DEAR GOD: WHAT HAPPENED TO HONESTY

Every day, I pick up the paper and it is full of stories about how wonderful all is here on the homefront. Lie!  Then I turn on the television news and hear the same thing again.  Lie!  Do you remember when the President made his first State of the Union speech and the Congressman called our ‘You Lie!’  Well, he was right.  They all lie – over and over again.  This is to make us vote for the Democrats.   Not me, Not me, Not me, ever again!

This past week, I have heard at least a thousand times about how great, grand and wonderful the job market is right now  Seems that unemployment is only about 8.4% or could be 8.7%.  Have forgotten the exact number, but doesn’t make any difference anyway.  The point is that it is supposedly better than it was under Bush.  No way!

When George Bush was President, the unemployment rate was at 4.6% in 2007.  Half what it is now.  And remember, please remember that with this present administration, it has been as high as 10%.  Never forget those figures.  And, during George Bush Presidency, there was 52 Straight Months of Job  Creation.  That set a record never heard of before.  Don’t forget that one either.

The current President was out campaigning this past week and his remarks were about how those who came before him caused all our problems and we should not forget that.  In fact, he even stated in the State of Texas that ‘they think we have amnesia.  They think we have forgotten what happened before’.  I ‘m not ever going to forget.  The Republicans that came before were the ones who made this Country great.  The Democrats are the ones who tear it down, piece by piece and give it away under the crooked cover of being nice and civil while lying.

The Democrats have a history of lying about everything.  The media lies constantly in every story put out.  Just like last week, the big story was the dog that was found in the dumpster and had been skinned.  Oh, the media carried that story in big columns and over and over again.  Then when the ‘dog’ was found to really be a coyote that someone had put there, the media barely mentioned it in all the news stories.  You might even have missed that one.  Sure wasn’t on the front page where the story had originally been.  Cover it up, don’t tell the real story, and keep that lie going, no matter what it is.

My mother always said, ‘If you tell the truth the first time, then you don’t have to worry about what to say the next time.’  Always works.  Always has.  Always will.

Dear God:  What Happened To Honesty?   Media and politicians had a better story.   And besides, everybody does it.  Everybody lies, you know.  Except for those that don’t.  And there a lot of us out here who think lying is wrong and we don’t do that.  And we don’t tolerate  any gray areas in our lives.  We try to live  the way we are supposed to.  Every day, all day long.   Works every time.

DEAR GOD:  PLEASE PUT HONESTY BACK INTO THE WORLD.    THANK YOU!

 

DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR THE RIGHT TO MAKE UP OUR OWN MINDS

To me, this is one of the most important things in life – the right to make up our own minds – about everything.  Almost nowhere in this world do people have this right.  And it is one we take for granted every single day.  We can like a product or not.  We can choose to buy it if we like it.  Or we can simply forget all about it.  We can decide who we want to like and who we want to talk to and who we want to be friends with and how deep that friendship might be.

For instance, I may not like my neighbor and I don’t have to feel bad about that.  He may not like me either and it doesn’t matter.  We can still be friendly.  That is our right.  This is one of those God Given Rights, the right to be ourselves.  And we have the right to live by our own convictions.  W don’t have to agree on politics or even the weather.  This is strictly up to us as individuals.  Be thankful you have this right.

I really did like George W. Bush as our President and thought he did a very good job considering what he faced both in his earlier years and after 9/11.  But then I was talking to a lady who was more liberal than I am.  I could not believe the venom that leaked  out of her mouth as she talked about George Bush and his Presidency. I could not believe the trash she had heard from the media and had believed. I searched and found the truth for myself.  So I could make up my own mind.

The day the Democrats took over the Congress was January 3, 2007.  That was the start of the 110th Congress. The Democrats now controlled a majority in both chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate.  This was in the middle of George Bush’ second term in office.  After that time, everything went downhill.  George Bush had set a record of 52 straight months of job creation!  The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77, the GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5% and the UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS A MERE 4.6%   I haven’t heard anyone blame that on Bush!

But then, Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.  And that was the end of prosperity as we knew it at the time.  After Barney Frank and Chris Dodd got their hands on the financial and banking, we went straight down to a crisis.  They dumped at least 5 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since they were in charge.

Meanwhile, Bush asked   17 TIMES  to stop Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because they were becoming financially risky for the U.S. Economy. But the Democrats did not listen and the country fell on hard economic times.  The DOW Jones fell dramatically.  The Unemployment Rate shot up to almost 10% at one time and the GDP lost its footing.   The banks were pushing people into loans they could not afford.  For instance, if a couple wanted a loan for a $100,000 house, they would be told they could afford one for $200,000, so why not.  They could do all this with no money down and live that good life beginning today. Everyone could qualify, too.  Just ask and it is yours.

