I am a senior citizen so I guess it expected of me to occasionally talk about the good old days. Generally I believe that most things in life continue to get better as time goes by so the “good old days” are not really that good after all at least to me. But there are some things that take a hit as a result of change. I don’t think there is anyone that doesn’t admit how much the internet has changed their lives and most of it for the better. We can now get almost any info we desire in … Continue reading The Good Old Days……

Source: Romney on ’47 percent’: I was ‘completely wrong’ – politics – Decision 2012 | NBC News. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has described his disparaging remarks about the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay federal income taxes as “not elegantly stated.” Now he’s calling them “just completely wrong.” I am going to dive into the realm of politics once again. Call me a fool if you want; I am definitely not an angel.  By his latest flip Mr. Romney proves once again that he will say anything and do anything to become the most powerful person in the world. … Continue reading The Chameleon….

June 1998 — Here is a picture looking out of a window of the “Windows on the World” restaurant in the World Trade Center. It was our first of several visits there Continue reading Looking Down….

Why is it that Germany seems to be just about the only country in the world who is not struggling with a disappearing middle class? They are doing well in that regard because they are the most unionized country in the world and their increased wages drives their demand. How do they manage to keep their wages high in light of the pennies-on-the-dollar labor found elsewhere?  They do it by government regulations prohibiting companies from exporting jobs.  Of course this is something that the “free traders” among us say is impossible but it seems Germany didn’t know it was impossible … Continue reading About Germany….

Here is a quote from a letter I recently received from my friends at American Friends Service Committee (AFSC.org) Who wins when our country goes to war?  Defense contractors! Who profits from the highest imprisonment rate in the world! For-profit prison corporations! Who benefits by cutting agencies charged with mine safety and the protection of workers rights? Mining companies! Each year a handful of corporations pour millions and millions of dollars into lobbyists and campaign contributions. Why? To push for legislation and procurements that increase their profits. Who benefits? Certainly not the average taxpayer! When the quest for bigger earnings … Continue reading Who Wins???

I got the above plaque from a Facebook friend’s page and it struck me as being filled with wisdom.  I don’t know who wrote it but it is certainly worth making note of. If any of us just lived by these rules we would find a level of happiness we might not otherwise realize. Free your heart from hatred — The old saying that hatred consumes you I’m sure is true but I don’t think that I have ever really hated anyone. But it seems that during the current election cycle hate, or at least extreme anger, is abundant. So … Continue reading Rules to Live By….

    Here is a picture to celebrate summer’s end. Continue reading Summer’s End

Since Hank convinced me to get off my butt and get involved in this coming Presidential election I will occasionally be  bringing up what I call “A grossly blatant political ad”.  I promise I won’t become a raving lunatic and start calling everyone horrible names. I will be more civilized  than that. These ads will be tongue-in-cheek and one-sided so you have been forewarned. To my conservative friends, don’t take them too seriously and flame me. I likely won’t respond to your usual long parroted litany of reasons why I am wrong so don’t bother to send them. They would … Continue reading Romney’s America….

My regular viewers you know that I have recently had some discussions with a commentor on this blog named “Hank”. Of course since the Internet is a virtual gathering place I really don’t know for sure if Hank is a male or female but for the sake of this and maybe future posts I will call him “he”. Now Hank made several comments to posts about the political conventions.  On each comment I got to know Hank a little better than before. In Hank’s last post ( which is his last comment by my choice not his) he gave me … Continue reading Putting a Face on the Tea Party….

I pride myself in frequently looking outside my box in this world. Yes, my life’s experiences pretty much, like everyone else, defines who I am but we must also try to look at things from a different perspective on a regular basis. That brings up the topic of this post. The typical voter and that certainly includes me seems to want to elect a person for president who we think could be a “best buddy”. That seems to be the primary reason that Mr. Reagan was twice elected and it certainly was one of the critical factors that got Mr. … Continue reading Maybe We Vote For President For The Wrong Reasons….

Just a quick aside to make sure you see the Dave Granlund cartoon above. It needs no explanation! Continue reading Looking Back… Way Back…

via Fact-checkers find exaggerations in Obama, Biden conventions speeches | Fox News. President Obama and Vice President Biden made statements in their convention speeches about unemployment, Medicare and other issues that fact-checkers say appear inaccurate or at least misleading. Among the questionable remarks were Biden’s argument that “after the worst job loss since the Great Depression we created 4.5 million private sector jobs in the past 29 months” … The Associated Press and others point out that statement is misleading because it counts jobs from the recession’s lowest point  to where employment began to grow again – excluding jobs lost earlier in … Continue reading Fact-checkers find exaggerations in Obama, Biden conventions speeches

It is terrible to think what the churches do to men. But if one imagines oneself in the position of the men who constitute the Church, we see they could not act differently. The churches are placed in a dilemma: the Sermon on the Mount or the Nicene Creed–the one excludes the other. If a man sincerely believes in the Sermon on the Mount, the Nicene Creed must inevitably lose all meaning and significance for him, and the Church and its representatives together with it. If a man believes in the Nicene Creed, that is, in the Church, that is, … Continue reading Inspiring Radical Thinking……

One more barn for Photo Saturday before I move to another subject. This one was taken somewhere in July in Kansas I think. Continue reading Another Barn…

Source:  Jobs are coming back fastest in services sector – USATODAY.com. Service businesses are leading an uneven jobs recovery that has pushed sectors such as warehouse club retailers back to their pre-recession employment… The starkest difference: More than 70% of jobs lost in service industries have returned three years after the recession’s end, while only 15% of jobs lost in manufacturing, construction and other industries that produce goods have come back. The analysis is based on Labor Department data from January 2008 — when total U.S. employment peaked — through last month Is it a surprise to anyone that 85% of the manufacturing jobs have … Continue reading Jobs are coming back fastest in services sector….

This being close to Labor Day I have been thinking about unions. The traditional labor unions that were so strong in the 1950s through 1970s took a pretty serious hit in Wisconsin not long ago. Was it a death blow? I don’t know? The writing might be on the wall for them as a whole in the years to come.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am very much in favor of worker’s rights and collective bargaining. But, like so many things in this world labor unions just got carried away with the power they possessed during those years. When that happened common sense, like always, went out the window.  It seemed like when unions became so powerful their main goal was to make life difficult for the employers rather of representing the interests of the workers and also doing what was good for the company. It became just too adversarial. Continue reading “How about “virtual” unions…..”

Teachers just can’t seem to get any respect in our society. Why is that?  I think one of the main reasons is the length of their work year. With all the vacations and holidays they end up working less than half a year. What other job gets a twenty week vacation the first year in?  I know the blame for that does not rest entirely with teachers. I imagine many would prefer to work longer, for more pay of course (although per hour they are probably some of the best paid people around)  :). Another possible reason teachers can’t get … Continue reading Teacher Don’t Get Respect…..