Archive for December, 2007
The Year of Fear – 2008
Son, Irony abounds. An Election for President of the U. S. is upon us. We are talking about the leader of the free world. Some candidates for this heralded office use fear to jerk the chains of voters. Freedom and fear are not compatible concepts. Further irony reeks from the pores of candidate supporters – […]
30Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Year of Fear – 2008 | ContinuedRon Paul – the Physician Metaphor
Son, Ron Paul is a physician, a doctor, a M. D. Some folks think that qualifies him to be President. He is obviously very intelligent and very well educated. I suspect he knows a thing or two about health care issues. His physician experience is as a flight surgeon in the U. S. Air Force […]
29Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | ContinuedPiling Snow on Snow
Son, I live in the Midwest. We have been in the bullseye of weather systems for several weeks. The Great Ice Storm of 2007 took away our electrical power. Now we are inundated with snow on snow. I have about 250 feet of sidewalks to be shoveled. And I shovel with my little red […]
29Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Piling Snow on Snow | ContinuedIowa – Caucus Country
Dad, Before I moved to Iowa, I would have said that corn was the number one thing that I think of when someone mentions the state. I now realize that Kansas has more corn than Iowa and that the caucus is more a defining characteristic of Iowa than the agriculture. I had never had the […]
29Dec2007 | bryan | 1 comment | ContinuedThe Point of Leadership
Son, Leadership is not personal. Leadership is not about what I do at home in the evening, when no one is watching. Leadership is about what one does when everyone is watching. I really don’t care about the televangelist who privately has a couple of mistresses on the side. Who cares – what is the […]
29Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Point of Leadership | ContinuedMedia Hosts Fail in Presidential Debates
Son, Is our inept Media driving foreign policy? Do we rely on celebrity Media Hosts to define important issues? I hope not. Because the Media Hosts are so infatuated with themselves that they are not aware of a big world and real issues that have real consequences. I hearken back to the Democratic Debate. Time […]
28Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Media Hosts Fail in Presidential Debates | ContinuedFear Must Not Choose a President
Son, When Benizir Bhutto was assassinated the entire world reacted. When the planes struck on 9/11 our government reacted. We Americans are again afraid. The moment we heard of the assassination all of us took two steps to the political right. Decisions made out of fear are not generally good decisions. But fear cannot be […]
28Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Fear Must Not Choose a President | ContinuedThe Christams Aftermath…
Dad, Christmas is over, and my house is a wreck. I have been doing laps around the kitchen and living room with my son getting geared up to clean. I have had two cups of coffee and have checked my email twice, trying to get through the neglected part of my inbox. I started some […]
27Dec2007 | bryan | Comments Off on The Christams Aftermath… | ContinuedBenazir Bhutto has died
Son, Craziness is ruling the world. Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a suicide bombing in Pakistan. We people in America should stand together today, grateful that elections are upon us. We live in a country where we can affect change without killing people. We live in a Republic. We have opportunity. We are blessed. […]
27Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | ContinuedObama – do the same thing
Son, Barack Obama is on a toot. He is using an old line from self-help programs. Yesterday he said, “You keep doing the same thing expecting different results.” Some people call that the essence of insanity – I have a slightly different take on the old saying. Real insanity is in doing the same thing, […]
27Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Obama – do the same thing | ContinuedChallenging Sacred Cows of Politics
Son, I am one who attacks Sacred Cows. In that way Ron Paul and I are alike. There is something about the Ron Paul approach that unsettles me. It seems that he quotes obscure sources – fringe sources – sources of questionable repute. Are these sources questionable because they challenge old ideas or because they […]
27Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Challenging Sacred Cows of Politics | ContinuedRon Paul and Paulaholics attack Lincoln.
Son, Ron Paul is on the telephone with the Morning Joe folks. He is arguing that Lincoln is part of the “Hamiltonians who wanted a strong central government. Why did all other nations get rid of slavery without a civil war.” Asked of Paul, “How long should slavery have gone on? What was Abraham Lincoln […]
27Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | ContinuedUnited Way – A Sacred Cow
Son, The United Way is a great idea. Who would not want to be united in the way we treat our fellow man? The problem with the concept lies in longevity – after forty years the United Way has become a Sacred Cow and locals who administer the money are afraid to challenge impropriety. Even […]
27Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on United Way – A Sacred Cow | ContinuedRonald Reagan and Ron Paul
Son, In 1976 Ronald Reagan made a serious run at the Republican nomination for President. Our country was just emerging from Vietnam, Watergate, and a disgraced presidency. There are correlations to today. We are embroiled in an unpopular war, White House lackeys are being pardoned for crimes committed on behalf of the administration, and we […]
26Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul | ContinuedQualities of an American President?
