In politics, many people pick a person or a party, then maybe look at the issues. Often times, they don’t think about issues at all. They attack people or parties. Even if I can get them to think about an issue, when they start by attacking a person or a party, that frames how they think. It is very difficult to get them to be rational.

President Trump is one of the worst in that respect. He attacks people or the opposing party first. Opponents respond in like measure. The result is emotional not rational. Soon people are doing something just to be the opposite.

Reminds me of when I was about four years old. A teenage boy was sitting in his car waiting for my aunt. He wanted me to do something. I shook my head. He nodded his. We both did that for a little bit and then he shook his head and I nodded mine. I was just doing the opposite of what he was doing.

I’ve noticed that political parties change sides on issues. If you follow the party and not the issues, you too will change sides.

People won’t give their opponents a win, even if the win means getting what they want. If you simply followed the issues, you would recognize the win.

Think about it in therms of your health. We crave consistency. When we follow people or political parties, we can have a shallow consistency. We are always one party or the other. However, when the party changes, we find ourselves on a different side of an issue. That creates inconsistency. We might even find ourselves attacking the position we used to defend and defending the position we used to attack. That creates inner turmoil. If you are awake enough to notice.

I’ve heard that Albert Schweitzer was asked what was wrong with the world. He replied, “Men simply don’t think.”

Some people feel deeply about one issue. They stick with that one issue and don’t care about anything else. At least they are sticking with an issue.

I’m just not a one issue person. I like to see a broad picture. I understand that there are tradeoffs. There are interconnections.

How can we help the most people live lives with the most freedoms? That might be an umbrella issue that we all should care about.

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Learn how you can expand your memory, increase your strength, and improve your speed, by programming your brain.

Once I saw the examples, I knew it was true. We change our brains to incorporate our surroundings. I’ll give you a few examples.

When I first read about the concept of the brain extending to include objects, skis were used as an example. A good skier knows where the tip of the skis are without looking. The skiis have become part of the body.

Something similar happens when we learn to drive a car. Once we have driven a car long enough, our brains expand to include the car. We know whether or not a car will fit into a parking place without thinking.

I watched a man on an excavator. He was using the scoop to sweep the sidewalk. Another man was following up with a broom. I told the man with the broom that I was impressed by the excavator work. He said, “I was too. Until I could do it.” Think about how much that increases the operator’s strength, just because his brain has extended the body of the operator to include the excavator.

Think about using a pencil. You can actually feel the end of the pencil on a sheet of paper. The pencil becomes you.

Your memory isn’t just in your brain. If you have a library of books, all you have to do is remember which book has the answer. Think about your own memory. Doesn’t it sometimes take a while before the memory appears? Are you accessing it from a region in your brain or somewhere else? You could have accessed it from a book or a filing cabinet. Books and filing cabinets are extensions of you. You just program your brain to include them.

Each of those examples require a bit of practice and programming. Eventually the brain’s programming is extended to cover the object.

Now for some interesting questions. Where does it end? Can we extend our programming to include a cloud overhead? Are we really programming our brains? Or, are we simply realizing that we are not limited by our bodies?

Think about brain programming. It takes time and practice to learn to crawl, to walk, to ride a bike, to drive a car, to speak a language, to use a keyboard, to play a piano. How is the programming performed? Who does the programming? The programming requires will on our part. Yet, we don’t know how we do it.

As a senior, I look around at people my age and those who are younger and older. A difference between youth and elderly is how we choose to use our brains. Youth are constantly growing both physically and mentally. Elderly are often not doing anything or only trying to limit the rate of decline both physically and mentally.

I am using my will to act like a youth. I’m learning Spanish, to play the piano, and to use a Mac for writing and video. Physically, I’m performing weight training twice per week. I can see improvement. How long can I continue? My hope is as long as I can use my will.

The goal is to improve spiritually so that when the body fails you can adapt physically and mentally. Will is spiritual. We command our bodies. At some point the body seems to fail to respond to our commands. While practicing chiropractic, I helped many people by improving their spines so that their nervous systems respond to their commands. At some point, perhaps age is the problem.

Don’t give up too soon. You can expand your body. You can expand your memory. As you age, you may have to do it differently. It all starts with will.

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The struggle between good and evil is a challenge of utmost importance for most Christians. They believe that God is good and can’t stand evil/sin. People are evil/sinful. God punishes evil people with hell but gives Christians a way out. Christians spend eternity with God if they have faith that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins. In the next few minutes I will show that the basic premise is false.

Our story starts at the beginning. Well, almost the beginning. The first chapter of Genesis is the story of the seven day creation. On the sixth day God made land animals including people. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he create him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.’” However, for Christianity, our story begins in chapter 2.

Most Christians skip straight to Chapter 2 of Genesis - the story of Adam and Eve. It tells the story of creation of the first man and woman. Christians are familiar with the story. Adam and Eve were frolicking in the Garden of Eden, without a care in the world. They talked and walked with God. A serpent persuaded Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which God had forbidden. Eve persuaded Adam to eat the fruit. They recognized that they were naked. God found out about their disobedience and was so angry that they were sent out from the Garden of Eden. Eating the fruit was the original sin. God can’t stand sin/evil/disobedience so the punishment was exclusion from the Garden of Eden. God then sent his son, Jesus, to suffer on the cross and allow those who accept that suffering to compensate for their own sinful nature and be redeemed to an afterlife in heaven.

In a nutshell, that is the basic story. As you will see, based on more careful reading and thinking, it is nonsense.

The second chapter of Genesis contradicts the first. It doesn’t give a day by day account. For example, in chapter 1, on the third day, “God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’” In the second chapter, “…when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up —for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground—”. A contradiction - water was created first then land (first chapter) or land and then water (second chapter). Another contradiction - people were created on the sixth day in the first chapter “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” In the second chapter, only Adam and Eve were created. God did not see that they were good.

Those distinctions are important. The second chapter leads into the third and the rest of Genesis.

The second chapter supposedly sets up the original sin. God said, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

I admit that I remembered the story as the tree of knowledge. It wasn’t until I became more enlightened, that I went back and noticed these discrepancies to my memory. The tree did not produce fruit of knowledge of everything. It was the knowledge of good and evil. Now notice what happened after eating the fruit.

Chapter 3 gives us the account of disobedience. Eve followed the serpent’s direction and ate the fruit first then talked Adam into it. “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.”

Think about that. It is important. They learned the knowledge of good and evil. Then realized that they were naked. Presumably, they chose what they believed to be good and covered up. Was that knowledge good by God’s standards? No! They walked with God with no clothes before gaining the knowledge. The knowledge was false! So, if we are to believe the story, we must admit that our judgments of good and evil are false.

Now we’re getting somewhere.

God then punished Adam and Eve for their disobedience. “To the woman he said, ‘I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.’”

Nothing says that the curses will carry forward to offspring.

Now we get to the real reason Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. It wasn’t punishment for disobedience. It wasn’t because God can’t stand evil. It was grace. “Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’ — therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.”

A couple more inconsistencies. Adam was told that he would die if he ate the fruit. Doesn’t look like he did. If he already had eternal life, why was there a tree of life? Why is death important?

A popular thought is that we are born as blank slates. We learn as we grow and develop. I call learning neural programming. We learn about good and evil. We learn to make judgements. Many of the things I have learned have proven to be false. Most people never question their beliefs. The only way they lose false beliefs is to take them to the grave.

I read somewhere that science progresses one death at a time. It is common for scientists to cling to what they have learned. PhDs create a career out of their research. It is difficult to admit that someone else has found a better way.

From that viewpoint, death is grace. To have false beliefs forever would be hell.

Now, one more point. Some Christians believe that due to that original sin, God cannot communicate with humans except through redemption through the crucifixion. However, the fourth chapter of Genesis is the story of Cain and Able. God walked and spoke with them even though they weren’t in the garden. In fact, the Old Testament is full of stories of God working with people.

Jesus taught us to pray by starting with “Our father”. He taught a personal connection. He taught us to pray in private.

