It is Difficult...

Living in an area of the country where the people are nice, but narrow minded poses some problems for the free-thinker. If I was to reveal my true self to those that I deal with on a regular basis, I fear that many would shun me and at best just be tolerant of my presence. Unfortunately, many of the people with whom I deal are quite fixed in their beliefs of Biblical matters. My disbelief in such things would be difficult for them to deal with and accept. If I was to reveal to them that I am an atheist, I believe many of them would respond with disbelief and statements that "Oh, that is too bad." or "Oh what a shame." It is as if they feel sorry about my inability to believe in the foolish ideas that govern their lives. If those beliefs make them feel better and cope with their lives, then all the better for them. However, I cannot in clear conscience confess to believe in the same things that they do.

Thoughts on "budget stores" under Trump?

Many of the low priced budget stores, such as Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Tuesdays, Aldi, etc., depend on imports from countries where items are manufactured inexpensively. The low cost of production and the low cost of importing these items is reflected in the low prices at the retail stores.

The new administration has spoken repeatedly about raising tariffs significantly on goods coming into the country. This administration also says that it will bring many jobs and companies back to the US and this too will have the effect of raising prices.  It is just a fact that producing goods in the US is more expensive than making them overseas. For example, Apple has stated that it would have to increase the cost of the iPhone over 100% if it was produced in the US. This would drive the price up to around $1300. The budget stores will be forced to raise their prices and may suffer a loss of sales and possibly go out of business.

Everything is relative. If all the prices in the big brand store chains also go up significantly, as they likely will, then the prices at the budget stores may still be considered a bargain. However, the goal of the Trump administration is to make the prices competitive with the prices of US goods.

The effect of refocusing on the American economy is supposed to be higher wages and benefits for the American worker. This is the idea behind trickle down economics which depends on the generosity, humaneness and fair play of corporate America. Corporate America does not have a very good track record in this area. Trickle down economics has been tried in the past and was found to be unsuccessful.

POST SCRIPT: Now that Trump has been in office for about 6 mos., I see that he is not holding to his campaign promises for the most part. Hilary is free, there is no wall, he is having trouble with health care and coal workers are the only ones working again.  he recently had a meeting with the German ambassador which was followed in a few days with an announcement that Aldi stores will be expanding their American base. I don't think this is a coincidence.  So, there probably will not be a big tariff on imported goods.

Why the really big spending in Christmas season of 2016

Holiday spending was up 3.5% to 5.0% according to who you talk to. This is a significant increase from last year. It's the best it has been in a long time. Why?

Well, I think I finally figured out why there was such an increase in holiday spending and, yes, Donald Trump may deserve the credit.

The Republicans were all going out shopping singing "Happy Days are Here Again" and thinking that they were going to be making more money. No worries about the future and everything is going to be wonderful when America is great again! So they were spending and running up bills!

The Democrats, foreseeing a future of doom and gloom and economic collapse figured that this is going to be the last great Christmas before the new President gets in. So, they went on a spending spree to cheer themselves up and try to enjoy one last good Christmas.

Of course there are other explanations for this trend (and I'm sure we will see them), but let's not confuse the issue with facts.

See your pet in heaven?

PETS IN HEAVEN

I have been reading information from various sites online concerned about the question as to whether of not pets go to Heaven. The religious sites do not have anything definitive to prove that people will be seeing their pets in Heaven.  Their answers are things like...
a) God wants us to be happy in Heaven. Our pets make us happy. Therefore we will see our pets in Heaven.
b) The Bible doesn't say that animals won't be there, so that means they may. Believe what you like.
c) God says that in the New World the "Lion will lie down with the lamb." This implies that there will be animals in the New World.
For statements a & b, all I can say is it sounds like wishful thinking and telling them what they want to hear. Statement c refers to the "New World".  I'm pretty sure the "New World" is the earth after the second coming. So, again, it doesn't address Heaven itself.

Some Things I Do Not BELIEVE...

I Do Not Believe...

1) ...in an after life. Death is the end of your conscience existence. Make sure you are kind and loving to all those who are dear to you. There is no second chance. This world is all there is and it is a wonderful, beautiful, frightening, and ugly place. Yes, it can be all those things. Reality doesn't care for you. There is such a thing as misfortune, which is, for the most part a chance occurrence. A person is just the victim of circumstance. It is a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Human misfortune can also be the consequence of poor decisions. let's face it. Some dumb ass people just go through life making one bad decision after another.

2) ... in supernatural beings that control or influence my life. All the various religious stories are nothing but myths and fables concocted by man to explain his reality, control other people or fulfill wishful thinking.

3) ... filling the heads of young people with the threat of eternal suffering and pain for not following a a certain religious dogma.  This encourages a belief in supernatural forces causing people to behave in uncharacteristic ways and explaining chance events.

Thoughts on President Trump...

I think Trump would have the same effect internationally as he does nationally. He seems to have the stance that you are either with him or against him. This leads to the kind of polarization being seen in the country now. On the international stage, the world would be divided into our friends and enemies. Some of our "friends" would be countries who disliked us but sided with us out of fear. The polarized world where everyone is sworn to protect each other would become a tinderbox, just waiting for the first infraction. Next thing you know, we are in WWIII.

The Rose Garden

The Rose Garden

I went to the garden alone, while the dew was still on the roses.
It was morning and I thought I was alone.
Then I saw him sitting there on the bench - a middle aged man that looked a bit hippy-ish.
So, I sat beside him and spoke to him.
"Hi, how are you doing?"
He sighed as her leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees and looking at the ground.
"Well", he said, "I'm a little down. Things aren't going quite the way I expected. There is too much greed and hate and sadness."
"I guess it is human nature." I said.
"Yeah, but I told them to fight that. I told them to love one another, help one another, treat each other the way they would want to be treated."... he sighed again and I saw his shoulders sag a bit.
"They were supposed to feed the hungry", he continued, " and give to the poor, but they think the hungry and poor are just lazy and looking for a handout. I don't remember putting conditions on their actions. They are all just too attached to their worldly goods."
 I felt sorry for him, so I patted him on the shoulder and told him that I hoped things worked out okay for him.  Then I continued my walk through the garden.

If Heaven were real...

If Heaven was real, just think of all the famous people you could go visit? Of course, some of them don't speak your language, but may there is "Angel-ese" spoken in heaven so everyone can understand each other.  Maybe you don't have to speak at all... it's just telepathy? It'd be nice to sit down for a chat with Newton or Michelangelo or any of the Egyptians. Yes, I think the Egyptians would be there because everyone before Jesus's coming would have been allowed into heaven. Do you sleep in heaven? Eat? Poop and pee? Are there long lines at the ladies bathroom? So much to consider?

Human Rationalization Keeps the Bible Alive

I have tried to figure out why people who appear reasonable 6 days a week, suddenly become unreasonable and gullible on Sunday morning. I can only attribute this to the ability of the human mind to rationalize those things that seem irrational. Here are some examples.

Biblical Age of Earth 6 to 10 Thousand years - Although modern science has disproved this beyond a doubt, many religious people have managed reconcile the difference. They say that the timescale was not the same. In the bible, a day may be hundreds of thousands of years. And a year could be millions! After all, God works in mysterious ways.

Noah's flood covered the earth and all the mountains -  Current scientific calculations have proven that there is not enough water on the earth to produce the effect mentioned in the KJ Bible. That idea is totally ludicrous. So, Biblical devotees say that it was only the known world at that time that was included. Even so, the "mountains" that were covered were probably just hills.
Science does not negate the occurrence of a massive flood.  There have been numerous occasions of massive flood in the early years of the Middle East. Some occurred at the end of the Ice Age as massive amounts of ice was melting and sea levels were rising.

Noah took sample of all the Animals on Earth onto his little ark -  If we actually count all the different species of animals on the earth and try to take 2 of each and put them on a ship, then the Titanic would not have been big enough. Some Biblical followers suggest that the Ark was just a floating gateway to a much larger magical, spiritual region where the actual animals were kept.
They weren't kept in the physical form but in a special form created by God. Yes, this is a very mysterious way to work!

These are just a few examples. There are many, many more.

God's Intelligence

Hmmmm. Okay. So, God is so smart that he set up one small area in the Middle East (about the size of New Jersey) as the most important place on earth for three different major religions - Judaism, Islam and Christianity. They all share bits, pieces and modifications of the same sacred texts and supposedly worship the "God of Abraham". All three religions see this as the "Holiest" land on earth and all want to control this "Paradise".  So much so, that they are willing to kill everyone else to get it. 
God, in his omniscience, did not foresee the misery, suffering and pain that such a move would make? Yup, real intelligence at work there. Maybe God was bored and figured, "Hey, I think I'll do this and then watch them sort it out. Should be lots of fun to watch!"