For better or worse.
Due to circumstances beyond our control we have changed our carrier. We could't get this site to accept our change of address therefore we were forced to create a new blog . The new address is "anewbeginning.blogspot.com". We clicked this address then #1 favorite and then View Blog. You probably know a better way if you want to see it at all. It will be a few days before we really get started. Thanks to all. - William.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Facts and Predictions
Based on facts.
We had intended to make our 130th posting our last, basically because no one else appeared to even care. We, the two of us here on the hill, have passed our 75th and 80ieth anniversaries of our birthdates and, even though that isn't old, being ignored tends to be depressing. We were, and still are, concerned for the future of the country we have defended, in one way or another, for so many years
Before we shut down our computer and go back to our reading, puzzles and working in the flowers there are a few points we wish to restate.
Our politicans, all sides, are no longer just blowing smoke but are now consciously attempting to deceive us all.
(1)-One of the most frequent statements heard on television, by politicians and parroted by newscasters is that; "You can't balance the budget without doing something about entitlements" meaning Social Security and Medicare. Another is; "Entitlements are the biggest drivers of our National Debt". Both are wrong because of a law, passed in 1990, which states that Social Security and Medicare are not to be counted as part of the budget submitted by the President but was to be paid out of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds which are funded by the FICA (payroll) taxes.Surplus money from the payroll tax is invested in Special Government Securities which can be redeemed as needed to pay retiree benefits. That time has come and therein lies the problem. How do they tell the American people that they have used their hard earned savings as, what amounts to, a high stakes slush fund. (More on that later).
(2)-Let's see if we have this right. After months of gridlock and infighting in Washington, D.C. our upright and outstanding Government took us to the brink -- no, not default on our debts -- of a partial shutdown of services, with the implied threat of the withholding of Social Security checks, military pay and Medicare benefits before they finally agreed on a bill raising the Government's debt ceiling along with a minimal cut in Congressional spending.
With the, so called, budget cuts being, as they say, backloaded in order to delay the majority until after the 2016 election there will be no real savings. Even if, when it is finally all over, that Super Committee of Congressmen agrees to a 2.5 trillion dollar cut in spending over the next 10 years and it is passed into law, the Treasury Department will have to borrow about the same amount in the same 10 years in order to redeem the IOUs in the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. That is the excess funds payed into the Trust Funds by FICA over the years. Now, partly because of the 2 percentage points cut from the payroll tax last December, asked for by President Obama, while extending the Bush era tax cuts, the time has come to begin redeeming those IOUs which means that there will be no cut in our deficit or National debt. If we stay this course our National debt will rise from near 15 trillion dollars to over 20 trillion dollars - nearer 25 trillion dollars. Do we want that for our children and grand children?
(3)- This country, our United States of America, has reached or are fast approaching the point written about by the Frenchman "Alex de Toqueville" in his book published about 1840 as a study of the American People and their Political Institutions.He wrote; "America will be a great country until the people learn that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury, after that it will be a war of all against all with each person striving to get the greatest amount of free money possible." (Previously posted Feb. 27, 2011) Are we there yet or how long have we been there?
Unless something changes our minds this will be our last posting. With that in mind, thanks for your time and input. - William
We had intended to make our 130th posting our last, basically because no one else appeared to even care. We, the two of us here on the hill, have passed our 75th and 80ieth anniversaries of our birthdates and, even though that isn't old, being ignored tends to be depressing. We were, and still are, concerned for the future of the country we have defended, in one way or another, for so many years
Before we shut down our computer and go back to our reading, puzzles and working in the flowers there are a few points we wish to restate.
Our politicans, all sides, are no longer just blowing smoke but are now consciously attempting to deceive us all.
(1)-One of the most frequent statements heard on television, by politicians and parroted by newscasters is that; "You can't balance the budget without doing something about entitlements" meaning Social Security and Medicare. Another is; "Entitlements are the biggest drivers of our National Debt". Both are wrong because of a law, passed in 1990, which states that Social Security and Medicare are not to be counted as part of the budget submitted by the President but was to be paid out of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds which are funded by the FICA (payroll) taxes.Surplus money from the payroll tax is invested in Special Government Securities which can be redeemed as needed to pay retiree benefits. That time has come and therein lies the problem. How do they tell the American people that they have used their hard earned savings as, what amounts to, a high stakes slush fund. (More on that later).
(2)-Let's see if we have this right. After months of gridlock and infighting in Washington, D.C. our upright and outstanding Government took us to the brink -- no, not default on our debts -- of a partial shutdown of services, with the implied threat of the withholding of Social Security checks, military pay and Medicare benefits before they finally agreed on a bill raising the Government's debt ceiling along with a minimal cut in Congressional spending.
With the, so called, budget cuts being, as they say, backloaded in order to delay the majority until after the 2016 election there will be no real savings. Even if, when it is finally all over, that Super Committee of Congressmen agrees to a 2.5 trillion dollar cut in spending over the next 10 years and it is passed into law, the Treasury Department will have to borrow about the same amount in the same 10 years in order to redeem the IOUs in the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. That is the excess funds payed into the Trust Funds by FICA over the years. Now, partly because of the 2 percentage points cut from the payroll tax last December, asked for by President Obama, while extending the Bush era tax cuts, the time has come to begin redeeming those IOUs which means that there will be no cut in our deficit or National debt. If we stay this course our National debt will rise from near 15 trillion dollars to over 20 trillion dollars - nearer 25 trillion dollars. Do we want that for our children and grand children?
(3)- This country, our United States of America, has reached or are fast approaching the point written about by the Frenchman "Alex de Toqueville" in his book published about 1840 as a study of the American People and their Political Institutions.He wrote; "America will be a great country until the people learn that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury, after that it will be a war of all against all with each person striving to get the greatest amount of free money possible." (Previously posted Feb. 27, 2011) Are we there yet or how long have we been there?
Unless something changes our minds this will be our last posting. With that in mind, thanks for your time and input. - William
Monday, August 8, 2011
Why Bother
Nobody else cares?
We began trying to write in this blog about nineteen months ago and this will be our one hundred and thirtieth posting. During that same period we have written about that many or more letters and e-mails to our congress persons and various news outlets which includes newspapers and television with very little results with either. Several times we have talked about quitting because it appears that, with one exception, nobody else cares. This posting will probably consist of dates, titles and brief discription of earlier postings.
May 15, 2010 - "What Is This World Coming To (Will History Repeat itself)" This posting concerns the destruction of the Twin Towers of The World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 by terrorist, later identified as Moslems (Islamic) and members of Al Qaeda and the bloody beginning of Islam about fourteen hundred years ago.
Nov. 24,2010 - "Wake Up America (And smell the Manure)" Was about how elected and unelected officials in Washington have spent all the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund money and are now desperately trying to divert our attention away from their little secrets. There is nothing left in those funds except IOUs.
Jan. 16, 2011 - "Wrong Tax Cut (It adds to the deficit.)" We tried to point out how the cutting of two percentage points off the FICA (payroll) taxes would only further weaken Social Security and Medicare. That means they reach the break even point much sooner and will have to redeem more of the IOUs sooner thereby adding to the National debt.
Jan. 30, 2011 - "The Golden Horn of Plenty (Now running dry)" This was our way of explainig how the money from the payroll taxes came into the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund but there was a hole in it leading directly to the United States Treasury where it was exchanged for those IOUs and the money (we believe illegally) was spent as part of the budget.
Mar. 3, 2011 - "The Budget (Where to Cut.) Is our feeble attempt to set down a guideline as to where to start trying to balance the budget with part of it being the changing of our tax codes so as to get rid of the IRS.
June 5, 2011 - "Misrepresentation Thru Misinformation (More of the same)" We used this column to try explaining the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds and how many people, politicians and newspeople, use misinformation to convince the general public that we, retirees, are at fault for our debt problems.
June 15,2011 - "Reforming Social Security (And especially Medicare)" We agree that Social Security and Medicare should be reformed in order for them to survive for future generations and the quicker, the better. Last December, during the debate on extending the Bush era tax cuts President Obama asked for, and got, a two percentage point cut in the FICA (payroll) tax. That will cause Social Security and Medicare to begin redeeming the IOUs in the Trust Fund much sooner in order to pay current benefits.
July 21,2011 - "The Saga Continues (As the Ditch returns)" This column started as a letter to one of our local newspapers shortly after the election in 2006 and was updated after the 2008 election by adding "and the debacle of 2008". It is a critical look at our political system.
During the first few days of this month (August) we have already sent out several e-mails to various newspapers and televisions newspeople but with little response. We can't understand why there was so much surprise expressed when the credit rating agency "Standard and Poor's" downgraded the United States Credit from AAA to AA+. The whole world was warned that it probably would happen if the President and Congress didn't reach a deal to cut our spending much more than they actually agreed on. The following e-mail touches on that subject;
Friday August 5, 2011,
"Neil,
For sure we need a Balanced Budget Amendment. Although Social Security and Medicare are not a part of the budget you, and most politicians, insist that it is. If Congress eventually passes a $2.5 trillion cut in spending over the next ten years, it will only cover the amount Treasury will have to borrow to redeem the IOUs in The Social Security/Medicare Trust Fund in order to pay retiree benefits. I believe that adds up to a fat zero as far as cutting the deficit goes. Thanks,"
This same e-mail was forwarded August 7,2011 to;
Gerri,
This e-mail was sent to Neil Cavuto before our credit rating was cut but he didn't seem to care. Maybe you can understand it better. Thanks,
Not having anything else to do we sent this e-mail, a few hours ago, to Gerri Willis on Fox Business News;
"Gerri,
A few minutes ago you were on Shepard Smith's program and proved that you are intelligent enough to understand why the budget wasn't cut enough to keep Standard and Poor's from downgrading our credit rating. With the reduction of the FICA (payroll) tax by two percentage points there is less money flowing into the Social Security/Medicare Trust Funds, with less money going in, Treasury will have to borrow more to redeem IOUs in the trust funds so as to pay current retiree benefits. The amount of borrowing to supplement those trust funds will be more than is scheduled to be cut from the budget this year leading to more deficit and higher National debt. Over the next ten years Treasury will have to borrow as much or more to buy back those IOUs than will be cut in other spending resulting in higher and higher National debt. In ten years our debt will be well over twenty trillion dollars. If you can prove me wrong, have at it but if not, admit it."
We are now waiting to see if there will be any response from any of the e-mails but not holding our breath. From here on our hill, thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned,- William
We began trying to write in this blog about nineteen months ago and this will be our one hundred and thirtieth posting. During that same period we have written about that many or more letters and e-mails to our congress persons and various news outlets which includes newspapers and television with very little results with either. Several times we have talked about quitting because it appears that, with one exception, nobody else cares. This posting will probably consist of dates, titles and brief discription of earlier postings.
May 15, 2010 - "What Is This World Coming To (Will History Repeat itself)" This posting concerns the destruction of the Twin Towers of The World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 by terrorist, later identified as Moslems (Islamic) and members of Al Qaeda and the bloody beginning of Islam about fourteen hundred years ago.
