tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53910723561061869062024-03-05T02:41:22.961-08:00Pigs Feet, Squirrel Brains and Chicken NecksI ain't never seen the beat. If our kind, deep-thinking founding fathers have not already turned over in their graves, it's a sure surprise to me! It is not funny but it leaves little left but to smile and try to pay the bills before the bank finds out you're broke.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.comBlogger269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-46283350766838206842010-10-27T10:07:00.000-07:002010-10-27T10:23:43.046-07:00Those Later YearsI try to refrain from telling sad stories in my life. Life can be pretty tough on everyone at one time or another, so what do they need with my depressing events. So, I'm writing this to make a point about life, not to make anyone feel bad.<br /><br />We all know that life is pretty much in stages. We have the time when we are taken care of and the food just 'magically' appears on the table, the clothes are generously supplied by various stores where Mommy or Daddy stops by to talk to the nice person at a big machine for a moment. Then there is the stage where parents start telling children that there is not enough money for things like name brand jeans and those ipoddy things. That is surely a depressing time for children these days. Then there is the joy of young adulthood where love throws a rope around us and our own 'cutest kids in the world' come along. <br /><br />At some point, the simplicity goes away and people around us start getting old. It is still not so real until we start making trips to the hospital or the funeral home. "They are old and must go on to heaven." The circle starts closing in on us and the hospital visits and the funeral home visits start getting closer to home. Pretty soon half the people we know are sick or slipping toward the grave. Maybe the thought comes to mind, 'This living and dying thing is pretty serious."<br /><br />In the last two years, my life has been filled with dark clouds of passing loved ones. It has not been obvious in my writing because I have been writing very little. To some that might not be important, but to writers it will be very clear. My faith has been, not tested, but used very much, as I deal with the loss of several close to me. My son, my mother, my brother have all went on to eternity. Another brother and my Dad went several years ago. Among these times, friends have left this life and gone on to discover eternity. <br /><br />Life is very serious. Eternity is even more serious and should be considered in our plans.<br /><br />Here is where I should write a closing paragraph of some profound conclusion of the whole thing. Sorry about that. I'm still working on it.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-22678880317238366222010-10-22T07:34:00.000-07:002010-10-22T07:49:43.309-07:00November 2010In my opinion, this November 2010 is the most important election we have see in a long time. It is the election that will decide the direction our country goes in the next two years and I think beyond.<br /><br />These past two years appear to be a failure for the Obama administration, on the surface. He has, however, changed a great number of things. He has lead like a dictator with the liberal Congress giving him a free reign without any regard for the traditions of the United States or the moral high-ground we have held for centuries.<br /><br />In matters of war and the economy, he is inept and knows not what to do. But in matters of changing bits and pieces of the law, he has been expert. He has placed a huge spotlight on some matters while other very important matters have been handled silently.<br /><br />I do not know the man, so I am not making a personal attack. I look at him as a leader who is either confused or very determined to change a country that he does not like deep in his heart.<br /><br />Freedom is slipping away for Americans. We have leadership that cares only for special-interest groups. There are apparently enough of them to elect liberal leadership. Obviously, the elder are not important to them as shown by the disregard for their financial survival (no increase in benefits). Free enterprise is obviously not important to them, as they are using the government to run companies instead of letting their business sense make or break them. It has always been that good companies survive and bad ones demise. Not so these days. The government is propping up the companies that prey off humanity and putting more burdens on small business.<br /><br />Yes. This election will determine if the American people are strong enough to say: "It's enough." It will determine if the American People are ready to tell Washington to bug out and let us run our own affairs. We will see if people can get off their couches long enough to go make a difference with their vote.<br /><br />Give them two more years --- my foot.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-1145079650847510192010-09-10T05:39:00.000-07:002010-09-10T05:44:09.259-07:00SquirrelI just glanced out the kitchen window only to see a car pass quickly and one of our wild squirrels go tumbling in the road. I really felt sad at that moment. He gave it a fight though, trying to right itself again, but the injury was too great. When I got there, he was gone. <br /><br />That would not have happened three hundred years ago. I feel sure that paved road was not there and that the local traffic would have been moving much more slowly. It could still have been dangerous for the squirrel then, with all those bows and arrows around. <br /><br />Rest in peace little squirrel. I hope you had a nut filled life. I know I do.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-6533440043965129942010-09-09T04:39:00.000-07:002010-09-09T04:44:08.645-07:00Mama SaidMama passed away last week...