Lincoln the movie

I am perplexed about this movie.  On the one hand, I am gratified that it correctly depicts my political party as the champion of the abolition of slavery, but I am concerned about the subtle messages of pandering to many congressman of the day to get their vote.  The character of Lincoln seems true to the images and history that I recall, and the political wrestling of the day seems to have been, if accurate, not very tidy.  I would also hope there is more discussion about this period of our history, and would hope more comes out about the founding of our country.  So many people either have forgotten so many of the details of the nations founding, the writing of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, etc.   I am concerned, especially in recent years, that we have lost sight of the significant events that have resulted in the establishment of this greatest of all countries.  -- Enough

Chickification!

This is a new term, I believe invented by Rush Limbaugh.  The hypothesis is that our society is no longer lead by people using common sense, but by people who are motivated by emotions.  We are quick to grab on the appearance of a person rather than the essence of who the individual is.  When a person trips coming out of plane, he is branded as a clumsy oaf.  If a person misspells a simple word, he is a duffus!

We seem to judge, especially politicians, by emotion driven feelings, rather than a detailed analysis of the who the individual is.  The simple feeling clouds the facts!  I often hear comments about a politician prefixed with he/she is an idiot or simple feelings of dislike.  When I ask for specific details of what their conclusion is based on, I hear things like, "I just don't like him".  Paul Ryan was one of the most recent victims of chickification.  There were comments about his "sneer" when he was in front of a camera, his widows-peak hair, and other very cosmetic things.  Sadly, with lawyers in our government spending at a reckless pace, might it be advisable to have someone with a strong budgeting background?  This was almost totally overlooked!  -- Enough

Global Warming

I heard the weather forecast for today, and according to the weather gods it is supposed to be clear with some cloudiness.  I look out the window and I see overcast.  Weather forecasting, in general, is about 60 to 70 percent right, right?  If you can't forecast with a great deal of specificity three to five days out, how can you forecast 10 years out?  We are told that the earth is warming, but 30 years ago we were told by scientists that we were going into an ice age.  We were told 10 years ago the oceans were rising and would smother parts of New York City.  That ain't happening!  When scientists emails reveal that they have been distorting weather statistics, many choose to disbelieve that these people would lie to us.

In about 1960 we were told how butter was causing many of our arterial problems, and margarine was put forth as a better spread for our toast and for cooking.  We just about destroyed the butter business!  Now we are told margarine is one step away from plastic, and it is bad for us.

Scientists have fallen from a lofty position in our society to a bunch of people so eager for government grant money, or other sources of income, that real facts are put aside for the sensational. To all of you who are in the scientific business, be aware that many of us no longer believe you when we are told the likes of green coffee is going to solve weight problems.  Be aware we don't believe you when you tell us an oil spill will cause tens of years to clear.  Be aware the messages of disruptions of wild life along a pipe line from Alaska will mean severe disruption of native habitat.  Being honest, you and people in your profession have lost my confidence in you! -- Enough

Fixing Things

I have a long list of things I have to fix.  They range from the simple cleaning off my desk, to as complicated as doing something about my weight.  I am now aware of my inadequacy in dealing with ALL the fixes necessary, and now concentrate on the most important.  I cannot worry about the starving Africans any more.  As a kid we put our pennies, nickels, and dimes into baskets for the poor.  I assume this money went to feed someone for a day.  I have seen my nation send enormous amounts of money to fight starvation in places like Bangladesh, and yet the problem isn't even close to being fixed.  My conclusion is this!  There are some things that will never be solved!  "The poor will always be with us."  That may seem fatalistic, but we don't have a leader like Gandhi to show the way.  Money, for those of us in this wealthy land, is our horribly inadequate attempt to fix these issues.   -- Enough

Criticism

I always thought I had a right in the U.S. to criticize those who represent me.  I felt what they did while representing me was important, and I could, with impunity, express my displeasure.  But recently, I, like so many with a different label than the President, are viewed as racists if we disagree.  I am concerned when I hear that there are 2,000,000 more people in poverty than when he came to office.  I am concerned when I hear that there are 24% unemployed black kids, and the number has risen since he was inaugurated.  I am concerned when 48% of the Social Security I receive is borrowed from China.  I am concerned when Velveeta, as an example, at Walmart has risen over $1 since he took office.  I am concerned when I can't be sure that MY VOTE is counted, or that it isn't diluted by dead people showing up on the voting roll.  I am concerned when those who represent any of us don't know that an island won't turn over if we locate many of our military there.  I am concerned when representatives choose to leave their State because they know they will loose a legislative vote if a count is taken.  For me, how can I say without being criticized that I am not a racist!  it is like the guy who says he doesn't beat his wife and can't prove it.  Sources, CBO, Bureau of Labor Statistics, etc. -- Enough

Republicans are Extreme!

A recent survey of Americans noted that Republicans were too extreme.  Here is what Greg Gutfeld of Fox News said about our extreme views.

1. If you believe that taxing 2% on the wealthiest citiczens will not help our deficit, you are extreme!
2. If you believe that money for failed green projects is wrong, you are extreme!
3. If you believe that school decisions should be made in local communities, you are extreme!
4. If you believe that a person who makes a bad video shouldn't be in jail, you are extreme!
5. If you believe that manmade global warming is a myth, you are extreme!
6. If you believe that government is unsustainable, you are extreme!
7. If you believe that a gun for protection is wrong, you are extreme!
8. If you believe that if you aren't a liberal, you are extreme!
9. If you believe in common sense, you are extreme!

I couldn't agree more!

Newtown Shootings - Revisions

How saddened we all were to see so many young kids and adults' life shortened.  There are many individuals living in our communities who are one step away from perpetrating and committing serious crimes.  There was a time in our past when we closed, or minimized the number of people in mental institutions. The doors were closed as acts of compassion and the people released to families or to roam the streets.  When some of these people refuse or choose not to take needed medication, or are caught in destructive behavior, we blame society, the laws, or funding for whatever.  I believe, and I suspect there are others who feel this way, that some people cannot function safely in our communities.  How can we care for people who live their lives in delusional states?  I don't pretend to have an answer, but clearly the individual who committed these acts fits into a category of people who shouldn't be walking our streets.  A new add-on to the original posting above.  We all are upset at the blatant disregard for human life exhibited by this sick young man, but I am becoming more and more concerned about those who feel no compulsion about terminating the beautiful unborn life shown on an ultra sound.  How about taking the moment that should be enjoyed and treasured as a young child takes his first breath only to have a person snuff out the life that only God seems to love.  -- Enough

Poverty

What is poverty today?  I hear that a heavy percent of those who are living in "poverty" have flat screen TVs, cell phones, perhaps given to them by our government, most have cars, and most live in subsidized housing.  The food stamps and other government programs can mean that they live with a real income of about $42,000 per year.  Many of us who are not in poverty live on about that amount.  One other thought.  We created the War on Poverty in the 1970's and pumped a little over 1 trillion dollars into trying to solve this problem.  There were about 40 million in poverty in 1959, and there are about 46 million in "poverty" now.  I am saddened that so many of these people have abandoned their churches, bring multiple children into households with no father, bail out of school before they get a diploma, find drugs a solution to their problems, and then ask us to subsidize their sloth.

Incentive - Why I got out of bed today!

Too little credit is given to incentives!  Why did I get out of bed today?  I have two dogs that we love very much and they needed to take care of business.  I happen to enjoy coffee with some friends on the patio of our resort, thus am incentivized to walk to the main building.  Simple incentives!  But why did I choose to open my own business?  What was the incentive.  I hoped to make a lot of money.  What is wrong with that?  Why did I have employees?  Because I believed I could make more money.  How has this become a negative in our society?  If I am on unemployment insurance for 99 weeks, for the first 50 weeks why not enjoy sleeping in, and watching TV all day?  I have little incentive to find a job.  If at the end of the 99 weeks, I can fake an injury and go on Medicaid and receive Social Security benefits I am further inclined to take advantage of the "easy money".  At what point is the incentive no longer there to "work" for a living?  -- Enough

Profit - My Retirement Income

I watch my stock portfolio carefully!  Over the years I put money away for my retirement years.  I counted on the "portfolio" to augment my income.  I count on the stocks, no companies, that I have invested in to be profitable and in turn provide this added boost over and above my Social Security.  Out of the earnings (i.e. profits) of the company, I receive what is now turning into a meager income.  The economy is terrible now, and the businesses that I invested in are struggling.  McDonald's, a real stalwart, is facing declining sales, and therefore profits.  Who would have guessed? I had some Chevron oil stock in our portfolio and it did poorly until I sold it.  Valerie has some FedEx stock, and it has floundered.  I counted on, foolishly, that the economy would continue to grow at a significant pace and out-pace inflation, but it hasn't.  Are we starving?  Of course not.  Am I displeased with how this recession/depression has been handled?   Of course!  A nine percent approval of those in Congress tells it all.  A President who seems more concerned about his golf score and those who have the luxuries in Hollywood contributes to the dilemma.  Our economy needs attention, not rhetoric!

