Views and Opinions on Life

Interference

2014-11-04T17:07:00.003-05:00

Why do some people who are unhappy in their own relationship or marriage insist on interfering in other peoples happiness? I see this happen many times, to what avail. If you are unhappy, do something about it, talk to your spouse or the person you are with and make a plan together that will bring you happiness. Why interfere in someone elses relationship or try to put obsticles in there path? Does your spouse or significant other even know what you are doing, most times not and they would not approve. Maybe these people are just jealous that someone else is happy and they are not. Interfering in someone elses life will not and does not solve your own self esteem issues. Maybe you think it makes you feel better for a minute, but in the long run you are only sacrificing your soul. One person is not better than another person, so you can not claim to be better than the next person. Hating on someone (which, you are really doing by interfering) only consumes you and will eventually hurt all your relationships. Just look around sometimes, the more you interfere and hate and hurt, you are the one suffering, the other people are living in happiness. JESUS says: You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' "BUT I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your FATHER who is in heaven; for HE causes HIS sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.…

Has the internet created a generation of people lacking true customer service skills?

2013-05-28T17:49:00.002-04:00

I have been in so many stores and have observed how impersonal so many of them have become. Reading the news you hear Sears, KMart and McDonald's claim they have now discovered that bad customer service is hurting sales. Over a year ago I wrote to several companies including these three explaining how bad customer service is hurting them and the importance of training. Seems like companies hire people and just throw them out on the floor or on the phones with no training in customer service skills. Our children do not know how to communicate, they have become impersonal. They believe in texting, not talking. They do not know how to talk and no one is training them. You go in a store, there is no one that greats you, when you see an employee, they don't say hello, if you ask for help they act as if you are bothering them. You go to the check out, no one is smiling, no one says thank you and they act as if you are bothering them. Some have cell phones and are texting while ringing you up, the conversation with another employee is more important than you the customer. No supervisor or manager around, no one walking the floor checking to see if the store is in order and the customers are happy. I can't blame the employees completely, the employer is responsible to train these people not only how to do the physical aspect of their job but how to perform the vital customer service aspect. I value Target, they seem to train their employees well. I have recently noticed that Home Depot has been doing the same. Excellent customer service gives you a leg up. You customers want to feel appreciated, they want a good shopping experience, want to feel like the people in the store or on the phone actually care. This all takes continued training. At McDonald's the food actually tastes better when served with a smiling and caring attitude. I would rather eat a hot dog and get coffee from 7-11 where the people smile and care when I come in than at a McDonald's with bad customer service, that makes my food taste bad. I will travel an extra few miles and pay a little extra to get that customer service we all deserve. I will deal with a company with a live person answering the phone and answering with a smile than with one with an answering machine or someone with a bad attitude. Customer service means something, it is one of your most valuable tools in customer retention and continued growth. Training is key. Managers with skills are key. Start now or fail later.

The Law says Congress and the President must have a budget

2013-02-16T13:46:00.004-05:00

By law our Government must have a budget. It has been 4 years now without a budget in place. We as American Citizens have the right to demand our Government puts a budget in place. Send a letter to President Obama demanding a budget be set as required by law. His address is President Barack Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500. Look-up and write to your Senators here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and your House Rep here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find We as Americans have a duty and a right to make sure Congress and the President are abiding by the laws of the country or they should step down. Spending is going to keep getting out of control unless we take back our rights and do something.

How can you feel sorry for Jovan Belcher?

2012-12-02T01:19:00.001-05:00

I have been listening to and reading the news and listening to the talk shows about the murder-suicide that took place today with an NFL player. I felt upset and sick. everyone talking about and mourning the death of Jovan Belcher. WHY??? The real tragedy and who we should be mourning for is Kasandra M. Perkins who he shot several times in the same room as their 3 year month daughter. Feel sorry for the little girl who never will know her parents. Jovan then took the easy way out and killed himself, leaving a huge mess for his family and Kasandra's family to clean up and deal with. Please quit feeling sad and sorry for him. What is wrong with the world? How can everyone be talking about him now. Let's pray for her family, the baby and his family that they can somehow be healed and be able to move on.

