Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Have Tax Cuts Ever Been Liberal?

When was the last time you heard a liberal get excited about tax cuts? Especially at the federal level. Why is that? Is leaving money in your pocket strictly a conservative idea? It seems liberal politicians feel they are entitled to your income, and it's their job to spend it as they see fit. It reminds me of the time in history when people were ruled by kings and the serfs had to relinquish their hard earned crops and or money to the king's tax collectors. The serfs worked to keep the king in silk and gold.

Maybe the liberals have confused a government of the people, by the people for a monarchy where the elite are served by the lowly serfs. They've lost sight that they exist by our whim, not visa versa. They are in fact, here to serve the people.

The answer to all this lies in faith. With faith, neighbors help neighbors, and there is no need for entitlements. Could that be the reason liberals are always trying to keep religion in check or eliminate it all together? Does the practice of faith threaten their power? Does it yank the scepter of entitlements out of their hands and place that power back in the hands of the people, as intended by our founders?

You betcha!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Monday, November 29, 2010

Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings.........

When I was a child, one of the biggest no-no's you could perpetrate, was to answer the question, "Why did you do that?", with the standard reply, "Because I felt like it." Immediately following that statement I would feel a warm fuzzy feeling on my backside, strike that, a red hot stinging feeling. The lesson they were trying to teach me is a life ruled by the dictator of your feelings, is going down the wrong path. You should allow your life to be governed by the discipline of the guidelines laid out by our maker. I never connected the dots, but the seven deadly sins are all feeling driven actions.

Wrath

Greed

Sloth

Envy

Pride

Lust

Gluttony

Which leads me to my second point. In yesterday's blog I noted that a faction of society is trying to alter life's lessons so no one gets their "feelings" hurt. Score isn't being kept, grades are being designed as pass or fail, and any degree of exceptionalism is paved over with mediocrity being celebrated. Isn't that allowing feelings to rule your life? Shouldn't we take the lessons of failing and grow personally, ignoring the "feelings" aspect and focusing on the lesson?

Now "feelings" aren't a bad thing, we all have them, but when they become the dictator and rule your actions, we should remember that sharp stinging pain on our backside. Life is a struggle, and it's meant to be. If our youth doesn't struggle and learn life lessons, we've failed to prepare them. The key is to learn to be in control of your "feelings" and not be so emotionally immature as to allow them to overcome our thoughts and actions.

So, How's that make you feel?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Play Ball...And Keep Score!

Part of the responsibility of being a Dad involved me in coaching Little League Baseball. As the luck of the draw would have it, throughout my tenure as a coach, there are many championship plaques and trophies to celebrate the teams I've been honored to be associated with. I've been blessed to show young men how to win, and how to lose. How important it is to be a gracious winner, and how to be humble and accept a loss, leaving the field aware you tired your hardest. Watching those youngsters develop into fine young men who serve the community and carry forward those lessons, is all the reward any man could ever ask for. It transcends any trophy or award that was bestowed. For all the good that has accomplished, it's being threatened by mediocrity.

For some reason our Little League has decided to ignore the traditional rules of competition and adopt policies and new rules that frankly, as someone who has participated in the sport for more decades than I care to think about, don't recognize. Even this innocent character building activity is being infected by the progressive strategy of leveling the playing field by inserting a platform of social justice. They don't keep score, everyone is an all-star, and apparently they don't make any effort to celebrate exceptionalism. America's favorite pastime has turned into a playground for progressive social justice. Instead of Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet, it's now Social Justice, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Government Motors.

How does it prepare our youth for life when if a pitcher walks six batters in a row, instead of changing the pitcher, you give him a trophy for participation? What drives a child to go home, practice and discipline himself to work harder and improve, if everyone makes the team, everyone gets a trophy, and everyone is asked to join the all-star team? While all this may avoid the tears of disappointment and frustration now, it just pushes those lessons further down the road. What teaches maturity best but adversity? Is this really a fair way to prepare our youth for life, or have we taken a page out of Washington politicians book and kicked the can further down the road? Experience is the best teacher! While not every experience is a good one, they all carry a valuable lesson. Who decided it was a good idea to rob the youth of the baseball community from these valuable lessons? Was it the Soccer Moms, can they all be that liberal?

Thank God for football!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Saturday, November 27, 2010

I Didn't Have A Dream!

Yesterday I made my annual pilgrimage back to the old stomping ground for an alumni baseball game for my son's high school team. It was a pretty neat affair kind of a social gathering where everyone catches up on the scuttlebutt and a fundraiser, with a silent auction and other events designed to help this year's team financially. Before I go any further let me paint the picture of the demographics of Lee County, Florida, where this event was held.

Lee County was one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, it had room to grow and the lure of the weather and the lifestyle of the gulf coast was very attractive to anyone tired of the four seasons, especially winter. Well as nature would have it, on top of the attraction, we had two category four hurricanes hit and make housing a commodity, right in the middle of the housing bubble. Property values soared, and mortgage money was easily had, a bad combination. Needless to say, last I checked, Lee County was number two in foreclosures, just behind Las Vegas, as everyone went insane building "spec" homes to fill the need . It's affected the businesses, and the whole population, and not in a good way.

