Books That Will Change You for the Good

They are profound, one man's personal account. I've never been the same after reading #1, " Anastasia" and they only get better. Non-Fiction.

Jan 3, 2016  Amazon has #1, at least.  Google "Ringing Cedars", see all you come up with.

Ponder This in The New Year

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/christmas_plea_to_world_from_father_of_drowned_syrian_child_20151224


Although I read of many tragedies happening in our world, the picture of the tiny child washed ashore tore my guts out. Link the above and read words from his father, his hopes.  His two boys and wife were drowned trying to escape their war torn world.

Dear God, what a terrible world we've created, either by compliance or non-compliance, omission or  commission, acceptance or rejection, ignorance or possibly pure stupidity, or greed 

Hornswoggled = Hoax

Looks pretty good today after major heart surgery and  a trip with stage 4 cancer since 2010, doesn't he?  His completely white hair appeared overnight (literally) back in October

My brother giving us a laugh on Christmas day.

Do You Need a Job? Hmm, well.....

"MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"

Old Sailing Ship  off internet

I got a kick and a grin reading the ad.  Many did apply and get a job with Shackleton's exploration voyages.  They made 'em tough back when.  Very interesting stuff to read about.

Exercising My Right to Speak (revised)

A Very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to You.  Surely I still have the right to convey my holiday greetings to my friends, don't I?  This is the mode in which I was raised; from the cradle up, to share love and good feeling with each other; others whom we rarely got to see because of the business of living. Thus our Christmas gatherings.  So the feeling still resides within my heart.  Habit, you say?  Possibly.  May you all be happy and warm this  season and share your joys.

He's Officially an 'Honorable'

Which of the candidates running has Honorable before his name?  I read of this in "American Son", the book (good read) about JFK Jr. written by Richard Blow - worked alongside JFK JR. on his magazine, "George".

I'll give you two guesses.  No cheating.  Winner wins a prize. Wink.
I don't precisely know what it means to be an Honorable but it certainly sounds impressive and worthy of consideration.


On the other hand, in a court of law, I once heard " his Honorable Judge So and So presiding".  Down the road a ways, that Judge So and So was caught red-handed being not so honorable in several instances.

I could put the candidates I trust today into a #2 paper bag!
Hmm, Who ya gonna trust!

A Repost: A Genius Says Goodbye

A Genius Says Goodbye   Gabriel Garcia Marquez  6-3-09
Mr. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, great Latin American writer, has said goodbye to the public life due to complications in his health: lymphatic cancer. He has sent a letter to his friends and thanks to the Internet we all are able to share it. This short text written by one of the most brilliant Latin Americans of the past years is really inspiring.
"If for an instant God forgot that I am just a puppet and He gave me one more piece of life, I would take advantage of that time, the best I could. I probably would not say everything I think, but definitely think all I say.
I would value things not for what they are worth but for what they represent.
I would sleep less and dream more, for every minute we close our eyes, we lose sixty seconds of light.
I would continue where others have stopped and I would rise while others sleep.
If God allowed me one more piece of life, I would dress simpler, would wallow in the sunlight, leaving uncovered, not only my body but my soul.
I would prove to men how wrong they are to think that they stop falling in love as they get older, since they actually start getting older as soon as they stop falling in love.
I would give wings to the children, but I would leave the child alone so that he can learn to fly on his own.
To the old, I would show them how death comes not with the aging process but with forgetting.
So many things I have learned from you . . . I have learned that everybody wants to live at the top of the mountain, forgetting that how we climb is all that matters
I have learned that when a newborn grabs his father's thumb he takes hold on him forever.
I have learned that a man has the right to look down on somebody only when he is helping him to get up.
So many things I have learned from you. . . .
Always tell what you feel and do what you think.
If I knew that today it would be the last time that I will see you, I will embrace you strongly to be the guardian of your soul.
If I would know that this would be the last minute that I will see you, I would say to you, "I love you"and wouldn't assume that you would know it.
There is always morning when life gives us another opportunity to make things good.
Keep always close to you your dear ones and tell them how much you need them and love them and take care of them.
Take time to say, "I am sorry", "Forgive me", and "Please", "Thank you" and all the nice and lovely words you know.
Nobody would remember you if you keep your thoughts secret. Force yourself to express them; show your friends and dear ones how much you care about them.
SEND THIS TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT OR LOVE. If you don't, tomorrow will be the same as today and it will not matter either...
For you, with much love and care.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Compassion is Always Needed -Everywhere

"The world needs more and more compassionate creativity to solve difficult problems "


Marvin Bartel, Ed.D., artist
www.bartelart.com

Reading today

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/world/asia/desertions-slow-progress-of-afghan-air-force-training-in-us.html?mabReward=A3&module=WelcomeBackModal&contentCollection=Asia%20Pacific&region=FixedCenter&action=click&src=recg&pgtype=article

We the taxpayers definitely pay and where are the thirty who disappeared over the last three years?

For the un-Enlightened

Most Amazing Child Prodigy

Are you in for a treat!  About 10 minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpzjD1ctCyY

"A Child Prodigy, Painful disease, A Life-changing treatment"

You can also go directly to YouTube.com to find the title in blue.

#1 Another's Post #2 About The Puppies

I'm reading a letter.  It regards refugees.  Very interesting and enlightening as far as I'm concerned. Go here:  http://peppylady.blogspot.com/   "Embarrass for My County" dated yesterday.

I'm only one person.  I don't know what to do.  Do you?
Let our conscience be our guide.  Our conscience.  I ponder myself in such positions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh is life hectic! No time now but more to come about the puppies.  Know though, they are precious!

Indiscretion is a Real Problem - Think Before You Speak!

"Discretion is the better part of valor", words that I kept repeating in my mind as I regained  consciousness this morning.  What do they mean? Googling this sentence brought me to SHAKESPEARE! I hated trying to read or discuss the works of Shakespeare way back when.  In fact, I hated my literature classes.  I comprehend everyday native language but slog through writings that were written in past centuries.

  "Discretion is the better part of valor",  words that certainly didn't pertain to the dreams that I can recall from last night.  So they must have some meaning from all the bewildering "$h-p" published, word by word, line by line, in our world these days. Yes, the whole world is able to read or hear it all.

The way I see it, the world-wide-web can be a very damaging and dangerous tool, as well as the greatest way to go to find anything and everything we wish to know about.  Yet, we must remember that any and all have access to whatever is there, the good, the bad and the ugly - the real ugly!

Often when reading some piece of news, a red flag will pop into my mind and I'm wondering just how these words are affecting those who don't quite agree or understand them. Just read the Comments section after an article you have just finished reading and you can tell that not all are on the same wavelength; thus the diversity of humankind and its opinions.

Frankly, it worries the $h-t out of me, realizing that we live in a world where too much is uttered, all in the name of free-press.  I feel that too much free-press is causing so many of our world's problems today; possibly it always has been the cause. This is the part of the WWW that I call damaging and dangerous.  Not only do we all have the ability to read what's printed or said, we have it pounded into our heads over and over again by repetition a 'hundred thousand times' before the subject is dropped for another titillating horrible drama.

When and why did society become so ingrained to know the latest NEWS?  Why did society decide to jump on the bandwagon to spout off about situations happening that have no good place in an individual's everyday life?  That in itself creates chaos and confusion. 

Leaders of the people and the press writers, in my opinion, should learn to use some discretion in what they say, what they are saying to the whole world.

So, you could say I too am spouting my opinion but I'm not acting out viciously on my opinions like some we know about.  I shall name no names.

It appears to me we of the world, have gotten ourselves in a 'fine pickle' for being indiscreet, thus causing all the chaos and confusion and the inevitable battles being created.

"Discretion Is the better part of valor."  Now I get it!  Often, a bit of commonsense in what we say is worth more than gold.  On the other hand, though, is the fact that those who shout and spout, over and over and over again, are doing so for their part of the gold - indiscretion (even outright lies) because of their greed and stampede for popularity ratings.

Often, we all should keep our mouths shut! Tightly.  For the sake of sanity, safety and having a grain or two of commonsense.

"Be bold when the opportunity presents itself."

                         ~VERONICA

Let This Break Your Heart!

http://commondreams.org/further/2015/12/01/we-are-human-just-like-you

Families fleeing, searching for a safe harbor.

Imagine yourself in this position.

Harvest and Preserve Success

Ready to Sample  -  Take one  -  Have a Taste of summer

Pregnant!

How did that tiny $h - - manage this?  Sami's the little $h - -!  The culprit.
"Sami, You are up for surgery tomorrow".

OMW.ord

Lucy checking her new surroundings - months old

Lucy is pregnant.  Looking round as a ball.  I am in shock. What to do? Oh dear, what to do.  Haven't dealt with birthing animals in forty years.  I'm worried.  She only weighs 4 pounds.






 I need no more animals; I'm financially broke caring for them.

Lucy as a pup - sleeping butt to butt with Choco by the heater (pic)
  
 Sami isn't pictured.  He's maybe shamefaced and hiding. A three pound Macho-Man.  A toy poodle

We all live it up to the hilt before crashing

Yet she is a little doll with such a nice temperament, causing everyone to like her, especially mandogs  ....Sami, I'm going to kill you, you out-of-control heathen.









Me, Tied down?  You bet. 

Potpourri From A Muse

I imagine I should remove some book titles from the list here.  I think it must allow a limited number for no new entries are showing.  Hmm.  I've devoured a lot of books this year yet only at bedtime - a lifelong treat.

Read a couple by Pearl Buck.  "Good Earth" was a fairly good story that takes place in China. "The Angry Wife" was okay; I'm just not into this type of reading, only rarely.  Both stories take place long ago.  'Long ago' is history.  I failed history!  Don't like history for memory is short - darn remembering a bunch of dates. Besides, we are now learning how faulty history facts can be.

 Pondering taking some art lessons this winter.  I've forgotten what I knew.  Out and about one day, I visited a local Art Center.  One room was chockful of paintings and other art objects for sell.  Wow, what talent.  It's a long and dark drive to make on winter evenings though, so I'll ponder some more about this idea.

 My weather is rotten.  Rain, rain and more of it today.  The clouds hang heavy still.  I so dread winter weather  I've been "frizzing".  Layering has begun.  I abhor bundling for winter.  I think I may understand how a polar bear feels.  I suffer from Bundled Slow Wobbliness.  My choice for a permanent garment would be a loose sheet, with a hole cut for my head - oh, sorry, I momentarily recalled those insufferably hot summer days of yore.

Fortunately, last week was great weather wise.  Many outside chores accomplished.  Now I'm tired, yet many still to get done, if  and when the weather cooperates.  Had a yard cohort, a good one.  Money talks.

Took a terrible fall couple weeks ago.  I SPLATTERED!  Surely the pain and bruising should have subsided by now.  Hmm, maybe a brain scan is in order.  One pump-knot still from twenty years ago, so who knows what damage I have caused by my inept movements.  "Elderlyness" does have its pitfalls, no doubt.  My biggest target is my head.  I'm good at forgetting to close a cabinet door sometimes.  Whack!  Sometimes I bleed.

I Learned a New Word

I was reading an article about a former president.  Guess who!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is BELIEF PERSEVERANCE?

n. a psychological phenomenon in which there is a tendency to persist with one's held beliefs despite the fact that the information is inaccurate or that evidence shows otherwise. This contrary nature shows an unwillingness to admit that the initial premise may not be true.

BELIEF PERSEVERANCE: "Belief perseverance prompts a person to cling to previously-held beliefs even when there is new evidence pointing to the contrary."

Psychology Dictionary: What is BELIEF PERSEVERANCE? definition of BELIEF PERSEVERANCE (Psychology Dictionary)


         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Actually, this is a rampant phenomenon among the many these days.  So very rampant AND telling.

Neither Free Nor Clean

I used to think,
Water was free.
Then along came the
F U D.

Now I pay
As do all the rest.
They keep telling me
"Its the best"
.
So what's the reason
That I sneeze,
When turning the knob
And saying "Oh, please"

When the fumes arising
From the flow,
Turns my throat
To a raw burning glow.

And the chlorine breeze
Reddens my eyes,
And the drip of the faucet
Fades my rich brown cloths,
To a tan shade of fresh crusted pies.

