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Month: January 2009

GOVERNOR CHRISTINE GREGOIRE AND WASHINGTON STATE’S BUDGET WOES

GOVERNOR CHRISTINE GREGOIRE AND WASHINGTON STATE’S BUDGET WOES

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 Last Thursday Lita and I attended a private dinner in Seattle with some twenty other  people and Governor Christine Gregoire.  Among the sujects Governor Gregoire discussed was our proposed budget. We have a two billion dollar short fall in our state, economic decline and increased costs to contend with. The Governor pointed out that the problem is complicated by the fact a large part of the budget leaves little room for cut back such as education, pensions etc. The economy…

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Poetry I LIKE: The Panther, Hohenlinden, Charge of the Light Bergade, The Battle of Belleau Wood and St. Crispen’s Day Speech

Poetry I LIKE: The Panther, Hohenlinden, Charge of the Light Bergade, The Battle of Belleau Wood and St. Crispen’s Day Speech

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My friend, Dennis Donnelly is an outstanding New Jersey plaintiff’s trial lawyer. Before becoming a lawyer law school he taught school and was a lover of literature. Recently he introduced me to a poet I had not read before, Rainer Maria Rilke. One of Rilke's poems I enjoyed was this one The Panther: His vision, from the constantly passing bars,has grown so weary that it cannot holdanything else. It seems to him there area thousand bars; and behind the bars, no…

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WILLIAM TAYLOR – ANACORTES BASKETBALL COACH AND MENTOR

WILLIAM TAYLOR – ANACORTES BASKETBALL 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: a third grade teacher, a high school basketball coach, a Catholic priest and two lawyers. Each played an important role in moving me forward…

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AMERICAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS – SCOFFLAWS AND LAW BREAKERS?

AMERICAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS – SCOFFLAWS AND LAW BREAKERS?

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In January, the Seattle times published an opinion piece by Terrence Carroll and Sam Sperry titled "Church leaders should be careful influencing political campaigns" Http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008601098_opin08sperry.html They were critical of Catholic church leaders attempting to influence voting on legislative issues as well as for political candidates, as religious tax exempt organization. Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett was interviewed on a local Catholic radio station about the piece. He was upset and critical of their views as well as them personally. He insisted his…

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BARRETT JACKSON AND SCOTTSDALE CLASSIC CAR AUCTIONS

BARRETT JACKSON AND SCOTTSDALE CLASSIC CAR AUCTIONS

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 January is the month for car auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona. There are four major auctions at about the same time which include the Karuse auction, the Silver Company auction, Gooding and Company auction, the RM Company auction and the Russo Steel Auction. It is also the month for the annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car auction which runs from January 11th through the 18th in Scottsdale. The company also sponsors auctions in Las Vegas and Palm Beach, Florida. The company began in 1971 with its…

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THE DUTY OF DELIGHT – The diaries of Dorothy Day

THE DUTY OF DELIGHT – The diaries of Dorothy Day

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I have just finished a book, The Duty of Delight – The diaries of Dorothy Day edited by Robert Ellsberg. Dorothy is my great inspiration in my spiritual growth. I've written about this amazing woman before. Ellsberg, who worked with Dorothy for many years says she attended daily Mass, which usually meant rising at dawn. She prayed the monastic hours from a breviary. She devoted time each day to meditating on scripture, saying the rosary. Dorothy in her diary says:…

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THE TRAGEDY OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS

THE TRAGEDY OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS

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Doug Stanton has written a compelling book In Harm’s Way which I have just finished. It is the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during the final days of World War II. It was the Indianapolis that secretly carried parts of the atom bomb to the island of Tinian. This is the island where the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress bomber that dropped "Little Boy", the first of the atomic bombs used, flew from on its way to…

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BOOK: THE MEANING OF “TINGO” AND OTHER STRANGE WORDS

BOOK: THE MEANING OF “TINGO” AND OTHER STRANGE WORDS

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I read an unusual book: The  Meaning of Tingo and other extraordinary words from around the world by Adam Jacot de Boiod.It is a collection of unique words from languages all over the world. For example, “Tingo” in Pascuense language on Easter island means to take all of the things from the house of a friend by borrowing them one by one.  Did you know that on the Canary Island La Gomera there is a language called Silbo Gomero that…

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WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR CONSITUTIONAL RIGHTS?

WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR CONSITUTIONAL RIGHTS?

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Our government was unique at the time it was created. Think about the forms of government in the world. Some of the better known in history include a monarchy where there is a government of one ordained to lead. Oligarchy means a government by the few elite and is justified by the argument that only the few are fit to govern. Aristocracy means government by the best because the rest are not as qualified to run the country. Plutocracy means government by the wealthy…

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