James Stabile Info Blog February 2008

Discussion of The Month

February 2008...We are in the primary election mode. The future of the American political direction will be established and in November voted upon. Isn't it great being an American? The answer is. "Yes, it is". This is your life. For a full, complete and healthy life you must engage in it. You must engage in every aspect of your life. You must be informed, concerned and active in our living American democracy. It is the best form of government known to mankind. It has been so successful, remains so and will continue to be so because of our people. Americans must support America and function with that goal in mind.

February is leap year month. February 29 comes but once every four years. Make the most of it. Let it be a reminder to you that each day should be lived to the fullest. We will never have another today. Today is here for a brief few hours and then it is over. Each and every day should be enjoyed and lived to the utmost. When you are breathing your final breath, whenever that will be, I pray that you will be satisfied with your life. I hope you have no regrets and no "what-ifs". Live today as if it is your last day. Why not? What do you have to lose?

Ash Wednesday is February 6. Lent is a time of penance, remembrance and contemplation. If you are Christian, Lent should be a special time for you. Don't get caught up in the drama and commercialism of the season (yes, just as in the Christmas season). Easter bunnies, baskets and Easter parades are fine, but they are not the Christian reason for Lent and Easter. Enjoy the nonreligious aspects of this time as well as the religious.

Finally, February is a great time to remember the political leaders of our country - past and present. And don't forget your Valentine! Valentine's Day is for lovers, but it is also a day to remember our family of people. We are need love and sincerity.

**********

Entertainment

The Bucket List Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman were hilarious in this movie. Nicholson found Freeman's bucket list, a list of the things he wanted to do before he kicked the bucket, and the list was literally the movie. The two men met while they were in the hospital. Both were given the news that they had 6 months to a year to live. Both suffered from terminal cancer. The movie was a funny, sad, ordinary and extraordinary portrayal of two totally different men preparing to die.

**********

Health, Fitness and Lifestyle

Queen Latifah is the latest celebrity to join Jenny Craig. That's right. After the success of Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinellie it's not too surprising that other full figure celebrities would join the bandwagon. I'm not into Jenny Craig, but any health plan that stresses health and fitness is at least headed in the right direction. In her TV commercials Queen Latifah stresses her desire to get healthy by joining Jenny Craig. Good move. Diets don't work. Fitness and healthy living do. It's a little ironic. Just a few days before I saw the ad about Queen Latifah I was wondering if she was happy and satisfied with her fitness and health level. I guess not, now she 's in Jenny Craig.

I believe that people must "like" themselves in spite of their outward appearances. True weight loss and healthy living demands a positive self regard and a genuine self-respect. Each person must evaluate his or her own unique situation and determine if they need to live more healthy and fit. It must be a personal decision. It must be a free choice stemming from a real desire to improve one's health and fitness level. I believe that is truly the secret to any weight loss and fitness program.

*****

Do you think those antibacterial lotions are enough to remove germs, etc. from your hands? Think again. A hospital in Nebraska did a study involving antibacterial lotion products. Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel used those hand sanitizing lotions instead of soap and water and found that the antibacterial products were not as effective as soap and water in sanitizing and killing germs. There is no substitute for soap and water hand washing.

I would surmise that a person should use soap and water to cleanse and sanitize and sanitizing lotion when soap and water were not available. In the work place seems to be an appropriate situation to use a sanitizing lotion. After shaking hands with someone or after contact with any person or object that may transmit germs would be other appropriate situations to use the sanitizing lotions. Soap and water first and foremost, sanitizing lotions when soap and water are not available and in emergency situations seems to be a logical protocol to follow in protecting oneself from the spread of germs and other illness provoking situations.

No matter what the commercial ads say, there is no foolproof method for the containment of germs and disease. Use good common sense and proven theories for self-protection when confronted with the spread of germs.

