represented the north. </p><p>They argue that the north was against counting slaves as people. The north wanted slaves to count as 3/5 of a person. While in the south they wanted slaves to count as 5/5 of a person. They say this was because the south considered slaves as people and the north did not. And therefore the north was racist. </p><p>This is poppycock. The truth is that the south wanted slaves counted as 5/5 because they wanted more representatives. They figured this would give them more of a say in Congress And this would give them more power to spread slavery. </p><p>The north wanted slaves to count as zero because they hated the institution of slavery. They figured they would have more representation. And they figured if slaves counted as zero this would give them more power over getting rid of the institution of slavery. </p><p>They also claim that George Washington was a racist. Their proof of this is that he owned slaves. Yet they fail to note that Washington put in his will that his slaves would be freed upon his death. And he also supported the Northwest ordinance. </p><p>What is the Northwest ordinance. It banned slavery. It made it so that any new state was not allowed to have slaves. The confederate slaves did the exact opposite. The confederate constitution had it so any new state had to allow for the institution of slavery. </p><p>So, there are some facts for you. The north was not racist. America is not inherently racist. There is not systemic racism in America.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>northwest ordinance</p>John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-19732817839156200612019-08-09T07:54:00.000-07:002019-08-19T09:48:32.965-07:005 Theories For Mass Shootings Other Than Guns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lots of mass shootings lately. The left blames republicans as usual. Clinton blamed Rush Limbaugh for what the Unibomber did. Trump gets the blame for the current shootings. The left things taking away guns from law abiding citizens is the solution. Until we start looking at the root cause of the problem here, we will never get to the bottom of it.<br />
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So, what is really going on? Does anyone ever do any real investigating. What do these thugs have in common? Again, it's not politics. They come from all political ideologies. It's not Trump. These shootings occurred with Clinton, W, and Obama in the White House too. It's not guns. People have had guns for thousands of years. So, what really is going on here. Some theories are listed here.<br />
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<b>Loss of sanctity of life</b>.<br />
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There are a lot of changes going on in our country lately. There are liberals calling for abortions even after a baby is born. Abortions are now the leading cause of death in the United States. So, there are some who think this is the cause. There is a loss of value for the sanctity of life.<br />
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<b>Attacks on Christianity</b>.<br />
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The Church used to teach values. It taught principles. These were never changing. So, people grew up with a conscience. This conscience prevented people from causing harm to others. They were taught to respect others. "Do on to others as you'd have them do unto you." So, in times of trouble, people used to turn to the Church. They did this when they were looking for meaning and purpose in life. Today, the Church is attacked all the time by the media and the left. There's not one iota of religion left in public schools, of which most kids attend.<br />
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<b>Redefinition of family</b>.<br />
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Thousands of years ago people realized the value of the family. The nuclear family was learned to be the best way of raising kids. Kids learned values from their parents. They learned about how their country came to be. They learned patriotism. And this was passed on from generation to generation. Now, the nuclear family is being blown up to smithereens. You have something like 90% of black kids being born to unwed mothers. Many seldom see their dads. And you have people on the left saying kids don't need moms or don't need dads. I believe there's some truth to the notion that boys learn best from men, and girls learn best from girls. And boys also learn from moms. Boys are especially affected by the breakdown of the family. In 1960, only 22% of black children were born to single parents. Today it's 70%. This rise occurred almost completely parallel with the rise of the welfare state. A high percentage of these kids grow up to live in poverty. They are often lead to a life of crime. The government has now become the father. On the contrary, 8% of black married couples live in poverty. So, you can't tell me this doesn't have something to do with it. My kids often watch the Disney channel. Rare is it that you have a TV show with a traditional family. Most families are divided families. And the moms are generally very ineffective parents.<br />
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<b>Fakebook and Social Media</b><br />
