45's "Looks" - Photos

45 speaking to US Governors today

I'm an adult posture

Using a cart to get around the golf course

Riding, after refusing to walk 700 yards with other dignitaries

On the golf course

Ducking for cover as protester nears

And his hair.... he's so vain...

Windy day, shot 1

Windy day, shot 2

** Windy day shots are "grabs" from an amateur's very lucky video **

Running To The Rescue...

Today, in a meeting of Governors of the fifty American states, the orange circus peanut, who has been highly critical of the law enforcement response to school shooting in Parkland, Florida, says that he would have rushed into the building, unarmed, if he had been there.  He said, "You don't know until you're tested, but I think I really believe I'd run in there even if I didn't have a weapon, and I think most of the people in this room would have done that, too."
   I graduated from High School in Florida in 1974; at that point in time, there was a main open quad surrounded by buildings on four side, with four wings, plus a separate gymnasium.  When I worked there, in the early 1980s, there were multiple temporary class rooms scattered about the campus.  When I visited there in 2014, the campus was almost unrecognizable to me, with added wings and off-set buildings.  My school now serves about 1400 students, plus teachers, assistants, janitors, maintenance people, cafeteria workers, office workers and the administration.
  If I was visiting there and shooting erupted, I would have absolutely no idea where it was coming from.  There are multiple hallways, interconnected rooms, dead ends, multiple open areas, covered walkways, and many available routes that might seem to take you toward the sound, but don't.  How is a visitor supposed to find his/her way to a sound in an unknown warren of halls and rooms?
  And trying to mentally "see" the over-weight and out of shape President running toward an active shooting site?  It's totally laughable!  He is so out of shape that he uses his golf cart while playing golf; he gets rides on carts when he is supposed to walk to events that other dignitaries walk to; he has never, to anyone's knowledge, taken a self-defense course, or a weapons course.
  All one has to do is look at photos of him bending over at one of his golf courses to know that he has "man boobs," a huge gut, and a giant butt.  Run into a school, unarmed, to face a shooter?  Do you remember his reaction when a protester rushed the stage when he was running for President? He froze.  The Secret Service had to tackle him.  He is not, nor has ever been, a man of action.  He is a business tycoon, who sits on his ass all day long, and lies in bed all night long, gorging on cheese burgers and fries, while watching TV, Tweeting, and calling people who don't want to talk to him.  In his mind, he looks like a young Fabio, and has the body of the statue of David.
   One of my friends said we could use a sun dial to time his run in to a shooting site.  I totally agree.

Have You Seen This Man?

 The above photos are of Timothy J. Cunningham, of Atlanta, Georgia.  He is a Harvard-educated epidemiologist who works at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.  He was not feeling well on 12 February, 13 days ago, and left work to go home about midday.  He has not been seen or heard from since that time.

   His parents and family have been to his apartment.  His car is parked in the normal spot.  His keys, cell phone and wallet were in his apartment.  His dog, Mr. Bojangles was in the apartment and had not been watered or fed.  

   The police declared him missing on Thursday, 14 February.  The above photos are courtesy of the Atlanta Police Department.  A $10,000 reward has been offered by the Greater Atlanta Crime Solvers, for information leading to the missing man.

Timothy J. Cunningham - you are missed!  Please contact your family or the police, if you can do so.

Guns - Political Cartoons

Arm Teachers in American Schools?

