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Tag Archives: As I see It

Congressional dewlaps


A dewlap is that flap of flesh that hangs down from the chin of many animals as normal part of their anatomy and is sometimes an item that plays into the mating of that animal. In humans that part of the body has no such function as far as I know. This phenomenon is more pronounced in the older and/ or overweight (not necessarily obese). To get to what this is about, the Dewlap is an unnecessary part of the human anatomy so of no threat or issue if it did not exist. We have 535 “Dewlaps” occupying space in Washington and unfortunately we elected them. In humans we wouldn’t ordinarily do anything about a dewlap except diet or sometimes plastic surgery but in the Congress we can vote them out. Election seasons are the only times we pay attention to what these seat fillers say, all other times we hear bits and pieces of what they want us to hear, but never what they are really doing. Many times these unheard issues and actions are the “gotchas”. Invoking what the “American People” want or  need is different from what the “American People” actually want or need but not enough of the American People stand up and tell these users that they are wrong and to stop using us as the reason for not doing their jobs. There is no reason our Affordable Health Care isn’t except for Congress not getting involved in the beginning, there is no reason why we (The American People) have to wait for a replacement Supreme Court Justice. All of the invocations in our names is just more political rhetoric by the “dewlaps” we unfortunately elected. The ability for removal and replacement of Congressional members rests sole on the “American People” and we need to make some changes.

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We Need To Fix IT


The current elections and the recent 12 years of Government gamesmanship have been a time of hardship for our country, We have candidates whose purpose appears to be  dividing our country rather than uniting it. The meanness and hate evidenced at these rallies is unsettling at the least and dangerous at most. After watching the excerpts of the physical and verbal assaults, I was reminded of the 60’s when dogs and water hoses were the order of the day. I  have a book of   Lincoln’s quotes and in reading it I found something that does not resonate now but should . This is a quote attributed to Lincoln: “If the people remain right, your public men can never betray you… Cultivate and protect that sentiment ( that the principles of liberty are eternal) and your ambitious leaders will be reduced to the position of servants instead of masters”

We have a neer do well Congress whose sole purpose is to run the country the way they want to run it no matter what we want or need and they (Congress) have persuaded us that they are doing what they do in our interest. I would like to believe that the dissatisfied voters understand what the candidates say is not what they will or can do if elected. We already have a majority of elected  officials who are divisive, disingenuous and often liars all for the sake of their parties not for the people who voted them in and who they so often invoke when they have a media event. These are the same people who have enacted laws that provides them with a cost of living increase without a vote (how many of us knew about this?). The recent issue regarding the Supreme court is another political ploy to side track the working of the Government. We are the victims of this irreverent Congress who we elected to work on our behalf but spend more time working for their party and themselves. We need to stop the train of idiocy created by Congress and demand solutions that benefit us. A letter costs 1/2 of k just a dollar to mail, emails work just as well. When elections are over we need to continue to press Congress for solutions and demand satisfaction.

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Disengenuous Benefactors


Ongoing issues of politics and public ranting’s cover the scope from real truth to outright lies and every nuance in between. We have people who are spending billions to gain an office that pays a pittance in comparison. These funds are used to essentially “buy” votes not by paying voters (even though many of us could use some of it), but by the use of media advertising, space rental and door to door solicitors. All the while the media assault drones on and on, before and after the public debates. The messages while essentially the same they are only different in the small details. Each candidate is basically a disingenuous benefactor by design or in error. Some have great intentions but no means of fulfilling them. Some have the means but have not the judgment, intention or proper advisors to fulfill those intentions. The encircling force in this is the long serving and mostly do nothing Congress. I have stated before and firmly believe that our Government is being controlled by a 535 disingenuous benefactors who have and always contend that they are doing what best for the “American People” yet they never ask us what we think is good for us. What they have done for years is “tell” us what’s good for us in spite of many letters and communications from us actually telling them what we want. We all (the American People) want basically the same thing: good Government that does what is right for all of us, a government that tells as much truth as possible and be willing to admit to mistakes. We all would like to be properly represented according to our regional needs and not on narrowly focused issues selected to garner the most support and votes. We as voters have been bombarded by BULLS**T for years while our elected (we elected them) pimps continue business as usual and ask us to support what they do under the guise of “our best interests”. We need to stop the practice of “sleep voting” and determine our own future by electing new people and be prepared to out them in the next election if they prove ineffectual. The idea of term limits is a great sound bite but that power in the in the hand of the voters. You know -“the American People”!

