Important Note:
Opinions are fun. My friends tell me I am someone with lots of opinions and that's fine since I don't get mad at others when they disagree with me. In this same spirit I am interested in hearing yours views as long as you are able to share your views without boiling over. I look forward to hearing from you. I tend to write in the form of short essays most of the time, but contributions do not need to be in this same format or size. Some of the content here will date itself pretty quickly, other content may be virtually timeless, this is for the reader to judge.
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How to remember the Las Vegas massacre
Posted at: Oct/06/2017 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Perspectives, Society, Watching America,
I began my Monday morning the same as most, a glass of juice and a few pills that seem to be more and more a part of daily life as I accumulate years and candles on my cake. The television was on in the background and I quickly became aware that something tragic had happened consuming all the broadcast. Now focused on the news I learned that there had been a mass shooting in Las Vegas the previou.....read more…
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The not so United States
Posted at: Jun/07/2017 : Posted by: melmann
Sometimes the best understanding of something is from the outside looking in. While recently in London I had a number of conversations with the hotel concierge. As is expected with his title, he helped find the right restaurants to dine at, arranged some special tickets and helped in locating key sites and attractions. We also had a couple of insightful conversations. In his role as a concierg.....read more…
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Dealing with choice
Posted at: Apr/12/2017 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Behavior, People, Society,
Despite the content from our 7/24 news cycle, the world that most westerner’s live in has unquestionably gotten a lot better. People live longer, are wealthier and more secure than ever. Medical care is readily available along with primary and secondary education. Never before in human history could anyone have imagined that obesity would be a problem except for an elite few. While undeniably p.....read more…
What makes a perfect parent?
Posted at: Apr/04/2017 : Posted by: mel
There are lots of things that all of us attempt to do not just well but perfectly. High on this list is the art or task of parenting; raising our children. To this task we look to our personal experience and the families we were raised in and the families we knew growing up. Learning by example is a great tool, but in this era of self-help books we are also blessed with a wealth of books publis.....read more…
Trying to define 2016
Posted at: Feb/09/2017 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: People, Perspectives, Politics & Gov, Society,
We are 5 weeks into 2017, so it seems only fair to look back and try to access or define 2016. Definitions by their very nature need to be short to be effective and understood. In a dictionary, definitions are seldom more than 8-10 words in length. Sometimes a year is best described by a new word added to our lexicon, in this case I have settled on an old word that has taken on a new emphasis. 20.....read more…
Sports and Politics
Posted at: May/16/2016 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Society, Watching America,
In America, regardless of how poor a person is, they probably have at least one sport they follow with more than just a passing interest. The media industry has picked up on this phenomenon and offers lots of choices without having to purchase pay-per-view. There’s 6 months of baseball and basketball. There is nearly twenty week of helmet crunching football. Soccer is making major inroads in t.....read more…
The Problem with a Free Society
Posted at: Mar/28/2016 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: People, Perspectives, Society,
As anyone who pays attention to current events knows, these are trying times for any open and free society. On the evening of 13 November 2015, a series of coordinated attacks occurred in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis killing 130 and injuring another +360. During the morning rush hour on 22 March 2016 another set of coordinated attacks in Brussels killed at least 30 and seriously injured 230 m.....read more…
ISIS and the anemic west
Posted at: Dec/08/2015 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Society, World Watching,
The barbarism of the attacks ISIS inspired attacks in Paris in November of 2015 marks a new low in terror. The attacks were not directed against national symbols or government targets as would be the case in a historical insurgency. Instead, these attacks were clearly designed simply to kill innocent men, women and children in the course of their daily activities. More criminal than insurgent, the.....read more…
Is this really freedom?
Posted at: Apr/24/2015 : Posted by: mel
Indiana’s governor, Mike Pence, and the state lawmakers who approved their own version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in April 2015 say that they are shocked, shocked, shocked at the uproar, divisiveness and potential economic pain that the new law is bringing to their state. I’d rather they would just be honest and acknowledge that in the great balancing act that is the American .....read more…
When will they learn to shut up!
Posted at: Dec/29/2014 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Perspectives, Politics & Gov, Society, Watching America,
The democratic process is a wonderful conundrum. We get to on a regular basic elect new people, placing them in positions of authority and responsibility. Sometimes we elect them because we clearly understand their agenda and see that as a path forward. Sometimes we elect people because we are optimistic they will be able to accomplish great changes even when we don’t know what those changes mi.....read more…
