Communications within high tech companies

Tech stocks really dominate the Wall Street Journal today. Stephen Green posts this helpful cartoon explaining the organizational charts at some of the leading tech companies.
Here is the link to the above cartoon: http://www.bonkersworld.net/organizational-charts/

Let us not forget...

The Supreme court ended its term yesterday, and it reminded me that the power to appoint Supreme Court Justices (and many other judges throughout the country) is perhaps the most important consideration in choosing a President. Lucky for our country, there appears to be a 5-4 majority leaning conservative; that is, supporting individual liberty and keeping constitutional constraints on the power of government.

"Against Medical Advice"

I know James Patterson is an extremely popular author. I probably see more people reading his books than any other author. I also know that he mostly writes crime novels, and that is why I have not read his books.

Until now. He has written, along with Hal Friedman, a book entitled Against Medical Advice. It is written from the viewpoint of Mr. Friedman's son, who has been battling compulsions, tics, and uncontrollable utterances since he was about five-years-old.

It is a wonderful book.

The Gulf emerges as the most economically vibrant of our three coasts.

For many years the Atlantic region - mainly New York City - dominated our nation's trade. In recent decades, Los Angeles has been ascendant. Now, however, it seems that it is the Gulf region's turn to shine. Joel Kotkin writes about this trend in Forbes June 23.

Double yokes, or no yoke?

I can't match this experience, but I do have one hen who only give us eggs with no yoke, and that's no yoke!

"A prolonged headache for small towns and farmers, but a boon to endangered species"

Joe Herring posts here about the purposeful flooding of America's Heartland. When will Americans put the radical environmental whackos in their place? Read this and weep!

Weiner on his Blackberry

"Nothin' honey, just replying to a message from a supporter. On an unrelated note, I have to use the men's room."
(I found this at Caption This!).

"Inconvenient truth"

Walter Russell Mead posts part one of why Al Gore fails to convince people about man-caused global warming. "Sometimes the truth is inconvenient."

I guess I am not the only person fascinated by this case.

Dr. Mercury, posting at Maggie's Farm, goes in depth to explain why the O.J. Simpson jury made the right decision in declaring him not guilty, because the prosecution simply did prove that he was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Oh, and remember those Bruno Magli shoes I wrote about recently? They were sold only at two stores in the U.S.: L.A. and New York. Only two pairs of size 10 and one-half had been sold in L.A., and one pair was bought by O.J. Simpson. The gloves that did not fit? His defense team gave him "bloat pills" on the morning that he tried them on, so he really did have to struggle. O.J. was shown doing sports commentary at some football game wearing gloves with the exact same stitching as the bloody glove dropped outside his house.

The Shale Breakthrough

There is a new energy boom getting underway, and it will have a big impact where I live. Huge new discoveries of oil and natural gas are opening up, thanks to the ingenuity of private industry. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are the methods being used to release oil and natural gas in shale deposits. This Wall Street Journal article explores some of the issues we need to think about as this new boom gets underway.

Oh, oh, another politician is talking about "the way forward."

Via Protein Wisdom

"It is past the midnight hour."

I saw this at several blogs, and when I saw it at Protein Wisdom, I decided to watch it. Congressman Mike Kelly is from Pennslyvania.

How to avoid getting hit by a train

I saw this at Althouse.

Goin for it!

An old country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men his age, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it.

One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects:
1) a Bible
2) a silver dollar
3) a bottle of whisky
4) a Playboy magazine

'I'll just hide behind the door,' the old preacher said to himself. 'When he comes home from school today, I'll see which object he picks up.'

'If it's the Bible,' he thought, 'he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a business man, and that would be okay, too.'

'But if he picks up the bottle,' he thought, 'he's going to be a no-good drunken bum, and Lord, what a shame that would be. And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine he's going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer.'

The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room.

The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table.

With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink, while he admired this month's Playboy centerfold.

'Lord have mercy,' the old preacher disgustedly whispered. 'He's gonna run for Congress.'
Posted by Tom Elia at The New Editor

Fast and Furious

Confederate Yankee has a Jon Stewart video explanation of the Fast and Furious Gunwalker program of the ATF. Don't worry: George Soros has Media Matters on the case.

Food for thought

Two ideas to ponder from reading Sense of Events today:

Adversity doesn't define character; it reveals it!

You are not old...until your memories are more important than your dreams.

Gaffes

Hot Air publishes just a few of Obama's gaffes, after Chris Wallace asks Michelle Bachmann if she is a "flake."

Hot? Thinking about a beer?

Don't do it, if you are in Nigeria!

Times have changed!

Brig. Gen. Loretta Reynolds is the first female general to take command at Parris Island Marine training center in South Carolina. You can read about her history of accomplishments here.
Blue Star Chronicles also has information about how many female enlisted Marines, how many officers are female, and how many warrant officers are female.

