Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Friday, March 22, 2013

The Dark Side of the Expat Life - NYTimes.com

Ireland Recovers, and Recovers, and Recovers - NYTimes.com

Mary Robinson Doesn’t Need to Be Popular - NYTimes.com

Joe Biden challenges Irish Americans to help undocumented Hispanics become legal - Says discrimination against Irish generations ago same as against Hispanics today | Periscope Niall O'Dowd | IrishCentral

As much as I love Joe BIDEN, I still cannot accept this argument. My grandfather came to the US legally and became a US citizen by following the rules, i.e., the law. He was never here covertly; his identity was never hidden. I cannot accept that others - who come here in violation of the law - should receive special dispensation that somehow rewards their acts with a preferred place in line for citizenship. And I cannot accept that the first violations of US law committed on US soil can somehow be excused. We have lost the link between laws, enforcement and citizenship; it is possible to make them work together but only if violations of law are treated as such - even if a token penalty, and no preference is given toward citizenship as a result.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Senate Gun Bill Will Exclude Assault Weapons Ban - NYTimes.com

Why can't we have a Senator from NC with this kind of determination and commitment. Ours seem to wave weakly in whatever direction the political winds are blowing. Such a disappointment.

Battle over guns makes N.C. dangerous political ground for Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan | McClatchy

I hope we will find a new Senator - preferably a Democrat, but I will settle for a Republican if she or he takes the right position on issues such as this one. If I have to vote for Sen. HAGAN as the only choice - given her voting record - I will be at great pains to do so. Her views on guns do not represent me in any way, and I yearn for a Senator who feels as I do that we have too many guns in NC and the US; we need to focus sharply on reducing them. If I hear her say that, I may change my mind, but I view that as well beyond highly unlikely.

Trove of Irish Historical Artifacts in County Mayo - NYTimes.com

Monday, March 18, 2013

My Well-Being Powered by Humana

On my first visit to the Grand Ole Opry last Friday night, I was flabbergasted by the amount of advertising and promotion that greeted me. This site turned out to be one of the few items that resonated some. Other advertisers included Southwest Airlines, Dollar General, and Cracker Barrel. The RCC Root Barn "family" probably was the most memorable, with their 20 dolllar savings on boots at 149.99! The best song of the evening was "If I Knew My Nose Was Runnin' Money, Honey, I'd Blow it All on You", seconded only by "You Know You Can't Hurt Ham"! I think SCRUGGS sang the latter.

The Asheville Citizen-Times | Asheville news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Asheville, North Carolina | citizen-times.com

I'd like to use newspaper websites to see more of NC. This is one, for sure, that I will try to use. Will it work?

Thursday, March 07, 2013

Drones

The current dust-up over use of drones in the US to target US citizens bothers me a lot. Why? Because I cannot in good conscience agree that one standard is acceptable for treating US citizens while another applies to "ferenners". How can anyone look her/himself in the mirror and say, "well, if someone is about to attack the US Capitol in an act of terrorism, it's ok to kill that person if he/she is a non-US citizen, but you must hold your fire if that person is a US citizen"? It is not only ridiculous; it violates my fundamental sense of equal treatment under the law. 

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Anglo Celt

Perhaps I will look more like him in future years!