Just Let Me -- G -- Indoctrinate You!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

It's Round and Round with Hard Work and Fair Play Thing

Dear America,

"The economy is getting stronger.
 The recovery is speeding up. 
And now is the time to keep our foot on the gas."  
President Obama
speech to the United Auto Workers 
today

 going full throttle, he goes on to say this:

"We will not settle for a country where a few people do really well, and everyone else struggles to get by. We’re fighting for an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. We will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony profits. We’re fighting for an economy that’s built to last – one built on things like education, energy, manufacturing things the rest of the world wants to buy, and restoring the values that made this country great: Hard work. Fair play. The opportunity to make it if you try. And the responsibility to reach back and help someone else make it, too."

Is this really a country where only "a few do really well, and everyone else struggles to get by?"

seriously?
cuz, when I think of a country like that, I envision a place more like Africa, India, Russia, Afghanistan.


Our "poor" live with televisions, mobile phones, access to fresh water and toilets and refrigeration -- and food stamps...lots and lots of food stamps.

If you care to read the full transcript of the president's speech, go here.

"Restoring the values that made this country great: Hard work.  Fair play.  The opportunity to make it if you try.  And the responsibility to reach back and help someone else make it, too."

It was worth repeating.

When I think of a country like that, I envision a true story turning into a movie like The Blind Side -- the African-American boy taken in by a warm, loving Christian family who guided him with the endearing values our country was made leading the way: to work hard... play fair... to try... and when you finally make it, to reach back and help someone else...(becoming a star NFL football player with a humble, grateful, HUGE heart)

What is confusing to me is that the president can't have it both ways.  He can't tell people to do their fair share and work hard and play fair, if in fact in the end, he intends to redistribute 'the shares' anyway.  He can't instill free market principles, while holding 'a few' hostage in order to hold up 'a few' who struggle.  He can't tell everyone to do their fair share, except you....and you...and maybe you, too.

It's not like Obama turns to Hollywood and tells them, everyone must be paid the same rate.

It's not like Obama turns to his buddy Jamie Dimon, the CEO of Chase Bank, and tells him he is being paid too much, asking him to share his good fortune evenly among his tellers.

It's not like Obama turns to his community organizer counterparts over the years, like Andy Stern... and when president of SEIU... expected him to be paid a salary in step and "fair and square" with the SEIU union workers who labored underneath him.  Which, by the way, all unions are top heavy within the upper echelon and paid handsomely, flagrantly askew from the average union worker.  What's fair about that?

He is talking to the audience of UAW as if his work is done and it is good.

But here's another angle from The Morning Bell.   Featured this morning from The Heritage Foundation:  How Chrysler Can Actually Help Detroit.

The freedom to live in a country honoring the Right to Work -- a founding principle and value on multiple levels -- is the answer for nearly all of our economic woes.   The freedom to start at the bottom and work up.  The freedom to earn millions of dollars for acting, in banking, in community organizing, in auto making...It is all connected to the inherent ability for all of us to WORK HARD, play fair, and give back.  We all start at entry level jobs and do our best to aspire to bigger, better opportunities.

What troubles me is the handpicking of winners and losers of industry; what concerns me are the exceptions being made for some millionaires and billionaires in a few businesses, while villain-izing some millionaires and billionaires of others -- while also making it sound like the 1% give nothing in return.  WHICH IS A LIE.

But this yahoo! headline says it all about today's mindset:  Are the Rich Unethical?

[G note: given human nature, my belief is that the rich are no more unethical than the poor...for it always falls back to the individual, of which we cannot generalize....for that wouldn't be fair, now would it?] 

But this president seems unable to make the appropriate free market connections to how the whole thing works (the whole thing, as in the WHOLE of America); the free market must be free -- and, like he said, it relies on HARD WORK, playing fair, and a whole lot of trying from everyone.  The equal opportunity does not always equate to equal outcome in a free society.

And the thing is, in order to succeed in manufacturing anything -- there will always be a need for the upper echelon of presidents and vice presidents and chairmen and investors (those who put up the money in the first place and take the initial risk), along with the inherent need for secretaries, janitors, with plenty of worker bees on the line (those who simply show up and work hard and play fair and get a paycheck with benefits).

Is this really a country where only "a few do really well, and everyone else struggles to get by?"

Look around you.  Let's be real. Who is selling who the snake oil this time?

Make it a Good Day, G

Here's going off on a totally whacky tangent -- I'm surprised the president hasn't criminalized racing this week....NASCAR, Formula One, Daytona, Indy, all of it.  I mean, you know, given the gas crunch, given the inequality of distribution of winnings isn't fair, given the abuses to the environment, given his relationship within the race car world is pretty sketchy, at best, all the way around....think about it.  Why hasn't he waved the red flag and brought down the whole sport altogether, considering the averages of 5/mpg and the clear and present danger of wasting away our liquid gold at a rate of 200,000 gallons/year, just to cover NASCAR races alone?  Think about it.  It's a good question.  Did you see what happened yesterday?  Fuel, burned, by the tanker full.  What a waste.

But just to be clear: I'm playing.  I love car racing. Go Danica [oh this is funny -- just looked her up real quick to check the spelling of her name and discovered we share a birthday...the kicker, we are twenty years apart!  I hate her now.   makes my head spin just a wee bit.  need to lay down...]

