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They Deserve Their Failure….

RJ Walters

That is the moral-ideological core of conservatism today. It presumes that life is a competition or race, that people are unequal in talent, drive, and ambition, and that those who end up on top deserve their victory and rewards — and those who come out on the bottom deserve their failure and hardships. Any attempt to overturn or even mitigate this moral order — whether through government regulation or changes in habits or assumptions in school or on the playground — amounts to an offense against justice itself. Source: What defines conservatism today? I want to spend a few posts … Continue reading They Deserve Their Failure….

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You Don’t Have To Be Busy All The Time….

RJ Walters

One of the things that I learned the hard way during my years of retirement is that you don’t have to be busy all the time. I just couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around the idea of just having “down” time where I literally did nothing. No work, no thinking to any degree; just sitting alone with myself.   The Quakers call this “centering down”, some call it meditation, I just call it being alone with myself. There are so many who say that time is rushing by and out of their control. My wife and I watch the TV … Continue reading You Don’t Have To Be Busy All The Time….

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Artificial Intelligence… and the Second Industrial Revolution

RJ Walters

DO YOU THINK WE RUN THE RISK OF “TECHNOLOGICAL UNEMPLOYMENT” WHERE MACHINES TAKE ALL OF OUR JOBS? HAWKING: The outcome will depend on how things are distributed. Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality. Source: Highlights from Stephen Hawking’s Reddit AMA: ‘Women’ are the most intriguing ‘mystery’ – The Washington Post I’m not a fan of Stephen Hawking, he just seems … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence… and the Second Industrial Revolution

Life On the MarginsLeave a comment

Life Flow …

RJ Walters

This Sunday I want to flesh out a little more of what God means to me personally.  Theologians throughout the centuries have molded God into a being mainly of their own making.  If they can do it so can I, at least for my own purposes. As I have said in the last two Sunday posts I see God as primarily the keeper of life.  There is something inside of us that makes us alive . Call it the spirit, soul, life blood or what ever you want but only God can make life. When you are born you are … Continue reading Life Flow …

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Automatic voter registration through DMV

RJ Walters

Gov. Jerry Brown acted Saturday to increase participation in California elections and help prevent shootings at colleges, approving automatic voter registration and banning concealed weapons on campuses. Source: Jerry Brown OKs automatic voter registration through DMV – LA Times California has always been kind of “out there” for me but they do things that need to be done much before most other States. Where most of the “red” States are doing things to make it harder to vote, leave it up to very blue California to do the opposite. Thinking about it, it just makes sense that if you are … Continue reading Automatic voter registration through DMV

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“Untrustworthy” — Really???

RJ Walters

Press secretary Josh Earnest called Ryan’s claim that he cannot trust the president on the issue “ironic,” given he helped write bipartisan immigration reform legislation in 2013 only to stand with House GOP leaders in Congress who refused to take up a bill. “The president has proven himself untrustworthy on this issue, because he tried to unilaterally rewrite the law himself. Presidents don’t write laws. Congress does,” he said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referring to Obama’s executive actions to loosen his deportation policies. “The president’s proven himself to be untrustworthy on this issue.” Source: White House … Continue reading “Untrustworthy” — Really???

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What’s Good For Me Is….

RJ Walters

This being election day I thought I would throw in a little political banter for those who think for themselves… I thought it was noble that one of the conditions that Paul Ryan put down for accepting the Speaker job was he demanded that he be able to  set aside time to be with his family.  Family time is important. But then there is his history with being against paid family leave bills that have been consistently rejected by him and the rest of the GOP. He claims he is against it because it would require a “vast bureaucracy” to … Continue reading What’s Good For Me Is….

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Poor Little Rich Kids…

RJ Walters

I know I shouldn’t nominate myself for the best of the best list but when I ran across this post from October 11, 2011 I couldn’t resist.  It seems it is even more applicable today than it was four years ago. This excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article peaked my senses. It seems the rich, who we give massive tax breaks,  are aware that their kids will probably blow through their inherited wealth after they are gone.  What a bind to be in!  I bet they take all this planning and  trustees as tax deductions. It seems very ironic … Continue reading Poor Little Rich Kids…

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God, The River Of Life…

RJ Walters

This is a continuation of last Sunday’s Post on God and Life.  If you haven’t already read it you might want to do that now as this post won’t make much sense without that background. (God Is All About Life)  In that post I put forth the proposition that God is life. With this post  I will expand just what that means to me. I will repeat here that this concept is primarily for me to come to a personal understanding of God. I don’t expect, or even want, you to agree with me.  You need to do the work … Continue reading God, The River Of Life…

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Why America is Falling Behind the Rest of the World??

