Message Forum

Welcome to the Richardson High School Message Forum.

The Message Forum is an ongoing dialogue among classmates. The goal is to encourage friendly interaction, including interaction among classmates who really didn't know each other. Experience on the site has revealed that certain topics tend to cause friction and hard feelings, especially politics and religion. 

Although politics and religion are not completely off-limits, classmates are asked to be positive in their posts and not to be too repetitive or allow a dialog to degenerate into an argument. 

Forums work when people participate - so don't be bashful! Click the "Post Response" button to add your entry to the forum.


 
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07/17/24 01:09 PM #30314    

 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Come on Jan,

That Project 2025 says contraception is going to be banned.

How absurd is that?

Contraception has been around since the early '60s, and the people of the world everywhere do not want it to be abolished!

Just as you say that the Democratic Socialists did not endorse Biden, we are telling you that the Republican Party does not endorse Project 2025, nor does Trump.  

Relax!

Don't let the Mainstream Media GASLIGHT YOU!!!!

Read many different news feeds from all perspectives of thinking people from all walks of life.  Don't just zero-in on one group, trusting only them.


07/17/24 02:08 PM #30315    

 

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Janalu,

Contraception methods go back much further than the 60's!   Women have used various methods as far back as ancient Egypt.. The birth control pill was developed in the 1950's but became widely available in the 1960's.  The link provided gives a pretty good overview of the history of birth control.

Certain groups of the far left (oops - meant right) are advocating for the elimination of birth control as is currently in use, advocating that life begins at conception (the pill and morning after pill and the "abortion pill".  Birth control pills work by using hormones to prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the womb.  If the belief that a fertilized egg in in fact a baby, then these far left (again I had a senior moment I mean right) wing legislators will push to eliminate IVF and birth control pills as their logic.  We have already seen them try this in Louisana. 

I agree with you that modern birth control is something every family or woman of child bearing age should have access to if they so choose. 

I am against the enforcement of the Comstock Act.

It is against the law in every state to kill a live baby after birth.  That is murder.   


07/17/24 02:20 PM #30316    

 

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Janalu and Kurt,

Thanks for commenting on the Zitlag organization article from ProPublica.  I appreciate your comments and taking the time to read the article.

This organization follows the principles of the Seven Mountains Mandate or Seven Mountains Dominionism

I am concerned about this organization for many reasons chief among them who the prominent follows are:

I believe they have every intention of trying their best to influence family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government.   They already have a good start on education and government right here in Texas.


07/17/24 02:21 PM #30317    

Jan Alexander

Janalu, well that is a relief my birth control pills won't be banned. I thought I was going to have to order a bunch of pills from Amazon. I know porn won't be banned. You know those Proud boys and their testosterone.

😁😉

But what about the other stuff in the project 2025... alot which worries me?  Don't really have to respond.  Too much would need to be said with no real clarity.  Time will tell. 

Sandra, do you mean far left or far right in your second to last post.? 

OK , trike ridiing time. 


07/17/24 03:05 PM #30318    

 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Jan,

I remember porn magazines being strewn around the college campus reading areas, not the campus libraries necessarily, but livingroom areas and lounge areas where college frat boys and other students would gather to fritter away their "downtime."   I've seen them in barber shops too, when I took my son for a quick trim, numerous times.  It ain't JUST the Proud Boys who read those silly mags.

Enjoy your trike ride!  Do you have a colorful flag on the back of your trike, with one of those long, flexible metal poles, like other Seniors I see riding around our neighborhood?   Our neighbors have all sorts of designs and messages on their flags, which are always fun to see and enjoy with many laughs!  Some of our neighbors have their dogs on long leashes, trotting alongside, and sometimes the folks are chatting away on their phones too, as they ride.  I'll bet some of them have little fans attached to the handlebars too, since the heat is pretty, darn intense now.  They may even have misters misting their faces as well, to keep them from passing out!   HA!   Who says that getting older is a pain in the arse?   It can be a bowl of cherries if you have imagination and plenty of gumption!


07/17/24 03:41 PM #30319    

 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

I just heard on the radio that Mark Hamill, I think the actor in .....was it Star Wars???......Anyway, he made a weird statement to the media, that Trump was wearing "A big-ass bandage on his ear at the Convention, just to make an obnoxious spectacle of his ear wound.  He's 'milking' the sympathy emotions of everyone who sees him on TV."

Really?

I saw Trump come out on the Convention floor on TV, but the bandage he had on was nothing unusual to me.  I have some of those same type bandages in my own medicine cabinet, and they are just standard, ordinary patches from the local pharmacy.   What nonsense!


07/17/24 03:51 PM #30320    

 

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Jan,

I am tired today.  I have not had my usual nap at noon, another eye doctor appointment instead.  I had a senior moment and typed left when I meant right.  I edited the post adding some comments in parenthesis as a bit of humor.  I was wondering if anyone read my posts, turns out at least you do!


07/17/24 03:52 PM #30321    

 

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Janalu,

It seems some Trump followers at the convention are sporting the same bandage on the ear as s symbol of solidarity.  They must really love that guy!


07/17/24 04:18 PM #30322    

Jan Alexander

Janalu , Says , "Do you have a colorful flag on the back of your trike, 

I have two of these on the back of my trike. laugh

Addendum. For those who do not know me , I and Democrats love the American flag. This pic is to make fun of proud boy's huge flags on the back of their trucks, that is all. Do no read negativity into it please..

07/17/24 04:28 PM #30323    

 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Jan,

Fabulous flags!  

You've got the spirit!!


07/17/24 09:09 PM #30324    

 

Lowell Tuttle

David.   I really WAS saying thank God for liberal Christians.   I wasn't being sarcastic.    I certainly recognize that amongst Protestants Episcopalians are known to be fairly liberal.  Though generalizations like this are obviously not clear.

 


07/17/24 09:24 PM #30325    

 

David Cordell

Tommy,

There are members of the church, like me, who are perfectly willing to disagree with the rector in private conversations, emails, or in group meetings, albeit respectfully. Examples: When he suggested that Trump was racist for trying to shut down illegal immigration, I elected to send him a note. When the use of pepper spray on illegal immigrants trying to storm the border was referred to as using chemical weapons, I objected in a personal conversation. 


07/17/24 09:38 PM #30326    

 

David Cordell

Jan, 

As they say, politics makes strange bedfellows. Example: Kamala called Biden a racist in their debate, but happily suppressed that thought to become a vice presidential candidate. Same is happening with Vance.

I am a hawk with Israel and with Ukraine. I don't think Trump and Vance are nearly as committed as I would like. Still, I will support that ticket. 

The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank with some very bright people. I am conservative, but I don't agree with everything that they publish. However, I am happy for them to support Trump, which they will do because he is so much closer to their views than Biden or any other Democrat is.


07/17/24 09:58 PM #30327    

 

David Cordell

Well, Biden has Covid, I guess. This is an opportunity for him to bow out gracefully before he is embarrassed enugh

"Fellow Americans, I have an important announcement. Although I want to continue this presidential campaign with every fiber of my being, this bout with Covid has convinced me that I can't rely on my health to hold up as well as I would like for the next four years. After prayerful thought and discussions with my family and advisers, I have decided that it is best for my health, for my family, for my party, and most important, for the nation I love, for me to withdraw my candidacy and to make way for a younger generation. In the meantime, I will proudly serve out my term, and will leave America in better shape than I found her three-and-a-half years ago. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve. God bless you all, and God bless America."

 


07/17/24 10:28 PM #30328    

 

David Cordell

Some thoughts about investing.

Before starting, keep in mind that stocks outperform bonds and money market instuments over the long haul.

Those of you who have a significant amount of money in the stock market might consider making some adjustments. Since the market has risen significantly recently, it has probably increased the proportion of your wealth that is in the stock market, whether in individual stocks, or in mutual funds or exchange traded funds that are equity (stock) based.

An old rule of thumb was to calculate the percentage of your portfolio that should be invested in equities as follows: subtract your age from the number 100. If you are 73, 100-73=27, thus 27% of your portfolio should be in equities. However, this formula fails to consider your risk tolerance, i.e. how willing you are to experience volatility in equities -- the ups and downs of the market.

A more reasonable rule of thumb, but still a rough rule of thumb, is to consider your risk tolerance with these formulas:

  • conservative: 100-age
  • moderate: 120-age
  • high: 140-age.

Part of risk tolerance relates to your own psyche, how upset you would be at losing money, and part relates to your financial situation. For the latter, consider that a 73-year-old with a billion dollars can afford to have a higher percentage in equities than a 73-year-old with $100,000 because the billionaire will still be rich even if she loses half of her money in the market. There are other factors, such as one's interest in providing a death estate for the benefit of family, church, charity, etc.

Note also that all equities are not the same. Utility companies are less risky than high tech companies. And a highly diversified equity portfolio is less risky a portfolio consisting of a handful of stocks in the same industry.

Most people of our age are better off to invest in a mutual fund or exchange traded fund that is based on an index, like the Standard and Poors 500. People who can't stand the boredom of an index fund might consider puting a high percentage of their equity allocation in an index fund and a small percentage in a sector fund, which is a fund that invests only in one sector of the market, for example, energy companies or financial companies. They might even want to allocate a small percentage of their equity allocation to individual stocks. 

So, back to the point, whatever your choice of an equity percentage, it changes constantly, usually increasing because over time stocks tend to outperform bonds, money market securities, etc., thus they represent a higher and higher percentage of the portfolio. 

Simple example: you have $100,000 with $50,000 in stock and $50,000 in bonds, i.e. 50% in stock. During the year, the stock value increases by 10% and the bond value increases by 5%. Now your portfolio is $55,000 in stock and $52,500 in bonds for a total of $107,500. Now your stock represents over 51% of your portfolio. That doesn't sound like much of a change, but what if the stock return is really good, much higher than 10%, and what if the time frame extends beyond one year? In the meantime, the formulas above indicate that you should adjust your stock percentage to decrease over time, not increase.

So, what should your portfolio balance be, and has your portfolio fallen out of balance?

 


07/17/24 11:49 PM #30329    

 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

David,

After you made your objections known to your rector, did he have anything to say other than, "We will just have to agree that we disagree?"

I guess that would be a reasonable reply from a rector, since they generally don't like to get into squabbles with the laity.


07/18/24 07:06 AM #30330    

 

David Cordell

Janalu, we had a very brief discussion that amounted to "agree to disagree."

 

 


07/18/24 09:41 AM #30331    

 

Lowell Tuttle

Investing in a utility.   Hmm...

This in the Chronicle today.

Centerpoint is somewhat regulated...so I guess they have to ask about expenditures.   

They are our electric and gas provider in the Houston area.

They asked for and were approved to spend 800,000,000 on mobile (yes mobile) generators after the 02 2021 massive freeze.   So, they built obtained 20 some larger than others, but intended to power pretty large neighborhoods.

How many generators have they implemented for Beryl?   I think you know the answer to that question...It is also what my son's preferred Coke is now called...ZERO


07/18/24 12:13 PM #30332    

 

David Cordell

Lowell,

Notwithstanding the problems in Houston, utility companies have historically paid relatively high dividends (currently almost 4%) and have had low betas, i.e. low price variability. At the bottom of the chart at the link below, you will see that electric generation has the lowest beta of all the sectors listed. My point was that utility stocks tend to be price-stable and to pay good dividends, which is a combination viewed favorably by conservative stock investors. In a broader sense, I was simply trying to say that asset allocation (which is defined as the percentages allocated to specific asset categories) is not sufficient. One must also consider asset selection (which is defined as the specific assets selected within each asset category). All 60% stock, 40% bond portfolios are different. Joe's 60%/40% portfolio is not equally risky as Mary's 60%/40% portfolio.

https://valuereports.economatica.com/equity-beta-and-asset-beta-by-sector/#:~:text=The%20sectors%20with%20the%20highest%20Asset%20Beta%20is%20Pharmaceutical%20and,and%20Trailer%20Manufacturing%20with%201.24.


07/18/24 12:29 PM #30333    

 

Lawrence (Lance) Cantor

HEARD IMMUNITY


 

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve taught and obeyed all these investment principles since I was a young professor.”  21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine compassion for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and cash-out your 401k, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had a diverse portfolio.  MARK10


 

Tommy and David,

Now being summertime, some here might say that America’s favorite pastime is baseball...even while the Texas Rangers rank 3rd with .479 in the MLB AL West.  

Is it time now to be worried about the playoffs?  

I’d argue not really.

I’d instead argue that America’s favorite pastime is actually “worry”…obsessing…especially about money!

 

And when it comes to our money, we’ve been trained daily to obsess over the gyrations of the NYSE (soon as I understand, to become the Dallas-based TXSE), and our stock portfolio that floats up and down on the basis of…who-the-hell actually knows?

 

Now interestingly enough…perhaps unintentionally…y’all have mentioned Van Gogh, conversations with your church rector, money and investing, the mindset of money relating to abundance vs. scarcity, and money’s purpose as an instrument of exchange.

 

And so, with what’s been said, perhaps we could add this bit of wisdom about faith, money, and investing:  

17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” REV 3.

