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Who’s Qualified to be President of the US?

Much has been said about which candidate is qualified to be president; in fact, recently the rhetoric has been quite heated. Because there is no way to place a positive attitude on anything related to politics, the next best thing is to tell the truth. None of the parties, or their candidates, are able to do this. Politics is all about telling voters what they want to hear; in other words, all politicians and their followers are basically liars. They will change anything they have said or done to satisfy the perceived desires of their current audience.

Why would anyone put themselves in the position of trying to please everyone who elected them to some office? There are several reasons, none of them I would want for myself or any of my family or close friends. Successful politicos are narcissistic, ego-centered, and greedy for power and, more importantly, MONEY! Those who are elected have somehow convinced other people to part with billions of dollars to put elected officials (themselves) in office, usually expecting special favors or votes on some issue dear to the contributors. There is no way to stop this ridiculous money drain; no officeholder is going to ever vote for a foolproof law limiting campaign contributions. To do so would restrict their ability to build a lucrative career using public funds to insure a comfortable life and ultimate retirement. Who wouldn’t enjoy all the perks they get: high pay, servants at every turn, parties, free trips, magnificent health insurance, and lifetime retirement benefits. Some, like the president, will have a personal staff and Secret Service security as long as they live, all paid for by taxpayers.

I don’t begrudge any of these things. If there were competent people running for office, who want to look out for those who elect them rather than for what they get for themselves, I will willingly pay my share. They would deserve whatever benefits there are. But, in most recent elections, there have been no people seeking office who have what I consider to be proper qualifications for high office, especially president. Only those capable of raising unbelievable amounts of money can run, which eliminates most honest people who would be willing to give of themselves for the public good. Consider some of the ridiculous people we elected in the last 50 years including Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, two of the worst. In the present election I am seriously considering voting for the spirit of my best Golden Retriever who died a few years ago. She is my Shamanistic Spirit Guide and more capable than anyone running now. I’ve never failed to exercise my privilege and obligation to vote, so I’ll vote for someone in November, though I don’t think anyone running deserves to be president.

This comes back to our question, “Who’s Qualified to be President of the US?”

No one is except a former president; and some of those aren’t qualified. It’s like getting your first job when they ask, “What experience have you had?” You haven’t had any, so you have to hope some prospective employer will give you a chance. So it is with a presidential candidate. Unless they are a former president, neither is qualified.

So what should someone have that might indicate their ability to be president (note that I don’t say “qualify” them to be president)? The answer is leadership training and experience. But what is leadership? Leadership is about organizing and directing human activities in such a manner as to contribute in some way to the good of society in general. If the leader is successful they may  receive personal gain as monetary reward, but more important is that leaders will also receive the satisfaction of knowing the world is better because of their efforts. This begs the question, “How do you become a leader?” Some are born with the abilities they need to successfully lead. Others are taught to become capable leaders. A good example of leadership training is the military. They have developed the means to produce large numbers of great leaders in every rank on a continuing basis. I went into the Army after completing college and immediately entered an Infantry Officer

Candidate

School. I repeatedly was asked, “Why are you wasting your time as an Infantry Lieutenant?” My answer was quite simple: “When you are suddenly placed in command of forty young people, many with almost no education, all of whom are away from home, and they are all looking helplessly at you to tell them what to do, you’ve GOT TO DO SOMETHING!” Being thrust into a situation and having to make crucial decisions is the finest training you can have. That certainly was not a waste of time. Leadership ability, whether natural or learned, comes with the situation confronting the leader. An example is a terrible catastrophe caused by an elevator in a high-rise building that breaks its cables and crashes in a horrible mass of steel and injured and dead bodies. Among the passengers would have been a couple of chief executive officers of large companies as well as numerous lower level executives. The hero who restores order, calls for help, and saves many lives by immediately taking charge without an instant’s hesitation is the lowest person around: the ELEVATOR OPERATOR. The situation required strong leadership and it immediately came from within someone not normally looked upon for leadership. Numerous examples of this kind of leadership surround the horrific events dating from 9/11/2001. A leader should also realize the need for help from advisors and must be willing to listen to them and act on their advice.

