JERKWATER TRAIN

I try to stay apolitical on here. But ... It's a grave error, rather bigotry itself, to label every person who voted for Trump a racist, a hater, or a bigot. This is the same country that voted twice for Obama. Democracy is about political dialogue and meaningful discourse. But when that discourse makes some people feel unsafe, then I believe all fair-minded people should reach out to their fellow humans.

"Truth speaks not to those perverse beings:--her voice can only be heard by generous souls accustomed to reflection, whose sensibilities make them lament the numberless calamities showered on the earth by political and religious tyranny--whose enlightened minds contemplate with horror the immensity, the ponderosity of that series of misfortunes which error has in all ages overwhelmed mankind. To error must be attributed those insupportable chains which tyrants, which priests have forged for most nations. To error must be equally attributed that abject slavery into which the people of almost every country have fallen. Nature designed they should pursue their happiness and by the most perfect freedom.--To error must be attributed those religious terrors which, almost every climate, have either petrified man with fear, or caused him to destroy himself for coarse or fanciful beings.  To error must be attributed those  inveterate hatreds, those barbarous persecutions, those numerou

There is legal justice and there is moral justice, and killing police officers is neither. Man needs to respect man. Police present in the park. Charge or no charge, respect is a must between EP man and police. Expose those who do harm to people in park. Witnesses or no witness, do the right thing. Eden prairie news is free and available at starring lake park to read, and I don't care for that paper. Goodbye.

"Religious faith should stop being considered a virtue. I define blind faith as choosing to believe in something absolutely, without doubt or openness to change, and without proper scientific evidence – i.e. wishful thinking. Though blind faith in itself need not be religiously affiliated, this type of irrational thinking is very common in religious institutions and almost unanimously supported by them. So I will use the terms religious faith, blind faith, and blind religious faith interchangeably. Religious faith is not a trait to be considered worthy of praise because it blinds those who carry it to live a life that is less responsive to changes. It is unopen to seeing mistakes in its own ways of thinking in order to find new and better ways of living. It is a fundamentally dishonest trait as it does not seek to reconcile belief with reality, and there are consequences to this. It is comparable to driving a car and only being able to see out of the front windshield. Though

"Fundamentalism presents real dangers to the lives and liberties of all Americans. It is not merely an acdamic problem or a problem for people who find fundamentalism a little strange or irrational. At risk are women, children, fair elections, society as a whole, the rights of Americans to reproductive choices, their freedom to choose sexual partners, freedom of religion, the freedom for all kinds of dissent, and their rights to privacy and to die with dignity." --The Fundamentals of Extremism.

"A mob of 10,000 whites took Sledgehammers to the county jailhouse doors to get at these two young blacks accused of raping a white girl; the girl's uncle saved the life of a third by proclaiming the man's innocence. Although this was Marion, Ind, most of the nearly 5,000 lynchings documented between Reconstruction and the late 1960s were perpetrated in the South. (Hangings, beatings and mutilations were called "Judge Lynch.") Some lynching photos were made into postcards designed to boost white supremacy, but the tortured bodies and grotesquely happy crowds ended up revolting as many as they scared. Today the images remind us that we have not come as far from brutality as we'd like to believe." Life. 100 photographs

This morning my wife cracked an egg, and to her surprise, there was no yolk.  Being a woman with good judgement, she tossed it. Have you ever seen that? (not the woman-with-good-judgment part, the egg am talking about) ... And what are the chances of that? I am curious. The chances of an egg with double yolks are 1 in 1000. So I googled around and found a few entries:  Eggs without yolk are called "dwarf" or "wind" eggs. Such an egg is most often a pullet's first effort, produced before her laying mechanism is fully ready. In a mature hen, a wind egg is unlikely, but can occur if a bit of reproductive tissue breaks away, stimulating the egg-producing glands to treat it as a yolk and wrap it in albumen, "membranes and a shell as it travels through the egg tube. This has occurred if, instead of a yolk, the egg contains a small particle of grayish tissue. This type of egg occurs in many varieties of fowl, including chickens (both standard and bantams), guinea

A glorious spring day here in the heartland, and you know you made it through another long, dark, and harsh winter. The birds are chirping, and have returned after a long, arduous journey to assure us that the circle of life continues. Whatever your cares are, Nature seems to suggest, they shall pass and everything will be OK.

Music is the most beautiful thing humans ever created. Music transcends all divisions and heals the soul and uplifts us all. It has the power to connect us in the most tender and loving way. What beauty. Zachary Khalil Khelah good EP man!

