CALIFORNIA SNOW

I really like California snow. It stays up in the mountains so I can visit it whenever I want. It does not block my driveway. I call it polite snow.

Californians really like their snow.

I was totally shocked when I discovered that California schools each chose different Easter vacation weeks. I was reliably informed that this is because otherwise the ski resorts got too full, and some of the children would be unable to ski. That year my son had chicken pox while my daughter was on Easter break, then my daughter had chicken pox while my son was on Easter break. So I was REALLY unhappy with the schools.

Then I discovered that the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, churches, and various friends would arrange ski trips for my children. Since the wheel chair does not work well in snow, I was really grateful.

The cost of these snow trips was very reasonable as the children would sleep on the floor. Ski clothes for the kids were found at the Palo Alto Goodwill. Thrift stores in wealthy areas are better for such purchases. Most poor people do not give away ski clothes.

So, if someone invites your children to go skiing, accept. Honestly, you can stop worrying about child molesters. The Boy Scouts solved this problem. Just tell your children that they will be safe if they travel in pairs. The molester has to get the kid alone in order to molest. This also makes pairs of adults almost perfectly safe. Adults who hunt in pairs tend to be so weird that they are not trusted.

I always felt really guilty as I slept late, avoided all cartoons, and ate food too expensive for more than one serving. Well, I did WANT to feel guilty. %<)

LOW COST KID PRESENTS AGE 4 - 11

The present that my children used until it was destroyed was a tape with me reading the Just So Stories. You can record onto a CD using a computer. (The kids need to be able to replay the recording. This means that you need to use child friendly play back. Fisher Price used to have a child proof tape player. It even survived the milk. They probably have an updated version.)

My children listened to book tapes as they went to sleep. They LOVED the Just So Stories, but I could not find a professional tape of the stories. I gave them the book so they could follow along if they wished.

You could scan family photos and give the children a digital photo album. Be certain to mark the photos so they know who the people are.

You can buy books at a used book store. I think comic books can be a good way to encourage reading. I still have copies of Star Wars and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Encyclopedia Brown books are always good.

There used to be a really neat toy, which had a compass and two lenses. It could be used as a magnifying glass and a low power binoculars. The toy worked sort of like a Transformer toy as you had to manipulate the toy in order to use it. We took these on walks and to zoos.

Kids learn best when they can touch, feel, build, take apart, explore. Buy things that help them do this.

Do not give electronic shooting games to children. Buy games like Legend of Zelda, where you have to explore and solve logic puzzles. If you must buy shooting games, let the targets be ducks. If you think shooting electronic ducks is evil, then you certainly should not be shooting electronic people.

REMEMBER THAT KIDS BREAK THINGS. Do not give them expensive electronics.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

It will not be possible to have happy holidays for retail stores if the middle class has to worry about a 2013 tax increase. It will not be possible for the poor and the sick to have happy holidays if they will not be able to get food stamps in 2013.

I fail to understand how Christians can believe that giving more money to the rich is the correct way to run a country. For 150 years we have known that the rich are usually so selfish that they have to be forced to pay workers a living wage. Currently, the rich are whining that they will not be able to hire workers without a tax cut for the rich. Did you know the US gives tax credits for hiring workers? A worker's pay is a tax deductible business expense.

These selfish rich people are acting like three year old children. Three year olds often state that every toy in the house is "MINE!"

Their excuse is that they want a smaller government. Of course, a smaller government will not have the resources to stop fraudulent businesses, which means that the middle class can kiss their money goodbye, AGAIN.

A CONGRESSIONAL GOING AWAY PRESENT

Let's give Barney Frank and Ron Paul a going away present. Pass HR 2306, and stop federal prohibition of marijuana. It is the only issue where Democrats and Libertarians actually agree.

If any other substance had shown the cancer curing properties of cannabinoids in marijuana, people would be demanding US research into a promising cure that does not damage non cancer tissue. I can not understand how cancer doctors can ignore a substance that does not cause hair to fall out. But no one can do effective research because of our draconian drug laws. If you do not believe me, Google "national cancer institute marijuana".

The National Cancer Institute also says that a marijuana overdoses can NOT kill people. Too much alcohol can kill people.

Perhaps the Republicans will violate their pledge to not raise taxes if they have a chance to tax non medical marijuana.

The Prohibition of Marijuana is not working. Anybody who wants to buy marijuana can buy it. Because it is illegal, it is easier for children to purchase marijuana than to purchase alcohol.

Let the states decide whether to make marijuana illegal.

UNRECORDED JUSTICE IS A DENIAL OF JUSTICE

In order to save money, courts are not providing court reporters. This often means there is no record of the hearing. I am certain that it is just coincidental that no reporter's transcript means no appeal is possible, allowing the judge to rule without fear of appeal.

This can result in injustice. To illustrate, I will give you an example of one of my current cases.

An administrative judge ruled that a person was not telling the truth because the person "denied being represented by counsel even though his attorney also signed off on the agreement."

The transcript reads:

"You were advised and represented by counsel before you signed this agreement, correct?"

"No. I talked to a lawyer."

This would be funny, if it were not also tragic. The person was testifying by telephone from thousands of miles away. Obviously, the person did not understand complex legal language. So the judge ruled that he did not tell the truth.

Without a transcript, there is no way to tell if the judge misheard something. In a divorce, a hearing without a transcript is an exercise in futility. If you have ever talked with both persons involved in a divorce, you know that they hold radically differing views of the facts. So unless testimony is recorded, it is pretty much a waste of breath.

We can all read the transcripts of the Salem witch trials held in 1692. But poor people who can not afford to hire a court reporter will never see the transcripts of their hearings in 2012.

WHY BORING BEIGE IS 'IN'

For most of human history, color was king. Only the rich and powerful could afford the paints and dyes for intense color.

Then, in the early 1800s, Lord Elgin brought part of the Greek Parthenon to London. The life like marble friezes were the talk of the town. Tourists started visiting Greece and Egypt, bringing back statues in marble, sandstone, and alabaster. Suddenly, beige and ivory were the height of sophistication. Ancient civilizations were 'in'.

The joke is that these white and beige statues were originally painted in bright colors.

So feel free to wear scarlet! Show that you are not ignorant. %<)

A GREAT MAN BETRAYED BY HIS DELILAH

General Petraeus was betrayed by his vindictive lover, who I believe carefully planned to bring him down. I am wondering if she is the one who leaked the fake story of prisoners being held in Benghazi.

I find it interesting that Fox News aired the fake prisoner story just before the lover talked about the fake prisoner story in a public speech. The lover had a high level security clearance, so her speech about possible Benghazi prisoners might have gotten her arrested unless she got the information from Fox News. If you believe that people with security clearances believe Fox News, I have a bridge in Brooklyn you might want to buy.

I mourn the loss to the US of the services of one of the great men of the 21st Century.

I am horrified by my theory that the vindictive lover and the Republican Party were planning an October surprise and that the late October speech by the lover was intended to be that surprise.