Could this be going a bit too far?

Jean Weber has filed a complaint with the TSA over the way they treated her mother prior to boarding a Northwest Florida Regional Airport-Michigan flight last weekend. Weber's mother is 95 years old and in the terminal stages of leukemia; she was flying to Michigan so as to be closer to her family in her final days. The woman, who is wheelchair bound and weighs 105 pounds, was made to remove her adult diaper during the pat-down procedure.
Via boingboing

Not mincing words

Pat Condell minces no words in this video about Islamic degradation of women.

ATF fires whistle blower

More information on Operation Fast and Furious here. Let's keep this story alive in the blogosphere!

Welfare for agribusiness and food stamps for one-sixth of the country

Victor Davis Hansen wants to eliminate the Department of Agriculture, or at least rename it the "Department of Food Subsidies!"

Is it okay to have fond memories?

James Lileks has some fond memories of growing up in the burbs here. My town never got big enough to have burbs.

Politically correct, except when discussing Palin or Bachmann!

Could we elect a lioness as our next President? As John Andrews points out in today's Denver Post, it worked out well for Israel and Great Britain, when they elected Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher respectively. Now in view, says Andrews, are two very popular and very tough women who are being considered as possible candidates for the American Presidency.

Ironically, both women, although they have put forth excellent common sense ideas for how to get America roaring again, have been skewered by liberals, who otherwise adhere to politically correct feminist dogma. Political correctness does not apply to conservative women, it seems.

You first, Governor!

I guess we have to give former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm credit for being consistent. Infamous for declaring years ago that the elderly have "a duty to die," he writes in today's Denver Post that healthcare rationing is a good and necessary thing. You first, governor!

"Poor me, I'm a Victim!"

Larry Haley, writing at The National Enquirer, reveals that O.J. Simpson has finally confessed to killing Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Simpson confessed in a jailhouse interview with a producer of Oprah Winfrey's new network. Simpson claims self defense in both killings. Although he "confessed" to killing them, he withheld certain facts, such as where he hid his bloody clothes and how he fooled the cops. Now it is just a matter of negotiating terms of a sensational televised jailhouse interview with Oprah, as he is serving time in Nevada for an armed robbery conviction.

You think his slimy lawyers did not suspect he killed them? Hey, they got their money, did they not?

And, let's give The Enquirer credit. In keeping with their m.o. of trashing celebrities, I remember when they posted pictures of O.J. walking the sidelines in his Bruno Magli shoes, which Nicole's and Ron's killer wore. The Enquirer photo was of celebrated football star and popular NBC broadcaster O.J. Simpson at an NFL game. When questioned by the police, before the Enquirer published the photos, he said, "I would never wear those ugly ass shoes." Only a few hundred pairs of those shoes were made yearly at the time of the killings.

While we probably don't need to go as far down the skepticism road as does the National Enquirer, a reasonable dose of skepticism is surely healthy in modern day America. O.J. Simpson had it all. He was practically worshiped by most black Americans. He was immensely popular. But he could not control his anger in California or Nevada.

Do you think Oprah will challenge his "poor me, I'm a victim" mentality?

Tongue-tied

Drudge links to this story and video about a woman who was being sexually assaulted, before she bit an inch off the attacker's tongue. The man sought help from a chiropractor/massage therapist, who referred him to the dentist next door.

What's not to like about Islamic law?

Pamela Geller complains that "Islamic law calls for wife beating, polygamy, clitorectomies, marital rape, honor killing and the killing of infidels (Christians, Jews Hindus, Sikhs etc.)" She believes that some American authorities are covering up honor killings because they are intimidated by "Islamic supremacists."

Our Department of Justice armed narco-terrorist drug cartels?

Tammy Bruce reports on the Mexican gun-running scandal, which House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R.-Calif) believes is being covered up by Eric Holder's Justice Department. This article in Pajamas Media makes the case that this will turn out to be much worse than Iran-Contra:

The more than 2,000 weapons that the Obama Justice Department allowed to be delivered to Mexican narco-terrorist cartels are thought to have been used in the shooting of an estimated 150 Mexican law enforcement officers and soldiers battling the cartels. Two American law enforcement officers have also presumably fallen prey to these weapons, along with an unknown number of civilians on both sides of the border.

President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice has purposefully armed narco-terrorist drug cartels that have been accused of bombings, ambushes, mass murders, public executions, and the assassination of police, politicians, and civic leaders.

Obama’s Justice Department armed the enemy of our neighbor and ally, providing enough arms to equip ten infantry companies, or two battalions, of violent drug dealers.

Iran-Contra was a misguided attempt to trade arms for hostages and supply a covert supply of arms to rebels fighting against a communist dictatorship during the Cold War.

