Month: July 2025

IT’S ALL in your MIND…..(or…What’s on your mind, as this blank space always asks when I come to it.)

What is the first thing that you can remember? That’s my question for now. What’s your first memory? Our mind is a funny thing and they say we only use about 10% of what we have. But just humor me and try and frame a mental picture of your first memory. If you can do it that will eventually lead me to my other question.

See, the reason it interests me is that I often wonder if everyone else’s brain functions about the same as mine. Most of my childhood memories are rather fuzzy around the edges. Do you know what I mean? It’s sort of like trying to look at something right after you have just woke up, and you still have a ton of “sleep” in your eyes. Either that, or maybe it’s like trying to remember a dream which you had the night before. The dream is really clear when you first wake up, but if you EVER want to remember it, you should take the advice of dream specialists and write it down right then. If not, it’s going to be fuzzy in the morning. Fuzzy around the edges, just like those really early childhood memories. Sometimes I wonder if some of my “memories’ are not really dreams. Is that possible? I think it might be. As we go through life, and we live through so many different things, it may just be that some of our more vivid dreams get mixed up in our brain with reality. That would be a hoot wouldn’t it? I really think this is a good exercise though, because the more I have consciously thought about the past, the more memories starting bubbling to the surface like bubbles on a pound full of snapping turtles. The more I try and separate reality from fantasy, the more sure I am that it’s not always possible to do so.

Well for starters, the very first thing I remember is having to go potty really, really bad. We lived in a house back in 1953, when I was three years old that was originally a duplex that had been turned into a regular house. I remember that it confused me, because both sides of the house seemed to be the same, except the living room furniture was in one side and the bedroom furniture in the other. I remember thinking that the rooms were the same and that when I blinked my eyes, or went to sleep (especially if I got carried from one side to the other during that time) that the furniture was rearranging itself! Strange, right? But, back to pottying. I had to go really, really bad, and nobody was around to “direct” me to the correct place, so down went the pants and…..well..you can guess the rest. The part I remember the most, was getting my rear end tanned by my Pop! I never, ever did that again!

I also remember having a pair of Easter bunnies that same year. Dad brought them home in a box, and we took them out back to eat grass and they got away from us and ran up under the car. It took Daddy forever to catch them, and I didn’t know what some of the words he was using meant, but I used one of them later on when I rode my tricycle down the front steps. My Dad was secretly tickled I said it to the Dr. who was sewing up my head, but he still blamed it on my Mom. I can’t remember what happened to those damn rabbits though. I think Dad probably got tired of them making a mess and got rid of them one night while the furniture was changing itself around.

Another vivid thing during that same year I believe was during the summer we would catch “lightning bugs” (fireflies to a lot of you) We would put them in a jar and I would take them to a dark place and try to use them like a flashlight! Usually, we would let them go before going in for the night, but once we forgot and I came out the next morning, and couldn’t figure out why the bugs wouldn’t light up. I didn’t realize that after being in a closed jar with no hole all night long, they were NEVER going to light up again! My Dad told me that they were not sleeping, that they were dead forever. That was my first realization that things sometimes really cease to live.

I know that I lived the first two years of my life at my Grandparent’s house. My Dad didn’t get out of the Navy until 1952, so my Mom and I stayed with them. I have seen pictures of myself at that age, but try as I might, try so very hard, I cannot bring up any memories of any of those times before 1953 when we moved back to Trion, where I still live today. I wish I could remember those times. What would really be neat would be to be able to remember anything and everything that ever happened to you. To just be able to sit down and say, “Now I am going to remember December of 1956 when I was six years old, and what happened at Christmas that year!” That would be a miracle wouldst it? Scientists say that everything is stored right up there in that little 3 pounds of gray jelly we call our brain. That wonderful, misunderstood and not fully understood organ that runs us. I have tried everything from meditation, to “commanding” my brain to remember, to closing my eyes and straining and squinting but I still can’t make it happen! Are all of you folks like that, or is it just me!!! I would like to know, so I can claim a deficiency if I am the only one.

