Tuesday, August 18, 2009

"Retirement sucks"

At least that is what Bret Favre thinks. One of the greatest quarterbacks in history has for the second time come out of retirement. Financially he has more money than any of us could dream of having, and yet he could care less about the money. After all, his wardrobe consists of jeans and t-shirts. And now he is coming back for his 19 th year in the NFL; a punishing career that only a few could endure.

So why would he do this? I'll tell you why - he is a classic example of someone who just loves his job so much he finds it very difficult to give it up. Even though the chances of more injuries become higher as he continues to play a young mans game, he cannot let it go.

How many of you could say the same thing? If you were financially independent would you still be obsessed with continuing your career? I don't think so. That is why it is so impressive to see this kind of passion from a person that truly loves his work. I had the same experience for 35 years; a job that I was "passionate" about - but sadly that does not seem to be the case now with many young people.

After a lifetime of a career that I loved, I am happy in retirement and someday Bret Favre will feel the same. Let's hope he does not destroy his body in the process of pursuing his passion for football. I wish him well in the NFL this year.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

"Snitch on your neighbor"

The U.S. government blog website is asking you to "snitch" on your neighbor regarding the health care debate. They claim there is a lot of misinformation being spread about the Health Care Bill and they cannot track it all. So they want your help to "spy" for them and fight back against citizens who are against this bill. Here is what the White House blog says:

"If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

I snitched on this blog today. I sent an email to their blog site and told them that this blog has been spreading misinformation since it insinuated that members of Congress were voting on this 1000 page Health Care Bill without reading it. I told them I could not believe that was true. Being a loyal snitch I also told them that people were saying that even President Obama has not read this bill...can you believe people are saying that? And sadly some of these people accusing the President of not reading the bill are my friends and unfortunately I may have to report them also.

So be a loyal snitch and email the above address if you see or hear anything about this bill that seems "fishy". After all, if we can't trust our government to be truthful, who can we trust?

Sunday, August 2, 2009

"Cash for Cluckers"

I'm glad to see that there is still some humor left in Washington. A Republican Congressman, who is against these massive government giveaways like the "Cash for Clunkers" program, suggests we consider a new bill: "Cash for Cluckers". His reasoning: "Why should we just subsidize the auto industry, why not the poultry industry?" His proposal is a $10 rebate check from the government every time we eat a chicken or turkey.

This is funny, but there is a deeper message in this "giveaway" madness that has come from Washington for a long time. We are becoming a society that just looks at the government as one big handout. My parents who went through the great depression would find this disgusting. We are turning from a nation of hard working, industrious and creative "givers" to a nation of "takers". And the Democrats know that by creating a society of "takers" that depend on the government, they have a greater chance of keeping power. And I believe that has always been the liberal plan. Think about it - after trillions of dollars spent the last 50 years on Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" which created one welfare program after another, we now have just as many poor people dependent on the government as we did then. Think about how that money could have been spent on programs to educate and create jobs for those poor people.

Giveaways by the government do not create jobs they create dependents.

A new study that came out today showed that now the top 1% of taxpayers in the country pays more taxes than the bottom 95%. That is almost hard to believe. But many will say, "Well they are so rich they can afford it". Maybe so, but what if that 1% like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs....all the innovators of the last decades, and what if all the innovators of the future, finally reach a point where they say "The hell with it, it's just not worth working so hard".

My son recently suggested that a good book for all of us to read is "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire". The analogy may not be the same, but one thing is for sure - when more people are "taking out" of a society than those that are "putting in" - the society will collapse.