Of the 2.3 million inmates crowding our nations prisons and jails, 1.5 million meet the DSM-IV medical criteria for substance abuse or addiction, and another 458,000, while not meeting the strict DSM-IV criteria, had histories of substance abuse; were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of their crime; committed their offense to get money to buy drugs; were incarcerated for an alcohol or drug law violation; or shared some combination of these characteristics, according to Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population. Combined these two groups constitute 85% of the U.S. prison population. … Continue reading About Drug Addictions…

We in the U.S. like to think of ourselves as so pure but like almost everyone we also have our dark side. People killing in the name of their religion is not without USA examples… Thanks Bill Day for the thoughts Continue reading We Are Not Without Our Dark Side…

Although they have now come and gone, black eyed Susans are still on my mind… Continue reading Black Eyed Susan…

Both Cruz and Huckabee have branded the action against Davis as “judicial tyranny,” tapping into a surge of public support for a figure presented as an outspoken Christian jailed for her beliefs. – ‘Not a leg to stand on’ – But their stance is a thorny one for Republican presidential candidates who, if elected, must swear to uphold the US constitution….. “It [this story] poisons the brand, and I think we’re already seeing Republicans as a group starting to back away.” Source: Martyr or lawbreaker? Kim Davis case roils Republicans – Yahoo News This is old news now so I guess … Continue reading Some Evangelicals Seem Oblivious To Their Church’s History…

I have been in a “wise guy” mood lately, thus the title above.  I am coming up on 70 years of age and when you get that old some of us reflect on how we got here, and why.  My wife is not one of those but I am. She seems so content to just do the same thing day-after-day, year-after-year with no desire for any change. She is just not a dreamer or ponderer as I am. Like so many other things we are opposites in that regard. They (whoever “they” are) say opposites attract and I can certainly … Continue reading It’s The Journey, Not The Destination… Well Sort of…

So many of us grew up sheltered in small Christian bubbles, restricted to cheesy Christian music titles and overly sanitized book selections, that we are resolved to expose our children to the beauty present in art and literature and yes, even the latest Hollywood blockbuster.   This is what drives the Christian Bubble Makers: they believe that raising children in a sheltered environment enables them to put down strong roots in the Christian tradition. Kids develop a strong foundation in their belief system so that when they go out into the world they aren’t tousled by the prevailing cultural winds … Continue reading The Christian Bubble…

This is the second in a series of posts about automation and humanity. This one is about my personal experiences with work that has certainly been taken over by a robot. I won’t be getting into the philosophical side of this paradigm shift here. That will wait for a future post. I was fortunate enough to be able to pay my own way through college with a minimal amount of loans. Dad  as a single parent just didn’t have the resources to help me.  He was busy surviving week to week.  My mother, who was then married to a rich … Continue reading RJ The Factory Worker…

I kind of like this picture now.  When I took it I was disappointed the it was not in focus.  One thing I have learned about my macro lens is that you really need a tri-pod if you want things clear but sometimes serendipity takes over and make the out of focus picture more artful. If you haven’t figured it out by now this is the center of a flower magnified several times.   I think it is kind of neat…. Continue reading The Dance of The….

I am with this post starting a series of posts about robotic machines and humanity. This is a pretty serious topic of which I have some knowledge of at least the beginning of this paradigm shift. This post is what Amazon says about the book entitled Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots. In this series I will be talking on both sides of the topic and also giving you a little bio of my life in its formative years. As robots are increasingly integrated into modern society—on the battlefield and the road, in business, … Continue reading Humanity & Artificial Intelligence…

I see hubcaps nailed to walls many places around the country but I think these are the most artistically done.  I’m sure a lot of thought went into the placement of each cap. Continue reading Creative Hubcaps

Not being a sports fan in any regard it is amazing to me how so many seem to blindly follow the superstar sports jocks in this country. I guess he is becoming very “old-school” now but Micheal Jordan was probably the epitome of this trend. I know Mr. Jordan was a basketball player for some professional team and I guess he was very good at putting a ball through a hoop suspended ten feet in the air.  As a result he is now probably a billionaire. Before he pierced his ears and put in ear rings no man, especially a … Continue reading The Ultimate Hype…

This flywheel was on a tractor at the farm show I recently attended. I don’t suspect that it has actually been used for quite a while but the scars definitely indicate that it was a work horse in its day. Continue reading A Work Horse Of The Past..

I have been thinking lately about just what a philosopher is and if I might be one? Let’s study this topic some. Philosophy is most often thought of as a high-browed occupation . When most of us who are at least educated in the fundamentals think of philosophy we think of Aristotle, or Plato. Wiki says Philosophy is: the study of the general and fundamental nature of reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind and language and breaks it down into several sub-fields of Philosophy of history, Philosophy of language, Philosophy of law, Philosophy of mind, Philosophy of religion, Philosophy of science, and Philosophy of Philosophy called Metaphilosophy Does any … Continue reading Am I A Philosopher ???

