What’s the meaning of the confederate flag and for what reason is its image associatied with the division of people, nationalities, scandals and other not so nice thoughts. What do those red white and blue stars in their arrangement of an x or a cross mean. And why does the word confederate have the word fed in it. Is it a flag of the federal government. Is it a flag of the federate states, and who are the feds, the federate states. What does that Internet bible dictionary Wikipedia have to say about this flag. When I think of this flag it for some reason brings to mind images of the south, the southern states of America. For what reason is it a flag of the south and who are the southerners and what is the meaning of the south. And what about the north, east and west states. And doesn’t it have something to do with the civil war also, or some war of the 1800’s. Does it represent freedom and oppression. And who is free and oppressed. No one is free when others are oppressed. Is that a whole another blog posting? What is the meaning of that flag, and what is its origin. And what does this have to do with a No Police State.

After decades of hibernation, the bedbugs are back. I know because yesterdays am New York and this weeks The Villager says so. They both have bed bug articles that basically say the same thing; the bed bugs are back in New York. And the bedbugs must have reached epidemic proportions now in New York because the papers say so. And not only in New York, but across the country and across the world I have been reading that bedbugs are making a comeback. And just about every single paper that one can think of has written about them lately. Are bedbugs taking over the world? Is this the latest swarm of locusts to appear on planet earth, the scorpions that afflict man. And I also know the bedbugs are back in New York because I have heard stories lately from friends who have them in their apartments and their friends have them in their apartments who have other friends who have them in their apartment and so on and so on and so on. And I have read the bedbugs life story a thousand times by now, and I have read the “My battle with the bed bug” stories a thousand times now also, enough to know that this latest swarm does not discriminate between rich and poor or high and low. The creature inhabits all places from top to bottom. And there seems to be whole blogs and forums devoted to them now, tons and tons and tons of them. Are bedbugs taking over the world? And now there is a whole new meaning to that phrase “Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite”.

The Juror Questionnaire. So what’s the purpose of the juror questionnaire and what is it anyway. I received one of those papers in the mail the other day from the State of New York Unified Court System and I thought, how does the court system evens get ones name and address to mail them a letter stating come to court and testify or else. Oh, the letter goes on to say “Your name was selected at random from the voter, driver, tax, social services or unemployment lists” Is this a divide and conquer thing to use the people against the people or it this a fair way for people to judge others, and what’s the purpose of the courts anyway. Is it possible to not be on any voter, driver, tax, social services or unemployment lists anyway, and as I blah blogged about a few days ago, is it possible to have a close all courts day, month and even year or is that a whole another posting. And what if one does not answer these juror questionnaires. Is it possible to conscious object. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. No one is free when others are oppressed. And who is Excelsior and what does that court system symbol mean. Is another world possible. And what does this have to do with a No Police State?

Why does it cost so much to live in New York? Why does it cost so much to live anywhere? Is it inflation, and what exactly is inflation. Why is that 1970, $260 one bedroom apartment now $2600 and why is that mom and pop shop now Starbucks? Why is that corner coffee house now the corner laptop shop and why is that infamous Tompkins Square Park bandshell now the glorious tennis court? Why is that ten cents subway token now the two dollar subway token and why is that bagel now called a biagli. Why is Kmart now Walmart and why is that neighborhood bookstore now Barnes and Nobles’. Why is that Salvation Army shirt now an Urban Outfitters trend and why is that one dollar tank of gas now ten dollars. Why is Alphabet to dangerous to go there City now Alphabet let’s go there and party City and why is CBGB’s no longer CBGB’s. Why is 42nd Street now Disneyland and why is The Bowery no longer The Bowery. Is it change, ever constant. Does New York reflect the state of the world, is there change everywhere in the world now in these times. Long Live New York.

Ghetto life. What’s up with that? What exactly is ghetto and ghetto life and how do you get out of the ghetto if that’s what you want to do. And what exactly is the ghetto? Is it possible to eliminate the ghetto? Is it inner city poverty, outer city poverty, the concrete jungle, the rough life or none of the above. Is it a state of mind, a philosophy? Let me call up someone and ask them what the word ghetto means to them.
Friend #1: Ahhh, ahmmm… it’s a poor area, I don’t know if it can be used in different ways, if someones ghetto it’s kind of like, a ghetto is like a poor area but if someone says it’s so ghetto it’s kind of underground, posh or rich, has a raw edge to it.
Friend #2: It has so many meanings and it depends on the context in which it is used nowadays you know. I feel like I rarely hear it being used like this guys from the ghetto anymore. It’s kind of a New York thing. The original term was used for ghettos I guess in New York did not exist as much twenty years ago. It’s like a slang term also for things that are kind of like dirty and not taken care of.
Friend 3: It’s where poor people live. I don’t know, it’s segregated housing, segregated neighborhoods where poor people live.
And those are some of the views of and from the ghetto. Have a great day.

Today is Sunday, a day of rest. A time to rest from the week, a time to relax and a time to reflect on life maybe. There is a time for everything under the sun so it has been said. I am not sure if I have any great philosophies on life except to say that “Life is a bitch and then you die”, or “Eat, drink and be merry, for to morrow we die.” And everything happens for a reason, the only thing constant is change and some stories do not end as you expect. There are a lot of great books out there that ponder the meaning of life and I am sure that each one of those books has a different meaning of life. The bible is a good book for morals, philosophies, parables, psalms and proverbs if one believes in it. It is Sunday, a day of rest.