Thoughts on government

I'm happy to discover that there are people who read my blogs, it is my goal to get 5,000 followers of my blog so anyone that you can email or tell about my blogs, it would be appreciated. I'm going to continue a vein that I espoused in an earlier blog on government corruption. I may have been wrong when I wrote that cops were the biggest revenue generators in the community. I have discovered additional information that (after percolating in the old brain cells for a while) has caused me much angst. It seems that it's not just the cops that are programmed to generate revenue, but a lot of government entities have the power and ability to do so as well.

Many of the individuals I know are primarily interested in living life, enjoying their families and the freedom that the America has to offer. I am a lot like that. However, I am also extremely worried about the direction we are traveling as a nation. I especially worry that government entities now own and are stock holders in a vast array of businesses. These financial and auto company bailouts are especially troublesome mainly because of the degree of arrogance it takes to say to the American public 'we are wasting your dollars and it does not matter what you think about it!'

Some news reports have stated that the vast majority of taxpayers are against these bailouts, yet our elected officials could not care less. What can we do? That is the question I keep asking myself. I have recently discovered that most government (local, state and federal) entities have two sets of financial records. One set is the budget numbers, the other is the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The CAFR contains a much more enlightening look at what government is spending our tax dollars on. So, here is what I am going to do; I'm going to request copies of that report from my local school district and city government using the Freedom of Information Act. Once I have received the information I will post it here. You may perhaps say 'what good is that?' and to that I reply 'it's what I can do'. If I think of other further actions I will take those as well. Any ideas? Anyone besides me care? Let me know.

Legacy

We can now communicate anytime we wish, on a worldwide basis, to a worldwide society! How exciting is that? I am continually amazed by the creativity and genius of mankind. That creativity is displayed in song, prose, verse, film, theatre, business and especially in everyday life. I am a natural optimist and when I behold the wonderful things that homo sapians create I find myself filled with the knowledge that mankind will persevere and overcome any and all problems, including the problems brought on by self-inflicition. We will even overcome the audacity and stupidity of our elected officials. I am generally a George Bush advocate and supporter, but what was he thinking in giving GM and Chrylser billions of our dollars? He had the opportunity to secure a legacy by allowing them to overcome their own problems, instead he acted like a Democrat, thinking that handouts were the solution, when they actually exacerbate the situation. This was a huge mistake, and I am sorely disappointed in the actions of George W. Bush. He caved to Congress...bad! bad! bad!

A new leaf

The end of the year...when time has passed, reflections of the year take place and we all look forward to a new start, a fresh start, a new direction. Perhaps we wish to improve our lot in life, or perhaps we wish to make amends for misdeeds, or change the course our lives have taken. The motivation is there for us, and now could be the perfect time. I wonder what changes are going to come to us? I wonder if I will be better off, or worse off next year at this time? I am an optimist by nature, but I'm deeply worried about the future of our country, our society, our communities and our families. I sincerely hope that I am just being an old curmudgeon, because that can be corrected. The course of our nation is a much larger ship to turn. My prayers are with us all.

Revenue generators

My pick of the year for the community's top revenue generators are police officers and the 'justice' system. I recently was awarded a ticket for which I had to go to court, and while I was there I kept track of how much revenue was generated over a 3 hour period. Lo and behold, it was over $15,000. I then extrapolated that amount to estimate an average of $150,000 per week and a monthly amount of $600,000. What that means is that over a one-year period the small court I attended raised over $7 million. Even if my estimates are off by 50% the city still profited by $3.5 million. What I would like to know is where, and on what does all that money gets spent? I know that my city brags about how safe it is, but I would wager that most of the local police officers spend their time on traffic duty, which (I believe) is a complete waste of time. Instead of being revenue generators perhaps the police and courts should concentrate on real crime. If their reply to this is that there really is not that much crime, then perhaps a layoff of police officers might make more sense than sitting them on the side of the road just waiting for someone to go 5 mph over the speed limit.

Love from above.

In the snowy Christmas season
Lest we forget that Christ is the reason
For the lights, the presents and the tree
The gathering together of family
With loving words and joyful smiles
Traveling across the windy miles
Opening homes to our friends
Such thoughtfulness will never end
With peace in our souls and our hearts
Enjoying winter's icy arts
Feeling the warmth of fireplaces
Towards the gifts the children races
Remember that the gift of love
Comes from our Father in Heaven above.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Our Money

So, now we have a liberal Congress doling out monies to bankers, automobile companies and themselves. What I find amazing is that while families in America continue to struggle to put food on the table, and a roof over their heads, these arrogant, reprehensible, selfish, condescending jerks take our hard earned dollars and spend it on themselves, and they are not even apololgizing for it. In fact, what they do is laugh themselves all the way to the bank. The foxes are running the chicken house! I know that we reap what we sow, and therefore we are currently reaping our just rewards. What I hope is that over the next few years we will actually learn a lesson we sorely need to learn, but we may find ourselves in a lot more peril than what we think. When we have a socialist leaning president who wishes to 'nationalize' the oil companies, bankrupt the coal companies, and who also now runs a government that owns vast portions of the financial industry and is in bed with the unions, can anyone wonder what this will all lead to? America, and the freedom for which it has been heralded for over 230 years will no longer be, instead we will be the next in a long line of socialist countries that have utterly failed to live up to any of its propaganda.

All I want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas is more snow? Not. As I get older, I dread the coming of winter almost as much as I dread the first month after the last World Cup game (I know I have four years before the next World Cup rolls around!). I hear people say that the snow is beautiful, that is great for skiers, and that the mountains are gorgeous when covered with the white stuff. To all of them I say; keep it in the high elevations, let the skiers ski, and the individuals who are into white moutaintops can gaze all they wish. A no-snow winter would not bother me at all, especially if it meant I could be on the soccer pitch the entire time! My vote: NO MORE SNOW!

Teachers of What?

I have been doing some teaching lately at the high school where I coach, and I find it interesting that even in the most conservative state in the U.S. many of the teachers are quite liberal. I know of one lady that is showing a movie that is calling Barney Frank the 'smartest man in the Senate' and the talk show 'Oprah' to her students as a method of teaching financial literacy. I take great exception to both of those characters being introduced to my offspring as prime examples of competent financial gurus. Barney Frank is one of the primary reasons the US is in the mess it is currently experiencing, and Oprah as a financial wizard? Come on, she might be a good talk show host who makes millions of dollars, but to have her explain what the common man can do in ordinary financial circumstances? That is a little far-fetched. It is not just the teachers that are bent to the left, the textbooks are as well. I was reading to the class out of a history book today and had to stop and explain to them that every written word has a bias to it, and that we had to think about where the author is coming from in order to ascertain whether information is biased in any manner. I am sure happy that I have actually taught my sons to think for themselves, and that I allow them the freedom to argue politics, religion, conservative vs liberal and any other thing they wish to argue. With liberal teachers cramming crap down their throats they will have to learn to stand against such dissemination. Hopefully, they will be up to the task.

Society's Path

Tuesday, and the Governor of Illinois has yet to resign. Supposedly caught on tape attempting to sell a Senate seat for up to 1.5 million dollars and he acts as if he has done nothing wrong. He is a product of our society. After seeing Senators trolling for sex in airport bathrooms, observing murderers go completely free from any punishment whatsoever, and watching a President who asks the American people to define sex, what else do we expect? In today's society whatever the individual does is okay, right? Americans cannot expect to show discipline, intelligence and common sense, that would be too much to ask. Instead, we seem to believe that anything goes. Is it just me? Am I the only who thinks this is the wrong path to trod? I sure hope not! Perhaps we should take a step back and think seriously about where we want to go, the legacy we wish to leave, and the society that we are forming. By the way, if you enjoy these blogs, or at least they give you something to think about, feel free to forward them to other individuals. My initial goal is 5000 viewers, and I need your help to accomplish the goal. Thank you. The blog can be accessed at http://dtsrants.blogspot.com/.

Palin's Church

Did anyone read about Sarah Palin's church being burned? An arsonist set fire to the church while there were people inside. The fire spread quickly but the women and children inside were alerted by a fire alarm, and were able to get out safely. The fire caused over $1 million in damages. The question of the day is; what in the world was this person thinking? Was this person so filled with hate that he or she did not even consider the consequences of such actions? I find it very difficult to understand what type of message this person was attempting to send. It reminds me of the gays who continue to attack, verbally, physically and by doing damage to property, members of churches who actually stood up to them and said no, we do not believe that same sex marriage is right. Are these people stupid? Do they not realize the consequences of their actions? All I know is that when someone pushes me on a belief that I hold true, then I am even more apt to hold to my beliefs, not less. When I see gays and lesbians persecuting others for their beliefs, it makes me wonder why they believe they should not be persecuted because of theirs. They are asking for something they are not willing to give to others. If that is not hypocritical, I don't know what is!

