No matter how you feel,

                                             

do not give up your right

                                                           

and responsibility to vote. 

                                                             

     Today, Tuesday, November 4th, we name a new leader of the free world. 

     And tomorrow, the order of the day –and the many days, and perhaps years, that follow– will be compromise. 

     No American President can ever serve the Presidency as an effective leader without respect for the Presidency from those who are, and who support, the defeated.  Why?  Because leadership requires cooperation and teamwork to achieve objectives that bring benefit to the majority, including the losers. 

     So, today, Election Day, is a day of reckoning, but tomorrow and every day thereafter needs to be a day of compromise and acceptance and moving forward using the strength of the best dreams, goals and resources that remain available. 

     For a future that serves us all, regardless of personal preferences and political alignments, the next four years’ worth of Tomorrows calls for active listening, and patience, and openness, and receptivity from each of us. 

     It requires that we make the most of what we have to work with and believe in, to achieve lasting peace, meaningful progress . . . and abundance of life, health, wealth, and spirit in the next four years, for ourselves and our families. 

     It requires that we each reach agreement with ourselves to pursue these values for our children, for our grandchildren, and for preservation of  balanced life on this fragile planet.     

     May God Bless our new leaders and give them the wisdom, vision, foresight and strength to captain our ship through the storms ahead.  

     No matter how you feel, do not give up your right and responsibility to vote.   Halalpiar 

Note http://blog.igburton.com for my new two-part blog series (Part I tonight and Part II this coming Thursday) on STOP HOLIDAY DRIVING STRESS . . . good stuff for all of us!     

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Check out and contribute to the daily growing 7-Word Story started 55 days ago (inside a coffin).  Click on the link to the right, or go to the “BOOKS” tab at the top of this page, then to the top headline link.

My brain is drained. 

My French is fried. 

Thank God this week coming is the last of the last!

     I am SO sick of politics.  I really don’t care anymore about who did what to whom under what circumstances however many years ago.  I resent the 24/7 bombardment of my senses . . . radio, TV, lapel pins, newspapers, bumper stickers, Internet, emails, road signs, telephone calls, even dog bandannas!  AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaakkkKKKKKKK!!

     Enough already!  My brain is drained.  My French is fried.  And into the home stretch, the lies get bigger and the assaults more ruthless. 

     Worst of all, there doesn’t appear to be any let-up until Wednesday morning.  Oh, yeah, we have another three whole days ahead of yelling and screaming and senseless accusations, charges and counter-charges. 

     Why does everything in America have to reduce itself in the Eleventh Hour to a ridiculous free-for-all mixed-martial-arts contest with everyone beating each other to a pulp? 

     What does it accomplish? 

     Who among those of us dumb and dumbers have not yet made up our minds about who to vote for, that some last minute fringe lunatic tidal wave of pronouncements is about to sway? 

     Tell me.  I’m really wondering about this.  How many votes do you think will jump on some bandwagon at the last minute because of some astronomically important statement being made that we’ve never heard before?  How many?  Tell me.

     Here’s what we need, people!  We need a three-day moritorium where no candidate says anything to anybody and no media reports of any candidate or issue are allowed.  We need a three-day retreat of peace and quiet to collect ourselves and our thoughts and allow ourselves to heal and become sane again . . . BEFORE we vote!

     Given the opportunity to stimulate our neurological systems with increased oxygen flow and relax our muscles with increased blood flow by taking lots of deep breaths and long stretches, and by temporarily withdrawing from the franticness and fanaticism of the outside world, WE WILL CAST A BETTER BALLOT!

     Oh, yes, and wouldn’t this fit right in with the lunatic taxation spread-the-wealth fringe element in society that’s focused on all things green and peace-symboled and artsy-craftsy and tree-hugging?  Even those folks would welcome a three-day peace period!  Besides, it might give them cause to reassess the candidates they’ve sold out their faith to.

     So, let’s see . . . how do we do something like this?  We get our elected representatives to introduce legislation.  Right.  I knew something this valuable to us, as human beings, wouldn’t be so simple.  It requires a campaign.  Something like a 24/7 bombardment of radio, TV, lapel pins, newspapers, bumper stickers, Internet, emails, road signs, telephone calls, even dog bandannas!     Halalpiar    

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Check out and contribute to the daily growing 7-Word Story started 52 days ago (inside a coffin).  Click on the link to the right, or go to the “BOOKS” tab at the top of this page, then to the top headline link.

Blood-sucking is a

commonly-shared trait.

     Have you noticed that everyone these days lays claim to be (or clearly evidences being)  from a dysfunctional family?  Now, who am I to doubt that?  I mean don’t we all? 

     Hmmmmm!  Well, actually, if you start to think about that with any kind of effort, you’re probably no longer alive because you probably scared yourself to death, right? 

     So, if you’re already dead and you’re reading this, that might suggest you are somewhat dysfunctional yourself.  Anyway, if it’s true that we ALL come from dysfunctionality (and that definitely appears to be the case last time I checked around), what’s left?  Zombies?  Vampires?  Politicians? 

     Zombies, vampires and politicians.  Now there’s an exciting group!  Sure, these are really normal kinds of individuals.  And I’m not certain of this, but I think I might have read somewhere that blood-sucking is a commonly-shared trait among those who follow in the footprints (?) of these three societal scavengers.  

     And are all three (zombie, vampire, politician) labels representative of categories of individuals we popularly believe to be strutting their stuff (oh, sorry, zombies are probably better known for plodding, stomping, and foot-dragging)? 

     Perhaps it would be more accurate to attribute to them the characteristic of having an inflated sense of self-importance?  Do any of them, after all, march to the beat of different drummers?  Or is it dysfunctional drummers? 

     Like I said, who am I to judge?  All I know is that I’m tired of big-talk do-nothing politicians (including two prominent ones from Delaware), and that given the choice, I’d prefer to have vampires running the show.  At least when vampires come at you, they’ve got their fangs out and you know where you stand.  Zombies?  Well, we’ve already got those! 

     We surely could use a new State Governor and US Senator who are willing to put their fangs out and take a bite or two out of the real problems in Delaware that are begging for help.  Not just the economy, y’all!

     What’s with our educational programs that Sen Biden brags about having helped?(Delaware ranks 44th out of 50 states in literacy!) 

     What’s with the energy alternatives our Governor has flatout refused to get involved with?  (Greedy fossil fuel power plant management has fought windfarms and high-tech coal-washing processes tooth and nail, relentlessly, for years because to do otherwise would cost them money.  Instead, they have been literally spitting on public outcrys and studies proving toxic damage threats to the health of State residents and entire communities . . . and now they offer us band-aids for our cancer clusters!). 

     What’s with immigration controls rejected by or not acted upon by Delaware’s political leadership (and who reportedly support programs that grant illegal immigrants the same rights as Native Americans and legal American citizens)?

     And healthcare? It won’t matter if we get universal healthcare coverage or thousands of dollars to spend on healthcare, Delaware has lousy healthcare.  Find a place where you can get a new patient appointment, and you’ll find inadequate or inexperienced (or both) practitioners.  Find more than one medical facility that can hold a candle to those in NY or Philadelphia or Baltimore.  Go ahead!  I dare you!             halalpiar               

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BE A CO-AUTHOR!  ENTER YOUR OWN 7-WORDS OR LESS TACK-ON to the “billboard discipline” story started 40 posts ago. The next 7 words could be yours! 

I guess the last seven words of the debate sum it up . . .                                  

I don’t need

                                        

on-the-job training!” 

                                                                              

     Oh, pardon me, you thought the “great debate” was a great success?  Then, I imagine you must be related to or working with one of the two candidates.  Surely no one else would have been impressed.  The whole deal was predictably ho-hum. 

     I’m quite certain, the presentation didn’t convince anyone to change her or his mind one way or the other.  If it did, I would be suspect of that person’s sanity to begin with.  I mean, by this point in time, we know whose leadership we trust, right? 

     So this “confrontation” (where neither candidate rarely even addressed the other directly) really didn’t serve to shed much new light on the choices we already know we’re going to make, right?  And let’s be real here, folks: we also know that there just are not all those media-invented independent-minded “undecideds” floating around out there who are going to tip the scales at the last minute based on the kind of exchange we listened to/saw last night. 

     Senator McCain called Senator Obama, “Senator Obama.”  Senator Obama called Senator McCain, “John.”  Senator Obama said, “I agree with John” and “I agree completely with John” at least 27,357 times in ninety minutes.  Senator McCain said, “Senator Obama just doesn’t understand . . .” at least 16,189 times in ninety minutes.  (McCain might have reached the 27,357 times figure had he not been interrupted so often.)  And left-leaning, gutless, niceguy moderator Jim Lehrer never asked the hard questions most of us would like to have posed. 

     McCain and Obama tangled over the difference between “strategies” and “tactics” [Could it be that no one actually recommended that the contenders read my blog posts on this subject:  May 2, May 18, June 10, Sep 13, Sep 23, and Sep 24???]  Lo and behold!  At least six different posts that explain the differences in six different ways.  I just knew one of those guys should have hired me for $3.8 million to be his strategies-tactics advisor!  [Hey, if either of you is reading this, it’s not too late . . . even at half that price!  Oops!  Almost forgot, only one of you is looking to spend so recklessly as that, and then only after raising taxes to cover the costs.] 

     What else?  “John” was patient, calm, controlled, and assertive yet diplomatic and gentlemanly.  “Senator Obama” was impatient, preoccupied with reacting instead of responding, defensive, bumbling and rude yet engaging and brash.  Both stretched the truth and both presented exaggerated dollar numbers to support their positions.  Only one was a “troop” but both noted that they wear troop bracelets.  

     Both made brief comments about their VP running mates: McCain simply related that Palin was an ideal “maverick” partner; Obama actually deferred to Biden as having the answer to a foreign relations issue question that he (Obama) didn’t have.  [A startling comment to hear, especially for me as a Delaware resident who has yet to experience Biden having the answer to anything!] 

     At least we can all know one thing for absolute sure: Mr. Biden (assuming he does actually stay in the race) will not be taking the risk of showing up for his VP candidates debate dressed in a moose outfit!   halalpiar

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BE A CO-AUTHOR!  ENTER YOUR OWN 7-WORDS OR LESS TACK-ON to the “billboard discipline” story started 19 posts ago. The next 7 words could be yours! 

Who’s best to captain  

                                                 

the ship through storms? 

     Whether you’re an athlete, or writing a book, running a business, managing a household or delivering a professional practice service, do you periodically stop to take inventory of your resources and re-visit the reality (or fantasy) of where you’re headed? 

     Do you routinely make adjustments in your products, services and plans, in your approach, in your people and procedures?  Do you strive every day to ensure that your pursuits are realistic and your actions based on experience?  Or do you simply aim in the direction of your wish-list, close your eyes, and hope? 

     “If it ain’t broke, fix it anyway” is the rallying cry of successful entrepreneurs who know the only way to get a leg up in competitive industries and markets is to be making informed and reasonable adjustments consistently.  Note informed and reasonable . . . in a word, experienced.  

     If corporate giants (including the failing financial institutions we’re hearing about) and our incompetent overkill government would take (have taken) a more aggressive stance in questioning the ongoing viability of their policies, strategic plans and actions, they would (have) quickly realize(d) that this planet is not at a point in history where it’s physically/mentally/financially/emotionally affordable for any entity to stand still.   

     Refusing to constantly assess and reassess established directions and commitments constitutes investment in the status quo.  At this time in this world, there is no room for complacency or indifference or ambivalance because the rest of the planet continues to spin relentlessly.  The time for standstill thinking and behavior may in fact never come again. 

     Okay.  So who’s best to captain the ship through storms? 

     The team with management experience and proven abilities to reshape and scale back government, with the track-records of having overcome all odds, with the demonstrated abilities to improvise, innovate, and practice active leadership . . . the team that knows how to read the tides and stars to navigate, and that has the skill and experience to sustain resources, and energize others to honor, respect, and protect our country and our families first and foremost? 

     Or the team with no management experience, no proven abilities except to nurture its own charisma, and which has expended more energy criticizing our country than our enemies . . . the team that has admitted it believes in its hearts it can lead by raising taxes to increase a government that’s already nonproductive . . . the inexperienced team that’s convinced it can simply close it’s eyes and wish for the ship to sail itself?             halalpiar

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Well, you must finally be happy to have less gas available, and be paying astronomical amounts at the pump to fill up your tank.  

Oh, yes, and it thrills you to be paying equally mind-boggling amounts to your local grocery store to fill up your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets, right?

Why, you might ask, would I say that? 

Because, of course, you still have spotted owls and views of nature that are unspoiled by wind farms, and polar bears (which you would surely love to cuddle with and invite into your home) running free across the Artic Circle.

And, no doubt, these are all creature survival things that matter intensly to struggling young families, and single parents, and senior citizens on fixed income, and handicapped people living on disability checks, and hurricane victims, right? 

I mean, just ask any of them how important the plight of spotted owls is when they’re scratching and clawing for their next meal.  See how utterly devoted they are to protecting the polar bears when they can’t afford needed medical care.  Yeah.  Go ahead and ask them. 

Get your environmentalist priorities straight!  If you think human beings come first on this planet while you’re busy protesting nuclear energy and hugging trees, you might want to consider rearranging your protest priorities.

Maybe Al Gore did invent the Internet. 

Who knows? 

Stranger things have happened. 

But he surely is as wrong as the sorely misguided (a generous adjective) Nobel Prize Committee when it comes to the subject of global warming. 

Ask any credible scientist. 

And contrary to Mr. Gore’s representations, YOU as an individual CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  Get started.  This is grassroots stuff.  Set an example.  Teach others.  It’s all about stepping up to the plate!  It’s all about choosing the path of self-sufficiency for our own human species before worrying about other lower forms of existence. 

Regardless of endangered species contributions to our aesthetic senses, or the amount of tear-jerking endorsements and crusading that’s thrust in our faces by Hollywood’s finest, we need to remember that putting human preservation first is the only way we’ll ever be able to have positive impact on the preservation of other species.    

The bottom line is that more drilling is needed to relieve the oil/gas price crisis and related food price crisis because America has enough oil to allow us to completely eliminate dependency on greedy Arab nations. 

But, oh, hey, it might mean losing some endangered species!  Well, I love and subscribe to National Geographic too, but I like to believe that we as human beings are a slightly more important species to risk losing than some owls and bears, and some upturning of the balance of nature.  We’re smart enough to RE-balance whatever we might upset. 

Because we as humans have the ability to think, we have the ability to make changes in our environment that preserve and protect the human species in addition to balancing nature. 

But it has to start with our elected representatives in Congress having the foresight and integrity to initiate expanded oil drilling efforts and to stop bending over to the special interest groups that seek to preserve owls over humans (and human pocketbooks!).  Call your Representative.  Express yourself!        

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www.TheWriterWorks.com

302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US

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