Well in less then two weeks, President Obama, the Democratic controlled house of representatives and senate, and weak republican members will unfortunately vote in the biggest tax and spending bill ever passed in the United States.

This is the first step to the United States becoming a socialist country.

I have been thinking about how my kids have to learn lessons on their own. I tell them not to do something but they do it anyway and they eventually find out that it was the wrong thing to do. But even with my insistence on not doing it and with showing them examples of why this is wrong, they still do it.

As a nation we are very young, but we have plenty of examples of how and why a socialist approach in running countries don’t work.

But for some reason, we go against sound principles which is what a FREE market economy is based on and then we go back to a failed philosophy that has never worked since the beginning of time.

This is why we became a nation in the first place. “Taxation without representation.”

The difference now is that we were fighting an enemy that was across the ocean, now we have to face an enemy that is in our own government.

They, Barack Obama’s govenment, is also calling for the “fairness doctrine” which is basically a welfare program for failed radio and TV formats.

The most successful radio programs are conservative talk radio. The people who host these shows are paid by advertisers who pay for commercials on their shows because they have huge audiences.

Why can’t a liberal talk show host have a successful program?

Because what they talk about is not sound principles. It doesn’t resonate with anyone and they end up with no audience.

This is another example of going against sound principles.

I am disgusted with what I have seen so far and we must vote these people out of office the next opportunity we get.

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

The more and more I look into this house of cards that Wall Street, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the US Government had built, it becomes more and more crystal clear that this is biggest screwing the American Taxpayer has ever taken.

This house of cards was built on top of the sand, not on top of the rocks. It was banks forced to loan money to people who were not capable of paying it back to advance the American Dream of owning a house.

Instead of a chicken in every pot, it was a house for every American, whether you could pay for it or not.

It was the advancement of socialist ideas that caused this fall. It was not smart business.

The headlines and sound bites will blame it on CEO with big pay with companies going belly up. Golden parachutes and the whole nine yards.

Don’t be fooled by all this, this is nothing but over regulation by the government, forced by Democratic policies.

There are many successful public companies and the pay the CEO gets is well earned.

But when you look at the companies involved…

Fannie Mae (Mortgage) (Bailout)

Freddie Mac (Mortgage) (Bailout)

Lehman Brothers (Investment Bank) (Bankrupt)

AIG (Insurance Company) (Bailout)

The government is looking for more money to prop several of these companies up. But why should we trust them to get it right this time?

It makes no sense what so ever.

What are thoughts about this situation?

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

I was reading through some of the headlines while eating my breakfast and I almost vomited when I came across this headline:

Poll: Lingering Racism may hurt Obama

I thought that was an interesting headline so I clicked over to see what it was about. And the headline on the next page went on as:

Poll: Racial views steer some away from Obama – One-Third of polled Democrats harbor negative views towards blacks

Now what I find very interesting is that:

1. They are already chalking up Obama’s loss of the election to racism.

2. They are blaming it on the racism of the of DEMOCRATS. How interesting is that?

They are blaming racism of the democratic party. The party that believes in equal rights and affirmative action. Can you believe it?

The polls haven’t even opened, yet you are already starting to see stories surface in the media about other democrats distancing themselves from Obama.

Let me enlighten you, the only reason why Barack Obama will lose this election is because he hasn’t sold himself as the candidate we want to elect as president. And it doesn’t matter what the color of his skin is.

He, like Joe Biden, is elitist and they think they are above the people they are trying to get to elect them. It’s apparent in every syllable they utter.

Let me paint this picture…

You have to hire someone to work for your company, this employee will be working closely with your customers and you sell high end cars

The next applicant walks in for the job, he is dressed in pants pulled down halfway that expose half of his underwear. He has an iPod on and he has his earphones in and he is gyrating to the music. He is also wearing a baseball cap, a little big for his head and the cap pulled slightly to the right. Also while you are interviewing him he only pulled one ear phone out to listen to you.