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A big part of the problem is a yearning for attention. People want to be famous. They want what every one else says they have but probably don't. I'm talking about Facebook. People lie on Facebook. That's why I call it Fakebook. They take pictures of themselves on vacations. They talk about how awesome their lives are. When in reality their lives are as miserable as any one else's. And so you have kids that are impacted by this. They yearn to have what everyone else says they have but they don't. They can't seem to get the attention that they want. And so they resort to violence. Look at how much attention these killers get. They get their manifesto's published in the New York Times. They get all the front pages. They become famous. They finally get the attention they yearn for.<br />
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<b>We are depressing our kids</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
By we I mean liberals. Kids are taught the world is going to end in 10 years, and it's all our fault. We are told we are all going to die. And we are told the world is over populated. And you wonder why study's show kids are depressed. As noted above, Fakebook is depressing. You see that everyone else has what you don't and what you can't afford. You get depressed by hanging around social media. So, this may very well contribute the the mass shootings.<br />
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<b>What to make of this? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
These are just some theories. They may be contributing factors to mass shootings. There's really no way to know for sure without actually looking at the problem, and investigating it. And that won't happen as long as we toss blame at others besides those thugs who pull the trigger.<br />
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My point here is that it's a cultural problem. No law will stop these shootings. It may make people feel like they are doing something. It may give lawmakers an opportunity to show they care. But, no law will solve any of these problems. The solution will only come by investigating.John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-32495457598709845202019-08-07T06:54:00.002-07:002019-08-07T06:54:11.645-07:00Mass Shootings Result In More Calls For Gun Control<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There have been three mass shootings in the past week. They were all random acts of terror. It's a horrible thing. We all agree this is devastating. And then we started hearing people blaming one another. Mostly it's the left blaming republicans, society, guns, and the 2nd Amendment. I see this happening all over Fakebook.<br />
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It's so hard not to respond. For the most part I'm nice. I try not to say anything, especially to the nice lady's. I try not to comment on their posts. One lady said, "Another mass shooting. Damn you and your 2nd Amendment rights." Another wrote, "The only thing we can blame is guns."<br />
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Really? Like, why don't we just blame the person who pulled the trigger? Why don't we ever just hold that person responsible? Why don't we do some real investigating? Like, what do these thugs have in common. That's hard to determine. People on the left like to blame republicans. But, the ideological platforms of these thugs is all over the place. Some are radical left, some radical right, some cut right down the middle. So, ideology doesn't seem to play a role.<br />
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Is it guns? Well, the 2nd Amendment was approved in 1791. There were no mass shootings until the past 30 years. So, guns aren't the problem. Besides, some thugs use cars to just run over crowds. Others use knives. There are other weapon besides guns.<br />
<br />
So, it's quite clear the anti-gun people, the proponents of gun legislation, are using these mass killings as reasons to advance their agenda. Heck, some democrats are even using these tragedies as strategies for campaign fundraising.<br />
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But you have a lot of young people. You have a lot of people who barely follow politics. And of course you have many who are well aware of politics. And they chant things like, "Well, we have to do something." And that something is always government intervention. And that usually results in more laws. And that usually results in less freedom.<br />
<br />
Think of it this way, 99.9% of American gun owners had nothing to do with those crimes. 99% of gun owners are law abiding citizens. Why is it that they are always blamed for these mass shootings. The National Rifle Association is always blamed by people on the left. Its like clockwork: Mass shooting equals attacks on the NRA and gun rights.<br />
<br />
Truly, I don't know what the solution is. I do have some theories I will discuss in my next post. But, I'm quite confident blaming republicans won't solve anything. Taking away more freedoms won't solve anything. In fact, all that's going to do is piss off more people.John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-863337052407084982019-06-18T10:33:00.000-07:002019-06-18T10:33:10.059-07:00Days of Depression<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had a friend confide to me that she feels depressed sometimes. Of course, and then she pulls herself out of it. And then there's that feeling of euphoria that follows. Then you appreciate what you have all the more.<br />
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I thought it was neat she shared this. And I shared that I experience the same sometimes. I think it's normal. And it sucks when you can't think of anything good. But it's always a neat feeling when you pull yourself out of it. It's neat those moments when you truly appreciate what you have.<br />
