Every day in today's news we see the battles between Trump vs Cruz vs The Establishment Republicans playing out in front of our eyes. Likely most reading this have picked sides and are passionately defending our turf, and possibly pointing out all the monsters in the other camps. Have you ever asked yourself why is it that the two most radically opposed to business as usual in D.C. are the most passionately fighting each other? Personally I took one of those "Who's the candidate for you?" Quizzes and predictably I was 94% aligned with Ted Cruz and 91% aligned with Donald Trump and significantly less with all others down to 11% with Hillary Clinton and 8% with Bernie Sanders. I am personally in favor of Trump but it's a coin flip on policies, I hold leadership skills and experience high on my decision process, if I was voting for a Senator where ideology is my primary measure I would vote for Cruz over any who ran. To me President is a bigger more broad thought process.
What we are seeing is what Dartmouth Psycologist, Judith White calls Horizonantal Hostility, that even though they share a fundamental objective, radical groups often disparage more mainstream groups as impostors or sell outs. Sigmund Freud wrote, "It's precisely the minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that forM the basis of feeling of strangeness and hostility between them."
We notice Horizontal Hostilty everywhere. When a deaf woman won Miss America, rather than cheering her on as a trailblazer, deaf activists protested because she spoke orally rather than using sign language and "wasn't deaf enough." In a study in Greek politics it was found the members of the most Conservative party judged most harshly the most similar party even more than the most Progressive. Also the most liberal party most criticized the next most Progressive.
There is an excellent case study with the Women's Suffrage Movement started by Lucy Stanton who created the nationwide organization and was making remarkable progress until two of her lieutenants, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cade Staton broke away and went to war with Stone for not being radical enough. Stone was aghast that Anthony attached her own movement with a racist organization led by George Frances that was working to block the black community from the right to vote. Biographers of Anthony said her radical ties set back the movement at least twenty years.
Hopefully, we who want to see change can come together rather than follow basic human nature and fight among ourselves. To me, I still see the smartest, if not most difficult path would be an alliance of Trump and Cruz. Can we focus on the real enemy is the question.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Thursday, March 28, 2013
What Might Be Your Butterfly Effect?
Every day of our lives we could be impacting those around us and maybe even the world at large in ways we may never know. Who knows where an act of kindness might end, or something we teach another, or words of encouragement for someone at a critical time could be the catalyst, the butterfly wing, that changes the direction of someone's life. Who knows the ripples that will flow from such tiny events that can change the world.
Consider the story of Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize winner who is credited for saving at least two billion lives from starvation from his research and development of drought resistant grain hybrids. I knew I liked him when I learned that he was a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame who is credited with being the catalyst to start high school wrestling in Minnesota.
"Wrestling taught me some valuable lessons ... I always figured I could hold my own against the best in the world. It made me tough. Many times, I drew on that strength. It's an inappropriate crutch perhaps, but that's the way I'm made". Norman Borlaug.
Okay, so he saved two billion lives, was it him, or should we actually give some of that credit to Vice President Henry Wallace, FDR's second VP? Wallace was previously the Secretary of Agriculture, who through his influence as VP persuaded the Rockefeller Foundation to invest in Borlaug’s research making his discoveries possible. Wallace had a lifelong passion for experimenting with crops to help feed more of the worlds people. Without this passion of Wallace, Borlaug's research was floundering away in Mexico.
So, then should we share the credit with both Borlaug and Wallace, but maybe we should look back further. There was a young college student who was studying and experimenting with crops who a college president had allowed to live with them while he was in school. Part of how he paid his room and board was he helped look out for their young son and often took him with him on nature walks studying the crops and let him watch and participate with him in his experiments. That young boy was Henry Wallace, that student was George Washington Carver. So should the credit then go to Carver as well?
Okay, now we have Borlaug, Wallace, and George Washington Carver who had an impact on saving those two billion lives. However, should we look just a bit further?
