My biggest regret in life

*I have about 20 minutes to free hand this blog... I fear it will not do justice...

I usually blog on political/economic issues.  For you that read my blog, you know this to be true.  I often discuss controversial issues here as well that I believe are of great importance.  Today I was moved to tears in my apartment.  I was not trying to think upon regrets I have made in life.  But circumstances in my life made me think and dwell on this issue for a few minutes.

I have regrets everyone does and to say you have none is a cliche of dishonesty.  Only Jesus has lived a life on earth of no regret.  I have made decisions, made friends with people, had relationships with people, done things professionally, and been lazy at times and regret those things.  I regret not having more mental toughness and it causing me to have a shortened baseball career and deal with anxiety and insomnia at times.  Although am am thrilled to say that I experience far less of that now than before probably due to weight loss and being in the best shape of my life since my early twenties.  But no doubt those regrets are so small compared to the biggest regret of my life.

I probably spent more time with my Dad than 95% of children growing up.  We were together a lot especially during baseball season.  But the fact is today I am reaping some of the bad decisions I made in regards to not spending more QUALITY time with him.  My hot water heater went out yesterday.  I live in an apartment so maintenance took care of it.  I have a screen door that is messed up and a light in the kitchen that has wiring issues.  Luckily I live in an apartment complex and its an easy call to have it fixed.  As a child my dad was brilliant... well he still is.  He can work with wood, flooring, electrical work and his specialty area is with plumbing.  All qualities that allow a man to well be a man.  I want a family one day and to be honest, I've thought about that in the last few months more than normal for personal reasons.  But the reality is that I feel at times that I do not offer what it takes to be a good father.  I love kids and would be a good parent, but a good husband and father? I'm not sure.

My parents were and are awesome and did a good job raising me.  But to be a Man, to be a father, to be the Man of the house that I need and wish to be, required me to do a bit more when I was young.  And today I feel inadequate because I was not motivated to learn many of the things my dad tried to teach me.  Now don't get me wrong, he taught me a lot and I can do a little and I believe he did what he could to prepare me for manhood.  But the reality is that I could have went with him on jobs more, and when I went, if I had been more motivated I could have made that more quality time.  I feel that I would own a house if I was confident in the areas that my dad is brilliant in.  And I am to blame for not doing more to acquire that knowledge from him.

Today I feel my life is held back because of those decisions.  I regret it so much.  I have learned so much from my parents and can hardly point to a weakness of them.  But as a son I failed because I feel less of a man today because I did not take the time to trust him that I needed to know those skills.  Today I feel my life, personal, and professional are held back due to this regret.  I can't be the person I want to be to people because of my ignorance that is born out of being ignorant as a young man and not wanting to spend more time with my dad.

As a coach and teacher I try to tell my kids that one of the most important things you can learn at a young age is how IGNORANT you are.  Some think that might bash a persons self-esteem.  Well maybe.  But ignorance abounds in all of us.  And the fact is if my students and players can have their self-esteem in check at this age that's better than having regrets later in life.  I have to persuade them to trust me that the material I go over will come in "handy" and be helpful to you in the future even if you don't care about it now.  Players who choose not to work on their game in the off-season will regret it when they can't hit a game winning shot late in the game and miss out on a chance to reach their full potential as a player and team.  But most kids are too ignorant to really fully buy into that.  And that sometimes angers or annoys me.

But days like today remind me that I was once there.  And at a young age we feel like we have so many answers and this or that is not important.  Well I love my dad and am so thankful that he forced me to work with him some and learn some of those skills.  But I so regret not desiring to spend more quality time with him so that I can be a better man today.  So many things have happened to me, well actually I feel that so many great things have NOT been able to happen to me lately because I can't provide the type of qualities that my dad had and that I could have gotten from him if I had realized how ignorant I was and important those qualities were to learn at that age.

Young people especially, spend as much time with leaders and mentors of your life as you can.  Admitting you are ignorant today might hurt your self-esteem a bit.  But that is better than to live life with regrets that were so easily avoidable back then.

The Truly Unfortunate Legacy of Slavery and Racism in American History

For years people have debated the impact that history can have on current events in our land.  The unfortunate reality is that many of our problems today exist not directly due to the history of slavery and racism in our nation but due to the guilt associated with those tragedies that causes Americans to turn their head away from many of the unfortunate circumstances we face today.  

