I don’t really want to stop the discussion from my previous article. But I wanted to get this one in before the Vice Presidential debate tonight.
Once again the far-right leaning (eye roll) Jon Stewart attacks the Obama campaign. He slams their “Big Bird” strategy in what he calls “DEMOCALYPSE 2012”
Two things. First, a few weeks ago my beloved told me that I can sometimes sound “mean” in my articles. In retrospect that might be true. I feel like this 90% of the time I write:
So I can see how it would come across that way.
Number two. I had a friend write me and say that I come across “narcissistic” in my writing. Pfffffff…Narcisa-What!? I have two things to say to that: One, I don’t have a narcissistic bone in my smokin’ hot body; and two, even if I were, do you know what is awesome about being a narcissist? Me.
So…on to today’s article.
At the risk of repeating myself, I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to fully express how I feel about this. It is maddening to me.
It seemed like it was just a few minutes after Mitt Romney got finished handing the President his…butt the other night at the first Presidential debate, that I received this picture in an email:
I chuckled. It’s funny. The fact that the Obama campaign has turned this into the focal point of this election is NOT. Honestly. It is now in the realm of the ridiculous.
For those of you that may have missed it, Mitt Romney pointed out the government shouldn’t be borrowing from China to pay for things such as public broadcasting. He even said he liked Big Bird. And who couldn’t? I love Big Bird. I watched Sesame Street growing up. (I’m still kinda angry no one told me how to get to Sesame Street. Stupid song). But here is a little secret.
SESAME STREET DOESN’T NEED THE TAX PAYERS MONEY!!!!
On CNN last Thursday (October 4th), Sesame Workshop Executive Vice President Sherri Westin said it was “misleading” to say that ending public funding for Sesame Street would hurt the program. She said, “Quite frankly, you can debate whether or not there should be funding for public broadcasting. But when they always try to tout out Big Bird, and they say we’re going to kill Big Bird—that is actually misleading, because Sesame Street will be here…Big Bird lives on.”
And it’s true. In 2010 Sesame Workshop former CEO Gary Knell received $988,456 in total compensation. That’s almost a million bucks. I don’t berate him a penny of it. I wouldn’t care if he made $10 million. I just don’t think the program needs a dime of the tax payer’s money.
Sesame Workshop’s 2011 financial statement showed the program made $46.9 million in licensing from June 2010-June 2011, and made $41.9 million in distribution fees and royalties. Overall, Sesame Workshop showed more than $136 million in total operating revenues. At the end of June 2011, its net assets totaled $227 million. Financial reports from 2003 – 2006, show ‘Sesame Street’ made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales. From 2008 – 2011 they made $244.4 million in licensing alone. In other words, they aren’t hurting.
So why is it the Obama Campaign released this commercial even though Sesame Street has asked it to be taken down?
I’ll tell you why. No, I think the President’s own words will be more effective. He said, “If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.”
It looks like the President is following his own advice. I guess if I didn’t have an idea on how to fix the economy, energy, Libya, out of control gas prices, or unemployment, I would be focusing on a big yellow talking bird as well.
According to Forbes we, the tax payers, spend $300 million on public broadcasting, which in the grand scheme of things is not a lot. A fifty cent coupon in the grand scheme of my household budget isn’t a lot either. But if I use a hundred of them, it’s fifty bucks.
Put a fork in it. This bird is done.
LIFEZILLA: Proudly read in many FINE, FINE establishments…and where you are.
So, what you may or may not know about me, your humble writer, is that I work two jobs. I work my main job (I’ve been employed there for 21 years), and about a year ago I had to get a second job waiting tables three or four times a week. It BUH-LOWS!!! First it was a PRIDE SUCKING VORTEX having to get a job waiting tables (I’ve clearly decided to “own it”). The thing that sucks most about it is I have no one to blame for having to get a second job but myself. I made a whole bunch of stupid financial mistakes (or would it be a “gaggle” of mistakes? Most likely it would be a “murder” of mistakes) so I spend the time I used to enjoy with my family to try to keep them fed. Seriously, it’s like they can eat three times a day and never get tired of it.
So last night I’m waiting tables. I was waiting on a gaggle of teenagers who were, apparently, a debate team from a local high school. As you can imagine, I can be quite charming, and being as how I have the gift of gab AND inherited the gene (from my children) I shall call “smartassery” I got along really well with the kids.
In the course of the evening, I was teasing some of them when a young man said to me, “The Electoral College is stupid.” I have no idea why he said it. I didn’t know if it was a subject he was debating or what. The sad thing is I was super busy (which is almost the same as normal busy, I was just wearing a cape) so I wasn’t able to ask him his thoughts on the subject. More sadly-er than that, I didn’t get a chance to spout out my thoughts on the subject either. Man, if only I had a website where I could spew my dumbery to my tens of followers. Oh wait! I have one!!
Just for a quick review, how it works is each state gets a certain number of Electoral College votes based on the number of Representatives they have. So each state gets two (because each state has two Senators) and then how ever many members they have in the House of Representatives. So if you live in a state with 5 members of congress you will have 7 Electoral College votes (2 plus 5). Capisce?
Just for fun I Googled “how many Americans live within 50 miles of a coast” and came up with this website. It states, “The narrow fringe comprising 17 percent of the contiguous U.S. land area is home to more than half of the nation’s population.” MORE THAN HALF.
So ask yourself, if more then half of the population lives within fifty miles of the coast, and we lived in a democracy (popular vote) instead of a republic, how often do you think someone who lives in Iowa would ever see a Presidential hopeful? I’ll answer it for you. NEVER. Why would a Presidential hopeful ever waste their time in one of the “fly-over states?”
So two things happened; first, our Founding Fathers were obsessed with the separation of power, AND in either a moment of inspiration or pure BRILLIANCE came up with the Electoral College. They knew the country would grow: they wanted to insure the smaller states wouldn’t be run over by the ones that are more populous.
Did you ever see the movie “Hunger Games?” You know how they had a bunch of Districts, and all of them were repressed except the Capital. I’m not saying it would be like that, but it would kinda be like that.
We live in a Constitutional Republic, NOT a democracy. In fact, the Founding Fathers hated democracy. You will not even find the word in our Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. To me, it seems there are two groups of people what want a true democracy; those who want collective rule, and those who don’t know what they are talking about. In 1814 John Adams said, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
In Federalist papers #10 Madison said, “Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”
On the other hand, do you know who really liked the idea of democracy? I’ll give you two quotes: Vladimir Lenin said: “Democracy is indispensable to Socialism;” and Karl Marx said: “Democracy is the road to Socialism.”
One of my favorite quotes about a democracy is by (as far as I can tell) the infamous “Unknown” author, who said, “Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep take a majority vote on what’s for supper.” It is great…unless you’re a sheep.
On the flip side, “In a constitutional republic, the wolves are forbidden from voting on what’s for supper and the sheep is well armed.” In other words, the rights of the sheep are protected from the wolves by the constitution, and if the wolves rise up against the rights of the sheep, the sheep has a means to protect itself from the mob. That is why the sheep should always be well armed.
I’ll tell ya, our Founding Fathers were BRILLIANT.
The President and his minions have been running around blaming Republicans for everything. This isn’t shocking; both sides do it. The Democrats have essentially been saying, “Republicans and Democrats weren’t unified. We couldn’t get together. He didn’t get to finish all the things he wanted to do, etc, etc, bluh, Bluh, BLUH.” On September 14, 2012, future Vice President Paul Ryan was speaking at the “Values Voter Summit” in Washington and, I feel, he nailed it with the following line:
RYAN: It is true that President Obama, he had a lot of problems not of his own making. But he also came in with one-party rule and the chance to do everything of his own choosing. The Obama economic agenda failed not because it was stopped, but because it was passed.
AUDIENCE: (applause and cheers)
RYAN: That’s a key distinction.
(I didn’t take the time to figure out how to shorten the clip, and just show the part I wanted, so here is a link to the entire speech.)
“WHOA, WHOA, WHOA,” my liberal friends scream, “look what Obama inherited.”
Well, look what Mitt Romney will inherit.
Seriously, look at those numbers. Ask yourself: Are you really better off than you were four years ago?
Giving credit where credit is due, Obama isn’t all bad. I think trying the soft hand approach when it comes to the Islamic countries, after Bush and Cheney, was the right thing to do. At first. It obviously didn’t work, yet he continues the policies. I like the fact that the President is killing terrorists like it is his job. I REALLY like the fact that he is using drones to do it. Kudos to the President. But at the number one issue–the economy–he is HORRIBLE. Again, look at the numbers.
