Saturday, March 14, 2015

Staying Forever Young at Heart

Good Day World!

Let’s set the tune for today by listening to Forever Young by Joan Baez

and by other artists such as

Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, or The Band.

The lyrics to this song speak to me. It’ my life’s anthem.

I may be 64 years-old, but I don’t feel like an old man. I may look like one, but the “real me” is much younger.

I laugh easily. I love passionately. My sense of humor remains unmarred over the decades. I can still remember being five years-old.

When I look in the mirror that young man in my mind stares out from behind my wrinkles and silver mane. Yet youth, unlike one philosopher's suggestion that it’s wasted on the young – can be eternal…

in your mind, heart and actions. 

I am as curious today as I was 64 years ago. At times, I feel old when by body fails me. Then I remember; I chose to be

forever young!

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Who said, ‘Help me?’ When 1st Responders Arrived at Accident

Good Day World!

I’ve run across many mysteries in my life, both personal experiences, and in news stories. I find them fascinating, and whenever I run across one I enjoy sharing it with my readers.

The most recent example of a mysterious story is about a car accident that happened recently outside Salt lake City, Utah.

For reasons unknown, Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, 25, went off the road and crashed in the Spanish Fork River. She was killed (massive trauma), but her 18-month-old daughter, Lily was still alive in the back seat.

The car was upside down and partly submerged in the icy river when first responders arrived. As three police officers and two firemen surveyed the situation they heard a mysterious voice say, Help me.”

Officers Tyler Beddoes, Jared Warner and Bryan Dewitt told Lt. Matt Johnson they heard an adult voice before being aware of the infant trapped upside in a car seat. Johnson relayed their report to ABC News.

He said the two firefighters, Paul Tomadakis and Lee Mecham, also heard the voice before realizing there was a toddler in the submerged car.

"To me, it was plain as day," Warner told KSL.com. "I remember hearing a voice that didn't sound like a child, just saying, 'Help me.'

Of course, the voice couldn’t have been Groesbeck – she was dead. But whose voice did the five men hear?

Some might say it was Lynn Groesbeck’s voice – coming from the other side to save her child. I don’t know. It’s an interest theory.

Who do you think the first responders heard?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Racist remarks, treason, and lack of class – GOP on a roll

                                           Good Day World!

You’d think that after last week’s controversial House speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who denounced the president’s negotiations with Iran, that Republicans would show a little class and get off Obama’s back.

You’d be wrong.

Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky, tried to rush the bill to the floor but had to reverse course, after Democrats threatened to block the move.

This week, Republicans doubled down on their destructive rhetoric. 

Republican Sen. Michael Willette refused to resign over a series of offensive Facebook posts. In the posts he suggested President Barack Obama's family members are part of the Islamic State group.

When the Maine Democratic Party called on him to step down over what they described as a "prolific online history of racist and bigoted remarks," Willette backpedaled, said he was sorry, and that he won’t continue to post lies.

His history says otherwise.

Willette also posted a photo of Obama on Facebook pretending to use the president's words, saying of the Islamic State group, "I'll deal with them at the family reunion."

It’s more than not having any class that makes Willette a problem. He’s admitted having animosity toward Muslims and suggested that members of Obama's administration are part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It’s apparent he hates the president, and that’s he’s graduated from hateful rhetoric to downright lies. Willette has gone too far this time.

Speaking of going too far..

More than 155,000 people have signed a petition to the White House (yesterday) urging charges be filed against 47 Republican senators who they say committed "treasonous" offenses by writing Iran's leaders about ongoing nuclear negotiations.”

When those 47 Republican senators sent  a letter to Iran’s leadership Monday warning them that an international nuclear deal with them could be scrapped if they didn’t like it, they went too far.

According to the petition, the 47 senators "committed a treasonous offense when they decided to violate the Logan Act, a 1799 law which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments."

Those 47 senators – including three potential Republican presidential candidates - broke the law, or at least violated the traditions of Congress, by directly engaging a foreign power on US foreign policy.

Even some Republicans realize that the letter went too far.

Negotiations with the Islamic republic "are tough enough here and I didn't think it was appropriate to add another element that makes it more difficult," Senate Republican Jeff Flake told National Public Radio.

In both cases, there’s a total lack of respect for the president of the United States.

Meanwhile, the world looks at the political dysfunction festering in Congress and wonders how united we really are.

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

 

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Senators Introduce Amazing Bipartisan Bill To Legalize Marijuana

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Good Day World!

Congress introduced the most comprehensive legislation on medical marijuana ever Tuesday.

And surprise…surprise…it was a bipartisan effort.

Will wonders ever cease?

The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act would remove federal penalties and restrictions for producing, distributing and possessing marijuana for medical purposes, provided there is compliance with state law.

It would give military veterans access to medical marijuana in states where it is legal, and it would crucially allow financial institutions to provide banking services to marijuana businesses.

It would also reclassify marijuana from "Schedule I" to "Schedule II," eliminating current barriers to research and recognizing the acceptable medical use of the drug.

Let’s hope this groundbreaking legislation survives and becomes law. It would be the right thing to do.

Senate Bill Would Effectively End The Federal War On Medical Marijuana

Senate Bill Would Ease Federal Prohibition Of Medical Marijuana

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Republicans warn Iran not to make a deal with Obama

Good Day World!

Imagine if the Democrats would have tried to micro-manage the START talks in the 80s by sending an open letter to Gorbachev.

It just wouldn't have been viewed as an acceptable political move while the talks were still happening.

As the United States, western nations, China, and Russia are negotiating with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, 47 Senate Republicans led by freshman Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) have made an extraordinary -- if not unprecedented -- countermove:

They've sent an open letter to Iran to suggest they can undo whatever President Obama's administration agrees to.

"First, under our Constitution, while the president negotiates international agreements, Congress plays he significant role of ratifying them.

Second … President Obama will leave office in January 2017, while most of us will remain in office well beyond then—perhaps decades."

This is extraordinary, because for a GOP Congress that objects to Obama overstepping his bounds, the president is commander-in-chief and conducts the nation's foreign policy.

Just asking, but what countermove is more over the top -- Netanyahu's speech from last week, or this letter trying to scuttle a deal before it even happens?

Imagine how the world views this political drama. We are not a united country – especially in our government - and it’s obvious.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Monday, March 9, 2015

Congressional members don’t have the power to rule a presidential act unconstitutional

Good Day World!

It’s apparent that some Republicans in Congress weren’t as aware of the Constitution as they claimed to be.

What other reason would there be for challenging the president’s acts as unconstitutional?

A quick look at Constitutional Law shows that issue was decided over 100 years ago by the Supreme Court in 1803.

They never had a chance of prevailing over Obama and the Democrats in their attempt to condition funding for the Department of Homeland Security on a repeal of the administration's immigration directives. 

The bottom line:

However heartfelt the rhetoric, members of Congress don't have the power to rule a presidential act unconstitutional.

Only the courts can do that.

As Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho pointed out in a recent AP article, "When there are differences of opinion as to what is constitutional and what is not constitutional, a court makes that determination.”

Simpson was giving a gentle refresher course on the Constitution to those on his own side of the aisle.

The tea party-aligned, bitter-end Republican losers had outrage, and in the House, an unbending unwillingness to compromise that some of their own rank and file judged counterproductive.

The result was a rout.

Republicans can expect the same result the next time around if they try to bend (or willingly ignore) Constitutional Law. The irony, of course, is that those ultra conservative House members are always talking about upholding the Constitution.

Yet, when you look at – or research – the so-called tea party crowd’s twists on the Constitution, it’s obvious their interpretation is flawed and not the original intent of the Founding Fathers. 

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Sunday, March 8, 2015

A Killer Buzz: Lawsuit Filed Against Distribution of Pure Caffeine

Good Day World!

One of the simple joys in my life is drinking coffee when I wake up in the morning.

That caffeine “buzz” seems to clear my head and set me up for the day.

The scent of those coffee beans distilling makes getting out of my comfortable bed bearable.

I only drink two cups every morning. There was a time when I drank two pots of coffee daily. But that was decades ago.

I’ve learned some things about coffee – and caffeine over the years. Moderation has it’s merits. Especially when it comes to consuming caffeine.

Because caffeine can kill.

The family of a Northeast Ohio high school senior who died of a caffeine overdose last year filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Friday against several companies including Amazon.com Inc, which shipped the supplement.

Logan Stiner, 18, died last May of a cardiac arrhythmia and seizure due to acute caffeine toxicity shortly before he was set to graduate from high school.

The lawsuit filed by Stiner's father says the companies promoted, advertised, offered for sale and sold Hard Rhino pure caffeine powder on Amazon.

The lawsuit said Hard Rhino should have labeled the caffeine powder as an over-the-counter stimulant and not as a "dietary supplement" and inadequately warned of the difficulty in differentiating a safe dose from a lethal one.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December warned of the dangers of consuming powdered pure caffeine, which can have the rough equivalent of 25 cups of coffee in a single teaspoon.

I don’t understand is why the FDA regulates all forms of caffeine - except pure powder form? It doesn’t make sense.

Someone at the FDA better get their head on right and address this lethal issue before more deaths are reported.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...