It's time for my post regarding my annual reading list. For 2019 I read the following nineteen books. Seven of these were non-fiction, over 1/3, which for me may be a record.
My favorite fiction book for the year was "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens. I believe it's still on the Wall Street Journal's best seller list. It is set in the marsh area of North Carolina. The style of writing just oozes that slow southern life. "A Gentleman in Moscow" was a close second for my favorite fiction selection.
"Agent Zigzag" by Ben Macintyre was probably by favorite non-fiction book. The full title was "Agent Zigzag: The True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love and Betrayal". The full title may give you more idea of what it was about. If you're a fan of true spy history it was excellent.
Michael Connelly remains one of my favorite fiction (who-done-it) writers and I managed to read two of his. If you want pure fun, Bill Geist's book about growing up and working for his uncle who owned a resort in the Ozarks, called "Lake of the Ozarks: My Surreal Summers in a Vanishing America" was pure a delight. Stories that will make you laugh out loud!
So, get to reading people. It is the best escape from the daily crazy news!
Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre
Trapped Under the Sea by Neil Swidey
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
The Hellfire Club by Jake Tapper
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
Unsheltered by Barbara Kinsolver
The Farmers Son by John Connell
The War on Normal People by Andrew Yang
Where Did You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Sleeping With Dogs: Tales of a Pet Nanny by Lindsey Grant
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Lake of the Ozarks by Bill Geist
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
The Honey Bus by Meredith May
Monday, January 13, 2020
Friday, March 15, 2019
Entitlement Parenting Questions
The college admission scandal that has ensnared students, parents, coaches, college officials and test administrators should be named Entitlement Parenting. Does it remind anyone of the case of the teen charged with killing 4 people while driving drunk? The teen received probation, then violated it and fled to Mexico with help from his mother. He was caught and required to serve 2 years jail time. His original defense what he was too rich and spoiled to know right from wrong. It was dubbed the affluenza defense. It seems like this current scandal is more of the same. Wealthy parents crippling their children by spoiling them.
Every parent wants their child to be a happy, self-supporting adult. Every parent wants to minimize the struggles their child has to endure. But, when did this parental protective instinct for some go off the rails? When did some parents stop recognizing that OVER protecting children from struggle is actually hurting them?
Did this all start with the participation trophy theory? In the effort to build self esteem for children does giving everyone a trophy instead of just those that win seem like a good idea? Life lessons come from both winning and losing.
Did the mantra that "You can be anything you want" cause affluent parents to believe that they must spend whatever it takes to make the statement true for their children? Did this then become a part of the mantra "Keeping up the the neighbors"?
Did all of this get magnified with the cell phone? It is the ubiquitous umbilical cord. Do parents feel compelled to monitor every school assignment, every grade, every sports practice or even the child's location at any given moment? Are children learning personal responsibility with parents that are micro-managing their lives?
Struggle and failure are painful to watch our children go through but they are important life lessons. When parenting becomes more about appearances (in this case--getting into the right school), the children will pay the price.
Happy self-supporting adults are the product of parents that balance helping their children with letting them struggle at times. This balance is different for every family and every parent/child relationship but the lesson should never be that it's ok to cheat.
Every parent wants their child to be a happy, self-supporting adult. Every parent wants to minimize the struggles their child has to endure. But, when did this parental protective instinct for some go off the rails? When did some parents stop recognizing that OVER protecting children from struggle is actually hurting them?
Did this all start with the participation trophy theory? In the effort to build self esteem for children does giving everyone a trophy instead of just those that win seem like a good idea? Life lessons come from both winning and losing.
Did the mantra that "You can be anything you want" cause affluent parents to believe that they must spend whatever it takes to make the statement true for their children? Did this then become a part of the mantra "Keeping up the the neighbors"?
Did all of this get magnified with the cell phone? It is the ubiquitous umbilical cord. Do parents feel compelled to monitor every school assignment, every grade, every sports practice or even the child's location at any given moment? Are children learning personal responsibility with parents that are micro-managing their lives?
Struggle and failure are painful to watch our children go through but they are important life lessons. When parenting becomes more about appearances (in this case--getting into the right school), the children will pay the price.