Gunrunner was an attempt to develop enough gun-running evidence to bring down a cartel, and instead supplied thousands of arms to drug cartels locked in a life-or-death struggle with a key U.S. ally and trading partner.

You tell me which is worse.

"California to release all prisoners who seem nice enough"

From The Onion:SACRAMENTO, CA—In an effort to reduce prison populations throughout the state, California governor Jerry Brown announced today that he would release all inmates who seemed as though they were nice enough people. “The goal of this new initiative is to gather a rough first impression of whether or not a prisoner is a decent-enough-seeming person, and to release him or her back into society based solely on that general gut reaction," said Brown, adding that prison authorities would spend an estimated 12 minutes with each inmate to chat about “this and that” and decide whether or not a prisoner seemed like the friendly sort. "Obviously, some might try to take a swing at the warden in the beginning, but if they calm down from there and maybe smile a few times, they’re probably fine." At press time, officials at San Quentin State Prison had determined that inmate Vincente “Lobo” Díaz came across as slightly eccentric, granted, but basically likable.

Pathetic!

Have you been following the controversy over NBC's deliberate removal, not once, but twice, of the words "indivisible, under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance during their coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament last weekend?

Which of these words did NBC find offensive? What led them to believe they were entitled to change the words of our Pledge of Allegiance?

Al Gore surfaces

Al Gore is back in the news. Now he is on to the subject of eugenics. He is trying to persuade his followers to have less children. As Tiger Hawk writes here, if he can persuade his followers to do that, it is probably a good thing. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to increase, not decrease the size of our families.

Numbers, lives, an election.

Iraq and Afghanistan are back on page one in today's news. Well, not quite. Iraq is actually on page 15A. The Iraqis are asking the UN to investigate to see what happened to $17 billion dollars we American taxpayers sent to them, but which now is missing. American officials trying to trace the money say that Iraqi government officials have so far refused to give them viewing access to bank records.

Meanwhile, Obama announces the withdrawal of ten thousand U.S. troops from Afghanistan. General Petraeus, who has led the surges in Iraq and Afghanistan, is said to have been opposed to this decision. However, polls show that 55% of the American people are in favor of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Right about now, Obama will take 55% approval.

He calls it "The way forward," but since when is retreat a forward motion? Richard Fernandez quotes Robert Kagan at the Washington Post:

The entire military leadership believes the president’s decision is a mistake, and especially the decision to withdraw the remainder of the surge forces by September 2012. They will soldier on and do their best, but as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, put it, in characteristic understatement, they believe the decision will increase the risk to the troops and increase the chance that the mission will not succeed. It bears repeating that the deadline imposed by the president has nothing to do with military or strategic calculation. It has everything to do with an electoral calculation. President Obama wants those troops out two months before Americans go to the voting booth.

"One with everything"

Via Wizbang

Uppity

In Saudi Arabia women are demanding the right to drive a car. I am writing this on June 21, 2011.

Lawyers, bankers, and politicians; but I repeat myself

Ace of Spades posts about Senator Schumer's cozy ties with bankers; then Ace posts this hilarious video from Seinfeld. It would be my luck to get a lawyer like this guy, so that must be why I stay away from lawyers.

Feelin the summer heat?

Here is a photo of a F-15C Falcon from the Strategy Page blog taken five days ago over an Alaskan mountain range. Does that make you feel better?

Priorities

Imao has a post with numerous photos of terrorists. Readers are asked to provide captions. Here is one I liked.

"Go back to your country!"

Michael Totten's reporting from the Mideast is unique. He makes a real effort to get people to be honest about expressing their views. Thus, his interviews contribute to our understanding and knowledge of the people and the area. In this post, accompanied by his photographs of various areas in Israel, he gets different viewpoints from interviewing two different Arabs at length.

The cowardly terrorists we are fighting

The Denver Post published a story from the Associated Press today. This AP photo is of a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped by Islamist terrorists on her way to school. They strapped on her a vest containing explosives. She was ordered to blow herself up at a police security check point. She got away and came to the Pakistani police to tell what had happened. How she got away must have been quite a story in and of itself!

One child who is not being left behind

Pajamas Media has a video here of an autistic child responding to innovative teaching and an ipad.

Obama wins Nobel War Prize!

President Obama has been awarded the Nobel War Prize. Jake Horowitz breaks the story at policymic.com.

Obama’s speechwriters are hard at work preparing his acceptance remarks, and PolicyMic managed to obtain a preview of the speech from a source inside the White House. The president will begin by thanking congressional Democrats “for campaigning in 2006 on the antiwar agenda, and then turning around once in office and funding the war they claimed to oppose.” He will also thank Congress for “stepping aside and allowing me to go to war in Libya without Congressional approval and once again approving the Patriot Act despite years of supposed opposition.”

