UFO's

Isn’t it ironic that after aliens traveled through millions of light-years of space, evading the millions of obstacles in their path, to reach earth, so they could make crop circles and gut cows, that they run into the blades of a wind turbine in England. In addition, either there have been aliens from different planets visiting earth, or all the aliens are from one planet and they have sent numerous models of spaceships to visit, since UFO’s of many different shapes and sizes have been spotted. If there has been cover-up of alien visits, it sure hasn’t worked very well since the UFO’s are being spotted everywhere. In addition, since it is obvious that their presence is known, why haven’t they stopped to say hello.

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You don’t know what you are missing!

Ever had people tell you “You don’t know what you are missing”? If I don’t know what I am missing, then I won’t miss it and it won’t affect my life. However, if someone tells me what I am missing and I can’t acquire it, then my life will be adversely affected. In addition, even if I may acquire it, it may still adversely affect my life; so there is only a small chance that it will be beneficial in my life, even after I know what I am missing and can acquire it. So let me live in bliss, not knowing what I am missing.

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Voting Rights Act

A portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Section 5) requires that six states, including North Carolina, get federal approval for any changes to their voting laws. These states have elected minority government officials, including governors, for decades. Why does Congress feel the need to CONTROL these states, especially when in recent years the greatest voting violations have occurred in states not in this list? Southerners are accused of holding on to the past and clinging to the past transgressions of their ancestors, and yet Congress will not relinquish one iota of the power its holds over these states, even when the reason for GIVING THEMSELVES this power over 40 years ago has long been erased.

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Blackness/Whiteness

What makes a person black or white? Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is black, was raised by black parents in a black culture, and she considers herself black. Yet, may blacks in the country do not believe she is black enough, that she has become whiter because of her conservative beliefs—mainly that people are responsible for what they become in life. President Barak Obama is half-black and half-white and was raised in a white culture by his white mother and white grandparents, but he considers himself black. It appears that a majority of blacks in the country believe he is black, regardless of his white heritage. Why! It is because of his liberal beliefs—mainly that people are not responsible for what they become in life. He believes that people must be taken care of by those who are much wiser, and that he and the government are the ones best suited to take care of them. Therefore, in today’s society, it appears your blackness or whiteness is not so much dependent upon your skin color as it is upon your political beliefs.

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Don't Judge

We constantly hear people say, “don’t judge.” Parents tell their children not to judge others; teachers teach students that it wrong to judge others, we hear in the media that it wrong to judge others; and we hear from religious leaders that only God may judge others. So, what is the result of hearing this so much? The result is that people have become sheep; believing, following, and supporting every kooky, crooked, or crazy idea or person with whom they come in contact. If you do not judge, then you are prone to accept everything as possibly being true. Here is a revelation, some things are false, some people lie, and some people are idiots. By idiot, I do not mean they are intellectually idiots, I mean that they gullible. Some intelligent, highly educated people are idiots simply because they are gullible and fall for anything that suits their purposes and make them feel good.

There are all sorts of people with kooky ideas, goofy beliefs, and crazy conspiracy theories in the world. If you do not judge them for what they are, then you give credence to their baloney. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but that does not mean the opinion is correct. Your opinion may be true for you, and still be wrong. You may believe that red is a sickening color, since when you see the color red you feel sick. Other may believe red is a relaxing color, since when they see the color red they feel calm and relaxed. Both opinions are correct for the persons holding them, but neither is correct for the color red. Red is simply a color; it does nothing. Any effects from viewing the color are in the mind of the observers. We may judge each opinion as being just that, an opinion that suits the purposes of the holder, but is not necessarily true for everyone.

All this “not judging” and accepting of all ideas as possibly being valid has led to a proliferation of conspiracy theories. A casual search of the Internet will return a conspiracy theory for almost every major event that has occurred since the beginning of recorded time. People of like beliefs flock to these sites and add their own false assumptions, convoluted data, and unsubstantiated so-called facts. Anything that might even remotely support the beliefs of the believers is accepted, and any facts, reason, or rationality that does not support their beliefs is rejected as being a part of a conspiracy to discredit the conspiracy theory. There is no way to discuss anything with conspiracy believers using logic, reason, and facts, since every time you discredit a part of their theory, they just change the theory so that it again supports their beliefs, or they just discredit your facts as being a part of a cover-up being perpetrated to discredit the conspiracy theory.

An example is the Nostradamus buffs who spend their lives trying to link some of his vague quatrains to some world event. By attributing some hidden meaning to a word, you may make the word mean anything your what it to mean. These people find support for their beliefs in everything that has happened in the world. When they try to link the quatrains to some future event and the event does not occur as foretold, they just say they made a miscalculation in the forecast and then issue a new one. The year 2000 was supposed to be the end of time. When it did not happen they said 2000 was actually the beginning of the end, which will now occur in 2012.

People see what they want to see. Animals can instinctively recognize another one of their kind from a great distance. From hundreds of yards away, a dog knows that the silhouette on the horizon is another dog. not a cat or a rabbit. People are the same way; we instinctively recognize the human shape. That is the premise behind camouflage; you do not have to hide the person from view, you only need to break up the silhouette so it does not appear as human. Have you ever woken from sleep at night and seen a person standing by the window. You lie still and watch carefully; you know it is a person because it looks exactly like a person. Then, when after a while the person does not move, you slowly reach and turn on the light. There is no person; it was just the way shadows were overlapping. You turn off the light and look again; now you cannot see the person anymore and you wonder how you were fooled the first time. People see human shapes in clouds, smoke, stains on walls, shadows, mountains on the moon, etc.; they have to look for other shapes but the instinctively see human shapes. Some people will not be deterred; even when shown the truth; they will not admit their mistake and will make up some new reasons to support what they believe they see.

As stated before, an Internet search will return hundreds of conspiracy sites. However, there are far fewer sites that debunk the conspiracies. The reason for this is that conspiracy zealots make their conspiracies a part of their lives. They reach the point that they do not have lives without their conspiracies; to give up their conspiracies would mean giving up their lives, and sometimes their livelihoods. On the other hand, debunkers have real lives, and when they try to debunk the conspiracies, they find that the aforementioned morphing occurs, where the conspiracy believers just change their theories to account for the facts, and then keep on believing. If debunkers tried to keep up with the conspiracies, they would have to give up their real lives and become zealots themselves. Therefore, conspiracies abound.

It up to the public to start judging the wild and crazy beliefs of others, and sometimes their own wild and crazy beliefs. Educate yourselves, use your intuition, reason, logic, and intelligence to evaluate and judge things around you, so you are not fooled easily by others, or by yourself.

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Learn From Dogs

I love dogs! I have had many, many cats throughout the years, but dogs are the best. Cats live with you out of pity for you. They do not need you; you need them. Cats are able to survive just fine on their own in any environment. They live with humans because it suits their purpose, they can just lie around and have humans serve them by taking care of all their needs.

Dogs are entirely different. Dogs must live with people because they take care of them; even the best of the hunter dogs cannot survive on their own in an urban environment. However, dogs earn their keep. They are ready and willing to work for you, protect you, and even die for you in return for you just letting them hang around

Dogs have many attributes that humans should emulate. Cesar Millan, the author of A Member of the Family and star of the National Geographic Channel’s television show Dog Whisperer, points out some of these attributes in his article What Your Pet Can Teach You, Parade magazine, January 11, 2009.

• Live in the moment. Dogs live in the moment. They do not regret the past or worry about the future. If we could learn to appreciate and focus on what is happening in the present, rather than what has happened in the past or what might happen in the future, we would live much fuller lives.

• Nurture a balanced life. Dogs need the basics: food, water, and shelter. However, for them to live happy lives, they also need exercise, discipline, and affection every day. If our daily routines include physical activity, a sense of structure, and the opportunity to give and receive love, then we would live fuller and more balanced lives.

• Trust your instincts. Dogs do not understand words. They hear the sounds and instinctively relate them to what they perceive is happening by listening to the speaker’s tone and inflection of the words, the watching the speaker’s body movements and behavior, and sensing the emotions being exhibited by the speaker. Many of us have lost touch with this all-important instinctual part of our natures. By paying attention to nonverbal cues such as body language and energy, we can learn more about our friends, our loved ones, and ourselves.

• Be direct and consistent in your communication. If dog owners are not direct and consistent in their interactions with their dogs, the dogs are left confused about what is and is not acceptable behavior. Great relationships, no matter the species, begin with clear and consistent communication. We teach people how to treat us.

• Learn to listen. Dogs do not talk; they listen. This makes their relationship with humans much smoother. We should listen to others a caring way, and not fixate on their weaknesses.

• Do not hold grudges. There is little conflict in dog packs because the pack members immediately resolve disagreements when they arise, and then move on. We should do the same; we should deal with a problem, and then forget it and move on, instead of letting little minor disagreements grow into major conflicts, or harboring ill feelings so that they undermine any future happiness.

• Live with purpose. When dogs are bored, they develop issues ranging from anxiety to aggression. However, when given a job and a way to contribute to the pack’s well-being, they turn around almost immediately. All animals—including humans—have an inborn need to work for food and water. Ask yourself how you can contribute more to your job, your family, and the world around you. You will feel much better about yourself if you earn your keep.

• Celebrate every day. For a dog, every morning is a new day. Every walk is the best walk, every meal is the best meal, and every game is the best game. They do not dwell on the days before, they just rejoice at the day at hand. We need to take time every day to celebrate the many gifts that are hidden in the ordinary events of our lives

Under good conditions, dogs live great lives. However, their trust in humans may also be their downfall. Some people take advantage of this trust and mistreat them; it gives some people a sense of having power over something in their own miserable lives. A dog may be mistreated every day, but it will stay with its family because that is what a dog does; it is loyal to a fault.

While there are many attributes of dogs that we should try to emulate, we should remember to be wary of our keepers. Not all of them have our best interests at heart. Unlike, dogs, when mistreated, instead of just taking it, we should take action to end the mistreatment.

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The ends justify the means!

Face it! People are selfish, ignorant sheep who will believe in, and follow, anyone who they think will further their cause; no matter that the person has been convicted of incest, behaves immorally, and is totally unrepentant. People who say they are against violence and war because it solves nothing, and who condemn people became successful using moral and legal means, will praise and support any lowlife if it advances their cause.

Case in point, a local woman, who owns an art gallery and is an administrator at Winston-Salem State University, has a father, the Reverend James Bevel, who is highly regarded as a pioneer in the civil-rights movement. However, he also fathered 16 children with nine women, whom he failed to support, and he was convicted of molesting her and her sisters. When asked why he did not provide for his children, Bevel replied, “I got you the right to vote. I secured political freedoms for you.” Bevel believed his legacy was worth more than the health and well-being of his families. Every time the families attempted to bring charges against Bevel, civil-rights activists told them not to do it because no one would believe them and the charges would bring discredit upon the civil-rights movement. Finally, in 2005, the family acted, because they feared for his 7 year old daughter.

To further a righteous cause, some are willing to sacrifice children and overlook criminal behavior–the ends justify the means. This did not occur in some radical, third-world county; it happened in the United States.

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Change

During a sparring session, a boxer told his trainer, “I’m tired of being punched around by this guy, I need a change.” He demanded that the trainer change his sparring partner. The trainer promised change, and put in a new sparring partner. After a few rounds of getting pummeled again, the boxer cried out to his trainer, “You promised me change, but his guy is still punching me around!” The trainer replied. “It is change, this guy is punching your from the left, the other guy was punching you from the right.” So it goes in boxing and in politics.

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Innocent until proven guilty

The corruption case against Illinois Governor Blagojevich is currently in the news, so once again we are constantly hearing that we should not judge his actions since he is “innocent until proven guilty.” Bull! Innocent until proven guilty is a legal term used in the criminal justice system where a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty. There is no guilt or innocence in civil court, so the term does not apply there. It also does not apply to normal, everyday life.
However, you will constantly see the term used in the media, as if it were a fact of life. In the media, newsreaders on major networks are constantly saying Blagojevich is innocent until proven guilty. However, these same networks accused President Bush and his administration of all types of lies, crimes, and atrocities without ever mentioning these people were innocent until proven guilty. The term “innocent until proven guilty” seems to apply only to those they favor.

Politicians, public officials, and now, because of the overuse of the term, even ordinary people, when caught in illegal or improper behavior, say you should not judge them since they are innocent until proven guilty. When you hear this statement, it probably means they are guilty as sin.

When it comes to public opinion, people may say that a person is resumed innocent until proven guilty, but all it takes to prove guilt in public opinion is—an opinion.




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Constantly saying other person's name during a converstion

Why is it that when characters on television shows talk to each other, they are constantly mentioning each others name? This also seems to be the case on live shows, news shows, etc. This is not a common practice in real life. When around family, friends, or the general public I don't see this happening. If I am talking with Joe, there is no need to keep mentioning his name. I know who he is, he certainly knows who he is, and there is no one else around to whom I could be talking, so there is no need to keep mentioning his name.

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