Now that the holidays are over, looming in the distance is our "friend", the taxman. I came across this little ditty while cruising the internet, and I was so impressed I had to pass it along. I don't know who the author is, but I do know that he/she is wise beyond his/her years. Enjoy!!

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The Taxman's Creed

Tax his land, tax his wage

Tax the bed in which he lays

Tax his tractor, tax his mule

Teach him taxes are the rule

Tax his cow, tax his goat

Tax his pants, tax his coat

Tax his tie, tax his shirt

Tax his work, tax his dirt

Tax his chew, tax his smoke

Teach him taxes are no joke

Tax his car, tax his gas

Tax the roads on which he must pass

Tax his food, tax his drink

Tax him if he tries to think

Tax his sodas, tax his beers

And if he cries, tax his tears

Tax his bills, tax his grass

Tax his notes, tax his cash

Tax him good so he will know

After taxes he has no dough

If he hollers, tax him more

Tax him 'til he's good and sore

Tax his coffin, tax his grave

Tax the sod in which he lays

Put these words upon his tomb

"Taxes drove me to my doom"

And when he's gone we won't relax

We'll still be after the inheritance tax!!

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I now return you to your regularly-scheduled lives ...

Tags: This And That

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Well it's been one hell of a year. So many things have gone haywire, both in my personal life and in "life" in general. So I, for one, am looking forward to 2014 with fervent hope in my heart. Hope for me. Hope for my family. Hope for my friends. Hope for my nation. Hope for the world. And, as a parting "gift", I thought I'd share with you some things that it's taken me 60+ years of "getting through it" to learn. Now, I don't want to claim any of these as "original thoughts". Just about all of them have been said by other people ... I just can't remember their names to give them proper credit. If any of you have a few to add to this list, please feel free. After all, I'm still learning!!

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and will never achieve, its full potential, that one word would be "meetings".

3. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

4. You should never confuse your career with your life.

5. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

6. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

7. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.

8. A person who is nice to you, but is rude to a waiter, is not a nice person.

9. Never be afraid to try. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

10. Your family and friends will love you anyway.

Let me close by telling each and every one of you just how special you are to me, and how "knowing" you has enriched my life. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. And don't forget the black-eyed peas!!

I now return you to your regularly-scheduled lives ...

Tags: This -n- That

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A little while ago, my on-line friend, RiverRiffs posted her Christmas wish list and it got me thinking. It is the time of year when we always wish for this and that, and then start out the New Year with a ton of resolutions, hoping to make our little corner of the world a bit more habitable. So I said to myself, "Self...why don't you put together a little something in response to her outstanding little blog?" And here it is.

A cold front is currently moving through our area. At 6 o'clock this morning it was as warm as it's going to be today. The north wind is whipping through and the sky is shrouded in clouds. If I lived anywhere else but here, I'd almost think snow was on the way. I'm here in my house, debating on whether or not I should finally turn on the furnace, and I can't help but think of all those folks out there who not only don't have a furnace, but not even a home, a tent, or some other shelter from the storm. I am thankful for my imperfect residence, and I wish everybody had one.

Last night was the last night of Hanukkah. My daughter, FSIL, and I celebrated by lighting all of the candles and then sitting down to a scrumptious meal of grilled bratwurst and sauerkraut sandwiches and freshly made latkes. Afterward, we had sweet potato pie and hot Russian tea, along with a generous portion of family and fellowship. I can't help but think of all the folks out there who could probably live for days on what I served at just one meal, and all the ones huddled alone against the reality of life with no comforting arms to give them a hug or hold their hand. I wish that everyone could know what it's like to always have a full belly and an even fuller heart.

I had to go out and do some stuff earlier. I had a serviceable car to drive, good roads to drive on, gasoline to make the car go, and I didn't have to worry about anyone taking potshots at me just because I happened to be "there". Oh, I suppose it could happen, but I doubt it. You know why? Because an entire body of men and women make it their business to make it to where I don't have to worry. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, firefighters, police officers ... they put their lives on the line each and every day, sometimes in far away lands, separated for months on end without the love and comfort of their families. I wish they could know how deeply I appreciate all that they do for me...for all of us.