The recent verdict in the Zimmerman trial is a case in point.  Regardless of whether you believe the jury got it right or wrong, there is a bigger more devastating picture that this trial paints for us.  Not to belittle the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, but thousands of more deaths occur yearly due to the atmosphere that exists in relation to this Murder case and many other crimes.  This atmosphere is created by the media that is more about ratings and feeding their political leans than they are reporting hard news.    

According to the Bureau of Justice statistics, 7000 African Americans (I will use "blacks" for the remainder of this blog entry) are murdered every year.  Furthermore between the years 1976 and 2011 there were 279,384 murders of black people.  The amazing statistic that would surprise anyone who watches the news in our country is that 94% of those crimes are committed by other BLACK people.  Blacks account for 50% of the homicide victims in this country although they account for only 13% of the overall population.  

Here are a couple other statistics: 

According to a Tuskegee Institute study, between the years 1882 and 1968, 3,446 blacks were lynched at the hands of whites. Black fatalities during the Korean War (3,075), Vietnam War (7,243) and all wars since 1980 (8,197) come to 18,515, a number that pales in comparison with black loss of life at home.

T. Willard Fair, president of the Urban League of Greater Miami, [put it best when he] told The Daily Caller that "the outrage should be about us killing each other, about black-on-black crime." He asked rhetorically, "Wouldn't you think to have 41 people shot (in Chicago) between Friday morning and Monday morning would be much more newsworthy and deserve much more outrage?"  Fair was referring to the news coverage of the Trayvon Martin death.  

Another tragedy is that there is little to no coverage of Black on White crime in the news media despite the continuous coverage of this case and others that involves white on black crime if you want to considered Mr. Zimmerman white to begin with.  I will give one example only though:

Columnist Walter Williams pointed out that two Virginian-Pilot newspaper reporters driving through Norfolk were beaten up by a mob of young blacks.  They had to miss a weeks worth of work due to injuries.  This story was not even covered by their own newspaper.  Thomas Sowell gives even more examples here:

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2012/05/15/a_censored_race_war

You can also get Pat Buchanan's take on it here:

http://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2013/07/26/black-americas-real-problem-isnt-white-racism-n1644184

 

Some of you might read this article and call me a racist.  The reality is that I love all people.  And my favorite and most often read columnists in the world are two African Americans that I mention in this story.  Some of my favorite people at my school happen to be black and I personally only know 3 or 4 black kids in the entire school (of course in my defense there is no more than twice that many in the entire school).  The unfortunate thing is that many are afraid to talk, write, discuss, debate, or lecture on this issue because of either white guilt or the perception that due to our racist past we must assume that racism is still raging throughout our great country and we must first blame racism for every tragedy that involves a black person or that second, we cannot speak out of some of the cultural struggles today in black society because it might come off as racist.  

The type of violence that I have just listed and the statistics at the beginning of this blog entry were far less prevalent in the 1950's according to Dr. Thomas Sowell.  And poverty and discrimination were far worse then than it is today.  It is apparent that poverty and racism cannot be the cause of what we see today in the black community.

  

This is a difficult blog entry to write as a school teacher because of the controversial issue that it covers.  The unfortunate legacy of slavery and racism in American History is that as a society we still use those tragedies to justify not covering and not criticizing problems that obviously exist in our culture.  All races and all people have their problems.  We must deal with them head on.  There are many reasons for this uptick in violence among black people whose victims are often and probably most of the time completely innocent wonderful people.  One of the main reasons is the legacy that has been left behind due to our history.  A legacy that continues today.  This legacy is one of dishonesty when reporting news and discussing issues that involve those distant decedents of victims of our past failures and Sins as a nation.  

Transformation

Most of you that would ever read my blog know that I have had a recent transformation.  Physically I am in the best shape of my life since I was probably in my third year in college.  Here is how:

I have lost to this point 84 pounds since around August.  My goal is 100 by August and 110 by September.  To do this I have had to make a ton of changes but those changes were not as hard as many would think.

