Lately it seems that I have not felt the need to write about anything. Maybe I have such a boring life these days that I don't find anything interesting. Who knows? All work and no play has made the Pirate a dull boy.

I have been walking a great deal lately. I did 6 miles in roughly 90 minutes this afternoon in the sweltering 95 degree South Texas heat. Until you have lived here it cannot be adequately described to you. When I walk, I put my iPod on and I just go. I have no real set course. I go up and down streets, around buildings and through neighborhoods. I have a lot of time to think while I am walking. Amazing, sometimes my thoughts are so strong and loud I drown out the music. Other times, I get lost in Warren Zevon, Elvis, Jimmy Buffet, BB King or whoever I have on at the time.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the election this fall. Who am I going to vote for? I was, at one time, a Republican. I still consider myself a Republican in the vein of Barry Goldwater and Theodore Roosevelt. But since the party has been taken over by the ultra-right wing neo-cons, I now claim to be an Independent.

I am not writing this to persuade you either way. I see too much demagoguery on both sides these days. It seems that both sides what to make you afraid of something. I really don't see how either candidate is really going to change anything. The problem is not really with who is President, although GHWB has led us down a primrose path and gotten us into a worse quagmire than Vietnam ever was. Imagine what this mess will be like if it drags on as long as that war did.

I am concerned about the working man. I have 40 or so working for me now. I need to hire about 10 more right now and we will double our workforce again by next Spring. I cannot find supposed "Americans" that want to work for what I can pay. I am building your schools, remodeling your offices and building hospitals. I pay the best wages in my industry but they are still low. My average mix is $13.50 an hour. All of my men are paid by check. They have FICA, Social Security and Medicare deducted. The law says if they provide me an ID and a Social Security card they are legal. I am not required to validate them. All of these men pay taxes, and into Social Security and they will not collect. They spend their money here and pay all of the sales taxes that go along with that. If you eliminate my workforce, who is going to build the things I do now? Are you willing to have your property and sales taxes raised so mainstream Americans will want to do muscle work again?

And criminals. I see Nancy Grace talking about the victims, but when the State of Texas violates the law and takes children from their parents because they do not like their religion, she sides with the law breakers. It is so hard for an ex-con to find work today.Everyone does background checks on all of their people, one little blemish, and you cannot be employed. 10% of my workforce are ex-cons. Not only are they ex-cons, they are sex-offenders. You heard me right. I don't ask them what they did. I don't care. These men want to work. They want to learn a trade. They do not want to go back to prison. The great majority of SOs are one time offenders. They are basically decent people that made one mistake and will never do it again. However, because of media hysteria, we put the clamps on these men and make it almost impossible for them to survive. They really have no other option but crime. Would you knowingly hire a sex offender in your business?

Oh, and lets not forget about me being gay. I have a whole bunch of rights guaranteed me by the Constitution of the United States that are violated everyday by these neo-con religious nut jobs we have running things now. More examples of "Let me make you afraid of it" I see some good churches doing good things. I still consider myself a Christian. However, what I am not is a Born-Again, Holy Rolling, Better Than You Hypocrite. St. Francis of Assisi (sic) said, "Preach always. If necessary, use words." I live by that. My actions demonstrate my love for people and my thankfulness for the blessings I have in my life. Amy does not know this, but there is a man her church is sponsoring in his ministry. He served either 29 or 39 flat, I can't remember. Anyway, now he is a chaplain at the Polunsky unit in Livingston, Texas. that is where Death Row is boys and girls. He will be on parole until the day he dies. This man cannot get a job. He makes money cleaning parking lots at Jack-in-the-Box. I was so impressed with this man that I met with the pastor of the church and we devised this plan to help him. The pastor is going to put the call out to the church to support this man every month. he is going to announce that an anonymous donor will match whatever the church gives to help him, up to $500 every month. I am the anonymous donor. (Amy, please keep this our secret) I have a huge job that will be near where he lives starting in the fall. I am going to offer him a job handling our material on the job when it begins. If I can figure out a way to put him on before then, I will.

I am not telling you this for accolades or a pat on the back. It is not even necessary that you mention it. I do it because I want to help people. I want to make a difference. I don't care if anyone knows what I do or not. I do it because it needs to be done and I have the means to do it.

I am an entrepreneur. I have put it on the line and I am putting people that need jobs to work. I am a Christian. I am reaching out to the modern day lepers and giving them a chance to wash. I am a philanthropist, giving where it is needed. I make a difference. My life does not revolve around what is happening on TV. I only use my TV for Sports Center and porn. (I didn't say I was perfect)

I challenge everyone of you that reads this to make a difference in your community. Do something to help. I am working out a plan with my superintendent to put our guys on a 4 day week so they use less gas driving to and from work. Save gas, help the environment.

I don't have all the answers. hell, I don't even know most of the questions. I cannot stand people who think they do because of what someone else has said. Most of the hardline liberals and conservatives are just parrots anyway. Hardly any of them have ever had an original thought.

I will tell you something that is an absolute fact. The government is not going to be the agent of change in society (sorry liberals) and neither is the church (sorry neo-cons). The agent of change in this country is you. Until you do something to make a difference, nothing is ever going to get done. No change will ever occur. Jesus was opposed to the religious leaders, why else was he crucified? Look at the way he talked about the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I know it is an over used statement, but "What WOULD Jesus do?" If you claim to be a Christian, are you acting like Jesus? Or are you a Pharisee, making yourself seen in the courtyard by your fancy garments and loud words? Or, are you reaching out to the lepers, the blind, the crippled, the tax collectors, the HIV patient, the Sex Offender, the ex-convict, the alien.

No candidate is making me afraid. No candidate is showing me much in the way of character an actions. Whoever wins, wins. Change is going to come from within. No one wil give you anything that makes you, or society, better.

Just Do IT!

Btw, 82 lbs and counting.

Peace

Also, any error in fact or ethics is an error in transmission. It isn't my fault. :)