So, the answer to our question, “Who’s Qualified to be President of the US?”, is, “Nobody who is running.” We must throw out experience simply based on political activities, religious hierarchy, legal career, and any other occupational experience a candidate may have had. Our choice depends on examining the character and integrity of each person. The one who sticks to their beliefs and acts accordingly more of the time is the one we should choose. Not one of them comes even close to being ideal.

I may write in my dog’s spirit name after all.

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What Eats a Sea Spider?

 Rather than What Eats a Sea Spider?, you may ask “What in the world IS a sea spider.”

Sea spiders have been around for millions of years; they just run in an environment not often in contact with humans. Volcanic ash near Herefordshire, UK, reveals spider fossils from 425 million years ago. They’ve been here a long time. More recently, scientific expeditions to the Antarctic area have discovered some amazing current examples.

The area just off the Ross Sea Shelf in  Southern Antarctica has yielded gigantic specimens of many forms of sea life. In addition to giant worms and crustaceans these expeditions brought back sea spiders larger than a dinner plate. Many had the normal eight legs, but some have more, even up to twelve legs. Very large size sea life is nothing unusual in the Antarctic area. Scientists speculate this is because of  cold temperatures, high oxygen levels, adequate food, and a general lack of predators in the area.

Sea spiders exist in total darkness about 6,000 to 7,000 meters down (this is about four miles deep). They crawl around feeding on soft bodied creatures like sponges and sea slugs. Using their proboscis they suck the life out of their prey. In fact, they are VAMPIRES! So, such creatures exist in the deepest Antarctic Sea just as they did in Romania in the days of Count Dracula.

About the time the giant sea spiders appeared so did an ancient toad named Beelzebufo, the Devil Toad. BeBo surfaced among crocodile and dinosaur fossils dating to the late Cretaceous period, roughly 70 million years ago, on the island of Madagascar. He is a monstrous creature that weighs about ten pounds with an armored skin. He probably needed this to deal with dinosaurs and crocodiles every day. Scientists think BeBo may even have eaten a few baby dinosaurs; he’ had to be very tough customer.

BeBo is not related to any African frogs or toads. Rather, his closest relatives are in South America where they are kept as pets and known as “pacman” frogs because of their very large mouths. Now, why does this matter? Consider this. Madagascar is a very long way across the Atlantic Ocean from South America; how is BeBo in Madagascar and all his relatives are far away in South America? This leads to speculation among scientists that some kind of land link between Africa and South America may have remained after the continents separated eons ago. Perhaps it was through Antarctica, a place very much warmer in the past than it is now.

All these related discoveries have led to a speculative debate: What eats a sea spider? Could it be BeBo the armoured Devil Toad? While the spider takes up about as much space as BeBo, there are overwhelming differences in favor of BeBo. He weighs about 10 pounds, has a very large mouth, his skin is armored, and he has millions of years experience fighting dinosaurs. This is no contest. The sea spider weighs almost nothing and his proboscis would immediately crumple upon encountering BeBo’s armor plate.

So, why do we even want to know about any of this?

First, the sea spider and all his giant friends may reveal important information about temperature changes and their effect on food supplies for all the Antarctic animals. Such information may also indicate what new predators may come on the scene.

And the Devil Toad could be a link to what really happened when Africa and South America drifted apart. Who knows? Somebody may find the spider can really eat the Devil Toad!

Find more about fossils, continental drift, toads, sea spiders, and the Antarctic here.

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Positive Chinese Numbers

Always looking for positive ideas, the Chinese numbering system caught my eye. They feel so strongly about the power of certain numbers they are willing to pay very large money to use them. Certain numbers appear auspicious to the Chinese because they sound like certain favorable words. By definition auspicious means favored by fortune, prosperous, or fortunate. Who wouldn’t want to identify with such a number ?

Of course some say these are no more than superstitions and there is no meaning to any number. There are skeptics who question anything that does not fit into their worldview limited by conventional wisdom and the constraints of strict materialistic scientific thinking. The advent of Quantum Theory has stretched materialistic science so it is beginning to include spiritual ideas like human consciousness, unheard of in the scientific community. It is difficult to use materialistic science to prove many things people believe and such ideas are simply tossed aside as ridiculous and untrue. My own feeling is, if a person believes something is true and it works for them in some instances, then it is true for that person in those circumstances. Skeptics disclaim the power of prayer, meditation, luck, use of the subconscious mind, most Newage ideas, and everything outside the realm of conventional thinking.

