Politicians Are....

I find it difficult to write about politics. The main reason is I read a lot of conservative and Libertarian blogs. These people are very good and I agree with much of what they say. I do not know if I can add anything to the dialogue that they have not already considered. So this opinion will be a little off the beaten path. Warning: after this I'm going to be really demeaning. (To politicians, not you.)

I have never really liked politics. I could care less about it. But I do - now. I do because I have to. Let me say my regard for politicians is very low. To me they are contemptible. They spend their time trying to figure out new and more devious ways to take away what I have worked for; then they slap each other on the back and tell themselves they've somehow done something good for me. There are not many politicians in Washington who would merit even a handshake from me.

When In finish the statement "Politicians are...." I answer: "stupid". This is not a word I use for most people. When my girls were young we would not allow them to say it. Subsequently the word was largely pared from my working vocabulary. Even today I'll avoid it for most people. Rather I'll come back with something else like, "He's not very bright", or "That's going to hurt." But I do use the term for politicians.

Not just Democrats, either. Republicans, too. Usually I'll phrase it like this: "Republicans are idiots" and "I kind of expect the Democrats to be stupid. It's on the application. There are only two questions. The first is: "Your name" and the other is, "Are you stupid." If the answer is to the affirmative, you're in. I'm only being partly sarcastic on this. The IQ drop when the average politician crosses the Potomac River into Washington is about 50 points. You can see I'm an equal opportunity insulter. As my brother said, "They have earned our disrespect!"

By now if you're still reading this you've probably dismissed me as some wild-eyed crazy guy who's Angry At the World. You may even think I stand on busy street corners with a "The End is Near" sign, in a toga, and never shave. But I am not, in fact, angry. I do take a bath and shave regularly. I do not own a toga and I'm being as coldly logical as I know how to be.

What makes me think that politicians, and now I'm speaking specifically to the party in power are stupid? Two Reasons: First, they say stupid things. Let's try a few: "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it...": "The country is ready for a black president - particularly a "light skinned" one with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.": "We are making this up as we go along." The list is long and distinguished. There are too many to note here. The above statements were all made by Dems, or as they are sometimes referred, Dims.

Second, they take up stupid causes. One of them is the notion, for which there is absolutely no evidence, that we will somehow destroy the world by pumping oil out of the ground. The mind-numbing stupidity of this is amazing. They would much rather see up dependent on oil from nations that hate us. The fact of the matter is we've got enough oil to keep us going for hundreds of years. Let's try another one: 'Anthropogenic Climate Change'. They can't use the term 'Global Warming' anymore because the world hasn't gotten warmer in more than 10 years. How many times has this been shown to be a bald baced hoax? Anyone ever heard of Climategate? Yet those who peddle this snake oil continue, and very costly legislation is being considered right now, legislation that will negatively affect every citizen in this country. About a myth!

There are reasons for them to do this, and those are not stupid. Not the least of which is - it gets them on TV. The media loves them. Stupid is as stupid does! A politician can get a lot more publicity for free through backing some crazy scheme than they could ever buy. And why do they want this kind of publicity? Because the Average Joe will look at them in disbelief and dismiss them as kooks. And you thought I was one! That way the political class can pursue their real agenda, which no one in the media bothers to talk about, and only a few will pay attention. Their real purpose is to seize power for themselves. They can only do this by keeping us citizens out of the loop. Otherwise we would immediately see what's going on and get them out of there.

One of the blogs I read on a regular basis is called Tripps Take. (Check out his web site at http://www.trippstake.com/) This guy has a keen sense of what is important to us Average Joe types. I'd like to meet him. An article he posted recently was titled "545". That would be the total number of representatives, including the President and the Supreme Court who are tasked with ruling this nation. The gist of the article is that these representatives are directly responsible for the mess we're in. They can get us out of the mess, too. If those 545 people decided today we would have no deficits, we would not have deficits. If they decided that our taxes were too high they would lower taxes. (Or pass the Fair Tax.) If they decided.... well you get the idea. Insert the issue in the space. Nothing in Washington happens without them making it happen. Yet those same people would have you and I believe that somehow the problems we face are not their fault! Can you see the contempt they have for us? And we're the ones who put them there in the first place.

If we take our nation's population of 300 million and divide it by 545, we come up with a ratio of about 550,458 of us to each one of them. The big question to me is how can a bunch of low-brow, self serving, idiotic kooks like this even get elected in the first place? By hiding their true intentions, of course. Until it is too late. That is why we are in such serious trouble as a nation. For too long we've allowed them to take away our Liberty a little at a time. Now they are doing it on a massive scale. so massive I wonder if there is any way we can survive. There is a ray of hope. We outnumber them - and a lot more Average Joe Citizens are coming around to their real intentions. The time to stop them is now.

Good Writing: Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Terminator, The Gov - as a good writer? Of course. We know, however, that his autobiography, published in the late 70's never won a Pulitzer, but it did in my mind when I first read it. It still moves me today. What makes this book so compelling? Arnold chose to make the story of his life (up that that point, anyway) short, punchy and a quick read. In fact the biographical part comprises only about half of its pages. The other half is a primer on working out. The pace of the book is tremendous, just like the pace of a workout for an elite bodybuilder.

There is one short paragraph that speaks volumes to me about him. It is near the end of Chapter 3 right after Arnold places 2nd to Chet Yorton in his first Mr. Universe contest. His friends recognized his talent and told him next year he was sure to win. Arnold sensed they were right. But the outcome was still uncertain. Who knows what could happen in a year? Of this he says:
"I was relying on one thing. What I had more than anyone else was
drive. I was hungrier than anybody. I wanted it so badly it hurt. I
knew there could be no one else in the world who wanted this title
as much as I did."
Can you feel the intensity in his words? His drive? His ambition? That is what makes his bio so interesting. It's not a minute by minute retelling of his life. It is a look into his mind.

