Before voting ask yourself how you actually live. You might be surprised at how you live compared to how you vote. You should always vote the way you live, though. If you are comfortable in your lifestyle, then you should be comfortable voting that way. If you aren’t, then you have further questions to ask.
1. Do you live off of a government check or have a government job or do you have a job in the private sector?
2. Do you make your own decisions or let others make them for you?
3. Do you give donations to private charities?
4. Do you only pay your taxes owed or send extra money to the government?
5. Do you handle your own personal issues in life maybe with family and close friends or do you ask for council from your neighbors and community or a government body?
6. Do you allow just anyone to walk into your house or do you lock the door and expect people to knock or call first before coming over?
7. Do you have a fence around your yard or a portion of it? Do you have a privacy fence?
8. Are you involved in things like the PTA, local community groups, or charities?
9. Do you have a savings account?
10. Do you live on credit or within your means?
11. When people ask you for money do you just give it to them no questions asked?
12. When you loan someone money do you tie certain behaviors to it?
13. Do you hope to be able to pass your property on to your children when you pass on?
14. Do you look for bargains or sales when shopping or do you use coupons?
15. Do you believe your money should be taxed more than once?
16. Do you pay attention to what is taken out of your paycheck in taxes?
17. What percentage of your paycheck should be paid in taxes?
18. Do you think everyone should pay the same percentage in taxes or that the more you make the higher your taxes should be?
19. Do you think anyone should not be taxed?
20. Do you think you should be bailed out of any and all financial risks you take?
21. Would you rather pay into Social Security or have your own private retirement fund?
22. Do you own/drive an SUV or “gas-guzzling” vehicle?
23. Do you bike to work?
24. Do you carpool?
25. Do you recycle?
26. Do you actively hang out with people who have different belief systems than you?
27. Do you put your trust in the people you know or people you’ve never met before?
28. Do you attend church?
29. Do you believe in right and wrong?
30. Do you play games/sports where there is a winner and a loser?
31. Do you believe that global warming is man made or are you not sure all the facts are in, yet?
32. Do you hunt?
33. Would you prefer to send your children to private school if you could afford it?
34. Do you show pride in your country or do you think there is a better country in the world?
35. Do you go to political rallies and/or protests?
36. Do you obey the law and expect those around you to do the same?
37. Do you vote?
There are two choices in all federal elections. You have the Republican and Democrat parties as your two central choices. (In some states there are more choices, but they rarely matter. Maybe that's a shame.)
It doesn’t matter who is running. It doesn’t matter what side the individuals take on social issues. It doesn’t matter which side the individuals take on any specific war. It doesn’t matter what the individuals think of the economy. It doesn’t matter what the individuals think about much of anything, to be honest. They are going to vote with their party on most everything and there won’t be much crossing of party lines. That just happens to be a fact of life in government. Look at the two current candidates for president and see how many times each has voted against their own party.
The two choices come down to each party’s core belief system. If you believe that government can solve most problems, then you vote one way. If you believe that people have most of the answers to their own problems, then you vote the other way.
There are key phrases to tell you which party is which.
If you hear talk of raising taxes, discontinuing tax cuts, taxing the rich, taxing big business or big oil, or phrases such as these, then you are hearing someone say that government has the solutions and they want your hard earned money. If you hear someone talk about starting new programs, creating new government offices, and growing government, then you are hearing someone say that government has the solutions. If you hear someone talk about job creation, creating incentives for social change, and additional regulation of business, then that person believes government is the solution. When you hear a candidate talk about making new laws because current laws aren’t sufficient, then be aware that this candidate is telling you that government has the answers.
If you hear someone talk about tax cuts across the board, continuing or increasing tax credits, or anything that means people of any stature get to keep more of their hard earned money, then you are hearing someone who believes people have the answers to their own financial woes. If you hear someone talk about cutting government funding to certain programs, closing certain government offices, and reducing the size of government, then you are hearing someone state that government is not the answer to most of societies ills. If you hear someone talk about reducing government regulation on business, that person believes that people are the solution.
Can you tell which party is which? Which way do you actually live? Are you going to vote the way you live?
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Bret Michaels Makes Dream Come True
Sometimes you are just put in the right place at the right time. My buddy Brad was that guy last night and he kicked off a series of events that led to Bret Michaels being able to make a 13 year old girl's dream come true.
