The Mind of KLH

Here I go again…complaining!  But if they didn’t give me anything to work with…. (I’m just saying).  I just watched the guys on American Idol…I recorded it, and the only good thing about that was I was able to fact forward through the commercials.  Anyhow…It struck me once again that this show has shot it’s load. (is that crass??)  There was a time when American Idol was something special, it really was about finding the “best singer” in America, think:  Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia, Carrie.  Now think Taylor Hicks, or David Cook…WHAT???  Now it’s about…well, I’m not sure what’s it’s about, but I’m sure their interest is not in finding outstanding talent.

The notion that after auditioning hundreds of thousands of singers that these 24  are the best of the lot is insulting.  Simon is right when he says he can go into any bar or hotel lounge and hear similar performances.  The problem is that he and his colleagues chose these people to be on the show.  These singers get up on stage and do the best they can, then they get blasted as though they did something wrong.  Most of these kids where mediocre when they auditioned.  It is totally unfair to think that somehow they are going to morph into great talents when they hit the big stage in Hollywood.

The bigger problem I have with this mess called American Idol is that it holds up average singers as the gold standard of talent.  Consequently when young kids see this they feel like that is what you strive for.  It’s no wonder that truly great singers are becoming so much more rare.  If the average kid can sing as good as the people on stage, then the people on stage ain’t good enough.

On second thought…I think I do know what American Idol is all about.  It’s about creating an Idol.  A false image they can promote as something that it really isn’t…real talent.  American Idol is about making money, but don’t get me wrong making money is good.  Just don’t lie to me and tell me you’re looking for the best singer in America…we all know that isn’t true.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

I’m mad at our elected officials.  I’m mad because NONE OF THEM ARE WORTH ANYTHING AT ALL!!!!!!!  (Sometimes a primal scream is just what the doctor ordered.)  We elected Barack Obama and a whole lot of Democrats to bring change to America.  Instead what we got is the same damn thing.  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am.  I thought this time it would be different, and “Change” really would come, but nope…no such luck.

I really was excited by Obama, now I just feel like I got suckered.  Obama so far is just like the rest of them…he makes these grandiose promise when he’s running for office and once he’s in he doesn’t do anything he promised he would.  Unemployment is higher than he said it would be.  Health-care reform with a PUBLIC OPTION is on life support (pardon the pun).  Guantanamo Bay is still open.  Congressional negotiations were supposed to be on CSPAN.  There was supposed to be unprecedented openness and bi-partisanship…that’s a no go on both of those.  There was going to be a whole host (one of Obama’s favorite words) of green energy jobs from the Stimulus Bill…but those are “still on the way”.

The Republicans are just as bad.  Their only mission is to see to it that nothing at all gets done while Obama is president.  Then they hope to regain power.  Just say no, that is their governing mindset.  In the meantime people are suffering from the arrogance and ignorance of the people we elected to make possible a good and productive life for us.  The truth of the matter is harsh, and it’s this…Our government officials don’t care about us.  How do I know that?  Simply look at what’s getting done, and what isn’t.  All they care about are power and the perks and privileges of that power.

So what’s the solution?  I think that we the American people should start a movement to vote out of office every single incumbent in the country.  Let’s send a message that they work for us.  From our State officials all the way up to the president, they are public servants, and as such they should SERVE US.  Let’s start with a clean slate, and require that these people serve our needs.  Let’s demand common sense solutions to the challenges that face us.  Let’s speak up and become the democracy we were supposed to be.  What we have now is no democracy, it’s no ‘rule of the people’.  What we have now is a joke…and a bad one at that.

I welcome your comments.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

If you want to succeed you cannot cheat. By that I mean you cannot take short cuts. Even as I’m writing this I am aware of people who have done just that…they have cheated and they have taken short cuts. Let me put it to you this way…success has a price. That price is determined by what it is that you want. If you want to be a doctor, the price is a gazillion years in school, and two gazillion dollars in tuition, and then you get to be a doctor. If you want to be a nurse, a computer programmer, or a machine operator, or a rodeo clown, you have to pay a certain price. That price may be a financial cost and or a certain amount of work. But there is indeed a price, and it must be paid upfront and in full.