Many of these ideas have brought me, personally, through difficult situations including eminent death for 20 years. I believe in the ability of all these ideas under certain circumstances; they work for me. If you don’t try them, how will you know they aren’t true? Do you believe every news report, every lawyer, every doctor, every any other “authority?” You shouldn’t. You need to take responsibility and empower yourself to look after yourself.  Nobody knows everything.

The Chinese language consists of many dialects and sometimes the words have different meanings. But generally speaking these are some of the most positive numbers:

TWO means good things come in pairs. This leads to the use of double figures for more good. In Cantonese the number sounds like “easy” and is thus a preferred term.

SIX is thought to mean everything is going smoothly. The number 666 is displayed in many shops as a lucky sign; quite a contrast to the Western belief this is the demonic Number Of The Beast!

EIGHT sounds similar to prosper, wealth, and fortune. The Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to open 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 PM. They truly believe in this number. And the International Herald Tribune, Asia-Pacific edition, reports a regional Chinese airline paid $300,000 for the telephone number 8888 8888.

NINE is longlasting.

518 means I will prosper.

521 says “I love you.”

Perhaps you can associate with some of these numbers. There is nothing to lose, and if they make you feel more confident you have received a benefit without risking anything.

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Democracy Sucks!

Why would anyone even think such a thing about our over 200 year-old Democracy that is a beacon for the entire world? Democracy sucks because it works. This blog is directed toward a positive attitude, but there can’t be a more negative thing to write about than Democracy and the way our version is being misused in this 21^st Century. If the authors of our Constitution had even had bad dreams about what is happening they would have framed a much different document. Among other things it would have required a two-thirds vote by all voters on any constitutional question, not just the opinion of nine old people who comprise the Supreme Court. They would also have had a way for the people to vote overwhelmingly to exclude some groups from Constitutional privileges bestowed on ordinary citizens. This would allow things like profiling of potential trouble makers, wiretaps without court orders, disenfranchisement of citizens who become involved in such things, and a host of other issues that now allow dedicated foes of freedom and our way of life to abuse our system in efforts to destroy our country.

Our enemies have been quite successful using our Democracy to their advantage and our detriment. Take Vietnam, for example. In Because They Hate, Brigitte Gabriel ties Vietnam to current terror tactics. She says General Bui Tin, a member of the general staff of North Vietnam’s army, said  America was defeated in  Vietnam because of its democracy. Through dissent and protest America lost the ability to mobilize a will to win. Hanoi Jane Fonda, Sen. John Kerry, and a host of celebrities and just plain citizens used their freedom to cause the ultimate Vietnam debacle.

Jewish reporter Aaron Klein managed to interview numerous Middle East terror organization leaders and related their ideas in his recent book Schmoozing with Terrorists. Some of the thoughts of the terror leaders show how our Democracy works in their favor. If politicians call for concessions to terrorists they will smell weakness and attack you.  If your media justifies terrorism they will be emboldened and attack you. If your celebrities side with the enemy, if your leaders want to make concessions to terrorists, the terrorists will believe they’re winning and they will attack you. All of these things are happening right now in the US. They are led by the two Democratic presidential contenders; the terrorists say they hope Sen. Clinton wins because they believe she will quickly succumb to political pressure and withdraw all troops from Iraq. 

And religious leaders of all kinds have long abused the freedom of religion by trying to impose their own religious beliefs upon those who do not want their ideas. They do not recognize the right to freedom FROM religion. Politics has become a central focus of all religion in America in spite of the requirement for Separation of Church and State. The most recent examples are the seemingly anti-American, anti-white, remarks of Candidate Obama’s long-time preacher, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. God Damn America is a pretty strong statement. And the late Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, and every televangelist abuses their freedoms by trying to impose unwanted ideas on others. I believe in a creator, God, by whatever name. I do not want to change my belief system and no amount of rhetoric can make me. I just want to be left alone with my own personal religion. Everyone deserves this right.

