O'Connell's Off Topic

I agree that any talk about years of nonpayment of taxes, Swiss bank accounts, and Grand Cayman tax shelters would be most inappropriate for these boards, so I too will refrain from engaging in such discussion here.

5020, the voice of common sense...

Forget the Politics, I am Pro Dogs, Pro Sooners and Pro Boomer and Sooner. Levenberry lives close to DC, let's use dogs named Boomer and Sooner as an excuse to recruit more in the DC area.

Thanks

The end........................

See! This is some good stuff right hyah!

I wasn't going to post anything political on this forum either, until the old Muslim had an add for a fundraiser dinner for his 2012 campaign on the top of this website. I guess he is running out of money from George Soros and Hollywood.

Now that you have arrived, your observation is correct.

Just kidding NorthCal.

.......and i'm glad to know that my family didn't build our business

In this case I'll just root for the dogs, thank you.

Of course, he never said it in the way it's been presented by those on the right. It was taken entirely out of context.

What's more, Mr. Romney said virtually the same thing to a group of Olympic athletes in Utah, and no one accused him of not giving them credit for the hundreds and thousands of hours of hard work they'd put in to get where they were. Funny how that happens. Nor has anyone (except Jon Stewart) called him out on his hypocrisy for criticizing Obama for comments that he himself had made.

Of course those athletes benefited from the supportive efforts of others, and so do we all, including small business owners. I'm not a business owner, but I've had a certain level of success in my life. I published a book a few years ago, and I've been blessed to have some decent jobs that paid reasonably well.

And yet not for a second do I think I accomplished any of that entirely on my own. Did I work hard? Yes, I did -- I still do. But I haven't forgotten what my parents' sacrifices did for me, what my publicly funded education did for me, what my continuing education at a state-supported university (OU, I'm proud to add) did for me, what my teachers and professors, most of whom work for not nearly enough pay, did for me.

And it's not just the instructors -- it's the support staff at those schools, from the administrators down to the custodial workers. It's the cops and firemen who protect our homes and businesses and the military men and women who defend our country, it's the garbage collectors and road workers and other hardworking individuals who toil to keep our towns and cities functioning.

And if you're a businessman -- small or large -- every single employee who ever did a day's work for you played a role in your success. Unless your business is truly a one-man or one-family operation, it doesn't succeed without their hard work. Are those workers rewarded for their work? Yes, and hopefully they're fairly compensated, but it's been a growing trend in our country for years now for those on top to make many, many times what their employees do. The ratio in the US is currently ridiculously high, higher by far than any other country in the world. And it hasn't always been like that -- not by a long shot.

My father had his own business, and I know damn well how hard he worked to make it succeed. And yet I know (and he does, too) that he didn't do it alone. Mitt Romney knows it, too -- or at least he did back when he was lecturing those Olympic athletes in Utah about all the help they'd received on their road to Salt Lake City.

If anyone can claim to have accomplished something alone, it's an author. I mean, you talk about flying solo -- writing a book certainly qualifies. But my agent worked her ass off on my behalf, as did the support staff at her agency. My editor worked hard for me, as did the line editors, copy editors, publicists, marketing people, designers and other departments at the publisher.

So not for a moment did I ever kid myself that my managing to get a book published was a solo accomplishment; when I reached that personal pinnacle, I was humbled to recall all the help and support I'd benefited from. If Barack Obama or Mitt Romney or anyone else had reminded me on the day I signed my book deal that I hadn't achieved it alone, I wouldn't have taken offense. I'd have offered an enthusiastic "Amen to that, brother." Because that's just how I felt then -- and I still do.

And now that a liberal has dared to speak his mind, this thread will no doubt be locked. That's how it usually happens on this board.

(continued) ....all by ourselves. We received plenty of help from Joe taxpayer.

You're half right.