Oh my Zees 
Ain't nuttin free, my dear,
Since the year before
This ongoing Squeeze.

We call out "Oh geez"
Yet still pay the piper
For few sips of water.

Oh, please,
Have mercy, feudal lords,
Take us back to the days
When we could afford.
                     - Sissy

She Tells It Like It Is

I love the Maxine 'cartoons'.  Did you know Maxine is based on a real person?  The artist' mother's friend. Yup, she is.  There have been quite a few Maxines sprinkled about throughout my life - telling it like it is. Not sugarcoated.  Thumbs up for grit, guts and bravery, You tell em, Maxine! Tell it like it is.

How True

Truth wears no mask, seeks neither place nor applause, bows to no human shrine; she only asks a hearing. 
-Anita Jacobs Thompson

from blogger 'Running 'Cause I Can't Fly'

Sunday, October 18, 2015

“America Is A Bomb Waiting To Explode”

“America Is A Bomb Waiting To Explode”

by Sam Gerrans

“The United States is in decline. While not all major shocks to the system will be devastating, when the right one comes along, the outcome may be dramatic. Not all explosives are the same. We all know you have to be careful with dynamite. Best to handle it gently and not smoke while you’re around it. Semtex is different. You can drop it. You can throw it. You can put it in the fire. Nothing will happen. Nothing until you put the right detonator in it, that is.

To me, the US – and most of the supposedly free West – increasingly looks like a truck being systematically filled with Semtex. But it’s easy to counter cries of alarm with the fact that the truck is stable – because it’s true: you can hurl more boxes into the back without any real danger. Absent the right detonator, it is no more dangerous than a truckload of mayonnaise. But add the right detonator and you’re just one click away from complete devastation. We can see how fragile the U.S. is now by considering just four tendencies.

1. Destruction of farms and reliable food source: The average American is a long way from food when the shops are closed. The Washington Post reports that the number of farms in the country has fallen by some 4 million from more than 6 million in 1935 to roughly 2 million in 2012. And according to the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, only about 2 percent of the US population live on farms. That means that around 4.6 million people currently have the means to feed themselves. Food supply logistics are extended, sometimes stretching thousands of miles. The shops have nothing more than a few days’ stock. A simple break in that supply line would clear the shops out in days.

2. Weak economic system: The American economic system is little more than froth. The US currency came off the gold standard in 1933 and severed any link with gold in 1971. Since then, the currency has been essentially linked to oil, the value of which has been protected and held together by wars. The whole world has had enough of the US and its hubris – not least the people of the US themselves, which the massive support currently for Putin’s decision to deal with ISIS demonstrates. Since pro-active war is what keeps the US going, if it loses the monopoly on that front, its decline is inevitable.

Fiat economies always collapse. They last on average for 37 years. By that metric the US should have already run out of gas. Once people wake up and smell the Yuan, the Exodus out of the dollar will be unstoppable.

3. Americans increasingly on mind-altering drugs: According to the "Scientific American", use of antidepressants among the US population was up 400 percent in the late 2000s over the 1990s. Many of these drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These are the type of FDA-approved narcotics lone gunmen are frequently associated with, and their psychoses often attributed to a forced or sudden withdrawal from such drugs. Pharmaceuticals are produced at centralized points by companies which themselves rely on extended logistics systems both to produce and to deliver their output. If the logistics system fails, there’s no more supply.

4. Morals in decline: During the objective hardship of the 1930s, there was surprisingly little crime. People were brought up with a conception of morals and right and wrong. Frugality and prudence were prized virtues. Communities were generally fairly cohesive. Relative to then, society today is undisciplined, unrealistic and selfish.

Around 250 million shoppers participated in the Black Friday sales in 2013 in which around USD 61 billion was spent on consumer items – up roughly 100 percent on 2006 figures. Stampedes and even murders are not uncommon each year with people openly fighting each other over reduced-price items. The goods bought in such sales tend to be non-essential and many of them are bought on credit cards which then have to be paid off at interest.

Part of the problem in what I have outlined above is that there is little explicit tension. Sure, it is depressing, vulgar and immoral. But it doesn’t look catastrophic. It looks normal. My point is that just because the US – and many other countries organised after the same template – do not look explosive, doesn’t mean they won’t blow up. Whereas 80 years ago we could absorb major shocks, today we cannot.

Nowhere to run: In the past, people were in rural communities. They could grow food. They had real communities. They also had self-control and a conception of morality. Today, if the supply lines go down, you are stuck in a house you can’t heat surrounded by millions of FDA-approved drug addicts who are going psycho because they have run out of juice and people who would murder their own grandmother to get a cut-price iPhone.

I would argue that the right shock event – or combination of shock events – will detonate the explosive. Potential detonators happen all the time. Either they are contained or they are simply incompatible with the explosive or they don’t go off. But that doesn’t mean it’s never going to happen or that we are not sitting on a mountain of explosives.

There was one such potential detonator – which presently has not gone off – in the UK just last week. The UK’s Independent reported Friday that experts were ‘staggered’ after Pauline Cafferkey – who had been brought to London of all places – rapidly declined after being declared cured from Ebola. This woman had been allowed out into the community – still sick with Ebola – and managed to visited Mossneuk Primary School in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Monday to thank children for their fund-raising efforts.

We will assume these events have their origins in incompetence; the fact is: we have a woman dying from Ebola in the UK’s largest population center. What if there is more incompetence? Boris Johnson, the current Mayor of London, primed the British public for the possibility of Ebola in London just last week. Perhaps he knows something we don’t.

What do you think will happen if people start dying from Ebola in London or New York? The natural response will be to get out of the urban centre as quickly as possible. During the Great Plague of London of 1665, for example, Defoe wrote “Nothing was to be seen but wagons and carts, with goods, women, servants, children, coaches filled with people of the better sort, and horsemen attending them, and all hurrying away”.

Once the better off city people reach the countryside there will be instant resistance from the host population, not least because they will not want potentially infected people entering their communities. Meanwhile, the poor people who are left in the cities will run out of food in short order as suppliers refuse to enter the city. Those who fled London in 1665 had somewhere to go: they were returning to the fields that fed them. Today, the fields which feed us are largely in other countries, and the ones which are in our own are mainly owned by large corporations.

