Kindle for PC

Recently I installed Kindle for PC on my computer. This is a great "add-ons" for reading books online. First, its free and I don't need a Kindle reader. This is the Amazon reader that sells for $139 if you want one you can carry around. The program does everything the regular Kindle reader will do. Amazon has a large number of books that can be downloaded for a reduced price as well as a bunch of free books. Currently I am reading Benedict XVI's first volume of Jesus. This is not an ad for Amazon. I just enjoy the program.

OUT OF AFGHAN WAR

After the response of some Afghan folks to the burning of the Quran by some nut in Florida resulting in the death of 7 UN people and the parade with anti-American signs, I urge the President to remove all American from the country. Declare victory and leave.

Report to Representatives.

From time to time I like to write down my hopes for actions by our politicians in the hope that they will read my blog for insipration on how to vote. As of today, my desires for my government are:
1. Return to the draft for military service. A volunteer army leeds to separation of voter and taxpayer. If there were a draft young people would be interested in world affairs.
2. Pull all American military out of Iraq and Afganistan. If we haven't won after all this time, we are not likley to ever win.
3. Explain to me and others why we have large numbers of troops in Germany, Japan and dozens of other countries.
4. Establish a national health plan, single payer type. Medicare works very well thank you.
5. Order that all government owned vehicle run on natural gas.
6. Fix the potholes in all our roads and streets.
7. Reduce the speed limit in Interstates to 55 mph. Enforce the speed limit. This would serve two priorities: improve milage of automobiles, put monies in the treasuries of cities from speeding fines.

Barry Bonds Trial

Today begins the jury selection for the trial of Barry Bonds. I have real difficulty in the decisions to try Bonds. The US Attorney says its necessary to prove that one can't lie to a Grand Jury and not be punished. Bonds has been punished by the public. With the serious budget shortages facing the government it seems to me that they must have more serious cases on which to spend their time and resources. I'm left with the conclusion that the US Attorney is seeking his own publicity. If they don't get a conviction I assume the Attorney General will remove this US Attorney!!

Snowstorm?? Coming

Wednesday and off to the Museum for another day in my volunteer commitment of two days a week. Today I plan on digging out whatever information we have about snow in Crockett because the weatherpeople are saying that this weekend we may have snow down to 1000 ft.. The neatest weather page I've seen in awhile is an interactive map of every reporting point in the US. Take a look at it and enjoy. As an old (both age and long ago) weatherman I remember having to take the reports sent via teletype, plotting the data on a map and then giving it to the forecaster to analyze and send it out via fax machine.

Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds is still in the crosshairs of the District Attorney although the latest indictment dropped some more counts. Given the stated intent to cut the costs in the courts, etc., one would think they have more important and urgent things to do than to take on something several years old that have little chance of conviction.

Sunlight Finally

Tuesday the 25th of January. For the first time in several weeks the fog has lifted and its not raining. Temperature in the high 60's. California has returned. Tonite is the St. Rose Pastoral Council and I intend to make a pitch for a goal energizing the Catholics in our parish who have drifted away. 2012 is the 1ooth anniversary of becoming a parish and hopefully we will do more than have a luncheon for the Bishop.

Weather Report

Heavy December rains and snow lead me to consider the issues of global warming. Although the US is set to benefit from warmer winters, the south Pacific is already experiencing the effects of global warming. The US is the ONLY major country where the legislative leaders question the reality of the effects of a warmer earth. During the next 10 years we will witness the deaths and damages directly attributable to changes in weather. The Cancun Conference http://www.daraint.org made several things clear. We can no longer worship at the altar of Adam Smith,

SF Giants Rule Forever

Now that the Giants are the world champions, one would think that all those "friends" who took me to task for supporting Barry Bonds would call me to say they have been wrong. Bond holds more baseball records than any other player and had a real role in building this team. Oh well, next year - the Oakland A's.

Waiting for the Crown

Now that the San Francisco Giants have won the first two games, we are entitled to hope for 2 more wins. Then, everyone who has trash-talked my favorite player Barry Bonds can hear me say "I told you so!" Stay tuned.

New Computer

After 25 years of using a personal computer for the first time my hard disk failed. I thought everything was properly backed up. It wasn't! Now the transfer from XP tp Windows 7 also fails. I was able to save all my word processing material but so far have been unable to recover several years of financial records. Worst of all, my genealogy data is still not on the new machine. There may be a message hidden in there somewhere. Tomorrow will be the first game of the World's Series here in SF. Keep your fingers crossed.

