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Not One

 When the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan on March 11, 2021, putting it on the desk of President Joseph Biden for his signature, it had been debated and amended several times. It first passed the House on February 27, 2021, on a near party-line vote of 219 to 212. That was 219 Democratic representatives versus 210 Republican and 2 Democratic representatives. Not One Republican in the House voted for passage. It then went to the Senate and on March 6, 2021, it was amended and approved by the Senate on a party-line vote of 50 to 49; one Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan of Alaska was absent. Not One Republican in the Senate voted for passage.    Individuals are already receiving their stimulus funds: those who have shared banking information with the IRS. Others will be receiving their funds by mail or debit cards in the very near future. One can go online and find out when at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment to find out your status.    As everyone spend
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My Commitment

  God uses good people. Bad people use God. ~ Loretta Jenkins Suiter (1894-1984)      I have been thinking about what my grandmother said a lot lately. And, then, my next thought is of what Edmund Burke said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”    It is time for good people to do something. Something so simple and pure that it seems hard for many to recognize. Maybe it has been easier to wait and hope that others will do it for them, but waiting for others is not working for us anymore.    So, I will do it first: I will state clearly and concisely: I am a citizen of the United States of America. My country was founded with the Declaration of Independence and our government is based upon our Constitution. I understand that as a citizen, I have rights afforded to me - "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" which are endowed by the Creator. (Back to that God thing.) The Constitution sets out the rules for our society.
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If Not Now, Then When?

If not today, what happens tomorrow? Another mass shooting? Another family destroyed? Another child's funeral? We, collectively as a society, have skidded off the rails. We, as a people, are hellbent on our own destruction. We, as parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sit helplessly and hopelessly by as we ... wait. What are we waiting for? A reason, or just reason. We, collectively, think ... it won't happen to us. We are safe. Safe? Where? Are our children safe? Some ancient commercial once asked: "Parents - do you know where your children are?" Today, far too many parents have a permanent answer: "Dead. Buried in a cemetery." Forever young and never to have another opportunity at a golden sunshiny day ... another playdate with a friend ... another walk in the park ... another birthday. Our society has thrown in the towel. Don't ask any questions, don't even dare think that this is not a necessary sacrifice. Just keep givi
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By the Side of the Road

The citizens of the United States are trapped. Trapped by the decisions that others have made, decisions they have made and by circumstance. Whether these things are changeable has yet to be determined. We have allowed ourselves to become polarized ... to be confused ... to follow shiny things into dark corners where the light that once shone from them is extinguished. And, now, in the fading light, we search for ways back into the light ... only to find that the path has been swept away. It is incumbent for us to continue searching ... to find a way to reconnect with who we might have been before we became so lost. Lost to ourselves, fighting for breadcrumbs with our neighbors ... our families ... our fellow human beings. We have hoped for others to have vision of a future that includes us ... but does that future exclude others? Who are those others that we willingly leave behind? What makes them different? What makes them not a part of our "tribe"? Why are t
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