a little red hen

Posted October 14th, 2008 under , , , , ,

Someone shared this with me in email:

 

Once upon a time, on a farm in Virginia , there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat.
She called all of her Democrat neighbors together and said, ‘If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?’
‘Not I,’ said the cow.
‘Not I,’ said the duck.
‘Not I,’ said the pig.
‘Not I,’ said the goose.
‘Then I will do it by myself,’ said the little red hen, and so she did.  

 

The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.
‘Who will help me reap my wheat?’ asked the little red hen.
‘Not I,’ said the duck..
‘Out of my classification,’ said the pig.
‘I’d lose my seniority,’ said the cow.
‘I’d lose my unemployment compensation,’ said the goose.
‘Then I will do it by myself,’ said the little red hen, and so she did.

 

At last it came time to bake the bread.
‘Who will help me bake the bread?’ asked the little red hen.
‘That would be overtime for me,’ said the cow.
‘I’d lose my welfare benefits,’ said the duck.
‘I’m a dropout and never learned how,’ said the pig.
‘If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination,’ said the goose.
‘Then I will do it by myself,’ said the little red hen.

 

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see.  They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, ‘No, I shall eat all five loaves.’
‘Excess profits!’ cried the cow. (Nancy Pelosi)
‘Capitalist leech!’ screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)
‘I demand equal rights!’ yelled the goose. (Jesse Jackson)
The pig just grunted in disdain. (Ted Kennedy)
And they all painted ‘Unfair!’ picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

 

Then the farmer (Obama) came. He said to the little red hen, ‘You must not be so greedy.’
‘But I earned the bread,’ said the little red hen.
‘Exactly,’ said Barack the farmer. ‘That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle.’
And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, ‘I am grateful, for now I truly understand.’
But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her.
She never again baked bread because she joined the ‘party’ and got her bread free.
And all the Democrats smiled. ‘Fairness’ had been established.
Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; 
Perhaps no one cared…so long as there was free bread that ‘the rich’ were paying for.

 

EPILOGUE

Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his memoirs.
Hillary got $8 million for hers.
That’s $20 million for the memories from two people, who for eight years, repeatedly testified, under oath, that they couldn’t remember anything.

 

IS THIS A GREAT BARNYARD OR WHAT?  DON’T FORGET TO VOTE IN NOVEMBER

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The American Dream

Posted September 30th, 2008 under , , , , , ,

The original colonies were created for economic gain, religious freedom and a method to deal with criminals.   America was founded as a result of tyrannical rule of the King of England.   Pioneers and homesteaders spread across the continent for many of the same reasons, displacing/killing native Americans and others along the way.  The Civil War came about, again, for many of the same reasons.  The North and South had economic and political differences that forced a wedge between the nation.  Slavery was important, but not the driving force.  African Americans fought for the right to vote after the Civil War and received it as part of the 15th Amendment.  The Industrial Revolution describes a period of technological advancement that gave people an opportunity to improve their lot in life while creating an upper economic “class”.  Women fought for their right to vote and received it in 1919.  The US was relatively an isolationist nation until WW1.  It takes 3 years before President Wilson brings America into the war and only after Germany offers Mexico the SouthWest US in exchange.  While supporting Britain, it still takes 2 years and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor before the US enters WW2.  In the ’50s & ’60s, citizens fight for civil rights while a President focuses us to go to the moon and play a calculated part in the Cold War fighting communism on a world scale.  This results in building successful and failed democracies, establishing strong and less than effective allies, tying ourselves to oil rich nations.  The ’70s bring about great disollutionment with goverment due to Vietnam, Watergate, Iran, terrorism and hostages, energy shortages and failed economic plans.  

Let’s stop there before we get into too much current politics…

I’m not a historian and what I laid out is riddled with holes and fallacies.  But there is a theme there… The American Dream.  A struggle for improvement.  Our progress is wrought with tragic mistakes, but filled with hope.

