Turn, Turn, Turn.....

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."-Ecclesiastes 3:1

There was a time I thought this was written by the Mammas and the Pappas, but these powerful words and the whole song was taken straight from the Bible. What's more ironic is I was enrolled in a parochial school when the song was popular, but nary a word was muttered about it's origin.

You can't help but wonder why? Would it have ruined the hippy, flower power, free love movement street cred? Their whole gig was being anti-everything yet here they are quoting a Bible verse. A basis of a moral foundation that was totally opposite of what they were trying to sell. Defying moral codes of conduct with the mantra of sex, drugs, rock and roll, end the war, and down with the man rebellion defined the 60's. Yet one of the most popular folk songs of the era was basically a Bible verse set to music.

I can't help but wonder if the radicals feel like they've been had? Especially since their days are now filled preaching separation of church and state.........

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Are We Doe Heads?

The fictional character Homer Simpson is a man of simple means, and even simpler thought. When confronted with a situation where the simple reality that he's been outsmarted he often shouts, "DOE!"

Cass Sunstein, the Obama administration's regulatory czar has remarked we, being the citizens of this great nation, all have a little Homer Simpson in us. And it's necessary for the government to "nudge" us with regulation so we respond as the government requires.

The arrogance of that statement is enough to send me off into ten or twelve blog topics alone, but the underlying message is we are too stupid to do the right thing, and it's necessary for the government to "control" our actions for our own good.

John Kerry the esteemed Massachusetts Senator was taped recently saying that the voting population is less than informed, and can easily be distracted by a catchy slogan or two. Maybe he learned this from,"Yes we can," or perhaps, "Hope and Change?"

Bottom line, they all believe we are stupid. The Homer Simpson reference may have more impact than you might suspect. Could the writers of that show be sending us a subliminal message? Homer Simpson is a product of Springfield,USA, and it's public school system. Overseen by...You guessed it....D.O.E.

Department Of Education

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

PS Here's a little something you need to read, hit Orrin's website>>>

Happy Monday!

"What others need from us, on an ongoing basis, is to know that they are cared for, that their good deeds inspire gratitude, and that others love them. It's that simple! And just because they hear such sediments on Monday doesn't mean they don't need to hear them again on Tuesday. That is the primary reason why words that heal and inspire must be repeated again and again."-Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

"A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies, and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings."- Wisdom of Sirach

Now your gun is loaded, go face Mnoday!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Welcome, Patrick III !

My Dearest Nephew;
Welcome to the world of fatherhood, and congratulations on the birth of Patrick III. Time will help you understand the journey you've undertaken, the walk from male to man. Patrick III now relies upon you for everything, since you gave him the gift of life your also blessed with responsibility. When he wants, your the man to fulfill his desires. When he hurts, your the man to make it right. When he's wrong, your the man to discipline, explain, and correct. When he's happy, your the man who shares in his joy.

The blessings he'll bring you defy explanation, the growing pains will be equal in kind. We are a product of our environment, and his well being will be defined by the environment you provide for him, it's a heavy responsibility. You've just been elected his super hero.

As a super hero you'll share in his victories and explain the lessons of his defeats. He'll study your every move and emulate his idol. You'll be greeted with hugs of admiration for fulfilling these responsibilities, and his love will know no boundaries, at least till he learns to speak.

About the time he hits sixth grade he'll enter the arrogant years. His expertise will be unlimited and Dad won't be as useful. You'll be downgraded from super hero to ATM, but again this will be defined by the upbringing you provide during the impressionable years. It's not all bad though, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing life will provide the lessons to enlighten him and somewhere in his thirties it'll hit him. Dad was right, and that's what he was trying to tell me. You'll have that moment anytime now. Don't be afraid to call Pop up and share his victory with him. He's waited a long time for it, and it's been a bumpy road.

All in all it'll be worth the struggle. You now have the ability to present the world with a new and improved, you in infant size. Give him the benefit of the lessons you've learned, and the struggles you've overcome, so he can avoid the pain of experience. You'll be a wonderful Dad, a loving and caring Father.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

E Pluribus Unium, But Are They Smart?