<br /><br />In her little book, she wrote... "You see I remember some things about my childhood. Even I stayed with Granny (Mama was always keeping the grandchildren.) I spent some times with Mama and Daddy. My sister and I had a good time playing together. We played in the playhouse we would make out of rocks. We would room them off: bedroom, kitchen, sitting room. If we didn't have enough rocks we used sticks and pine needles. We had old broken dishes and lids, anything we could find for our play house. We didn't have tea sets or pretty dolls, we had rag dolls, string balls. .... but anyway when I spent the night with mama, she would read the Bible to us, at night by lamp light."Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-38168570361534399492010-09-09T04:33:00.000-07:002010-09-09T04:36:30.218-07:00Poke SalletPoke Sallet from the little book <em>Hillbilly Cookin' by The Tates</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Sprouting poke leaves by theirselves is powerful strong. Most folks pick a bait of mustard leaves, even a mixture of cress, Then they find tender poke shoots and add them to the rest of their greens. After washin good, put in a pot or kittle and sprinkle a bit of salt. Then you cut up a piece ofhog jowl, ham or shoulder hock or maybe lean bacon, and boil real hot, Keep the pot covered."</em>Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-37733211342142216082010-09-07T05:13:00.001-07:002010-09-07T05:24:05.163-07:00Elections, Politics, Issues?We hear a lot about the strategy, of the various political entities, to win this election and that election. We got to get rid of one dirty dog or another by electing someone else that we know little about except that they claim to be affiliated with the left or right, liberal or conservative.<br /><br />Where are the issues these days? They use catch phrases which are suppose to tell the voters what the real deal is. The problem is that catch phrases can mean different things to different people. The other problem is that they are designed to be repeated by the media. After all, the media is famous for telling us just what they want us to know. <br /><br />It is like they are telling us that some one's house is burning down but it is good because with the sacrifice of a few, many others will have a place to live when the new high rise gets built. Since when is stepping on people a good thing if something good comes out of it.<br /><br />It is all spin. No wonder many people are giving up on politics all together. If a good person decides to put their life on display for the media to probe, so they can go up 'there' and do some good, we will not hear about what they want to do, etc. We will hear about way back when they tripped over the bicycle and yelled at the children. <br /><br />I'd like to see some boring facts about what these men and women are going to do when they get to Washington DC or our state houses.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-79499050315415613592010-08-19T04:41:00.000-07:002010-08-19T04:46:01.728-07:00Political StuffIraq - Obama is pulling out the troops but putting in civilian security forces to replace them. Duh! Americans are Americans. The military is volunteer just like these security forces. I believe he said 'we' would get Americans out of harms way by so-and-so. Taking away the uniform does not get Americans out of harms way.<br /><br />Florida - In a recent trip to Florida to show us that the beaches were safe, Obama also went on the stump for his favorite politician. I wonder which was his purpose and who paid for the trip. <br /><br />I am not disappointed to know this...I didn't expect the whole truth anyway from this bunch.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-87896306549966281432010-08-16T05:55:00.000-07:002010-08-16T06:05:03.247-07:00Oil and FishThe government does not have divine power. They cannot go on a campaign to convince us that all the fish in the gulf are safe to eat and it be so. Facts are much more solid than government propaganda. I want the fish to be safe too. I want the economy in the gulf to blossom. I want the people to have their jobs back and for the water to be safe to swim in. All these are wants and they do not make everything okay.<br /><br />There is a process that must go on. I do not understand all about how it works. I do believe that the offspring of those fish that are now infected will need to be inspected by someone besides the government. <br /><br />I also believe that it is the long term consumption of humans that determines the ultimate risk of what they eat. <br /><br />A rush to get fish back on the market that is later determined to be unsafe will have much more long term damaging effect on the economy of the gulf than if patience prevails and the job is done correctly. <br /><br />Just because you can take a short stroll in the dark and not be harmed does not mean that a longer stroll is safe or that there is nothing lurking out there. Better to be safe.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-66581841226106617922010-08-12T05:32:00.000-07:002010-08-12T05:39:15.710-07:00Frankenstein - Dean Koontz - Book Review<strong><em>Frankenstein by Dean Koontz subtitled lost souls. </em></strong><br /><br />I reckon this is a series he is doing. I missed the first several books but plan to hunt them down. I've quit my book club Mystery Guild because their customer service is unresponsive.<br /><br />Dean Koontz is a great writer. He juggles a host of characters with wonderful skill. I did find this particular book an adults only read. He still refrains from the usual curse words and ugly talk. He chooses rather to describe the word which in this book is a tactic used more often than in other books I've read by him. I hope he finds that unnecessary in future works.<br /><br />Frankenstein has been with us a long time. In this book, Koontz brings him back all supercharged and using modern technology. The monster is a good guy though and has some new tricks all his own. I have to wait until December to see if all these characters are good enough to defeat the ultimate bad guy. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-57271419430818731372010-08-11T04:40:00.000-07:002010-08-11T05:01:14.437-07:00The Changing Face of AmericaIt is always a little dangerous to bring up this subject. People will cry racist and a bunch of other dirty names. BUT, whether you believe it or not, this is not about race in a bad way. It is more of a questioning, if you will, about the ever changing face of America.