The MUDSLINGER .... David Pepper

Here in Ohio, I must admit, I am SICK of hearing this guy's ads on TV. He apparently has nothing positive about himself to advertise so he has become a ......... MUDSLINGER. His family must have money to pay for his TV ads, I can't imagine anyone donating to his campaign. I have never really come out against a candidate, but this election is all abort NEGATIVE here in Ohio. One campaign, I really do not know who the opponent is .... all negative about the opponent.

And he is running for Attorney General and has absolutely NO experience, not uncommon in politics, but time to put a stop to that. He just seems to enjoy running for something, whether he is qualified or not.

"In 2001, Pepper was elected to the Cincinnati City Council and served as the Chairman of Council's Law and Public Safety Committee. Pepper was defeated in his run for mayor in 2005. Pepper was elected to the Hamilton County's Board of Commissioners in November 2006. In 2010 Pepper was a candidate for Ohio Auditor and in April 2013, Pepper said he would run for state Attorney General in the 2014 election."

50 Years .... of marriage

On November 11, not too many days away, Marilyn and I will have been married for 50 years, that is impossible, but true. I remember when my Mom and Dad celebrated theirs, they seemed so old at the time. Old people are married for that many years, so what am I doing here?

Fifty years, in itself, is a lifetime, and had 32 years before that date, and, really, a lifetime of experiences during that time. A few years of college, four years in the Navy, a career in the casinos in Reno, Elko, and other towns, and, three marriages before this one, married four times, but that's another story. I guess I have, so far, lived three lifetimes. The one prior to this marriage, a life while working, and a retirement life. I've crammed a lot in all those lives.

I doubt that we will celebrate the occasion in any spectacular way. First of all, after that many years of marriage, one is old, one has a number of "ailments" ... and in reality, I celebrate each day, what greater gift than, a day. Just seeing the dawn is in itself, a gift, and, we are both in reasonably good health.

Anticipate, at this age it is not anticipation, it is more of a concern over, what might happen next. I look forward to hitting the lottery, but that is just a dream. If you make a list of "happenings" at this age, not many are good, getting through the day is the greatest challenge.

You may also be perceptive enough to realize that it is also Veterans Day. Due to our previous marriage "history" we thought the day was appropriate for us. That, in itself, is another story.

"Oh Canada" .... it happens everywhere .....

A gunman shot a soldier in uniform at the National War Memorial in the Canadian capital of Ottawa Wednesday then went into Parliament, authorities said. 

The gunman was shot by security forces, authorities said, and Canadian television reported that a man believed to be the gunman was seen being removed from the building by a gurney. 

Armed police surrounded the building and escorted some lawmakers and reporters to safety. The shootings come two days after a man ran down two Canadian soldiers in his car in Montreal in what authorities called an apparent terrorist attack. One soldier died, and the other was injured. 

The suspect was shot by police and later died.

It pains me to do this .... yea, I bet

For all who have asked, to ease your Christmas Shopping, I am posting Items that would be suitable to give me for Christmas. This is a service I offer each year.

A reminder also, on November 11, Marilyn and I will have been married 50 years.

That's why he named him Sue ...............

I have a new vocation .... "Watching TV Commercials in hopes of Finding Someone I can Sue." I bought some asbestos at Home Depot and have scattered it around .... Mesothelioma. I am in no way trying to offend anyone, especially those who have contacted the problem, but there are SOOOO many opportunities to SUE, well there should be one.

We have probably had a few legitimate opportunities to sue someone, but did not. I probably came close to dying a few years ago, A missed diagnosis at out local hospital .... "You have Diverticulitis," the doctor told me. It happened again, in New Jersey, I actually a cyst, inside my colon, could have been life threatening.

My dear wife has probably had a number of "opportunities" to sue. Her Pacemaker went off 37 times, was put in three times, she was in a study group for her breast cancer .... cured, but the "cure" led to one thing after another ..... her pacemaker was put in three times .......... the last time the MD said, "I finally got it in "right" this time. If we had pursued it, here in Newark, there is only one MD office for her problem, sue them, we have to drive many miles each time something goes wrong, or even for a check up and monthly blood work, so, we said nothing.

I asked if that "mesh" had ever been used in any of my many surgeries, my wife reminded me I did not have a vagina ..... it was a vaginal mesh product.

