tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52844463202516112662024-03-17T23:03:12.677-04:00HoCo ConnectRandom musings of one Columbian, a place to connect and to learn more about issues and events in Howard County. If you would like to have me blog on an issue, organization or an upcoming community service event email me at duanestclair@gmail.com
To follow HoCo Connect by email enter your email below.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2693125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-68453326636218620992024-03-08T12:54:00.000-05:002024-03-08T12:54:12.619-05:00Take that Generation X!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1UAx9eTDAeSOVFU6beAMHk-NCPWUjaOt4H3ZREvfsBSU6ReqsY5A4YD0b3fQg5LCHBwrT3b7Ug3DuSA9K1mF54X_oL2dbGBwI7Uu1IVUbpIhdqb8d7zTXRgncH-0PQwFTJutnE3RbWzp_Kc7tFbdobZyXo4hO6QV50O-439QoUonsvNfvzw4vBkoZtjPN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="240" height="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1UAx9eTDAeSOVFU6beAMHk-NCPWUjaOt4H3ZREvfsBSU6ReqsY5A4YD0b3fQg5LCHBwrT3b7Ug3DuSA9K1mF54X_oL2dbGBwI7Uu1IVUbpIhdqb8d7zTXRgncH-0PQwFTJutnE3RbWzp_Kc7tFbdobZyXo4hO6QV50O-439QoUonsvNfvzw4vBkoZtjPN=w400-h495" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-84353666729061074142024-03-07T05:43:00.000-05:002024-03-07T05:43:54.193-05:00Is there a doctor in the house?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyxcsCUsu0Q_HD_lnc65P7eHltfecEJ-VDjil9T8lxoy3XHtMzQ2Ssj1JYPoG32Gi94QUCQSIARxw9CxLs35f2xXqr4rjPZOGW4uHdl8p1Wy1C9Yh6AefvctGhFKxHWNL59sm7wg8U6pA5SMJY669XYny2ueNGVOQW_vBO2fEX_HpPkIwHwUp0B9FDl5V4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="843" height="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyxcsCUsu0Q_HD_lnc65P7eHltfecEJ-VDjil9T8lxoy3XHtMzQ2Ssj1JYPoG32Gi94QUCQSIARxw9CxLs35f2xXqr4rjPZOGW4uHdl8p1Wy1C9Yh6AefvctGhFKxHWNL59sm7wg8U6pA5SMJY669XYny2ueNGVOQW_vBO2fEX_HpPkIwHwUp0B9FDl5V4=w531-h531" width="531" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">P.S.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">On the bright side, vowel movements are better than "consonant-pation".</span></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-70106471422279229112024-03-06T07:28:00.002-05:002024-03-07T05:45:45.314-05:00New East Columbia Senior Center opening <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcAzwf0WCaZsfcdxjigE_Ia7OR6xzP3K9M1-LijxRS4ga2cXS1dsvNV3XjG4-VT9rpR1GpG9nozWUdzqfG4h_Hb4QfqFHitA5zFlkGpk_K7fBbBVABvQop7QAGTNNCjzaAj5xXvj3HnTnlTfmyrx1ahVqzV8WEUHp5X5s0fkxEsGMxHhPJHhYUJ3LP2_H1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="927" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcAzwf0WCaZsfcdxjigE_Ia7OR6xzP3K9M1-LijxRS4ga2cXS1dsvNV3XjG4-VT9rpR1GpG9nozWUdzqfG4h_Hb4QfqFHitA5zFlkGpk_K7fBbBVABvQop7QAGTNNCjzaAj5xXvj3HnTnlTfmyrx1ahVqzV8WEUHp5X5s0fkxEsGMxHhPJHhYUJ3LP2_H1=w354-h459" width="354" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.howardcountymd.gov/aging-independence/east-columbia-50-center-grand-opening" target="_blank">Link to article</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-2144155461586294162024-03-06T05:06:00.002-05:002024-03-06T05:06:25.230-05:00Recognize anyone?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNb3h-cIScOsmyRFrcZyyxJW4hyphenhyphenOWKzLRXokEzeoA4-10HAEDME0yZGT3doUwEcVQD-Kt-5Om6BtqwNxLqZwEQdKb736KPZq6BbuGyuXkLrpQFM89_wO97DmgLazKAYEvg10WUGjDf5HD9dpPV82QBYoAw0ge5ZNp7i5sO6Fs866ZbDwZJFsKggmW4D5B/s640/cult.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNb3h-cIScOsmyRFrcZyyxJW4hyphenhyphenOWKzLRXokEzeoA4-10HAEDME0yZGT3doUwEcVQD-Kt-5Om6BtqwNxLqZwEQdKb736KPZq6BbuGyuXkLrpQFM89_wO97DmgLazKAYEvg10WUGjDf5HD9dpPV82QBYoAw0ge5ZNp7i5sO6Fs866ZbDwZJFsKggmW4D5B/w495-h495/cult.png" width="495" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-64189344339755883902024-01-16T11:29:00.000-05:002024-01-16T11:29:33.115-05:00The crazy love affair with trucks<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjddttT2cxfUj94XFnWA7lOU6DWYMP6eQm5TxzzZULCzec6ixzSLf7CjyKvxNfgcAwNwTsKe2upV7wdottThmNCW7b7oLoZVl979paQbR1Hsf8vS9NViBxsHlKDpmhd24vqOe30-XqIxoaiqsQiVF5tbvVoUJqvtZro85ANMhdJgaKzY6p_BWUc0ywiLRwr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1400" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjddttT2cxfUj94XFnWA7lOU6DWYMP6eQm5TxzzZULCzec6ixzSLf7CjyKvxNfgcAwNwTsKe2upV7wdottThmNCW7b7oLoZVl979paQbR1Hsf8vS9NViBxsHlKDpmhd24vqOe30-XqIxoaiqsQiVF5tbvVoUJqvtZro85ANMhdJgaKzY6p_BWUc0ywiLRwr=w683-h512" width="683" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> On a recent trip to Dallas, Texas I couldn't help but notice how almost everyone on the freeways I drove had a truck, often a heavy-duty truck. In my compact rental car, I felt like a bug in a forest of predators. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHFRMz4Nkp8CKED-UaeWrj7aW5oE-YHWMHjqOBpEdkf2JHvHTC0LB3TW4CFjJEEEanSdd_vn6CqNUE4z_6lAJ6BxjmowRD1AmzjMRof1zohk-N0eJbmw-762Lek_Vtg4u3ALl6I9AM7BTRfb7Le7c0HlJUumckzUTGbE3WSwuMzMDupy-MjOst9bPdSUIo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="2048" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHFRMz4Nkp8CKED-UaeWrj7aW5oE-YHWMHjqOBpEdkf2JHvHTC0LB3TW4CFjJEEEanSdd_vn6CqNUE4z_6lAJ6BxjmowRD1AmzjMRof1zohk-N0eJbmw-762Lek_Vtg4u3ALl6I9AM7BTRfb7Le7c0HlJUumckzUTGbE3WSwuMzMDupy-MjOst9bPdSUIo=w624-h375" width="624" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> While we can see much the same thing in our parking lots in Howard County, you have to travel out West to Republican states to see how vehicles have become a way to protest the "wokism" of the more liberal states. You won't see any of the small Toyota pickup trucks of the 1990s.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4SVzNM7vj20gw54nGCl1S8nVsgXoefsRNRs4EN6zcOYeyCNKBL5-6lntHvBPjYydHIjowiCcjCBQC_Iom1FIG2opxrPivyhKTBND_9_2Eru1bwNr4u0qKpf0muNJj99rGvqJiIEzqIYNtjErGxKXu7-wm8ZinDW0ECh61JeW6la2tW1Q8uRh9IaqTpoYj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4SVzNM7vj20gw54nGCl1S8nVsgXoefsRNRs4EN6zcOYeyCNKBL5-6lntHvBPjYydHIjowiCcjCBQC_Iom1FIG2opxrPivyhKTBND_9_2Eru1bwNr4u0qKpf0muNJj99rGvqJiIEzqIYNtjErGxKXu7-wm8ZinDW0ECh61JeW6la2tW1Q8uRh9IaqTpoYj=w602-h400" width="602" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Toyota has gone the way of the other truck manufacturers with their large trucks these days.