There is a value in good and evil. Think in terms of love and hate. Love attracts and hate repels. You get more of what you appreciate or focus on. Focus and have faith in good. Attract more good into your life. You will be happier and healthier right now while you are alive.

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You can be happier, healthier, and wealthier by understanding and utilizing a simple process. In the next couple of minutes, I’ll tell you how.

First, understand the Law of Fair Exchange. When someone gives you something, give something back. Most of us recognize that law. Think of a Christmas party. If there is a gift exchange it goes much better if there is an expected price on the gifts. Imagine one person brings a gift that cost $100 and exchange it with someone who brought a gift that cost $25. Both people are out of balance and will feel the difference.

If someone gives me a compliment, I feel out of balance. I feel I should return the compliment. At the minimum, I say thank you. A simple thank you acknowledges the person and makes them feel better. I feel better too.

The Law of Fair Exchange is used all the time. Sometimes it is used as a bribe and loses its effectiveness. Some businesses send out requests for donations with a dollar bill. They are trying to use the Law of Fair Exchange to get a donation of even more value. In those cases, many people feel they are being manipulated.

It can backfire. I was talking with a friend yesterday. He said that he managed sporting goods stores. A salesman gave him a jacket, and slacks to induce him to sell his sporting goods. He considered it similar to a bribe and refused. The salesman was upset.

Second, look at the Law of Appreciation. We get more of what we appreciate. Think of an asset. A home is a good example. Many of us have taken care of our homes and seen them increase in value. I’ve even written a book about it. Taking care of our homes is an act of appreciation. Even if we don’t sell the home, we can enjoy using it because we have taken care of it.

Think of a vacant home you have seen. The grass is grown too high. The paint is peeling. There is moss on the roof. Eventually water will leak through the roof, and it will be uninhabitable. All because of a lack of appreciation.

Now think of applying the Law of Appreciation to your body. Are you appreciating your body or are you ignoring it. As I write this, my wife is attending a couple of exercise groups. I prefer to exercise alone. Both of us are appreciating our bodies. We are taking care of them. Our muscles are becoming stronger because of our care. We can do more.

Like the house example, we see people every day who haven’t appreciated their bodies. They don’t watch their diets. They don’t exercise. It shows. They become weaker and their lives become more limited.

Imagine combining Fair Exchange with Appreciation. In business, we show our appreciation with dollars. If we are charged too much, we are less likely to go back to the business. If we fail to pay for services, eventually the business will cease to exist.

My boat wouldn’t start last year. I took the battery to the local O’Reilly parts store. They charged and checked it for me for free. It was fine. When I needed a battery for my Jeep, I bought it at O’Reilly. What if I had just gone to a different store for a cheaper battery? If everyone did that, O’Reilly service would cease to exist.

I know someone who went to a furniture store. She sat on all the furniture. She made a choice then bought the couch online. She saved a couple of hundred dollars. What if we all do that? Imagine failing to appreciate the salespeople, the inventory, and the store. Continuation of that will kill local retail. Online will be the only way to purchase.

Pass these concepts along. Some people don’t seem to feel the laws. They abuse the Law of Fair Exchange by giving hoping to get more back. Or they receive without giving anything back. Make them aware of the laws and if they continue abusing them, drop them from your life.

Put the laws into practice. Show your appreciation for good service by paying a little extra, tip a little more. Thank people often. Send out thank you cards. Take care of your assets. Your appreciation will come back to you, and you will be happier, healthier, and wealthier.

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We live in a world where everything seems to be polarizing. Many people can’t sleep. They are constantly upset. They are contributing to the problems. Here’s how you can find the off ramp.

A few minutes ago, I read an article that a friend had reposted. The final line was, “You can’t hate Republicans enough.” I’ve read similar articles that end with “You can’t hate Democrats enough.”

Hate is not good for you. Stop reading things that tell you to hate. It is interesting that the haters are in the extreme positions. They are trying to pull us apart.

Look for truth. What is the evidence? Often the evidence is something that you expect to see. Your brain is already framed to believe it. If I look at articles as a scientist, I look at the claims and the actual data to support the claims.

For example, a claim was made that Trump is opening pristine areas for copper mining that were previously off limits. The article also claimed that Teddy Roosevelt had the foresight to make areas parks. Both statements are true. The author wants us to believe that Trump opened up parks that Roosevelt set aside for mining. That is a propaganda technique. Propagandists put ideas in close proximity so that our brains will link them together. Research showed me that the area Trump opened up had been part of Biden’s set aside. You may disagree with Trump’s decision. However, I find that realizing that he countered a policy Biden created a few years ago feels different than thinking he countered Teddy Roosevelt.

Why would Trump do that? An immediate answer for some is to enrich the wealthy. An immediate answer for others is to provide copper for Americans and ensure that we are not dependent on other nations.

A few years ago, an electrician said that he was investing in copper. He reasoned that EVs require a lot of copper to manufacture. Charging stations also require a lot of copper. Where will we get all the copper we need? The electrician was investing in China.

By looking at a bigger picture, you can ask questions that take you out of the extreme positions. You become a thinker instead of being controlled by your programming.

I was talking with one of my brothers-in-law a few days ago. He said that he can watch news and then watch some other news and find them contradictory. He said, “I don’t know what to believe.”

That is another opening to pull you out of a polar position. I’ve already mentioned questioning. If you start by realizing that you don’t know what to believe, you take the emotional charge off of it. Start looking for news outlets that tell the truth. I do that by comparing what I’m being told will happen in the future to what actually happens.

For example, a friend shared an article on a Friday during the last election. The article said that Biden would step out of the race for President on Sunday. At the same time, other news sources were all reporting that Biden was sharp as a tack. I just waited. Which news outlet was more trustworthy? We all know the result.

I didn’t get emotional about either side. I just took a wait and see approach. I continue to compare what news says is going to happen to what actually happens.

A similar story is developing over the continued January 6 hearings. What ultimately will happen? I’m waiting to see.

I have spoken with people who were investigated by the Biden administration. First person accounts aren’t news.

Pressure to control free speech during the Biden administration has been admitted by Facebook and Google. I have friends who were spelling words with symbols to keep from being targeted by algorithms. Fortunately, free speech has been restored.

Now we can weigh speech based on evidence without the hand of government tipping the scales in the background.

Realize that we all evaluate our environment based on what we expect to see. Become self-aware. Ask what if I’m wrong? Look for contradictions. Connect the dots. Wait for more information and recognize when people are proven wrong.

Those simple techniques can help you sleep better and help the world become a better place.

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Learn how you can be healthy by reframing how you think about health.

Most people believe they are healthy if they don’t hurt or feel discomfort.

In fact, when many of my patients filled out their history form, they would mark a number of conditions that they had and still tell me that they were quite healthy.

How can that be? How can we be taking medicines for a number of conditions and still believe that we are healthy?

We grow up believing that being healthy is normal. We equate it with feeling good. If we have a pain, or upset stomach then we are sick and we want something to make us feel better. We really don’t even think of it in terms of health, we just want to feel better. Until we feel bad, we don’t need help. Pain or discomfort becomes the enemy. Relief is all we want. Once we get relief, we are satisfied. Has health been restored?

The focus of medicine has been treating diseases. What medicine can we create to make people feel better? The idea is that health is natural. Disease must be caused by something external. A broken arm is caused by an external force. Stomach trouble is caused by something we ate. Infections are caused by bacteria or viruses.

Science is proving that our common thinking is mistaken. A classic example is heart failure. Often, the first symptom of heart failure is death. Autopsy reveals a heart that has been in decline for years.

Medicine is claiming to help you prevent disease and live longer by subjecting yourself to tests. You should get your blood pressure checked. You should get your prostate examined if you are male or Pap smear if you are female. Of course mammograms and colonoscopies are also a good idea. Why? Because you can’t tell by how you feel. The list goes on and on.

What if we flipped the script? What if instead of fighting disease, we embraced health? What would that look like?

Dorland’s Medical Dictionary gave a definition of health as optimal physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Health does not exist just because disease or infirmity is absent. Wow. What about that word optimal? That word implies intelligence, thinking, decision, or judgement. Optimal for your heart rate is different if you have been running than if you have been sitting. Who or what decides?

