All that lovely wealth isn’t trickling down. The country’s median income hit a high of $56,080 in 1999, went into slow decline, dropped to $53,644 after the 2008 economic meltdown — and five years later, was lower still, at $52,100. Raises remain tiny. Many newly created jobs pay a pittance. For tens of millions of people, the economic recovery is an illusion. The voters are right: Wage stagnation — and the resulting erosion of the middle class — is this country’s biggest problem. When hard work no longer produces upward mobility for workers who lack elite skills, America’s implicit promise … Continue reading America’s broken promise

The above title seems very American in its character. We Americans, me included, just don’t like others telling us what to do or especially what to think. To some extent we are all rebel rousers in that regard. Some take this to an extreme by there “don’t confuse me with the facts”. We just don’t like being told what to do. Prohibitionist tried to mandate what we do. We let a small handful of extremists convince us that drinking beer and such was the root cause of all our problems. If only we kept people from drinking we could shut … Continue reading "Who Are You To Tell Me How To Live??"

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, leaving the benchmark S&P 500 with its worst weekly performance since May 2012, as investors pulled back from the markets in response to oil’s free-fall and more weak data out of China. SOURCE: Oil slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years – Yahoo Finance. I am by no means an economist who espouses to understand all this stock market stuff but it seems to me that whatever is good for the common guy economists think is bad for the stock market. Declining oil prices will put billions of bucks back into the … Continue reading Oil slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years..

The coming season is a very important one for my Asian friends. Many travel great distances to be with family. Many also take this season as a time to contemplate their life and its purpose. They ask searching questions of themselves to be sure they are living their life as they want to instead of just letting it happen. Many change jobs and occupations during this season. I kind of wish I had  learned that lesson from them. I kind of wish I done likewise during my years on this earth. Instead I, like many Americans, just seem to let … Continue reading Contemplating Life….

Alaska It has always seemed strange to me that Alaska became a State. I know we bought it from the Russian some time ago but it just seems so remote to the other States and has very few people. There are … Continue reading Alaska Coast Guard..

Cherokee, NC – Native Americans Most of us know far too little about the original people of our nation. We too quickly brushed them aside to take over their land. We called it “Manifest Destiny”, they called it robbing their … Continue reading The Original Inhabitants…

I can remember the first business trip I took to the NYC area in 1970. We had dinner at the famous Bahrs Restaurant. It was a lavish place that looked out on a bay of the ocean. Being from the Midwest I was astonished by the seafood available on the menu. Of course since then the nation is now filled with franchise fast food restaurants to gobble up so much of the eating-out dollar. I still go to Bahrs when I am in the area… Continue reading Eating Out…

I remember the details of the Vietnam war still today. While my hearing impairment kept me out of it I did lose several good friends to that totally unnecessary war.  One thing I remember is the daily body counts from the DOD of Viet Kong killed. It was acknowledged later that these numbers were grossly over counted.  It seems that the military establishment thought they could get unlimited funds if they show us that the “enemy” was much stronger than it really was. I think that mentality still reigns today inside that pentagon shaped monolith in Washington DC. The news today is … Continue reading ISIS has Advanced Surface-to-air Missiles!!

New England – Farmhouse stone buildings such as the one shown here are typical of the buildings in early American history of New England. I think this one as taken in western New York but am not sure. Continue reading Washington Slept Here…

During a recent interview, the former supermodel broke down while talking about how the alleged rape has affected her. “I’m strong, and I’m gonna stand on my own two feet, and I’m going to tell my side of the story,” the 59-year-old told CNN. “It’s not going to end here.” SOURCE:  Watch Janice Dickinson Tearfully Discuss Her Sexual Assault Allegation Against Bill Cosby | TIME. It certainly saddens me to see such a comic icon’s image tarnished. I know and thoroughly believe in the concept “innocent until proven guilty” but I can also understand how the powerful among us can get … Continue reading Accusations Against Famous People…