July 31, 2013

Yes, also having a bad year.

In the first two months, I went to 3 funerals. Then in March I ended up in the hospital and missed almost 2 months of work. My son also was in the hospital around the same time.

Things are finally looking up.... but I'm almost afraid to exhale. It's funny because at the beginning of 2013, I just had bad feeling about "the curse of 13." Only 5 months to go! Better luck to us all!!!

It isn't as bad as 2001 though. That really was the "year from hell" for us.

July 30, 2013

Remembering former Governor Bill Scranton--- He was a "Kennedy Republican"

Former Pennsylvania governor William Scranton Jr. dies
July 30, 2013 9:46 am
Post-Gazette

By Timothy McNulty / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Bill Scranton, a moderate Republican governor and presidential hopeful in the mid-1960s who remained a national presence in public and business life, died Sunday of a cerebral hemorrhage at an assisted-living facility in Montecito, Calif. He was 96.

Pennsylvania Republicans were despondent in 1962. They had lost the past two major statewide elections to Democrats David L. Lawrence and John F. Kennedy in the gubernatorial and presidential races of 1958 and 1960, and for the first time they were out-registered by Democrats by nearly 200,000 votes. With reluctance, Mr. Scranton -- a freshman congressman representing the city named after his family -- met with former President Dwight Eisenhower at his farm in Gettysburg.

The patrician World War II veteran was seen as a "Kennedy Republican" who voted with the administration on urban renewal projects, the Peace Corps and the minimum wage. As governor he would later raise sales and liquor taxes, build the community college system and cut the state's unemployment rate in half, but first he had to be persuaded to get into the race.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-state/former-pennsylvania-governor-william-scranton-jr-dies-697325/#ixzz2aZFVEGOZ

July 27, 2013

15,000 posts!

I just realized it.

July 26, 2013

Black swallowtails :-)

I found some of these guys eating my parsley and dill plants:



They will become these lovely creatures:

July 23, 2013

My thoughts on the royal baby. No sniping allowed.

I didn't want to post this last night because I was tired and cranky.

I don't understand why people cannot be happy for the "royal" family. Are they jealous or just mean-spirited? I get it that people have no use for a "royal" family but that is another country and that is their history and heritage. It has nothing to do with us.

Celebrity babies always get a lot of press. Remember Blue Ivy and North West? Why do people feel the need to snipe, make nasty jokes, and just be miserable about such events? If it makes them so dang irritated, can't they just ignore it and let those who choose to feel happiness alone?

Human nature is a mystery at times, especially to the introverts among us. If you cannot reply with nice thoughts, please refrain. Thank you.

July 18, 2013

This will be my Nast post on DU:

July 14, 2013

The Voter ID Law case begins Monday, July 15 in Commonwealth Court:

HARRISBURG — The state's capital city is “ground zero for voting rights” in the North, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous told a Capitol crowd days before a trial is to start on Pennsylvania's voter identification law.

Jealous spoke at a rally in advance of the case that opens on Monday in Commonwealth Court. Dissecting Act 18, the state's voter ID law, may take as long as two weeks.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the Public Interest Center of Philadelphia, and a Washington law firm will argue before Judge Bernard McGinley, a Democrat, that the law must be overturned.

The Pennsylvania Department of State, represented by the Attorney General's Office, the Office of General Counsel, and a Philadelphia law firm will defend the law that Gov. Tom Corbett signed in March 2012.

Read more: http://triblive.com/politics/politicalheadlines/4326544-74/law-state-pennsylvania#ixzz2Z2Ya5Ggs

July 11, 2013

Not one little bit.

I was somewhat involved in the anti-war movement and there are very few similarities now. Once in a while there is a big march on DC, or some protest that eventually fizzles. The sit-ins in the state capitols (WI, TX) and the Occupy Movement come closest to how it "felt" in the late 1960s. The assassinations and Nixon's 1968 election were the beginning of the end of the euphoria we felt.

July 10, 2013

Hey, I made the Greatest Page!

I think it's only the second time! I now have two accomplishments to list!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023215644

July 10, 2013

Pit bull lovers will love this story about a courageous pup:

http://triblive.com/news/butler/4325745-74/weintraub-chloe-dog#axzz2YeUmqDRt

Published: Wednesday, July 10, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Updated 10 hours ago

The last thing Chuck Weintraub remembers is pushing a lawnmower through his Cranberry yard, surrounded by his three dogs.

When he awoke three days later from a medically induced coma, he was stunned to learn that Chloe — a dog so timid that she covered her eyes with her paws when stressed — had saved his life.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/butler/4325745-74/weintraub-chloe-dog#ixzz2YeVDnhsS