tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62652000269248562292024-03-12T19:54:07.872-07:00Poor Tony's BlogPoor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-28302220328937493112012-04-30T17:45:00.000-07:002012-04-30T17:45:30.234-07:00Conservatives are Wimps<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oW3rfslD5bE/T58x0Bh-lzI/AAAAAAAAACY/28qIWwghvUk/s1600/wimp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oW3rfslD5bE/T58x0Bh-lzI/AAAAAAAAACY/28qIWwghvUk/s1600/wimp.jpg" /></a></div>
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I live in Connecticut.
It is a Progressive, Liberal, welfare state that until a few decades ago
was prosperous and Conservative.
Connecticut used to build world class machinery, lead the world in the
insurance industry, and serve as the arsenal of Democracy. Nowadays we in Connecticut can’t even put
together finger nail clippers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What happened? It
seems too many seemingly rational people took the easy road out and moved to
greener pastures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are far too many former Conservative Connecticut
Yankees out West and in the South. Texas
and Florida seem to be prime destinations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Why does it seem that Conservatives get tired of fighting
for their principles and simply move to a more rational environment? When will it be time to draw a line in the
sand and consider retaking our state and freeing ourselves from the tyranny
surrounding us? <o:p></o:p></div>Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-69793003430477508072012-04-20T08:29:00.000-07:002012-04-20T08:29:35.527-07:00Traitors Among Us?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AqwtskOBoJc/T5F_q6YmxgI/AAAAAAAAACM/WywRcvC81JE/s1600/liberty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AqwtskOBoJc/T5F_q6YmxgI/AAAAAAAAACM/WywRcvC81JE/s320/liberty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I was a kid, people and organizations which opposed our
founding principles as described in the Declaration of Independence and
Constitution, were considered traitors by the general public. They were looked down on and not much
respected. In our country’s founding
documents personal freedom was the rule, not a massive, central government
which acts against the natural instincts and conditions of men. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our administrative and judicial leaders in Washington as
well as those in many states and localities no longer abide by the ideals which
made the United States the land of choice for a majority of the world’s
population. These leaders consider our Constitution as a meaningless and
obsolete document. If anything, too many
of our leaders subscribe to the notion of remaking our country’s governance
into a clone of some inferior foreign land most people on this planet would
rather flee.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Too many of our leaders are traitors to the country they
were sworn to uphold and defend. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-9036108231435550392012-04-14T13:11:00.003-07:002012-04-14T13:12:49.451-07:00Less Freedom?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KIvG9Vl62kw/T4nZwrNjXaI/AAAAAAAAACE/Y85N9nSetpg/s1600/Constitution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KIvG9Vl62kw/T4nZwrNjXaI/AAAAAAAAACE/Y85N9nSetpg/s1600/Constitution.jpg" /></a></div>
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While in Egypt this year, January 30 to be precise, Associate
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg was asked what she thought of
Egypt modeling its new Constitution on the one used by the US. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ruth Bader Ginsberg suggested that Egypt not model itself
after what she called the dusty and obsolete US Constitution, but after either
South Africa’s or Canada’s Constitutions.
Her reasoning was that the Federal Government in the U.S. does not have
enough powers while the South African and Canadian models do. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In short, she prefers less individual freedom, unlike what
our US Constitution was intended to grant us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-86441743822224431842012-04-09T18:17:00.000-07:002012-04-09T18:17:42.789-07:00The Little, Old Black Lady who Changed My Thinking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QldqPakY6fU/T4OIMGD2KFI/AAAAAAAAAB8/8bS9m7QWOP8/s1600/cua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QldqPakY6fU/T4OIMGD2KFI/AAAAAAAAAB8/8bS9m7QWOP8/s1600/cua.jpg" /></a></div>
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Many people complain about the wealth of the Catholic
Church. They argue that the Catholic
Church is hypocritical because it would prefer to gather immense wealth rather
than help the poor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the 1960’s I was a student at CUA, the Catholic
University of America in Washington DC.
