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
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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