Do you wanna know the main difference between Clinton and Obama, from my little brain? During the first two years of the Clinton administration, he pushed a hard leftist social agenda. It was rejected by the American people in the 1994 midterm elections when the Republicans took over the house for the first time in 40 years. Almost the exact same thing happened with Obama. What did Clinton do? He worked with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He went from a hard left President to a moderate. Together they reached agreements on welfare reform, a capital gains tax cut, and a budget deal that led to four straight balanced budgets. Under Obama’s leadership (or lack thereof) the senate hasn’t HAD a budget for almost four years!!
Obama ran as being a unifier. He has been a divider. He is an ideologue; it is his way or the highway. Come November, let’s send him packing.
It’s time for someone else to take the wheel.
“If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”
– President Barack Obama, February 2, 2009
LIFEZILLA: Seriously, I make crippling depression look good…
I want to start by saying that I WASN’T going to write about the President’s speech, I wasn’t going to write about the DNC at all. But now I’m kinda glad I am. First, you should know I watched more of the DNC than I did the RNC. They used smaller words, so it was easier for me to understand. And it was a relief that, in the times I was watching, no one mentioned the 16 trillion dollar debt once. And, now that I think about it, I didn’t hear anyone mention the 42 months of over 8% unemployment, or the record 46 million Americans on food stamps. Judging by the “Four more years” chant, the Democrats obviously feel we are better off with this President. Wait a minute. Maybe they were chanting about how much longer President Clinton’s speech would go. Speaking of Clinton’s speech, it was obviously the best of the convention, I noticed it was laced with a LOT of history re-writing.
The only thing I intended to write about Obama’s speech I put as my Facebook status.
I know!! Look at that face. I was adorable, wasn’t I?
I was going to let it stand at that, but then…Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.
First off, President Obama’s speech was well delivered. The man can talk. That being said, it was full of crap.
In his speech Obama said, “I’ll use the money we’re no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work, rebuilding roads and bridges, schools and runways. After two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it’s time to do some nation-building right here at home.”
Wait a minute. That money is borrowed money. Borrowed. Can someone explain to me how you can “save” money that doesn’t exist? It sounds to me as if he plans on continuing spending money we don’t have. Or am I missing something?
Let me give a hypothetical. Let’s say you are married to someone who loves to purchase things like…oh…I dunno, let’s say platters/dishes. Let’s say she has 41 sets. Not the holiday sets she stores out in the garage, but 41 sets in the house. You tell her she has to stop spending money on dishware. She agrees, and is excited to “save money.” You look at the balance sheet at the end of the month and you are still over spending. You ask her if she is still spending on dishware. She says, “No. The money I’m saving by not buying dishware, I’m spending on shoes.”
That truly is not a personal example. And that is EXACTLY what the Democrats are proposing.
Quick side note: As you know, I’m no mathematician. I sucked at math in high school and have gotten progressively worse. So if someone could verify this for me I would appreciate it. As best as I can figure, Obama has been President for 1.6% of the time since we declared our independence. Yet he has incurred 33.6% of our total debt.
Is that right?
Obama also claims to cut the debt by $4 trillion dollars. Really? According to The Daily Caller, “…the committee Republican staffers (suggest) the $4 trillion deficit reduction claim relies on three accounting gimmicks, namely applying $2.1 trillion saving in the Budget Control Act, claiming $843 billion in saving from war spending that was not going to be spent in the first place, and $394 billion based on the assumption that there will be a Medicare reimbursement “doc fix.”
“When properly counted, $4 trillion in new alleged deficit reduction becomes less than $400 billion. There is no policy change to alter our disastrously unsustainable path.”
Obama then went on to talk about manufacturing. He claims, “We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports, and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years.”
But the truth is manufacturing has lost over half a million jobs with him as President. And exactly what is his plan for doing that?
“And now you have a choice: We can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here in the United States of America.” We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. The world. That alone is making business flee overseas. Maybe that is what the President intends to export.
The NY Daily News says, “Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s proposal is actually aimed at encouraging investment in the U.S., not overseas. The U.S. currently has a global tax system that is filled with credits, exemptions and deductions that enable many companies to avoid U.S. taxes and provides an incentive for corporations to keep their profits in other countries. Whether Romney’s plan would spur investment in the U.S. is debatable, but it’s not a plan aimed at dispersing profits abroad.”
