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Saw this funny sea otter

07/13/23 07:45 AM

#27787

I watched Wild River on TCM last night. I had never seen it. Really great film. I wonder why I had missed it. Lee Remick...Montgomery Clift and a cast of great support actors...Bruce Dern...etc...

The issues surrounding the TVA and the depression, Jim Crowe life...gubbmint...

07/13/23 08:15 AM

#27788

https://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/e523cd46-cdd0-4c27-9446-68e323b5f22eDavid. Progressive reports their financials monthly...almost no other NYSE stock does. Easy to read the report on Yahoo finance each month roughly this time.

I just read their June. They did well, making a 40 million gain on underwriting (premiums minus losses,) for the month of June.

However, they took a 323,000,000 loss on unrealized fixed securities maturities. Last year it was about 450 million.

I guess they have to do this on a quarterly basis. They have fixed securities (bonds etc...) The value of those securities all go down as interest rates go up.

Like banks, it is a big deal. Except, insurance companies generally don't loan out their assets...they have to hang onto them to pay claims....(possibly.) Plus, unless a lot of large claims, there generally is not a "run" on their assets...

A big part of the reason for increased rates...

07/13/23 01:18 PM

#27789

It is my opinion that the great divide in American politics began in the largest way, under Obama, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he was a half black man, half white man. It was because of his socialist and Marxists beliefs, and his view that America should be modeled more like the European people have created their countries, in style and governance. Also, it was because of his strong dislike of Israel, and their strong alliance with Americans. Obama wanted to see Iran become a much more dominating influence in the Middle East, pushing Israel into irrelevancy, or even out of existance as a country of Jews and Palestinians living together. Other policies he advanced also contributed to his division results in the end. His desire to admit many more people of different races and religions who desire only our freedom and nothing else we have evolved and melded here, also exposed his desire to dilute our culture and dominance of strength in the world.

Please excuse my lack of lightheartedness at this moment. I know that this forum desires more joy and friendliness amongst us all. This mood of mine will pass quickly, I promise.

07/13/23 03:20 PM

#27790

Here's a more lighthearted tidbit I just heard on the radio.

The Secret Service is stopping tomorrow, its investigation of the cocaine incident at the White House, with no conclusion evidently forthcoming. Ha, ha, ha! Now that's a hoot and a half!

They say they narrowed their investigative conclusion of sorts, to 500 possible people.

Well, assuming they listed those people in an order of suspected importance, with the first listed to be the most suspect, then I would like to hear the TOP FIVE names, please!

If the substance found was, indeed, highly poisoness, even fatal, don't you think a person would have been identified very quickly, and sent to the pokey?

Something here is fishy.......but not uncommon in this administration's trend......

07/13/23 05:32 PM

#27791

Janalu. Moments which created a political divide could be...

The Voting Rights Act

Johnson escalating the Viet Nam war to 500,000 troops and subsequent Tet Offensive

The Democratic National Convention in 1968

Assasination of RFK and MLK

Watergate

Pardoning of Nixon

Failed rescue of hostages 1979

Iran Contra

Read My Lips

Perot

I did not have sex with that woman

9 11

Invasion of Iraq (2)

Dot Com

Spending without taxing or just overspending by the whole friggin kit and kaboodle

Perseption that somehow Obama was a left wing radical (as well as Biden) and that Trump is a white right nationalist...all wrong.

Wallstreet greed driven by return grabbing 401kers.

Tea Party movements

And now we have attacks on the misfits...to no end...for no reason...

07/13/23 06:34 PM

#27792

Jan Alexander

Janalu , for you... " La La La La" You don't want to hear what my response is ;seriously and or solemnly . Stay joyful , please.

Lalalala GIFs | Tenor

Don't poke the bear . Your statements sometimes make my eyes pop wide open and my heart drops an octave.

07/13/23 06:51 PM

#27793

Janalu, Lowell and Jan

The big divide startrd Under Geo W Bush whe Nancy Pelosi was cought on tape at a Dem pow wow in CA where they decided the best way to win back the Pres. and Congress was to be opossed to anything Bush wanted. One example was Sen Hillary and others said we need to move our overseas troops around. Two weeks later Buh announced the results from a Pentagon study, One suggestion was to reduce forces in Korea. Imeadiatly Hillary and others said no way. Too soon to make the changes several weeks they were proposing.

07/13/23 07:20 PM

#27794

Jan Alexander

Ron, You are right , in the olden days Reps and Dems used to work together, at least some of the time. Actually you and I don't know it but even in Washington DC...some still do work together on agend items..

When I was very active at the county level, we all fought hand in hand for the common good , blindly, not aware of our political differences..Many of those older comrades and best friends were and are Republican; some now deceased but some are still alive and well. I loved and love them. We all had something in common to fight for .

Instead of just sitting on the sidelines , go out and work in your community . Get involved . You will find we all have commonality .

07/13/23 08:13 PM

#27795

Do you recall any untoward, hostile or mocking public comments Bush 43 made about Democrats?.

07/13/23 10:11 PM

#27796

David,

I don't recall any untoward or mocking accusations toward Democrats, but there may have been a few cynical or cryptic remarks he made, from time to time. He always seemed to be a gentleman who held his tongue, for good manners sake, as southern men tend to do.

I DO remember one time when he said something that was a little 'off color' but was teasing.....and his wife, Barbara, said to him, "Now-w-w Bushy!" as she smiled and blushed a little.

07/13/23 10:49 PM

#27797

Jan,

You say sometimes your heart drops an octave, because of something I have expressed here? Well, I can understand how your voice pitch could drop an octave, but your heart? Please don't let any comment I say on this forum bother you in any way. My comments mean piddly in the BIg Picture of our lives or our discussions here, so don't allow anything to 'get to you,' or cause stress to your heart! I realize that you and I have differing opinions, but I hope to hear your comments to my murmurings, with any rebuttal you wish to utter. As a matter of fact, I look forward to any and all comments, since I enjoy the back and forth with everyone. I have found your posts to be very interesting in the past, and have enjoyed your photos of so many different venues around your area, especially the critters, pretty plants, and the landscapes. You also seem to be a fairly good cook which interests me too.

I thought your adventure to Michigan was interesting, and I liked seeing your visitor, Mr. Messmer, dressed in drag, sort of, just for a kick on that particular day. I remember thinking he was a kinda' cute fella', back when we were in 6th grade, so I would smile at him in the hallway after recess, sometimes. One day we passed each other after a windy day outside, and his only comment to me was that my hair looked like straw. Well! I was a little crushed, I guess, but I didn't let it bother me for more than about five minutes or so. It's really weird to think, now, that I still remember his quip! HA! The things that stick in our heads!!

By the way, did you take piano lessons or choir? Just curious......

07/13/23 11:38 PM

#27798

Jan Alexander

Janalu-lu,

I sing in monotone. In other words , "like a person who is unable to discriminate between or to reproduce differences in musical pitch, especially in singing , sometimes to a boring degree." I also hated piano lessons... didn't last long. Just like to listen to music , my only musical skill.

I am in Michigan , as we speak. Just got home an hour ago from trying to see the Northern lights from a cliff over looking Lake Michigan....which was supposed to be visible this week.. but clouds where on the horizon. Boo... The only other creature that was out roaming around was a skunk.

07/14/23 06:35 AM

#27799

I think the best way to address the political divide is not conservative versus liberal. Rather, it is to address individual issues.

For example, what is your take on immigration?

My overarching thought is that the government must enforce current laws, even if I am not entirely in agreement with them. I believe that the Biden administration is not enforcing our border and it has had a deleterious effect on Americans, catastrophically so for some. Schools are being overburdened with non-English speaking immigrants, and it is harmful to the education of American children.

I do believe that legal immigration is important, and that it should be based primarily on an individual's ability to be a net benefit to this country. For example, there is a shortage of health care professionals. They would be a priority. This may sound uncharitable, but I think unskilled, uneducated immigrants should be at the bottom of the list, yet they are the ones who flow across the Rio Grande.

The argument that we need cheap labor doesn't work for me. If I have to pay more for my yard man or, horrors, have to mow the lawn myself, so be it. And the businesses that thrive on cheap immigrant labor are simply depressing wages for American citizens. If I have to pay a little more for products and services, so be it.

And, no, I don't buy the argument that Americans are unwilling to do the work. There is always a market-clearing price. (Related: everyone has a price.) Imagine the extreme. If the chicken processing plant were offering a million dollars a year for line workers, don't you think they would be able to find a few takers?

By the way, an important related issue is that people should not receive social welfare beneefits if they are able-bodied (with no young children at home) and choose not to seek and maintain employment. That is, I favor workfare over welfare. If there is a couple with small children, at least one member of the couple must be required to seek employment to qualify for assistance. For singles with no children, go to work.

07/14/23 07:58 AM

#27800

Did I mention the quantity of drugs passing through the Mexican border? That is obviously related to the immigration issue. It is not only responsible for 100,000 deaths per year, but it is also responsible for much of the hoimeless situation. Illegal immigrants (admittedly, not all) commit considerable crime, as well.

07/14/23 08:14 AM

#27801

The great bloviator

click or tap to zoom

07/14/23 08:56 AM

#27802

Drugs across the border? It's just a fear point. When have illegal drugs not come across the border?

David...also, you bottom of the pool labor force needs are a little naive...Who is going to bend over in those fields. Make it easy for day workers...

There is an 8700 contract to replace my roof. It' been going on since May 30th. He's waiting on a crew...

I guess it's too hot...and there ya go..

07/14/23 11:57 AM

#27803

Kurt Fischer

I was listening to a collection of 60s music the other day and My Generation by The Who came on. I was struck by a few of the lyrics being emblematic of our generation and when we look back at things, provides insight into how we got to where we are today.

I was struck by "Why don't you all f-fade away (talkin' 'bout my generation)
Don't try to dig what we all s-s-s-say (talkin' 'bout my generation)".

Given I'm a certain age, two things are baffling to me about this. First, why did we think we were so smart and world wise when our parents had gone through terrible experiences in the World War II era and understood how the world would turn out if evil prevailed? Frankly, we should have been in awe that they went through horrible experiences in order to allow us to have a free and bountiful lifestyle.

Second, I'm amazed our parents allowed us the freedom to reject their lifestyle. In other generations, they would have quickly cut short our rebellion and sent us back to work in the fields. But our generation had an incredible set of options. Why did they not curtail our rebellion?

I think our generation got off the rails in a way earlier generations did not and that has resulted in the rapid transformation we are experiencing in our society.

07/14/23 11:57 AM

#27804

Lowell,

Drugs coming across our southern border have always been a problem, but the gigantic increase is MUCH worse now, with Biden ignoring our laws on the books. Much worse and even more deadly, with fentanyl being inserted into all types of pills that are used and consumed by young folks for "recreation," this terrible situation needs attention from Biden in the worst way. There may have even been some fentanyl in that little pkg. of cocaine at the White House. I wonder if they tested it? Of course, we'll never know the truth of that whole story, since it is being suppressed by "the Big Guy."

07/14/23 12:33 PM

#27805

Kurt,

I think there is a lot of truth in what you say in your post. Our generation got away with "too much time on our hands." Our parents were WAY TOO lenient, in some ways, and should have made us "bust a move" in the workplaces of our neighborhoods, much more than they did. Or at least, we should have had a list of chores to do around the house each day, rather than having a lot of time in front of the TV, or time to goof off driving aimlessly around town looking for "fun" with other friends who had time on their hands to while away. If we had been working in the fields, like my father had to do just to help out at home with a little earnings, it would have developed better work ethics for us, possibly, and would have taught us more about finances needed to pay the rent, or buy some food for the family. Since many of our parents were in need of two incomes, kids at home were often unsupervised for large parts of the day, and were goofing off sometimes in foolish ways. Some of those parents thought they were being nice to their kids in ways that they, themselves, did not have opportunity to enjoy when they (the parents) were young, since they were expected to work as much as possible just to survive.

I am reminded of the phrase, "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop."

My parents kept the four of us kids pretty busy at all times. But they did allow us some time for mischief in small amounts, as long as they knew what we were doing, (usually!). We still managed to get into dumb trouble at times, but nothing too serious. We knew what lines NOT to cross. We had a healthy fear of Mom and Dad; mostly Dad! HA! This clues us into why fathers are very much needed in homes where children are growing up.

07/14/23 01:14 PM

#27806

Kurt Fischer

The other day I was reading through a Facebook site with memories of Richardson "kids" in the 70s.

One of the topics which comes up periodically is the Westwood Theater and it being replaced by the Promenade Theater. The common understanding seems to be the Westwood was somehow expanded, while it actually was torn down and the Promenade built in its place. Much bigger and nicer.

I was reading through the incorrect responses and finally found one which correctly described what had happened. I was about to give the comment an 'atta boy when I noticed I had written the comment a couple of years ago. Nobody is quite so smart as when you agree with yourself.... If only you could remember what you said earlier.

07/14/23 01:44 PM

#27807

Kurt, Janalu,

Thinking about our parents. My dad grew up in East Dallas and went to Woodrow Wilson HS. During the depression most of the boys were in ROTC. The main reason was they were given a pair of shoes and uniforms to wear 4 days a week. Their parents only had to buy 1 set of school clothes. They lived a rough life and had to indure hard times. We really had it easy compaired to them. I leaned a lot about saving and prepairing for hard times. I am now blessed to be secure in my finances.

07/14/23 09:36 PM

#27808

Lowell,

Yes, drugs have always crossed the border, but take a look at the graphic below of drug overdoses. The number for 2022 was 109,680, over three times the number who died in 2006, the year my son died of an overdose. As a reference DKR stadium in Austin holds 100,119 and Kyle Field in College Station holds 102,733. The increase -- the increase -- in overdose deaths from 2021 to 2022 is more than the total number of students at RHS when we were there.

07/14/23 09:54 PM

#27809