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September 13, 2015 On this, the beginning of the Holiday Season, which runs from Rosh Hashanah, through Yom Kippur, to Thanksgiving, and through Christmas and New Year; we should all reflect on what has been handed down to us over the centuries and how we are the keepers of the flame. We, as a people, have come so far, and yet, have so far still to go. We should all try to be good and respectful to one another. It doesn't matter what religion that you follow... it doesn't matter if you follow n o religion at all. What matters is that we all should respect each other, and be accepting of everyone's beliefs. I say accepting, not tolerating, because accepting means that we realize that we all have differences and respect that. Tolerating means that you are putting up with the differences.. Being kind to everyone that you meet does not require much of an effort. Being kind just means that you are nice to each other. I try to live my life to this way of thinking. Do I always su

   September 14, 2015   Good Evening, my friends. I don't have anything special to say tonight, only that I wish everyone peace, love, and tranquility during this beautiful holiday season. There is so much turmoil and hatred in the world: ISIS and it's hatred of everything. They kill, maim, and grind anyone under their heels of hatred. The regime in Syria who gasses and bombs it's own people, and of course, any government that thinks its a good idea to wage war on others because they do not subscrib e to their way of thinking. We are all individuals... we all have our own thoughts on the way to being a right thinking people. Where we go wrong is when we try to force everyone to think as we do. Not everyone is a a Muslim. Not everyone is a Jew. Not everyone is a Christian.. or a Wiccan.. or a Spiritualist, or an agnostic, or an atheist. It doesn't matter what religion or lack of religion you are, as long as you respect and acknowledge everyone's right to worship,

My Back Pages: Labor Day Thoughts, 2015 : Another Labor Day has passed, and it seems that each year the voice of workers in this country gets weaker. Corporations continue to look ...

Another Labor Day has passed, and it seems that each year the voice of workers in this country gets weaker. Corporations continue to look for ways to increase the workload, while cutting workers at every turn, despite record profits, despite increasing corporate officer salaries to dizzying levels. These faceless multinational monolithic corporations continue to ship American jobs overseas to countries where they can pay workers pennies a day. They look to cut hard-won benefi ts to the workers that they retain at every turn. The modern day robber barons like the Koch brothers have the ear of sympathetic politicians and work to get bills through congress that would enable corporations to give off time, instead of overtime pay. They work to eliminate FMLA and anything that would benefit the workers. Make no mistake about it, where for a brief and shining moment, America was the beacon for the world on how workers had succeeded in making it possible to live a comfortable life, there are

My Back Pages: Wake Up World Leaders! : I am sitting here tonight, stunned and saddened by the slaughter and neglect of such a large segment of society. We have the refugees i...

I am sitting here tonight, stunned and saddened by the slaughter and neglect of such a large segment of society. We have the refugees in Darfur, Sudan: 300,000 slaughtered, and 2.3 million displaced. This has been going on for years now. The souls of those lost cry out to the world, but seem to fall on deaf ears. Now, we have all of the refugees from the horrors of the ISIS wars in Syria and Iraq. They are fleeing death and mutilation from a group that vows world domination. So many have died just trying to get away. Those who make it are subject to being interred in refugee camps. So many have drowned, or died from other causes, in their desperate bid to find freedom from the horrors of these wars. Men, Women, Children... the very old, the very young, all desperately seeking a way out, a way to survive. In Hungary, they are put in camps by the government. If they choose to leave, they face a long walk to Austria so that they can get to Germany, which has promised them asylum. The