I woke up this morning at 4:00 AM to start a fire for the smoker and put on a 12Lb brisket.  I've been working all morning on the lawn with my two sons and then I spent time cleaning my bike one of my favorite past times. After lunch I realized I must have done something right, I have a beautiful family.  My oldest graduated from High school this year. He has some learning disabilities and this was a major victory for him. For the summer he found a job working for Habitat For Humanity. His girlfriend has one year to go left in High school and she recently rejected a scholarship to Baylor to stay closer to home for my son. Let's hope she chooses the fine University here in Austin. My son has a license now and his graduation gift will be his first car here in a few weeks. My...

It's important to get both sides of the story.  $(document).ready(function() { var id = $('#ytplayeraiMKYx'); var tw = id.width(); var th = Math.round(tw / 1.778); if (th < 300) { th = 300; } id.height(th); });

AFTER Donald Trump said that he believed that the shooting of the Republicans, including House #3 Steve Scalise,  on Wednesday morning had brought "unity" to the country Steve, in his own way, may have brought some unity to our long-divided country. We've had a very, very divided country for many years. And I have a feeling that Steve has made a great sacrifice, but there could be some unity being brought to our country. Donald Trump said these things through Twitter,   Donald J. Trump ‏ Verified account   @realDonaldTrump     6h 6 hours ago More Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-07/comey-releases-prepared-remarks-i-hope-you-can-see-your-way-letting-go-i-need-loyalt

An influential left-wing think tank has called for the government to create millions of jobs for those without a college degree, leading to headlines like  The   Nation’s  declaration  that  “It’s Time for the Government to Give Everyone a Job.” One fatal flaw of such a plan was exposed in the comments section of that article, when a commentator named Ira Dember pointed out the perverse incentives that would result if the government guaranteed jobs to  only  those without a college degree. Namely, that there is little incentive to undertake the expense of going to college in the hopes of finding employment, when the government will guarantee employment to only those who choose to eschew higher education! But the underlying notion of this proposal — that the government can...

The usual suspects posting the usual partisan crap. Maybe later on today....but I doubt it.  

http://eaglerising.com/30705/democrats-love-the-poor-which-is-why-theyre-trying-to-make-more/ Raising the Minimum Wage Actually Makes Workers Poorer & Demonstrates the Risk America Runs in Allowing Private-Sector Freedom to Be Abolished “The smallest minority on earth is the individual.  Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”  ―Ayn Rand What Happens When the Government Gives Workers Raises? When individual business owners are not free to run their own businesses, and the government can arbitrarily dictate their costs by giving workers an unearned pay raise, the first thing businesses have to do is to raise their prices to cover those higher costs.  The result of the price increase is that there will be fewer takers for...

      by JR   Republicans have been fighting against minimum wage hikes for as long as I can remember. They are , for all intents and purposes, the reason that , adjusted for inflation, the current minimum wage is worth less than it was 50 years ago. Republicans have generally felt that people who make minimum wage need to improve themselves, and if they improve themselves they will make more money.  This "logic" completely ignores the fact that someone will always be making the lowest wage in a society. That is the point of a minimum wage. Since the concept of a "lowest" wage is unavoidable, it should have a floor underneath it.  Now, today, we see more evidence of the Republicans hate for the poor. As Republicans have been...

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  environment china global-warming president-obama governor-scott-walker katharine-hayhoe congressman-rob-bishop the-palm-oil-industry the-standing-rock-sioux trump-voters        Thanks  to those of you who submitted nominations and who voted.  The four top candidates in each category were selected from the nominees and the poll was  conducted on three internet sites and Facebook. This year’s winners won by landslides. Here are the winners: Hall of Fame  1.  Dr. Katharine Hayhoe ( 91% of the vote) –   an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University, she is director of the Climate Science Center. She is an evangelical Christian who believes that science and religion do not have to...

Thanks  to those of you who submitted nominations. The four top candidates in each category have been selected from the nominees. Please vote for the ones who you think have most affected the environment for good or ill.  If you will, please post a reason for your vote and a suggestion for suitable gifts for your favorite candidate. The most interesting and humorous gift suggestions will be acknowledged. Voting will close and the winners announced on  March 1, 2017 . Please  put your choice in each category as a comment below or you may vote in a poll at this site. Hall of Fame Nominees 1.  China – for announcing an investment of $361 billion in renewable energy by 2020 (and probably taking the  global lead  in green tech – a sad, missed opportunity for the US,...

It is important that we recognize those who have most affected the environment by their words and actions.  Each year, this site takes a poll to find those most deserving to be in the Environmental Hall of Fame and the Environmental Hall of Shame. Please send  your nominations  for  each category by e-mail through the “Contact the Author”   link or put it in the comment section . If you would, please include a short reason that your nominee should be chosen and suggest a suitable gift if they win. Nominations  will be taken until January 31st, 2017. The nominees will then be  listed  and this site will conduct a poll to determine the winner in each category.   You may suggest a suitable prize for your nominee. Please be imaginative, as particularly thoughtful or humorous...