Mom

It was 30 years ago that my Mom slipped the bonds of this earth for much greener pastures. By that time, however, she had given me 36 years of example, instruction, and love that live on to this day.

Well done, Mom. Thank you.

Really America? Really?

Just pondering a few questions, answers to which are possibly more important than we may realize:

• Are a professional basketball player's bedroom choices really worth a couple days' headlines and a personal, congratulatory phone call from the President of these United States to commend him for his courage? Really? Frankly, I don't give a damn.
• Why did the United States leave four citizens hanging in the wind in far away Libya, resulting in their deaths? Really, why?
• Must I accept the redefining of Marriage? If so...what's next on the agenda?
• What good are even more gun laws going to do in the prevention of murder? After all, check the trends from 1993 to 2011 as published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics here. 
• How rampant is human trafficking in the United States? Is one particular group responsible for most of it? 
• Is my Baby Boomer generation the last to experience "retirement" as it used to be known?
• Did the Cleveland PD totally drop the ball on fully investigating strange reports from that house-turned-prison in their city? 
• Where have all the Woodward- and Bernstein-like real investigative reporters gone? 
• Why do we give more of our time and effort considering the latest Lindsay Lohan drunken episode or Kim Kardashian's marital mess than we do to matters that are actually important? 
• (By the way, who was thrown off Dancing With The Stars last night???)
• Have welfare programs doomed America's future? 
• Is personal responsibility a thing of the past?
• Has consideration of these questions ruined your mood for the day?

I'm normally quite a positive guy, but these questions and more have me a bit in the doldrums lately. 

Lord, help us. 

Boston Strong

My oldest son lives just outside Boston. He is a running enthusiast, among other interests. A few years ago he ran The Boston and I was there to watch him, cheer him on, and congratulate him at the finish line. Unless you've witnessed it first-hand, it is difficult to imagine what Patriots Day and the running of The Boston Marathon means to those involved. It is truly one of the most important days of their year.

This past Monday afternoon, although I knew he wasn't running, I knew that his many friends participating may have led him to the race route to watch them, cheer them on, and even be at the finish line. Since they had no school that day, my grandsons could have very likely been with him. When I heard the unfathomable news of the bombing, a few very tense minutes passed before he replied to my text message of "you OK?" to say that all was fine and he was not anywhere near Boylston Street and that horrific scene. Thank God.

A transplanted Michigander, greater Boston has been his home for almost 20 years now. A sports nut, he has related how Bostonians, now including he and his family, are absolutely crazy about their local professional sports teams. Last night at the Bruins hockey game, those fans really showed their love of their city and their unwillingness to be taken down by cowards out to make a statement. This excellent article, and it's embedded video of the fans singing the National Anthem as one, wonderfully highlights the strength and the resolve of those fans, along with their love of America.

This video of the pre-game activities, serves to remind each of us that although they are enduring the grief of their losses, their spirits are rock-solid as they resolve to get through this tough time together...Boston Strong.

Enough is Enough

The calendar says that tomorrow is the first day of Spring. I fear there has been some mistake. You see, this morning I woke up to find this when I gazed out the front window...

By 5:00 this afternoon it amounted to 5 - 6 inches of new, fluffy, ugly white stuff! Will it never stop? This winter wasn't really too bad...until February and March came around. The last 7 weeks have been brutal, by southwest Michigan standards anyway. 

However, the long-range weather forecast calls for warming into the 40° range this weekend. 

Could that be the final change I'm so longing to see??? 

C'mon God, work with me here. Our beautiful yellow and white crocus flowers are under 6 inches of snow and begging for sunshine. And, well, so am I. 

Free At Last!

About 8-1/2 years ago, we decided to move from Wyoming, Michigan to Byron Center. My stepsons attended school in BC and it just made sense to be closer to all the school-related activities.

We found a house, loved it, and made an offer that was accepted. As far as the Wyoming house went...I remember saying, "oh, don't worry Sweetheart, it'll sell in a heartbeat". Oh boy...I sure blew that call! No sale of the home materialized, even after three tries with three different realtors over those years.

Therefore, for the past 8 years, that house has been a rental. I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I do not care to make Landlording my avocation. No thanks, don't want the hassle, no way, no how. We had good renters and bad renters; fortunately, the good ones were in the majority.

So, it is with great joy that I publish this photo, showing the absolutely lovely SOLD sign atop the realtor's For Sale placard. Ah, thank God Almighty, free at last, we're free at last, as the late Dr. M.L. King so eloquently stated many years ago.

It will take a while to get used to one mortgage payment, one property tax bill, one insurance invoice, and the lack of extra responsibilities an additional property adds to one's life, but I think we'll get accustomed to the change very quickly!

What a Difference 2,400 Miles Can Make!

Recently, we spent a terrific week in Nuevo Vallarta, 

enjoying the sun, water and beauty of the central Pacific coast of Mexico. 

Swim-up bar, of course!

Beautiful landscaping throughout the grounds of the resort. 

But, all good things must come to an end. We returned home to find winter was still in full force. 

I know they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, 

but winter really does have a special peacefulness, doesn't it?

Recent Executive Orders Explained

The Buckeye Firearms Association just sent out this succinct explanation of each of the 23 Executive Orders recently signed by President Obama. Much ado, pomp and circumstance, and "show"...accomplishing nothing more than a nice feeling for the one who signed the orders, in this blogger's humble opinion.

=======================================================================

Obama's 23 Executive Orders 

translated from the formal bureaucratese

Submitted by cbaus on Thu, 01/17/2013 - 12:00.
Editor's Note: This succinct, pithy analysis of Barack Obama's 23 Executive Orders was posted yesterday on the Internet and has quickly gone viral. The original author appears to be this blogger.


So Obama released his Executive Orders to Prevent Maniacs From Being Maniacs today. I've taken the time to translate the summaries into plain English below:

1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

     Tell the government to follow the law.

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

     Tell the regulators to stop the stupid and useless regulations.

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

     Pay the states back for the unfunded mandates that the Feds keeps making.

4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

     Tell the Attorney General to do his job.

5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

     Start another unfunded mandate. (See #3.)

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

     Tell FFLs how to do something no one is ever going to bother to do.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

     Do the same thing the NRA already does, only half as well at twice the cost.

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

     Do what Underwriters Laboratories already does, only half as well at twice the cost.

9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

     Tell the Feds to do their jobs.

10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

     Tell the DOJ to do its job.

11. Nominate an ATF director.

     Tell myself to do my job.

12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

     Spend more money.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

     Tell everyone to do their [$%^&*#] jobs.

14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

     Tell the doctors to figure out why it isn’t the feds’ fault that they aren’t doing their jobs.

15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

     Figure out a way to push “smart guns” that don’t exist and wouldn’t be useful as guns if they did.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

     Tell everyone that Obamacare doesn’t actually mean what it says.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

     Tell everyone that, seriously, Obamacare doesn’t actually mean that. We had to pass it to find out what was in it, after all.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

     Tell everyone that I’ve been a partisan hack for the last month every time I said the NRA was crazy to want to post more cops in schools.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

     Do the same thing that every police agency in the country has already done, only half as well and at ten times the cost.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

     Tell doctors what they already know.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

     Tell people what the parts of Obamacare that don’t say anything say.

22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

     Tell HHS to do their job.

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.

     Hand the rest of the job of telling everyone to do their jobs off to someone else so it is no longer my job.

In Good Conscience

I ran across word of this CEO of a Grand Rapids, Michigan business standing up for his convictions and suing the Department of Health and Human Services over what ObamaCare will force him to pay for...totally against his religious beliefs. Thankfully, he isn't alone in standing up for his convictions. Hobby Lobby is risking having to pay fines up to $1.3 million per day for refusing to bend their owners' religious convictions.

Americans are fighting back, thankfully; each of us needs to be strong and voice our objections to a federal government that seems hell-bent on ignoring the Constitution and it's right-protecting amendments. Shame on each of us if we sit idly by and watch our freedoms be taken away.

Get Out Your Wallets

The first paychecks for those of us working for a living will begin arriving any day now. With those checks will come changes to the "withholding" column of your detailed paycheck report. Sure, most of the increases apply to those making over $250,000 per year, but folks those are the people, by and large, that are running small businesses throughout this land. That fact does not bode well for increased employment, not at all.

