As September 2016 becomes history: Brief Reflections

It has  been quite a week as I have been continuing on-going commitments at the Daily Outsider and continued on-going curation on Social Media.    I reflected upon this week earlier on my Personal Facebook Wall: 







This is as I picked up this By the +United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that was quite moving in the reality out there: 

What They Took With Them - #WithRefugees: UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett was joined by actors Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Capaldi, Stanley Tucci, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kit Harington, Douglas Booth and Jesse Eisenberg, and writer Neil Gaiman, to perform a spoken word poem in support of the #WithRefugees campaign.

Onward to the final week of September with all its' possibilities....

Some "mid-week" Thoughts While Working Away Gearing up For Q42016.....

As I continue onward with supporting the journey at Daily Outsider as we gear up for ht new quarter, winding down the month and the quarter always gives for a moment of pause.  It is also a time to reflect upon ones' blessings and to build and look ahead. 

While working away winding down the Month and gearing up for the Quarter, I ran across this while on my weekly walkabout around the "Grid"--this one was on +Pinterest .      I could not help but indeed have chills as I am reminded of the admonition from St. Serra to never forget to "Sempre Adelante".

Onward to the new Quarter before us--Wishin' all a great rest of the week, a fabulous Month-End for all and a fantastic 4th Quarter!!!

On the Prowl w/thoughts on @DailyOutsider, #USElections2016, Life & Other Thoughts

I  have been working away supporting curation of articles & updates for Daily Outsider over the last day or so as I was needless to say shocked about the latest coming out of the Trump Family.   The Social Media responded in kind--but what is so shocking to me is how there seems to be no backlash--and as the Polls Keep on Tightening exemplified by what was noted by Five Thirty Eight--a difference of 2 percent in favor of Donald Trump just in a matter of 3 hours: 

Hillary Clinton

56.3%

Donald Trump

43.7%

This is what blew me away as I caught the President's Final Speech at the UN General Assembly and the Leaders Summit on Refugees.    I picked up the following during my daily forays though to help at least keep things in perspective: 

“How can we disarm greed and envy? 
Perhaps by being much less greedy and envious ourselves;
perhaps by resisting the temptation of letting our luxuries become needs;
and perhaps by even scrutinizing our needs
to see if they cannot be simplified and reduced.”~ E. F. Schumacher 



It is the advent of a new week.   The scenes from New York City "Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory."
~Arthur Ashe




As I finished off these thoughts, I was blown away by this report out of South Korea on @SkyNews about animals being able to repair the Spinal Cord of Animals.

Onward to the rest of the week......

Working away w/Brief Thoughts On The #USElections As the W-End Looms

It has been quite a week on the US Election Cycle.      As the US Media has begun a concerted campaign to discuss the challenges regarding Donald Trump, this one by the +Vox  +Ezra Klein was quite perceptive: 


The Pols, though, have not been kind to Mrs. Clinton as Five Thirty Eight now is giving Mrs. Clinton only a 60% chance of winning--quite telling as Mrs. Clinton returns to the campaign trail: 

Hillary Clinton

60.0%

Donald Trump

40.0%

j

Working Away w/Brief Notations For the Day On #Purpose, #Love & Other Thoughts...

Of all the thoughts I have shared on this "Virtual Space" as I continued working away on Daily Outsider and other projects, this one probably has captured th essence of what I have hoped to achieve:

“Did I offer peace today?
Did I bring a smile to someone’s face?
Did I say words of healing?
Did I let go of my anger and resentment?
Did I forgive?
Did I love?
These are the real questions.
I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now
will bear many fruits,
here in this world and the life to come.”
~ Henri Nouwen 

Profound questions I ask myself daily--as I look forward to doing my small part to make a difference.

Onward....

On the Eve of a New Week: A "Thought 4 the Week" To Share

As I hope all have a chance to click on the above image to check out my collection on Twenty20, I wanted to begin the new week with two thoughts I ran across while "on the Grid" as I look Onward to the new Week with all its' possibilities:

“If you really want world-class success,
decide today
to stop caring what other people think
and keep your own counsel.
Others may or may not
have your best interests at heart,
but you always will.
Calm down
and listen to the little voice inside
and have the guts to follow it.
Trust yourself
and know that if you’re wrong
you have the ability to bounce back.
Caring about other people is an asset.
Caring about what other people think
is a liability.”
~ Steve Siebold

“When you are tempted to give up,
your breakthrough is probably
just around the corner.”
~ Joyce Meyer

On This #911Day Week-End.....

This was a day that changed all of us in America forever.   I remember that day as if it was yesterday.    As I was reflecting upon this day today, I view what the President Noted in his weekly address today eloquently captured it:



These 3-minutes capture the essence of America and the challenges of the past 15 years.   This was as  I saw a report out of New York earlier about the strong comeback in Lower Manhattan--one true example of the resiliency of that American Spirit that I am witness to everyday in my Community Work.

The team at +911Day has done a marevlous job over the years in elevating that level of community spirit that I envision  @ The Daily Outsider  to contribute to.    One very crucial message I was so gratiifed to see was how one does not need to wait until the National Day of Remembrance to make a difference.     My own week will be filled with a number of on-going community engagements which I look forward to commenting during my "weekly" here in my Virtual Space.

As I finish off these brief thoughts, I want to simply echo what President Obama noted:  May the soul of the fallen on that horrible day RIP, continue to grant their families the Solace to remember and all who are fighting on the frontlines in distant places and all the first responders here who put their lives on the line all the time.     The struggle against darkness is never ending as I just saw reporting that 13 people lost their lives in an attack in Baghdad at a Shopping Mall.  

