I only fear that I may live too long. This would be a subject of dread to me – Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson is not alone in this subject of dread. I personally have already seen this too many times in my life and since I leave no heirs to care for me I dread that I too will live too long. Those that I … Continue reading Living Too Long….
I noticed in our local paper recently that there were about 30 young people from our local high school who were inducted into the National Honor Society. Seven were guys, the rest were girls. This seems pretty indicative of what is happening in the U.S. the last few decades. Girls are the ones who see educations as important and guys, for the most part, think … Continue reading Gender Roles….
Source: Facebook isn’t free – USATODAY.com. The best way I’ve ever heard Facebook’s business model described is simple: “If you’re not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.” What makes Facebook so valuable is that you, your friends, and everyone else who uses the site are sitting ducks for marketers out to exploit your information to sell you things. This article … Continue reading If You’re Not Paying For It……..
After an almost one year hiatus I will soon be posting again on this blog with this new format and a new direction. Where I Have Been: The first three years this blog examined how current day churches are doing in following Jesus’ words as found in the red letters of most Christian bibles. That study was concluded in August of 2011 and is still … Continue reading Welcome to the Re-Purposed Red Letter Living Blog
Memorial Day is supposed to be about remembering those who have died in our wars. Since I believe that every person is equally valuable I will mourn the innocent civilians lost in our wars as much as the soldiers on both sides who fought in them. After all the vast majority, if not all our previous enemies in war are now our allies to one degree … Continue reading Memorial Day…
If by some divine act of providence we could get rid of both these parties and hired some good men, like any other big business does, why that would be sitting pretty. – November 1, 1932 Will Rogers I am going to go off-topic here and talk about divine providence. Just what is it? Here is the general definition: Divine providence is the means through which … Continue reading A Divine Act of Providence….
Source: U.S. News – Historic battleship USS Iowa to become museum in Los Angeles. “There’s no more ships like this in existence in the active navies anywhere in the world,” said Robert Kent, president of the Pacific Battleship Center. Thank the Lord there are no more ships like this in existence. When you take a massive explosive shell and launch it from up to twenty miles … Continue reading Historic battleship USS Iowa to become museum in Los Angeles
I just saw a segment on CNN about kids, high school age and younger, who are dropping out of school to take care of a home bound love one. These kids are caring for a mother, father, grandparent, or sibling on a full-time basis because there is no one else available to do it. The compassion they show is inspiring indeed. But at the same time … Continue reading Dropping Out of School….
A few years ago we were so afraid that the poor people was liable to take a drink. Now we’ve fixed it so that they can’t even get something to eat. — Will Rogers Every time I look at all my source quotes from Will for one to the included here I am amazed at how they apply to our times as well as Will’s … Continue reading To Take a Drink…
What is a culture, the non-medical kind that is? The best definition I could find in relation to this post is: a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period I was recently introduced to the term “the culture of viciousness” and was immediately struck by its seemingly accurate description of our current times here in the U.S. and perhaps the world as a whole. The most appropriate term to describe what … Continue reading The Culture of Viciousness….
I wanted to put out a “aside” quick post to update one of my earlier posts about the Republican Budget that recently passed the house. Here are some words from a Sojourner email I just received. Another week in Washington brought another week of attacks on the poor. The immoral budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan called for billions of dollars in cuts to poverty … Continue reading Pentagon Budget Increases…..
Source: Naked face project: Women try no-makeup experiment – USATODAY.com. For nearly 60 days, two women from Charlotte, N.C., have been doing something that many women say they could never do: leave the house without makeup Given all the marketing that is targeted for women to paint their faces it is somewhat brave for these women to leave their homes without makeup on. Call me a … Continue reading Women try no-makeup experiment
Everybody in America has been good to me and I love you all, even critics and Congressmen. – November 23, 1926 Will Rogers I don’t believe that Will Rogers had any strong religious convictions. In that regard he is like most people today. But that does not mean he was without compassion. He was very much into it for the little guy especially during the depression … Continue reading I Love You All……
Source: New form of Christian civic engagement – USATODAY.com. “We are seeing head-snapping generational change,” notes conservative columnist Michael Gerson. “The model of social engagement of the religious right is increasingly exhausted.” Thank God. A distinctive way of being Christian in the public square — a softer, less partisan way — is emerging. And this cultural change could be the very thing our faith needs to … Continue reading New form of Christian civic engagement
Old age is an excellent time for outrage. My goal is to say or do at least one outrageous thing every week – Maggie Kuhn I guess I am old at least as far as this saying goes. But it does seem as though when you get some years under your belt you have seen more of this world that warrants getting outraged about. Let’s … Continue reading Outrageous Things
The leaders in the Republican party are constantly complaining that the Democrats are trying to start a class war with all their comments about how the rich are getting a free ride in the U.S. But what they don’t say is that they are doing what they accuse their opponents of but in a different area. They are constantly trying to incite voters against the … Continue reading Class Warfare….
Source: Foodies enjoy different tastes than the rest of us – USATODAY.com. Foodie flavor preferences are in stark contrast to that of the general population, whose favorite flavor characteristics are far more familiar: sweet (81%) and salty (67%). I don’t think I am a food snob but I really do enjoy savory and sour food as opposed to salty and sweet. I have been on a … Continue reading I Don’t Think I Am a Food Snob…….
