Ronald E. Yates's Blog, page 68

Q & A With Ron Yates On Writing, Etc. (Part 1)

During the past year, I have done several interviews with bloggers, audiences at book festivals, and others about books, publishing, and writing in general. For the next few days, I am posting those interviews as a three-part series.   I hope you find these posts interesting and, most of all, helpful.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Probably when I was in the sixth grade. I loved writing stories, and I had a teacher (Mrs. Gooch) who encouraged me. My mother also bought me books and took me often to the library–a place that I found magical and magnetic. She often read to me, and I could “see” the story unfolding before me. When I could read myself, I began to devour everything I could get my hands on. Reading took me places I could not, as a young boy, otherwise go. As I used to tell my journalism students at the University of Illinois if you want to write well, read well.

What was your inspiration to write the Finding Billy Battles Trilogy?

I grew up in Kansas, and I was always fascinated by what life was like there in the 19th Century when the state was still relatively wild. At the same time, I spent a lot of time in the Far East as a foreign correspondent, and I was equally intrigued by what life must have been like in the 19th Century colonial period in places like French Indochina, The Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. Then one day, I got the idea to blend the two using a character from 19th Century Kansas who goes to the Far East and other places in search of himself. During that search, he finds himself immersed in more peril and adventure than he bargained for.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a published author?

Try to write as much as you can from your own experiences. They are real and uncontrived, and if you incorporate those experiences in your fiction, your work will have a truthful ring to it. Beyond that, KEEP AT IT! Don’t let anybody (editors, agents, etc.) discourage you. At the same time, be willing to accept constructive criticism from those who have experience as authors, editors, agents, etc. Notice I said CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Some people criticize just to be criticizing–or to be malicious. You must believe in yourself, your work, your vision, and your story. If you don’t, who will?

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story needs a strong plot and even stronger characters. Otherwise, it falls flat. The writer needs to be above all, a good storyteller. If you build a good story, THEY WILL COME, to paraphrase “Field of Dreams.” Make readers care about your protagonist. Make readers empathize, cry, and laugh with them. At the same time, keep them off balance. Don’t be predictable, and don’t be afraid to do terrible things to your favorite characters. Have you ever known anybody who has sailed through life without some turmoil, some pain, some suffering? I haven’t.

If your trilogy became a movie or a Netflix mini-series, who would be your first choice to play the lead roles?

Clint Eastwood as the elderly Billy Battles; Clive Owen as the middle-aged Billy Battles and Ashton Kutcher as the young Billy Battles. I would pick Saffron Burrows for Billy’s first love, Mallie McNab and Famke Janssen, for the widow Katharina Schreiber who Billy meets on the boat to the Far East. (Why these choices? These folks are all tall, like me. Billy is 6’3″ and Mallie is about 5’10,” as is the statuesque widow Schreiber).

Do any of your characters have qualities/characteristics that are similar to yourself?

I think Billy Battles and I are a lot alike. I mean, aren’t most novels a bit autobiographical? He is a restless sort. He enjoys traveling, going to new places, and experiencing new things. Like Billy, I couldn’t wait to get away from Kansas (though I love the place dearly). And, like Billy, I am a happy wanderer. How else could I have survived and thrived as a foreign correspondent for 25 years? We are both journalists. At the same time, he is a dependable guy who is loyal to his friends and to those he chooses to keep close to him. Above all, Billy respects two traits in people: Honesty and Kindness. We are alike in that way.

Tell us about your next release.

I finished the trilogy in 2018 with the publication of The Lost Years of Billy Battles, which I am proud to say has won multiple awards. Book #3 deals with a new phase of Billy Battles’ life. It takes him to Mexico during the 1910 revolution led by such people as Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. In Veracruz, Billy finds him mixed up with political opportunists, spies, revolutionaries, and an assortment of evil and dubious characters of both sexes. In short, Book #3 in the trilogy once again takes Billy far away from his Kansas roots and out of his comfort zone. Then, Billy disappears for several years. Family and friends have no idea where he is or why he vanished. Why did he vanish and to where? You will have to read Book #3 to find out.

I am finishing my next book, which is a novel about foreign correspondents in Asia. Its working title is Asia Hands: A Tale of Foreign Correspondents & Other Miscreants in the Orient. Here is a blurb about it:

A mysterious object of unknown origin hidden in the heart of an impenetrable S.E. Asian jungle. A covert alliance of dangerous people determined to keep it concealed. Treacherous secret agents. Betrayal. Assassination. Murder.                                        

It’s one hell of a story, and two foreign correspondents—one recently retired and the other approaching burn out—are on the scent.

Meet Cooper McGrath and Clayton Brandt.

They have just stumbled onto the biggest story of their lives—one that could have staggering ramifications for the planet and its people.

Now all they have to do is live long enough to tell it.

Will they meet their deadlines, or will they meet their deaths?

How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula?

I don’t outline my books, and I don’t write down plot scenarios. I just start writing and see where the story and my characters lead me. It’s a lot like life itself. We may have a goal in mind, but the route to it is often strewn with obstacles, surprises, and sometimes tragedy. I usually write 3,000 or 4,000 words a day, and I edit as I go. In other words, I may write a few paragraphs and then rewrite them within a few minutes of creating them. I don’t write what I would call a “First Draft.” When I finish writing a book, it is finished. I may go back and make a few tweaks with the plot here and there, or alter a little dialogue or some action by a character, but there is no second or third draft.

I know some authors who will write a first draft and put it away for weeks or months and then go back and look at it with fresh eyes. Alternatively, they may send it out to professional “beta readers” or “critiquers.” I do use beta readers, but I don’t put my writing away for weeks or months. Those strategies may work for some people. They don’t work for me. I guess it’s my journalistic training: see it, report it, organize it, write it and then move on to the next story.