Nov. 24,2010 - "Wake Up America (And smell the Manure)" Was about how elected and unelected officials in Washington have spent all the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund money and are now desperately trying to divert our attention away from their little secrets. There is nothing left in those funds except IOUs.
Jan. 16, 2011 - "Wrong Tax Cut (It adds to the deficit.)" We tried to point out how the cutting of two percentage points off the FICA (payroll) taxes would only further weaken Social Security and Medicare. That means they reach the break even point much sooner and will have to redeem more of the IOUs sooner thereby adding to the National debt.
Jan. 30, 2011 - "The Golden Horn of Plenty (Now running dry)" This was our way of explainig how the money from the payroll taxes came into the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund but there was a hole in it leading directly to the United States Treasury where it was exchanged for those IOUs and the money (we believe illegally) was spent as part of the budget.
Mar. 3, 2011 - "The Budget (Where to Cut.) Is our feeble attempt to set down a guideline as to where to start trying to balance the budget with part of it being the changing of our tax codes so as to get rid of the IRS.
June 5, 2011 - "Misrepresentation Thru Misinformation (More of the same)" We used this column to try explaining the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds and how many people, politicians and newspeople, use misinformation to convince the general public that we, retirees, are at fault for our debt problems.
June 15,2011 - "Reforming Social Security (And especially Medicare)" We agree that Social Security and Medicare should be reformed in order for them to survive for future generations and the quicker, the better. Last December, during the debate on extending the Bush era tax cuts President Obama asked for, and got, a two percentage point cut in the FICA (payroll) tax. That will cause Social Security and Medicare to begin redeeming the IOUs in the Trust Fund much sooner in order to pay current benefits.
July 21,2011 - "The Saga Continues (As the Ditch returns)" This column started as a letter to one of our local newspapers shortly after the election in 2006 and was updated after the 2008 election by adding "and the debacle of 2008". It is a critical look at our political system.
During the first few days of this month (August) we have already sent out several e-mails to various newspapers and televisions newspeople but with little response. We can't understand why there was so much surprise expressed when the credit rating agency "Standard and Poor's" downgraded the United States Credit from AAA to AA+. The whole world was warned that it probably would happen if the President and Congress didn't reach a deal to cut our spending much more than they actually agreed on. The following e-mail touches on that subject;
Friday August 5, 2011,
"Neil,
For sure we need a Balanced Budget Amendment. Although Social Security and Medicare are not a part of the budget you, and most politicians, insist that it is. If Congress eventually passes a $2.5 trillion cut in spending over the next ten years, it will only cover the amount Treasury will have to borrow to redeem the IOUs in The Social Security/Medicare Trust Fund in order to pay retiree benefits. I believe that adds up to a fat zero as far as cutting the deficit goes. Thanks,"
This same e-mail was forwarded August 7,2011 to;
Gerri,
This e-mail was sent to Neil Cavuto before our credit rating was cut but he didn't seem to care. Maybe you can understand it better. Thanks,
Not having anything else to do we sent this e-mail, a few hours ago, to Gerri Willis on Fox Business News;
"Gerri,
A few minutes ago you were on Shepard Smith's program and proved that you are intelligent enough to understand why the budget wasn't cut enough to keep Standard and Poor's from downgrading our credit rating. With the reduction of the FICA (payroll) tax by two percentage points there is less money flowing into the Social Security/Medicare Trust Funds, with less money going in, Treasury will have to borrow more to redeem IOUs in the trust funds so as to pay current retiree benefits. The amount of borrowing to supplement those trust funds will be more than is scheduled to be cut from the budget this year leading to more deficit and higher National debt. Over the next ten years Treasury will have to borrow as much or more to buy back those IOUs than will be cut in other spending resulting in higher and higher National debt. In ten years our debt will be well over twenty trillion dollars. If you can prove me wrong, have at it but if not, admit it."
We are now waiting to see if there will be any response from any of the e-mails but not holding our breath. From here on our hill, thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned,- William
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Whatever Happened
To Our Debt Ceiling?
The Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds probably would have shown a small surplus, or at least broken even, this year but for the two percentage points reduction in the FICA (payroll)tax which was tacked on to the bill extending the President Bush era tax cuts at the request of President Obama. It is the FICA tax money which funds the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds which, in turn, pays the retiree benefits. Now, beginning this year, our Treasury Department will be forced to borrow more and more money to redeem more and more IOUs from the Trust Funds in order to pay those benefits over the next ten years. That borrowing will amount to approximately $2.5 trillion. Does that sound familiar? That is almost exactly what the Debt Ceiling Bill proposes to cut from our budget (spending) over the same period of time. It appears that their intention is to cut other spending enough to cover the extra borrowing needed to redeem those IOUs representing the money (borrowed?) already spent from the Social Security/Medicare Trust Funds. (Check earlier postings on that subject) To us, not being economist, that adds up to a flat zero on all counts. Otherwise worthless.
And now to all the talk about taxes, especially on big Corporations and some millionaires and billionairs. Who could possibly feel sorry for those, so called, "fat cats" and not want their taxes raised? We have never been fans of highly paid athletes and Corporation CEOs etc., but the taking of their income by raising taxes will hurt the very poorest people the most. It has been proven, remember the "Stimulus Package", that the private sector can create jobs at a fraction of the cost to our Federal Government. For ever four jobs lost by the private sector because of higher taxes the public sector (Governments) can probably create about one job and most likely that would be in the government. Aside from that, major Corporations are not privately owned but have millions of stockholders. Every dollar lost to higher taxes will be passed on to those stockholders, which includes not only individuals but Retirement Fund of all kinds, from some of the smaller companies all the way up through the Federal Government. Individuals who collect dividends, many of them retired, from stock in big companies such as General Electric, big oil companies etc., probably will be subject to the paying of income taxes on those dividends. Revenue lost to the higher taxes on "Big Business" will result in lower income and less taxes paid by stockholders. Who can best handle the money? If you believe that President Obama and Congress can spend your money better than you can then you should let your choice be known or if you believe you can do better you should also let your views be known.
As for General Electric and probably others, not paying any income taxes in this country, raising the income tax rates probably won't change that. It will take a major overhaul of our taxing system to close the loopholes that allow special breaks to certain Corporations. We should scrap the income tax and Internal Revenue System and replace them with a fairer and simpler tax. What do you think?
To us,the most puzzling part of the budget cut proposal is the ten or twelve member panel which will attempt to come up with further cuts in spending. If they can't agree on a plan or if both Houses of Congress doesn't vote for their plan then there is to be an automatic trigger which will force across the board cuts but will do more cutting in defense and medicare. What kind of democracy allows twelve people to decide what programs will be cut and by how much?
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
The Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds probably would have shown a small surplus, or at least broken even, this year but for the two percentage points reduction in the FICA (payroll)tax which was tacked on to the bill extending the President Bush era tax cuts at the request of President Obama. It is the FICA tax money which funds the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds which, in turn, pays the retiree benefits. Now, beginning this year, our Treasury Department will be forced to borrow more and more money to redeem more and more IOUs from the Trust Funds in order to pay those benefits over the next ten years. That borrowing will amount to approximately $2.5 trillion. Does that sound familiar? That is almost exactly what the Debt Ceiling Bill proposes to cut from our budget (spending) over the same period of time. It appears that their intention is to cut other spending enough to cover the extra borrowing needed to redeem those IOUs representing the money (borrowed?) already spent from the Social Security/Medicare Trust Funds. (Check earlier postings on that subject) To us, not being economist, that adds up to a flat zero on all counts. Otherwise worthless.
And now to all the talk about taxes, especially on big Corporations and some millionaires and billionairs. Who could possibly feel sorry for those, so called, "fat cats" and not want their taxes raised? We have never been fans of highly paid athletes and Corporation CEOs etc., but the taking of their income by raising taxes will hurt the very poorest people the most. It has been proven, remember the "Stimulus Package", that the private sector can create jobs at a fraction of the cost to our Federal Government. For ever four jobs lost by the private sector because of higher taxes the public sector (Governments) can probably create about one job and most likely that would be in the government. Aside from that, major Corporations are not privately owned but have millions of stockholders. Every dollar lost to higher taxes will be passed on to those stockholders, which includes not only individuals but Retirement Fund of all kinds, from some of the smaller companies all the way up through the Federal Government. Individuals who collect dividends, many of them retired, from stock in big companies such as General Electric, big oil companies etc., probably will be subject to the paying of income taxes on those dividends. Revenue lost to the higher taxes on "Big Business" will result in lower income and less taxes paid by stockholders. Who can best handle the money? If you believe that President Obama and Congress can spend your money better than you can then you should let your choice be known or if you believe you can do better you should also let your views be known.
As for General Electric and probably others, not paying any income taxes in this country, raising the income tax rates probably won't change that. It will take a major overhaul of our taxing system to close the loopholes that allow special breaks to certain Corporations. We should scrap the income tax and Internal Revenue System and replace them with a fairer and simpler tax. What do you think?
To us,the most puzzling part of the budget cut proposal is the ten or twelve member panel which will attempt to come up with further cuts in spending. If they can't agree on a plan or if both Houses of Congress doesn't vote for their plan then there is to be an automatic trigger which will force across the board cuts but will do more cutting in defense and medicare. What kind of democracy allows twelve people to decide what programs will be cut and by how much?
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Debt Ceiling
Bill or no Bill?
We wrote in an earlier posting that we were not economist, didn't even play ecomomist on television, so no matter how we look at this bill which will raise the debt ceiling we can not understand how adding $3 trillion to our borrowing limit while cutting the budget by only $1 trillion over the next ten years will do anything except raise our National debt to over $17 trillion. That $1 trillion cut over the next ten years will not even cover the borrowing of money needed to redeem a portion of the IOUs in the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds in order to pay current retiree's benefits. Again we ask, Are all politicians born that way or do they go to a special school to learn deception?
As to the actual cutting of the budget, nobody talks about what will actually be cut but if history repeats itself all the cuts will be to needed programs while completely ignoring waste and fraud. Will they leave duplicate and overlapping programs while closing libraries and much used National Parks? Will they cut back on Federal employees even by not replacing retiring employees? Will they cut out the Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for all Federal employees as they have for Social Security recipients or will they cap all Federal salaries at current levels? If you think the President or Congress has done anything but lead us to the brink of default then we have a bridge for sale. Maybe the promise of a vote on a bill to balance the budget will be worth something. At least, if they vote, we will know who is against a balanced budget. That could be something to use in the next election.
We'll be waiting to see how things work out before we say much more but we, at this time, have our doubts. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
We wrote in an earlier posting that we were not economist, didn't even play ecomomist on television, so no matter how we look at this bill which will raise the debt ceiling we can not understand how adding $3 trillion to our borrowing limit while cutting the budget by only $1 trillion over the next ten years will do anything except raise our National debt to over $17 trillion. That $1 trillion cut over the next ten years will not even cover the borrowing of money needed to redeem a portion of the IOUs in the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds in order to pay current retiree's benefits. Again we ask, Are all politicians born that way or do they go to a special school to learn deception?
