From a Gun-Totin', Bible Thumper...

Today being the 28th day of the month, my daily bible reading includes a chapter of Proverbs.
Prov 28:2 jumped out at me:

"When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but when the ruler is a man of discernment, understanding, and knowledge, its stability will long continue."

Then Prov 28:12:

"When the [uncompromisingly] righteous triumph, there is great glory and celebration; but when the wicked rise [to power], men hide themselves."

(Both from the Amplified Bible)

Considering we're facing an election in just over a month, I hope the candidates are keeping these principles in mind.

We in the United States have the great privilege, right and responsibility to elect our leaders to office, rather than let the strongest man who wins in a battle or war be king. We must choose wisely, elect someone who has the best interests of the nation as a whole at heart, not just one who promises us the most goodies.

No, I'm not going to tell you who to vote for. I will give you advice (worth every penny you paid for it) on how to vote: vote for the candidates who are committed to making These United States the strongest, most prosperous, best shining example of how to live as a people our county can be.

Remember those passages from Proverbs is started with. Heck, read the entire chapter. For those of you who are not religious, take a chance. In most translations there's not a specific reference to God until verses 25 and 26. Otherwise, it acknowledges the rule of law, and, may I remind you, we are a Nation of Laws, rather than a Nation of Men (and Women).

Remember: Vote! If you don't, you have no right to complain about your leaders.

And if you think you can't make a difference: think again! Keep in mind this principle: "What is best for the nation," when you vote for your leaders and ballot measures. Remember that Status Quo is sometimes better that a Change with an unknown consequence; not all change is good.

Those of you who are prayerfully inclined, pray. Then vote your conscience.

I am purposefully NOT pointing you to a particular candidate. If you do as I suggest, I don't need to. You will make the best choice in the face of the opposition. That's the beauty of a secret ballot.

In my state you have five (count 'em: 5) short days to register to vote if you still need to. Get 'Er Done! Then get to the voting booth in November!

Yes, you must!

Yes you can!

"Not a dimes' worth of difference..."

This campaign sound bite leaped out at me this morning, as it was meant to.

The candidate who prefers change says the current economic policy's are failed, and we need change. Perhaps he's right.

On the other hand change is not always good. A bad fiscal policy can be followed by a worse one, and, taking JFK's economic stimulus from the Sixties as an example, lowering private sector taxes, both on income and business, did improve the economy.

What do you think raising taxes might do, economy-wise?

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

And those who are in power will have us (the common folk) repeat history whether we want to or not.

I was hearing noises from the pundits on Sunday that blasted Reagan's supply-side economics, saying it didn't work. Yet, plainly it did, as when our personal taxes went down, including income taxes on the rich, tax revenue increased!

(Don't take my word for it. Check out the government's own figures.)

Anyway, that's all I have to say about that.

How's by you this Tuesday morning? Shaken off the Monday blahs, and the effects of housing on the stock market? Remember that within adversity is opportunity, if you're quick enough to see it.

Ah, well. Constant change is here to stay, as my mother tried to tell me so long ago. Just remember, not all change is good, just as not all current policies are bad.

I remember a time when punishments were severe, and consequences were stiff, for wrong behavior. This was a time when gum-chewing in class and whistling in the halls were considered major disciplinary issues in school. Change brought us a kinder, gentler outcome for school infractions. The result? Schools would love to have those old problems back, as they've been pushed off the radar by things like drugs, guns, and schoolhouse mayhem of all sorts.

Imagine That!

I'm generalizing, of course. But forty and fifty years ago schoolhouse shootings just did not occur. And I'll give you a weird factoid to go with that: a lot of boys brought their shotguns and twenty-two calibre rifles to school, so they could hunt game on the way home, leaving the guns in the cloak room. And the teachers and principal were okay with this! No mass murders ensued. Kids were trusted to know what to do and what not to do with firearms.

One final word about change: it ain't all it's cracked up to be.

What can you and I do?

We can hold the line on the good things, the helpful things. And change things that need to be changed.

Good Book time: "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire"; by Rafe Esquith, available at Amazon and other bookstores. (side note: it's time to throw out Skinnerian Psychology from the classroom, for something better. Kohlberg comes to mind...)

If you teach, or otherwise work with kids, this is a much better book than the one I was handed in my student teaching days: "Teaching As a Subversive Activity"; by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner. Parents have been largely disappointed in what has been taught to their young subversively over the years, and are clamoring for choice. That the Powers That Be are not allowing easy school choice is a shame.

We can work to change things for the better, by encouraging teachers like Rafe to get the best out of our children. We can even teach our children like this, ourselves! For those of you who remember "Little Women" by Louisa Mae Alcott, did you not try your best to recreate the kind of atmosphere the Marches had in their home? It was a fun learning environment, wasn't it?

Do you think you could create this environment at home? That would be a good change.

Can you teach like your hair is on fire?

Yes, you can!

Convention Time!

This post has nothing to do with the convention, except I've been hearing about nothing else this past week. And I'm tired of it.

After all, it was a forgone conclusion. Minor surprises were when Hillary called for Barack to be nominated by general acclamation, and the choice of Joe Biden as a running mate. Minor surprises.

I've finished "The Book" and will be publishing it via Kindle, CreateSpace and CafePress as soon as I'm done formatting it, get some cover art put together, and create the .pdf file. Really, that just means getting the cover art done.

An e-book version will be available for free, for a limited time (look for it here) at http://www.yesyoucan-book.com. I expect to have that in place by this time next week (pending that artwork!).

So, I did it, or nearly so.

What did you do?

Bet you can.

Yes, you can!