The discussion about “Bullying”

The current and ongoing discussion about “bullying” is just one more example of out of control, inept government invading your life. (They are not able to do the job they are charged to do, so they find all these little diversions to make it look like they really have something to do.)

Every kid has been “bullied” at some time, or perhaps many times, during his or her school career, from kindergarten through high school and beyond. And for the most part it is merely a learning experience with many lessons about life.

We all have our limitations, weaknesses and strengths. And, along the way, we learn who among us is smarter, bigger, stronger, faster, and, well, better. We also learn who is weaker, less intelligent, smaller, slower, and so on. The way we learn these things is through interaction with all the different kinds of people during our formative years.

All these experiences, good and bad, help us to know where we are in this scheme. An example might be the 10 or 15 kids on a ball field choosing up sides for a baseball game. Almost everyone there knows who’s going to be chosen first and who’s going to be chosen last. Most of them are somewhere in the middle and are happy just to be chosen. And, they know that it goes right back to the bigger, stronger, faster thing. The things we can’t control.  Out of that same group of kids, there will be a couple who everyone knows can and will perform beyond their physical expectations.

Leave kids alone and they will find their own level, find their own place.

Only in the rare extreme cases should the heavy handed bureaucrats get involved.

Liberals make gains one “chip” at a time

The socialists know the art of “incremental change” very well. Chip, chip, chip, get a small compromise then chip, chip, chip. Before long they’ve had their way and we don’t even know how it happened! The conservatives have yet to learn this “art” so they keep doing the compromising. Maybe we should do some conservative “chipping” and turn the tables on these clever devils.
The libs know full well that they won’t get everything they want in one fell swoop, instead they accept the small gains. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and socialism won’t happen overnight. Chip, chip, chip

Congress in charge of health care…

How in the world can thinking people even consider putting something so important as health care in the hands of the government? Think about the people who are currently running the “government”; the people who have barely a 30% approval rating. The same people who have put the postal service in a financial quagmire. They are not statesmen, they are not patriots, they are career politicians who will do and say ANYTHING to keep their position. Even destroy America. With all the really bright, honest people in this great country, how do we keep winding up with these dolts?

Obama’s policies will continue to squeeze the middle class…

This socialist administration continues to squeeze billions of dollars in taxes from hard working middle class Americans so that they can provide goods and services for millions of people who are unwilling to take the steps necessary to provide for themselves.  This same bunch allows members of congress to enrich themselves and their friends at the public trough.

Those who refuse to get an education, or refuse to be parents to their offspring, should not have access to the results of the hard work and discipline of of the good people of this still great country.

I am sick of the professional excuse makers and whiners whose expectations are so low that by their whining  seek to legitimize the lack of action by the slackers. Welfare, in all it’s forms, should be reserved for those who absolutely cannot provide for themselves.

If the fact that you are poor is a result of your lack of effort, then so be it! You’ll forever be poor. Hard core? Maybe, but hunger is a great motivator and will do more to solve the problem than taking money from those who are already stressed (because of government meddling in the markets) and giving it to a group who are not worth the effort.

Government’s solution to our problems seems to be to sacrifice the many in a futile attempt to save the few. Classrooms and teachers are held hostage by the few bad apples that constantly create problems and rob decent students of the chance to learn without these distractions. Good teachers become frustrated to the point that they simply go with the flow dictated by the bureaucracy rather than use their considerable skills to teach attentive students.

Welfare programs that are designed to kill incentive and to keep in line a whole new block of voters who will elect those who will promise even more welfare are destructive to our great country. These programs need to be eliminated, not reformed.

Having said all that, I am firmly in favor of programs that are designed to help those who are making a genuine effort to work and better themselves and their children. That help should be based on need and should be withdrawn gradually as the recipient gains education and earning power, not eliminated totally at a point decided by another mindless bureaucrat.

Common sense can solve any problem we have. Common sense that demands effort and accountability. Common sense that knows when to sever the cord.

Obama’s flawed view of America…

I fear this president has a goal of America’s ultimate destruction. His motive, I think, is to rebuild a country of total socialist control. His vision of “government” is ownership and control by his appointed cronies and with all his “education”, he is not smart enough to understand that his vision is fatally flawed.

Society is best served by allowing good people to thrive and create.

Government can’t create jobs, their only power comes from access to our money. He has found he can spend our money any way he wants, and seemingly get away with it. Many good Americans are watching with anger and sadness.

Nicotine addiction? I don’t think so!

Now, more then ever,  long-time smokers are trying to quit this insidious tobacco habit.  Of course, health considerations are not the only motivation. The price of cigarettes is crazy. So, those who actually do quit  are headed down the road to a healthier life with more money in their pocket. Granted, quitting smoking is difficult, but I’m convinced that we’re approaching the problem from the wrong angle. When I say we, I’m referring to those who continue to blame nicotine for the smokers difficulty in shedding the habit. Nicotine may be somewhat addictive, however from personal experience, I know that most of the addiction is psychological. It’s a habit, for Christ’s sake! With almost all habits, the action is triggered by another event. Every smoker or ex-smoker will verify this. For instance: When having a cup of coffee; when having a beer (the worst); answering a telephone call; driving the car or getting up in the morning. You get the idea. Smokers can probably add hundreds of examples to the ones noted here. On the other hand, smokers can easily go without nicotine for the 8 or so hours that they spend sleeping every night without the tremendous pangs usually associated with wanting a smoke. Other telling evidence that backs up my claim is the proliferation of products that introduce nicotine into the body in ways other than smoking. They don’t work. Smokers almost always go back to the real thing; smoking. They miss the oral contact, the interaction with the smoke, and the obvious pleasure of inhaling and exhaling the smoke. I know! I was there for many years. And I, like everyone who tries to quit, tried all the little gimmicks and tricks to cut down gradually to lessen the pain. We all do it. Laying out just a few cigarettes, like five or so, as a limit to our daily smoking. Ha! That’s the biggest joke. We smoke them up in the first two hours, then feel stranded until the next morning, when we’re going to lay out five more smokes. Or we buy some sweet tasting cigars, usually a pack of  five, with the idea that they will fill the void, but we won’t like them enough to keep smoking them. And we’re right, we don’t like them so we promptly go back to cigarettes. The only way to effectively quit using cigarettes is to recognize that this is a habit, not an addiction, and to quit cold! All the crutches only serve to constantly remind us that we’re trying to do something that we can’t possibly do without the crutches. The same crutches that almost always lead us back to smoking full time, because they keep reminding us that we can’t quit.

Instead of wasting your time and money on phony cures and fixes like nicotine gum, patches and pseudo cigarettes (another devise that actually reinforces my claim that the appeal of cigarettes is the oral interaction) and just quit! If you need some counseling to get over the hump, get it! Over the rest of your life, you’ll be repaid the cost of that counseling many times over. I’m not going to get into the other negative aspects of cigarette use, like the burn marks all over your furniture, the stench in your home, your car, your office and your clothing.  If a guy smells like a stale old ashtray, it’s bad. If a great looking young woman smell that way, it’s a real put-off.

What do we gain with embargoes?

For about 50 years we’ve tried to punish Cuba’s Castro by essentially punishing the good people of Cuba. These policies almost always result in a net loss for everyone involved. We rarely accomplish our goals, and in fact we accomplish the opposite.  Why we  feel that we can impose our way of life and government by making an entire nation of people resent us is beyond me. If these policies contribute to the hardships already being suffered, it also contributes to the resentment.

Even if we disagree with their form of government, it’s still their contry. Trying to force change is rarely successful, as we should know by now. We, in business know that we don’t have to like someone to do business with them. Governments should take a few lessons from people operating in real life!

The benefits that will accrue from normal relations with Cuba will not only effect positively the average citizens of the U.S. and Cuba, but will advance the cause of peace and understanding. How can a relaxed interaction between these two neighboring countries be a bad thing?

Should Merchant Ships Be Armed?

The big question of the day may be whether or not merchant ships should be armed so that they can defend themselves against would-be highjackers.
The answer to most Americans is quite obvious.
Yes! Absolutely! Let’s face it. Most American men love guns, know how to use them, and would relish the chance to kill a real live pirate! Especially when the alternative might be to be taken hostage and taken to Somolia where some really horrible things can and have happened to Americans (and others) at the hands of these savages.
Blowing a small fishing boat out of the water should be very easy for ships equipped with live men as sentinels and electronic detection devises. A fast and deadly response to anyone who tries to take over a full manned ship should prove to be absolute folly!
Why the shipping owners are hesitant to protect their employees is beyond me.

Radon: Another Government Sponsored Rip-off!

 

Every day in the media we see and hear “public service” announcements warning of the dangers of  residential Radon Gas. This colorless, odorless substance is mindlessly reported to be “the second leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.” (What is the first?) Never mind that there is absolutely no evidence that this is true, government health agencies continue to spread the myth, and thousands of contractors take advantage of the fears of people who believe these reports. Old people are the most susceptible to the fear mongers and are duped out of their savings to “cure” this problem.

Medical people who study cancer in all its forms and all its causes have concluded the following:

“Exposure to the radioactive gas radon has been suggested to increase the risk of lung cancer development. This gas is ubiquitous in the earth’s atmosphere, creating the opportunity for exposure of vast numbers of people.

However, passive exposure to the background levels of radon found in domestic dwellings and other enclosures are not sufficiently high to increase lung cancer risk appreciably.

High level radon exposure has been documented among miners working in uranium, iron, zinc, tin, and fluorspar mines. These workers show an excess of lung cancer (compared to non-miners) that varies depending on the radon concentration encountered in the ambient air of the specific mine.”

I’m reminded of another, similar rip-off. Remember Y2K? Thousands of low level bureaucrats were convinced that this phenomenon would, at the strike of midnight marking the year 2000, cause computer dependent devises like airplanes, to drop out of the sky, trains would halt on their tracks, cars would become disabled, bank records would disappear, along with our savings and investments, and our personal computers would be compromised. This is just a small sampling of the predicted dreadful results of the computer confusion caused by “Y2K”.

Opportunist made millions by conducting “seminars” that were supposed to educated the gullible on how to avoid this disaster.

Those who really knew how computers work were not panicking. In fact, they were doing and saying nothing. Just watching in amusement, amazed at just how scatterbrained Americans have become.

And, how irresponsible government can be. And, of course, we’re seeing even more evidence of government irresponsibility now with even more dire consequences.

Newspapers becoming irrelevant?

It’s hard to believe that great American newspapers are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Particularly when the alternative is the electronic media. I love to read newspapers. Even the most liberal, (or conservative)slanted,  opinionated sheets out there. Why? Because I can read that crap (whichever you consider crap) without having to believe it. Besides, the larger dailies are becoming even better sources of “how to” information that nearly everyone needs and can use. Seasonal information like lawn and garden, home repairs and remodeling, holiday recipes, crafts, travel, and on and on. Sure you can get a lot of this information on the web, and this is certainly another very useful tool. But, anyone who spends much time on the Internet knows how tiring these searches can be with outright misleading links and dead-end information.

Besides being packed with news and information, newspapers can be read at the leisure of the reader. You can read awhile, go get another cup of coffee, come back and pick up right where you left off. You get news, sports, opinions (you really need to be careful here), society, TV guide and classifieds. And, when you have read all that you need for that day, you can always try the New York Times crossword puzzle!

All this for a very low price. I think you’ll agree…newspapers need another look.