June 5, 2015:  Thoughts to the start of the summer months

A drought in California and Arsenic in our water in Arizona..

There are many folks living in California who are having severe water problems because of a lack of water and those living in Texas are having severe water problems because of excess water.  Doesn't that make you wonder why sometimes we never get things right?  There are icebergs melting in the cold climes adding water to the oceans and we have politicians running around talking about how we have global warming, scientists saying that for the next few years we are going to have global cooling!  What is the end result?  Who knows...progress causes everyone to scratch their heads and say huh?

Here in our Arizona community we have a problem with Arsenic:

Our community is serviced by a water company who has been trying to make it next to impossible to do business with them.  Under an agreement with the officials at the state's attorney general's office the water company agreed to provide potable drinking water during the lull of when they put in a large water removal plant to take the arsenic out of the customers water.  That won't happen until May 2016 which is their deadline and they are always waiting until the last minute to get things done.  Don't you wonder where they get their water? 

We went to Home Depot to get an Arsenic filter for our own water rather than go to the office of the water company every day and get 1 gallon of water per person at a set time and sign in when you get the water.  The other problem is that they are giving the water out from behind closed doors!  Yes, they put the water system they have into a closed room, no one can see what they are doing, and you cannot question if the water is good or not. 

The Brita Water system we got is for under the sink.  We replaced a leaky Culligan system and the cost differential was not too much than to get the parts from Culligan.  Problems we had with the new system were discovered after our handy-man installed the system.  It seems that there is a little gadget called a water restrictor which the instruction booklet says is a must do in order to make the system function.  Well, we had this running for some time and nothing was happening!  The water was not going into the pressure tank, the water was not flowing from the faucet, and we could not stand the noise.  So at about 3 am in the morning we got up and turned off the water flowing into the drain!  Read many of the YouTube comments and the videos which had people talking about their methodology of installation and came to the conclusion that first thing in the morning we would  correct some of the problems. 

Our fix..which worked!  Put some air in the pressure tank.  You use a bicycle pump!  Check if the restrictor valve was installed.  We put the air in and installed the restrictor valve which had been put in the box for safe keeping? (Only the handyman knows why it need to be there rather than in the system).  Right away the water filled the tank!  Right away the noisy flow of water was eliminated! Now we go through the steps of purging the system of particles which are cast off by the filters when first installed.  We have only one more time to do this and we then can turn on the line to the ice maker in the refrigerator.  Oh Happy Day!

I have said enough today!  More in a few days. 

Memorial Day 2015 - Remember our troops and Family who served

This is the time to remember family who served and have died!

My brother Leslie Isaacs died, not in battle, but after he had come back after he had served his country, family, and his Masonic brothers.  A life which was noble and giving to all of those who were fortunate to have known him.  He was far to young to be taken by cancer as he had so much more to give to humanity.  I miss him and pray for him every day when I open my computer and see his smiling face which I have as my splash screen.

My first cousin Darwin Boslov died this past year.  He too served his nation and was a fine humanitarian who lived out his last years being legally blind.  What I recall most about him was that both my brother and I had worn his Navy uniforms when we served.  Darwin had a great sense of humor, was athletic, and lived life to its fullest.

Joseph Berger was married to my cousin Shirley Boslov.  Both of them are deceased now.  Joe served in the Army.  He was a man who tried his best in the things that he did and always had a great sense of being pleasant even when circumstances were difficult.  He provided well for his family and left two children Diane and Ronald.

This memorial day I feel honored to have known them and pray that they are at peace in heaven!

Thoughts about protests:

The other day I read that protests in Ferguson Mo were paid demonstrations.  Those people who went out into the streets were there at someone else beckoning to raise a ruckus.  Do we see anyone doing an investigation of who did the paying and the motives?  No!  Some news articles are decrying the person or persons as instigating the unrest!  If this was true and information is known, we should justly be totally upset!  Inciting a riot is a felony crime.  Yet - nothing is being done.    Then in Baltimore, there were riots, destruction of property, and death caused by the mob mentality.

Now, Cleveland is the next bastion of trouble.  71 people were arrested last night (Saturday May 23, 2015) for crimes against persons and failure to disperse.  The question is were these "demonstrators" spontaneous protestations of outrage or were they paid by the same organizers of Ferguson and Baltimore?  Can we rely on the efficacy of the Justice Department to investigate?  I doubt it, what they seem to be doing to second guessing the legal system as to the innocence or guilt of the police officer who had been in court and found to be innocent!  Double jeopardy should attach, even if there is a Federal violation found in an effort to placate an unruly mob!

