National and International Anti-Corruption Day

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By Terry Orr

Put a stop to bribery and corruption or risk leading business down a path of destruction!

International Anti-Corruption Day

9 December 2012

International Anti-Corruption Day - In 2010 the Secretary-General of the United Nations broadcasted a message loud and clear about the role of the day!

So what is anti-corruption? It’s businesses taking the initiative to adopt strong policies against corruption. Why? Because corruption crimes like bribery and extortion, corporate espionage can be detrimental to businesses and eventually democracy.

And there are signals that corruption could be occurring. If cash payments seem abnormal, lavish gifts are appearing out of the blue or normal procedures are suddenly being bypassed you might want to consider if there is something else at work.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has opened a past event which saw her voicing some very serious words about the issue! She emphasized the importance of fighting together to prevent the weakening of our economic climate by stopping criminals from feeding into black markets. Basically, the clearer the rules and leadership, the more transparent organizations will be forced to become! (Source: national-awareness-days.com)

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2012 Theme: Act Against Corruption Today

Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Corruption undermines democratic institutions, slows economic development and contributes to governmental instability. Corruption attacks the foundation of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes, perverting the rule of law and creating bureaucratic quagmires whose only reason for existing is the soliciting of bribes. Economic development is stunted because foreign direct investment is discouraged and small businesses within the country often find it impossible to overcome the "start-up costs" required because of corruption. (Source: UN)

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Corruption is an appearance known since ancient times, and includes practically every corner of the world. Recently this problem is perceived negatively in the international scale. Corruption, after the organized crime, is regarded as the greatest threat to the economy and democracy.

Corruption deprave society and denies the fundamental moral values. It is a crime primary associate with the public sector, but also applies to business, where impede free competition. (Source: Pepe.com)

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So my fellow citizens I ask you just how the heck can we correct this significant and ever increasing dilemma?

• Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual; the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country. ~ Karl Kraus
• I am against government by crony. ~ Harold L. Ickes
• I have often noticed that a bribe has that effect -- it changes a relation. The man who offers a bribe gives away a little of his own importance; the bribe once accepted, he becomes the inferior, like a man who has paid for a woman. ~ Graham Greene
• Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life. ~ Saul Alinsky

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Top 7 Corruption Quotes:

1.    “Corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency.”  - Unknown

2.    “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

3.    “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” - Lord Acton

4.    "Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power." - George Bernard Shaw

5.    "Power attracts the corruptible. Absolute power attracts the absolutely corruptible." - Frank Herbert

6.    "It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many. Hatred, malice, rudeness, intolerance, and suspicion are the faults of weakness. The resentment of the weak does not spring from any injustice done to them but from their sense of inadequacy and impotence. We cannot win the weak by sharing our wealth with them. They feel our generosity as oppression." - Eric Hoffer

7.    "Money is truthful. If a man speaks of his honor, make him pay cash." - Robert A. Heinlein

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Depending upon your source of information the past US Presidential cost exceeds $4 billion and up to $8 billion.  There are lots of folks wanting something for all that money.  Think of all the good that kind of money could take care of – especially in the wake of Sandy.  Is there any hope of changing the direction we are headed in America?

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Your thoughts and recommendations are most welcome!

References and Links:

• http://www.national-awareness-days.com/international-anti-corruption-day.html
• http://www.un.org/en/events/anticorruptionday/
• http://www.aeriagloris.com/YesToRiches/Top7CorruptionQuotes.htm

National Candy Corn Day

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By Terry Orr

Talk about your SUGAR HIGH – for generations, kids have been getting that high from these tasty morsels.  They are so small – it is difficult to pass up getting a few sitting in your candy dish.

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According to Punchbowl.com - Did you know that candy corn has been around for more than 100 years and has never changed its look, taste, or design?

George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company created candy corn in the 1880s. It was made to mimic a kernel of corn and became instantly popular because of its innovative design. It was one of the first candies to feature three different colors!

For those Chocolate Lovers
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And according to Wikipedia -Candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup, wax, artificial coloring and binders.[2] A serving of Brach's Candy Corn consists of nineteen pieces, and contains 140 calories and zero grams of fat.  The top branded retailer of candy corn, Brach's, sells enough candy corn each year to circle the earth 4.25 times if the kernels were laid end to end.

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All of my grandchildren, nieces and nephews love Candy Corn – so we keep a good supply on hand, especially around Halloween time.

National Bosses Day

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By Diane Forrest

I have had several bosses in my life.  My first boss was the father of the children I babysat for.  He was a nice man who owned a skating rink.  On Fridays I would babysit his kids, and on Saturday I would work at the rink behind the concession area.  I don’t remember much of him as a boss, I do remember that when I babysat, I only made a dollar an hour, however when I worked at the rink, I made minimum wage.  I liked that part.

Once I started driving, I stopped working at the rink and got a job working at a grocery store after school.  My boss was a burly, grouchy man, but he was very fair, and encouraging.  He regularly promoted me, and allowed me to change departments and learn different parts of the store.  I worked there for several years, and during that time, my parents had moved out of the area and I was living at the college dorm.  He looked after me like I was his daughter and taught me many lessons that I still carry with me today.

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When I finished nursing school, I started working at the hospital, and my boss there terrified me.  She was constantly trying to find fault with me, even though I consistently received favorable comments from patients.  Once she even wrote a disciplinary sheet against me for getting hurt while helping a patient who was falling out of bed. This was at a time when staffing had been cut, there were no available staff members around to help and my boss told me I should have called a code to get more help.  A code would have indicated a heart attack.  I was so upset over this action even the doctors went to bat for me.

I guess I was raised in the era where you feared your boss. They were like the principals in the adult world.  People you tried to stay away from and not get noticed. The relationship I have with my boss now is not like that.  We were friends long before I started working with him, which makes the transition so much easier.  I still do my best so he doesn't sneak up on me and hollar at me, but I’m not as scared of him as I was the burly grocery store man.

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 Today is National Bosses Day.  Patricia Haroski, a secretary from Deerfield, Illinois, originated National Boss Day in 1958 in honor of her white-collar father, who helped all of his children with good advice throughout their careers.  It has traditionally been a day for employees to thank their boss's for being kind and fair thought out the year, however there is some who say it’s just a "Hallmark holiday".   So today, remember your boss with a smile and thanks, or even some homemade cookies or a coffee mug.  Let your boss know that you appreciate him and the fact that you have a good job.

Happy Boss's Day to My boss!  Can I have a raise???

(Sure, just as soon as Google starts paying us…=})

National Gumbo Day

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Chef Diane

Goodbye joe, me gotta go down the bayou

Me gotta go, pole the pirogue down the bayou

My yvonne, sweetest one, me oh my oh

Son of a gun, we gonna have big fun on the bayou

Well, jambalaya an a crawfish pie an a file gumbo

cause tonight Im gonna see my ma cher amio

Pick guitar, fill fruit jar an be gay-o

Son of a gun, we gonna have big fun on the bayou

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This is a song by Hank Williams, and every time I hear it it makes me think of fall weather and a big pot of Gumbo.  Gumbo is a cajun dish from Louisiana.  It’s one of their specialty dishes like New England Clam Chowder is to Maine, or Chili is to Texas.  Gumbo is not only used to describe this tasty dish, but also the consistency of the mud on the roads you drive through.  Gumbo is a seafood soup or stew.  It can be made with shrimp and sausage, or chicken and crab, or any other meat you care to use.  Some people put chicken bones and all in it, others put crab legs in the shell in it.  I prefer to use shelled shrimp and Smokey hollow sausage.  I don’t want to have to dip stuff out and shell it or take out bones when I eat.  Below is my grandmother's Gumbo recipe.  The most important part is the Roux.  A roux is the mixture of shortening and flour used to make the base.  It has the consistency of gravy.  This recipe calls for 2 TBSP or shorting, but you will need more.  You want the roux to be liquid like, not too loose, but not thick either.  And you have to brown it until it’s almost black.  This will take about 15 to 20 minutes, or you can buy roux in a bottle (if you want to cheat) Once the roux is made, the rest is simple...just add to a pot and let it cook.  Gumbo is even better the next day.  Then serve it in a bowl full of rice, with crackers or cornbread.  It will fill you up and warm up your insides!

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Today is National Gumbo day, so try this or your own recipe, and serve some to your family for supper.  You will have big Fun!!

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Gumbo

Ingredients:

2/3 C Flour	3-4 pods Garlic
2 TBS Shortening	2 tsp. File’
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes	salt& pepper
1 Pk. Okra	1 lb. Sausage
1 lrg. Onion	3 lbs. shrimp
2 stalks celery

Directions:

Brown flour and shortening until real dark, almost black add more shortening if needed...to make a paste – add onions, garlic, and celery and sauté. Spread roux to sides and put okra in center and add Rotel tomatoes. Stir until okra loses its slick. Let cook 15-20 minutes and add sausage. Put mixture into 2 quarts of boiling water and add shrimp. Let cook 20 minutes then add file’. (optional)  Serve over rice.

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National POW/MIA Recognition Day

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By Terry Orr

(Retired Vet)

I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering people endure having a love one who is a POW/MIA – especially those from the Vietnam era – all those years that have gone by and still unable to find closure. At times I become physically sick – thinking about those spineless, gutless, un-American politicians and so-called leaders in the government allow this atrocity to happen and continue on all these years.  In hindsight, it was just the beginning or maybe the continuation of poor leadership.  I am thankful that my love ones did not have to cope with this during my service to this country.

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Following up on our article from last year article “Let's Bring Them Home!” (http://kisbyto.blogspot.com/2011/09/lets-bring-them-home.html ) a couple of additional historical facts and commentary by yours truly.

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Observances of National POW/MIA Recognition Day are held across the country on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, schools and veterans' facilities. It is traditionally observed on the third Friday in September each year. This observance is one of six days throughout the year that Congress has mandated the flying of the National League of Families' POW/MIA flag. The others are Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day.

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Prisoners of War and Missing-in-Action (POW/MIA) personnel has been a mystery for some time – in that after the action has been completed – why keep them and or information regarding them from their home country.  Yes, that my sound a bit naïve, but is there any good reason to withhold that information?

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Rolling Thunder has done an excellent job of honoring our POW/MIA’s and veteran’s – as has other support groups – but in general – most folks just don’t care from my perspective.  It is a shame and disgrace to our men and women in the past, those currently severing and those who will continue to answer the call of protecting America.

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Today is Friday, September 21, 2012 – please take a moment to remember and remember on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 those who have fail us and those who show promise of changing the status quo. Thank you!

References and Links:

http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pow_day/

4th of July 2012

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By Terry Orr

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States. (Wikipedia)

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Today all Americans celebrate our Declaration of Independence!

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Today we also take time to remember the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.

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Today, all Americans need to reflect upon our rights as citizens of this great country, unlike any other on this planet. 

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Today, we need to get involved and once again become part of the solution to our problems instead of hoping others will do it for us.

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