<br /><br />We have always been made up of people from all over the world. Up until recent years, the people who come here (between the oceans) have sought to become part of the culture that was here. They learned the language. They learned the land and worked it. They learned the laws and obeyed them.<br /><br />I do not see that happening now. I see people who refuse to learn the language and insist that we learn theirs. We being those who speak English, since that is the language we have been using since we started. (Hint: the constitution.) We, who have a certain kind of culture which varies from one area of the country to another, but basically we like how we make our hotdogs and cook our apple pies. We like for people to obey the law because it keeps us safe when they do. <br /><br />There is obviously an ongoing effort to change our culture to fit with the culture of the orgin countries of these newcomers. Let me say it, I think women are beautiful and I like to see them smile. They brighten up the day. I think women should be treated with respect. We compliment each other (men and women). We should not be at odds with each other because we are different. I like to grow stuff, they like to cook it. That does not make the grower better than the cooker. Am I so big and strong that I have to beat a women to show how big and strong I am? Of course not. <br /><br />If you are mad, please don't take it out on my computer. I'm just kicking around the thoughts in my head. I'm not saying our ways are the only ways. They are just the ways we like. We speak English here. It is probably because it was English speaking people who put everything on the line to secure our great nation. Sure we had some help. It was our idea though.<br /><br />I still say 'Come on over' but I say 'Come on over' under the guidelines set down in the law, the same laws people have been coming here under for centuries. And please don't try to change me. I'm still working on my English and the religion I've been practicing since childhood. I really don't need to confuse my efforts by mixing it up with something else. If I was going to another country, I would try to learn something about it. What's the language? What do they eat? What's their faith? Is the water safe? But I'm here and I reckon I'll stay here, so let's just try to do right and leave the road signs in a language I understand.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-41239829287722501862010-07-28T05:01:00.000-07:002010-07-28T05:19:38.695-07:00...everywhere a leak leak... Ol' ..You plug one leak and here comes another of an entirely different kind. Don't you just hate it when the oil spews up and the truth comes out.<br /><br />The young man who told all the government's secrets will get in a lot of trouble. I handled a lot of classified stuff and would never tell, even if I could remember any of it. No disrespect to the young man but he is like the pinhole in the dam where the big break starts. Soon the whole wall of water will come crashing down and lots of people will feel the effects.<br /><br />One thing that keeps coming into my mind is that Obama traveled to Pakistan when he was a young man. I don't know what that has to do with anything though. <br /><br />Those people in those countries we are trying to fight for will be fighting when we are all long gone. The feuds go back so far, they probably can't remember what it was all about. I'd guess some robber baron robbed a caravan and killed the wrong person back in the three digit years. So the grudge has been passed down in song and rhyme. Today it's opium and oil, next year it will be sand and wind, or who knows.<br /><br />Sometimes I think we are over there because we need to do something the Russians couldn't do. Maybe it wasn't that the Russian's bullets weren't big enough, maybe, it was because they did not understand the culture. I certainly do not. Why would an otherwise intelligent man think it made him more manly to abuse a woman? He certainly does not understand women. He would get much better apple pie if he talked nice to her on the phone before he came home.<br /><br />Anyway, one young man will suffer but the deed he did will be talked about for years to come. Telling the truth just don't get you the honor it use to. I personally am sick of our government having so many secrets. They twist everything up so much that by the time we get information it looks like what comes out of a paper shredder. You might could make sense of it if you had the rest of your life to sift through it.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-88910742051729816772010-07-26T05:38:00.000-07:002010-07-26T06:08:33.705-07:00Somethings Just Get Sideways in My BrainAdmittedly, I do not have the best brain around. Of course, I haven't seen many brains lately except on those CSI shows which I've about stopped watching. Anyway, there are things which go into my ears and just wander around looking for a place to fit. If I was Spock, I'd say 'that is not logical'.<br /><br />Actually, I find things that go on so ridiculous that I am overly humorous at times just to be able to coup with them. (Spell check quit. HaHa.) <br /><br />I was fixing some corn for the freezer Saturday. Sitting out there in the backyard, it was rather pleasant, already a hundred, I had found a shady place. I usually put stuff like corn shucks in the compost pile but I had already decided to leave the pile there for the squirrels to play in. They could chew on the end pieces of corn and have a little feast. Then, I started singing some old gospel hymns as I worked brushing off the silks. For no reason and from out of somewhere something hit me in the back. Was someone throwing rocks because of my singing? I looked around, no one there. I decided that the squirrels had lost patience and were throwing hickory nuts at me. I did find a lone nut lying beside my chair. I almost decided to just take the stuff to the compost pile after all and make them walk down there, but I didn't. Maybe it was an accident. <br /><br />Have you ever put up corn in the freezer? I do it the 'lazy' way. I just leave it on the cob after boiling it for a little bit. It takes up more room but it is quicker. I do take a knife and pop out the bad kernels, just like pulling the children's teeth long ago. (Not with a knife.)