War

In its most simple state, war is binary.  Either you get killed or you don't.  The lethality of the modern day battlefield should be imprinted on the forehead of every leader in the world.  It is their failure to preserve peace and work together that leads us to have wars.  I believe in the abundance mentality and feel that if we were all to work together, there is enough for everyone.  After all, isn't it about food, then power.  I know that after a Thanksgiving meal, I sure as heck don't want to invade anyone.

From Draftee to Colonel in 30 years

 As I looked back on some of my earlier posts, I hit the war in Afghanistan right between the eyes.  If the British, Russians and now the Americans would have carpet bombed that little country with all the dollars we have spent trying to bring them peace, they could all have houses with central air and lots of food.  If somehow we could exchange the cost of the lives we have spent there for dollars, we could double the size of those houses and perhaps put in wall to wall carpeting.  

I have a friend that spent a lot of time as a child in Afghanistan when her father was a Doctor there.  She has a book on her coffee table with pictures of the place and she said she loved the people as much as the scenery.  I trust her perceptions almost as much as I do mine.  Her's is also flavored by a wonderful belief of a supreme being and that gives her a peace that I could only find when I had my M-16 in my hands while in Vietnam.

Si vis pacem, para bellum.  Is the Latin guide that tells countries to seek peace but prepare for war.  On the other hand, Dwight David Eisenhower told us to fear the Military Industrial Complex. I think that it is up to the Civilian Leadership to establish just what the heck that level is.  I am not sure that I would be a good guide for that level.  Tanks for the memories...

Oh well, better leave this and get on with my peace of life.  A good breakfast will cure any thoughts this old war horse has of running off to war.

MUD

My Perception, My Reality

As much as I want to shout against my perceived injustice by my lot in life and parts of the government, I am reminded of the old saying that "My Perception is My Reality."  Once I put those feelings, observations, thoughts and reactions to events into my brain housing group, they become my reality.  Some time when you have a few moments to spare, read about how it takes a pretty significant emotional event to change the way people feel.  I call this the Popeye effect - "I Yam what I Yam!"  

Today there was an article in the Parade Magazine about how to have a happy family.  I would say that it was about 50/50 right and wrong - for me.  I grew up poor and while there were times we sat down to a nice home cooked meal, there were a lot of times we just got a bowl or a plate of whatever mom made and ate it wherever.  I don't think I was motivated by pretty food, I was fueled by lots of good food - most of it edible.  Breakfast was mostly a catch as catch can at our house.  My mother loved to cook but hated to do dishes.  If she could cook it all in one pot, so much the better.  A pot of beans, chili, pork chops in a Spanish Rice casserole were served as a lot of dinners.  

One thing that was apparent from early was that if I wanted money to spend, I needed to get out and earn it.  I mowed lawns, cleaned windows, washed cars, delivered papers and as soon as I had a license, I worked in Gas Stations.  If I wanted to have a car, it was my expense and I had to make sure that Dad got insurance money on a fairly regular basis. (Dad didn't always collect the money for insurance as I remember)  

My father was not very loved by his mother and I'm pretty sure that he had a lot of reasons to not be very affectionate to his children.  On the other hand, my mother was the earth mother and a kiss and a hug could be had about anytime it was needed.  Her mother was about the same.  I can say that Erma and Virginia were pretty much what you see is what you get.  They were open and loving and most of us felt that love. 

One time I mentioned to my Uncle that my Dad always felt that his mother was not very loving and that she gave my uncle a lot more affection than she did to dad.  He was really shocked that  Dad felt that way.  He felt that his mother didn't know how to show love to the children and times were tough when they were growing up.  I won't go as far as to call it abuse but won't stop too far from emotional neglect.  I have listened to tales of during the depression my Grandfather would take his bucket of paints and brushes out in the morning and when he came home what he earned was supper.  He was a sign painter and a lot of his work was bartered for food.  I didn't get to know either of my grandfathers so I can't even begin to speculate about their effects on the family. 

One thing I did feel the article hit a home run on was the point that most of the family fights are about money. I promise you that once you have your house paid for and that big nut each month goes away, life backs off a notch on the anger scale.  In spite of my degree in business, the reality of a budget and spending towards a goal didn't come to me early.  It was not missed by my wife.  I always wondered why she had to have a balance in the check book.  The bigger the better to her.  I would have had a new car, a boat and vacations at the lake often but she was a lot more conservative and I am far better off for it.  Now that I am a lot more near to end than the beginning of my life, I am darned sure that I will want for little except a longer life.

I lied right there.  I feel that I have lived a full life and in spite of a few intense moments in Vietnam and illnesses in the VA Hospital I have been blessed with more happiness than I deserve.  My goal is to slide into my grave, dirty, worn out and shouting Ya Hoo!  It wouldn't hurt if I could be there a day or two before the Devil knows I'm gone.  I plan to spend a few days at Fiddler's Green and drink a canteen cup of grog with my old friends.  I'm sure that there will be tales told and retold with a few made up.  

I have everything I need, most of what I want, money in the bank and a WalMart nearby.   Hope you can find the thing that makes you happy.

Morocco with my life partner, Barb

MUD

Just a few thoughts, Again...

I abhor stupidity. Not the speech from the uneducated, but speech so stupid that not even the person saying  it could possible believe it.   We all hear things that are so fundamentally wrong that we can't possibly believe it.  The current spending by our Government to save us?  Taking guns away from the legal honest gun owner to stop the illegal use of guns by the criminals.  Loaning money to Companies by the government that has to borrow 40 cents of every dollar they spend. 

I think we are all prejudiced in some ways .  Life is way too short to spend hours worrying about every decision.  Your preconceived thoughts and feelings are the result of your learning and are strongly imprinted on your choices in life.  I personally like 57 Chevy's, McDonald's French fries and Del Monte ketchup.  It would take a pretty significant emotional event to change that.  

I am a conservative.  Not in all things, but i think that change while is inevitable, it is not the whole answer.  People that make changes and then protect those changes like they are the optimum or the ideal are as faulted as those that don't want to change in the first place.  I think that change should have positive effects and not cost us more than the benefit. 

Doing what you did and expecting different results is just plain stupid.  

In this world, there are people that cannot or will not change.  Just plan around them and move on. 

I grew up in Kansas and am a Jay hawker.  I revel in freedom and hate the ideal of enslavement.  I believe that every person has the ability to be something great.  The corollary to that is that there are some that have the ability to be evil, in such ways that most of us cannot even imagine.  

Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.   He took our country to war to hold us up against the highest standards of our Constitution. 

Life is a buffet.  Take what you want but eat what you take.

Unless you really want to buy something, don't ask what it costs.  

My son had on a T-Shirt that said this "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't, The courage to change the things I can and the weaponry to make a difference" I think the message there is sometimes we take life way too serious and a little smile goes a long way.

" Swetzhen Nien da Vider Sheist ". (Don't sweat the small shit, after all it is all small shit)

There are Managers and there are leaders. Managers count everything and manage people like they are an asset not people. In abundant situations, not declining situations, managers make good sense. A manager will figure out the cheapest way to do things and produce an optimum return. When time is short and you really have to minimize the loss you need a leader to take charge and win the battle. When you really need to get the best out of people and there just isn't enough of anything to go around, leaders fit the bill.

When time comes to get down to business and "un-hit that fan load" of manure it is often better to have a leader rather than a manager.

MUD

USMS Geiger

In 1968, I went to Vietnam on a boat.  It didn't have a great keel so it went up and down like most ships on the ocean but it also wallowed on the down stroke.  Sea sickness prevailed for most of us the first day or two out of Long Beach,  CA.  It was bad enough that one of my fellow officers was so sea sick that he took to his bed and then sick bay.  They took him off the ship on a stretcher in Subic Bay and flew him the remainder of the way to Vietnam.  yesterday I was kind of bored so I looked up the Geiger on the Internet.  

There was one section of pictures the Internet  and there I was in one of the pictures.  I wondered how the heck my picture got in there until I found the link back to this blog and the fact that it was one of the pictures I posted a couple of years back when I was doing my Military Stories series.   I was glad to find out that the Geiger had a bad fire and it burned to the ground a few years back.  

That leads me to the other point I have today and that is, "Why the hell would anyone want to take a cruise ship?"   This past year or so we had one tip over in a stupid accident and this week we had several hundred people trapped on one for days  because of a small fire.  As I read the stories about the incident, it reminded that the people other than they had beds, had primitive conditions a lot like Vietnam to endure.  

