Can Trump Be Stopped? Trump has been an enigma from the first day of his campaign. For many of us, this ego-maniac represents the least desirable aspects of our society, an unapologetic blow-hard who is intent on bringing out the worst aspects of humanity and, I might add, does so on a daily basis with no end in sight. Then, right before our eyes, he morphs into the most formable candidate in the republican field, the endorsement of Chris Christie almost makes him seem, somehow, normal. Well, when all is said and done, this guy is a lose canon of unparalleled equal and, in a normal sane world, wouldn't have a chance of ascending to the presidency. However, we live in an upside-down world where anything is possible. Who would have thought, fifty years ago, that Obama, who obviously hates everything American except for the life style we have given him, could be elected to the presidency not once, but twice? No reasonable conservative has the slightest idea what Trump would do as president. My guess is that Trump doesn't know either. Most likely, he is playing this game as another of his sit-coms throwing his chips in the air and letting them fall where they may, completely oblivious of the outcome. The question is, can Trump be stopped? I believe the endorsement of Christie makes this very unlikely. Christie didn't have "a snow ball's chance in hell" of becoming the republican presidential candidate," but his endorsement of Trump increases trumps conservative credentials tremendously. Meanwhile, Rubio continues to embarrass himself, at every opportunity, and Ted Cruz, the only true conservative in the race, can't get out from under Trump's shadow no matter how hard he tries. Supper Tuesday will tell the story, but it seems extremely unlikely that the New York dandy can be derailed from his real goal which is to destroy the republican party, which he will do come 2017, whether he wins or loses the general election. This is the way it most likely will play out. If trump wins both Florida and Texas the game is over. More likely, Trump will take Florida and lose to Cruz in Texas. If this is the case. both Cruz and Rubio will hang on to the bitter end and no one will have a majority of the votes at the convention. This is where the establishment takes over and Rubio, proud member of the gang of eight, is given the nomination. Cruz will crawl away and sulk in a corner crying foul all the way. Trump, on the other hand, will go ballistic and run as an independent carrying 30 to 40 percent of the conservative republican base, and a few independents and pissed-off democrats, over the cliff with him. One way or the other it is going to be a very interesting year.

Planting Tomatoes

Spring is in the air, well most days, and it's time to start thinking about the summer garden. Even when cramped for space, most of us will want to have a pot or two of tomatoes on the deck or patio. There are few "musts" about growing those delicious home grown tomatoes, here's one of them.

Blossom-end rot (BED) is a deformity that occurs at the blossom end of all fruiting vegetables and is particularly common in tomatoes. BED begins as a watery looking area adjacent to the blossom. In short order, the lesions enlarge, become brown or black in color and take on a leathery appearance which covers the bottom half of the fruit. While edible, the unaffected upper half of the fruit is small and not worth keeping. BED is not caused by a pest or parasite; rather, it is the result of a calcium deficiency in the plant. All plants require sufficient quantities of calcium to develop correctly and BED is a sure sign that your tomatoes are not absorbing enough calcium to develop correctly. As most often is the case, a pound or two of prevention is worth many pounds of cure. This is particularly true of BED because, once the plant is mature, it is difficult or impossible to reverse the situation. So, before planting your tomatoes make sure that the soil you plant them in is not deficient in calcium. I assume that the soil will be deficient in calcium and simply add a little calcium to each of the prepared beds in which the tomatoes will be planted. One can add lime, gypsum or egg shells to increase the calcium content in the soil. Egg shells take a long time to break down. Lime and gypsum must be used with caution because both materials may make the soil to alkaline for ideal plant growth. In any case, I add a small handful of ground-up oyster shells to each hole in which I plant a tomato seedling, mixing it in well with the other materials used to enrich the soil (worm castings, aged manure, coffee grounds and rotted oak leaves). One also can add four to six pounds of powdered oyster shells per one hundred square feet of soil to accomplish the same goal. By the way, it's not too early to plant those tomatoes if you live in the coastal regions of central California. If in doubt, cover the plants at night with something like a five gallon plastic bucket if there is a chance of frost. Happy gardening!

The Scalia Debate

Antonin Scalia was the most brilliant Supreme Court jurist in my lifetime, no one even came close to emulating this gifted man. Having said that, what do we do now that he is gone? We now have a divided government. The liberals rant and rave that they have every right to nominate a jurist to replace Scalia and, of course, they do. Is anyone arguing that fact? However, the republican majority in the senate has every right, and obligation, to reject any far right ideologue that Obama might nominate. In fact, they have a moral obligation to do so. The consent part of this constitutional arrangement seems to have been lost on the drive-by media. Donald Trump is now leading in the poles for the republican nomination. Trump is leading because a sizable number of republicans are sick to death of the "go along to get along" policies proposed by the liberal minority in the congress and ultimately supported by the cry-baby republicans in both bodies. Yes, these fools actually cry in public. We simply cave at every turn in the road, have been doing so for decades. This foolishness must stop if we are to have any chance of saving our country. A sizable segment of the population understands this and will support Trump "come hell or high water" irrespective of his childish demeanor and crude remarks. Now back to Scalia's replacement. The republican majority in the senate must resist any attempt of Obama to stack the court with yet another liberal anti-constitutional witless-wonder. The simplest way to accomplish this goal is for Mitch McConnell simply to refuse to bring any or all of Obama's nominees to the floor. This is certainly his right as leader of the chamber. Let liberal buffoons like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed and and Chuck Schumer scream and holler like stuck pigs. If we do not win the presidency in November, well, that's a whole different kettle of fish, a pretty smelly one at that.

