HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?

On this Christmas Eve I was thinking about how we make choices? The one choice that is important for this post is "how do you choose who you vote for ?". Here is my gift to you this Christmas season and it comes in the form of a suggestion. But I believe this gift, if accepted and used wisely will change everything. 

My gift suggestion is this; instead of deciding who to vote for because of their name recognition, the party they belong to, their gender or age, let's do it a different way. Let ask ourselves the question what kind of a person do we want the next President of the United States to be like? In as far as we could know: What kind of values do they represent? Are they honest in all their dealings? Are they fair in both their business, political and personal lives? Are they the kind of person that if I had to entrust my life to someone, would they qualify as someone we would choose? Can I trust them in all other things to do what is best for our country? Can I trust them to protect me, my family and my country from all enemies, both foreign and domestic?

You may be asking, "how can I know all those things?" By doing whatever it takes to learn about them and the kind of person they are. There is no easy answer. You can't trust any information that comes to you or at you that you haven't independently verified on your own. Not from the news broadcasts, not from a particular party, not even from friends unless you have verified what they are telling you on your own. If you are married, how did you verify and decide that this is the person I should marry? Why would you put in any less effort, though different methods, than you did in choosing a spouse?

If we are not willing to do that we are letting someone else decide who is going to be the next President of the United States. He or she who has the power of life and death over our children or grandchildren if they serve in our military. He or she who by most world standards is the most powerful person, by the job they hold, on the planet. How far are you willing to go to vet the people who could have that much power over you life, the life of your family and over much of the world's population? There are no lengths to which we should not go. 

If all of us who recognize that this is what we should do, do it, then and only then have we done enough. If we are not, but are willing to let others make that decision for us by how they manipulate the system, then what we get is either from our actions or from our in-actions. The outcome is up to us if we take control of our own future, if we don't we have relinquished the outcome to others. So we have a choice to make, for the future of our families, country and world depends on it. What are you going to do? May God bless you in your decision and may God bless the United States of America!

The cartoon published by the Washington Post about Ted Cruz and his family depicting his children as monkeys, gives us glimpse into the depravity that some will go to when someone is not in line with their line of reasoning. The Post finally pulled the cartoon and I would guess not because they wanted to or thought it inappropriate but because even they got the message from the public that they had gone way to far. Now here is my question if you just heard about this or if for whatever reason you had heard about it before you got this message. How did you react? Did you say, "well that's the Post for you what do you expect". Or "well that's politics for you". Or " cancel my subscription" Or, "I guess it's time for me to get involved so I can help get rid of people who would do this kind of thing". I hope you said the latter.

There is a lot wrong in our country right now and we are the only ones that can fix it. We, you say, are you talking about you and me? Yes, I am talking about you and me. Those that have the power right now on both sides of the aisle want to keep it. They really don't care what we think or remember that they work for us.A lot of us still don't get the idea that they work for us either, because we keep letting them get away with things and don't fire them as we should. This isn't about party, this is about an elite mindset where those who get elected are so in love with the life they live that the only thing they really care about is getting re-elected. You and I can stop that.

Now it is true that as one or two etc, it's going to be a hard job. But there are enough of us to get the job done if we will just organize ourselves a bit. One or two can turn into thousands and tens of thousands if we are willing to do this. The revolution that started us so many years ago, needs to happen again and re-start us on the path that I believe many of our smart ancestors put us on hundreds of years ago.

I will not beg you to join us, you need to do this on your own. There is a saying that I have used for many years in my seminars and keynotes and that is: "Pain drives change"! What I am inviting you to do is help me raise the pain level on those who are trying to discourage and destroy what this country once was, still is to some degree, and desperately needs to be again. But I know that the only way to do that is to raise the pain level on those who are destroying what America has been about and was designed to be in and for the world, to such a level that they have no choice but to stop. We need to make the pain to high, the price to high for them to find the pain and price unbearable.

I know what I have just asked you to do, I do not fool myself or try to fool you into thinking that this is not probably the biggest task we will ever undertake. I have decided for me the "price" to let what is now happening continue to happen has become to high, the pain to much. I am not asking you to make any sacrifice or pay any price to fix this that I am not willing to pay myself. We may have to pay the ultimate price to fix this, but as for me, I am willing to pay it.

Welcome to the 2016 version of the "Civil War"! But this is not North against South. It is about you and I, mainstream America versus anybody and whoever wants to try and stop us from re-establishing this country to the way our founders, signers of the Declaration of Independence and signers of the Constitution saw that we needed to be. We are the guardian of that legacy and if we fail to do this our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and beyond will someday be asking the question about why we didn't do something to stop this destruction while we were here and could do something, because they will have been left with a way of life unthinkable to us now.

My first request of you is to find out the name of your congressman and Senators, their Washington and home office addresses, the name of his or her Chief of Staff. Post this information somewhere that you will see it every day and have it close when things need to get done. Get all the contact information you want but I know the ADDRESS is the most important piece to get.

This is a lot to think about and for some not an easy decision. For some it is just what they were waiting for to happen. It will happen at the pace it is supposed to happen but with your help, it will happen sooner rather than later. Don't ever forget this, "Pain drives change" and as of the moment you read this you are in the pain management business. Welcome!

Jim

Which makes the least sense to you. An openly gay NFL lineman and his team suing the team they just lost to and the NFL because the other teams players called him names OR the fact that when an actor is asked on a late night talk show about what he has learned about foreign policy for the United States when his only credentials are that of "playing" a CIA agent on a hit show Homeland and all his lines and acting instruction are given to him by somebody else?

Those are two true and recent incidents that lead me to believe that you and I are living in one great big "reality show" ourselves and/or there so many uniformed, ill equipped celebrity worshipers out there who just don't have any idea what's going on. It would be hillariously funny if it were not so pathetic. 

We live in a day and time and the polling in America substantiates it that the people of American hardly trusts anyone anymore. Who can blame them Why Donald Trump is so popular is not a mystery to me. Why Hillary Clinton gets away with commiting crimes and not get prosecuted is not a mystery to me either. 

We live in a day and time and circumstance that this writer could never have imagined. I won't in 2016 spend any time on talking about where we are or how we got there unless it helps us better understand how do we get out of this mess. 

I hope you will send the blog or the blog address to everyone on your email list. Fixing this is up to you and I an we, you and I, getting enough peoples attention and belief in the fact that things can and will change because they have to if we as a nation are going to survive. 

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and all the other holiday greeting to all of you and let's us together make it a Happy New Year.

Jim

Who and What are We Afraid Of?

Do you ever wonder why with all of the questionable decisions by our President, government and lawmakers that almost no one is standing up and saying "what the heck is going on"? I hear lot of people talking about it, but I see almost no done actively try to stop it. Why is that? Is it we are too busy? Is it we want someone else to do it so we don't have to "get involved"?

I will tell you what I think it is and it comes from a saying you have heard before. "The best way for evil to overcome good, is for good people to do nothing" Are you saying to yourself right now, "well that's not me, I am doing my part" Really? What "part" are you doing? Is this another case of "I don't care who else's ox gets gored as long as it isn't mine? When was the last time you challenged an elected official about "anything"?

If we go over the "fiscal cliff" you can bet your ox is going to get gored. Now don't get defensive! Its both parties so lets not start pointing fingers. In fact I believe that what has caused most of this is that our elected officials and "we the people" have set in motion a "we versus they" mentality in this nation to the point there is no "us". It is so easy to talk blame when those being blamed have a title or name. Why are we so anxious to set up mechanisms that foster division rather than unity? From football rivalries to politics we delight in "putting it to" the other side.

If we stand up who is going to "get" us? Our friends who disagree with us? Why can't we even have a conversation anymore without being concerned about hurting someones feelings? Is the government going to get us, the IRS, the FBI or NSA? Just who are we afraid of that makes us keep out mouths shut? If we don't start talking with each other about all this, there soon won't be anything to talk about because those that would control us will have won by our own default. Thank about it!!

