Snow Day

We have had a lot of moisture this winter. Three weekends in a row have been so wet that my offroad motorcycle exploration has been curtailed. There was just too much mud. This Friday we actually received snow in Oro Valley.

Lemon Tree in Our Backyard

Snow on the Cactus

Tanque Verde Wash

Snowy Taco

House

It was fun having snow for half a day. It seems that snowy days are quiet days. The snow seems to muffle sound in a peaceful way and people seem to stay home. I guess it helped that it was rodeo break so many children were off from school.

The snow was pretty much gone in the valley by Saturday but the temperatures were low. I had received my Cabinet Transformation Kit in the mail. I decided to try it out and see if I could modernize the cabinets in the kid's bathroom. I thought I start small to try it out. Below is the result.

One Door in process - Honey Oak to Expresso

Project Complete

Phoning Home?

We saw the news this week that missionaries can now call home and skype on Pday. How is that being implemented? I am sure there will be rules to prevent abuse. We are excited for real-time discussions with Haley.

We have been getting a lot of rain. I tried to go for a motorcycle ride this weekend but didn't get far because of all the mud. This is the first time in all the years I've been riding that the mud was so bad I had to turn around and come home. It was hard to keep the bike upright it was so slippery and finally coming down a hill into a wash the rear end slipped out and sent me off into some deep wet sand where I went down. Fortunately I was able to pick it back up without help, but some hunters came along a few minutes after I picked it up and asked if I needed help. "Not anymore, thanks!"

After picking it back up

Out of control track before crash

See mud on road

I heard today that Bro Ward had double bypass surgery yesterday and I went to visit him in the hospital with the EQ Pres, Brian Hyatt. We got there and they said they didn't have anyone with that name. We called his wife to see if we went to the wrong hospital and she said he was home already because he was doing so well. We sat in the hospital lobby and talked to him on the phone. He sounded fully alert and normal which was amazing after having his ribs cut open to work on his heart the day before. His ministering brothers gave him a blessing before the surgery.

We had a high councilman speak today. He was a history buff and spoke about the city of Tyre that was on a rock island 200 yards off the coast of Lebanon. The bible tells us Solomon got his wood from the Hyram, King of Tyre, to build the temple in Jerusalem. He said that sometime after that Tyre was attacked by Alexander the Great who built a causeway out to the island so he could bring catapults and battering rams to break the gate down. Ultimately that worked and Tyre was conquered. He said that no matter how strong you think you are, the enemy is stronger if you don't rely on the Spirit for strength.

All that you have

I recently read a joke in my investment newsletter from Mark Skousen about the difference between a Christian and a Socialist:

The Christian says, "All that I have is yours".
The Socialist says, "All that you have is mine".

The first gives of his goods voluntarily and charitably. The second takes by force. Socialism always involves using the power of government to forcibly remove property from someone and distribute it to someone else. It is the result of resentment and greed being cast into economic philosophy and law. It is the mistaken belief that equality of outcome is the mark of an advanced society and not equality of opportunity. Anytime socialism has been tried, it has resulted in even more economic disparity than occurs in free-market capitalist societies.

Capitalism has done far more to raise the standard of living of the common man than Socialism has ever demonstrated. How do you know that the standard of living is rising and the economy is expanding? It is when items that were luxuries 10 years ago are affordable necessities today. It has been demonstrated in history that the most efficient economy is one that allows individual citizens the freedom to choose goods and services that best satisfy their individual interest.

I recommend looking up Milton Friedman's NPR series from the 70's, Free to Choose. This was done during the Carter era of runaway inflation but the principles are enormously relevant today. You will see what a market economist would think about Pres. Trumps policy of imposing punitive tariffs. I know he is trying to get China to stop stealing technology but I think there are more direct ways to attack that problem.

FREE TO CHOOSE - VIDEOs

Speaking of issues of today, the Green New Deal from the Democrats is crazy. They have an economist telling them that printing money to pay for goods is not detrimental to the economy as long as the value of the goods created is equal to the money spent. This is true only if the item actually adds that value to the economy. The "Cash for Clunkers" program instituted by Obama should have taught them that taking perfectly functional items and destroying them to replace them with newer more expensive items that perform the same function is extremely wasteful in both material and labor.