Sunday Morning Coming Down

The non indictment of Darren Wilson is hardly a surprise given the presentation by the State's Attorney in the case. I served on federal grand juries twice and you never heard cases where the evidence wasn't really overwhelming.  Motion pictures of drug deals going down, airplane fights, with witnesses and more witnesses, illegal gun sales where the ATF agents testified.  And so it went. I don't remember the U.S. Attorney ever bringing in the subject of the indictment to explain his side of the story to muddy up the water or bringing in witnesses that disagreed with the case he was laying out. At the end of the presentation and laying out the indictment for the judge, you were sure the bad guy was the bad guy, the law had been broken and something was going to be done about it.  Probable cause isn't guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  This time it looks like the Grand Jury was functioning as a trial jury and the State Attorney was prosecutor, defense attorney and ...

Next week I think I am going to enroll in a class to learn how to brew beer.  More than a few years ago I bought a Mr. Beer Kit.  I followed the instructions and made eight quarts of beer.  The process took a while and after the beer was made I drank the beer.  The India Pale Ale was the wort you got with the kit.  In the end it was beer and pizza goes better with beer.  I probably could have aged the beer longer and made it during cooler weather.  It would have tasted better or maybe more like other beer I've had. I used to donate platelets at a Red Cross Blood Center.  You are not supposed to sell blood.  If you lived in a middle class neighborhood, you can made a donation and they give you a voucher for lunch at a brew pub.  Lunch and a beer was a treat.  The "homebrew" would have knocked me on my ass had I proceeded to the bogo special.  Being a pint down sort of helped I'm sure moved the process along. I have found a l...

Ray Rice, NFL Footballer,  and infamous for a videotaped domestic violence incident in a casino elevator, had his indefinite suspension from the NFL reduced virtually to time served.  The arbitrator in the case a former federal judge ruled that expanding the punishment from two games, to a virtual life sentence was basically a case of double jeopardy.  She felt the evidence showed Rice was truthful in the initial hearing and that the ruling by the league what arbitrary and an overreach by the commissioner in disciplining the player. The Baltimore Raven's fired Rice from the team.  He is now a free agent without a team, and at least for the time being and probably for a lot longer, maybe indefinitely he won't be playing football.  The ruling on his suspension will mean little unless he can get his old job with the NFL back. Adrian Peterson, NFL Footballer, has a long term suspension from the league still in force for striking his kid with a switch and raising...

Somewhere around fifty years ago my older sister called and wanted to know if I wanted to work helping in the dish room at Plentywood Farm where she worked.  It was Thanksgiving, they were going to be very busy and were short of bodies.  $1.25 @ hour cash for clearing and rinsing dishes before they were put through the dish washing machine.  I sort of became the silverware specialist sorting the utensils and rinsing them carefully after they had soaked in soapy water and down the belt where Bob Nelson put the holder through the machine.  This process went on and on.  My mentor, a very old lady would pick up scraps off the plates for her dog.  The dog never had it so good.  Where do you go after Prime Rib Scraps and Prime Rib Bones. I missed dinner with family that year, but found out sometimes the help got fed very well if they worked on holidays and was thankful because washing dishes at "The Farm" paid better than the allowance for washing the...

The  Isabella Tiger Moth  ( Pyrrharctia isabella ) can be found in many cold regions, including the Arctic. The banded  Woolly Bear  larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its  caterpillar  form, when it literally freezes solid. It survives being frozen by producing a  cryoprotectant  in its tissues. In the spring it thaws out and emerges to  pupate . Once it emerges from its pupa as a moth it has only days to find a mate. In most temperate climates, caterpillars become moths within months of hatching, but in the  Arctic  the summer period for vegetative growth – and hence feeding – is so short that the Woolly Bear must feed for several summers, freezing again each winter before finally pupating. Some are known to live through as many as 14 winters. [1] Thank you Wikipedia and NATURE.

The Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers all have a chance to make the playoffs with a losing record by winning the NFC South.even though their records are 4-7 There are other teams with even worse records.  Jacksonville Jaguars, 1-10 and until last week the Oakland Raiders were on a roll to be perfectly futile with a good chance to go win less for the entire season. The last Bears Packer game was beyond ugly.  Competitive teams and games are needed or the league will just be the delivery system for fantasy football leagues which is the coming method for gambling on the sport.  I remember the APBA baseball board game and remember betting 25 cents on the games which were based on previous season statistics and the roll of the dice. Attendance at live games isn't what it used to be.  The price of tickets, parking, food and time are conspiring to keep people at home where the price of everything is more manageable and if one game sucks you ca...

You might have thought that the President's ideas on immigration reform would rate fifteen minutes on nationwide tv.  It did, but the nationwide networks that interuppted programing were Univision, Telemundo, Fox, CNN, and MSNBC, and the China's English Channel way up the cable. Reflecting on the announcement by the President, maybe it could have been published in the CFR and forgotten.  How long will it take for the forms to be developed, fees determined, and background checks completed? The 113th Congress is already celebrating Thanksgiving.  The 114th Congress starts on paper January 3, 2015.  Forty days and the clock is running. Maybe the best way to deal with the immigration problem would be both a fund raiser and a fast track to reform. No fee waivers, $2,000 and a clear background check and you get an entry into a lottery, with the prize being a green card.  The number of winners to be determined.  An improved lottery would allow folks to buy...

It was originally thought that very little money would be recovered for the victims of Bernard Madoff.  The losses are still amazing but almost $10 billion dollars or 60% of the principal have been recovered by lawyers of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. The cost of recovery has been almost $1 billion.  According to the article in the Miami Herald, lawyers, accountants, and other financial professionals have needed the last six years to determine who still had valid claims on money invested: more money in the account than withdrawn and who helped with the swindle and needed to be sued for their ill gotten gain. This has taken a long time, the fraud should have been discovered before it got so big, more than a few victims will have to settle for less than full value and if you got screwed by Bernie, 150 years in jail is hardly enough punishment.

The price of jet fuel is down.  How long will it be before the price of a ticket on an airplane will go down?  Will you continue to have to pay for checking a bag?  At least if you drive a car, the price of driving is down.  If you shop around you can pay less than $2.90@ gallon. Will things change after the holiday travel season or will air travel remain less than convenient and expensive. It is anticipated that the price of oil will remain low for an extended period of time. Airline mergers have made airlines profitable, has it also made airlines less competitive?

I just finished reading an article in The Daily Beast about an MD that wanted to ban cruise ships. Living in Miami this is serious business.  The Port of Miami is known for its cruises to the islands of the Caribbean and it is a very, very, very big business generating tourists, tax dollars and jobs for thousands of people. The good doctor is reminding us that this is the beginning of the winter norovirus season for the cruise ship industry.  Better known as the 24 hour flu, you get real sick for a day or so. Vomiting, cramping up and diarrhea can be very uncomfortable and because you don't need much of the virus to get sick, it can spread rapidly. Thankfully, it isn't very deadly, however, the elderly can have more serious problems if they get seriously dehydrated.  Nursing homes worry about the norovirus and cruise ships should worry a little bit more because folks are crowded together and on some cruises the passengers are decidedly older than the general populatio...

Miami Herald Front Page: Ad Error Sets Off Budget Do Over. Proposed Tax levy in Miami Dade County was printed as $1,371,585,000, should have been $1,440,164,250.  The smaller amount is the estimate of what will finally be collected after adjustments of assessments and delinquencies on real estate property.  The more realistic number for budget purposes is the smaller of the two numbers. Tax bills have been sent out.  No changes will be made to individual bills. The budgeting review process started months ago and ended when the old commission passed the budget and established the millage rate.  Legal ads were published with the smaller incorrect number and the State of Florida pointed out the error and is requiring the budget approval process to be repeated or they could withhold some funds. New commissioners were elected.  Will the clerical error mean really new budget hearings making more changes to the budget within the $1,371,585,000? Or will the erro...

Luck and getting out of Casablanca.  Immigration issues are sort of like that.  Rick and Ilsa meet in Paris, but what if Rick had not been able to get to Casablanca and had been stopped at the border when leaving France?  What if Victor and Ilsa had not been able to get to Casablanca?  What if Captain Renault wasn't so flexible or crooked?  What about that rouelette wheel?  And what if Rick owned the Blue Parrot, instead of Ferrari. I remember my Dad saying he was an American by choice having gone through the whole naturalization process and that his kids were American by chance. I know it's just a movie, but it is still a good one.

Two Palestinians attack and kill four worshipers, a police officer, and wound five others in synagogue before being killed by police.  Violence at any place of worship cannot be tolerated, but unfortunately something seems to be happening these days where there is little left that is sacred. It seems quaint that folks would be allowed to worship in peace and quiet but that seems to be disappearing.  Religious community is.  It's not an and/or proposition.  It is a real part of freedom not only in the United States but in the world as well. Mess with this and freedom means something else. Freedom of religion requires both respect and measured tolerance by all religious faiths.  Having a worship service broken up by gunfire, violence, or even disruptive "visitors", needs to be dealt with. Sadly, it is becoming almost common place to see police cars outside places of worship on Fridays and Sundays or members of the congregation having to be stationed in strat...

According to Oxford Dictionary "vape" is the word of the year.  I guess using one of those electronic devices is gaining in popularity and there are store fronts in many strip malls selling the gadgets and refugees that must go outside to fire up a smoke now have an alternative, but the smoking habit is on the downhill slide overall. Personally, I would suggest a serious review of drugs baby boomers take after a visit to the doctor for next year's word.

The point guard for the Chicago Bulls has been tormented by injuries to his knees that have kept him on the sidelines for the greater part of the last two years.  He has been missed sorely by his team and seems to be continuing to have physical problems.  His latest comments have done him no good. “I’m thinking about long term. I’m thinking about after I’m done with basketball. Having graduations to go to, having meetings to go to, I don’t want to be in my meetings all sore or be at my son’s graduation all sore just because of something I did in the past. [I'm] just learning and being smart.” Charles Barkley, has called him out for this "stupid statement".  Obviously getting paid $20,000,000 per year makes the statement insensitive to say the least given the fact that a lot of folks go home sore and tired each day and do it for the minimum wage and that isn't the "league minimum". I can only imagine what his team mates are thinking, even if they are com...

Not being sure of the details, there is more than a little speculation in this post, but given my almost 35 years of experience working with immigration issues in the job training and public assistance and recently personal front there is a need for immigration reform. This may be the second public policy area where changes supported by President Obama will not make him any long lasting friends.  The ACA being the first. The legislation in immigration is very complicated and written for political and purposes that often have nothing to do with an immigration policy.  Economic refugees are not political refugees but in some places and times it really is a distinction without a real difference.  And with little thought about immigration as jobs move from place to place. A lot of immigration laws should have sunset provisions where they no longer apply after certain periods of time it certainly has some practical applications in the field of immigration Another area ...

Report: Stanton agrees to $325M deal, so reads the front page of the Miami Herald. Report: Salary of new UF head will top $1M. Giancarlo Stanton's contract would be the richest contract in baseball history. W. Kent Fuch, would be the highest paid university president in Florida and his salary would be comparable to presidents at Penn State, Ohio State, Harvard, and Northwestern. According to USA Today the salaries of every Big Ten Football Coach is significantly higher than the salary of the President of the University of Florida.  In fact former UF Coach Urban Meyer is paid about $4.5M for coaching the Buckeyes. Stanton's salary will be larger than contract Alex Rodriguez inked a few years back, and more than contracts given to Albert Pujols and Robinson Cano. The entire major league payroll for 2014 Marlins was estimated at $45M.  It is estimated that the team is worth about 500M by Forbes Magazine.  The cost of constructing Miami Marlin's Park north of 525M...

Countries are rather funny about their borders.  Going from one country to another is always a little bit of an adventure and these days a valid passport is the gold standard for international travel even if formal visas are not required for travel to a variety of countries. State boundaries may not require passports but they do decide who is a resident of the state and who can vote in their jurisdiction.  I just wish they were as interested about where campaign funds come from because money from out of state interests can be important factors in determining the results of various state wide and congressional offices.  Drawing districts is important but not the only factor in elections. There are estimates that between $14 and $16 million dollars was spent in the 26th district in Florida The average size of a Congressional District in Florida is about 710,000.  There were 160,000 votes cast in that district the 2014 election.  The candidates raised almost $6...

The Folks in Fort Lauderdale are taking a lot of heat for citing an old guy who has been handing out food to the homeless in public.  The issue is a little more complicated in my opinion.  Feeding the homeless makes sense and regulating where they get fed also makes sense.  Living in Miami and for more than a few years of having to pass by the Miami Rescue mission on the way to and from my car I'm aware there are programs for the homeless and in many ways they are both inadequate and at the same time encourages some less than shining behavior which gives ammunition to those that paint the homeless with a broad brush as lazy and shiftless, and criminal. The tourist businesses worry about aggressive panhandling expanding beyond intersections and busy corners to beaches and boardwalks. The homeless don't vote and the local mayors and police respond to the folks that do vote and sometimes it is hard to judge their motivation(s).

Today on Facebook a Canadian Cousin posted a vacation advertisement offering a vacation in Cuba for about $800.00 pp. including airfare from various Canadian cities.  If you are from the Upper US, this seems like a warm weather destination that might be interesting to explore and you don't need to wait till summer to get a good rate. U.S. Citizens may be able to travel to Cuba to visit relatives or if you can qualify for special visas given for educational or cultural purposes but hopping on a plane for some R&R in Cuba from Minneapolis or Duluth is frowned upon. Dennis Rodman can visit North Korea and hang out with a butcher.  If you are a non celebrity the return connections back to the United States can be pretty tricky. The embargo of trade with Cuba does not include food and medicines.  Further relaxation of embargo restrictions are awaiting the passing of Fidel Castro.  Meanwhile remittances from Cubans that have made it to the United States continue....

All sorts of progress comes with some costs.  Some folks in Florida are in favor of improving rail transportation between Orlando and Miami.  It's an engine for economic development, will reduce some road traffic and boost tourism where visitors will help keep taxes low in the Sunshine State. Looks to me that the train route will use existing right of way, there will be more train traffic, some of it will include some additional freight traffic.  Depending on who you agree with it will be either boon or bane. The Federal Railway Administration will be holding 32 hours of public information meetings in towns along the route the new high speed rail trains will travel from Miami to Orlando.  At stake is a $1.6 billion dollar loan which will be repaid with private money and increased development in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando. No tax funds are involved, According to a story in the Miami Herald, a stay at home Mom worries how it will affect do...

"U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are gathering at a moment of turbulence for them and the American church, as Pope Francis moves toward crafting new policies for carrying out his mission of mercy - a prospect that has conservative Catholics and some bishops in an uproar."  From AOL.com This posting is not about the Catholic Church, I know very little about that denomination.  It is probably a little bit about everything that has to do with membership and in a larger sense about definitions, jurisdiction, and being.  I read another posting elsewhere on the Internet that asked if the Pope was (still) Catholic. Yesterday, while on the road I had the opportunity to listen to Radiolab on NPR where they had a discussion about the framing of the U.S. Constitution and the music industry and jurisdiction. During my life I've been a member of a family, a student at various schools, a citizen of the United States, a foreigner, a neighbor, an employee, self employed, a dues paying ...

But then we decided to train A breed with a much bigger brain. This breed is in such high demand. We’re exporting more than we planned. The training—it takes many years. It’s costing us blood, sweat and tears. Norwegians just can’t get enough. Americans, too, like this stuff. It’s doctors and nurses we sell. We happily bid them farewell. They’re sold for a price that is high. We’re waving our healthcare good-bye. From Vala Hafstad Icelandic Review  11/8/2014

Trader Joe's got a visit from me on last Tuesday Morning.  I was up early for a trip to Home Depot where I bought some water based clear water based polyurethane to finish off redoing the wood floors in my apartment.  I'm not a handy man and maybe when it is all done, it may need to be redone by someone with more experience and training.  So far it is a big improvement from what is was and this may inspire me for other simple fix ups, where time isn't an issue.  One bedroom to go! I stop at Trader Joe's early am because that is when you can get a parking space.  Midday and weekends the place is mobbed.  I like the $3.00 red wine, spend $20.00 and figure I'm good for a couple of weeks.  Amazing how a grocery story that specializes in house brands does land office business. Many gas stations up and down U.S. 1 are now selling gasoline for about $2.95 a gallon.  How long this will last is any body's guess but it is a little bit of a break for the...

