The message forum is an ongoing dialogue between classmates. There are no items, topics, subtopics, etc.

Forums work when people participate - so don't be bashful! Click the "Post Message" button to add your entry to the forum.

John Jackson

I’m in favor of NOT restricting topics on the Forum to “safe subjects” but if you give an opinion and you want anyone to care about your opinion I think you’re obligated to present some fact or argument or weblink that supports what you say.

At the same time, I think it would be a shame if the Forum degenerated exclusively into just another place for us all to grind our respective axes.  Although I’m sure some would disagree, I think we’ve done pretty well - while we’ve had eruptions of non-safe topics from time to time, they’ve receded after a few days (as they should).  From time to time I’ve presented some strong opinions, but I try to limit myself to two or three exchanges on a particular topic and I think my principal antagonists (usually Jim and MM) have done the same.

In a similar vein, and getting back to a topic of a week or so ago about  whether long posts should be relegated to the User Forum page, I’m OK with long posts here and if I’m busy or uninterested I skip to the next post.  And I confess I am a bit worried about Dave M’s receding into lurker mode –  I remember Dave’s extreme shyness in grade school and I’m sure it was painfully obvious to all of you non-OLPer’s by the time we got to Watterson.  I think this Forum has been really good for Dave – late in life he seems to be emerging from this shell and I, for one, hope he continues to make progress.

Lawrence Foster

A slight shift of topic:  Not quite the birds that have been discussed but here are some pics of a swan I saw at Veteran's Memorial Park near my home.

Michael McLeod

Thanks for reminding me, John, about Dave.

I enjoy his posts however long-winded they may sometimes seem, and thought at least one of the comments made about him amounted to an extremely unkind personal attack.

Apart from the fact that he is a veteran who saw combat and deserves our respect and compassion for that alone, some of what he has written here measures up to memoirs I have seen in print.

I wrote to him one on one about this and offered moral support when he was criticized but seeing what you just wrote tweaked my conscience. I'd been thinking  that I didn't do enough on his behalf, and that's why I'm putting it out here for all to see, alongside my alignment with Jim about keeping things civil, no matter the topic. I haven't exactly been a role model in that regard so I'm talking to myself here as much as to anyone. 

Okay, just to clarify, that's talking to myself in a good way, not in a muttering-crusty-old-fart sort of way, though I do plenty of that these days, too.

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Does anyone on this forum ever wonder why the majority of our classmates never post on this forum? 

Michael McLeod

It's been brought up on several occasions.

I've been blabbing in public for 50 years and it still freaks me out so I can understand.

Truth is this forum is, by comparison, kid-glove level as compared to the free-for-alls I see elsewhere. These are tempestuous times.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Larry,

Nice swan photos! Always soothing to see bird pictures.

As an addendum to my Post #6178 about the bird decline, I just took a look at my October 2019 issue of National Geographic magazine which had an article on cats and birds. That must have been the Gazette's source for their info on how many birds are killed by cats. Approximately two thirds of those are victims of stray cats. The problem has become so severe in Australia that the government is taking action.

Switching gears again, the aspen change here in Colorado is late this year, but is expected to be spectacular due to heavy snowfalls last winter and sufficient rain this past spring. The warm fall days with cool nights cause the chlorophyll to vacate the leaves unveiling the colors of autumn. The nights are finally getting cool enough for this to happen (it was 39 degrees on our deck when I arose this morning). Sometime this week I will force myself out of bed at a ridiculous hour and head for the mountain passes and byways to capture the show. If all goes well and I get some good shots I'll post them later.

Jim 

Michael McLeod

You have a far more glamorous cue that fall has arrived than I, Jim.

The seasonal hints I get down here are more prosaic. My dog lets me know.  All summer long he's an indoor pet. Goes outside to do his bidness then zips back inside. I'd like to think it's for my company but truth is it's the air conditioning. 

The day that comes when he's no longer chilling next to me on the cool tile floor in my office but has set up his headquarters on the back porch is my signal that fall - the Florida version of it, anyway, which is more like what we would have called indian summer back in Columbus - has arrived.  

David Mitchell

Okay, Okay, everybody. I am over 21. I think I can take it.  

(MIke, I'll get your check out into tomorrow's mail)

Besides, it's NFL season and my poor Broncos are forcing me to spend all my free time on my knees praying to St. Jude. Blessed are those who show mercy on us "Bronco-maniacs", for they shall inherit a higher draft choice.

So Back to the Future Jim, would you believe -  Wendell Wilke?

David Mitchell

Thanks Larry. I always thought pictures were easier for me anyway.

-------------

Occurs to me that one might pose the question - How difficult is it to either ignore and pass on any post you choose, or, actually typing a few commnents of your own and then hitting that terrifying "submit" button? 

(Hint: it's that little button at the bottom of the page - it won't bite) 

Nowthen, did I forget to mention the time I was flying a helicopter and.......?

David Mitchell

John Jackson has always strived to help me come out of my humble shell.

Let the record show that, among others, he and I exchanged Valentines in first grade.

Later, in 4th grade, I believe he took pity on me and delibertely "swayed" the voters in my favor to win the "election" to the Vice Presidency of our (4-man) stamp club.

