Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Saturday, November 12, 2005
You Are Not Our Leaders
The following is a letter (in its entirety) from Dr. Wayne Dyer (author of “The Power of Intention
”). All I can say at this point about this letter is it certainly creates “contrast” for me, and has me thinking about the direction and future of what I’ll be writing about, not only here on ‘The Truth Is Out There’ (which will always attempt to speak the truth), but over at Powerful Intentions and The Spiritual Democracy Forum. Maybe this will be a wake-up call to some of you out there—get involved—in the most positive way—and you’ll only be able to see positive results. I’m definitely looking forward to the “debate” this letter could create. I expect to see a spirited one in the comments. Those who cannot think for themselves need not apply…
To Our Politicians From a Spiritual Working Stiff
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Frankly, I still have difficulty with the labels, conservative and liberal.
Those who know me have never been able to pigeonhole me.
I relate to Kierkegaard's observation: "Once you label me, you negate me." In truth, I am a working stiff.
I grew up on the east side of Detroit and spent several years in foster homes. I had a father who spent some time in prison, abused alcohol and five wives, and died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 49, never having known his three boys, after walking out on my mother.
I attended the Detroit public schools, entered the Navy at 18, spent four years on board ships and overseas. I worked my way through three degree programs as a stock boy and cashier at a large supermarket chain, graduating with a Ph.D. in Educational Counseling.
I have been a schoolteacher, counselor, and college professor.
As of this date, I work as a lecturer and writer, also producing video and audiotape programs on motivation, spirituality, and higher consciousness.
I have worked all my life, paid my taxes, supported my family, and continue to "chop wood and carry water," while being totally perplexed by what I hear coming out of the mouths of our politicians.
As a working stiff who has earned enough to be in that top 1 percent income bracket, here is what I would like you, the politicians, to hear as you go about the business of government. These are views shared by most of the people I speak to every day, in all income brackets.
YOU ARE NOT OUR LEADERS.
No one that I know goes to sleep at night saying,
"My leaders are in Washington, D.C."
I fume when you refer to yourselves as our leaders. You may pass laws while sitting in committees and having Rose Garden ceremonies, but the laws come after the real leadership has been implemented.
No politician was responsible for leading us in the struggle for civil rights. Rosa Parks was a leader. Those who marched and ignored the racist laws passed by lawmakers were the leaders of the civil rights movement.
Who were the leaders of the Renaissance? The office holders? The politicians? No! The leaders were those who brought the world a new consciousness through their writing, art, music, and through challenging the entrenched ideologies of the office holders. These were the leaders.
When I hear you refer to yourselves as our leaders, I am always amused by such arrogance. We go to work and send up to 50 percent of our earnings to you. You use our earnings to make yourselves more privileged than we are, with unlimited medical care, overly generous retirement guarantees, and perks galore! All that you really do is write the rules using our funds to do so.
This might be hard to accept, but try it on for size. We are not sheep who need to be led. We need servants who care. We are perfectly capable of leading ourselves; in fact, we do it every day.
YOU DO NOT CREATE JOBS.
I have written 20 books, produced hundred of tapes, and given several thousand lectures over the past 25 years. When I sit down and create a book, I send it to an editor who I pay to edit the manuscript.
The way I see it, I just created a job. My editor receives payment, sends in her taxes, and now two are working. The editing process involves a computer.
A third job is created. The publisher copy-edits the manuscript, and a fourth job is created. This process continues through many levels, with job after job being created all because I decided to write a book. The printers, inspectors, typesetters, delivery people, booksellers, accountants, stock boys, and cashiers all have jobs that were created because working stiffs have the ingenuity, gumption, and desire to create and produce.
The woman who loves flowers and decides to open a floral shop creates jobs.
Without her desire and sweat, we wouldn't need floral coolers, delivery trucks, or growers. Nor would we need people to grow food to feed those workers or design garments to clothe them.
The money you use to fund job-producing legislation originates from those who produce. It is really quite simple.
Politicians do not create jobs.
As I see it, through the eyes of a working stiff, politicians can pass laws that will ultimately determine whether anyone finds being productive worth the effort any longer. If you decide to punish me with tax rules, over-regulate me, or constantly make my life miserable with forms, rules, and regulations, I may decide that writing another book is no longer worth the effort. If I decide that, and you multiply me by the millions of us who produce wealth and jobs, you will see that you do not produce jobs or wealth with our policies.
You print money. You regulate. You pass laws. But we produce jobs. We create wealth by working and producing, not by sitting in committees and talking up our self-importance.
ACT ON THE BASIS OF WHAT IS MORAL AND FAIR, NOT ON HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED.
