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boggsman1



Joined: 24 Jun 2002
Posts: 9118
Location: at a computer

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lets all give a big round of applause for the greatest entrepeneur of the last 100 years. Today, his company became the worlds most valuable. He battled Bill Gates in the 80's, was fired in the 90's , regained his job when his company was almost bankrupt and built Apple to what it is today.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-iPad-trumps-oil-Apple-is-apf-3276362092.html?x=0
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mac



Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17744
Location: Berkeley, California

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Matty--You seem to have missed that part of history where Ronnie Reagan made sure thqt our borders were open enough to have farm workers from Mexico. You may have also missed the recent kerfuffle where agriculture==essentially all oligarchs now--lined up to kill e-verify. Now I think there are tough issues both in the survival of agriculture, and in the use of immigrants as a work force. You just need to remember that Republican stalwarts were the architects of the current system.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9293

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good job Boggsman. He only makes toys, which is a metaphor for our current priorities. I could be wrong, but isn't gold a better place to put your dough?

Glad Jobs beat Gates though.
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mac



Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17744
Location: Berkeley, California

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How many ignorant posts must one make to be considered an ignoramus? This particular quote prompts that question:

Quote:
they who have enabled generations to live comfortably without working a day. Their far sighted policies actually provide a financial incentive for single parent families with the consequent dysfunctional offspring. This is all under the guise of compassion, when, in fact, it simply condemns the recipients to a cycle of poverty and worthlessness.


Since Clinton signed a law that limited the tenure of welfare, and since multiple studies have demonstrated that the vast majority of people who use welfare are either disabled, or use it for a period of time to get back on their feet, it is astonishing that someone would simply assert such nonsense. But then....veracity and research are not always practices on this forum...
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coboardhead



Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 4303

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mrgybe wrote

Quote:
The greatness of this country used to be in the eyes of so many people, who, when seeing someone with a large house or expensive car, would say, "I'm going to work hard until one day I can afford those things". It was that drive to succeed that propelled this country forward. That attitude is disappearing.........now many people believe that they are entitled to those things just because they breathe and without any effort, risk or personal responsibility. If they haven't succeeded, it must be the fault of someone else. Many of our politicians do nothing to disabuse them of that feeling of entitlement


My first reading of this I thought...Yes, I agree. On further thought, however...

We complain about the attitudes of the working class (if you will) in this country. Yet, we send their jobs overseas to increase our profits. When a steel worker cannot find work, we blame him and accuse him, and now his kids, of laziness.

This resulted through a complicated arrangement of unions, corrupt politicians, corporate greed, consumer apathy, cumbersome regulations and uncompetitive health care costs. We all share this responsibility. So, let's not blame the individual.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9293

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This Texas lawyer, himself recipient of an Honorary Degree, is obviously opinionated, but to say what he did, in a commencement address, in front of a class of Texas A &M graduates, and especially the faculty, is amazing. I would have loved to have been there just to see the faculty reaction.

Commencement Address ( Texas A&M). Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 this should be considered must-reading for every adult in North America. It is extremely rare that anyone speaks the truth like this at any College or High School Commencement Address.

Neal Boortz is a Texan, a lawyer, a Texas AGGIE (Texas A&M), and now a nationally syndicated talk show host from Atlanta. His commencement address to the graduates of this year's A&M class is far different from what either the students or the faculty expected. His views are thought provoking:





"I am honored by the invitation to address you on this august occasion. It's about time. Be warned, however, that I am not here to impress you; you'll have enough smoke blown up your bloomers today. And you can bet your tassels I'm not here to impress the faculty and administration. You may not like much of what I have to say, and that's fine. You will remember it though. Especially after about 10 years out there in the real world. This, it goes without saying, does not apply to those of you who will seek your careers and your fortunes as government employees.

This gowned gaggle behind me is your faculty. You've heard the old saying that those who can - do. Those who can't - teach. That sounds deliciously insensitive. But there is often raw truth in insensitivity, just as you often find feel-good falsehoods and lies in compassion. Say good-bye to your faculty because now you are getting ready to go out there and do. These folks behind me are going to stay right here and teach.

