Putin Puts it to Obama and the West of the World!!

Here's the post I submitted for my column "Truth Be Told" in The Weekly Telegram, it should be up soon, but you folks can see it first. I know the situation has accelerated since I wrote the post, but I did find my comments were close to what other people were saying. I want people to know, these are my own opinions, I wrote this before I heard or read any comments about the crisis, thanks.


               Truth Be Told: Putin is Puttin it to Obama and the West of the World

 

 

I know the situation in the Ukraine is not a laughing matter, but I was amused watching the changing headlines on AOL as this event unfolds. When things started really going downhill and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev last month, I was watching the news. First, Obama said for Putin not to interfere in the situation or there would be consequences. Nothing concrete or specific, just "Consequences". The next headline about Russia relayed that Putin was going to his Parliament to seek permission to use force in the Ukraine. Obama's headline did not change, just the good old "Consequences" and nothing more. Then the headline for Putin changed to read that he had gotten permission to use what ever force he thought necessary and it was a unanimous vote by the way. Still, "Consequences" from Obama and nothing more. Putin went in and now the stress level is very high, but on who?

 

Putin made quick calculated decisions, weighed pros and cons without testing the wind or putting together a task force. Whether you like him or not, he's a strong leader who does what he think's is best in his country's interest and does not seem to car what Obama says. They had a 90 minute phone conversation at some point during this incident in the Ukraine and what ever Obama said did not deter Putin.

What ever sanctions the West may put on Putin's Russia can be made up by signing deals with other countries or at least, that's what the Russian's are counting on.

 

Didn't Obama have strong words for Putin when Snowden scampered off to Russia? Where's Snowden now? HMMMMMM...

 

 I don't think force would be the answer in this case and I'm sick of war myself anyway. Strong leadership and someone who can build bridges with people he may not see eye to eye with is what's needed here. We don't have that in this man, Obama, who's are President for now. He's great at leading people who believe in him, terrible at gathering support from folks who don't. He talks down to people whom he perceives may not agree with him. That's a horrible way for a 'Leader" to act and does not instill confidence. His blind followers will never see this, but even people on the fence about him have to admit he's more of a divider that someone who brings people together. Truth Be Told, RESPECT can be a better deterrence than words or force sometimes!

The Gay Thang!!

From my "Truth Be Told" column. We also debated the Arizona law that was vetoed by the governor that dealt with Gay rights vs. Religious rights, so to speak. The debate between Will Roberts, Johnny Hotshot and myself on the Pros & Cons" segment of Will's Weekly Telegram became quite heated at times. We are now on over 36 stations worldwide with the show and I must imagine we strike a nerve with some folks.


                               Truth Be Told: The Gay Thang

 

 

 Yes, I know I spelled 'Thing" wrong, but since you're here, let's go!!

 

 We now have  basketball and football players who have come out as gay, and may I say from the spots talk shows I've listened to the past month or so on this subject, that there have been gay players is nothing new. That they have come out is new and yes, brave. Now let's look at facts as see where we can go from there.

 

 I don't believe people should be bullied or picked on because of ANYTHING!! Let me repeat, anything, religion, sexual preference, skin color, weight, etc. Unfortunately this happens. I got picked on a lot as a youngster, I was nerdy, I had a terrible last name for a boy and I tried to do what was right. Not a good combination. The fact is, because I'm a straight, white,Christian male, I should just shrug it off and deal with it. I have so no big deal. Yet, change any aspect of my religion, sexual preference or skin color and I can gain a lot more sympathy towards my behavior in certain situations.