I heard over and over in the election debate that the inheritance tax should remain because only 2 percent of the population is affected by this tax. I have paid all of the taxes I owe to my government. What is left is mine to do with as I please. My death ought not trigger another tax on my remaining savings that have been already taxed.
It does not matter if the tax affects one person or a million people. It is simply wrong. When our ancestors moved to abolish slavery, they didn't say, "Only 2 percent of the populations is enslaved, so let's keep this practice lawful." They finally realized that slavery was morally wrong.
Let those who aspire to greater abundance in their lives do so knowing that politicians are not going to confiscate it at the moment of their death. Do what's right and what's moral, even when it affects only a small percentage of the population.
STOP MIXING PERCENTAGES AND DOLLAR AMOUNTS AS A RATIONALE FOR YOUR PHILOSOPHY.
If there is a surplus in tax revenues, it is an overpayment and belongs to those who sent it in. It ought to be returned in the same lawful proportion that it went in.
If I paid one million dollars in taxes, it is not so outrageous that I should have returned to me a higher dollar amount than someone who sent in $2,000 in taxes. To say that the wealthy will receive $18,000 each while the poor will only get an $1,800 tax cut is a spurious argument. If you paid no tax, you don't get a tax cut. You can't cut zero and get something back. If you paid $200,000 in taxes and you get a $40,000 refund, that's a 20 percent tax cut. If you paid $500,000 in taxes and you get back $20,000, that is only a 4 percent tax cut.
It stands to reason that if you are going to ask the top 10 percent of income earners to foot over 50 percent of the tax bills, then when it comes time to cut the taxes and return the surpluses, it ought to go back to the taxpayers in the same proportion.
Similarly, if the bottom 40 percent of wage earners pay no taxes, then they get no refund. It may not appeal to most voters, but it makes sense to this working stiff who has been in all of those tax brackets at one time or another in his life.
WE DON'T NEED YOU TO FIGHT FOR US.
"I'll fight for you" seems to be the mantra of the modern politician. Just who are you fighting anyway? Aren't you all there in Washington to serve us? Don't you realize that fighting weakens you and rarely accomplishes anything?
I would like for you to work for me, not fight. Tell me what you are for, rather than what you oppose. I don't need to see any more debates.
You are not running against anyone. You have no opponents. The person who is on the ballot with you is not someone you need to fight. Just tell me what you support and how you intend to make it happen, and let the other candidates do the same. I don't need you to fight. I need you to state your vision clearly and commit to bringing it about.
In 1967, Mother Teresa was asked to march against the war in Vietnam, and she refused, saying, "I won't march against anything. But when you have a march for peace, I'll be there." Let this spirit infuse your intentions.
*YOU DON'T EMPOWER US. WE ARE ALREADY POWERFUL.
My most disconcerting moments in the election season were hearing, "We're for the people, they're for the powerful," and then seeing this slogan as a USA Today headline the next day. It became a mantra for the last six weeks of the campaign.
Inherent in such a phrase is the idea that the people are not powerful, only those who are well off are empowered. Generation after generation of people in America have come to believe this line of thinking: "You have no power, but we, your leaders in Washington, will do it for you."
It is just this kind of thinking that leads people to assume they are powerless to advance, to create their own greatness, to attract abundance and health into their lives, to transcend the ordinary levels of disempowerment.
I want to hear you say, "You are powerful; you are connected to the divine, and with God you can accomplish anything you make up your mind to do. If you see others who appear to be more powerful than you, then associate with them and emulate their strengths.
Create a powerful vision for yourself.
Don't find fault with those who have elevated themselves. Learn from them, find your own serenity and grace, and know that you are powerful.
I'll support such a vision in all legislation. Keep your hopes high."
In Wisdom of the Ages, I wrote an essay based upon Michelangelo's observation: "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."
I want to hear you speak of high hopes, of the power of our spirit, a spirit that knows no favorites and is in each and every one of us.
DON'T GIVE YOURSELF WHAT YOU DENY TO THOSE WHO PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE!
If we send a portion of our income to you, don't use that money to vote yourself benefits that we are denied. If you get universal medical coverage paid for by those of us who created wealth, then be sure to grant it by law to all of us.
If you get to retire with 90 percent of your paycheck, then be sure that we who pay for it get the same perk.
Be ever mindful of your role. You have elected to be a servant of the people. The people own the house. They built it. But they can't run it every day nor can they protect it, and build roads leading up to it.
The people can't educate the children and regulate the economy because they are too busy working. So they hire servants to handle these duties, and they pay those servants to protect, regulate, and handle the affairs of housekeeping.
But the house is still owned by the people. The servants don't get to make demands. The people do. The servants don't own the funds they receive for protecting, regulating, and delegating.
The people do. It's our house. We the powerful working stiffs of America own it.
