By Mike Scinto
Appearing in Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers
It’s time for all of us to make a decision that will shape the lives of our children and grandchildren. The choices you make will affect the value of your home, your investments, your job, your health and the lifestyle to which you have become accustomed; a lifestyle that is being challenged by a socialistic team in Washington that wants to rewrite the Constitution, or sidestep it altogether. When you boil it down, it’s a choice between turning your money over to Big Brother to make sure that it’s distributed “properly”, or keeping your hard-earned dollars and deciding for yourself where and how that money should be spent, saved or shared.
As a result of Obamacare, and a stimulus package that was neither needed nor used effectively, our future as a nation has been put into hock. We are borrowing and printing money like it’s going out of style; and actually it is. The dollar is not viewed globally as the powerful currency it was in past generations.
If you cut through all the political rhetoric, quite simply we are going about it in totally the wrong way. You establish lasting jobs and create a flourishing economy by keeping money in the hands of those who have a track record of business success. You don’t penalize those individuals and corporations by overtaxing them just so the government can hand the money out to individuals, who quite simply can’t, or won’t, have the initiative to make it grow. It’s tantamount to planting seeds in a well-tilled, fertilized soil versus casting the seeds out in a weedy field. Some plants will grow in that field for a short season, but the well-groomed field will likely produce a harvest that will feed many. I have never been hired by, or employed by a middle class individual. My bosses/owners have always had plenty of capital to allow the operation to grow and flourish.
Before I get emails from folks who read into that statement that I am somehow putting down the poor or those who don’t have huge bankrolls, I am clearly not doing that. There are individuals with the skills and wherewithal to lead, and others are good followers. Each have their own distinct rolls, neither being undesirable, but those who lead need the recourses with which to lead effectively, for the greater benefit of all.
We in Ohio, and more specifically the greater Dayton area, are literally Ground Zero for this upcoming decision. As goes Ohio so goes the nation. Tuesday is Election Day. While this election is considered a mid-term election, I believe it is every bit as vital to our viability as any Presidential year. Your choices are very straight forward as well. We can continue with double digit unemployment, selling our economy to the Chinese and taking away individual, constitutionally guaranteed rights or we can vote Republican and, hold the feet of those elected to the fire and watch this nation achieve its status as the greatest nation on the planet. The choice is yours; make it a good one!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Real Heroes in Chile
By Mike Scinto
Appearing in Kettering-Oakwood Times and Times Community Newspapers
Well, I can see the email now, before the fact, beating me up for being heartless, unthinkably devoid of feelings and a general buffoon. “Boy, you’ve gone too far this time, Scinto!” the emails will go on. But I’m simply making an observation about an event that mesmerized the world.
I sat, as billions around the world, watching this past week as the 33 Chilean miners trapped in a cave-in for 10 weeks were brought to the surface one by one. It was breath-taking and had us on the edge of our seats. It couldn’t have been scripted any better by a reality TV show producer. It seemed every miner, and his family, had a new layer of amazing stories to pass along.
So far, so good! Nobody has thrown any eggs my way yet. What could I possibly have to whine about?
Before the last rescue worker hit the surface, the miners were getting checks for $10,000 each, offers for book and movie deals, iPods, TVs and great job offers. But there was something missing here. The tables were a bit turned. You see, the miners were victims of circumstance. Admittedly it was a miraculous event for them, but God used some very special hands and minds to make this miracle happen.
I believe the real “heroes” in this were the folks who planned, drilled, designed and ran (for hours on end) the rescue operation. They’re the ones who should be getting the job offers, free vacations to Disneyland and Graceland. Were it not for their ingenuity and wherewithal, this story would likely not have a happy ending.
While what transpired in the mine during those 2 ½ months would be interesting, the real TV movie, mini-series or reality TV show would be coming up with the means to rescue them, and then carrying it out to its happy ending.
So don’t be mad, I’m just here to think out loud. As I said, this was a miracle. We are all thankful for the lives saved but let’s keep the rescue and the rescuers in the proper perspective.
Appearing in Kettering-Oakwood Times and Times Community Newspapers
Well, I can see the email now, before the fact, beating me up for being heartless, unthinkably devoid of feelings and a general buffoon. “Boy, you’ve gone too far this time, Scinto!” the emails will go on. But I’m simply making an observation about an event that mesmerized the world.
I sat, as billions around the world, watching this past week as the 33 Chilean miners trapped in a cave-in for 10 weeks were brought to the surface one by one. It was breath-taking and had us on the edge of our seats. It couldn’t have been scripted any better by a reality TV show producer. It seemed every miner, and his family, had a new layer of amazing stories to pass along.
So far, so good! Nobody has thrown any eggs my way yet. What could I possibly have to whine about?
Before the last rescue worker hit the surface, the miners were getting checks for $10,000 each, offers for book and movie deals, iPods, TVs and great job offers. But there was something missing here. The tables were a bit turned. You see, the miners were victims of circumstance. Admittedly it was a miraculous event for them, but God used some very special hands and minds to make this miracle happen.
I believe the real “heroes” in this were the folks who planned, drilled, designed and ran (for hours on end) the rescue operation. They’re the ones who should be getting the job offers, free vacations to Disneyland and Graceland. Were it not for their ingenuity and wherewithal, this story would likely not have a happy ending.
While what transpired in the mine during those 2 ½ months would be interesting, the real TV movie, mini-series or reality TV show would be coming up with the means to rescue them, and then carrying it out to its happy ending.
So don’t be mad, I’m just here to think out loud. As I said, this was a miracle. We are all thankful for the lives saved but let’s keep the rescue and the rescuers in the proper perspective.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Make a Real Difference in America
By Mike Scinto
Appearing in Kettering-Oakwood Times and Times Community Newspapers
This column will be short and sweet, direct and as neutral as I can make it; but it is vital. It’s about doing what I believe is a responsibility of every American over the age of 18. That, of course, is casting your ballot in a little over three weeks. But along with that responsibility is the need to be educated about the candidates and issues.
Most view non-Presidential elections as not being as important as the “big ones”. Never in most of our lives has that been any less true than this year. The outcome of this vote will affect the direction of this great nation more than any in the recent past. It will chart the course of you, your retirement years and the lives of your children and grandchildren.
This will likely sound hokey, and may travel in one ear and directly out the other without lodging in any of your brain at all, but I have to say it. Sometime before Election Day, maybe the weekend before, sit down with family, friends, church group and especially young voters (as we plan to do with our 18 year old son, Zak), folks who haven’t voted in a few years as well as “regulars” at their precinct. Go over the ballot, issue by issue, candidate by candidate and make sure you don’t have any questions. The Internet makes that very simple. Separate fact from fiction by explaining that campaign ads are marketing tools, not fact sheets.
I can’t tell you the number of times callers to my radio show have said, after the fact, they saw this issue or that, or one candidate or another they knew nothing about. In fact, they didn’t have a clue they were even on the ballot. With instant access to answers to all your questions available by moving a mouse, there’s no excuse for not knowing what/who you’ll be choosing when it’s your turn.
Talk about the lives that have been lost, as well as the lives in harm’s way as we speak, to protect our right to cast those ballots. Realize the billions on the planet who don’t enjoy that freedom.
Nothing angers me more than to hear somebody stayed home because their “vote didn’t count”, they’re “just a bunch of crooks anyway” or they had “better things to do”. They are what I refer to as the real “ugly Americans”. If the shoe fits, wear it! And don’t give me this “it’s my right NOT to vote” garbage.
So, in the coming days and weeks educate yourself, help others understand and map out what you want your future to look like starting this November. If you are so inclined (as I am) pray about wisdom to make the right choice. See you at the polls!
Appearing in Kettering-Oakwood Times and Times Community Newspapers
This column will be short and sweet, direct and as neutral as I can make it; but it is vital. It’s about doing what I believe is a responsibility of every American over the age of 18. That, of course, is casting your ballot in a little over three weeks. But along with that responsibility is the need to be educated about the candidates and issues.
Most view non-Presidential elections as not being as important as the “big ones”. Never in most of our lives has that been any less true than this year. The outcome of this vote will affect the direction of this great nation more than any in the recent past. It will chart the course of you, your retirement years and the lives of your children and grandchildren.
This will likely sound hokey, and may travel in one ear and directly out the other without lodging in any of your brain at all, but I have to say it. Sometime before Election Day, maybe the weekend before, sit down with family, friends, church group and especially young voters (as we plan to do with our 18 year old son, Zak), folks who haven’t voted in a few years as well as “regulars” at their precinct. Go over the ballot, issue by issue, candidate by candidate and make sure you don’t have any questions. The Internet makes that very simple. Separate fact from fiction by explaining that campaign ads are marketing tools, not fact sheets.
I can’t tell you the number of times callers to my radio show have said, after the fact, they saw this issue or that, or one candidate or another they knew nothing about. In fact, they didn’t have a clue they were even on the ballot. With instant access to answers to all your questions available by moving a mouse, there’s no excuse for not knowing what/who you’ll be choosing when it’s your turn.
Talk about the lives that have been lost, as well as the lives in harm’s way as we speak, to protect our right to cast those ballots. Realize the billions on the planet who don’t enjoy that freedom.
Nothing angers me more than to hear somebody stayed home because their “vote didn’t count”, they’re “just a bunch of crooks anyway” or they had “better things to do”. They are what I refer to as the real “ugly Americans”. If the shoe fits, wear it! And don’t give me this “it’s my right NOT to vote” garbage.
So, in the coming days and weeks educate yourself, help others understand and map out what you want your future to look like starting this November. If you are so inclined (as I am) pray about wisdom to make the right choice. See you at the polls!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)