I worked for a trucking company for almost 4 years. I was the accountant and office administrator that entire time. I was responsible for all the financial duties plus a myriad of other things essential to running an office and a company. In those almost 4 years, I did the job to the best of my ability and within the letter of the law. My accounting teacher told me if I were to embezzle, I should make it worth my while, because I could never live or work in this country again. I took that to heart. I don't steal. The first dispatcher/general manager the company had was an angry and bitter man who ran his own company out of the office of the company that paid his salary. He started out giving his own company 20% of his day, and it wound up that he spent 90% of his day running his own company and having the other company pay him for it. He was verbally abusive to all staff. He got fired. The next dispatcher/general manager was a woman. She's 40ish, shows lots of cleavage and flirts like crazy. She's amazing at dispatch and public relations, but has neither the background nor training to be a good or effective manager. She knows nothing about finances, business law or human resources, yet she's been entrusted with all of that. This company pays all of its employees very well with the exception of one person. This person is in a wheelchair and gives the manager back her life. He is the "part time" dispatcher. The manager comes in most days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. because she has never arranged proper child care for her school-age child. The actual dispatching begins on an average at 5 a.m. and can go later than 1 a.m. The "part timer" has these hours with the exception of between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., meaning he puts in more hours dispatching than the manager does. There have been numerous nights where he has managed 3 hours of sleep between calls. He and she also have alternating weekends, although somehow she manages to see to it that he has all the long weekends. Because this man used to be on disability, when she offered him a pittance for doing this work, he accepted because this pittance was more than he was getting on disability. This pittance is far below minimum wage. I'd been trying to tell the manager that his earnings were too low for a long time, but was always brushed off and dismissed with that this was all he was going to get. Period. Finally, early this year, I sat down and figured out his hourly earnings based on a conservative estimate of hours and straight time only. Based on that, last year this man earned more than $2 per hour less than minimum wage and this year it is more than $1 (he got a small raise towards the end of the year last year). After my calculations, I went to the manager and spelled it out for her. The way we were paying this man was far below minimum wage (she didn't even know the minimum wage rate) and I told her that if we would ever get audited, we would be in serious trouble and owe this man a lot of back pay. I thought I'd made my case that we were NOT within the law, so I started trying to back pay this man for this year. I went on holidays at the end of April only to have the manager begin texting me about this man's pay (she took the opportunity in my absence to go through the payroll information) and why I was paying him more than he agreed to be paid. Texting is really not a good avenue to have a real conversation, but I tried to point out to her that I was under the impression it was ok to pay him minimum wage. Her response? "No" She texted that his rate of pay was set at $X bi-weekly period. Then she began questioning my honesty as to how I pay myself as though I was stealing from the company. She asked me how she was going to get back the extra this man was paid. I told her to take it out of my earnings and to reduce my rate of pay by $2 per hour until all was repaid. She countered that this man had been offered and accepted $Y and because I asked she agreed to $X. She seems to think that offer and acceptance ALWAYS make a legal and binding contract. If she had any background in business law she would know that the terms of the contract have to be legal in order for the contract itself to be legal. I contacted the Labor Board anonymously and explained the situation. I told them I believed this man was entitled to minimum wage for all regular hours worked and applicable overtime for overtime hours worked (he averages 130 hours bi-weekly.) She believes his agreed-to "salary" is legal and binding. I asked them who was right. Their answer was:
Thank you for your email regarding minimum wage and overtime. The
answer is that the employee in your scenario would have to be paid
minimum wage for all hours worked, and the applicable overtime wage when
overtime is being worked, an agreement that is below the standard set by
the Employment Standards Code will not be upheld.
There was no more correspondence at all from the manager until three days later when I received an email that consisted of an attachment, which was a letter of termination. It cited vague reasons of insubordination, failure to follow specific instructions and misuse of corporate funds. I'd been accused of gross disobedience and theft! I immediately photographed all the texts between her and me and sent them along with her letter to the Labor Board with a letter of explanation. Yesterday, almost a week later, I heard from the Labor Board that they will be investigating my complaint. As God is my witness and is the one and only that I answer to, I am not guilty of any crime against this company. I have done absolutely nothing wrong outside of trying to obey the law and pay this man close to what he has earned. I know in my heart that I will be vindicated, that my name will be cleared and that this woman and the shareholder who is besotted with her will have to answer for what they have done to me and to my reputation. I do not believe in earthly justice, but I believe in God justice, and since I serve God, he will vindicate me. With God, all things are possible and he upholds truth always.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Jettas
