Pro Law Assist Research

Published on Linkedin, 31 Oct., 2024.

Some businessmen try too hard. They make 'being one of the guys' far too important.

We always find it amusing when a man says he's going to protect women. Update 2024, anecdotal evidence leaves absolutely no doubt in our minds that women are quite capable of protecting themselves.

The macho movement lost its favor long ago. Playing golf in the rough and collecting your balls from the drink might give businessmen a sense of power. Using deception to appear to defend women is humor in its purest form.

It's time for businessmen to be men. However, before men can be men, they must master respect for women. The intellect of the sexes is equal, neither superior to the other, both human and equally fallible.

Our fiduciary mindset must extend to women if we are to achieve maximum result and success in the United States and globally. Real men don't make false promises to protect women, they VOTE to empower women and trust the women they elect to protect men and women.

Image credit: https://lnkd.in/gYuWB57U, historical failed attitudes of men

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[Self deprecating humor, done in good taste, can be fun. The time is right to lighten up a bit, so lighten up!]

AI is technological progress, we get it. It wasn't long ago, depending upon how one wants to characterize it, that high school seniors could pay a professional photographer to remove unsightly blemishes or similar flaws from a photograph.

It's a human truism, unless you're me of course, that everyone suffers insecurities of some sort, to some degree. Alright, alright, lighten up I might have an insecurity somewhere that I haven't found. But so what, if you haven't laughed, you have no sense of humor.

Anyway, business professionals appear to be flocking to AI for assistance improving their professional appearance. We suppose that's alright to an extent. Afterall, bald men wear hair pieces, get weaves, have hair transplants. It's not uncommon for some women and men to have botox treatments and surgeries with the intended purpose of improving their appearance. Hair extensions often don't color match (a dead giveaway), hair dyes fade, mixed colors and styles make statements, makeup and various other face paints are sometimes overdone.

Ken and Barbie are fictitious characters that can't be equaled.

But where does it end? At the end of the day, if you're the average Joe or Sue (no offense if your name happens to be Joe or Sue) you're still at par with nearly all of us, myself excepted of course.

Kidding aside, AI works like art. Too much and the image is ruined. Too little and the image is left compromised.

Published on Linkedin, 28 Oct., 2024

First, we are of the school of self esteem and individual confidence.
We are all born with the appearance we inherit. There are rare exceptions due to illness, injury or natural disfigurement but when we're blessed to have a normal appearance, we should be thankful.

Somewhere between AI and nature, there is real. We all strive to put our best foot forward. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best and taking necessary steps to accomplish it. Obsession, however, is damaging and revealing to self. At the end of the day, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, we are flawed beings. Perfection is out of reach.

By nature, some of us don't need costumes. Easy. Be nice!

So excuse me for one inspiring moment, while I comb the handsome locks I have left. My ballcap will appreciate the effort, so will everyone else.

Photo credit: KONG

Happy Halloween Everyone!

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Published on Linkedin, 14 Oct., 2024, Monday.

Columbus is rightfully viewed from a different perspective, historical truth, rather than hyperbolic misinformation.

We remain a united and powerful nation. The fabric of the United States of America is the ancient Anasazi or ancestral Pueblo [my proud heritage] commonly referred to as the American Indians, Native Americans or the Indigenous People of the Americas [contemporary Alaska, Canada, North America, Central America and South America] the entire western hemisphere.

Rather than express anger, hatred, resentment or regret, we thought it best to honor our ancestors by acknowledging truth with a little humor.

My ancestors undoubtedly discovered the Spanish Galleon that carried the Italian, Christopher Columbus, to the western hemisphere. What followed a short time later produced the inspiration for this humorous cartoon.

Let us remember, divided we are weakened, united we are strong, powerful and led by the Creator, Great Spirit, God and Goodwill.

We are the United States of America, born of a proud ancestry that has become the blessed nation we are today. We are one. We ought not miss the mark. Every U.S. citizen has an ancestry of compassion and hope.

All of our uniqueness and beauty is and continues to be skillfully woven into a single colorful and alluring tapestry of the ancient Anasazi and ancestral Pueblo. This ageless and precious work of art is given to us by the Creator [however one defines our maker] we are entrusted with its nurturing and protection.

We cannot afford to fail in the persistent noble quest to pursue, global harmony between all living things, mother earth and the tranquil existence of human tribes.

When we seek truth, we embrace peace. Peace, the Creator, Great Spirit and Exalted Hearts are not divisible. The Sacred Heart, afterall, is the Sacred Heart, just as the eagle is freedom sanctified by the Spirit.

Image [cartoon] credits: Marty Two Bulls

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Published on Linkedin, 11 Oct., 2024.

Saturday evening, the Kansas State University Wildcats and the University of Colorado Buffaloes will meet to compete on the grid iron, at the foot of the Flat Irons, Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado.