Back to our story...

Being the social butterfly that I am, I made sure to touch base with everyone I'd helped coach and took stock in where they were and what they were doing. The result of which has me up at 3 AM trying to get these thoughts on paper and out of my head. Most of my son's teammates are newly graduated or about to, so naturally my question was...What are your plans for the future? After four or five years of education, the most common answer was, I don't know. Followed by, if all else fails maybe I can get a job as a teacher. Only one former student athlete showed an inkling of promise as he was studying to be a civil engineer and planned to join the family business after graduation. I guess they call the successful the top 1% for a reason.

Here's the reason...

The rest of them didn't have a clue because they didn't have a dream of where they wanted to be. Without a dream there is no hope, without hope there is no future. If you have no aspirations, you've gone as far as your going to go. Instead of following your plan, your going to accept whatever comes your way. Now as a side bar...What does that say about who's educating our children?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Friday, November 26, 2010

The Price Of Social Justice

The turkey is stored in the fridge ready to be my lunch for at least a week, and everything we have to be thankful about has been reset for another year. So it's time to turn my attention back toward the ever problematic federal government. Every time we elect progressive liberals into office they plant a ticking time bomb waiting to implode and be a destructive force on our federal budget and the economy. Let's take a quick look at the gifts they've left.

The first beauty is the Social Security Act, you'll recognize it as the deduction from your paycheck FICA. This gem of destruction was passed in 1935 by FDR. The FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contribution Act, they thought you wouldn't object as much if you thought you were contributing, instead of being taxed. Ergo, you'd not be as likely to cut the program if your paying into it. Here's the scoop, your not! The funds are being intermingled with other taxes used to snow job the public into thinking the politicians didn't raise their taxes. Or, they used the overflow that was supposed to be saved and spent it. So it's a tax that cons you into thinking you've vested money into the program, when in fact it was just additional tax revenue and there isn't a fund sitting there with your money in it. Just a box of IOU's, because Congress has already spent the money.

In 1965 we were blessed with yet another progressive bombshell Medicaid. This brainchild was the work of the Lyndon Baines Johnson, (yet another progressive) administration. It was an afterthought to the Medicare legislation, the other half of this two for one financial disaster. Cost estimates at the time of the debate of the Medicare legislation was 1.1 billion dollars over the first two years, and several billion dollars spread over the next decade. Long term projections had it at a 12 billion dollar outlay by 1990 inflation rates considered. The actual initial cost was 2.8 billion dollars, and the several billion over the next decade added up to 13.2 billion dollars. The actual cost of this entitlement in 1990 wasn't 12 billion dollars as projected but, wait for it....98 billion dollars.

Now we've done it again and voted in another progressive looking for social change.Progressive President Obama has gifted us his health care bill. The costs and estimates are already proving to be a fallacy invented in some spin makers head. If the Medicare program missed the mark of a 6.5 billion dollar cost projection by the actual amount of 457 billion dollars per year, how badly is this health care bill off the mark? Anybody care to wager it'll blow the other three progressive social benefits out of the water? The smart money says it will. The seeds are planted to ruin our economy. Will we ever learn?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Thursday, November 25, 2010

An Attitude of Gratitude!

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."-Colossians 3:17

Today is the day we do what we do least. We give thanks. Instead of looking for all the negative that surrounds our daily lives, today we dwell on the positive, one day a year. Isn't that the way it should be everyday?

"I used to complain that I had no shoes , till I met a man who had no feet."

An attitude of gratitude, that's what today is all about. The expression of happiness for all that is good in your life. The people who fulfill you, the roof over your head, and the food on your table.

Here's how I celebrate every year. I review my priorities. I list things by the level of importance they hold, so I can prioritize my life. When you understand what holds the most value in your life, then it's easy to put it in order. Does quality family time hold precedent over recreation? It does in my life! Is having a conversation with a loved one more important than a TV show? You betcha! Once you understand what you value in your life, you can see the blessings to be thankful for.

Let's take time from that beautiful feast and those tempting desserts to praise Him who has passed those blessings on to us.

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."- Colossians 3:15-17

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Torah, Torah, Torah!!!

Being a busy travel holiday, and Americans not the happiest campers about the new screening process used to gain access to your flight, I have a solution. One thing "extreme radical Muslim terrorists" share in common is their absolute disgust with anything to do with the Jewish faith. A simple way to weed out these potential threats is to man each security line with a Rabbi in possession of the Torah.(The Torah being the five books of Moses, the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts). We then have each passenger hold the Torah and swear he or she is not an "extreme radical Muslim terrorist" in possession of a bomb or any other means of harming anyone on the flight. They should also be asked to avow that Israel has a right to exist as a free and unthreatened state. The reaction will determine exactly who needs to be body scanned/cavity searched. Problem solved!

