"Mess over me once, shame on you. Mess over me twice, shame on me!" You have probably heard some version of this saying, and that version may have been more profound or more profane.
The saying makes complete sense. If someone knowingly sets out to take unfair advantage of you, or steal from you, or lie to you or cheat on you - I think we could all agree the individual is not a "nice" person. I think we could expand that to say they are not ethical or honest either.
Most pastors would agree that this person is not following the dictates of our Judeo-Christian heritage. Most psychologists would agree the individual might have a personality disorder; maybe the individual could be narcissistic or even sociopathic. Most Law Enforcement Officers would identify the individual had exhibited criminal tendencies. Most folks would just determine this is someone we don't want to be around or have around us.
You, on the other hand, would simply be classified as a victim. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary says this about the word victim.
It is a noun; it comes from the Latin word victima. A victim could be Top of Form 1: a living being sacrificed to a deity or in the performance of a religious rite. 2: one that is acted on and usually adversely affected by a force or agent (the schools are victims of the social system): as one that is injured, destroyed, or sacrificed under any of various conditions (a victim of cancer), (a victim of the auto crash), (a murder victim) or one that is subjected to oppression, hardship, or mistreatment (a frequent victim of political attacks) or one that is tricked or duped (a con man's victim). In other words, it was not your fault.
We covered the first part of the saying, but now let's deal with part twp. The second says, "Mess over me twice, shame on me!" Maya Angelou once said, "When someone shows you what they are - believe them."
Yes, people make mistakes. They can realize their mistakes, they can repent, and they can make amends.
Some folks however, confuse an isolate incident of bad judgment, bad thinking, stupidity or ignorance with a pattern of misbehavior. Notice I said a pattern of misbehavior - not a pattern of behavior. Behavior often has isolated incidents of bad judgment, bad thinking, stupidity and ignorance.
Misbehavior however; most often is based on purposeful acts intended to hurt or subvert another person. It also has the intent of providing some benefit to the misbehavior. The benefit could be financial, sexual, emotional or power based.
Why then if you are again victimized is it your fault? Because you knew the scorpion!
There are several versions of a Native American proverb dealing with trust. Sometimes the villain is a scorpion, sometimes a snake, sometimes a coyote. Usually, the hero is a young Indian boy on a vision quest. The weather turns cold and the young boy is freezing. The scorpion, snake or coyote asks to share the blanket of the young boy; but the young Indian says, "No, you will sting me, bite me or eat me!"
The beast assures the boy that it would not make sense to do any of those things. If they shared warmth, they would both benefit. Convinced, the young Indian agrees; but after only a few minutes, he is attacked by the beast. "Why?" the boy screams knowing he had been betrayed. The beast smiles and says, "But you knew what I was before I attacked you." In some stories the victim is a rabbit or turtle swimming across a river. The bottom line is the victim is betrayed by the beast.
Now let's relate this to our lives today. Do you have someone in your life that continues to cause you problems? Do you have someone in your life that continues to use and abuse you? Do you have someone in your life that continues to steal from you? Do you have someone in your life that continues to spread drama and unnecessary conflict throughout your life? That is your fault - not theirs!
People are usually pretty smart on a one-to-one basis. Societies, on the other hand, have a tendency to lose their minds. For example, the current economic crisis occurred because of a lack of oversight, criminal behavior and a complete disregard for the welfare of their clients, companies and even the country. That was the fault of the people in charge. That was their fault and shame on them. Shame on the folks and Fannie and Freddie! Shame on the Big 3, shame on the UAW, shame on those in Congress that purposely failed to do their jobs - SHAME ON THEM!
Shame on those that criminally conspired to milk their companies, mismanage retirements and pension funds; that lied to the public; that created this "bail out" mentality and told us it was necessary and had to be implemented IMMEDIATELY. SHAME ON THEM!
They were like the scorpion or snake or coyote; unfortunately, we were the young Indian boy! That means now it is our fault. We put those that were in charge - back in charge. We put the foxes right back in the hen house. We have allowed those that created the problems to go unpunished. We are being told some companies are too big to fail.
How many times do we have to be lied to before we call someone a liar? How many times do we have to be cheated, before we call someone a cheater? How many times do we have to be bamboozled before we call a spade a spade and a thief a thief?
I know, we're not supposed to say things like that. We could hurt someone's feelings; damage their legacy. We could be called radicals or even racists. Certainly, it will be obvious that we are not as smart, progressive or as high thinking as those individuals.
We accept false science (Global Warming); we accept false accounting (the Bail Outs). We accept social programs that don't work (welfare for illegal aliens) while ignoring facts and figures that show us these and other programs don't work. Illegal immigration is not even considered to be illegal by many of those we just watched run for our highest office.
If you think it is bad now, if you think you have lost monies from your retirement funds or your investments, if you think things are crazy - be of good cheer! In the months and years to come, these will be the "good old days"!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Takers and Givers
I was talking to my friend "Bill" the other day listening to the litany of "terrible and devastating" things going on in his life. I yawned! I wasn't bored, I was disinterested!
See, the first two or three times I listened to this litany I was horrified, I was flabbergasted, I was seriously concerned and worried about his survival and the survival of his family. However, it didn't long to realize that each of these catastrophes was created by bad decisions my friend had made and continued to make.
Let's go back in time a few years. First, he had been stuck in a job where he was't getting promoted and it seemed like newer folks to the organization kept being promoted over him. His Bosses were idiots, unethical, unprincipled idiots - and besides that, they weren't fair! Then he got fired.
He was able to land another job very quickly; but in short order, it became obvious that his new bosses were just as bad as his old bosses. It seemed like an incredible bunch of bad luck - a black cloud had come over him like the little guy in the old Little Abner comic strip. The harder he "tried", the worse it got.
Now, I've worked for idiots. I've worked for lazy leaders that couldn't lead, managers that couldn't manage and supervisors that couldn't supervise; so I could identify with him. I guess I was slow but I bought his stories hook line and sinker. I had known Bill for years, we had "come up together" - we were pals.
Then one day, another friend of mine had an opening at his company. I had known "Jim" for a long time and had worked with him - this could be a marriage made in heaven I thought. So I called Bill, he interviewed and bingo got the job. For about six months everything was wonderful, but at the end of the first six months Bill started calling me to complain about Jim. That is when I started smelling a rat in the rutabagas. Do you remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Toto pulls back the curtain and we learn that the Great Wizard Oz was just a man manipulating machines?
Well, that's what happened that day to Bill and me. Then, because I would no longer "side" with him in his battles, he began attacking me. Because I knew Jim well enough to know that Bill's complaints had no foundation in reality, it became Bill against everyone - just as it had really always been.
Once I could "see behind the curtain" it all fell into place and made sense. Bill lost his jobs. Why? Because he was a jerk who thought he knew more than his boss and wasn't afraid to tell his boss that fact. Bill did not get promoted. Why? Because he was long on ideas, but short on doing what was necessary to get those ideas working.
No matter where he worked or what he did, there were always problems that began surfacing at about the six month mark. Why? It took folks about six months to "see behind the curtain". Bill did not have problems, Bill was the problem. I've known a lot of folks like Bill, but now they are easier to spot - thanks to Bill. I call these type of people "Takers".
Here are some tips on how to spot Takers and keep them from impacting your life:
If someone is having a problem, chances are it's the other person who is at fault. If that person has a problem with everyone - chances are THEY are THE problem.
If a person complains all the time, it is not that their life is so bad - they just like complaining.
Soap operas are for TV, not real life.
There are smart people, but there are also smart people who believe their own BS to the point they have become stupid. I call this the Rule of Ego.
Most folks belong to an organization, a fraternity, a church because they wish to be a part and contribute. Takers join an organization, fraternity or church because they want to benefit from that association.
Takers take. When they do give - you never hear the end of it. Like someone said, "He'll give ya the shirt off his back and remind ya of it every day."
Takers have to be the center of attention.
Takers are usually poor listeners, because they are already thinking about what they are going to say next.
They are great thinkers, but lousy doers.
They can figure out what's wrong. But fixing it? That is something they would rather delegate to someone else - "less important than them" to handle.
Being a Taker is not restricted to a gender, a profession, a race or an ethnic origin; although I have identified one profession that seems to attract them - Politics.
Takers are often bullies, but it is not the threat of physical harm they use. They try to intimidate you with emotion or the power of their genius. Usually, they don't have the courage for a direct confrontation.
Now, here are some ways to tell that you are NOT a Taker:
When you're knocked down, do you get up?
When faced with problems do you start with "What should I change in me?" rather than "How can I change them?"
You listened and understood President Kennedy when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
When the National Anthem is played, you stop talking, you stand and place your hand over your heart.
At a funeral, you are respectful.
When a funeral passes on the highway, you pull over out of respect - even when you don't have to.
You believe that challenges and difficulties - not TV- forge character.
You rather see kids on the play ground than playing Wii.
You are smart enough to realize what you don't know, and are humble enough to ask for help when it is needed.
When you're screwed over, you operate under the dictate that "Living well, really is the best revenge."
Someone once said "You can't appreciate happiness unless you have been unhappy. You can't recognize love unless you have been hated. You must have turmoil to understand peace and tranquility. You must be alone to appreciate a friend. You must be lost to be found."
You must have a "Taker" every now and then to remind you to be a "Giver".
See, the first two or three times I listened to this litany I was horrified, I was flabbergasted, I was seriously concerned and worried about his survival and the survival of his family. However, it didn't long to realize that each of these catastrophes was created by bad decisions my friend had made and continued to make.
Let's go back in time a few years. First, he had been stuck in a job where he was't getting promoted and it seemed like newer folks to the organization kept being promoted over him. His Bosses were idiots, unethical, unprincipled idiots - and besides that, they weren't fair! Then he got fired.
He was able to land another job very quickly; but in short order, it became obvious that his new bosses were just as bad as his old bosses. It seemed like an incredible bunch of bad luck - a black cloud had come over him like the little guy in the old Little Abner comic strip. The harder he "tried", the worse it got.
Now, I've worked for idiots. I've worked for lazy leaders that couldn't lead, managers that couldn't manage and supervisors that couldn't supervise; so I could identify with him. I guess I was slow but I bought his stories hook line and sinker. I had known Bill for years, we had "come up together" - we were pals.
Then one day, another friend of mine had an opening at his company. I had known "Jim" for a long time and had worked with him - this could be a marriage made in heaven I thought. So I called Bill, he interviewed and bingo got the job. For about six months everything was wonderful, but at the end of the first six months Bill started calling me to complain about Jim. That is when I started smelling a rat in the rutabagas. Do you remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Toto pulls back the curtain and we learn that the Great Wizard Oz was just a man manipulating machines?
Well, that's what happened that day to Bill and me. Then, because I would no longer "side" with him in his battles, he began attacking me. Because I knew Jim well enough to know that Bill's complaints had no foundation in reality, it became Bill against everyone - just as it had really always been.
Once I could "see behind the curtain" it all fell into place and made sense. Bill lost his jobs. Why? Because he was a jerk who thought he knew more than his boss and wasn't afraid to tell his boss that fact. Bill did not get promoted. Why? Because he was long on ideas, but short on doing what was necessary to get those ideas working.
No matter where he worked or what he did, there were always problems that began surfacing at about the six month mark. Why? It took folks about six months to "see behind the curtain". Bill did not have problems, Bill was the problem. I've known a lot of folks like Bill, but now they are easier to spot - thanks to Bill. I call these type of people "Takers".