In 5th grade, he sat next to me through an entire double header in old Cleveland (Indians) Municiple Stadium and never once told me to shut up.

In all the times we served Mass together at OLP he didn't shame me for fainting on the alter in the middle of the service - not once. (and beleive me, that happened a lot!)

Without his example of courage, and his constant encouragement, I cannot imagine how I could have ever become such an egg-citing person.

I shall be forever in his debt.

If I live that long.

Michael McLeod

Happy Birthday to Bruce Springsteen!

He's 70 today.

Just a notch below the Beatles on my list of formative musical influences.

Encountered him much later in life, of course, but i'd put him on a par with them in terms of the quality and depth and range of his music.

I'm assuming more people here would agree with me about the Beatles.

I listen to them still, anf quite a lot, and it's just remarkable how they covered the bases from whimsicle and romantic to profound and complex.

Mark Schweickart

Mike – I concur whole-heartedly with your opinion of Springsteen, although I must admit I was not very taken with the album he released a couple of months ago called Western Stars. Not that it was bad, but rather that there wasn't anything on it that really spoke to me this time around, or had melodies that stuck with me.

And speaking of whimsical Beatles' songs, how about Rocky Raccoon? This is one of those ear-worm songs that I can quote portions of without having to google it, even though I never made a conscious effort to remember it. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it starts out with: "Rocky Raccoon, burst into his room, only to find Gideon's Bible. Rocky had come, equipped with a gun, to shoot off the legs of his rival. His rival it seems, had broken his dreams, by stealing the girl of his fancy. Her name was McGill, and she called herself 'Lill', but everyone knew her as 'Nancy'."

Similarly, for some reason, I can still quote a lot of the songs from the myriad Westerns of our childhood, like Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, The Rebel Johnny Yuma, Have Gun Will Travel, and of course my all-time favorite, Maverick – "Who is the tall dark stanger there? 'Maverick'  is his name. Riding the trails to who knows where, luck is his companion, gambling is his game. Riverboat ring your bell. Fare-the-well Annabelle, luck is the lady that he loves the best. From Natchez to New Orleans, living on jacks and queens, Maverick is the legend of the West."

I am not going to peek. Someone check google to see if I got that right. And then please send me an antidote for this because these nonsensical lyrics are taking up valuable real estate in my brain that needs the room for remembering what I did yesterday.

Frank Ganley

First, thank you Jodelle for the kind words and thoughts, once again you have proved the intolerance of another person's thoughts or for just not agreeing with you!  Yes, he is my President but I am also so very glad he is your President also, and will continue to be for at least 4 more years! I know this gladden your heart as our economy will keep growing, your pension will continue to grow and we will have world peace.

Mary Ann, I'll bet that a majority of our classmates don't join in because they are afraid of being ridiculed and fear being banned by Jodelle et al who only believes that they are right and have hatred in their hearts! You may say that's ridiculous but it may be the heart of the matter and they will remain in the shadows as the jews did by hiding from the nazis so as not to be shunned by those that disagree with them. I really could care less if Jodelle thinks I am a POS as she doesn't even know me, knows what's in my heart and so but only hates because I support Trump. I detested Obama not for his skin color as has been pointed out by some, ridiculous, I hated the road he was taking us down and his political views. I voted against him for those reasons. I nor any republican, conservative etc.ever called for the assassination of him or anyone in the democratic party, as many democrats of congress and the populist have called for President Trump's demise. 

Once again I ask, so far no one has replied to why the would vote for a democratic candidate!  No saying anything about trump as we already know you hate him! What does the democratic have to offer that you believe will ensure our great nation stays free, our people still working, and more progress in KEEPING AMERICA GREAT! so far no answers other than the President and I ARE pos'S. Which in my mind says you haqve nothing. Mrs Warren and Bernie want to ruin the banking industry, they want to raise taxes, Free everything including illegal aliens and prisoners and move them all to the front of the line for benefits, even before our homeless and our veterans. If I am wrong I welcome a discussion on your topics. Remember the President and i are already known as POS;s so leave that out of the discussion. What will the democrats do better to improve America.

David Mitchell

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Frank if you think the majority of our class mates are Trumpsters than maybe you should reach out and invite them to join you in your rants. Most of my good friends from Watterson are not Trumpsters. I have nothing in common with you and others that support this moron.

By the way Jodelle is a fine person .

Michael Boulware

Jodelle is a fine person and my favorite cousin. I never intended to respond to this forum again; I feel Frank deserves an answer why Democrats are Democrats. We favor fair wages for workers. We protect workers' rights. We want workers to share in the immense corporate profits. We want affordable housing. We want Social Security protected. We want our retirement protected. We want the postal service revitalized. We want our infrastructure rebuilt. We want clean energy to reduce Global Warming. We want a proper emphasis on public education- the backbone of a free society. We want an end to racism. We want to close the racial and sexual gap wealth. We want to fix our broken immigration system without killing children and splitting families. We want women right guaranteed. We want an end to poverty. We want to increase the size of the middle class. We want to secure universal health vcare. We want an end to gun violence. We want The United States to lead a world peace movement. 

Trump only believes in Trump. He might be the president, but he is not my president. I hope and pray we wise up and elect a patriot.

David Barbour

Thank you, Mike, well spoken.

DB

Francene Maple (Kriegel)

Well said Mike

Thank you

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Looks like Frank wants support from Trumpsters amongst our group. Please speak up to verify thiis.

Mary Clare Hummer (Bauer)

Thank you to Mike (don't abandon us!), Mary Ann, Jodelle, John, Francene (where are the Iceland pics??), David, and 

to Frank:  The very fact that you not only remember but currently seemingly proudly stand by such a derogatory comment that you posted on Facebook about the former First Lady points out the incredible gulf that exists between you and me in what we expect of and hope for our country.  And then in the very post where you complain that your "thoughts, answers, or musings are always met with sarcasm and ridicule", you first chastise "those who support the RIDICULOUS ideas of . . ." a litany of ideas which you associate with liberal thinking.  I couldn't help but notice the irony. I decided the reference to the Jews hiding from the nazis was just a clumsy analogy, not meant to make me explode.

I hope you were sincere in asking what I believe. I believe that human decency and respect belong in our government and should be especially demanded at the highest level of that government. (Perhaps that's where that "trickle down" idea could work.) No lies, no name-calling, no demeaning comments. I believe our economy is strong for me and mine--not so much for the guy at Speedway or the nurse's aide at the rehab center. I believe the safety nets despised by some as "entitlements" are our responsibility to the less fortunate. I believe in paying taxes and in paying my bills NOW--not leaving them for my kids to deal with after I'm gone. I believe in climate change and clean energy policies. I believe in labor unions and reasonable corporate profits. I believe the very rich can pay more taxes. I believe we can regulate both gun and immigrants. I believe in compromise. I believe that by citing the most extreme wish lists of progressive ideas as the democratic plan, real chances to improve our society for all our citizens are lost.  I believe the democracy of our youth is a democracy at risk. 
Clare

James Hamilton, M. D.

Mike B.,

It seems to me that most, maybe not all, of the "wants" you mention are also shared by conservatives. Where we may differ is how to attain them. That is what I believe will be at the core of the 2020  election. Will we take more of a capitalistic or a socialistic approach to these issues?

Clare,

You cited your beliefs and I respect that. We all have our certain beliefs and it is obvious that some of them will be in conflict with those of others. That is fine.

I ​​​​​am pleased that others are once again speaking out on the Forum. Since you are here, I would redirect you to my post #6148 as to whom you honestly think will be our President two years from now. 

Jim 

​

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Mike B, the list you provided is an excellent one and speaks to the hearts of all of us regardless of which side of the political spectrum we fall on.  It is sad for me to see such personal vitriol on this forum.  As Jim stated it is policies that divide us.  And perhaps, even more than policies it is our specific views of governance that most clearly divides us today.  

For example, our federal government, was once limited to certain core functions, It now dominates virtually every area of American life. There are two distinct perspectives on the duty of government that are at play - one that believes in a restricted government whose duty it is to secure a few natural rights and to exercise limited powers to protect its citizens. The other perspective holds that government should be constantly changing and growing with an expanding bureaucracy and centralized control.   

As I have previously mentioned to another forum reader, my personal opinion is that this nation is stuck with Trump (just as many felt they were stuck with Obama). I pray daily that he can resist his most objecionable character flaws in order to preserve our liberty and safety, if nothing else.  It is also my personal belief that the biggest threat to our nation and to the world is our culture's struggle between secular humanism, and natural law and the moral order. It is my personal opinion that America will only survive as a free nation, "with liberty and justice for all", if we decide that the natural moral law upon which our Constitution was established is the correct path to take going forward.   

Mary Clare Hummer (Bauer)

Good morning, Jim. Sorry. Conservatives don't share "most" of Mike's wants. You don't get to support a standard bearer who does everything in his power to limit or deny those very things and say our difference lies only in how we achieve it. Own it. He's all yours. I personally find it difficult to hold my nose and pull the lever at the same time. 
Clare

John Jackson

I’m trying to think of something to add  to Mike’s and Mary Clare’s list of what we liberals (yes, I’m absolutely fine with that label) want, and I’m coming up short.

For most of our adult lives Bill Bennett and conservatives in general have been lecturing us that “character matters” –  for example, that all the problems of our troubled cities would magically be solved if our minorities (especially black males) would just buck up and start doing the right thing.  But now that we have a president who lies constantly, engages in the worst type of racial and ethnic baiting, and has routinely defied norms of good governance that ALL of his predecessors (Republican and Democrat) have observed, the other side is conspicuously silent on the issue of character.

I for one am losing patience with those who say they’re willing to excuse Trump’s “unconventional tactics” to get what they think is the larger good – things like ultra-conservative judges, tax cuts (whose benefits go overwhelmingly to the well-off), defending our crazy gun culture, denying what is an undeniable (for at least the past 20 years) climate crisis, or keeping White America firmly in control.   Excusing Trump’s tactics is like saying pedophile priests are OK as long as they otherwise do a good job with their pastoral duties.