tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11205362762760584392024-02-19T07:48:57.675-08:00rictheturtleryanRic 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.comBlogger283125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-22004167779473915272021-08-21T05:20:00.000-07:002021-08-21T05:20:07.576-07:00Save the Planet, Save Your Money, and Save Your Back<p><span style="font-size: large;"> Growing oranges in Nebraska. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD_3_gsgsnk</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Watching this video could change your life, and let you help save the planet and help your retirement plans. Seems like I am claiming a lot, but if this system was applied worldwide, it could do everything I said and more.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Peope would no longer have to pollute the atmospere to stay warn or cool. The neat thing about it is, It is God's Energy Option. Yep that is GEO, but God's way/</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">If you find this post interesting PLEASE SHARE IT. I am barely computer literate. I write my blog, but my daugher set it all up for me. I don't know how to share a message and make it go viral, but some of those reading this do, and I BEG for your help in spreading this message.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">You owe it to yourself and the planet to watch this video.</span></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-27938427639672561352021-08-18T09:27:00.005-07:002021-08-20T19:16:46.595-07:00COVID versus REALITY, Is it the Mark? Shot or No Shot<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">COVID versus REALITY</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6eb93286-7fff-6411-d01b-24f987f43222"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe the title should be Covid is the new reality. I wrote a post in May of last year called </span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2020/03/my-last-trip.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Koi My Last Trip</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. At the time I wrote it, I had no clue where the COVID Epidemic was headed. It had already altered my life, but I missed the true significance of it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At seventy-three I was thinking my age would be the issue. I have dodged COVID for the last year and found all kinds of excuses not to get the shot. However, it’s reality came home to me, in the last month. My best friend when I was growing up passed away from COVID. We had known each other since we were three or four years old. Like me he did not get the shot. I do not consider it the Mark of the Beast, but I do consider it doubting God will protect me. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first exposure to the disease was a surprise. It is shared in the link above. It gave me confidence God would and will protect me. Things went fine and until Donnie died it had not been personal. Yesterday that reality was changed. One of my great grand children came home from Head Start. He was put on quarantine because he was exposed to COVID at school.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This event changed MY REALITY, I hadn’t got the shot, because I was not scared of dying. I still am not. I died twice back in 2004 and am still here. So dying is no big deal. Sooner or later it will happen. HOWEVER, this changed my perspective on the matter. Do I want to stay away from my grandkids till the quarantine is over? The answer to that is a big fat NO. So I made arrangements to get THE SHOT through the VA Thursday.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Biblically I do not think that the shot meets the criteria to be the Mark of the Beast. However it depends on how you look at it. The King James Version of the Bible says you will be required to take a mark in your hand, or in your head. However, the NIV version of the Bible says, on your hand or your head. To me the difference between in and on is very significant. Some time ago I was obsessed with the computer being the Mark. If you type </span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/search?q=Mark+of+the+Beast" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mark of the Beast </span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on the search bar on my blog you will be able to read several long posts on the matter, from my point of view. You can have a card in your hand or a number memorized in your head and no one knows what it is but you. Whereas, on, can be seen by anybody. The social security number qualifies as being the number of your name. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some people’s point of view is that the World Wide Web is the Mark. You have a number to get on it and it is Your Number.. That view comes from the fact that in the Hebrew alphabet the sixth letter is the English equivalent of W. So if A is one and B is 2, and so on. The sixth letter is W. which means WWW is the Mark. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my opinion you can make it anything you want. For me it is looking at what is going on in the world. If you look and Daniel 12;4 it makes clear that the prophecy he was given would not be revealed until the end time. It gives two things that will happen and they did not happen until our present time in history. One is that knowledge shall be increased. Since the invention of the printing press in the 1400’s there has definitely been an explosion of knowledge. It is to the point today you can carry the whole world’s knowledge in the palm of your hand. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second part was that people would travel to and fro. That is another prophecy that has reached its fulfillment in this day and age. People traveling the whole world to spread The Word is totally possible in this day and age.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is another verse that speaks into this time. It is in Matthew 24:22, “Except those days be shortened there should be no flesh saved.” With COVID being worldwide and constantly mutating it seems impossible to destroy, cure or eradicate the disease and given enough time it “could” wipe out mankind. I don’t even want to go into the issue of whether it is a manmade disease or not. That is totally irrelevant. The fact is it exists and it kills some and leaves some. Being born again and baptized does not seem to provide salvation from its effect. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That brings me to another interesting point. If you continue reading, Jesus said that AFTER the great tribulation.of those days, verse 29 to 31 that he will gather His Chosen Ones and they shall be caught away. Verse 34 says it will all come to pass in one generation. So we might be listening for the sound of a trumpet. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The final thing Jesus says to the churches is in Revelation 3:20 is pretty clear. “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is one final thing I have seen from the Bible and it is only recently that I have come to an understanding from the Bible. I have gotten into several things over the last few years. I am fascinated by Koi fish and have gone to several Koi events. Also I have gotten into gardening and even have a greenhouse. However, being the world’s worst procrastinator I didn’t even get my garden out till August 1st of this year, but there is an irony in that. My garden site for next year was finished this past weekend, even though I doubt we will be here next year.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Based on my interest I have been following several blogs on YouTube. One is Roots and Refuge and I really like the program. The lady who does it has several really inspirational devotionals. Her and her family just moved their whole farm from Arkansas to South Carolina to start a new farm. I love her positive attitude and she has a tremendous following. I started following her Facebook page, Friends of Roots and Refuge and made a comment and her site has literally taken over my phone. The other two I follow are Flower Hill Farm which is in upstate New York, and You Can’t Eat the Grass, which is based in western Canada. The latter two I follow because of my interest in starting a cut flower business.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reading the post I have discovered something that I found interesting. Lots of people are having a tough time raising their crops this year. In Genesis 1:29-31 it says God gave us the right to use all plants bearing seeds. (Something that the Government needs to get a grip on, instead of wasting billions of dollars) Sorry, couldn’ resist it. That is at the very start of the Bible. Well in the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi 3:11 says God will protect our plants. So if we are having growing problems (I am) we may want to examine our relationship with God.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two other verses I think people should pay close attention to are Joshua 1:8, It says we are to study and obey God’s Word, It also makes clear we have to do the work.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second one is in Malachi and God promises us and challenges us to follow His Word and that he will pour out so much of a Blessing we won’t be able to receive it all. That is in Malachi 3:10 right before he promises to protect our plants.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reading all of Malachi might be eye opening. So will reading the whole Bible. Hosea 4:1-6 God makes clear His People perish for a lack of knowledge. He did not say the lost, or the heathens, he said His People. Time to seek the Truth.</span></p><div><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-24690487270982171922021-08-16T10:40:00.004-07:002021-08-20T19:18:03.347-07:00GEO...God's Energy Option versus America the Wasteful<p><br /></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-405439ef-7fff-3ef8-f8b5-571f4c1886a1"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The World is in danger of extinction, because of the lack of understanding God’s intent for mankind. Mankind is supposedly interested in saving the World. In reality however many of the new “Green Energy Ideas” are just longer exhaust pipes on the same inefficient systems.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God gave us the earth to live on. Not to destroy it. He gave us earth, wind, fire, water, and the sun. Those are all natural things and if used properly they can save the planet. Most of the Green ideas are just other ways to get dollars out of people’s pockets and have little to do with saving the planet.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead of cars that run on electricity, with batteries that catch fire, and have a very limited range. How about an</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRpxhlX4Ga0&t=207s" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> air powered car?</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The link will take you to an alternative that is truly green. An electric car can take 7-9 hours to charge and has a very limited range. An air powered car takes 4 to 5 hours with a home compressor. Away from home it still takes hours to recharge the system in an electric car. However an air powered car can be recharged in about the time it takes to refill a gas powered car. It requires charging stations every 120 miles or so. Which is no different than having gas stations. To drive coast to coast would require about 25 service stops and 50 hours of driving for the 3,000 mile trip. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The same trip in an electric vehicle would require almost 12 days in an electric powered vehicle. Fifty hours of driving and about 225 hours of recharging the batteries. If the charging stations were run on solar powered energy, then you have a green car. America is being sold a bill of goods on the efficiency of battery powered vehicles.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In most of the country putting a station every thirty miles or so would not be a big change. Most cities in the east are less than thirty miles apart. If you have wondered why most cities further west are about thirty miles apart it is because twenty five to thirty miles was about as far as you could travel in a day on horseback. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The technology to make the change already exists. Wind farms dot the landscape. It is changing the mind of the masses to accept it which is the issue. Changing would save immense amounts of energy. Unfortunately the system is very resistant to cny kind if change.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another area that needs change is the American supply system. I love having a tomato in January and I spent much of my life hauling produce across the country and my over active mind said there has to be a better way. It is only by the Grace of God that we are able to do so.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That is not a good thing though. God hates waste. You might read the 24th Chapter of Isaiah to see what is coming. While Isaiah said the world would be turned upside down. In this day and age scientists say it has already happened several times. In Matthew 24:7 Jesus said there would be earthquakes and that they would be the beginning of our sorrows. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My youngest daughter Glenda, who was a devout Christian, passed away eleven years ago this week. My wife and I were sitting on the front porch and butterflies started landing all over us. It was right after her memorial service. It gave us peace.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few nights ago I had a dream about my daughter. When I went to my Bible I turned to Revelations 3 verse 20 and it overwhelmed me with peace. To understand my peace, you would have to read</span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> my testimony</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The verse says,”Behold I stand at the door and knock.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sorry for the side track, but it is part of what inspired me to write this post. I wrote a post called </span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/search?q=Worse+than+Katrina" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worse Than Katrina.</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The link will take you to the story. I will warn you it is a long one. Driving a truck I had long periods to ponder the what ifs of life. Some of the stuff I wrote may seem extreme, but much of it has already happened. So it is based on fact, not fiction. It is partly how I came to understand what I believe to be true. I sent copies of my post back then to President Obama and Vice President Biden. I didn’t even get the pretty picture they normally send you. The first pretty picture I got was from Ronald Reagan.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a part of the post I dedicate on how to reduce the tragedy that would occur if the events happened again in this day and age. I knew vaguely how to do it, but not totally. Recently though I watched a video on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD_3_gsgsnk&t=423s" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Growing Oranges in Nebraska </span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and realized it told how to implement what I had proposed in my Worse than Katrina post. I provide the links to make it easier for those who really care to find the answers. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If this man’s system was implemented nationwide it could save our country. Tomatoes and other crops could be grown year round and not have to be hauled thousands of miles. The energy saved by using God’s Energy System would be mind boggling. It can be put in as a retro part of the energy system much of America has, and can be done on less than an acre of ground. That is if you are willing to try it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just in the last two weeks I put in a single one hundred foot line behind my shop just to see how well it worked. In less than fifteen minutes I had a temperature drop from seventy nine degrees to sixty-six degrees. I have a three thousand square foot shop. My goal right now is just to make a six hundred square foot area in my shop cool enough in summer and warm enough to heat in winter to make my craft area functional year round and give our pets a place to get out of the weather. At least to the point they don’t have to deal with the -20 degree temperatures we sometimes get in winter. The second reason besides having a craft room is I will have a place to start my plants earlier in the spring. I am the worlds worst procrastinator. My garden did not get out of the greenhouse till August 1st this year. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In reality I don’t normally have a garden other than a few tomato plants. I do however start lots of trays of garden plants and take them to the farmers market and flea markets and sell them. At seventy-three and having been dead twice already. I have sort of lost my zeal to have a garden. However this year I have gotten inspired to start a cut flower garden and growing perennial plants that I can pass on to my twin great grand-daughters. They will be ten this year and they love helping me in my greenhouse and I have been teaching them crafts when we have time. Hopefully it will provide enough heat to warm the small three hundred square foot room I have partitioned off of my main shop for doing crafts.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I had my heart attacks in 2004, </span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-trash-to-treasures-with-pictures.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my crafts</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> helped me make enough to make ends meet. At least until I started getting my retirement income. Then my daughters inspired me to start my craft shop. I used to go to the local Amish auctions and buy the broken furniture and take it to my shop, repair it and sell it. It was something I really enjoyed doing. The link will take you to some pictures of some of the stuff I made. It also tells the story of how my daughters conned me into opening a shop. It probably kept me alive as I was depressed over having to quit trucking. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With the help of my daughter I started my blog in March of 2011. I started this blog because it was a period of hard times in the country. I wrote a lot of posts on how to make money, and stretch the money you had. Those posts can be found by typing MONEY on the search bar on my blog. My goal was to share my thirty years of knowledge gained from being self-employed. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rest of my posts are either faith based stories or trucking stories. Some of the stories are both. There are a good number of opinion and political posts mixed throughout the ten years of posts also.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lately I have gotten into following several posts on homesteading and have come to the realization that there are many people who want a better life and are willing to put in the effort to get it. I recently ran across an editor’s post in a magazine and I agree with him. Many people have used the break in normal to escape the rat race. They have used the time to develop their side hussel into a regular job. They will not return to working at several minimum wage jobs to survive. They are betting on themselves. That is why I still find hope in America. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Hope it helps you in some way.</span></p><div><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-25446892711648748492021-08-04T11:55:00.001-07:002021-08-04T11:55:38.284-07:00Alive By the Grace of God, 17 Years After My Death.<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ever wonder why you are alive? At 73 and having been dead twice already, the thought of why has crossed my mind several times. In the course of my life I have seen four plane crashes. Two of them were close enough I could feel the heat. One of them because I took a day off. I delivered a load of spices from Nevada on Tuesday, when I should have been there on Monday. It has definitely made me wonder if God is trying to tell me something. That Tuesday was September 11, 2001 and I was delivering in Bayonne, NJ. As I left my delivery site and moved east to the waterfront and then north to get to the Interstate to leave. I noticed lots of people standing around and looking east. As I looked I saw smoke pouring out of one of the twin towers. Pulling to the shoulder the sound of sirens pierced the cab of my truck. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7530a689-7fff-a6be-19f7-31d3bb26ee90"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remembering the crash I saw in Evansville, IN on February 6,1992, I decided I needed to leave the area. Emergency vehicles would be gearing up to go help and they did not need people in the way. The Evansville crash was one where I was only a few hundred feet from when it hit the ground. I could feel the heat from the impact. The other crash I could feel the heat from was an F4 Phantom at Cam Ranh Bay, in Vietnam. His landing gear hit in the gravel a few feet short of the runway and a fireball rolled down the runway. Later we learned the pilot was flying blind because he had been shot and another pilot had been trying to talk him onto the runway. The fourth plane crashed into the Days Inn near the Indianapolis airport. I was only a few blocks away unloading.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what does all that have to do with why I am alive. If you read </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/statspost/week/1120536276276058439/7187635084574506121" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my testimony</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> it will explain some of the issues and why I feel so Blessed to just be alive. A couple weeks ago my youngest grandson Isaiah stopped by. He was on his way home from spending the week working at the local Bible camp. I always enjoy any time I get to spend with any of my grand-children. We have seven and two great-grand-daughters.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the course of making small talk I told him three of his cousins had been baptized on the same day at the same camp he had been at. All three were baptized on August 7th, 2007. To verify it I got out my old Bible. It was the one I received when I was baptized at a Bible camp in Michigan on August 7, 1961. This year will be the 60th year since my Baptism. The number sixty has a lot of significance in the Bible. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most people know that Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Something a lot of people don’t know is that the only ones who entered the Promised Land were those that were twenty years old or less when they left Egypt. The only exceptions were Joshua and Caleb. So most of the people entering the Promised Land were sixty years old.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They left Egypt shortly after the Passover. One had to wonder, was it a coincidence that Jesus was crucified at the time of the Passover. He ascended into heaven on the day of Pentecost. After reading the Bible for over sixty years I have always been obsessed with the day of Pentecost. There is a verse in Exodus 12;41 that made me wonder for years about its significance. When I look at the verse where it says God is the same today, yesterday and forever. Is there a significance to the meaning of the selfsame day.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you read my testimony, you will see I volunteered for Vietnam because of an experience I had. I was to dumb to realize that God’s Will, will be done regardless of what we do. Two years later, having gone clear around the world and back I came to the realization of that fact.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was during my running from God that I learned to drive a truck. Little did I know it would be the way I would make my living for most of my life. If you read the posts on my blog you will see that I believe God guides our steps. You will also learn that God has a sense of humor. That is something my life experiences have taught me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the vision/dream I had in my testimony, there are two things that make me wonder. When I meet that person will I recognize or know him? While I sincerely believe I will be here when the end comes, I also know I could be dead before I get up out of this chair. Over the last few years I have gone through some serious health issues that made me wonder about it all. In the vision/dream I was walking down a hill. From 2016 till 2019 I was on diabetic insulin and could not walk a 100 yards if I had to. Over the last three years I made several lifestyle changes, I got off of insulin and lost almost 60 pounds. The upside of that is that I would be able to be walking down that hill. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which brings me to another issue. While I definitely thought it was the end, I did not see either of us being caught away. Over the years of my reading I know the Bible says there is a generation born unto God’s wrath. In other words there is a generation upon which God is going to pour out His Wrath. My question when I look at the world we live in today, are we that generation.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seems to me we certainly could be. When I literally look at the ten commandments and the things the Bible says we are not to do. Get tattoos, I have one, we are not to make any graven images, I was a photographer for several years. If you know how the images are made, they are graven images. Body piercing, I don’t have any of them. We are not to shave our heads, I have nothing to shave. We are not to trim the corners of our beards. How can you shave your face and not do so?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So are we Christians literally or figuratively. Do we make the rules to accommodate our lifestyle or does the Bible mean literally what it says. My belief is God says what he means, and means what he says. We have make our minds up on that. At a low point in my life when I had lost everything, including my family. I turned to the Lord and as all I had was my time, I started tithing it to the Lord and spent two and one half hours a day reading the Bible. That is ten percent of a day. It was the best decision I ever made in my life. Three years later, I had back everything I had lost plus some.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a verse in the Bible in John 19:13 that says Pilot took Jesus into the place of judgment. Called the pavement and in the Hebrew Gabbatha. I chose that as the name of my company as that is where I made my living, on the pavement. My company was Gabbatha Interstate Freight Transportation or G.I.F.T. Enterprises. After my heart attack and as I was no longer trucking I changed to God Is For Trusting. He has guided my path.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many have problems deciding if they should follow the Bible or trust God. Well in Malacha 3:10 God challenges us to do what he says and that if we do he will open the windows of heaven. It also says we will not be able to receive it all. The choice to do so is ours. </span></p><div><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-83269766250870470012021-05-14T10:11:00.013-07:002021-05-15T06:41:39.005-07:00Que Sera Sera...Something New<p> </p><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Que Sera
Sera...Something New </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Been
a few months since I wrote anything on my diet post, but have had a
bit of a revelation that got me over a hump or plateau that I fought
for several months. It is a new concept to me, but it makes so much
sense that I have to wonder with all the fad diets out there, that I
had never heard of<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYHKbnKiB8Q&t=300s">
calorie density</a>. The link will take you to a site on you tube
and if you like it there are tons of posts. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The
key to it is learning to eat stuff that fills you up, but does not
have a ton of calories. The video makes it clear.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There
are a large number of people who have lost well over a hundred pounds
and that is impressive. It has helped me to start loosing again, and
believe me I was getting frustrated. I guess it don’t really
matter. I am a bit of an end time Bible nut and I think that the 23</span><sup><span style="font-size: medium;">rd</span></sup><span style="font-size: medium;">
of May which is Pentecost we are out of here. You can type Pentecost
on the search bar of my blog and it will take you to several posts
that explain why I feel that we may be near the end. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With
Covid going on and Israel on the verge of total warfare. It is a
possibility. Also our Congress had gone bonkers and a person was
fired basically for telling the truth and refusing to believe the
parties lie about the election. Anyhow a lot of things that say we
are not living in normal times.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
have a new favorite meal that takes less than ten minutes to make. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">It
is basically a chicken breast and a bag of frozen veggies in a gravy
sauce with a ton of seasoning. The ingredients I use are.</span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZLbK1c2eLYxrnnfoBMPH70a5UDvBqgBiBp844EuW45ET8BBSkrzqZKXAJJCp9xREpSYm9UUSgqMlmXzPqeq5ZDWAyDffndWYKc-PZwAOcky0d1PKPgtNB1n2HUk8hxMCs2Mo3ydDHw0/s2048/IMG_0720.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZLbK1c2eLYxrnnfoBMPH70a5UDvBqgBiBp844EuW45ET8BBSkrzqZKXAJJCp9xREpSYm9UUSgqMlmXzPqeq5ZDWAyDffndWYKc-PZwAOcky0d1PKPgtNB1n2HUk8hxMCs2Mo3ydDHw0/s320/IMG_0720.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjJzKYSU5HTg9bEKM1DabMajOS4_-KQH5NH4TdfQVqN9r0Qix17XBSiDwCElmifHL9mD4Uv9ls1td86tJDaZHF9sYuBbR2bxcWj5Kuf5OyeWFv2J-fYoiLMsSaD9BjoOU-0DVVja_HvY/s2048/IMG_0719.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjJzKYSU5HTg9bEKM1DabMajOS4_-KQH5NH4TdfQVqN9r0Qix17XBSiDwCElmifHL9mD4Uv9ls1td86tJDaZHF9sYuBbR2bxcWj5Kuf5OyeWFv2J-fYoiLMsSaD9BjoOU-0DVVja_HvY/s320/IMG_0719.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1
Chicken Breast</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1
bag of California Medley frozen veggies</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1
onion</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1can
of mushroom stems and pieces</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1
Bottle of Heinz Homestyle Chicken Gravy</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lawry’s
Seasoning salt</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Garlic
Pepper seasoning</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Minced
Garlic</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oregano</span></span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Basil
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Parsley</span></span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Salt</span></span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pepper</span></span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Use
the spices to your taste and substitute fresh veggies if you like.
This will make two batches, at least it does for me. It helped me
loose a pound a day. I am on a OMAD diet right now and that also
helps to loose weight. OMAD is One Meal A Day. It works for me and I
don’t feel starved. The key to success with OMAD is timing your
meal to fill you up and tide you over till bed time. I do have coffee
and toast for breakfast, so I am not a purist. I use butter and not
marg</span><span style="font-size: medium;">a</span><span style="font-size: medium;">rine.
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">You might watch the
video on YouTube entitled,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6aMN6NLOTQ&t=48s"> “Butter Makes Your Pants Fall Off”</a> and
you will find out fat is not what makes you fat. I always use <span style="color: red;">Lard</span> and not oils for cooking. Go to the link and watch it and you will see why. It is hard to watch because he does not look at the camera and that can be distracting, but he is not an actor. He is a person who has lost well over a 100 pounds and he tells how and why he did it.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</p><br /><p></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-50700451608206420522021-03-03T08:51:00.005-08:002021-03-03T09:15:11.958-08:00Why A $15 Minimum Wage Is A Rip Off<p> </p><p><br /></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><br /></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-313066538424913831" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 898px;"><p> </p><p><br /></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/05/money-who-turned-off-flow-how-to-turn.html" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">Money, Who Turned Off The Flow? How To Turn It On</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="color: #999999; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4566343497091331485" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 708px;"><br /><span style="color: red;"> Sometimes it is hard to decide which direction to go and what to do. Especially when you are going through major changes like losing a job, ending a relationship or even discovering that though you still have a job, it does not make you enough income to meet your needs or pay your bills. Sooner or later something has to give. It has been my misfortune to be in that position several times in my life. Especially the one where I was working my butt off, but still did not have enough to survive on.<br /><br /> My solution when I found myself in that situation was usually to find a second job or if that did not work, create one. The double income would usually make it to where I could meet my needs. However I am retired now and looking at the job market from the outside. A couple things struck me as I have watched my grand kids enter the job market. They are not getting a fair shake for a couple reasons. First there are barely enough minimum wage jobs to go around. Not that a minimum wage job is something to aspire to. The second is that the minimum wage has not even come close to keeping up with the cost of living. When I entered the job market the minimum wage was fifty cents and hour. Yes I am old, seventy plus some. If you think that is bad my grandfather told me back during the depression he worked 12 hours a day and 6 days a week, that is 72 hours, for the princely sum of $3.<br /><br /> Time to get back on track. At the same time that the minimum wage was fifty cents a bottle of pop was a nickel and you got two cents back when you took the bottle back. Also a candy bar was a nickel. They still had penny candy that was three pieces for a penny and best of all gas was only 17 to 19 cents a gallon. Not so anymore. Well with pop at a $!.50 a bottle, that is 30 times what it cost way back when. If you figure in the deposits it would be even more. Candy bars have done about the same amount of increase. Gas has had the lowest increase with only costing 23 times what it cost in the late 50's or early 60's. That means if the minimum wage had just stayed even it would be between $11.50 and hour and $15 an hour.<br /><br /> The price of gas has kept pace with inflation. The seventeen to nineteen cents it cost way back then was roughly 34% of the minimum hourly wage. So at today's prices it is still close to 34% of what the minimum wage "should be." Most other things that people buy in the course of life have also gone up many times what they cost way back when. The new price of a car has gone from the $2700-$3000 range into the $35,000 to $45,000 dollar range. Oh yes you can still buy the low end cars at lower prices, but even they are many times what the low end cars cost back then.<br /><br /> What is sad is when you project the annual income levels of the minimum wage. If you take the 40 hour week times 52 weeks per year. The annual wage for a minimum wage worker back then was just a whopping $1040 dollars. That is versus the present working minimum wage that would get you an annual salary of $15,040 per year. While if adjusted to the rate of increase of the cost of living. That wage would bring you $31,240. Sounds incredible but what is considered a middle class wage today is in reality only a minimum wage job. My method for figuring this rate out is not very scientific. Basically what I did was take what the buying power of my wage back then could buy and what it can buy now. In other words an hours pay would buy me ten bottles of pop out of a machine. The same pop today would cost $15 and the same for the candy bar.<br /><br /> What does all that mean. It means the buying power of American wage and therefore the standard of living of the average American has diminished greatly. It means the middle class wages have been diminished also. Your labor does not get you the buying power it did back then.<br /><br /> So when today's youth go to work they are only making twenty-five to thirty to percent of what my generation did. So now they need two and a half jobs to just break even. They can forget getting ahead. That is why my grandchildren have been urged to get a good education or create their own job. The odds of getting ahead on a minimum wage job are slim to none. Even if you are a master at managing your money.</span><br /><br /> It is about knowing that when life gives you a bunch of lemons you learn to make lemonade. Use what you have to work with to your advantage, especially your brain. I entered the work force in my early thirties. Not that I was privileged or anything like that. I just spent thirteen years of my life in the Army making up my mind what I wanted to do. The military taught me a lot of skills which I was able to translate into jobs in civilian life. Just writing this blog is one example. My last year in the Army was spent writing for the Command newspaper in Panama. That job became available not because of my writing skills, but because my Commander saw some of my pictures displayed for a photo competition I entered and he liked them. He needed a photo/journalist and I had half the skills which were learnt from my hobby.<br /><br /> This story is not about me though. It is about the American working class and the fact they are being bent over and having it stuck to them. They in general do not even realize it. The only way you are going to get ahead in the world we live in today is create your own job. You have to figure out what level you want to live at and go for it to make that kind of money. You say but I do not have the skills to do that. Well you better learn to grab hold of the shirt tails of someone who does and be the ultimate good worker for them. Giving them a full hundred percent of your support. Even entry level management jobs in today's market are really only at where the minimum wage "should be."<br /><br /> The only and best way I know of to get ahead is to learn to let your money work for you. Instead of you working for your money. Basically it is learning to see opportunity when it knocks and taking full advantage of it. When you get that tax return invest it. You have to look for a "real deal." What is a real deal, something you can buy for 10 to 20 percent of its actual value, OH YES, AND IS NOT HOT. You can find the deals if you take the time to look. They are out there. Then advertise the item through some form of free advertising. Something like Craigslist or if your town or county has one, an online yard sale site. If you do it a few times and turn the profit back into the business it will not take long to get to where it actually makes you some income and an easier life.<br /><br /> One bit of advice. Do not use advertising media you have to pay for. I use the local newspaper to go find yard sales and deals. It costs as much as $40 to put an add in the paper. Often times that is more than a lot of people make off their yard sale. It is bad enough to sell stuff that you no longer need at a loss, but to make the loss even worse is sad. I understand that things wear out and kids grow up, but often when I look at yard sales I see lots of stuff that people are selling that I am sure they bought it on a whim to start with.<br /><br /> Another place to look around is for stores that have super clearance sales. I do flea markets and farmers markets to sell stuff myself. I generally enjoy it. I have found that there are a couple of chain stores in my area that when they need to clear shelf space they sell stuff. Brand new still in the box and at 10 to 20 percent of the marked value. If I buy a $10 item for a $1 and sell it for $4 the person buying it gets a good deal and I am multiplying my money, which means my money is working for me. It is not rocket science but it works.<br /><br /> Here is an example. You see a deal on a riding mower for $200 and you know it costs way over a $1000 new. So you buy it and sell it for say $500. You just made $300 for a couple hours of wheeling and dealing. That is what a minimum wage job pays for forty hours of work and you did not pay taxes on it. Of course I advise you if you get into it big time to keep track and pay your taxes. The government does not like getting ripped off. That is their job.</div></div>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-12993143353566836032021-02-28T11:17:00.169-08:002021-06-12T06:40:41.636-07:00My Experiences With Racism, over 73 years, It is a Two Way Street<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My Experiences With Racism, over 73 years, It is a Two</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Way S</span><span style="font-size: medium;">treet</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">America
has had a black President and a now has a Black Vice President. If
race is the problem how did they achieve success. Really if you look
at those two examples there is something that stands out. It is about
attitude. Both of these individuals are first generation blacks in
America. They do not have a link to the four hundred year history of
race in America. They were also raised by families that told them
they could be anything they wanted to be. They were never told to
mind their place. If they were, they did not buy into it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">In
fact that seems to be something I have noticed in Senate Testimonies
over the last few years. It seems immigrants care enough about
America to get involved. Dozens of people I have witnessed speaking
are either immigrants themselves or first generation immigrants of
America’s immigrants. They see America as a land of opportunity,
something many Americans no longer see in America, mainly because it
is to easy to just complain.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">The
most recent election in America and all the Black Lives Matter
protests may be an indicator that blacks in America are no longer
buying the lie that they are inferior. The election in Georgia gives
the best example. Georgia went from Red to Blue. Not only that they
proved in the runoff race, that Black Votes Do Matter. Thank God for
this. We just suffered through four years of hell because blacks
failed to take part in the 2016 election.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">The
events of 9/11shook America to its core. It made us question our
goodness and our greatness as a nation. It set the stage for a change
I </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>NEVER,</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">thought</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
I would see in the America I lived in. In July 2004 I saw a young man
give a speech that summed up the hope of America, and that it was a
hope for everybody. Four years later that man ran for President and
succeeded. Even with portions of America denying his very existence.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">I
am sure where I live </span><span style="font-size: medium;">is</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
not the only place that his posters were taken down. When Obama won
the election, it stunned me. I think people believed and bought into
his message of hope.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
past twelve years the Republican Party has been fueled by hate and a
desire to undo anything that Obama did. Here we are in the middle of
a pandemic and the Republicans are totally focused on getting rid of
the Affordable Care Act, just as Democrats are determined to get rid
of Trump. Have the Republicans solved “ANY” of America’s
problems or offered their own solutions to the problems facing
America. The answer is a big fat NO. Unfortunately for America,
neither have the Democrats. Exactly why we need a party that is for
all Americans.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>America
needs a mentoring program for race relations. When in the Army I
spent several months as the only white person in a 12 man room. My black 1st SGT thought I was a racist and put me in that room as a punishment, but it turned out to be a blessing in disquise. It was one of several times in the Army when people tried to punish me that it backfired.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>I was at Ft.Campbell, KY before I went to Ft.Stewart, GA. My 1st Sgt thought he was sending me to Vietnam as most ot the units on the base were going to Vietnam. The reality was that the Army was moving their fixed wing aviation school to Ft. Stewart and I was sent there as a parachute rigger to do flightline inspections of the pilots emergency chutes. Turned out being a Blessing in disquise. Without turning this post into a novel, I just want to be on the record that it seems everytime someone tried to stick it to me in the Army, it turned out to be a Blessing in disquise.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>I
learned a lot of things about being a black American, that I would
never have learned without that exp</span><span>e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">r</span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ience.
Most of America's race problems are from a lack of communication.
When we see white cops, killing black citizens we are seeing a lack
of respect for </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">human
life, especially of </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">our
fellow Americans. </span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Mainly
</span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">because
they can get away with it. They are using their authority, to avoid
responsibility, for their actions. Authority needs to also require
accountability.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">If
America wants to cure the problem, the first thing we need to do is
admit there is one. I remember when I was stationed in France and
went to Paris that Blacks, Whites and others mingled and interacted
and race was not a barrier or a problem. At least I didn't see it.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">When
I see the peaceful protests going on, I realize there is hope for
America. One thing we need in America is accountability for every
life. No one is above the law, especially those who administer the
law. The idea that a law enforcement officer can take a life and is
above the law is absurd. It may happen, but not when a person is shot
in the back seven times from point blank range, or when a man is
running away from law enforcement. He is not a threat, he is scared
and in this country he has every right to be. Which is a sad thing to
say.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span>My
first experience with racism came in April or May of my tenth grade
year in high school. I was taking a printing class and had to
manually set type. I had a piece of type and looked at it and could
not make up my mind if it was a “j” or an “i” and I started
saying Enee, Menee, Minee Moe and suddenly realized the person at the
table face to face with mine was our schools star athlete a senior,
and he was black. I stopped what I was saying. He said, “Finish
it.” and I did. I have never forgotten what he said. “Words have
meaning, and they have consequences” Two months later I dropped
out of high school and joined the Army. I remember setting on the
back steps of my barracks a week or so into basic training and four or five
guys were talking. As I listened it was like they were speaking a
foreign language. Little did I know that a year down the road I would
get a crash course and learn that language. </span></span></span>
</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>Why can they get away with it, because of a lack of peer pressure to do what is right. It is something that is taught. When in the Army at Ft. Bragg, I went to the store to get milk with a friend of mine and his wife. While he went in to get the milk, his wife, baby and I sat in the car waiting. A black man walked past the car and the wife, started telling the baby who could not even walk yet, say N----- Johnny, this went on and on till her husband returned. I </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>know </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>for a long time </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>I</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span> blamed it on the fact they were from Alabama. After my months in the room as the only white boy, I found it is taught, it does not just happen.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>Even when I was growing up I experienced it in a different way. My Dad took me to the Indianapolis 500 time trials. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>W</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>e had to drive thru a very dark part of Indianapolis. I remember my Dad making me roll up the windows and lock the door</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>s.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span> His actions puzz</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>le</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>d me. My home town only has a few hundred blacks in the whole city. Our high school had over 1200 students and only five students</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>in the</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>whole school were black.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>Why I found my father a World War II veterans actions puzz</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>l</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>ing was that he had me d</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>o</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span> his good deeds so to speak. We had one elderly black lady in </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>our</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span> whole neighborhood and her husband had died. My Dad sent me to mow her yard </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>and shovel her snow,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span> whenever it needed it. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>A</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>s he did for several other widows. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>While I would never call my father a racist, stereotypes definitely effected his decision process.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;">While
living in that twelve man room I got a date with a local girl. Her
Dad was the head of the local bank. He and I tried to make small talk
while we were waiting for dinner. I bought up the subject that I
noticed almost all the blacks in the community lived in run down
shacks, but had brand new and really nice cars in the drive way. They also had really nice
color TV’s which I could see from the road. I asked why didn’t
they fix up their houses. They evidently had money. The banker made
it clear to me that they could buy anything they wanted, but they
would never get a loan from him to fix up their property. Because
then they would want to sell their house and move, possibly, in next
to him. That was not happening. The supper was very good, but the
atmosphere was very chilly. Needless to say that was my last date
with her. She was still very friendly, but I got the understanding I
was not welcome to come back to his house.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometime
later I went to the enlisted club on post and had a learning
experience. We had to be in uniform to attend the club. I was the
only active duty paratrooper on the post. The other one lived off
base. Anyhow I got called out by a black guy who wanted to start a
fight with me. I said fine, but lets take it outside. As we went
outside several of his friends fell in behind us. When we faced off
outside several of his friends circled us. I was sure I was gonna get
my ass kicked regardless what happened. BUT, All of a sudden another
group of blacks came out of the club and formed a circle around his
circle. It was my room mates. One of them stepped forward and said,
“If you want a piece of his ass, your going to have to whip us
too.” Suddenly it all just cooled down. When we got back to the
barracks I got tagged with my new nickname, I was the cotton tailed
nigger.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
learned a couple things living in that room. I asked why they always
went everywhere in pairs. They explained that a lone black man
walking in Georgia was an invitation to be assaulted if not killed.
I also learned that they felt they had a station in life and they
should not feel they could get ahead. If I did nothing else in the
time I lived in that room. I told them that was bull crap. They
were entitled to anything any other American had. If they did not
stand up for their rights they were only hurting themselves. Over the
time in that room I did acquire a couple changes in my life. I like
bright colored clothes and most of my CD’s are soul music.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span>Almost
ten years later I was stationed in Germany and one of the black
soldiers in my squad was charged with drug possession. It was all a
set up. My superiors wanted to get rid of him because they considered
him a trouble maker. I refused to press the charges. So they moved
him out of my squad and charged him anyhow. I went to his trial as a
character witness. I knew I was cutting my own throat when I did it.
