Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Asians in America are seldom uneducated. They finished 4 years of college back home. Then they study more here for better financial headway. Many are already Communication grads yet they take nursing course/s for practical reasons. Business degree-holders but janitors for now; lawyers and engineers later. Doctors at home but right now CVS salesclerks; surgeons later. Yet not so vocal about politics? They don’t see the point. Waste of time. But they vote.

      I am an Asian. Why do I know? For years, I wrote for/edited Asian/Filipino newspapers in New York City and Los Angeles, apart from a long career as journalist/editor back home. 

      Not many know that Asians are top English speaking people in the world, besides of a number of other languages that they are fluent with. Top English speaking countries or most English speakers in the world: United States, India, Pakistan, The Philippines, Nigeria, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Denmark. So when an Asian doesn’t talk much while in a crowd of “English speakers,” it doesn’t mean they don’t know what’s going on. They just prefer to hush. ✏️📝📌

In 1945, the U.S. Army Air Forces conducted an air raid, fire-bombing Tokyo toward the end of World War II. The attack destroyed nearly 16 square miles of the city, resulted in as many as 100,000 civilian deaths and left about one million residents without homes. That was America’s response to the Pearl Harbor bombing. Unending lesson. We can stop this current war by simply this: Quit handing weapons to Ukraine, pull troops out, and continue talking on the table.☮️☮️☮️

News: “President Biden's vow to make Vladimir Putin a `pariah’ on the world stage and label him a war criminal could be a risky personalization of the war.” I follow the news 24/7 and I followed the President’s nonstop dissing from Day 1, which easily evolved into personal jabs, of Putin. It may please your Rambo vs Drago Cold War fix but this ain’t Hollywood or Olympics. Biden has got to pull back a bit. Worse, the media is even goading China to join in. Whacked.

       Can’t we allow Peace up front sometimes? Leadership doesn't get hurt when shit happens. Right now, it is the people of Ukraine and Russia who are getting it. You see, Volo has lots of “secret assets” stashed somewhere and Vlad ain’t poor. Offhand, Joe has amassed $8 million just from his book and speaking engagements. Their personal economics are just fine. But with the way arms and stuff are being handed left and right along with nonstop murkthrows

within/around the propaganda dartboard, the fires of war may spread into the entire region. That is not a remote possibility. Not even talking about the global economic whip that an unresolved difference/s between superpower economies excise on global trade. ☮️☮️☮️

Only 50 percent on average vote in U.S. presidential elections. All Potuses had 50/50 (or lower) approval ratings, besides JFK (who didn’t complete his term). Which means, despite the rowdy partisanship divide on social media, only half of America minds politics that much. They mind rent or mortgage, cost of gasoline, price of toilet paper and carton of milk. They mind 7.5 percent inflation and $7.25 minimum wage. That's the time that they’d mind about a president. 🗽💵🗽

True, pets in the house train/ed me more than I trained them. But Arrow is different. She takes “learning” to a new level. Here, we got stocks of food. We are prepared for zombie apocalypse, covid apocalypse, brandon apocalypse etc. Arrow observes us. So she keeps or buries her leftover foods all over the living room: Between couch cushions, among her toys, in fact—even under my bed pillow! She checks her “bone collection” every now and then. Smart babedawg! The name is Arrow. 🐕🦴🐕

Some people are still in denial. Because you’re supposed to be Left? The U.S. is the world’s top economy and the most influential. But the 7.7 percent inflation bites! Hard. True, most nations deal with high costs of gasoline. But the U.S. has the highest inflation rate among rich countries. China, 2.2 percent; Japan, 0.8 percent; Europe av, 3+ percent. I feel for parents with 3 kids who drive them to school then go to work, 6 days a week. That’s reality in the gut. 

       Worse, the government just redirected fund meant for Covid relief into sending more arms to Ukraine. Are we seeing the same waste of taxpayer’s money (as we did in Afghanistan) on another prolonged war? 😩🥺😢

A most-shared newslink per Ukraine War: News about Christopher Wynne, an American, who runs Papa John’s 190 stores in Russia—amidst the Ukraine crisis. Sure, many are calling for a ban of Russian products and sanctions on Russia. Yet what do sanctions/ban do to a targeted leadership and their business? Opening for a rival business to get in. Think oil/natural gas. Economic sanction? The ultimate victim? The people. At least Mr Wynne tries to feed as he earns.

       Says Christopher dude: “At the end of the day, they appreciate a good pizza.” And has humor. But on account of war, though he ain’t in Kiev (or Kyiv), that doesn’t mean he’s beyond danger. He is. The guys who sell the arms are not in the line of fire. But the guy who sells the pizza is. ☮️🍕☮️

St Patrick’s Day! Drink but don’t drive! When we mention Valentine’s Day and Christmas, the sourpuss howls consumerism and anti-Christianity. But not on St Paddy, right? Saint Patrick, who was born Maewyn Succat in 386 A.D., was a 5th century Romano-British Christian/Catholic missionary. On this day, overall beer sales go up more than 150 percent. Valentine's Day spending in the U.S. is around $24 billion. Saint Valentine or Valentine of Terni is also a Christian.

       My point: Let days such as this—Christian, Pagan, Buddhist, Islam etcetera—gather us for fun and goodness. Dark historical backgrounders are all past tense. We have now. Meanwhile, consumer spending is common sense; don’t blame the day. Drinking is common sense as well; don’t blame St Paddy. ☘️🍻☘️

A friend unfriended me because I responded to his (partisan-ignited) denial of the current economic shudder with: “Trump tried to prevent this war in 2019 by not handing military aid to Ukraine. For that, he was impeached.” You see, I “judge” a president as president, not as my drinking buddy. Hence, I won’t last two minutes with Trump. But I’d spend hours with Obama talking about bracketology and stuff. With Biden? I’d probably sleep while he’s talkin’.☮️☮️☮️

About Dogs and Cats and their Buddies.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

FOR unknown reasons, mermaids are also instinctively terrified of cats. Of course. I mean, are mermaids real? But I am sure hoomans who smell like mermaids are terrified of cats. 👩‍🦰🐬🐱

CATS can read body language or they can analyze the behavior of other cats and human companions. They can read/interpret human vocal intonations. But I am not sure if other cats, besides Ching and Fizz and Cyd then, can also read. Fizz reads whatever she googles, of course. And all the books in the bedroom and magazines in the bathroom. And she keeps on bugging me why there is no bird in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” 🐱📖🐱

CELLPHONES help us in making our lives easy and convenient. They help us communicate with our loved ones and carry out our work efficiently. Furthermore, they also do the work of the computer, calculator, and cameras. And a lot of other things, too. Innumerable. Without a cellphone, the world will end and humanity will perish as well. That’s what Fizz tells me everyday. 📱📲📱

THERE are lots of reasons that cats love boxes, but the main one is because they're confined, enclosed spaces. Cats are ambush predators and finding confined places where they can hide, hunt prey and feel safe and warm is an instinctive behavior. In the house, Fizz and Ching got no one or nothing to ambush–other than spring toys and us for a backrub. 🐱📦🐱

CATS simply find certain features — a blush of red, a feathered flourish — to be appealing. And that innate sense of beauty itself can become an engine of evolution, pushing cats toward aesthetic extremes or artistic greatness. You get that? Aesthetic extremes or artistic greatness. That’s according to Fizz The Wiz. 🐱🐱🐱

NO one can tell if dogs get a “mental block” of some sort although dogs can show symptoms of anxiety and depression, which can go hand in hand. They can also develop compulsive behaviors when they're struggling with these mental health issues. If you think your dog is depressed, you may consider an upgrade of squeaky dosage in her toys. 🧸🐕🪆

WHY are cats obsessed with boxes? Safety and security is probably the number one reason as to why cats find boxes so appealing. Hiding or seeking an enclosed space is a typical cat response to stress or fear. It's instinctual. And as ninjas who are experts in covert operations, ambush, intelligence, and espionage, cats use a box as “safe house” when hiding after they knock a glass off the kitchen counter, or as their nerve-center base for their assignments. 🐈🎁🐈‍⬛

THE most common reason people unfriended their imaginary friends is because they posted controversial comments, often pertaining to religion or politics. That reason shouldn't come as a surprise, especially in such divisive and polarizing times. You also get unfriended for driving an SUV, blowing leaves in autumn, going to Church, or because you prefer Krispy Kreme over Dunkin Donuts. 📱📲👎

CATS have small stomachs, the size of a ping-pong ball. So their eating patterns can involve several breaks rather than eating an entire portion in one sitting. Or most cats are sophisticated, well-educated or meticulously trained on good manners and table etiquette. Good stuff that Cyd then taught Hershe, Chloe, Georgia and Riley, and now Fizz and Ching teach Arrow, with new modifications. Sophistication isn’t always found in pets or animals. Or humans. Cats invented it. 🐱🍽🐱

DOG cognition experts, who are cats, say the average intelligence of a dog equates to that of a toddler. But that was a long time ago. Through the years, dogs developed a high level of knowledge, especially when they live with cats. Cats teach dogs many cool things. Such as ninja expertise. Examples: Quick reactions and movements imperceptible to the human eye, break through walls with a bare paw, or suddenly appear inside a heavily guarded counter or couch, because they are invisible. 🐕🧐🐈