Propaganda is not an exclusive property of the conservative right, but also the liberal left. Well, you know I am not impressed by the human specie.

Jihad means to wage ware against the infidels in the name of Allah. This is based on the Quran, the teachings of Muhammad and conduct and conquests, and ample history. In fact, according to the salafi school of thought, which is ubiquitous thanks to the petrodollars, it's the sixth pillar of Islam. This is not an opinion, but a fact. Euphemism will not help liberal and decent Muslims against the fanatics, but honesty might. Islamic scholarship at the highest level need to delete jihad from the books. Will they ever? No that optimistic ... The elephant is in the room. When most Muslims view the Quran as human literature about the divine, and NOT divine literature about humans, and therefore should be subjected to scrutiny and careful critique like any human literature, then we won't be having this conversation. Jihad is EVIL! Must stop.

Waldo writes on Fate "And though nothing is more disgusting than the crowing about liberty by slaves, as most men are, and the flippant mistaking for freedom of some paper preamble like a " Declaration of Independence," or the statute right to vote, by those who have never dared to think or to act ..." Trump or Hillary, Sanders or Cruz, like it or not, are us in the mirror. Trump is a symptom of our sick society, riding high on anger and disappointments and illusions, however misplaced.

On the Spirit of the Times. I bet Waldo Emerson is turning in his grave. "But the mind, once prepared for the reign of principles, will easily find modes of expressing its will. There is the highest fitness in the place and time in which this enterprise is begun. Not in an obscure corner, not in a feudal Europe, not in an antiquated appanage where no onward step can be taken without rebellion, is this seed of benevolence laid in the furrow, with tears of hope; but in this broad America of God and man, where the forest is only now falling, or yet to fall, and the green earth opened to the inundation of emigrant men from all quarters of oppression and guilt; here, where not a family, not a few men, but mankind, shall say what shall be; here, we ask, Shall it be War, or shall it be Peace?" He had high hopes for our nation. What a disappointment we have been. Since WWII we have been at war. Only one president never fired a missile or drop a bomb, he went on to become a great hum

Some sobering facts about Yemen: GDP per capita In 2014 per day = $2. Literacy rate 40% for females and 77% for females. And that's before this genocidal war even began. The rich, gluttonous, good for nothing but excrement and offal Gulf Arabs - with our high-tech weapons and cluster bombs and support - have been bombing the poorest Arabs. Can you imagine living on that WITHOUT bombs, proudly made by uncle Sam and the UK , being dropped on your head for 10 months?. These prople are so poor, on the brink of starvation, so let's drop bombs on them and we'll call it mercy. Alleluia, praise the lord. How can our government particpate in such atrocities, in our names? Who is profiteering from these perpetual wars? ... Since WWII we have been at war. Only one president never fired a missile or drop a bomb, he went on to become a great humanitarian with a cultivated soul that inspires the world. Jimmy Carter is not just a good man, but a great human being! Jimmy Carter did not

"The cause of peace is not the cause of cowardice. If peace is sought to be defended or preserved for the safety of the luxurious and the timid, it is a sham, and the peace will be base. War is better, and the peace will be broken. If peace is to be maintained, it must be by brave men, who have come up to the same height as the hero, namely, the will to carry their life in their hand, and stake it at any instant for their principle, but who have gone one step beyond the hero, and will not seek another man's life;—men who have, by their intellectual insight, or else by their moral elevation, attained such a perception of their own intrinsic worth, that they do not think property or their own body a sufficient good to be saved by such dereliction of principle as treating a man like a sheep." Waldo Emerson I have been reading his essay on war. Since WWII we have been at war. Only one president never fired a missile or drop a bomb, he went on to become a great humanitarian

We say things that make one wonder how it all began. For instance, bite the bullet: the bullet is too hard to bite into, and who in the right mind would want to bite the bullet? Suppose I am crazy and I bite the bullet and I bite too hard and the bullet explodes in my mouth? ... here is another one: shoot: shoot who? You? Me? The dog? Makes no sense at all to shoot anyone or anything. And why? ... a million ways to skin the cat: which cat? Mine or yours? I don't like to skin cats. We don't eat cats to skin them. Do you kill the cat first, and then you skin it? Or do you skin it alive? No matter how you dice it (wait ... dice what, the tomatoes? ) It sounds cruel to me. Or, this one, she's a ham. Wait a minute, I thought she was a person not a meat cut.

