hmmmm

I'm looking at a quote that I'm going to change a bit.
"A boy at home is safe, but that is not what boys are built for." Original credit to John Shedd.
I feel like I'm learning to become a warrior. My current battle exists in a relationship with a friend of mine that I've known for a couple of years now. In the past few weeks, he has started to express his thoughts on relationships, love, and women. He has spoken of "their place" in society. I feel like I'm being tossed a small challenge. I didn't realize it until last night though. I think that it wasn't a challenge until it hit me closer to home.
To be frank, I find myself in the company of degerates and low-lifes on what I feel is an all too regular basis. Anyway, this friend of mine, I'll call him Jon, has taken an interest in moving on from his relationship. I think his ex is not completely unjustified, but she broke his heart. That's not an easy thing. Well, Jon was feeling a little bit better about himself and found a girl to talk to the other night. He was all sorts of excited to tell me about it. And I was happy for him. Then he started asking what I knew about this particular girl. I've known her for a few years (4 I think) and have a decent idea of what she's about. I feel like she's a good girl who is a bit misguided. Anyway, she's seeing another guy I know a bit less. He has expressed to me that women "are things. The drink in my hand: a thing. The keys in my pocket: a thing. The couch and pillows on it: things. That girl: a thing." He told me this right after my crush at the time kind of dropped me and I was a bit down for it. So, he's seeing 4ish different girls right now.
When I told Jon about this, I mentioned that the guy was kind of a chauvinist. Now, I wasn't sure at the time, but this is a direct definition of the word male chauvinist: "noun. activity indicative of belief in the superiority of men over women."
He immediately shot back, "Oh you're a chauvinitst too! We wrote a paper about how women should just stay in the kitchen and leave you alone when you get home from work!" The "paper" he talked about was here. That was explained to me by a woman who's wisdom I will never begin to comprehend. I wrote the "paper" to help guys and girls get along better. I also wrote it with the idea of showing guys that once you take your time, you need to go after your girl and pursue her. Decompress, SURE! But once you are "normal" again, appreciate her for taking care of you; reciprocate things to her. That is not chauvinistic. It is merely asking for a little space. Then it is taking care of the girl.
My battle is to encourage him in his quest for a girlfriend and show him a little bit about being a leader (you have to be a servant!). And I don't know how to approach it yet. So, if you have any words of wisdom....

for the best education

"The best classroom is at the feet of an old person."

Privatization of government

I have a question: How many departments in our government would function more efficiently if they were handed over to a private firm? What if the issue of simple border patrol was handed over to a company? What if they were given half of our current budget to take care of illegal boats, airplanes, even customs? How efficient would that be? Well, if I were them, I would want to make the most money! That is what a company does! So, I'm going to get the job done while spending the least amount of money, so I can keep the rest and throw a nice Christmas party! What if the government gave them an extra 5% if they did a better job than last year? This would be something akin to a bonus! There could be several companies going after a given section of our border! Competition! Better companies might even offer a lower price to do the job! And for what? 50-55% of the current budget? I think I could be a Presidential Budget Adviser! I just saved 45%! This money could go to the national debt! WOOHOO!

The best thing we can do as a country (a bit long)

The United States loves to help other countries. We've spewed billions into foreign aid to countries that are stupid poor. Columbia, Tanzania, South Africa, etc. We have drained our economy so much with the war in Iraq, supporting illegal immigrants' kids for life, and waste still more by funneling into the black hole some people call the "Federal Government."
I'd like to share my thoughts.
As a libertarian, my philosophy is often skipped over for the more popular "right or left" syndrome. The truth of the matter is, everyone has parts of both left and right in their thoughts. So, on to point!
Foreign policy! There is a big world out there! Lots of people are working and building and living in very beautiful places. Some people live in huts, some in bars, still more live in poverty. The poverty line in the United States is pretty high compared to other countries. Last time I checked, it was somewhere around $12,000 a year as income. $12k won't go very far here. That's $1,000 per month! However, $12k will go miles in places like China, Argentina, and any third-world country. What you give up for that will be more costly than you might imagine though. To give you an example, $12k in China would be something like $150,000 here. That's a good income. So, we have things VERY well off here.
We keep on giving money to these countries... as a federal government! I have a question to any Chinese citizen: What have western companies done for your town? The answer might surprise you. They bring jobs. They bring incomes. They bring advancements to society. "Isn't that the government's job?" I hear that all too often. The answer? NO! It is not the government's job to give you everything you want. The government is to encourage economic growth, not give you a job. Companies can give you a job. That is their job - to make money. The government is to make that easier to do. I'm not sure how else I can say it.
So, leave the companies to give jobs. What SHOULD the government do? The government SHOULD be a good steward and stop wasting it's resources. It SHOULD spend money on things like debt. I can personally vouch that having debt is not a good thing. Debt is like disease. Many people CAN get rid of it, but it is very difficult. Some people never recover, because they don't try. It takes counsel (maybe from a doctor/financial adviser), elbow grease to figure things out, and plain old hard work to get things done.
The government SHOULD focus on providing the BEST education to our citizens. I'm not a fan of the Dept of Education. If teachers want a union, they will organize one. For now, re-write the purpose of the DOE to evaluate where EVERY school in north America and the world is making progress. Not just teaching the same stuff the same way it has for 20 years. Where are teachers finding newer and more effective ways of teaching? What works? What doesn't? Do private schools educate people better than public? If so, why not give everyone the voucher? Encourage competition among teachers! Encourage schools to go after the best teachers and to pay them well! I would bet that most teachers would love a new job offer out of the blue just because they did a good job the year before. If public schools are better, find the leaks! Where are they spewing money? Plug those leaks! Reward progress! Reward consistent efficiency!
I'm a big fan of working on our economy and I believe that education comes first in this endeavor. I believe that education has some of the bigger leaks in our society too, but I may save that for another blog.
What about the little guys? What about local businesses? Let's take them and encourage them to focus on hiring people who are not educated! People who have a high school diploma or less can work simple jobs! They can make those jobs better. Let's encourage small business owners to be teachers and mentors. Maybe even expand their business overseas to "help" foreigners. That can be our version of foreign aid. They can grow to be bigger companies. (I'm sure the owner will love the word "bigger!") This isn't taking jobs and income from our country. This is encouraging so much growth that the companies see foreign markets as investment opportunities. They WANT other countries to grow too! Just imagine what the communist Chinese government would say if a company told them that their GDP was about to balloon by $300 billion! China would fling it's doors open to western society so fast that we wouldn't be able to expand fast enough! What about Africa? There are thousands, maybe millions that just want a home again. They will work at Lowe's and Wal-Mart and appreciate the opportunity. Companies will jump at the chance.
Alright, so long rant! To knock it down, I believe that if we focus on education in schools and businesses, the economy shall grow. Then a strong economy will expand through borders into countries where marginal growth can begin.

uhm, no?

So I read today that Colorado State University's President Larry Penley is resigning. There are lots of yadda yaddas and blah blahs, but one of the points really gets to me. As part of his "severance" or whatever, he is going to continue receiving his salary for an ENTIRE year! His salary is $389,000! As an alumni, this makes me rather livid. I've seen some of the current college students and nobody needs to be making that for a year after they leave a post.
'Most' people try to build up something of a savings that we call an "emergency fund." This fund is for when we lose our job and need to pay bills. This is not right at all. This should be 3 months just like the rest of us.

"Life is the Point"

I've been reading through The Way of the Wild Heart. I feel so much better as I'm reading about what boyhood was is I imagined it. I really enjoyed building forts and playing essentially cowboys and Indians. I too received the wound that most men receive. "You're on your own." My dad tried, but he didn't know what it was about. I have a couple of fond memories I'd like to share.
I must have been about 5 or 6. Dad and I jumped into his blue truck and drove. After passing my grandfather's ranch over an hour away, we continued into the mountains. The road got worse and worse until we were on something of an old road resembling a miner or scout's road. When we descended to the bottom of the canyon, he shut the truck off. There was a cabin there that he was checking on or something to that effect. We walked down to the creek and he fixed a rod for me to fish with. I loved it.
After a little while, he came back from the cabin and we hiked up the canyon. This canyon is mostly flat on the bottom, but with jagged boulders that have fallen from the narrow walls climbing to the sky. It was so cool! I got to climb over rocks! And Dad was taking me up this huge canyon! And I was probably going to do more fishing! And I DID! Nobody was telling me to get down and that I was going to hurt myself. I was free to be a kid!
Some years later, I had graduated from high school and taken up climbing. I was about 20. I had been going to bouldering competitions. Bouldering is where you climb up a little way (usually 15-20 feet) and then jump down or climb down. There are no ropes or harnesses. It's easier to put a comp together like this. Then your top 5 most difficult problems (particular route up the wall) are counted to your score.
Well, there was a series of these comps over the winter. I tried to go to all 6. I kept track of the standings on my own computer. I climbed hard. I wanted to be called a champion. I had a training schedule. I had a friend I called a coach who made me climb harder. I just wanted to win my measly category. I have what is called a "non-essential tremor" so I shake all of the time. If a muscle in my body is tensed, it is shaking. Makes it a little tougher to climb!
Anyway, I won a couple of comps in my division and it was looking good going into the last comp. I was pretty sure that the one climber would not overtake me, but I wanted to turn in a good score to seal the deal. Of the series, they took your best three comp scores and that made up your series score. I wasn't sure who the guy was, but he was within a few thousand points.
Out of the blue, Dad called me and told me he had decided to drive me down and take me! It was so cool to have him there watching me! I pulled so hard too! I believe I upped my score enough to make the difference between the #2 guy and I more than 10,000. That is more than any climber in my division could overtake in one night. The after party/awards ceremony was held at a local pub. He was there to see me receive my clear-glass trophy. I still have a picture of me that he took in his car after wards. I had a special place in his heart.
These stories touch my soul. They help remind me that there was a man who tried to raise me in manhood. My dad took pride in me.

New Job et al

So I started my new job with Keller Williams this week. I wasn't really looking forward to having that regular work or whatever again, but I need it. Poker is grand, but I'm not playing the stakes I need to be making a good living... yet. But either way, I have a job. I work for a real estate firm. They are very focused on their employees. Their bottom wrung employees are the customers. The customers are all but irrelevant to the company. They belong to their specific agent and they are called leads. I've been blasting my old company so hard about their management policies. They believe that the main focus should be on sales. They don't care about the "peons" at all. At KW, the peons are agents. KW's main focus is on supporting the agents so that they can focus on taking care of THEIR customers! What a concept!