Memory and the brain. They really are a strange thing. I remember one time when my Grandfather was in his last year of life. He didn’t know anybody, or anything much. He was afflicted with some type of memory loss which was permanent and very severe…as a result of a stroke perhaps, or of hardening of the arteries. When we went to visit him, he would just sit around and kind of “babble” like a tape recorder randomly playing back snippets of conversation recorded over years and years of time. Nothing made much sense. He always seemed like he was glad to see us, and sad to see us go…but…things were just not perking right. My Grandma was sitting there one day and talking about one of their relatives, and Grandpa spoke up all of the sudden and said: “Cleve’s dead” (I think it was Cleve….it might have been Pierce…my memories not so good….) My Grandma answered him back telling him how crazy he was, because she had just talked to Uncle Cleve that morning. That afternoon when we took Grandma back home, she found out that Cleve had died right around the time we were all at the Nursing home. So, the brain’s funny isn’t it. I would have bet you a million dollars that Grandpa couldn’t count to ten anymore, but somehow, someway he knew his old hunting buddy had died.

Maybe not being able to recall everything that has ever happened to us is a blessing. We might NOT be able to be selective and just remember the good things. We might also HAVE to remember the bad things too. There are a LOT of those things that I would rather keep shoved back into the tiny recesses and crevasses of my mind. Yes, my mind. When all is said and done, our mind IS what we are isn’t it? Even when Grandpa’s was taken mostly away, he was given a gift of sorts to replace what had been taken from him. I guess our spirit sort of resides there. I suppose the part of us which is our personality and which makes us us resides there. It’s about the only part of us they can’t replace with a transplant still! Shoot, you can have a ticker transplant and go right on being yourself, but a diving accident can turn you into something you would rather not think about! It makes you wonder about all those people who do have that kind of damage. Have their souls, what made them who they were, already fled the premises and just left the empty shell behind? I suppose there are many who doubt there is a soul…but I still believe in it. I still believe that “spark” of creation is still there.

Well, there’s the challenge for those of you who want to think about it. Can you remember everything? What was your first memory? Would you like to be able to have total recall? When our old brain is gone, like Grandpa’s was, are we still us? I think so….what do you think? Most of all I would like to know…how are your memories…are they as clear as a wonderfully taken photograph, or as gray around the edges as an out of focus picture?

Oh by the way. Does anybody remember a Science Fiction thriller from the 50’s named “Donavan’s Brain?” It was about this guy whose brain was taken out of him while he was still alive, and put into this thing that looked all the world like a ten gallon fish aquarium! They had all kind of wires hooked up to it, and had it connected to a computer looking thing. Ol’ Donovan’s Brain could still “communicate” and eventually took over some folks, if I remember right, making ‘em do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. It was a hoot! I hope to heck they NEVER learn to do that. I personally hope they never learn to “store” our minds on computers either. Never able to “download” the electrical impulses from our brains onto some kind of infernal storage unit, to be put into a program so we can still communicate with the living. I don’t wanna’ be a machine.

I know for sure a lot of really rich people are planning on something happening. Walt Disney is on “ice” as is Ted Williams and quite a few other folks with the dollars who thing there’s a chance for a human resurrection one of these days.

When it’s time for me to go, I want to go. I wonder, what will my LAST thought will be? Whatever it is, I won’t be able to share it with any of you guys that are left behind, so I guess I better concentrate on sharing what I want to now, while I still can!! Love and Peace to you all.

I wrote this a few years back. I feel like it was the best thing I ever wrote.

Much of what I write is written to me.

When I write of love and being positive and hopeful, I am speaking to myself, because most days it is hard to be that type of person. So, I talk to myself about the things I need to do and how I need to interact with other human beings.

But, it is so hard. It’s becoming harder every day. It’s difficult to care. But the sun will come up tomorrow and the sun will set.

We have all seen them. Those beautiful Sunrises. If you’ve been a friend of mine on social media for any amount of time you’ve seen plenty of pictures of sunrises which I thought were beautiful.

Those mornings when the light turns dozens of colors behind a scant screen of clouds. Everything from muted purples to magenta, to bright blood red. How does a beautiful Sunrise make you feel?

For me the beginning of the day, which is signified by that marvelous sunrise, symbolizes a daily rebirth. A new beginning, a time when everything is new again and all options for doing things wonderful, useful, loving, and kind are open. It renews my soul. It tells me in no uncertain terms that I am alive, and that I have been treated to the sight of some of the most beautiful colors in nature. I so appreciate life and the chance to live it. To experience other people, people who I love and who love me. To touch another person, even to simply shake hands, or to brush back the hair of my daughter or sons, my grandchildren, or my wife from their foreheads is an experience that I will only get to enjoy once in that instance. Just once in that instance, and I will remember. Those moments….will never happen again, just like the moments in the pictures I take. Those photos are a frozen moment in time which will never happen again. There may be other instances, other chances…but there may not.