Encouraging our kids to become entrepreneurs

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on June 13 about what qualities are most important in becoming a successful entrepreneur. Are you encouraging your kids by:
Buying them toys in which kids must figure out for themselves what to do;
Encouraging curiosity: explore the world around them on their own terms;
Practicing entrepreneurship yourself;
Encouraging critical thinking;
Looking at things from all angles;
Realizing that there are different ways to think about any one situation;
Insisting that kids deliver high quality work at the promised time;
Modeling for your kids emotional control when emotions run high;
Recognizing business opportunities by observing and being creative;
Learning how to deal with setbacks and how to move past losses;
Inspiring others by taking leadership and doing your part on a team;
Being willing to put themselves in risky situations, but once there become careful and cautious and try to eliminate the risk.
Cartoon and all concepts are from the June 13 Wall Street Journal article.

"He likes me!"

Over at The Poor Farm, Jeffro has this sweet Charlie Brown comic strip today about Charlie's father.

My Dad

Speaking of wonderful dads, I was fortunate enough to have one. I had no reason to rebel as a teen, because I enjoyed being around my dad. Every evening we would do the dishes together, then watch t.v. It would always end with The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Before Johnny came on, we might watch George Gobel or Perry Como, or we might light a fire in the fireplace and shoot some pool.

Dad was a hard worker, whether it was his profession, or his hobbies (gardening and hunting). His profession was selling life insurance, primarily to farmers in Iowa. They trusted him, as did I. Farmers are good at knowing whether a man is genuine or a phony.

As a teen I fell in love with the game of golf. In fact, on the Sunday I was to graduate from high school, there was a golf tournament. I chose to play in the tournament, instead of walking across a stage to receive a diploma. I figured they'd mail it to me. Guess who went with me to the tournament? Guess who shagged after my practice balls prior to the tournament? Guess who would yell at the referee when a foul was called on me in a basketball game? Guess who wrote me a letter every single week while I was in college many miles from home?

Guess who I looked up to? A man who never looked down on anyone. My Dad.

A wonderful dad

Today Parade magazine has this wonderful story about Tim Russert by his son Luke. I read it because I remember Rush Limbaugh commenting about what a decent man Russert was: one of the few in the liberal media who treated Rush with respect.

The king of political put-downs

Sarcastic liberal columnist Mike Littwin writes today in the Denver Post about Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin. He wonders if God "must especially love attractive Republican women." Yes, Mike, I think He does!

Littwin has a marvelous talent for demeaning Republican candidates in one or two short phrases, as he does in this column belittling Herman Cain, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

In our best interest

The Denver Post is warning us on the front page of the Denver and the West section about the possibility of West Nile virus infecting humans this summer. I just read in the excellent book Th!nk that measured by mortality rates, West Nile virus is over one thousand times less dangerous than the common flu. Nevertheless, the Post article says that of the 81 cases of human West Nile virus infection in Colorado last year, four people died. Nationwide there were 1,021 cases, and 57 deaths. Since today is going to be a gardening day, I guess I will put on a dab or two of mosquito repellent, although the Post article says the mosquito that carries the virus does not begin breeding until July or August. By then I will be in the habit.

Do you think Michelle Obama will soon require all of us to put on the repellent every time we go outside? I can see it now: cars of government inspectors slowly driving by our houses, and stopping to check anyone they see outside to see if they have applied mosquito repellent! After all, it is in our best interest, isn't it?

Dumpin grain

Stepson Thomas sent me this photo of his truck dumping wheat at a mill in Kansas. Pretty cool! Thomas, somewhat disappointedly, assured me that he was not in the truck at the time this photo was taken by him!

 

What constitutes "hostilities?"

Barack Obama says our bombing mission in Libya does not amount to "hostilities." I doubt if Gaddafy would agree, especially when a bomb lands in his compound. I guess "hostilities" is what Obama's team has in mind for Sarah Palin or whomever else the Republicans put forth to run against Mr. Obama.

God forgives, but what obligation do we have to earn God's trust?

I want God to be able to trust me to do His work here on earth. If I fail to do something that I know I should do, like get sufficient sleep at night, I get down on myself. I know God will forgive me, but I still want to show Him that I can and will learn from my mistakes. I constantly pray that He will deliver me from evil and lead me away from temptation.

Giving thanks for well water!

Portland Oregon is spending $35,000 to drain a reservoir, after surveillance cameras caught a man urinating in it. The reservoir holds 8 million gallons of water. Birds urinate in there daily. The man's bladder holds maybe 16 ounces of urine. Do they need to build a higher fence, or make it solid concrete so no Weiners can get through it?

I am thankful I have a well!