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Crucial Votes


Beginning with the election season 2016, we have seen and heard some of the most outrageous statements from the candidates. These range from semi truths to fantasies. In some cases what’s said is outright racist and evil. What is it about the elections that causes people (the candidates and the public) to state and believe what ever is said. I have been poring over the election statements for weeks as I started this post months ago. I have a few conclusions that may or may not be of any consequence to anyone. We are all angry with our government but many for the wrong reasons. Begin with the 535 seat fillers who we have installed in office and kept there out of ineptness, laziness or perhaps fear (of change). Prime example” the leader of the Senate has been essentially a liar, fence jumper and altogether of no real value to his constituents or anyone else. His sole purpose has been to be the Leader of the Senate ( I believe he is totally unqualified to lead a horse to water). His ascension has been because of the lies and misinformative manner of campaigning. His Constituency may be more rural and dependent on the fossil fuel industry but he has treated them like idiots in statements like “Obama is killing the coal industry”, the coal industry has been dying for years due to major user transitioning to cleaner gas. It is also worth looking at the number of miners who are leaving the industry due to attrition and their children going elsewhere. We should note that the mine owners lack of upgrades for safety and having to pay huge fines which are drawn from the miners by way of layoffs and closures. Mr. “Mac” has not addressed these issues in the same way as he has addressed deterring  or stopping any of the Presidents agenda even if it is good for the  country and by extension his constituents. Getting back to the issues: we as voters have all of the government control we need and that control can only be taken away from us by death or incarceration. That control is the vote!. We need to begin that control by voting ineffective leaders out, there is no need to ask for term limits because to have such a law enacted by the same folks we are outraged with is ludicrous and ineffectual. Term limits should always and only be enacted by votes. In order for this to happen each of us needs to ignore 90% of the political rhetoric and pay attention to facts by listening and reading with an eye for the truth. We must remember that these campaigners deal in 1/2 truths and lies on a regular basis, we voters have often not voted for the most truthful person for the wrong reasons. Truth is not a single incident of voting for or against a bill or law in camera but how that person voted overall. If we really want retake our rights over government the path to that is voting poor legislators out and keep in keep in mind that we will make mistakes but we can correct those mistakes in the next election. The current election is so vile that we can only become angry and rally behind the angriest campaigner and that could be a costly mistake in the long run. You must understand that this anger without a merited basis becomes a fallacy in your electoral selection and will haunt you until the next election. Do your homework on your candidates and remember they are people and subject to the same mistakes, the words spoken on the stump are not necessarily factual and many times are written much like the ads on TV, geared to make activate you the way they want.

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Handled Better?


The current public feud between Apple and the FBI is something that should never have been made public. I am for openness but sometimes it is improper or incorrect. I understand Apple’s viewpoint however a sit down with the Feds out of the public eye would have been a better approach. The information that may or may not be on the IPhone is definitely worth a look. If there is information that could prevent loss of life and/ or property it should be revealed. I think if Apple were to enter the phones system and down load what could be information relating to other potential terrorist attacks or information on network associations, then that is what should be done. I believe the Government should accept that information and move on. I do not believe the method of obtaining it should be given to the Government, Now that the issue is public you have people who for their own reasons jump on the bandwagon of misinformation and misplaced anger towards the Government and Apple. The issue is National security and should be seen as such. My fear is that too many people are too angry about almost everything to think clearly about what is really happening in this country. There are no longer only 2 sides to any story but most are multisided and all sides bear a look or a listen.

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The War Potential


Several candidates for the Presidency have espoused the idea of how to handle the conflict in the Middle east and Asia with no real knowledge of what is involved. Their rhetoric and the related theories of execution are no more than circa WWII thinking when we were attacked. The difference is: 1. We were already supplying our allies in their struggle with Hitler’s armies and associated allies

2. There was no UN

3. The combatants were some of the people we now are against.

4. We have been complicit in some of the issues that exist due to  our actions on behalf of several dictators

With the above in mind we still have several runners and their followers warfare who do not have a full grasp of the realities of war. War requires millions to billions of dollars to support the personnel and material needed. With our economy  in a just out of recession stage and stagnating due to an ineffective Congress that spends more time politricking rather than legislating, the last thing we need is another military commitment in another part of the world and especially the Middle east and Asia where we have had a less than stellar result. Any future military actions on our part should only occur  if requested by the affected Nation, the UN as joint venture or if we are attacked on a scale larger than the towers. The idea of attacking because it appears to be correct isn’t correct. Our focus needs to be here and now. If we in the heat of election campaigns elect a firebrand then the past 10 to 15 years will seem like paradise. If  we allow the existing Congress to put us in an unwarranted or unneeded, war we need to unseat them as they will not improve with age. The existing Congress is so filled with obstructionists as to be mildly effective at best but can weigh in events that have not happened. Remember it is our children, fathers, brothers and sisters that will be on the front lines not the warmonger.