IOWA - Much ado about nothing!

TV talking head political pundits say things only for one reason. To get you to watch. It doesn't have to be truthful, politically correct or reasonable as long as it is designed to get talked about. What is at stake in Iowa? Not much. Iowans would like you to believe that they set the trend for who will eventually be the Republican nominee. History is not on the side of that argument. They love all that attention until they get sick and tired of all that attention. Now which way do you want it? As of today 41% say they could change their minds by tomorrow. Boy they sure are decision makers. Why haven't they been able to make up their minds? Sounds like they don't know how to or that they have to check and see which way the wind blows tomorrow. Talk about flip flopper's, where is all the angst about that among the Iowa caucus goers. At least we get the chance to question the candidates about their changes of mind!

If we end up with a statistical dead heat where there is only 2 or 3 percentage points between the top two or three, those three will go on to New Hampshire and the rest of the field will for all intents and purposes be finished. Remember "it's the economy stupid"?  Well in this Republican Presidential race "it's the DELEGATES, stupid". For better or worse the Republicans don't do "winner takes all"! We could go to the convention with someone who won all the Primaries and still get a different nominee, after the first ballot! The Republicans have tried to design a system that allows for a person to get the delegates, who they don't like, Mitt Romney for instance, and still decide who will be the nominee "because those poor dumb primary voters didn't get it right".

Drama, it's all about drama! The candidates understand how the system works even if the public doesn't. That's why some, if they have the money, may try and hang on after Iowa in hopes of getting to a brokered convention. So unless one candidate just blows out the field in the primaries, the political bosses can still get their way. So go ahead Iowa and play those silly games you do for TV coverage. And for those of you who sit on the sidelines "because you just can't make up your mind", move to Iowa!

The Most Unbiased, Scientific and Accurate Poll, Maybe

The political winds and the fortunes of the different candidates for the Republican presidential nomination have certainly been changing. Each day you turn on the news and someone has moved up or down in the polls or has disappeared altogether. Polls for the most part are amazingly accurate, for that moment in time, but as we have seen in the past, affected somewhat by who is doing the polling. So I thought I would do my own poll and here is what I found. The Republican candidate for president will have the following qualifications according to my poll: He/she will be between 5ft 4in. tall and 6ft 3 inches tall and weigh between 110 lbs and 240 lbs. He/she will be left of center, right of center or in the center. He/she will be between the ages of 50 and 67. He/she will be married, and/or divorced between one an three times and have between 0 and 30 children. He/she will either already be in office, have left office in disgrace or was once in office. He/she will be the next President of the United States. Admittedly this is not a rigid scientific poll. But it does reflect at least as good of information as that provided by any of the networks, print media etc. It is absolutely unbiased, because I wrote it and don't have a biased bone in my body. I am currently waiting for the clouds to part and to be lifted up. Hmmm, I guess this may be a long wait. So if your favorite candidate falls into the above description, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, not happy holidays, that is for wusses, and a Happy New Year. If your candidate does not fall into the above description, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, not happy holidays, that is for wusses, and a Happy New Year. My new years resolution is to be an equal opportunity blogger, maybe. I promise to be objective, maybe. I promise to limit my biases, maybe. Finally I promise to be entertaining, forthright, honest, true and benevolent, well maybe. God bless and Merry Christmas!

Who Does Your Thinking?

This was a response I wrote to a friend regarding a journalist's article saying why it was good that Herman Cain got out of the Presidential race, but not for the obvious reasons! The author of the email said it all "makes sense to me". This was my reply. Not to me! Pundits don't decide who runs for President. The people do. Cain or even you and I have the right to run. If we can get enough people to back us, then we might be President. This article is much akin to the commentators after a Presidential debate. I don't need anyone to tell me what I just heard and interpret it for me. This journalist is an entertainer just like most others. If you need someone else to tell you what the candidates mean regarding what they do or don't say, then you(any of us) need to get off our back ends and do the homework ourselves. Listening to this diatribe is the "lazy man's/woman's" way of not having to do so. How sad!