What do your kids practice?

With Father's Day coming up on Sunday, a lot is being written about parenting. What is a parent's primary goal, raising kids who can support themselves financially when they reach adulthood, or raising human beings who can live happy lives and practice kindness and warmth in interactions with other humans? Maetenloch writes in the June 16 overnight thread at Ace of Spades on this subject. He links to this post by P.J. O'Rourke that is absolutely hilarious. Don't miss it!

Bee wildered

Another article in today's Denver Post has me bee wildered. The USDA is spending $100,000,000 to try to find out why bees have been disappearing since 2006. The article says they still do not know why.

However, reading further into the article, one finds a couple of possible explanations. One is the tiny varroa mite, no larger than a pinhead, that feeds on the bodies of bees. It is said to be responsible for the decline in commercial operations, those that have more than 151 hives. The other possible reason is the queen bees, who just cannot find ways to live with each other. In spring swarming season, a new queen is produced in the hive. The old queen cannot stand to be in the same hive, so she just disappears, taking about half the worker bees with her.

The article points out how vital bees are to our crop economy. They are estimated to provide $15 billion dollars a year in pollination of crops such as tomatoes, blueberries, almonds, and peaches, not to mention my bright orange poppies, on which the bees have bee swarming for two weeks now.

In a movement dominated by women all across America, people are taking up bee keeping. Women know something about that "circle of life" thing.

Will "We the People" gain control of government spending?

Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn notes in a column in today's Denver Post that the United States federal government is borrowing 40 cents of every federal dollar we spend. Yet, there always seems to be cash to help out cronies. For example, politically connected Sysco Systems, worth $16 billion, according to Congressman Lamborn, was given a handout of $1.2 million to buy energy efficient forklifts. The money came from us taxpayers through the Department of Energy's Efficiency and Renewable Energy program. President Obama wants to increase EERE's budget to $3.2 billion, up 36% from last year. I wish I could increase my family' budget by 36%, but I don't have a way to take money from others and give it to myself and my friends, like the government does.

The government needs to get out of the business of picking winners and losers in private industry. Millions of EERE dollars also go to China, India, Mexico and Central America.

Americans are tightening their household budgets, and cutting back on their use of credit cards. In election after election, we are increasingly demanding our politicians to do the same.

Th!nk

Michael R. LeGault has written a book entitled Th!nk. I am finding it to be a wonderful next book after reading The Black Swan. LeGault is a conservative of the libertarian type. That is, he believes in individual liberty and personal responsibility. He advocates that we need to return to critical thinking in America; thoughtfully examining all aspects of issues, before making decisions and attempting solutions.

Egg on their faces

After the media attention to the Weiner affairs shrinks, we've got a potentially titilating scandal unfolding in Denver. On Tuesday, June 7 Denver voters elected former Denver City Council President Michael Hancock as their new mayor. One of Mr. Hancock's campaign promises was to clean up the police department. On the Friday before the election the former owner of an escort service (read prostitution business), now serving a six months home detention sentence, called radio talk show host Peter Boyles. He told Mr. Boyles that one of his prostitutes recognized Mr. Hancock as a former client of the escort services. He said the services require patrons to provide a cell phone. He gave the phone number to Mr. Boyles, who called the number live on the air. It was answered by Mr. Hancock in a recording telling the caller to leave a detailed message.

Mr. Hancock issued this denial: "I have never used a "paid service." In a deal with the Denver Post, which has seen the client list of the escort service, Mr. Hancock agreed to provide records which would exonerate him, if the Post would hold off on publishing the story before the election. After the election, he changed his mind about providing all the records he had promised the Post. The Post sent a reporter out to his house with a t.v. reporter, and reported the story of his "reneging" on page one above the fold on this past Saturday, four days after the election.

The publisher of the Post, Dean Singleton, is, or has been, a top ranking official with the Associated Press. Before Hancock changed his mind about his deal with the Post, Singleton referred to Mr. Boyles as a "Carnival Barker." Likewise, columnist MIke Littwin, the Post's hopelessly biased liberal political columnist, referred to Mr. Boyles as a "know-nothing radio host." These fair-minded liberal media people can sure get nasty when they have egg on their faces.

Of course, the fact that all of this came out just days before the election is suspicious. Hancock won handily against a big money candidate, the son of former Governor and Chairman of the National Democratic Party, Roy Romer. And, in America, one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, right?

Apparently there is a list of prominent Denver men who paid for the hookers. Those on the list are being extra attentive to their wives and girlfriends these days, don'tcha think? There seems to be one standard for the johns and hookers who meet on the street, and one for the "high class" escort services and their monied clientele.

