Mark Knows It All

Be sure to visit: Mark Knows It All: The Web Site: www.markknowsitall.com Once upon a time I had a very close friend who was an Episcopal priest. He and I were alike in many ways, and in many ways we were different. Over the years, we shared many experiences in each other’s lives. Then things became strained, and then the relationship stopped altogether as we developed a different view of the world and said some things to each other we shouldn’t have. Sometimes things can't be taken back. But I did learn one important lesson from him. He attended seminary at a place called Nashotah House in Nashotah, Wisconsin. He often spoke fondly of it, and how happy he would be to move back there permanently. I always thought that was a bit strange because it was frickin’ Wisconsin. Lots of snow and lots of cold. Why would anyone want to live there? But over the years I heard him not only talk about the peace of the place, but live the peace in his life. Some of my fondest memories of my fr

Don't forget to visit http://www.markknowsitall.com/ Hope: to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true. Aspiration : a desire or ambition to achieve something. As the 2008 presidential campaign heats up, Barack Obama is in full gear selling his vision for the future of America. He is for “hope” and “change.” …and oh yes, peace. He is also for “peace.” Aren’t we all? Obama, the oratorical wunderkind with the speech cadence of Martin Luther King, is doing a fine job of telling us what we should hope for, and how he is going to give it to us. He is a riveting individual and a spell binding speech giver. Hope is a good thing, right? Obama believes Americans are “hope” deficient. Americans “hope” for universal (read “government run”) health care, even though 85% of Americans have coverage, and 25% of those who do not aren't American citizens, and an additional 14% of those who don’t can afford it but simply choose not buy it, and a portion of the re

VISIT: MARK KNOWS IT ALL: THE WEBSITE At what age do we become irrelevant? My conclusion is the older we get, the earlier that age becomes, and it is disheartening. When I was young, I was taught to treat folks who are older than me with a degree of respect. I still do to this day. Even though I am 58 years old, I still refer to people whom I have known since I was small as Mr. or Mrs. Whoever, simply because their age carries with it something of merit. They grew up in difficult times. Now the Baby Boomers, the largest and wealthiest segment of the population, are on the downhill side of middle age. By definition, we are aged between 50 and 65. But rather than enjoying any kind of respect, the digital age quickly moved us into the age of irrelevance vis-a-vis a younger group of people who not only have no regard for us, but have no regard for each other. Such are the egocentric twenty year olds, who have redefined the word "entitlement." These are the people raised on comput

The Westminster Kennel Club show is over, and Uno, the Beagle, was the winner. Clearly THE popular choice, he is now enjoying a blast of media hype, eating steak off a table at Sardi’s, and relegating Snoopy, the former most famous American beagle, into second place. Style is everything, and Uno has style. While style and breeding are de rigueur in dog shows, it also seems to be de rigueur in this year’s Democratic primary. What do we do with Obama? He is now the front runner in the Democratic presidential primary, blowing past a shrill and teary-eyed Hillary, who would have done well to heed the advice of the 1950’s hit “Cross Over the Bridge”, by leaving her “fickle past” behind her…and dumping that two timing, philandering husband of hers. We all love Bill, but methinks he done her in. Which leaves us with Barack. Let me start by saying I like this guy. He is the most refreshing politician to come down the pike since Ronald Reagan. When he says he wants “change”, I believe him. He g

While talking to my son the other night, I heard a strange rumble followed by him reaching for his cell phone. I then proceeded to watch him methodically and with much dexterity rapidly push a bunch of buttons using both thumbs. “What are you doing?” I asked. “Texting.” He said. “Wouldn’t it be easier just talk to the person on the phone?” I queried. “No!” he replied, and continued to text away. I have often questioned whether cell phones represent an advancement in telecommunications, or whether it is actually a step backward. Here is a gizmo that I have carry around in a case on my belt. The reception is usually pretty awful when I use it. It can do many things, but my fingers are too fat to push the buttons. I have to recharge the battery every night. And between my phone, my wife’s, my son’s, and my mother’s, I pay a lot of money to buy “minutes” which I may or may not use. On the other hand, there is my land line phone at home and the office. Locally, I can talk as long as I want

This morning Fox News reported a story concerning three lawmakers in the great State of Mississippi attempting to pass legislation that would ban restaurants from serving obese people. As I understand the legislation, it would use the body mass index (BMI) to measure who could be served and who would be turned away. The story also reported that using the standards in the proposed Mississippi legislation, Tom Brady and Eli Manning would both flunk the test, and go away hungry. I also would flunk the test, but I am definitely in the obese category. For those of you new to my ranting, I have written several times over the past two and half years about freedom loss creep. It comes in baby steps, as we grow accustomed to a new governmental intrusions in our lives. And it is usually veiled in something that sounds perfectly logical at the time. On a panel subsequently discussing the Mississippi food police story, the commentators made it clear that the law has no chance of passing. The healt