U.S. presidential election

 

Copied from a shipmate.

 

In just eleven weeks, it will be over. The U.S. presidential election, I mean. Not the end of the world. But maybe the end of our nation, as we have known it. 

No, I will not be voting for Biden.... I am not voting for the man. 

I am not rallying for a personality. 

I am not pushing a person. 

At this point, I am voting for one thing and one thing only. 

I am voting for the principles for which this country has stood since its founding. 

§  I am voting for Constitutional government. 

§  I am voting for a strong and viable military. 

§  I am voting for a vibrant economy. 

§  I am voting for the right to keep and bear arms. 

§  I am voting for the freedom to worship. 

§  I am voting for a national recognition of the founding of our nation on Biblical principles. 

§  I am voting for the ability for anyone to rise above their circumstances and become successful. 

§  I am voting for my children and grandchildren to be able to choose their own path in life, including how and where their children are educated. 

§  I am voting for our borders to be open to everyone who enters under our law and closed to everyone who would circumvent or ignore the law. 

§  I am voting for the Electoral College to remain in place, so that a few heavily populated liberal centers do not control the elections. 

§  I am voting for a Supreme Court that interprets the Constitution rather than rewrites it. 

§  I am voting to teach history, with all of its warts, not erase it or revise it. 

§  I am voting for the sanctity of life from conception to birth and after.

 

Now, there are some things I am voting against. 

§  I am voting against open borders. 

§  I am voting against a rampant welfare system that enslaves its recipients. 

§  I am voting against socialism, in all of its forms, including health care, redistribution, reparations, economics, governmental control, pedophilia, and criminal releases, etc. I would rather pay for prison reform then see the criminals released to repeatedly commit the same crimes!

§  So, although I don’t give blanket approval to everything our President has done or said in the past, I do support him as our president! 

§  I am not voting against Joe Biden, but I am voting against everything that the party backing him and propping him up stands for. 

§  It is not the Democratic Party of the past. 

 

Eleven weeks is all we have.

Are you Honest?

By Terry Orr

April 30th is National Honesty Day in America.  The land of the free and brave - and we need to celebrate or encourage ourselves and others to be honest.

Ain't That the Truth!

I think Mark captured thing right and we should all strive to be honest in all our daily activities and relationships with others.

Excellent quote!  

It's a shame our elected officials lack the courage, strength, and character to be open and honest.

Absolutely and totally agree!

Well stated!

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National Ethics Awareness Month - 2013

By Terry Orr

What does ethics mean to you?

For me, it has nearly always been doing the right thing.  Like most of us we do our best - but sometimes we miss the mark.  While researching this topic, looking for a different perspective and perhaps finding better insight and understanding of ethics.

Santa Clara University, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (see link below) article - “What is Ethics?” open my eyes and broaden my personal understanding.  The following excerpt provides a summary of this article.

• Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.
• Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.

The other topic to broaden our understanding is the different types of Ethics, such as: 

• Bioethics;
• Business; 
• Government; 
• Internet;
• Environmental; 
• Global; 
• Immigration; 
• Legal; 
• Media; 
• Religious; 
• Technology; and
• Others.

What are your thoughts on Ethics?

References and Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics (interesting discussion Descriptive ethics)

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html 

http://www.ethics.org 

Get to know your Customer Day – January 17th

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By Terry Orr

Last July, I wrote my first article on this subject – background information, different personal styles, and good examples of successful business people.  Today we will share how others incorporate knowing their customers into their business.

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Salesopedia suggests: How well do you know your customers? Sure you’re good at filling out the contact information on an application or completing the customer data on your CRM system, but to you really know your customers? Do they follow sports, if so which sport? Are they Steelers or Patriots fans? Do they enjoy theater, opera, or do they love jazz?

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A happy customer is one that will spend, spend, and spend!  While specific days this year are designated as Get to Know Your Customers Day – January 17, April 18, July 18 and October 17 – you should take time each day to know your customer throughout the year. You can gain valuable insight into theirs and your business and strengthen profitable business relationships.  Customers are the backbone (and reason) for all businesses.  Without a healthy clientele, there would be no business.  Take the time to know who come to your establishment on this day and every day.

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‘Actions speak louder than words!’  We have all heard this old expression and it is as important today as it was a hundred years ago. The foundations of any good relationship are based upon these key tenets: Honesty, Respect, Integrity, and Trust!

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In closing, please visit The Dogs Bakery blog site – an excellent example of knowing your customer and letting them know how important and special they are.

Three Dog Bakery

References and Links:

http://blog.salesopedia.com/?p=271

http://threedogblog.com/office-personalities/get-to-know-your-customer-day/

2012 Elections – First

It is almost here!
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By Terry Orr

This November 6, 2012 will be my 12^th opportunity to help decide who will be the next president of the United States and quite possibly the most important one of them all. While I personally do not support nor recommend the presidential candidates, the key issues and critical need for ‘strong’, ‘legal’, ‘honest’ and ‘doing the right thing’ are essential.  In addition, mending this country and bringing us back together.

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Researching the internet for the current Top/Critical/Important issues for this upcoming election has proved interesting and has varied somewhat dramatically.  According to Rasmussen Reports dated September 21, 2012 the Top 10 issues and how important each issue was based upon two recent surveys.

Top 10 Issues

Issue	Very Important
Economy	80%
Health Care	66%
Gov't Ethics and Corruption	66%
Taxes	58%
Energy Policy	52%
Education	61%
Social Security	60%
Immigration	45%
National Security/War on Terror	52%
Afghanistan	35%

Top 15 Issues (in alphabetical order) according to CNN Politics:

Abortion	Debt & Deficit	Economy
Education	Environment/Global Warming	Foreign Policy
Gun Control	Health Care	Illegal Immigration
Jobs	Role of Government	Same-Sex Marriage
Social Security/Medicare	Taxes	Terrorism

Top 5 Issues according to FoxNews:

1. Federal Spending
2. Jobs and Economy
3. Government Regulation
4. Illegal Immigration
5. Health Care

An alternative perspective comes from HubPages article titled “The 2012 US Presidential Election won’t change a broken government.” Now when I read this title, my first impression was someone is looking at the glass – half empty, but then I read the entire article and guess what?  It actually has some very valid points and even makes sense when you step back, reflect and think – this person may have just hit the mark.  In additions, there are some very good comments from readers that you might want to consider.

Here are some samples of the article and you can read all by clicking here. (provide link)

• For the last 100 years to government of the United States of American has been breaking down. Each election during that time took it down a notch.
• A good US Government would be the color or shade of purple, not the red and blue of the two parties.
• The reason for the breakdown is the two party system of the democrats and the republicans.
• These two parties have demonstrated that they believe in the party over the country.
• They rarely compromise on an issue, even if the compromise would be beneficial for the people and the country.
• They compete with each other, refuse to work with each and the country has fallen over this repetition of stubbornness.
• They have created a division among the people that is as divisive as was slavery.

Top Issues:

1. Economy - Without a strong economy the US is no longer a Super Power, they are just another country that failed.
2. Employment - Without jobs even a strong economy won't help the people. The jobs that were lost over the last decade were mainly in the middle class.
3. Housing - With a bad economy and high unemployment along with the housing and banking scam that culminated in the economic crash of 2008 many people lost their homes.
4. National Defense - 911 showed the weakness of our national defense. The same type of miscommunication that allowed Japan to attack Hawaii was also involved in 911.
5. Energy - Dependence on foreign oil, and oil in general are issues beyond economics, they also include National Defense, as well as the Environment. Without enough oil the military defense of this country is at peril.
6. Voting Integrity - With the close races of the George W Bush elections, it is obvious that even a few votes from those people that are not qualified to vote can make a difference in the outcome of the election.

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Commentary by author

It is entirely past time for the Office of the President, cabinet and congress to get down to the business of running this country and end the petty bickering and finding excuses for not doing their job.

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Please, register, take some time review the issues, candidates, and items that are going to be on your ballot and vote!  Less than 57% of American votes actually cast their vote in 2008!!

What do you say America?

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References and Links:

• http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/importance_of_issues
• http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2012/hot-campaign-issues
• http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/campaign-issues.html
• http://ibradmasters.hubpages.com/hub/What-do-you-think-are-the-ten-most-important-issues-for-2012

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