What if we began with intelligence instead of energy? The ability to adapt to new and trying conditions is an example of intelligence. Some scientists are pointing to that possibility.

What controls function? Traditional chiropractic has pointed to intelligence using the nervous system. As AI and robots become more advanced, it seems to support the idea that all of our actions will be explained by programming. Are our brains just biocomputers controlling our bodies subconsciously? Is consciousness just programming and our feelings of having made decisions mere illusions?

Many, if not most, philosophers and scientists will answer both questions yes. Those yeses make me uncomfortable. They mean that my life is beyond my control. They also mean that the fields of philosophy and science are inevitable and worthless. Why bother studying philosophy and science if we cannot change our lives? Of course the answer is we can’t help it.

Why do I refuse to believe the philosophers and scientists? Why do I find joy and peace in controlling my mind? Am I wrong? Or are the philosophers and scientists wrong?

I realize that my nervous system is a biocomputer. I see evidence that I have been programmed. I also have the experience of stopping my programming. I believe that I use my will to change my nervous system. I can change some of my programming. I can also recognize some of the programs and learn to work with them. For example, I can diet and exercise and change my body.

As a chiropractor, I enjoyed helping those who came to me for help. The premise was that problems with the spine affected the nervous system and resulted in the loss of health. If a patients did not have spinal problems interfering with the nervous system, I could not accept them as patients. If they did, we attempted to correct the spinal problem and see if patients could heal themselves. It was quite rewarding.

For example, my son, Ben recently had a sore throat. He wound up in ER. Doctors did a scan of his neck and found an abscess. They couldn’t reach it to drain it. The next day, he went in again. They were able to drain the abscess but he still had a very sore throat. I suggested he come let me check him.

He came to the house. He held up his finger and thumb to make a circle about the size of a nickel. He told me that the syringe they used was that big and they took out about three quarters of an inch of fluid. Doctors told him that he still had pain because of the swelling and pressure on a nerve. He said, “Dad, if you look in my throat it is all black and blue. It just makes sense.” I said, “Of course, it makes sense. Let’s check you anyway.”

We went upstairs to my office. I adjusted three vertebrae. He got off the table and opened his mouth. Then said, “My throat doesn’t hurt.” I told him to come back in the morning.

The next morning he was in pain again. He was out of pain for three hours after his adjustment and was able to eat for the first time in two days. I adjusted two vertebrae. He felt no better. I told him to come back in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, he was still in pain. He only needed one adjustment and his pain was better.

That is an example of the therapeutic value of non-therapeutic chiropractic care. I adjusted him based on my tests. I did not adjust him based on how he felt. Sometimes he felt better and sometimes he didn’t.

That was what I found with patients. However, with consistent checkups patients needed fewer adjustment and very often found their health restored quickly. Often, when medical care had failed.

Here is the reframe. Stop thinking of disease as something you get. Think of health as something you lose. You have stopped adapting to your environment. It is not a fault of intelligence. It is a fault in your nervous system and your body’s response to intelligence.

I recommend regular non-therapeutic chiropractic checkups as healthcare. I work to strengthen my spine almost daily. Even with routine care, I have some degeneration that I am working to rehabilitate. Science has advanced and I’m doing the best I can with new information.

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You may have heard some horror story about a Canadian citizen who was detained at the border. Last Tuesday, I helped a Canadian get home. It was a great experience.

First I’ll give you a little background. The monument you see in the photo is on the U.S. - Canada border. It is about a half mile from my home in Blaine, WA. The monument is the Peace Arch and is on Peace Arch Park. The park is next to a Washington State park. There is no fence between the park and Canada. Canadians and Americans are welcome at Peace Arch Park but must check in with Customs and Border Patrol if leaving the park and crossing the border.

In fact, a few weeks ago my wife and I were walking through the Washington State Park, when a border patrol agent came to talk to us. He asked us if we were citizens and if we knew what the boundaries are. I replied that I thought so, but why don’t you tell us to make sure. He pointed to the street adjacent to the park. “That is Canada. I try to talk to everyone, but last week three people got past while I was talking to someone else. They were walking on the street and the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) arrested them before I could get to them.” I thanked him. He was very nice and we talked for a few minutes. It was typical of my experience with border patrol.

I picked up Erick, my brother-in-law, in Bellingham last Tuesday and brought him to Blaine. The plan was to stop at L&L Bakery for a coffee and cinnamon roll then take a walk. We had finished our roll when a man opened the door and said, “Is this Canada?”

He was a small man and spoke with a Japanese accent. I immediately got up to help him. People often get off the freeway too early and wind up in Blaine.

I said, “No. Do you want to go to Canada?” He said, “Yes.”

So we went outside to show him. It is very confusing. There is a traffic circle with six exits/entrances. I once gave someone directions and watched as he took the wrong exit and headed south instead of north. So, I carefully explained to him which exit to take to get under the freeway. To make matters worse, there is another traffic circle on the other side of the freeway. It only has five exits/entrances. I told him which one to take to get to Canada. Then he asked about Peace Arch Park. The street to the park is right before the exit to Canada. I asked him if he wanted to walk there. He was quite excited to do that.

I downed my last few gulps of coffee and we took off. The man explained his situation to me as we walked. He had left his wife and two friends on the Canadian side of Peace Arch Park. He went to park the car and wound up going through American customs. He had to go inside to explain his situation. He was given an orange sheet of paper and told to take a road back to Canada. The road was blocked and border patrol pointed for him to go down a road that wound up in Blaine. He checked his pockets and didn’t have the orange sheet of paper. He thought he must have left it in his car. He went back to get his car and Erick and I went to stand by the exit to Peace Arch Park.

When he showed up, I had him park in a parking lot to chat. He hadn’t found the orange paper. His concern was that Canada wouldn’t let him back into Canada because he didn’t have his passport or Nexus card. He did have a driver’s license. He lost the orange paper.

I told him that I know some people have horror stories about crossing the border and I didn’t want to get him into trouble, but I’ve always found the border patrol to be very helpful. He agreed to walk up to the border patrol and ask them what to do.

We walked up to a patrol car. I explained the situation. The agent looked at the Canadian. “Do you speak English.” He nodded. “You’re Canadian?” He nodded again. “Just present yourself to the Canadians and they’ll look you up in the computer and let you in. Don’t worry about it. This happens all the time.”

We walked him about halfway back to his car. We shook hands and wished him well. I watched to make sure he took the right exit to Canada.

Then Erick and I walked back up and went through Peace Arch Park. On our way back through the park, we saw an American border patrolman shooing some Canadians back across the Canadian line. “You folks have to go back past those signs.” They kind of turned. He continued, “You folks are Canadian, right? You have to go back past those signs.” They headed back. He didn’t fine them. He didn’t arrest them. He just quietly enforced the border.

Our small town depends a lot on Canadians. We took a big hit during Covid. Things were improving when President Trump stirred up Canadians with 51st state talk. That caused a decrease in traffic again. I was counting Canadian license plates while walking my dogs or going to Costco. A few weeks ago, I went to Costco and there were so many Canadian plates moving around that I couldn’t count them. Things are improving. It was interesting that when I went inside Costco, I found most of the people were non-white. The people some think should be most afraid to cross the border into the U.S. are the people who are coming.

That is typical of my personal experience with American border patrol. Welcome back Canadians!!

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Imagination precedes creation. I imagine that I can write an article. Then I use will to sit and write it. As I write, more ideas come to me. That is the evolution of the creative process.

I had an experience during meditation. I was in a fog. There was nothing to sense. Just the fog. It was very peaceful. Soon I was bored.

Is that how creation started? Was the Creator bored?

If you were bored, what would you do? We know that humans create games.

Think of football. You imagine a field with goals. You imagine a ball and players. Teams are formed and the ball is kicked toward a goal. As you play you imagine that the game would be better with more rules. You create lines around the field and boundary rules. One day someone pickups up the ball and throws it to another player. That is fun. So, you change the rule. Then you realize that a pointed ball would pass better than a round ball. American football evolved from European football (soccer).

