Definition of Opinion:  A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.

Please be respectful to others with differing opinions. 

Jim Coats

I was more than a little down today.

We have a Congress that is supposed to be For The People...and they cannot come to an agreement on funding Our government....protecting the voting rights of our Citizens....and so much more.  I won't bore you with the list.  I will say from my viewpoint....Follow The Money.  It's always about the money and power.  I am disappointed, but not surprised.  I hope they enjoy their recess.

Our President cannot get it through his head that Iran will Never capitulate.  Jihad is the overriding belief of "true believers" and there is No end to their depravity.  As a Christian, I feel torn to continue the stand I have held for years and that is that there is No negotiating with the "leaders" of Iran.  I still feel that the only way for us (USA) to survive is to eliminate the IRGC and Theocratic leaders of Iran.  Eliminate them with extreme prejudice.  I don't know why POTUS hasn't "done" this.    I will also point out that I believe any kind of "peace" with Hamas is a pipe dream.  They deserve the same fate that I outlined above.  For myself, I will have to face final judgement for my thoughts and beliefs on these matters.

There is hope however.  I'm not as down as I was at the beginning of this post.  I just listened to and watched Carrie Underwood on YouTube sing How Great Thou Art.  My sweet wife recommended it and she was right.  Sometimes it takes more than our dear pastor to drive hope back into one's heart.  Watch, listen and see if you aren't lifted up and have some hope shine for you on the horizon.

Best Regards and love to all my classmates.

Bill RIHS

Jim, great post! Iran, as usual we are on the same page👍. Never peace if IRGC and clerics are not killed and new government installed.

Michael Kelly

Michael Kelly

Frank Wiley

"How Great Thou Art"--Great Song and uplifting!  I've enjoyed it since High School!

Lester Cox

Carrie Underwoods performance of How Great Thou Art at the Ryman Theater is simply perfect. No audiance, just her and her band spreading God's word via this awesome video. On another note, not sure who has seen this, but Trey Gowdy gave a magnificent eulogy at Lindsay Graham's funeral in South Carolina. Trey is one of the great speakers of our time and I wish he would run for President. Here is his talk if you care to watch. About 30 minutes.  https://youtu.be/hBvxu0qHyX0?is=WiWO4jf8QQ73bn7Q

Mary Powers (Evans)

Ah, "How Great Thou Art."  I remember hearing George Beverly Shea sing that at a Billy Graham crusade at the ASU packed stadium.  I still have a vinyl album of his with that song.  Years later, I had the privilege of briefly meeting him personally, but, alas, without singing.

David Rainwater

...And I remember my Dad practicing that song over and over - with my Mom at the piano - for a solo at church.

Michael Kelly

I heard Carrie Underwood sing  "How Great Thou Art" with Vince Gill accompanying her on Guitar. It was a Great Tribute to  our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Frank Wiley

A Special Thanks to all those who shed their blood for Our Country!!

DeWitt Bacon

Thanks, Frank.

While serving on a buoy tender in Ketchikan, Alaska, I cut my finger while trying to cut a rope. It hurt and bled like hell until the corpsman put a Band-Aid on it.

Michael Kelly

I haven't taken my official Vacation yet, and so I have posted this reminder that Vacations are alright, but postings are also permitted, unless, you have all been Raptured and that means that  no wonder I have been seeing Big Black Dogs circling outside my Front Door and strange Vehicles  Never Miind

Bill Randall

  When you find "Hallelujah" by the late Canadian Leonard Cohen your world will slow down. Only then can "Ready to Go HOME" by 10cc be understood.

Peace Spartens

Michael Kelly

If you watch the WNBA games as I dO, enjoying Clark of the Indianopolis Fever shooting nothing but Net 3 pointers almost at will, then it will be of interest to you that the WNBA has become embroiled in the "Controversy" over whether men should be allowed to pretend they are woman so that they can play in Women's Sports. Now as a personal opinion, I really thinK that at the very Crux of this alleged controversy is a "need of some" who wish to usurp the Natural Order of Things to prove a point, and that is that We decide our own Destiny, even as to the DNA you were born with, so that you are either a man or woman, BUT, some want to tinker even with this most basic issues of Creation. Why? I have my Opinion and am siure I am right. Back to the WNBA, they had to have an Emergency Meeting to decide if the WNBA was going to continue as a Women's Basketball Association, or they were going to throw open the Doors and Invite them All In. 

I just voted in the Western Journal's survey on the point and I answered Yes to the Question as to whether the WNBA needed to Not Allow this to Happen. Results  93 % were Yes, and only 7 % No. 

The most amazing thing is that the Question needs to be asked at all.

There is perhaps, a very large business opportunity here. People really like Women's Basketball as has been demonstrated the last 3 years. If the WNBA gets all mushy soft over saying this is a Women's League, period, the WNBA will be choked out within a year or less. WNBA Players will be looking for a New Place, to JUST PLAY BASKETBALL, WITH NO POLITICS/SOCIAL DYNAMICS THROWN IN TO MUDDY UP THE WATERS. 