A majority of Americans, according to a nation-wide poll, want to ban the sale of assault-style pistols and rifles to the general public.  Assault-type weapons are not needed for hunting game, nuisance creatures (such as coyotes or wolves, according to some folks), or for any normal situation.  I can easily see SWAT team members and soldiers having a use for an assault weapon.  I can easily agree that a few ex-soldiers, such as marksmen and snipers, could get a special permit to own and fire such a weapon.  BUT a normal, everyday American has no use, or need for, an assault weapon.
   The person in the Oval Office of the White House is in complete disagreement with me.  He thinks having more guns available to more people will make an end to these horrific killing rampages.  His Secretary of Education stated that we need more armed teachers to defend students from the attacks of grizzly bears inside classrooms.  The latest killings, at a high school in Florida, have sent young people into marches and protests.  It's sad to realize that the Columbine High School shootings took place almost 20 years ago, and this country is still gun crazy.  Mass shootings at schools, universities, clubs, cinemas, and music venues have become a sickening stream.
   Having been a teacher, at multiple grade levels, I can honestly say that I would never want to be carrying a weapon at a school, in a class room, or even have one locked in a "safe" in my room.  Too many things can simply go wrong.  There are too many distractions in a class room with 25 to 35 students.  And students these days know how to pick a key lock; they can easily record (on a ubiquitous phone) the opening of a safe and learn the combination; and what if a person with an assault rifle attacks?  What kind of weapon is the teacher supposed to have?  A simple pistol versus an assault rifle?  If the teacher doesn't accidentally kill a student and gets a shot off at the assailant, the teacher is dead meat in a second or so, thanks to the fire power and automatic firing of the assailant's weapon.  I simply do not believe that arming teachers is any answer at all.
   We need to ban the sale of all assault weapons to the general public.  We need to ban bump stocks.  People should not be able to buy any gun at a gun show.  We need to have a very tight and strict background check set up nationally.  The background check should include a mental health examination, and a look at any/all previous complaints against the person made to any law enforcement agencies.  If a person has a record of spousal abuse, endangerment of children or family members, threats against other people for perceived or real reasons, or any conviction for physical or mental abuse, that person should be denied the purchase of any type of weapon.
   Maybe my viewpoint is a bit strong....  But I stand behind it.
 

Bits and Pieces - Photos

An AR-15, America's favorite assault rifle

Skull showing entrance wound and bone breakage due to a normal rifle bullet

Wilbur Ross & Trump want to make the moon into a gas station

Recreation (using DNA and the man's skull) of Cheddar Man, who died

a violent death in Cheddar Gorge, England 10,000 years ago

Stonehenge was built by Neolithic farmers like Cheddar Man

Then came the Bell Beaker people, about 4,500 years ago - within  

five generations, people in England had 90% Bell Beaker DNA

The spreading of the Bell Beaker people in Europe

Ava, the recreation of a Bronze Age woman, using DNA and her skull.

She lived about 3,700 years ago.

Bits and Pieces of This and That

First and foremost - the mass shootings in America.  There is no need for an ordinary citizen living inside the United States to own and carry any assault weapon.  I feel they were developed for, and should only be used by, a SWAT Team, or by military personnel in a combat situation.  Yes, those people need to be trained in the use of their weapons.  The general American public does not.
   45 seems to be fond of wanting to make assault weapons available at the age of 21, and not 18.  He also wants a deeper mental health screening.  The age of 21 does not confer instant wisdom; and if a sociopath has managed to get along in society until the age of 21, that person can, most probably, pass a simple mental health screening.
   I am disgusted by the fact that 45 had to have "a cue card" on hand to remind him of points to make while listening to people who have lost loved ones at a meeting in the White House.  He only cares about dollar signs - not real human beings.
   Then there are the cretins who claim that students from Parkland, Florida are paid political actors... They make me ill.
   Some Republicans are now stating that the majority of all mass shooters were registered Democrats - and that's an outright lie, also.
   And I am proud of the students across America for taking a stand against politicians, the National Rifle Association, and local, state, and the national governments, with their "Never Again" stance.  Good for you, young people!  I hope that you can make a difference, where parents and an older generation have been unable to.  Unfortunately, the NRA's money speaks louder than words.  We need to do something about that.   -  Enough.

     Did you see that Wilbur Ross wants 45 to claim the moon as US territory, and use it for refueling space ships in the future?  While planning to cut NASA's budget to the bones? I guess they are planning on immigrant Elon Musk to do all the dirty work for our country, at no charge.

    Have you seen the physical representation of the Cheddar Man?  Using DNA and modeling from the skull of the man, he had blue eyes, black curly hair and a very dark skin.  Another study that was recently published show that Bell Beaker people came originally from the eastern Steppes of Europe.  Their culture spread in waves across Europe, and, between 4,00 and 4,500 years ago, they appear to have traveled from Holland to Britain.  Within five generations, probably due to disease, their DNA was 90% of the total of British inhabitants.  Like the Native Americans, the British Neolithic farmers (who built Stonehenge) had no resistance to new diseases brought by, and spread, by new-comers to their land.  The British today look like the Beaker peoples....

    And, taking a step back to my Danish and Swedish heritage - Happy Thor's Day!!!

 

 

Snow, Glorious Snow - Photos

Colorado Winter Is Here

We've been very dry.   A few inches of snow a few times since mid-autumn.  I've always followed the weather and precipitation trends, since both of my parents were always interested in the weather.   Between being a granddaughter of a farmer and a fisherman, and with Dad being in charge of road crews, watching weather and talking about how it affects people has been normal in my house.  Knowing how the weather affects the water table, which affects agriculture - both farming and livestock raising - and fire danger levels, has been a big part of my life.  The only time we had to "be quiet" during any news cycle (as kids) was during the weather segments.
   Real Colorado winter weather finally reached us Sunday night.  It was 63 degrees (F), sunny and breezy Sunday afternoon.  The wind stayed through most of the night, bringing with it a North Pacific blast of snow and cold.  Early Monday we had freezing rain, which turned to snow.  The snow fell for over 24 hours, followed by small flurries for another 24.  Total snow fall was 10 inches.  But it was the temperatures that were the "killer," for me.  It was 10 degrees Monday morning, and we had a high of 12.  Monday night/Tuesday morning, the low was negative 5; we had a high yesterday of 18.  It was minus 2 degrees at 7:30 this morning, when I returned from walking the dogs.  Brrrrrrr!  The sun is shining, however, and it was 24 at noon.  Steam is rising from the pavement and roadways.
   The snow melt will freeze again tonight in single digit weather.  More snow is forecast for tomorrow and Friday - and sunshine with no precipitation is forecast Saturday through Tuesday.  We'll see what happens.
    So, here I am, sitting in a west facing window, wearing jeans and a T-shirt.  But I have on two pairs of wool socks and house slippers on.  My feet are cold and my legs are chilly.  Dirty snow is covering much of the parking lots to both my left and right.  The fir trees to my left are decorated with snow, and the roof of all the building I see are still covered.  Each time I return from being out in the snow, I kick the sides of my boots, and the toes, along the concrete block garage wall; then I scrape the bottoms on the stair steps, and then wipe them off on the mat outside.  Still cleaning up magnesium water spots from the floor....
  And, according to my NWS/NOAA weather site - it's 80 degrees in Vero Beach; 85 degrees in Gainesville, Florida; and 77 at Chincoteague Island.  Unfair!  My toes want to be uncovered - and warm!

Photos - Vernon County, Missouri

Vernon County, Missouri

Centennial Celebration, Nevada, MO in 1876

Boat Landing in Vernon County

Residents of Vernon County for 50 years (circa 1905)

William Quantrill led his Raiders across Vernon County many times;

later, the James brothers had hide-outs in the county

The 1906 Vernon County Courthouse

James Harkrader and his family were well known for their excellent horses  (1910)

Moore's Opera House (at left) in Nevada

Looking east on Cherry Street in Nevada; my great-grandfather had his 

cabinetry shop on Cherry Street.  The family lived above the shop,

and had a large vegetable garden on the side...

