Missouri Governor Impresses Me

My wife and I watched  very little television during our visit to Branson but  of course we were concerned about the tornado destruction of Joplin, Mo.  I turned to the memorial ceremony for the tornado victims and caught the governor speaking.  For a moment I thnought I was listening to a minister before realizing it was Governor Jay Nelson.  He was certainly politically incorrect as he invoked God and Jesus Christ in his message, which could be summed up as "Love Your Neighbor."  He referred to the parable of the Good Samaritan as he told of people from Tuacaloosa driving all night and sleeping in the open to come to Joplin and provide badly needed  help. .His eloquence was exceeded only by his heartfelt sincerity of caring.

We Return from Restfull Trip to Branson.

Jen and I have returned from Branson, Mo., where we saw a few shows, drove around a bit, shopped a little, but mostly  rested.  We did not read a newspaper,never touched a computer,  watched only a few minutes of television and let the world go on.  The long drive there and the long drive back were the only stressful parts  of the trip.  Awaiting us at home was a stack of mail to go through and bills to pay.

I turned on the computer  at 4 this afternoon and clicked on Drudge and I'm back in the world and its craziness and problems--riots on Long Island, teen gangs hit Boston beach,  feds go wild in buying limousines, food stamps up 39 per cent under Obama, double dip recession is still here, and Obama honors war dead and their families by playing golf on Memorial Day.  I'm ready to return to Branson.

Remember Memorial Day Monday, May 30

Remember those who gave their lives for this country and its freedoms.  This day is more than the beginning of the summer season;  it commemorates those who fought and died in the various wars the United States has waged. American men and women are still being called on to serve and sometimes die in Afghanistan and other countries in the Mideast.   Take a few moments to remember them and to pray for their families.  I realize there are differences of opinion  as to how and when the observance began but Congress established the last Monday in May as the official day and this year we observe it Monday.

Long Ago Editorial Brings Fire from Officials

I was sitting at my typewriter when the door to the Guardian-Journal burst open and in came the president of the town's only bank, the state senator and the state representative from our area.  They were noticeably angry and demanded to "see Hightower  right now."  Mr. Hightower  was the owner and publisher of the newspaper,  Not only was I ignored but so was Mrs. Hightower, who was seated at her desk opposite me.

They came to complain about an editorial I had written and that was published in the most recent issue.  I had taken the state administration to task for failing to maintain the shoulders on US Highway 79 from Minden through Homer and Haynesville to the Arkansas state line.  We had just had another fatal accident, caused when the car hit a hole on the shoulder adjacent to the highway.  The car flipped over and several fatalities resulted.

Let me digress to give a little history of the construction of this federal highway.  An engineer who worked on the project said that Huey Long discovered that by making the pavement 18 feet wide instead of the standard of 20, more miles of highway could be built with the same amount of concrete.  That narrowing by two feet made driving hazardous.  Trucks with dual wheels would slip off the pavement and dig holes in the dirt shoulders. When a car veered off the pavement and hit a hole it could cause an accident, especially if the driver panicked and tried to immediately steer the car back on the pavement.  The highway could have been made much safer and saved lives by hardsurfacing the shoulders, not a very expensive project and one that cried out to be done.

Mr. Hightower stood firm in supporting me.  If they wanted an apology of some kind they didn't get it. If they wanted me fired they didn't get it.  They said several miles of roads in Claiborne parish had been blacktopped and we agreed it they would give us a list we would be happy to print it as a news story.

I wish I could say the state very soon thereafter hard surfaced the shoulders.  It did not, although I believe the officials did their best to get it done.  It was years later that the shoulders were surfaced and passing lanes were added.  If that situation arose today and I was again the editor, I would take pictures of the worst places and run them week after week, each time blasting the state administration for failure to act.  That was then and printing pictures was expensive and problematic for a weekly newspaper printed by letterpress.

Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right

I am very late in commenting on this but here goes.  I attended a gospel sing at the church Saturday night. I thought it was to be singing by the congregation but a quartet, called Disciples, performed for donations. I was unacquainted with most of their songs but at least four were old familiar songs.  Two were by Gaither  -- "He Touched Me" and  "Victory in Jesus."  Just a coincidence  we sang "He Touched Me" Sunday. The quartet was at its best when they sang "In the Garden," which shows the old familiar hymns are the best.

"Just a Little Talk with Jesus Makes it Right" was the other familiar song.  This may be the most popular singing convention song of all time. Words and music were written by a black man.  It has been recorded by many, many artists.  One web site has it available by 50 singers and vocal groups.  The lyrics have been altered by some singers but the message remains clear and true.  Sometimes the best message is as simple as that -- a little talk with Jesus can make it right.

Reid, Pelosi Get Waivers to Obamacare

Remember who led the fight to inflict Obamacare on this nation?  Senator Reid and Cong Pelosi, following the bidding of Obama,  slammed it down our throats with not a vote to spare, granting all kinds of favors to win votes.  If it is such a good thing why have hundreds of waivers been granted to friends of the Obama administration?  Human and Health  (HHS) granted 204 waivers in April alone.  All of Nevada, Reid's home state, was granted a waiver, while 38 waivers were granted in that month alone for Pelosi's district, especially for  hotels, night clubs and restaurants.

Obamacare is great -- for everyone except the scoundrels who forced it upon us.   This is just one of many disasters Obama and his crowd  are imposing on us.  Blow a kiss to Obama when you pay $50 for the light bulb  mandated by Obama.  That's right, no mistake, the bulbs will cost 50 dollars each.  Obama supporters will probably get them free.

I'm Trying Not to Curse But La Tax Filing Is Making It Difficult

We went back to working on our Louisiana income taxes Sunday afternoon.  Finally decided pay for the software to do the state return.  That helped, after doing it three times.  But again the state would not let us E-file, coming up idiotic reasons.  We had the same problems last year, but this year we already had a password.  The state mess would not accept it.  We tried a new password and the response was you cannot use a new password; you already have one.  I say kick every state senator and representative in the tail until our tax code makes sense and  E-filing is possible.