Oh well, there is so much to see right here in the good old USA that you won't find me on a ship soon.  Oh by the Way, the Black Mamba rode fine the other day and other than my leg were up to only about 4 miles, everything is fine.  

MUD

A Few things from the Past

Here are a few Pearls of wisdom I have written over time.  

 I really believe that there needs to be a "War of the Worlds" every once in a while to shake things up. But there needs to be a ground truth in what we believe. I would rather have our students learn the truth and have limited knowledge than have them know everything and little of it to be correct.

The last decade of my life is now filled with pretty much whatever we want to do. I tell anyone that will listen that I have everything I need, most of what I want and a WalMart nearby

Is there anyone out there that doesn't know that Social Security was designed to help the poorest of our poor? The headlines in today's paper declared that delaying the retirement age will hurt the poor the most. DUH! I love the book Barb read in which a character said he didn't mind being poor, except for the shortage of cash. DUH! When will we stop being subjected to stupid actions from our Government and having it reported in even a more stupid manner by our Press. Paying off our debt should be done by everyone and yes, because they are poor, it will hurt the poor the most. But who will benefit the most in the long run? Not having around 30% of every dollar Government spent be borrowed will in the long run give us all a break. Who will get the biggest break? the Poor. Duh!

A TSA Agent let a woman in a Burka on a flight after her family protested that she shouldn't have to show her face. My answer to that is stay home or drive if you don't want to have the rules applied to you. If it is politically correct to pat down and make him take off his shoes for a retired Colonel after 31 years of service to his country why the hell would it not be fair to have a Muslim woman show her face to match it with her ID

Yesterday I had a real senior moment. At the Post office the clerk gave me a stamp to put on a letter I was mailing. Like an idiot, I picked it up and licked it. Then, I watched as it failed to stick on the letter. I tried to quietly peel the backing off the self stick stamp and then put it on the letter. Dang, I hate it when things change and I don't remember the new way to do things.

Nothing is free, but limiting ourselves to the old technology when we should know that not investing in some of the changes will pay its self back is stupid. As a prime example, Russia and the United States could have carpet bombed Afghanistan with money for all the money they have spent there in a war. Go as far back as the English and we could have moved every man woman and child from there to anywhere in the world to live in a lifestyle of the rich.

MUD

SUNRISE

For about half of my Adult life, I woke up with the chickens and watched the sunrise.  I had a paper route for a year and then spent about 30 years in the Military.  This morning I was out as the glow in the east became a warm glow with the sky turning pink and purple above as the rising sun reflected off the clouds.  A good part of my fascination with the sky is from the  fact that I grew up in Kansas and if you were not interested in the sky, it could be boring here in the heartland.  The sky is our scenery and watching the clouds make shapes and change is one really good way to pass the time.  

Yesterday I tried to fix the chain on the Black Mamba so the chain would cross a pulley and not slap on the frame.  It seems that the act of pedaling makes the chain to not  be held in a normal position and when it gets out of alignment, it just jumps off the pulley and is not fun at all.

What it should look like

I finally have given up on the idea that the chain on the pedal stroke goes under the pulley.  The bottom chain as it goes backward is a piece of cake as it doesn't have the down stroke pressure to mis-align the chain.    I also put a layer of rubber on the frame to cut down on the paint chipping from chain slap.  On a race bike, the distance from the pedal to the rear end is very short.  Not so much on a recumbent.

Almost 10 feet of chain on a 'Bent

I went over to the lake and rode around Tin-Man circle a couple of times.  I need to rework my legs to get them ready for the riding season.  A little over four miles and I was really feeling the burn.  Actually I was feeling the cold.  It was about 45 degrees out with some sunshine but I could tell that the wind didn't feel calm until I was moving with it at about 15 MPH. 

Oh well, better move on with things.  

MUD

Too Damn Cold

Yesterday I set my mind on going on a bike ride when it got to 40 degrees.  I went over to Lake Shawnee and rode across the dam.  I rode back, loaded up the bike and went home.  Even with almost no wind it was too damned cold to ride.  Soon, but not today I will be back on the bike.  