Alan Watts talked about being the Creator. His imagination went along the following lines. He imagined creating a world. He would have delicious meals. He would have wonderful romantic encounters. He imagined that after a while he would be bored. He imagined danger. He imagined battles. He imagined having his life at risk. That would be fun too.

You and I are living a game. We can choose to take control. Or we can allow our neural programming to run out of control. Many people run out of control. They replay the day’s events. They think of how they have been insulted. They allow their imagination to create fears and possibilities. They become trapped in a game of their own making.

They often want to expand the trap to include others. Be afraid. Join me in my game of fear. Remember the saying, misery loves company.

Are you in a mental trap? You can leave. You can decide to think differently. Instead of seeing the bars, look for a way out. Look for evidence that you can escape.

My wife and I are watching the TV series, The Count of Monte Cristo. A prisoner is tunneling to escape and finds another prisoner. They tunnel together. They have imagined a plan. The night before escape, one prisoner dies. The other imagines a different plan and escapes.

Often that is the case. We press forward with a strategy and find that we must change course to reach our goals. Some will continue without changing. A few will succeed. Many will fail.

We must go around the storm. We must imagine a new route.

I find that to be fun. As I sit writing this, I start a sentence then think of something else. I backspace or delete a paragraph. I allow creation to work through me.

A few people might see this as boring foolishness. Many won’t be interested. A few will see genius. A few will take steps to free themselves. This is for you.

Free yourself. Create your game. Live your life. Don’t let others take control of you.

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I enjoy watching my grandchildren.

It is even more fun than watching my children was.

I’ve learned a lot more about myself and about how the brain develops. I’ve also learned a lot from philosophy - especially informal fallacies. In addition, I’ve had spiritual experiences that help me see the world differently.

One of the things I see is how we are programmed from an early age.

When we are little, we have no experience. We have no filters. Our brains take in information and form synapses that create programs or patterns. For example, that is a dog. Can you say dog? What is that? No, that is a cat. That is a dog over there. Soon you have the pattern recognition and know a dog from a cat.

Pattern recognition is a primary way the brain works. We don’t question it. We just accept what we are learning and use the patterns. We also don’t question our teachers.

The key point I want you to consider is taking something in without thinking. We are all guilty of it. We read or hear something, and we really don’t take time to consider it. We don’t think about evidence. Or perhaps we see a little bit of evidence and that convinces us. Then we don’t think about it again. That becomes who we are.

A great example is a conversation I had with a professor in business school. We were just chatting after class. He made a comment that houses were a poor investment. He said that even if a house goes up in price, when you sell it, you have to buy another house. That house has also gone up in price. So, you are never ahead. Although I was in my 20’s, I accepted that just like a two-year-old. It was the worst financial advice I was ever given. Imagine! The worst financial advice of my life came from a professor in business school.

Which leads to a logical fallacy - appeal to authority. The fallacy is most easily detected using the example of an actor making political commentary. Why should we believe an actor about politics? We shouldn’t. However, shouldn’t I have been able to believe a professor in business school about finance? No!! He might have been more likely to be right about finance than someone with no business training, but he was still wrong. Appeal to authority is most convincing when a doctor or some expert gives their opinion on their field of expertise. It is still a fallacy to accept the opinion without evidence.

I was just reading an article about persuasion. One way to persuade someone is to give them information that is true but leave out the parts that don’t fit what you want them to believe. This is especially true if we are just reinforcing what people already want to believe.

An interesting example is the New York Times trying to convince us that the Iran war is bad. I don’t read the New York Times. You can find Bill Maher’s criticism here. Maher gave an example of selective information. Imagine an editor of the New York Times, “‘I’ve got a great picture of people dancing in the streets’… ‘Yeah. we’re going to go with the 10% who are sorry the Ayatollah is dead because that’s going to funnel the thought of our readers toward ‘oh this is a bad war to get into’.” Can we believe the New York Times? Is the New York Times an authority? Many people think so. Notice I have just given you selective information.

Once we are aware of the fallacy of the appeal to authority, we might still fall victim to the fallacy of genetics. That is when we believe or fail to believe anything coming from a certain person or group. It is a fallacy because we fail to look at the argument and evaluate it with evidence. This has become very popular in politics. People accept whatever one side or one person says and reject whatever the other side says.

Another fallacy is the ad hominem attack. It goes along with what I’ve already discussed. The person making the argument is attacked rather than the argument itself. Trump is terrible about attacking individuals rather than the merits of the arguments. His detractors are no better. A problem is that many people fall for the ad hominem attack. I have seen people calling Trump names and their friends all pile on. I’m sure all of them feel an exciting hormone rush and think they’ve actually done something. I doubt that they realize that the people who follow Trump are getting the same hormone rush. The problem is that issues are not being discussed. It is stupidity vs. stupidity. It is dumbing down our nation.

To rise above the level of a two-year-old, we must use evidence and actually think about issues. We must question our programming. Why do we believe what we do?

I have placed this article in the spiritual category. I believe it is our spirit that allows us to question what we believe. Many people never do. Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24. Many Christians take that to mean that we must give up wealth. However, the kingdom of God is within you. The peace that exists in that kingdom is beyond your programming. People can be extremely poor financially, yet be rich with many ideas, opinions and judgements that they cannot give up. Ironically, many of those were installed by well-meaning pastors.

If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, I encourage you to read the Bible looking at the passages where Jesus talked about forgiveness and judgement. Stop judging and forgive - not for the sake of anyone else. So that you can experience the kingdom for yourself. You will be happier and healthier. You can also help lead the world intellectually by questioning fallacies.

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I'd like a tax code that seems fair for everyone. That is why a flat tax with no deductions appeals to me. I do agree with a progressive tax system. Those who earn more should pay more, as a percentage, than those who earn less.

If we had a flat tax with a large standard deduction, everyone would be paying the same as a percentage of income. Everyone would also claim the same standard deduction. As a result, the more money a person makes, the more the person would pay in tax as a percentage of income.

Some don’t like that. They want the percentage to be higher as you make more money. There are currently 7 tax brackets. The bottom bracket is 10% on incomes under $11,925. The top bracket is 37% on incomes over $626,351.

However, the top earners get to take advantage of many deductions. Those who favor them claim deductions encourage people to do things for the public good. Those opposed claim deductions are simply ways to reward donors.

According to the IRS, we do have two flat taxes right now with no deductions. Social security is 6.2% paid by both the employee and the employer. Medicare is 1.45% paid by both employee and employer.

There is a wage base limit of $184,500 for social security in 2026. Social security taxes stop at that limit. On the other hand, people who earn more than $200,000 pay .9% on all income over that amount. There is no employer match.

I believe we should remove the limit on social security wages. Removing the limit would bring several advantages. It would bring in 12.4% increased revenue on all income over $184,500. It would encourage people to think of it as a tax that is benefiting all, rather than a forced retirement account.

Some will argue that they earn millions and will never get their money back out of social security. That should be true of all taxes. We shouldn’t be paying taxes hoping to get paid. We pay taxes for the public good.

Some will say they don’t need social security. They have enough money and shouldn’t have to pay into it. That is really an argument for means testing. People who don’t need social security shouldn’t be receiving it.

However, the idea that we won’t need it is challenged by two examples. One is the father of a friend of mine. The father was earning millions and lost it all in bad investments. I personally know someone else who had the same fate. Both men wound up needing social security.

Everyone is used to paying social security and Medicare tax. Why should they stop paying social security when they make more than $184,500? On the other hand, why should people making more than $200,000 pay an additional .9% in Medicare? Why doesn’t the employer have to contribute? I think we should leave Medicare at 1.45% for both employees and employers with no limit.

Well, that’s my idea for the beginning of a shift in tax policy. I believe it makes tax policy fairer. It makes it obvious that people are paying a tax and not paying into some retirement account. It would raise revenue for social security.

If we add means testing for social security, we might just make it solvent.

Please like and share this thought. Who knows? Maybe something will change.