I can taste food for another day and hear music. I don’t really even care what kind most of the time…I generally like it all. I get the privilege of talking and interacting with other people, most of the time in a positive manner. All of this starts with the beautiful Sunrise that I saw when I walked around the ordinary neighborhood today.

Then there are the stupendous Sunsets. I look out my back door at them often, and take photos that don’t do justice towards how beautiful they really look.

How does a gentle sunset make you feel?

The colors are a similar palette as was the Sunrise, but the feelings are different. Day is leaving. I feel peaceful. I feel content. My tasks for the day are done and I am “heading towards the house” to rest, like a horse to the barn. I hear the word to “taps” playing gently in my head frequently:

“Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.”

Many times in the past I was headed towards my home from work, to my familiar place, my territory. I had accomplished all I could during the day and I was satisfied. Maybe I should have tried to do more, I feel that way practically every day. But in the awesome light of the Sunset I felt happy…. tired but happy. I knew I would be glad to get home, and see the ones that I love. My tasks that others would have me do were over. I would eventually lay down that night, and rest my weary body, happy to have seen another day on this Earth. Happy to dream whatever dreams that arose.

Life and Death are like the sunrise and sunset. Both are beautiful in their own way, similar, yet vastly different. It’s what happens in between, what we….make happen in between, that forms the legacy of our lives. It’s the appreciation mixed with sorrow, of getting to see the sunrises and sunsets of other peoples lives that hopefully will make us appreciate our own and be less afraid of the final sunset that we all must come to one day. Not melancholy, but happy to have shined and to have enjoyed being in the light. I know I am. I’m glad I have cared.

We all fear the unknown, and not knowing what’s on the other side of that last Sunset is scary. Even to those who are secure in their beliefs and solid in their convictions. I experience that fear, we all probably do when we think about it. But I believe the spark within us that makes us what we are goes on and on, and we are meant to all be together again. I’m not exactly sure how. I’ll never know exactly how until it’s too late to write it down on a page, or take a photo of it.

So, here I have again, added to those many soliloquies I have written to myself but shared with others.

I hope you don’t mind.

It’s just my “opinion” but our current SCOTUS is not doing the right thing by the citizens of our country by making SO many “shadow docket” rulings, I.e. decisions made secretly with no explanations at all to citizens of this country as to the “why” of the case? 14 out of the last 15 shadow docket decisions have been made this year. I’m including a list. I believe I understand why they are doing this, but just don’t think it’s right to be arbitrarily handing out so much power to another branch of the government.

The “shadow docket” refers to the US Supreme Court’s use of emergency orders and summary decisions, typically outside of its usual schedule and without oral arguments or full explanations. While traditionally used for relatively routine procedural matters, the Court has increasingly used the shadow docket in recent years to address significant and often controversial issues with major policy implications.
Here are 15 notable shadow docket decisions, primarily from the last few years, highlighting the range of issues addressed and the concerns surrounding this method of adjudication:

United States v. Skrmetti (2025): Upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, allowing similar bans in other states to proceed.

Trump v. CASA Inc. (2025): Significantly curtailed the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions blocking presidential policies by scaling back a hold on a Trump administration policy regarding birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors.

Kennedy v. Braidwood Management Inc. (2025): Upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring health plans to cover preventive care, rejecting religious objections to coverage for medications that prevent HIV transmission.

Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (2025): Upheld a Texas law requiring age verification to access online pornography, rejecting First Amendment challenges.

Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025): Sided with parents seeking to opt their children out of public school lessons featuring LGBTQ+-themed books, citing religious freedom concerns.

Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County (2025): Narrowed the scope of environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects, limiting consideration to impacts directly tied to the project.

Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission (2025): Ruled unanimously that Wisconsin discriminated against a Catholic charity by denying it a tax exemption available to the Catholic Church.

Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos (2025): Blocked Mexico’s lawsuit against US gun manufacturers, ruling Mexico failed to establish a strong enough link between US-made guns and cartel violence.
Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services (2025): Made it easier for members of majority groups to prove job discrimination claims by striking down a higher standard of proof previously required in nearly half the nation’s federal circuits.

FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC (2025): Ruled unanimously that the FDA properly rejected applications to market flavored e-cigarette liquids, citing public health concerns about youth vaping.