I wonder how many people are actually living off of their law suit money, between the lawyers and the "suees" it must be lucrative.

It is possible that Johnny Cash actually meant more in his song that just making the kid strong, he named him "Sue" ..... as a suggestion to pursue for his retirement or income..................

10/22/14

What about Mathis? Well, we have the same birthday for one thing, he is, however, three years my junior, he was born in '35, and, still going strong, he still does many concerts each year. I want to see him go on and on.

I have always liked his songs, saw him at Tahoe, very entertaining, have an album right here of his Christmas songs. He and my 92 year old cousin give me home to extend my longevity.

I have browsed the news this morning, slow news day. Manhunt still on for the guy back East in PA who has been on the run for quite a while. He is spotted, never apprehended. He will be found, doubtful if he will be alive though..

Ebola is controversial, I imagine that there are those who are making good money because of it that will keep the scare going on. Good political fodder.

Here in Ohio, I am sick of politics at our state level. Two very visible candidates apparently have nothing positive to offer, so their campaigns are all negative about their opponent. Out governor has one ad that he is running, running, running and running. Politics as usual.

In Ohio sports, even though others aren't, they are talking Heisman for their QB, I forget his name, and he will probably be out of a job next year, because of a returning QB who was injured, but, they think the QB of a championship team should be considered. They are assuming they will will all of their remaining games, which they might do ..... easy when no quality teams are scheduled.

The runner, with no feet, but artificial ones of some kind, who thought a burglar was taking a shower and put a number of bullets into the room, killing his girlfriend, will spend a little time in jail, and
then probably get an ankle bracelet and live in his uncle's really nice condo, is in jail.

Lastly, a married couple John and Lois Lafferty who were married later in life but shared a passion for travel and history, when they passed away, Lois's daughter Misty had the perfect idea for scattering their ashes. Lois and John became the first customers of Mesoloft, which launches ashes via weather balloon high into the Earth's atmosphere. At 72,000 feet, Lois and John's ashes were released from the container and scattered above the Earth. The company says the couple's remains will likely land on mountaintops, valleys, deserts, and oceans.

ripley 10/22

Cause of ALS is found, Northwestern team says

Researchers at Northwestern University say they have discovered a common cause behind the mysterious and deadly affliction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, that could open the door to an effective treatment.

Dr. Teepu Siddique, a neuroscientist with Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine whose pioneering work on ALS over more than a quarter-century fueled the research team's work, said the key to the breakthrough is the discovery of an underlying disease process for all types of ALS.

The discovery provides an opening to finding treatments for ALS and could also pay dividends by showing the way to treatments for other, more common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's, Siddique said.

The Northwestern team identified the breakdown of cellular recycling systems in the neurons of the spinal cord and brain of ALS patients that results in the nervous system slowly losing its ability to carry brain signals to the body's muscular system.

Without those signals, patients gradually are deprived of the ability to move, talk, swallow and breathe.

"This is the first time we could connect (ALS) to a clear-cut biomedical mechanism," Siddique said. "It has really made the direction we have to take very clear and sharp. We can now test for drugs that would regulate this protein pathway or optimize it, so it functions as it should in a normal state."

The announcement of the breakthrough is in Monday's issue of the research journal Nature. The paper lists 23 contributing scientists, including the lead authors, Northwestern neurological researchers Han-Xiang Deng and Wenjie Chen, and Siddique as senior author.

Senseless ..........

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 6-year-old girl was killed during a drive-by shooting while shopping for bubblegum with her father at a convenience store in Kansas City, according to police, who are vowing to find those responsible for her death.

Hundreds of people turned out Sunday evening for a vigil to remember Angel Hooper, who died two nights earlier after being shot at the south in the south part of the city, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/1ptpyAe ). Angel and her father had stopped for gum after a jog when someone in a passing car opened fire.

"Angel has all the power of the Kansas City Police Department behind her," said Maj. Karl Oakman, adding that investigators wouldn't rest until her killers are found. "Wherever you are, we will find you."

The girl was at the store with her father and a friend when she was shot in the head Friday evening, and she died at a nearby hospital, according to a police report. Police Capt. Tye Grant told the newspaper that shots were fired from a passing vehicle, and police were working over the weekend on some leads and planned to check the store's surveillance tapes.

