Real Clear Politics.Com

Today I want to share a website with you I recently found. Real Clear Politics.Com is a great political resource. On this site are links to the daily editorials and opinions in the nation's newspapers, up to the minute poll results, and links to everything but the kitchen sink.



This site is not partisan, just information. Check it out and see what you think.



I am an optimist where the United States is concerned. While it may be tempting to back away from the political process because of campaign rhetoric, voting hanky panky, and lots of dirty pool, this is precisely the time to get involved.



I am not optimistic because of our politicians, but because of our people. The good people are not often seen or heard in the media, but let a need arise and watch them come out of the woodwork to offer assistance.



Our people are strong and driven by good values. Do you remember how our citizens responded to 9/11? The country united as never before. Look at the response to the Florida hurricanes, people worked together, help came in from around the country. Unless there is an urgent need, however, our people find it good sport to argue with each other. Though the exchanges may appear venemous, each person would come to the other's aid if need be.



The US will be just fine no matter who our next president is. It will take a lot more than one man to destroy this nation.



So have fun, relax, everything is going to be OK - just wait and see.



How do I know this? I just watched the singing of "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch at Yankee stadium. It's a feeling I have and it is connected to an energy we all share. We will face any challenge as a people and come out on top. We may be bloodied from time to time, but we will sruvive, and we will rise up smarter than before and better for the experience.



Until the next time

John Strain

Begging Citizens to Vote

In Miami Beach, Florida, voters are being offered incentives to register to vote and to vote early. Early voting began Monday in Florida and several other states. Proponents of the idea say people may not have the time on November 2nd to vote, so this provides a larger window of time for the task. Restaurants are offering a 10% discount for patrons who can produce a voter registration card. A free ride on the Miami Beach transit system and free one hour parking vouchers are also offered. Finally, early voters receive admission for one adult and one child to the Flamingo Park swimming pool or to an area ice skating rink.



Miami Beach Website



Rant Against Voting Incentives Begins Here

Number One: Voting is a privilege - It is troubling to think a citizen of a free country requires enticements to partake of a privilege. Our ability to vote is one way we participate in choosing our leaders and determining the general direction of the country. Even more troubling is to contemplate what these individuals would vote for. We already know they do not understand basic civics or they would not require a prize to be responsible. We have a pretty good idea they are lazy, and we know they can be bought for as little as a free swim or a 10% hamburger discount. I say we are better off if these folks do not vote until they understand the sacred privilege it is to cast a vote.



Number Two: Voting is a responsibility - Not only is voting a privilege, but it is a responsibility of citizenship. If you are concerned about the quality of candidate or the behavior of the candidates, then vote. Politicians get away with what they can. If the electorate chooses to be lazy and ignorant, their leaders will reflect their values – or lack of them. We only have ourselves to blame. You have a vote to cast and it is your duty and responsibility to cast it. Miami Beach is opening up the early voting to make it more convenient. I am sick of entitled, lazy, whiners, who with fellow Americans dying in Iraq, somehow cannot find the time to vote on one particular day every four years. They need a two-week window of time so it is more convenient for them. Buck up people. Vote on November 2. Brave the elements, the traffic, and your own malaise. Do you really need these accommodations?



Number Three: Voting is a celebration of freedomMaybe I am too sappy, but I feel a rush and often a lump in my throat when I vote. I am exercising my privilege, I am fulfilling a responsibility, and I am celebrating freedom. To hand me a coupon for a free slice of pizza would cheapen the experience for me. Maybe efforts should be put into educating people about the privilege and responsibility of voting. Motivation to vote should not be door prizes or cholesterol; it should be a sense of duty, privilege, and responsibility. Citizens who only vote because they get a prize are not celebrating freedom – they are cashing in.



How do things get flipped around so? In the past, citizens would have crawled naked over broken glass to vote. Today, we are bribing ignorant, lazy, citizens to cast a vote they hardly value.



John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”



We need to toughen up as a people. Stop looking for your payoff and look for something you can do to contribute. Think about words like work, honor, duty, responsibility, loyalty, and pride. They are a good start.



Rant ends here.



Until the next time

John Strain

Nigerian Scam Fools Financial Adviser

In the category of "This is too much," a 58 year old financial advisor fell for the notorious "spam scam" involving some Nigerian wanting to transfer a zillion dollars into your bank account. The story is out of Australia.

"Dear Inmate, I am the brother of the prisoner in the cell opposite you - a holy man wrongly jailed and now forced to sell his only hope of freedom, a magic carpet, to pay for surgery to save our mother's life. For just six cartons of cigarettes ..."



Dangle a spare invisible key in the deal and Robert Andrew Street may be interested.



Such is the staggering stupidity that led this Melbourne financial manager to fleece his clients of more than $1 million so he could toss it into the black hole of a Nigerian letter scam.



Street, who last year acknowledged his gross gullibility by accepting a life ban from working anywhere within the financial services industry, now admits his greed was criminal and faces jail.



Street saw only dollar signs when he opened a mysterious missive from the Reverend Sam Kukah three years ago.



Like so many of his countrymen, the chairman of Nigeria's Presidential Payment Debt Reconciliation Committee urgently needed to transfer a huge sum of money abroad.

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Mr Kukah would drop $US65 million into Street's Tira Pty Ltd business account if Street could just smooth things over with a little up-front cash.



Street, the operator of a suburban financial planning business, Making Dollars & Sense, swiftly harnessed his clients through offers to invest in get-rich-quick projects, including an electronic system of tracking stolen cars.



Having collected $1,039,910, Street spent $10,000 on mobile telephones urgently needed in Nigeria and sent these, along with most of the balance of the money, overseas.



Mr Kukah did not keep his end of the deal. Street's clients complained that their money had disappeared and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission moved in.



So ridiculous seemed the proposition that Street, then an authorised representative of the licensed dealer Grosvenor Securities, had fallen for the infamous Nigerian scam that ASIC initially considered whether he might have been in on it.



Gradually, ASIC wound up Tira Pty Ltd, secured a Federal Court undertaking that Street be barred for life from the financial services industry and charged him with five counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception between September 2001 and August 2002.



Yesterday, the 58-year-old pleaded guilty in Melbourne's County Court to those offences, each carrying a maximum prison term of 10 years.



He will be back in court for sentencing on November 4.

The Sydney Morning Herald



Until the next time

John Strain

Nursing Homes in the News

Last week there were two news stories regarding local nursing homes. In the first story, an 82 year old woman with Alzheimer's disease was raped by her nurse, Derrick Garrett. Garrett, 46 was seen coming out of a restroom zipping his pants. The woman was found on the floor of the restroom. She was bleeding and disoriented. They have this guy dead to rights by way of DNA. Full story.



Such a story gives rise to many emotions. It is one more account of one person taking advantage of another person who cannot protect him or herself. In this case, a caregiver becomes the abuser. I am sure he will meet with a similar fate at some point in his certain future in prison.



Saturday, another nursing home story hit the papers. This time it was an account of hospice volunteers taking pets into the nursing homes to spread a little cheer.



These two stories illustrate the range of human potential. In them is a metaphor for the "Golden Rule" and its opposite. Some take advantage of the helpless, while others try to make their lives better. The latter group has learned the secret of helping; that extending a hand benefits the one who reaches out as well as the one receiving the gift.



There are many reasons to be kind to the helpless. In some ways we are in a battle; with the element like Derrick Garrett who preys on people for selfish pleasure and benefit, and those who help others and do not only think of personal gain. The battle is waged daily all over the world. The newspaper is the scoreboard of sorts, but many acts of kindness and acts of hate and abuse go unnoticed. What matters is what you do. How will you live? If enough of us act with kindness then the world is more kind. It is very simple really.



Today, I am determined to control what I can - my own behavior- and not distress about that which I cannot control - the behavior of others. I will spread kindness and not act selfishly. Are you with me? I predict a better than usual Monday if we do.



Until the next time

John Strain

Lovin' The Weekend

Saturday was a textbook fall day for southern Louisiana. Sunny, vivid blue cloudless skies, and a coolness in the air. I ran to the gym, did my weights and elliptical trainer obligations, and then ran back home. My yard was a mess from two weeks of neglect so I spent much of the rest of the day bringing it back into compliance with my idea of how a yard should look. I enjoyed the work and did it at a leisurely pace.



Saturday night was boy’s night. A few of my pals came over to watch the baseball playoffs and have a go at solving some global issues. Both objectives were accomplished. All we needed was some hamburger and Jack Daniels.



Today, I have 1 hour and 45 minutes to put in on the elliptical trainer instead of running 14 miles like my schedule calls for. I still cannot run more than a mile or two before my hamstring tightens up on me, but I sense improvement.



After the gym, I hope to see my Chiefs beat Jacksonville on television, then my son and I are going to the Saints vs. Vikings game in the Superdome tonight.



What else is there? To me, it don't get much better than this.



Until the next time

John Strain