Garland v. VanDerStok (2025): Upheld a Biden administration regulation treating “ghost guns” (untraceable weapons assembled from parts kits) as firearms under the Gun Control Act, requiring background checks, serial numbers, and sales records.

San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency (2025): Struck down generic environmental regulations required as part of EPA permits for wastewater discharge, potentially weakening the Clean Water Act.

Glossip v. Oklahoma (2025): Ordered a new trial for death row inmate Richard Glossip due to the prosecution’s withholding of evidence, highlighting broader concerns about the death penalty and prosecutorial conduct.

TikTok Inc. v. Garland (2025): Unanimously upheld a federal law requiring TikTok to be sold or banned in the US due to national security concerns, finding it does not violate free speech rights.

Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson (2021): This decision, in which the Supreme Court declined to block a Texas law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, was a major signal of the Court’s stance on abortion rights before Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The increasing use of the shadow docket, particularly for consequential decisions, has drawn criticism regarding the lack of transparency, explanation, and opportunity for full debate that characterize the Court’s regular merits docket. This raises concerns about judicial accountability and the perceived politicization of the Court’s rulings.

I’ve been looking at the photos of the sweet little girls who are missing, and those who have been confirmed dead, and I’m blinded by tears as I’m typing this. I cannot even comprehend how the parents and grandparents feel. I’m terribly sad for what they are going through. Camp Mystic. I saw where one of the Mom’s whose little girl died said that she would always think of her daughter as “living her best life at Camp Mystic”.

Already people are coming with the “blame game” even before all of the waters have receded. Even before all of the bodies are recovered, and all of the mourning has begun.

Can we not just once ….feel empathy, sympathy, and shared pain for other human beings who need it? Can’t we pray for them, and bear them up during their sorrow before we start politicizing this tragedy?

There will be plenty of time for all that later. Plenty of time to point fingers. I remember a time when the whole country used to come together when these types of tragedies happened. I wish it could be that way again.

Two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota, State Senator John Hoffman and State Representative Melissa Hortman, were shot in their own homes overnight.

What Happened

• 2:00 a.m. – A man dressed in police-style body armor opened fire at Senator Hoffman’s home in Champlin, MN, shooting Hoffman and another individual.

Shortly after – The same attacker drove roughly 8 miles to Brooklyn Park, where he entered Representative Hortman’s home and shot both Hortman and her spouse. A third person may have also been wounded.

5:30 a.m. – A shelter-in-place order was issued across a wide area of Brooklyn Park. Residents were told a man impersonating a police officer was at large and considered armed and dangerous.

7:00 a.m. – Authorities warned residents not to open their doors unless two verified officers were present, and even then, to call 911 to confirm their identity.

Morning – Governor Tim Walz activated the State Emergency Operations Center, pledging full support to local police and urging calm while the investigation continues.

Facts

• The suspect remains at large.
• He was wearing body armor and pretending to be a cop.
• The attacks appear targeted and premeditated.
• No motive has been confirmed, but both victims are Democratic lawmakers.
• The state is now on high alert.

Their conditions are serious. We are praying for them and their families.

A couple of things on my mind. One of them is the vast increase in phishing emails, texts and phone calls since the last part of January. These intrusions, which have all gotten more detailed I.e., they have Social Security numbers and other information they should not have, …..all of them seem to coincide with the DOGE intrusions into the Social Security Network, and other federal institutions where all of our….we American citizens…where all of our pertinent information lies.

Who knows what information was downloaded onto hard drives, by young and unverified, unvetted individuals? Who knows what they did with it? Was it surreptitiously sold to the highest bidder?

Pair with with the UNPRECEDENTED release (yes I will call it a release and not a theft) as follows:

1. Data Breaches & Leaks: This is a common meaning, where massive amounts of sensitive data are released without authorization, often due to security vulnerabilities or breaches.
   Notable examples include the Yahoo breach affecting 3 billion accounts, the National Public Data breach impacting 2.9 billion individuals, and the 2024 “Mother of All Breaches” involving 26 billion records.
   These breaches can lead to significant financial costs for companies and expose individuals to identity theft and scams.
2. Government Data Sharing: The term is also being used to describe governmental efforts to collect and share large amounts of personal data from state and other entities.
   For example, the Trump administration’s initiative to amass data from state databases for immigration enforcement purposes.
   This type of data sharing can raise legal questions and privacy concerns.
3. Scientific Data Generation: With advancements in technology, particularly in fields like astronomy and physics, massive amounts of data are being generated and made available for research.
   The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, for example, will generate 20 terabytes of data per night, offering opportunities for groundbreaking discoveries.
   The growing volume of data presents challenges and opportunities for organizations to manage, secure, and extract valuable insights.
4. Open Data Initiatives: Governments and organizations are increasingly releasing large datasets to the public for analysis and innovation, fostering transparency and citizen engagement.

