Month: December 2012

Having My Say2 Comments

It Is, But It Isn’t…..

RJ Walters

Source: What counts as a tax hike? Not Boehner ‘fallback’ plan, says antitax group – CSMonitor.com. The keeper of the GOP’s antitax oath has rendered judgment on House Speaker John Boehner’s fallback “fiscal cliff” plan that would allow Bush-era tax cuts to expire only for millionaires: It is not a tax increase. So decrees Americans for Tax Reform, the conservative advocacy group led by antitax activist Grover Norquist. With that step, the group gives a measure of political cover to congressional Republicans who back the speaker’s plan to retain current low tax rates for all but those with incomes higher than … Continue reading It Is, But It Isn’t…..

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Boredom, My Personal Journey …. Part 2

RJ Walters

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This is a continuation of my previous post about boredom and apathy. In high school not much changed as far as a lack of a challenge. One of the things I did enjoy there was writing essays. That activity gave me free rein to say what I wanted and I always easily got A’s for my work.  Unfortunately I was never guided toward an avocation that would have exercised that talent I definitely showed even in my early days.

After high school college came. That is where I came upon the first real challenges in thinking.  Again I excelled in English Comp classes without much effort and the electrical engineering classes I took were challenging but not particularly enjoyable to me. That should have given me a clue that I was in the wrong major but being a naive farm kid that I was that just didn’t occur to me that I had options.

Rube Goldberg

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Good At Complaining But Not Good At Solutions….

RJ Walters

  “The devil is in the details” is a well-known quote that definitely applies in all this “fiscal cliff” talk going on recently. The congress in our version of government has the power of the purse. They determine where the money is spent and where it is cut. So, I find it strange that Mr. Boehner insists that the president and not him is responsible for identifying what would be cut from the budget in order to appease the GOP base. As mentioned in the article below Republicans do relatively well with the American people when they talk broadly about … Continue reading Good At Complaining But Not Good At Solutions….

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Boredom, My Personal Journey — Part 1

RJ Walters

Here are some words from a fellow blogger’s page that I kind of borrowed.  Thanks Syd for the idea: York University professor John Eastwood explains that boredom is just “wanting to, but being unable to engage in satisfying activity.”  He goes on to distinguish boredom from apathy.  “The [bored] person is not engaged but wants to be.  With apathy, he said, there is no urge to do something.” The above quote really got me to thinking about my life so I am going to spend the next couple of posts on the topic of boredom. Boredom and apathy, where to … Continue reading Boredom, My Personal Journey — Part 1

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About The Red Letters….

RJ Walters

I think its time to revisit a little history of the red letters and some of the people besides me who concentrated on them.  Who started putting the words of Jesus in red letters? Here is what Wikipedia says about that: The term red letter edition is used to describe Bibles in which words spoken by Jesus, commonly only while he was on the Earth, are printed in red ink. This is not to be confused with the Red-Letter Christian movement, which has used this term to emphasize the teachings of Jesus in the Bible, particularly in regards to social … Continue reading About The Red Letters….

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The Fiscal Slope….

RJ Walters

Source:  The “fiscal cliff” isn’t a cliff at all – CBS News. Here is an interesting article that explains why the “fiscal cliff” is so falsely named. If you are still not clear about this I would encourage you to click on the source above. By the way, the article mentions that if nothing is done the “average” additional expenses will be $3,200 per family. But that is primarily because of the significant expense to the top 1% drastically weighting the “average”.  It has been stated that for a family with an income of $70,000 the increase would be less … Continue reading The Fiscal Slope….

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Ignorance and Fighting….

RJ Walters

The more ignorant you are the quicker you fight. 12 August 1929   Will Rogers I must admit that I am a wimp when it comes to fighting. The last time I had a physical fight was when I was about seven years old. I punched my best friend Johnny Gallagher in the nose. I don’t really remember the circumstance behind the fight but I think I was goaded into it by some other kids. That seems to be the way many fights are started. I was devastated that I had actually hurt my buddy. I vowed then and there to … Continue reading Ignorance and Fighting….

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The Effects of Heresy….

RJ Walters

This is a continuation of the previous post about heresy and why it has contaminated the church. We all have our opinions of what God wants us to do and believe and we are for the most part not at all tolerant of those who might think differently than we do. It seems when someone has the inherent power to do something about those who disagree with they usually deemed their opponent a heretic and  then drive them from their midst. In the post-Constantine age over 25,000 were murdered for not totally aligning with the then current church leader. I … Continue reading The Effects of Heresy….