 

 I'll say it again, because some people forget what they read when you write something they don't agree with. NOBODY should be discriminated against because of religion, sexual preference, skin color, etc. This should be for all people, not certain folks as this is the case a lot in this country. We should have equal rights, not SPECIAL rights!! When people try to force their views or lifestyles on us whomever they are it's wrong! We don't HAVE TO ACCEPT some one's lifestyle, but we should not harass them because of it. This is where I think the GAY AGENDA looses it's way. Yes, I understand you're a minority. Do you? Do you understand that usually a man is attracted to a woman and because you're not you're different. That's not my fault and I don't have to understand it, accept it, teach it to my kids or be subject to sensitivity training about it. I don't, however, have the right to bully or try to make you're life hell because you are different. I also feel marriage is between a man and a woman, should I be castigated because of my view? If you do and you're gay, then you're a hypocrite. You want me to respect you and you're view on gay marriage, but mine is null and void. Oh, and I'm  homophobic. RIDICULOUS!! At the same time, I don't think the government, should have a say in the matter either way. That's between, GOD and the 2 people who want to be joined in Holy Matrimony, so there, surprise!! 

 

 These athletes, if capable, should be able to compete without a fear of what will happen in the locker room. But at the same time, they must understand that their team mates do not have to accept their life outside the game. When we as a society can respect each other equally and tolerate our differences, we will truly be civilized. This is not the case with some groups who only see their side of things and refuse to see the people who have never harassed them or the people who have stood up for them, even thought they may not agree with their lifestyle.

 

Truth be told, in the end, you get the respect you give. 

Terrorists, the highest form of bullies, the lowest form of life!!

          Truth Be Told: Terrorists, the highest form of bullies, the lowest form of life!!

 

  In one of my earlier columns and on The Weekly Telegram's 'Pros & Cons" segment I have stated how I believe terrorism is the ultimate level of bullying. Terrorists and bullies use the same methods. Fear and intimidation. They prey on the weak and weak minded. That's not where the similarities end. It's why they do what they do that is also similar. It's about power and getting what they want, even when it's WRONG! Sometimes it seems, the more EVIL the deed, the harder they push to have someone blow themselves up for it. We all know the leaders of these organizations are the worst. They recruit people to kill themselves while they sit back and praise Allah. If Allah is good then they're praising the wrong guy, they need to look the other way, down that is.

 

 Will Roberts asked me and Johnny Hotshot recently on his show, which stories we thought were the most under reported of 2013. A very tough question that Will and Johnny gave very good answers to. My answer was the story of the 16 year old girl shot by these terrorist pigs because she wanted to get an education. I know it was covered a lot, but there should have been more in my opinion. The news media should have covered every single angle and opinion about this story to embarrass the cowards who carried out this attempt on a little girls life. What kind of  "Man" or "Men" shoot a little girl in the head, on purpose, because she wants to learn? This for a "Religion"? This is a 'Good God" that commands this? No, like I said earlier, it's the other guy, the one with the horns. She should have got the Nobel Peace Prize, by the way. That just shows how much of a farce that "Prize" has become, it's all political now. Maybe it always was and never really meant anything to begin with.

 

I bring this subject up because of the recent threats to the Winter Olympics. So far, so good. I think the Russians have done more damage to their own event than the terrorists could do anyway. The fact that people are there and enjoying the festivities as much as possible is a triumph over the terrorist cowards. They're also like gangs and bullies in the fact that they aren't that bright either. They keep putting out their stupid threats, suicide bummers and all the rest without even realizing the fortitude that is being forged against them. Every single act they perpetrate just helps to reinforce the wall of shame they are building around themselves. They are wrong, they are evil and they are losing. The way they conduct themselves screams out "Wicked"! Truth Be Told, the methods of the terrorist will ensure their own failure!!

Welfare, The Rich & The Economy!

After a very heated debate on the "Pros & Cons" segment on Will Robert's Weekly Telegram a little over a week ago, I wrote this column a few days later. It had been in my head and I had to get it out. I wrote most of it, then waited a day before sending it in, I wanted to calm down. I'm glad I waited, there were some things I changed. This post is very personal as it describes some very tough times in my life and I do not take these issues lightly!


                                                 Welfare, The Rich & The Economy!

 

 

 Let me first qualify myself for those of you who may have missed the latest segment of "Pro's and Con's" on Will's Weekly Telegram Radio Program or my last "Truth be Told" column " A New Tone out of Washington ?".