Now since our government nor the TSA is capable of thinking as poetically as I, defining everything in a literal manner, it's unlikely this foolproof policy will be taken seriously. So, since they won't take us seriously, we should return the favor in kind! WARNING!!! Use these lines at your own risk!

Sarcasm for the TSA frisking procedure....

Does this mean we're going steady?

You'd better call me in the morning!

You've got purty lips.

What no kiss first?

Slow down there buckaroo, shouldn't we do dinner first?

You could at least buy me a drink.

God Bless and travel safe!
Capt. Bill

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

It Don't Matter To The Sun!

Our forefathers really had it together when it came to the assignment of power when they designed our country. They created the three branches of government, the executive branch, (president), who makes the final decisions and holds the most power. Then there is the legislative branch,(congress), who does exactly as the name suggests and proposes laws and amendments for the President to consider. And finally we have the judicial,(the supreme court), who's task it is to ensure what is done is legal under the guidelines set up by the nations founders. But where did they find this design of a trio of powers and the system of checks and balances?

Many will rebuke the notion the founding fathers were religious men, but I find it hard to believe they didn't consider the Holy Trinity as a model. It's an obvious comparison, with the Father having the final say and the most power, the Son, and The Holy Spirit as the balance.

Combine that thought with the idea they also considered natural law. The three way split in power appears there as well. Genesis 1:16 tells us, "God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars." Isn't that also a three way split of power, one that applies the same type of system of checks and balances? The sun being the greater power and ruling the day, yet the moon or the stars can be seen during the day, sort of a back up if you will. Similarly, the stars supply the light at night if the moon isn't present. A system of checks and balances, created by God, and ever present in nature.

I have to believe the roots of our system of government are planted firmly in both the teachings of the Bible, and natural law. Our founding fathers took the model sitting right in front of their nose and made our system of government.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Monday, November 22, 2010

Oh Lord, It's Hard To Be Humble!

"To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it."- Mother Theresa

We have to humble enough to understand, we don't know it all, and never will. Humility creates personal growth! We plant seeds of success by being grounded and rooted in humility. There is no real humility without success, and no real success without humility.

A fruitful crop is rarely the product of an unattended and overgrown garden. Treat your mind with the fertile input of the teachings of great men. As the computer programmers are fond of saying, "garbage in, garbage out!" You'll be surprised what flows out of your mouth when your head is full of good input!

It's a difficult lesson to learn that when you graduate school, your not done learning. Learning is a lifetime process. Those that find themselves married to false humility- not going after what they deserve, or not fulfilling their potential, going after the full use of all their talents-endure humiliation, the very apex of humility. So we can accept the fact we don't know it all, or have the embarrassment of being exposed as a poser. God works in mysterious ways, well not really!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Houston...We Have A Problem!

Oh this just keeps getting better! The tyrants at the TSA, empowered by the liberal Obama administration have evoked yet another police state like mandate. Your going to love this one! If you enter the line and decide to decline to pass through the body scanner, and also believe that their hands patting down the private parts of your body is just a little to evasive for your tastes, you cannot leave the airport. You will be detained for police questioning and subject to a possible $11,000.00 fine. Whatever you do don't enter the security line and remember you forgot your cell phone in the car!

What does the dictator in the White house have to say for his minions stomping on your freedom of choice? "I've consulted with the TSA and Homeland Security officials and this is the only policy they can arrive at, at this time." So because of an invented emergency, it's okay to deny you of the right to choose. What's next? What freedom granted to you by our forefathers is going to be taken away next because it's for your own good? Could it be the right to bear arms? How about freedom of speech? They already have a full frontal assault on freedom of religion going on, and they didn't even have to declare an emergency to do it!

It'll soon be the ten year anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, and this is the best we can do. How does the most inventive, entrepreneurial nation in the world stand in checkmate, a victim of fear? We're sacrificing the very rights our ancestors fought and gave their lives for, in the name of security. You can count on one hand the number of attempts to use terrorism in the air in the past ten years, in which time millions of flights cross the sky safely, yet we allow it to alter our daily routines, and bypass our liberty.

We are not attacking the root of the problem, we are simply looking for the weeds to pop up. We aren't treating the disease, we are trying to ease the symptoms. It's time to take measures that confront the problem head on, and stop poking around the edges. I'm sorry if that could be described as profiling, but someone with criminal intent in their heart, rights, are simply less important then mine!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Hindsight Is 20/20

A quick and simple note this morning for you to think about. Lawmakers, our elected representatives are asking the TSA to review security procedures at the airports. The public outrage has reached all the way to Capital Hill. The requests are falling on deaf ears. This is just one example of the mini tyrannical regimes this government has created outside of the Constitution.

Ben Franklin once said," He who sacrifices freedom for security will have neither."

Point taken and understood Ben. Our forefathers were very wise men. It's time we went back to listening to them.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Friday, November 19, 2010

Be Yourself, It's Like No Other!

