JUST SOME POSTS

This is something I have had in my head for quite a while. The horrible killings in Connecticut yesterday prompted me to go ahead and do it. Blessings on the families that were affected by this tragedy. One of the things I am already seeing (in fact it started yesterday before I even knew the details of what had happened) is "experts" and pundits calling for gun control. Since I already addressed this earlier and I am ultimately lazy - here is a link to that post:   http://justsomeposts.blogspot.com/2012/07/cold-dead-fingers.html Bottom line - gun control laws will do nothing to help stop insanity. There are plenty of gun laws on the books. They are not always enforced as they should be. That may help some. Unfortunately, bad stuff happens. That does not mean we need to be defeatist. Common sense, vigilance, preparedness, and training can prevent some of this. Although I am not supporting or making excuses for the shooter, we also need to find a way to get help for th...

OK - you all need to pay close attention, especially if you have bought into the man-made global warming panic. THE EARTH IS NOT WARMING!! Some facts - from the 1940s through the late 1970s global temperatures cooled. (psst - with an increase in CO2 - I'm just sayin'...) From the late 1970s - early 1980s - through the late 1990s (1997 or 1998) temperatures rose. This was the period that the alarmists used to build their argument that our use of fossil fuels and rising CO2 emissions was causing a warming of the earth's temperature to catastrophic levels. BUT.... From 1997 through last year the global temperatures DECLINED!! Yes, DECLINED!! (psst - with that pesky increase in anthropomorphic CO2 - I'm just sayin'...) This SHOULD put an end to the idiotic arguments that the goody-goody global warming/climate change disciples have been making. FYI, anyone that looked at the evidence vs listening to the rhetoric saw that there was no correlation between global/...

Those of you that know me (or at least know this blog and the posts) probably expected a post about the election. Here is it - or at least this is the one prompted by the election results. But first a word from our sponsors - First, There is NO GOVERNMENT MONEY!! Repeat this, share it with others. If you hear or read of any of the following - government grant, federal funds, state funds, etc - just think TAX DOLLARS! Second, Corporations DON'T PAY TAXES!! People do. The only money corporations have comes from their customers or shareholders - PEOPLE! If you raise taxes on a corporation, they just raise prices or take wealth from their shareholders. We/you end up paying the taxes. (a side note - I do feel corporations and businesses should pay some taxes on earnings. It is an efficient way to gather taxes from the public. However, the U.S. has the second highest tax rates in the world. Then we have ridiculous loopholes which allow too many companies with good accountants a...

Before I start the "real" post, first let me remind you all of the primary lesson - THERE IS NO GOVERNMENT MONEY! If you have a question on that statement, I have many posts where I expound upon it. Now for today's post: I have never considered myself an alarmist. I do not think we need to immediately do or not do something as a people. (one exception I can think of however is cut government spending - NOW!) I do have a subject that I have been doing a bit of study on which is alarming me a bit; genetically modified crops and animals. Now there are people that are up in arms about this subject for many reasons. My reasons are not religious, ethical, or moral in nature. I will admit that one can make a good argument from an ethical standpoint; and religion and morality can be used (or misused) to argue almost any point. My argument is stated in the title of this post - unintended consequences. Let me give you some background and expound a bit. Genetic manipulation has...

This is going to be a hodgepodge of thoughts (as you should have known from the title). But before I get into it I wanted to do some political stuff. But as I showed here - http://justsomeposts.blogspot.com/2012/01/reprise.html  (this is a link to a post I did at the first of the year with links to some other political posts.) There, political posts done, except for some of the thoughts below. I guess I am turning more and more into the crotchety old curmudgeon that will be running people off of the grass soon. I find myself getting so angry and perplexed at the "stuff" that is passed off as fact now in news, entertainment, and casual conversation. Now, I am not naive enough to think that everyone should think like me or even that these subjects are conclusively the way I see them. But, they are not conclusively the way they are presented. As I have stated here in many posts, (variations ) have been attributed to Goebbels, Hitler, Stalin, and various Chinese leaders) it is ...

I have soooooo much I want to comment on. (in fact, as I have said before - my lack of posts is usually not because I have nothing to say, but that I have too much to say) I am going to try to do a few posts to address these issues over the next week or so. I have decided to first comment on another timely issue, the Chick-Fil-A, gay marriage/rights issue. I can sum up my thoughts in a few words - acceptance and tolerance are not the same as approval and support. Neither are disapproval and lack of support the same as hate and condemnation. Although I said I could sum things up in those few words, you know there is more... It seems that today if one does not take a position that totally and unequivocally supports a position of alternative lifestyle, you are a "hater", an uneducated dolt, or worse. You are subject to disdain and ridicule by those that have the position (typically a minority position/opinion) and in a majority of cases, by the established media. Our s...