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I see a lot of commentary that the billionaires aren’t paying their fair share of income tax. What is their fair share? What is fair? What about the poorest among us? How much should they pay? What is fair?

What if we took our entire federal expenditures and divided it by the number of people in the U.S. We spent $7.1 trillion in 2025. There were estimated 341 million people in U.S. One might say that a person’s fair share is $20,821. I don’t want to get into silly arguments about the numbers. Even if off by a factor of 20%, the amount is somewhere between $16,000 and $25,000.

Based on that, I’m not paying my fair share.

Maybe that isn’t how we should look at fairness. I certainly don’t want to pay more tax.

It is easy to point to others and say they should pay more. How much more? What is fair?

The Tax Foundation provides an interesting table. Looks like the top 1% of earners, those with incomes above $663,164 pay 40% of total taxes paid. Yet they only represent 1% of returns filed. Does that seem fair?

What about the top 5%, those with incomes above $262,591, they pay 61% of total taxes. Is that fair?

Let’s look at the bottom 50%, those with incomes less than $50,339, they pay 3% of total taxes. Is that fair?

What about those at the very bottom of the economic ladder? I’ve often said the same people who want the rich to pay more, ignore the poor. Why should anybody who is under the Federal Poverty Level pay any tax? Is that fair? I don’t think so.

I looked up the history of the standard deduction. It was 10% of Adjusted Gross Income with a maximum of $1000 from 1944-1969. In 1970, it went up to $1,100, The Federal Poverty Level was about $2000 for a single person. It went up in 1970 due to the Tax Reform Act of 1969 and increased annually by a few hundred dollars per year.

The 1986 Tax Reform Act brought the standard deduction up to $3000, up from $2540, effective 1988. The Federal Poverty Level was $5,770.

By 2017, the standard deduction was $6,350. The Federal Poverty Level was $12,060. So, those making just under the poverty level were paying income tax on nearly half their income. Does that seem fair? I don’t think so.

Who helped? Due to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the standard deduction was increased to $12,000. The Federal Poverty Level was $12,140. Those in poverty almost didn’t pay tax.

The 2025 OBBBA pushed the standard deduction to $15,750. The Federal Poverty Level was $15,650. Finally, those in poverty paid no tax.

While we might disagree on what is fair for the wealthy to pay, I hope we can agree that those who are below the bottom rung of the economic ladder shouldn’t be paying anything. Those who keep our focus on the wealthy, seem to neglect the poor.

Let’s focus on both ends!

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Okay. I’ll admit it. I’ve made my life more complicated than necessary. I manage a couple of limited liability companies and help with a startup corporation. My personal finances are not complicated. I usually buy a tax software program and prepare taxes myself.

I like Turbo Tax. It forces me to buy a program for business and another for personal. It used to cover both but switched its marketing. It is something I should agree with. I like the idea of not paying for what you don’t need. However, I also like the convenience of making one purchase and not having to look at every option to decide what I need.

Years ago, I used H&R Block. I had a problem and couldn’t get help. It was so frustrating that I said I would never use it again. Well hell must have frozen over. I asked Grok for the best option for doing taxes and H&R Block was at the top. I thought perhaps it had improved. Plus, it was cheaper. Wrong move.

Next year, I’ll go back to Turbo Tax. It just seems to work. If I ask for help with H&R Block, it takes me to the IRS instructions. Hell, if I could make sense of the instructions, I wouldn’t buy the program. As I remember, the explanations with Turbo Tax are better. Turbo Tax asks questions that I know the answer to. Then it fills out the forms.

I called the help line for H&R Block twice (so far) this year. I got a very pleasant woman the first time who told me that perhaps the problem I was experiencing would be fixed with the next update. When it wasn’t, I called back and got a very professional man who helped me figure out what I was doing wrong. He had helped someone else with the same issue, leading me to believe it was the instructions and not merely my stupidity.

When I was completing my personal taxes, it asked about a statement from my LLC. The statement hadn’t been printed by the business software. That will be my next call.

I have spent hours. I saved less than $200. My time doesn’t seem to be worth much these days, when I look at my income. But when I consider that I’d rather be writing or teaching, I will place a higher value on my time next year. I’ll pay more to work less.

Yes. I could just hire an accountant. However, I’ve done that in the past. I find it educational to do it myself. One year my accountant set up my corporation as a disregarded entity. I got the liability protection advantages of being a corporation. I did not get the reduced payroll tax advantage of being a corporation.

I was pleased to see the increase in standard deduction this year. Perhaps that will be the next article.

Thanks for reading. Remember to file your taxes AND value your time.

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A black friend of mine posted on Facebook that he refused to pick the cotton from a bottle of aspirin. It made me smile. It was a great example of how differently we can view ourselves. No job is beneath me.

My first job was cleaning my father’s office once per week for a dollar. I was so little that my mother had to wring the mop for me.

I learned to hunt and fish. Part of that was learning to clean fish and game. It is messy business.

My parents bought a farm when I was about 14 years old. I loved it. I learned to drive a tractor. I milked a cow. I helped my father castrate roosters and pigs. I cleaned the barnyard and distributed the manure to a field for crops. I helped deliver a calf.

While a man was leveling the yard around the house, the tractor wheel found the septic tank. The lid mashed down and sent a small portion of the contents back through the toilet with enough force to hit the ceiling. Dad decided to empty the septic tank. He handed me full buckets, and I dumped them into a 55-gallon barrel to take to the field. The picture at the top is a septic tank.

I learned to work on my car. I changed shock absorbers, replaced brakes, changed oil, overhauled a carburetor, changed plugs, and set points. I replaced the headliner and seat covers. I even painted my car!

My first job minimum wage job at the Independence Airport. I cleaned the office, mowed the grass, and fueled planes. I also gave wind advisories to pilots over the radio.

My second job was working for Star Foam. I made polystyrene products. The polystyrene came as small beads that looked like salt. The beads would expand when steam was applied. If we wanted to fill bean bag chairs, the beads just went through an expander. If we wanted flotation or insulation, we pre-expanded the beads to the size of BBs then put them into a mold. Steam was applied and the beads expanded and fused. In the summer, I would be working with steam while it might be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside. There was no air conditioning. We did use fans. I sweated through the day.

Then I went to college. My first job was at IBM. I was trained to be a system’s engineer. After three years, I quit that to go to chiropractic college.

However, that early training of dirty jobs helped me throughout my life. I’m not too good to do anything.

Ben, my second oldest son, was surprised and a little appalled when I wrapped a garbage bag around my arm and stuck my hand down our septic tank to find the filter that needed to be cleaned. That didn’t bother me a bit.

With all that as background, imagine how I felt when my front desk employee didn’t want to clean the restrooms or make coffee. She thought those jobs were beneath her. I said, “Who do you think cleaned the restrooms and made coffee yesterday? It was me.” She said, “You just want me to do the jobs that you don’t want to do.” I said, “Yes. That is the way the world works. An entrepreneur does everything until they make enough money to hire someone. Then the employee does things that free up the entrepreneur to be more productive. You can’t see patients. You can learn to make coffee and clean the restrooms.”

I suspect it is people with low self-esteem that believe jobs are beneath them. They don’t have self-confidence. My friend, Gary, gave me an insight. I told him about the water filter for my fishpond.

We bought a pump and filter from a store. I was having trouble taking it apart to clean it. I went back to the store and asked the owner how to take the filter apart. He took one out of the box and showed me. Next time we were in the store, I thanked the owner and told him about the silly mistake I was making. He looked at me and said, “Most people wouldn’t admit that.”

When I told Gary the story, he said, “We call that self-confidence. You know you are okay. You can say anything to anybody because you don’t care what they think. You know you are okay.”

There is probably something to that.

I am very grateful that my father taught me that no job is beneath me. I wonder about people who believe they are “too good” to do some jobs. They often want to do something that they either don’t have the talent or the training to do.

I’ll close with a story a man told me. His son graduated from the University of Washington and was trying to make it in Seattle. He was having no luck. He came back to Bellingham and went to the Bellingham Technical College. He made more money as an appliance repair man than he was making with his UW diploma. In addition, his expenses were much lower in Bellingham than they were in Seattle.