By the way, just because you are leaving this place with a diploma doesn't mean the learning is over. When an FAA flight examiner handed me my private pilot's license many years ago, he said, 'Here, this is your ticket to learn.' The same can be said for your diploma. Believe me, the learning has just begun.

Now, I realize that most of you consider yourselves Liberals. In fact, you are probably very proud of your liberal views. You care so much. You feel so much. You want to help so much. After all, you're a compassionate and caring person, aren't you now? Well, isn't that just so extraordinarily special. Now, at this age, is as good a time as any to be a liberal; as good a time as any to know absolutely everything. You have plenty of time, starting tomorrow, for the truth to set in.

Over the next few years, as you begin to feel the cold breath of reality down your neck, things are going to start changing pretty fast... including your own assessment of just how much you really know.

So here are the first assignments for your initial class in reality: Pay attention to the news, read newspapers, and listen to the words and phrases that proud Liberals use to promote their causes. Then, compare the words of the left to the words and phrases you hear from those evil, heartless, greedy conservatives. From the Left you will hear "I feel." From the Right you will hear "I think." From the Liberals you will hear references to groups -- The Blacks, the Poor, the Rich, the Disadvantaged, and the Less Fortunate. From the Right you will hear references to individuals. On the Left you hear talk of group rights; on the Right, individual rights.


That about sums it up, really: Liberals feel. Liberals care. They are pack animals whose identity is tied up in group dynamics. Conservatives think -- and, setting aside the theocracy crowd, their identity is centered on the individual.

Liberals feel that their favored groups have enforceable rights to the property and services of productive individuals. Conservatives, I among them I might add, thinks that individuals have the right to protect their lives and their property from the plunder of the masses.

In college you developed a group mentality, but if you look closely at your diplomas you will see that they have your individual names on them. Not the name of your school mascot, or of your fraternity or sorority, but your name. Your group identity is going away. Your recognition and appreciation of your individual identity starts now.

If, by the time you reach the age of 30, you do not consider yourself to be a conservative, rush right back here as quickly as you can and apply for a faculty position. These people will welcome you with open arms. They will welcome you, that is, so long as you haven't developed an individual identity. Once again you will have to be willing to sign on to the group mentality you embraced during the past four years.

Something is going to happen soon that is going to really open your eyes. You're going to actually get a full time job!

You're also going to get a lifelong work partner. This partner isn't going to help you do your job. This partner is just going to sit back and wait for payday. This partner doesn't want to share in your effort, but in your earnings.

Your new lifelong partner is actually an agent; an agent representing a strange and diverse group of people; an agent for every teenager with an illegitimate child; an agent for a research scientist who wanted to make some cash answering the age-old question of why monkeys grind their teeth. An agent for some poor demented hippie who considers herself to be a meaningful and talented artist, but who just can't manage to sell any of her artwork on the open market.

Your new partner is an agent for every person with limited, if any, job skills, but who wanted a job at City Hall. An agent for tin-horn dictators in fancy military uniforms grasping for American foreign aid. An agent for multi-million dollar companies who want someone else to pay for their overseas advertising. An agent for everybody who wants to use the unimaginable power of this agent's for their personal enrichment and benefit...

That agent is our wonderful, caring, compassionate, oppressive government. Believe me, you will be awed by the unimaginable power this agent has... Power that you do not have. A power that no individual has, or will have. This agent has the legal power to use force, deadly force to accomplish its goals.

You have no choice here. Your new friend is just going to walk up to you, introduce itself rather gruffly, hand you a few forms to fill out, and move right on in. Say hello to your own personal one ton gorilla. It will sleep anywhere it wants to.

Now, let me tell you, this agent is not cheap. As you become successful it will seize about 40% of everything you earn. And no, I'm sorry, there just isn't any way you can fire this agent of plunder, and you can't decrease its share of your income. That power rests with him, not you.

So, here I am saying negative things to you about government. Well, be clear on this: It is not wrong to distrust government. It is not wrong to fear government. In certain cases it is not even wrong to despise government for government is inherently evil. Yes ... a necessary evil, but dangerous nonetheless...somewhat like a drug. Just as a drug that in the proper dosage can save your life, an overdose of government can be fatal.

Now let's address a few things that have been crammed into your minds at this university. There are some ideas you need to expunge as soon as possible... These ideas may work well in academic environment, but they fail miserably out there in the real world.