As to the actual cutting of the budget, nobody talks about what will actually be cut but if history repeats itself all the cuts will be to needed programs while completely ignoring waste and fraud. Will they leave duplicate and overlapping programs while closing libraries and much used National Parks? Will they cut back on Federal employees even by not replacing retiring employees? Will they cut out the Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for all Federal employees as they have for Social Security recipients or will they cap all Federal salaries at current levels? If you think the President or Congress has done anything but lead us to the brink of default then we have a bridge for sale. Maybe the promise of a vote on a bill to balance the budget will be worth something. At least, if they vote, we will know who is against a balanced budget. That could be something to use in the next election.
We'll be waiting to see how things work out before we say much more but we, at this time, have our doubts. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Default
Or Whose Fault?
Saturday morning late.
It has been a very interesting two days with most of the news having to do with the raising, or not, of the National Debt Ceiling and the consequences of not raising it. First it was the threat of withholding Social Security checks from 40 odd million retirees even though they are not, by a law passed in 1990, paid out of the general revenue but from the "Social Security Trust Fund" which in turn is funded by the FICA (payroll) taxes. No President has the authority to withhold those checks therefore it is most likely that they will go out as scheduled. Then there is the threat that our Triple A credit rating will be downgraded by at least one of the rating groups. There is talk about how our rating may be dropped from a Triple A to a Two A or Two A plus which might, but not necessaily, raise interest rates, not only at the Federal level, but for everyone who owes or borrows money.
This morning, on television, we saw and heard Senator Harry Reid bemoaning the fact, as he saw it, that the Republicans wouldn't allow his debt ceiling bill to have an up or down vote only a few hours after he had tabled the second debt ceiling bill sent over by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. It appears that it is okay, in his mind, to disallow votes in the Senate on all Republican passed House bills but it shouldn't be that way on his bill. Is that because he is so much more superior to the lowly Republicans? We, being Independents, believe we have the right to criticize either or both sides.
At this time, we here on the hill, believe the best plan which has been laid out and voted on is the "Cut, Cap, Balance" bill (which was one of the House passed bills that was tabled by Senator Reid) but with a few changes. One of those changes could be the deferring of the "Balanced Budget Amendment" and replacing it with a guarantee (written and published) to bring it up for a vote, not a vote requiring 60 votes to bring it to a vote, but a real up or down vote within 60 or 90 days. That way we could see who was against a balanced budget. Since, we believe, that is why Reid won't allow a vote on those House passed bills it is not likely he would allow a vote on this version either.
Having said all of that, there is still one way to get a debt ceiling bill passed before August 2, 2011 or a few days later. If Senator Reid and his Democrat cohorts will, as they say, tweek his bill enough to pick up 7 or 8 Republican votes (Brown, Collins, Snow, McCain etc.) then send it over to the house as a bi-partisan bill with the full backing of the Democratic Party there should be enough Republican support to pass it without the Tea Party. Or would that be too simple? Yesterday we sent the following e-mail to a few, so called, news anchors on television;
"There is still a way out for the Tea Party Republicans in the House. If Senator Reid will tweek his bill enough to get support from 7 or 8 Republican Senators and that bi-partisan bill is sent to the House it should have enough Republican support so as to let the Tea Partiers vote no. Simple or too simple?" (Of course no one mentioned such a thing)
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and mostly dry but our outside work is still being done by getting out early. The blueberries are about finished for the year, our early pears have been gathered, the peas and beans aren't making anything so that just leaves the grass and weeds but that's enough. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Saturday morning late.
It has been a very interesting two days with most of the news having to do with the raising, or not, of the National Debt Ceiling and the consequences of not raising it. First it was the threat of withholding Social Security checks from 40 odd million retirees even though they are not, by a law passed in 1990, paid out of the general revenue but from the "Social Security Trust Fund" which in turn is funded by the FICA (payroll) taxes. No President has the authority to withhold those checks therefore it is most likely that they will go out as scheduled. Then there is the threat that our Triple A credit rating will be downgraded by at least one of the rating groups. There is talk about how our rating may be dropped from a Triple A to a Two A or Two A plus which might, but not necessaily, raise interest rates, not only at the Federal level, but for everyone who owes or borrows money.
This morning, on television, we saw and heard Senator Harry Reid bemoaning the fact, as he saw it, that the Republicans wouldn't allow his debt ceiling bill to have an up or down vote only a few hours after he had tabled the second debt ceiling bill sent over by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. It appears that it is okay, in his mind, to disallow votes in the Senate on all Republican passed House bills but it shouldn't be that way on his bill. Is that because he is so much more superior to the lowly Republicans? We, being Independents, believe we have the right to criticize either or both sides.
At this time, we here on the hill, believe the best plan which has been laid out and voted on is the "Cut, Cap, Balance" bill (which was one of the House passed bills that was tabled by Senator Reid) but with a few changes. One of those changes could be the deferring of the "Balanced Budget Amendment" and replacing it with a guarantee (written and published) to bring it up for a vote, not a vote requiring 60 votes to bring it to a vote, but a real up or down vote within 60 or 90 days. That way we could see who was against a balanced budget. Since, we believe, that is why Reid won't allow a vote on those House passed bills it is not likely he would allow a vote on this version either.
Having said all of that, there is still one way to get a debt ceiling bill passed before August 2, 2011 or a few days later. If Senator Reid and his Democrat cohorts will, as they say, tweek his bill enough to pick up 7 or 8 Republican votes (Brown, Collins, Snow, McCain etc.) then send it over to the house as a bi-partisan bill with the full backing of the Democratic Party there should be enough Republican support to pass it without the Tea Party. Or would that be too simple? Yesterday we sent the following e-mail to a few, so called, news anchors on television;
"There is still a way out for the Tea Party Republicans in the House. If Senator Reid will tweek his bill enough to get support from 7 or 8 Republican Senators and that bi-partisan bill is sent to the House it should have enough Republican support so as to let the Tea Partiers vote no. Simple or too simple?" (Of course no one mentioned such a thing)
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and mostly dry but our outside work is still being done by getting out early. The blueberries are about finished for the year, our early pears have been gathered, the peas and beans aren't making anything so that just leaves the grass and weeds but that's enough. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Egotistics Again
Really Short Memories.
A few days ago we republished a posting which began life as a letter "To the Editor" of one of our local newspapers shortly after the 2006 elections. In that letter/posting we equated the Pharasees, of the Bible, to our modern day Republican Party (with many Democrats thrown in). We wondered, at that time, if they could find their way out of the very deep ditch they hads fallen into and it appeared for a while they were making some progress but in the last two days that progress has stalled and the entire party appear to be on the brink of falling back into that ditch. They have allowed their egos to become large and shiny so as to blind them to reality again. Have they not learned anything in the last four years?
In the March 3, 2011, the posting in this blog was titled "The Budget" and contained a few of our ideas on the balancing of our Federal budget. The first step called for a freeze on all new hiring by the Federal Government except in emergency situations (to be approved by congress) along with the capping of the pay for Federal employees at the current levels. Next we need to consolidate and eliminate the numerous (overlapping) federal programs, explore the possibility of replacing the IRS with some other form of taxation. Then we could move on to Obamacare and dismantle it by passing "Tort Reform, no money for abortions or the promotion of abortions, Insurance sold across state lines and the covering of pre-existing conditions and, if needed regulations on insurance companies to force them to justify any raise in rates."
We won't say much about Social Security and Medicare because we have already written about it many, many times with no results. We will say that we support reforming Social Security and Medicare so it will be there for future generations and we have offered to take a cut of up to five percent (to go back into the trust fund) if the federal employees will take the same percentage cut to be used to pay down the National debt but neither one to go back into the Treasury to be wasted again. No takers on that either.
We, here on the hill, are still keeping our heads above water by trying to get any outside work done before noon and spending the rest of the time inside with the air conditioner going. We still have blueberries to pick and the grass, along with the weeds, keeps growing. The hot, dry weather doesn't seem to bother them at all. The squash and cucumbers are about all gone, the okra is putting on a few pods but our beans and butterpeas aren't making anything. Oh well, that saves us gathering time. We got several pears off of our tree this year to can and to make pear jam.
Since all the news, especially out of Washington, seems to be bad we hate to even turn the television on but if we don't we may miss some small ray of hope. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
A few days ago we republished a posting which began life as a letter "To the Editor" of one of our local newspapers shortly after the 2006 elections. In that letter/posting we equated the Pharasees, of the Bible, to our modern day Republican Party (with many Democrats thrown in). We wondered, at that time, if they could find their way out of the very deep ditch they hads fallen into and it appeared for a while they were making some progress but in the last two days that progress has stalled and the entire party appear to be on the brink of falling back into that ditch. They have allowed their egos to become large and shiny so as to blind them to reality again. Have they not learned anything in the last four years?
In the March 3, 2011, the posting in this blog was titled "The Budget" and contained a few of our ideas on the balancing of our Federal budget. The first step called for a freeze on all new hiring by the Federal Government except in emergency situations (to be approved by congress) along with the capping of the pay for Federal employees at the current levels. Next we need to consolidate and eliminate the numerous (overlapping) federal programs, explore the possibility of replacing the IRS with some other form of taxation. Then we could move on to Obamacare and dismantle it by passing "Tort Reform, no money for abortions or the promotion of abortions, Insurance sold across state lines and the covering of pre-existing conditions and, if needed regulations on insurance companies to force them to justify any raise in rates."
We won't say much about Social Security and Medicare because we have already written about it many, many times with no results. We will say that we support reforming Social Security and Medicare so it will be there for future generations and we have offered to take a cut of up to five percent (to go back into the trust fund) if the federal employees will take the same percentage cut to be used to pay down the National debt but neither one to go back into the Treasury to be wasted again. No takers on that either.
We, here on the hill, are still keeping our heads above water by trying to get any outside work done before noon and spending the rest of the time inside with the air conditioner going. We still have blueberries to pick and the grass, along with the weeds, keeps growing. The hot, dry weather doesn't seem to bother them at all. The squash and cucumbers are about all gone, the okra is putting on a few pods but our beans and butterpeas aren't making anything. Oh well, that saves us gathering time. We got several pears off of our tree this year to can and to make pear jam.
Since all the news, especially out of Washington, seems to be bad we hate to even turn the television on but if we don't we may miss some small ray of hope. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Back to Old News
Sixty-one Years ago.
Nineteen and Fifty must have been a pretty good year. I graduated from High School and ten days later enlisted in the United States Army for three years eventually ending up as a paratrooper. A few months before I entered into my military service our United States Senate was debating a Health Care Bill. A portion of that debate was posted in this blog on February 6, 2010 under the Title "Old News". A part of that portion is re-published below.
"According to an article in our newspaper dated January 27, 1950, United States Representative Tom Murry (D. Tenn.) said in a speech that; - I presume that President Truman again will recommend to Congress the enactment of compulsory health insurance, or socialized medicine. The more I think about the question, the more I am opposed to it. It is unthinkable to me that our country should follow in the footsteps of England and adopt socialized medicine. We have the finest medical system in the world and we should encourage voluntary health insurance programs such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield instead of talking about socialized medicine. The cost of free medical treatment to our people would run into billions of dollars.
In voting, members of congress must realize our government does not create or make a single dollar - but that all of the money for expendures must come from the taxpayers."
That, as stated above, is old news but could have just as easily been written today. It's not that there isn't anything wrong with our present system but the massive bill as written by this congress won't fix the problems. One of our biggest problems is that we no longer have independent thinkers like Representative Tom Murry. He was, at that time, my Representative and I was a Democrat. My, how times have changed.
It is still our belief, here on the hill, that any changes in our health care should start with, "Tort Reform", the limiting of medical liability so as to prevent frivolous lawsuits which forces the doctors to practic defensive medicine, "Insurance" sold across state lines which should increase competition and lower rates, "Abortion" no income tax money going to any entity which performs or advocates the performing of abortions and "Regulations", if needed, to force insurance companies to account for any rate increases. We can, and must, hold doctors accountable but with limits set on judgements and penalties on meritless suits we could save billions of dollars in healthcare cost. That might not cure all the ailments but it would be a good starting point.
Many years ago we wrote a letter, which was published in a Sunday edition of the Commercial Appeal, condemning the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions. At that time we were still working (since retired) and paying income taxes. We still support that position and in a previous posting stated that we didn't believe the President's "Executative Order" concerning abortion and public funds was worth the paper it was written on which appears to have been proven true in the last few weeks.
Is there still doubt in anyone's mind about the financial straits of Social Security and Medicare and the need for those two programs to be reformed? If Medicare is in so much trouble financially then how can you justify the taking of about 500 billion dollars from that program to be used to finance a Medicaid like program under "Obamacare" or the cutting of two percentage points off the FICA (payroll) tax which goes into the Social Security Trust Fund which in turn pays for Social Security and Medicare? That lost Trust Fund money has to be made up to pay current retiree benefits and the only way that can be done is by borrowing and adding more to the National Debt. That's just one of many wrong-headed ideas coming out of Washington during this administration, Democrats and Republicans alike. We have been accused of favoring only the Republican viewpoint but if you check back through these blog postings you will find that it simply isn't true. We are equal opportunity writers and have outlined in great detail our encounters with our elected Representative and both of our Senators. Check it out. We welcome your comments either here or by e-mail.
As for us, here on the hill, most things are going better than we have any right to expect. It is, like most places, still hot and dry which keeps us inside with the air conditioner most of the time but we're sure that too will pass. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Nineteen and Fifty must have been a pretty good year. I graduated from High School and ten days later enlisted in the United States Army for three years eventually ending up as a paratrooper. A few months before I entered into my military service our United States Senate was debating a Health Care Bill. A portion of that debate was posted in this blog on February 6, 2010 under the Title "Old News". A part of that portion is re-published below.
"According to an article in our newspaper dated January 27, 1950, United States Representative Tom Murry (D. Tenn.) said in a speech that; - I presume that President Truman again will recommend to Congress the enactment of compulsory health insurance, or socialized medicine. The more I think about the question, the more I am opposed to it. It is unthinkable to me that our country should follow in the footsteps of England and adopt socialized medicine. We have the finest medical system in the world and we should encourage voluntary health insurance programs such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield instead of talking about socialized medicine. The cost of free medical treatment to our people would run into billions of dollars.
In voting, members of congress must realize our government does not create or make a single dollar - but that all of the money for expendures must come from the taxpayers."
That, as stated above, is old news but could have just as easily been written today. It's not that there isn't anything wrong with our present system but the massive bill as written by this congress won't fix the problems. One of our biggest problems is that we no longer have independent thinkers like Representative Tom Murry. He was, at that time, my Representative and I was a Democrat. My, how times have changed.
It is still our belief, here on the hill, that any changes in our health care should start with, "Tort Reform", the limiting of medical liability so as to prevent frivolous lawsuits which forces the doctors to practic defensive medicine, "Insurance" sold across state lines which should increase competition and lower rates, "Abortion" no income tax money going to any entity which performs or advocates the performing of abortions and "Regulations", if needed, to force insurance companies to account for any rate increases. We can, and must, hold doctors accountable but with limits set on judgements and penalties on meritless suits we could save billions of dollars in healthcare cost. That might not cure all the ailments but it would be a good starting point.
Many years ago we wrote a letter, which was published in a Sunday edition of the Commercial Appeal, condemning the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions. At that time we were still working (since retired) and paying income taxes. We still support that position and in a previous posting stated that we didn't believe the President's "Executative Order" concerning abortion and public funds was worth the paper it was written on which appears to have been proven true in the last few weeks.
Is there still doubt in anyone's mind about the financial straits of Social Security and Medicare and the need for those two programs to be reformed? If Medicare is in so much trouble financially then how can you justify the taking of about 500 billion dollars from that program to be used to finance a Medicaid like program under "Obamacare" or the cutting of two percentage points off the FICA (payroll) tax which goes into the Social Security Trust Fund which in turn pays for Social Security and Medicare? That lost Trust Fund money has to be made up to pay current retiree benefits and the only way that can be done is by borrowing and adding more to the National Debt. That's just one of many wrong-headed ideas coming out of Washington during this administration, Democrats and Republicans alike. We have been accused of favoring only the Republican viewpoint but if you check back through these blog postings you will find that it simply isn't true. We are equal opportunity writers and have outlined in great detail our encounters with our elected Representative and both of our Senators. Check it out. We welcome your comments either here or by e-mail.
As for us, here on the hill, most things are going better than we have any right to expect. It is, like most places, still hot and dry which keeps us inside with the air conditioner most of the time but we're sure that too will pass. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Saga Continues
As the ditch returns
Or was it ever gone? On Sunday June 13, 2010 a posting in this blog was titled "The Ditch". It was first written as a letter to one of our newspapers shortly after the election in 2006 and updated by adding these words "and the debacle of 2008" when it was posted in our blog. We thought, after the election of 2010, that there was a slim chance a change was coming to Washington. There was, but has it been the right kind of change? That letter - blog posting is re-printed below.
"The Ditch
There are some who think it all began in 1994, the mid point of President Clinton's first term in office, when the Republican Party won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This majority continued through the remainder of the Clinton Presidency and the first six years of President Bush's tenure, being a total of twelve years.
Let's, at this time, go back in history (as if there was any other way) to the Maccabean period (135 to 105 BC), to the beginning of the Pharisee party as opposed to the Sadduces. The Pharasees, meaning "The seperated ones" could properly be spoken of as seperating themselves from the King, the Sadduces, all sorts of impurities and the people of the land. They believed in the Messiah, the Resurection, Angels, Demons and so forth. This, because of its affiliation with the much malined Religious Right, sounds somewhat like our modern day Republican Party.
Even after the loss, by the Republicans, in 2006 of both Houses of Congress and the debacle in 2008, there are many who seem to have no idea what the problem was or how to right it which brings to mind a verse in the Bible where the Disciples came to Jesus and said, "Know Thou that the Pharisees were offended by this saying" and Jesus answered and said, "Let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch".
Can anyone disagree with the premise that, at least, the National Republican Party has fallen into a very deep ditch. Too long in power, so it seems, had transformed very large egos into bright and shiny objects which appears to have blinded some to reality. Can it be overcome? For some, maybe, but for others who have been there for decades it is doubtful.
Lest anyone should foolishly believe that the Democrat Party has been immune to the allure of this malady, there is more than enough evidence to convict many of them of that same egotistical mind-set. The concept that we, as voters, can vote for and elect politicians solely on the promise of being rewarded from the public treasury is slowly but surely rearing its ugly head.
This monster, being a blight on civilization, must be exterminated down to and including its roots. How can we, as a civilized and orderly people, attack this growing malignancy which threatens the very heart and soul of our United States of America?
How can we get off this slippery slope which is surely taking us closer and closer to our own destruction? One way would be an attempt to impose term limits of no more than two terms for any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, be it in Washington or our own State Catitols. But if we plan to wait for our elected officials to enact such laws then we had better not hold our breath.
Another way might be for the Electorate to refuse to vote for anyone running for a third term. Again, don't hold your breath. I'm sure you've heard it said, "you can vote out your rascal but I want to keep mine". That's exactly the kind of thinking that our elected officials are counting on.
Do you remember the story in the book of Daniel, where he read the handwriting on the wall? It was: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin and this is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it, Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting. Peres; Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. In that night was Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain".
Do you see the handwriting on the wall? More importantly, is there a Daniel in the house? Please think about it. Thanks, William"
That letter was written more than four years ago about what we, here on the hill, thought was a bad situation at that time. We don't believe things have changed for the better. Do you? Thanks for your time and input, stay tuned. - William
Or was it ever gone? On Sunday June 13, 2010 a posting in this blog was titled "The Ditch". It was first written as a letter to one of our newspapers shortly after the election in 2006 and updated by adding these words "and the debacle of 2008" when it was posted in our blog. We thought, after the election of 2010, that there was a slim chance a change was coming to Washington. There was, but has it been the right kind of change? That letter - blog posting is re-printed below.
"The Ditch
There are some who think it all began in 1994, the mid point of President Clinton's first term in office, when the Republican Party won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This majority continued through the remainder of the Clinton Presidency and the first six years of President Bush's tenure, being a total of twelve years.
Let's, at this time, go back in history (as if there was any other way) to the Maccabean period (135 to 105 BC), to the beginning of the Pharisee party as opposed to the Sadduces. The Pharasees, meaning "The seperated ones" could properly be spoken of as seperating themselves from the King, the Sadduces, all sorts of impurities and the people of the land. They believed in the Messiah, the Resurection, Angels, Demons and so forth. This, because of its affiliation with the much malined Religious Right, sounds somewhat like our modern day Republican Party.
Even after the loss, by the Republicans, in 2006 of both Houses of Congress and the debacle in 2008, there are many who seem to have no idea what the problem was or how to right it which brings to mind a verse in the Bible where the Disciples came to Jesus and said, "Know Thou that the Pharisees were offended by this saying" and Jesus answered and said, "Let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch".
Can anyone disagree with the premise that, at least, the National Republican Party has fallen into a very deep ditch. Too long in power, so it seems, had transformed very large egos into bright and shiny objects which appears to have blinded some to reality. Can it be overcome? For some, maybe, but for others who have been there for decades it is doubtful.
Lest anyone should foolishly believe that the Democrat Party has been immune to the allure of this malady, there is more than enough evidence to convict many of them of that same egotistical mind-set. The concept that we, as voters, can vote for and elect politicians solely on the promise of being rewarded from the public treasury is slowly but surely rearing its ugly head.
This monster, being a blight on civilization, must be exterminated down to and including its roots. How can we, as a civilized and orderly people, attack this growing malignancy which threatens the very heart and soul of our United States of America?
