Am I Old?

When does one realize that they are getting old?



Chorus:

"They said all
Teenagers scare
The living shit out of me
They could care less
As long as someone'll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they'll leave you alone
But not me"

The lead singer who wrote this song after being on a subway train with a group high school age teenagers. He said,

"That was the first time I felt old...I was nervous and I was a target. I felt like I had become a parent figure or part of the problem."

The lead singer at the time was probably around 28 years old.

It suck when you begin to realize you’re not a teenager or even 25 anymore even though in you’re mind you think you still are. But one day you look around and see young people looking at you as if you’re old. I know I could go to a Alice Cooper concert or a Rob Zombie concert and there will be young people looking at me like what you doing here old man. Even though I was listening to Alice before they were born and Alice is 63yrs old or that Rob Zombie and I are the same age. Fact is that if I sat down with Alice or Rob I would have more in common with them than some 20 year old.

The song “Teenagers” to me is about the violence in the youth culture and that adults are to blame due to their lack of involvement in teenagers life and that we should be more involve in their lives even if they don’t want it. But involved not has either a policeman or as a best friend but as a parent or as a mentor. To me a parent’s job is to teach your child how to survive with out them, to understand the rules of one society and prepare them to be able to cope in the real world. To learn from mistakes and if they fall to always get back up.

When I was a school age teenage in the late 70’s and early 80’s I knew kids who had parents with guns and they would have never touch them nor would have brought them to school no matter how angry they were. We did carry pocketknives to school, which could be confiscated if a teacher saw you playing with it but usually you were warned to put it away. If it was confiscated you could get it back at the end of the day. Fights were rare and usually quick and weaponless. Most of the time students would jump in and break it up before a teacher got there. Reason is because their fellow students would break it up so the two who are fighting wouldn’t get in trouble. Teacher had no problem jumping in the middle of a fight because typically a student would not dare hit a teacher because they were taught at home and school to respect their elders. Don’t get me wrong I’m sure a few got hit in the heat of things.

But today it seems when a fight breaks out the surrounding students standby with their cell phone videoing it for the Internet. I too think adults are to blame because we are the one making the rules and produce media programs showing insane drunken behavior of reality TV. I believe children and teenager needs rules and boundaries that will allow them express themselves and be themselves but not violate others rights or peace. But adult need to lead by example especially by parents and teachers. It seems today there are parents and teachers who don't think they have an obligation to be a moral role model without regard of how it's going to influence young minds. Truth is those adults are lazy and self-centered.

I do understand how teenagers can scare me. We fear what we don’t understand and where I once could relate now I wonder who are these people. I’m sure all the things I felt then is about the same as today teenagers do. Most teenagers tend to be idealist because the lack experience in being in the real world unless they are in a very poor gang control area then its just a form hopeless survialism. Maybe what happens is as we get older and go through life we begin understand more and life becomes less fearful and more secure in our own skin and we begin to understand our parents better. As I say to my young adult kids, just because you’re an adult it doesn’t mean you’re grown up. The day you grow up is the day you realize you have responsibilities. Responsibilities to work, to family, to friends, to community and even responsibilities you don’t even want to have but you do. That’s the day you grow up whether it be at 20 or 50 and I know some who are in their 40s and still haven’t grown up because the won’t take responsibility and I’ve know 16yr old who had to grow up because they had to become responsible to support their mother and siblings after their father died.

But the real question is; have we let an untrained dog off the leash? Many “parents” today will allow a minor do things that in my day we couldn’t do until you were over 18 and living in your own place unless your parents were old hippies even then they would draw a line. Will young people today be able to grow up?

I think it’s important to be young at heart but be real about it. There just some things our aging bodies can do anymore. I use to be able to stay up all night and then go to work but oddly it just doesn’t seem to be the smart thing to do anymore.

UR

Musical Interlude

Anarchy in the UK

Hmmm, such nice young ladies.

Apparently what started out as a protest about a police shooting is now about an anarchy, that they can do what they want. But really this is all about stealing and vandalism.

You know what I’ve heard this before.



Of course this rioting is destroying local businesses and these teenagers and twentysomethings have just put more people on the government dole. Not to mention the people who are now homeless because of the fires. Now the government will have to support more people.

Nice going morons. That’s right you’re not anarchist or protesters you’re morons or thieves.

But then this is what happens when the people become to dependent on the government to take care of them.

The problem with socialism it depends on taxing the workers so the worker can have benefits. So if enough people don't work and not pay into the system the system will fail. So then if there are jobs and young people of that country choose not to work for what ever reason then the government will bring in foreign workers to work so that they can pay into the system to support the non-working with healthcare and financial aid which use to be mostly the retired, elderly, disabled, sick, homeless, unemployed but now having the foreign workers paying the taxes and if young people do not enter the work force to pay their fair share you have more people needing the system that can’t get enough worker tax money due to disproportionate amount of workers to non-workers and the government still paying for benefits it can’t afford. And just taxing the rich in socialism will not sustain any country for very long, unless it’ s very small population and of that you have a large population of wealthy and limit immigration into the country.

Socialism today is the people pay taxes to the government for benefits and services. If people don’t pay or pay enough then the government can’t provide.

UR

You Can Pay More Tax If You Want

I always love when a wealthy celebrities and liberals says taxes should be raised on the wealthy.

Let’s take Matt Damon. Apparently he doesn’t feel that he pays enough tax. Click and see the full video interview and the article of “Matt Damon on debt limit: ‘I’m so disgusted,’ ‘it’s criminal’ the wealthy are not paying higher taxes”
by Nicholas Ballasy July 30 (NicholasBallasy.com)

Then there is Author Stephen King, apparently he also doesn’t feel he pays enough in taxes. See the article and video of “Stephen King Eloquently Rips Into the Tea Party, Taxes, Reagan” 3/10/11 from nymag.com

First, I want to say I enjoy Matt Damon’s movie and Stephen King stories and I believe they are both very talented individuals and deserve every dime they make.

Now that being said, I wonder if they know that they can always pay more Federal or State taxes. There is no law saying you can’t pay more tax if you want.

This is how it works. You do your taxes and if you don’t think you are paying enough tax then you simply write out a bigger check. Now if the IRS sends it back saying you over paid then you send it back and say keep it. But most wealthy celebrities have accountants and the accountant’s job is to save the client money in the form of paying fewer taxes by using deduction, tax credits, write offs and finding loopholes. Now all the wealthy celebrity has to do is tell their accountant that they want to pay more tax and just tell them not to take any deduction, tax credits, write offs and loopholes. Of course the accountant might think your crazy but as long as you have enough money to pay them they should do it.

So it’s pretty simple, but the question is will wealthy liberals who think the rich should pay more taxes take the lead and voluntarily pay more taxes? Or do they feel it’s the government’s job to force them? Why should you feel that if you want to pay more tax that the government should come take it, why not just give it if you feel you owe more?

Here are other ways to give the Federal government more money.

1. How the Obamas (and the Guilty Left) Can Pay More Taxes

2. Gifts to the United States

Even if you live in a State that has no income tax you can give the State money or if State tax is based on property tax you can cut a bigger check.

Maybe if all the wealthy Liberals in this country voluntarily pay more taxes maybe then the “evil” rich will feel that they should too. But don’t be a hypocrite and only be willing to be paying more tax when it’s a Democrat in the Whitehouse but not if it’s a Republican.

So to all you wealthy Liberals and Celebrities liberals, even though I believe in your right to freedom of speech but there is an old saying; “You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk.” Or maybe this one is more appropriate; “Either put up or shut up.”

UR

What the Hell!

Remember a week ago everyone was in a panic that if we did get the debt ceiling increased passed we were going to be downgraded? So after days of name calling along and negotiations and at the eleventh hour our government pass a bipartisan bill that would save us from debt ceiling apocalypse.

Well, what happen? The S&P downgraded us from AAA to AA rating because of our spending and we did cut enough spending in the bill. Our geniuses were able to offer up 2 trillion cut but apparently unaware S&P wanted 4 trillion cut. Oops!

This administration just doesn’t understand. I know President Obama wants European style of socialism but I guess President Obama also wanted European style debt rating as well.

Nice job guys. You know we wouldn’t want a balance budget or anything.

Let this poor simple guy give you in Washington a few suggestions.

1. Balance the budget.

2. Cut spending. Congress and the President could start with taking a 25% cut in pay. Then stop the earmarks, pet project funding and keep cutting everything even office supplies and make Social Security, Medicare and military the last to be looked at for cuts.

3. Flat income tax.

4. A .5% to 1% national sales tax. So we can get taxes from underground economies legal or illegal.

5. Lower the corporate tax to compete with other countries but make it flat tax with no loopholes or extensions.

6. Loosen up on regulation and paperwork that stifle the creation of small business.

7. Get away from banks and get them wanting to loan again.

8. Stop bailing out failed States. They need to learn to budget themselves.

9. Stop funding research studies such as Chinese hookers drinking, penises, pig farts and so on. Look if they can’t get private funding then nobody cares.

10. Maybe get rid of Fanny Mae & Freddy Mac.

I’m sure I could go on and I'm not saying these are good ideas but at least they're something.

Stop the politics and the parties ideologies and begin to represent the country.

UR

Common Sense Anyone? Anyone?

Well you have to read this yourself.

11-year-old saves baby bird’s life, gets fined $535

This is one of those stories that make you wonder what ever happen to common sense. Look I have nothing but respect for law enforcement including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service they all have an incredibly tough job. But some times the law agencies gets little over zealous and seem to lose their common sense when dealing with people.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claims it to be a clerical error and that the agent and State Trooper “had gone to inquire about the health of the woodpecker. At that point, they determined that no further action was necessary.” See I don’t think the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would have sent a State Trooper with the agent if it was a simple inquiry. State Troopers are usually sent along as back up if they are serving citations or warrants because of the chance of possible violence. So to me it’s obvious the were told to serve a citation. Now I don’t know who wrote up the citation whether it was the agent they ran into or when they called in to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to report the incident and the release. Why the agent didn’t take the citation the her superiors and explained?

But what is really sad is how events like this could affect and young girl and her trust in the system.

This also reminds me of other incidents as such the story of a 10-year old girl brought her lunch to school and a small kitchen knife to cut it.
Or the story of the 12-year old Girl Arrested for Doodling.

Each of these incidents were over reactions and a lack of common sense but what affects could these have on these children when it comes to trusting authority, law enforcement and the system of justice we like to believe in?

Incidents like these only end up embarrassing law enforcement agencies, an embarrassments that could have been avoided with a little common sense.

UR