In the mid 1800s there was a raid on a community of Free African Americans in Missouri. The village was destroyed and the people captured to be taken to Arkansas to sell back into slavery. One of the youngest was a very small baby. A local farmer and his wife were heartbroken by this attack and Susan Carver was able to find a way to get a message to those raiders and negotiate a price to return that baby. She sent her husband Moses to ride to a meeting place near the Arkansas line where he traded their last horse for that stolen baby. The raiders threw a sack toward Moses and he caught that nearly frozen child inside. He took him and put him under his shirt and coat to try to warm him and rushed back home to Susan who nursed this baby back to health. Moses and Susan a white farmer couple adopted this child as their own and gave him their last name and raised George Washington Carver.
It could easily be said if not for Moses and Susan Carver those two billion people would have starved.
You never know what you may do or say that might make a difference to someone who might make a difference to millions. I know that helps me to keep a bit of perspective and try to leave people lifted.
Consider the story of Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize winner who is credited for saving at least two billion lives from starvation from his research and development of drought resistant grain hybrids. I knew I liked him when I learned that he was a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame who is credited with being the catalyst to start high school wrestling in Minnesota.
"Wrestling taught me some valuable lessons ... I always figured I could hold my own against the best in the world. It made me tough. Many times, I drew on that strength. It's an inappropriate crutch perhaps, but that's the way I'm made". Norman Borlaug.
Okay, so he saved two billion lives, was it him, or should we actually give some of that credit to Vice President Henry Wallace, FDR's second VP? Wallace was previously the Secretary of Agriculture, who through his influence as VP persuaded the Rockefeller Foundation to invest in Borlaug’s research making his discoveries possible. Wallace had a lifelong passion for experimenting with crops to help feed more of the worlds people. Without this passion of Wallace, Borlaug's research was floundering away in Mexico.
So, then should we share the credit with both Borlaug and Wallace, but maybe we should look back further. There was a young college student who was studying and experimenting with crops who a college president had allowed to live with them while he was in school. Part of how he paid his room and board was he helped look out for their young son and often took him with him on nature walks studying the crops and let him watch and participate with him in his experiments. That young boy was Henry Wallace, that student was George Washington Carver. So should the credit then go to Carver as well?
Okay, now we have Borlaug, Wallace, and George Washington Carver who had an impact on saving those two billion lives. However, should we look just a bit further?
In the mid 1800s there was a raid on a community of Free African Americans in Missouri. The village was destroyed and the people captured to be taken to Arkansas to sell back into slavery. One of the youngest was a very small baby. A local farmer and his wife were heartbroken by this attack and Susan Carver was able to find a way to get a message to those raiders and negotiate a price to return that baby. She sent her husband Moses to ride to a meeting place near the Arkansas line where he traded their last horse for that stolen baby. The raiders threw a sack toward Moses and he caught that nearly frozen child inside. He took him and put him under his shirt and coat to try to warm him and rushed back home to Susan who nursed this baby back to health. Moses and Susan a white farmer couple adopted this child as their own and gave him their last name and raised George Washington Carver.
It could easily be said if not for Moses and Susan Carver those two billion people would have starved.
You never know what you may do or say that might make a difference to someone who might make a difference to millions. I know that helps me to keep a bit of perspective and try to leave people lifted.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
The Fiscal Cliff Poison Pill
Okay, the Republicans capitulated and gave in on most of Obama's demands to stave off the "Fiscal Cliff" so we should hang them and vote a third party right? I truly understand the emotions behind feeling like that. However, right now we need thinking not feeling. No matter what is passed this next two to four years anyone who has any sense, who understands even basic economics or civics will hate it. However, elections have consequences and we are in for a very rough ride. The final verdict is not yet in as to any chance of saving any semblance of our once great nation from the hands of those in power bent on destroying it. One thing is sure, if we stand fast and draw a line in the sand, we won't save her at all.
Let's take a look at what we are up against in this "Fiscal Cliff" debate. Obama controls the White House, the Senate, the Media, and through that the American people who 56% approve of his job performance. I understand that is difficult to grasp if you have ever used your brain for anything but a garbage can. However that is where we are. Most Americans have bought the class envy politics where they want the top earners to get punished, they don't understand they are talking about their boss who may lay them off when his income is diminished. Too many do not understand cause and effect in economics.