Happy self-supporting adults are the product of parents that balance helping their children with letting them struggle at times. This balance is different for every family and every parent/child relationship but the lesson should never be that it's ok to cheat.
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Dad's Winter Driving Advice
Currently my neighborhood streets are snow packed and icy and there are piles 3-4 feet high of snow that has been shoveled off my driveway. The main roads however are in good shape and life continues along with minimal winter disruptions. On my commute this morning I was thinking back to winter driving advice that I received growing up.
At age 14 and the oldest of 4 siblings, I became responsible for driving us 10 miles into town to attend school as we were not on a school bus route. This being in the days before SUV type vehicles were common, the car provided by my parents was a sweet Ford Pinto with an 8 track player. We loved the car but needless to say, the rear wheel drive little Pinto didn't love winter weather.
Our driveway was 1/4 mile from the county road and had a low-lying gully in the middle of it. This gully might have standing water in the spring or be full of drifted snow in the winter. It was the source of never ending driving challenges. It was also the ready source of frogs for our little brother but that is another story.
My father was usually the first one out the door most mornings. His days started early and he was well at work before any of the rest of his family was moving. If it had snowed the night before, he was the first one to deal with the gully. While he did use the tractor to plow open the drive, by the time we headed to school, the western Kansas wind had done it's job and drifted it back shut.
Dad was fearless on the roads. A chronic speeder, he attended safe driving school 3 times. He actually asked a highway patrol officer what the fastest way to the airport was one time as the officer was writing him a ticket. Dad never gave a moments thought to the driveway or that his daughter was not quite as fearless in the snow. His comment to me was always "Just get a good run at it and you should be fine." This comment along with the frequent "Give it a little more gas." could explain my driving habits today.
I have no idea how many times he had to come back home and pull the Pinto out of the snow drifts but it was usually several times a winter. I can still vividly see him in his coveralls with the tractor, hooking the chain up to the Pinto and dragging me out of the gully or a ditch along the county road. He never berated me but upon freeing me from the ditch, I could count on hearing "Just get a good run at it next time."
At age 14 and the oldest of 4 siblings, I became responsible for driving us 10 miles into town to attend school as we were not on a school bus route. This being in the days before SUV type vehicles were common, the car provided by my parents was a sweet Ford Pinto with an 8 track player. We loved the car but needless to say, the rear wheel drive little Pinto didn't love winter weather.
Our driveway was 1/4 mile from the county road and had a low-lying gully in the middle of it. This gully might have standing water in the spring or be full of drifted snow in the winter. It was the source of never ending driving challenges. It was also the ready source of frogs for our little brother but that is another story.
My father was usually the first one out the door most mornings. His days started early and he was well at work before any of the rest of his family was moving. If it had snowed the night before, he was the first one to deal with the gully. While he did use the tractor to plow open the drive, by the time we headed to school, the western Kansas wind had done it's job and drifted it back shut.
Dad was fearless on the roads. A chronic speeder, he attended safe driving school 3 times. He actually asked a highway patrol officer what the fastest way to the airport was one time as the officer was writing him a ticket. Dad never gave a moments thought to the driveway or that his daughter was not quite as fearless in the snow. His comment to me was always "Just get a good run at it and you should be fine." This comment along with the frequent "Give it a little more gas." could explain my driving habits today.
I have no idea how many times he had to come back home and pull the Pinto out of the snow drifts but it was usually several times a winter. I can still vividly see him in his coveralls with the tractor, hooking the chain up to the Pinto and dragging me out of the gully or a ditch along the county road. He never berated me but upon freeing me from the ditch, I could count on hearing "Just get a good run at it next time."
Monday, December 31, 2018
2018 Political Lessons
This past year has been an interesting one in the political realm. On our local level, Kansas City finally passed approval for a new airport terminal. This is a LONG overdue need.
The state of Missouri passed the Clean Missouri initiative. This is a win for all citizens of the state. It requires more records be made public, eliminates most lobbying gifts and requires a waiting period of 2 years after people leave the legislature before they can become lobbyists. It also asks non-partisan experts to draw legislative district maps. Good for Missouri citizens in attempting to clean up our political house.
