WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT
THINGS OF CONCERN
"A dissertation Relating to the State of the World and the State of the Mind". This book was prompted by the events of 9/11, and is about the world and the relationships with other countries and cultures. In it I ask how you personally feel about issues, and discuss how important that is. I present that how you personally respond to things determines your very own future. Subjects include WMD, Morality, Terrorism, the Economy, Global Conflict, Education Reform, Immigration Policy, Environmental Awareness, and Respect for Life and Property. Not only are these issues discussed, but resolutions are offered in terms of long term programs to turn things around, and note that turning around and therefore changing them satisfies the definition of revolution (peaceful!!). Not fomenting rebellion, just looking to resolve these long standing threats to our civilization.
ALL THINGS RELATE
"A View of the US Economy". Written during the most recent economic downturn, this book looks at how government's job is to solely protect its citizen's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. and how that is not being done!! The private sector can handle everything else. The individual is the true value and worth of the free enterprise society, thus supporting the premise that your own property is yours to have or to give, not for others to take. Subjects include Jobs, Immigration, COLA, Energy Policy, Fiscal Irresponsibility, Social Security, Debilitating Entitlements, Educational Standards, Taxes, and Healthcare. Again resolutions are offered to each and every issue. These involve focus on government charter, equality of opportunity, and the use of the concept of insurance to replace entitlements.
LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
"Opportunities and Guarantees in America" and the recognition that it takes effort to achieve them. This one looks at politics and the election cycles as an impetus for recognizing that our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence provide us with the baseline rules of law to accomplish our aims. Everyone wants pride in self, opportunity to excel, happiness, success towards life's goals. Here is a discussion of the the Bill of Rights, and an appreciation of what this set of standards offers to citizens of the United States.
PING-PONG (RALLY'S ON)
"A series of discussions relating to Accomplishment of Goals, Self-worth, and the Current State of U.S. Affairs".
Take a look at what politics has done lately: to your life, your relationships with others, your finances, with the direction of our wonderful country.
Our two main political parties are so solidly entrenched in their own dogma that they have lost sight of where this country is now headed. Our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence set our goals, and respect for the individual and his property sets our values.
TIME FOR A "FREEDOM" RIDE
People have put up and suffered with long rush hour commutes for too long. It affects how we live and the choices we make about use of our time, where we work, where we live. The freeway rush hour is both a blessing and a curse- it lets us get there, but it wastes some of our never-recoverable life-time. This book is a plea- there are simple ways to offer major improvements to our commute, all we need to do is embrace them. A credible reform of mass transportation can easily and quickly be made available, and will reduce commuter time up to 50%, commuter costs by 80%, and cut commuter caused environmental pollution by 96%. Take a look-it "AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE", just open your mind and embrace logic, and you WIN.
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TWO VISIONS
a collaboration with Donna Jean Goldstein
"Journeys with pen and ink and brush and oil". This art collection captures the spirit of man and the beauty of America through the Santa Monica mountains and seashore, presented in layers of oils and the simplicity of line, as seen by my wife and I during our sojourns. It is viewed through our senses and portrayed in our art. We love to paint and sketch, and traveling the California coastline and the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area afforded us a phenomenal opportunity to capture the beauty of nature. Many times we took our motor-home out and stayed awhile at these great locations, and besides the camping, cooking, night-time fires, hiking- we complemented it all with the memories we put on canvas and paper. WHO CAN ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
an Undeveloped Tail of Humanity's Evolution
The question is one of survival. The concern is about that fringe of humanity that cannot accept society's conditions and will operate outside it's bounds. This includes criminal elements, terrorist, aspiring politicians and leaders, just about anyone who conducts themselves in that manner. The exploration is about whether this is an ingrained natural condition or one that can change. And most of all, can it change for the benefit of all of us.
LOOK AT ME
This is a new perspective on an on-going conversation between life and me. I have always been somewhat retrospective, somewhat analytical (which some abbreviate as anal), sometimes a bit mystical, many times cerebral, and have used the pen to place continuity and purpose to my thoughts and acts. "They" say that we are our experiences. Well, over the last 40 years, I have been scribbling, sketching, even thinking about what it's all about. Always experiences, whether of the moment, memories, or thoughts- these are a few of my favorite things. Everything makes an impression and forms us, even as we think and write we are embedding stuff deeper within. So here is what my hand has produced based on some input from brain, emotion, and the ever present universe. Hope it is interesting, sure was for me.
MOMENTS OF IMPACT
"My Personal Inquiry Relating to Formation of Self"
This book reflects my thoughts on the formative and experiential processes of living. It seems that life tends to do things to people whether they like it or not, although we attempt to travel our own way. We have that goal-seeking mechanism within us, which we use as our paths create our interactions, both internal and external. It's just not easy to be pure in this world of ours, no matter the intent, things tend to happen that gently or otherwise nudge our direction.
That is why I was fascinated with the idea of looking at the inputs that impact us, and then to offer thoughts on why impacts influence us, and how they are handled by our internal processes.
CONVERSATILITY
Life is interchange, it is a conversation between you and the world, part of which is the conversations between people. It is much more than just words,it involves outlook,ego, the nuances of body language, your predisposition. To make this most meaningful, it takes an awareness of not only your own intent, but as well the nature of the listener, the setting within which the conversation occurs, and your own listening skill. Each conversation is an opportunity to do well, and it is the speaker's responsibility to do just that.
With respect for each and every person, their thoughts, their words, their being; and the responsibility to both speak and listen well so that we understand each other, our world can be a most wonderful place for all of us to co-exist.
THE LITTLE BOOK OF BIG PRIORITIES
Every single day each of us is faced with life's decision requirements. Some are so easy that it's like sliding on ice. But some are life-changing to major degree, and so choice becomes one of priority- which is really the better way to go? Here is an examination of what is involved in determining your own pathways, and how to maximize that precious commodity, your own happiness. I don't mean only the laughter, but the satisfaction of heading in your own right direction. Included are the factors of reality/perception/imagination; of urgency and immediacy; of power and politics; of ego; of pain; and many more of the influences to your decision-making process.
TWO REALITIES
Here are two essays, looking at two different ways of being and existing. INNER DEVELOPMENT- the opportunity of seeing yourself, and AMERICA- the place of opportunity to live and prosper happily. Inner development involves spirituality, and recognition that all religions move towards it by offering ritual and discipline through faith. Religion offers how to live, how to die, and what comes next, but spirituality goes beyond that and becomes a common thread within each of them. This is explored in the first essay.
America is based on foundational guarantees to protect mans rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is founded on principles of law, but now there is a challenge to people who work to achieve by those who demand and who feel they deserve. so essay two explores what has fostered the "gimme" mind that is becoming rampant within this most wonderful of countries, and what is necessary to restore our path to the basics of freedom.
it's a riot
Mankind has struggled with communication even before the spoken word. And as socialization occurred, this became a broader concept of spreading ideas to larger masses of people. Peaceful discussion through diplomacy, either between people, groups, or nations, is always the best way to handle such conversation. But it can get out of hand, starting with discussion, following with demonstration, segueing into mob and riot, and in an international scale, the most awful being entering into war.
Here we deal with the phenomena of rioting, why and how, and what can be done to prevent its occurrence. The book looks at the psychology of the mob, of the hi-jack of good intentions that produce the mob and the riot. Once understood and societal action implemented, the riot can forever be removed as a necessary arsenal of conversation.
THE TROUBLE WITH POLITICS
Politics or Diplomacy? Politics reeks of power and control, while diplomacy acts through conversation and agreement. And there is a critical premise to occupying a political position- the requirements associated with filling the office must be respected. Power has been ceded, not transferred, and what is offered is to be used to satisfy the needs that allowed selection.
You voted, but you had some minor reservations because all you could do is choose the least offensive candidate. Now it's also their platform and their entourage and their proclivities. You just balanced your scale and the lesser of the three evils won. The candidate, the party platform, and the effect that will have on the future. Was that in fact how you viewed your choices? How did it ever come down to the choice between a broken arm or a broken leg?
You are an individual- a voter. And in the biggest of political pictures, realize that socialism supports the collective, not individual liberty. So your vote in the political arena is really a consequence of individualism and capitalism, and support of a socialist agenda is a vote to undo your vote. Sounds convoluted, but look at the spiral and see where it leads!!!!
BUT, ON THE OTHER HAND
Sometimes it is hard to listen to a person who just KNOWS everything (especially if YOU really do know everything). this book tries looking at both sides of issues, and with a goal of confirming or revising positions as necessary. It explores some of today's embedded societal opinion differences; such as political platforms, societal structure, religion, climate change, entitlements, to name a few. It is up to you to maintain the discourse and be a part of bringing everyone's thinking to a level of agreement.
NEW BEGINNINGS
How many times do we say "I wish I had done that"? Well, do it! Take the actions to accomplish your desire to modify your perspective. Focus on changing those things. It takes effort and will, and requires positive attention and energy, because if it were easy you would have already done it. So look, identify issues or desires, and plan for accomplishing the steps necessary to satisfy them. This book is a primer, it starts with looking at drives and their sources, examines how any dissatisfaction can be converted to action to modify your thought processes and inclinations. Take a conscious look and then the steps to change direction, and institute any desired shift.
swords of damocles
We live in an interesting world, one that offers its impact as you experience it. This book supports the hypothesis that each of us is master of our own fate, and that how we process our environment heavily impacts our dance through life. That in reality, it is up to each of us to make our own way towards our own happiness.
All the things that happen that are beyond our control result in something else determining our future. So look carefully at the influencers, and select those choices that head you where you want to go.
GET ME OUT OF HERE
We have all done it- experienced the desire to get away from abhorrent conditions. three choices- back off, laissez-faire or rectification. This book is about exploring these choices- what led to the issue, the choices for resolution, and selection criteria for ensuing future actions. Understanding how you got there is a key, it bounds the situation and lets you plan pathways that will not repeat your issues. Looking at where you are allows you to prepare your future actions, which leads twoards your resolution. Logic helps, it is part of everyone's upgringing, and using this apaity is simply part of living. All you need is a nudge and you are on your way out adnd upwards.
BLOW-OUT AT ALISO CANYON
The failure in 2015 of the gas storage fields at Aliso Canyon, Porter Ranch, California was a disaster. Thousands of people were involved- residents displaced, SoCalGas struggling to handle it, regulators searching for solution. And it took years to get where we are, BUT maybe it's not yet complete. This book is part of the historical documentation of technical evaluation, safety, and the future. Although the storage field is now re-opened, there is some question as to the safety of the site. THERE STILL EXISTS A 7% PROBABIITY THAT SOETIME WITHIN THE NEXT 50 YEARS THERE WILL BE A SAN ANDEREAS FAULT EARTHQUAKE LEVEL THAT WOULD RESULT IN ANAOTHER ALISO DISASTER. The struggle to cope with and resolve this issue is presented within.
