Trying to be positive isn’t always easy

This is Baytown Bert in Baytown Texas August 1st, 2014 and this is Podcast 06

I want to write something beautiful, something inspiring, something eye-opening – then I read the news.  I read the local, state, federal, and world news and I am jerked back to reality.  No, I don’t get my updates from Fox news; I just happen to be a conservative and believe that some change in necessary and long overdue.  I do not believe throwing tax money at everything is the answer either.

Indulge me a moment while I get my thoughts in order.

Right here in Baytown we experienced big crime when my friend’s business was partially destroyed by human trash in a smash and grab stolen truck demolition of their building.  Magnum Firearms, a mom and pop business owned by my friends John and Becky Johnson suffered terrific damage and loss of inventory to the dregs of society and the 19 weapons stolen will probably be used for more crime.

These are good people who do not have the income to spare to casually rebuild.  I’ve purchased a number of guns and ammo from them and will do it again very soon to show support.  As for the perpetrators of this crime, I sincerely hope they get a Darwin’s award in the worst kind of way.  Some folks call it instant karma. I call it justice mixed with extreme prejudice.   

When people do honest work and make every attempt to earn their way through life, their reward should not be what happened to these two people.  On top of that, when grand theft auto and massive damage to a business results in brazenly stealing other peoples property, the thieves should be incarcerated until they are old and feeble and then beaten with rubber hoses and thrown in a dark pit.  There, I went ahead and said it anyway.

The big news around town is the school board and Dr. Salvador Cavazos and his apparent solo decisions to make wholesale changes in leadership positions and the renewal of contracts. On one hand, I applaud the Baytown Sun’s current position to keep this in the forefront and on the other the Salem Witch Trials keeps popping into the back of my mind.  I sincerely doubt Dr. Cavazos with keep his job and if he doesn’t, I surely hope it is justified.  I h Poe

ate bandwagons; always have, but it is what it is and everyone who picks up a stone, better danged well make sure it is justified.

One thing is obvious to me.  No one will throw their hat in the ring for a future school board position without really thinking about it, unless that person has the fortitude of Jenice Coffey.  According to what I read, this lady has a pretty good take on where things should be and her call for Cavazos resignation will most likely seal his fate – well her and the many people at the meeting who were not allowed to speak.

Ted Poe has been down on the border looking things over.  He is one congressman I believe hasn’t lost sight of why he is in office.  I hope he remains true.  Folks are drawing a line in the sand and some are extending open arms to pull folks across it, while others are openly taking up arms to stop the flow of “children”.  Dang it; it’s a complicated issue and I don’t have the answer.  I see both sides, but if we cannot stop a 10 year old kid from crossing into the country, how in the world are we going to stop a ton of narcotics, or a terrorist from coming in?

There’s been a giant bust of marijuana plants in Polk County, thanks to a deer hunter who discovered it.  The news stations are all over it citing the possibility that the drug cartels are authoring it.  Now all the people who smoke doobies and eat Cheetos will be buying meth or cocaine instead of the devil herb.  That is my experience.  When pot is unavailable, dopers are prone to seek out what is available; with a myriad of side consequences and the money is funneled to the drug cartels anyway. 

Now instead of smoking dope and lying on the couch with orange Cheetos fingers, these same folks may resort to robbing Walgreens, gunshops, and beauty supply stores to get stuff to sell so they can buy more hard drugs.  No, that is reserved for real criminals.  The dope smokers will simply drink more alcohol until the pot flows again.  I say Texas should legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana and let’s move forward.

What, you say marijuana is a gateway drug and legalizing it will cause folks to go buck wild and freak out from reefer madness?  I say they are already smoking it and the money is indeed being funneled to organized crime.  What about all the homeless people Colorado is experiencing now that they legalized it?  What about that Mr. Marshall, huh?

Do you honestly believe these are Colorado citizens who are suddenly homeless?  Heck no, they are young people and students visiting Colorado and grabbing a free bed and meal at the shelters before they return to their respective states who punish reefer users.  They may be mile high, but they know a good deal when they see it.  Why spend $500 a month on Obamacare when you can blow it on high quality weed and eat and sleep for free and get a Colorado vacation on top of everything else?

Recently on Facebook and baytowntalks.net the subject of omitting certain facts in reporting the news was deemed the same thing as lying and I agree.  Why do so many of us distrust what we see, hear, or read concerning the network news?  How do we know when to believe it?  I guess the simplest answer is to do your homework and weigh everything against what you know as fact and just cipher it out, but that in itself is complicated and work, so many either ignore everything they see, hear or read, or wholesale buy it all.

I woke up this morning feeling optimistic about the future despite what the networks reported today.  Violence, war, the spreading of Ebola, and the Walgreens, Radio Shack, Florist shop, and Magnum Firearms smash and grabs right here in the Houston area and decided I would not let it affect my daily routine one bit.  So I stuck my Glock Model 30 .45 ACP in my waist band after making sure it contained 11 rounds of jacketed hollow-point ammunition and stepped out on the street with a smile.  Good morning world!