Monday, February 27, 2012

It's an ALL of the Above Thing

Dear America,

PUBLIC NOTICE:
Due to recent budget cuts,
the rising cost of electricity, 
gas, and oil, plus the current
state of the economy,
the light at the end
of the tunnel
has been turned off.
Have a nice day.
(just a funny thing sent to me, but it fits here)

so gas is at $4.59/gallon in my neck of the woods (and that would be for 'regular' -- not the fully loaded version of the same thing).

While I was stalling around the house yesterday, pending an afternoon of running errands, I found myself channel surfing. Right after my heart was crushed, discovering the rain delay for the Daytona 500 (oh darn), I happened to flip onto the face of my fine governor, Jerry Brown (oh joy). So, as you could well  imagine, I just had to park it there to find out what in the world he had to say.

Like gas prices, suffice it to say, he was predictable and questionable all at the same time.

Speed racer version (paraphrasing, of course):  'electric cars are great...california is on the cutting edge...gotta go mass transit...nothing to see here, move along' .

Now talk about being out of touch with reality! (just piggy backing on some recent stellar feedback from a critique...see 'anonymous' 2-24...someone who called me "reality challenged")  Does Jerry really know how real Californian's do business?  Has he been on the freeway lately, and counted the SUV's?  Has he counted the number of 4 X 4's on the road everyday -- as construction workers, plumbers, and pick ups get things to market and go to work? (and don't even get me started on the eighteen wheelers...)

He thinks oil is the root of all evil -- all environmentalists believe it is.

Now back in the day --  back in the governor's first go round (1975-1983) -- Californian's were IN LOVE with their freeways; not to be confused with the 'back in the day' when Jerry's father, Pat, ruled as the 32nd governor (from 1959 - 1967). Now, you "Brown's," have had plenty of opportunities -- like sixteen years worth, and counting, to affect change...and yet, how many freeways were saved or created under your lead?

So for kicks and giggles, with a little va va vroom added in for context, we should all recognize that it was long before the Brown legacy hit the scene when the first freeway was built -- the Arroyo Seco Parkway, linking LA and Pasadena.  It was commissioned and ready for business in the year 1940.

It is said that the traffic has quadrupled on that little stretch of road, and yet, very little of it has changed over the years; in other words, there has been more tangible changes to the governorship and California's leadership, then in the pavement of over seventy years old.

And yet, here Californian's sit.  Addicted through and through ...to their cars, their freedoms, the amenities and surely the wealth of commerce flowing every single day from Pasadena to downtown LA and back again and beyond.  And it's a good thing.

The car has probably attributed to creating more wealth and prosperity and freedom for all then most anything else ever invented.  Think about it.

The truth is -- we have improved upon the making of our cars and upon the regulations surrounding the industry.  Smog checks are up (and standard).  Air pollutants are down (as expected).  Here's a few charts from a fellow blogspot, including making the following bottom line, circa "Earth Day 2009":

"Consider that since the first Earth Day in 1970, U.S. population has increased by 50.25%, miles driven has increased by 159% and real GDP has increased 203%; and yet air quality is better than ever."

The one thing we Californian's have not done -- is change our ways; nor have we created viable alternatives through mass transit; nor have we altered our lifestyle with regards to where we live and where we work.  We have twelve lanes of freeway across one section of the Interstate 5/805 merge here in San Diego.

The governor  -- and anybody else for that matter -- is reality challenged if they think we will all be nudged and poked to driving a compact, electric car.  Some of us can, and will. But for many people, it just isn't a reality that truly works and gets the job done.  WE DRIVE trucks, large and small.  WE WORK.  WE CAR POOL.  WE go on ROAD TRIPS.  WE take kids -- and equipment -- to GAMES. And on and on.

And California is not alone.

The president, over the weekend, said that there is no silver bullet to bring down gas prices, that we can't 'drill' our way out of this; while he also retreated to his canned answer calling for "an all-of-the-above approach to energy independence -- gas, oil, wind, nuclear, solar, biofuels and more"

exsqueeze me @ $4.59/gallon, mr. president, if it includes "all of the above" then doesn't that include doing something we can do right now, like drill?  Like moving ahead with the Keystone Pipeline?  Like opening the waters off of California and the Eastern Seaboard? Like not EVEN THINKING about considering the option of taking from our reserves, again, for that oil is truly meant to be set aside for a real emergency (like the one we might have when Israel and Iran go to war, come mayday)...

Let us return to a day when the president said something rather provocative in every way:



yes. electricity....even on  cars...  rates will "necessarily rise."

Not to mention our energy secretary saying "we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels of Europe."  Here is a really good take on this.

[The reality is, our administration loves this gas environment right now...the means to the end is in full swing]

And tying in California's cutting edge lead -- fully committed to force-feeding electric cars and mass transit on us, or else.

[The truth is, the leftist intellectuals and environmentalists are loving this right now]

Now, back in the seventies, the speed limit was lowered to 55 mph on the freeway to conserve energy.  It saved 5% in overall fuel usage.

Yesterday, people were passing me by left and right, easily driving 75, maybe 80.

The thing is...maybe if everybody does their fair share -- we might get through this.

