In need of anger management
The video of the driver deliberately running his BMW into a cyclist in an alley is very disturbing. It's shown in this news story:
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/23/bicyclist-pinned-against-trash-bin-in-beverly-hills-road-rage-incident/
I saw it and was immediately reminded of my last two run-ins with the issue of road rage on a personal level. My ex-wife and I were having a nice weekend drive when someone cut me off. Without conscious thought, in my anger, when we pulled up to him at the next light, I flipped him the bird and sped off. It was a dumb thing for me to do. He chased us. Nothing happened, thank goodness.
The other one that springs to mind was when I was out on a long bicycle ride. I was on Artesia at Grant, in Redondo Beach, stopped for a traffic light. Some a-holes pulled up next to me and one of them squirted me with a squirt gun through the car window. So I spit on the car and rode away. They tried to chase me, but I doubled back along a sidewalk and lost them. I'm not proud of having spit on that car and in retrospect, it was a dumb thing to do.
Yet I allowed someone to anger me the other night and let myself be dragged into a verbal confrontation. So maybe I learned something from all of the above and maybe I didn't. I do know that from the moment of that confrontation last week, I've been making a conscious effort to simply ignore the things that push my buttons. It isn't easy. As one of my former bosses once noted (probably the favorite of all the bosses I've ever worked for), my two biggest flaws are that I don't suffer fools gladly and I have a very broad definition of what constitutes a fool. I worked hard on that when I worked for her and I need to be working on it now. Growth is a never ending process.
* * * * *
Yesterday I noted a news story about a woman who is suing to be allowed to stop paying alimony to her husband. In some states, when a marriage lasts long enough (usually ten years or more), when a couple then divorces; the 'bread-winner' can be ordered to pay alimony. Forever, or until the ex-spouse receiving the support remarries.
Did you know that if a couple is married for ten years or longer, that in a divorce, any retirement accounts can be divided by the judge, based on the state's property laws? That this happens often enough there is a provision in the tax code for a person to roll the portion of their former spouse's retirement account they receive into a new IRA of their own? Must happen more than just infrequently if someone thought of that.
It's time to reform the laws that allow this to happen, but with an eye to fairness. It is wrong that a person can continue to be supported for the rest of their life, without having to at least make an effort to become self-sufficient. Now when someone's been out of the work force for decades, and their skills from long-ago no longer have much marketability, that's one thing. But that doesn't mean they can't go out and acquire new skills. A person in their early 40s or 50s shouldn't be allowed to just continue living well from the labor of their former spouse without having to try to earn their own way in the world. Now if they can't that's another story. If they are caring for children, that is also another story. But someone who doesn't work, and can, shouldn't get a free ride.
* * * * *
Apparently the Republican members of the House and Senate aren't fans of Consumer Finanicial Protection Bureau, a government agency created as part of the Dodd/Frank overhaul of the regulations that govern financial institutions and the entire finance industry. That is the only conclusion one can draw from their instranigence in refusing to allow a Senate confirmation vote on the President's nominee to lead the agency; and the refusal of the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee to allow that nominee, Richard Cordray to testify before his committee. The excuse is that President Obama's appointment of Cordray was illegal is just a lot of "hooey".
* * * * *
I'm nervous this morning. I see the cardiologist today which helps to put me at ease, but I'm still disquieted by something that happened this morning. I won't gross you out with the details, but my internet research indicates that what I saw could be a symptom of my Congestive Heart Failure getting worse. I'll keep you posted.
* * * * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1184BC, the city of Troy fell. (the traditional date given by historians)
On this date in 1558, Mary Queen of Scots, marries Francois, the Dauphin of France.
On this date in 1704, the first regular newspaper in the U.S., the "News-Letter" is published in Boston.
On this date in 1800, the Library of Congress is established.
On this date in 1885, Annie Oakley is hired for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
On this date in 1907, Hersheypark, built by Milton Hershey for his employees, opens.
On this date in 1913, the Woolworth Building Skyscraper opens in NY.
On this date in 1916, the Easter Rising takes place in Ireland.
On this date in 1918, the first tank versus tank combat takes place.
On this date in 1933, Nazi Germany begins its persecution of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
On this date in 1953, Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
On this date in 1967, General William Westmoreland says the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope he can win politically what he cannot win militarily."
Also on that date, Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies when the parachute fails to open as Soyuz I attempts to touch back down. First fatality in a space mission.