I could go on. But really I need to stop. I’m repressing my anger in the hope that one day I will be able to fuse the old bar of soap to the new bar of soap with nothing but blind rage. If you have time the following are great articles on the subject.
LIFEZILLA: I could write timely articles like the other guys. Of course I could tattoo beautiful pictures of unicorns on my buttocks, but I’m not going to do that either.
Ohhold on. I, yeahIgot, whoa, waitasec ond, okay yeahIgot it. I got it. You push on it to make the words separate. It’s a bar that puts a space between the words.
Whew!!!! I’m glad I could figure that out.
I was a little worried. You see, I have been watching the Democratic National Convention (DNC) whenever I have been able to, and it seems to me whenever a Republican is generalized it is either as a rich, corporate owning, gun toting, selfish fatty, or a toothless stupid-dumb that doesn’t have two brain cells to rub together.
It was either one or the other and…well…I ain’t no rich man.
(Do you see what I just did there? I used a double negative!!! What an idiot!!)
This attached video really made me laugh. It reminded me of a quote from James D. Best who said, “Conservatives think progressives have bad ideas, while progressives believe conservatives are bad people.”
Now before you get all, “Duh Danny. Stop being so melodramatic.” I am not melodramatic! I’m just exaggeratedly emotional about most situations in an overly sensational sort of way.
I was planning on writing about Presidents Clinton, and Obama’s speeches, but I’m not going to, yet.
They were good, but neither were entirely true.
I might write my take on it later.
OH…Before I go. These pictures made me laugh as well. I just thought I would share.
LIFEZILLA: Beauty may only be skin deep, but it is nice to have if you’re poor and stupid.
Contrary to the propaganda and demagoguery being spewed everywhere (I KNOW!!!! Those were really fancy words, huh? I have no idea what any of them mean. But WOW I felt smart using them), Republicans do NOT want dirty air and water.
(That was a short clip – I don’t want to be accused of taking the President’s words out of context – again – so if you want to see it IN context go here.)
***TANGENT ALERT*** Imagine a family seated around the dinner table. Little Johnny gets up and takes a drink, and his father jumps up and smacks him on the back of the head. “Spit that out!” he screams “what are you thinking? That’s clean water. Don’t drink that! We want dirty water in this family.”
Republicans don’t want to throw grandma off a cliff. They do not want to rob the elderly of Medicare, they don’t want to “put ya’ll back in chains,” and they certainly don’t want to take food out of the mouths of babies.
According to the Huffington Post (hardly a right leaning organization) “Nearly half, 48.5%, of the population lived in a household that received some type of government benefit in the first quarter of 2010.”
Nearly half? Of that 34.2% of Americans lived in a household that received benefits such as food stamps, subsidized housing, and cash welfare or Medicaid (the federal-state health care program for the poor), the rest was made up of Medicare and Social Security.
34.2% is a huge number. Now a “hand up” doesn’t bother anyone I know. It is the “handouts” that are a problem. If you’re a nineteen year old woman, who is a single parent, struggling to make ends meet, trying to better yourself by going to a trade school of some kind, then I think you should be enrolled in WIC, or programs like it. For the father of a family of five whose company closed its doors after twelve years of employment, you are entitled to a little help. A twenty-nine year old man, who hasn’t had an honest job, and has fathered six children with four different women, and on welfare, you sir, are a piece of shit. That’s it. It is time to grow up. Time to pull up your big boy pants, and get a job. I don’t know anyone who is so heartless they have a problem with a “safety net.” The problem is many on welfare treat the safety net like a hammock. (Quick side note: both my parents read this. You have NO idea the amount of grief I just subjected myself to by using a swear word, but it is honestly how I feel.) You can’t tell me that all of the 34% are unable to care for themselves. Many, yes. I’ll even accept most. But all? No.
So with almost half of the country receiving some sort of assistance from the government, what does the current administration do to curb the problem? Why, they PROMOTE the use of food stamps. YAAA!! (That link is audio only)
Again, if you need help, and there are many who do, I get it. What really gets my goat (other than goat thieves, obviously) is when you are behind a guy at a convenience store, who has tattoos crawling down his arms, legs and out of his wife beater T-shirt, who purchases beer and cigarettes, and then hits you up for “spare change” as you exit the store. Yeah, that JUST BARELY happened.
In my little brain it wouldn’t be so bad of we could ensure the money was spent well, or wisely. But we don’t. According to the Washington Times American tax payers spend $80 billion each year financing food stamps. “The amount spent on food stamps has more than doubled in recent years, [and] the amount of food stamps laundered into cash has increased dramatically, government statistics show.”
That isn’t the only place government wastes money. In 2011 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report identifying over $200 billion in unnecessary, duplicative programs.
Last year Senator Coburn made a small list of some stupid government projects, some of those include:
“The IRS approved roughly $1 billion in tax credits intended for energy efficiency home improvements to individuals who did not even own a house. These recipients included prisoners and children, some probably not even old enough to own a doll house.
“Dead Federal Employees Continue to Get Benefits Checks – (U.S. Office of
Personnel Management) $120 Million.
“Millions In Foreign Aid to… China? – (Department of State & U.S. Agency for
International Development) $17.80 Million.”
Then we have unnecessary departments like the Department of Education who has 5,000 employees with an annual discretionary budget (2011) of $69.9 billion.Why can’t education be managed on the state level?
Then we spend billions in government subsidies like adding ethanol to gasoline (what a stupid idea). If it was a good idea the government wouldn’t NEED to subsidize it. The free market would figure out a way to make it work.
What we need is a guy to run for President, who once owned a successful company whose mission was to go line by line through the budget of major companies, making them profitable again. OHMIGOSH, wouldn’t it be awesome if he chose as his running mate, a man who was the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, who played a major role in drafting and promoting budgetary proposals, who understands the government’s budget better then anyone? Yeah, that would be awesome. That would turn this country around.
LIFEZILLA: Your wife called. She wants you to subscribe to Lifezilla.
By Danny Quinney (with contributions from Dave Young)
I haven’t written in a few weeks. SOOOOOOOOOOOO much has happened I want to write about. Just to give you a little peek into what I do, I read an article or two, copy the ones I like, write a few notes, and put it in a folder on my computer. My folder is pretty full. My problem is that I might have an AWESOME idea of something to say, but if I don’t jump all over it, time marches on without me. If the thing happened two months ago I don’t want to write about it at the time, the ideas still swirl around my OCD head, until I get them on paper. It’s madding.
On July 16, 2012 the President went off the teleprompter for a moment and gave us a glimpse into his head (I know. REALLY TIMELY, eh?)
I’m going to touch on this for just a minute. Then I’m going to tie it into something he said this Sunday.
“If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that,” Obama said. “Somebody else made that happen.”
You know, if you reeeeeeally think about, the President has a point. Really. I didn’t write this myself: I listened to his speech, someone taught me the rules of grammar, and Google helped me spell things (Honestly, it’s embarrassing that 90% of my Google history is made up of words I’m not sure how to spell – and yes – I Googled embarrassing). And if you go WAAAAAAAAY back none of us would have or could have done anything on our own if our parents hadn’t done unmentionable things with each other. So bravo, Mr. President. Bravo.
It kind of reminds me of Elizabeth Warren’s speech a few months ago where she gave credit to the nation’s infrastructure for entrepreneurial success. You know because the government built the road that led to your place of business they should get the credit for your successful business.
But wait a minute…The interstate hasn’t always been here. Hmmm…I guess that means there was never a successful person before then.
To me it is a kind of scary we have a President who actually believes all success in America was because of our Government. The truth of the matter is people aren’t successful because of our government. They are successful in spite of our government.
“There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me because they want to give something back. If you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own,” Obama continued, “I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.”
I don’t know about you, but I know some really stupid rich people. Even the Über-rich have their share of really stupid moments. Quick side note: I HATE IT when writers “Überize” things. That is adding Über to something to make it sound cool, or hip. UUGH. It seriously makes me wanna vomit. And there I just did it. (No. I didn’t just “vomit.” I mean I used the word Über). The difference is, the successful took a risk at some point in their lives and then worked their little fingers to the bones. It takes a lot of hard work to succeed.
“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen,” he said. “The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.”
So if my business doesn’t work out will the repercussions fall on my 4th grade teacher, my parents, or the road? Hmmmm no. I wonder if they will come take away the road by my business. If that road, and the people who built it, are responsible for my success wouldn’t they also responsible when I screw up and fall flat on my face?