Hate

2012-07-22T21:32:00.001-04:00

I never really hated anyone and did not really understand hating. Hate is a disease that wants you get it it grows like a cancer. It builds up inside you and starts to spin you out of control. I came close to learning to hate, almost got sucked in fully. It is strange how situations in your life and make you change. How hate can just well up from deep inside and explode outward and inward. You try, but controlling it is quite hard. You let a situation get you all worked up and you lose control and there is hate waiting to consume you. You don't necessarily have to hate someone at first, sometimes it is hating your situation or hating your self. Wants the hate starts though it grows and can spin quickly into a tangled web. You start to thirst for hate, it consume all your thoughts, you go looking for more hate. You have to step back once you feel it starting to creep in. Look around at all those that do hate, they are unhappy and miserable. They can not move on with their lives. They live to hate, go to bed hating and wake up in the morning hating. They hate themselves and start to hate the world around them. If they hate someone, they do not realize that the person they are hating is actually much more happy than they are. Hate can creep in and destroy you. You have to recognize it from the start. Then you can get control. Once it starts to spin out of control you will become lost. So the best thing is, don't hate. You can disassociate or dislike, but watch out for hate, it is hateful.

Hope You all had a Merry Christmas and wishing all a Happy Holiday Season

2011-12-27T00:23:00.002-05:00

No matter your religion or your beliefs - Just want to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season! This has been a tough year for so many people, looking forward to a new and exciting year with lots of promise. Let us all work together to bring a welcome and fresh change to this Country. Get out and vote this year and put people in office that can get the job done and do it right!

AT&T Merger with T-Mobile a No Go

2011-12-27T00:19:00.000-05:00

I know my blog really did not influence the decision, but the AT&T and T-Mobile merger did not go through. Just like I predicted back in March. Sometimes it is so good to be right.

Now we have to deal with the underhanded way Verizon is merging some operation with Comcast. That is going to be a nightmare if it is allowed to continue. write to your Congress People about this and put a stop to it.

My Turkey Salad - Have a Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T23:11:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to share one of my Recipes with all of you. Hope you enjoy a Blessed, Wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving with your families!

David's splendid turkey salad!

3 – 4 cups minced/chopped turkey
1 cup of Dukes mayonnaise (DO NOT substitute with salad dressing)
1/2 cup of finely chopped celery
1/2 cup of finely chopped onions (A nice white onion works well for this)
4 teaspoons of dill pickle juice
pinch of dill
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, salt and pepper to taste. Chill two hours before serving.

Great over some crisp iceberg lettuce or on sandwich with a good whole grain bread.

Sticking it to the Middle Class

2011-11-16T16:11:00.001-05:00

In a little over a month the year will be over and with it increased taxes for the middle class. Those making between $50,000 - $125,000 will see their taxes increase for $2000 - $3000. The ATM is set to revert to kick in at a lower level, the child tax credit will be cut in half, the Social Security tax break has not been renewed at this time and the marriage tax will be back in force. With the recent report of the disappearing middle class, just sock it to them some more. The Rich keep getting richer and everyone else is getting poorer. The middle class neighborhoods are vanishing and many are being taken over by the upper class. Pay raises are stagnant, unemployment remains high for the middle class and the government wants to push the class of people even lower. Cain is the only candidate who will even talk taxes and a fix for them. His plan using a form of flat tax is the most fair to all classes of people. The government does not want to talk about it because it would shrink the Government/IRS by a few thousand and save taxpayers over a billion dollars a year. Just think the Government not wanting to save money and create a fair tax system. We as Americans have a say in how or Government runs, because we are afforded that right by the Constitution - "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." The best way to take back control is vote in competent people and vote out the old school. They need to tear up the old documents and start anew. They way things are being done now does not work and has not worked. We are not getting any solutions to our Countries issues, just creating new ones. Voting along party lines for years has contributed to the decay of our Government. Elections are coming up, it is time for each of us to think hard, study all the candidates and vote for the person/persons that will do the best job - NOT for a political party. It is time for Americans to take back our Government, end the corruption on the local, state and National levels. speak out and make your self known. This is the only way to preserve and improve our way of life. The Government was not established to dictate to us, it was established for us to dictate to it.

Our Debt Situation

2011-07-29T13:51:00.001-04:00

As the whole world watches, our Government is again making this country look like a bunch of fools. We should all be embarrassed and ashamed of what officials we elected are doing to the country. Our political parties can not even work together to come up with a solution. to top that off what each side is proposing is not a good deal for any of us. They have a choice to make and they need to make it in the next few days. Either come up with a real solution or face the deadline where the United States starts to default on its loans.

What effect will this have on us? Our rating will be down graded, so the cost to borrow the money to pay our bills will increase. That is, it will cost the Federal Government more money and in turn that will cost everyone more money. It will affect the world economy. What will China do at that point - they own almost 1/3 of our debt. China has been warning the US about the shape of their finances for the past few years.

This is all the cause of our political parties gridlock over how to decrease our debt. But this should be about much more than that. This should be about how to fix the US's finances as a whole. That amount the Government is talking about reducing the debt by, 4 trillion over the next 10 years, will not even begin to make a dent in what has to actually be done. In order to fix the the real problem, this figure needs to be at least 10 trillion over that time period. That is a mountain that we will have to climb at some point. They can not even agree how to get tot he 4 trillion mark - how will we ever get to the 10 trillion mark. Let's all face this now - in order to make a dent in our debt - we will need to cut spending and increase taxes. We are in way to deep a hole to make this work by just cutting spending.

We must realize as Americans, to fix our situation everyone in some way will have to participate and pay. Raising the debt limit without a plan in place to get control of our spending will only cause more harm. Currently the Republicans and Democrats in office are not and can not seem to get the job done. The long term solution is going to be us, as Americans, voting the right people into office. Not voting in a Republican or a Democrat, but an individual who has the knowledge and ability to get things done and knows how to work well with others. We need people in office that can make sensible solutions during a grave crisis. We need leaders who will lead and not sit back to see what someone else will do our what solution someone else will offer. We need to forget about voting along party lines - that is the most un-American thing we all do, voting along party lines is what got us into this mess. All the Tea Party seems to want to do is say don't do this or don't do that, no real solutions from them. They are not even a real party - they invade the Republicans to get into office.

Cutting programs for the elderly and the poor at this point is also not the right thing to do. Not with the shape of our economy. We need to look at other areas to cut, at least for the short term. So people making more than $250,000/yr have to take a small tax hike for now, in a few years maybe people making over $150,000 get included and then people making over $125,000 are included a few years later. We look at pulling out of wars we don't belong in - wow what a savings that would be. Cut subsidies to big business and alternative fuel. Make vehicles that run more efficient. Lend less money to other countries for the short term. As time goes on, we can take the time to restructure some of our programs and eliminate ones that only cost us more money.

W have our own Government telling us as Americans we need to manage our own personal debt more wisely - but look what mess they created. The mess we created can and may affect the whole global economy. It will hit us all hard. Speak up and let you congressional leaders know you want them to fix this mess and know at the same time we are all in this together. Use this link to get in touch - Contacting the Congress

20 Questions To Ask Anyone Foolish Enough To Believe The Economic Crisis Is Over

2011-05-27T13:33:00.000-04:00

It's true - How can we say we are in a full recovery? With gas prices remaining high it is starting to affect every segment of our market place. Food prices are already climbing. Something needs to be done that is better than what is being done now. We need more educated business people in office that know how to do this job correctly. Voting along party lines will not get us there.

20 Questions To Ask Anyone Foolish Enough To Believe The Economic Crisis Is Over

State of Today

2011-05-14T15:14:00.000-04:00

Sometimes words and video work better. Just another avenue to express my views and opinions - my explosion of thought. Feel free to comment, I respect your opinion also.

USA becoming a joke around the world

2011-04-08T14:23:00.000-04:00

Listen to what Donald Trump says during the second half of this interview. He echos what I have been saying for a few years now, this country is being laughed at by others around the world, we are no longer respected and this country is in a shambles. We need someone who knows how to pull a dying business up and make something of it again, we need America to be respected again. We are destroying it with the policies that are put in place, the decisions being made and laws that are being pushed on us by small special interest groups wanting to control everything. We need to all wake up, look around and see what is happening. Read news from around the world, see what they think of us. No one is praising the USA anymore - they are laughing at us.