On the national level, what can I say? It started out as chaotic mess and ended up the same way. I'm not sure that much meaningful legislation got passed. There were constant scandals within the administration. From the various Russian interference indictments (Flynn, Manafort, Cohen, Gates, etc) to a large number of scandals within the president's cabinet and white house staff (Pruitt, Zinke, Porter, Ross, Omarosa) to the grossly mismanaged child separation policy at the border it was just crazy chaos. The result? The Democrats taking back the house by their largest winning margin since Watergate.
Another other lesson that I learned this year is that President Trump's twitter account is nothing but noise. I dutifully tried to read and keep up with his comments in 2017. I gave up this year. There is very little meaningful knowledge to be gained. Responsible leaders should not govern by social media and maybe the public is also agreeing with this sentiment. Legislating and policy making is serious business and throwing up verbal vomit on twitter is meaningless.
So, I'm hopeful that 2019 will bring progress and Congress will get more things done to help people. More new faces (with more women being elected) is a great step forward. We need work done on healthcare, infrastructure, and reducing the national debt and budget deficit. The tax give aways to the rich resulting in massive stock buybacks have not helped us average citizens and now the stock market is hurting any retirement savings that people have invested. Governing needs to get serious again. Let's move the country forward.
The state of Missouri passed the Clean Missouri initiative. This is a win for all citizens of the state. It requires more records be made public, eliminates most lobbying gifts and requires a waiting period of 2 years after people leave the legislature before they can become lobbyists. It also asks non-partisan experts to draw legislative district maps. Good for Missouri citizens in attempting to clean up our political house.
On the national level, what can I say? It started out as chaotic mess and ended up the same way. I'm not sure that much meaningful legislation got passed. There were constant scandals within the administration. From the various Russian interference indictments (Flynn, Manafort, Cohen, Gates, etc) to a large number of scandals within the president's cabinet and white house staff (Pruitt, Zinke, Porter, Ross, Omarosa) to the grossly mismanaged child separation policy at the border it was just crazy chaos. The result? The Democrats taking back the house by their largest winning margin since Watergate.
Another other lesson that I learned this year is that President Trump's twitter account is nothing but noise. I dutifully tried to read and keep up with his comments in 2017. I gave up this year. There is very little meaningful knowledge to be gained. Responsible leaders should not govern by social media and maybe the public is also agreeing with this sentiment. Legislating and policy making is serious business and throwing up verbal vomit on twitter is meaningless.
So, I'm hopeful that 2019 will bring progress and Congress will get more things done to help people. More new faces (with more women being elected) is a great step forward. We need work done on healthcare, infrastructure, and reducing the national debt and budget deficit. The tax give aways to the rich resulting in massive stock buybacks have not helped us average citizens and now the stock market is hurting any retirement savings that people have invested. Governing needs to get serious again. Let's move the country forward.
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Reading Resolutions
Listed below are the books that I read this year. This year I was going to attempt the autobiography of former President Ulysses S. Grant but that one was simply more than I could take on. It is still however on my list to read in the future. If you are interested in U.S. presidential history, check out the blog of my sister. She is on a quest to read a book about each president. She took on Grant and prevailed and gave a good summary of a biography by Ron Chernow. http://warpedpresidential.blogspot.com/
For Christmas I received a Kindle which I'm excited to use. It should make my reading easier when I'm away from home. My patient daughter showed me how to use the Kindle to check out e-books from the library. It is so easy. If you haven't figured out how to download e-books or audio books I recommend it as a new years resolution!
My favorites this year were actually 2 non-fiction books. "Victoria the Queen" by Julia Baird was excellent and if you're a fan of the show on PBS it makes an excellent way to increase your historical knowledge. "Calypso" by David Sedaris was also an enjoyable book. His humorous essays are such a delight and always easy to read.
1. The Crossing by Michael Connelly
2. Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff
3. Victoria the Queen by Julia Baird
4. The Quantum Spy by David Ignatius
5. Personal History by Katharine Graham
6. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth Jr.
