No One Asked Me But… (May 8, 2024)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… I watch the news when I have breakfast in the morning and while I am waiting for Jeopardy in the evening.

Lately riots on college campuses across the United States have been flooding the “propaganda” (news) channels on television. While there seems to be an unusually high degree of subversive activity going on, I would direct your attention to the college riots of a prior generation in opposition to the Vietnam war.

The activities of over-privileged youngsters are not new nor unusual. These are merely the actions of undisciplined young people who believe the world owes them a living. They are the product of years of permissive parenting and of indoctrination by high school and university faculty members who, when they were youngsters, led riots and specialized in taking over the offices of the university’s presidents.

The Democratic National Convention protests lasted seven days and were centered on the objections to the Vietnam War and the draft. The convention was held in Chicago, Illinois from August 23-29, 1968. For the most part, the rioters were made up of college students.

Many left-wing counterculture and anti-Vietnam War groups, who were supporters of the anti-war Democratic candidate Eugene McCarthy, rioted in response to the impending presidential nomination of Democratic vice-president nominee Hubert Humphrey.

There were several attempts by local Chicago authorities to prevent the protests from occurring; however, they were unsuccessful. Mayor Daley decreed that “law and order” would prevail and he ordered the Chicago police to suppress the protesters. As a result, many protesters, reporters, and bystanders were arrested for disorderly conduct.

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of anti-war protestors at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The shootings took place during a rally in opposition to the American military plan to expand the Vietnam conflict into Cambodia. When the National Guard was sent to quell the riots the opposition grew as more students now joined to protest against the National Guard’s presence on campus.

When the guardsmen feared for their safety, they fired into the rioters. The Judge ruled that U.S. prosecutors failed to prove charges that the guardsmen willfully intended to deprive the four students killed and nine wounded of their civil rights.

As you watch the results of the current anti-Israel demonstrations unfold, keep in mind that these are the youngsters who want you and me to pay off their college debts. Never mind that we not only paid for our own college education but that of our children also.

Some of those who are now asked to pay for these overblown degrees in over-valued universities were never able to go to college themselves and had to settle for working for a living.
You might also keep in mind that it is estimated that over half of the college graduates are presently working in jobs that do not require a college education.

As these people shout “Death to America,” maybe we should be shouting “Death to college debt forgiveness!”

Foreign students, who believe America is evil and should be destroyed should have their visas revoked and be sent home to their native countries where many would be denied the right to an education. It is highly hypocritical to seek the destruction of the nation that has allowed them the opportunity to get an education.

If these youngsters are really that concerned about what is happening in Gaza, maybe they should take their fight to Gaza. I am sure Hamas would welcome them with open arms as well as military arms.

The height of hypocrisy is that those who have been arrested are demanding that there be no record of their arrest for it might hamper their ability to get a job in the future. Is your cause valid? Are you really committed to the cause? Are you not proud of your actions? If not you probably should not commit the act.

No one asked me but… On a lighter note, my favorite time of the year is coming, summer in Moapa Valley.
Some people believe it is too hot. I am not one of them. I have been cold since October of last year. As the temperature has gone above 70, I have put away my thermal underwear.

Those of you who lament 115-120 degrees days need to remember that this is what keeps our area from being overrun by Caliphonies.

When people ask me about Southern Nevada, I am quick to point out that it is not unusual to see the temperature rise above the 110 mark. I have collected the following remarks about the weather in Moapa Valley over the thirty years. Most are not original and I have no way of knowing where I first heard them. But I will gladly share them with you anyway.

You know you have become a native Nevadan when you no longer associate bridges with water.
Only a true Nevadan can go outside in 110-degree weather without fainting.
Nevada may be one of the few places where one can make instant sun tea.
Every good Nevadan knows that a seat belt makes a very good branding iron.
Nevadans can drive their car using only two fingers until the A/C kicks in.

They also know that the best parking spots are determined by the shade available, rather than how close it is to the store.
A snowbird once asked me, “Does it ever rain here?”

I said, “Sure. Do you remember the part in the Bible where it rained for forty days and forty nights? We got an inch.”

I must admit that there are winter days when I contemplate the possibility of moving to a warmer climate. I would gladly turn over my valley to snowbirds and become one myself as I move further south. However, I don’t seem to see a place warmer, outside Death Valley, and that name alone keeps me away.

Thought of the week… “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. And I’m not sure about the universe.”
―Albert Einstein