Do you remember how old you were when you became aware that the 4th of July celebration was more than the BBQ with the family and shooting off some fireworks that your Dad picked up at a roadside stand?  I honestly don’t remember how old I was either, but when you’re a kid the idea that our country is having a birthday doesn’t mean much unless you have cake, ice cream and a party with presents.

This got me to thinking, how can I celebrate our countries birthday in a more meaningful way?  So I decided that I would spend more time praying for our leaders that they are guided by our founding fathers who drafted the Constitution designed to “form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings to ourselves…”

and if my prayers aren’t answered within my state then I will contact my local representative or my Governor and if my prayers on a federal level aren’t answered then I will contact my member of Congress or Senator and if they still aren’t answered then I will contact my President.  And if that fails I will go back run my own life, make my own decisions, accept my responsibilities and be happy to live in a democracy where I am allowed to do whatever I darn well please. And if you are a complainer, whiner or general pain in the ass about living in this country and have not contacted any of the afore mentioned elected’s than you are welcome to exercise your freedom to leave anytime.

Happy 233rd Birthday America!  May you have many more!

Today as we inaugurate our next president I pray that we all can put aside our aversion toward those with different opinions and belief systems and pray for the new President and his team to do the same. I believe this country has had enough partisan politics as usual and I for one hope that we can rise above as a nation and look to larger and lasting solutions.  My wish also is that people will stand up and take personal responsibility for their part as citizens of this great nation and participate in making this a better nation for one and all.  Get involved – stay involved and be the change we all want to see in the world.

“The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.“Abraham Lincoln

Today we determined the future of our country and States at least for the next four years as voters went to the polls in record numbers. We now are challenged to come together as a nation and solve the many problems that lie ahead. I pray that the voters will now hold accountable those they just elected to office and remember that we the people are in control of our future and that of our great nation. We must make sure all those campaign promises are met and those with whom we have entrusted our future do so in a non-partisan fashion to serve the greater good of all the people.

It has been an exciting four months for me being a part of a political campaign and I am proud to say our campaign stayed on message about smaller government, personal liberties and responsibilities, free enterprise and open competition. Our national and state economies are in dire need of stimulation and we must work together, all parties, to find solutions that brings the best promise for our future, the future of our children and grandchildren.

So as I move on to the next part of my life I am remain grateful for my friend Gabriella who had the courage to run for public office simply to make the state a better place, I am grateful for the experiences I have had on the campaign trail and for the wonderful people I have met that have enhanced and inspired my life. I choose to remain hopeful for the future of this great nation and I remain steadfast in my prayers that the leaders we choose today will serve responsibly and with integrity for the greater good of ALL citizens.

God Bless America

During this tumultuous time in the 2008 elections, perhaps we have lost sight of the wisdom of our forefathers;

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

Abraham Lincoln

I can’t help but wonder if the partisan politics will end after the election next Tuesday, will the newly elected’s focus on public policy rather than their ideology? or will we continue to be divided without balance and accountability? Will the voters mark their ballots and vote out those who have not performed ?

I hope this election year will wake up American’s to get involved and make sure all those campaign promises are met.

I’m having some doubts after reading today what one legislator in California had to say when asked if he was able to return to the Capitol if called back by the Governor for an special session…

“The public already has no faith in us. It’s not going to change anybody’s mind.”

– Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat, on whether state lawmakers should travel abroad after the election, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to call a special session. Lowenthal does not have travel plans. Read the full story.

(sad thing is I’ll take a wager today that the voters will in-fact vote him back in – do I have any takers on that bet???)

As this election winds to the final weeks, I am pondering this word “change”

It has become a word that every candidate uses to define and validate their agendas or even to question the agenda of the others.  Beyond all this rhetoric, the individual States and the Federal Government does need major policy changes to face the unprecedented challenges before us.  We must ask incumbents and candidates the question, What specifically are they offering to change? Short term, quick fixes – well, are they just change for the sake of change?  Hummm, thats something to ask isn’t it?

OR – will candidates offer well thought out, well informed changes that address challenges over the long term? We as voters should be provided the information we need to understand, evaluate, and choose among choices for change that candidates claim are essential to our states and counties future.