The only positive thinking I can think of for the future of American Democracy is for everyone to consider the consequences of not having our Constitution and its resulting democratic ideals. Writing an article like this in some countries could result in imprisonment or death. Frankly, I’m afraid to write some things I believe, but that’s the subject of a future article. Imagine talking with family or friends over dinner or in other casual settings and subsequently being arrested, your possessions taken by the government, and possibly being executed. Politicians should consider how their political speeches might cause untold problems in countries not protected by democratic freedoms like ours. In many countries today a politician is subjected to an exam to determine if their belief system fits with that of the ruling government; if not, they can’t stand for office. Imagine what would have happened to Nancy Pelosi if she had been a Syrian citizen who, on her own, without government permission, visited US President George Bush.

All kinds of celebrities should seriously consider what might happen to them if they lived in some countries without the liberties they appreciate here in the US. Religious societies tolerate no entertainment, no singing or dancing, and no photographs. What, then, could Sean Penn, Michael Moore, and the host of anti-American entertainers do in such a country. Yet they constantly criticize the very source of their good life and the influence they exert. Most of the news media gives the same kind of aid to those wishing to destroy our way of life and they should be made, somehow, to realize the consequences of what they do.

My parting positive thought is for all these people to move to countries without democracy and freedom, live there for 10 years, then return. No doubt their criticism would be toned down a bit, which would be a very positive thing.

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To Your Success

It’s your choice whether you succeed or you don’t succeed.

Our success in life, whether in business, the Internet, or elsewhere, depends totally on the choices we make. If we possess a lot of excellent advice but fail to do what we are told, we will certainly fail!

A 1995 survey  of historians by The Washington Post asked whom they considered to be the most influential man of the millennium. Thirteenth Century Mongol leader, Genghis Khan, was their overwhelming choice! He brought relative peace to what began as many feuding nomadic tribes. He rewarded loyalty and demanded religious tolerance. He established perhaps the first public education system, opened trade routes, and established communication among many diverse peoples and cultures.

The Mongols were able to think outside conventional wisdom and, because they were nomads having no country restraints (not even a word in the language for country at that time), the entire universe was their country. They decided to conquer the whole thing! The Great Khan, with a relatively small Army, made the Mongols rulers of an empire extending from Northern Russia to China on the East,

Poland on the West, and

Arabia to the South. They did this while living beside much larger and more developed nations like

India and

China. The Mongols accomplished more because they weren’t restrained by the passive religious beliefs of Buddhism or the rigid discipline of Confucianism.

And what would have happened if all the Khans had not been required to return to the homeland every time a leader died so they could elect the successor? Remember, they went all the way to Poland and would certainly have reached the Atlantic Ocean had not somebody died. The Middle East would be quite different, as well. After the sack of Baghdad, Hulegu Khan was about to conquer many of the Arab lands up to

Palestine; alas, he had to carry his army back to

Mongolia to elect another leader. The opportunity was lost.

Genghis and most of his early followers believed in Shamanism defined by Thomas Cowan as ”the intentional effort to develop . . . relationships with . . . spirits by consciously leaving ordinary reality and journeying into the nonordinary realms of the spirit world.” And Urgunge Onon goes on to say “Shamanists believe the soul is linked directly to Heaven and the individual is therefore the center of his own universe. Heaven is nothing more nor less than the consciousness of each one of us. Heaven is our guide; under it we are born free and equal.” This is true unconventional thinking with respect to absolutely everything that happens.

The idea of the individual being the center of their own universe is exactly a premise resulting from modern Quantum Mechanics. Quantum ideas are difficult for scientists and everyone else to wrap themselves around because some of the resulting concepts are, well, unbelievable. How can anything be in two places at the same time? It’s also hard to believe the Khans, through their Shamanic beliefs, actually recognized these Quantum ideas almost 1,000 years ago. They were remarkable people whose ideas can teach us much.

Many knowledgeable historians have called  Genghis Khan  the greatest strategist of all time. His armies were extremely mobile capable of covering 100 miles a day for continued periods. Mongols used longbows with a range of 200 yards or more with a pull strength of 166 pounds! The Khan used intimidation, negotiation, and cunning strategy to subdue his enemies. He would send a small force in a frontal assault while the bulk of his forces  went a long way around through impassable swamps and swiftly attacked from the rear or other unexpected direction. Genghis Khan could be the origin of  the well known strategy “attack from the East while coming from the West” advocated by Mao Tze Tung

What does this have to do with your success in life?  There’s no way anyone can give you a blueprint “one size fits all” way to live a successful life. There is a lot of advice available from many sources on the Internet or local seminars. Google will find you the stories of many successful people who detail exactly what they are doing. But just knowing what others are doing guarantees you nothing. You must develop a plan and act on the knowledge you have been taught.