When love is returned

I'll never regret loving Colleen, who is now engaged to marry a guy down near Santa Fe, New Mexico. I'll also never regret having loved and parented her three children from her first marriage. I got my first Father's Day card of 2011 from 19-year-old Erik yesterday. It says,

Dad, by your example I know the value of hard work, loyalty, and what it means to be family. You're a good man and a wonderful father. I'm thankful every single day that you are my dad. Thanks for always being there when I need you.
Love, Erik

This card just means the world to me. Erik is a talented musician and mechanic. He has never said anything like this to me before. He kind of keeps his thoughts to himself. He has a girlfriend, who really brings out his loving side. He is making straight A's at his diesel mechanic technical college, where he will begin his final year this fall. This summer he is working at a Grease Monkey.

Choosing friends

Who would you rather have for a friend: a Bible quoting guy who wears a Bible verse on his shirt, but who is very quick to anger and always compares himself favorably to others, or a guy who does not profess to be a believer, but is willing to listen to someone who is, and who is kind, friendly, good-humored, yet dabbles in all manner of illegal drugs, is loving and faithful to his girlfriend, and sees a psychiatrist for treatment of his bi-polar disorder?

These two people are in my life, and I greatly prefer the company of the latter.

Own your power!

Do you know your power? Do you think you are powerless to control your emotions? Brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor tells us in her wonderful book My stroke of Insight that the physiological "loop" of an emotion lasts only 90 seconds in our limbic system region of our brain. If we remain angry or miserable longer than that, it is because we are choosing not to use the higher regions of the brains God gave us. Let the 90 seconds run its course, but then make the choice to be happy, to be kind, or compassionate.

Or, stay angry for a while longer if you want, but realize that you are making a conscious choice; no one is making you stay in that emotional loop. Own your choice! Own your power! None of us is at the mercy of our emotions!

Choosing kindness, compassion, and love

Anger can be useful. It can propel, motivate us to stand up for ourselves when we are experiencing an injustice or difficult situation. It can be the impetus for righting a wrong, defeating a politician (often the lesser of two evils), or to make changes in our own lives, such as to stop repeating self-defeating actions over and over.

The point is to use our higher brain processes to guide those actions, not to get stuck running the same emotional loops over and over. The right hemisphere of our brain brings us to the present, so we do not have to be prisoners of what has happened in the past. We can thank our left brain for working so hard to figure things out, but ask it to be quiet and take a pause, so we can consistently choose an attitude of gratitude, kindness, compassion, and love as our predominant way of interacting with others.

Making the most of our time here on Earth

Are you particular about whom you associate with? I realize we can't always control that option, but as much as possible I try to avoid people who consistently, day after day, have negative attitudes. I want to get closer to people who consistently have positive attitudes.

I don't know how much longer I'll be confined to this planet, and I believe that when I pass on, it will be to a situation of joy and bliss. Might as well get accustomed to something like that while I am still alive and kicking here on Earth!

Because of parental responsibilities, that may not be altogether possible. Instead, maybe I will have to be the one who possesses those qualities, so my children can get a foretaste of what eternity has in store for them!

Double Standard

MSNBC is proudly announcing today that they have obtained 24,000 pages of emails written by Sarah and Todd Palin when she was Governor of Alaska. MSNBC is going over them with a fine tooth comb, and will release immediately any email that might put Sarah in a bad light.

I do not recall MSNBC being even a little curious about the background of Barack Hussein Obama. Sarah has the old media in a tizzy.

Do you have a knack for "making other people feel good about themselves and life?"

Ace of Spades and Stace McCain are mourning the loss of a fellow blogger named Patty Ann. Here is what they said about her:

Rocketman at POWIP remembers her:
Patty Ann was a lovely woman who was always witty, cheerful, and kind. And she will surely be missed. I can’t help but get the feeling that, if at all possible, heaven will be a little brighter today because she’s joined it’s ranks.
That's from Stace McCain who's also lowered the flags to half staff.

Ace said: "She was a wonderful woman. Few people just make other people feel good about themselves and life. She was special."

Aren't those wonderful tributes? "Always witty, cheerful, and kind. Few people just make other people feel good about themselves and life." Those are definitely goals to shoot for as we live our lives. We do have the power to make those kind of choices about how we live our lives. We have to "step to the right," as Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor advises in her book My Stroke of Insight. By that she means to encourage our right brains to become more influential in the choices we make as we live through each day. More on that in subsequent posts.

Failure to have "an attitude of gratitude"

I posted yesterday about Dr. Sanity's posts on the political left's seven deadly sins of narcissism. I have been thinking about it. Mental illness is not found just on the left. We in the center and on the right have our mental health issues, too.

