Don’t get to Jaded

March 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Our government has a lot of problems. It’s so easy to get frustrated and jaded by what’s going on. Many people feel that they have no control over it. In the short term this can sometimes be true, but in the long term, we all have control over what’s going on in our government. In the midst of all the sarcasm, it’s important to realize that there are people trying to get it right in our government. Some people may think that running for public office is a power move. This can be the case, but many good Americans run for government office, because they are willing to put their heart and soul into what they believe and they really do want to make a difference. Do they always do the best job? Do they always make the right choices? No. This being said, there are also lots of idiots who run for government positions. It’s important that we not allow ourselves to get so sick of the entire process that we stop being involved. When the general American citizenry, becomes so lazy or disillusioned with our politics and government that we quit caring, listening, and being involved, this is when our nation fails. Unfortunately, many people think this has already begun to happen.

It’s time to try and find the positive. Take a world view and compare out nation’s government to others around the world. Notice how lucky we are to live in a place where a dictator can’t drag us out into the streets and murder us for speaking against them. Notice how lucky we are to live in an economically vital nation, even if it does have problems.

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Keeping Charities on the Brain

March 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you’re always looking for a way to improve yourself. Take it outside yourself and look for ways to improve the lives of others. This can bespecially difficult when we are all so busy. By the time, you get your exercise routine every day; keep the bills paid, and relationships alive, there aren’t much of us left to give. But there’s got to be a way to make the rat race worth more. Part of it is the attitude that we live each day. Is our attitude all about ourselves or is it focused on more than just us? As parents or caretakers or others, we may feel that we are giving all we have already to children and those we care for. This can be true. But maybe, we need to look a little further. Maybe, when we left with an attitude of gratitude, we can find that serving those we love isn’t such a chore. Maybe, serving those we love can actually be an opportunity to enrich our lives and share with others.

So, living with an attitude of gratitude can actually be a life changing thing. It allows us to turn from thinking about ourselves to look at others. It also helps us see that the people we serve each day, like children, aren’t taking away from us. They can actually give back to us if we have the right attitude. With this new insight, we can look for opportunities to give beyond what we already do. This can be a simple thing like giving to different charities each month or each week. It can also be something simple like taking cookies to neighbor or taking their trash can in from the curb for them.

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The Tea Party and Racism

January 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Since its inception, the Tea Party has been vocal and at some rallies, members have expressed racist views. In 2010, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) identified the Tea Party as a racist movement. To call the entire movement racist is the same as stating all African-Americans are against white Americans.

Few people realize many African-American conservatives have been members of the Tea Party since its inception. There are many racist elements in the Tea Party, however, the majority member’s fight to remove these elements as quickly as possible.

Initially, the Tea Party was a simple grass roots organization started by working class Americans that were disillusioned by the politics of the day. Many had never been involved in politics until they joined the movement.

The Tea Party gained popularity as the house market and economy spiraled downward. The movement grew as billion dollar corporations asked for government bailouts while CEOs received million dollar bonuses.

It is an organization of middle class Americans that are sick and tired of carrying the burden of government waste and spending. While the Government gave billions to big corporations for bail out, many Americans lost their homes and jobs.

Middle class America is tired of funding welfare programs. Millions of Americans are on welfare and will spend the rest of their lives on welfare while hardworking Americans foot the bill. The Tea Party is not asking the funding be cut for African-Americans on welfare; they are asking the funding be cut for all Americans on welfare.

The Tea Party is not racist and should not be judged as racist because of a hand full of people that expressed racist views. This attack on the Tea Party is without merit and seems to be the only way Liberal organizations can find fault with the party.

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Marriage Commissioners in Canada Cannot Refuse to Marry Gay Couples

January 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The Canadian Appeals court ruled the Marriage Commissioners could not refuse to marry gay couples based on a Commissioner’s religious belief. In other words, if a Commissioner is against gay marriage that is not sufficient grounds for refusing to marry a gay couple. The ruling essentially states that Commissioners have the right of religious freedom as long as it does not violate the rights of others.

Religious freedom gives one the right to practice the religion of their choice. However, it does not give one the right to dictate and discriminate against those that do no hold the same beliefs. The Canadian ruling further separates religion from the law of the land. Many argue that the Canadian ruling will affect and may promote the legalization of gay marriage in the United States.