 

 I grew up in a broken home, we were on food stamps from time to time and always seemed to be moving. I went to at least 3 different elementary schools and lived in my Grandparents basement for a short time. My mother struggled to keep a roof over our heads and I never saw my father until I was eighteen, he left when I was five and a half. We finally stayed in the same place when I was about thirteen and I wound up leaving to try college, only to come back until I went into the USAF. I escaped poverty for a while in the military, only to come back to it once I got out. I've struggled myself over the years, but I've also enjoyed my career and have traveled all across the USA, Canada, performed on Cruise Ships and at the World famous Atlantis resort, twice so far.

 

The reason I qualify myself is because I mystified as to why people on the left are so quick to berate me for slamming the people who live on welfare with no plans of ever getting off it. I have seen first hand the people who use it to help them get out of  their situation and people who have no shame in making a career out of it. I'm not backing down anymore to these folks who get angry at me for daring to say these people exist and "where do people on the right get the notion that this stuff goes on?" . Then they bring up the rich!! Hey man, let's stay with the poor discussion for now. The rich could care less about this crap. We in the lower and middle class should be outraged! We work our guts out to get ourselves off of welfare and I tell you there should not be ONE person in this country who rides the system like a wave into the grave!!! You people who want to get angry when I bring up facts and quotes about people who abuse the system are yelling at the wrong person. I never have said that unemployment insurance should be cut, as a matter of fact, I have written that I believe some Republicans don't want to help the people who try to help themselves. We must be able to have a dialogue in this country about what's going on in the welfare system ( BTW some IDIOT elected official out west wants to change to the name of "welfare" to "transitional" something or other. Does changing the name change the reality?) without changing the name or the subject. I guess some of these folks want to wait until the percentage of welfare abusers is high enough for them to feel comfortable about even paying it some attention. If people are cheating the system, it's a black eye on the people who really need and APPRECIATE the help. Let's get rid of the "I'm gonna sit around , have babies and watch my big screen TV" idiots who take funds that should go to people who want to work but are having a tough time in this economy! We also need to increase the minimum wage and  do it NOW!  On to the EVIL rich!

 

Yes, there are some rich jerks who do not pay their fare share. They also make sure that certain people, or certain types of people, don't get a break. There's a big boy club in this country, I'm sorry, hundreds if not thousands of these clubs. If you don't know the right people, you have to jump through the hoops to get a "fair" shot. We as a society can go a long way to correcting some of these injustices. HOW, you ask! Do a little research, adjust your spending habits and see what happens. We do have the power to get rid of the rich folks who are greedy, arrogant, horrible people. If the buying public would look a little more into the practices of some of these big business's and stick to their guns when it came to not buying certain products, you would see a lot of change. If people who stepped on the backs of others to get to the top were ratted out and gotten rid of professionally, we would have an ethics revolution. One good thing that came out of the ignorant and disastrous "occupy Wall Street" movement, was we saw that A LOT of people are angry about this way things are going in this country. When we go though a terrible financial storm as we have and are still recovering from, with business's still having record profits, big bonuses, but laying people off , there's something wrong. WE can correct it folks, we don't need BIG Brother. WE are more powerful than the government, OH YEAH!! What's worse to a business, a fine from Uncle Sam or NO CUSTOMERS? If a company is firing people left and right, while the CEO gets a huge bonus and the board or directors has extravagant parties, conventions, etc, DON"T BUY THEIR PRODUCT!!!

 

I do believe it's time to change the types of people who get the gig. I've seen it in my industry. I couldn't get past a 30 second audition for "Last Comic Standing" when I tried out for the first season and I had been doing comedy at that point for around ten years. However, the girl behind me in line got accepted to the next level and she had never done comedy!! She had "a look", that's why she got picked, which begs the question "Why the hell is "Comic" in the title of the show? This happens in the entertainment business and I also believe a certain form of this is practiced in other industries as well. We, as consumers and big business buy into  "style over substance". WE can correct this as well buy choosing folks who have true talent to support, instead of just someone who has a "look". These are not the only ways to fix the economy, but every little bit helps. I refuse to listen to the folks who say, "Well, that program only wastes a couple of hundred thousand dollars". I guess they can't do simple math and don't realize that if we have several thousand such programs this stuff adds up! ALL waste and fraud needs to go, no matter the amount of money wasted. Truth Be Told, an honest days work for an honest days pay still makes sense!

 

A New Tone out of Washington?

I'm not sure if  Will Roberts starting tweeting more or if this post I did for his Weekly Telegram resonated with a lot of people. Either way, this post has been re tweeted every day this week. I look forward to any and all comments!

                                                  A New Tone out of Washington?

 

 In the spirit of "Hope & Change", I'm hoping that some things change in the coming year concerning this country's leadership. This I mean for ALL sides of the equation. Both or our major political parties need to wake up, stop the bickering and the pandering!

 

 The RepubliCANS need to look at the fact that the middle class is shrinking along with the American dream. The rich are getting richer off the back of the poor and this party just sits, collects money and watches. SHAME on them!! We do need an increase in the minimum wage and it's been to long that it's been put off. This will not hurt the economy, it will help it! Also, how can they put themselves in bed politically with CEO's who make big bonuses while their company goes bankrupt and people lose their jobs? Corporate welfare sucks and if a company goes out of business while the CEO's are buying an island to park their yacht, something needs to be looked into, let's get real people! They also need to quit being judgmental about people's sex lives. I'm a Christian, but I don't want to vote for someone who thinks their better than me because they go to the right church or have the perfect life. I don't believe in Gay marriage, but I also believe that this issue is between God and the people who chose to practice same sex marriage vows. The government should not be involved as far as saying it's the law one way or the other. If there's an official church that will do the ceremony, the government must honor the paperwork. Can't both sides understand that we are giving the government to much power in these decisions? DAMN!  If you're going to be the party of smaller government, practice what you preach!! Pun intended!

 

The Democrats have got to stop pandering to the lazy, "the world owes me", leeches of our society. Yes, people need a helping hand, I understand that. My mom was on welfare, collecting food stamps, for a little while when I was growing up, but guess what? She used the system until she got a job and got back on her feet and could take care of me and my brother. She did not lay around all day, have more kids that she could not afford and cry "Who's gonna feed my babies? Somebodies got to pay for this!". The Dems have no shame in reaching out to these wastes of oxygen, getting their vote and making sure they stay where they are at. They could care less about a segment of our society that breeds fatherless children that in turn grow up to be ignorant sperm donors who can't even talk or wear pants properly. No, these facts need to be kept in the dark. As long as they can  be kept on the plantation, these people can make it to the bus that takes them to the voting booth and we know who they're voting for. A race of people once stood together and faced down armed guards to get an education.Now a big percentage of that same race could care less about going to school, and their so called leaders  along with their political party, the Democrats, are strangely silent on this. Why? Because they don't really care, they just want the power and don't want to upset the gravy train. If they start speaking the truth, the real issues will come out and spark growth in that community. If these people grow as humans and educate themselves, some of them may not vote Democrat anymore, there's your answer. SHAME on them as well.

 

I'm not saying these things will happen, but they would help our country to grow and prosper. I just don't think the current leadership of certain segments of our society will ever deal in truth when it comes to their own responsibilities, it's always someone else's fault. You can never grow if you don't look at you own decision making. Will we ever hear a tone from Washington that says " We are here to help and protect, but there's some things you must do for yourselves." . The Dems will not say that to their voting block and I'm not sure the Reps. are ready to help the common man help himself. Truth Be Told, there is a common ground, it's called common sense!

 

2014 A Year for Growth and Success!

                                   2014 A Year for Growth and Success!

 

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone and here's making 2014 the best it can be!

 

After a year of complete depression coupled with downhill movement personally and professionally in 2012, I was glad to see 2013 making it's way into the scene. I did not have a huge amount of hope going into last year, but I did have enough to keep myself moving forward. I kept my non-smoking resolution from 2012 and will celebrate 2 years smoke free this February. I started changing spending habits and worked almost non-stop 2013 in four different ventures. I started digging out of the hole I and the economy dug for myself. AS I look back, it seems as though I was not only digging as hole, but climbing in and shoveling the dirt on top of myself.  

 

 2013 to me was a year of rebuilding. I was rebuilding personally by making changes in the way I saw life, the way I reacted to the outside world and how I treated others. That was the start that I'm still and will always be working on. I also worked hard at getting back on my feet financially after a terrible fall in that area.  My profession as a comedian took a hit in 2011-2012 because of the economy and I shoulder some of the blame as well for retreating into the darkness called depression. I still managed to get some work, but I did not try as hard as I should, which was compounded by losing gigs due to clubs closing.

 

These things I tell you because coming into 2014 I took some time to reflect on 2013 and I saw it was a year of building. I talked with others about this and found there were a lot of parallels in their lives as well.  Kinetic HiFi, the station where my radio program The BTS Radio Show originates, has moved into a new studio and my show was the first one on air. Jan. 1 2014. I say this not to brag but to show the parallel and we discussed this on the show as well. I saw this happening with my father and his profession as well. His industry , insurance, has taken a hit and he's had to adjust to massive changes as well.

 

 I also saw this growth on a national level. This country went through economic, racial and foreign policy strife a lot of 2013. I will not cast blame, I will not point fingers. I think we should look at the country and ourselves overall. I believe we grew as a country in 2013 and we will see the results of that growth soon. Growth can be painful, yet rewarding. It takes time to make changes and even more time to see the results of those changes. This process can take longer when we're talking about something as large as The USA, but I am hopeful. I have and will always say onstage that I believe my success relies on me, not the government. I also believe the success of our country relies on our citizens and not our government. I am determined to stay on the path I'm paving personally and I see those around me maintaining the roads they are building. I believe we as a country can do the same. We can keep each other motivated, keep ourselves moving forward and take the country to new heights. Truth Be Told, we can make 2014 a year for continued growth and overall success!

 

 

Giving is Better Than Receiving. Really!

                                    
I wrote this for The Weekly Telegram a week or so before Christmas, but I still think it's timely!

                                  Giving is Better Than Receiving. Really!

 

 

 

I've always been interested and sometimes aggravated by "Words of Wisdom" or "Wise Sayings" since I was a young boy. Sometimes I did not understand them and a lot of the time I made fun of them. I have plenty of proof to the latter claim of poking fun at proverbs. That proof comes in the form of my first two comedy books "Make Love Not Warts" and "Four Score and Seven Beers Ago...". These books have about 400 proverbs and silly sayings I've come up with over the years.

 

 Life has a way of teaching you things whether you want to learn them or not. People try to teach each other in many ways, such as proverbs, but sometimes those sayings are not understood until a life experience shows us the way. Many of the sayings I have made fun of I now understand all to well. Now I look at these words of wisdom a lot differently. I can still make fun of them, maybe even more than before because the life lesson or lessons that reinforce the meaning. Wisdom does not come easy or cheap if it does come at all.

 

I don't know when I first really understood the real meaning of the phrase "It's Better to Give Than Receive.". I think it was when I realized that by making people laugh I was giving out the God given gift I had received. I really do enjoy seeing or hearing someone laugh at something I wrote or said. There's no way for me to describe the feeling. I thinks it's the same as when someone cooks a meal and watches people eat the food. Or when someone builds something with their hands and presents it to a friend or family member as a gift.

 

 I really enjoy this time of year when I have the money to get people presents. When I'm struggling financially, this can be the worst season. This year I'll give what I can and be thankful for that. I don't have children myself, but I do have nephews and that's the best. I love seeing their faces when they open what I've brought them. These are the times it really is better to give than receive and when the meaning of the words take root and grow!!

 

There are all kinds of ways and presents one can give if you really look hard enough. If you are struggling like a lot of us are, there's still things you can give. Your time, your attention and kind words. I also believe this can be done year round. Every year I hear folks say "I wish it could be like this all year." First we should enjoy the time people are kind to one another and then worry about stretching it beyond the Holidays. Let's be in the Holiday mood more than we have ever been and keep stretching out the time until we go back to letting life control our outlook. Then, maybe one day, we'll stretch that time we are full of joy to all year long. Truth Be Told, the Holiday Spirit is always inside us, we just forget to keep bringing it out!