I understand Racism better than you because I am white - a message to my black friends.

OH man, I can hear heads exploding all over the place. Yet, in a few ways my capacity for understanding is better, I'm not subjected to it as many are, so my viewpoint carries less emotion than those who are in the line of fire. Like a general who is able to dispassionately see the strategy of the enemy from behind the front lines and help direct the fight, those engaged directly in the warfare many times are confused by the fog of war. Let me offer some perspective. Hang with me here, this will set you free IF you will take it to heart.

In 7 decades on this planet I have been robbed twice. Held up once. Beaten a few times. None of these were by American Indians, African Americans, Hispanics or Asians. They were all crimes commuted by white trash. Bad people who happened to be white. I also have known (even related to) some who are pretty much trash.. swindlers, crooks, violent, drunks and totally untrustworthy. Trailer trash. I keep my distance. They mostly beat on each other. That's why I can't watch a show like honey boo boo. Too close for comfort.

I bear no relationship to those idiots other than the singular fact that they share a skin tone with me. They are reprobates. They represent all that is discredit. "Such were some of you" applies in this case. A few get saved, straighten out, but most stay in the shadows, hustling and without much going for them. They are big users of medicaid, food stamps, section 8 and steal the rest. If you try to help them, they won't be helped. They contribute nothing to the culture. Nothing to the economy. Takers. They spend a lot of time in jails. Worthless men. The Bible talks of them.

Proverbs 6:11-13 Poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man. 12A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, 13Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers;…

I have nothing in common with them. Nothing. Here's the reality. THEY ARE NOT MY BROTHERS.. not for any reason. I want nothing to do with them. I know Jesus died for them. If they come to repentance I will embrace them as brothers. Most of them live in dire poverty. I just won't sanction what got them there. I refuse to be an enabler.

This is why the deception going on right now (the enemy's strategy to divide) is so insidious. I know well, personally, intimately many good people who are trying to live a good life, work, raise good families, do what is right. Honest. Sober. Solid. The kind of people you are proud to know They are truly my brothers and sisters. They are people with a vision. And some of them have black skin. Some of them are reading this right now. You are my Brother and or Sister. In truth. For real. It is you I am talking to. I love you enough to tell you the truth.

The lie is this, because Mike Brown had dark skin he is your brother and you identify with him simply because of his skin color. Mike Brown was not your brother. So many of those who are unfortunately killed by cops are not your brothers or sisters. Trayvon Martin was not your brother. You are not like them at all. The perceived injustices and death are the result of bad choices.. THEY MADE. Just like the white trash people I run across.

Eric Garner was not white trash with black skin. His death is really wrong, but it's not about race. Even his daughter called that right. It's bad laws and bad policing. More about that later. I am admonishing those who have the courage to read this, don't allow your personal experience with racist attitudes expressed towards you to make bad choices and allow you to project them onto a blank screen occupied by Trayvon or Mike Brown. They are not your brothers. Learn to discern.

When you allow the devil to lie to you and self identify yourself with those who do not share the values by which you live, you demean yourself and you make false equivalencies. Stop. I can choose and you can choose who we are to call brothers..

I have taken a tiny liberty with something the Apostle Paul said (the Gene Version of the Bible) but the message us unchanged:

"Stop associating yourself with any so-called brother if he is sexually immoral, greedy, selfish, egotistical, a slanderer, a liar, a drunk, or a robber. You must not even consider yourself able to be at the same table as he is. He is not to be considered your brother." 1 Corinthians 5:11

This tears up the Bridge People try to Build

IF you want to grasp the cultural threads causing the civil divide in our nation, you need to go beneath the surface. Quit reading the stuff that is whitewashed for wide (white) consumption.. like Root.  I know that my Black friends think those of us who care are ignorant of these things... but if I didn't care I wouldn't dig deep enough to find it.  These things are pathology, part of the insanity, part of the cultural mental illness that manifests itself in decline.  Read it if you dare: http://diaryofanegress.com/2012/12/23/21-harsh-truths-black-people-dont-want-to-hear/   ----   http://diaryofanegress.com/2014/06/27/10-questions-white-people-need-to-seriously-ask-themselves/    The fact is she represents a great deal of the undercurrent that builds a wall many have tried harder than anyone to tear down.  I promise you this, you can't change anything except yourself.  Not in a million million years will these kinds of pathologies result in anything except further degradation. 

