Every circle of friends has that guy in it. The guy that noone really likes. Maybe he's loud, or obnoxious, or he drinks too much, or he engages in some other embarrassing activity in public that makes everyone else cringe. Any time we all go out, my friends and I have the same conversation. After we decide where we are going, what we are doing, and who will be coming along, we bring up the George debate. George is a lawyer. He's balding, fat, and annoying. He also makes a lot more money than the rest of us. the discussion usually goes something like this...
" So, should we call him?"
" I don't know, how much cash do you have?"
" Not much, You"
" Not much...do you want to call him or should I?"
You see, no matter how annoying he is, he usually picks up the check. We often wonder if he knows that the only reason we put up with him is his fat wallet. I think he does. I think this, not only because it justifies our shallow treatment of him, but also because I know he is not stupid. He is a lawyer after all. The way I see it, he pays the tab because he wants to be our friend. He needs to hang out with someone, and he knows that the only way anyone will put up with him is if he pony's up the dough. This may seem wrong to you, it does to me as well, but that's the way it is.
The United States under Barack Obama is turning into my friend George. In the push for trans-nationalism, we have lost sight of the fact that noone in the world likes us. We are the richest nation in the world. Our citizens are seen as fat, lazy, boorish, and unsophisticated. No other nation wants to be our friend, unless of course, we are willing to pay the freight. As long as we pick up the tab for the fight against global warming, the rest of the world will invite us to the party. The UN will put up with us, as long as we are responsible for all of their operating costs. If we prostrate ourselves before the altar of the international community, they will allow us to participate in their vision of one-world-governance.
The problem is, we don't need them, they need us. We can act unilaterally to protect our interests across the globe. We can take care of ourselves. The rest of the world cannot. They need us to foot the bill for their insane ideas like socialist medecine and entitlement spending in their own countries. They don't realize that if they convince us to go down the same path that they have, we will be as poor as them. Our wealth will disappear faster than a Frenchman when the first gunshot is fired in battle. So why do we continue to grovel and apologize for simply being ourselves? Why do we continue to buy the friendship and forgiveness of the rest of the world? Are we truly that bad? Or is it that the people in power right now believe that we are?
I happen to believe that America is the greatest nation on earth, and as long as we remember what made us great in the first place; individualism, innovation, ingenuity, and a willingness to work hard to achieve our dreams, it will remain so. It is only when we lose sight of the reasons for our astounding success that we risk failure. If we continue to elect politicians who see America as a bad place, as an evil cancer in the world, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We have made mistakes in our history, but what nation hasn't. We have also done more good in the world than anyone will give us credit for. And I don't mean the government, although they have done more than their share. I mean regular citizens who see someone in need and react. Did the nations of the European Union step up when the tsunami struck? Anytime an earthquake hits in some faraway land, do the people of France send money they can't afford to help out? Do the citizens of any other nation give as generously as the citizens of America? And we are the evil ones? We are the one's that need to apologize? I don't think so. I hope you don't either. Let's try to vote for some people that feel like we do, instead of the usual suspects for a change. An election year is upon us again. Don't listen to what they say. look at what they've said. Pay attention to what they did before they were trying to get your vote. And most of all, don't vote for anyone that feels a reflexive need to apologize for our nation's supposed failures. Let the rest of the world thank us for all the good we've done first.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
There's been a lot of talk about social justice lately. Well, I guess it's not just lately, but I've been hearing about it more than usual. Social Justice stems from a nice idea, that everyone deserves the same opportunity in life. I agree with this concept to a point. That point is opportunity. Discrimination is wrong. I should have the same chance of landing a job as anyone else, regardless of race, religion, gender, and so on. I should have the same chance to succeed in life as well, and I believe I do. Sure, some people are born with advantages that I could never even dream of. Some are disadvantaged through no fault of their own as well. That's life. I can either whine about it, or do my best to make everything I can of every opportunity that presents itself to me. The problem comes when we try to artificially level the playing field. The playing field was never meant to be level, and no machinations can make it so.