I'd been debating on going to the Bret Michaels concerts this weekend in both Kansas City on Friday and Dubuque, IA, on Saturday. I had hoped to make both shows, but knew I had to make at least one. I don't like traveling alone so that figured into trying to make my decision. I decided to stay in Friday night and see if someone wanted to go on Saturday. Saturday morning I even started debating making the even longer drive to Dubuque, but then I received a text from Pete Evick asking if I was going to be at the show. I just made up my mind for sure at that moment and said I'd be there so I started texting friends to see who was willing to go. I enlisted my friend Brad and my friend and S&S Entertainment partner Dave.
We got to the show and found our seats inside. At the inside end of our row was a very young girl who seemed to be there by herself. Brad is the talkative and social type and the first question out of his mouth to this young girl was to ask what she seemed to be doing there alone.
Turns out Elaina M. is a 13 year old girl who has a very rare form of cancer. Doctors told her that she is only the 8th person they know of documented to have the form of cancer she has. While she seemed to be a very normal and healthy young girl with a great spirit, she had recently been very sick under chemotherapy and doctors are unable to tell her if she is in remission. Apparently, the others with this cancer have died within 5 years of being diagnosed with it. She wore a knit cap to cover her head and made comments to Brad about how beautiful another girl's hair was and that she missed having hers. Elaina's favorite program to watch on TV during her lengthy time in the hospital was Bret Michael's Rock Of Love. While she had been quite ill, she turned in an application to the Make A Wish Foundation in the hopes of some day meeting Bret Michaels. She was able to get a ticket to this show, but had to come by herself due to what seemed like her family's ability to be able to afford to get her the one ticket. Elaina was very excited to be at the show and hoped she might be able to find some way to meet Bret.
Brad heard this story and soon turned to me to relate it. I have been very fortunate since Bret played Waterstock in Des Moines a few years ago to have kept in touch with Pete Evick. I knew I had to find a way to let Pete know this girl's story and see if there was a way to make this girl's wish come true.
I found a young woman who was assisting at the merch table and I'd seen her talking to Pete earlier and with her access she'd be able to get the word to Pete if I didn't catch him first. I brought Elaina out to meet this young woman and she said she'd do her best to get word to Bret.
I happened to catch Big John and related Elaina's story briefly to him as well. I knew Big John is a father and I had a bit of trouble holding it together as I told him about Elaina because I have two daughters myself. Big John said he'd see what he could do for Elaina, too, and asked that I bring her to the front curtain at the end of the show.
Everyone I could find in Bret's group I had to stop briefly just to let them know about Elaina's wish. I introduced her to Lucky Chuck as he passed through the crowd and finally found Pete to relate the story to him.
The compassion and honest emotion was evident with each of the people I stopped and I knew they would each find a way to let Bret know about Elaina.
This evening became more than just a night out with a couple of buddies to see a concert. It became a mission to make Elaina's wish come true. My 9 year old daughter happened to call before Bret went on stage and I related the story to her, too. She said she really hoped that Elaina's wish would come true, too. She was proud of her old man for trying.
Bret put on a fun show as he always does. Evick is the perfect band to be the Bret Michaels Band. These guys are tight, fun, and always great to watch and interact with. Bret made a great choice not only musically, but it seems to be a great decision on a personal level to have these guys in his band. I will separately write about the show itself.
After the concert, my friends and I had to look around for Elaina. She had initially followed Brad to the front of the stage as the seating really didn't matter at this show. I was in row J and yet was crushed front and center for the entire show against the barrier. Elaina had gotten separated and while she really seemed like she could handle herself just fine, my buddies and I still felt a little responsible for her safety and really wanted to make sure that she had the opportunity to meet Bret.
We found her and as Bob (Bret's cousin), Pete, and Big John tried to get things wrapped up we waited by the merch table. Bob had made a promise to Elaina that she'd meet Bret. It sounded like she really was going to have this dream come true. I asked Elaina if she had brought a camera and all she had was her RAZR to take pictures. I offered to take pics with my camera for her if they would allow that and gave her my card so she could contact me and I could get the pictures to her.
After the merch area had been taken down and packed away and carted off, Bob asked Elaina and me to follow him. Big John and a friend of his came with us and we made our way out to Bret's tour bus.
Bret was the perfect host as we walked on. Elaina immediately got a hug and Bret struck up conversation with her. He asked her if she had anything to sign, which she did. She even asked him to sign her phone. He signed a huge cardboard Rock Of Love tour piece from a previous show with "Something To Believe In". He signed a notebook she had once for her and once for a friend she wanted to give it to. I used my camera and took a couple of pictures of her with Bret and was able to get a picture with them both while one of the crew took the picture. Bret is coming back to Iowa next month and asked if Elaina was going to be there. She hesitated and you could see Bret's heart start to sink as she wasn't sure. She certainly hopes to and it was hard to tell if her hesitation was due to her health or due to other circumstances. Bret was honest in his desire to see her at that show next month.
Elaina has a great sense of honesty and humor about her. I mentioned that Bret certainly made the right choice by picking Ambre on his TV show Rock Of Love. When I said that, Elaina agreed and then added that Daisy "looks like a whore". This brought laughter from everyone on the bus as Bret certainly disagrees in that he believes Daisy is "hot", but he was laughing because Elaina certainly has a knack for honesty and hearing this type of talk from a 13 year old girl was almost shocking. Bret let Elaina have as much time as she wanted and as she was ready to leave, he gave her another hug. As she turned to go, she took a step away and then turned right back around again for another hug from Bret. You could see the raw honest emotion on Bret's face as she did this. It's certainly not easy seeing someone so young and so full of energy and life in that moment knowing that she has been through so much and her future is very uncertain.
I thanked Bret myself for making this Elaina's dream come true. I had never met this girl before this night and just by making Bret's band and friends aware, Bret was able to make this moment happen for Elaina. I thanked everyone in Bret's bus, Bob, Big John, Rob, Ray, Pete, Doyle, Whitey, and the wonderful young lady who helped make everyone of Bret's crew aware of Elaina. These people are incredible and they each have a huge heart.
My friends and I waited until Elaina's family showed up to pick her up. Elaina couldn't wait to tell them and their expressions were pure amazement as she quickly told them she met Bret and we put her cardboard poster in their SUV. They were very thankful and anxious to hear more as they took her home.
I've been to tons of concerts. I've had a lot of great times and even what some might term "religious experiences" as there are just moments in life that hearing certain songs performed live can touch you deeply. I've pretty much been able to attend most concerts in a more selfish manner as I get lost in the music. Last night while I still get lost in the performances, meant so much more as the honesty of Bret's lyrics was followed up in the honesty of Bret's actions after the stage was dark and the crowd had left.
Elaina and her experience touched a lot of people last night, none more so than her. She is in a lot of people's prayers and if her energy and spirit are any indication, she may just surprise her doctors, too.
I'd been debating on going to the Bret Michaels concerts this weekend in both Kansas City on Friday and Dubuque, IA, on Saturday. I had hoped to make both shows, but knew I had to make at least one. I don't like traveling alone so that figured into trying to make my decision. I decided to stay in Friday night and see if someone wanted to go on Saturday. Saturday morning I even started debating making the even longer drive to Dubuque, but then I received a text from Pete Evick asking if I was going to be at the show. I just made up my mind for sure at that moment and said I'd be there so I started texting friends to see who was willing to go. I enlisted my friend Brad and my friend and S&S Entertainment partner Dave.
We got to the show and found our seats inside. At the inside end of our row was a very young girl who seemed to be there by herself. Brad is the talkative and social type and the first question out of his mouth to this young girl was to ask what she seemed to be doing there alone.
Turns out Elaina M. is a 13 year old girl who has a very rare form of cancer. Doctors told her that she is only the 8th person they know of documented to have the form of cancer she has. While she seemed to be a very normal and healthy young girl with a great spirit, she had recently been very sick under chemotherapy and doctors are unable to tell her if she is in remission. Apparently, the others with this cancer have died within 5 years of being diagnosed with it. She wore a knit cap to cover her head and made comments to Brad about how beautiful another girl's hair was and that she missed having hers. Elaina's favorite program to watch on TV during her lengthy time in the hospital was Bret Michael's Rock Of Love. While she had been quite ill, she turned in an application to the Make A Wish Foundation in the hopes of some day meeting Bret Michaels. She was able to get a ticket to this show, but had to come by herself due to what seemed like her family's ability to be able to afford to get her the one ticket. Elaina was very excited to be at the show and hoped she might be able to find some way to meet Bret.
Brad heard this story and soon turned to me to relate it. I have been very fortunate since Bret played Waterstock in Des Moines a few years ago to have kept in touch with Pete Evick. I knew I had to find a way to let Pete know this girl's story and see if there was a way to make this girl's wish come true.
I found a young woman who was assisting at the merch table and I'd seen her talking to Pete earlier and with her access she'd be able to get the word to Pete if I didn't catch him first. I brought Elaina out to meet this young woman and she said she'd do her best to get word to Bret.
I happened to catch Big John and related Elaina's story briefly to him as well. I knew Big John is a father and I had a bit of trouble holding it together as I told him about Elaina because I have two daughters myself. Big John said he'd see what he could do for Elaina, too, and asked that I bring her to the front curtain at the end of the show.
Everyone I could find in Bret's group I had to stop briefly just to let them know about Elaina's wish. I introduced her to Lucky Chuck as he passed through the crowd and finally found Pete to relate the story to him.
The compassion and honest emotion was evident with each of the people I stopped and I knew they would each find a way to let Bret know about Elaina.
This evening became more than just a night out with a couple of buddies to see a concert. It became a mission to make Elaina's wish come true. My 9 year old daughter happened to call before Bret went on stage and I related the story to her, too. She said she really hoped that Elaina's wish would come true, too. She was proud of her old man for trying.
Bret put on a fun show as he always does. Evick is the perfect band to be the Bret Michaels Band. These guys are tight, fun, and always great to watch and interact with. Bret made a great choice not only musically, but it seems to be a great decision on a personal level to have these guys in his band. I will separately write about the show itself.
After the concert, my friends and I had to look around for Elaina. She had initially followed Brad to the front of the stage as the seating really didn't matter at this show. I was in row J and yet was crushed front and center for the entire show against the barrier. Elaina had gotten separated and while she really seemed like she could handle herself just fine, my buddies and I still felt a little responsible for her safety and really wanted to make sure that she had the opportunity to meet Bret.
We found her and as Bob (Bret's cousin), Pete, and Big John tried to get things wrapped up we waited by the merch table. Bob had made a promise to Elaina that she'd meet Bret. It sounded like she really was going to have this dream come true. I asked Elaina if she had brought a camera and all she had was her RAZR to take pictures. I offered to take pics with my camera for her if they would allow that and gave her my card so she could contact me and I could get the pictures to her.
After the merch area had been taken down and packed away and carted off, Bob asked Elaina and me to follow him. Big John and a friend of his came with us and we made our way out to Bret's tour bus.
Bret was the perfect host as we walked on. Elaina immediately got a hug and Bret struck up conversation with her. He asked her if she had anything to sign, which she did. She even asked him to sign her phone. He signed a huge cardboard Rock Of Love tour piece from a previous show with "Something To Believe In". He signed a notebook she had once for her and once for a friend she wanted to give it to. I used my camera and took a couple of pictures of her with Bret and was able to get a picture with them both while one of the crew took the picture. Bret is coming back to Iowa next month and asked if Elaina was going to be there. She hesitated and you could see Bret's heart start to sink as she wasn't sure. She certainly hopes to and it was hard to tell if her hesitation was due to her health or due to other circumstances. Bret was honest in his desire to see her at that show next month.
Elaina has a great sense of honesty and humor about her. I mentioned that Bret certainly made the right choice by picking Ambre on his TV show Rock Of Love. When I said that, Elaina agreed and then added that Daisy "looks like a whore". This brought laughter from everyone on the bus as Bret certainly disagrees in that he believes Daisy is "hot", but he was laughing because Elaina certainly has a knack for honesty and hearing this type of talk from a 13 year old girl was almost shocking. Bret let Elaina have as much time as she wanted and as she was ready to leave, he gave her another hug. As she turned to go, she took a step away and then turned right back around again for another hug from Bret. You could see the raw honest emotion on Bret's face as she did this. It's certainly not easy seeing someone so young and so full of energy and life in that moment knowing that she has been through so much and her future is very uncertain.
I thanked Bret myself for making this Elaina's dream come true. I had never met this girl before this night and just by making Bret's band and friends aware, Bret was able to make this moment happen for Elaina. I thanked everyone in Bret's bus, Bob, Big John, Rob, Ray, Pete, Doyle, Whitey, and the wonderful young lady who helped make everyone of Bret's crew aware of Elaina. These people are incredible and they each have a huge heart.
My friends and I waited until Elaina's family showed up to pick her up. Elaina couldn't wait to tell them and their expressions were pure amazement as she quickly told them she met Bret and we put her cardboard poster in their SUV. They were very thankful and anxious to hear more as they took her home.
I've been to tons of concerts. I've had a lot of great times and even what some might term "religious experiences" as there are just moments in life that hearing certain songs performed live can touch you deeply. I've pretty much been able to attend most concerts in a more selfish manner as I get lost in the music. Last night while I still get lost in the performances, meant so much more as the honesty of Bret's lyrics was followed up in the honesty of Bret's actions after the stage was dark and the crowd had left.
Elaina and her experience touched a lot of people last night, none more so than her. She is in a lot of people's prayers and if her energy and spirit are any indication, she may just surprise her doctors, too.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
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