Dogs and Cats – A Deep Philosophical Question  

Heaven forbid I should ever be single again.  I sincerely hope with all my being that Señora outlives me, if for no other reason than she is much more enchanted with this existence than I am.  If she did not, I am not sure I would put myself back out there in the dating pool, especially at my decrepit age.  The thought reminds me of something my mother once said after my father had passed away.  Someone asked her if she was going to remarry.

Oh no,” she replied, “it is one thing to grow old with a man; it would be quite another thing to marry an old man.

I Learned About Red Flags

I once broke up with a very beautiful woman and judging from our time together, a very sweet lady.  At he beginning of our relationship she told me her goal Continue reading “Dogs and Cats – A Deep Philosophical Question  “

Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 1,394

yeah I know you did not ask!

What about next time Congress has some “must pass” legislation, instead of slipping a rider that benefits only the fats cats and decreases our democracy, we tact on riders to benefit all of us.  Perhaps something to reform the student loan program, and make college affordable; perhaps something that will help bring good jobs back to America;  perhaps legislation to bring our infrastructure into the 21st century; perhaps a realistic minimum wage; perhaps a tax code change to decrease the wealth gap; I could go on an on, but you get the idea.

The Adventures of Alexander Selkirk by John Howell

life_adventures_alexander_selkirk_1301You say you do not know who Alexander Selkirk is. Well, fair enough, I did not know either. But if Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe comes to mind then you have hit a home run. Defoe based his most famous character on the Selkirk. This fact caused Defoe some grief as many people felt he had plagiarized or inappropriately borrowed Selkirk’s story.

Selkirk was born of Scottish working class parents. Not being enthralled with the family business of shoe making, he joined buccaneer expeditions into the South Seas. The expeditions were not particularly successful. Selkirk argued extensively with one of his superiors, and finally asked to depart from the ship. They dropped him off on Juan Fernández Island off the coast of Chile. He immediately regretted his decision. He spent the next 4 plus years living alone on the island. He survived mainly on goats left there by pirates. Continue reading “The Adventures of Alexander Selkirk by John Howell”

Huge concentrations of wealth corrodes the soul of any nation

A couple quotes from the Nicholas Kristof editoral linked to below:

A Hedge Fund Republic? Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times

“But there is also a larger question: What kind of a country do we aspire to be? Would we really want to be the kind of plutocracy where the richest 1 percent possesses more net worth than the bottom 90 percent?’

“I’m appalled by our growing wealth gaps because in my travels I see what happens in dysfunctional countries where the rich just don’t care about those below the decks. The result is nations without a social fabric or sense of national unity. Huge concentrations of wealth corrode the soul of any nation.”

I’ve been watching and crying over this growing problem for years.  Part of me just cannot understand how in a democratic society where the vast majority of folks are in the middle and lower economic classes this happened.  After all 9 to 1 should win ever time, right?

In large part it has happened because both political parties are unabashedly junkies when it comes to financing political campaigns.  Continue reading “Huge concentrations of wealth corrodes the soul of any nation”