Vernon County, Missouri

Vernon County, Missouri sits along the Kansas border of the state, close to the southwest corner.  The original inhabitants were the Osage, and one can visit the Osage Village State Historic Park, where, in the 1700s, there were between 2,000 and 3,000 people living in harmony.  They were both farmers and hunters, and were well known for their horsemanship.  In treaties, the Osage signed away their land rights, and were moved to a reservation in Oklahoma. 
   Vernon County comprises 837 square miles, of which 10 square miles are water.  There are three main rivers, the Marmaton, Osage and Little Osage; these are fed by 35 creeks, branches, and rings. Vernon County itself  was founded in 1855, and was named after an American Officer who fought at the Battle of New Orleans.  The town of Nevada (the first a is long) is the county seat.  My father's grandparents and great-grandparents settled there in 1854 and 1855.
    Vernon County suffered considerable damage during the Civil War.  The courthouse was burned by Union Amy soldiers on 23 May 1863, along with the entire town of Nevada.  (The present courthouse dates to 1907.)  Vernon County was one of four Missouri counties that were completely depopulated by Union General Thomas Ewing's notorious General Order Number 11 in 1863.  Most of the people who lived in the county were not allowed to return to their homes and farms until after the end of the Civil War in May 1865.
   My Dad's maternal people moved to Vernon County from Kentucky and Tennessee, and they were, mostly, farmers.  My Dad's paternal people were farmers who spread from Maine and Massachusetts, across New York and on to the Ohio Valley.  A lot stayed in Indiana, while others moved on to Iowa.  From Iowa, they, mostly, moved to Kansas, while some went on to Oregon, Washington, and down to California.  Dad's folks stayed in Kansas, then went to Oklahoma, back to Kansas, and finally, over to Howell County, Missouri - east of where Dad's Mother grew up, in Vernon County.
    My fourth-great-grandfather, Reuben Nock, lived near my other fourth-great-grandfather, Hatevil Hall in Maine.  They both had large families.  Two Nock sons married two Hall daughters, and two Hall sons married two Nock daughters.  So there were four families that were double-first-cousins.  It's the grandchildren of those double-first-cousins of the Hall/Nock crosses that have me wondering... 
   Why did several of those families end up living in Vernon County, Nevada between 1880 and 1920?  Were they frequent letter writers, who loved the area, and enjoined others of the far-flung family to move there?  Some of the men were harness makers, others were teamsters, others were farmers, and a few were merchants....  But why Vernon County?  Maybe I need to go spend several days there, instead of the few hours I've had...  Is a puzzlement!

Photos - Winter in Southern States

Phoenix, Arizona

Key West, Florida

Tallahassee, Florida

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

Pascagoula, Mississippi

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Houston, Texas

Weird Sense of Humor - Or Twisted Mind?

Just before 8 this morning, I posted on Facebook that I would love to see a discussion panel on MSNBC's show AM Joy with Joy Reid that consisted of Jill Wine-Banks, Malcolm Nance, Naveed Jamali, Clint Watts, and Matt Miller.  I wanted them to discuss the Mueller indictments and the fact that 130 members of the White House staff do not have a Security Clearance.  The Security Clearance issue is important to me; I knew that 45's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, did not have a viable Security Clearance.  I had no idea that spokesperson Sarah Suckabee Sanders, chief White House legal adviser Don McGann, and several other folks could not get a permanent clearance.  All of these people have an "Interim"  Clearance, which is supposed to apply for 90 to 180 days - no longer.  This administration has been inside the White House for over a year, which, unless I learned wrong, lasts for 365 or 366 days.  Who can't count here?
  In any event, my room mate and I burst into laughter at the same time this morning, while watching AM Joy.  Joy Reid had a discussion panel about Security Clearances at the White House - and the three people on the panel were Jill Wine-Banks, Malcolm Nance, and Naveed Jamali.  (Three of the five I had hoped for.)  At the end of the discussion, Malcolm made the comment that if any of those 130 people entered  a US Intelligence office, officers and employees would immediately hit the red button, causing a red strobe light to flash, cover everything on their desks and shut down their computers, and it would be loudly shouted that "Uncleared people" were present.  - That's when Beatrice and I started laughing.  Both of us had pictured in our minds images of lepers in the Dark and Middle Ages, shaking their clappers and yelling "Unclean! Unclean!"
 
***  It is truly sad that people with leprosy were shunned and treated so badly before the disfiguring disease was understood....  ***

   But Beatrice and I have a weird sense of humor  -  or do we have twisted minds?

New Mueller Indictments

Amazing.  The US Special Prosecutor's Grand Jury has indicted 13 Russians and 3 Russian "entities" (ie: corporations, "troll farms," companies) for interference in the 2016 elections in the United States.  This "sinister and systematic attack" against the democracy of our nation has caused many leaders in the US Congress to call for action and protection.  (A little late to my way of thinking...)
  For great details and coverage, see The Atlantic's article, "What Mueller's Indictment Reveals" at  https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/mueller-roadmap/553604/

Photos - Winter in the Mid-Tier United States

Northern California

Kansas

Kentucky

Maryland

Colorado

North Carolina

Missouri Ozarks

Memphis, Tennessee

Assateague Island, Virginia