Hyperion Power Generation - Safe Mini Reactors

2011-03-31T14:08:00.001-04:00

A different type of Nuclear power is on the horizon. This is a safer form of Nuclear energy that can be deployed throughout the country and is also considered a clean energy. It needs very little space, can not meltdown and will provide enough energy to support up to 25,000 homes for up to 5 years. It is about the size of an old phone booth, has no moving parts and is self sufficient. There are a few other companies working on this same form of energy, but Hyperion seems to be much further advanced in the process. Click here to visit their site and learn more: Hyperion Power Generation

MobilizeEverything | AT&T Public Policy Blog

2011-03-24T13:19:00.001-04:00

This is what AT& T posted on their blog. See my comments immediately following.

Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on March 22, 2011 at 3:16 pm

So, we’ve made some news this weekend. In case you missed it, we announced on Sunday we have agreed to acquire T-Mobile USA from German-owned Deutsche Telekom.

The deal will undergo a thorough review by the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. We understand that Congress, the DOJ, the FCC, as well as wireless consumers will have questions about the transaction. We look forward to answering and addressing those questions.

We are confident that the facts will demonstrate that the deal is in the public interest (FCC focus) and that competition (DOJ focus) will continue to flourish. For example, a large majority of Americans today can choose from at least five wireless providers offering nationwide service. Also, the transaction will allow us to expand the next generation of mobile broadband to 95% of the U.S. population – up from 80% as previously planned – covering an additional 46.5 million Americans, a key objective of the Administration.

For further information on the transaction, and to stay informed of the latest news and information as the process moves forward, please visit www.MobilizeEverything.com.

MobilizeEverything | AT&T Public Policy Blog

I really do not like or agree with this merger. From my personal experience, T-Mobile is the better run company in terms of service and Customer service. I never have dropped calls and if I need assistance – I can call and someone is on the phone within a minute. Their G-4 phone is the best on the market and way out performs the i-phone. I have personally tested my G4 against 3 i-phones and won each and every time. My past experience was not good with AT&T customer service and I know others who have the service and have switched recently or are considering switching. Then I also hear that T-mobile users will have to purchase new 3G phones once this merger goes through. I have a family plan and 4 of my phones are brand new 3G phones. If this is so, AT&T – you need to pay for new phones for everyone who needs to switch with a phone of equal or greater value. I have been with T-Mobile for 3 years now and I loved their service. If this goes through, it will be bad for the market, but if it does go through – you should think about replacing all your customer service people with those from T-Mobile. I also have unlimited Web – Everyone I know with AT&T’s plan hates it. If this goes through, all T-mobile customers with unlimited Web should be allowed to keep the service just as it is now. IF you want to join in and write to your Congressional Representative, you can look them up here: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

This is my sample letter I have sent to them:

I really do not like or agree with this merger. This would be bad for the market. It would limit competition and eventually increase pricing even further.. I remember when the government broke up AT&T, now we are moving back in the direction of monopolies. I understand how government works though, so I am assuming this may somehow be approved. IF so, here are some of my thoughts and stipulations that should be required:

I see that T-mobile users will have to purchase new 3G phones once this merger goes through. This can be a great cost for many consumers. If this is so, AT&T should be required to pay for new phones for everyone who needs to switch with a phone of equal or greater value.

Unlimited Web - If this goes through, all T-mobile customers with unlimited Web should be allowed to keep the service just as it is now, without a price increase. After all T-mobile's current plan is actually unlimited, unlike that of AT&T. AT&T advertises unlimited Web, but they limit it.

AT&T boasts that this merger would actually be good for the market and keep pricing down or even lower it - if so, make them prove that by not raising any plan prices or altering what is included in a plan unless it adds to the plan. Require them to prove they can offer service for less.

Thanks for listening!

Sincerely,

Japan Earthquake Tsunami Relief for the Children

2011-03-15T15:02:00.002-04:00

Please donate and help the thousands of children affected by this terrible catastrophe in Japan. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 children have been displaced by these events. They need your help and this organization provides direct relief to help these children. Please click here and read about the facts in Japan. Save the Children has a team in Sendai helping right now in this devastated region. If the link above does not work,copy and paste the link below in your browser. Please have a heart and give what you can.

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6621121/k.3D08/Japan_Earthquake_Tsunami_Relief.htm?msource=wexgggaf1010

Mark Wills "Looking For America" official music video

2011-03-05T16:45:00.000-05:00

This song hits home and really gets to your heart. Where has America gone, what have we done to it over the past 20 years or so. Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about how true these words are. For those of you that are old enough, remember the commercial with the Indian on the side of the road and someone drives by and tosses trash out the window, they show the Indian right after and a tear is flowing down his face. That is how I fell everyday thinking about where we have taken our country and all that we forgot about the sacrifices our forefathers made to give us freedom and a country to call home. We need to get our country back on track, take our country back from the rest of the world and show the world we are the UNITED States of America!

NEW Uncensored E*TRADE Baby

2011-02-03T14:08:00.000-05:00

Just something amusing to watch. Smile and have a wonderful day!

He had a Dream - Remembrance of Martin Luther King

2011-01-17T15:44:00.000-05:00

Here is a part of Martin Luther Kings wonderful speech:

"In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead."

Now today it is so unfortunate that we still have racism and prejudice in our great American Society. Not only against blacks - but against all nationalities. It is sad and it is somewhat of a disgrace. Not only are whites displaying this sad state, but so are Hispanics, Asians and Blacks. Blacks are even hating on their own, Asians are hating on their own, Hispanics are hating on their own and whites are hating on their own. And everyone is still hating on each other. Until we can all learn to get along - Martin Luther King's "Dream" will never be fully realized. We must all cut out the derogatory words, the hate toward others. We are destroying ourselves. I have several black friends that say the worst thing they here out of a black man' mouth is the "n" word. If they can't stop using it, how is the rest of the world going to stop.

White people need to get a grip also, not all are bad, but i have still seen my fair share. I lived in a neighborhood that wrote KKK on my front door - an absolute disgrace to America. The Asians that run some stores - you need to get a grip also - just because a man of color enters your store, he is not looking to rip you of or rob you. I have been in stores where Asians have asked people to leave - not for anything they have done, but because of their color - a behavior that is disgrace to America. Hispanics - show respect for a country that has given you so much opportunity - speak English when others are around, stop talking behind peoples backs thinking they don't understand you because you won't speak English. Everyone - quit hating on others. take the 1st step, someone has to. Indians (from India) seem to be the most tolerant and non-racist people I have met.

So now all of us have issues we all need to work on. Let's get started and have Martin Luther King look down from Heaven and smile. Let's strive to make his dream a true reality. - My Explosion of Thought!

Tell Congress you support the F136 engine program.

2011-01-13T17:32:00.001-05:00

Airmen Will Suffer Without 2 Types of Engines for Joint Strike Fighter

“…with a JSF engine monopoly, the big losers will be America’s airmen…our history is rich with examples of engines that got into production and subsequently failed. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen G. Wood, an F-16 pilot and a former U.S. air commander in Korea, said in an interview: ‘There is a great risk in allowing only one propulsion system for the Joint Strike Fighter, which could make up over 85 percent of our nation’s fighter force in 20 years.’…”

http://www.f136.com/?gclid=CNaRqIKeuKYCFQFM5QodBTvEHQ

Who needs enemies when we have ourselves

2011-01-12T13:59:00.002-05:00

The rest of the world is now laughing again at America. Actually some are laughing and some are thinking we are pretty stupid. How can we take a tragedy, like what happened in Arizona and blow things so far out of proportion. Terrorist around the world are saying to themselves - "they don't need us as an enemy - they are destroying themselves - let's just sit back and watch."

Let's face this as a fact - Loughner was a wacko, a loner acting on his own. He never got help when others obviously recognized he needed it. That may not have helped anyhow because if a person does not want help, he will not accept any help. So many shootings that occur across this country are enacted by similar type persons. Why do we try to put the blame on everyone else and make ourselves look like fools. Or actually, why do we allow those in the media to make us look like fools to the rest of the world. This makes me sick.

Then you have some idiotic so called church groups who are just as wacko and sick wanting to stage a protest at a 9 year old's funeral. They had to enact an emergency law to head off picketing by a fundamentalist Kansas church near the funeral service for a nine-year-old girl killed during the mass shooting in Tucson. What the hey?