I look around the world, and I see people who are living in darkness and oppression, their governments using them for little more than cannon fodder in endless wars and uprisings. I see people hiding in caves just to be allowed to freely practice their religions. I see people who are never allowed to rise above "their station in life". I see people who live under the constant threat of a gun in the night and whose only real hope is that they live to see another day. I wish that everyone could know what it's like to live in a free country where, while not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, a person can still live a life and die happily out of it when the time comes.

I wish there were no sick people. I wish everybody was rich. I wish every child born was the wanted child of loving parents. I wish ... I wish ... I wish ...

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

I now return you to your regularly-scheduled lives.

Tags: The Holidays

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I was sitting in a classroom in Chambersburg, PA ... an American History class, if memory serves me. All of a sudden, the principal's voice came over the scratchy old intercom [remember those?] and he told us that President Kennedy had been killed. We all just sort of looked around at each other, not really knowing what we were supposed to do with that information. The principal told us that we were being let out early. Those of us who walked or rode bikes could gather up our stuff and leave. Those who rode the bus could leave as soon as they got there to pick us up. It was a Friday, so we knew there wouldn't be any school for the next two days. What would happen on Monday, we didn't know.

Usually, our bike ride home was a jovial thing, especially on a Friday, with lots of detours and stops and starts. But not this day. We silently peddled on, wanting to get home as quickly as possible. I don't know that we really gave much thought to why we felt the urgency, but looking back, I think it had a lot to do with the fact that we were just plain scared. I mean, we were just barely teenagers and had grown up in a world where we were told "the big one" could drop any moment. All that stood between us and utter destruction was the actions of our elected leaders. Well, someone had just killed our "top guy", and if "they" could get to him, how easy would it be for "them" to get to the rest of us. Somehow, we just all knew that if we could get home, then it would be okay. Mom and Dad would help us make sense out of it all.

Of course, looking back now, it was a silly thought. Mom and Dad didn't know any more than us what the killing of a President would mean or how it might change the course of our history. Of course, their faith told them that the sun would still rise and set, and that we'd get through it, but that day they didn't have any more answers than we did. But they were there [well, at least Mom was there, and Dad got home later, bringing with him the first t.v. we ever owned] and it helped.

The next several days kind of all blended together. Lots and lots of hours spent in front of that new t.v. Our school was closed all the next week. So we watched, and prayed for the Kennedys, and President Johnson, and the nation. And we got through it.

There has been much speculation since then about what America would be like today had Kennedy lived. I tend to think that it might be rather different than it is now. Of course, through the years, much has "come out" about Kennedy...that he really was politically inept, that he was a "less than perfect" man in regards to his lusts and habits, that he had associations that were suspect. I don't know how much of it is true or not. I've never believed that you should diefy anyone just because they died tragically. And I've never believed that the Kennedy clan is "America's Royal Family". But I also believe that Kennedy was to today's Democrats like Abraham Lincoln was to today's Republicans...in other words, similar mostly in name only.

So I'm remembering JFK today. I'm remembering how I viewed him when he died: A handsome man with a beautiful wife who seemed to be living a fairytale life in an America much different than the one we live in today.  And I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled lives ...

Tags: History

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Okay ... The news is filled with talk of little else. Government shutdown. Government default. Raise the debt ceiling? Don't raise the debt ceiling? [and of course, there's the ObamaCare thing...but let's let that one go for the time being]

Currently, the United States is trillions of dollars in debt, and the current POTUS and a majority number in the Senate want to raise our current debt limit in order for us to be able to borrow even more money we won't be able to pay back, either. So, it got me to thinking ...

What would happen if we just said "no"? And not just "no" to raising the debt limit, but "no" to the debt itself? What am I saying? I'm asking, what would happen if we just told the world, "screw you...we're not going to pay."?