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about how I don't understand the voters.  The majority of our voters don't agree with most of the items Obama addressed in his State of the Union address, but seem to like the Obama Agenda.  It was like the last election.  Overall, the congress had an 8% approval rating and about 92% of them were re-elected.  

A few years back, we passed a ban on assault type weapons and large magazine for them. When it did little or nothing to change the statistics, it was appealed.    Last night, the same old story was trotted out and her we go again.  The President said that since Sandy Hook, almost 1000 families have been impacted by shootings.  Doesn't he pay attention to the facts at all?  The city where handguns are almost completely banned (Chicago) had 48 of those deaths.  It will not change the statistics one bit if the Government tells the legal gun owners they can no longer have guns.  Unless or until they try to come out here in the heartland and try to take them away from us.  

Simply put, the problem with guns is there is not a good way to take the guns away from the people that use them illegally.  

Simply put . The problem with the deficit is that congress didn't make the President publish a balanced budget and then live within that budget.     

Simply put. If you aren't happy with the fact that we are fighting a war in Afghanistan, bring our troops home from all those places where they are in danger.  

Simply put. If a country lets people hurt the people in our embassies, bring our people home and cut them off the list for Foreign Aid.   Then don't help guard their embassies. (Note - Or the UN if they don't step in and sanction the country's that don't their obligation to foreign embassies.)  Spend a week or so towing all those illegally parked cars around the UN and see if that doesn't get some results. 

Simply put.  If you don't favor the Agenda of the Government, don't vote for the same guy again

Stupid-  People that do what they did and expect a different result are the same kind of people that think that Col Sanders is running a chicken hospital. (Rush Limbaugh)  I like mine about 50/50 original and extra crispy.

MUD

What'cha Doin?

This morning Barb and I, as we ate breakfast, looked at the calendar and tried to map out our day/week/month.  Kind of like the sign at the nursing home where they tell their patients what day it is.  At one time my day was scheduled in a Day Runner and Barb's was listed by the lesson plans/IEP's of her students.  Things have slowed down a little and now unless it gets really busy a Calendar is good enough.  

c

Oooh, Shinny

I have my recumbent bike back from having it painted and updated.  I am looking forward to taking it over to the lake this afternoon and making a few circles with the pedals.  I know I will not ride hard or long but I will ride.  The bike was called the Blue Racer when it was first made.  I had it painted black and now I am calling it the Black Mamba.  If it rides half as smooth and quiet as it looks, I will be in hog heaven. Over the age of 50, a man's bicycle seat should be larger than his prostate.

Yesterday was our 45th Anniversary and we took the kids out to dinner.  Barb's nephews Kyler and Austin came along and it is always nice to hear them and Barb laugh.  We ate at the Texas Road House and it was excellent.  We had a basket of fried pickles and I'll bet I was up every hour during the night trying to get rid of all the water and tea I drank from those salty pickles.  They were good but the dipping sauce made them a little salty for me.  It tasted like 2 teaspoons of Mayo, 1 of ketchup and one of Horseradish.  Just like you get with a Blooming' Onion at Outback.  Kind of like a Russian Dressing but with a kick.

There is a snowstorm somewhere over Oklahoma and headed to NW Arkansas.  Our Niece Rebecca was going to come up yesterday to testify before a Kansas Senate Committee but the weather spooked her out of that notion.  It is just cloudy here and the wind is about as calm as it can be.  It did get below freezing last night but not by much.  

Last night, I saw the Jay Hawks play about the best game they could have played.  They beat K-State like a drum - Loud and Often!  It looks like to me that Coach Bill Self has a tough decision to make.  His point Guard Elijah Johnson has has  not been able to hit the inside of a barn for a while. He went 1 for 6 last night.   He also has been pretty loosey goosey about his ball handling.   It is clear that Nadir Tharp is the "go to guy" and his defense on Rodney Macgruder last night was just the ticket.  It was nice to see Travis Releford back in the game but there was also Benny Basketball, Mclemore scoring 30 points on his 20th birthday that helped.  It is clear that there are a number of games left to play for both teams and on any given night you can get beat.  I am pretty sure both teams will be in the big dance at the end of the year.

Oh well, not warm yet.  

