JUST SOME POSTS

The current administration is being labeled with many names. Most of these are due to two of the major activities being carried out (or that are being tried to be carried out!) - dealing with and deporting illegal aliens and government spending. I will leave the former for later after just saying that having a country where anyone can show up and get similar (or better?) benefits than long-standing citizens, there is a serious issue. Starting out by breaking the law is no way to start a relationship. But, enough of that subject. On spending. Since reading details does not seem to be what a lot of folks do these days I will break it down to the heading of this post - WE ARE BROKE! I am going to offer many facts and figures to document this, but if you don't read any further, remember that fact.  I have not given my list of absolutes in a while, as I do not post nearly as much. I have been writing books for the last seven years and that takes time that I would have spent writing here...

 I have not written here for a while. Over the past six years or so I have put a lot of writing time into some books. They are all on Amazon and/or Kindle. The first book, which the subject of was my first attempt at blogging- my wife's fatal illness. She was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy in 2005 and passed away from complications of MSA in 2011. I started a blog as an outlet for me and turned it into a book in 2018. It is now available as a Kindle e-book, an Amazon paperback, and an Audio book at either location. The title is: "Living With a Snow(wo)man". (just type in the title or J. Scott Poole or Dr. Scott Poole - both names are in Amazon.) My second book is a compendium of my days selling on the road with tips and such for salespeople. It is entitled; "The World's Oldest Profession and how to excel at it" again by Dr. Scott Poole. It is available as a Kindle e-book or Amazon paperback. The third and fourth books are compilations of my poetry an...

  People say time passes. You have probably heard this all your life. I understand the thought but disagree with the premise.   Yes, from a strictly literal sense time passes or goes by. In a more precise sense, I think time does much more. Time is not a passive thing that is gone in an instant. Time cannot pass. This instant is gone, and another follows.   Time alters. Time destroys. Time is boring. Time also can build. Time can entertain. Time is smells. Time is sights. Time is tastes. Time is sounds. Time is anticipation. Time is participation. Time is dreams and time is memories.   Time does not pass. Time was. Time will be. Time IS.                                                  ...

We (the all-encompassing global we) are facing war daily, and have for quite a while. Now, I know the way I face these wars and those that live in Ukraine, the Middle East, Western Sahara, Cyprus, Yemen or any of the other 30 or so places where actual gunfire (and worse) are occurring every day face them is impossible to compare, however war is still top of mind if you follow any news at all. I have noticed, as someone old enough to remember many wars, that wars now are expected to be "clean". What I mean by that is any deaths are reported as abominations. Death should never be taken lightly and I am not dismissing the horror of war and any deaths. However, war is war. In my opinion and the opinion of many others, we are facing constant warfare in no small measure because we do have this expectation of no civilian deaths and minimal damage to anything not purely military in nature. Surgical strikes are not just expected, when a surgical strike does not work, it is condemned. ...

 If you are truly pressed for time, just read the bold, italicized, and underlined sentences. That won't take you long at all! Another year has passed and if you are reading this, a new one is getting ready to start (or has started) for you. New Year’s celebrations are a time for reflection on what has happened and also a chance to start anew. New Year’s resolutions are a manifestation of this. Weight loss plans, gym proprietors, exercise equipment makers, and others know this. If you have watched any TV, gone online, or read any magazines or newspapers you know that the people that make their living selling and signing people up for those things are hitting it hard. We like new beginnings and the chance to reset and set new goals. Losing weight, stopping smoking, cut back or stopping drinking, and other things a lot of folks see as improvement are at the forefront of our collective thoughts and efforts this time of year. Although not a real advocate of New Year’s resolutions, I ...

 Well, even though the media is doing what they always do and making the budget dispute now seem to be unique and disastrous, it is neither. Just since 1980 there have been 10 government shutdowns. Some were for only certain branches of the government (in a bit of disclosure, I am not sure how the government can only shut down only some parts) and some were for only one day (actually only part of one day).  The last two were during the Trump administration. Those times the executive branch (Trump administration) wanted to set some limits on spending and the Democratic controlled Congress did not. The entire government was shut down for three days in January 2018 and then in December of 2018 the majority of the government was shut down for 35 days into January of 2019.  During the Obama administration there was a complete government shutdown for 16 days. The Obama administration was trying to increase spending and the Republican led Congress was trying to set limits. (See ...