So here is what the Republicans have had to deal with, a truly no win situation against an opponent who cannot lose. Negotiating against someone who really wants the "worst case" situation to happen, the only threat you can hold against them being their own best case scenario makes it an uphill climb. Obama and the Democrats truly wanted the Fiscal Cliff to happen, it is their political wet dream, with it they get to raise taxes massively on EVERY working American to where Bill Clinton left them, and get to gut the military as well, even better they would be able to blame the Republicans for it happening.
There are so few who understand what is happening the Republicans couldn't win a dog catcher race in 2014 after EVERY American family sees 300-500.00/month disappear from their monthly paychecks. We would see a recession that would make 2008-2009 look like a Bull Market, jobs disappearing, massive foreclosures both in residential and commercial markets. It would be Grapes of Wrath kind of things. Thousands of military and defense industry personnel would be cut loose and unemployed all at once as well.
Last month Boehner tried something that even the Republicans didn't understand, he took a bill that Nancy Pelosi was pushing last summer and rewrote it verbatim to prove that the Democrats had no intention of accepting ANY bill from the House Republicans. Obama promised to veto it, Reid said it would never be voted on in the Senate. This proved that nothing the House did would ever see the light of day in the Senate, and only a Senate bill would have any chance to be passed.
The Senate Republicans hashed out a terrible bill with the Senate Democrats, but it does limit the damage marginally from no bill at all that the Democrats would actually prefer. It protects the military short term, it gives permanent tax relief to everyone under 400k individually, and 450k as a family, but there is bad news for those making 250k and up with loss of deductions, (read tax increases) just not increased tax rates which Obama wanted both, just got one.
These are the key victories if we want to call them that, maybe better said, the areas we didn't lose as much:
•Raises taxes on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for households instead of everyone.
•Raises taxes on investment income for those taxpayers as well
•Limits tax deductions for incomes over $250,000—raising their taxes, too
•Increases the death tax rate for estates over $5 million
•Extends long-term unemployment benefits for one year
•Postpones sequestration’s automatic spending cuts (including those to defense) by two months
Elections have consequences, and we are all going to feel them for a long time. This is going to be ugly, but we MUST learn how to play politics on our side. The Democrats are masters at it, we as a party suck, mostly because our voting base doesn't understand the game. It is like my Daddy always taught me, it is better to get a little of something than a lot of nothing. We will have to fight for scraps and try to save as much as we can, but when we lost the White House and the Senate we guaranteed that we and our country was going to pay deeply and dearly. It is survival mode now.
As to third parties, who knows, but if we don't play this game very well and very smart getting the little things we can, there won't be anything left to save after a third party would come about.
Let's take a look at what we are up against in this "Fiscal Cliff" debate. Obama controls the White House, the Senate, the Media, and through that the American people who 56% approve of his job performance. I understand that is difficult to grasp if you have ever used your brain for anything but a garbage can. However that is where we are. Most Americans have bought the class envy politics where they want the top earners to get punished, they don't understand they are talking about their boss who may lay them off when his income is diminished. Too many do not understand cause and effect in economics.
So here is what the Republicans have had to deal with, a truly no win situation against an opponent who cannot lose. Negotiating against someone who really wants the "worst case" situation to happen, the only threat you can hold against them being their own best case scenario makes it an uphill climb. Obama and the Democrats truly wanted the Fiscal Cliff to happen, it is their political wet dream, with it they get to raise taxes massively on EVERY working American to where Bill Clinton left them, and get to gut the military as well, even better they would be able to blame the Republicans for it happening.
There are so few who understand what is happening the Republicans couldn't win a dog catcher race in 2014 after EVERY American family sees 300-500.00/month disappear from their monthly paychecks. We would see a recession that would make 2008-2009 look like a Bull Market, jobs disappearing, massive foreclosures both in residential and commercial markets. It would be Grapes of Wrath kind of things. Thousands of military and defense industry personnel would be cut loose and unemployed all at once as well.
Last month Boehner tried something that even the Republicans didn't understand, he took a bill that Nancy Pelosi was pushing last summer and rewrote it verbatim to prove that the Democrats had no intention of accepting ANY bill from the House Republicans. Obama promised to veto it, Reid said it would never be voted on in the Senate. This proved that nothing the House did would ever see the light of day in the Senate, and only a Senate bill would have any chance to be passed.
