Tuesday, April 18, 2017

The Vermont Select Board Un-Candidate #5

Brattleboro, 4/18/17
     Today, I attended a meeting at the River Garden about Advanced Directives (ADs) for people under 35. The presenter, Hannah Thurber, had two friends under 45 who had strokes. Fortunately, they weren't fatal ones. With downhill skiing, mountain bike riding, and motorcycles so popular in Vermont, young people should be aware that they could be badly injured and decide if they want heroic measures if they are going to be grossly impaired the rest of their lives.
     She stressed that ADs are "a continuous conversation" with your agent. There are many issues and nuances once you begin to scratch the surface. Hannah said some people complete the application and get two people to witness the signing in one day, but that is a rarity. Once you have completed the application, Vermont ( you, the people) pays the fee for your AD to be on the national registry so it follows you in the other states.
     I asked if Ads interfaced with suicide services, and Hannah couldn't recall an instance. She did distribute a brochure from that service, Compassion With Choices. That avenue appears to be difficult according to one participant who said it required some sort of approval by three doctors.
    I also ask for any more possible details about the legal force of an AD and the agent, specifically, suits. Hannah had recently read of suits and at least one settlement on a hospital that did not honor an AD. So the AD has established teeth.
     After the meeting I talked with a woman who had moved here after thirty years in Florida. She had worked the night shift on the island next to Sanibel Island and had seen bobcats and alligators crossing the road on Sanibel. One morning, going home from work, she saw a solid black panther crossing the road in front of her about twenty yards away. She said, "My heart stopped."
     On the way here to the library to blog this, I passed a friend and her new lab from the rescue people. She said the Fishes and Loaves had their biggest crowd today, and it wasn't even close to the end of the month. People are reporting that they are losing their food stamps. Why, she didn't know. If anyone does, I'd like to know what's going on.
     I plan to attend the Select Board tonight. If you're watching on a screen, I'll hold up one finger if I'm having some uncomfortability and two fingers if I'm fighting panic. I'm interested in seeing the seating for the selectmen, as how conspicuous it is, how close to a door, that sort of hiding, escape thing. Boo-Rah! Let's do this!
     If you have any comments or want to discuss something, please contact me. I will also be at my open door "office" at McDonald's at 9:05 Monday thru Thursday and at 8:05 Friday evenings. I'll be at the Select Board tonight.
 Peter Nickerson peternickerson12@yahoo.com or 352-359-0850
"FREEDOM, REASON, AND EVIDENCE!
     

Monday, April 17, 2017

The Vermont Select Board Un-Candidate #4

Brattleboro 4/17/17
     After talking to some friends at McDonald's yesterday about my panic attacks in meetings, I learned that one person used to dig her nails into the palms of her hand so the pain would divert her from an attack. Another woman took Zoloft.
Accordingly, I called my doctor and talked to her aide about trying Xanax right before a meeting to see if it helped and also to see how it interacted with the anti-depressants, Paxil and Mirtazapine, that I already take. She will call me back.
     From there, I went to the River Garden which hosts a presentation every weekday at noon. You can bring food and eat, but nobody does, I hear. This is a great community service. The presentation was about your Advanced Directive, if you want to make one. The presenter was Suzanne Weinburg. She was a slim, attractive woman who kept her glasses on top of her head. She was very articulate, professional, yet warm.
     I wanted to learn what the Advanced Directive was about, and the problems with it. I learned that you might specify no heroics in your Advanced Directive (AD) but if you are unconscious or maybe even if you aren't, your AD may not be observed in some hospitals, and the doctors will do whatever they can to revive you. Also your AD doesn't apply with the EMTs in the ambulance: they will do whatever they can to revive you. Another important thing Suzanne brought out was to keep your AD agent up to date on what you want, rather don't want done on you. You don't want to be lying in bed during a medical emergency, not being able to say anything, but able to hear your agent tell the doctor not to do heroic measures, when you have decided you want to live at any cost but had forgotten to tell your agent about your change of mind. Get the  picture?
    This was an informal, friendly group in a beautiful, wide-open space with gracious people everywhere so even I felt no problems with panic.
peternickerson12@yahoo.com   352-359-0850  Philosophy Major, '68
If I can be of help, or you want to discuss something, please feel free to contact me. Those are two reasons I'm un-running.

The Vermont Select Board Un-Candidate #3

     After not attending the opiod discussion group, I tried to redeem myself by writing this letter-to-the-editor to the Brattleboro Reformer: " I am worried about the damage and suffering inflicted upon innocent college teenagers and young men by the on-campus Salem Witch Trials in which due process is immaturely ignored, and everything almost possible is done to convict these university males and to minimize the paper trail that would incriminate the Title IX coordinators, the college administrators, and the college as a whole. The wholly appropriate charge for these bad actors would be the civil rights abuse of the charged male student. This is not futuristic thinking; numerous universities have been so charged, and the plaintiffs have won or settled for money. The problem is that we, the people, cannot afford the tens of thousands of dollars it would take to protect our sons if we ascertained that he was not guilty of sexual assault. Because of the costs of lawyers, the justice system in general is not available to we, the people, except in the most rudimentary ways that have little to do with receiving justice, such as a court-appointed lawyer, or asking for abbreviated services from a lawyer such a seeking deferred prosecution or a plea-bargain.
     Not having the justice system available to us because we can't afford a $250 an hour lawyer is intolerable. The legal case is our case, not the lawyer's, not the judge's, or anyone else's. We have a perfect moral right to have anyone we want to represent us in court. It is far, far better than no one. It is time that we, the people, and we, the government, decided that the monopoly that bar-passed attorneys have is wrong and cruel. It denies us access to the courts. I urge you to reform this elitist law. In the meantime, if you have a son at college, particularly the ivy league colleges, I urge you to save money for a lawyer. Innocent teenage boys and young men are getting found guilty of sexual abuse with almost no due process by male-hating Title IX coordinators and college administrators who cravenly turn their backs on them. Witches not Pilgrims are running the Salem Witch Trials now.
    This version of the email I sent to the Brattleboro Reformer was elaborated just a bit. After I sent the email in, I went to the gym where I worried about the consequences as this is a very inflammatory, emotional issue not readily open reason, logic, evidence, or friction (contrasting thoughts). It is sooo immature!
As a lifted weights, I feared that a flash mob from the Middlebury College Nazis might appear in a little bubble of love -Brattleboro, that is- and attack me. I thought about how I would fight.
peternickerson12@yahoo  352-359-0850  Philosophy Major, "68
  

Saturday, April 15, 2017

The Un-Candidate #2

     Another way, a huge way, to redeem myself for my cowardice is to run for the Select Board, I think it's called up here. I've told some people I'm running and then told them I'm not. The fear of my phobias is too great. Specifically, the phobias with panic attacks at meetings and with public speaking. I go back and forth. I wonder, "Is it better to live in fear and trembling in fear and trembling trying to face phobic situations or live in slow death constantly castigating yourself for your cowardice both past and present? Routinely having these flashbacks of events in which you've ruined your life and the lives of others. Even causing the death of a foster child who committed suicide and thus killed her unborn child because you didn't pursue hard enought getting her the counseling your social worker told you she needed?
     Is it better to face a life where you put yourself into phobic situations that can result in you feeling panic that makes you want to run and also face this dreadful feeling that is commonly and accurately described as "worse than dying". Or is it better to retire to a life of slow death by recrimination? Some say a third choice is self-forgiveness, but that's too soft and cloying for me. In some life, I must have been a warrior because I have his code of honor.
     It is much easier to sit here in my two stacked-together plastic chairs (I weigh around 250) and wax philosophically that there is value in each battle with the unending panic either clutching you, trying to get a hold on you, or taking over completely. I thought I would do battle with the panic by going to the local discussion at the library about the opiod epidemic. Everything is an epidemic today. I would go to learn about a big problem in the community like every Select Board candidate should. Then the time came to go. Then I started backing out. Was it worth an hour and a half of trying to fight down panic? The unenlightened would probably just talk about drugs as if the drugs were jumping down people's throats and pushing through their skin. There'd be no discussion of what motivates people to take drugs, and how can we help them not to be motivated to take drugs. What would it take? It would just be more of blame the gun, blame the drug. If I said anything about drug use being a people problem, I'd probably be looked at critically. It's those damn drugs jumping into people, Nickerson. Let's get with the program! After one and a half hours of this ordeal, I'd be so worn out and down that it would be difficult, maybe impossible, to go to the gym. Even if I went. it would be a blah workout. The weights would be twice as heavy, and I'd have no drive to lift them. So I talked myself out of going to the drug discussion.
peternickerson12@yahoo.com  352-359-0850  Philosophy Major, '68.

The Un-Candidate #1

     This week I've had the question occur to me of why keep on living in poverty, never being able to do anything nice, and never being able to attract anyone because you are old and poor. And most importantly never being able to get redemption for all the mistakes you have made. I felt like the main character in
Manchester, By The Sea when he said, " I can't beat it." That is, like him, my mistakes have been so great that I don't think I am going to beat them. I have been trying to pull myself together by telling myself to look closely at everything as a chance for redemption. These feelings come, and you work your way out of them.
     I do know of one avenue for redemption but it may require a great deal of moral courage as it could make me very unpopular in this socialist community.
That avenue is writing letters to the editor about the Title IX denial of due process to male college students accused of sexual assault. I envision the possibility of angry, name-calling follow-up letters to the editor about my letter.
I know I can't get something for nothing. You risk as much as you gain, if you're lucky.
     It has just come to me as I write this that I could write letters mocking Title IX by "supporting" it but simultaneously showing how sick and absurd it is.
     On more reflection, I don't find satire or mocking satisfying. It's too cute and smells of cowardice. You take them head-on and put as many of them down as you can. You don't snipe at them. That's not going to redeem me from my acts of cowardice. Let's see what I do about this.
     The torment du jour was my having allowed the city manager and his male assistant, a former Army colonel, to walk into my office unannounced and with no explanation, much less asking permission, go into everyone's office and start poking around, inspecting it. I heard them talking, recognized their voices, and went out to the front office, wondering what was going on. I looked, saw, and went back to my office without a word. I saw my workers with "What's going on?" looks. The two men didn't come to my office.
     In reading some of Waking The Tiger a couple of weeks ago, I learned about re-enactments for treating PTSD. I call them non-renactments because you don't do the same thing over but something more active that awakens the courageous tiger in you. Certainly, he is a magnificent animal, much more so than humans who have the brain capacity for doing evil that they know is evil. In my first non-enactment of the event, I told the city manager and his assistant to leave and call for an appointment to intrude into my office. When they laughed at me, I told them to leave or I'd call the police- across the quiet street. When they laughed at me, and said, "Sure, call Larry (the chief of police whom the city manager hires and fires)." When I called the police, they laughed at me. So, somehow, despite shaking with anger, I found the state police's number and called them. They told me to call the local police. I said I already had, but they laughed at me. I told them that this office was financed 80% by state money, and these two men had no right to pop into my office and go through the offices at will. There were confidential state papers lying around on desks too. The state police put me on a long hold. Maybe forever. In the meantime, the city manager and the colonel left,
laughing at me. It was not a satisfying non-renactment.
     When this torment came back to me this week, I decided to play rougher. Both men were old and thin. I was 35, 6'4', 220, and lifted and ran. I was somewhat built up but not at all like a short man can get. In addition, the city manager was a fussy tyrant. You could go over to the municipal building and hear him bellowing people's names. In this non-renactment, I asked him what he was doing in my house.
    "Get lost, Nickerson."
    "Yeah, Nickerson," echoed the colonel.
    "Jones, this is my house. You get out of my house. Right now. I'm counting to three, and if you're not going, I'm pulling you out. This is my house."
     To make this as realistic as feasible, I am standing up in my little living room.
     "This is my house, my f----ing house! one, two, three."
     He doesn't move, of course.
     With that, I cock my right fist at my hip, and grab his skinny, old arm with my left arm. I start pulling him out of my office, snarling, "Come along, you little
b---!"
    The colonel tries to interfere. I block and punch him away with my right hand as I pull the city manager out of my office which I rent from him and leave him on the sidewalk. I warn him he doesn't want to come after me as I was defending my office and staff and he was trespassing. He doesn't want me to go to the media. He will look like a loony tune.
     Now, this was a satisfying non-renactment.
peternickerson12@yahoo.com  352-359-0850  Philosophy Major, '68

Title IX Coordinators: Your Son's Nemesis

     I am worrying about the damage and suffering inflicted upon innocent college teenage boys and young men by the on-campus Salem Witch Trials in which the due process is immaturely ignored, and everything almost possible is done to convict these university men and to minimize the paper trail that would incriminate the Title IX coordinators, the college administrators, and the college as a whole. The wholly appropriate charge for these bad actors would be the civil right abuses of the charged male students. This is not futuristic thinking; numerous universities have been so charged, and the plaintiffs have won or settled for money. The problem is that we, the people, cannot afford the tens of thousands of dollars it would cost to protect our sons if we ascertained he was not guilty of sexual assault. Because of the costs of lawyers, the justice system is not available to we, the people, except in the most rudimentary terms, such as a court appointed lawyer or asking the attorney not to make a defense but to seek other courses as deferred prosecution or a plea bargain.
     Not having a the justice system available to us because we can't afford the $250 an hour bar-passed lawyer is intolerable. The legal case is our case, not the lawyer's, the judge's, or anyone else. It our case, not yours. We have a perfect moral right to have anyone we wish to represent us. It is time, we, the people, we, the government, decided that the monopoly bar-passed attorneys
have on who can represent us is wrong and cruel because it denies us access to the courts. I urge you to reform this barbaric law. Meanwhile, save money for a lawyer if you have a son in college.
     I sent the above to the Brattleboro Reformer in Brattleboro, Vermont where I live. This is Bernie Sander's state. Bernie is a socialist who believe that under a dictator complete social conditioning will produce the perfect Socialist Person.
I, on the other hand, champion the sanctity of the individual and his civil rights.
A lot of people call that "right wing." I don't know if the Brattleboro Reformer 
would publish a right wing letter to the editor that was not laughably loony. Mine isn't unless it gets edited to look that way.
peternickerson12@yahoo.com  352-359-0850  Philosophy Major '68

