Thursday, October 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Last Minute Shenanigans
This one's going to be short and to the point, because I have no solutions for this except to drive to Washington and slap a bunch of elected officials and put them in timeout. But I really have to vent.
What have our politicians being doing for the past few months/years depending on when they were elected into office? And what has the President been doing as well?
Didn't anyone see this coming...from a LONG way off? The numbers are all there and the debt ceiling problem just snuck up on us?
Everyone, and I mean EVERYone in Washington needs to get their heads out of their donkey or elephant asses and get to work, the work we elected them to do, of keeping our country safe and RUNNING.
And since when did any politician really care about keeping their campaign promises. Especially when it comes to real problems that could flush the entire country down the toilet, and we wouldn't even be able to pay the water bill after it's done.
GET TO WORK, solve the problems, figure out the budget, cut spending, pay the freakin' bills and EARN YOUR PAYCHECKS...and then maybe no one will notice you vote yourselves a pay raise next year.
All the best,
Will
What have our politicians being doing for the past few months/years depending on when they were elected into office? And what has the President been doing as well?
Didn't anyone see this coming...from a LONG way off? The numbers are all there and the debt ceiling problem just snuck up on us?
Everyone, and I mean EVERYone in Washington needs to get their heads out of their donkey or elephant asses and get to work, the work we elected them to do, of keeping our country safe and RUNNING.
And since when did any politician really care about keeping their campaign promises. Especially when it comes to real problems that could flush the entire country down the toilet, and we wouldn't even be able to pay the water bill after it's done.
GET TO WORK, solve the problems, figure out the budget, cut spending, pay the freakin' bills and EARN YOUR PAYCHECKS...and then maybe no one will notice you vote yourselves a pay raise next year.
All the best,
Will
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Voting down the Debt.
After hearing how much money Mitt Romney has been able to raise before the primary, at least $10 million, it got me to thinking about our voting process and how it could be used to help our country even more.
I thought of a simple plan, all money raised for a political campaign will be used to pay off our national debt. All but 10% of it for operating expenses. That includes commercials, fundraising events, travel, etc. But how could we pull that off? Well, the candidate who raises the most money wins the election. Your payment is your vote. Now of course that leads to a problem of the rich choosing the candidates for our elections, but that already happens anyway with helping pay for their candidacy contributions, and there are already limits on donations, so I don't see as much problem there as there could be.
Also, commercials are so expensive, how could a candidate pay for them with only 10% of what they used to get? TV and Radio companies would be offered considerable tax breaks for giving discounted ad rates on their stations to political candidates. In exchange for the discount they would be able to claim the revenue or discount on their taxes and be given a considerable refund for their troubles.
Raise the most money, you win. Get your ideas out there about why you are the best candidate, and you raise more money. All the while paying down out national debt.
Based on the 2008 Presidential election contributions (which ran about $1.4 billion), we would be close to paying off our debt in 10 elections. And that doesn't even include any of the House, Senate or Governor races at all! Of course there is a slight flaw in my math, that once we start paying it down, our interest rate payment would be decreased as well, so in essence, including all major elections, we could have our debt paid off in 5 or 6 Presidential elections.
Wow! Is that ever something to think about.
All the best,
Will
I thought of a simple plan, all money raised for a political campaign will be used to pay off our national debt. All but 10% of it for operating expenses. That includes commercials, fundraising events, travel, etc. But how could we pull that off? Well, the candidate who raises the most money wins the election. Your payment is your vote. Now of course that leads to a problem of the rich choosing the candidates for our elections, but that already happens anyway with helping pay for their candidacy contributions, and there are already limits on donations, so I don't see as much problem there as there could be.
Also, commercials are so expensive, how could a candidate pay for them with only 10% of what they used to get? TV and Radio companies would be offered considerable tax breaks for giving discounted ad rates on their stations to political candidates. In exchange for the discount they would be able to claim the revenue or discount on their taxes and be given a considerable refund for their troubles.
Raise the most money, you win. Get your ideas out there about why you are the best candidate, and you raise more money. All the while paying down out national debt.