I told my wife that if I testified my career was over. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span>I
went to the trial and they would not let me testify till after he was
sentenced. Then it was to vouch for his character. The judge asked me
what happened and I told him. He smiled and looked at me. Then he
said I have had six people tell me their stories and I realize yours
is the truth. It makes sense of all their stories which were missing
one thing or another. So instead of kicking him out of the Army which
is what my superiors wanted, he fined him $25 and dropped all other
punishments. <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">My superiors were livid. I paid for it when I left
Germany a few months later. They gave me two efficiency reports to
ruin my career. They forgot one thing. They had promoted me to Staff
Sergeant half ways between the two reports, A couple years later when I volunteered for a qualitative management discharge, I counted on the same blindness that allowed the two reports to be put on my record, to be equally blind in reviewing my record. All one has to do is look at my record and ask, If he was such a bad soldier, WHY did You promote him. It worked for my good when my health declined and I decided to leave the service. I have the efficency reports from Panama that show there was indifference to my condition. It was not till many years later that I found out what had destroyed my health to the point I could not do my job anymore. To my leaders I was just malingering. My MOS proficency test which is also in my record shows otherwise. After Vienam when the Army started downsizing, I volunteered to go to the infantry. Little did I know what was happening to my body.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Actually
that turned out to be a Blessing in disguise. A year and a half later
after reenlisting for six years at Fort Campbell. I ended up going to
Panama, I volunteered for the Qualitative Management Program and used
those two reports as part of reason for my request. I had also received several
reports in Panama saying I was physically unfit for my job. However I had good reports and ratings at Ft.Campbell, between my return from Germany and my assignment to Panama. Just as I
suspected the review board never caught the little glitch on the
efficiency reports. For some reason I could not handle the heat in
Panama and could not physically do my job. My father came down from
the states and we went sight seeing. I could not keep up with him. It
was then I realized I had a problem. I could not do the two miles in
eighteen minutes for my physical. I was a miler in high school and
ran five minute miles, so I knew something was wrong but I did not
know what until almost thirty years later I found out the problem. I
had been exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
reason My father came to visit me in Panama was that in World War II
he had been at the Normandy invasion and at the end of the war he was
in Tokyo Harbor tied up close enough to the USS Missouri to watch the
surrender ceremony. In the process of going to the Pacific Ocean they
only kept a skeleton crew on his ship and picked the crew back up in
California. It allowed the sailors a chance to go home and see their
families. So he missed the trip through the Canal and wanted to see
it. We had a neat thing about our birthdays. I was born on December
7<sup>th</sup> the day World War II started. He was born on August 6,
the day they dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and technically ended the
war.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #c9211e; font-size: 14pt;">In July of 2010 I went to a 4</span><sup style="background-color: white; color: #c9211e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #c9211e; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #c9211e; font-size: 14pt;">of July celebration at my best friends home. Most of the guest were retired military. One of them was a retired Air Force Colonel who had worked in claims and compensation before he retired. In the course of our conversation the subject came up that I had had a heart attack in 2004 and had a defibrillator. He informed me that all I had to do was file a claim. Based on my condition I was automatically qualified for Agent Orange Compensation. In January of 2012 I decided to file a claim based on our conversation.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><p style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">In October of 2013 I started receiving my Agent Orange Compensation. It was not till four or five years later I realized I had been ripped off for about half of the compensation I should have gotten. I received a copy of the </span><a href="https://cck-law.com/blog/nehmer-claims-what-you-need-to-know/" style="color: #336699; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;">Nehmer Claims compensation guidelines</a><span style="font-size: large;"> and realized I should have received compensation from the time the claim was created. As I was under VA treatment at the time. Actually they owe me back to when the Diabetes Claims were started. If they want to be technical my letter to request discharge under the Qualitative Management Program made clear that I wanted out for health reasons, Even though I did not know at the time what caused those problems, so technically they owe me from the start of it all.</span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;">After
leaving the Army I did not really feel like I had wasted thirteen
years of my life in the Army. I learned to drive a truck in Vietnam
while driving OJT for three months. It got me a job in civilian life.
I did it till I had my heart attack caused by the Agent Orange, but I
do feel cheated out of what I was entitled too. Which is part of why
I felt compelled to write this post for my blog. I intend to send a
copy of it to my Congressman and see if he can get me what I am
entitled too.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-48155615821961988522021-01-26T12:41:00.004-08:002021-01-26T12:48:48.981-08:00Is America Ready for a 2nd Revolution<p> </p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> I hope and pray it is not, but the attitude of our government leadership in view of the recent attempted coup says I may be wrong. The choices that led up to it were made by the American people. In 2016 people voted against the candidate they did not want by voting for the opposing party. Trump offered change. He was going to drain the swamp, but in reality he was just more of the same, but worse. The only thing he cared about was himself.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> His actions leading up to the coup showed his utter lack of respect for our government and for the laws we have. In 2016 he made the comment he could stand on the street in NYC and shoot somebody and nothing would happen. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Well in his attempted coup five people died. That blood is on his hands and I hope our Congress will charge him based on the law. However, the reality is looking like the Republicans have know understanding of danger of the insurrection that happened in their house. They are to stupid to realize that the person in charge did not care if they got killed in the process. All he cared about was getting his way.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> General Flynn makes clear in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJIWtjA4jA">video</a> I am enclosing the link to of the cost. It is long but if you watch from the 22 minute mark to the 25 minute mark. He makes clear our government is being torn apart. I used to not like him, but after watching the video I find him to just be another of Trump's victims, of which there were many.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> It is my view that at a minimum Trump should never be allowed to hold office again, nor any of those that supported and enabled him in his attempt, but sadly true to the lack of moral value and conscience shown by the Republican Party over the last several years, he will probably not even receive a slap on the wrist.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> They have been saying on the news that the Republicans are scared of upsetting Trump. I guarantee you if I live long enough, every Republican does not vote to impeach him will recieve my utmost effort to make sure they never hold office again.</span></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-40736689592347536742021-01-25T10:59:00.099-08:002021-02-03T11:42:44.026-08:00Celebrating The 17th Anniversay of My Death<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNPvRPb_nlyt2w8Gn4P2bmNjKGcTZy6zOpzvMVLpZw_OyOazXZGXa7NM_wYFgsD5C6evJM1IBtJCzSBx3GEVchKVXUMogqoebyFwzp0iGJCEjuhO1WkckAO_RlJb5IW1bm9oa6NsMLHc/s2048/IMG_0169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNPvRPb_nlyt2w8Gn4P2bmNjKGcTZy6zOpzvMVLpZw_OyOazXZGXa7NM_wYFgsD5C6evJM1IBtJCzSBx3GEVchKVXUMogqoebyFwzp0iGJCEjuhO1WkckAO_RlJb5IW1bm9oa6NsMLHc/s320/IMG_0169.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNeqjflcxHDuyXvPPYnZVto_ubtYw3-wGDcnIsGzbCf8M8GdT11_YUKUsuP5YqVwfLbhzuUHrfKVK3-7WwU9Ks7PXmdeDkOrKsvzjYMmaf8V_UqG3wIEi3mcRI5IHV8iBGO79ANSvWYk0/s2048/005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1433" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNeqjflcxHDuyXvPPYnZVto_ubtYw3-wGDcnIsGzbCf8M8GdT11_YUKUsuP5YqVwfLbhzuUHrfKVK3-7WwU9Ks7PXmdeDkOrKsvzjYMmaf8V_UqG3wIEi3mcRI5IHV8iBGO79ANSvWYk0/s320/005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Celebrating
the 17</span><sup><span style="font-size: large;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: large;">
Anniversary of My Death</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> Every Day is a Good Day.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">The
22<sup>nd</sup> of January was the <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html">17</a><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html"><sup>th</sup></a><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html">
anniversary of my death</a>. Fortunately they brought me back. It has
been a long and sometimes strange experience. The link will take you
to the story of that experience. A lot has happened over that time.
It all turned out to be a Blessing in the long run. It is strange how
the Lord can show you how Blessed you are. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">A
few months ago I left my phone on my trailer and forgot about it. It
ended up getting run over and I had to get a new one. I thought I had
lost everything, but ATT was able to restore all the numbers in it.
My daughter and her husband and kids bought me a new computer last
year. My son-in-law did the transfer of all the info off my old
laptop to my new computer and I was really happy for almost a year
till I had the phone problem. It was then I found out my address book
and my blog history had been lost in the transfer process. I had a
list of all the countries my blog had been read in, last I remember
putting one in, I was at 86 countries. I was kind of proud of it. The
list also let me know that there were three or four countries that
more people read my blog overseas at some points than here. Russia,
South Korea, The United Arab Emirates and Argentina are my countries
with the most readers. Why I am not sure, but I enjoy it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">There
were probably a hundred and fifty names and addresses in the book.
Some of them were multiple listings for the same person, my brother
had six addresses, his daughter had five. Because I am computer
illiterate I just created a new address line instead of deleting. It
wasn’t till I got my hard copy of my address book that I realized
over the years, I am 74, many of the names I had, had passed away.
Actually only 10 or 12 of the names and addresses were good. Taught
me a lesson though. Now I put addresses in the phone with the number.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Getting
back to the start of the story, sorry about the side track. Thought
it might help someone else survive a crisis. That is one reason I
write my blog to share experiences to prevent someone else from
making the same mistakes, I have.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">One
thing I noticed this year is that the experience I had in the link at
the start was a period of seventeen years and about three months from
it happening and my turning my life over to God, or at least feel I
was being moved in that direction by God. Then I drove a truck for
about twenty years. Which ended when I had my heart attack. So based
on that the next three months may be interesting, it has been
seventeen years since my heart attack. I have already scheduled up
into May. That is when I plan to take my grand-daughter and
grand-daughter-in-law for their first skydiving jump at Skydive
Chicago. In October I hope to go to the Atlanta Koi Show again, plus
I have about a half dozen on going projects. Two of which are
starting new businesses I hope to pass on to my grand-kids. Oh yes, I
also plan to do some serious pond building.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">I
remember from reading in the Bible that there was a King named
Hezekiah and he was told he was going to die and he cried out to God.
God gave him fifteen more years. While he was Blessed because he had
been faithful to God, over the fifteen years he had a bit of a
falling away.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">About 2014 I was convicted by 1st Timothy 5:8, after looking up the word infidel, which means a person who does not know God. It made me realize I needed to step up to the plate so my Great Grand Daughters Mom could get a job and get out of goverment housing. She did and now she lives in her own home which is paid for. All was going good and I had the thought, what happens to all this if something happens to me. That is when the door opened to start my own T-shirt business. Since I retired from trucking I had been giving the Road Angel Trucking Center $100 a month out of my tithe. It was my desire to give more, and the door opened to start giving them T-shirts with a map to their facility on the back that they could sell for $20 each. By buying the shirts and letting them sell them. The money they got went from $1200 a year to over $2000 a year, plus their visitations have increased. They offer free meals, showers, laundry facilities and fellowship to over the road truckers. So my goal is to expand the T-shirt business and give it over to their Mom. My other goal is to make several ponds on my property and raise Koi that they can sell, this project is ongoing, but the Lord is opening all the doors fot it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Back
when I had the heart attack, I think I was a lot closer to God than I
am now. I was ready. I was totally at peace with myself. At the point
I surrendered to God I had lost everything, my family, my business,
my house and even my car. It was hard times. Finally I turned to God
and started reading the Bible. I soon realized that I should be
tithing to the Lord, but I had nothing to tithe, not even a job. I
said all I have is my time and I am going to tithe ten percent of my
time to you. For the next four years I spent two and a half hours a
day reading the Bible. It was easy till I got a job. God is faithful
to His Word and three and a half years later I had back everything I
had lost plus some. It was then I decided to start tithing twenty
percent to the Lord. I told him that I owed him for all the years I
didn’t tithe. So that is why I was doing it. I also told him it was
my goal to pay all I owed him. If I did not live long enough, it was
his fault. I did that based on the fact that I know God is a Good God
and he has a sense of humor. If you don’t believe me <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2014/04/when-god-says-april-fool.html">read
this link </a>and you will clearly see he does, at least he did with
me.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWh-RraF8oBZWWVLQdF_WKGGZiiaJXm-P76hKk6iW_L66rgKI3WMBDVbXGbbOeDtkGfFEfvwoEbPlLfosGtcNaZlZj1qD8eZCsOHPsbxTHHeoqhU_HG2Mb2xSJA2a3SeUBb19-0Ze7AFA/s2048/Birds+138.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWh-RraF8oBZWWVLQdF_WKGGZiiaJXm-P76hKk6iW_L66rgKI3WMBDVbXGbbOeDtkGfFEfvwoEbPlLfosGtcNaZlZj1qD8eZCsOHPsbxTHHeoqhU_HG2Mb2xSJA2a3SeUBb19-0Ze7AFA/w394-h320/Birds+138.JPG" width="394" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkX-v36JF7PHude8iabTP-lOiaFiUAHrYTppm4_YvOF6BqlxQyqZNwp0qp6uelGAB0phNcS-f2Qck4w9Xyi5NALOxS9sxSZhwCmJWaj-CJCTzMl10op0Ql76iz3iZr4neD5swoIc_kHE/s2048/Birds3+044.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkX-v36JF7PHude8iabTP-lOiaFiUAHrYTppm4_YvOF6BqlxQyqZNwp0qp6uelGAB0phNcS-f2Qck4w9Xyi5NALOxS9sxSZhwCmJWaj-CJCTzMl10op0Ql76iz3iZr4neD5swoIc_kHE/s320/Birds3+044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If
you read my blog long enough you will find I believe God is always
present in all we do. Even when I lost my truck driving job I
continued to tithe and the Lord continued to Bless me. I went from
making about $150,000 a year to $1350 dollars a month. That lasted
almost eight years, then he opened the door for me to get Agent
Orange compensation and my retirement quadrupled over night. The
problem with a sudden Blessing </span><span style="font-size: medium;">is
that</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> it is easy to
forget some of the stuff that got you through the hard times. During
that eight year period I supplemented my income by making crafts.
Which I sold online via EBAY, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">farmers
markets and</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> flea
markets. The birds Blessed me. At one time I was going through two
fifty pound bags of bird feed a month. <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-trash-to-treasures-with-pictures.html">Taking
pictures and posting them is how I made the money</a>. So I felt I
owed the birds. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The
link will take you to a post with pictures of the things I sold and
made. It all started with the need to get rid of the seventy five
dollar trash hauling bill, that we paid every three months.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVybvJQ3ns1jZV0xVfAhzMvhQvNKvDCJA9MY9ZIhy6Oc4OkYK_9KPQZUUu8HL30QdRpnwqOnWwmyBRdt8qxfrozkY-yv0dDMqxU5yK-p4dG6wusMS4mTf0_X-P2fBdu3icQk9mEuZ4L_o/s480/22484_10205411384538303_7691784851996441085_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVybvJQ3ns1jZV0xVfAhzMvhQvNKvDCJA9MY9ZIhy6Oc4OkYK_9KPQZUUu8HL30QdRpnwqOnWwmyBRdt8qxfrozkY-yv0dDMqxU5yK-p4dG6wusMS4mTf0_X-P2fBdu3icQk9mEuZ4L_o/s320/22484_10205411384538303_7691784851996441085_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Crafts helped us through the hard times</div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">About
2016 I started through a very hard time physically in my life. It
came I believe from becoming very lazy because of my heart attack.
Pampering myself. I found all the 90 pounds I had lost before my
heart attack, plus some. I ended up on insulin and a type II
diabetic. Finally after talking to people and changing my ways and
especially my diet. I ended up getting off insulin and all the
diabetic meds. It can be done. I lost almost sixty pounds in the process
also. Thanks to <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2018/08/que-sera-sera-simple-diet-that-works.html">a
diet that works</a> that my daughter who passed away had put me on.
She was a nurse. I feel better now than I have in years. So I plan to
make the best of the time I have left. I lost 90 ninety pounds the
first time I was on the diet and sixty this time. My original goal
was to lose 140 pounds. Combined I have lost 150 so I met my goal in
a way, but I have another 80 to go to get to my ultimate goal which
is 220. I weighted 175 when I got out of the Army, but I don’t
think I could get back to that goal. But, if God is Willing it could
happen.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">About
2017 I found a new hobby and kind of turned my back on the birds. My
wife recently corrected me on the matter cause the birds were not
coming this winter. I told her it was because it was a mild winter. I
started feeding them again a few days back and they are showing up
again. I only have twelve feeders right now. At one time I had
seventeen. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">In fact this
last week I overhauled some of my older ones that needed some
maintenance.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">My
new thing is Koi fish and Koi ponds. I find it fascinating. Kind of wish I had discovered it years ago. I found it on YouTube. I watched
a video on Buying Koi in Japan and I was hooked. In fact in the fall
of 2019 I took a vacation for ten days and it was all about learning
about Koi. I spent the last three days of the vacation at the Atlanta
Koi Show. I really enjoyed it and it is past time to write that
story.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2E8KZW7z2CxIefzAiTSeuM7wKoD38GcV_-4fphLnSMDJagwZy0q2oEJdaq7-g97OcbR4aWyoILQUzVYh4lIgEXD8cswfOJYJRRSsG1Tq6rDk1h5GO8lrxHqs5R-KZxT0z_mPVkCn3u0/s2048/IMG_0160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2E8KZW7z2CxIefzAiTSeuM7wKoD38GcV_-4fphLnSMDJagwZy0q2oEJdaq7-g97OcbR4aWyoILQUzVYh4lIgEXD8cswfOJYJRRSsG1Tq6rDk1h5GO8lrxHqs5R-KZxT0z_mPVkCn3u0/s320/IMG_0160.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even
my writing is a Blessing. I spent my last year in the Army in Panama
and got drafted into writing for the Command Newspaper. It happened
because my commander liked some photos I entered in a Photo Contest.
All I got were a couple of honorable mentions, but my commander told
me if he had been the judge I would have won several awards. So I got a new job also.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">As
for this blog it started because my daughter went to Costa Rica and
started a blog. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">She did
it</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> to let us know what
she was doing while she was there. In August 2010 I had lost my
youngest daughter after she fought a seven year battle with a brain
tumor and I was in kind of a funk. Angel saw that it cheered me up to
read it. So she set me up a blog in March of 2011 and I have been
doing it every since. She wanted me to write stories of life so my
grand kids can know what I did in li</span><span style="font-size: medium;">fe</span><span style="font-size: medium;">.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">The
blog ha</span><span style="font-size: medium;">s</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
a lot of faith based stories, trucking stories, how-to stories and
some </span><span style="font-size: medium;">personal
experiences. Early on I wrote a lot of financial advice as we were
just coming out of the 08 collapse and I knew some of the things I
had been thru could help others make it through the hard times. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Some
people think seventy-four is a little late in life to start a
business, but Moses was eighty when he started his trip across the
desert. Some people are late starters for whatever reason. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Years
ago when I was trucking I met an old man in his seventies or maybe
even his eighties and I asked him how his day was going and his
answer forever changed my attitude about life. He said,” Young man,
any day I spend looking down at the grass, and not up at it is a good
day.” </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Over
the years I learned that the most valuable thing in the world is
something you can not buy and you can never get anymore of. It is
TIME. Time is our most precious commodity and using it wisely is one
of the most Godly things we can do.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">A
preacher I used to listen to when I was on the road was Duane
Sheriff. He had a ministry in Durant Oklahoma that was very awesome.
