I found this plaque in the State Capital in Des Moines Iowa. It says a lot about what the heart of America really means. It is a quote form St. Francis os Assisi in memory John F. Kennedy. Continue reading Be a Giver, Not a Taker….
Here we go again! America is running true to form, fixing some other country’s business for ’em just as we always do. We mean well but will wind up in the wrong as usual. When some nation wants us to help ’em out, they use the same old “gag” that we should exert our “Moral Leadership: and, like a yap, we believe it when as a matter of truth, no nations wants any other nation exerting “Moral Leadership” over ’em, even if they had one. If we ever pass out as a great nation we ought to put on our … Continue reading America Died From a Delusion…
This is a picture of a worker clocking in at a Youngstown steel mill about one hundred years ago. Of course the original is black and white. I know that I am supposed to appreciate b/w photography but somehow it just lacks depth to me. This pic need some focus so I gave the worker an orange coat and a slight halo. He is now without a doubt the focus of the shot. Continue reading Needs Focus…
Geniuses think productively, not reproductively. When confronted with a problem, they ask themselves how many different ways they can look the problem, how they can rethink it, and how many different ways they can solve it, instead of asking how they have been taught to solve it…. Leonardo da Vinci believed that to gain knowledge about the form of a problem, you began by learning how to restructure it to see it in many different ways. He felt the first way he looked at a problem was too biased toward his usual way of seeing things. He would look at … Continue reading Cracking Creativity – What If….
Just a quick snippet to add some info to this morning’s post. Why Bibi and Barack Can’t Get Along But the real challenge the two have faced is their different policies in the Middle East. Obama came to office reaching out to Iran and pushing for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Netanyahu opposed warming ties with the militantly anti-Israel theocrats in Tehran and refused in early meetings with Obama publicly to embrace the possibility of a Palestinian state. The outcome of their latest confrontation remains to be seen. Netanyahu faces a tough election this month and the White House’s increasingly public criticism may … Continue reading A Snippet Here….
The pic above is of Merv (uRV). He is my truck of almost 25 years that I have been repurposing into a micro-RV for travels around the Midwest in the coming years in my own version of “Travels with Charley”. I have spent two years turning what was once a delivery truck for my past furniture business into a quite comfortable 5×8 foot living quarters. This spring I will start with the exterior design which will include advertising this blog and the travelogue over at InSearchOfAmerica. In the mean time here sits uRV up to his wheels in the most recent … Continue reading Snowbound…
It seems this picture could have been taken in some third-world country but it is not what it seems. It was actually taken in a southern Indiana State park a couple of weeks ago. That is not slavic milk maid, … Continue reading Slavic Milk Maid ???
Of course the title of this post came from the Sermon on the Mount found in the Christian Bible. Many, if not most Christians, believe that these teaching called the Beatitudes are fundamental to their faith. They are one of the primary lessons that Jesus left us on how he wants us to act. Here are all eight: Blessed are.. ….the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. ….those who mourn: for they will be comforted. ….the meek: for they will inherit the earth. ….those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. ….the merciful: for they … Continue reading Blessed Are The Peacemakers….
Some of us seem to totally lack empathy for others. Sadly the lack of empathy seems to be almost a requirement for GOP candidates these days. I know Paul Ryan who is one of the heroes on the Republican party celebrates his common bonds with his hero Ayn Rand who made it very clear that to her empathy is a severe handicap in society rather than an asset. Of course the lack of empathy is clearly shown by those who have voted more than fifty time to take affordable healthcare away from millions of our nation’s citizens. Some among us just … Continue reading Empathy Is Imagining Yourself In Someone Else’s Shoes…
I have never been much of an art lover but I am trying to do better. This is one of those pictures I found that drew me in at the Pennsylvania State Museum last year. I love the conceptual nature of the picture and how it seems to sum up, at least in my mind, what much of Pennsylvania is about. I should have recorded who the artist is… Continue reading Pennsylvania Art…
I wonder when the Trickle Down theory will ever be discounted in my GOP friends. Probably never….. they have tattooed it on their foreheads… Continue reading Trickle Down…
I am pulling up another past post form Red Letter Living that I wrote almost three years ago. At that time in my spiritual journey I was trying to decide where church doctrine and its creeds belonged in my faith. Needless to say this book by Harvey Cox did a lot to show me a different path on this topic and many others. When I came to realize just how much man had a hand in formalizing current Christian doctrine it convinced me that Christianity is an ever evolving process and is not to be paralyzed by some of the now outdated … Continue reading The Decrees of Constantine…
Corydon IN – Barn One of my primary hobbies is to take pictures of all the old barns I run across during my travels. This one will probably not be standing much longer and that part of our heritage will … Continue reading Corydon Barn…
The Republican leaders really didn’t want Roosevelt as President. As a young Bull Moose Republican in politics, TR had angered top GOP honchos by refusing to appoint Republicans to bureaucratic positions. Party bosses Mark Hanna and Thomas Platt were able to “kick Roosevelt upstairs” as the vice presidential nominee in 1900 for the incumbent President, William McKinley. Roosevelt agreed because he was thinking of running for President in 1904. No one thought that Roosevelt would take over for McKinley later in 1901. SOURCE: 10 little-known facts about President Theodore Roosevelt – Yahoo News. I must admit up front that Teddy Roosevelt … Continue reading Republicans & President Theodore Roosevelt
This shot was taken in the Youngstown Historical Center a while back. Whenever I look at it I seem to zero in on the face I circled for this post. I don’t know why but I would like to see more about him…. Continue reading A Particular Face…
Please Rudy just go away…… :) Continue reading A Snippet Here, A Snippet There….
Small towns like Orleans in Orange County Indiana were once thriving towns. I can imagine that the domed top of this building was the major attraction in the area. Like most building of this era some of the windows have been bricked … Continue reading Small Town America…
While being shown around, Uyanwah asked Hawking which human shortcoming he would most like to change, and which trait he’d enhance. Hawking chose aggression and warned that a nuclear war could end civilization and possibly the human race. We need to replace aggression with empathy, which “brings us together in a peaceful loving state,” he said. SOURCE: Stephen Hawking Warns That Aggression Could ‘Destroy Us All’. I want to admit up front that I am not much of a fan of Steven Hawking. Maybe it is his avowed atheism or maybe it is because most of what he says is really … Continue reading Our Most Deadly Trait…
Sometimes I see the elegance in the simplicity. This is one of those times…. Continue reading Simplicity
I know when most people think of New Jersey they think of two things, the staging area for NYC and the mafia. ;) The official tag for NJ is “The Garden State” and when you get to the central and southern part of the State it does become rural. Continue reading The Garden State…
I love America and I can’t imagine living anywhere else in the world. But I’m sure there are those out there that have a very different opinion of me. Some who accidentally come across my blog here have flatly told me so. They think I must not love my country because I say critical things about it. Sadly I’m pretty sure that is the mentality that prompted Rudy Giuliani to recently say our president doesn’t love America or anyone in it. I do not believe that the president loves America,” the former New York City mayor said Wednesday. “He doesn’t love you. … Continue reading I Love America, But…
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 