Bill Maher is a comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. A renaissance man I believe is the term for him. He was born in January 20, 1956. You can read more about Bill Maher here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Maher

This is another man whose views I agree with. Obviously I don’t agree with all of his views but as I have said numerous times no one truly agrees with each other 100%.

I like some of what Bill Maher stands for. I like that he is for the legalization of same sex marriage and marijuana. I don’t consider marijuana a drug. I don’t smoke marijuana, at least not anymore, but I don’t see why people should be banned from smoking it. I believe it is perfectly natural. I am against drugs but as I said I don’t consider marijuana a drug. Marijuana is a plant.

As for same sex marriage, there is no problem with that either. If you aren’t gay don’t marry someone of the same sex you are. Get over yourself already. Everyone should have the life they want shouldn’t they?

By the way, I don’t own the videos. I am promoting them so they get more views. That is if you even bother to watch them anyway.

VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITIES: A COMMENTARY

On Friday, February 10th we had another school shooting.  It happened during lunch hour in a cafeteria filled with elementary children happily eating lunch.  All we can ask is why?  The school is about 20 minutes from my doorstep and diagonally southeast as the crow flies.  I know several of the teachers and students that work and attend this school.  We share sports programs and the arts.  It is a good school.  Who would have thought such a tragedy would strike here and with a child so young carrying a gun and somehow getting it past the eyes of a watchful and caring staff.  It is heartbreaking. 

We don’t think of these things happening is small, rural communities like the one I live in or those children live in but it even happens here.  Why?

When I was growing up we only occasionally heard of a murder, maybe a few more robberies and off and on a case of domestic violence but it was rare, very rare, especially in rural communities and we never heard of such violence and tragedy in our schools.  What has gone wrong?

Where are all this hate, fear, bullying, desperation, violence, vengeance and moral decay coming from?  Is there anything we can do to stop it?  God help us.  I sure don’t have the answer.  I wish I did.

Maybe it is the broken families, lack of stability in the homes.  Both parents work, they have to.  They have no choice.  Maybe it is because there is only one parent to start with and you just can’t be mother and father and bread winner all in the same breath.  Parents are pushed beyond their limits and children end up ignored and without the discipline and moral upbringing they need.  We may love our children but we are too busy trying to survive to let them know just how deeply they are loved.  There is very little if any family unity anymore. 

The TV becomes the nanny, the babysitter and it doesn’t teach very high morals.  The same goes for the video games and internet games we and our children play and the media plays their part in the nightly news and the daily paper too as they lean toward scandals, violence and all manner of sensationalism with next to no reporting of the good that happens in the community, State, Nation or the world.  We are being fed a very heavy diet of negative with little to no positive.  Children learn what they live.

Schools push for the competitive edge, win no matter what it takes when it comes to sports or any other competition and academically every child still passes to the next grade and still gets some sort of award even if they haven’t truly learned or earned it…No child left behind.  It is sending mixed signals to the child.  It is okay to fail in one area or another.  Why do my best, be my best.  The effort is a waste of time.  We are all going to get some special award and our diploma anyhow.  So what if I can’t really read or write or even do basic math.  Machines will do it for me.  I don’t have to read a book.  I can listen to it or watch the movie, same difference, right?  Who really cares so long as I’m not in the way?  I don’t have to learn math, I have a calculator that with just the push of a button will give me the correct answer so why study.  Who really cares about the process?

Churches are not much if any better today.  They no longer teach morals and God given laws.  They are politically correct and just about anything goes.  That helps bring more money into the coffers when no one is offended in any way.  Many now speak of God as a higher power, not Lord God Almighty but whatever higher power you choose to believe in, be it the Judeo-Christian God or some other god or whatever power you choose, wind, rain, stars, the moon, the cobra, the cat or a tree.  It makes no difference as long as you believe in something beyond self.  Not every church is this way but a lot are today.  I’ve been there and listened to them.  God forbid we offend anyone and stand up for God and His teachings.  I’m sure God is very offended and that bothers me. 

No wonder children, our young adults don’t know right from wrong.  Oh some will blame it on Satan and his legions of fallen angels called demons (You know, the devil made me do it.) and that may be correct to a point but it is each of us who make the choice.  We decide for our self how we choose to behave.  How can we choose when we are not taught morality in the first place?

We are a society that has become segmented, segregated and morally corrupt.  Drug and alcohol abuse is no longer just ghetto garbage; it is rampant in the highest echelons of our society and affects everyone from the homeless wino in some back alley to the CEO of our multibillion dollar corporations to the government leaders of our communities and nations.  We reap just what we sow. 

It is sad when we see young children becoming so disconnected with reality and life and living and the wonder of being human and alive that they no longer feel life is worth their next breath and they put a gun to their head or their neighbors or peers and squeeze the trigger.  BANG and it is over in a split second.  No more worries, no more fears, no more feeling lost and alone, no more being bullied and belittled, no more nothing.  Is this what our society as come down to?  God, I hope not.

Maybe we shouldn’t have thrown God out.  Just a thought on my part. 

It will be rather cumbersome to state which one of the aforesaid sins dominate the young generation now and to what extent but yes, the most common is certainly ‘anger’  believed to be fun loving that people get besotted with and enjoy. Why does one get annoyed over trivial issues and then go back and lick the wounds when the anger has subsided? This proves that ‘anger’ is definitely a subject of pleasure – one enjoys repeating this over and again like devouring a sumptuous feast until the next one comes by. Very frequently affected by this emotion are today’s couples who do not trust their relationship and before the final break up ‘anger’ is exercised to seek pleasure to offend, slander and hurt.

 It might just seem that the present generation has put the seven deadly sins out of their minds due to the busy schedule they have got engrossed into. But the fact of the matter is, it still prevails and takes over their daily lives. Take for instance sloth which would generally mean not doing enough or being less useful happens to be a daily routine. The Gen Y although pretend to be busy most of the time, but are in reality, engaged in doing all the wrong things. Given a serious thought, sloth would mean not prioritizing activities. This may not be a big deal but the existence of sloth is so prevalent and the sin being attempted regularly.

Is the Gen Y free of greed? Most certainly not……my colleague has bigger car so I must buy a car to outsmart him/her. Greed overtakes at every step and every minute of the day. Someone has bought a stunning red dress so I must also buy one irrespective whether it would look good on me or not. You choose to eat at a restaurant where the portion served is larger and guess what? Half the food is wasted. The present generation is not only looking for more but seeking more to waste. Greed has definitely not diminished, the want for materialistic things on the contrary has increased with more and more progress in technology that is on offer.

So much for greed, but lust has also not forsaken us. Lust as described in the Bible is “a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished”. Looking at a woman with lust is as good as committing adultery. So, is paying compliment to another man’s wife not a nice thing to do? But this happens all the time. For a man or even a woman, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. This desire of possessing other people’s entity is definitely lust and a total taboo but no one can avoid this sin.

Likewise, envy and pride also govern our life in a major manner. Why are we envious of the next door neighbor of having a better home, car and other materialistic things? Today even the siblings are envious of one another for faring better in the school/college but no effort is made to better oneself. We are often too proud to acknowledge out faults and say sorry to our friends, family and colleagues.  Finally gluttony, as the Bible explains is a misplaced desire of food or it’s withholding from the needy. Gluttony is an excessive desire to consume more than what one requires. The root of gluttony is believed to be lack of self control and therefore today’s generation is greatly affected by this vice because they do not have enough control on themselves. Given the choice, the Gen Y would declare that they have greater control, just because they do what they want to do and therefore are in control but this is not true. Being stubborn is not being in control but simply means not understanding/respecting other’s views.

However, the seven deadly sins that seem to have become even more deadly is still an integral part of our life. If we were less affected, so much of unwanted hostility and carnage from within and outside would not have occurred.

-EDIT-

Unfortunately, I was unable to complete my goal due to other things I had to do, and the fact that I tend to spend a lot of time making long and detailed articles. I do however plan on taking on the more managable task of writing one article every day over the course of 2012.

