Life is like writing

 

 

Life is like writing.  You can only get slightly better each day. Sometimes the improvement is indiscernible. Yet you have to keep at it.  Focus on the work.

In life we set high goals and goals are good. Yet if you will look around you and within you, you can identify people deciding to change. We are going to lose weight. Stop doing a harmful habit. When we fail, we are pretty miserable with our life and within ourselves.

So let’s hard. But focus on tiny steps.  Try to be just a little bit better than yesterday. And then reward ourselves for it.

Because those of us getting a tiny bit better each day are succeeding. We attain our goal. If you are thinking BIG DEAL. It is when you compare it to the other path of setting a huge goal and not making any progress.

I do have the goal of being a best-selling author. I have not made any progress towards that goal. But I also just try to do better each day. I try to get one more poem or article written and published. I try to get a little bit more involved in my writing community. To me that is success.

Lizzie Files

There are people on the Internet that are speaking up for what they believe.  Then there are those that are addicted to their anger.  In attacking the beliefs of others and not in presenting their own beliefs.

Often they are trolls in that they are paid to do it.  Either way they are bad people and their kids will grow up to be a burden on society.

Religioin- More Harm than Good

I consider myself a religious person. However, my faith in religions and the Bible grows weaker every year.  I see little good in attending to both of them. Adam Carolla says that they have become more harm than good and to a certain degree I agree with him.

I’ve just realized that part of my growing dissonance with religion is caused by religious people quoting from the Bible, and replying to posts with anger.  Instead of being swayed, these posts cause me to question them.

A facebook friend posted about how evolution was stupid.  Creationism was the only way to explain how perfect a human body works.  I found myself questioning the Bible and wanted to respond.  If we take Genesis at its word, then why don’t people believe in the old testament command that adulterers and their spouses must be killed?

The post used the word stupid in regards to evolution.  I give God credit for the wonderful way bodies and nature works.  I cannot say that it happened in six days.

Lizzie files

What if it is not the free ride that causes people to be dependent on welfare? People that have never pondered this, need to take a deeper look into their beliefs. I looked for an analogy in my own life. One I cam up with was how grateful I was when a gas station employee gave me a penny so that I didn’t have to break a dollar. The next time I had a chance, I put a penny in the kitty.

Lizzie Files Calls for Impeachment

I am all for more security at our border.  However, Trump is going against our christian values by detaining young people and tearing families apart.  It is not winning by having the best ideas, but winning through fear.

Working cheaper, not smart

Gov. Walker ran on a platform of cutting waste. That's a good thing. Sorta.  Except when you cut things just to cut things.

The current way Wisconsin is run is that you tighten things up regardless of what harm is done. They have screwed up how agencies order things.  For greater control. However, if you have dedicate, comptetent people, you do not have to worry about waste. Yes there are bad apples in every organization, but I doubt you really stop them.

Who you stop is those that want to make progress in their goals. Again, some oversight is good because it makes people answer questions- there are checks and balances.

More importantly though, too much power just makes the people in charge corrupt.  i suspect that the extra control is to give contracts to friends. 

Meanwhile those not in politics but work for the government, have their times wasted by the extra bureaucracy that has been in place to replace bureaucracy.

Sorry short-sighted dimwits, it takes money to do things.  You may as well use enough to accomplish things instead of cutting costs and achieving nothing.

Anger

For some people, perhaps all people, anger has become automatic.  They react, that reaction is anger. I think it is because we are so out of touch with our emotions.

Some of those people take a second look and then back off of anger.  They go to the person that they reacted to and touch the subject again

Some people don’t. They do not reflect on a situation. The anger sounds right to them and they stick with it. Even as their relationships crumble and their life grows dark, they do not stop.  It just seems as though their actions are justifiable.

Annoying trolls

aren't those losers that troll around the internet and imitate the people they disagree with annoying.  More than annoying, they are ruining our society.

They get money and quite frankly get off on it.  It strokes their "Whatever."

If they were to step back, they would see they are doing the devil's work.  They are evil...and they enjoy it.

Can Trump be what we hope for?