Even cheats must pay a price. They bribe someone, they risk their life and or liberty to steal something, or they sell their soul, but believe me they pay a price. Success offers no discounts. You can’t do some of the work, and then expect to succeed. You must do all the work. You must work UNTIL you get to the promise land, and if you don’t, the universe knows the difference. You can’t be content with simply trying, or even trying your best. If you’re trying…you’re lying. Trying means you gave up…and giving up will attract more of the same from the universe. Success will give up on you.

Instead of trying use this formula: Be, Do, Have. Be-what you want to be. See yourself in the position you want to be in. Conduct yourself the way a person in that position would. Visualize that life and start living it right now. Second is Do-Do what that person would do. Wanna be an actor? Then ACT!!! Get into local community plays, get into an acting class, go to an audition, perfect your craft. If you will BE and DO like and actor, then in time you will HAVE the life of an actor. You can even say that BE and DO are like action and conviction. If you have enough of both these ingredients you WILL SUCCEED, and if you don’t the universe knows the difference. It’s really up to you.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

In this day and age with the recession raging our government has to be very cautious with spending tax payer money.  Hard choices have to be made.  There is a finite amount of revenue available, so money cannot be wasted.  At least that’s how it should be.  For some misguided reason our local and state governments see fit to give taxpayer money to people who won’t go to work.  Why, you may ask?  Because they had a baby, or two, or three, or…you get the idea.  A lot of women have decided to make welfare a career choice.

Now I know that a lot of “welfare moms” and wimpy liberals will say “OOOOOOhh you don’t understand.  These women are finding themselves on hard times, and we can’t let these babies starve, and yada yada”.  To that I would reply that a lot of people these days are finding themselves on hard times, me included.  The welfare department doesn’t give me any money, nor should they. 

There are families have that 3rd and 4thgeneration welfare recipients which is an outrage.  Clearly a lot of these “women” and often times girls have made a conscious choice to use baby making as a way to pay the bills.  No….I haven’t forgotten about the “men”.  These so called men are complicit in this rip off.  Any man worth a damn, would never have children he couldn’t afford to support.  People…in this day and age we just can’t afford to pay for somebody else’s children. Welfare needs extreme reform.  But, how do we do it?  I have a couple of suggestions.

First, U.S. citizens ONLY , NOT IMMIGRANTS…can receive welfare once per lifetime, and just for 9 months.  Men who father children and don’t pay for the support of those children, will be placed into a mandatory work program.  They will work in a job that benefits the neighborhoods they live in, street cleaning, graffiti removal, landscaping public property, you get the picture.  Half of the money they earn will go to repaying the money us citizens had to pay to take care of their babies.  Next, mothers and fathers who receive welfare money will go through a mandatory training class where they will learn how to teach workshops to educate young people how to avoid pregnancies they cannot afford.  Mothers will teach young girls that because a guy says “you have a nice ass” doesn’t mean he’ll make a suitable parent.  Fathers will teach young boys that it is weak, ignorant, and unmanly to have sex when you can’t shoulder all the possible consequences of having sex.  If you get pregnant again after having already received welfare…all I can say is you better have a good job.

We have gotten to a place in our society where our standards have gotten pitifully low.  Young men and women should expect so much more for themselves.  Welfare should be an extreme choice for an utterly desparate situation.  If you can work you should be required to by law, if you have children.  Beyond that, I simply don’t want to pay for anyone elses kids.  Nobody asked me if it was OK for them to have unprotected sex…and if I would mind paying for their children.  (They probably know what the answer would be.)

We need a new day…a new way of looking at things.  Welfare as a career choice is disrespectful…it’s disrespectful to the taxpayers, and it’s disrespectful to one’s self.  I know that some people will still say I don’t understand.  They will say that birth control isn’t 100% effective…but those same people won’t admit the obvious, that abstinence is always 100% effective.  Fact….sometimes when you have sex the woman gets pregnant.  To the women I say before you get all hot and bothered, ask yourself “If I get pregnant, can I afford to pay for this baby on my own?’ Truth is, that might be your reality.  To the men I say if you don’t have a job, or if you have any other loser traits… sex is not for you.  Whatever the case may be I don’t wanna buy junior diapers.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH