tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12806482772513267322024-02-19T08:39:24.870-08:00Speakers Corner at Highland DriveJust me venting about politics, books, religion, and life in general!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-34283200682764326892018-03-23T10:25:00.001-07:002018-03-23T10:25:04.279-07:00Displaying Tolerance for the Wicked is WrongOne of my many problems with evangelicals who support Trump (and other Republicans) is how they say they have to because they are their best chance to get what they want. No matter how wicked, how many sins they have committed, they side with them.<br />
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Look at support for Trump and Moore (Alabama). They are wicked, wicked people. Yet, they are supported. If a Democrat (or other liberal) was accused of 1% of what they have been, they would be pilloried. But these people blindly look beyond this.<br />
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My <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61286.The_Jewish_Study_Bible" target="_blank">Jewish Study Bible</a> has a footnote for 2 Chronicles 19:1-3 which expresses my thoughts about this:<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Chronicles, however, takes the position that the mere act of displaying tolerance toward the wicked is wrong, since it countenances the Lord's enemies (see Ps. 139:21). Moreover, such tolerance and cooperation signals a lack of exclusive trust in the Lord and His ability to provide for one's every need. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
Exactly!!<br />
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You are either intolerant of sin completely or not at all! It shouldn't matter if the person is a man or woman, liberal or conservative, black or white, gay or straight. It's either right or wrong. End. Of. Story.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-80117578006139775472018-01-07T12:29:00.003-08:002018-01-07T12:29:44.242-08:00Trump (and his supporters) need to all read Proverbs!I've been reading through Proverbs, and today it seemed like every other couplet referred to Trump and his Cabinet and supporters. And that was just Proverbs 11 through 15!!<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">When arrogance appears, disgrace follows,</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">But wisdom is with those who are unassuming </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 11:2)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A city is built up by the blessing of the upright,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">But it is torn down by the speech of the wicked.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 11:11)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">He who speaks contemptuously of his fellowman is devoid of sense; </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">A prudent man keeps his peace.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 11:12)</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">He who loves discipline loves knowledge; </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">He who spurns reproof is a brutish man.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:1)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The purposes of the righteous are justice,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The schemes of the wicked are deceit.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:5)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">A man is commended according to his intelligence; </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">A twisted mind is held up to contempt.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:8)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A righteous man knows the needs of his beast,</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">But the compassion of the wicked is cruelty.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:10)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The way of a fool is right in his own eyes; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">But the wise man accepts advice.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:15)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">A fool's vexation is known at once,</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">But a clever man conceals his humiliation.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:16)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">He who testifies faithfully tells the truth,</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">But a false witness, deceit.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:17)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Deceit is in the minds of those who plot evil;</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">For those who plan good there is joy.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 12:20)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">He who guards his tongue preserves his life;</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">He who opens wide his lips, it is his ruin.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 13:3)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Arrogance yields nothing but strife,</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Wisdom belongs to those who seek advice.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 13:10)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He who keeps company with the wise becomes wise; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">But he who consorts with dullards comes to grief.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 13:20)</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">In the mouth of a fool is a rod of haughtiness,</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">But the lips of the wise protect them.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 14:3)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">But knowledge comes easily to the intelligent man.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 14:6)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A simple person believes anything, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A clever man ponders his course.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 14:15)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">A truthful witness saves lives; </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">He who testifies lies spreads deceit.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 14:25)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">He who withholds what is due to the poor affronts his Maker; </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">He who shows pity for the needy honors Him.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 14:31)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The scoffer dislikes being reproved;</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He will not resort to the wise.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 15:12)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">Better a meal of vegetables where there is love</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">Than a fattened ox where there is hate.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 15:17)</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A hot-tempered man provokes a quarrel; </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A patient man calms strife.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 15:18)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He who spurns discipline hates himself; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He who heeds reproof gains understanding.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(Proverbs 15:32)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-80966654299532911872018-01-03T10:34:00.000-08:002018-01-03T10:34:01.095-08:00Cherry Picking the BibleOne of my problems with evangelicals and their righteous attitudes is what they focus on as their Christian duty. They get all outraged by abortion, pre-marital sex, and gay marriage. These are things that are not big issues in the Bible. If at all.<br />
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But there are other things that the Lord does ask of us. Things that evangelicals either gloss over or are just hypocrites over. For instance, stewardship of the Earth. In Genesis 1:26, he places "dominion over the Earth" in man's hands. This does not mean despoiling. This is more like when you are asked to house sit for your grandparents. You can use the things in the house, but you don't trash the house.<br />
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While still reading the Jewish Study Bible, in Psalms 147, the footnote for verses 8 and 9 states "God created an ecologically harmonious world in which creatures are cared for (cf 104:10-16); the psalm stresses God's ongoing care for his creatures."<br />
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Ecologically harmonious. Ongoing care. I feel that so-called Christians and religious people need to re-read their Bibles and see what God (and Christ) are actually saying. Also, we must make our own minds up. I have learned that sometimes religious leaders in my church (as well as others) are not always in harmony with what I read. When that happens, I have to keep my own counsel and ask for the Lord's.<br />
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Bless our Earth. It needs all the protection it can get with us on it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-32377201033934046112018-01-02T10:10:00.001-08:002018-01-02T10:10:36.507-08:00Recorded in Your BookIn my study of the Old Testament using the excellent <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OKPCRLG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank">The Jewish Study Bible</a> (I'm using the 1st edition), I'm up to Psalms 139 right now. The note for verse 16 stood out.<br />
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The phrase "recorded in Your book"refers, it says, to the book God showed to Adam. This is the book containing the list of all people ever to be born. What is really interesting is what they say about another interpretation of this. According to <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/abraham-ibn-ezra" target="_blank">Ibn Ezra</a>, "it is the blueprint according to which the person is formed."<br />
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Also according to this book, a common rabbinic tradition imagines that the Torah served as the divine blueprint during creation.<br />
