Sometimes life just hits you in the face. So much going on all around us.

Religion: Seems to be on the decline. Doesn't wield the influence it used to. (Not withstanding our cyclic current evangelicals.)

Politics: OMG! What have we devolved to? Two sides ready to kill each other over everything.

Pretty much been liberal most of my life in which I think everyone should have a chance to engage in "the pursuit of happiness" as long as that pursuit doesn't adversely effect anyone else. (But we also shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking that 'happiness' is sacredly ordained. That was one group that defined their ideas of what "man's inalienable rights" should be. A relatively small group. (I think my liberality makes me every bit as patriotic as any conservative who espouses "freedom" but who will fight to the death to control a woman's decision to yes or no birth.

For the first time, tonight gave me a perspective on how "those" people can feel. The revelation came through the website for RawStory (number two slot in my browser bookmarks after Huffington). One was a story on

Never mind. I realize it doesn't matter what I think. I always thought one could envision his/her reality into existence but my theory is disproven by reality. I never envisioned this for my country or the people around me.

I have been thinking about the specific immigrants coming through our southern border. A lot of people are making noise about them. TV, newspapers the Internet are filled with discussion both in straight news and editorial content.

Here is noise from me on the topic.

Let them come. Let the fathers and mothers who bring their children to a better life, the young who otherwise have no future, the families who flee political or endemic violence find welcoming here. They suffer loneliness, fear, exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, and even death to get here. Welcome them. They will mow the lawns, landscape our environment, pick our crops, cook our food, wash our cars, Uber us around, build and roof our homes (in 116-degree temperatures). They are willing to do that because it is way better than what they left.

Some will be bad, others will take some of our jobs.

For the “bad” people, criminals and all who would do us harm, come down on them. Hard. Very hard. Maybe double what an American is penalized. That would seem to be fair. If Americans commit crimes against us, we have failed them educationally, morally etc. It’s our bad. If an illegal immigrant commits a crime against us, some other society has failed him. Not our fault, we were in no position to affect his/her development. Do not do a crime if you’re an immigrant, we are going to ensure that you’ll wish with all your heart that you had never done it.

For rapists and murderers, we catch them and then ensure that they never see another human being again until they die. Gang members will be removed but dealt with fairly. Pedophiles (though my first inclination is to treat them the same as the rapists) would seem to have mental problems so maybe formalized into grouped settings removed from general society can be ay for liRecidivism results in a doubling of penalties. One more instance puts you away for long, long time.

For Americans who are displaced in their jobs we can offer special help. If they can prove steady employment for a specific period, we will draw them back from those professions, provide a list of needed work and let them choose a future career path, pay them the whole time at a basic living wage scaled for size of family, provide health insurance and train them in that profession. If the worker doesn’t want to change to a more profitable work path, they can opt to do said profession at whatever the market bears in that area. If it’s lower than before the immigrants came, so be it. Market value for the immigrants is what they are willing to do for that price. 

All this displacement can create new jobs for Americans. We will need investigators to verify. Verify if the American claiming displacement experience has really been displaced, verify the backgrounds of immigrants who are discovered. We will need teachers who are train the selected professions. We will need correctional workers. Our borders have to be staffed. We could create jobs by building immigrant education centers and staff them to help our additions assimilate into our society productively. Teach them our language, our laws, our society in general.

From an immigration center, they have to spend a certain amount of time living next to a host or hosts scaled once again to family size. Make friends. Have them invite you into their cultures starting with their holidays; invite them to yours. Show them our Christmas and Thanksgiving and let them thank you with theirs. Find the joy in those holidays and take the best from each. They have to work and pay taxes like everybody else. After the probationary period is over they can go anywhere they want any time they want. Welcome to the USA. After another specific period of time and citizenship, whatever harsher penalties they would have faced as an immigrant then reverts back to that of any American citizen.

Spent the last few days baking for relatives.

Chocolate Cream Pie with Coconut Whipped Topping

Chocolate Nut Pie

Tomorrow I'll be doing four Coconut Cream pies. 

Couple of days ago I cranked out four dozen Pizzelle cookies, four dozen Cranberry, White-Chocolate-Macadamia cookies, and four dozen Mexican Wedding Cookies.

The holidays have arrived!!

Been depressingly busy lately. Ex-wife LM was diagnosed with throat cancer couple of months ago. I have been taking her to daily treatments (radiation every weekday; chemo every three weeks; hydration twice a week with extra days thrown in as needed).

As a result, days are pretty busy and I'm limited in what I can get accomplished. Next to what poor LM is going through, however, my needs are inconsequential. She's getting to the end. Last chemo was past Wednesday; last radiation will be coming Wednesday; hydration over at the end of the month. She's almost there.

Yesterday, in fact the whole weekend, was spent making changes around the house. I upgraded my machine. It was time. Kept the old one because it had thousands of dollars of software that wouldn't run on newer computers. There is much of it I no longer use but need occasionally. Unfortunately, a new machine just wouldn't run them. Spent the entire weekend transferring stuff I could use or finding modern alternatives to those programs and/or data files.

New unit is so much faster.

Yesterday I spent time crawling around on the floor removing wiring and simplifying the wires that make everything run together. Can't believe how much wiring I managed to remove.

Also retrieved some furniture I put in storage when K got sick and moved it myself. Back feels it today.

Interesting day.

Washed and waxed Toyota for KM's imminent visit on Friday.

Decided to finally construct couple of Winogradsky Columns. (Best described as "an enclosed self-sustaining microbial system.) Here's what they look like:

Cost was very reasonable: Plaster of Paris ($7.43), Calcium carbonate (garden lime) ($3.78), vases ($6.00).

Also need pond/stream water and mud.

Assembled tools (bucket, shovel, machete for the undergrowth, empty gallon jug, gloves.)

Went across the street to swamp area only to find that it was completely dry. Drove to nearby town where I knew there was a large pond. Parked car at wide bend in the road and hopped road guard fence. Gathered material, then promptly fell into the pond.

So much for white socks. Don't even want to put smelly mud socks into washing machine. Trashed.

Made two columns and set them into kitchen window to grow.

Consoled myself by buying new winter jacket from Duluth Trading. Love their clothes.

Today felt good today. Lots (LOTS) of personal errands taken care of. Things around the house. Even ironed more clothes in preparation of visit by KM from AZ. Looking forward to seeing K again. Bringing a friend who has never been east. Should be fun.

Today must really be my day. Using TV for background and by chance I've come upon Avatar. Possibly the film I've seen most in my life. Cheesy storyline but the portrayal of what other worlds could be like is terrific.

Our politics have become an homage to the WWE. Laughable if it weren't so damn important.