If your publisher offered to fly you anywhere in the world to research an upcoming book, where would you most likely want to go?

To Papua New Guinea. That is where a significant portion of my next book takes place–or should I say in the dense jungles of that still mostly unexplored country. There, in the forbidding and uncharted Foja Mountains, lurks an ancient mystery that two foreign correspondents are attempting to uncover.

(TOMORROW: Part 2)

Are We Fighting the Planet’s First Biological War?

The other day I received a fascinating commentary declaring that the COVID-19 virus all of us are dealing with is a result of a planned attack by China.

Do I believe that? No, I don’t. At least not based on the inadequate evidence to support that assertion that I have seen so far.

But the narrative, which was entitled “China Was Ready” did make some compelling arguments in support of the charge that China was, and is behind this devastating pandemic.

The first assertion was that the Coronavirus has traveled all over the world from Wuhan, but has not made it to Beijing or Shanghai.

“Can anyone explain that?” it asks.

I can’t. But then, I have no way of knowing if that assertion is true. I have not heard of any Coronavirus cases in Beijing or Shanghai, but then the Chinese Communist Party has imposed a media blackout on all reporting on the virus and its impact in China.

If it is true that the virus has been totally contained in central China it makes me wonder how the COVID-19 virus, which began in Washington State, has made it all the way to New York—some 3,000 miles away.

According to the commentary, there are so many questions. For example, why haven’t the Chinese stock markets (Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong) collapsed, while the American and European markets have?

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According to a recent report in the Economist Magazine, during the coronavirus outbreak, China now has the world’s best-performing stock markets, while just eight weeks ago they were the worst.

In fact, since the outbreak, China’s financial markets have opened as scheduled and are operating smoothly, which shows that China’s financial system has a strong ability to deal with risks.  On top of that, China bought big in the U.S. and European markets as stock prices have plummeted.

“All roads lead back to China,” the commentary said, insisting that China planned the pandemic. It then presented a list of circumstantial evidence to back up that claim:

China created a virus for which it already had an antidote.
It purposely spread the virus for financial gain.
The Chinese built hospitals within a few days of the outbreak in Wuhan. China was prepared with organized projects, with the ordering of equipment, the hiring of labor, the water and sewage networks, the prefabricated building materials. It all happened very quickly.
China quickly gained control of the epidemic because it was ready. It was ready and it were never really lost control of the virus.
China is currently moving back to full production while the rest of the world is at a standstill.

The author urges us to read the 2004 book co-authored by Chinese Major Generals Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui entitled: “Unrestricted War: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America.”

The book, available in Kindle format on Amazon, “has been required reading at West Point,” according to the blurb on its Amazon page.

“The People’s Liberation Army manual for asymmetric warfare details the waging of war, strategically and tactically, using weapons (bio-weapons?) not limited to bullets, bombs, missiles, and artillery shells. The two PLA officers who advocated the strategy set forth in the book argue that modern warfare, in ways not too dissimilar from Sun Tzu’s Art of War, is about impeding the enemy’s ability to wage war and to defend itself against a barrage of attacks against its economy, its civil institutions, its governmental structures, and its actual belief system.

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The book contains a recipe for a slow but inexorable assault on an enemy’s institutions, often without the enemy’s knowledge that it is even being attacked. As Sun Tzu once wrote, “If one party is at war with another, and the other party does not realize it is at war, the party who knows it’s at war almost always has the advantage and usually wins.” And this is the strategy set forth in *Unrestricted Warfare,* waging a war on an adversary with methods so covert at first and seemingly so benign that the party being attacked does not realize it is being attacked.

“Readers, therefore, should take this little manual as a dire warning. Complacency cripples. Hubris kills. And blindness without guidance usually leads one into the nearest wall if not hurtling down a flight of stairs. Thus, although this book was written 16 years ago, it should be regarded as the playbook for the destruction of not only the United States, but of western democracies in general.”

Have you wondered why Russia and North Korea are apparently almost totally free of Covid-19?  Perhaps because they are allies of China.

China insists that its initial drastic measures were severe and that Wuhan was locked down in order to contain the spread to other areas. Could it be that China is using an antidote that was already available before COVID-19 was released? And why was Beijing not impacted?

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Here’s another interesting point. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan at the peak of the outbreak. He wore only a simple RM-1 face mask to visit those affected areas. As president, shouldn’t Xi have been covered from head to toe in a hazardous materials suit? Was it because he had already been injected with the antidote and there was no need to worry?

Now, it is reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus some 10 days ago, has been moved into intensive care at St. Thomas Hospital in London.

The commentary insists that “there is no doubt that China is waging biological warfare against the West.”

The author adds that the world will be much different when this COVID-19 pandemic is over. Maybe, he says, this pandemic is just stage one in China’s scheme to take over the world.

Once again, I am not convinced that China is quite this malicious and malevolent. I hope it isn’t, but as I have said in previous posts, China is not our friend. It is an adversary economically, politically, and militarily and we best wake up to that fact before it is too late.

 

China’s Duplicity is Responsible for the Global Pandemic

Back in January U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo called the Chinese Communist Party “the central threat of our times.”

Pompeo was right on target. At the time the coronavirus was spreading throughout China and beginning to infect the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the Communist Party was working feverishly to hide the epidemic.

“My concern is that this cover-up, this disinformation that the Chinese Communist Party was and is still engaged in, is denying the world the information it needs so that we can prevent further cases or something like this from recurring again”, Pompeo said this last week.

Pompeo’s concerns are backed up by a University of Southampton study that concluded that had China responded to the outbreak three weeks earlier than it did instead of hiding the truth, cases of coronavirus could have been reduced by 95% and the global pandemic that is sweeping through some 150 nations could have been contained and avoided.