CHANGE – consider it carefully, make your vote count and remember you are the BOSS of your elected officials, so hold them accountable for the change they are offering, all of our futures depend on it.

I’ve really been enlightened this election year to many things but what has impacted me the most is that politicians are not in the business of telling us what we need to know, but rather what they want us to know so they will get elected. We seem to have become an oppressive society where our opinions are shut down by politicians who think they have better ideas than us. I know that myself and others I discuss politics with say they don’t feel represented. I wonder if it is because intelligent, qualified people don’t seek public office? or do we as voters not choose the best qualified for the job? or has it come down to the one with the most money wins regardless of their qualifications?

I’m beginning to think real issues are not sexy enough, at a time when we should be discussing real policy that affects our future, those running for office spend millions of dollars bashing their opponent! Come on, where will this bad behavior end, when will the voters say enough is enough!!

I know this election has brought up more questions than answers for me – how about you? Send me your comments ….

I’m wondering how many people are as ticked off as I am that the Government just made a 700 billion dollar bail out to companies like AIG whose CEO’s were just reported to have taken millions of dollars in bonus payments and then spent hundreds of thousands at a spa to “get away” I guess after all the stress of driving the company into the ground!  This is personal to me now and it should be to everyone in America that pays taxes.  We as tax payers will pay for the bad decisions of executives who ran these giant companies into the ground for years to come as we watch our investments sink to all time lows.

Do these guys not have a conscience???

I for one want to see the government investigate everyone in wall street involved in this economic crisis and prosecute rather than reward those greedy CEO’s -

I hope you will write your members of congress and demand the same accountability – I have.

Yesterday GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin was in Carson, CA for a rally that attracted 15,000 supporters. I’m not writing to focus on the candidate or her political views rather, what has struck me to my core is how much hatred we have in our country now. There were hundreds of protesters outside the venue evoking their constitutional rights to freedom of speech. Now I’m the first to believe in freedom of speech, its the kind of speech that I object to and found actual offense to. What have we become as a people when we find the need to yell obscenities and such hateful comments at another who is also expressing their right to speak? (I would never post on this blog the comments I heard they were disgusting, vile and so hateful beyond belief)

Politics in America has created such division and hatred I wonder where we are going as a society? Will we ever be able to compromise and see our fellow citizen’s point of view? Can we lay down our weapons (that of the voice) and listen and learn from one another? Can we acknowledge our differences and respect those differences? You might be reading this an thinking that JoAnne, she’s singin’ Kumbaya and why can’t we all get along….blah, blah, blah

Well, I for one am willing to say we have gone too far and I believe this great nation in experiencing perilous times that suggest we better wake up and learn what the spirit of cooperation means again.

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Friday I attended a networking luncheon known as the “Fish Lunch” held at a San Pedro landmark called the “Dalmatian Club.” As we ate lunch and networked with notable political figures and community leaders they stopped to introduce some of the notables and I heard them mention several men from the local Croatian-American community. Now I find this of particular interest due to my Croatian heritage. I learned that the Dalmation Club actually gets its name from the Dalmation region along the Croatian Coast from where most of the locals immigrated. The club was formed back in 1926 when the men saw a need to …

“promote and cultivate good fellowship, higher social, intellectual and economic standards and a true spirit of brotherly love; promote American patriotism and better citizenship by upholding the Constitution and the laws of the United States; promote goodwill and esteem towards all nations, the ethnicity of its members; promote folk art, music, sports and generally carry on as a social organization; support all that is just and lawful for the benefit of all its members and the community, and finally to provide and maintain a Home for social activities and a meeting place for its members.”

Now, you might not find this history lesson very interesting at this point, but what really moved me more than anything during this lunch was how they ended it. A speaker closed the lunch at the podium by saying “let’s all stand a sing God Bless America”, I’m wondering did I hear him correctly? Well sure enough everyone stood and started singing lead by a man singing in broken English every single word of God Bless America! I had tears in my eyes because this man – these Croatian immigrants were so proud to be Americans! Well, I felt at that moment what it must have meant for my grandparents who came to this country and believed anything was possible and how proud they must have been to have opportunity and hope from what America offered. I left that lunch overjoyed at what I had just experienced with my heart filled with pride about what it means to be an American.