Here are some tips on how to spot Takers and keep them from impacting your life:
If someone is having a problem, chances are it's the other person who is at fault. If that person has a problem with everyone - chances are THEY are THE problem.
If a person complains all the time, it is not that their life is so bad - they just like complaining.
Soap operas are for TV, not real life.
There are smart people, but there are also smart people who believe their own BS to the point they have become stupid. I call this the Rule of Ego.
Most folks belong to an organization, a fraternity, a church because they wish to be a part and contribute. Takers join an organization, fraternity or church because they want to benefit from that association.
Takers take. When they do give - you never hear the end of it. Like someone said, "He'll give ya the shirt off his back and remind ya of it every day."
Takers have to be the center of attention.
Takers are usually poor listeners, because they are already thinking about what they are going to say next.
They are great thinkers, but lousy doers.
They can figure out what's wrong. But fixing it? That is something they would rather delegate to someone else - "less important than them" to handle.
Being a Taker is not restricted to a gender, a profession, a race or an ethnic origin; although I have identified one profession that seems to attract them - Politics.
Takers are often bullies, but it is not the threat of physical harm they use. They try to intimidate you with emotion or the power of their genius. Usually, they don't have the courage for a direct confrontation.
Now, here are some ways to tell that you are NOT a Taker:
When you're knocked down, do you get up?
When faced with problems do you start with "What should I change in me?" rather than "How can I change them?"
You listened and understood President Kennedy when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
When the National Anthem is played, you stop talking, you stand and place your hand over your heart.
At a funeral, you are respectful.
When a funeral passes on the highway, you pull over out of respect - even when you don't have to.
You believe that challenges and difficulties - not TV- forge character.
You rather see kids on the play ground than playing Wii.
You are smart enough to realize what you don't know, and are humble enough to ask for help when it is needed.
When you're screwed over, you operate under the dictate that "Living well, really is the best revenge."
Someone once said "You can't appreciate happiness unless you have been unhappy. You can't recognize love unless you have been hated. You must have turmoil to understand peace and tranquility. You must be alone to appreciate a friend. You must be lost to be found."
You must have a "Taker" every now and then to remind you to be a "Giver".
Thursday, January 8, 2009
What Can You Do Something About?
Happy New Year! What did you resolve to do or not to do this year? A recent study showed most Americans were going to resolve to lose weight, exercise more, curse less, quit smoking, etc.; you know the same ole' stuff. I have resolved to not watch as many news shows and to focus on the good things we have - while we have them.
See, I have it figured like this. Israel will continue killing Hamas, until Hamas stops killing Israelites. Pakistan and India may or may not go to war (that has been a threat since I was young). In just a few days we will inaugurate our next President and find out what change is really going to be about. The Russians and the Venezuelans are still playing house down south, but no one seems to notice.
We still have open borders. We are going to bail out everyone in a leaky boat. The economy is collapsing or has collapsed. The bailout will either fix the problem or make it worse. To some God is dead; to others he is fixing to initiate the rapture. I have talked about crooked politicians who have no interests above their own and how Congress no longer cares what we the people think - and we just sent most of them back to Washington.
The Mayans, the Islamic terrorist and now Nostradamus have all predicted that 2012 will be the end, and I can't do much about any of it. See I have stood against tyranny, but we still have tyrants. I have spoken out against racism but we still have racists. I have fought for freedom, but freedom ain't free and it can be taken away at any time.
At my home however, I have a loving wife who keeps me centered. Recently, the economy hit us. We had a credit card with about four grand on it; we have never missed a payment, had it on auto pay and were even paying additional payments. Bang, we get a notice saying they were changing our interest rate from 6 percent to over 26 percent - for no reason - they were just doing it because they could. Pam fixed them and we no longer do business with them.
See that's the secret of where we are today. We have to take control, we have to get involved, we have to regain the power and we have to work together. We have to be a team; a team at work, a team at home, a team at school, a team at church. I know a lot but I don't know everything - that's why I married Pam - she does. If you don't believe it ask her, haha. Seriously, I made a good decision with her and that is part of the secret to success - making good decisions.
Someone once said, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you always have gotten." If you don't believe it look at Congress today. I am tired of the drama. I am tired of folks no smarter than me telling me how I should act and feel. I grew up in a world where I knew I did not understand every serious incident that occurred and that I didn't know everything but I had faith that somewhere in our government were people that did understand and did know. I've grown out of that.
I'm waiting for someone to get straight with the American people, someone that actually cares about this country.
I'm waiting for someone to say things like this again:
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so. I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."
"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
Or someone that would say things like this: "Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason. Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against. We'd all like to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate."
"All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field. Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy."
In the 2010 election cycles watch CNN, ABC, CBS and even FOX and you are liable to hear something like this, "An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry."
American politics had degenerated to the point that, "Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right."
See here's the problem, "There are always too many Democratic congressmen, too many Republican congressmen, and never enough U.S. congressmen."
Please note, none of the statements in quotes are mine - although I do agree with them. Some are decades old, some centuries old - it has all been identified and talked about before - it just hasn't done any good. I don't care if you're Democrat or Republican - I'm looking for a real American.
Till I find one, I'm going to take care of my wife, my three dogs, one cat and the duck we have living in our lake - we call her Daffy. I'm focusing on what I can influence not on what I can't do anything about. I'm focusing on taking care of what I can take care of. Think about it, might be a good idea. I'll end with a few quotes to ponder.
I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. ~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952
Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians. ~Charles Krauthammer
See, I have it figured like this. Israel will continue killing Hamas, until Hamas stops killing Israelites. Pakistan and India may or may not go to war (that has been a threat since I was young). In just a few days we will inaugurate our next President and find out what change is really going to be about. The Russians and the Venezuelans are still playing house down south, but no one seems to notice.
We still have open borders. We are going to bail out everyone in a leaky boat. The economy is collapsing or has collapsed. The bailout will either fix the problem or make it worse. To some God is dead; to others he is fixing to initiate the rapture. I have talked about crooked politicians who have no interests above their own and how Congress no longer cares what we the people think - and we just sent most of them back to Washington.
The Mayans, the Islamic terrorist and now Nostradamus have all predicted that 2012 will be the end, and I can't do much about any of it. See I have stood against tyranny, but we still have tyrants. I have spoken out against racism but we still have racists. I have fought for freedom, but freedom ain't free and it can be taken away at any time.
At my home however, I have a loving wife who keeps me centered. Recently, the economy hit us. We had a credit card with about four grand on it; we have never missed a payment, had it on auto pay and were even paying additional payments. Bang, we get a notice saying they were changing our interest rate from 6 percent to over 26 percent - for no reason - they were just doing it because they could. Pam fixed them and we no longer do business with them.
See that's the secret of where we are today. We have to take control, we have to get involved, we have to regain the power and we have to work together. We have to be a team; a team at work, a team at home, a team at school, a team at church. I know a lot but I don't know everything - that's why I married Pam - she does. If you don't believe it ask her, haha. Seriously, I made a good decision with her and that is part of the secret to success - making good decisions.
Someone once said, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you always have gotten." If you don't believe it look at Congress today. I am tired of the drama. I am tired of folks no smarter than me telling me how I should act and feel. I grew up in a world where I knew I did not understand every serious incident that occurred and that I didn't know everything but I had faith that somewhere in our government were people that did understand and did know. I've grown out of that.
I'm waiting for someone to get straight with the American people, someone that actually cares about this country.
I'm waiting for someone to say things like this again:
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so. I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."
"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
Or someone that would say things like this: "Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason. Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against. We'd all like to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate."
"All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field. Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy."
In the 2010 election cycles watch CNN, ABC, CBS and even FOX and you are liable to hear something like this, "An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry."
American politics had degenerated to the point that, "Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right."
See here's the problem, "There are always too many Democratic congressmen, too many Republican congressmen, and never enough U.S. congressmen."
Please note, none of the statements in quotes are mine - although I do agree with them. Some are decades old, some centuries old - it has all been identified and talked about before - it just hasn't done any good. I don't care if you're Democrat or Republican - I'm looking for a real American.
Till I find one, I'm going to take care of my wife, my three dogs, one cat and the duck we have living in our lake - we call her Daffy. I'm focusing on what I can influence not on what I can't do anything about. I'm focusing on taking care of what I can take care of. Think about it, might be a good idea. I'll end with a few quotes to ponder.
I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. ~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952
Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians. ~Charles Krauthammer
Thursday, January 1, 2009
He Knew in 1802!
"Any politician who starts shouting election-year demagoguery about the rich and the poor should be asked, 'What about the other 90 percent of the people?'"
-- Thomas Sowell
About the time I could not stand to watch the election stuff anymore, the "bail out" began. This issue was so important that it interrupted everything for several days until a decision was made to allocate the money, a bunch of money, a whole lot of money!
So it was rammed down the throats of Americans that we would become "investors" in resolving the economic crisis. Whether we are called "investors" or just tax payers really doesn't matter in the end; but it should have mattered at the time.
It did not matter because our elected representatives again simply turned off their phones, shut off their email, turned off their faxes and did what they wanted to do - over the objections of those that elected them.
And here we sit how many months later? Has the crisis been stopped? Nope!
Has it spread? Yep!
Is the problem solved? Nope!
Have the guilty been identified? Yep!
Have the guilty been punished? Nope!
Has change come to America? Yep!
Has anything changed? Nope!
The very folks responsible for this mess are now in charge of fixing it. Who am I talking about? Congress, Congress, Congress. The very same individuals who allowed, encouraged this crisis have been telling us for months they are going to fix it.
The only things I have seen is a stock market that is being manipulated by speculators, everyone else is lining up behind the financial entities for their hand out - and the free market is not being allowed to right itself.
He knew in 1802!
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." Thomas Jefferson 1802
I was talking to my friend Earl the other day and he said something I found quite profound, "I was just thinking how the Government in 1990 seized control of the Mustang Ranch down in Nevada. Within a few months it failed. Now they have taken control of our entire economy. It scares the crap out of me to know that a bunch of nit wits that can't run a whore house and sell booze are making decisions about my country." Just something to ponder about.
It does not take a genius to figure out what is wrong in D.C. It's the politicians and our political system. Mark Twain said it best a long time ago, "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
Here is what Norma White, a retired network engineer for Southwestern Bell in Amarillo, TX suggested. Her suggestions work for me.
"Limit Congress from serving more than two terms, that's all a President gets.
Stop Congress from voting on their own pay raises, how did that get started anyway?
Stop paying for their high priced insurance premiums. After all, they are only part time employees. They might actually pass on laws on insurance companies if they had to deal with them like the rest of us.
Stop paying lawmakers their full salary after just one term or at retirement. We need to get rid of that pension plan; they've let other companies get rid of theirs. You're lucky to get 40-50% of your salary after working somewhere for 35 years, but they get 100%.
Make Congress pay into the Social Security system. They make laws for it. If they spent some of their own money, they might have interest in making it solvent.
Stop handing out aid to illegal aliens. If we did, the Medicaid and the food stamp program would have enough money to aid the aged and the poor.
Secure our borders.
Stop allowing babies born to aliens in the United States automatic US citizenship.
Stop the abuse of our benevolent welfare system. We feed children free meals three times a day until they are 17. Churches give away good, clean clothes. Companies buy and donate school supplies. Emergency rooms provide healthcare at taxpayer expense and the food stamp program is buying food at home. What are parents doing for their children?
Have a computer program that cross checks Social Security numbers with finger prints to stop fraud on many fronts. Use it on voter registration too.
Stop bailing out mortgage companies and banks that give loans to people who cannot afford them.