Should this applicant get the job based on this description? I would say no. I didn’t mention what his skin color was, but does it matter? I would say no.

As Barack would say, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” Right?

Remember this, only reason Barack will no be elected is because he has not sold us that he is the one to be elected. And if in the end he says it is because of racism, then we made the right decision. We will truly see the real measure of the man, when he is not elected.

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

It’s been a pretty interesting week, in the economic arena this week in the US.

1. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy

2. Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch

3. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are taken over by the government (Last Week)

And all the finger pointing begins.

I have an eerie feeling about all this…

When all this economic stuff happens all at once it’s very easy to sit on the side lines and start pointing fingers and looking for blame.

We’ll see congressional hearings, we’ll have the CEO’s of these companies being asked questions by senators who over regulated these companies to begin with.

When the our own government asks these companies to give loans to people with marginal credit, and they took the lower rate adjustable mortgage. What did think was going to happen when the interest rate went up and their mortgage payment doubled?

A child with a 3rd grade education could answer that one.

The major problem with all this is that the government is going to look like the savior in all of this and if that happens and the people of the US buy into this watch out.

We will become a socialist country within 10 years.

I want you to think of the complete and utter waste of our tax money that already goes on. They (US Government) can’t even properly manage what they have already.

The only answer to this is to continue as a Market based economy with as little government regulation as possible.

Eliminate the income tax and institute a federal sales tax. That way when commerce is happening their revenues continue to flow, when over regulation starts to happen and commerce slows down their revenues drop.

You can’t tell that the revenue from gasoline taxes this summer, didn’t drop substantially from the over regulation of the US oil companies and their in ability to drill where we know there is oil.

The only answer is a free market economy.

You may ask yourself, “Yeah, that sounds great but what about the programs that the government currently funds?”

Well if you make it a study, you’ll find that the prosperous people are very generous and give very willingly to charities they believe in.

It shouldn’t be the governments place to redistribute wealth.

What do you think? Leave your comments.

Here’s to Your LIfetoSuccess,

John Clark

One of my mentors, Jim Rohn, says that “You should leave a place better than what you have found it.”

With all the political debate going on and the mud slinging about who did what and who didn’t do what, it is very simple to see who would do the better job.

Simply go back to the communities that they served and see if the communities are better for them being there. This is the ultimate test!

It’s very easy to sit and blame the current administration for the problems that we face but the fact is three of the people who running for the highest offices in the United States are part of the problem.

Again to see if we are better off for them being there let’s examine the legislation that they had pass during their time in office. Let’s see if we as a country are better off for them being there.

Joe Biden – took office in January 1973. That is 35 years. Would it be safe to say the country is better off with his 35 years of meritorious service?

So if you don’t think the country is better for him serving us in the Senate for 35 years, than I guess he is not the answer.

Barack Obama – took office in January 2005. That is 3 years. I have heard on several media sources that the last three years have been the worst in our history. If that is the case than why hasn’t he done more to bring it to our attention. And if he is the candidate of change, why hasn’t been able to get things changed.

He was a community organizer in Chicago. He led an organization to register unregistered voters. I would like someone to write in to the blog and let me know if Chicago is a better place for Barack Obama being involved. The TV news hasn’t had any specials on the miracles that happened in Chicago because of him being there.

Is he the answer?

John McCain – took office in January 1983. He has been in Washington for 25 years. He was a war hero. Is the United States in better shape because of his being in Washington. Out of the three people mentioned so far, he is someone who is not afraid to vote against his party if he doesn’t believe in what is being voted on.

He also stands against earmarks, which is funding in a bill, that is completely unrelated to the bill itself.

Is he the answer?

Sarah Palin – elected Governor of Alaska in December 2006. She ran a Clean-Election Campaign. She overwhelmingly beat the other Republican candidate in the primaries. She then went on to beat the sitting Governor of Alaska by an 8% margin.

Was the State of Alaska looking for change. I would say by their voting they were.

She has a history of getting things done in her state. I encourage anyone to go and visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin and check it out.

One of the greatest ways to see the future is look at the past. Is the country better off for these people already being part of the problem?

That is the question.

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

I was watching the interview of Sarah Palin by Charles Gibson of ABC News and it took a lot of restraint for me not to kick the television.

I am generally open to most points of views but I guess when someone is getting grilled like Sarah Palin was in that interview, the grilling comes from a person who I guess would know all the answers.

I guess I would like to hear how Charles Gibson would approach the problems that our country faces. My guess is it would be to raise taxes and set up more government programs to handle the issue.

As the saying goes hindsight is always 20/20 but when you are in front of the problem at the time, all you have is your current knowledge and the principles you live by. As the knowledge you continue to receive changes, and you become more knowledgeable about the subject you may change your opinion about something.

When the change comes because of the opinion of the political winds, this is when it get messy. And this is what I consider to be a flip flop on a subject.

But when the change of opinion comes because of new factual data, this is just a smart adjustment in viewpoint.

The problem we still face is that I have still to hear, of the proposed change from Barack Obama and Joe Biden. If the plan includes taxing the rich to give to the poor, then I’m out on that plan.

As far as our oil independence, I have yet to hear a decisive plan on that either.

Think about this for a second. The government has not lowered the tax on our gasoline yet, but they want to cut into the profit of the oil companies.

Why would it it be in the interest of the government, not to keep the gas flowing? If they abolished the taxes on the fuel we use, then I would say maybe they are serious about this but I haven’t seen that yet.

No matter how you shake, they have to tax the energy we use, in order to continue to get revenue. The main reason why we haven’t move to alternatives yet is because they haven’t figured out a way to tax us on it. Once that happens you will see real alternatives.

The governments stands to lose too much revenue at this point.

What do you think? I would be interested in your opinion.

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

With this political posturing going on between the Democrats and the Republicans, I have been looking deeply into both sides of the political views. I will be honest with you, I tend to side with the conservative view a little more than the liberal view, as you may surmise from some of my earlier posts.

I have to be honest with you, if Barack Obama and Joe Biden get elected, I would be very nervous. We currently have a democratic congress that can not get anything done and their biggest priorities environmental issues that do not address anything that the people I come in contact with everyday look at as important.

So as far as a democratic congress that is supposed to be for the common man and woman, I don’t see it.

As far as Barack Obama is concerned, he was compared to Jesus yesterday on the floor of the House of Representative because of his community organizing skills by Representative Cohen.

The only problem here is that Representative Cohen did not mention that Jesus organized the community in a way that promoted personal responsibility, where as Barack Obama’s efforts to organize the community were in a manner to get other people to change in order to make things a little more fair (wealth redistribution) for those he was organizing.

If he is elected you can pretty much kiss any chance of success in this country good bye. According to his wife, Michelle Obama,

“Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.”

Now I don’t know about you but I think that anyone that is forced to something that they don’t want to do is a form of slavery.

Don’t you?

This also requires that people watch to make sure that I don’t live my life as usual. What if I like my life as usual. Does that make me a bad person?

Now don’t get me wrong… I do push myself. I do push myself out of my comfort zone. This is my God given right to do so. Not my Barack Obama given right.

I am responsible for my happiness, as is every person in the United States, if someone is not happy in this country it is because of the choices they have made for themselves.

If they are blaming the government, their parents, the schools, or anything else, they are putting the responsibility for their happiness in the wrong area.

And not only that but if they rely on the governement to make them happy, and get it, then they give the government the power to take that happiness away whenever they see fit.

Making a comparisson between Barack Obama and Jesus is obsurd and Representative Cohen should have his head examined. That aside, Jesus organized the community to let them know that the power for their happiness was inside them, not outside of them. The community leaders of His time didn’t like that message. They wanted the establishment to change but because of the difference in the opinion of Jesus and his community he was put to death by his community.

I wonder if Barack would die for his beliefs as Jesus did?

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

Well the Democratic National Convention is over and I can’t say that it is soon enough. If you watch any of MSNBC’s coverage, I’m sure you were as sick to your stomach as I was.

Between Keith Oberman and Chris Matthews, I don’t know which one would have been the first to lower themselves to the alter of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

My guess is that they were trying to be as influential to the American public as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are on the radio. The problem with their approach is that everything was either “fantastic” or “they hit the ball out of the park”.

With Rush and Glenn you can at least expect them to give the good the bad and the ugly.

Thomas Edison is probably rolling over in his grave with that performance from a company owned by General Electric.

I was actually embarrassed for Keith Oberman and Chris Matthews.

When I was listening to the acceptance speech by Barack Obama, he mentioned something about someone who lost their job and who was to help them. Were they to face it alone? Pick themselves up from their bootstraps. Or the person living in poverty… Were they to face it alone? Pick themselves up from the bootstraps.

Well as he was saying this, there was only one answer that kept resonating in my mind and that answer to those questions was…. YESSSSSSSSSSSS!

If they are going to rely on the government to do it for them, they are submitting themselves to a form of slavery! If they are relying on the government to make them happy, they are relying on an entity that can also take that happiness from them when it suited them to do so.

I can be honest with you, I have been a registered Republican for many years but I don’t like what I have been hearing from McCain either. He has been talking about social programs as well and it saddens me.

I’m waiting for any of the candidates to say, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”

Where is that focus?

Now a days, the new mantra, is “Who is going to hand me the most with little or no effort and that is the person who I am going to vote for.” or “Who is going to take from the rich and give me my fair share even though I haven’t earned it.”

We are in some perilous times and it is pretty scary. I hope you are not relying on the government for your happiness and I hope you are sharpening your skills to profitably serve the market you serve.

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

No matter who wins tonights game, they are a winner!

If Tom Brady and the New England Patriots win, they are added to a record set by the Miami Dolphins. One of only two teams to have a perfect season. Undefeated in the regular season and taking home the Super Bowl.

If the New York Giants win, they stop one the most powerful teams in the NFL history in the biggest game of the year.

As the Patriots are the favored team, on any given Sunday, anything can happen.

Tom Brady will be an example of that. Often on the sideline for most of his high school and college career. He also sat behind Drew Bledsoe until opportunity came his way and he hasn’t been sitting since.

These are the games that legends are made.

Good Luck to both teams and may the best team win.

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark

I always find it funny when we get close to a presidential election all the call for change. President Bush is on his way out. No Vice President to run for his seat and everyone is very unhappy about how things are.

Now I don’t know about you but I find it funny that all the candidates are calling for change and flip flopping like fish out of water. They are for one policy on this day and against it the next.

The candidates who I found to be flip flopping the most are:

Hillary Clinton  – Democrat

John McCain – Republican

There are many examples of this that can be found on all the political websites.

Here’s the real eye opener though…

Not one of them can make your life better.

The only one who can do that is… YOU!

Politics have not changed since the beginning of time and this political season is the prime example. The politicians pander to the weak side of human nature and think that legislation is the way to make things happen but it is done at the expense of all the American people. The only difference between the low income earners and the high income earners, the rich and the poor is their awareness of how to produce income and manage their wealth.

I find it disgusting!

The nature of politics is always divisive. There is always talk about working together but the fact that there is always controversy  makes it simpler for the people in Washington to keep you in chains.

If it’s not:

The War in Iraq

Immigration

Racism

Gay Marriages

Taxes

There would be come other divisive topic to keep the people of America pitted against each other.

With all that said, what is the answer?

The answer is within the individual. It is the ability of the individual to use their God given talent to profitably serve their corner of society. And once we live by God’s rules, this will make a huge difference.

Once this is focus of all individuals our world will not need a government to legislate our happiness.

If someone can give you happiness, they can also take it away! The key is to be happy with yourself and your contribution and also to be service minded.

John F. Kennedy, our best Republican President, said it the best, “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,

John Clark