We Still Have Hope...

This is a story that I heard the other day on Glenn Beck's show. It is a story written by Dr. John Rossi.

"Once upon a time there was a very happy couple. Their names were Freedom and Capitalism. They married and had many wonderful children. Their names were Independence, Self-worth, Hard work, Dignity, Charity, Faith and Hope.

They all lived happily for many years and the children respected their parents and loved them both very much. But Freedom and Capitalism, later, had several naughty children, very naughty. They weren't so respectful and never appreciated their parents. Their names were Wealth envy, Environmentalism, Animal rights activism, Racism, Feminism, and Ultra liberalism.

These evil children blamed their parents for everything and hated their parents', Freedom and Capitalism. In fact, these unappreciative children began to hate their parents since they didn't realize their parents gave them everything they had and didn't realize that they wouldn't even exist without their parents. They hated their parents so much, they began to plot with their neighbors to kill their parents and to keep their home.

Their neighbors' names were Socialism and Communism, who on the outside were a very lovely couple; but inside they were very, very ugly. They and their children, whose names were Despair, Poverty, Hopelessness, Suffering, and Repression had been welcomed into every neighborhood they had lived in, but then thrown out after years of suffering and the loss of many lives.

So late one night in total darkness, because Socialism and Communism did everything in darkness and the way from the light of the truth, while everyone was asleep, Wealth envy, Environmentalism, Feminism, Animal rights, egged on by their younger obnoxious brother, Hollywood, disguised Socialism and Communism and let them into the house of Freedom and Capitalism. It wasn't hard, for the two parents, Freedom and Capitalism, always left their gates and their door open for everyone.

Wealth envy led the way because he knew the house oh, so well. The evil children led Socialism and Communism throughout the house, one room at a time. And one at a time they killed Hard work, then Dignity, then Independence, Self-worth, Charity and Faith.

They finally found the room of Freedom and Capitalism and killed them as well. It wasn't hard to do, since freedom and capitalism always left their door unlocked and open for everyone. Only Hope survived. Hope survived hiding in the closet. She ran out during the ensuing celebration.

After Socialism and Communism moved in, things went well for a while but then they decided they didn't like Freedom and Capitalism's evil children either. They wanted their own children to have the rooms in their new house. So late one night in total darkness, because socialism and communism did everything in darkness and away from the light of the truth, they sent their children to kill Freedom and Capitalism's remaining evil children.

Poverty and Suffering killed Environmentalism and Animal rights first, for they were so hungry, they had to kill all the animals for food and the trees for their wood. And besides, why should animals have rights if people don't? Hopelessness killed Liberalism, the retarded brother of Communism. Then Poverty, Suffering, and Repression killed Feminism, the retarded sister of Liberalism. And Hollywood, the young obnoxious son of Freedom and Capitalism, was also killed. Finally, Wealth envy, who led the attack on his parents, died at the hands of Poverty since there was nothing left to envy.

So Socialism and Communism and their children, Poverty, Despair, Hopelessness, Suffering, and Repression lived in the once beautiful home of Freedom and Capitalism, which was now in great disrepair and they all lived sadly ever after.

All that was left of the family of Freedom and Capitalism was Hope, who was quietly hiding in the woods."

Not a bad little sorry from a doctor who woke up in the middle of the night to write this. I think Dr. Rossi plans on making some sort of children's book out of this story. I hope he cleans up some of the verbiage and story incongruencies around the "retarded brother and sister" parts. I understand wanting to link them together, but it doesn't make sense in the story at all, and the word retarded is really unnecessary...a better word could be found.

But for me, the overarching plot hits home. Unfortunately Freedom and Capitalism, as we have known them, are taking their last breaths. Unwarranted wire taps, nanny state issues, bailouts, nationalized industries and the like is seeing to that.

Socialism is setting in...unless Barack Obama can stop it. Unfortunately he ran on socialistic ideas, such as nationalized health care and government sponsored energy, on his way to being elected. I worry that if worse comes to worse, Communism will take hold, unless America falls before then, before Hope will take over and restore Freedom and Capitalism to their rightful place in this country.

What economic talking heads aren't seeing...or just not saying.

Coming out of this weekend, you may hear some news reports saying that retail sales increased to save the year for many retailers. The people that will be telling you this are either ignorant, or they are hiding the truth...that we are in a deflationary period. What follows deflationary periods?? Typically hyper-inflation. Yikes.

Sorry to be a downer over this holiday weekend, but I think our economy is hanging on by a thread...and no one is saying a darn thing about it. Of course, I'm not an ecnomist myself, but I am a common sense guy, and my common sense alarms have been going off for a while now.

So what is deflation, and why aren't people talking about it? Deflation is when prices decline in relation to wages. This may sound like a good thing, and perhaps sporadically, or in cases when prices were artificially inflated, it is. But when prices are dropping in bulk or across a spectrum, it isn't.

Think about it. We want the value of our house, e.g. house prices, to rise...wage earnings rise...the inflation that is built into our economy rises. Everything in our economy rises, except during corrections such as a recession, or when idiots mismanage/over-manage a recession, a depression.

These after Christmas sales aren't about retailers being kind and wanting to give shoppers a deal out of the kindness of their hearts. They need to sell product. They can't sell it at regular price...so they have to reduce the price, via a sale. When sales of regular, non-holiday items are in the area of half off, that's beyond your typical sale. That's a price reduction without calling it that. Retailers are having to reduce the prices just to get shoppers to come out to buy things. They call it a sale for marketing purposes...but if items were only 10 - 15% off, most people wouldn't waste their times this time of year in this economy.

How do you get out of a deflationary period before retailers just start closing their stores because they can't make a profit on such deep mark-downs? Well, the federal reserve typically increases the money supply, creating inflation, to get prices to rise again. Well, unless you've been in a stupor for the past year, you know that the federal reserve has already pumped a couple trillion dollars into the economy, with guarantees of up to 7.6 trillion in the future. Uhhh...that's some massive money supply there already. They are printing money like it's going out of style with these promises...because I assure you, the federal reserve doesn't have trillions of dollars sitting around in a vault somewhere.

So if the federal reserve realizes that they are in a deflationary period and tries to introduce more money into they supply...that could create hyperinflation. Hyperinflation, by definition, is out of control. That leads to those $10 candy bar prices I was talking about over Thanksgiving because hyperinflation begins to greatly devalue money.

If you think back 10 years ago...what was the general cost? The two examples I have on the top of my head is McDonald's hotcakes and gas. The age range I'm thinking of is roughly 14 years ago, but both of those things cost at least half of what they cost now. That's inflation. That's roughly 7% inflation, which is solidly more than what the government tells the public the inflation rate is...but I digress. Think of what "out of control" inflation will do? It could double prices in the range of a couple of years, rather than 7 years or more. Wages can't and won't keep up with that kind of inflation...hence a horrible economic situation occurs. Depression.

I hope to God that it won't come to that. But I think that's the path we're headed. Don't let the economic talking heads tell you that everything is rosy without specifically saying how we will or have gotten there. Some economist on NBC today said that the recession will be officially over in 3-6 months because Barack Obama is coming in and will change economic policy...that the market will reach bottom in the next month or two because it's been so fluctuating recently.

Hogwash! Tell me some specific, logical indications of how these are going to happen?? They can't...hence, they don't. They just paint a rosy picture. Whether they believe it or not, I have no idea. I hope they don't actually believe what they are saying, or we're in worse trouble than I thought we'd be in. If our economic "experts" believe that the fed throwing money at the situation isn't like throwing gas on a raging inferno, we may have lost not just the battle, but the war.

So what can you do if an economic apocalypse is coming? Well, nothing if that's the case, but let's just say what you can do if a depression is coming? Pay off debt...save money...stock up on essentials. If this economic tsunami doesn't happen, you're in a sweet position.

Don't do what I did and go out and buy a new flat screen TV before paying debt. That was a battle I wasn't going to win, though. It was from mostly Christmas money(as hard as I try, I can't win an argument to use Christmas money to pay debt)...and it was replacing a television that was over 15 years old. Our other television is 5 years old and still chugging along fine. So it wasn't like we were buying something that we have a track history of replacing every couple of years. Besides, I'm winning the war...we've got a good game plan to be completely debt free except for our crummy little living-within-our-means house(and my stupid student loan) in a year.

Hopefully my oh so simplistic way of looking at problems is just too hayseed for those fancy Washington economist types, and hopefully I'm way off my rocker. In any event, it's time to live like our grandparents taught us...well within our means. Good luck! I'll be hoping and praying that a horrible scenario doesn't happen so we're all living on easy street in a couple years.

Resolutions revisited...and commited...

It's been one of the better Christmas' I've had in a long time. Believe it or not, I attribute part of that to one of my New Year's Resolutions...to simplify my life. Part of simplifying was to organize, and thanks to good organization in putting away things last Christmas, we wrapped every present for our kids and most of the rest of the family on Christmas Eve...in 4 hours.

Not bad...and I had fun doing it. I decided to be Marvin Stewart and learn how to wrap presents well. The verdict? Well, it was no Martha Stewart, but it was much better than I've ever done in the past.

I took some time off work around before Christmas, and I think it helped get me into the "Christmas Spirit" more this year than in recent years. Ever since I worked retail back in college, Christmas just wasn't the same for me. I think I finally snapped out of the retail induced Christmas funk.

I did fairly well with the reading Resolution I made at the beginning of the year. I didn't read just non-fiction books, but I averaged a little over one a month...very good for me.

I think I succeeded with the get-in-shape Resolution. I didn't really lose much weight at all, but jogging 12 miles a week for the past 4 months has helped out quite a bit. I even did a couple 5Ks in the past month and a half, and am scheduled for a half marathon in April.

The father thing didn't seem to take. I don't know why...probably I didn't put enough effort in, though I feel like I did. I did give it a good honest try though, so I'm not calling it an utter defeat.

So for the first time in a long time, I finished the year in fairly good shape in regards to the beginning of the year Resolutions. There was definitely some neglect throughout the year, but it was definitely not a last minute scurry to try to get back on the path of the Resolutions.

Going forward for next year, aside from continuing to read at least a book a month and keep in shape(did I mention I've got a half marathon scheduled in 4 months? I'm already dreading it), and of course continue to keep my life simple and organized....my main Resolution for this up coming year is to live a life of meekness.

I've always liked the word meek. I learned it a long time ago in church. It just seems to encompass many of the things I'm doing now...keeping myself strong physically and mentally...but instill restraint from displaying this training unless necessary. I used to be much more laid back...not get so worked up about stuff, so impatient so quickly, etc. I want to get back that way. Yet I want to know that when there's a "fight" to fight, I can go to "battle" when needed. I'm fairly good at picking my fights at work...I just need to do that throughout my whole life now.

We'll see how it goes.

Merry Christmas from The Mad Hoosier...

If you're offended by the usage of "Merry Christmas", please don't be. Saying Merry Christmas is merely a greeting of the Christmas Season, in which we are currently in. I use it when I know I'll be seeing someone before the New Year's holiday, or as a good-bye when in close proximity to the holiday...wishing they have a Merry Christmas. Otherwise I will say Happy Holidays to incorporate the full holiday season. If for some reason you are offended by "Merry Christmas", please allow me to explain further why you shouldn't be.

Here in the United States, Christmas was declared a national holiday in 1870 and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. At that time, the country was still torn apart by the effects of the Civil War, and the holiday was used as a way to help unite our country.

Christians use this day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. While not believed to be the actual birth date of Jesus Christ, the date was chosen to coincide with other winter festivals, such as the Winter Solstice or Roman festivals at the time.

As such, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that the federally recognized holiday of Christmas Day is secular, meaning not specificially religious, as are most symbols generally attributed to Christianity, such as a Christmas Tree, a wreath, lights, etc. Of course, the Nativity scene is clearly a symbol of Christianity's tribute to the holiday. Christians are, of course, entitled to that symbol, just as Jews are to the Menorah, for example.

Christians do celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday(with Santa Claus throw in). So what? Get over it and let them celebrate the holiday in their own way. But for the record, the phrase Merry Christmas is not some secret code word used by Christians to suggest that they wish you to denounce your faith or non-faith and immediately swear allegiance to God or Jesus Christ.

So if you are offended by Merry Christmas, I suggest you lighten up, and take it as it is mostly intended, a greeting with seasonal pizazz added. If you do have a supernatural ability to read the true intentions of a greeting, turn the other cheek and treat this holiday as it was intended...a unifying celebration for the nation...and internalize the greeting as the most personal and kind greeting someone could offer during this holiday season.

So have a Merry Christmas everyone. I say that because Christmas Day is two days away, and while I may not post again before the holiday, I'll likely post again before the next holiday, at which time I will personalize that holiday as well.

I sincerely hope everyone has a great, happy, and safe holiday spent with family, friends, and whomever makes you feel good inside.

The Mad Hoosier

Santa's Prayer Is Answered...

I had this story sent to me some time ago. I don't know of it's veracity, but I do know it's a story that tugs at my heartstrings, so I thought I'd share it.

Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin . The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl.

"Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling."Your friend? Your sister?"

"Yes, Santa," he replied. "My sister, Sarah , who is very sick," he said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!" the boy exclaimed. "She misses you," he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas. When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.

"What is it?" Santa asked warmly.

"Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but ..." the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors.

"The girl in the photograph...my granddaughter...well, you see...she has leukemia and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes. "Is there any way, Santa...any possible way that you could come see Sarah ? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa."

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do. Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon. He knew what he had to do.

"What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying," he thought with a sinking heart, "this is the least I can do."

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to Children's Hospital.

"Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah 's grandmother earlier that day.

"C'mon .... I'll take you there," Rick said softly.

Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait out in the hall. Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the bed. The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met earlier that day. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah 's mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah 's thin hair off her forehead. And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah 's aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with weary, sad look on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deepbreath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!"

"Santa!" shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, IV tubes in tact.

Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug. A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up at him with wonder and excitement. Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears.

Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah 's face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room. As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering "thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.

Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah 's bed, holding hands. Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels.

"Oh, yes, Santa ... I do!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I'm going to ask that angels watch over you, "he said.

Laying one hand on the child's head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease. He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing softly, "Silent Night, Holy Night - all is calm, all is bright."

The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah , and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all. When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah 's frail, small hands in his own.

"Now, Sarah ," he said authoritatively, "you have a job to do...and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!"

He knew it was risky proclaiming that, to this little girl who had terminal cancer, but he had to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could – not dolls or games or toys -- but the gift of HOPE.

"Yes, Santa!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room. Out in the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick 's, a look passed between them and they wept unashamed. Sarah 's mother and grandmother slipped out of theroom quickly and rushed to Santa's side to thank him.

"My only child is the same age as Sarah ," he explained quietly. "This is the least I could do."

They nodded with understanding and hugged him.

One year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap. "Hi, Santa! Remember me?!"

"Of course, I do," Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her. After all, the secret to being a good Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the only child in the world at that moment.

"You came to see me in the hospital last year!"

Santa's jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and held her to his chest. "Sarah!" he exclaimed.

He scarcely recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy -- much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over and saw Sarah 's mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus. He had witnessed --and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about -- this miracle of hope. This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well.

He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, "Thank you, Father. ' Tis a very, Merry Christmas!"

LIFE IS GOD'S GIFT TO YOU...HOW YOU LIVE IT IS YOUR GIFT TO GOD, YOURSELF AND LOVED ONES.


Just as touching as the story itself, to me, is the end "moral" that someone added on along the way. I've struggled lately, and still do, with the particulars of my faith. I have no doubt in God...it's just the rest that I am still trying to figure out. :) The main thing I know, as I continue along my journey, is that the way I live my life is my homage to God.

Ridiculous Liberals and Bush Haters

This past weekend, the President of the United States visited Iraq to mark a recent agreement for the United States military to begin pulling out of Iraq beginning next year.

The United States has worked hard, spilled blood, and lost lives all for the cause of liberating Iraq from a despicable dictatorship rule. It matters not why we went there initially, those are the marching orders now...to help a nation live free and under democracy, if that is their wish.

It's a noble cause, as we are a noble country.

Yet somehow, when the leader of this noble and great country, the President of the United States of America, comes under attack in foreign lands, all some people can do is laugh and praise the dissenter.

Why? Because the President of the United States happens to be President George W. Bush, and many Americans' hatred of President Bush and self-importance run much deeper than the respect of their own country and demand that honor be shown for the office of President.

Many have already forgotten September 11, 2001...for an attack on the President of this country is the same as an attack on this country. It's quite sad that this country has run amuck, and that many take their freedoms that this great country provides for granted.

Trivialize it as merely a shoe if you want, but know this truth: Conservatives would have been outraged if anyone would have attacked President Clinton in a similar manner. Likewise, conservatives will be outraged if anyone attacks President Obama in a similar manner. There has already been outrage over Al Queda's comments regarding President-elect Obama...from conservatives and liberals alike.

It's a shame that liberals are blinded by hate, so much so that they can't even put the Office of President into proper perspective.

Lesson Learned : If you're going into a snake pit, bring backup.

Or at least some snake repellent.

So, I've visited my last forum for a while. I posted something as my first post in this "community" and was quickly swarmed by the self-described "vets". I had the audacity to post something critical, and because of that, I was subject to my rightful "hazing".

Now, as a first post, it may not have been wise to post something critical of the owner of this forum board, but that's what happens when you let something fester in your mind for a while...until it just has to come out. And perhaps I shouldn't have been so negative, though being critical by definition tends to have a negative tone to it. But I certainly could have rephrased it, to take away the bite of my sarcastic tone in the message.

The thing that may surprise you is that this was a conservative forum board. In fact, it was the forum board for whom I've stated in the past that I'm a fan of. It was the forum board of Glenn Beck's web site.

Since we don't get Glenn's his radio show around here, I subscribe to his service so I can download his radio show to the iPod. I've watched Glenn for a little over a year now, and there is something that's always bothered me about him...or more specifically about his website.

He sells merchandise on his website with the insignia "Hate U" and "H8U" branded on it. I was shocked when I first came upon this. I knew there'd have to be an explaination, but also suspected that any explaination likely wouldn't justify the insignia...at least to me.

As it turns out, the Hate U, as in Hate University, merchandise came about when Glenn was on Good Morning America one day with Geraldo Rivera. I am not positive if Glenn was saying that he wanted a closed border, or if he was merely in favor of a border fence, but in any event, he was labeled a hatemonger by Geraldo Rivera, and told that he teaches people to hate. So Glenn decided to embrace the label, albeit sarcastically, and create a line of merchandise that would sarcastically display the hatemonger label. Thus, Hate U was born.

To me, that's not justifiable reasoning to create t-shirts in which any person that doesn't know Glenn Beck(an overwhelming majority in this world) wouldn't understand the meaning behind Hate U. A t-shirt can not explain the sarcastic meaning behind Hate U, and any passerby reading a Hate U shirt would, in all likelihood, automatically be offended by the shirt. I'm not saying we have to walk on eggshells not to offend people, but "Hate U" ignores the eggs and the shells, it stomps all over the chicken.

I should clarify that I don't believe Glenn to be a hatemonger. I find him to be upstanding, inciteful, reasoned, and very much caring of the future of this country. As such, I felt that I needed to send an email to him, which is to say his staff, that I though he should drop the Hate U merchandise. Of course I had no expectations that this would happen, but I felt compelled to try to plead my case.

I hadn't really thought of it much sense, until he recently started saying on his radio show that we had to let go of the hate. That message was within the larger context of each individual person needing to find out who they are and what they believe in. I could get into a big rant on this larger message he spoke of, but suffice to say this larger message he was preaching about already had me in a negative frame of mind. So when he came to the bullet point of letting go of the hate, it was the first time I thought the man a hypocrite. Lecture about letting go of hate, but sell shirts with Hate boldly emblazened on it?! Outrageous!

So, after the second day of him speaking about letting go of hate, I felt compelled again to point out this incongruency, only this time to his "Insider" forum. To be honest, I figured his forum would be filled with conservative, reasoned individuals such as myself, and quite frankly like Glenn.

Boy was I wrong. The tongue lashing I took...the personal attacks that were flung my way...the unreasonable spin in which a few, very few, tried to justify the incongruency...well it shocked me.

It shouldn't have. I knew going in how gang-like other forum communities are. But this sealed the deal...if you've seen one forum board, you've seen them all. I was trying to confirm Glenn's message of letting go of hate, which should include not brandishing Hate on t-shirts, and all I got was hatred for even daring to question the glaringly obvious double standard.

The mere way the forum board is set up was creepy, to say the least. New posters(based on post count) are labeled Corky. I quickly recognized that to be a slam on the intelligence level based on the main character from the TV show, Life Goes On. Their forum rules openly promoted hazing on the new posters.

Many posters, at least the ones that replied to my thread, had over 15000 posts. I can only assume that the vast majority of those had to be emoticon filled replies that had nothing to do with the topic of the thread.

To be honest, all of this made me question the very integrity of Glenn Beck. Even if the man is a huge proponent of free speech, this seemed to be well beyond political incorrectness run amuk or promoting rational discussions on his board. But I had to try to not hold him responsible for what others said on his board. Then I soon realized that many of the people on his forums either didn't listen to Glenn anymore, or didn't like him anymore, or both. The very next broadcast that I listented to of Glenn's made me realize that he has left those in him forum boards behind. He has evolved his thinking, grown as a person, whereas these others had not.

So that was my first personal experience with hatred on the on the right. It was good though, because it reinforced me to think critically of everyone, even those I listen to and agree with a lot...for no one can be right 100% of the time. Except for God, that is...right Rocket? :)

Just Can't Relate to Book or other like statements...

I'm a big Glenn Beck fan. I credit him and Bill O'Reilly for opening my eyes, getting me to think more critically, and giving me the confidence to speak up for my beliefs. However, in regards to his recent book, The Christmas Sweater, and his recent statements on his show about the recent internet suicide that was watched online, I just can't relate.

I'll try not to spoil the book for anyone as I explain myself. I won't give a book review, persay, as there were some things about the book itself I didn't like as well, but that's neither here nor there in regards to not being able to relate to Glenn in this instance. Much of what he has said himself about his book in broad strokes I can use anyway, so I won't be giving away any details that he has spoken about himself.

This book of his, The Christmas Sweater, was written as a fiction work, but he has said that it's based on his life story. In it, the character that's based off himself, is really a jerk to his family. It starts with not getting the Christmas present he wanted, and ends with blaming his grandfather for his mother's death, screaming and yelling hateful things to him before running away.

Now, while I come from a divorced family, I have no reference point for the death of a parent as a youth. In an attempt to be empathetic, I'm not even sure I could do that justice. I can assume what I'd be like if I lost a parent when I was 10, and it's even easier for me with the hindsight of age experience...but I don't think I could accurately put myself into a 10-year-old's shoes who has just lost their parent and confidently say that I wouldn't be a jerk.

Other than yelling at my mother daily as she simply tried to wake me up so that I could make it to school on time (she's such a saint for doing it day after day despite my morning grouchiness), I didn't have many fierce words with my mom. And I certainly never once believed that I hated my mom. I never even thought that of my Dad. In fact, I sought his love more than I sought my mother's since we only saw him twice a year...my mother's love I always knew was true and lasting. But Glenn has read some letters on air and said that he has received countless letters similar to them about how so many people say they relate to the message in the book and how they saw themselves in the title character.

I have no reference point and can't possibly understand the numerous times when the book's character was mean or hateful just for the sake of being mean or hateful...even when there was a clear chance to not be mean and hateful.

Beyond the book, Glenn recently made some statements about the young kid who killed himself online while hundreds of others watched as he posted it from his webcam. The kid left a suicide letter which, in part, says "I hate myself, and I hate living...I've let everyone down, and I feel as though I'll never change, or I'll never improve." Glenn goes on to ask his audience if they see themselves in that letter at all, before saying that this note rings true for him(in the past tense). He said that he believed lots of people could relate to the suicide note left by the kid, and I'm just bewildered by that.

I've never gone more than a few hours of actually hating myself for some previous stupid action I did, and I've never once hated living. And I've never once believed that I'll never improve on things or that I'll never change. It's sad, of course, but I just can't empathize with the train of thought that would leave me to believe that I'd never get better at things throughout my life.

Is it just me? Am I the only one, or even someone in the clear minority, that has never experienced true disdain for someone in their family? If many people can relate, as Glenn hypothizes, then it's no wonder that this country has begun to fall from grace.

Be Careful of Annuities

I met a respected friend over the holiday who is testing out selling Annuities. He seemed quite gung ho about this new opportunity, so I kept my beliefs about the product to myself. The part that made me cringe was when he talked about how easy it was because of the turbulent market.

It is this kind of thinking that allows people to take advantage of people's fears...predominantly older people. So if you have some money to invest, or have someone that's trying to talk to you about moving money into an Annuity, let's quickly explore some "gray areas" that may not be given much detail during the selling pitch. I used to be a stock broker, and while I didn't sell Annuities, I was licensed to sell them if I wanted.

First and foremost, an Annuity is an Insurance Product. It is not a wealth building tool, but something people use because they are scared of losing the value of their money/investments. If you have no stomach for the market, and let's face it...who does these days, then perhaps an Insurance policy protecting your money(which is what an Annuity is) is for you. I could have made an argument(will explain past tense later) that you could do just as well with a conservative investment elsewhere, but an Annuity does accomplish the preservation of money.

Secondly, the avoidance of probate. Seemingly one of the big pitches is that an Annuity avoids probate when you die. There are two things misleading about this. Firstly, I believe that some allow the people who are buying the Annuity to believe that probate is the taxes that are charged to the estate after death, aka the death tax. This is misleading, probate is not the avoidance of the death tax. Uncle Sam will get his money, regardless of your belief about taxing money that has already been taxed once.

What probate is, is the state appointing someone to oversee a deceased persons estate in the event that no one has been selected to do this by the deceased. The state winds up charging a fee for this service, sometimes up to 5% of the estate...then you get taxed.

So the other thing is that I think salesmen are leading people to think that an Annuity is the only unique product that avoids probate. This is, of course, untrue. Aside from setting up a Trust, any IRA and even some brokerage accounts with a Designated Beneficiary avoid probate. Because all probate does is divvy up assets, so if you have a beneficiary, there are no assets to divvy up. Of course, taxes are still due on the estate.

Another main thing that salesmen try to do is brush over the fees of the Annuity and the other terms that could be unflattering, such as a termination fee, should you want to cash out or need access to the bulk of your assets early.