It is billed as a collision between two titans in the Big XII conference of college football.

Whether the winning tradition is in Kansas or Colorado, winning is always easier to process than learning.

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
-Vince Lombardi

Ask any business leader, athlete or organization. Finishing second is never as satisfying as finishing first. Why compete if your goal isn't to win? A winner doesn't always defeat an opponent but never leaves the field without trying and recognizing that the end result wasn't losing, it was merely a lack of sufficient time remaining in the game. We don't know exactly what was going on in Coach Lombardi's mind when he said it, all we know is what he said and how we will interpret it.

A game played, any game, without vision that includes the concepts of winning or learning requires no score, scoreboard or scorekeeper.

“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” -Vince Lombardi

Here's our game prediction. One of these teams will prevail. The winner won't be decided in the stands or purely by fortune. The heart of the individual will combine with members of his team, every team member including coaches and staff will contribute to success or learn in quiet retreat.

Best of luck to our KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY WILDCAT football team. May this game be played in the spirit of fair play, healthy competition and mutual decorum. EMAW!

Photo credit: Kansas State University

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Previously published on Linkedin, 10 Oct., 2024.

We used to raft the Colorado and Arkansas Rivers. It was then that we learned to respect mother nature. The rivers are highest in June when runoff from Winter snows is melting. The river was ragging, huge rapids were crashing against boulders in the river and along its banks. It was a warm day, we all wore shorts and carried sack lunches and other belongings into a large black rubber raft. In those days, helmets weren't part of the gear we brought. Our river guide collected our stuff and put it into a waterproof container. It wasn't unsettling until we took time to think about what we'd witnessed along the river as we drove up the mountain to Glenwood Springs.

The only way I can describe it is how my Mom would when we were little kids, the river was 'mad'. I took my place straddling the side of the inflated raft, the guide handed me a paddle. I was ready, so were the other five people on the raft. We launched from the bank, the ride seemed tame enough, at first.

Until we caught sight of the first rapid. Our guide went into overdrive explaining to us what we were facing and how to deal with it. I watched the water ahead as it peaked with whitecaps and could hear the loud bangs of collisions between fast flowing water and rocks. The guide told us, whatever you do, keep your paddles in the water and paddle as hard as you can or we'll hit that hole and won't come out.

I focused ahead. What hole? Then I heard what sounded like an explosion of water gushing into the Colorado sky and fear took hold. I realized the sound and shooting water was the hole the guide was talking about. My mind raced to find answers. What if we hit it? We could die. We could be the next river statistic in the morning Denver Post. It's not my imagination. The truth is, some people have died on this river doing exactly what we're doing. I barely had a chance to pray before we hit the first rapid.

I looked down to see a huge black void, it may as well have been a canyon. It looked like the river water had disappeared then, in an instant, the front of the raft raised nearly straight up. I thought about what the guide said,'keep your paddle in the water' hell there was no water to put my paddle in. My paddle remained hopelessly in mid-air. Suddenly the raft slammed down and water rushed in filling the canyon and our raft. As it did, I witnessed one of our group get tossed several feet in the air and land in the river. Her husband went into panic and rescue mode. I heard him yell to her, 'don't worry honey, we'll pick you up!' or something like that. We watched as she panicked and swam to a sandbar in the middle of the river, not a great decision because the brush on the rugged island is anything but desirable.

Our guide motioned us to paddle toward her and we landed on the sand bar and helped her back onto the raft. That was all just a warning.

The exploding hole lie just ahead. I could see water rushing into a crevice that must have been extremely deep. As water hit the bottom, it would slam into rock as more water would begin the process again and another explosion would follow. It was a continuous event. The result was a geyser fifty feet wide and a hundred feet high. Our guide yelled, 'paddle hard or we'll hit it!' He didn't have to ask twice. We were all paddling with everything we had. It looked like a scene out of a old Viking movie where all the slaves were paddling together. I wanted to laugh but my forward view kept my humor in check.

Fortunately, we were able to avoid the hole and our guide waited for us to reach a calm spot on the river where he led us to a welcome bank, we ate our sack lunches, enjoyed each others company and traded stories about what we'd just experienced. We'd worked so hard our hardy appetites served reliable witness.

We re-entered the river and prepared for the next rapids. I could hear the river gurgling. Huge whitecaps marked the upcoming rapids. Before I could get comfortable, there was a loud gushing sound. I looked down to see a gapping hole. Before I could digest what was happening, the raft lifted violently from the front, then from the back. I was thrown off the side into the middle of the raft where the rubber floor is thin. I recall thinking; oh man, this is embarrassing, I'm going to drown inside this raft. Water had nearly filled the entire raft and I struggled to get back up. As I did the entire raft folded in half, each end slamming into itself. Then in an instant the raft unfolded in a violent return to its normal position. The first thing I noticed as I began to climb back onto the side and find my paddle was; everyone was gone. Even our guide was no longer there. I was it. Oh, crap I thought to myself, now what? I rushed to gather my senses and could see that the raft had traveled beyond the rapids to a calm part of the river. I could see one of my group swimming, then another and the rest. I began the process of pulling them in one at a time, asking each of them if they were ok. Everyone had survived.