**********

Politics and the World

Cuba had a national election on January 20, 2008. What a farce. There were no choices on the ballot - one candidate, one party, one choice for each post in each of Cuba's polling districts. It was reported that an estimated 95% of eligible Cuban voters voted in the election. What a shame and an attack on democratic principles. Former President Jimmy Carter, a active worldwide democratic elections monitor, should be calling for a democratic world rejection of the Cuban election. The United Nations should be launching investigations into election fraud in Cuba. If this kind of response would be initiated, I wonder how the Cuban government and people would react. Maybe the world's governing body should challenge Fidel Castro and his dictatorship over the people of Cuba. Would the Cuban people united or oppose Castro's dominance? I think the Cuban people are brainwashed, scared and know no other government or options for rule, therefore, they would probably support the Cuban leader and his dictatorial rule as they did in the election.

*****

Tuesday, January 29 2008 was the Florida Presidential Primary. I had been waiting for that day since it was announced months ago. I take my constitutional right to vote very seriously. I believe that we are the people and we have the solemn responsibility to register to vote and then vote in every available election. I believe people who do not vote have no reason to complain about anything in the United States government. Just as President Bush said in the 2008 State of the Union Address, elected officials are the people's representatives elected to run the government for a period of time. The last words the President uttered in his last State of the Union Address says it all, "Now let us go and do the people's work". That may be paraphrased, I don't remember the exact words, but that was the message. And it is a good message.

Elected officials must be ever mindful that they are doing our , the people's work. They are in their offices due to the people's election. They should take that responsibility very serious, the elected leaders as well as the people voting. Too many times these elected officials become complacent about the reason they are in those elected offices. They become smug, arrogant and downright unappreciative of the power given to them. To my way of thinking this type of behavior is one of the main reasons for term limits. No one person or group of persons should ever be in the position of unchecked and irresponsible authority in any of our governmental posts. Our founding fathers envisioned a government run by ordinary common men not career politicians.

American citizens must reclaim the election process. We must return the governing power to the people. True, real and responsible election reform must be the prime item of on the agenda of the next president and congress. These elected leaders must take the lead and revise the election process in America. We as the people, must hold these leaders accountable and subject to our capacity to remove them from office by using the ballot booth if necessary.

Is this proposition too idealistic? Probable, but we must make an attempt and start the process. To do so we must become active in the election process. We must register to vote and then vote.

Let's get back to the Florida Presidential Primary. Change was somewhat obvious from the results of the election. Some local long-term office holders were ousted from their offices, but a significant number were retained reinforcing the status quo. The Property Tax Amendment passed with 64% of the voters approving the initiative providing the supermajority for it's passage. Republicans selected Senator John McCain as their choice and Democrats overwhelming gave Senator Hillary Clinton their support. Life goes on.

If you are a fervent supporter of this blog, it will come as no surprise to you that I supported Hillary Clinton as well as the Property Amendment. There were two ballot items on my ballot - the choice for the Democratic Nominee and the Property Tax Amendment. Of course I made the right decisions or more appropriately the more popular decisions. Both of my votes ended up to be reflected in the final results as the rule of the people. And that suits me just fine, but I do have some comments to make about each.

First the Democratic nominee selection - I have been an ardent supporter of Senator Clinton and continue to be, but in the week before the Florida Primary I started to question my choice. I began taking a second or third or fourth, etc. look at Senator Obama vs. Senator Clinton. Senator Obama is charismatic, an agent of change and exudes great enthusiasm, but I feel that he is not ready to be president of the United States. Senator Clinton is ready to assume the office of president. Senator Obama is refreshing, motivating and certainly a profie in courage, but this is not his time. He needs to grow, mature and ready himself to be a realistic future president. Senator Clinton is divisive, old school and misunderstood. She does not or at least hasn't allowed her true person to shine through her political armor. In reality she is warm, caring and personable. She truly cares about the future of the United states, but more importantly she cares about the future of the people of the United States. She is driven, driven to do the people's work. She will be a very successful president, if elected. To confirm this statement one just has to look at her record as a Senator form New York. Since she assumed office in 2001 she has been very effective as the junior senator from New York. She has been the people's senator. She has reached across the aisle to unite Democrats and Republicans on a variety of issues. She is well liked or at least well respected by her colleagues, Republicans and Democrats. She must be the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominee.

Senator Obama's support from Ted Kennedy and Caroline did give me reason to hesitate in my support of Senator Clinton. I have been a Kennedy supporter since 1960. At ten years old I fell in love with the Kennedy family, legacy and mystique. I enthusiastically and unconditionally supported President John F. Kennedy in 1960 and still do. One October evening in 1960 I walked more than a mile alone to see and hear candidate Kennedy. I stood among thousands of spectators in Sharon, PA and cheered JFK. I have supported the Kennedy family ever since. But now it's time to forget about superficial facade, unsubstantiated good feelings and a memory. Now is the time to face the facts. Senator Obama is not President Kennedy. This is not the time for Senator Obama. This is not the time for an unproven, unreliable and untested leader for our country. This is the time for Hillary Clinton.

One thing is for sure, the former President Clinton should quiet himself. He should not have attacked Senator Obama as he did before the South Carolina primary. President Clinton needs to get a life. He needs to pursue an interest that is appropriate for an ex-president. Yes, he should support his wife in all matters including her run for president, but he should do so in a manner befitting a former president. In any case, Hillary Clinton is running for president; Bill Clinton is not. Hillary will and has pulled the plug on her husband. He should be the one who stays at home and makes cookies.

Irregardless former President Clinton is an American icon. He has had his day as president. Now it's Hillary's time. Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman.

Now for the Florida Property Tax Amendment. Yes, I supported it. Yes, I feel that it is more positive then negative - it will expand the homestead exemption, maintain the Save our Homes law and it will be portable. Long time Florida home owners will benefit the most from the amendment, but business, seasonal as well as future home owners will also feel it's positive effects. I'm just not sure that it will survive a vigorous Florida Supreme Court legal battle. Several opposing groups have filed law suites against the constitutionality of the amendment. It may be struck down by the Florida Supreme Court. Worse yet, the highest court in Florida could declare the Save our Homes law unconstitutional. That would be a problem. However, if this happens it would give the state legislators a real opportunity to enact real and substantive property tax relief. History will tell the story. For now, at least it passed.

**********

Religion & Spiritualism

Separation or Church and State - what would Jesus do? That is so simple. I just don't understand why the fundamentalist evangelical right will never get it right. These are the very people who claim that the Bible is the literal word of God. These are the same people who claim that Jonas was swallowed up by a whale and then emerged unharmed. These are the same people who believe that every word in the Bible came directly and irrefutably from God's mouth. I could go on and on with this comparison, but the answer to the separation of church and state is found in the Bible. The words are almost verbatim from the lips of Jesus Christ.

Let me set up the scene. Picture it, sometime between 30 A.D. and 33 A.D. Jesus was in his public ministry phase of his life. The Pharisees thought they had the question to stump this so-called Son of God. They thought that they had finally discovered the question that would finally put Jesus in a very compromising situation. In short, they thought they could derail the ministry of Jesus, the Son of God.

As the story goes, I believe the Pharisees were talking about the tax situation. Yes, even back in the infancy of Christianity the state was taxing the people, probably in some cases a bit too much. But I digress. I'm surmising that Jesus was in the midst of some of his followers or a combination of followers and common town folk discussing the unfair taxation imposed upon them by Rome. The Pharisees just couldn't resist the temptation to try to confuse the Jesus issue. They asked Jesus how God felt about Caesar's taxation. Should they pay their just or unjust taxes to the Roman governmental leaders? Or should they resist and claim that taxation was unjust and against God's law?

In other words and these words may be paraphrased (Mark 12:13-17) "Teacher, we know that you do not regard the human position, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them or should we not?" But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it." And they brought one. And he said to them. "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him. "Caesar's." Jesus said to them. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

Jesus surprised the Pharisees with His response to their question. They wanted to catch Jesus off guard. They wanted to confuse him. They wanted him to say that taxation was wrong and Caesar was wrong. They wanted to use God to cause social and civil unrest. Wrong. Jesus simply stated the obvious. In this world God and Caesar (state, government) must coexist as distinct entities each with specific responsibilities and functions. Government must be fair, equitable and compassionate. God - God is perfection. The two must be mutually exclusive in their roles and functions in the life of humans.

As I have said so many times in this blog, religion is not necessarily related to Godliness. Religion is man's vehicle to know God. Religion can be erred, spiritualism will never be erred. The separation of church and state is clear. The fundamentalist must restudy their Bibles and make special note that God and the government are separate with specific functions relative to the existence of people.

Let's take the misinformed and inaccurate premise, that church and state are not separate, to it's full level of absurdity. If church and state are one, then whose church are we taking about? Will our state religion be Christian, Jewish, Islamic, or any of the countless other religious beliefs, or is it agnostic or atheistic? I give up. How do we determine that one? By vote? By proclamation? By the result of the presidential and congressional elections? By judicial process? The answer is that it will never be determined because the existence of a state religion is contrary to the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. The authors of the Bill of Rights and Constitution established the United States of America in response to direct religious persecution. It is clear that they fashioned this new government as a God fearing country, but with no ties to any established religion. Thus religious freedom and a separation of church and state.

Also, as I've discussed many times in this blog, God is spiritual. God is not human and does not exhibit any human traits or emotions. We are made in the image of God by way of our immortal souls. In other words, the only connection that we have with the afterlife as I see it is the fact that there is an after life. The afterlife is an unknown entity for us. All we known is that it exists. This is where religion enters the picture. Religion allows people to explain this afterlife, this alien existence. Religion is the vehicle for like-minded individuals to seek God and attempt to understand His or Her role for each of us. God is not religion. God is perfection in all areas.

**********

Technology and Business

Summer camp is a big business, especially in South Florida. Immediately after school dismisses for the summer break anxious parents send their children to summer camp. These summer camps are not those summer schools of the last century. They are not the play schools of my generation. They are full summer theme based excursions for the mostly well-to-do full agenda children of over zealous albeit caring parents.

Why do I bring up summer camp in February? Well you must get your reservations early and pay that first deposit. In January while meandering through my local mall on one of those less than friendly, cold, dreary South Florida winter days I saw a quite elaborate exhibition of summer camp offerings. There must have been 25 or so summer camp representatives arranged in booths trying to peddle their latest curriculum of summer fun. Parents and children of all ages were eagerly perusing the exhibits. Parents were in full shopping mode, however, most of their children appeared only half interested, if that, in the exhibitors summer camp pitches.

I could not help thinking, "Those poor kids". What were their parents thinking. Of course many summer camp programs are very educational, exciting and fun, but whatever happened to the traditional summer vacation? I'll tell you what has happened to those summer vacations of yesterday, they do not fit into the expectations and schedules of most parents. Parents seem to think that a happy child is an involved and busy child. However, I feel that too much of a good thing is bad too. They feel that their children must be stimulated and motivated every waking hour of their children's lives - wrong. No child or adult should be stimulated and motivated all the time. Sometimes we need to relax and spend some down time alone without motivation or stimulation. We are teaching our child to be high anxiety people always needing to be busy. Wrong lesson. Like anything else, perspective and balance must be employed in each of our lives to be successful as a person. Sometime rest, daydreaming and just plain "chill-in" is needed in one's life.

I think another even bigger reason all those parents were eagerly seeking summer help - time, they do not have the time and they do not plan for the time to be with their children over the summer. Yes, work is important. Yes, financial success is important. Yes, time is often of the essence. But spending time with ones children, ones family is equally important. As I alluded to earlier, planning a tight and all-inclusive agenda for oneself or one's children is really not spending quality time with your family or children. I think today's children, parents and families are too busy. Each is so busy being involved in their own success that they tend to ignore the interpersonal, relational success of the group.

Parents, spend time with your children, unscripted time doing whatever comes up. Give your children, each other and your family quiet time, unscripted time and "chill" time. How can we hear each other and ourselves if we don't stop and listen.

**********