Four friends, who hadn’t seen each other in 30 years, reunited at a party. After several drinks, one of the men had to use the rest room. Those who remained talked about their kids.

The first guy said, ‘My son is my pride and joyHe started working at a successful company at the bottom of the barrel. He studied Economics and Business Administration and soon began to climb the corporate ladder and now he’s the president of the company. He became so rich that he gave his bestfriend a top of the line Mercedes for his birthday.’

The second guy said, ‘Darn, that’s terrific! My son is also my pride and joy. He started working for a big airline, then went to flight school to become a pilot. Eventually he became a partner in the company, where he owns the majority of its assets He’s so rich that he gave his best friend a brand new jet for his birthday’

The third man said: ‘Well, that’s terrific! My son studied in the best universities and became an engineer. Then he started his own construction company and is now a multimillionaire. He also gave away something very nice and expensive to his best friend for his birthday: A 30,000 square foot mansion.’

The three friends congratulated each other just as the fourth returned from the restroom and asked: ‘What are all the congratulations for?’

One of the three said: ‘We were talking about the pride we feel for the successes of our sons. ..What about your son?’

The fourth man replied: ‘My son is gay and makes a living dancing as a stripper at a nightclub.’

The three friends said: ‘What a shame… what a disappointment.’

The fourth man replied: ‘No, I’m not ashamed. He’s my son and I love him. And he hasn’t done too bad either. His birthday was two weeks ago, and he received a beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion, a brand new jet and a top of the line Mercedes from his three boyfriends.’

Now, 7DayBuzz readers know that I am a Obama supporter.  I’ve made that very clear via past posts.  Although I support President Obama and I think it’s wonderful that he is our President, I’m not so taken with him and his “swagger” to where I won’t question certain things that he says.  So, on Monday, February 24, 2009, he gave a presidential address and said a lot of nice-sounding euphemisms in lieu of harsh realities as they relate to the economy.  Everything sounded on the up and up, right?  Well, having said all of that, I did a little bit of fact checking on certain things he said in his speech and I had to take a couple of days to let it all digest.  What I found was surprising and enlightening to me and it may be surprising to other Obama supports.  Of course, the Obama naysayers will say, with much glee, that they knew it all along.

Anyway, I went to one of my favorite sites, factcheck.org, which does research on political issues and reports its findings unbiasedly.  Here’s what I discovered concerning President Obama’s February 24, 2009 speech:

• He said, “We import more oil today than ever before.”   That’s untrue.   Imports peaked in 2005 and are substantially lower today.
• He claimed his mortgage aid plan would help “responsible” buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means.   That’s not necessarily true.  Even prominent defenders of the program, including Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC chief Bair, concede foolish borrowers will be aided too.
• He said the high cost of health care “causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds.”   That’s not true.  That’s at least double the true figure.
• He flubbed two facts about American history.  The U.S. did not invent the automobile,  and the transcontinental railroad was not completed until years after the Civil War, not during it.
• He claimed that his stimulus plan “prevented the layoffs” of 57 police officers in Minneapolis.   In fact,  other factors helped to save police jobs.

Well, well.  Say it ain’t so, President Obama.  Please say you’re not joining in with the regular goings on in Washington, DC where the truth is the farthest thing that is spoken!  It is commonly said that eventually people will show their true colors–just give them time.  Is this the case with President Obama?  Have we (his supporters) been bamboozled?  7DayBuzz readers, what’s your take on this?

I just couldn’t resist the title.:–)  Okay, to all you ladies who are given a hard time about not wearing your own hair, you have been vindicated!  7DayBuzz readers, I don’t know if you all have heard about this story, but I thought I’d write a little something about it to hear your opinions.  Okay, here goes:

A 20-year-old Kentucky woman’s weave saved her life.  Yep, you heard correctly – her weave stopped a bullet!  I know, when I heard about this, I started cracking up – not because she was shot at – but because a weave is what stopped the bullet!  If you’ve ever wondered about the validity of weaves and the reason to wear a weave, now there’s a justifiable reason to wear one – it’s body armor!  Anyway, listen for yourself to the lady who’s weave saved her life. I can’t wait to hear your comments:–)

It would be pointless to go over President Obama’s speech from last night because you more than likely know what his intentions and desires are.  It would be more enlightening, and an interesting discussion, to hear (read) if he is looked at favorably or unfavorably and why.

Many Americans are hearing some new ideas for the first time in a long time – the reality is Bush did not have any initiatives to fix our problems or by the time they were needed nobody was listening to him.

Some polls have opinion about our President on the rise and others have his rating declining, but many of those polls come from places unknown.  I can’t say that I know anyone who has participated in one of these polls, can you?  I would like to hear from people I can interact with and understand how different scenarios would impact the people on “Main street.”

Move The Money

Spend less on war and more on our financial institutions.  Less men and women in danger and money available to lend.  One could get someone (else besides the 4,000+ who have already lost their lives) killed and the other could get someone a house or car – provided they can really afford it.

I’m the one lumping these two together, but I’m all in favor of giving more money to a banker if it means some Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen can come home.  Put together a plan and bring these young men and women home!

Tax Cuts

OK, so if some wealthy individuals/companies are taxed more they may move their businesses overseas.  Is that really something new?  If you think so I have some customer support numbers for you to give a try.  I’m sure “John” (wink) would be more than willing and capable to take your order…uh, I mean help you!

Look, this is America, the land of opportunity, and if taxing big companies causes their profits to slow to the point where they think they need to move out of the country I say goodbye.  There is no guarantee that those companies would create/restore jobs anyway.  If they were to leave the country maybe a new company would create some jobs.  I’m not saying businesses  shouldn’t make as much money as possible, but when several businesses make profits to the point where it is doing more harm than good I think something has to change.  They have the right to make as much money as possible, but that doesn’t mean they have to do it here while they are stepping on our necks.  Why not make less profits over the long haul?

More Responsible Spending

This is where I think the President is going to fail miserably.  Politicians, Gangsters, Drug Dealers…they are just dirty.  If President Obama thinks the government can gain ground by spending in a more responsible manner I have some toilets on sale – I’m only charging $500 each.  I think there will always be money exchanging hands under the table, there will always be lobbyists doing their thing and there will always be some level of corruption in our government.

At this point I’m going to give the President credit for talking the talk and his charisma/swagger.  However, he has a lot of work to do in the next 3 years and 10 months (his first term Ryan); he is going to be one tired guy if he can pull this off.

A fifth-grader from Pennsylvania allegedly killed his father’s pregnant girlfriend recently.  The murder weapon was believed to be a shotgun designed for children.  I actually didn’t know they made youth shotguns, but I guess hunting is big enough in some parts of the country to drive the need for this.

Sad to say, incidents like this are becoming so common that we are numb to the enormity of where our society is and the direction it is going.

Ironically, the boy’s last name is Brown and there is another young man with the same last name who recently made news for laying his hands on a young woman – I’m talking about R&B singer Chris Brown.

Who is to say discipline would have made a difference in either one of these situations, but is discipline or lack of discipline part of the problem?  There are many people who take discipline, namely spanking, too far, but does that necessarily make it a bad thing?  Let’s look at what the Bible has to say:

• He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him  betimes (diligently).
• Chasen thy son while there is hope, and let no thy soul spare for his crying.
• Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it from him.
• Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
• Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
• The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

I’m fully aware that many don’t feel like they should become physical with their children.  However, after dealing with many young adults on a daily basis, I can say for certain that these kids are willing to do whatever they please.  They have no fear and are willing to do anything legal or illegal as long as it jives with what they want at the time.

I’m of the opinion that we partially owe this to educators who replaced the village concept of raising a child with a degree program.  By the way, some of the “experts” probably don’t have children meaning their recommendations and methods are based purely on theory and case studies.

Do you think we should go back to the old way of parenting, with a watchful eye on abusers, or keep on doing what we are doing?  It seems as though we are moving towards a transition where some parents were abusive and barbaric to a day and age where the children are barbaric.  The answer has to be somewhere in the middle.

The plan is to cut the deficit from $1.3 trillion dollars, 9.2% of the economy, to $533 billion dollars, 3% of the economy, during President Obama’s (first ) tenure. That sounds pretty ambitious, but an aggressive approach is what we need right now.  After all, aggressively spending money is what got us to this point so we need to budget aggressively to recover – not so different from what each of us would do with our personal finances.

This discussion is ahead of the curve since we really don’t know how President Obama plans to do this specifically. Here are some general plans:

• Slow/stop home foreclosures
• Encourage more lending
• Better regulate the nation’s financial system
• Invest in what America needs
• Cut out what America does not need
• Restore fiscal discipline

My takeaway from all that is simple: stop throwing money at everything and bring back some responsibility.  I know the latest stimulus plan is viewed as more wasteful spending by many, but even the POTUS doesn’t think the stimulus bill alone will fix what ails us.  He acknowledges that the way we have been spending money in the past is why we are paying dearly in the present.

We always have to keep in mind, this is a mess he inherited.  Yes, he may have played a role in past legislature that backed us into a corner, but his vote was one of many at the time.

I’m all for regulating Washington DC.  There is so much waste going on in our nation’s capital that it would make your head spin.  Congressmen making money on and off the books, contracts won for far too much money and government workers who simply show up to work are all realities; I’ve seen the last two personally.

Can someone remind me again what Bush was doing to help stimulate the economy?  President Obama has been harshly criticized – he is probably partly to blame – but he is at least trying to do something to help the economy.  I don’t understand why people complain about his actions, but then say they are going to save a stimulus check or use it to pay bills.  I would think we all want to be part of the solution at this point and not part of the problem.

Like I said earlier, this discussion is taking place before we know specifically what the President plans to do with the budget, but that shouldn’t stop us from arguing, I mean talking about it!

Check out this story and tell me what you think.  Can something like this possibly happen:

A 14-year-old boy in China was killed when his chair exploded, sending chunks of metal into his rectum. The bleeding this caused killed him.  The alleged explosion came from the gas cylinder that was in the base of the chair, the part that allowed the user to adjust the seat up and down.  The canister gets compressed when you sit on it, but can it actually create enough energy to make the seat cushion explode like that and kill someone?

Although this happened in China and their regulatory procedures do not have the best reputation, I wondered if something like this could ever happen here in America.  I mean, I’ve sat in a chair like this at work, for hours on end.  But to have something like this happen while you’re sitting at your desk, minding your own business — well, that’s just too much for me to think about.

If you haven’t heard, Republican Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is of the belief that because of the passage of the stimulus bill, America is running out of rich people.  Is that a true statement?  I mean, America has plenty of rich people, right?  Not only does Michele Bachmann believe America is running out rich people, she firmly believes that with President Obama at the helm of the country, “the have-nots will now be the Republican districts.”  That’s a pretty bold statement, isn’t it?  She also said the Democrats want to “take all of our money.”  For real?!!!!  Who does the “our” refer to?  The Republicans?  How much truth do you think is in Michele Bachmann’s statements? Former President Bill Clinton recently gave a speech and he spoke about the feelings of Republicans towards President Obama and the stimulus bill:  “He has reached across, and it takes two to tango. I find it amazing that Republicans, who doubled the debt of the country in eight years and produced no new jobs doing it — gave us an economic record that is totally bereft of any productive result — are now criticizing him for spending money. … This stimulus is our bridge over troubled waters. He did the right thing.”  As usual, Bill Clinton put things into perspective for those who, would otherwise, be confused about how President Obama may actually be helping, instead of hurting America.

I honestly don’t believe that America is running out of rich people.  If anything, rich people seem to always know how to circumvent the system to stay rich.  How, in the world, with the passage of President Obama’s stimulus bill, will this little fact change?  Also, what’s wrong with those, who are categorized as the “have-nots” finally getting a chance to be associated with the “haves?”  Isn’t America the country where anyone is able to become rich?  How will will that sentiment change just because of the passage of a little ole $780 plus billion stimulus package?  7DayBuzz readers, what do you think about Michele Bachmann’s  and/or Bill Clinton’s statements?

Okay, I think this is seriously uncalled for!  What possible explanation can the NY Post give to explain this?  Ok, what possible LEGITIMATE explanation can they give?  Say and believe what you will about President Obama, but this is really wrong!

UPDATE:  The NY Post defends the cartoon by stating, “The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy.”