This sign really appealed to my warped sense of humor. I couldn’t just “Let it Be.” To carry it to the absurd, I hope there are beetles crawling all around it. [Thanks to Tim Haggerty for this picture.]
Archive for November 29, 2017
Let Western Union Wire YOU Money
Western Union has $586 million they have to give out. It’s the settlement agreement they made for letting scammers trick people into wiring money to “grand kids” in Zimbabwe and “friends” stranded in China. If you were caught in such a scam, you have money coming.
Letters notifying people of this are going out to 500,000 people the Justice Department believes were scammed. But they think there are others. Those others can go online to fill out an application. They’ll want details, so be prepared with dates, amounts, etc. And file before Feb. 12, 2018.
If you think you fell for a Western Union-related scam, go to www.WesternUnionRemission.com .
Apparently, It CAN be Done
Everybody knows you can’t run a city, county, or state totally on renewable energy. Well, maybe not everybody. In response to Sierra Club’s “Ready for 100 Campaign,” 46 cities, four counties, and one state have committed themselves to achieving just that. And 6 cities are already doing it.
Who are those cities? How did they accomplish this daunting task? As they say in the old movies, READ ALL ABOUT IT…go to Here are the 6 cities in the U.S. running on 100 percent renewable electricity.
A Truly Thankful Turkey
(He made it through Thanksgiving.)
A warm and happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers!
A Modern Thanksgiving
When it’s all about the food……..
Help for Holiday Horrors
We’re entering the season of get-togethers with family, friends, and co-workers. There’s always at least one person who wants to “celebrate” by using the occasion to fight political or personal battles. All you want to do is relax and share good food, drink, and company.
Amy Keller Laird, editor-in-chief at Women’s Health Magazine, offered (December edition of the magazine) five ways to avoid conflict during holiday gatherings. I hope they make the next month or so more enjoyable for you.
- Agree to disagree. Not everything is a challenge of you personally. Walk away from the argument.
- Keep your emotions in check. As emotions rise in the other person, our own emotions rise in response. Keep yourself calm.
- Use humor. Humor (not the sarcastic or demeaning kind) helps diffuse most prickly situations.
- Just say NO. If someone asks you a personal question or tries to draw you into an uncomfortable conversation, simply tell them you don’t want to talk about it. That’s a perfectly okay thing to say.
- Remember what’s important, why you’re at the gathering to begin with. Keep in mind what you want out of being where you are. Make HAPPY memories for yourself and your kids.
Yes, these are all steps that depend on you. But isn’t it nice that you actually do have the power to control the situation?
By the way, I think that these five suggestions are just as good for non-holidays too.
Turkeys Have Big Feet
Let’s talk turkey about the environmental impact of Thanksgiving. Go to www.terrapass.com/general/carbon-footprint-thanksgiving to see some startling numbers. Don’t sit around stuffed with guilt; try some of their suggestions for reducing your carbon footprint.
Colin Kaepernick Gets only Partial Credit/Blame
Whether you approve of Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling or not, it’s important to note that his protests against social injustice are not new to sports. The 1996 Olympics, Muhammad Ali, and Lebron James are a few more examples. And each one experienced backlash for their actions. This short video puts activism among athletes into perspective.
“Miracle Cure” Kratom
Health warning: The increasingly popular herbal “cure” for depression, pain, anxiety and opioid withdrawal not only isn’t a cure but can be dangerous.
According to the FDA, there have been 30+ deaths related to it, and there’s no evidence that it helps with any of those conditions. In fact, it can damage your liver and cause seizures.
So many of us believe in the power of nature–the herbal cures used successfully by our ancestors and other cultures. This is not one of them.
Please, dear readers, keep your loved ones and yourselves away from Kratom.
Why Hate
The FBI just came out with a report on hate crimes in the U.S. in 2016. They cited 6,121 cases during the year, BUT those were the ones that were reported and rose to the legal level of being criminal incidents. How many more were there, I wonder. Far too many.
So why do people commit hate crimes to begin with? The FBI broke it down into three major categories: 57.5% were motivated by race, 21% by religion, and 17.7% by sexual orientation.
Are we so afraid of people of different races and religions and sexual orientations other than our own? Are they, simply because of those differences, out to get us? Of course not. So why are we out to get them?
Something to think about.