Dear Thieves,
I have come to warn you as Jacob Marley's ghost came to warn Scrooge (loosely quoting Dickens): "You will wear the chain you forge in life. You make it link by link, and yard by yard... For it is truly required of everyone, that one's spirit should walk among his fellow men, and travel far and wide. If that spirit does not, it is doomed to wander the world and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared."
How do you feel now? Are you happy in your cold, big house? Are you beloved by all you have touched? Does your money comfort you in the loneliness of your thoughts? What if you lost all your money? What would you have then? Do you have friends who come through for you in the hard times?
You sure did have what Scrooge would admire as "a good head for business." You sold out yourself, your fellow brothers and sisters, our children, your country, and mankind, but you did do a lot of business. You took the easy way. You took the greedy way. It didn't feel right, but your values are "greed is good." As Dr. Seuss' character, the Once-ler, says, "If I didn't do it then someone else would." You justified your lies.
"Would you know," pursued the Ghost, "the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? ...It is a ponderous chain!" Every time your ego clouded your judgment, every moment you were silent when you should have spoken, every dream you have shattered, is a link on your chain.
The hubris you wear as a shield now prevents you from knowing, "This means YOU." But someday, your chain will keep you awake. Someday, your chain will wear you down. Someday, your chain will chill you with its loneliness.
There is no way out. The only way is sacrificing short-term payoffs for long-term benefits: "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings were a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!" Your business distracts you from your real business.
The rest of us wish you "a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You'll be very merry and very happy, we have no doubt!"
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Response from Obama Mama
A response to some typical anti-Obama rhetoric...
Obama supports the Born Alive bill state and Fed that does not encroach upon Roe v. Wade rights
Besides being mistaken in logic and facts, I find it bizarre that many call extremely successful people hateful names and labels. Maybe those could learn lessons from their successes instead.
First:
At the time of the first proposed Illinois state born alive bill, there was already an existing Illinois law that insured that life-saving treatment would be given to infants, but sponsors of the BAIPA said that the law did not go far enough. This is a ploy used by Illinois abortion opponents to implement their ultimate agenda of overturning Roe v. Wade.
Barack Obama supports the 2002 federal bill b/c it does not encroach upon Roe v. Wade.
In 2005, a Born Alive bill was signed into law by the Illinois Senate and this bill specifically provides that it does not affect any existing federal or state laws regarding abortion. That means that it does not encroach upon any of the rights granted under Roe v. Wade.
Obama supports this 2005 version of the Illinois Born Alive bill. The legal point is that the bill only passed after the Roe v. Wade exclusion was added.
Second:
You must not agree with thousands of economics experts. http://media.economist.com/media/pdf/Totals1.pdf
Overall rating of tax plans:
1 is very bad, 5 is very good
Third:
Iraq's problems need to be tended to by Iraq. They have an $80-billion surplus they are not tapping, yet the US spends $10-billion/month there. If you were a fiscal conservative, you would be outraged. Let's instead get bin Laden.
Last:
Please be aware of the value-laded terms published and promoted out of the Luntz Republican Playbook, which uses emotionally-laden doublespeak. When ever you hear terms like "Healthy Skies," "Born Alive," "Freedom," "Patriot Act," etc. you know for sure some part of the legislation enacts exactly the opposite of those terms or a clever diversion from the real intent.
In sum:
A vote for McCain is a vote for an erratic, dumb, rash decision-maker. It is a vote for the rich people getting richer and more corrupt while the poor and middle-class get poorer as a result of the weight. It is a vote for a continuation of the whole worlds' hatred of us. A vote for McCain is an invitation for more aggression/"nukes" against us. He is not smart enough to manage complex systems and sanctions. It is a vote for continued killing of our sons and daughters in wars because we think we know best what other countries must do.
A vote for McCain is a vote to increase the deficit. It is a vote against middle-class values, strength, and growth. It is a vote against new, innovative industries of energy and economic development. It is a vote to subsidize risk for fat cats. It is a vote for someone who doesn't think of Plan B. It is a vote for someone who doesn't rely on empirical data from scientific consensus to make decisions. We want a president who can actually understand that data and its implications.
Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million.
Get the facts, please http://www.barackobama.com/issues/. Be suspicious of bizarre, value-laden, emotional terms and odd logic and character assassinations.
To those of you who wish to abstain from voting all together, I'm sorry, but our founders, country-folk, and enlightenment thinkers died and sacrificed for you to vote. For the commoners to not rise up and voice their right is shameful. This process, the actual exercise of inalienable freedom is, in fact, the beacon of light in the dark world that can never go out. Not after 1776 happened.
Obama supports the Born Alive bill state and Fed that does not encroach upon Roe v. Wade rights
Besides being mistaken in logic and facts, I find it bizarre that many call extremely successful people hateful names and labels. Maybe those could learn lessons from their successes instead.
First:
At the time of the first proposed Illinois state born alive bill, there was already an existing Illinois law that insured that life-saving treatment would be given to infants, but sponsors of the BAIPA said that the law did not go far enough. This is a ploy used by Illinois abortion opponents to implement their ultimate agenda of overturning Roe v. Wade.
Barack Obama supports the 2002 federal bill b/c it does not encroach upon Roe v. Wade.
In 2005, a Born Alive bill was signed into law by the Illinois Senate and this bill specifically provides that it does not affect any existing federal or state laws regarding abortion. That means that it does not encroach upon any of the rights granted under Roe v. Wade.
Obama supports this 2005 version of the Illinois Born Alive bill. The legal point is that the bill only passed after the Roe v. Wade exclusion was added.
Second:
You must not agree with thousands of economics experts. http://media.economist.com/media/pdf/Totals1.pdf
Overall rating of tax plans:
1 is very bad, 5 is very good
| Rating | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCain | 42 | 47 | 22 | 17 | 2 |
| Obama | 6 | 23 | 48 | 39 | 13 |
Third:
Iraq's problems need to be tended to by Iraq. They have an $80-billion surplus they are not tapping, yet the US spends $10-billion/month there. If you were a fiscal conservative, you would be outraged. Let's instead get bin Laden.
Last:
Please be aware of the value-laded terms published and promoted out of the Luntz Republican Playbook, which uses emotionally-laden doublespeak. When ever you hear terms like "Healthy Skies," "Born Alive," "Freedom," "Patriot Act," etc. you know for sure some part of the legislation enacts exactly the opposite of those terms or a clever diversion from the real intent.
In sum:
A vote for McCain is a vote for an erratic, dumb, rash decision-maker. It is a vote for the rich people getting richer and more corrupt while the poor and middle-class get poorer as a result of the weight. It is a vote for a continuation of the whole worlds' hatred of us. A vote for McCain is an invitation for more aggression/"nukes" against us. He is not smart enough to manage complex systems and sanctions. It is a vote for continued killing of our sons and daughters in wars because we think we know best what other countries must do.
A vote for McCain is a vote to increase the deficit. It is a vote against middle-class values, strength, and growth. It is a vote against new, innovative industries of energy and economic development. It is a vote to subsidize risk for fat cats. It is a vote for someone who doesn't think of Plan B. It is a vote for someone who doesn't rely on empirical data from scientific consensus to make decisions. We want a president who can actually understand that data and its implications.
Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million.
Get the facts, please http://www.barackobama.com/issues/. Be suspicious of bizarre, value-laden, emotional terms and odd logic and character assassinations.
To those of you who wish to abstain from voting all together, I'm sorry, but our founders, country-folk, and enlightenment thinkers died and sacrificed for you to vote. For the commoners to not rise up and voice their right is shameful. This process, the actual exercise of inalienable freedom is, in fact, the beacon of light in the dark world that can never go out. Not after 1776 happened.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Joe
Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, “This is what I need.” It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment—not discouragement—you will find the strength there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege!! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.
Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures, followed by wreckage, were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see this is really true.Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.
This is the major contribution of Eastern philosophy to the West.
Matt Damon on Sarah Palin
Damon brings up some good points on Palin. Yes...absurdity, and scary.
"I want to know if she thinks dinosaurs were here four-thousand years ago...because she is going to have the nuclear codes."
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