"Criminals are no longer just killing each other — they are killing our children. This nonsense must end," Mayor Sly James said in a statement Saturday.

Several speakers at Sunday's rally also criticized violence in the community. They also praised Angel as a positive, smart child who enjoyed singing at church and helping others. Her first-grade teacher, Kimberly Walter, said Angel was "a little walking genius" who had qualified for a gifted and talented program.

Monica Lewinsky joins Twitter: Why that's bad news for Hillary Clinton 2016

With three simple words, Monica Lewinsky has broken her silence, re-entered public life, launched a campaign against cyber-bullying - and, quite possibly, thrown a major wrench in Hillary Clinton's purported plans to run for the presidency in 2016.

The former White House intern who had an affair with President Clinton in 1998 joined Twitter Monday with this simple tweet:

#HereWeGo— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) October 20, 2014

That tweet came ahead of Lewinsky's first public speech in 13 years, a Forbes Under 30 Summit in which she spoke about cyber-bullying in a speech entitled, "Monica Lewinsky and the Internet's Reputation Shredder."

“I was Patient Zero,” Lewinsky said in her speech. “The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.”

She said that the death of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, whose college roommate streamed video of him kissing another male student, inspired her to share her own story of Internet shaming and how the Clinton affair scandal nearly ruined her life. In an earlier essay, Lewinsky wrote, “Perhaps by sharing my story, I reasoned, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation."

Lewinsky's re-re-entry into public life (she's "broken her silence" several times before, as theWashington Post points out, first in a 1999 tell-all book, then an interview with Barbara Walters in 2000, and finally a Vanity Fair essay in 2014, all before joining Twitter) is a smart move for the former intern whose name has become synonymous with sexual scandal.

Why? On Twitter, Lewinsky can communicate with the public on her own terms, at her own discretion - there's no editor, handler, or network executive who may spin her story to suit their objectives.

Nigeria declared Ebola-free, holds lessons for others

By Camillus Eboh and Angela Ukomadu

ABUJA/LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria was declared free of the deadly Ebola virus on Monday after a determined doctor and thousands of officials and volunteers helped end an outbreak still ravaging other parts of West Africa and threatening the United States and Spain.

Caught unawares when a diplomat arrived with the disease from Liberia, authorities were alerted by Doctor Ameyo Adadevoh, who kept him in her hospital despite protests from him and his government, and later herself died from the disease.

They then set about trying to contain it in an overcrowded city of 21 million where it could easily have turned a doomsday scenario if about 300 people who had been in direct or indirect contact with him not been traced and isolated.

"This is a spectacular success story," Rui Gama Vaz from the World Health Organization (WHO) told a news conference in the capital Abuja, where officials broke into applause when he announced that Nigeria had shaken off the disease.

"It shows that Ebola can be contained, but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola."

This year's outbreak of the highly infectious haemorrhagic fever thought to have originated in forest bats is the worst on record.

It has killed 4,546 people across the three most-affected countries, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone and travellers have from the region have infected two people in Texas and one in Madrid.

McDonald's quarterly profit falls 30 percent

(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp reported a 30 percent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by a food scandal in China and intense competition in the United States.

The company's net income fell to $1.07 billion, or $1.09 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from $1.52 billion, or $1.52 per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue at the world's largest restaurant chain fell 4.6 percent to $6.99 billion.

Global sales at restaurants open at least 13 months were down 3.3 percent.

Analysts on average had expected global same-restaurant sales to fall by 3 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bangalore and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Kirti Pandey)

Amen!

This is an old item, has passed around the internet for a number of years, I think it is good to be reminded of it, on occasions.

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people... When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness 

and to seek your direction and guidance. 

We know 

Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. 

IN CHRIST'S NAME

Amen!

Monday Morning - 10/20/14

I wrote this yesterday, but it somehow did not get published ...............

Still no laptop, hope to get it back tonight, but, that's another story.

Football. the Notre Dame coach, Brian Kelly is upset over a call that cost his a game. I wonder if he is as upset as his Cincinnati team was when he walked out on them on the eve of a bowl game. It could not have happened to a more deserving coach ..... payback time.

Ebola .... controversial to say the least ... I realized this morning that I do not know enough about the situation to mention anything about it. It is hitting close to home though, in Columbus, Ohio. I hope we never hear about it again, and the scare is over.

I did have an epiphany again this weekend. Football games are played, and go on whether I watch them or not. Perhaps my age, but I think I am getting tired of athletics. I watched some of "Midnight Madness" which consists of watching really tall people trying to put a ball through a hoop, at midnight. The build up of the event was comparable to a super bowl .... it could be called, "The making of Millionaires." A showcase of talent, in the middle of the night.

Television has no limits to what they will do to create "productive" air time, financially productive, that is.. We will soon see some universities and colleges spring up that have no academics at all, just sports, televised sports. Forget the classes, just .............. play ball!

Football helmets, they have gone crazy, tradition out the window in some programs, just classy, high gloss, helmets. I have heard that some programs go through an entire schedule with new helmets for each player, each game. No more, you get one so take care of it, a new one for each game. Some talk was the newer the helmet the more the protection, so a new one each game. I wonder if the helmet manufacturers had anything to do with it. Traditional uniforms .... no more .... new and colorful one each game.

Oscar Pistorius Sentenced to Five Years Behind Bars for Killing Girlfriend

Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday for the Valentine’s Day killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years in South Africa, but no mandatory minimum. 

Judge Thokozile Masipa could have given him a suspended sentence to be served at home under state supervision. 

In delivering her sentence, Judge Masipa said that a “noncustodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community,” but that “a long sentence would also not be appropriate either."

Ripley 10/19

RGJ to hold discussion on Reno's gaming history

If anyone is in the area, check this out. I was there, when much of this "history" happened. It was a unique time, and the beginning of a national industry. Some of Reno lived, and died during this period which is mostly ........ forgotten ..... I would love to be there for this.

In concurrence with Nevada's 150th anniversary of statehood, the Reno Gazette-Journal is sponsoring a round-table discussion on gaming in the Biggest Little City before the emergence of the large-scale casino industry that sprung from passage of the 1969 Corporate Gaming Act.

It's a night of nostalgia with some of the best in local historical research. Food and refreshments will be served. Reno Gazette-Journal senior reporter Guy Clifton and city reporter Emerson Marcus will moderate the discussion. The speakers are:

Alicia Barber: Editor and co-founder of Reno Historical, a smart phone app and website dedicated to Reno's history. Author of Reno's Big Gamble. Serves on Nevada State Board of Museums and History​.

Steve Ellison: Producer of soon-to-be released Harold's Club Movie documentary. Owner of LSN Studios.

Michael E. Fischer: Former Director of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs. Now researches early to mid-twentieth century gaming in Nevada, lectures on its characters (Baby Face Nelson) and performs Chautauquas of some prominent Nevadans.

Dwayne Kling: Former Harold's Club employee. Worked as casino executive at the Peppermill Casino and casino manager of the Virginian. Oral historian and author ofThe Rise of the Biggest Little City: An Encyclopedia History of Reno Gaming, 1931-1981.

Date: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22. Location: the Reno Gazette-Journal front lobby, 955 Kuenzli Street.

NEWS Homeowner shoots burglar on NW Side

I wonder just where that is, exactly, the upper right shoulder?

SAN ANTONIO - A burglar is in the hospital after he was shot by the owner of the home he was breaking into.

It happened in the 100 block of Locknere Lane on the city's Northwest Side just after 2 p.m.

Police said the 48-year-old homeowner was asleep inside when he heard a knock at the door.

He told officers he wasn't expecting anyone, so he didn't rush to answer it, but that's when he heard someone kick the door down. Police said that's when he grabbed a gun.

"He was able to grab his handgun in the process of the three suspects breaking in the front door into his location," said officer Misty Floyd, San Antonio Police Department. "He was able to fire off several rounds. One of the rounds hit one of the suspects."

After one of the suspects was shot, all three took off from the scene in a light-colored Toyota Camry.

The suspected burglar who was shot was dropped off at Baptist Hospital downtown by the other two suspects.

The 26-year-old man was shot in the upper torso and was later transported to University Hospital.

As for the 48-year-old homeowner, we're told he's okay. While the case is under investigation, it doesn't appear he will face any charges.

However, if the 26-year-old suspect recovers from his gunshot wound, he will face charges.