No - America - we need to take a deep look at ourselves. Something that should be uniting us is tearing us apart. How long will we let those in the media do this to us. Who needs enemies when we have ourselves! - My explosion of thought!

Tragedy in America

2011-01-10T14:12:00.002-05:00

Another tragedy born out of the Tragic shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as she fights for her life and of the 6 others killed and others wounded is the fractured souls in the media putting blame for this on the Tea Party and Sarah Palin. Some going so far as to say Palin and the Tea Party are militant because in speeches they have used the words “Targeted” and “Reload”. I think many of the media need to look more at themselves for helping to create this discord in America. We all need to face the fact that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords fights for her life after a mad gunman shot her on Saturday.

Even some in the Democrat party have joined the media to try to pin the blame for her attack on the tea party movement and conservatives like Sarah Palin, despite the fact that the we have learned that the shooter was both deranged and fascinated by left-wing politics. Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, told Mother Jones magazine within hours after the rampage that the “political tone and tenor” created by Palin and the tea party movement had set the stage for the shooting. He went so far saying, Palin's “apparatus” had put Giffords' and his own life at risk. “Both Gabby and I were targeted in the apparatus in that cycle [saying] these people are ‘enemies.” I say these people and the media better take a better look at themselves. They are hyping this type of behavior and trying to split and tear America apart.

The NY Times was not far behind in jumping on this band wagon, insinuating that the conservative criticism of President Barack Obama and his policies may have been at the root of this weekend's violence, noting that " it was hard to separate what had happened from the heated nature of the debate that has swirled around Mr. Obama and Democratic policies of the past two years." They went so far as to suggest that tea party criticisms of Obama's healthcare plan, the debate over Arizona's new rules on police handling of illegal immigrants, and even the fact Giffords were Jewish could have played a role. They joined in the tale that Palin's political action committee had targeted Giffords for defeat may have played a role.

Judson Phillips, the founder of Tea Party Nation, noted on his website that Giffords is “a liberal,” but added, “that does not matter now. No one should be a victim of violence because of their political beliefs.” He is absolutely correct in this. This is a free country where we are free to express our beliefs and no one should be faulted for those beliefs and no harm should come to you because of your beliefs.

The profile that has been obtained of the accused shooter, 22-year-old Jared Loughner, is that of a deranged young man whose mind was deeply disturbed, but who also tinkered with both anarchist ideas and left-wing politics. He had identified among his favorite books "The Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx, Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," and the fiction classic "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" — hardly the reading list of a conservative supporter.

He is "described by friends and former classmates as a loner, prone to dressing in black regalia of boots, trench coat and baggy pants even on the hottest days. He was removed from Pima Community College "for causing disruptions in classrooms and the library, college officials said. His dispute with college officials prompted him to post a bizarre YouTube video declaring the college illegal under the U.S. Constitution and culminated in his suspension from campus." His rants against the government that have surfaced on the Internet don't suggest he had a conservative perspective on big government. Instead Loughner 's MySpace featured a photo "showing a close-up picture of an automatic handgun sitting atop a book or paper titled 'United States History.'" Another video shows a masked man burning the American flag. "I can't trust the current government because of fabrications," Loughner wrote in a YouTube slideshow. "The government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar."
I blame many in the Media for blowing tragedies out of proportion. The media needs to tone this down, don’t they realize that they are the ones are causing a tear in our society. I have watched the media trying to cause many uproars over the past several years. Why can’t they accept the fact that there are some crazy people out in society? Those out their blaming the Tea Party and many in the conservative movement are actually guilty of doing what they are blaming on others. Is it acceptable to condemn vitriol in politics while contributing to it in the same breath? Can this be what passes for restoring civility to our nation's discourse?

The Tea Party, Sarah Palin and Conservatives are no more responsible for Mr. Loughner's attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords than the liberals were for John Hinckley Jr.'s attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. America, let’s get a grip on ourselves. We need to come together in times of tragedy and not allow our media to try and incite more violence and split us apart as a nation. We have enough enemies around the world – speak out against the media and it’s rhetoric, don’t let them create a voice for you. This was a tragic event orchestrated by a deranged soul – let’s face that fact, pull together as a nation and make our society better.

