Thoughts on Ukraine and Putin's Actions

Although I realize Ukrainian possession of Crimea is muddied with the past hegemony of Russia over that territory, there is no question of the illegality of the pretext used by the Russians to invade. The suggestion that the language spoken by any group of people automatically places them under the authority of any specific government is so absurd that it needs no qualification. Also, the thought that Russians feel a kinship to many who live outside their borders is not questioned. I feel the same kinship with other English speaking peoples. I have been concerned by hostile actions taken by peoples around the world in the name of their gods, their lusts, their irrational fears, etc., but have never been chilled by the actions of any group as I have been by the events surrounding this 'theft' of a land and people belonging to another. Putin is an ego-maniacal gangster, period. The best thing the free world could do is to fight him now, or we will soon be experiencing the next World War. Adolf Hitler used virtually the same kind of pretext to expand the territory of Nazi Germany until he was strong enough to resist efforts to stop him, he would never stop until stopped. My father died in that effort because cowards failed to say stop when they could. It may already be too late this time. If there is a nation on this planet that should understand what Putin is doing, it is modern Germany. The staunchest resistance to Russian aggression in the Ukraine should come from them. Where are they? As weak as the US appears to be in this crisis, we are not the world's nanny. Yet, I applaud the efforts we do take, since we seem to be doing more than others. Where is the UN? Where is the EU? Putin seems to be on the verge of attempting to re-form the Soviet Union, and without outside help, those lands will not be able to resist. Shame!

It's the last day of February, 2014. I've had enough of winter, but it looks like we are in for another round of snow & ice, followed by another blast from the "Polar Vortex". I love that word, as do the weathermen. I have noticed recently the large number of flakes coming away from driveways and sidewalks around our sub-division. Some have not, but most have experienced some spalling due to the repeated freeze/thaw cycles. On a related topic: I walk the dog daily, regardless of the weather. He loves the cold, and the snow; not so crazy about the slush. I have noticed that most people do not shovel their sidewalks. That in itself can be forgiven in many cases, but what cannot is when they shovel their driveway and proceed to pile it all on the sidewalk. I know most modern people do NOT walk. However, a little thoughtfulness would be appreciated. I'll be more positive when it gets warm. Keep Smiling.

Yahoo News Posts

I have stopped reading comments posted in response to Yahoo News/Finance/etc. The average comment is idiotic and thoughtless. I enjoy reading a few blogs that are thoughtful, and even some of the Yahoo stuff is so. However, I'll read far fewer now than I would if the comments were meaningful. In this era of sound bites, 15 second ads, verrry short attention spans, tweets, etc. there appears to be no place for thought, just reaction or noise. I am not a doom and gloom person, but I am genuinely concerned for social dialog world wide. We only have ourselves to blame.

Rain?

The rain may be in Spain and could be mostly on the plain, but it's not here in Arnold. This has been one weird summer. Hot! and Dry! Spring was good, but lately rain has been spotty, with most going north of St. Louis. I've watered the garden and flower beds, but done little with the lawn. Now the dry lawn leeches water from the garden requiring me to apply more than I normally would. Does that make sense? I'm just glad I don't have to worry about starving this coming winter due to a poor crop this summer. Maybe I could drain my bathtub to the yard?

July 4th on 5th

On this holiday every year I ponder the peculiar foresight of our ancestors. They should be thanked for generally refering to Independence Day as The 4th of July. Since most of our Holidays are "official" on Mondays and Fridays, I've wondered how we would deal with a Monday/Friday Independence Day. How about the 4th/5th of July, or the 4th/2nd of July. Sounds weird. Someday someone will come up with a solution, and I can wait. Happy 4th; whatever.

It's puzzling!

For someone raised on the notion that facts and truth and message are corrolaries, I am dishearteded by the constant flow of rhetoric from both ends of the political spectrum. Though the addage "Don't let the facts get in the way of the truth!" is not new, it's abuse through the internet and our short attention spans is abominable. My favorite commentator was William F. Buckley. He was a master of reasoned discourse over demagoguery. I learned much about communication with both written and oral lanuage through listening to him. A prime example of the lack of factual communication today is the "news" panel discussions. I can seldom listen to one, even when the topic is intriguing, because the speakers talk over each other. It appears anathema today for one person to respond rationally to the other. I guess it's not good "entertainment". Interestingly, I still find the print media to be the best source. At least one can consider the source at leisure. I cannot imagine the average electronic media allowing enough time to even read the average print article. And, the internet is mostly opinion which is little help, since it usually masquerades as fact. It takes a pretty cynical person to really separate the wheat from the chaff. Keep Smiling!

Octopus Attack

Thought that title might snag your attention. In the past two weeks I have had some skin cancer removed from my nose and the sides of my forhead. Without the bandages I look like I was attached by some monster with suction cups on their arms. The surgery on my nose took 9 hours yesterday. Most of that time was waiting for the samples to be tested to see if they had removed all the cancer. If they had not, I went back in for some more cutting. The process used is called Mohs which is just a guys name, I guess. I look like the dickens, but feel OK. I'll feel much better when I can remove the "huge" bandage over my nose.

I am a typical candidate for skin cancers. I have naturally light brown hair that would turn a medium blonde in the summer. I tanned easily, but never darkly, and did burn often when younger and less wise. Also, for a dry skin condition, I used a petrolatum based cream on my face for many years until about a year ago. I am sure that didn't help reduce my suceptability to the sun's radiation. Now I always wear a wide brim gardening hat whenever I work outside. Live and learn (and hopefully don't die in the process).

Pray for President-elect Obama. I didn't vote for him, but he will be my President and can be used by God to His glory. God doesn't expect us to be perfect (who is?), just present and willing to serve. No government has been God's government since the Israelites insisted they needed a King (just because everyone else had one didn't make it right). By the way; this isn't pickin' on the Israelites, we are just as bad when we want our government to solve problems caused by our greed and selfishness. If we were all like the Samaritan (who's country was definitely NOT a favored nation) our world would not be experiencing the current financial crisis. Sometimes the many are hurt by the sins of the few. At other times the many are blessed by the faithfullness of the few. Remember, our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is individual and personal. No Church, no Government, and no Nation/State can claim any exclusivity or partiality when it comes to God's favor. Israel my be a special case, but I think few would volunteer for the persecutions suffered by those people over the centuries. We can best honor God by honoring the government we have and limiting any conflict we have with it to issues that may explicitly contradict God's express will (through His Word).

Arnold is into cold weather now. We have had a killing frost and I will have to remove all the vinca plants, trim back the roses & check over the other plantings to make sure they survive the winter. Leaves are still falling. I'll wait a while before I mulch them, though I'll still have to do a second round since the Oak leaves fall much later.

Happy Democratic Presidency & Congress from Arnold, MO
May we all partake in the riches of Christ Jesus