About

I am a 53 year old white male who is an Independent voter.  I have been both a Democrat and Republican in my life, but find myself disillusioned by the extreme points of view of both parties. I would say I am more of a moderate left thinker. My day job is a consultant, but I spend a lot of volunteer time helping those in need – the impoverished, hungry and homeless. Yet, the Republican in me, wants to see a return on investment, so I am very big on helping people climb a ladder to self-sufficiency. We need fewer band-aids and more ways to empower people to improve their condition.

I am writing this as I believe the moderate, more rational view of political debate is not getting its fair share of air time. I am frequent watcher of the PBS News Hour which is the most unbiased view on what is happening in the world. I would encourage others who tend to watch the more conservative propaganda disguised as news or the extreme liberal outlets to watch this with me.

We need people to discuss the issues at hand and listen to each others’ arguments. We need to always look for context and the source of information. There is a lot of misinformation out there and anyone can be made to look like a fool by taking things out of context.

139 thoughts on “About”

  18. I just had to swing by your blog after you left that wonderful comment on mine. I am glad I did. I’d love to hear more about your views and experiences on life it sounds like you have a lot of wisdom stored up in an Old Fart. By the way, I can’t see any no old farts here, only wise, experienced, thinking people who have better things to do than iron out any wrinkles in their skin. Am now following :).

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    • Thanks for joining in the fun. I like your website. I told my wife I was bragging on her during an evening walk. When I said you liked Nigella, she said she loves her because Nigella ends her show sneaking in the kitchen for a snack. My daughter is almost fifteen and I am always bringing up female heroes – Rosa Parks, Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, etc. Best wishes and thanks. Keep up the good work.

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  34. On another note entirely, didn’t your legislature recently make it illegal for the sea to rise along your coastline!!?? First a ban against gay marriage now this! In Minnesota our legislature recently made it legal to carry a concealed weapon. But we don’t have any Atlantic coast line — or they probably would have followed your legislature. What an enlightened group of men and women. Kind of warms your heart, doesn’t it? Cheers!

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    • Our poor environmental stewards in Raleigh have decided to ignore a scientific forecast that the sea will rise by 39 inches by 2100. A group of 20 counties fought it and after revalidation of the forecast, the state legislature said we should only accept a historically relevant forecast of 8 inches. Maine, Louisiana and California all have forecasts much higher than 8 inches. Bald Head Island on the coast has overbuilt too close to the water and some houses have been consumed by the sea and others are sandbagged. My question is where are people going to buy insurance if they ignore what is happening?

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  35. Clearly the developers have a powerful lobby in your state. Sad business. You cry or you laugh — as Stephen Colbert did. Have you seen his take on this? It’s classic!

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  36. I couldn’t love your blog more. So, I nominated you for 4 awards!! newsofthetimes.org/2012/06/15/thank-yous-and-appreciation-an-embarassment-of-riches/ Do with these whatever feels right. Thanks for a fantastic blog!!

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  48. My friend, I think you are dutifully responding to spam! Your wordpress engine should cut it out, but it seems to be lying down on the job. I have noticed this before. You are too patient!

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  51. Hi there – I noticed that you have some comments posted that are word for word what show up in my wordpress inbox – usually as spam. Check your askimet filter and usually a good clue is multiple web addresses and links, very poor grammar, or a comment that really has no relation to what you posted about. From one noob to another, better safe than sorry – your blog site could get highjacked.,so delete delete delete. 😉 Looking forward to reading much more from a kindred spirit. I also suggest you check out barneysday at mountainperspectives.wordpress.com if you haven’t already. Best, Donna

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    • Many thanks. You are the best. I was attempting a draft yesterday and my pals at the cable company had yet another hiccup and I lost 2/3 of what I did. I will put something together. The hardest part was getting down to 10 and 5 recommendations.

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  59. Bin Laden was taken out on Obama’s watch, and it galls conservatives they cannot attack the POTUS for becoming weak in opposition to foreign terrorist threats. n nHad this accomplishment been made when Bush was nevertheless President, Rove, Sununu, and other suitable wing blowhards would be singing his praises and hailing him like a genius for his military leadership and clandestine operation decision-making.

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    • Thanks for reading and commenting. Obama’s foreigh policy has been strong and others around the world see it as evidenced by the higher survey marks he gets over Romney and how much our position has improved since Bush. What is also interesting about your point is Romney was advocating calling off the search for Bin Laden AND Obama overruled is generals saying we need to send two helicopters in to make sure we can verify we got him. So, it was not something anyone could do per Romney later. I look forward to future comments. BTG

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    • You are very kind to do this. I’ll check out what I need to do. I just got back from “The Hobbit” and I am beat. Great movie. Check it out in 3D. Thanks again, BTG

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  63. I’ve nominated you for THE WORDPRESS FAMILY AWARD

    THE RULES FOR THE AWARD ARE:

    1. Display the award logo on your blog.
    2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
    3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family
    4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them

    I’m proud to point my readers in your direction!

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  68. Nice to meet you. I think you are correct — we need to balance what we read and read more than one viewpoint. You wrote: “…We need people to discuss the issues at hand and listen to each others’ arguments. We need to always look for context and the source of information.” I totally agree with you on this view! I feel the news media is so controlled and true journalism rarely exists. We are told what to think. Great blog! Keep on writing!

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    • Erika, many thanks. I am very flattered. I must confess, I don’t do the awards thing, but the sentiment is greatly appreciated. You have an eternal new fan, though. All the best, Keith

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      • Awh, thank you, Keith, that made me smile 😊 That doesn’t matter at all. When I am passing on awards it is because I want to show my appreciation and also hope that some people will find their way to your blog 😊

      • Erika, your efforts are greatly appreciated. Thanks for the endorsement. I checked out Amanda’s VLOG and I told her it was fun to hear her voice. It was the next best thing to meeting her. The post I wanted you to see will be up tomorrow. It is called “Don’t hesitate to chat someone up.” Thanks my friend, Keith

      • Hey, you met Amanda!!! Yeah!!! She is my Amazing Amanda. Isn’t she a gem? She is awesome!!! I am looking forward to your post. I hope I can catch up a little now already with reading posts… Have a nice Saturday, Keith 😊

  78. PBS is unbiased? If so many were not being taken in by it, that would be funny.

    I was in my teens when NPR and PBS started broadcasting. At first I thought government-financed news and entertainment was a good idea. Then I slowly began to understand I was being very skillfully propagandized. When government (politicians) and crony capitalists see is able to control the mass media, propaganda is what happens.

    Entertainment and news programs always tend to be biased. That is the way market segmentation works. Crony Capitalism just makes it one-sided, and that’s a big problem.

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    • Citizen Tom, thanks for your comment. Market segmentation is a huge problem as people tend to flock to sources that tell them things that make them feel better about their beliefs. I understand your point about PBS and NPR, but do not agree with them propagandizing the news. With that said, I watch and read several news sources to make sure the issues are being well covered. I read enough to better understand when I am getting a more liberal or conservative view given the source. One of the things I do detest is too much focus is made on “who benefits politically” from an event or legislation. I care about the event or legislation more not who wins or loses. I feel this focus gets in the way of needed debate and change. Thanks for stopping by and offering your thoughts. Keith

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      • @Keith

        When we use government funds to propagate views that some of our fellows disagree with, we violate the rights of our fellows. Thus, PBS and NPR were problematic from their founding. It impossible for us to be entirely unbiased. If the people funding us are politicians, it is absurd to believe we would be unbiased.

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