Category: Having My Say

Having My Say1 Comment

A Special Tax Cut For Beer Makers??

RJ Walters

I’ve been pretty busy lately redoing my study. It needs a refresh after 17 years I think. I may miss a few posts here and there and some may seem kinda rushed. So, pardon me if you will, .. or won’t… At this point, we can only hope and pray that enough Republicans vote on their principles rather than taking small measures offered to them in this monstrous 515-page tax bill. A BREAK FOR BOOZE: The Senate bill contains a special tax cut for makers of beer, wine and spirits, for no particular reason. (Perhaps it’s because these companies are doing their patriotic … Continue reading A Special Tax Cut For Beer Makers??

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Russian Ties…

RJ Walters

  I have pretty much vowed off talking about the current occupant of the Oval Office but have to put this one out there as a snippet. I found this on my desk from the Nov 10 issue of “The Week” magazine Team Trump doesn’t seem very worried that proof of collusion will emerge said Timothy O’Brien of Bloomburg.com. But in the past, the president has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of properties to Russians and gone into business with Felix Sater of the Bayrock Group, a Soviet emigre with organized crime connections in Russia. Trump may well owe … Continue reading Russian Ties…

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Live and Let Live…

RJ Walters

The words in the title above have been around for probably eons, but I kinda think they have been forgotten in today’s world. It seems that everyone wants everyone else to live their life as they do. Christians can’t tolerate non-Christians, Muslims think they need to kill anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs. And then there is the RedAmerica vs BlueAmerica, that divide is becoming too wide to even think of breaching. Live and let live seems to be a forgotten phrase today, but I kind of think it is the solution to most of our problems we face. Let … Continue reading Live and Let Live…

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You Have My Permission To Kiss Me..

RJ Walters

This is an extremely hot topic that I want to pursue delicately if I can.  It just seems like the words “Sexual Harassment” has come to mean something quite different than I had imagined.  Having had limited opposite-sex contact even in my youth,  and my Aspie characteristics even then limited my experiences in this area. To be honest, whenever I had even a casual contact with a female in my young adult years it was most often an intimidating experience. Not for them but for me!  I just didn’t know what to say or how to act. As far as I … Continue reading You Have My Permission To Kiss Me..

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Taking “Simplicity” To The Edge

RJ Walters

For this artsy Saturday, I want to take simplicity to the edge. This is a picture of a floor in one of the sites I visited this summer uRV trips.  I guess it is considered a parquet floor but I don’t think I have ever encountered one like it. Being a woodworking guy it just fascinated me.  For those who don’t know what they are looking at,  it is an end view of the 2×6 boards. Continue reading Taking “Simplicity” To The Edge

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Assets Or Liabilities?

RJ Walters

I wonder how many of you out there remember when a company’s employees were considered assets to be nourished and held on to? Relative to my years on this earth, it was not that long ago. I don’t know why but all of this stuff that I now consider bad, seemed to have happened during the Reagan years. I think that was the beginning of where we ended up today. It was the early 1980s when the “three-legged stool” was abandoned. This principle was that a successful business was made up of three equal legs: owners, employees, and customers. The second leg was … Continue reading Assets Or Liabilities?

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Rules, Rules, Rules…

RJ Walters

I know no one likes rules but sometimes they are necessary to maintain a civil society. But then again the very idea of civility is being attacked by some in RedAmerica. They just don’t believe that civility is of any benefit to them and therefore it is deemed useless. I got a dose of this recently from a niece and her teenage daughter. She flat out said that being civil was not “her thing”. I know I am getting off track here so let’s shift back to the idea of rules in a civilized society. Civility has a pretty simple … Continue reading Rules, Rules, Rules…

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Permanent Tax Cuts For The Rich, Temporary Cuts For The Rest Of Us..

RJ Walters

Don’t be fooled by all the GOP rhetoric about their proposed tax plan. Study its effect on you before jumping on board. And even more importantly look at what effect it will have on your children.  Of course, we also have to understand that the GOP is primarily a party that gives the most to their rich donors. They are the ones who will primarily benefit from this current plan.  Since the “trickle down” theory they have constantly used in the past has never come to actually happen why should we expect it to happen this time. Too much of … Continue reading Permanent Tax Cuts For The Rich, Temporary Cuts For The Rest Of Us..

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It’s Hard Looking Beyond Self Preservation Nowadays..

RJ Walters

The political news just gets raunchier and raunchier now that we have a “liar-in-chief” in the Oval Office. The president used to be an image that we could give our children for their inspirations. Now we need to shield them from the current occupant’s disrespectful rantings and constant lies.  My tolerance for these intolerable defects continues to erode as each day passes. I used to be a hog for news. I watched multiple sources on a daily basis. Now, the only thing I can seem to stomach is the PBS Newshour and since it is recorded and watched the next … Continue reading It’s Hard Looking Beyond Self Preservation Nowadays..

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A Little More Cheery…

RJ Walters

I decided to let my creative juices flow a little more lately and attacked my blog header to make it a little more cheery. I know most of you guys probably don’t even notice the header but I don’t think you can avoid this one. :)  There is enough in the world today that is simply awful dreary. We need to let the sun shine more in our lives. This is a meager attempt to do a little of that. The main themes for my blog are “Question Everything” and my “InSearchOfAmerica” project.  I am adding another theme to that … Continue reading A Little More Cheery…

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Your Vote Counts, But…

RJ Walters

I am an ultra-advocate to the rights and privileges of voting.  If you don’t vote then you should have no say in what your representatives do in Washington.  Sadly, we are one of the lowest participatory democracies in the world.  Less than half of those eligible to vote in any election usually choose to do so.  When that happens we allow a small minority to choose our elected officials.  That is certainly what happened in 2016. An unlikely coalition of estranged fringe groups eerily chose our president. For the most part the uninformed masses coalesced into an unchallenged voting block. … Continue reading Your Vote Counts, But…

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Lost Dreams..

RJ Walters

It is important to take stock in all the good things we have had. But it is also worthwhile to recognize the opportunities we might have missed. In the past I have told many stories about how, after very humble beginnings, I have had a pretty privileged life.  This post is about the things I might have missed. So, here is that story. The bible says something about not worrying about tomorrow or the past, but just live in today. Those always seemed like wise words to me but being I question everything they also sometimes seem like stifling words. … Continue reading Lost Dreams..