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing it's best, night and day, to make you everybody else-means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight- E. E. Cummings

Every person is an unrepeatable miracle, at least in God's eye. Yet isn't society trying to push us all into a mold? First it starts in our government schools, where we are subjected to standardized testing. Your answers are to be defined as right or wrong, with no room for discussion of other ideas. In school we are instructed to get a job, we're not taught to think creatively and become entrepreneurs. Instead of being taught character, we are taught to be characters. Puppets in the play of life. Forced to become a molded brick, instead of enhancing our individuality and allowed to be as diverse as a stone. Each one different, each one unique!

"Because there are no formulas to attain the truth of the road, each of us must run the risk of his own steps. Only the ignorant seek to imitate the behavior of others. Intelligent men waste no time with that, they develop their personal abilities, they know there are no leaves alike in a forest of 100,000 trees. No two journeys on the same road are alike."-Sufi Hafiz

As we emerge from the government schooling we are thrust into a world where individuality is a bad thing. The desire is to level the playing field, make everything the same for everyone. The diversity of culture is lost by people trying to evolve us into a one color, one culture world. While the "party of they" try to act like they celebrate our uniqueness, they strive to herd each of us under one umbrella. Conformity creates less problems for them to deal with, but it also robs us of our cultural heritage.

In the Bible, God destroyed the Tower of Babble. It was an effort to bring one world, one language into fruition. There are forces in this world dedicated to reenact that story. Listen carefully to their rhetoric and expose them for the dysfunction they are trying to create. Remember......

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world!" -Mahatma Ghandi

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Fly The Friendly Skies!

The latest controversy this administration has stirred up is the new body scanners, pat downs, and airport security in general. Naturally I have a solution, one that keeps our dignity and freedom in tact, and as usual it's something the "educated elite" of the ruling class hasn't considered.

To solve any problem you have to begin with the end goal in mind. So as a stated goal, we need to provide a safe means of air travel and keep our dignity and freedoms intact. Anything outside of this stated objective is a distraction, and is designed to muddle up achieving the goal.

Let's first look at the profile,(yes I said profile) of the problem creator. Number one they are mostly from outside the country, hence anyone traveling on a passport should be subject to body scanning and questioning. The freedoms of domestic travelers won't then be violated. Grandma and cousin Sally traveling from Huntington, West Virginia to Orlando, Florida to visit Disney World aren't likely bomb toting threats. They should be subject to a simple verification of ticket and ID, walk through the already present technology, then sent on their merry way. Just to be sure they aren't working as operatives for the enemy via them kidnapping Uncle Ned, we'll double check and scan their luggage and carry on's for explosives. Anyone acting nervously, suspiciously, and or sweating profusely in the controlled environment of the airport should also be sent to the line for closer examination. There is an MO for criminal behavior.

Let's be sure the security staff at airports are trained security professionals. Educated in all of the specific signs of criminal behavior. Not someone they grabbed off the street and stuffed into a TSA uniform. I'd like to think of those wonderful people who guard our flying safety as law enforcement professionals!

The right to privacy and the freedoms we enjoy are granted to citizens of this country. If your here on a visa or traveling on a passport, you're not a citizen, you're a guest. Pardon our manners but we need to be assured your a welcome guest. Anyone who hasn't left the country or isn't on a fly watch list is highly unlikely to have been corrupted by a terrorist. Focus should be on the international traveler. This will ease the lines at airport security and keep the dignity and rights of the local traveler in tact. Use the evasive technology on those who best represent the threat.

Our enemy isn't all that tricky. The few from within the country they've managed to corrupt fit into a small little box of parameters. It's not that complicated. While they find new ways to transport weapons, the carriers of said weapons are very well defined. Focus first on the suspect, then on the contraband. When police are looking for a robbery suspect, they have a description to narrow the parameters. Profiling is a law enforcement tool, not a violation of civil rights.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

From HIS Mouth, To Your Ears!

The liberal view has driven our nation to attempt to level the playing field, confusing equal opportunity with social justice. In the liberals socially just world, the lay about is given everything the industrious person has. It's muddled together the citizens who are in need of charity, with the habitually lazy who've learned to navigate the system in lieu of gainful employment. Their drive to not keep score so no one gets their feelings hurt has impaired the work ethic this nation is oh so famous for.

The quest to create utopia on earth I've discussed in a previous post. Heaven is not on earth, it's what we struggle to attain as our reward for being God fearing servants. The level playing field is our reward, and in the Bible it says as much...

"In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain shall be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."-Isaiah 39:3-5

That puts it all into perspective for me. The playing field will be level when we EARN our reward of heaven. The struggle we have here on earth is the pathway to social justice.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Monday, November 15, 2010

Be All You Can Be, And Paid Accordingly!

Friday I listened to one of the most creative and effective, common sense solutions to lowering the budget, brought forth by Glenn Beck. He suggested no member of office in Washington receive more income or benefits than the men and women that serve our country in the armed forces. What a spectacular idea! Those patriots gamble more everyday in the service of our nation, than the whole legislative body combined during their complete term of service. It would insure that those brave souls would get medical care second to none, as they most assuredly deserve.

Pay grades of Senators and Congressmen would be reduced to the salaries they have seen fit to give to the soldiers who fight everyday so we can be free of tyranny. Barrack type housing could be built for the law makers to inhabit during their stay in Washington. That might encourage them to enact much needed term limits, and discourage the self serving money grubbing politicians that consider the oath of office a life long coronation.

How small would government become if all the aides and other employees of the big government machine, were demoted to the pay grade of a military aide? I'm telling you, this idea is gold, and it makes so much sense! Why shouldn't those who have the highest risk be rewarded equally? You have to agree it would go a long way toward balancing the budget, to adjust government employees to a pay scale matching our fighting force.

Some may argue we won't attract the best people then, Really? Are we honestly in the hands of the best people now? Would you want to attract the best people to defend your freedom? Isn't that a statement about how unappreciated our service men and women are, and over paid our lawmakers have become? Shouldn't our priorities be on the defense of freedom, not the increased legislation that denies us our liberties?

Politicians have this unbelievable ability to increase their net worth while holding office by some incredible force that magically compounds their assets. This needs to stop, if not now than sooner. We didn't elect them to line their pockets at our expense, and this suggestion of a military pay grade system equal to those who really serve our country is the answer. That legislation I can get behind!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Friendly Skies?

Last night as I flew in from our nation's capital, I was blessed to be seated among several families flying with their children to the "happiest place on earth." Now some see this as an inconvenience but I choose to accept it for the blessing and the learning experience it is.

One particular little fellow was snoozing on his Mother's lap when his sibling decided it would be a good idea to relocate his seat next to his Dad, which caused Mom to have to switch seats, jarring the sleeping toddler from his much needed rest. The tirade that ensued was spectacular to say the least! He balled, cried, wailed, and basically let everyone in hearing distance know he wasn't happy. Now I understand being cranky when abruptly awakened from a much needed sleep, but this little guy took it to a whole new level! Mom tried everything under the sun to make this young man comfortable enough to return to his slumber but it just wasn't to be! The whole family was obviously embarrassed, but that didn't slow this little tyke down a lick.

Comments from the peanut gallery flew, as the passengers were uncomfortable with this situation,and as the second hour of this rant approached the comments and tsk's of disgust were flying. The woman next to me spouted,"this is the worse flight I've ever been on." I had to reply. I turned to her and reminded her that that poor little guy isn't in control of his emotions yet, but she on the other hand should be. As an adult it's our responsibility to accept adversity and find the best in it. Just a week or so ago I was on the very same flight, and a older gentleman passed away in mid route, causing us to turn around and go back, delaying our arrival by and hour and a half. I also noted that as long as we arrived safely with no other additional problems we had something to be thankful for. In fact our flight arrived forty minuets early and she was being spared irritation by her obvious dislike of children. Then I drove home th final nail, "What if it was your Son?" The attitude of the passengers changed at the second that statement was made.

People never cease to amaze me. They create their own misery instead of looking for the good in each situation. My boys are a couple of decades removed from that age, but it brought me back to the time when they were reliant upon me to ease their pain, and see to their comfort. I miss that responsibility. I told the distressed Father after we had landed what a lucky guy he was. He was happy to hear his Son was on the path to success, after all, with the kind of determination and persistance that little guy showed on the plane, he was bound to soar to big heights. The cranky old biddy found a smile somewhere in that heart of coal, and told the frustrated parents she hoped their Son would feel better soon.

Being a good finder pays off. Spread that feeling through your actions and words. Trust me it's contagious, and the world needs a big dose of it.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

PS. Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, small people talk about other people.

And....

‎"Frustration means we are focusing too much on ourselves!" -Orrin Woodward

Saturday, November 13, 2010

"But Do You Know How".........

Stevie Nicks, of Fleet wood Mac fame, once sung..."Do you know how, to pick up the pieces and go home?" Great question! So how do we handle failure? Do you allow it to be a devastating blow, or are you mature enough to learn from the experience? The question applies to business ventures, grades, relationships, or any number of experiences dealt to us in the game of life.

I've found one of the great methods to rebound quickly is to count you blessings, then understand there is a blessing in the lesson of failure. Seek and you shall find. Once you get in the mode of appreciating all the great things God has blessed you with, it changes the perspective of the let down. It also helps to reaffirm that set backs are only as permanent as you let them be, it's not a life threatening diagnosis. Well, that is, if you choose.

See we do have a choice, and that's the beauty of the whole system. We are free to control our attitude. No one holds that power over us, unless of course we grant them permission, and shame on you if you do! Grab hold of the good, and let the vile bitterness belong to someone else. Accept the responsibility of owning your decisions. Passing them on to someone or something else may relieve you of the responsibility, but it also steals the power to control your life away from you. Isn't it you that knows best what your goals and dreams are? Circumstances don't define the individual, attitude is the defining factor. Smile, and have a great day!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Friday, November 12, 2010

To Be Or Not To Be......