His church, Victory Life, had </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">around
a thousand people. It had a food bank that fed almost 8,000 people.
Pretty </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">impressive when
you consider it is a town of about only 17,000 people. He also had a
free tape ministry. His goal was to give away a million tapes a year.
I use to stop and help label and pack tapes for shipping when I
passed thru the area. Miss it, his church was a very Blessed place to
attend.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Getting
back on track, Brother Duane had a saying I always liked. “A rut is
a grave with both ends kicked out.” If your in a rut it is time to
get back into life and live for the Lord. He has tapes on almost
every topic. If you read Joshua 1:8 you will see it is your efforts that make things happen, God's job is to Bless it. </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Over
<a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2017/10/trucking-stories-for-those-who-do.html">my
years of trucking </a>I was Blessed to attend <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/search?q=Eighty+foot+parking+lot">churches</a>
and have fellowship all over the country. The first link is to a post
which contains links to about 50 faith based trucking stories and the
second link will connect to a story of my experiences in finding a
church while traveling the country.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">So
what is the purpose of this post. To share my blog with people who
might like to read some faith based stories. In the ten years I have
been writing I have posted almost 280 stories. The purpose of these
links is to make it easier to find the faith based posts. I also
write on trucking, how-to topics, politics and travel stories. So it
may save those interested some time.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">As
I come to the end of my second seventeen year period, I look back to
the start of it all and my<a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html">
Testimon</a>y, this posst is part of the first link I posted. I realize we may be near the end. Because of the
experience I had it has been my belief that I will be here for the
second coming. However having been dead twice already, maybe I
misinterpreted what it meant, but I don’t thing so. I know four
years ago it could not have happened as I understand it, but changing
my diet and getting my health back in order, it might be possible.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">My
main purpose in writing is to thank the almost 80,000 people who have
read my posts over the years. I pray the stories have Blessed you in
some way or helped you avoid some of the pitfalls I had. So get up
out the rut of life and get back on the road it it applies. Thanks
again. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">With all the things going on in the World right now, I have to hope and pray I end up with a better outcome at the end than Hezekiah.</span></p><br /><p></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-66749699538661402802021-01-01T04:11:00.007-08:002021-01-01T14:56:43.027-08:00Praying for a Blessed New Year.<span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">Praying for a Blessed New Year.</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">New Years, 27 Hours to Go</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">I love this time of year, normally. We are eight days into shorter days and only 78 days from spring. I am only 23 days from the 17</span><sup style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Anniversary of my death and resurrection the first time. Been there and done that twice. The link I am sharing will hopefully</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVuIVP6Pef8" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"> lift your spirits</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, it did mine.</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">While this has been the year from Hell, it is almost over. Trump may raise hell for the next twenty-days, but he is history. One thing I have learned in the last four years, the Founding Fathers did not put enough thought and ways to get rid of an incompetent leader. Of course they could not have imagined a leader like the one we have now. One solution would be to have the heads of the Armed Forces do a quarterly efficiency report on his performance as Commander in Chief and submit it to Congress.</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">America has always been for the underdog, unfortunately when they wanted change they had no clue what they were really getting. They took Trump at face value and believed all his BS. Now four years down the road they have a better understanding of what the election process can unleash. This evenings news showed what they said were five potential candidates for 2024. Unfortunately nothing has changed, another election with no real choice.</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">In 2016 Democrats nominated a candidate that most people did not really want, and a large part of the party crossed over. This time the cross over was the other way, the Democrats went back home and many of the Republicans went with them as they did not want another round of what we presently have.</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">The only way to save America is form a third party that stands up for America and what it believes in. Between 30 and 40 % of American’s are independent minded. Unfortunately they do not have a like minded party. It is time to create one.</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Over the last several years I have tried to create the foundation for such a party. I have a blog post for it. Here is the link to get to it.</span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;">https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">I encourage you to read the posts I have put up. They cover healthcare, gun control, immigration, infrastructure, and the election process to name a few.</span><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">As for me I have gotten into a hobby of building fish ponds and playing in my yard and plan to keep doing that and sharing my how-to posts. Praying the coming year is better than this one just past. I did manage to get out of a writing rut and managed to complete 20 posts this year, my best year since 2015.</span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for taking the time to read this, if you like it or agree with it, share it with others so that by 2024 we have an alternative choice to the broken two party system.</span><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div></div>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-62020164801602096112020-12-19T14:21:00.000-08:002020-12-19T14:21:23.401-08:00It is Time to Trump, Trump<p> Recent news events have made it pretty clear how and why Trump won't concede the election. There is a reason why. </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Trump has refused to
acknowledge Joe Biden’s Presidential Victory. He has an ulterior
motive or reason. General Flynn may have been the author of a
treasonous plan to overthrow our recent election. He has advocated
that Trump should declare Marshall Law and cast out certain states
election results. Trump’s recent shuffle in the leadership at the Pentagon may be
nothing more than a preparatory move to do just that.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trump
has gotten away with just about anything he has wanted to do so far.
Many times because no one though</span><span style="font-size: medium;">t</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
he would actually do the things he has do</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ne.</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
His admiration of Vladimir Putin is well know and his unwillingness
to take any action that would alienate Putin is very clear. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trump’</span><span style="font-size: medium;">s</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
reaction or lack of reaction to the recent security breach in our
government shows where his sentiments are. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">If
Trump, Flynn and members of Congress try to carry out the treasonous
actions they seem to be planning they should be lined up at the
Washington Monument and shot.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">One
thing has become clear during Trump’s time in office. Out
Constitution does not offer adequate controls on a corrupt or
incompetent president. My solution to that problem would be to have the heads of the branches of the service give him a
job performance rating quarterly. They could deliver it to Congress.
As the Commander in chief of the military that would be one way to
rate his performance.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;">It is time for our Congress to take actions to protect our election.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span>Our
Congress can cut off Trump’s treasonous actions by passing one </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>simple bill. It is one bill that should already exist. If a president
wants </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>to declare Marshall Law it should have to be approved by both
houses </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>of Congress. Simply passing this law would end Trump’s
backdoor </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>attempt to throw out the election.</span></span></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-38619498935709715812020-12-17T11:28:00.023-08:002021-02-13T09:50:20.609-08:00It is Like Ragu, it is in here.<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5DE_NsO5a76J_Wu3glB1W1WRsQm5MAwH6U5Ez5zlK2gsuBPPSRsek3vSsJin5jiUa-CuoOo5_H8Bnx7aajDIGjDU8g9_oYyWVvKAS6dvgDZkhIq-0mnq4deYAZ-0yzUPNB8ikoZewAg/s2048/IMG_0160.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5DE_NsO5a76J_Wu3glB1W1WRsQm5MAwH6U5Ez5zlK2gsuBPPSRsek3vSsJin5jiUa-CuoOo5_H8Bnx7aajDIGjDU8g9_oYyWVvKAS6dvgDZkhIq-0mnq4deYAZ-0yzUPNB8ikoZewAg/s320/IMG_0160.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /> <p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> RAGU</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">December 15, 2020</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">As
the seventeenth <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html">anniversary of my death</a> and retirement from the
working class approaches, I have to wonder why I am still here. Have
I lived this long to die of Covid. The last five years I have taken
care of my twin great grand-daughters five days a week. Actually the
epidemic has given me back my life. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes
I like to take a look back and see what I have done in the past. As
the New Year approaches I realized I will be entering my tenth year
of sharing stories on my blog. I like to think my writing has matured
a bit. From March 2011 when I started till the fall of 2015 my goal
was quantity. To put out as much as I could put out. A severe battle
with a case pneumonia changed my attitude. I really wondered if I was
going to make it. It was during that episode that I had a chance to
sit down and reflect on my writing. I decided quality was a more
important issue.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">I
never pictured myself as being a Hemingway or a Mark Twain, but their
styles influenced how I tried to write. One other writer challenged
me with his style. Will Rogers had a down to earth type of writing
that said it like it was. That has been my goal. I want to tell it
like it is, and share the experiences from my life that might help
someone else avoid my mistakes in life. It had been my goal to share
those experiences in a book. Recently I realized over the last ten
years I had unintentionally written the book. It is contained in
forty-five posts on my blog. There are a total of two hundred seventy
posts on my blog. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">My
goal now is to make a blog post with links to all the stories. Right
now I would title the book Ragu, it is in there. So if something
happens to me before I get that done, the stories are in my blog.
When I started I wrote a lot on how to survive hard times
financially, trucking stories, political views and opinions, and how
my faith had guided me through life. So if you skip the first three
topics and search out the remaining stories you will get to read my
book.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">In
May of 2012 I went to <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2014/06/an-ex-truckers-writing-tale.html">my
first writers conference</a>. It was the Blue Ridge Mountain
Christian Writer’s Conference and I literally stumbled onto it on
the internet.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For
years I subscribed to Writer’s Digest. Each month I scanned the up
and coming writers conferences across the USA looking for one I felt
I would be comfortable going to. I finally found one that appealed to
me. It was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I got to the point I had a
couple weeks in May left to mail in the deposit for the June
conference. That is when I found the BRMCWC. It was only a week away.
It had a lot of benefits that outweighed the Wyoming conference, It
was less half the drive and it included meals, room and classes for
less than Wyoming wanted just for the conference.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">It
meant I had to hustle to get my stuff together to go, but I got it
done and it was a Blessing and a half. I ended up going their in
2012, 2013 and 2014. I learned a lot and </span><span style="font-size: large;">really
enjoyed the conferences, but in 2015, The link will take you to the
story of how that turned out.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
2015 I became convicted that while I loved going to the conferences,
that was not what God was calling me to do. It was when I read 1</span><sup><span style="font-size: medium;">st</span></sup><span style="font-size: medium;">
Timothy, Chapter 5-Verse 8… “But if any provide not for his own,
and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith,
and is worse than an infidel.”</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">The
word infidel threw me as I did not know what it meant, but upon
looking it up, it opened my eyes. It is a person that does not know
God. While I had always professed that I did, I was not living it. My
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">twin
great-</span><span style="font-size: medium;">grand-daughters
mother was having a hard time finding a job and living in government
housing. She could find a job, but the fees for babysitting took most
of what she made and it was cheaper to stay home. Being convicted by
the Word, I volunteered to take care of the girls. My wife said I was
nuts, but my heart told me it was the right thing to do. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">We
have been through head start, kinder-garden and now are in the third
grade.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Everything
had gone smooth till today. Even when my</span><span style="font-size: medium;">wife</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
went to Texas for a month at a time, somehow everything always seemed
to work out. This morning on the way to school my 2004 Honda gave up
the ghost. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">On the
highway r</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ight in front
of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">school.
As I was parked in the highway in front of the school I had the girls
walk the final one hundred yards thru the grass to school. A sheriffs
deputy and a school guard came and helped me and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">they</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
towed my van off the highway and into the school parking lot. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally
e</span><span style="font-size: medium;">nded up calling a
wrecker. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">T</span><span style="font-size: medium;">he
driver </span><span style="font-size: medium;">was really nice
bought</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> me back to my
house and here I sit.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">With
everything happening in the world today, or should I say yesterday.
The first vaccine, the Electoral College, Barr stepping down and the
Covid death toll reaching the three hundred thousand mark. I decided
to make this post and at least those who follow my writing would know
there was a method to my madness. Will anybody follow up and try to
find the forty-five stories I don’t know. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">As
I write a lot on the end time</span><span style="font-size: medium;">s</span><span style="font-size: medium;">,
based on sixty plus years of reading the Bible. I just discovered
that the <a href="https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2020/december/rare-star-of-bethlehem-to-appear-dec-21-heres-what-astronomy-says-about-the-biblical-star-at-christs-birth">Star
of Bethlehem</a> is supposed to be visible on the 21</span><sup><span style="font-size: medium;">st</span></sup><span style="font-size: medium;">
of December.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">If
you read my testimony, I have always thought I would be here for the
second coming. If I am not I realize it doesn’t matter. At several
points in the last six years I really wondered if I would make it. I
even went through a three year period of being on insulin as a Type
II diabetic, but changing my diet and loosing weight gave me a new
lease on life, or at least made it more enjoyable.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Htz2YRGDv_XXXJUZzg_ffhbH5cMHbofhR_u6B17ZLNJj0OZH7atw-WJpG9CTCalR734kXm4P78hvqyeRbJsEJytneDaKHNDfYRrlY_cgiBVZB27_GRSjyTW-WiLSzE30_d23f1Tm9lY/s2048/IMG_0450.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Htz2YRGDv_XXXJUZzg_ffhbH5cMHbofhR_u6B17ZLNJj0OZH7atw-WJpG9CTCalR734kXm4P78hvqyeRbJsEJytneDaKHNDfYRrlY_cgiBVZB27_GRSjyTW-WiLSzE30_d23f1Tm9lY/s320/IMG_0450.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">The
last three years have also seen me become addicted to a new hobby,
raising Koi fish. My last vacation centered around going to fish
farms and seeing how they are grown and kept. YouTube provides me
hours of entertainment. My pond is already dug and now it is just a
matter of waiting for warmer weather to put in the liner. It has
gotten so out of hand I had to build a small pond to make more room
in my aquarium for the fish I bought anticipating having a pond. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">So
Lord Willing my next post will be to put links to the forty-five
stories all in one place.</span></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-49147239851779866782020-10-27T12:48:00.014-07:002020-10-27T14:00:22.173-07:00Congress is Dysfunctional, Our Elections Are Proof<p> </p><p><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> What Is Wrong With America’s Election System</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last weekend I took a trip to Kentucky and it reminded me of the following joke. After my GPS crashed and I had no map in my new car I felt like I was living the joke. I finally had to stop at a small country post office and ask directions, he printed them up for me which was nice, but they didn’t say how far the turns were apart and an hour and a half later I made it the fifteen miles and arrived at my destination. Best thing I can say about it was that it was a pretty drive through Kentucky horse country. There were many very beautiful homes along the way.</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Years ago I heard </span><span style="font-size: medium;">this</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> joke that I think applies to the problem</span><span style="font-size: medium;">s</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> facing America today. It goes something like this. “A traveling salesman was driving the back roads of Kentucky and found himself lost. After awhile he saw an old man sitting on his front porch swing </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and whittling.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">So he </span><span style="font-size: medium;">pulled over to get directions. He asked the old man if he knew how to get where he was going. The old man said “</span><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes”</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. The salesman said, “Well can you tell me how to get there?” The old man started giving him directions and the salesman said “Thank You” got in his car and took off. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">After about an hour and a half he was starting to believe the old man had sent him on a wild goose chase. Suddenly he came back to the house where he started. Totally frustrated he got out of his car and told the old man,”I thought you said you could tell how to get where I was going.” The old man said “I can” The salesman said, “I am not so sure about that, if you did, why am I back here?” The old man smiled and said, “I can give you the directions, but first I had to make sure you could follow them.</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That is kind of like America. We know where we came from, and where we want to go but aren’t sure how to get there. Our problem is we have too many slick old people in charge, of our country. They haven’t a clue how to get to where we want to go, but they have learned how to line their pockets with our dollars. Forty-one of our Senators have been in the Senate for over twelve years, one has been there thirty five years and one has been there forty-five years. They have not fixed our problems, they have just learned to milk the cow and enjoy the ride.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is time to fix the problem, and the only way I think it can be done is to start a third party that is for America and its people. The present system has a lot of problems. I know that people are put in place by seniority and that it helps provide order. However it can frustrate new comers who are motivated. They get frustrated waiting their turn.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The present election is a perfect example of the problem. Voting and making sure your vote is counted is a challenge. Certain elements in the process are trying to suppress the votes of many. Congressman John Lewis fought his whole life to make sure <b>everybody</b> got to vote. In the Constitution Article 1, Section 4 it makes clear that it is Congress duty to make the rules concerning elections.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As the government sponsors the education system in the United States it would seem logical to use that system to provide equitable opportunity to all Americans to vote. There are 130,930 K-12 schools in the United States, and there are 260,000,000 eligible voters in the United States according to the census. That means if every school provided a polling place, there would be 1985 voters in each school system. Allowing for a twelve hour voting day, it would require voters to vote at the rate of 165 per hour. If they have at least three voting booths it would require 55 voters per booth per hour. Proof there is no reason for people standing in lines for hours on end. The problem is Congress would have to implement it. If each school had a polling manager they could be in charge of making sure all voters are properly registered and that no one is denied their right to vote. Each school should have a six person nonpartisan board with one person elected from among them to serve as the administrator for a term of two years. The six members should be equally divided between the parties.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The next thing that needs fixed is the rules concerning appointment of Supreme Court Justices, which has been an issue in the last two elections. The Congress can solve this simply by making sure there is one justice for each regional district and make one extra to ensure any special needs can be addressed. All judges should be required to retire from the court with a pension at the age of seventy five.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another thing that needs to be addressed is the Electoral College. It needs to be eliminated. It does not allow the will of the people to be respected. The main purpose it serves is to allow the politicians to appoint the person they want to the presidency. At a minimum the system needs to be altered. The present system does not represent the will of the voters. Instead of one party takes all the votes, it should be proportional. to the vote in the state sending the delegates, and reflect the vote balance in that state. Only Maine and Nebraska use that system presently.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally there is the issue of term limits. Right now America is being held hostage to the will of one Senator from Kentucky who has been in the Congress for thirty five years. He is a Republican, but the longest serving is a Democrat from Maine who has been in the Congress for forty-five years. There are 41 Senators who have served in excess of 12 years or two terms in office. Sixteen are Republicans and the balance are Democrats.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At present the system allows eight Senators, from four states, NY, CA, TX and FL, to represent the will of 34 % of the population of the United States. It also allows one Senator, who represents a state that is only one and one third percent of the population to hold the whole nation hostage to his personal will. That is absolutely wrong and is certainly not what the Founding Fathers intended.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Under Mitch McConnell the Republicans have done nothing since 2008 when President Obama was elected, but try to prevent or undo anything that Obama or the Democrats have tried to do. That is not what the system was designed to do. The really sad part is the present President has not only encouraged this but done virtually nothing to correct the problem. His major accomplishment is having fired a lot of civil service workers who had dedicated their lives to serving our country. Of course firing people was his greatest skill on his reality TV show the Apprentice.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trump was elected because he was not really a politician, Most Americans wanted change and one thing is for sure they definitely got change. It was not the change many of them wanted, but that will issue will be resolved one week from today. I have heard a lot of people say based on placards that Trump will get reelected. Based on that philosophy, Obama should never been elected. The picture below is from in front of my local polling place on election day 2008. Is there something missing in the picture. I am sure where I live is not the only place it happened.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrno1RqZajosoBoZNTsyHUAmLgeaJQX_K0CN-Zuldl_vKteoNJArZ6pOq24lbzm5Abxkwcr86al6KVWnleAfZgqigoVP80jh9qscovB3Huw36oM8NeVVnN1APjL55Wi2oqhKAILtlEFM/" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 14.85px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="269" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrno1RqZajosoBoZNTsyHUAmLgeaJQX_K0CN-Zuldl_vKteoNJArZ6pOq24lbzm5Abxkwcr86al6KVWnleAfZgqigoVP80jh9qscovB3Huw36oM8NeVVnN1APjL55Wi2oqhKAILtlEFM/" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="318" /></a></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A while back I created my own political party called CARP. The Party Platform is on my other blog and can be reached by following the link enclosed. <a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;">https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html</a> It addresses how to fix many of the problems that Congress has failed to do. If you follow me, you will get updates as I address them. I have what I consider a solution to the gun problem on my post and a lot of other stuff that is from a different or third party point of view.</span></span></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-78566907656548610232020-10-17T09:37:00.010-07:002020-10-17T10:03:02.572-07:00How To Fix America's Voting System<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This picture is from the 2008 Presidential Election, what is missing?</span></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrno1RqZajosoBoZNTsyHUAmLgeaJQX_K0CN-Zuldl_vKteoNJArZ6pOq24lbzm5Abxkwcr86al6KVWnleAfZgqigoVP80jh9qscovB3Huw36oM8NeVVnN1APjL55Wi2oqhKAILtlEFM/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="269" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrno1RqZajosoBoZNTsyHUAmLgeaJQX_K0CN-Zuldl_vKteoNJArZ6pOq24lbzm5Abxkwcr86al6KVWnleAfZgqigoVP80jh9qscovB3Huw36oM8NeVVnN1APjL55Wi2oqhKAILtlEFM/" width="318" /></a></div></div><br /><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> It
Is Time to Fix the Voting Problem in America</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
seems anymore we have a problem with counting votes at every
election. We need to fix the system and really it is not that hard.
