In this era of political division, Racial division and seemingly endless gun violence across the nation, why does the NRA still hold any influence in Washington.
As the nation continues to get older, AARP membership continues to rise. Even the majority of Legislators are old enough to be members, and many are.
While the membership of the NRA has fallen year, after year, after year. Although a large number of the lifetime members of the NRA are Senior Citizens, who are also AARP Members.
In spite of overwhelming suppoprt from the public, Capital Hill is still afraid to approach ANY sort of "Common Sense" Firearm controls, for fear of angering the NRA and losing their financial support.
But AARP Members outnumber and outspend the NRA in Society. And the AARP has championed a wide range of Health Care issues from Alzsheimer's to Cancer. When you think about it, getting shot is very bad for your health. Severe Lead Poisoning is the grim joke in Pulp Novels.
Why don't AARP lobbyists envelope Capitol Hill and flood the voice mail, email and even snail mail of everyone who matters. By preventing NRA access, but more importantly, removing any desire to associate with the NRA, so many positive projects could proceed.
It's not unreasonable to believe that those same Senior Citizen, NRA/AARP Members are the ones who believe in things like trigger locks, gun safes, and don't think you need 100 round magazines for hunting.
In reality, if AARP bragged about succeeding in bringing "common Sense" gun controls to actual votes, their membership would increase, while the NRA would continue their downhill decline.
Certainly, it would take a lot of money, both legal and under the table. But the AARP pockets are deeper than the dwindling number of Firearms and Ammunition Brokers who want to make as much money from fear and chaos as they can.
They can easily match the NRA, dollar for dollar, and it's all just an investment in the future. If children...or anyone else for that matter, aren't killed in mass shootings, they will live long enough to become AARP members.
Nobody thinks we can eliminate guns completely. But AARP has the ability to organize safety training, Target Shooting Groups, Hunting Trips etc. along with discounts on insurance for safe behaviour.
When you look at the math, AARP could stomp out the NRA's influence on both the local and national levels, while pushing through a Pro-Safety Agenda without much more effort than they are already putting out.
Simply by broadening their focus and message, they could become a major force for health and safety. And by adopting the more aggressive tacticts of their opponants, they can become Bullys for the aging.
Wouldn't you rather have a Bully a Senator for affordable Health Care and Universal Background checks, or an industry that only a fraction of America supports?
Vintage Human Respiratory System Visual Aid
Vintage Human Respiratory System Visual Aid
Respiratory, Ebay, Model, Lungs, Heart, Breathing, Lung Cancer, Rib Cage, MD, Intern, Medical, Medical Training,
Perspective
To my friends who are not pleased with the election results...
I'm inclined to remind you that every now and then, Nature decides it's time for a raging blaze.
Forrest fires are very destructive.
They really suck if you're a tree.
The fire is completely self-serving.
An omnivorous appetite swallowing everything in it's path until it runs out of fuel or is put out at great cost and peril.
It's blackened path seems like an alien landscape, dead dark and desolate.
But 5-10 years after the fire, you find new life, bright flowers, birds and bees renewing their environment.
Today it seems like we're the trees...
but I believe we are the birds and the bees.
McGuyver Style
With 6 days to go, the FBI has pulled out one more road block for Mrs. Clinton. They've decided that after 16 years that maybe they'll take a look at the pardon Mr. Clinton made in the last days of his presidency. He signed the pardon, but they decided to toss this out just as She is, presumably, about to win the 2016 general election.
After endless discussion of emails, Benghazi, and all of the other things they have brought up, now they toss this old trout into the pond.
At this point I think Hillary needs to bring Bernie out on the stump, he has a cardiac event and she whips out a Swiss Army Knife and saves his life "Angus McGuyver" style with some chewing gum, a ball point pen and an old desk lamp.
Maybe then she can get through a few days without the animosity the opposition has been heaping on her.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
 |
| Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela |
When I heard the news of Mandela's passing, it was around 2 AM On the BBC. And I confess that along with the general sadness and loss, there was a certain acceptance and respect. As we would hear over the next days and weeks, many in South Africa and around the globe held the same view that he had done more than any other, and he had earned his rest. No one wanted him to suffer any longer, so the world sighed when he passed at home with his family.
So many times it could have ended so much worse for Mandela and the world he shaped. He remains a fighter and powerful leader in our hearts and minds. But his body had survived things we can't even imagine. He had lived..truly lived his long life And his life had changed the entire world!
No matter what color you are, where you were born, how much your parents make. Your world is different, immeasurably changed by the very name "Mandela" Who else can leave us with that legacy?
For many years I was the producer and co-host of a weekly 2 hour world music program. My mentor in African Music and Culture was the son of a royal house. Both of his parents had descended from African Royal families. He taught me the African National Anthem and what it meant. He also taught me the History of Mandala and his incarceration.
My regular show was on Sat afternoon, but I happened to be filling in on Friday afternoon when the news of Mandela's impending release from prison came over the wire. The News director brought it straight in to me, but I played the next song I had queued up, and stared at the news copy.
