I have moved my blog to Word Press.
Like others, I have had it with Blogger.

My new address is:

jbm479.wordpress.com

Three Arches Above Utah
Credit & Copyright: Brad Goldpaint (Goldpaint Photography)

Explanation: How many arches can you count in the above image? If you count both spans of the Double Arch in the Arches National Park in Utah, USA, then two. But since the above image was taken during a clear dark night, it caught a photogenic third arch far in the distance -- that of the overreaching Milky Way Galaxy. Because we are situated in the midst of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, the band of the central disk appears all around us. The sandstone arches of the Double Arch were formed from the erosion of falling water. The larger arch rises over 30 meters above the surrounding salt bed and spans close to 50 meters across. The dark silhouettes across the image bottom are sandstone monoliths left over from silt-filled crevices in an evaporated 300 million year old salty sea. A dim flow created by light pollution from Moab, Utah can also be seen in the distance.

Tim Pawlenty Wants To Be President

Tim Pawlenty (ex Gov. of Minnesota) announced today he wants to be President of the United States. He may very well have a serious shot at the Republican party nomination. Compared to the bat shit crazies (Palin, Newt, Bachmann, etc.) running for the nomination, he appears to be the sanest of the bunch. So it's time to remind the public of his record.

In short he took Minnesota from a 600 million dollar surplus (when he took office) to a 6 billion dollar debt (when he left office) in his eight years as Governor.

A perfect match with the national Republican party which (during the same years Pawlenty was Gov. of Minnesota) added 6-1/2 Trillion to the national debt. Pawlenty is a real Republican poster boy. In today's press conference, Pawlenty cited his responsible fiscal record as exactly what America needs compared to Obama's dangerous spending.

Pawlenty was one of the Republican politicians who signed the "No New Tax" pledge, and claimed (not true) he never raised taxes in Minnesota. Of course Math being what it is, local property and school taxes have shot up since Pawlenty became Governor.

Minnesota lost its surplus and its top credit rating. Pawlenty did raise taxes, although he called them fees, not taxes, in order to keep his promise to not raise taxes. Services (like snowplowing - in a Winter State) have diminished. Our education standing has dropped. Our bridges are falling down. Our poor were kicked off State medical care, increasing emergency room use at a much higher cost than the cost of insuring those people. He made it illegal to buy drugs from Canada, which was saving Minnesotans millions compared to buying from American companies.

I could go on, but the point is Pawlenty is no different than the Republicans who have brought America to its financial knees. Not once did he try to lead, and explain to the people that we needed to pay our bills. He is the poster boy for irresponsible, negligent fiscal leadership. The irony that he will run on being fiscally responsible, is laughable, and dangerous if he wins office.

He raised the price of a pack of cigarettes one dollar, but claimed that was a fee, not a tax. That money did not go to some fund to pay for the medical costs of smokers, but to the general treasury. So a minority (21% of Minnesotans smoke) are now paying a larger amount than other Minnesotans, to pay for the bills of all Minnesotans. This word game (tax or fee) has helped his reputation in the Republican party.

Tim Pawlenty will be an extension of the proven failure of the Republican fiscal policies of the last 30 years, that have created the 14 trillion dollar debt for America. So before America decides he is the sane Republican nominee, lets publicise his poor, dangerous record and force him (and the Republican party) to defend these insane Republican fiscal policies.

The Last Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour
Credit: NASA

Explanation: Two days ago, powerful yet controlled explosions rocketed the Space Shuttle Endeavour on its final trip into Earth orbit. The above image was taken seconds after liftoff as the massive orbiter and six astronauts began a climb to a height where the atmosphere is so thin it is unbreathable. The shuttle, on mission STS-134, is expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) today. The Endeavour will deliver to the ISS, among other things, an ambitious detector called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 (AMS), a detector that over the next few years could detect a significant abundance of specific types of dark matter, charged antimatter, and even a strangely possible variation of familiar matter called strangelets. The very last trip for any space shuttle is currently planned for mid-July when Atlantis will also visit the space station.

The Best Show In Town

A Starry Night of Iceland
Credit: Stephane Vetter (Nuits sacrees)

Explanation: On some nights, the sky is the best show in town. On this night, the sky was not only the best show in town, but a composite image of the sky won an international competition for landscape astrophotography. The above winning image was taken two months ago over Jökulsárlón, the largest glacial lake in Iceland. The photographer combined six exposures to capture not only two green auroral rings, but their reflections off the serene lake. Visible in the distant background sky is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, the Pleiades open clusters of stars, and the Andromeda galaxy. A powerful coronal mass ejection from the Sun caused auroras to be seen as far south as Wisconsin, USA. As the Sun progresses toward solar maximum in the next few years, many more spectacular images of aurora are expected.

It's Not A Matter Of Political Philosophy

Running an efficient government, is not a matter of political philosophy. Choosing priorities, thus charting the direction of the future of the government (and our country) can be political philosophy. But we have a model to follow when making those priorities, it's called The Constitution of the United States; not to mention our other founding documents.