Reach inside of yourself, like Genghis Khan, and choose to succeed. Believe in the Quantum concept that you can create your own universe!

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Malaise

This is a large departure from my usual writing here—there is no way any of this is positive. It’s an absolute tragedy that no one will address in a serious manner because it will ultimately affect their financial welfare. Money has replaced morality throughout our entire political system. This is why I recommend nobody vote for an incumbent in any election, ever! Politics corrupts because it carries power with it and should not become a career opportunity for anyone.

And here is the current malaise. The Democrats have now whittled down to two just prior to Super Tuesday. Senator Clinton has appeared to be the clear leader until just recently when she has apparently been overtaken by Senator Obama. But neither of these seem to appeal to a majority of Democrats. Ms. Clinton should be the leader, but she is apparently hated by the Party leaders. Young people seem to be attracted to Obama, perhaps because he is different. The point is, voters really have no choice and never did. Why?

Nobody can afford to run for any political office except the very rich or entrenched politicians with large fund-raising lists. So we have two front-runners nobody really likes.

The Republicans are worse off; Sen. McCain seems to be far ahead of Gov. Romney but nobody will send him money. He’s dying on the vine and has had to borrow money to run. Romney has his own pot of gold to use, but Republicans don’t like him, either. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the front-runner with the most popular votes had to quit because of no money?

That would surely be a travesty because it would absolutely prove it’s possible to buy the US Presidency.

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Useless

There are no positive aspects attached to useless things and the way people worldwide support them. None of this makes sense. Please help me determine positive outcomes for some of these. As a culture of useless things we need help to restore a balanced approach to our daily living.

Being an Internet entrepreneur with a number of Websites it has long been known to me that nobody wants to pay for anything. This idea is a constant in just about all articles addressing how to generate income from the Web. In the beginning everything was free. The Web originated as an “information highway” invented for use by scholars and researchers as a quick and inexpensive way to access the information they needed. It is now an out-of-control monster that penetrates our most secret life areas. The exploding lawsuit culture is beginning to place accountability on every keystroke we make. And the early attempts to provide free services in exchange for advertising dollars quickly disappeared when the dotcom bubble burst. Like we said, people won’t pay for anything.

This even goes to the demise of manufacturing in the US and the West in general. Outsourcing is another symptom of the stuff for nothing syndrome. For years I was in textile manufacturing, one of the first sectors to be destroyed by third world prison labor. Our customers always pushed for more quality—we provided it but they would not pay for it. They all found foreign sources that could give quality cheap enough because of cheap labor. We tried to automate but still ended up out of business because our costs were too high. Who can compete with people who use slaves, prisoners, no OSHA, no EPA, no Equal Opportunity, nor all the other regulations our government uses to keep US citizens from working? We want everything but we won’t pay what anything costs, much less what it is worth.

So why will we pay BILLIONS for totally useless things?

For example, the current Presidential campaign is probably going to cost $2 BILLION or more before it’s over. If Mayor Bloomberg enters the race the cost will go way over $3 BILLION! And what does all this money buy? Absolutely nothing of any value to any US citizen other than the ONE WINNER! Now, why would we do this? Help me; I don’t have a clue. Personally, I’d rather just throw money down the toilet than contribute to any political campaign.

Now, what about Britney and her pregnant underage sister? And Britney’s ridiculous worthless ex-husband bum Federline? It’s true she has sold a ton of music that somebody likes for reasons unknown to me. That’s fine; she found a niche. But the media and the paparazzi and celebrity have destroyed her. And Federline has no reason for living after his cash cow goes away, and it looks like she’s on the way out. She may have had a chance if Kevin could contribute anything to their relationship; as it is, all he’s looking for is her money, all of it if he can get it. Circumstances have played right into his hands; the judge apparently has no choice other than to give the children to their daddy, worthless though he be. She’s in no mental state to do anything. So somebody is paying ridiculous amounts of money to this despicable group for what? Absolutely nothing as far as I can see. They are a totally worthless unit that some people are peeing money into. Why?

