Wealth

Have you noticed how our politicians love to tell us that the United States is a “wealthy” nation? When ever you hear an election official say this, it is a good time to grab hold of your wallet. They always say this as they are ready to spend a lot of money or raise taxes. But do you really believe that most of these politicians understand wealth? Do they, and for that matter, do you understand the difference between riches and wealth. I contend that these are two different ideas. Wealth and riches are connected, but both can be very deceptive.

Have you noticed how our politicians love to tell us that the United States is a "wealthy" nation? When ever you hear an election official say this, it is a good time to grab hold of your wallet. They always say this as they are ready to spend a lot of money or raise taxes. But do you really believe that most of these politicians understand wealth? Do they, and for that matter, do you understand the difference between riches and wealth. I contend that these are two different ideas. Wealth and riches are connected, but both can be very deceptive.

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For many years the US had a wealth of natural resources. Many became rich from the exploration and utilization of these resources. Wealth is based upon what is done with it and how others value it. So there can be wealth without riches and riches without wealth. You must understand that money is useless if it has no value. So you must have wealth to have riches. But wealth can be many things.

In general terms wealth has no value until it is worth something. For years crude oil was consider worthless. Even after people learned to refine the oil much of what we consider valuable today was burned away as useless waste. That useless waste was what we call gasoline today. So wealth is a product of the mind.

Our government has been dominated for many years by Progressive Socialist. Socialist as a group, don’t understand wealth. As a group those who believe in Socialism, covet wealth. They do not know how to create it or how to use it to the betterment of the human race. They live their lives acquiring the wealth of personal power and destroying it and the freedom and ability to create wealth for everyone else. They understand that with wealth comes power.

Rich is defined as the possession of great material wealth. But wealth can come in many forms. The greatest wealth that the United States of America possesses is the wealth of freedom. From our freedom we create something that was very rare before 1776, freedom that is the envy around the world. Once this resource has been exhausted it will be depleted around the world. Those who are exploiting this resource for the purpose of destroying it are many. There quest for wealth and power can only be satisfied by taking our God given rights away from the US people.

We must realize how we have been manipulated into chasing material wealth of possessions. Too many of us think that that next possession is what we need for true happiness. We can not squander the wealth given to us by our forefathers for the ghost of happiness based upon simple material possessions. The true wealth of a person is the wealth of the human spirit.

Those who crave wealth and power for their own consumption are what they claim to hate, but the goal of Socialism has ultimately been the control of people and their ability to create wealth. So when you hear a politician or elected official talk about spreading the wealth around, you should notice that they are not talking about their own wealth and power, but yours. They are really telling you that they wish to take away your greatest wealth, your freedoms.


©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Socialism

The siren song of Socialism is very attractive. The idea that if everyone works together toward a common goal and sharing the fruits of their labor to all, draws many into this fantasy world. Everyday our youth and many Americans are told that Socialism is people working together for a common goal. The facts of history has shown that it becomes people working together under a common yoke. Without the motivation of personal gain many people see no reason to work harder than anyone else. Due to this fault those who rule over the people, in many cases in the past, turn to "iron fist" tactics to motivate. Ruling through force was the norm in the major parts of the world, until the emergence of the United States of America. Will the world once again fall into the darkness of tyranny?

There can be no personal freedoms in a socialist society. In a free society each person works toward their own goals. In a Socialist society you must work toward the government's goals. Ultimately no matter how hard you work the final results for the average member of the socialist society will be poverty. This is not the image sold by those who sell the idea but history has shown that starvation and poverty is the ultimate destination of Socialistic governments. You need to look no further then the killing fields of Cambodia or the mass starvations in 1950's China. The leftist's much loved Chairman Mao condemned millions to slow death in an effort to prove his personal theories. In blind efforts to create a perfect nation he proved to be one of the largest mass murders in history.

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The idea of mass murder seems to be acceptable to many on the left. They see nothing wrong with kill those who stand in the way of their goals. The whole time they claim that their opponents are the ones who advocate violence. With every time the leftist advocates for abortion they support the mass murder of the innocence and the manipulation of women in one of the most difficult times of their life.