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This means - according to my interpretation - that everyone of us carries this book within us. It's our DNA!!!! Very cool!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-24237626780474958472017-12-30T09:59:00.001-08:002017-12-30T09:59:33.546-08:00Is Everything Trump's Fault? I recently got the following comment on my Facebook page:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">To democrats everything is trumps fault. When will they start taking ownership instead of blaming everyone around them.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Part of me laughed. As in, to conservatives, everything was Obama's fault. Remember, they never had their own health insurance plan. In fact, they complained that it was "rammed through" in an "undemocratic process". So, just how did they pass tax reform?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">They never had their own answer to Sandy Hook. In fact, I've even written letters to my Representative asking if he can give me some concrete things they can do for gun violence. He never gives me examples of anything. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Republicans complained about the deficit. But what will the deficit look like after this tax "reform" goes through? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Then there's the other part. The part that groaned and wanting to slam my head against the wall. This person is someone I know and like personally. Yet, he has lived this past year in denial apparently. I can't believe he's a white supremacist. Just what is it? I don't see him as an evangelical fundamentalist who only cares about abortion and gays. I don't seem as hating the environment. Or to be against health reform. I don't see him as being an apologist for sexual assault and sexual harassment, either. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">But it begs the question: Why? </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-49195231234109910082017-01-31T10:14:00.002-08:002017-01-31T10:14:45.996-08:00The New America - Day 12<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As hard as it is for me to accept people voted FOR Trump, it is even harder for me to accept that the same people that spoke out against Obama's so-called "imperial" Presidency are staying silent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But there are some bright spots:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- lawyers mobilizing and volunteering to help those affected by the recent Executive Order</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hundreds-of-lawyers-descend-on-airports-to-offer-free-help/2017/01/29/55ef11b2-e64b-11e6-bf6f-301b6b443624_story.html" target="_blank">Hundreds of lawyers descend on airports to offer free help after Trump’s executive order</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mpeOraxz4vH88nyjd8rsS0Qp6mxPnYKYqdh_yn_LlZSH3Y6w5Q2XANaIx0Jdv3mT9qP1rF2pXrrq3NAhlLe6nS0rLcLO5XwF8xVX5UcnxfEDYAD2QD188QmeLbdIze5Pd2UDvB_6E64/s1600/2017-01-29T221737Z_627587131_RC13B8858140_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-IMMIGRATION-4686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mpeOraxz4vH88nyjd8rsS0Qp6mxPnYKYqdh_yn_LlZSH3Y6w5Q2XANaIx0Jdv3mT9qP1rF2pXrrq3NAhlLe6nS0rLcLO5XwF8xVX5UcnxfEDYAD2QD188QmeLbdIze5Pd2UDvB_6E64/s400/2017-01-29T221737Z_627587131_RC13B8858140_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-IMMIGRATION-4686.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- US veterans knowing what they fought for (even if Trump supporters do not)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-veterans-muslims-20170129-story.html" target="_blank">When Muslims got blocked at American airports, U.S. veterans rushed to help</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCURH8qEZel_u1ozXvMgFZ6EnidUALEb2dGEkREZJyZVrLFFtTGWoAf0PpSqM220z4POSovdToNL7l-tf5uCvxR5whHxHH5EuGdiV3MtiAt185eZcFXZQSQTy7GjPwbVKXpFvq2ncGcA/s1600/C3SqEzXWAAAJGJ-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCURH8qEZel_u1ozXvMgFZ6EnidUALEb2dGEkREZJyZVrLFFtTGWoAf0PpSqM220z4POSovdToNL7l-tf5uCvxR5whHxHH5EuGdiV3MtiAt185eZcFXZQSQTy7GjPwbVKXpFvq2ncGcA/s400/C3SqEzXWAAAJGJ-.jpg" width="343" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Sally Yates! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/30/politics/donald-trump-immigration-order-department-of-justice/index.html" target="_blank">Trump fires acting AG after she declines to defend travel ban</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-shows-jeff-sessions-pressing-sally-yates-to-defend-the-constitution-against-presidents-unlawful-views-151137405.html" target="_blank">Video shows Jeff Sessions pressing Sally Yates to defend the Constitution against president’s ‘unlawful’ views</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/31/donald-trump-firing-sally-yates-isnt-the-big-story-how-he-did-it-is/" target="_blank">Donald Trump firing Sally Yates isn’t the big story. How he did it is.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Jay Inslee! My governor!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/trump-team-couldnt-run-a-two-car-funeral-wa-governor-blasts-train-wreck-immigration-mess/" target="_blank">Trump team ‘couldn’t run a two-car funeral’: WA governor blasts ‘train wreck’ immigration mess</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-washington-state-lawsuit-trump-travel-ban-20170130-story.html" target="_blank">Washington is first state to sue Trump over immigration order</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0S84F54-VmQy9D4OwdHqCzuDiONm_ToMmzD77_RgnNfxUpAWBC7lkj5sv5SD9U1hwi3zLOoxW_G3P8VmIaOjUkqg7MrjFDFWYNoOgbDpftW65TeWirfLcs6UDwL0QERs0g44XJ3_UqQ/s1600/ct-washington-state-lawsuit-trump-travel-ban-2-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0S84F54-VmQy9D4OwdHqCzuDiONm_ToMmzD77_RgnNfxUpAWBC7lkj5sv5SD9U1hwi3zLOoxW_G3P8VmIaOjUkqg7MrjFDFWYNoOgbDpftW65TeWirfLcs6UDwL0QERs0g44XJ3_UqQ/s400/ct-washington-state-lawsuit-trump-travel-ban-2-002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, when speaking of the attack on the mosque, called it an "act of terrorism". Woo-hoo!! Way to call a spade a spade! When was the last time a white man murdering people was called an act of terrorism in THIS country?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And, finally, SHAME ON YOU, Trump Administration. How in the name of Jehovah can you issue a statement in remembrance of the Holocaust and not mention the Jews? Well, I suppose we should expect it when a Nazi like Bannon seems to be making the decisions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/opinion/president-bannon.html" target="_blank">President Bannon?</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-28977886282776523012017-01-29T11:29:00.001-08:002017-01-29T11:29:28.356-08:00Fight Trump #1-- Take Action<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you're like me (and I know I am), Trump's America fills you with foreboding and dread. I am appalled that anyone - much less the amount of people that did - would support and vote for him. But what can I do? What can we do? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First, I think we need to educate people in just what is bothering us about this new President. Many of the people that did vote for him did not do so because they support his opinion of women, Muslims, etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, one of the things I will be doing is passing on articles that speak to the things that disturb me the most.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For instance, <a href="https://twitter.com/ZephyrTeachout?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Zephyr Teachout</a>'s excellent article in the February 13th issue of <a href="https://www.thenation.com/" target="_blank">The Nation</a>: <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-will-violate-the-constitution-on-day-one/" target="_blank">Donald Trump Will Violate the Constitution on Day One</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Second, I also want to pass on organizations where we can increase OUR influence by joining together with others with similar concerns.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The aforementioned issue of The Nation has highlighted several different organizations to consider.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Frances Fox Piven's suggestions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/throw-sand-in-the-gears-of-everything/" target="_blank">Throw Sand in the Gears of Everything</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://colorofchange.org/" target="_blank">Color of Change</a>: A racial justice organization working to make America a more humane and less hostile place for black people<br />
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<a href="http://unitedwedream.org/" target="_blank">United We Dream</a>: A youth-led organization that advocates on behalf of immigrant young people and their families, regardless of their immigration status.<br />
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<a href="https://350.org/" target="_blank">350.org</a>: Currently building a grassroots climate movement to keep carbon in the ground and hold governments accountable for cutting emissions.<br />
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<a href="http://ndlon.org/en/" target="_blank">National Day Laborer Organizing Network</a>: Working to expand the civil, labor, and human rights of people working as day laborers.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Margaret Atwood's suggestions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/what-art-under-trump/" target="_blank">What Art Under Trump?</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JEZzWVa2BBclmBlkhyphenhyphenZlTANyJW5ku3mdMXjwUsCjE8Qpy9RmjaFQi_S1bDtbZBgg9qtZhbB-AmPwycFnhLX784KoD2cC8GajlWdh3V7s2DrHfMjlbNM2XiGlQUztFDPfMDA-myuGxd8/s1600/Atwood-20170206_img+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JEZzWVa2BBclmBlkhyphenhyphenZlTANyJW5ku3mdMXjwUsCjE8Qpy9RmjaFQi_S1bDtbZBgg9qtZhbB-AmPwycFnhLX784KoD2cC8GajlWdh3V7s2DrHfMjlbNM2XiGlQUztFDPfMDA-myuGxd8/s400/Atwood-20170206_img+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://pen.org/" target="_blank">PEN</a>: A worldwide association of poets, editors, and novelists that promotes the freedom to write, with local chapters across the United States.<br />
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<a href="http://cityofasylum.org/?gclid=CLyv6LOC6NECFUpNfgodKxkLEA" target="_blank">City of Asylum</a>: A Pittsburgh-based organization that provides sanctuary to endangered writers from around the world.<br />
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<a href="http://www.alexiafoundation.org/about?gclid=CJevheCC6NECFdq6wAod-wMK_g" target="_blank">Alexia Foundation </a>: An institution that funds and champions social-justice photojournalism.<br />
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<a href="https://www.girlswritenow.org/" target="_blank">Girls Write Now</a>: A New York City-based group that pairs high-school girls with professional women writers for a yearlong mentorship program.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Benjamin Barber's suggestions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/in-the-age-of-donald-trump-the-resistance-will-be-localized/" target="_blank">In the Age of Donald Trump, the Resistance Will Be Localized</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://globalparliamentofmayors.org/" target="_blank">The Global Parliament of Mayors</a>: An international body of mayors dedicated to working together to address global challenges.<br />
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<a href="http://localprogress.org/" target="_blank">Local Progress</a>: A nationwide network of hundreds of local officials committed to advancing progressive public policy<br />
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<a href="http://www.citiesforaction.us/" target="_blank">Cities for Action</a>: A coalition of cities dedicated to supporting immigrants and inclusive immigration policies<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">David Cole's suggestions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-vs-the-first-amendment/" target="_blank">Donald Trump vs. the First Amendment</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHory5iMV1k6yaU1NaBo0MJYw6IMihD5G8qYgajLt73CITZSaOS-gcjfT3K8yBWTRiu_TN99V9AEMUhPIB7_pcxsIDpeqlwk6UIDd8N7zkN-wa3V2Xc3ieMfRKXSuxKJh9y2I0t3xiZ1k/s1600/Cole-20170206_img.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHory5iMV1k6yaU1NaBo0MJYw6IMihD5G8qYgajLt73CITZSaOS-gcjfT3K8yBWTRiu_TN99V9AEMUhPIB7_pcxsIDpeqlwk6UIDd8N7zkN-wa3V2Xc3ieMfRKXSuxKJh9y2I0t3xiZ1k/s400/Cole-20170206_img.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.aclu.org/" target="_blank">ACLU</a>: For almost 100 years, the ACLU has defended our civil rights and liberties.<br />
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<a href="http://ccrjustice.org/" target="_blank">CCR</a>: The Center for Constitutional Rights protects civil and human rights.<br />
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<a href="http://www.naacpldf.org/" target="_blank">NAACP</a>: Its Legal Defense Fund leads the right for racial justice.<br />
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<a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/" target="_blank">Planned Parenthood</a>: The organization has provided health care and education to women for over 100 years.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Zephyr Teachout's suggestions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-will-violate-the-constitution-on-day-one/" target="_blank">Donald Trump Will Violate the Constitution on Day One</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=183" target="_blank">Public Citizen</a>: An organization that seeks to reduce corporate influence on government and hold government officials accountable for misdeeds.<br />
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<a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/#!/" target="_blank">Rootstrikers</a>: An online organizing project that targets banks, corporations, super PACs, and other entities that buy political influence.<br />
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<a href="https://mayday.us/" target="_blank">MayDay.us</a>: A grassroots movement to fight corruption by electing reformers to all levels of government.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Michael Massing's suggestions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/how-to-do-journalism-in-trumps-america/" target="_blank">How to Do Journalism in Trump’s America</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.cpj.org/" target="_blank">Committee to Protect Journalists</a>: CPJ safeguards press freedoms around the world, and as Meryl Streep noted, "We're going to need them going forward."<br />
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<a href="http://cironline.org/" target="_blank">Center for Investigative Reporting</a>: CIR's journalists hold the power to account.<br />
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<a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Public Integrity</a>: Winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 2014, CPI uses investigative journalism to expose corruption, abuses of power, and betrayals of the public trust.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In conclusion, I want to wish us all the best in the next few years. I do hope it will not be as bad as I think and imagine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To Trump supporters: I am open to discussion. Please explain to me why you thought he was the better choice. I implore you to hold him to the same standard as you would to ANY holder of the office.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To those who voted but not for Trump: Please join me in working to keep his abuses in check.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To those who did not vote AT ALL: I am more disgusted with you than ANY other American. You are the reason we are in this mess. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can reach me at <a href="https://twitter.com/kmcripn" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kirsten.crippen" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/+KirstenCrippen" target="_blank">Google+</a>, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/cillagirl84/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, and even <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/833700-kirsten-make-margaret-atwood-fiction-again" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-26636093571043072182016-10-20T13:16:00.002-07:002016-10-20T13:16:47.363-07:00Too Aggressive Or Just Plain Criminal?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I usually agree with <a href="http://www.economist.com/" target="_blank">The Economist</a> but after reading <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21708696-what-scandal-says-about-americans-attitude-towards-banks-stumpfed" target="_blank">this article</a> I just had to say something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They seem to think the recent "scandal" at Wells Fargo is aggressive selling, or unethical. That is not how I see it now, or at the time I first heard of their actions. It is not a scandal. It is a crime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They were opening accounts without customers' permission. Think about that! I have to have a power of attorney to open an account in my elderly relatives' names. You have to have permission to look at my medical records. But a bank can just open an account without my permission and all it constitutes is scandalous or unethical behavior?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Someone tell me why this is not a crime. If someone took out a loan in my name, is that not a crime? Additionally, with all the problems we have with identity theft, would Wells Fargo be liable if one of these customers data was taken? After all, if you don't know you have an account, how do you protect it? </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-28656295436167779432016-09-09T12:00:00.000-07:002016-09-09T12:00:08.589-07:00The NRA and its Congressional stooges should be tried as accessories after the fact!<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="3pb9c" data-offset-key="8mb1q-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="8mb1q-0-0">The NRA (and their brainwashed subjects) go on and on about how we don't need NEW gun laws, we need the ones we have to WORK.</span></div>
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Well, the NRA has made sure the ones we have DON'T by "helping" our elected officials.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">One Congressman, Rep Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), in 2003 introduced a series of riders to federal spending bills. These amendments prohibit the ATF from publicly releasing detailed gun trace data and limit its ability to share this data with other law enforcement agencies. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Tiahrt said "I wanted to make sure I was fulfilling the needs of my friends who are firearms dealers." NRA officials, he added "were helpful in making sure I had my bases covered."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;">Think about that! He wanted to help out the gun SELLERS!! Not victims of gun crimes. And the NRA kindly helped him out. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;">What does this mean? Well, in the Mother Jones article I read, it means:</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">- because a registry is outlawed, all the documents are scanned and must be stored as static images that cannot be searched digitally!</span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92v59-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span data-offset-key="92v59-0-0"><span style="color: red;">- because gun manufacturers and dealers were sued because their guns were recovered at crime scenes, the Tiarhrt Amendments were passed, now the ATF is only allowed to provide a specific trace information when a local law enforcement asks for it, and only that particular jurisdiction!</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92v59-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span data-offset-key="92v59-0-0"><span style="color: red;">- the ATF can't tell reporters which brands are the most commonly trafficked or used in violent crimes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">- the ATF is forbidden from requiring gun dealers to conduct inventory checks, something it had proposed after an audit revealed that nearly half the dealers it reviewed couldn't account for all their weapons</span></div>
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Think about that. The ATF has to hand-read each registry form. What if your loved one was killed or disabled by gun violence? Would you be comfortable about these facts? And, what if before the gun was identified and led to an arrest, others were killed? Well, in my point of view, that makes everyone who voted for these Amendments and the NRA accessories after the fact!!! </div>
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But, no, because it's guns we have to turn away. If you serve too much alcohol to someone and they kill someone while driving drunk, the bartender and bar are deemed culpable. </div>
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And meanwhile the NRA controls our Congressmen. They even make sure that the ATF has no permanent director and is underfunded. </div>
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I am appalled that my member of Congress makes sure his first re-election ad features him with a gun. He has been bought and paid for, as have many of his fellow Congressmen. </div>
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What can we do? Call our Congressmen (and women)! Insist that the laws we have are unfettered by riders. (If they want to limit things, make them introduce a single bill.) When your Congressperson is up for election, review their voting record closely.</div>
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http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/how_to_votes.htm</div>
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Also, work to reform the Senate confirmation process. Ensure that one or two Senators cannot hold up confirmations. Require a vote! </div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is YOUR government. VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION!!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-40654790849468280842016-08-02T11:22:00.000-07:002016-08-02T11:27:48.452-07:00It's National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good morning!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>On this day:</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1980 The oldest known goldfish in Great Britain, Frederica, died at the age of 40.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1976 Died: Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter, most famous for films that include the groundbreaking Metropolis and M, that he had made before he moved to the United States.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1973 Died: Jean-Pierre Melville, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, a prominent person of the French Resistance during World War II. Produced in 2008 documentary Code Name Melville reveals the importance of Jean-Pierre Melville's personal experience in the French Resistance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1963 Eric Clapton leaves the ‘Roosters’ to form the band ‘Casey Jones and the Engineers.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1939 Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd wrote a letter to President of the USA Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1934 Died: Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and politician, the 2nd President of Germany. After his death presidency in Germany was abolished and Adolf Hitler became Führer of the state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1932 Born: Peter O'Toole, British-Irish actor of stage and film. He rose to fame playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (the role brought him an Academy Award nomination). He is also known for roles in films Goodbye, Mr. Chips, The Lion in Winter, Becket, The Stunt Man, My Favorite Year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1923 Died: Warren G. Harding, American journalist and politician, 29th President of the United States, who served in office from March, 1921 till his death. His presidency featured many scandals, earning him bottom-tier ranking from historians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1922 Died: Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-Canadian engineer, inventor and innovator. His best known invention is telephone, that he patented in 1876.</span></div>
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1921 Died: Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor. He sang to great acclaim in major opera houses of Europe and the USA. From 1902 to 1920 he made 290 commercially released recordings, that are still available today as digital downloads.</div>
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1905 Born: Myrna Loy, American actress and singer. She rose to fame after playing the role of Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934). Although she's never been nominated for a competitive Academy Award, she received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her extraordinary qualities in screen and off.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1887 Rowell Hodge patented barbed wire. The beginning of the end of open range in the Old West.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1870 The world's first underground tube railway, Tower Subway, opened in London. The tunnel was closed in 1898 and todays it's used for water mains.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1861 The first U.S. national income tax is passed to aid the Union war effort.</span></div>
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1834 Born: Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, French sculptor, best known for designing the Statue of Liberty, that is situated in New York.</div>
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1610 Henry Hudson sailed present-day Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Food Observances</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://anydayguide.com/calendar/1186" target="_blank">National Ice Cream Sandwich Day</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An ice cream sandwich is a type of frozen dessert which consists of a layer of ice cream sandwiched between two cookies or slices of cake. The idea of sandwiching ice cream between cookies is not new, but the first packaged ice cream sandwiches were produced in the United States in the 1920s. The modern version of this treat has been around since the 1940s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some facts about ice cream sandwiches:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 30-44 age group buys the most ice cream sandwiches.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The average number of ice cream sandwiches eaten per second nationally is 48.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The ice cream sandwich ranks as the second best-selling ice cream novelty in America.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If all the ice cream sandwiches made last year were placed end to end, they would circle Earth 3 1/2 times.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The eastern seaboard consumes almost 50 percent of all ice cream sandwiches.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The original ice cream sandwich sold for a penny in 1900 from a pushcart in the Bowery neighborhood of New York. The vendor, who was never identified in the article printed in papers across the nation, sandwiched the ice cream between milk biscuits. Soon, pushcarts popped up around the city and country during the summer months selling the portable treats.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The modern version of the ice cream sandwich was invented by Jerry Newberg in 1945 when he was selling ice cream at Forbes Field. There are pictures from the early 1900s, “On the beach, Atlantic City”, that show Ice Cream Sandwiches were popular and sold for 1 cent each.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ice cream sandwiches are known around the world by a variety of names including the Monaco Bar, Giant Sandwich, Maxibon, Cream Between, Vanilla Slice and many more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>United States and Canadian Observances</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://natw.org/" target="_blank">National Night Out in the USA</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">National Night Out is a special event that is held in the USA every year on the first Tuesday in August. This event was started in 1984 in order to make communities safer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The event was started by the National Association of Town Watch in 1984. The first event took place on August 7, 1984 with 2.5 million members from 400 communities in 23 states participating. Nowadays all states of the USA participate in this event on the first Tuesday in August. Only two states, Florida and Texas, are allowed to move the event to the first Tuesday in October to avoid hot weather.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-coloring-book-day-august-2/" target="_blank">National Coloring Book Day</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">National Coloring Book Day is recognized annually on August 2. Coloring and coloring books have always been popular with children, but over the years adults have gotten more and more involved with coloring. Adult coloring is now a huge trend and many are finding that it is not only fun but also a great way to reduce stress. Founded in 1941, Dover Publications led the way, releasing their first coloring book for adults, Antique Automobiles Coloring Book, in 1970. Dover now publishes Creative Haven®, a popular line of coloring books specially designed for adult colorists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Find a <a href="http://www.coloringbookday.com/" target="_blank">coloring party</a> near you or participate online. Spend some time coloring with your friends, children or grandchildren or by yourself. Enjoy the creativity of making a picture come to life. Download the official <a href="http://www.doverpublications.com/coloringbookday/" target="_blank">National Coloring Book Day 2016 color page</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Latin American Observances</u></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 400; line-height: 22.4px;">Our Lady of the Angels Day is a public holiday in Costa Rica celebrated on August 2. It is the feast day of Virgen de los Angeles (the Virgin of the Angels or Our Lady of the Angels), the patron saint of Costa Rica.</span></h1>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Caribbean</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carnival Tuesday is one of the public holiday in Antigua and Barbuda. This is the second day of the traditional Carnival and, as well as August Monday, it's one of the most important holidays on the islands.</span></div>
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Celebration of the Carnival is dedicated to anniversary of abolition of slavery in 1833, that is known as Emancipation Day. All former British colonies celebrate this day, but in some places this holiday was moved to mark the beginning of an annual carnival. In 1957 the Carnival replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in Antigua and Barbuda in order to inspire tourism on the islands. However, the Carnival possesses numerous elements of the Christmas Festival.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://anydayguide.com/calendar/722" target="_blank">Republic Day (Ilinden) in Macedonia</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">August 2 is a major public and religious holiday in the Republic of Macedonia. It is known as Republic Day or Ilinden (the feast of Saint Elija). The holiday commemorates two important events in the country's history.</span></div>
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Two major events in the history of modern Republic of Macedonia took place on this date. In 1903, the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization organized the Ilinden Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. In 1944, the first plenary session of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia was held. It proclaimed a Macedonian nation-state.</div>
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<u>Russia and Former Soviet Republics</u></div>
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<b><a href="https://anydayguide.com/calendar/38" target="_blank">Day of Airborne Forces</a></b></div>
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On August 2, some former Soviet Republics celebrate Day of Airborne Forces. Such a date was chosen to commemorate the first parachute jump of the Soviet Airborne Troops that took place on August 2, 1930 in the Moscow Military District.</div>
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<b><a href="https://anydayguide.com/calendar/1088" target="_blank">Day of Azerbaijani Cinema</a></b></div>
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Day of Azerbaijani Cinema is celebrated in August 2. This holiday was established by President Heydar Aliyev in 2000. The date of August 2 was chosen to commemorate the first public film screening in Azerbaijan that took place in 1898.</div>
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Azerbaijan was one of the first countries involved in cinematography. The first ever motion picture footage was demonstrated in 1895 in Paris by the Lumière brothers. Three years later, Russian entrepreneur of French origin Alexandre Michon began to film documentaries in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.</div>
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On August 2, 1898, Michon exhibited his documentaries in Baku. They included “The Oil Gush in Balakhan” and “The Folk Dance of Caucasus”. This day is considered to be the birthday of Azerbaijani cinema.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-21102724290114609372016-08-02T10:21:00.001-07:002016-08-02T10:21:47.027-07:00August is Here!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used to include holidays on some of my discussion threads on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, but I have had some complaints. So I think I will start a feature here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please add comments if you have any. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since it has just recently turned into August, here are some things about August. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some songs featuring August in the title:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Van Morrison -- A Cold Wind in August</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Freddy Cannon -- June, July and August</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robin Gibb -- August October</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julie London - Time for August</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Counting Crows -- August & Everything After</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">August Birthstone. Three birthstones are available for August birthdays: peridot, sardonyx, and spinel. Peridot. Peridot is said to host magical powers and healing properties to protect against nightmares and to bring the wearer power, influence, and a wonderful year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peridot olivine with minor pyroxene, on vesicular basalt</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peridots - finished gems</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Raw sardonyx</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBs1S2kf0uA-Jna20rsrKu1Gubn-qrcdWSKsg4_jkH45UUlPxluJTNAXrzaqTtDmUqyToBZIvF0XeaDSOoqHqBQNgWRCX8EBoHlsw5BcKO9IKpLqnSxL1XUiARbVIiIjGNYQNAMGIs4E/s1600/968f1df2e3504ea629ab835d3cc48ad4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBs1S2kf0uA-Jna20rsrKu1Gubn-qrcdWSKsg4_jkH45UUlPxluJTNAXrzaqTtDmUqyToBZIvF0XeaDSOoqHqBQNgWRCX8EBoHlsw5BcKO9IKpLqnSxL1XUiARbVIiIjGNYQNAMGIs4E/s320/968f1df2e3504ea629ab835d3cc48ad4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finished sardonyx</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajPfIvmpgsN2cTIqSWSvZ4kuX12IqOet-YG6EG9qJTgiBMLRKASbSdD_n1xCxV84BJXuDbYAnt_BNOWrDXQeWJSuaLi-tSTYXafVSDWSXPN3sbTvR9Pzn5MgMvMjgvuEuUfHAzsPIS_o/s1600/Wholesale-Perfect-Natural-font-b-sardonyx-b-font-font-b-Red-b-font-Lace-Agate-Rondelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajPfIvmpgsN2cTIqSWSvZ4kuX12IqOet-YG6EG9qJTgiBMLRKASbSdD_n1xCxV84BJXuDbYAnt_BNOWrDXQeWJSuaLi-tSTYXafVSDWSXPN3sbTvR9Pzn5MgMvMjgvuEuUfHAzsPIS_o/s320/Wholesale-Perfect-Natural-font-b-sardonyx-b-font-font-b-Red-b-font-Lace-Agate-Rondelle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Raw and finished spinel</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_emEr3qTpUkuI6E0FgOcZcXLzWvf_hUd9Y2MfHPtrxfbpc_xVVHMGcOJhqRgdWAK66E0VPqqeWzlvx1hfnIuKygcvqbmrcIsRR92dpU5DRlR5xQ2unrRWMjSd8Gww0bqXvuTY7Hwumw/s1600/Spinel750-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_emEr3qTpUkuI6E0FgOcZcXLzWvf_hUd9Y2MfHPtrxfbpc_xVVHMGcOJhqRgdWAK66E0VPqqeWzlvx1hfnIuKygcvqbmrcIsRR92dpU5DRlR5xQ2unrRWMjSd8Gww0bqXvuTY7Hwumw/s320/Spinel750-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The August birth flowers are the gladiolus and the poppy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">The gladiolus, or ‘sword lily,’ represents remembrance, calm, integrity, and infatuation.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Gladiolus indicates that the heart is being “pierced with love.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Gladiolus butterfly & primilus mixed</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohTkiDaj6auT2Vusx8mkCRCQnicCka31X9ASD4dY8QJF2hu0gnESfK6OWCSwASnbTNJUuXxztBf1Y-tYKnW6gdJKXErOfRFVNJ6e86Te4PTCn70G4Z6zLWcrBRB1jCuNtLFJFRCpR8MU/s1600/Gladiolus-butterfly--primilus-mixed_32674_1280_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohTkiDaj6auT2Vusx8mkCRCQnicCka31X9ASD4dY8QJF2hu0gnESfK6OWCSwASnbTNJUuXxztBf1Y-tYKnW6gdJKXErOfRFVNJ6e86Te4PTCn70G4Z6zLWcrBRB1jCuNtLFJFRCpR8MU/s320/Gladiolus-butterfly--primilus-mixed_32674_1280_1280.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Some <a href="http://www.almanac.com/plant/gladiolus" target="_blank">tips</a> on growing:</span></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: 28.16px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plant gladiolus bulbs in the spring once danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gladioli like well-drained, light soil and full sun.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put a 2– to 4–inch layer of mulch around your gladioli to keep your soil moist and help prevent weeds.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you get less than 1 inch of rain a week, water your plants regularly throughout the summer. Otherwise, water them moderately when in growth to keep the soil moist.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">A red poppy signifies pleasure; a white poppy is given for consolation; and, a yellow poppy wishes wealth and success.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 28.16px;">Poppies</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some <a href="http://www.waysidegardens.com/wg-growing-poppies/a/336/" target="_blank">tips</a> on growing poppies:</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; list-style: square outside;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sow outdoors in the fall or winter. Most <a href="http://www.waysidegardens.com/papaver/c/GE_1003_218/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a3e56; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">poppies</a> require a period of stratification, or a period of exposure to cold, before they will germinate.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; list-style: square outside;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your poppy will always need full sunlight and well-drained soil.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Some August Monthly Observances:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Admit You're Happy Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Family Fun Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Happiness Happens Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">National Catfish Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">National Crayon Collection Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">National Eye Exam Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">National Golf Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">National Peach Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">National Picnic Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">National Water Quality Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Romance Awareness Month</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Water Quality Month </span></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"></ul>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-25115991056086164832016-01-25T10:17:00.004-08:002016-01-25T10:17:45.282-08:00The Truth is Out There and It's Never Been More Wonderful!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
So, Mulder and Scully came back last night! Woo-hoo!!! I was so excited last night I actually think my pulse went up.<br />
<br />
However, I think my local station didn't think I could handle the truth as they cut away to Modern Family (ack!) at 8 pm PST. Why did they think putting it on directly after the football game was a good idea. I could understand if it had been aired on right after the game. But how many people watch the game after it's over? You know, all that garbage with the Fox Sports guys and the confetti and everything? Don't most football fans turn off the TV once the final second is over and we know who won? Yes, Carolina fans may have... but still...<br />
<br />
But, I digress. I haven't felt this excited about a TV program since... well, since May 19, 2002. (And I didn't even really like the last few seasons of the X-Files. The first 4 were the best.)<br />
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But, now they're back! Full disclosure I am an unrepentant 'Shipper! So, of course, I am looking out for all the interpersonal stuff you can get between Mulder and Scully.<br />
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<span id="goog_728473539"></span><span id="goog_728473540"></span><br />
So the bits I did get to watch were great last night. It's not only seeing them again. It's hearing that great banter. I missed their arguments where neither one gives an inch. And Skinner! CSM! (Though I'm not sure about the smarmy Fox News guy.) Too bad Krycek couldn't come back, it's been a long time since I saw Mulder beat the crap out of a guy.<br />
<br />
The bits they dropped. Mulder talking about "for better or worse". And what kind of depression was it that made them break up? Were they actually married? Are they still? After all, Scully's a Catholic.<br />
<br />
But that's the joy of the X-Files. We never get all the answers. When they were on before I would have people at work ask me all these questions. I had to laugh. If you want all the questions answered, you were watching the wrong show.<br />
<br />
So, I am just excited about this. Can you tell? My heart is speeding up just thinking about the X-Files. Even if it is a short redux. Just having stories this good and characters this wonderful is such a change from all the dreck you normally get on tv. Hopefully my heart will stand up to it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-58175354859789638042016-01-09T08:30:00.001-08:002016-01-09T08:30:06.242-08:00Angry White People With GunsI noticed I haven't written in over a month. So I thought I'd write a short note. Happy 2016! I have many wishes for 2016 but I don't think we'll get it. I'd hope for a less angry, less violent, and more tolerant America.<br />
<br />
Many people say the American Dream is dead. Maybe that's true. But maybe the problem is Americans with the values of America are dead.<br />
<br />
Look at the anger out there. But it's also the hypocrisy. When women, black people, gays, etc, express their anger they are met with intolerance. Yet, now we have a group of white people taking over a bird refuge in a rural eastern Oregon county -- a group of armed people -- met with no resistance. They spout the tired diatribe against an overreaching federal government.<br />
<br />
They have a lot of sympathy from the Fox News crowd. But I ask you to do a little thought experiment. What if they weren't angry white ranchers with guns?<br />
<br />
What if they were angry black people with guns? We live in a society where police (or civilians even) can shoot and kill teenage black boys (not quite men) for appearing to be carrying guns. Where school police can violently pin a teenage black girl to the ground for refusing to put away her cell phone. Where the mentally ill are shot and killed for throwing rocks.<br />
<br />
Yet, these men go around open carrying weapons and no one bats an eyelash? As near as I can figure there are several differences.<br />
<br />
One. Race, of course. We are not post racial. Maybe we are nearing post racial. Or maybe we are in the death throes of racial. It is dying hard. And it is fighting back.<br />
<br />
Two. Federal vs local law enforcement reaction. Perhaps it is because the federal government feels keenly this sense that it is hated. That it is distrusted. Maybe they remember what happened after Waco and Ruby Ridge, after Elian, et al, and they want to tread lightly.<br />
<br />
Whatever, these people that go on about an imperial or fascist Obama administration need to look at this. If it really were, wouldn't more people be "disappeared" as happened in many Latin American dictatorships? Or "purged" as in Stalinist Russia? Oh, and how about that "they're going to take our guns away?" crap? I'm still waiting... I've been waiting since the Clinton Administration. All that has happened is more crazy white people are stockpiling more guns than most Army posts have.<br />
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Three. This is the rural West as opposed to the inner city. People are used to seeing people with guns out here. Also, you run across a lot of really crazy people out here in the wilderness. They only get crazier in Alaska, I think. Sometimes I think we need to have a special state or territory for these people. Where they can be allowed to roam and make their own rules and, well, let evolution take its course. Keep them away from polite society.<br />
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Recently the Mormon Church had to distance themselves from these people. Why? Well, Cliven Bundy must be Mormon for one. His son's name is Ammon. If he's not Mormon, he read the Book. Second, Mormons have always had a strong anti-government, self-reliance, libertarian streak. (I mean if the federal government hounded you out of your homes and killed your President and Prophet? What would you think?)<br />
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Mormons like to say they respect the laws of the land. The leadership of the Church has to say that. And I think most Mormons do. The professional class of the Church. But the others are still living in the 18th Century.<br />
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Does anyone read my blog? Does anyone have any thoughts? Comment! Let me know you're out there.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-31997974792994976032015-12-10T15:15:00.000-08:002015-12-10T15:15:02.821-08:00Poetry and Existentialism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, I'm nearly 50. And some days I look back and wonder where my life has gone and why I haven't done more with it. There are many things I regret, but two things that I regret are not enjoying poetry and existentialism.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What, you say? Aren't there more important things you regret? Sure, there are. But these are the ones that I've been thinking about recently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, poetry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've heard and read reviews of poetry. I've known people that really love poetry. That become intensely moved and even cry after reading poetry. I'm not one of them. I look at them and think, that rhymed nicely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I do become moved by stories and novels. Ask my sister, I cry all the time while watching movies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I just don't get poetry. I always wonder is it me? Or did I not have the right education? Is there a class I could take to help me understand poetry? Or am I just missing a certain bit in my brain that "gets" poetry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Secondly, existentialism. This came to me after a conversation with my mother about the book <u>The Little Prince</u> by </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told her I didn't see what was so special about it. She said it depended when you read it. That it was existential. I had to laugh. I don't really like existential films either. I just don't get what they are trying to do and say. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-18660714347602175552015-12-04T12:34:00.000-08:002015-12-04T12:34:33.818-08:00It's Blowin' In The Wind<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This week that old song by Peter Paul & Mary is going through my mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"How many times must the cannonballs fly before they're forever banned?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"How many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found myself asking once again those questions after this week's tragedy. I also ask myself why it's okay for a lone white man to kill people (or at least understandable) but so-called terrorism is beyond the pale. Also, why is it not terrorism when someone (or the police) kill black men on the street without challenge or cause? Why is it not terrorism when someone decides that women should not take control of their own bodies and kills everyone at a women's health clinic? Why is it not terrorism for people to openly carry assault weapons to do their grocery shopping? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I use Twitter a lot these days. To keep up with news and with like minded people. I spoke out against current gun policy and asked for simple common sense reform. Well, the gun rights "nuts" were out there and their views were spewed out with contempt at me. I wonder just how many people have to die for them to change their views? Or would they have to lose a loved one?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What did I ask for?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A discussion and admission that we are having a problem. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, even though I do not have a gun nor want one, I do believe that guns should be allowed. A person may want a gun - a handgun - in the home for protection. Women (especially abuse victims) may want one. Guns are used in hunting. I think these are all understandable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, there are some things I think can be dealt with. Things that any sane person should be willing to talk about.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Stockpiling weapons and ammunition</u>. Now how can you think this is alright? But the gun people on Twitter didn't seem to think so.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"How is it your concern how many guns someone owns?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They also like to say that gun reform kills. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They refuse to acknowledge the problem we have or that I have a legitimate concern. They preach responsibility yet they preach personal responsibility. They have the right to defend themselves, their property, their family. They do not care about the rest of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Another issue for me is the type of weapon.<u> A gun designed purely for killing people and in bulk at that is not a gun for the average citizen.</u> It is a gun used for war. These should be outlawed or, at the very least, restricted heavily. There is no reason for someone to own one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet they answer yet again. "Why do you care?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Try telling them that I care because I could be a victim. What do they answer? "No, that's the criminals that do that." Uh-huh. Right. Yet another libertarian answer. No regulation. Just punish for the crime. Or they might say "who decides what guns I can have?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Then they start preaching the 2nd Amendment. Now, I don't believe the 2nd Amendment guarantees guns for everyone. I don't believe that should be the interpretation today nor was it the interpretation in the 18th Century. But I can't ask Mr Jefferson or Mr Adams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">However, let's just say it does. (But it doesn't.) Why does it have to absolute? Name one other Amendment that does not have restrictions. We do not have an absolute right to free speech. The Supreme Court has limited the rights of search and seizure and the right to a free trial. Not to mention the Voting Rights. So, we should limit our gun rights. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Coming full circle, just what would it take for a gun rights advocate - nut - to admit that there is a problem? I don't know. The answer, I suppose, is "blowin' in the wind". But, maybe we should treat these people like alcoholics. The first step is to admit they have a problem. Do you know one? Maybe you should send them to a rehab clinic. (Unarmed hopefully.)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-69364950859712205412015-05-21T19:31:00.002-07:002015-05-21T19:31:30.684-07:00Reading Around the World - Don't Ask Questions! It's a Dystopian Oakland!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With this book, I've moved south from Davis, California, to the city of my birth, Oakland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book is <u>Gun,With Occasional Music</u> by Jonathan Lethem and it's a very strange Oakland indeed. It takes place in an unspecified future in a dystopian Oakland. As I say in my review:<b><i> "<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">It's an Oakland where you need a license to ask other people questions. It's an Oakland where drugs are not only legal, but </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">de rigeur</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">. It's an Oakland were "evolution therapy" has made not only intelligent animals, but also intelligent toddlers, or "babyheads"." </span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">This is also a noir mystery that Chandler would be proud to call home. I really enjoyed it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">My next book I will move across the bay to one of my favorite cities, San Francisco.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-39703907076135327422015-05-11T08:52:00.002-07:002015-05-11T08:52:24.125-07:00Wisdom from the Quakers<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I discovered a short-lived mystery series by <a href="http://www.detecs.org/elliot.html" target="_blank">Irene Allen</a>. It features the Clerk of a Meeting of Quakers in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I've always been attracted to the Quakers due to my family connection. I am descended from<a href="http://patch.com/massachusetts/salem/salem-quakers-and-the-76bf0010" target="_blank"> Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick</a> who emigrated to Salem, MA, in 1637. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They were persecuted by the Puritans - who, ironically, fled to America for freedom from persecution - because they were Quakers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to the books, the author prefaces each chapter with a quote from a historic Quaker and one of these quotes is by John Woolman (1754):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"To consider mankind as other than brethren, to think favours are peculiar to one nation and exclude others, plainly supposes a darkness in the understanding. For as God's love is universal, so where the mind is sufficiently influenced by it, it begets a likeness of itself and the heart is enlarged toward all men."</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Truly a radical concept! No wonder they've been persecuted! Most faiths, sects, and churches want to consider themselves as set apart or, as the Mormons like to say, "a peculiar people" (1 Peter 2:9). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, it shows the truly evil concept that is "American exceptionalism". I've always disliked it because it seems that people, instead of being proud of the values and accomplishments of our great nation, instead use it to claim that they don't need to abide by the same treaties, agreements, and standards as other nations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any thoughts out there? Please comment below!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-9789262017501734132015-04-25T17:55:00.000-07:002015-04-25T17:55:45.911-07:00Reading around the world -- reading Jane Austen in Davis, California<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moving south from <a href="http://www.nps.gov/lavo/index.htm" target="_blank">Lassen Volcanic National Park</a> in northern California, I have arrived in the Sacramento Valley in <a href="http://cityofdavis.org/" target="_blank">Davis</a> -- "the most bicycle friendly town in the world". </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKopXZSTvMRn8rcIqEmWSI9__B8fLGfdfzHWTwy9owd_9-PCrUnsztam2tmsBEXi-upVKavzV8RF8ZIi2wijWCyEj-ebXD7I5W7AYrcme0L9lwTpEp2oxdnaJGeRgiEcMZZvbs1sTQ2BE/s1600/Davis_Logo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKopXZSTvMRn8rcIqEmWSI9__B8fLGfdfzHWTwy9owd_9-PCrUnsztam2tmsBEXi-upVKavzV8RF8ZIi2wijWCyEj-ebXD7I5W7AYrcme0L9lwTpEp2oxdnaJGeRgiEcMZZvbs1sTQ2BE/s1600/Davis_Logo1.JPG" height="194" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For Davis, I read <a href="http://karenjoyfowler.com/" target="_blank">Karen Joy Fowler</a>'s book <a href="http://karenjoyfowler.com/books/the-jane-austen-book-club/" target="_blank">The Jane Austen Book Club</a>. Other literary Davis natives are <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1067608.Peter_S_Beagle" target="_blank">Peter S. Beagle</a> (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29127.The_Last_Unicorn" target="_blank">The Last Unicorn</a>), <a href="http://www.johnlescroart.com/" target="_blank">John Lescroart</a> (the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/51833-dismas-hardy" target="_blank">Dismas Hardy</a> novels), <a href="http://deborahmadison.com/" target="_blank">Deborah Madison</a> (<a href="http://deborahmadison.com/books/" target="_blank">cookbook</a> author), <a href="http://www.kimstanleyrobinson.info/" target="_blank">Kim Stanley Robinson</a> (the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_trilogy" target="_blank">Mars trilogy</a>), <a href="http://www.seanstewart.org/" target="_blank">Sean Stewart</a> (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/383107.Resurrection_Man" target="_blank">Resurrection Man</a> trilogy), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Weiner" target="_blank">Zach Weine</a>r (webcomic <a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/" target="_blank">Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal</a>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The biggest employer in Davis is the <a href="http://ucdavis.edu/" target="_blank">University of California</a> which has campus there. It is also the home of the <a href="http://www.gwrr.com/operations/railroads/north_america/california_northern_railroad" target="_blank">California Northern Railroad</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The average temperature (year-round) is 47.8-74.7 Fahrenheit. The highest temperature ever recorded was 116 F in July 1925 and the lowest was 12 F in December 1932. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Indeed, in the book, the climate is described as follows: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The climate in the Valley was classified as Mediterranean, which meant that everything died in the summer. The native grasses went brown and stiff. The creeks disappeared. The oaks turned gray."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The book is very entertaining, especially for a fan of Jane Austen like me. The book even came with a couple fun appendices, one all of quotes of people's opinions of Austen and her works.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sense of place in the book was very good in places, not so good in others. Essentially the book is a book of people all linked by the wonderful Miss Jane. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please check out <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1086696640" target="_blank">my review</a> at Goodreads!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>The mere habit of learning to love is the thing.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>~Jane Austen</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-87482411172527395752015-04-07T16:04:00.002-07:002015-04-07T16:05:30.698-07:00Reading Around the World: Northern California's Lassen Volcanic National ParkThe <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've moved out of the Beaver State and into the Golden State - California.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztC35rHcHRLS4o1fjeVoswZNUiIwlv3BJ_OOLEPMedCENc7ry-ZxkfpR2IXjTPLxS5RCjqfb3faaZLxYo7FZKSlLBA9fMqROBY-MD56nKwPFryy6jvd1fhWwL5z7Hj9I4TdSjmLGnxQY/s1600/900px-Flag_of_California.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztC35rHcHRLS4o1fjeVoswZNUiIwlv3BJ_OOLEPMedCENc7ry-ZxkfpR2IXjTPLxS5RCjqfb3faaZLxYo7FZKSlLBA9fMqROBY-MD56nKwPFryy6jvd1fhWwL5z7Hj9I4TdSjmLGnxQY/s1600/900px-Flag_of_California.svg.png" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I searched for a book to read for Northern California, I was always directed to the Bay Area - San Francisco/Oakland and the environs. Yet, looking at the map, that seemed more like Central California. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I looked at a map and one of the most northern places in California is Lassen Volcanic National Park. And, sure enough, Nevada Barr sends her character Anna Pigeon there in book #4 of her series that take place in national parks. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5hvn1xRLpnlhj_2gsngrDx-XsLDmCzTCO72TWNRtHLZqQ5KvleEhyC3WHZ_or5gFiOmy1hED6IzWTE5GPZjAqt3tJymheoqEL_dEMhdoSrt2IyZwp4Y1aVpd0DvePWdhoQz96oFh5K4/s1600/lassenentsign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5hvn1xRLpnlhj_2gsngrDx-XsLDmCzTCO72TWNRtHLZqQ5KvleEhyC3WHZ_or5gFiOmy1hED6IzWTE5GPZjAqt3tJymheoqEL_dEMhdoSrt2IyZwp4Y1aVpd0DvePWdhoQz96oFh5K4/s1600/lassenentsign.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's more the book takes place in a wildfire at the national park.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImK-FN5JO8C180N9bDn1dRHkeT29R4MlER-JlSQAvGbwGIpiDW0q6DZ87c7SDd9thGi0O-uc_M99OH6S46jsMHS37EGVKvt81j0gyQ2yEraHSnV6l9d1nVqHMdfcKvU_uH9mXkz_Kmxw/s1600/517n6g9CHFL._SL250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImK-FN5JO8C180N9bDn1dRHkeT29R4MlER-JlSQAvGbwGIpiDW0q6DZ87c7SDd9thGi0O-uc_M99OH6S46jsMHS37EGVKvt81j0gyQ2yEraHSnV6l9d1nVqHMdfcKvU_uH9mXkz_Kmxw/s1600/517n6g9CHFL._SL250_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this book, Anna is working as an EMT for firefighters fighting a wildfire at the park. She and a group of firefighters get trapped after a flashover when a murder occurs. (Don't you hate it when that happens?) As she's trapped, she also has to investigate a murder while keeping herself and her fellows alive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from the plot, which I really enjoyed, the scenery of the park and the description of fighting wildfires take central stage. Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the oldest in the national park system and will celebrate its centennial next year. The volcano, Lassen Peak, last erupted in 1914-15. A fire actually occurred at the park in 2012. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeazbejFhV8jXrUr6MQ34ggzR5Ko4v-2difiJ3Jq4VjsptZaZspWi_y476HJFzp3vaJsT6M6SFnxn_wQtc2fH928bEIX1Do1cFUo04R3nIk7cjPwS29AJdA1XpIu8co-7WqQvIGJgX84/s1600/Firing-out-on-the-Reading-fire-Lassen-NP.-Photo-by-Steve-Burns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeazbejFhV8jXrUr6MQ34ggzR5Ko4v-2difiJ3Jq4VjsptZaZspWi_y476HJFzp3vaJsT6M6SFnxn_wQtc2fH928bEIX1Do1cFUo04R3nIk7cjPwS29AJdA1XpIu8co-7WqQvIGJgX84/s1600/Firing-out-on-the-Reading-fire-Lassen-NP.-Photo-by-Steve-Burns.jpg" height="275" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are a few lakes near the area and quite a bit of geothermal activity. Lassen Peak is the dominant feature and the largest plug volcano in the world. There is also the Cinder Cone volcano. Additionally, there are boiling springs, mudpots, and fumaroles at the park.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_L4EsLrSY_mqITfI1qBDwhnGyTXxPUc1RU0jMaU2v2bPiEV2345Wr5FWLDkB-xZXaEgRSdqz0G6Q28oWgLmfRmR45s_6qzy11dZuqNT4Xg1RRiVJKDMC-pY0NQ44VyRTkflOZHS4GTU/s1600/BumpassHellPanoCropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_L4EsLrSY_mqITfI1qBDwhnGyTXxPUc1RU0jMaU2v2bPiEV2345Wr5FWLDkB-xZXaEgRSdqz0G6Q28oWgLmfRmR45s_6qzy11dZuqNT4Xg1RRiVJKDMC-pY0NQ44VyRTkflOZHS4GTU/s1600/BumpassHellPanoCropped.jpg" height="107" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed this mystery and can't wait to read more in the Anna Pigeon series. You can find my review of the book at Goodreads. Next I will be travelling south to Sacramento!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-17482901095833284562015-02-26T11:39:00.000-08:002015-02-26T11:39:35.642-08:00A Soapbox Moment<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I'm going to get on a soapbox and you may be offended. Every time I talk about this I get people all uptight and they decide that I'm being sanctimonious or pushy or that I want them to do what I say. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is this about people vaccinating their kids? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is this about the war on women? (There is one, you know.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is this about the separation of church and state and the fact that the Founding Fathers most certainly did NOT found the United States as a Christian nation?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, it's about books. More specifically, the books that people say they will positively will NOT read. Now, I get in a lot of trouble when I post about this. If you want to see examples, there are two threads on the Goodreads site, I will refer you to:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://b00bm85xoc/" target="_blank">The Shining by Stephen King</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2125256" target="_blank">Ultimate 2015 Reading Challenge</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, when I was a kid, I was a very picky eater. Many times I would have food put on the plate and say "Ick!"</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmO3R71Za1sqmkqnfnuYB9Ew2t1KxX5WJCoNgLiQCGW9besv4gNWMf8RiF397Wa1VtvS-tVFEaSB0ry9XPzQp9nQa4voaCy8GqJ8ywro1qMxZYxS82aO6R_AqbMkMlKqQCMndjnd-VGA/s1600/istock_000014122296xsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmO3R71Za1sqmkqnfnuYB9Ew2t1KxX5WJCoNgLiQCGW9besv4gNWMf8RiF397Wa1VtvS-tVFEaSB0ry9XPzQp9nQa4voaCy8GqJ8ywro1qMxZYxS82aO6R_AqbMkMlKqQCMndjnd-VGA/s1600/istock_000014122296xsmall.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't want to eat it and would say I hated it. This would really upset my dad - especially if he knew I'd never tried it - so he would give me an extra spoonful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, when I hear someone say that they won't read science fiction or romance or horror or that science fiction, romance, horror, crime/mystery isn't REAL literature, that is the first thing I think of. Obviously, they need an extra helping.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, maybe they don't want to be told what to read, maybe they think they must know best...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe they've tried and think they're right. Maybe they've had a bad experience. I can understand that. I had a bad experience with a book written in the first person once and didn't read books in the first person for DECADES afterwards. (Hey, I think I can be forgiven in a murder mystery when the narrator turns out to be the one "whodunit".)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it just seems some people are just doing it for the same reason I wouldn't eat Brussel Sprouts. However, with one big difference, I didn't eat many vegetables (and bean sprouts) because I didn't think I'd like it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems to me many people won't read science fiction, romance, horror, et al, because they feel they are better than that. That, in some ways, they are low-rent fiction. That they are for entertainment value only. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another problem I have is that, yes, you may have had a bad experience with science fiction after reading one or two books. But, do you know how many sub-genres there are? Wikipedia lists 49 different types of science fiction genres: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Science_fiction_genres" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Science_fiction_genres</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How about mystery? Westerns? Horror? Romance? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you rule out all of romance because you hated 50 Shades of Grey? (Full disclosure: though I read quite a bit of romance, I refuse to read this because I have a philosophical objection to BDSM.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you have any comments? Are there any books you won't read? Why? Do you rule out entire genres or subgenres? If so, what is your reasoning? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you think I'm unreasonable? Sanctimonious? Is there a better way to get on my soapbox without upsetting people? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comment below or reach out to me via social media:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/kmcripn" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/+KirstenCrippen/posts" target="_blank">Google+</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/kirsten.crippen" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/833700-kirsten" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-71969305218481051982015-02-24T13:19:00.003-08:002015-02-24T13:19:31.286-08:00Spontaneity = Truth AND JFK and the Israeli Nuclear Program<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my last blog post, <a href="http://highlanddrive.blogspot.com/2015/02/hey-music-in-80s-wasnt-that-bad-imho.html" target="_blank">Hey! Music in the 80's wasn't that bad! IMHO</a>, I mentioned that many times I listen to blog posts while walking my dog, Misty. I also like to start my day listening to <a href="http://nwpr.org/" target="_blank">Northwest Public Radio</a>, specifically <a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/" target="_blank">Morning Edition</a>, <a href="http://thedianerehmshow.org/" target="_blank">The Diane Rehm Show</a>, and <a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/" target="_blank">On Point with Tom Ashbrook</a>. Today was no different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I discovered a new book I want to read on Morning Edition in an interview with Sandip Roy ("<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/02/24/383581229/family-secrets-and-mango-chutney-in-dont-let-him-know" target="_blank">Family Secrets -- And Mango Chutney -- In 'Don't Let Him Know'</a>"). I got an update on the Iranian nuclear negotiations on The Diane Rehm Show ("<a href="http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-02-24/prospects-for-an-agreement-to-limit-irans-nuclear-program" target="_blank">Prospects for an Agreement to Limit Iran's Nuclear Program</a>"). And, I had to give up listening to On Point halfway through because the leader of the so-called<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/230693-house-gop-conservatives-form-new-freedom-caucus" target="_blank"> "Freedom Caucus"</a>, <a href="http://jordan.house.gov/" target="_blank">Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)</a>, was making me have violent ideations ("<a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/02/24/dhs-funding-shutdown-immigration-executive-action" target="_blank">Political Pressures Weigh on Homeland Security Funding</a>"). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On my walk, I learned about the composer<a href="http://johntavener.com/" target="_blank"> John Tavener</a> on<a href="http://composersdatebook.publicradio.org/" target="_blank"> Composers Datebook</a> from <a href="http://www.americanpublicmedia.org/" target="_blank">American Public Media</a>; learned about the power of food critics and when a flag should be lowered to half-mast (at least in the British Isles) on the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj9z" target="_blank">Today Programme</a> from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4" target="_blank">BBC Radio 4</a>; and visited pre-election<a href="http://www.mapsofworld.com/greece/greece-location-map.html" target="_blank"> Greece</a>, the<a href="http://www.weforum.org/" target="_blank"> World Economic Forum</a> in <a href="http://www.bestmountaintowns.com/davos/" target="_blank">Davos</a>, devastating floods in <a href="http://www.mapsofworld.com/malawi/malawi-location-map.html" target="_blank">Malawi</a>, <a href="http://70.auschwitz.org/index.php?lang=en" target="_blank">Auschwitz on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazis</a>, and <a href="http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/escapes/go-list/The-Last-Godforsaken-Place.html" target="_blank">South Georgia</a> on<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qjlq" target="_blank"> From Our Own Correspondent</a>, also from Radio 4.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the great things about this habit is it usually gets me thinking about different things. And this morning was no different. One statement that got me thinking was from the Composers Datebook program ("Tavener's "The Whale"") and the second item was from this morning's The Diane Rehm Show that was previously mentioned. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's start with Composers Datebook and Sir John Tavener. Apparently after a near-death experience, Tavener's approach towards composing and his compositions completely changed. One of the statements in the podcast was that "religious tradition held that whatever was spontaneous was true." Now, I don't know if this is true or not, but let's say it was. That's what got me to thinking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If religious tradition holds that, it would seem to be antithetical and contradictory to organized religion. After all, how much spontaneity is there in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_%28liturgy%29" target="_blank">Catholic Mass</a> or showing up to church every Sunday? Or in praying every Friday in the local Mosque? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or, let's take my erstwhile religion as an example, the<a href="http://www.mormon.org/" target="_blank"> Mormons</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHKeU-omqV6jMwjfJyjRzcPRvk-h94Ha-95KUKN21Gl6oeQKqWBs-dkKGsphLyamZYpFEkg3sy_JiYn-MqQgOax8gdYnsvrquzJXyTzy4I2o4qcx6Rmqfi9D1m5anH4RlPQ71U7yoVoI/s1600/first-vision-stained-glass-window-tom-holdman-palmyra-360x240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHKeU-omqV6jMwjfJyjRzcPRvk-h94Ha-95KUKN21Gl6oeQKqWBs-dkKGsphLyamZYpFEkg3sy_JiYn-MqQgOax8gdYnsvrquzJXyTzy4I2o4qcx6Rmqfi9D1m5anH4RlPQ71U7yoVoI/s1600/first-vision-stained-glass-window-tom-holdman-palmyra-360x240.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I joined the <a href="https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng" target="_blank">Church</a> over 20 years ago and I always had a sense of not being like the others. But I stayed because I believed in the message of the Mormons, more specifically, the message that <a href="http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/joseph-smith" target="_blank">Joseph Smith</a> brought back from the <a href="http://www.hillcumorah.org/grove.php" target="_blank">Sacred Grove</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But more recently I have stopped going. Why? Because the current Church seems to be sending the wrong message. They seem to be standing for things and sending out messages that are contradictory to the message of Christ. Could one of the reasons be that once the Mormons became organized - or any religion really - does truth suffer? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Please make a comment below or contact me via Twitter, Google+, or Facebook if you have any thoughts!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My next thought-provoking comment came from a caller during The Diane Rehm Show. The show was about Iran's nuclear ambitions but the caller was commenting on Israel's nuclear program. He made the comment that the only President to call on Israel about their program was John F. Kennedy and he was assassinated soon after. Hmmm..... Coincidence? Was it just another conspiracy theory? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, not entirely, it seems. John F. Kennedy did send a letter to Prime Minister Ben Gurion of Israel in May of 1963 where he stated: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It is because of our preoccupation with this problem that my Government has sought to arrange with you for periodic visits to Dimona. When we spoke together in May 1961 you said that we might make whatever use we wished of the information resulting from the first visit of American scientists to Dimona and that you would agree to further visits by neutrals as well. I had assumed from Mrs. Meir's comment that there would be no problem between us on this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We are concerned with the disturbing effects on world stability which would accompany the development of a nuclear weapons capability by Israel. I cannot imagine that the Arabs would refrain from turning to the Soviet Union for assistance if Israel were to develop a nuclear weapons capability--with all the consequences this would hold. But the problem is much larger than its impact on the Middle East. Development of a nuclear weapons capability by Israel would almost certainly lead other larger countries, that have so far refrained from such development, to feel that they must follow suit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">You can find the entire text <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/FRUS5_18_63.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-72585557044542782872015-02-22T11:14:00.003-08:002015-02-22T11:15:06.583-08:00Hey! Music in the 80's wasn't that bad! IMHO<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like to listen to podcasts when I walk my dog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(She'll be 16 at the end of May and still walks 1-2 miles a day!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning I listened to an episode of <a href="http://www.npr.org/" target="_blank">NPR</a>'s terrific <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/" target="_blank">All Songs Considered</a>. I discovered this podcast maybe 10 years ago and I love it. It's introduced me to many bands that I love that I maybe would never have heard of because I don't listen to Top 40 radio or pop music much anymore. (I'm mainly a classical music nerd.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the groups I discovered thanks to All Songs is <a href="http://www.mumfordandsons.com/" target="_blank">Mumford and Sons</a>, for example. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The podcast I listened to this morning was called<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2008/09/02/94194815/the-80s-were-they-really-that-bad" target="_blank"> "The '80's: Were They Really That Bad?"</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My answer to this question would be "NO!" - but they did an hour of trashing the 80's. Now, I agree that the 80's weren't the best decades for music. The 50's, the 60's the 70's... you can't really compare. On the other hand, post-80s there wasn't much. Grunge, rap, hip-hop, these are reasons I tune my radio either to NPR or to an oldies station. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reasons I like the 80's:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One, I graduated in 1984. So, it was the soundtrack to my high school experience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two, it was happy music. You tapped your foot, you could sing along, it just made me happy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hall & Oates, Duran Duran, Quarterflash, I just loved them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, unfortunately, there was also David Lee Roth out there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may not be a music critic like the guys on All Songs, but the music from the 80's makes me happy so who cares?</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-18823628520974541472015-02-12T11:53:00.001-08:002015-02-12T11:53:42.790-08:00Thank you for the shame, Pasco Police Department!I want to thank the Pasco Police Department for providing me the opportunity to feel shame in my community and my community's law enforcement community. I had never felt ashamed of local law enforcement before this week.<br />
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I have been denied the opportunity to serve on Benton County juries twice because I told the attorneys that I would give police officers the benefit of a doubt when they testify.<br />
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But, what has happened? The fourth fatal shooting in Pasco in six months! (And that doesn't include recent shootings in Kennewick and Richland this year.) This one, however, was the most shameful. A homeless man, one who had recently lost his job, was shot and killed while running away. A man that was the type of person our "peace" officers should be trying to help was murdered instead.<br />
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I notice that Pasco Police cars have the quote "serving our community since 1910" on them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO0IAJEWTCEZCLOuErnPEtlzQ3zMaM0HcPdjOm-a0RWY5DL4WGHPA21-yscufYLhG64yCrxUCuGcbM2RcPksB1vB1xizUYKXXpn3lw9550qbnAYiazbfI1HEb6aDyXF2nCT5A1ZbUhOY/s1600/4354113_G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO0IAJEWTCEZCLOuErnPEtlzQ3zMaM0HcPdjOm-a0RWY5DL4WGHPA21-yscufYLhG64yCrxUCuGcbM2RcPksB1vB1xizUYKXXpn3lw9550qbnAYiazbfI1HEb6aDyXF2nCT5A1ZbUhOY/s1600/4354113_G.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Too bad the police officers who killed Antonio Zambrano-Montes weren't serving anything but death and fear.<br />
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As I said, I want to thank the Pasco Police for showing me that we are no better than Ferguson or New York City. The question is will the Franklin County justice system reach a higher bar? Or will we have another day of shame?<br />
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It was even more shameful that we are represented by these officers in the national press. The LA Times, the Chicago Tribune, CNN, Al Jazeera America -- they all reported on this tragedy. Let's hope that when the investigation by Tri-City Special Investigation Unit is complete and the Franklin County Prosecutor makes his final determination that we will not have another reason to be ashamed. That we unlike Staten Island and Ferguson, can hold our police officers accountable.<br />
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<a href="http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/02/11/3405116_man-shot-by-pasco-police-identified.html?rh=1" target="_blank">Man shot by Pasco police identified; protestors picket City Hall</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-50982021434088925402015-02-08T09:42:00.002-08:002015-02-08T09:42:25.567-08:00Wisdom From The Pen Of Margaret AtwoodI've been trying to finally finish up the stupendous MaddAddam trilogy by the even more stupendous Margaret Atwood!<br />
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She always has little nuggets of wisdom in her books. Including these two quotes by her character, Adam One:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What is 'belief' but a willingness to suspend the negatives?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>He said that if you acted according to a belief, that was the same thing. As having the belief.</b></span><br />
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Woah!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1280648277251326732.post-14379604986201763352015-02-08T09:23:00.003-08:002015-02-08T09:23:42.378-08:00The Dangers of the Islamic State (and, really, ANY Theocracies)<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This program, "Islamic State" on BBC Radio 4's Report show, had some disturbing (and fascinating) insights into the Islamic State. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">BBC Correspondent Peter Marshall interviewed former (and disillusioned) jihadi Aimen Dean.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">One of the most disturbing things was something that came from a childhood friend of Dean's who is now a judge in the Islamic State. They were having a theological/ideological debate and Dean brought up how can all the other Muslims be wrong and you be right? The judge brought up the case of Noah. God destroyed ALL of humanity except for 12 individuals. He was showing us an example. That God shows us the way.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Quite horrifying. I am a believer. I admit that. I believe in God. I don't believe in THAT God. However, this shows us the danger of religion. That it inculcates the belief, the worldview, that we/you/I/they are right and everyone else is wrong -- and expendable. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">It isn't a strictly Muslim/Islamic failing. Don't think that. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Excellent program!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04wwqcp" target="_blank">Islamic State on Radio 4</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00755902390192704157noreply@blogger.com0