The proof of how asinine the </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">present
</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">system
can be was shown in the State of Texas. One county the size of some
of our smaller states was/is only having one polling place. Many
states are limiting and down sizing the number of polling places to
try and manipulate the vote.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America
is a nation of the people, by the people and for the people and
should therefore afford the opportunity to vote to every citizen, The
question is how to do it. I think I have a plan that not only works,
it may even improve the system. From </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>MY</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
point of view, </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>every</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
school district in America should have a minimum of one polling
place. It is based on a simple assumption. Where there are students,
there are parents, and parents need a voice in their community to
make sure it is run fairly. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Each
school represents a certain segment of the local society.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Each
polling station should have a bipartisan polling board. I would
recommend a board of six people, </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with
one board director, elected and chosen by the board for no more than
a two year term.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Whether the </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">board
members</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
are elected or appointed is one thing I have not worked out. I would
prefer an elected board. Their job would be to make sure any issue
that may keep a person from voting is resolved at the local level.
The board could handle the registering of voters in their district.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
system accomplishes two things. One it generates more community
involvement in the election process. And secondly </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">helps
eliminate the opportunity to manipulate the election in favor of one
party over the other.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many politicians, especially the career ones, will not like this idea. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">T</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">his
system makes them accountable to their constituents. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">f
they are not doing their job it may be made clear to those who have
</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">say
as to</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
whether they stay or go.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">A
law needs to be passed that anyone who intentionally interferes with
a persons right to vote is subject to a $5,000 fine and up to 5 years
in prison. That includes persons who pass laws to deny any citizen
their right to vote.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The
present system allows politicians that are so inclined to pass laws
and place restrictions on voting without fear of consequences. That
needs to be corrected and every citizens right to vote needs to be
protected.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-21363219889649314652020-10-13T11:50:00.202-07:002020-10-17T08:23:13.355-07:00Why Elections Will Not Fix America<p> </p><p><br /></p><p> <span style="font-size: large;">What is wrong with this picture, taken on election day in 2008?</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQQc2GAFXko1oyf3wiEMbasSluanSSOOawouDsY45Da3L4nxnhyphenhyphenPP02_4sMoqgLkpNksPWuvqvjuAas2o-EbTTnJAcHXhaA4ucsqShWi5QfOul2N0rCKwP38S5ERDuDRJ_0Bn7uoF-ME/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQQc2GAFXko1oyf3wiEMbasSluanSSOOawouDsY45Da3L4nxnhyphenhyphenPP02_4sMoqgLkpNksPWuvqvjuAas2o-EbTTnJAcHXhaA4ucsqShWi5QfOul2N0rCKwP38S5ERDuDRJ_0Bn7uoF-ME/" width="317" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jNHno1zbMzYT79KA_2RXb-nkgMn5OMHUpqDhJAq3g_uZRRCLYfBiTuLEZZgsDAGWknLox72rpOWXW8hTrXa5Dt-ni6C50pPT2tx2nIkJdLvGVKuJQ9LcPLlUlG5mCQEk5aN-YdJ4sww/s1600/100_5028.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jNHno1zbMzYT79KA_2RXb-nkgMn5OMHUpqDhJAq3g_uZRRCLYfBiTuLEZZgsDAGWknLox72rpOWXW8hTrXa5Dt-ni6C50pPT2tx2nIkJdLvGVKuJQ9LcPLlUlG5mCQEk5aN-YdJ4sww/w269-h241/100_5028.JPG" width="269" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> What
Is Missing?</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">America Needs Hope And Mentoring Programs</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
above picture was taken on Election Day 2008. To an observant person
with an average memory something is missing. To a White Supremacist
it is a perfect picture. In reality though it is a picture of what is
wrong with America. It explains how we have gotten to where we are
today. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">We have
forgotten our history and what makes America Great, it is not Donald
Trump, it is Hope. America has always had the hope and vision that a
better day is coming. Elections in America do not offer hope or change. We need a third party that is for America, and puts all Americans on the same level. The present system allows the wealthy to take all they can get and ignores the needs of those who are not wealthy.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
events of 9/11shook America to its core. It made us question our
goodness and our greatness as a nation. It set the stage for a change
I </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>NEVER, </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">thought
I would see in the America I lived in. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
July 2004 I saw a young man give a speech that summed up the hope of
America, and that it was a hope for everybody. Four years later that
man ran for President and succeeded. Even with portions of America
denying his very existence.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
am sure where I live was not the only place that his posters were
taken down. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
Obama won the election, it stunned me. I think people believed and
</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bought
into his message of hope.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><span>The
past twelve years the Republican Party has been fueled by hate and a
desire to undo anything that Obama did. Here we are in the middle of
a pandemic and the Republicans are totally focused on getting rid of
the Affordable Care Act, </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><span>just
as Democrats are determined to get rid of Trump.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><span>
Have the Republicans solved “ANY” of America’s problems or
offered their own solutions to the problems facing America. The
answer is a big fat NO. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><span>Unfortunately
for America, neither have the Democrats. Exactly why we need a party that is for all Americans.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">America
has been sold a bill of goods by the insurance companies. They have
convinced America we can not survive without them. They charge you
for insurance, and then they charge you a deductible to use it. The
medical field is a job like any other, but insurance companies have
learned to use it to empty American pockets. The pharmaceutical
</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">companies
</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
so evil they have banned discounts for the government, even though it
is one of their best customers. I learned this by dealing with the
VA.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">America
needs solutions, not hate. America needs a health care program that
takes care of each and every American, not just some Americans.
Article </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">One,
Section 8 of the Constitution, gives the duty of the </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>“welfare”
</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
America to Congress, and I do not think they meant, food stamps.
Welfare meant the needs of America, just like you take care of the
needs of your family. Food, clothing, shelter, education, safety and
even heath care. If Congress comes up short on any of these items
they have failed their job.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yes
they are responsible for national defense and the budget also, They
are given the responsibility to tax and create the programs that
provide the above mentioned items. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">However,
for the last twelve years</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Congress
has failed in it duties, with a capital F. They tax to give big
breaks to the rich and corporations on the backs of the middle and
lower class Americans.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">With
the economy in chaos because of Covid 19, millions of Americans are
slowly sliding into a financial abyss. More and more people are
loosing their homes, and apartments. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are right back where we were in 2008 when the housing market
collapsed. The Federal Government has failed to act. They say it is
not their responsibility. Excuse me Congress, but </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is not only your responsibility, but your duty under the Constitution
to fix the problem, and believe it or not there are ways to do so.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">America
needs a<a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html">
third </a></span></span><a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">party</span></span></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html">
</a> that puts Americans and America first. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Systemic
Racism is rampant in America, the pandemic has proven that issue. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">One
other problem that needs to be addressed is the immigration problem.
Immigrants are not evil, we are a nation of immigrants. If a person
is willing to risk all they have in order to come here to start a
better life and lift up their family, they are not evil. In this day
and age some who come may be evil, and it is our responsibility to
weed them out. We need to create a more effective work program that
lets those willing to do the jobs tha</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
most Americans won’t, come </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">perform
those much needed jobs like field hands. </span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">My
wife is an American born Mexican. Or as I call her, a Texican. There
were thirteen kids in her family and they all worked in the fields as
laborers at some point in their lives. Yet as they have all gotten
older, they have all found what I call a normal job. None of them
work in the fields anymore, but somebody still needs to do that work.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mexicans
have survived and thrived doing work that blacks will not or are
unwilling to do. It is not an easy life. Many live along the Mexican
border in Texas and come north every year doing field work. Farmers
need them and often do not report </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
illegals among </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">them.
</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Many
farmers</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> use unscrupulous </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tactics
to take advantage of the Mexican laborers. It is not uncommon
practice for farmers to hold 20% of their pay till the end of the
season. As most are paid by piece work. If the crops run out, and there
was not enough work to keep them busy the farmer will force them to
stay to get their 20%. If they move to better crops and more work
elsewhere, they loose a considerable amount of money.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
recent pandemic has shown the unfairness in America’s healthcare
system, minorities have been effected at a much higher rate. Yet in
most cases they have no recourse. Many of the meat packing plants are
full of minorities. They are forced to work in an environment
dangerous to their health. They are deemed as essential workers, but
they are not afforded the protections they deserve and need to work
safely.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
invite you to read my blog at the following link.
<a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html">https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html</a>
This post outlines the </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">needs
and platform of a 3</span></span><sup><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rd</span></span></sup><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
party and while I want to see it implemented and at 70+, I no longer
have the fire or the zeal to push it, but I can share how to do it. I invite you to subscribe and follow my blog so you will get updates when I post them on issues concerning our rights to vote.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">America needs a mentoring program for race relations. When in the Army I spent several months as the only white person in a 12 man room. I learned a </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">lot of things about being a black American, that I would never have learned without that expeience. Most of America's race problems are from a lack of communication. When we see white cops, killing black citizens we are seeing a lack of respect for our fellow Americans, because they can get away with it. They are using their authority, to avoid responsibility for their actions. Authority needs to also require accountability.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Why can they get away with it, because of a lack of peer pressure to do what is right. It is something that is taught. When in the Army at Ft. Bragg, I went to the store to get milk with a friend of mine and his wife. While he went in to get the milk, his wife baby and I sat in the car waiting. A black man walked past the car and the wife, started telling the baby who could not even walk yet, say N----- </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Johnny, this w</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">ent on and on till her husband returned. I for a long time blamed it on the fact they were from Alabama. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">After my months in the room as the only white boy, I found it is taught, it does not just happen. Even when I was growing up I experienced it in a different way. My Dad took me to the Indianapolis 500 time trials and we had to drive thru a very dark part of Indianapolis and I remember my Dad making me roll up the windows and lock the door. His actions puzzeled me. My home town only has a few hundred blacks in the whole city. Our high school had over 1200 students and only five students</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> in the</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> whole school were black.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> Why I found my father a World War II veterans actions puzzeling was that he had me do his good deeds so to speak. We had one elderly black lady in the whole neighborhood and her husband had died. My Dad sent me to mow her yard whenever it needed it, as he did for several other widows. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">If America wants to cure the problem we first need to admit there is one. I remember when I was stationed in France and went to Paris that Blacks, Whites and others mingled and interacted and race was not a barrier or a problem. At least I didn't see it. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">When I see the peaceful protests going on, I realize there is hope for America. One thing we need in America is accountability for every life.No one is above the law, especially those who administer the law. The idea that a law enforcement officer can take a life and is above the law is absurd. It may happen, but not when a person is shot in the back seven times from point blank range, or when a man is running away from law enforcement. He is not a threat, he is scared and in this country he has every right to be. Which is a sad thing to say.</p><br /></div>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-86968980545347162602020-09-24T10:42:00.003-07:002020-09-24T10:42:53.777-07:00Minimum Wage versus A Living Wage<p> </p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Minimum
Wage versus A Living Wage</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Are
you surviving or just living day to day. In<a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/05/money-who-turned-off-flow-how-to-turn.html">
In May of 2012</a>, I wrote my first article that took on a life of
its own. Meaning I did not push it but it was very popular and may
have even been part of the movement to create a $15 an hour minimum
wage. Over the years I have studied the matter and really a $15 an
hour minimum wage does not put a person ahead. It simply means you
are living at a level, equal to what was needed to survive in the
late fifties and early sixties.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
reality a “Living Minimum Wage” is more like $30 an hour. With
millions of people unemployed and the government having turned its
back on the average person. Survival may turn into the pictures we
used to see in the history books of the Great Depression. Like I said
in the linked article it took three years for the economy to hit
bottom and it stayed there for years.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
thing that helped keep the economy going after World War II was not
only the booming demand for American products, but a major investment
in the national infrastructure called the Interstate Highway System.
It created jobs and it was basically completed in the late 70’s.
The government quit spending and we have been struggling to survive
every since.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Constitution gave three jobs to Congress in Article 1, Section 8..
they are to pay all the debts and levy taxes and duties, provide a
military for our defense and provide for the welfare of the nation.
In my opinion, as I understand what the Founding Fathers wrote about,
that meant provide for the needs of all citizens. Congress is
obligated to not only create programs, but to fund and administer
them. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When
a person has a family, they provide, shelter, food, education,
healthcare, security for them. The government should provide no less
and should make sure every citizen has the opportunity to have those
needs met. Regardless of their color, religion, nationality, age or
gender.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
is my belief that the present two party system has failed America and
it is time to create a 3<sup>rd</sup> party that meets the needs of
America, puts all Americans first, and does not allow discrimination
or favoritism of one person over another person. It is a party for
all Americans and puts America first. All created programs must treat
and be of equal value to <b>all</b> Americans.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
is the duty of the government to meet the needs of <b>all </b>Americans
equally. The present system has failed America. Certain injustices
existed in the Constitution when it was written and passed so we
could become a nation. I believe they knew at the time that down the
road some adjustments would have to be made, to Make America a nation
of the people, by the people and for the people.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One
of those inequities at the time was a necessity. The electoral
college was a necessity at that time because it took months for some
representatives to return to their homes and share the decisions they
took part in. That is no longer the case and the last two times it
has been used it did not allow the will of the majority to be put in
place. In this day and age certain parties manipulate the system to
push their will down the minority’s throat.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
House is to make sure each state gets to put in its fair share of
representatives. Once the representatives work out the details it is
the duty of the Senate to make sure every state gets its two votes,
which is equal to all states. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
invite you to read the link in this paragraph to see what I envision
a party that represents all Americans. It is called <a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2020/07/carp.html">CARP,</a>
which is an acronym for the Constitutional Anti-federalist Reform
Party. A party that puts states rights first, and demands equality
for all. I hope you will take time to consider what it says. Some
of it may seem a bit radical, but it answers the problems facing
America today.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p><br /><p></p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-88177454874872473362020-08-09T12:30:00.020-07:002020-08-09T14:40:39.930-07:00Hard Times Are Coming, Dealing With Murphy's Law<p> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Welcome
to Hard Times or Dealing with Murphy’s Law</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most
of this post was written nine years ago right after the 08 crash and
while a lot of people were still hurting. The goal was to share my
life experiences to hopefully help some one going thru hard times.
Back then there were 14 million unemployed. Right now we are looking
at forty million unemployed and many of these posts may help someone
who is struggling. I changed the titles on some to help people know
what the post was/is about. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One
of the keys I stressed back then and will to this day. Time is money
and if you wait till it is gone and your credit rating is trashed it
may be to late. Survivors take action to save their situation. They
don’t wait for things to happen, they anticipate and realize there
is an extreme cost for procrastination. </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
have been writing for nine years and I went back thru my posts and
copied the links to all the ones I thought might help people. If
something here helps you, pass it on. Sharing is Caring. The way
things are looking, America is only going to survive if there are a
lot of caring people. Back in the 80 to 82 recession I was working my
way thru college tending bar. Several farmers around where I live
found some of their cows butchered on the side of the road. In other cases homes were broken into and their food stolen while they were gone.