Chinese leaders, however, are obsessed only with the sustainability of their totalitarian regime and will silence anything or anybody that threatens their power and that includes admitting that the COVID-19 virus began in their backyard. Since January, the evidence of China’s deliberate cover-up of the coronavirus in Wuhan has become a matter of public record. The Chinese government censored and detained brave doctors and whistleblowers who attempted to sound the alarm. One of China’s richest entrepreneurs, Jack Ma, recently disclosed that China hid at least one-third of the coronavirus cases.

 

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“Official” statistics from the Chinese Communist Party say there have been 3,309 deaths in China, but information leaking out of China’s say the figure could be as many as 40,000 dead from the COVID-19 virus.

I am not surprised by this. In 1989, when I was covering the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, the CCP insisted that no more than 300 students and demonstrators were killed. The Chinese Red Cross put the number at 3,000—and then insisted that even that number was conservative.

More recently, a top-secret British diplomatic memo produced at the time of the massacre quoted a source in the CCP as saying the number of dead was more like 50,000 because most of the deaths occurred outside of the square in Beijing neighborhoods.

We all know the story of modern China.

It has been able to grow into a superpower because it adopted economic practices from the West. No other country ever achieved such rapid economic and social progress for such a sustained period of time. However, the hopes placed by the West in the Chinese market also nourished a dangerous mirage.

We in the West thought that a modernizing China with a rising GDP would also democratize and come to respect transparency, pluralism and human rights. Instead, the mirage turned into a disaster as we watched China become even more of a “totalitarian state“.

The nature of the Chinese regime — its ban on the free press and all critical voices; the absolute domination of the Communist Party over social, spiritual and economic actors; imprisoning minorities and crushing freedom of conscience — is also contributing to the emergence of this public health disaster. The cost, in terms of human lives and the world’s GDP, is immense.

The Chinese government’s complicity in the pandemic is now an opportunity for the West to reevaluate its ties to Beijing.

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According to Guy Sorman, a French-American expert on China: “Like useful idiots, we have not only helped the Party prosper but, even worse, we have given up on our humanitarian, democratic, and spiritual values in doing so.”

“It is time”, said American columnist, Marc A. Thiessen, “to immunize our economy and national security from our dependence on a deceitful regime”.

China is waging a double information war: one abroad and one for its own public, both led by the Chinese authorities with President Xi Jinping at its head. They apparently see the West as weak and submissive. We have been.

China seems to believe that it is rising, while the West is in decline.

“We find ourselves in what Germans call a Systemwettbewerb, a ‘competition of systems’ between liberal democracies and China’s authoritarian state capitalism, which is increasingly projecting its absolute claim to power beyond its borders”, said Thorsten Benner, co-founder, and director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin.

The Cold War with Russia was clearer.

“We had an ideological and security antagonist who was not an economic competitor,” Benner wrote. “There was a Chinese wall between the economies of the West and the Soviet Union. Today, we are confronted with an opponent who is a powerful economic competitor and intricately involved in the political economy of the West.”

According to historian Niall Ferguson, “China today poses a bigger economic challenge than the Soviet Union ever did”. The Soviet Union could never rely on a dynamic private sector, as China is doing. In some markets — such as technology — China is already ahead of the United States. Not only that; the Chinese economy, the world’s second-largest, is more closely integrated with the West than the Soviet one ever was.”

China has also been able to convince much of the West that it is not an enemy. Beijing’s goal has appeared to be to try to draw the West — and the rest of the world — into its economic and ideological orbit.

China opened markets in the West while it offered to its own people a kind of devil’s bargain: give up your ideas and principles and you will enjoy material improvement and societal security. Meanwhile, China became an industrial and technological behemoth, a feat the Soviet Union could only dream about.

Consider, for instance, pharmaceuticals.

According to Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, Chinese companies supply the US with more than 90% of its antibiotics, vitamin C and ibuprofen, as well as 70% of acetaminophen and 40-45% of heparin. The US was never dependent on the Soviet Union for that.

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Liao Yiwu, a Chinese writer exiled in Berlin recently wrote: “The West is so tolerant, passive, accommodating and naive towards Beijing. Westerners… are seduced like an old man in front of a young girl… Europe shows all its weaknesses. It does not realize that the Chinese offensive threatens its freedom and values.”

In an article in Xinhua, the Chinese Communist Party’s main mouthpiece, Beijing threatened to halt pharmaceutical exports, after which the US would be “plunged into the mighty sea of coronavirus.” The Xinhua article was titled, “Be bold: the world owes China a thank you.”

China’s Communist Party also seems to be at war with the free flow of information internationally. The regime, in the most sweeping media ejection from China since the death of Mao Zedong, recently expelled three US journalists.

Beijing has also tried to shift the blame for the pandemic to the US by saying that coronavirus originated with US military personnel in Wuhan. Lijian Zhao, the spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, posted statements to that effect on Chinese social media and Twitter. The coronavirus crisis is now a battleground for Chinese propaganda.

The Chinese regime is now seeking to portray itself as the world’s savior. However, at the beginning of the pandemic, Beijing did not care about the lives of even its own people: it was too busy censoring the news.

The result is one of the worst pandemics in world history—a plague unleashed by China on the world that will likely kill millions of people, destroy economies, and create political chaos.

China is a duplicitous, untrustworthy nation interested only in world domination. If it needs to kill millions of its own people and millions of people around the world via a deadly pandemic it will do it without hesitation in order to achieve that goal.

6 Worst Pandemics in History and What We Can Learn

Today, I am sharing the following post from Learning Mind, which bills itself as a “source for deep thinkers, lifelong learners and truth seekers.”

It’s a fascinating look at the six worst pandemics in world history—at least those pandemics we know about. How many occurred before people kept records of such events, is anybody’s guess.

The article is written by author and journalist Sherrie Hurd. 