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The Slippery Slope…..

RJ Walters

 


SlipperyI am totally sick of the “slippery slope” that my conservative friends so often cling to!!

If I hear another person give me a slippery slope story I just might punch them. The idea of the slippery slope consumes so much of their lives. It is the center point for their current stands against gun regulation. It is the center point for their current stands of excluding anyone from their religious circles who don’t totally align with them.  It is the center point of their current stands on taxes.

Continue reading “The Slippery Slope…..”

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About Thomas Jefferson….

RJ Walters

I am a lifelong U.S. history nut so of course Thomas Jefferson is one of my heroes. I have read quite extensively about him over the years and have accumulated quite a library of quotes. I will admit that when it comes to slavery he has a dark side but don’t we all to one degree or another.  I treat my heroes as human and not gods in that regard.  They have wisdom to offer the ages but they are not pure in every respect. One of the reasons that Jefferson is my hero is because he was a free-thinker … Continue reading About Thomas Jefferson….

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The Foolish Things We Do….

RJ Walters

I don’t care who you are, you just can’t reach middle life without having done and said a whole lot of foolish things. 29 December 1934   Will Rogers I have to admit that I have done some pretty foolish things in life, especially in my high school years. Things that I am not particularly proud of but I own up to them. Don’t get me wrong, nothing I did left any permanent harm on others and only a little to myself but some of them were a little bit unlawful. :) I used to readily admit that I drank much more before I was … Continue reading The Foolish Things We Do….

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A Must See….

RJ Walters

I know I said I wouldn’t post today but I want to tell you I just saw Michael Bloomberg on Meet the Press. He gave a very compassionate plea for gun regulations in this country. He very much impressed me with his words and the actions he has already taken in that regard.  I hope he can push President Obama off his laissez-faire attitude on this critical topic. By the way they said they invited 30 pro-NRA senators on the show and none accepted. If he were running for president right now he would definitely get my vote.  The guy … Continue reading A Must See….

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What is Heresy??

RJ Walters

Many people throughout church history have been put to death because of heresy. But, just what is heresy? That is what this post will be about. Many church leaders have charged others with heresy many times in its history. The most recognizable instances are the inquisitions, post-Constantine period, the Crusades, and of course Galileo and Joan of Arc.  Of this list I am the most familiar with the post-Constantine period. It is estimated that about 25,000 Christians were put to death for heresy during the two centuries after the Roman King Constantine made Christianity a State religion. That number far … Continue reading What is Heresy??

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About The Man Jesus…

RJ Walters

I do believe that Jesus was both a man and God. How that combination can co-exist is a total mystery to me. In that light I continue to study and try to learn as much about Jesus,  both his God side and his human side. In this post I want to reflect a few things that I have learned about his human side. We know almost nothing about the person Jesus outside the gospel accounts. He simply did not show up in any written Roman accounts of the time. His trial before Herod is not documented by any Roman sources. … Continue reading About The Man Jesus…

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Living As Cheaply As The People……

RJ Walters

What the government has got to do is live as cheap as the people.           21 December 1932  Will Rogers Speaking about money not being wisely spent this morning got me to thinking about Will’s quote above. If you have read much on this blog you will know that I am a proud social progressive but also a fiscal conservative. In that light I certainly agree with Will here. Our government needs to learn how to live as cheap as its people. That doesn’t seem to be possible anymore. There is always that new model of … Continue reading Living As Cheaply As The People……

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School Time, School Time……

RJ Walters

Source: Schools in 5 states to add at least 300 hours of classroom time in 2013 – CBS News. Five states were to announce Monday that they will add at least 300 hours of learning time to the calendar in some schools starting in 2013. Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee will take part in the initiative, which is intended to boost student achievement and make U.S. schools more competitive on a global level. Although I have no children about 90% of my property taxes goes to our local school system. I don’t really know much about just how my … Continue reading School Time, School Time……

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To Be a Christian….

RJ Walters

To be like Christ is to be a Christian  – 1718   William Penn’s last words   Although I have never attended a meeting I feel quite close to the Society of Friends known as Quakers. They are so throughly grounded in “being” a Christian instead of just proclaiming a set of beliefs.  To see William Penn’s last words here it is obvious that he was a faithful Quaker. Continue reading To Be a Christian….

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Luke 6 — Love Your Enemies….

RJ Walters

As I have mentioned in previous posts Luke Chapter 6 is at the heart of the Bible as far as I am concerned. Lets look at some of it starting at verse 27. “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to … Continue reading Luke 6 — Love Your Enemies….