In addition, these "soak the rich" increases were fought for, tooth and nail, because they would help to balance the awful, one-sided, overspending of tax receipts by the federal government. HA! Do the math; this won't even begin to right the lopsided, deficit-laden expenditures by this bunch in D.C.

We're in trouble and our esteemed President seems dead set on continuing down the same road to eventual financial ruin. Look at Greece, look at Spain and see what type of malaise is in store for our own United States. It's coming...maybe not tomorrow, this year or next, but it is really coming soon to send all of us into financial Armageddon.

The Heritage Foundation's "Morning Bell" report this morning (1/8/13) detailed 13 tax increases that took effect on January first of this new near. Here they are in brief:

13 Tax Increases That Started January 1, 2013 

Tax increases in the fiscal cliff deal:

1. Payroll tax: increase in the Social Security portion of the payroll tax from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent for workers. This hits all Americans earning a paycheck—not just the “wealthy.” For example, The Wall Street Journal calculated that the “typical U.S. family earning $50,000 a year” will lose “an annual income boost of $1,000.”

2. Top marginal tax rate: increase from 35 percent to 39.6 percent for taxable incomes over $450,000 ($400,000 for single filers).

3. Phase out of personal exemptions for adjusted gross income (AGI) over $300,000 ($250,000 for single filers).

4. Phase down of itemized deductions for AGI over $300,000 ($250,000 for single filers).

5. Tax rates on investment: increase in the rate on dividends and capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent for taxable incomes over $450,000 ($400,000 for single filers).

6. Death tax: increase in the rate (on estates larger than $5 million) from 35 percent to 40 percent.

7. Taxes on business investment: expiration of full expensing—the immediate deduction of capital purchases by businesses.

Obamacare tax increases that took effect:

8. Another investment tax increase: 3.8 percent surtax on investment income for taxpayers with taxable income exceeding $250,000 ($200,000 for singles).

9. Another payroll tax hike: 0.9 percent increase in the Hospital Insurance portion of the payroll tax for incomes over $250,000 ($200,000 for single filers).

10. Medical device tax: 2.3 percent excise tax paid by medical device manufacturers and importers on all their sales.

11. Reducing the income tax deduction for individuals’ medical expenses.

12. Elimination of the corporate income tax deduction for expenses related to the Medicare Part D subsidy.

13. Limitation of the corporate income tax deduction for compensation that health insurance companies pay to their executives.
=====================================================================

We're in trouble, my friends. Hang on to your hats; we're in for a wild and terrible ride.

And For You Auld Acquaintances

Another year is fast slipping by. As we begin 2013, I wish each of my auld acquaintances the very best of all the new year brings us.

I can get quite melancholy on New Year's Eve, thinking of those that have gone before, along with good friends and good times. This year, however, I'm already seeing hints of good things in store for loved ones and friends during 2013. Hopefully, those hints will come to pass.

So my friends, let us take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Evil Won't Be Legislated Away

Last Friday afternoon, as the details began to emerge about the horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, I felt sick to my stomach. You see, I have 4 grandchildren ages 10 and below. Then, the following day as the photos of the victims of that senseless massacre became available...well, I just didn't know what to think or do. It just made me sick. How, how in the world could anyone walk into an elementary school and execute twenty beautiful six and seven-year-olds and the wonderful people that taught and watched over them?

I'm beginning to realize the answer to that question. Evil in all its ugliness and unbelievable horror, does exist in this world. Banning "assault" weapons and high-capacity magazines will make the legislators in favor feel like they've done something positive...but that will not stop the evil. Evil has been with us forever and we cannot banish it from our lives, as much as we'd love to do so.

Yes, I'm a Christian and I believe in a loving and caring God. No matter what the misguided idiots at the Westwood Baptist Church in Kentucky may believe, God did not cause this carnage to take place. But there is another side, one that has been present for millenniums and will be present until the end of this life and world as we know it. I believe it is a fact, a horrible fact that we don't want with us, but is true nonetheless. The devil, that fallen angel, and his ilk are real and they fight their battles using the most abhorrent means imaginable. We saw one of those instances last Friday, when beautiful, innocent young ones were massacred at the hands of one God-forsaken coward.