No. The Government is NOT responsible for every success story in America. It takes a lot of hard work.
And by the way, I love how the President’s example includes that of a “great teacher.” But please allow me to clarify something. It is true. There are a lot of great teachers out there who have inspired a lot of people. I’ve had great teachers. We all have. Everyone one of us has teachers, friends, mentors, and family that we rely on. And hopefully, we’re teachers and mentors for others as well. I’m all for working together. Most of the best things in life are created by individuals who collaborate and rely on teams. I believe in teamwork. What I don’t believe, is that the Government is a necessary member of the team. Great teachers are one thing. Government intervention is another.
WOW. I started that with “I’m going to touch on this for a minute.” That was almost a novel.
Now to what was said this last Sunday.
There is soooo much that bothers me about that clip. First, from now on whenever you see the phrase “Shared Prosperity” read “Robbery.” Taking what someone else has earned, by force, and giving it to someone else, or spending it on policies that continue to fail, is robbery. Plain and simple. Another catch-phrase the President has created this election is, “The rich need to pay their fair share.” It’s a cute phrase. It rolls right off your tongue. The problem is, it doesn’t mean anything. What exactly is “fair?” If the IRS grabbed 100 percent of income over $1 million, 100%!!!! They would take in $616 billion. That’s only a third of this year’s deficit. (The word “deficit” is a fancy way of saying “what we over spend”). Our national debt would continue to explode. It’s stupid. Future Vice President Paul Ryan has said it countless times: we don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. In fact, no matter how much the government brings in, I think we’d all agree that government spending will rise to meet exceed tax revenue income.
Another thing that bothers me about the clip is this:
“I believe we have to go forward. I believe we have to keep working to create an America where no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, no matter who you love, you can make it here if you try.”
First of all show me any American who doesn’t believe you can “make it if you try.” There isn’t one. And then there is the whole, “no matter who you are…last name…what you look like…blah, blah, blah” crap. This is the President, of the United States, the most powerful man in world, who was, for the most part, educated overseas, didn’t step foot on the mainland of America until he was in his late teens, who (while the country is fighting several wars against radical Islam) has the name Barack Hussein Obama, and who, incidently, is black, implying that America is currently NOT a country were you can succeed no matter who you are, what you look like, where you are from, or what your last name is. HE is the ultimate American success story!!!
The reason this kind of rhetoric bothers me is because it further divides us all into classes. People are no longer “successful.” Instead, they are “rich.” It implies that having money is a bad thing. It’s a socialistic mentality. It creates dependence. What we need to do is encourage creativity, success and entrepreneurship.
With both clips, Obama’s view beings and ends with “you didn’t build that.” So it’s not yours. If it’s not yours it can be taken away.
Lifezilla: SNIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFF Ahhhhhh!!!! Don’t you just LOVE that “new article” smell?
This one was a little bit hard for me to write. You see, I have wanted my little website here to have mass appeal, something for everyone. It’s just that I…well…(hmmmm). Let me explain.
My second son, Christopher, is seventeen years old. The church I belong to is taking all the 16-18 year olds (the Young Men) up to a camp this week. They asked the parents to secretly write a letter to their sons. At the end of the week the boys will be presented with the letters. My wife and I were planning on writing it together, but she ended up writing it herself. This doesn’t bother me at all. I had actually started a list of things to write about and have chosen to share them here on the website. Many of the things I wrote down have mass appeal, while others are particular to my faith. My internal struggle was in deciding if I wanted to include the particulars here. I finally decided to include them. I figured I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t.
Things I want my sons to know
Some people are just jerks: It has always amazed me how much the opinions of others matter. Their opinions don’t. I once heard someone say that “you wouldn’t worry so much about what other people thought of you if you realized how often they do”. Think about it. You have family, friends, associates, neighbors and a list of others who think you’re a great guy. You have one person who doesn’t like you and it’s all you can think about. That’s like going to a park to have a picnic and putting your blanket by the only pile of dog crap.
First dates should always be fun, and cheap. If the young woman you have on a date with you can’t have fun unless there is a $90.00 steak in front of her – take her home. You don’t want any part of that.
Pray and be a spiritual leader.
Get an education. My biggest regret of my life is not finishing college. It isn’t the piece of paper I miss. It’s what it represents. KNOWLEDGE. Remember, your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you. If college isn’t your thing (it should be) be educated in the field you choose. You will never regret it.
When paying your tithing, remember the first 10 percent is 10%. The last 10 percent is 100%. Think about it.
Don’t ever believe what you’re told. Seriously. Don’t ever believe it. Be critical of everything you hear. That includes your teachers, professors, media, church leaders, and parents. There is such thing as Truth. Find it. Just don’t blindly follow anyone.
A boy becomes a man when a man is needed.
Womanhood and motherhood are only equal to manhood and Priesthood IF a man magnifies his Priesthood. That means you have to work at it. Men, by our nature, are selfish. The Priesthood helps us out of our shell. It “forces” us to look to the outside and see how we can help our fellow man. That could mean setting up chairs, or shoveling snow for the neighbors. Look for ways to serve.
Be patriotic. Does the United States have problems? Yes. Are there parts of our history that are embarrassing? Absolutely. The United States is still the best country in the world. Remember, this country is the first country to ever be born. Ever. Every other country in the history of the world was made from brutal / tribal warfare. The United States was created by a brilliant set of men who rationally produced something by thought.
From now until the day you die, your brain and your penis will be fighting a never-ending battle to see who rules you, your decision making, your choices, and your future. You CANNOT let your penis win. It is so true men were given two heads, and only enough blood to control one at a time. Your penis is tricky, dastardly, diabolical, deceiving, deceptive, and…well…a prick. DO NOT make any life decisions with an erection. Sexual urges are not bad. They are good. There is a time and a place for them.
Who you marry is the single biggest decision you will EVER make. Your current and future happiness depend on this decision. I could expound on this for pages. But I’m going to let that stand.
Once you are married NEVER say the word “divorce.” Once it is said, it’s an option. My mom gave your mother and me this advice before we were married. It is BRILLIANT.
Learn to save money while you’re young because you’ll need it some day.
The grass is never greener. Women are different animals. Although they have their personal quirks and idiosyncrasies, there isn’t much difference about what makes them them. I sincerely believe if you took 100 random men and asked them to list the 10 things that most annoy them about their wives, the lists would be pretty much the same.
I’m bringing this up because there will be a point in your marriage were you’ll think “there has got to be a better option than this.” Chances are there isn’t. Every relationship goes through stages. The “honeymoon” stage is the funnest and a lot of marriages end when that stage ends. It’s sad. Just remember the grass is never greener. Make sure you commit to the right person so that your love for and attraction to her will help you deal with the inevitable “drrrrrrs (eyeroll)” period.
STAY OUTTA DEBT!!!! OHMIGOSH stay out of debt. It is prison. It is the worst thing you could do. Education, maybe. Modest home, if you have to. Modest car, maybe. Dinner and a movie, NEVER.
Always buy quality. Again advice my mom gave me. If there are two garlic presses for sale, one for $3.00 the other for $10.00, if you have to, save up and buy the one for ten bucks. You will never regret it.
Don’t ever be a bully and don’t ever start a fight. But always defend yourself.
Do whatever you have to do to provide for your family If that means working three jobs – do it. Trust me, it sucks. FYI, if you get an education your ability to provide really increases.
Speak up. Don’t be afraid to say what you feel. If you have something meaningful to say, say it.
Never pass up the opportunity to Shut-up. I know it doesn’t mesh with what I just said, but…you’ll figure it out.
Peer pressure is a scary thing. Be a good leader and others will follow.
Treat everyone with respect. Especially women, girls and children
Whatever you’ve been asked to do, do just a little bit more. Exceed expectations. If your Mom asks you to wash the dishes, wash them AND wipe off the counter. If your Dad asks you to mow the lawn, mow it AND pick up any stray trash. If your parent’s are expecting a ‘C’ grade, fight and claw for a ‘B.’ I know this sounds like nothing but extra work. But in business, it makes it so you are irreplaceable to your employer, and gets you new customers. In your relationships, it builds trust. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is only five letters. Just a little ‘extra.’
Be strong and tender at the same time.
Sharpen the saw When I was in my early twenties I read “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey. The seventh habit is “Sharpen the Saw.” There are three aspects to you. Your body, your spirit and your brain. Make time to sharpen each.
And last of all Remember who you are and what you represent. Be good, do good.
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