<br /><br />That's not what I was thinking about when I did the title of this post.<br /><br />I was thinking about the protest in Arizona over the new law they have starting up pretty soon, so they can secure their borders. Which, by the way, is the sworn duty of the executive branch, both in states and nationally. It is not about not liking anyone. That is what gets all cross ways in my brain. It is about obeying the law. If a person breaks the law to get here, what are they going to do with the rest of our laws. Yet, the feds don't get it or don't want to. Then I saw this sign held by one of the protesters against the law. It read "we will not comply" . Now that tells the whole story. They have no intention of obeying the law. <br /><br />Some come here in accordance with written law and live productive lives. Welcome home! Others sneak in and take jobs that legal citizens need then send their money back to another country. They are taking jobs then the money which drains our economy. <br /><br />I believe we are a nation of compassion. We are peaceful by comparison. We got a lot of people on the streets making sure the laws are obeyed. That is why we are as peaceful as we are. When people ignore the law, you get the problems that exist in other countries where gangs rule and corruption is the norm. <br /><br />Why can't we just get the issue straight? Either we enforce the law or get rid of it. Getting rid of border protection would make us a 'farm' for all the other countries that need something. Do we really want to be the child who get's his lunch money stolen every day on the way to school. I don't think so. We have to have law and order and enforce those laws. Leaders who fail in this responsibility should step down for the good of the country.<br /><br />A few years ago we had a peaceful town with work for about anyone who wanted to work. We had our share of weed smokers and such but nothing the law couldn't control if they took the notion. Then the mills started bringing in workers from south of the border. Managers developed a very bad attitude toward American workers because they could hire a van load any day of the week to replace them. Managers actually encouraged citizen workers to 'hit the clock' so they could hire cheaper labor. Now those people (managers) are retired and we have the situation of a bad economy and imported drugs and gangs running freely. The practice of bringing illegal workers to our town changed it forever. This theory that illegals do work that Americans won't do is bogus. Americans are some of the hardest working people on the planet. We do have to stop and fish sometimes but that's just to help the state with license fees. :)<br /><br />The squirrels did enjoy the corn I left them, although I will have to get out there and clean up their mess sometime today or tomorrow or the next day.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-61409670385765660262010-07-22T05:56:00.000-07:002010-07-22T06:14:40.836-07:00Being Poor in a RIch LandWe were poor growing up. We never thought of ourselves as pitiful. We just did not know what money looked like. I know Mom and Dad saw some green money once in a while. I do not remember having any 'folding' money until I was grown. I did work for another farmer sometimes in my late teens and I think he paid me with some green money.<br /><br />I remember one winter, a long time after Mom and Dad had their problems and were living apart. Us children were with Mom. The children always went with Mama. You can ask someone else why. I hope we did not choose. I cannot imagine choosing between them.<br /><br />Anyway, back to that winter. We rented a big old house. It was two story and was apparently missed by Sherman. Mama used coal to 'heat' it. It was always toastee warm right in front of the fireplace if no one bigger pushed you aside. It was in that old, cold house that I sat at the table at night to finish high school. I only needed a credit and half after the 11th grade so I went to work and finished at home. I remember Mama waking me up in the morning at 4:30 to go to work. I was still at the kitchen table with my pencil in my hand trying to write something for English literature. <br /><br />One winter it snowed just before the coal truck was suppose to come to the house. Mom would order a half a ton at a time which was enough to last until the truck got back to town. Well, it was cold. I tried to get my old '55 Ford station wagon out of the drive but the snow was too deep and my sister kept yelling from the front door that I was going to kill myself.<br /><br />So, I set to thinking. We were about to freeze. A few weeks before a storm had blown down the barn out back (which Sherman also missed). It was a considerable walk to the barn. They had to do that to keep the cows and horses from stinking up the kitchen. Anyway, I put on all the clothes I had and some old boots and broke trail to the barn.<br /><br />The others were hovered around the one fireplace we had going. I did not have a saw or ax but I tackled that fallen down barn like it was the enemy. Really, it was our best friend on that day. I walked back and forth for all that day trying to get ahead of the hungry flames. It was easier after a few times, once I got the snow tramped down. I kicked and stomped and and bent load after load of that rich pine wood. <br /><br />I don't even remember how many days I did that or if it was more than one day. The coal truck came and life went on. I don't remember much about pain or being cold. I do remember the banks of snow on each side of my trail and the blazing fire that I did not get to warm by.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-47835664649079223722010-07-20T05:06:00.000-07:002010-07-20T05:16:23.225-07:00Gulf Oil SpillI am glad BP got a device that seems to be working to stop the oil from leaking. I am glad they have those ships working to clean up the spill. It was a bad accident and one that they were not prepared for. But even with all the politics, they kept trying until they fixed the problem. I hope it is a step to prevent further damage.