RJ Walters

The authors collect many previously published rankings, and the picture that emerges, however, is sobering: 1. Median household income Rank of U.S.: 27th out of 27  2. Education and skills Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 23 countries   3. Internet speed and access Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 34 countries  4. Health Rank of U.S.: 33rd out of 145 countries 5. People living below the poverty line Rank of U.S.: 36th out of 162 countries 6. Children in poverty Rank of U.S.: 34th out of 35 countries surveyed 7. Income inequality Rank of U.S.: Fourth highest inequality in … Continue reading Why America is Falling Behind the Rest of the World??

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The Low Info Voter — DOWN WITH SOCIALISM….

RJ Walters

I love this one by David Fitzsimmons. This runs the line of the ranter who says “Keep government hands off my social security!!”  It is sad to see so many low-info voters around today who have no idea of what socialism or much of anything else really is.  All they know is that “their” political party told them it is a bad communist inspired thing. Continue reading The Low Info Voter — DOWN WITH SOCIALISM….

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Today, Today, Today…

RJ Walters

Today I start my seventh decade on the earth. If my genes prove true it will likely be my last. That is a sobering thought that puts me in a mood of reflection. The end is certainly near; I can see the light at the end of the tunnel but no, I am not ready to “go to the light” just yet. :) In some ways accepting my mortality is refreshing.  I know that sounds kind of morbid but just hear me out.  Whatever inhibitions I might still carry around need to be tempered if I hope to have fun … Continue reading Today, Today, Today…

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Five Years….

RJ Walters

I spent a very enlightening part of my life between the years 1965 and 1970.  Those were the years I was at Purdue University supposedly learning how to be an engineer. It was there that  I was first exposed to the diversity of life. I met people who were very different from me. For the most part those experiences made me a better person. On this post I want to concentrate on a few of those I encountered during those years. My first dormitory room-mate was a high school classmate. He got married at the end of the first semester and was … Continue reading Five Years….

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Those New Credit Cards 

RJ Walters

U.S. consumers on Thursday will have a new way to protect themselves against cybercrime. Instead of the familiar magnetic stripe, their armor will take the form of credit and debit cards with a built-in chip, which retailers must be able to read as of October 1…. Experts say the slow rollout could be due to the cost of new card-reading equipment. Merchants must weigh the expense of buying new payment systems and training employees on that gear against the unknown hit from fraudulent charges. Some may even consider their new liabilities the cost of doing business. Source: New credit cards … Continue reading Those New Credit Cards 

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God Is ….

RJ Walters

I really don’t know how it happened that God became this old guy with flowing white hair and beard laying on the clouds and watching everything we do and getting involved in every aspect of our lives. I don’t know if Michelangelo’s Sistene chapel was the first depiction of that persona or if he was just mirroring someone else. But it seemed to catch on and go from there.  For many God is now a father figure who looks out for our every need. I was pretty deeply involved in theology for more than a decade devouring perhaps a hundred … Continue reading God Is ….

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West Baden Springs…

RJ Walters

The West Baden Springs Hotel is a historic landmark hotel in the town of West Baden Springs in Orange County, Indiana, United States, known for its vast domed atrium. It is currently part of the French Lick Resort. Prior to the completion of the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1955, the building had the largest free-spanning dome in the United States and was the largest in the world from 1902 to 1913. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, became a National Historic Landmark in 1987, and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The … Continue reading West Baden Springs…

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The 25%….

RJ Walters

While 80 percent of mainline Protestant pastors see Pope Francis as a true Christian, only 58 percent of evangelical preachers agree. Source: Do Pastors Trust Pope Francis on Theology? New Survey Reveals How Preachers Responded When Asked if the Pontiff Is a True Christian | TheBlaze.com I am going to use the polling above as an example for this post but not its focus.  There just seems to be about 25% of the population on the extreme right fringes in the U.S. that are pretty much distrustful of everything and everyone else. It seems that they almost hate the other … Continue reading The 25%….