Last night the President gave his 15 minute speech about immigration reform. Let me digress to say that no matter which way you lean on this issue, as a trial lawyer, I need to comment on his skill of delivery and how much can be communicated well in only 15 minutes if prepared. His timing was perfect and his genuine sincerity was palpable. It is a model for learning to give a talk well in a very short time. We are in…
The most recent ISIS video shown on the nightly news features the beheading of American hostage Peter Kassig. Today's media, not stories of 100 years ago, advise us that In Syria women are being stoned to death for adultery at the direction of Muslim religious leaders. We read about unprovoked Muslim genocide of Tahai people for ‘being kafirs.’ All of this with the confident belief they are "doing the Lord's work" in the process. Muslim religious leaders advocate measures, many outlined in the Old Testament, like cutting off the hand of…
Any time I write about politics it is inevitable that I will annoy and anger somebody. Nevertheless I need to express my concern about this last election. In fact, a syndicated columnist, Ann McFeatters has already expressed my views in an column she titled Voters have no clue how to solve the nation's problems. I know the following photo is an unfair protest photo, but it matches my mood as I write this. She begins by saying: "after the world's most expensive…
Lita and I are at our home in Scottsdale this week. We arrived during the Arizona political campaigns. When I turned on the TV I thought I had landed on another planet. It is as if aliens have taken over the television channels because the TV advertising is totally and completely dominated by back-to-back repetitive political attack ads. Apparently, in Arizona, campaigns for political office have no connection with the qualifications of the person running for office or relevant issues. You can't find an…
The New York Times reports that Tommy Lewis has died in Huntsville Alabama. He was 83 years old. Who was he that the NY Times would carry his obituary? He was infamous for one sudden, spontaneous decision he made when he was playing football for Alabama many years ago. Thomas Lewis was a senior and the captain of the University of Alabama's South Eastern conference championship team at the time of the the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic. The Alabama Crimson…
Unless we get rid of our TV's and radios plus stopping reading newspapers we will continue to be subjected to an infinite number of things to worry about. The most recent is Ebola, but we have terrorist attacks, unpaid bills, political incompetence and multiple other things both personal, national and international to occupy our worrying. So, here are some thoughts about the subject. Let's start with Scripture. Matthew Chapt 6 says: "I tell you, therefore, do not worry about your life, about…
Friday, October 3rd and Saturday, October 4, 2014, are Yom Kippur. The name means "day of atonement." It is a day set aside to atone for the sins of the past year. On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in the "books" is sealed and it is a chance to change the judgment by demonstrating repentance and resolve to make amends. It is a complete Sabbath for prayer and fasting. Most of the holiday is intended to be spent in prayer…
Two years ago Tara Parker–Pope wrote an article in the New York Times "Over-treatment is Taking a Harmful Toll. " In it she describes the research which reveals what she calls "an epidemic of over-treatment – too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures" which costs the nation's healthcare system some $210 billion a year according to the Institute of Medicine. It also takes a human toll in pain, emotional suffering, severe complications and death. I am reading…
We just returned from a short salmon fishing trip to Sonora Island in British Columbia. We were at the Sonora Resort which is about 230 miles by air from Seattle. On Tuesday we flew on Kenmore at Lake Union in a float plane for less than three hours and landed on a bright, beautiful day at the resort. Sonora Island is within the Discovery Islands at the mouth of Bute Inlet, which is one of the deepest Inlets in North…
Here are a collection of inspirational thoughts from a file i kept on motivation which I repeat here without any particular order. Maybe something here will touch your spirit. I hope so. "I shall not pass this way but once; any good therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." (Unknown) Winston…