This was gonna be like when JFK was assassinated, but in a good way. Everyone would or at least should remember where they were when they 1st heard he was finally free. Especially after he went on to such great things.
But right then I knew it was really, REALLY important...but I didn't know what to say. I thought someone else should break the news, but I was the co-host of the very popular African Music program. They all agreed I was the perfect person to let Madison know first.
My weekly show had regular visits from Africans, Jamaicans, French, German, Spanish, and a variety of other nationalities. And we always had fun because we never worried about the skin colors in the room. We all loved the music and that was all that mattered.
And in a much bigger way that was what Mandela had tried to teach the world. Through Football, and forgiveness, he told us all to embrace the things we have in common.
"You like Pizza? I like Pizza too! You're a Packer fan? I'm a Packer Fan!"
When you focus on what you have in common, you're all on the same side. You may not agree on everything, but you're not divided by them. The "Us vs Them" point of view is not healthy for Us or Them.
"I have seen the enemy and they are us" Pogo said. But if we flip that around
there is no enemy if we're all "Us".
D is for...
Last week I stumbled on my college transcript, and double checked to make sure it was still there.
Time blurs things, and I remember graduating with a "A-B" average, but not much else. It was a llifetime ago and I was working most of the time.
When I unfolded the grades I was drawn to the only "D" on the page. After a little mental exertion I remembered that "D" pretty vividly.
The class was "Portraiture" which should tell you something about the instructor. I also had him for 4 other classes where I got straight "A"s, in spite of our creative differences. We all thought he was pretty square when school started. But when I was hired as the department lab manager, he was my supervisor, and signed my time card. He was a straight arrow for sure, but he occasionally signed my sheet early so I could sneak out on a holiday or weekend. I routinely skipped his lectures to work in the lab or studio, His commercial lighting class was avoided almost entirely. I just handed in my assignments and too the tests, and he didn't like it...but I still got an "A".
He even helped me graduate and saved me a chunk of money by writing off some requirement to "Experience in the Field" and the Dean signed it without a 2nd glance. My mouth dropped open 'cause I had a whole discourse rehearsed to deliver to them both and I was left with nothing to say but "Thank you"
So why did he give me the "D"? He had once had a portrait studio of his own in Colorado, before moving to Madison. He knew how to take studio portraits, but the school only had 2 kinda ugly painted backdrops. We were all shooting for our portfolios, and I didn't want mine to look like every one else's. Plus I tried it his way and didn't like the results so I "modified" his rules for more pleasing results. I used barn boards and the studio window, for backdrops. I even took my subjects out of the studio, into the hallway and stairwell for brighter light and diverse backgrounds. I used fashion lighting for the hair and makeup on my subjects to make them look glamorous. He didn't like that at all, but when I waited until everyone was done shooting before swapping in a black background and heavy hair and halo lights, most of the class stayed to watch.
They eyed my Polaroid test shots and a few of them brought their subjects back in to re-shoot on my setup. Honestly I don't think that registered with me, but I probably felt a certain arrogant pride that my classmates saw things my way.
Since I had't considered my teacher's perspective up until then, I'm sure I never even thought about what that might have felt like for him. I was half his age, doing things "My Way" and undermining his authority. When he wanted to wait a week for someone to come from outside and replace a pump, that he already had, I ignored him and took the old one out, swapped the new one in and fired up the processor...during his lecture.
He just chewed his lip and delivered his class lecture, I tried to keep the noise down and listen with one ear. We needed the machine and I didn't really need to sit still to hear him talk. So I got away with it and the school saved a couple hundred bucks.
The Dean had given me a private tour before I started the college, and he hired me as Lab Manager halfway into my 1st semester. Before too long other tenured professors filed a complaint that I had better access to the Dean's office than any of the faculty members.
When they complained, the Dean, and my professors, including Don, stood up on record saying that everything I had done was good for the department. They read out all the things I had repaired, organized and installed. They told the other teachers that I had shown initiative and intelligence that made them proud that I joined their school.
He defended me until I rubbed his nose in it. And even then he didn't give me an "F" just a "D" to send the message that I didn't know everything. He took such a classy path, and I didn't fully get it then. I was a snotty know-it-all kid, kinda oblivious to the big picture.
A few years after graduation, I wound up working for another commercial lab. That's when I first heard about the fight they had. 3 different guys told me the story of Skip and Harold, who had both been openly supportive, saying that I was always supervised and was experienced with wiring and plumbing, so what was the problem?
It was Don who played the "shame" card, letting the rest of the room know that he believed I showed all of the qualities that they were trying to pond into their classes. Even though I had bowled past him time and time again, he told them I was an asset to the entire department.
"He called you very professional" My boss added in his version. He was an adviser, so he was at that meeting. The other 2 guys were the ones who would have gotten paid to install that pump, and other stuff I did myself.
So when they tore down that old school, I saved a brick from the place I had spent so much time. And I looked at the "D" on my record and decided to accept that "D" was for Don, and he had taught me more, so much more than I paid for.