Did not pay too much attention to this race.  Somehow or other Ms. Ernst gets elected to the United State Senate.  Military, biker, and a woman during her first speech as Senator elect she talks about making "em squeal like a pig".  She probably thought she was talking about her days back on the farm and a campaign ad or two. Ask Ned Beatty what he thinks of when he hears that line. Alrighty.  And Tom Harkin gets blasted for calling her attractive?

Mid-Term elections usually mean problems for the president's party, they usually lose seats in congress.  Apathy is a good term for this and so it goes.  Voter suppression aside, you still have to get up, get dressed and go somewhere, show some id, read something, get back in the car and go home. If you are retired, voting is a good reason to get out of the house, costs are minimal and it can be marginally interesting.  This is one of a few reasons why older folks vote. If you have to take public transportation to work and don't vote early, or absentee, getting to your polling place can be more difficult.  Not a big thing if you are motivated but that isn't always the case and getting to work, getting home, picking up the kids at school, groceries, cooking, laundry, may be of more immediate in importance.  This is especially true if the issues are in the grey area, and you are unsure about which direction to go.  There are good arguments on both sides o...

I was saddened to hear of Tom Magliozzi's passing.  The Tappet Brothers were part of my Saturday Mornings for years and I still listen to replays.  How they were able to make a show about car repairs fun to listen to was a rare touch.  Somehow or another it is hard to believe that he was 77 years old. Folks on the radio seem ageless and in some ways they become part of your family if you are a radio person.

The Million Dollar Golden State Futurity was run on Sunday, November 2, 2014.  The winner will get slightly over $600,000 if the horse passes the drug test.  No problem there, but this time they are doing the drug test by looking for banned substances in the hair of the animal.  The test is much more sensitive and according to reports is almost impossible to mask drugs like clenbuterol which can happen if you have a crooked pharmacist and vet.  It is also used by humans who want to slim down and bulk up.  It is banned by the IOC and the Cycling Federation because it is a performance enhancing drug. The race run last Sunday was a  race with no betting.  The owner of the race track seems very serious about trying to clean up one of the more troubling aspects of horse racing. A similar race Los Alamitos Super Derby for 3yo. horses has been postponed two weeks to do the more sensitive drug tests.  One trainer qualified eight of the ten finalists f...

Maybe the reporters got it wrong or maybe she didn't want a big production number outside he house when she decided to take the drugs that would end her life.  There were reports that Brittany Maynard was delaying her decision to die as planned on November 1, 2014.  This morning it was reported that she had indeed died.  A death at age 29 or 89 is a sad event for family and friends, what it is to the person that dies still seems a mystery to me. I read about her story in a doctors office.  I watched my Mom pass away quietly in a hospice facility, where she lived her last few weeks and will always remember Arabesque #1 by Debussy which always seemed to be playing when I was leaving Hope Hospice in Fort Myers in September, 2001.

It's "Homecoming" at the University of Miami this weekend. About thirty years ago I was active in alumni affairs, went to lectures, sporting events, wore orange and bled green and even served on the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Board and made calls to other alumni raising money for scholarships for students. These activities took time.  It was interesting, and I did more than a few things that never would have happened without a connection to the University of Miami. I still watch UM sports on TV, but I haven't attended a home football game for over three years, haven't been to a basketball game since they moved on campus and only sporadically attend baseball games. This year a student called for a pledge to the College of Arts and Sciences.  She reminded me about Homecoming and asked if I ever got back on Campus.  I said yes, regularly, my doctor is on Campus, you still go to the Student Clinic, she asked?  The waiting room I visit is littered with f...