Her kitchen resembled mine

I saw a news story yesterday – Thanksgiving Day – about a woman in Colorado. She was preparing Thanksgiving dinner for 30 or so strangers. People who responded to her www.craigslist.com ad. She said she didn’t even really know how to cook but wanted to help others because she and her family had recently made it through some rough times.

It was her modest kitchen and her noble intent that made me cry. Her kitchen was small, really no bigger than mine. Cooking for 10 in my kitchen would be a challenge. Three times that seems impossible!

And I’m not a bad cook, but I’d be a nervous wreck cooking for a crowd that size. Not her. She was calm, humble and seemed to be looking forward to it.

In the same weekend when yet another band of terrorists are killing innocents in India, it was so nice to hear about this good woman. An ordinary woman, with a kind heart, doing good for a few folks. We need more of her. God bless you.

Refreshing change of heart

Gannett Co. Inc., media mogul, announced this week that its CEO is taking a pay cut. All the staffers’ pay will be frozen, and Craig Dubow’s cut amounts to only $200,000 of his total annual compensation of $7.5 million with bonus and stock awards.  But still…I find it refreshing and inspiring.

Imagine if all corporations did that now, in even larger amounts. (Dubow’s cut was 17 percent.)  What if all senior level leaders took just a 5 percent pay cut? Wouldn’t that help their operating budgets considerably, and ideally spare the rest of the staff from harm?

I would even go so far as to say that most of us – at any level – would take a pay cut over a job loss in today’s economy. We can all tighten the old belts a bit more, but if your job and income disappear, desperation sets in. Especially now.

I hope more leaders will follow Mr. Dubow’s lead.

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/11/03/daily38.html?b=1225688400^1727480&ana=e_abd

It’s over

From www.foxnews.com:

“I was born in the civil rights time. To see this happening is unbelievable. We’ve got the first black president. A black president!” said Mike Louis, a 53-year-old black man who got teary-eyed as he watched the election results on a giant video board in Cincinnati’s Fountain Square. “It’s not cured now, but this is a step to curing this country of racism. This is a big, giant step toward getting this country together.” [emphasis added]

Mr. Louis, your optimism seems to point the wrong direction, I believe. I think the election results show that whites are not as racist as blacks want everyone to believe. Americans – black and white – banded together to elect Obama president.

So in another historic moment in America, blacks now need to let go of the perception of racism. This country is not about white against black, and really hasn’t been for quite some time. If you truly believe this is a step in curing racism, please believe that the responsibility now rests largely with blacks. Whites let it go some time ago.

Sen. Obama I have two words for you…

Stop talking!

I am sooooo tired of hearing and seeing you every other minute on T.V. I know you’ve spent millions trying to win this campaign, ergo the continual advertising.

If it works for you, I will be devastated. Not only because you win, but because you will have bought the presidency. Here in the land of democracy that should not happen–and should not be allowed to happen.

But please, with less than 48 hours to go to election day 2008, stop talking!

Before you vote, watch this

Invest less than two minutes and watch this video, please. Before you vote!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

Share this with as many people as you can because it tells us – on a very personal level – why we need to vote for John McCain for U.S. President.

If you like the freedom to vote how you want, say what you want, live where you want, buy what you want, worship as you want, we need to keep Barack Obama out of the White House. There are way too many unknowns with him and when the brave men and women who fight to preserve our freedoms don’t support him, the rest of us need to pay attention to their lead.

He may be a good president sometime down the line. But not now, not today. We don’t know enough about him and his affiliations. There are too many connections to terrorists to give me any peace of mind that he will protect our homeland security.

And while the economy matters, that matter very little if our country is not safe from terrorism. Remember 9-11, and watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8