For a number of reasons, half of the people who had planned to attend our service today were unable to come. It was a good thing because I needed to learn a lesson. I needed to commit myself and I hadn't, I was reluctant and I need to be committed 100%.
A young man came in who we did not know. He stayed longer than he should have because he had a prior engagement. For some reason he just decided to come in and listen (he had been in the room next door). I had said that if just one person came then I would come. I never want to walk into an empty room, I always want their to be two or more.
Today was the day that I thought of Pastor Carol Daniels. I thought about how she did just that, came in not knowing if anyone else would come. I cannot compare my talking to a few people to her lifelong commitment; but, if she could drive as far as she did on the chance that someone might come then I guess I can do the same and I don't have to drive far.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Not a Day of Rest for Me
It is Sunday again and I have work to do. I did all my housekeeping activities yesterday so that I would have only one thing to do today. I have spent all week thinking about what I will say today and still am unsure. I have about 15 different discussions in my head that I might have.
I read the news today and came across an interesting article. Warren Buffet has called on more taxes for the rich. He complained that the rich, including himself, have been coddled long enough and that most don't even pay the same percentage as the middle class. One sleazy politician has said that if Mr. Buffet wants to pay more he should just send a check. I wonder how much money that politician has received from wealthy friends?
We are living in the worst economic times in our nations history and people are in very bad situations, our friends and neighbors are out of work and our children have little to look forward to if we don't give a little. Why would any politician want to see us into a third world country, because all they care about is themselves. I commend Mr. Buffet because he does not wish to see that happen and neither do I.
I read the news today and came across an interesting article. Warren Buffet has called on more taxes for the rich. He complained that the rich, including himself, have been coddled long enough and that most don't even pay the same percentage as the middle class. One sleazy politician has said that if Mr. Buffet wants to pay more he should just send a check. I wonder how much money that politician has received from wealthy friends?
We are living in the worst economic times in our nations history and people are in very bad situations, our friends and neighbors are out of work and our children have little to look forward to if we don't give a little. Why would any politician want to see us into a third world country, because all they care about is themselves. I commend Mr. Buffet because he does not wish to see that happen and neither do I.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Forgiveness
I am preparing for what I will discuss tomorrow. I prepare, partially, by thinking about the subject I want to discuss and the point that I wish to make. I read as much news as I can to find examples. One subject matter I have been considering is forgiveness. A real tricky thing to describe.
I had a song on my mind by Don Henley of the Eagles called "Forgiveness". I searched on YouTube and came across this video. "Venia (Forgiveness)". The word venia can be used to mean forgiveness, grace and other such things. The video tells the story of a young lady who was killed in the Virginia Tech shootings, her name was Mary Karen Read. Her last writings in her journal were, “When deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive… Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
We tend to get angry with people when they either prevent us from getting what we want or intentionally do something to harm us. Once we perceive harm to us we then foster anger at the other person. The emotion is completely within us, it does not impact the other person unless we return the harm. The harm the anger does is really towards ourselves.
Here is the odd thing about it, if someone harms me and I forgive them, the one who benefits is me. In fact, if I forgive someone they may not even know it and believe that I am still angry with them. Someone harmed me very badly and I told them that I forgave them, they told me that they did not want any of my so called forgiveness. Heck, I will take all the forgiveness I can get.
Forgiveness does not come all at once, we have to accept that what has happened has happened and that we cannot undo it. The next step is to just let it go, that gets easier over time. The trick is to look forward rather than look back, the trick is to be headed somewhere.
I don't know how you have been hurt and I don't need to. I can tell you this, when you are lying on your deathbed, how do you want to go out? Last week I was talking to someone who has made a very big mistake in his life and there will be penalties for it. Like most people, his first thought was that he would never make the same mistake again, I asked him to think about where he was going because if you are not headed to a better place then you will go back to the old place.
We should learn from our past and consider it; but, you have to be more concerned about where you are going, what you want your life to mean. I have learned so much in the last four years as a result of betrayals that were done to me. I don't have the time to think about much of what is past as I am building my life and am focused on where I want to go, what the rest of my life will mean. I would much rather it be about love than about loss and those are the choices we all have. Be well.
I had a song on my mind by Don Henley of the Eagles called "Forgiveness". I searched on YouTube and came across this video. "Venia (Forgiveness)". The word venia can be used to mean forgiveness, grace and other such things. The video tells the story of a young lady who was killed in the Virginia Tech shootings, her name was Mary Karen Read. Her last writings in her journal were, “When deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive… Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
We tend to get angry with people when they either prevent us from getting what we want or intentionally do something to harm us. Once we perceive harm to us we then foster anger at the other person. The emotion is completely within us, it does not impact the other person unless we return the harm. The harm the anger does is really towards ourselves.
Here is the odd thing about it, if someone harms me and I forgive them, the one who benefits is me. In fact, if I forgive someone they may not even know it and believe that I am still angry with them. Someone harmed me very badly and I told them that I forgave them, they told me that they did not want any of my so called forgiveness. Heck, I will take all the forgiveness I can get.
Forgiveness does not come all at once, we have to accept that what has happened has happened and that we cannot undo it. The next step is to just let it go, that gets easier over time. The trick is to look forward rather than look back, the trick is to be headed somewhere.
I don't know how you have been hurt and I don't need to. I can tell you this, when you are lying on your deathbed, how do you want to go out? Last week I was talking to someone who has made a very big mistake in his life and there will be penalties for it. Like most people, his first thought was that he would never make the same mistake again, I asked him to think about where he was going because if you are not headed to a better place then you will go back to the old place.
We should learn from our past and consider it; but, you have to be more concerned about where you are going, what you want your life to mean. I have learned so much in the last four years as a result of betrayals that were done to me. I don't have the time to think about much of what is past as I am building my life and am focused on where I want to go, what the rest of my life will mean. I would much rather it be about love than about loss and those are the choices we all have. Be well.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Today in San Bernardino
Is this a sign of the times? This article from the Los Angeles Times discusses how the FBI and IRS searched the offices and homes of many politicians in San Bernardino.
We have county politicians agreeing to a $103 million dollar settlement in a case with a developer when their own legal counsel told them not to. You can legally move a lot of money that way. You see, cities and counties can vote behind closed doors to settle a case, any case, even one that they will probably win.
Look at how your city or county has settled cases, who the opponents were and how valid the cases were. Bell and Vernon got nothing on how the bigger game is played. Why do we let these things go on? How much longer can we afford this?
We have county politicians agreeing to a $103 million dollar settlement in a case with a developer when their own legal counsel told them not to. You can legally move a lot of money that way. You see, cities and counties can vote behind closed doors to settle a case, any case, even one that they will probably win.
Look at how your city or county has settled cases, who the opponents were and how valid the cases were. Bell and Vernon got nothing on how the bigger game is played. Why do we let these things go on? How much longer can we afford this?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Dear Readers
My least popular posts are always about religion. I intend to create a new blog soon, it will be for the people I talk to about religion and this one will just sit as it is. My biggest reason for leaving it is because of Pastor Carol Daniels. The pension stuff will all come out, I wasn't needed for that, just prodding.
I do not have the time nor energy to keep up two blogs at once and I will not give a pointer to the new one nor even mention it's name. The name shall be new and e-mail address shall be new. There will be no connection between the two and the new one will only be for people who have attended my services.
I have really appreciated the opportunity to discuss such a wide range of topics. I do hope that people have learned to look just a little bit deeper into everything that they are told. I have been moved in my heart regarding some comments and e-mails about this blog. I love writing; but, I have a second job now and it is important that I put my efforts there. I want to thank everyone who has followed this from the beginning, I wish to thank a special lady who was one of the first and has sent me many e-mails. Always happy to correspond with a lady and I love the name Barbara (a junior high crush on a teacher, lol).
My life has not made a lot of sense to me. The world is a bizarre and often annoying place; but, people matter. I have one or two more posts left in me; but, when I say it is done, it will be.
Last week, I began my sermon by asking people why they were there. This week, if anyone comes back, I will ask why they returned. It is a good question, what keeps us away from God and from talking about him?
I shall post again, we shall end this blog on a high note. In the meantime a song, something by Elton John.
Elton John, Love Lies Bleeding - Funeral for a Friend.
This song always makes me think about my best friend who blew his brains out in the last year of High School, just before I moved. So many good times and so much humor and so much pain. Life.
I will never get over his death, not during this life. I know his favorite car, I know his favorite movies, we used to watch them together, he is always in my heart. I knew since sixth grade and it hurts to this day, that is one of the reasons that I absolutely do not believe in suicide or taking LSD, he did both and I refuse to do either. If you are ever told that I committed suicide, know it is a lie.
They say the new normal is constant change, I am good with that, lets see who can hold on the longest. The sheep and predators all tire long before the sheepdog. Aarph, aarph. LOL.
I do not have the time nor energy to keep up two blogs at once and I will not give a pointer to the new one nor even mention it's name. The name shall be new and e-mail address shall be new. There will be no connection between the two and the new one will only be for people who have attended my services.
I have really appreciated the opportunity to discuss such a wide range of topics. I do hope that people have learned to look just a little bit deeper into everything that they are told. I have been moved in my heart regarding some comments and e-mails about this blog. I love writing; but, I have a second job now and it is important that I put my efforts there. I want to thank everyone who has followed this from the beginning, I wish to thank a special lady who was one of the first and has sent me many e-mails. Always happy to correspond with a lady and I love the name Barbara (a junior high crush on a teacher, lol).
My life has not made a lot of sense to me. The world is a bizarre and often annoying place; but, people matter. I have one or two more posts left in me; but, when I say it is done, it will be.
Last week, I began my sermon by asking people why they were there. This week, if anyone comes back, I will ask why they returned. It is a good question, what keeps us away from God and from talking about him?
I shall post again, we shall end this blog on a high note. In the meantime a song, something by Elton John.
Elton John, Love Lies Bleeding - Funeral for a Friend.
This song always makes me think about my best friend who blew his brains out in the last year of High School, just before I moved. So many good times and so much humor and so much pain. Life.
I will never get over his death, not during this life. I know his favorite car, I know his favorite movies, we used to watch them together, he is always in my heart. I knew since sixth grade and it hurts to this day, that is one of the reasons that I absolutely do not believe in suicide or taking LSD, he did both and I refuse to do either. If you are ever told that I committed suicide, know it is a lie.
They say the new normal is constant change, I am good with that, lets see who can hold on the longest. The sheep and predators all tire long before the sheepdog. Aarph, aarph. LOL.
Our Pensions and Israel
Before you read this post, please read yesterday's post. I never got to finish it because I was on the phone for four hours and had endless interruptions. Sorry.
So, if 2003 CalPers lost hundreds of millions on investments in Israel. One would think that they would have become more cautious. Nope, this article from Israel21c in 2006 says, "American pension funds look to Israel for investment". At the meeting mentioned in the article we find some interesting characters showing up. Alan Hevesi the Comptroller for New York was there, he was convicted of corruption involving the New York Pension Fund. Here is an article from The New York Times.
At the meeting in question the heads of CalPers and CalStrs also attended. The person who invited everyone was Ehud Olmert the man accused of corruption in Israel that I wrote about yesterday. Hmmmm. Markstone was also there, that is the company that Elliot Broidy was in charge of, he is the guy that plead guilty to bribery charges in regards to the New York Pension Fund.
So the investments by the pensions funds had done poorly by 2003, maybe things got better. Nope, they got worse. "CalPERS: 6 Israeli VC funds wrote off $385m in 5 years", read that article from 2005.
Maybe since then we have learned to stop investing in Israeli Venture Capital Funds and having to write off losses with nothing to show for it? Nope, how bout this article from Haaretz.com In the last quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007, that is about half a year, CalPers wrote off around $700 million dollars in these investments.
So, here we go. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Finance Minister and future Prime Minister arranges to have the heads of various Public Pension funds in the United States come to his country to look into investing in it. Elliot Broidy of future prison fame convinces many of them to go to Israel.
At this meeting apparently many were swayed because afterwards these pension funds invested untold amounts in start up companies. These start up companies then lose hundreds of millions for years and years and we just keep investing in more. The "Placement Agents" for these deals make tens of millions and many had sat on pension boards, having been placed there by politicians. Hmmm. These placement firms also are heavily involved in redevelopment agency jobs and are also funded by the public pension funds. I see lots and lots of money being lost and no assets to write off, hey, this is beginning to sound like the loan to the Solyndra, you lend or invest in a company that has practically no assets, the money goes somewhere and the losses are written off because there are no assets to go after.
For those who care to, try speculating why CalPers never pulled their investments and kept investing when year after year they showed a loss. Somethings to consider, with the housing boom and the over inflation of the value of the investments, throughout most of the last eleven years, the pension funds were overfunded. In fact many increased how much retires would get because they are not allowed to be too overfunded. Nobody even cared about the losses.
This is not about Jewish people and it is not about Israel, it is about corruption and the theft of hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars from public pension funds. Who got the money, where did the money go? Why did certain people keep investing it in these companies and why didn't the unions or politicians care?
So, if 2003 CalPers lost hundreds of millions on investments in Israel. One would think that they would have become more cautious. Nope, this article from Israel21c in 2006 says, "American pension funds look to Israel for investment". At the meeting mentioned in the article we find some interesting characters showing up. Alan Hevesi the Comptroller for New York was there, he was convicted of corruption involving the New York Pension Fund. Here is an article from The New York Times.
At the meeting in question the heads of CalPers and CalStrs also attended. The person who invited everyone was Ehud Olmert the man accused of corruption in Israel that I wrote about yesterday. Hmmmm. Markstone was also there, that is the company that Elliot Broidy was in charge of, he is the guy that plead guilty to bribery charges in regards to the New York Pension Fund.
So the investments by the pensions funds had done poorly by 2003, maybe things got better. Nope, they got worse. "CalPERS: 6 Israeli VC funds wrote off $385m in 5 years", read that article from 2005.
Maybe since then we have learned to stop investing in Israeli Venture Capital Funds and having to write off losses with nothing to show for it? Nope, how bout this article from Haaretz.com In the last quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007, that is about half a year, CalPers wrote off around $700 million dollars in these investments.
So, here we go. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Finance Minister and future Prime Minister arranges to have the heads of various Public Pension funds in the United States come to his country to look into investing in it. Elliot Broidy of future prison fame convinces many of them to go to Israel.
At this meeting apparently many were swayed because afterwards these pension funds invested untold amounts in start up companies. These start up companies then lose hundreds of millions for years and years and we just keep investing in more. The "Placement Agents" for these deals make tens of millions and many had sat on pension boards, having been placed there by politicians. Hmmm. These placement firms also are heavily involved in redevelopment agency jobs and are also funded by the public pension funds. I see lots and lots of money being lost and no assets to write off, hey, this is beginning to sound like the loan to the Solyndra, you lend or invest in a company that has practically no assets, the money goes somewhere and the losses are written off because there are no assets to go after.
For those who care to, try speculating why CalPers never pulled their investments and kept investing when year after year they showed a loss. Somethings to consider, with the housing boom and the over inflation of the value of the investments, throughout most of the last eleven years, the pension funds were overfunded. In fact many increased how much retires would get because they are not allowed to be too overfunded. Nobody even cared about the losses.
This is not about Jewish people and it is not about Israel, it is about corruption and the theft of hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars from public pension funds. Who got the money, where did the money go? Why did certain people keep investing it in these companies and why didn't the unions or politicians care?
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Israel and U.S. Public Pension Funds
Lets start with this, I am a Christian and support the state of Israel's existence. I believe that Israel is currently at it's greatest risk. Firstly, the United Nations is looking at recognizing Palestine's government officially. Reuters reports that "Abbas vows "no retreat" from Palestine U.N. bid".
Next we are seeing that Israel is losing support (even the little it had) with Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Newsweek had this article, "Is Israel Over". If you read this report you will discover that Ehud Olmert, a previous Prime Minister, he is in court over corruption charges.
Mr. Olmert has been charged with being dishonest and taking bribes. Maybe we should look into who he was dealing with. I don't know, I have been interrupted so many times tonight that all I can do is post these other articles.
IVC Newsletter, Calpers isn't quitting Israel.
What happens when the United States stops funneling money to Israel? That is when things get bad for all of us.
Next we are seeing that Israel is losing support (even the little it had) with Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Newsweek had this article, "Is Israel Over". If you read this report you will discover that Ehud Olmert, a previous Prime Minister, he is in court over corruption charges.
Mr. Olmert has been charged with being dishonest and taking bribes. Maybe we should look into who he was dealing with. I don't know, I have been interrupted so many times tonight that all I can do is post these other articles.
IVC Newsletter, Calpers isn't quitting Israel.
What happens when the United States stops funneling money to Israel? That is when things get bad for all of us.
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