"I don't pray for money. I pray for wisdom. I would rather have one honest dollar and wisdom than $1 million and no wisdom. Without wisdom, I probably would lose the $1 million and my life. With wisdom, I can build a fortune and a happy life."
--Michael Hooper 7-13-2016
"We can hope for a better tomorrow, but we have only today to make our dreams come true," said Michael Hooper, July 3, 2016.
"Nature Creates Homes"
--Michael Hooper, July 7, 2016
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Guns Take Away Our Freedom
The common thinking about guns is they protect us from our enemies and ensure our freedom and safety. This is a fallacy. A truly responsible gun owner -- a person on alert -- is actually missing out on life. Why? Because a person carrying a gun must have a hyper-consciousness, a super awareness, to sense the enemy and shoot to kill if the situation requires it. If you are the least bit unaware, you might get shot yourself, or someone might take your gun from you and use it against you. Achieving a state of hyper consciousness requires tremendous commitment and devotion to safety. Why does this limit your freedom? Because if you are spending all your time managing your gun and thinking of ways to use it against your enemy, you are not enjoying the moment. You are at a rock concert, you are thinking about your gun and how to use it. Can you truly enjoy the moment with a revolver in your pants? Some people are comfortable with a gun, but get too comfortable with your gun, its value goes down substantially. Now people are willing to take the risk and responsibility of owning and carrying a gun. This step increases fear. The higher number of guns in circulation, the higher levels of fear and distrust. Cops fear black people are going to kill them even though their fear is often misplaced. As a result, cops have shot black people who are no threat at all. There is multiple cases of this happening. The end result is more distrust. Black people are protesting, rightfully so, to stop the cops from shooting them. Black lives do matter. All lives matter. Regardless of race, all peoples in America are under a threat that didn't exist 30 years ago. We have a mass shooting in America every day. Escalating violence has led to more gun ownership, and therefore more fear. I know someone who said he was worried his shotgun and revolver would not be sufficient to fight off 15 people invading his house. So he acquired an AR15. But is there a real threat of 15 people coming into your house? I don't think so. Burglaries usually don't involve more than two people. But my friend's fear is driving him to purchase yet more weaponry. I am willing to take the risk of not owning a gun. First of all I don't want the responsibility of owning a gun. I have children and young nieces and a nephew. I eliminate the risk of accidental shooting by having no gun in my house. There is too much access to guns. In many homicides and accidental shootings, if there had been no gun, there would have been no death. No gun, no death. Without a gun, I am free to absorb the moment, free to look at the concert and enjoy the show, free to listen to a conversation and follow it with real sincerity. The highest compliment you can pay a person is giving your ear, fully listening to their words and feelings and reassuring them you can empathize and understand. But if there is too much noise and fear in and around your brain, you can't pay attention, you are too busy worried about killing the enemy. The enemy lives in our brains. The enemy is fear. Fear is a weed that can't be killed with more guns. I don't feel safer when a person carries a semi-automatic weapon into the grocery store. Only greater understanding and higher levels of trust will produce peace. The gun limits that. Freedom is the ability to live without fear and restraint, the ability to look at a person in the eye and see humanity and share life as a divine gift, to breathe the same air and know that we are humans together. Let us find a way to stop guns from being the barrier to freedom and shared humanity. Let us live freely without restraint, with the hope to move forward in the direction of our dreams of a safe and viable community, nation and world. Put down your guns. Peace can be had, if we all work together to achieve this goal.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Farmers Battle Low Corn Price With Higher Production
Farmers hold two to three years supply of corn waiting for better prices. Crop production has surged to 300 bushels per acre in recent years.
A combination of genetics, excellent management, and pest-free environments have contributed to farmers producing 300 bushels of corn per acre.
Take some profits in corn now because another bumper crop may cause prices to plummet.http://seekingalpha.com/article/3981529-farmers-counter-low-corn-price-300-bushel-per-acre-corn
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Cyclists brave tough terrain in increasingly popular Dirty Kanza race
EMPORIA — Cyclists battled hot sun, wind and tough road conditions in
the Dirty Kanza bicycle ride through the Flint Hills of Kansas on June
4, 2016.
Andrew Escandon, 24, of Topeka, suffered six flats over the 200-mile course. On the third flat, he was riding 30 mph downhill when he heard a hissing sound from a tire, the inner tube had been pinched and needed to be replaced.
“That was so disappointing,” Escandon said. “It took me 17 hours to finish. My time was comparable to last year due to the flats and trying to play catch up to the other riders in the DK200.”
The theme for the 2016 Dirty Kanza was appropriately called “Find Your Limit.” About 1,900 riders had an opportunity to test themselves in the 200-mile course, the 100-mile, 50-mile or 20-mile fun ride, said Jim Cummins, founder and executive director of Dirty Kanza Promotions LLC.
To read more, click on the link
http://cjonline.com/news/2016-06-11/riders-brave-tough-terrain-increasingly-popular-dirty-kanza-race
Andrew Escandon, 24, of Topeka, suffered six flats over the 200-mile course. On the third flat, he was riding 30 mph downhill when he heard a hissing sound from a tire, the inner tube had been pinched and needed to be replaced.
“That was so disappointing,” Escandon said. “It took me 17 hours to finish. My time was comparable to last year due to the flats and trying to play catch up to the other riders in the DK200.”
The theme for the 2016 Dirty Kanza was appropriately called “Find Your Limit.” About 1,900 riders had an opportunity to test themselves in the 200-mile course, the 100-mile, 50-mile or 20-mile fun ride, said Jim Cummins, founder and executive director of Dirty Kanza Promotions LLC.
To read more, click on the link
http://cjonline.com/news/2016-06-11/riders-brave-tough-terrain-increasingly-popular-dirty-kanza-race
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
The Hippo Acquires The Elephant: Great Plains Energy Gobbles Up Westar Energy
Westar Energy (NYSE:WR) has agreed to be acquired by Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP), a company that is valued at $3 billion less than Westar.
Great
Plains Energy, the parent company of Kansas City Power & Light, has
a market capitalization of $4.5 billion compared with Westar Energy's
market cap of $7.5 billion.
In the late 1990s,
Westar tried to buy Kansas City Power & Light in a hostile takeover,
but was spurned. Now the roles are reversed, and KCP&L's parent
company is acquiring Westar Energy in a deal approved by the boards of
directors at both companies.
Click link to read the rest of the article:
Friday, May 27, 2016
Tax Returns Show Losses At St. Francis Health Center
St. Francis Health suffered a loss of $6.19 million in 2014, according to its Form 990 federal tax return.
The financial loss was worse than the $1.46 million loss incurred in 2013.
St. Francis is controlled by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, Inc., also known as SCL Health.
SCL Health announced Thursday it is soliciting proposals from health care providers interested in taking over St. Francis’ 378-bed hospital in Topeka.
http://cjonline.com/news/2016-05-26/st-francis-tax-returns-show-losses
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