In the last year I've read three really good book about the brain and developing talent. (The Brain That Changes Itself, The Talent Code and Talent is Overrated.) All are good. I would recommend them to anybody. The modern day versions can quantify their conclusions using examples supplemented with the most recent brain research and the current theory of mylenation: But at the same time they offer nothing more than what I find in Arnold's book. Let's take a look at what made Arnold the greatest bodybuilder of his generation.

1. Focus. Concentration. Take a look at this quote from Chapter 1: "I'm not exactly sure why I chose bodybuilding, except that I loved it. I loved it from the first moment my fingers closed around a barbell and I felt the challenge and exhilaration of hoisting the heavy steel plates above my head." That's focus. Later on when he moves to Munich and owns his own gym he talks about putting little cards on the mirror in his bathroom so when he was shaving he could see what his workout would be that day. Every morning he would try to think about nothing else but his workout from the moment he woke up. By the time he got to the gym already psyched, pumped and ready to go.

This kind of concentration is probably the single most important key to achievement in any endeavor, be it a sport, business, writing or chess.

2. Hard Work. Arnold put in his time at the gym every day, sometimes twice a day with no let up. When he got back to Munich after the Mr. Universe competition his friends picked him up at the airport and they had a big celebration. In the midst of this Arnie's thoughts were far away. He was anxious to get back to the gym the next morning and start training for next years contest!

3. Emotional and Visual Engagement. When working out he used visualization too. He would imagine his biceps were mountains, his lats were the wings of a 747 and the weights themselves were planets. Outrageous? Yes. But these were (and are) a great method to force his muscles to work harder. (And grow bigger.) At the same time he systematically eliminated negative input from his life. Anything that prevented him from total concentration was pared away.

4. Training Partners. This belief came early, while still a teen. He liked to have knowledgeable and hard working people around him. He noticed there were times when he didn't feel very motivated. He was lethargic and couldn't lift anywhere near the same weight. His partner at the time, a doctor, recognized that he needed some extra motivation and would challenge the youth to do more. This worked quite well. Arnold came to see his workouts as miniature competitions. Winning these little daily victories prepared him for the big ones later on.

5. Big Picture. Early on Arnold saw bodybuilding as a means to an end. In his teens he told his parents his goal was to become the best bodybuilder in the world, move to America and make movies. His parents thought he was crazy. Maybe he was, a little. Bodybuilding was a vehicle for his ambition, a stepping stone to greater things.

Once Arnold had achieved his goals in the athletic world, he would use that same drive, work ethic and sense of confidence and apply them to whatever he wanted, business, acting and ultimately politics. All of us can benefit from his example.

A Tribute: You Were One of a Kind

When you took me to a drive-in movie and fed me hot dogs for dinner on our first date in the spring of 1967, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you asked me if you could "come calling" In knew you were one of a kind.
When you told me you were a salesman, mechanic, and wash boy of City Motor Sales and six months later, I learned you really owned it, I knew you were one of a kind.
When I went back to Graduate School at Appalachian State University and you came up and proposed marriage to me at Moses Cove Lookout on the Parkway, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you went to visit my Mother and Dad and asked for my hand in marriage, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you were almost late for our wedding on August 22, 1969, because you had to make that car sale so we could have honeymoon money, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you introduced me the day after our wedding as your 'brand new wife', I knew you were one of a kind.
When in 1969 you spent $25 for a motel room at the Congress in Washington, DC while we were on our honeymoon, I knew you were one of a kind.
When we gave out of money on our honeymoon and you went in that bank in Connecticut to borrow $200.00 so we could get back home and actually got it, I knew you were one of a kind.
When I cooked my first meal for you, James and David and burned the fish and you ate them anyway, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you built our house at the Wildlife Pond because you knew I loved to fish, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you chose to attend the Methodist Church because I was Methodist even though you were Pentecostal, I knew you were one of a kind.
When I wanted to move our membership to the First Pentecostal Holiness Church, you agreed although you were actively involved in the Methodist Church, I knew you were one of a kind.
When I retired from teaching at Wayne Community College, you established the Fay B Weeks Accounting Scholarship in my honor, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you continued to give James and David fatherly advice even though they were grown, married and successful in business, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you loved your daughter-in-law as you loved your boys, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you lovingly teased and tussled with your grandchildren and allowed them to drive your antique cars, it was easy to see you were one of a kind.
When you always made sure you had tootsie rolls for your little buddies, the great-grandchildren, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you went to Haiti to play Santa Claus to the orphran children and came home and cried as you ate Christmas dinner realizing that you had enough food on your plate to feed several hungry Haitians, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you planted those big gardens so you could take corn, collards, and turnips to the preachers, widows, doctors and friends, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you would take preachers and all those other friends to eat at Pete's BBQ in Ayden, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you were standing at the entrance of the church greeting worshippers and presenting children with those little Bibles, I knew you were one of a kind.
When you go to heaven, I believe God will introduce you to Peter and Paul and say, "He joins the two of you in being one of a kind."

When it comes to tributes, the heartfelt is vastly superior to the eloquent. None is more heartfelt than this one. Written by my aunt Faye for her beloved husband Facie. They were married for more than 40 years. He was known to us mostly because of the antique cars he traded and owned. Actually he was much more than that. He was a doorkeeper at his church and now is a doorkeeper in heaven. That's where we will meet him again. Godspeed, Uncle!