Time blurs things, and I remember graduating with a "A-B" average, but not much else. It was a llifetime ago and I was working most of the time.
When I unfolded the grades I was drawn to the only "D" on the page. After a little mental exertion I remembered that "D" pretty vividly.
The class was "Portraiture" which should tell you something about the instructor. I also had him for 4 other classes where I got straight "A"s, in spite of our creative differences. We all thought he was pretty square when school started. But when I was hired as the department lab manager, he was my supervisor, and signed my time card. He was a straight arrow for sure, but he occasionally signed my sheet early so I could sneak out on a holiday or weekend. I routinely skipped his lectures to work in the lab or studio, His commercial lighting class was avoided almost entirely. I just handed in my assignments and too the tests, and he didn't like it...but I still got an "A".
He even helped me graduate and saved me a chunk of money by writing off some requirement to "Experience in the Field" and the Dean signed it without a 2nd glance. My mouth dropped open 'cause I had a whole discourse rehearsed to deliver to them both and I was left with nothing to say but "Thank you"
So why did he give me the "D"? He had once had a portrait studio of his own in Colorado, before moving to Madison. He knew how to take studio portraits, but the school only had 2 kinda ugly painted backdrops. We were all shooting for our portfolios, and I didn't want mine to look like every one else's. Plus I tried it his way and didn't like the results so I "modified" his rules for more pleasing results. I used barn boards and the studio window, for backdrops. I even took my subjects out of the studio, into the hallway and stairwell for brighter light and diverse backgrounds. I used fashion lighting for the hair and makeup on my subjects to make them look glamorous. He didn't like that at all, but when I waited until everyone was done shooting before swapping in a black background and heavy hair and halo lights, most of the class stayed to watch.
They eyed my Polaroid test shots and a few of them brought their subjects back in to re-shoot on my setup. Honestly I don't think that registered with me, but I probably felt a certain arrogant pride that my classmates saw things my way.
Since I had't considered my teacher's perspective up until then, I'm sure I never even thought about what that might have felt like for him. I was half his age, doing things "My Way" and undermining his authority. When he wanted to wait a week for someone to come from outside and replace a pump, that he already had, I ignored him and took the old one out, swapped the new one in and fired up the processor...during his lecture.
He just chewed his lip and delivered his class lecture, I tried to keep the noise down and listen with one ear. We needed the machine and I didn't really need to sit still to hear him talk. So I got away with it and the school saved a couple hundred bucks.
The Dean had given me a private tour before I started the college, and he hired me as Lab Manager halfway into my 1st semester. Before too long other tenured professors filed a complaint that I had better access to the Dean's office than any of the faculty members.
When they complained, the Dean, and my professors, including Don, stood up on record saying that everything I had done was good for the department. They read out all the things I had repaired, organized and installed. They told the other teachers that I had shown initiative and intelligence that made them proud that I joined their school.
He defended me until I rubbed his nose in it. And even then he didn't give me an "F" just a "D" to send the message that I didn't know everything. He took such a classy path, and I didn't fully get it then. I was a snotty know-it-all kid, kinda oblivious to the big picture.
A few years after graduation, I wound up working for another commercial lab. That's when I first heard about the fight they had. 3 different guys told me the story of Skip and Harold, who had both been openly supportive, saying that I was always supervised and was experienced with wiring and plumbing, so what was the problem?
It was Don who played the "shame" card, letting the rest of the room know that he believed I showed all of the qualities that they were trying to pond into their classes. Even though I had bowled past him time and time again, he told them I was an asset to the entire department.
"He called you very professional" My boss added in his version. He was an adviser, so he was at that meeting. The other 2 guys were the ones who would have gotten paid to install that pump, and other stuff I did myself.
So when they tore down that old school, I saved a brick from the place I had spent so much time. And I looked at the "D" on my record and decided to accept that "D" was for Don, and he had taught me more, so much more than I paid for.
Tonight on TV The Green Bay Packers are playing the Minnesota Vikings on one channel
The World Series is on another Channel & The Colorado Avalanche are playing Winnipeg...in Denver.
If I play the remote correctly I shouldn't have to sit through any commercials :)
The only down side to a lineup like that is that every Sunday can't live up to this level of entertainment.
Batman Lives
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| "I'm BatMan!" |
A few months ago I bought this T-Shirt for less than a dollar at a used clothing store. It was already worn, but how could I pass up a classic for that price?
Yesterday, I was gonna do some work around the house, so I threw this on rather than one of my "Good" shirts.
When I stopped for breakfast, it earned me a free sandwich, free coffee and a free DVD rental coupon. At Home Depot, 2 strangers piped up and complimented my "Cool Shirt". Then at the next store, the cashier was excited 'cause she was also wearing her own Batman shirt and watch. She tossed 2 items without tags into my bag with a shrug, saving a few more bucks.
Overall, I think this shirt has made me nearly 1000% profit on my investment.
Let's see my retirement account match that!
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