<br /><br />In steps the administration. They have done nothing to this point that I can see. They had spokes people to get on the news but physically, they did nothing. So why are they so interested now that the problem has been solved? It is what is always is with the feds. Money.<br /><br />If they can get BP to let the oil flow out, they can put a gage on the flow and determine its rate. Calculating backward, they can then fine BP for the leakage. The money will go into the coffers and never will be seen again.<br /><br />I'd like them to get the oil out since we will be needing it to run our pollution machines. I do not want it to become a cash cow for the federal government. BP could better use the money to search for future oil and to shore up their safety procedures. Fines are just another tax that hinders progress.<br /><br />I think of the federal government in terms of what our police forces have become in our country. They are purely reactionary. They wait for something to happen and dash off to the scene of the crime. It use to be that they were on the streets to prevent crime and just respond to it.<br /><br />Anyway, the feds will sock it to them with fines and the money will go to the four winds. The money should stay in the gulf where it is needed. BP should handle that.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-82593003639950555452010-07-16T05:24:00.001-07:002010-07-16T05:29:38.451-07:00the Big Stopper in the EarthWell, they have apparently corked the hole in the bottom of the gulf. I honestly hope it works. I don't want those little fishes to suffer and people certainly don't need to be swimming in oil. <br /><br />I do have concerns though. I'm wondering about all that pressure building up. Shouldn't they have a hose running to it and be capturing the oil in a ship, now that they have some control. <br /><br />I have visions of the big plug blowing out of the gulf and shooting like a rocket into outer space where it knocks out the space station and numerous communication satellites. Then no one can text while driving and the accidents are reduced so much that the EMT folks go out of business and the state troopers all have to look for work.<br /><br />Implications are.....Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-70496246891487738252010-07-09T05:16:00.000-07:002010-07-09T05:39:15.566-07:00It Still Don't Make it RightSome of you are young and do not remember when people in general did not like a lot of the things that go on these days and felt that they were wrong. I don't know that I will go down the list but I will say that just because the media and some loudmouths promote things does not make doing those things right.<br /><br />The truth is some people just do not like the traditional American way. In America, that I remember, people helped their neighbor. They stood up to their problems instead of getting doped up. They loved their family, raised children. They worked and brought home a pay day. Then stayed home and spent time there. They respected church whether they went or not. They talked nice around womenfolk even if they did cuss the mules in the fields. A child minded his parents or had the joy taken out of their rebellion. <br /><br />Their is a different crowd around now that cares nothing for the integrity of our borders or the integrity of our people. The dollar rules today. Taxes are the goal of government. Lies are not obstacles to getting those results. I really detest the one where our local government cries about needing money so teachers can keep their job and then go build a million dollar football field. I've nothing against football but a child is better off with something in their head than they are with a ball in their hand.<br /><br />I think every parent should try to drill history into their children. History that predates the 1960s which was when the world went crazy. That way they will know how it ought to be.<br /><br />Over the years liberals have placed judges in office who can play with the law like food on their plate. States and federal governments can make good laws but if one judge don't like it, they can shoot it down, sending it to the Supreme Court. They time it so that their is a majority of liberal judges there. The good law is shot down and people are left to submit to that authority. The Supreme Court is no longer a judging body but a legislative body. Liberals learned that a long time before conservatives did. They've been working that angle for a long time.<br /><br />Although, we are obligated to obey the law of the land. It should be noted that the law of the land is not always the same as the law of God. What the law of the land tells us is not always the right thing. We are fast approaching the time in this country when people will have to make a decision in their heart as to what they will do. This thing with Arizona is going to the Supreme Court where a few men will decide if a state has a right to protect itself and make laws. It will govern how every state legislates. It is a power grab. Do you want to live under rules made by people like that judge in Mass. that things same sex marriage is just fine. It is not only wrong, it is just not sensible.<br /><br />These times are different, not better, just different. We must follow the line of truth and right regardless of what a few squeaky wheels demand.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-67243763822488870812010-07-07T05:46:00.000-07:002010-07-07T05:58:03.367-07:00ArizonaSomeone forgot to tell President Obama that he won the election. He is still after Senator McCain. Well, we all know there are higher purposes at stake in Arizona. It is still about the election but not the last one, it's the next one. Obama has alienated most American voters so he is going to have to give citizenship to some lawbreakers so that he has enough votes for 2012.<br /><br />I know that is harsh but it might as well be said. <br /><br />When a state cannot make laws to protect itself without getting sued by the federal government it makes for dangerous times in our nation. The president is sworn to protect and defend our borders but failed to act. Arizona is trying to do what the feds ought to do. <br /><br />It is not just about one state. It is about every state that wants to set its own course for the good of the people who live there. Obama is somewhat of a lawyer so naturally he goes to the courts. I think he knows the case will go to the Supreme Court where he has stacked the deck.<br /><br />If our federal government is willing to let drug runners have free access to our borders just to get the millions of votes of illegals, then I must say that we are living under tyranny and not in a republic. <br /><br />It is a shame that some people can't stop fighting a war that is long past.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-9851905525109058182010-07-06T05:34:00.000-07:002010-07-06T06:03:39.641-07:00EconomyI've been thinking about our economy this weekend. There seems to be no cure for our problems. I believe there is a cure but first it will take a change in the mindset of Americans.<br /><br />There was a time when we produced and sold more to each other than we purchased from other countries. We had natural resources to back up any money held in our hands. Of course, these days, the money is only as good as we believe it to be (consumer confidence). I also think of it as being only as good as our government, since the government is printing the notes (money) and standing good for its value.<br /><br />I am not an economist in the college-educated sense. I have lived a pretty long time and have struggled with getting money to buy the things we need to survive. You know, housing, food, clothes, transportation, movie rentals, whoops, strike that last one, it is not really a necessity and we have probably not rented more than a dozen in our lifetime. <br /><br />The problem is that the global economy is good only for those countries that do not produce their fair share of the needs of their country. Maybe it is not a kind statement but poor countries soak up the wealth of other countries like a sponge. Some countries are poor, not because of a lack of resources but because they can not stop fighting each other and their neighbors. There are countries that could do well on tourism, if it was safe to travel there. <br /><br />Anyway, back to the U.S. economy. I don't know when we started borrowing from China so much. I do remember when our jobs started being exported to other countries where people had to work for next to nothing. We became a country of services. Someone decided that we would do the white collar work and let others do our grunt work. It has not worked out so well. We still have many people who had rather work with their hands and make things. Instead, their working hands must learn new trades which require a delicate touch or they must slip away into the sunset.<br /><br />We are in a cycle with China. We borrow money from them to buy the things they make. It does not take a genius to figure out where most of the money ends up. The wholesale price of the goods goes back to the ones who made it with cuts from the 'middle-men'. The loans accrue interest which must be paid. There goes more money out of our country. The goods are made elsewhere, so there goes the wages which will be spent in a foreign country. There isn't much wealth staying between the oceans for us to work with. <br /><br />I do not believe that an economy that produces no tangible product can survive. By tangible, I mean something you can touch. We have lots of services but you cannot eat, wear, or ride in services. Renting a car is a service but it is based on a tangible. <br /><br />We must cut cost, produce products that our people can afford to buy and keep the money in our country. I'm all for teaching people how to fish so they can eat. I do not believe that one nation has enough fish to feed the world. Each nation must be taught to live on its own resources and balanced trade. One-sided trade will bleed one side dry while making another rich. <br /><br />The government ought to take the lead but they will not. People will have to stop using credit like currency. "Living within ones means" is a good idea. The government gets their taxes even on credit purchases. If the debt goes bad, the government still has their cut. So, it seems good to the government to encourage credit spending. Indeed, I don't think they could get along with their current wasteful spending habits, without the 'buy on credit' tax money. <br /><br />No, the government will not change. It is almost enough to turn one against education. Some of the most educated people in the world are running our country and they can do nothing but get us further into debt and let wars strip the economy. If you must buy something, pay for it. If you must go to war, win it and come home.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-33478395714771646982010-07-01T04:54:00.000-07:002010-07-01T05:13:37.927-07:00HearingsAs I watch the hearings, now and then, about the nominee for the Supreme Court, I feel no comfort in the process. Here is a hearing to decide who will sit in the highest court of the land and decide what is best for the country. What's in her mind?<br /><br /><strong>Like many others</strong> who have sat there, she cannot give a straight answer. When asked repeatedly if she wrote a document (which was in her own handwriting) she found it impossible to say 'yes' or 'no' .<br /><br /><strong>She ran around every bush</strong> to pollute what ever answer she gave to a question. Thus, there would be no direct sound-bites to quote. Anyone reading her answers would soon get bored and have to wade through a bunch of gobbly-gobbly to figure out what was said. In the mean time, the mind is poisoned with the other stuff she throws in.<br /><br /><strong>What I see</strong> when I look at her and listen is a person who is smart at manipulation but short on judgment. She can splash in the pool but who knows if she cares at all for those others in the water. I see someone who likes the journey to high places and has made many, but will only bask in the accomplishment of getting there and probably will do no good while she is there.