Maybe if we opened up our waters to drill again off the coast; maybe if car companies continued to improve on gas mileage and emissions; maybe if oil companies continued due diligence in drilling, and refining, and getting it to market; maybe if all energy companies were treated the same, according to the reactions of the free market, to prosper or fail on their own; maybe if we cared more about Canada's resources, as well as our own, more then the middle east, given the reality check that we do have more oil in North America than they do; maybe if we all waited to run errands on one day a week; and hey, maybe if we all "drive 55" again...

aw, you get the drill...
all of the above does work.  yes, indeed, mr. president, and I couldn't agree with you more.

so do it. all of it...ALL of the above. like yesterday.

and leave the drama for the Academy Awards (which I wanted to mention a couple of things, but needless to say, it will have to wait until tomorrow, or the next -- just might have to take a day to conserve my energy before I blow a gasket).

Make it a Good Day, G

Yes, maybe I am reality challenged -- much like everybody else these days.  As this reality is challenging in every way.  To question reality --  to be fully engaged with what is real and what is misrepresented as the truth by our politicians --  is the new normal (and hopefully, this reality is true for everyone).

Friday, February 17, 2012

It's a Whitney Thing

Dear America,


so if this is a diary of America; which it kinda sorta is, aiming to record the cultural and political pulse on the day; then i guess i have to mention whitney.

Whitney Houston died last Saturday and her funeral is tomorrow.

Now, the news hit me probably like most Americans -- especially for those of us within the demographic who pretty much grew up with her; it hit hard... in the gut... like wow.... like whoa.

It was the kind of news taken with total disbelief, and yet, met instantly with no surprise.

We all heard the news and just knew, didn't we?

so sad.

bearing in mind the unthinkable similarity of being virtually the same age, the news hit a more delicate nerve; we're like the same but different --  as if it could have been me in some kind of twisted, warped imaginary world in which I would star (and as if I could sing...).

sure, she's black and I'm white, there is that.

But Whitney blossomed in the eighties, Check.
Whitney married the wrong man, Check.  Then divorced, Check Check.

Whitney's daughter is fifteen, Check.

[We even shared the same haircut for years, but now that's just being silly].

Aside from loving all the music on "I'm Your Baby Tonight..."



one of my favorite songs is:





beautiful.

But back on point, who am I kidding, 'we' are not the same at all; not even a little.

She found her voice at a very young age, then lost it in every way; while for me, now a stone's throw from fifty, I am finally getting around to finding mine.

We may have both grown up singing in the church choir, but her talents grew into a million dollar empire; for me, through the years thick and thin, I'm essentially living hand to mouth.

She let a man just ruin her; for me, I made lemonade (if only I could have turned it into a business).

After singing her heart out -- and by all appearances for those of us on the outside -- she lost sight of the greatest gift of all; while here I am, little old G, venturing to spend all my days searching and finding and living by faith.

Even with all the money in the world...even with more talent then she knew what to do with...even with the baby girl of her dreams...even with what amounts to the entire world being handed to her...none of it really mattered at the end of all her days.

She will never see fifty.

She will never see her Bobbi Kristina get married.

She will never experience true love again.

She will never sing another song for us.

so sad.

My heart is torn with the news that New Jersey is flying the flag at half staff in her honor; half of her life may certainly warrant it -- but, the other half of it most certainly did not (and hello...it's been like twenty years since she starred in The Bodyguard, with Kevin Costner).  A cultural icon of epic proportions she is -- and how; for if in fact they are "the future," what are we actually saying to our children?

Are we [still] glorifying the flamboyant celebrity factor at the greatest cost of all -- losing our sense of what it really takes to make and create an honorable life, the kind that thoroughly, and positively, and intrinsically makes the world a better place?   The fact remains, Whitney -- all on her very own -- left her honor and dignity tattered and torn.  She chose to self-destruct right before our eyes.  At some point, she knew she was heading for trouble.  At some point, she could have gone right, when she went left.  She was born free to choose all of it; let us never forget that.

If only we could return to the days of honoring personal responsibility -- instead of making excuses for personal, made uncomfortably public, failures.

The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, basically went to her defense -- saying this, from the Associated Press:

"Republican governor says he rejects complaints that Houston 'forfeited the good things that she did' because of her struggles with substance abuse.

'What I would say to everybody is there but for the grace of God go I,' he said on Wednesday."

Well there is that -- who are any of us to judge, right.  And I, for one, would love to whole-heartedly agree.

But with all due respect, Mr. Govenah, no, she's not me -- there by the grace of God I hope I don't go.

In the literal translation, let us all hope we are not all going her way.

Whitney made herself into a PUBLIC figure, becoming that one in a million standing center stage as a shining example of us all; and with that, as AMERICA has grown to put celebrity on a pedestal, the greater the liability for all of our children wanting to follow in her footsteps.  What we laud and applaud, the children listen.  What is interpreted as a successful, honorable life -- the kind that is worthy of the American flag to be flown at half-staff even -- says something; and in this case, it just might send the wrong message. Did we really need to go there?

just sayin' --
I would sing it for you, but that just isn't my thing.

but yes, there by the grace of God go I....and speaking of...

God must be glad he got her back in one piece.  My guess is they are probably having a little chat right about now.

But let us leave things here spreading the good news; as a believer, I trust God loves all the little children -- even those of us who lose our way or stray.

She is probably on his lap, not saying a word, grateful for the loving arms around her welcoming her home.

we just never know how many days we are gonna get...