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, in her book My Stroke of Insight, reminds us that we have the power to make good choices. We can choose how we respond to the events in our lives, big and small. We can choose to let negative thoughts and emotions go away, after their 90 second appearance in our circuitry. If we hang on to anger and misery longer than that, it is because we are choosing to do so. God created us to know joy, to experience bliss. We use our left brain to do, to function in the world. But the right brain can help us appreciate the present, have "an attitude of gratitude," mellow out, and practice compassion and good humor.

People on the political right are often just as impatient, unkind, inconsiderate, selfish, whiny, and lost in "poor me" victimhood as people on the left.

Recognizing achievements

It is so important in parenting to focus on successes the children are achieving. It is easy to focus on the problem areas, but not usually very helpful. Notice the difference, though, when you focus on the child's achievements!

Yesterday Sara put out two plates of food for people to munch on. One had piles of salsa, chips, honey mustard and strips of cheese. The other had cherries, tiny tomatoes, salsa, chips, and watermelon. It was all her own idea, and she was the most amiable hostess you ever saw. I praised her and realized that a career in sales would be perfect for Sara. I talked with her about how she could be the woman at Wal-Mart who demonstrated products, for example. She was very proud of herself, rightly so.

In looking through Jon's school composition books, which he brought home at the end of the school year, I read a wonderful piece he had written about his mom. I typed it up and he signed it with his unique signature, and I put it on his mom's computer for her to read in the morning. Then, he and I and Greg did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, so she would awaken to a clean kitchen.

No one wants to be known for their disabilities or problem behaviors. We need the important people in our lives to recognize us for what is unique and worthwhile about us; for what we can contribute.

"For they do so with the approval of their own conscience"

Dr. Sanity has been blogging about the seven deadly sins of narcissism, as exhibited by the people on the political left. She quotes author C.S. Lewis

"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Dr. Sanity is performing an incredibly useful service in explaining to us the thinking patterns of those on the left who are now in power in America.

Control of old media by the White House

On the day Michelle Obama released her new dietary guidelines, her hubby was photographed by British media wolfing down two chili dogs and fries. An Instapundit reader writes an email to Glenn Reynolds about how the old American media, because they are manipulated and controlled by the White House, avoid showing us anything that might be embarassing to the White House.

Of course, it wasn't that way when George W. Bush and Dick Cheney presided. So there is also the fact that the old media and the current White House are ideological bedfellows.

Wishing to avoid scrutiny, and using force to stop it!

For a long time now Glenn Reynolds has been on top of this issue: many police officers do not want to allow citizens to photograph them while they are in the midst of police actions.

History moves forward, not backward.

via Gateway Pundit

Seals, please!

Chicks on the Right are recommending that Janet N. ("Big Sis") put down her TSA scan for a few minutes to make sure this guy gets some attention!

Thank you, Seals!

I agree with Webutante, who provides this picture of Navy Seals in training: they are the coolest guys on earth!

Surely it will be safe to put on flowers?

I was just getting ready to go get some more manure from our compost piles, when I read this article linked to by Webutante. I am still going to fill the wheelbarrow, but I think I will use the manure just for flowers, not veggies.

Growing character

Donetta, a victim of childhood sexual abuse and torture, is back posting at A Life Restored. On her website she has these wise words:

The Character that is able to grow includes the ability to...
*Recover from distressing emotional states
*Sustain periods of negative strain and delay gratification or good feelings until a responsibility has been met
*Lose well, grieve, and let go of what cannot be reclaimed or won
*Confess when one is wrong
*Change behavior or direction when confronted with reality

It's "in his gut!"

One of my favorite blogs is back! Geckofeeder took some time off, but now is back helping us all discover truth and wisdom. She links to Pajamas Media for coverage of the May Day rally in L.A., in which SEIU activists marched alongside Communists. An L.A. photographer and citizen journalist named Ringo posted these and many other photos on his site, Ringo's Pictures.

"The government takes away"

We are not the first to notice. The Yacht Club Boys noticed...in 1936!

via Red Stick Rant

Limbaugh versus Krauthammer

Did any of you hear Rush Limbaugh talking the other day about Charles Krauthammer's continuing dissing of Sarah Palin? Rush pointed out Krauthammer's history of being a speech writer for Walter Mondale. Though Krauthammer surely has a way with words, he is no match for Rush Limbaugh. Frankly, I don't know anyone who is!

I made a quick trip over to Rush's website, but did not see anything about Krauthammer. Rush is not one to play up spats with other conservatives. I did find these quotes, though:

"If I'm John Edwards and I'm facing an indictment that might lead to prison, the last thing I would want the inmates to know is that my nickname is the Breck Girl."

"You know what really bugs the media about Palin? The same thing that bugs them about me. They didn't make her; they can't destroy her. She is where she is despite the media. This is what they don't understand."