We need to have all people stand up and demand that enough is enough.  This could be a summer of violence worse than the 1960's when many cities, both North and South were left smoldering.  We are a people far better than that and when foreign interests interfere with our livelihoods, safety, and prosperity it is time for the people to react peacefully.  Demand that Congress step in and pass some laws which will protect and allow the police to serve.

It was a terrible time in Baltimore when the Mayor and Chief of Police refused to allow officers to do their jobs.  The result was destruction until there was outrage by the citizens.  Same went for Ferguson and it looks like Ferguson will never recover the stature of its fine past.

There are great solutions available to resolve some of the problems that we have here in the United States.  It appears that unemployment and pride in earning a living for the black community is necessary.  Congress can develop some inventive ways to put youth and the unemployed adults to work doing meaningful jobs which are geared to help the communities.  Daily we read about the wonderful collection of taxes and the money that flows into the treasury.  Why not dedicate some of that money for training, education, and jobs?  Stop wasteful spending where we read about the glorious travel of the President and his entourage to Kenya!  Why go there when we have severe problems here at home  that need addressing now, not later?

Whenever people have problems in their lives they seem to extricate themselves by the old fashioned method of hard work.  Congress should stay in session until they get the job done!  Who says that they have to take a summer off?  Passing legislation, holding hearings, investigating wrongdoing, and all the necessary things they were elected to do are mandates given by the people.  Adhere to these time honored traditions and get busy!

Is Congress going to start passing legislation which will be in keeping with the goals of all Americans?

One of the things that we Americans keep wondering is whether or not the Republican dominated House and Senate will pass legislation which is adverse to the President's wishes.  We keep hearing they are upset with many things and will be doing a lot about it.  So far in the past few months of their tenure they have been weak in getting things done which would put a band-aide on presidential executive orders to stop the bleeding of American values.

We need to address several issues and today Sen. Rand Paul said that he was going to be a filibusterer and delay many things which were put into the Patriot Act which allows temporary violations of individual rights which has been done in violation of the Constitution because exigent circumstances existed because of 911.  Well the time has come to address search and seizure provisions which allow searches without warrants if probable cause exists which would harm the United States.  There are many other things which the act provides and they need to be addressed with a full airing and discussion of whether or not they should be stricken down for the future.

Additionally, there is the question of immigration policies (or the lack thereof) by Presidential fiat!  We are starting to see many border crossings and little stoppage of illegals.  The question is tantamount to open borders.  News media who report (many do not) say that there is a waiting list of about 5 million people who are legally applying for US citizenship and are put on waiting lists.  What is weird is that the illegals who walk across the southern border to not get stopped, no waiting, just come on in!  There is hardly any track-age of their where about and over 80% who are given court appearance dates fail to show up and they have melded into the local communities.  

We find that states must give driver's licenses, Social Security will give out cards, and then to make matters worse the way that voting is handled, they are given the right to vote! 

Much is said on Facebook about issues which plague the illegals, but to have them file for taxes and get refunds when they do not work and do not pay into the system is abhorrent.  When you look into the proof of some of the claims it seems that they are untrue and made up by fearful citizenry.  Take what you read with some skepticism, check out the facts for yourself.  Then, if you are satisfied with your conclusions, by all means speak out!  However, do so with putting your sources there for everyone to check themselves.

If Congress does not do something, then again we shall have a shuffling of the deck and many people will once again vote what they think best.  The regime will change or shift!  

NFL and Patriotism!

 

The news broke over the weekend that 14 NFL teams took money from the Federal Government to demonstrate their patriotism with troops and the country by showing the Flag.  

What a crock! 

The NFL lets the Superbowl be played knowing full well there was tampering with the footballs before the game and instead of checking them before play let the game go on!  Now they are going to use their righteousness to castigate Tom Brady when they easily could have countered the problem.

These two instances are enough to turn off a lot of fans who have been loyal all these years.  

One of the things that makes America different is that we support sports teams with dollars, viewership, and pride in our own individuality.  Now, we are being shown the door of decency with a quick slam in our faces.  Respect of fans is out the window and the cost of things at the games is outrageous.  We are not a bunch of sheep who can be led by the greed of certain people.  Maybe we should walk away!  