Now to what I have seen in society today. From black friday, to even after christmas the worst of hummanity shows. Black Friday brings people willing to pepper spray others just to get as many xbox360’s as possible, to people mugging others right after they walk out from buying their new toys, and that’s just this year. Last year people were stampeded to DEATH. Christmas brings with it attitude of the highest degree to shoopers who don’t get their way, or people trying to find a spot to park., and so much more.

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You have to ask yourself, don’t customers relaize that realiters created the whole buying presents for others to get the companys more money? They don’t care about the spirit of christmas. They just want to put more money in their company and own pockets. Also, when you go out and buy a whole bunch of gifts for your kids and teens, you are teaching them to be spoiled and that they can get whatever they want for christmas just because it is christmas. This coming from a teen/ almost an adult myself. I was never really spoiled from the beginging and I have always had to work for a lot of things myself, but even I had to start learning that I can’t just expect to get presents on christmas. I couldn’t just expect to get money from every christmas card or birthday card I recived. When you begin to not have those things, you bgin to realize that they are nothing close to the feeling of just knowing your family or relatives care about you and wish to spend this special time of year together.

So if you read this, and your one of those big time spenders on christmas, just know that you don’t have to spend all that money on your family and friends. Just being there for them on christmas should be the greatest gift you could recived. Because some people don’t even have that luxury to spend christmas with family, friends, and relatives.

As much as I was trying to skirt around the issue, curiosity got the better of me and after a few minutes of chit chat I asked her what was the purpose of this campaign?? The answer I got was in many ways not what I expected. The campaign was aimed at the council authorities that were going to enforce cutbacks in their yearly budgets to charitable institutions jobseekers allowance etc. I like people who are driven by causes and hence there was something innately likable about this girl. But then again I am a man of firm thoughts and have my own belief structure so I couldn’t help but question some of the things that she was saying. I asked her so what exactly is this demonstration aimed at? She said that just like in America, it was the 99% telling the 1% that cutbacks that hurt the poor the most are not the solution to the problem. Now I was not going to argue that the poor people should be in anyway taxed more or that their government supplies should be cut etc. but I thought she ( and most other who are debating on this topic ) aren’t looking at both sides of the coin. Most people are looking at the ‘have nots’ and blaming the ‘haves’ for all the trouble. Now althought there is some element of truth in that I am not totally convinced that a sweeping statement against every rich ( or poor ) person is the answer.

Our chat invariably led us to the 2007 crash and the repercussions of the same that are being felt even today. So I asked her, who do you blame for the crash and without a moments hesitation came the answer BANKERS ( she called them Banksters, implied reference to ‘mobsters’ ). Now I asked her how do you think they are responsible for that? She said that they gave loans to people who could not afford it ( teaser rates on home loans that were low to start with and shot up in 2-3 yrs ) and as a result there were foreclosures and people lost their hard earned life savings while they made their money on commissions and got rich. Now there is not much there that I can disagree with. As a matter of fact, I have no doubt that this is what happened. I have seen and read a lot on this topic, enough to know that even people who were in prison somehow managed to get mortgages!!! But the point is, did the bankers or estate agents put a gun to anyone’s head and ask them to sign on dotted lines accepting the mortgage? Even if there have been isolated incidents when this happened ( I don’t know may be may not be ) it is hard to believe that all the mortgages signed all across America ( or the world for that matter! ) were done in this fashion. So then the question remains, that yes the bankers were giving loans to people who didn’t deserve it and that they were greedy, raking up their commissions in the process, but didn’t people who signed up to these mortgages have any responsibility? Should they not have been more careful ( and realistic ) about their financial position and ability to pay back the mortgage?? So if it is a question of greed, who’s greed was greater, the one who offered the loan or the one who accepted it knowing that it is a big risk?? I have talked about unwritten rules that we follow in one of my previous blogs ( Rules: Are They Made Just So That They Can be Broken?? http://is.gd/4BI6Fb ) and it is sufficient to say that unwritten rules were broken on both sides and the reason was greed.

