Christiansen's Coments...Hinds county Gazette

Yippee

Blog spot would not let me place pictures like I wanted today...Taylor is at the bottom of the page...

Keith McKey and Whit

Angela and Whit thier first meeting

Yippee!!!!!

I just became aware, this very morning, that there is still one thing on this old body that still works.

Yesterday, Sunday, was the day we changed our clocks, left daylight savings time behind and went back to the real, genuine, authentic time. Back when I was growing up the time never changed. When did daylight savings became official …early 70s? Well, not sure… but when ever it was, since then, I have been discombobulated for two or three weeks in the Fall when we “fall back” and two or three weeks in the Spring when we “spring forward”.

My knees hurt, my hands ache, my brain and body has slowed down, way down. But when I woke up this morning and the clock said 5:30 and not 4:30...4:30 has been my usual time since Spring…It tumbled to me, a “Bear of little brain”. I do not wake up abnormally early…It is my body clock, it just does not change, I wake up the same time summer and winter. So the rest of my old carcass is wearing out, but my body clock is still working!!!! Never stopped!!!!! For some reason I find that comforting.

I still do not like the shorter days…but there are no more hours of sun light in the days of winter…. no matter what time we by.

Next week ,I will be bringing my Christmas tree down from the attic and begin the setting up process, then commence hanging ornaments….This might be a bit early even for me. But, I am not even one of the “busy” people and my calendar is filling right on up. And Of Course I do not want to miss anything….So the tree will get ornamented in fits and starts again this year

.

I am more energized about setting up the tree up this year…because of Whit…but I am not so sure he will be very excited…. at 1 ½ years old …everything is new to him…so even quite atypical occurrences are just part of his normal day. He watches with curiosity, and great interest, but not with amazement…..it has been my observance it is when children get a little older, is when they begin realize, a speeding fire truck with sirens screaming, is not an everyday happening…then they get excited and amazed. Right now for Whit, a train whistling down the track is no more or less exciting then finding a new rock. Whit is rather fond of rocks, he has quite a collection.

Last week, East Group Properties in down town Jackson , had a Trick or Treat Party. Keith, Peggy Ann’s husband, and my daughter Angela work there…it was for the children and grand children of the employees. Peggy Ann and I, not ones to miss a party if we can help it, went and borrowed us each a grand child, Whit and his big brother, 5 year old, Taylor…and headed to Jackson. I told you all of that to tell you this… Taylor was far more excited then Whit…to Whit it was just another day in his world…an interesting day to be sure…but no more fascinating then standing at the fence in his back yard watching the goats.

Taylor looking uo at the tall building in down town Jackson Mississippi

Got to go! I want to try a new tamale recipe Lindsay Noble Jr. gave me…interesting, instead of wrapping them in corn husks they are wrapped in coffee filters.



　

Whit enjoying his loot

Christiansen's Comments From Hinds County Gazette 10/27/2011

Think on this…

It is recess time and a class room of 4^th graders are on the play ground, there are three swings and three children are occupying the swings. …..one of the children decides he wants to have the other children’s swings…so he takes them. Is that appropriate behavior?

You know, the older I get the less politically opinionated I have become. Honestly, I can’t keep up with the politics and the ins and outs of government. Truth , seems to me is not only the “first causality of war” Truth appears to me, is also a causality in political affairs and government dealings. Maybe there is not so much out and out lying , as omitting of vital details.

We The People were lead to believe things were rocking along just fine back in 2007…then we woke up one morning the stock market was taking a nose-dive, mortgage companies and Banks were in serious trouble, the housing market was collapsing, 401 Ks had lost billions and folks retirement investments were in serious jeopardy. And the bail outs began …we are still reeling from all of that.

Why did we not see that coming…I have come to believe crucial details were left out all along the way…by government, banks, Wall Street. The news media at one time did a better job of keeping us in the loop….but bless their hearts ….they have all “news” they can handle just trying to keep up with Charlie, Lindsey, Brittney, Paris and all those other celebs….OH! OH! And who might be getting kicked off of Dancing with the Stars, they keep us in that loop.

So anyway, I some years back made the decision I would no longer watch the news…because it made me angry and there was nothing I could do. In fact by the time the public becomes aware of the bizarre happenings out there in the world of government and high finance…it is already in catastrophe stage…too massive for me, bear of little brain, to do anything about. So I became a more or less isolationist …. I made this decision, where politics were concerned, I would mind my own business and stick my nose into nothing except what effects this hill.

So now then about Initiative 31 that will be on our ballots November 8.…Initiative 31, involves us all, it deals with eminent domain ….the government can acquire land from folks for the good of all…roads, schools, utilities all such as that …..anyway that was the way it was until the 2005 supreme court ruling.

From. About.com

July 2005

"In its 5-4 decision in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important, if very controversial, interpretation of the government's power of "eminent domain," or the power of the government to take land from property owners.


The power of eminent domain is granted to governmental bodies -- federal, state and local -- by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, under the simple phrase, "...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." In simple terms, the government can take privately owned land, as long as the land will be used by the public and the owner is paid a fair price for the land, what the amendment calls, "just compensation."