Can Trump be what we hope for?

I don’t think so.  But here is one reason rolling around in my head.  We hate career politicians because they say whatever they need to to get elected. Trump is the same way- just more awkwardly so that we think he is sincere-  he is actually just more bold.

Like all politicians, he has held every position on the issues.  He has said something and admitted he said something just because he needed to.

In the end, he may have landed on your side (conservative, you ignorant slut).  That does not mean there is going to be any really change.  Especially when the houses still have to play politics.  They are still beholding to the american people. (In Wisconsin, republicans have made laws and gerrymandered districts to take the power away from people, but they won’t be able to at the national level.

Lizziefiles Confessions

Madonna featuring Ray of Light in Miammi, Confessions Tour (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Confession-  If America was in bad shape and my family was suffering, I would sneak into Canada, get a job illegally and send money home to my loved ones.  I don’t especially care about building the wall.  Maybe it will force Mexico to get better.  But don’t demonize illegals for the simply act of being illegal if you would do the same.

If trump succeeds

English: Abortion laws in the United States prior to Roe vs. Wade (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If trump succeeds in his promise to make abortions illegal, there will in fact be more abortions.  The people that want to get rid of it do not want to look at the bigger picture. That there are not simple answers.

Of course, there is the argument of wrong is wrong.  I wish abortion was not a reality.  It is though.  In the same way, Christians believed the Bible, but killed native Americans for their land and hung black men for being uppity. God-fearing men drag homosexuals to their deaths.  Jesus was born in a time of a lot of wars. How hard to he rail against it? Need I find Bible verses stating good times to kill people and we do not follow them?

Make it illegal and then what?  Arrest any doctor that performs it? Our prosecuting attorneys and court system are already overworked.  Will it be able to file charges on the doctors.  Many many people will still want abortions.  Will these communities go after them? No.  But they will not need to.

What will the prochoice people do with all their time and money.  Probably fight to get abortions legal again. However, they will also set up a system to help out women.  Money to help them go out of country to where abortions are legal.

I believe that a whole economy will be set up.  American doctors will go to Mexico to get rich.  Women will take abortion vacations.  Go down to a warm destination.

Of course, that is for the women in well-to-do households.  Poor women will have to go back to coat hangers.  Just as bad will be the black market.  Abortions will be the new marijuana. Illegal, but common place.

Setting aside the argument that abortions are just the beginning of controlling women’s bodies (which we shouldn’t, because people do want to do that), women will have less control.  Young females, especially may decide just not to have sex.  Some will then abstain and that is good.  Many, however, will not prepare themselves for sex, but then they will get into a situation where they need contraceptives.

They won’t have them. Sometimes a baby will happen.  Sometimes an abortion will happen.

Those that do get pregnant will then try to hide their pregnancy for as long as possible. Avoiding prenatal care while they figure out what to do or hope for a miscarriage. And what of miscarrgaiges.  Will a hearing have to be held to determine if a woman had a miscarriage or an abortion. Will she be found guilty and face jailtime? There has to be a deterrent, right?

Will there need to be a hearing for a woman claiming rape?  Won’t a woman have to go to court to prove that she did not deserve the kid inside of her. If the answer is yes, then what a terrible thing.  If the answer is no, a doctor can just sign off and say he performed an abortion because the woman was raped.  There’s the loophole to keep it legal.  Then all those young women that are not on contraception and get pregnant have a way to get an abortion.

This is a stretch, but what if people stopped fighting Roe V Wade?  Pro Choice people are passionate about women. I believe they would turn their focus to helping women and abortions are traumatic. Prolife people could spend their money on helping them as well.  Fund adoptions instead of church picnics.

Prochoice candidates would not give speeches about it. The abortion message would not be so prevalent. Without pressure from both sides, I think most young women would choose adoption.

Just remember

A chart showing average monthly welfare benefits (AFDC then TANF) per recipient in constant 2006 dollars. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

jUST REMEMBER

Conservatives think they want to get rid of social programs.  Remember, we’ve had an absence of programs a lot longer than we have had them.

Dog eat dog didn’t work.  That is why we developed them.

 It seems like democrats want to gain power by giving.  It seems like conservatives want to gain power by taking.  Both are wrong beliefs (except for extremists and racists).  Most people want a moderate reasonable approach.  We’ll get neither while we let pundits and social media sway our beliefs and values.

You are a self-made success.  Yo work hard and smart and earned every dollar you got. Yet part of the reason that you were able to is because we have a safe stable society (relative speaking)

If you did not have taxes, and we did not have social safetfy nets, what do you think would happen.  Yes some people would get jobs  May would not.  Are country would be unsafe.  Think of your business.  Is there any of your businesses in the bad parts of the city?

Enough people would be forced to turn to crime.  Without support, less children would get out of bad situations and we would become a more unsafe place.

Choose kindness

The End of Poverty (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the poor and needy. Provide assistance and take care of people or tough love- let them suffer so that they grow into a person that does not need help   I do not believe either works.  As a principal I believe people that suffer but grow are in the end, happier. However, we want what works best, do we not.

It does not work.  Conservatives see all we do and think that we give to much to the poor. The important view here, though is how the people needing assistance see it.  I don’t believe they see it as a big gift.  I don’t think other people in the same position would either. For example, an African American on welfare see what?  They see the racism in the police force and in other places. They see that they are kept down.  No matter what color a poor person is, they will feel kept down and persecuted.  Anyone in that situation would.  Whether or not it a fact, it is human nature.

It does not matter how you view it

However, the truth vs. perception argument is not what I want to address.  I just believe that they think they are already in a tough love environment. Without the love.

On the other hand, we have had welfare programs since Roosevelt. They have not cured the problems with poverty. I think this is because poverty is just so complicated.  

So what to do?

I relate this to my working with special education students.  Years ago, I dealt with kids in a strict way. We had rules and they needed to be followed and there was consequences.  We are the adult so we will win.

Over the years, this has fallen to the wayside. The pendulum has swung as we say in education. I have a much more positive environment with less consequences. I see students succeed with this.  I saw them improve with the tough love. In fact the kids often were thankful that someone was willing to stand up to them and say, enough. I care enough to give consequences.

However, The strict way did not lead to an intrinsic change.  I think the resentment came out in other ways.  And for some children, it did not work

The encouraging way has about the same success.  However, it works longer term.  INstead of weakening problems, it increases strength. It is certainly easier on everyone. It models how to get along and exist with less strife

Perhaps the success rate is the same.  However, as a nation, how do we want to be?  We want to nurture.  Even those saying tough love, would change their attitude if they had to see people suffer when the could stop it.

When America was Great

When America was Great

Do’t get me wrong.  I believe our nation is great. Maybe not wonderful. Definitely not close to perfect. But it is great.  But when were things the best.  Many say back in the 50s.

I think this may be the truth, but not for the reasons that people that say it is great think.

Not socially.  There was some good parts to it.  Sure. But why were we so secure.  Why did we do so great.  

I think the 50s were the penultimate time because of the ecomic environment.  We were growing as a nation. That helped.  We were also helped by the rights and protections tha unions and the laws gave us.  

The employees were not taken advantage of, treated fairly.  The owners of companies did well, some were extremely rich, but it was not at the expense of the common man.  

We have slowly doing worse.  It is harder for people to make a living and have finacial security. I believe this has a correlation with the rise of corporations. Corporations are, in a way, a union, for people to get together and gain more share of the wealth created by the economy.  We went from a family owned business environment to corporations that act like the Terminator.  They have one goal and that is to dominate. Not feed the employees family or create a secure nation.

So it is not welfare that is dragging us down. Charity and helping hand. It is not the lack of an intact family (Not saying this is not a problem).

The Truth

English: Barack Obama speech "Fighting for Health Insurance Reform" delivered 8 March 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The truth of the matter is that Obama did not require health insurance because he wanted your freedom or to turn us into socialists.  It was because of the coverage of preexisting illnesses.  Otherwse people would not pay for the insurance until they got sick and then sign up for insurance.  That is not a sustainable plan.

Related articles

• Replace ACA with what?

Lizziefiles

English: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Resized, renamed, and cropped version of File:Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs.svg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

People want to believe there’s an easy answer to thing.  People on welfare, well they should be made to work.  Pay their own way. Not actually a bad theory. In a perfect world.  However, in this response, is racism.  Okay, I'm sort of kidding. However, I don’t think people that are hard line conservatives can truly put themselves in someone else’s shoes (and many are just racist). In other words, they think that they would bring their values and work ethics and life skills with them.

I see correlations with governmental programs with my teaching.  I work with children that use illegal substances and have done bad things.  They have hurt people and they continue to hurt people when I work with them.

You cannot just come down on them. Yes you have rules and consequences and you enforce them. Yet you cannot be punitive. It only leads to be more punitive. You also have to identify the cause of the acting out. You have to give them skills to work through troubles. A kid that does not know how to calm down, is not going to calm down no matter how much you take privileges away.

You also have to cut break and reward their goodness.  You have to strengthen the positive so that the negative is replaced.

I am not saying take away prisons and laws.  I am merely saying that for everyone, change often does not succeed.  The figure I have heard is that it takes ten tries to change something you want to change.

We are all in our cycles of behaviors.  Thanks to luck, parents, and security ours are less dangerous. Those on welfare ares stuck.  Our only hope is to provide the children on welfar with the needs on the maslow hierarchy of needs and give them the skills and support that they need.

The Last Gasp

Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Republicans elected trump because they are desparate.  Things are changing.  Our culture is more tolerant and more open and more peaceful.

The people that run this company, the rich, are staying greedy and getting desperate. But when Trump passes and limps out of the white house as a failure, they will have lost their power.

Oh there will still be pockets of right wingers getting their rocks off on being angry and teaching their children hate, but we will finally become a great nation.

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• Conservative student: 'Deplorable NYU Prof' has made campus climate worse for us

New First Lady

We need to make sure that we treat Mr. Trump's wife with the respect he does of wives.  In other words, let's call her names-  fat pig.  a house keeper.

Let's try to grab her in the pussy!

Are conservatives like a trailer Park Home schooler

There are people that homeschool their children that are motivated to expose their children to learning that they can tailor to their kids.  Then there is the trailer park mom who homes schools their kids because they don't want to have to get up in the morning.  They believe that they can throw a few textbooks at them and then let them surf Youtube (aka Ron Johnson). That homes schooler thinks that they are smarter than everyone else when in fact the opposite is true.

Donald trump is like that.  He has blundered his way until he has come to believe his ignorance is actually an asset.

Now you may say, but he is so rich.  Well he started out rich and money makes money when you are willing to screw everyone over.  If Trump is elected, like a bad homeschooler, it will be the children that suffer, along with everyone within the court.

According to Bullock, Hitler was an opportunistic adventurer devoid of principles, beliefs or scruples. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Trump is Hitler, are we post-war Germany.

My first thought is that America is not. We are not in dire straits and feeling defeated. Then I wondered if maybe the threshold from a Hitler might have happened even if things were not so bad. Maybe the threshold for evil is lower.

What if the mindset of a nation could be set in motion and then snowball until it is out of control. Plus as a nation, we might be dumber than post-war Germany. In fact, I am pretty sure that is true.

There is an inequality in America. It is simply harder to identify because technology allows there to be a big discrepancy without the hardships that it caused in the past. People can be poor and have hardships. Yet few do not have resources for food and shelter. Most have a refrigerator, fast food, and a cell phone. So the urgent need for change is not there- fix this or change. Yet the anger is there. We look for someone to blame.  Liberalism look to blame the rich and corporations. Yet we love our corporations. Pepsi and Nike. We believe someday we will be rich.

Conservatives blame the immigrants and minorities and the no religious. For many people, this hits on something they believe anyway.  And even if deep down, they disagree, if you hear something long enough, you will begin to believe it.

I believe that trump will not get elected.  If a rich moderate like the last guy could not get elected, then how will an angry Trump. His rhetoric will change, but (and he may not believe this) his previous comments have been filmed and will be brought up.