I don't know about you, but when I was growing up we didn't get a trophy for participation. We may have gotten some credit for perfect attendance or some other token that acknowledged our effort, but that was it. They say that half of being successful in life is just showing up. While this may be true, that leaves the other half for actually doing something of worth while you're there. Trophy's were reserved for people who excelled in something, not for those who merely showed up. Encouragement is wonderful, but not at the expense of a true feeling of accomplishment. If everyone gets a trophy, doesn't that diminish the act of winning. I understand that urge to not make a child feel the pain of failure, but isn't that where most motivation stems from? The fear of failure is a powerful motivation to succeed. If one never experiences failure, one can never know the joy of overcoming that failure and achieving something truly noteworthy. I point to the story of a young man who was cut from his JV basketball team in High School. From that experience, he developed the drive that made him into the greatest basketball player since Dr Naismith hung a peach basket on a pole. Would Michael Jordan have been Mike if his school had a no-cut policy? I don't know, but since the thing that pushed him the most was his hyper-competitiveness, possibly spawned by his failures as a child, I doubt it.
I'm no psychologist, but I do know that you can't truly enjoy succes unless you have experienced failure. If we continue to shield our children from anything that might make them cry, if we continue to reward them for just showing up, if we continue to teach them that, regardless of the outcome, we're all winners, what are we teaching them? We are teaching them that mediocrity is okay. That they only need to raise their hand and say "here" to get an A in class. They will begin to feel entitled. And that is the death rattle of the nation as we know it. America was founded on the principle that if you work hard and succeed, you will be rewarded. We are teaching our children that hard work and success are no more important than just showing up, and just showing up is enough to reap the same benefits as the person that busted their tails to make something from nothing. We are robbing our children of the American Dream. And that is unconscionable.
I don't know about you, but when I was growing up we didn't get a trophy for participation. We may have gotten some credit for perfect attendance or some other token that acknowledged our effort, but that was it. They say that half of being successful in life is just showing up. While this may be true, that leaves the other half for actually doing something of worth while you're there. Trophy's were reserved for people who excelled in something, not for those who merely showed up. Encouragement is wonderful, but not at the expense of a true feeling of accomplishment. If everyone gets a trophy, doesn't that diminish the act of winning. I understand that urge to not make a child feel the pain of failure, but isn't that where most motivation stems from? The fear of failure is a powerful motivation to succeed. If one never experiences failure, one can never know the joy of overcoming that failure and achieving something truly noteworthy. I point to the story of a young man who was cut from his JV basketball team in High School. From that experience, he developed the drive that made him into the greatest basketball player since Dr Naismith hung a peach basket on a pole. Would Michael Jordan have been Mike if his school had a no-cut policy? I don't know, but since the thing that pushed him the most was his hyper-competitiveness, possibly spawned by his failures as a child, I doubt it.
I'm no psychologist, but I do know that you can't truly enjoy succes unless you have experienced failure. If we continue to shield our children from anything that might make them cry, if we continue to reward them for just showing up, if we continue to teach them that, regardless of the outcome, we're all winners, what are we teaching them? We are teaching them that mediocrity is okay. That they only need to raise their hand and say "here" to get an A in class. They will begin to feel entitled. And that is the death rattle of the nation as we know it. America was founded on the principle that if you work hard and succeed, you will be rewarded. We are teaching our children that hard work and success are no more important than just showing up, and just showing up is enough to reap the same benefits as the person that busted their tails to make something from nothing. We are robbing our children of the American Dream. And that is unconscionable.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
So, Kieth Olberman thinks Michelle Malkin is a "Bag of mashed-up meat with lipstick". I guess that is what passes for biting political commentary on MSNBC. I'm a little surprised that an erudite liberal elitist like Olberman couldn't come up with something a little more prosaic to describe Miss Malkin, but I suppose that is what the 'newspeople' and I use that term very loosely, have been reduced to at the least-watched cable news station in the country. At this point, I have a bigger audience than they do, and the only person reading me is my wife.
