Fjetland Beats "Weiner" for a Name Suitable for Office

When i ran for Congress someone commented how terrible my name was for a politician. I admit "Fjetland" is no "Smith" or "Jones" but it would be a dull world if we all had the same name.

I will tell you that "Fjetland" is way BETTER name for any public office than the name "WIENER" --literally or figuratively. For Congress, Mayor whater.  WHo the hell spends ALL DAY sending sex texts? Have they no LIFE? I didn't even THINK of doing that when running for office - never have. I have better things to do.

My experience running for office showed me something else -- why our politics today is in  stalemate - our system of gerrymandered districts where white Republicans can ignore the majority minority who live in Texas, for example, produces the extremist rather than the Centrists and Moderates that get things done without Drama and Trauma...

I ran against the most feared Congress reps at the time - majority leader Tom DeLay. And lived to Tell. That story is Chapter "Predicting 9/11 and Running Against the Hammer"

How we FIX OUR BROKEN POLITICAL SYSTEM --and avoiding American versions of the Taliban -- is in the final chapter of "Better Times Ahead April Fool." It's called "Agenda of American Greatness"....



I included photos I personally took from China to India 30 years ago - and again last year.See for yourself the difference versus where WE are today...

We DON'T need more WEINERS in Congress. We need more WINNERS in Congress! LOL.

http://bettertimesaheadaprilfool.com/

From Football Legend Permian -- to Starting Over in Plainview. American Re-invention

I am pleased to say that my partner's son-in-law has accepted a job as coach at Plainview High School after coaching at Odessa Permian. How ironic since i went to Plainview High for a year in 1967 - the year I also started pilot training at their little airport.

Once again it shows how re-invention is an inescapable element of life that keeps us from being defeated when a door closes. Another one opens. Odessa had a huge upheaval - they got rid of most of the coaches. Then the new guys showed up and treated the kids like dirt - yelling at them and telling them they "aren't any good." Definitely "Theory X" coaching that  Captain Blight would approve of and will probably result in the team having a losing season.

My partner's son-in-law lost his job but didn't miss a beat. He got a great offer in the oilfield but snapped a ligament (I think) while trying to lift a heavy barrel.  They really liked him but I think that the dullness of going into the oilfields and doing the same thing every day wasn't his cup of tea. His wife said that "he just stopped talking."  hey, there's more to life than a paycheck.

Then Plainview came along and made a great offer -- and he took it on Sunday. So in his 40's they are moving three kids to start a new career in a town of 22,000. It was the same size when i lived there in the 60's!

I wonder if it still has the "McDonald's Trading Post" my friends dad owned when I lived there? It was a treasure trove for boys like us. Pete had a three wheel scooter and freaked me out once when he drove it on the runway in the dark. But back then, the chances of a plane landing at night were pretty slim. We actually became licensed pilots soon after I left. It's a great skill to have.

ALL of us have to reinvent ourselves, like David has - and I have. I had to do it often - as recently as starting a brand new business when I was 57 - which has grown 500% during the worst economy in 70 years. I founded it in 2007 just before the 2008 collapse. It was the right thing at the right time.

If you want to see how life can spin you into a black hole and still come out of it to grow and thrive, check out "Better Times Ahead April Fool." I can't tell David's story, but I can share mine.

The best days are ahead of us even when we don't know it....It's all about re-invention and never giving up. I know David will do GREAT at the new job. You have to love what you do or it won't work...

Climate Change Just Hit Our FOOD Basket

I just talked to my mother who is in her 80's and just had a back operation-- she makes more sense than members in our Congress.

She lives in Iowa - the incessant rains kept the farmers from planting this year - so expect a BIG FOOD PRICE Spike coming up.  Farmers who invested in new land will have a hard time paying for it. Not all had crop insurance and even those with it won't have the cash for next year's seed and planting expenses.

Meanwhile it is triple digit madness in the Southwest - 128 degrees~! And people don't "get it" that something is terribly WRONG with OUR WEATHER?

Mom said it: "They just aren't thinking of their kids. They are the ones who will pay the price" for not acting to cut our emissions that are overheating our crops and reducing food yields, to mention only two significant problems global warming is causing TODAY.

It's not tomorrow's problem any more..If an 80 year old can see it and I can see it then why can't our elected officials see it - if they followed the advice of 97% of scientists who say its real and we are the cause.