It's these fees that are the main reason I don't like Annuities. Because some annuities sell you on the fact that your annuity is invested in the market and you can actually grow the value of your annuity, the large fees are overlooked or underrepresented. If you want to invest in the market, get a brokerage account and pay little to no fees. The fees you pay are, again, for the security of being in an Insurance product. It's like you're paying a premium as you would for your car or home, only it is coming out of your nest egg. You may as well find a good bank and put your money into the money market fund there and not pay premiums.

Now, to even more worrisome thoughts. The reason I stated earlier that I would have made the argument that you would have had just as safe an investment as an Annuity, was because of US Treasuries and Mortgage Backed Securities. Of course the Mortgate Backed Securities are in the toilet, and there are worries with the exponentially increasing debt that the US Government is taking on, that US Treasuries may not be as safe an investment as they once were....they may even be at risk of losing their AAA Credit rating. Yes, it is conceivable that the US Government could lose it's credit rating.

And finally...what if insurance companies continue to fail like AIG? Will the Government guarantee all those annuities? Well, insurance companies aren't FDIC insured, so they aren't obligated to.

Let's simply look at the Annuities from the Insurance Company perspective. You sell people market insurance, with the hope of investing in the market yourself and then just keeping the profits you make in the market. But if the market continues to be in the crapper, how do you make money on Annuities if your an Insurance Company? You continue to increase fees until the market suffocates you and your Annuities are worth less and less. Neither of those options bode well for the annuity holder.

So while I'm no longer an investment consultant and won't recommend that you don't buy an annuity. I do recommend that you do all your homework before getting into an Insurance Product that's sold as a complicated investment vehicle.

Week of Thanks. Day 4 - Thankful for God, Country and Family

Ok...so a slightly different tone from days 1-3...not that I didn't fully and literally mean every word of the other posts in the week of Thanks. *shifty eyes*

But Thanksgiving is meant to remind us to be thankful to those things near and dear to our hearts, rather than be focused on parades, football, and glutany.

I've been off the beaten path lately when it comes to God as I try to find out what it is that I really believe. But I've never once waivered in my belief in the Almighty. I know He's there, and I know He adores me, just as he does all His children. I'm thankful that He's there, and I'm thankful that He loves me enough to be patient with me as explore the details of my faith.

I've said before that I believe it's His inspiration that launched this nation. I know things didn't just fit together like a puzzle, but I'm often astounded at the great gathering and collaberation of all the great minds that make up our Founding Fathers. While I often rail on how I believe this nation has turned away from what the Founding Fathers intended, and I wonder if, when I'm old, I'll even recognize this as the same nation I grew up in; but I'm so very thankful that I live here and get to make out of this life what I put into it. Freedom is a wonderful gift that I all to often take for granted, but I'm thankful to everyone who made freedom and this great country possible.

And it would be a shame if I didn't get to share our gift of freedom with people I cherish greatly. I'm thankful to my Mom for raising a man whose wife consistently says she's lucky to have for a variety of reasons. Most of those reasons seem quite ordinary to me, but apparently stacked up against her friends, they are more than ordinary...and my mother is to thank. I'm thankful to my wife for being my best friend and for being so patient with me as I become more outspoken in regards to my conservative beliefs. She still hates it when I argue with the television, but it's certainly understandable and can easily be overlooked for all the rest that she does for me. And of course, I'm thankful for my kids. They are my pride and joy, and while I sometimes feel like a failure in life because I'm merely a night auditor at a local hotel, I have but to look at them once and realize how lucky I am to be able to raise them myself rather than being stuck at work while a sitter raises them.

Luckily, I do give thanks for all these things more often than once a year, and while Thanksgiving's prayer may not be any more important than all the others in which I give thanks, it is a great occasion to share with everyone else the blessings that I'm thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone. Enjoy the day, enjoy the family, enjoy the fun...stay safe and take care.

The Mad Hoosier

Week of Thanks. Day 3 - Thankful for Super Majorities

With all the hope and change coming, how could you not be thankful for the trifecta of Democratic leadership that will usher in the next great movement. Now technically the Super Majority refers to there being enough members in one party of government to prevent a filibuster. With two races still to be decided in the Senate, that's still a possibility, given that the two Independents vote with the Democrats. However, today, we're just referring to the watered down version of Super Majority, referring to a Democratic President AND Democratic majority in the House of Representatives AND a Democratic majority in the Senate.

This trifecta has only happened twice in our history, and each time it was with the Democrats being in charge. The first time was when the majority crafted and pushed through The New Deal, and the second time was when the Democratic majority crafted The Great Society. There has already been talks of a New New Deal, and a New Great Society. Hopefully they will come up with a better moniker to describe the blissfulness that will follow the skewed legislation.

Now I know what you're thinking: Each of those brought about change that changed our country, left millions enslaved to the Government, and will eventually cripple our great nation. I say, lighten up Sally Sourpuss...let's not think about the future, let's live in the here and now.

The New Deal gave us the wondrous gift of Social Security. A way to not have to work after the age of 65 and still get paid as though you were working...at a percentage of what your once were...for the next two years of your life because life expectancy when the New Deal was created was 67. That's outstanding. Anyone who can look at that and point out that the mere fact that life expectancy has went up 20 years yet the age at which benefits kick has remained the same is looking at the glass as half-empty. Our government loves us...they aren't trying to buy votes of the aged or anything by keeping things as is. AND, the unemployment benefits that were enacted during the New Deal were such a great idea, that the current congress just extended the coverage of unemployment benefits by nearly 2 months.

So on to the Great Society, as I'm sure there are some naysayers out there that aren't a fan of Medicare and Medicaid. To be honest I'm not sure what's not to love about making the elderly and destitute rely on the government for their basic life needs. The all inclusive brand of healthcare works so well in other countries for those that still maintain their own private health insurance. So there may be an instance or two where a government run healthcare provider has had a decision between two people in the exact same situation and the decision came down to age. I'm sure the elderly person realized that they had lived a full life, it was time to let someone else have a chance at a full life. It's the right perspective to have, when you're sharing the wealth benefits of all inclusive health care. I'm sure they were all thankful to be in the position they were in.

Just like I'm thankful that I'll be able to partake in the next New Deal and/or next Great Society. Thank you Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, and Barack Obama...thank you for loving me so much.

Week of Thanks. Day 2 - Thankful for conqurring man made Global Warming

Today I'm thankful that we have finally defeated Global Warming. And not just your run of the mill global warming, this is the global warming that was clearly man made. If you can't accept that fact, you may want to leave now. Holocaust deniers are not welcome here.

And if you're among those that are in the crowd of crazy right wing speculators that believe studies that suggest Global Warming may be due to the temperature of the universe, sun spots, or any other studies that suggest that all planets near the Earth have suspiciously gone through similar warming and cooling periods as this planet, again, call up your friend President Ahmadinejad and have fun.

Less than 10 years ago, there was snow on Halloween in Southern Illinois. If that's not enough proof of man made global warming, maybe you've heard of a little documentary called The Inconvenient Truth. And before you right wing nuts bring up the fact that Al Gore advisor James Hansen fudged historical numbers for temperature, let me just say that there's no proof that he did that.

The fact that when you Google October's temperature and you find hundreds of websites "citing Hansen's data", saying that it was the second warmest October in history, just shows that those websites don't know what they are talking about. I mean, Canada supposedly found the mistake, who's to say that someone in Canada isn't making this all up. Clearly all someone had to do was walk outside in North America during October, and they knew it was colder than normal. A full 3 degrees cooler than last October, in fact.

And there's where part of the victory over Global Warming comes in. All it's taken is our friend Al Gore to win the Nobel Peace Prize, a few green weeks from NBC Universal, who's parent company GE definitely had nothing to gain from those innovative Green Week themes, and that was half the battle. The only other thing to do was drive the price of oil so high that everyone stopped driving, and wallah...cooler temperatures.

In fact, The Inconvenient Truth is the hero of the day. We, meaning the planet of Earth, have lost 1/3 of a degree since the release of The Inconvenient Truth. And thanks to that, we are now cooler than when enemy to the environment, George Bush, took office.

So it is clear that the chapter is closed on Global Warming. All the science is in, and these facts are irrefutable. If you refuse to admit that the war against Global Warming is over, then you're akin to those who refused to believe that Global Warming was man made, which was akin to being a holocaust denier.

So to the end of Global Warming, I am so very thankful.

Week of Thanks. Day 1 - Thankful for reaping what others sow

It's good to pause and give Thanks from time to time. The Bible teaches us to be more enthusiastic with our Thanks than with our desires. There are so many things I'm thankful for; clearly I won't be able to name them all here, but I figured I'd list a few this week, in no particular of importance.

You've heard of reaping what you sow, but that's more of a capitalist way of looking at things. In light of upcoming events, let's go the socialist route and speak about reaping what others sow.

There are things such as reaping the benefits of soldiers hard work to keep our nation free, but that seems like such a downer for a Thankful week such as this. Besides, that's old hat. Sowing the oats of freedom...being thankful for that is so the past 8 years.

So let's look to the future...to hope and change. Boy I'm glad that this change is something worthy of being Thankful for.

So here's to you, sowers of the change I'm about to reap. Thank you lenders, for sowing the labor of faulty home loans. Thank you Congress and Presidents, for pushing home ownership to those that can't afford it. Thank you Treasury Secretary and banks for freezing foreclosures on said owners that couldn't afford the house that you sold them. Thank you all for refusing to let companies fail. Thank you Government for taking ownership in America's banks. Thank you auto unions for your 2200 page union contracts with auto makers and double employee salary compared to foreign competitors. Thank you Congress, again, for bailout after bailout after bailout. Thank you for the wonderous gift of so much tax burden that my grandchildren will be able to hear stories of how candy bars only cost their grandpa ten bucks. I am so thankful for being able to reap the benefits of all these wonderful gifts you all have sown for us lately.

Time = Money...

So if Time = Money...and Money is necessary to "spread the wealth", let's do a little experiment and take out the middle component to determine if "spreading the wealth" is fair, or even a good idea.

Let's say, for this argument's sake, that your job is one that you thoroughly love doing. So in the time component, we've got your time filled passion in the form of a job, sleeping time, and family time, and personal/leisure time, which would also be comprised of doing something you enjoyed.


So, for instance, your typical day is filled with your passion (work) which presumably provides a service or product for people, playing with the kids, spending time with the spouse, reading a good book, and then getting rest to do it all over again the next day.

Now, it's determined that "spreading the wealth" is good and is now government mandated. Since time = money, we're taking money away and using time as our wealth component.

Now a lady down the street, we'll call her Suzie, has applied and been approved for the "spread the wealth" government sharing program. Suzie is a drug addict, she has a life in boyfriend, and other than a part time job at the local fast food joint that Suzie has, her day is spent getting wasted. Still, the government has decided that she needs a fair shot and says that you need to help her out so that she can stay in her home and have the opportunity to get treatment for her addiction.

So at 4:00 every Tuesday, you have been assigned to mow Suzie's lawn and take her trash to the local dump, and any other odds and ends she needs you to do until 5:30. You have no option at this point. It's a government mandated program, and if you don't do your share, you're in violation of the law.

Of course, 4:00 to 5:30 is when you have to take your daughters to piano lessons, but don't worry about that. Someone else has been chosen by the government to "spread the wealth", and they will be taking your kids to piano lessons and then out to eat afterwords. They will have a good time...and who knows, maybe they will teach your daughters something.

After a couple of months, Suzie has relapsed. In all honesty, she never went to the treatment facility...she was out getting high. But she's at home all the time now, wasted, and you're still mandated to mow her lawn and help her out for an hour and a half weekly.

But all is right with the world...it's time for your daughter's recital. You go to your daughter's recital and are blown away by how good she is at playing the piano. Then you realize that you've missed an integral part of your daughter growing up. But at least you were "spreading the wealth", right?

After the recital, you all pile into the car and head to the local fast food joint to celebrate. Upon getting in the car, you learn that your daughter has added a few 4-letter words to her vocabulary, thanks the the other person that's been taking her to piano lessons. Nice. So you decide to get the food to go, because you're going to have to have a talk with your daughter and try to de-program her new vocabulary out of her.

You pull up to the fast food joint, and there's Suzie...ready to take and fill your order. She looks halfway strung out, so you're in that much more of a hurry to get out of there, and when you get home, you realize that Suzie completely jacked up your order. Now you're daughter's bawling because she didn't get her chicken nuggets...and now your de-programming time is put off for another day.

That sounds ludicrous, right? Well, it's no more ludicrous than "spreading the wealth" through the government mandated program of taxes. You're still giving away your heard earned "wealth" (time or money) to someone that is totally unwilling to help themselves. Why is everyone so eager to let our government spit in the face of our Constitution, which never called for any "spreading of the wealth" whatsoever?

A Bold Prediction About Communism??

Nikita Kruschev, a Russian leader in the Communist party back in the 1950's, visited the United States under the Eisenhower administration and spoke with the Secretary of Agriculture at the time, Ezra Benson. Later, Benson recounted the meeting as follows:


"I have personally witnessed the heart-rending results of the loss of freedom. I have talked face to face with the godless communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. Kruschev for a half day when he visited the United States, not that I’m proud of it. I opposed his coming then, and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But, according to President Eisenhower, Kruschev had expressed a desire to learn something of American Agriculture — and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why. As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom he arrogantly declaired in substance:

‘You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.’"

I've seen and heard quite a few intelligent people speak about what we can "learn from France" or "Canada" or the like...in other words...what we can learn from socialism. Could Kruschev's prophecy be coming true? There's no doubt that we have little doses of socialism already. Is it enough to say we will live under communism shortly, or are there many more doses of socialism still to come before things get so bad that someone steps out and says, 'I will take care of you. I will lead you and this country into a new direction." and everyone follows?

The 10 Cannots

This is a quote by William J. H. Boetcker. If things go as promised, the truth of this quote will be tested.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves.

This Day...

History was made. America's voice was heard, and our nation forges ahead with renewed passion. Congratulations to Barack Obama. You are the beacon to which countless minorities and all Americans in general will look to in their search for the American Dream. All things are possible. If you can dream it and you work hard enough, you can make it happen.

I Love Fall...

It's easily my favorite time of year. Recently plowed fields...colorful trees distant in the background. It's my idea of heaven.

Sure, many people look at fall as the ending of a life cycle. While factual, I think those may be the glass half empty type of people. I see fall as the beginning. Preparation. It is what is necessary for future growth.

If you're wise enough, you take in the beauty of "fall", and let it fuel you through the hard times until you can sense the rebirth and gain additional inspiration. For we may not know exactly how long the hard times will last, but there will always be growth in the future.

The Constitution is full of negative liberties?!?!?!

The man doesn't understand...that, or he's a complete idealogue. In an interview in 2001, when Barack Obama was a Illionis State Senator, he said this:

"If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples, so that now I would have the right to vote...I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order and, as long as I could pay for it, I’d be OK.

But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in the society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf."

Let's put aside any underlying arguements about Barack Obama's stance on repairations, and just focus on his sentiment of the founding documents of this country.

If this doesn't convince you that at minimum he believes in Socialism, then I hear Joy Behar has some great Kool-Aid for you.

I believe the Constitution of the United States was divinely influenced. I know some will disagree, and I'm not saying that the Constitution is the word of God by any means. What I'm saying is that it was divine influence that gathered these Founding Fathers together...brilliant minds from many walks of life...and they created this document that is...well...Awesome. Who can look at that great document and see negativity?!

Barack Obama is exactly right. The Constitution doesn't say what the Government must do for us. Because the Founding Fathers believed that too much Government was a problem. That the role of government must be small...but not tyranical. THAT is why it says what the Government CAN'T do. It CAN'T take away our freedoms...right now.

And it is absolutely NOT the role of courts to say what Government can do. There's a reason that Lady Justice is blindfolded. She's supposed to follow the letter of the law as it's written, not change it on a whim based on one judge's interpretation of the law.

Personal Crusade for Empathy...

I think I've always been very good at "feeling someone else's pain". I think I have a good ability of putting myself in someone else's shoes and, that the extent to which I possibly can, see where the other person is coming from...no...feel what the other person feels.

This, I have always thought was Empathy. I was shocked to find out recently that this is more accurately the description of sympathy. How can this be? I don't understand. Empathy sounds so much more involved...so much more personal.

Eh...I can sympathize with that. I have empathy for what you're going through. Which sounds better? Which would you prefer...that someone merely sympathized with your feelings, or that someone had great empathy for your situation.

The choice is clear. Empathy wins....hands down.

What's that? You're not so sure? Well, mark my words...and no, that's not a Joe Biden pot shot...mark my words, by the end of my lifetime, people will come to know Empathy to be the more deeper sentiment of the Empathy vs. sympathy battle.

Economy Turn Around in 2009?? Don't Believe It...

...or at the very least, don't take it at face value. Stratfor.com, whoever that is, is predicting that the recession will subside in early 2009. Other analysts say it will be mid-2009. Remember these are the idiots who never saw this coming...they are now making predictions that it will turn around in 3 to 6 months.

Hello Mr. Greenspan...Mr. Best-Economist-Ever...what did you have to say on the situation before Congress the other day? Oh yeah...he said things like he was shocked...he never saw it coming...it was a once-in-a-century tsunami...and that the housing situation must correct first before the economy can turn around which won't be for many months. Former Federal Reserve Chairman is saying the recession will last more than 6 months.

So ask yourself this...why are "experts" saying that the economy will turn around in less than a year? Because oil prices are falling? Because the dollar is strengthening? Those are the only two bright spots at the moment. Unemployment is rising, foreclosures are still happening, and credit is still tight.

I'm not sure why oil prices are falling. OPEC just cut back on supply. Why? So we can keep $3.00 gas???

I'm not sure why the dollar is strengthening. We just did over 1.3 Trillion dollars in bailouts (some say nearer to 2.0 Trillion). We are printing money like crazy. So what? The rest of the world is hurting and their pain is strengthening our dollar??

I'm no economist...but the only people that saw this coming were the ones that aren't "experts", and something doesn't make sense here. If our dollar is strengthening just because the rest of the world is faltering, it's really a false strengthening. Whenever the rest of the world rebounds, we're still going to have more than $10 Trillion in National Debt and we'll still be running a yearly budget deficit, thus adding to the National Debt.

No one really knows when this will turn around, so all I'm trying to say is be careful folks. Pay your personal debts off. Change your lifestyle...live debt free. Get an emergency fund. Then whatever happens with everything mentioned above will have a minimal effect on your lives. For the ones out there saying don't panic. They're right. Don't Panic. Just get serious, life thrifty, pay off debts, and you'll be fine.

Regrets...The Mad Hoosier changing his stance??

In the past, I've said that I don't have any regrets in life, and I stood by that when I did this post. At the time, I had read Rocketstar's blog when he questioned why it was so bad to have regret, based on the general definition of feeling sorry or remorseful for a previous action.

I tried to argue that it was the definition that people may take issue with when determining if they had regrets or not. I stated that people took regrets to mean that they'd change something in the past...which they know would change their current lot in life. I even argued that if I made a different decision (returning home to finish college instead of finishing in Toledo, Ohio) that I would have never met my wife, had three wonderful kids, etc. So I don't "regret" that decision. It was just an example I used, but I felt it could be translated into any decision/action (as many percieved regrets are negative, while my example of returning home to finish school wasn't necessarily an example of a negative experience).

I think I'm starting to change my stance. I still look at regrets in the larger issue sense...more in the life-altering sense. But now, I think of regret as going to the heart of a different issue...doing the right thing.

Unlike my wise friend, Rocket, what I didn't see then what I see now, which is that it's ok to regret and be remorseful of bad decisions without betraying your current place in life. I even think it's ok to say you'd do that something differently. Because you're acknowledging that you did something wrong, you're learning from a previous mistake.

In the end, you simply can't go back and change that previous decision, and merely wishing you made a different decision, then, isn't betraying what would have possibly changed in the present.

There's one specific issue in my past that changed the way I think of this, and it definitely comes down to doing the right thing. It was a life-changing event that I regret, and I wish I would have done it differently. What I did was wrong.

Maybe it's because it was a life-changing event, but I've actually found it to be somewhat liberating to admit regretting the decision I made. I've taken more accountability for the decision I made, and learned from the situation. I don't feel as though I've betrayed my current lot in life, even though it probably would have turned out differently, because I can use the wisdom, or lack thereof, in that decision to possibly help my family or others in the future.

I still adore my family and wouldn't change where I am in life. But what I did was still wrong, and if I can admit and regret doing the wrong thing, what kind of example am I setting?

The big thing is learning from the decisions you regret, request forgiveness if necessary, and don't dwell on the decision or how things may have been different.

Who are YOU voting for?

Ok, I'm not really looking for an answer, but I am looking to make sure you know why you are voting who you are voting for.

I think some of us, and I may include myself in this group as I'm not positive whom I've voting for yet, may be voting for the lesser of two evils. That's fine if you're voting that way, that would generally mean you understand the issues and while there's no good candidate you'd vote for, you're voting for the person you think would mess the country up less than the other.

The more I think about it, if you're voting for McCain, you're likely in the above group...OR, you're voting for Sarah Palin. Though she has governed the state of Alaska more from the center than anything, she's the only true conservative in the race. So some may be voting for her, hoping that she will pull McCain to the right a bit.

McCain hasn't really given us a reason to vote for him, other than he plans on cutting Government spending and keep taxes low. Now those are good ideas, but he hasn't really articulated why they are good ideas, or how and why they differ from Obama. Some of us know why those are good ideas without him having to spell it out for us, but I'm not sure that many people do.

To be fair, he is strong on foreign issues as well, and will keep the military strong, but I just haven't heard a strong enough case from him on those issues. He should have mopped the floor with Obama on the foreign policy debate, and he didn't.

Obama is for change and hope and....spreading the wealth?? He plans to grow government so that it can take care of you. He plans on talking with nations that refer to the United States as The Great Satan. He was for this bailout with lots of regulation, so he's for Government run Banks. He wants to take oil's profits and create millions of jobs in renewable energy. In short, he wants Government run Energy. He wants universal health care...he thinks it's your right...that it's the right of Joe Schmoe who refuses to get a job to be able to have health care. In short, he wants Government run Health Care. That's three industries that he's plainly for Government control in. Do you really think that automobiles and airlines are far behind. He'll snatch that up as quickly as they ask for it.

He's not hiding his agenda, he's quite forthcoming with it. The only thing that came out recently that he didn't articulate the way he'd like is "when you spread the wealth around, I think it's good for everybody." It's clear that is what his tax plan is, but it's never been stated in that fashion. So you tell me, with the three and probably four Government run industries along with spreading the wealth around...how is that not socialism?? It very clearly is socialism.

That's not what this country is about, that's not how it was founded. The Federal Government's primary obligation is to protect us from foreign threats, and then minimally regulate the rest of the country.

The Supreme Court is there to determine if State laws intercede with Federal Laws & to determine if Federal Laws are constitutional...as in, not restricting or overstepping the founding documents of this country, period. It's purpose is not to create laws from the bench.

I can't say that John McCain will not be a continuation of the past 8 years. He says he won't, but the Government also said that $700 Billion would likely be enough to help us through this financial crisis. The additional $490 Billion on Tuesday was just another example that proved otherwise.

What I can say is that an Obama administration WILL increase government. He has plainly said that is his intention. Is he smart? Of course. Does he think he knows best how to fix this country? I think he does. Is he wrong to think that? Yep. Because, again, politicians can't fix the country, Americans can and often do.

If someone wants to vote for Obama because they agree with Government run Banks, Government run Healthcare, Government run Energy, spreading the wealth, and probably Government run Transportation...fine. But don't vote for Obama because "he can't be any worse than Bush". If someone's going to embrace Socialism, embrace it because you believe in it...not because you hate Bush, and by default McCain.

Blue...

You ever just had one of those blue days? You can't quite put your finger on it...but you feel kinda depressed or down in the dumps?

For some reason, that's the way I feel this morning. I don't know if it was a book I read recently, old memories, future uncertainty, a rough weekend at work, some combination of it all, or something else entirely...but I know I don't like these kind of days.

Hopefully a few miles on the treadmill when I get home will help.

The Tax Issue

With all the talk about raising and lowering taxes, I figured I'd explain taxes...at least from the conservative standpoint.

I know it can be rather boring stuff, but as I try to tell my wife, to no avail, it's important to understand because it's one of the primary differences between liberals and conservatives....and heading into this election, could be the difference between socialism and capitalism.

I'll go into detail below, but basically it boils down to believing in capitalism. Capitalism is a force into itself. Everyone contributes. If you honestly believe that 95% of the population can live on wealth of 5% of the people, you're living in a dream world. Those 5% will eventually leave because they refuse to carry 100% the burden.

In capitalism, you have the right to fail. In fact, if you aren't prepared, or if you're too greedy, the system will make you fail. If you become a success, then you are rewarded for your hard work. Conservatives believe in not punishing success by keeping taxes low. By keeping taxes low, business can expand, invest, and grow, whereby creating more jobs and contributing to a fully functioning society. The sky is the limit, and anything short of cheating(such as creating monopolies) will be rewarded. Liberals, however, believe that once you've obtained success, you're obligated to give back...so they force you to give back via taxes. It's borderline socialism because the successful are the rich, and the taxes on the rich go to the less fortunate aka the poor. In capitalism, when you punish success via taxes, businesses don't grow, they contract. They stop expanding and investing....and they lay off workers. OR, they move their companies to India who will gladly take the business and contribution to society in exchange for low taxes. In short, and quite possibly a slanted view, conservatives believe in rewarding the successful....liberals believe in punishing success.

How do you figure, you say? Well, if you're really interested, read on, as I expand a bit on what I just stated.

This is a nation founded on personal freedoms and freedom in business...free market forces, ie. capitalism. Just as with personal freedoms you can do as little or as much as you want, likewise as a business you can work as little or as hard as you want. To those who put hard work into their business, the rewards can be limitless.

The reason I have quickly turned to business owners is because, as you can imagine, those that work hardest, become the wealthiest. Unless you're a child of a billionaire, nothing comes for free in this country...at least that's how things were designed to work. You want something, you have to work hard for it.

Now, there's only so much a single person can accomplish. There's only so many hours in a day, so many appointments that can be kept, so many jobs that can be done. So eventually, if one wants to make more money, they need to hire people to help. This is, of course, good. To provide a good or service is one thing, but to hire someone...to contribute to creating a productive society, creating jobs is very good.

Of course, you can't be an idiot and be a boss in charge of a workforce, so you have to add a new skill set, which falls under the working hard category. So if you're successful enough, you make more money.

So if you're with me so far, and I mean this with no amount of condescension, you work hard, you make money. You become successful, you create jobs, you add to society, you make more money.

Now in the early days, you got to keep all the money you earned from working so hard and being successful. But then along came the 16th amendment, which allowed for income taxes so that the United States could pay for the Civil War. Before that, Government raised money by tariffs on imports. They[the government] didn't need much money, because they designed their role as being minimal. But the military was one of their roles, and much money was needed to fight in the Civil War, so a tax was decided upon. Initially, it was meant to be temporary.

So these days...you work hard, you make money, you become successful, you are forced to give a portion of that money to the government. Everyone accepts this as a given these days, so they must account for taxes as they work hard to make money. No one likes to give their money away, of course, but business owners particularly. They are the ones sacrificing, risking capital, creating jobs. But as long as taxes are low, since taxes are a given anyway, business owners are willing to take on a little extra risk, work even a little harder, and keep creating jobs in order to make money.

But what happens as taxes begin to raise, as you are forced to give away more money for your hard money and success? You become less willing to sacrifice for that money. You are willing to risk less for that money. After all...you've lived the American dream. You're successful...you've had to work hard, though. Had to sacrifice, take risks...only to give away half of your earnings?? Initially, you will likely simply pass those tax increases along to your customers. So in essence, the tax isn't just happening to the rich...the new taxes are making it all the way down to the consumer.

But eventually, particularly for the small business owner, you'll begin to curtail your business. It no longer becomes worth it to pay that much for Social Security taxes on each employee...so you start to lay off employees to keep your profit margin up. Laid off employees means less contribution to society.

Plus, now, since you're making less money, you're spending less money. That means less job creation elsewhere. You're not paying for housing renovations or upkeep, so painters, contractors, roofers, construction workers, they all are less apt to find work. Less work, means less employment, less employment means less investment (in savings, capital, investments, etc), less investments means recession.

Now this is the part I'm confused by. It's the whole...those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. You'd think that there should only be a few recessions in history for people to realize that high taxes are bad. How is it confirmed that high taxes are bad? Well...to get out of a recession, aside from tinkering with interest rates, it usually takes tax cuts to fix the recession.

That's the primary fix...lower taxes. Democrats agree...during a recession anyway...otherwise they wouldn't have voted countless times to lower tax rates during rough times. Barack Obama himself said that he wouldn't raise taxes if the economy was bad. So why is it, once times aren't so rough, Democrats are eager to raise taxes again. It leads to the same cycle people!

Actually, I know why. It goes back to the fundamental idea of taxing success. Democrats believe that once someone is successful, they are fundamentally obligated to give up those earnings and pass them on to the less fortunate. That's not the way capitalism works folks.

Truth be told, many wealthy people give plenty of their money to charities, organizations, foundations, etc. Their belief is that they know how to maximize their money and they want to be certain that their money is getting the best return. They also know, that the government rarely gets a fair return for the money spent. They also generally believe that money shouldn't be a handout, rather going to help people help themselves.

So if many people are giving money to worthy causes, and to boot they are helping people help themselves, ie contributing more to society than a mere handout, why not let capitalism run the way it's supposed to run. Do we need some oversight? Sure. But minimal oversight. Trust me...capitalism always punishes those that deserve it in the end.

The Credit Crisis Is A Myth??

It seems, during this bailout, that all you hear about is the credit crisis...that people and small buisnesses can't get business loans, car loans, student loans. I alluded to it in my most recent post, and this will just be an extension of that.

You see, the "crisis" is true, in the sense that most people that have gotten car and house loans for the past 10 years won't be able to get these loans. But folks...those are the people who SHOULD NOT be getting loans in the first place!

I'm sorry, but you are not entitled to new cars every 2-3 years...you aren't entitled to cars, period. Be happy if you can afford an older car. Keep it fixed up, and be happy. I'm driving around in a 10 year old Neon. I plan on keeping it until we can pay off the rest of our credit cards and then I'll save up to pay cash for a different USED car. What a novel idea.

And yes, if you aren't entitled to a car, then you aren't entitled to home ownership. Sorry. It's true. There's an unsaid expectation that everyone should be afforded reasonable housing...and I can concede that. But that's different than home ownership. Home ownership is a responsibility, one that you must work hard to attain, like much else in life.

BUT...to the people that can afford it...to responsible stewards with money, loans are still attainable. Banks want to loan money...to people they reasonably know will pay it back. That means, living an appropriate lifestyle, less credit card debt, etc.

If we're talking about a "credit crisis"...you'll see a real crisis down the road if this $700 Billion "investment" is made, but nothing has changed with regard who whom loans are given to. No one has shown us that they are ready to change the "business as usual" in regards to this bailout bill. Until they do, it is necessary that we continue to vote NO to bailouts. And the whole, "there will be time for the blame game later" is code for "we need money, but we aren't going to change anything."

And it's sad to say...but I think the make-up of Student Loans need to change too. I remember college...but I can't say for certain the things I learned there. But I know I still have $20,000 left to go to pay it off...and I've been out of college for 10 years. I'm willing to say, that in that regard, I'm just like millions of Americans. My sister has huge student loans...and she's now a stay at home mother. It's her right to be a stay at home mother, but if millions of students go to college only to fail to use that education, it only aids in running up the cost of college.

This points to some fundamental changes. We either need to go back to the principles of "America's Greatest Generation" or we need to move on to Socialism with the realization that it will render the United States an afterthought in regards to world power. In any event, our current monetary policy (and that includes essentially the same policy that we've had for at least two decades) isn't working. As Dr. Phil, or financial guru Dave Ramsey, would say, "how's that working for ya?" It's not. So it needs to change. To what, will determine the kind of nation our kids grow up in. Is anyone willing to stand up and hold our government accountable for how it, and we, leave this country for the next generation??

The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling! Isn't it???

We need help quick...the DOW (stock market) lost 777 points yesterday. We're all doomed!

Oops...wait a second...what's that? The DOW (stock market) was up 485 points today? How can that be? I thought the world was coming to an end?!

The point is, folks, that no one knows. And we DEFINITELY shouldn't be basing any decisions on how the stock market reacts. I was a stock broker for 5 years, so I'm not a dolt here. Since the tech boom in the late 90's, how the market does day to day is largely based on emotion, speculation, and hope.

LONG gone are the days of your grandparents where companies were evaluated primarily on the fundamentals and past performance.

Are the fundamentals still looked at? Of course. But use just the past two days as proof that no one knows for sure what $700 Billion will do. By the way, did you know that the $700 Billion figure was pulled out of thin air? Seriously. That is what a Treasury Spokesperson was quoted as saying regarding how they decided upon $700 Billion. They just knew that it had to be a high number. Nice.

Now, when I was a stock broker, I wasn't a banking expert or anything, so I can't speak specifically regarding the so-called "credit crisis". All I can say is whether it's a loan, a bailout, an investment...whatever...it's unprecedented. To push it through in a week or less is utterly ridiculous!

Fundamentally, I was against the bailout from the get go. Selfishly, I wanted the bailout so that I'd have a little bit of time to make sure to get debt free before the next foot dropped. Now, I'm back to leaning towards being against the bailout.

Do companies really need to take loans to make payroll??? If that's the case, those companies are in trouble anyway, and a fix to the "credit crisis" won't put a hurt on them to start using their heads. HELLO! I understand that loans are needed to expand business, but loans shouldn't be used to fulfill basic needs of a companies operation...like paying their employees. Come on.

Fix the problems, hold people accountable, and get a grip, period. If you made bad investments and want a bailout...I know several European countries where that kind of thing is right up their alley. Can't hack it in a capitalistic society, don't as me to pay for your mistakes. Suck it up, accept failure, and do better next time. THAT's the American Way!

Multi-tasking Obama vs. Crisis-mode McCain

"if this isn't fixed, Heaven help us" "This is the financial equivalent of 9/11" "the worst crisis since the Great Depression" "We're facing another Great Depression if we don't act". All of these are quotes from various "economic experts" describing the current situation.

Warren Buffett, who is a Barack Obama supporter, said this is an economic Pearl Harbor. Barack Obama himself said that this was the most serious financial crisis in generations.

Folks, the reality is, things are dire. Do you really want someone that subscribes to the notion that multi-tasking is a necessity over prioritizing? Isn't prioritizing a serious component of multi-tasking??

Now, ask yourself...of all the things going on right now...we can do a debate on foreign policy or we can face the "most serious financial crisis in generations", which would you prefer that someone who gets paid to be a Senator would do??

My answer is get their ass back to Washington and work in the issues that they get paid to work on. Guess what...that's what John McCain's answer was too. Barack Obama's answer...if you need me, call me.

It's no big surprise that I'm not an Obama supporter. The above is merely one reason for it. His judgement is severely lacking. I don't want someone digging their heels in, pouting, playing chicken, or whatever about some stupid foreign policy debate. Get to Washington and fix the serious problem, damnit!

If President Bush was "multi-tasking" on 9/11, rather than focused on the one major issue facing America, he wold have been ran out of Washington. So why are we settling for "multi-tasking" during the financial equivalent??

Well...I'm not...I just don't know why others are settling for it.

Back on track...kinda...

Remember almost 10 months ago when you made those New Year's Resolutions? Are you anywhere near those goals/commitments? I did a post about mine, and I'm too lazy now to go back and read what my commitments were for certain, but I think there were 4 of them. I'm currently back on track with 2 and 1/2 of them.

My problem was...the summer. Things get hectic during the summer, because my wife's work slows down, so we need to travel during the week so that she can work, then we come back home and I work on the weekends. When you're traveling and staying in a hotel, and taking care of 2 kids and an infant, it's hard to keep up with your exercising and reading.

But now that school has started back, I have been back to walking about 3 miles a day and back to reading much more, hopefully still to get back to my goal of averaging one a month. I've had to throw in some fiction books in order for me to get back to that goal, but that's ok. Now I figure I'll try alternating books, one fiction then one non-fiction, and see how that goes. The fiction always reads faster, at least for me.

The other two goals...I'm not doing quite as well at. One was simplifying my life, which is where the 1/2 comes in. My computer desk is a mess and we are dangerously close to being behind on bills, so the simplifying hasn't done so well...but I'm working at it. There's still lots less clutter around the house than there used to be, and we've got a plan going to work in the bills.

The one I've stopped completely is talking to my father once a week. I can't really explain why. I'm a little embarrassed about it, a little ashamed, and a lot puzzled. There was little reciprocation of the desire to speak to each other weekly, so it slowly just stopped. It's hard when there seems to be so little that there is to talk about or are willing to talk about. There's only so many ways that a person can say, I need your wisdom and/or guidance. Even being blatant didn't seem to work, so rather than dread the conversation, I just stopped it.

Oh well...maybe someday. It would be nice, but I won't hold my breath.

But getting health and wealth on track, and making sure my own family never gets to the point that me and my father are at...that's about all a guy can ask for, right?

Closing a chapter?

Please forgive me in advance for this highly self-serving post...which has now turned into more of a novel. I am sure you If you have no desire to hear about a nostalgic look back at an online game I was part of for the better part of 10 years, I completely understandI don't blame you. Don't worry, I will return to my normal cheerful posts about economic doom, socialistic turns, and all the other wonderfully brightening things that run through my mind. I'll even have a post soon about how my (and probably your's too) representatives in congress are clueless. See the fun you'll get to return to after this ulogy is finished.

So I've officially closed my account with Ultima Online. It is a massive multiplayer online role playing game, or mmorpg. I mentioned a bit ago how I was going to be making this move and how I'd miss it. I just closed the account last night, and I do miss it some already, but it's more of what it used to be than what it has become. Even if I weren't so busy with kids in school, work, and my committments to other self-improvement ideals such as keeping in shape, learning to play an instrument and making myself more well read, I'd still doubtfully be playing too much. It's fun periodically, and when you get into one of "those moods", you can immerse yourself into the game for hours and it feels like minutes; but ultimately it has changed enough that it's not as much fun anymore for me. So below will chroicle my introduction to Ultima Online and highlight my journey through it in my feeble attempt to purge myself of any desires to make a futile attempt to return to the game in the future.

I started playing the game shortly after I met my wife. We were working at the local Toy Store and going to college. Actually, by this time, she had quit since I was her boss and she wanted to focus more strongly on her studies. We had just moved in together, and Everquest had just came out. I remember all the awesome looking signage(that's what those in the biz call posters and cardboard cutouts and such) and just thought the game looked like it would be fun.

I had just delved into the realm of role playing games with Final Fantasy Tactics...to this day it is probably still my favorite game of all time. My good friend had grown up on Dungeons and Dragons and told me how great role playing games were. I had already shown interest in the medieval time period when I loved the renaissance faire we went to. So, I decided to look more into this Everquest game.

I went into Electronics Botique, the fancy video game store that was all the rage when I was a young adult, and looked at the game. The problem was...they were advertising this fancy VooDoo graphics card that would be great for playing Everquest. This was back when I barely understood these kinds of things, so I was leary about buying a game that I may not be able to play. By a stroke of luck, Ultima Online was merchandised near Everquest, as they were the same type of game, and they had just came out with their second version of their game, called The Second Age, or T2A. As a young adult in my early to mid 20's, it was the Mature rating that Ultima Online had, along with it's assurance that it would work on my computer, that reeled me in. Murders, blood, and violence...how could I go wrong? So...Ultima Online it was.

I got it home, and loaded it up. Barely realizing what I was doing, and quickly dove into the game. I was original and named my character after myself, and set out to figure out what to do in this game. My home town was Minoc, and what a splendid home town it was. It was a mining town, and I recalled briefly reading that mining was a good way to start to make money, so that's where I started, and ultimately where I finished. I love you Minoc!

As I recall, I didn't really die immediately. I got to go around and ask some people some things, even the NPCs. I didn't realize at the time what NPCs were...non player characters. So I am sure people were laughing at me as they watched me try to have a conversation with someone that was just an game character not controlled by anyone. Rather quickly, though, I found myself magically in a dungeon (ok, I walked through someone I didn't know's travel gate). Moments later, before I even realized I was in a dungeon, I was dead at the hands...errr breath...of a dragon.

So now, as I ghost, I'm running around this dungeon aimlessly, not sure what in the world to do. What seemed like hours later, I got out of the dungeon, still dead mind you, and promptly declared the game stupid and quit. It was at least a week before I thought about the game again, so I decided to get back on and give it another try.

Still a ghost, I wandered around the forest for a while until I was magically ressurrected, or so I thought. I really have no idea how, but I eventually made it back to Minoc and ran into the lone helpful guy that would provide me the foundation to desire to continue on in the game. I don't remember the man's name, but I remember the name of his home. In fact, I later on named my home The Holy Grail after his, in his honor.

So armed with the wisdom imparted by this unnamed hero, I began to stock pile money by mining and selling the ingots to blacksmiths. Ah...it was a simple time, when you could make an honest living by being a miner.

Now armed with a good sum of money, I believe it was 20K, I set out to purchase myself a home. There were no places that I could find, so I couldn't build a home myself, I had to purchase one from someone else. This lead me to a man named Mucs fo Duts. Leave it to me to not realise that someone that named himself Stud of Scum, backwards, wasn't completely trustworthy. The kindly Mucs fo Duts *read sarcasm* introduced me to the only man in the game I've ever hated, Ramuah. I know I've said before that I don't understand hate, but even recalling this man, Ramuah, envokes rageful feelings inside my soul.

"I'll sell you a house for 20K," the loatheful Ramuah said gleefully. And so I follow this man to a medium sided house that I should have known wasn't available for 20K...but me, the Happy Idiot, followed him into his house, ready to become a homeowner in this new adventure called Ultima Online.

"You've got the check, on ya, right?" he prodded.

"Yep," I replied blissfully.

"Great. Go ahead and have a seat in what will be your new home," he said, hoping I'd take the bait.

Of course, me being the Happy Idiot, I took the bait and sat down. At which point he set a crate down in front of me and locked it down, making it impossible for me to move out of the chair. Then, ever so calmly, Ramuah began to kill me with Energy Bolts. My heart sank as I watched my healthbar go down, realizing that all the work I had done for the past few weeks was going to be lost. Before I knew it, I was dead and my ghost was banished from his house so that he could pull the check from my carcass. The only solace I was able to take was the fact that he seemed shocked that it took me more than 2 Energy Bolts to die. He had to meditate so that he could come back for a 3rd.

That was on of my many low points in my Ultima Online career...my first PK, or Player Killing.

Eventually, I met a nice man named Southern. He sold me 3 very small houses over the next few months. He even tolerated me as I prodded him to let me pay half up front and then the second half after the house was transferred to me. Can you blame me after my first housing debackle?

During this time, I also met my best friend on the game, Amroth. He was an awesome young kid...and even helped my wife, then girlfriend, "refresh" my houses when I was in the hospital getting my appendix taken out. He quit rather early. I missed playing with him in the Lost Lands, where I foolishly thought I could easily take on a Ophidian Knight-Errant.

Yes, it was fun, but never quite the same after Amroth left. I largely became a loner, intent on becoming entirely self-sufficient in the game.

I joined a guild, stuck through all the PKs that I fell victim too, battled through the introduction of Trammel, and even held out through the beginning of Ileshnar. I quit for a while, sold my account, and then bought it back and started playing again. That was fun too, but as you may be able to tell from the abrupt change in pace of my story, it just wasn't quite the same after Trammel was introduced.

It was seem by many "hardcore gamers" as the sellout to expand the game for the newbies. Shortly after Trammel was introduced, many items were "duped" and the economy was never the same. You can easily build a home in half the time it took when I first started...which seems to take the fun and challenge out of it.

And now, as I wind down my trip down Ultima Online memory lane, I feel better in my decision to leave the game and have little doubt that I will refrain from making a return attempt. It's hard sometimes, but also can be for the best to leave with those memories still fond and intact. You're a great game Ultima Online...you provided lots of great memories. I'll miss you.