First it was Victoria Beckham kissing her young daughter and now Hilary Duff is the one under fire for planting a lip smooch on her 4 year old son at Disneyland.

It seems some people find this display of mother/son love to be unacceptable. This is a little out of my realm of understanding. My Great Grandmother kissed me on the lips. So, too, both my Grandmas. My Mom did so until the day she died. This was/is true of all the mothers in my, my wife’s and my sister’s extended families, including in-laws. And here’s a shocker. They did/do it with other female family members, as well. Age of the recipient doesn’t play a part, either. Health does.

Perhaps there is a cultural stigma of which I am unaware. I won’t delve into the question of how many of those offended are pro-choice. It could simply be that this photo was an opening to show pointless, omnidirectional hate through social media. All too common and pedestrian today. I should think that those who found Hilary and son’s picture at Disneyland offensive comprise a portion of society unaware of mother/son relationships and should avoid procreating. These are folks who, I imagine, could not have a toothpick driven up their butts with a 16 lb. sledgehammer. There are plenty of relaxation techniques and classes that could make their  lives more bearable.

I can only imagine how little affection these haters received as youngsters to leave them even the slightest bit offended by something so innocent and charming.

One final point. Why is this anyone’s but Hilary’s business? I find that people who have the most complaints about how others live their lives have the extra time because they’ve been unsuccessful managing their own lives and have given up. They simply look for somewhere else to point fingers of blame.

I am caused to wonder how Trump holds his priorities. In which order of importance does he place his family, feeding his ego and feeding his coffers, the Presidency? I couldn’t help but notice 10 year old Baron in the wee morning hours just prior to Trump claiming the win that the child showed no signs of excitement or even interest in the event. I’m certain the lad was exhausted and maybe that’s all there was to it.

This made me throw the following questions to the wind: Does Trump ever take his son to the park to play catch? Does he show up at back-to-school night? Do the two take canoe trips to fish for trout? Do they attend stock car races or go the Bronx Zoo? My dad did all of these things with me and I was still able to find myself in a little trouble now and again. I can’t even imagine what would have happened to me if he hadn’t been there for me as much as he was.

What kind of example does Donald set for Baron with his expletive laden language and twitter rants and why hasn’t he given them up, now that he’s won the election? If he feels the need to respond to every allegation or unkindness, he will have little time to do anything else. The anything else of which I speak is running a nation. No small job. This brings me back to my original question of his priorities.

Trump may spend plenty of time with Baron. I don’t know and frankly it’s none of my business.  I wonder what will happen if Baron decides that real estate is not his forte and measuring up to his older half-siblings is not something he can or wants to do. I just know that we’ve all seen what too much money with too little accountability and too little parental care can do to a youngster. A kid doesn’t judge his own worth in dollars. He judges it in hugs he receives.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel (in Switzerland) has opened. It is currently the world’s longest tunnel. The thought crossed my mind as to what contingency plans were put into place to evacuate people should something bad happen. According to Wikipedia, there are cross-access points every 1066 ft. for emergency stops and evacuation. Those areas also house air conditioning  apparatus, etc.

I think the tunnel was a great idea and will do much to alleviate traffic on overused, preexisting routes, but I don’t think it will be much of a draw for sight-seeing tourists. A rail ride through this tunnel would certainly be unique, but about as interesting a  theme park ride in a windowless submarine. 35.5 miles of boredom. Bring something to read.

“The Hill”: “Reid Blames Comey for Hillary Clinton’s Loss.”

Sure. Why not? Hillary is not responsible for herself or any untoward results of her decisions. Right? Of course, this may depend upon what you believe the definition of the word is, is.

As I’ve said before, blaming Comey for Hillary’s loss is the same as blaming the fire investigator for the fire damage.

I went to a vegan restaurant for the first time last evening and ordered their popcorn lasagna. I think I’ll stick with Arby’s. They have the meats.

California’s Prop. 67 passed on November 8th. The law, SB 270 went into effect immediately, surprising many shoppers.

I fully agree with the aim of the law. I fully disagree with how the law was written.

Now, if a shopper in a grocery store/supermarket or drug store does not bring their own bag or other container to retrieve the items they’ve purchased, they are forced to purchase either paper, heavier, reusable plastic bags or cloth bags or take the items loose as they leave. The prices for bags range from a dime, upward.

The problems are numerous. Lots and lots of folks are pissed: Irresponsible people will still throw the heavier plastic bags in the trash. Others get angry when they forget to bring their own bags to the store or forgetfully leave the bags they did bring in their car. The money collected in sales of the bags remains with the stores and is supposed to be used for environmental purposes, but there is no real accountability that that is where the money will go.

If they had done things correctly (correctly, as I see it), they would have used the aluminum can recycling law (which has proven itself quite successful) as a template.

A shopper goes to the grocery store and pays the same amount (ten cents) for the old (outlawed) style of bag and receives credit of that amount when the bag is returned. Either to the grocery store or to a recycling center. This places a value on the bag. Ask yourself, ” What would happen?”, if that were the case.

People don’t tend to throw money away. Shoppers would be less likely to throw the bags in the trash and the bags that do end up in the trash would be at least as desirable to those folks who collect aluminum cans from dumpsters, etc. Bags blowing around the outdoors would turn into money blowing around. I’m sure money has fallen from pockets and purses, but you would be hard pressed to find it left on the ground if it was visible to passersby.

Also, bag makers would not need to retool and ultimately pass the costs onto consumers. California is not noted for being either consumer or business friendly. Legislators are clueless when it comes to a buck.

This would be a simple and far more effective answer to the problem. The reason the law is written the way it is may be as simple as why so many other laws are so detailed, complex and stupid. How else would lawmakers justify their work hours when so few hours would be needed to do things right?

I think promoting nihilism is as useless as anything else.

Pew Research is stating that a majority of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump’s transition efforts. Really? Why would Pew think Trump supporters would be any more interested in providing accurate statistics now than they were prior to the election?

I just read the USA Today article, “Ben Carson Didn’t Live In Public Housing”, by Steph Solis. My neck is really tired of shaking my head in sorrow at such pointless drivel.

The article quotes Nancy Pelosi claiming that Dr. Benjamin Solomon “Ben” Carson is “unqualified” for the position of Secretary of  the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This, after Donald Trump nominated him to fill that job. Three questions come to mind. 1) Why is Carson unqualified? 2) Is it because he wasn’t raised in public housing? 3) Is the current Secretary, qualified? Continue reading DID TRUMP SCREW UP BY NOMINATING CARSON TO HEAD H.U.D.? →

I’ve had a concussion, shin splints and tennis elbow, but when I got bowling balls, I had to throw away my pogo stick. They were the cause of my concussion.