MUD

It is only a Game

All over the United States, there are Basketball fans wondering what is going on.  No one has survived being in First place or even a good brush with that label.  The thing I would want all of you to remember is that it is only a game and the real purpose of our campuses is the education of our young men and women.  If it makes you feel good, stand up and cheer, if not, there will always be the next game, the next team or the next year.  

We all can't be 7 feet tall, but we can shoot the ball

This morning, I am thinking about the 45 years I have spent with Barbara.  February 11th, 1968, Lt Dennis Petty married Barbara Schmoe in las Vegas Nevada.  What a trip.  I will admit that getting married and spending a year in Vietnam did kind of spoil the fun at first.  I think it War gave me a real idea of what hell looked like and marriage to Barb has been nothing like that.   

Oh well, better get something done to put a smile oin her face.


MUD

Cute Sayings

Once Upon a Time, Long ago, I drank. Because I really liked the taste of beer, I drank it over scotch.  Not that I disliked scotch, but beer was cheaper.   One day after a long hot dry spell, someone handed me a cold beer.  I did my best to drink it like I meant it and the other guy said, "You didn't finish that already did you?"  My comment was - "I didn't buy it to look at." 

MUD

Try'n to get it Right

I believe that the current Republican and Democratic parties are doing their best to get things right, it is their approach that I fault.

For example, The writers of the Constitution didn't start out "Once Upon a Time."   They put a lot of thought in developing a system of Government for a new country that just won its independence.  The document was flawed from the start and soon the Bill of Rights was added to make it a lot more predictable and protective.  For a couple of hundred years it served pretty well but the evolution of our electronic revolution has changes a lot and fast.  

I feel that the Democrats hold the Constitution as a form of guarantee that our rights are protected by Government.  The are making changes to help and in some cases force Government to do what is right for the people.  There is even a Civil Liberties organization that challenges things (ACLU) they feel are wrong and the Southern Poverty Law center looking for Civil Rights Violations.  If something is broken, the Democrats will write a law and see if making it illegal or creating a Government body to oversee the problem area.  So far, I think this approach has been about 50/50.  This works better in Wartime and in the case of major economic collapse.

The Republicans feel that the Constitution was not only a damn good start, it had the way to change it written in and that is the way to guarantee the freedoms we had.  They feel that changing the way government works is not to write new legislation, but to use the Government we have or change the constitution.  This worked when we lived in rural areas and the news breaking in California didn't splash out of our media as soon as it happens.  It is a rigid system and hard to explain to young voters.

The one fault I have is that unless and until we arrive in the toilet or a war, there needs to be a balance to what Government says it is going to fund and what they say should be funded.  In spite of the fact that the current Government in Kansas seems to be trying to reduce the funding on everything, their approach of only spending what they get is a pretty good idea.  (and required by our State Constitution)

So, the real problem is that we have two parties that are trying to be the party in power and spending money like there is no tomorrow.  Somewhere there needs to be some one with rational thought that helps them come together and try to figure out just what the heck we need to do and how to fund that need.

To me, in my simple way, I think that too much government is as bad as too much spending.  The leadership in our Government needs to stimulate our thinking and leave the economy the heck alone.  The Government needs to provide more guidance and less control. 

For example - I think abortion is the worst way to do birth control.  With that said, I don't think that I want the Federal Government involved in the decision between a woman and her Doctor.   I don't like it but I think it is about right.    There is way too much gun violence out there but I am pretty sure that legislating the kind of weapons and the size of a magazine for the bullets can't fix the problem.  I am pretty sure that the legal owners of weapons are not in need of more legislation.  It is the bad guys that use the weapons illegally that I want to stop.  I am not sure I know how to do that, or would want to live in a place where the Government can stop and frisk you everywhere you go.  

How about a system that puts limits on all laws and applied the rule of unintended consequences to those laws.  If a law causes more problems that it solves, it needs to be amended or stopped.   Laws should be reviewed every five years or so to see if they work.  Laws need to be simple, direct and reviewed.  The congress should live up to its responsibility to Govern not write new laws all day.  They need to issue a statement of what the four of five things they thing is wrong and what they are going to do about the problems.  They also need to publish a budget on how they are going to pay for it and do their best to make it all work.

I know it looks a lot more simple from the outside but it should be. If it is not, perhaps a change is needed.

