The future of reading?

It has been sometime since I last posted a blog… But I decided that I should post an update on that’s going on. Any one who reads this blog knows, I love to read all kinds of things. I read Stephen King books, books on politics and faith and the American way, but I was never one to read books on lost of social issues or scientific findings, but that has changed, thanks to TED*.

I am sure all of you have heard of TED Talks, the web-based video talks all around 15 minutes or so on a range of topics. They are informative and often times humorous.  Well they now have a service for TED Books, short, about 30 pages each, informative and humorous. And the topic range is also wide and varied. They are designed to be read in one sitting, something that never happens for me because I love to read 3 or 4 books at one time, depending on my mood and need. But I have read several of the TED Books and can say that so far only one has not inspired or interested me, but I will finish it… One day…

Reading is the fuel of the mind, it opens up new worlds and ideas, it allows your imagination to grow and powers your life. Reading is one of the most important skill sets you can ever have, followed closely by communication skills, verbal and non-verbal.

As someone who makes their living communication daily I know and understand the power of reading. It has opened up my mind to new and powerful thoughts and ideas. It has given me confidence to boldly state my beliefs and defend them, but the coast of books, be they eBooks or paper books, they add up quickly, and that can be a burden on someone who loves to read. But Ted Books are different, it’s a subscription to the library of titles, with new titles added monthly. For about $5 per month I can read as many or as few Ted Books as I want. It’s a wonderful thing…

The books are interactive, with links to the web, TED Talks and other documents or photos to help support the authors topic. You are free to dig-in to the topic or just read straight on through. The amount if knowledge you intake is up to you. Fantastic idea, only wish I would have thought of it!

Every once in a while an idea comes across that will change the world, Well I’m not sure TED Books will change the world, but I know it will change the concept of eBooks and how people will learn. TED Books allows you, the learner, to control what you learn and how much you learn. Click the link or don’t, it’s all up to you. I can see this technology being expanded to include eTextbooks or eManuals, and I hope and pray that some smart and rich Catholic will develop a TED Book type of Catholic library. Quick, easy and informative set of books to help form and teach the 1.2 million Catholic world-wide. If I have the money I would be doing it now. Think of the possibilities, think of the reach, think of the hearts and souls that could be touched.

This is also a perfect outlet for self-help and Life Coaching, quick, to the point and interactive… Often times books can be just to long, the point could have been easily made in a few well worded paragraphs, but due to the nature of books, three paragraphs does not constitute a chapter, but with TED Books it allowed and encouraged. Forcing the author to be direct and to the point. Less room for ambiguity and personal opinion. Often times I have read books where the author spends more time on what they wish or thing than on the facts at hand, confusing the reader and placing a fog over the concept. To me, this is just filler, to make the book thicker, justifying the price. Some of my favorite books are under 100 pages, the point has to be made quickly and the author has to be direct.

In the digital age and the 24/7 age of information we should expect and we should demand or information to be direct and to the point, with the opportunity to dig deeper into the concept if we so choose, and TED Books offers just that.

Give yourself a treat, subscribe to TED Books, check it out, read a few, and if you don’t like it, cancel it, but I am sure you wont, I am sure you will be addicted to them, like I am.

God Bless

Paul Sposite

Guided Insight Life Coach 

*Guided Insight Life Coach nor Paul Sposite are not paid to indorse TED Books, this is just a personal opinion and no money is made from your transactions with TED Books

Related articles

• TED Books (swiss-miss.com)
• 9 reasons to be excited by the new TED Books app (ted.com)
• Why TED Books? A Q&A with TED’s curator, Chris Anderson (ted.com)
• TED Books: Now on the Nook (ted.com)

 

How Folding PJ’s Changes my life

Sometimes it is hard to even start to write this blog, sometimes my mind just goes blank. Call it writers block, or what ever you want, all I know is that it is very frustrating to me. My goal is to try to write something each and everyday, I want to improve my writing, my relaying of information, and the only way to do that is to practice, and the only way to practice writing, is to write and read. The reading thing I got down, I read everyday, even if it is just a few news stories online. However the writing thing, well that’s a different story, I try to write everyday, I launch my editor everyday, I even sometimes start to type, but more often than not I delete what I have written and don’t post.

I understand that it is not an earth shattering event if I don’t post to my blog, that my readers will make it through the day, and there lives will continue, but for me it is a disappointment. I have difficulties remaining committed to tasks I set for myself. I, like a lot of people, start out strong, but seem to fizzle out shortly after the start.  I don’t give up, completely, I just fizzle…

Lets look at a few tasks that turned into Fizzles:

TASK: Eating Healthy

GOAL: Weight Loss and over all Health

At the start, I was all for it, I cleaned my cupboards and frig, tossed out what was unhealthy, tossed my snack foods and when shopping for healthy alternatives, I are carrots and other healthy stuff.  I did good for about 4 weeks, basically until I had to go shopping again. Even then it want to bad, I mostly purchased healthy stuff, but the next trip, all was lost. I was back to my old self, more or less. I did change some of my eating habits, I now go meatless two days a week, eating fish at least one day per week. I try to eat more heatlyish meals, I add more veggies to my plate and try to keep my portion size down. But my gusto for the over all healthy food didn’t take, only part of it did.

TASK: Write a Book

GOAL: Get Published

This task is somewhat different that most tasks I have, it is a task that is, in some ways completed, but in others not. I have written several manuals, for he faith formation program I, along with a partner, created. We self published the material and used it with in our parish. We did attempt to market the program, but to no success. So in one way I have already been published. But this goal is more about creating a book, not a manual, but a book for the public. I have started several “drafts” if you can call them that. I have had several ideas for a book, even began the work on them, but never get to far into it. Here i s my problem, I have research, and to write a book, you need to do research. So I always get stuck right after I lay out the concept, the ideas of what this book should look like, should be about. Once I have to do the research, I abandon the task. So I need to learn how to get over that, or I will never get published. Learn to love research or learn to pay for it, those are my two choices.

TASK: Blog Daily

Goal: Improve writing skills

This task has had several starts and stops. I started off strong on a blog called STATIC Youth, I posted daily, sometimes 2 times a day for month, never missing a day, unless I was just unable to get to the net. I even started a second blog, You Can Be new, and posted to it daily. I decided that posting to 2 blogs was just to hard, so I started to just repost the same article to both blogs, eventually I merged them into one, and renamed the STATIC blog to View Point: Paul, that blog was than merged into this blog here, An American Point of view, all the articles from both blogs were migrated to this new blog and on I went. But my postings have become less and less, my daily habit drifted away and I am finding it harder to post. This, I feel is due to the same reason that I never write my book. I made a resolution that I would do more research in to my blogs, provide more links and facts, rather than just my opinion. Because I hate research, I post less, but this may be changing, I may decide to post with or with out the back ground research, just my view-point.

So as you can see, I have issues with commitment to my own tasks, I am striving to improve, and I have, over the past few years, but I have a long way to go. I will get my book written one day, and published, I will continue to improve my eating habits and I will blog more and more. It’s all connected, this I have discovered.

Not every task I start ends up as a fizzle, for example, I decided that I would keep a tidier home. My house was never “dirty” but at times it can become untidy. So I decided to start with one task, as silly as they may sound, folding my PJ’s at night before I put them away at night. This one task has lead to many other life style changes, simple and silly as that may seem. Not sure why, but I think it was just an over all mind change. For 46 years I never concerned myself with folding PJ’s, I just stuck them in a drawer to be pulled out the next night, but now, my PJ’s a re folded, my shoes are but away each night, I polish and shine them more often (I never bothered before) and my over all bedroom remains tidy. All because I decided to fold my PJ’s.

So I know that the other tasks will happen one day, once I find there PJ’s that I need to fold. The one little task that will become the life style change I need, what ever it is.

Life is full of PJ’s, that one thing that triggers the rest to fall in to place. You know what I mean, you will walk up to that life long smoker and notice they quit. You ask them what happen and they say, Just decided it was time. They may have decided it was time hundreds of times before, but for some reason this time it was time. What changed? What made this time the right time?

The goal in life is to find your PJ’s, that one life changing event that will alter your course and set you on the path to greatness. Not greatness in the worlds eyes, but greatness in your own, greatness in the only way it matters, greatness of character and being.

That task that we place before ourselves are all created to achieve the same end, to become all we are made to be, to become the greatness we know we are to be. Each “failure” is just a lesson needed to be learned, and opportunity to fold your PJ’s yet again, in hopes that this will be your time, your moment to greatness.

Opportunities present themselves constantly, the next pair of PJ’s are always out there before us, if we choose to see them and to fold them. All we have to do is look.

God Bless

Paul Sposite

Guided Insight Life Coach

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Leonardo, where are you?

Cover via Amazon

I just finished “How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day” by Michael J. Gelb.This is a fantastic book, one that all should read. The information is useful no matter who or what you are. Leonardo’s life lessons are timeless and learning about how he looked at life how he saw life was fascinating. I will be looking up more books concerning his life. Managers, Teachers, Parents and everyone else needs to read this book, we need to return to being renaissance men and woman once again.

So what is a renaissance man? And why do we need them again?

As to the first question, what is it:

The common term Renaissance man is used to describe a person who is well educated or who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields.^[3] The concept emerged from the numerous great thinkers of that era who excelled in multiple fields of the arts and science, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei, Copernicus and Francis Bacon; the emergence of these thinkers was likewise attributed to the then rising notion in Renaissance Italy expressed by one of its most accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472): that “a man can do all things if he will.” It embodied the basic tenets of Renaissance humanism, which considered humans empowered, limitless in their capacities for development, and led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. Thus the gifted people of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the arts. The term has since expanded from original usage and has been applied to other great thinkers before and after the Renaissance such as Aristotle, Johann Goethe, and Isaac Newton. (source)

Basically, it is a person well versed on many fields of study, what we would call today, a well rounded education. But really it is more than that. It is more than just getting your Liberal Arts degree.Well at least how we in modern times view it:

The phrase liberal arts (Latin: artes liberales) refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects (called the Trivium) were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy (which included the study of astrology). This extended curriculum was called the Quadrivium. Together the Trivium and Quadrivium constituted the seven liberal arts of the medieval university curriculum.

In modern times liberal arts is a term which can be interpreted in different ways. It can refer to certain areas of literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, psychology, and science.^[1] It can also refer to studies on a liberal arts degree program. For example, Harvard University offers a degree of Master of Liberal Arts, which covers biological and social sciences as well as the humanities.^[2] For both interpretations, the term generally refers to matters not relating to the professional, vocational, or technical curricula. (source)

The classical Liberal Arts is the definition of a Renaissance man, it is the study of Leonardo and many others. It is the study we need to return to, it is the study the will teach us to think. Modern-day Liberal Arts, modern-day education is not setup to teach thinking, it is set up to teach remembering. Students are not encouraged to think freely, but rather to retain what was told to them. The modern-day education system is one based on indoctrination not liberation. Leonardo’s education was geared towards discovery, experimentation and liberation. His disciplines ran across many areas of study, but he, as many renaissance men, had the ability to see the connections. The lines between art and science are blurred as are the lines between religion and science. The cross training and encouragement to push the envelope was the hallmark of renaissance training.

So why do we need a Renaissance man today? We have people who specialize in areas of study, so why should a rocket scientist care about the science of art? Why should an artist care about religion? Why would someone need to know about logic and rhetoric when they push a broom for a living?

Because life is connected, because the betterment of all starts with the betterment of one. Because life is more than what you do, it is who you are. And who you are is shaped by what you know. One of the main principles of Leonardo is connectedness, Leonardo saw the connections between seemingly non-connected objects. For example do you see the connection between a frog and the internet? Think about it… There is a connection. The frog has webbed feet and the internet is also called the World Wide Web. So both frog and internet have some sort of web. It is this connection, relationship that Leonardo saw, and it is this connectedness that we are missing in our lives.

Leonard saw the world not separate from humanity, but just a part of it. He saw the flow of the rivers to be the same as the flow of blood, the grass as the skin and the rock as the bones, he was a oneness between humanity and nature. Leonardo understood the connectedness of the clouds to the rain to the oceans, he saw the dependence of one upon the other. Leonardo is considered a great artiste, the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper among the greatest art works in all of humanity. Yet he was much more than that, he was a scientist and inventor, a caterer and party planner. Leonardo used his talents to enlighten and entertain, he was known for a beautiful singing voice and accomplished musician. He understood that a holistic lifestyle was a healthy life style. Leonardo understood the body and mind connectedness, he was physically and mentally fit, because Leonardo knew that one could not be truly whole if a part of him was left to waste.

The Renaissance man of antiquity needs to be restored. We need to nurture and grow our children with a desire and fascination for learning. To question and explore their surroundings and to see the world, the universe with the eyes of openness and wonder.

We need more Leonardo’s’ in todays world, we need men and woman who are willing to expand their horizons, to cross over disciplines and to not fear failure, for through failure comes discovery. We need to foster the exploration of connectedness, we need to discover the universe anew.

Leonardo, where are you? Where have you gone. When did we decide that men such as Leonard are obsolete? Why did we decide they are of no use? the enlighten of man has many casualties, and this is one. But all is not lost, we can return, we can learn to think like Leonardo, we can create a new Renaissance, we just have to try.

God Bless

Paul Sposite

Guided Insight Life Coach

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An Open Letter to all Catholics, to all Americans

Dear Catholics:

This Open letter it to all Catholics, be they liberal or conservative, laps or practicing, fallen away or on their way back home to Rome. In-fact this open letter should be shared with non-Catholics, non-Christians and anyone who is concerned about their personal liberty and freedom. This letter is intended to excite you, motivate you and call you to action. This letter is a letter of protest and a letter of compassion; it is written from my heart and shared with the world. It will, undoubtably contain miss-spellings, bad punctuation and grammatical errors. However, what it will not contain is false emotions and lack of integrity. It will be heartfelt and passionate, it will be my personal views and my faith presented for you and for all.

Revelation 3:16
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

The above quote is the foundation upon I build my letter. The words of St. John in the book of Revelation needs to be in our hearts and on our minds as we read this letter and internalized. It is the basis of all that I have to say concerning the current state of anti-Catholic, anti-liberty rhetoric coming from Washington DC.

The Obama administration continues their attack on Liberty and Freedom; they continue to erode our rights to religious freedom. The latest being their insistence that Catholic Institutions abandon their core beliefs and offer healthcare benefits that cover birth control, sterilization and abortion causing drugs. This is a direct act against our religious freedom and anti-American. (Source)

We, as Americans, as Catholics as a freedom loving people must stand up, speak out and protest this act of religious bigotry. We, as Catholics, are called to do so, by our very baptism, we have been given the responsibility to stand up for and defend our faith and our Church. Yet, all too often, we fail to do so. If we remain still and quiet the Obama Administration will win, not just the healthcare debate, but even more importantly they will the war he and his administration has waged against religious freedoms.

Our right as Americans and our obligations as Catholics are being challenged and we must respond, and we must respond loudly and boldly. This administration is forcing Catholic Charities, Hospitals and Schools to support and pay for treatments that are counter to our faith, counter to our faith structure. This should shock all Americans, not just Catholics. This is an attack on all Freedoms, not just Religious Freedoms. The Founding Fathers would be shocked to their core and the call for Revolution would once again be heard over this great land. The Founding Fathers fought for Freedom and Liberty, the ability for people to choose their Faith and practices it as seen fit by the faith. They fought for less government and more personal responsibility, not for Big Brother and Government intervention into our daily lives. Healthcare is a personal responsibility and one that the government should not be involved in, but that will be saved for another time. Back to this open letter and the attack on our religious freedoms.

From Bishop Boyea of the Lansing Diocese

Diocese of Lansing Responds to HHS Mandate

These past days have seen a grave error on the part of the federal government, as well as a blessed response from Catholics all across this great state and nation.
By now, all men and women of faith know that the United States Department of Health and Human Services has declared that health benefit plans must include coverage for sterilization, contraception, and abortion-inducing drugs. This unconstitutional and unconscionable mandate is to take effect in stages during 2012 and 2013.
The Catholic Church in the United States will never comply with this mandate. Told that the federal government has allowed a one-year grace period during which the Church can adjust itself to this mandate, Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York responded that the Church does not need a year to determine whether it would comply. He is right. In offering this supposed mandate, the federal government misreads the Constitution of the United States. It equally misreads the determination of Catholics.
This nation is built upon the three-legged stool of the First Amendment. Our precious freedoms of religion, speech, and assembly underlie everything this nation is, and everything this nation has ever accomplished. Religious liberty gives the freedom to preach the Truth. And the truth is that pregnancy is not a disease. Nor is the natural fertility of a woman a disease.
Through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Michigan Catholic Conference, we are exploring a number of options, including litigation and Congressional reform. As these efforts move forward, Catholics should make clear to their elected officials the crucial importance of religious liberty, and they should pray daily for those who have the responsibility for making these decisions.(Source)

God Bless Bishop Boyea for his strong stance, he truly is a Sheppard of his flock, and I for one am proud to know he is in Michigan and at one time was part of the Archdiocese of Detroit. He speaks boldly and strongly, and his statement should be ours, we, as Catholics, will never comply with this mandate. We need to refuse, to protest and to vote with our Catholic heart and sensibility. We need to let Obama and his administration that he cannot, that no politician can dictate the pillars of our faith, that no mortal man can overturn the laws of God! We will not stand for this and we will, we must, fight back!

It is not only Conservatives or Republicans that should be upset, but Liberals and Democrats, this is not going to stop, the power grab will continue if it is not revered. We will see more laws; more directives infringing upon our Liberates and Freedoms enter into the cause of fairness and equality. The forced secularization of Catholic institutions is neither fair nor equal; it is tyranny in its infancy. It is socialism at its birth and will continue to grow unless we, as Americans, stand and fight! It is time that we rejuvenate our revolutionary hearts and stand for what is right.

Please do not miss understand me here, I am not talking about bloodshed, but I am talking about revolution, a change in the current regime and a return to Liberty and the Constitution. This Administration has trampled this document more than any other has; they have no respect for the Founders and see the Constitution as outdated and in-need of an update, The Constitution 2.0, if you will. Obama himself has stated this:

The President said,”…our Founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than I would like sometimes.” (Source)

Really, the system Obama is referring to is outlined and detailed in the Constitution… Hmm, How dare the Founders limit King Obama’s power to force his radical and leftist views upon Americans. That is exactly what he is doing with the contraceptive healthcare law being enforced upon Catholics. I know some Liberals and pro-abortionist are hailing this as a victory. However, they should be careful not to celebrate too much, because soon the heavy hand of tyranny will crush your freedoms and liberties, as it is ours. Hold your convictions tight, as Americans; we have the right to do so, and an obligation to defend them. However, be careful and de diligent, the road to socialism is paved with many tempting things. Such as forcing all to accept, for the betterment of all, abortion, birth control and serialization. It promises a nation with “free” healthcare and equality that is not only protected by the government but also guaranteed. The temptations of Utopia are many and they shine and glimmer of in the distance, just like fools gold below the waters of injustice. We all want Equality and Liberty, we all strive for Freedom and Fairness, but as we quest for and search for this Utopia, this perfection of Government and men, we often times forget the men to whom we are governing. Our Nation was designed with one concept in mind, that it is man who gives government its power, not government who gives man its Freedoms. We, as a Nation allow the Federal Government the power to withhold Liberties and Freedoms as a payment for protection of our Liberties and Freedoms. We give them the power, not the other way around. Yet they seem to see it differently, The Obama administration seems to see it as they grant us our Freedoms and Liberties, and in doing so, they rightly feel they have the power to remove, to hold ransom, our Liberties and Freedoms. As long as we allow them to feel this way, as long as we do not stand and fight for our Freedoms and Liberties, they will continue to act as if they have the power over us, and not as our Founding Fathers intended, we have the power of them. It is our Government, we created it and we can destroy it or we can restore it! What will it be? This is a defining moment in our history; this is a turning point for our Great Nation. How will we react?

Revelation 3:16
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

I for one am going to stand and Fight!

God Bless

Paul Sposite

Guided Insight Life Coach

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Could Boys Town work today? And other thoughts on Charity and Social Justice.

Cover of Boys Town

‎“What’s “just” has been debated for centuries, but let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then, tell me how much of what I earn “belongs” to you — and why?”
– Walter Williams

Williams was born into an AfricanAmerican family. His family during childhood consisted of himself, his mother, and his sister. His father played no role in raising either child.^[3] He grew up in Philadelphia. The family initially lived in West Philadelphia, moving to North Philadelphia and the Richard Allen housing projects when Williams was ten. His neighbors included a young Bill Cosby. Williams knew many of the individuals that Cosby speaks of from his childhood, including Weird Harold and Fat Albert.^[4]

Williams was a talented high school student who displayed a very inconsistent performance in his studies. Following high school he came out to stay with his father in California, and attended one semester at Los Angeles City College, in regard to which he would later state that he was not ready yet to be a serious student.^[5] In 1959 he was drafted into the military, and served as a Private in the United States Army.^[4][6] While serving in the Army, he “waged a one man battle against Jim Crow from inside the army (where he was nearly court-martialed for challenging the racial order).”^[4] Williams:

wrote a letter to President John F. Kennedy denouncing the pervasive racism of the American government and military. “Should Negroes be relieved of their service obligation or continue defending and dying for empty promises of freedom and equality,” Williams demanded of the president. “Or should we demand human rights as our Founding Fathers did at the risk of being called extremists….I contend that we relieve ourselves of oppression in a manner that is in keeping with the great heritage of our nation.”^{[4]  (Link)}

^{The above article, or at least part of the article from Wikipedia and the beginning quote should be an inspiration to all Americans, it talks of Faith, faith in the American system, faith in self and faith in humanity. It talks of self-reliance and justice, not handouts and welfare.  It talks about picking yourself up and taking care of business, your business, and not relaying on the government to do it for you. I like that!}

^{So what is “just”?}

^{As a Catholic, social justice is a huge part of my faith, we have Bishops and everyday pew sitters working on this issue daily, we have documents coming from the Vatican and our local Church. I could spend hours reading and re-reading the documents, many of them online and available for free. I can read the words of many a great men, saints and some not so saintly. But in the end, I think that simple quote above states it very distinctly:}

^…I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then, tell me how much of what I earn “belongs” to you — and why?”

 

^{That about states it all… Now I can hear everyone asking, what about the poor, who is going to help them… We need to take and give to them.. True, I agree, you are correct. But… And this is a big but… It’s not the government’s job to decide who or what charities I want to support, it is not the governments job to decide how much is too much. That my friends, it totally up to me… That is “just”.}

^{Humanity will, if allowed, care for herself. In the United Stated we have proven this, prior to big government stepping in, it was left to the local communities to care for one another, and they always did. During the many recessions and depressions this country has gone through, the local community always cared for their own. As it should be. The “Great Society” and the “New Deal” and all other forms of Social Engineering has done nothing to change the simple fact that we will always have the poor. But what it has done is created a whole generation that is now dependent upon the government to fix and provide for all there needs. No longer is it a community coming together, but now it laws and regulations and dependency.}

^{The local out reach programs, Faith based community services and alike are now governed by the Federal Government, bogged down with regulations and paperwork that much of there “good deeds” go undone due to lack of resources to meet the ever-expanding hands of Big Brother. Prior to the government handing out the tax payers money, the local community gathered its resources from the community itself, depended on the community and thrived with in the community it served.}

^{The Catholic church was the prominent provider in many communities, depending upon the Church and the community at large to provide free services to whomever needed them, regardless of their faith. Look at Boys Town as a perfect example. Fr. Flanagan did not ask the Federal Government for moneys to build his Town, nope, he depended upon the common person to send in donations, and the work of building the town, well that was left up the him and the boys. In todays “regulated” world this could never happen, the government would not allow the young men who made up the community of Boys Town to do the labor, they would consider it “degrading” and “child labor”, were as Fr. Flanagan and his boys considered it “Character building” and “Edifying” . How times have changed.}

^{The government would have required trained social workers were as Fr. Flanagan required love and respect. There is not law or regulations for love and respect, so the government would not consider them to be important. How times have changed…}

^{“Charity” and “Social Justice” and not be regulated or forced, they have to be organic in nature. they have to come from the souls of the ones offering. When government sticks its hands into our pockets and forces us to “give” the act of Charity and Justice has just become an act of redistribution and extortion.}

^{In the books “Who Really Cares” and “Gross National Happiness”} Arthur C. Brooks, the author, makes the case that charity is a human act, not a governmental act. That it is the benevolence of man and not the redistributionist of government that keeps charities rolling. Both books are well worth the reading.

The Catholic Church, like many organization, has its fair share of redistributionist, who feel that humanity in-of-its-self is not able or capable of caring for each other. To me this is a travesty and a slap in the collective face of man kind! But, truth be told, we allowed this mind-set to happen, we, as a nation have become “dependent” upon the government to not only govern our national affairs, but also our personal affairs.

A return to a simpler time, a time when communities cared for each other, relied upon each other and depended upon their neighbors was when true social justice existed in this nation. We now live in a nation of not social justice, but a nation of social engineering, other wise know as socialism, tyranny or any other work to describe personal liberties and personal responsibilities being replaced by group think. We are teaching our children not to depend upon themselves and the community at large, but rather to look to and depend upon the government. We have generations of Americans that have no concept of charity and giving, of time, talent and treasure. But we do have generations of Americans who understand the concepts of give me, I deserve and “fairness”. Using the term “fairness” not as it was meant, “Equal opportunity” but rather as “Equal treasures” regardless of effort put forth.

The America of pre-New Deal and The Great Society is not yet lost, but is quickly becoming so. We have the opportunity and obligation to change the course of this great nation. To right the wrongs and return American and her citizens back to personal responsibility and community minded obligations. We have a unique opportunity in America, the opportunity to wage a revolution with our guns and blood, a revolution that uses the most powerful weapon ever know to man, the vote. This November we must vote to return America back to Americans, to restore Charity and Social Justice back to the people. It is time to take up the mantel of liberty and forge a new path to prosperity by returning to the founding principles of this great nation. Principles spelled out in our founding documents, the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Documents that outline the path to prosperity and freedom, documents that never, not once, call upon the Government to care for the personal lives of its Citizenry. But rather call upon its Citizenry to care for the Government.

God Bless

Paul

Guided Insight Life Coach 

 

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Newt speaks the Truth…

Last night I watched the South Carolina debates on Fox News. What stuck me was the fact that the questions were not designed as “sound bites” and that they were fair. What a concept… It was refreshing to hear, for the most part, intelligent questions from the media. No “So if states want to ban birth control” type questions. In truth they all sounded good, except Ron Paul, for some reason he always sounds like he is disorganized and scattered. Newt, as always was right on and put the media in there place. His little spat with Juan Williams, who was trying to bring up the race card.

 

It seems to me that the race card is going to be the mode of operation this election season. If you state the truth, and dislike Obama, you must be a raciest. How sad is that, how low is that, I for one, am insulted! I dislike Obama because he is, in my opinion, the worst president EVER, He makes Carter look good, and that’s pretty bad. I would have thought that the fact that the current president won by a land slide would have dispelled the notion that America is raciest. But I guess that something are just to easy to fall back on.

It’s a no brainer to say it must be race, not policy, it makes good head lines to say White America is racist. By the way, as a side note, I hate when we Americans are described as:

• White Americans
• Black Americans
• African Americans

Are we not all just Americans? Is that not part of the issue, we keep a divide between us when we do that. And to me it is simply stupid and counter productive. Yes I know there are still some whites that dislike blacks, just like there are some blacks that dislike some whites. It will, sadly, always be that way. There will always be ignorant people in this world. There is not much we can do about that. But there is much we can do about the divided we create when we refer to each other by our race. How about just American? What’s wrong with that?

Well back to the topic at hand…

Newt has a way of responding that just makes the questioner take a step back, his simple “No” to Juan was brilliant, the follow up from Newt with the why, in simple terms and no concerned about political correctness, what a beautiful thing to see and hear from a politician!

With Newt as our President we would always know were we stand, what he thinks and how he is going to deal with any issue. What a refreshing thought….

As for Dr. Ron Paul… Not sure why, but I just get an uneasy feeling about him, the feeling that one night he is just going to wake up and decide to run nude through the White House, just a feeling that he is just a tad bit off center. Not nuts, just a one or two cards short of a full deck. Don’t know why I get that feeling, but I do…

Romney, well what can I say about him, I would vote for him if he was the republican, but that’s about it. I just am not drawn to him.

Perry, he looks like he is always stiff, almost like a Ken doll…

Santorum, I like him, he is my second in line, if not Newt, than Santorum. Why not my first, I just like Newt, always have.

This election year promises to be exciting and revealing. I think we will see what America is made of this election. The American fabric will be stretched to its limits, and we will see what she can stand. If we fail, if the fabric rips we will be headed down a long, steep and slippery road to socialism. A road we are currently on, a road that not just liberals have put us on, but, sad to say, so have many conservatives. It is time, this election is the election to decide what road we want, socialism or the road the Founding Fathers forged for us, the road carved out of the wilderness with the blood of our sons. The road of Liberty and freedom, the road of personal responsibility and sacrifice. The process will not be easy, and we will have a hard climb back up to the top of this current hill, a lot of back tracking to do, freedoms to restore and liberties to reinstate. But we are Americans, we can do it, if only we try and work hard. Something our history as a nation has show we are not afraid to do, hard work was what this nation was built on, and hard work is what will restore this nation.

God willing, we will do just that, we will restore this great nation back to is former glory!

God Bless

Guided Insight Life Coach

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Faith in Humanity

Last week my house was broken into, for anyone who has had this happen, you know the feeling. The feeling of being violated. What they took is all replicable except some watches that use to belong to my day, but the rest is just stuff, and stuff can be replaced. I called the police, they found some evidence, but I am not very hopeful because, truth be told, this is not the biggest thing on their radar. Yes it was well over $4000.00 dollars of stuff, but still small stuff considering the larger picture.  The insurance company is taking care of it all, so it will all be replaced soon.

But what makes me mad is this simple concept, that some people feel they have the right to take what they want, to take what I have worked hard for, what I have purchased with my hard-earned money. And, sad to say, we have done it to ourselves. We have created a nation of “But I want it” a youth of “I deserve it” and a belief that “We just don’t understand them”.

Bull crap!

I understand, I understand that I have worked hard all my life for what I have. That I don’t just take what I want, that I understand that I know it is wrong to take what is not yours. And don’t give me that crap they just don’t know any better. I will wager that if I went up to on of the low fife thief’s and took something of there’s, they would understand that it was not right to take what they have, just because I wanted it. They understand right from wrong, it’s a basic to life. We are born with it, even a child knows they are not happy when you take something from them. Sure it takes time for them to understand that it works both ways, that its wrong to have something taken and to take. But anyone who can drive is old enough to have that basic skill set. Nope it has nothing to do with “They don’t understand”” but more to do with “They just don’t care”.

We have a basic moral code in us, we always have and always will, but free will allows us to choose do as we please, and they choose to take what was not theirs. Plain and simple!

Back in June my car was stolen, prior to that some change was stolen from my car and now this, add to this that my Dog passed away in April it has not been a good year.

But…

I have not lost faith in the human race, I still give people the benefit of the doubt… I still look to the future with hope, maybe a little more prayer that before last week, but still hope.

God Bless

Paul

Guided Insight Life Coach

 

Questions of Force and Faith

The death of 15-year-old Jaime Gonzalez has shaken this neighborhood along the U.S.-Mexico border, where parents already burdened by economic woes and street gangs are now faced with explaining the tragedy to their children.

Making it especially hard: It remains unclear to his parents and investigators why Jaime — a drum major who danced in his church’s annual religious festival, stayed out of gangs and had two parents who closely watched him — could swerve off course and bring a weapon to school. The weapon, police later determined, was a pellet gun. (link)

Reading this article makes me think about many things. The sadness the parents and friends must feel, the questions it opens and the wounds that will never heal. It makes me think about the questioning and second guessing the officers must be going thru, did we have to shoot to kill, did we do the right thing. It makes me wounded what was going on in the head of this young man, whom, by all reports I have read, seems like a normal 15 year old, staying clean and out of trouble.

It’s a sad story, and I truly feel for the parents and all involved, I pray for the young mans soul, and that God will have mercy on him.  But I feel that there is more to the story, that we are missing something…. I’m not say he was not a good boy, or that that parents were not good parents, but there is something missing…

I would have to say that most likely what was missing was community, safety and security with in the community. we all have hear that is take a village to raise a child, and its true. Think about it, we spend more time outside of the family than we do in it, as a school aged young man, he spent more hours away from home than in the home. Be it at the school or hanging out with friends. And that is as it should be, that is how a young man becomes a man. But the dynamics of that “village” plays a roll, a very big roll…

The village is not a physical location as much as it is a concept. The boundaries of the village grow and the youth grows, as a 8 year old, his village most likely was school and home, maybe daycare. His friends were local and his parents had more control over who he played with and not. As he grew, so did his village, as a 15 year old his village would now include more physical space, able to go more places and hang with more types of people. His school becomes just one of many places with in the village. And his parents influence is, to some degree, less than the influence of his friends. And all this is as it should be, the process of growing up, and becoming a young man.

It is this force that helps shape the boy into a man, and by all accounts it seemed to be doing a fine job. So what happen, what made this young man bring a gun, all-be-it a harmless gun, but still a gun, to school. What possessed him to run thru the halls, refusing to put it down? All questions we will never know the answer to. Sad… Very sad…

But now this is were faith comes in, the parents must have faith that they did the best they could, that they did not let there son down, and faith that God, in HIs own way, will make it all clear to them. But we must also examine the village, and see were, if any, safety nets may have failed. Was there a sign that was over looked, was he crying for help, but know one noticed, or cared to take action. Just questions…

God Bless

Paul W Sposite

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Forgiveness… Can you do it?

Image via Wikipedia

The only survivor of white supremacist Mark Stroman’s bloody rampage after Sept 11, 2001 is asking that his attacker be spared the death penalty Wednesday for his crimes….

…I forgave Mark Stroman many years ago," he writes on his blog. "I believe he was ignorant, and not capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, otherwise he wouldn’t have done what he did." (You must read this)

How many of us could say this? How easy is it to forgive? Look around you, examine your own life, have you forgiven people who have hurt you, wronged you? Have you forgiven your parents that abused you or the priest that took advantage of you? Have you been able to let go and let God? Have you found the place in your heart were forgiveness lives? Or is it just a dark spot?

Forgiveness is not easy, yet it is something we all must learn to do. Jesus, on his cross, forgave:

And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots. (Luke 23:34)

In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of the importance of Christians forgiving or showing mercy towards others. The Parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the best known instance of such teaching and practice of forgiveness.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly spoke of forgiveness, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NIV) “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV) “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:25 (NIV) “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” Luke 6:27-29 (NIV) “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36 (NIV) “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37 (NIV)

Elsewhere, it is said, "Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.’" Matthew 18:21-22 (NAS)

Jesus asked for God’s forgiveness of those who crucified him. "And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’" Luke 23: 34 (ESV)

In his time, Jesus created controversy among the Pharisees, when he told people their sins were forgiven. "The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’" Luke 5:21 (NIV) (Read this)

Pope John Paul II also forgave his would be killer (read this), But can we, me and you, forgive? I know I have a hard time with this concept, I hold grudges for a long long time… It is one of my many human traits that I must work on, daily. It is some thing I have prayed about, seek guidance for and something that I am aware of. It is, in a nut shell, something that is holding be back from being the creation that God wishes me to be. Forgiveness… We all say it, but do we all truly mean it, do we truly understand it. I know I don’t, but I also know that once a crack that nut, I will be in a much better place than I am now…

God Bless

Paul

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The American experiment with Socialism

Question: What is socialism?

Answer: Government owned or run, central planning and no competition, a monopoly

so·cial·ism

/ˈsoʊʃəˌlɪzəm/ Show Spelled[soh-shuh-liz-uhm] Show IPA

–noun

1.

a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

 

America has flirted with this concept for years, Amtrak, Post Office, Social Security, Medicaid, GM, and our public schools. In fact the public schools are a perfect example of an imperfect system of government that destroys what it sets out to fix.

Americas public school system is based on the Prussian system of mandatory education form the early 19th century. (Read this)(and see this) The point of the system was not to educate but rather to indoctrinate, to create better Lutherans.

Add to this model of education the unions and you have a perfect, self-serving institution that cares not one bit for the people whom they serve. The children are not the center of the education system, they are a necessary evil to the ends they system desires, More pay, less work, more benefit, let out put…

With the spending per student ever on the rise we would expect to have one of the best schools systems in the world, yet we do not. We keep spending, and our schools keep failing. The more we spend the worst we seem to do. Why is this? Simple, because we have a socialistic system of education. No competition and no accountability.

Teachers want smaller classrooms, they state is will increase the level of quality education, yet there is no proof of this. The schools bow down to the union demands, and we get smaller classrooms. The result, less students for the teachers to deal with, meaning more teachers needed to teach and the test results are no different, we still have a failing system. Yet we just spent millions of dollars… (How schools are funded)

Better educated teachers will produce better educated students… This is the next big lie… The unions tie the level of education to the pay the teacher receives. So if a bad teacher has a masters in education they will make more than the good teacher with out the masters. No need to prove your value, just buy it. Oh, and if you’re a bad teacher that was able to stick it out and get tenure than your golden. The unions created a system the rewards you for nothing, no out-come based achievements are needed, just do your time and they will take care of the rest.

This my friends is socialism at its best. When you create a system that is not based on market needs, be it education or food production, you create a system that is doomed to fail. With in the American education system we have no competition, so we have no need to improve, we have no accountability. Yet, if we were to allow the education system to become a free market system, allowing the tax dollars to follow the student to what ever school they choose, be it secular or religious, we would than create a system that fosters competition and that my friends would guarantee an improvement.

Look at any industry run by the government and I will show you an industry that is miss managed. The Post Office, Amtrak or the Educational System, all miss managed and wasteful. None of them have incentives to improve, the government will continue to toss money at them, with new five year plans designed to fix the system. Of course the plan includes lots of new money but no accountability.

With the Obama administrations enactment of ObamaCare, we will see the same ineptness in our heath care as we see in our education and other

government run entities.  God help us all if we don’t fix this now.

How do we fix it, privatize it all, allow the free market to do it’s thing. The strong will survive and the others will change or fade away.

Socialism has no part to take in America, we need to rid ourselves of this parasite and return to the free market solutions this great country was founded on.

God Bless

Paul

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