Stop companies from paying CEOs and other executive's outrageous salaries and bonuses while doing away with the worker's pension programs.
Stop all unnecessary spending so we will have the money for our nation's security and to help needy and elderly Americans.
Stop permitting anyone to have a photo with their face covered on driver's licenses."
Mark Twain also said, "If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do you are misinformed." Luckily Mark was not talking about the Webster County Citizen. Unfortunately, he never realized that technology would create our modern news media.
-- Thomas Sowell
About the time I could not stand to watch the election stuff anymore, the "bail out" began. This issue was so important that it interrupted everything for several days until a decision was made to allocate the money, a bunch of money, a whole lot of money!
So it was rammed down the throats of Americans that we would become "investors" in resolving the economic crisis. Whether we are called "investors" or just tax payers really doesn't matter in the end; but it should have mattered at the time.
It did not matter because our elected representatives again simply turned off their phones, shut off their email, turned off their faxes and did what they wanted to do - over the objections of those that elected them.
And here we sit how many months later? Has the crisis been stopped? Nope!
Has it spread? Yep!
Is the problem solved? Nope!
Have the guilty been identified? Yep!
Have the guilty been punished? Nope!
Has change come to America? Yep!
Has anything changed? Nope!
The very folks responsible for this mess are now in charge of fixing it. Who am I talking about? Congress, Congress, Congress. The very same individuals who allowed, encouraged this crisis have been telling us for months they are going to fix it.
The only things I have seen is a stock market that is being manipulated by speculators, everyone else is lining up behind the financial entities for their hand out - and the free market is not being allowed to right itself.
He knew in 1802!
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." Thomas Jefferson 1802
I was talking to my friend Earl the other day and he said something I found quite profound, "I was just thinking how the Government in 1990 seized control of the Mustang Ranch down in Nevada. Within a few months it failed. Now they have taken control of our entire economy. It scares the crap out of me to know that a bunch of nit wits that can't run a whore house and sell booze are making decisions about my country." Just something to ponder about.
It does not take a genius to figure out what is wrong in D.C. It's the politicians and our political system. Mark Twain said it best a long time ago, "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
Here is what Norma White, a retired network engineer for Southwestern Bell in Amarillo, TX suggested. Her suggestions work for me.
"Limit Congress from serving more than two terms, that's all a President gets.
Stop Congress from voting on their own pay raises, how did that get started anyway?
Stop paying for their high priced insurance premiums. After all, they are only part time employees. They might actually pass on laws on insurance companies if they had to deal with them like the rest of us.
Stop paying lawmakers their full salary after just one term or at retirement. We need to get rid of that pension plan; they've let other companies get rid of theirs. You're lucky to get 40-50% of your salary after working somewhere for 35 years, but they get 100%.
Make Congress pay into the Social Security system. They make laws for it. If they spent some of their own money, they might have interest in making it solvent.
Stop handing out aid to illegal aliens. If we did, the Medicaid and the food stamp program would have enough money to aid the aged and the poor.
Secure our borders.
Stop allowing babies born to aliens in the United States automatic US citizenship.
Stop the abuse of our benevolent welfare system. We feed children free meals three times a day until they are 17. Churches give away good, clean clothes. Companies buy and donate school supplies. Emergency rooms provide healthcare at taxpayer expense and the food stamp program is buying food at home. What are parents doing for their children?
Have a computer program that cross checks Social Security numbers with finger prints to stop fraud on many fronts. Use it on voter registration too.
Stop bailing out mortgage companies and banks that give loans to people who cannot afford them.
Stop companies from paying CEOs and other executive's outrageous salaries and bonuses while doing away with the worker's pension programs.
Stop all unnecessary spending so we will have the money for our nation's security and to help needy and elderly Americans.
Stop permitting anyone to have a photo with their face covered on driver's licenses."
Mark Twain also said, "If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do you are misinformed." Luckily Mark was not talking about the Webster County Citizen. Unfortunately, he never realized that technology would create our modern news media.
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