Have a great week, be alert, stay safe, and above all...love thy neighbor, but don't covet thy neighbor's wife!!!    

May 2: There are many things which happened this past week!

Baltimore during the week!

Police had to struggle this past week with the city officials, unruly crowds, and rule following marchers.

What started out as a peaceful demonstration overwhelmed the police department, the administration of Baltimore, and those who tried to keep the peace.  Many mistakes were made by the Mayor and others who tried to direct the response to rioters.

As the week progressed, the officials finally got their act together and declared curfews to stop destruction and injuries.  It worked!  Then as the week went on it became apparent that trying to appease meant the rush to judgment against six police officers.  The range of crimes from 2nd Degree Murder to failure to follow rules should have been bought before a grand jury.  It would have made a lot more sense to have fresh sets of eyes bring out the charges rather than a person who had been on the job for 4 months without much criminal law experience in her background.  I thought that she did a fine job of speaking and laying out the facts as she saw them, but when others realized that she was talking without much substance and a biased point of view it became a situation where she laid herself into a lot of criticism.  Far better it would have been to take the matter before a grand jury and let the indictments come from there.

Questions were raised by the police that their lives were put in jeopardy and also the destruction of property stemming from Monday night riots where the police had instructions not to interfere.

Justice systems vary, but the truth is that the Constitutions of the United States and that of Maryland need to be followed whether the rules are for the police or citizens.  Additionally, if there is a question of conflicts of interest because the State's Attorney has relationships with attorneys, aldermen, or the family of the deceased, an independent counsel might be in order so that the police involved can get fair and unbiased trials.

Naked May 2nd?  

Someone sent me a photograph of a person tending a garden and that person was naked!  It was the backside and nothing obscene was shown, but the idea was that on May 2nd, tending gardens was to be a naked time!  Funny for sure.  One of my neighbors said "Richard will not be tending to the garden today!"  I replied, that I would be, would you care to come and watch?  I did not say or infer that I would be sans clothing.

We have a weekend of vintage cars!

This weekend is the annual event here in Kingman on Route 66 where vintage autos of yesteryear are brought out by their owners to drive the existing route of Route 66 from Kingman to Seligman Arizona.  Events are planned along the highway where the drivers stop, get refreshments, BBQ, and the like.  In Kingman itself there are places where they all can show off their pride of ownership and gawkers can see what all the hullabaloo is all about!  A fun day for all and it is a celebration Americana which is peaceful and great sport.  The cars as they age get more and more valuable!  Prices on these relics of the past exceed $20,000.00 each.  If you are of the older generation, you might kick yourself when you think about that car of the 1950's you once owned and if you kept it what it would be worth today!

Enjoy the first week in May.   Get out and look around!

During the past week on Facebook there were a lot of discussions about Baltimore. 
Also, some statements about cell phones.  One of the things that I was discussing was the fact that I do not use a cell phone.  There are a lot of people who do and I am getting the feeling that I am now in the minority!  Probably true.  In the 1970's I had the first proto type of cell phones.  It was quite interesting because they worked mostly through the AT&T lines.  The size was about the same as they are now and you had to keep them charged.  Then came along the FM phones which were through local towers.  The cost was about $350 per phone (that is the wholesale cost).  Then resale was $700.  I started a company to do this and we sold one phone!  The buyer was a man who did repossessions of cars.  One week after he had the phone he called me.  Told me the phone saved his life because when he was repossessing a car the owner came out and started shooting at him.  From behind his tow truck he called the police for help.  They came and saved him!  That was the only sale every made by me.  We folded up the company and watched as the cell phone of today came into existence.

Have a great week...until next time...

April 28th and what has been going on the last few days!!!

During the past few days we have seen many disturbing images on the TV regarding Baltimore riots.  We have had speeches, denials, and statements which are blatently misleading.  Why people would not remember what they had said and blame others for twisting their thoughts is beyond my comprehension.

The poor mayor of the city is so caught up in not understanding what she is doing it is really quite sad.  What appears to have happened is that she came out of meetings with officers and others in her command posture and then said what she had been thinking in private.  Not realizing others heard her correctly, but she could not believe herself coming out with those strange utterances.  

By the way, she is the Secretary of the National Democratic Party!  A leader who has fallen on her sword!

