Jan 31, 2012

Update- 2-3-2012

Update-2-6-2012

Update-2-12-2012

Who and what is Mitt Romney? According to literature on the internet, political pundits on radio and TV, the answer to the question is rarely consistent. It is common knowledge that Romney routinely alters has political positions based on the climate of the electorate at any given point in time. If one does a search on any of the search phrases below, what appears is hundreds of sources, noting Romney’s changing positions. Most of the sources are non partisan.

1.Romney flip flops

2.Romney changing political positions

3.Romney alters political positions

So how does one interpret his personality and character based upon the continual altering of political positions?

Further, during the 2012 Republican primary campaign every one of Romney’s opponents has accused him of lying. While all major political candidates may misquote or forget the facts periodically, does Romney, win the gold for intentional deception?  From my research, I believe Romney creates a ruse when necessary for political gain.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a “Ruse” as: “a wily subterfuge” and uses the following descriptive sentence.

“His act was just a clever ruse to get me to go out with him.”

Webster’s includes a second definition: “a trick or act that used to fool someone”

Most on-line dictionaries include the list below as antonyms for ruse.

1. truth

2. reality

3. sincerity

Update: 2-3-2012

It’s only appropriate to begin the story of the ‘Romney Ruse’, by starting with his early life. Understand, that the point we are intending to make herein, is not simply to degrade the privileged or an individual in this case, but instead to point out the lies or more politely the ruse Romney intends to create as a presidential candidate. His desire is to portray himself in a setting that would garner the most potential votes.

Romney claims he is a self-made man and on occasion notes the struggles he encountered as a young man. Unlike most college students, Romney’s education was entirely paid for by his parents. He never needed to obtain a student loan, which for many students delays marriage, the purchase of a home and other amenities when not undertaking the obligations of additional debt. Further, he did not have to obtain employment to pay for books and other education related items during his college years. And from a privileged family, Rodney was educated at a prestigious prep school to prepare him for college.

When Romney was married, his parents purchased a car for him and helped pay for an apartment. According to his wife Ann, they did not have to work. Later, his parents assisted him in purchasing a home. For the most part, Romney was a good student, obtaining honors and excellent grades and worked hard. After he completed his education and started a family, most of the money Romney obtained was through his own hard work. However, there are numerous sources that call into question his statements about never inheriting any money from his family. Although the numbers differ, there is credible evidence that he did in fact inherent nearly one million upon his father’s death in 1995. While there’s nothing wrong with being born into a privileged family, Romney should not act as if he struggled like most Americans to reach their station in life.

Update-2-6-2012

Pink Slips: Really??

While campaigning in New Hampshire, in response to concerns by an audience regarding employment and the loss of jobs, Romney blurted out,  “I know what it’s like to worry whether you’re gonna get fired.” he further went on to say, “I know what it’s like to worry whether you’re gonna get fired.” His rivals at immediately scoffed at the idea that Romney ever had to worry about receiving a pink slip. This was just another attempt to create a ruse to identify himself with the middle class and the average American family.

Texas governor, Rick Perry, responded by stating, “I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out.”

However, when confronted by reporters, neither Romney or his campaign staff could give a specific instance where he was in jeopardy of losing employment. And even if Romney was fearful of receiving a pink slip, the circumstances would be quite different than the average American, who did not inherit $1 million and does not have a considerable amount of cash in the bank or in other investments. This is simply another Romney ruse to identify with middle America. What can we say, another Romney lie.

Update-2-12-2012

The abortion issue

It is not unusual for intelligent individuals to alter their positions on various issues upon obtaining additional information or improving their knowledge of same. Many people including politicians have altered the position on same-sex marriage upon obtaining additional information. However, with Romney one has to wonder whether it is a change in position due to the improvement of knowledge or simply based on the current direction of the political wind.

When Romney ran against Senator Ted Kennedy in 1994 for a Massachusetts Senate seat,Charles Manning, a political advisor of his informed the Boston Globe that there were “tiny nuances” in the difference between Kennedy’s and Romney’s view of abortion. In that same year, Romney proclaimed, in a debate with Kennedy, abortion should be legal, stating that, “regardless of one’s beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal.”

As Americans,we enjoyed great freedoms including the ability to maintain and hold true to our personal beliefs. However, under no circumstances should we enact laws and force people to abide by our own personal beliefs that may strongly differ from theirs. This is what the Republican Party has evolved to since 2010 when the tea partiers took control of the House of Representatives. So again, what is Romney when it comes to the subject of abortion? At one time he was strongly pro-choice and now that he is running for president in a significantly more conservative Republican Party, he is against pro-choice and is intent on placing impediments in the way of those women that want to make their own decisions.

Update: 3-23-2012

This article published by the New York Magazine provides a psychological explanation why Mitt Romney is prone to lying. It’s really sad this individual actually has a chance of becoming the president of the United States. A pathological liar. Mitt Romney Lies a Lot, But He’s Not a Liar

More to come

 

For those that follow college football recruiting, you most likely understand the games that are played by colleges and high school recruits. Among the inappropriate or unethical tactics utilized by college coaches is known as over signing or committing more players than you are allowed under NCAA rules. For example, if Alabama has 20 scholarships available in a given year but offers commitments to 25 players, five players will be released. In other words, Alabama will pick what it believes to be the twenty best players and the other five will be out of luck or must attend another college. Michael Carvell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote an excellent article on this subject regarding a high school player by the name of Justin Taylor.

In February of 2011, Justin Taylor committed to Alabama. He had an injury and could not play during his senior season. A few weeks ago, he was informed by Saban that he could not play for Alabama next year. Saban informed him that they could only sign twenty-five players during the current year and since he was the 26th, they would not have room for him. Saban”s approach is emblematic of his actions and demeanor as coach of the Miami Dolphins, ( see chronology below). He quite simply lied to Taylor. First, according to rivals.com, Alabama currently has 27 commitments which means they are two over the allotment permitted and thus Mr. Taylor would be the 28th. This simply means that Alabama will cherry pick the best 25 players and leave the others to fend for themselves. Les Miles of LSU and Urban Meyer, currently with Ohio State are others that typically over sign and then cherry pick who they want to keep. You can read more on Urban Meyer here.

Even though Justin Taylor feels like he can play this coming fall, Saban told him he needed a full year and that he would sign him in 2013.

Luckily, Saban, and his two cohorts are exceptions to the rule. The problem with over signing has far reaching ramifications other than a school releasing players they cannot sign due to limitations by the NCAA. No one can deny that by over signing these coaches are making commitments they know in the end they cannot keep. In simpler terms, they are lying to these players. They are falsely misleading these players and preventing them the opportunity to adequately seek other alternatives. Furthermore, they are hurting other colleges by keeping these players off the market. My question is; would you want your son playing for one these coaches? WE hope the answer is no.

Final note: When coach of the Miami Dolphins, a rumor circulated that Saban was seeking to leave and return to college coaching with University of Alabama. On several occasions Saban emphatically denied the rumors and stated that he would continue to be the coach of the Miami Dolphins. Over several weeks, he proclaimed he was going to remain the coach of the Dolphins while at the same time he was seeking the position as Alabama head coach. In the end, he took the coaching position at Alabama. The players for the Miami Dolphins despised him for his antics and the lack of respect he displayed toward them.

The bleacher report has written an excellent example of Saban’s treatment toward other human beings. This is a must read.

A chronology of comments about Nick Saban taking the head coaching job at Alabama: Source- ESPN- 1-4-2007

Nov. 27:
Saban: “When I was in college it was always about coming to the pros. This is the challenge I wanted. I had a good college job. Why would I have left that if I was going to be interested in other college jobs?

“I took this as a challenge. We certainly haven’t seen this through and gotten where we want to go and finished the job here, so why would I be interested in something else?”

Dec. 5:
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga (after giving Saban a vote of confidence): “I am completely sold on Nick Saban. I would admit we made a mistake if we did make a mistake, but I firmly believe in Nick Saban.”

Dec. 7:
Saban: “I’m flattered that they may have been interested in me, but it never really progressed, because we just never let it progress.”

Dec. 21:
Saban: “I guess I have to say it. I’m not going to be the Alabama coach. … I don’t control what people say. I don’t control what people put on dot-com or anything else. So I’m just telling you there’s no significance, in my opinion, about this, about me, about any interest that I have in anything other than being the coach here.”

Dec. 27:
Saban: “I’m just making a rule to never comment on something like that again because every time you comment on it, it just makes for another story. So I’m not going to comment on it five years from now, and I’m not going to comment on it next week.”

Jan. 4:
Saban: “What I realized in the last two years is that we love college coaching because of the ability that it gives you to affect people, young people. … If I knew that my heart was someplace else in what I wanted to do, I don’t think it would be fair to the [Dolphins] organization if I stayed.”

 

Other Saban character links: parents, don’t trust this man with your kids.

thephinsider 12-9-2011

nbcsports – 6-18-2010

espn- 12-21-2006

 

 

Jan 15, 2012

Kansas Speaker of the House must have a significant hatred of black people. Within the last month he insulted Michelle Obama in an e-mail forwarded to his Republican colleagues referencing a prayer that many believe calls for the early death of President Obama. He referred to the first lady, Michelle Obama, as Mrs YoMama and compared her to the Grinch. A second e-mail O’Neil forwarded to his colleagues, included the phrase, “Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8.” Further, a message in the e-mail stated, “At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up — it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!!”

Nick Sementelli, of Faith in Public Life stated, “A popular conservative meme after President Obama’s election were bumper stickers issuing a “tongue-in-cheek” call to pray for the President, referencing Psalm 109 in the Bible, which actually is a prayer for the death of a leader.”  Faithful America, an organization dedicated to addressing moral issues,has circulated an online petition calling for the resignation of speaker O’Neal. The Republicans, often refers to itself as the party of social conservative values, is now touting religion as a weapon to remove Barack Obama from office.

Kansas seems to have more than their fair share of derelict Republicans holding office. if you remember, we reported that Kansas legislator Virgil Peck, suggested the immigration problem be solved by shooting illegal immigrants from a helicopter.then of course, there was Connie O’Brien, who mistakenly identified a college student attempting to get a student loan as an illegal immigrant due to the color of her skin.

 

An excerpt of Psalm 109 is provided below.

Psalm 109 

Let his days be few; and let another take his office
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.
May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.

 

This is a must see video. Hope you enjoy.

 

In a press conference today, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann announced that the people of Iowa has spoken and that she is suspending her presidential campaign. Among other things she noted, she stated, “I have decided to stand aside,” and added that Republicans must be “united” to repeal Obamacare. She had received only 5% and was fifth of six major candidates competing in the Iowa Republican caucus voting.

Michele Bachmann

 

Jan 3, 2012

 

As a manager, and a coach of young men, I witnessed the various types of successes and failures within numerous individuals. The people with whom I had and have close relationships with and others that worked with me for years, most likely tired of my statements relative to, “people not taking the necessary actions to continually enhance themselves, will never see improvements in their lives.”  Simply stated, if you are not taking any actions to improve your current circumstances, then one can expect no improvements will occur in their lives. Nothing will change. That is, unless a wealthy relative passes and leaves you a fortune.

I have witnessed people who worked for me and the young men I coached, remain in the same position and at the same level for many years without advancements and improvements in their in their status.   I can recall no case where these individuals took actions to improve the potential for promotion and advancement. They simply become complacent with the current position they occupy and continue going through life without any actions to better themselves. Most of these individuals will retire at a position they occupied for greater part of their working life.

Simplistic as this may sound, many people do not improve their lives simply because they are lazy or lack the willpower to make simple changes. A young man played baseball for me for many years and was an outstanding athlete. He excelled in every aspect of the game without much effort. A few major league scouts were very interested in him and often approached me with questions concerning his personality traits and ability to learn quickly. At one point he was suspended from school for taking an illegal substance. With the suspension, he was intelligible to play. When the baseball scouts found out the reason for his absence, he was immediately dropped from any further consideration for a major-league tryout. While he did eventually graduate from high school, he bounced through several menial jobs, often stating his desire to enlist in the military and take advantage of various vocational and other training programs. I agreed with the advantages of military service for him considering the discipline and training for a quality occupation once service ended. He never did enlist because he was unwilling to give up smoking marijuana. Ten plus years out from high school, he is still bouncing around from job to job and often seeks a place to live for a week or two. Although an assumption, success for him is having a place to sleep, a few beers and an ounce of weed.

The sad truth is that major improvements in his life would have occurred if he simply quit smoking the weed. Often, the choices permitting one to succeed are relatively simple.

Utilizing a few people whom I’ve worked with and coached through the years, I will attempt to illustrate the reasons for the lack of success and why their plight in life did not improve. Their names will remain anonymous and considerable obscurity will be applied so personal identification will not be possible.

Any discussion of success first requires a definition and even border, an explanatory discussion. If you ask someone how they would determine whether another person was successful, money or wealth is the most common response. In fact, the bulk of the literature supports the theory that most people define success in terms of money, although other characteristics usually apply. If money is the answer, then someone who inherits a considerable fortune without effort, a college education or even a high school diploma would be considered a success.

According to the literature, most most people fail for the reasons stated below. They are presented by frenquency and signif

1. Motivation: No matter what the source, it is obvious that the most significant rationale for the inability to succeed or improve one’s self motivation or simply laziness. Most individuals were complacent, lazy and in general did not have the motivational drive to improve themselves. They often blame everyone and condition around them for their lack of success. Every failure is due to someone else  and they never are at fault or accept blame. They will blame their friends, co-workers and even family. They are not goal driven and lack commitment to create the essential goals for improvement. We all know people like this and eventually try to avoid them at all costs.

2. Knowledge: Even when people have a desire to improve themselves, ignorance is often an impediment to success. Time and effort is required to obtain the knowledge necessary to improve your chances of success. For many, the continued failure is simply the lack of motivation to obtain the information necessary to improve yourself. With the advent of the internet, knowledge is at your very fingertips.

3. Fear: There must be volumes of books and other publications noting that fear is one of the major components leading people to fail. In most cases, the fear is related to failure. We will not overly elaborate on the ancient premise that you cannot succeed without numerous failures. However, that long-standing philosophy remains a consistent theme for why people do not have greater successes.

There are other types of fear that prevent people from achieving their goals. The most notable one involves the impression we believe others will have of us when we fail. When I was a child, a friend who lived behind me, could jump rope without missing 500 or more times. While I often took up his challenge to equal his number without a miss, two other of my friends rejected the competition.

The actions and potential to improve one’s current circumstances, does not necessarily require a herculean effort or an outlay of substantial money.

 

 

Every few months, I will expand on the reasons for failure, and success.

 

Updated: 1– 22 – 2012

1 –30 – 2012

2- 20-  2012