Make it a Good Day, G

in keeping with the month's red thread...just where did Whitney's sanctity for her own life go?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

It's an Achy Break-y Heart Thing

Dear America,

even tho i really like keeping on a theme for the week, we will be abstaining from the red thread spinning the argument around 'it's not about contraception' to a direct hit on the president's brand spankin' new budget for 2013...

the budget coming in at around 3.8 TRILLION dollars (projected to "save us"  "4 trillion" over "ten years").

that is a good one, Mr. President. hardy har har.  that's so funny, i forgot to laugh (family inside joke).

SO to cut to the chase, the United States rakes in about 2.3 trillion (on a "good" year).

We are currently 15.3 TRILLION in debt.  Go here to see running National Debt Clock in Real Time.

SO EASILY -- and without looking at anything more than the real numbers projected in Obama's budget -- without messing with the details of how much is cut from where -- we can see that another deficit year is around the corner.  And not by dollars and cents, but by hundreds of billions of dollars and cents.

Just how can he bring this budget to the people and keep a straight face?

What is really hilarious is looking at the total amount, in real numbers, of our UNFUNDED LIABILITIES.  Now, we have discussed this subject numerous times before -- but what the heck, this is so much fun, right, let's go through it again.

The UNFUNDED category includes all things nobody wants to talk about:  social security, medicare, prescription drug program.   This little number jumps all the way to ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN TRILLION dollars...a liability of over a million dollars "per TAX PAYER."  hello.

SO apparently,  this president of "hope and change" (the one who promised to be different) is pleased with a budget that streams madly into the magical gigantic black hole without changing a thing.

seriously?

How can a budget of 3.8 trillion dollars be seriously considered?

WE are not only broken, and truly sick -- as we opened up the week just yesterday -- we are broke.

In my experience, life can be really, really hard when you don't have any money.

Real Freedom goes right out the door.

For just about EVERYTHING quickly revolves around meeting the challenge of providing basic needs; while you can just fuggetabout the wants, the splurges, a pantry full of food at the ready, the spontaneity of dropping large bills on frivolous things, let alone the kid's braces.  No; without real cash flow, all that goes out the window.  The priority becomes shopping for a week's worth of dinners on your last twenty two dollars until payday.

This is America's reality right now; however, we insist on still breaking out the credit card at 40% interest.

Now, looking around the neighborhood, we can only keep up appearances for so long.

We are spiritually/morally/principally broken -- economically broke -- and this president is okay with that?

He is proposing a 3.8 Trillion dollar budget without any real revenue to fully support it.

And suddenly, the oath he made -- before 311 million Americans -- is made a mockery.  (And no, it wouldn't be the first time...for this president, or his predecessors)

If I were president, I would be asking all Americans to do their FAIR SHARE in just being GOOD people, no exceptions; I would be telling Congress to not only balance the budget, but pass one! before going home; I would cut ten percent across the board just to kick things off; I would eliminate the Department of Education, Energy, Interior, Housing/Urban Development, and Commerce to start; I would sign the Keystone deal and begin drilling in the Gulf of Mexico immediately; a moment of silence -- for a prayer or happy thought for the day -- would begin every child's day in school from kindergarten thru twelfth grade; I would eliminate the IRS and have a flat tax; and teach ideas strengthening capitalism and the free market, including honoring many of the ideals found within  The Wealth of Nations, while reminding all people the value of the golden rule, and thus give everyone the tools to succeed at the soul level....  TO SAVE and Re-Create America's soul. [oh there's plenty more, but you know, evidently and unlike the lifespan of unfunded liabilities, attention span is limited these days]

The thing is, what I really want to emphasize is that it's all about being given the tools to succeed at the soul level. That is freedom at it's very best. There should be no surprises there...after all, I am one of those girls who believes LIFE begins at conception.

but here we go, full circle on the day...

arguing about the sanctity of life, with or without free contraception, will be the least of our worries when we find America in trillions of pieces.  it may be valentine's day, but this girl sure has an achy, break-y heart.

Make it a Good Day, G

Monday, February 13, 2012

It's an Ah-mazing Grace Thing

Dear America,

so I wanna drift into a conversation about the sanctity of life.  it is, after all, how we left things last week.

why?
because it is so much more than the complicated, twisted turns of ideology and opinion pitting feminists/leftists against tradition.

When a child -- of fifteen years -- writes in her journal:
"I just f killed someone. I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them now they're dead. I don't know how to feel atm. It was ahmazing. As soon as you get over the 'ohmygawd I can't do this' feeling, it's pretty enjoyable. I'm kinda nervous and shaky though right now. Kay, I gotta go to church now ... lol"

When a trusted teacher -- teaching at an elementary school in L.A. -- was recently discovered to have been forcing students to do unthinkable acts (with most of it captured on film) ....Only to have a second teacher, from the same school,  be arrested for virtually doing the very same thing....


When a lauded coach, with a winning record and a following teetering on religious idolatry  -- does next to nothing in reporting (and punishing) a colleague for [serious allegations of] acts of sexual abuse, and basically protecting a pedophile.


sure... it is a stretch in dialogue -- from 'it's not about contraception' to pedophilia.