I am not predicting exactly this scenario for the US or for any other country. I am saying that all the ingredients are there for complete breakdown and large-scale deaths given the right initiating incident. I am saying that volatility is baked into the cake – even into the cake of what today looks and feels normal. I am saying that while it may be possible to keep loading box upon box of societal Semtex into the truck, given the right detonator the collapse will be swift, unstoppable and devastating."

- http://www.theburningplatform.com/

The Ills of Mankind - George was so Right!

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. 

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. 

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
 
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
 
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
 
We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years. 

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. 

We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things. 

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. 

We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. 

We write more, but learn less. 

We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. 

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
 
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. 

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. 

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
 
Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
 
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. 

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.
 
Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
 
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
 
Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
 
And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away."
~ George Carlin ~

What's Your Message?

Ghandi's -‘My Life is My Message’.

I can only hope mine to be the same, that it be a good message, that there will be good direction from it.

God and St. Francis - I Laughed Out Loud

A Conversation between God & St. Francis on nature & human nature
As i watch the suburbanites daily i cannot help but think of this little story about god and st. francis having a conversation on nature and the ridiculous nature of humans. it's an old one that's been passed around plenty but worth another read because of it's truthfulness.

God: Hey St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwest? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect "no maintenance" garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

God: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

St. Francis: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. The begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

God: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it... sometimes twice a week.

God: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?

St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

St. Francis: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

God: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

Life in General and A Helping Angel Named Rick*

The past few months have been quite hectic and seemed to have sped along like a speeding train.  I find it almost impossible for it to be October already; in fact, a third of it gone already.   Doesn't seem but a few weeks ago that I was starting seeds for the wonderful, thriving vegetables I would have come summer.  My high hopes were dashed, for spring and summer came and zipped by entirely too fast.  Nothing thrived!  So to speak, for the big tomatoes turned out to be the small salad type, every last one of them  Today I have loads of "tommy toes" on vines in the mulch pile.  100s!  Yet they aren''t ripening.  the few handfuls I did get I enjoyed and was very grateful for having them.  Most  split , bugs, slugs get to them before I can.  No blackberries this year, nary a one.  Maybe 10 strawberries.  Not one squash.  Ha, Ha, yeah, THRIVE. This land was a sight to see with the great lot of blooms - then kerflunk, they would shrivel and dry.  SO, I have retired as gardener for life.  Such disappointment; I never. 
Most of my time was spent on the mower. Still at it.  I have reached a point in life when I realize I cannot go on with  this way of life much longer.  So many health issues rearing their heads also.  Forgetfulness is at critical stage. I stagger and stumble so you'd think I'm drunk.  I imagine I should see a doctor, yet I have no inclination to take their drugs or placebos;  a Reclast infusion in August for my bones  is 'guaranteed' to build them back - THEY say.  So why do I have so much all-over pain?  Growing bone pains? I guess.

My grandson has kept the grass edges trimmed but stopped now for he has pleurisy.  Hospitalized this week.  The windows still are waiting and I dare not climb a ladder while alone...that 'dizzy drunken' state again.  Back in August, while mowing, I went completely blind in the left eye for several minutes. The upper half of vision soon returned while the lower half took longer.  Weirdest experience ever!  Dr. J, my eye surgeon, thinks my carotid is blocked, that some plaque broke loose and caused this blindness.  So time for an ultrasound from the vascular surgeon next month.  Sure hope a piece doesn't break lose and go to my brain before then.  Just what I need: a blind brain!

I have been aggravated greatly for many months with the computer.  It was a new and different problem every time I turned it on.  On the verge of saying "to hell with it all" and canceling Internet service so many times (CenturyLink just keeps going up, up and up in cost), yet hesitating time and again, I finally called on Rick at www.Rick'sbitsandbites.com He used www.TeamViewer.com, remotely connected to my computer and fixed so many problems.  He even was able to talk to me via Notebook.  I sat here three or four hours watching, while that amazing man took over my cursor and did his magic.  Watching that cursor zip all about (Rick is FAST) was a fascinating education in itself.   I had more than 300 infections, I think he told me!   I am so grateful for Rick freely taking on this huge situation and fixing it. * Bless your heart, Rick, I thank you greatly.  Oh, to be able to understand all the complicated fixes myself!  Not to be, unless I go take some computer courses.  With the condition of my memory, I don't think this would work very well; besides, there is no money or physical energy left in me to take on such an endeavor.  Also, I forgot momentarily that I'm 90% deaf!  I am good at reading lips though.

What a chilly wet day it has been.  I don't relish the days gradually getting colder.  I read on AccuWeather that the Southeast will see some hard winter time.  Best to be forewarned; can't put off preps for much longer.  Sure hope the furnace makes it another season and that the electricity doesn't falter.  I won't ever forget the nightmare I barely lived through a short few years ago.  I need an alternate heat source, for certain.

I'm outta here.  It is past bedtime once again.

You take care and I will return again sometime.  I have a "million" plans in mind for when I'll be cooped up inside soon.

* He admitted it was a Doozy.

Author Unknown

 

Beautiful Sunrise Somewhere

 "He who is in too great a hurry, can bring nothing to perfection, 

   but is almost sure to spoil that which he has in hand."

Sai Baba

What matters is to live in the present, live now, for every moment is now. It is your thoughts and acts of the moment that create your future. The outline of your future path already exists, for you created its pattern by your past.

Sai Baba

What Matters?

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;

Count on God instead of yourself.

~Author Unknown~

Problem - Blankness or A Complete Loss - updated

If this problem has never attached to you, you have no clue as to what I'm talking about.  Blankness.  Total Blankness.  But wait; passage of time brings on this problem, most likely.  Fortunate you will be if it doesn't happen.

Blankness - it's horrible and SCARY i.e. like 'scared shitless' scary especially when it occurs TOO often, like several times a day.  I can lose words quicker than a flash.  Names of that one I'm speaking with?  Gone.  Just waiting for the day I forget My Name.  I'm already finding myself lost when out in public.  Scary, I'm telling you!  I am driving about and suddenly I don't recognize a place I'm located.

What do I do about it, people?  See a doctor and start taking a PILL?  Any doctors in the house to give me guidance?

I speak of this to daughterchild - child looks blank and utters no advice.  Hmm; Help me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now my most current dilemma is this: I'm trying to put Word Pad documents onto a CD but have suddenly and completely forgotten the steps to take to do this.  I need HELP. There is no icon showing with the document to "burn to disc'. Any advice is welcomed.  Step by slow step.
Anybody?  

 ....Rick?  ( Hint, Hint)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update:  I've sort of figured out my dilemma.   Can I burn another?  Maybe.  Highly possible not.

Two Innocents + Ten = Grief

The Girl & the Apple - Updated and Revised - movie "The Fence"

 Enjoy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sky was gloomy that morning as we waited anxiously.  All the men, women and children of Piotrkow's Jewish ghetto had been herded into a square.

Word had gotten around that we were being moved. My father had only recently died from typhus, which had run rampant through the crowded ghetto. My greatest fear was that our family would be separated. 'Whatever you do,' Isidore, my eldest brother, whispered to me,don't tell them your age. Say you're sixteen.

'I was tall for a boy of 11, so I could pull it off. That way I might be deemed valuable as a worker.

An SS man approached me, boots clicking against the cobblestones.  He looked me up and down, and then asked my age.  'Sixteen,' I said. He directed me to the left, where my three brothers and other healthy young men already stood.

My mother was motioned to the right with the other women, children, sick and elderly people.  I whispered to Isidore, 'Why?'  He didn't answer.  I ran to Mama's side and said I wanted to stay with her.  'No, 'she said sternly.  'Get away. Don't be a nuisance. Go with your brothers.'

She had never spoken so harshly before. But I understood: She was protecting me. She loved me so much that, just this once, she pretended not to. It was the last I ever saw of her.

My brothers and I were transported in a cattle car to Germany.  We arrived at the Buchenwald concentration camp one night later and were led into a crowded barrack. The next day, we were issued uniforms and identification numbers.  'Don't call me Herman anymore.' I said to my brothers. 'Call me 94983.'

I was put to work in the camp's crematorium, loading the dead into a hand-cranked elevator.  I, too, felt dead. Hardened, I had become a number.

Soon, my brothers and I were sent to Schlieben, one of Buchenwald's sub-camps near Berlin.
One morning I thought I heard my mother's voice.  'Son,' she said softly but clearly, I am going to send you an angel.'  Then I woke up. Just a dream. A beautiful dream.  But in this place there could be no angels. There was only work.  And hunger. And fear.

A couple of days later, I was walking around the camp, around the barracks, near the barbed-wire fence where the guards could not easily see. I was alone.  On the other side of the fence, I spotted someone: a little girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half-hidden behind a birch tree.
I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in German. 'Do you have something to eat?'  She didn't understand.

I inched closer to the fence and repeated the question in Polish.  She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet, but the girl looked unafraid. In her eyes, I saw life.
She pulled an apple from her woolen jacket and threw it over the fence.  I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

I returned to the same spot by the fence at the same time every day.  She was always there with something for me to eat - a hunk of bread or, better yet, an apple.  We didn't dare speak or linger. To be caught would mean death for us both.  I didn't know anything about her, just a kind farm girl, except that she understood Polish. What was her name?  Why was she risking her life for me?

Hope was in such short supply, and this girl on the other side of the fence gave me some, as nourishing in its way as the bread and apples.

Nearly seven months later, my brothers and I were crammed into a coal car and shipped to Theresienstadt camp in Czechoslovakia.  'Don't return,' I told the girl that day. 'We're leaving.'
I turned toward the barracks and didn't look back, didn't even say good-bye to the little girl whose name I'd never learned, the girl with the apples.

We were in Theresienstadt for three months. The war was winding down and Allied forces were closing in, yet my fate seemed sealed.  On May 10, 1945, I was scheduled to die in the gas chamber at 10:00 AM.  In the quiet of dawn, I tried to prepare myself. So many times death seemed ready to claim me, but somehow I'd survived. Now, it was over.   I thought of my parents. At least, I thought, we will be reunited.

But at 8 A.M. there was a commotion. I heard shouts, and saw people running every which way through camp. I caught up with my brothers.  Russian troops had liberated the camp! The gates swung open.  Everyone was running, so I did too. Amazingly, all of my brothers had survived;

I'm not sure how. But I knew that the girl with the apples had been the key to my survival.
In a place where evil seemed triumphant, one person's goodness had saved my life, had given me hope in a place where there was none.

My mother had promised to send me an angel, and the angel had come.  Eventually I made my way to England where I was sponsored by a Jewish charity, put up in a hostel with other boys who had survived the Holocaust and trained in electronics. Then I came to America, where my brother Sam had already moved. I served in the U. S. Army during the Korean War, and returned to New York City after two years.


By August 1957 I'd opened my own electronics repair shop.  I was starting to settle in.  One day, my friend Sid who I knew from England called me.  'I've got a date. She's got a Polish friend. Let's double date.' A blind date? Nah, that wasn't for me.

But Sid kept pestering me, and a few days later we headed up to the Bronx to pick up his date and her friend Roma.  I had to admit, for a blind date this wasn't so bad. Roma was a nurse at a Bronx hospital. She was kind and smart. Beautiful, too, with swirling brown curls and green, almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with life.

The four of us drove out to Coney Island. Roma was easy to talk to, easy to be with.  Turned out she was wary of blind dates too!  We were both just doing our friends a favor. We took a stroll on the
boardwalk, enjoying the salty Atlantic breeze, and then had dinner by the shore. I couldn't remember having a better time.  We piled back into Sid's car, Roma and I sharing the backseat.

As European Jews who had survived the war, we were aware that much had been left unsaid between us. She broached the subject, 'Where were you,' she asked softly, 'during the war?' 'The camps,' I said. The terrible memories still vivid, the irreparable loss. I had tried to forget. But you can never forget.

She nodded. 'My family was hiding on a farm in Germany, not far from Berlin,' she told me. 'My father knew a priest, and he got us Aryan papers.'  I imagined how she must have suffered too, fear, a constant companion.  And yet here we were both survivors, in a new world.

'There was a camp next to the farm.' Roma continued. 'I saw a boy there and I would throw him apples every day.'  What an amazing coincidence that she had helped some other boy.  'What did he look like? I asked.  'He was tall, skinny, and hungry. I must have seen him every day for six months.'

My heart was racing. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be.  'Did he tell you one day not to come back because he was leaving Schlieben?'  Roma looked at me in amazement. 'Yes!'

'That was me!'  I was ready to burst with joy and awe, flooded with emotions.  I couldn't believe it! My angel.  'I'm not letting you go.' I said to Roma. And in the back of the car on that blind date, I proposed to her. I didn't want to wait. 

'You're crazy!' she said. But she invited me to meet her parents for Shabbat dinner the following week.

There was so much I looked forward to learning about Roma, but the most important things I always knew: her steadfastness, her goodness. For many months, in the worst of circumstances, she had come to the fence and given me hope. Now that I'd found her again, I could never let her go.

That day, she said yes. And I kept my word. After nearly 50 years  marriage, two children and three grandchildren, I have never let her go.

Herman Rosenblat of Miami Beach, Florida
This story is being made into a movie called The Fence.

'Our' Shocking Universal Situation - This Particular Crime - - -a repeat post

Read and Be Alerted - Shocking Universal Situation  1-16-09

Reading the article (link ) regarding iPhones and young people, children (young as six) I got a bad feeling.. It is a very serious, harmful and easily dangerous situation. It is so serious. I felt others ought to become aware too;. so posting the complete article as the information needs to reach all who have any influence with a youngster or its parents. You can also access it with the link. Even pass it on to others if its helpful to them.  I'm certain it will or should be.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/in-their-sites-20091115-igeu.html

-------------

In Their Sites
JOHN SILVESTER
November 16, 2009

AN EXPERIENCED detective was furious when he spotted a criminal he had arrested years earlier loitering near his eastern suburban home. He grabbed the man and whispered, ''Before I take you to hospital after you seriously injure yourself, you'd better tell me how you found where I live.''
The stalker, who quickly lost interest in any revenge plans, said: ''Your daughters are on Facebook.''
Welcome to the cyber world, where privacy is as outdated as whalebone corsets.
One of Australia's biggest private detective agencies now employs staff in Melbourne and Sydney to troll through Facebook and MySpace sites to search for leads on people who have tried to disappear to avoid mounting debts.
And employers are exploring sites to check the profiles of prospective staff. One university student who has appeared regularly on a reality television program wisely removed a series of pictures showing a different side of his character.
Police are now dealing with the crime backwash generated from surfing the web, and many detectives believe the internet is eroding community standards. The new trends have forced police to set up a specific internet division within the sexual crimes squad.
The team uses undercover tactics to trap men who target teenage girls on chat sites. They have arrested and convicted cyber-stalkers as old as 40 who have tried to procure under-age girls by befriending them through the web.
Police and adolescent developmental experts have found teenage boys and girls are creating false and dangerous images of themselves through online profiles.
One experienced investigator describes it as the ''cult of the self-obsessed''. The detective says police are now starting to deal with teenagers who have grown up with mobile phone cameras and who have taken hundreds of pictures of themselves since they were six or seven years old.
They post online details of their lives, from the mundane to the intimate, with little concern or understanding of the possible consequences.
The investigator says police are routinely finding teenage girls posting provocative comments and photos of themselves on the web. ''We see comments and you wouldn't know if the writer was 13 or 30,'' he says. He says the girls can portray themselves as sexually experienced in a bid to establish an edgy image. ''It is all make-believe but it can create a false image that comes back to bite them.''
One counsellor says girls from an exclusive Melbourne girls school have taken pornographic photos of themselves and posted them to their boyfriends. The pictures have then been forwarded to an unknown number of teenage boys leaving the girls' reputations in tatters.
Detectives are becoming increasingly alarmed at the sexually threatening nature of postings by some teenage males. Police were forced to close down a Facebook site set up to support two young footballers charged with rape after a team trip to Phillip Island. Up to 700 people joined the site that offered support to the accused teenagers, even though the case is yet to be heard in court.
Last week, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed a so-called ''pro-rape'' site, dominated by male students from the University of Sydney's St Paul's College, that had to be shut down.
Mainstream media now check Facebook and similar personal pages to provide information on suspects and victims in high-profile crimes. When Maria Korp was found slowly dying in the boot of a car near the Shrine of Remembrance in February 2005, the media soon exposed her private sex life after her and her husband Joe's profiles were found on a swingers' site.
As she lay in hospital for six months on life support, she was unaware her private sexual preferences had become very public property.
Joe Korp's mistress, Tania Herman, was sentenced to a minimum of nine years' jail for attempted murder. The two lovers had met through the internet.
Herman maintains Korp seduced her with a plan to manipulate her into killing his wife. Korp committed suicide in bizarre circumstances, hanging himself in the family garage after he completed a one-hour video autobiography that he wanted to sell to the media. Even the car his wife was concealed in after she was bashed and strangled was later put up for sale on the internet.
The managing director of one of Australia's largest private investigations firms, Mark Grover, says Facebook is now the major tool used to find people who dodge debts. His company now finds between 30 and 40 bad debtors a week through internet profile sites and social pages.
''It may be the person keeps their head down, but we can find them through their children or friends. They often leave a cyber trail though their social and family connections.''
Grover says there is also a trend for criminals and the mentally disturbed to use the internet to track people they want to stalk. ''If they are technologically savvy, they put all their energy into tracking the people they want to find.''
In one case under investigation, he says a Melbourne man used the internet to identify the home address of a high-profile singer, ''and is turning her life into a misery''.
According to Grover, young people post fantasy material about themselves on their sites unaware it could damage their reputations and harm their employment prospects.
''Most of our staff have nothing to do with these sites because they see the damage that can be done.'' One woman poured out her frustration and dislike for her boss on her Facebook page, having forgotten she had previously added him as a friend. ''She received a message to come in and collect her things after he read it,'' Grover says.
The head of the sexual crimes squad, Detective Inspector Glen Davies, says parents need to spend time discussing rights and responsibilities with their teenage children as the break-up party and schoolie season begins this month.
''Many of the victims and offenders we deal with are just young people who have been caught up in events that have tragic consequences for everyone. Young men should re-acquaint themselves with the concept of respect. Rape is an incredibly serious criminal offence. I cannot overstate this. We meticulously investigate all cases and will bring about charges against those who are found to be offending.''
In Victoria, rape carries a maximum penalty of 25 years. Assault with intent to rape has a penalty of up to 10 years.
Davies says that in some incidents young men fall into a pack mentality and appear to behave out of character or remain passive as they see events spin out of control. ''Young people, particularly men, need to consider their own behaviour and the way they treat women. Often these situations occur in group environments and young men need to take a strong moral stance and speak out to their mates and put a stop to their actions.
''What we are commonly seeing is young girls, who have often been drinking alcohol, being targeted by young men. Quite often these young women are incapable of giving consent and in some instances are being intimidated by large groups of men and taken advantage of because of their vulnerable state.''
He says male teenagers need to comprehend there can never be an excuse for sexual assault and they will be held responsible for their actions.
Melbourne adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg says there has been a substantial and worrying change in the behaviour of teenagers in recent years. ''There is no doubt that 13 and 14-year-olds are doing things that were not happening 10 or 20 years ago.''
He says many teenagers have unfettered access to the internet and their parents have no idea what their children are doing. ''There has been a fundamental failure in parental responsibility. There is neglect mixed with affluence. The parents have no idea their children are heading into so much trouble. And they are becoming younger and younger.''
He says many children are receiving unrealistic sex education through hard-core websites.
''We know that teenagers of 14 and 15 lack the capacity to predict the consequences of their actions and they fail to understand that what they are posting is not private.''
U-Nome party security expert and former policewoman Naomi Oakley says she routinely sees scantily clad and alcohol-affected girls as young as 14 leave parties without a pre-arranged lift home. ''Parents and these children have to understand the dangers.'' She says the party scene is becoming younger as 13 and 14-year-olds ''see it as the cool thing to do''.
Carr-Gregg says parents need to ''shoulder surf'' to see who their children contact on the web.
Last month, British police charged a convicted sex offender after he allegedly confessed to killing a 17-year-old girl he met through Facebook, where he masqueraded as a teenage boy. Peter Chapman, 32, was charged with the murder of trainee nanny Ashleigh Hall, whose body was found dumped in a ditch on farmland near Durham.
Her mother, Andrea, said, ''Tell your kids to be careful on the internet. Don't trust anybody and don't put your children on Facebook or other sites if they are under-age. We have learnt a terrible lesson. We don't want any other child to be a victim.''

