Opinions and Insight

Links for 2012-01-26 [del.icio.us]

2012-01-27T00:00:00-08:00

FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool - CNET News

Thoughts on Ron Paul's Foreign Policies

2012-01-07T13:20:00.002-05:00

Recently I have been having some pretty intense debates on the topic of Ron Paul and whether or not he would be the best choice for President of the United States. Personally I find some of Ron Paul's foreign policies a little to extreme and it makes me uncomfortable with pulling all of our troops out of the rest of the world and then thumbing our nose at our allies with a "wish ya luck" attitude.

However, maybe I am wrong.

I would love the idea of having the United States once again become an independent nation and able to cut the umbilical cord from the rest of the world. Currently we are looking at a global finance collapse if the Euro looses all value. And to have China and Japan own the majority of our bonds, making us dependent on their loans, is REALLY unnerving.

President George Washington, one of my utmost heroes, said in his departing address:

...

So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation), facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils. Such an attachment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.

Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government. the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice?

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

...

George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796 @ Yale.edu (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp)

George Washington says in 1796 that we should not entangle ourselves with foreign governments do to foreign influence coming onto our shores. Well it would have been wise to follow this direction and I agree with him 100%. HOWEVER! We are a long way away from keeping that from happening. We have a completely different government and policies from when Washington was alive. We have been weak in this aspect starting just before the turn of the 1900s. The American culture is so inundated with foreign influence it would take me forever to list them all. There have been groups through out the past 100 years or so that say we should model American after Europe. That we should model ourselves after communism, fascism, socialism and here lately sharia law.

One has to wonder what our country would be like if we had followed Washington's advice and stayed away from European influence. With it being "our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world".

That utopia has far expired and it is fantasy to think we can turn back the clock on the world so that we may correct this colossal mistake of creating "permanent alliances" with foreign country(s) and having their influence inner twined with the American experiment.

There is a large group of people in our country that wants American to pull all troops from around the world and bring them home. To not be part of an influence that we have partaken in for over a 100 years. Roosevelt tried this during his presidency with isolationism in the 1930's, up until Japan bombed Perl Harbor. If we were to truly learn from past mistakes it would be from this costly mistake of thinking we could just pull out of the global activity and shut ourselves off from it. To "bury our heads in the sand". This allowed Hitler and his Nazis to slaughter millions of people (11,283,000 to be exact) with 6 million of those people being of Jewish decent. The rest where his own countrymen (men, woman, children) of all intellectual walks of life, ALL butchered with institutionalized killing. This does not include 5,200,000 German citizens and military war deaths. Nor does it include 28,736,000 that died in Europe trying to stop this mad man.

“How Do You Kill 11 Million People: Why The Truth Matters More Than You Think” by Andy Andrews (on Amazon.com)

So what now?

Isolationism does not work. It's an invite for power hungry psychopathic sociopaths to start thinking that America has become weak and possibly invade our borders. America is not immune to this type of action. If you say to yourself, “Ah that will never happen, we are America!” then you a true fool sir. It CAN happen in our country and there is nothing stopping it from happening. Terrorist got a hold of 4 fully fueled commercial aircraft and ended up being pretty effective in killing thousands of Americans just wanting to go to work or get to their destination. By the way this was CIVILIAN casualties, not military.

It really sucks that we have to have our men and women deployed around the world and yes we are used as Global policeman. Do I like it? Not really. But its a reality from Washington DC's bad policies.

Can we ever bring all of our military home? Tell you what, when you can get more than 10 million people to vote during a Federal election when there are over a 100 million registered voters, we might be able to change the course of this beautiful dream we hold on to called America. Until people start becoming more active in WHO is leading them then we are faced with the direction we are currently heading in.

I close with this last thought. When we were blessed to have George Washington as a leader the weapons used of his time were cannons and musket loaders to name a couple. I don't think George Washington, as brilliant of a man that he was, would have imagined a Nuclear tipped ballistic missile that could annihilate an entire metropolitan area with one blow. I think he would say that our current foreign policy, needs improvement, but that we should keep an eye on the rest of the world.

Thanks for reading my rambling. God Bless

Emergency Alert System Nationwide Test | FCC.gov

2011-11-08T16:06:00.001-05:00

At the Federal Communications Commission's June 9, 2011 Agenda meeting, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett, joined by representatives from FEMA and the National Weather Service, announced that the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) would take place at 2:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on November 9, 2011. The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism. EAS Participants currently participate in state-level monthly tests and local-level weekly tests, but no top-down review of the entire system has ever been undertaken. The Commission, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate.

Official announcement on the FCC.gov website:

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test

People I stand with

2011-11-01T13:50:00.001-04:00

@RANGERP, I don't know who you are or where you are today but from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for serving your country and taking care of us under your watch. God bless your family and good fortunes. Come home safe to us.

I am a 53%-er

2011-10-09T19:36:00.001-04:00

There has been an explosion of activity of people claiming to be the 53% of Americans that believe in personal freedoms and taking responsibility of their life in reaction to the Wall Street Protesters 99% theory.

Here is are some links to posts I have seen around the Internet:

Meet America‘s ’53%’ – And They Have a Message for the ‘99%’ Protesters

We Are The 53%

I am a 53%-er – Are you?

Lost Localhost: We Are the |132.5*16/-40|%...

So what about my story?

I am 41 years old and have been working since I was 14 yrs old. My first jobs were news paper deliveries and mowing lawns by pulling the push mower to different neighborhoods. I dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and had joined the US Army Reserves at the age of 17. I went to boot camp in the worst winter that Fort Sill, OK had seen in years, returned home and then joined the US Navy Active duty at 18 yrs old and went to Orlando, FL for a second round of boot camp. (Army was tougher, just saying...)

When I was 24 I left military and returned to the civilian work force as we like to call it in the military. I have done car sales, pest control, fiberglass work, marble work, worked on tug boats as a deckhand in the Louisiana Bayous. When I was 26 I had decided that I was tired of being away from the family and found a job with a local ISP called H&L Telecoms as Help Desk Support. It was here I started teaching myself how to create software and work with technologies that bring this wonderful Internet to your computers.

Since I have started working in the IT industry I have worked with such companies as IBM, ATT, Cingular, Bell South, Bank of America and a select group of students from MIT. Currently I work for a company called BPM Specialists that are sub-contractors with SunTrust Bank.

Any other details about me my family knows and that is where I will keep it.

I close with something I heard my dad say to mom when I was a child; "Even if I have to flip hamburgers, I will always have a job to take care of the family". I pray something I say to my children will impact them as much as what my dad words did for me.

God Bless

Links for 2011-10-02 [del.icio.us]

2011-10-03T00:00:00-07:00

The Original Argument

2011-07-13T07:15:00.000-04:00

Not only have I read the this book and did massive note taking but I have also bought the audio version of the book so I can listen to the context of the book while I work. If you are serious about understanding what our Forefather's intended with the creation and acceptance of the US Constitution then this book will give you incredible insight of the Forefather's "Why".

Ephesians 6:12-17

2010-11-07T23:52:00.001-05:00

Over the past few days these words have had a huge impact on my life. Some events have occurred recently in my life where these words have come to my aid in my struggles in understanding what I am dealing with in life. I offer these words to everyone who are struggling with difficult times. God Bless

The Armor of God

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

YouVersion.com - Mobile App

2010-10-02T19:53:00.000-04:00

YouVersion.com - http://www.youversion.com

I started using this application on my Blackberry a couple of months ago and have found it indespensible for keeping up with my daily reading assignments for learning the Scripture. There are many different interfaces for this application so you DON'T have to have a mobile phone to use this. As a matter of fact the web interface is very easy to use and I have not run into any issues with it as of yet.

UPDATE: Just got an email as I was writing this post from YouVersion.com that stated that the application now being used by 9.1 million users. Just the month of August they saw record growth of 900,000 new mobile users. They say that September is expected to be much more.

Thank the Lord that people are are starting to seek His wisdom once again.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

2010-10-02T19:41:00.002-04:00

I have been asked a few times about some of the comments I have made in my tweets about "Going John Galt". Here is the book that I think should be required reading for everyone.