The Magical Goji Berry

If there ever was a perfect food, it would be the ancient goji berry from the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet and Mongolia. This exotic plant, also known as the wolf berry, has been a nutritional stable and medicinal remedy in China and Tibet for over 2000 years. The goji berry has slowly made its way west and in now available in the United States and elsewhere in the western world. What's so special about this incredible fruit? Well, the short answer is, just about everything. Gojies are unique first, because they contain all of the essential amino acids, every single one, and second, because they have the highest content of protein and carotenoids (antioxidants which fight chronic disease)) of any food source. Goji berries also are loaded with vitamin C and have 15 times more iron than spinach. Just think of that, they should have called Popeye the sailor man, Popeye the Goji man and probably would have if they had known about these amazing berries in Popeye's day. Goji berries also have high concentrations of calcium, zinc, selenium and many other important trace elements. Without doubt, the Goji is a nutritional powerhouse without equal in the plant and vegetable world.

This amassing super fruit contains numerous recognized, and probably several as yet unrecognized, medicinal ingredients. These natural remedies include ant-bacterial, ant-fungal and anti-inflammatory compounds which, along with their powerful antioxidant properties, boost the immune system and help prevent a host of medical problems. Last, but now least, Goji berries contain human growth hormone (HGH), the only substance that has been scientifically proven to reverse aging. Unfortunately, synthetic HGH is extremely expensive (around $30,000 a year) which prohibits its widespread use as an anti-aging agent. Similar effects can be obtained from goji berries at a fraction of the cost simply by eating 20 goji berries or 20 goji leaves a day. In traditional Chinese medicine Goji berries were used to treat many common ailments including low back pain, dizziness and poor eye sight. Today, Goji berry extracts are used to treat kidney and liver problems, to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and to treat skin rashes, psoriasis, diabetes, depression and various allergies. Possibly of more importance to us living in the western world, with acsess to modern medicine, for centuries the people of Tibet have consumed goji berries to increase longevity. They did this long before anyone had discovered the ant-aging properties of HGH. The people living in Tibet, and elsewhere, who routinely consume goji berries, commonly live to be over 100 years old and are not plagued with the medical and mental afflictions common in the western world. In this respect, Professor Li Qing Yuen of China is said to have lived longer than any person in recorded history. Yuen was born in 1678 and died in 1930 at the age of 252 years. Professor Yuen attributed his longevity to having eaten goji berries every day of his life. The reader may be a little skeptical, as am I, when asked to believe that any human being lived to be 252 years of age. It also seems likely that many factors, other than the consumption of goji berries, play a role in the longevity and good health of Tibetans, including genetic, nutritional and environmental factors not yet studied in great depth. But, when all is said and done, there is no disputing the fact that Goji berries are among the most nutritious foods on the face of the earth and we should be including them in our diets. One word of caution though, most of the goji berries sold in the United States are produced by large commercial enterprises in the orient. These agricultural conglomerates employ chemical fertilizers and pesticides extensively on their farms. As we all know, synthetic chemical fertilizers are laced with potentially toxic compounds. Even some of the brands that claim to be organic may not be. So, be sure to purchase your goji berries from a reliable source, better yet grow them yourself. They are easy to grow from cuttings or seeds. There are many ways to consume goji berries and their leaves, which are equally nutritious. The easiest is to just eat the delicious berries raw of dried. The taste of dried goji berries is difficult to describe, so I won't try. However, I guarantee that you will love them! You will find that dried goji berries are not as sweet as most other dried fruits; thus, you will not tire of them as readily. Of course, the fact that they are less sweet also means that they contain less calories per serving than most dried fruits. Goji leaves are primarily dried and used to make goji tea, although they also can be used to make salads and soups. Just Google the internet to fine a recipe that appeals to you. Get started on your goji berry diet today, we seniors have little time to lose so let's get cracking!

Why Can't We Eliminate The Gangs?

This is one of the great mysteries of my life time. Just think of it, our generation won two world worlds; found cures for innumerable diseases; and wiped out the mafia, yet we can't control the low IQ street thugs who make up the countless gangs in America. This is especially puzzling since, with their tattoos, pony tails, ear and nose rings, they are easily identifiable to anyone with eyes to see.

Yet they roam the streets with impunity raping, murdering and stealing everything in sight as they go. How can this be? Well, here's how! Gangs are primarily made up of people of color: black, green, red, yellow, brown and purple, with a few whites thrown in just to make it fair and balanced. And, guess what, it's not politically correct, in this day and age, to go after people of color before they commit some despicable act, no matter how likely they are to do so. Rather, we make excuses for their outlandish behavior while sitting around wringing our hands just waiting until the cretins gang rape another nine year old or shoot yet another grandmother while walking her grand children in the local park. Well, guess what, street gangs should be illegal and their members should be rounded up and sent one of Joe Arpaio's dessert prisons to spend the rest of their miserable lives eating baloney sandwiches and drinking contaminated tap water. Yes, we would have to trample on a few of our sacred constitution rights to rid our inner city streets of these cretins but, guess what, our political leaders and the Supreme Court jurists do it all the time and, I might add, for less reason. It's high time we took our city streets back by whatever means possible, including a reasonable period of martial law, if that is what is necessary to accomplish the job.