It does one well . . .

. . . to dwell on life from the viewpoint of an ant.

Does Hair Dye Cause Brain Damage or Make One Stupid? Ha Ha

Those wonderful blondes!
 
A blonde heard that baths in milk would make her beautiful.

She left a note for her milkman to leave 25 gallons of milk. When the milkman read the note, he felt t

there must be a mistake. He thought she probably meant 2.5 gallons.

So he knocked on the door to clarify the point. The blonde came to the door and the milkman said, "I

found your note asking me to leave 25 gallons of milk. Did you mean 2.5 gallons?"

The blonde said, "No, I want 25 gallons. I'm going to fill my bathtub up with milk and take a milk bath
so I can look young and beautiful again."

The milkman asked, "Do you want it pasteurized?"

 ..........................keep scrolling.






















The blonde said, "No, just up to my tits. I can splash it on my eyes."

Often Butting In Brings Worse Problems

With no DEA in sight, Bolivia keeps reducing coca fields


    › Bolivia   
    › Instituto Manquehue   
    › 24 August 2015

Drug dealing now represents less than 1% of the Andean country's GDP, in a sustained reduction ever since the expulsion of the United States DEA agency.

- See more at: http://en.institutomanquehue.org/countries/bolivia/with-no-dea-in-sight,-bolivia-keeps-reducing-coca-crops.html#sthash.h6ebszX8.dpuf

This goes to show...!  

We, The World, Talk Too Much

"You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips,
and sound is a diversion and a pastime.
And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.
For thought is a bird of space,
that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.

The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.
And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought
reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.
And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.
In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.

When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place,

let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered
When the color is forgotten and the vessel is no more."

- Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet- On Talking"

Can we even, ever think when we are so involved in talking?  When talking, our attention is diverted and mainly focused on what we have to say.   How many times over the past years have I escaped, by a hair's breadth, injury or even annihilation at the hands of someone on a damned cell phone, attempting to maneuver through TRAFFIC!

It is beyond time that some changes in rulings occur....

 or do we have to wait for many further injuries and deaths before someone, whoever that is, to change the ways of now?

Then there are the encounters with those idiots using cell phones, who walk right into you or bash you with a cart, seemingly totally unaware of others moving about in the same small space.  True rude.

So many are on extremely big Ego trips, when constantly going about with one arm raised and hand to their ear,  attempting to project:  "I'm IMPORTANT".


  

Revised - My Stand Regarding politics

I’m a Political-atheist! and intend to stay there until they change tactics for the betterment of our world and not for their self-betterment.  Compensation is necessary but "OM", how much is necessary?

A Place to Go

http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm

Hi, Sami Here

Dear Acquaintances,

In six days I will be eight months old.  Today I learned how to hike the leg - whoopee!  I'm just like Choco now...and Charly, of course.  Charly knew how to hike a leg almost at birth!

I only weigh 2 lb., white as snow, with a touch of caramel BUT I am becoming a Big Boy very shortly;  never you doubt.  Practicing a lot on Choco, beginning my first day here, has helped my progress greatly.  Then I only weighed 8 ounces.   All I can yap today is  "Lucy, you better run away fast"

Oh, oh, oh, I am so excited!  I learned to bark this week and guess what.  I sound exactly like Lucy, my mom says.   Except for the cadence.  She Yorkie-yaps; my bark is dignified and paced per need.  Birds put me in a frenzy though.  I heard Poodles are very intelligent;  I am smart... smart as a whip...my mom often questions this when I look at her and won't even blink. 

Today I am very adept in the game of  "Shredding".  Uh, Uh, I gotta go,  I see mom, mom will kill me for pawing on all these buttons. Maybe I should keep my game a secret. 
Bye now.  Nice to meet you.

Love,
Sami,
Mom's boy Toy Poodle

Staggering Cost Of Illegal
Aliens In America  Taxpayers Taken To The Cleaners
By Frosty Wooldridge

4-10-8

 

Illegal alien migration into the United States costs American taxpayers $346 billion annually reported by the National Research Council. While employers of illegal aliens rake-in billions of dollars, the US citizens subsidize what may be called organized "Slavery in 21st Century America."   While Congress facilitates outsourcing, insourcing and offshoring of American jobs by the thousands weekly, that same Congress imports 182,000 legal immigrant monthly who need jobs. Another estimated 100,000 illegal aliens arrive each month without jobs. All those immigrants seize jobs from American citizens at slave wages.   What happens to the American taxpayer?   "Immigrants are poorer, pay less tax, and are more likely to receive public benefits than American citizens," said Edwin Rubenstein, reporting on the National Research Council's new book: "The New Americans: Economic, Demographics and Fiscal Effects of Immigration." The Social Contract Winter 2007-08. www.thesoicalcontract.com   The NRC found that the average immigrant household receives $13,326 in federal welfare and pays $10,664.00 in federal taxes. Thus, American taxpayers shell out $2,682.00 for each immigrant household.   In addition, the report showed that immigrants affect 15 different executive agencies of the U.S. government.   Earned Income Tax Credit-fraud is rampant and IRS does little to verify existence of children. Clean Air and Climate Change-these goals are unattainable as long as US population grows-driven by unending immigration. Emergency medical treatment-US taxpayer money provides $250 million a year to help hospitals defray costs for illegal aliens. Bureau of Land Management-the Interior Department spends $1 million to mitigate environmental damage done by illegals crossing US southern border. Migrant educational grants-intended to help states educate children of illegal workers. More fraud from over-counting. Office of Foreign Labor Certification-immigrant workers depress wages for US citizens resulting in declines in federal revenues at $100 billion annually.   As shown on CBS with Katie Couric this past week, 300,000 pregnant Mexican women cross the border to birth their babies, known as 'anchor babies', in American hospitals at an average cost of $6,000.00 per birth with no complications. If the child suffers heart defects, Downs Syndrome, Autism or any other problems, the costs jump to $500,000.00 with long term care into the millions of dollars. All footed by the America taxpayer!   Not mentioned in Couric's report, that child enjoys free breakfasts and lunches through 13 years of publicly funded education at an average cost of $7,000.00 per year. Additionally, American taxpayers foot the bill for all medical and housing assistance for the child and mother. More hidden costs add up with ESL classes to teach the child English. Connecticut alone suffers 120 languages in their schools while Colorado suffers over 40 foreign languages that cripple their classrooms.   The list of expenses paid for by American taxpayer soars with time and numbers of illegal aliens. Additionally, legal immigrants sponsor their relatives in chain migration and family reunification at US taxpayer expense.   These immigrants take American jobs while they burn American taxpayer funds for immigrant welfare. This all happens while the US national debt approaches $10 trillion. Immigrants flood into this country while jobs cascade out to China where we owe $1 trillion in T-bills as of 2008. Additionally, we suffer a $700 billion annual trade deficit.   Once those illegal aliens hit this country, half of them work off the books and do not pay $401 billion dollars annually according to the 2005 Bear Stearns Report. Additionally, they form the second largest underground economy in the world. Both legal and illegal immigrants send $80 billion back to their home countries in cash transfers on untaxed money.   When does it end?  Not any time soon!  Who pays? You do! Like the proverbial golden calf, the United States taxpayer bleeds to death daily while our president and Congress fiddle, faddle and scratch their generous rear ends while they facilitate the death of America's middle class.   Our politicians create the problems they campaign to solve; but once in office, as John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have proven with their time in the U.S. Senate-they work more against Americans than for them. The proof in the aforementioned report is, as they say, "in the pudding!"   Final note: I am looking for thinkers, writers and advocates to add to my monthly "Master Mind Think Tank." In reality, our politicians create the problems that they campaign to solve. They never solve them; thus we spiral into deeper national chaos.   I need new ideas and new creative thinkers to help me bring our most pressing issues onto the front burner: overpopulation in America caused by ceaseless legal and illegal immigration.  As you know, the recent PEW report shows immigration adding 100 million people to our country in 30 years. We need to stop it and we need to stop it now. Join me in saving our civilization. frostyw@juno.com   Additionally: I am working on a book about loss of friendship. Have you lost a best friend? How did you feel? How did it happen? What caused the loss of your best friend? How did it affect your life? How did you heal from the emotional pain? If you would like to write two to five type-written pages, your story will be included in this forthcoming book with attribution or keep your name private. Please state that you give permission for me to use your story in this book: "Losing Your Best Friend: A Story of Hurt". Today, in America, our communities and friendships shatter because of misunderstandings, jealousies and high speed living. This book will help others who have suffered the loss of a best friend. frostyw@juno.com     Take action: www.thesocialcontract.com ; www.numbersusa.com ; www.fairus.org ; www.firecoalition.com ; www.alipac.us ; www.capsweb.org ; www.vdare.com ; www.immigrationcounters.com ; www.proenglish.org ; www.patriotunion.org ; www.SafeAmericaAct.com; www.cairco.org ; www.politicaltruthandfact.com ; www.patriotunion.org ; WWW.immigrationshumancost.org ;www.limitstogrowth.org ; www.balance.org; www.carryingcapacity.org   Frosty Wooldridge has bicycled across six continents ­ from the Arctic to the South Pole ­ as well as six times across the USA, coast to coast and border to border. In 2005, he bicycled from the Arctic Circle, Norway to Athens, Greece. He presents "The Coming Population Crisis in America: and what you can do about it" to civic clubs, church groups, high schools and colleges.  He works to bring about sensible world population balance at his website www.frostywooldridge.com   Listen to Frosty Wooldridge on Tuesdays and Thursdays as he interviews top national leaders on his radio show "Connecting the Dots" at www.republicbroadcasting.org at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. Adjust tuning in to your time zone.    "To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right ­ is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last ­ but eat you he will." ~  Ronald Reagan   http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty344.htm