We lead ourselves every day, and if you want to speak to us, do it from your heart, without a Teleprompter or a spin doctor at your side. We are honest, hardworking, and straightforward. We are generous and kind to those in need.
We don't need to be coddled or lied to. We can smell insincerity and BS a mile away. We pay the freight and keep it moving across America every day.
Not because you are leading us. We are not following you or anyone else.
There is a spirit in all of us. A spirit that urges us upward to a greater connection to that which is just, moral, and honest.
We expect no less from those who have chosen to serve.
- Wayne Dyer
Tagged: Wayne|Intentions|Society|Politics|Current
”). All I can say at this point about this letter is it certainly creates “contrast” for me, and has me thinking about the direction and future of what I’ll be writing about, not only here on ‘The Truth Is Out There’ (which will always attempt to speak the truth), but over at Powerful Intentions and The Spiritual Democracy Forum. Maybe this will be a wake-up call to some of you out there—get involved—in the most positive way—and you’ll only be able to see positive results. I’m definitely looking forward to the “debate” this letter could create. I expect to see a spirited one in the comments. Those who cannot think for themselves need not apply…To Our Politicians From a Spiritual Working Stiff
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Frankly, I still have difficulty with the labels, conservative and liberal.
Those who know me have never been able to pigeonhole me.
I relate to Kierkegaard's observation: "Once you label me, you negate me." In truth, I am a working stiff.
I grew up on the east side of Detroit and spent several years in foster homes. I had a father who spent some time in prison, abused alcohol and five wives, and died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 49, never having known his three boys, after walking out on my mother.
I attended the Detroit public schools, entered the Navy at 18, spent four years on board ships and overseas. I worked my way through three degree programs as a stock boy and cashier at a large supermarket chain, graduating with a Ph.D. in Educational Counseling.
I have been a schoolteacher, counselor, and college professor.
As of this date, I work as a lecturer and writer, also producing video and audiotape programs on motivation, spirituality, and higher consciousness.
I have worked all my life, paid my taxes, supported my family, and continue to "chop wood and carry water," while being totally perplexed by what I hear coming out of the mouths of our politicians.
As a working stiff who has earned enough to be in that top 1 percent income bracket, here is what I would like you, the politicians, to hear as you go about the business of government. These are views shared by most of the people I speak to every day, in all income brackets.
YOU ARE NOT OUR LEADERS.
No one that I know goes to sleep at night saying,
"My leaders are in Washington, D.C."
I fume when you refer to yourselves as our leaders. You may pass laws while sitting in committees and having Rose Garden ceremonies, but the laws come after the real leadership has been implemented.
No politician was responsible for leading us in the struggle for civil rights. Rosa Parks was a leader. Those who marched and ignored the racist laws passed by lawmakers were the leaders of the civil rights movement.
Who were the leaders of the Renaissance? The office holders? The politicians? No! The leaders were those who brought the world a new consciousness through their writing, art, music, and through challenging the entrenched ideologies of the office holders. These were the leaders.
When I hear you refer to yourselves as our leaders, I am always amused by such arrogance. We go to work and send up to 50 percent of our earnings to you. You use our earnings to make yourselves more privileged than we are, with unlimited medical care, overly generous retirement guarantees, and perks galore! All that you really do is write the rules using our funds to do so.
This might be hard to accept, but try it on for size. We are not sheep who need to be led. We need servants who care. We are perfectly capable of leading ourselves; in fact, we do it every day.
YOU DO NOT CREATE JOBS.
I have written 20 books, produced hundred of tapes, and given several thousand lectures over the past 25 years. When I sit down and create a book, I send it to an editor who I pay to edit the manuscript.
The way I see it, I just created a job. My editor receives payment, sends in her taxes, and now two are working. The editing process involves a computer.
A third job is created. The publisher copy-edits the manuscript, and a fourth job is created. This process continues through many levels, with job after job being created all because I decided to write a book. The printers, inspectors, typesetters, delivery people, booksellers, accountants, stock boys, and cashiers all have jobs that were created because working stiffs have the ingenuity, gumption, and desire to create and produce.
The woman who loves flowers and decides to open a floral shop creates jobs.
Without her desire and sweat, we wouldn't need floral coolers, delivery trucks, or growers. Nor would we need people to grow food to feed those workers or design garments to clothe them.
The money you use to fund job-producing legislation originates from those who produce. It is really quite simple.
Politicians do not create jobs.
As I see it, through the eyes of a working stiff, politicians can pass laws that will ultimately determine whether anyone finds being productive worth the effort any longer. If you decide to punish me with tax rules, over-regulate me, or constantly make my life miserable with forms, rules, and regulations, I may decide that writing another book is no longer worth the effort. If I decide that, and you multiply me by the millions of us who produce wealth and jobs, you will see that you do not produce jobs or wealth with our policies.