The Senate Republicans hashed out a terrible bill with the Senate Democrats, but it does limit the damage marginally from no bill at all that the Democrats would actually prefer. It protects the military short term, it gives permanent tax relief to everyone under 400k individually, and 450k as a family, but there is bad news for those making 250k and up with loss of deductions, (read tax increases) just not increased tax rates which Obama wanted both, just got one.
These are the key victories if we want to call them that, maybe better said, the areas we didn't lose as much:
•Raises taxes on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for households instead of everyone.
•Raises taxes on investment income for those taxpayers as well
•Limits tax deductions for incomes over $250,000—raising their taxes, too
•Increases the death tax rate for estates over $5 million
•Extends long-term unemployment benefits for one year
•Postpones sequestration’s automatic spending cuts (including those to defense) by two months
Elections have consequences, and we are all going to feel them for a long time. This is going to be ugly, but we MUST learn how to play politics on our side. The Democrats are masters at it, we as a party suck, mostly because our voting base doesn't understand the game. It is like my Daddy always taught me, it is better to get a little of something than a lot of nothing. We will have to fight for scraps and try to save as much as we can, but when we lost the White House and the Senate we guaranteed that we and our country was going to pay deeply and dearly. It is survival mode now.
As to third parties, who knows, but if we don't play this game very well and very smart getting the little things we can, there won't be anything left to save after a third party would come about.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
We Speak Our World Into Existence. What Are You Saying About Yours?
We are told in three times in the Bible that We are Created in God's Own Image. Shouldn't that make us question, what that image might be? What does that make us? God, is the great Creator, if we are created in His image wouldn't that also make us creators? How did God Create? He spoke the world into existence, couldn't that mean that we are too creating our own world by the words we speak?
If that is true, and I believe it is, shouldn't we be very careful what we say? Yet, we seem to be so cavalier with what we say about ourselves and others. It makes me cringe when I hear people speak about themselves in negative terms, when they speak of "Their depression," "their cancer," even "their overwhelming debts," quit owning those things. What you speak of you will get more of.
Remember you are creating your world by the words of your mouth, make sure that words you are using creates a world that you want. Speak of where you want to be, where you want to go. If you are struggling financially, speak of where you want to be, speak of being debt free, secure, independent. If you are fighting illness speak of health, speak of where you want to be. Speak of overcoming a disease if you want, but NEVER claim the disease, never call it yours.
Never accept anyone else's label for you or your life, unless it is the same vision you have of where you want to be. You do not need anyone else's permission for you to reach your goals and dreams, only your own. Les Brown tells a story of when he was in school, he had been labled "Educable Mentally Retarded," once when a coach/teacher saw him hanging out near a class room he told Les to go to the board and work out a problem, Les explained why he couldn't by using his label he had been given. This coach threw a fit, "Never accept someone else's label, go do the problem." It was one of the key turning points of Les Brown's successful life journey. Do not allow someone else's opinion of you rob you of yours.
God didn't make any junk, you are a miracle of birth, you have unlimited potential but that is up to you to turn into reality. Watch you words, speak the world you want, and if you must be Hung by the Tongue makes sure it is a masterpiece.
A good book on this topic is "Hung By The Tongue," by Francis P. Martin.
If that is true, and I believe it is, shouldn't we be very careful what we say? Yet, we seem to be so cavalier with what we say about ourselves and others. It makes me cringe when I hear people speak about themselves in negative terms, when they speak of "Their depression," "their cancer," even "their overwhelming debts," quit owning those things. What you speak of you will get more of.
Remember you are creating your world by the words of your mouth, make sure that words you are using creates a world that you want. Speak of where you want to be, where you want to go. If you are struggling financially, speak of where you want to be, speak of being debt free, secure, independent. If you are fighting illness speak of health, speak of where you want to be. Speak of overcoming a disease if you want, but NEVER claim the disease, never call it yours.
Never accept anyone else's label for you or your life, unless it is the same vision you have of where you want to be. You do not need anyone else's permission for you to reach your goals and dreams, only your own. Les Brown tells a story of when he was in school, he had been labled "Educable Mentally Retarded," once when a coach/teacher saw him hanging out near a class room he told Les to go to the board and work out a problem, Les explained why he couldn't by using his label he had been given. This coach threw a fit, "Never accept someone else's label, go do the problem." It was one of the key turning points of Les Brown's successful life journey. Do not allow someone else's opinion of you rob you of yours.