Jillian Michaels is leaving 'The Biggest Loser'

2010-12-10T17:52:00.000-05:00

This is a loss for this show. She always knew how to motivate people and even though she was tough, she had a big heart and really cared for all the contestants. Hope they can find someone with the same character. Wish her well and I believe she will make a wonderful mother.

Jillian Michaels is leaving 'The Biggest Loser'

Third Angels Message

2010-12-10T16:25:00.000-05:00

I have been studing this lately. This is all very interesting and all backed up by factual finds and statements.

Thirdangelsmessage.com - main page

A Broken Machine

2010-10-18T14:53:00.003-04:00

Small business is crucial to the American economy. These businesses have helped kick start our economy after the past several recessions. So why is this not taking place now? What has affected the make-up of our economic machine? It could be many reasons – the recent scandal in the mortgage industry with foreclosures is now leading the way to a apparent downfall, one that could send the whole economy reeling again to the likes of what we witnessed in 2008. Also contributing could be all the government tinkering over the past decade and a half. It is quite possible and very apparent that we simply broke it. We allowed greed to let the government make decisions that essentially broke our capitalistic economic machine. A machine that had run well for us over the past hundred years or so.

Several years ago when so many businesses – large and small – were making money like gangbusters, we all got greedy. Housing prices were skyrocketing, people were spending freely and everyone was buying things they really could not afford trading away a future. Credit was handed out like free candy at a record breaking pace. People were buying homes and getting loans on things they could not afford and should never have been able to obtain. Homes that really should have been worth about $200,000 were now selling for $350,000 or more. Interest rates were kept artificially low and so even more credit was handed out. Hell – money was being thrown around so much some people were really starting to believe that money was growing on trees. Everyone was getting credit, credit for everything they had dreamed about. If someone didn’t qualify, the banks created new ways for them to be able to get credit. We allowed our government and corporations to break the machine – we broke the machine!

Then when everything came crashing down – no one was spared. We all in some way contributed to the mess because we allowed our government and ourselves to fail. When the machine broke this time, there were not any spare parts to fix it. There was no way to put a band aid on this. People lost their homes – many who should have never owned them in the first place – people lost their possessions, businesses began to fail due to lost sales, mismanagement and bad loans and so many people lost their jobs – jobs that will take many years to recover. What were we all thinking? We listened to a government tell us things were fine, they said inflation was in check (that was minus food and gas, two items that skyrocketed in this timeframe). They said look – People can buy overpriced homes and cars and get credit for them.

Think about this now – how can family of four, making about $70,000 per year total income afford a $400,000 home, two car payments and all the other associated family expenses? This was happening all across America. Back in 1999, I bought a home in Las Vegas for $108,000m sold it in 2002 for $149,000 and as I followed is it sold again in 2005 for $350,000 – at one time the value had shot up to $400,000. Then what happens – the machine starts to make rumbling sounds and finally breaks down – crashes! That home now has a value of about $100,000 – 11 years later it is worth less than what is was brand new. It should have never been worth $350,000, Las Vegas’ economic make-up centered on tourism and the casinos, the city could not sustain that. But we let our government tell us different. We did not pay attention to what the politicians we elected were doing because we were greedy. We trusted the people we elected – yet we did not pay attention to what they were doing once they got in office.

So why is small business not pulling us out of this mess this time? It is because we broke the machine, we abused it, we did not take care of it, we allowed others to borrow it, tinker with it and they abused it. We messed it up pretty good. Now – we really need to face the facts – we can no longer fix it, we don’t have the right parts available. We need to build a new machine and learn to take care of it, put it on a maintenance schedule to keep it running smoothly.

There are so many people out of work, unemployment continues to hover around 10%. No one has cash to spend. We were all dependent on credit. People out of work, pay raises are slow to come or still non existent, hundreds of thousands lost their homes and jobs and businesses. Now we are also looking at a Mortgage Industry that has foreclosures on hold and many possible lawsuits lining up due to the crisis. Small businesses thrived on people being able to spend. Small business is now stuck in a rut along with many larger businesses.

President Obama has come up with many short term ideas but unfortunately his administration and the congress as a whole can not come up with the necessary solutions to get the economic machine back on track. They are unwilling to face the fact that we as a whole actually broke it. The government broke it, corporate America really broke it and we as Americans broke it. The bail out money given to all these companies did not help – the corporations used it to clear the red ink from their books and invest it in higher yielding shares and reaped the profits. With the profits, they did not invest it in hiring but are holding it within. Sure, now some of these corporations are paying back the money but we as Americans are the losers in this process. They borrowed our money, they made profits off it and they keep the rewards of those profits. Tell me – how did this help the economy? It didn’t not one bit, unemployment rose and is still hovering near 10%.

I still applaud Ford Motor Company. They did not take any bailout money, they went back and figure out what they needed to do and turned things around and made a profit at doing it the right way. Sure car sales went up at some of the other car manufacturers once the cash for clunkers was in place, but as soon as it expired, sales slowed again. The same happened in the housing industry, once the incentives were removed housing sales slumped. To top it off the government and the economist wondered why this happened – are you sure we have the right people running things?

The process is a simple one, the answer is not so simple. To keep business growing and to sustain that growth, people need to buy your product, your sales have to keep growing. At issue is the fact that so many people are out of work and so many people have less money that no one is spending. It used to be we spent more than we saved in this country – now we are saving more and there is less to spend. Credit is harder to come by and people are buying more with cash. All this contributes to lower sales. This all should be common sense to our government officials – we elected them in part because we believed they had some common sense. So to tackle this whole issue we all have to start with common sense. We first have to face the fact – We Broke the Machine.

Now – we faced that fact. Unfortunately so many of our elected officials have not. We have to face the fact that this will be a long process – not good news but it is a fact we need to face. So far our elected officials have not faced that fact. We also need to face the fact that we need to build a new economic machine – one we all agree we will take care of and nurture – many of our elected officials refuse to want to do this.

Some things are starting to turn around, but not enough to help us out of this mess. Several banks are still failing, some have seen the errors of their ways and have cut back on issuing credit, making it much harder to qualify. This is making it harder on many small businesses who rely on short term loans to stay afloat and other loans to expand. So many of these businesses no longer can qualify. They no longer have the sales to generate enough capital to show the banks they are able to repay the loans.

A big key to this whole process is finding a solution that will lead to middle class Americans increasing their spending. A substantial part of the process will also involve spending with hard cash and much less credit. Doing it this way is a longer healing process, but it would be more sustained and much more credible. This will be one of the pains of rebuilding the Machine. With so many people out of work we must face the fact that this process will be long and tedious. Many people will need to be retrained for new jobs and roles in other fields – a situation for which we as a country are simply not prepared.

The big fact we need to face is that we do not have the right people in power to take care of this job. We need to quit looking at which party is at fault – both parties help mess this up and neither seems to have the answers. The leadership is poor. We do not have a winning team in place and now the draft is approaching (election) a chance to get valuable replacement players that are willing to take us to the next level, willing to put in the true work it is going to take to get a new Machine built. This all starts in your own communities, with your local poloticians all the way up to the national level. Many localities are still run by the same families that contributed to this mess in the first place. People who are descendents of people who have been in power in some instances for a few hundred years, they are elected just because of their name. Not a good deal – this is not any better than voting along party lines. This country was not meant to be a two party system but we have now made it that way.

Further bailout packages to corporations is not the answer. We need to find a way to get money into the hands of the people so they can spend again and get companies to start growing. If we don’t build this machine correctly and maintain it, we are going to end up in this mess again. We need to build the Machine the right way, make it work and take care of it. It will be a long process for everyone, but working together we can do this. America was built on the backs of hard working Americans – we can not forget this. Hard work is what made us, hard work is what will get the Machine built and hard work is what will sustain growth.

With the elections coming up – remember this. Now is your opportunity to make a change for the better. Get people in office that will work hard for us, for the belief in America! Ignore the party lines, look at what each candidate has to truly offer. IT is our time to make a change and let our voice be heard. We must all remember that our government is – “By the people and for the people” it should not dictate to us, we should dictate to it. _ Just My Explosion of Thought!