A Year of Change

Alright, this morning we have a inter team swim meet from 7 to 10:30, if the weather holds out. I think I’ll be staying home to box up wine for Fed Ex tomorrow. I’m sure the boys will do well.

Before I go any further, I have to jump in a little and tell you about some of the lies being spread around our beautiful swing state courtesy of the Obama reelection machine that most of you, thankfully, don’t see. The latest says Romney apposes all abortions, even in the case of incest and rape. It also says he will shut down Planned Parenthood and then shows women saying they won’t be able to get cancer treatment. Un-freakin believable! Tons of newspapers and organizations have said this is 100% false but they don’t care, they just keep on playing the ad. This guy will say anything to get reelected. No way Romney said he opposes abortion for rape and incest victims, in fact (something Obama ignores), he said just the opposite! The misses and I are just sick that a sitting President could blatantly lie to everyone like this. Contrary to the belief of the other side, we’d be just as disgusted if the GOP did the same. Just thank God you don’t live in a swing state like Colorado.

Ok, the boys played hard yesterday afternoon but earlier we went to lunch at El Rancho. I hadn’t been there for 45 years but used to go a lot when I was a kid. It hasn’t changed much and was fun as we sat outside in the cool mountain temperatures. As I said earlier, the kids will be off to the pool in an hour so I need to run and get everyone moving. Whatever you do, no matter whether your a dem or a republican, please use your brain and check out things for yourself rather than just following your party like all the lemming politicians do. Don’t be a follower, think on your own and then make an informed decision, you owe it to yourself and to your country!

God Bless,

This morning we’re unclear as to whether or not we need to be at the meet. The coach emailed late last night that both boys are scheduled for tomorrows meet but we couldn’t tell if the oldest is swimming today. The misses thinks we’ll go around 10am. So much for me getting up at 4:15 to get to the gym so we could leave at 6:30! Oh well, it’s a bit after 6 now and I already have my 30 minutes of cardio done.

Grandma A commented on the movies yesterday, here it is,

Yes Jim and I saw the movie and thought it was very funny. We came out singing the song too. I love all 3 movies.

Thanks, it’s always nice to get comments.

Here’s another example of government over reaching, check this out!

TSA Wants To Test Your Drink — At The Gate

July 5, 2012,

I saw the headline this morning (DrudgeReport.com), and was again astounded by this latest action taken by the TSA. Even after passengers have checked through security, and purchase a drink inside airport security, their drink will now be subject to ‘test’.

That’s right, they’re now going to test your coke, water or coffee that you buy at their approved concession stands after you go through security, WOW! It’s getting to just be too much, I mean come on, when was the last time a coke caused any problems?

Now to the day, yesterday Mom took the boys and Jen to the pool while I went grocery shopping. On the way home we received the much promised downpours that gave us a good soaking. They lasted on and off through the night and are supposed to be hanging around today. It’s really humid out right now which the misses loves.  We had a nice dinner of salmon, spinach and rice that was really good. The misses is one great cook!

We have a big week ahead and it just seems the days go so fast. I can never get done all I plan to as there’s just not enough hours in the day. I’m not sure what we’re doing today but it’ll be something centered around the kiddos. I guess I’ll run otherwise I’ll jump into politics and the Prez touting his great jobs record, really? He’s just so freakin arrogant and condescending that I can’t stand to watch or listen to him. Does he think we’re all stupid? I guess so, he sure has a lot of people fooled as if you look at the facts, no matter what you think of him or the democratic platform, it’s time to give the other team the ball. That’s the beauty of our system, if you change quarterbacks and don’t like the job the new guy does, you can get rid of him in 4 years! I mean that’s how Obama got elected, because no one liked the last 4 years under Bush, not because of some great record by Obama, he didn’t have one! He sure talked a good game though, well hopefully his time is up, I guess slick talk doesn’t equate to a good economy now does it?

How’s that for staying away from politics? Have a great weekend.

I’m running late today so I’m passing off to the misses but here’s a comment from Annette, we feel so sorry for you with the neighbors from hell!

Dear All,

This year the United States will celebrate its 236th birthday.  How are you planning to celebrate?  If you’re like most people, you’ll probably do what you did when it turned 235, or 234.  Fireworks, barbeque, patriotic music; this is how we celebrate being American.  After all, why not?  Why would this year be any different?

Actually, this year is different.  It’s an election year!  In years like this, the words “being American” take on an entirely different meaning.

The average human life expectancy in the United States is 78 years.  During many of those years, we don’t vote.  So very often, saying “I’m American” is a lot like saying, “I have brown eyes,” or “I’m left-handed.”  Being American simply means that you live in America.  It says little more about you than the color of your hair.

But in years like this, that changes.  No longer is being an American a passive thing.  It’s a choice; a philosophy.  Every few years, we make the decision to take part in one of the noblest experiments in the history of mankind: the experiment to determine if men and women can govern themselves.  The experiment to choose for ourselves what we can and ought to be, and the experiment to rid ourselves of dictators, kings, and nobles.  To settle once and for all that no man has to bow; that no gender, race, or religion should lord over our common humanity.

You see, every election year we choose the person who leads us.  We choose who represents us, both at home and abroad.  This process says much about who we are as a nation.  Think back on your history lessons.  Think how rare it is to live in a country that can have complete shifts in power, with a transition that occurs peacefully.

Most of the time, I feel it’s easy to take this fact for granted—after all, most of us have never known anything else.  But this process is at the core of what makes us so unique.  Our leaders are charged with putting the good of the country above their own pursuit of power and amazing things happen when they do so.

This singular phenomenon is the result of more than just laws.  It goes beyond even the Constitution.  Many governments have laid down similar limits on their chief executive’s power, to no avail.  So what ensures that our leaders don’t abuse those rules?  We do; us; you and I.  When a massive population of people collectively exercises their rights, there is no power in the world that can stop it.

So what are these rights?  Here are a few:

Our freedom of speech.  We exercise it every time we talk politics by the water cooler.  Every time a comedian mocks the most powerful man in the most famous house in the world.
Our freedom of the press.  We all might grumble about the foibles and biases of the media, but remember what Thomas Jefferson said.  “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”  At no point is our right to a free press more important than during an election year.  It’s the only check we have against unscrupulous politicians.  Against false facts and half-truths.  It’s our chief source of information, so that we can make informed choices.  It’s our main provider of context, so that the information we acquire is properly weighed and judged.  Whether it’s through newspapers, television, or internet blogs, we never pay more attention to the press than during an election.  Thus, we will never exercise our right to a free press more than during a year like this one.
Our right to assemble.  Do we appreciate how rare it is for us to be able to gather and discuss the world we live in?  This probably seems so normal today, but for centuries people have had to meet in dark alleyways to share, commiserate, or even conspire.  Our ability to organize in support of—or in opposition to—any organization, group, or person is uniquely American.

We exercise this right every time we gather to support one candidate over another, or when we meet in town halls to question our elected representatives.  Furthermore, implicit in the right to assembly is the right to association—to affiliate ourselves as we please.  Joining political parties or other causes exercises our right to freedom of association.

Now you might be saying to yourself, “We always have these rights no matter what year it is.”  And that’s true.  They’re guaranteed by the Constitution; twenty-four hours a day, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year; in rain, or sleet, or snow; in good times and bad.  But it’s during an election year that the majority of us truly exercise those rights.  And it’s those rights that make America unique.  It’s for those rights that we declared independence in the first place.  And it’s when we exercise them that we’re truly being American.

When you think about being American this Independence Day, don’t think about baseball or apple pie.  When you get right down to it, America isn’t about sports or food or music or money.  It’s not even about the English language.  We have those things only because of what America’s truly about: the basic rights we guarantee ourselves; that we guarantee for each other.  The rights that men and women have fought for, and died for.  The rights that people have sacrificed their lives, fortunes, and reputations to secure.  So when we truly exercise our rights, that’s when the word “American” ceases to be a noun, but an adjective.  “Being American” means “being someone who values and respects my fellow man.”  “Being American” means standing up for the self-evident truths that break the bonds of slavery and free us from the shackles of ignorance.