Did you have another planet to move to if your theory about it being a "hoax" is wrong? Blowing off 97% of the scientists who specialize in climate science versus the average dude with zero science skills is not the actions of intelligent beings.

It's pretty stupid to condemn the future of your own kids because you are too fucking stupid to listen to experts who are in agreement!  Rising waters, bigger storms, more droughts and less food security is their future unless our Congress - and the world - ACTS.

That includes China and India, the other two key emitters. It's their planet too, and their childrens' future that is in the same small planet surrounded by light years of empty space. We have no where else to go to if we destroy our blue planet.  Humans do have the ability to make the changes needed to avoid human planetary suicide!

I describe the status of the USA, China and India --along with Solutions -- in the final chapter of "Better Times Ahead April Fool" in the Chapter entitled "Agenda for American Greatness."

Independence Day week is a good time to read it. It includes over 100 photos I took showing China 30 years ago versus today - and India. And South Africa and Mr. Mandela. And Syria. And Egypt --all in the news today. How do Americans win the 21st Century which is posed to be an Asian century lead by China?
It's in "Better Times Ahead April Fool" ...

POWER of the People in the Gallery made the difference

Just saw the NBC news on Wendy Davis filibustering the GOP attempt to put the State Boot on the necks of Women, especially POOR Women in Texas - AWESOME Performance. 

 What an event! The POWER of the People in the Gallery made the difference those last critical minutes! 2 Minutes to spare...WOW.

To me it is a SIGN. We have started on a NEW Journey in Texas my friends. The intolerant one color party will not win. 

Diversity and the people WILL..

BIPOLAR Supreme Court

Between busy business and the NEWS I feel like I am in a giant spinning wheel....

Beginning to think we have a BIPOLAR Supreme Court - Voter suppression is OK and so is Gay Marriage. Go Figure...

want to know why our government is dysfunctional ?

Just got back from South Padre Island after a day that started at 5 a.m. - and just ended.
Highlight: Ate at "DOC'S" place - on edge of the water. Nice. Great Sunset view. I was with a rep on Armor Glass business so no photos. lol
I am TIRED. Calling it a day. As we drove I kept thinking how my radio program was so much better than the Glenn Beck's, etc. LOL. SO, I wrote a book instead!

If you want to know why our government is dysfunctional and how we "Fix" it, its in "Better Times Ahead April Fool" ..Chapter titled "Predicting 9/11 and Running Against the Hammer"

.And you get a true adventure story with it as a bonus! LOL

www.BetterTimesAheadAprilFool.com

Report: Texas One of 10 Worst States to Be a Kid

A new report has come out - and Texas ranks as one of the 10 worst for kids.

"The report also found that 59 percent of young Texans don't have access to preschool, though that was an improvement from 61 percent previously. Some 60 percent of eighth graders weren't proficient in math in 2011, a nine percentage-point improvement from 2005 tallies.
The state also saw 21 percent of its high school students fail to graduate on-time in 2009-10, down from 28 percent in the 2005-2006 academic year, the report found.
Texas' results were hurt by $5.4 billion in cuts to public education approved by lawmakers scrambling to plug budget shortfalls in 2011. The Legislature in May approved a new state budget that restores about $3.4 billion of that — but Deviney said that won't be enough.
"The question for me is, 'Do the people have the will to demand that we prioritize children in the coming years?,'" she said.

Full report and Details at:

http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/education/report-texas-among-10-worst-states-to-be-a-kid/nYP7c/

Can Democrats Win Back the Deep South? YES...

The Answer is YES. The question is WHEN.

Our Texas districts have been Gerrymandered until 2020 so we elect the most extreme candidates in the primaries - and the winner of the primary always wins the General - so the November voters might as well not show up because the game was decided in the March primary, not November as most people assume.

Who will be Texas Governor in 2014? Most likely whoever wins the GOP Primary race in MARCH 2014 - yes March, NOT November. However, the Democrats could run a good horse race - and might even have a dark horse chance as demographics shift the political sands. They really need a SLATE - including a Lt. Gov candidate since that's who really runs Texas, not the Governor.

I use my own experience with this system (when I ran in 3 primaries for Congress in TX22 in Texas) to illustrate my chapter on reforming our election system in "Better Times Ahead April Fool" in the Chapter "Predicting 9/11 and Running Against the Hammer"...at.
www.BetterTimesAheadAprilFool.com

Can Democrats Win Back the Deep South?

www.theatlantic.com