You print money. You regulate. You pass laws. But we produce jobs. We create wealth by working and producing, not by sitting in committees and talking up our self-importance.
ACT ON THE BASIS OF WHAT IS MORAL AND FAIR, NOT ON HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED.
I heard over and over in the election debate that the inheritance tax should remain because only 2 percent of the population is affected by this tax. I have paid all of the taxes I owe to my government. What is left is mine to do with as I please. My death ought not trigger another tax on my remaining savings that have been already taxed.
It does not matter if the tax affects one person or a million people. It is simply wrong. When our ancestors moved to abolish slavery, they didn't say, "Only 2 percent of the populations is enslaved, so let's keep this practice lawful." They finally realized that slavery was morally wrong.
Let those who aspire to greater abundance in their lives do so knowing that politicians are not going to confiscate it at the moment of their death. Do what's right and what's moral, even when it affects only a small percentage of the population.
STOP MIXING PERCENTAGES AND DOLLAR AMOUNTS AS A RATIONALE FOR YOUR PHILOSOPHY.
If there is a surplus in tax revenues, it is an overpayment and belongs to those who sent it in. It ought to be returned in the same lawful proportion that it went in.
If I paid one million dollars in taxes, it is not so outrageous that I should have returned to me a higher dollar amount than someone who sent in $2,000 in taxes. To say that the wealthy will receive $18,000 each while the poor will only get an $1,800 tax cut is a spurious argument. If you paid no tax, you don't get a tax cut. You can't cut zero and get something back. If you paid $200,000 in taxes and you get a $40,000 refund, that's a 20 percent tax cut. If you paid $500,000 in taxes and you get back $20,000, that is only a 4 percent tax cut.
It stands to reason that if you are going to ask the top 10 percent of income earners to foot over 50 percent of the tax bills, then when it comes time to cut the taxes and return the surpluses, it ought to go back to the taxpayers in the same proportion.
Similarly, if the bottom 40 percent of wage earners pay no taxes, then they get no refund. It may not appeal to most voters, but it makes sense to this working stiff who has been in all of those tax brackets at one time or another in his life.
WE DON'T NEED YOU TO FIGHT FOR US.
"I'll fight for you" seems to be the mantra of the modern politician. Just who are you fighting anyway? Aren't you all there in Washington to serve us? Don't you realize that fighting weakens you and rarely accomplishes anything?
I would like for you to work for me, not fight. Tell me what you are for, rather than what you oppose. I don't need to see any more debates.
You are not running against anyone. You have no opponents. The person who is on the ballot with you is not someone you need to fight. Just tell me what you support and how you intend to make it happen, and let the other candidates do the same. I don't need you to fight. I need you to state your vision clearly and commit to bringing it about.
In 1967, Mother Teresa was asked to march against the war in Vietnam, and she refused, saying, "I won't march against anything. But when you have a march for peace, I'll be there." Let this spirit infuse your intentions.
*YOU DON'T EMPOWER US. WE ARE ALREADY POWERFUL.
My most disconcerting moments in the election season were hearing, "We're for the people, they're for the powerful," and then seeing this slogan as a USA Today headline the next day. It became a mantra for the last six weeks of the campaign.
Inherent in such a phrase is the idea that the people are not powerful, only those who are well off are empowered. Generation after generation of people in America have come to believe this line of thinking: "You have no power, but we, your leaders in Washington, will do it for you."
It is just this kind of thinking that leads people to assume they are powerless to advance, to create their own greatness, to attract abundance and health into their lives, to transcend the ordinary levels of disempowerment.
I want to hear you say, "You are powerful; you are connected to the divine, and with God you can accomplish anything you make up your mind to do. If you see others who appear to be more powerful than you, then associate with them and emulate their strengths.
Create a powerful vision for yourself.
Don't find fault with those who have elevated themselves. Learn from them, find your own serenity and grace, and know that you are powerful.
I'll support such a vision in all legislation. Keep your hopes high."
In Wisdom of the Ages, I wrote an essay based upon Michelangelo's observation: "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."
I want to hear you speak of high hopes, of the power of our spirit, a spirit that knows no favorites and is in each and every one of us.
DON'T GIVE YOURSELF WHAT YOU DENY TO THOSE WHO PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE!
If we send a portion of our income to you, don't use that money to vote yourself benefits that we are denied. If you get universal medical coverage paid for by those of us who created wealth, then be sure to grant it by law to all of us.
If you get to retire with 90 percent of your paycheck, then be sure that we who pay for it get the same perk.
Be ever mindful of your role. You have elected to be a servant of the people. The people own the house. They built it. But they can't run it every day nor can they protect it, and build roads leading up to it.
The people can't educate the children and regulate the economy because they are too busy working. So they hire servants to handle these duties, and they pay those servants to protect, regulate, and handle the affairs of housekeeping.
But the house is still owned by the people. The servants don't get to make demands. The people do. The servants don't own the funds they receive for protecting, regulating, and delegating.
The people do. It's our house. We the powerful working stiffs of America own it.
We lead ourselves every day, and if you want to speak to us, do it from your heart, without a Teleprompter or a spin doctor at your side. We are honest, hardworking, and straightforward. We are generous and kind to those in need.
We don't need to be coddled or lied to. We can smell insincerity and BS a mile away. We pay the freight and keep it moving across America every day.
Not because you are leading us. We are not following you or anyone else.
There is a spirit in all of us. A spirit that urges us upward to a greater connection to that which is just, moral, and honest.
We expect no less from those who have chosen to serve.
- Wayne Dyer
Tagged: Wayne|Intentions|Society|Politics|Current
Friday, November 11, 2005
Is Wal Mart Really Evil?
There's been a lot of discussion, and now a documentary about the evils of Wal Mart. Wal Mart, according to critics, is a greedy monster stealing away business from small business owners, discriminating against its employees by unfair health insurance and promotion practices, and purposely preventing full-time employment for some to cut health costs.
The UFCW Union (United Food and Commercial Workers), of which I am a member (in fairness of disclosure), is one of the leaders in the fight against Wal Mart. Just minutes before writing this post, I was watching 20/20 on ABC, which was discussing one of the "Seven Deadly Sins," Greed. Wal Mart was one of the stories (video available here) because of those who "hate" Wal Mart and believe it is truly evil. The UFCW has been leading the fight for unionization at Wal Mart.
After watching the 20/20 segment on Wal Mart, it got me thinking...is Wal Mart truly evil? Or is Wal Mart a thing that has come along like great changes in corporate history before it? Standard Oil was considered a monstrous monopoly. However, because Standard Oil convinced lower pricing through its ability to provide lower prices, people who used to have to go to bed when it got dark outside were able to afford things like oil for lamps. Their lives were arguably improved because of the perceived "greed" of Rockefeller. Vanderbilt was vilified as well, but made travel cheaper and safer, thereby benefiting society.
Unlike Michael Douglas' character's proclamation in the movie "Wall Street" that "money is a zero sum game", in truth, larger pools of wealth have an effect of doing such things as providing lower prices. When lower prices are available to consumers, they can save more money. Therfore, they (the consumers) are also benefiting from the low costs of Wal Mart. Just like generations before them benefited by the low costs created by giants like Standard Oil. Wealth creates more wealth. It's not a pie where if I get a bigger piece, there's less available to you. On the contrary, if I get a big piece of the pie, your portion could become bigger simply because I'm participating in this "game" called capitalism.
Wal Mart is not evil for providing lower prices. Yes, their employees probably deserve to make more money (but for that, there need to be some attitude adjustments, at least at the ones I visit around my area). Yes, they deserve representation, but only if they feel it is necessary. Many chose to take the jobs. They weren't forced. However, just as many other giant companies, there needs to be protections. Is Wal Mart evil? No. Can they improve? Absolutely. Can we have both an improvement in Wal Mart's "behavior" and maintain the low prices that save over 100 million people money each year? I believe it can be done.
No, it's never a cut and dry situation. There are always grey areas. In the interest of the truth, I present you the sides against and not-so-against Wal Mart. What do you feel about Wal Mart? What can be done to improve the situation?
As a UFCW member, I should probably be boycotting Wal Mart, and admittedly I do contribute to the political action part of the UFCW, which means some of my money is most likely going towards the fight against their proclaimed enemy. However, because of the wages I'm making in the contract I'm in, negotiated by the UFCW, I choose to shop at Wal Mart for certain things. Because when it comes right down to it, my bottom line is the one that matters. To think otherwise is foolish. Without clarity on your bottom line, you cannot effectively help others with their bottom lines. Therefore, no boycotting Wal Mart from me. No, they don't get much of my business (I personally hate shopping there for many reasons, but not the prices), but I will not boycott them. I will not call them "evil." I will call them to task for things that are truly unfair as a social action.
Unionization? Maybe.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
The UFCW Union (United Food and Commercial Workers), of which I am a member (in fairness of disclosure), is one of the leaders in the fight against Wal Mart. Just minutes before writing this post, I was watching 20/20 on ABC, which was discussing one of the "Seven Deadly Sins," Greed. Wal Mart was one of the stories (video available here) because of those who "hate" Wal Mart and believe it is truly evil. The UFCW has been leading the fight for unionization at Wal Mart.