Unknown unknowns

Astronomers have discovered evidence of "up to ten" planets floating alone in the dark of space, away from the light of a star.The discovery indicates there are many more free-floating Jupiter-mass planets that can't be seen. But wait, that's not all: "The team estimates there are about twice as many of them as stars. In addition, these worlds are thought to be at least as common as planets that orbit stars. This would add up to hundreds of billions of lone planets in our Milky Way galaxy alone."

We aren't kidding, Willard

Ann Barnhardt is not impressed with the Republican National Committee, and she wants Willard to go away.

Via Primordial Slack

Irresistable!

Wal-Mart had delicious yellow corn for 10 cents an ear last weekend. So what is a boy who grew up in Iowa supposed to do? Yep, the fridge is one-third full of sweetcorn!
Pic found at Theo Spark

We are a tiny percentage of the cosmos!

From a fascinating blog: "Dark energy is thought to dominate our universe, making up about 74 percent of it. Dark matter, a slightly less mysterious substance, accounts for 22 percent. So-called normal matter, anything with atoms, or the stuff that makes up living creatures, planets and stars, is only approximately four percent of the cosmos."

Sarah's Ride

Vanderleun has some close-ups of Sarah's Ride in a post entitled "Not for Hire."

Clarity

Walter Williams, in this Town Hall post, writes clearly about entitlements and congressional spending:

The language Congress uses to describe their spending is corrupt beyond redemption. Think about the term entitlement. If one American is entitled to something he didn't earn, where in the world does Congress get the money? It's not Santa or the Tooth Fairy. The only way Congress can give one American a dollar is to first take it from another American. Therefore, an entitlement is a congressionally given right for one American to live at the expense of another. In other words, Congress forcibly uses one American to serve the purposes of another American. As such, it differs in degree, but not kind, from that uglier part of our history where black people were forcibly used to serve the purposes of their slave masters.

What about the terms discretionary versus non-discretionary congressional spending? Non-discretionary refers to uncontrollable things like sunsets and sunrises, low tides and high tides and laws of thermodynamics. By contrast, all congressional spending is discretionary and controllable. For political expedience, Congress has written laws to shield certain spending from annual budget scrutiny by calling it non-discretionary.

Who is right?

Some big time powerful people want legalization of drugs. The Global Commission on Drug Policy says the drug war has not and cannot be won. On the other hand, the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy says there has been a decline in US drug use in the past 30 years, and a 46 percent drop in cocaine use among young adults in the past five.

He had been there before.

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

“You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.”

The American said, “The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.”

“Impossible. Americans always have to show their passports upon arrival in France!”

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ”Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

I found this at Looking Spoon.

Jerusalem: 4000 years in five minutes

I found out about this You Tube piece by reading Maggie's Notebook

In search of a "right wing slut"

You may have read about MSNBC host Ed Schultz calling Laura Ingraham a "right wing slut." Did you know there was actually an episode of the popular t.v. show "In Search Of" on the subject of right wing sluts? Yes, you can read the transcript here!

"Not trying to cover up its crimes, but to advertise them.”

When Syrian officials returned the mutilated body of this thirteen year old boy to his parents, after they tortured and killed him, it triggered spontaneous outrage among the people of Syria.

Papparazi

Sarah Palin is refusing to disclose to the mainstream media where her next stops will be on her bus tour. They are thus reduced to following her around: twelve to fifteen vehicles following her down the highway trying not to lose sight of her bus.
Here are two divergent views on Sarah's unwillingness to play the game like the media wants it played.

On the Weiner matter

Ann Coulter suggests the whole matter be taken to small claims court.

She is not like the rest of the GOP candidates.

Sarah Palin loves the smell of motorcycle emissions.

Shooting young men in the head

Michael Totten hopes the United States will not be suckered again by Syrian President Assad.

Another murder

Syed Saleem Shahzad’s book, Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11 was released two weeks ago. He has been killed.

"Here to help you"

Are we going to have scenarios like this at the grocery store?

Ryan tells Obama: "Leadership should come from the top!"

Paul Ryan tells Barack Obama that "leadership should come from the top." I hope Ryan is listening to his own words, and seeks the top job.

Memorial Day 2011

I know Memorial Day was two days ago, but I was working, and did not have a chance to surf the blogosphere on that day. Fine writing is always worth reading, even if you don't see it until after the day it was written to commemorate.

Politicians protecting incumbent competitors in an industry

Do you think government licensing is always for the purpose of protecting consumers? Think again!

Unexpected, high impact events

Black Swans, the term coined by Taleb, refers to unexpected, high impact events. What events have happened in your life that had a high impact on your life, but which you failed to predict? Could you have been better prepared for the event? What kept you from being better prepared? Were you relying on a thinking model that lulled you into thinking that such an event would never happen? Was the black swan event a positive or negative event? If negative, did you figure out how to turn it into something positive?