Monday Musings - May 13, 2019

1. It is Monday again, the second Monday of May and it has been raining nearly non-stop in the Baltimore region for the past 36 hours!

2. Our Mother's Day celebration spanned two days, culminating yesterday on the actual day. Chris was able to visit with all of our children and two of three grandchildren.

Finnegan Eating Corn-on-the-Cob
May 12, 2019

3. Dreaming of being in Florida has become a family pastime.  Much of there family is planning getaways to the condo and I will be posting an availability calendar to assist them with finding available dates. 

4. Amazon promised a delivery yesterday and it did not arrive. I am wondering why?

5. My pool is open and the water looks inviting, it is just a bit cold as the temperature this morning is about 47 degrees! It is May--it is not supposed to be this cold in the morning. And raining.

Flamingo at the Baltimore Zoo
Taken by Chris
April 15, 2019

6. Finnegan has developed a taste for corn-on-the-cob. He really got into eating it yesterday.

7. I remain fascinated by Flamingos. Chris finally shared some of the images she captured at the Baltimore Zoo during 
April.

8. I have noticed that as traffic on the highway gets slower, the driving gets worse.

9. Today in History. On May 13, 1846, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly votes in favor of President James K. Polk’s request to declare war on Mexico in a dispute over Texas. Under the threat of war, the United States had refrained from annexing Texas after the latter won independence from Mexico in 1836. But in 1844, President John Tyler restarted negotiations with the Republic of Texas, culminating with a Treaty of Annexation. The treaty was defeated by a wide margin in the Senate because it would upset the slave state/free state balance between North and South and risked war with Mexico, which had broken off relations with the United States. But shortly before leaving office and with the support of President-elect Polk, Tyler managed to get the joint resolution passed on March 1, 1845.Texas was admitted to the union on December 29. While Mexico didn’t follow through with its threat to declare war, relations between the two nations remained tense over border disputes, and in July 1845, President Polk ordered troops into disputed lands that lay between the Neuces and Rio Grande rivers. In November, Polk sent the diplomat John Slidell to Mexico to seek boundary adjustments in return for the U.S. government’s settlement of the claims of U.S. citizens againstMexico and also to make an offer to purchase California and New Mexico. After the mission failed, the U.S. army under Gen. Zachary Taylor advanced to the mouth of the Rio Grande, the river that the state of Texas claimed as its southern boundary.

What's in the News

Trump’s go-it-alone approach on trade, immigration poses economic risks - The Washington Post

Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, Justices With Much in Common, Take Different Paths - The New York Times

They Were Promised Coding Jobs in Appalachia. Now They Say It Was a Fraud. - The New York Times

Saudi Arabia says oil tankers hit off UAE coast, Iran calls for probe - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last - but eat you he will. 
  -- Ronald Reagan


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD