Thirty seven years ago today, my first and only niece was born. Happy Birthday, Ana Gabriela!
Perspectives. Continuing on a theme from a previous edition, this is a statement worthy of further scrutiny: “…I see no issues with our Health Care system: I am insured… I get services; Medicare pays…; my supplemental pays…; and I can afford the rest; the system is not broken”… This type of thinking is very prevalent in our society; it is most common amongst the baby-boomers generation (who are becoming our elderly now), and it has percolated to the generations who have followed… This is the type of thinking who brought us the ‘me’ generation; it is this type of thinking that led to the decision that living as an extended family (where parents, children, grandparents, uncles and aunts were part of that family) was no longer acceptable for the vast majority of us; “I need my own space” was the argument (“It is all about me” was the underlining thinking). Now, does this type of thinking preclude us from understanding concerns that affect many people other than ourselves? Is it healthy (or not?) to practice the recommendation of “You can only worry about what you can control”? I don’t know the answer to those questions… I am rambling again…
Sports. Lance Armstrong managed to fool a lot of people for a long time… Now, it seems that he has lied to so many for so long that he cannot discern fact from fiction and is unable to tell the truth… He seems to continue to exhibit a level of arrogance not belonging to people in his position… I hope one day he finds a way to appreciate himself as he is and not as the false idol he tried to make. Moving to football, the Atlanta Falcons proved to be still just pretenders and not contenders. And so, we will have Harbaugh Bowl: John (Ravens) against Jim (49ers)… Should be interesting!
Politics. And Obama was inaugurated for his 2nd term… According to MSNBC the speech, the ceremonies, the parades were magnificent. According to CNN it all was interesting but there were about ½ million people less in attendance this time. According to FoxNews, it all was disappointing, partisan, and an affront to Reagan. I think some broadcast licenses should be pulled and let some outfits be political opinion outlets and not news channels…
Books read lately… “Killing Lincoln”, by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard. The subject is presented like a thriller, hour by hour, and with a diverse number of subplots… Although instructional and most appreciated (it was a Christmas present to me from Alex), I think O’Reilly’s efforts are best oriented to being a radio and TV commentator and not a historian…
Food for Thoughts…
“There are only two reasons for that federal list of gun owners: to tax them or take them” said Wayne La Pierre, Executive Director of the NRA referring to proposals for registering guns…
So, stay informed, my friends…
Miguel - Happy birthday to your niece; on health care, I think the next generation will think less "me" and more "we", based on the young people I know - that's a good thing; on Lance, he's over - self-inflicted wounds; on the inauguration speech, I liked it - BO reached over the aisle the first time around and get body-slammed by the right - game on; on books, O'Reilly wouldn't be my first choice - I got Chris Matthews' new book on Kennedy for Xmas - I'll let you know; on guns - I can think of many additional reasons to know who has guns, and I'm guessing Wayne does, too - perhaps more over a Wiser's Manhattan sometime.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. Hope you and Jan are keeping warm.