7. The Practice House by Laura McNeal
8. Jerry Lee Lewis, His Own Story by Rick Bragg
9. Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
10. Nothing is Forgotten by Peter Golden
11. The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
12. Calypso by David Sedaris
13. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
14. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
15. The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson
16. The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
17. The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo
18. The Outsiders by Stephen King
Several neighbors and I are attempting to get a book club going. Hopefully we will have enough people to keep it up and it's been enjoyable being able to discuss a book with others. If you are interested in a book club, talk to your local library. They can probably help.
As usual I will continue to advocate for everyone to read for both pleasure and to increase knowledge of current events. Please be sure to consume well sourced, fact based news. As for fiction, read what you enjoy!
For Christmas I received a Kindle which I'm excited to use. It should make my reading easier when I'm away from home. My patient daughter showed me how to use the Kindle to check out e-books from the library. It is so easy. If you haven't figured out how to download e-books or audio books I recommend it as a new years resolution!
My favorites this year were actually 2 non-fiction books. "Victoria the Queen" by Julia Baird was excellent and if you're a fan of the show on PBS it makes an excellent way to increase your historical knowledge. "Calypso" by David Sedaris was also an enjoyable book. His humorous essays are such a delight and always easy to read.
1. The Crossing by Michael Connelly
2. Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff
3. Victoria the Queen by Julia Baird
4. The Quantum Spy by David Ignatius
5. Personal History by Katharine Graham
6. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth Jr.
7. The Practice House by Laura McNeal
8. Jerry Lee Lewis, His Own Story by Rick Bragg
9. Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
10. Nothing is Forgotten by Peter Golden
11. The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
12. Calypso by David Sedaris
13. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
14. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
15. The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson
16. The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
17. The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo
18. The Outsiders by Stephen King
Several neighbors and I are attempting to get a book club going. Hopefully we will have enough people to keep it up and it's been enjoyable being able to discuss a book with others. If you are interested in a book club, talk to your local library. They can probably help.
As usual I will continue to advocate for everyone to read for both pleasure and to increase knowledge of current events. Please be sure to consume well sourced, fact based news. As for fiction, read what you enjoy!
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Numbers That Don't Add Up
As a bean-counter by day, I work with income statements and balance sheets. My numbers must be correct and part of the process is checking for reasonableness. As a country, we all need to be checking for reasonable numbers when we make our voting decisions. I have included 2 charts below that are from the Facebook page of the economist Steve Rattner.
Politicians are notorious for ignoring the hard fiscal decisions. This irresponsibility was most recently manifested in the last tax bill passed by the current congress. According to the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget Group blog post from July 18, 2018, "President Trump's first budget (for FY 2018) projected a $526 billion deficit in 2019 under its policies. The FY 2019 Mid-Session Review released last Friday revises his current budget to $1,085 billion deficit in 2019. That's an increase of roughly $560 billion, or more than double." The blog post emphasizes that the increase is due to both the tax cuts and increased spending.
In order for everyone to understand how hard it is to balance the federal budget, here is a link to an online tool that allows you to adjust tax revenue and expenses for the federal government as you see fit and then view the results to the budget. This is provided by the non-partisan Committee for Responsible Federal Budget group. They have a Facebook page if you are interested in further information.
While political opinions vary widely on many issues, I would bet that most of us could agree that the government should be balancing the budget. If we want improved infrastructure, better health care services, more resources for educating our children, more money for our military branches or trying to ensure the future viability of social security for our retirees then we all need to be discussing the realistic choices of how to make these things happen.
After all, we as individuals have to live within our own budget constraints. We are paying elected officials to represent our desires. Make sure your choices for elected officials will stand up for the fiscal responsibilities that are facing us today.
Politicians are notorious for ignoring the hard fiscal decisions. This irresponsibility was most recently manifested in the last tax bill passed by the current congress. According to the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget Group blog post from July 18, 2018, "President Trump's first budget (for FY 2018) projected a $526 billion deficit in 2019 under its policies. The FY 2019 Mid-Session Review released last Friday revises his current budget to $1,085 billion deficit in 2019. That's an increase of roughly $560 billion, or more than double." The blog post emphasizes that the increase is due to both the tax cuts and increased spending.
