Points to Ponder in Our Day and Time!

 Each morning I see newspaper clippings on my desk from Jim.  He likes to put funny cartoons that he knows will resonate with me as they have with him.  Of late he has been clipping more than usual and MORE than usual; like lots of political things, local news along with the funnies!  This morning this article appeared in our local paper and I thought it was so good I wanted to share it in its entirety.  This article was written by Thomas Sowell, a senior fellow at Hoover Institute, at Stanford University.   I will quote it with my own emphasis in red.  The article is entitled Offering Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene, published in the San Jose Mercury and Contra Costa Times on October 19, 2012.

"Here are some random thoughts on the passing scene: 

 Not since the days of slavery have there been so many people who feel entitled to what other people have produced as there are in the modern welfare state, whether in Western Europe or on this side of the Atlantic.

Economist Edward Lazear has cut through all of Barack Obama's claims about "creating jobs" with one plain and inescapable fact -- "there hasn't been one day during the entire Obama presidency when as many Americans were working as on the day President George W. Bush left office." Whatever number of jobs were created during the Obama administration, more have been lost.

How are children supposed to learn to act like adults, when so much of what they see on television shows adults acting like children?

The know-it-all smirks and condescending laughs of Vice President Joe Biden, when Congressman Paul Ryan was speaking during their debate, were a little much from an administration presiding over economic woes at home and disasters overseas -- and being caught in lies about both.

Like Barack Obama, Joe Biden has all the clever tricks of a politician and none of the wisdom of a statesman.

If you truly believe in the brotherhood of man, then you must believe that blacks are just as capable of being racists as whites are.

One of the most foolish, and most dangerous, things one can do is to take love for granted, instead of nurturing it and safeguarding it as the prize jewel of one's life.

Whenever you hear people talking about ''a living Constitution," almost invariably they are people who are in the process of slowly killing it by ''interpreting" its restrictions on government out of existence.

Do either Barack Obama or his followers have any idea how many countries during the 20th century set out to ''spread the wealth" -- and ended up spreading poverty instead? At some point, you have to turn from rhetoric, theories and ideologies to facts. 

I am so old that I can remember when liberals were liberal -- instead of being intolerant of anything and anybody that is not politically correct. 

Whatever happened to Julie Banderas of the Fox News Channel? She had brains, looks, wit and personality. Has she met with foul play? Or has some zillionaire married her and taken her off to his own private island?

The question to be asked of people in the media, and that they should ask themselves, should be: "Is your first loyalty to your audience or to your ideology?" The same question should be asked of educators, especially those who see themselves as "agents of social change," even though that is not the job description under which they have been hired and paid.

People who complain about "negative" campaign ads miss the point. It is perfectly legitimate to criticize your opponent. The question is whether the ads are about serious things that matter to the future of this country, and whether they are telling the truth or lying.

If you believe Barack Obama and others who oppose what they call "tax cuts for the rich," you might want to consider what the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said: "You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts." If you want to see some documented facts about tax rates and tax revenues, there is a box titled "Tax Cuts" on my website (www.tsowell.com). Click on it. 

In baseball, switch hitters are said to have an advantage. But the highest lifetime batting average by a switch hitter (.319 by Frankie Frisch) is more than 30 points lower than the highest batting average for either left-handed hitters or right-handed hitters. The highest batting average in a season by a switch hitter (.365 by Mickey Mantle) is more than 50 points lower.

I have never known a word to become absolute dogma, without a speck of evidence, the way "diversity" has."

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

They pretty much were random thoughts but all of them pretty thought provoking!

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Yesterday I pretty much hit my wall with all the lies, the nonsense and the rhetoric.  The only thing that saved the day was the respectful way Ann Romney was treated on The View.  She prepared so well on all the controversial issues which were brought up for sure.  But she was witty and eloquent and comfortable in her own skin and that was beautiful to see.  Surprisingly she was not confronted in the usual way and there was no arguing with her...none!  Thankfully it was not your typical View fare!  She looked and acted every bit The First Lady of the United States of America....and they knew it.



In the end it comes down to the records, the principles, and the character of your candidate.  And I am feeling a little like the Ellie below...let's just get it done and and get it over with soon.  One more debate and then on to the polls for some housecleaning.

 This is a bit like riding a terrifying ride at the midway.  It is fast and exciting and anxiety-producing, frightening, exhilarating and exhausting.  And maybe it's a little like watching a horror movie.  You throw your hands over your eyes because you don't want to watch. But you cannot help peeking out between your fingers just a little...as you hold your breath... hoping for what is right to happen by a landslide! 

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I get a lot of gray hair during the years we elect a new President.  Love/Hate it!