This recession/depression may be much worse than that one was back
then.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Things covered in this post include bankruptcy. Been there, done that. Living in a car, and finding a home for nothing down, Been there, done that. Buying property at tax sales and getting money when you don't have a job of source of income. Starting your own business and dealing with banks. Some of the do's and don'ts.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hope
something here helps someone.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">#1 Money Basics, Eating out for 4, for less than $10</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2013/02/budgeting-basics-eating-out-for-4-for.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2013/02/budgeting-basics-eating-out-for-4-for.html</a></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">#2
Organizing Yourself to Survive Hard Times</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/03/marshalling-your-resourses-for-fight.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/03/marshalling-your-resourses-for-fight.htm</a><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/03/marshalling-your-resourses-for-fight.html">l</a>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">#3
</span><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Finding a Home, When You
Don’t Have a Job</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/03/stopping-bleeding.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/03/stopping-bleeding.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#4
</span></span><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Business,
Banks and Survival, Lessons Learned The Hard Way</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/business-banks-and-bankruptcy-from-my.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/business-banks-and-bankruptcy-from-my.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#5
Alternative Ways to find a House.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-house-working-smarter-not.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-house-working-smarter-not.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#6
Business, Banks and Bankruptcy</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/business-banks-and-bankruptcy-from-my.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/business-banks-and-bankruptcy-from-my.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#7
Other ways to find a house.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/03/stopping-bleeding.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/03/stopping-bleeding.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#8
Dealing with Taxes and the IRS</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/businesspricing-dealing-with-taxes-and.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/businesspricing-dealing-with-taxes-and.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#9
Live One Month a Year Free. (This will take some sacrifice, but it
is worth it.)</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/09/live-one-month-year-for-free.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/09/live-one-month-year-for-free.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#10
Getting Financial Security by Spending Your Money Wisely</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/09/spending-your-money-wisely.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/09/spending-your-money-wisely.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#11
Getting Financial Security by Starting Your Own Business (Not for
Everybody)</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/job-solutionscreating-your-own-success.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/job-solutionscreating-your-own-success.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#12
Great Idea, but Are You Self Employable</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/great-ideabut-are-you-self-employable">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/great-ideabut-are-you-self-employable</a></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#13
Investing for Retirement versus Reality</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/investing-for-retirement-versus-reality.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/investing-for-retirement-versus-reality.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#14
Time for a new Game Plan for America</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/time-for-new-game-plan-that-creates.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/time-for-new-game-plan-that-creates.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#15
Getting Your Loan</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/getting-your-loan.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/getting-your-loan.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#16
Cost of Driving, How to save a bundle</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/cost-of-driving-see-chart-below-it.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/10/cost-of-driving-see-chart-below-it.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#17
Money, Do you work for it, or does it work for you</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-do-you-work-for-it-or-does-it.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-do-you-work-for-it-or-does-it.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#18
MONEY, Learning to make it work for you, Killing the Debt Beast</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-learning-to-make-it-work-for-you.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-learning-to-make-it-work-for-you.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#19
Money, Are you underwater on debt, when is it time to bail out.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-when-you-are-underwater-on-debt.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-when-you-are-underwater-on-debt.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#20
MONEY, Starting over with a direction and a plan.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-starting-over-with-direction-and.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-starting-over-with-direction-and.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#21
The Secret to Getting is Learning to Give.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-secret-of-getting-is-learning-to.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-secret-of-getting-is-learning-to.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#22
Dump the Gas Hog and <b>get a new car free.</b></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-dump-gas-hog-and-get-new-car-free.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-dump-gas-hog-and-get-new-car-free.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#23
How you get the free new car.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-how-you-get-free-car.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-how-you-get-free-car.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#24
How I went from $150,000 to nothing in a heartbeat, and back</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/02/moneyhow-i-went-from-150000-to-nothing.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/02/moneyhow-i-went-from-150000-to-nothing.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#25
From Trash to Treasures, with Pictures</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-trash-to-treasures-with-pictures.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-trash-to-treasures-with-pictures.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#26
Eating the Bear</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/04/eating-and-bear.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/04/eating-and-bear.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#27
MONEY, Who Turned Off the Flow and How to Turn it Back On</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/05/money-who-turned-off-flow-how-to-turn.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/05/money-who-turned-off-flow-how-to-turn.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#28
MONEY, Victory over $tuffiti$, (How to get money when you have
little to none)</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/06/money-victory-over-stuffitis.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/06/money-victory-over-stuffitis.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#29Living
Money vs Working Money (How to make it work for you) </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/06/moneyliving-money-working-money.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/06/moneyliving-money-working-money.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">#30
Real Estate.. Rentals vs Storage</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/12/moneyreal-estaterentals-versus-storage.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2012/12/moneyreal-estaterentals-versus-storage.html</a>
</span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-86697517402037596562020-08-08T18:27:00.070-07:002020-08-08T19:51:30.286-07:00Fixing the Economy, T-Rump and the Republi-can'ts Absurd and Insanely Weak Argument<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> T-Rump and the Republi-can'ts Absurd and Insanely Weak Reasoning on refusing to spend more than a trillion dollars to fix the ecomomy. With a Federal Debt of over 24 Trillion dollars, does anyone think they have any clue of how to fix the problem. In the last 11 1/2 years they have done nothing but fight to undo anything that has been done. They have not fixed the immigration problem, the healthcare problem the infrastructure problem, just to name a few things.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Their last great magic act was to increase the national debt by 5 1/2 trillion dollars to give tax breaks to the wealthy and big business. How can a bill that increases the national debt by that much be considered a tax cut. It is totally absurd.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> I don't know who created the magic number of $600 in unemployment compensation, but I did figure out how they arrived at that number. Six hundred divided by forty hours equals $15 an hour. A minimum wage that does not in reality exist. I personally see it as an attempt to buy votes in the coming election.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> They do not need to increase temporary benefits that they can not sustain. They need to create a job program tied to repairing the infrastructure that will create jobs and revenue in the form of taxes on the wages earned from it. The links I give later share several ways to solve the problems facing America.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> With forty million Americans unemployed, that is forty million non taxpaying workers that are going to need to eat. They better start building soup kitchens and figure how they are going to feed all the hungry unemployed. By election time if something is not done, America may find itself in the middle of a revolution. T-Rumps actions are stirring the discontent. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> I spent all my electives and free time in college studying the Great Depression and what caused it. All my life growing up I listened to stories from my parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles telling me of the hardships of the Great Depression. My goal in studying the Great Depression was to understand what actually made it happen. My conclusion was that it was a lot of misplaced and misguided decisions that were often too little, and too late.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> The enclosed link takes you to my party platform with solutions on how to fix our broken two party system. It gives possible and workable solutions.</span></p><p><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2018/01/how-to-fix-america.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2018/01/how-to-fix-america.html</a></p><p> <span style="font-size: x-large;">The</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> solutions in this post could fix some of the problems facing America. One of them is already being used because of the situation with COVID. Home schooling may be a long term solution, it was offered as an idea almost nine years ago. As we head into the abyss of a 2nd Great Depression these solutions while hard, may be the only alternative. The first Depression was caused when Hoover refused to acknowledge there was a problem, until it was to late. He was a Republi-can't and T-Rump is following in his footsteps. The sadest part of writing this for me is that I have always been a lifelong Republican. The last main stream candidate I voted for was Ronald Reagan in his first term, every since then I have actually voted independent, because I could not live with either of the party choices for President.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-debt-what-ifs-and-seven.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-debt-what-ifs-and-seven.html</a></p><p> </p>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-8670167481021305072020-08-08T17:55:00.014-07:002020-08-08T19:59:30.181-07:00Time to Amend the 2nd Amendment<span style="font-size: x-large;"> It is time to fix the shooting and gun problem in America. When the Constitution was written it was not perfect and there have been a number of Amendments to fix the problems in the Constitution. In fact there have been Amendments that created problems worse than the problem they were passed to protect Americans from. Prohibition is the perfect example. It took an Amendment to create it. When the chaos it created proved worse than the problem it was supposed to fix they passed another Amendment to repeal it. </span><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"> America did not become a nation of drunks. Many will argue with me but I will argue that the 18th Amendment is part of what caused the Great Depression because of all the businesses that it put out of business. The loss of income finally reached its peak when the markets collapsed.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Amendments have been used to end slavery, give the right to vote and then give the right to women to vote. It is not a perfect system. The 2nd Amendment is revered as one of the original guaranteed rights. It should never be abolished, but it should be modified to solve problems that the Founding Fathers could never have envisioned when they originally wrote the Constitution.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"> The attack on the NRA tells me that we need to pass an amendment that lines out that our Constitutional rights to guns may not be taken away. You can have your AR-15 and fill the air with lead, but I will take my bolt action 50 caliber sniper rifle and make every round count. Read the link at the end of this post and see what the difference is between Constitutional guns and Recreational guns.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"> The Amendment I am proposing does not fix all the problems, but it is a big step and I include a couple laws that need to become Federal Laws. They should make the crime of indiscriminate murder of Americans so high that it is a capital offense. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"> The following link will take you to a post on my blog that lays out how and why the Amendment should work. </span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2018/02/solving-shooting-problem-in-america.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2018/02/solving-shooting-problem-in-america.html</a></div><div> </div><div> </div>Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-19406619578430721232020-05-28T10:41:00.039-07:002020-09-04T12:31:06.801-07:00Koi My Last Trip?<br /> <br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;">My
Last Trip?</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">About
three years ago my wife and I received a present from our children
and grand children that was meant to offer us more entertainment
choices. As we cut back on our satellite TV programming to reduce
expenses. They gave us a ROKU unit. It opened a whole new world to
me. It did not take long and I was hooked on YouTube. My wife doesn’t
care for YouTube, but I can spend hours watching how to programs. </font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">I
have always loved to travel, Three of my children were born overseas
while I was in the Army. Two in Germany and one in Panama, When I
left the Army I drove a truck, which I learned how to drive OJT in
Vietnam. For twenty years I was and over the road trucker and drove
all the continental U.S. and most of Canada. I was hooked on travel
by my father. We went to Colorado when I was fifteen and drove to
Alaska in 1964. Later in life he actually tried to go to Alaska by
boat. He was a Navy veteran and was at the D-Day invasion. and ended the war in Tokyo harbor tied up close enough to the USS Missouri to watch the surrender ceremony. He spent much spare time taking classes on boating, but seems to have missed the class on tides. Fortunately I had joined the Army by then.</font></font></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHF3zIr0q4-oOMoDRc9MXPQPF1mlkS0dWQAorllN-I_XkadrRqPlw1jekM8vSfw1UOdMczfNGf5APKIa0OV55fHICMeVaNEisWFIhIwIzG4b5-kOLygaUsVXuosY-IvCYiEFy2v09PB8/s1484/IMG+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="1484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHF3zIr0q4-oOMoDRc9MXPQPF1mlkS0dWQAorllN-I_XkadrRqPlw1jekM8vSfw1UOdMczfNGf5APKIa0OV55fHICMeVaNEisWFIhIwIzG4b5-kOLygaUsVXuosY-IvCYiEFy2v09PB8/s320/IMG+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Having
been forced to retire at fifty-seven in 2004 I s</font></font></font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">ort of missed
traveling. </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">My love of
travel was satisfied by the videos I watched. One in particular was a
program on raising and buying Koi fish in Japan.</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">
I started watching a channel on how to build ponds. I</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">t</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">
became </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">an </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">obsess</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">ion</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">
with the idea of having a pond for raising </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Koi</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">.
</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">It even started
influencing my travel decisions. I took a vacation to North Carolina
and visited Koi Farms and bamboo farms. I like bamboo as it is useful
in making crafts that I like to do. My vacation ended at the Atlanta
Koi Show over Labor Day weekend.</font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Most
of the trip was based on visiting sites I had found on YouTube.
</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Thanks to getting my
Agent Orange compensation in 2013 I could afford to travel again. My
goal for several years was to go out west to Yellowstone and Glacier
National Parks. </font></font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><font style="font-size: 14pt;">After
canceling three years in a row because of forest fires. I finally </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">in
2017</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;"> went east instead
and up thru Canada via Niagara Falls. </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Then</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">
across Canada reentering the U.S. into Maine. From there I went to
North Carolina via New York City and Washington, D.C. to watch a
skydiving competition for jumpers over sixty, While I don’t jump
any more I did during my thirteen years in the Army and figured I
might meet some old friends. From there I found my way home through
the Smokey Mountains </font></font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><font style="font-size: 14pt;">In
2019 I made a trip to North Carolina and the Smokies.</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">
</font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">It was a very laid back
and leisurely trip. I slept in my van and </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">dined
mostly at Waffle Houses along my route. </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">The
first night out I spent with my son-in-law in Cincinnati which
allowed me to tour the awesome place he works as a design engineer,
which got me the bonus of a free breakfast. That evening I stopped at
the rest area on the West Virginia Turnpike. As I could not make up
my mind what the healthy choice was I allowed a truck driver to go
before me. He paid for my meal and we had a very nice visit. </font></font></font>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"></font></font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAMe5APqzR8tkb9QhpZtHaiNYN8Qge42LSQD76gHIOwMjMbEb2h7RKZHQN1KDrXa1mogqUYZ39kKwNrpyIDoQH6jhEIVGwDX2V8CBxsqjah8LB874UOgywk0u-kNnU2yc7j5hMlDBW4s/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAMe5APqzR8tkb9QhpZtHaiNYN8Qge42LSQD76gHIOwMjMbEb2h7RKZHQN1KDrXa1mogqUYZ39kKwNrpyIDoQH6jhEIVGwDX2V8CBxsqjah8LB874UOgywk0u-kNnU2yc7j5hMlDBW4s/s320/IMG_2989+%25283%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></font></font></div><font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><font style="font-size: 14pt;"><div><font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><font style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></font></font></font></div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">My first stop had been intended to be Beni Hanna Koi in Carney’s Point, NJ but to save time I shortened the trip when the lady who answered the phone and told me they were going to be at the Atlanta Koi Show. I had not heard of the show, but I altered my travel plans and spent the weekend in Atlanta. I ended up meeting Mat McCann in Atlanta and getting a wealth of knowledge about Koi</span><br /></font></font></font><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 18pt;"><font style="font-size: 14pt;">The
first place I went in North Carolina was not open. So I altered my
plans accordingly. </font><font style="font-size: 14pt;">After
seeing several ponds first hand I started getting a better idea of
what I wanted to do. Several of the ponds I visited were home based
business’s run buy people who were and are dedicated to promoting
Koi fish.</font></font></font></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As
I am not a very organized planner, most of the places I visited by
just calling as I got in their area. The first place I visited was
East Coast Koi, in New Hill, NC the owner </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Bobby
Wang is a Taiwanese native who moved to America in 1977 and has a
pretzel business which is how he makes his lively hood. Koi are his
hobby, but it is a very serious hobby. He raises and breeds Koi on
his home property which is a very impressive and well laid out
operation. He is very kind and was very helpful in sharing and
answering the questions I asked of him. He had several ponds in his
barn and several above ground swimming pools that he used for holding
his fish. He also has a several acre pond. That is how I found out
about him. YouTube had a video of the harvesting operation at his
pond. I wanted to go back a month later for that event but my
resources did not allow for it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">My
next stop was Marsha & Lou’s Koi in Mocksville, NC. It is
another home run operation. My only regret is the pictures I took
inside her shop did not come out for some reason. I bought a
beautiful shirt from her when the only one she had happened to be my
size which is 3X. Yep I are a fluffy fellow. I have lost fifty pounds
over the last year and a half though. Marsha was awesomely helpful
and her and Bobbies inside ponds inspired me to figure out how to
make my own.</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">My
last stop in North Carolina was at the Haiku Bamboo Farm near
Hendersonville, North Carolina. They raise and sell bamboo products.
The store is worth a side trip, call and go to the store though. The
farm is on top of a mountain and if you don’t have a four wheel
drive you may not want to visit it. The road into it is one lane and
a couple miles long. When I finally got to the gate I had to back up
almost a quarter mile to find a place to turn around. When I finally
got off the mountain I had to drive several miles before I finally
had phone service and found out I had passed the store on my way in.
He has lots of really neat hand made bamboo items for sale.</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Finally
I went to the Atlanta Koi Show and stayed there for two days and met
tons of really neat people and harvested a ton of information on
growing Koi. The vendors were all very helpful and overwhelmed me
with things I had never considered.</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">While
there I found out about My Front Yard Koi Farm in Sellersburg,
Indiana only two hours from my house. I stopped by there on my way
home. It was a very nice facility. They had several ponds out front
and a very well stocked store with all kinds of supplies and
ornaments. </font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Upon
my return home I started watching pond building shows with a new
understanding of what I needed to know. At some point I found out
about an organization located in St.Charles, Illinois. Much to my
pleasant surprise I found out they offered classes in how to build
ponds, In January I signed up for me and my grandson to go to the
16<sup>th</sup> and 17<sup>th</sup> March class. The Friday before
the class everything got canceled because of the Corona Virus. </font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">With
nothing else to do. I decided to go ahead and visit Aquascapes
headquarters. It was a very worthwhile visit as I picked up the items
I needed to build my own pond. They gave me the grand tour. It is one
awesome facility. You can tell pride and craftsmanship went into
every detail of their operation. With the impending shutdown of
everything in Indiana at least now I know what I will be doing. I
will be attempting to build my pond and get my greenhouse up and
running. </font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">As
a person who has had several bouts of pneumonia, COPD, and Agent
Orange my lungs only operate at thirty to forty percent capacity. At
seventy-three getting the virus would be a death sentence for me. As
long as I have others to do my shopping for me I can stay on my
property out in the woods and hope and pray nobody brings the virus
my way.</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">I
just checked and this post was started on March 24<sup>th</sup> of
this year. The delay has provided several details I did not have when
I started which is a Blessing as I was trying to figure out how to
end this tale. I already know that I will be writing at least five
more stories about my trip if I live long enough. One on each place I
visited, but this weekend made me wonder if I will have time. </font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">In
June of 2015 I wrote a post called <a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2015/06/coming-full-circle.html">Coming
Full Circle</a>. Over this Memorial Day weekend I had an experience
that made me wonder if I am right. Around Easter I always get the
feeling the Rapture is near. With this Corona Virus my life has
definitely changed. My wife and I take care of our twin, eight year
old Great Grand Daughters. Their Mom brings them at 3AM five days a
week and we keep them till she gets off at 1PM. With school being out
our schedule has changed a lot. I have definitely gotten a lot of
time off. We started taking care of them five years ago because I got
convicted by the verse in 1 Timothy 5:8 which says that one who does
not take care of their own is worse than an infidel. Taking care of
the girls allowed their Mom to get a job and get our of government
housing.</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Getting
back on track, we went to my grandson’s wife’s grandparents house
for dinner and a visit. Over the course of the event her grandfather
Kenny and I found out we had the same job in the military. Not only
that but in 1965/1966 we had been stationed in the same unit at Ft.
Campbell, KY. While we were not friends our paths definitely crossed.
