Our Opinions Archives...thoughts from the past.
{12/2007}W.T.F. !!
America ! W.T.F. !!-  
W.T.F.!! is going on these days !! .
(01/30/04) Sadam was a bad man...
.... that did bad things to other people.
So bad things happened to him.
The moral of the story... Don't be so bad or we will blow up your stuff and you'll live in a hole for a while.
(01/22/01)Election 2000
Hey, we have a new President.
Now some of you may not be all to thrilled at the President that was elected, yes I said 'elected' not 'selected'. I hope that with all that went on during the election to beat all elections we as Americans have learned something.
The differance that one vote can make, not the differance between a hanging chad and a pregnant chad.
I must admit that after 8 years of Bill and Hill and all that went on during those times I am all politiced out.

Impeachment, illegal fundraising, semen stained dresses, lies, illegal campain contributions, missing billing records, more lies, 900 missing FBI files, high tech missle secrets getting into the hands of Communist China, sex scandals, Vince Foster's death, Whitewater, Travelgate, Jennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinski, redefining what 'sex' is, redefining what 'is' is, 'Wagging the Dog', even more lies, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman..".............
Gezz, those are only the ones that I can remember.

I think that former President Clinton has succeeded in leaving behind quite a legacy.
I could only hope that he would ride off into the sunset like so many other former presidents have...
...BUT NOOOO... he has to move to New York and lease an office in midtown Manhattan, to do what I don't know, he can't practice law for five years because he finally admitted he did give false statements in the Monica case. DUH.
I hear he is looking to get a TV talk show, Bill must stay in the spotlight or he will wither.
And Mrs. Former President had to go get herself elected Senator of New York (I wish I could move out). Not that she is qualified or anything. That's OK in four years she will run for President anyway. Not that she is qualified for that either.
I don't have any problem with a woman as President or intelligent, strong willed women in public office or in positions of authority.
I have a big problem with selfish, egocentric, conniving, power hungry, lying, two faced, forked tongued, cheating, thieving people in positions of power that can and will affect my life directly simply for their own self gain.
I hope that was not to strong, but this is my web site.

Let's see what Dubaya can do. Obviously he will not do what the left wing extremists want him to do, so that will make him a BAAAD president. And while the left leaning media types are squawking about how incompetent and unintelligent GW is, President Bush is assuming the office with dignity and proceeding on the course that he told the American people he would take.
Now many of you may dissagree with his policy but he is the President of these United States of America. Like it or lump it.
GW is showing leadership and is not bending to the will of his detractors and that is making them nuts!!
And you know, I kinda like that. ;-)
(06/00)Dear Mr. President
A letter to President Clinton as we think about his Legacy.......

(01/01/00)Y2K-Why 2K?

Well, I survived Y2K, how 'bout you?
It was a very busy time there prepairing for the end of the world...only to have the world keep spinning after all.
All is well on this first day of the newest millennium. The date the world feared 01/01/00. I'm not sure if we all were very good and repaired all the Why2K issues or we just were scammed big time.
In my new position as Telephony Tech, I was responsible for two job related Y2K upgrades for compliancy during the last six months.
This morning at 9:30, members from the I.T. team and others from the company gathered around the catered breakfast to ready ourselves for the battery of tests we were to run on the systems.
I was happy to report that all of my systems kept running...just like everyone else's system.
At 12:01, I had dial tone on my home phone. At 12:02, I dialed and completed a call. The lights stayed on and the phone still worked... the world is safe.
There is no telling where we go from here.
The news reports don't have much to talk about today...but that never stopped them before.The sun continues to rise despite the calender or the computer.
I hope the world finds some peace in this new and fresh millennium. Another chance to do better? Another chance to make things better? Or, do we just make the same dumb mistakes we've always made......??
Our choice. Happy New Year!

(12/98)The Rule of Law......
..an interesting thing our country was founded around,
'The Rule of Law'. An expression that has been tossed around a bit lately. Simply put it means that we all are bound by a set of laws. That is how we keep our country free and orderly. Most people will agree that our laws are not in place to hurt us but to keep us from being hurt. Like laws against assault and robbery etc. The most important thing about these laws and rules is that everyone in this country is bound to the same laws and are expected to obey and follow them. And when we break the laws there are penalties to pay. The reason that this is most important is that it reinforces that we are all equal. Under these laws no person shall be exempt. Yes, you may have a better lawyer than me but the same laws are applied to both of us. So no matter who you are, bricklayer or president you must be held accountable to the same law and pay the same penalty if found guilty. Those that are sworn to uphold those laws have a duty not to abuse the power that they hold. And if they do abuse the power they are given and break the law, we must hold them accountable at least as much as we would any other citizen. That is what keeps this a great country.
There are no kings or queens in America. No special set of laws for the powerful. One country, one rule of law. People have died fighting to keep this country free for all people. We must not forget that. Remember, truth is the light that keeps us free. Always shine the light of truth.

I'll make this one short and sweet....

(12/97)As we all share in this holiday season and celebrate any of the many winter holidays, I 'd like to focus on one thought.

These holiday celebrations are about sharing and love and family and about the history that caused the celebration to be a remembrance in the first place.

Like the birth of Jesus Christ.
My family and I are Catholic and for us this season represents the remembrance and celebration of the birth of Christ. Other cultures celebrate their own remembrance of something special. I respect that and would not think of asking that those cultures stop celebrating their beliefs.

But, there are many people today that insist on forcing Christmas out of this season in the name of Political Correctness. I am not going to debate issues of Church and State here. But for the fear of offending the overly sensitive, we sanitize this holiday season. "Merry Christmas" does not mean "screw you if you are not Christian"! It is a wish of good cheer and happiness for this season, no matter what holiday you choose to celebrate.

This year at our children's school Winter concert ( which the students did a wonderful job) the music director had the nerve to rewrite the words to the first verse of "Silent Night". Yes, this song is about the birth of Christ but if it was thought that it would upset someone, simply don't include it in the concert. How dare she think she had a right to change the lyrics to that song! To me that was selfish, insensitive and offensive. Did that teacher have the right to offend Christians in that way?

This Country and this Planet have the room for many different beliefs. I would think that we could stop behaving like spoiled children saying "my religion is better than yours", and respect each other for what we all are. Catholic bashing is just as disgusting as Jewish bashing or Hindu bashing or Muslim bashing or any other bashing.

Remember the "Golden Rule"?
"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." So simple yet so profound. They actually taught me that in school many years ago. If only people would follow that rule, what a country we could have!!!

Well, so much for short and sweet......anyway,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!!!


Little League season has ended for another year...

(6/97)And what a season it was ( '97 ).
Both my children (Heather and Christopher both 8) played on the Angels Jrs this year. I am proud to say that their team won their championship title this year. But this is not about their winning the trophies, it is about what their manager and coaches taught them this year.

It is not easy teaching 7 & 8 year olds how to hit and field and do all the technical stuff that goes into the game of baseball, especially in about only twelve weeks. I will say that Jim (the manager), Jeff and Joe (the coaches) did a great job turning these kids into a team. Granted some of the kids had played before but many of them had not. And still they played like a team. What made what Jim, Jeff & Joe did special though is that they also taught the team two very important things that were lacking in some of the other teams this year. SPORTSMANSHIP and FAIR PLAY. Some of the other managers sort of bent these two rules a bit in an effort to win the games. But at the end of every game, Jim had all the team go to the pitchers mound form a circle and in unison shout out... "GREAT GAME..." to the members of the team they just played.


Another great thing Jim, Jeff and Joe did constantly for the kids was to praise and encourage everything they did. A strike out got the same high five that a hit got. A bumbled play in the field got praise for the effort and instructions on how to correct the mistake. Encouragement and instruction during the practices and games and at the end of each the kids got told how well they all played like a team. All that positive attention made the kids play better and better. Through all that, though, Jim never forgot to remind the kids that they were there to have a good time and if they win that's OK too. Winning was never at the top of the list. Of course as the season went on and the Angels Jrs continued to win their games, Jim would play down the kids shouts of "We're #1" etc. and remind them that winning is not everything. But we were all proud of the job the kids were doing.

I would also like to commend the parents of the Angels Jrs for their behavior. You always hear about the parents that ruin the game for the kids ..not here. We almost always had a full bleachers and always had a round of applause and very loud cheers for all the kids all the time ( many a game did I go home with a hoarse throat from those cheers). We would even commend the kids on other teams when they got a hit or made a good play. Those kids would look at us funny .."Why are they cheering for us?" I think our behavior in the stands also helped the Angels Jrs to have a good time and do the best that they could. And their best only got better.

On Tuesday, June 24,1997 the Angels Jrs won the final game of the season 15 to 5. Taking the league Championship for Minors 1 Division of the Mamakating Little League. The team worked hard and played fair. They earned and deserved the big blue and gold trophies they received that evening. They and their manager and coaches carried them proudly on a victory lap around the field. This team was what little league baseball is supposed to be all about. I only hope that more kids get a chance to have a manager like Jim and coaches like Jeff and Joe. The kids deserve that much.


Will we give up another of our freedoms to the government?..

(4/97) The question is will parents or the government decide what will be accessible to children as they surf the NET.? Giving up freedoms instead of taking responsibility for ourselves and our children. It is easy to say "Lets have another law or regulation to 'save the children'." But would it not be better to take matters into our own hands an pay attention to our children?. We as parents should be guiding what our children surf to on the Net or watch on TV or what video games they play. I don't want the Government to raise my children or run my life. The more we expect 'Uncle Sam' to do for us means giving up that much more freedom to choose how we live our lives. Liberal politicians and lawmakers love to think that we can't take care of ourselves and we need them to think for us. That is what gives them so much power over us. Is that what we want ?! NOT ME ! I am intelligent and I know what is right for my children. I am their father it is my job to raise them. Not the President or the Village or the Courts.

Wake Up America !!!!!

Take Responsibility

Once again I am confused...

(96)I don't understand what has happened to self control in the schools. This 'anything goes' attitude stinks. Parents don't discipline their kids, teachers don't demand high behavior standards in their classrooms. Disruptive students are allowed to run the class and no one seems to make an effort to stop this. It is no wonder that kids don't learn anything in school. How can teachers teach if they constantly have to tell David to stop clowning around and listen.

PARENTS, WAKE UP!! You are the first (and maybe the most important) teacher your children will have. My children have been taught that there is behavior that is not appropriate in the classroom. They have been taught that they are in the class to learn. Inappropriate school yard behavior in the classroom will not be tolerated by me and should not be tolerated by the teachers. People excuse this behavior by saying "Oh they are only children.." That is so ridiculous.. there is proper behavior for classroom, church or temple, school yard, doctor's office, dinner table, etc. Each situation has appropriate and inappropriate behavior and it is the parents job to teach their children these things. It may not be easy but it is our responsibility as parents. Behavior acceptable for one situation is not always acceptable for another. Yes, this is a confusing idea for a young child to grasp. All the more reason for parents to be diligent on this issue.

Children need discipline and order in their lives. By discipline I mean children must learn that they will be held accountable for what they do or don't do (I bet you all thought I was going to say Corporal Punishment, that is an other issue for another day). Children need to learn that they must earn the privileges that they have. This builds strong character and self esteem. Children with no discipline or self control grow to be adults with no discipline or self control. Don't we already have enough adults with no self control in this world?

Think about it.......


I had a little experience that I'd like to share. It humbled me somewhat.

(96)One day a while ago, I was making a service call at a new account in Bronx, NY. The account is one of several community outreach centers that provides day care and nursery school. I was led into a classroom to check a problem with a telephone. The classroom was filled with about ten three year olds and two teachers. As I concentrated on what one teacher was telling me was the trouble with her phone, one of the little girls ran up and gave me a big hug. Now she could only reach up to my leg but it was a genuine little girl hug. As if she knew me for years. This pleasantly overwhelmed me. I was a perfect stranger to this child yet she acted so warm and friendly it made me feel very special (and I told her that too). She showed affection that she would show a brother or uncle. This led to other classmates saying hello to me and giving me hugs, asking my name etc. A wonderful spontaneous show of affection that really choked me up. They had no hate or fear towards this six foot tall white man with shoulder length hair and moustached face that came to their classroom. This sweet little girl was black as were her classmates and teachers and ,as I said, I am white.

Which brings me to my point. We must be careful of what we teach our children. Children are not born with hate in their hearts. Children learn hate and love from how their parents and family behave towards them and others.
I try to teach my children that we judge people by their actions not their color or creed. This is a very important lesson to learn if we are to live together in this world.

God Bless The Children.


Here is what I think..............

(96)I'm very confused lately about the situations in many of our schools today. The focus does not seem to be teaching the children anything that is going to help them make it in the real world. I realize the need to understand the different cultures that people in this country come from . It helps us learn about the world in which we live. But it seems that teaching about multi-cultures has become more important than teaching reading and writing and math and science etc.

Why is it that teachers are afraid to tell a child that he or she is pronouncing or spelling incorrectly? Why is it not more important that a student get answers correct.? Instead they are praised for just trying to answer the questions at all? Our children are capable of so much more than is expected of them. As the standards for our students drop (and they have) the students get lazy. If a teacher expects only two sentences instead of a paragraph that is all the student will give them. I saw this with my daughter. When she was in second grade at the top of her class, the teacher had such low expectations for the whole class that my daughter was unwilling to do work at home that she could easily do. Don't we realize that these children are our future.

There are a generation of High School students that read at fourth and fifth grade levels. This is outrageous.! How are these kids to function in the real world? How are they to get and hold real jobs and contribute to a quality society? All that they will be able to do is become dependant on the system to survive. Is that what we want, more dependency?

I think that we all should strive to teach self reliance to our children. That is what made this country as great as it has been. Independence not dependance. Wake up America! We need to teach responsibility and self reliance. Stop coming up with excuses why Johnnie can't read and get him to work a little harder. If we tell the children that they are capable and show them how to work hard for what they want they will respond positively. If children are fed excuses as to why they can't do something that is what they will learn. That will get them no where.

Parents also have to take responsibility for their children. You can't just drop kids off at school and not concern yourself about what is going on. Too many parents don't even teach their children basic manners and behavior in the years before they begin school. That just adds to the burden that the schools must carry. We all must share the responsibility of teaching the children the things that they must know to survive and be productive in our society. That job should not be just left up to the schools alone. The children are our future. We must provide the best education that is humanly possible. An education that consists of academics and social skills and cultural history.

Much to much time is being wasted on nonsense during school hours. Watching video taped movies like "Toy Story" and "Annie" are educational !? This went on in my daughters class. When do kids open their science books? I don't think I am being unreasonable. There is an illogic in many curriculums that can't possibly be the best we can offer our children. We get only one chance to teach our children right we shouldn't waste it!!

Frankie D.



Take Responsibility

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