 

It is believed that Vincent Van Gogh cut off his own ear from both “money and lover" insecurity and worry that either:

 

his benefactor-brother, who was intending soon to be married, might cut him off…

his artist buddy Gauguin, who was intending to dump Vincent and move to Paris…

 

induced Vincent to have a psychotic fit of self-mutilation in order to manipulate…such Mad-ness!

 

 

Worry makes us crazy…who is immune? 

 

So as a matter of faith in both politics and managing money, shouldn't  I/we be asking:

“What…me worry?”

 

 

Amazingly, Van Gogh's portfolio was too heavily invested in art...now worth $250M

 

 

.

 

 

07/18/24 01:17 PM #30334    

 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

All:

I just saw this on Facebook and had to chuckle while grimacing at the same time.

What was shown was the face of squinting-eyed Peter Falk, from the TV series, COLUMBO, as he held his always present cigar.  The statement below the photo was:

"Oh, one more thing.  It's about the only rooftop in the area that had a clear view of the entire venue.  This didn't strike you as a good spot to place security?  And people yelling about a man crawling across the roof with a rifle didn't strike you as odd?   No offense, sir, of course, but I just had to wonder out loud."

 

 

Gotta hand it to Columbo......He had good instincts, huh?  But he couldn't think straight without the cigar.........


07/18/24 02:20 PM #30335    

 

Bob Davidson

My personal opinion is that the mainstream protestant churches (and probably the Roman Catholics) are dying because the clergy has swallowed woke ideology to the extent that they believe their mission is to spread that belief system and the majority of the congregants don't accept that ideology.  I certainly see that in my Espicopal Church. 

I formerly was a member of one of the few growing Episcopal churches in the country, but moved across town so that it is a couple of hours driving to attend St. Martin's and return home.  My local church is five minutes away, has a delightful congregation, and a very pleasant and likeable but liberal rector, one with rainbow colored accessories to his vestments.  St. Martin's avioded politics and stuck to Christian faith, which the congregation generally loved.  I have no idea what their recently retired rector's political beliefs are -- he did conduct H.W.  and Barbara Bush's funerals, but without political commentary.  The rector at Good Shepherd isn't overtly political in his sermons -- particularly at the Rite 1 (the more traditional one) service I attend with the other old fogies.  I can live with that, even though I personally believe that Marxist-rooted politics are antithetical to Christianity and that it is impossible to actually believe as a Christian and practice woke leftism.

The other church I know something about from personal experience is the Methodists.  My old Scout troop was sponsored by the men's club at a United Methodist Church, and has been since 1925.  There were exactly two Republican members in leadership roles in the church, out of 120 or so active members, the pastor is a lesbian, her girlfirend is the choir director, and the people who run the church are well-off Heights wine women and their beta-male husbands.  They stopped their sponsorship of the Cub Scouts for some woke brain befogged reason, even though Scouting surrendered to the woke on everything but requiring a belief in a supreme being for membership.  The men's club kept sponsoring the boys in Scouting BSA because the Republicans run it. 

The Methodist churches in that area either left the United Methodists or remained due to the woke ideology.  From what I heard, it was a woke - non-woke division, with some people leaving their home churches and either going with the established liberal churches or joining the traditionalist split-offs. I know and like a number of those Methodists, including both traditionalists and wokists, and it seemed like a fair number of traditionalists stayed in their old churches and ignored the politics in the pulpit, but no liberal wokists stayed with the split off churches.

I also have a close relative who had been a Presbyterian elder for many years.  This person left the church to get away from the liberal political screeds that were in place of sermons and joined an independent church that focused on the Bible.

On Scout Sunday, I used to go to the church that sponsored our troop, along with the boys and other leaders, in uniform.  For the past three pastors, I never felt like I was in a Christian service -- they'd use "traitional African blessings" or alternate, inclusive versions of Bible verses and prayers.  Afterwards I went to 6:00 church at St. Martin's to get the bad taste out of my mouth. 

 

 


07/18/24 02:43 PM #30336    

 

David Cordell

Bob,

Does your current church use the "inclusive" version of the Nicene Creed, etc.?


07/18/24 03:02 PM #30337    

 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Bob,

I agree with you that Marxist-rooted politics are antithetical to Christianity, and that it is impossible to actually believe as a Christian and practice woke leftism.

The Methodist church I attend is old-style traditionalist; no wokeism. 


07/18/24 05:26 PM #30338    

 

Bob Davidson

David,
No at the early Rite 1 service, yes at late Rite 2. I haven't been to the evening service.
St. Martin's didn't.

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