Zachary Khalil Khelah is one of the kindest human beings I know. He has a heart of gold! And he's is a fine actor. Hit the links below to see for yourself! http://current.mnsun.com/2012/06/06/eden-prairie-high-school-students-win-fine-arts-awards/ http://www.swnewsmedia.com/eden_prairie_news/news/slide-show-eden-prairie-high-school-winter-theater/article_b5cfa78b-a7d3-566b-b454-88cdb7568d99.html http://www.swnewsmedia.com/eden_prairie_news/news/education/ephs-students-given-drama-awards/article_5802b1f6-b3db-5e72-b027-e6ff028042e1.html https://about.me/zacharykhalilkhelah

It's reported that Eden Prairie Police applied tazer to an innocent man who was essentially minding his own business. More on this disturbing story coming soon ... Eden Prairie Police committed a crime on suspicions only

Article II, Section 2: “[The President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint…Judges of the Supreme Court, EXCEPT when serving his last year in office." What's the fuss all about? The constitution is crystal clear. I learned something new about our conversation. ... Honesty in politics is an oxymoron; it would throw the whole thing out; can you imagine? The whole system would collapse.

Honesty in politics is an oxymoron; it would throw the whole thing out; can you imagine? The whole system would collapse. And I don't believe the masses would like that. Hence, the folly of life.

People often, very often, think they look much better than they actually look. Why? So they build up this image in their head and expect themselves to look that way, fiction. But when they look in the mirror, they're looking at two images, the real one in the mirror and the fictional one in their head. Disappointed. But I think women and men should be kind to themselves and love the person they see in the mirror. Because it's them. The blemish and the wrinkle and the loose belly and the sagging butt tell a story about who we are, what we've been through, and that you're beautiful and fine the way you are! Just be kind to yourself and love the person you see in the mirror.

Legend has it that Caribou once lived there, and there were sightings in the 1980s. I stand corrected however, there are none today. But again, this is a humble attempt to capture the majesty of this special place that's dear to my heart.

Black history month: potato chips. Love that crispy snack? Legend has it that potato chips were invented by George Crum, an African American who ran a restaurant in Saratoga, NY. And the story went something like this. A fickle unhappy customer complained to George that his potatoes were too thick and not salty enough. George, a bit irritated, went back to his kitchen and sliced some fresh potatoes thinly and added some more salt and fried them. The customer still complained that they still were not thin enough and not salty enough. By now George became angry, and went back and sliced them so thinly and dumbed so much salt on the crispy potatoes, and thought ... that would teach that annoying  customer a lesson, there! To his surprise, the customer loved them. George Crum started then serving Saratoga chips with every meal at his restaurant. He never patented his invention however, but still retired a wealthy man. ... (George was smart on more than one account. Apparently he didn't

Art, in all its forms, make us wholesome. Art is the epitome of civilization. I keep looking at this painting ... I see hope I see despair, I see beauty I see anxiety, I see confidence I see bewilderment, I see peace I see the storm, and I see the inherent complexity of being human. And I see the impermanence of things: that that sweet face shall one day fade away.

People often become like the god they worship, the stories they tell and are told, the images they see and help create.

I always try to focus on positive things and uplift all who come my way. But tonight, my friends, I am thinking about the poor people of Yemen.  Please forgive me. I don't mean to cloy your ear. ... Yemen GDP per capita In 2014 per day = $2. And that's before this genocidal war even began. The rich, gluttonous, good for nothing but excrement  and garbage gulf Arabs - with our high-tech weapons and cluster bombs and support - have been bombing the poorest Arabs. Can you imagine living on $2 a day WITHOUT bombs, proudly made by uncle Sam, being dropped on your head for 18 months?. These prople are so poor, on the brink of starvation, so let's drop bombs on them and we'll call it mercy. Alleluia, praise the lord. How can our government particpate in such atrocities? Who is profiteering from these perpetual wars? But then again: There are times when one would like to hang the whole human race, and finish the farce.

When God decides to send his arctic -50 weather somewhere, he doesn't send it to Honolulu, he sends it to Minnesota. Why? She figured in her ultimate wisdom that Minnesotans are hardy and they're just too nice to complain (I can tell you they don't like people who complain.) and mild-mannered and not confrontational and they keep their heads down when walking - I know I am married to one - so the icy sidewalks are just fine and they never stare (I love that about them: what I call public-privacy). He must've known all of this and he decided they're even better for it and a bit of suffering is good for their souls. For if she were to send it to Honolulu the people would perish and freeze to death. And God doesn't like that, sometimes. The only thing is God never consulted me in the matter; and knowing him I doubt that he will. But I have good options for him. Good night.