My new mantra for the coming election cycle is stated in the title of today’s cackle. We have pretty much given men control of our government for the last 242 years, it’s time for a change. I think women generally are much more blessed when it comes to empathy and compassion, and that is what is sorely missing from our politics today and even the … Continue reading When In Doubt, Vote For The Woman.
I think just about all of us can pretty quickly recall some of our worst times in our lives. For me, one of those times was the damage done to my wife when the small Evangelical congregation we belonged revoked my membership due to my failure to align with the belief that, among other things, the earth is only 6,000 year old and any seeming … Continue reading The Best Thing About The Worst Time…
My friends over at Unite America have put out their “Declaration of Independents” and I couldn’t agree more. Continue reading Declaration of Independents
I seem to often get Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day mixed up. Aren’t they both primarily to recognize our American soldiers? I think maybe it is time to broaden the concept of one of those days. We need to recognize others outside our military who provide us with valuable services. That is what this post is all about. Just what is the definition of “memorial”? … Continue reading Thank You For Your Service…
I know this is Sunday and that is usually where I do my weekly Squawk, but for this week I will squawk tomorrow, Memorial Day, on a topic that needs extended words. All the blog pundits say to always include enticing pictures with each of my posts. But is that really necessary? I see the opposite in some blogs I follow. One in particular always has … Continue reading Without Pictures
For this artsy Saturday, I thought I would give you a long-armed selfie from 30+ years ago. It’s kind of out of focus but it is one of my favorite early pictures of my hubby and me. I really don’t remember where or exactly when it was taken but that doesn’t matter. I know that you primarily know me by my avatar on my comments … Continue reading Long-armed Selfie?
“It doesn’t matter how sleazy they are if they are part of your tribe you support them.” Has our politics degraded to this? Some of the pundits say it has but I think it might not be so I was in college in the 1960’s and I can remember that the nightly news was all about campus protests and sit-ins. If you believed the reports … Continue reading Part Of The Tribe…
I know the title of this post is a worn out cliche but it does kinda make sense for this post about WalMart taking on Amazon in the online market. Another worn out cliche that fits this scenario is “Better late than never”. It is still kind of hard to think of Walmart as “old-school”. I can remember when there were none of them around. … Continue reading Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks
This post is in honor of the new Will Roger’s quote in the header above. For those folks who might be viewing the post from the archive in the future, I will put the words here too. There are some folks in the country that seem to believe that our best days are behind us and if we could just bring them back we would … Continue reading Just Sitting There…
Sante Fe Texas joins the list of tragedies in local high schools. The scenario is all too familiar. A disgruntled teen is depressed and wants to go out in a flash of attention. This time he got his weapons from his father’s stash but he could have just as easily bought them himself. This national tragedy that very rarely happens in other countries continues… It … Continue reading They Won’t Listen…
I like the old saying that even a broken clock is right twice a day. Of course, that only applies only to analog clocks as the digital ones just go blank. What brought this thought is some of the actions around #CO3 recently. I certainly enjoy making fun of some of his daily screw-ups but in the same light, I have to also give him … Continue reading A Broken Clock…
I am once again trying to get you to understand my obsession with writing. Or maybe it is to help me understand myself, I don’t know. But, here goes. I am such a writer. It’s not even funny. I’m rarely blocked. If anything, I have more material to write, than I have time to write. That’s been the prevailing theme of my life: So many … Continue reading I Am A Writer…
In my recent theme for artsy Saturday of simplicity, I want to give a salute to the American tractor. Two hundred years ago almost 90% of us were farmers who grew our own food. Even a hundred years ago about 40% of us were in that same state. It took industrialization to drastically change those numbers. Today, less than 2% of us are needed in … Continue reading The American Tractor
It seems that one of the strictest rules around the current White House, that is beside disagreeing with #CO3 on ANYTHING, is to say you are sorry. Even when crude and disgraceful jokes are made about a dying senator, never say you are sorry. I certainly don’t understand that kind of logic? To me, that is downright disgraceful. But, then again, that kind of stuff seems … Continue reading Never Say You’re Sorry…
I truly believe that we are coming to a point in our country’s history where some very basic changes are about to happen. One of those changes is the realignment of our political parties. Another is that we will finally reject the idea that our best days are behind us. Today, after the financial crisis, the shrinking of the middle class, the partisan warfare, a … Continue reading Scarcity Mentality…
I didn’t realize how freeing it could be to disentangle myself from the political world. It used to be that I spent a good half hour every morning browsing my internet feeds for political stories. That process now takes about five minutes or less. The PBS Newshour that I watch the morning after now takes about 10 -15 minutes of my time. The rest goes … Continue reading I Get All The News I Need From The Weather Report…
