Silence is NOT Golden; a political statement

NUGGETS FOR THE NOGGIN

SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN!

By Jim "Gymbeaux" Brown, March, 2013

Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons made famous the song, Silence is Golden and it was definitely a keeper but is silence truly golden?  I think not!

DISCLAIMER:  I normally prepare these Nuggets for the Noggin based on training topics, inspirational idea and/or motivational ideas.  Occasionally I feel the urge and need to write on something other than those topics as is the case for this Nugget.  As a citizen of America first and a disabled veteran second, I feel I have earned the right to voice a political opinion which this is.  If it offends anyone, I will not apologize as it is my right to voice my opinion as it is yours.  I also feel the subject of this Nugget should be if not already agreeable to most Americans; if you continue reading, hopefully you.

I have some questions for everyone:

• Do you like the 2014 America better than you did the 2008 America? 
• Are you better off today than you were in 2008? 
• Do you feel more secure in your own home today or in your home in 2008? 
• Do you feel America is more respected in 2014 or in 2008?
• Do you feel your government is looking out for you more in 2014 or more in 2008?
• Do you feel President Bush lied to you more than President Obama or vice versa?
• Do you trust your 2014 Government more or your 2008 Government more?
• Do you feel President Obama is abusing the power of the Presidency by issuing Executive Orders to circumvent Congress?
• Do you feel the political divide in America has diminished or grown since 2008?
• Do you think it is right that the government can target its political adversaries such as the IRS has done?
• Regardless of your position on illegal immigration, do you think America should secure its borders to prevent additional people from ILLEGALLY crossing into the country BEFORE it attempts to resolve the issue of those people already here?
• Do you honestly believe it is permissible for the IRS to target political adversaries of the reigning President?
• Do you feel that the administration in office should cooperate in every way with Congressional hearings?
• Do you feel that in 2014 America has lost its position as a force to be dealt with throughout the world?
• Do you feel that America should drill for oil and gas and be authorized to build the Keystone Pipeline thus insuring long-term high paying jobs throughout the country instead of relying on foreign oil and gas?

Right now the vast majority of Americans are deafly silent as to what is happening in America in 2014.  Do you feel that is a good thing or a bad thing?  In my opinion, and it is exactly that - an opinion, Americans are fiddling while Washington and the Country are burning much like Nero and Rome.

Over the past five years there have been scandals, one after another, yet the national news media seems to be a willing accomplice to covering up or simply not addressing these scandals as it has in Administrations prior to President Obama's Administration. 

In case you have forgotten your American Civics lessons assuming you attended a school that still teaches civics, here is the First Amendment to the Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What will it take for the Free Press to actually DO ITS JOB!  Case in point is the attack on the Embassy in Benghazi.  It was obvious to most clear thinking people that the supposed anti-Islam video had nothing to do with the attack and that it WAS an attack and not a peaceful demonstration gone amuck.  Because the truth of the attack was never brought to the attention of the American people, it is quite possible that an election for the office of the President was determined due to the lack of adequate and truthful information regarding the attack.  The Free Press did little to nothing to research the facts of this attack.  If it had it would have discovered that the attack was pre-planned, set to occur on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States and was conducted by terrorists NOT DEMONSTRATORS!  They would have also discovered a total lack of responsibility on the part of the President, The Secretary of Defense, and The Secretary of State during the attack, after the attack and certainly the days, weeks and months leading up to the attack.  And as a veteran it truly pains me to say that the military failed to take adequate precautions and planning given the significance of the 9/11 approaching anniversary date in a country that had recently experienced attacks on the same embassy or the military was given specific orders NOT to prepare or get involved; either way it is despicable and unacceptable.

For weeks following the attack, we as a country were led to believe by the Obama Administration that this was all the result of a video on YouTube.  I would like to ask, has anyone actually seen this video?  I haven't.  Recent reports prepared by a bi-partisan Congress and Senate clearly indicate that the attack WAS pre-planned and that the Administration WAS asked to increase the security at the Benghazi Embassy but declined the requests (plural).

But here we have the American FREE Press who it seems COLLECTIVELY, with very few exceptions, decided NOT to investigate Benghazi and therefore left most Americans in the dark.  If you, like most Americans, get their news from one of the three major news networks, you probably still have no idea what this Nugget is all about because IF the reports are correct, on the Monday and Tuesday immediately following the release of the Congressional and Senate Reports, there was ZERO COVERAGE regarding the information in the reports.  At the same time they spent most of their allotted news time covering the traffic tie up on the bridge between New Jersey and New York.  Why?  Because in my mind, Hillary Clinton has made it obvious that she is running for President in 2016 and most likely Governor Chris Christy will as well.  The two at this moment lead their respective parties' polls in that regard.  So it is very clear to me that the national news media once again has COLLECTIVELY made a decision to cover one story that casts doubt on the presidential qualifications of one candidate, Christi, while at the same time saying nothing that would cast far more serious doubts against the qualifications of the other, Clinton; an incident where she failed to respond and 4 people were murdered and numerous others injured.  And if I might add, has gone out of her way and the Obama Administrations' way to prevent those witness to testify before Congress and who has stonewalled the attempts by Congress to obtain copies of communications leading up to, during and following the attack.

Is that the kind of FREE press the Founders envisioned for America?  I seriously doubt it.

I have one more question for you since you have read this far.  What do you suppose would have happened in the 1930's Germany had a FREE Press been able to or reported on the activities of Adolph Hitler?  It is quite possible that World War II would have never happened.  What would have happened if the world had known that millions upon millions of people were being murdered in gas chambers throughout Europe?

I am not attempting to compare 1930 Germany (although there are some startling similarities) with 2014 America but the consequences of NOT ACCURATELY INVESTIGATING AND REPORTING THE NEWS are very much the same; people in power feel they can do what they please without any checks and balances in place or anyone really being held responsible for their actions; or not.

This attitude will continue in America because it is very obvious to me that Americans are far more interested in American Idol, Duck Dynasty, Justin Beaver, Miley Cyrus and other reality television shows than to paying attention to what is happening in Washington and around the world.  Things like Americans being targeted by the IRS; the Federal Government's selling of guns to drug cartels; the NSA spying on Americans and governmental leaders around the world; and the Justice Department NOT investigating crimes possibly committed by the Government, etc.  Americans are becoming willing accomplices with the national news media in the gradual demise of our country all the while fiddling on their collective fiddles.  Want more proof?

According to the Saul Alinsky approach, there are 8 levels of control, and by the way Hillary Clinton did a thesis on the Alinsky book, Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky, just so you know.  http://kwsa.co.za/en_ZAAccording to Alinsky, there are 8 levels of control that MUST be obtained before you are able to create a SOCIALIST STATE. The first is the most important.

• Healthcare – Control healthcare and you control the people.  (Obamacare)
• Poverty – Increase the Poverty level as high as possible. Poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.  (The percentage of people receiving benefits from the government and paying little to no federal income taxes now exceed those who are NOT receiving benefits AND who are PAYING federal income taxes.  And the percentage of Americans who are NOT actively engaged in work is at a record high. )
• Debt – Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.  (America is now in excess of 17 TRILLION DOLLARS in debt and China holds the majority of that debt.)
• Gun Control – Remove the ability of citizens to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.  (President Obama has had a constant attack on the Second Amendment of the Constitution and has already tried using Executive Orders to circumvent that amendment.)
• Welfare – Take control of every aspect of citizens' lives (Food, Housing, and Income)  (Done, done and done.)
• Education – Take control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn in school.  (Common Core at its finest and states have approved it without reading and/or understanding it but who are now trying to repeal what they have already approved.)Religion – Remove the belief in God from the Government and schools.  (Who is not aware of this assault on Religion/Spirituality, not to mention the assault on Christians throughout the world!)
• Class Warfare – Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor; US vs. THEM! This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take from (Tax) the wealthy in support of the poor.  (This has been a mainstay of most of President Obama's speeches over the years - the new buzz phrase is "income inequality".)

Does any of this sound like what is happening to and in the United States and around the world?  Do you see the national news media covering these issues to alert citizens of this country as to what the government is doing or not doing in this regard?  Are you really paying attention?  If not why not?  I find it amazing that given the access to the most amazing social media sites, people, certainly not you, have made the decision that discussing such important matters on sites like Facebook is somehow unacceptable.  If those people quietly accept what is happening then they should not take offense or be shocked when they actually happen and their lives have been adversely affected.  If our path remains unchecked; our freedoms and liberty shall come to past.  Is that what you want?  (That is not a trick question.)

World's Most Valuable Gem

WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE GEM

By Jim "Gymbeaux" Brown, February 23, 2014

In the interest of full disclosure this idea came from the movie The Secret.

The Stone

(By me)

Such a simple non imposing piece of glass

To most not worthy of a first look let along a second

Most would ignore it as it rests upon the ground

Even if it were observed as it lay in the grass

It is the world's most valuable gem, at least to me

Because buried within lies a power to recall

People, memories and thoughts most precious

Easily recalled whenever the gem I see.

In the movie The Secret the narrator referred to the use of a Gratitude Stone.  Actually the stone could be anything, a stone, a jewel, or even a photo but the stone seems to work best because of its size and the fact it is in places that would seem to be out of place.

How does it work?  The principle is so simple.  If someone is constantly giving gratitude/thanks for all that is important to them it is extremely difficult to be depressed at the same time.  We all have choices such as:

Your spouse, family member or best friend has done something that you do not like.  You can choose to be angry and hold a grudge or you can choose to be grateful that this person has been and continues to be a very important part of your life.

Your car suddenly has a scratch or dent where there was no scratch or dent.  You can choose to be upset and angry or you can choose to be grateful that you have a car when others do not.

At work something goes wrong.  You can do as most people do and with a knee-jerk reaction become angry and even choose to look for ways to get even.  Or you can decide that one of your main purposes in life is to respond rather than react to situations and fix them and be grateful for the opportunity. 

You have failed at something.  Do you dwell in what went wrong or do you use the occasion as an opportunity to learn and develop from the experience?  In this regard read Dr. John Maxwell's Failing Forward.

There are a lot of similarities between playing golf and life.  In both you get the opportunity to do well and you also get the opportunity to experience difficulties.  When you hit your golf ball into a spot that at first appears impossible to recover from do you get upset and throw your club or do you use the opportunity to literally show off your skills and amaze your playing partners?  In life when things go wrong do you get angry and react (throw your club) or do you take a deep breath and then respond and like in golf use the opportunity to show off your patience and skills to fix a problem rather than making it worse?

So here's the deal.  Go to a hobby store and buy a glass stone, the type you put in the bottom of a fish tank.  Buy a colorful stone; buy several.  Then I strongly recommend you do the following:

• Carry the stone (World's Most Valuable Gem) with you everywhere you go
• Carry it in your pocket or your purse.
• Whenever you see or touch it, pause for just a second and give thanks (gratitude) for something in your life like your spouse, children, friends, pets, home, car, job, food, you name it, give thanks for the mere fact that you have them or it in your life. 

No matter what your situation is, good or bad, others have less while others have more but few if any have exactly what you have.  And remember, there are many in this world that would consider having what you have as having won the lottery.  Be grateful for what you have in your life even the less than desirable situations or relationships because it is from those situations and relationships where learning really occurs.

Gary Keller in his book The Millionaire Real Estate Agent suggests that the only time a real estate agent/company can grow their business is during the times when the market is down.   When all is well in the world and business is great, it is great for everyone and you do not work as hard to develop it; business just seems to happen.  Then when business tails off the best in the industry really get to work and that is how the cream rises to the top within the real estate industry and they work harder not less to insure their business grows.  Then when the business turns around these people are light years ahead of their competition because they responded to the situation in a positive way rather than reacting by complaining about a bad market.

The same is true, at least in my opinion, in life.  Adverse situations may not be the ONLY time you can shine but you have to admit, these situations give you the opportunity to be positive and creative where you literally become the person who rises to the top, responds rather than reacts and gets things done.  Think about that for just a moment.  When a less than desirable situation arises in your life, who do you turn to?  You know you immediately go to someone in your life either for the answers you need or to complain about what happened.  Why is that person not you?  Why not turn to yourself to resolve the issue(s)?

Use the Gratitude Stone as a constant reminder of the value of being grateful for all that you have in your life.  As I write this Nugget the stone sits next to my keyboard.  When I first began writing Nuggets For The Noggin over 12 years ago I was fearful that no one would want to read them or that they would not like them.  As a result I wrote them more for myself more than for others.  Then the Nuggets began to spread and some people responded telling me how much they appreciated the thoughts I had put on paper.  When I write a Nugget such as this I need only look and/or touch the Gratitude Stone, stop and give thanks that (1) I am able to write the Nugget good or bad; (2) that I have a computer on which to write it; (3) that I have a means to distribute it via the blog www.NuggetsForTheNoggin.com; (4) that the Internet enables me to alert people via sites such as Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Plaxo and others that a new Nugget has been written and posted; (5) that others will read the Nugget and hopefully that at least one person will find value in the words; (6) that I have a roof over my head; (7) that I have a supporting family and the list goes on and on and on. 

I am also grateful that in the future the words that I put to paper (computer file) may be of value to my children and their children.  My father passed away decades ago and there are many times I wish I could ask him questions but obviously can't.  The Nuggets I write may offer my children and their children an insight to the way I think and my beliefs and that in turn may help them in their lives.

What are you grateful for?  When was the last time you expressed your thanks for these things?  Learn to use the Gratitude Stone; make it a habit that you carry it with you everywhere you go and give thanks every time you see or touch it for something in your life at that very moment. 

If you really want to make a difference, give one of the extra glass stones you purchased to family members or friends and explain what it is for.  Never forget:  One action you take, one word you use, may be the action or word that can literally change the world!  If you want to see a demonstration of how that works, watch Andy Andrews on Joshua Chamberlain in this YouTube Video, you won't soon forget the lesson you will learn:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57I2EECFzTA  If you watch this video and if you enjoy the American way of life, you may want to pause and give thanks to Joshua Chamberlain and Andy Andrews.