Now that the topic was headed into pretty murky waters, we came back to the topic of 99% Vs 1% and the subject of rich getting richer. Now let me issue a disclaimer here: I am not a part of the 1%!! ( I have equivalent of 1% of what’s required to qualify as a 1% er ). I have written in one of my blogs that its pleasure that one should be targeting in life not being rich ( though being rich wouldn’t hurt! ) ( Pleasure: The Essence of Good Life? http://bit.ly/rBR6rS ). Also, in one of my first blogs, I had written about self made men and why people tend to like them. I also made clear that I had nothing against being born with a silver spoon ( Self Made Man http://bit.ly/sBAjIq ). What I am worried about today’s situation is the attitude of people. In my blog on this subject ( Attitude: Ambrosia of Winners?? http://bit.ly/uAFYfm ) I had questioned the ‘winning attitude’. I firmly believe that attitude is not the cause, but the effect of winning, similarly losing mentality ( attitude ) is not the cause but the effect of losing! I think people need to refocus on what’s important in their life rather than what’s missing from their life ( with respect to what the rich have!! ). I think the desire to be amongst 1% is not misplaced, but the greed and envy definitely is! You can always argue that the rich have cheated you and that’s why you are poor and have all the problems or you can look at people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc. ( even Donald Trump!! ) who are all college drop outs but have made it into the big league. I think life is too short to waste on blaming others for your misfortunes. We live by the decisions we take and instead of wasting energy and time in the Us Vs Them battle, its time that we should concentrate on the finer aspects of our lives that give us pleasure. There are always a 100 reasons to be unhappy, the question is can you find that 1 reason that will make you happy? Seek pleasure in life and the rest should take care of itself! If you think after reading this that my approach is too simplistic and not something that can happen in real life, think again, cause this thought process might be the very thing that is stopping you from being happy.

I am aware that after reading this some of you might think that I am playing the devils advocate in this blog. But its not just that. I genuinely believe that the demostrators are missing the point and that instead of blaming everyone left right centre, people should accept responsibility of what happened. Remember the rich were rich even before all this happened, and probably will stay rich long after. The choices are to keep looking and them and feel sad about your life or find a new way to look at it and try to be happy. What do my good readers think? Would love to hear from you.

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The Key words are all of us to share…Only the creep that I work with, decided that the two pounds of love was for him…Seriously…This pissed me off, after he decided the candy was just for him I asked the ladies later if the Fanny Mae Chocolates were just for him, and the answer that followed made me go over the top. They informed me it was for all of us, but he took all the chocolates for himself. Telling me that they always give him the candy, he didn’t know that I had already talked to them, about the candy.

Talked to many that worked with me today, and they all felt the same, but his greedy all about himself as a human being, and he will be paid for his wrong doings in life, everything that goes around comes around. This is Mister Tip stealer as well. Where is his heart, Oh seriously I can answer that, it is all about him. I care about people that I work with; and I care about the people who come in to the restaurant. But OMG he is a creep, he is always going make sure that he is number one is taken care of.

He is greedy, he steals, and he is basically a jerk, but the sad part of this story is the owners love him, he does no wrong, he is the best, and he works hard. OMG if they only knew the real person, the one that is rude to customers, and the one that pushes his fellow employees around, the one that is rude and judgmental to us as well.

Christmas is about the moment, about what you feel in your heart. So the clothes that I wear, the earrings, the reason that I wear them, is to make the customers happy, and the reason is for the season, the reason for the season is Jesus.

My hats, my shirts, are my life. Don’t judge me, Don’t tell me I should wear aged clothing…The Grinch belongs to each of us, Frosty Belongs to each of us, as well as many of Christmas stories. He has put me down, asked me what is up with your clothes, why do you wear stuff that you children should be wearing? Don’t judge me for what I enjoy or wear.

Actually I am not a Grinch, love the story, and will watch it probably until I die. Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the red nosed reindeer as well, so that brings out the child in me, this is allowed. Don’t judge me for what I watch or enjoy.

He has put me down, for years now, he had told me things that break my heart, groped me, harassed me, but taking these issues to higher ups, they just tell me he is just getting a rise out of me. Working with this jerk has taken a toll on me, accepting that he isn’t going anywhere is the problem, accepting he is a jerk; a self-centered all about him person tops my list.

The Christmas Candy what was meant for all of us, and he took it, telling us that it was all for him, not thinking I was smart enough to know better bugs me….

Actually I don’t hate him, I just feel sorry for him, because he hasn’t a clue what real life is about.

Seriously I hope he is enjoying the Chocolate Fanny Mae candy tonight, with his vodka all about me cocktail…

The reality is, that far too many people expect not just a proper price for goods or services, but it has come to realization that in today’s world, it has gotten to be like the gold rush of 1849. In my mind are so many products and services that it would take me forever to list them down or mention them in a mere article. Everyone, everwhere wants to be rich anymore, and when the abused turn to the government who is supposed to protect the average Joe, where the hell are they? Off in some corner bitching, complaining and fighting amongst each other over what to do regarding anything in this country.

We are in the position that we are in financially, not because those we depend on to do their jobs are doing them anymore. It is because it just isn’t enough to earn a living in this country for many politicians, but they want a piece of everyone’s PIE. Tax this, tax that, how much is he or she making so we can cut into “that” profit, and then it appears that far too many politicians are also in the pockets of the banking industry, finance industry and so many corporations that the whole scenario has gotten totally mind puking. What the hell has happened to America, where a person could reach for a dream and KEEP IT??

It is THIS, that has many upset. It is THIS, that has come to a reality that we don’t need the scum off the street to point a gun at us to rob us, when it is THOSE we have trusted in for decades that do it with the stroke of a pin. Taking houses, cars, furnishings, retirement funds, 401k’s and JOBS. THEN, you have a justice system that does nothing to curb the appetites of those who are already rich that keep taking, and taking and taking.

Before the 1990’s, or let me put it this way, the “fall” of RUSSIA, America, was AMERICA. All of a sudden after the Russian economy fell, many of the rich in this country waged a war upon tumbling down this average Joe enjoying their lives to greedily take what they work for unto themselves. I know this, because I was one of it’s first victims.

The biggest problems do not come from these greedy bastards, they come from law enforcement in this country also changing it’s priorities along with them. Before the 1990’s, you got a fair shake and if you broke the law, you paid the price for it. ANYMORE, you don’t have to break the law, THEY set you UP by their little gimmicks to “break” the law and throw you in a jail cell. Out of THIS greediness, has come a consequence. The consequence of overcrowded jail cells and prisons. AND the average Joe, does not forget WHO set them “up.”

All these “illegalities” being perpetrated upon the taxpayers, wage earners and honest peoples of the Untied States, whether the ignorant rich wish to face up to it or not, has CONSEQUENCES. And you are beginning to see it throughout America, and it is going to get WORSE. You can not set up people who have worked hard all their lives and expect to gain what they worked hard to get when they retire or when it is THEIR time for a bright future, only to see it being STOLEN from them.

The Civil War of the 19th century started because some saw others trying to STEAL their livelihood away from them and though the premise was a humane one, many did not like the fact of being robbed in the process. You think about it. We ALL have a right to live OUR lives in accordance to what we earn for ourselves. In today’s world many of the hard working class are being told, “no” you are building up what you HAVE, so one day I can use a “legal” way to STEAL it from you, and that my friends will be grounds for “war.” THAT is what all this discord is leading up to and like I learned in the Marine Corps, the rich are just as vulnerable to a bullet as the poor man. It thinks not of how much money is in your pocket and the ones behind shooting that bullet, do not need the power of “wealth.” No amount of money can “buy” or “stop” it from it’s intended victim(s). That was a lesson learned in the first Civil War and from seeing all the protests throughout America, the overly greediness of many a rich person who have stolen the dreams away from many Americans, will find out the hard way as they have throughout history, that true power lays behind the one who will “silence” their evil intents.

That my friends, is not “my” analogy, that is “history’s” analogy repeated time and time again when the ignorant forget that you can only set on someone’s toes by stealing their dreams for so long before the masses turn on you and suck out the final price through a war against it. That has always been the power of the poor within our own species, and one that will never end, because some forget the equality means just that, EQUALITY, and everyone has a right to their own dream, not just for the select few who think of hoarding it all unto themselves.