The one exception is the ruling class. An examination of history shows that those who run these countries enslave the populous while living a life of luxury. Outwardly the Communist leaders put on a show that they lived no differently than the rest of the population, but the truth was very different. The only way that these leaders could stay in power also required that they keep those close to them happy. The best way to keep a person happy and loyal is through personal gain which violates the ideas of the Socialist and Communist states.

By now you may be saying that Socialism and Communism are two different systems. In answer to this I recommend that you look closely at the goals of the Socialist and Communist parties. They are both slightly different shades of the same color of red. The only thing that has slowed the movement of Socialist countries into pure Communism has been the freedoms of the US. With our slide into Socialism and the lose of our freedoms, the shining city of the hill will be gone. The Socialist of the world will then feel free to totally enslave their populations to the goals of the system. Unless we save our freedoms now, we and the entire world will fall into a darkness of pain and suffering that may never end. We will find that one day we are all slaves to people who only see us as tools, not human beings. We must stop this slide into the abyss and stand up for our freedoms, before it is too late.

©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Values

What are your values? What is your value system? I was raised in a Christian family and spent years studying the Bible. Many of the values of the West are based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. The American value system have these values. Such things as the idea of turning the other cheek which is often expressed as forgive and forget. This value maybe the reason that Americans seem to tire of war and conflict are much quicker than many of the other people on this planet. We also have such a diverse population, it is hard to stay angry at any group for very long due to this interaction we much more easily overcome our prejudices. We sometimes forget that those who wish us harm are no so forgiving.

Look how quickly we became close friends with Japan and Germany after the Second World War. We were able to quickly forgive those who we called enemy in the 1940s. I don't see any sign that the idea of forgive and forget exist in the Arab value system or the Muslim religion. In the Middle East they still teach their children the evils of the Crusades as if they occurred just a few years ago, even tho it has been around 740 years since the last Crusade. They stoke this fire of hate against the west and show no sign of changing. This is not a way to promote peace as the West understands it.

Another one is the idea of fair treatment. This is based upon the idea of the Golden Rule or do unto others as you would have them do upon you. The idea of honesty, our system of contracts, and fair dealing can be seen as having their roots in Judo/Christian values. Even many of the values that are professed by Atheist are based upon the lessons related in the religion that they hate.

One of the greatest dangers faced by the West is this misunderstanding of their own value system and what it is based upon. Too many seem to assume that our values are universal. They think that our ideas of peace, honesty, forgiveness, property, and fairness are the same world wide. They seem to think that all societies are based upon our values. Because we think peace means live and let live does not mean that other cultures believe the same thing. We must remember that when Adolf Hitler said he wanted peace, it only wanted it long enough for him to gather his forces.

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Our values have served us well in our recent past. Our blending of peoples from around the world and their integration into our society has created a very strong and diverse nation. Our internal peace stand in contrast to the home countries from which many of our immigrates have come. Those who have come to this country with the intent to join our society must learn these values to succeed. Those who carry the baggage of the past have a much harder time. This is where many of those who have come here in recent years differ from the immigrates that helped build the nation.

We find ourselves at a dangerous time. There are well know stores of Americans who have forsaken their heritage and impressed the culture of other nations. Americans who now take up arms against the US. We find that our values and trusting nature is being used against us. We believe people when they tell us they only want peace without questioning the meaning of that statement. It is frightening to see how many people never question when told "Muslims don't lie" without knowing the truth behind that statement. Too many of us accept the view of foreign countries about this country and that our system is evil, when they have never been taught or bothered to read our governing documents. We expect all religious leaders to show the same values, without knowing their values.

We have been told that we are intolerant when we are the most tolerant nation in the world. Looking at the Middle East I don't see tolerance. I see hate in the Arab nations. For a people who say they don't lie and only want peace, they seem to only preach hate and genocide. They say one thing among themselves and another to us. This is not part of American values but is within their value system. We must understand our value system, but we also understand the value systems of others. We must also understand the goals of those who we deal with around the world.


©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Compromise

I remember something that politicians would say from years ago. They would say that the only way that anything happened in Washington was through compromise. That without compromise then there was only deadlock. This statement never really rang true for me. I understand that when ever you work with others you are never going to get 100% of what you want. But the word compromise also different meanings.

From dictionary.reference.com/

com·pro·mise   [kom-pruh-mahyz] Show IPA noun, verb, -mised, -mis·ing.
–noun
1. a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.
2. the result of such a settlement.
3. something intermediate between different things: The split-level is a compromise between a ranch house and a multistoried house.
4. an endangering, esp. of reputation; exposure to danger, suspicion, etc.: a compromise of one's integrity.
–verb (used with object)
5. to settle by a compromise.
6. to expose or make vulnerable to danger, suspicion, scandal, etc.; jeopardize: a military oversight that compromised the nation's defenses.
7. Obsolete .
a. to bind by bargain or agreement.
b. to bring to terms.
–verb (used without object)
8. to make a compromise or compromises: The conflicting parties agreed to compromise.
9. to make a dishonorable or shameful concession: He is too honorable to compromise with his principles.

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Throughout life we must make certain compromises. I would have loved to gone to the local pancake house for breakfast this morning, but I decided it was better for my weight and general health to have cereal and skip the extra fat and sugar. I wanted to get the extra large milk shake yesterday at the Dairy Queen, but I decided to get the small. We make this decisions everyday and call them compromises, but these are just choices we must make or endanger our happiness, wellbeing, and general lives. There are times when you have choices to make, but you need to consider the long term as much as the short term.

When I was young that was something that I remember being told; "never compromise your principles or values." Over the years our elected officials have compromised too many times. Piece by piece I've seen our American values denigrated, denied, and chipped away. The compromises made slowly gave those on the left what they wanted and has been eating away at our freedoms. I also remember being told by a friend a story of his marriage, He said that his wife wanted a cat, he didn't want a cat. So they compromised...and got a cat. This is the same way our government has been working for years. The Progressives haven't always get what they wanted at one time, but they keep pushing their agenda until they finally get every thing they want. Today we see the Progressives saying that anyone opposed to their radical agenda are only saying NO with no real answers. But with a President and Congress that is willing to pass 2000 to 3000 page bills without bothering to read them, it is time to say no. They are giving us no reason to trust what they say or do. Doing nothing sometimes is better than doing the wrong thing.

They have used our system against us. Our system only works if both sides play by the same rules and there must be trust and honor. Starting in the 1990s we lost our freedom of speech through the process of "political correctness" that was pushed through the Left Stream Media. But while our freedom of speech was compromised, the "protected" peoples are allowed to say anything. Slowly but surely other of our rights are being eroded. Few people even realize or don't seem to care about the dangerous growth of power that is being centralized into Washington. It is clear that those in Washington have become to use to the art of compromise and are willing to takeaway our freedoms. As these people continue to collect and centralize their power, they will compromise away our nation.

We can no longer compromise our values, principles, ethics, and morals. If we expect to save our freedoms then these compromises must stop and we must protect and reclaim our liberties. We must reclaim our God given rights, and run the tyrants out of power. Honor and ethics must return to the nations vocabulary. We must not stand for those who compromise our system who don't enforce the laws and attack those who enter the national debate and asks for a fair hearing. Because any sailor knows that a ship no matter how big will sink once its structure has been compromised beyond repair.



©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

The Scouts

Image via Wikipedia

I never made it to the Boy Scouts. The troop that I was a member of when I was a Cub Scout disbanded. If you read my other blog you know this already. The time I spent in this organization were happy times and I wish I could have become a Boy Scout. If I had sons I would have supported and encouraged them to pursue Scouting. Since I don't, I never felt that it was proper to seek involvement in the organization. But I support their goals and oppose those who have attacked them for personal, and as far as I'm concerned evil, reasons.

Our society can only succeed if we have honest hard working people that respect each other and for themselves. We need people who think and plan for the future. Scouting's slogan of "always be prepared" is something to always keep in mind. Another thing that Scouting teaches is loyalty to something greater than yourself. These type of values don't fit into many of those on the left ideas of total dependence on government and political organizations. The left constantly shows nothing but hates for everything that is scouting.

Now for over 100 years the Scouting organization has been a guiding light for youth all over the world. It is a time to celebrate this great accomplishment and show support for the people who have dedicated their time to build up our youth. Maintaining such Scouting has not been easy over the last few decades as the Progressives have once again raised their ugly heads. But Scouting still works to continue its mission of hope, charity, and honor.

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For over the more that two centuries this has existed the man who held our top administrative office has had or at least shown concern for the future of the country. The future of this country is its youth. This country has a proud history of our future leaders, both local and national, learning very important life lessons in the Scouts. Leadership is an important lesson, but loyalty is another to the nation is another. Our nation was once a nation of laws and now with the move to social justice, we need people who understand the difference between equal and social justice. As a scout we learned about not only justice, but faith. That was faith in a higher power and those who deserved trust. For our nation to continue and be restored we need leaders who have learned many of the lessons of Scouting. This can only happen with the support of our leaders.

It would have been great for the President to have taken the time to travel across the river to Virgina to show support and help to inspire the youth of America would have gained him some respect from a lot of people. But his choice of traveling to New York to appear on The View may gain him appeal from the female that watch that program, did not impress me on what he considers important. He decided that it was more important to campaign once again, as he spits in the face of a lot of Americans. Of course he seems to enjoy tearing down American institutions. This continued lack of respect for American values and the view of anyone except his far left wing radicals continues to demonstrate that there are deep down hatred of those Anti-American root run.

At such a momentous occasion as the 100th year anniversary I congratulate and celebrate this event. I welcome all of those who join in on this grand event. I just wish that there were more loyal Americans who actually loved the country enough to do the same. But I fear that there are so many in this country that now hate the nation, that unless we can turn the nation around, the scouts may not see another 100 years.

©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

John Kerry

Times are so hard that the multi-millionaire John Kerry had to cut back on the expenses on his $7 million yacht. It seem the answer was to avoid taxes. But when you are part of the "ruling elite" who has spent his life exempting yourself from the laws you pass, I guess it is easy to think that you don't have to pay taxes. It would be nice if those who were suppose to be looking our for the country actually related to those they were representing. Oh sure, now that he has been discovered, he is going to pay the taxes. That is not the point. The real point is that the rich elite who is attacking those who create real jobs and working to destroy the underpinnings of the nation. Those who are responsible for the problems plaguing our nation are members of the ruling elite. This ruling elite is no longer looking out for the good of the country, but are only looking out for themselves.

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Once again we are looking at an individual who has become so comfortable with his luxury that he does not understand normal life. His claim that the yacht was being repaired would hold a little more water if the purchase had been registered in the state of Massachusetts. But if the reports of it being registered out of state is true, then he is lying about his open attempt to avoid taxes. It seems that as a member of a party that is not afraid to attack the rich and privileged he would be careful. But once again those with the true power feel that they are above us all. Don't get me wrong, I do not covet Sen. Kerry's property or riches. It is hypocrisy that bother me. These are reported to be pictures of the yacht and looks to be very nice.

There are those who are trying to say that it is about how it looks for him to buy such a lavish boat during hard economic times. There are those who are saying that this is about the taxes alone. There are those who say that it is not important. Well what ever you think is up to you, but I'm glad that this man who is this intellectually dishonest never obtained the office of President. Oh wait...maybe not him, but I wonder how our current and past Presidents would have done the same thing. I hope more people understand why character matters. Because John Kerry's actions seem to show a lack of character.


©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

A Few Things To Ponder For The Week of 7-16-10

This week there are a few quick thoughts I wanted to share:
1. For the last 87 days BP has been using robots to try and cap an oil leak that is 5000 feet below the ocean. It seem to me that there is a government agency that has a lot of experience using robots millions of miles away. Did they contact these experts to see if they help? Oh sorry I forgot that NASA is busy helping the Muslim nations feel better about themselves.

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2. If NBPP and KKK members show up to watch the polls around the nation then who do you think will be prosecuted? If only the KKK is involved in voter intimidation in November will the AG drop the charges? The precedent has been set in the NBPP case. The Democrat Party seems to care about precedent more than the actual law, so it would seem that voter intimidation is no long a major offence. I hope we don't find out, but with the precedent set, no one knows for sure.

3. Now that the oil spill in the gulf has been capped, we can expect that the news media will no longer cover the cleanup. Will the government continue to stand in the way of drilling or will they wait until all the rigs leave for Brazil and then announce that the moratorium has been lifted?

4. Is there anything sadder than an organization that has outlived its usefulness and has to pick fights to gain attention.

5. I wonder if people were hoping that with the economic downturn and the spill in the gulf, gas prices would have skyrocketed and fewer people would be vacationing this summer. Why do you suppose gas prices are stable and people are driving more?
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.

©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.