Politico - Touting the credentials of his running mate, John McCain and his campaign suggest that Gov. Sarah Palin’s role as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard qualifies as foreign affairs experience.

Attitude is everything...and in my articles and in my book, I am not a crusader for anything! It's none of my business if a person wants to commit suicide... one puff at a time; one snort at a time; one drink at a time; or one heart attack at a time! I don't care if a person has a bad attitude or not, either!

* attitude: (definition); position or posture of the body appropriate or expressive of an action; emotion, etc. a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude;

It was in the early 1990's, when the then President of the United States, senior President Bush proclaimed, "What we need is a kinder, gentler nation!" And, I believe what he was talking about, is what we are doing to each other as a People. Domestic violence; child/senior abuse; gossip; road rage; jealousy; put-down of others; racism; hatred; bigotry; mud-slinging and so forth. At the Corretta King funeral in early 2006, he mentioned those words again.

* Attitude: (Work place); In over a decade, I've lost six jobs, for various reasons such as companies closing; defense cuts; down-sizing, etc. I have never been fired from a job for attitude or poor attendance, etc. This gave me the opportunity (if you want to call it that), to work as a temporary employee at more than 20 companies large and small, until I got a regular job.

During this long period of time, I saw so much negativity in just about every place I worked. The gossip and put-down of others led the way. At one company, a memo was put out by the owners to the employees, that the gossip and put-down of others had to stop! It was affecting team-work and the quality of the product, etc.

I worked at so many different places, and I saw so many things from arguments; pushing and shoving; and three fist-fights! I broke up one of the fist-fights myself, which was one of the sad times in my life!

* Attitude: (On-line); When I first came online, I wanted to market my website and my other work, but I knew at the time, I had to stay away from spamming any of the places I went. So, I developed my "getting acquainted" expedition and started sending emails to different websites I visited. I always personalized the emails, so as to stay away from spamming, and I never had any problems, etc.

At Homestead (host), I signed guestbooks at the Community Center, as a way to market my site and to get known. But, everywhere I went, I learned something new about websites; building a website and the Internet. So, all of my comments to the website owner were genuine, and it was all a great learning experience for me.

Over two years, I probably visited about 800 websites, and early on, there was a problem for me that became apparent. The lack of reciprocal emails was not the mix...and thank-you notes were almost non-existent! This didn't sit well with me at the time!

People want traffic to their websites; they want those visitors to return again and again; they want nice things said about their websites; they want to sell their goods and services, etc. With that...then these inconsiderate and thank-less website owners can't even send a thank-you note to the visitor!

If I visited about 800 websites during this time, I probably got about 1% or 2% of responses from the website owners, which is pretty dismal! In 2004, I went down because of heart-failure and other reasons, and I was dis-connected from my website and from the Internet, etc. In December 2006, when I came back, I had to decide if I would continue on my ways...and the answer was swift and and permanent...N-O-O-O-O! I would not do this again!

I was not going to deal with inconsiderate and thank-less people, who can't take a few seconds to say thanks! In my view, we're living in a thank-less, selfish society and I was not going to waste anymore time visiting these people!

* * *

Over the years, I've received hundreds of emails from visitors to my website. Here's an email from a woman named Monica, and who I have never met. I think her email hits the nail right on the head, when it comes to describing her life, and the attitude across the country. She writes:

"Humordoctor: I really liked the Think Positive Section when it talked about the negatives and positives. I used to be very negative, always finding the negative way of things...always having excuses why not to do things and so on. I was married to my husband for almost nine years and I changed. He is a very positive person, with a can-do attitude, and he struggled with me in the beginning, but he stuck with me, and now we have a great relationship. I wish there were more people like my husband in this world, but unfortunately that's not the case.

I've come across some pretty negative people, who feel they have to put other people down, to make themselves feel good! If they are miserable, everyone has to be miserable, etc. I've seen some pretty high-spirited people brought down by the negativity of the pessimist! I try not to let that happen to me. I walk away from negative people, and I try to stay away from them. I try to surround myself with people who are positive, open-minded, and who are happy with their accomplishments, rather than jealous. Monica"

* * *

This is one of my favorite emails, because, while so many other people are in denial about problems in their lives, Monica takes control and is responsible for her attitude and negativity, etc. She wants to be a better person, and she enlists the help of her husband (coach) to help her during the transition to a more positive life, etc.

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." Thomas Jefferson

Monica has been successful, because she has been honest with herself! That's the primary reason why she has accomplished her goals!

"Character is the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life." Joan Dideon

"It takes only one person to change your life...YOU!" Ruth Carey

If Monica can change her life in a positive way...others can do the same thing. But, the question is, "Do they want to change?"

ARTICLES PUBLISHED: (360+ websites/includes links); Direct link: http://humordoctormd.homestead.com/articlespublished.html Website name; humordoctormd - Over 150 colorful pages; over 300 graphics http://humordoctormd.homestead.com email; humordoctormd@yahoo.com Copyright; Jerry L. Aragon (The Humor Doctor) 2007