In what is the worst-kept secret in the news industry, CNN and MSNBC are competing for the title of 'Official mouthpiece of the Obama administration'. CNN had them on the ropes when Wolf Blitzer had his staff actually fact-check a comedy skit on Saturday Night Live that was not entirely supportive of the president. I can understand their confusion, since nothing funny has happenned on SNL in about 10 years, they probably assumed the segment was serious. Olberman's intelligent commentary on Malkin was undoubtedly in response to her new book detailing the corruption that the administration has brought to Washington from Chicago. I know, political corruption in Chicago, shocking. His leap to the defense of the crooks in the White House was definitely noticed in Washington. He may have single-handedly pushed his staion back into the lead. If not, at least when the lights go out for the last time at MSNBC, Olberman could be in line for an ambassadorship, or even a position in the NEA.
Unfortunately, this type of childish assault is truly the language of the left now. They no longer want to debate issues, or engage in political discourse. If you disagree with them, you are either a racist, an idiot, or a bag of mashed-up meat ; with or without lipstick.
I can only assume the lack of any outrage on the part of women's groups across the country is the fact that noone is watching or listening to Olberman and his giggling crony's. That's why there was no outcry about the abuse Sarah Palin has endured since her name was thrust into the spotlight during the last presidential campaign right? And yet, when some conservative commentators suggested that Hillary Clinton was crying crocodile tears during the primary, they were lambasted as rightwing paternalistic hate-mongers who only attacked Hillary because they were afraid of a strong, competent woman. It takes a great deal of fortitude to stand by your serial-philanderer of a husband simply to further your political ambitions, I mean, to protect your family.
Women's groups heard the 'attacks' on Hillary from the right because the people on the right actually have an audience. They matter. People like Olberman are voices in the wilderness, shouting inanities at the top of their lungs, hoping someone, somewhere will pay attention to them.
Michelle Malkin certainly doesn't need me to defend her. She can take care of herself. And anyways, I won't stoop to Olberman's level. So let me close with this...If the left wing loons in the so called mainstream media continue with their personal attacks and smear campaigns against people that speak out against the administration, their ratings and readership will continue to decline. Take that as a little piece of advice Mr. Olberman you big fat, flaming bag of dog feces...with a moustache. Sorry.
In what is the worst-kept secret in the news industry, CNN and MSNBC are competing for the title of 'Official mouthpiece of the Obama administration'. CNN had them on the ropes when Wolf Blitzer had his staff actually fact-check a comedy skit on Saturday Night Live that was not entirely supportive of the president. I can understand their confusion, since nothing funny has happenned on SNL in about 10 years, they probably assumed the segment was serious. Olberman's intelligent commentary on Malkin was undoubtedly in response to her new book detailing the corruption that the administration has brought to Washington from Chicago. I know, political corruption in Chicago, shocking. His leap to the defense of the crooks in the White House was definitely noticed in Washington. He may have single-handedly pushed his staion back into the lead. If not, at least when the lights go out for the last time at MSNBC, Olberman could be in line for an ambassadorship, or even a position in the NEA.
Unfortunately, this type of childish assault is truly the language of the left now. They no longer want to debate issues, or engage in political discourse. If you disagree with them, you are either a racist, an idiot, or a bag of mashed-up meat ; with or without lipstick.
I can only assume the lack of any outrage on the part of women's groups across the country is the fact that noone is watching or listening to Olberman and his giggling crony's. That's why there was no outcry about the abuse Sarah Palin has endured since her name was thrust into the spotlight during the last presidential campaign right? And yet, when some conservative commentators suggested that Hillary Clinton was crying crocodile tears during the primary, they were lambasted as rightwing paternalistic hate-mongers who only attacked Hillary because they were afraid of a strong, competent woman. It takes a great deal of fortitude to stand by your serial-philanderer of a husband simply to further your political ambitions, I mean, to protect your family.
Women's groups heard the 'attacks' on Hillary from the right because the people on the right actually have an audience. They matter. People like Olberman are voices in the wilderness, shouting inanities at the top of their lungs, hoping someone, somewhere will pay attention to them.
