VERY SHORT MYSTERY STORY

There is a lot of brain  and money power here in Missouri, the show me State. Some of that power is used constructively to improve the stability of communities and the quality of life for citizens.   Some of the intellect and money is used on ideas that have failed elsewhere and  destroyed stable economies and the well being of people.






One day,  not too long ago, as people awaited the coming of Spring, New Jersey's embattled Governor was reported to have flown into The St. Louis International Airport. When he got out of the airplane  he drove to downtown St. Louis. There, in the Shadow of the Busch Baseball Stadium, at a small cafe, the Governor from New Jersey had a quick tete-a-tete with the billionaire from Missouri. Then the Governor returned to the plane and went back home to New Jersey alone.











The reason for the meeting remains a mystery.

WHAT DOES MEMORIAL DAY 2014 MEAN?

Memorial Day  more than any other American holiday represents the men, women and even children who sacrificed their lives, and sustained life-long injuries for our country. These were and are people who came from small towns, big cities and from America's farm land. They are strangers to many of us.


We know them only by their military designation, soldier, sailor or marine. Yet their cultural, religious and family traditions and values are very much part of them. We glean something about the strangers we honor through speeches and stories.


Special events planned for Memorial Day also reflect traditions and cultures from which these strangers may have come, adding to the rich diversity of our Country. Festivals of Greek, Italian, Irish, African, Spanish, and Puerto Rican foods and customs, among others, can be found at exhibits and fairs held to commemorate the day.


Cemeteries are awash with graveside flags and flowers.  Re-enactors from wars, foreign and our own, which took the lives of those we remember are part of the historical montage and sometimes include boy scouts, police and fire men along with local dignitaries.


Memorial Day is a quiet, reflective holiday even though it often symbolizes the opening of beaches and amusement parks that are filled with noisy fun-loving crowds.


Memorial Day reminds neighbors and family and this Nation to put political and geographic differences aside and to remember those who have sacrificed so much for all of us and the diversity they honored and symbolize.

CAR SAFETY: BUYER BEWARE! WHY?

Since the first of the year, 11.3 million vehicles in America were recalled. Of these, it is not known how many of the almost two million used and rental cars and trucks on the road have been recalled for safety deficiencies.


There are no state or federal laws or regulations requiring the repair of a vehicle's safety problems before it is sold or rented.Nor is there any law or regulation that require sellers or rental companies to disclose this information to the public.


Laws that would address this problem are stalled in Congress and in State Capitals. WHY? Because state and federal law and safety regulations could give consumers the ability to sue if safety information is with held and this would cut into a business profit.


WHY SHOULD WE CARE? Many of us, our children, grandchildren and friends share the same streets, roads and highways side by side with other vehicles that are safety hazards or accident prone.
BYER BEWARE the motto of the automobile and rental industries is not good enough anymore.


Note: The information contained in this post was carried in the May 5 Edition of the New York Times in an article by Rachael Abrams and Christopher Jensen along with the web site http://www.safercar.gov for more information. The opinion is mine.

TREAT THE ILLNESS! TRACE THE GUNS!

The Fort Hood killings, and  the daily number of innocent men, women and children killed in rural and urban areas across this country should cry out to all of us that we need to hold our elected officials accountable for keeping us less than safe.

We are being hood winked by one of this country's largest profit-making industries and businesses  when we are told to look into mental health illness and poor security as reasons for allowing military weapons and ammunition to be available at open unregulated markets and flea markets. 

When we are told the best way to protect out schools, our public places, our homes is to shoot to kill, we are being referred to the wrong "book" for guidance.  When we are told to arm ourselves against a possible invasion of aliens, fascists or the government itself, we are nurturing the very environment that produces chaos.

Yes, we do need more mental health programs to better understand ourselves and others, but that  cannot replace the hard scrutiny by legislators of the profit-making gun and ammunition industry which roams freely across this land without rules and regulations.

It's time to hold our elected officials and their voting records accountable for the loss of so many innocent lives, not only the mental health system or even powerful lobbies. We need to elect men and women who will begin to write laws that will enable us to trace where guns and military like weapons and ammunition are keep in our communities and why. 

HANG IN THERE BRIDGET ANNE KELLY!

Whatever the facts are about the infamous New Jersey bridge closing my message to Ms. Kelly is hang in there!

When someone as powerful as the Governor of New Jersey needs to resort to character assassination to make his "case" you can be sure there is a lot more to investigate beside the character of his staff.

I hope that Miss Kelly realizes that men and women across New Jersey and this Country understand what abuse of power means, even when a powerful person is able to coerce another to commit questionable acts.

So Bridget Anne Kelly, even as hard as it is, we support you and will not be mislead by still more bullying.  Hang in there sister!

DOES THE HUMAN SPECIES RESPECT NATURE?

People are missing and killed from a massive mud slide in Oso, Washington State.  Families, children, and animals buried beneath the land which once held their community. 

The community nestled on land below a lovely expense of rolling hills and trees.  Land that environmental and energy management reports and geographical maps clearly showed the dangers for development.

Reports that went as far back as 1967 were obtained from the Army Corp of Engineers by the Seattle Times said the area posed  "a significant risk to human lives and private property."

Some survivors, stunned and angry asked why they were not warned of the dangers.  Some thought  deforestation by commercial interests may have left the land with the inability to absorb and withstand the heavy rain. All prayed and dug hoping to unearth loved ones.

So who was derelict? 

Did people not respect the reports because they were wary of scientific findings?  Did the Army Corp of Engineers withhold information that should have been made public?

Or is the human species destined to carry forward an inability to recognize and respect nature?

MALAYSIA: THANKS! BUT NO THANKS! WHY?

The disappearance of  Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is a mystery. Intriguing also is the "Malaysian authorities refusal to accept large-scale American assistance."*

When America's arsenal of military and scientific expertise is refused because of nationalistic or political interests it indicates little regard for the lives of people.

The Malaysian refusal reminds me of American politicians and pundits who do not want  federal laws and regulations for health programs, the environment or gun control because of "state's rights."

When we say, no thanks to federal laws and regulations about people's health, our environment and gun control, do we not have the same narrow regard for people and country as do the Malaysians in not seeking help?

* Michael S. Schmidt and Scott Shane New York Times, 3-17-14.