Open Letter from the Boss- Sarah Rapp

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Desktop\Rapp photo.doc




A Boss Who Tells it Like it Is ...

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this
company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has
changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news
is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten
your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you
decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against
employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a
back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you
see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big
home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of
luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square
foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted
into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company,
which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went
back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective
transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on
weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was
married to my business - hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a
modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars
and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of
hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling
through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn't look
like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and
lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and
my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too,
will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at
about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for
me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to
yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this
company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend.
There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like
a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of
that garden - the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations ... you never
realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right
decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't.
The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the
same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep
and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is
starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you
why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I
have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes.
Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on
taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess
what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and
regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my
time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for
quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy
who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000
people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting
at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check?
Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this
country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit
and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants
to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why
your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand .. to stimulate the economy you
need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated
to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing
that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired
more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees
would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and
better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate
and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or,
do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and
always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it.
Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are
the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be
further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift
and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the
government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future.
Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire.
You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive
and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs
will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will
be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country,
steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever.
If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no
employees to worry about ...

Signed,
Your boss

Our faith is attacked in "Stimulous" Ramey Hoskins

I would like to be kinder and gentler, but this offends me!

The real Change in American politics. It isn't coming. It is here.

Wake up America!


Subject: Re: Fw: People of faith may be target of 'stimulus' package








The administration's economic stimulus bill needs a fix to avoid a courtroom confrontation.




Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law & Justice, tells OneNewsNow there is a provision of the act that actually allows for funds to be given by the federal government in the form of grants for renovation of existing colleges and universities.

"But when you read a little bit further into this legislation, there's a specific prohibition on two things," the attorney explains. "One, if the university itself is a religiously based or faith-based institution, it does not qualify. And if the facility that is being renovated allows religious worship to take place, it also does not qualify."

Specifically, the provision reads that stimulus funds may not be used for "modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities -- (i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission."



Under that provision, according to Sekulow, many schools would bar on-campus worship or even Bible study because it will put federal funding in jeopardy. That, he says, should raise a warning flag in a federal courthouse.

"It is unconstitutional -- and while I'm prepared to challenge it in court, and we're already working on a possibility, it really needs to be handled in the legislation," the ACLJ leader suggests. "That needs to be job one...remove this provision and get it out of the legislation."

Sekulow states that a "troubling pattern" is developing regarding the use of taxpayer money -- and that this provision is the latest example. He contrasts it with the new administration's swift move to make federal funds available for abortion-providers overseas.

"There is a priority problem in Washington," he says in a press release. "This is not what 'economic stimulus' is about. We know that the American people don't want their tax dollars used for discriminatory measures. That's why this provision must be removed now."

The attorney says if the discriminatory provision is not removed from the stimulus package and is approved and signed into law, the ACLJ will challenge it in federal court.



Stimulation of discrimination?
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, agrees that the "anti-faith" language of the provision will censor and force people of faith from the public square.

"In order to receive stimulus money our public schools will have to expel after-school Bible clubs and weekend religious meetings," says the Christian attorney. "People who want to speak about their faith will be unwelcome in public places."

He adds that President Obama's idea of faith-based initiatives apparently is to "remove faith from all initiatives

Quote for the day- Les- e-mail

Well, I think the following quote is not only a quote for the day....but a
quote for our time.. Read it carefully and with thought....sorry to say - but
I believe it's dead on.






Subj: Quote for the day!
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out
of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must
work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything
that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the
people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is
going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does
no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for,
that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth
by dividing it."


~~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers , 1931 to 2005 ~~~

One day a mother died... -Blog Agent Clay Vice

,One day a mother died.

And on that clear, cold morning,
in the warmth of her bedroom,
the daughter was struck with
the pain of learning that sometimes
there isn't any more.

No more hugs,
no more lucky moments to celebrate together,
no more phone calls just to chat,
No more 'just one minute'

Sometimes, what we care about the most goes away.
never to return before we can say good-bye,
Say 'I Love You.'

So while we have it . . it's best we love it . .
And care for it and fix it when it's broken
and take good care of it when it's sick.

This is true for marriage .... and friendships ..

And children with bad report cards;
And dogs with bad hips;
And aging parents and grandparents
We keep them because they are worth it,
Because we cherish them!

Some things we keep --
like a best friend who moved away
or a classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that
make us happy, No matter what..

Life is important,
and so are the people we know
And so, we keep them close!

I received this from someone today
who thought I was a 'KEEPER'!

Then I sent It to the people
I Think of in the same way!

Now it's your turn to send this to all those people
who Are 'keepers' in your life!

Thank you very much for
being a special part of MY Life!

Be kinder than necessary,

For everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Don Barney- Cousin of the Kegleys

I thought of Don Barney, a cousin of the Kegleys- his mother Mabel was my dad, Forest Kegley's sister. Don played basketball for the Trojans and probably graduated in 1946 with my sister Joan.

I looked Don up on www.Switchboard.com and called what I thought could be his home in Plano, TX, just north of Dallas. I talked with his wife, the former Helen Burnette of Otway. Unfortunately, Don died a couple of years ago. His sisters, Wilma and Dorothy, have also passed away, Wilma just recently. Ruth is still living in CA. Unfortunately, Ruth (Poodle)is not so cognizant now in her eighties.

Helen was very nice to talk with and I left my blog address with her.

I am sorry that I hadn't recently thought about Don. I remember watching him score fifty points in a church league game in the old Trinity Church gym and it was something (he did a lot of cherry picking but it was still remarkable). Don's cousins on his dad, Ollie's side, were Bert and jack Barney.

So many have passed on now- my sister Joan, Bert and Jack, and we still think of things we should have done.

Audrey Hepburn said once:

Jeanie and I think Jay's and Terri's Tobey favors the beautiful Audrey Hepburn:

something Audrey Hepburn said once...

when asked to share her "beauty tips"
(it was read at her funeral years later):
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness...
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone... People,
even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed,
and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older,
you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

The Medicine You Need- Pat Richards Whitehead

Subject:The Medicine You Need
Prescribed by the Great Physician
*****************************
The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job lost everything he possessed
Peter denied Christ (3 times! )
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
Mary Magdalene was
the Samaritan woman who was divorced, more than once...
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer...

AND
Lazarus was dead!