The US Navy has sent a destroyer close to a contested island in the South China Sea that Beijing has fortified with military installations to stake its territorial claims on the region.

The sailing came as the Chinese military entered a third day of a show of force around Taiwan, a thousand miles away near the northern entrance to the South China Sea, in response to a brief visit by Taiwan’s President to the United States.

On Monday, a statement from the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius passed within 12 nautical miles – the internationally recognized limit of a nation’s territorial waters – of Mischief Reef in the Spratly islands, known as the Nansha Islands in China.

Mischief Reef, which lies in the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone, is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

But Beijing has asserted its claims to the island by building it up and placing military infrastructure on it.

The US contends such actions are in violation of the Law of the Sea Convention. (CNN)

Constant taunting of one another.

Let’s hope it will remain that way.

You are aware of your problems and difficulties.

Are you aware of your blessings on this Easter morning?

Do you have at least one person who loves you?

Do you have any friends?

Do you live in a healthy body?

Do you have enough to eat each day?

Do you have shelter from inclement weather?

Do you live in a free country?

Do you have enough clothes to wear?

Count your blessings!

Of course, you’re going to invite the same old crowd.

In the spirit of the holiday season, would you consider inviting a lonely person who has nowhere to go?

It will make his or her day and yours.

And there is another issue that could be addressed.

Will you forgive and forget an old grudge?

Forgiveness is a very timely attribute to practice at the holidays.

Make this holiday about more than food and drink.

Reach out to improve the life of someone else!

If not today, when?

Happy Holidays!

Parisiens have voted against the use of electric scooters.

Over the past few years, electric scooters have been brought to Paris and dozens of other cities worldwide by various startups.

They promised an environmentally-friendly individual transport option.

What cities have gotten instead is chaos:

Scooters are shooting down sidewalks at dangerous speeds or laying abandoned on pedestrian thoroughfares.

Both riders and pedestrians have been injured and sometimes killed.

Scooters sounded great in theory.

In practice, they’re much more of a menace than a convenience.

What has been the scooter reaction where you live?

One is always left to carry on!

Will your surviving parent carry on ALONE?

I heard an interesting story yesterday.

His father is a widower and 94 years old.

My friend is one of 10 children.

He lives a 5 hour drive from his father.

He has 9 siblings, 3 of whom live near their father and their childhood home.

They want their dad to go to an assisted living facility, but dad wants to live out his life on his farm.

So, my friend drives the 5 hour drive every other weekend to stay with his dad.

My friend cooks for him and takes him to church.

As he drives the 5 hours back to his home on Sunday night, he fears his dad will die alone.

Chronic stress can have long-term consequences.

Studies have shown that it can raise the risk of heart disease and stroke.

It’s associated with a worse immune response and decreased cognitive function.

Individuals experiencing stress are also more likely to endorse unhealthy behaviors, like smoking, excessive drinking, substance use, lack of sleep and physical inactivity.

These lifestyle factors in turn can lead to worse health outcomes.

CNN: What techniques can help in addressing stress?

First, awareness is important.

Know your own body and your reaction to stress.

Sometimes, anticipating that a situation may be stressful and being prepared to deal with it can reduce stress and anxiety.

Second, identifying symptoms can help.

For example, if you know that your stress reaction includes feeling your heart rate increase and getting agitated, then you can detect the symptoms as they occur and become aware of the stressful situation as it’s occurring. (CNN)

The First Lady felt like inviting both LSU and IOWA to the White House.

It’s never been done before.

LSU was the winner.

Tradition has it that only the winning team is invited.

Mrs. Biden attended the game as shown in the photo above.

LSU players think inviting the losing team is a JOKE!

After LSU players complained, Mrs. Biden changed her decision.

What would you have done?

Could your spousal relationship be better?

It is the most important relationship of your life.

You promised that you would be married to this person always.

In order to be happily married, you must put the needs of your spouse before all others.

Do you do that? Consistently?

Because you are different people, you have different needs.

That’s why it’s important to understand your spouse’s needs and and provide for them.

You can be “Happily Ever After!”

Just put your spouse first.

If not today, when?

Yes, it’s that time again.

We put together the basic facts and then send them to our accountant.

It seems like income tax laws have some changes every year.

So, we think it’s important to have a professional help us.

We try to avoid turning in a late return.

Good luck with yours!

Her name is Evelyn Dieckhaus, Age 9 Years.

She and two other nine year olds were gunned down while attending a private school in Nashville.

The principal and two other members of the staff were also killed.

Her funeral is tomorrow.

We’ve got to stop killers from walking into our schools!

The world won’t be as nice a place without Evelyn.

Every school in America must have only one door unlocked and there must be an armed guard at that door.

We must deny killers free access to our schools!

If not today, when?