Tag: mind

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Illustration of Michael Moore’s Stat About Inequality

More conversation about the wealth gap in this country.

From the referenced article, “Michael Moore joined the demonstrators in Madison, Wisconsin on March 6, and mentioned that the 400 richest Americans have more money than all of their 155,000,000 fellow citizens at the bottom of the pyramid combined.”  As much as I dislike Michael Moore personally, I have to agree with his positions on many things.

Here is another way to think about this number. The current USA population is 311,000,000 more or less. Half of that is pretty close to 155,000,000. So 400 people have as much wealth as 1/2 of the total US population. Mind boggling.

400 = 155,000,000.  I started to quip, “in what universe”.  I then realized it is in our universe.

This is one of most dramatic demonstrations of that concept I have seen. You have to strain hard to see the white dot that represents the rich among the sea of “commoners”. Call me a socialist, but nobody needs or should be that rich. I’m back on the one pie analogy. In order to have an over sized piece of pie you have to take some from someone else’s piece of pie. Or in this case a bunch of someones.

Link was not longer valid….sorry

What really slays me is that our politicians seem to be on a tear to make these folks richer.  Call me old school, but I firmly believe that to whom that more is given, more is expected.

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Worthy Small Charities

Yes I did a cut and paste operation bringing in these links from an article in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof:  The Gifts of Hope. Mr. Kristof is an advocate journalist. His whole professional career is devoted to reporting on issues like these, especially issues involving females.  If there is a man that can smoke out small worthy charities, I am betting on him.

Here is another of his editorials.  It details some charities that has gone astray:  When Donations Go Astray

If you are looking for alternative giving this year, consider these.

Panzi Hospital (panzifoundation.org) treats victims of sexual violence in eastern Congo, rape capital of the world.

Camfed (camfed.org), short for the Campaign for Female Education, sends girls to school in Africa and provides a broad support system for them. Continue reading “Worthy Small Charities”

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Troubadours Transcending

I have this new theory about musicians like Ellis Paul, Kevin Welch, Jimmie LaFave, Pete Morton, etc.  There are tons more.  I just mention these folks because they are on my mind from seeing them concert recently or listening to their CDs.

These folks never make it super big like say a Garth Brooks or a Reba McIntyre.  I would think having that much success and fame would be as much a burden as blessing.  I’m sure the money and adulation are wonderful.  But then you have everyone wanting a piece of you, wanting something from you.  I personally would find it a huge pain to walk down the street and have folks continually coming up to me, snapping pictures etc.  But then I value my privacy.

Musicians in the first category have a relative degree of success.  They can make a living doing what they love to do.  From having talked to a few of them, I know it is love for most of them.  They get to enjoy the company of liked minded individuals.  They get to travel as much or as little as they want in the support of their craft. At least the ones I have seen have mostly been in small often intimate venues with interaction between the musicians and the audience.  Most of the musicians really seem to enjoy this.   Of course, this is from the outside looking in, but they seem to be milking the most out of essential nature of life. Many that write their own lyrics seem have an amazing insight into the human condition, the human emotional state, a certain degree of wisdom beyond the norm.

My theory is this:  They are old souls.  This is probably their last go round in the physical plane.  They are on a farewell tours of sorts.  I really cannot think of many better ways to do such a tour.

Heck of a theory for an old agnostic.

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Why Do I Write?

Why do I write?

Good question!  I am fond of telling folks that my blog has a dedicated readership in the low single digits.  That enumeration includes me, my girlfriend’s sporadic browsings, and couple of other folks that on rare occasions pursue my ramblings. At one point I had a fantasy that some of my articles would spark other folks to comment and generate some discussions.  Like so many of my dreams and aspirations in this life that has never really materialized.  I am okay with that at this point.

I suppose I write with an audience in mind, Continue reading “Why Do I Write?”

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Another Annoyance of Life in the 21st Century

You are walking through a building and you see someone you know.  You are approaching each other at right angles.   You smile, wave, say hi; invoke some method to acknowledge their presence in the universe.  They responded weakly in the same or similar manner.   

As you pass each other you hear them speaking so you turn and indicate that you did not quite pick up what they just said. 

They turn and look at you in an annoyed manner,  indicating that they are talking on the phone. 

Sorry, I did not see the Bluetooth tucked beneath your hair.

I remember several years ago when these devices first became popular.  I was in the San Antonio airport returning from a job interview.   It was the middle of the week so there were a lot of business travelers.  It seemed that just about half of them had Bluetooth earpieces.  As they walked around talking on these things the little lights were flashing.  What immediately came to mind is from Star Trek: The Next Generation, “We are Borg, you will be assimilated.”

I think we are well on our collective way.

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Every Time I Went to Kiss Her

When I was a young teenager my father had a hi-fi stereo, state of the art. We boys were not supposed to touch it, but of course we occasionally did. In my father’s LP collection was a comedy record that we had been explicitly charged with not listening to…under any circumstances. That ranks right up there with waving the old proverbial red handkerchief at “el Toro”, with telling Brett Favre he should retire, or Mt. Everest beaconing Sir Edmund Hillary. It became a challenge. I had to hear that comedy record. Continue reading “Every Time I Went to Kiss Her”

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Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein


Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein @ Amazon.com

They say that you should not look back at some things.  One example would be looking up old girlfriends.  Another I’ve discovered is reading a book from your adolescence.

I should have known better.  When I was but a wee lad, I loved the movie Swiss Family Robinson.  It was a movie I had viewed several times as a youngster.  After VCRs became popular I rented a copy one night to share with my two children.  I wanted them to experience the joy I had felt watching this movie.   My kids thought it absolutely lame, Continue reading “Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein”

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Trailer Trash on Display

Okay, okay…I’m all for freedom of speech.  God knows that I would not want somebody limiting my wonderful ramblings.  At some point, some self censorship should take over.   Occasionally, the question should be asked, “Is this classy?  Is this really how I want to represent myself to the population at large?”

We’ve all seen the urinating boys doing their thing on “FORD” or “CHEVY”.  I saw one the recently that I thought represented the ultimate in poor taste.  Continue reading “Trailer Trash on Display”

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It Is Time We Linked Arms

I was visiting with a relative the other day who was about to retire from a state job, but would not be old enough for Medicare.  It was explained to me that he could continue his insurance from the state for $500 a month.  Now that is a lot of money, but almost seems cheap in today’s health care market.

A  little math will tell you that $500 a month is $6,000 a year.  Next add Continue reading “It Is Time We Linked Arms”

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More Churches Promote Martial Arts to Reach Young Men

Humans are going to play games and humans are going to fight.  It is in our DNA.  It is in our memes.  Males are especially prone to these activities.  There are a few sports that exist mainly because other folks will pay to watch them; football and boxing come to mind. 

One of the reasons that I quit watching football was the level of violence.  It is the same with boxing.  I understand the attraction, but for me at least, it is appealing to baser part of a human.  In my mind there is a real question of ethics when we pay to watch violence.  I try to avoid such entertainment, and for the most part I do.  Continue reading “More Churches Promote Martial Arts to Reach Young Men”