History Education

         We have to learn from history, but our youth can’t learn from history unless our education system teaches accurate history.  Too often, educators try to change or hide history in order to advance their political agenda.  This is bringing America down a dangerous path.

        One of the major things George Orwell showed in 1984 was how the government controlled and changed history to keep people ignorant and compliant.  How did Orwell see that our own education system was moving in this direction in 1949 when 1984 was first published?

        Today books are banned, statues are torn down, and free speech is prohibited if anyone considers it offensive or “hate” speech.  Hate speech includes anything Christian, conservative, or anything to do with Trump including, “Make America Great Again.”

        Millennials think socialism sounds good and fair because everything is free.  They don’t ask who pays for all the free stuff. They haven’t been taught how socialism always leads to poverty, despair, and dictatorial big government controlling every aspect of their lives.

        Nancy Pelosi advocates lowering the voting age to 16 because “We need to CAPTURE kids when they are in high school.  This is frightening.

        I find it totally immoral how kids are brainwashed and then used to advance political agendas like climate change.  Universities are even worse.  They divide the country, discriminate, and offer safe spaces for minorities.  Universities offer courses in gender studies, black history, the Koran, and teach The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, but don’t teach accurate American history and government. 

        The cost of higher education has spiraled out of control.  Tuition and university staff salaries have risen much faster than inflation.  Four year colleges offer worthless courses and degrees that do not prepare the students for the real world.  Students graduate with huge student loans and no way of earning a decent living.  Instead of teaching socialist positions, I advocate every university should require a course in something useful like insurance which everyone needs and few understand. 

        There was a time when the United States had the best educational system in the world.  That is no longer true.  What happened?  We used to teach the three Rs, history and civics.  Now we teach political agendas and political correctness so no one’s feelings get hurt.  We give participation trophies.  That is not the real world.

        Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals advocated eight steps for creating a socialist state.  Education was number six.  He recommended taking control of the media and what people see and hear, and take control of what children learn in school.  If this continues it will be the end of out great republic.

         

“Trump did not bring division.  Division brought Trump.

If you don’t see that, then you’re part of the problem.”

Ava Armstrong

God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.

Getting the Most Out of a Franchise Consultant

        The premier issue of The Franchise Tribune came out in March.  The publisher, Marc Stephens, wrote an article titled “Getting the Most Out of a Franchise Consultant.”  I would like to reprint it.

        The number of franchise consultants has grown tremendously in the last decade.  An industry that used to have less than 100 active consultants in the early 2000s now exceeds 2,000 in the US alone.

          Often referred to as brokers, consultants, coaches, and advisors, their business model is pretty much the same.  They work with prospective franchise investors to identify and explore potential opportunities, and if their client invests in one of their suggested franchises the franchisor pays them a finder’s fee.  It’s basically what a recruiter does in the employment industry, but focused on franchising.  Since the franchisor actually pays the consultant, generally their services are free to you, the opportunity seeker. 

          Some consultants represent a few franchise brands while others represent hundreds of brands.   A good franchise consultant can not only help you explore and research potential opportunities – they can also assist with other steps in the process such as:

·       Determining what is not available in your market or territory.

·       Help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, goals, and more to better align you with business models and industries.

·       Help explain some of the rules and procedures in franchising.

·       Introduce you to ideas you may have never known existed.

·       Handle some of the tedious legwork that tends to come with franchise research.

·       Get you preferential treatment from the franchisors.

·       Introduce you to a range of funding options that are commonly used in franchising. 

          So the question begs...Should you work with a franchise consultant or broker?  The answer is simple:  Yes, after all what do you have to lose?  The services are no cost to you, and you are under no obligation to invest at all.  A common question is, do you pay for more for your franchise since they are paying the broker?  No.  Franchise fees are pretty much set in stone, regardless of how you find them.

          When working with your consultant, be open and frank with them.  The more you can share with them the better they can assist you.  A good consultant is not going to share your information with a franchisor or lending partner without your explicit permission, so don’t be shy.  Two very common elements of successful franchise consultants are that they simply love franchising and enjoy helping others achieve their goals.  

          Let your consultant go to work for you; I think you will find it to be a worthwhile investment of your time. – Marc Stephens

          I know most clients I have worked with say they found and invested in opportunities they never would have discovered on their own.  Learn more at BusinessFits.com and read my book, Business Fits: How to find the right business for you!

“Trump did not bring division.  Division brought Trump.

If you don’t see that, then you’re part of the problem.”

Ava Armstrong

God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.

Son of a Sharecropper

        Elijah Cummings is a US Congressman from Maryland.  He is the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  Cummings is black and recently made a comment that he knows how racism feels because he is the son of a sharecropper.  He made is sound like he had ascended from the swamp in spite of overwhelming obstacles.  I think he has descended to the Washington DC swamp.

        I was raised on farms in Iowa.  My father was a sharecropper.  A sharecropper is someone who farms land that is owned by someone else for a percentage of the crop.  This is usually a 50/50 split.  The other way someone can farm land they do not own is to pay an annual cash rent. 

        Being a sharecropper was and is an honorable profession.  A sharecropper will never get rich, but they are honest hardworking people who provider for their families. 

        I am grateful for being raised on a farm.  My parents taught me to be honest, ethical, moral, and hard working.  I was taught a man’s word was his bond.  My father farmed one farm I was raised on for 16 years.  The only agreement for 14 of those years was a handshake with the landlord.  I wish we had more politicians who keep their word.  President Trump is one of the few who does.

        Dad and I were working late one summer night when I was about 13.  I was complaining, and my Dad got tired of hearing it.  He told me that he did not have money to send me to college or start me in business or farming.  But, he said I was smart enough to learn to do a job if I knew how to work, and he could teach me how to work.  I did not think this was too good a deal at the time, but was thankful for it in later years. 

        President Trump is another person who knows how to work.  I have no idea how anyone his age can keep up his pace.  The left says the White House is in chaos.  Of course it is.  No one can keep up with him. 

        I heard someone criticize his executive time and imply he was not working.  This is time when he does not have meetings scheduled.  This is time for reading, planning, phone calls, and unscheduled meetings with White House staff. 

        Anyone who has ever worked in government or the corporate world knows how unproductive many meetings are.  We have made statements like, “How can I get my work done when I am in meetings all the time?”

        President Trump knows how to work, negotiate, and motivate.  He keeps his word and has done more in the last two years than the last four Presidents did in 28 years. 

        I can certainly see why the deep state, Democrats, and RINOS hate Trump.  He actually works for the American people and not the political elite. 

“Trump did not bring division.  Division brought Trump.

If you don’t see that, then you’re part of the problem.”

Ava Armstrong

God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.

Liberty Valance

        The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is one of my favorite movies, and is an American classic.  It stars John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Lee Marvin.   What a great cast.  It was directed by John Ford and shot in black and white. 

        At the end of the movie, the editor of the newspaper says, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”  Our media today has gone even farther.  They ignore the facts and print the lie when it fits their political agenda. 

        Nancy Pelosi once explained how it works in an interview.  She would get a liberal to present a lie to the lame-stream media as a confidential source.  The media seldom asked for confirmation, but in the rare case they did, a second source would be provided to confirm the lie.  The media would report the lie.  Now the liberal left could quote the media and the lie would be accepted as fact.  

        The media also jumps to conclusions with any story that fits their agenda.  They don’t wait for the facts to come out.  Forget the constitutional guarantees of due process and innocent until proven guilty. 

        Trump correctly accuses most of the media of reporting fake news, but he respects the freedom of the press.  President Lincoln shut down 200 newspapers that he didn’t agree with.  FDR had a Council of Propaganda to control the media.  Trump just tweets and calls them out for their lies.  The media does need to be held accountable for libel suits.    

        Thank God for FOX news.  If it were not for FOX, the public would have no way to get true and balanced news.  There is nothing the left would like better than to put FOX News out of business.

        There is a genre in fiction called alternative universe.  Many liberals seem to accept alternative realities rather than facts.  Many would rather believe a comedian than know the actual facts.  

        Political correctness is an anti-free-speech tool.  It is one way the left attempts to restrict free speech.  We see students shunned and attacked on college campuses for expressing conservative ideas.  Employees are fired for expressing conservative ideas.  These restrictions of free speech must stop. 

        Repeating a lie often enough does not make it true.  The media should report the facts and not the legend.

“Trump did not bring division.  Division brought Trump.

If you don’t see that, then you’re part of the problem.”

Ava Armstrong

God bless President Trump and guide him to make America great again.