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.
Will bank branches wither away?
via Will bank branches wither away? – USATODAY.com. In the past year, the number of bank customers who prefer to bank online has jumped sharply, according to a survey conducted in August by the American Bankers Association. Sixty-two percent of bank customers said they prefer banking online to all other methods, up from 36% in 2010. Only 20% of customers said they preferred using a branch, down from 25% last year. I can remember as a youngster taking some of my hard earned grass mowing money to the bank to open a savings account. The lady there that handled all … Continue reading Will bank branches wither away?
Just Because You Write a Book…
Source: Ford’s Theatre, citing errors, refuses to carry Bill O’Reilly’s ‘Killing Lincoln’ – CSMonitor.com. Just because you write a book doesn’t mean you are an expert in something. Fox New’s Bill O’Reilly I’m sure has a large following on his news show. I know he rants and raves just like most do on that network. He often mentions that he is a self-proclaimed expert on Lincoln who was the founder of the Republican party. However, it seems that his book on the subject of Lincoln’s assassination will not be sold in Ford’s Theatre where the killing took place. The historians there … Continue reading Just Because You Write a Book…
Say It Isn't So….
Source: Cosmic Log – Faster-than-light neutrinos confirmed. Goodbye E=m² !!! It looks like scientists have discovered that matter can travel faster than the speed of light. One of Einstein’s simplest and most dramatic theories postulated that this was impossible. According to the theory when matter approaches the speed of light it turns into pure energy. He also postulated that matter no bigger than an eraser could create more energy than all the stockpiles of nuclear bombs now in existence. Einstein was definitely one of my heroes as I was growing up. I think I read his biography when I was in … Continue reading Say It Isn't So….
I Don't Have Patience for Blah, Blah, Blah….
I will get right to it here. As the title implies I just don’t seem to have any patience for wordy writing or speaking anymore. Maybe I have never had that patience but now I am now old enough and bold enough to finally come out and say it. I read so many things lately and my mind is screaming “Come to the point!” Why can’t people just say what they mean? I was flamed recently for criticizing N.T. Wright who is a pretty well know theologian at least among my Baptist friends. In a blog interview I read he … Continue reading I Don't Have Patience for Blah, Blah, Blah….
Congress prepares for year-end spending and tax cut bazaar
Source: NBC Politics – Congress prepares for year-end spending and tax cut bazaar. Complain if you will about congressional gridlock, but right before the holidays is often when the gridlock eases because everyone is focused on getting out of town and back to their families. The extension of at least some of the 53 tax credits and preferences which Congress created or preserved last December. The platter of tax breaks includes something for almost all tastes: the deduction of state and local sales taxes, which is worth about $2.8 billion to taxpayers who itemize, the economic development credit for American Samoa, … Continue reading Congress prepares for year-end spending and tax cut bazaar
Merry Christmas…
Merry Christmas Everyone . Talk to you again on Monday Continue reading Merry Christmas…
Taking Money Out of Social Security
Source: Obama Strikes Populist Chord With Speech in Heartland – NYTimes.com. The most recent proposal by Senate Democrats calls for reducing the share of Social Security payroll tax paid by employees to 3.1 percent from the already reduced level of 4.2 percent. If Congress takes no action, the tax is to revert to 6.2 percent next month. The cut, under the proposal, would be offset by a 1.9 percent surtax on modified adjusted gross income in excess of $1 million, which would take effect in 2013. Everyone is saying that the Social Security Trust Fund is on the road to bankruptcy … Continue reading Taking Money Out of Social Security
I Have Wondered Who They Are??
I have always wondered who the party faithfuls are. :) Continue reading I Have Wondered Who They Are??
Comic Books Made Me Who I Am???
Cosmic Log – Bam! How comics teach science. The source article above doesn’t have much to do with this post other than invoking some buried thoughts from my childhood. The comics they talk about in no way resemble the ones I read when I was a kid. I haven’t been around comic books in years so I don’t know what the general contexts are now. In my day it was about Superman, Spiderman, Archie, and hundreds of others. But one thing I am pretty sure of is that I’m sure of is that is where I gained my first real interest … Continue reading Comic Books Made Me Who I Am???
The Power of Love
Thank you my Quaker brothers and sisters for being the conscience of Christ where so many others won’t. Continue reading The Power of Love
Not as Much as We Would Like to Believe…
Dear R.J., “Jim, Christianity has nothing to do with racism.” That’s what my church elder told me when I was a 15-year-old boy. Can you believe that? “That’s political, and our faith is personal,” he said. That’s the night I left my church. This kind of story is all too common. So that’s exactly why we founded Sojourners 40 years ago – to call Christians back to a radical Jesus, the one who called us to be with “the least of these,” including those people living with the realities of poverty, racism, and war. Forty years ago, many Christians didn’t understand … Continue reading Not as Much as We Would Like to Believe…
In Service To Others…..
“Wounding and healing are not opposites. They’re part of the same thing. It is our wounds that enable us to be compassionate with the wounds of others. It is our limitations that make us kind to the limitations of other people. It is our loneliness that helps us to to find other people or to even know they’re alone with an illness. I think I have served people perfectly with parts of myself I used to be ashamed of. ” – Rachel Naomi Remen Here is another inspirational message from my daily emails for Sojourners which has become one of my favorite … Continue reading In Service To Others…..
A Race to the Bottom…
The Republican candidates for President, via their debates, are in a race to the bottom… but that is where their base is. I can’t give you a name to go with this quote but it is a poignant one. The Republican base makes up about 20% of the total electorate. It seems like it will be a very difficult job to turn around the rhetoric when the primaries are over. I can’t see how they will spin the words of these current times to appeal to the other 80% of voters? As usual they seem to be against much much … Continue reading A Race to the Bottom…
Each of Our Deeds…
“We do not strive for spectacular actions. What counts is the gift of yourself, the degree of love you put into each of your deeds.” – Mother Teresa, from The Love of Christ Almighty God, tear down the walls that divide us. Remove whatever infects our eyes, that we may see the stranger not as different but as a brother or a sister. Amen. This voice and prayer come from Sojourners daily emails. Mother Teresa was not one to be showy in her actions but she definitely put love into each of her deeds and her deeds were many. If we show … Continue reading Each of Our Deeds…
Iced In….
Here is another of my favorite Cardinal Winter pictures. It was taken in early 2011 during an ice storm. I broke a rib falling on the ice later that day!! Continue reading Iced In….
Biggest One Day Gain!!!
You gotta love all the spin masters on Wall Street these days. I noticed these headline here several times this year. BIGGEST ONE DAY GAIN!!! But what they don’t talk about is that the day before was the biggest one day loss so all that the gain did was put us back to where we were the day before yesterday. These guys will do just about anything to try to justify their big year-end bonuses. But what do I know…. Continue reading Biggest One Day Gain!!!
About Video Sharing….
Source: Start-ups cue up for mobile video-sharing – USATODAY.com. Texting is so old school according to the latest trends. Video is where it is at today. Here is a quote from the referenced article: The meteoric rise of camera-equipped smartphones has popularized personal videos. And several new companies are rushing to develop mobile apps to help consumers capture, edit and share those videos across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Think of it as serving the YouTube 2.0 generation. Not only are many users now capturing video over mobile, they are transmitting over mobile and adding the social-media aspect, too… I know my … Continue reading About Video Sharing….
E-Book Readers
I got my hands on a Kindle Touch yesterday so I want to tell you a little about it and why you may want one. No, I’m not getting paid anything from Amazon but I am a regular customer of theirs. As the header shows here I am targeting this review toward seniors. When I talk about e-books to some seniors I often get a list similar to the one below on why they don’t think they would like to go that route: get headaches from reading computer screens You can’t use a computer in bright sunlight. The batteries don’t … Continue reading E-Book Readers
An Investment Strategy No One Talks About….
Source: Wolfram Blog : Stock Market Returns by Presidential Party. The New York Times recently published an “Op-Chart” by Tommy McCall on its Opinion page showing what your returns would have been had you started with $10,000 in 1929 and invested it in the stock market, but only during the administrations of either Democratic or Republican presidents. His calculations showed that if you had invested only during Republican administrations you would now have $11,733 while if you had invested only during Democratic administrations you would now have $300,671. Twenty-five times as much! This must be one of those deep dark secrets … Continue reading An Investment Strategy No One Talks About….
Will Rogers Quote for the Day
There is nothing as easy as denouncing. . . . It don’t take much to see that something is wrong, but it does take some eyesight to see what will put it right again. -July 28, 1935 Will Rogers It seems most of our political leaders need a serious eye exam. Continue reading Will Rogers Quote for the Day
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 