Representing The Whole Country

We are a Democratic Republic where the PEOPLE elected their governing officials...  the vote of the people...

In this last election, Joe Biden won the presidency by a slim margin:  51% : 49%

This margin is still a victory no matter which way you look at it...  and yet...  Joe Biden did not receive an overwhelming mandate from the people...   in fact, 51% to 49% is so close (and it was probably even closer as I am rounding) that one could say it was 50/50...  and not be far off.

Still, he got a majority and still he won...

He who wins sets the rules...  so to speak...

But again...  half the country did not want him to be president...  so half the country is relatively PISSED OFF...

The Democrats control the House by just a few votes and the Senate has a 50/50 split, so the TIE IS BROKEN by a Democratic VP...  in essence, the Democrats control CONGRESS...  but do they really have the support of MORE THAN HALF THE COUNTRY?

The answer is NO!

So, is our country really united?  NO...

Is this causing us problems?  YES...

Historically, when the midterms take place, the party that is NOT IN POWER typically wins more than the party that is in power, which means that there is a very good possibility that the House and the Senate will soon be controlled by the Republicans...

Is this good?  NO...

Will Congress represent a majority of the country?  NO...

And yet, this is our form of government...  but, it is only a problem when the country is split in half...  LIKE NOW...

If it were 60/40 or 70/30, one could easily say that the election reflects a majority of the country...  and that makes sense...

This 50/50 division in this country started when Trump was elected President instead of Clinton...  for 4 years the Dems set out to destroy Trump.  And, 2 years after his presidency, the Dems are trying to destroy Trump so he will not run again...  

Does this strategy reflect a majority of the country? NO...

And yet...  here we are...

A 50/50 country only serves our ENEMIES...  like China and Russia because they can take advantage of a country that is not united...

It appears that it is going to be up to the people to bring our country together rather than our leaders...  as our leaders are stuck on BEING RIGHT rather than COMPROMISE.  When we fall from our leadership position in the world, we may understand...  but until then, the USA is pushing a GREEN AGENDA that the other major countries ARE NOT FOLLOWING...  but, we are supposed to be the global leader...

Why are they not following our example?

Up The Mountain

 

Kapilikaya Rock Tomb

The Kapilikaya Rock Tomb. Photo: Savas Bozkaya/Shutterstock

Deep in the mountains of Turkey’s Çorum province, an ancient tomb fades into obscurity. Its past is almost forgotten and its future looks bleak. Details of its construction and the occupant inside are unknown. For thousands of years, the Kapilikaya rock tomb has been both a hidden architectural marvel and an extraordinary puzzle.

Çorum province lies not far from the Black Sea, on the Central Anatolian Plateau near the North Anatolian Fault. Tectonic activity has created diverse rock formations, enhanced by folding and faulting.

According to sources, the word Kapilikaya means precisely what it is: a rock with a door. The Kapilikaya rock tomb dates to the 2nd century BC, during the so-called Hellenistic Period. Some Turks believe that the tomb is Roman, not Greek. Modern Turks and Greeks often don’t get along.

Unknown builders carved the tomb into an outcrop. A trail on the left side leads up to a set of stairs at the base. Unfortunately, the base of this doorway is a canvas for graffiti artists.

From the outside, the tomb’s entrance looks like a massive doorway. In fact, the door doesn’t open, it never did, and there isn’t much space inside. Rather than the giant grotto suggested by the imposing size of this faux-door, it is simply a small crypt with little room for anything except a body.  READ MORE...

Rock Pushing

 

Most Common Symptoms of Cardiovascular Diseases

New report outlines the most common symptoms of 6 cardiovascular diseases: heart attack, 

heart failure, valve disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, and peripheral artery and vein 

disease (PAD and PVD).

New American Heart Association scientific statement indicates symptoms frequently overlap among conditions and may vary by sex.

• A “state of the science” review details the most reported symptoms of 6 cardiovascular diseases (CVDs): heart attack, heart failure, valve disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, and peripheral artery and vein disease (PAD and PVD).
• There are important differences in symptoms between women and men.
• Depression, common across many CVDs, may influence a person’s ability to detect changes in symptoms.
• Effective methods of monitoring and measuring symptoms over time are critical to manage cardiovascular disease well and prevent or delay its progression.

A review of the latest research highlights the most reported symptoms of various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), noting that men and women often experience different symptoms. This is according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today (August 18, 2022) in the Association’s flagship peer-reviewed journal, Circulation.

The statement also highlights how symptoms are experienced over time, which may be months or years apart depending on the condition, and on a spectrum of severity or intensity, noting the long-term nature of cardiovascular disease development. The scientific statement writing committee reviewed current research on the symptoms of different cardiovascular diseases. They found that symptoms vary over time and by sex.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and around the world. It comprises several conditions, including 6 reviewed in this scientific statement: heart attack, heart failure, valve disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, and peripheral artery and vein disease.  READ MORE...

Cat & Chicks

 

A Drug for Alzheimer's

Rapamycin is also known as sirolimus and is sold under the brand name Rapamune.

An innovative strategy to lessen the plaques was also found in the study.

The oral administration of rapamycin to an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model induces an increase in beta (β)-amyloid protein plaques, according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). β-amyloid buildup is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.



Rapamycin is FDA-approved for the treatment of transplant and cancer patients. The drug is also referred to as sirolimus and is sold under the name Rapamune. Publicly available data suggest that the drug might also improve learning and memory in aged mice. According to publicly accessible evidence, the medication may also boost learning and memory in elderly mice. The UT Health San Antonio researchers, on the other hand, discovered that following rapamycin administration, a protein called Trem2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) is drastically reduced. Trem2 is found in microglia, immune cells found in the brain and spinal cord.

“Trem2 is a receptor located on the surface of the microglia, and it enables these cells to engulf and degrade β-amyloid,” said study senior author Manzoor Bhat, Ph.D. “Loss of Trem2 in microglia impairs the vital function of amyloid degradation, which in turn causes a buildup of β-amyloid plaques.” Dr. Bhat is professor and chairman of the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at UT Health San Antonio and vice dean for research in the university’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.

Drug target
Importantly, the study, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, also featured a novel way to increase Trem2 in microglia. When the study lead author, Qian Shi, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, deleted a gene called Tsc1 from the microglia, there was a marked increase in Trem2 levels and a decrease in β-amyloid plaques.

Previous research has shown that loss of Tsc1 leads to activation of the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling pathway. Rapamycin, in contrast, blocks this pathway. “We expected that selective loss of Tsc1, only in microglia and not in neurons or other cells, would have negative consequences because inhibiting mTOR with rapamycin has known therapeutic uses in some disease models,” Dr. Shi said. “But the opposite was occurring.” Thus, repressing Tsc1 solely in microglia to enhance β-amyloid uptake could be a potential drug target, Dr. Shi said.  READ MORE...

Big Load

 

It's A Possibility

 

Absolute Truth Here

Panorama

 

Sleeping Giant in Our Oceans

Red medusa found just off the bottom of the deep sea in Alaska. 

Credit: Hidden Ocean 2005/NOAA

A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s oceans with life-supporting oxygen. Continental movement could ultimately have the opposite effect, killing the majority of deep ocean creatures.

“Continental drift seems so slow, like nothing drastic could come from it, but when the ocean is primed, even a seemingly tiny event could trigger the widespread death of marine life,” said Andy Ridgwell, University of California, Riverside geologist. Ridgwell is co-author of a new study on forces affecting oceanic oxygen.

As the water at the ocean’s surface approaches the north or south pole, it becomes colder and denser and then sinks. When the water sinks, it transports oxygen pulled from Earth’s atmosphere down to the ocean floor.

Eventually, a return flow brings nutrients released from sunken organic matter back to the ocean’s surface, where it fuels the growth of plankton. Today’s oceans feature an incredible diversity of fish and other animals that are supported by both the uninterrupted supply of oxygen to lower depths and organic matter produced at the surface.

New research has found that this circulation of oxygen and nutrients can end quite suddenly. Using complex computer models, the scientists investigated whether the locations of continental plates affect how the ocean moves oxygen around. They were surprised to find that it does.

This finding led by researchers based at UC Riverside is detailed in the journal Nature. It was published today (August 17, 2022).  READ MORE...

Diving Bird

 

Arrow Found in Melting Ice

Image Credit : Glacier Archaeology Program

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FROM THE GLACIER ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM HAVE FOUND AN ARROW IN THE MELTING ICE DURING A RESEARCH PROJECT IN THE NORWEGIAN MOUNTAINS.

The project is focusing on a melted ice patch in the Jotunheimen mountain range, where the team has found a preserved arrow with an intact iron arrowhead, shortly after arriving at their base camp 1750 metres above sea level.

The arrow dates from around 1,500 years ago during the Norwegian Iron Age, discovered in a collection of broken rock fragments between larger stones on the lower edge of the icefield.

The team believes that the arrow was lost and deposited downslope by meltwater, and has since been exposed several times over the centuries with the melting ice.

This is indicated by the lack of fletching, the fin-shaped aerodynamic stabilisation normally made from feathers or bark. Evidence of sinew and tar has also been identified, but this survives in a poor state of preservation.

The arrow is tapered towards the end and the nock has been thickened for engaging with a bowstring. The remains of the tar would have glued the fletching to the shaft, while imprints of the thread securing the fletching is still visible.  READ MORE...

In a Row

 

Telescopes Uses Ripples in TIME

The first JWST image of Earendel, the most distant star known in our universe, 

lensed and magnified ... NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have imaged the most distant star ever observed thanks to a a ripple in spacetime that creates extreme magnification.


It’s currently 28 billion light-years away and its light has traveled 12.9 billion years into JWST’s optics. It existed just 900 million years after the big bang in a galaxy astronomers have nicknamed the Sunrise Arc.

The image of WHL0137-LS, above, was produced from over three hours of observations last weekend—but it’s not the star you think! Ignore the spiky star and instead go to the lower right-hand side (see below).


The ancient star is estimated to have a mass greater than 50 times the mass of the Sun.


Better known as “Earendel,” which means “morning star” or “rising light” in old English—was gravitationally lensed and magnified by a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137–08 (a.k.a. “Sunrise Arc”) in the foreground.  READ MORE...

End of Day Waves

 

Going on Vacation

 After walking each day for over 7 days straight, I have decided to take a break today...

I have a CT Scan tomorrow at &:45 so I should be home by 9:00 am which is about the time that I usually walk so I will be to return to my schedule...

In 3 weeks, my wife and I are traveling to Myrtle Beach to spend a week there.  While I will be spending all of my time at the beach under an umbrella, I am also hoping that I will not have that much trouble getting into and out of those low situated beach chairs.

For less than $2,000 we can spend a week at Myrtle Beach that includes all our gasoline, food, and motel accomodations.  Our motel condo directly faces the Atlantic Ocean rather than being on the side.  We have a balcony, a living room kitchen and eating area, a large bathroom, and a bedroom in the back with a door.

There are plenty of restaurants from which to choose and there are plenty of attractions we can visit should we choose to do so...  however, without fail we will stop at least one night at COLD STONE ice cream and purchase a medium or large cup of custom-made ice cream with all sorts of items included.  I always get the apple pie concoction.

At our age, we no longer get into the water above the waist and typically we only get into the water to cool off.  We walk along the coastline but mainly we sit under the umbrella and watch the people or read.  In my case I listen to an audible book or write in my journal.

Are vacations necessary?

Probably not...  but, even though we are retired, we enjoying having a change of scenery at least once or twice during the year.

BUT...  more importantly, it is the FREEDOM to be able to leave your home and travel to another location and enjoy what that location has to offer before returning.  As one gets older, FREEDOM and MOBILITY are two important concepts that we appreciate that we still have and will have for at least another decade or two.

Do You Save Money?

When I was a young lad, still living at home and not yet a high school student, I made extra money by mowing lawns of our neighbors and by selling veges from our garden door-to-door in our community.  My parents made the rules and I was told that I had to save HALF of everything I earned.  

Since I was still honest at that age, I did not lie about the money I was earning, so HALF was indeed saved and the other half was kept in the top shelf of my dresser.

With my half, I purchased a:

• Television set
• Set of Weights
• A complete drum set

The mindset that was instilled in me when I was young stayed with me all my life and while I did not always save half of my earnings, I did continue to save money if and when there was extra money to save.

At the time, I DID NOT KNOW THIS but if I had saved $2.50 each day and at the end of the month deposited that money into a mutual fund and continued that process for 40 years, I would have SAVED $500,000.

Now think about that for a moment...

Let's say you start this at age 18 so 40 years later you would be 58...  and, you would have $500,000.

A general rule of thumb is that for every $100,000 you should be able to earn $400 each month.  So, that $500,000 at age 58 would start giving you $2,000 each month.  In addition to whatever salary you might be making at the time.

$2.50 each month is $75 every 30 days...  so, what could you spend $75 on instead of saving?  And, how come most people don't think of saving any money at all until they are in their late 50s or early 60s?

If you are not educated then you need to THINK SMART...

The Common Person

Sundays are a time for retooling the mental and physical parts of the body...  as instead of working we should be relaxing...  and, while that is good in theory and on paper, the reality of Sundays is that we complete the tasks that were started on Saturday but remain incomplete.

Some of us go to Church on Sundays and some of go out to lunch on Sundays and some of us do both and some of us do neither...  it is a day where just about anything goes as far as the common person is concerned...  and no doubt the same holds true for the uncommon person as well.

• Who is this uncommon person?
• Well, who is this common person?
• If we know one, then the opposite is true for the other one...

For me, I would say that the common person is the person who is married and both spouses only have a high school education with maybe some technical training or a certificate of completion for some skill.

This couple receives an hourly wages as both work.  They live in a 1200 square foot house or less or maybe they live in a double-wide or even a single-wide trailer or a 1-2 bedroom apartment depending upon how many children they have.  They drive cars that are over 10 years old or they have newer vehicles on which they are making payments.

Their combined income is less than $100,000 and a range could extend up to $150,000, but that would be unusual unless only one spouse is working with a high paycheck...  for instance, long haul 18 Wheeler drivers probably earn about $150,000/year +/- but most of that income is going to pay for the truck they are leasing or buying.

This would be the common person.  Basically living paycheck to paycheck...

And, while that description is misleading, it can also apply to millionaires who spend exactly what they earn leaving them without savings just a bunch of expensive assets that they don't completely own yet.

The common man is both liberal and conservative and one cannot say which side has the most as the liberals like government handouts because they are poor while the conservatives don't want any help at all because of their ego and pride.  So, there are poor people on both sides.

So, who are you?

And, what kind of person are you when it comes to want handouts or not?

Personally, I can see family helping out, or the church, or local community, but I cannot see that it is the role of government to provide us with handouts.

I think lazy people want handouts.

Are you lazy?