With all of this in mind, I want to wish you a happy Independence Day.  I hope you are able to take a few moments to recognize the historic opportunities available to you, especially during an election year.  This is not your ordinary holiday.  This is the time we can show we’re American, in word and in deed.

To you and your family, happy Fourth of July.  Now go enjoy being American.
D

p.s. RIP Andy Griffith, I loved watching him, Don Knotts and Ronnie Howard growing up and so did my dad, more tomorrow!

Anyone know anyone on the east coast without power? It’s 3 days now and let me tell you, they’re freakin out! The 100 degree plus temps don’t help but it shows how fragile we as a society are that people cannot go 72 hours without electricity. Imagine if they or better yet, you, had to go a few weeks. Or let’s look at the worst case scenario, what if we experienced a solar storm like the Carrington event in the late 1800’s that knocked out power nationwide for close to a year! Could you survive? What would you eat, how would you cook, stay cool, stay warm, get from place to place, they’re would be no gas as it takes power to run the pumps. Store shelves would be empty within 3 days as trucks wouldn’t have gas to deliver food and goods. You couldn’t get money as banks would be closed down and the list goes on and on. This isn’t as far fetched as you would think. The U.S. has had contingency plans for years for just this scenario as a nationwide power outage can also be caused by an EMP (electro magnetic pulse) which could occur from a rogue nation such as Iran setting off a nuclear explosion high in the atmosphere ( 20 miles) above the country. That’s our military’s biggest fear, not being blown up but having our power grid knocked out. This would actually be more effective if you think about it.

Of course we all hope this never happens but it’s interesting how 99% plus of the people affected are not prepared. I guess they’ve been too busy following the Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes divorce saga to worry about being ready to take care of themselves and their family should some sort of natural disaster strike. You get the point. We as a society are so wrapped up by meaningless trivial distractions that most of us couldn’t survive a week on our own. We’ve become soft as a people and sooner or later, something’s going to happen and those who are not prepared are going to be in deep you know what. Face it, our economy is just not sustainable. Sooner or later we will face a correction, many, including several Nobel Prize winning economists, say it’ll be this fall. Are you ready?

Alright, enough doom and gloom for today. We’re getting ready to head up the mountain for the misses procedure. The boys are going with us as we have no place else for them to go. We did run them to the pool around dinner time last night only to be shut out by lightening. We were running late as some friends (she’s an artist) came over and brought us a large piece of art to hang over the fireplace. It’s 5 horses sort of running and is a combination of a photograph and painting. The misses is helping represent her work to various people we know. It looks great hanging above the fireplace. We’ve been looking for a horse painting or photo or something for a long long time. This is the best of both, a photo of actual horses with a hint of paint thrown in here and there.

We should be home around 2 or 3 this afternoon and hopefully the misses will be feeling better. This has to stop, somehow.

Time to run so I can get some calls in before we go, take care and have a great day and for God’s sake, go out and get some extra food and water, just in case, it can’t hurt and sooner or later you’ll use it anyhow!

Lots going on this week, we’re shipping wine today, meeting with lawyers, have surgery tomorrow for the misses, need to finalize the lease in Vail and on top of it, are suppose to relax and party on July 4th! Then this weekend I need to organize and box another 50 to 60 cases of wine that’ll ship next Monday. Oh yea, I also have a meeting Thursday and a bunch of conference calls.

The misses head is back worse than ever. In fact she says it has ever been this bad, the boys and I feel real sorry for her but don’t know what to do. Hopefully it’s just nerves dying off. We’ll know more tomorrow afternoon after her spine and disc injections. She’s so tired of this crap.

Fires are still burning and they say it’ll be months before all the smoke is gone. The east coast is hot and humid and millions are without power. Does anyone think it’s worse this year than others? Is global warming real? I personally think things happen in 500 year cycles, not 10 or 20 years but I’m beginning to think we’re either in a really bad part of a cycle or we have done damage to the ozone and earth and this is the consequence of our actions.