A man in the country does his own thinking, but you get him into town and he soon will be thinking second-handed. – May 1, 1926 Will Rogers Second hand thinking seems so prevalent today especially in our nation’s capital. Each political persuasion has their own set of key words that must be spoken during any discussion of their ideology. Most of these words come from … Continue reading Second-Hand Thinking…..
Source: Life Inc. – The upside to not saving for your child’s college education. You may want to help out somewhat, however. In her study, the kids that seemed the most focused on school and the future were actually the ones that were getting no help at all. I can tell you from personal experiences that the above quote is true. I paid for 100% … Continue reading Paying For College…..
Source: Economy Watch – Bernanke says demand too weak to bring down jobless rate. Consumers are not spending enough and businesses are not investing enough to put a big dent in unemployment, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday How many years have we heard about the dreadful effects of consumer debt in the country. It is typically reported that the average family has more than … Continue reading Not Spending Enough???
Hi God, I know I talk to you often but usually not in so public a sphere. But I think I need to let others know about this. God, I think you kinda messed up! I know I am just a little guy that is occupying a very small space on this earth for a very short period of time. I know you are … Continue reading God, I think you kinda messed up….
The trick is to grow up without growing old. — Casey Stengel Growing old does not insure that we are grown up. I seem to still be looking for the day when I feel like a full-blown grown-up 😉 But then again I think that is not entirely a bad thing. When we are young and not even beginning to grow up we are probably … Continue reading Growing Up…
You can’t stop a person if he gets it in his head he can write. – June 11, 1933 Will Rogers You got me pegged Will! Although I am not an “official” published author in the old sense of the word I do have it in my head that I can write. My teachers over the years, both in high school and college, told me … Continue reading Being a Writer….
Source: Don’t take a lifestyle cut in retirement — Fidelity Investments. I know the source article says basically the opposite of what the title is. That is because I think the article is, at its foundation, wrong. It wouldn’t hurt almost any of us to take a lifestyle cut now or even in retirement. I know that my wife and I are now living on … Continue reading Take a lifestyle cut in retirement — Please…..
Youth would be an ideal state if it came later in life — Herbert Asquith I paraphrased the Asquith quote in the title of this post but the message is the same. I have always had the feeling that our given stages of life are somehow out of their most idealistic order. When we are young we have a seemingly endless supply of energy and … Continue reading Youth Is Wasted on the Young…
History ain’t what it is. It’s what some writer wanted it to be. — Will Rogers Ok, I’m a writer, not a very well-known one but a writer just the same. 😉 So, I am hereby proclaiming that all this political stuff has disappeared for the next week or so. At least you won’t find any of it here during that time. I need a … Continue reading I Need a Breather…..
You are over the hill when your back goes out more than you do — anonymous This one hits very close to home for me. About the only time we go out anymore is when my wife tires of my cooking and insists on eating out. That is a weekly occurrence for us. On the other side of this saying is my back and it … Continue reading Over The Hill…
Source: Tom Krattenmaker: Millennials aren’t amoral and adrift – USATODAY.com. This article certainly went into much more depth on this topic than most do today. I want to bring up three quotes from it and add my input to the discussion. Yes, it’s true, as critics point out, that younger Americans tend to be less religiously affiliated than older generations. But data show they are nearly … Continue reading Millennials aren’t amoral and adrift
It must be almost heart breaking for those splendid writers, to see what some of us syndicate birds get away with. – October 29, 1933 Will Rogers Don’t get me wrong, I certainly enjoy making my daily blog posts and having you guys interested enough to want to read them but Will’s message for today does bug me sometimes. I am absolutely not the … Continue reading About Rush…..
I am kind of like a politician. The less I know about anything, the more I can say about it. – June 12, 1928 Will Rogers I often jokingly cite another sentence like this. I don’t know the source but it goes something like this You don’t have to know what you are saying as long as you say it with authority – Unknown … Continue reading I’m Kind of Like a Politician….
You know the platform will always be the same, promise everything, deliver nothing. – July 8, 1928 Will Rogers Of course Will’s message above applies to both Republicans and Democrats and is equally applicable today. You might even say this is the campaign theme for the Romney presidential run. The Mitt Romney of a couple of months from now will be nothing like … Continue reading Promise Everything / Deliver Nothing….
“You end up as you deserve. In old age you must put up with the face, the friends, the health, and the children you have earned. — Fay Weldon The quote here could be paraphrased as “You get what you deserve..” and there is certainly some wisdom to those words. When you start approaching the end of your life and aren’t all of us … Continue reading You Get What You Deserve…
The title of this post seems to be the attitude of many of our citizens lately. They want government to fix their roads, protect their food, catch the bad guys, put out their fires, and give them a myriad of different services. But they want it all with nothing coming out of their wallet. This type of thing seems almost endemic in our society in … Continue reading Something for Nothing…..
Source: On renewal of Violence Against Women Act, Senate Democrats have upper hand – CSMonitor.com. After passing the Senate unanimously in years past, the Violence Against Women Act, with revisions, faces strong partisan opposition. Still, Republicans don’t want to be tagged as waging a ‘war on women.’ As the quote says this bill has been unanimously approved in past years, so what happened this time? The … Continue reading Another Proof of Partisanship…..
RJ's Corner 