On Guard just watching

MUD

Rain?

After many weeks of dry weather, we are finally getting some rain here in the heartland.  I was afraid I was going to have to drag out the hose and start watering things to keep them alive.  OK, you caught me, Barb would drag the hoses out and do the watering.  

A couple of years back, we put an automatic shut off faucet out in the yard by the garden.  It is leaking and I didn't figure out how to put a shut off valve on it.  You can bet your sweet bippy that if I have to dig it up this time there will be a good way to shut the water off.   

I won't discuss the loss of Kansas Men's basketball last night except to say that they played the worst first half of the game I have ever seen.   Coach Bill Self had better get the team's act together or he just might not see his 500th win this year.

I sure hope the Government doesn't profile us as Pot Growers.  With the leaky faucet and all the grow lights going, it sure looks suspicious.  Barb has about 100 small Kale plants growing in the spare bedroom getting ready for the Lawn and Garden Show next weekend.  The Master Gardeners  will have a booth there and kids that complete a small activity will get to take home a small plant.  We have about 1/3 of the plants here and man can you ever smell all the damp potting soil.  

Not being a mastermind or in control of time/place/events in February 1968, Barb and I got married in las Vegas.  Every year since, I get hit with an anniversary and Valentines day all within a week.  The good news is that Barb is worth the extra chocolate and flowers.  A lot of things have changed over the years but most have been for the better.  I can truly say that I am one of the luckiest guys I know.  

In fact, if I haven't said it enough times before, I feel like I have lived the good life and while I am not out seeking death, I feel that if it were to happen soon I don't feel shorted.   This morning I read about a friend's death at 73.  Barb and I agree that it doesn't sound old now.  Perhaps when we were much younger that was ancient, now not so much.  I plan on living until such time as I can arrive at my grave all dirty, worn out and shouting Ya-Hoo and slide into my grave to be there at least a day before the Devil notices.   

I think she has a camera just to record what I'll do next

MUD

Dear Mr President

There has been a lot of talk about the legacy of past Presidents and here is my offering to help you leave office with a great legacy.

Put aside all this talk about race and reach out there and be as powerful as Martin Luther King to the black people.  Give them a hand up not a hand out.  Tell them that when the use drugs they are polluting the soul of their race.  Tell them that if the white people killed blacks as often as they do it to themselves, there would be a race war. God didn't put all those mothers on the earth to have them cry.  Tell them to act and stand strong in their communities.    Remind them that at one time there were black communities where they could shop, get their hair cut and do everything locally.  They supported a lot of jobs and they were people that the Government is supporting now.  I can't imagine how enslaving that reliance on a government check must be.   Can you Imagine having the impact of JFK by giving them strength as a people not just giving them the vote?

I don't want to be a profiler, but like the bank robbers said, He robs banks because that's where the money is.  Don't go out into the middle of our country and take the Right to bear Arms away from those that do so legally, go to the cities and arm the police force with body armor and automatic weapons.  I contend the drug use is the symptom of the problem not the cause.  help our young people build lives and they will darn sure sell goods and services and not drugs.

The Government owns houses all over America.  How about a program that takes the unemployed and teaches them to put on roofs, paint, landscape and insulate these homes and if possible hire them to do more jobs with the goal of having them buy the homes so they don't just fall down.  Move the people that live in the Government Housing projects out into the community.  

Si vis pacem, para bellum.  If you want peace, prepare for war.  No one ever attacked a country because they were too strong.  I agree that the wars in IRAQ and Afghanistan have been costly, but they have aided our economy in a lot of ways that little else has.  Ask the smart minds in Washington if the 1929 Depression was over by the time WWII started ?   I think that having a national Goal cemented people into a way of thinking that brought us closer than ever.  My parents tell me that during the war, they were rationed as heavily as during the depression but the difference was it was supported because we had a National Goal.  The military is probably one of the best ways to strengthen our country.  Don't think of it as a good way to get our young men and women killed, but a good way to teach, train and utilize them for good.  Why does a national Guard Soldier only train one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer?  Because it is about the right amount of time to keep them sharp enough.  Why can't our Military units guard our schools, streets and borders plus be able to go to war if needed?  Rotate them into our communities a quarter at a time and then train a quarter and then back to our communities. Think of it being a National Employment program not time in the Armed Service. 