BUT just look at our children  -- and the world in which they live in!  Just look at how they are turning out!  Just look at the broadband effect of abuses -- large and small -- upon the impressionable, vulnerable, young mind in America.

what are we doing?  how are we protecting them?  what are we teaching them?



Is Life, it's self -- in general and in the specific -- sacred anymore?  Is "it" protected, nurtured, and lovingly guided to grow up into responsible, thoughtful, lawful, compassionate, people?

Forgive me.  But just how in the world is this becoming so hard to do?

Oh I know why.
it's a rhetorical question.

It went awry when we ceased teaching a moral code.

When the intellectual, leftist response to modern life managed to gain a stronghold upon the halls of government -- driving a certain social justice agenda up against every tradition in America, including our hallowed Judeo-Christian beliefs and practices -- we stopped being the Nation under God.  It - Life under God, our Creator -  was replaced -- in thought, word and deed -- by man.

And guess what?  Man (or little girl, as this particular discussion includes), when left to his own moral code, confronting his very own devil inside, without a sense of belonging to a Spirit that is larger than life itself, falters.   For man, and even little girls, have a few flaws.

Making another huge leap, The Daily Bell featured an interview (with Dr. Yaron Brook) over the weekend that intrigued me (and in a round about way, his thoughts fit well):

"I think the world is pretty straightforward. The world is dominated by really, really bad ideas, by a lot of ignorance, a bad moral code and really bad ideas about politics, which drive people to do things that are not in their (or our) long-term self interest. I think central banks are an example of poor economic understanding and of a moral code that requires that government control as much of our lives as possible. I think this is fundamentally an ideological battle, a battle of ideas, a philosophical battle.

The destructive ideas dominating our culture are out in the open. They emanate from the universities. Their advocates are out in the open, blaring at us from lecture halls, pulpits, political rallies, editorial pages, TV and radio. What's devastating our world is the impact of intellectuals – professors, writers, economists, think-tankers – who advocate for Keynesianism, subjectivism, socialism, existentialism, post modernism, all these ideologies that are anti-capitalist, anti-individual rights, anti-freedom...

...What's unique about Atlas Shrugged is not only that it gives us answers, but it gives us solutions. It presents the philosophical explanation for what is going on today in terms of cause and effect, but it also gives us the solutions to these problems and a philosophy that completely turns upside down the statist regimes and the statist ideologies of today and presents us, for the first time in history, with a consistent philosophy that is pro-individual rights, pro-individualism."


The interview delves into nearly every facet of life in the modern world from the perspective of the Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights; for more, go here.

Now, granted, the focus for the interview was on capitalism, along with the war on terror; but the at the bare minimum, how can any of us expect for America to do well, to capitalize in today's world market, when we can't even "capitalize" upon our most basic natural resource, our people?  It's a good question.  We just aren't making them like we used to, you know?

Rational, long-term self-interest, aligning with pro-individual rights UNDER God...protecting freedom, liberty, and justice, for children and adults alike, is the cornerstone of America's way back.

America needs a heavy dose of tough love.  and I think that is exactly what we are witnessing right now.

I think our Father, our Creator, loves us so much right now -- Free Will, manifesting as good vs. evil,  is being allowed to take it's course, to play out, even if evil appears to be winning.  As individuals, we face it; as a country, we live it, turning it into the every day.


But everything we are taught these days stems from living In the Moment, not for the "long-term;" what we live for is selfish interests -- not rational, long-term self-interest built upon proven, age-less principles and values; what we want for ourselves is to live from one 'ahmazing' moment to the next, without care and thoughtful consideration of others, let alone leading a life of virtue just for the thrill of it.

We are teaching our children everything from life is fully disposable one minute, to taking the life of another is worth the rest of your life in jail.  We are snatching the innocence and beauty of life right out from under them, before they are even given a chance to know the difference.

We began the day citing the devastating actions of just four people -- a girl, two teachers and a coach; between them, hundreds of children have been irreparably damaged for life, if not killed outright; and they, in turn, will touch the lives of many others as they attempt to live with it.  How tragic.  How mind boggling really.

The cause and effect of the lives of just four people, out of 300 million of us living in America, can, and may, exponentially speaking, be very well a sign of the death of us.  For these kinds of stories are everywhere and often, aren't they.

America is truly sick.

And that's just it.

Raising good people requires rational, long-term self-interest for the betterment and livelihood and prosperity of the whole (the way our founders intended). Gone are the days of self-reliance; welcome to the era of self-destruction.

Leaving us to deal with the greatest responsibility and duty to Individualism, to it's highest degree. 

At this point, it might even require ten commandments, or something.

Make it a Good Day, G 

Friday, February 10, 2012

It's about the Protection of Life Thing

Dear America,

"It's not about contraception. 
It's about economic liberty; 
it's about freedom of speech; 
it's about freedom of religion. 
It's about government control of your lives 
and it's got to stop."  
Rick Santorum, CPAC

that's just it.  it's not about contraceptives.

it's about government having NO business mandating what religious-based organizations must cover free of cost; it's about government having NO business mandating what insurance company premiums include free of charge; it about government having NO business prescribing unconstitutional, unconscionable mandates on the people -- because that's what it all boils down to -- the people.
 

that's just it.

In the free market, somebody has to pay for it.

Ultimately, mandates under the brand new "Affordable Health Care Law" will be paid for by the people.

If Obama truly understood and respected the free market, he would know this.