Michelle Malkin certainly doesn't need me to defend her. She can take care of herself. And anyways, I won't stoop to Olberman's level. So let me close with this...If the left wing loons in the so called mainstream media continue with their personal attacks and smear campaigns against people that speak out against the administration, their ratings and readership will continue to decline. Take that as a little piece of advice Mr. Olberman you big fat, flaming bag of dog feces...with a moustache. Sorry.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Immigration reform
I work for a landscaping company. The work is mainly seasonal, so we hire mainly seasonal workers. The starting pay is pretty low, the work is pretty hard, and the hours are pretty long. The prospects of hiring goods people? Pretty slim.
To combat this, my company takes part in a government program that allows Mexican workers to come to the US for 8 months and work legally until the season is over, after which they return to their families until the following year. I once had to spend a week in another city, away from my wife and sons, for work. It was the longest week of my life. These men are willing to do this for 8 months at a time to help provide for their families. This to me is admirable.
They come here legally. Most of them have been doing it for many years and are an important part of the culture of the company. It is,without a doubt, one of the few successful government programs I have ever heard of. Maybe that's why the government is putting an end to it. We had to tell our employees that they wouldn't be coming back to work for us any longer after this year, not because they are doing a bad job, quite the contrary. They are our best, most experienced and knowledgable workers. They are not coming back because, in this economic climate, the government feels it would be better to give these jobs to American workers.
In a sense, I can see the logic behind this. The flaw in the logic is that Americans truly don't want to do this work for this kind of money. If they did, we wouldn't have had the program in the first place.
At the beginning of this season, we hired about 20 local people because we were informed that the number of visas was being reduced. We still have 3 of those people. Do the math. We will have 15-20 positions to fill next spring. That means we will have to bring in 100-150 new employees to find 15-20 that will actually work out. Even in these economic times it will be tough to find that many people to even apply, let alone stay through what is arguably the most demanding time of the year for us. But that's not a big deal.
I feel badly for my amigos that I won't get to work with anymore, but that's not what bothers me the most about this situation either. What bothers me is that the government is punishing people who are playing by the rules, waiting in line to get a seasonal visa to work in the United States, leaving after it expires, and hoping for the oppurtunity to return the next year, while at the same time, policemen aren't allowed to question the citizenship of motorists they pull over for traffic violations. Even if the government does catch an illegal immigrant in the commision of another crime - in addition to being here illegally - nothing is done about it. Some cities don't even report them to INS. They are merely released and sent on their way. If they are deported, they come right back across and continue to live and work here illegally. Apparently that's all right. The jobs the illegal immigrants are working at don't need to be saved for American citizens, just the ones that are being taken by the legal, temporary immigrants. I guess that makes sense, right?
I guess I should have known this was the kind of immigration reform Obama was talking about. After all, seasonal workers don't vote, illegals do. And they vote Democrat in droves.
To combat this, my company takes part in a government program that allows Mexican workers to come to the US for 8 months and work legally until the season is over, after which they return to their families until the following year. I once had to spend a week in another city, away from my wife and sons, for work. It was the longest week of my life. These men are willing to do this for 8 months at a time to help provide for their families. This to me is admirable.
They come here legally. Most of them have been doing it for many years and are an important part of the culture of the company. It is,without a doubt, one of the few successful government programs I have ever heard of. Maybe that's why the government is putting an end to it. We had to tell our employees that they wouldn't be coming back to work for us any longer after this year, not because they are doing a bad job, quite the contrary. They are our best, most experienced and knowledgable workers. They are not coming back because, in this economic climate, the government feels it would be better to give these jobs to American workers.
In a sense, I can see the logic behind this. The flaw in the logic is that Americans truly don't want to do this work for this kind of money. If they did, we wouldn't have had the program in the first place.
At the beginning of this season, we hired about 20 local people because we were informed that the number of visas was being reduced. We still have 3 of those people. Do the math. We will have 15-20 positions to fill next spring. That means we will have to bring in 100-150 new employees to find 15-20 that will actually work out. Even in these economic times it will be tough to find that many people to even apply, let alone stay through what is arguably the most demanding time of the year for us. But that's not a big deal.