After watching the 20/20 segment on Wal Mart, it got me thinking...is Wal Mart truly evil? Or is Wal Mart a thing that has come along like great changes in corporate history before it? Standard Oil was considered a monstrous monopoly. However, because Standard Oil convinced lower pricing through its ability to provide lower prices, people who used to have to go to bed when it got dark outside were able to afford things like oil for lamps. Their lives were arguably improved because of the perceived "greed" of Rockefeller. Vanderbilt was vilified as well, but made travel cheaper and safer, thereby benefiting society.
Unlike Michael Douglas' character's proclamation in the movie "Wall Street" that "money is a zero sum game", in truth, larger pools of wealth have an effect of doing such things as providing lower prices. When lower prices are available to consumers, they can save more money. Therfore, they (the consumers) are also benefiting from the low costs of Wal Mart. Just like generations before them benefited by the low costs created by giants like Standard Oil. Wealth creates more wealth. It's not a pie where if I get a bigger piece, there's less available to you. On the contrary, if I get a big piece of the pie, your portion could become bigger simply because I'm participating in this "game" called capitalism.
Wal Mart is not evil for providing lower prices. Yes, their employees probably deserve to make more money (but for that, there need to be some attitude adjustments, at least at the ones I visit around my area). Yes, they deserve representation, but only if they feel it is necessary. Many chose to take the jobs. They weren't forced. However, just as many other giant companies, there needs to be protections. Is Wal Mart evil? No. Can they improve? Absolutely. Can we have both an improvement in Wal Mart's "behavior" and maintain the low prices that save over 100 million people money each year? I believe it can be done.
No, it's never a cut and dry situation. There are always grey areas. In the interest of the truth, I present you the sides against and not-so-against Wal Mart. What do you feel about Wal Mart? What can be done to improve the situation?
As a UFCW member, I should probably be boycotting Wal Mart, and admittedly I do contribute to the political action part of the UFCW, which means some of my money is most likely going towards the fight against their proclaimed enemy. However, because of the wages I'm making in the contract I'm in, negotiated by the UFCW, I choose to shop at Wal Mart for certain things. Because when it comes right down to it, my bottom line is the one that matters. To think otherwise is foolish. Without clarity on your bottom line, you cannot effectively help others with their bottom lines. Therefore, no boycotting Wal Mart from me. No, they don't get much of my business (I personally hate shopping there for many reasons, but not the prices), but I will not boycott them. I will not call them "evil." I will call them to task for things that are truly unfair as a social action.
Unionization? Maybe.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Monetize
Need some more income without investment?
If you've got your own blog, you should consider monetizing your blog (or website) by using Google AdSense. It's been a blessing for me. I also recommend using FireFox for your web browser. So much better to use than "Internet Exploder".
So check out the links on the right hand side above my profile, get FireFox today w/ the Google Toolbar (another great tool), and monetize your site today! ;-)
And, if something interests you in the Targeted Ads Google provides, check it out.
More coming later on "Why Don't People Think For Themselves Anymore"...the truth of why so many in government (despite party affiliation) and business don't want us thinking on our own anymore...
Regards
--Daniel
If you've got your own blog, you should consider monetizing your blog (or website) by using Google AdSense. It's been a blessing for me. I also recommend using FireFox for your web browser. So much better to use than "Internet Exploder".
So check out the links on the right hand side above my profile, get FireFox today w/ the Google Toolbar (another great tool), and monetize your site today! ;-)
And, if something interests you in the Targeted Ads Google provides, check it out.
More coming later on "Why Don't People Think For Themselves Anymore"...the truth of why so many in government (despite party affiliation) and business don't want us thinking on our own anymore...
Regards
--Daniel
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Rove's Future Questioned
Please note: I'm asking for help. Read about it and join in the conversation and do what you can.
Well, it looks like people in the White House are starting to get a bit "nervous" about Karl Rove's effect on their agenda. According to the Washington Post, there are "private debates" going on about Karl, and whether President Bush will be able to move beyond the CIA Leak scandal as long as Rove remains a close adviser.
Well, it looks like people in the White House are starting to get a bit "nervous" about Karl Rove's effect on their agenda. According to the Washington Post, there are "private debates" going on about Karl, and whether President Bush will be able to move beyond the CIA Leak scandal as long as Rove remains a close adviser.
These days grow more and more interesting. My sincerest hope is that a proper resolution to these issues plaguing not only the Administration, but now the entire country can be found. One that makes us stronger as a nation. Sometimes, as history has proved, there seems to be a requirement of pain before change for the better. It doesn't have to be that way...but it seems it will be in this case.If Rove stays, which colleagues say remains his intention, he may at a minimum have to issue a formal apology for misleading colleagues and the public about his role in conversations that led to the unmasking of CIA operative Valerie Plame, according to senior Republican sources familiar with White House deliberations.
While Rove faces doubts about his White House status, there are new indications that he remains in legal jeopardy from Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald's criminal investigation of the Plame leak. The prosecutor spoke this week with an attorney for Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper about his client's conversations with Rove before and after Plame's identity became publicly known because of anonymous disclosures by White House officials, according to two sources familiar with the conversation.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Asking For Help
Asking for help is never an easy thing to do...but here it goes.
I know I've got a ton of regular readers and contributors out there, and I appreciate each and every one of you. Now, here's the "problem".
I've been going through a series of events that aren't so pleasant. A near constant health problem has been draining my finances for many months. In 2004, I was laid off by GE Medical Systems because they outsource to India. I lost a nearly $50,000 per year job, now in one that pays less than half that. And there were 9 months in between with little to no income (not for lack of trying, either). Despite my political beliefs as to why some of this happened, I realize it was a series of events, and I must respond. Many of us (myself the poster child) tend to avoid clarity on issues of finances, until it comes up and bites us in the ass. Clarity is powerful--it gives me choices--which lead to results from action--which leads to even more awareness and clarity.
Now, at my current job, we're overstaffed, and I'm not very high in the seniority department yet. The good and the bad of union employment. I also used to write articles for an online business magazine (but they cut back, too) as a freelance writer. I was making some pretty good money, and with good editing I can command a hefty price.
I'm not looking for charity. I'm looking for help to get me started to my goals. I'm looking for ideas. There's several ways--if you're so attracted to "help", for me to acheive some goals:
Heath is number one.
Financing this quest is a part of that.
If you need articles written, e-mail me through my profile. We can discuss fees.
Link to me.
Click on my ads, and consider purchasing an "exclusive ad" from the banner at the top (Ad Brite).
Donate. I'll throw a link up for that (in the meantime, just e-mail me through the profile link)...and with the donations, we're going to be building what I'm calling (for now) "DashPAC" (think of some better names, let me know in the comments), a political action community working on local and national issues that are in the best interests of those who desire fiscal responsibility, fair media, fair trade, fair work rules, and to work against the destructive agendas--as well as "strongly encourage" our Democratic and Independent leaders to take stands and not bow to the political will of the few.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate you.
I know I've got a ton of regular readers and contributors out there, and I appreciate each and every one of you. Now, here's the "problem".
I've been going through a series of events that aren't so pleasant. A near constant health problem has been draining my finances for many months. In 2004, I was laid off by GE Medical Systems because they outsource to India. I lost a nearly $50,000 per year job, now in one that pays less than half that. And there were 9 months in between with little to no income (not for lack of trying, either). Despite my political beliefs as to why some of this happened, I realize it was a series of events, and I must respond. Many of us (myself the poster child) tend to avoid clarity on issues of finances, until it comes up and bites us in the ass. Clarity is powerful--it gives me choices--which lead to results from action--which leads to even more awareness and clarity.
Now, at my current job, we're overstaffed, and I'm not very high in the seniority department yet. The good and the bad of union employment. I also used to write articles for an online business magazine (but they cut back, too) as a freelance writer. I was making some pretty good money, and with good editing I can command a hefty price.
I'm not looking for charity. I'm looking for help to get me started to my goals. I'm looking for ideas. There's several ways--if you're so attracted to "help", for me to acheive some goals:
Heath is number one.
Financing this quest is a part of that.
If you need articles written, e-mail me through my profile. We can discuss fees.
Link to me.
Click on my ads, and consider purchasing an "exclusive ad" from the banner at the top (Ad Brite).
Donate. I'll throw a link up for that (in the meantime, just e-mail me through the profile link)...and with the donations, we're going to be building what I'm calling (for now) "DashPAC" (think of some better names, let me know in the comments), a political action community working on local and national issues that are in the best interests of those who desire fiscal responsibility, fair media, fair trade, fair work rules, and to work against the destructive agendas--as well as "strongly encourage" our Democratic and Independent leaders to take stands and not bow to the political will of the few.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate you.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Worse Case Scenario ("Scalito")
With the nomination to SCOTUS of Samuel Alito, it got my “moon bat” side going a little wild this morning… So I started the below piece of fiction news article. It’s something we may see—admittedly the worse case scenario, but is simply designed to get those of you who don’t care to think a little bit about what is going on in this country…
The story will be expanded in the near future. Let me know what you think. No need to comment on “being crazy,” hell—I’m just being proactive. Call it “War of the Worlds.” Call it insane, but comment on the merits of what you think may happen when the One Party Rule of the United States is set in stone if Alito is confirmed.