I know the quote above from Will and the title of the post seem kinda disjointed but hear me out before you pass judgment. 🙂 I have always been a dreamer in life. One of my favorite things in my youth was to lay back on the lawn on a clear night and gaze unendingly at the stars and dream of what my future life would … Continue reading Coping With Dissappointments
Are you a worrier? Do you worry about what other people think about you? If so, it just might be preventing you from being who you were meant to be. According to many studies, people driven by worry are some of the least happy people in the world. About the only thing that does more damage to your personal life than worry is an irrational fear. … Continue reading What Other People Think About You…
“Spin” is very dominant in the world today. Marketers and con-artist, not that they are one always in the same, both have those who make “spin” their occupation’s purpose. Spinsters take a topic and try to weave a narrow vision scenario. Spin becomes a “filtered version of the truth”. Thanks to a commentor on a recent post, I have the perfect example to use on this Squawk … Continue reading (WS) A Filtered Version Of The Truth…
For this artsy Saturday, I want to once again keep it simple. How often you do take the time anymore just to look up. No, I don’t mean at the ceiling, but instead the sky. There is a lot of beauty there if you take the time to see it. Lord knows there is enough ugliness in your world today that we certainly need a … Continue reading Looking Up…
I want to start off this Cackle with the thought that we need to welcome a much higher number of people to our country than we presently are. Our immigration quotes are shamefully low. Being a self-proclaimed progressive liberal, it might be a surprise to you that I am not as entrenched in the immigration debate as I’m supposed to be. I can see some … Continue reading A Country of Immigrants…
I don’t try to understand how my mind works. But, I am totally happy that I get quick broad streaks of inspiration on a regular basis. Sometimes I get quick mental flashes that interrupt whatever I was doing that demands my immediate attention. In the past, I would most likely decide to write it down when I got back to my desk. But, of course, most … Continue reading Wild Inspirations…
I don’t know if I invented the phrase in the title above, I kinda doubt it, but it does pretty much describe how I feel about the subject. Getting to the very core of this subject I wish I had learned most of my lessons earlier in life. What good is that wisdom now that I am out of the mainstream and heading downhill? If I … Continue reading Wisdom Is Wasted On The Eldery
This being a primary election day here in Indiana, democracies are on my mind. Two of the most beautiful and delicate things in the world are orchids and democracies. They both need constant nurturing to thrive. An orchid needs the right light and temperature. It needs constant watering or it will die on the vine. The same thing is true for democracies. Too many in … Continue reading Orchids & Democracies
Since I was a teenager in the 1960s, one of my favorite musical groups was Simon & Garfunkel. One of their most popular songs was “I am a Rock”. Due to my Aspie traits, I was somewhat of a loner back then so this song just “spoke” to me. My mother had abandoned me a few years before, so that probably had something to do … Continue reading I Am A Rock…
There has been a very long-standing debate about the morality of man that I was not until recently totally aware of. It has to do with where the goodness of man comes from. Is it an innate characteristic or one gleaned from our spiritual side? That is the question of this post. Who said I didn’t tackle the tough stuff here at RJsCorner (ha). First, let’s … Continue reading Wk- About Humanists Part 2
For this artsy Saturday, I want to give you a taste of Spring. This picture was taken about a year ago at the Prophetstown State Park here in Indiana. It is beautiful to me because of its simplicity… Continue reading Spring Has Sprung!! Hallelujah
Will Rogers is my favorite source for quotes but sometimes I discover wisdom elsewhere. 🙂 In this case, it is Socrates. For those who might not know the guy, he lived 2500 years ago and is credited with being the founder of Western Philosophy. His words above are probably more relevant today than when he originally spoke them. Now I know this message is very counter … Continue reading The Capacity To Enjoy Less…
I want to let you in on a couple of secrets I have. Since they closed down all but one of the polling stations in my town I will be voting early now. The last time I voted on election day I had to stand in line with a hundred or so avid Trump voters. That was agonizing! When I voted yesterday at the courthouse … Continue reading I Voted Yesterday
Sadly the word “Evangelical” has come to mean a very negative thing for many people but to see it deemed toxic is simply frightening. But that is what happens when you mix Christianity with politics. As the old saying goes it is like mixing ice cream with horse manure. It doesn’t hurt the manure but it sure changes the flavor of ice cream. My friends over … Continue reading Toxic Evangelism
I have never been a person who patiently waits in a line. It has always seemed like a total waste to me. I will most often do anything to keep from having to stand behind other people. Now that I have taken the “One day at a time” approach to life, I want to live what I have left of life as fully as I can. Waiting in … Continue reading Waiting In Line…
RJ's Corner 