Now we come to another useless group: professional athletes. Why do they even exist? It’s a throwback to Ancient Rome. In their effort to control millions of unruly citizens the emperors built the Coliseum and  other venues to provide entertainment. Usually this consisted of violence involving gladiators, lions, tigers and similar extreme acts. They had no problem with drug tests in those days. What is the difference between performance enhancing chemicals and computer databases recording all aspects of every opponent? Professionals exist to make money for someone and the public is naive to expect any other kind of action from these people than to do whatever is required to best all opponents. Professional sports is simply a throwback to the Ancient Roman Emperors. I even enjoy a few of the championship contests, but those who support these activities are just throwing good money after bad. Of what value to a Boston Red Sox fan is the World Series win? Can they sell it? Can they borrow money using it as collateral? What exactly is the win good for?

Here is the positive outcome of this discussion. Maybe someone can prove to me and show me and the other readers just why people willingly throw money into worthless projects and support totally worthless people in the process. It’s true many athletes, actors, and other celebrities give a lot of money to charity. Would they do this if the tax laws did not encourage this as a tax reduction method? So please tell me why millions of people throw away their hard-earned money into these worthless ventures. Your answers will be the positive outcome of all this negative worthlessness.

And here is another positive idea that emerges from uselessness. Although in no way scientific, the fact that all this money flows into sources of no value at all should give heart to all those who constantly wail that the US economy is in recession, or about to be. If things were bad, would people continue to throw their money away like this? This positive idea seems to show the economy is very strong, at least in people’s minds.

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Politics Stinks

This blog is supposed to be about positive thinking. I will walk away from negative people and situations when possible. If this can’t be done, I try to figure some positive outcomes and dwell on them. This is the case with politics. There is nothing any more negative than politics and politicians—at every level.

So why am I writing about politics?

This is my current effort to put a positive spin on the political gorilla in the

US. But first, here is a good place to make a very positive political statement about the system we have in this country. Our founding fathers came up with many wonderful ideas in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and associated documents. Because of their forward thinking we have survived over 200 years without suffering dictatorship or election by military coup or murder. Unfortunately several Presidents have been assassinated, but none of these terrible events has been associated with the election process.

We do have the best electoral system in the world, but the Constitution’s framers could never have foreseen the extent of money required to obtain a public office at any level. This is why the most qualified people are no longer running for public office; there is no way most Americans can become elected officials. They simply don’t have the extra money lying around and can’t develop the fund raising systems required to get others to finance a campaign.

There have been sporadic efforts by Congress and lower legislative bodies to place caps on campaign spending and lobbying costs, but they have all been half-hearted and none have accomplished anything. More and more money is required every time we have an election.

Ask yourself, “Why is this the continuing situation here in the US?”

Greed is the answer. Successful politicians are able to peddle influence and favors to the extent large numbers of wealthy and powerful people are beholden to them. This provides opportunities for lucrative after politics careers as lobbyists, highly paid speakers, and top jobs with big companies that do business with the government.

What do I wish to accomplish with this article? My hope is that maybe someone will be encouraged to write their legislators somewhere on a continuous basis so that meaningful spending caps will eventually be enacted. Only when the average person can afford to run for office, not intending to be a career politician, can we once again have qualified leaders.

Here are my proposals:

1. Limit any campaign season to nine months. It is ridiculous that we have had to endure over two years of inane bickering among so many candidates.

2. Prohibit all radio or TV political advertising of any kind.

3. Local candidates, including up to the county and city level, should be limited to $1,000.

4. State level candidates, including the Governor, should be limited to $100,000.

5. Congressional candidates and Senators should be limited to $500,000.

6. The Presidential candidates should be limited to $1,000,000.

In recent years our leaders have been reduced to bickering among themselves and placing blame for all sorts of irrelevant events so that nothing very significant has been accomplished. I live in a resort area and things are so ludicrous that a major form of entertainment for weekenders and vacationers is to watch the proceedings of several local governing bodies on TV. They look like old slap-stick comedy shows. And everyone knows how ineffective Congress is; look at the ratings that sometimes are near ZERO.

