My Random Thoughts and Ideas

It is never easy to want look inside yourself and decided you don’t like an aspect and want to change it. Its even harder to accept you want that change and make it. Then again some times life hits you upside the head and makes you realize that easy or not you need to make those changes. We can not sit forever and be stagnate.

Stagnation in water always allows all sorts of nasty things to creep in and take over making it toxic. Stagnation is life is the same way but the toxins are greed, anger, jealousy, hate, or envy. As the river flows and moves the toxins away so must we find a way to be like the river and push the toxins away with growth within ourselves. That growth can come in many forms be it spiritual, emotional, economic, physically or something else.

As the rivers journey to the sea is often winding and bumpy so is the journey to make the changes in our lives that we want need and or desire. The biggest key to over coming this and also the hardest part is to focus on the goal the change you want to make and not struggle over every bump or rogue wave that comes your way.

Water always finds a way to make its journey to where it wants to go you can try and direct it and guide it or hold it back but in time it will find a new path or way to reach its destination. This is an aspect to admire and remind us on the journey that while there are blocks in the way you can always find a away around them.

In the end it is always better to grow, evolve and change. It is what makes us stronger and gives us the wisdom and knowledge to survive. Change while not an easy thing purifies the soul and can give you new life new meaning and new purpose. So I say look inside yourself and find the change you want to make and never let anything stop your journey.

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The fact is that everyone you love will die its just a matter of time. For me it was today that another of my loved ones passed. I think the thing that bothers me the most about is that I see it as another person who was important in my life that my daughter will never meet and know and feel loved by. I know it is a fact of life people die and that as you get older its more likely to happen. Its always the ones with little to no warning that hurt the most. Just like when dad passed I found out he had cancer and was starting Chemo and then a week and a half later he was dead. Its not fair you don’t get to say goodbye to right the wrongs and go in peace. Yes if you want to can say this is in part about the issues I have with my father passing. I knows its been 8 years now but it still hurts a little and will for all time I can’t see it ever not hurting. What hurts is that she will never get to know him and I don’t understand why it bugs me but it does. We never value the things we have a much as when we don’t have them. Once they are gone they don’t can’t come back. Make the most of the time you have with the people you love as they will die and then that is it. I you believe in an after life that is great and you can want and thing and pray all you want that they can you after death but if that is true then its still a one sided mirror. They can see us but we can’t see them nor can they communicate with us. So with that said if you don’t make the most of them when they are here you will lose the chance to.

So I said that I lost someone it was my step mom’s mother she passed on a Care Flight helo to Dothan, AL last night. We knew the end was coming she had been given a year to 18 months left by the doctors so we thought there was time. Instead she developed pneumonia had trouble breathing and her heart stopped. It is sad for me because I have lost 3 grandparents in the last year now with 2 of my 3 grandfathers passing within days of each other last Labor day. It just makes me wonder who is next. What person I love am I going to lose next?

Now I am not writing this for sympathy I needed to vent my feelings and well this was the best way that I can think of to do this. If i put it down to paper then it helps deal with the hurt and move on at least a little.   Ma I love you Beannachd Dia dhuit.

So I was recently asked to select and define the values most important to me and then give detail as to why they are and hope I live them in my life. This really made me thing and question what I hold dear and why. I am sharing this here so that those around me might have some insight into just who I am and what makes me tick.

Accomplishment

Anything accomplished; deed; achievement: a career measured in a series of small accomplishments.

Everyday I live my life to accomplish my goals. I set goals for my personal and professional life and do the things that I can to make them happen. Sometimes to accomplish these I make sacrifices of my time or want to make them happen. When I do accomplish one of these goals it gives me great pleasure and pride in myself.

Being the Best

Carrying out actions of the highest quality, excellence, or standing.

To me being the best is a way of life. I strive to be the best in everything I do in my life be it personal or professional. I almost have a complex about being the best. I like to compete and win. I rarely back down from a challenge. I always strive to prove I can be the best at what ever I do. While I do not always succeed I give up and always keep trying.

Growth

The act or process, or a manner of growing; development;gradual increase knowledge of ones self and or environment.

To me growth is an important part of life equal to breathing. Every day I strive to learn something new and grow as a person be it personal or professional life.  To me a day without growth in some ways is a day that I have not lived but rather a day I died a bit.

Happiness

The quality or state of being happy.

For me happiness is being with the friends and family I love and care about. It is also doing the things that bring me pleasure. But that is not the only part sharing that happiness with the people around me be they friend or stranger. Bringing a smile to the face of someone who is having a bad day brings me happiness. It is something that I feel there is a lack of in this world and something I feel that everyone should do what they can to share the happiness they have with others. It is something I strive to do every day in my life.

Love

A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

Strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything.

A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

As you can see this is one that for me is not easy to define. I feel very strongly about love and I feel many different types of love. Love is a big part of my life and who I am. I have many loves in my life and I try to spread love as I spread happiness. In my mind everyone is deserving of love and affection. To me they are almost one in the same or at least go hand in hand. I am never ashamed or embarrass to tell those I love how much that I do love them. As we have recently seen in our community you never know when your time here is up and its important to show the ones you love that you do love them.

Reliability

The quality of being dependable or reliable.

My reliability is very important to me and I truly think its something my friends and family depend on. The people close to me know that no matter what I am there for them.I will drop what I am doing to run to help a friend in need. This is something that extends to my professional life as well. My boss knows that anything they need done I will be there to do. While this is also a value some times it can be a fault in some instance I have had to choice between being reliable to my family or to my job. I wish I could say that I always make the right decision but it’s not the case. No matter what I always strive to be as reliable as I can.

Trustworthiness

The trait of deserving trust and confidence.

The fact that other people find you trustworthy and confide in you is something special. It gives me great happiness that people do find me trustworthy. The knowledge that those close to me can tell me their secrets and open up to tell me their feelings puts me in a special place of power and trust. Once I have earned that I feel as though it is my duty to maintain that trust. Even in business that is a vital part of my life. Due to the nature of my job I come in contact with both vital corporate information as well as personal information of my clients by being trustworthy. So while this might not be the one I value the most it is very much an important part of my life.

Understanding

Knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something

Understanding is another thing I think in general the world is lacking. In my opinion most of the problems in this world stem from a lack of understanding. I feel I learned this value at an early age being an army brat I grew up in different places and came into contact with a variety of people. Understanding other cultures and even people makes it easier to get along with one another and allows for peace and harmony. I love learning about and getting an understanding of other cultures for it makes me a better person and more knowledgeable as a person. Of all of the values I think this is one that I actually push on to other people more than anything else. It is also the one that I am least forgiving about in other people. My belief is that if you are not willing to be understanding of other people or their cultures you are not worth the time and effort for me to get to know you. While I know this does show some lack of understanding in me I am willing to make the effort to those willing to return that same effort.

So this is the time of year that everyone puts thought into the bad habits they are going to break in the next year and things they want to do better. Honestly how many people actually carry out their New Years Resolutions? For me a resolution is not as binding and has no repercussion for not meeting. Where as a goal I something tangible that I will move Heaven and Earth to achieve. If I don’t hit that goal I have failed. In a personal aspect its I have failed myself or someone I love  or care about. From a professional aspect if I don’t hit a goal then I have let down my crew or boss down and have even put my job in jeopardy.

So to me goals are something to take serious and make happen. Will you be able to meet every goal every time no its not always going to happen. But if you set SMART Goals then rarely will it happen. Yes life gets in the way and throws you curve balls if you are focused and organized then you can still hit them out of the park. Think about the goal you want to set does it meet the criteria below. Most important be honest with yourself. If you lie to yourself you are only cheating yourself. Lastly the most important part of setting a goal is to write it down private or public doesn’t matter if it is written then it is real.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time bound

Once you have your SMART goal you have to have a plan to make it happen. You need to have a plan of action if you fail to plan you plan to fail. Also remember that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Yes I know they are both a bit corny but also very tied and true. All the wishing in the world only gets you dreams that never come true.

Lastly you need to believe in yourself to make your goals happen. A great cheering section never hurts as well. Share your goals with someone you know and trust who can be your cheer leader if things look down. We all have at least one person who believes in us and that is the perfect person to share with.

So the point of all this? Simple really challenge yourself this new year don’t make a resolution that you will forget about or abandon by the end of the week/month. Make a SMART goal for the year. Find one that is a difficult but attainable with effort and hard work make it a goal then do it.

Want a real challenge think about this and post a comment here with your goal for next year and your plan to accomplish it.  While not my only goal the one I am willing to share publicly is lose 60 pounds by the end of next year. My plan is 5 pounds per month. To help support this I commit to walk a mile at least 3 times a week and balance my diet to make sure I eat better.

So what is your goal?

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While I make no secret that I am not a fan of our President Elect he does have the job and as an American I am going to stand behind him and support him. Now that said we he does something I disagree with I will be loud and vocal about my dissent.

Having made my position very clear what I saw in that video just makes me mad. While I say that we need to teach children about how government works and their part in it. But I truly believe that you should NOT be teaching a child what they should think about a candidate. But for this lady to say she didn’t discourage her students when everyone who said McCain she sounds off with oh God or Oh Jesus. If that is not threatening to a child at that age I don’t know what is. Even then the one little girl says she wants Obama to win because he wants to change thing is fine. She doesn’t really seam to understand the change other than they war in Iraq and that is even fine. But to then tell the girl who is a McCain supporter with a dad in the military that if her guy wins her dad will be in Iraq for 100 years. I am sorry that really crosses the line. She goes on to say that her class room election Obama wins and I would challenge that the children were conditioned to think they had to vote for Obama. Children at that age live to make the adults in their life happy and will do whatever they think the adult wants to make them happy.

I don’t care who you voted for this kind of teacher needs to NOT be in ANY school system. If this was my daughters teacher I would at that school raising 7 kinds of hell to get her removed. Its my belief that a teachers job is to TEACH A CHILD HOW TO THINK NOT WHAT TO THINK!!!!!!

Today I am proud to be an American. We have elected a Black man to the highest office in the land. If you are not happy he won it really doesn’t matter at this point. The election is over and the results have been calculated. During this campaign I have been very vocal in my dislike and distrust of every candidate who was running. I honestly believe the American people deserve better and we should not settle and I think that is what we have done. Yes before you ask I would say the same if McCain was elected.

Obama  ran on the platform that he was the candidate for change. He has promised change and hope. Every channel I turn on the TV shows people spouting how we have change because Obama was elected. I am going to challenge this we do not have change yet. All we have right at this point is the promise of change. For one the man has yet to take office he doesn’t start the job for 76 more days. In that time anything could happen to prevent him from taking office. Hell the World could end!! Reality is that baring the end of the world he will take office at noon on 20 Jan 2009. Then we can start to look for the change he is supposed to bring.

Regardless of what you think Mr. Obama is a politician and its the nature of politicians to say anything to get elected. I don’t have the time or desire to research and see how good he is about upholding the promises he makes on the campaign trail at this point in time. Hell half the time is has been in the Senate he was running for president.

So my challenge to everyone who reads this regardless if you supported Obama or McCain is simple if you want real change you must hold the people elected accountable for their actions. Now to be insulting but it needs to be said.  I truly think a good majority of the people in this country have forgotten what it means to be accountable for their actions. No one stands up and says i did it or that it was my fault. We are always quick to look for someone else to blame. Washington is no different.

The election is over but doesn’t mean check out for the next 4 years till it is time to pull the lever again. I fear that too many people are going to just feel that oh we have Obama in office and the Democrats’ in congress we are safe and taken care of and we have nothing to worry about. If you are one of these people I feel sorry for you. The only way we can make sure that the people we elect follow thru on their campaign promises is to hold them accountable for their actions. Be vocal and if they don’t deliver on the promises they made then get rid of them and put someone else in their place. Its the only way Washington will get the message. DO NOT ACCEPT EXCUSES FOR THEIR THEIR LIES AND BROKEN PROMISES!!!! DO NOT ACCEPT THE BLAME GAME!!!!

So what is your next move sit down shut up and accept the status quo or will you stay active stay vocal and stay in the face of the people who you put in office?

Sound off and tell me what you think.

So I am sitting here watching the debate and so far neither of these talking heads have said a thing that would make me want to vote for them. I am sick of politicians who only want to speak in sounds bytes. Lets take this country back people. lets demand more of the people we elect. For crying out loud Obama can’t even get McCain’s first name right only 30 mins in and I have noticed 5 slips with the wrong name. I can’t really understand how anyone can honestly feels like either of these two is the right man for the job. Don’t accept the lesser of two evils if they are evil why are you getting into bed with them. Please someone tell me honestly why either of these guys are going to be good for this country. Don’t give me sound bytes give me good reason with solid facts to back them.

Two days ago the sovereignty of out nation was violated by 4 Mexican Army Soldiers who crossed the border and held a Border Patrol Agent at gun point for 4 minutes then once his back up shows up they run back across the border. I don’t know what makes blood want to shoot out of my eyes more the fact it happened or the fact the State Department is blowing it off as no big deal. What makes even worse is that it has happened around 40 times this fiscal year. How can we expect anyone else to respect our borders when we don’t. What if these idiots who can’t tell where they are would have shot one of our border guards or had they came across a group of border guards and a shootout ensued. We are providing training and funds for the Mexican army to help stop the flow of drugs into this country. So somebody think maybe we need to show these guys how to use a map and compass? This completely outrages me for the pure and simple fact most of the Mexican military in the pocket of the drug cartels. Hell some of their most elite units that were trained by our best special forces operators jump ship and now are the muscle for various cartels. By all rights this incident was an act of war. Now I am not saying we should invade Mexico but they do need to be held accountable for their actions. I say rise up and call your elected officials to the carpet make them answer for letting this stand. Below are links to the House and Senate committees on Homeland Security I urge you to write them and call attention to this invasion. I have also enclosed the letter that I have sent to Congresswoman Kay Granger my rep here in Texas. I will post here response here once I receive it from her. Also below is a copy of the original story from the Tucson Citizen and a link to it.

Senate Committee on Homeland Security

House Committee on Homeland Security

Dear Congresswoman,

I am writing about this story from Tucson, AZ from the 6th of this month. It talks about an incident where 4 Mexican Army Soldiers crossed the border and held one of our border guards at gun point. The state department has just blown this off as on no big deal. If the tables were reversed this would be a major international incident. How can we allow this to continue. This not even the first time it has happened. In the past 2 years this is the 43rd time it happened. I urge you to please look into this and see what can be done to prevent it. If we are providing training and funding to the Mexican Military to help stop drug smuggling cant we teach them to use a map and compass. Below is a link to the story in the Tucson Citizen. I am also posting a copy of this letter on my blog the link is below as well.

Thank you,
Kevin Kirkland

Tucson Citizen Story

Mexican soldiers enter Arizona, hold agent briefly

Four Mexican soldiers crossed into Arizona and held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint before realizing where they were and returning to Mexico, federal authorities said Wednesday.
The incident occurred early Sunday on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, about 85 miles southwest of Tucson, in an area fenced only with barbed wire, said Dove Crawford, a spokeswoman for the Border Patrol.
The soldiers, outfitted in desert camouflage, pointed their rifles at the agent and shouted at him not to move, Crawford said. They lowered their weapons after about four minutes when the agent convinced them of who he was and where they were, then retreated into Mexico, she said.
State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos in Washington said the encounter “stemmed from a momentary misunderstanding as to the exact location of the U.S.-Mexican border.”
Portions of the Tohono O’odham reservation’s 75-mile border with Mexico have been reinforced with vehicle barriers or other fencing to keep out illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. But other areas on the reservation and other stretches of border either have only barbed wire or no markers at all, making it hard to distinguish the boundary.
“There are places where there are no markers, at least not easily found,” said Lloyd Easterling, a Border Patrol spokesman in Washington. “There’s no line painted in the sand or anything like that.”
The Mexican government has sent soldiers north along sections of the border in efforts to tamp down drug-related violence, while drug smugglers, guides leading illegal immigrants and bandits are often armed.
In a statement, Mexican Embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday in Washington said both countries are investigating Sunday’s incident. “It seems that there are dissimilar versions of what happened, and both countries are trying to clarify it together,” Alday said.
“Law enforcement operations have led, from time to time, to innocent incursions by both U.S. and Mexican law enforcement personnel and military units into the territory of both nations, and in particular along the non-demarcated areas of our border,” he said.
Border Patrol officials said there have been about 40 similar incursions by Mexican soldiers along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border since Oct. 1, the beginning of the federal fiscal year. There were 18 such incidents through the same period a year earlier and more than 300 since September 1996, according to the agency.
“We’re going to be looking for some corrective action from this,” Easterling said. “We’re working with the Mexican government to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. This can’t be happening.”
He said that based on the agent’s observations there’s no question the men were Mexican troops.
T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union for Border Patrol agents, said the incursions have created a disturbing pattern.
Bonner said there have been at least a half-dozen incidents in recent years where Mexican soldiers have entered U.S. territory and shot at Border Patrol agents. “It’s a minor miracle that none of our agents have been killed or seriously injured,” he said.
“It’s inexcusable to not know where the border is” when military units have global positioning capabilities, Bonner said.
The instances where the Border Patrol strays into Mexico are few and far between, Bonner said. “We have no incursions with Canada,” he added. “Absolutely none.”

So I received the email below from a friend being a skeptic about anything like this I started searching around to see what I could find. Well it didnt take long for me to find a couple million hits on google. So after reading the letter and then reading this blog I felt the need to post a comment on the blog. So below you will find the letter as I got it. You will also find the blog I posted on as well as the contect of my post I a put it there. If you have comments or questions please bring them. Also no offence to the friend who sent this to me but just use your mind peoples if you get something like this don’t jusr say OMG and send it to everyone on your contacts list. Run it thru your bullshit detector or hell just google it.

http://springboarder.blogspot.com/2008/07/question-for-capt-jeffrey-s-porter.html

This is just plain stupid the fact is that both of the candidates suck and do so just about equally.

Obama is a socialist, who wants to meet with people who want to kill us and let them keep their nuke programs. Honestly his speech in Germany screamed 1984 (Orson Wells) and scared the crap out of me.

As far as McCain he is not a socialist but he is going to screw the economy just as bad. He supports a Cap and Trade bill that limits carbon emission and fines companies for exceeding their limit. Yes you can by credits from someone not using all of them but they are going subsidize buying credits for large businesses. So the Small to medium business that make up the heart of our economy get hosed and as a special bonus you the consumer and tax payer get to pay the bill.

If you want to use something to judge a candidate then look at what topics he or she avoids look at what questions they dodge and run from.

The American people deserve better. Fact is we have gotten sloppy and lazy. Everyone is looking for a hand out from the government instead I say stand up get involved. The politicians only care about keeping special interest happy and getting reelected. NONE of them are about the common working people in America or the threats we face.

America stop being so damn politically correct and afraid of offending someone. If we don’t stand up for our way of life and the ideals that this country was founded on then we will lose them. Our politicians will give them away to be politically correct and keep from offending vocal radicals.

Think about this a poll I saw last week said GWB’s approval rating was about 27% and had Congress’s approval rating at about 20%. Lets face it WASHINGTON is completely screwed up on both sides Republican and Democrat. Fact is both BUSH and The DEMOCRATIC CONTROLLED AND PREVIOUS REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED have let America down and screwed up royally.

Open your eyes and look around you don’t be a mindless zombie to any party.