Really? Is it that necessary?

You've Got Mail

This morning I logged into my email and started the normal process of looking through my in box. By just looking at the sender or subject line I could easily discern things I didn't even need to open and could just delete. The things that were left required a bit more effort to sort through. But with opening them and checking them out in a bit more detail I was able to delete many of those within seconds, seeing they too were of no value. Then I was left with the real stuff, the useful things, the items I needed to know about or correspondence to which I wanted and needed to pay attention. I sort those and save the things I really need for future reference. Then I get this wonderful notice congratulating me for having a clean mailbox. Wouldn't it be nice if our lives and hearts worked as easy as that.

Sure, there are some filters that much of the junk just won't get through. There's the stuff that enters our mind and is rejected right away. But there are those other items that are a bit more disguised and subtle so we take a closer look. Sure some we "delete" quickly as well. But others we stil haven't chosen to discard. You know, those are the gray areas, the small compromises. Dwelling a little long on a thought here. Becoming blind to even seeing evil influences there. Like a seemingly harmless email we open only to find out later that lurking behind it is a virus that can put so much in jeopardy. Then there are the things we really need, the important stuff and things to be stored away and treasured in our heart.

It's a whole lot easier to keep an in box clean than it is a heart. Discerning the good stuff from the junk is a much simpler process in an email account than in one's life. But some day hearing "Well done good and faithful servant." sure is much more important than some stupid electronic clean in box compliment.

Where's Your Treasure (and your heart)?

It's tax time again. I like to get my tax return filled out as soon as I can so I know where I stand, either getting a refund or owing more the the IRS. (No, this isn't going to be a rant about taxes, so please, if your dander got up, let it go back down. That rant will be saved ofr anothre post.) I've used the same software every year but one for the past decade or so to complete my return. When it is done they show me a nifty comparison of my return in relation to others in my income range. I'm not going to tell you all the specific numbers. But something really stood out to me when compared to those in my income range.

In the range, my income was in the bottom 5%.

National Average (NA from here forward) gross income was 269% of mine.

NA taxable income was 192% of mine.

NA adjusted gross income was 132% of mine.

Here's what I found interesting in light of the above income differences:

My charitable contributions were 14% of my AGI & gross income and 28% of my taxable income.
NA charitable contribution were 1.4% of gross earnings, 2.8% of their AGI and 3.8% of their taxabe income.

In real dollars, my charitable giving was in the neighborhood of $11,000 more than the NA for my income range, and I'm waaaaaaay on the low end of that range.

It made me think about something a great, authortative teacher from a couple thousand years ago once taught to his followers. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

What does where you've been spending your treasure have to say about the position of your heart?

Good-bye Liberty, Hello Utopia

I’m always telling my kids that school is their job and they should always work hard and do their best. But what if the grades they earned were treated like the wages we earn at our jobs...


Billy was always a good student. All through school he worked hard and earned all A’s except for one B in sixth grade P.E. and ended up finishing middle school as the third highest in his class. It was a sad summer day when his parents announced that they were moving in August from their home in Liberty, Texas to Utopia, just east of San Antonio. They would be settled in just in time for Billy to start high school.

As the school year started, wanting to make a good first impression at the new school, Billy really hit the books hard. The other students didn’t seem to take school too seriously. Billy thought perhaps this would give him just the edge he needed to graduate first in his high school class. He studied every night and always completed his homework assignments on time. On every paper, every assignment, every test he scored 100 percent. That’s what made his parents quite perplexed when after the first grading period his report card showed straight C’s. His parents scheduled a meeting with his teachers to discuss his grades. They took every scrap of paper he had produced showing he had received the highest scores possible on everything.

At the start of the meeting one of the teachers opened stating that after he had spoken to Billy’s parents he did decide to review his grades, as did all the other teachers. All of them realized there was a mistake on Billy’s report card. They presented the revised grades to Billy’s parents. His grades had been changed to all D’s.

“What is the meaning of this?” Billy’s father asked. “I’m holding all Billy’s papers and they all show he received 100 percent on everything. How could he get all D’s with scores like that?” he demanded.

“We had another straight A student, but she transferred out before the end of the grading period. That’s how we mistakenly had given your son a C.”

Perplexed, Billy’s father asked, “Why on earth would the transfer of another student have any impact on my son’s grade?”

“Oh that’s right. You came here from Liberty. You’d don’t understand how the grading system works here in Utopia.” The teacher began to explain, “To make things fair for every body, points are taken away from the ones who have earned more and given to those students who haven’t. The harder you work and more points you earn, the more you have taken away for the benefit of the rest of the students. Isn’t the Utopian school system wonderful? We all hope Billy will keep working hard and getting these wonderful grades.”


I bet if you were Billy or his parents you’d be very ticked off that he is having the fruits of his hard work taken away from him. As crazy as it sounds, this is just how wage earners are treated under the tax system.

July 4, 1776 - Change We Can Believe In

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government.”

So starts the document we celebrate each July fourth. Have you ever read it for yourself? A majority of the body of this Declaration lists specific grievances about which the Representatives of the Colonies had repeatedly petitioned the established government. The response from the King had been only greater tyranny. So fifty-six brave and bold men, “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,” signed their names and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to bring about the change that they believed in. This was their duty. Not a plot to gain political power or great personal riches. If only we had real leaders and statesmen like that today.

I can only imagine what these Founding Fathers would have to say about the current tyranny we now live under. What would their response be to a government that takes over private companies, that allows property to be seized before a trial in which guilt has been proved, that passes legislation in the middle of the night which hasn’t even been read? Governments are instituted among men to secure our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Not to erode or strip those rights away. Our present day government seems to have more in common with that of the King of England from 1776 than it does to the one established in our Constitution.

"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." Thomas Jefferson

"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence. It is force. And force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." George Washington

“A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicity.” Thomas Jefferson

“I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Thomas Jefferson

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty.... And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
Thomas Jefferson


Know what you celebrate this July Fourth. Understand how this Nation was brought into being and the cost to those who made it happen. Remember, as Thomas Jefferson says, that lethargy is “the forerunner of death to the public liberty.” Don’t just light a sparkler, reignite the fire of Liberty!

Personal Bankruptcy Crisis Solved

I heard this on a network news story yesterday. "Every thirty seconds in the United States, someone files bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem."

Being a numbers kind of guy, I thought I'd see just how many bankruptcies that was in a year. Here's what I came up with. Using the "every thirty seconds" number, the total medical related bankruptcies for one year would be equal to 1,051,200. (2 filings x 60 minutes = 120 an hour, x 24 hours = 2,880 a day, x 365 days = 1,051,200 a year) According to the Financial Post, the total number of bankruptcies in 2008 were 1,117,771. The Financial Post further states that of the 2008 bankruptcies, 45,546 are business filings. This means there were only 23,025 filings for reasons other than "serious health problems" if this news story's claim is true. Really? Only 2% of bankruptcies are due to financial irresponsibility or circumstances other than unpayable medical costs?

In a way I feel much better, knowing that there aren't a bunch of people out there living beyond their means and misusing credit, buying houses, cars, boats and other toys they can't afford. Maybe the government should just write checks to all the doctors and medical facilities to pay off all these health related bills that are causing the personal bankruptcies of these otherwise responsible citizens. It sure makes more sense than the billions and billions of dollars spent to bail out the banks and other companies. This simple plan would eliminate nearly 98% of the personal bankruptcies IF the numbers from this news story are correct. I saw it on TV. It's got to be true, right?

Fast Thoughts on Fast Food News

Ok, I know they don't like the "Fast Food" term and they are supposed to be called "Quick Serve Restaurants" now. But But QSR just didn't sound right in my title. Anyway, after a month off, I'm here commenting on the following.

I was watching Fox and Friends the other morning and saw an ad for Popeyes. What struck me as funny is their new ad slogan. "Louisiana Fast" Just think about that. I know, stereotyping isn't nice. But really, have you ever been to Louisiana? That slogan appears to be more of an oxymoron, doesn't it? I'm just saying, the pace of life down in that part of the country seems, um, well a bit more "relaxed" than other places I've been.

Then there was Reed Harris from New Mexico who came up with a memorable way to propose to his girlfriend. He hid the ring in her Frosty from Wendy's and then challenged her in a Frosty eating race. Having invited friends to watch the event, I'm sure he didn't quite plan on the way it turned out. His girlfriend, Kaitlin Whipple, must be very competitive. She won the race and never even noticed there was a ring somewhere in the midst of the all the Frosty she had swallowed. But it all turned out all right in the end. They are planning to wed in May or June. It made me think of Melissa from the Bachelor. I'm sure she wanted to tell Jason to stick the ring he gave to her where the sun don't shine.

And finally, we have the McNugget meltdown of Latreasa Goodman. She ordered and paid for a 10-piece, but then was told they were out of nuggets. When she was only offered alternate food items rather than a refund she called 9-1-1. Not once. Not twice. But three times. Maybe she called 3 times because she expected the police to respond in a New York minute and they were responding Louisiana Fast instead. When told by the 9-1-1 operator that 9-1-1 was for emergencies she said, "this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency." I guess QT isn't the only place that has serious food.