Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Turkey day to all.

The combination of turkey and football is intoxicating to the senses. I spent the holiday in Paso Robles, California with my in-laws eating, sleeping in, watching pigskin, and missing the cool crisp Michigan air. I would like all to comment on this post with what you are thankful for this thanksgiving in the land of the free and home of the brave. This is the list of things i am thankful for this year.

1. New babies (Sophia, Eva, Jackson, Trent, many more.)
2. Devin Hester
3. My cats (white sox, peaches and Stephen)
4. The Journey song Don't stop believing.
5. Illinois Football (so i don't have to choose UM or MSU)
6. Advent Calenders full of chocolate
7. Star Wars anything
8. The video game rock band letting me live out the dream of a rock star in my living room
9. Season One of The Wire
10. My Personal relationship with Jesus
11. Juice Williams
12. Safe Plane Landings.....then driving from Las Vegas to Sacramento when the entire airport loses power and seriously freaks everyone out
13. Reggie Bush/Barry Bonds being indicted and investigated
14. Freedom of Religion
15. My beautiful wife Grace

I hope everyone the best Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays. God Bless.

Immigration Reform is Needed?

Give me one rational argument for illegal immigration, please, i cant think of a single one myself and i don't want to feel like a racist like the media says i am anymore.

I cant think of any other group of immigrants in America's past that have came into the country and not assimilated. Irish, Jewish, Italian, and Polish immigrants in the past all came here for opportunities not available in their own countries. LEGALLY. They paid the price to become part of our nation, some would tell you it is every one's right to be here and be able to take care of themselves. It is not a right, it is a privilege to live here and when the first step you take to come here is breaking a law that is designed to protect this country you show a lack of respect for this country.

American Pride

What is the job of any elected official? Firstly, to represent the people that put him or her into that office as best they can--making decisions that reflect the values of the community they were elected to represent gives them the best chance to prosper. Secondly, to inspire confidence and steer his or her constituency into economic growth and self reliance, while making sure that the export business is 10% higher than the importing. Currently, I don't see this happening from the senators and governor that are supposed to be our "voice" in government. I hear excuses about how this presidency has let us down by allowing the economy to fall to the point where jobs are relocating overseas. What we have to remember is that these same Democrats were in office when the NATO agreement was put into effect that enables this to happen. Trying to level the playing field again has gotten us into a world of hurt. They were worrying so much about the poor in neighboring countries being unfairly stepped on by the big bad American economy that they started handicapping us; manipulating the general public into feeling guilty about our success, and blaming others' failures on our success. It is an idea that the party wants us to adopt, that whenever someone does something good the results are negative for someone else. Shame. That is what they sell and i don't buy it. I believe in having pride in where you came from, pride in the people that came before you and sacrificed life so that simple freedoms are safe. Pride in America.

I have heard the democratic policies described as "feel good" policies, while the republicans have more of a "do good" policy agenda. What this means is that instead of doing the right thing and making a tough decision that positively affects the community as a whole, they want to make everyone happy and install a pseudo-socialist government that controls how much we have, how much we make, and how much we spend. By instituting government policies that try and recreate everyone as equals, they are taking away what makes us such a great nation to begin with and that is our individuality. Even now, as we speak, congress is trying to institute a new law that requires business owners to offer paid sick leave to all workers. Taking away a business owners' decision making power is ridiculously overstepping the bounds of what the government is supposed to concern itself with. Sweden has tried this policy and close to 20% of the people abused it severely reducing the strength of the economy. Please give the people of this country back the freedom they fought for and vote republican next year.

Affirmative Action

To me affirmative action is a program that signifies the American governments view that this country's minority population needs a helping hand. It is what is fundamentally wrong with the answers to the problems we believe that we have.

1. The government diagnoses the problem: Minority People are under represented in the higher working classes.
2. They treat those people like the "victims" and instead of creating an equal playing field they find a simpler solution and grade them with a curve.

"Simpler solution" to democrats means a plan that creates tons of new taxes with little results.

For example when someone tells you it is our responsibility as a country to take care of our poor, they are wrong. That is the simple solution and easiest to tax. It is our responsibility as people of faith and values to take care of the poor. Distributing wealth from the rich to the poor just for the sake that they are poor helps no one; it hinders our growth as a nation. Instead of teaching a man to fish on his own, we have made him dependent on the state. A capitalist society needs haves and have not's for it to work. If you knew that no matter how hard you worked or how little you did that your paycheck would be the same as any other person's, how hard would you really work? Everyone does not deserve the same, they deserve what they work for and i believe that America shows us that everyday, with a new story of hard work translating to success. I don't think many of us out there would be breaking our backs like we are now in order to support our family if this was not the case. The carrot of "being well off" and part of the upper middle class is what drives our nation to the top economically. That endless spirit of entrepreneurship and want of more for our family keeps us driven. Affirmative Action kills a person's drive to succeed by providing them an edge they would not have had, thus making them soft and vulnerable when the curtain of protection is lifted and they finally see how harsh the world can be. I believe a person's hard work should be the reason to accept them to a particular school or job, not the color of their skin. Some may say "But Jon, racism is still prevalent in today's society"... to this I say it always will be until we are all treated equal. Affirmative Action does not level the playing field it tips the scales.