Disqus - Latest Comments for ronbeas

Re: My Right to Die

Ron Beasley — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:11:58 -0000

Very touching Kevin. I am nearly 70 and have already collected at least some of the money I paid into Social Security. I went most of my life without a broken bone but have had several the last 3 years. I wish you the best. You were one of the first bloggers I followed on a regular basis even before you moved on.

Re: Politix Update: Republicans Turn To Cruz As Their Savior As Concerns Turn To Panic

Ron Beasley — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 09:32:38 -0000

What alternate universe do you live in? Polling shows just the opposite.

Re: So Wondering about a Mother Who Purposely Chooses Murder Over Loyalty to Her Own Child

Ron Beasley — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 09:08:30 -0000

I always come back to this quote:

Unfortunately, some wars are won by the side that is the most fanatical in the religious sense. The victorious leaders harness the holy energy of collective insanity.

COGITOR KWYNA

From the Machine Crusade by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Re: White Men Dying

Ron Beasley — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 10:25:08 -0000

There is certainly some truth to that. I went for 7 years without health insurance because no insurance company was willing to write me a policy when I was in my late 50s and early 60s, It wasn't until I turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare that I had health insurance again.

Re: White Men Dying

Ron Beasley — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 09:51:35 -0000

My experience was a bit different here in the silicon rain forest of the Portland metro area. I was an engineer and like many of my peers I found my company and job shipped off to China in my late 50s. Like many professionals it became obvious early on that I was not going to find another job. For the most part we were lucky - we had made good money and had money in the bank. But the fact is you have to find something to do with your time. Some were able to find constructive ways to use that time others not so much. I sold my condo while it was still possible to do so at a profit and moved in with my aging parents who at this point needed a 24/7 caregiver. I made some money as a photographer - what had once been an avocation and hobby became a vocation. I taught myself web design and made some money there too - not a lot but it kept me off the streets. My late father died fairly early in this process but I continued to be a 24/7 caregiver for my mother for a decade. None of these activities saved me from drinking too much endangering my health. This only got worse when my mother died at 90 and I felt like I was once again unemployed.

Re: “No baby parts”: Colorado terrorist to police

Ron Beasley — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 00:44:51 -0000

I am trying not to read too much into this. The media has interviewed several of his neighbors and it's fairly obvious Mr Dear was bat (you know what) crazy. Most of his neighbors were terrified of him.

Re: Peak Oil

Ron Beasley — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 11:20:03 -0000

The latest research on hydrogen production is concentrated on small local facilities. On demand systems at points of sale. This is promising. I still think hydrogen fuel cells may be the future of personal transportation. And dduck, there is not going to be a fusion plant in the foreseeable future, that is a dead horse.

Re: Peak Oil

Ron Beasley — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 00:17:35 -0000

Kevin, peak oil always referred to oil that could be economically extracted. The Alberta tar sands were supposed to be the next big thing but it proved to be uneconomical and all new projects have been cancelled and existing projects are being shut down. Fracking seems to have reached it's peak because the producers can no longer get financing for new wells. There are no new projects for for deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico because it's just too expensive. There is a lot of oil in the oil shale deposits in the mountain west although no one has figured out how to extract it economically and they have been trying for years. Yes, there is a lot of oil but most of it will not do us any good.

Re: New videos raise questions in Chicago shooting of black teen

Ron Beasley — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 14:47:41 -0000

It's not just blacks. Here in Portland the police shot and killed a naked 18 year old who was high on drugs in an upper class neighborhood. How much of a threat can a naked teenager be? The parents sued and got $10,000,000 frome the city. A mentally disturbed white male was killed by the police. The family received significant compensation from the city. I am a progressive and for the most part pro union but the police unions have made it all but impossible to discipline or fire rouge police officers.

Re: Upcoming Site Changes

Ron Beasley — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 23:48:46 -0000

I was involved in an upgrade to some Enterprise Software a few years ago. The transition was supposed to happen smoothly overnight. It ended up taking another 6 months.

Re: A Good Example to Our North

Ron Beasley — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 11:24:24 -0000

Thank you for the reminder Dorian. What has appened to the United States?

Re: Turkey downs Russian warplane near Syrian border, Putin warns of “serious consquences”

Ron Beasley — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 12:04:34 -0000

This is not an entirely an accurate article. Polling shows a majority of Russians oppose the Syrian operation. The Russians were bombing the Turkmen who the Turks consider to be brothers. The Russian incursion into to Syria is not going well - Russia does indeed have a third rate military and have suffered more loses than gains. The only thing the Russians really have going for them is their nuclear arsenal which makes the situation even more dangerous.

Re: Ben Carson confuses the Middle East with New Jersey

Ron Beasley — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 04:23:32 -0000

Keep in mind this is the candidate whose campaign produced a map of the US that had many of the states in the wrong place

Re: Can it be 52 years since that day in Dallas?

