IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...

I fully understand that around half of the people who vote in the United States are happy with President Obama.  I'm in the half that think his re-election is tragic for our country.  There are too many reasons why I feel this way to address in one blog.  Suffice it to say that there are numerous reasons that I'm disappointed.

I am, however, going to try to express my reasons, without much sarcasm, in the next few blogs.  In no particular order, I'll choose a topic and pour out my heart.

Not because it's the most important reason, but because I've been thinking about it lately, today I want to talk about Hispanics, Republicans, and Immigration.

I love people from Mexico and South America.  Growing up in San Diego I had lots of Mexican friends.  I've always enjoyed their culture.  And their food!!  I'm in favor of re-writing our immigration laws to make it easier for all peoples of the world to come here legally.  I know a number of illegal immigrants.  The ones I know try to be good people.  Most of them work hard.  They're good, family-oriented people.  Because we make it so hard for people to come to America legally, many if them skip the legal parts of coming here.

Many Republicans think we have to be more inclusive and understanding of Hispanics and their issues.  I'm not sure what that means.  Do we need to forget our basic beliefs that immigrants need to come here legally?  In order to get their vote, is that our only course of action?  Do we have to advocate open borders to earn their votes?  I hope not.

Many of us have the gut feeling that Hispanic people are conservative, at heart.  I think that's mostly true, but with one caveat.  I think they favor, want, and in many cases, need the American "safety net."  They want to know that if all else fails, they can get food, medical care, and other necessities through various government agencies.  What that boils down to, in my mind, is that they want the "Santa Claus" policies of the Democrats.  When they have to choose between Republicans saying, "We want to make sure everyone who wants to work has a job and we want you to come here legally," and Democrats saying, "Come on in.  Welcome home.  If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," which are they likely to choose?

I don't see much chance of Democrats wanting to be involved in any kind of immigration reform.  Why would they want to be?  They have the Hispanics right where they want them.  Needing/wanting the government for help and mainly voting for Democrats.  Sounds like a good deal for the Dems.  

I hope we (Republicans) don't give in.  We have to do a better job of reminding Hispanics (and Democrats) about rugged individualism, American exceptionalism, and working to improve one's position in life.  

I'm not smart enough to tell the Republicans what they need to say and how they need to say it, but I will tell them that this Republican (conservative, actually, but that's another blog) doesn't want us to become Santa Claus Republicans.  We just need to find a better way to explain our position.  The old, American way doesn't work anymore.

I agree with Charles Krauthammer:  

"Romney is a good man who made the best argument he could, and nearly won.  He would have made a superb chief executive, but he, like the Clinton machine, could not match Barack Obama in the darker arts of public persuasion.

"The answer to Romney’s failure is not retreat, not aping the Democrats’ patchwork pandering.  It is to make the case for restrained, rationalized and reformed government in stark contradistinction to Obama’s increasingly unsustainable big-spending, big-government paternalism.

"Republicans:  No whimpering.  No whining.  No reinvention when none is needed.  Do conservatism. but do it better.  There’s a whole generation of leaders ready to do just that."

  

WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN CULTURES

Secretary Clinton apologized to Muslims around the world for the "disgusting and reprehensible" anti-Muslim video that no Muslim in the Middle East has seen. She reassured the world that the U.S. government had nothing to do with the video. Still, Muslimdom is burning, rioting, and killing.

I'm waiting for her apology for the insensitive Book of Mormon musical. It makes fun, in very vulgar way

s, of many of the things I hold sacred. Some critics have called it vulgar, profane, and disgusting. As far as I know, no Mormons have burned, rioted, or killed anyone over this musical. In fact, the Church took out an ad in the "Book of Mormon" musical playbill telling people that the book is even better than the musical.

What a difference in cultures.

Here's an article that says it far better than I.  I found this AFTER I wrote the above.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444450004578002010241044712.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

HELLO

Well hello, Friends and Family.  I know.  I'm inconsistent.  Inconsistent, heck, I haven't been here since February.  It's not that I don't have anything to say.  It's just that with facebook and email, I'm communicating my life without using my Blog.

But, I don't want to disappoint those who aren't my facebook friends or on my email distribution list, so I'll try to blog more frequently.

I love this time of year.  I love the cool weather.  Nights are getting down to mid- to high-50s and days are hitting about 80, at the highest.  Life is good.  I'm happy and working hard to control my Diabetes.  I've seen an Endocrinologist and he's whipping me into shape.

The main reason i"m here today?  I'm 65.  I feel pretty good.  I'm still excited about my job and hope to work another 5 years.  I work with great people and excellent customers.  I still enjoy traveling for work and Karen enjoys me being gone.  When we get back together, we actually like each other (for the most part).  I have a great family.  Great kids.  Great kids' spouses.  Great grandkids.  Wonderful parents, both deceased, but still play a big role in my life.  They taught me much.  Great siblings...one deceased (who I miss very much) and two living.  One very old and one young and getting herself in good physical shape.  Like me, she's getting body parts replaced (two total knee replacements).  I'm getting my right shoulder replaced in a couple of weeks.  I've been in a lot of pain and have minimal range of motion.  Unfortunately, my left shoulder isn't far behind.  Also, I have great nieces and nephews and other relatives.  All in all, a great family.

I love the Lord and his Gospel and am actively engaged.  I have great neighbors and friends.  We love our old house.  There's always lots to do, in the house and the yard.

So, as you can tell, there's not much to complain about.  Life is very good.

Oh, one other thing.  You know I'm a little political.  I think we have a distinct choice between President Obama and Mr. Romney.  When thinking about this, I try to be as objective as I can and in my view. our choice is between more government: for example, hiring more teachers, firemen, policemen (public sector jobs).  Having government in more control of the goings on in our lives.  And, less government, making it easier for the private sector to create jobs and, hopefully, reducing the impact of government in our lives.  I realize that's barely scratching the surface, but those are the basics.  I've always been a "private sector" guy, so my choice is obvious.  I hope yours is, as well.  I'm very confused about those who are still "undecided."  As the old saying goes, "Poop or get off the pot."  It's time to decide.

Thanks for your time.  Talk to you later.. 

THE DARK ROOM AT THE END OF THE HALL

There's a room at the end of our upstairs hall. Well, it's not really a room. It's a closet. But, there's a door at the end of the hall that I've never opened, 'cause I'm scared of what might be in there.

Last night, Karen and I cautiously opened the door and found about a ton of crap. Not really crap, in the defecation sense of the word, but more like a mess, refuse, rubbish, junk, litter.

So, we emptied the closet and threw most of the contents away or put it in the Deseret Industries Bag.

Now it's clean and neat and organized. I will now open that door regularly.

My niece, AmyWW, inspired me to do some cleaning and culling, and this was my first attempt. I liked it. I'm moving on to another place. Here's
what it looks like now:



This is a table on the west wall of my office. (See if you can spot my niece's daughter, Alisa? Not my niece AmyWW, my niece JennieWW. You might have to double click on the photo to see Alisa.)

By tomorrow (or so), it will be clean and tidy.

Thanks for the inspiration, Amy.

Thanks for the BIG help, Karen.

GREAT CHOICES

I'm satisfied with the Republican Presidential Candidates that are left in the race, with the exception of Ron Paul. I know his supporters are rabid about him, but I'm just not. I've never been. Like any candidate, he says some things I really like, but he has too many goofy things to say for me to ever be able to support him. If you support him, you know what you love. If you don't support him, you know why. If you don't know, look up some of his speeches and debates. In my humble opinion, a vote for Ron Paul is a vote for President Obama.



I am pleased with the rest of the field. Here's where I stand on them:

Rick Santorum looks pretty good on economic issues. Strong on Welfare Reform, taxes, tax cuts, balanced budget amendment, and Social Security, but weak because of his love of spending earmarks, support of large government expansions like Medicare Prescription Drug Bill, and trade protectionism. He'd be a good President and would probably drive America in a pro-growth direction. He's obviously a solid social conservative. I could vote for him if he became the candidate.



Newt Gingrich has become my least favorite Republican candidate lately. I really wanted him to run and I was excited when he joined the race. He's been killer in the debates. He's very smart. He knows as much about politics and Washington and history as anyone who has run for President in my lifetime. BUT (and, yes, that is a big butt), the way he has attacked the other candidates and most recently, the way he's beat up on Romney, I've lost a little (okay, a lot of) love for Newton. Don't get me wrong. I think questions have to be asked of all of the candidates and those questions need to be hard and probing, but I am a FIRM believer in Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment..."Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican." Mainly because of that, I'm a bit bummed with Newt at this time, but I'd vote for him if he became the candidate.



Finally, Mitt Romney. Like Reagan, Romney has become more conservative over time. He has moved from supporting the laws regarding abortion to being against them. He has moved away from his more moderate or even liberal positions to solid conservative positions. No one flinches when democrats move from, say, anti-abortion to pro-abortion, like Al Gore, but conservatives just don't seem to believe republicans when they move towards more conservative positions. I believe anyone can grow and learn and, yes, change their positions.

Mitt is my choice. I think he can lead us out of this economic morass that we've slogged in over the last decade. He has committed to cutting taxes and, more importantly, cutting spending. He has committed to overturning ObamaCare. I like his positions. I hope he's our Presidential Candidate. I will vote for him if he's our candidate.

WELCOME 2012

Yep. Hard to believe, but it's 2012. I was born in the middle of the last century...December 2, 1946. Many of the years since then have been fantastic. Some have been sad and disappointing. For the most part, I have loved my life.

I'm now 65 years old. It doesn't seem possible. I feel like it was just a few weeks ago that I was running around and playing softball and acting like a kid and having no physical limitations.

In some respects, it disappoints me that there are things I'll never be able to do in this life. Some things that I used to do are simply out of the question. I can't really see me playing any of my favorite sports. For most of my life, I've been able to say, "I'm young enough, I could start over in a new career. I could go back to school and become a (fill in the blank)." Not any more.

However, that doesn't mean I'm sad or hate my life or feel like I'm just waiting to die.

I'm excited to be alive. I have a wonderful family. From my wife, to my kids and grandkids. To my siblings and parents and all those other relatives, like nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles and in-laws. Yes, I do have a wonderful family.

I have great friends. People who inspire me and treat me well, even though I don't always deserve it. People who make me want to be a better person.

I have my faith. I love it. I love the culture of being a Mormon. We're weird and we know it. Most of us do. (I wonder about some of us.) I love the stuff we do. The Gospel, itself, is true and perfect. The Church and its members are a bit shaky. The Gospel won't change, but the Church and its members have the opportunity to change every day. Being led by a living Prophet, the church can and will change as new information is received. Because of our Lord and Savior, we can all change...and hopefully, we are.

I live in Utah. More specifically, I live in Utah County. I love it here. What a wonderful place to live. Great neighbors and friends. Great influences. Great teens and young people.

I have a dream job. So does Karen. My job is perfect for me. I hope to continue with it until I'm 70. If not, I'll get a job locally and work somewhere until I'm 70.

So, what do I want for 2012?

I want to be a kinder person.

I want people to know that I love them. Even if I have to tell them.

I want to serve the Lord.

I want to serve my neighbors.

I want to be successful (by my own definition) at work.

I want to clean my office and keep it clean!

I want to take care of projects around the house as they come up, instead of when I get around to them.

I want 2012 to be my best year yet!

Will it be perfect? Not a chance, but the opportunities will be there for me to make it great.

Have a great New Year!