My wife is one of those people who if something doesn’t sound logical it must not be true. For example she absolutely refuses to believe in statistics of any form. I on the other hand have a very scientific nature. I am always trying to look at things for different angles. That is a basic difference between us and a very basic difference between many of us in the U.S.  It is nothing new.. Below is an excerpt from an article from National Geographic about this phenomenon. The world crackles with real and imaginary hazards, and distinguishing the former from … Continue reading The Age of Disbelief

I know there are many of U.S. citizens who have never known a time when our military spending did not dwarf everything else in our discretionary spending budgets. We just seem to be a nation that wants to be policemen of the world. We want to put our noses into every conflict we can find.  It doesn’t matter that in places like Iraq and Afghanistan they have been having the same battles for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. We just can’t seem to find a conflict that we think we stay out of or can’t solve with our military … Continue reading Will Our Gushing Military Spending Ever End?

It’s about time we let people take care of the problems in their own backyard. Continue reading It's About Time…

If you pay attention to such things it becomes very apparent that depending on where you live and how much income you have, and when you need it, primary healthcare varies widely across our nation.  The example below is specifically about worker’s compensation but is endemic across the healthcare spectrum. JUDY WOODRUFF: Howard Berkes, why are so many states moving to cut workers’ comp? HOWARD BERKES: Well, there are a couple of things that have occurred. One is, medical costs have increased so dramatically over the years. But the other thing is, we have had a couple of recessions in … Continue reading Federalized Healthcare…

Sometimes being creative is simply finding that right combination of things. That was the case with the above picture. At the center is a photo I took of my weeks old Chevy Sonic during our Colorado vacation. When I saw the rock cropping that were almost the same color as my sassy Sonic I had to immediately stop and take a picture of her. It would be a couple of years later before I found the frame to do the picture justice. I think it is a perfect creative combination.  It proudly hangs on my wall beside my desk. Continue reading The Right Combinations are Creative…

I am ashamed of the State of my birth and where I have lived most of my life. But, this isn’t the first time. Indiana for most of my life has been a very conservative red State who embarrasses me on a regular basis.  The Republicans now have total power and they are wielding it. The latest “religious freedom” law is just one example. It sounds like we are now going to have placards placed on business doors saying which potential customers are not allowed to enter their business.  It reminds me kind of like my youth when I saw … Continue reading I Am Ashamed Of My Native State…

Every city seems to have them but the most impressive display of Christmas light art I have ever found is in the Peoria Illinois “Festival of Art”. The creativity found there is awesome!  There are literally hundreds of different mammoth size display. The one shown above is a whale with Jonas’ boat inside.  It is probably 100 feet long.  If you live in the Midwest and need something to get you into the Christmas spirit plan a visit to Peoria this December. Continue reading Christmas Light Art…

In quick succession, the U.K., France, Italy, and Germany all agreed to become founding shareholders of the AIIB, a sign that they are eager to cozy up to Beijing and its $4 trillion in foreign reserves. Once upon a time, “the world was said to bow down before the mighty dollar. These days, even many of America’s closest allies have renminbi signs in their eyes.” This is an impressive “soft-power victory for China,” said the editors at Bloomberg View, and “Washington largely has itself to blame.” The U.S. has long called on China to take more of a role in … Continue reading And It Begins…A China Power Play….

In the 17th century, the French philosopher René Descartes came up with the “explanation for it all”: I think, therefore I am. Descartes is considered the Father of Modern Day philosophy but being a relative novice in this area I kind of put that label on Plato or Socrates. Philosophy is something that I have always been peripherally interested in but never delved much into.  I have to put that on my bucket list I guess. I bet very few people have it there. :)  But this is not the real topic of this post. It is more about the phrase … Continue reading I Think, Therefore I Am…

This post is kind of like an April Fools joke on myself. I think all of us have to one degree or another an alter ego.  That is a second self who is distinctively different from who we presently are day-to-day. Many of my personal journal posts are to my alter ego “Joe”.  He is my younger much more timid and less sure self. It took me many years to move out of that mode and to a degree I am still sometimes stuck there. Before I go any further lets look at the “official” definition of alter ego. Alter ego … Continue reading My Alter Ego