Ron Beasley — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 00:00:11 -0000

I still remember that day all too well. I was a senior in High school and was in my math class. The speaker in the classroom came on, which it hardly ever did, and they announced the President had been shot. They sent us all home and it wasn't until I arrived that I heard he had been killed. Nothing else on the TV for almost a week (long before cable). Everyone seemed to be in a daze. And then there was the killing of Oswold. I am not one to subscribe to conspiracy theories but I don't believe we ever learned the truth about what happened.

Re: How a Flailing Politician Bet the Farm on a Tragedy – and Lost

Ron Beasley — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 16:42:56 -0000

Vitter had several things going against him. The prostitution scandal, Bobby Jindel and his personality - nobody likes the guy. Edwards was endorsed by several Republicans and hardly anyone endorsed Vitter.

Re: Politix Update: Is It Time Go Get Hysterical Over Donald Trump? Yes, It Probably Is.

Ron Beasley — Sun, 22 Nov 2015 10:54:32 -0000

Good article once again Shaun, I enjoy these posts. Trump is little more than a fascist carnival barker. I don't really see any of the occupants of the Republican clown car having a chance of beating Clinton in the general election. While I'm not a big fan of Hillary - she's a bit to hawkish for me - the SCOTUS is reason enough to vote for her - if the democrats retake the senate she will have the opportunity to remake the Supreme Court for a decade or more.

Re: Is the world as frightening a place as media portray?

Ron Beasley — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 10:02:24 -0000

I feel safe here in the US and in the suburb of Portland, OR where I live - hell I don't even lock my door if I'm not going to be gone long. But there are certainly places I would not travel outside the US. There has been an uptick in gang related gun violence in Portland itself this year but in areas I probably wouldn't go anyway but even that is mostly gang on gang violence with an occasional innocent victim being hit by a stray bullet. Out here in the suburbs it's mostly domestic violence.

Re: Update: Confirmed Dead: Abdelhamid Abaaoud, “planner” of Paris murders

Ron Beasley — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 11:03:15 -0000

Me too, now I'm just glad i'm old and have no grandchildren to worry about.

Re: Remember that prediction of less snow?

Ron Beasley — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 18:17:38 -0000

You are correct Slamfu. Many right wingers think the entire planet will be turned into Hawaii. Nothing could be further from the truth. The gulf stream is slowing and may actually shut down due to fresh water from the ice cap melting. That will result in even colder weather and more snow in the NE US and Northern Europe. We are also seeing major swings in the Jet Stream which was responsible for the surges in Arctic air in the mid Midwest and eastern US the last couple of years.

Re: NRA, Republicans block proposed law to stop suspected terrorists from buying guns in U.S.

Ron Beasley — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 14:14:14 -0000

The most dangerous terrorist organization in the US is the NRA.

Re: In The End, They Hate Us More Than Ever

Ron Beasley — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 11:01:42 -0000

The seed of all Abrahamic religions is Zoroastrianism. A peaceful religion until it was transported to the Arabian peninsula - a land of constant tribal warfare. The thugs that are members of ISIS and those Christians that bomb abortion clinics and kill doctors who perform abortions are really no different. Keep in mind that when the Christian world was destroying the works of our western civilization the Muslims were preserving them. The rise of radical Islamic extremism is not so much about religion but economic conditions much of which is related to global climate change - Syria is a good example.

Re: Politix Update: Vitter’s Very Serious Hypocrisy Very Seriously Catches Up To Him

Ron Beasley — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 09:59:27 -0000

An excellent analysis as usual Shaun. As for Vitter, in addition to his prostitution problems he also has a Bobby Jindal problem, even the Republicans realize what a mess he created in the state.

Re: Sanders Wins Mock Election In Landslide But Can We Believe This, Or Even The Conventional Polls?

Ron Beasley — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 16:01:03 -0000

In this age of cell phones and caller ID on land lines polling has become worthless. Sorry Nate, you will have to go back to sports. Western Illinois may have a great alogrythm but it's only as good as the data that's fed into it.

Re: Ben Carson’s own weapon of mass distraction

Ron Beasley — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:24:26 -0000

I suspect we have already seen Peak Carson. He was never going to get support from more than 20% of the equally delusional Republican base. I wouldn't be surprised to see the moderators on the FOX Business channel take him on in the next debate. The last thing the business community wants is a delusional nut case representing the Republican party. He would be better of to going back and being a grifter - selling books that he dictated and someone else actually wrote.

Re: Why Republicans Win

Ron Beasley — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 16:16:01 -0000

"The Democratic Party’s message and agenda don’t work as well as the GOP’s."
I agree this is complete BS. One poll after another indicates that Democratic policies are more popular than Republican policies. The real problem is Democrats can't get people out to vote in off year elections. The fact that the small red states have the same representation as the large blue states is a problem.