God's . . .

. . . portfolio is quite diversified . . .


(From: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/alabama-officials-pray-for-coal, By Caitlin MacNeal Published July 29, 2014, 12:06 PM EDT)
". . . Two Alabama officials on Monday asked residents to pray that the state can help block the Environmental Protection Agency's new regulations on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, AL.com reported.

Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh slammed the new regulations."We will not stand for what they are doing to our way of life in Alabama," she said during a press conference at the Alabama Coal Association. Later in the conference, Cavanaugh asked residents to pray for the state."I hope all the citizens of Alabama will be in prayer that the right thing will be done," she said.

Cavanaugh, along with other Alabama officials, will testify at an EPA hearing on the regulations in Atlanta on Tuesday. PSC commissioner-elect Chip Beeker said that Alabama's coal was created by God and charged that the government shouldn't interfere with God's plan, according to AL.com. "Who has the right to take what God's given a state?" he asked. . ."

. . . even God needs a decent return on his (HER?) investment . . .

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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Two. . .

. . . things I hate. . .

. . . about a politician and that is HIS FACE!!

(By binaryloop,  at http://libertycrier.com/forum/congress-quietly-repeals-insider-trading-ban/)
While Congress might be stuck in a deadlock on just about every issue imaginable, there’s one piece of legislation that both Democrats and Republicans hate unanimously: the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a law passed last year designed to prevent insider trading among lawmakers and government officials by requiring them to post disclosures of their financial transactions online.

Both parties and both houses of Congress hated the disclosure portion of the law so much that it was repealed last Friday (4/12/13) without debate—the measure was sent to the President by unanimous consent. The ordeal took about 10 seconds in the Senate and 14 seconds in the House, according to official records.

The STOCK Act would have required members of Congress, their aides, and other federal employees making more than $119,554 a year to disclose their financial dealings in an online database. It was supposed to prevent government officials from using insider knowledge about policy-making to profit from stock trades and other investments.

Upon the signing of the bill into law last year (pictured above), President Barack Obama said, “The idea that everybody plays by the same rules is one of our most cherished American values. It’s the notion that the powerful shouldn’t get to create one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for everybody else, and if we expect that to apply to our biggest corporations and to our most successful citizens, it certainly should apply to our elected officials—especially at a time when there is a deficit of trust between this city and the rest of the country.” The White House has not said whether the President will sign the repeal.

Despite the repeal, government officials will still have to file disclosures of securities trades over $1,000 within 45 days, but they no longer have to file them in a searchable database that was to be easily accessible to the public.

Congress and the President had delayed the online posting portion of the act from going into effect 3 times already, but the ultimate repeal came after the National Academy of Public Administration, a nonprofit group, found that publishing the information would create an “unwarranted risk to national security and law enforcement, as well as threaten agency missions, individual safety and privacy,” in a report delivered last month. The group suggested that the online posting requirements should be suspended indefinitely.

Lisa Rosenberg of the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit group advocating for government transparency, said that the repeal “sets an extraordinarily dangerous precedent suggesting that any risks stem not from information being public but from public information being online.“

What do you think?  
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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Also, be sure to visit:
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Reasons. . .

. . . to own a gun. . .

. . . from a proud gun owner's blog. . . [with my reactions]

Because It's Cool
This is a fairly weak reason in comparison to others. . . Someone goes shooting with a friend, loves it (and/or thinks the gun is just groovy). . .

[GROOVY???]


Family Legacy (Because my Parents Owned Guns)
A family legacy of gun ownership is often a factor in determining whether one will become a gun owner. . . If you have had a bad experience with a gun in the past, that may be a valid reason for you not to own a gun - but probably not. It's more likely that you have an irrational attitude towards guns, and unreasoned bias is never good.

[What IS a valid reason for me to NOT own a gun, in your opinion?]


Just For Hunting
Hunting is a fine reason to own a gun . . . 


[OK]


Target Shooting Only
. . . Shooting accurately is challenging, and many of us feel a sense of achievement from being able to put our shots exactly where we want them to go. . .




[also for sport]


For Social Reasons
Some gun owners may own guns simply so they can take part in social shooting activities, such as sporting clays, cowboy action shooting, and the like. . .

[Is this how Dick Cheney shot his own friend?]


For Self Defense
This one is by far the most powerful, and universal, reason for anyone to own a gun. . . To deny a human the right to defend him- or herself from any threat is the most grievous crime against humanity that I can think of. . .


[read:  Paranoia.   I can think of worse crimes against humanity without much effort.]

 
Because the Founding Fathers Wanted me to
This is another excellent reason to own a gun. . . It's the fear of retaliation that keeps the corruptive (sic) nature of political power from sweeping our land . . .


[Considering the current crop of politicians, this theory has already been proven untrue.]


As an Investment
Guns rarely decline in value. . . 

[Buy real estate]


Historical Reasons
Some gun owners like guns merely for their historical value. . .

[OK. They're not automatic or semi-automatic though.]


Interest in The Mechanics of Firearms
Most firearms are mechanical marvels. . . 

[So are refrigerators.]


My Own Reasons
. . . we Americans are still free to do as we choose, to some extent. Don't let politicians, TV news anchors, me, or anyone else do your thinking for you.

[I won't.  Thanks.]

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AMBIENCE & WINE

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Time's . . .

. . . sure fun when you're having flies. . .

I have reached the point in my life where I totally comprehend time, as it relates to me, and exactly how I choose to use it.

Take for example the Olympics.  I have absolutely nothing against the Olympics.  But let's face it, the pre-Olympics ceremony is just that - Ceremony!  It's a parade.  It's a spectacle.  It's razzle-dazzle.  It's a circus.  It's GRAND! It's just not the kind of entertainment that I prefer.

I just  don't need grand.  Grand spectacles on television offer me very little return on investment. Quite honestly, I don't have time.  I simply choose to use that time to do something more personally appealing, desirable and constructive to me, in my own estimation.

I don't need to see it.  Granted, I am not an athlete nor am I a fan of sports or athletics so I have no affinity for such things.   I work a forty-hour week.  When I have free time, I want to create music, whether my own, solo piano music or with Mystic I or OHO.  I want to spend substantial time with my loved one(s).  I also, sometimes regretfully [and sometimes fitfully], need to sleep.

It's all allocated.  There's no time left for glittery television spectacle which has no real direct impact on me or my life.

Call me a poop.  Call me no fun.  But do call me pragmatic. . . when it comes to my own time.

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Taking ADVANTAGE . . .

. . . of the system. . . 

(from Factcheck.org)

Gingrich goes too far to say Obama has put more on the rolls than other presidents. We asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition service for month-by-month figures going back to January 2001. And they show that under President George W. Bush the number of recipients rose by nearly 14.7 million. Nothing before comes close to that. And under Obama, the increase so far has been 14.2 million. To be exact, the program has so far grown by 444,574 fewer recipients during Obama’s time in office than during Bush’s.

(from Reuters)

Unlike Americans who rely on a paycheck, Romney earns most of his income from investment profits, dividends and interest. The returns for 2010 and estimates for 2011 showed that he will pay a total of $6.2 million in taxes on income of $42.5 million. Romney and his wife Ann paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010 and expect to pay a 15.4 percent effective tax rate when they file their returns for 2011. Those rates are far below the top income tax rate on wages, which is 35 percent, because the U.S. tax code in recent years has favored investment income over wage income.

Let's stop folks from FREELOADING on government programs.

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