I know everyone with a close up lens eventually takes a picture of a dandelion. It is such an intricate structure.   Continue reading Oh The Intricacy

This post is peripherally to be about “The Seven Deadly Sins” that came out in the Christian church in the middle ages.  But in reality I will just be using one of them to make a broader point. Here is what Wikipedia says about the seven deadly sins: The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of the most objectionable vices which has been used since early Christiantimes to educate and instruct followers concerning (immoral) fallen man’s tendency to sin. It consists of “Lust“, “Gluttony“, “Greed“, “Sloth“, “Wrath”, “Envy“, and “Pride“. Let’s focus on gluttony and how it came to … Continue reading Gluttony and the Seven Deadly Sins….

Continue reading Another Case Of Don’t Confuse Me With The Facts…

We physicians have relatively little understanding of the legal process. And we will say — we say things like, ‘You ought to be out of that house. You ought to be in someplace clean.’ And then I sort of wash my hands of it and don’t realize the downstream implications. Somebody’s got to help them get the resources…. DR. KERRY RODABAUGH, Nebraska Medicine: I ran a medical-legal partnership, and came to find that I could not practice medicine without that. We are learning that we really are impacting health. So, if we can get somebody reinstated with their insurance plan, … Continue reading A Doctor/Lawyer Coalition??

Continue reading Oh The Rat Race…. I Remember It Well..

I suspect some of you recognize the title words above but many,  especially the younger generations, don’t have a clue. These words come from one of my all-time favorite songs entitled The Sounds Of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. The song was popular in the 1960s and its message was typical of many folk songs during that era.   I keep a copy of the lyrics around to remind me of it. To finish the verse including the title above: And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing … Continue reading People Writing Songs That Voices Never Share…

As hospital operators begin to report second period earnings — the sixth consecutive quarter of new revenue from once uninsured patients — the number and size of unpaid medical bills continues to fall thanks to the Affordable Care Act. SOURCE: As Obamacare Takes Hold, Unpaid Hospital Bills Vanish – Forbes. If all those idiots in congress who are so adamant in taking away healthcare to those who couldn’t afford it without ACA were to concentrate on making the law better instead of trying to abolish it significant improvements could be made.   There has probably been billions of dollars spent on … Continue reading As Obamacare Takes Hold, Unpaid Hospital Bills Vanish – Forbes

This is kind of a companion piece for this morning. There are just too many of us who almost blindly follow the “talking heads” of their choice. “If Fox News says it, it has to be true.”  Independent thought is critical to making a democracy function and we seem to be losing that in giant chunks lately. Thanks Paul for this vital message…. Continue reading Making Up My Mind…

Many Christians are wary of participating in social justice because of a deep-rooted fear of being labeled “liberal,” “progressive,” or “secular.” They don’t want to be associated with “secular” movements, and are uncomfortable delving into issues that go beyond their cultural comfort zones. But the Bible tells us that Jesus cared deeply about the social causes around him….  Christians do a disservice to the gospel message by removing the cultural context from Jesus’s ministry and watering down his message to one of religious platitudes. We like to generalize the words of Jesus and transform his life into a one-size-fits-all model … Continue reading Social Justice Is a Christian Tradition — Not a Liberal Agenda

For decades, members of the news media have struggled to determine whether a gruesome photograph or video crosses the line from newsworthy to something so disturbing that it is potentially harmful. Source: Virginia shooting proves Americans aren’t numb to tragedy — we just have a higher tolerance for it – Yahoo News Sadly we seem to get a weekly dose of tragedy of gun violence in this country.   The stats show that we kill each other with our guns more than terrorists kill others in the world.  Are guns the sole cause of al this?  Of course not but in … Continue reading Virginia shooting proves Americans aren’t numb to tragedy..

Like so much around today the rural mills are fast becoming a thing of the past. I guess at the corporate farm level they take their grain directly to their corporate supplies.   I found this mill about 40 miles east of Amarillo Texas this spring. Continue reading Mills of Bygone Days…

There is a bush that we planted fifteen years ago that gives us twice annual beauty.  I don’t know what kind it is, that is my wife’s thing, but I do appreciate it very much. It continues to thrive even though it took a pickax to plant it in the very rocky soil… Continue reading White Innocence..

Apple Inc. customers waiting for the company to revolutionize live television as it did for music and phone service will have to keep waiting, at least until next year. Source: Apple to delay live TV service to 2016 – Yahoo Finance. It is amazing how so few companies can change our culture so dramatically.  Apple is certainly one of them.  They revolutionized the music business so quickly. Gone are the black disks of my generation and now even tapes, CDs, DVDs, and record stores.  Amazon is another who is shaking up the retail business. Where locally there are hundreds of choices, … Continue reading Apple Live TV ….

Continue reading Old Time Tractor

He nailed the insane reason we still need to talk about climate change Yes, 99.9% of the scientific literature shows that climate change is real and worsened by the things we do every day, like driving cars and burning fossil fuels. Yet political representatives who continue to deny that very real science continue to serve on government science committees.  In September of last year, Stewart nailed Representative Larry Bucshon (R-Indiana) for saying the science on climate change “still isn’t clear.” … “If scientists could be bought,” said Stewart, “these companies would have already made it rain in nerd town.” He pinpointed exactly why health care just can’t … Continue reading I Am A Jon Stewart Fan… After The Fact…