Rick McBee's Writings
Explore the magic of new ideas and books to read as well as see what books I have written, my favorite photos, my opinions on may subjects, including Science, Africa, the Caribbean, the Civil War, my Book Reviews, and Much More!
“Micro” by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston a book review
Micro by Michael Crichton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Authors Michael Crichton and Richard Preston have made an interesting take on the “shrinking man’ or “micro human” story based on some somewhat shaky physics and quantum leaps of faith to get their whole bodied humans including clothes, and paraphernalia all down to miniature size and still functioning. That said, the story is as usual with this author and genre a rousing good tale of adventure in micro-land with one always wondering who is going to make it out alive as not all out mini friends go down and then come back up into the full-sized world for a variety of reasons. Hawaii makes a good backdrop for this sort of an adventure, and I enjoyed the variety of ways in which the poisons or stimulants or products of Mother Nature could be used counteract the bad effects of things like the wasp paralysis or used to fight off the monstrosity of spider attacks. Read it and enjoy. Don’t get your hopes up that you will get to try it out in this lifetime. Probably better to save up your money for that trip to the full-sized moon.
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Back to the 1880’s to become 2025? The Nonsense of the Tariff talk 2/4/2025. IT’s a TAX on You and Me!
Did you watch the President’s talk on his tariffs today? Lauding the tariffs of the 1880’s! Then using the analogy of how his tariffs will Make America Great Again? Are we for Real Mr. Trump? Comparing Apples to Oranges?
Here’s what they drove in the 1880’s! A Horse and Buggy! A time when 50% of Americans all lives on farms, raised their own food and animals and knew how to handle a horse and buggy. All parts could be made and repaired in the US of A! Hmm!
Here’s what we can drive in 2025 ! An American Buick! We live in a time when 2% of Americans live on farms and some percentage of those raise their own food but most don’t know how to hitch up and drive a buggy. Hmm! An odd comparison and this one is going to cost us 25% more for any of its parts that are made outside America all because of tariffs? How quickly do you think all those foreign made parts are going to suddenly be made in the US of A? 3 years? 5 Years? Never?
Medicines in the 1880’s kind of a do-it-yourself kit shown here from Pinterest. Where did you Doc go to school? Are his hands washed? Those needles look BIG and are the SHARP? OUCH! Better not have to go into Surgery! No Medicare, No Insurance, no immunizations so you just get born and takes your chances! Average Life Span was about 39.9 years!
Medicines in 2025 – Nice thin needles! Always sterile! Doses of meds all prepared to definite specs. so there isn’t any guesswork! Your Doc has a License! Your Doc washes their hands! You may have Medicare or Medicaid or Health Insurance and immunizations have a proven track record so you can see how safe they are! Average life Span about 79 years – 81 for women and 76 for men. We can do better, but it’s already way ahead of what they had in 1880. Did you get the Tariff information for India where much of your medicines are produced? Looks like India will have a 26% Tariff! Wow! That’s not all going to be picked up by your Insurance so guess who pays the bill?
Are you getting the gist folks? This Tariff stuff is going to affect you and Me right from the Get-Go! It’s a TAX! ON YOU and ME!
Stressed by Politics? ESCAPE! With a Beautiful African Choir: UKUTHULA – Meaning Peace in Zulu
Amazing! Ukuthula – Hlumelo’s Swansong! Performed by the Cape Town Youth Choir as part of STBB s 121 year birthday celebrations Solo by Hlumelo Marepula Conducted by Leon Starker Watch this great piece of music performed Ukuthula: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C2fJKBmKFk
The Zulu Word “Ukuthula!” When shouted out by a melodious African voice and followed by ullulations from high pitched female voices or when sung by a youth choir epitomizes the feelings of reaching out to the world and others with words of Peace! Love! and Hope! Enjoy!