Keith

Computer Woes

For the past 3 weeks, after my older computer died, I have been struggling to get my new machine working - a Gateway. I can only use it in "safe" mode and that is frustrating. Pray for me.

WHO IS THE WINNER? ND or Golf

Congratulations to ND state agencies for continuing investigation into issue of ground water dangers.

NEW YORK(Reuters) - Dallas-based Denbury Resources said it stanched an oil and fracturing fluid leak froma broken well in North Dakota, and will plug the well withcement later Friday before investigating the cause the two-dayleak.

The well near Killdeer, North Dakota spewed 246 barrels ofcrude and 2,200 barrels of fresh fracking fluid - a water-basedmixture containing chemicals -- before it was suppressed withdrilling mud early on Friday.

At Least It's Not Earl

As we listen to reports about hurricane Earl, we have been reminded that we live surrounded by several active faults. "Is this a precursor of the big one?" Who knows. Perhaps!

Magnitude 3.3 - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA

Shades of BP

Even a small spill like this should cause North Dakotas residents to be a little uneasy.

"There are more than 5,000 wells now producing more than 320,000 barrels of oil a day in western North Dakota, a record amount. As of Wednesday, there were 142 rigs drilling new wells in the state, at the rate of about one well per rig per month."

Jason's New Job

After searching since graduation last May, grandson Jason is in the process of being hired by St. Vincent's School for Boys in San Rafael. The school is operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco through Catholic Charities and Catholic Youth Organization. We keep our prayers focused on this process and pray that the employment process soon be completed.

The King, The President and Me

I don't know if King Harald is part of the Nobel selection process, but his views and mine coincide with President Obama's views.

The Norway Post: "King Harald's
New Year speech to the nation
Excess consumption, the climate crisis, the
hunt for profit, intolerance and 'Berlin Walls' that create hate and mistrust
were the main themes of King Harald's traditional speech to the nation on New
Year's Eve.
King Harald fears that excess consumption at the worst may
create a dramatic imbalance in the global climate. He urges us all to take this
challenge seriously, in order that our earth may be passed on to new
generations."

1927 Bridge on the way down

This is a shot of a piece of the old bridge coming down. The Crockett Museum has dozens of these.

North Dakota Leads

I always wanted to get down into these silos. Next trip home I'll do it.

Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile Site State Historical Society of North Dakota: "The new Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site actually consists of two sites telling the story of the Cold War years in North Dakota. They are the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility and the November-33 Launch Facility. They are the last remnants of the 321st Missile Wing, a cluster of intercontinental ballistic missile launch sites that were spread over a 6,500-square-mile area around the Grand Forks Air Force Base. The Oscar Zero Launch Control Center and the November-33 Missile Facilty played an integral part in the Cold War in North Dakota and the world. This site is the last launch control center intact with the top-side of November 33 missile facility left intact."

Support the Catholic Bishops

Washington D.C., Jul 22, 2009 / 03:02 am (CNA).- As national debate about a major Congressional health care bill continues, the U.S. bishops have called for “genuine” health care reform that protects human life and provides comprehensive health care access.
Bishop of Rockville Centre, New York William F. Murphy, writing a July 17 letter to Congress on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), commented:
“Genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all is a moral imperative and a vital national obligation.”
Bishop Murphy, who is chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said that the U.S. bishops have advocated health care reform for decades.
He also outlined four criteria for health care reform, listing respect for human life and dignity, access for all, pluralism and equitable costs.
Concerning respect for human life, the bishop insisted that no health care reform plan should “compel us or others to pay for the destruction of human life, whether through government funding or mandatory coverage of abortion.”
“Any such action would be morally wrong,” he stated, noting that U.S. law already bars federal funding for most abortions.
Health care reform, he said, should not be a vehicle for abandoning a “consensus” that “respects freedom of conscience and honors our best American traditions.”
“Any legislation should reflect longstanding and widely supported current policies on abortion funding, mandates and conscience protections because they represent sound morality, wise policy and political reality.”
Discussing access to health care, Bishop Murphy remarked, “All people need and should have access to comprehensive, quality health care that they can afford, and it should not depend on their stage of life, where or whether they or their parents work, how much they earn, where they live, or where they were born.”
The bishop said the USCCB believes health care reform should be “truly universal” and “genuinely affordable.”
Noting that some families, including immigrants, will not be covered by health care reform, Bishop Murphy urged Congress to fund adequately clinics and hospitals that serve these populations.
He also advocated more cost-sharing protections and new coverage options for poorer families, limits or exemptions on premiums for those who are near poverty, and increases in eligibility levels