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And while it sucks, it can be good too. I mean, I think that depression, when it just occurs sometimes, is Gods way of saying, "Something you're doing is wrong. You need to back up. You need to stop. "<br />
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I mean, I think that's why you have hangovers after drinking too much. And that's why alcohol makes you feel depressed. It's Gods way of saying, a little is good, but what you did last night was too much. Slow down!<br />
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For me, I'm most likely to have those depressed days after I take on too much responsibility. Or maybe they occur after an event that makes me very anxious or otherwise uncomfortable. Or I make a change in my life, or try to, and then realize I don't really want to do this.<br />
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I don't want to get too personal here. But, a good example I can think of is when I applied for a new job about 15 years ago. I felt excited about the prospect of getting a new job in a new city.<br />
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But, then once I was interviewed, and the shock of all the new things I'd have to learn hit me, depression hit. And the cure for the depression was to not answer the phone when they called to tell me I had the job. And to stay in the job I already have and am already comfortable with.<br />
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I think it's moments like this that help you to appreciate what you have.<br />
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Some people are good with change. They can just jump from one job to another without even thinking about it. And this is great for them as it sets them up nicely for new work, new excitement, better opportunities, and more money<br />
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Not this guy. Things must go slow. Change must be slow and easy. It does hold me back some. It prevents me from taking on more responsibility. It probably prevents me from making more money. But, oh well, 'm fine with it.<br />
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Just as my friend is fine with her life. And she has a good life. And she noted she realized this the moment she pulled herself out of her days of depression.John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-23114305474403522732018-12-07T06:44:00.000-08:002018-12-14T08:15:04.710-08:00God, Divorce, And My Job Moment<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Biblical Job was the victim of a bet.<br />
It was between God and the Devil.<br />
God took everything Job loved away from him.<br />
And he still never lost his Faith in God.<br />
And so God won the bet.<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Is it possible that my divorce was a gift from God. That God saw that my marriage was making me miserable. So, to pull me out of that rut, He had my wife pull the plug on the marriage. Is that true?<br />
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Sometimes I think my ex-wife pulled the plug on the marriage to do me a favor. She even admitted once that she was not nice to me. She said, "I know I'm so mean. Why do you ever stay with me?"<br />
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Well, I did because I had Faith. I made a commitment. I was not going to back out of my commitment. You know, there's this part of marriage that says, "For better or for worse." Well, here we were in the "for worse" part, and I was not going to give up.<br />
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So she did. She filed for divorce. She filed, I think, two months before she even had the nerve to tell me. And she told me. We were in the kitchen. She said, "I think we should get a divorce."<br />
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I was blindsided by this. I felt like a puppy dog getting hit by a Mack truck. It was totally unexpected. Here we were in a miserable marriage, and I was broadsided by the word divorce.<br />
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I was stuck for words. My face filled with tears. That deep, darkest feeling over came me. And I said, "Is that what you think God would want?"<br />
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She said, "God would want me to be happy."<br />
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I said, "God would want you to choose your own happiness over your commitments that you promised to uphold?"<br />
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And she defended her statement that God would want her to be happy. And I never understood that. Still don't. Perhaps that's the liberal hold inside her brain. This thing that principles don't matter. That you can just make up rules as you go along in life. That there is nothing etched in stone. That, if you're not happy, you can make changes, even if those changes destroy a marriage.<br />
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But, that's what she wanted to do. And I could barely function at work the next day. I was so beside myself. My patients talked to me, and I might have talked back. But I never paid them much attention. It was, as though, a part of me had just died.<br />
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It was so bad I did not want to go back home. I decided to go to a hotel. I left work that night planning on getting a hotel room. I did not want to ever see her again. I was that disappointed. And, hate never entered my mind. Disappointment is the word that did enter my mind. I was disappointed in her.<br />
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And I was mad at God. Instead of going to a hotel, I drove a round a bit. Then I ended up parked at the beach. In fact, it might have been almost a year ago to this day. As I'm writing this, it's November 14. I was beside myself.<br />
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I threw a fit in my car. I crinkled up every last piece of paper in my car. I tossed stuff. I threw stuff. I tossed and threw obscenities into the air. I was utterly mad at God.<br />
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"Why did you do this to me. Here I have always been faithful to you. I have always worked to be a good Christian. I pray every night. I prayed to find her. You found her for me. We had a perfect marriage. And then you took it all away! Why!"<br />
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So mad was I. Then I stopped. I meditated. Sometimes, when you meditate, you hear God's voice. A message is sent to your mind. But, on this day, there was nothing.<br />
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"Please, God! Please give me an answer."<br />
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Nothing.<br />
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Now, I know this now and not then. But, there is this old saying. It goes something like this: "Sometimes your prayer has already been answered."<br />
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Okay? I know that now. God gave me this gift of divorce. It was a gift. He helped me get away from that stress. He gave me a chance to start all over. And I would more than succeed at piecing back together my life. But, there was no way I could have possibly known that on that day.<br />
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So, the next day I'm sitting at work. My coworker says, "John, what's wrong? I can tell something is wrong with you."<br />
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I told her my story. All of it. And I told her of my Job like moment the night before.<br />
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And she said, "John, that wasn't God doing that to you. It was some other guy."<br />
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It was the Devil.<br />
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Ahh, how could I not see that? Her words caused goose flesh to creep up my spine. It brought a feeling of awe and joy. And, of course, "Doh! How could I not have seen?"<br />
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"It's because you were so deep. It blinded you to the truth," she said, "But, God would never do that to you."<br />
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<br />John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-1901932199443964322018-12-03T06:20:00.000-08:002018-12-03T06:20:00.513-08:00Divorce Doubled My Standard Of Living<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-lrdNKi8b_nK44l4CtQFZqSC_3-b8EGCk0VspwVOe_BwDF42HpTpoCR_aC-JseUY9uZ29KZ2elToFVkBREuDbSHUsCxI7u4iu6042nsp0hHUAs4sGj-VfOpXv53sJWc8TwT2PFNHmGg/s1600/divorce+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-lrdNKi8b_nK44l4CtQFZqSC_3-b8EGCk0VspwVOe_BwDF42HpTpoCR_aC-JseUY9uZ29KZ2elToFVkBREuDbSHUsCxI7u4iu6042nsp0hHUAs4sGj-VfOpXv53sJWc8TwT2PFNHmGg/s400/divorce+2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
To me, divorce didn't go anything like <a href="https://mensdivorce.com/standard-of-living/">the experts</a> said it would. For one thing, they said that your standard of living will undoubtedly go down. This is because you will now be living on half the money you had before. That sounds like it makes sense.<br />
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But, that's not how it went down with me. My standard of living doubled, maybe even tripled. I had this second job. I am a writer. I do this all day. I love writing. I'm passionate about it. And I always told my wife if she would just let me have control of the money I made I could double it.<br />
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But, she refused.<br />
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You see, I saw the money I made writing as 'Extra Money.' Your bills are paid using our regular pay. And, before I got this 'extra job,' we paid our bills just the same<br />
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So, now I start making an 'extra' $500 a month. Then I'm making an extra $1000 a month. I figure this money can be used to get out of debt. I figured once we get out of debt, we can use this money to go on vacations or buy things for our house. So, that's kind of what motivated me.<br />
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But, after years of this, the debt never went away. In fact, it got deeper. All of a sudden she starts saying things like, "We need to pay said bill. When is your check coming?"<br />
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Like, I don't want this money being used to pay for bills. I mean, once in a while is fine, but, that's not what it's for. Our bills should be paid out of our day job money. This is 'extra money." This is money that supposed to be spent on fun things.<br />
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But she refused to make any changes. No matter how many times I requested that she not ask for my check to pay bills, she kept saying it. It was depressing to me.<br />
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So, it was a disincentive for me to write. I got to the point, if she was just going to pay bills with this money, I wasn't going to write any more than I had to.<br />
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I mean, I was fine paying bills, so long as it was to get out of debt. But, in order for that to happen, she'd also have to stop going on her vacations. But, instead of that happening, she started going on more and more vacations.<br />
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Actually, one of these vacations she went on with just her and the kids. Like, if ever a hint could have occurred, a coworker came up to me. And this was someone I barely ever talked to. She said, "John, aren't you a little concerned about your wife going on vacations without you. It's not right."<br />
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Naive, I just defended her. I was the good husband (and perhaps that would be a good name for my book). I said, "Oh, she's a good mother. She earned the right to go on vacation with just her kids. Besides, I had to work."<br />
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Hint not taken. I moved on. But, that's not to say I was happy. I was not happy at all she went on vacation without me. If I had my way, there would have been no vacation at all until we were no longer living paycheck to paycheck.<br />
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I have a good analogy here. This is like what it's like living in a socialistic dictatorship. I actually even said that once in a fight we had. I told her that she is like a dictator. She taxes me at 100%. If I make more money, she takes that money too.<br />
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And most of it went to vacations. I never got to spend any of it to make our house look nicer. Nearly 100% of it went to bills and vacations. And, eventually, her new car.<br />
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So, one day I said, "If you let me control my money, I can double the amount of money I make."<br />
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She never did. She never allowed me to have any control. So, that sort of threw me into a depression of sorts. Here we were, 15 years into our marriage, and I'm not allowed to do anything. And I do something, and I'm berated for it. And then I'm told I never make any plans.<br />
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So, you can see this was not looking good. Still, I had Faith. The idea of divorce never entered my head. We would work it out. Although, this was not good form confidence or my self esteem. In the back of my mind, there were those voices that were saying, "John, this isn't good." But, I tuned them out.<br />
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See, this was the Faith in me. I knew I was in a trap. I was trapped. I was in a cage. Damned if I did and damned if I didn't. I was in a walled up country. That country was a socialistic Venezuela country. I was chained to a chair. The sole purpose of my existence was to be a good dad to my kids and to make money for her to spend.<br />
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And I continued to believe things would get better. And I never gave up thinking that it would. I never gave up until that inevitable day in court.<br />
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But, after than, my standard of living doubled. Hell, it tripled. Motivated to get out of debt and start saving, I went from writing 5 articles a month to 20. I was on fire. I was also moderating like crazy, and getting paid by the hour for that.<br />
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So, within the first month living on my own, I doubled my monthly wages. Seriously, folks, I doubled my wages. Now, nearly a year later, I am working on a deal that might help me to triple my wages with my 'extra' job.<br />
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So, your standard of living doesn't have to go down if you get a divorce. That's not true at all. In a way, I think my divorce was a gift from God. And I think I will make God the topic of my next rant about divorce.John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-15491505219698281432018-11-26T06:03:00.000-08:002018-11-26T06:03:03.205-08:00Here's What I Think Caused My DivorceMy wife and I made a deal shortly after we met. She loved to manage money, so we put her in charge of that. We were then going to do the Dave Ramsey Program. We were going to get out of debt. We set a 5 year plan to get out of debt.<br />
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And I was serious about this. I told her I would give up golfing and collecting baseball cards. I said I'd live on $30 a month. It might even have been $20. That's all I figured I'd need. And, in five years when we were out of debt, I could start doing the things I enjoyed again. I would start golfing and collecting cards.<br />
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I am also a home boy. I love my house. I spend lots of time in the house. I wanted to decorate our house and make it look nice. I wanted to fix the yard and make out home look nice. But, so we could get out of debt, all of this was put on hold. So, we lived kind of in a dump.<br />
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So, the plan was to get out of debt, save money, and then restart our lives when we figured we could afford it.<br />
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But, that never happened. Five years turned into 15 and then 17.<br />
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<b>And here's why. </b><br />
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The next winter she said, "Do you want to go to Florida?"<br />
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I said, "Can we afford that and still get out of debt."<br />
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She said, "Yes!"<br />
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I said, "Then, okay! Let's go have fun."<br />
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Well, the same thing happened the next ten years. Fool me once, fool me twice, fool me three times, fool me four times, fool me five times, fool me ten times. I'm an idiot.<br />
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It got to the point if I said no to a vacation she gets offended. Like, I said yes so many times she just expected it.<br />
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So, the word no never got said. And here we are 15 years after staring the Dave Ramsey program. We've gone on vacation every year almost, and we have a huge debt. Now it's I can' golf and I can't collect cards. I can't decorate the house. It's no longer something I'm doing willingly anymore. Now I'm being forced to not do anything. And any time I went to the store to get something, she got mad at me. I was being selfish.<br />
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Like, something was going to come crashing down here. So, this is what I think created tension in our marriage. To her vacations were important. To me, you only go on vacations when you can afford them. But, she always got what she wanted. And, so, this lead to tensions.<br />
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Finally, when I called her on it, it lead to arguments. I was unhappy because I figured if we just quit going on vacation 2 years we could save up. We could have an emergency fund. We could stop living paycheck to paycheck.<br />
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But she didn't want to give up her vacations. Finally, in the past year, we went on a vacation. And there was constant pressure. She refused to talk to me. When I did talk to her, she argued with me no matter what was said. So, to keep the peace, I'd just keep my distance.<br />
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I always prided myself on the fact that we never fought about money. But, in the end, it was money that caused our divorce. I am he peacekeeper. To keep the peace, I kept letting her get her way. In the end, my peacekeeping destroyed the marriage.<br />
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So, how did my standard of living double after I got divorced.John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16837276806724088.post-20790638765125338092018-11-23T05:41:00.000-08:002018-11-23T05:41:01.758-08:00Divorce Is Like Facing DeathThere are those of us who have lost spouses. This is always a sad time. There will always be that empty spot that cannot be filled again. But, we move on as best we can.<br />
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I have always said that our loved ones would want us to move on. Surely, when we lose loved ones, we go through a mourning process. That's normal. That's to be expected. But, I think it's fair to say that our loved ones would want us to always remember them. But, they would also want us to move on with our lives. I think that's fair to say. I know if I died, that's what I would be thinking as I looked down from Heaven.<br />
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Now, let's discuss divorce. I can tell you from personal experience it's not much different than having your wife die. To have someone you loved wholeheartedly and unconditionally give up on you and your marriage is just like losing your spouse to death.<br />
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There is a gaping hole in your life that cannot be filled. The only difference here is that your spouse is still alive. And you have to split time with your kids with that person. And you still have to communicate with that person because of the kids.<br />
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As a Catholic, I never in a million years expected this. My parents fought. They fought harder than my wife and I ever did. And they are still married all these years later. And people respect them for it. I always figured we'd be two old, people who would look back and laugh at the times we fought. And we'd be respected as people are when they're married that long.<br />
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I figured my marriage would be the same way. We fought. We get over it. That's just what you do. That's especially what you do when you are good, faithful people.<br />
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But, that's not what she wanted. She wanted to give up. She wanted to quit trying. And, once she came to that decision, there was no turning back. In this state you only need one person to give up on the marriage. You don't need consent from the other person.<br />
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So, being realistic, there came a point where it was best to walk away. And so you do. You read how to split. You do what the experts say. Or, you create your own path.<br />
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And then you start all over again. You have a clean slate, minus the stain of divorce.<br />
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John Bottrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107035756753427035noreply@blogger.com1