Frank Wiley

The WNBA can continue its 4 letter title but replacing the "W" which stands for Women's, but keeping the same "W" which now would stand for Woke!!

Lester Cox

All the debate over Flock cameras and privacy has been pretty interesting.

I understand the concerns about the Fourth Amendment, although I think applying it directly to license-plate cameras may be a bit of a stretch. At the same time, these cameras have proven useful in solving crimes, locating stolen vehicles and helping find missing people. So I find myself wondering whether the trade-off in privacy is worth the benefit.

The reality is, cameras are already everywhere. I’ve read that if you live or work in Manhattan, you may be photographed hundreds of times in a single day.

But what really got me thinking about this happened today.

I called the Ford dealer in Show Low about a possible battery exchange on my Lincoln. I gave the service department my VIN, and they seemed to know just about everything about the vehicle—mileage, tire pressures, battery level, how much gas was in it and even where it was parked.

That was an eye-opener.

If that much information about a modern automobile can be accessed remotely, I have to believe a talented hacker could potentially track a lot of vehicles without ever needing a Flock camera.

I certainly don’t want to see America become a society where everyone is monitored and tracked every day. There has to be a line somewhere between public safety and personal privacy.

Then again, if somebody is tracking me every day, they’re probably getting pretty bored.

So I’m curious what everyone else thinks:

Flock cameras — good public-safety tool, unacceptable invasion of privacy, or a reasonable trade-off somewhere in between?

Frank Wiley

I agree Les.  If the Government isn't using the material in a dangerous way and it's secure I'm not doing anything egregious or unlawful!

Bill RIHS

I agree too with you Les. However, Sharon got clocked at 20 mph in a school zone. The picture shows her about 100 years from the first. School zone sign. She went driving school to avoid the record. The instructor told her she should have fought it. Too much time and effort. I say Sharon's case there need to be a calibration on that camera.

Michael Kelly

I remember reading some years back now, that in Arizona the Cameras were being used to give out Traffic Tickets, and Arizonians were becoming outraged at the rate these Tickets were being given, and the money it was costing them. 

Then, on a Christmas Eve, if I remember correctly, some Robin Hood like individual went around with a Clown Mask on, and got photographed by some of the Cameras and He Spray Painted the Camera's Black or White, doesnt matter, but Wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

We have not yet Fallen, for We Still have our Heroes!

Lester Cox

Bill, I agree with the instructor. Sharon should have gone to court, shown the judge the picture, and walked free.

My last ticket was years ago, 80 in a 65 coming down the hill from superior to the valley. Cop wrote it for 75 so that was a little break. I checked and the school was about the same cost as the ticket and my best friend and also my insurance agent told me one ticket won't hurt my record. So, I paid the fine and reserved school in case I got another. My court would have been in Kearney AZ, real convenient. I did traffic school one time a long time ago and a root canal would have been favorable. 

I really dislike speed cameras. I have no problem with red-light cameras, especially for people running red lights or making dangerous left turns. Those violations can kill people.

But driving 11 miles per hour over the speed limit, staying in my lane on a clear, dry day, doesn’t necessarily create nearly the danger of someone driving the speed limit while weaving in and out of traffic and constantly changing lanes.

Yet I’m the one who gets the ticket, while the truly dangerous driver may go on his merry way.

That’s the problem with automated enforcement—it measures a number, but it can’t measure judgment, road conditions, or dangerous driving behavior.

Seems like applying a little common sense these days is becoming less and less common.

Bill RIHS

My X5 tells me when I am come up to a red light camera, I don't know if it's the Waze app or the Bimer, but a good thing. Sharon's class was the same as the ticket, $274. There were 40 in her class all caught at the same place. It was a Moble system and long gone after about one week.

Bill RIHS

My X5 tells me when I am come up to a red light camera, I don't know if it's the Waze app or the Bimer, but a good thing. Sharon's class was the same as the ticket, $274. There were 40 in her class all caught at the same place. It was a Moble system and long gone after about one week.

Lester Cox

Hey Bill, my Lincoln does the same thing, tells me about police, cameras and construction ahead. Not sure if it is Waze or some google AI. Funny though, my Tesla doesn't say a word. I haven't tried but maybe Groc will do it. I do know that Pat and me were driving down Stapely and I mentioned that we had not been to Charlestons in a long time, at there was one on our left. Groc chimed in and began a long disortation about Charleston SC. It was like the Chamber of Commerce had sprung to life. I'm buying my buddies 2026 Launch series Tesla Model Y from his estate and the full self driving on that vehicle is nothing short of phenominal. Tell it where you want to go, push a button on the screen and sit back with your hands on your lap and enjoy the ride. I can't even imagine what my dad or grand parents would think about all this, but I love the technology advancements. 

Michael Kelly

I thihk now that we have been in the Middle East for a good period of time and have tested all our equipment, that it is time to "Lower the Boom" on the Islamist extremists in Iran, annihilat4e them, and have Elizabeth Warren "Faux O Hantas" find us an Off Ramp and get the Troops back home. After all the Democrats need to have a way to Save Face for later with some kind of headline. 

Michael Kelly

Traffic Cameras are the perfect excuse for Target Practice.