Did you see that farm land in the U.K. is more valuable than gold? It seems someone finally figured out that food and water are more valuable than gold and diamonds and the U.K. only has so much land available where they can grow food. Back here, George Soros (the wealthy democratic who funds all things against any republican) has turned to buying billions of dollars of small farms in America. It seems he too sees the future need for small family farms rather than these big conglomerates that use chemicals to artificially raise chickens and other animals as the side effects from this practice are now coming to light.

Mark my words, 20 years from now fresh water and chemical free food will be the new gold and silver. You can’t eat metal now can you!

Speaking of eating, I did find a great new rib joint downtown where the food is great! We picked some up yesterday as the misses head hurt to bead to mess with dinner. The kids woofed a bunch down and we have lots left over for today, yum.

I’m wondering if we should go to France with the world in the shape it is so I’m holding off on tickets for a month or so. I think we’re up in Wyoming in a week or so going to a horse show and having a meeting on the potential sale of an elk ranch I’m brokering. This has been on again, off again for a couple years and the other day I received a call out of the blue that might have resurrected the deal. We’ll see. Who knows, maybe things really are coming together for us, lots of good stuff happening, must be the power of prayer!

Alright, take care and have a good week, drink lots of water and stay as cool as possible,

Day 2 of the Tour de France, we watch it early every single morning! It’s great and we have high hopes for our team from Boulder this year.

Yesterday we had one comment from Annette, thanks!

We sure need the power of prayer right now. Lots going on that I won’t get into as there’s too much that I wouldn’t even know where to start, but we can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. I remember pretty much feeling I was responsible for something since I was about 10 years old. Either myself, my brother or sister or sometimes even my Mom, whether I was or not, it just always felt that way. Well fast forward 40 or 45 years and decades of pretty much the same thing and now we’re looking forward to taking a deep breath. We just need some divine intervention to get through our challenges during the next few months. Work, the misses health issues, finances, it’s all coming to a point where it looks like we can change or fix em all but we still need help so say a prayer.

By the way, here’s a comment from my little sis, she’s pretty smart in her own way,

robi says:

That’s all for me, here’s the misses.

Okay, the entire State of Colorado needs everyone’s prayers.  A neighborhood caught fire and the pictures depict a scene out of a movie…343 homes destroyed…it looks as if a bomb went off.  It’s devastating for the families and staggering for those of us viewing the photos.  The Rockies baseball team shot off fireworks at the beginning of their game the other night…I find that unbelievable when we have a fireworks ban in the State.  As previously mentioned please, please pray for Colorado.

The oldest had a great time hiking up to St. Mary’s Glacier and then sliding down on a slippery, giant trash bag.  He looked a bit weary when he walked through the door.  We are skipping the swim meet today to give the boys a break…maybe to give their parents a break.  Both kiddos are still fast asleep…which is really unusual for the youngest.  The youngest is like my own personal alarm clock…up a 6:00a.m…..it’s already 7:30 and no sign of movement upstairs.

The yellow dog helped herself to the trash last night….she opened the cabinet, pulled the can out, had a little snack and left the rest all over the floor for the Mister to pick up.  Lucky guy!!

We went over to the neighbor’s for a bit last night and the 5 boys were telling “Yo Mamma” jokes.  The jokes were actually quite funny, in fact so funny that they brought tears to the neighbor lady’s eyes.  It was a full 30 minutes of each boy taking a turn at the audience…I wish I had a video camera or at least my phone to capture the moment.  Next time I’ll be prepared.

I think we are going up to Red Rocks for some exercise once the munchkins get up.  I was so sore last time and all I did was walk down the stairs and then lunge up the seats, back down the stairs and then up.  It didn’t take too much time, but my heart was working and my legs were burning.  The Mister seems to be in better shape…he was not sore at all.  Of course our young guy leaped and bounded all the way up and down with no apparent fatigue…..ah, to be 8 years old!

Time to get the day started….God Bless, here’s a great van!

Thanks to Grandma Annette for her comment yesterday, here it is,