The Last Presidential Campaign is Always the Worst

I read this very interesting article on the Internet and want to share it with you.  This includes a couple of sentences that expose the author’s political leanings.  I do not want to start a political debate here.  Please do NOT post any comments as to whom you support in the upcoming election.  I am not even saying whether I agree or disagree with the author.  Removing the sentence, however, would take away from the article.

You can read the article in its entirety here:  http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/has-the-dishonesty-in-the-2012-campaign-reached-unprecedented-lows/the-last-presidential-campaign-is-always-the-worst

By BRAD BANNON

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As the natives of a relatively young nation, Americans don't have an especially strong sense of history. Recently I saw a list of players that baseball fans considered the best of all time. Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Cal Ripken, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, and Bob Gibson deservedly made the list. The recent steroid all stars were also well represented. Conspicuous by their absence were stars like Walter "Big Train" Johnson, Hank Greenberg, Satchel Page, Josh Gibson, and other luminaries from the golden age of baseball. They are gone and forgotten by current fans.

The same lack of historical perspective extends to politics. The last presidential campaign is always the worst presidential campaign. The President Obama's and Mitt Romney's campaigns and their surrogates have given Americans many good reasons to be unhappy about the tone of the 2012 campaign. But is the 2012 presidential campaign any worse than the mud fest in 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson? Probably not.

Jefferson's allies suggested that Adams, who was the political leader of our War of Independence, was a "monarchist," which was a fighting word in those days. Adams was arrogant and pretentious, but he certainly wasn't a "royalist." Describing Adams as a "monarchist" was as stupid as calling Barack Obama a socialist. A friend of mind once said to me, "I am a socialist, and believe me, Barack Obama is no socialist."

The allies of Adams weren't much better. They apparently missed the many references to God in the Declaration of Independence and branded Jefferson an atheist, which he clearly wasn't. Jefferson believed in God, he just didn't believe in churches. Adams's supporters went even further than that to say that Jefferson would close churches and burn Bibles if he became president. Well Jefferson served as president for eight years and there is no record of Jefferson or any member of his administration shutting down a place of worship or burning any book, much less the Bible.

Get a grip. The 2012 contest for the White House is a nasty and negative campaign. But it certainly isn't the worst. But you can bet, people will say that the 2016 race is.

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To learn more about Julie Klein and Xpress Healthcare, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare 

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

“The English idiom ‘don't judge a book by its cover’ is a metaphorical phrase which means "you shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something, by its outward appearance alone’.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_judge_a_book_by_its_cover#Origin

My niece, Jenn, joined the Goth subculture as a teenager.  She began dying her hair black, wearing very dramatic makeup, wearing black nail polish and all black clothing.  To fully understand, here is the explanation from Wikipedia:  

“The Goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the Gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The Goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify. Its imagery and cultural proclivities indicate influences from the 19th century Gothic literature…

"The Goth subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion. The music of the Goth subculture encompasses a number of different styles including Gothic rock, deathrock, post-punk, darkwave, Ethereal, and neoclassical. Styles of dress within the subculture range from deathrock, punk and Victorian style attire, or combinations of the above, most often with dark attire, makeup and hair.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth_subculture

My mother was very close with Jenn, and she found it disturbing at first to see her dressed the way she did.  She always said, “She’ll grow out of it.”

Jenn is now 40 years old, and still a Goth.  In fact, she is well known throughout the world among other Goths.  She goes to a Goth “gathering” in Germany every year.

She has been with Dave for 17 years, a terrific guy, also a Goth, who holds a good job making decent money.  Jenn is an assistant manager at a retail clothing store.  She takes a bus to work, because she never learned or wanted to drive.

Jenn is absolutely beautiful!  Truly, even with the “interesting” makeup and hair, she is gorgeous.  On top of her physical beauty, however, she is a lovely, kind and warm woman.  Jenn is very family-oriented.  When my mother was near death, Jenn went to her house and climbed fully clothed (including her black boots) into bed with her.  They held one another for about 30 minutes, both crying softly.  They didn’t speak (my mother could not at that point), and yet they said so much to one another.  (As I write this part, I too am crying.)

This is my niece Jenn.  I love her not in spite of her appearance, but because of it.  She is who she is, and will not change to please others.  The outside is what others see, and I am sure some think poorly of her because of her style. 

The next time you see someone dressing differently than most, wearing unique makeup, perhaps even someone living on the street, please remember Jenn.  What you see doesn’t tell the whole story.  Like Jenn, there is likely great beauty inside.  

To learn more about Julie Klein and Xpress Healthcare, please visit http://ibourl.netJoinXpressHealthcare