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Obama Furthered Dawa By Title IX In College Sexual Assault Procedures

    The Obama administration lied that twenty percent of women university students would be sexually assaulted at least once in four years of attending college by male college students. This lie is put out there without a shred of evidence and brazenly within the backdrop of sexual assault markedly decreasing since 1996. This lie has not been revealed and damned by a even a few good men and women, not even in Congress, as far as the people know. Where is Cicero? This lie by Obama is a major act of dawa, the unarmed battle to destroy Western ideology and institutions. Ayaan Ali has just published The Challenge Of Dawa to inform the free and sane people of the world about this movement. I have been doing it on my blog in support of the fighting men and women going against the Sharia monster and to persuade others not to join this madness. What Obama has done in Title IX of the Education Act is to portray college men as rapists, which is the first step in declaring all men as rapists. Since all college men are rapists, they are convicted as soon as a female college student reports rape to the eagerly vicious Title IX coordinators infesting college campuses and rapidly growing more numerous like an out-of-control cancer. Since these males are automatically guilty since they've been charged, there are little, if any, safeguards for their rights. On some campi, they are charged and within a day or so, they are summoned to the dean of men's office, not knowing what is going on. They walk in, are greeted in a vicious, disrespectful manner and summarily handed a letter that tells them to get their belongings and their asses off campus because they are rapists.
    We're not talking about war-tested soldiers here; we're talking about teenage boys with no experience on them except with fellow pampered students and their parents. Even if the college is fair enough to hold a hearing, the evil/sick administrators do not give them due process. They can't have an attorney, often can't even have anyone to represent them, can't have access to evidence that might help them with their defense, can't get access to phone logs to show that the woman crying rape called him numerous times after the "rape." The male student is also not allowed cross-examination of his accuser or anyone else. Nothing must get in the way of injustice! In two words, these are kangaroo courts and they completely ignore Western institutions of evidence, confronting your accuser, access to exculpatory evidence, and cross-examinations. These insane college trials and hearing do their best to ignore reason and logic. You've heard the trope from the feminists: reason and logic is masculine oppression. We need long-term, institutional, psychiatric care for these noisy, deluded people who live in their minds and not in reality.
    Do you see the picture of men Obama is trying to cultivate in the minds of young people? It is that men are uncontrollable, walking phalluses. They will rape at any opportunity just like barnyard cock. This is the assumption in Sharia cultures. So what is next is that women must not "cause" themselves to be raped by the ambulatory, two-hundred pound phalluses, the cocks of the walk that all men are, by hiding their oh-so-sexy flesh from the eyes of the walking cocks. Hence, women must cover themselves with a tent, a scarf, gloves, and maybe even netting to hide those rape-causing eyes too! This is what has happened in Sharia cultures. Additionally they must be accompanied in public by a family male to protect them from the rampant cocks.
    What then? Then men begin to realize there are incentives to being legally accepted as uncontrollable cocks with the onus of women not to get rapes. It becomes a low-brow, rooster-level, of "Got'cha" in which men get to strut about, seeking women who aren't completely covered or accompanied by a male. These women they can legally rape. The woman has caused it. Even old men can join in, penetrating women's vaginas and asses with their fingers. Men of all ages can get up every day with the prospects of free sex and an adrenaline rush by attacking defenseless women. Why, they're actually going on Jihad for Sharia Law, aren't they. Indeed, they are.
     You want this sickness, people? It's already happening through the reframing of college males as rapists. You've got evil/sick administrators ruining the lives of innocent teenage boys through kangaroo courts, if they even get that. These boys are branded for life as sexual perverts which has horribly destructive consequences for employment and socializing with other human beings. These boys are suffering anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicidal thought and attempts.
The evil/sick university administrators don't give a damm. Psychopaths are real.
They can put on any kind of mask needed by the occasion. Remember Bill Clinton videoed laughing and joking on a walk to a funeral, then seeing the camera, and bursting into tears. There's your psychopath's mask! They are lauded by other evil/sick academics and liberal politicians and advance in their careers. They live privileged, pampered lives with families who have no idea what monsters they are at the work.
    People, use email or hand-written letters -better than email- to your congressmen and women to let them know you want to have Title IX college hearings on sexual assault to provide due process for both the accuser and the accused. Please people, show some spine or Moxie by saying that those who do not provide civil rights to both parties are "evil/sick." Then look for a real American running for federal office and vote for her or him! We're sick and tired of our country becoming the land of the insane instead of the free and the brave, and we're not going to take it anymore! Fight on, brothers and sisters! They're nothing!
    peternickerson12@yahoo.com  352-359-0850  Philosophy Major