On this date in 1980, eight U.S. military personnel die in the Iranian desert when the mission to rescue the embassy hostages goes horribly wrong.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
William I of Orange
Saint Vincent de Paul
Robert Penn Warren
Richard Donner
Jill Ireland
Richard Holbrooke
Richard M. Daley
Barbra Streisand
Eric Bogosian
Cedric the Entertainer
Djimon Hounsou
Chipper Jones
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/23/bicyclist-pinned-against-trash-bin-in-beverly-hills-road-rage-incident/
I saw it and was immediately reminded of my last two run-ins with the issue of road rage on a personal level. My ex-wife and I were having a nice weekend drive when someone cut me off. Without conscious thought, in my anger, when we pulled up to him at the next light, I flipped him the bird and sped off. It was a dumb thing for me to do. He chased us. Nothing happened, thank goodness.
The other one that springs to mind was when I was out on a long bicycle ride. I was on Artesia at Grant, in Redondo Beach, stopped for a traffic light. Some a-holes pulled up next to me and one of them squirted me with a squirt gun through the car window. So I spit on the car and rode away. They tried to chase me, but I doubled back along a sidewalk and lost them. I'm not proud of having spit on that car and in retrospect, it was a dumb thing to do.
Yet I allowed someone to anger me the other night and let myself be dragged into a verbal confrontation. So maybe I learned something from all of the above and maybe I didn't. I do know that from the moment of that confrontation last week, I've been making a conscious effort to simply ignore the things that push my buttons. It isn't easy. As one of my former bosses once noted (probably the favorite of all the bosses I've ever worked for), my two biggest flaws are that I don't suffer fools gladly and I have a very broad definition of what constitutes a fool. I worked hard on that when I worked for her and I need to be working on it now. Growth is a never ending process.
* * * * *
Yesterday I noted a news story about a woman who is suing to be allowed to stop paying alimony to her husband. In some states, when a marriage lasts long enough (usually ten years or more), when a couple then divorces; the 'bread-winner' can be ordered to pay alimony. Forever, or until the ex-spouse receiving the support remarries.
Did you know that if a couple is married for ten years or longer, that in a divorce, any retirement accounts can be divided by the judge, based on the state's property laws? That this happens often enough there is a provision in the tax code for a person to roll the portion of their former spouse's retirement account they receive into a new IRA of their own? Must happen more than just infrequently if someone thought of that.
It's time to reform the laws that allow this to happen, but with an eye to fairness. It is wrong that a person can continue to be supported for the rest of their life, without having to at least make an effort to become self-sufficient. Now when someone's been out of the work force for decades, and their skills from long-ago no longer have much marketability, that's one thing. But that doesn't mean they can't go out and acquire new skills. A person in their early 40s or 50s shouldn't be allowed to just continue living well from the labor of their former spouse without having to try to earn their own way in the world. Now if they can't that's another story. If they are caring for children, that is also another story. But someone who doesn't work, and can, shouldn't get a free ride.
* * * * *
Apparently the Republican members of the House and Senate aren't fans of Consumer Finanicial Protection Bureau, a government agency created as part of the Dodd/Frank overhaul of the regulations that govern financial institutions and the entire finance industry. That is the only conclusion one can draw from their instranigence in refusing to allow a Senate confirmation vote on the President's nominee to lead the agency; and the refusal of the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee to allow that nominee, Richard Cordray to testify before his committee. The excuse is that President Obama's appointment of Cordray was illegal is just a lot of "hooey".
* * * * *
I'm nervous this morning. I see the cardiologist today which helps to put me at ease, but I'm still disquieted by something that happened this morning. I won't gross you out with the details, but my internet research indicates that what I saw could be a symptom of my Congestive Heart Failure getting worse. I'll keep you posted.
* * * * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1184BC, the city of Troy fell. (the traditional date given by historians)
On this date in 1558, Mary Queen of Scots, marries Francois, the Dauphin of France.
On this date in 1704, the first regular newspaper in the U.S., the "News-Letter" is published in Boston.
On this date in 1800, the Library of Congress is established.
On this date in 1885, Annie Oakley is hired for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
On this date in 1907, Hersheypark, built by Milton Hershey for his employees, opens.
On this date in 1913, the Woolworth Building Skyscraper opens in NY.
On this date in 1916, the Easter Rising takes place in Ireland.
On this date in 1918, the first tank versus tank combat takes place.
On this date in 1933, Nazi Germany begins its persecution of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
On this date in 1953, Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
On this date in 1967, General William Westmoreland says the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope he can win politically what he cannot win militarily."
Also on that date, Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies when the parachute fails to open as Soyuz I attempts to touch back down. First fatality in a space mission.
On this date in 1980, eight U.S. military personnel die in the Iranian desert when the mission to rescue the embassy hostages goes horribly wrong.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
William I of Orange
Saint Vincent de Paul
Robert Penn Warren
Richard Donner
Jill Ireland
Richard Holbrooke
Richard M. Daley
Barbra Streisand
Eric Bogosian
Cedric the Entertainer
Djimon Hounsou
Chipper Jones
posted by me at 7:43 AM
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