This experience in the wild of the Colorado Rockies taught us an invaluable lesson. Never, ever underestimate the force of mother nature. She is powerful, has a mind of her own and none of us are her match.

I still have a souvenir T-shirt from that adventure. The inscription of the back of the shirt reads: 'I've Got the Colorado River Runs'.

"After its first bid for statehood was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, Colorado entered the Union on August 1, 1876, the year the United States celebrated its centennial. Thus, the thirty-eighth state is known as the Centennial State."

https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/august-01/ #:~:text=to%20this%20page-,Colorado,known%20as%20the%20Centennial%20State.

I've written these rock or country song lyrics in tribute to the original inhabitants of what is now Colorado and to honor all who've lived in Southern Colorado's natural beauty and celestial wondermont, The composition is titled 'ABODE'.

ABODE

Creator land Great Spirit celestial retreat
Dance to the Pueblo beat of the Apache drum
Anasazi flute ancestral wisdom A’ho, A’ho

When you’re feeling down pick someone up
Life’s ups won’t bring you down
Lifting someone up makes this a brighter day

Fear not the unpredictable fall
Creator will always lift us after all
Feathered winged spirits gift truth

Sun rising early light glowing
Roosters crow friendships grow
Cattle ranch grazing welcome rain
Or clear blue ridge mountain terrain
Dusk then sunset moonlight praising
Oh Great Spirit, lift us up, A’ho, A’ho, A’ho

Sangre de Cristo Raton Mesa spur
Baca House Trail of Santa Fe
Majesty to earth’s true horizon
Heaven’s stairway led Mother Theresa

Creator land Great Spirit celestial retreat
Dance to the ancient Pueblo beat Apache drum
Anasazi flute ancestral wisdom A’ho, A’ho A’ho, A’ho

When you’re feeling down pick someone up
Life’s ups won’t bring you down
Lifting someone up makes this a brighter day

Born small-town big T forever me
Fancy living in uptown downtown Fox sound
Miner cowboy and cowgirls all around

Creator land Great Spirit celestial retreat
Dance to the Pueblo beat of the Apache drum
Anasazi flute ancestral wisdom A’ho, A’ho, A’ho, A’ho

Iron horse horns sound on steel tracks
Heard alongside Central Park billboard mound
Simpson’s rest TSJC future bound

Stories told ‘bout fright
Weeping mother ghost wondering
Spare us from her sight,
Else three times is eternal night

Where once a wild muddy river raged
Animas Street bridge collapsed under truck overload
On Trinidad Red Brick Commercial Street
Old Hausman Riverside drugstore soda jerk treat
Purgatoire flow now a dam tamed retreat

Creator land Great Spirit celestial seat
Dance to the Pueblo beat of the Apache drum
Anasazi flute ancestral wisdom A’ho, A’ho, A’ho, A’ho

Park Street playgrounds lifted us
Centennial Bulldogs middle seat
Mighty Miner THS complete

Champion debate speech and sport
Learned a little ‘bout women and living
Rock-n-Roll, long hair, country, Black Sabbath

Creator land Great Spirit celestial retreat
Dance to the Pueblo beat of the Apache drum
Anasazi flute ancestral wisdom A’ho, A’ho

Pinon Pine, Evergreen, white barked golden Aspen
When you’re feeling down pick someone up
Spanish Peaks, snow covered summit
Life’s ups won’t bring you down

Natural Stonewall Gap Cuchara sights
North and Monument takes starlit nights
Wooded trail hikes cotton tails Elk deer and antelope
Mountain lions, clear rocky stream steep grassy slope

Fresh air, black bear, fisherman’s cove there
Lift someone up make this a brighter day
What once was is still the tribal way

Wildcat staring down the nearby tree
A brighter day Oh Creator let it be your way
Lift someone up this way live free

Wilderness surrounds life astounds
Respect life blessed and holy purpose
Care for each other lift someone up
And when you need a break rest a spell
Great Spirit carries us up where eagles dwell

Creator land Great Spirit celestial illumination
Dance to the Pueblo beat of the Apache drum
Anasazi flute ancestral nation A’ho, A’ho

They say like heaven above never feel down
Fate and time together make us proud

We pray at your side Creator where venerated reside
Oh, Great Spirit, Creator, tranquil shroud
Bless us Great Spirit across feathered ages
There eternal life peace and creation coincide

‘ABODE’ poem [rock or country] song lyrics-437 words] authored by: Douglas ‘Doug’ Rodriguez, 3 October, © copyright 2024 all rights reserved.