First is that favorite buzz word of the media and academia: Diversity! You have been taught that the real value of any group of people - be it a social group, an employee group, a management group, whatever - is based on diversity. This is a favored liberal ideal because diversity is based not on an individual's abilities or character, but on a person's identity and status as a member of a group. Yes, it's that liberal group identity thing again.

Within the great diversity movement group identification - be it racial, gender based, or some other minority status - means more than the individual's integrity, character or other qualifications.

Brace yourself. You are about to move from this academic atmosphere where diversity rules, to a workplace and a culture where individual achievement and excellence actually count. No matter what your professors have taught you over the last four years, you are about to learn that diversity is absolutely no replacement for excellence, ability, and individual hard work. From this day on every single time you hear the word "diversity" you can rest assured that there is someone close by who is determined to rob you of every vestige of individuality you possess.

We also need to address this thing you seem to have about "rights." We have witnessed an obscene explosion of so-called "rights" in the last few decades, usually emanating from college campuses.

You know the mantra: You have the right to a job. The right to a place to live. The right to a living wage. The right to health care. The right to an education. You probably even have your own pet right - the right to a Beemer for instance, or the right to have someone else provide for that child you plan on downloading in a year or so.

Forget it. Forget those rights! I'll tell you what your rights are. You have a right to live free, and to the results of 60% -75% of your labor. I'll also tell you have no right to any portion of the life or labor of another.

You may, for instance, think that you have a right to health care. After all, Hillary said so, didn't she? But you cannot receive healthcare unless some doctor or health practitioner surrenders some of his time - his life - to you... He may be willing to do this for compensation, but that's his choice. You have no "right" to his time or property... You have no right to his or any other person's life or to any portion thereof.

You may also think you have some "right" to a job; a job with a living wage, whatever that is. Do you mean to tell me that you have a right to force your services on another person, and then the right to demand that this person compensate you with their money? Sorry, forget it. I am sure you would scream if some urban outdoorsmen (that would be "homeless person" for those of you who don't want to give these less fortunate people a romantic and adventurous title) came to you and demanded his job and your money.

The people who have been telling you about all the rights you have are simply exercising one of theirs - the right to be imbeciles. Their being imbeciles didn't cost anyone else either property or time. It's their right, and they exercise it brilliantly.

By the way, did you catch my use of the phrase "less fortunate" a bit ago when I was talking about the urban outdoorsmen? That phrase is a favorite of the Left. Think about it, and you'll understand why.

To imply that one person is homeless, destitute, dirty, drunk, spaced out on drugs, unemployable, and generally miserable because he is "less fortunate" is to imply that a successful person - one with a job, a home and a future - is in that position because he or she was "fortunate." The dictionary says that fortunate means "having derived good from an unexpected place." There is nothing unexpected about deriving good from hard work. There is also nothing unexpected about deriving misery from choosing drugs, alcohol, and the street.

If the Liberal Left can create the common perception that success and failure are simple matters of "fortune" or "luck," then it is easy to promote and justify their various income redistribution schemes. After all, we are just evening out the odds a little bit. This "success equals luck" idea the liberals like to push is seen everywhere. Former Democratic presidential candidate Richard Gephardt refers to high-achievers as "people who have won life's lottery." He wants you to believe they are making the big bucks because they are lucky. It's not luck, my friends. It's choice. One of the greatest lessons I ever learned was in a book by Og Mandino, entitled, "The Greatest Secret in the World." The lesson? Very simple: "Use wisely your power of choice."

That bum sitting on a heating grate, smelling like a wharf rat? He's there by choice. He is there because of the sum total of the choices he has made in his life. This truism is absolutely the hardest thing for some people to accept, especially those who consider themselves to be victims of something or other - victims of discrimination, bad luck, the system, capitalism, whatever. After all, nobody really wants to accept the blame for his or her position in life. Not when it is so much easier to point and say, "Look! He did this to me!" than it is to look into a mirror and say, "You did this to me!"

The key to accepting responsibility for your life is to accept the fact that your choices, every one of them, are leading you inexorably to either success or failure, however you define those terms.