How can we get off this slippery slope which is surely taking us closer and closer to our own destruction? One way would be an attempt to impose term limits of no more than two terms for any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, be it in Washington or our own State Catitols. But if we plan to wait for our elected officials to enact such laws then we had better not hold our breath.
Another way might be for the Electorate to refuse to vote for anyone running for a third term. Again, don't hold your breath. I'm sure you've heard it said, "you can vote out your rascal but I want to keep mine". That's exactly the kind of thinking that our elected officials are counting on.
Do you remember the story in the book of Daniel, where he read the handwriting on the wall? It was: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin and this is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it, Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting. Peres; Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. In that night was Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain".
Do you see the handwriting on the wall? More importantly, is there a Daniel in the house? Please think about it. Thanks, William"
That letter was written more than four years ago about what we, here on the hill, thought was a bad situation at that time. We don't believe things have changed for the better. Do you? Thanks for your time and input, stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sanderstead Re-visited
For what it's worth
The posting in this blog dated FEbruary 23, 2011 and titled "Knights Templar" contained this paragraph: "In the book "Generations, A Thousand Year Family History" written by Ralph Sanders with his sisters , Carol Sanders and Peggy sanders Van Der Heide, there is a chapter championing the life and times of Sir Leonard de Sanderstead. These lines are taken from that book: "Who then was Sir Leonard de Sandewrstead? Although our knowledge of him stems from a single record, the record itself is particularly fertile. We find references to Sir Leonard in a seventeenth-century document called "Advente de Carmathenshire" [They came to Carmathenshire], indicating that Sir Leonard once held land in that County of South Wales. The record further indicates that he had at some point acquired knighthood and bore a Coat of Arms ---." These records also stated that Sir Leonard had, at least one son, Richard who sold land at Sanderstead in 1234. Thus the time line Ralph Sanders used to set Sir Leonard's birth date at about 1175 but I believe it probably was closer to 1150 and he was a contemporary of King Richard the Lionheart who led the Third Crusade. He probably was either a knight in King Richard's army or a member of the Knights' Templar. Was he one of my ancestors? I don't know for sure but according to Ralph Sanders' book he probably was. About 25 or 26 generations ago."
A few days ago we received an e-mail from Ralph Sanders, the author of the "Generations" book enquiring as to what information we were basing that time line on. Our answer had to be, like many genealogies, speculation. According to history, Richard the First, called Couer de Lion, or the Lion-Hearted, 1157 - 1199, was born in Oxford, England , the son of Henry the Second and Eleanoir of Aquitaine. Richard succeded his father as King in 1189 and immediately began raising money for a Crusade. Later that same year he led an army of 8,000 men and a fleet of 300 ships, embarking on the Third Crusade. He captured Cyprus and Acre in 1191, other wins followed but the winning of the battle of Arsuf (and probably Acre) was more from the efforts of the Knights' Templar than that of the Crusaders. King Richard died from a wound he received in battle in 1199 because of lack of medical attention. According to history, he wouldn't listen to his aide who urged him to have it seen to. During his 10 years as King he was in England only a few months, his brother, Prince John, (remember Robin Hood) ruled in his stead.
Because of the nearness of the time lines of King Richard and Sir Leonard de Sanderstead, I would, by speculation only, make them contemporaries. To the point, that was all I had except the book written by the Ralph Sanders family on which to base my opinions about the time line of Sir Leonard. If anyone reading this posting, or any other part of this blog, should wish to make comment they can make it here or contact me at williamlee100@netzero.com. Thanks for your time and input. - William
The posting in this blog dated FEbruary 23, 2011 and titled "Knights Templar" contained this paragraph: "In the book "Generations, A Thousand Year Family History" written by Ralph Sanders with his sisters , Carol Sanders and Peggy sanders Van Der Heide, there is a chapter championing the life and times of Sir Leonard de Sanderstead. These lines are taken from that book: "Who then was Sir Leonard de Sandewrstead? Although our knowledge of him stems from a single record, the record itself is particularly fertile. We find references to Sir Leonard in a seventeenth-century document called "Advente de Carmathenshire" [They came to Carmathenshire], indicating that Sir Leonard once held land in that County of South Wales. The record further indicates that he had at some point acquired knighthood and bore a Coat of Arms ---." These records also stated that Sir Leonard had, at least one son, Richard who sold land at Sanderstead in 1234. Thus the time line Ralph Sanders used to set Sir Leonard's birth date at about 1175 but I believe it probably was closer to 1150 and he was a contemporary of King Richard the Lionheart who led the Third Crusade. He probably was either a knight in King Richard's army or a member of the Knights' Templar. Was he one of my ancestors? I don't know for sure but according to Ralph Sanders' book he probably was. About 25 or 26 generations ago."
A few days ago we received an e-mail from Ralph Sanders, the author of the "Generations" book enquiring as to what information we were basing that time line on. Our answer had to be, like many genealogies, speculation. According to history, Richard the First, called Couer de Lion, or the Lion-Hearted, 1157 - 1199, was born in Oxford, England , the son of Henry the Second and Eleanoir of Aquitaine. Richard succeded his father as King in 1189 and immediately began raising money for a Crusade. Later that same year he led an army of 8,000 men and a fleet of 300 ships, embarking on the Third Crusade. He captured Cyprus and Acre in 1191, other wins followed but the winning of the battle of Arsuf (and probably Acre) was more from the efforts of the Knights' Templar than that of the Crusaders. King Richard died from a wound he received in battle in 1199 because of lack of medical attention. According to history, he wouldn't listen to his aide who urged him to have it seen to. During his 10 years as King he was in England only a few months, his brother, Prince John, (remember Robin Hood) ruled in his stead.
Because of the nearness of the time lines of King Richard and Sir Leonard de Sanderstead, I would, by speculation only, make them contemporaries. To the point, that was all I had except the book written by the Ralph Sanders family on which to base my opinions about the time line of Sir Leonard. If anyone reading this posting, or any other part of this blog, should wish to make comment they can make it here or contact me at williamlee100@netzero.com. Thanks for your time and input. - William
Friday, July 8, 2011
Independence Day
Freedom or not.
Monday night - late.
Today, the Fourth of July, is commemorated or celebrated as the anniversary of our Independence from England. Too many people observe it as just another holiday with an excuse to overeat, drink beer and shoot off fireworks. What does that have to do with anything?
I guess you could say that, here on the hill, we had a very good day. First we got up. We started it off a few minutes after 5:30 a.m. by picking part of our blueberries then walked more than a half mile to pick one and one half gallons of blackberries. When we got back to the house we ate a few bites of breakfast, then went back to picking blueberries. After we got those blueberries ready to freeze and the blackberries canned we ate lunch and rested a while. This afternoon it became cloudy (no rain) so we went back and picked more blueberries. Those will wait until tomorrow to be put in the freezer. I guess we had an extra-ordinary day. Should we celebrate?
Tuesday evening late.
Our day started off shortly before 6:00 a.m. picking blueberries then kept a 9:00 a.m. doctor's appointment, ate a late breakfast at Selmer, canned a canner of berries and fixed others to be frozen then ended the day back picking blueberries. The weather has been dry but so hot that we can't get out too much from 12:00 noon until 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. We'll probably be back at it again tomorrow.
Thursday night, again late.
Wednesday was just about the same as Tuesday except no doctor's appointment. We got up early this morning and walked the half mile to pick blackberries for about two hours then back home, showered and went out to eat breakfast. When we got home we picked a few blueberries, then canned a cooker of blackberries. The blueberreies were fixed for the freezer and even though it rained a shower we picked another gallon of blueberries late this afternoon.
Friday morning early.
I got up at 5:00 a.m. (over slept) prepared to go back to picking blueberries but it is raining. We need the rain more than we need the berries and also the berries will still be there this afternoon or tomorrow. We will probably go on over to Huddle House for breakfast and then get our shopping done this morning instead of waiting till afternoon.
All in all, it has been a very, very good year here on the hill. Of course we are both older and slower but we are thankful for what we have and the fact that we can still, with God's help, take care of ourselves. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Monday night - late.
Today, the Fourth of July, is commemorated or celebrated as the anniversary of our Independence from England. Too many people observe it as just another holiday with an excuse to overeat, drink beer and shoot off fireworks. What does that have to do with anything?
I guess you could say that, here on the hill, we had a very good day. First we got up. We started it off a few minutes after 5:30 a.m. by picking part of our blueberries then walked more than a half mile to pick one and one half gallons of blackberries. When we got back to the house we ate a few bites of breakfast, then went back to picking blueberries. After we got those blueberries ready to freeze and the blackberries canned we ate lunch and rested a while. This afternoon it became cloudy (no rain) so we went back and picked more blueberries. Those will wait until tomorrow to be put in the freezer. I guess we had an extra-ordinary day. Should we celebrate?
Tuesday evening late.
Our day started off shortly before 6:00 a.m. picking blueberries then kept a 9:00 a.m. doctor's appointment, ate a late breakfast at Selmer, canned a canner of berries and fixed others to be frozen then ended the day back picking blueberries. The weather has been dry but so hot that we can't get out too much from 12:00 noon until 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. We'll probably be back at it again tomorrow.
Thursday night, again late.
Wednesday was just about the same as Tuesday except no doctor's appointment. We got up early this morning and walked the half mile to pick blackberries for about two hours then back home, showered and went out to eat breakfast. When we got home we picked a few blueberries, then canned a cooker of blackberries. The blueberreies were fixed for the freezer and even though it rained a shower we picked another gallon of blueberries late this afternoon.
Friday morning early.
I got up at 5:00 a.m. (over slept) prepared to go back to picking blueberries but it is raining. We need the rain more than we need the berries and also the berries will still be there this afternoon or tomorrow. We will probably go on over to Huddle House for breakfast and then get our shopping done this morning instead of waiting till afternoon.
All in all, it has been a very, very good year here on the hill. Of course we are both older and slower but we are thankful for what we have and the fact that we can still, with God's help, take care of ourselves. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Gathering Time Again
Too much work.
Just a typical summer here on the hill, hot and dry with high humidity thrown in every now and then. The heavy dews make it uncomfortable, to say the least, when getting out early to gather fruits and vegetables but it gets too hot later in the day. We try to get started by the time it is light enough to see what we are doing so we can be back inside with the air-conditioner going before noon.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, made enough vine, bloomed quite a bit but didn't put on any beans. May have been because of a lack of insects needed for pollination. We hardly ever see any honey bees any more. The squash and cucumbers are still doing fairly well but need watering every few days. We need to pick a few blueberries almost every day so as not to get behind in the harvest. Yesterday we picked enough blackberries to can seven quarts and put one quart in the freezer. We would love to get a few more.
Our butter peas seem to be loading up with pods but may not make any seeds in them and the tomato plants have good sized tomatoes on them but only a few salad tomatoes have ripened yet (too many tomatoes in that). A few of our late potatoes are up and growing but we don't really think that we will have many come up. Oh well, we tried.
We had spent much of June working in the flowers, taking up, dividing, cropping and re-setting iris but that job has been put on hold for a few days while we get all the picking, canning and freezing done. We started a few weeks early in the iris because we knew we couldn't keep up all the work when it really got hot as it always does in the summer time, especially here on the hill.
Speaking of the hill, all of us here are doing as well as could be expected , probably better, but we don't get out much in the afternoons. It feels so much better inside with the air-conditioner going. But that's still better than freezing. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Just a typical summer here on the hill, hot and dry with high humidity thrown in every now and then. The heavy dews make it uncomfortable, to say the least, when getting out early to gather fruits and vegetables but it gets too hot later in the day. We try to get started by the time it is light enough to see what we are doing so we can be back inside with the air-conditioner going before noon.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, made enough vine, bloomed quite a bit but didn't put on any beans. May have been because of a lack of insects needed for pollination. We hardly ever see any honey bees any more. The squash and cucumbers are still doing fairly well but need watering every few days. We need to pick a few blueberries almost every day so as not to get behind in the harvest. Yesterday we picked enough blackberries to can seven quarts and put one quart in the freezer. We would love to get a few more.
Our butter peas seem to be loading up with pods but may not make any seeds in them and the tomato plants have good sized tomatoes on them but only a few salad tomatoes have ripened yet (too many tomatoes in that). A few of our late potatoes are up and growing but we don't really think that we will have many come up. Oh well, we tried.
We had spent much of June working in the flowers, taking up, dividing, cropping and re-setting iris but that job has been put on hold for a few days while we get all the picking, canning and freezing done. We started a few weeks early in the iris because we knew we couldn't keep up all the work when it really got hot as it always does in the summer time, especially here on the hill.
Speaking of the hill, all of us here are doing as well as could be expected , probably better, but we don't get out much in the afternoons. It feels so much better inside with the air-conditioner going. But that's still better than freezing. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, June 26, 2011
No Child Left Behind
Has it Worked?
That seems to be the new "hot topic" for the last few days. I don't know whether it has worked, or is still working, or not but I do know that of our four grandchildren two have already graduated from college and the other two are scheduled to graduate in December of this year. I suspect it is about as much up to the students as it is the teachers. It probably is a given that we have some less than competent teachers but for the most part you get out of anything about what you put into it. The two boys, who grew up here on the hill, were raised on the work ethics and both knew what they wanted to make of their lives well before they entered high school. They both put in a lot of time preparing themselves for their chosen fields. Is that not still the "American Way"?
What's the incentive? Too many in our current school age, or recent graduates (or dropouts), have been, or are being, raised in an environment where almost half of our citizens pays no federal income taxes and many of those who pay no taxes receive a refund check for money they didn't pay in. Why study in school, get a good job, work hard trying to get ahead and make a lot of money only to have it taken away and given to someone who doesn't even want to work? America, if not already there, is fast becoming a nation of people waiting for a handout.
We, here on the hill, have worked hard most of our lives, paid our taxes, never getting anything we didn't pay for, mostly paid for our two sons' education (both engineering) and still ask for no help (free) from any mortal. Someday, perhaps, that may change but God willing ----.
It is still hot and humid here, so much so that we can't get out and work very much. Our pole beans are still blooming some but no beans, we have a few tomatoes but none ripe yet, the squash and cucumbers are doing fairly well but we water them most days. The okra is the best of all our garden, blooming and putting on some pods. We picked about a quart of blueberries Thursday and about a half gallon Saturday. They are looking good so far. The next few weeks will probably be devoted mostly to the blueberries especially if it stays hot and muggy.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned.- William
That seems to be the new "hot topic" for the last few days. I don't know whether it has worked, or is still working, or not but I do know that of our four grandchildren two have already graduated from college and the other two are scheduled to graduate in December of this year. I suspect it is about as much up to the students as it is the teachers. It probably is a given that we have some less than competent teachers but for the most part you get out of anything about what you put into it. The two boys, who grew up here on the hill, were raised on the work ethics and both knew what they wanted to make of their lives well before they entered high school. They both put in a lot of time preparing themselves for their chosen fields. Is that not still the "American Way"?
What's the incentive? Too many in our current school age, or recent graduates (or dropouts), have been, or are being, raised in an environment where almost half of our citizens pays no federal income taxes and many of those who pay no taxes receive a refund check for money they didn't pay in. Why study in school, get a good job, work hard trying to get ahead and make a lot of money only to have it taken away and given to someone who doesn't even want to work? America, if not already there, is fast becoming a nation of people waiting for a handout.
We, here on the hill, have worked hard most of our lives, paid our taxes, never getting anything we didn't pay for, mostly paid for our two sons' education (both engineering) and still ask for no help (free) from any mortal. Someday, perhaps, that may change but God willing ----.
It is still hot and humid here, so much so that we can't get out and work very much. Our pole beans are still blooming some but no beans, we have a few tomatoes but none ripe yet, the squash and cucumbers are doing fairly well but we water them most days. The okra is the best of all our garden, blooming and putting on some pods. We picked about a quart of blueberries Thursday and about a half gallon Saturday. They are looking good so far. The next few weeks will probably be devoted mostly to the blueberries especially if it stays hot and muggy.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned.- William
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday Morning
On the Hill.
A few minutes after five O'clock on another fine Sunday morning, here on the Hill, and we haven't really given much thought to writing anything to post here. We have been busy most of the week outside, except for Friday when we got a ground soaking rain, working in the iris and other yard and garden work. It has been warmer than normal for the last month and that makes it harder for us to get all the outside work done but we do what we can.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, are looking good and blooming but not putting on any beans. Maybe it has been too hot and dry. We should know if the rain helped, or not, in a few days. We dug our Irish Potatoes last week and replanted the same three short rows just before the rain. Maybe they will come up. Also planted late cucumbers and tomatoes. Our earlier tomatoes and pepper are looking better. We have tomatoes that should be getting ripe before long but the pepper hasn't started blooming yet. Our cucumbers are about normal, whatever that is, but our squash, which was supposed to be yellow crook neck but turned out to be Zucchini, are doing fairly well.
In another week or two, our Blueberries should begin ripening. As we stated before, that will keep us busy for a few weeks. Right now it looks as though they will be better than usual. All in all, it has been a good first half of 2011. Healthwise, we are gettinbg older and that brings on more complaints, mostly minor, but, again, that is normal.
You may have noticed that, up to this point, we haven't mentioned anything about politics. We know that is what dominates the news but we haven't watched as much television lately and when we do it is more likely to be some of the older programs. We could use more of those.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
A few minutes after five O'clock on another fine Sunday morning, here on the Hill, and we haven't really given much thought to writing anything to post here. We have been busy most of the week outside, except for Friday when we got a ground soaking rain, working in the iris and other yard and garden work. It has been warmer than normal for the last month and that makes it harder for us to get all the outside work done but we do what we can.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, are looking good and blooming but not putting on any beans. Maybe it has been too hot and dry. We should know if the rain helped, or not, in a few days. We dug our Irish Potatoes last week and replanted the same three short rows just before the rain. Maybe they will come up. Also planted late cucumbers and tomatoes. Our earlier tomatoes and pepper are looking better. We have tomatoes that should be getting ripe before long but the pepper hasn't started blooming yet. Our cucumbers are about normal, whatever that is, but our squash, which was supposed to be yellow crook neck but turned out to be Zucchini, are doing fairly well.
In another week or two, our Blueberries should begin ripening. As we stated before, that will keep us busy for a few weeks. Right now it looks as though they will be better than usual. All in all, it has been a good first half of 2011. Healthwise, we are gettinbg older and that brings on more complaints, mostly minor, but, again, that is normal.
You may have noticed that, up to this point, we haven't mentioned anything about politics. We know that is what dominates the news but we haven't watched as much television lately and when we do it is more likely to be some of the older programs. We could use more of those.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Reforming Social Security
And especially Medicare.
We have been writing e-mails, letters and blog postings for many years protesting or offering advice on various subjects facing the world. During the last three years we have limited our writing to a few subjects with the "Social Security-Medicare"delimma and "Obama Care" being high on the list. A few days ago, the news and the heat both being oppressive, we sent the following e-mail to several news anchors, mostly on Fox News, but there has been no indication that they were delivered.
"Reforming Social Security and Medicare is absolutely 'A MUST' if they are to be extended into the distant future for our younger generations. In the near future (next ten to fifteen years) there is nothing that can be done, short of cutting benefits for current retirees (run that up the flag pole and see who salutes) , that will affect the budget or our National Debt. It is already set in stone. The United States Treasury will have to borrow money to redeem those IOUs, in the Social Security Trust Fund, in order to pay current benefits which will add to the National debt but, by law passed in 1990, Social Security and Medicare are not a part of the budget as submitted by the President and they do not affect that budget in any way. You can take them out of your pie chart. Medicaid, Food Stamps and other unfunded government welfare programs are running wild and should be reined in but that is not a Social Security-Medicare problem.
Last December, during the negotiations pertaining to the Bush era tax cuts, President Obama asked for, and got, a two percentage points cut in the FICA (payroll) tax which is paid by each employee. It has been said on television (Fox News) that that cut amounted to nearly one hundred and fifty billion dollars. Again I heard on television (Fox News again) that the president is asking (could be just a trial balloon) for another cut in the FICA tax which finances Social Security and Medicare. How can anyone reconcile cutting the payroll tax or declaring a tax holiday with the fact that Social Security and Medicare are already depending on money from redeeming some of the IOUs in their Trust Fund to pay current benefits? The Trust Fund will be bankrupted much quicker if that is the course we follow. I believe the news media, especially Fox News, should do more to inform all voters what is happening in Washington. Try it, you might like it."
Neither our Senators nor our Representative will even attempt to address our concerns about the status of Social Security and Medicare and those contacted in the news media also ignore the subject. Our Senators only want to re-assure us that they won't allow our benefits to be cut and the media, for the most part, will only parrot the political line, i.e., "Social Security and Medicare are the biggest drivers of our budget deficits and National debt" and "In a few more years Social Security and Medicare will be consuming ninety percent of our disposable income."
At the very, very best that is a mis-statement and at the worst it is a lie. I believe it to be the latter.
In previous postings I wrote; I don't know if they (Washington politicians) are brain-washed, don't have a brain to be washed or are trying to brain-wash us. I still don't know the answer but I suspect it to be a combination of all three. Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and what little rain we got has dried up but there is more in the forecast. Blueberries should be getting ripe soon. That will keep us busy for several days. My working days start early (daylight) and end before noon, with time out for breakfast, but I sure can't complain about that. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
We have been writing e-mails, letters and blog postings for many years protesting or offering advice on various subjects facing the world. During the last three years we have limited our writing to a few subjects with the "Social Security-Medicare"delimma and "Obama Care" being high on the list. A few days ago, the news and the heat both being oppressive, we sent the following e-mail to several news anchors, mostly on Fox News, but there has been no indication that they were delivered.