I love VW Jettas! We got our first Jetta in 1985. It was a used 1984 diesel. It had 4by 60 air conditioning (4 windows down, 60 miles per hour), no turbo (0-60 by the time we'd gone a mile), lots of black exhaust and noise. I loved it! Especially when I would get going from a full stop and watch the driver behind me uselessly trying to wave the black exhaust away so he could see enough to drive. The car got 75 miles to the gallon on a road trip! There were downsides, such as not being able to leave it unplugged in winter more than about 2 hours because then there was little hope of getting it started again (gotta love Manitoba winters!). It didn't heat worth a darn once it was colder than 0 Fahrenheit. On a steep upward incline such as the Coquihalla Pass, the best I could do was drive in second gear and only highway tractor/trailers went slower. So embarrassing! But I did say 75 miles to the gallon? At about the 550,000 km mark, we sold this car and invested in a brand new 1996 Jetta turbo diesel. This was the last generation of turbo before the TDI. It was a beautiful car to look at - sleek and stylish! It had air conditioning (the real kind), and cruise control for a time and comfort. It also heated somewhat better in the winter than the first one did and could actually be left unplugged for more than 2 hours on a cold Manitoba winter day. The downside with this car was that it had huge electrical issues. It didn't take long for the cruise control to stop working, and various lights in the dash quit working. Repairs to the electrical system only lasted days or weeks before the car would self-destruct the electrical once again. It ate glow plugs. At around the 250,000 km mark, the odometer reset itself to zero -another electrical glitch. The clutch was extremely fragile/brittle, so it was incredibly easy to break teeth in the clutch, which we did and were told by the dealership that it was because we didn't know how to drive. I had to learn to drive without the clutch (except to start from a full stop.) I liked knowing how to do that. The car was somewhat of a lemon but still fun. German engineering makes the Jetta a superior handling car with lots of power. I could actually dare to pass a vehicle even if oncoming was less than 5 miles away! The electrical issues soured me for a time and so the next car I bought was a Honda. This was a functional car, but not economical where fuel consumption was concerned and uncomfortable to sit in on a long road trip. In the winter, I would get approximately 400 km to a tank of gas. Taking corners at a higher speed made it feel as though the body was going to slide right off the frame. The car forced me to drive like an old woman, because once again, I lacked the power to pass cars unless I had miles of room to do so. The best day was when I bought the 2004 TDI. What a wonderful car! Comfort, fuel economy, sun roof, heated seats and power to burn! I could pass vehicles with 1/4 the room needed with the other cars. Sweet! On a long road trip, even with a cross wind and running the A/C, I still got about 55 miles to the gallon. No complaints there. I now own a 2009 Jetta TDI. This car has comfort and a six speed manual transmission. However, it's a much bigger car and has too many politically correct features to suit me. I don't need my dashboard dinging me because it is now 4 degrees Celsius. I don't care! It has traction control for winter, which is a mixed blessing since I like doing power turns on ice. The car is rated at 60 mpg on highway, but I can't get much past 40. What is good is that the car has tons of power and sits higher, which makes it easier to get into and out of, handles well and is comfortable. I love German engineering and Jettas will probably always be my car of choice.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Legalistic Crap Disguised as Religion or Christianity
I have been a Christian for almost 37 years. I have gone from spiritual infancy and immaturity to being close to grown up in Christ. I have gone through my years of "the letter of the law" and have come to realize that the spirit of the law is often far more important than the letter of it. I hate legalistic, smug, religiously superior, self-righteous, lying hypocrites who twist what's written in the Bible and try to use the Bible to support their own bitter and twisted opinions. This invites people to follow God "how?" It doesn't. Period.
We were all born with a sinful nature, which means that we are all predisposed to do bad or wrong things. That's how life is here on earth. We say things that hurt people, we do things that are wrong and harmful, we do the things we shouldn't, and don't do the things we should. We are all guilty of that. Yup. Even me. :) If it were not so, God would not have needed to send Jesus to this earth to lay down his life for us, so that when we accept his gift of death, we can have eternal life. Jesus was perfect. He could only die once he took all of our sins on himself, which made him detestable to God. My sins that did it! When I think of what Jesus endured on that cross so that I could spend eternity with him, it makes me hang my head in shame. I truly believe that is how it should be. Apart from Jesus' gift of life, we are spiritually dead.
Then you have the "Christians" who puff themselves up because they think they have arrived. They are smug and arrogant and have all the answers, most of which are narrow and judgmental in nature. They condemn very easily because in this way they think they are doing "God's will" here on earth. They are arrogant and proud of themselves, and I believe God feels ashamed for them. They are really not representing God well at all. The God I know reserves the right to judge all of us. He has forbidden us to judge one another because he knows that we can't be fair or righteous when we do it. We cannot see the heart, motive, etc., of the person to KNOW how to judge. We just have a speck of sand from the beach and make our judgment based on that. God loves us first and foremost. It doesn't matter whether you love him or believe in him - he just loves us all because we are his children. God is kind, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving. There are so many stories in the Bible where God is angry and wants to destroy people from the face of the earth, but when he hears them being truly sorry, his heart softens and he relents. We could learn a lot from that, and we should!
This brings me to a man I refer to as The Moron. The Moron is my fiancé’s son-in-law. He attends (warms the pew) a cultish Baptist "church" where there are more rules than you find in most organized sports. The pastor of this cult has a huge following (don't cult leaders usually?). He tells his people that anyone not in their church will go to hell, and not to associate with anyone who will not attend their church. Anyone who chooses to leave the church is condemned and remaining members are forbidden to have further dealings with them. Women are required to wear skirts and I've seen beautiful young women turn into dowdy, middle-aged frumps virtually overnight. Members are required to show pay stubs and bank statements so that the pastor can tell them how much money to give to the church. Supporting any Christian organization not approved by this pastor is wrong. TV is ok as long as you watch PG shows, and when commercials come on, you are supposed to turn off the TV for the duration or leave the room. This pastor has the final say on everything in the church and is the head of absolutely every committee. He trusts no-one to be as “wise” or discerning as he is. In my opinion, he has sold his soul for power and money. I believe he has appointed himself as God's spokesman, and that God would like to see him removed from that post. He makes Christianity as warm and inviting as an outhouse filled with mothballs to deodorize the air. I wouldn't darken the doors of this cult for anything. The Moron attends this church because his mommy has told him to. His wife (my fiancé’s daughter) thinks being a good wife is doing whatever she's told (she's been bullied and brain-washed into believing that) and supporting her husband even when she knows in her heart that he's dead wrong. I have issues with these two, which goes back many years.
When my fiancé and I first started dating, he was very closed and secretive about me, which led the Moron to think that I was stalking him. He never asked either of us what the truth was, he just made his own judgment and ruling. This was during a tumultuous time in my life where I spent a great deal of time driving around thinking and trying to sort out the mess my life was. The Moron lives on a busy highway in what was at that time, the neighboring town. My drives often took me past his house, just as they took countless thousands past his house as well. One day, having had a bout with Crohn's Disease, I was particularly out of sorts, and probably did a little more driving than usual. As darkness neared, I drove past his house and saw that his car was parked in the driveway facing the road. It appeared as though the car wasn't running and that there was no-one in it. I turned down a side street only to find that the Moron was right behind me. He had started his car with the park brake on so that the headlights were off, and reclined the front seat so that he would be hidden from anyone driving past. I was incredulous because he'd always made a big show of treating me as though I wasn't there. In other words, we had no relationship. At a stop sign, he started to get out of his car and walk towards mine, but then there was an opening in the traffic and I drove away. He got back into his car. About 20 minutes later, there he was standing on his front steps under the outside light, making windmill motions with his arm as though to summon someone to him. Since I really didn't know him, I ignored him and figured there was someone else in the vicinity he meant. Half an hour later, he was crouched in his front window with the curtain behind him, doing the same thing. By this time, all I could think was "wing nut." Still, I wondered if maybe he had meant me, so a week later, I called him at work because I didn't want to call him at home and possibly upset his pregnant wife. Well . . . that didn't go so well. He smarmily accused me of stalking him, asked me what I was doing in his town driving around, and told me he was (hiding in a darkened room watching for me) writing down the dates and times that I drove by his house and that if he saw me again, he would call the police. For the next week, every time I saw him, he would turn his head toward me with a gloating, smug and self-satisfied smile on his face. Talk about being two years old! The next thing was that I was approached by his employer to do business with them. I let them know that I would never do business with them as long as they had this employee working for them, but I was intentionally vague so as not to finger him. Because nobody at his work cares for him, they figured out pretty quickly who I meant. He was told that his behavior towards me was worthy of a warning, and that if another complaint of this nature was brought to them, he would be fired. Now, how did this two year old deal with this? I know that he should have hung his head in shame, called me and apologized. Nope. Not him. Now his pride was wounded, so he went to his father-in-law and tattled. He was told he'd gone too far and was not in the right and he dealt with this by hating me. Six and a half years later, he still holds the grudge . . . but he warms the cult pew really, really well and believes he is above reproach before God and is doing his will here on earth. Sure . . . . . . . . . For six and a half years, the Moron and his wife have pretended I don't exist and are intensely mean and rude to me. Because I love my fiancé and he loves his daughter (the wife), I have gone out of my way to be kind to them. I won't go into details, but they have never acknowledged any kindness or help I've extended to them and continued to be rude, immature and cruel to me.
For the next part, I will say that I am divorced and have been for five years. Divorce is NOT the "unforgivable sin," although legalistic Christians try to make it that. If I ask forgiveness for a sin and have been granted it, God says it is as far from him as the east is from the west. If that is the case, I am free to live. The sin is forgotten by God, but not by legalistic "Christians!" My ex and I have a good relationship, but there's no going back. I had Biblical reasons for leaving him and divorcing him, which he acknowledges, but which I won't go into here. The Moron, not having a clue about God, mercy, grace, forgiveness, the Bible, etc., has decided my being divorced is the perfect ammunition to justify his hatred of me. My fiancé and I have friends who have divorced for the same reasons we have and have remarried each other. The Moron is nice to them and helpful and supportive. All of this was needed to explain the next part. We are fixing up my fiancé’s house so we can sell it and buy a house for the two of us when we get married next month. (My house will be sold as well.) Fixing up his house is a lot of hard work, and we need help. Since my fiancé has helped the Moron with countless projects, I couldn't understand why he wouldn't offer to help in return, so I called him. I asked him if he would do me a big favor. "That depends," was his reply. I went on to tell him that we were fixing up his father-in-law's house and could use more help than I could offer since I'm not that strong, and that if my presence was keeping him from helping, that I could go home. This religiously superior, self-righteous, lying, hypocritical waste of skin had the nerve to smarmily tell me that he couldn't support our fixing up this house so that we could buy a house together and move in together. When I told him that we planned to marry before moving into any house together, he maintained that he just couldn't support what we were doing. When I confronted him about this other couple I mentioned with, "H..... and T... are divorced and remarried and you support them. Why can't you be supportive of us?" His reaction? He hung up on me. Why? Because I got the better of him once again and confronted him with his lie. Now that his pride has taken another s... kicking, he will now hate me FOREVER. Plus he will lie about my end of the conversation to bandage his wounded pride.
Sucks to be him. Rude, immature, smug, religiously superior, controlling, self-righteous, hypocritical, unforgiving smarmy weasel.
Having said all of that, I have forgiven him, even though it sounds as though I've not. I have no use for him, but how can anyone hate such a pathetic fraction of a man? In his pride, anger and bitterness, he is being all he can be, even though it's not anything worthwhile. He will probably destroy his marriage with his unforgiving nature, which is too bad. Maybe.
I really should have bought him the t-shirt that reminded me of him years ago, which is no longer available. "Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks you're an asshole." Or the demoticon that says, "You were made for me, perhaps as a punishment."
Life is too short to waste on ill feelings, even if justified. Be a Jesus with skin on. Love and bless your enemies, and in so doing, you will be heaping burning coals on their head. Being Christ-like in response to a person like the Moron gives them no satisfaction and just makes them more bitter. My conscience is clear. I doubt his is.
We were all born with a sinful nature, which means that we are all predisposed to do bad or wrong things. That's how life is here on earth. We say things that hurt people, we do things that are wrong and harmful, we do the things we shouldn't, and don't do the things we should. We are all guilty of that. Yup. Even me. :) If it were not so, God would not have needed to send Jesus to this earth to lay down his life for us, so that when we accept his gift of death, we can have eternal life. Jesus was perfect. He could only die once he took all of our sins on himself, which made him detestable to God. My sins that did it! When I think of what Jesus endured on that cross so that I could spend eternity with him, it makes me hang my head in shame. I truly believe that is how it should be. Apart from Jesus' gift of life, we are spiritually dead.
Then you have the "Christians" who puff themselves up because they think they have arrived. They are smug and arrogant and have all the answers, most of which are narrow and judgmental in nature. They condemn very easily because in this way they think they are doing "God's will" here on earth. They are arrogant and proud of themselves, and I believe God feels ashamed for them. They are really not representing God well at all. The God I know reserves the right to judge all of us. He has forbidden us to judge one another because he knows that we can't be fair or righteous when we do it. We cannot see the heart, motive, etc., of the person to KNOW how to judge. We just have a speck of sand from the beach and make our judgment based on that. God loves us first and foremost. It doesn't matter whether you love him or believe in him - he just loves us all because we are his children. God is kind, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving. There are so many stories in the Bible where God is angry and wants to destroy people from the face of the earth, but when he hears them being truly sorry, his heart softens and he relents. We could learn a lot from that, and we should!
This brings me to a man I refer to as The Moron. The Moron is my fiancé’s son-in-law. He attends (warms the pew) a cultish Baptist "church" where there are more rules than you find in most organized sports. The pastor of this cult has a huge following (don't cult leaders usually?). He tells his people that anyone not in their church will go to hell, and not to associate with anyone who will not attend their church. Anyone who chooses to leave the church is condemned and remaining members are forbidden to have further dealings with them. Women are required to wear skirts and I've seen beautiful young women turn into dowdy, middle-aged frumps virtually overnight. Members are required to show pay stubs and bank statements so that the pastor can tell them how much money to give to the church. Supporting any Christian organization not approved by this pastor is wrong. TV is ok as long as you watch PG shows, and when commercials come on, you are supposed to turn off the TV for the duration or leave the room. This pastor has the final say on everything in the church and is the head of absolutely every committee. He trusts no-one to be as “wise” or discerning as he is. In my opinion, he has sold his soul for power and money. I believe he has appointed himself as God's spokesman, and that God would like to see him removed from that post. He makes Christianity as warm and inviting as an outhouse filled with mothballs to deodorize the air. I wouldn't darken the doors of this cult for anything. The Moron attends this church because his mommy has told him to. His wife (my fiancé’s daughter) thinks being a good wife is doing whatever she's told (she's been bullied and brain-washed into believing that) and supporting her husband even when she knows in her heart that he's dead wrong. I have issues with these two, which goes back many years.
When my fiancé and I first started dating, he was very closed and secretive about me, which led the Moron to think that I was stalking him. He never asked either of us what the truth was, he just made his own judgment and ruling. This was during a tumultuous time in my life where I spent a great deal of time driving around thinking and trying to sort out the mess my life was. The Moron lives on a busy highway in what was at that time, the neighboring town. My drives often took me past his house, just as they took countless thousands past his house as well. One day, having had a bout with Crohn's Disease, I was particularly out of sorts, and probably did a little more driving than usual. As darkness neared, I drove past his house and saw that his car was parked in the driveway facing the road. It appeared as though the car wasn't running and that there was no-one in it. I turned down a side street only to find that the Moron was right behind me. He had started his car with the park brake on so that the headlights were off, and reclined the front seat so that he would be hidden from anyone driving past. I was incredulous because he'd always made a big show of treating me as though I wasn't there. In other words, we had no relationship. At a stop sign, he started to get out of his car and walk towards mine, but then there was an opening in the traffic and I drove away. He got back into his car. About 20 minutes later, there he was standing on his front steps under the outside light, making windmill motions with his arm as though to summon someone to him. Since I really didn't know him, I ignored him and figured there was someone else in the vicinity he meant. Half an hour later, he was crouched in his front window with the curtain behind him, doing the same thing. By this time, all I could think was "wing nut." Still, I wondered if maybe he had meant me, so a week later, I called him at work because I didn't want to call him at home and possibly upset his pregnant wife. Well . . . that didn't go so well. He smarmily accused me of stalking him, asked me what I was doing in his town driving around, and told me he was (hiding in a darkened room watching for me) writing down the dates and times that I drove by his house and that if he saw me again, he would call the police. For the next week, every time I saw him, he would turn his head toward me with a gloating, smug and self-satisfied smile on his face. Talk about being two years old! The next thing was that I was approached by his employer to do business with them. I let them know that I would never do business with them as long as they had this employee working for them, but I was intentionally vague so as not to finger him. Because nobody at his work cares for him, they figured out pretty quickly who I meant. He was told that his behavior towards me was worthy of a warning, and that if another complaint of this nature was brought to them, he would be fired. Now, how did this two year old deal with this? I know that he should have hung his head in shame, called me and apologized. Nope. Not him. Now his pride was wounded, so he went to his father-in-law and tattled. He was told he'd gone too far and was not in the right and he dealt with this by hating me. Six and a half years later, he still holds the grudge . . . but he warms the cult pew really, really well and believes he is above reproach before God and is doing his will here on earth. Sure . . . . . . . . . For six and a half years, the Moron and his wife have pretended I don't exist and are intensely mean and rude to me. Because I love my fiancé and he loves his daughter (the wife), I have gone out of my way to be kind to them. I won't go into details, but they have never acknowledged any kindness or help I've extended to them and continued to be rude, immature and cruel to me.
For the next part, I will say that I am divorced and have been for five years. Divorce is NOT the "unforgivable sin," although legalistic Christians try to make it that. If I ask forgiveness for a sin and have been granted it, God says it is as far from him as the east is from the west. If that is the case, I am free to live. The sin is forgotten by God, but not by legalistic "Christians!" My ex and I have a good relationship, but there's no going back. I had Biblical reasons for leaving him and divorcing him, which he acknowledges, but which I won't go into here. The Moron, not having a clue about God, mercy, grace, forgiveness, the Bible, etc., has decided my being divorced is the perfect ammunition to justify his hatred of me. My fiancé and I have friends who have divorced for the same reasons we have and have remarried each other. The Moron is nice to them and helpful and supportive. All of this was needed to explain the next part. We are fixing up my fiancé’s house so we can sell it and buy a house for the two of us when we get married next month. (My house will be sold as well.) Fixing up his house is a lot of hard work, and we need help. Since my fiancé has helped the Moron with countless projects, I couldn't understand why he wouldn't offer to help in return, so I called him. I asked him if he would do me a big favor. "That depends," was his reply. I went on to tell him that we were fixing up his father-in-law's house and could use more help than I could offer since I'm not that strong, and that if my presence was keeping him from helping, that I could go home. This religiously superior, self-righteous, lying, hypocritical waste of skin had the nerve to smarmily tell me that he couldn't support our fixing up this house so that we could buy a house together and move in together. When I told him that we planned to marry before moving into any house together, he maintained that he just couldn't support what we were doing. When I confronted him about this other couple I mentioned with, "H..... and T... are divorced and remarried and you support them. Why can't you be supportive of us?" His reaction? He hung up on me. Why? Because I got the better of him once again and confronted him with his lie. Now that his pride has taken another s... kicking, he will now hate me FOREVER. Plus he will lie about my end of the conversation to bandage his wounded pride.
Sucks to be him. Rude, immature, smug, religiously superior, controlling, self-righteous, hypocritical, unforgiving smarmy weasel.
Having said all of that, I have forgiven him, even though it sounds as though I've not. I have no use for him, but how can anyone hate such a pathetic fraction of a man? In his pride, anger and bitterness, he is being all he can be, even though it's not anything worthwhile. He will probably destroy his marriage with his unforgiving nature, which is too bad. Maybe.
I really should have bought him the t-shirt that reminded me of him years ago, which is no longer available. "Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks you're an asshole." Or the demoticon that says, "You were made for me, perhaps as a punishment."
Life is too short to waste on ill feelings, even if justified. Be a Jesus with skin on. Love and bless your enemies, and in so doing, you will be heaping burning coals on their head. Being Christ-like in response to a person like the Moron gives them no satisfaction and just makes them more bitter. My conscience is clear. I doubt his is.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The demise of the world as we know it
I was sent a broadcast from Ben Stein. It hit home. Hard. Because it is EXACTLY how I feel and what I believe. This is it:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding 911) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'
In light of recent events... terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide).. We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us..
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
I guess I'm getting old too. I observe all the things that made our world relatively safe, respectful and functional for thousands of years, which have now been rejected and discarded because they are not politically correct. I was taught these things by a mother who believed in God. I believe in God. I believe the Ten Commandments are worth keeping. I believe if everyone believed this and observed what is written in the Ten Commandments, the world would be a better place. If everyone believed this, children would be taught to obey and respect authority. There would be consequences to poor choices, no matter the age of the perpetrator. Obviously, a 2 year old would not be disciplined the same way as an adult, but talk really and truly is cheap if not backed up with action. Without consequences (painful ones are the ones we learn from the best) we just go back and do it again. It's why a co-worker''s 15 year old son, who has been charged with aggravated assault, has gone back to the schoolmate who pressed charges and told him, "Next time, I'm going to kill you." The reason? The boy's lawyer told him that as a 15 year old, he would completely get off on the charges laid. What has the boy learned? He has learned that he can do what he pleases. How does this help to fine tune his conscience so that he knows right from wrong? How will this turn him into a functional adult to whom we want to turn our world over to?
I disciplined my children. I tried to make the punishment fit the crime, but most of the time, a few slaps across the buttocks or a slap across the hand worked wonders. After child had calmed down, we would discuss the discipline and what led to it. They almost never repeated their mistakes.
Years ago, I went to a forum sponsored by our federal government against corporal discipline. The forum was led by a woman who had no hand in raising her own children. Her children were raised by a nanny. She continually referred to spanking as hitting, which I found offensive. When I was a child my mother spanked me while my father hit me. My mother spanked me because she wanted to correct me. I loved her and wanted to please her, so when she was upset with me, I strove not to do what had led to the discipline ever again. My father, on the other hand, hit me. He didn't like me, so he only wanted to vent and hurt me. My betterment was not his motive. Children are not stupid. They understand the difference between spanking and hitting. I went home from that forum and asked my then-teenage sons if they felt I had hit them. They laughed at me. They told me they'd deserved far more spankings than they had gotten.
I think our world has become a horrible place to live. It's not that this world has ever been perfect, but it's getting exponentially worse. I can remember as a child that when you left for work for the day, you didn't necessarily lock your doors. You also left your door unlocked overnight. Bicycles could be left unlocked in the front yard in plain view without fear of being stolen. Vehicles were left unlocked. Babies could be left in cars or strollers for the minute it took to run into a store or post office without fear of the baby being gone when you came back, or without fear of someone calling the authorities on you because you were a "bad" parent. If I tripped over a crack on the sidewalk and fell, I picked myself up (embarrassed, of course), but I wouldn't have dreamed of suing someone for my clumsiness. The government didn't interfere in my life like it does now. Adults were considered responsible enough to make decisions regarding children, seatbelts, protective wear, etc. We made our decisions and dealt with the consequences if there were any. Explicit and graphic sex, violence and coarse language were not permitted on any air waves. I liked that. People were friendlier, less stressed and less angry. I miss that.
I wish we would all wake up to reality and make the changes needed to turn our world around. I would love to see a return to the values that made Canada a great land.
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding 911) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'
In light of recent events... terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide).. We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us..
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
I guess I'm getting old too. I observe all the things that made our world relatively safe, respectful and functional for thousands of years, which have now been rejected and discarded because they are not politically correct. I was taught these things by a mother who believed in God. I believe in God. I believe the Ten Commandments are worth keeping. I believe if everyone believed this and observed what is written in the Ten Commandments, the world would be a better place. If everyone believed this, children would be taught to obey and respect authority. There would be consequences to poor choices, no matter the age of the perpetrator. Obviously, a 2 year old would not be disciplined the same way as an adult, but talk really and truly is cheap if not backed up with action. Without consequences (painful ones are the ones we learn from the best) we just go back and do it again. It's why a co-worker''s 15 year old son, who has been charged with aggravated assault, has gone back to the schoolmate who pressed charges and told him, "Next time, I'm going to kill you." The reason? The boy's lawyer told him that as a 15 year old, he would completely get off on the charges laid. What has the boy learned? He has learned that he can do what he pleases. How does this help to fine tune his conscience so that he knows right from wrong? How will this turn him into a functional adult to whom we want to turn our world over to?
I disciplined my children. I tried to make the punishment fit the crime, but most of the time, a few slaps across the buttocks or a slap across the hand worked wonders. After child had calmed down, we would discuss the discipline and what led to it. They almost never repeated their mistakes.
Years ago, I went to a forum sponsored by our federal government against corporal discipline. The forum was led by a woman who had no hand in raising her own children. Her children were raised by a nanny. She continually referred to spanking as hitting, which I found offensive. When I was a child my mother spanked me while my father hit me. My mother spanked me because she wanted to correct me. I loved her and wanted to please her, so when she was upset with me, I strove not to do what had led to the discipline ever again. My father, on the other hand, hit me. He didn't like me, so he only wanted to vent and hurt me. My betterment was not his motive. Children are not stupid. They understand the difference between spanking and hitting. I went home from that forum and asked my then-teenage sons if they felt I had hit them. They laughed at me. They told me they'd deserved far more spankings than they had gotten.
I think our world has become a horrible place to live. It's not that this world has ever been perfect, but it's getting exponentially worse. I can remember as a child that when you left for work for the day, you didn't necessarily lock your doors. You also left your door unlocked overnight. Bicycles could be left unlocked in the front yard in plain view without fear of being stolen. Vehicles were left unlocked. Babies could be left in cars or strollers for the minute it took to run into a store or post office without fear of the baby being gone when you came back, or without fear of someone calling the authorities on you because you were a "bad" parent. If I tripped over a crack on the sidewalk and fell, I picked myself up (embarrassed, of course), but I wouldn't have dreamed of suing someone for my clumsiness. The government didn't interfere in my life like it does now. Adults were considered responsible enough to make decisions regarding children, seatbelts, protective wear, etc. We made our decisions and dealt with the consequences if there were any. Explicit and graphic sex, violence and coarse language were not permitted on any air waves. I liked that. People were friendlier, less stressed and less angry. I miss that.
I wish we would all wake up to reality and make the changes needed to turn our world around. I would love to see a return to the values that made Canada a great land.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thyroid woes
Anyone who suffers from thyroid problems can relate to that medical doctors are pretty much useless when it comes to dealing with thyroid issues. Hypothyroidism runs in my family, so my experience is pretty much limited to underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism. I developed an underactive thyroid after the birth of my second son. The doctor who delivered my son told me to diet. My childhood family doctor diagnosed a thyroid problem. I had a resting pulse of 58. He told me that if I wasn't currently training for the Olympics, I had a thyroid problem. See how easy that is? And he was right! My doctor who delivered my son could see that the thyroid medication he didn't prescribe was helping me, so until he retired to a desk job, he monitored my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) and continued to prescribe the thyroid supplement. For those of you who suffer from thyroid problems, you should be aware that the old standards (which most doctors still religiously adhere to) are that a "normal" TSH falls between .6 and 6. In 2003, the official Endocrinologist (gland doctors, for those of you not familiar with the term) organization decided too many people were being undiagnosed, so they lowered the standards to .3 to 3. If you're young, you probably want to be in roughly the "2" area, but for those of us a little older, we need to be in the lower range. Regardless, this is the best way to look at your perfect TSH. Normal shoe sizes for women are between 6 and 10. Normal clothing sizes for women are between 6 and 16. Following the "normal" guidelines for TSH, every shoe between 6 and 10 should fit you, and every piece of clothing between 6 and 16 should fit you? Make sense? Not at all. The bottom line is you have to find the "normal" that fits you.
In 2006, I developed a virus that attacked my thyroid gland. My new family doctor, who was an egotistical know-it-all (we fired each other) read my TSH of zero as that I was overactive thyroid. I knew that to be false, but when he suggested a gradual decrease in my thyroid supplement, I decided I would try it. Big mistake. His ego told him my agreeing made him right and he just about killed me. I gained 45 pounds in a little over a year, was irritable, couldn't focus or concentrate or stay awake, had severe muscle cramps from the neck down, my hair fell out by the handful, the inside and outside corners of my eyebrows fell out regularly, I had chronic sinus infections even though I'd never had them before, I began to snore, my skin was dry and pasty looking, I craved carbohydrates, I lost all the hair in my armpits and pubic region, I retained tons of water. Now you'd think my doctor would notice something was wrong, but you'd be mistaken. He couldn't get his nose out of the test results long enough to notice anything.
I found a new doctor who referred me to the leading endocrinologist in the area. It took her 3 1/2 months to fit me in, and then she told me, without ordering any new tests, that I shouldn't be taking any thyroid supplement, that my thyroid was habituated to being overstimulated, and that she doubted I'd ever had a thyroid problem - ever. I was furious. Back to the new doctor, who could see something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what it was. In an effort to try to feel alive again, I began taking kelp. Word of caution: do not take kelp if you are taking a thyroid supplement as this will drive your blood pressure to dangerous heights. She finally referred me to another endocrinologist, who diagnosed me with Grave's Disease. Yup. That's overactive thyroid. She was wrong too, but at least this got us all on the track that it was a virus doing all of this. When all was said and done, the endocrinologist (old school) was satisfied with my 4.7 TSH, even though that was clearly underactive thyroid by the new standards. My new family doctor agreed with me and put me back on thyroid supplement. I gradually increased the dosage until I felt well. I now take 125 mcg of Eltroxin and have a TSH of about .5.
The downside is that I was hypothyroid for long enough that my entire metabolism is messed up and even taking the correct amount of thyroid supplement isn't helping me to lose weight. Still, I feel alive again for the first time in a long time, and that's worth more to me right now than an immediate weight loss.
In 2006, I developed a virus that attacked my thyroid gland. My new family doctor, who was an egotistical know-it-all (we fired each other) read my TSH of zero as that I was overactive thyroid. I knew that to be false, but when he suggested a gradual decrease in my thyroid supplement, I decided I would try it. Big mistake. His ego told him my agreeing made him right and he just about killed me. I gained 45 pounds in a little over a year, was irritable, couldn't focus or concentrate or stay awake, had severe muscle cramps from the neck down, my hair fell out by the handful, the inside and outside corners of my eyebrows fell out regularly, I had chronic sinus infections even though I'd never had them before, I began to snore, my skin was dry and pasty looking, I craved carbohydrates, I lost all the hair in my armpits and pubic region, I retained tons of water. Now you'd think my doctor would notice something was wrong, but you'd be mistaken. He couldn't get his nose out of the test results long enough to notice anything.
I found a new doctor who referred me to the leading endocrinologist in the area. It took her 3 1/2 months to fit me in, and then she told me, without ordering any new tests, that I shouldn't be taking any thyroid supplement, that my thyroid was habituated to being overstimulated, and that she doubted I'd ever had a thyroid problem - ever. I was furious. Back to the new doctor, who could see something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what it was. In an effort to try to feel alive again, I began taking kelp. Word of caution: do not take kelp if you are taking a thyroid supplement as this will drive your blood pressure to dangerous heights. She finally referred me to another endocrinologist, who diagnosed me with Grave's Disease. Yup. That's overactive thyroid. She was wrong too, but at least this got us all on the track that it was a virus doing all of this. When all was said and done, the endocrinologist (old school) was satisfied with my 4.7 TSH, even though that was clearly underactive thyroid by the new standards. My new family doctor agreed with me and put me back on thyroid supplement. I gradually increased the dosage until I felt well. I now take 125 mcg of Eltroxin and have a TSH of about .5.
The downside is that I was hypothyroid for long enough that my entire metabolism is messed up and even taking the correct amount of thyroid supplement isn't helping me to lose weight. Still, I feel alive again for the first time in a long time, and that's worth more to me right now than an immediate weight loss.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Herbalife is a failing proposition
Thinking of starting a Herbalife business? Is someone trying to convince you that if you're willing to work you can be rich beyond your wildest dreams? Read this first.
You have probably filled in contact information on a web page telling you about an incredible home-based business, which can make you financially independent. You have been contacted by a mentor/coach who spent a great deal of money to get your name and contact information. This person will be your “upline” should you choose to become a part of Herbalife. This person has a huge, financial interest in your signing up under him/her because in Herbalife, you only begin to make serious money when you get people to sign up under you (your “downline”.) Herbalife is MLM (multi-level marketing) or a pyramid scheme. Your mentor will dangle the possibility of making huge money under your nose and try to get you to sign on as a “Supervisor” because this is where you can begin to make serious money.
BUT WAIT!!!!!!
This is what you aren't being told:
It will cost you a lot of money to “run” your home-based business, and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will succeed, which they are quick to point out while at the same time telling you how rich you can become. There is about a 95% failure rate within Herbalife. To start, when you agree to sign up as a supervisor, you will be shipped a starter kit. This costs about $200.00 Then comes the “Supervisor order”, which will cost you approximately $4000. You will be overwhelmed by the stuff you'll unpack and wonder how the heck you'll ever get rid of it all! You will be told about people who have “moved” their supervisor order within four to six weeks, earning all their money back, and how they were on their way to a lucrative business. The truth is that most people won't be able to do this.
If you aren't willing to humiliate yourself by “wearing the button,” or spending countless hours putting fliers under the windshield wipers of every vehicle you see, or giving up every evening and weekend to be on the phone making cold calls to overweight, depressed and poor people, don't get started in Herbalife. You're going to spend most of your days and evenings on the phone, trying to talk people into buying the products (which are actually fantastic) and into signing up under you as your downline. The top of the hour will be follow up calls, the bottom of the hour will be calling leads or “dial sessions.” Even if you are willing to do this, there is still no guarantee of success, which Herbalife will also tell you (their constant legal disclaimer), but having said that, they will continue to try to whip you into a frenzy of greed to keep your hopes alive that you will become hopelessly and unbelievably wealthy. Remember the 95% failure rate?
BUT WAIT!!!!!
There's more!
Early on in the training, you will be instructed to sign up for the iOffice, which will cost you about $33 per month. You will be instructed to get a toll-free number, unlimited long distance and three way calling, all of which will cost you more on your phone bill. The toll free number is the least of it, but unlimited long distance (maybe you have it anyway) will cost you upwards of $15 per month, and having the rest of the phone stuff you'll need will cost you an additional $15 or so per month, depending on your phone provider. You will be instructed to register for two websites to start (later there will be three). Initially, these websites don't cost that much, but a year later they get expensive. These websites are where people can order sample packs (in eight months, nobody accessed mine) and another one where people can order products (in eight months, nobody accessed that one either.) In order to have these websites, you have to get yourself a merchant account. It costs about $150 to set this thing up, and then you get charged $25-35 per month for upkeep, whether you use it or not. If you cancel part way through the year, you have to pay the balance of that $25 – 30 per month for the months not used because it's an annual contract, plus there is a cancellation fee of $200 for the VISA and $175 for Mastercard. Then you will be told to sign up for “Connecting Point,” which you will need to use “Lead Blazer.” Connecting Point will cost about $40 per month, plus Lead Blazer has a huge fee also. I never signed up for Lead Blazer, so I can't remember how much that is, but I think it's more than $100 per month. You can purchase “leads” to make your cold calls. They cost just over $5 apiece, and you can expect about 30% of them to order sample packs, and about 30% of those will become customers (if your sales pitch works well). Your customers won't be enough to make you rich, so now you will have to purchase “media shares.” I never got that far either, so I have no first-hand knowledge of the cost, but my upline told me it was not uncommon to spend upwards of $2000 a month on “advertising.” I would assume these would be the media shares. You will be required to purchase business cards and other products from their affliliated company eTeamLeads. There are business cards, fliers, hot pockets, envelopes, address labels. They are ordered in quantities ranging from 50 for some items up to 3000 for others. The costs range from $50 to $185 depending on how many you order, plus exorbitant shipping and handling. There is no end to the money you can spend in hopes of succeeding in this business.
The training you won't receive is about the products. You will sell products you have no clue about. They are nutritional supplements, vitamins, protein bars, etc. You will not know or be taught what product is for what, and you will be expected to figure this out on your own. Can you imagine a doctor prescribing something and not knowing if it'll help you or not? Well, that's what you'll be doing to start with until you learn. Basically, you won't know what you're talking about and it will show. Your upline will be too impatient and pressed for time to train you properly or answer your questions, because for them, just like you, time is money. It will take you a year or two (in most likelihood) if you're diligent and persistent to start to make money selling Herbalife.
You can see that the outlay of cash to be in this business for yourself is phenomenal. Until you persuade people to also sign up under you (your downline), you don't have a hope of making any kind of serious money. (Do the math from what I wrote above). Finding a “downline” is difficult and expensive. You will have to pay for those leads (unless you're fortunate enough to find people in personal contact, such as friends and family, who are eager to sign up – unlikely to happen) and then whip them into a frenzy of greed and not tell them about all the costs involved, just as it happened with you. Everything in running this business is expensive. If you're not prepared to give up your life, your cash and your self-esteem to make this business work, leave your hard-earned money where it is – in your wallet. There are businesses out there that cost far less to run and administer with a greater success rate and payback.
My advice? The products are great. Buy them. Use them. You won't regret that. Sign up as a Distributor (you will still be profiting your upline – hope you like him/her!) to get a discount. That will cost you about $35 per year and then you will be entitled to a 30% discount on anything you order. As a Distributor, there are no other costs. If you can find others to start using the products and ordering from you, you will begin to earn a small amount of money – enough to pay for your own products. The downside to being a distributor is that if anyone signs up under you, you will not make a residual income from them – only your upline will profit from your downline. You will need many people as your downline before you should seriously consider moving up to Supervisor. Don't let your greed get the best of you, and trust me, your upline will try to manipulate you on that. Just remember that you're looking at many hundreds of dollars in operating costs every month, so becoming a Supervisor should only be done when you know you can earn far more than you will spend.
Don't quit your day job. Anything that sounds too good to be true generally is, and Herbalife is no exception.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