At this very moment, the president is changing course to appease a large Catholic/religious voting base -- saying now that he is willing to tweak the mandate with special "accommodation" (one time only, of course).  Oh it's good to be king, isn't it?

doesn't he realize where the added cost is going to go?

so the buck is supposed to stop with insurance companies?

is that your final answer, Mr. President?

As if.

Insurance companies will not succeed, let alone survive, if they don't make any money [reportedly, profits of less than 3%].  And then what?   If you feel compelled to hear from a more "moderate voice,"  read this [it's from 2009, when the health care battle was just getting under way;  but it is a quick take, with great commentary underneath].

Oh right.

It's all about a means to the end.

Sooner or later... trickle down, trickle up... private insurance companies will have no chance of survival.  Sooner or later, the only option left will be for the president to ride in on the big, white horse and save us.  Universal Healthcare here we come -- expressly and compassionately provided by the king and all of his men.

This president is planning for it.

All he needs is four more years.

Little by little, nudge by nudge, everybody will down-shift.  It is going to come along so naturally, WE, the people, will all just one day wake up eating the same thing, wearing the same uniform, driving the same car, and going to some kind of government job [with free healthcare provided, of course]. 

this is what the president and his first lady would refer to as Nation U  T O P  I  A -- bye bye miss american deep dish apple pie a la mode, 'let them eat bran muffins'  (now fully provided for by, ANTHEM.Universal.Mandate.US.gov,  formerly known as Blue Cross)

ew.


seriously?


that's so gross.

[making grateful accommodation and nod to GEICO]


that's just it...when it comes to the Protection of Life: 

"We hold from God the gift which includes all others.  This gift is life -- physical, intellectual, and moral life.

But life cannot maintain itself alone.  The Creator of life has entrusted us with the responsibility of preserving, developing, and perfecting it.  In order that we may accomplish this, He has provided us with a collection of  marvelous faculties.  And He has put us in the midst of a variety of natural resources.  By the application of our faculties to these natural resources we convert them into products, and use them.  The process is necessary in order that life may run its appointed course.

Life, faculties, production -- in other words, individuality, liberty, property -- this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it. [Obama, who hails himself to be Christian -- all the time now -- should recognize this truth above all else.]

Life, liberty and property do not exist because men have made laws.  On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws [for the protection of them] in the first place."  Frederic Bastiat, The Law, quoted within The 5000 Year Leap


Make it a Good Day, G

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

It's A Going ALL In Thing. It's a pretty big deal

Dear America,



happy hump day.

speaking of humps...are republicans/conservatives finally determining to go All In?

a stunning three sweep for Santorum changes everything (maybe).

THREE takes:

TOWNHALL.com

CNN.com

Reuters.com

For an added bonus -- featuring an array of opinion about Santorum's sweep and much more -- go to The Patriot Post's Wednesday Chronicle.  Here.  If there is one site that gives you perfect pitch conservative opinion day in and day out, it is The Patriot Post.  love, love, love you guys.

I have two initial thoughts -- utter happiness and extreme panic; are we winning the battle only to lose the war?


I seriously don't know.

Now, it should be noted that less than 2% of the vote came out last night in Colorado  -- meaning,  the "enthusiasm gap" is creeping around and amounts to something of great concern.  It seems to be stalking us, like something sinister and unnerving. For me, I can't shake the feeling that something remains off.


I don't think it matters what conservatives want in this present moment; what will make all the difference in this decision is how Independents feel -- how the coalition of 'undeciders' will decide for all of us.  And THAT reality is disconcerting enough, in and of itself.

what are we doing? and where are we going?

Monday, it was all about being 'half-time' in America -- revolving my swirling thoughts around the Clint Eastwood commercial.  It was Karl Rove who thought the ad had an underpinning of support for another round of Obama, that somehow this commerical, promoting the American brand along with a certain spirit of coming back from behind was something reminiscent of pure evil (or thereabouts...maybe that is a slight exaggeration).

Anywho, old G begged to differ.

And G was correct.  Clint came out saying nothing of the sort the very next day, in response to the false premise going into the start of the 'day after'  (G loves talking about the Day After)  (and isn't G annoying going into third person).  Here is Clint's official response to the spin...

The thing is, the talking heads, the pundits who have reigned for decades in and around the media -- both sides -- are not always right, are they?


They can easily succumb to their own individual urge to argue something, for political points, whether true or false.  They find a way to circumvent truth and come out flying off the mouth anyway.

The last thing on the day: Conservatives just need to think for themselves.  Independents need to think for themselves.  Democrats need to think for themselves.  While the mainstream media just needs to return to critical unbiased thinking and reporting (even getting just two percent of them might be enough).  And maybe -- just maybe -- America can come to their senses and see this administration for what it really is.  Extreme.  Progressive.  Ruthless.  Fraudulent. and really really dangerous.

America needs all of us to go All In to save her.

Make it a Good Day, G

Monday, February 6, 2012

It's Half-Time in America Thing

Dear America,

"If the day should ever arrive (which God forbid!) when the people of the different parts of the country shall allow their local affairs to be administered by prefects sent from Washington, and when the self-government of the states shall have been so far lost as that of the departments of France, or even so closely limited as that of the counties of England -- on that day the political career of the American people will have been robbed of its most interesting and valuable features,  and the usefulness of this nation will be lamentably impaired." 
John Fiske, 'expert witness' of American History

so the president says he deserves re-election cuz the 'job's not done'.

please.  run with that.  with scissors if at all possible.

because that's exactly what we're afraid of -- more -- of your policy. your play calls. your winning the future kind of strategies.  as if you haven't done enough already.