It's a wonderful life

I was writing a critical review yesterday of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart and was able to enjoy watching the film once again. The movie is one of my favorites, though it is in black and white. The main character, George Bailey (played by Stewart) decides to take his own life. An angel by the name of Clarence is sent to show him how asinine a move that would be. If the angel is successful in getting George to change direction, then the angel will earn his 'wings', thereby becoming an Angel FC (first class). Clarence does this by showing George how life would have played out if George had not been part of it. The movie shows a number of examples where individuals who George knows and loves are affected negatively (even dying) if George had not been there. If you have seen the movie you know of what I speak, if you haven't seen the movie, then perhaps you should. What is really amazing is that all of us, as human beings, take actions that either negatively or positively affect other individuals, sometimes we do not realize just how much. My suggestion of the day is to take a moment or so and reflect on your actions, are they ones that you can be proud of? If not, can you make amends? Do you even care? Hopefully, you do. I do. It is my desire to only affect people in ways that will be positive for them. If I have done so, then bully for me. If not, then I have more work to do. I guess I better get on that. Have a great day!

In sickness and in health

My wife and I were told yesterday that she has Chronic Kidney Failure. The doctor is going to perform an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis, but his words were "we deal with diabetic patients on a daily basis, and have seen this thousands of times". In other words, be prepared to start dialysis. At that point, my wife asked him "what is the life expectancy once a patient starts dialysis". He hemmed hawed a bit, and then said about 5 years. He clarified that answer by saying that it is up to the individual patient, some die sooner and some die later. All this brings me to today's point. That is, why are relationships so hard to maintain? The divorce rate seems to get higher and higher every year, and yet the fiber of the nation, the core of our strength should be the family. I'm using my situation as an example, but I know of many good, strong people who fight through any and all hardships with the assistance and support of loving wives and husbands. How is it that the type of commitment to accomplish a happy relationship cannot be found in a more abundant manner? Why do men and women leave each other? I always believed that it was much harder to start over, than to maintain what I already had. I'm not happy that my wife is sick, but I'm also not going to leave her to fight this by herself. I made a commitment to her a long time ago, and I plan to live up to that commitment. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone could do the same!

All Hail Barak...

Wow! I just saw a commercial offering me a commemorative plate with Barak Obama's face etched in real gold. The commercial shows him with his beautiful smile, a halo around his head, and his most sincere look. Can you believe that for only $19.95 I can have a ceramic plate commemorating the most memorable experience of my 50 years? The only thing missing from the picture is a cigarette dangling from his lips. Hold on while I grab my phone and dial the number, after all, the supplies are limited, I might just miss out...Crap, the line is busy, guess I will just have to keep trying.

The Auto Bailout

I cannot be the only person in the United States who believes the bailout of the auto industry is a colossal mistake, can I? The media reports the CEO's of the auto firms are saying "Bankruptcy is not an option" and to that I say, "Really, why not?" Their response is that the American people will not buy cars from them if they declare bankruptcy, which is ludicrous. The American people are not currently buying their cars, which is how they ended up where they are. Along with their mismanagement, of course, is the fact that they are being bailed out by the same crew that exacerbated the situation in the first place. If our elected officials had not placed such idiotic hinderances on the auto industry perhaps they could have been more competitive and would not have been handicapped in their attempts to be profitable. The hypocrisy of our elected officials is positively mind boggling. In the late 20's and early 30's of the last century, the US went through a devastating depression that only ended with the advent of World War II. The depression was a cleansing event for our entire citizenry, and refocused our efforts to understand our responsibilities and obligations. When individuals are forced to make hard decisions as to feeding and clothing families, those decisions form our character. Living through difficult circumstances oftentimes leads to acquring a broader perspective and we become stronger as individuals, communities and a nation. Attempting to forestall those circumstances, which is all that a bailout can do, is doing our nation a disservice. I say let them reap what they have sown, in the end we will all be stronger for it.