Will anyone stop the chanting?

"We must get the stimulus plan passed as soon as possible" are words we are hearing chanted across Washington and the press over the past few weeks. With every announcement of a company laying off more employees the chant grows louder and more passionate. Who can dismiss over 80,000 people so far this week losing their job without wanting to find a solution? How can Pelosi, Reid and Obama stand with straight faces saying their stimulus plan is going to provide an answer to our economies problems when the bill originally had money for grass, condomns, STD education, the arts and many causes that might be "nice" but are not items that will provide jobs or a boost to the economy. The stimulus plan has turned out to be instead of something that will be provide CPR to a dieing economy a final death blow of pet projects. Every citizen needs to read what is attempting to be passed off as the answer to the problems of our economy without Political Party allegiances. Then common sense must prevail and individuals must speak out against the insanity of the chanting that this must be passed when only twelve cents on the dollar of the "stimulus" plan has anything to do with increasing jobs and providing a boost to the economy.

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The Opacity of Hope

The Opacity of Hope


A President of great personal talents but public elusiveness

Barack Obama takes the oath of office today amid a sense of expectation and opportunity rare even for new Presidents. Partly this is due to his heritage and the historic nature of his triumph, partly to our current economic troubles, and partly to a nation looking for a fresh start after the difficulties of the Bush era. The paradox is that in order to succeed Mr. Obama will soon need to turn the opacity of his hope into clear and often difficult choices, some of which will upset his most passionate supporters.

APThe Illinois Democrat brings impressive talents to the White House -- not least the self-confidence that he can do the job. Though only four years out of the state Senate, he seems remarkably undaunted by the task and the moment. His rhetorical gifts are formidable, no small virtue in a job whose influence depends chiefly on the power to persuade. The President-elect's transition has also gone more smoothly than most, certainly in contrast to Bill Clinton's in 1993.
Mr. Obama is likewise equipped with a first-class temperament. He wore the pressures of an epic campaign as lightly as anyone since Ronald Reagan. While his opponents lurched amid this or that headline, the man from Hawaii via Harvard and Chicago never lost his cool. This equanimity will serve him well amid the crises to come, assuming his confidence doesn't slide into an arrogance that sometimes attends 70% Presidential job approval.
Yet for all of those personal virtues, there remains an elusiveness, an opacity, to Mr. Obama's political character. This is in contrast to Reagan, who was personally distant but publicly well defined. Mr. Obama won the primaries and then the White House with a campaign based on the gauzy promise of change more than on a clear agenda. He became a political Everyman into whom Democrats, independents and even many Republicans could pour their great expectations.
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This lack of definition has also marked his personnel choices. When given the chance to pick someone from one policy camp or another, Mr. Obama has typically chosen both: Free-trader Ron Kirk and protectionist Hilda Solis; command-and-control regulator Carol Browner and more market-oriented Cass Sunstein; Tim Geithner, who has voted to open the monetary floodgates, and Paul Volcker, who is worried about the dollar; Tom Daschle, who wants to nationalize all U.S. health care, and Peter Orszag, who believes current entitlements must be reformed.
Soon Mr. Obama will have to choose. That is especially true on the struggling economy, which is the main reason he won so handily. For 25 years from the moment the Reagan policy mix took hold in 1983, the U.S. has had a run of economic expansion marred only by two mild recessions. Younger Americans have grown accustomed to rising incomes and growing 401(k)s. Mr. Obama was elected on his promise to restore that middle-class prosperity. He can best serve the country, and his own Presidency, by focusing his political capital on policies that promote growth.
Yet over that same 25 years Mr. Obama's political coalition has amassed a wish-list of regulatory and redistributionist ideas that would undercut that effort. The global warming crowd wants a huge new carbon tax that would hit the South and Midwest especially hard. Big Labor wants to make union organizing easier, which would slow job creation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is agitating to raise taxes immediately, even amid recession, to finance a spending spree we haven't seen since LBJ's Great Society. Part of Mr. Obama's success will depend on whether he says no to these liberal interests. If he does, he will make it easier for the economy's natural recuperative powers to work -- and he and his party will benefit.
Mr. Obama can also go a long way toward removing the bile from the debate over national security. For some on the left, the Bush era must be repudiated with prosecutions and a return to the pre-9/11 status quo. John Conyers and the New York Times want heads on pikes. Down this road lies wasted political capital for the new President, and risks for U.S. security.
Mr. Obama seems to recognize this, given his recent comments that he prefers to "look forward" rather than back; that Guantanamo may take his entire first term to close down; and that "Dick Cheney's advice was good" to assess Bush policies before leaping to undo them. Now that he is responsible for American security, Mr. Obama is in a position to validate the Bush programs that have kept us safe, perhaps with some political window dressing that mutes the opposition from the anti-antiterror left.
Mr. Obama is also uniquely placed to ask Americans of all races and incomes to show a greater sense of personal responsibility. His own rise to the White House is a walking affirmation of American opportunity. His reaching out to evangelical pastor Rick Warren, both in the campaign and for his Inaugural, is a shrewd and welcome sign that he wants to temper the social furies. Our particular hope is that he will also find a way to take on the teachers unions as the main obstacle to inner-city opportunity. He could revolutionize the school reform debate in an instant.
As a matter of political character, many of these questions hang on Mr. Obama's toughness. We know he is intelligent and clever. What we don't know is if he can make a difficult decision in the national interest that is unpopular, and then endure the consequences. Reagan showed his steel by staring down the Patco strike at home and Soviet scare-tactics against missile deployments abroad. Whatever his mistakes in Iraq, George W. Bush's "surge" was a lonely call that has proven to be right. As far as we know, Mr. Obama has had to make no such decision in his short public life.
The complicated nature of our world means that every modern Presidency is to some extent a leap into the unknown. Mr. Obama's meteoric rise makes him a bigger leap than most. We don't know if he is a genuine man of the left, or a more traditional pragmatist. The audacity of our hope is that as President he will use his considerable talents to return his party to the policies of growth, opportunity and the vigorous defense of U.S. interests that marked it the last time the country had such great expectations for a Democratic President -- under JFK.

A shift in Paradigm is needed for truth in Politics and a stop to cover up or "spin"

Biden tries to shush wife after state-VP slip

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler, Associated Press Writer 36 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Joe Biden's wife said Monday that he had his pick of being Barack Obama's running mate or the secretary of state nomination that eventually went to Hillary Rodham Clinton, a slip that the vice president-elect immediately tried to shush.
Jill Biden's comment came during an appearance with her husband on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," taped at Washington's Kennedy Center on the eve of the inauguration.
"Joe had the choice to be secretary of state or vice president," she said. Her husband turned to his wife with his finger to his lips and a "Shhhh!" that sent the audience into laughter. "OK, he did," Jill Biden said in her defense.
The vice president-elect blushed, grimaced and gave his wife a hug while the audience continued to erupt in laughter. "That's right," he finally said to his wife. "Go ahead."
Mrs. Biden said she told him vice president would be better for the family.
"If you're secretary of state, you'll be away, we'll never see you, you know," she said. "I'll see you at a state dinner once in a while."
After the exchange aired on television three hours later, Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander denied Jill Biden's account in a statement e-mailed to reporters.
"To be clear, President-elect Obama offered Vice President-elect Biden one job only — to be his running mate," the statement said. "And the vice president-elect was thrilled to accept the offer."
While the statement denies that Obama ever offered Biden the secretary of state job, it doesn't rule out that the two discussed the possibility. Obama's transition office did not respond to questions about their private discussions.
Clinton's spokesman declined to comment about the suggestion that she was the second choice.
Obama made no reference to the comments Monday night, when he praised the Bidens at a dinner honoring his running mate at Washington's Union Station. Obama invited the two on stage, where he kissed Jill Biden's cheek and hugged her husband.
On Winfrey's program, Joe Biden said he didn't immediately take the vice presidential offer since he wasn't sure it was the best place for him to serve. But Biden, who ran against Obama in the Democratic primary race, said he agreed after getting some assurances from Obama about his role.
"This is a partnership," Biden said. "He's president of the United States, but as I said to him when he asked me, I said, `Barack, don't ask me unless the reason you're asking me is you're asking me for my judgment. I get to be the last guy in the room when you make every important decision. You're president. Any decision you make, I will back.'
"He said he wanted to have a confidant and somebody who wouldn't be a yes man. He's pretty sure about that last part," Biden said with a laugh.
Alexander's statement said, "Like anyone who followed the presidential campaign this summer, Dr. Jill Biden knew there was a chance that President-elect Obama might ask her husband to serve in some capacity and that, given his background, the positions of vice president and secretary of state were possibilities. Dr. Biden's point to Oprah today was that being vice president would be a better fit for their family because they would get to see him more and get to participate in serving more."
The Bidens made a surprise appearance on Winfrey's show. The celebrity-filled show also included the premiere of "America's Song," performed by Faith Hill, Seal, Bono, Mary J. Blige, Will.i.am and David Foster in honor of the occasion and available for free download on Winfrey's Web site for 24 hours.
Winfrey also interviewed movie star couple Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher about how Obama has inspired them to pledge to help end slave labor around the world and encourage other people to make a pledge to improve their communities. Other celebrities, including Scarlett Johansson, Justin Timberlake and Forest Whitaker appeared by videotape to talk about what Obama's election means to them.
Winfrey, who made her first ever presidential endorsement for Obama, heralded the significance of the moment particularly coming the day after Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
"I feel like I am better because of his being elected," Winfrey said. "And I think that the country is going to be better. I feel like it is a beautiful thing, and we all start to see ourselves differently, the possibility."
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How can a pessimist create a new paradigm?

Are You An Optimist or a Pessimist?
by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

"I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else." - Winston Churchill
When you notice your thoughts, which kind of thoughts predominate? Do you find yourself often thinking pessimistic thoughts such as:
* I'll never get where I want to go. I'm a loser.* I'm not smart enough to achieve what I want to achieve.* God is there for others but not for me.* I'm going to end up losing what I have.* The world is very unsafe so I have to always be vigilant.* Why reach out to others? No one really likes me.* Why put forth effort? There is no point since I don't have the talent or ability to success.* Some people just have good luck, but I don't.* Things are going too well. I just know that something bad is going to happen.* Life is too much for me to handle.* I'm going to end up alone.* Life for me will always be a disaster.* There is no point in eating well or exercising - my genetics are against me.* I'm not emotionally or physically healthy, and this is just the way it is. There is nothing I can do about it.* I don't deserve to be happy.* I don't deserve to be loved.
And so on...
Or, do you find yourself often thinking optimistic thoughts such as:
* If I work hard enough and stay focused, I will get where I want to go.* My intelligence and abilities increase with learning.* No one ever succeeds without a lot of effort, and I can put in as much effort as anyone who has ever succeeded.* If I stay tuned into and trust my own inner knowing, I can feel safe.* I am a good and kind person so of course people like me.* It is not luck that causes people to succeed, but belief in themselves.* When bad things happen, these are opportunities for learning and growth.* Life's challenges present me with incredible learning opportunities.* When I am ready for partnership, someone will show up.* Regardless of how physically or emotionally unhealthy my parents were, I can make choices that result in physical and emotional health.* Everyone deserves to be happy, including me.* Everyone deserves to be loved, and everyone is loved by God.
YOU GET TO CHOOSE!
Do you realize that you have free will, which means that you get to choose how you want to think? You get to choose whether you want to be an optimist or a pessimist, and which one you choose determines your feelings and actions.
When you look at the pessimist list, can you see that thinking these kinds of thoughts create depression, procrastination, and continued failure? Can you see when you look at the optimist list how thinking these thoughts create motivation, loving action, and ultimate success in work and life?
YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM!
Instead of seeing yourself as a victim of circumstances, of your past, of your parents, of events or of luck, why not start to monitor your thoughts and consciously change them from negative to positive? You will likely discover that changing your thoughts changes your feelings and actions, as well as outcomes.
You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by experimenting with changing your thoughts!
Filed under: Attitude , Beliefs , Choices , Motivation , Self-Awareness
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About Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is a best-selling author of 8 books and co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding® healing process. Are you are ready to heal your pain and discover your joy? Learn Inner Bonding now! Click here for a FREE Inner Bonding Course, and visit our website at http://www.innerbonding.com/ for more articles and help.

Time

"It's not the hours you put in, but what you put into the hours, that counts." -

E. James Rohn

One more thought about Adult Illiteracy

Ken, while I understand what you are saying, I don't think that's the point. No one is suggesting that all those people aren't intelligent. The study, the original article (USA Today), and the Lou Dobbs story (CNN) focused on the fact that we have a very high rate of unemployment right now. Illiteracy is just one more hurdle that some people have to cross in order to fully function in society and hold jobs. Life would be a lot easier for those 32 million Americans if they could read and write English. I think America needs to make literacy a priority. Unlike a lot of other issues, there is no downside to helping people learn to read and write.
Posted by: Loraine January 14, 2009 at 03:54 PM


Please make the effort to read modern research on the prevention and remediation of reading disability. Focus information from 2005 and later. Be aware that what we learned about this pre-2000 is far out of date. The key message is that we must do whatever it takes to teach kids to read proficiently by 3rd grade. Use research-based methods. Don't wait, and don't think you know about this because you have teaching experience--make this a professional development priority.
Posted by: Katie January 14, 2009 at 10:33 PM
About 82% of Adults with reading disorders have some type of undiagnosed reading difficulty. When I was a Junior in college I found out that I had Irlen Syndrome. After I was diagnosed I went from a C student to an A - B student. Working with Adults with Disabililties makes me realize just how many people are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all who may have this condition. If you want to know more about this you can look it up on the internet or contact me and I will explain it to you.
Posted by: Lee Ann Allan January 15, 2009 at 07:21 AM


another post from the ASCD Inservice blog from Professional Educators
http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2009/01/1-in-7-us-adults-struggle-reading-anything-beyond-a-picture-book.html

Becoming a life long learner

Through this blog ideas and information will be given that might be helpful for handling the many new paradigms that each of us are faced with daily...

An old saying is ,"...knowledge is power!" How does one obtain that knowledge? This knowledge is not obtained through a diploma or degree. It is not obtained at a final time and place. Knowledge itself has a new paradigm that many have not absorbed as part of their life's mission and purpose. Knowledge now has changed from a high school diploma, advanced degree or technical degree. The theory that "knowlege is power" is true only if one is a "life long learner." What is a life long learner? It is setting about to live life with the strategy of learning a little every day, every week and every month of life striving to never rely solely on what one has learned in the past. This comes with the understanding that knowledge is never stagnant and therefore one can not stand still with this abstract concept of knowledge or he or she will be left behind as the world continues to progress and change.

Below is one example of an easy way to be a life long learner. You can click on the links below and sign up for a "Daily PowerWord". Unless one creates a process for gaining knowledge like one might for paying bills then a few months will go by before you realize you have not kept up with your goal to be a life long learner. I get no financial compensation for this recommendation....Think about if not this way,what will be your specific plan to be a life long learner?

Daily PowerWord
Graphical version: <http://www.success.bz/newsletters/16466>

Other newsletters: <http://www.success.bz/newsletters>
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Turpitude (TUR-pi-tood, -tyood) n. - inherent vile act; depravity
Example: A moral turpitude is a criminal behaviour that gravely infringes on the moral sentimentsof the community.

We all have shifted our paradigms...

We all have shifted our paradigms ...We just did not realize

that was what we were doing!

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." - Charles Wadworth

We need to not be afraid of things just because we may not understand the terminology or the full implications of an idea. Many are afraid of new ideas and change when change and new ideas have been apart of everyone's life since the time they were handed off from the doctor to their parents in the hospital at birth!

A willingness to fail....

Wilson Greatbatch, the inventor of the implantable pacemaker, in his workshop in Newstead, N.Y., in 1997. The 84-year-old Greatbatch believes society has become far less tolerant of failure, which he says is a crucial step in the invention process.