If you had your druthers, and your thirst needed quenching, would you prefer a cool bottle water, or a sip from a lukewarm public fountain?

Once that water has been processed and nature has taken it's course, would you opt to use a public restroom, or rather the comfort of your private bathroom?

If the heat of the day suggested a refreshing dip in the pool, would you join the masses in a public facility, or enjoy your own private swimming ool? (note I left out the pee).

Catching the theme? Private is usually preferred over public, because little the government does is done as well as the private sector. So that begs the question....Why would we let the government educate our children?

Actually I should rephrase that. They aren't educating anyone, they are training them to perform. The process of education requires you be taught to think. The current system is training them to pass a comprehensive assessment test, get a job, work for someone else and pay taxes. Sounds like animals in a circus, no?

Let me ask you this...Who teaches our children in the public schools? Are they the cream of the crop? Do our children study great philosophers like Socrates or Plato? Is that type of wisdom placed on their learning plate so the can process information and make an informed decision? Or are they spoon fed information from a text book, (written by who?) so they can pass a test designed by the government to evaluate how well they are trained? After generations of this indoctrination, how well informed will our population be? How wise and able to process information objectively will our scholars be?

There was a time when Greek and Latin where part of the education process. The literary classics where included in the curriculum. History was taught so we could learn from the experiences of others. I'll bet you most high school graduates cannot tell you what the translation of E Pluribus Unum means.

So if you had to use a mode of transportation, would it be public, or private?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Reputation, Values, and Principles!

A dear friend of mine who I love very much recently had a problem with definitions. I could see where they were led astray so I thought it might benefit everyone to redefine and explain where the error occurred.

After boasting to his peers about a course of action he was determined to take, he realized the outcome would be hurtful to some of the people in his life he cared about very much. In fact it was going to possibly cause irreparable damage to his relationships. He rationalized his agenda by announcing his integrity would be at stake if he didn't follow through. Here in lies the problem. Whenever it's necessary to rational-lies to yourself your going down the wrong path.

The first mistake in this situation is he confused the definition of reputation with integrity. Your integrity is based upon the foundation of your principles. How solid your integrity is, is based on how you adhere to your principles. Your reputation is the shadow cast by your actions.

Now your principles are defined by your values, and your values are based on your priorities. Mine happen to be God first, then my family, then my friends, then work. Considering friends and family fall just under my Savior, I make a point of putting relationships first. So if my actions violated that principle, it would impute my integrity, but that's just me. Perhaps your priorities align differently.

Now instead of damaging relationships I value in my life, it might be best for my reputation to admit I had erred, and cite a review of my principles as the reason to adjust my course of action. That's what a man does, he takes responsibility for his actions and admits when he's wrong. That is a man of integrity and principle, who will find his reputation will reflect that when he uses this logic to make decisions. The only justification required is an adherence to your principles, that's never hard to defend.

I would be remiss if I didn't suggest you read this great piece written by my mentor Orrin Woodward. It's a great guideline toward relationship building in your home.

http://orrinwoodward.blogharbor.com/

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

With Eyes Wide Open!

It's amazing how the mastery of the art of communication can effect our lives. I'll never cease to wonder how the tweaking of our phraseology alters the intended outcome of a situation. Take for example the everyday situation where you encounter someone who's absolutely tried your patience. The natural reaction is to become confrontational and say something that might sound a little like this.....

"Your an absolute moron, how could you possibly arrive at that conclusion?"

Now as pleasing to the pallet as that statement might be, it's without a doubt confrontational. The outcome of reaction to it is bound to be less than pleasing. You've belittled and demeaned the person you've directed the comment toward, putting them immediately on the defensive, Your pining for a fight, and chances are you'll get your wish. It's time to apply some people skills and rephrase your response. Something of this nature, perhaps.....

" I'm afraid I expected a little too much from you, this is my fault. I didn't communicate that properly, and there is no way you could have possibly understood what I meant."

Caution: tone is important here! This situation can also explode if not said in a loving manner. You transferred the blame to yourself, accepting the outcome of a less than desirable result, and disarmed the potential argument. Bravo, an adult reaction, and a feather in your hat toward personal growth!

Rephrasing to disarm a potentially explosive situation is the sign of leadership. People are not going to follow you if you raise their blood pressure! This is especially true in family matters. Husbands and wives share the responsibility of leadership in the home, and mastering this art can be especially helpful in relationship building.

God gives us these lessons daily to learn from. It's a simple matter of opening your eyes and absorbing the knowledge. Be aware that every scenario is an opportunity to learn and grow personally.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Seek And You Shall Find!

It never ceases to amaze me how in the handbook of life, (the owners manual), everything you need to know to be happy and successful is laid out for you. Yet we stray further and further from it.

My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul : when thou has found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.-Proverbs 24:13,14

If only I knew then what I know now, but then it was always right in front of me, wasn't it? One would think with nine years of a parochial education a student would be led to the truth, and encouraged to read the Bible. If it wasn't promoted there, is it any wonder that the lay population doesn't seek the wisdom in the pages of the Bible?

Here's a thought...as parents why don't we create a habit and teach our children to seek the truth? It's a simple act to inspire our youth to enjoy reading the handbook of life. All the answers to all their questions lie within. Isn't it a great idea they learn them sooner rather than later?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Dictatorship... Here And Now!

Washington has decided to totally pitch the Constitution and brand it's own form of government, with it's own rules. President Obama has created a new agency, and appointed a credit card czar. Presidential appointees are traditionally vetted by Congress, but they took a back door. They hired her in a position that was not labeled as the head of the new department, so Congress wouldn't have to approve it. The sneaky part is she's the only employee of the new agency, so by default, she's the head of it.

Congress would usually take vengeance by defunding such a maneuver. It's hard to operate any agency with no money, but once again the oval office evaded that by using the Federal Reserve as the cash cow. They stripped Congress of it's over sight power by finding other means to pay for it. Congress cannot take action because the Federal Reserve works without Congressional over sight.

So in other words, this administration has created it's own little dictatorship and used loopholes in the system to side step the mandates of the Constitution. It's Machiavellian in it's design, (the ends justifies the means), and to hell with anyone who tries to get in my way.

This threatens our current form of government by setting a dangerous precedent. Once something has been "gotten away with" by an administration, it becomes acceptable practice. Who ever decides to try it again simply points back to past bad behavior as acceptable and some how that seems to be justification enough.

And the establishment in the GOP cannot understand why we refuse to accept conservative lite on our voting ballots!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

It's Just A Numbers Game!

As the election approaches the democrats have little to cling to in hopes of reemployment politically. Not much has shown improvement during their reign of terror, in fact most everything has been in decline. It's so bad they can't even put a spin on the facts convincingly enough to mislead even the most devout liberal.

I was amused the other day when a pundit was desperately noting the GDP had in fact increased slightly over the decline it was in prior to this president taking office. Is that really all you got?

The simple explanation is almost 800 billion dollars has been poured into the economy and artificially boosted the bottom line. Money that was printed out of thin air, then donated to the economy has to show up somewhere in the figures. While boasting that you failed to explain that influx of cash out of thin air has weakened the purchasing power of the dollar. Why do you think Christine Romer and the rest of the economic advisers are jumping off the sinking ship like rats? This whole ponzi scheme has become transparent, and the exposure of it is inevitable.

Looking back history has shown us this doesn't work. In 1948 after World War Two, Germany was in shambles. Not only it's infrastructure, but it's economy too. Three years of Allied financial control, enforcing price control (insurance?), wage fixing (pay czar?, rations, and centralized government did nothing to fix a stagnant economy. The Socialist approach didn't work.

Economist Ludwig Erhard usurped his authority abolished the above policies and open up Germany's economy to a free market system. Almost immediately the economy rebounded. Six million new jobs were created in just a decade, and Germany's economy took off. Doesn't that sound like a solution we could all live with about now? Yet this administration continually ignores history and has a better solution.

So do we! See you November 2ND.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Are You A Rascal?

I just picked up a copy of Chris Brady's new book "Rascal" (Making a difference by becoming an original character). I've just started it, but I have to share some of the nuggets.....

"Sometimes even if he has to do it alone, and his conduct seems to be crazy, a man must set an example, and so draw men's souls out of their solitude, and spur them to some act of brotherly love, that the great idea may not die." -The mysterious visitor to father Zossima in The Brothers Karamazov

" To be nobody but yourself in a world that's doing it's best to make you somebody else, is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting!"- E. E. Cummings

And that's just the first page! Even the foreword,(written by leadership guru Orrin Woodward) has nuggets...

"Rascals fear insignificance more than they fear peer pressure; they fear losing more than they fear change; they fear endless talk more than dangerous actions. I believe everyone has inside of them a rascal, but it has been buried by endless, mind-numbing conditioning to be part of the herd."-Orrin Woodward

Here's a little excerpt from Chris....

"It takes character to be who God called you to be without succumbing tot he pressures of others and their ideas of who you should be and how you should live." -Chris Brady from his book, "Rascal"

I hope I've inspired you to read on. This is a fantastic book about individuality, character, integrity, and principle. It includes an audio CD, and a self assessment test. If you can't find a copy, contact me!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Put Your Two Cents In!

Here is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a contributor in what's sure to be a best selling book! Orrin Woodward is asking us to choose some of our favorite tweets from his list of possibilities, and he's going to assemble the most popular into his next book. Here were my choices......


The strength of our convictions is measured by how much we are willing to sacrifice for them.


Success never goes on sale, but most spend their whole life dickering over the cost & never make the purchase.

True knowledge is understanding how little you truly know.


Telling a person to seek a nice secure job is like telling a lion to seek a nice secure zoo.

Being a critic is much easier than being a leader since it requires no sacrifice or results to qualify.


In life, most people surrender what is possible for what is comfortable.

In life, you either hate losing enough to change or you hate changing enough to lose.


Today's age worries too much about image and not enough about integrity.

You cease to be excellent the moment you accept mediocrity in your life.

Teach character and if you must, use words.

Here's the web site to put your two cents in....

http://orrinwoodward.blogharbor.com/

While your there you can also vote for the top leadership guru's. Orrin hit the top 10 last year, and I'm betting his level of influence has increased! In any case it's time well spent and great reading. I had a hard time limiting my favorites to just ten possibilities. Enjoy!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Time For The Check-up, From The Neck Up

Annually, I like to do an assessment on my personal growth, because as with fruit, if your not growing, then your ripe, and the next step after ripe is...rot. So it's important to find a measure of how your doing, after all, who wants to rot?

Best selling authors Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady have found a way to define and measure personal growth in their book "Launching A Leadership Revolution." In chapter four they introduce us to the "Tri-lateral Leadership Ledger," a simple measure of personal growth. It's the key to mastering your existence! Here's how it works!

You break the assessment down into three categories, character, tasks, and relationships. Then based on a scale of 1 to 10 give yourself a grade. One being worse and ten being exceptional. You take the totals and multiply them together giving you a score on the scale of one thousand. 10 X 10 X 10 being perfect.

Let's say you grade yourself a ten at tasks, a five at relationships, and a nine in character. That would bring your total to 450. The next time you do this assessment you find the improvement in relationships to rise to an eight and character up to a ten. This would raise your score to 800, quite an achievement. You can see the slightest improvement where you need it the most has the greatest effect on your overall grade. It pays off to work hardest where you need it the most!

I love this simple check up and I encourage you to join me in self improvement. After all who couldn't use a little nudge in relationships, character, and tasks? Watching yourself grow is a great way to self edify. If you don't pat yourself on the back once in awhile, who will?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

As If It Were Their Own!

Not too long ago I wrote a post quoting the biblical phrase "The truth will set you free," and noted that if that is in fact so, that perversion of the truth is designed to keep us in bondage. A current example is the Bush tax cuts are about to expire, for at least a decade we've been told that tax cut was designed to benefit the wealthy of our country. This lie has been perpetuated by the media, and started by the democrats.

Truth be told, everyone got a tax cut, In fact the revenue lost from the cuts was higher for the middle class, than it was for the rich. If the middle class cuts are allowed to expire it'll generate over a trillion dollars of revenue annually, where the top 1% will have to pony up hundreds of billions of dollars. When I went to school a trillion was higher than hundreds of billions.

I find it interesting that Washington treats the suggestion of continuing these tax rates as a loss of revenue. Apparently they've misunderstood who's money taxes are. Statements from the current administration lean toward expectation of that revenue as if it's owed to them. In fact they've often said they need this money to address the debt. Here's a little ditty for you....Debt is caused by spending, not lack of revenue. If you wish to lower the debt, reduce spending. Novel idea, huh?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Power To The People!

"When we enquire by what means this wonder is brought about, we shall find, that as a Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. Tis therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as the most free and popular."
-David Hume, "On the First Principles of Government"

So in the short version, no matter what the form of rule, we the people allow the level of the tyranny we accept. It's by our consent alone that government exists. Human beings, if only to maintain a semblance of self-respect, have to be persuaded.

Government needs to use "make believe" to survive. They mold "fairy tales" to convince us that they need more control over our lives. The fiction that we need them to survive, is only applicable because human nature leans toward bad behavior. Government's existence to "control" our behavior through laws and mandates, is sold to us as for our protection from ourselves.

That begs the question, who protects us from the government? If human nature is that flawed, who among us is qualified to rule? History has show the answer to be, none of us. That's why America's Republic was founded upon a Judeo-Christian foundation. The founders knew a government overseen by morality and religious principles, had a chance to hold off corruption.

Those who base arguments against a collusion of government and religion, a separation of church and state, are trying to feed us more government. Remove morality and principles and you have to have more government. It's a ploy for power over you.

The short answer is to live a life of principle, and to vote those who disagree to the unemployment line. Self government is the most effective. Make it contagious, and we have something to grow on.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

The Truth Shall Set You Free!

John 8:32 tells us "The truth shall set you free." I think we can conclude from those teachings the opposite would be, lies are designed to keep us in bondage. Let's also apply the words of AJ Nock, "The truth tampered with is truth lost." With all this in mind how does Washington's agenda measure up?

When politicians put a spin on the truth one can derive it's because that issue is designed to limit our freedom. Since Americans value their freedom, one would think any effort to limit or take it away would be looked upon unfavorably. I.E. It's time to send the liars packing. Their agenda has been exposed.

How many of our current politicians holding office in both the White House and the Congress have stood before us and twisted the truth? How many have backed legislation and defended it without the benefit of complete honesty?


We need to review who we choose to run this country. Recently we've been remiss, and the result has been a compromise of our liberty. We were handed a basic outline of a limited government, and it's been perverted and sold to us as beneficial. Is it ever beneficial to limit a man's freedom? Ask an incarcerated convict.....

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Exit Strategy!

The wake of the anniversary of 9/11 always brings renewed vigor to finding the masterminds behind the attack, and pursuing the "war on terror." With equal vigor the opponents of the war demand an exit strategy and a defined end to the effort. Some how they oft overlook a war we have been fighting for generations, there is no outcry for an exit strategy. It seems they are content continuing the fight, with no end in sight. That my friends is the "war on poverty." A completely winnable struggle that seemingly has no end in sight. Isn't it time we finish this battle and demand an exit strategy? After all the money we throw at this cause is enough to make the poor wealthy.

To defeat an enemy you must understand it. So if you had to define the leading cause of poverty, what would your conclusion be? Well, Pastor Bob Dickie is fond of analyzing a subject down to what he calls the "irreducible minimum." When we break poverty down to it's beginnings, it's base is ignorance. So to defeat poverty, you must in fact confront ignorance.

Handing out money to the poor has never been an effective way of repairing their issues. Teaching self respect, marketable skills, character, integrity, and responsibility has always been the cure. These are the weapons of "mass destruction" toward poverty. That front line burden begins in the home and is accentuated at school. The soldiers of this war are family and the educators.

So wouldn't it be correct to assume the breakdown of the family unit is a "terrorist" tactic in this battle? Couldn't we also draw the conclusion that a consistent dose of faith based teaching and principles are a wonderful weapon toward the end of this fight? I can't help but wonder why our government and society seem to press so hard against faith and family. Is the continuation of poverty, sloth, and ignorance something that benefits them? One could make a powerful argument that might be the case!

