New Blog.

I have started my latest writing experiment. My new blog is Father, thinks he, Knows Best. At the bottom of this blog is a link. My new venture is a way to have fun and get some relief from the frustrating world of politics. Join me as I relate how easy it is for a "baby boomer" to think he has the world figured out and how I arrived at this point in life. I am sure there will be times that people disagree with how I tell my story, but it is after all my blog and I can tell it the way I remember the facts. If you disagree, and I am sure my wife and daughters will at times, then you are welcome to share your side and slant on the story. I also invite anyone to join with their stories about life, parenting, grand parenting and being a spouse. Like I said it is meant to be comfortable and relaxing. You know, it almost sounds like and old shirt or pair of shoes. Join me.

A Day Without Political Commentary. Running Off At The Keyboard.

    For just one day I am going to ignore the idiots that walk the halls of Congress. I am going to pretend that the President and the leaders are doing a great job and directing us to a better tomorrow.
    So here I go. With the upcoming football season at hand, this weekend I will crank-up my Old School Sports blog. You will find a link on this blog. Please join me for some prognostications and fun as we bring the baseball season to a close and enjoy the NFL and college football seasons.
     Also over the next week I am going to start a Grandparent blog. I want to take a different look at what grand parenting has done to Baby Boomers. This should be some laughs for people of all ages as I attempt to explain to Generation X the thought process behind our actions. I want to look at how we relate to our children and our grandchildren. I will be asking for your input and stories to make this even better. Look for that soon and there will also be a link here.
    Update to my friends and family on my goal of losing 60 pounds by the time I turn 60 next May. I have lost 41 pounds and have now set a goal of 80 by 60. At this time I am half way there. The biggest obstacle is food. I, like so many of us, love food. Good food. If you have taken the opportunity to read my friend Jon R's. blog, SOG Oracle, (link is at bottom) you will know that he talks about food alot. I have to read his posts in segments, so that I will not gain weight as I think about the delicious foods he describes. I will update my progress during my grandparent blog.
    See I have done a post and have not mentioned politics. It can be done While I was writing this did Congress put together a jobs bill? Did we end the war in Afghanistan?  Did the President get out and set a plan to get people back to work? Did the Dow go up two thousand points? Oh well, I guess I better check in on the news. I am starting to get the shakes as I withdraw from politics. Tomorrow I will be back with my usual take on Washington. Until then.

No I Didn't Forget. Day Thirteen and Deadbeat Dad Is Still In Congress

Just a quick line to say Joe Walsh, Deadbeat Dad from Illinois, it is time for you to Resign. I will give this more time tomorrow.

JUST DO SOMETHING!!!

Our political leaders just don't get it. They do NOTHING! I am pointing this at everyone. The President, the Democrats, the Republicans, the Tea Party and Independents all have to do something. As far back as I can remember I was taught by my parents, then my football coach, then a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy and finally during my days as a member of management in retail and Bank of America, the worst action is inaction. Make a decision, have a plan and then execute it. When you make your decision use the facts around you, but then ACT. Don't sit on your butts and worry about the outcome. Act. Right now Washington and the leaders around our fifty states are paralyzed by indecision. They do nothing out of fear. That is right, fear. They fear that if they do the wrong thing our economy will get very bad. Hey, late breaking news, it can't get much worse. Our 401k's are in the tank. The value of our homes are in free fall and sinking. People cannot get jobs and if they get one, the pay is terrible. Unemployment is running out and no new jobs are on the horizon. What in the hell do they think they could do to make it worse?
     Our fearless leaders have spent the last couple of years blaming each other. Now I ask you, do you really give a damn anymore who did what. Yes, the economy tanked under George Bush and the Republicans and Democrats. There, I believe that every person in the entire free world knows who to blame. Guess what, I now want some leadership to move us forward. I want the entire Congress to realize that everyone, let me repeat that, EVERYONE has to give up something to right the American ship. We have to give up deductions on taxes and the companies have to give up their tax credits. We have to strengthen Social Security, Medicaid and  Medicare so it does not ruin the country. That does not mean we give it up, notice I said strengthen it. We have to end two ridiculous wars. We have to create good paying jobs and make a workers rights strong again. We have to build. We have to innovate. We have to see leadership from our President. Where are you Mr. President. Where is your plan and direction. John Boehner, where is your leadership? Get the house under control and do what is needed for the country. Harry Reid, where is your leadership? Get the Senate to quit talking and start action and move forward.
    Right now we are a ship adrift in the ocean. No captain at the helm and we are moving, but without a course to direct us. I voted for Barrack Obama. I do not regret that vote, yet. Mr President it is time to really show what a leader can do. Push the agenda of JOBS, and then more JOBS, and after that more JOBS. That will start us forward. The President, the Speaker and the Senate Leader must start now and make the decisions we need to move forward. The lack of action will destroy us. Fear will decimate us. Inaction is the sign of weakness. Action is the sign of leadership. LEAD!
  

Day Twelve, Do You Know Where The Deadbeat Dad Is?

Yes, here we are and "Deadbeat Dad" Joe Walsh, the illustrious Congressman from Illinois is still ignoring the law while he sits in his seat in Congress. I do not know about you but $117,000 is a large enough sum, that by ignoring it he is able to afford more luxuries for himself. Please call your Congress person and demand that the "Deadbeat Dad" remove himself from a position of authority. "Joe Walsh you are a Deadbeat Dad and your Fired."