Do you know someone who could benefit from this article? Send it to them. Sometimes what seems like a job that is a rung down the ladder, can result in a lifestyle that is several rungs higher.

My wife and I spent a few days in Palm Springs last week. We were standing at a bus stop, and my wife asked a man if he often took the bus. She was probably profiling. The man could be described as a person of color. The question began a conversation.

The man’s name was Able. After asking about us. He told us that we could save some money by using the senior discount. The discount is from $1 to 50 cents. Then he laughed and made a comment about Maduro claiming that he made less than 2 pesitos per year. After explaining that a pesito was less than a peso, he said that he used to be a Democrat but now was independent. I told him I was too. He said, if I had to choose, I’d choose Republican. I told him that I didn’t expect to hear that at a Palm Springs bus stop.

He explained that he spoke English and Spanish. He had been a missionary through much of central America and was on Haiti when the earthquake hit. According to his account, the Clintons built five model homes. They told local residents that they would be given homes like those depending on their needs. If you have two children, you get one like that. If you have three children, you get one like that, etc. The homes would be free.

According to Able, it sounded great. The model homes looked great. None of the homes was connected to water. You had to walk five miles to get water. Able claimed, Clintons took in $14 billion. They didn’t build a single house.

I could stop there. All of that is true. Able is a person and did tell me that. Many people would stop there. Able was there. He was giving an eyewitness account. Why go further?

What about truth?

Able also mentioned that he had to sell a gold ring. He sold it when gold was around $2000/ounce. Now it is over $5000/ounce. He also said that his mother’s house burned in the Palisades fire. He was likely from a more affluent family. He had also lived in a big house owned by a wealthy person. He was not paid a salary but was paid commissions based on sales of artwork. He might not have the perspective of the average California bus rider.

I decided to look into the Clinton Foundation. I couldn’t find any evidence at the web site that the Foundation had helped people in Haiti. I asked Grok:

“According to the Clinton Foundation’s own statements and reports:

• It mobilized and deployed over $30 million in immediate relief support, including cash grants, in-kind donations (such as trucks, solar lights, clothing, medical supplies, tents, water purification units, and more).

• Every dollar raised for Haiti relief was directed to on-the-ground efforts, with no overhead or administrative fees taken by the Foundation.

• Grants went to organizations like ACTED, CARE, and Concern Worldwide for emergency aid (food, water, shelter, medicine).

• The Foundation collaborated on broader recovery through the Clinton Global Initiative’s Haiti Action Network (focused on long-term areas like agriculture, education, health, energy, and job creation).

• It helped support initiatives that reportedly assisted thousands of farmers, planted millions of trees, provided clean energy installations, and offered job skills training to women.”

On the negative side, Grok reported:

“The overall international aid response (including U.S. government funds overseen in part by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) totaled billions pledged, but results were mixed across efforts. Criticisms and controversies exist regarding the broader Clinton-involved recovery:

• Many Haitians and critics (including activists, journalists, and reports from outlets like BBC, The Guardian, and others) expressed frustration over slow progress, bureaucratic delays, limited rubble removal/housing, and projects that underdelivered (e.g., the Caracol industrial park, meant to create jobs but criticized for falling short).

• Some specific aid items (like temporary shelters/trailers) faced allegations of poor quality or health issues (e.g., mold or formaldehyde concerns in subcontracted units).

• Claims of corruption, “pay-to-play,” or personal enrichment (e.g., benefits to donors) have circulated, particularly during the 2016 U.S. election, but fact-checks (including from The Washington Post and others) and the Foundation have called major accusations (like stealing billions) baseless.

• Broader aid failures in Haiti stemmed from systemic issues like corruption, political instability, and coordination problems—not solely attributable to the Clintons or their Foundation.

In summary, the Clinton Foundation did actively help with direct relief and longer-term programs, distributing funds transparently per their accounts, but the massive reconstruction effort (in which they were heavily involved) has been widely seen as disappointing in achieving lasting recovery for Haiti. Sources include official Clinton Foundation pages, BBC reporting, The Guardian analyses, and fact-checks from various outlets.”

Able may have been correct. If we give Clintons benefit of the doubt, perhaps their efforts were thwarted by corruption and other problems not under their control. However, when I see what they contributed to: ACTED, CARE, and Concern Worldwide. I wonder what happened to the money. It reminds me of my post; The Numbers Aren’t Wrong. They’re Just the Wrong Numbers. Telling us that they gave millions of dollars to charities, does NOT tell us how people were actually helped. How many houses were built? How many people were fed? How many trees were planted? Were a few administrators making a lot of money?

I decided to look at ACTED web site and searched on Haiti earthquake:

“In the first weeks, ACTED teams responded to the immediate emergency with food rations, drinking water, and basic necessities which included: mattresses, mosquito nets, kitchen kits, hygiene kits and plastic sheeting for emergency shelters.”

“For those who had lost their homes, they had no other option but to take shelter in one of the many camps which sprang up in the wake of the disaster. These camps created their own health challenges, thus ACTED built 850 latrines, more than 400 showers and 40 tanks in the main camps of the country to provide more than 20,000 people with water.”

That seems to be a lot, but probably a drop in the bucket when we consider that “Between 250 000 and 300 000 people lost their lives in the earthquake, with another 300 000 counted among the injured. The disaster levelled 80% of the Haitian capital with a similar impact in nearby towns like Léogâne.”

Looking back after ten years, what do we see? According to the web site:

“Results appear very mixed: Due to the scale of the disaster but also the complexity and fragility of the Haitian context, reconstruction has proved long and difficult and international aid has been less effective than expected. In addition, the cholera epidemic that broke out at the end of 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in December 2016, created extremely difficult conditions for the Haitian state. In 2020, while cholera is on the verge of eradication, the humanitarian situation remains of great concern, with 3.6 million people in a situation of acute food insecurity.”

In this post I’ve provided an example of how to look at both sides. It is easy to quote one person. Can’t you just imagine sticking a camera in Able’s face and reporting it on the news? He could have told the truth. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Clintons had a dream of building free houses.

However, I didn’t find evidence that Clinton’s got $14 billion. Perhaps around 14 billion was pledged from international efforts. Clinton’s probably did give a lot of money to NGOs. That would be consistent with their modus operandi. They’re not entrepreneurs. They feel better once they give money to a NGO.

It is also difficult to control politics. It is difficult to get permits to build a house in Washington State. I can’t imagine what it would be like in Haiti.

Well, that’s my take on it. Sometimes I’m criticized for not accepting eyewitness accounts immediately. I like to think a little. I encourage you to do the same.

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A friend on Facebook seems to be upset with me because I have refused to accept her version of reality. Perhaps she missed my article, I Saw It with My Own Eyes. Key to our reality is the programming of our past. We often see what we have programmed ourselves to see.

In reference to the deaths involving ICE officers, I believe that there should be trials. Shouldn’t there be trials anytime someone is shot and killed? Those are no exceptions.

I have refused to enter the fray. I have seen videos showing both sides. I know better than to accept one over another. I refuse to allow my preconceived notions of yesterday choose my reality today. I want to control my brain.

I encourage you to start with a fresh reality. What you are seeing may not be true. I took a gun safety class when I was a boy scout. The instructor showed us his revolver. He unloaded it. He began to tell a story. It was about a little boy who picked up his father’s revolver. The teacher picked up his revolver. He pointed the gun at his father and pulled the trigger. Daddy you’re dead. His dad laughed. He pointed the gun at his mother and pulled the trigger. The instructor’s gun fired. I knew what was going to happen. Even though I knew what to look for, I didn’t see him put a bullet in the revolver. I can’t believe my eyes. Even when I am there.

I do believe in the rule of law. Many say they want laws to be followed, but when I ask, they point to a specific law. For example, some point to a judge’s decision that ICE should stand down. What about immigration law? Should that be followed?

It is a new phenomenon that suddenly protestors are on the side of illegal immigrants. When Clinton’s administration deported local immigrants, letters to the editor blamed the local business that hired them. The argument was if businesses didn’t hire them, they wouldn’t come.