"Reforming Social Security and Medicare is absolutely 'A MUST' if they are to be extended into the distant future for our younger generations. In the near future (next ten to fifteen years) there is nothing that can be done, short of cutting benefits for current retirees (run that up the flag pole and see who salutes) , that will affect the budget or our National Debt. It is already set in stone. The United States Treasury will have to borrow money to redeem those IOUs, in the Social Security Trust Fund, in order to pay current benefits which will add to the National debt but, by law passed in 1990, Social Security and Medicare are not a part of the budget as submitted by the President and they do not affect that budget in any way. You can take them out of your pie chart. Medicaid, Food Stamps and other unfunded government welfare programs are running wild and should be reined in but that is not a Social Security-Medicare problem.
Last December, during the negotiations pertaining to the Bush era tax cuts, President Obama asked for, and got, a two percentage points cut in the FICA (payroll) tax which is paid by each employee. It has been said on television (Fox News) that that cut amounted to nearly one hundred and fifty billion dollars. Again I heard on television (Fox News again) that the president is asking (could be just a trial balloon) for another cut in the FICA tax which finances Social Security and Medicare. How can anyone reconcile cutting the payroll tax or declaring a tax holiday with the fact that Social Security and Medicare are already depending on money from redeeming some of the IOUs in their Trust Fund to pay current benefits? The Trust Fund will be bankrupted much quicker if that is the course we follow. I believe the news media, especially Fox News, should do more to inform all voters what is happening in Washington. Try it, you might like it."
Neither our Senators nor our Representative will even attempt to address our concerns about the status of Social Security and Medicare and those contacted in the news media also ignore the subject. Our Senators only want to re-assure us that they won't allow our benefits to be cut and the media, for the most part, will only parrot the political line, i.e., "Social Security and Medicare are the biggest drivers of our budget deficits and National debt" and "In a few more years Social Security and Medicare will be consuming ninety percent of our disposable income."
At the very, very best that is a mis-statement and at the worst it is a lie. I believe it to be the latter.
In previous postings I wrote; I don't know if they (Washington politicians) are brain-washed, don't have a brain to be washed or are trying to brain-wash us. I still don't know the answer but I suspect it to be a combination of all three. Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and what little rain we got has dried up but there is more in the forecast. Blueberries should be getting ripe soon. That will keep us busy for several days. My working days start early (daylight) and end before noon, with time out for breakfast, but I sure can't complain about that. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Unusual Weather
All over the world.
Friday evening;
Our last measurable rainfall, here on the hill, was during the day on Sunday May 22nd with thunderstorms forecast for Monday night. We got the thunder but the rain mostly missed us, maybe like a big dew. There may have been one other night that we got a light sprinkle, not enough to even dampen the ground. Now, three weeks later it is getting really dry.
Since I have come to the realization that I had already passed my prime, as far as gardening is concerned, I started working in our Iris a few weeks early this year in an attempt to beat some of the worst heat. Now it looks like I picked a bad time. Last Thursday I was using my tiller in an attempt to re-work and re-set a few Iris but the ground was so hard and the dust so bad that I had to quit. Maybe it will rain soon.
After all that having been said and done, we have no legitimate reason to complain. With all the flooding through the Mississippi Valley, the tornadoes across the mid-west,south and even in some of our northern states, a little hot dry weather doesn't sound so bad. If we think about it, it could be much worse.
Sunday morning, fairly early;
There wasn't much chance in the forecast (20%) for rain last night but it paid off. We had a lot of thunder and a slow rain. It wasn't all that much, probably less than half an inch, but when it had been hot and dry for about three weeks it was a help. We didn't have to water squash and cucumbers this morning and the tomato plants we set out late yesterday afternoon are looking good this morning. Maybe that hot, dry weather pattern has been broken for a while.
Still, all in all, we haven't had it so bad and we should be counting our blessings instead of complaining about our weather. Others have had it so much worse without the complaints. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Friday evening;
Our last measurable rainfall, here on the hill, was during the day on Sunday May 22nd with thunderstorms forecast for Monday night. We got the thunder but the rain mostly missed us, maybe like a big dew. There may have been one other night that we got a light sprinkle, not enough to even dampen the ground. Now, three weeks later it is getting really dry.
Since I have come to the realization that I had already passed my prime, as far as gardening is concerned, I started working in our Iris a few weeks early this year in an attempt to beat some of the worst heat. Now it looks like I picked a bad time. Last Thursday I was using my tiller in an attempt to re-work and re-set a few Iris but the ground was so hard and the dust so bad that I had to quit. Maybe it will rain soon.
After all that having been said and done, we have no legitimate reason to complain. With all the flooding through the Mississippi Valley, the tornadoes across the mid-west,south and even in some of our northern states, a little hot dry weather doesn't sound so bad. If we think about it, it could be much worse.
Sunday morning, fairly early;
There wasn't much chance in the forecast (20%) for rain last night but it paid off. We had a lot of thunder and a slow rain. It wasn't all that much, probably less than half an inch, but when it had been hot and dry for about three weeks it was a help. We didn't have to water squash and cucumbers this morning and the tomato plants we set out late yesterday afternoon are looking good this morning. Maybe that hot, dry weather pattern has been broken for a while.
Still, all in all, we haven't had it so bad and we should be counting our blessings instead of complaining about our weather. Others have had it so much worse without the complaints. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Heat Wave or Just Summer
With no rain in sight.
Although we missed most of the really bad weather, the tornadoes, flooding, etc., we did get enough rain to keep the ground too wet to work right up to or past the middle of May. Then we got a couple of showers which did little more than wet the top of the ground. Now, after more than two week without any rain and the temperature hovering over the mid and upper nineties, we are getting dusty dry here on the hill. We have been watering the cucumbers and squash for several days but even that doesn't do much good with the sun being so hot. The tomatoes and peppers are faring a little better but not growing as they should. Even the grass and weeds are not as healthy as usual. We haven't started yet but it looks as though we will need to start sprinkling our front lawn, not to make it grow but to keep it alive.
To refresh my memory and to put everything into perspective I re-read the Book of Jonah. I'm sure most people remember what God told Jonah in Chapter 1, verses 1 - 4; "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken."
Jonah apparently thought that he could hide from the Lord but it didn't work out that way. What happened? Chapter 1, verse 15 & 17; "So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Then Chapter 2, verse 10; "And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."
Chapter 3, verse 1-5; "And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go into Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." Apparently that was just what Jonah didn't want to happen. Nineveh was the enemy so why should he be sent to preach repentance to them?
Chapter 3, verse 10; And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not." Chapter 4, verses 1-2; "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." Jonah said; I knew that was what would happen, that's why I didn't want to go.
Chapter 4, verses 5-11; "So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head , to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did rise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle."
Moral of the story; Jonah apparently cared more about the gourd, which he neither planted nor tended, than he did about other human beings and expected God to be the same way even though God made both. Isn't that the way most of us are? We sometimes care more about something we have planted in the ground than we do for our neighbors down the road. Like Jonah, many times we get our priorities bent out of shape and, again like Jonah, complain about things which we have nothing to do with. At least, that is the way it is here on the hill.
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and dry but life goes on as usual. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Although we missed most of the really bad weather, the tornadoes, flooding, etc., we did get enough rain to keep the ground too wet to work right up to or past the middle of May. Then we got a couple of showers which did little more than wet the top of the ground. Now, after more than two week without any rain and the temperature hovering over the mid and upper nineties, we are getting dusty dry here on the hill. We have been watering the cucumbers and squash for several days but even that doesn't do much good with the sun being so hot. The tomatoes and peppers are faring a little better but not growing as they should. Even the grass and weeds are not as healthy as usual. We haven't started yet but it looks as though we will need to start sprinkling our front lawn, not to make it grow but to keep it alive.
To refresh my memory and to put everything into perspective I re-read the Book of Jonah. I'm sure most people remember what God told Jonah in Chapter 1, verses 1 - 4; "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken."
Jonah apparently thought that he could hide from the Lord but it didn't work out that way. What happened? Chapter 1, verse 15 & 17; "So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Then Chapter 2, verse 10; "And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."
Chapter 3, verse 1-5; "And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go into Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." Apparently that was just what Jonah didn't want to happen. Nineveh was the enemy so why should he be sent to preach repentance to them?
Chapter 3, verse 10; And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not." Chapter 4, verses 1-2; "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." Jonah said; I knew that was what would happen, that's why I didn't want to go.
Chapter 4, verses 5-11; "So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head , to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did rise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle."
Moral of the story; Jonah apparently cared more about the gourd, which he neither planted nor tended, than he did about other human beings and expected God to be the same way even though God made both. Isn't that the way most of us are? We sometimes care more about something we have planted in the ground than we do for our neighbors down the road. Like Jonah, many times we get our priorities bent out of shape and, again like Jonah, complain about things which we have nothing to do with. At least, that is the way it is here on the hill.
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and dry but life goes on as usual. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Misrepresentation Thru Misinformation
More of the Same.
"Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Understanding the Social Security Trust Funds.
By Paul N. Van de Water, October 5, 2010
In years when Social Security collects more in payroll taxes and other income than it pays in benefits and other expenses - as it has each year since 1984 - the Treasury invests the surplus in interest - bearing Treasury Bonds and other Treasury Securities. Social Security can redeem these bonds whenever needed to pay benefits. The balance in the Trust Funds thus provide legal authority to pay Social Security benefits when the Social Security Program's current income is insufficient by itself.
Debt held by Social Security by contrast, provides information about the adequacy of the program's dedicated financing. Debt held by trust funds does not have the same broader economic significance as debt held by the public. Since it does not need to be financed in private credit markets, it cannot lead to a refinancing crisis. As legal authority to spend money in the future, it is essentially similar to legal authority to meet spending commitments for other entitlement programs that are not financed through Trust Funds and are not included in measures of Federal debt. In addition, an increase in Trust Fund balances that provide authority for higher Social Security expenditures in some distant year is not equivalent to issueing more publicly held debt to finance additional spending today. If additional spending authority leads to more Federal borrowing at sometime in the future, that borrowing will add to debt held by the public when that spending occurs. (note; will add to National debt --- when that spending occurs).
Debt held by the public is a measure of the Federal Government's overall financal health. It represents money that must be borrowed and periodically refinanced in private credit markets; Interest payments on that debt represent a current drain on Government resources. If the specter of excessive debt led investors to lose confidence in United States Government securities, Federal interest cost could increase substantially, with potentially troubling implications for United States and world economies."
Even Representative Paul Ryan misrepresents the part Social Security and Medicare plays in our budget deficit by stating that they are the biggest drivers of our National debt and in a few more years these two, so-called, entitlements, if not reformed, will be consuming almost all of the budget. If, by a law passed in 1990, they are not a part of the budget as proposed by the president or by congress then how can they consume it? The only way they can become a part of the general budget and our National debt is when the Treasury begins borrowing money to buy back those Government Securities (IOUs) that are in the Social Security Trust Fund so as to pay benefits to retirees and disabled.