Now, if you, me, or any other member of John Q. Public did that with our own debts, what would happen? Our credit rating would be tanked. Oh various creditors might sue us, but in the end, even after months or years of litigation, you can't get blood out of a stone, and we don't have anything here like debtors' prison. You'd have to go back to paying cash for everything, thereby making it necessary to only spend money you actually have in your hands. You would actually have to live within your means. What a concept!!

So what would happen if the United States government defaulted on their debt? They say that China "owns" a lot of U.S. "paper". Okay. What're they going to do? Send an army over to collect? I don't think so. Say that they won't lend us any more money ever? Probably, but so what? 

So let's just suppose that the government did decide just to "nationalize" and eliminate our debt? That would leave us with a $0 balance. Nobody else in the world would loan us any more money, maybe for years and years. Then, just like anybody else who declares bankruptcy, we would start with a clean slate. We don't owe anybody and nobody owes us. We could start afresh, this time knowing that we cannot spend any more than we take in. Period. 

We'd most likely have to do a total re-vamp of the way we collect taxes and have to find an equitable way of distributing what we do take in, as that is the only money we're going to have. Talk about a reality check!! If we only take in, say, $100 million in taxes, then that's going to be all we have to spend. Maybe then we'd have to make some serious decisions about that which we WANT and that which we NEED. 

I don't know what the political, social, and legal ramifications that such a move would cause, but it is an interesting thing to contemplate. I'd be real interested to hear what some of you have to say about this "outlandish" idea.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled lives ...

Tags: Politics and current events

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Yesterday, the military courts martial trying Major Nidal Hasan imposed the death penalty on this worthless excuse for a human being. I, for one, was very surprised at the ruling. If I had placed a bet on the outcome it would've been that he would be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Not that I don't think he deserves the death penalty. He most definitely does. However, I didn't think it would happen.

Anyway, it got me to thinking. We all know about the long, arduous pace of civilian death row inmates' trips to the death chamber, so I started wondering about military death row inmates. I mean, it took the US Justice Department only 6 years from the crime to the execution of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombings, so surely military justice will be far more swift and sure, right? Wrong.

The last execution of a military member by the actual military justice system was in 1961, 52 years ago, when Pfc. John A. Bennett was hanged at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas for the 1954 rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old Austrian girl. His death warrant was signed in 1959 by President Dwight Eisenhower, toward the end of his presidency. After the election in 1960, the new president, John F. Kennedy, declined to rescind the warrant and Bennett was executed.

While he exhausts all of his appeals, Nidal will be housed on the military death row located at the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He will join the following inmates: Ronald Gray [sentenced in 1988 for rape and murder], Dwight Loving [sentenced in 1989 for murder], Hasan Akbar (born Mark Fidel Kools) sentenced in 2005 for his attack against his fellow soldiers at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait where 2 were killed and 14 wounded], and Timothy Hennis [sentenced in 2010 for murder] Another soldier, Andrew Witt [sentenced in 2005 for murder] had his conviction overturned just a few weeks ago and a new trial is in the works for him.

Therefore, I would think it's extremely premature for anyone to start making plans to celebrate Hasan's funeral. Now, the President of the United States, in his/her capacity as Commander in Chief for the United States Military, is required by law to sign the death warrant of any condemned military member who has been sentenced to death. While it is true that President Obama, in the waning days of his presidency, could either pardon Hasan or commute his sentence [a practice not uncommon by out-going, un-re-electable presidents in the past] I don't think Obama will intervene. It would be a real stupid move politically and I think he won't want to tarnish his image, especially given the fact [and the history] that Hasan will most likely die in prison before he gets through the appeals process. But then again, you never know. Maybe Hasan will decide to put an end to all the appeals [which is his right to do] and demand that the sentence be carried out. If that happens, well, things just might get interesting.

I now return you to your regularly-scheduled lives.

Tags: History

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A tip of the hat in thanks to my Boomer Buddy, "RichPed", who was the one who got me thinking about this.

Rich [as some of you may know] lives in New Zealand. He's a hard-working, G-d fearing man who often shares his Biblical knowledge through his blogs and bulletins. But anyway, he was saying that he had just gone and gotten gas for his car. I asked him what they were paying for a gallon of gas down his way. He said that they were paying $2.11 per litre.

Now, my math skills are pretty rusty, so if I've calculated wrong, please forgive me. But I do know that there are roughly 3-1/2 [3.5] litres to each standard US gallon. That means in our way of doing things, Rich paid roughly $7.38 per gallon for his gas. Wow. When I filled up my car on Monday, I paid $3.36 per gallon, less than half of what he paid.

I have a friend who went on vacation to Europe this summer. She sent me several postcards during her trip and looking back at the postage that was required to send just a little piece of cardboard back to the U.S., I decided that I was getting a pretty good deal from the USPS for only having to spend, what, only 20 cents [I think that's the current rate...haven't sent a postcard in years]

Food is also another thing. My friend said that in her travels in Europe, the cheapest cup of coffee she could find was something like $4.00...and it wasn't very good coffee. She said even the simplest meals there cost at least double anything that she got here.

So the next time you start to complain, you might want to give some thought to what the rest of the world has to pay for the same things we use. Believe me, when I pull up to the pump it hurts to have to dish out $50 bucks to fill up my car ... but it would hurt a hell of a lot more if I had to pay $100.

We've gotten pretty spoiled here, and it's often real easy to wail and whine and put down our merchants and our government because we have to pay "so much". Don't get me wrong. I'd love it if the price of gas suddenly dropped to where it once was [I remember when gas was less than a dollar a gallon!!] but now I'm also thinking that it's sure not as bad as it could be.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled lives ...

Tags: You Don't Know How Good We've Got It Here

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Well, another week has come and gone and again several stories have caught my eye. What follows here is yet another set of opinions, ramblings, and observations on those stories. I hope you'll find your way through them, and whether or not you agree with what I say, I hope you'll share your thoughts as well.

Of course, the big story of the week is the acquital of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case. First and foremost, I would like to commend the folks in Florida for not flying off the handle the way they did in Los Angeles when the verdict in the Rodney King case was handed down. I happened to be living in L.A. when that happened, and I still can't get my head around the senseless violence and destruction that followed. Many people have said that this verdict cannot bring "closure" to Martin's family. In truth, this case was never about closure. In order to have closure, one must stop picking at a scab and let the wound heal. This will not happen. Mark my words, in the days and weeks to come some lawyer [or group of lawyers] will convince the family to bring a civil suit against Zimmerman. This case will be in the public eye for years to come. It won't make any difference, of course. The lawyers will get publicity and money. Trayvon Martin will be just as dead. And, even if they win, the family will have just about as much luck getting money from George Zimmerman as Ron Goldman's family has had getting money from O.J. Simpson.

A high-profile same sex couple have announced that they are filing for divorce after 3 years of marriage. [Sorry, I don't recall their names.] My first reaction to this "news" was that all the lawyers in same-sex marriage states must be giving themselves high-fives and chest thumps right about now. Imagine...a whole new segment of the population to exploit.

A lot of focus has been on some well-known scientologists "leaving the fold". I find that to be long over-due and highly amusing. I remember back in the 50's when science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard [himself an avowed atheist] quipped that if a man ever wanted to rule absolutely and make a ton of money in the process, he should form his own religion. Well, that's just what he did. And it worked. And he did make a ton of money. However, something happened that I don't believe Hubbard ever anticipated: the "monster" he created soon came to no longer have need of its creator. The leadership of the movement actually started to believe to be true what I think Hubbard always knew to be a gigantic cosmic joke. And I believe that the "head man" now is little more than another "Warren Jeffs" in scientology clothing.

Two prominent addicts also made headlines this week. Lindsay Lohan's people have announced a new deal and hopeful come-back through a series of interviews to be held with Oprah Windfrey, once she completes her court-mandated rehabilitation...her 6th, I believe. Well, anything's got to be better than the disasterous "Liz and Dick". The other addict, sadly, is Cory Monteith who stars in the t.v. show, Glee. He has a long history of addiction and was found dead in his hotel room yesterday. In this life, an addict has two choices: get clean or get dead. While I am sorry that his family and friends must go through this and now have to live their lives without him, I have no sympathy for Monteith himself. He dug his own grave.

Lastly, in England, a 16-year-old girl's family was hit with a $6K phone bill after she racked up charges while on a trip to the U.S. I remember back when cell phones were just cell phones. I gave my daughter one for her 16th birthday and sent her off to visit her Dad in California. Three weeks later she returned with a gorgeous tan, some wonderful memories, and a $546 phone bill. See, she believed the advertising that said "it's just like calling next door anywhere you are" and I, as the "reponsible party", was stupid and didn't bother to read all that lovely fine print at the end of the service contract. Well, as C.S. Lewis once said: "Experience is a harsh teacher. But you learn. Dear G-d how you do learn."

Well, now I leave it to  you. I always look forward to your thoughts. I now return you to your regularly-scheduled lives.

Tags: This-N-That

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Lots of little "snippets" caught my eye this last week. Some momentous, some trivial, maybe a little bit of both, but I thought I'd just jot down some thoughts and as always, I invite all my "readers" to respond in any manner they'd like ...

Almost 17 years ago a baby girl was found in the confessional stall of a Catholic Church in Matamoras, Mexico. The authorities speculated that the mother was one of the many street whores who ply their trade in this busy border town. Most likely, they figured, her pimp had ordered her to "get rid" of the baby, and rather than kill her, the mother put her in the church instead. She then vanished back to the streets. The baby was placed in the local orphanage where she was eventually adopted when she was 10 months old. That beautiful baby girl, born under such wretched circumstances, grew up to be my beautiful niece, Geneva, and in a few months she will become an American citizen through the current program administered by the Obama administration. All these years, though legally adopted by an American citizen [my sister], her own legal status has been up in the air. She has no passport for either Mexico or the USA. She has never been able to travel outside the country for fear that she would not be allowed back in. So when you speak of "illegal" immigration, hers is the only personal story I can relate to. I just know that a tremendous weight will be lifted off of all our shoulders when she finally gets her "papers" ...

The American actor, Alec Baldwin, is in the news again for having put his mouth in motion before his brain was in gear. In the past, Mr. Baldwin has attacked just about anything American he could think of. He's publicly berated his own daughter as being an "inconsiderate pig". Now he's made so-called "disparaging comments" about homosexuals. And yet, when he made his public apology, the media welcomed him back with open arms, championing him for seeing the error of his ways, and "forgiving" him his indiscretions. On the other hand, when an old, white, southern-raised woman [Paula Deen] admitted that she had used the "N-word" in the past, from the firestorm of protest lead by a rabid media, you'd think she was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs, the crucifixion of Christ, the Kennedy assassination, and Lord only knows what else. And here I thought all that stuff was Bush's fault. Go figure.

In the midst of a drought unprecedented since the Dust Bowl days, wildfires are breaking out all over, particularly in the west. Thousands upon thousands of acres are burning. Hundreds of homes have already been destroyed and many hundreds more are in danger. Then, the tragedy of the deaths of those 19 brave souls in Arizona who were fighting the latest outbreak. And yet, should we really be surprised? For millennia, wildfire has been Mother Nature's way of "cleaning up the neighborhood". While some fires are started by the carelessness of stupid people, and the callousness of evil people, most wildfires happen due to natural causes. Wildfires clean up the dead brush and all the detritus that finds its way to the forest floor. It destroys the eggs and larvae left behind by insect infestation. It wipes the slate clean, as it were, and makes things ready for new growth, and healthy growth. Were it not for the fact that people and their homes are involved, probably the best thing would be to just let the fires burn and do their work.

And finally, we have the 150th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. As a history buff, it has been interesting to hear all of the "Monday morning quarterbacks" hash over the battle and speculate how this or that would've been different if Lee had done this or that, or if Stonewall Jackson hadn't died, or if JEB Stuart had followed orders, etc. However, in reading many of the comments on the various boards, I am also astounded at the number of people who seem to still be fighting a war that ended 148 years ago.

Well, that's all from me. It's your turn!! I now return you to your regularly scheduled lives...

Tags: This-n-That

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