I feel badly for my amigos that I won't get to work with anymore, but that's not what bothers me the most about this situation either. What bothers me is that the government is punishing people who are playing by the rules, waiting in line to get a seasonal visa to work in the United States, leaving after it expires, and hoping for the oppurtunity to return the next year, while at the same time, policemen aren't allowed to question the citizenship of motorists they pull over for traffic violations. Even if the government does catch an illegal immigrant in the commision of another crime - in addition to being here illegally - nothing is done about it. Some cities don't even report them to INS. They are merely released and sent on their way. If they are deported, they come right back across and continue to live and work here illegally. Apparently that's all right. The jobs the illegal immigrants are working at don't need to be saved for American citizens, just the ones that are being taken by the legal, temporary immigrants. I guess that makes sense, right?
I guess I should have known this was the kind of immigration reform Obama was talking about. After all, seasonal workers don't vote, illegals do. And they vote Democrat in droves.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Social Justice and you
Throughout the history of the United States, one idea has been as crucial to the success of the nation as any other. That is the premise that all men are created equal, and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This beautiful sentiment has somehow been replaced by the quest for 'Social Justice', meaning that we are all entitled to the same stuff, and if some of us can't get it by ourselves, the government is responsible for taking it from someone that has it, and giving it to us. I don't think there is anything more unamerican than that.
This nation was based on the preeminence of self-reliance and personal responsibility. The founders didn't want a powerful centralized government, that's exactly what they had just fought to overthrow. They wanted to promote self-determination, the idea that each person could be exactly as successful as their own personal gifts allowed them to be. It also follows that each person could fail.
Social justice, on the other hand, is based on the premise that noone should have more than anyone else. If you use your talents to get ahead, I deserve a piece of it, regardless of what I can or can't do to better my own lot in life. We can't figure out a method to raise up the poor and unsuccessful, without dragging the wealthy back down to meet them in the middle.
That is the crux of social justice. It is the neverending quest for mediocrity.
"If you can't do it, don't worry, we'll take care of you" says the government. "We'll just take some from that guy. Just because he worked for years to amass his fortune, saving every dime so he could buy a second home, then a third, then maybe a nice car and a boat. Just because he was good at investing his money and made a killing in the stock market, or maybe started his own trucking company or pastry shop or beauty salon. Just because you did nothing with the gifts God gave you and wasted every opportunity that came your way. What makes him more worthy of success than you. Why should he have all that stuff while you have nothing. We'll just take some of his stuff and give it to you. Just remember who took care of you when it's time to vote in the next election."
And that's how it works. Politicians are in a position of power. They use that power not to improve anything, but to solidify their power by basically bribing the masses with shiny trinkets like new cars and big screen tv's. In the meantime, any incentive to excel is taken away by the mentality of 'Eat the rich'. No matter how hard you work, no matter how good you are at your profession, once you reach a certain tax bracket, the government will swoop in and redistribute your wealth in order for them to maintain their position. So why bother to work, why bother to try, when you can live off the sweat of others.
The problem is, pretty soon no one is sweating any more. No one is working or building or paying. We all just end up sitting on the front porch of our government owned houses, waiting for our monthly kiss in the mail, and planning our next trip into town to wait in line for government cheese.
Entitlement programs are the true opiate of the masses. Once they get us hooked on them, it is almost impossible to kick the habit. This is what they are counting on. They get their claws into us, and they own us. Once we get a taste of 'free' health care, why would we want to pay for it ourselves. Just because the doctor performing surgery is a guy you wouldn't trust to deliver your newspaper, because noone wants to go to school for 8 years to earn minimum wage so he got his license from an online certification program in 6 weeks. Just because you have to wait 6 months to get your broken ankle set. Hey it's free right? Unfortunately, you really do get what you pay for. And 900 billion dollars is too high a price to pay for one more step on the long road from American exceptionalism to American mediocrity.
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