Category: Having My Say

Having My Say2 Comments

The Gasoline Conspiracy…..

RJ Walters

  NEW YORK — A sharp decline in the price of oil this month is making gasoline cheaper at a time of year when it typically gets more expensive. It’s a relief to motorists and business owners and a positive development for the economy. Source: Drivers benefit as oil prices drop sharply – Business on NBCNews.com. I don’t know about where you come from but it seems that gasoline prices around here jump $0.30 a gallon in an afternoon. Most of the times that happens in Friday mornings. Friday is one of the mornings I drive 40 miles round trip … Continue reading The Gasoline Conspiracy…..

Having My Say, Philosophy & Religion2 Comments

Abraham Lincoln’s God…..

RJ Walters

  I never behold the heavens filled with stars that I do not feel I am looking in the face of God. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist. but I cannot conceive how he could lie looking up into the heavens and say there is no God. When any church will inscribe over its altar, as its sole qualification for membership, the Saviour’s condensed statement of the substance of both law and Gospel. “‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and … Continue reading Abraham Lincoln’s God…..

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The Golden Rule….

RJ Walters

  A new golden rule   BY CHUCK JAFFE, MARKETWATCH It has long been a rule of thumb that typical investors should have 5-10% of their portfolios in gold. But watching gold’s swoon on Monday had to make you wonder: Really? Source: Online Trading, ETFs, Mutual Funds, IRAs & Retirement – Fidelity. Leave it up to the financial gurus to pollute the golden rule with things about money. I really got a kick out of this one. It seems Mr. Jaffe has a very short term memory. Yeah the price of gold dropped significantly on Monday but year over year it is … Continue reading The Golden Rule….

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The Old vs. The New….

RJ Walters

For example, let’s say we approach the Bible with this question: How should we treat our enemies? Matthew 5:44 tells us to love them. Romans 12:17–21 tells us to do good to them and never seek revenge against them. First Peter 3:13–17 tells us to suffer at their hands and set an example for them. Psalm 137:9 says we should joyfully dash their infants against a rock. Psalm 139:19 says we should hate them. Deuteronomy 7:1–6 says we should destroy them utterly and show them no mercy. If we want to call down fire on them, we can reference 1 … Continue reading The Old vs. The New….

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Finally Some Sanity???

RJ Walters

In his first major policy speech Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signaled he will be taking a hard look at the way the Pentagon spends its money and at whether the US military needs quite so many officers…. That’s because too often the weapons systems that Pentagon officials buy “are vastly more expensive and technologically risky than what was promised or budgeted for.” And the hard truth is that the most pressing problems the world faces “do not necessarily lend themselves to being resolved by conventional military strength,” he said. “Indeed the most destructive and horrific attack ever on the United … Continue reading Finally Some Sanity???

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Discover Your Passion: Know Who You Are

RJ Walters

  I had to discover a passion for retirement because I had worked all my life at something that I was not passionate about. I understood that in order to discover a passion I had to understand who I am. Figuring out who I am was not complicated, but it required time and effort. It took a lot of mental work, the hardest kind of work. It took a lot of experimenting and trial and error, the scariest kind of work. But almost anyone can do it. You don’t have to be a monk, priest, philosopher or psychologist. You don’t … Continue reading Discover Your Passion: Know Who You Are

Having My Say5 Comments

Loss of Life….

RJ Walters

I try not to post about the events like the Boston bombing until more of the facts are known but there is one related thing that always bothers me about such events. While I along with most mourn the four lives lost in this tragic event I wonder why we don’t also mourn the 150 or so lives also lost that day and every day to violence around our obsession with guns? I wonder why don’t we also mourn the 3,000 or so lives lost each day to hunger? Were those four lives more precious than the 150 or the … Continue reading Loss of Life….

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Disability: the ‘de facto welfare program’

RJ Walters

  Every month, 14 million people now get a disability check from the government. The federal government spends more money each year on cash payments for disabled former workers than it spends on food stamps and welfare combined. […] [And] story of these programs — who goes on them, and why, and what happens after that — is, to a large extent, the story of the U.S. economy. It’s the story not only of an aging workforce, but also of a hidden, increasingly expensive safety net. Source: Has disability become a ‘de facto welfare program’? – In Plain Sight. I hate … Continue reading Disability: the ‘de facto welfare program’

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Prosperity…

RJ Walters

“There is nothing that sets a nation back as far in civilization as prosperity.” – Will Rogers, 2 April 1933 Yeah Will, prosperity does seem to bring out the animal in many of us. Just look at the Robber Barons of the early 20th century for evidence of that.  Heck, you don’t even have to look that far back, just look at the 1%ers now who will do just about anything to maintain their wealth.  Prosperity brings out the best in a few but the worst in others. Continue reading Prosperity…

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Congress Ignores America’s Poverty Crisis

RJ Walters

“The Ryan budget kicks 12 to 13 million people off of nutrition assistance, cuts off pathways to opportunity, slashes job training and education, and makes draconian cuts to Medicare, which serves a majority of the disabled and the elderly,” said Boteach. “That’s how House Republicans have outlined their priorities.” Among those who voted for Ryan’s budget: Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, whose district has a roughly 28 percent poverty rate and 38 percent child poverty rate; Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), whose district has a roughly 26 percent poverty rate and 37 percent child poverty … Continue reading Congress Ignores America’s Poverty Crisis

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What it means to be a Christian…

RJ Walters

“The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creation. via What it means to be a Christian…. These words come from Rachel Held Evans blog but are the words of Brennan Manning. Until I had read them I was unaware of who he was. He had a very robust life and was a prolific writer for a former Jesuit priest.  He passed on to the Lord recently. Here is an additional inspiring quote from Wikipedia. “The greatest single … Continue reading What it means to be a Christian…

Having My Say5 Comments

No Accounting For Taste…

RJ Walters

“…elections are a good deal like marriages, there is just no accounting for anyone’s taste.” – Will Rogers, 10 May 1926 You got that right Will. Of course when you made this quote Calvin Coolidge was president Hoover was just around the corner to replace him. I guess you were a pretty good predictor of the future.  I had the very same thoughts in November 2004 when Mr. Bush was given a second term.  I couldn’t understand the taste of the electorate that year. Continue reading No Accounting For Taste…