Author: RJ Walters

I am an Independent thinking, highly functional person who is deaf and has some unique views and challenges in life. Like all of us, I am a person who is composed of all my life experiences and that is what I write about here.
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Unemployment vs Education Level….

RJ Walters

  Unemployment Rate by Education Level In 1992, the BLS began tracking unemployment rates by education level. Highlighted below are the unemployment rates for the following four groups…. All groups consist of individuals 25 years old or higher. Education Level Achieved September 2012 Month/Month (Points) Year/Year (Points) Less than High School 11.3% -0.7 -2.6 High School Grad No College 8.7% -0.1 -0.9 Some College or Associate Degree 6.5% -0.1 -1.9 Bachelor’s Degree or Higher 4.1% 0.0 -0.1 It is no secret that the lower the education level the higher the unemployment rate. We are told that employers are out looking for … Continue reading Unemployment vs Education Level….

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Being Against…

RJ Walters

  If I was a President and wanted something I would claim I didn’t want it. For Congress has not given any President anything he wanted in the last 10 years. Be against anything and then he is sure to get it. – 5 May 1923  — Will Rogers I can’t understand why each president seems to have to learn this lesson on their own. But, I think President Obama finally gets it.  If he wants something to happen the best thing he can do is to remain quiet about it. Mr. Boehner is constantly harping that the president is … Continue reading Being Against…

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Buy American

RJ Walters

I HAVE come to a resolution myself, as I hope every good citizen will, never again to purchase any article of foreign manufacture which can be had of American make, be the difference of price what it may.  —  Jefferson, Thomas  Who would have thought that the “Buy American” theme started so many years ago with Thomas Jefferson.  If only we had learned this lesson from him. Continue reading Buy American

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In Their Shoes…

RJ Walters

Our personal experiences invade all our perceptions of life.  It is who we are and how others see us to be.   I want to spend this post talking about personal experiences and how that relates to Christian outreach. What do our perceptions have to do with religion. Let’s face it we are a product of our experiences. I just finished watching a program in which a couple of members of the discussion group were a Catholic priest and a nun. I was struck by how differently they view things of the world  than I do.  The discussions were about what … Continue reading In Their Shoes…

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Removing Obstacles…..

RJ Walters

  The abundant life does not come to those who have had a lot of obstacles removed from their path by others. It develops from within and is rooted in strong mental and moral fiber.  — William Mather Lewis All of us want to have an abundant life. That is we want our life to be full and meaningful. We want to make at least a slight difference because we were here. I believe that the quote above is at the root of making that possible.  Although I am not a parent I’m sure that all parents out there want … Continue reading Removing Obstacles…..

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Tend To Our Own Business….

RJ Walters

Somebody is always telling us in the papers how to prevent war. There is only one way in the World to prevent war, and that is, FOR EVERY NATION TO TEND TO ITS OWN BUSINESS. – June 28, 1925  Will Rogers Will I know you are right about this but it seems that eighty years later our country still can’t seem to understand your words of wisdom. We still want to get into every nation’s business as if it were our own.  There are those in the Senate, particularly Mr. McCain and that bunch, who have not seen a war … Continue reading Tend To Our Own Business….

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Why Do I Blog??

RJ Walters

I got to thinking the other day that I spend quite a bit of time blogging. I presently maintain two very active blogs (this one and another related to being a follower of Jesus).  In the past I have run six blogs at the same time.  Am I crazy or something? When I got right down to it I realize that blogging is now my creative outlet. My body continues to degrade as the months go by. While I am still a pretty active guy I find I have more and more pains and conditions as time passes. When I … Continue reading Why Do I Blog??

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Statistics Averse……

RJ Walters

Source: To Lower Suicide Rates, New Focus Turns to Guns – NYTimes.com. The national map of suicide lights up in states with the highest gun ownership rates. Wyoming, Montana and Alaska, the states with the three highest suicide rates, are also the top gun-owning states, according to the Harvard center. The state-level data are too broad to tell whether the deaths were in homes with guns, but a series of individual-level studies since the early 1990s found a direct link. Most researchers say the weight of evidence from multiple studies is that guns in the home increase the risk of suicide. … Continue reading Statistics Averse……

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Merely Human Rules….

RJ Walters

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.  You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!  Mark 7:6-9 Jesus spoke these words to the religious establishment of his times. The Pharisees asked him “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of … Continue reading Merely Human Rules….

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The New Face of the GOP….

RJ Walters

  Source: Top G.O.P. Donors Seek Greater Say in Senate Races – NYTimes.com. The effort would put a new twist on the Republican-vs.-Republican warfare that has consumed the party’s primary races in recent years. In effect, the establishment is taking steps to fight back against Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations that have wielded significant influence in backing candidates who ultimately lost seats to Democrats in the general election. I am glad to hear that the not-so-radical in the GOP are declaring war on the Tea party. It’s about time. Maybe a nudge toward the middle will finally happen. But … Continue reading The New Face of the GOP….

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Looking Into The Future…..

RJ Walters

I am going to take a vain attempt at looking into the future!  The place I am going to look will likely surprise you until you have heard me out.  The future I am going to look at starts in Africa.  Now before you click the exit button let me explain. Africa is finally starting to come into the 20th century. I know it is a century late but better late than never.  Electricity, telecommunications, and TV are becoming more common  in some of the more agrarian countries.  They are doing that without a grid network as is common in … Continue reading Looking Into The Future…..

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Vanity….

RJ Walters

  No man is great if he thinks he is. – 1 March 1929   Will Rogers Vanity is a powerful force in us human beings. We all like to think that we are great in one aspect or another. After all, none of us want to go through life thinking we have not made at least a small dent in this world.  Some are humble about their greatness. Gandhi and Mother Teresa immediately come to mind in that category. But for every humble person there are thousands who think they are greater than they are. Thinking you are great when … Continue reading Vanity….

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Religious Superiority….

RJ Walters

Here are some thoughts from Randy Oftedahl over at QuakerQuaker: Now I believe there are many paths, and God in His love for human variety has given us an infinate number of ways to follow the Spirit, depending on what best speaks to our condition. But sometimes I think Quakers, perhaps because we have a particular history as a “peculiar people” or more distinctive worship and organizational forms, of for whatever reason, may be prone to a kind of spiritual pride or elitism we would reject if we found it in a fundamentalist or charismatic sect. Have other Friends ever … Continue reading Religious Superiority….

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About Conservatives…..

RJ Walters

  I am have been thinking about the word  “conservative” lately and how I thought it defines me as far as fiscal things go and how it seems to define many of my friends as a general philosophy.  I know  like everything else you can’t put all conservatives in the same box but there seems to be some common traits I assign to that label.  Let’s start out with the basic definition: con⋅serv⋅a⋅tive /kənsɜ:vətiv/     noun a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas adjective resistant to change having social or political views favoring conservatism unimaginatively conventional avoiding excess • a conservative estimate  conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class In the past I have identified myself as … Continue reading About Conservatives…..

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Second Chances In Life….

RJ Walters

I grew up in poverty and without a mother.  My father was typical of his generation in that he was a pretty stoic guy who even though he had love in his heart he just didn’t hand it out well. As a result I had some rather serious love issues growing up.  My younger brother and I were pretty much on our own at least emotionally through our early years. I was shy and very introverted for many of those years. I started losing my hearing during high school and then at the age of forty I went completely deaf. … Continue reading Second Chances In Life….

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I Had Hopes But…..

RJ Walters

Source: Rubio: Reported Obama Immigration Plan ‘Dead On Arrival’ | Rubio | Fox Nation. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Saturday panned a reported immigration reform proposal from President Obama, saying it would be “dead on arrival” in Congress. If actually proposed, the President’s bill would be dead on arrival in Congress, leaving us with unsecured borders and a broken legal immigration system for years to come,” said Rubio in a statement I really had hope that the “new” Republicans in the Senate and House would at least be willing to do a minimal amount of compromise in working with their Democratic … Continue reading I Had Hopes But…..

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Churches Are Misleading….

RJ Walters

All of this makes me wonder if pews are misleading in churches. They trick people into thinking that Christians learn best by sitting quietly in rows, listening to lectures, and memorizing ideas about the faith. But churches should not be lecture halls.  The above short quote got my attention. It is from a book by Diane Butler Bass entitled Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening.   I came to the same conclusion a couple of years before I read these words.  Churches in general are very misleading of what Jesus expects of us. … Continue reading Churches Are Misleading….

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Some Strong Words about John McCain and War….

RJ Walters

Source: John McCain’s Theology of War is Wrong – Jim Wallis | God’s Politics Blog | Sojourners. But McCain hasn’t been right in his endless promotion of war as the primary solution to our national conflicts. He has been consistently wrong and America has paid a very high price because of the ideological zealots of war that McCain represents. After yesterday, I wished that the coming vote on confirmation could be the other way around; that America could somehow vote John McCain out of office and off the American political stage. The cost of McCain’s theology of war has been far … Continue reading Some Strong Words about John McCain and War….

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An Aerobic Workout….

RJ Walters

I was just watching something on MSNBC that got me to thinking. Yes I do on occasion watch that “liberal trash” as some of my conservative friends call it. Of course if I were to make the same comment about anything on Fox News they would act totally shocked. :) But what got me to thinking had nothing to do with the matter being discussed. I drifted off the topic here so let me get back to my thoughts. When I watch some of the people talk they are constantly waving their arms in one manner or another. At times … Continue reading An Aerobic Workout….

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With a Finer Spirit of Hope and Achievement…

RJ Walters

  You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.   — Woodrow Wilson I am falling back on to one of my primary heroes in life and that is President Woodrow Wilson.  He like some other that followed was totally immersed in altruism. That is he was more concerned about his fellow man than he really was about himself … Continue reading With a Finer Spirit of Hope and Achievement…