-- cue commercial for jcp --



but now back to the regularly scheduled program,
the way I see it, Obama is asking for four more years and a do-over.

so given the close proximity of the greatest sports day of the year, Obama asking to play it again Sam is virtually the same thing as Bill Belichick calling for four more quarters.  he didn't get it done the first go round and all he wants is another chance...

the president should probably run it by Michelle first, for I think she would take issue with the really bad Vegas odds, landing somewhere between slim-to-none and fat-chance (especially the latter, as it runs counter-productive to her healthy eating campaign).  but we digress.  quickly.  almost as fast as the final two minutes of the game last night.

what a finish it was. a nail-biter (really not a good situation for us girls).

On a more personal note, I was quite pleased with my play calls from the couch.

Kidd you not -- 3rd quarter was on its last tick-tock  and I was screaming at the T.V. for a defensive turnover [wanting Giants to get the ball back in a very big way]. Within seconds -- and now furiously morphing into the first tick-tocks of the fourth quarter -- I got my wish. It was beautiful.  [thank you.  thank you very much.]

and my magic didn't stop there. oh no.

so skipping a whole lot in-between (which I'm sure you will all thank me for later) there is now about 48 seconds left to the game, and I'm now screaming,   'S A   A    A   A  C  K     H    I   M !'

and what up.

they did.

Fast forward:  man down with only a hail Mary left to save himself.  [but she didn't...you know, save him]

Giants win.  Hip Hip Hooray.

Now football must have been on everybody's brain all weekend.

Saturday's lineup included an episode of Harry's Law addressing the liabilities of the sport.  [the story wrapped itself around two parents who lost their son -- a High School quarterback -- suing the school for everything they got for putting their son, who died from multiple head injuries, in harm's way in the first place]

as if they didn't think football might be a wee bit dangerous all on their own. can we get a round of "duh" ...altogether now.  now in a wave...here we go...d  h   d  u  h   d  u h

Anyway, Harry is making her final arguments to the court [standing on the side of the mourning parents] and doing so with her usual finesse and deliberate remarks... so well in fact that she almost convinces me of the school's wrongdoing.  And I'm thinking, go Harry; I'm thinking, gosh she's good.

but then all of a sudden it hits me.  harry isn't even real.  harry is only as smart as the writer back behind the actor.  hello.

The true brilliance is in David E. Kelley, the writer and creator of the show.


[alright, alright.  Kathy Bates is pretty good being Harry, too]

but this got me thinking deeper.

Presidents are made.  And America happens to create new ones all the time.

But much of what we see -- much of the day to day we watch once that president gets there --  much of it has to do with a score of writers and choreographers, coaches and trainers, and all of the president's men behind the scenes.

Our success comes when we make the connection that who we pick to be made relies unequivocally upon the character of the man we choose. it is all up to us. we make the call.

The thing is, Americans get a do-over this year; we are getting a chance to re-evaluate everything -- from forming new strategies, creating new play calls, to even giving somebody totally brand new the ball.

and speaking of Harry.  the best ad of the night came at half time.

and I know you know which one I'm thinking of.

Clint.
as in, Eastwood.
narrating a story of US -- using Motor City as the quintessential backdrop.

I'm not sure if they cared more about selling cars (happy nod to Chrysler) or just giving us the proverbial pep-talk for what's ahead for the country.  either way, it had me at 'it's half-time in America...how do we come from behind'...hypnotically reminding us, we have done it before, we can do it again...

oh talk to me.

I could listen to that 30 second spot all day.  I can't believe it has sparked  such controversy already -- I realize we, the little people, paid for the ad in a round-about way; but honestly, don't you think America needed somebody to shake us up a bit, smack a little sense into us?

Good, strong, unrelenting -- tireless, faithful, endearing -- timeless, ageless, virtuous character does not grow on trees; it needs to be taught, perhaps told to us through story time, movies, speeches, classroom lectures, even commercials.

However, it is best, and usually most effective, growing this kind of character from the ground up, beginning with the family(tree). While it is also true, we grow presidents and countrymen in the very same way.  Whether it's half-time during the greatest game on earth, or half-time in the greatest country on the planet, the pep talk we got via Chrysler, through Clint, speaks to the character inside each and every one of us.

for the equation is simple: we cease making good people of character, and we quickly cease making good actors... good car makers... good lawyers... good students... and even a few good presidents... And we gotta get a hold of ourselves.  This is no time to breakdown.

but the kicker:   if WE, ourselves, have already lost our way, what are the chances we could continue to recognize, and ultimately reward, good character when we see it?

enough. is. enough. indeed.

Forget about it being half-time in America.   "We" got four seconds left on the clock and the team is down to you; you are the kicker;  you have the ball; all you have to do is kick the ball through the goal post and we win.
....did somebody call for a little pressure?
....who called for that last minute time-out just to ice us just a wee bit more?

this is the kind of pressure that is on each one of us, to equally to do our part. It has nothing to do with the money we make, or the distribution of wealth on the team; it has everything to do with the distribution of good character and our individual ability to dig deep down inside ourselves to make it, no matter what the conditions.

