Tuesday, July 05, 2011

The American Tourist and the Mexican Fisherman

An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The tourist then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The Mexican said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”

The tourist then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The tourist scoffed, “I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

The tourist replied, “15 to 20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?…Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

- Author Unknown

[ LINK: Stolen from Soup ]

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Monday, July 04, 2011

'Hour of Power' church rocked by money woes


Robert H Schuller, the preacher whose "Hour of Power" once attracted millions of TV viewers and turned him into one of America's first superstar televangelists, has been forced out of the church he founded, which has fallen deep into debt and is being torn apart by a simmering family dispute.

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Against Corporate Politics - Up With People!

The New War of Independence - Against Corporate Politics

by: Richard (RJ) Eskow, Campaign for America's Future | Op-Ed
 

(Photo: factoids)

This is the age of corporatized politics. That means we may admire our leaders, but we can't depend on them. We're paying the price for Thomas Jefferson's unfulfilled desire to "crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

[ LINK: The New War of Independence ]

Note:  WM: We have entered a new arena of social activism.  We are no longer focused on issues as we are with the power brokers, the "Gnomes" who pull the marionette strings of modern politics.  We do not yet know the fabric of the next battlefield nor the role that we will play - but the lesson we did learn is that all revolution is grass roots in nature.  Down with Corporate Politics - Up With People.

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Undocumented Immigrants Paid $11.2 Billion In Taxes While GE Paid Nothing

The cost of personal freedom.

Freedom: proceed carefully


Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation and freedom in all just pursuits.  

In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. 

Thomas Jefferson - Martin Luther King, Jr.

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