Before Kelo v. City of New London, cities typically exercised their power of eminent domain to acquire property for facilities clearly intended for use by the public, like schools, freeways or bridges. While such eminent domain actions are often viewed as distasteful, they are generally accepted because of their overall benefit to the public.

The case of Kelo v. City of New London, however, involved a new trend among cities to use eminent domain to acquire land for the redevelopment or revitalization of depressed areas. Basically, the use of eminent domain for economic, rather than public purposes."

So back to the kid on the play ground that seized the swings, who took them from the children who were there first and swinging happily and turned the swings over to another party, not for the good of all the school’s children, but to his the friends.     Is that a nice way to play?

So then now I ask this, is it a nice thing to do for the government of Mississippi to be able invoke eminent domain and commandeer land from rightful owners, who do not want to sell their land and give it to someone else….not for the good of all but so those folks can profit? Would that a nice way to treat the citizens of Mississippi?

Initiative 31, does at least, keep the Government of Mississippi from selling or giving it away for ten years.

summary of the amendment reads as follows

Initiative #31 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to prohibit state and local government from taking private property by eminent domain and then conveying it to other persons or private businesses for a period of ten years after acquisition. Exceptions from the prohibition include drainage and levee facilities, roads, bridges, ports, airports, common carriers, and utilities. The prohibition would not apply in certain situations, including public nuisance, structures unfit for human habitation, or abandoned

property.[9]



Summary of the 2005 United States Supreme court decision. Read the last line if you read no other part of it.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005)[1] was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another to further economic development. The case arose from the condemnation by New London, Connecticut, of privately owned real property so that it could be used as part of a comprehensive redevelopment plan which promised 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million a year in tax revenues. The Court held in a 5–4 decision that the general benefits a community enjoyed from economic growth qualified such redevelopment plans as a permissible "public use" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.


The city eventually agreed to move Susette Kelo's house to a new location and to pay substantial additional compensation to other homeowners. The redeveloper was unable to obtain financing and abandoned the redevelopment project, leaving the land as an empty lot,[2] which was eventually turned into a dump by the city."
At some point We the people must stop relinquishing our unalienable rights to the government,…I shall be voting “yes” on Initiative #31



Call if you need me

Christiansen's Comments for publication Hinds county Gazette October 20 2011

Mississippi Summers are hot, and so very, very humid, just wretched.

 Therefore we don’t plan many happenings from end of May until the end of September. About the only time we get out of our limp, flimsy, comfy clothes is to go to church or a funeral.

And as the generation before us, those who at least tried to set a standard of dress for us, now that they are passing on…you can see most any kind of attire now…even at funeral and weddings. My “uniform” this past summer was a wrinkled, (designed to be wrinkled) roomy, all cotton, pants and tops…I had two outfits of them in the natural color and one black…If you saw me this summer you saw me in one of those…even at church…My mother would have fussed, “They look like Pajamas to me.”

But, we here in rural Hinds County have been running in the fast lane lately, beginning for me, with Edwards Cemetery day, the first day of October.

Cemetery Day was closely followed, by ten days of pilgrimage events in Raymond. October 9, Bethesda Presbyterian Church, it is just south of Edwards, on Cannada Cross road, they had their 133 homecoming, with dinner on the grounds. That afternoon it was on to Second Sunday at St Mary‘s Episcopal in Bolton. The blessing of the animals was at 3 and Evening Prayers at 4, followed by the Hinds community college’s Jubilee singers…there just not enough weekends or weekdays for that matter in the month of October to get everything in, so most weekends there are multiple events. And besides the community events … there are football games, soccer games, pig pick’ns, flea markets and the Mississippi state fair etc….

The calendar is chaotic with all the carryings on…and you do not want to miss anything you are invited to if you can help it…this past Saturday evening, Peggy Ann, (Keith was out of town), and I, attempted to get to three, we got to two…the third we became hopelessly lost…The GPS on Peggy phone was so inconsistent we could never get the “Pin” and the “Pulsating Dot” together no matter which way we turned…and we went every which way but up! It was dark and it got to be very late…So we way on after while finally gave up and went home….we were enormously disappointed.

I haven’t mentioned my new dog Emma yet. Emma’s linage is unknown, speculations include, a mix of…. beagle, lab, Jack Russell, pit bull, and heeler …don’t know how big she is going to be ether…those guesses range from “she is about as big, as she is going to get” to “one hand shy of a Shetland pony.” Do not know how old she is ether…she still has baby teeth….and she chews a lot.

My New Dog Emma

Whit's New best friend

We are going to Bolton to Dr. Farr this week and get her shots, and see what he says…And to Gaddis McLaurin to get her a collar with her name and phone number on it. Kay turner went with me to pick up Emma, she harped all the way home that “Emma needs to have a collar” Kay wanted it with a phone number and a name to call.
So I put a collar on Emma …but it is not hers, it is Shelby’s, Shelby is my borrowed dog…I borrowed her from Jacqueline and Russell…when daughter Angela borrowed my dog Charlie…and I was dog less. Shelby does not need a collar, she never leaves this hill. Shelby’s Collar has Russell’s name and number on it…But it satisfied Kay, and put her mind at ease.
Emma is a wonderful dog! Shelby, Scout and I are tickled to have her.
Love to all
Call if you need me