Success in Spite of 'Some Helpl'
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I am now retired, but I speak from my past. I owned and operated a bar and restaurant, 24/7, for 16 years in Northern California.
I became very successful with “no help” from anyone other than my bank. I stood tall and strong countering my combatants, my former husband, the trade union, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) assigned by liberal Jimmy Carter, and the Mafia. They were all against me and I survived.
I overcame them all with “no” help other than my pricey attorney, at the same time sending two children to college and raising another. I refused to be defeated. The stories I could tell!
Tell me, Mr. Obama, who claims, “You didn’t get there on your own … if you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.”
Yes, my bank did, to whom I paid in full. A second mortgage on my home, which I repaid in full. We who are successful give our all to be so, with no help from Uncle Sam, just our own determination to not fail.
So, Mr. Obama, I, among many Americans with the spirit of Americanism, a replica of many of us, am not willing to submit to your style of socialistic government that you are
proposing to us.
Beyond my own enterprise, 1969–1985, there are many Americans who will continue to become successful in spite of you.
Beverly Shebs
Pinehurst
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Comments
OldPilot 9 months, 4 weeks ago
The President was referring to infrastructure when he made that comment: roads, bridges, airtports, seaports, communications etc. No business, including your bar and restaurant could operate without the existance of some or all of these. Small business owners might have been or be the owners of larger business if they could understand this simple concept.
getreal 9 months, 3 weeks ago
The knee jerk reaction to this speech is unbelievable! All of a sudden small business owners like the writer of this letter over react and become outraged for nothing. If you read the speech and take the time to actually assimilate it's message, it is about working together and taking advantage of the infrastructure to become a success. Give me a break, the people spouting off their indignation are starting to look like fools. I admit, the speech writer should be fired for not getting the point across in a simpler, more to the point manner. I guess they were trying to come up with a catch phrase and failed miserably at it. They should have considered the mind set of the public and realized that it would be taken all wrong. Really, do you actually think someone trying to get your vote would actually, purposely, insult business owners? Get down off your soap box and stop trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. To swallow this desperate ploy of the republican party hook line and sinker on this topic makes you look like a non thinker. There are more important problems to be addressed in this election, so stop crying foul over words taken out of context and worry about something important. Nobody said you didn't run a successful business so get over it. I am not supporting Obama or Romney, but I just can't abide by this kind of childish finger pointing when there are so many real issues to address.
blake 9 months, 3 weeks ago
@oldpilot, read or watch the entire speech. You are the one taking him out of context. @getreal, I agree wholeheartedly: the speech writer should be fired. This one came from the big man himself.
Bentpan 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Ms. Shebs Great letter, we have as President, a man that hates everything that makes America great( individualism, innovation, strength, self relience, national pride) who views the business owners as parasites. A man who caters to the jealous whims, envy, and outright ignorance of his supporters. But then what can we expect from a President that does not see America or his countrymen/women as exceptional. It's time to kick this pathetic purveyor of garbage to the curb where he belongs.
ch28327 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Blake, Old Pilot was more accurate than you; here's an outtake summary comment by the speechmaker himself (taken from the ABC news website) "The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires." Doesn't sound so anti-individualism to me. If Obama were as socialist as you right-wingnuts think he is there would be little controversy or reason to try to find a replacement. He's so centrist it drives left-wingers like me up the wall sometimes.
MikeNC 9 months, 3 weeks ago
ch28327 59 minutes ago....
Your outtake summary is Not Anything like he said. That's a whole different speech for another day. You folks who are strict party loyalists regardlesss of the consequences to America's well being amaze me. The President said what he said, meant what he said and will live with the consequences because of what he said and meant. His latest trials in walking it back are laughable and make him look worse than that when he originally said it....Mike
skylinefirepest 9 months, 3 weeks ago
ch...I listened to the entire speech and he has not been taken out of context. And I certainly don't know of much in his administration that could be considered centrist. Now, if the government did not act as the front man for infrastructure, who would?? Would we go without? Simply not have any roads or bridges, etc.?? No, American citizens would have built whatever we need. Wouldn't we then have to pay a toll to travel down that citizen built road?? DON'T WE NOW??? Every time you fill up at your gas station, you are paying that toll...just paying it to the government rather than an individual or a construction firm. Government is convenient in that regard but I'd almost bet you that "government built" roads are costing us way more than necessary due to government regulations. Obama believes in big government and, yes, by definition I would say he is an extreme socialist...but hopefully only for a few more months. Then maybe we can get rid of this liar, this incompetent who has added five trillion to our debt, this man who apparently doesn't like businesses making money, this man who has lowered our standing in the world, this man who has lowered the security of this country, this man who believes our borders should be open to any and all who would cross them.
clarabelle 9 months, 3 weeks ago
I wonder - why these conservatives that post here simply don't get together once a day, pat each other on the back, spew their rhetoric to each other, share their stories of constipation problems, and just go home - happy............
nah.......... they enjoy being miserable.
Thatcher 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Many liberals who have actual power (through elected office) attempt to intentionally mislead other liberal Americans about where federal money actually comes from. It comes from taxpayers, and the federal government has no money until taxpayers give it to them. Stated differently, the public sector has no money until they take money from the private sector through taxes. Thus, the government does not pay for the building of roads, bridges, and seaports-- taxpayers do. And liberal politicians still try to convince other liberals that successful American businesses (small and large) only became successful because of what others did to pay for the infrastructure... implying that these "successful Americans" took advantage of taxes paid by others. Nonsense. The consequence of the liberals approach is that many uninformed liberals actually believe it, as best shown in this clip about Detroit residents lining up by the tens of thousands because they heard that free Obama stimulus was available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ojd13.... This is sad, and it is destructive to our society. But it continues today, led by Elizabeth Warren and Obama himself. Cheers!
dustyrhoades 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Right. No one got to your restaurant on publicly built roads, none of your employees were educated in public schools, and I guess your bank wasn't federally regulated or insured.
What amazing arrogance.
Thatcher 9 months, 3 weeks ago
DR-- Uh, no. Who paid for the "publicly built roads?" Taxpayers. Who paid for the folks who went to public schools? Taxpayers. Who are these taxpayers who did this and paid for this? Not those whom you imply, who actually paid little or nothing. Who paid off their loan from the bank to run a successful business? Not the taxpayers. The business owners did so themselves. There is no "arrogance" here. This is a fact, and you and every other educated liberal knows this. Why would you suggest otherwise? Cheers!
dustyrhoades 9 months, 3 weeks ago
The point, Thatcher, is that individual success is impossible without the infrastructure--the civilization-that surrounds it. And civilization requires some form of government, which has to be supported in some way. To arrogantly assert that "no one did anything for me, I did it all myself" is the height of arrogance, unless your success story is about how you became the biggest meanest Neanderthal in the cave. But cavemen don't run restaurants.
fugitiveguy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
"The President was referring to infrastructure when he made that comment: roads, bridges, airtports, seaports, communications etc"
No matter what rubbish "THE ORACLE" spouts we can count on his acolytes to attempt to justify and explain it away. To the acolytes I ask, what was Obama referring to when he said he would "fundamentally transform" this country? I can't wait for this amateur to be history.
AFCHIEF 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Here is another classic example of liberal welfare WASTE!!!!
WBFF: Free Phone Frenzy - abuse of the federal Lifeline program by RepTimGriffin
Thatcher 9 months, 3 weeks ago
DR-- Arrogance? You keep using this term, without ever telling us whom you believe paid the taxes to pay for this infrastructure. Why? Just tell us. If you believe the poor did so, tell us. If you believe the 1% paid nothing and are taking advantage of others, tell us. If you believe the 1% paid for most, tell us why liberals claim the rich are not paying "their fair share." If you have IRS data to show this, please share. Using slogans or buzz-words like "arrogance" is not an argument. Cheers!
Sherwood 9 months, 3 weeks ago
"It [money] comes from taxpayers, and the federal government has no money until taxpayers give it to them. Stated differently, the public sector has no money until they take money from the private sector through taxes."
Thatcher,
The U.S. government, as monopoly issuer of US dollars, must first spend dollars into existence before it can tax its constituents, payable only in US dollars. Historically, this has been the case in most monetary economies.
As an example... kings, throughout the process of primitive accumulation, would hire armies to protect and expand royal acquisitions. The king could compensate soldiers under his command by providing food, shelter, etc. and in the process drawi from existing royal stock of resources. Or, more efficiently, the king could stamp tokens which represent a certain quantity (a pound, for example) of grain or other crop, and issue such as payments in exchange for soldiers' services. The soldiers could then spend these tokens in the markets, redeeming them for an amount of grain, or other commodity, dictated by the stamped value, or for some other amount of some other commodity which has equivalent value.
But why should those merchants accept stamped tokens from soldiers? What is the inherent value in a stamped piece of metal? In order to create a demand for these tokens, kings could tax merchants, a liability extinguishable only by redeeming stamped pieces of metal the king spent into existence. Because of the demand created by such a tax, merchants began to exchange with one another using king issued tokens. Again, this is a common characteristic between monetary economies.
nothingspecial 9 months, 3 weeks ago
So DR, following your logic the hardware store and flower shop on either side of Mrs, Sheb's restaurant, that both went belly up, have us to blame for that - they didn't do that. Now in your great new world I can almost believe that!
dustyrhoades 9 months, 3 weeks ago
ns, your hypo isn't following anything at all, much less logic.
No matter what rubbish "THE ORACLE" spouts we can count on his acolytes to attempt to justify and explain it away.
No matter what the President says, we can count on the haters to twist and turn it into something they can get furious about.
skylinefirepest 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Dusty, I don't have to twist and turn the Liar in Chief's words to understand who he is and what he is. I detest the man, as you well know, for the multitude of reasons that I have stated many times before. I believe the American public has pretty much had it with this dude and will set him out on the road back to Chicago, come November. I don't hate him personally...but I hate him as president for what he has done to this country that I consider the greatest on the face of the earth. He is making us rapidly into a third world country and we shouldn't stand for that and YOU shouldn't stand for that.-
Pappy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Thatcher...if you would what is the name of your restaurant....I would like, I would like to eat there more often....if your can't put the name on here I understand...like your posts
Thatcher 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Thanks Pappy, but I don't own a restaurant...I think DR may have been referring to the letter writer. I own a business, but it is not a restaurant. Thank you for the kind comments. Cheers!
Pappy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Sorry Thatcher....I also own a small business....did you start your business or did the gov't give it to you....I think what happened to BHO, once again he went off prompter and look what happens !!! Oh ( the truth comes out )...I must be mistaken, I do not remember this, but I guess someone else put in all those hours, seven days a week, did without to make my business grow...to whoever that might be, I guess I owe you some money....oh wait. I pay my taxes (on time)...sorry my bad !!!!
Great letter beverly Shebs....
mcg2010 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Grammar is important, folks! http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-25-2012/democalypse-2012---do-we-look-stupid--don-t-answer-that-edition