The Other Me

A Green Garden

J.Peter — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:47:51 +0000

For the first time since we moved into this house I would call my garden a real success. So far this year we have been able to harvest pretty much everything we have planted . . . and the future looks good. Here is a peek at one evenings pea harvest, one of my favorite gardeners and a pastoral view.

Thank you, Obama

J.Peter — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:51:26 +0000

So, apparently the federal government is regulating Credit Card businesses more strictly. We used to get 30 days between our cycle date and our payment due date, now we get 25 days as mandated by the federal government. Thank you, Obama, oh and thanks for making my payment late, because I didn’t notice the change in due date since it has been the same for the last 8 years. Oh, a late payment results in a $40 fee and a 8% rate hike, Thank you. Lucky for me I called the credit card company and they reversed the fee and the rate hike, but it took twenty minutes of my time, Thank you for that. You sure are looking out for me, Obama.

How often does this happen?

J.Peter — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:34:15 +0000

Since I don’t have a job that provides me with a car I can take home, allow me to be extremely critical of those who do, especially those whose jobs are funded by tax dollars.

Today while in Albuquerque I was behind a police car from Bosque Farms, whose operator clearly was not paying attention to his driving. For those of you who have no clue where Bosque Farms is, its about 15 miles south of Albuquerque. . . . Anyway, as he drove down the road, he missed the fact that the road split from a two way road to a divided road with a median and hit the median at (we’ll assume he was driving the speed limit) 30 mph. His two left hubcaps shot off into oncoming traffic to be run over and destroyed. Both drivers side tires blew out. His car swerved all over the road, he ran a stop sign, and pulled his vehicle off to the side of the road. He jumped out of his vehicle with a bewildered look on his face.

Now, since he was about 15 miles out of his jurisdiction, heading away from Bosque Farms, I can only assume he was headed home. Most police departments around here allow officers to take their vehicles home, and pay for their gas to and from work. My question is this: who pays for those two new tires, the hubcaps, and for someone to bring him another tire, because I’m sure he only had one spare? If I run my car into the median, I have to buy two new tires, I have to buy hubcaps, I have to find someone to bring me another spare or drive me to the tire shop. If I had a vehicle from work, I would probably still be responsible for something that was clearly my fault. If it happened often I would probably lose the privilege to bring home my car. I was unable to find the policy for any local take home programs, but I would venture to guess the taxpayer pays for this guys new tires.

I would be really curious how often this sort of thing happens, and not just with police cars, but what about city vehicles? federal vehicles? APS vehicles? I bet the taxpayer pays for a lot of bad driving.

You might say, what’s the big deal, you don’t pay taxes in Bosque Farms? But I read on their blog that they purchased most of their vehicles with funds appropriated from the state legislature where I do pay taxes.

Ok, Mo, I’ll draw

J.Peter — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:56:08 +0000

Mo Willems, children’s author and radio cartoonist for NPR’s All Things Considered asked viewers to draw their favorite stuffed animal. Here is the story. I did it. You might also enjoy Mo Willem’s blog.

I have a question about water-boarding

J.Peter — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:32:28 +0000

Today I heard about the report being released regarding the decisions made to use certain types of interrogation techniques by the justice department and other senior civilian officials in the U.S. Government.

I have a question: How did the justice department determine that water-boarding was not torture?

The media simply tells us that they made a recommendation to the President. How did they come about this decision? Were the lawyers subjected to the “interrogation technique” known as water-boarding? Did they hear testimony from people who had endured this type of interrogation? How did they determine the precise limits of this procedure? Did doctors or psychologists testify as to the impact of this tactic on individuals? It seems to me that the media is leaving something out.

I would assume that the idea of water-boarding was “put on trial” and that a decision was reached, but I have no way of knowing.

The one thing I know for certain is that I do not know if water-boarding is torture. I do not know what torture is. I have never endured anything resembling torture. I wonder how these lawyers could make this decision.

The thing I find most disturbing (based solely on the reporting of mainstream media, including NPR) is that military lawyers advised against using water-boarding while the justice department concluded it was acceptable.

GroGood

J.Peter — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:12:19 +0000

The people at MiracleGro are asking you to plant an extra row for the hungry this year. Find a foodbank near you and take your excess produce from your garden and feed the hungry.

Visit www.GroGood.com

Britain’s Talent

J.Peter — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:09:34 +0000

For those of you who missed it. This woman has some incredible talent. She’s down to Earth and knows how to choose the right song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Racism

J.Peter — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:27:22 +0000

This week on CounterSpin they aired a story about a GMA piece on racism where Roxanne Roberts and Dianne Sawyer returned to their Southern communities to talk to individuals about race. The end result was that both blacks and whites they talked to had a more positive outlook for blacks and a better attitude with less prejudice towards each other. Sounds good doesn’t it?

It’s not good enough for the CounterSpin staff they say racism isn’t about prejudices and perceptions of individuals but about the socio-economic gap between races. They think that just because more people view members of the opposite race as equals that doesn’t mean that their is less racism. For the people at CouterSpin I provide some definitions of racism from the Internet:

Definitions of racism on the Web:

the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races
discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Racism, by its simplest definition, is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. People with racist beliefs might hate certain groups of people according to their racial groups. …

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes; The belief that one race is superior to all others; Prejudice or discrimination …

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/racism

Ok, on average African-Americans are still in a lower economic bracket than whites, but if the Euro-Americans around them don’t have anything against them and view them as just as capable as a white individual they now have the same ability to rise out of their current condition. Their past was bleak, their future is brighter. The world isn’t perfect yet (with respect to racism) but it has greatly improved.

GMA’s conclusion that their is less “racism” now than there was several years ago is a fair one, supported by the evidence they gathered. CounterSpin is supposed to point out factual errors and missed stories, they failed on this one. This reporting was accurate and balanced.

What will $10 Billion Buy You?

J.Peter — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 03:42:25 +0000

So, what will $10 Billion Dollars buy you? It may not be enough to save GM or Chrysler but on the Vegas Strip this is what it will buy you:
The City Center is estimated at $10 Billion dollars and has created 8,000 construction jobs and will create 12,000 full time positions when it opens next year. It consists of 9 high rise buildings, a monorail system, retail, residential, hotels, casinos, resort, and a fine arts complex.

If the auto manufacturers can’t save themselves with the amount of money it takes to provide 500,000 sq ft of retail, 2400 residences, a 61 story, 4000 room hotel, and so much more something is wrong.

Don’t have $10 Billion dollars. With $480,000 dollars you could pick up this Rolex GMT-Master II:

Don’t have a half a million either? The cheapest meal in Vegas is the Slots A Fun Hot Dog - only $1.99:

Priesthood Line of Authority

J.Peter — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:58:37 +0000

As a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I hold the Priesthood. — Now, in our church we have a lay priesthood. The priesthood is the power given by God to men to act in his name. My current duties in the priesthood are few but I may be called at some point to serve in other duties. One of my friends was recently called to serve as the Bishop of our ward (congregation). His responsibilities have been far expanded.

Anyway this post is about how I got my priesthood not what it is our my role in the priesthood.

A short time ago in a lesson on the priesthood another member shared his priesthood line of authority and it had some items in common with mine, but had some discrepancies. Also, while he shared his I found an error in my copy of my line of authority so I contacted the church headquarters for a correct copy of my priesthood lineage, here it is:

I was ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood on Aug 19, 1997 by
my Father who was ordained a High Priest by
Harold Daw who was ordained a High Priest by
William James Critchlow, Jr. who was ordained a High Priest by
George Franklin Richards, Sr. who was ordained an Apostle by
Joseph F. Smith who was ordained an Apostle by
Brigham Young who was ordained an Apostle under the hands of the three whitnesses:
Olvier Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris who were called by revelation and set apart by the First Presidency to choose and ordain the Twelve Apostles and who were ordained by
Joseph Smith, Jr. who was ordained an Apostle by
Peter, James, and John who were ordained Apostles by
Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry.