No Trump!

 I just read Trump called for Hillary's Secret Service to disarm themselves and see what happens". Are you freaking kidding me so people still think that this person would be the best  commander-in-chief for the United States! He is an imbecile!
  The following is from a commentor regarding trump, "Remember his  comment about Japan getting nukes and allowing pretty much anyone to create nukes?
Well he's got business deals with South Korea nuclear energy companies! That's called a direct conflict of interest and it doesn't matter even if he is the most honorable and trustworthy magical person ever there's still the appearance of a conflict of interest!
 When you are the president or even vice president you agree long before that you'll never even have for-profit company when dealing on our behalf, the government takes care of you, you get all these perks and you make loads on speeches but generally we ask you to stay out of the profit world. this guy is bragging about his reach throughout the world he's developed these relationships for a profit basis and now he's going to suddenly forget all that and let his kids run it, but he won't talk about it with them? Are you serious?  Ivanka is now giving Trump policy proposals?!
This is not a Hillary question. It's not a Democrat or Republican question. Its about all the crazy insane things that he said in the last year it's about a direct conflict of interest and the fact he won't release his taxes so that we can actually see what our "president" has who he deals with , If he owes money to other countries! Do not release that and then ask us to believe he'll magically not have any knowledge of what's going on  in his business like we are some kind of idiot is just too much. It's too scary. Hillary's nonprofit foundation got a higher rating than the freaking Red Cross every penny is traced to wherever it went she's released 40 years of tax records everyone on earth knows what the best records are, tax records!
But Trump who has a, "for profit empire" grossly bigger than the Clinton foundation, brags all over the world.  there's no possible way to believe he'd ever have any interest in his mind would make a policy about how affects his business it's impossible especially when your own daughter Ivanka, is also giving you a policy speeches it's a very scary thought. I'll take Hillary's email problems! she said she was wrong,  she screwed up but it seems like it's a witchhunt I'll accept that and hope she learns. with Trump there's no possibility that there won't be a conflict of interest on everything he does.

Yosemite 2016

The entrance to Yosemite from the East

One of my favorite photos from this trip for the beauty of the area. This is a view of Nevada Falls!

Beautiful Yosemite Falls the tallest waterfall in the nation!

Half Dome at dusk


My funny kids




Did I not get one of Janna and I?


4 Mile Hike


We took the bus tour to Glacial Point then hiked back to the valley floor.
It was awesome.


More of 4 mile hike.


Not shown, the Murder Motel....

Lassen National Park

Kings Creek Falls, Lake Helen, (Lassen Peak in the background SNOW in the foreground!)
Another falls I can't remember the trail.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
July 16th 2016

Black Lives Matter/All Lives Matter

When this first came up I thought that it was crap that a section of the population thought it necessary to announce that Black Lives Matter. I thought that people were claiming that the lives of black persons weren't being treated evenly or with the same respect as the white population. It seemed like it wasn't necessary to have to protest and hold signs telling others that one segment of the population was being treated with less concern and less care as another.

But now I think I get it...

I am not black. 

I have no idea what it means to be black.

 I have never felt that how I looked ranked me as any different or somehow lower in class or standing than others in my community or this world.

 I have never felt the sting of racism directed towards me. Neither has anyone in my immediate family. 

So in that regard I have no say in the matter. 

Scorning the people that have been subjected to racism and violence and hatred because of the color of their skin is just as bad as the act itself.

I say that Black Lives Matter does need to be promoted and acted upon. Will the marches and debates help the issue? I certainly hope so. I feel sympathetic towards the black population and I hope with all my heart that the police are not unjustly targeting black people.

I am not a police officer either. 

I have not had the training that is given to become an officer. 

I have no idea what they must go through. 

They are normal people that do extraordinary things. Sometimes they make mistakes. We all do. 

I do know that every time they put on that uniform they go out in the streets they risk their lives to protect mine.

I appreciate all that these human beings do for others day in and day out. They might call it,  "Just doing their job." But I call it, "Extreme valor in every aspect."

Be good to each other because, it is true, All Lives Matter

Disneyland Marathon 2015!

 Loved our Disneyland Trip!

 The castle lit up for 60th celebration!

 A visit to the Dream Suites!

 Iconic pose!

 Matterhorn Fun!

 Teacups we look but don't ride!

 My Disney partners!

 Paint the Night Parade was awesome!

 Sunset at the Pier

 Breakfast with the characters!

 I LOVE Disneyland!!!

 Howdy Tigger!

 another night parade...it's Slinky!

 On the tour!

 Tower of Terror!

Alice in Wonderland!

Perfectly Expressed!

This is a re-post by: Lisa R. Petty in the Huffington Post

Recently, I watched CNN Special Report: Atheists: Inside the World of Non-Believers. I figured it was going to be a serious, in-depth look at atheism. After all, the show has TWO colons in its title. That is serious. While the show was a pretty fair look at atheism, there are some things that just weren't fully discussed. So, I would like to give you my take on being an atheist.

Atheist Agenda - Some religious folks think that atheists have some sort of agenda to take away religion. This is simply not true. Most atheists do not care if people worship God, or Tinkerbell, or cheese, they just want God to stay out of their lives and government. In other words, atheists don't want religion forced on them, and it is in many ways, like:

Blue laws
"In God we trust" on currency
"Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Swearing on a Bible in court
Jehovah's Witnesses and other pushy religious folks
RFRA laws

Worshipping Satan - The CNN reporter kept mentioning that a lot of people think atheists worship Satan. This is beyond illogical. Atheists do not believe in any supernatural being. So, the devil does not exist to them. If Satan does not exist, he can't be worshipped. Atheists aren't dark and scary. They would just rather have brunch than go to church. Think of them as your non-praying Belgian waffle-eating friends.

No Morals - I have had religious people ask me how I can have morals without God. This is scary because it tells me that the only thing keeping some people from raping and killing is a belief that there is an invisible man in the sky watching them. It's kind of like Santa Claus for grownups. I tend to think more like Katherine Hepburn, who said, "I'm an atheist, and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for each other." People without morals are called psychopaths, not atheists.

Angry at God - Now that we have established that atheists do not believe in any supernatural beings, we can probably do away with that whole, "You're just angry at God" argument. Just like you can't worship something you don't believe in, you also can't be angry at something that doesn't exist.

Religious Knowledge - The CNN reporter said that she was shocked to see an atheist pursuing a graduate degree in religion because she couldn't imagine an atheist being comfortable learning about religion. A lot of atheists enjoy reading about all sorts of things, including religion, but they don't do it because they want to be persuaded to believe in God. Some religious folks think that an atheist just needs to go to church and read the Bible to be convinced. The parents of an atheist college student in the documentary referred to their son as a dead man, and regretted not forcing him to go to church more. They believe that would have made a difference. More religious education is not going to make God real for atheists. God is just something that feels fake right from the beginning.

Some Splainin - Most atheists are confused and a little bit angered because the burden of proof seems to fall on them, especially in the USA. Why do people WITHOUT an imaginary friend owe an explanation as to why they don't believe in an invisible supernatural being? This is especially evident by the fact that CNN felt it necessary to create a documentary to look inside the world of non-believers, like they are mystical creatures who must be studied behind glass. It's really simple. Atheists do not believe in God, any god at all. They don't believe in Jesus, Allah, Zeus, Jupiter, or any of the thousands of gods and goddesses. They don't believe because there is no real evidence that gods exist.

I am an atheist. I have been an atheist my whole life, even when I was being forced to attend Baptist church by a family friend. I was still an atheist when I opted to get baptized in college because it's what normal people did. I volunteer at the zoo. I work and take care of my family. I appreciate a good martini. I love Christmas trees and Easter baskets. I am a nice person unless you ring my doorbell and try to sell me something, including religion, or make laws to discriminate against my friends. Then, I'm a bit irritable.

San Francisco!

SUNSET IN SF

Sunset at Chrissy Field in SF

August 2015