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgH2Rdj6EIy3xYuIBOGi47qdI1SDm6hSCzFFT-KRRT7-nvfg-iBz4Mdzq4QoccsG9wQwLcxaYWHPQXCnmeJkex6UBnEM2euvkxlrE6dxvo1fgbMNqQyNirL9xn2JWRtm_26iaHEH_uWGA4eF5Xsr5SC5D1cyhZIcBpuDPfLVBcx3aq-ssWufJX7haHDlOIx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgH2Rdj6EIy3xYuIBOGi47qdI1SDm6hSCzFFT-KRRT7-nvfg-iBz4Mdzq4QoccsG9wQwLcxaYWHPQXCnmeJkex6UBnEM2euvkxlrE6dxvo1fgbMNqQyNirL9xn2JWRtm_26iaHEH_uWGA4eF5Xsr5SC5D1cyhZIcBpuDPfLVBcx3aq-ssWufJX7haHDlOIx=w571-h321" width="571" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> While the electrification of the modern truck might mitigate the gas-guzzling truck they unfortunately create another problem with their dangerous increased acceleration that will lead to more crashes and speeding with these large vehicles.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> You can't discuss the trend with trucks without discussing how the masculinity of many men is tied up with the type of vehicle they drive. What man would be seen driving a compact car or a minivan? It may have started with the Hummer which is nothing more than a commercial design of a military vehicle. It now takes the form of the new electric truck that Tesla is soon to roll out that looks more like a tank without a turret than a truck.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtSZ1r5-r13jv9CXnSQNNP5ucFcdcgMguW8YXz-uKSnM-NnXs_5vkT7qv1Yw-qb9KaGpxoWqRVuoYws7IwVOGT6-XoZnOnsB32I6xC-_ponEHqS06oIE_rbMWnMFdjh8X227g9pdPktWVflkY4VHGp0ll7xH4Ol4woSG8_jEUCKEbCHuR07xEaLA3pWgfR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtSZ1r5-r13jv9CXnSQNNP5ucFcdcgMguW8YXz-uKSnM-NnXs_5vkT7qv1Yw-qb9KaGpxoWqRVuoYws7IwVOGT6-XoZnOnsB32I6xC-_ponEHqS06oIE_rbMWnMFdjh8X227g9pdPktWVflkY4VHGp0ll7xH4Ol4woSG8_jEUCKEbCHuR07xEaLA3pWgfR=w598-h336" width="598" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-49004908535857461622024-01-09T07:39:00.002-05:002024-01-09T07:39:26.223-05:00The blizzard we will miss today<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvOUMytbEFYgxV4SmTUXkfNQNPYDRojgOI-lbrNHn1tckKeYdibr3ej3vCGFkSX6ZMv_F84A-xQ7EGX2ayj3QQmKeBiELhfcFuc_1vsx4-TCkRQA3BsZ2klEJJeSZ1Gzf9667fDtcu-Ck4JKJzkwfTmws9z5UGbZ7Rl3Z0Y3mVhxH1jPixjdzwdoI1OqQE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1280" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvOUMytbEFYgxV4SmTUXkfNQNPYDRojgOI-lbrNHn1tckKeYdibr3ej3vCGFkSX6ZMv_F84A-xQ7EGX2ayj3QQmKeBiELhfcFuc_1vsx4-TCkRQA3BsZ2klEJJeSZ1Gzf9667fDtcu-Ck4JKJzkwfTmws9z5UGbZ7Rl3Z0Y3mVhxH1jPixjdzwdoI1OqQE=w577-h388" width="577" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> In 1978 we had a 26-inch snowfall and 20-mile-an-hour winds. We had just moved to Columbia 6 months before. We might thank global warming or something else for the reality that today's 2-3 inch snowfall and 30-mile-an-hour winds won't again give us a picture like the one above. Here's to a snow-less 2024.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-19051923621773548152024-01-05T11:49:00.004-05:002024-01-05T11:49:43.307-05:00Life summed up in one sentence<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbLvQG1UrfaC2ebOAAmtDPaP0e_uw_U45Zx4YEzQkUzJG8EO4p8QXnEEWLTl_8jq4IZd0jY8ARnYSYcWK7k_SOMgE_mIX0Fjxo5YoLVwJkiwiSBYPVsOLlvB0NMsK5lvrpewp4inW4wXKm4lkKGmMxglqW__WkMRQyT1oku6cPWbnayPv4nxQYd7fmxWFU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbLvQG1UrfaC2ebOAAmtDPaP0e_uw_U45Zx4YEzQkUzJG8EO4p8QXnEEWLTl_8jq4IZd0jY8ARnYSYcWK7k_SOMgE_mIX0Fjxo5YoLVwJkiwiSBYPVsOLlvB0NMsK5lvrpewp4inW4wXKm4lkKGmMxglqW__WkMRQyT1oku6cPWbnayPv4nxQYd7fmxWFU=w668-h376" width="668" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: center;">Life is easy to learn and hard to master.</h2>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-78587343866498665892023-12-11T14:42:00.002-05:002023-12-11T14:42:52.375-05:00Say it like it is<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4bvhwK3ioP2R8NqufcvzY9ljKRXxTtbEP8Y_rmtTFgxeICSaZIaRqkqDZNYHtuqFt7PDMDzuZQsbg2VwV6iOUc-366LK8zg49yoXHUInmXbuDKEa-B7RzYB53aBBDBdQcEL12U4NWZMcbFIgGR9Mfn-_LdjQ_GGTt1iR-0_bMZeDTMQwkN5-bl9A1sSkf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4bvhwK3ioP2R8NqufcvzY9ljKRXxTtbEP8Y_rmtTFgxeICSaZIaRqkqDZNYHtuqFt7PDMDzuZQsbg2VwV6iOUc-366LK8zg49yoXHUInmXbuDKEa-B7RzYB53aBBDBdQcEL12U4NWZMcbFIgGR9Mfn-_LdjQ_GGTt1iR-0_bMZeDTMQwkN5-bl9A1sSkf=w661-h372" width="661" /></a></div><p> Can we just be mature enough to recognize that our personal economic health is more related to our own actions than the actions of the President of the United States? Especially true when the President is of the opposition party. In deciding who to vote for President base it on something the President has the power to determine. You know, something like making the choice on some rational basis.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-56692946528394581632023-12-06T13:23:00.000-05:002023-12-06T13:23:53.213-05:00Last of the "Young Guns" flames out<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhro2i0eikaZd0jtFxJR2FxMVAyLWm-taYjYUJ5NG3NO0rgvz3EtjNVw14HeXMMLQGvokWLKIgXzgT_DMdENikbjFyWh1871xUBYyLNDWs06CrDIjDHjKO3rcCnGjuWh5ySA6cw6cwGleGlpyLbmFUmZizYZDkFPA7CLtNmzVfaq21jAvmor_3hbIiJfbgw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1024" height="471" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhro2i0eikaZd0jtFxJR2FxMVAyLWm-taYjYUJ5NG3NO0rgvz3EtjNVw14HeXMMLQGvokWLKIgXzgT_DMdENikbjFyWh1871xUBYyLNDWs06CrDIjDHjKO3rcCnGjuWh5ySA6cw6cwGleGlpyLbmFUmZizYZDkFPA7CLtNmzVfaq21jAvmor_3hbIiJfbgw=w548-h471" width="548" /></a></div><p> With the announcement of Kevin McCarthy leaving the House at the end of the month the last of the 3 "Young Guns" will be gone. In case you don't remember with the election of Obama, the Republicans put forward their version of the "dream team" of young Republican members of McCarthy, Paul Ryan, and Eric Cantor. These three thought they could bring on a new Republican majority with their young (white) faces to oppose Obama. What happened is they were eaten by more fire-breathing conservatives. They have found out that Republicans will get rid of you if you try to govern. Republicans are only a party of grievance that has to fight anyone who realizes you have to compromise to get anything done.</p><p> It is only a matter of time before the current Speaker Mike Johnson will be gone too. A trivia question is who was the last Republican Speaker who wasn't kicked out by other Republicans? A hint is that it was 68 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_W._Martin_Jr.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-45373284443372025282023-12-04T08:07:00.003-05:002023-12-04T08:07:21.972-05:00Ouch!!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwVv2voPKKG5z9P6Y-RrfnhUqd9UfBAIEBSbrBv7hyuMNmI8iYPn7oKiRY2brIUE21f1qbMjScdsndyi9kOOuLV-R7iYXucgeOBReShOUg2pwc-OjBeVLll15zdWQZNM4KZiLFqYZCqapHZ_RuvpjA3m0PdbvIFPN6YMH3y-P-JrA8YdUzpBnAUl4cG7QJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="843" height="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwVv2voPKKG5z9P6Y-RrfnhUqd9UfBAIEBSbrBv7hyuMNmI8iYPn7oKiRY2brIUE21f1qbMjScdsndyi9kOOuLV-R7iYXucgeOBReShOUg2pwc-OjBeVLll15zdWQZNM4KZiLFqYZCqapHZ_RuvpjA3m0PdbvIFPN6YMH3y-P-JrA8YdUzpBnAUl4cG7QJ=w498-h531" width="498" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-53421765895871747522023-11-29T09:22:00.000-05:002023-11-29T09:22:59.617-05:00Still one of the funniest videos on my phone<p>https://www.facebook.com/reel/287840164101446/?s=single_unit&__cft__[0]=AZW4tf9uBl6RuFQ6vx11bqJoR79ilbPoqjShlF0M2JXTSDA8D1WjRmN6s1rlW9riAqzMH_VrszZO_07pmGMf8R20CQtcsuEbwK_jDi6wwBcRaClaMUlj6Z8Ah8_z8hNYw3xj_NGodXcaeYMWneNWKahZ8sgX8TR4l0o2Oxa97xGMwKUeMgAF-YTk9m8O5bWaOrI&__tn__=H-R</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-74937119476080980532023-11-22T08:49:00.004-05:002023-11-22T19:55:32.832-05:00The day America lost its innocence 60 years ago today<p> Every generation seems to have that one defining event that changed how we saw ourselves. For the World War II generation, it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor and for the younger generation, it was 9/11. For Baby Boomers, it was the JFK assassination in Dallas 60 years ago today. We can remember small details of our life that day. I can remember what I had for breakfast that day (cream of wheat) and every detail like the test that was canceled and the missed dental appointment.</p><p> Ten days ago I was in Dallas and took a tour of the School Book Depository from where Oswald shot Kennedy. The two top floors of the Depository are now a museum. Below is the corner window from which Oswald shot. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-T_5999NhHk1dKIioUaxAxEPKjrroK9OxyGGhzJ7fXjbA98XaIlB__qCe6oyk-_F3f5mJtfFV4LzHJqiSJqrK8fCAVA4Zdz06_qGjSeZTxRiEyY2cN4_o7cYnLLcQyIFo8kQ9vv7Ox5VctMiDIsR9qZ2pO7ENR-XkTydPloLM2G4pSd_EmNTOggXeF0MU/s4080/window.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4080" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-T_5999NhHk1dKIioUaxAxEPKjrroK9OxyGGhzJ7fXjbA98XaIlB__qCe6oyk-_F3f5mJtfFV4LzHJqiSJqrK8fCAVA4Zdz06_qGjSeZTxRiEyY2cN4_o7cYnLLcQyIFo8kQ9vv7Ox5VctMiDIsR9qZ2pO7ENR-XkTydPloLM2G4pSd_EmNTOggXeF0MU/w603-h454/window.jpg" width="603" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> They have tried to recreate what the space looked like that day behind a glass wall. You can't get a </div>look at Oswald's view from that window but you can get a similar view from the window next to it. The car on the road in the picture is going over the X on the road where the fatal shot hit Kennedy. The trees in the picture are taller than they were in 1963 so Oswald's view wasn't blocked as much as it would have been today.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnF4iZ51kve28h8mfQYFQm4p8A9X0IUbPJfGgCjF2LXxB65p8IvGKc2voqjbqkwNEMeLaD_dXQQNvDM7rFK-rbTSjiW_5DUycmJai400S43g90l9fT85Bx4B5iL3WxA6Prkebxu0cyiQ_hKQtmm5SscuV41pqVAsAAO-Q7Nwr8_6djFHGEA54XqROC2ex/s4080/car.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4080" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnF4iZ51kve28h8mfQYFQm4p8A9X0IUbPJfGgCjF2LXxB65p8IvGKc2voqjbqkwNEMeLaD_dXQQNvDM7rFK-rbTSjiW_5DUycmJai400S43g90l9fT85Bx4B5iL3WxA6Prkebxu0cyiQ_hKQtmm5SscuV41pqVAsAAO-Q7Nwr8_6djFHGEA54XqROC2ex/w643-h484/car.jpg" width="643" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> After shooting President Kennedy, Oswald went back to his room at the boarding house where he rented this tiny room. The room was kept just as it was the day he left.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_XBzxS5eWaMBArorWODduFlIP9vNYVgMgqpDJvkQRl-yakAV__iCsaa5-da_HtXVqcsxlBfZWXRI6bSFgt-z7jXKU-rhPW2Es3EcTa31KUFxyU4EmOUkbIKuX1-Ac9q-fuYx9TEUYt76R1JxtYNAtchRZ4C4B7lmSU0c7UEsmUDUU_l8VIRQLWHLJsh6/s4080/rooming.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_XBzxS5eWaMBArorWODduFlIP9vNYVgMgqpDJvkQRl-yakAV__iCsaa5-da_HtXVqcsxlBfZWXRI6bSFgt-z7jXKU-rhPW2Es3EcTa31KUFxyU4EmOUkbIKuX1-Ac9q-fuYx9TEUYt76R1JxtYNAtchRZ4C4B7lmSU0c7UEsmUDUU_l8VIRQLWHLJsh6/w450-h596/rooming.jpg" width="450" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From that day in Dallas in 1963, we knew that we could never have the same level of intimacy with a President that we had in Dallas that day. Pictures like the one below with the crowds right up next to the open car would never happen again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIwW8hE1M3wu6LQsjNYQawXoH96zt9hIrod1BzAj7mPS8JufJI8Xv6SF5p2B_L4k2TdLAU_Vvmco4xqaJ_y3ltFK_1pDYzE8pWEodWbZnqQ55I92WI7TNs52P8AupNoKwTVys8FBbvfLKUyPAWVuYV6U8ZgEHPehZs4hHFPov6ixP-0-y3lCNiPPj9IveL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" height="461" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIwW8hE1M3wu6LQsjNYQawXoH96zt9hIrod1BzAj7mPS8JufJI8Xv6SF5p2B_L4k2TdLAU_Vvmco4xqaJ_y3ltFK_1pDYzE8pWEodWbZnqQ55I92WI7TNs52P8AupNoKwTVys8FBbvfLKUyPAWVuYV6U8ZgEHPehZs4hHFPov6ixP-0-y3lCNiPPj9IveL=w692-h461" width="692" /></a></div><br /><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-76911306329216665912023-11-05T11:19:00.001-05:002023-11-05T11:19:41.798-05:00Taliban in the United States<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWc5enN1yFUIbQW76bCeyIc3lCzSH_pcl3HFGwJDYJkTE0nMrH4WhxWBkG0hFLqgRWGt4BXdGIBT2ExJ_w9bDPahfx6G2romV4gnErUzjEqr0pUkowblMeMDqB-4vHLn5Zr26HTs6H8mEG-FTJWn6y8ERj6cJ9iPlG-4N9I12G0ezjjbRyyQzoVXzceqeO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWc5enN1yFUIbQW76bCeyIc3lCzSH_pcl3HFGwJDYJkTE0nMrH4WhxWBkG0hFLqgRWGt4BXdGIBT2ExJ_w9bDPahfx6G2romV4gnErUzjEqr0pUkowblMeMDqB-4vHLn5Zr26HTs6H8mEG-FTJWn6y8ERj6cJ9iPlG-4N9I12G0ezjjbRyyQzoVXzceqeO=w540-h304" width="540" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Quote from the new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">" <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God is the one who raises up those in authority.”</span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> My only question is "whose" God and can my God override your God? What if the two Gods conflict--is there a "Supreme God" to make the final ruling?</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-66978367543729382772023-11-02T04:40:00.001-04:002023-11-02T04:42:08.160-04:00Gun deaths impacted State laws<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From the New York Times reporter German Lopez</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>American gun violence can feel like an unsolvable problem, with every mass shooting, like <a class="m_-3634256238630039399css-5nb5nb" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/he5b6kvSs_DrbGe91T-HTw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0TdaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8xMC8zMS91cy9tYWluZS1ndW4tbGF3cy1tYXNzLXNob290aW5nLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~&source=gmail&ust=1698923260384000&usg=AOvVaw0Cu430Tw4mzAFD-zXqng0Z" fg_scanned="1" href="https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/he5b6kvSs_DrbGe91T-HTw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0TdaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8xMC8zMS91cy9tYWluZS1ndW4tbGF3cy1tYXNzLXNob290aW5nLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~" style="color: #286ed0; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;" target="_blank">last week’s killings in Maine</a>, affirming that the situation is getting worse. But the U.S. has in fact made some progress over the past few decades, enacting policies that have saved lives.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>That is the conclusion of <a class="m_-3634256238630039399css-5nb5nb" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/sykmECRUTHyQRjPoet-IkQ~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0S_aHR0cHM6Ly9wdWJtZWQubmNiaS5ubG0ubmloLmdvdi8zNzczMjg0Ny8_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~&source=gmail&ust=1698923260384000&usg=AOvVaw289TcY3lRXPsDIih0VRgJJ" fg_scanned="1" href="https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/sykmECRUTHyQRjPoet-IkQ~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0S_aHR0cHM6Ly9wdWJtZWQubmNiaS5ubG0ubmloLmdvdi8zNzczMjg0Ny8_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~" style="color: #286ed0; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;" target="_blank">a new study</a> by Patrick Sharkey and Megan Kang at Princeton. Stricter gun laws passed by 40 states from 1991 to 2016 reduced gun deaths by nearly 4,300 in 2016, or about 10 percent of the nationwide total. States with stricter laws, such as background checks and waiting periods, consistently had fewer gun deaths, as this chart by my colleague Ashley Wu shows:</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIQm8biuHw3dERF1RRfO2pos0Un2CfBvGAwelzAIdMwzu_EUm23UfAeoEunsPJo7CmB542MzZtqffNADT9dzVsKVlkIKzDqf3F3-2WJ7Y3JpiYGkWnAZcVZnT-9W2Z6HjlHnbT5EAnRT38uE-yXQEdAMKm0n9RZ0TEWECMwfC-Yp1WjvOS8F93AaDvuN1/s1024/gun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1024" height="607" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIQm8biuHw3dERF1RRfO2pos0Un2CfBvGAwelzAIdMwzu_EUm23UfAeoEunsPJo7CmB542MzZtqffNADT9dzVsKVlkIKzDqf3F3-2WJ7Y3JpiYGkWnAZcVZnT-9W2Z6HjlHnbT5EAnRT38uE-yXQEdAMKm0n9RZ0TEWECMwfC-Yp1WjvOS8F93AaDvuN1/w621-h607/gun.png" width="621" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>Sharkey told me that the results had surprised him. He has studied violent crime for years, and did not believe that stricter gun laws had a major effect in reducing it. His new takeaway: “The challenge of gun violence is not intractable, and in fact we have just lived through a period of enormous progress that was driven by public policy.”</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>The country’s progress on guns may surprise you, too. It certainly surprised me. It’s worth reflecting on why. If the data is clear, why haven’t we heard more about these outcomes? To my mind, the lack of attention shows the narrow view that many of us often take toward gun policy.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><h2 style="font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, serif; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><i>The smaller things</i></h2></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>The national conversation about gun violence focuses on big federal policy ideas. Activists and pundits often speak about the need for a federal law enacting universal background checks or banning assault weapons. Anything short of action at the national level will fail to make the U.S. as safe as Canada, Europe or Japan, the argument goes.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>It’s true that guns kill many more people in the U.S. than in other rich countries, and America will likely remain an outlier for the foreseeable future. But the study by Sharkey and Kang shows that changes at the state level can have an effect. Even policies that seem limited, like safety-training requirements or age restrictions, add up.