Will The American Dream Be Lost

According to Robert Greenstein, Director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and also Alan Viard of The American Institute....the Obama's first fiscal budget is the largest budget in our Nations History! They have kept all of Bush's tax cuts in place with the exception of persons making over $250,000 a year. Government programs and spending have been increased to a point beyond belief; putting us trillions of dollars in debt. I have not even mentioned the hundreds of billions being spent on this bail out crap....and his stimulus package has allowed for all kinds of monies for stupid things....for example...federal monies for daycares and nurserys in prisons, so prisoner mothers can spend more time with their children! The Auto Industry is getting in line for more bail out money....after they get their bankruptcy! As Bugs Bunny would say, "Aaaaaaaa, where's the change, Doc???(Obama)" Folks, we are broke....where is all of this money going to come from??? We cannot just keeping printing it up. Our government is borrowing monies from China and other countries for all of this excess spending....these loans will have to be paid back while the world still has trust and confidence in our dollars value! Our dollar is fading fast on the world market. We was promised...change....we were practically worn out with the word. We have to produce and sell things...compete on the world market...and we are simply not doing this....Why? Do we really want to keep importing all of this junk from China and other Countries at our own expense??? Our children and grand children are not going to have a shot at the American Dream. They are not going to have the opportunities we had! It is all going to be lost to them....this is my fear. We are not going to have any jobs, careers, credits, or investments to pass on to them....unless the government gets down from the high horse and starts making decisions in the best interest of Our Nation. Our future generations have to be given hope and the chance at a good life.

Feeling Very Blessed

I am going to take a moment to brag on my family. We have had a great Christmas and Holiday Season. I feel so blessed to have great family members on both sides and have every confidence that we will always be there for each other! God has certainly blessed us all and I am very thankful for every blessing. All I can say is, "My Cup Runneth Over!"

Fear: Man's Creature

Fear is a creature brought forth by man. It is a major factor in all our lives whether we want to believe it or not. It molds us, holds us, motivates us, drives us, and can even destroy us if we fail to keep it under control. It is not merely an emotion as most people think....it is a living being. Many of the ancient writings and texts suggest this. My Father recently ask me if I was afraid of him....what a question. I told him that I love and respect him; but I am not afraid of him. Sometimes love and respect can grow from fear....let me explain. My Father had 2 brothers in prison when my brothers and I were growing up and if we did anything that even remotely resembled a future criminal problem.....my Dad would beat it out of us with a belt!!! Now he did not realize at the time....the example set by his life was good enough to get our respect and love and reached far beyond what a belt would do....but, this was the way Fathers did back then. When I was young I feared many things....peers, opinions, sometimes bullies....but as I got older I played football, lifted weights, got into music and martial arts; and most of those fears faded away. This is not the type of fear I am writing about. I'm talking about the gripping fear of failure, of Death, of getting old and sick, of not being in control of yourself, of lost memories, lost loves, of losing yourself, losing loved ones, of losing everything you have in life, and the possibility of being killed before your time is up. The fear of images, dreams, and memories to horrible to bare. People fearing other people....what an awful thing to have to face. In the big cities, the high crime areas, and even in combat during a time of war. I never understood people living in a state of fear or panic....afraid to walk down a dark street, to be in a big crowd, or to venture out at night. I always believed that this type of Fear belonged to other people....weaker people; until I realized that it belongs to us all! You have to own something that you have created. I didn't think it could ever touch me; I was too brave and strong....and then it did! When it grabs onto you....You know that it's been there all along....waiting beneath the surfaces of everything you love and hold dear....and when you see it....it can make your skin crawl and your heart feel like it is going to stop. It can make you look at the person you once were and wonder....can I ever be that person again? All you can do is face it in battle and try to recover everything it has taken from you!!!

Our Enemy in Life is Time

We all have a common enemy in Life and that is Time. It begins when we are born and none of us ever know how much of it we have. When we are young; we all think that we will live forever and that time has no hold on us at all....but it does. As we get older....we tend to think that modern medical technology will come up with some miracle that will slow the process that ages us....but it will not. Eventually we will all run out of time and be over taken by Death and then will ride with him into the great unknown. How will this happen? We all think about this from time to time.....this is also kept as a great mystery.....why can't we know? I have no answer for this except that maybe we were not meant to know. I was in northern Kentucky teaching a class a few years back and was introduced to a woman who was 103 years old. She was very alert and could still get around well and also very chatty. She told us that the only regret she had from living so long was that she had out lived everyone she knew in life. She had even lived longer than all her children and two of her grand children. I could tell that this had caused her a lot of pain. You just have to make the most of the time you have; spending it with the ones you love and doing the things that make you happy. We all know that Life will end one day and all you can do is try to be ready for it.....when it comes. As sure as the sun rises and sets.....time is running out on us all.....and Death will not wait for you to finish up what you are doing. This reminds me of a poem by Emily Dickinson: Because I Could Not Stop For Death....He kindly stopped for me. The carriage held but just ourselves; and Immortality. We slowly drove, he knew no haste, and I had put away.....My labors, and my leisures too, for his civility. We passed the school where children played, and wrestled in a ring. We passed the fields of gazing grain; we passed the setting sun. Since then it has been centuries, but each feels shorter than a day. I first surmised the horses heads.....were toward eternity. My Friends....live life as if it will not Last....because, of course; It Will Not!!!

It Is Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day in America. If you get a chance to thank a Veteran today you definitely should. You could even give them a big hug and let them know how much you appreciate them! The Freedoms you enjoy each and every day in America....comes to you through our military and Veterans blood, sweat, and sacrifices made both presently and in the past. In 1978, I was 16 years old working at the A&P grocery located in my home town. I knew a gentleman called Jack; he had been our mail man since I was a little boy and also a loyal customer at the grocery store. I had got to know him quite well over the years. What I am about to tell you has never left me in all these years....It was on June 6th, 1978 that I was bagging up Jack's groceries for him. He said, "Well, today is June 6th and this is a very significant day for me and for the whole country Tony ole boy; do you have any idea why???" Now keep in mind that I was young and not much of a thinker back then....and of course I had no idea what he was getting at; so I smiled and looked up at him and replied "No." He immediately became saddened by this and I could tell that he had expected me to know....so I apologized to him for not knowing....and ask him if he would tell me. He said, "Well, on this day when I was 17 years old....I landed on the beaches of Normandy with many of my friends to help drive Hitler's Army out of Europe and put an end to all the evils they were doing. Many of my friends died there that day and the ocean ran red with their blood. This weekend I am going to see some of the ones who made it back home with me for the first time since that day!" We just stood there and looked at each other for a moment and I noticed a tear running down Jack's cheek....I extended my hand and shook hands with him and said, "Thank You..." I worked at that store for the next 4 years while I attended college and every June 6th...I would see Jack....let him know that I remembered his bravery...and thank him. I believe that Jack is the reason that I am a Combat Veteran today...and I will never forget this as long as I live. I had known Jack all my life...and did not know this about him. Veterans are not going to stick out at you like an Uncle Sam Poster....they are your mail man, police man, friends, and family. They are all around you. Be sure you give a veteran a moment of your time today....if anyone deserves it....they do!

Facts About Your Social Security

"A Government which grows big enough to give you everything you want; will most certainly be strong enough to take everything you have!"----Thomas Jefferson. Our Social Security Program was started by Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, and he promised at that time that participation in the Program would be completely voluntary. It is now mandatory. In that day participants would only pay 1% of the first $1500.00 of their annual incomes each year into the Program. FICA participants could claim the money in deductions on their income tax returns. The participants Money was placed into a "TRUST" fund and was kept separated from the General Operating Fund. It was only used for Social Security Retirement and no other Government Program could access it. He further promised that the annuity payments to retirees would never be taxed. I have paid into FICA some 31years now...and I am finding out that 85% of the money I have paid in.....has been taxed for years! During the Lyndon Johnson administration, (he was also a Democrat), Social Security was taken out of the safe trust fund it was in....and put back into the General Fund....no reason was given and it was done with a Democratically controlled House and Senate! You can't claim it on your taxes anymore either....you haven't been able to do that since the Jimmy Carter administration (Democrat). As I mentioned before....FICA has been taxed since the Bill Clinton administration (Democrat). So the Democratic Party giveth....and the Democratic Party taketh away! If an immigrant comes to this country and remains here and reaches the age of 65...they can draw Social Security even if they do not have all their quarters paid into the system. An American Citizen has to have all their quarters paid in....or they have to apply for SSI. Who is responsible for this? The Jimmy Carter administration (Democrat). Social Security Benefits, Veterans Benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, SSI, State Allotments for Social Programs, Dept. for Human Services, Government Charity and Aid Programs, WIC, Food CARDs, and all you other Government Funded Programs out there, Oh, and I almost forgot the taxpayers....BETTER LOOK OUT....the Government is going to be needing money and we are all going to be easy targets!!! You don't pay out over 800 Billion Dollars plus more and not expect to get it back some how!!! God Help Us All!!!

Someone Needs To Explain This One To Me

Our President was on T.V. last night trying to explain why he and Our Senate and Congress are pushing through the biggest bail out package since the great depression. He explained and explained....and I sat there and listened....and what it amounted to basically is: they are going to use the tax payer's money to bail out their wealthy Investment Banker buddies on Wall Street! It's going to work something like this (In A Perfect World): They are going to take $700 Billion Dollars (No One Knows From Where), and buy up a bunch of investment securities from the investment banks and hold them until the stock market recovers enough where they can re-sale them at a profit. In the meantime this is going to free up the investment banks to make more loans and investments to wealthy business persons....so that they will have more options to make investments, open new businesses, and provide jobs to stimulate the economy! (And Then We All Will Live Happily Ever After!) EXCEPT....These are the same wealthy investment banker CEO's and wealthy business persons that have been making all of these bad investment decisions for the last decade!!! What a bunch of suckers the American Tax Payers are to let this happen! I have a little money in the local community bank....in a checking and savings account and it is insured. If I don't run my family budget correctly or if something happens in the economy....you know, like everything going up for the last 5 years from food to utilities to gasoline....I have to start using up my savings to pay my bills. Then if things don't get better and no additional income comes in....I have to drain my accounts and start selling things! Then if things continue to go bad....I go broke....and eat peanut butter sandwiches at my Parents home...if they are surviving....this is the way of a free market economy. IF YOU MAKE BAD INVESTMENTS AND THE ECOMONY GOES BAD....YOU LIE, STEAL, CHEAT, SHORT SALE STOCKS, AND DO ANYTHING UNDER THE SUN TO MAKE A BUCK....YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STAND ON THE BACK OF THE TAX PAYERS IN ORDER TO GET BAILED OUT AND GET BIG SEVERANCE PACKAGES WORTH MORE MONEY THAN MOST OF US WILL EVER SEE IN FIVE LIFETIMES!!! YOU SHOULD GO BROKE....AND BE BANNED FROM WALL STREET OR ANY OTHER BANKING BUSINESS.....HELL, I DON'T KNOW MAYBE YOU COULD SALE USED CARS OR SOMETHING....BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER BE TRUSTED WITH LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY AGAIN!!! So....Someone needs to help me understand what our Government is about to do....because, I just don't get it! We live in a free market economy....if you make bad investments....they come back to haunt you....hell, you may even get prosecuted....but you don't get given $700 Billion Dollars and told to try it again!!! What the Fuck!!! Sorry about my language, but I cannot help but be upset....and all of you out there should be too!!!

The Birthday

Another Year has passed me by....and still I have to question why? What kind of Man have I become? All of my life I've spend in search of myself and I'm still in the dark because I cannot seem to find the light alone! Ten Thousand people pass by my way....but they can't see they way that I feel.....Nobody even cares to try. I sell my soul and spend my life on the ropes....and I'm still in the dark because I cannot seem to find the light alone! Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness.....like a lonely soldier off to war! I'm sent away to die....never quite knowing why. I know....it makes no sense at all! Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness.....like a lonely sailor out to sea! I'm drifting with the tides....never quite knowing why. I know....it makes no sense at all! ----Dennis DeYoung

To Be Content With Life

Almost 32 years ago I left home to make my way in life...seek my fortune...broaden my horizons...make my name in the world. You have so many dreams and ambitions when you are young...so many directions you may go...so many new experiences and ideas; and you think you have so much time to accomplish the things you want to accomplish! I have learned a few things in all these years that have passed since I went out into the world...picked up on a few of the more important facets of life. We spend so much time looking away...towards the future...what we will do tomorrow, next month, next year, or five years from now...that today seems to get lost in the shuffle of it all! I believe that you have to learn to be content with what you have today...because when today is gone...it is gone forever! You have to be content with the small things. Seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion. You need to respect yourself and feel like your are worthy of others respect. I want to be wealthy in family, loved ones, and friends...this is more important to me than the riches the world has to offer. I believe in thinking quietly, talking gently, and acting frankly and with purpose. I believe it is more important to listen than to talk! Listen with your heart and mind open....and your mouth closed! Don't Gossip! A lie can travel around the world...while the truth is still putting on it's shoes! Try to do all bravely, wait for proper occasions, and never be in a hurry. Let your spiritual side come through almost unconsciously...and smile...Life is good and everyday above the ground is a good day!!! Slow down and enjoy all the small things that most people ignore! Your Life should be a Symphony.....Not a Fricken Rock Concert!!!

Way To Go John

I haven't done an article in a little bit...because just to be honest there has not been much to write about! Today, however, I have to say: "WAY TO GO JOHN McCAIN!!!" Man, can this guy pick them or what...Sara dear you are just so...well, I'm going to go ahead and say it, "HOT!" Not a bit of experience to lead a Nation, make command decisions, or run a war...but man, look at those legs!!! My home town has a population of 28,500 people and it is considered to be very small...Sara was the Mayor of a City of 9000! She has been the Governor of Alaska for less than two years and before that a soccer Mom....now that is cold, hard, leadership experience! I believe that if you take off those designer glasses...designed to make her look smart...and let down that hair...designed to make her look older....You would have a Wildcat on your hands! So if John gets elected and was to kick off in office...this is what we will be left with! On the plus side; she is a woman and a beautiful woman at that...this will damage the Obama campaign considerably! McCain should get the womens vote and some of the minority vote with this pick...also since she is not at all bad to look at...us dirty old men will be voting for him...all in all a pretty smart move by the McCain staff!!! My hat is off to whoever made this decision...it should do the trick and put the Republicans in the Whitehouse for another 4 years....I only hope we can stand another 4 years!!!

History, At The Olympic Pool.

I don't care much for many of the events at the Olympics. I mean badmitton, ribbon dancing, volleyball, baseball, and basketball...come on get real. I like the boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, tae kwon do, track & field, gymnastics, and the swimming events...they have been exciting to watch. Nothing and I mean nothing has topped the amazing things that Micheal Phelps and the rest of that Olympic Swim Team from the USA has done!!! I am personally sending out a BIG CONGRADULATIONS to Mr. Phelps...and may your records stand strong for many decades. You are the living proof of what a lifetime of determination and dedication can do! The women's gymnastics team was also very good...and you could tell that a lot of hard work paid off there as well. I have not watched many of the events...but the ones I thought would be great have been great. I will say that I am proud of all of the U.S. Teams and the way they have represented America in the games. We should all be proud of them.

The Olympics Are On And Nothing Else Is.

Well, the Olympics are on and there is nothing to watch on any of the other channels. Is this such a powerful part of T.V. that they cannot line up anything on the other channels against it! I watched a very short part of the opening ceremony and it was impressive...I will give them that...but $300,000,000.00 dollars...man that is a lot of zeros. This use to be pure sport and althelete against athelete...but it is nothing but commercialism now. The only bright spot I have seen so far is the incredible accomplishments by Michael Phelps in the water...man, can he move through the water or what? He is going to be the most decorated Olympic Athelete ever!!! I really wanted to watch the Tae Kwon Do matches but they have not been on yet or if they have there is no way to find out when...??? I was watching some of the womens pro beach volleyball last night...I just couldn't bring myself to turn it off...not like anything else was on anyway...I wonder if their bikinis will get any skimmpier next year...lol...they are just falling all out of them most of the time! They don't seem to mind it though...it's probably good for the ratings!!! How about those million dollar baby basketball players of ours...already 3-0...Hell, no one should be able to beat them...the kind of money they make back home in the good ole USA. I really shouldn't say that...they probably will need a raise with the price of food...gas...groceries...and everything. They only make about $10,000,000.00 a year on average!!! Hats off to the Chinese...on making a good try at it anyway....these games are just not near as exciting as they use to be.

We Do Not Know The Meaning Of A Tough Life

Every where I go lately people want to talk to me about how hard their life is....I mean practically everytime I go outside the house. Our economy is weak right now and yes, it is true that some people are out of work....but how tough can life be today. My Grand Parents on both sides had no money for food and hardly any money for anything else....and they worked hard 40-60 hours a week most of their lives. There was just no money to be had....unless you were wealthy or from a wealthy family. Health care in that time....forget it....it consisted of an asprin if you hurt or an alka seltzer if you was sick at your stomach and that was about it. One of my Grand Fathers worked in the coal mines all of his life and raised hogs and a garden to feed his family. Now mind you....this was in the days when miners made very little and dug coal out with a pick ax and shovel....then it was carted out of the mines by mules and put on train cars. They almost never went to the grocery store....and when they did it was to buy flour, sugar, coffee, lard, and corn meal. They had one milking cow. They raised 6 children on one side of the family and 3 children on the other side. My parents were pretty much the same way...better educated and better jobs....but just barely scratching out a living most of their lives. They did manage to encourage 3 of their children to go get college degrees....we were on grade scholarships, sports scholarships, and Government grants and loans....but we managed to get educated. All 4 of us are doing well and I very rarely complain about my life....now I do complain about some of the bullshit that is going on with our Politicians and the decisions they make....but that is a different story. So, the next time you get up to your automatic coffee maker, get your milk out of your $1000 dollar refrigerator, cut on your $2800 dollar flat screen to watch the news and weather, cut on your $1800 dollar computer to look at what is happening in the world, take your $700 dollar I-phone off the charger, unlock and start your $28,000 dollar vehicle, cut on your On-Star GPS, and get ready to drive to the $25 dollar an hour or more job you have; and do all this by pushing buttons....just try to remember, as bad as it is right now, it could be a bunch worse!!! Now stop complaining!!!