It is my belief that every man has the equal ability to get up, get an education, go to work and be successful. For anyone to think less of the young black men and women is racist.  If you want to have a legacy that shines to the rest of the world, be the President that brought America together and built it into a place that everyone has the chance and the calling to be the best he or she can be.  I don't want you to be the black President that did this, but the President that brought us all together and build a foundation for America that we can all be proud of.  

PS, Isn't it about time that all of our Service members have the same benefits.  Why does a married same sex couple not both have ID cards and Medical care?  All that will take is a stroke of the pen and you appoint the Secretary of Defense who can do that.  
 

A lot of us are watching and wondering what the heck is going on

MUD
OLD Retired Fart (ORF)

What Does It All Mean?

There is a program on TV called Dan rather Reports.  This morning he had a program about all the job movement to India and what it has done to our middle class.  He had a pre-election clip of Obama telling us that the Republicans are all at fault and in the next segment he showed Obama  at a conference in India saying it is all a "Win-Win."   One of my favorite clips was the showing of the Indian shanty town with a new HP factory built right in the middle.  It was all in the presentation.  One of the people interviewed said that the research and service centers in India cost us about half of what they would cost us at home.  He said "Show me the money."

Most of this talk started a few years back with all the talk of  fair trade and Globalization of the economy.  The biggest problem as i see it is who is going to be able to buy all this fancy computer software and hardware when all the jobs have gone overseas?   The $500 laptops are the rage now but who will buy them when the pay in India catches up with the USA?  yes, I know it is not my problem as I have done my bit for the cause.  I really do want to sit back and relax but "Show me the Money."

Have you noticed that for the 5th straight year the President has yet to produce a proposed budget on time?  I sure a heck would like to know what those pesky politicians think we are going to spend.  I guess so long as the Executive party can bully congress into just raising the debt ceiling it make little difference. Try that at home boys and girls. 

Oh well, the weather here is fairly mild for this time of year and It sure is nice when the sun shines.  Except for the fact that the window cleaner is shirking his duty to make them sparkle.  Oh well...

It is all in the presentation.

MUD

Busy

I have been busy trying to get all the tax information in order.  Between my dyslexic fingers and the numbers that seem to be made up, it is taking me a while to get it all in order.  Getting there.  The good news is that the IRS didn't let anyone file until Friday anyway. 

Checkin' out the pan

Deer Chowin' down

Barb with deer food

have a great week.
MUD

Fun 'n Games

As soon as I get a few more things done, we are going to make a run to the Post Office and the grocery store.  The only thing we have to watch out for is the 3 PM game against Oklahoma-State.  I am pretty sure we can get back by then if we hurry.  (Can you hear me laughing)

Mid month in January, the trash service gave us a big old recycling container.  They won't pick it up until the 11th of February.  I am wondering if I will be able to move it by then.  Barb is taking this recycling business serious.  When it warms up, I might even try to find a place in the garage for the new container.  We had three little stacking containers and I'm not sure what we will use them for.  

I am sure that like most of you, things just seem to accumulate her at Rabbit Run.  The other night, we were letting Dave out the front door and I noticed that one of the stuffed animals was missing.  It was a wolf in a rabbit costume.  Wonder what little person latched on that?  Oh well, I know that it went to a nice home.  Unless, of course it got moved into one of the closets and just got buried.  Did any of you ever hear the radio program Fibber McGee and Molly?  There was at least one scene in each program where someone would open the closet door just as someone hollered "Don't open that door!"  The sound effects man would dump the contents of his table on the floor and the audience would always laugh.  I am pretty sure that a couple of our closets are too full to have things fall out.  

By tonight, the snow will be gone

Barb bought us KU tickets in the half season size.  We get to go to half of the home games.  We will miss the Texas game on the 14th.  At that game, they will retire Mario Chalmers jersey, they will play Texas and it just might be Bill Self's 500 career win.  We will get to see it on TV and that's pretty good if I can't be there in person.

I am pretty sure that every team has a form of crowd entertainment during their home games.  If you haven't seen one of the KU home games, put it on your bucket list.  We really enjoy the show.  It does take a couple of days for my hearing to get over the assault but no one said i could hear well anyway.

MUD