America ,Spinning out of Control?

Americans, in general, have enjoyed an era, the last 30-40 years, of unprecedented prosperity and conspicuous consumption.

A lot of folks have given no thought to buying the largest, most behemoth vehicles, McMansions,etc., whether or not they could afford them. There has been almost an overall prevailing air of entitlement among a large part of the populace.

Another sizeable segment of the population has had the mindset that the government ought to take care of them and solve all of their problems,with that same "entitlement" mindset. It has been the "New Orleans" attitude,if you will, rather than the "Iowa" model that we have all just witnessed!

Now with that world "spinning out of control", it seems we, as a nation, must be more focused on "down-sizing", "conservation", and "living within our means", terms long since buried in our national concienceness.

I truly believe if, once again, the American ideals of ingenuity and self reliance emerge, we can meet any and all of these problems with a confident attitude that will make us a much stronger country as we now must enter a new era.

Telecommuting and the Rising Cost of Gasoline

As the price of gasoline continues to rise (and all indications are that it will), and common usage of alternative fuels seems a long way off, we must find creative ways in which to cope.

Fortunately, my husband has a job which allows him to work from home (telecommute) 50% of the time. The other half is spent flying off to another city (or country) to teach software classes. He has been doing this for about 20 years now. In a pinch, he has even done web-based training for engineers in places like India, while sitting comfortably in his home office.

I don't understand why any person who has a job in which they sit at a computer all day in an office (not dealing face to face with the public) could not work from home.

The technology we have now is amazingly able to allow all sorts of jobs to be done from a remote location. More and more companies, especially in cities like Phoenix with poor mass transit systems, ought to be trying these new ways of doing business in order to deal with the transportation challenges their employees are now facing.

Revitalizing Downtown Memphis

As a former Memphian (born and raised and grew up there in the 1950's and 60's,in the hey day of "Memphis Music,"), I often marvel at the fact that the city doesn't capitalize more on it's uniquely rich musical heritage and gorgeous geographically located downtown.

Any other city would have already milked those things for all they were worth! For example, I could not believe the city was only charging a quarter to ride the trolley when it first started. I believe most people would have gladly paid far more, especially the tourists, for a tour of the area with the lovely Mississippi River and it's riverboats, barges, etc.

Concentrate on those two things being the cornerstone of development downtown, and the rest (restaurants, retail stores, hotels, etc.) will follow!!

I know the city has tried some semblance of a plan, but none has worked very well, obviously. With the right progressive minds behind a venture(or ventures) like that, with not only their great ideas, but the investment dollars to back it up, I can just imagine how the downtown could prosper! Of course, the crime problem will be a major hurdle, but I know there has to be a much better way to deal with that issue also.

I have always loved downtown Memphis, and there is absolutely no reason it cannot be just as vibrant as the downtowns of Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and other great cities.

Gay Marriage Legal in California

I do believe that a gay couple who want to make a life long committment to one another ought to be afforded the same legal rights and responsibilities as a male-female couple. I think the term "marriage", however, ought to be reserved for a traditional union, as it has been since the beginning of human history.

The California decision allowing gay marriage will awaken Americans to the fact that a small, but extremely vocal minority was able to push it's agenda on the majority. I predict that it has become very apparent to most people now, why an ammendent to the constitution defining marriage as exclusively a union of one man and one woman is necessary.

I believe there are two reasons why this ammendment failed in Arizona the last time. The first being the homosexual propaganda machine did a very good job of convincing a lot of Arizonans that the ammendent was not necessary since gay marriage was already illegal in Arizona, and, secondly, the ammendment seemed to be purposely written in such a way as to be ambiguous and confusing to a lot of voters.

This time, there will be a clearer wording of the ammendment so there is no doubt of it's meaning. Also, It ought to be perfectly obvious to most voters why this ammendment is necessary, so that Arizona does not follow in the footsteps of California and allow an activist judge to circumvent the will of the great majority of the people .

The Legacy of George W. Bush

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Posted Jun-15
10:00 AM

I know several people from Iran (or as they call it, Persia) and they are wonderful people. I believe a lot of the younger generation there is progressive and does not support their governments' stance on anti-American, pro-nuclear policies.

However, it is the fanatical Radical Islamists, like Mahmoud Ahmaddinejad who seem to be in charge and driving the nuclear program.

President Ahmaddinejad has stated over and over that he intends to analiate Israel, thus setting the stage for a possible armageddon.

George W. Bush will leave a legacy of at least three monumental accomplishments.

1. Under his watch, no other attacks have happened in the 7 years following one (if not the most) horrific attacks ever on our soil.

2.He was instrumental in ending the murderous regime of one of the most evil dictators in modern history, and thereby accomplishing a great humanitarian mission. One needs only to talk to my Kurdish friends who fled Iraq because Saddam Hussein was committing genocide against their people, about whether or not we should have eliminated him.

3.The Iraqi war will go down in history as the pivotal point in which Democracy in that tumultuous region will have gained a strong hold. Over 20,000 al qaida and other Islamist terrorists who were fighting us in Iraq and Afghanistan have been eliminated in the last few years. It may sound trite, but we are fighting them over there instead of our major cities in the U.S.

Some of our greatest Presidents were not popular during their administrations. (Abraham Lincoln, for example)

I'll close with a quote from Ann Coulter's latest essay,

BUSH'S AMERICA: 100 PERCENT
AL-QAIDA FREE SINCE 2001

"The Iraqis have a democracy -- a miracle on the order of flush toilets in that godforsaken region of the world. Despite its newness, Iraq's democracy appears to be no more dysfunctional than one that would condemn a man who has kept the nation safe for seven years while deifying a man who has accomplished absolutely nothing in his entire life except to give speeches about "change."

But liberals have only blind hatred for Bush -- and for those brute American interrogators who do not supply extra helpings of béarnaise sauce to the little darlings at Guantanamo with sufficient alacrity.

The sheer repetition of lies about Bush is wearing people down. There is not a liberal in this country worthy of kissing Bush's rear end, but the weakest members of the herd run from Bush. Compared to the lickspittles denying and attacking him, Bush is a moral giant -- if that's not damning with faint praise. John McCain should be so lucky as to be running for Bush's third term. Then he might have a chance."

Reflections on Father's Day

I never knew my dad, he was killed at age 25 in an accident. I was 20 month old. Growing up, I always envied my friends who had a Dad. Fortunately, I married a wonderful man 38 years ago who turned out to be exactly the sort of Dad for our kids that I always wanted. I'm sure my children would attest to that. I now see those same ideals exhibited in both our son and son-in-law as they parent our two granddaughters. The best thing is that now my husband gets to be "grandpa" and once again use his kindness, gentleness, sense of wonder and adventure to enrich the lives of his grandchildren!

Downtown Living and Crime

My husband and I have seriously considered a downtown condo now that our children are grown. We really don't need a big house and yard anymore. However, the crime issue, and the fact that downtown Phoenix really hasn't much going for it unless you work there or go to the cultural and sports venues a lot has been a deciding factor for us. The crime seems to be a problem in most large cities.

Case in point: my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. The downtown there is geographically awesome. It's right on the bluffs overlooking the widest part of the Mississippi with riverboats, barges, and wonderful green parks running through on Riverside Drive. Cybill Shepherd and other Memphis celebrities and leaders have "Old South" style mansions down there.

Several of the large old cotton warehouses overlooking the river were converted into condos with restaurants on the ground floor back in the eighties. Of course, Memphis being dubbed the "Birthplace of Rock&Roll and Home of the Blues", by the chamber of commerce, there is also, Beale St., the Smithsonian Rock&Soul Museum, and the Gibson Guitar Factory. The Civil Rights Museum near the Lorraine motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed is downtown also. Having the World's best BBQ restaurant, the Rendevous, and the famous Peabody Hotel (with the celebrity ducks) adds to the overall charm.

Downtown is still my favorite part of Memphis, but the rampant crime there keeps most Memphians away. The Graceland area is also in a crime ridden part of the city, but there is also a lot of security, especially during "Elvis Week" in August. For the most part, only the unsuspecting tourists go downtown. It is sad to see the lost potential.

My husband and I always liked the idea of living in a vibrant downtown someday, either in Memphis or Phoenix, but given the crime and the absence of any geographical distinction of downtown Phoenix, we are no longer considering it.