Supreme Court Installs Bush as President For Life
ENEMIES OF STATE, AS DEEMED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 1-666 WILL BEGIN PROCESSING THIS AFTERNOON
MARTIAL LAW DECLARED
WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Truth Report): Monday, November 6th, 2006.
With mid-term elections less than 24 hours away, the Supreme Court, headed up with the majority opinion co-authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, have handed down a decision stating that under The Patriot Act II, President George Bush shall be installed as President for life, or until threats against the United States and its territories have been deemed “nominal.” This unprecedented action has led to massive riots around the nation, beginning with the historical University of Wisconsin-Madison outburst while we waited for the Court’s decision.
UW Madison was, in 1967, the place where “the anti-Vietnam movement” was born with the DOW Chemical protest. “The violence is unimaginable” says one student, as Madison Police, followed by National Guard troops “invaded” the campus and violently put down the anti-Bush demonstration of November 5th, 2006. Over 458 students are said to be in “serious condition” at area hospitals, and the UW Hospital has just released a report that approximately 73 students and protesters were killed in the crackdown by police and the National Guard. The results of this protest have spread like wildfire around the nation, with at last count, nearly 350 simultaneous “acts of civil disobedience” occurring on college campuses-large and small-across the nation. Massive protests over the Supreme Court’s decision have also erupted here in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, and even Houston and Austin. Overseas, London is under a state of emergency, and the European Union has called an emergency meeting to discuss “the disintegration of the world’s most powerful nation into a dangerous dictatorship.” Russia has re-tasked weapons and have upped their alert level to “high” in response to growing threats from the “disintegration of democracy” in the United States.
Reports are flowing in that major media outlets have been surrounded by National Guard and Army troops, along with jamming equipment being used to stop broadcasts and disrupt cell phone communications. Several major Internet Server centers have been taken off-line in an apparent attempt to disrupt (or destroy) Internet communication activity. Major servers are being brought online in other countries to compensate, with a promise that “taking down Internet service on a large scale is the same as a declaration of war by the United States against our people” said a high ranking official for the European Union.
MARTIAL LAW DECLARED WITH “THE ENEMIES OF STATE” EXECUTIVE ORDER 1-666
DEVELOPING…
The story will be expanded in the near future. Let me know what you think. No need to comment on “being crazy,” hell—I’m just being proactive. Call it “War of the Worlds.” Call it insane, but comment on the merits of what you think may happen when the One Party Rule of the United States is set in stone if Alito is confirmed.
Supreme Court Installs Bush as President For Life
ENEMIES OF STATE, AS DEEMED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 1-666 WILL BEGIN PROCESSING THIS AFTERNOON
MARTIAL LAW DECLARED
WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Truth Report): Monday, November 6th, 2006.
With mid-term elections less than 24 hours away, the Supreme Court, headed up with the majority opinion co-authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, have handed down a decision stating that under The Patriot Act II, President George Bush shall be installed as President for life, or until threats against the United States and its territories have been deemed “nominal.” This unprecedented action has led to massive riots around the nation, beginning with the historical University of Wisconsin-Madison outburst while we waited for the Court’s decision.
UW Madison was, in 1967, the place where “the anti-Vietnam movement” was born with the DOW Chemical protest. “The violence is unimaginable” says one student, as Madison Police, followed by National Guard troops “invaded” the campus and violently put down the anti-Bush demonstration of November 5th, 2006. Over 458 students are said to be in “serious condition” at area hospitals, and the UW Hospital has just released a report that approximately 73 students and protesters were killed in the crackdown by police and the National Guard. The results of this protest have spread like wildfire around the nation, with at last count, nearly 350 simultaneous “acts of civil disobedience” occurring on college campuses-large and small-across the nation. Massive protests over the Supreme Court’s decision have also erupted here in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, and even Houston and Austin. Overseas, London is under a state of emergency, and the European Union has called an emergency meeting to discuss “the disintegration of the world’s most powerful nation into a dangerous dictatorship.” Russia has re-tasked weapons and have upped their alert level to “high” in response to growing threats from the “disintegration of democracy” in the United States.
Reports are flowing in that major media outlets have been surrounded by National Guard and Army troops, along with jamming equipment being used to stop broadcasts and disrupt cell phone communications. Several major Internet Server centers have been taken off-line in an apparent attempt to disrupt (or destroy) Internet communication activity. Major servers are being brought online in other countries to compensate, with a promise that “taking down Internet service on a large scale is the same as a declaration of war by the United States against our people” said a high ranking official for the European Union.
MARTIAL LAW DECLARED WITH “THE ENEMIES OF STATE” EXECUTIVE ORDER 1-666
DEVELOPING…
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