Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
My grandfather liked to tell jokes. Many were simple and maybe a bit silly. He had one about his in-laws that I remember. His in-laws were Emma Cash & Malcolm McKenzie.
The joke goes something like this. Malcolm did not marry for money but did marry CASH.. A very short joke but it came to mind yesterday as I was editing the record of Emma Cash on WikiTree.
Continue reading “Emma Cash & Malcolm McKenzie: a father-in-law joke”
Our Environmentalist in Chief aka President Trump claims that he has been good for the environment. He cites his leadership in many achievements in ensuring air and water quality.
I am glad to hear good news at last on the environment
But not everyone believes.
Continue reading “Environmentalist in Chief”
For those who do not approve to President Trump’s Concentration Camps and torturing children, there is a protest on Friday July 12th, 2019. It is called Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Concentration Camps.
As far as I know, the pro-Concentration Camp rally has yet to be organised.
Is the real purpose of this torture to get us to ignore the Mueller report, various investigations or maybe something else while we are being outraged by his latest actions?
Is torture too strong a word? I don’t think so. Being separated from family and being held in prison is very bad for children. The administration does not call them prisons. They are federal detention centers. They try to use words that minimize the harm they are doing.
Continue reading “Why is President Trump torturing children?”
The Long Call is my first Ann Cleeves book. It is also a first for these characters as she is starting a new series of crime mysteries (The 2 Rivers Series).
But I did see Shetland, a TV series based on a series of her books. I liked the TV series do I decided I’d try one of her books.
Continue reading “Ann Cleeves new series of crime mysteries”
Seems a bit odd to be writing a “Toothbrush Memo to Justice Department“. But it seems it is needed now since the judges seem to think that toothbrushes and other items are needed for the safe and sanitary conditions required to by children separated from their parents by the Trump administration (see Mistreat children in custody (not safe and sanitary)). The Justice Department lawyers working on the case may need a bit of help from a concerned citizen.
Continue reading “Toothbrush Memo to Justice Department”
A few days ago the Trump administration argued in court that they do not mistreat children after they are separated from their family at the border and they had not violated the safe and sanitary conditions required for minors in custody. A previous court decision had found that the conditions under which children were held was in violation of the required standards.
Continue reading “Mistreat children in custody (not safe and sanitary)”
#TheMinistryOfTruth is a book for our times. The full title is The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell’s 1984 by Dorian Lynskey
Shortly after the Trump administration told us their lies were just alternative facts, I decided I needed to re-read 1984. I don’t think George Orwell ever talked about alternative facts, but it seemed to me it was just a step or 2 from “alternative facts” about crowd size to “alternative facts” about bigger issues. Continue reading “#TheMinistryOfTruth: Orwell and 1984”
The Distant Echo by Val McDermid is her first novel in the Karen Pirie series.. Detective Perie is not the central character in this book. As I remember, she does not even make her first appearance until the second half of The Distant Echo. But I am getting a bit ahead of myself so I’ll just begin at the beginning.
I had read Val McDermit’s Broken Ground a few months ago. It was the 5th and most recent book in her Karen Pirie series. I liked the book and thought it might be interesting to read the series from the beginning. The first in the series was available in my local public library. Continue reading “The Distant Echo by Val McDermid”
The Culverhouse gift has been returned. What is the best response?
Hugh Culverhouse Jr. pledged a 26.5 million dollar gift to the University of Alabama Law School. So far 21.5 million of that has been paid to the university and the Law School had been renamed in his honor Last week the university gave it back and removed his name from its law school.
The why is in dispute. Continue reading “Culverhouse gift returned and the best response.”
Broken Ground by Val McDermid is a great Scottish crime mystery. This book came out last year but my favorite librarian suggested it to me few months ago. This is a wonderful book and I completely enjoyed it .
Continue reading “Broken Ground by Val McDermid”
The title is The Trust: A Novel by Ronald H. Balson. This is a really good book and I’ll be sure to check out other titles by the author.
Liam Taggart’s last visit to Northern Ireland ended badly. Very badly. Continue reading “The Trust: A Novel by Ronald H. Balson”
There is quite a bit of bad information out there about Congressional pensions and benefits. Several times I’ve corrected those who think Congressional retirees get a full salary for life after one term or less in Congress. Or a lavish free healthcare plan or some other benefit as detailed in the latest email.
So I decided it was time to make a post of it.
Continue reading “Myths about Congressional pensions and more”
On January 7, 2017 a declassified intelligence report on Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US presidential election was released by the U.S top intelligence officials. The report is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment. The declassified report’s conclusions are identical to the highly classified assessment. They were confident then. Here is part of the declassified intelligence report:
Continue reading “Secure our elections”
Those who say “yes, abolish the Electoral College” will remind us that in 2 of the last 5 Presidential elections the winner was not the candidate with the most votes. Those who want to keep the Electoral College will say it was put in the Constitution by the founders and we should not question their wisdom.
I come down on the side of those who would abolish the Electoral College. I think it would be unconstitutional if it wasn’t in the Constitution. All votes should count the same in my opinion. The candidate with the most votes wins.
Continue reading “Should we abolish the Electoral College?”