We bought our first house for $10,000. In order to get a loan from the FHA, we paid $1,500 as our downpayment. This made us more appreciative of what we were buying and believe me, we weren’t going to take on more payments than we could afford.  We were lucky to be able to do that much, not more.

At that time, the Congress was voting the DEMOCRAT way.  And those Democrats fought against reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  If it was hurting our country, so what.  We can always blame it on Bush later.  Meanwhile, we can act like we don’t know what happened.  Well, what happened was a lot of crooked, under handed foolery that cost a lot of people their homes and their livelihood.

The media was falling in line as usual, too, praising the Democrats and bullying President Bush. When President Bush left office after two terms, the deficit in this country  was the lowest in five years, and we had low, low  spending. After that, the Democrats took over the spending and you can see where we are today.

Yay!  George.  Wish he was back again.  Maybe then, we wouldn’t have to contend with all this economic mess we have had to deal with since the Democrats took over.  Maybe we wouldn’t have to put up with any more people like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd.  Maybe, just maybe, there could be a time again when people are honest and forthright in their dealings with each other.

I sure hope so.  Meanwhile, Thank You, Dear God for allowing me to make up my own mind.

 

 

DEAR GOD: I’M STILL ASKING FOR HELP

I mentioned about the 1950′s last night and have remembered more about them today.  As I said, they were really good years.  Everyone was progressing and life was good for most people.  By now, we had the outdoor patios and the cookouts and the neighborhood get togethers.  It was a good time to be a young parent.

We had already lived through the War years and seen that horrible War come to an end.  I am always in awe when I read in the papers today that 2 or 3 men were killed in the latest War or that 20 were killed in a bombing.  In World War II years, the headlines read that 20,000 were killed in this battle or 15,000 in another battle.  If you don’t believe those statistics, make a trip to France and see the never ending white crosses in the cemeteries where our young men were slain and buried.  A horrible, horrible time.

But now things were going to be better and different.  Why even the new cars were coming out with all those fancy gadgets on them and those paint jobs were unbelievable and just look at that wrap around glass.  No one had ever even dreamed of such things before.  But progress was here.

After decades of a Democratic President and staff, it was refreshing to finally have a Republican in the White House.  Now things really would be different and better.  Right after we get over all the shortages created by the War years.  Eisenhower had been elected now and everyone was wearing the ‘I Like Ike’ buttons because they were so happy that things were going to be better.

During the Eisenhower years, all these wonderful new interstate highways were built all across our nation.  Now, families like mine could drive all over the country and actually see those sights we had heard about all our lives. Made it possible for the whole family to be canned in a station wagon.  The new theme parks were popping up because now people could actually go see them, not just hear about them.  And the price of gasoline was so low it was never even mentioned.  Why, we could even drive everywhere and sleep in a brand new motel, too.  The motels along the highways popped up everywhere. And now there were drive in restaurants along those same highways. It was truly a wonderful time for all.

But that drum was beating louder and louder everywhere.   There was trouble brewing in various ways.  People had so much in the way of goods and money to spend and happiness was bound to stay.  But that didn’t happen.  Now, the child experts began to tell everyone how to raise those children.  Thank Heavens, my children were all too young to be considered Baby Boomers.  And I was so happy that I was not one of those mothers.

Things had changed for them, too.  The doctors had all decided that mothers did not need to breast feed their children anymore.  So now, mothers  were taught to make formula.  And were given a shot that dried up the milk that their bodies   provided for that new baby.  And this way, mothers would not gain any weight, nor have laps that mothers had always had before.  It was just like being a teenager forever.  And those same mothers were expected to act young forever, too.

Now there were more appliances to help with the housework.  There were those new fangled washing machines that actually did all the work.  All we had to do was put the clothes in, add the detergent, push a button and leave the room.  Dishwashers had come onto the scene, too.  Not standard yet, but getting there.  And disposals that eliminated the ever present garbage. But we were still hanging those clothes outside on the line.  Dryers were also just around the corner.  And then someone invented the no iron fabrics and the polyesters and the wrinkle free stuff.  So now we didn’t even have to iron every afternoon as we had been doing before.

