Kindness breeds kindness. Every act of kindness builds you up, strengthens relationships, and adds value to the group.
“Nice” is when you are polite to someone in person, but you may criticize them behind their back. “Kind” is when you treat people with respect and compassion regardless of who they are and what they do. Kindness includes empathy and care. Kindness is not something you give to people who deserve it. Kindness is a mindset that you choose and develop. You either express it or you don’t. Being kind to another person is a statement about you, not about them.
fnord
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
Hmm, so what does this come under?
Hmmm . . . how about abusing the daily paper?
I reckon it would have to be The Sun or the News of The World.
Does anyone get concerned about the vitriol that seems to be acceptable behavior today?
From the daily paper
“Texas parents oppose airing of Obama speech”
A groundswell of parent opposition to President Obama’s speech next Tuesday to students on the importance of education has forced many North Texas school districts to decide against airing it live in classrooms.
Obama announced the speech weeks ago, but opposition and concerns spread rapidly Wednesday morning through conservative social-networking Web sites and radio talk shows.
By midday, local school districts say, they were inundated with hundreds of phone calls from parents urging them to not show Obama’s speech at school. Some parents threatened to keep their children home from school if the video was aired.
“We had no idea that there would be a public outcry,” said Laura Jobe, a Mesquite ISD spokeswoman. “It caught us by surprise.”
Cody Cunningham of the McKinney ISD said: “We rarely hear of parents pulling children out of history or government classes where they’re studying the politics or historical significance of a previous president.”
The White House said earlier that the speech — to be shown on C-SPAN and educational stations at 11 a.m. CDT — would focus on “the importance of education, the importance of staying in school, how we want to improve our education system and why it’s so important for the country.”
Other presidents, including George H.W. Bush, have given similar speeches directly to students.
But some Dallas-area parents said Obama’s speech amounts to partisan propaganda. His critics have been even harsher.
Jim Greer, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, said Tuesday that the speech used taxpayer dollars “to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology.”
The White House said Tuesday that Obama hopes his speech will inspire students and encourage them to set academic goals.
“It’s not a policy speech,” said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor. “It’s a speech designed to encourage kids to stay in school, which I think is a nonpartisan goal.”
Vitriolic e-mails and angry calls from parents flooding school district phone lines Wednesday morning forced many districts to make quick decisions about airing the speech.
Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the intent of the speech has been misunderstood. The president, he said, won’t be lobbying for policy changes but will be calling for a “shared responsibility” among students, parents and educators “to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible.”
Obama’s speech has ignited partisan passions among conservative groups, which accused him of injecting politics into the classroom.”
I’m stupefied!
Is today’s Conservative a person who is so angry, full of hate and misinformation and fear they can ‘teach’ their children to disrespect the President of the United States?
Todays’ social networking sites have spread this faster than an out-of-control forest fire and there seem to be a lot of people who welcome more opportunity to spread more hate and fear — to everyone, including their children!
What’s the solution folks? Somehow I’ve got to be able to understand how these people think and feel and ensure I don’t contribute to this problem.
To me, the Fox News is like that group of gossipy women in the church who like to keep the pot stirred.
Let’s face it, these Conservative Republicans are not going to ever concede that Obama won the presidency.
And for their children learning to respect or disrespect President Obama – that cast is already set, I’m afraid.
One speech by Obama to these children in school will never negate their daily life of hearing their parents call Obama every name in the book. And some of these names are downright treason – in my opinion.
But, hey, I still say let Texcas secede from the country – and the sooner the better~!
I posted the outline that was sent out by the U.S. ed yesterday on the open. They are pointing to where it has student ask themselves how they can help President Obama bring about the desire changes. And telling the teachers to read books to the class about Obama.
For the most part it reads kind of like Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country!”. They are objecting to the instruction to focus on Obama and to the part that is like a instruction for the students to help the President to fulfill his agenda.
Let’s remember – Republicans hated Kennedy also.
So what’s different this time? Perhaps because of the fact Obama is the first black president.
I always hate to say that because it looks like I am trying to play the race card – but I think this is a motivation of some of these frightened, hateful and mean Conservative Republicans.
If it was not a factor, then why all the racially-charged emails and jokes that elected Republicans have been caught either sending out on their computers – while at work! (I never said these Republicans were smart).
Is today’s Conservative a person who is so angry, full of hate and misinformation and fear they can ‘teach’ their children to disrespect the President of the United States?
In a word, yes.
My own mother has said that I am a communist and trying to destroy the country. She really believes the stuff that these propagandists are feeding and she is really afraid of Obama and his whole administration. It all ties into what Kruschev said about destroying this country from the inside when he banged his shoe on the table.
I teach my children that they can’t believe anything that they hear on television or radio and that when they read something in the paper, they need to get on the internet and do some research, including sources from outside the country and “unofficial” journalism sites. Then they have to fill in the pieces themselves and come to their own conclusions. Our parents and some others still believe everything they see on tv and hear on radio and the messages on those airwaves are being controlled by conservative forces.
We are a short hop away from Orwell’s “1981.”
I just read on the Opinion Line someone’s posting that Jesus did not believe in giving money to people who do not deserve it and then they referenced the case of man on the street wasted from drugs. Since when?
The Bible is full of stories about how Jesus came to the aid of the people who would be considered the outcasts of society.
What Jesus was not is a person who locked himself into a fancy house with walled gates surrounding it or a person who was hellbent on making money, even if it meant stepping all over people to get that extra dime. And Jesus was certainly not the person who went to a big mega church just to be seen by all the ‘right’ people and to increase his business contacts.
It amazes me how people take such a simple message of ‘love one another’ that Jesus preached and turn it into something so mean, nasty and hateful.
I was driving by one of the mega churches yesterday and told my daughter that if Jesus walked into it, we’d see the casting out of the money changers again, because that’s what some churches had become.
Remember some, including our 6176, are predicting a ‘class war.’
In war people kill other people. It must take hate or fear to be able to kill another. As it turns out, protecting one’s religion has through out the ages been a tool for stirring up that kind of hate and fear.
I don’t see it as ‘protecting’ one’s religion. I see it as bullying and nothing less.
I hated it when Bush and fellow Republicans pushed for the Iraq War and they wrapped it up in the marketing package of God, Democracy, Flag and mom’s apple pie.
God has nothing to do with going to war – that is manmade crap – but God gets the blame for it, huh?
I said it wrong, I should have said being convinced that your religion needs to be protected. I see it as a kind of brain washing. First, this is what you will believe, secondly this is the only truth and the only way to ‘save’ yourself, lastly there are people who are evil who don’t believe as we do and are trying hard to threaten the one and only true god.
Whipped into a frenzy of hate they justify with religion and god.
I totally agree with you and I didn’t mean to sound like I was jumping on your wording. If I came across that way, my apologies.
People who use their religion as justification for war are not fighting for their religious beliefs – they are fighting for the power.
And I know that you and I agree on the Conservative Christian Republicans’ view of religion. These Fundies are scary people and they will do anything – and I do mean anything – to get what they want.
LOL I had some fun last night, the phone rang and it was a 800 number.
The conversation went:
Me: Hello…. Hello……HELLO!
caller: yeah this my bitch?
Me: excuse me?
Caller: yeah you my bitch?
Me: Depends? You have millions of dollars?
Caller: What?
Me: well there has to be large money involved since what I hear is your dick is so small that only Lesbians will have sex with you! So it will take good money to satisfy me.
Caller hung up.
Then called back in a few minutes.
I shouted in to the phone,” ANSWER MY QUESTION DO YOU HAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?”
Hung up again!
I did a search on the net this morning to see where the number comes back to.
K Designers home remodeling.
I am going to call and tell them, no I am not your bitch and take me off your call list!
Thanks for the chuckle….let us know what they say when you call them!
Well I was told it would be forwarded to the V.P in charge of marketing and he might be calling me back. I wonder what question he will have for me…..
“Lucy you have some ex-planing to do!”
I just had something happen to me that I don’t like and I reported it immediately to Westar.
There is a pole that needs replacing in the corner of my backyard. This replacement job has been going on since July 1st. The men are finally here with the new pole. There are 4 of them and the only way I knew they were even in my backyard is because I went out to the kitchen and saw them through my window. When I looked up, there was one of the men urinating in my bushes!