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>“There’s no single policy that is going to eliminate the flow or circulation of guns within and across states,” Sharkey said. “But the idea is these kinds of regulations accumulate.”</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>After all, America’s gun problem is rooted <a class="m_-3634256238630039399css-5nb5nb" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/Sw0--kGFSlgb2P9w1CcCcw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0TjaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wNS8yNi9icmllZmluZy9ndW5zLWFtZXJpY2Etc2hvb3RpbmctZGVhdGhzLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~&source=gmail&ust=1698923260384000&usg=AOvVaw2_JhNr6U9VX-rpG67pqp5P" fg_scanned="1" href="https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/Sw0--kGFSlgb2P9w1CcCcw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0TjaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wNS8yNi9icmllZmluZy9ndW5zLWFtZXJpY2Etc2hvb3RpbmctZGVhdGhzLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~" style="color: #286ed0; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;" target="_blank">in easy access to firearms</a>. In every country, people get into arguments, hold racist views or suffer from mental health issues. But when these problems turn violent, quick access to guns makes that violence much more likely to become lethal.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>Anything that adds barriers to picking up a firearm in such moments reduces deaths, whether it’s incremental state policies or broader federal laws. The new study is one part of a broader line of research demonstrating that point.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>Among the many new laws put in place since 1991: California required background checks on private gun sales in 1991, Massachusetts tightened child-access laws in 1998 and Virginia restricted gun ownership by people with mental illnesses in 2008.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><h2 style="font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, serif; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 31px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">After 2016</h2></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>There is a major caveat to the progress that Sharkey and Kang documented: It seems to have ended.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>The new study cuts off in 2016 because later data was not available at the time of the research, Sharkey said. Since 2016, many states have loosened their gun laws, in some cases because Supreme Court rulings have forced them to do so. And firearms sales have surged, particularly during the Covid pandemic.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>Congress did pass a narrow gun control law last year that extended background checks and funded anti-violence policies, and some states have continued tightening gun laws. On net, though, U.S. gun laws have become looser in the past seven years.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>Gun deaths <a class="m_-3634256238630039399css-5nb5nb" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/t7ZyZ5J2pHAz9uh4_EhH9Q~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0T4aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucGV3cmVzZWFyY2gub3JnL3Nob3J0LXJlYWRzLzIwMjMvMDQvMjYvd2hhdC10aGUtZGF0YS1zYXlzLWFib3V0LWd1bi1kZWF0aHMtaW4tdGhlLXUtcy8_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~&source=gmail&ust=1698923260385000&usg=AOvVaw378R67sDoEZqusyktNf_u9" fg_scanned="1" href="https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/t7ZyZ5J2pHAz9uh4_EhH9Q~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnJLPUP0T4aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucGV3cmVzZWFyY2gub3JnL3Nob3J0LXJlYWRzLzIwMjMvMDQvMjYvd2hhdC10aGUtZGF0YS1zYXlzLWFib3V0LWd1bi1kZWF0aHMtaW4tdGhlLXUtcy8_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9OSZlbWM9ZWRpdF9ubl8yMDIzMTEwMSZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDY2MTImbmw9dGhlLW1vcm5pbmcmcmVnaV9pZD04MjM0MzU2MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE0ODg0MyZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9OWI0OTJhYWQ5YTZmZjNjOWUzNGEzZTRjNzYzZmY1ZDFXA255dEIKZUHULkJl8KhD91IWZHVhbmVzdGNsYWlyQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~" style="color: #286ed0; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;" target="_blank">have increased</a> over the same period, and mass shootings have become more common. These trends — a rise in deaths, looser laws and increased firearm purchases — are likely related, Sharkey said. He pointed out that the six states that had weakened their gun laws from 1991 to 2016 appeared to have experienced more gun deaths than other factors suggested they should have.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; width: 600px;"><table cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px;"><p style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b><i>As more states have loosened their laws in recent years, they have set themselves up for more gun deaths. “If states take basic steps to regulate guns, it will save thousands and thousands of lives,” Sharkey said. The opposite is also true.