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Declaration of Independence

Our founding fathers were onto something.  They established a nation where the basic idea is that everyone has the right to work hard and improve their lot in life.  They promised an equal playing field and built the foundations to make it more equal.  It’s a constantly evolving struggle.
What was never promised was wealth, farm, house, property… Citizens have the right to pursuit these without discrimination based on race, sex, age or other physical characteristic, but that just leveled the playing field.  Individuals have to fight, struggle, work, earn these trappings.
The government has lost it’s way by trying to guarantee “inexpensive, affordable” housing for everyone.  Yes, everyone should have a place to live.  Should everyone have a house?  if they can afford one, sure.  Should everyone have a huge salary?  if they can earn one, sure.  
People have gotten complacent.  My brother and I were raised by a single mother.  At one point, she went on welfare.  We lived in apartments and spent our summers and school breaks with our grandparents while our mother worked whatever jobs she could get.  When I graduated high school,  I knew better jobs would only come through a degree.  I joined the Army Reserve and worked my way through college at a minimum wage job.  There were no real jobs where I lived, so I moved several states away.  I started at the bottom in a company and worked my way up, gaining experience along the way.  My wife and I bought a starter house we could afford.  We made improvements and upgraded when we had equity, again, to something we could afford (not just now, but in 10 years) with an eye towards paying it off someday.  We worked and paid cash for cars, not always buying new, but what we could afford and needed.  Now that our kids are in school, my wife is back pursuing her degree so she can get a decent job.  We are slowly putting money away for our kids’ education, weddings and retirement.
I understand that I am a white male and do not suffer from racial, sexist prejudice.  But I also know that those prejudice do not exist everywhere in the United States.  I am not an automotive worker who put in 25 years in a plant only to be laid off while jobs went overseas.  Well, I am an IT manager who lost his job when it went overseas.  There are other jobs in this country.  Maybe not where you live, but you can move.  I don’t doubt that the prejudice you face everyday is real, but you can move to a place it doesn’t exist or isn’t so prevalent.
You have choices.  You can stay where you are at and fight/create opportunity where there wasn’t any or you can move to a place with more opportunity.  I respect either choice.  There are even times when it’s good to rely on the government to help you through a bad spot.  I respect the courage to ask for help.
The government was not founded to guarantee property or economic status to people.  It is not a crutch to prop people up.  The government creates the situation for citizens to pursue the American dream, but can not guarantee it to you.  That’s up to you.

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More Fairness in Politics and Blogging

Posted September 19th, 2008 under , , , , ,

Like I’ve said, character and honesty are critical for me in relating to a person.  A reflection of who a person is is the people he surrounds himself with.

Senator Obama has stated his disdain for the prejudice comments by Reverend Wright and the terrorist actions of Bill Ayers.  Obama didn’t do those things and as soon as the press let him know about the actions of these loose associations in his life, it took him less then a couple of months to distance himself and state his dislike for what they did (and that he was unaware of the hateful things they said/did).

I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.  Why would a politician play with the truth?

Now, we have the Post reporting that Obama’s campaign reached out Franklin Raines for advice on the economy and mortgate industry.  Further, we know that James Johnson was in charge of Obama’s VP selection team until there was too much criticism.  Who cares, really, right?  Oh, Raines and Johnson used to run FNME (Fannie Mae) during the periods when it was discovered that they artificially inflated their reported revenue, used suspect business practices in granting loans and other illegal activities.  Both left FNME after receiving MILLIONS (like $50m in Raines’ case) in bonuses.  

Further, there’s the protest of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the UN.  Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin were both invited.  When Clinton found out Palin was coming, she pulled out.  In order to remain party neutral, the group reached out to Biden and the Obama campaign to send someone else.  They refused.  The group then got pressure from other democrats to either disinvite Palin or cancel the rally.  So, they disinvited her.  What kind of crap is this?  It’s more important to ensure Palin doesn’t attend than it is to protest Iran’s ruler?

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