Based on the 2008 Presidential election contributions (which ran about $1.4 billion), we would be close to paying off our debt in 10 elections. And that doesn't even include any of the House, Senate or Governor races at all! Of course there is a slight flaw in my math, that once we start paying it down, our interest rate payment would be decreased as well, so in essence, including all major elections, we could have our debt paid off in 5 or 6 Presidential elections.
Wow! Is that ever something to think about.
All the best,
Will
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Church, or is it the church to you.
I've noticed a great lacking in our church, and in many churches in the area. Not in just offerings or attendance, but in mission. For that is truly how the first Church was started, by mission. It was the mission of the apostles to spread the word of God and of Christ throughout all humanity. And it was accomplished simply by going out among the people, having a mission, going to help those who needed help.
Why has this seemed to disappear in today's society? People still need help around the world, and while sending money for relief efforts in Japan is a great mission, is some pocket change the only way to help anyone nowadays? Throw enough money at something and it will go away?
There are those that are helping, churches in the south are the first ones to step forward to offer shelter for families during the flooding that still continues it's way south along the Mississippi. And in our local area, many churches have tried to shelter the homeless, but area residents and businesses do not want that kind of people in their area. So much for mission.
In some unfortunate situations, churches have an endowment that they can draw money from to help pay the bills. Why unfortunate, because most times when there is an endowment, the church members know about it, and usually there giving is reduced because they know that there will "always" be money to keep the church open. It's an unfortunate state of affairs, when the only reason to keep a church's doors open, is to keep the doors open.
Mission is the only way to conquer stale air in a church. keep your feet moving and the ground will constantly be clear around you. Follow your path, and you will always be moving.
If you have any ideas of where the world might need some help, or even just some help in your neighborhood...stop into your local church, maybe they are just waiting around for some great idea to walk through the door.
All the best,
Will
Why has this seemed to disappear in today's society? People still need help around the world, and while sending money for relief efforts in Japan is a great mission, is some pocket change the only way to help anyone nowadays? Throw enough money at something and it will go away?
There are those that are helping, churches in the south are the first ones to step forward to offer shelter for families during the flooding that still continues it's way south along the Mississippi. And in our local area, many churches have tried to shelter the homeless, but area residents and businesses do not want that kind of people in their area. So much for mission.
In some unfortunate situations, churches have an endowment that they can draw money from to help pay the bills. Why unfortunate, because most times when there is an endowment, the church members know about it, and usually there giving is reduced because they know that there will "always" be money to keep the church open. It's an unfortunate state of affairs, when the only reason to keep a church's doors open, is to keep the doors open.
Mission is the only way to conquer stale air in a church. keep your feet moving and the ground will constantly be clear around you. Follow your path, and you will always be moving.
If you have any ideas of where the world might need some help, or even just some help in your neighborhood...stop into your local church, maybe they are just waiting around for some great idea to walk through the door.
All the best,
Will
Monday, May 2, 2011
Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel
I was going to write about the Royal Wedding and why we Americans should or should not care, but something more American has happened.
The announcement was made last night by President Obama that our military has succeeded in killing and capturing the body of Osama bin Laden. Our efforts are nearly over, but they are far from done.
Our military still needs to keep control in the countries that we are in, because I am sure that there will be retaliation. And his forces are far from being lead by one single individual, they are spread out in cells and divided. It's like killing the hydra, cut off the main head, and you still have to cut off the others. But it is certainly glad news that we have taken down the main leader and the driving force of all the terrorist actions in the world.
It disheartens me though that the President that wanted to end the war was the one that made the announcement of our victory. But I digress, as it doesn't matter who made the announcement, but that it was made. For now our troops are certainly that much closer to finally coming home.
And I'm sure our economy will see a rebound from this, for the fear of death around every corner is lifted slightly to let some light shine through.
I congratulate the military personnel involved in this mission, and am glad that none of them were harmed in this action.
Finally, a little light to brighten the darkness, hopefully this will help the entire world to see how much more we should band together to solve all of our problems and differences, rather than fight them out. Because in war, we all lose. For God is on neither side in any war. But he is for the soldiers and he loves them all with all of his heart. And he prays for them to see the error in their fighting, that they should not be at war.
Today America breathes a sigh of relief. And we look forward to tomorrow with hope and prayer.
God Bless our Troops.
God Bless America.
And may God Bless the World.
All the best,
Will
The announcement was made last night by President Obama that our military has succeeded in killing and capturing the body of Osama bin Laden. Our efforts are nearly over, but they are far from done.
Our military still needs to keep control in the countries that we are in, because I am sure that there will be retaliation. And his forces are far from being lead by one single individual, they are spread out in cells and divided. It's like killing the hydra, cut off the main head, and you still have to cut off the others. But it is certainly glad news that we have taken down the main leader and the driving force of all the terrorist actions in the world.
It disheartens me though that the President that wanted to end the war was the one that made the announcement of our victory. But I digress, as it doesn't matter who made the announcement, but that it was made. For now our troops are certainly that much closer to finally coming home.
And I'm sure our economy will see a rebound from this, for the fear of death around every corner is lifted slightly to let some light shine through.
I congratulate the military personnel involved in this mission, and am glad that none of them were harmed in this action.
Finally, a little light to brighten the darkness, hopefully this will help the entire world to see how much more we should band together to solve all of our problems and differences, rather than fight them out. Because in war, we all lose. For God is on neither side in any war. But he is for the soldiers and he loves them all with all of his heart. And he prays for them to see the error in their fighting, that they should not be at war.
Today America breathes a sigh of relief. And we look forward to tomorrow with hope and prayer.
God Bless our Troops.
God Bless America.
And may God Bless the World.
All the best,
Will
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Stealing Education
I listen to a lot of talk radio, and one of my favorite stations is in New Jersey (narrow that one down), even though I live in Pennsylvania. So I know a little more about the goings-on in NJ probably more than your average PA citizen.
For instance, I know that the Governor is absolutely hated by the NJEA, the teachers union. And I also know he cut the sate budget for school spending drastically, at a time when it needed to be done in order to balance a horrible deficit. Most states are out of money these days, PA included.
Just these past few days I've heard a commercial from the NJ teachers, sponsored by the union, saying that the student scores are higher than ever, and more students are being placed in AP classes than in years before. And all of this in the face of a bad economy, which really means all of the budget cuts that were made the previous year. They are saying that teachers are problem solvers and that they have figured out how to teach even in these tough economic times. Included in these budget cuts are cuts to programs and staff layoffs. And yet the children are still learning, and learning better than before.
So with all of this information, if it's all true, I have only one question:
Why did they need all of that money in the first place?
All the best,
Will
For instance, I know that the Governor is absolutely hated by the NJEA, the teachers union. And I also know he cut the sate budget for school spending drastically, at a time when it needed to be done in order to balance a horrible deficit. Most states are out of money these days, PA included.
Just these past few days I've heard a commercial from the NJ teachers, sponsored by the union, saying that the student scores are higher than ever, and more students are being placed in AP classes than in years before. And all of this in the face of a bad economy, which really means all of the budget cuts that were made the previous year. They are saying that teachers are problem solvers and that they have figured out how to teach even in these tough economic times. Included in these budget cuts are cuts to programs and staff layoffs. And yet the children are still learning, and learning better than before.
So with all of this information, if it's all true, I have only one question:
Why did they need all of that money in the first place?
All the best,
Will
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Soldiers, Oil and Money.
In case you live under a rock and haven't noticed, gas prices are extremely high these days. Locally it's around $3.89 per gallon, but at least that's been holding steady for about a week. In my Explorer however, that's around $50 to fill my tank almost once a week. I happen to be one of THOSE people, who burn gas without caring about the ozone or the pandas in Guatemala or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I CARE about our planet, but my gas usage is not single-handedly destroying entire rain forests. And Al Gore is not my savior.But that's another topic for later, let's get back to gas and oil.
Oil prices are extremely high, which cause gas prices at the pump to be high. President Obama has said that he will release some barrels from our reserve to lighten the burden on our wallets, but we'll see if that really happens or not. Speaking of Presidents, didn't George W. Bush supposedly start the war because of oil? If he did, where are the lower gas prices. One would think that a war started years ago to gain territory so that we could get cheaper oil would have paid off by now. And since Obama has continued that war for even longer than he said he was going to, shouldn't we have seen something by now! Surely there must be a gas rebate check in the mail to me from the Iraq and Saudi governments.
But we can't just blame the Presidents past and present, the auto companies must shoulder some of the blame. The giant boom of SUVs years ago is certainly part of the problem. But now my current focus has turned to these new Hybrid cars. they run on part gasoline and part electricity. Sounds great! So where are they? My problem with these cars is the cost to savings ratio. I would need to save enough on gas to balance out the cost of the car. And if they are so great, and save us so much money on fuel, and are SO wonderful for the environment...why are there not more of them? One or two per manufacturer seems to be about the average. Why don't they just make most of them hybrids? Have one regular gas guzzler, and then five or six different gas sipping electric cars in their lineup. Seems to me, that would be an easy way to make them cheaper, and to sell more of them. And what about the SUVs? I would like an Explorer that gets 60 mpg in the city. Now that would make my day! And I wouldn't care if it ran half on electric, on water, or even on Pixy Sticks.
And what about Natural Gas? I'm sure some of you are saying, what about it? Well, many public transportation systems have been using it for years. It's cheaper and it's cleaner. Take that hippies! But it's not used as much or as readily available in the US. And natural gas is much easier to find here in the US and would require little or no dependence on foreign oil. Here in Pennsylvania you could toss a lawn dart and find a spot to drill a gas well, well almost. I even thought about converting, but I would have to put my own filling station in the garage, because I have no idea where else to get it.
So here are my thoughts for the auto makers:
Make more hybrids, even if the electric only kicks in on Tuesdays on the highway at 50mph, we would still save money.
Make more vehicles that run on natural gas, it's much more gentle on the internal parts and oiled spots (maybe that's the problem, not as much maintenance after purchase)
Why are they so expensive? (that's not a suggestion, just wondering, I have not yet bought a new car that was less than 5 years old)
Well, that's all I've got for now.
All the best,
Will
Oil prices are extremely high, which cause gas prices at the pump to be high. President Obama has said that he will release some barrels from our reserve to lighten the burden on our wallets, but we'll see if that really happens or not. Speaking of Presidents, didn't George W. Bush supposedly start the war because of oil? If he did, where are the lower gas prices. One would think that a war started years ago to gain territory so that we could get cheaper oil would have paid off by now. And since Obama has continued that war for even longer than he said he was going to, shouldn't we have seen something by now! Surely there must be a gas rebate check in the mail to me from the Iraq and Saudi governments.
But we can't just blame the Presidents past and present, the auto companies must shoulder some of the blame. The giant boom of SUVs years ago is certainly part of the problem. But now my current focus has turned to these new Hybrid cars. they run on part gasoline and part electricity. Sounds great! So where are they? My problem with these cars is the cost to savings ratio. I would need to save enough on gas to balance out the cost of the car. And if they are so great, and save us so much money on fuel, and are SO wonderful for the environment...why are there not more of them? One or two per manufacturer seems to be about the average. Why don't they just make most of them hybrids? Have one regular gas guzzler, and then five or six different gas sipping electric cars in their lineup. Seems to me, that would be an easy way to make them cheaper, and to sell more of them. And what about the SUVs? I would like an Explorer that gets 60 mpg in the city. Now that would make my day! And I wouldn't care if it ran half on electric, on water, or even on Pixy Sticks.
And what about Natural Gas? I'm sure some of you are saying, what about it? Well, many public transportation systems have been using it for years. It's cheaper and it's cleaner. Take that hippies! But it's not used as much or as readily available in the US. And natural gas is much easier to find here in the US and would require little or no dependence on foreign oil. Here in Pennsylvania you could toss a lawn dart and find a spot to drill a gas well, well almost. I even thought about converting, but I would have to put my own filling station in the garage, because I have no idea where else to get it.
So here are my thoughts for the auto makers:
Make more hybrids, even if the electric only kicks in on Tuesdays on the highway at 50mph, we would still save money.
Make more vehicles that run on natural gas, it's much more gentle on the internal parts and oiled spots (maybe that's the problem, not as much maintenance after purchase)
Why are they so expensive? (that's not a suggestion, just wondering, I have not yet bought a new car that was less than 5 years old)
Well, that's all I've got for now.
All the best,
Will
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