</i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-64649881654840158492023-11-01T07:56:00.000-04:002023-11-01T07:56:56.565-04:00Annual tirade blog on leaf blowers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEit6XzT7I4IlGv6jE24d5O57sksbwWLh-TUbKw-WGG8M-CFP30k2Q-rF4ndhP4oNIBhDEIfjRDcUWt7kOCwARPr1o2SdhQMTv14GtCmYEH-6muq_I0-E6kd_5hrG_asuLpAc0TB0XE10wfmS2LosstZp5ZwgDBNOK4uQ7HbJ6pmUaJWXFEIC5KulHTv6jxk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="2048" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEit6XzT7I4IlGv6jE24d5O57sksbwWLh-TUbKw-WGG8M-CFP30k2Q-rF4ndhP4oNIBhDEIfjRDcUWt7kOCwARPr1o2SdhQMTv14GtCmYEH-6muq_I0-E6kd_5hrG_asuLpAc0TB0XE10wfmS2LosstZp5ZwgDBNOK4uQ7HbJ6pmUaJWXFEIC5KulHTv6jxk=w583-h328" width="583" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> This morning was started once again by the Columbia Association leaf blowers in the Tot Lot behind our house. The need to remove leaves once a week from Tot Lots is probably minor noise pollution that we have to endure but is a reality of Fall that for the next month the whining of leaf blowers will need to be endured. The drudgery of raking leaves has given way to the easier-on-the-body leaf blower. Our need to bag up leaves rather than turn them into natural fertilizer is just another example of how obsessed we are with having a healthy grass lawn. Lawns in our modern suburbs have turned nature's natural fertilizer into an enemy to be fought with every Fall. Instead, nitrogen fertilizer is spread on our lawns to runoff into our streams and lakes to create oxygen-starved bodies of water that kill off fish.</div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-56508021015114960932023-10-31T04:31:00.000-04:002023-10-31T04:31:58.068-04:00Halloween humor<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYP4lmeSUhtMRSuS7UeJeV-5sepmqWf8ZIdrPsH3S3MNrfOvWHsWIbMfLlv1Gg7eYi5JFwtYszgpbPqajhT48SIKz1UjVuSkfYHEbYIA0OFdiwfCatP9CBTf-fD3EdbeCg2zz27I6Idcsunf_JcHn1jTgkc0zyQHcVH-A2KaRq7fi6bDDIF0f7AoJ_UxaU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="526" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYP4lmeSUhtMRSuS7UeJeV-5sepmqWf8ZIdrPsH3S3MNrfOvWHsWIbMfLlv1Gg7eYi5JFwtYszgpbPqajhT48SIKz1UjVuSkfYHEbYIA0OFdiwfCatP9CBTf-fD3EdbeCg2zz27I6Idcsunf_JcHn1jTgkc0zyQHcVH-A2KaRq7fi6bDDIF0f7AoJ_UxaU=w416-h460" width="416" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf4Lb2HIrqW8r4GdLXXNYLYFd1gaUmZALdLIndDTMODgpGmqXE1Yx5pF9N8j2K22hr1tb5aI-4Pj97dcGSKb0LUHps74vJFrfOmzPHBbl_oXUb8izxarUx9RyNcef1rlzkJyY19dDSFlPf0G1U0hpxp1FgKlkwUQX2qbo8H1aodLLg3MJzxKjgiwR1eYA2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="486" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf4Lb2HIrqW8r4GdLXXNYLYFd1gaUmZALdLIndDTMODgpGmqXE1Yx5pF9N8j2K22hr1tb5aI-4Pj97dcGSKb0LUHps74vJFrfOmzPHBbl_oXUb8izxarUx9RyNcef1rlzkJyY19dDSFlPf0G1U0hpxp1FgKlkwUQX2qbo8H1aodLLg3MJzxKjgiwR1eYA2=w391-h464" width="391" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-23798068610919700142023-10-29T11:55:00.001-04:002023-10-29T11:59:03.590-04:00Thought for the day about what is happening in the Middle East<p><br /></p><p> <b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">When your religious beliefs overwhelm your humanity you need to re-examine your religious beliefs. To believe that "your" God gave you the right to certain areas of land on Earth never ends well.</span></b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-5789519896431212962023-10-27T09:09:00.003-04:002023-10-27T09:56:07.372-04:00It only matters if it impacts me personally<p> I thought of this once again yesterday when Rep. Jared Golden from Maine said that he was c<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jared-golden-maine-mass-shooting-changed-mind-assault/story?id=104398010" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #990000;">hanging his vote from defending gun rights to supporting a ban on assault weapons</span></b></a>. Apparently, the mass killing in his home state of Maine brought the problem close enough to him personally that he now saw it as a problem. The mass killings in other states were not a problem unless it came home to him. This reality that conservatives only feel empathy when it personally impacts them is a defining quality of conservatives.</p><p> I have a couple of other examples of this reality with conservatives. The first is how the Administration of <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-16-me-2930-story.html#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%20in%20a%20little,Institutes%20of%20Health%20(NIH)." target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Ronald Reagan proposed a 23% cut in grant funding for the National Institutes of Health</b></span></a> but after Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease <a href="https://www.nextavenue.org/nancy-reagans-caregiving-legacy/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Nancy Reagan became an advocate for more funding for research into the disease</b></span></a>. <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/republicans-gay-marriage-117400" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>The second example is when conservatives opposed same-sex marriage until a relative came out as being gay</b></span></a>. The best example of this is when <a href="https://people.com/politics/dick-cheney-gay-daughter-mary-feud-liz-vice/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Vice President Cheney's daughter came out as being gay</b></span></a>. </p><p> As I have repeated once again, the defining characteristic between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives need to experience an issue personally before they develop a social conscience.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-91727941491976163932023-10-26T18:19:00.001-04:002023-10-26T18:19:10.180-04:00Thoughts and prays or an assault weapons ban- which work<p> Listening to the news today on the mass killing in Maine I heard a number of discussions that came from people who felt that we needed better ways to identify dangerous persons with a mental health problem to stop these types of killing. While better "red flag laws" might be a good thing they will never be good enough in accurately targeting potential mass killers unless we confine hundreds of people with mental health problems to find that one person who might have been a mass killer. </p><p> When you look at the number of mass killings in other countries that contain just as many dangerous people with mental health problems the only difference is the unavailability of assault weapons. We have some evidence here in the United States from 1994 to 2004 when we had a federal ban on assault weapons. <a href="https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/06/15/did-the-assault-weapons-ban-of-1994-bring-down-mass-shootings-heres-what-the-data-tells-us/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Here is one report that examined the impact of that law on mass shootings.