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State Income Tax Refund Information


As I read this statement my mind went to the actual budget situation in Illinois, this statement is in fact possibly true until the last line, which I find possibly false in part.

Refund Alert

The Illinois Department of Revenue does not anticipate releasing any Individual Income Tax refunds between January 1, 2016 and March 1, 2016.

We are working with the IRS and other states’ revenue departments to protect taxpayers. Enhanced identity theft prevention measures and security protocols will lengthen timeframes for refund issuance.

Filing your return electronically and requesting direct deposit into your checking or savings account is still the fastest way to receive your refund.

For electronic returns filed prior to March 1, 2016 – We anticipate your refund will be issued within two to three weeks from the March 1st date when we begin issuing refunds.

For electronic returns submitted error-free on or after March 1, 2016 – We anticipate your refund will be issued within two to three weeks from the date you submitted your return.

Click here for Refund Delay Frequently Asked Questions.

Note: Tax refunds are not subject to budgetary appropriation by the Illinois General Assembly and are not impacted by the current budget impasse.

One and One Only


The same old issue of a different Deity for each religion arises again, if the assorted  and varied religions were truly led by religious guides this discussion would not exist. There is no separate Deity for each religious faction or group, the difference is created by the elders whose faith is less  than it should be. That lack of faith is what creates the rift among the Various faith groups. All paths of belief end up in the same place – at the foot of one Deity no matter what detours the sect takes to get there. The story below is one of many that shows how basically backwards we are as far as religion is concerned. The Crusades was another.

Wheaton College political science professor Larycia Hawkins has decided to part ways with the college just five days before a faculty hearing was scheduled to help decide her fate at the school, according to an email from president Philip Ryken to the campus on Saturday.

“The Administration and Dr. Hawkins have come to a place of resolution and reconciliation,” Ryken said in his email. “With a mutual desire for God’s blessing, we have decided to part ways.”

In a separate email to the faculty, Wheaton provost Stan Jones said in an email Saturday that he has withdrawn charges for firing Hawkins and asked Hawkins for forgiveness.

“I asked Dr. Hawkins for her forgiveness for the ways I contributed to the fracture of our relationship, and to the fracture of Dr. Hawkins’ relationship with the College,” he wrote.

Jones wrote that he apologized for his “lack of wisdom and collegiality” in his original contact with Hawkins, which was through another colleague, as opposed to through direct contact.

Hawkins was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 15 after she published a Facebook post suggesting that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. The statement set off a wave of controversy across the country amid larger debates about the role of Muslims in America. “I stand by my concerns that Dr. Hawkins’s theological statements raised important questions,” Jones wrote.

The college said at the time that her comments raised significant theological questions and requested the professor provide a theological statement. Faculty are required to sign a statement of faith, which some felt Hawkins could not affirm after making her comments. Several faculty raised questions about the college’s process during the controversy, which Ryken noted in his campus-wide email.

“Because concerns have been raised about many aspects of this complex situation—including concerns related to academic freedom, due process, the leaking of confidential information, possible violations of faculty governance, and gender and racial discrimination—I have asked the Board of Trustees to conduct a thorough review,” Ryken said in his email.

After Hawkins issued her theological statement, Jones requested further clarification, and upon the request, she declined to continue the conversation, telling The Post, “I don’t want to be subjected to a theological inquisition.” Jones then issued a notice for termination-for-cause, which he has now revoked.

Saturday’s email from Jones came one day after 78 current Wheaton faculty members signed a letter petitioning for Hawkins’ reinstatement, and after the school’s 12-person Faculty Council, which represents the faculty, issued a similar letter, outlining their concerns with Hawkins’ termination proceedings. There are 211 faculty.