I have mixed feelings about facing tomorrow. My youngest son is winding down his college football career playing his final game of his senior season. New challenges await, and the unknown looms in the background.

Anytime there is a level change in sports, say from high school to college, or from college to the professional stage, an adjustment must be made by the player. As a senior in high school you step from top dog starter on the field to lowly freshman recruit, surrounded by a hundred just as talented and just as recruited as you. Nothing is taken for granted and you have to reprove yourself to your coaches and colleagues. It's a slice of humble pie that many players and parents have trouble accepting. Especially from high school to college. You left an environment that collected whatever talent was available and created a team, to one that recruited the best talent in the nation. The competition for a starting position is a bar that is much higher than in high school! Only the top 5% go on to play at the college level, and only the top 1% of those get an opportunity to play as a pro. The cream truly does rise to the top.

It's funny to watch incoming freshman and their parents as they make the adjustment. The consumption of humble pie is rampant as they learn that the fruit of their loins is being "red-shirted." That all-star of high school fame was just told he's not up to speed to join on the field yet, but after a year of weight training and the teaching of the system, he'll be the kind of player this team needs. You then see what kind of mettle that athlete has. Is he a quitter, or does he have the stick-to-it-ness required to be one of the ten or twelve that survive four or five years of college football, when a hundred began the quest? It's an adjustment process that defines the man. One of the first statements he makes about how his life will be defined. You can liken it to the struggle a hatch-ling has fighting to emerge from it's egg shell. One it has to go through to be strong enough to survive and one day fly. Any assistance from an onlooker, even with the best intentions, sentences the bird to death, as the struggle is a necessary part of life itself. It's a great process to be a part of, and even more entertaining to observe.

A new adjustment period begins for us as of Sunday. The best of the best will now compete to be good enough to be paid to play the sport they love. And you have to love, eat, sleep, and be absorbed by the game to be successful at the next level. After all, your joining the elite, the top one percent of any profession is a hard nut to crack. As of Saturday evening my hatch-ling is going to get his chance at his wings. It's going to be hard once again to watch the struggle as he breaks out of the shell that now confines him, into a whole new world of opportunity. Whatever the outcome, I couldn't be a prouder Dad.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Neither Social Nor Secure!

The most important thing I can do today, Veterans Day, is to honor the service of our veterans. God bless you brave and patriotic souls and your efforts to keep our country free, and a heart felt thanks for your sacrifice!

Now on to today's topic! Has anyone else wondered what happened to the Social Security program's solvency? Here's the skinny....


The National Commission on Social Security Reform (informally known as the Greenspan Commission after its Chairman) was appointed by the Congress and the President in 1981 to study and make recommendations regarding the short-term financing crisis that Social Security faced at that time. Estimates were that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund would run out of money possibly as early as August 1983. This bipartisan Commission was to make recommendations to Congress on how to solve the problems facing Social Security. Their report, issued in January 1983, became the basis for the 1983 Social Security Amendments which resolved the short-term financing problem and made many other significant changes in Social Security law.

Alan Greenspan, of George Bush fame, was appointed by Ronald Reagan, and this led to the Social Security Reform Act of 1983 which basically legislated this.....

Social Security surpluses were required to be added to other revenues,(like income tax), rather than put into the famous "lock box" for future payouts. So the "trust fund" the government was responsible for was spent like pocket change. President Bill Clinton enjoyed the surplus generated by the fund to create his record surplus budget he's so proud of taunting. While it worked when the pay In's exceeded the pay outs at some point that was bound to turn itself around. Social Security now commands 738 billion dollars annually to meet the shortfall. Note: That's 738 billion that was already supposed to have been paid for and set aside!

The whole thing stinks as it was used by politician's with a yellow streak up their back to avoid telling the American people they were raising taxes. Now we have an unfunded mandate. Mandatory spending created by politicians who kicked the can down the road.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Love Is......

The thought manifests itself as word. The word manifests as deed. The deed develops into habit. The habit hardens into character. So watch the though and it's ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.-Buddha

What can multiply, but is one?

What can be created but not seen?

What is felt but not touched?

The answer to all the above riddles is, love! And if Buddha is correct it's the essence of good character. Love is the also essence of the spirit. It doesn't actually come from you as much as it flows through you. Isn't it easier to express love when your environment reflects that feeling? Isn't it less effort to fulfill others when you are first nourished?

Love is the first stage of enlightenment, it's both deliberate and natural. Doesn't it require effort to hate?

This is why the broader meaning of prosperity includes not just financial freedom, but also a quality of life that comes from our participation in a supportive and loving world. We have the choice to consciously transform our circumstances and prosper by simply opening our hearts to others.

Who could have imagined the road to prosperity and freedom lies within ourselves? (That was sarcasm.)

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Producing Change That Bring Results!

