Tony Brewer View

Where is this going to end?  It used to be “Made in Japan” stamps on products meant that it is an inferior product.  Then things changed and Japan actually started making products that were high quality.  Now we have to beware of ANYTHING that has been made in China!  Now it’s Drywall in the spotlight!  According to the time.com article I just read, apparently Chinese drywall has been made with toxic chemicals that makes the house occupants ill, corrodes wires, rots wood.  Teri and I have been talking about finishing the basement but now we have to worry about where the drywall came from!   I know that the USA owes China a lot of money, but I am beginning to think that we need to test everything that comes out of their country before we allow it to be sold/used/consumed here!

I’ve been trying to find a good source to buy Timberland Boots, and finally found them on the copshoes.com website.  They carry the full line of the Force Multiplier series, which is the type I’ve been trying to get.  My brother told me that he bought a pair of airport friendly shoes from them and they didn’t fit quite right so he had to return them for a different size, and he said that he was impressed with their great customer service.  So I’m going to give them a try for myself and order a pair of  puncture resistant boots.

I understand that President Obama has made a television appearance directed at telling Iran that the US would like to change its relationship with Iran for the better. I don’t know how exactly President Obama plans to do that, and I think it will be interesting to see what happens. I was just reading that Iran’s response was essentially that in order to create a more harmonious relationship that the US will have to change some policies, and so far they have seen no hard evidence of those policies being changed. One of the policies in question is the US backing Israel; Iran would like for the US to stop backing Israel. Frankly, I don’t see that happening, and if that is the deal breaker than I suspect that a better relationship is not going to happen.

I’m constantly impressed by how many ways the Internet can be used to make life more fun, and more convenient.  You can get all of the research you need to write term papers, get all of the medical information you could possibly ask for about medical conditions and treatments, and get directions from practically anywhere to anywhere.  You can find out what movies are playing at your local theatre, find a television schedule guide, and get great recipes.  You can make travel reservations around the globe, from airline or plane or bus tickets, to motel rooms, to rental cars. 

I recently found out about a private ticket agency website called ACheapSeat.com that specializes in helping their customers obtain premium tickets to a wide variety of events in many different areas of the country.  This is a major convenience because their customers can use them to buy Rogers Centre Tickets in Ontario Canada, Toyota Center Tickets in HoustonTexas, and American Airlines Arena Tickets in Miami Florida (and many more locations) just by patronizing their one website.  A sample of the events include sports, concerts, rodeos, circuses, wrestling, to name a few.

I was reading a very interesting article on the Time.com website where the story was talking about the idea of taking the government out of marriage, and putting the marriage back into the churches.  The article was suggesting that the government could issue civil unions certificates that would define a legal family (whether straight or gay) and that those people who want the church’s blessings could then go have their wedding ceremony at their church.  I think that is a very interesting idea, and it might just solve the gay-straight marriage issue because the civil union certificate would give the holders all of the legal rights of family members.  I think it is an idea worth exploring!