I find it astonishing how this book published in 1957 so closely reflects to today's social issues. Please, if you have not done so either read or listen to this book.

Atlas Shrugged on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged

Ayn Rand University: http://www.aynrand.org

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 – Is This Where America Is Heading?

2010-09-08T13:02:00.002-04:00

I am on a new journey in my walk with God and I read this in the process of doing my reading assignments of reading the Bible in 90 days on YouVersion.com and this kinda spooked me the other day to the point that I had to revisit it today with the thought of “Is this where America is heading because we have lost our faith in Him?”

I would really appreciate any feedback on this.

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 (New International Version)

Curses for Disobedience
15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

20 The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.

24 The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.

29 At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. 34 The sights you see will drive you mad.

35 The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

36 The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.

37 You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the Lord will drive you.

38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.

42 Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

43 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.

44 He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.

45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity,

48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.

52 They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you.

53 Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you. 54 Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, 55 and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. 56 The most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter

57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.

58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God— 59 the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God.

63 Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.

64 Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.

68 The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

As A Parent We Do The Best We Can

2010-09-06T05:37:00.001-04:00

I think all parents will agree with me that we do the best we possible can when it comes to raising our children. From providing food, shelter and love to instilling in our children our personal beliefs and values. Often times we mimic how our own parents raised us in our younger years. And our parents too will say “We did the best we knew how to raise you”. But what if there is a vicious cycle of bad values instilled in the family tree? What do you do to break that chain?

My advice would be to reflect on the values you are instilling into your children. Are you teach them principles that are taught in the Bible? Try this for starters; teach them the Ten Commandments first and foremost as these are the standard building block of a good value system:

Exodus 20:1-17 of the New International Version

1 And God spoke all these words:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

I believe our decisions as adults are strongly influenced by our values that our parents instill in us while we are under their care. As parents it is our duty to ensure that our children have the right tools to make the proper decisions in life. If you are having a hard time with your children maybe it’s time to look in the mirror and ask yourself, does my child respect me as mom/dad? Do they respect others? Do they understand right from wrong? Are they acting selfish or hateful to other children?

Maybe its time to start acting as the authority figure God wants you to be.

9 Principles, 12 Values

2010-09-06T05:26:00.001-04:00

Consider these principles and values as a guideline; just consider it is all I am asking.

http://www.the912project.com/the-912-2/

The 9 Principles

America Is Good.
I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share m
y personal opinion.

On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson

The 12 Values

Honesty
Reverence
Hope
Thrift
Humility
Charity
Sincerity
Moderation
Hard Work
Courage
Personal Responsibility
Gratitude

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes

2010-03-19T14:29:00.003-04:00

Just wrapped up with this wonderful book. Was a huge eye opener to see just how much America is repeating history between the Roosevelt era to the Obama era. This is a very huge “MUST READ” to understand where most of this Progressive movement was derived from. I look for comments on books I should follow-up with.

Words of Advice From a Father

2009-04-17T10:17:00.001-04:00

As my eldest daughter has left home, I wanted to just give her a few pieces of advice in an email. Here is some of what I wrote to her:

No matter how much someone craps on you, look them back in the eye, smile at them and tell them in a sweet voice that you care for them in some way. In other words, kill them with kindness. BUT if the relationship does not seem to be getting better, know when to cut your losses and move on in life. Some people are hard to befriend and life is too short to dredge on with trying to establish a relationship with them. But be sure that any bridge you decide to burn will not come back to bite you later in life.

We only have one life to live so live it honorably and be respectful of the people around you. Always look out at the traffic passing you by and reflect on how each car has a person with their own lives, troubles and blessings. This will keep you from feeling alone in the hard world you are about to venture out into.

Take time to reflect on yourself, try to look inward when something does not go the way you want it to. Learn how to take criticism from yourself and others, but learn not to doubt your instincts as this is your most powerful tool.

Choose your heroes and peers wisely and look for positive mentoring from them. Surround yourself with the people that you feel you would like to be, as this will be positive reinforcement on who you will become.

With that always remember that God gave you two ears, two eyes and one mouth. Listen and read more than you talk. Listen to what people are saying and take in everything around you. Try to never miss out on things that go on around you as you might miss that split second in time that will turn your life for the better or worse.

Although its comforting to read fantasy literature, balance your reading out with non-fiction, educational and motivational information. Always, always try learn something new, because if you ever feel like you know everything, then you really don't know much.

Broaden your vocabulary. It has been found that the more words a person knows and use in their vocabulary the more successful they will be in life (silly but true). Try to stay away from sailor talk and learn to use un-offensive words to make your point.

And finally, learn from your past mistakes and acknowledge your successes. We all sin and make mistakes. Look for forgiveness and learn from what you have done. When we fail, we learn. That is how I learned how to write software. I would try something new, it would blow up and then I would try to figure out why it blew up. This is how I learned to program computers. I educated myself from my mistakes.

Love Dad

Looking for Inspiration

2009-04-09T12:18:00.001-04:00

I look mostly to God for inspiration, but there are times when we as people don’t see his inspiration when He shows it to us. I look to history, current events or the people around me to find inspiration outside of God’s word in the Bible, because I believe that He teaches us by example most of the time.

Sometimes when I am feeling down and/or frustrated about something in my life, I like to visit a website called Ted.com. Ted.com is a site filled with videos of people sharing their stories, feelings, beliefs and ideas. We have to look for inspiration when it does not come looking for us. This, at times, is the only way we can truly see God doing his handy work.

I encourage you that if you are looking for a three to five minute story to get your day started, a place I like to visit (I know there is more than this site) is the following:

http://www.ted.com <- look to the left navigation and choose your word of the day.

When to Care About What People Think About You

2009-04-09T11:18:00.001-04:00

Okay God I am having a moment. Normally I don’t care about what other people think about me but when You hit me upside the head and tell me to pay attention I do. It is just really difficult when I figure out that people that I thought loved me and cared about me simply paste on a smile and pretend to enjoy my company. So help me figure this out, let’s reflect:

Is it because I don’t fit in socially with their thought process or agree with their values or beliefs?

Is it because I am bald or because I have hair on my chest?

Is it because I am short and stocky or maybe just a little over weight?

Is it because I have blue eyes? Big feet?

See I don’t understand why people who I want to have a relationship with have such a hard time hanging out with me. I mean, is my dad right when he says I am too uptight and I need to relax more?

Is it because I don’t like to drink?

Oh hey, maybe its because I don’t like doing yard work or that I don’t like to do work around the house to make it more shiny then the other homes in my neighborhood.

Is it because I smoke?

Oh I know, its because I am still driving a minivan at the age of 39 and that is just un-cool.

Wait, is it because I develop computer software for a living and/or that I play computer games with my kids?

See I don’t understand why I feel so alone when I don’t want to play the social game of pretending to be someone or something that I am not. I have values and beliefs that other people find disturbing. But to be honest I am a very funny and an outgoing person. Sure I can be a little over the top with my jokes and humor but that’s just who I am. Up until my mother took her life, my humor is what made my mother happy. She would look forward to the phone calls from me I made her laugh with my insanity, I gave her a way to dump her frustrations and concerns as I would listen and them make her laugh at what made her upset. I know You know this, but I was her sunshine, I brought her laughter and warmth in her cold and lonely days of depression that she went through. I miss her.

I digress.

See God, I feel that this is who You made me to be. Happy, outgoing, excitable, humorous, loving, intelligent, hardworking, self motivated and honest. So why don’t people like to be around me?

I know I have room to improve as a husband and father, but don’t we all? I mean nobody is perfect when it comes to raising children or making your soul-mate happy, but I really try to pay attention when You throw lessons my way. I work to support my family not because I want to. I try to encourage and motivate my children and wife with logic and beliefs that I try to derive from Your teachings. Although maybe I don’t spend enough time with You and maybe I only look to You when things are going bad, I always try to push myself to do the honorable thing and ask myself the question, “What would the Son of God do in this situation?”.

So why is it that I have a hard time making friends? Am I being too picky? Am I picking the right people to befriend? Am I looking in the wrong places for people to associate with? God, I have no one to talk too besides You and my wife, but she can only take so much of me at times. God I know You have a plan for me and I believe that You also have plans for my family, it can just get so lonely at times when I try not to care what other people think. I am so tempted at times to try to just “fit in”.

Sometimes I think I am over analyzing what happens in my life and what happens around me. Am I looking too hard for Your lessons? Please let me know.

In closing, God, please bless everyone that I come in contact with every day and watch over them in their trials and tribulations in these hard times of the world. Please listen for their cries when they also feel lonely and need someone to talk to.

Thanks for listening.

Amen!

Definition of Honorable

2009-04-07T11:00:00.002-04:00

In case anyone was wondering what a true definition of “honorable” is here is what Dictionary.com has.

*NOTE*: There is more details on the web page, please click the word for a link to the page I reference.

Honorable

–adjective

in accordance with or characterized by principles of honor; upright: They were all honorable men.
of high rank, dignity, or distinction; noble, illustrious, or distinguished.
worthy of honor and high respect; estimable; creditable.
bringing honor or credit; consistent with honor.
(initial capital letter)

(used as a title of respect for certain ranking government officials.)
British. (used as a title of courtesy for children of peers ranking below a marquis.) Abbreviation: Hon.

Now take that definition and try to pick someone that is in the public spot light and see if it applies to them.

Why Does Our President Never Take Responsibility

2009-04-07T10:14:00.005-04:00

Is it me or does it seem like when ever things don’t go right for Mr. Obama that he plays the “name game”? You know the game that our children play when one of them get into trouble. “Nah uh, it was his/her fault!”, one child would say just to push blame on the sibling. You know, Bush no longer holds his seat as President, granted he may have made some bad decisions, but the man was at least honorable in the way he handled grief from the media and his constituents. Did you ever hear Bush lash out at people when they would poke fun at him, belittle him or insult him (ie shoe throwing incident in Iraq)? No he would just shrug it off and move on with issues that were important.

Mr. Obama, maybe you should go through military boot camp with either the Marines, Army or Navy (Air Force is just too easy of a boot camp) to maybe learn what the true definition of honor, respect and team work really is. As a matter of fact I think all of our government needs to go through boot camp, then maybe our country would not be so screwed up.

Just my two cents.

Official Public Government Records

2009-04-03T10:22:00.006-04:00

One of the things that upsets me is when people talk about something they have no idea about. I hear and read alot where people claim a topic is not part of the Constitution of the United States of America that our forefathers had put in place for our country. Here are the original documents where you can view the transcripts of the documents for easier reading. Please, these are very important to you to understand as this is your country.

God Bless America

Congress.org – One stop shop for seeing how your Representatives are voting on for you

2009-04-03T09:48:00.002-04:00

If you are like me, ever since the 2008 presidential election I have been consumed on what is happening in Washington and are country. Most of all I am very interested in how the people I voted for that represent me and my family in Washington are doing their job(s).

Please visit http://www.congress.org to get more information.

Letter from a Law Student - Read on Neal Boortz on 03/05/2009

2009-03-06T08:21:00.007-05:00

This was a great letter that Neal read and I think it reflects on a lot of what is happening in the country today. He posted this on his blog but I also wanted to post it as I wanted to increase the hits on Google for the letter.

Link to Neal's Blog Post: http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/03/letter-from-a-law-student.html

Enjoy

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters,
We've stuck together since the late 1950s, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know that we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and just will not ever agree on what's right. So let's just end it right now while we can do it on friendly terms. We can smile, shake hands, chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and each go our own way.
So here's a model separation agreement.
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by land mass, each taking a portion. That's going to be the difficult part, but I'm sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy. Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate taste. We don't like redistributive taxes so you can have those. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. And since you hate guns and you hate war, we'll take the firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. But you are going to be responsible for finding a biodiesel vehicle big enough to haul them around.
We'll keep the capitalism, the greedy corporations, the pharmaceutical companies; we will keep Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have the homeless, the homeboys, the hippies and illegal aliens. We will keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, the greedy CEOS and all of the rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and we'll let you have NBC and Hollywood.
You can be nice to Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer anybody that threatens us. You can have the peaceniks and the war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we will provide them with security. You won't have to worry about it. We will keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley Maclaine. You can also have the UN, but we will no longer pay the bill.
We will keep the SUVs, the pickup trucks and the oversize luxury cars. You can have the compacts, the subcompacts and every Subaru station wagon you can find. You can give everybody healthcare, if you can find any practicing doctors. We will continue to believe that healthcare is a privilege and not a right. We will keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the national anthem, and I am sure you will be happy to substitute in their place "Imagine." I'd like to teach the world to sing "Kumbaya" or "We are the world." We will practice trickle-down economics and you can give trickle-up poverty your best shot. And since it so offends you, we will keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots. And if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the friendly spirit of parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in about 15 years.
Sincerely,
John J Wall
Law student and an American
P.S. You can also have Barbara Streisand and Jane Fonda

A Letter from Your Boss

2009-01-14T09:17:00.001-05:00

My father sent this to me via email. I have to agree with him that even though the letter might be fictitious it pretty much hits dead on with our country's current situation. Running a business in this country cost more money than maybe its worth. But enough from me please read on.

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....

Signed,

Your boss

And so it Begins... My Predictions

2008-11-05T10:41:00.003-05:00

I feel I should share some of my beliefs and predictions in order that readers can get a better idea of who I am and what I represent. This should give anyone who blesses me with your visit to my blog a better understanding of where I come from.

For the longest time I have had three predictions:

There will be a president elected that is not a white Christian male.
There will be a war fought on American soil.
Democracy as we know it will be challenged to it fullest extent by a rise in power of the 1960's libertarian generation and the brain washing that will be instilled into our youth during their college educations.

For the longest time I had hoped that, we, as a nation could elect a president that signifies diversity in our society, well its finally happened. The problem(s) with electing Obama into office will only add fuel to the fire of what is to come with my last two predictions.

Let me explain.

With the successful election of one of the most left wing liberal democrat this country has ever seen; I foresee over the next four years a massive up-rise of civil unrest occurring within the borders of the United States. Since the election did favor the African American to be elected this will occur later than sooner. What I mean is if Obama didn't win the election there would have been massive occurrences of rioting with the liberal democrats claiming foul play in the election process. “No Way!” you say? Then why where the police departments, in some of the more predominately diversified cities, ordered to ensure that riot gear be at the ready in anticipation of the results of the election? Over kill or just cautious? I can't say I ever recall an election where rioting would have been a result from a presidential election results. I mean if the LA riots where spawned off a video tape of an African American getting beaten and then the LA court system judging white police officers not being guilty for it, then just imagine what would have occurred if Obama had not been elected.

Okay so he was elected, point is null and void now right? Not really. Now we have to deal with the liberal promises that where made by Obama. If he is to keep all his snake oil promises that he made during his campaigning it will destroy the fragile economy that America has been experiencing and inject a trend of socialism in this country. If America would just simply read up on history and trends that occur once radicalism is introduced they would see trends that point to such historical figures as Hitler. Its simple, bring down the people of a country to a point of self imploding on themselves, introduce a person that presents themselves or is considered a type of savior and have that person introduce radical changes and/or promises to obtain power.

As for my last two predictions only time will tell. In the very near future, it is my opinion that our great nation will once again go through some very needed course correction. I just hope that the American people are prepared to experience such a correction of course... I know I will have to be in order to protect my family.

Welcome

2008-10-31T09:46:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my opinion and insight blog. This blog was created a while back in order for me to post opinions and insights on my experiences in life. I want to start using this blog also for my political and family life experiences. I welcome any kind of feed back on any posts on my blog. Please understand that do to the spam that is commonly posted on open comment blogs that I will have to moderate the comments that are posted, but I will assure you that as long as the comment is not considered spam that it will be approved.

Thanks again for visiting!

Jason