leasheryn's Blog

Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, John Adams, Madison, and Monroe feared democracy.

They were educated men. Excepting Franklin (self-educated), each one had the education of an English gentleman. That is, the philosophy and the history of the whole European past had been pounded into his head before he was twelve years old. Therefore, when he was old enough to think for himself, he had thousands of years of human experience with every form of Government, to think about.

This knowledge was then regarded as necessary to every man whose birth entitled him to take any part in the government of his country.

They also knew the meaning of every word they used; they knew its Greek, Latin, or Anglo-Saxon root. Until forty years ago, this knowledge was still considered of first importance in American schools. Every pupil, at thirteen and fourteen, learned etymology as he had learned spelling since the age of six, by dogged repetition until the facts were fixed in his mind.

Today the confusion of the meaning of words in these United States is a danger to the whole world. Few American schools any longer require a pupil to dissect his words to their roots, and to know what he means when he speaks. And for twenty years the disciplined members of the Communist Party in these States have been deliberately following Lenin's instruction, "First confuse the vocabulary."

Thinking can be done only in words. Accurate thinking requires words of precise meaning. Communication between human beings is impossible without words whose precise meaning is generally understood.

Confuse the vocabulary, and people do not know what is happening; they can not communicate an alarm; they can not achieve any common purpose. Confuse the vocabulary, and millions are helpless against a small, disciplined number who know what they mean when they speak. Lenin had brains.

Today, when you hear the word "democracy," what does it mean?

These United States, of course; and England, the British Commonwealth, the British Empire, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium, part of France, Finland when Russians attack the Finns but not when Finns attack Russia; Russia when Russians fight Germans but not when Stalin signs a pact with Hitler; the kingdoms and dictatorships of the Balkans; and economic security and compulsory insurance and the check-off system of collecting labor union dues; and friendliness and neighborliness and the unique American sense of human equality, and a vote for everybody, and socialism and communism and the Spanish cause for which republicans, democrats, socialists, syndicalists, anarchists and Russian and American communists fought, and freedom and human rights and human dignity and common decency.

That is, the word has no meaning. Its meaning has been destroyed.

It was once a sound word. It is a necessary word, because no other has its real meaning. Demo-cracy means, rule by The People; as precisely as monarchy means, rule by one (person).

Demos, The People, was a fantasy imagined by the ancient Greeks, in their search for The Authority that (they imagined) controlled men. To this fantasy they attached the meaning of God, which always attaches to every form of Authority, and there are still persons who believe that "the voice of The People is the voice of God."

The People does not exist. Individual persons compose any group of persons.

So in practice, any attempt to establish democracy is an attempt to make a majority of persons in a group act as the ruler of that group.

Consider this for one moment, not in fantasy, but as applied to your own experience in groups of living persons whom you know, and you will understand why every attempt to establish democracy has failed.

Of course there is no reason to suppose that majority-rule would be desirable, even if it were possible. There is no morality or efficiency in mere numbers. Ninety-nine persons are no more likely to be right than one person is.

In the Federalist Papers, Madison stated the reason why every attempt to establish a democracy quickly creates a tyrant:

"A pure democracy can admit no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will be felt by a majority, and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. Hence it is, that democracies have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths."

The gentlemen who took responsibility for saving the American Revolution were fearful that democracy would end it. The unknown Americans, the Ebenezer Foxes, for years had been fighting Authority; each was determined "to do what was right in my own eyes." But they had no Latin or Greek, they knew nothing about all the previous efforts to make democracy work, and they were shouting for democracy.

On the other hand, the large landholders, bankers, rich merchants, and a thick-springing crop of rapacious grafters and land-speculators, led by Alexander Hamilton, the illegitimate adventurer from the West Indies who was also a genius, were demanding an American monarchy.

The real revolutionists, when they signed the Declaration of Independence and of individual freedom, were undertaking not only to win a war against impossible odds, but to create an entirely new kind of Government.

They faced the armed power of the British Empire, with thirteen disorganized, quarreling colonies at their backs, and two dangers threatening them: monarchy, and democracy.

They said nothing about The People. They repeated no nonsense about Science and Natural Law and the Age of Reason. They did not gush about the noble nature of Natural Man. They knew men. They were realists. They had no illusions about men, but they did know that all men are free.