I am writing this in the aftermath of the horrible, senseless shooting at the Aurora, Colorado premier of the new Batman movie. As the news media does, it has covered every aspect of this tragedy. One of the things that always pops up after a shooting like this is the calls for gun control and gun laws. I am always amazed that there are actually sane and rational people out there that think more gun laws and/or bans will solve things like this. We cannot "put the genie back in the bottle", as it were. Unless there was a way to eliminate all the guns on the planet (and wouldn't the armies of the world look cute with their shiny spears) and the knowledge on how to build them, gun violence will never go away*. I think even the most adamant gun control nut would agree that is not possible. For those of you still with doubts, here are some examples - after billions of dollars and millions of arrests, is marijuana still available? How about cocaine, heroin, etc? Has pros...

I have put off posting for so long I thought I would do one this evening. As I have mentioned before, I have not had a lack of ideas, but too many. I was going to do politics (and some will consider this politics, but I am talking "pure" politics - this is political, but not politics), but I have done so much of it in the past that it would be redundant. I ask you to go read some of the from 2008 and 2010 if you wish to know more. They all still apply. This post is about the idiotic notion that is out there about taxing the rich, and how they are not "paying their fair share". I have done posts about this subject in the past as well, but I think this is a bit of a different take on the subject. Why "idiotic"? Here are some facts - as you should know (and again, I have posts on this prior to this) the top 5% of people based on income pay over 50% of federal income taxes. The top 1% pay over 35%. Now, they have a large percentage of the income, so maybe ...

All human beings are creatures of habit. Some of us are more a slave to their habits than others, but we all base a lot of what we do on habit. Now I have expressed this thought to people over the years, and I get an argument out of some of them - "I am not a slave to my habits" or similar is exclaimed. I ask if they shave, most say yes to at least some part of their body. I then ask do you have a starting point and a pattern you follow? Some then looked shocked as they realize they do. I can also ask about brushing their teeth (dentures, I am not so sure- not there yet). Most start in the same place and go approximately the same way through their mouth. There are many, many other examples that we all have, but these two usually get people. Now I know, having ritualistic movements and behaviors are one of the way we get through the mundane parts of our lives. I actually don't know anyone over the age of two or three that enjoys brushing their teeth. We do it because it ...

To all mothers everywhere, espcially my mother Edna Lou Poole, my mother-in-law Marlen Condon, and the mother of my children Carol Poole. May you always have someone to hold your hand when you have trouble walking and to pick you up if you fall; to celebrate your successes and help accept your defeats, and to salve your wounds and hold you close whenever needed. Happy Mother's Day! We all literally would not be here without you.

This might be considered a quite random post, but since I haven't posted in so long no one may notice. Anyway, this is how my mind works. I was just watching a movie. The way the main character, an assassin, got around a lot of the buildings (including a prison) undetected and outside of the security systems, was in the air ducts. Now, this was a woman, and a rather small one at that; but I have always been amazed at the ability of people in movies to travel through air ducts! One of the longer air ducts scenes in this movie was in a prison! Note- prison designers - DO NOT BUILD AIR DUCTS THAT CONNECT SECURED AND UNSECURED PARTS OF YOUR PRISONS. DO NOT EVEN BUILD AIR DUCTS THAT WILL SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OR DIMENSIONS OF A HUMAN! All of these buildings also had grates that could be opened by hand - even in the prison! The shaft she used to get out of the building had a metal ladder built into it leading to the roof! Good job by the designers. I would like to be in t...

As most of you know, my wife passed away last May from a rare neurological disease called MSA. One of my goals in life is to offer support to those patients, caregivers, and families affected by this rare, fatal illness. The American Academy of Neurology has a film contest each year where they pick a short film made by individuals about support for brain disease research. Entries are submitted to You Tube and a winner is selected by popular vote. The film is then shown at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting. This would really be important to help with MSA as it is very rare and still unknown to a lot of doctors and other medical personnel. I know this from personal experience. There is a film featuring a MSA patient that is entered in the contest this year. I would ask that you register, watch, and vote for the film. Even if you do not want to vote, please go watch the film. It will show you what MSA patients like my wife, go through with this illness. Please help mak...

One good thing about having done this now for over four years (!!) is that I have written about most everything common to our lives. With an election cycle in full swing I was going to write some election "stuff". However, I did a lot of it in 2007/8 and again in 2009/10 for the last two elections. So, to take advantage of that "work" I am just going to reference those posts. Some are attempts at humor and some are deadly serious. Here we go: My first "election" post. An attempt at humor about elections and the parties: http://justsomeposts.blogspot.com/2007/12/party-party-party.html Then a follow up to the same blog: http://justsomeposts.blogspot.com/2008/04/more-partying-and-such.html This one gets into specifics, some about the 2008 races: http://justsomeposts.blogspot.com/2008/10/this-one-gets-political-even-if-you-get.html This is the next post after the one above. Clarification and details: http://justsomeposts.blogspot.com/2008/10/follow...