This terrific article by politico captured it all:

Wow. Superb job by @vermontgmg capturing details aboard AFOne on 9/11. Must read. 'We’re the Only Plane in the Sky’ https://t.co/g673wD87PA

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 9, 2016

This is as Mr. Flesicher released his original notes:



 I made it a point of commending him over Twitter as I continue to note how we can, shall and will overcome!!!

Onward.

On the Eve of A New Week: On #Success, Never Giving Up & Other Thoughts.....

It was an interesting labor day weekend of reflection as I also had some time to catch some really nice movies including Command Decision, Trouble With the Curve ,  For the Love of the Game & Friends with Benefits.  It was admittedly an eclectic choice, no doubt!!    This is also as I did some work in support of @DailyOutsider as September is at hand and finished off a column to be published in time for the work week--and worked to create a +Paper.li for the Daily Outsider Twitter Feed that was released today to the Daily Outsider Twitter Feed.  

Since it was also a weekend of reflection, I decided to look out some of President Nixon's Quotes especially as the #Outsider journey continues albeit challenging.     The thoughts I share thanks to Bing Images is a lesson to be learnt by all in never giving up and never giving in:

 

This last one was also quite poignant that Bob Woodward reminded the World at one time about it--President Nixon noted this the night before he resigned as he spoke before the White House Staff:

Some admonitions to be remembered indeed....

Onward to the new week with all its' possibilities 

On the Eve of the #LaborDayWeekend 2016: On #USElections, #Failure & Other Thoughts

It is the dawn of  Labor Day weekend here in the United States.   It is the traditional end of Summer and the start of Fall--this is as US Presidential Campaigns have been going on--and it is interesting to see this perspective from the Fortune's Geoff Colvin on the challenges being faced by leaders around the World:

September 2, 2016

is is as

Today, let’s tour the world visiting leaders in a pickle. We don’t have to look very hard; quandary is the default state for leaders. Here are four whose troubles may be even more difficult than your own. —Thousands of protesters jammed the streets of Caracas yesterday demanding a referendum on the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro. Power Sheet has been chronicling the Maduro mess because it’s such an appalling example of a humanitarian crisis caused entirely by terrible leadership. Venezuela could have a thriving economy, but instead many of its people can’t find food or are dying from shortages of common medicines. Maduro is still responding by doubling down on failed policies. It’s a classic case of refusal to confront reality, and it will get worse before it gets better. —Brazilian President Michel Temer faces impossibly high expectations. Getting rid of President Dilma Rousseff was cathartic and necessary for Brazil, but the country’s recession, high inflation, and deep-seated culture of corruption won’t improve anytime soon. Rousseff is right in objecting that the ostensible reason for her impeachment — violating federal budgeting rules — was just an excuse. Citizens were furious over the crumbling economy and corruption that was even worse than they thought. But replacing her won’t fix those problems, and the country will suffer buyer’s remorse within months. —Prime Minister Theresa May must negotiate Brexit, and she can’t win. The U.K. voted in June to leave the EU. Then the Tories chose May to succeed David Cameron, who promptly resigned to make way. Then everyone went on holiday. Now it’s time to negotiate the exit, and Brexit supporters think they voted for more and better jobs, a stronger economy, lower taxes, and fewer immigrants — a combination that cannot be delivered. When you can’t win, what do you aim for? —Donald Trump can’t simultaneously please his base and retain any prayer of winning in November, so… He decided to please his base. After muddying his centrally important immigration policy last week, Trump this week set out to clarify it, which he did. He rolled out a fuller version of his hard-line promise to build a wall, make Mexico pay for it, and deport illegal immigrants — a policy that can’t win mainstream support and that prompted at least two members of his Hispanic advisory board to resign. The clarification will likely be clarified. And if you’re suffering campaign fatigue? Remember that, by tradition, the campaign doesn’t actually begin until Monday. Enjoy the long weekend. As I was thinking through plans for @DailyOutsider for September and beyond, it was gratifying to make a decision about being silent on the state of the Campaign until after November 9 although the signs (so far) are leaning towards the election of Hillary Clinton.    This was also a week that two very interesting milestones were met:

National debt hits $19.5 trillion

The national debt hit $19.5 trillion for the first time ever this week, a little more than seven months after it hit the $19 trillion mark.

The debt clocked in at $19.51 trillion at the end of Wednesday, the Treasury Department reported Thursday afternoon. Precise debt figures on any given day are released on the following business day.

Read the full story here..
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This is as the Washington Examiner also came out just this morning as I was helping with Social Media Curation for the network on how Gun sales hit another record in August.     I also was gratified to pick this up that provides some interesting insights always on the state of politics right now as the US Campaign season begins in earnest: 

Examining Politics Podcast - Episode 18 From his mother-in-law's kitchen in Houston, David Drucker calls in to host this week's Examining Politics. John Dickerson, host of Face the Nation on CBS News, talks media bias and his new book. Lisa Boothe and Byron York join us in studio for the weekly Examining Politics roundtable.  Listen to Podcast

As I am going to be "Dark" On the Grid, off "Daily Outsider" and work away gearing up for September, I picked this up on my "Personal Walkabout" which is quite a compelling couple of minutes from one of a multitude of motivational sites that continues to grow all the time--which is really cool--as I wish all in the United States a Fabulous & wonderful labor day weekend.
 

Update: One final thought to share to put things in perspective on the eve of this labor day Week-End:

"When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself."
~Chief Tecumseh

Your Inspiration For Today!
Starting the day with a positive thought sets the tone for everything that follows. Instead of focusing on your troubles and worries, you can think about your blessings. Take a few minutes when you first wake up to think about the many good things in your life.