Ferguson:

Can we ever understand why those people in Ferguson are now back in the streets?  This Freddie Gray incident was not theirs.  Yes, it seems that he was killed in a way that leaves a lot of questions which need to be answered!  There will be responsibility leveled at those who did this and they will have to pay the consequences, but why are the people in Ferguson taking to the streets?  There has not been anything yet said and the settlement of the issues need to be addressed by the justice system.  Cannot blame a whole police department and a mayor for the problems which came about, yet that is what is being done.  Are we going to have a summer of discontent all over the US?  Very sad indeed.

Curfew:

A curfew should have been put in place before 15 buildings were set on fire, 100 plus cars burned, and 20 or so police officers injured.  Waiting a day only added substance to the statement made by the Mayor that we had to give the protestors space to vent their rage.  A CVS store had been courted to come to Baltimore to provide quality and reasonable prices for their products.  Now will they even think about  rebuilding?  Remember, the riots of the 1960's destroyed neighborhoods of the minority communities and it took many years to rebuild them.  It took a lot of effort to get the stores to re-enter markets which had been so bad on them.  Now...the same thing is happening again and might just spring up in other communities across the nation.  The only ones who get hurt are the people living in this area of the minority neighborhoods.  Youngsters who have nothing to gain or lose are responsible.  Saying they need opportunity is not the answer!

What can we do to help the situation of impoverishment among black youths?

President Franklin D Roosevelt had a solution in the 1930's long before WWII bailed out the economy.  There were specialized job corps programs for both youths and adults.  People were given opportunities to work and earn their way back from poverty.  Today we do not have that setup at all.  We have food stamps, great, but there is no pride in getting them!  We give dole outs of clothing, housing, and the like, but no pride in getting them!  We need to change the system, Obama Phones are nice, but there is no pride in getting them.

Giving people jobs, doing work will instill pride!  Earn while you learn!  No, we don't pay youth to go to school, we should however, have  on the job training.  The infra-structure of this country is in disparate need of repair.  Why not have a summer of fixing.  Fix the bridges, roads, buildings, and build items of pride in communities.  High Schools in the great depression were able to obtain  stadiums whose construction created jobs for the people who built them.  Is it wrong to do the same thing once again?  Housing is sorely needed for low income families, Habitat for Humanity is a great program, but a government sponsored program would be a great step forward in getting the homes needed, giving jobs, and teaching skills that could be carried over into the creation of prideful jobs!!!

Wonder what ever happened to community gardens?

Looking back over the past 30 or so years we have seen many communities build parks, gardens, and spruce up neighborhoods.  Is that going on today?  The only  reason I question, I have not seen much of it in either the news or discussion on talk radio or community papers!  It would be very interesting indeed to see if this is still going on.  Food for those who need it!  What about paying for produce from a  community garden with food stamps which could be turned into cash to pay the youth who would tend these gardens and have pride in produce!  Pride in earning money so that they could go to school in the fall it will be with a little jingle in their pockets!

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I am putting out thoughts which I have regarding today's events, tomorrows events, and trying to make this world a better place.  Having taught college, practiced law, and participated in many community events through the years I see things through a more humanitarian set of eyes than I did so many years ago.  Please let me know if your are getting the message.  I am friends now with people all over the world!  Do  we speak the same language and care  about our  fellow personages enough to speak up when things go wrong?  I hope so!!!

Can you believe it is April 19th?

Here it is the 19th of April and it only seems like it was yesterday that it was January...I guess when you are living out in the area of the country where the weather stays nice and you do not have to suffer with snow, rain, and all the other maladies of life you can forget how long it takes to find sunshine and flowers.

Yesterday I was reading about some of the pioneers who helped develop the West.  It was interesting to read about some people who had been Minnesotans because they wanted to and then they branched out to make huge strides in the rest of the country.  There was James J. Hill a train baron who was helped by his good friend Frederick Weyerhauser in building the rail system which extended to the Northwest.  Both were very wealthy even by today's standards.  St. Paul was the city which they lived in because they liked it.  Weyerhauser was a man who loved the woods and back country.  He had many children and a wife who he left alone a lot of the time so that he could develop relationships with other timber barons in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and then in the Pacific Northwest.  There are several great books out there which bear looking into for the education of your children and their children.  

 Are you going to toss your hat in the ring?

Election campaigns are heating up and there are many more people stepping into the forefront so they can get their ideas into the mainstream.  Realize that only one person will be President!  There are so many who are announcing they are going to run, is it because they want something else out of their campaigning?  Many jobs are available once the President takes office.  Folks who run swiftly back the chosen candidate and help that person gain the office.  It is in this spirit that the chosen one gives patronage to those who helped getting elected.  Back in the day when Jimmy Carter ran I somehow had been put in place as the Chairman of Veterans for Carter in Minnesota.  When he won the election I was sent an application to apply for a job in the administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs.  I did not want to return to Washington DC so I declined.  I still have that application.  In fact, they even sent me an invitation to the Inauguration ceremonies and the balls which took place that evening.  I kept those as mementos, but did not attend!  Do you know how cold it gets in DC in January?

Summer is quickly coming...are you ready?

Is it quirky or is it just me?  I think of the heat of summer when I am out here in the desert, but reality is that we treat summer as though it were winter here.  We rarely go out into the 90 and 100 degree days.  What we like best is Spring until about early June.  Then we look forward to late September or early October when it cools down once again.  Right now we have our tomato plants out in pots, watering them daily as it is getting into the 80's now.  There are these nice green globules dangling from the plants and the yellow flowers are attracting critters which will pollinate them.  We have a plum tree and it is loaded this year!  The pomegranate tree is in full blossom and looks like it will have a bumper crop this year.  We placed a new shed in the yard and had to trim a couple of trees to get it there.  What resulted is that the trimmed trees have been going bananas and growing far larger than they ever had before.

Hoping that you all have a great summer!  I would like to get out there and do some fishing for a change.  Since being out here we have missed that part of our lives.  In Minnesota I used to fish a lot with my great friend George from Kentucky.  Life sure has changed a lot since those days.  When we lived on the houseboat we did a little fishing, but never really got into it on the scale that I had done before.  We purchased a lake place and it was great for fishing, but we only did a little.  My step dad Max went fishing when he and my mom joined us for a vacation at our lake place.  Max told me that it was the first time that he had ever gone fishing...I was happy to have given him that experience.

So long for now....
Clark    

April 1st...Fools and their money shall be soon parted!

The Main Theme today is Thrift: 

Are you saving money for the rainy day?  Do you live from paycheck to paycheck?  Have you ever thought about winning the lottery?

These are elements which get into today's thrift message.  Saving is great, but where do you put the money that you save?  The banks have such low interest rates that it might be better to invest your money into candy and gum...LOL.  The reason is simple, the prices of commodities shall be rising as the time marches on.  Look at the cost of oil, food, and other necessities of life.  They are constantly going up and yet wages are stagnant and in some cases are retreating. 

Those who are on fixed pensions get a little relief with cost of living increases, but do those increases really reflect the rising of prices?  There are some things which we all need and those prices are up and down.  Take oil for instance.  The cost of gasoline affects everyone.  Even if you take a bus the costs are passed onto you in one form or another.  What can you do about it?  VOTE!  Yes, vote for those candidates who are not aligned with interests which are detrimental to you.  You can easily check out the voting record of Senators, Congressmen, and local officials in your states.  If they seem to be voting along with the bloc of money grabbers, get them out of office.  If they are voting independently and based upon principle, then by all means keep them in!

One of the things that the internet is providing is a means for us to invest in foreign countries which have the same values that we have here in America.  An example is Australia.  The banks there are paying higher interest on deposits than we are paying here in the US.  We see that interest on savings accounts amounts to 1 percent if that.  They are paying more than that and we should investigate the banks there and determine if it is wiser to send out hard earned savings out of this country to another.  There are taxes to consider because you can be taxed on earned income from foreign countries just the same as the income from here which you earn.

It is the Day of Fools!

I can recall being pranked on a job when I got out of the Navy way back in 1958.  It seems that one of my co-workers thought it would be a good thing to leave me a message that Mr. Bear called and needed me to call him back.  Now, the co-worker did not know that my Step-Father was named Baer.  I thought tht it might be an emergency that he called because my mother had been ill.  However, there was a phone number left with this call so I returned the call to this number all day long.  It seems that the number was for the Zoo.  The Zookeeper kept getting calls all day long for Mr. Lion, Mr. Bear, Mr. Fox and so forth.  He was very pleasant about it when I finally got through, but can you imagine the number of hours this fellow wasted of the taxpayers money just because of foolish pranks?  If you try a April Fools joke make sure that it is of short duration, does not waste time and further that it is not a complete annoyance.

Just a personal note...my cold is a lot better now and at least I can sit without coughing or having a runny nose.