Profit - The Small Business

Much to my dismay, many of my friends speak of profit as the curse of our time.  What is profit?  To me, it is the reason a person opens a dry cleaner, as an example.  You gamble your savings, mortgages your house, and borrow money from worried relatives.  This money permits the person to sign the lease on a space in a mall, pay for the equipment to clean clothes, hire some employees and then advertise the business is now open.  He has gambled what may well be the money and future of his family.  If he wins, the store is a success, and the worry is justified.  If he looses, well life will be altered significantly.  The reward is the profit!  This is the pot of gold for having rolled the dice.  This the money that you take home after you pay your employees, the rent, the payments on your loans, taxes, etc.  There are lean times when you start the business  and when you are the only one who doesn't get paid, and you worry with your spouse over if you should have taken this on.  Your employees can grouse about conditions, pay, and benefits, but you have to shoulder the lean times to hopefully have the good times.  Every time I meet a successful entrepreneur I take time to shake their hand and congratulate them.  If they have an expensive car or lavish home, they have earned it!  This is capitalism, and God be with us if we choose to put dry cleaning in the hands of a government that can't manage a Congressional restaurant or their own Congressional bank.

Destroying People

Destroying people! Sara Palin was one of the latest people whose political career was killed by the media. Mitt Romney's career is doomed because of the likes of Letterman. Paul Ryan's "widow's peak" becomes a topic of discussion in the media . The Fluke lady convinces an ignorant public that she should get free contraceptives. Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Barney Frank, "Old" Joe, and the likes go blissfully along passing bills they haven't read, and taking the most ignorant positions. No wonder quality people don't want to run for public office.

Thank you Mitt Romney!

Thank you Governor Romney! You may not have voted for him, you may not like him, and you may feel that President Obama is the answer to our problems. But Governor Romney sacrificed years of his life in offering his services to the nation. Having run twice for political office, and lost, I know that it takes sacrifices to put yourself in the public arena. It is grueling, and you only do it because you believe in public service to our nation, and in my case to the State of Minnesota. We stopped at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, and saw that they have a Public Service degree program there. I am saddened by this! Public Service isn't something you aspire to, but you are asked, or volunteer yourself and your background to helping our nation. Career politicians who have no career to go back to, and their only skills are working in government, represent a significant problem to all of us. -- Enough!

The Ten Suggestions

I grew up in what might be called the stone age, and there are a few things remember that seem to have been, well, maybe lost. I learned the Ten Commandments. We seem to have forgotten a few of them, and we seem to trample on a few others because it is inconvenient. We have political correctness as our guide and those who we call secularists who want to provide our guidance. We torture and kill that which twitches in a woman's womb, and slide down the slippery slope to killing the child upon taking the first breath. We push God out of our government hallways because we don't like the idea that our founders were motivated by, and guided by the Christianity that is now viewed as out of date. We can't say "no" because of some people's precious psyche. We choose not to look at our government's taxing as steeling, but view it as being charitable to those who seem to gather at the palace gate waiting for their part of the "stash". While I am not the best example of holiness, I look at those who we have elected to lead us, and am shocked at their inability to face up to their duties of leadership, then choose to lie. When the lies are told often enough, we somehow accept them as truth. We are told by some in our media that lying is good. I guess I am just old fashioned, and maybe I just need some medication to ease my slide into senility. I swore I would not become cynical in my old age, but I AM CYNICAL!

The Curse of High IQ

As I pursued academics, it became clear that i wasn't much of a scholar.  I did okay in tests, and in High School I was a member of the National Honor Society.  My first attempt in college was a disaster, and later patched together a degree.  I was, and am proud of finally completing my degree.  Along the way I noticed that many of my peers sailed through school, often hardly "cracking a book".  I was envious and the honors they piled up while I felt I had taken more out of the classroom and into life than they did.  So many of those who we identify as brilliant seem to lack common sense and application of principles learned seemed to be applied with little consideration of the consequences or the fact that latitude often was needed to make for success in the world.  I no longer admire many of these people, and try to surround myself with people who respectfully try things, "bang their heads", but pursue their dreams!  At my advanced age, success often means regularity!  lol

Civil Discourse

When I first retired, my wife suggested that since I was concerned about politics I should go to a local get-together at our civic center.  She was still working, and she thought this would give me a good chance to vent my feelings about what was happening in the political arena.  The first meeting started on a friendly note, but quickly degenerated into a bash of many of the things I felt are important to value.  Any discussion of the cost associated with actions they seemed to feel were necessary to cure the perceived ills of the conservative agenda were quickly dispensed with.  Statements made by many were rambling statements, as an example, with, "Republicans want dirty water and pollution in our air".  How do you respond to broad statements like that?  Of course we don't want dirty water or pollution, we have families too.  How did they get such distorted views and how did they become so pernicious?  What is civil discussion?  Do we make a singular point that we believe to be true, and state it?  Do we give someone who has a differing point the courtesy of time to respond?  Do we choose to use expletives when responding?  Sadly, I have learned the hard lesson that with many who I disagree with will not participate in political discussion in a manner where at the end we can shake hands.