a dear friend in maryland sent me this in an email a few days ago. i thought it was worth posting. i could not have said it any better.
Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
See the PC Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
At Target were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday!
Please, all Christians join together and
wish everyone you meet
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!
until next time...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
where did fall go?
today is december 8 and i am looking out my window at the woods. it seems like yesterday the temperature was in the 80's and the foliage was still green. now, it is gone. we went from summer straight into winter.
i am still off work. last week i had some problems with my knee and my doctor put me back on workmans comp. i am so blessed to live where i live. when the kids are in school, it is very quiet here. if i were a professional writer, it would be a great place to just sit and write. but, i am not.
the last date i worked was june 30th. i have been off more than 5 months. i jokingly told someone that i could have had a heart attack, bypass surgery and rehab and been back to work!!! i checked and found out i was right. oh well.
so much history has been made since i have been off. the depression (or recession), the stock market, the presidential election, foreclosures, "the big 3" and all of the bailouts. it has been quite a year and it is not over yet. we will see more businesses go belly up and more people losing their jobs and homes. it is a sad time in our country.
lee iacocca has a new book entitled "where have all the leaders gone". i have been a fan of his since he was ceo of chrysler. he is straight forward and his approach to leadership i greatly admire. here are some excerpts form his new book. i apologize for the language.
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's
happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming
bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship
of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing
us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around
and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the
damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums
out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and
maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this
country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys
in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is
burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving
'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise
of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're
not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The
Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of
leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis.
It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory.
Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a
battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world
comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other
time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the
ashes. A hell of a mess so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan
for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great
companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent
energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the
leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where
are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and
common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get
the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than
making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dolla rs building a huge new bureaucracy, and
all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were
made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen
again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a
plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we
can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have
believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred
to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important,
what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down
the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care
problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are
eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on
your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is
being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News
<http://www.foxnews.com/> will call them a name? Give me a break.
Why don't you guys show some spine for a &nb sp;change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom
here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have
hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege
of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World
War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam
War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by
standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.
Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for
our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm
raising in this book. It's a call to 'Action for people who, like me,
believe in America '. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty
close. So let' s shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em
all we've had 'enough.'
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and
care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future
is at stake!!
until next time...
i am still off work. last week i had some problems with my knee and my doctor put me back on workmans comp. i am so blessed to live where i live. when the kids are in school, it is very quiet here. if i were a professional writer, it would be a great place to just sit and write. but, i am not.
the last date i worked was june 30th. i have been off more than 5 months. i jokingly told someone that i could have had a heart attack, bypass surgery and rehab and been back to work!!! i checked and found out i was right. oh well.
so much history has been made since i have been off. the depression (or recession), the stock market, the presidential election, foreclosures, "the big 3" and all of the bailouts. it has been quite a year and it is not over yet. we will see more businesses go belly up and more people losing their jobs and homes. it is a sad time in our country.
lee iacocca has a new book entitled "where have all the leaders gone". i have been a fan of his since he was ceo of chrysler. he is straight forward and his approach to leadership i greatly admire. here are some excerpts form his new book. i apologize for the language.
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's
happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming
bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship
of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing
us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around
and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the
damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums
out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and
maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this
country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys
in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is
burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving
'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise
of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're
not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The
Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of
leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis.
It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory.
Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a
battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world
comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other
time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the
ashes. A hell of a mess so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan
for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great
companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent
energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the
leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where
are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and
common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get
the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than
making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dolla rs building a huge new bureaucracy, and
all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were
made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen
again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a
plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we
can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have
believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred
to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important,
what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down
the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care
problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are
eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on
your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is
being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News
<http://www.foxnews.com/> will call them a name? Give me a break.
Why don't you guys show some spine for a &nb sp;change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom
here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have
hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege
of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World
War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam
War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by
standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.
Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for
our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm
raising in this book. It's a call to 'Action for people who, like me,
believe in America '. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty
close. So let' s shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em
all we've had 'enough.'
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and
care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future
is at stake!!
until next time...
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