All this is causing my wife and I to have dozens of phone calls a day, and just today my wife has had to call credit cards companies because scammers have gotten part of her social security number and are attempting to open accounts in her name.

I’ve frozen all my accounts, and intend to use cash for personal purchases. I already did that last month, and ended up spending less anyway. I intend to see about switching all the accounts possible back to sending me statements, so I can mail them checks! My opinion is that this is only going to get worse…not just for us older folks, but for everyone! Everyone just be careful what you say when someone calls IF you answer.

As for me, I don’t even answer these calls if they are not in my contact list. Then I block the numbers. I have over a thousand blocked numbers….and they are still calling!

I got a job as a groundskeeper at the IHOP and I’m out doing my work. I’m an old dude as you know, and this is hard work out in the sun! I’m down to weed eating around the bushes, when all the sudden I’m surrounded by several guys in masks and vests with big guns! My flight or fight instincts kick in and I start to run!

The men start yelling “you’re under arrest”! …but what for? I haven’t done anything, I was just working my job! As I run, I am afraid. I point my weedeater at them…as everyone knows, it’s the weapon of choice for self defense. One of the men tackles me, and one of them punches me, as they put zip ties on my hands. Another shoves a baton roughly in my face and then against my throat…choking me, as they shove me with force and throttle me as they put me in a car. They say they are police, or “ICE”.

As I collapse into the back seat, I think about my three sons who are Marines, two of them still deployed serving this country I am in. What will they think of me now? What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment?

As of June 28, 2025, the Senate’s “big beautiful bill” has not yet been estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for its budget impact. However, the bill does include deeper cuts than the House’s tax bill, which would cut more than $1 trillion from federal health coverage over a decade. The Senate bill also includes these changes:
Medicaid: The bill lowers the maximum tax rate that states can impose on Medicaid providers from 6% to 3.5% in the 41 states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. This would effectively halve the amount that states receive in tax revenue from Medicaid providers.
Medicare: The bill eliminates Medicare physician payment relief.

It has been noted that the larger part of the cuts won’t be enacted until 2028. Wonder why, don’t you?? They voted several billion dollars to shore up local hospitals temporarily, because American’s memories are short. Oh, and I thought there was a “promise” not to cut Medicare? So much for that. Oh well, they have to have that trillion to give tech companies like Google and Meta RETROACTIVE tax cuts of billions going back to 2022 for “R&D”. Don’t believe me? Look it up yourself? Don’t care? You will when people you love die because they can’t find medical care. Also, it’s bound to make insurance premiums for your work insurance go up. Winning yet?

When I heard this tonight on the news it was something that was almost unbelievable. Why would the federal government halt the sharing of this information? The only reasons I can think of is: 1. They want more people to die. 2. They want to be purposefully cruel to people. If any of you, no matter your political stance can think of, or know of a more compelling or different reason, chime right in and let me know:

A critical US atmospheric data collection program will be halted by Monday, giving weather forecasters just days to prepare, according to a public notice sent this week. Scientists that the Guardian spoke with say the change could set hurricane forecasting back “decades”, just as this year’s season ramps up.

In a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) message sent on Wednesday to its scientists, the agency said that “due to recent service changes” the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) will “discontinue ingest, processing and distribution of all DMSP data no later than June 30, 2025”.

Due to their unique characteristics and ability to map the entire world twice a day with extremely high resolution, the three DMSP satellites are a primary source of information for scientists to monitor Arctic sea ice and hurricane development. The DMSP partners with Noaa to make weather data collected from the satellites publicly available.

The reasons for the changes, and which agency was driving them, were not immediately clear. Noaa said they would not affect the quality of forecasting.

However, the Guardian spoke with several scientists inside and outside of the US government whose work depends on the DMSP, and all said there are no other US programs that can form an adequate replacement for its data.

Read that again: NO other U.S. programs that can form an adequate replacement for its data!