Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Good Things to Come
I would like to name a son after Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He has always been able to touch a personal chord in me, and I think he has that effect with most who hear his messages. I loved this story the first time I heard it and I loved it when I watched the video again today. It's nice to spend some time away from the world just uplifting my Spirit. Don't you quit; there is help and happiness ahead. It will be all right in the end. Trust God, and believe in good things to come.
And The Winner Is...
And the winner is...no one. Obama has been reelected and most people I know are disappointed and disheartened that Romney isn't in the Captain's chair, but the way I see it there isn't much room to move for the President, no matter who is elected. The Senate and the House are in such bipartisan gridlock that I predict the next four years being as stagnant as the last, unless Obama comes up with a way to act without Congress, which is what he's been aiming for the last two years as a result of Republicans blocking his every move. So we might be seeing an increase in executive orders, but the way I see it, the President is just a figurehead. The elite of America and Congress are the ones who really call the shots and we're just along for the ride. I hold firmly to the idea that more power should be given to the states to govern themselves. There is no possible way that those residing in the District of Columbia can effectively govern such a vast nation.
While I'm at it, I have strong feelings about social programs and what they've grown to stand for (i.e. laziness, deceit, and bitter feelings from those of us missing a big chunk of our paychecks) and if my voice were heard, it would call for the federal government to relinquish control of our social programs and give the power to the states. It would take giant ratification and a willingness of the federal government to act more like the parent of a child off at college rather than the parent of a toddler but we need a more hands off approach and a better system of checks, balances, and accountability. And stop the handouts! I have a whole other rant on that.
But on to companies moving their business over-seas. Bottom line, stop crying about it. When CEOs outsource it decreases jobs in America. That's unfortunate. I agree that it's not a very kind thing to do, but the government is not here to enforce kindness. Not their job. When talking politics, this is the debate Felipe and I always have. Yes, the rich should give more to the poor than the rest of us. Yes, CEOs should keep their companies on our soil and encourage job creation. Yes, they should be kind and moral and patriotic. But they all aren't, and it is not the government's job to make them act in kind and moral and patriotic ways, at least not in this respect. Certainly hang the Benedict Arnolds, but to take advantage of cheaper labor is unfortunate for our workforce, but a sound business move (at least in the short term). People should be kind, but not compelled to be kind. Parents of toddlers compel their toddlers to be kind and to clean up after themselves. Parents of 20 year olds have their opinions but step back and let their children live their lives. I think the only recourse that should be taken is that businesses that fire America and hire Asia should be taxed more. That's it. Tax them for all the taxes America would have received from citizen employees should they have kept their citizen employees and make it so the CEOs can't reduce their paychecks to foreign employees as a result, then leave them alone. Moving their company is their choice to make. Seeking cheaper labor is inconsiderate, but America has long since thrown manners out the window. Rant over. Now if you REALLY want to know how I feel about social programs, ask me about my year working for a disability law firm. I can't tell you how many times people would ask for my help with getting disability benefits and then admit they weren't disabled, they just wanted money. I was constantly disgusted with Americans. That experience completely turned me into a cynic about our nation.
In other news, yesterday was the first time in my life I understood the electoral college. If it doesn't make sense to you, check out this article: http://people.howstuffworks.com/question472.htm. I also now have a better understanding about what happened between Bush and Gore and how upset Gore must have really been.
This election has made me lose faith in our media. Sure facebook and reddit are always what they're going to be. But CNN? Fox? NBC? Come on, what happened? I was ok with Fox until I realized they were so incredibly pro-Romney that they were reporting falsely as well. Two news stations would give two completely polar reports of the same event that I just got disgusted and not a little confused.
And now I'm done. I'm done with the facebook posts, the NPR reports, the doomsayers claiming Obama is the anti-Christ, and ignorant people trying to convince me that Obama has secret concentration camps and a secret civilian army. I'm also done with people telling me how they don't understand why a Mormon wouldn't want to elect a Mormon. Please. Do not elect someone just because they have something in common with you. Yes, Mormons usually practice higher than average standards, but there are plenty of Mormons that I would NOT want in the white house, righteous as they may be. So bah to them, and bah to it all.
While I'm at it, I have strong feelings about social programs and what they've grown to stand for (i.e. laziness, deceit, and bitter feelings from those of us missing a big chunk of our paychecks) and if my voice were heard, it would call for the federal government to relinquish control of our social programs and give the power to the states. It would take giant ratification and a willingness of the federal government to act more like the parent of a child off at college rather than the parent of a toddler but we need a more hands off approach and a better system of checks, balances, and accountability. And stop the handouts! I have a whole other rant on that.
But on to companies moving their business over-seas. Bottom line, stop crying about it. When CEOs outsource it decreases jobs in America. That's unfortunate. I agree that it's not a very kind thing to do, but the government is not here to enforce kindness. Not their job. When talking politics, this is the debate Felipe and I always have. Yes, the rich should give more to the poor than the rest of us. Yes, CEOs should keep their companies on our soil and encourage job creation. Yes, they should be kind and moral and patriotic. But they all aren't, and it is not the government's job to make them act in kind and moral and patriotic ways, at least not in this respect. Certainly hang the Benedict Arnolds, but to take advantage of cheaper labor is unfortunate for our workforce, but a sound business move (at least in the short term). People should be kind, but not compelled to be kind. Parents of toddlers compel their toddlers to be kind and to clean up after themselves. Parents of 20 year olds have their opinions but step back and let their children live their lives. I think the only recourse that should be taken is that businesses that fire America and hire Asia should be taxed more. That's it. Tax them for all the taxes America would have received from citizen employees should they have kept their citizen employees and make it so the CEOs can't reduce their paychecks to foreign employees as a result, then leave them alone. Moving their company is their choice to make. Seeking cheaper labor is inconsiderate, but America has long since thrown manners out the window. Rant over. Now if you REALLY want to know how I feel about social programs, ask me about my year working for a disability law firm. I can't tell you how many times people would ask for my help with getting disability benefits and then admit they weren't disabled, they just wanted money. I was constantly disgusted with Americans. That experience completely turned me into a cynic about our nation.
In other news, yesterday was the first time in my life I understood the electoral college. If it doesn't make sense to you, check out this article: http://people.howstuffworks.com/question472.htm. I also now have a better understanding about what happened between Bush and Gore and how upset Gore must have really been.
This election has made me lose faith in our media. Sure facebook and reddit are always what they're going to be. But CNN? Fox? NBC? Come on, what happened? I was ok with Fox until I realized they were so incredibly pro-Romney that they were reporting falsely as well. Two news stations would give two completely polar reports of the same event that I just got disgusted and not a little confused.
And now I'm done. I'm done with the facebook posts, the NPR reports, the doomsayers claiming Obama is the anti-Christ, and ignorant people trying to convince me that Obama has secret concentration camps and a secret civilian army. I'm also done with people telling me how they don't understand why a Mormon wouldn't want to elect a Mormon. Please. Do not elect someone just because they have something in common with you. Yes, Mormons usually practice higher than average standards, but there are plenty of Mormons that I would NOT want in the white house, righteous as they may be. So bah to them, and bah to it all.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Activities That Are Better Than Thinking About the Election
What is better than thinking about the election? Moving a chicken coop! Laura decided today that she wanted the chicken coop on the other side of the yard so off we went! We pushed and dragged and grunted our way across the mud and then used the little red wagon to pull it the rest of the way. We were so proud! You can just barely see the little red wagon under the coop. I thought the poor thing would buckle but Laura never doubted.
Finished product! This will hopefully get rid of the fly problem, or at least move the flies away from the house. The brown chicken has been brooding lately so I researched yesterday how to get her to stop and was surprised (and amused) to find that dunking a brooding hen in a cool bucket of water will usually snap her out of it! Turns out chickens, like humans, experience a rise in temperature when they're ovulating or ready to nest, so a quick dunk in cool water will lower the temperature and switch off the nesting need in their brains. Maybe we should do this with baby hungry teenagers....
Monday, November 5, 2012
Pleasant Surprise
Dear Friends,
I saw this mormon ad on a friend's blog post today and went into it thinking "Great, another Mormon video specifically designed to manipulate my feelings and make me cry. Fantastic." However, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't sappy, it was upbeat and all around a feel good video without the underhanded manipulation. So enjoy!
Dear Friends, I'm back! Katelyn is going the way of all the Earth and it reminded me that I really did enjoy blogging. I am back again to being (for the most part) unemployed but this time around it's great. I feel guilty that Felipe is working so much, but I am not bored in the least. Part of this is due to my new favorite website, coursera.org. Some of the courses I've signed up for haven't started yet (like intro to Astronomy-for which I am MOST excited!!) but the physics class through Udacity.com is taking up a lot of my time and I love it.
Another thing that is keeping me busy right now is this little thing:
We've been acting sort of like foster parents for her for the past two weeks. Her real owners got her from someone who had found her in the wild, but then they went out of town and couldn't care for her and we've kept her a little longer than originally planned because she was so sick and tiny. I've really enjoyed having her around! Our two cats have warmed up to her and they all get along fine, except for when the little baby is trying to eat and one of ours tries to get some food too. She'll growl them away and slap at the food so they can't get anything. If she hadn't been so feisty, I doubt she would have survived as long as she had so there's something to be said for that.
Another fun new thing I've been doing is requesting patriarchal blessings for direct line ancestors through LDS.org. Now this has been really fun! I mentioned what I was doing to Violet and now she's on board too. It's been fun comparing notes and I wish I was going to Utah for Thanksgiving so we could compare notes in person. I especially loved my Grandpa's Grandpa's blessing, Frederick Granger Williams (b 1853). We're trying to swing a trip to Utah for Christmas and get all of our left behind stuff then but don't know if it'll work out. We'll see.
Another thing that is keeping me busy right now is this little thing:
Another fun new thing I've been doing is requesting patriarchal blessings for direct line ancestors through LDS.org. Now this has been really fun! I mentioned what I was doing to Violet and now she's on board too. It's been fun comparing notes and I wish I was going to Utah for Thanksgiving so we could compare notes in person. I especially loved my Grandpa's Grandpa's blessing, Frederick Granger Williams (b 1853). We're trying to swing a trip to Utah for Christmas and get all of our left behind stuff then but don't know if it'll work out. We'll see.
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