Son, This is a redraft of a previous post. The previous post focused on Ron Paul – but while writing that post I realized there are bigger issues at stake. Ron Paul is running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. ON the surface it seems entirely remarkable that this man of […]
26Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Qualities of an American President? | ContinuedThe Rise of Ron Paul
Son, Ron Paul is running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. ON the surface it seems entirely remarkable that this man of little logic is having so much success, both in admiring fans and his ability to raise money. He is worth looking at – not because of his ideas – […]
26Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | ContinuedChris Matthews – arrogance personified
Son, I was once a fan of Chris Matthews. He is on Morning Joe again this morning and he is absolutely pathetic in his self promotion. They are discussing the 2008 election and Matthews just said, “If Obama winds in Iowa then Bill Clinton will be saying, ‘Matthews was right.’” Whooee – Does he think […]
26Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | ContinuedRon Paul, leaps of logic
Son, Ron Paul’s candidacy for president is not unusual. Every election draws fringe candidates – candidates who generally focus their energy on single issues, make their splash, and then go away. Ron Paul is different in that he addresses multiple issues – but more importantly – he is actually attracting an audience. This success says […]
26Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 5 comments | ContinuedThe Prophecy of Ohg Rea Tone – 2008
Son, I am compelled on this Christmas Day in 2007 to offer some insight into 2008. In the true spirit of prophecy I will focus on conditional prophecies. Conditional prophecies are most useful because they allow us opportunity to have some say in future events – if we were only aware of the conditional stimuli. […]
26Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Prophecy of Ohg Rea Tone – 2008 | ContinuedNostradamus – a cruel hoax
Son, I have a bad knee – well, they did surgery on it in 1983. My knee now reacts to the weather. I can always tell when it rained yesterday. Such is the case with the predictions of Nostradamus. It is Christmas Day and I am tired – I stayed up late last night – […]
25Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Nostradamus – a cruel hoax | ContinuedCrossing the Amelia Earhart Bridge
Son, Atchison, Kansas, is a nice place to visit. But I live in Missouri and that usually means that I have to cross the Emelia Earhart Bridge. The bridge spans the muddy Missouri River. It is a steel truss bridge, built in 1937 by the WPA – the Works Progress Administration. As I drove the […]
23Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Crossing the Amelia Earhart Bridge | ContinuedPayday Loans and Bounce Rates
Son, The Payday loan business is just that, a business. They are like any other business. They make money by having a steady stream of customers. And, like other businesses, they measure their success. I would sure like to see their statistics. We write essays for this online magazine. We measure our success in the […]
22Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Payday Loans and Bounce Rates | ContinuedBoston Legal on Predatory Lending
Son, I enjoy the TV program Boston Legal. Their stories are right out of the headlines. Last evening one of their ‘legal’ cases surrounded home foreclosure. Clarence, an employee of Crane, Pool?, and Schmidt, was two months behind on his mortgage payments because his interest had ballooned to 12%.? He had originated the 100% loan […]
21Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | ContinuedSacred Cows
Son, Look out. We are challenging Sacred Cows. Challenges to Sacred Cows are often met with personal attacks in an effort to discredit the challenger. We have a right to our opinion – and they have a right to disagree. But some folks can be really nasty. Our magazine of social commentary has put choice […]
19Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Sacred Cows | ContinuedLocal YMCA’s lose perspective
Son, Our local YMCA Board has lost touch once again, or perhaps I should say have never gained perspective. They had some sort of unexpected financial problem, I think with building maintenance, so they have decided to just charge all members double their normal monthly rate in January. That should raise about $60,000. They are […]
19Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Local YMCA’s lose perspective | ContinuedGoogle, searching for self
Son, Google is pretty cool. I entered my own name in the popular search engine. I entered my full name, Ohg Rea Tone, not knowing what I was hoping for. The results are rather enlightening. Historically people were named for their professions. Blacksmiths, those powerful men who forged steel by hand, became Smiths. File clerks […]
17Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Google, searching for self | ContinuedCatholics Saved Christianity
Son, Without the Roman Catholic Church there would be no Christianity. The Catholic Church has been criticized for about 2000 years. This probably began when Jesus chose to expose himself to a woman. Perhaps I should rephrase that statement. When bodily resurrected after death, Jesus revealed himself to Mary Magdalene before revealing himself to the […]
16Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Catholics Saved Christianity | ContinuedPride and independence
Son, The past few days have caused me to reflect on pride. My pride. My pride of being an independent person. The ‘never surrender’ attitude served me very well in sports – at other times my pride has caused some real pain. When I bought this house a few years ago I had some help […]
15Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Pride and independence | ContinuedIce Storms and Male Pride
Son, The Great Ice Storm of 2007, as it has become known, swept through the Midwest last Monday evening. Northwest Missouri was particularly hard hit, and that is where I live. Our electrical power was out very early in the morning on Tuesday. I woke up to a cold house. There are several strategies to […]
14Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Ice Storms and Male Pride | ContinuedIce Storms and Fireplaces
Son, An Ice Storm came visiting last Monday. It is now Friday and power was just restored last evening. The weather forecasters had properly warned me of the impending storm and the probable loss of electric power. So I was prepared. I went out Monday and bought a load of hard wood, all walnut. I […]
14Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Ice Storms and Fireplaces | ContinuedOld Dogs and Ice Storms
Son, Your sister married a while back and I inherited her 14 pound dog, Sadie. Sadie is half cocker spaniel and half schnauzer. She just turned fourteen years old. An ice storm came through town last Monday and knocked out our power. Sadie is pretty smart – probably as smart as a two and a […]
14Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Old Dogs and Ice Storms | Continuedwe continue to miss the point of the John Lennon Legacy
Dad, I just read on Yahoo News that a lock of John Lennon’s hair sold for $48,000 dollars. It is the Christmas season, so I can’t help but stand in the face of our obsession with excess and indulgence. Most of the time I can manage a passive conversation about it and talk about little […]
13Dec2007 | bryan | Comments Off on we continue to miss the point of the John Lennon Legacy | ContinuedIce Storms highlight desperate measures
Readers, Ohg is out of commission. He lives in one of the midwestern cities that has been hit the worst with the latest ice storms. The picture at the right is about two blocks from his house. He is without power, huddled in fron of his fireplace for warmth, trying to decide whether or not […]
13Dec2007 | bryan | Comments Off on Ice Storms highlight desperate measures | Continuedthis video about freegans…
Dad, Back to the conversation about freegans. I know that there are responsible, practical ways to change the world, and that one should follow the appropriate channels, but I am glad for the people who don’t worry about that and just do what they can to make a difference, even if it is only in […]
11Dec2007 | bryan | Comments Off on this video about freegans… | Continuedhaving kids and making decisions
Dad, We are faced, as a family, with more life change. We have moved every year and even changed states three times in our short 5 year marriage. We are expecting our third child this summer, and we will have to figure out how to live in this little two bedroom apartment or upgrade to […]
10Dec2007 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued10 things to do when starting a wordpress blog
Dad, I thought that some of our readers might benefit from the foot work that we have done in getting this blog off the ground. I will talk more about content and writing in future posts, but first I want to address the basics of getting a WordPress blog up and running. Here are ten […]
10Dec2007 | bryan | 4 comments | ContinuedNebraska Mall Shooting
Son, Another tragedy in America, this time in Nebraska. A nineteen-year-young man walked into a mall with his step-father’s assault rifle and killed eight people before killing himself. The young man had a troubled life; the state estimated that it had invested $265,000 on his previous ‘treatment.’ This is not the first troubled youth to […]
9Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Nebraska Mall Shooting | ContinuedThe Mormon Bible – and Mitt Romney
Son, Mitt Romney has said that he will ‘put his hand on the Bible” and take the oath of office. My question is simple, which Bible is he going to put his hand on? I think it is a fair question – he is taking an oath to defend you and me, your children and […]
7Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 6 comments | ContinuedThe politics of admitting mistakes
Son, Several candidates for President have long histories. Many of them have run for other offices like Senator, or Governor, or Mayor. In the process of seeking those offices they necessarily catered to the limited population of their respective ambitions. Romney and Giuliani were pro-choice. Giuliani has been married three times. Huckabee raised taxes. Clinton […]
4Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The politics of admitting mistakes | ContinuedBush, bewildering logic
Son, President Bush is live on TV as I write. “Iran was dangerous. Iran is dangerous. Iran will be dangerous if they have the ability to have nukular weapons. Who is to say that they don’t have a covert operation to have a nukular program” This in response to a new finding by the National […]
4Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Bush, bewildering logic | ContinuedMom sings the doo doo song
Son, Your Grandma is a character. She is aging and has lost some of her height. When she was in her thirties she was almost five foot tall, but not quite. As she ages she is getting shorter. There were seven children in my family, my father worked two jobs outside the home and my […]
2Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Mom sings the doo doo song | ContinuedGays and Aids, A Connection?
Son, The HIV virus is non-discriminatory. It does not care about your race, creed, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Sadly, many people have viewed the result of HIV, AIDS, as largely a phenomenon of gay sex. Why? When AIDS hit the scene in the early 1980’s it was predominantly in the gay men community – […]
2Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Gays and Aids, A Connection? | ContinuedImus and Sharpton – still haggling
Son, Good for Don Imus. He has overcome adversity and is returning to the Radio airways. I am not an Imus kind of guy – I may be a smart-alack like him – but our philosophies are different. But this is not about me – it is about redemption from the pettiness of Al Sharpton. […]
2Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Imus and Sharpton – still haggling | ContinuedThe Alamo – The Tigers get no respect
Son, There is a big game tonight in college football. You know that I am only a casual observer of college sports – but even casual observers have to take note of this game. The Missouri Tigers haven’t won a conference football championship since 1969. They were not even ranked when this season started. Today […]
1Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Alamo – The Tigers get no respect | Continued