Some of the choices are obvious: Whether or not to stay in school Whether or not to get pregnant. Whether or not to hit the bottle. Whether or not to keep this job you hate until you get another better-paying job. Whether or not to save some of your money, or saddle yourself with huge payments for that new car.

Some of the choices are seemingly insignificant: Whom to go to the movies with. Whose car to ride home in. Whether to watch the tube tonight, or read a book on investing. But, and you can be sure of this, each choice counts. Each choice is a building block - some large, some small. But each one is a part of the structure of your life. If you make the right choices, or if you make more right choices than wrong ones, something absolutely terrible may happen to you. Something unthinkable. You, my friend, could become one of the hated, the evil, the ugly, the feared, the filthy, the successful, and the rich.

The rich basically serve two purposes in this country. First, they provide the investments, the investment capital, and the brains for the formation of new businesses. Businesses that hire people. Businesses that send millions of paychecks home each week to the un-rich.

Second, the rich are a wonderful object of ridicule, distrust, and hatred. Few things are more valuable to a politician than the envy most Americans feel for the evil rich.

Envy is a powerful emotion. Even more powerful than the emotional minefield that surrounded Bill Clinton when he reviewed his last batch of White House interns. Politicians use envy to get votes and power. And they keep that power by promising the envious that the envied will be punished: "The rich will pay their fair share of taxes if I have anything to do with it." The truth is that the top 10% of income earners in this country pays almost 50% of all income taxes collected. I shudder to think what these job producers would be paying if our tax system were any more "fair."

You have heard, no doubt, that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Interestingly enough, our government's own numbers show that many of the poor actually get richer, and that quite a few of the rich actually get poorer. But for the rich who do actually get richer and the poor who remain poor... there's an explanation -- a reason. The rich, you see, keep doing the things that make them rich; while the poor keep doing the things that make them poor.

Speaking of the poor, during your adult life you are going to hear an endless string of politicians bemoaning the plight of the poor. So, you need to know that under our government's definition of "poor" you can have a $5 million net worth, a $300,000 home and a new $90,000 Mercedes, all completely paid for. You can also have a maid, cook, and valet, and a million in your checking account and you can still be officially defined by our government as "living in poverty." Now there's something you haven't seen on the evening news.

How does the government pull this one off? Very simple, really. To determine whether or not some poor soul is "living in poverty," the government measures one thing -- just one thing. Income.

It doesn't matter one bit how much you have, how much you own, how many cars you drive or how big they are, whether or not your pool is heated, whether you winter in Aspen and spend the summers in the Bahamas, or how much is in your savings account. It only matters how much income you claim in that particular year. This means that if you take a one-year leave of absence from your high-paying job and decide to live off the money in your savings and checking accounts while you write the next great American novel, the government says you are 'living in poverty."

This isn't exactly what you had in mind when you heard these gloomy statistics, is it? Do you need more convincing? Try this. The government's own statistics show that people who are said to be "living in poverty" spend more than $1.50 for each dollar of income they claim. Something is a bit fishy here. Just remember all this the next time Charles Gibson tells you about some hideous new poverty statistics.

Why has the government concocted this phony poverty scam? Because the government needs an excuse to grow and to expand its social welfare programs, which translates into an expansion of its power. If the government can convince you, in all your compassion, that the number of "poor" is increasing, it will have all the excuse it needs to sway an electorate suffering from the advanced stages of Obsessive-Compulsive Compassion Disorder.

I'm about to be stoned by the faculty here. They've already changed their minds about that honorary degree I was going to get. That's OK, though. I still have my PhD. in Insensitivity from the Neal Boortz Institute for Insensitivity Training. I learned that, in short, sensitivity sucks. It's a trap. Think about it - the truth knows no sensitivity. Life can be insensitive. Wallow too much in sensitivity and you'll be unable to deal with life, or the truth, so get over it.

Now, before the dean has me shackled and hauled off, I have a few random thoughts.

* You need to register to vote, unless you are on welfare. If you are living off the efforts of others, please do us the favor of sitting down and shutting up until you are on your own again.

* When you do vote, your votes for the House and the Senate are more important than your vote for President. The House controls the purse strings, so concentrate your awareness there.

* Liars cannot be trusted, even when the liar is the President of the country. If someone can't deal honestly with you, send them packing.

* Don't bow to the temptation to use the government as an instrument of plunder. If it is wrong for you to take money from someone else who earned it -- to take their money by force for your own needs -- then it is certainly just as wrong for you to demand that the government step forward and do this dirty work for you.

* Don't look in other people's pockets. You have no business there. What they earn is theirs. What you earn is yours. Keep it that way... Nobody owes you anything, except to respect your privacy and your rights, and leave you alone.

* Speaking of earning, the revered 40-hour workweek is for losers. Forty hours should be considered the minimum, not the maximum. You don't see highly successful people clocking out of the office every afternoon at five. The losers are the ones caught up in that afternoon rush hour. The winners drive home in the dark.

* Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.

* Finally (and aren't you glad to hear that word), as Og Mandino wrote,

"1. Proclaim your rarity. Each of you is a rare and unique human being.

2. Use wisely your power of choice.

3. Go the extra mile... drive home in the dark.

Oh, and put off buying a television set as long as you can. Now, if you have any idea at all what's good for you, you will get the hell out of here and never come back.

Class dismissed"
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coboardhead



Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 4303

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stevenbard wrote

Quote:
This Texas lawyer, himself recipient of an Honorary Degree, is obviously opinionated, but to say what he did, in a commencement address, in front of a class of Texas A &M graduates, and especially the faculty, is amazing. I would have loved to have been there just to see the faculty reaction.


This speech was NEVER DELIVERED TO TEXAS A & M. He wrote it as an opinion piece. Not so amazing after all.
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mrgybe



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 5180

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To the gentleman who referred to me as an ignoramus..........if you had taken the time to read the exchange between Gurgle and I, you would realize that, in the paragraph you quote, I was, of course, referring to policies implemented in the UK and the impact they have had on society.

No need to apologize.
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mrgybe



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 5180

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

coboardhead wrote:
We all share this responsibility. So, let's not blame the individual.

Of course not...........we're not into blame anymore i.e. assigning responsibility for failure. As I said before, these days, it's always the fault of someone else. That's precisely the point those looters in London are trying to get across.
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mrgybe



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GURGLETROUSERS wrote:
Thank you for your reply Mr G. Sorry I'm angry but those of us who are patriotic (as you are to your country) really do fear for the future of our England.

As an experienced teacher who often had to try and influence 'no hopers' from anti social and amoral backgrounds (I ran a Youth Club and spent time with them) I know how soul destroying their start in life can be. The reality for them is that it takes far more effort and strength of character to succeed and beat the odds of their upbringing, than it does for ordinary people from stable and loving family backgrounds. Some 'make it', but too many simply fail.

What concers us both is the future of society. The young ARE the future, even those amoral morons who have absolutely no moral comp[ass to guide them. For that reason responsible adults must lead by example, and that's why I'm fearful. There's precious little example in our greedy selfish everyone for himself and bugger the rest society nowadays.

In a way, it's timely that we've had this rioting shot across our bows because our leaders and shapers have now to take it seriously, and address the way we seem hell bent on heading. I'm sure we can both agree on that.

I think we agree on most things (well that God thing may be a sticking point!). I completely understand your anger at what is happening and your fear for the future of your country. Many here, including me, have similar fears for this country. There is no doubt that these kids have no moral compass or role models. Many will be the offspring of parents who have been supported by the state for most of their lives. Whereas you and I were sternly warned by parents that we wouldn't get a decent job if we didn't work hard in school, these kids see that they don't need a job.......they'll collect unemployment benefits, and qualify for all sorts of other support, just like their parents, so why bother to work at school? The result? Hordes of uneducated, unmotivated layabouts who expect to be kept. We can all understand the root causes, and have sympathy for rudderless kids, but when do we say "enough"? We withdraw drugs from addicts, or alcohol from alcoholics. Who in government in going to have the balls to wean this growing segment of society off dependency on the state?

Perhaps you're right.......an outburst like this may be the catalyst for change. I hope so, because the thugs who were roaming the streets proclaiming that it's all the fault of the the rich, or they were getting their taxes back (as if they had ever paid taxes!)........those same people have, or soon will be reproducing, and adding even more aimless malcontents to the quagmire.
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