"No stream rises higher than it's source. Whatever man might build could never express or reflect more than he was.He could record neither more nor less than he learned of life when the buildings were built....His philosophy, true or false is there." -Frank Lloyd Wright

Every adventure or task we involve ourselves in, is a learning lesson. Why not make those adventures great?

"Give yourself something to work toward-constantly!"- Mary Kay Ash

Too many people let their task fall to the wayside because results are delayed gratification. How can you judge how fruitful the course you're taking is by it's results, when the results come last? Stay the course and reap the rewards of filling the banks of your stream to the brim. Everyone holds a little greatness inside, after all, God doesn't make any junk! And remember....Your philosophy comes first, the results come last!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Monday, November 8, 2010

What Liberals And Communists Share Alike!

As I rose this morning, I was greeted by President Obama giving a speech in India, where he went to visit all of the jobs that have been out-sourced. As he was speaking I noticed some of his liberal ideology coming to the surface and I couldn't help but wonder if liberals and democrats in the United States were ever bothered by the fact that the communist party in our country whole-heartedly agrees with their platform? Personally that concerns me, and when I'm troubled I usually seek wisdom from the Bible. Here's what I found in my daily reading this morning.......

The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth the wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.-Isaiah 32:5,6,7

Isn't it interesting that they had politicians like ours back then too. But then they had to be decedents of someone......

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Sunday, November 7, 2010

And Your Journey Begins!

I'm sure you've heard the statement, "What you don't know won't hurt you," or "Ignorance is bliss." Reflecting... that kind of thinking is absolutely absurd! Truth be told, it's what you don't know that does hurt you the most! Everything your ignorant about is exactly what keeps you from becoming the person who uses the ability God gifted to you.

Life is a journey of learning experiences, your mind is programmed to allow you to respond by the input you've fed it. If you touch a hot stove, your mind is programmed to tell you, "DON'T do that again!" How did you learn that? Through a learning experience, or you watched someone else go through that pain and learned through their experience, in this case, the preferred method.

How many people, ignorant of proper financial counseling or knowledge, have put themselves in dutch with the misuse of credit? How many marriages are in jeopardy because of a lack of understanding what their partner requires out of a relationship? How many families are disconnected from a lack of understanding? The list of problems that faces society is endless, and they can all be solved with a little knowledge.

Drink deeply my friends, of good books. They are the antidote for ignorance. Your best learning begins right after you think you know it all. Why struggle with the answers to life's journey, when the experience of others is readily available to you? Winston Churchill said, "Never, never....never ever give up." I believe he was speaking of learning........

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Vote For Me, And I'll Set Your Free...Not!

Isn't it interesting how ideas have consequences? Seemingly innocent programs enacted by well meaning government officials create quagmires of unseen proportions. You would think legislation as innocent sounding as the Child Nutrition Act, passed by Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1965, and expanding Aid to Families with Dependent Children,(AFDC), and FDR program Would be a good thing. But then almost everything passed by the progressive caucus has strings attached.

AFDC was original purpose was to aid widows who had lost their husbands and now lacked a bread winner to help support dependent children. LBJ expanded the program to loosen the eligibility,(and win votes), to include any woman living alone with children. This created a new wave of unwed mothers, out-of-wedlock births, and single motherhood. No longer would the possibility of a lifetime of poverty be a deterrent to pre-marital sex or dissuade someone from dropping out of school. As a result millions of women suddenly discovered that they could be better off financially by not marrying. The result has been particularly devastating; In 1960 only 5.3% of all children were born out of wedlock. Today the figure hovers around 40%.

Marriage used to be the greatest anti-poverty program ever conceived, allowing for two incomes to support the family. Poverty was quite the birth control agent, pre-enactment of these programs. Now we've traded that for abortion. The family unit of the 1960's has been crushed, and the short sightedness of the progressive agenda has led to yet another decline of family values and a supported increase of poverty. Pretty work! These are what the voters turn to as the champions of the impoverished working class. It's no wonder the worst poverty in the United States is in cities where democrats have been in power for decades!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Friday, November 5, 2010

The Keys To This Mess!

There is little more boring than the study of economics, but I have a quick explanation that will aid all, and allow you to contribute to any conversation.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to economics. There is the logical and practical approach, then there is the one they use in Washington. The practice in Washington is called Keynesian economics, and it's base premise is simply this. The most important thing is to get money "spent." I's the view that persisted in almost every economic downturn, and as history has proven, has yet to work. It was named after a British economic philosopher, John Maynard Keynes. The theory preaches, as noted by Stuart Chase, a Keynesian economist, " If the national debt is all internal as ours is, the nation can hardly go bankrupt. The American people are on both sides of the balance sheet." Using this logic (?) liberals can buy votes though government entitlements with a clear conscience, believing deficits were good for the economy. They allow themselves to promise voters something-for-nothing. Liberals can have all the government programs they wanted and it wouldn't cost a dime, as they are paid for with deficits rather than taxes.