</b></span></a> The only thing that stops the law from being reinstated federally is that Republican members of Congress are beholding to the NRA. The NRA and those members of Congress today have blood on their hands again. I only wonder if those members of Congress would change their minds if one of their relatives was blown apart in a mass killing with an assault weapon? Wounds from an assault weapon like an AR-15 can be so devastating that DNA is required to identify the body. Shots to the head usually lead to complete decapitation as it did to some of the children at Sandy Hook. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2023/ar-15-damage-to-human-body/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Here is an article from the Washington Post on the impact of a bullet fired from an assault weapon.</span></b></a></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-40740673329296206152023-10-26T05:27:00.007-04:002023-10-26T05:44:15.526-04:00No where is safe in America with our gun fetish<p> Columbia was once again rated the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2022/11/17/study-reveals-the-10-safest-and-unsafest-cities-in-america/?sh=6a740fa0e6db" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>"safest city in the United States</b></span></a>." However last night's mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine took place in the city that Forbes rated the tenth safest city. The reality is that mass shootings in America can happen anywhere because AR-15s and other weapons are legal.</p><p>P.S.</p><p> It might be telling and sad that the day that Mike Johnson was sworn in as the Speaker of the House there was another mass shooting. When you look at <a href="https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/23494/mike-johnson/37/guns" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>his record on gun control</b></span></a> he is a co-sponsor of the bill that limited the liability of gun manufacturers for deaths caused by guns. <a href="https://www.wwno.org/law/2023-02-23/louisiana-has-2nd-highest-u-s-gun-death-rate-a-study-blames-weak-laws-high-ownership" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Johnson is from Louisiana which has the second highest rate of gun deaths of all the states</b></span></a>. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-88945111027059072972023-10-21T05:19:00.005-04:002023-10-21T08:32:37.323-04:00How you spell "Dysfunction"? R-e-p-u-b-l-i-c-a-n<p> </p><h1 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Favorite Halloween costume this year</b></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicIklo_hOED-xKAv3V2bK60QDzg6v8wq5L4V8ngmHjpsze2Bv6G1mDBSQjcBpvmPLkJvzkJ5_5-5uaR7XvF1FzffaaTWtEWntwh99_7YOypgzCWaHVdDe82iJAE9HZdvHCAkzAPstXy-8peF7ZccJMKNlHfLROzu6sJ_TTADYWkJcMoYzFw8qHFLNAjpz7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="766" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicIklo_hOED-xKAv3V2bK60QDzg6v8wq5L4V8ngmHjpsze2Bv6G1mDBSQjcBpvmPLkJvzkJ5_5-5uaR7XvF1FzffaaTWtEWntwh99_7YOypgzCWaHVdDe82iJAE9HZdvHCAkzAPstXy-8peF7ZccJMKNlHfLROzu6sJ_TTADYWkJcMoYzFw8qHFLNAjpz7=w340-h425" width="340" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Back in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan told us that the g<a href="https://www.reaganfoundation.org/ronald-reagan/reagan-quotes-speeches/inaugural-address-2/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #990000;">overnment wasn't the solution</span></b></a> but was the problem and the scariest statement was "I am here from the government and I am here to help." This type of thinking which denigrates the ability of the government to function in meeting the needs of citizens leads us to the present situation with the Republicans being unable to govern when they are in control. To many Republicans elected today the goal is to have government become non-functional as a way to weaken the government. The question is "Who gains control when the government is weakened?" It is a joke when this group of officials talk about doing what the American public wants when they represent a minority of the population. It seems like today only the Democrats are interested in being a governing party.</div><h1 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></h1><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-4303371829521627792023-10-13T08:27:00.003-04:002023-10-15T20:00:44.821-04:00There's no hatred like religious hatred<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRlQMQpDSAr9FSb2dtIyw-K2uTAEC8bnPWOdLDfvyaWErRX_o4s0Fyer5gg4MMFhpn3DcfP-rvucNA0oW-lFH4b4t1Gyoiv0dxcJdFhs-2tTU4M3fSoxFRgfQMD9HnihbKffUTS3vofgRs3HQtpkcTsSao0R7plm75oa6S-vhqOslxFY8RXaleO1BCI4f_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="770" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRlQMQpDSAr9FSb2dtIyw-K2uTAEC8bnPWOdLDfvyaWErRX_o4s0Fyer5gg4MMFhpn3DcfP-rvucNA0oW-lFH4b4t1Gyoiv0dxcJdFhs-2tTU4M3fSoxFRgfQMD9HnihbKffUTS3vofgRs3HQtpkcTsSao0R7plm75oa6S-vhqOslxFY8RXaleO1BCI4f_=w651-h356" width="651" /></a></div><p> For the last year what has played out in Russia's war in Ukraine has made it much easier to identify the "good guys" and the "bad guys." What is being played out in the Middle East now between Hamas and Israel is harder to identify which side is represented as good or bad. The killing of innocent people on both sides has to be condemned. What should not be overlooked is the religious basis for the conflict. When you have religions that believe God supports their actions you have the basis for hatred that leads to cruelty in wars. Retribution and revenge can blind even normally moral people to doing immoral things. The first piece of propaganda that is put out in a war is that your enemy is subhuman and not deserving of living. You can hear and see that on both sides of the present conflict. Killing civilians is justified on both sides because the other side has killed civilians. Killing children in Israel does not justify killing children in Gaza or the other way around. Killing children can never be justified or excused.