Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Almost Cut My Hair (Live at Farm Aid 2000)

A Liberal Conservative

 

I am not a Democrat nor am I a Republican, but I am both a liberal and a conservative.  I have no desire to be controlled by a political party and I even embrace some aspects of socialism, like unemployment, Medicare, and social security.

My main BELIEF is a small government, low taxes, strong state governments, and a well-financed military.  

Our government should:

• Protect us
• NOT tell us what to do

A woman, just like a man, has the right to do what they want to do to their body once they have become an adult, no exceptions.

It is true that CORPORATIONS will do whatever they need to do to make a profit and to increase their profitable earnings.

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PROTECT US AGAINST THESE ACTIONS

It is true that the rest of the world want to take GLOBAL CONTROL away from the USA and the USA should maintain its GLOBAL CONTROL because the rest of the world lacks the inspiration to embrace our freedoms and democracies.

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PROTECT US FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

It is true that the wealthy people here in the USA shelter their money away from taxes in off shore bank accounts like in the Caymans, forcing the government to collect the necessary taxes by other means.

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PROTECT US FROM THESE TAX EVADERS AND FORCE THEM TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE

I also believe that the GOVERNMENT should do the following, based upon only the taxes they collect, and not enter into a debt profile to do so.

• take care of all our veterans like they should be taken care of
• provide for our national defense (CIA, NSA, Homeland Security)
• negotiate trade agreements and defense treaties
• provide universal healthcare to all citizens
• either provide unemployment insurance or force companies to do so
• limit the terms of ALL government elected and appointed offices
• privatize:
• education (K-12, Community Colleges, College, Universities)
• collection of taxes, debts, tariffs
• transportation (highways, road, bridges, tunnels)
• space exploration
• consumer protection
• parks and recreation
• law enforcement (FBI, National Guard)
• fire protection
• emergency medical services 

Support the JEWS

 

Part of our Christianity, our Christian Belief systems, is to support the JEWS because, in the Bible, they are the chosen people of God.  However, the JEWISH faith DOES NOT BELIEVE that Jesus is our savior because they were expecting a WARRIOR SAVIOR.

So, Christians believe that one cannot get into heaven except through Jesus and the acceptance of Jesus as our savior since he died for our sins on the cross.

Because of this CONTRADICTION, I have yet to understand why Christians are so hell bent on saving JEWS because they are JEWS.

I believe that we should help the JEWS not because they are JEWS but because they need our help as the Islamic peoples of the Middle East want to destroy and annihilate them.

On the other side of the coin, the JEWS want to annihilate all the Arabs, Muslims, and those who believe in Islam.

BOTH SIDES ARE EQUALLY EVIL...

While I am certainly not a Christian in the traditional sense of being a Christian (whatever that means) I am spiritual and believe in a Creator...  and because of that belief, I think ALL PEOPLE regardless of their beliefs or lack of beliefs have a right to co-exist on this planet earth.

I think that belief should extend into OUTER SPACE once we start colonizing planets.

Your RIGHT TO LIFE begins once you draw your first breath of air and should continue until you draw your last breath of air.

For those of the human race who do not believe in that concept, then they are living in the past and should be ignored.  Since these people will continue to rise up even when ignored, we should enclose them in a country stockade.  All of them, all together, where they cannot leave.  Nor can anyone enter.

The rest of the world will live a life of coexistence and be the better off for it.

Life

 

Celebration

 

Solitude

 

Power of Nature

 

Muscles

 

A Sense of Disproportionate Disbelief

 

Here I am at 76, the least successful (according to most standards and methodologies) of my brother and sister and more than likely the smartest based upon adolescent tests.

Neither my sister nor my brother has experienced what I have experienced:

1. time in the military
2. fired from employment
3. a triple bypass level heart attack
4. non-Hodgkins Lymphoma - 16 years ongoing
5. reoccurring Melanoma - 12 years ongoing
6. radiation treatments
7. chemo and immunotherapy treatments
8. IVIG infusions to boost immunity
9. torn rotator cuff tendons in both shoulders
10. five lower back disks fused

Under the following conditions:

• quit smoking for 36 years
• quit eating red meat for 36 years
• quit alcohol for 36 years
• have eaten fish, chicken, turkey, veggies, and beans for 36 years
• exercising 60 minutes a day for 36 years
• eating healthy for 36 years

CAVEAT:  I have had 1-2 glasses of wine a year every other year or so.  I have eaten steadily about 4 pizzas a year and maybe 1-2 cheeseburgers a year, and a hotdog on the 4th of July.

I have no desire for my brother and sister to go through what I have gone through, but I am wondering why ALL OF THIS happened to me and nothing to them and we had the same parents.

While I don't believe in religious punishment, I do wonder why I have been singled out, outside of luck of the draw or coincidence, because I don't think much of either concept.

This may not seem like much to you, and I am sure that my brother and sister have experienced medical issues that I have yet to experience, but they do not always share their medical conditions with me anymore.

BTW, my brother is younger, and my sister is older if that makes any difference at all.

There are reasonable explanations for all my illnesses, and I understand and accept those explanations, but that still leaves me wondering why some people encounter these situations and others do not.

My life experiences allow me to appreciate my life each day rather than wish I had a different life.  It is what it is, and I accept that.  I am mentally better off for it as well.

Words of WISDOM, Ya Thunk?



Good Advice?

 

Puppet Master?

 

This is Salad?

 

Is This YOU?

 

In The News

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Sean "Diddy" Combs to face 120 new allegations of sexual assault spanning over 20 years (More) | Lauryn Hill faces lawsuit from Fugees bandmate Pras Michél for fraud and breach of contract related to tour cancellations (More)

> Twenty-five finalists for the 2024 National Book Awards announced; winners in each of the five categories to be announced Nov. 20 (More) | CNN launches digital paywall, charging $3.99 per month for unlimited access to web articles (More)

> Frank Fritz, "American Pickers" star, dies at age 60 after suffering stroke in 2022 (More) | John Amos, Emmy-nominated actor known for roles in "Roots" and "Good Times," dies at age 84 (More)


Science & Technology
> Breast cancer rates in women increased 1% annually over the past decade, with the steepest increase in women under 50; overall deaths have decreased by 44% since 1989 (More) | See report (More)

> MIT spinoff Liquid AI debuts "Liquid Foundation Models," a type of AI platform with a different computing architecture than existing industry leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic (More) | Generative AI explained simply (More, w/video)

> James Webb Space Telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon; findings confirm theory Charon was formed from same proto-planetary disk as Pluto (More) | Why Pluto is no longer considered a planet (More) | James Webb 101 (More, w/video)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.9%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq -1.5%) as price of US crude oil rises over 2% on Middle East tensions (More) | US job openings rose to three-month high of 8 million in August, per Labor Department report (More)

> Frito-Lay owner PepsiCo to buy tortilla-chip maker Siete Foods for $1.2B—its first food acquisition in five years; deal expected to close in first half of 2025 (More)

> CVS Health to lay off 2,900 workers amid reports of healthcare giant potentially separating its retail pharmacy chain and Aetna health insurance business (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Rescue crews continue searching for survivors for fifth day as confirmed death toll from Hurricane Helene rises to at least 150 people across six states (More) | Helene, other storms dump over 40 trillion gallons of rain on Southeast US in five days—enough to fill 60 million Olympic-sized swimming pools (More)

> Shelter-in-place ordered for residents east of Atlanta as massive smoke plume lingers from Sunday factory fire at chlorine plant in Conyers, about 25 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta (More)

> Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's first female president and Jewish president, sworn into office (More) | Shigeru Ishiba confirmed as Japan's new prime minister; Ishiba unveils his cabinet, calls for snap election (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

SPIRITUAL Philosophies

FAITH - is a complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

BELIEF - is an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

Currently, there are 12 major religions/philosophies listed in order of the number of participants:

1. Christianity
2. Islam
3. Hinduism
4. Buddhism
5. Judaism
6. Sikhism
7. Taoism
8. Jainism
9. Baha'i
10. Confucianism
11. Shinto
12. Zoroastrianism

Some of these 12 consider their truths to be a philosophy and not a religion.

All of these 12 beliefs or faiths have:

• a creator
• good and evil battles
• a heaven concept
• a creation story
• a crucifixion story
• a resurrection story
• miracles
• disciples
• life after death
• principle by which life is to be lived
• a message of love and brotherhood

Then we have mythologies.  Every single country, even though that country may no longer exist, at one point in time had similar stories, INCLUDING Native Americans.

If all of these stories, concepts, beliefs, faiths, etc., are similar, then how could all of them be wrong except for ONE?

This is what amazes me about Christianity.  The stories in the Bible are not unique, they are just a little different from other stories, but convey the same parables from which we are supposed to learn and improve our lives.

INTERESTINGLY, all of these faiths/philosophies have GOOD/EVIL in a constant battle for dominance.  Does this mean that good and evil and different in each one of these faiths or philosophies or is each one talking about the same good and evil?

I don't remember hearing anyone discuss that.  So, if good and evil are the same, why couldn't each of these gods/God be the same???

Now this one is going to be a bitch to ponder.

Somewhat Political

 

A Mysterious CREATURE

There’s something intriguing, even frightening, about the image of an ancient horned serpent roaming across the land. Thanks to some suggestive fossils and legends of old, talk of such a creature isn’t a new concept. But the recent discovery of 200-year-old rock paintings found in South Africa now has scientists hypothesizing that this ancient creature may have been far more than just a legend.

The first formal scientific descriptions of this horned serpent—a supposed member of the dicynodont group—appeared in 1845. Considering the abundance of dicynodont fossils found in the Karoo Basin in South Africa, some have pondered whether this long-thought mythical horned serpent is rooted in reality. 

The discovery of rock art dated to between 1821 and 1835 adds even more credence to the legend, as the painting is older than the first formal reference to the dicynodont. If we’re lucky, it could provide further clues as to just how intertwined this horned serpent was with South Africa’s indigenous San culture.          READ MORE...

The Doobie Brothers - Listen To The Music (Reprise) [Live From The Beaco...

Our Financial Security

 Our financial security is predicated upon several factors of which is most important is not that easy to determine.

We are:

• debt free
• spend wisely
• look for savings
• don't need much
• don't by wants
• simple lifestyle
• save where possible

I mention "we" because it takes both partners in a marriage or any kind of living arrangement for that matter, to make this happen.

1. We have been debt free for over twenty years.
2. We buy year old cars that have been leased
3. We buy only what we need hardly ever what we want
4. We save all the time and invest not in the stock market
5. We only eat out once a week
6. We maintain cars properly so they will last
7. We vacation on the off season as it is cheaper
8. Birthday and Christmas presents are what the house needs
9. We buy only those clothes we need
10. We don't smoke or drink alcohol
11. We drink water in restaurants
12. We buy in bulk when we can
13. We maintain 70 degrees in summer and 78 degrees in winter inside the house
14. We buy homes with no extra space other than for two
15. We are constantly looking/shopping for deals on what we need
16. We maintain a healthy lifestyle to minimize doctor visits and out of pocket costs for medicine

MOST IMPORTANTLY, we don't think that we are missing out on anything or short-changing our enjoyment or pursuit of happiness.

The only expenditure that might be frivolous is our desire to have three cats and make sure they are healthy and see the vet regularly.