Why, mothers were almost unnecessary these days.  That house could almost run itself.  And the kids were happy with all their newer toys and friends.  What was a mother to do?  But then someone thought and said – why that young mother can just go to work.  She can make a lot of money and pay someone else to raise her children.  Why should she be stuck in that house all day when the world was moving all around her.  And she looks so good, too.  Why, she can buy all the new clothes she wants and be social all the time.  Hot Dog!  What a wonderful life she will have.   Back in those 1950′s.

PRESENTING YOURSELF

Look at those Occupiers on  your TV screen.  Those are the ones who did not know how to present themselves when they applied for a job – if they ever did anywhere, anytime.

Not only did they not know how to comb their hair, but they also did not know they were supposed to take a bath and put on clean clothes.  Hopefully, they will remember to brush their teeth and make that smile as nice as possible.

Most of them need to get a haircut, too.  And they might remember that pony tails on men went out of style a long, long time ago.  And women are expected to keep their hair out of their eyes.   No one can work if their hair is hanging over their eyes.  With their hair hanging over their eyes, they probably cannot even see to fill out the application properly.  It is very necessary that a person write legibly, carefully filling out each line the way it should be.

If a person really wants to get a job, there are lots and lots of jobs out there.  Some fields are literally begging for help.

But someone who is satisfied to sleep on the concrete with the rats crawling around them is not ever going to get a job.  Anyone can see that.  Anyone except them that is.  And they are still hollering loud and clear along with the chanting and singing and guitar playing and bonfires and marching, that there are no jobs out there.  But there are.

A person just has to make himself presentable and then present himself to an employer and assure that employer that he really wants a job and WILL work.  That is the key. A person has to be ready and willing to work at the job before he is going to be given that opportunity.

Try it and see.  If you want a job, then go get one.  It is really that simple.  Just present yourself and go to work!

 

VOTER IDENTIFICATION

I have been hearing the objections to Voter Identification at the polls.  This is probably the most ridiculous of them all so far.  People are complaining that this is discriminatory.  How can Voter Identification possibly be discriminatory.  Everyone is asked to do the exact same thing.  In my area, we have to show our Driver’s License and the picture on the Driver’s License should be the same person who is showing the Identification.    Now, this makes perfect sense to me.  I cannot possibly see where any of that would be discriminatory.  I never even thought twice about showing my Driver’s License.

In a children’s Sunday School song,  all the children are described as ‘Red, Yellow, Black and White’.   Same with the Voter Identification.

The red person is expected to show identification, the yellow person is supposed to show identification, the black person is supposed to show identification and the white person is supposed to show identification.  Why, I bet even the purple people eater at the back of the line is supposed to show his identification.

So what could possibly be discriminatory about any of this.  No reason to complain that I can see.  Unless someone was planning to vote illegally, there is nothing  to worry about at all.

Pay attention this year.  We need to make some drastic changes.   In a hurry.  Hooray!

FROM THE TOP DOWN

I have so much trouble accepting the fact that no one seems to  understand what is going on in our country today.  It is being destroyed right in front of you and no one seems to know why.  Sure, employment is down.  Sure, money is tight.  What could you possibly expect.  Also, the rhetoric about the greedy American and the terrible, terrible big businesses.   All this is being generated to work your mind and make you think everything and everybody here is just absolutely awful.  This is not true at all and this is not the reason why we have economy problems.

The truth of the matter is quite simple.  And you don’t have to be a math whiz to understand it.  But today, a lot of high school graduates can hardly write their name much less handle a checking account.  And they don’t realize that people have to make money in order to have money to spend.  Simple facts.

The Federal Reserve or whoever it might be that really handles the money issues in Washington decide how much interest will be paid on money invested and they set the standards for all the country.  So, they decide not to pay any interest on borrowed money, then no one makes any interest on borrowed money.  This doesn’t bother a lot of people but it stops the growth of the country.

The way it works is like this – If no money is paid out in interest on investments, then investments dry up.  That is answer #1

Then everyone has to come to a screeching halt because there is no investment, no money to work with on building of any kind.  This includes building of municipal projects, schools, roads, hospitals, almost any large projects that you can think of.

So the money is now dried up.  No investments, no money to work with.  Everything and I do mean everything stops.  That is answer #2

This means that no building is being done, no improvements anywhere so this results in layoffs and the people in the know blame this on everything from greedy Americans to big business because they are not ‘sharing’ their profits.  No one can make any profit either. There is absolutely and positively nothing going on anywhere.  That is answer #3.

So, you see, the answer to the big problems have to come from the top down, not from the bottom up.  You don’t put the whole country back to work by providing another big loan to a bank or to a car manufacturer.  You just simply pay more interest on money and then money starts to flow around and this is turn results in jobs being done and people going back to work.  It is very simple to understand, but most people have never heard this side of the story.

Look around in your town and see what is being built today.  Are new houses being built the same as before?  Are streets being fixed as before?  Are schools being repaired and enlarged or whatever is necessary in your town?  Or is everything at a standstill while we blame someone else besides the politicians and the money people in Washington.

If they raise the interest rate on investments even one point, you would see money begin to be invested once again.  But one point would not be enough to overcome this standstill.  If they raised it possibly 3 points, then things would begin to move even more.  This is not inflation.  This is simple business practices.  That money must be invested.  Bonds must be bought in order to finance improvements of any kind.  But the investor will NOT – I repeat will NOT – invest when he cannot make any money on his investment.  Simple math.  All those in the financial know know this.  They are working this in order to destroy our standard of living in this country.

Listen and learn.  And demand that something be done at the top.  Now!  Before we get any further in debt in this wonderful country.  Before this wonderful country is destroyed.

Wake up America!  Before it is too late.

SILLY FIGURES!

I have noticed that the latest figures put out by whoever puts out those figures is that unemployment is down for the month of December and the financial outlook is much better. Now, just who do they think they are kidding.

I don’t pretend to be a very smart person, but anyone should know that for the month of December unemployment figures would be down simply because extra help was hired  on a part time basis in order to take care of the extra Christmas shopping.  Duh!!!

Then of course the financial outlook would be better for the same reason.  People are Christmas shopping!!! Duh again.

Just how stupid do those in charge think the American people really are.  I hope not that stupid.

Hope everyone remembers  this sort of thing when it is time to vote again.

DEMOCRATS!!!!

I don’t claim to know a lot about history except what I have lived through.  Those Democrats have about ruined us as a country for the last 50 years.  FDR started the Social Security of course.  At that time, everyone was supposed to be dead before they collected.  Most of know that by now.  At that time, all Social Security payments were completely free from all sorts of taxation and anything else that would deplete their intent.    Jack Kennedy didn’t have time to do much in his tenure in the White House.  But then Lyndon Johnson made up for any lost time.  He completely destroyed just about everything that was the true U.S.A.   He and his Democrat buddies in Congress together gave the store away.  I can see him now telling the country how wonderful he was with his Great Society program.  He had all the answers except one – who would pay the bills for all his giveaways.  Well, of course you know the answer to that one by now.  WE are paying the price every day in all that we do and in all those taxes we are paying and paying and paying and have been paying for a long, long time and will pay for an even longer time.

And then Jimmy Carter came along and added even more stupid programs to those that were already there.  The Dept. of Energy is his crowning achievement though.  We are paying for that  fiasco every single day, too.

And then Bill Clinton came along and he has done even more damage.  When he was Governor in Arkansas, he raised taxes 148 times.  But the media didn’t tell anyone about that one.  They wanted their darling Bill to be elected and he was.  Just get the American media on your side and you can get by with anything.  As long as there is a story there and they can bring in all their people and equipment and make a big deal out of it.

On the Republican side, I can’t say a lot good about Eisenhower.  He really wasn’t cut out to be president.  He was a good guy, I’m sure, and liked to play golf a lot, but that was about it.    George Bush was a great president.  But he was a victim of those funny Democrats.  They refused to pass any of is legislation so we had gridlock over and over again.  And the Democrats just laughed up their sleeves.  Had put one over on the American public once again.  Ha Ha.  So funny.

Then when George W. came along, they did the same thing to him.  And are still doing it every day when they can get the media to print something else.  But the Democrats and the media were all laughing so hard and that was all that mattered.  To heck with the taxpayer.  To heck with the government.  None of that mattered.  It was the gotcha’ atmosphere once again.

Pay attention when it comes time to vote once again.  Do not listen to the media.  Study the issues yourself.  Make up your own mind.  Then vote.  But by all means, vote.  I said earlier I think only those with a job should be allowed to cast a vote.  That would be too hard to enforce since there are so many tricks to the trade these days.  Maybe if only honest people could vote.  Wonder how that would work.   Oh well, something will come along to straighten out this horrible mess.  Always does.

STUFF

Well, I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired of all this STUFF going on everywhere. The national debt is just plumb disgusting.  When you think that all those people who have never been born yet having to pay off all this stilly STUFF  that these politicians have thought up just makes you sick.  And don’t think it is primarily because of the Republicans because it most certainly is not.  Those Democrats have about ruined all of us.

The so-called housing crisis started under Bill Clinton because he and his bunch lowered the rules for buying a house in order to get more of those so-called poor into housing.  Well, I’m sure that was a good thought but just look at the mess it has created.  And George Bush didn’t do anything to stop any of it either.  And then this Obama has made it far, far worse all the time.  And now the whole country is in debt up to its neck.  Stupid STUFF!!!

And now they tell us that gas prices and food prices HAVE to rise because it costs more to ship STUFF!  Well, that’s a hoot if I ever heard one.  Obviously, we have oil running out our ears around here and yet we are buying from people across the world and being told we need to not be so dependent on foreign oil.  The way I see it is God put that oil under this land for us to use so how come we aren’t using any of it.  Ridiculous STUFF!  absolutely ridiculous.

A man stopped me at a gas station one day and asked me if I felt guilty about driving a big car.   I said I most certainly did not.  Why should I.  I enjoy driving it and have been driving that sort of car for years and years and years.  He was a so-called green person and was driving an old clunker – which uses more oil and gas – and pulling a trailer – which uses more oil and gas.  More STUFF!  ridiculous STUFF!   Electric cars?  Had them in the 1930′s and 40′s.  As long as you only wanted to go around the block, they were a lot of fun.  Not for me.  Not for most people.

And why should our food prices rise.  We have enough food here in this country that we ship it overseas regularly in order to feed all those hungry people we see in the pictures and on the television.  So why should we be paying more for our food here.  Doesn’t make much sense to me.  Just more STUFF!  stupid STUFF!  In the first place, we have farmer’s markets all over the country.  Why are we shipping food in from everywhere else.  Mexican tomatoes that had food poisoning a couple of years ago.  Why not buy the local STUFF! Even Wal-Mart pushes the local STUFF!  So buy that.

Seems to me that one solution to all our problems would be to make it mandatory that a person  have a job before they can vote.  Used to be back when, a person had to own property in order to vote.  Now everyone votes, even those who have no idea what or who they are voting for.  Just follow the crowd.  Plug into the internet and do whatever you are told.   If they cart you to the polls, you vote for them.  If they provide a meal, vote for them.  Whatever works.   And now we have people everywhere who do not work, live on the handout, and vote for administrations who think that is the way  everyone should live.  So maybe if everyone had to have a viable job before they voted, it might solve some of these problems with STUFF and more STUFF and more STUFF!

 

LIVING WITH AN ALCOHOLIC

Do you know what it is like to live with an alcoholic?  Unless you have done so, you cannot imagine the life.  Although everything seems o.k. on the outside, nothing is really o.k. on the inside.  It may be that the alcoholic is a very nice person, never causing any problems at all.  But you can believe there are hidden things going on all the time.  For you see, the alcoholic really doesn’t care much for anything else except that alcohol.  That doesn’t happen overnight usually.  It builds up over time.

And gradually over time, the family takes less and less thought or love or even civility.  For as the alcohol becomes more important, everything else, including the family becomes less important.  That includes the wife, mother, father, children, or whoever might be considered a part of the family.  The alcoholic eventually has no desire to be with anyone else or anything else except that alcohol.  For here all his problems are solved.  Or so he thinks.

Meanwhile, he is compounding problems with his family and his work and his friends.  But he doesn’t care anymore.  All those people could just simply disappear from his life and he would be very happy.  Alcohol eventually becomes a matter of money.  If the alcoholic can get enough money to drink that day, he is satisfied with life.  If not, he will figure out some way to get that money, no matter what.  He might steal from members of the family or from his workplace or wherever he thinks he can get by with it.

Eventually, too, work ceases to exist.  And comes the day when he no longer has a job or is retired early or some other reason why the employer can get rid of him.  He doesn’t care about that either.  If he can manage enough money to drink, he will be set for life.  

I am writing a book now about living with an alcoholic.  Check out my books at booksbybet.com    They are very good and pretty cheap.  The first one is #2503 which was the address where I grew up.  I had a normal, fun filled life and tell about that while giving lots of information on the history of the times.  Next is In The 1940′s which tells the story of World War II and the family’s life before, during and after that War.  Lots of daily living history in that one.  Then there is The Wonderful 1950′s when changes, changes abound and the whole world seems to change.  Fun and laughter in all the books.  Then I also have a cookbook entitled Bet’s Cookbook that gives lots of fun advice and good cheap from scratch recipes for feeding a family.  I had to learn how to do that since I didn’t have much money and did have a lot of kids to feed.  It was like King Henry VIII sat at the table with knife and fork in hand and said ‘Feed Me’!  So I had to learn how.  Look the books up.  They are available on Amazon.com.    You will enjoy all of them.  Thanks.