Here is my positive way out of our most negative political situation

This is my plan. Help me execute it. Contact your representatives at all levels.

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The Mitchell Report

The media and baseball fans are all terribly disturbed by the findings revealed in The Mitchell Report. It’s all about players using performance enhancing drugs. The fact that such drugs may have huge health consequences and some may be illegal has nothing to do with anything. Sen. Mitchell indicated the situation did not arise overnight and probably can’t be solved quickly either.

Looking at baseball, and sports in general, I say what’s the big deal? The way Olympic athletes are scrutinized is usually cited as a model for drug policy. That’s an entirely different situation. The Olympians were originally supposed to be amateurs. However, in recent years rules have been relaxed to permit some professional participants in most events. This brings the taint of professional money to the table.

The whole drug thing is fueled by money, even for amateurs. There are so many endorsement opportunities for individual athletes the pressure to perform is relentless. Add ego and personal recognition and you have a situation where an athlete seeing an opportunity to improve performance probably will try it.

In the old days, in the antiquity of sport, there were no high-tech training methods including monitoring machines, videos, TV’s, technical training room devices, or personnel trainers. So far as we know there were no drugs. These amateur performers simply trained themselves to be as good as they could be or wanted to be. Now we have doctors who specialize in sports medicine as well as performance-enhancing drugs. There are personal trainers, listening devices to spy on opposing athletes, and the New England Patriots (apparently the best team in the NFL and undefeated as this is written).

To say everybody is doing something to enhance their performance is no excuse for breaking rules. But being the best in sports always brings great wealth and recognition. An athlete as focused and driven as most present ones are will likely try anything that’s legal or if they think they won’t be caught!

And all the fans want is to see the best in their personal favorites every time they perform during their particular sports season. I have loved all sports my entire life and still do. But years ago I realized there was a lot going on everywhere which was really not in the spirit of amateur, even in college and high school athletics. So, for a long time, I have paid no attention to anything but the standings toward the season end. Then I watch playoffs and championships. What’s the point in watching all the rest?

This blog is devoted to everything positive and the eradication of all things negative. There is nothing good in negative. So what’s positive in the Mitchell report? Not a single thing and it includes predictions of worse in the future. So, what if you are a sports fan reading negatives like the Mitchell report? You have to ignore or don’t read the report, listen to nothing in the press about it, or throw away the negative parts that you can do nothing about (all of them, in this case). Because fans unquestioningly have accepted enhancing, including not knowing about the drugs, my personal thinking is to go on as I have and watch the playoffs and championships and not worry about the personal morals of the athletes. What’s the difference in enhancing performance of the entire team, like the Patriots, or in using technology of any kind to make an athlete better. There’s no difference; there are no more amateur athletes, even in the lower grades of our educational system.

I like sports and don’t want to see them destroyed. Part of this uproar has been brought about by the posturing of groups who think all the money spent on stadiums, golf course, and salaries could better be spent helping the world’s poor. Could be, but that will never happen even if sports are completely done away with. People will just spend money on something else to get a little personal enjoyment from life; most individuals aren’t going to just send whatever they might spend on tickets to Darfur or some such place. It takes a government or a Bill Gates to do something like that. We individual sports fans won’t do it!

So, there are really only two choices.

Be a spoiler and convince owners, athletes, and fans that sports must be performed in a pristine environment. To do this there must be unscheduled testing of every participant many times during the entire year. One failure, ever, and your career is over even if you knew nothing about what you were taking. Eliminate technical training devices, videos, TV’s, personal trainers, and anything else athletes do to excel. Allow only what the individual can do for themselves. This will make the field level for all to play on, but there will be a lot less excitement.

Or, relax and enjoy sports as they are so long as health and legal requirements are met. This is the positive way to handle the mess; just discard things that do not affect you or that you can’t control in any way. The Trouble Sack™ on our Can-Do Products Page may be useful for getting rid of negatives about the Mitchell Report or anything else that may be troubling, but is beyond your control..

Enjoy the football game!

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Political Correctness is Wrong!

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”

 

Political Correctness is an oxymoron; it is an absolute impossibility. There is no way to satisfy everyone about anything. This is a fact written in steel. Yet, there are those among us who choose to ignore the futility of Political Correctness. These people we must guard against using every weapon available to us.

 

We are becoming a culture of controlled thinking and speech. This is the whole purpose of the politically correct movement which originated years ago by the Frankfurt

School. This group’s whole purpose was, and is, to figure ways to further the cause of Marxism in all its forms so as to eventually control the entire world. Political Correctness (PC) seeks to have some central group determine what an individual may say and eventually destroy the power of the individual by restricting their speech and eventually determining what they think. Individual power as it exists in the Western World makes it nearly impossible for “isms” to flourish for any continuous length of time.

 

Just consider what is happening right now in the United States. I will agree that some things being condemned are offensive, perhaps even outrageous. But we are supposed to be able to say whatever we want under our Constitution. The First Amendment under The Bill of Rights bluntly states that, “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . .” PERIOD!

 

Now here come groups and individuals who are not even affiliated with our government trying to tell us what we can say. As Ms. Roosevelt said, when we acquiesce to these demands we are permitting others to take away our freedom of speech and our independent thinking. This is an extremely negative situation and it is wrong. Here it is Christmas and once again there are attacks on Santa Claus, Christmas Trees, and anything else individuals can think of that offend them. Christmas is a religious holiday but it is also a secular celebration throughout the Western World. My Jewish friends have often said they enjoy the double holiday provided by Christmas.

 

A worse example is the statement by a former women’s activist on Fox News a few days ago. She was asked why no group of women anywhere has voiced opposition to the treatment of the teacher in Sudan who was jailed and threatened with death because her students voted to name their teddy bear Mohammed. She said it was because they were so afraid they would offend someone they are being PC and doing nothing.

 

PC is intolerant of anyone not agreeing with whomever says they are offended by something. PC groups attempt to do away with anything they perceive as discriminating against them in any way, real or not. It is nothing less than an attempt to establish “thought police” and is reminiscent of  George Orwell’s contrived language, “Newspeak.” Is this what we want? Slavery under the  “benevolent” dictatorship of Joe Stalin who personally killed between 30 million and 50 million people, perhaps more? And, by the way, let’s don’t forget other ultimate results of the PC mentality like the Inquisition, or the PC inspiration for the Nazi horror of Holocaust. When individual expression becomes harnessed by official “truth” madness begins to occur at every level in every totalitarian country.

 

PC and its proponents are in the same category as the Islamist Fascist terrorists who seek to destroy our freedom and our very way of life. We Americans are a forgiving people and, because we espouse individual freedom, we put up with every idea put out by anyone. But the PC idea is beginning to become invasive in every part of our society. We must realize what this is all about and begin to take actions opposing PC and related ideas and restore our right to express ourselves in any way we wish. Doing this will be a very positive action and the work of every individual will build an ever-increasing movement to remove this extreme source of negativity.

 

But what can we do? PC is an ill-defined negative process coming from who knows where? A balanced approach is required, one where each of us as an individual must protest every act we see that has any element of PC in it without becoming obsessed by any single incident or group. We must resist them all. Sometimes legal action may be required, but who has the money to protest everything that affects us? Not many of us do. But we can use organizations like the ACLU to take our causes to court without spending a penny of our own. Many people aren’t happy with groups like the ACLU; I’m not usually in agreement with them myself. But if they will take a case against a ridiculous PC idea, then by all means use them. Necessity often requires cooperation with strange associates.

 

The important point is to realize how evil is the concept of Political Correctness and that it intends to destroy our way of life. Then do whatever we, as an individual, can to restore our right to our own individual thinking, actions, and speech.

 

Another important thing everyone can do is become informed about the threat of Political Correctness. These books will help you:

 

The Kinder, Gentler Military: How Political Correctness Affects Our Ability to Win Wars (Paperback) by Stephanie Gutmann.

You can get this book from Amazon for $16.95. 

Say It Like It Is: Entitlement, political correctness and the demise of common sense (Paperback)

by Dave Sampson.

You can get this book from Amazon for $15.00. 

Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student (Hardcover) by MD Anonymous.

You can get this book from Amazon for $16.29.  

Coloring the News: How Political Correctness Has Corrupted American Journalism (Paperback)

by William McGowan

You can get this book from Amazon for $11.53.

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