This ruling is causing concern among conservatives and religious groups in the United States that oppose gay marriage. The ruling in Canada is clear; the legal rights of the people take precedence over one’s religious beliefs in matters of the law. In the United States, there are numerous attempts to ensure separation between church and state. Battles are fought every day to remove any religious references from state and federal buildings. It seems it may be only a matter of time before gay marriage is a reality in the United States.

Legal organizations fighting for gay marriage will utilize the arguments used in Canada to form their arguments in court in the U.S. While conservatives continue to fight against gay marriage based on religion, many people in the U.S. are shifting their opinions. Their opinions are not changing toward gay marriage, but against the idea that laws should be based on religious beliefs. Polls among young voters indicate overwhelmingly that young people strongly believe in separation of church and state. It appears the fight against gay marriage may be losing ground and what many fear may soon become a reality.

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The Necessary Ease: Assisted Living Facilities

December 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Time is not the kindness you once thought it to be. The years are quick; the hours are fleeting; and age moves steadily forward, a collection of wincing joints and well earned wisdom. The wild sensibilities are gone. They have been replaced instead to maturity. You never thought such a thing would happen. It was an expectation you wished to deny. It was a commonality you thought impossible. You were to be forever young and forever impulsive.

Life somehow had other notions.

And now you find your reflection a little stranger, a little sadder — if only because there is still so much to do and so little desire to do it. You’ve dedicated your days to others, offered all focus toward family and friends. Now, however, you wish for the peace you were never given in youth. It’s a reward, you’re certain, for the seconds you’ve shaped to perfections.

You want ease. You want convenience. And, assisted living facilities seem to offer both.

Simply explained: these institutions allow you to create a new identity for yourself — one of comfort. Professional aid is provided, with an on-site staff of doctors, nurses and activity specialists. You’ll be met with steady companionship, helpful care and a wealth of adventures (none of which will be the stressors you now fear).

Too often are individuals anxious of leaving their homes, believing themselves to somehow be defined by rooms and their stylings. You, however, understand that such rooms aren’t important. The memories within them are — and those you will take with you, always. You seek to pass the burden of maintaining corners and those ever fickle shrubberies to another. You’ll simply take what’s yours: the happy past.

Assisted living facilities are not the worries others have assumed them to be. You understand instead that they are the luxuries you deserve.

Your time is now your own. Enjoy it.

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Mark Kirk Attempts The Impossible

November 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Mark Kirk
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Don’t think Mark Kirk doesn’t know what he has tried to do. This isn’t the act of a man trying to obtain office in a decidedly red state. When you try and become the governor of Alabama, being a republican will get your everywhere. When you are trying to become the next senator of Illinois, the issue is much more difficult when you back the republican party.

Illinois has been, for as long as anyone cares to remember, a democratic state. It’s major cities mayor? Democrat and his father before him. The senators from Illinois? A long history of democrats and most notably the President of the United States Barack Obama. The former governor of Illinois? A democrat through and through. A crook but a democrat through and through.

And that is where Mark Kirk is making head way and that’s what makes his improbable run for the senate seat that much more interesting. If you don’t recall this was the vacant seat left by the current President Obama. After it was up for grabs, former governor Rod Blagojevich tried to sell the senate seat before being caught and thrown out of office disgracefully. This seat holds enormous weight in Congress and one that the Republicans need badly.

So why would Mark Kirk be so bold as to try and do it? Simply because he can. The nation is at a place right now where it no longer is trusting of the Democratic party the way it was two years ago when Barack got elected. These days there is a lot of wondering just what the Democrats are trying to do. In Illinois they are coming off a time of great crisis and a shake up might be the only way to see effective results. Mark Kirk hopes to be that man.

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Conservative And Liberal Politics – Balancing Ideology And Pragmatism Is The Trick

November 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Official White House photo of President Bill C...
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How significant is the difference between policies of Conservative and liberal candidates in any electoral system? The candidates may belong to different parties and yet can be stereotyped into those belonging to Conservative and to the liberal segment.

Of course, Conservative candidates do not always focus on fiscal conservation and traditional social values. In the same way, liberal or democrat candidates need not always adopt radical solutions at all times. These generalizations do not work very effectively at the grassroots. In a community plagued by excessive debts, fiscal conservative approach may be the only way to proceed.

It may involve infusion of government funds and restriction of freedom of individuals to trade as they please. These features happen to be the bulwark of Conservative politics. Yet, significant deviations have been noticed in the past and shall be visible in the future as well. This is because politics is the art of possible. Anything that works as a solution will be good enough even if it does not appeal to one’s ideologies.

More often than not, political parties have moved out of their traditional approaches and have embraced radical solutions. However, they have always, rather inexplicably, sought to prove that the move was an aberration and only strengthens the rule.

Chances are high that US republicans will embrace solutions suggested by Democrats to counter the financial mess. They may not do it wholeheartedly but wholesale denial is not going to work. However, Republicans will try to use the deviation to stress the importance of their original ideology.

However, politics works on pragmatism and not on ideology. Excessive emphasis on conservative values may backfire as it did when Bill Clinton was the President and Republicans gained control of the House Of Representatives. The resulting deadlock disgusted votes and Democrats surged not because they were preferable but just because the public was tired of the politics of one-upmanship.

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Conservative Or Democrat – Hard Measures Are Unavoidable To Repair The Economy

November 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Irrespective of what your Conservative or Democrat candidate might have said, just keep the following points in mind.

Firstly, the economy is suffering because of the damage that it has suffered for many years. Excessive consumption, reliance on borrowings and irresponsible financial lifestyle are the primary reasons behind the problems America is facing today.

Secondly, elections are all about transfer of power. How many times have Americans heard promises that were never kept? In fact, it is a characteristic of democracy and politics all over the world.

Thirdly, it is one thing to think about the country as a whole. However, you cannot afford to ignore your personal finances. If you keep your head above the water and if thousands of Americans all over the country do the same, the economy is automatically going to improve.

Fourthly, there is no point in relying on a specific ideology or approach. Approach of Conservatives or that of Democrats is not going to work in isolation. In any case, both parties run the country by working together. Hence, you too will have to inculcate Conservative as well as Democrat approach when managing your personal finances. Go beyond traditional ideas but do not trust just one line of thought or approach all the time.

Finally, just take a look at conservatives in Europe and find out how they are trying to tackle the recession. While the ground scenario may be different, it certainly will help you understand that drastic measures are required. Either you can protest like the French or can take it with a stiff upper lip like the British.

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Conservative News: The GOP Takes the House

November 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Republican party took the majority of the seats in the United States House of Representatives. In a couple of landslide elections throughout the country the Republican party was able to regain the majority of the seats in the House of Representatives on November 2, 2010.

What was typically a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives has now had the balance of the scales tipped in favor of Republicans. So what does this mean for election issues and future political issues?

The key issue that is sure to be at the center of the debate of the House is that of the health care bill. Many Republicans while they believe there is a need for a universal health care reform bill do not agree with the majority of the issues that the Democrats presented. Issues that are sure to come up include that of the inclusion of abortions, birth control pills as a form of preventative measures, the requirement of health insurance for those living in the country and even the hot topic issue of what is being called a death panel and having the government take control of people’s health care.

With the win of the House of Representatives there are sure to be issues and problems that arise in the future. Currently the Senate still has a majority of Democrats so issues that come before the Senate that are largely supported by Democrats will be passed quickly. However, under America’s legislative branch a bill cannot become a law until it is passed by both the House and the Senate. This is where many bills will hit a bump in the road to becoming a law, as it is sure that those in the House will quickly overturn, change and debate the finer points of the Senate bill. This could force many potential laws to die in the House, be bounced back and forth for debate or just simply get lost in the confusion.

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Compromise may be Coming to Washington

November 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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After the November 2, 2010 elections in which the Republicans gained a majority of the House of Representatives, President Obama has expressed the desire to want to reach a compromise with Republican lawmakers on a number of issues that are near and dear to the Republican party.

In a news conference just a day after election day. President Obama appeared before media outlets and expressed his desire to work hand in hand with Republicans to make sure that the economy and the government do not reach a standstill or stalemate.

The major topic of choice is that of the tax cuts and tax hikes that could be expected within the next year. The government is facing a massive deficit that only seems to be growing. In an effort to close that gap in finances, many people believe that taxes on the middle class might be the way to go. Republicans believe that tax hikes on middle class should be cut and not exist as it will only prevent growth.

Another area of issue is that of the soon to expire tax break on the upper class. Tax breaks that were put into effect during the Bush administration are set to expire within the year. Democrats have expressed the desire to let those tax breaks expire and not renew them so there would be a new source of income in Washington. With the recent switch in the House, many lawmakers are expressing the desire to reach a compromise on these issues and even a renewal of the tax break for upper class.

An issue that President Obama used to bring up but that has been pushed to the side is that of offering credits for carbon emissions. This used to be a hot button issue but in light of the recent change in government it may be pushed aside for more pressing issue.

Change is in the air when it comes to the way that government works.

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