It's always a good idea in a war to know who your enemy is.......

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

The Power of Association!

I was reminded yesterday of a lesson I wished I'd learned earlier in life. Seeking to replenish the garden with nutrients, I brought some boots, gloves, a shovel and eight garbage cans to the stable, and helped myself to the muck pile. The shavings and manure easily loaded into my truck, and I drove off to nourish the vegetable garden. I tilled my booty into the existing bed and got it ready for the fall planting, then washed up and sat down to lunch. Low and behold as I sat there enjoying my lunch, a pungent aroma began to fill the air. I reeked of manure, even though I was careful and didn't get anything on me, or on my clothes. That my friends is the power of a bad association.

It's often been said that the people we fill our time with define us. So that begs the question, are your associations fruitful, or do the stink of manure? In my youth I hung around with people who hardly reflected my goals, and the results we obvious. It wasn't until I answered the wake up call, that my life began to change. For the better I might add. People of means and influence associate with like minded people. Sluggards of less desirable means also adhere to this rule. You get to choose.

If you add your income to that of your four closest friends, and divide by five, you'll be very close to what your earnings are. I suspect if there was the same level of measurement of character and integrity the result would be the same. Couldn't we also assume if they had a measure for commitment to relationships, that would yield similar results?

Success is not an accident. Not only does it leave clues, it has a footpath to follow. Assuming responsibility for your associations is one of the first steps down this footpath. I love the statement, "if you associate with thieves, it won't be long before you find yourself at the wheel of the get away car." Experience has taught me this is all true. I can't help but lament about the time wasted because I ignored this lesson.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Lest We Forget!

Tomorrow we relive the horror of 9/11. Time has not eased the memory of watching jumbo jets slam into one of our monuments to capitalism. As if the awe of this heinous act wasn't enough, the ensuing collapse of the buildings proved the apex of terror. I know I stood there dumbfounded, wondering if the desperation of the people trapped inside, was eased by the final outcome.

How many times have I replayed the thought of being one of the unlucky who found themselves above the impact of the planes. Do you leap to your death.or await the flames to consume you? Prayers of desperation had to fill the air. I've even played out in my head making it through the flames in full survival mode, just to have the structure implode upon me. The cruelty of the whole situation is just overwhelming.

Not to be forgotten are the heroes who spurred on by the slogan, "let's roll", foiled the terrorist's plans and crashed in a field in western Pennsylvania. They acted in a selfless manner to prevent the untold deaths of further innocent Americans. Not second guessing the outcome, they reacted. There must be a special place in heaven for innocent victims and heroes.

Finally my thoughts wander to the Pentagon. Workers unsuspectingly slaughtered by cowardly radicals. To yellow to face their enemies, or better yet negotiate their concerns like responsible men and women do. It highlights the ignorance and lack of character this whole faction possess. Bullies who operate in the shadows, because they are cowards. Incapable of dialogue, or expressing themselves in a civil manner.

Here's my message to you. You've involved innocent victims and it did nothing to further your cause. America will not be tolerant of your tantrum. Tolerance ends when violence begins. Your an infection on this planet, and we are the cure. There is no justification for your existence, it's time for you to meet your maker and face the consequences of your actions.

...with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.

God Bless!
Capt.Bill

It Needs Saying!

Can we talk? I mean common sense economics, that boring subject that eludes our elected officials. I'll keep it simple so even they can understand...

There are two economic outlooks, one is practical and is used everyday, the other is the government model. If you as an individual want to increase your spending capital, you cut expenses. When business wants to be more "profitable" they lower overhead, It's easier and more efficient to cut costs putting more money in your pocket, than it is to increase your income level.

When the government wants more money it raises taxes, thereby increasing revenue, ( or so they assume). They don't understand lowering overhead as they've never had to be profitable. So as taxes go up, so do expenses. Not an efficient set up.To justify it they point to economists theories. The problem is....

Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study know to man. While certain public policies will benefit everybody in the long run, other policies will one group only at the expense of the other groups. Those that are benefited will argue plausibly and persistently . It will hire the best buyable minds to devote their time to presenting their case. It's easy to plead the immediate effect of the policy, overlooking the long term consequence. Politicians always focus on the short term as that's what wins votes.

Christina Romer, the President's chief economic policy advisor is resigning for just this reason. Her "theories" have not worked. She has never had any practical experience in business as listed above, so the idea of cutting costs never crossed her mind. Where do people who've failed like this go? Back to teaching economics. Those who know, do...Those who don't, teach! Is it a wonder after generations of this that our economy isn't in worse condition?

Meanwhile, the demagogues and bad economists are presenting 1/2 truths, ignoring a long complicated chain of reasoning. Let's look back on history for the results of raising taxes on the wealthy.

Senator Ted Kennedy pushed through an increase on capitol gains tax back in 1969, which raised the top marginal tax to it's highest level in US history, 49%. Almost 1/2 of your investment profit went back to the government. The results were immediately destructive. Tax revenue plummeted to levels lower than pre- 1968 . Not only did it contract job growth, it halted all investment. Keynesian economic at it's best.

We need to remove career politicians, book taught in economics. Our country needs leaders schooled in business 101 and profit. Practical experience in operation of a business, turning a profit, and meeting a payroll is critical in the here and now. America must live within it's means.....

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Religious Tolerance.....

We've all heard about the little church in Gainesville, Fl that's decided to burn the Quran on 9/11. Here's my take...

As American's we are entitled to freedom of speech, which allows behavior like burning flags and books in protest. Because we are permitted a freedom doesn't mean it's wise to exercise it. It's permissible to stand in the middle of I 95 on the darkest night dressed in black and pray, but it's far from wise. We are advised to be tolerant of a mosque being erected near ground zero, because it's acceptable under our laws, but again it's far from prudent.

As a teacher of the Christian faith this church bears the responsibility of setting an example. The #1 rule in the Christian faith is, "Do unto others as you'd have done unto you." Simply put, this action does not reflect that spirit. So the leaders of this church should reconsider their actions.

The church made their point. The possibility of the book burning has been responded to with threats of violence. This has exposed the lack of tolerance, by followers of the Quran. I'm finding it difficult to believe they are a people of peace, when the first reaction is of anger and violence. Adversity reveals character. When times called for "turning the other cheek," or forgiving your brother, the test was failed. That doesn't give us a pass on bad behavior, but it does expose the agenda.

Can we lump everyone under this umbrella? You could, but that's not very Christian like either. Judge the individual by the content of their character, not the color of their skin, nor the faith they profess to. That my friends is the American way!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

The Fundamental Repaving of America!

Is it realistic to believe that resurfacing America with asphalt is the key to an economic rebound? Isn't asphalt a petroleum byproduct, and did Washington just shut down drilling? Won't the "green" people be upset we are basing our recovery effort in environmentally unfriendly petroleum based byproducts? Can we agree that the majority of the 9.6% of the unemployed don't know how to operate a paver, roller, dump truck ,or other heavy equipment required to meet this initiative?

This is how out of touch Washington is. I think after reviewing this we can all agree, they don't have a clue! Here's the scoop. The dang car is still in the ditch and paving the road isn't going to do a darn thing to get it out!

Money spent trying to revive this economy, must be focused on a return. You don't get additional return on maintaining existing structure. This is money that should have been budgeted and spent anyway.


God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Labor Day

Have you ever wondered why Labor Day is a national holiday? The first weekend in September became a nationally recognized holiday in 1894, but it was invented and celebrated in New York City on September 5, 1882. It was federally enacted after the deaths of a number of workers by the US military and US Marshals during the Pullman Strike. Congress and President Grover Cleveland passed the legislation just six days after the event, fearing further conflict. Nothing like a day off from work to promote cooler heads!

Personally, I like to believe it's a celebration of the beginning of college and NFL football seasons. Some parents celebrate because it signifies the traditional start of the school year. Their little darlings will now be occupied five days a week by the teachers, not them.