Here’s My Novel : An African Hero works towards Liberation and Peace in Southern Africa: The Ghosts of Ukuthula (pronounced like Ooo-Coo-Thoo-Lah! as in the song above)! Check out my author site Link ! https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001K8HIXI
Africa is predominatantly a Christian based society like the United States everywhere South of the Sahara. It also has a strong intellectual Muslim History from the Central Sahara which believed strongly in coexistence with Christian and Jewish Communities and published amazing works of thought which are written about in the Great Non-fiction book The Bad-ass Librarians of Timbuktu. If you haven’t read it, you really should.
We in our isolated American culture often forget that there are hundreds, if not thousands of other religious traditions throughout the world that have their own traditionals around the themes of childbirth, health, well-being, meditation, the winter and summer solstice, as well as thanksgivings for good harvests. which contrasts with the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere and the first fruits of the spring harvests. Look up world religions and you will find that every day in December has some sort of religious celebration!
All of these traditions focus on the celebration of Joy, Peace, Light, Freedom, Seeking the Devine, and Spiritual Awakening. Peace! Ukuthula!
<Rick McBee.me>
Psychology and MASLOW’ S GUIDLINES FOR POLITICIANS
Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs should be on the WALL of every POLITICIAN’s OFFICE!
Maslow Tells Politicians What People Need Most for running a straight-up ship of STATE! : 
LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS! https://hislide.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-PPT-for-PowerPoint-Google-slides-and-Keynote.jpeg
There Are 5 Levels of Motivational Needs for people to be best Motivated!
- Most important Physiological: Basic needs like food, water, and shelter. Think Like can I Afford Food and a Place to stay because I have a Living Wage and Some good Housing? Politicians: Do you concentrate on this as your Number one priority for all Americans?
- Safety: Security and protection. Pretty Damned Important – Kind of like think about my own personal safety from: Consumer Price Gouging? Falsehoods and Lies? Secure Schools for Kids? Proection from Criminals, Harassment, Invasion of Privacy, Government in Genl? Politicians: Do you think of these as your number two priority after fixing Number One?
- Love/Belonging: Social connections and relationships. Great for Long Life/Happiness – Think Is This a country accepting of all the people who live here? Do you Politicians separate, segregate, Castigate, Marginalize various groups of people by your words and Laws?
- Esteem: Self-esteem and recognition. OK – Kind of So-So unless you’re in POLITICS, in which case it seems to be Really Important to always push people’s buttons to get attention.
- Self-actualization: Fulfillment of personal potential. Great if you can get 1, 2, and 3 First and then can avoid falling into the pitholes of number 4!
I hope you are paying attention up there in Washington! Because it looks like you’re blowing it!
Congress needs to step up to its Obligations to guard our Constitutional Government
The Constitutional duties and mandates for The Congress of the United States of America are being assumed, by our new President, Donald Trump. You have a sworn duty to stop this imbalance in power. You must act immediately to uphold your duties to 1/3 of our governmental powers.
I bring the following 5 areas of responsibility to your attention for action:
- Congress alone has the power to pass and collect taxes – How can Congress not view and regulate Tariffs placed on food, and manufactured essentials coming from foreign countries as a direct tax on the people of the United States, when there is no system of preventing those Tariffs from being passed directly onto the consumer though vendors of products. Tariffs are taxes and should be approved by Congress.
- Congress has a duty to allocate money for essential services: Why are you not overseeing that our essential services are being funded at the appropriated levels at home and abroad. You are letting the Executive Branch cut back or cancel them indiscriminately, abrogating your duty to oversee their payment. I note the cancellation of existing negotiated contracts by the Treasury through an ad hoc unapproved committee called DOGE as well as threats to do the same with the Department of Education, and Foreign AID projects. These unilateral cancellations and threats to Congressional appropriations must be stopped.
- Congress has a duty to provide government oversight: No branch of government can abuse its powers and requires Congress to oversee it. It is the express duty of the House of Congress to Impeach and remove Federal Officials after proper investigation. The House needs to call the President to task for ignoring Congresses duty of oversight by using an unapproved Department, DOGE, for this duty and by blanket firing of numerous high federal officials without cause, by mere Presidential fiat. Recent examples include firings of federal officials in the FBI, Inspectors General, AID, the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management. 73 congressional and governmental agencies hire independent watchdogs to prevent power abuses like this. They need to act immediately with your authority.
- Congress has the duty to Ratify Treaties: Why and how can Treaties which require signing onto and approval by Congress such as the Climate Accords, be summarily cancelled by the President with no authorization from Congress? You have again abrogated your duty to oversee the proper carrying out of your duties in foreign affairs to the Executive Branch.
- Congress has a duty to confirm persons appointed by the President: The President has appointed and hired a new Department, DOGE, which is assuming the running of the Cabinet Level Department of Treasury. This is a violation of our Constitution and your duties to monitor revenue, allocation of money, and the appointment of Federal Officials. It is your duty to stop this abuse of appointment power and federal funding mismanagement.
Without Congress addressing these types of problems, there is really no reason for it to exist.
A Weakling Congress Allows The Toppling of Laws in the United States!
Second week of the New Administration and already Congress is Toppling!
Led by Weaklings the houses of Congress are losing a key battle after only two weeks of a new President!
Congress Makes the Laws! – President Trump has already mandated things that have broken key laws of the land but Congress sits on it’s thumbs as we citizens watch Government By the People and For the People get Trampled!
A. President Trump unilaterally broke the law that requires him get Congressional approval for withholding already approved budgeted funds that support key programs, projects, contracts etc. already entered into by the Approval of Congress and signed by former Presidents.
Where is the Wrath of Congress? They seem to have just rolled over and shrugged their shoulders for an Impeachable offense.
B. President Trump unilaterally broke the law by placing non-governmental employees into a non-approved ad-hoc and un-official department which he calls The Department of Government Efficiency and given that group access to The Treasury data for Confidential Social Security and Medicare Information and Computer Files, cutting off access for the Officials who are responsible for running, securing and paying citizens through the Office of Personnel Management.
Where is the Wrath of Congress? Again – just bend over one more time!
Congress: When are you going to FIRMLY stake out your territory to 1/3 of the Powers of Government?
CONGRESS! YOU BETTER USE IT OR LOSE IT! GUYS and GALS! This is serious business!
Novel: The Women – by Kristin Hannah
The Women by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kristin Hannah has done an outstanding job of recreating the Chaos, stresses of the operating theatre in casualty hospitals during the Vietnam war as well as giving insight into the ways in which the emergency clinic nurses, doctors, and patients managed and dealt with those stresses during and after the war. The return home from war in the late 1960’s after two tours of duty in Vietnam for nurse Frankie McGrath is in many ways as traumatic as being in the war zone itself, to find how her own family and country had covered up, lied about and concealed even the fact that Army nurses were even in the combat zones, living and travelling via the same modes of transport through the same enemy fire zones as combat pilots and soldiers. Is it really any wonder that our military personnel even today are reduced to having to turn to drugs and strange behaviors when they return from combat when they are ostracized, and shat upon by the very nation that sent them off to do battle for what was a bogus cause? The wonder of the horror, the trauma and the grief that these returnees go through is how many are able to eventually pull their lives together, find a place of peace, happiness and love later in life. The corollary to this of course is the large numbers of those same traumatized persons who are unable to do it alone and are abandoned on our streets and homeless camps in perpetuity. Author Hannah has done a brilliant job of bringing the reality picture of war into the reader’s home. Please read it, pray on it and do what you can to support any and all of the veterans of our wars, male or female. They deserve everything that we can give them and more.
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Government Over-reach Morality Story: Watch the “Birdies”, Don’t Watch my Hands!
Prexy: Here We go again! Watch this one! 
Up we go!!! Watch Now!
JQ Public: Where? Where? 
Where did it go? Which One is it?
Prexy: While you’re watching! Let me sign off on 
Firing 1600 independent Government Watchdogs – The Inspectors Generals!
JQ Public: Can’t the Inspectors General and Congress do something?