They stood against both monarchy and democracy, because they knew that when men set up an imaginary Authority armed with force, they destroy all opportunity to exercise their natural freedom.

Educated men, they had studied the many attempts to establish democracy. The results were known twenty-five hundred years ago in Greece. Democracy does not work. It can not work, because every man is free. He cannot transfer his inalienable life and liberty to anyone or anything outside himself. When he tries to do this, he tries to obey an Authority that does not exist.

It makes no difference what he imagines this Authority to be — Ra or Baal or Zeus or Jupiter; Cleopatra or the Mikado; or Economic Necessity or the Will of the Masses or the Voice of The People; the stubborn fact is that there is no Authority, of any kind, that controls individuals. They control themselves.

Anyone in a free group can decide to give up his own idea and go along with the majority. If he does not want to do this, he can get out of the group. This is a use of freedom, an exercise of self-controlling responsibility.

But when a large number of individuals falsely believe that the majority is an Authority that has a right to control individuals, they must let a majority choose one man (or a few men) to act as Government. They will believe that the majority has transferred to those men the Majority-Right to control all individuals living under that Government. But Government is not a controlling Authority; Government is a use of force, it is the police, the army; it cannot control anyone, it can only hinder, restrict, or stop anyone's use of his energy.

As Madison says, some common passion or interest will sway a majority. And because a majority supports the ruler whom a majority chooses, nothing checks his use of force against the minority. So the ruler of a democracy quickly becomes a tyrant. And that is the swift and violent death of the democracy.

This always occurs, invariably. It is as certain as death and taxes. It occurred in Athens twenty-five centuries ago. It occurred in France in 1804, when an overwhelming majority elected the Emperor Napoleon. It occurred in Germany in 1932, when a majority of Germans — swayed by a common passion for food and social order — elected Hitler.

Madison stated the historic fact: in democracy there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. There is no protection for liberty. Hence it is, that democracies always destroy personal security (the Gestapo, the concentration camps) and the rights of property (what rights of property ownership are there in Europe, now?) and are as short in their lives as they are violent in their deaths.

"Pregnant mother to be Jennifer Prokop, 34, was walking in the grass on the side of the highway when she was hit by a red Ford Explorer.  The driver then pulled into a Kangaroo gas station and began to pump gas into the heavily damaged SUV."

And I have to ask, is this treating others as you wish to be treated yourself?  What is wrong with people that this is the way they behave towards their fellow man or woman?  This has to be by far the most horrendous example of behaving badly that has ever come across the news wires and it is INEXCUSABLE!!

How can anyone be so uncaring and unthoughtful and inconsiderate and hateful to do such a thing and simply carry on with life as though nothing out of the ordinary happened?  Are we becoming so blind to others that we refuse to see or acknowledge that we have done wrong and hurt someone else by our actions?  Are we so blind that we cannot see that there are others who cross our paths and, that sometimes in life, we are the ones who have to get out of the way?

We should be more focused and not in so much of a hurry to get where we are going that anyone who gets in our way doesn't go unseen and that we are not placing ourselves into a position where hurting someone else is of no consequence just as long as we are getting to where we are going as fast as we can.  

The other guy shouldn't be an inconvenience to us nor should they be an obstacle that we think we  have the right to mow them over when they get in our way.

THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE ITSELF AND EVERYONE SHOULD FOCUS ON PERSERVING IT, NOT DESTROYING IT FOR PETTY REASONS!!       

There are many great and beautiful cathedrals in Europe and in Britian.  I have visited quite a few of them in England and in Wales.  There is a very curious thing about cathedrals.  Wherever there is a cathedral, there is a pub (public house) right next door.  The reason is right before the cathedral was built, the masons built themselves a place where they could get refreshment while they worked. 

In that time, no one drank water.  In fact, the water was undrinkable therefore in order to purify the water, they brewed it with barley and yeast and hops and made something out of the water that was drinkable, pure and healthy.  Everyone drank ale, men, women, children and they all managed somehow to survive, to thrive and to get from place to place without falling over themselves or ending up face down in the mud.  They, in fact, were able to create great monuments, cathedrals and castles while drinking ales, whiskys, and wine. 

There was a great industry within the churches since they were making whisky from their crops and trading with it to others around their communities, country and all around Europe.   

There are too many fearmongers amongst us today who are passing on a message that we should be afraid to have a drink or for that matter we should be afraid of everything that passes our way.  The way they would have it, we are meant to be afraid of our own shadow and we are meant to be afraid to cross the street or we are meant to be afraid to converse with others who do not follow our own beliefs.

Why should we live in a bubble and live in fear?  It is up to each of us to make the decisions prudent to our lives.  It is also up to us to decide if we want to have a drink or if we wish to own a gun or if we wish to meet people outside of our own community.  If a person is willing to be responsible, to take responsibility and to live in a way that is not harmful to anyone else, we should be able to live in freedom and to have freedom of choice concerning what we do with our own lives. 

I am certainly not advocating anyone getting drunk out of their minds and acting recklessly with drink.  There's no excuse from drunkeness or public drunkeness but there are many responsible people who enjoy having a social drink or perhaps a glass of wine with supper or maybe a cocktail to relax after work.  These people are not bad or reckless or causing harm to anyone (and in fact it's said to be healthy to have a glass of wine each day). 

But we shouldn't live in fear and we shouldn't be afraid of anything in life.  We should be capable of making our own decisions and of being responsible for our actions. 

And BTW, I'm yet to meet anyone who can reasonably explain why Jesus turned water to wine at the wedding at Cana.  Particularly given the fact that no one drank water because water was undrinkable but wine was considered to be pure.   

I was wondering if we have become such a nation of moaners and groaners that we are no longer capable of taking a look at life from a more positive aspect. 

Sure everyone is down because gas prices are up and the economy stinks and is getting worse every day.  Every time we turn on the news there are reports about $4.00 gas and the fact is, it's going to keep going up and up.  The economy is down and the price of everything is rising and rising and rising. 

There seem to be a lot of complaints about the government not helping but whatever happen to helping ourselves?  In fact, while we're complaining about the government not helping, it seems to me that way back in the 90s when SUVs and minivans first started coming into the market, the government was right there with their reports saying that these vehicles were going to use too  much gas and that the country was not prepared to put large gas guzzling vehicles back on the road.  I recall reports saying all the way back in the 90s that if we started driving SUVs, minivans and pickups, that it would drag on the oil supplies and put us right back in the same situation we were in back in the 70s.  That seems to me, was the government trying to help.

However no one heeded the government reports, everyone ran out and bought large gas guzzlers and everyone who did created a situation where there is a drag on the oil supply and prices are skyrocketting.  Yet we moan and groan and complain and say the government, who warned that this situation was looming, is at fault.   

So now  here we are exactly where it was predicted we would be.  And everyone is complaining, moaning, groaning and whining.  It's about time we stopped and started to look toward a new way of living so we can get out of this situation.  It seems that many are now realizing and buying smaller cars or scooters or even bikes.  That's only a start

Just consider the bright side of things.  If we are no longer driving, that will mean that we will no longer have so much to do outside of the home.  Most of our activities will concern spending time with family and finding things to do that will connect us with what we lost touch with so long ago.

I can't see why everyone is so scared about feeding the economy.  Wouldn't it be a more positive point of view if we considered our own economy before we cared about whether or not there will be a Wal-Mart of a McDonalds in our future or if Shell or Citco or BP will still be on the corner?  Who cares?  These businesses  certainly don't care about anyone; all they care about is getting our money out of our pockets and into theirs.  Sure it's convenient to grab dinner at McDonald's or Dominos but it's convenience, not necessity.  Feeding our families should be our first concern but let's concentrate on feeding them homecooked meals prepared with fresh ingredients and give our children a future of good health. 

There are so many things that we can do or begin to do that will lead us to more positive lifestyles if only we can learn to do without the products of convenience that fill our lives and empty our pockets.  We want to prosper ourselves and not see big business prosper while we fall into poverty.   

So let's think of positive ways to move forward and defeat the economy.  And remember:

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing

And... always look on the bright side of life
{whistle}
Come on
Always look on the bright side of life
{whistle}

I have never heard such a load of rubbish as this nonsense Hillary is spouting now that she has lost the Democratic nomination for President. 

Claiming that she has lost because she is a WOMAN throws women's equality, women's liberation and  women's right to vote back 100 years.  If she is bent on continuing with this train of thought, she is going to reduce the achievements of all womankind back to the stone age. 

This negative effort to make the world feel sorry for her is a poor excuse; no not even a poor excuse, it's a BLOODY LAME EXCUSE!!  AND THE VERY WORST POSSIBLE ONE SHE CAN MAKE!!

The women who fought for equality back in the early 1900s would be ashamed to own Hillary Clinton as a product of their hard work, dedication and achievement.  Women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady and Rose Wilder Lane would twist in their graves to know that all they worked for, all their dedication was lost by the 21st century when Hillary can stand up and say she lost the nomination because she is a woman. 

Oh Pul-leaze, Hillary!  Knock it off! 

You lost because you are a whiny little twit who has no idea about reality and wouldn't know the truth if it reached out and smacked you.  You lost because you have no character, no integrity, no compassion and no heart. 

You should be glad you made it as far as you did and you should consider this as a step forward for womankind, not the step backwards you are making it out to be. 

You are pitiful and even more pitiful because you are making other women believe you.  You are leading us back, back, back and making it worse for any woman who ever decides to follow you.

I am offended!!  And your attitude gives me every right to be. 

Does anyone realize that there were more white slaves in America than there were black slaves.  The word slave itself is derived from the word slav or slavic meaning Eastern European. 

There were many types of slaves long before America was even discovered or earned it's rights as a country.  Anyone ever hear of Christians being slaves of the Roman Empire or perhaps the fact that Pharaoh kept the Isrealites in slavery during the time of Moses?  The Turks and the Arabs commonly captured both white men and women, keeping them as slaves or placing the women in harems.  Many of the men were made into Eunuchs so they would remain loyal to the sultan and leave the harems alone.  The Chinese even kept their own people as slaves. 

Human bondage or slavery long before the blacks were "victimized" in America.  However it is also a known fact that there were more WHITE slaves in America than there were black.  Many of the people who came to America during the late 1600 or early 1700 did not come of their own free will but were captured in England and brought to America as slaves.  There was also a penal colony in America, the same as in Australia, in which white European criminals were sent over and put to work as slaves.   

Even Captian John Smith of Pocohontas fame was once captured and  kept as a Turkish slave at one point in his long, interesting history. 

If everyone of white, Chinese, Jewish or even Hispanic origin who can trace their family history back far enough and found relatives who was once bond in slavery cried foul in the 21st century and demanded special priveleges, we would be in a heck of a mess.  Fortunately these people have long since moved away from anything thought of having been mistreated by the world and by history.   

So why can't the Blacks?  They were certainly not the only ones who were victims of slavery.  It seems that in studies the history of slavery, every nationality on the face of the earth were at one point or another kept as slaves.  Everyone else has overcome their history and has moved forward successfully. 

It is in fact counterproductive to continue discussing slavery as anything but a part of history that is over.  To continue to cling to the past means there is no forward movement and no hope for the future.  And that seems to be the message the blacks put out everytime the subject of slavery or the Civil War comes to light.  What they are telling us is that they refuse to move forward, they refuse to integrate like eveyone else has and that they refuse to let go of the past. 

My family is of Welsh heritage.  A great Welshman was once captured by the Irish and made a slave.  Yes, a Welsh slave in Ireland.  This man escape from bondage, returned to Wales and followed a path to Rome where he became a priest.  When he returned to his native Wales, he prepared himself for a great task and returned to Ireland bringing Christianity to a barbarian land.  This slave became a great man for having brought Christianity to Ireland.  To this day, we celebrate the life of this man on March 17.  Yes, St. Patrick--some white guy who was once a slave but left a great legacy. 

So whether anyone likes it or not, the blacks were not the only victims of slavery.  We all were at one time or another in the long history of the world.   

Okay Debra LaFave started it and now Nick Hogan has come to the belief that he too is too pretty for jail and he thinks he should have house arrest instead of being confined in isolation while he lives out his sentence. 

Oh, come on!! BE A MAN, NICK, AND STOP BEING A FUSSY LITTLE BABY!!  We've certainly heard enough from this MAMA'S BOY and yes, HIS MAMA!! 

You'll never live it down, Nick, and will be remembered for the entire rest of your life that you thought yourself too pretty for jail instead of bearing up to your punishment like a man. 

And I will tell you it's about time you stopped trying to live in a reality show and started living in actuality.  There's a real world out there with real people living real lives.  You're probably too pretty for that too.  So just get a life, get over it and BE A MAN!! 

Before leaving for Jolly Old England, our good buddy 'stang left an assignment.  500 words on how to be a better blogger.  Bear with me here because I'm not about to count words so hey if I go over 500 or fall short, sue me.  I never considered counting words a biggie. 

BEING A BETTER BLOGGER

It seems to me we have a wonderful opportunity to come together in order to give vent to our viewpoints and to discuss current issues.  Ten or twenty years ago, this opportunity didn't really exist in a forum where we could leave an opinion and receive a response so quickly nor were we able to connect with so many people at a great distance or at great speed before. 

It is good to be able to state an opinion and it is also good to hear others opinions upon the same topic.  Oftentimes another's thoughts may not be exactly the same as our or might not be what we expect.  Opinions vary from person to person since each of us are individuals.  Even so if we take a moment to stop and think of another's viewpoint, it is possible to consider a new option and perhaps form a differing opinion than the one started at. 

This vast world is quickly becoming smaller with the advent of the internet.  We are becoming able to be closer to our neighbors or to connect with others from around the country.  And we should all make a good attempt to get along and maybe not put so much effort into offending the people whose lives we are touching.

It is true that each word we speak touchs the mind, the soul and the heart of the one we are speaking to.  There is no need to offend and there is certainly no need to be a Foul Tongued Person.  We never know when we might someday be in need of a helping hand along the path of life but once you have offended, it is very hard for others to show kindness when you find yourself in need.

It boggles my mind to think of anyone putting a great deal of time or energy into making another miserable.  Using our time negatively impacts so much of our day to day lives and impacts the life of the one who is on the butt end of that misery.  It is not nice to have to worry over what will be said or done next or to live in fear that perhaps a few words of hurt will turn into an act of violence.  Once started upon a negative path, one tends to escalate  along it at lightning speed. 

Anyone who has ample time and energy to plot misery upon another has ample opportunity to use that time for the good and help another who is in need.  There is nothing more encouraging than a kind word or perhaps a compliment in the right direction. 

In conclusion, we can all be better bloggers if we first consider the feelings of the next guy before uttering a foolish or a mean word.  It just takes a moment to be nice and it takes just as long to think another's opinion is just as worthy as yours even if it is not your opinion.   

Nick Hogan is already crying home to mommy because he's landed his little behind in jail.  Does anyone else think it's about time this whiny little baby decided to act like a grown up and face his punishment like a man?

So what if he's in solitary confinement.  He certainly should have thought about it before he raced his car on the highway and wrapped it around a pole.  If he's going to be in jail and in solitary, he should make the best of it and start reflecting upon what he's done and begin to resolve himself into becoming a better person instead of carrying on like a little baby brat. 

I thought we all had enough of Paris last year when she whined her way through jail.  Buck up and be a man, Nick, and don't walk in the footsteps of Paris "the tramp" Hilton. 

And thank your lucky stars everyday that you are not in the general population.  Those big tough guys occupying the other cells are drooling at the mouth to get their hands on the skinny whimpy little piece of fresh meat that you are.  Not even daddy Hulk can save you from the fate that awaits you in the GP. 

Just sit there in your cell like a good little boy and consider yourself lucky and for crying out loud, quit complaining about being in solitary.  Sit there and think of what you've done then get down on your knees and thank the Good Lord Up Above that you will NOT spend the rest of your life in the VERY SAME solitary confinement you, BY YOUR ACTIONS, condemned your good buddy John to.   

It is scary when a mother and two of her children are brutally murdered and mutilated in their own homes.  It seems to be even scarier when the person, in the name of Edward Covington, was someone who lived in the same home as the family.  It's been over a week since these murders occurred but many will agree that it remains a haunting case.

I would say this is a clear indication that we must be selective concerning the people we allow into our lives.  Ed Covington had already brutized several cats and is clearly far from a stable personality.  Not particularly someone anyone would wish to share a bed with or to welcome into a home with small children.  Seems to me, it's a very small step from killing and mutilating a few cats to doing the same with small children and even a trusting mother.   

Okay, ladies, listen up.  Be selective who you go out with and not only that but be very selective concerning who you expect to live with your children.  Don't be a charity giver and don't feel sorry for some guy who may tell you he has no place else to go.  And particularly don't think you are going to change him.  No man, who is set in his ways, is going to change and even so he is not going to change for you, no matter how much you nag and bother him.  If he is not exactly what you want him to be or if he is not exactly the Prince Charming you are expecting, he will never become one. 

I don't know what's up with women when they think they have to be so desperate for a man that anyone will do or to be in so much of a hurry to have a domestic relationship with someone that they will move in just to find a little safety and security.  I thought the days of clinging wives was long over and a relic of the past. 

Grabbing whatever comes along because a woman feels she has to be with someone to be successful or jumping quickly into a relationship because there will never be anyone better over the horizon is a very negative attitude to have.  Women have been moaning that they have a right to make a choice concerning their own bodies for ages but they constantly make bad choices of their bedfellows and show very little pride in how they use their bodies when they allow any old body to use them like a greasy old rag.    

Women have important choices concerning their bodies and they have to learn to make these choices.  If the situation or the man doesn't seem right, says things that bother you or irritate you or display behaviors that are not particularly what they find to their tastes, that man is not worth a relationship and he is not worth the loss of pride and self-esteem.  Don't shrug it off, don't consider it a slip of the tongue or a mistake but think about him long and hard and if you don't like the way he sounds or looks or acts, drop him like a hot potato and move on.   That's the choice, don't give in; make it!!

Now that I've been hard on the girls, it's time for the guys.  The same goes for you.  A woman can be as bad as a man. Women can be demanding and peevish.  If she's nagging or expecting you to change, consider she is not right for you.  If you do something nice for her or buy a nice gift and she doesn't like it or complains or makes demands you are not willing to give in to, she will make the rest of your life as unpleasant and miserable as possible.  That's her goal.  If her way is not your way or if you find yourself giving in to her demands, don't put up with it.  Men have just the same choices as women and have as much right to get out of a relationship as a woman does. 

But mostly, save yourself a lot of trouble and be selective until the right one comes along.  So what if it takes a while or if it looks like the perfect partner isn't appearing.  Life isn't worth living with a mistake that will follow a person for the rest of their lives.  We should all be happy in our lives and living with a miserable unpleasant person is all a part of the choices that life has to offer.  Better not to make a bad choice and put effort into making a good one. 

While I was in Publix this morning, I overheard a conversation between the woman ahead of me and the cashier.  The woman stated that her son went to kindergarten this year and didn't like it.  She continued to say that she sat her son down and asked him if he wanted to go to school next year.  Her son said no, he didn't like school.  She decided that since he didn't like it, he didn't have to go the school again next year.  She thought there was little point in sending him to a place he didn't like.  She thought maybe if he wanted to go the following year, she would wait and ask him.  (I suppose if he decides he doesn't want to go the next year, she still wouldn't send him??)

Okay, so since when does a five year old child get to decide if he is going to school or not.  I thought school was  a requirement, not a choice.  Furthermore, a five year old child hasn't the ability to decide whether school is actually the right thing for him or not.  With this parent's attitude, the likelihood of this child spending anymore of his eighteen years in school is pretty much nil if the parent expects him to decide whether he is going or not. 

I have to ask, who's the stupid one here?  The parent or the child?  And who's got who wrapped around their little finger? 

There are two candidates running towards the Presidential election on the liberal side.  One a black man; the other a woman.  We all know their names, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  Is one more worthy than the other for this lofty position?  It's up to the people of this country to decide and we are all hanging on with baited breath waiting to see which of the above is going to go against Republican candidate, John McCain, in November. 

Making this decision is an important one and in doing so, the people  have to look very carefully at the abilities of each candidate, their track records and their personaiities since, if either succeeds, they will be in the public spotlight for all of 4 years.  But it seems as though there is more emphasis put on two little details instead of upon the entire scope of possibilities that have to be looked at very seriously.  Those two little details: one is a black man and the other a woman. 

It seems I hear over and over again someone uttering the line, "I'm voting for her because she's a woman" or "I'm voting for him because he'll be the first black president".  I have news for anyone who votes upon this reasoning.  YOU ARE DESCRIMINATING!!

Descriminatory

1. practicing discrimination, or showing prejudice
2. discriminating, or distinguishing

A candidate should never be distinguished as being anything other than a person and then selected due to their ability to hold the position. 

We've been pulling the race card and the woman card far too often.  In fact to the point where it is an universal excuse for every reason one is either selected for a job or not selected.  It's gone on for far too long and we should have progressed to the point where race and sex no longer matter and decisions based solely upon ability to preform. 

Everytime someone makes that excuse, pulls the race or woman card, they are descriminating and prolonging that descrimination.  Pulling that card puts emphasis upon the fact that neither of these candidates are worthy of the job based on their abilities.  Just because one is black and the other a woman doesn't make that candidate worthy of the job. 

Let's start thinking, people, and consider if you want a "face" to look at for 4 years or if you want someone who is capable at the helm of our country. 

Recent photos of Miley Cyrus published in Vanity Fair only leads towards the belief that here is yet another pop tart taking center stage and setting a poor example for pre-teens across America.  If this continues is Miley on her way to becoming another Britany, this time with her parents' approval? 

Children are already being pushed into adult situations that they are not mature enough, not ready enough and haven't the ability to understand.  They are lead to believe that what they see and what they hear is exactly the way it should be without having the ability to take a good long look at their surroundings and understand that there are options and choices all around them. 

It also seems a few years ago, women were appalled by having their bodies displayed in a subjective manner and they shouted about being ill-used and disrespected.  It seems to me that when photos such as those taken of Miley shows only that women have not moved forward in their thinking but have taken a huge step backwards if they approve this sort of behavior by a young woman displaying her body in such a manner. 

This is offensive and short-sighted at so many levels, both for young adults and for women. 

True, Miley is penitent now and says that she didn't understand.  But it was not her decision to make; it was her parents who stood aside and allowed the photo shot to go forward without questioning it or putting a stop to it.  They only decided otherwise once there was an outcrying against their behavior. 

It seems a shame when children are pushed into a spotlight, not because they have choices but because their parent's only desire is to exploit them. 

Whatever happens to Miley, let's hope she doesn't become another Britany but this incident must have put her into confusion and left her wondering where she stands in the world.   

When a parent sends a child to school, they send them with the expectation that they will receive an education.  But exactly what sort of education are they receiving at the hands of such as Debra LaFave and Stephanie Ragusa?  A couple of years ago, everyone was shouting when priests were underfire for molesting children.  Is there that much of a difference between an educational teacher and a spiritual teacher that one is less of a crime than the other?  Is one type of perversion so much different from another? 

A teacher is an educator, a role model for children, an example for a child to follow into his or her adulthood.  Many of us go through life with fond memories of a teacher who taught well or was a good mentor or gave us good advice at one time or another. 

A teacher is also someone who should be respected and they should enter their classrooms as a respectable adult.  In my day, a teacher dressed like a teacher and they stood apart as a leader in the classroom.  A teacher was in charge and didn't act like a child. 

A teacher is never a friend, never a buddy, never a pal.  A teacher is a teacher.  You never hung out with the teacher and heaven forbid the teacher ever hung out with the kids.  What kid, in their right mind, would want the teacher hanging out with them when they were doing or talking about things that only a kid would be interested in? 

It seems that parents are concerned, and rightly so, about who their children are connecting with on the internet or while text messaging.  There are alot of weird-o's out there in cyberspace but that is not the only place where weird-o's hang out.  They hang out in Burger King, on street corners and in parks.  And, it seems, they are hanging out in public schools scoping out your children as possibilities to molest, to satisfy their own needs, to steal the best years of their lives, to take away their childhood and to destroy their lives for one short moment of pleasure. 

It is time to start being concerned when your child is receiving emails, cell phone calls and text messages from a teacher.  It is time to start being concerned when your child is meeting a teacher at his or her house, at the park or if teacher is showing up at your door or bringing your child home from school.  There is no reason for a child to communicate with a teacher outside of school or on weekends.  Once school is out for the day, contact with a teacher is OVER!!

Be aware and beware.  Weird-o's and child molesters are not just on the internet, they are everywhere and waiting for the opportunity to put their hands all over your child!!