God didn't make any junk, you are a miracle of birth, you have unlimited potential but that is up to you to turn into reality. Watch you words, speak the world you want, and if you must be Hung by the Tongue makes sure it is a masterpiece.
A good book on this topic is "Hung By The Tongue," by Francis P. Martin.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Mass Transit in Indy? Now?
Today Mayor Ballard has come out saying that "Now is the time" we put forth a mass transit plan in Indianapolis. There are a small group of people pushing for this, politicians, politicians in REALTOR clothing, and politicians in downtown development clothing. They all want to rush something through during their election cycle so they can be the ones who "gave" Indianapolis this great "gift." Or better said, give them the gift that just keeps on taking.
Indianapolis does not need an enhanced mass transit system right now, in fact it is likely at least twenty years from that need. Our current one is anything but well utilized, or self-sustaining. We would be spending 1.3 billion dollars shared between us and the Federal Government, who by the way is also us, to purchase something we don't yet need, and likely will barely use. Then we will be given the opportunity to pay millions more per year in operating losses over the next twenty years hoping that it will be mostly covering its own costs by then. After twenty years, how much of that initial infrastructure purchase will be required to replace? How much will that be?
After a brutal fight to cut our property taxes, we are being asked to allow them to be raised so we can see a train running through town several times a day. Has any thought been given to the traffic jams that it will cause at every intersection from the North side to Downtown to allow the trains to go by all day? Has any thought been given to the cost in human lives and property damage to the danger of these trains running all day in a densely populated area? What consideration has been given to the property values and quality of life issues, such as noise, dirt, and danger that will be a result of the trains running up and down along homes along the way?
I agree we should be looking into long-term solutions, but by taking a long-term approach. We have the benefit of time, let's use it, rather than jumping in as if we are backed into a corner, let's take our time, and explore options. If we feel we have a good solution, if we feel we are well served to start procuring land and property, then start that process.
However, right now it seems more that a group of politicians in all walks of life, are just wanting to have their pictures taken cutting the ribbon with no thought of the massive losses of dollars and frankly quality of life for the city in the near term.
Indianapolis does not need an enhanced mass transit system right now, in fact it is likely at least twenty years from that need. Our current one is anything but well utilized, or self-sustaining. We would be spending 1.3 billion dollars shared between us and the Federal Government, who by the way is also us, to purchase something we don't yet need, and likely will barely use. Then we will be given the opportunity to pay millions more per year in operating losses over the next twenty years hoping that it will be mostly covering its own costs by then. After twenty years, how much of that initial infrastructure purchase will be required to replace? How much will that be?
After a brutal fight to cut our property taxes, we are being asked to allow them to be raised so we can see a train running through town several times a day. Has any thought been given to the traffic jams that it will cause at every intersection from the North side to Downtown to allow the trains to go by all day? Has any thought been given to the cost in human lives and property damage to the danger of these trains running all day in a densely populated area? What consideration has been given to the property values and quality of life issues, such as noise, dirt, and danger that will be a result of the trains running up and down along homes along the way?
I agree we should be looking into long-term solutions, but by taking a long-term approach. We have the benefit of time, let's use it, rather than jumping in as if we are backed into a corner, let's take our time, and explore options. If we feel we have a good solution, if we feel we are well served to start procuring land and property, then start that process.
However, right now it seems more that a group of politicians in all walks of life, are just wanting to have their pictures taken cutting the ribbon with no thought of the massive losses of dollars and frankly quality of life for the city in the near term.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Post Election 2012, Where Are We, Where Are We Going?
"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated." Thomas Payne
I just thought all of us could benefit from reading those words written in December of 1776 when all looked lost in our countries Revolution for Independence. With that said, if you think I am going to get Pollyanna with rose-colored glasses and blow smoke up your skirt you are going to be disappointed.
We just went through a very hard fought election and ended up in figuratively the same place we were going in. We went in with an either incompetent or intentionally destructive president, a Senate Leader who has decided to put that chamber in a total deep freeze with nothing ever coming to the floor, and a House that is opposed to both. We went to bed Tuesday night/Wednesday morning exactly the same, at least on the surface.
