About my Soap Box

The contents of this blog are more about providing me with some much needed personal therapy than anything else. The subject matter is comprised of issues that have tormented me for years despite spending considerable time in both research and thought. I am hoping that putting my thought to paper will be a cathartic process. I do not expect the reader to agree with or accept my opinions. I expect that some will and others vehemently disagree. My hope is that, among the topics explored, the reader might discover an issue which that evokes a passionate response and call to action. If a reader would take action on just one of these issues I suspect change could be possible. Over time I plan to include a few “just for fun” topics as well It will seem that I tend to generalize far too much in my ramblings and for that I apologize in advance. I do admit that not all persons serving our Government are incompetent or corrupt. In fact there are many decent and deserving public servants. Most representatives enter the DC beltway with the best of intentions, but it only takes a matter of months before they fall in line with the rules of their particular “gang”.   My view is that our systems and procedures (in many areas) are both outdated and counterproductive. Additionally, the bureaucratic environment tends to reward both complacency and incompetence. Most Americans have a disease. It involves the attitude that everything we do is the best just because it is what we do in this country. I’m not sure what the cure is? While we do live in a great country it is just not valid that other systems are not worth evaluating. No doubt, on some of the issues to be addressed, I will be labeled a flaming liberal and on others an ignorant conservative. In actuality I consider myself apolitical with libertarian tendencies. I often hear that one person cannot make a difference. While that may be true I am convinced that a group of like-minded individuals can act as a catalyst for change. All of the issues that bother me can be resolved. However, without revising the method and laws that we use to elect our representatives there is little hope for change. Currently we have a system where money is king and the will of the people is secondary. I have compiled a rather extensive list of topics that fire me up. Over time, with weekly updates, I will focus on several issues with our government to include: The election process, healthcare alternatives, obesity, term limits & the two party system to mention only a few. Hopefully several of the topics covered in this blog will be of interest to you. I do not expect you to agree with my perspective and only hope that, from time to time, it will serve as a catalyst for further research on your part and possibly some positive action. Future subject matter, items that I think about often and that really bother me (there are also a few “just for fun” topics included):

  1. Our broken system for electing representation and alternatives
  2. Our health care system and alternatives
  3. Gov’t funding for health education, why it is not working
  4. Overweight & obesity & a solution
  5. Not all Calories are created equal & the low/no fat myth.
  6. A case for Term limits and why they will likely never be implemented
  7. The Electoral College is it still relevant?
  8. The two party system, the gangs of DC, and how they work together, but not for the common good
  9. The national debt, personal debt & scary unfunded federal obligations.
  10. Solutions to balancing the Federal Budget
  11. Distribution of taxes paid, who pays?
  12. You owe back taxes, why pay?
  13. The founders of our Democratic Republic, some interesting facts
  14. Let’s bash the President!
  15. The Cult of Government Bureaucracy
  16. Our insane federal tax code
  17.  Interest rate on the debt. It is low and is that good?
  18. Unemployment: Official vs. Reality
  19. Our elected representatives play by different rules, why?
  20. Our wasteful and unfair election process (revisiting topic #1)
  21. Life skills and the need to incorporate them early into the educational curriculum
  22. Incarcerations, prisons, the tax payer rip-off & a low cost alternative A
  23. All natural foods are healthy and great, but can lower income folks afford them? Healthy alternatives.
  24. High frequency traders, bank and broker facilitators and how they rip off the small investor
  25. A relationship among lower incomes, cigarette smoking, the lotto & fast food
  26. Belief Systems: The good, the not so good & the ugly
  27. We are so smart, aren’t we? (our changing knowledge base)
  28. The price of petrol is very low in the US, the good news and the not so good news
  29. Guns, guns and more guns!
  30. News or Agenda – CNN, Fox, Aljazeera
  31. Reality shows – from Wrestling to Springer to ….
  32. History of man, what do we really know?
  33. Auto Insurance the way I figure it could be free!
  34. The metric system and currency
  35. Civilization, did it commence 6,000 years ago?
  36. Nikola Tesla – the unappreciated prophet.
  37. Sophie’s Believe it or not!
  38. Just for fun – Aliens among us

If you find any of the above of interest, please stay tuned in and let your friends know. Weekly updates are planned.

One thought on “About my Soap Box

  1. Interesting comments below from James. I communicated back that I will do further research and get back to James and will provide a post to the blog at some point.

    Hi, Sophie,

    This missive is in reference to your “The real top 5 unexplained (just for fun, con’t), #2 The Malmstrom AFB UFO/Missile Incident”, published on your blog June 23, 2018.

    Eric Carlson, mentioned in your article, is my father. I have discussed this matter with Col. Figel as well, also mentioned in your article, on many occasions. You should note that both gentlemen have repeatedly affirmed that there was no UFO present during the shutdown of missiles that occurred on March 16, 1967, and that the cause for the missile shutdown was an electrical fault. The matter was investigated for many months and there is no credible association with any UFO. There were no UFO reports whatsoever on the date of the incident, and there was no investigation of a UFO that would have been required had a UFO been reported. Your personal comment at the end of your article stating, “This incident was experienced by numerous credible military witnesses and to date there is no reasonable explanation” is also incorrect. There were only two witnesses — Carlson and Figel — and both men have repeatedly insisted that there was no UFO involved, reported or investigated. There is also a very reasonable explanation for the incident, one that anybody taking the time to research the issue could have discovered had they not limited their research to UFO proponent websites.

    I would recommend that you review the following article for a thorough introduction to the matter (it was cut into 2 separate publications due to length):

    https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=195390

    and

    https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=195874

    If you have any further questions, you are welcome to ask and I’ll be happy to comply. If you would like to examine the actual USAF documents discussing the event, I can certainly show you exactly where they can be downloaded without cost — this includes not only the original documents associated with the March 16, 1967 event, but the SECRET NOFORN documents in the USAF ICBM Histories that were declassified in 2004. If you would like to examine the accounts of the matter by each of the two witnesses, I can provide you with that information as well.

    Thank you for your time and have a great week.

    Sincerely,
    James Carlson

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