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is adjacent to the CUA
campus. The Basilica’s lowest level has
the names of thousands of donors who helped pay for its construction. The names are literally plated in gold. The entire building exudes wealth. I was appalled because across Wisconsin
Avenue where the Basilica sits, there were residential neighborhoods along 7<sup>th</sup>
and 8<sup>th</sup> Streets which were the poorest I had ever encountered. The contrast was disturbing. ‘How can so much wealth sit amongst so much
poverty?’ was the question in my mind.
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I noticed an elderly black lady who daily trudged from the
poverty of 8<sup>th</sup> Street to the splendor of the Basilica. Given my disgust with the Catholic Church for
being so insensitive to the poor, I approached her one day and asked why she
was so drawn to the Basilica.<o:p></o:p></div>
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She answered, ’I may only give a penny, but it is all I have
and I give it as a token of my Faith in my Lord. I want my Lord to have the finest house in
the land.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was then that I saw the wealth of the Catholic Church in
a different light and I am eternally grateful to this little, old lady. God bless her! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-26052718345961553312012-04-04T08:39:00.000-07:002012-04-04T08:39:46.369-07:00Does One Size Fit All?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TM116L6NJPI/T3xqNI8TJeI/AAAAAAAAAB0/QGjzEnzBfVg/s1600/One+Size.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TM116L6NJPI/T3xqNI8TJeI/AAAAAAAAAB0/QGjzEnzBfVg/s320/One+Size.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kierkegaard, a philosopher of the Victorian era, said that all cultures are not equal in their
development. What he meant was that
during his lifetime there were people living in stone age cultures with stone
age governments and societies, such as the aborigines in Australia. However, there were also industrialized
societies with Democratic or
Parliamentarian governments such as in Great Britain and most of Europe. Most cultures at the time were somewhere in
between. That cultural reality is not
much different in 2012, over a hundred years later. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had a problem with former President Bush’s method of spreading
Democracy. His concept did not appear to
be in sync with most of Iraq’s political traditions. Iraq’s culture is very different than that
of the US. After observing the history of the region, other than Israel, all
countries in the area seem to prefer either dictatorships, tribal or one-party
rule types of government. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I disagree with President Obama’s political vision for the
US on a similar conceptual level.
Whereas President Bush wanted to lift Iraq forward towards democracy,
President Obama wants our country to regress to an inferior, primitive type of
Progressive/Socialist dictatorship form of government. It doesn't fit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-67103466839379322432012-03-31T07:54:00.000-07:002012-03-31T07:54:44.181-07:00May 1 - 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8264E2X2GnU/T3caCkIqgKI/AAAAAAAAABs/kvRFnj2gBOg/s1600/May+1st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8264E2X2GnU/T3caCkIqgKI/AAAAAAAAABs/kvRFnj2gBOg/s1600/May+1st.jpg" /></a></div>
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I predict that around May 1 this year, the Occupy Wall
Street group will be organizing large rallies in Washington, D.C. and other
major U.S. cities. I believe these large
events will lead to situations more destructive than what our Nation endured in
1967 after Martin Luther King’s assassination.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the goal of achieving unlimited power, i.e. beyond
those powers granted by our U.S. Constitution, many in our U.S. government seek
additional powers through the use of groups such as the Occupiers. They use
these kinds of groups to create disruptive situations that are beyond the
ability of local authority to control.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Step two is where the power seekers are able to take control
thanks to the fomented crisis created by the unruly mob.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Assuming the Occupiers act according to the basic scenario
described above, they become the ’useful idiots’ that power seekers, such as
Lenin promoted.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-3872212532330764272012-03-27T18:15:00.000-07:002012-03-27T18:15:31.020-07:00Bike Helmets?!?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fmmjXm_GpX0/T3JlY6XKxeI/AAAAAAAAABk/49-qp74fqA8/s1600/bike+helmets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fmmjXm_GpX0/T3JlY6XKxeI/AAAAAAAAABk/49-qp74fqA8/s1600/bike+helmets.jpg" /></a></div>
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Decades ago I was thrilled to be a nine-year old owner of a
used Columbia bicycle. I rode that thing
up and down the hills of Derby and Ansonia.
It was driven on Rt34, Main Street and all streets in between. I drove it to Seymour, Orange and
Woodbridge. It was used in places were
no roads existed. I never wore a
helmet. Nobody wore helmets back then.</div>
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If you fell and got hurt, you either learned how to handle
certain situations or resigned yourself to the fact that you were a klutz.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not against being safe, but am I wrong in believing we
as a nation are being sissified when we wear helmets on paved walkways like our
Greenway were no cars or other vehicles are allowed? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-82831031896433570782012-03-24T10:21:00.000-07:002012-03-24T10:21:11.900-07:00Occupy Wall Street<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEsrfZJqIWw/T24CJjYpTeI/AAAAAAAAABc/RfM6rtVHJI8/s1600/occupy+wall+street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEsrfZJqIWw/T24CJjYpTeI/AAAAAAAAABc/RfM6rtVHJI8/s320/occupy+wall+street.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the Fall of 2011 US citizens were introduced to a protest
group calling itself Occupy Wall Street.<o:p></o:p></div>
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These protesters seemed to be divided into two groups within
the movement. The first group had valid
concerns while the second group seemed to protest because they had nothing
better to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some had complaints regarding hardships and injustices
heaped upon themselves. The loss of
homes due to a faulty mortgage banking system as well as joblessness and a lack
of meaningful work opportunities are some of the valid issues found in this
first group. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Participants from the second group did not seem to have any
meaningful, coherent message. This group
responded with clichéd answers when asked why they were protesting. It seemed to me that they were a mob
searching for relevance. As time went
on, this group began to chant anti capitalist slogans. They claimed that they were entitled to take
over anyone’s home, yours or mine thus showing no regard for private property
rights. They showed and continue to show
little respect for public, communal property as well. Unfortunately, this second group seems to
have taken control of the movement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a group they are what Lenin would call ‘useful idiots’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I find it disturbing that this movement is encouraged by
President Obama. I also wonder why the
protesters with valid complaints glommed onto this movement when a powerful
movement addressing many of the same issues already exists in the nonpartisan
Tea Party.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Occupiers claim to represent 99% of all Americans. They do not represent my views.<o:p></o:p></div>Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6265200026924856229.post-18032187812298885142012-03-21T17:57:00.000-07:002012-03-21T17:57:57.945-07:00Poor Tony - That's Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LzkR_QjiII4/T2p2RipWvQI/AAAAAAAAABM/Jh6W6R3iPx4/s1600/PrRchrd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LzkR_QjiII4/T2p2RipWvQI/AAAAAAAAABM/Jh6W6R3iPx4/s320/PrRchrd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hello, and welcome to the first entry of Poor Tony's Blog. I picked this name for my blog because of Ben Franklin's great "blog" called Poor Richard's Almanac. Though, granted I'm no Ben Franklin. The use of "poor" is because my blog is to share ideas with everyday people. This was Franklin's use of the word "poor" as well. And, I used "Tony" because that's my name. <br />
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I'm of Polish heritage, was born in Derby, CT, I lived for 30+ years inside the Washington DC beltway, I'm a retired architect, I have 5 grown children, I'm on my second marriage, and I'm a conservative.<br />
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I've decided to blog because I love my country and can't stand being silent as it's being dismantled piece by piece. Albert Einstein, a really smart guy, said, "The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."<br />
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I'll be picking different topics about our country and the bad road we've been going down for too long. Am I an authority on these topics? Maybe not, but I'm smart enough to know we Americans need to get back on the highway built by our Country's Founding Fathers.<br />
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<br />Poor Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497064964692103165noreply@blogger.com0