Drew Westen: Obama Finally Gets His Victory For Bipartisanship

Drew Westen: Obama Finally Gets His Victory For Bipartisanship

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Permit me one more comment about the Massachusetts election. Drew Westen has artfully expressed exactly how I feel right now about President Obama's refusal to put on the political gloves. Here's part of what he writes in the Huffington Report http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ and I think he says it so well: "The President's steadfast refusal to acknowledge that we have a two-party system, his insistence on making destructive concessions to the same party voters he had sent packing twice in a row in…

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MASSACHUSETTS, BARACK OBAMA & JIMMY CARTER

MASSACHUSETTS, BARACK OBAMA & JIMMY CARTER

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I have written almost nothing about national politics since Barack Obama was elected president, but the election in Massachusetts is just too much to stomach. A Seattle Times article contained a quote that I thought accurately described what happened in that vote: "Scott Brown caught the wave," Massachusetts Democratic consultant Dan Payne said. "People are worried about jobs, angry about Wall Street bonuses, upset about the deals being made for health-care legislation, afraid of nuts like the underwear bomber. Nothing…

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THE BOOK “HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?”

THE BOOK “HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?”

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I was given as a gift a book with the unusual name of How Many People does it Take to Make a Difference? written by Dan Zadra and Kobi Yamada. I was inspired by the thoughts in this brief book as well as the message it contained. In a passage entitled "You are Royalty" the authors point out that if you can drink from your kitchen faucet whenever you want, you are better off then 1.5 billion people who have…

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SEARCHING FOR OUR ITHAKA – Constantine Cavafy

SEARCHING FOR OUR ITHAKA – Constantine Cavafy

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I enjoy poetry. Some poems are inspiring as well as offering wise advice. One such poem for me is Ithaka by Constantine Cavafy. Constantine Cavafy (1863 – 1933) was a well known Greek poet who wrote the poem "Ithaka" around 1864 and was first published in 1911. There are a number of translations. It is  believed he modeled it after Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey. Ithaka is an island in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Greece to which Odyssey…

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WILLIAM H. TAYLOR ANACORTES COACH AND MENTOR

WILLIAM H. TAYLOR ANACORTES COACH AND MENTOR

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Many of us can point to one person or perhaps several people who played significant roles in our life. People who made the difference at a tipping point in our lives. Someone whose words or actions changed our attitude and the direction of our life for the better. For me, after my parents, it is a short list of those who had a very significant influence on my life. It includes a third grade teacher, a high school basketball coach, a…

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JEAN DOMINIQUE BAUBY & THE POWER OF WORDS

JEAN DOMINIQUE BAUBY & THE POWER OF WORDS

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a book by Jean-Dominique Bauby of France which is very unique because Bauby "dictated" it while totally paralyzed with only the ability for some movement of his head and eyes. Bauby was the editor of the well known French magazine, Elle in December of 1995 when he suffered a massive stroke and went into a coma. When he came out of the coma he had a "locked in" syndrome – a poisoner within his own…

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PAUL “BEAR” BRYANT – FOOT BALL GREAT

PAUL “BEAR” BRYANT – FOOT BALL GREAT

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I am enjoying a  book by Allen Barra about Paul "Bear" Bryant The Last Coach. Bear was bigger then life and his story is enjoyable to read as well as inspiring. Here are few excepts from the book  which I am still reading: Alabama  coach Wallace Wade was a legend himself. In the Rosebowl of  1925 Wade's team was behind at the start of the third quarter 12-0. Wade said to the gathered team in a big, booming voice "They told me boys…

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CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY IN SCOTTSDALE

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY IN SCOTTSDALE

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Lita and I arrived at our home in Scottsdale a few days before Christmas. We traveled with Josephine and  Valentino. They are our two Bischon dogs who complicate our lives, but are worth the effort because they are very loving animals. The weather was  in the mid forties, but clear and sunny. This hasn't been weather for swimming and we  have  had frost on the ground. We moved from our previous house, about a block and a half away in this gated community, to…

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THE AMAZING KIM PEEK

THE AMAZING KIM PEEK

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The newspaper reports that Kim Peek, age 58, died December 19th. Mr. Peek was diagnosed as severely mentally retarded as a child. In fact, throughout his life he need around the clock supervision. He wasn’t even able to dress himself or do simple things such as comb his hair. Born in 1951, his parents were advised he should be put in an institution, but they cared for him at home instead. This required constant care every day because of Kim’s mental problems. After…

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