I never thought I would see the day I had a few weeks ago. What happened is a puzzle to me. I never thought I would react the way I did. Okay, I don’t want to make this into some big mystery (but I kinda did) so I will just come out and say it. My wife has gotten me into working picture puzzles. She … Continue reading This is a Puzzle??
Why do we as a society allow our war machine to gobble up so much of our taxes. Do we really need to spend so much in money and young people’s lives to be the policemen of the world?? When we quit believing that our security lies in the ability to kill then we will truly be secure. War Is Not the Answer Continue reading War Is Not the Answer.. Spending
In order to make sure you are aware of who wrote one of the most important letters in the Christian Bible I deem it appropriate to make this post primarily about James, the brother of Jesus himself. Some may not realize the history of the person around which I have been quoting as inspiration. Here is part of what Glo – The Bible for the … Continue reading About James…
During my extensive three-year study of Christianity one of the things I learned was that during the early years of Christianity when a Roman soldier wanted to be a Christian the first thing he had to do was to find a new occupation. Early Christians believed that the collected words of Jesus, their founder, and being a warrior were not compatible. There are many places … Continue reading Early Christians and War….
We elect our Presidents, be they Republican or Democrat, then go home and start daring ’em to make good. – April 1, 1935 Will Rogers Sometimes I can really get down to that deep thinking. I mean the pure foundational stuff. I think what Will said above is foundational stuff for a democracy. We elect our presidents and all the other people’s representative and then … Continue reading Daring ’em to Make Good…
Behind me in my study is a twelve-foot wall of bookshelves containing many of the books I have read over the years. In order to make room for new ones I regularly clean out all the “technology” books that no longer have any significance. Since I am now back in the Macintosh fold all of the Windows books have been removed. During this latest round … Continue reading Having Our Say…..
The difference between the rich and the poor grows greater every year. Our distribution of wealth is getting more uneven all the time. A man can make a million and he is on every page in the morning. But it never tells who gave up that million he got. You can’t get money without taking it from someone. – 1933 Will Rogers This is … Continue reading Its Got To Come From Somewhere….
It seems that even though I am deaf I can loudly hear the clock of my life ticking away lately. For that reason I have started up yet another list. If you ask my wife she will tell you that I am first and foremost a “list keeper”. I have lists for so many things I need a list of my lists just to … Continue reading I Can Hear the Clock Ticking…….
There is something about a Republican politician, they are smart but they just don’t know much. – July 4, 1934 Will Rogers I’m totally convinced that Will would also include most of today’s Democrat politicians in this quote. I’m sure those yahoos in congress, or at least most of them, are pretty smart fellas when it comes to book learning. But when it comes to … Continue reading Smart But Don’t Know Much…
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that … Continue reading James and the Battle Within…
I am by no means a sports fan but it was hard to not know about all the mania around Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos lately. There was much talk about how it was written that God had destined the Broncos to win the Superbowl this year. The reason for this belief is that Tebow is a very visual Christian who is not afraid … Continue reading God Is….
Here is another picture taken on our recent visit to Pleasant Hill Shaker Village in Kentucky. BTW By the way. I have brought up a new category under the Off The Top listings entitle “Oil and Vinegar”. This category will be used to flag posts where I think two topics should not be mixed. The first installment is coming tomorrow. Continue reading Pleasant Hill…
I have had a Sojourners membership for a number of years now and enjoy the monthly magazine. One reason is that it shows me that I am not alone out there in believing what I do about Christianity. Jim Wallis, who is the editor-in-chief of the magazine always has an editorial at the beginning of each issue. This month is was about how the word … Continue reading Defining Evangelicals…
Source: U.S. drinking is up, but tastes, norms vary – USATODAY.com. Consumption of alcohol hit a 25-year high in 2010, when 67% of Americans reported drinking alcoholic beverages, according to a Gallup poll. That’s a level unseen since the late 1970s, when 71% of Americans said they drank. I could have told people this condition years ago. Yeah people want to drown their sorrows when things … Continue reading U.S. drinking is up, but …
If it weren’t so pathetic it would be laughable how these guys will do or say anything to get elected. It’s time to put on your “Peace” badge Newt and join the Occupiers you thoroughly dissed last week. Continue reading Do Or Say Anything….
I maintain that it should cost as much to get married as it does to get divorced. Make it look like marriage is worth as much as divorce, even if it ain’t. That would also make the preachers financially independent like it has the lawyers. – May 15, 1928 Will Rogers In Will’s day divorce was almost unheard of but that doesn’t mean that it … Continue reading Make Getting Married as Expensive as Divorce….
via Apple To Announce Tools, Platform To ‘Digitally Destroy’ Textbook Publishing | Epicenter | Wired.com MacInnis sees Apple as possibly up-ending the traditional print publishing model for the low-end, where basic information has for many years remained locked behind high textbook prices. Apple can “kick up dust with the education market,” which could then create visibility for platforms like Inkling. This could then serve as a … Continue reading ‘Digitally Destroy’ Textbook Publishing….
Source: Billionaire gives $5 million to pro-Gingrich group – Local News – Indianapolis, IN – msnbc.com. The Washington Post first reported the $5 million contribution. Politico reported last month that Adelson was prepared to spend $20 million to help Gingrich. Here is another example of the consequences of the recent Supreme Court decision that “money talks”. But of course the court said that is just one … Continue reading Thank You Supreme Court??
George W. Bush Source: What is George W. Bush Doing Now That He is Not President?. In the two years since he left office, George Bush wrote a book called Decision Points. The memoir was acquired by The Crown Publishing Group and released to the public on November, 2010. The book’s topic is about the 14 most defining and critical decisions he made during his … Continue reading Is There a Basic Difference Between Republicans and Democrats
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and … Continue reading Wisdom… Two Varieties..
This is a picture of a regular occurrence on our road this time of year. Continue reading On The Road in Front of the House….
You can look at half the guy’s stomachs in the world, and you can see they don’t know how to order for themselves. -November 18, 1934 — Will Rogers. This quote says it all. I don’t need to add blah, blah, blah 🙂 Continue reading Will Rogers
Source: Report: 1% of Americans paid 22% of health care costs in 2009 – USATODAY.com. Just 1% of Americans accounted for 22% of health care costs in 2009, according to a federal report released Wednesday. That’s about $90,000 per person, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. U.S. residents spent $1.26 trillion that year on health care. Five percent accounted for 50% of health care … Continue reading Healthcare Spending…
via MacBook Air, Ultrabook spell doom for optical drive | Nanotech – The Circuits Blog – CNET News Apple is different. The Apple of Steve Jobs held focus groups in contempt. In essence, Jobs believed consumers don’t know what they want until you give it to them. So, present them with a MacBook Air–as Apple did in January 2008–and consumers will eventually come around. I pretty … Continue reading People Don’t Know What They Want Until You Give It to Them..
source: Santorum Becomes Millionaire in Six Years After U.S. Senate Loss. Since his 2006 re-election defeat, the former Pennsylvania lawmaker has gone from being one of the poorer members of the U.S. Senate to earning $1.3 million between January 2010 and August 2011. In 2007, he spent $2 million to buy a 5,000-square foot home in Great Falls, Virginia, according to property records. Santorum’s financial … Continue reading The Cash Cow….
America can carry herself and get along in pretty fair shape, but when she stops and picks up the whole world and puts it on her shoulders she just can’t “get it done.” – March 15, 1933 Will Rogers Is seems like in the last 80 years we could have learned this lesson. Continue reading Carrying the World…
Source: email from Friends Committee on National Legislation “Until our policymakers start recognizing that clinging to visions of global military domination only undermines security, we’ll be stuck with the same old war mentality wrapped in a shiny new strategy document.” — FCNL’s Bridget Moix … If the US really wants to shift to a new, more effective strategy for promoting national and global security – as … Continue reading New Military Strategy, Same Old War Mentality
Here is a picture I took in 2009 at the aquarium on Fishers Wharf in San Francisco. Jellyfish just don’t seem real to me. I was totally entranced by this display. Continue reading S.F. Jellyfish
I want to get back to our study of the Book of James in the Bible. To me this is one of the most important books in the Bible as it tells us most directly how to live our lives. Here is an extended quote from the second chapter for our discussion today. I have underlined a few places that I will be discussing further. … Continue reading James The Brother of Jesus – Faith Without Works is Dead…..
USA TODAY’s notable tech products from 2011 – USATODAY.com. If you seniors out there want to learn about some of the tech innovations in 2011 I would suggest you read this article. There are about a dozen significant things that surfaced in 2011 on the new technology front. One of the first things I noticed in this article is that the author constantly mentions that … Continue reading Notable Tech Products from 2011
I’m going back a ways for this In The Slow Lane photo but it is from Galena Illinois which was the home of U.S. Grant. It is really a nice place to visit. The town is very well maintained in the late 1800s period and lots of shopping and historic sites. Continue reading Galena Cellars…
This would be a great world to dance in if we didn’t have to pay the fiddler. – June 27, 1930 Will Rogers I haven’t heard the phrase “Its time to pay the fiddler” in years. When I looked it up on Wikipedia it was shown to be a country music song sung by Ernest Tubb among others. It goes something like this: Well it’s … Continue reading Paying the Fiddler…
“I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness. I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will destroy us too. I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come out right. In the meantime, I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able … Continue reading Words from Anne Frank…
. . . no man is great if he thinks he is. – March 1, 1929 Will Rogers This one sentence said a lot about people in Will’s day but maybe even more so in today’s world. In a nutshell, anyone who thinks they are great aren’t! It is as simple as that. Thinking that you are great will almost certainly assure that your greatness … Continue reading Great Men…
Source: Mind the Gap | edsteinink.com. Interesting story yesterday about how wide the economic gulf has become between members of Congress and their constituents. According to the New York Times, the median net worth of the folks in Congress grew 15 percent from 2004 to 2010, while the public saw its net worth drop 8 percent. Senators and representatives have always been richer than the … Continue reading The 1% (in Washington) – Ed Stein
Source: Editorial: Too fast to get out of Iraq? No – USATODAY.com. Just nine days after the departure of U.S. forces, Iraq is looking more like its old self — divided, angry and threatened by civil war and dictatorship — than like the self-reliant democracy President Obama described as the troops came home. I don’t understand why the Republicans, and even some Democrats believe that we can change thousands … Continue reading Its Just Iraq Being Iraq….
RJ's Corner 