Some of the worst pandemics in history have taken millions of lives. What lessons have we learned from these horrible events?

Understanding the history of the worst pandemics requires the ability to differentiate between the epidemic and pandemic in the definition. First of all, the epidemic is an outbreak of the disease on a large scale. The pandemic is much the same in that definition, but it tends to travel globally, infecting people in multiple countries.

While both the epidemic and pandemic can take millions of lives, the pandemic affects a greater geographical location. When crossing borders in this manner, sicknesses and disease can cause more confusion about how to react.

Pandemics and Politics

When it comes to pandemics, different countries tend to react in slightly different manners. For instance, while one country may immediately quarantine its citizens, another one may act in a more lax manner. Unfortunately, these various reactions also cause more deaths. Politicians, after all, in various countries, tend to see things much differently at the beginning of the pandemic.

It’s usually not until the pandemic has taken many lives that leaders understand the serious issues at hand. I will say that in some cases, we get leaders who “over-react”, and in doing so, actually make intelligent decisions. We see various outcomes in some of these outbreaks in disease.

[image error] Women wearing surgical masks during the influenza epidemic, 1919

Some of the worst pandemics in history:

The Antonine Plague (165 AD)

Over 5 million people and the whole Roman army perished because of the Antonine Plague. This disease, although thought to be either measles or smallpox, was honestly of unknown origin.

The only thing we do know is that Roman soldiers brought the illness back from Mesopotamia and infected a huge population of Egypt, Greece, and Italy. The plague was also known as the Galen Plague and one of the very first pandemics recorded in history.

The Bubonic Plague

This insidious plague happened more than once in history – first appearing between 541 and 542 AD and then again between 1346 and 1353.

Plague of Justinian (541-542}

The first occurrence of the Bubonic plague took the lives of 25 million people in only one year. The plague ravished the Byzantine Empire and Port cities along the Mediterranean. It’s thought that this first incident of the plague killed almost half of Europe in one year. For a better scope of things, understand that this was around 5,000 per day.

The Black Death (Plague of London – 1346-1353}

The second onset of the Bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death and the Plague of London, killed even more individuals in European countries. It is thought that fleas carrying the virus traveled on rats aboard ships going from Asia to Europe. During the life of the plague, seven years, there were between 75 and 200 million deaths.

The Cholera Pandemic (1852-1860)

[image error] Cholera Epidemic, France 1832

Cholera epidemic in France, 1832There are 6 separate episodes of cholera, but the third one was the worst. This pandemic was found to originate from the water systems. The illness started in India and spread through Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. Before Cholera was finished with its onslaught, it took the lives of at least 1 million people.

Flu pandemics (1889-present)

There were 5 different flu pandemics in history. Each attacked different types of victims. The flu’s first appearance was in the year of 1889 and the epidemic continues today.

Flu pandemic (1889-1901)

The flu of this time was caused by Influenza A type of virus H3N8. This virus was reported in 3 different areas: Asia, Canada, and Greenland. Because of rapid population growth, the virus spread quickly across the globe. By the end of the disease’s reign, it has taken around 1 million victims.

Flu pandemic (Spanish flu) (1918-1920)

 

[image error] Spanish Flu Victims, Ft. Riley, Kansas

The second influenza pandemic was a bit different from the first and thought to come from swine. While the first outbreak claimed the majority of lives of the young, elderly, or those with underlying conditions, the second attack targeted more healthy people with no previous health condition, leaving the young and elderly with fewer casualties.

The mortality rate of this pandemic was 20%, claiming the lives of between 20-50 million individuals.

Asian flu pandemic (1956-1958)

Originating in Asia from the H2N2 virus, the Asian flu traveled through parts of China, including Hong Kong, and then into the United States. The virus claimed the lives of around 2 million people.

Flu pandemic (Hong Kong flu) (1968)

Another influenza virus, originating in Hong Kong, tore across the globe killing 1 million people. This virus was a mutated form of the H2N2 activated by the H3N2 virus. It only took three months for the virus to spread across the globe affecting, Hong Kong, India, Australia, Europe, the United States and the Philipines.

Although the virus only claimed 1 million deaths globally, it took the most lives of Hong Kong citizens – that would be around 15% of their population.

The most recent flu pandemic (2009)

The most recent report of the flu killing vast numbers of people was between 2008 and 2010, with a high concentration in 2009. This strain of flu, the H1N1 virus, claimed more children and middle-aged adults, while the elderly were immune. This is probably due to the fact that past flu pandemics braced the immune system of those who survived previous sicknesses. This flu claimed over 500,000 people in the world, originating in the United States.

HIV/Aids (1976-present)

Over 36 million deaths were caused by Aids between 1976 and the present, with peak mortality rates between 2005-2012. The virus started in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and quickly spread over the entire globe. While at first devastating, those with HIV now can go on to live full lives with the help of the proper medications.

Corona (Covid19) (2019-)

We are now facing another pandemic that has presently left our world within panic. In just the first three months of this viral breakout, there are over 22,000 reported deaths. Unfortunately, there are shortages in tests, medical supplies and equipment, so the number of mortalities could be higher.

There are currently over 400,000 people diagnosed with the virus, which means there are probably that many more yet to be diagnosed… and growing.

What can we learn now from past pandemics?

Looking at the mortality rate of pandemics of the past, we can learn how to better take care of ourselves today. Presently, we are fighting another pandemic now, and I’m sad to say, many people aren’t taking this virus seriously.

When looking at the end numbers, and comparing them with the active numbers, we assume this virus isn’t half the threat as the ones before it. And that’s just the point. This one has just started, while the others have tapered off, ended or been assigned a vaccine to treat them.

The worst pandemics in history should be teaching us to stay inside and embrace social distancing, even full quarantine for places such as Italy and the United States, where the virus has hit hard. Let’s be smart and quarantine ourselves, stay clean and healthy, and also teach others to do the same.

