Sunday Morning Coming Down

It would be nice to hear from a few people in person before there is a great rush to judgment on impeachment. It is almost a forgone conclusion that there are enough Republican votes in the Senate to derail any conviction for obstruction or anything else that President Trump has done. Only one President left office after impeachment votes.  Nixon resigned only after prominent Republicans counted the votes. The current actions by the President to stonewall may work in the short run but the 2020 election won't be a cakewalk.

This is from WHD's internet page.   The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) enforces some of our nation's most comprehensive labor laws. When we find violations, we often recover unpaid wages on behalf of employees. The agency makes every effort to locate and notify all employees due back wages. If we cannot find an employee, we hold their back wages for three years while we continue our efforts to locate them. After three years, if we remain unable to find the person, we are required to send the money to the U.S. Treasury. If you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD, you can search our database of workers for whom we have money waiting to be claimed. If you find that you are due money, you can submit a claim. Begin by entering the employer’s name, then click “WOW Search”. I wonder if and how this federal agency will deal with all the complaints that will arise from the  "partial" federal shutdown, furloughs and who must work.  This isn...

The college and professional football coaching ranks might be something like Jacob's Ladder from the Bible or the Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin.  There are 130 Division I schools from the biggest conferences and 32 Teams in the NFL. Being the head coach of any of these teams is a big deal.  The average salary of a head coach is a reported $1.64 million dollars.  The average salary of an NFL head coach is about $3.5 million dollars. The competition for these jobs is intense and the price for experienced and successful coaching talent is an expensive proposition for a university or NFL Franchise.  The apprentice coaches might start as former player as graduate assistants at their Alma Mater after their playing days are over or a smaller college with a history of coaches moving up the ranks to bigger schools that recruit blue chip players. In the end recruiting better coaches gets better players and the best coaches are able to get the best players. Temple U...

One of the bigger issues related to asymmetric population growth is migration.  Political unrest, war, natural disasters, lack of opportunity, environmental degradation, discrimination and poverty can send folks looking for a better life elsewhere.  And meanwhile it is also clear that some folks like things the way they are or are stuck and have difficulty going where they might be needed. Europe has experienced migration of peoples from Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. North America has experienced migration from the Caribbean, Central, and South America. It is clear that a lot off this migration is for economic and political reasons and there has been push back because change is difficult for some if not many people.  Brexit and other forms of Nationalism have sprung up all over the world and as of this moment new strategies must be developed to maintain freedom.

There is going to be a service auction at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami sometime soon.  A while ago I bought a sermon title for a few bucks hoping that the minister would use the title for a sermon.  $50 got me the rights to 1Corinthians 13:13.  Look the verse up if you care. Today, I thought about song titles that might make good sermon titles: 1) Don't Stop Believing 2) Hello In There 3) Hallelujah 4) God Is Great, Beer Is Good, People Are Crazy 5) Sunday Morning Coming Down 6) Mercedes Benz 7) A Matter Of Trust 8) We Are Family 9) Need You Now 10)Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore 11) We Got To Get Out of This Place

Paul and Ann Ehrlich wrote the "Population Bomb" in 1968.   It forecast that agricultural production would not be able to keep up with a rapidly growing worldwide explosion in population.  As part of the "baby boom" and starting college in 1969 this was one of the issues that for better or worse colored my view of things locally and on a global scale.  It was required reading for an ecology class I took at the University of Miami in 1971. Fifty years later the effects of population growth are everywhere while the prediction of world wide famine has been wrong.  Famine exists, but it is more the result of political breakdowns rather than a shortage of food. Yemen being a good example. Africa is still growing rapidly compared to the rest of the world.  Europe isn't growing and in some countries natural birth rate does not reach replacement levels. North America isn't growing as fast as Asia, Latin America, or world wide growth rate of 1.2%. I remember th...

The moon and stars hang out in bars just talkin' I still love that picture of us walkin' Just like that ol' house we thought was haunted Summer's end came faster than we wanted   Come on home Come on home No you don't have to Be alone Come on home Come on home You don’t have to Be alone Just come on home     John Prine and Roger Cook wrote these lyrics and the song is a real good one.   The song is about age creeping up in my mind.