Invest In America Part II

    Yesterday I asked a series of questions about what you have spent your money on and then I asked you to, think about if we should invest in America. My point was simple. Every day we invest (spend) on numerous items and there are reasons we do what we do.      When we change the oil in our cars or do any other maintenance on vehicles, we are investing in that item. We know by maintaining our cars it will perform at its optimum and for a longer period of time. The infrastructure in America is just like our cars. We must maintain them and they will perform for a longer time. In the case of our highways and bridges, we have looked to save money and we have failed to do the necessary maintenance to keep them strong. We need to reverse this trend and work on highways and bridges.
     Do any of you remember the home phone from the sixties? It was attached to the wall with a short cord. When we talked on the phone we had to sit right beside it. When we called someone we had a rotary dial and when the phone rang we did not know who it was until we picked it up. Not like today, when we can screen our calls and decide if we want to talk to the person at the other end. When we watched TV the only remote was my Mother or Father saying, " John get up and change the channel." It wasn't too bad because there was only a dozen or so channels to surf. Only took a minute. My point is do we like this new technology, that we have today? Do we want to go back to the sixties and use the limited devices we had then?  Likewise why do we balk at investing in technology, such as electrical grids, green technology, new water and sewer lines, new and better wired schools and space exploration. These again are the things we need to modernize in order to make our lives better, simpler and save money.
     When you put all of these things together, it is very clear that we do not invest in America and The American people. We are trying to keep the costs low and reduce taxes, but at the same time we are mortgaging our futures and the future of all that follow us. We have to built newer and better systems around the country. We have to take advantage of new technology to upgrade everything around us. Our schools are falling down physically and educationally. We are trying to pinch pennies and in the long run it will cost us more.                                                                                                                                       The people that say we have to cut our budget has it wrong. We have to do BIG things. We have to make this country great and a leader in everything we do. The time to accept defeat is past. The time to accept victory is now. We have to use Federal, State, Local and Private money to get us moving forward. If we invest in ourselves, more jobs will be created, which will increase revenue, which will increase jobs and then the ball keeps rolling. We have to start with the initial investment and then let the market take it from there. This is how the economy will grow once again. It is very simple. We invest in America and then we can grow, save money and become the greatest nation on earth, again.

Deadbeat Daddy Day Eleven

I wanted to make sure everyone remembers that Deadbeat Dad, Congressman Joe Walsh is still in Congress. He continues to ignore the welfare and responsibility to his children. They should be taken care of financially just as much as every other child in America. They were probably proud of Daddy when he became a Congressman. I wonder how they feel about him now. I wonder if their mother has had to spend countless hours worrying about how to maintain the lifestyle for her children, while Daddy was away in Washington, pretending to care about anything or anyone but himself. Congressman Walsh I am once again asking you to do the right thing and resign. Not only are you a sleazy human being you are a law breaker and do not deserve to be a member of Congress. Resign Now. To my followers pass this on to everyone. Deadbeat Dad needs to go!

Have You Ever Made An Investment In Yourself?

   I want each of you to think of something. What have you invested in? We start by thinking of investments as placing money into an account and hoping that the money will grow into a large amount that will help us retire or obtain some other goal. In reality we investment money and time into many different things and people in the hopes that our investment will accomplish some goal we have set.
   Have you ever changed the oil in your car? Did you spend money for your own, your spouse, your children's or your grand children's education? Did you spend money on owning a car? Did you ever spend money on buying a home? Once you were in that home did you spend money on, updating the electrical, plumbing, carpeting, tile floors, wood floors, update the kitchen, paint the interior or exterior, put in a pool, new windows, put in energy efficient appliances, air conditioner or water heater?  Have you spend money on a medical checkup or procedure to screen for a particular disease? Have you spent money on medical checkups for your children? Have you ever spent money to loose weight? Have you ever spent money on new exercise equipment or join a fitness center. Have you ever placed money in the collection plate at your place of worship? These are a few of the ways we spend money.
    Now you may be asking yourself, "Why is he asking me these questions." My point is that each time we spend money we are in essence investing in ourselves or our families. We spend sometimes to save larger expenses down the road, such as when we change the oil in our cars or have medical checkups. We invest our money in education, knowing that the chances of a better job, higher wages and a better life are accomplished if we do this investment. We buy a home or place money in investment accounts hoping that they increase in value and help to give us security in the future ( although this now is in jeopardy). When we spend money to loose weight or join a health club, we are investing in a healthier and happier person. Even when we place money in the collection plate we are investing in the idea of Christianity and the hope of a better afterlife.
    My last question to you is this. If investing in ourselves and our families can in the long run, cost us less money, make us more productive, make us happier, make us healthier and make us more prosperous, then why do we not invest money into our country? Think about it!

Day Ten and "Deadbeat Dad" still has a job!

Alright here we are, on day number ten since Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh was sued by his wife for $117,000 in child support. Still no responses from the Republicans or the Tea Party or Mr. Walsh. I can only come to the conclusion they do not support the idea that parents have, not just a moral responsibility but a financial responsibility to take care of their children. We are told that parents have to support children and meet their needs. We have laws that are in place, with the intended purpose of making parents meet that responsibility. Maybe it is the view of Republicans and the people on the right to only make average Americans pay. Since Mr. Walsh is white, wealthy and a member of Congress, then I am wondering if that precludes him from the law. I can then, once more, come to another conclusion. If you are a minority, poor or middle class and not a member of Congress then the laws pertain to you. I am glad that the class system is alive and well in America. So once again I will ask, Mr. Walsh when are you going to do the honorable thing and, number one pay to support your children and number two, resign?