In this day and age, with the technology at our fingertips, we can spread positive motivation instead of disease, and teach others right from the safety of our homes. Using our intelligence to beat this thing is much better than treating it as a conspiracy.

Please take this one seriously, so history doesn’t repeat itself. Thank you.

Copyright © 2012-2020 Learning Mind. 

Corona Virus: An Update from La La Land

This is a little update on how the COVID-19 virus is impacting life here in Southern California.

Like millions of others, I am self-isolating. About the only place I have been in the past 10 days is the grocery store where I feel more like a forager than a shopper. After some 10 days of panic-buying, many of the shelves are better stocked, but meat, soup, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and eggs are still in short supply.

If there is an upside to this crisis it is the fact that the vast freeway system in Southern California is barely in use. Freeways are free of the heavy traffic that normally gridlocks them. Also, the air seems cleaner and fresher because of the mandated stay at home order from California Governor Gavin Newsome.

So far, the virus has had a relatively minor impact on Southern California. Here is the latest breakdown: In Los Angeles County: 662 confirmed cases, 11 deaths; Orange County: 95 cases, 0 deaths; San Bernardino County: 17 cases, 0 deaths;  San Diego County: 205 presumptive cases, 0 deaths; Ventura County: 35 cases, 0 deaths.

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Riverside County, where I live, has had 48 cases and 6 deaths. That’s in a county of 2.2 million.

I guess staying home is working, but I don’t see how our economy can survive much longer with people unable to work.

I know he has gotten some blowback, but I like what Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said recently when asked what we should do once the 15-day stay-at-home order is finished next weekend.

“My message is that let’s get back to work, let’s get back to living, let’s be smart about it, and those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves. But don’t sacrifice the country,” he said. “Lots of grandparents out there are willing to take a chance against the COVID-19 virus in order to save the economy.”

For some reason, Patrick was criticized for saying this. The fact is, what he said is the truth.

It does no good to destroy our economy and send the nation into a depression. We will survive the Coronavirus but that means very little if 25 percent of the population is unemployed. There needs to be some balance between fighting the virus and keeping our economy from collapsing.

I am shocked, however, at how inept and partisan Congress has become during this crisis. Rather than work together to pump much needed financial aid into the economy, Democrats and Republicans are bickering over what kind of “pork” to include in the unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus package.

That kind of political partisanship is shameful when millions of Americans are no longer working, the stock market is crashing, and our economy is on the verge of recession, if not a depression.

This pandemic is unparalleled in modern history and dealing with requires adult, rational behavior rather than the kind of childish bickering and squabbling we are seeing in the House and Senate.

Disgusting is the only word to describe it.

Probably the most vociferous condemnation of this behavior came from Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy who called some of his colleagues “A-holes.”

[image error] Sen. Kennedy Photo by Susan Walsh/AP/

“Do you know what the American people are thinking right now?” Kennedy asked while speaking on the Senate floor. “They’re thinking that the brain is an amazing organ. It starts working in a mother’s womb, and it doesn’t stop working until you get elected to Congress.”

But Sen. Kennedy wasn’t finished.

“Do you know what the American people are thinking right now, Mr. President? They’re thinking that this country was founded by geniuses. But it’s being run by a bunch of idiots.

“I get politics,” Kennedy continued. “I have been around it my whole life. But there comes a time when we have to stop thinking about the next election and start thinking about the next generation. What are we going to leave to our children if we allow this economy to crash? And it is happening as we speak,” Kennedy said.

“I mean no ill will toward my Democratic friends. I like and respect every one of them. But let’s pass this bill,” he added.

Amen to that. I couldn’t say it any better.

In the meantime, I will continue to shelter in place at home, venture out only occasionally when I need to go foraging in the grocery store and keep washing my hands.

Oh, and I will also continue to hope that our once robust economy survives not only the COVID-19 virus, but the stupidity, self-interest, and unbridled partisanship of many members of Congress.

 

 

Wake Up! China is NOT our Friend

Yes, I said it.

China is NOT our friend.

I covered China off and on as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s and 1990s when it was viewed primarily as a struggling Marxist-Leninist-Maoist power.

Just as it was in 1989, when it murdered thousands of students and anti-corruption demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, it remains authoritarian at home and arrogantly indifferent to the rest of the world.

But today, that view requires some recalibration.

Today, China is the source of a pandemic that is crushing world economies and killing thousands of people, and we see China for what it is.

Today’s China has transformed itself into a neo-Confucian nation in which rapid economic growth has enabled the state to dredge up ancient traditions of submission and deference to the government, its institutions, and its Mandarin overlords.

This compulsion and craving for more and more economic growth, individual wealth, and authoritarian stability not only hooked China’s people, for some perverse reason it appealed to many of the world’s political and business leaders who saw the country as a boundless source of new markets.

They were content to overlook China’s downward spiral into full-blown dictatorship headed by “President for Life” Xi Jinping, who now has total control of the country. He not only runs the government and the communist party, but he also controls the Chinese military. There are no “checks and balances” on his power, and there are no prospects of any.

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Many CEO’s and political leaders from Europe, the United States, and some parts of Asia were okay with Xi’s iron-fisted rule as long as the profits kept rolling in.

So China became our largest trading partner. Most of the stuff we buy is now made in China. You can go there on vacation. There are lots of Chinese visiting and studying in the USA. But China is not like the United States. The people there are not free. While the communist states of Eastern Europe and Russia could not bring themselves to shoot their own people when they demanded more freedoms some 30 years ago, the Chinese government had no problem doing so in Tiananmen Square.

Now that the global marketplace is tanking and people are dying everywhere, that laissez-faire attitude has changed dramatically. We are now learning that China lied to the world about the severity of the COVID-19 virus, covered up its own incompetence and culpability in dealing with it, and arrested medical experts who dared tell the truth.