What actually changed is the likely end of The United States of America as a Free Market Capitalist based economy in a Representative Constitutional Republic under the Rule of Law. At least for as long as most of us will be living, and that is optimistic, it is likely gone forever.
What are we up against?
1. Obamacare will be fully implemented, in so doing it will enslave ALL Americans to owe their very lives to the whims of the government bureaucracy. This is slavery as much as any shackles and chains could ever reach. For this reason government healthcare is always the first thing any Totalitarian Regime puts into place.
2. Dodd-Frank will stay the law and will be more and more rolled out. This essentially ends any semblance of the free market system, now government has total control over any financial transaction.
3. Obama will choose the next three Supreme Court Justices who will stack the court with a 6-3 lead assuring a Marxist Constitutional Revisionist view for the next 20-30 years. One could argue right now that the game is over, fulfilling Nikita Khrushchev’s prophecy. That we would not be defeated from outside but would vote for Communism from within.
It appears that the One Party Rule that is tied to a dependent voter base who relies on government for their lives is complete. It was started under Woodrow Wilson, put on steroids under FDR, another shot of steroids by LBJ, and maybe harvested by BHO. The goal was to get enough people who abdicated their very lives to government largess who would always vote to keep Democrats in office to protect their goodie bag.
So what's next? Do we just give up? Do we figure out how to best take care of ourselves and our families in the "new" world and let the rest go? Do we fight back? What's Next?
First of all I would strongly recommend no matter what you do about the country that you first and foremost figure out the best way to take care of yourself and your family in our new reality.
What can we do to try to save our Republic? Of course America will go on, look at Europe, we will survive just not the way we could or should unless we can figure out a strategy to take it back. There is not going to be any easy path. The last best chance we had ended Tuesday night. It is now a series of long-shots. We have a chance to help a bit in 2014 if we can figure out a path to take the Senate and stop Obama from doing further damage in the last two years of his second term. Who knows, maybe those three judges will hang in for two more years. That would be HUGE!
As expected after a loss, especially one where we were so blindsided, a lot of finger pointing is going on. The old school blames the tea party, the tea party blames the "RINOs", our candidate was too moderate, too conservative, too negative, not negative enough, whatever. There is likely some blame to spread around, but I don't think it is really anyone who is to blame, it is more than that. We just had more people choose freebies than freedom, and that is a problem. I have heard we need to "reach out to the single women, minorities, immigrants, and those who want a bigger and bigger social net to take care of them. In my opinion if that is our approach, why bother, why be copies of the Democrats? Holding offices with an R instead of a D but doing the same things is not a win in any way.
My thoughts are we need to go all out to take the shot at the Senate in 2014. Then if we win the Senate we try to start dialing things back, but make sure that nothing of the Obama ideology is pushed forward. Win or lose that race we need to start looking long term. If we are to make a come back to our Constitutional and Free Market principles we have to educate our electorate. We have for far too many decades allowed the left to indoctrinate and not educate our children. Beginning in the 1950s we were taught revisionist history, in what history we were taught. Each decade became significantly worse, today our kids are getting out of school with virtually no understanding of our country's history and how it came to be, or what makes it work. They have been instead taught that all of those things were evil if taught at all. They have been indoctrinated on television, in the movies, in their music, and schools, and now we are shocked they don't love our country and what it stands for.
We need to find a way to get our hands back into the schools, but short term, I have an idea. Instead of running a billion dollars of ads bashing our opponents, we MUST educate our electorate. We could take advantage of those ad buys to start doing so. What if we picked five keys to our platform and had ads teaching the advantages of that issue, do so with clever visuals and catchy jingles that will get stuck in people's head. We all can sing along to the jingles of commercials from decades before if we can "get into the voter's heads" we might start getting through to them. Run the ads on the shows that young voters watch and start reprogramming them. If we do not win the Senate and House in 2014, this will be starting the program to hope to turn this country back by our grandchildren's time. If we can win the Senate, we might be able to take it back sooner.
I know this isn't all kittens and sunshine, but this is how I see it today.
I just thought all of us could benefit from reading those words written in December of 1776 when all looked lost in our countries Revolution for Independence. With that said, if you think I am going to get Pollyanna with rose-colored glasses and blow smoke up your skirt you are going to be disappointed.
We just went through a very hard fought election and ended up in figuratively the same place we were going in. We went in with an either incompetent or intentionally destructive president, a Senate Leader who has decided to put that chamber in a total deep freeze with nothing ever coming to the floor, and a House that is opposed to both. We went to bed Tuesday night/Wednesday morning exactly the same, at least on the surface.
What actually changed is the likely end of The United States of America as a Free Market Capitalist based economy in a Representative Constitutional Republic under the Rule of Law. At least for as long as most of us will be living, and that is optimistic, it is likely gone forever.
What are we up against?
1. Obamacare will be fully implemented, in so doing it will enslave ALL Americans to owe their very lives to the whims of the government bureaucracy. This is slavery as much as any shackles and chains could ever reach. For this reason government healthcare is always the first thing any Totalitarian Regime puts into place.
2. Dodd-Frank will stay the law and will be more and more rolled out. This essentially ends any semblance of the free market system, now government has total control over any financial transaction.
3. Obama will choose the next three Supreme Court Justices who will stack the court with a 6-3 lead assuring a Marxist Constitutional Revisionist view for the next 20-30 years. One could argue right now that the game is over, fulfilling Nikita Khrushchev’s prophecy. That we would not be defeated from outside but would vote for Communism from within.
It appears that the One Party Rule that is tied to a dependent voter base who relies on government for their lives is complete. It was started under Woodrow Wilson, put on steroids under FDR, another shot of steroids by LBJ, and maybe harvested by BHO. The goal was to get enough people who abdicated their very lives to government largess who would always vote to keep Democrats in office to protect their goodie bag.
So what's next? Do we just give up? Do we figure out how to best take care of ourselves and our families in the "new" world and let the rest go? Do we fight back? What's Next?
First of all I would strongly recommend no matter what you do about the country that you first and foremost figure out the best way to take care of yourself and your family in our new reality.
What can we do to try to save our Republic? Of course America will go on, look at Europe, we will survive just not the way we could or should unless we can figure out a strategy to take it back. There is not going to be any easy path. The last best chance we had ended Tuesday night. It is now a series of long-shots. We have a chance to help a bit in 2014 if we can figure out a path to take the Senate and stop Obama from doing further damage in the last two years of his second term. Who knows, maybe those three judges will hang in for two more years. That would be HUGE!
As expected after a loss, especially one where we were so blindsided, a lot of finger pointing is going on. The old school blames the tea party, the tea party blames the "RINOs", our candidate was too moderate, too conservative, too negative, not negative enough, whatever. There is likely some blame to spread around, but I don't think it is really anyone who is to blame, it is more than that. We just had more people choose freebies than freedom, and that is a problem. I have heard we need to "reach out to the single women, minorities, immigrants, and those who want a bigger and bigger social net to take care of them. In my opinion if that is our approach, why bother, why be copies of the Democrats? Holding offices with an R instead of a D but doing the same things is not a win in any way.
My thoughts are we need to go all out to take the shot at the Senate in 2014. Then if we win the Senate we try to start dialing things back, but make sure that nothing of the Obama ideology is pushed forward. Win or lose that race we need to start looking long term. If we are to make a come back to our Constitutional and Free Market principles we have to educate our electorate. We have for far too many decades allowed the left to indoctrinate and not educate our children. Beginning in the 1950s we were taught revisionist history, in what history we were taught. Each decade became significantly worse, today our kids are getting out of school with virtually no understanding of our country's history and how it came to be, or what makes it work. They have been instead taught that all of those things were evil if taught at all. They have been indoctrinated on television, in the movies, in their music, and schools, and now we are shocked they don't love our country and what it stands for.
We need to find a way to get our hands back into the schools, but short term, I have an idea. Instead of running a billion dollars of ads bashing our opponents, we MUST educate our electorate. We could take advantage of those ad buys to start doing so. What if we picked five keys to our platform and had ads teaching the advantages of that issue, do so with clever visuals and catchy jingles that will get stuck in people's head. We all can sing along to the jingles of commercials from decades before if we can "get into the voter's heads" we might start getting through to them. Run the ads on the shows that young voters watch and start reprogramming them. If we do not win the Senate and House in 2014, this will be starting the program to hope to turn this country back by our grandchildren's time. If we can win the Senate, we might be able to take it back sooner.
I know this isn't all kittens and sunshine, but this is how I see it today.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Home Energy Report
The Indianapolis Energy Report arrived yesterday in my mailbox. Did you get yours? The last one that came drove my curiosity about what it was they were trying to tell me because their numbers made no sense to me what-so-ever.
The report tells me that I use more energy than 100% of my neighbors, costing me 88% more or 161.16 more a month than my average neighbor pays. That would be pretty impressive dropping my total electric bill for my heat, air conditioning, water heater, lights for a family of 3 including a teenage girl, to less than 40.00/month on average! My neighbors must be amazing.
When I talked to a few neighbors they too were all the worst energy hogs as well. So I talked to others from work and friends and guess what? Everyone I know is an over achieving energy hog! This made me more curious and I checked into it further and learned that IPL was just one client of the company that does these energy reports in the utilities name. The company making the report is OPower a company that formed in 2007. So, utility companies all across America "hire" OPower to try to convince their customers to use less of the product the utility is selling.
Opower is one of the true success stories during this economy, they are skyrocketing in growth. It is pretty impressive that a small start up can line up dozens of huge utility companies in just a handful of years, it makes me wonder if the Government EPA requires these services, how about you?
The more I read on the company, their founders, the more questions I had about this report showing up in all our mailboxes. However when I learned about their Chief Scientist things started to clear up. What would you assume that Dr. Robert Cialdini would be an expert in? Since this is about energy savings and energy efficiency, wouldn't you guess that it would be involved somewhere in the energy, or heating or cooling specialities? You would guess wrong, Dr. Cialdini, is a leading expert on group manipulation and compliance psychology? Did you get that? I have to admit I missed it on my first guess. Why would their top scientist be someone to create mass compliance? Does this creep you out?
Would it be a stretch to believe that we are being manipulated? Does it seem a stretch to believe that you and I are paying extra in our utility bills to pay for this "service?" If it is all nonsense and everyone is being told we are the worst to guilt us into using less energy, what value is this service. One of my neighbors was rated the worst, but their house was sitting empty for three months with all utilities turned off and it was still an energy hog, hmmm?
Check yours.
The report tells me that I use more energy than 100% of my neighbors, costing me 88% more or 161.16 more a month than my average neighbor pays. That would be pretty impressive dropping my total electric bill for my heat, air conditioning, water heater, lights for a family of 3 including a teenage girl, to less than 40.00/month on average! My neighbors must be amazing.
When I talked to a few neighbors they too were all the worst energy hogs as well. So I talked to others from work and friends and guess what? Everyone I know is an over achieving energy hog! This made me more curious and I checked into it further and learned that IPL was just one client of the company that does these energy reports in the utilities name. The company making the report is OPower a company that formed in 2007. So, utility companies all across America "hire" OPower to try to convince their customers to use less of the product the utility is selling.
Opower is one of the true success stories during this economy, they are skyrocketing in growth. It is pretty impressive that a small start up can line up dozens of huge utility companies in just a handful of years, it makes me wonder if the Government EPA requires these services, how about you?
The more I read on the company, their founders, the more questions I had about this report showing up in all our mailboxes. However when I learned about their Chief Scientist things started to clear up. What would you assume that Dr. Robert Cialdini would be an expert in? Since this is about energy savings and energy efficiency, wouldn't you guess that it would be involved somewhere in the energy, or heating or cooling specialities? You would guess wrong, Dr. Cialdini, is a leading expert on group manipulation and compliance psychology? Did you get that? I have to admit I missed it on my first guess. Why would their top scientist be someone to create mass compliance? Does this creep you out?
Would it be a stretch to believe that we are being manipulated? Does it seem a stretch to believe that you and I are paying extra in our utility bills to pay for this "service?" If it is all nonsense and everyone is being told we are the worst to guilt us into using less energy, what value is this service. One of my neighbors was rated the worst, but their house was sitting empty for three months with all utilities turned off and it was still an energy hog, hmmm?
Check yours.
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