Obama gave Tom Homan a medal for his work deporting illegal aliens. As soon as Trump was elected, people claimed that farmers needed illegal immigrants to pick crops. Farmers need cheap labor. Wait a minute. I thought businesses were the problem. What happened to minimum wage?

Last year, I saw images of construction sites that were idle because all of the illegal aliens left. Suddenly that is Trump’s fault. How did the illegals get into the country? Why was there no outcry among the party that has the backs of the blue-collar workers - the construction unions?

Why are illegal aliens attracted to Minnesota? Are businesses to blame? Or do they come for some form of economic opportunity unrelated to work?

Some think that the Democrats are winning in Minnesota. They believe they are taking a stand and the average union worker (who wasn’t working) is going to see how well they are fighting for illegal aliens will be more likely to vote Democrat. Really? I don’t get it.

In fact, I just got back from a few days in Palm Springs. My next article will be on the surprise conversation I had with a man waiting for the bus. He was dark complected and spoke English and Spanish. Watch for my next post.

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My son, Ben, went to ER with a sore throat. They did imaging and determined that he had a cyst or abscess, and further treatment was not needed. He got worse and went to ER again the next day. They used a syringe and drained the abscess. He was told that the swelling was pressing on a nerve and causing his pain. He was having difficulty opening his mouth enough to speak.

I texted him. I reminded him of the time he chipped a tooth when he was young. I checked him. After adjusting his neck, he said, “Wow. That’s better.” I said, “What do you mean that’s better?” He said, “Well, it was the whole side of my head. Now it is just the tooth.” We got him to a dentist who fixed the tooth.

That night, Ben came to the house. He said that his throat was black and blue. It was also swollen. It made sense that the swelling would be painful. I agreed. I checked him anyway.

I adjusted his atlas, axis, and 6th thoracic vertebrae. He got off the table and was out of pain. He could open his mouth. He was surprised. So was I. He went home.

He came back the next morning. After adjustment, he had three hours without pain and had been able to eat for the first time in two days. Then the pain came back. I checked him again and adjusted his atlas and axis. It didn’t help as much.

Ben came back in the afternoon. I checked him again. This time it was atlas, axis, and fifth thoracic. He got off of the table and could open his mouth again.

Then he proceeded to get better.

The story makes several interesting points. One is that if a person needs a chiropractic adjustment, other forms of care might also be needed. However, getting an adjustment may help in ways not foreseen and without an adjustment healing can be delayed.

Another point is that frequent chiropractic checkups can be very helpful. It is not often that people see a chiropractor multiple times per day. It is probably needed more often than either the doctor or patient realizes.

A third point is that the chiropractic adjustment helped relieve his pain without me treating his pain. I examined his spine and adjusted based on my tests. I did not base my care on where his pain was.

How can that be?

If you cut yourself with a knife, you hurt and look where you have pain. You see blood. You have cut yourself.

If you fall and scrape your knee, your knee hurts. You look where it hurts and you see blood. You have scraped your knee.

If you break an arm or leg, it hurts. A doctor takes x-rays and sees a fracture. You have a broken bone.

You are used to pain being the indicator that you need help. It also tells you where the problem is. Sometimes.

I had a wonderful experience when I was about 12 years old. I experienced low back pain. I would have to hold onto the banister to get down the steps. When I bent over to play croquet, tears would leak from my eyes. My father was a chiropractor. He said that the cause of my low back pain was a subluxation in my neck. He adjusted me for days, but I didn’t get any better. Finally, he x-rayed my neck. I’ll never forget the smile on his face as he held the x-rays to the light. “I’m adjusting the wrong side.” He adjusted the other side and I was better immediately. That proved to me that a subluxation in your neck could affect your lower back. The experience helped me realize that the problem was not always where the pain was.

Nearly every doctor agrees that you can’t tell how healthy you are by how you feel. You must get your prostate examined or a pap smear. You must get your blood pressure checked. You must get your blood tested. The list goes on and on. Why? Because you can’t tell by how you feel. You could be minutes from a fatal heart attack and think you are fine.

I also have my tests. I show people the tests before the adjustment. I show the tests after adjustment. Now if you look like that when you hurt, and look like that when you feel better, doesn’t it make sense to run the tests and keep doing better rather than waiting until you hurt?

That is how I preferred to practice. I liked keeping people healthy. I preferred restoring health to treating disease. Keep that in mind. Would you like to stay healthy or just wait for disease to take you?

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We can no longer believe anything. A friend of mine posted on Facebook, “I saw it with my own two eyes.” I don’t believe that he actually witnessed what happened. He saw an image or a video of what was claimed to have happened. He instantly believed what he saw.

It is difficult not to believe the videos and photos that we see. Afterall, it might be true. We are more likely to believe something if we are predisposed to see it.

Some people might look at the above picture and see ICE agents. Some will see the reality that they are NICE officers. Where do NICE officers come from? Who controls them?

I created the image in under 2 minutes using Grok. It looks quite realistic. Yet it was quickly created from my imagination. I started out to demonstrate how easily I could create a video of police doing nefarious things. However, I didn’t want something that I created to get out of hand. So, I created NICE officers waving at you.

If a nearly 71-year-old (birthday Monday) man can create a realistic looking image in 2 minutes, imagine what a younger person with real skills can do. Be skeptical.

Here is the big deal, get control of your mind. If you are skeptical, you have begun the process of separation. An interesting thing begins to happen. When your emotions are extremely heightened, your reasoning ability is lowered. So, by lowering your emotional attachment, you begin to improve your reasoning ability. Mild to moderate emotion can be an aid. You can have gut reactions that can help inform your decisions.

However, the emotional, knee-jerk reaction has probably not been informed by reason. That begins a cascade that is difficult to overcome. Another problem we crave consistency. We have trouble admitting that we are wrong. So, if we make a knee-jerk decision, we are more likely to continue that action.

I read that is a brain washing technique. A person is asked questions that lead them to an answer. Then more questions are asked building on that answer. The questions and answers continue in a successful direction because we refuse to admit that we were wrong. Well did you lie the other day when you said …? Then, isn’t it true that …?

Slow down and think. Question your beliefs. Many times, we are being played. I’ll give you a simple example.

When my wife was teaching, she played CNN news to her students. CNN edited the news for kids. After a debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, my wife let the students watch the CNN edited version. She came home and told me that Clinton immediately went over and shook hands with the moderator and Trump refused to shake hands. My wife said, “Kids pick up on things like that.” I told her that CNN edited Trump out. I watched the entire thing. Trump saw that Clinton was shaking hands with the moderator and he shook hands with someone else and waited his turn.

Did CNN lie? No. Did they edit the video so that students would think Trump did not have the decency to shake hands with the moderator? Yes. Was that a lie? Yes. That is propaganda.

Images and videos can be created from imagination, just like the image I created. They can also be created by taking something real and editing it to give an impression.

Someone asked how I am evaluating news. After watching NBC Nightly News for years, I saw the reporters absolutely melt-down on election night 2016. I quit watching network news. I began following AP and Reuters. I discovered they were just a bad. They both reported that President Biden was “sharp as a tack.” We all learned differently.

I switched to X.com. I follow NBC, CBS, Reuters, AP. I also follow individual politicians on both sides. I see what they actually say in their posts rather than clips that the news outlets want me to believe that they say. I also follow Canadian politics. I follow Prime Minister Carney and his conservative opponent Pierre Poilievre. I also follow Premier Smith (Alberta), and Premier Eby (B.C.)

On X people can say what they want and others can respond. Sometimes falsehoods or fake images are quickly exposed. I have learned a lot.

In fact, Prime Minister Carney posted a video the other day that had me really evaluating the “New World Order.” Sounds like something out of Star Wars. I’ll create a post once I’ve thought about it more.

This post is about personal growth. Question yourself. Question your beliefs. Question what you see and think. Look for truth and become the person that you really want to be.

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Is Trump being reckless or careful? Decades ago, I watched some television show with people who seemed to me to be intelligent, talking about regime changes. A take-away for me was the importance of democracies. If we support a dictator, then when the dictator is overthrown, the new power considers us the enemy. If we overthrow a dictator, then the people who supported the former dictator consider us the enemy. When we support a democracy, we can say that we support your elected choice.

With that in mind, I’m watching the world stage. Some criticize the capture of Maduro. The argument is that President Trump has violated Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter.

Trump is claiming his actions were just a police action. Military action was only used to protect law enforcement personnel.

I don’t like the idea of the U.S. doing whatever it wants around the world just because we are the biggest gorilla. On the other hand, I am somewhat sympathetic. How does the U.S. help people around the world flourish in their own countries? Sending money to countries seems to be used by corrupt leaders and doesn’t really change the underlying dynamics.

Some people criticize Trump for not recognizing the opposition leader (who many claim was elected president). That would certainly be a regime change as described in the first paragraph. In my opinion, it would also lend more support to the idea that the Trump administration violated the U.N. Charter. Trump left the government intact. I suspect the new leadership might have a different perspective on working with the U.S.

Some claim the CIA could have accomplished something similar without involving the military. Apparently, that would not have violated the U.N. Charter. Is that the way we have done things in the past? How did it work out? Look at Iran.

Iran was overthrown in 1953. According to The National Security Archive the CIA was involved:

Some Iranians were attending Independence Community Junior College while I was a student in the mid 1970s. One student had been in the military and had a picture of the Shaw in his wallet. In 1979, the Shaw was overthrown. Apply the first paragraph - we became the enemy. Iran is just one example. There have been many.

Something that I have wondered about is why the U.S. doesn’t go after leaders. Why not take out Putin? Why kill hundreds of thousands of soldiers because of one leader? Could Trump’s police action to extricate Maduro be an example of a change in war tactics?

Has Trump just caused a ripple of doubt in leadership of all countries? Mexico didn’t want our help to fight drug gangs. Do you think Mexico had any idea of what the U.S. military is capable of? Do you suppose Mexico might be re-thinking?

What about Iran? If Trump said that he would not tolerate killing Iranian protesters, what are his options? If we take out the leadership, will we be the bad guys as described in the first paragraph? So far, he’s talking about more tariffs. Really?

Then we have Greenland. I didn’t realize the strategic importance of Greenland until I watched an episode of the television series, The Diplomat, last year. Greenland is of strategic importance to help control the Arctic circle. Russia and China are bolstering their presences in the area.

Meanwhile, Canada is our major ally in the Arctic circle. It has the largest coastline in the world. It has a GDP of $2.24 trillion. Canada is on track to reach its annual NATO commitment of spending 2% on its military this year. That would be $44.8B. Note that the 2% agreement was first reached in 2006 and this will be the first time Canada has met it. Can a country with the longest coastline in the world defend itself with $44.8B?

Compare to U.S. The GDP of the U.S. in 2024 was $28.7 trillion. The U.S. spent 3.22% on defense or $924B. For perspective, the sum of all defense related expenditures of NATO allies was $1588B in 2025. Without the U.S. contribution, the total is $664B. I don’t want to quarrel with NATO. However, to put a fine point on the problem, if all the NATO allies decided to gang up on the U.S., based just on our spending differences, the allies would be $260B short.

As I said earlier, I don’t like the idea of the U.S. being the world’s bully. I don’t even like the idea that we are every NATO ally’s big brother. However, that seems to be the reality.

We live in a dangerous world. People leave their countries to come to the U.S. hoping for a better life. I hope that the U.S. can continue to be a country that people want to come to.

Even better is a world where people can flourish in their own countries. In many cases, that means that oppressors must act differently. I’m hopeful that Trump is setting the stage for that change of action.

I have read about half of Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy of the Unites States of America. So far, it looks to me like his ambition is to get along with all countries. I’ll continue reading and give you my perspective.

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I may be getting over an illness. I’ve been coughing for a couple of weeks. Daily I seem to think I’m better, only to relapse. For the last couple of days, I have had low energy. Fortunately, my wife picked up the slack at home. Today my energy is back. Cough is better. Maybe I’m close to recovery.

There is nothing like illness to give us pause. If extreme, we can’t even think. Mine was not extreme, so I had plenty of thinking time.

I was reminded of a medical physician I met at a seminar. We became friends and decided to trade services. Eventually I took x-rays and made him more of a chiropractic patient. He came in after having low back pain for several days. He said, “It is all I can do to keep my mind off of all the possible pathologies. I’m not here for my perspective. I’m here for yours. Just fix it.”

Then, as he got on the table, he said, “It’s probably my axis.”

That made me smile. He was right. I adjusted his axis and his low back pain improved immediately. He knew from experience what many chiropractors never know. A high percentage of chiropractors are now trained to look where the pain is to treat the condition. Often, the problem is elsewhere.

However, what reminded me of my friend was that I too was having trouble keeping my mind off of all the possible pathologies. Was I just fighting a virus? Was my low energy due to my heart or my lungs? Last year I had a cough for a couple of weeks and wound up in the hospital with pneumonia and collapsed lung. Could this be a repeat?

I thought I was getting better, but I did last year too.

Those are the thoughts that can happen to us when we’ve lost our confidence in our ability to be well. I had been having trouble sleeping. I thought that lack of sleep was the most likely cause of my weakness, along with fighting a virus. I checked my blood oxygen level. It was 100%.

I am reluctant to take any medication. I have seen how often it interferes with the natural healing process. I decided to take a cough suppressant to help me sleep.

My energy is back. Cough is better. Maybe I’m on the mend.

However, the point of this article is that I am much more empathetic to people with chronic illness. I have a friend who lives a limited life because he doesn’t feel well. I wonder how much of his problem is that he has limited his life and part of the problem is depression. Money is not a concern. That is one worry he doesn’t have.

It is amazing how much our mind affects our health. One of the things researchers are finding about the benefits of chiropractic care is the effect of changing the brain. My friend talks about seeing a chiropractor but hasn’t done it. Talking about it doesn’t quite do it.

Which gets me to another point. I’ve talked with several people who seem to have problems that might be helped by a chiropractor, yet they don’t try. Or perhaps they try one chiropractor and give up. There are many different chiropractic techniques. No one chiropractor does them all. Trying one chiropractor and giving up on chiropractic is like refusing to go to a drug store because you tried aspirin once and it didn’t help.

Having seen that is another reason I have become more open to medical intervention for myself. I don’t want to discard medical care the way some people discard chiropractic. There is a place for both.

When we are sick, we can all agree that we want to feel better. We want to be out of pain. We want to be able to move freely. We want whatever is necessary to help us achieve those results. We all become equal.

When we feel better and can move freely, it is difficult to agree on how to stay that way. It seems that everything is a probability function. It is difficult to apply probability functions to individual cases.

For example, I am working on my spine. My wife is not. I got sick. She did not. My wife got vaccinated. I did not. Perhaps, I should not be working on my spine and should have gotten vaccinated. On the other hand, our children were vaccinated and suffered more than me. Vaccination might not be the answer. Perhaps I am benefitting from my spinal rehab.

Each of us gets to choose how to live our lives. It is important for us to be able to choose what we believe will keep us healthy. It will always be difficult to prove what any individual needs. We can argue but facts are difficult to find.

Unfortunately, even when sick, the appropriate care can be difficult to determine. It can be a combination of care that is ultimately the answer. I’ve seen many patients whose doctors convinced them of a diagnosis. The doctor’s rationale had them convinced that the treatment was appropriate. Yet, they came to see me because they weren’t getting better. They often improved under chiropractic care. We must never lose our ability to choose.

If you are feeling well, have some empathy for those who are not. Realize that when we are ill, we all want the same thing. Realize that offering advice is great, but often your advice will not be taken. People have to choose for themselves.

Be supportive. Let it go. Don’t take their lack of follow up on your advice personally. It may just be a time of growth. A time for reflection. You might be surprised, as I sometimes am, that the patient gets better without following your advice. It can become a learning experience for you as well - a time of reflection.

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