THE ENTERPRISE
IF ONLY THERE WERE OBJECTIVE SOURCES OF NEWS--THERE AREN'T ANYMORE!
With less than two weeks to go to the mid-term elections, I can only say this: watching the news and reading the news media will probably mislead potential voters. Since the media is biased liberal to the tune of about 90%, there is every reason to see the negative bias being portrayed in everything from "scandal reports" to polls. Then there are the (few) media sources that are biased conservative too (Fox News, Conservative Talk Radio, and the Wall Street Journal, etc.). So who to believe is a big issue.
POLLS AND POLLSTERS CAN LIE AS EASILY AS TELL THE TRUTH
Polls are a tricky thing, and quite untrustworthy. Remember the last Presidential election when the early exit polls showed John Kerry winning by a landslide. WRONG--Bad polling. Ask the question the right or wrong way, and the results can...and will...be skewed the way you want them to lean. Thus media polls of 600-1000 people conducted by liberally biased pollsters can easily have an error rate far greater than the 4-6% claimed. These polls are convenient de-motivators to voters. If you candidate is trailing badly in a poll, why vote for him/her? Because the poll may be wrong! The only poll that matters is the one counted by ballots cast by Americans.
CARTOONS OFTEN TELL MORE TRUTH THAN ANY MEDIA OUTLET
A recent Investor's Business Daily's cartoon hit national distribution (I saw it in the Columbus Dispatch), and that alone tells me something about its quality and insight. The cartoon pictures President Bush sitting in front of a sign, to which he is pointing. He poses the question, "you ask me if the economy is good?" The sign says, in large letters, "The GREAT ECONOMY" In the lower portion of the cartoon, the words "what you see in the media" and an arrow point at a TV screen in which the picture of the President pointing remains, but in the TV screen, the sign has been cropped to eliminate all but the two letters "NO" in ECONOMY. Beware manipulated information--and during an election time--that is nearly all of it. Study the candidates past records. Consider what they seemed to stand for. Ignore the negative ads--they are all borderline on truth and few really deal with actual issues.
BOTTOM LINE: GO VOTE--(especially if you are a concerned Republican)- & take others with you!
A couple of leading Democratic campaign experts are wringing their hands about the fact that many Congressional races are much too close for comfort. Could it be that they know the polls being trumpeted in the media are biased and wrong? Perhaps. Or maybe they are worried that Democratic voters will think the elections are in the bag, because the polls said so, and won't get out and vote. Hmmm. Which is it? We'll see on Nov. 8.
2008 CANDIDATES:
I have already started to research the two people that I think are the leading "fresh face" Presidential prospects for 2008: Barack Obama for the Democrats and Mitt Romney for the Republicans. Hillary is spoiled goods. Kerry, Gore and Edwards are proven losers. McCain will be too old, Guiliani too East Coast, Frist too bland, and Allen is already taking shots about his misadventures. Keep your eyes open for more on these two. (Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, tells his story and reveals many of his beliefs. I am still looking for the right resource on Romney.) More on this in later issues
THE BEST ISSUE--ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
If the US would pursue Energy Independence (like the 1960's "man on the moon" project), what might the results be?
--starve militant Islamic countries from income due to oil
--independence from radical oil producers like Chavez' Venezuela
--gain an advantage over China, India, et. al.
--reduce global warming and reduce the greenhouse effect
--make the US economy stronger, a lower deficit & improved balance of trade
--reduce the impact of global oil speculators on our prices and economy
--a whole new range of technology developments related to energy use, conservation, creation, etc.
Add your own to the list...I just named a few obvious benefits.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS--SOME MEMORIES TO SAVOR
Finally, I wanted to include something that I received recently that made me yearn for the "good old days." Perhaps some readers will be too young to appreciate this. If you are under 30, show it to your parents. They can explain it to you. Perhaps longing for older, simpler times is a sign of getting old--or maybe it is a sign of getting wiser. Either way, enjoy this, one more time...
Best, John
WAY, WAY BACK...TO SIMPLER, AND BETTER TIMES...
Be careful when your read this cause it may bring to mind a time that was warmer, kinder and more loving and simply might cause your eyes get moist. NOW--Close your eyes...And go back. Then read on:
..Before the Internet or PC or the MAC or Cable TV or satellite radio
..Before terrorists, semi-automatic weapons and crack houses....
..Before iPods, Playstations, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari...
..Before cell phones, text messaging, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail....
..way back........way.....way.....way back.....
I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk; and kick the can.
Red light, Green light, Red Rover....Red Rover..... Mother May I? Hula Hoops
Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third streetlight came on
Ring around the Rosie, London Bridge, Hot potato, Hop Scotch, Jump rope
--Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home; no pagers or cell phones
--Seeing shapes in the clouds and telling about them
Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open
The sound of crickets
Running through the sprinkler
Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom
Cracker jacks with the same thing
Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend
but wait.....there's more....
Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons: Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs
Watchin' Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges)
Wonder Woman & Superman Underoos
Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
--Christmas morning
--Your first day of school
--Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
--Climbing trees
Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky
Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
Jumpin' down the steps & Jumpin' on the bed
Pillow fights & Sleep-overs
A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH
--Runnin' till you were out of breath
--Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
--Being tired from PLAYING
--WORK: meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes
--Your first crush and your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN)
Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or hangman" in the classroom, Remember that?
Oh, I'm not finished yet....
Kool-Aid and Lemonade were the drinks of the summer, but so was a swig from the garden hose
Giving your friends a ride on your bike's handlebars
Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school, even though they pinched
Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches and sweaty buses.
--When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there
--When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance; and another quarter a MIRACLE
--When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries...And nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When your parents took you to McDonalds and you thought you were soooo COOL
--When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home.
--Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.
--Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!
Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"
Well, let's keep going!! Let's go back to the time when...
Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
"Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"
Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
Being old, referred to anyone over 20. (CRAP! I'm officially old!)
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
--Nobody was prettier than Mom
Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.
--Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protector
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown
up" life......I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!
Comments