SMI - 10/18/14

Obama sez, "Not to worry over the Ebola thing," and then, rushed out to his broker and bought stock in protective clothing and rubber gloves.

He and his cabinet had a meeting, drew straws, the short one, the new Ebola Czar.

Obama proclaimed, "Now that I have figured out how to contain the Ebola Virus, I am putting this same effort in to containing ............ the wind, and then fire, and then ............. water. I do not think it is possible to "contain" the Ebola Virus. Some saw this happening many years ago, WHY NO vaccine, why no research on the subject, one wonders ......... WHY?

Why does Obama not work on containing Hurricanes, like the ones that are devastating Hawaii and Bermuda, and other places. I want to move to a place where I am not bothered with the weather, politics, or anything. I wonder if there is such a place?

ALL that is going on in the world and right here at home, and the main discussion, football. If the country was on fire, in the midst of the heat and fire and chaos, there would be a football game, and I honestly think at the root of it all TV, there are NO quality shows anymore, no talent to speak of, other than the infomercials...... I watch them more all the time. Today, deep fry a turkey, quickly, and slow cook a roast or a stew, and if neither work, put it in a Ninja blender and drink it.

I saw a ad the other day, for .... an ......... Outdoor Pizza Oven. In my wildest dreams, I have never dreamed of an outdoor pizza oven, or an outdoor kitchen complex with ovens and sinks and everything for a kitchen, only, for the outdoors. I have used my little gas grill, reduced at CVS ten years ago, to $5, twice this Summer. It is sitting on top of a charcoal grill, probably ten years old, never used, looks bad, been sitting outside, till you open the lid .... brand new.

Henry Ford, years ago, was talking with Gaston Chevrolet, let's design something for people to use for transportation. Gaston said, "You mean like going to Walmart?" Henry replied, "What's a Walmart?" The point being, they wanted to come with something people could use for TRANSPORTATION .... getting them from one place to another. So, the car was invented for TRANSPORTATION. Take the kids to school, go the the grocery store, drive to work, etc.

And, to this day, they are for ..... transportation. So, why do they need all these extra things, heated seats, fifty way adjustable, air conditioning, warning lights, TV screens, automatic parking, one, a button changes the interior lighting and the mood inside the car, for the short drive to Krogers. Surround sound, don't listen to traffic and horns, listen to music. DVD players, GPS systems, thousands and thousands of dollars of devices to make my trip to Walmart, so much more enjoyable. I remember when "electric" windshield wipers were an option, a radio, was an option, a cigarette lighter was an option.

What drives the designers and engineers to come up with all these gadgets ..... "EGO satisfiers." I have had Chrysler Imperials, Cadillacs, Lincolns, a Camaro, a little Chevy Sprint, now, a Chevy Cavalier and a Chevy Astro Van, and all any of them did was haul me around. The white Camaro, T-top, gorgeous, I never looked at anyone in any car .... because ..... they ....... were looking at me, no eye contact, just letting them, admire me, I emitted arrogance in that car, the Imperial also ..... but, they still just took me to Walmart and back.

"What, the water is leaking where, what do you mean the door is stuck, I know it's Fall, I'll store that stuff later, yeh, yeh, yeh, I know I should do that .... but ..... there's a football game on..............

Obama calls for end to Ebola 'hysteria'

Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama told Americans on Saturday not to "give in to hysteria or fear" over the deadly Ebola virus, calling for patience and a sense of perspective.

In his weekly address to the nation, Obama also played down the idea of a travel ban from West Africa, the epicenter of the outbreak, saying such restrictions would only exacerbate the crisis.

"All of us -- citizens, leaders, the media -- have a responsibility and a role to play," Obama said.

"This is a serious disease, but we can't give in to hysteria or fear -- because that only makes it harder to get people the accurate information they need. We have to be guided by the science. We have to remember the basic facts."

It comes a day after the World Bank warned the fight to stop Ebola was being lost and the World Health Organization said that, as of October 14, 4,555 people had died from the disease out of 9,216 registered cases.

And, don't watch too much football, and if you have a flood, don't worry about the water, and the same thing for a fire, just don't worry about the fire, just stand back and watch your home go up in smoke, and, lastly, he said, to retailers, don't sell too much merchandise this Christmas, and, I admit it, I love John Boehner.