I can only speculate as to what their political motives are for filling the airways with such propaganda but one could very well be an attempt to cover up their own, at the least, incompetence. How will they explain away all that extra borrowing? If they can convince enough people that it is all the fault of a bad system initiated by President Roosevelt in 1935 and then made worse in 1965 by the adding of Medicare by President Johnson they may still have a chance of coming out of another crisis smelling like a rose. Right now it still smells like a barnyard to me. Can you not smell it?
We, here on the hill, are having to stay in most of the day on account of the heat. We try to get what little work it takes, to keep it looking like someone lives here, done very early in the morning then stay in under the air conditioner. The garden and flowers still look fairly well but there is no rain in sight. That may not be good for us here. Thanks for your time and input. stay tuned. - William
"Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Understanding the Social Security Trust Funds.
By Paul N. Van de Water, October 5, 2010
In years when Social Security collects more in payroll taxes and other income than it pays in benefits and other expenses - as it has each year since 1984 - the Treasury invests the surplus in interest - bearing Treasury Bonds and other Treasury Securities. Social Security can redeem these bonds whenever needed to pay benefits. The balance in the Trust Funds thus provide legal authority to pay Social Security benefits when the Social Security Program's current income is insufficient by itself.
Debt held by Social Security by contrast, provides information about the adequacy of the program's dedicated financing. Debt held by trust funds does not have the same broader economic significance as debt held by the public. Since it does not need to be financed in private credit markets, it cannot lead to a refinancing crisis. As legal authority to spend money in the future, it is essentially similar to legal authority to meet spending commitments for other entitlement programs that are not financed through Trust Funds and are not included in measures of Federal debt. In addition, an increase in Trust Fund balances that provide authority for higher Social Security expenditures in some distant year is not equivalent to issueing more publicly held debt to finance additional spending today. If additional spending authority leads to more Federal borrowing at sometime in the future, that borrowing will add to debt held by the public when that spending occurs. (note; will add to National debt --- when that spending occurs).
Debt held by the public is a measure of the Federal Government's overall financal health. It represents money that must be borrowed and periodically refinanced in private credit markets; Interest payments on that debt represent a current drain on Government resources. If the specter of excessive debt led investors to lose confidence in United States Government securities, Federal interest cost could increase substantially, with potentially troubling implications for United States and world economies."
Even Representative Paul Ryan misrepresents the part Social Security and Medicare plays in our budget deficit by stating that they are the biggest drivers of our National debt and in a few more years these two, so-called, entitlements, if not reformed, will be consuming almost all of the budget. If, by a law passed in 1990, they are not a part of the budget as proposed by the president or by congress then how can they consume it? The only way they can become a part of the general budget and our National debt is when the Treasury begins borrowing money to buy back those Government Securities (IOUs) that are in the Social Security Trust Fund so as to pay benefits to retirees and disabled.
I can only speculate as to what their political motives are for filling the airways with such propaganda but one could very well be an attempt to cover up their own, at the least, incompetence. How will they explain away all that extra borrowing? If they can convince enough people that it is all the fault of a bad system initiated by President Roosevelt in 1935 and then made worse in 1965 by the adding of Medicare by President Johnson they may still have a chance of coming out of another crisis smelling like a rose. Right now it still smells like a barnyard to me. Can you not smell it?
We, here on the hill, are having to stay in most of the day on account of the heat. We try to get what little work it takes, to keep it looking like someone lives here, done very early in the morning then stay in under the air conditioner. The garden and flowers still look fairly well but there is no rain in sight. That may not be good for us here. Thanks for your time and input. stay tuned. - William
Thursday, June 2, 2011
When One Plus One
Is still one.
Just over 16 months ago I stumbled into this blog and now, after falling several times, I am still feeling my way. When I first began writing I knew nothing about what it took to keep going in the right direction and haven't learned too much in all those months. I was using a computer which belonged to someone else (I had a Hotmail address) and I was checking other blogs when I noticed the invitation to "create blog". I clicked on it and, as they say, the rest is history. One day, with nothing else to do, I attempted to become "a follower" of the blog I was checking but never did get it right. What I ended up with is becoming a follower of myself and didn't, at least at that time, know how to delete it. I just gave up and left it there. Imagine my surprise when, a few days ago, I found a real follower on my blog postings. I have had a few comments posted (good and not so good) and an e-mail or two but nobody else has had the nerve or where-with-all (like myself) to become a follower.
That is my explanation as to why one plus one is still one and I'm sticking by it. As for us, here on the hill, everything is as well as could be expected. It's too hot to get out and work much so we try to start early, then come in and hunker down under the air-conditioner for the rest of the day. Everthing in the garden is still growing slowly and the blueberries are, to this point, better than usual. They should be getting ripe in the next couple of weeks. The grass and weeds seem to like this kind of weather but the beans, pepper, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers aren't doing as well.
I welcome any comment, good or bad or even indifferent, so let me hear from you. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Just over 16 months ago I stumbled into this blog and now, after falling several times, I am still feeling my way. When I first began writing I knew nothing about what it took to keep going in the right direction and haven't learned too much in all those months. I was using a computer which belonged to someone else (I had a Hotmail address) and I was checking other blogs when I noticed the invitation to "create blog". I clicked on it and, as they say, the rest is history. One day, with nothing else to do, I attempted to become "a follower" of the blog I was checking but never did get it right. What I ended up with is becoming a follower of myself and didn't, at least at that time, know how to delete it. I just gave up and left it there. Imagine my surprise when, a few days ago, I found a real follower on my blog postings. I have had a few comments posted (good and not so good) and an e-mail or two but nobody else has had the nerve or where-with-all (like myself) to become a follower.
That is my explanation as to why one plus one is still one and I'm sticking by it. As for us, here on the hill, everything is as well as could be expected. It's too hot to get out and work much so we try to start early, then come in and hunker down under the air-conditioner for the rest of the day. Everthing in the garden is still growing slowly and the blueberries are, to this point, better than usual. They should be getting ripe in the next couple of weeks. The grass and weeds seem to like this kind of weather but the beans, pepper, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers aren't doing as well.
I welcome any comment, good or bad or even indifferent, so let me hear from you. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Flag Waving
Not My Style
In the days leading up to and during May 30, 2011, I saw a lot of flags. The same thing takes place on various other holidays, July 4th and November 11th especially. I have no problem with flag waving. In fact, I have no problem with whatever a person does with the flag if it was bought and paid for by that person but I would have somewhat different feelings if I, in any way, had money or blood invested in it.
To all of those who would or will say that too much blood has been invested in our United States Flag to allow it to be dis-respected in any way, I respectfuly disagree. Many of my ancestors were in the colonies long before the idea of the stars and stripes, as a flag, was even conceived. As for my Native American Heritage, I no longer long to see the white man's blood spilled on the field of battle and it has been years since I've had the urge to take a scalp.
On November 1, 1951 I, along with my comrads-in-arms from the 11th Airborne Division, walked in the desert at Yucca Flats, Nevada within two hours of the Atomic Bomb test known as "Buster-Jangle". We were less than seven miles from ground zero at the time the bomb was detonated. (See posting dated February 27, 2010). There is no doubt in my mind that we were delibertly exposed to the radiation generated by that explosion in order to study the effect atomic warfare would have on troops if encountered in future wars. For about fifty years we lived under the threat of being tried for treason if we talked, even amoung ourselves, about that experience.
I served my time during the Korean Conflict - Police Action which wasn't a war. All my time was spent here in the States, helping to reactivate the 11th Airborne Division, but if I had been in combat I would have been fighting for my Country because my family helped build it. I would have been fighting for our Constitution (even though I might not fully agree with parts of it) because it is what keeps us free. It is more important now than ever before. I wouldn't have been fighting for a flag or for any of our elected officials. I have no confidence in any official, including my own Senators and Representative, who say one thing and does another or in most cases - nothing.
In a statement recognizing July 16, 2002 as a "National Atomic Veterans Day of Remembrance", President George W. Bush compared the Atomic Veteran's exposure to a nuclear radiation, as being as grave as any war veteran who was wounded in action, in both instances, standing in harm's way while doing his duty, and protecting The United States of America.
That was almost nine years ago. It is up to Congress to act on this lack of recognition but there is no hurry. Almost all of us human guinea pigs are already dead. A few more years and it can be completely forgotten.
By this time you probably suspect that I'm not a flag waver but, on the other hand, I don't support any action which could normally be viewed as desecration of anything which represents this Country.
I know this posting has been somewhat rambling but; "If you don't really want to know / then don't ask. / If you detect a note of bitterness / just let it pass. / My country right or wrong / I must love it. / For only God and family / goes above it."
Here on the hill, everything is about as usual, just getting hotter and drier. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
In the days leading up to and during May 30, 2011, I saw a lot of flags. The same thing takes place on various other holidays, July 4th and November 11th especially. I have no problem with flag waving. In fact, I have no problem with whatever a person does with the flag if it was bought and paid for by that person but I would have somewhat different feelings if I, in any way, had money or blood invested in it.
To all of those who would or will say that too much blood has been invested in our United States Flag to allow it to be dis-respected in any way, I respectfuly disagree. Many of my ancestors were in the colonies long before the idea of the stars and stripes, as a flag, was even conceived. As for my Native American Heritage, I no longer long to see the white man's blood spilled on the field of battle and it has been years since I've had the urge to take a scalp.
On November 1, 1951 I, along with my comrads-in-arms from the 11th Airborne Division, walked in the desert at Yucca Flats, Nevada within two hours of the Atomic Bomb test known as "Buster-Jangle". We were less than seven miles from ground zero at the time the bomb was detonated. (See posting dated February 27, 2010). There is no doubt in my mind that we were delibertly exposed to the radiation generated by that explosion in order to study the effect atomic warfare would have on troops if encountered in future wars. For about fifty years we lived under the threat of being tried for treason if we talked, even amoung ourselves, about that experience.
I served my time during the Korean Conflict - Police Action which wasn't a war. All my time was spent here in the States, helping to reactivate the 11th Airborne Division, but if I had been in combat I would have been fighting for my Country because my family helped build it. I would have been fighting for our Constitution (even though I might not fully agree with parts of it) because it is what keeps us free. It is more important now than ever before. I wouldn't have been fighting for a flag or for any of our elected officials. I have no confidence in any official, including my own Senators and Representative, who say one thing and does another or in most cases - nothing.
In a statement recognizing July 16, 2002 as a "National Atomic Veterans Day of Remembrance", President George W. Bush compared the Atomic Veteran's exposure to a nuclear radiation, as being as grave as any war veteran who was wounded in action, in both instances, standing in harm's way while doing his duty, and protecting The United States of America.
That was almost nine years ago. It is up to Congress to act on this lack of recognition but there is no hurry. Almost all of us human guinea pigs are already dead. A few more years and it can be completely forgotten.
By this time you probably suspect that I'm not a flag waver but, on the other hand, I don't support any action which could normally be viewed as desecration of anything which represents this Country.
I know this posting has been somewhat rambling but; "If you don't really want to know / then don't ask. / If you detect a note of bitterness / just let it pass. / My country right or wrong / I must love it. / For only God and family / goes above it."
Here on the hill, everything is about as usual, just getting hotter and drier. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
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