Election Day

Election day is upon us and most polls have already closed. Now I don't know about you but I am a politics junky and each election cycle is always exciting. There is always a story that dominates and here is the one that has resonated with me...
Jobs, all I have heard from people is that there are no jobs and I guess that the government was supposed to produce 17 million jobs in a year and a half. Are yo kidding me!! It is not the government that does this it is the private sector that does this. It does not matter whether taxes are going to be cut or increased, it does not matter if the Federal Reserve goes forward with thier Quantitative Easing, it does not matter if it is Democrats or Republicans occupying seats of power in this country. What does matter is you.
You are the master of your fate, if you are unemployed what have you been doing to turn that around? Have you gone back to school to retool your life, have you done a self-assessment, have you started your own business? If the answer to all of these questions are no then you have not done anything to get you back into the workforce. Don't blame the party in Congress or those in the White House, you need to blame yourself!!
I know this stings but let's call it what it is, America you are fat, dumb, and unhappy!! This phrase used to be fat, dumb, and happy but things have changed! It is now time to take a look in the mirror and ask yourself what you have done to contribute to your dire situation, how many loans did you take out, how many credit cards do you have, how many times did you spend more than you have? Yes, I know stop treading on me that is what you are thinking it is time to get your a_ _ in gear America that is where the real fault lies and now it is time to take responsibility!
Well, that felt good, sometimes you just have to vent. All kidding aside it is time to remake yourself and you will be surprised how fast you situation will change for the better. I also have a secret, shhhh don't tell anyone but being an entrepreneur is the best way to protect you from the next recession of the century and by the way make sure that money your business earns also puts that money to work!!

Going Forward not Back to the Cotton Fields

My wonderful wife came across a horendous story that just sent chills up my spine. It was a story about a city council meeting somewhere here in the great state of Georgia. The crux of the story is that there is a black or African American city councilman complaining about being disrespected by the majority white or caucasian city council members. What happended is that the black city council member said that he is not going into the cotton fields and if you are familiar with African American history this does have a negative context to it. The white city council member that he is debating with replies that he should be in the cotton fileds. I am adding the link for you to see and you judge for yourself.

All I know is that this country needs to move forward and not backwards and for those of you who believe that racism is behind us you better think again and this topic absolutely has to be a part of the national discussion. This is the only way to get it out of our system.

Oh by the way get out there and vote!!! our life just might depend on it. Here is the link.

Christopher & Scott 2ND Business Seminar

Ladies and Gentlemen I just want to thank all of you for the support that you are giving the business and we welcome you to our 2ND Business seminar. We will discuss Entrepreneurship, both for profit and not for profit entities, we will discuss putting your money to work for you and we will also have a special guest on hand to discuss your personal financial futures.

We will also discuss the denizen called social media and how this new monster tool in the world of marketing can be used to serve you and your businesses!!!! This all important tool is the sea change that we have all been looking for and it can make or break your business. You must be at the seminar to get this all important information.

We will discuss the dos's and dont's of business operations and we will also have some surpises for you. As you can see I am vey excited about the seminar and I want to see you there!!!! Please check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and at www.christopherstudios.net for all the details or you can just e-mail me at photoscott6@yahoo.com

Would love to see your face in the place November 6, 2010 at 7PM. Chow!!!

Sacking the General

We've all heard of the comments made by General Stanley McChrystal and his staff in a Rolling Stone article by now and what President Obama should or should not do about those comments. I was watching Kieth Olberman's Countdown show last night on MSNBC and although Mr. Olberman's comments had great merit I believe that he is truly missing the point in this whole debate of whether or not General McChrystal should be let go or not.

The point is simply this; Loyalty. The United States Armed Forces should and must be loyal to the civilian leadership and this civilian leadership starts with the President of the United States. General McChrystal and his staff displayed poor judgement with these comments and they were disloyal. Soldiers, sailors and airmen follow orders and are supposed to display unwavering loyalty to the United States and thier Commander in Chief (The President) is the embodiment of this great country that they serve.

President Obama did the right thing in sacking McChrystal and should do the same with his staff and he should go even further to ensure the the military and the American people understand who is in charge of the country. In fact, I would go as far to say that the American people that oppose thier president should also be labeled as subversives and watched, I am just kidding but since when was it OK to oppose the President if you are in the military? Since when it was OK to stand up during a joint address to congress and call the President a liar during his address. I don't know about you but there is something in the air and it smells like racism. Let's just face it are we really not going to call this what it really is or are we going to dance around it again like we have been doing so for the past year and a half.

The fact is this there are whole segments of the citizenry that believe that they should not have to listen to or for that matter take orders from a black man. Yes that is exactly what I said but let's call a spade a spade, pardon the pun but do you smell it? I do and I live in the south where the smell is really strong peeeeyuuuoooo. I just like to call it like I see it. The fact is this President Obama needs to show who is really boss now and if there is one thing I know about my brethren in the military is that they respond to and respect strength and courage and it is now time for the President to display some both with the military and the American people.

Mr. President I voted for you for a number of reasons the reasons were strength, courage, pragmatism, intelligence and a host of others that you displayed on the campaign trail. It is now time to bring all of these qualities to bear in this turning point of your presidency. Be damned the chances for a re-election bid the problems that this country face right now are enormous so tackle them now and let the sacking of General McChrystal be your jumping off point to turning this counrty around for the better now.

The Best Time is Now!

I have been reading a lot about the economy lately and finding that economically speaking things are starting to get better. The one area that is least desired is the job market and economic and political pundits from the right and the left are blaming each other for the numbers being too high. Yes, it is true that the unemployment rate is as high as I have ever seen it and yes it is true that it could go even higher. However, what is going on is that we in this country are missing the proverbial point.

This message is for the American people only and the message is get off the duff and become an entrepreneur. It just does not make any sense to complain about your situation because that job that you had 3 months ago is probably not coming back. What I will tell you is this your job probably went to an entrepreneur that can do it better, cheaper, and more cost efficient to your former employer. That entrepreneur is probably in China, India or even in Canada and the fact of the matter is this you have become complacent and lazy and expected to get everything you want for nothing simply because you are an American. Let's face facts the world has changed and we must change with it. the changes that are happening is that competition has become even more fierce than ever before and a lot of those jobs you once had are going elsewhere and they are going to motivated educated people.

How is your education portfolio? I guess that just being an American is just not enough anymore. that is good becuase where ther is pain there is change and change means innovation. I don't know about you but this recession has been the greatest thing that has ever happened to this country of ours. It has made us uncomfortable and that is when real action happens. Those of you who are unemployed, underemployed, or worried about your job you must think ouside of yourself and become an entrepreneur. This is where the real action is and you could be right in the middle of it. Believe me this is the best decision you could make in a time like this and the best time to become one is now!

To Afghanistan Or Not To Afghanistan

There has been a lot of press about the rhetoric of whether or not President Obama should send more troops to beat back the insurgent Taliban. There has been reports that the American people are beginning to tire of the fight in Afghanistan and in fact are calling it a worthless war. I feel that it is necessary to explain to the American people that the attack on the World Trade Center in New York was launched from Afghanistan. However, that is not what I want to convey to you here, we all know that Osama Bin Laden and his band of blood thirsty thugs must and will be hunted to the ends of the earth.

I just want to share with you a story that I heard from one of my professors when I was in graduate school back in St. Louis. First of all my professor was a woman that was from eastern Iran and had relatives that lived in Afghanistan. My professor had such a unique perspective of what it was like to live in Iran during the Iranian Revolution and was close enough to her family in Afghanistan to vicariously share their stories with us back in the states. There was a discussion of the Taliban in our class as we were studying the region and its history after the Soviets were kicked out in the late eighties. Of course we being naive praising the Taliban and their fight against oppression summoned the wrath of our soft spoken professor.

She commenced to tell us a story about the Taliban and their rules outlawing the idea of sports and competition among other things as well. Her demeanor changed as she told us about the Taliban softening their position on sports and advertised a soccer match. As you may well imagine the citizens of Afghanistan were excited about the prospects of being able to see and cheer on their favorite team in a long awaited soccer match. As our professor came to a crescendo in her story we became even more excited about our Afghan brothers and sisters getting the chance to see a soccer match and in a way to become human again.

However, our story teller changed the tempo and our hopes just like those in the stadium awaiting the match were crushed in an iron fist of oppression as the Taliban commenced showing brutal executions of those that opposed them. They beheaded their enemies in public display for all to see and to send a message to those in the stadium and beyond that their power (the Taliban) was absolute.

I do not need to tell you that after that story I felt sick and I was emboldened to oppose any affront to freedom where-ever I see it. If there is an affront of freedom here at home or in Afghanistan we as Americans must oppose it no matter where it is. Mr. President I am a citizen of this country and as a citizen I fully support your decision to send more troops to oppose the Taliban. Just like Al Quida the Taliban is nothing more than blood thirsty criminals. I liken them to a gang of thugs that must be stamped out and deadly force is the only way to do it. I trust you will do the right thing President Obama and as far as I am concerned there should be no debate to send more troops at all, send them and I will support the Afghan people in their fight for freedom no matter how long it takes.

The Educated Masses or Brainwashed?

I just heard the most absurd story about President Obama going on the air to speak to students about the importance of education and reasons why they should stay in school. Bravo to you Mr. President bravo to you that you care enough about the education of our children, our future. I know what you are thinking, what is so absurd about that? Well my friends that isn't, what is absurd is the response of those that oppose the President's agenda.

Our brothers and sisters on the right or in other circles they are called Republicans fiercely oppose this address because they believe that President Obama is trying to mount a campaign of brainwashing our children and to turn them into mindless slaves to his so called socialist agenda. You have got to be kidding me; our President is just trying to enforce the thought that all of us should have and that is the importance of education. You mean to be telling me that Republicans don't agree with this very agenda? That I refuse to believe but look at what has happened in the past 8 years of (No Child Left Behind) where students aren't really taught anything but there is a great emphasis on graduation rates at all cost. Perhaps this is what the right stands for, just a Vail of education where there is no real progress with the system where we in this country turn out truly gifted educated students of all races, creeds, ethnicity's, and so.

You want absurdity, that is absurdity where we just give our students an education. They are not earning their education that is the Republican way. Perhaps it is not absurd after all when you truly take a deep educated look at the Republican position where there is the rich and privileged and then there is the rest of us. That is the absurd view that does not take into account that this country of ours is sliding down a slippery slope. We are losing ground in so many areas, such as business, geopolitics, economics, technology, and yes education.

So I ask you; do you want the Republican way of looking at education or do you want your children to succeed in their education? I would hope that it is the latter and if so you would want your President encouraging our children to stay in school and not only that but attack it with vigor. That is what you want if you consider yourself a responsible parent that believes in the future and believes in the promise of this country. Education is that one key that will unlock that promise. What is so absurd about that?