Jones said in the email that while he still has concerns that Hawkins’ theological statements “raised important questions,” he revoked his termination charges because of the “deficiencies” in his early responses, and recognizing that Hawkins’ theological response was a “promising start” toward the conversation he wished to hold.

Hawkins remains on administrative leave, a matter, Jones said in his email, Wheaton’s president Philip Ryken will resolve.

Political science professor Leah Anderson, who is Hawkins’s department chair, said that faculty she spoke with on Saturday are rejoicing after receiving Jones’s email and before she received Ryken’s email stating that Hawkins would leave the college.

“We’ve been hallelujah-ing,” Anderson said. “Everybody is just so relieved. I’m so impressed with the provost because I just can’t imagine the courage it took to reverse that decision.”

Anderson said she does not know what the next steps will be in the process.

“I think there are still issues and concerns and questions among faculty that we’ll have to work out as a community, but this creates a foundation on which we can work on,” she said.

Hawkins’s December comments that she would wear the hijab in solidarity with Muslim women during Advent, and her comment — Christians and Muslims worship the same God — became especially controversial in evangelical circles. She received criticism from leading evangelicals, including evangelist Franklin Graham, and was defended by others, including theologian Miroslav Volf.

The underlying debate that took place among evangelicals was complex, centered on how the Christian belief in a Trinitarian God — God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit — differs from the God of Islam and Judaism.

Theologians have debated whether Christians and Muslims understand God in the same way, and if so, whether they worship the same “one God.” Do they define the word “worship” in the same way?

But those questions have been set aside amid the personnel dispute that had faculty concerned about the process the college used. Hawkins is one of Wheaton’s five black tenured professors, who make up 2 percent of the faculty, and its only full-time black female professor.

Calls to Wheaton’s spokeswoman and Hawkins were not immediately returned on Saturday. In a statement from college on Saturday, it said that Wheaton officials and Hawkins will not speak to the press about their relationship or their reconciliation before the press conference on Feb. 10, and there will be no questions taken at or after the press conference.

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The Oscars


The media has been hot with the Oscars and the lack of diversity in the selection of candidates behind and in front of the cameras. Unfortunately this issue has been around a long time. Going back to the Oscars after the release of “Gone With The Wind”  when Hattie McDaniel won for best supporting actor (a first for an African American actor in any movie), however she was told to what to say and then essentially get off of the stage. Now there have been many African American  and other ethnic actors who have been nominated and won Oscars but recent events seem to point out that the nominations have been pretty “white”. The issue is with the lack of diversity in the nominations not so much the awards.  This is the issue, the lack of recognition at all.  Being nominated is a recognition of cinematic achievement  as much as winning. Any boycott or lack of attendance may not solve the issue immediately but it has served to focus attention on the issue. Several actors have been approached about this and all have issued opinions which ultimately addressed the issue in several ways ranging from dismissal to agreement. The last word on this has yet to be heard however  the general consensus appears to be that the nomination board need to take a broader view of the industry in its selection process. After all America and the larger world is ethnically and racially diverse in spite of the makeup of their personal circles.

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Election Season


We think of seasons as changes in the weather according to the earth, sun and moon positions as the earth rotates. Election season is a bit different. The election season brings some of the same elements as the natural seasons in that there is light, dark ,warm ,cold and many things in between. We have many people jockeying for the position of candidate of one party or another. Since we don’t or can’t remember the last election season, here are some tips to help: all of aspirants have skeletons in their closets, dirt under their beds and made poor choices at some point. This just shows that they are human. The key is how honest are they? Honesty is measured by their ability to recognize and correct or own their mistakes. Consider their prior lives before it became public, what did they accomplish or try to accomplish? What about their finances , are they above board or as normal as yours? Some of the issues that come out as “dirt” is not as bad as it is made out to be but out of context they seem awful. Your Aunt Minnie’s underwear on the clothesline was just as shocking in her day! To get through the election season just look at the debates if you want but understand that debates are like trials, you have proof and you have conjecture. Unfortunately conjecture often sounds better than the truth. Debates and political speeches have more conjecture than truth as conjecture sells and the truth is dull. We seem to relish the idea of a verbal fight but often miss the messages of those verbal battles and there is a problem. What is said to great applause is usually not a viable solution to anything until it completely laid out and even then sometimes marginal at best. It is good to remember running for office and running an office are as different as night and day. Where we (voters) need to be mentally is that what’s openly said is not necessarily what is intended.

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