So, what do we do in our defense? In my case, I believe with all my heart that my God has given me the right to defend myself and my loved ones from this evil force when possible, and the second amendment to the Constitution reinforces that right. I do what I can to be prepared to meet that ugly force with my own force. I'm licensed to carry a concealed weapon...and I do. I've trained, I've practiced and I know that I am ready to do what I can to meet that evil force with the best I can muster; and I know that I will, should the unfortunate opportunity present itself. I'd be there for Jack and Emma, for Ben and Mitchell, as well as for myself.

So called "Gun Free Zones" are ridiculous. For those thousands of us that have taken the classes, done (and continued) the required training...are we different somehow if we enter the local grocery store than we are entering the local U.S. Post Office or elementary school? I think not. Had the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary approached the cowardly shooter with a loaded gun in her hand, I do believe things would have turned out somewhat differently. But, sadly, she could not have done that, by law. The carnage was over within ten minutes; how could the police department have stopped or reduced the 26 deaths?

We live with the evil among us; it is up to each of us to meet and repel that evil the best we can. It will not go away, as much as we'd like to think it will somehow.

Be safe, my friends, and be prepared to meet what will befall us.

Band...Take the Field!

I've been a fan of University of Michigan Wolverine football since the late 1960s. I've attended dozens of games and have never ceased to be amazed at the way they've packed over 100,000 fans in their stadium, The Big House, for every home game since 1975.

I love the football, but there's more to an afternoon at The Big House than a game. Seeing one of the finest marching bands in the country is worth the price of admission alone. It all begins ten to fifteen minutes prior to kickoff when the stadium announcer blasts over the PA system:

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the 235-member 

Michigan Marching Band

B-a-a-a-a-n-d, Take the Field!

They coming pouring out of the eastern tunnel entrance to the field, knees kicking high as they form the big block M and play the greatest fight song ever written, The Victors. If you've not been fortunate enough to witness it in person, the video below will give a pretty decent idea of how majestic it really is. Every fan with maize 'n' blue blood will feel the excitement and experience the goosebumps by this, in my opinion one of the greatest moments in sports.

Go Blue!

Our Home from Space at Night

This image of the United States at night is a composite of data taken by the VIIRS instrument aboard the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012.

Pretty cool, isn't it? Learn more directly from the NASA site: HERE

Wired.com published a nice series of these photos HERE which show more areas of the planet at night.

So, where would you rather be living: in the midst of bright lights or in the relative darkness?

As for me, I'm glad I'm in one of the "dimmer" areas, not dark just dimmer.

A Blog Vacation and Special Music

OK, I know, shame on me; three weeks since my last blog post. No excuses, just this 'n' that going on, including my "milestone" 65th birthday, which came and went with a whimper. After these many, you're just glad to have made another. Accept my apologies for being missing in action for a time.

What inspired me today, though, is that I opened the iTunes program and began to listen to Christmas tunes for the first time this year. The first one to play, Jo Dee Messina's A Joyful Noise, immediately grabbed me by the throat...

Somethin' 'bout December
Gets me thinking of the past
How the child that I was
Grew up so fast
But I still remember getting caught in the thrill
In the magic of the season, and I know I always will

Make a joyful noise
Send it out across the sky tonight
Send it racin' through the cool starlight
Let it fall on Heaven's ears

Indeed.

Then, Celine Dion came along next blasting O Holy Night, as only she can blast it. Ah, the music of Christmas...joyous, beautiful, and full of memories. Even the more modern Chip Davis and his Mannheim Steamroller group takes those old time classics and makes them into extraordinary, synthesized, New Age wonders that help you to "see" the horse and sleigh prancing through the new snowfall, or the Christmas star shining over that stable in Bethlehem.

Our eclectic collection of Christmas tunes ranges from the piano of Jim Brickman, to Reba, Michael Bolton, Kenny G, Vince Gill and others. Each of them bringing their own flavor to add to the magic of this special season.

Merry Christmas, friends.

Say It Isn't So!

Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of iconic treats such as Twinkies and traditional pantry staple Wonder Bread, said Friday it is shuttering its plants and will seek to liquidate the 82-year-old business. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 in January, said it has requested bankruptcy-court authorization to close the business and sell its assets.