Those documents (the Constitution specifically) state, that this union was set up for the betterment of the people. "We the people.......", is the first line. The "Bill of Rights" are its most important base as a legal document. That is our guide to making priority choices for our government, thus ourselves.

When in question; the slant of a decision goes towards what is best for the people, not some corporation, or economic (capitalism) system.

The words capitalism, capitalist, profit, corporation (get the point) do not appear in the founding documents.

What we spend our money on can be guided by political philosophy, but the responsible action of having a balanced budget, is not a political philosophy, it is just common sense and good business judgment. Something the Republicans have not shown in government leadership for at least 30 years. The proof, is the current financial result of their past fiscal policies.

I laugh at the Republicans who NOW appear to want fiscal responsibility; and their plan will destroy programs that generations of Americans have spent blood, hard work, commitment, and yes their money (higher taxes) to build.

Could we take a different course? Sure, but why destroy a societies progress which has proven to improve the lives within that society, just to cover for one generation of selfish, power hungry Republican politicians?

It's to easy to blame the people. No one wants to pay more taxes. The people have been coned by crooked Republican politicians who promise a "free lunch." Republicans have reaped their political wins at the cost of the future financial health of America. Not once did they try to lead the people, to the idea that we had to pay our bills.

Irresponsible leadership, is the enemy of America. Republicans have been as irresponsible in leading the government, as a drunk deciding to drive a car. And like a drunk driver, they are remorseful now, but the patient is nearly dead. A little late for apologies, which like most drunk drivers, they don't even offer. It's past time, to take their driver's license away.

Doing the right thing can sometimes be a moral question, but the answer will not be found within a political philosophy. The last place you will find morality, is within a group of politicians. Democrats are not any more correct, or moral, but Republicans have been SO wrong and immoral.

The people who have voted for and supported these unethical Republicans, must also take inventory of their morality and character. Do (did) you really believe cutting taxes is the only answer to our national fiscal problems? No, then why support the party whose motto is "Cut Taxes, Cut Taxes - No New Taxes, No New Taxes."

There is a simple reason why our States and our National governments are in debt, because we refuse to pay our bills and the immoral leaders we listened to said that was the right thing to do.

There is blame enough for the people, but the culprits are the irresponsible Republicans.

I'm sure the Republican response to this post will be, both parties are to blame. That is already their excuse to deflect blame. Bullshit!

The Sombrero Galaxy from Hubble
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI / AURA)

Explanation: What's going on in the center of this spiral galaxy? Named the Sombrero Galaxy for its hat-like resemblance, M104 features a prominent dust lane and a bright halo of stars and globular clusters. Reasons for the Sombrero's hat-like appearance include an unusually large and extended central bulge of stars, and dark prominent dust lanes that appear in a disk that we see nearly edge-on. Billions of old stars cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge. Close inspection of the bulge in the above photograph shows many points of light that are actually globular clusters. M104's spectacular dust rings harbor many younger and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers don't yet fully understand. The very center of the Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large black hole. Fifty million-year-old light from the Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.

Rene Magritte

Rene Magritte (1898-1967) was a Belgian Surrealist painter who was trained in Brussels and traveled in France, Britain, Germany and Holland. He lived near Paris, 1927 and came into contact with the French Surrealist movement, although he painted some Impressionist-style pictures during World War II. He later lived in Brussels and painted murals for Belgian public buildings. His pale and dryly painted works have a dream-like clarity, with, frequently, an unexpected wittiness. They often have nude women, sometimes accompanied by men in bowler hats, and similar incongruities.

Bud Chapman Golf Holes

Loyal H. "Bud" Chapman, a native of Minnesota, was born in 1923. He began painting at an early age and played his first round of golf as a caddie at the age of 12 at Interlachen County Club, the sight where Bobby Jones finalized his Grand Slam. During World War II he flew b-29's and created a comic strip called "Willie Washout". After his discharge from the service he attended the Walker Art School in Minneapolis, and later opened his own art studio, starting his career as a commercial artist. In 1972 he started and completed his first golf painting of Victoria Falls Golf Club. 17 more holes followed over the next 10 years that were to be the 18 "Infamous Golf Holes". Check out all his art here.

I am not a golfer, never have been. My brother is obsessed with the game. He will take a jet on a Friday, fly to some nice course in the Southwest United States, play all weekend, and fly back Sunday night. He does this 2 weekends a month, that's what I call obsessed.

I find Mr. Chapman's artwork, great. It also appeals to my surrealistic appreciations.

Planet Gazing

Dawn of the Planets
Image Credit & Copyright: Luis Argerich

Explanation: This month, four of the five naked-eye planets gather along the eastern horizon near dawn. The celestial grouping is seen here just before sunrise on May 5, from a beach near Buenos Aires, Argentina. Starting near the top of the frame, the brightest beacon is Venus. Mercury is below and right of Venus and brilliant Jupiter is lower still, near image center. Below Jupiter, Mars is relatively faint and struggles the most to shine through a thin cloud bank and the warming twilight glow. Watch, and as the month progresses the tantalizing configuration will change, with Mars and Jupiter moving higher while Venus and Mercury wander through the sky closer to the rising sun.