Talk about inconsiderate and rude? And then we wonder why the kids in today’s society are inconsiderate and rude – just take a good look at their parents.
I just got off the phone with Westar with my complaint and the woman I talked with simply said – is that all? She never once even said she was sorry for their employee’s behavior.
Is this what our world is coming to? A man urinating in my bushes in front of me is okay?
sorry for the rant – I am just so frustrated and mad at the same time. It’s going to be a good, good day.
sarcasm/off
Politeness use to be a given now it is only when there is something in it for you.
People say thank you only when they mean it and not when they receive something.
Likewise they say Please only when it is that important to them.
To his and my daughter’s credit my five y.o. grandson does say please and thank you when ever it is deserved and not only when it is to his advantage. It often blows my mind, he can be upset and still say it.
Perhaps it is a spill over from the net, a world where you can be as bad as you want to be and not suffer a ill effect. That was address yesterday on both blogs though I feel to little effect.
You bring up a good point. Have we all grown accustomed to being anonymous on the blogs and feel no remorse for what we say, however rude and vile it might be?
But now with that one blogger being outed by Google for talking about that model being a skank – are times changing for the bloggers liability of what they put out on the blog?
If so, then that nameless blog will have alot fewer posters….
Does this mean that today we need be a known entity in order to behave properly? If we don’t have to be held accountable we can be less than civil?
Reminds me that some don’t need the crutch of religion to be moral!
There’s no such thing as customer service anymore.
It is wrong and I’m glad you took a stance, sorry that the company representative (every employee allowed to interact with customers is a company rep!) was as poorly behaved as the man in your back yard! Both people should be told their actions were inappropriate!
I just had a thought – maybe the guy urinating in my bushes was the same guy that called toosmart last night – after all, toosmart did mention something about a small dick…
LOL :> hee
Probably a month ago, I was hurrying to meet Iggy for lunch and got a tiny bit behind. As I drove off I noticed first a water dept. truck parked on the street and next that my far gate was wide open.
Same thing, lilac, utility workers in my back yard. Buuuut, they hadn’t been there working, they didn’t knock to say they would be there, and my dog was out in the normally secure back yard.
So I stopped, parked, walked into my own yard through the wide-open gate, told them this was my house and asked if they had seen my dog. Two men, both stupidly said something about not knowing I had a dog. I assured them if they had been polite enough to knock and let me know they were going to be working in my fenced back yard I would have made sure my dog was securely inside. One of these two men looked me in the eye and said, “It’s your responsibility to make sure your dog is secure, not ours.” I didn’t take time to point out the fence did that until someone LIKE HIM! opened it and left it wide open.
Anyway, I took the time I didn’t have to find my dog who was inside the whole time, close the pet door so she would be securely inside, and hurried on to my lunch date. I promised myself all the way there I was going to call as soon as I returned home. Poor Iggy! He got the brunt of my wrath, the men were gone by the time I got home and I never did call.
I should have!
I may be making a joke now but I am still mad at the entire situation. Somehow our society has gotten to the point where this kind of thing is just normal behavior?
Just when did our society turn into being so nasty, mean, hate-filled, self-centered and bullies? Why does our society seem to reward those with the bullying mentality? Those people who push the win at all costs logic?
Isn’t that what we had in the run up to the Iraq War – all this bravado about just going in there and killing them all?
And if you want to see a case of real hatred and bullying – just go read the nameless blog for a few minutes and your head will spin.
The sad part of this is that the majority of those Cons on that blog dare to call themselves Christian.
I guess it depends on the mood I wake up in, as to which blog I came to first. Some mornings it man I want to be anger and hateful then its the other blog. Some morning I want peace and logic and its here.
From the thread header: “Nice” is when you are polite to someone in person, but you may criticize them behind their back. “Kind” is when you treat people with respect and compassion regardless of who they are and what they do.”
Reminds me of an old joke everyone has probably heard a dozen times. Get ready to hear it one more time.
Three southern belles sitting around bragging about their wonderful spoiled lives. (Imagine everything said with a proper southern drawl!)
First one says, “Oh my hubby bought me the finest coat, made of matching twin minks. Superb!”
The quieter of the three responds, “How nice.”
The second southern belle immediately says, “Oh, that’s nothing, my more rich than your hubby recently bought me my own airplane, luxuriously appointed, staffed and ready to take me wherever I might desire.”
Quieter one: “How nice.”
Two who have bragged, in unison: “Well, what has your hubby done for you?”
Quieter one: “He sent me to charm school where I learned to say, “How nice instead of fuck you!”
You beat me to it, I had thought of telling that joke here!
Thanks for the belly laugh….I needed one about now.
Most people do not pay attention to it or simply do not think about it. But if you have a utility through a city government department. The service agreement has a rider on it, that states you give permission for city employees to access your property any time they want. They can not enter your house but can come in the yard at their choosing. At times even the Police use this clause or come along with a utility worker to have a look.
I would not be surprised of public utility companies have a similar rider to the service contract.
Though I would be surprised if there is a permission rider to pee in your bushes.
More then once I have had a run in with the city here over such things.
One time I even got a chewing out from a fireman over it, for a while this house sat empty.
The city got in the habit of when ever they wanted to the alley they would drive down my driveway.
But of course once we moved in our cars would be parked in our driveway.
I had one that did not run and one night there was a power transformer blew in the alley and they came rushing only to be stopped by that car.
One end of the alley has been blocked for years and the other they have to move a large sewer piece.
So the fire man started giving me hell for blocking my own driveway.
I shot back that my driveway is not a public street or a city easement if they would help me we could push the car to the side so they could get by. But don’t you ever come on my property and talk trash to me again!
We got the car out of the way and they drove the fire truck down the drive.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice
The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time.
by Simon Johnson
snip
Typically, these countries are in a desperate economic situation for one simple reason—the powerful elites within them overreached in good times and took too many risks. Emerging-market governments and their private-sector allies commonly form a tight-knit—and, most of the time, genteel—oligarchy, running the country rather like a profit-seeking company in which they are the controlling shareholders. When a country like Indonesia or South Korea or Russia grows, so do the ambitions of its captains of industry. As masters of their mini-universe, these people make some investments that clearly benefit the broader economy, but they also start making bigger and riskier bets. They reckon—correctly, in most cases—that their political connections will allow them to push onto the government any substantial problems that arise.
Breaking news…….the supervisor of the Westar crew here in my backyard just came to my front door and apologized for the man peeing in my bushes!!!
He said he got a call from the main office and was told to apologize.
Color me surprised and impressed that Westar really did follow through with their customer service complaints.
The main city sewer line go clogged and flooded my basement with five inches of water if you could describe it that way. I ended up showing the city sewer worker where the access was in the alley.
I received a thank you note from him and he admitted he did not even know it was there.
I went to the cite office and was told to have the damage repaired and summit the bill to them and they would have their insurance pay me back. I check and the cheapest bid was ten thousand dollars.
My insurance did not cover water damage most don’t unless you also have flood insurance.
I was thinking of going to the bank to see if I could get a loan. Then thought to hell with that!
I went back to the city and told them it was up to them. Finally I got a lawyer and after three years and even with that note from the city worker. I was told it was no good as the city stated it was not their fault because they cleaned the sewer every year! It took my lawyer over a year to get the record of these cleanings.
Everything in the basement, my kids beds, clothes, things plus everything being stored there had to be thrown away. I replaced sheet rock and scrub the crap out of the rest (sewer flood… crap related huh?).
Never got a I am sorry for what happen or anything from the city.
Update on Westar – someone from the main office showed up at my door around noon and apologized for their man peeing in my bushes. He then proceeded to tell me they were turning off the power for the afternoon because the pole was about to be erected and plugged into service.
I took my grand-daughter and we left to have lunch with one of my good friends.
I had to have one of them move their truck so that I could get out of my driveway – hey, what can I say? I’m like the thorn in their side….
I’m sure I was called all sorts of names all day – but I noticed they did not say them within my earshot!
We had that happen to us! Oh, do I know the misery you describe.
We worked for several days in conditions I best not attempt to describe. Someone (some friend) asked about insurance coverage. I called the agent and found out we had a rider for “sewer back up” that allowed up to $10,000. WOW! Our agent had done this, we didn’t know it existed, wouldn’t have seen the need (then!), and we were happy campers!
As it turned out, the hours we worked were credited and were enough to equal the deductible. We happily turned the work over to experts!
This ‘rider’ is inexpensive and we won’t ever have a home-owner’s policy without it (now that we know about it!).
Well just heard the Anti-health care reformer have their first Martyr, a anti-reformer was at a Move-on dot org. Pro reform rally and a pro-reformer bite the Anti’s little finger off! Now the rest of the story:
The Anti was standing there yelling and shouting about Government take over of health care when a Pro walked up to him and called him a idiot.
The Pro was within reach so the Anti threw a punch and hit the Pro in the mouth. But when he threw a second punch his little finger went into the mouth of the Pro and the man bite it off!
Has anybody visited the KDP blog?
http://ksdp.org/blog
There’s a post on Lynn Jenkins today that I need to go back and read.
Yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) delivered a “speech filled with urgent and violent rhetoric” at a gathering sponsored by the Independence Institute in Denver. During what was originally billed as a “personal legislative briefing,” Bachmann “got downright biblical” when describing her unwavering opposition to health care reform:
According to the Colorado Independent, Bachmann also claimed that many Americans pay more than half their income in taxes, adding “it’s nothing more than slavery.” She affirmed that “you’re either for us or against us on this issue” and bragged about being the country’s “second-most hated Republican woman.” Rather than spending quality time in her home district during August recess, some speculate that Bachmann’s trip signals her “branching out” and sowing some “rich, right-wing Western soil” in preparation for a future national run.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/01/bachmann-slit-our-wrists/
I’m trying to figure out how the tax rebate the cons are touting will be paid for. Maybe 6176 can explain?
And the cons talk about the libs throwing money at things. Isn’t this the same? How many people will take that $4k or $5k and use it for something else? Is it like those stimulus checks we got? Or is it a tax credit? I’d like to hear an explanation.
I wondered about that too wicked. I saw John McCain with Conan O’Brien last night and he mentioned something about giving us all tax credits to go buy insurance.
Well, that all sounds fine and dandy but I wonder how many insurance companies are going to be pounding on my door to get my business with a history of cancer?
McCain can give all the money he wants to me, but if I can’t buy private insurance – then the hell good does it do?
then what the hell good does it do?
I seriously question it, too, Lilac. They badger the libs about where the money to do this and that is coming from, but I haven’t heard details on their “plan”.
They don’t have a clue. Seriously, no clue. When the Republican party started paying more attention to big business than the little guy, they should have lost most of their votes. Let’s face it, 1% of the country’s votes won’t get them much. But too many people are lazy and don’t bother to think on their own.
Maybe we’ll get our questions answered. I’m not holding my breath.
I can explain that Wicked, what they are talking about amount to them saying that at the end of the year.
They will give back some of the money that they took from you during the year.
At the end of the year on your tax return you can claim a deduction for the money you have spent up to five grand for your own health care insurance. What that will mean is like you made five grand less they you did. There is not money coming to you to help you buy that insurance. It will all come out of your pocket.
Its that Washington math, they puff their chest out and say they are such sweeties and are giving you money! But the money is your to begin with and was taken in taxes. It amounts to me putting a gun to your head and taking the money you have on you. Then come back a year later and hand you some not all the money I took from you. The reality is you will not have any more money then you already had in the first place. A shell game…
That is what it means every time you hear a Politician say they are giving you a refund or incentive on something. It a tax credit and simply means that you can claim that amount of money as a deduction.
No extra money, you will have to wait till you get your tax refund back to have the money and in the end it is no more then you already had in the first place.
Ah, but it won’t work for me. I’m self-emplyed X three, meaning I don’t have payroll taxes taken out of my bi-weekly checks. I don’t yet make enough to pay quarterly taxes either.
As usual, the Republicans aren’t helping.
Wicked it does not help anyone.
” I know you are having trouble putting food on the table. And can not afford to go to the Doctor. But in a year I will help you out and give you some money!” It what they are saying.
Republicans are helping those they have always helped – themselves and Big Business.
And yes they think we are that STUPID!
Night all