I'll be honest, I cannot remember when I last ate a Twinkie, but we're talking about a genuine piece of Americana here, people! Whether you favor the scrumptious treat fresh out of the package or deep-fried, as some enterprising eateries have done, this one will be missed.

Farewell, yummy old friend.

On a more serious note, a Wall Street Journal article goes on to say,

The work stoppage, launched Nov. 9 by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union to protest a fresh labor contract, affected about two-thirds of Hostess's 36 plants. The strike was making it impossible for the Irving, Tex., company to continue producing its baked goods, Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said.

The CEO says they will be laying off most of their 18,500 employees immediately, which begs the question to the baker's union bosses:  how's that new (wage- and benefit-cutting) contract look to you now?

A Simple But Troubling Question

Although the world's economy is teetering on the brink of financial malaise, let me just take a moment to jump into our very important and most attention-getting current event with a question:

Wouldn't you think the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency might have access to a more secure means of encrypting and hiding electronic communications rather than utilizing a Google Gmail account drop box?

Just askin'.......................................

Helvetia's Dream

I am a neophyte astronomer, hoping that I can make time available to study the vast universe surrounding us, and I also thoroughly enjoy time-lapse video. Well, this one combines the two with lovely music...a fascinating and absolutely beautiful combination.

This video's creator/photographer is Alessandro Della Bella, a professional photographer living in Switzerland, most if not all of the scenes are in that part of the world. It is certainly beautiful country.

I highly suggest watching in HD expanded to full screen for your best experience. Enjoy!


Helvetia's Dream from Alessandro Della Bella on Vimeo.

Thanks to Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy for featuring this video.

Vote Today!

I voted this morning on my way into work. I arrived at 7:50 a.m. and lined up behind about 30 neighbors. Still, the process was smooth and I was back on my way in less than 40 minutes. The size of the ballot—with choices from President, to County Sheriff, to School Board member, including six ballot proposals—caused the voting to take more time than usual, but that doesn't matter...it's our Constitution-given right as American citizens and each of us needs to exercise that right. If you don't vote, don't even think of bitching about the results.

Hey, think of it (and cringe): the Presidential candidates have spent in excess of Two Billion Dollars to get to this point, you've endured God only knows how many political television and radio commercials and sorted through pounds of mailings. So, get out there and take a half-hour or so to express your choices on the myriad of important items up for a decision, a decision in the hands of the people.

Remember, if you don't vote I don't care to hear your whining about the results. Just Do It!

An Amazing Natural Display

One of the blogs I follow, Bad Astronomy, posted an amazing photo today. I must say, had I witnessed this in person I may have dropped to my knees, bowed my head and waited to be "beamed away"!

Is this not beautiful?

photo credit: David Hathaway, a solar physicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Alabama

An explanation of this phenomenon from the blog entry:

It’s funny what tiny little ice crystals can do. Floating high in the air, suspended by air currents, they hang there… and then a ray of sunshine enters them. The light gets bent due to complicated physics, the interplay of that beam of light passing from air to a solid crystal and out again. But once that beam leaves, the sky can light up with a wizard’s pattern of colors and shapes. And if you’re very, very lucky, you’ll see something that you’ll remember the rest of your life.

For a full explanation and more information about the photo, go here. Pretty amazing, eh?

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago today—11/1/11—I officially retired. At least, I retired from the full-time, work-a-day, prosper that career, chase the gold ring world. Then, just three weeks later I was commanding a 15-passenger bus at our local airport a couple days each week. In January, I began a 20-hour-per-week gig in a tiny marketing research office and I'm still working both of those jobs.

Bottom Line:  I'm loving it!

Retirement most certainly does not mean solitude, a good book, daily long naps, a rocking chair, and nothing more...at least not for this guy. Both of my part-time endeavors put me in touch with people; people make life interesting, fun and worthwhile. Make no mistake, I covet my "alone time", but that time should be somewhat limited. Interacting with family, friends and others helps to enhance daily life, instills positive thinking, and keeps the old grey matter a bit more sharp—use it or lose it, they say!

So, beginning year two of this new phase of my life I'm happy to say I see no reason for changing a thing. Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead! After all, the day will come when I won't have a choice about available activities. That day, hopefully, will be postponed by staying active, social and engaged with the fascinating world around me and all that it's inhabitants have to offer.