A Flawed Primary And A Flawed System

It’s embarrassing, the greatest democracy in the world is wrangling about who gets to vote first and whose vote will count. Some have even suggested that some delegates’ votes should only count as a half a vote. The Democratic National Committee canceled the vote of two states as they flexed their political muscle and now they have created a mess that those in their own camp cannot agree on. I have some suggestions and observations:

1. Let’s put everyone under equal rules. A national voting law needs to be put in place. The DNC and the RNC have too much power over the rules of voting. Liberty and Justice for all should not be the play toy of political hacks of either party.

2. Everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike must admit that we have a flawed election because we have a flawed system. Personal voting rights should not be determined by geographic location or the date of their primary and general elections. That’s one step away from determining a person’s rights by race. This whole mess started by two states reaching for more power and influence by moving up the date of their election. It was a game of political chicken. The DNC has made their bed, but they don’t want to lay in it. They cannot agree among themselves how to resolve it. It’s like a guy who catches an angry pit bull by the ears and he can’t figure out how to let go. In essence they are a victim of their own rules, now they struggle to unscramble eggs.

3. I suggest a 24 hour voting period for every national election for every participating party. Every state and every voter in every state should have the same influence, the same rights, and the same power. Those rights will never become a reality until we pass legislation requiring a unified vote.

4. In the immediate situation, the DNC needs to follow their own rules. Anything less is unethical. No one even brought up the idea of a re-vote or a deal until Hillary started losing. If the DNC changes the rules of the game in the middle of the game, voters who support Sen. Obama will be the losers.

5. Voters were told in two states that their votes would not count. Many did not vote based on that representation. That was wrong. To make the votes count on any level now is unthinkable for an intelligent society. There should be an outcry if a political deal is made. This would mean that the voters in two states have been deceived.

It’s time to stand up for the voters. Their rights have been hijacked by the DNC and the flawed voting system that we are struggling with as a nation. Let’s get our act together and be a positive model for the world and history itself of what democracy really is.

UPDATE: The DNC has made a political deal, deciding to count one half of the delegates’ votes in Michigan and Florida. Did anyone ever doubt that they would give priority to the needs of the politicians? The voters in both of these states voted under false pretenses. It’s like changing the rules of football a couple of months after the Superbowl and then making it retroactive…….amazing.

Fix The Economy Now

We are at a place in our history as a nation where we can no longer procrastinate concerning the work of fixing our economy. The financial health of the United States must take priority over all other issues. This is an emergency situation and it must take precedence over all other high cost projects.

1. STOP SHOOTING MONEY INTO SPACE. Let’s get this planet healthy before we go to work on alien life forms. Even if we discover a planet made of pure gold it would cost too much to ship it back and if we did ship it, the price of gold would plummet due to supply and demand. What can we really accomplish by space exploration?

2. STOP GIVING MONEY AWAY OVERSEAS LIKE CANDY. Let’s get our own country healthy and then we can go back to scattering the tax payers’ money all over the globe. Our giving through the CIA helped train Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist friends. Most of the time, we give money away in hopes of gaining influence and they end up hating us anyway.

3. STOP WASTING MONEY AT HOME. We don’t need federally financed radio and television stations, paying farmers not to grow stuff, or multi-million dollar grants to study the sex life of slugs. Government waste and pork barrell spending is at an all time high. Federal spending has become a favorite target of comedians and late night talk shows.

And if we ever get the courage to save up some money, we need to give it back to America. First, the price of gasoline must be reduced through increased production. Then we need to give back to the small business owners who have made this nation an economic giant. Then let’s bring some U.S. jobs back home and create some meaningful employment for the hard working blue collar workers. And finally, we must recognize and financially help all of the nonprofit organizations who have helped the disadvantaged. We can fix this economy if we get our financial priorities right and have a will to succeed.

The Winning Zone

Professional athletes understand that there is a special place where all the physical conditioning, practice, mental training, and conditioning come together and it becomes easy to win. Some call it “the zone.” The entire team comes together as one man with a common belief that not only is winning possible, but inevitable and within reach.

Financial traders also recognize such a state of mind where a person has become trained technically and mentally to win trades. A trader can have degrees in finance, a deep understanding of financial markets, and still not be in the right mindset for winning.

Just as there is a winning zone, so is there a losing zone. A person or group of individuals can be unified in a common belief that they cannot win. With such a mindset, success becomes unlikely. There are presently a lot of people in agreement that the economy will get worse and their lives will become more difficult. This has created an atmosphere of failure. I contrast this with an interview I heard this week with a Chinese college graduate who was looking for a job and found success with a position that paid just over $200 per week. His outlook was upbeat and positive. He saw himself as a winner and his career as upwardly mobile. What he lacked in money, he made up for in attitude. Our poor make more that the educated and successful in many other countries. We have much to be thankful for and to be optimistic about.

We can expect a better economy and a brighter future. Technology is on the verge of making our dependence on oil as old fashioned as horse and buggies. Foreign car manufacturers are building plants in the U.S. and creating jobs. Trends toward telecommuting are bringing families closer together. The housing bust is teaching us all the importance of saving more and borrowing less and we will all be better off with the hard lessons we have learned in the long term.

Despite some trendy books to the contrary, the U.S. is still the biggest player and influence in world markets and politics. We are still the safest place to invest. We still feed more, adopt more, give more and help more than any other nation in world history. This is the place where more dreams have come true, more fortunes have been made, more companies have been started than anywhere else at any given time. We are still the place where others dream of being. We invented the automobile, the airplane, and Disney. Our future is bright and secure.

We have plenty of room for growth and improvement. The moral, technical, and financial challenges before us are great. The possibilities are even greater. It’s time to start thinking like winners again. It’s time to get in the winning zone with a belief that not only is success possible but inevitable. We have a 200 year winning record behind us and the opportunities before us have never been greater.

Your were born to be a winner. God doesn’t make any junk. Success is your destiny. Today is a new beginning, a chance to start over. Assume a successful future and start living your life like a winner. Life in the winning zone is sweet. Make a decision to live there.

Finding Success

Personal growth is often overlooked in the midst of pressing responsibilities and challenging schedules. We get locked into a pattern and then we become blinded by the pattern to greater possibilities, opportunities, and dreams.

Never forget how to dream. Our dreams give meaning and purpose to our lives. Living without dreaming is merely existing. Never forget what it feels like to wake up every day excited about the possibilities and the potential of our future. Do you feel alive? Do you have a dream?

People who have lost the ability to dream live with a sense of dread. The future looks dark and foreboding. The saddest sight I have seen in my international travels are poverty stricken people who have lost all hope. To look in the eyes of a child who has lost hope is heartbreaking.

Poverty is not an empty pocketbook, but a crippled mind. Success begins in the mind. We must start thinking successfully before we can start living successfully. Athletes learn to win mentally before they win in their chosen sport. Financial traders spend much time learning how to think right so they can trade right.

Learn how to dream again. Start thinking like a winner. Then learn how to set goals and plan. Success seldom comes at random. We must have definite goals and a plan for getting there. Nothing of value is accomplished without planning. Think and dream with a pen in your hand.

Along with planning, learn to manage your time effectively. There are some basic time management skills that will enhance the implementation of your planning.

1. Get an appointment book. Plan each year the year before. Plan each month the month before. Plan each day the day before. You’ll sleep better at night when you know you have a written agenda for the next day. Much stress is generated by fearing that we’ll forget something. Writing down our schedule also forces us to prioritize our time.

2. Plan your time in specific blocks of activity. Don’t answer every phone call. The important ones will leave a message in voice mail. The ones who don’t leave a message do not expect a return call. Set aside two specific times per day to answer phone messages. Answering calls randomly throughout the day will hurt your focus and effectiveness.

3. Set aside time to do details and special projects beginning with the most important. If you don’t get them all done, you re-schedule the tasks that are the least important for another day with the satisfaction that the most important tasks have been accomplished.

4. Take time for creative thinking. It has been said that the hardest and most important work we do is the hard work of thinking. This is when our planning is tweaked and perfected. This is when new ideas and breakthroughs are accomplished.

5. Leisure time is our decompression chamber that gets us ready to work again. This is your reward that makes the rest of your week worth it. We work harder and better when we know that there is a reward coming at the end of the week.

Finding success is a combination of re-training our mind, dreaming big dreams, planning, and time management. Be all you can be. Everybody trades their life for something. This is not a dress rehearsal for life, it’s the real thing. We have one shot at success. Make the most of it.