Sunday, October 21, 2012

Accountability

   I have been hearing a lot from groups like the Tea Party and Citizens for a better America on accountability.  Holding elected Politicians accountable for their actions.  Why? So no one ever decides to run for public office again.  So we end up with a Dictator State.  That's what will happen if they get their way.  We will see the biggest void in politics since the world was run by Monarchies.  We are talking about good men and women who decide to step forward to make our communities better places.  Everyone of them with the best of intentions  to serve the publics best interest and preserve our way of life for future generations.  Just because they don't have all the answers or make a bad judgement call, they want to punish them.  Utter stupidity! Do these groups have all the answers?  Have they never made a bad call under the impression they were making things better?  This is a completely idiotic idea!  For starters, we have an accountability measure put in place hundreds of years ago.  It's called not voting for a candidate you disagree with.  These groups are no longer grass root organizations with designs on making their neighborhoods better.  They are fronts for Big Business and Big Money, to make their lives better, not citizens lives better.  The people who join these groups don't realize they are being used as pawns by billionaires with personal agendas.  It's aggravating listening to them rant on about their moronic mission statements!  And it's almost impossible to avoid it, when they come knocking on your door with their questionnaires that are obviously one sided.  When you disagree with them they have the nerve to stand on your front step, on your own property and verbally attack and demean you.  If you don't believe me then go to their websites and read their agendas and mission statements.  At first they seem harmless and then they seem to make some kind of sense, but when you break it down sentence by sentence and think about what they are spouting, you realize they are the biggest bunch of bone heads since the Keystone Cops.  The only up side to that is, the Keystone Cops aren't real.  But I'm not sure these people know that.  The groups in question don't have the ability to make America Great, simply because the are incapable of bring people together.  Their focus is separating people.  Pushing them apart seems to be the real mission statement.  Dividing our Nation and feeding off of its polarizing effects.  What purpose could that serve?  It's like keeping a draw bridge in the up position all the time.  It keeps communities apart while allowing ships, shipments, and money flowing to the ones who are really in charge!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Punkin Pickin

Took our Grandchildren
for our annual Punkin
Pickin to
Milburn Orchards






















                                                               



Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Conservatives

It is entirely possible to be conservative and be a caring, feeling, normal human being. Time was conservatives did care about others. They had their way and respected the fact that you had yours. I think most conservatives are still that way. We just don't realize it, because they are drowned out by right wing fanatics. In fact, I don't think they should call themselves conservative any more. You can't be a fanatic and conservative at the same time. Intentionally or not, they've sullied the very meaning of the word.  And about all the controversy lately over Famous personalities supporting conservatives. I say leave them alone. They've made their own decision and we should respect that.  Don't we ask for the same respect?  If you're deciding peoples votes for them, your in the wrong country.  It seems like everybody is so busy shouting to be heard they don't realize, nobody is listening to any one.  It's bad enough the politicians stopped listening to us, now we aren't even listening to each other.   I'm not a conservative but I respect their right to live as they see fit.  I only ask they do the same.  As for the Ultra Right Wing Extremist I say to you, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  So if you want to be berated, assaulted, belittled and humiliated, than by all means carry on.
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Monday, October 8, 2012

Chilly Nights

It was a chilly day today, and even a chillier night.  So I decided to give my grandson his first fire. It has become and Autumn tradition with me to start an inaugural fire in our fireplace for my grandchildren.  Every new grandchild born, is introduced to his or her first fire when Fall rolls around.  Their very own, just for them. It's not something I planned, it just sort of worked out that way.  At least it didn't start that way, it has evolved into a tradition.  I will tell you now, that I have celebrated this tradition far to many times for a man my age, but I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world.  There are few things I look forward to more than The Lighting of the Hearth.  For me it rivals the smell of Turkey roasting on Thanksgiving, or the scent of pine needles on Christmas morning.  Surprisingly, everyone looks forward to it.  My wife, even my children who are well into their twenties, get excited.   Each grandchild is fascinated as I place the logs and mesmerized as the flames grow into a glowing ball of warmth.  I remember every expression on every face.  They sit on my knee and, silently listening to the crackle of the wood.  I don't know how long we sit there, but I know it is a fleeting moment in time that seems to last forever.  If you don't know how those two opposites can exist at the same time, then I hope someday you will.  And if you do, well, then you do.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Congress Fiddles while Rome Burns

I will give Democrats credit for trying to move the Nation forward against a Tea Party Hi-Jacked Republican Congress. And I can't fault them for failing in their attempt.  It's difficult to reason with fanatics.  But that does not excuse them for ignoring and in some cases, lashing out against their own constituents. Americans are pleading for help and all we get is "it's not my fault" or "why don't you do something about it" or my personal favorite said to my face from a Candidate seeking my vote, "make yourself relevant".  All though unemployment has recently dropped, there are to many variables involved for it to be taken seriously. Students going back to school, and leaving summer jobs that are being filled by over qualified professionals that have been out of work for years. Add to that temporary seasonal hiring has started for the upcoming Holidays. All of which make for an inaccurate jobs analysis. As thankful as we are to be getting back to work, these are hardly the types of jobs that will put America back on track. And all the while Congress fiddles while Rome burns.  It's baffling that PACs, Super PACs and the Mega Rich are willing to give Millions of Dollars to get a Candidate elected, but not willing to spare one dime on economic growth. I wonder how many jobs could have been created with just the money the Koch Brothers alone have given?

Bill McLaughlin     

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Friday, October 5, 2012

Warning Lights

The American Economy wasn't built on hopes and dreams, and yet over the last ten years we have put so many of our own into it. Maybe it is! Maybe in some small part hopes and dreams are what's keeping it afloat until we can come together to fix it. It's kind of like an old Chevy I used to have. Every warning light on the dash was lit, and I knew in my head that it should have died miles back, but it just seemed to will itself on until I got where I needed to be. That was the Chevy's last trip. So I guess hope will only go so far. The rest is up to us.
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Employment

Despite how much we complain about our jobs or bosses, people really do want to work. We actually enjoy it. In fact we like to work as much as we like to complain about it. For most it's a paycheck, a means to provide food, shelter, and warmth for ourselves or loved ones. A meager attempt to offer a sense normality, and stability to an other wise dangerous and uncertain world. But for all of us, it brings a feeling of pride and self worth, to contribute to something greater than ourselves. To be a part of something bigger than we are, to be a part of the big picture. A chance to be someone.
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