If we simply allow our individual good character shine through, the rest is golden... worthy of perhaps a Lombardi trophy or maybe the America's Cup  [I know.  I know.  wrong sport but it fits well, doncha think?]

Make it a Good Day, G

of course, another good commercial was from Hyundai - featuring the Rocky Balboa theme...being hummed and be-bopped out of the mouths of co-workers -- after the words "it's never gonna work" were uttered out loud and in the company of basically the entire company.  bada baa bada baa bada baa bada baa  Within thirty seconds, he arrives at a brand new mindset, and totally willing to keep on trying... cuz "that's just our wa  y ---  Hyundai"

last thought, Madonna rocked. enough said.

Friday, February 3, 2012

It's the Stark Reality of How Far We Have Come Kind of Thing

Dear America,


we've come a long way baby...

back in the day  -- when cigarette companies could advertise freely, and when women, in general, became an overnight success opening up a brand new target market available to the world -- this phrase quickly defined the modern household in the seventies.

'Virginia Slims' was cool like that.




yup --  we [women] were just so lucky way back when.

oh if we all knew then what we know now, huh?

NOW, thanks to organizations like NOW, and forty or fifty years after Virginia Slims wined and dined the market of women -- we have surely come a long way baby.

We can smoke whenever we want; we can have sex whenever we want; we can abort a baby whenever we want; we can drink alcohol whenever we want.  Life is grand.

But what have we learned?

And don't even let me get started on the irony, right?  Now, just about everywhere, nobody can smoke, especially in public! And if we do, it comes along with a wee bit of guilt, perhaps with a whole lot of denial, and chock full of emphysema, lung cancer, and the like [complete with much of the costs all upon the backs of the people who don't...you know, smoke].

So let's fast forward to today in America.

Just yesterday, Susan G. Komen Foundation caved to the mainstream media, reversing the reversal of fortune to Planned Parenthood.  They apologized for making the decision in the first place.

This is where the power "to choose" gets lost in translation -- what happens when our personal choices conflict?  Why does the side "to choose" get to choose for all of us?  Susan G. Komen is a private foundation, and they can choose whatever they want to do with their grant money; however, the federal government answers to all of us.   Public funds have no business being co-mingled and convoluted in policy, controversy, ideology, and the absolute free choice of personal liberties and beliefs.

I can choose to support, or reverse the support, for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, just as easily as I can choose to smoke or not to smoke.  Now the lines are just not as easily drawn when it comes to the funding, or the reversal of funding, within the federal government, now is it?

Oh and the places our government now chooses to go with this power  --

How about the latest round of controversy surrounding the Obama Administration, and specifically, Obamacare, going up against the Catholic Church.  GO HERE.

Do Catholics --  have a right to their religious liberty, or not?

Apparently not.   oh yes, we've come a long way baby.

Now I started today thinking I was gonna go a totally different direction.

Initially, with the whole idea of 'we've come a long way baby,' I intended to meander into the state of where we are, and how far we have come, within this current presidential campaign.  After all, I started this blog way back in the middle of 2009, when the Tea Party was just beginning to heat up, when everything we trusted to be the truth became tested right before our very eyes.  Looking back, 2009 seems equivalent to the dark ages.

It's almost like -- after years of being fed false advertising, and after nearly a half a century of being played with, twisting truth and reality, and allowing all of us to slip into a state of not thinking for ourselves -- we all woke up all at once.

All this time, we've been taking hits off the cancer stick -- being lulled into total denial, hardly imagining the absolute horror pending, when all of us discover how truly sick we really are; after all this time, thinking everything was cool, almost too cool for school.   And more than that, thinking we've all come a long way baby.

All I really know, after all this time.... writing and thinking and blogging...is that enough is enough.  And most of us, the majority of Americans, stand with me.  We know what we've been sold.

...and it ain't pretty; it ain't cool; and it surely ain't good for any of us.

sure, the current state of affairs between the foursome duking it out between the headlines and thirty second spots, may appear to outsiders as if we have no idea what we are doing.  there is that.


but when the time is right, when we finally have our man, that GOP ceiling will burst into a thousand pieces; and when its all over, when it happens, there is no doubt in my mind we will all coalesce around the winner, the nominee.  Because anything else -- and being rather nostalgically reminiscent of my thoughts of just Monday --  we surely come to our own demise, a sudden death.

at the National Prayer Breakfast just yesterday, our president said this:


"We can't leave our values at the door. If we leave our values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that has held our nation together for centuries and allowed us to become somewhat more perfect a union."

Moral glue, Mr. President? 

Me thinks that 'moral glue' is getting picked on, bullied even, in a very big way [case in point, the latest moral skirmishes in the news as highlighted here today].  You have asked Catholics, specifically, to leave their values at the door.   what gives, Mr. President?

oh yes, Catholics (and anyone else who believes in religious liberty), you have come a long way baby.

To read the rather stunning remarks, the entire transcript from the National Prayer Breakfast can be seen HERE. 

America, we've come a long way baby.

Have we?  
have we?

but finally, here's the good news:  everyone but felons and dead people can vote.

Make it a Good Day Baby, G


"...Cursed is the one who trusts in man..."  
Jeremiah 17: 5