Prexy: 
Ha! Ha! Ha! Big Grin – I didn’t even have to give them or Congress, a 30-day notice, as required by LAW, because the SUPREME COURT has said I can do any damn thing I want while I’m in office even if it’s against the law!
JQ Public: What about me? Can’t I do anything? This is taking away Checks and Balances!
Pexy: YOU are supposed to be watching the BIRDIES!
A Monster’s Laugh Echoes across the land: Ha! Ha! Ha! No More Watchdogs to mess with
MY Governance! 
Moral: Watch too Many Birdies and you won’t have Laws & Consitution Protecting You anymore!
Jack Reacher #24 – Blue Moon – by Lee Child
Blue Moon by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In Blue Moon I find that Lee Child’s Jack Reacher has gone from being my favorite “Shane” action style thriller to more of the “OK Corral” type of thrill. In some ways better, and in some ways not quite so good. Blue moon splits up Reacher’s center of focus for meting out justice to the bad guys from a single evil protagonist or group to two ultra nasty sets of underworld groups, the Ukrainians and the Armenians, plus one Wizard of OZ-like mastermind, hiding out until the bitter end in his foxhole. All this extra bad-boy stuff of course makes for more shootouts, cum the later “Mission Impossible ” genres, to make our hero absolutely bullet-proof despite his two-gun suicidal assaults on nasty guys hideouts. So, where am I on this? I like the action, the novel ways that gangs hunt down and dispose of their opponents or traitors, and basics of the plot, but I feel that author Lee Child could have pared down the number of treks around the city blocks on foot or my black windowed sedans for our hero and maybe had him take a shower and change clothes as he pursues his four-night stand romance with one of his co-conspirators. Read it! Enjoy it! But don’t necessarily expect to find your old favorite MP Reacher stepping back into his old hat and uniform.
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Book Review; The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 
TJ Klune has written a great novel for looking at the world of bullying, mocking and name calling through the eyes of an educator. But in this great novel, it uses the medium of fantasy to really get us to the point where we realize the dangerous levels that humans can sink to when they start labelling other humans as “The Other” or “The Outcast” or “Weird.” This book takes us into the world of Magical Youth. It’s a world that some of you may say you don’t want to enter, unless you can put your biases aside about Magic and go into the world of the We all fall into this form of labelling starting about the time we reach puberty, when our eyes to the world are opened and we truly begin to notice the world in a different manner than we have for the earlier ages and stages of our lives. Adolescents can be super cruel to others whom they label, but fortunately we have a lot of people who are professionals at directing fact that we discriminate differences, away from the bullying, mocking, and name calling that can ruin other people’s lives in a callus and uncaring fashion. When these same malicious behaviors move into the adult world and are modelled by high level adults to other adults and to our children, we perpetuate this tearing apart and degrading of others by picking on natural human relationships, appearances and differences which have existed since life was first created on the planet. Linus is the Caseworker in this book, but in reality, he is our “Teacher”! As a caseworker he is the investigator and examiner of the schools for the kids who are “Magical” in his part of the United States. His role is to make sure that these boarding schools are run and managed properly by the teachers and administrators so that the special needs of the magical children are always put first, Thus, the students will be able to live in a loving, caring and fulfilling environment as they be if they were able to live with their true families. Linus is therefore looking at each school as if it were a true “Family” and not just another “Institution” where the Magical kids can be hidden from the rest of the world. As the story progresses, Linus is so good at his job that he is selected by Extremely Upper Management to go to the most difficult school on the planet where Gnomes, Forest Sprites, Changelings, and even an Antichrist can live, isolated from the nearby town of Marsyas where the locals eschew any contact with the “Magical”, and even plot against it. I loved the inner tension of the book which continually throws Linus into situations that would tax any normal human’s abilities to handle with anything other than terror, anger, or madness. In the end, we ourselves learn the meaning of acceptance and a lot about our own inner fears and foibles that are the baggage everyone carries. By cogitating on the meaning of the book, which is truly about “Family”, we can all learn to be a bit more accepting of others despite the baggage we were brought up with. Hope you enjoy the read!
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Rick McBee's Writings 