For some it signals the end of summer and the beginning if fall. I'd have mixed emotions about that, fall is such a beautiful time, but thankfully I don't have to deal with it, living in the land of eternal summer. In any case it's a great excuse to get outside and enjoy the company of your loved ones. Enjoy!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

The Prostition of Knowledge!

I had an interesting conversation with a college student the other evening, who was majoring in teaching. So being the inquisitive dinner guest I am, I questioned him on the subject he'd prefer to teach. I was surprised to find he wanted to instruct history. So to further the conversation, I asked, why? Here was his logic.

History never changes, you pass on reading assignments, and it's not complicated to instruct. Naturally, I wanted to know if he had a grasp on history, was he studying it, and was he fascinated by the background stories that make it interesting? Nope, not at all. It was a class he could easily prepare for, and really only do it once, just be repetitive, then assign a project due at the end of class. So I asked him, what if the answers he was given were wrong? He wasn't concerned, he was taught to judge a student by their past grade performance, and look for key words in their assigned papers. Good students get good grades, and historically bad students get average grades.

Now I was hoping this wasn't a trend, but he's done several apprenticeships as part of his major, and this is the wisdom of his mentors being passed down. I'm starting to see why our cookie cutter education system is failing our youth. This, my friends, is exactly the result of the collusion of government and union influence on our school system. Tenure has inspired a ho hum attitude in our education system, and the worse part of it is, it's being taught to the new teachers. It isn't a wonder why teachers unions fight so viciously to avoid performance based pay systems.

It starts at the top, higher learning institutions, (colleges), have an open purse with government backed student loans. The tuition keeps going up, because the financing is guaranteed, and the quality of graduate is going down. The requirements are lowered to gain entry, so the seats are full of government backed income. Has anyone else noticed that in these tough economic times, the colleges are still expanding?

American exceptionalism is being sold out to a socialistic education mill. If our future depends on our youth, they best be educated outside the standard government funded school system. Even the private institutions are falling for government control as all their money is now fed to them by Uncle Sam. Knowledge is being prostituted for financial gain. This could be why a four year degree is the equivalent of a basic high school education of years ago.....

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Principle Based Priorities!

I was asked a great question the other day, one I think we should all ask ourselves often. Are your priorities principle based, or are your principles based on your priorities?

Life is demanding, but we should never allow that to interfere with what we believe in. As I've been reminded many times before...

"Methods are many, principles are few, methods may change, but principles never do!"

I've found listing my priorities based on my principles helps keep me on track when the difficult situations arise. So I thought I'd share how mine align...

Faith tops the list. When I feel lost, I ask myself this simple question. What would Jesus do? My path always is clear when I start here.

My family is next in line, followed by my friends, and then work. Using this pecking order, most conflicts are easily placed by level of importance. Apply a liberal dose of love and forgiveness and the path seems much clearer.

With the firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence....

God Bless
Capt. Bill

Stress?

Problems left to themselves equal stress.

The easiest way to relieve stress is to address issues as soon as they present themselves. How many times have we obsessed over something, just to find it wasn't really as bad as we imagined? The dread of dealing with a problem is often worse than the cure.

It's just like an infection, the longer it goes unattended, the more consequences it creates. No one has ever died from making a phone call, or writing a letter. I've found, once confronted, those big stress items weren't nearly worth the anxiety they caused anticipating dealing with them. In the words of Larry The Cable Guy, "git er done!"

Perhaps Mark Twain put it best when he said, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

"Look! Up in the sky!"

They weren't handsome, they weren't popular. They were so poor they used to draw their cartoons on the back of butcher's paper.

When the country was embroiled in the onset of World war Two, right smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression, these two kids from Cleveland gave us the world's first super hero.

They gave us something to believe in....

Truth, Justice, and the American Way!

Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel were the inventors of "Superman."

They inspired America when times were tough, but it wasn't easy! Here was their first response after submitting superman....

"The trouble with this, kid, is that it is too sensational. Nobody would believe it!"

Good thing they didn't discourage easily!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

A Little Something To Hold You Over!

Still on the road, back at it again tomorrow! In the meantime, dwell on this thought....

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5