<br /><br /><strong>I fear</strong> that we are getting a lot of people in charge who only want to prove that <strong>they</strong> can beat the system and make it to the top. They have nothing in their soul that they want to accomplish for good. They wish only to establish the path so that other empty people can make the journey behind them and take up the space. 'I will not go in but I will stand in the door to keep you out.'<br /><br /><strong>She sits</strong> there with her 'poker face' or her smirk or a laugh when a friend makes s 'small' joke. She knows the deck is stacked in her favor. All she has to do is keep her cool and talk the opponents to death and wait out the process. Then she will be on the bench and it is payback time. <br /><br />There is nothing a little guy from the sticks can do about people like her. I know she will continue the killing of the unborn but my knowledge will not help. She will slim into the judge's seat just like the plan intended. Elect a liberal president, get the old guy to retire and appoint another liberal before the November elections. I don't like the purpose or the end result but I have to admit, it was a masterful plan.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-15356418988313010272010-06-29T04:58:00.000-07:002010-06-29T05:18:08.967-07:00Phrases that Pop UpYou ever notice how phrases from the dark pages of books sometimes just pop up. You'd think that they are just fantasy words and that no one really does that stuff. I have even heard people say that it was just all in fun. <br /><br />Few had even heard the now famous words 'new world order' until the first Bush mentioned it in a speech. It was shrugged off at the time by many and in days since. But we all know the G20 or what ever the number is really in existence and that it has a tremendous impact on the world. I was thinking yesterday about the stimulus thing that we just went through. Old ignorant me, I thought the U.S. thought that up all by ourselves. Now I find out that it was an agreement between many nations to do the same thing to prop up the world economy. Else, why did they all agree to start 'not spending' against the wishes of our president. It was a 'new world order' thing or at least a world order thing.<br /><br />Enough of that.... there is no conspiracy.... there is no conspiracy ... there is no conspiracy....<br /><br />Next on the list is 'channeling' . Channeling is a term I have seen used in books where one person receives the thoughts of another person and can speak the other persons mind. One might do this if they were not an expert on a certain field and needed help. I think this is pure (un-pure) demonology where the demon is the transmitter of the thoughts. <br /><br />Anyway........... I have only read about this as a sort of scifi thing or a practice from the underbelly of society. I think the 'remoteviewing' thing is probably a form of demon channeling. That is another subject and, appropriately, is a subject for the 3 AM, late night programs.<br /><br />I have heard the term in high places recently. Once when Hillary became angry at a student when she was asked what her husband thought about something. "I am not channeling my husband..." she spouted. Well, we'll see. Another time was yesterday in the Supreme Court Justice hearing where the nominee was quoted or misquoted as saying something about channeling a now demised justice. (That sentence made my head hurt.)<br /><br />So, my point is are these just slips from some late night reading or do these people really go for this stuff. Are our leaders getting their information from dead people? Are we being led by the dead? 'Led by the dead.' That sounds like a movie title. Or a book. Excuse me while I go invent a story of fantasy.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-13186621775230962792010-06-21T06:51:00.000-07:002010-06-21T06:57:05.954-07:00Oil Slick, Spill, Political mess, career breakerHere is an idea. Take one of those big oil tankers and fill it up with sand bags. Pull over the leak and drop the sand bags. Logically speaking, it was sand that was holding all the oil down there in the first place (right?). We do use sand bags to hold back rivers. Maybe it might just work. I know they won't call it a sand bag dump but they will think of something. Let me think..... The Optional Mineralogical Oil Restraint System. TOMORS . If that is a cuss word, I didn't mean it.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-87627862623511276452010-06-21T06:25:00.000-07:002010-06-21T06:42:57.679-07:00Green PeaSomeone once made the challenge to 'tell your faults and wrongs' . Really! Don't people dislike me enough already. Aren't there people whose job it is to cut people down and spread vicious rumors about them? Who am I to take away some one's joy by beating myself up? <br /><br />No. I won't do it today. I am just too weathered, withered and worn to whack myself right now.<br /><br />I have made many mistakes, most of which are not the business of most every one. Just so as not to deprive those who feast off the failures of others, I will bare one mistake that I made which has been bothering me.<br /><br />I was cleaning out the dishes one day. Are you ready? I usually am faithful to wipe out all the unused food before I rinse. First off, we don't have a hog under the sink so we can't just shovel stuff down the drain. Here's what happened. A green pea rolled down into the drain before I could stop it. Sadly, I'm not even sure I tried. It stuck there in the little cross things just waiting for me to get a knife or fork or something and get it out. <br /><br />Here is the bad part. You know. if you try to get that pea out, it will just squash up and fall down into the drain anyway. But you are obligated to try. On this day I did not even try to get it out. Knowing the probable outcome, if I did, I just pushed it right on through the little cross things and let it fall. I flushed it with water, probably wasting several pennies and went on to something else.<br /><br />But it has been bothering me, so I am telling it here in the hall of blogs. I really do not feel better for doing so for I am afraid that people are slow to forgive. We did have to have the septic tank pumped and I know deep down in my wallet that it was my fault. <br /><br />I am glad to get that off my chest. To this day, I am very careful with green peas. Thumbs up to the makers of that gel stuff because I really do hate laying under the sink waiting for someone to bring me the right wrench and hoping they won't step on me or turn on the water.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-59351951759375535972010-06-16T04:54:00.000-07:002010-06-16T05:10:45.726-07:00Laundry and WordsWhat in the world does laundry have to do with words? I guess I am getting old and find a lesson in just about everything these days. <br /><br />Take a pile of dirty clothes for example. Yuck! Who would want to touch that. Well, you take up the task and sort them and wash them with some good detergent and what do you get? You get some nice things to hang up and wear as it pleases you.<br /><br />Words are sort of like that. They can be yucky. You pick up a little dirt here, a stain there and before you know it the words that want to spill out of your mouth are not fit to touch (hear). Now where did that come from? Where did that stain come from on my shirt? <br /><br />I see it all the time. People use words without sorting them and cleaning up the pile (so to speak). To be honest, I think some words, like some clothes, are not even fit to use for rags. They can do more harm than good.<br /><br />Now, you take a little time with that pile of clothes and you can come up with something fit to go out in public with. They may not be fancy but they make you feel good. A nice hair cut (do), clean clothes and shoes that are cleaned up nice will get you into just about any doorway. <br /><br />Take a little time with words and they make you feel good when you say them. They should be words that make other people feel good too. Don't you just love being around someone that keeps themselves all spruced up. To be blunt: I prefer to see someone before I smell them. Yes, washing things sure helps a body out.<br /><br />Using words carelessly is like pulling clothes out of the dirty clothes hamper to wear. We will all make an impression. I know people will remember bad things about me. I cannot change those things of the past. I'd like that they remember that I finished the journey in clean clothes and with words that have been washed in kindness.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-25364032559532534262010-06-15T05:43:00.000-07:002010-06-15T06:02:29.776-07:00Cloak of SecrecyCloak of Secrecy : I wonder if there could be a blanket over our government where many things that happen are hidden from the public. We are suppose to be an open society. Nevertheless, we must admit that there are many things kept from the public in the name of, for example, national security. I submit that we are 'shielded' more often in the name of national embarrassment.<br /><br />One instance might be if a terrorist were to get beyond all our efforts to stop them and do something that is damaging to our country. Our officials cannot tell the whole story without tipping off to the terrorist that we have a weakness. The public might be kept in the dark to avoid loosing our sense of security. There are many reasons why it would be in the government's interest for the American people to feel secure. For one thing, people who feel safe will work harder and spend more freely. It is good for the economy for people to feel safe.<br /><br />Another reason for secrets to be kept is that someone might be so entangled in national affairs that if it were revealed that they had alternative motives, negotiations with foreign leaders could be damaged. <br /><br />A bank will not advertise their troubles because it would cause a run on the bank and effectively shut it down.<br /><br />So, don't tell me there are no major secrets kept.<br /><br />Some secrets we will never know. Our grandchildren might know but they will be so far removed from the situation (by time) that nothing will be done even if a crime was committed. I used to work with classified stuff and it is very easy to slap a "Top secret" stamp on a document but very difficult to declassify it. Even when they are declassified, they are edited.<br /><br />We wonder about a lot of stuff that goes on and if the truth will be known. There are other things that we <strong>do not know about</strong> and those secrets will remain so until someone lets the cat out.<br /><br />We are an open society. Government knows everything about us. In fact, with the Internet, just about anyone can find out everything about us. I do not believe, however, that we have an open government. There are many things that are put under the umbrella of national security when they should be made public so the people can make their own decisions.<br /><br />The best we can do is try to figure out the rumors that keep popping up. One thing I have noticed is that a rumor without truth will usually die, one with a few facts will linger until those facts are explained.<br /><br />Thomas Jefferson said it best but I will not repeat it here. I have enough trouble. :)Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391072356106186906.post-5982466862675540312010-06-11T05:18:00.001-07:002010-06-11T05:23:25.176-07:00Oil LeakIt is frustrating when something like the oil leak happens. Our government is so afraid that they will have a national disaster on their watch that they seem to downplay the seriousness of the situation rather than face it and deal with it for what it is...a national disaster.<br /><br />We must surely have the technology to go in there and scoop up all that oil floating around. Oreck could do it. Dirt Devil could do it. Anybody got a shop vac?<br /><br />We are the people who went to the moon, then did it again and again. We got rovers on Mars. So now they are going to tell me that we can dig a hole that we cannot stop up again. Get real and get busy. <br /><br />Forget the politics for once. We could go tell BP: We are going to help you. You can have the oil but we are going to clean up this mess. Next time bring a stopper to work with you.Miltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781916458342031662noreply@blogger.com0