In order for everyone to understand how hard it is to balance the federal budget, here is a link to an online tool that allows you to adjust tax revenue and expenses for the federal government as you see fit and then view the results to the budget. This is provided by the non-partisan Committee for Responsible Federal Budget group. They have a Facebook page if you are interested in further information.
While political opinions vary widely on many issues, I would bet that most of us could agree that the government should be balancing the budget. If we want improved infrastructure, better health care services, more resources for educating our children, more money for our military branches or trying to ensure the future viability of social security for our retirees then we all need to be discussing the realistic choices of how to make these things happen.
After all, we as individuals have to live within our own budget constraints. We are paying elected officials to represent our desires. Make sure your choices for elected officials will stand up for the fiscal responsibilities that are facing us today.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Space Force
This country desperately needs infrastructure improvements. Bridges, roads, sewers in most areas need updating. Many communities have evidence of decay. Instead of more federal/state partnerships on these improvements, we're getting Space Force.
Most people agree that we need improvements to our health care system. Medical bills and premiums are continuing to rise. A healthy economy needs healthy workers. But instead of trying to improve the situation, we're getting minimal coverage insurance plans and Space Force.
This country needs to figure out a way to solve the +20 TRILLION dollar deficit that is continuing to grow. This will be a massive burden to future generations if we do not get a plan in place to reduce this. Instead, we're getting tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthy and Space Force.
Sky rocketing higher education costs and student loans are crippling our nations college students. A nation needs both non-college and college educated workers. We cannot cripple one segment and expect the nation to lead in innovation. Instead of helping students to finance higher education and become more productive workers, we're getting Space Force.
We desperately need some common sense gun safety regulations. Mass shootings are out of control. Our children are being murdered in their schools. But instead of leading discussions on how to solve this problem, we're getting thoughts and prayers and rah-rah speeches about Space Force.
Everyone that I know agrees that our immigration system needs reform. This country also needs a certain level of legal immigration to help the economy thrive and grow. But all we're getting is chaos at the border and (you know what) Space Force.
The Veterans Administration by most accounts is in need of some overhauls. Our veterans deserve the best care we can provide for their sacrifices. Instead of any notable improvements, they're getting a military parade (costing millions) and Space Force.
After the last election, every American should be concerned that their vote is not going to be hijacked by a foreign adversary. We need discussions on protecting election integrity. But what we get is a presidential election commission that is disbanded. But hey, Space Force!
So let's all get excited about what logo to choose for Space Force and while we're at it maybe we can all decide on the secret handshake and the decoder ring.
Most people agree that we need improvements to our health care system. Medical bills and premiums are continuing to rise. A healthy economy needs healthy workers. But instead of trying to improve the situation, we're getting minimal coverage insurance plans and Space Force.
This country needs to figure out a way to solve the +20 TRILLION dollar deficit that is continuing to grow. This will be a massive burden to future generations if we do not get a plan in place to reduce this. Instead, we're getting tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthy and Space Force.
Sky rocketing higher education costs and student loans are crippling our nations college students. A nation needs both non-college and college educated workers. We cannot cripple one segment and expect the nation to lead in innovation. Instead of helping students to finance higher education and become more productive workers, we're getting Space Force.
We desperately need some common sense gun safety regulations. Mass shootings are out of control. Our children are being murdered in their schools. But instead of leading discussions on how to solve this problem, we're getting thoughts and prayers and rah-rah speeches about Space Force.
Everyone that I know agrees that our immigration system needs reform. This country also needs a certain level of legal immigration to help the economy thrive and grow. But all we're getting is chaos at the border and (you know what) Space Force.
The Veterans Administration by most accounts is in need of some overhauls. Our veterans deserve the best care we can provide for their sacrifices. Instead of any notable improvements, they're getting a military parade (costing millions) and Space Force.
After the last election, every American should be concerned that their vote is not going to be hijacked by a foreign adversary. We need discussions on protecting election integrity. But what we get is a presidential election commission that is disbanded. But hey, Space Force!
So let's all get excited about what logo to choose for Space Force and while we're at it maybe we can all decide on the secret handshake and the decoder ring.
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