</p><p> Religion which is created out of ignorance and dogma has always been a threat to the stability and morality wherever it has existed. To believe that only you and your fellow religious believers have some special place in the eyes of your God gives you the justification to murder non-believers. This has been repeated throughout history too many times. Only when religious belief does away with the belief that they have a special place in God's eyes can different religions co-exist. Of course, this would negate the need for religion as your moral compass.</p><p>P.S.</p><p> No adult has a right to harm a child for what ever cause in which they believe.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-4799933071974615062023-10-11T05:08:00.003-04:002023-10-11T05:08:39.406-04:00So true<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuEepEiDrsPRiCzYmtJWHAwQBvyFsVrxcLQVDPjYW5uIY8ARJzIVexTcuxsby-o_s38XAYou2qz2exuWfFv5u-oV3EYsP0cFfsQx62em8__yHQDYUf4Oj_5l9wchVqbWymhgM9A4ajIYIbNuL1zjVtTpgR88IxruotVr3Lpc0KDxrDotgputQLohmHrv-H" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="843" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuEepEiDrsPRiCzYmtJWHAwQBvyFsVrxcLQVDPjYW5uIY8ARJzIVexTcuxsby-o_s38XAYou2qz2exuWfFv5u-oV3EYsP0cFfsQx62em8__yHQDYUf4Oj_5l9wchVqbWymhgM9A4ajIYIbNuL1zjVtTpgR88IxruotVr3Lpc0KDxrDotgputQLohmHrv-H=w433-h433" width="433" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-49419827750831203782023-10-07T09:05:00.006-04:002023-10-07T09:05:35.351-04:00The lesson in the Oriole success<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbjwUINWYd4BnJocm8XeIPws7oQGYFZtB_R6YPB1HfB1i6bDmV-9wzipqD3dD4BG2eCRoaewpVlGEjI0A3Z6g-3ca9_X7VziuXDkBksddnIOyskLw5H9kiijKtq8MrkLwjHgpjGYJOb-uoD14dpaIbwx-MxFeNON74qzUcw0_sWZTVHD8YQy_-M_v66opy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbjwUINWYd4BnJocm8XeIPws7oQGYFZtB_R6YPB1HfB1i6bDmV-9wzipqD3dD4BG2eCRoaewpVlGEjI0A3Z6g-3ca9_X7VziuXDkBksddnIOyskLw5H9kiijKtq8MrkLwjHgpjGYJOb-uoD14dpaIbwx-MxFeNON74qzUcw0_sWZTVHD8YQy_-M_v66opy=w679-h382" width="679" /></a></div><p> No matter what happens to the Baltimore Orioles in the postseason there is a lesson that can be applied to any organization or business. The lesson is that change is inevitable and those that don't adapt and change will cease to survive. There are so many examples of this. Kodak is probably the best example. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2012/01/18/how-kodak-failed/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #990000;">After dominating the film industry for decades their slow response to digital photography brought on their death as a company</span></b></a>.</p><p> With baseball, the traditionalists used the old methods of evaluating player potential that was very subjective. With computers and algorithms, there was a new more sophisticated, and objective way to evaluate player potential. The Oakland A's were the first to use this method and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8RXPRfhmA8" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #990000;">it was written about in the book and movie Moneyball</span></b></a>. The method was then used with the <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/10/how-the-astros-built-their-al-championship-team.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Houston Astros</b></span></a> and now with the Orioles.</p><p> Another way of looking at this reality is to recognize that organizations that only look at short-term internal operations will never see the changes that are developing outside the organization that will be a threat to them in the future. Look for the changes or get ready to be replaced.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-42243006703386494832023-10-04T06:54:00.002-04:002023-10-04T07:30:10.686-04:00Time to go, Joe<p> </p> <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4XdfvMKvO3r_OPQahTofbRHKWVzGt3h-M-9YEBhSSBFNAhBoltX1-RLr7zOjIVpSLUiLs4hunk4hxBTMsnm96062TTxFEvkf3pQMHx2X3WA49Yz19Kxvf_CUmOiG8vXUupbS6VdwIM68jnwwoX8C-e-NP-aupEEenuW9JHNF8_uTLsKmVqNagvgI9GvZ_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4XdfvMKvO3r_OPQahTofbRHKWVzGt3h-M-9YEBhSSBFNAhBoltX1-RLr7zOjIVpSLUiLs4hunk4hxBTMsnm96062TTxFEvkf3pQMHx2X3WA49Yz19Kxvf_CUmOiG8vXUupbS6VdwIM68jnwwoX8C-e-NP-aupEEenuW9JHNF8_uTLsKmVqNagvgI9GvZ_=w605-h340" width="605" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div> Knowing when your job is done is hard when you have power. Joe Biden's job in 2016 was to unite the Democrats to defeat Trump. Job done. Now with Trump still in the picture, Biden feels it is necessary to take Trump on again. The situation is different now with Trump facing 91 felony charges and trials next year looming. What if one of his felony convictions occurs and the Republicans decide they want to go with a consensus choice like Nikki Haley and the Democrats are left with an aging Biden? Watch where Republicans go as some of the candidates drop out. Haley will rise to the alternative to Trump. That is not the matchup that the Democrats want but might get. How many Democrat and Republican women would vote to have the first woman president in Haley? It would be better now to recognize that possibility and my choice for the Democrats would be Gretchen Whitmer. How about a Whitmer/Buttigieg ticket that puts a whole different spin on the race than the Dems going with Biden.<p></p><p>P.S.</p><p> Of course, if it comes down to a Biden/Trump race again it is an easy choice to stay with Biden.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0