NO BAMA

Well this is not a political blog but I liked this explanation and this blog is in support of my sister and her quest for Capitalism. This is an opinion article that my Dad's friends wife had published.

I keep trying to explain the economy to my children in light of the presidential candidates' platforms. Sadly, even some of the best political gaffes are lost on those who don't understand the difference between capitalism (McCain) and socialism (Obama). To help me teach my children, I turned to my son's 11th grade Social
Studies textbook, whose sum total definition is that socialism is "the idea that the government should own and operate industry for the community as
a whole." With that paltry definition, no wonder my children don't know
what socialism is. Frankly, kids could better understand socialism by reading
Wikipedia: "All socialists share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth into a small section of society who control capital *,
and creates an unequal society.
All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth
and power are distributed more evenly."*

This sounds very much like Obama who is now trying to camouflage his
socialist ideas ("the equal distribution of wealth") as "opportunity."
So, folks, Robin Hood is back in town. Obama is trying to "rob from the rich
and give to the poor." His plan "advocates the creation of an egalitarian
society" by taxing the rich even more and eliminating or reducing taxes
on the other 95% of America. In Joe Biden's words, "It's time [for the
rich] to be patriotic."

To simplify the implications of Obama's socialistic plan, let's talk
about a common, childhood money-making scheme. Suppose all the kids in the
neighborhood put up lemonade stands around town to earn money for the
movies. At the end of the day, the government (Obama) says, "Great job,
kids. Now give me all your money, and I will give back to you what you
need to go to the movies." Many are excited because they didn't make enough
to pay their own way; others are unhappy because they worked hard to take
friends along but now aren't allowed to; still others complain because,
even though they made enough to also buy popcorn and candy, all they get is a
movie ticket.

So, the next time kids sell lemonade, what's going to happen? Who's going to
try hard to earn more than the other kid? What's the incentive to work
hard at all if, at the end of the day, everyone gets the same thing? That
incentive to work hard is one of the key differences between Obama's
plan (socialism) and McCain's belief in the system we've supported since our
nation's inception (capitalism).

For decades millions have left other countries to get away from socialism in order to have a chance to build their futures. Are we going to lose our
capitalistic nerve now just because times are tough? Are we going to
give up on a system that creates wealth by fostering entrepreneurship, hard
work, creativity, and, yes, even sacrifice? Or are we going to cave in to
socialism because we've lost our drive for and belief in the American
dream?


At times like these, it's tempting to look for a leader to ride in on a
white horse and rescue us from trouble. Why don't we allow capitalism to
be our hero? Socialism has deep financial needs to support itself so will
always come seeking the taxpayers' pocketbook. Whatever we feed will
grow. If we feed irresponsibility, laziness, or greed, they will persist and
even thrive. But if we feed incentives to work hard and earn our own way,
capitalism will thrive and the American dream will live on.

Lake Powell Oct 08

It was a lot of fun to be able to take Jon's two brothers and their families to Lake Powell for their 1st time. We all had a great time even when the weather got bad. It did not stop Scott who was the life of the party learning to wakeskate in white cap water. Thanks Scott for the entertainment. We had one pretty hairy incident when a root beer bottle exploded in the fire and the glass cut up our nephew David pretty dang bad. Thankfully he was very brave and his Dad is a Dr. We were all in a pretty big panic and Scott was so calm caring for his son. I was totally amazed and hopefully I can remember to stay calm in future situations. So he had great care and will now have some pretty sweet scars to remember his trip by. I think he got about 20 stitches in one cut on his arm so he was in pretty rough shape. I think Dave taught us all a lesson about fires and glass bottles. So Lake Powell would not be Lake Powell if each trip you did not have a few incidents to remember it by. In the future I think I would like to stick to when we just run our of gas in the boat. Thanks all who came and roughed it with us and especially to Sam who's funny comments kept us laughing. Sam I am sorry your sister Sarah troubles you so much.

Fall 08

Sunday with the family.

Gardner Village

You have to have the annual Halloween visit to Gardner village with Grandma and Papa. Loving this nice fall weather. Hopefully it lasts through Halloween.

Beck Boy

Enjoying uncle Drew's football game.

The Jerk

I first heard this on Bob Lonsberry, and it infuriated me. Paul Pugmire is running for the Salt Lake City Council. He is a democrat. A few days ago, somebody dug up a high-school reunion blog entry that he made in 2006 that started "I was born a poor black child in Mississippi. No, wait, that is something else..." A clear reference to The Jerk (with Steve Martin). Well, conveniently right before the election this came out and everyone is calling him racially insensitive. James Evans, the chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, said "What he has done is despicable. There is nothing funny about being a poor black child from Mississippi. It gives me insight into what he thinks about African-Americans."

Honestly...you really think this gives you "insight into what he thinks about African-Americans?" That is a ridiculous statement. The post was obviously done in reference to the movie at an attempt to be funny. In my opinion, it is not Pugmire, but Evans and the others jumping on this bandwagon that should be blocked from any type of public office in the future.

Neil Young

I have recently been into Neil Young. It all started about a year ago when I recorded an HBO documentary about one of his concerts called Heart Of Gold. I decided a few months ago that I should see him live since he is getting old and all. I looked up his concert schedule and the closest location was Reno. I tried to rally the troops to no avail. I am apparently the only one that feels like they must go to this concert. To add the awesomeness of the concert, it looks like it is in a good venue and Death Cab is opening for him. The main drawback besides distance is price. The GA tickets (floor) will end up being about $90 after all is said and done. So...I believe I am still going to go. Jess says she will go, but she is not dying to go. The concert is November 1 (a Saturday), which is quickly approaching. I'm hoping that somebody I know is also a Neil Young fan and would like to go. Any takers? Here is one of his set lists from August:

Love And Only Love / Hey Hey, My My / Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere / Powderfinger / Spirit Road / Cortez The Killer / Cinnamon Girl / Oh, Lonesome Me / Mother Earth / The Needle And The Damage Done / Unknown Legend / Heart Of Gold / Old Man / Get Back To The Country / Just Singing A Song / Sea Change / When Worlds Collide / Cowgirl In The Sand / Rockin' In The Free World // A Day In he Life