Atheist evangelism

American Atheists launch provocative campaign in religious Deep South - Telegraph

Advertising hoardings show a young girl writing a letter to Father Christmas: "Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is to skip church! I'm too old for fairy tales"

www.telegraph.co.uk

This is just like in Chicago we have ghost workers all through the administration and the City Council

Iraq’s 50,000 ‘ghost soldiers’ analysis: This is further proof of army corruption

The Iraqi army includes 50,000 “ghost soldiers” who do not exist, but their officers receive their salaries fraudulently according to the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. “The Prime Minister revealed the existence of 50,000 fictitious names,” said a statement after a thorough headcount during t…

www.independent.co.uk

I did some of these

Success will never come to entrepreneurs who do these 10 things

Don't make excuses. Do make a plan.

fortune.com

Living high on other people's money

Total US Debt Rises Over $18 Trillion | Zero Hedge

Leading news site for global finance, economics, market, and political analysis.

www.zerohedge.com

This is the BEST I ever heard..

Herjavec Group

Robert HerjavecInfluencer

Shark on ABC's Shark Tank, Founder of Herjavec Group, Bestselling Author, Race Car Driver

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My Top Ten Tips for Entrepreneurs

Nov 29 2014

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In this series of posts, Influencers and members share their advice for entrepreneurs. Read all the posts here and write your own (use the hashtag #mystartupstory in the body of your post), or upload a SlideShare.

In honor of small business Saturday I wanted to share my top 10 tips for budding entrepreneurs. This list was first published by CBC News and I often refer back to it when I’m meeting with new ventures or training our sales team at Herjavec Group. I hope it helps jump start your weekend—and put you on the right path to your own entrepreneurial success…
1. Believe in the business — and yourself
There are so many people that will say, 'No — bad idea, it's never going to work’. You have to have a senseless belief in your idea and yourself - almost to the point of being delusional. Remember that everyone has advice but no one knows what you have to go through to start, grow and scale a business until they live it! Talk is cheap, but action speaks volumes.
I often tell the story of the ancient general who took his troops to battle and when they got to the foreign shore, he burned all the ships so there would be no option of retreating. That is the kind of belief you need. There’s no going back.
2. Test before you jump in
Don't ask your mom, your wife, your friends, your barber what they think — those are opinions (and often biased one’s at that!). Test the idea with the only people who really matter: the ones who are going to cut you a cheque for it. Call on some potential clients and see if they will buy whatever it is you’re selling.
3. Everyone lies
Some people will lie to you because they mean to. Others will do it to tell you what you want to hear. Either way, test everything you are told. If someone tells you they are going to invest, get a date. And if the date passes, make sure your spider senses are tingling. If a client tells you he is giving you the order, ask him if it is in procurement yet; if not, ask him if he minds if you call the purchaser yourself. Test what people tell you. They don't always mean to lie to you, but they do lie.

4. Bring a compass
“It's awkward when you have to eat your friends.”
That's a cute saying I saw a long time ago, but it's very true. When you're starting out, you have to realize that it is going to be hard and then it will get worse…far worse than you think. Be prepared to survive the worst situation you can think of — and then assume that things will still get even worse than that.
Be prepared — it's much better to have a compass to get out of the woods (just in case) than to have to eat your friends to survive.
5. If they can't catch you, they can't overtake you
Go fast — really fast. The elephant can't catch a running mouse, but he sure can crush him when the mouse is standing still! When you're small, you’ve got to be faster than the competition. Be nimble, be agile, be responsive. Learn from your customers. As you grow be prepared for the new entrants that want to take you down and ask yourself how you can maintain the sense of agility that led to your initial success.
6. Train for a marathon
This is where I completely contradict myself, because diligence is so important. Once you find a good opportunity, go slow and check and double-check everything. Business is a sprint until you find an opportunity, then it requires the patience of a marathon runner. I know this is hard and trust me, I am not a marathoner — but I have run two of them just to reinforce this point to myself.

7. Hunt for your dinner
No matter how full and fat you get, don't stop looking for opportunities. You can never be satisfied as an entrepreneur, and the basis of any successful, growing business is new clients. Make sure your company always has the attitude of going out and hunting for its dinner. We don't pay our salespeople for renewals at Herjavec Group, that's a customer service job and not a sales job. Sales people should be hunters.
8. There is no work/life balance
Your business is a living, breathing thing, and it has to be fed and grow to survive. There is no balance in your life when your business is in trouble. If you are under the illusion that you can start a business and run it at your life's schedule, you are mistaken. The business is like a starving puppy — when it needs to eat, then it needs to eat regardless of what you have going on personally.
9. Being committed to business is hard
The reason so few companies and people make it: It's not easy.
Be honest with yourself. What price are you willing to pay to make the business work and be successful? Would you sacrifice your time, your family, your friends, your golf game, your entire social life? I am not advocating that you should, but you have to ask yourself if you are prepared to.
10. It's all about the approach
Work hard…have fun…be nice…play fair…dream big.
We only get one chance at this life. If you're going to play this game, play it to win.
To your success,
Robert
Robert Herjavec (@robertherjavec) is the Founder and CEO of Herjavec Group and a Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank.

As a tea party conservative I would like to change the way policing is done in our nation.

 For a long time I have railed against the militarization and mindless brutality of our police in the USA.  This can be fixed.. if anyone will listen.  The attitude of police in general towards the public is adversarial and that must change.  The police must be trained that they are there to serve the public, all of the public including People of Color.
 
Here (if I were King) is what I would do at once:

   1. All candidates for police officer should be psychologically tested before being hired.  It appears there are an inordinate number of officers who have real anger and psychological problems and should never have been hired to be in a position of authority.

   2. Increase training of officers, particularly in community policing efforts which go a long way in preventing these encounters from being escalated by the police themselves.  Police should be trained in methods by which they can defuse a tense situation without using force including when a citizen has a weapon.

  3. Any use of force or discharge of a weapon by the police should be reviewed by representative citizens' group, not internal investigations.  If appropriate, the case should be referred to district attorney or special prosecutor for criminal charges.  This idea of "you work for me" has to return to the mental attitude of policemen and women.,

 4. In major cities, get the cops out of their cars and put them to walking a regular beat in normal uniforms with cameras mounted on them.  That way they get to know the people and will see them as people instead of suspects.

  5.  All military grade hardware and weapons needs to be removed from local police departments.  They are not properly trained to use these weapons and the presence of such weaponry only escalates any tense situation

  6. Every police officer should receive extensive training on Constitutional rights of all citizens.  Every officer should be trained in how to interact with the public in a calm and non-threatening way. 

I will write much more on this, but for those who get joy in posting bad things about cop abuse of citizens, I'm with you, but it's not race.. it's bad policing.  Race bias can't be as easily fixed as bad cops can.  This can help.

‘Absolutely Disgusting’: Keep a Close Eye on the Cop’s Reaction as a Black Friday Shopper Claims That He’s Being Harassed Like ‘Mike Brown’ | Video | TheBlaze.com

 This is the new black privilege



‘Absolutely Disgusting’: Keep a Close Eye on the Cop’s Reaction as a Black Friday Shopper Claims That He’s Being Harassed Like ‘Mike Brown’ | Video | TheBlaze.com