There were 240 people in our unit. Her grandmother was just getting
over a case of the Covid virus. My Grandson’s wife is in the Air
National Guard, where she is learning to be a nurse, she had just
returned from a month long commitment working with a Covid testing
unit. So in spite of my hiding from the virus for several months I
was exposed indirectly to the virus, which made me realize how easy
it is for people to get the virus. I ended up spending the night at
my Daughter’s house in Corydon, IN.</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">Getting
back on track again, but on the other rail of this post I went to the
My Front Yard Koi Shop on my way home and picked some butterfly Koi
fish for my aquarium. Something I got into since returning from my
trip. While there I met a Koi Event judge because of the T-shirt I
was wearing, from the Atlanta Koi show. We had a nice visit and he
connected me with a local Koi owner. Yesterday I went to see his
pond. It is pretty awesome. </font></font>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <font face=""><font style="font-size: 14pt;">So
I traveled across half of America to find what I was looking for
right where I started. I was an over the road trucker for twenty
years. There are about fifteen houses on the road I live on. About
nine of us are truckers. I don’t really know any of my neighbors
even after living here since 1987. The irony is that the three I do
know I met on the road by making small talk on the CB radio in other
states. I guess that is the way life is.</font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;">Sunday
is Pentecost this year. If the rapture does not happen, or the Lord
does not call me home I will be writing stories about the different
parts of my trip. It is too much to put in one post. I have a post
called </span><a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2014/01/when-god-answers.html" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;">When
God Answers</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;"> that explains why I think we may be neat the end, but
that may come from reading the Bible too much. Either way I want to
thank each and every one who has taken time to read my posts over the
years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAvjfjNlJ_3AtTiXmT7ajmYehmqm70NCR7mc4xmTQCNz1h2DlsG-4HzFWTzrjBqXqobpIwQUMKBKu3KbI-pxRWsv9qKPQWyfY5d2gsEF6XB1C2MQ1xM6iCueW55BKuhyqkTEnhEc_hYk/s1600/IMG_3738+%25281%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAvjfjNlJ_3AtTiXmT7ajmYehmqm70NCR7mc4xmTQCNz1h2DlsG-4HzFWTzrjBqXqobpIwQUMKBKu3KbI-pxRWsv9qKPQWyfY5d2gsEF6XB1C2MQ1xM6iCueW55BKuhyqkTEnhEc_hYk/s320/IMG_3738+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Guess I will have to add the rest of the pictures later as I can't seem to get them from my phone to my computer.Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-30116948731288050452020-05-20T11:24:00.065-07:002020-09-26T13:43:09.557-07:00Koi Aquariums Upgrade? Homemade in tank filter. <span style="font-size: large;"> Tired of a tank that looks like the second picture, my homemade design cures the problem and makes it fun to have a tank, with "In-Tank" Filters. No more spills. Plenty of how to pics in this post.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLTT5AtZtqFF3qalyOovwTWwyxILnEZu412YnONpf3YPZPsT4dWpkW1ePqXtps4mxmdu249RAosMWuPX2esAqoxL2Ldpd4c5biGOpFe2RJ4zMCkmtwcvlKEPtkYEE0t7lAPjj6P6ozRg/s1600/IMG_3983.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLTT5AtZtqFF3qalyOovwTWwyxILnEZu412YnONpf3YPZPsT4dWpkW1ePqXtps4mxmdu249RAosMWuPX2esAqoxL2Ldpd4c5biGOpFe2RJ4zMCkmtwcvlKEPtkYEE0t7lAPjj6P6ozRg/s320/IMG_3983.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After and before pictures</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In February I bought a new aquarium. I bought it by accident. I had a ten gallon aquarium and updated to a thirty seven gallon aquarium. The only problem I had with it was I did not have a big enough table for it. As my wife was in Texas I went looking for a new chair. Mine was getting pretty ragged. I found the one I wanted, in a local store. It was kind of expensive as it stands you up which makes it a lot easier on you. My youngest daughter Glenda passed away in August of 2010 and she had one, loaned to her by the local fire department. She had a brain tumor and fought it for seven years. The chair really helped her mobility. As I am now seventy three it seemed like a good choice for me. When I picked it out I had to find a recliner rocker that matched. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I found one and as I sat in it testing it out I started looking at the table in front of it and thought it would be perfect for my aquarium. The salesman said he had a hundred twenty gallon tank and that he no longer used it. He would sell it to me for $150 and it came with a stand. The filters were $60 extra. In mid April when doing a water change I screwed up. I came back to my room to find 60 gallons of water on the floor. That made me realize I wanted in tank filters and not external ones. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> It became almost an obsession studying YouTube and other sights. After a month I found one that would work for me with a small modification. Some people may not like the look of it, but you could paint it or put a cover on it. For me it is just fine. it really sucks out the dirt. It is super easy to clean and super easy to make. I probably have about $50 dollars in the whole thing. Seventeen dollars is the price of the power head pump. I had to have two pipe caps for four inch pipe, which were about $7.50 each. Then I needed a sponge to filter, the brand I used was $10.50, some medium to absorb and hold the dirt. Hopefully the pictures I used make it clear how I made the filter.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTm7dGN_VajdJKimjDX5lO76Z0CKURcMVXSQ7LMqGa3ikQPRt1foLTNfNYNX6Ao7hG4lXpczyChY79O9wau1_2iQ3viw25zVZgGfMgAWOtpT7K-JS3JBhdaap2BZzxIkTkeEE0tmVG1Lw/s1600/IMG_3986.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTm7dGN_VajdJKimjDX5lO76Z0CKURcMVXSQ7LMqGa3ikQPRt1foLTNfNYNX6Ao7hG4lXpczyChY79O9wau1_2iQ3viw25zVZgGfMgAWOtpT7K-JS3JBhdaap2BZzxIkTkeEE0tmVG1Lw/s320/IMG_3986.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4558rzHyTXwJPA5yvIY-Sm3q4XA97Iz3dU6x06cN8KvEHZDmR7eqWVhSoYsMB8UNFHPdc2baN8qo9hG5KLaIBbmnEukTtVpu4i_Ps8sEFcKDvXx4YZWqWtv47s2HqaEng2e81xfUcpY/s1600/IMG_3851+%25281%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4558rzHyTXwJPA5yvIY-Sm3q4XA97Iz3dU6x06cN8KvEHZDmR7eqWVhSoYsMB8UNFHPdc2baN8qo9hG5KLaIBbmnEukTtVpu4i_Ps8sEFcKDvXx4YZWqWtv47s2HqaEng2e81xfUcpY/s320/IMG_3851+%25281%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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As you can see the water was very cloudy from an algae problem. The filter I made took care of the problem.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiragg0eVsNdHdgyYcuplPd71KuY1-Paq5jbQ7tTV-Pe-_GPyNP72OhDImazBmgE_U_Zaut-mJg35d7Crc6Hi-Z-gqDnqygs7rB-kTdS_ebcvAfQVDvhb2wmYvRlgge7BmDdUL5uVlVJ1Y/s1600/IMG_3857.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiragg0eVsNdHdgyYcuplPd71KuY1-Paq5jbQ7tTV-Pe-_GPyNP72OhDImazBmgE_U_Zaut-mJg35d7Crc6Hi-Z-gqDnqygs7rB-kTdS_ebcvAfQVDvhb2wmYvRlgge7BmDdUL5uVlVJ1Y/s320/IMG_3857.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is what the water looked like after adding my homemade filter. I am not exactly the best photographer.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZLyylWUdnkqOhyierboG3jQj9f5LQtypPML8BrbMTdeoha3-B3Ce_g4uRfu_TvLEWQMfnBjaokValaMAX9oQbNaISweaLKlLw4hR1myubQe0qoXzdjDyvM5SkClZB29kgxdFlCDDs9U/s1600/IMG_3860.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZLyylWUdnkqOhyierboG3jQj9f5LQtypPML8BrbMTdeoha3-B3Ce_g4uRfu_TvLEWQMfnBjaokValaMAX9oQbNaISweaLKlLw4hR1myubQe0qoXzdjDyvM5SkClZB29kgxdFlCDDs9U/s320/IMG_3860.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is one of the filters that came with the tank. I have them for sale cheap. You can have both for $50 plus shipping and handling. They may need impeller rebuild kits which are $39, The filter tanks are about $175 new.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg_zKcmuwjH0QsI9J8-1OqV33yOXn5dVPeP2TY_fwVXXUm7gFuW7Zbkce5KvRiG6nqt-mA-nyrFyNsb_QC2r-lX4KQGpqgO-rgmOBbTO-ZLzJooGBu-vVZrgKdtBX2zs_cbzyBrByAwk/s1600/IMG_3903.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg_zKcmuwjH0QsI9J8-1OqV33yOXn5dVPeP2TY_fwVXXUm7gFuW7Zbkce5KvRiG6nqt-mA-nyrFyNsb_QC2r-lX4KQGpqgO-rgmOBbTO-ZLzJooGBu-vVZrgKdtBX2zs_cbzyBrByAwk/s320/IMG_3903.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Going from right to left is the bottom cap which has lots of holes. I made the the first one with 3/16 inch holes, the second one I put in 3/8 inch holes and it really helped clean the water better. the white stuff is medium for filtering dirt out of the water. I used a regular filter sponge in a 12 inch long piece of 4 inch pipe. The black bag holds activated carbon, I buy it at Walmart.. between the bag and the cap I have several layers of scrubbies as a final filter. the top cap and finally the pump. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMHWF9jMHLLapjrrwf7jN-I3JrW_rSTXM08_mEkHgwDgIobgqAhDlFe_aX5WeRjBx9NKm_fkL6fw5R6SqRTmN2gD3ST2H7YkH3Ni51-IEHUN1Y-LV_qK1exLBxpLNsUydlQ5rHPK0WyQ/s1600/IMG_3915.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMHWF9jMHLLapjrrwf7jN-I3JrW_rSTXM08_mEkHgwDgIobgqAhDlFe_aX5WeRjBx9NKm_fkL6fw5R6SqRTmN2gD3ST2H7YkH3Ni51-IEHUN1Y-LV_qK1exLBxpLNsUydlQ5rHPK0WyQ/s320/IMG_3915.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The power head sucks water into the tube and thru the filter media and then recirculatess it back into the tank minus the fish poop and debris. Notise the holes are in the bottom cap. The last picture shows a minor change I made that really helped. Going from 3/16 inch holes to 3/8 inch holes seemed to really help the cleaning process also.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk34N_dJBDS8QlZLVoT8zALaiAeRXmTJ-Y73Kr2UjKqTcC9HozElA7372WzgcHBWLVyBGUhw-HvmWswIvpMcGXwLPh3jSwrLYS5GYN5i2VO5FD05fLIhnDhxa2VlQhLG0hFWdf1eoOZVc/s1600/IMG_3910.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk34N_dJBDS8QlZLVoT8zALaiAeRXmTJ-Y73Kr2UjKqTcC9HozElA7372WzgcHBWLVyBGUhw-HvmWswIvpMcGXwLPh3jSwrLYS5GYN5i2VO5FD05fLIhnDhxa2VlQhLG0hFWdf1eoOZVc/s320/IMG_3910.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The final assembly looks like this. I use the imagitarium power head which I get from Petco.. It is rated for 40 to 75 gallon aquariums. I use two of them; one in each end of the tank. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTxaDjgcPeYul2Hf6FZXgNglscO5Auyo9_KhLDsUK8Nwz8mGn0ESB8JSngpjqP-Y1voptw3shj1FXxJGElbOB2N14HJ24HuEz5R_4nCM-7X99ZPb5ziRAJLBllyMJ2y1e2WSvhm-8ebk/s1600/IMG_3978.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTxaDjgcPeYul2Hf6FZXgNglscO5Auyo9_KhLDsUK8Nwz8mGn0ESB8JSngpjqP-Y1voptw3shj1FXxJGElbOB2N14HJ24HuEz5R_4nCM-7X99ZPb5ziRAJLBllyMJ2y1e2WSvhm-8ebk/s320/IMG_3978.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I tend to reuse the filter media after rinsing it. I got the strainer at Walmart for just a couple of dollars. I use the tote to move the filter to the sink without making a mess and as a place to put the disassembled parts for cleaing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ifIK6Nk172ChLjJdxDu_w52r0pPxkWzKP4A8V9MciHydxSh3hIZhhqpK8hMcx-pnzETufbCcUDYJFx4yl5ehY6DOfnVy1x0poD3JJFXM1pw8qzjPpoWH1rawxom-au5KM-Po4i8uKUk/s1600/IMG_3976+%25281%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ifIK6Nk172ChLjJdxDu_w52r0pPxkWzKP4A8V9MciHydxSh3hIZhhqpK8hMcx-pnzETufbCcUDYJFx4yl5ehY6DOfnVy1x0poD3JJFXM1pw8qzjPpoWH1rawxom-au5KM-Po4i8uKUk/s320/IMG_3976+%25281%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is a pretty good photo of how much my filter pulls out of the water in just ten days. I generally clean the sponges and inside parts and then I am back in business for another couple of weeks, I usually do my filters on Saturdays. I have the two hand made filters with power heads and six sponge filters. I usually clean them when I change water in the tank. The whole process takes less than an hour normally.</div>
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As you can see from the pictures the bottom of the filter tube sets on the bottom of the tank. To make it more efficent I glued a 2 inch pipe cap on the bottom which improves the water flow in the filter.</div>
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have had several questions about my moving media bottle </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in my aquarium. It lasts 3 to 4 months and then needs cleaned of </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">replaced. It helps hold good bacteria and gets rid of the algae </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in my tank. Not very fancy but I am enclosing </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a how-to picture.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9NFxPzjN-plu8Y-hwdUEuw1S3nlY7OpKU4dgbQt7_bvh-O1dc3mi7idJ6xOesT4rhLr1DFUeu-DWUEpsIk3yGioe3aNRXSUmuoyiMIK_HyayLvoSjqMa2bGWVEccCNCW5tujIYy4Aj4/s2048/IMG_E0121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9NFxPzjN-plu8Y-hwdUEuw1S3nlY7OpKU4dgbQt7_bvh-O1dc3mi7idJ6xOesT4rhLr1DFUeu-DWUEpsIk3yGioe3aNRXSUmuoyiMIK_HyayLvoSjqMa2bGWVEccCNCW5tujIYy4Aj4/s320/IMG_E0121.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the diagram</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLNTcnrxGNViPtn4KZBGc_QAowxpBtspym5rzKWvZujIpTmeYSqABLNc3LcCNsjqbv1G0B0PW1lcZCVOHOdUKpfiMWqHwDqsxu0L8NjEmojqtAKuywdENe567UKPtGJ37qd_dtRK_Wg0/s2048/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLNTcnrxGNViPtn4KZBGc_QAowxpBtspym5rzKWvZujIpTmeYSqABLNc3LcCNsjqbv1G0B0PW1lcZCVOHOdUKpfiMWqHwDqsxu0L8NjEmojqtAKuywdENe567UKPtGJ37qd_dtRK_Wg0/s320/IMG_0117.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is what a used bottle looks like, you can see the algae </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">build up in the bottle.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEingDz3GLsTsfLMPxCZr3MRNHA_0gm7qbsNw-2m50x2U5xOSxzDG5wFunHakLeRXYhtUlhjuG2auFJWqU-XCkNKcvwY7dylWJLv37QhWmDyFQkcfe44rAxNzKIZ7l8z6ZD2GR2TlY3hk/s2048/IMG_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEingDz3GLsTsfLMPxCZr3MRNHA_0gm7qbsNw-2m50x2U5xOSxzDG5wFunHakLeRXYhtUlhjuG2auFJWqU-XCkNKcvwY7dylWJLv37QhWmDyFQkcfe44rAxNzKIZ7l8z6ZD2GR2TlY3hk/s320/IMG_0148.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This bottle is really simple, I use a powerhead, a two </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">liter bottle with the bottom cut out and a powerhead </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that sucks water in the bottom of the bottle </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and thru the fiber fill which removes the </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">fish poo from the water. I have to change the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">fiber fill about every other day. I simply drilled</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> a 5/8th in hole in cap and it slides right on</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> to the neck of the powerhead.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DWkhNiVJD8XojZMufuhitWK3ZYmnYXnoU2d74Vw1HY_ocWICcCOJvZj8n_3anQ3PHHZD9p-2xW6WL3ChfgBEsM26LWz5C6rhPOcOgghikzCkwTT8aKlMw7KcFFNJdyo5SOS7tk-yDsg/s2048/IMG_0146+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DWkhNiVJD8XojZMufuhitWK3ZYmnYXnoU2d74Vw1HY_ocWICcCOJvZj8n_3anQ3PHHZD9p-2xW6WL3ChfgBEsM26LWz5C6rhPOcOgghikzCkwTT8aKlMw7KcFFNJdyo5SOS7tk-yDsg/s320/IMG_0146+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is what the fiber fill looks like after about 48 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">hours. Really clears the water up, even if it </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">isn't that pretty it works good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR3CQSItGqI06L-YSyA0mhoYQo7DUeJskRzTIhMxwCw4ubYds5SvRNEXnjV-rmsGX-hIOehJJYAvnogL7vRSm_KRkvKFicwKXUMnjELXLJXkikd9F82fmFuvyxxcnJZJ8hBj6im0p-O4/s2048/IMG_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR3CQSItGqI06L-YSyA0mhoYQo7DUeJskRzTIhMxwCw4ubYds5SvRNEXnjV-rmsGX-hIOehJJYAvnogL7vRSm_KRkvKFicwKXUMnjELXLJXkikd9F82fmFuvyxxcnJZJ8hBj6im0p-O4/s320/IMG_0116.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My room and aquariums</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWi0CeBFeasv3QoVXSJqNsRwFE1ov3az7PaY9Xcpaki0ECY1nN7AvJCHkOYiOXGrkHiJL7sy5yjygkxNQg5E-pHM3C12inDr24Yjw1Y4DyA8v9ao59bzNva2Z1ROiJ8_1hucfAMVQAs0E/s2048/IMG_3986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWi0CeBFeasv3QoVXSJqNsRwFE1ov3az7PaY9Xcpaki0ECY1nN7AvJCHkOYiOXGrkHiJL7sy5yjygkxNQg5E-pHM3C12inDr24Yjw1Y4DyA8v9ao59bzNva2Z1ROiJ8_1hucfAMVQAs0E/s320/IMG_3986.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Took me a year to figure out how to get it like this</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with only intank filters, after a 60 gallon spill I</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">decided under tank filters did not get it.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-68357524059570624522020-05-01T05:06:00.002-07:002020-08-16T07:12:37.761-07:00Avoiding A Depression, It Can Be Done, Will it?<br />
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Corona Virus, Avoiding A Depression, It Can Be Done, Will It</h3>
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<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> Corona Virus versus The Founding Fathers</span><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> As America completely alters its state of being under the impact of the Corona Virus, one has to wonder if will we survive. Will we ever get back to normal, or is this the new normal. America has survived having our capitol burnt, a civil war, two World Wars and numerous other disasters. Just over a hundred years ago we survived the Spanish Flu which killed millions of people world wide and over 600,000 Americans.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> In my opinion America will survive and it may come out of this as a better nation. The Virus has revealed many inequities and short comings in America. One question is will it push us into another Great Depression. That will depend totally on how our leadership reacts or fails to react to the crisis.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> In the Great Depression the market lost 89% of its value. It took three years from the crash to hit bottom. It lasted almost ten years. Only World War II ended it. When Obama took office the Dow was at 7949 due to large losses in the 2008 Crash. The market recovered and was up two and one half that amount by the time Trump took office. The market rose one and a half times its value under Trump. It was at 19,732 when he took office and rose steadily to just over 29,551 at one point. It has since lost 21 % of its value. To match the Great Depression it would have to fall to a bottom of 3251.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Could that happen I hope and pray it doesn't. However it could if the present leadership continues to follow in the footsteps of Hoover. Hoover did not want to get involved and said it was a business thing. Recently Trump said the same thing. When Hoover did finally react, when things were much like they are right now, farmers destroying the products, it was too little, too late.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Since that time the government has changed a lot and created a variety of programs to try and prevent the past f</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">ro</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">m repeating itself. The Virus is a whole different ballgame and will require America to completely alter its way of thinking. The government will have to get involved and on a very large scale.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> It will take a completely new view of Abraham Lincoln's famous quote, "we are a nation of the people, by the people and for the people, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>shall not perish from the earth</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">." America as we understand it and many other nations could perish from the face of the earth. America could fall into Anarchy as people start to starve, not because there is a lack of food, but a lack of understanding that all the government does, is for the people. and it is done by the people, by actions of the people.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> When Lincoln made that comment he was facing one of the greatest challenges our country has ever faced. The last part of that quote is hardly ever quoted. Today as a nation we </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">are </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">fac</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">ing</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> a challenge, of equal or possibly greater threat to our being as a nation.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The Constitution in Article 1, Section 8 gives the Congress three duties. The power to create and collect taxes for the management of our government, the duty to raise and provide for a military. The third article is to provide for the welfare of the nation. I do not believe that was meant in the way most Americans see it today, to pay it out in food stamps. It was meant to provide all the needs of our nation, all the infrastructure and the funds to administer to the needs of the people and the nation. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">We need to understand that welfare is fully equal with raising funds and armies, without the third part, the first two parts can not function.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> It also gave the government the power to borrow money on credit. Today they create it out of thin air. If Congress has done nothing else they have mastered the art of spending money they do not have.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> My next statement will rub many the wrong way, but in view of Lincoln's statement I think it is the right understanding. Even the people are part of the infrastructure. You can not build infrastructure without people, and that requires healthy people, regardless of race, religion, and even sex. This crisis is making clear America has come up short in providing for all Americans equally. Health care workers are deemed essential to our well being, but so are those who provide food, transportation, safety and services our communities depend on to function as a social body.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The President saying all the people who work in the meat plants must go back to work is one thing, but it is his and our governments duty to meet the needs and provide the equipment necessary to safely perform that task. It is well known he has little respect for minorities who make up the bulk of the labor force in those industries. When the Virus hits the field workers who pick the crops America will have to make some major adjustments. I have already planned to double the size of my garden this year and to start raising chickens and rabbits as they quickly provide a meat supply. Those living in major cities do not have that option.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> It is not my intention to intimidate, but to share the possibility we may be facing. Revelation 9:15 makes clear there will be an event in the end time that will wipe out a third part of mankind. From what I have seen so far this Virus is fully capable of accomplishing that task.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> How and if we survive this crisis is in the hands, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>of the people</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">, It will be managed by them and if it comes up short, it will be the failure of the people to come together. So far I have been impressed by my country, but the eventual outcome may be a ways down the road. Can the America of today rise to the challenges they faced during the Great Depression. I think so, but our government will take some major restructuring to make it happen.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> People will have to realize they are not black, white or any other color, they are not Democrats or Republicans<a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-to-fix-america-and-our-problems.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;">, We are all Americans first</a> and foremost, and that survival will depend on everyone pulling together. The link I shared is from my other blog. It has many ideas on how we need to change our government. Including creating a third party, that is for Americans, and in which you are American first and foremost.</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> So how does the government save us in this situation. They need to step up to the plate and create the logistics to provide safe work environments and protective equipment for all Americans working in essential skills. Yes food production is an essential skill. Wars are won by logistics. Not having the proper equipment at the proper time will cause you to lose the battle.</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> There is more than enough supplies of the necessities in America. Getting them to the food banks and the places they need to be requires logistics. I spent over thirty-five years of my life in logistics. Thirteen years in the Army dropping supplies by parachute to our troops. During Tet of 1968 in Vietnam that was the only way our troops were getting supplies. Another twenty plus years I spent in the trucking industry.</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> What we need to win this battle we have. What we don't have is leadership that is willimg to step up to the plate. Leadership can still be pushed from behind in this country. If you care about this country you need to share this post and make sure those you know share it and that they encourage their leadership in Congress to act now. By November we may be so far into a depression we can't get out of it. The only reason we will lose this battle is through indifference to what is before us.</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> We have all seen pictures of the soup kitchens during the great depression. We are headed their again if the government create a logistal program to get the products that are being wasted to the food banks and programs that need them. </span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">\ </span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> It is one thing to lose a battle because you do not have what you need. It is entirely another to have the items to end the suffering and keep us going till victory and doing nothing. When I see all the food bank workers and people making mask to help their fellow Americans, I know victory is within our grasp. Yet when our fearless leader tells people to go to work, but does not provide the equipment or testing they need to do it safely, he is criminally incompetent.</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"> T-Rump as I call him likes to look at himself as a leader. Well he needs to get off of that rump and provide the leadership we need. It could turn him from a loser to a winner over night. He has had a borderline business history, and it is easy to see that many of his business failures happened because of a lack of understanding of logistics and overstretching what he had to work with. I think if he gets enough mail telling him to be in charge, and not just claim to be. He might actually wake up to the opportunity to actually be the leader he claims to be.</span></span></span></div>
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Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-52923440151989780442020-04-30T09:53:00.003-07:002020-04-30T20:22:25.712-07:00Corona Virus, Avoiding A Depression, It Can Be Done, Will It<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"> Corona Virus versus The Founding Fathers</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> As
America completely alters its state of being under the impact of the
Corona Virus, one has to wonder if will we survive. Will we ever get
back to normal, or is this the new normal. America has survived
having our capitol burnt, a civil war, two World Wars and numerous
other disasters. Just over a hundred years ago we survived the
Spanish Flu which killed millions of people world wide and over
600,000 Americans.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> In
my opinion America will survive and it may come out of this as a
better nation. The Virus has revealed many inequities and short
comings in America. One question is will it push us into another
Great Depression. That will depend totally on how our leadership
reacts or fails to react to the crisis.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> In
the Great Depression the market lost 89% of its value. It took three
years from the crash to hit bottom. It lasted almost ten years. Only World War II ended it. When Obama took office the Dow
was at 7949 due to large losses in the 2008 Crash. The market
recovered and was up two and one half that amount by the time Trump
took office. The market rose one and a half times its value under
Trump. It was at 19,732 when he took office and rose steadily to just
over 29,551 at one point. It has since lost 21 % of its value. To
match the Great Depression it would have to fall to a bottom of 3251.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Could
that happen I hope and pray it doesn't. However it could if the
present leadership continues to follow in the footsteps of Hoover.
Hoover did not want to get involved and said it was a business thing.
Recently Trump said the same thing. When Hoover did finally react,
when things were much like they are right now, farmers destroying the
products, it was too little, too late.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Since
that time the government has changed a lot and created a variety of
programs to try and prevent the past f</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ro</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m
repeating itself. The Virus is a whole different ballgame and will
require America to completely alter its way of thinking. The
government will have to get involved and on a very large scale.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> It
will take a completely new view of Abraham Lincoln's famous quote,
"we are a nation of the people, by the people and for the
people, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>shall
not perish from the earth</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">."
America as we understand it and many other nations could perish from
the face of the earth. America could fall into Anarchy as people
start to starve, not because there is a lack of food, but a lack of
understanding that all the government does, is for the people. and it
is done by the people, by actions of the people.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> When
Lincoln made that comment he was facing one of the greatest
challenges our country has ever faced. The last part of that quote is
hardly ever quoted. Today as a nation we </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">fac</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a challenge, of equal or possibly greater threat to our being as a
nation.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> The
Constitution in Article 1, Section 8 gives the Congress three duties.
The power to create and collect taxes for the management of our
government, the duty to raise and provide for a military. The third
article is to provide for the welfare of the nation. I do not believe
that was meant in the way most Americans see it today, to pay it out
in food stamps. It was meant to provide all the needs of our nation,
all the infrastructure and the funds to administer to the needs of
the people and the nation. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
need to understand that welfare is fully equal with raising funds and
armies, without the third part, the first two parts can not function.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> It
also gave the government the power to borrow money on credit. Today
they create it out of thin air. If Congress has done nothing else
they have mastered the art of spending money they do not have.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">
</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> My
next statement will rub many the wrong way, but in view of Lincoln's
statement I think it is the right understanding. Even the people are
part of the infrastructure. You can not build infrastructure without
people, and that requires healthy people, regardless of race,
religion, and even sex. This crisis is making clear America has come
up short in providing for all Americans equally. Health care workers
are deemed essential to our well being, but so are those who provide
food, transportation, safety and services our communities depend on
to function as a social body.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> The
President saying all the people who work in the meat plants must go
back to work is one thing, but it is his and our governments duty to
meet the needs and provide the equipment necessary to safely perform
that task. It is well known he has little respect for minorities who
make up the bulk of the labor force in those industries. When the
Virus hits the field workers who pick the crops America will have to
make some major adjustments. I have already planned to double the
size of my garden this year and to start raising chickens and rabbits
as they quickly provide a meat supply. Those living in major cities
do not have that option.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> It
is not my intention to intimidate, but to share the possibility we
may be facing. Revelation 9:15 makes clear there will be an event in
the end time that will wipe out a third part of mankind. From what I
have seen so far this Virus is fully capable of accomplishing that
task.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> How
and if we survive this crisis is in the hands, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>of
the people</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
It will be managed by them and if it comes up short, it will be the
failure of the people to come together. So far I have been impressed
by my country, but the eventual outcome may be a ways down the road.
Can the America of today rise to the challenges they faced during the
Great Depression. I think so, but our government will take some major
restructuring to make it happen. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> People
will have to realize they are not black, white or any other color,
they are not Democrats or Republicans<a href="https://carpforamerica.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-to-fix-america-and-our-problems.html">, We are all Americans first</a>
and foremost, and that survival will depend on everyone pulling
together. The link I shared is from my other blog. It has many ideas on how we need to change our government. Including creating a third party, that is for Americans, and in which you are American first and foremost.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> So how does the government save us in this situation. They need to step up to the plate and create the logistics to provide safe work environments and protective equipment for all Americans working in essential skills. Yes food production is an essential skill. Wars are won by logistics. Not having the proper equipment at the proper time will cause you to lose the battle.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> There is more than enough supplies of the necessities in America. Getting them to the food banks and the places they need to be requires logistics. I spent over thirty-five years of my life in logistics. Thirteen years in the Army dropping supplies by parachute to our troops. During Tet of 1968 in Vietnam that was the only way our troops were getting supplies. Another twenty plus years I spent in the trucking industry.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> What we need to win this battle we have. What we don't have is leadership that is willimg to step up to the plate. Leadership can still be pushed from behind in this country. If you care about this country you need to share this post and make sure those you know share it and that they encourage their leadership in Congress to act now. By November we may be so far into a depression we can't get out of it. The only reason we will lose this battle is through indifference to what is before us.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> We have all seen pictures of the soup kitchens during the great depression. We are headed their again if the government create a logistal program to get the products that are </span>being wasted to the food banks and programs that need them. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;">\ </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> It is one thing to lose a battle because you do not have what you need. It is entirely another to have the items to end the suffering and keep us going till victory and doing nothing. When I see all the food bank workers and people making mask to help their fellow Americans, I know victory is within our grasp. Yet when our fearless leader tells people to go to work, but does not provide the equipment or testing they need to do it safely, he is criminally incompetent.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> T-Rump as I call him likes to look at himself as a leader. Well he needs to get off of that rump and provide the leadership we need. It could turn him from a loser to a winner over night. He has had a borderline business history, and it is easy to see that many of his business failures happened because of a lack of understanding of logistics and overstretching what he had to work with. I think if he gets enough mail telling him to be in charge, and not just claim to be. He might actually wake up to the opportunity to actually be the leader he claims to be.</span></span></span></span></div>
Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-24371009360259582712020-03-24T11:53:00.004-07:002020-03-24T11:53:55.141-07:00Are You in Line to Die?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Corona
Virus Testing, Speed Kills</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If
your following the news, New York has had an outbreak explosion. The
question is why? I think I may have figured it out. I spent over
forty years of my life in logistics. I may not be the sharpest knife
in the drawer. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">N</span><span style="font-size: medium;">or
am I a rocket scientist. but using common sense and what has been
released about the virus </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I
see a possible cause.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America
wants a solution now and they thing testing everybody will solve the
problem, but the way they are doing it may be part of the problem.
The drive thru testing program was not thought out completely. At
least I don’t think so. Here is why.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cars
line up to be tested. As I understand it the virus can live in the
air for up to three hours. The first car pulls up and rolls down the
window. Theoretically the person doing the test is protected. If the
first car pulls up and rolls his window down and he is positive. Air
flows into the car, but contaminated air flows out. He tests positive
and they put him in quarantine. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
ne</span><span style="font-size: medium;">x</span><span style="font-size: medium;">t
car pulls up, the driver opens his window. Air flows out of his car,
but air also flows into his car, he was not positive and passes.
However air from the first car flows into his car and he is now
contaminated. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">In three
hours anywhere from eighteen to thirty six cars do the same thing.
Each unprotected driver may be exposed to the virus.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
stopped one case of the virus, but how many more did you create.
Somebody needs to share this with the idiots in charge. I don’t
know who to contact, but I know somebody needs to contact those doing
the test. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If
nothing else they need to re-screen all those who went have come down
with the virus and find out if they went thru a drive thru test.
Hopefully I am wrong, but I see a possible reason the number of cases
is exploding in New York.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Running
lots of tests in a short amount of time may not be the solution. In
fact it may be part of the problem. I can post this but it takes
readers sharing it to get it to the right people. If you know
somebody involved in the testing, share this with them. If you are
considering getting tested you may want to reconsider.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If
you need to get groceries you may want to use the call in and pick up
system offered by Walmart. Staying out of densely populated
situations is your safest bet, if y our 70+ like me, having someone
else do your shopping may save your life.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If
you are laid off and have room, you might consider starting a garden
and grow your own food. You might eat a bit healthier and it may save
your life in the process.</span></span></span></div>
Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120536276276058439.post-28638761468968928072020-03-18T12:17:00.001-07:002020-07-18T14:25:54.113-07:00Depression or Recession, May Be Time to Start Looking Up<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Depression
or Recession, May Be Time to Start Looking Up</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After
my Bible reading this morning the best thing I can say is you may
want to start looking up. So much has happened in my life in the last
forty-eight hours it is hard to sort it all out. Where does one
start. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">There </span><span style="font-size: medium;">a</span><span style="font-size: medium;">re
about a</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> dozen things I
would like to share. First of all it is not all about me. I started
this blog in March of 2011. My goal was and is to share my life
experiences and knowledge that might help others. Especially those
things that will keep people from learning things the hard way like I
did. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately I
write mostly in the first person and it sounds like it is about me,
but that is not my intention.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">About
a year and a half a go I got hooked on Koi fish and watched tons of
videos on the subject on YouTube. Around Labor Day last year </span><span style="font-size: medium;">my
studies took me on</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> a
two week trip thru North Carolina visiting Koi Farms and Bamboo
Farms. It ended with spending Labor Day weekend at the Atlanta Koi
Show. That was an awesome experience and I plan to write a post about
it, but I keep getting sidetracked. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When
I left the Koi Show my goal was, and is to build my own Koi pond. In
the course of studying it came to my attention that a company named
Aquascape out of St. Charles, Illinois offered two day hands on
training courses on the subject. In pursuit of my goal I signed up to
attend their classes on the 16</span><sup><span style="font-size: medium;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: medium;">
and 17</span><sup><span style="font-size: medium;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: medium;">
of March. All went well till last Friday when I was notified that the
classes were canceled because of the Corona Virus. That did not stop
me from attending their facility and acquiring the materials to build
my own pond. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I had
planned to stay for two days but their coordinator canceled the hotel
reservations for people coming to the classes. When I went to check
in I found my classes room had been canceled also, even though I had
made my own reservations. So rather than stay in the area I put it in
the wind and headed home and got here about 1:30 AM Tuesday.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My
Bible study this morning made me wonder if my wandering may have had
a purpose. I started at Revelation 9:15 and it made me wonder if the
Corona Virus might end up causing what is spoken of in that verse and
thru to chapter 11. That made me go to Matthew 23 and 24 where Jesus
explains the things that are going to happen in the end time. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">In
Matthew 24:15 he mentions the prophet Daniel and that made me
remember Daniel 12:4 which tells a prophecy that will be a sign of
the end times. It has come to pass in this day and age. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">While
Israel was not a nation for over two thousand years, Jesus,
Revelation and Daniel all give revelations that say Israel had to
exist for the prophecies to come true and it has come to pass. If you
read my post “A Tale of Life and Death” written in June of 2016
which gives my testimony and is divided into three sections. The last
is about an experience I had clear back in January 1967 which has
been an ever present experience for me.
<a href="https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html">https://rictheturtleryan.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-tale-of-life-and-death-my-last-post.html</a>
Based on that experience I have always felt I would be here for the
end of time, which is the Rapture of the Church. As I died
technically twice in January of 2004 I thought maybe I was wrong.
When I wrote that post in 2016 I was going thru several serious
health crisis which made me wonder if my vision would really come to
pass. Now the Corona Virus has made me wonder again if I had missed
something.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My
reading this morning made me realize that the end may not be far
away. I have written a lot of post dealing with Biblical Prophecy.
Not that I know that much but I have read a lot and can plainly see
that the Lord is still working in the world today.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday
at Walmart I had an experience that made me realize how bad this
situation is. I saw a lady who was holding her cart and looked
totally confused and like she was ready to cry. I asked her if she
was okay. She had just lost her job at Ponderosa and did not know how
she was going to survive. She had just moved into government housing
a little over a month ago. Her first rent payment was due and she
did not have the money. She was filling her cart and said she did not
know why she was shopping. I told her I had seen a lot of that and
that many of the people who were hoarding stuff they did not really
need. I told her that a few weeks down the road what they would
really need is the money they blew on that stuff. She sort of smiled,
and said I was right and picked up a couple things </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">in
her cart. S</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">he
said she didn’t even know why she put them in her cart. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">S</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">he
said her landlord went and took a picture of the sign on the front
door of Ponderosa and that was all the proof he needed to forgive her
rent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She
sort of smiled, and I told her God had her back and was already
taking care of her needs. That he would guide her through it. We
parted later after finding we knew a lot of the same people. Our
paths had crossed several times about thirty years ago when I was
trucking. It gave us both a bit of peace in the matter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
I came home and started watching TV and listening to all the things
the government was supposedly going to do. Spending tons of money
they did not have. With no end in sight and the disease still growing
I realized the Bible saying that a fool and his money are soon parted
had special meaning in this situation. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Knowing
that is the case, I went to bed knowing the future is not mine to
see, but all prophecy will be fulfilled in due time. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
the whole thing is not about knowing what the market is going to do,
or how bad the virus will get, but knowing that God has your
back. He does if you truly believe in him. At 73 I am a prime target
for this thing. So I plan to spend a lot of time in my greenhouse and
taking care of my aquariums. I will let others bring me the stuff I
need from town, it is time to become a hermit.</span></span></div>
<br />Ric 'The Turtle' Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557268545385347913noreply@blogger.com0