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Bill’s Guests: Friday, January 3, 2020
6:35: Rick Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government chats with Bill. It’s the Weekly Swamp Update from Washington D.C.
Today, we’ll be delving into issues such as the storming of American Embassies in Iraq, and the possibility of war with Iran?
Find out more great content over at: DailyTorch.com
7:10: Greg Roberts, Mr. Outdoors himself calls with today’s Outdoor Report. Greg will give you the low-down on what you can do in the outdoors this weekend as well as a look at the weather on the way to our area.
Find out more from Greg at RogueWeather.com
7:20: Ron Bolstead with the Old Time Fiddler’s Association District 4, talks with Bill.
Tomorrow, the fiddlers are having an Old Time Fiddler’s show for FREE.
WHERE: The Fruitdale Grange in Grants Pass. 1440 Parkdale Drive off of Highway 99 near Morrison Centennial Park.
WHEN: Tomorrow! Saturday, January 4, 2020 from 1 to 3pm.
Admission is Free! Check out: OOTFA4.org
8:10: Dan Skudstad with the Grants Pass Daily Courier joins Bill live in studio. We’ll be talking with Dan about a recent “Hope for Addiction” insert that the paper printed and distributed.
Bill’s Guests: Thursday, January 2, 2019
6:35: Ilya Feoktistov, Executive Director of Americans for Peace and Tolerance, a Boston-based national security non-profit organization that investigates and confronts threats to civil society in America, chats with Bill.
Ilya has penned a new book, which we’ll be talking about with him today.
TERROR in the Cradle of Liberty documents the rise since the 1960s of Islamist networks within New England’s historically moderate and century-old Muslim community. It contains a detailed and personal account of the efforts by concerned Massachusetts citizens since 2002 to expose and counter the influence of Islamist networks in New England – even as establishment Jewish, political, and law enforcement leaders in the Bay State have decided to embrace these networks as interfaith and community allies.
7:35: Ryan Dobson, Founder of the Church-based “Home Safe” Training Program talks with Bill.
Today, we talk with Ryan about what churches and parents can do to fight back, in the event of an active shooter situation.
Home Safe™ is designed to teach parents how to confront threats such as active shooters, online predators, and church / synagogue safety.For more information and to register for a Home Safe™ Seminar near you, go to HomeSafeSeminar.com
8:35: Mark Seligman, candidate for Josephine County Commissioner and activist talks with Bill.
We’ll talk with Mark about the recent “rent burden,” and homeless situation in the county.
Bill’s Guests: Tuesday, December 31, 2019 – Happy New Year!
6:35: Eric Peters, the automotive journalist from EPAutos.com chats with Bill about all things transportation and politics.
So, will 2020 be the last year that you can buy an American vehicle? We’ll discuss it with Eric.
READ: The End of The American Car
And, don’t forget to check out more from Eric, including his reviews of the latest cars, trucks, SUV’s and bikes, all over at: EPAutos.com
7:10: Greg Roberts, Mr. Outdoors from RogueWeather.com, calls in to bring to you a special Tuesday Outdoor Report.
7:35: State Senator Herman Baertschiger calls in to talk to Bill. We’ll wrap up 2019 with a Legislative update from the Senator.
8:10: Dr. Dennis Powers joins Bill in studio. It’s the final “Visiting Past & Present,” of 2019.
New Year’s Resolutions – For 2020
by Dennis Powers
New Year’s resolutions are about self-improvement. These are promises made to start doing something good or not do something bad–starting on New Year’s Day. It can be to improve yourself physically, whether losing weight, drinking less booze, quitting smoking, or exercising more. Thinking positive, enjoying life more, or reducing stress is more mind-oriented. Resolutions can be activities: taking an overseas trip, reading more books, or even changing jobs. They can be to make new friends, discard negative ones, spend more time with family, or spend less.
Yes, New Year’s resolutions are about hopefulness. And it’s been that way since recorded times. The celebration of a new year is the oldest of holidays and dates back to ancient Babylon some 4000 years ago. Around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of their new year on what is now March 23, although they didn’t have a written calendar. Late March was a logical choice, as this was when spring began and crops were planted. Their celebration lasted for 11 days, and the Babylonians made promises to their gods to return borrowed objects and pay back debts.
The Romans continued observing the New Year on March 25th, but later emperors changed the calendar so many times that it was not in sync with the sun. To set the calendar right, the Roman senate in 153 BC declared January 1rst to be the beginning of the New Year. It placed their mythical king of early Rome, Janus, at the head of the calendar.
The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and guardian of entrances. Always shown with two faces–one on the front of his head and a second at the back–Janus at the same time could look backwards and forwards. At midnight on December 31rst, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. He was the ancient symbol for resolutions, as Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies.
Different emperors again changed the dates. Finally, in 46 BC Julius Caesar decreed what is known as the Julian calendar. He re-established January 1rst as the start of the New Year. To synchronize the calendar with the sun, however, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days. The Romans started a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year’s Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common gifts.
In Medieval days, the knights took a “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry; they were required to place their hands on a peacock and vow to always live up to this pledge. Over centuries, the practice of resolutions and commitment on this eve continued, and it’s interesting to see what has happened in more modern times. At the end of the Great Depression, about 1/4th of adults formed New Year’s resolutions. By 2018, some 2/3rds did.
Their nature has also changed to reflect the times. At the end of the 19th century, a typical teenage girl’s resolution was on “good approaches”: She resolved to be less self-centered, more helpful, a more diligent worker, and improve her character. Body image, health, diet, and getting new “things” were rarely mentioned. By the end of the 20th century, the typical teenage girl was focused on good looks: to improve her body, hairstyle, makeup, and “up-faddish” clothing.
Conducted for 2018, Statista came up with these: make more money (53%); lose weight or get in shape (45%); have more sex (25%); travel more (24%); read more books (23%); learn a new skill or hobby (22%); buy a house (21%); quit smoking (16%); and find love (15%).
According to a recent YouGov poll, the most common U.S aspirations for the coming year are to eat healthier, get more exercise, and to save more money. Almost one third, perhaps more realistically, said that they wouldn’t bother with making resolutions.
As to success rates, a study of 3,000 people indicated that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when setting small quantitative goals (i.e., losing one pound a week, instead of promising “to lose weight”), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public with support from friends.
Setting a specific goal can be a winner. Monitoring progress, not being too ambitious, recording what you do, and giving time for success are important. Overcoming bad habits, such as drinking too much alcohol, smoking, or overeating, can be tough ones to beat because they’re so easy to return to when stressed out–especially during the New Year. And this can start with your celebrations.
So let’s start talking about what our New Year’s resolution will—or perhaps won’t be–and celebrate the upcoming 2020 New Year.
Sources: “Wikipedia: New Year’s Resolution,” at New Year’s Resolutions; Dove, Laurie L., “Why do people make New Year’s resolutions?”; “How Stuff Works?” at Why Make Them?; Blair, Gary R., “The History of New Year’s Resolutions, at EzineArticles.com: More on Resolutions; Statista, “What are your 2018 Resolutions?” at Survey; Statista, “YouGov Poll” at YouGov Poll.
Monday, December 30th, 2019
Hello everyone. We here at The Bill Meyer Show hope that you had a very Merry Christmas with family and friends, and that your 2020 will be an even better year for you and yours.
Bill is taking a few, well deserved, days off for a little R ‘N’ R. The Bill Meyer Show will return on Tuesday, December 31st, for more great talk on the latest news and issues that affect you. Thank you for listening.