Nothing is as hard when you have motivation.  I have had a lot of support from new friends and one in particular in the last year.  I love them all so much.  I have been inspired and motivated for many reasons that I will not go into but the reality is just as my brother Brad Raby mentioned in church a couple weekends ago, motivation is so important.  You who want to and are trying to lose weight... find friends and close love ones that will hold you accountable.  And not just other people who need to lose weight as well.  But others who are already fit.  Others who are experienced and already know how to do it.  And make sure they are people that don't let you slack off much.  In other words family might not be best.  Even old friends are not best.  new friends.  Friends you really like and want to impress and know that will hold you accountable.

Start off knowing that it will be hard for the first month but that if you stick to it for a month it will get easier thereafter.  All things are harder at first.  But if you do the right thing you will add motivation along the way.  I noticed my body changing after a month and that added motivation.  After two months change was obvious and after 3 or 4 people around me started to ask.  And as obvious from a recent picture that I have posted change has really taken place the last couple of months.

Don't change your diet change your lifestyle.  Diets die out.  You need to count calories.  More out than in.  Scientifically figure out how many calories you can have a day and go with that.  Don't try to cut out certain foods.  Cut down calories that will help you decide what to cut out.  What you value.  The reality is that I enjoy fun from time to time.  I cut out soft drinks.. Not because of the sugar but because I value other foods more.  I still eat desserts but I eat a certain quantity and do not over eat as often.  I eat a better breakfast to save calories for later in the day.  I eat slower during the day so that I feel more full and have calories left over for the evening.  I use my phone app to count calories.  myfitnesspal.com  It works wonders

Mix up your workouts.  I started off riding my indoor bike.  Its funny I would ride my bike and after so many calories I would allow myself to read a Tennessee Sports article on Govols247 a recruiting and tennessee sports site that I am a member of.  From there I went to walking and some p90x.  Then I started kickboxing locally at a great place.  Now I am part of a gym where I run on the treadmill and lift weights.  I have a local neighborhood I run at and when I want to run longer distances that are flat I do so on a big road that has a good sidewalk.  The point is I don't bore myself.  Mix it up a bit.  Muscle confusion.

Most important of all these is the first.  I have had support from my family but I'm not around my family.  I have some close people to me here in Crossville that have really helped me.  I cherish this help.  Without it I would not have done this and would not continue to do it.  Find some accountability partners guys find some people to do this with you.  Find some motivation!  That's what people need.

Thanks to all who have helped.  You know who you are... Love you!!

PS This will continue... Live Long

The Folly of Franklin Roosevelt and the Myth about the Great Depression

If you read any list of greatest presidents in American history you will almost surely find Franklin D. Roosevelt on that list.  In part because of what he did during the World War II Crisis.  But also due to guiding us through the Great Depression.  The reality is that he did not guide us THROUGH the Great Depression but is one of the main reasons we have what we will forever call "The Great Depression."

The information that you will see in this blog comes from Dr. Thomas Sowell and Dr. Walter Williams from various articles and the book "The Housing Boom and Bust."

Almost every person in America knows of the Great Depression.  We study it in school.  In fact the American History class that I teach has three major sections covering the stock market crash, the Great Depression, and the New Deal.  All three sections are focused on the time period of the late 20's and 30's and even early 40's during a time that we call The Great Depression.  For many years FDR was given credit for ending it with the New Deal.  Then many said that WWII ended it but FDR's New Deal actually kept things from getting worse.  But many modern economist of the last 30 years are now often blaming FDR's New Deal for having caused much of the Great Depression or at the least prolonging its demise to our nation.  Lets look into it a bit.

The huge stock market crash of 1929 has for years been considered the cause of the massive unemployment of the 1930's, the period we refer to as the Great Depression.  Unemployment was as high as 25 percent in 1933 and the annual rate remained above 20 percent for four consecutive years 1932 to 1935.  Thousands of banks failed and stock prices fell to a fraction of their peaks in 1929.  For two consecutive years, American corporations as a whole operated in the red(Sowell).  Foreclosures of homes and especially farms followed and many people had to live in what we term shanty towns that were nicknamed "Hoovervilles" after the president of the time, Herbert Hoover.