Now on the other side of the fence is Ludwig Von Mises and the Austrian School of Economics principles. Note: I divided the two as theory and principles! See, as principles these have been tried and actually work. You might find these familiar as you probably use this in your own life. Live frugally, spend rationally, (within your means), and save fervently. The actual principles of our founding fathers and specifically Ben Franklin.

Okay, now you know everything about economics an informed voter and wise citizen needs to know. Apply it when you elect your representatives, and this country will find it's way back to solvency!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Building Relationships!

I watch them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town,
With a ho heave ho and a lusty yell,
They swung a beam and a side wall fell
And I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
Are they the men he'd hire if he had to build?"
He laughed and said, "No indeed,
Just common labor's all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two,
What builders have taken a year to do."
I asked myself as I went my way
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life with a ruler and a square?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?
Author Unknown

I think this says it all!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Experience Is The Best Teacher!

During the election, I heard a pundit say in President Obama's defense, that he was a smart man, and he'd figure out how to bring the shift of power together to further his agenda. I've found there is different types of "smart." There is book smart, and there is experienced. You can read about doing something like milking a cow until your a well versed expert, but until you actually wrap your hands around a teat and learn the proper technique, you won't produce much milk. While the President is a knowledgeable guy, everything he knows is theory, taught by professors who only know theory as well.

In the very same day I heard a pundit say that the President was taught in graduate school, as was he, that the economic theory of spending money to stimulate the economy was some sort of advanced principle we who've not attended graduate school were not aware of. He suggested his superior education theories needed to be taught to "We the People" so we could understand his course. You see, most of us haven't attended graduate school.

Now I could allow these two fools to get under my skin, or I could expose the stupidity they spew to you the reader. What this in fact reveals is there is an attitude of "elitism," a form of divide present in this country. It's almost comical as the economic theory they spout (Keynesian) has failed in every model world wide. There isn't a single working example that has prospered. Their defense is...It's not been tried here, (yes it has), and we've not spent enough money to make it work yet. To that I ask...What is the tipping point? When, where, and how can we agree, enough is enough? They don't know how to milk a cow, they've never done it!

Here's what you and I, the simple people understand. If you spend money you either better have money in hand, or the solid promise of immediate income to cover the expense. And if you spend it foolishly, you won't have that money long. "A fool and his money are soon separated." and "When a man with money meets a man with experience, the man with experience gets the money, and the man with the money gets the experience."

Yesterday we as a nation tried to remove the fools without experience from Washington. Some of the states passed the IQ test, some didn't. There is much work yet to do. I'm embarrassed for some of our states. They elected "bearded Marxists," and convicted liars. How do you hold your head high and say I'm from the great state of (fill in the blank), when that's who you've chose to be your personal representative? We as voters need to demand better options at the ballot box. Frankly, some of the choices were shameful.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday!

Here it is election day 2010, the end of an error! Find below a letter composed and sent by President Abraham Lincoln answering his step-brother's request for a loan of eighty dollars. It's our responsibility to vote today for men of character and principle as exhibited below, and again in 2012, then again, and again, and yet again. Till we show the world this experiment in a free society is governed by, and necessarily led by moral men or women of principle and character.

Dear Johnston:

Your request for eighty dollars, I do not think it best to comply with now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you have said tome, "We can get along very will now," but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again.

Now this can only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are lazy, and still you are an idler. I doubt whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day's work, in any one day. You do not have very much, merely because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it.

This habit of uselessly wasting time, is the whole difficulty; it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break this habit. It is more important to them, because they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it, easier than they can get out after they are in.

You are now i n need of some ready money; and what I propose is, that you shall go to work, "tooth and nail," for somebody who will give you money for it.

Let father and your boys take charge of your things at home - prepare for a crop, and make the crip, and you go to work for the best money wages, or in discharge of any debt you owe, that you can get. And to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise yu that for every dollar you will, between this and thefirst of May, get for your own labor either in money or in your own indebtedness, I will then give you one other dollar.

By this If you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your wirk. In this, I do not mean you shall go off to St. Louis, or the lead mines, or the gold mines, in California, but I mean for you to go at it for the best wages you can get close to home - in Coles County.

Now, if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt, and what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out, next year you will be just a deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place in Heaven for $70 or $80. Then you value your place in Heaven very cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make you get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five month's work. You say if I furnish you the money you will deed me the land, and if you don't pay the money back, you will deliver possession - Nonsense! If you can't now live with the land, how will you then live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight times eighty dollars to you.

Affectionately,

Your brother,

A. Lincoln

Isn't history revealing and interesting? I'll betcha few were shown this example of Abe's integrity in school! Go vote, bring us politicians of character.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Monday, November 1, 2010

Age Old Wisdom!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sixteen Things
That it Took Me 50 Years to Learn

by Dave Barry

You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe day-light-savings time.

You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she’s pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.

The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.

There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 111.

There is a very fine line between “hobby” and “mental illness.”

People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be “meetings.”

The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of its glories, and He decides to deliver a message to humanity, He will NOT use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.

You should not confuse your career with your life.

A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.

No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

Your friends love you, anyway.

Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and do it.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill