To be a citizen of this country we have certain rights and privileges. We also have certain responsibilities to be active in positive change. Society is a form of extended family. We all contribute to society, either in a positive way or a negative way. To vote is to give a voice in playing a role in positive change. Many men died for our right to vote, as well as the other rights we now take for granted. Women could not vote for many years because they were not considered an important part of decision making. Now we all have a responsibility to make the world a better place and we now have the right to do so. Women more than ever now should exercise their right to vote. All policies are made by the elected officials we get into office. All policies affect each and every citizen. Each one of us has a duty to leave the world a better place for the next generations because we lived. We can and should be aware of policies and officials. We should read the news and understand the direction our country is going in. Many important, critical issues are at hand currently. Healthcare issues are among the top of the list. Social Security for the aging and the disabled is in jeopardy. Even though these issues may not affect you right now, the day will come that they will affect you. Also, the issues are not just about us but about doing the best we can do for all citizens. The elderly should be our responsibility to care for them the best we can. They have worked all of their lives to make the world better for us and it is now our turn to see that they are properly cared for with issues such as Medicare, Social Security etc. Our children are also equally important and the primary education system is at risk for falling behind. We need to be proactive to make change for our children and future generations to come. Education is critical, many other countries are way ahead of us and we are falling behind. Legislation is where it all begins. We have had many devastating disasters recently and have seen many of our citizens not receiving the help needed, such as with Katrina. Federal funds are determined by legislation. We have many poor relations with many countries right now; we desperately need politicians in office who can work for peaceful relations with other countries. We have rising educational costs with colleges, which require effective solutions to ensure that we have educated adults entering the work force, without the funds available many will not get the education and the country will suffer. Crime is rising nationwide, prisons are failing and we need better solutions to deviant behavior. Mental health population is suffering due to lack of funds and interest from our leaders. Jobs are being outsourced to other countries mainly China. Immigration controversies are a huge issue now. We, as a people should stand together instead of being divided. The government represents the people and they are employed by the people. The people are made up by each and every citizen. The government and politicians have taken over our country and fail to listen to the people. We need to remind Washington DC that they do not dictate policy but assert the policies the people want.
Drug use, abuse, and addiction are at an all-time high. The drug situation is a host of multiple problems. Every time a person buys illegal drugs the money goes towards terrorism, which we are fighting a war against. We have addiction centers popping up all over the country, leading to increased medical costs that society absorbs due to most of the addicts not working and welfare footing the bill. WE have AID's which is leading to many other diseases to be on the rise. We have science looking for cures to diseases such as cancer. We still have issues like abortion, which are very controversial. We have a society at risk for losing the leadership status with the world. The list goes on and on. Watch the news and see all of the problems and think about the root of the problem, how we can solve the problems, and what it will take to get the job done. Many citizens today want the benefits of society but do not want to do their part in making good things happen. Life is not about taking, it is about giving. The old wise saying rings true today, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" by JFK. We need to be a strong country once again....it can happen but each and every one of us must do our part. We are either part of the problem or part of the solution.
Why is it important to participate in the democratic process by voting? That's an interesting question with several different ways in which to answer it. Voting is the foremost way to exhibit good citizenship and civil responsibility.
First, voting in free elections is a right that should not be taken lightly. Millions of people in the United States and around the world have fought and even died for the seemingly simple right to vote. Should their sacrifices just fade away into some distant memory? Voting is a patriotic act and everyone should participate. By voting, a person conveys that sense of patriotism that he/she cares enough about the direction of the country to exercise the power available to millions and millions of people to make their voices heard.
Second, no matter how much a person feels their single vote does not count, they are dead wrong. In the mayoral election in Ann Arbor in 1977, the outcome was decided by a single, solitary vote. As another example, John F. Kennedy won the Presidential election of 1960 by as small a margin as one vote per election district in 12 states. If every person believes that his or her vote doesn't matter, the sheer volume of non-voters will destroy the democratic process.
Third, voting is the principle means of a representative government. The Framers left the future of the country in the hands of its citizens. How can a government be representative if roughly 45-50 percent of eligible voters don't vote? This makes a government only representative to half of the country.
In conclusion, everyone should recognize the importance of voting and act accordingly. Rather than just sit back and complain when something the government does isn't in your best interest, get out and vote and make a difference. Eligible voters who refuse to do so have absolutely no right to complain when they did nothing at all to protect their interests when they have that exact power.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
A Discussion On Self Esteem
We are living in a society today where due to bad economics, lack of jobs, people losing their jobs, young adults graduating and finding out there are no jobs available, music degrading our woman, bullying in our school and my all time favorite, the way we allow others to treat us badly and somehow draw the conclusion that we deserve to be treated that way. Because of the above issues, I have chosen to speak today on a very important subject. That subject is Self Esteem
You can't touch it, but it affects how you feel. You can't see it, but it might be there when you look at yourself in the mirror. You can't hear it, but it's there when you talk about yourself or when you think about yourself.
What is this important but mysterious thing? It's your self-esteem!
What Is Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem can have a big part to play in how you feel about yourself and also how much you enjoy things or worry about things.
To understand self-esteem, it helps to break the term into two words. Let's first take a look at the word esteem (say: ess-teem), which means that someone or something is important, special, or valuable. For example, if you really admire your friend's dad because he volunteers at the fire department, it means you hold him in high esteem. And the special trophy for the most valuable player on a team is often called an esteemed trophy. This means the trophy stands for an important accomplishment.
And self means, well, yourself! So put the two words together and it's easier to see what self-esteem is. It's how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. It's how you see yourself and how you feel about the things you can do.
Self-esteem isn't about bragging, it’s about getting to know what you are good at and not so good at. A lot of us think about how much we like other people or things, but don't really think much about whether we like ourselves.
It's not about thinking you're perfect, because nobody is perfect. Even if you think some other people are good at everything, you can be sure they have things they're good at and things that are difficult for them.
The most important thing to know about self-esteem is that it means seeing yourself in a positive way that's realistic, which means that it's the truth.
Why Self-Esteem Is Important
Self-esteem isn't like a cool item you really want but can wait to get. All people have self-esteem, and having healthy or positive self-esteem is really important. It can help you hold your head high and feel proud of yourself and what you can do, even when things don't seem to be going so well.
Self-esteem gives you the courage to try new things and the power to believe in yourself. It lets you respect yourself, even when you make mistakes. And when you respect yourself, other people usually respect you, too.
Having positive self-esteem can also help you can learn to make healthy choices about your mind and body. If you think you're important, you'll be less likely to follow the crowd if your friends are doing something wrong or dangerous. If you have positive self-esteem, you know you're smart enough to make your own decisions. You value your safety, your feelings, your health — your whole self! Positive self-esteem helps you know that every part of you is worth caring for and protecting.
How Kids Get Self-Esteem
Babies don't see themselves in a good or bad way. They don't think "I'm great!" when they let out a big burp or worry "Oh, no, this diaper makes my legs look weird!" Instead, people around a baby help him or her develop self-esteem. How? By encouraging the baby when he or she learns to crawl, walk, or talk. They often say, "Good job. Good for you!" Or, they might just smile and look proud. When people take good care of a baby, that also helps him or her feel loved and valuable.
As kids get older, they can have a bigger role in developing their own self-esteem. Working hard to finish a project or assignment, getting a higher grade on a math test, or trying out for a new sport are all things kids can be proud of for trying. Some kids are not very athletic, but they might be good readers or know how to do magic tricks or are really good friends or help other people out — these are all accomplishments that help kids feel good about themselves.
A kid's family and other people in his or her life — like coaches, teachers, and classmates — also can boost self-esteem. They can help a kid figure out how to do things or notice his or her good qualities. They can believe in the kid and encourage him or her to try again when something doesn't go right the first time. It's all part of kids learning to see themselves in a positive way, to feel proud of what they've done, and to be confident that there's a lot more they can do.
Maybe you know people with low self-esteem who don't think very highly of themselves or seem to criticize themselves too much. This can also be called negative self-esteem, and it's the opposite of positive self-esteem. Maybe you have low self-esteem sometimes and don't always feel very good about yourself or think you're important.
Of course it's OK to have ups and downs in your feelings, but having low self-esteem isn't OK. Feeling like you're not important can make you sad and can keep you from trying new things. It can keep you from making friends or affect how hard you try at school.
Having strong self-esteem is also a very big part of growing up. As you get older and face tough decisions — especially under peer pressure — the more self-esteem you have, the better. It's important to like yourself.
Self-esteem can improve when you start trying things you thought were too hard and then do well at them, or when a parent, family member, or other adult encourages you, is patient, and helps you get back on track. When you start to do well, self-esteem will skyrocket!
Here are a few other things that you can try to increase your self-esteem:
•Give yourself three compliments every day. Don't just say, "I'm so great." Be specific about something good about yourself, like, "I was a good friend to Jill today" or "I did better on that test than I thought I would." While you're at it, before you go to bed every night, list three things in your day that really made you happy or that you feel thankful for.
•Remember that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it is. If you are worried about your weight or size, you can check with your doctor to make sure you're healthy. Remind yourself of things about your body that are cool, like, "My legs are strong and I can skate really well."
•Remember that there are things about yourself you can't change. You should accept and love these things — such as skin color and shoe size — because they are part of you.
•When you hear negative comments in your head, tell yourself to stop. Remind yourself of things you're good at and if you can't think of anything, ask someone else! You can also learn a new skill (for example, karate, dance, a musical instrument) so you can feel good about that!
By focusing on the good things you do and all your great qualities, you learn to love and accept yourself — the main ingredients for strong self-esteem! Even if you've got room for improvement (and who doesn't?), knowing what you're good at and that you're valuable and special to the people that care about you can really help you deal with growing up.
Part of growing up is learning to focus on your strengths and to accept and work on your weaknesses — and that, in a nutshell, is self-esteem
You can't touch it, but it affects how you feel. You can't see it, but it might be there when you look at yourself in the mirror. You can't hear it, but it's there when you talk about yourself or when you think about yourself.
What is this important but mysterious thing? It's your self-esteem!
What Is Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem can have a big part to play in how you feel about yourself and also how much you enjoy things or worry about things.
To understand self-esteem, it helps to break the term into two words. Let's first take a look at the word esteem (say: ess-teem), which means that someone or something is important, special, or valuable. For example, if you really admire your friend's dad because he volunteers at the fire department, it means you hold him in high esteem. And the special trophy for the most valuable player on a team is often called an esteemed trophy. This means the trophy stands for an important accomplishment.
And self means, well, yourself! So put the two words together and it's easier to see what self-esteem is. It's how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. It's how you see yourself and how you feel about the things you can do.
Self-esteem isn't about bragging, it’s about getting to know what you are good at and not so good at. A lot of us think about how much we like other people or things, but don't really think much about whether we like ourselves.
It's not about thinking you're perfect, because nobody is perfect. Even if you think some other people are good at everything, you can be sure they have things they're good at and things that are difficult for them.
The most important thing to know about self-esteem is that it means seeing yourself in a positive way that's realistic, which means that it's the truth.
Why Self-Esteem Is Important
Self-esteem isn't like a cool item you really want but can wait to get. All people have self-esteem, and having healthy or positive self-esteem is really important. It can help you hold your head high and feel proud of yourself and what you can do, even when things don't seem to be going so well.
Self-esteem gives you the courage to try new things and the power to believe in yourself. It lets you respect yourself, even when you make mistakes. And when you respect yourself, other people usually respect you, too.
Having positive self-esteem can also help you can learn to make healthy choices about your mind and body. If you think you're important, you'll be less likely to follow the crowd if your friends are doing something wrong or dangerous. If you have positive self-esteem, you know you're smart enough to make your own decisions. You value your safety, your feelings, your health — your whole self! Positive self-esteem helps you know that every part of you is worth caring for and protecting.
How Kids Get Self-Esteem
Babies don't see themselves in a good or bad way. They don't think "I'm great!" when they let out a big burp or worry "Oh, no, this diaper makes my legs look weird!" Instead, people around a baby help him or her develop self-esteem. How? By encouraging the baby when he or she learns to crawl, walk, or talk. They often say, "Good job. Good for you!" Or, they might just smile and look proud. When people take good care of a baby, that also helps him or her feel loved and valuable.
As kids get older, they can have a bigger role in developing their own self-esteem. Working hard to finish a project or assignment, getting a higher grade on a math test, or trying out for a new sport are all things kids can be proud of for trying. Some kids are not very athletic, but they might be good readers or know how to do magic tricks or are really good friends or help other people out — these are all accomplishments that help kids feel good about themselves.
A kid's family and other people in his or her life — like coaches, teachers, and classmates — also can boost self-esteem. They can help a kid figure out how to do things or notice his or her good qualities. They can believe in the kid and encourage him or her to try again when something doesn't go right the first time. It's all part of kids learning to see themselves in a positive way, to feel proud of what they've done, and to be confident that there's a lot more they can do.
Maybe you know people with low self-esteem who don't think very highly of themselves or seem to criticize themselves too much. This can also be called negative self-esteem, and it's the opposite of positive self-esteem. Maybe you have low self-esteem sometimes and don't always feel very good about yourself or think you're important.
Of course it's OK to have ups and downs in your feelings, but having low self-esteem isn't OK. Feeling like you're not important can make you sad and can keep you from trying new things. It can keep you from making friends or affect how hard you try at school.
Having strong self-esteem is also a very big part of growing up. As you get older and face tough decisions — especially under peer pressure — the more self-esteem you have, the better. It's important to like yourself.
Self-esteem can improve when you start trying things you thought were too hard and then do well at them, or when a parent, family member, or other adult encourages you, is patient, and helps you get back on track. When you start to do well, self-esteem will skyrocket!
Here are a few other things that you can try to increase your self-esteem:
•Give yourself three compliments every day. Don't just say, "I'm so great." Be specific about something good about yourself, like, "I was a good friend to Jill today" or "I did better on that test than I thought I would." While you're at it, before you go to bed every night, list three things in your day that really made you happy or that you feel thankful for.
•Remember that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it is. If you are worried about your weight or size, you can check with your doctor to make sure you're healthy. Remind yourself of things about your body that are cool, like, "My legs are strong and I can skate really well."
•Remember that there are things about yourself you can't change. You should accept and love these things — such as skin color and shoe size — because they are part of you.
•When you hear negative comments in your head, tell yourself to stop. Remind yourself of things you're good at and if you can't think of anything, ask someone else! You can also learn a new skill (for example, karate, dance, a musical instrument) so you can feel good about that!
By focusing on the good things you do and all your great qualities, you learn to love and accept yourself — the main ingredients for strong self-esteem! Even if you've got room for improvement (and who doesn't?), knowing what you're good at and that you're valuable and special to the people that care about you can really help you deal with growing up.
Part of growing up is learning to focus on your strengths and to accept and work on your weaknesses — and that, in a nutshell, is self-esteem
Thursday, November 1, 2012
DIsclaimer!!!
I would like to open today by saying THANK YOU to all of the readers who reached out yesterday in concern for me based on my writing yesterday. It was very heartfelt that there are genuine people reading my Blogs. I must say though that you will almost never read a Blog I write where I will include personal life information, that is not what this is about. What I attempt to do is make my writing palatable and easily understood by readers of all ages and levels of comprehension which sometimes requires me to set up a scenario by which the reader can then read my message and say "Thats what he meant by that" if it happens to be the type of read. I try to write about current events, things that are of concern to me and should be to you as well, and sometimes life experience to impart some wisdom to our youth and those that may need guidance. I will sometimes write in the first person if that helps to get my message across but please understand, I am almost never writing about my personal life although there may be bits of personal experience intertwined in the body of text.
Once again, THANK YOU all for the Love and Concern but no one loves themselves more than I love me and you all, I am good with me, with mine and I am truly God Blessed so I try to pass the Blessings on to you thru my Blog. Peace, God Bless and Love Someone Today!!!
Once again, THANK YOU all for the Love and Concern but no one loves themselves more than I love me and you all, I am good with me, with mine and I am truly God Blessed so I try to pass the Blessings on to you thru my Blog. Peace, God Bless and Love Someone Today!!!
I Think Romney Has a Christie Problem and a FEMA Problem
Like many others—though not the weather forecasters or the political authorities—I underestimated the scope of the storm. Now that at least thirty-eight people are dead, thousands have been driven from their homes, and millions are without power, the election campaign looks like something of a side show. But the fact remains that voting will go ahead next Tuesday, and the politicking continues, albeit in a different manner.
On the Democratic side, the devastation that Sandy has wreaked more than justifies President Obama’s decision to return to Washington on Sunday and to declare a pre-disaster state of emergency in a number of states. On Tuesday morning, he followed up these edicts by signing major disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey, which will make it easier for them to access federal assistance. First thing this morning, the White House let it be known that the President had been monitoring the storm’s progress throughout the night, and that he had spoken to a number of local officials, including Governor Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg, and Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey.
Appearing on the networks this morning, Christie, for the third day in a row, heaped praise on Obama’s handling of the storm. “The President has been outstanding in this,” he told the “Today” show. On “Morning Joe,” he said, “It’s been very good working with the President. He and his Administration have been coördinating with us. It’s been wonderful.” Speaking on CNN, Christie said that he had been mightily impressed by Obama’s accessibility throughout the crisis. “He gave me his number at the White House, told me to call him if I needed anything, and he absolutely means it.” Christie also pointed out that Obama didn’t once bring up politics in their conversations, and added, “If he’s not bringing it up, you can be sure that people in New Jersey are not worried about that, primarily if one of the guys running isn’t.”
Can you imagine what the strategists, flaks, and bagmen at Romney’s campaign HQ must have been thinking when they woke up to this stuff? Deleting the expletives, it probably went something along the lines of: Isn’t this guy ever going to shut up? Evidently, the answer is no. Appearing on Fox News—yes, Fox—Christie scoffed at the idea of Romney making a visit to New Jersey in order to inspect the damage. “I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” he said. “I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than Presidential politics, and I could care less about any of that stuff.”
Good for Christie, you might say. He’s just doing his job as the governor of New Jersey and saying what he thinks. The President was there when his state needed help, and it’s only right for him to acknowledge this publicly. O.K., I’m with you. But three days in a row? On practically every network in the country? Republicans could be forgiven for getting a bit apoplectic. Doesn’t Christie have other things to be doing, such as inspecting the damage, rescuing the stranded, and trying to get the power restored? Right about now, Romney must be feeling like calling him up and giving him the same advice that Clement Attlee, the postwar Labour Prime Minister of Great Britain gave to Harold Laski, the left-wing London School of Economics professor: “A period of silence from you would be welcome.”
The Mittster is unlikely to get much relief on this front, and he’s also got some self-inflicted damage to deal with: the fallout from his suggestion during the G.O.P. primaries that he was in favor of dismantling federal emergency management and privatizing relief efforts. At a CNN debate in June, 2011, the moderator John King engaged the candidates in a discussion about the role of government. When he got to Romney, the exchange went like this:
KING: What else, Governor Romney? You’ve been a chief executive of a state. I was just in Joplin, Missouri. I’ve been in Mississippi and Louisiana and Tennessee and other communities dealing with whether it’s the tornadoes, the flooding, and worse. FEMA is about to run out of money, and there are some people who say do it on a case-by-case basis and some people who say, you know, maybe we’re learning a lesson here that the states should take on more of this role. How do you deal with something like that?
ROMNEY: Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.
Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut—we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we’re doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we’re doing that we don’t have to do? And those things we’ve got to stop doing, because we’re borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we’re taking in. We cannot…
KING: Including disaster relief, though?
ROMNEY: We cannot—we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.
That seems pretty clear cut: FEMA and other federal disaster-relief efforts should be on list of things that should be eliminated in order to reduce the national debt. Not surprisingly, in the past few days the Romney campaign has been busy rowing back from that position. When a reporter from the National Journal asked the Romney campaign about the candidate’s stance on disaster relief, a press spokeswoman e-mailed back: “Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions. As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities, and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA.”
So Romney is in favor of keeping FEMA, after all—or is he? On Monday afternoon, even before Sandy had hit, the editorial page of the Times invoked Romney’s 2011 comments in the debate and asked, “Does Mr. Romney really believe that financially strapped states would do a better job than a properly functioning federal agency? Who would make decisions about where to send federal aid? Or perhaps there would be no federal aid, and every state would bear the burden of billions of dollars in damages.” So far, the Obama campaign hasn’t adopted this mode of attack, probably because it doesn’t need to. With the President sticking to the line that the election is the furthest thing from his mind, it can rely on the media to make life even more difficult for Team Romney, which is clearly struggling to come up with a post-Sandy strategy.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, the only mention of the storm on the home page of Romney’s Web site was a link to the Red Cross. The Mittster was scheduled to resume campaigning on Wednesday, in Florida. Paul Ryan, his running mate, is scheduled to be in his home state of Wisconsin. Before leaving for Florida, Romney attended a rally in Kettering, Ohio, which had hastily been converted to a storm-relief benefit: attendees were asked to bring non-perishable food, flashlights, and other items that could be sent to the victims of Sandy. Speaking for about five minutes, the G.O.P. candidate confined himself to the storm, saying, “We have heavy hearts, as you know, with all the suffering going on. There are a lot of people who were hurting this morning, who were hurting last night.”
There’s no reason to doubt the sincerity of what Romney said, or the usefulness of his efforts to help the victims. But six days before the election, this was just what he didn’t need.
Be Blessed, Be Safe and Pray for those still suffering in the wake of SuperStorm Sandy.
On the Democratic side, the devastation that Sandy has wreaked more than justifies President Obama’s decision to return to Washington on Sunday and to declare a pre-disaster state of emergency in a number of states. On Tuesday morning, he followed up these edicts by signing major disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey, which will make it easier for them to access federal assistance. First thing this morning, the White House let it be known that the President had been monitoring the storm’s progress throughout the night, and that he had spoken to a number of local officials, including Governor Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg, and Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey.
Appearing on the networks this morning, Christie, for the third day in a row, heaped praise on Obama’s handling of the storm. “The President has been outstanding in this,” he told the “Today” show. On “Morning Joe,” he said, “It’s been very good working with the President. He and his Administration have been coördinating with us. It’s been wonderful.” Speaking on CNN, Christie said that he had been mightily impressed by Obama’s accessibility throughout the crisis. “He gave me his number at the White House, told me to call him if I needed anything, and he absolutely means it.” Christie also pointed out that Obama didn’t once bring up politics in their conversations, and added, “If he’s not bringing it up, you can be sure that people in New Jersey are not worried about that, primarily if one of the guys running isn’t.”
Can you imagine what the strategists, flaks, and bagmen at Romney’s campaign HQ must have been thinking when they woke up to this stuff? Deleting the expletives, it probably went something along the lines of: Isn’t this guy ever going to shut up? Evidently, the answer is no. Appearing on Fox News—yes, Fox—Christie scoffed at the idea of Romney making a visit to New Jersey in order to inspect the damage. “I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” he said. “I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than Presidential politics, and I could care less about any of that stuff.”
Good for Christie, you might say. He’s just doing his job as the governor of New Jersey and saying what he thinks. The President was there when his state needed help, and it’s only right for him to acknowledge this publicly. O.K., I’m with you. But three days in a row? On practically every network in the country? Republicans could be forgiven for getting a bit apoplectic. Doesn’t Christie have other things to be doing, such as inspecting the damage, rescuing the stranded, and trying to get the power restored? Right about now, Romney must be feeling like calling him up and giving him the same advice that Clement Attlee, the postwar Labour Prime Minister of Great Britain gave to Harold Laski, the left-wing London School of Economics professor: “A period of silence from you would be welcome.”
The Mittster is unlikely to get much relief on this front, and he’s also got some self-inflicted damage to deal with: the fallout from his suggestion during the G.O.P. primaries that he was in favor of dismantling federal emergency management and privatizing relief efforts. At a CNN debate in June, 2011, the moderator John King engaged the candidates in a discussion about the role of government. When he got to Romney, the exchange went like this:
KING: What else, Governor Romney? You’ve been a chief executive of a state. I was just in Joplin, Missouri. I’ve been in Mississippi and Louisiana and Tennessee and other communities dealing with whether it’s the tornadoes, the flooding, and worse. FEMA is about to run out of money, and there are some people who say do it on a case-by-case basis and some people who say, you know, maybe we’re learning a lesson here that the states should take on more of this role. How do you deal with something like that?
ROMNEY: Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.
Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut—we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we’re doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we’re doing that we don’t have to do? And those things we’ve got to stop doing, because we’re borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we’re taking in. We cannot…
KING: Including disaster relief, though?
ROMNEY: We cannot—we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.
That seems pretty clear cut: FEMA and other federal disaster-relief efforts should be on list of things that should be eliminated in order to reduce the national debt. Not surprisingly, in the past few days the Romney campaign has been busy rowing back from that position. When a reporter from the National Journal asked the Romney campaign about the candidate’s stance on disaster relief, a press spokeswoman e-mailed back: “Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions. As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities, and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA.”
So Romney is in favor of keeping FEMA, after all—or is he? On Monday afternoon, even before Sandy had hit, the editorial page of the Times invoked Romney’s 2011 comments in the debate and asked, “Does Mr. Romney really believe that financially strapped states would do a better job than a properly functioning federal agency? Who would make decisions about where to send federal aid? Or perhaps there would be no federal aid, and every state would bear the burden of billions of dollars in damages.” So far, the Obama campaign hasn’t adopted this mode of attack, probably because it doesn’t need to. With the President sticking to the line that the election is the furthest thing from his mind, it can rely on the media to make life even more difficult for Team Romney, which is clearly struggling to come up with a post-Sandy strategy.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, the only mention of the storm on the home page of Romney’s Web site was a link to the Red Cross. The Mittster was scheduled to resume campaigning on Wednesday, in Florida. Paul Ryan, his running mate, is scheduled to be in his home state of Wisconsin. Before leaving for Florida, Romney attended a rally in Kettering, Ohio, which had hastily been converted to a storm-relief benefit: attendees were asked to bring non-perishable food, flashlights, and other items that could be sent to the victims of Sandy. Speaking for about five minutes, the G.O.P. candidate confined himself to the storm, saying, “We have heavy hearts, as you know, with all the suffering going on. There are a lot of people who were hurting this morning, who were hurting last night.”
There’s no reason to doubt the sincerity of what Romney said, or the usefulness of his efforts to help the victims. But six days before the election, this was just what he didn’t need.
Be Blessed, Be Safe and Pray for those still suffering in the wake of SuperStorm Sandy.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
You Can’t Love Someone Else Till You Love Yourself
I had loved this girl unconditionally. I did everything to make her happy, even though I was not happy. I gave her everything she wanted without thinking about what I wanted. Everything I did was not enough, she still left me alone. I was the nicest companion she could ever have wanted, but what went wrong? Let me explain!
You see, when we broke up, I came to realize, everything that I said above was not what was right but what was wrong in our relationship.
I loved her unconditionally without loving myself first unconditionally. I was so down on myself that I thought I didn't deserve anyone that loves me. And so I made this pedestal to remind me, every woman, in fact everyone was above me. If you saw me, you would think I was so strong and confident, but inside, I was really weak. I did everything to make her happy, where in fact I should have done everything to make myself happy, then she would be happy being with me. I gave her everything she wanted without thinking what we needed. I had permitted her to disregard my feelings, losing my respect for myself and thus losing her respect too. I was the nicest person to her but I was not the nicest person to myself. I let myself get hurt. I let myself became a trash to the person I loved. I had not loved myself enough.
Of all the things that have happened, I am still thankful that she came into my life. I have learned the lessons in love in the hardest way. In order to love another person right, you must first learn to love yourself. If you are happy with yourself, anyone you love will be happy being with you. Your own happiness should not depend on other person’s happiness, always put yourself first. By that time you make yourself happy, you will have learned how to make others happy too. Love yourself, how can you accept a woman and her flaws when you can't accept your own? Be confident about yourself; learn the power of the mind. If you think that you are nothing, you will become nothing but if you think you can be anything, then you can be. Remember, everything we have and will become starts with the mind, then it becomes reality, so start thinking great things about yourself and thus you will become great. You should not put anyone on a pedestal or above you. In love, we are all equal. Remember, God loves us all even though he is God. Lastly, always keep your dignity. You may lose everything else but never lose respect for yourself. If you lose that respect then everything anyone does to you will be just fine with you.
If someone treats you badly, don't treat them bad in return, just tell them you won't tolerate rudeness or disrespect, if they won't listen, just walk away. You don't need people who treat you badly in your life; you just have to let them go. It is always said we should be kind to others. I agree but I also say, be kind to those who deserve your kindness... Loving yourself isn’t that bad at all. Actually, it feels great. Be Blessed and love someone today!!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The Arrogance of being President while being Black
I don't think anyone was under some real illusion that the election of Barack Obama actually means the end of racism in America. I'm pretty sure that the president-elect knew it better than anyone. After all, he saw it every day, from the moment he announced his candidacy. To some degree, he saw it within his own party during the primaries. And he saw it in all ugliness during the general election. For half of this country, he was "That One". No matter how big and clear his victory was. No matter how smart he is. No matter how decent he is. No matter what a true patriot he is. No matter how optimistic and positive his vision for America was. All that didn't matter. Because at the end of the day, he was still black.
I've seen so many presidents. Some were feared, some were hated, some were adored, some popular and some not. But all of them, without exception, were treated with the highest respect deserving the office of the president of the United States.
That is until a black man won the right to occupy this office. It's been 4 years now, and in the eyes of so many, Barack Obama is still that one. He is being disrespected and at the same time being held to the highest standard of any president I've ever seen – and not just by the Republican side! He has to perform three times better than any president in history and even that may not be enough.
For the media, he is many more times just "Obama" than "President Obama". They create scandals out of nothing issues. It took them at least 6 years to start giving Bush a small part of the shit he deserved. It took them 6 months to begin crap all over Obama because he's yet to fix the catastrophe that was left for him.
They use condescending tones when they talk about him, and only mildly less condescending when they talk TO him. With anyone else, CNN wouldn't dare go to commercials every time the president speaks, like they do. They wouldn't dare be counting how many minutes George Bush or Bill Clinton were talking. Chris Mathews wouldn't dare make an issue out of Ronald Regan calling members of congress by their first name, like he is not actually the president. They fully cooperate with the Right-Wing smear machine when it comes to president Obama's national security performance – even if almost every independent and military expert actually thinks that he's a terrific Commander-in-Chief. You'll never see them on TV and virtually no one from the Left, in congress and outside, defend the president on this matter.
I don't care about the Far-Right. They're just crazy ignorant Neanderthals. It's the way the beltway and the mainstream treats this president that is shocking. They look like they're going to vomit every time they had to say "Mr. President". They all had this Eric-Cantor-Smirk whenever he spoke. Then they went out and started to spit their stupid talking points, to the delight of the media.
Oh, those talking points. He is arrogant (because he knows the facts better than all of them combined). He is an elitist (because he uses big words that they don't understand). He is weak on national security (because he actually thinks about the consequences). He divides the country (well, he did that the day he had the audacity to win the election). Worst of all, he actually thinks that he's the president. He even dared to say so. How arrogant of him. You'd think that previous presidents didn't have any ego. Somehow it turned out that the one president who treats even his biggest opponents with the utmost respect – is the arrogant one. I wonder why?
I expected that his winning the Presidency would bring out some ugliness, but it's been far worse than I imagined. The racism coming from the Right is obviously clear and shameless, but there's also some hidden and maybe subconscious and disturbing underline tone behind some of the things that I read here and throughout the Left blogosphere, even before the end of Obama's first year - 'He's weak, he's spineless, he's got no balls, primary him in 2012'. It'll be dishonest to deny that.
The fact is that for millions in America, Barack Obama is this uppity black man (Not even a "real" black), who received good education only due to affirmative action, and has no right to litter the sacred Oval Office with his skin color. They just can't accept the fact that the president is a black man, who unlike his predecessor, was actually legally elected. But what's really sad is that it's not just the fringe, its deep deep in mainstream America.
Barack Obama's ability to remain above all this slob, to keep his optimism and his strange and mostly unjustified faith in people, while continuing to gracefully deal with an endless shitstorm – is one of the most inspiring displays of human quality I have ever seen. And I can only hope that the Cosmos is on his side because God is and He never makes a mistake.
Sometimes, they make me feel ashamed to be American!!
I've seen so many presidents. Some were feared, some were hated, some were adored, some popular and some not. But all of them, without exception, were treated with the highest respect deserving the office of the president of the United States.
That is until a black man won the right to occupy this office. It's been 4 years now, and in the eyes of so many, Barack Obama is still that one. He is being disrespected and at the same time being held to the highest standard of any president I've ever seen – and not just by the Republican side! He has to perform three times better than any president in history and even that may not be enough.
For the media, he is many more times just "Obama" than "President Obama". They create scandals out of nothing issues. It took them at least 6 years to start giving Bush a small part of the shit he deserved. It took them 6 months to begin crap all over Obama because he's yet to fix the catastrophe that was left for him.
They use condescending tones when they talk about him, and only mildly less condescending when they talk TO him. With anyone else, CNN wouldn't dare go to commercials every time the president speaks, like they do. They wouldn't dare be counting how many minutes George Bush or Bill Clinton were talking. Chris Mathews wouldn't dare make an issue out of Ronald Regan calling members of congress by their first name, like he is not actually the president. They fully cooperate with the Right-Wing smear machine when it comes to president Obama's national security performance – even if almost every independent and military expert actually thinks that he's a terrific Commander-in-Chief. You'll never see them on TV and virtually no one from the Left, in congress and outside, defend the president on this matter.
I don't care about the Far-Right. They're just crazy ignorant Neanderthals. It's the way the beltway and the mainstream treats this president that is shocking. They look like they're going to vomit every time they had to say "Mr. President". They all had this Eric-Cantor-Smirk whenever he spoke. Then they went out and started to spit their stupid talking points, to the delight of the media.
Oh, those talking points. He is arrogant (because he knows the facts better than all of them combined). He is an elitist (because he uses big words that they don't understand). He is weak on national security (because he actually thinks about the consequences). He divides the country (well, he did that the day he had the audacity to win the election). Worst of all, he actually thinks that he's the president. He even dared to say so. How arrogant of him. You'd think that previous presidents didn't have any ego. Somehow it turned out that the one president who treats even his biggest opponents with the utmost respect – is the arrogant one. I wonder why?
I expected that his winning the Presidency would bring out some ugliness, but it's been far worse than I imagined. The racism coming from the Right is obviously clear and shameless, but there's also some hidden and maybe subconscious and disturbing underline tone behind some of the things that I read here and throughout the Left blogosphere, even before the end of Obama's first year - 'He's weak, he's spineless, he's got no balls, primary him in 2012'. It'll be dishonest to deny that.
The fact is that for millions in America, Barack Obama is this uppity black man (Not even a "real" black), who received good education only due to affirmative action, and has no right to litter the sacred Oval Office with his skin color. They just can't accept the fact that the president is a black man, who unlike his predecessor, was actually legally elected. But what's really sad is that it's not just the fringe, its deep deep in mainstream America.
Barack Obama's ability to remain above all this slob, to keep his optimism and his strange and mostly unjustified faith in people, while continuing to gracefully deal with an endless shitstorm – is one of the most inspiring displays of human quality I have ever seen. And I can only hope that the Cosmos is on his side because God is and He never makes a mistake.
Sometimes, they make me feel ashamed to be American!!
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