His successor was Roosevelt who is regarded as the man that guided us out of the Great Depression.  Roosevelt understood the need for the federal government to get involved with disasters like this that were caused by the free market of capitalism and correct the problem.  But this picture or belief has again, recently been challenged by economists although historians, often primarily liberal and in love with FDR are reluctant to revise their history.

Here are the facts, Two months after the stock market crashed in October, unemployment rose and peaked at 9 percent and then began to gradually decline over the next several months all the way down to 6.3 percent by June of 1930.  Then in June of 1930, Herbert Hoover signed into law the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs which raised taxes on imports to their highest in history.  This was an effort to reduce imports and increase domestic production and exports to preserve American jobs.  In November of 1930, unemployment reached double digits for the first time in the decade at 11.6 percent.  Unemployment began to rise after the federal government got involved.  It was more than a year after the stock market had crashed.  In fact after two months unemployment had peaked and began to fall until the  tariff bill was passed into law.  Not all of this was due to the tariff laws though.  Lets look deeper into it.

FDR as president involved the federal government even more so.  He passed laws like the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which controlled prices and wages in industry.  The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 established federal control over prices and output in agriculture.  The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 mandated employers to negotiate wages and working conditions with labor unions.  FDR also took us off the gold standard and issued thousands of executive orders.

"During the first year of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, he called for increasing federal spending to $10 billion while revenues were only $3 billion. Between 1933 and 1936, government expenditures rose by more than 83 percent. Federal debt skyrocketed by 73 percent. Roosevelt signed off on legislation that raised the top income tax rate to 79 percent and then later to 90 percent. Hillsdale College economics historian and professor Burt Folsom, author of "New Deal or Raw Deal?", notes that in 1941, Roosevelt even proposed a 99.5 percent marginal tax rate on all incomes more than $100,000. When a top adviser questioned the idea, Roosevelt replied, "Why not?""  

In the five months leading up to the passage of the National Recovery Act, signs of recovery were evident in our economy.  Factory employment was up 23% and payrolls altogether were up 35%.  Then the law was passed and what was the result of raising wages and shortening work hours?  In the six months after the law was passed, industrial production dropped some 25 percent according to economist Dr. Walter Williams.  Even more interesting is that the Supreme Court eventually ruled this law unconstitutional.  Unemployment then fell to 14 percent in 1936 and even lower by 1937.

Roosevelt had more ideas such as the Wagner Act also known as the National Labor Relations Act.  This law was to improve the power of Labor Unions to help workers in the workplace.

In 1938, Roosevelt's New Deal produced the nation's first depression within a depression. The stock market crashed again, losing nearly 50 percent of its value between August 1937 and March 1938, and unemployment climbed back to 20 percent.  -Williams

Roosevelt was not hated though.  The chief Nazi paper at the time bragged on his policies.  Roosevelt even considered the dictator Benito Mussolini as an "admirable" man whom he was impressed with and had accomplished.

FDR's very own treasury secretary, Henry Morgenthau, saw the folly of the New Deal, writing: "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. ... We have never made good on our promises. ... I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started ... and an enormous debt to boot!"

The reality is that what was a four year sharp downturn was extended to a 16 year depression due to destructive policies of Roosevelt and his New Deal agenda.

Roosevelt's administration created unpredictable interventions in the economy and businesses were impeded due to the federal involvement in the economy that caused uncertainty.  Business investments remained unusually low during the New Deal era.  While the government was becoming more involved, one financial historian said that throughout the 1930's "the amount banks lent for each dollar of reserved remained at about half the level of the 1920's."  Unemployment remained at double digits for the entirety of Roosevelt's first two terms in office despite much economic and statistical analysis that concluded that government policies in the 1930's prolonged the depression by several years.

The stock market crashed again in 1987 in a similar way to that in 1929.  Unlike Hoover and Roosevelt, Reagan did little to intervene in 1987 despite media criticisms of his inaction.  The result was that the economy had to recover on its own.  This led to what the British magazine The Economist later called 20 years of a combination of steady growth and low inflation.  Two sharp downturns in the early 1920's were allowed to recover on their own as well and quickly did so. Remember the nickname of the 1920's?  "The Roaring Twenties".   

There is much more information available to describe the impact of the New Deal and statistics as far is how the economy reacted when laws were passed or repelled.  Unfortunately our education system is mostly ran by big government.  And any history that belittles or speaks of the weaknesses of big government might lend to a desire for reduced government involvement in our lives today.

FDR was one of the worst presidents in history domestically.  I for one history teacher will speak of his strengths and weaknesses and allow others to develop their own opinions based on all sides of the history story.  The Great Depression was truly caused by massive government failure that this blog only touches the surface of.  I hope this opens the eyes of many readers who often buy into the belief that since so many people say it, it must be true that Roosevelt was a great president.  I find it hard to believe anyone that was bragged on by two Fascist leaders could truly be that great.

Last four months of my life

A lot has changed in my life recently.  Mainly my looks.  For the last decade of my life I have had a weight issue.  That's what it is.  The quickest way to start losing weight is to admit that you are in trouble.  I was in trouble.  Health still good overall but I was at a point where I knew change was needed now not later.

I have lost as of Saturday morning January 19, 66 pounds.  I would not like to lose about 34 more pounds.  I have learned a couple things through the process that I want to mention here in this post.

First, a person has to be motivated intrinsically to get much done in their life.  External motivation is good but true motivation comes from within.  As a coach I expect a lot from my players.  How can I expect so much from them if I do not expect a lot from myself.  I wanted to fix myself so that I could stop being a hypocrite.  I was motivated to lose weight so that I could feel better about myself as well.  A person can forget what they are missing if they have not experienced it in a long time.  I feel so much better now.  I had forgotten what this felt like.  I'm not there yet don't get me wrong.  Still a long ways to go.  But I feel so much better now.  A friend has told me: "no food taste as good as skinny feels".  Or something like that.  And that is true.

Second, stop acting like you don't need help in your life.  So many people think they are strong enough to not need help from others.  They think that is a sign of weakness.  In this life you need community.  I have that.  My mom is working hard now to lose weight as well.  That is motivation.  I have a head coach who is in great shape and motivates me and he does not even know that.  Even comments from people on the outside about how I use to look has motivated me.  I have heard those comments before but the combination of factors motivated me.  Biggest of all is that I have met people in my life recently that have changed it.  I have good people in my life that motivate me to lose weight but have also shown me how to.  My brother first introduced me to an app on my phone.  I finally downloaded it when a local friend also showed me how it works.  My life has changed because of people.  I have learned to cook.  I'm not bad at it.  I have been shown healthy food that is good for you.  My life is better now thanks to people.  I will never be able to thank them enough.

I am a Radical... You should be one too

This week I have been bombarded, in a good way, with discussion, debate, conversation and many other vices that have centered on the idea of being a “radical”.  Discussion that revolves around whether bipartisanism is important or whether a person is too extreme and should not fight for what they believe.  I have had class discussions in history class about how people are offended or feel like a person should not try to convince them of their ideology.  A mindset of “to each their own”.  That is one of the most ludicrous statements I think I have ever heard.

The idea that a good Christian is one that would never try to persuade another human of their faith is contradictory to even being a Christian in the first place.  The call of Christians is to tell others about Christ.  Even aside from religion, if one has an opinion or ideology or a viewpoint, that person should be led to try and get others to see things that way as well. 

Readers, we should all be Radicals in life.  A radical for what we believe in is the way to be.  What is the point of being Luke warm?  I am a radical and proud of that stance.  I believe with a strong passion and desire for things to be done the way I view them.  I want our country to elect a man to office that has my exact views.  That will never happen unless I’m President. 

There should be no such thing as a moderate.  We hear this idea that we need more moderates and that the extreme right and left are destroying our political democratic process.  Readers let me be the first to tell you that a moderate is someone who is unsure of themselves.  A moderate is someone who might not even have an opinion on an issue.  If you vote for President Obama, you are a radical who believes in what you believe.  And that is likely large government in our lives.  No moderate would vote for this President.  If you vote for Mitt Romney you are a radical in what you believe.  We should all be Radicals. 

There are people out there that believe that a person who believes that a child’s life begins before delivery in the hospital room or wherever it might be, and thus is against abortion is a Radical.  Well great.  That person should be a radical.  They should radically stand by that decision and belief.  But don’t act like you are a “moderate” person for believing that a woman should have a choice on what to do with that child or “her body”.  If you view it that way you are too a radical.  We are both radicals. 

I have arguments with people that believe they are right because they are in the middle.  That makes no sense to me.  No one in the middle will ever sway my opinion on anything.  If you do not have conviction of your beliefs and passion for it then you will never impact anyone.  I have passion for economic principals.  I believe that the Tea Party is radical.  Not in a bad way like the media and those on the left want you to believe.  They are radicals because they are passionate about what they stand for.  What they stand for is not extreme.  They believe that the size and scope of government has gotten way too big.  If that is radical than I’m a radical and proud of it. 

Strive to be radical readers.  Stop believing this nonsense that the far right and the far left is destroying the nation.  That we need common ground to fix this nation.  Ladies and Gentlemen, the lasting domestic legacies of former President George W. Bush that people hate are where he compromised.  He made everyone unhappy.  No Child Left Behind, Prescription Drug Program, McCain-Feingold, Immigration policy.  No one was happy because he camped out in the middle.  Even on tax issues he cut taxes sure.  But he did it in a “moderate” way.  He should have reformed the tax code instead.  He should have been a radical!! 

Readers stand firm.  Have debate.  Try to convince people of your sides.  And never argue against someone because they are a “Radical” and therefore their views are too extreme to be used.  Our founders were radical.  Karl Marx was a radical.  Adam Smith was a radical.  So what!  The question is not whether they are radical or not… it’s who is right? I am passionate that I am right.  And until I die I will try to convince others of my views and my ways.  I will do it respectfully but with passion and energy.  I am a radical and I am proud of it.  You should be too.   

Why I care more

How can we not have the FDA?  They check our food to make sure it is not contaminated.  They are to make sure that our drugs are safe for the marketplace to be sold to consumers.  Anyone for ending the FDA has to be evil as they apparently do not care about protecting a person's health just like us terrible guys do not care for women's health by arguing that I should not be forced to pay for her birth control.

But what if I said that I care too much for our health to be willing to keep the FDA around.  I mean lets look at some of the situations that are created with the FDA.

Can the government be sued for messing up when it comes to regulating and inspecting drugs?  Are government employees often fired for bring poor at their jobs?  The answer to each of these is a NO!  Because of this we get the worst of both worlds.  An FDA that is very slow to approve drugs on the market because there is no incentive for them to approve a drug that can help people unless its very very safe because they are not going to make a profit by approving the drug anyways.  But at the same time they will not be sued or fired often for approving a drug or not inspecting food thorough enough.

If the FDA was demolished, then a private insurance company would have to back up a drug company or food company and their product.  That insurance company is in it to make money so you very well better believe that they will make sure food is not contaminated.  They do not want lawsuits so they will get these things right way more often than wrong because the risk of being wrong is being sued in court, having profitable contracts voided, being fired as an employee, or going out of business altogether due to not doing a satisfactory job.

At the same time, there is an incentive to approve drugs to the market that would allow doctors and patients to make more decisions for themselves.  Insurance companies can say that this drug has a high risk and thus to insure it we charge much more.  But drug companies want to approve drugs because that will make the companies more profitable and make them more money as well insuring more drugs.  Thus good drugs that have side effects but can still be helpful despite those side effects will be approved more often than they are by the current FDA.

Many people want to act like Libertarians do not care about people because we want to get rid of rent control laws, minimum wage laws, regulations, the FDA, OSHA, and other things... But in reality... we want to get rid of many of those things because we care MORE than others.  Its like if I'm against some kind of government law or oversight than that means someone else cares and I do not.  But as a libertarian I look at the incentives of laws and the consequences and base my opinions and views there not based on the nation that we need protection from everything.  I care more so I put more time into studying the results than someone who supports simple government protection.

Unfortunately Libertarians are not winning the argument on this because so many of them want to focus on things like legalizing gay marriage, pot, getting our military behind our boarders only, and abortion "rights".  Thus they alienate so many and in fact more often than not the base that usually supports their economic ideas, the conservatives, and thus little is accomplished.  Hopefully younger conservative libertarians like myself will change this and can shrink government.