Sincerely Right

Ten life lessons to change the world, from Naval Admiral William H. McRaven, University of Texas (Austin) 2014 Commencement Address.

1. Make your bed. You will have accomplished something as your first act of the day.
2. Find someone to help you accomplish your goals.
3. Measure people by the size of their heart and skill.
4. Get over trying to be perfect. No one is.
5. You will fail. It will make you stronger.
6. Be fearless and innovative.
7. Don’t back down from danger, stand your ground.
8. Be your very best in the darkest moments.
9. Never give up hope. Inspire others with your hope.
10. Don’t ever give up.

“Barack Obama only read about (insert scandal here) in the newspaper.” This incompetence is what we get for elevating a mediocre community organizer and hack lawyer to the office of President.

Listen to Obama, ‎Jay Carney and others explain that they are getting their information from the news:

Maybe President Obama should stay off the golf course once and a while and go to briefings.

More to come on this idiocy. I heard some childish spokesperson on Mitch Albom’s show own WJR claiming that Angela Davis would be a more appropriate commencement speaker than CEO Marry Barra. We’re no fan of General Motors, especially the illegal takeover and bankruptcy of the company by the Obama administration, but this child-spokesperson had nothing good to say about GM nor Marry Barra, and what she did say was incoherent.

Audio to come. In the interim, here is the infantile manifesto of this organization.

GM’s CEO Should Not Be Honored at Commencement

Resolution issued by the Graduate Employees Organization (AFT Local 3550, AFL-CIO) and approved by the Student Union of Michigan, April 2014

General Motors CEO Mary Barra will give the UM commencement address on May 3 and will also be awarded an honorary doctorate by the university. According to the University Record, “Barra has established an exemplary career in the predominantly male world of the auto industry.” The same article praises her “vision,” “business acumen,” and “leadership.”

The results of GM’s business acumen are nothing to applaud, though. Barra and her company have done enormous harm to people and the environment. Although Barra is now being depicted as some sort of feminist, it is in fact women who have been the most negatively affected by her and her company—after all, it is women who tend to bear the heaviest burdens when family members lose their jobs, when the banks foreclose on struggling households, when the environment is poisoned, and when people are killed in preventable car accidents.

The most visible evidence of GM’s crimes is the ongoing scandal over its belated vehicle recalls. So far, defective ignition switches in the Chevy Cobalt and other models have been linked to at least 13 deaths, and possibly hundreds more. Each replacement ignition switch would have cost only 57 cents. But 57 cents was too much. Instead, GM lied to the victims’ families and even threatened them. Barra’s precise level of knowledge about the defects is still unclear, but recent evidence confirms that she had been aware of certain problems in the Cobalt and other vehicles several years ago (she served in several senior VP positions for GM prior to becoming CEO in January).

The recall scandal is just the tip of the GM iceberg. A less publicized scandal is GM’s illegal firing of injured workers from its Chevrolet plant in Colombia. GM cut corners on plant safety and, when workers were injured, it fired them and got corrupt Colombian officials to cover it up. Again, the effect on women has been disastrous. While the injured male workers have waged a public campaign for justice, their wives, daughters, and mothers have shouldered the private burdens of sustaining their hungry families. Jhessica Ospina, whose disabled father Manuel was fired by GM, has been forced to work 60 or more hours a week to help keep her family in their home. Jennifer Bohórquez, the wife of injured worker Carlos Trujillo, has borne the primary responsibility of caring for the family’s four small children.
Many more examples could be cited: GM’s abuse of assembly line workers here in the United States, its role in creating Michigan’s foreclosure crisis, its major contribution to global warming, and its dumping of toxic chemicals in the United States, Colombia, and elsewhere. GM is also linked to the U.S. military-industrial complex that has profited off human suffering in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where women have been disproportionately impacted by the sexual violence and multitude of hardships that accompany war; Mary Barra herself sits on the board of General Dynamics, the sixth-biggest Pentagon contractor. All of these issues are women’s rights issues, and in each case GM has been firmly anti-woman.

The Graduate Employees Organization at the University of Michigan calls upon the administration to rescind Mary Barra’s speaking invitation and honorary doctorate, and to replace Barra with someone who has instead made a positive contribution to women’s rights and human welfare.

I truly hope Dr. Benjamin Carson continues to be an important player in our political conversation. Perhaps he will grace us by running for office.

So thankful.

The good Lord has kept us and given us another day to do his will.

After reading the many posts recently, I was left pondering and reflecting upon my life and how valuable we all are to God’s greater plan. There was a sad revelation that race and its many isms continue to divide and separate us from our divine purpose. Everyone has a perspective and many feel they have a monopoly on the truth and fairness. Why does the issue of racism and those that espouse it divides us and causes us to say some of the most hurtful and divisive things to one another. Humility reminds us all that we can never fully serve the greater good if we are incapable of hearing different perspectives, which may lead to an even higher truth. Can we not express ourselves to each other without being malign and reduced to ad Hominem attacks ? All of you that contribute to this space, are irreplaceable and precious gifts given to this planet by God alone. When posting your ideas and feelings, always consider whether they uplift and reflect the God within all of us. This is absolutely possible, whether we vehemently agree or disagree with our sisters and brothers.

Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Facebook

I am not as eloquent or gracious as the dear doctor.

While Barack Obama continues to “lead” with his behind and offers up empty threatens to Vladimir Putin (like suspending his Netflix account), the people of the Ukraine are in real danger from the diminutive Russian leader’s actions.

From Boycott Russia Today and Vice Video: Journalist Simon Ostrovsky, who was kidnapped by pro-Russia separatists and released several days later, tells of his ordeal.

In a video posted by Tracking Terrorism and other news outlets, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen, proclaims “We must eliminate the cross … the bearer of the cross is America.”

Let’s see how America reacts to this statement. Is this country the “bearer of the cross” or will denounce that assertion in a futile attempt to appease the misguided souls of al-Qaeda?

U.S. intelligence sources say the 15-minute video appears to be recent and authentic, and added that they are surprised by the video. No doubt the video caught them by surprise, as Mr. Obama claimed some time ago that “al-Qaeda has been decimated.”

If Barack says it is so – lots of times – it must be true, right?

Of course, that crazy partisan channel, Fox News, questioned the President’s assertions of having al-Qaeda on the run:

via The Washington Post
via Daily Mail
via CNN
via Fox News
via Newsweek
via CBS
via ABC
via NBC