Most recently, it is planning to expel reporters from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal for daring to report accurately about the Chinese government’s attempts to conceal the seriousness of the Coronavirus.

When the White House challenged China on its behavior, what did China do? It threatened to cut off all pharmaceutical shipments to the United States and then went so far as to say the virus was created and planted in China by the U. S. Army. Incredible.

And now, here we are. World economies are collapsing at a rate not seen since the Great Depression of the last century, and we are faced with a deadly pandemic.

I do not doubt that the pandemic will pass, and so will the irrational panic it has engendered. And eventually, the world’s economies will recover.

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But what I hope will not be forgotten is how indifferent, irresponsible, and self-centered China was in dealing with the pandemic.

China is NOT a country that the world can depend upon for altruistic, unselfish, and dependable leadership.

China is a nation obsessed with dominating Asia and, eventually, the world economically and politically. That obsession applies particularly to the United States, which it views not only as a global economic competitor but as a viable political and military menace.

President for life Xi has laid out his strategy for world domination with a 30-year plan to transform the country and surpass the United States to become the world’s largest superpower.

God, help us!

And I will say it again.

Wake up!

China is NOT our friend.

3 Signs of Perfection Paralysis and How to Overcome It

All of us have struggled to achieve perfection at one time or another. Perhaps it was in our work, in some athletic competition, in some artistic endeavor, or in something as mundane as a home improvement project.

For authors, it’s that desire to write the perfect story or novel—something that has never been done as far as I can tell.

Nevertheless, we strive for perfection and there is nothing wrong with that unless in the striving we find ourselves paralyzed by the knowledge that what we are doing is far from perfect.

I found the following essay in The Learning Mind on the dangers of Perfection Paralysis thought-provoking, so I thought I would share it with my followers. Take a look and let me know what you think. I think Becky Storey makes a lot of sense.

3 Signs of Perfection Paralysis and How to Overcome It

By Becky Storey

I think it would be fair to say that we’ve all struggled with perfection paralysis at least once in our lives. We’ve all wanted so badly to be perfect that we haven’t been able to do anything at all. It is a fairly common experience to be so afraid of being less than perfect that you can’t bring yourself to even try.

It’s great to strive to do your best. Generally speaking, we should all want to be our best selves, at least most of the time. Sometimes though, we can put too much energy into being our best. We can try so hard to be perfect that we can’t do anything at all. This is known as perfection paralysis.

What Is Perfection Paralysis?

It is a mental state caused by stress and anxiety towards the need to be perfect. When we’re so convinced that we have to create something perfect, we often freeze completely, unable to even start. This could include schoolwork, work for your career or even in your personal life.

This is a defense mechanism due to the fear of failing or not producing or being, something entirely perfect. This often leads to avoiding opportunities to succeed, because of the fear of not performing at your very best.

It is a similar fear to that of rejection or failure but varies just slightly. Perfection paralysis is caused by the fear that something you do won’t be without a single flaw. To these kinds of people, imperfection means rejection or failure, or just shame and embarrassment.

If you don’t feel that total perfection is possible, then you’re likely to avoid trying at all. Similar to the stress response reaction, the panic sensation brought on by the need to be perfect can force you to freeze completely.

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Signs of Perfection Paralysis

Scrapping Work Before It’s Finished

If you are feeling paralyzed, you likely can’t stand seeing work that isn’t perfect. If you feel that what you’ve produced isn’t everything you want it to be, your mind likely won’t be open to “fixing” it. It just has to go.

Imagine creating a painting or drawing with a small detail that isn’t as beautiful as you’d like it to be. Would you be able to ignore it, or would you try to correct it a little? These are healthy options that are easy for a person who doesn’t experience perfection paralysis.

For those who do suffer, scrapping the entire work is the only option. To handle the crippling fear of failure and not being the very best, sufferers would rather not have to even think about the less than perfect work they produced.

Fear of Judgement

Perfectionists who experience this kind of paralysis often feel this way because they’re afraid of ridicule from others. Some might have this fear because of past trauma that involved being told they aren’t good enough, smart enough or talented enough. Some, on the other hand, may have developed this irrational fear without any clear trigger.

This feeling causes us to feel ashamed of what we produce, regardless of how good it really is.

If you’re afraid of being embarrassed, then you probably work too hard to be perfect to overcome this. Our minds trick us into believing that if we produce flawless work or behave flawlessly, others will have nothing to judge us for. Reality is, if people want to judge, they’ll always find a way.

Comparing Yourself to Others

We often feel paralyzed after we’ve seen work produced by others. Whether it’s artwork, writing work or even academic reports, we can’t help but compare what we create to what others have done first. When we feel the pressure of living up to standards already set by others, we start to panic. This usually results in perfection paralysis. You believe that if you can’t do as well as someone else, then you don’t feel like you can do it at all.

We all hate being compared to others, but we assume others will do it anyway. We don’t want our bosses, teachers or parents seeing what we’ve created just in case it pales in comparison to someone else’s work. The idea of feeling inferior is terrifying enough to put us off trying at all.

How to Overcome Perfection Paralysis

Prioritize Your Time

Perfectionists who suffer from this type of paralysis often feel like there isn’t enough time in the world to do everything on their “to-do” lists. This is only because they feel like every task on the list has to be done perfectly. From the minor errands to the major jobs, there’s no difference in how flawlessly the task has to be executed. This quickly leads to an overwhelming sense of doom because there isn’t enough time to do everything as well as they want to.

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This overwhelming stress leads to perfection paralysis. The brain shuts down in fear of not making everything perfect, and nothing gets done at all.

Instead of falling apart at the prospect of executing every single task perfectly, a person who struggles with this problem should work on prioritizing. Some tasks simply just don’t require that much energy. Not everything needs to be perfect.

Approach a “to do” list with an open mind and prioritize in order of what actually requires perfection (if any do at all). Then decide what you can squeeze in and do just well enough, and what really requires more time.

Understand That Perfection Isn’t Everything

In order to prioritize, you might first have to come to the realization that not everything needs to be done perfectly. Perfection paralysis can only occur if you’re truly terrified of producing something less than perfect.

By developing the ability to put things into perspective, you’ll spend far less time worrying over the smallest things. This applies to perfectionism too. When you learn that sometimes, perfection isn’t necessary, you’ll find it much easier to get on with work.

Some suggest that to rid yourself of perfectionism, you should let go of one thing a day, slowly increasing as you get more comfortable. This could be minor things at first, such as choosing a less than perfect outfit, having a less than perfect lunch or a less than perfect chat around the water cooler. As you learn to let go of the need to be perfect, you’ll find that you won’t be paralyzed anymore.

Freezing only occurs when you’re so determined to be perfect that the mere prospect of not achieving it stops you from trying at all.

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Learn to Enjoy Living

The best way to overcome perfection paralysis is to do things for joy, not for success or praise. When the work you do is valuable to you because you enjoy it, you’ll be happier to just do your best. When you write, paint or work because you want to, being perfect isn’t the top priority anymore.

Perfection paralysis is an unhealthy state of mind to be in. It’s counter-productive too. The harder you try to be perfect, the further away you feel from it. Let go of past judgments and move forward in the knowledge that those who judge your imperfections aren’t worth your time. Enjoy living for you, instead of constantly trying to be perfect.

References:

https://www.forbes.com
https://www.success.com
https://www.learning-mind.com/

Becky Storey is a professional writer who has been passionate about the way we think and the human mind since she developed chronic anxiety many years ago. Now she loves to write and educate people on mental health and wellbeing. When Becky is not writing, you’ll find her outside with her Labrador, sitting behind a jigsaw puzzle, or baking something with too much sugar.

 

Some Thoughts About Today’s News Media

The other day, I had a long conversation about the state of American journalism with a couple of friends. They told me, in no uncertain terms, that they don’t believe anything they hear, read, or see when it comes to the news today. “It’s all propaganda and what isn’t propaganda is usually biased and inaccurate,” one of my friends said. “What the hell happened, Ron? You were a journalist once. What’s going on?”

I have to admit; I am ashamed at the kind of journalism I see being committed today. My friend is right. News–especially news emanating from cable TV (and I use the word “news” advisedly)–is slathered in a thick coat of disinformation, indoctrination, and misinformation, otherwise known as propaganda.

The kind of reporting, if you want to call it that, that I see, hear, and read today is all too often filled with the reporter’s biases and political opinion. I would have been run out of the Chicago Tribune newsroom, where I started my career in the early 1970s if I had written the kind of partisan and dishonest stories I see today.

Eventually, our conversation turned to other topics, such as the Coronavirus. Once again, my friends argued that the media are fanning the flames of panic by reporting stories that are filled with inaccuracies. I can’t say I am in total agreement with that opinion. I think many in the media are still trying to understand just what the Coronavirus is and how it is impacting our lives. So I am willing to give the media the benefit of the doubt on that score. Check back with me in a few months for an update on that assessment.

Finally, I suggested that my friends read a commentary on the state of America’s news media that I wrote on my blog a while back. Here it is again for those of you who might have missed it. I hope it provides a few answers to some of the questions you may have about the news media. Read on.

 

Good journalism, somebody once said, is a nation talking to itself.

That’s “talking to itself,” not yelling, screaming, shrieking, talking over one another, and engaging in verbal bullying.

That is just about all we see on prime-time television–especially cable television–these days.

Primetime cable TV outlets such as Fox, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, etc. continue to produce a proliferation of hosts and pundits with no foundation in journalistic ethics and tradition. Today’s so-called “news shows” more often than not degenerate into shoutfests where guests and hosts engage, not in any intelligent discussion of issues, but in contests to see who can talk the loudest or bully those who disagree with them into submission.

That kind of “squawk talk” comes with a steep price. What does the viewing public learn from such exhibitions of bad behavior?

The answer, I would argue, is not much. Because when people are yelling at one another, calling one another names or behaving like petulant children, reasoned discourse disappears, and the viewer gets lost in the shrill verbal brawl of the moment. I believe we have lost the art of reasonable discourse in this country. If you don’t agree with someone, then just talk or shout over them, call them names, make faces and behave like a two-year-old. (Sorry if I have insulted any two-year-olds).

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Opinion is NOT reporting. Yet those who monitor the recent explosion of misnamed “news shows” say viewers don’t discern between shows with distinct political agendas and those that attempt to present events with a minimum of subjectivity and a maximum of fairness and balance.

When I started in the newspaper business, reporters were taught that while all of us have biases, as professionals, we must work to subordinate those prejudices and keep our opinions out of the stories we report.

It was something that was drilled into our heads, and sound editors and producers made sure it never left.

That is just not the case today. Too many journalists (or those who like to call themselves journalists) feel compelled to insert their opinions in everything they write or produce. The “new” journalism of assertion and vilification has displaced the old journalism of verification. Gossip has become news, fiction is now fact, and biases are a part of straight news reporting.

Many of these “journalists” are not journalists at all, but merely former political operatives and talking heads who wrap themselves in the mantle of journalism when real journalists are risking their lives in places like Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq to bring people reliable news.

The opinion-fueled shows that dominate cable news channels during prime time are far removed from the old-school straight news programs such as the traditional nightly network newscasts with which many of us grew up.

At an awards dinner several years ago in New York for the late Mike Wallace of CBS 60-Minutes fame, I had an opportunity to talk with Walter Cronkite about the state of television news in general and prime-time cable news in particular. During his reign on CBS, Cronkite, who died in 2009, was often referred to as the most trusted journalist in America–an appellation he didn’t take lightly. He was commonly referred to as “Uncle Walter.”

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During our conversation, he decried the lack of ethics and professionalism that is so pervasive in newsrooms today.

“Too many of these people simply don’t care about or have any desire to ferret out the truth,” Cronkite told me. “Too many have intense political or social agendas, and rather than present information as objectively as possible, they want to jam their opinions down our throats.”

And, he added, most of the public cannot distinguish between these faux journalists and real reporters.

The Society of Professional Journalists–an organization I have belonged to since my days as a student at the University of Kansas–has a code of ethics of which most of cable TV’s shouting heads have no concept.

I, as well as a majority of the journalists I have worked within the U.S. and around the world, always worked assiduously to follow that code, which consists of several sections.

The ones that stand out most in these days of ersatz journalism (and which are, unfortunately, too often ignored) are:

Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.
Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.
Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.
Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.
Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers, and each other.

I have purposely NOT mentioned any names of the most egregious offenders here because that would require several more pages of copy. But I urge you to watch these so-called “news shows” with a critical eye and ear from now on.

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Pay attention to who they have on as guests or as experts–and how often they appear. Watch how those with opposing views are interviewed–or not interviewed. Are they allowed to get their points or arguments across without being shouted down?

What kinds of discussions are held on issues? Are they truth-seeking or attempts merely to reinforce the opinion of the host?

Does each member of a panel have an opportunity to talk without being insulted by the host or by some other panel member?

How you answer these questions will go a long way in helping you to determine if you are watching a frenzied opinion-fest or a real news show designed to get at the truth.

As Thomas Jefferson once said: “An informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.”

So, I will end where I began.

Good journalism is a nation talking to itself–and, I would add, it is a nation that learns from intelligent, rational discourse and has at its core the responsibility to help advance and encourage an informed citizenry.

 

 

 

 

Corona Virus Pandemic: Hoard not, Love Thy Neighbor

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates just how fragile and precarious life on our planet is. That an invisible (at least to the naked eye) virus has such incredible power over us and can create such pervasive panic is both illuminating and alarming.

I am generally an optimist when it comes to the human condition so I hope that this latest challenge will bring out the best in us.

So far that hope appears to be a 50-50 proposition. The appalling behavior of panic-stricken people in stores and the obtuse politicization of this crisis in Congress and elsewhere in our nation’s capital is disgraceful.

On a personal note, I went to a local supermarket the other day to pick up some root beer and a gallon of milk. The behavior I witnessed was disgusting and dismaying. Wide-eyed, panicky people were sprinting down aisles sweeping canned goods from shelves into their grocery carts. Many shelves were completely emptied.

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I felt as if I was witnessing the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. The scene reminded me something I once read from an expert on survival about how thin the line is between what we call civilization and the descent into full-blown chaos. Should there ever be a national crisis such as an Electromagnetic Pulse Attack we are only 72 hours away from complete anarchy and mayhem, he wrote.

Plunderers and thugs will arm themselves and prey on the weak, stealing food, shelter, medical supplies, transportation and anything else they perceive as essential to their survival.

Our concept of an orderly civilized society will dissolve quickly into a vicious, savage jungle where Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest” will be the prevailing law of the land.

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Needless to say, it was a pretty dark assessment, but as I watched the crazed excuses for human beings in that grocery store grabbing, pushing, and shoving their way from depleted aisles to the long checkout lines, I could see just how fragile our civil society is.

One sign of hope was the fact that people were lining up for 20 or 30 minutes to obediently pay for the food and other items in their overflowing grocery carts instead of scampering out of the store without paying.

As I said, I am an optimist when it comes to human behavior. I am convinced that once the initial media-fueled panic over the Coronavirus subsides—and it will—we will all take a deep breath and calm down and the better side of humanity will prevail.

As I was writing this, I happened to click on the link below. It’s uplifting and the kind of thing that the panic-stricken among us would do well to listen to. Actually, it’s not a bad idea for all of us to give it a listen.

In the meantime, hoard not, love thy neighbor and wash those hands often!

https://biggeekdad.com/2014/06/amazing-grace-celtic-woman/

 

A New School Prayer

This has been around awhile, but I just read it again and I thought I would share it with my followers. Whether you agree or not with the prayer’s premise it seems sad that this is where we are as a country.

One common misconception is that the Supreme Court has ruled that praying in school is not allowed. In fact, what is impermissible is a school’s sponsorship of a religious message. Praying in school is not against the law. In fact, the U.S. Constitution guarantees students the right to pray in public schools; it is a protected form of free speech. 

A student can pray on the school bus, in the corridors, in the cafeteria, in their student-run Bible club, at the flagpole, sports stadium, and elsewhere on school grounds. They can even pray silently before and after class in the classroom. However, they are not allowed to pray solely one religion’s prayers at the exclusion of other religions as an organized part of the school schedule.

Prayers in public schools cannot be solely from a single religious faith group because, as the Supreme Court has ruled “that sends the ancillary message to members of the audience who are nonadherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community.”

Of course, some argue that the negative attitude of local school boards toward prayer in public schools in the wake of that Supreme Court ruling has had a chilling effect on children who want to pray. That may be what prompted somebody (nobody knows exactly who) to pen the following “New School Prayer” a few years ago.

A New School Prayer

Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

It becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That’s no offense; it’s a freedom scene.

The law is specific, the law is precise.

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

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For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all.

In silence alone, we must meditate,

God’s name is prohibited by the state.

We’re allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues, and cheeks.

They’ve outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the ‘unwed daddy,’ our Senior King.

It’s “inappropriate” to teach right from wrong,

We’re taught that such “judgments” do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.

It’s scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the school’s a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:

Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen