At his Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday, Glenn Beck said, “America today begins to turn back to God.” That scares me. It’s because people who say America should “turn back to God” usually don’t like the way I turn to God. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for category Public Speaking
The bad call
Jun 9
Bad calls and unlucky breaks don’t just happen in baseball. They once happened to me in Toastmasters. Whether they happen in baseball or Toastmasters, they offer a lesson, if you’re willing to accept it. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the things I enjoy doing at Little League games is to serve as the announcer. It seems that the players and parents enjoy it too. The only complaints I’ve received are from other teams who are unhappy that I don’t announce at their games. But there are some rules I need to follow when announcing at a Little League game. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the things that makes democracy possible is the free and respectful exchange of ideas. This is why I’m appalled by disruptions of town hall meetings.
My disgust has nothing to do with my opinion about health care reform, although I don’t see why having a public option for health insurance is “tyranny.” Tyranny is one group of people try to impose their views on others through force and intimidation. I also don’t see why President Obama is a “fascist” for proposing changes in health care. Fascists in 1930s Germany stormed opposition party meetings and shouted down political opponents. They usually followed this with physical violence. Fortunately, these town hall disruptions haven’t denegrated to this level, but we’re getting dangerously close to that.
And don’t blow off my concerns by calling me a “liberal”. Liberal and conservative have nothing to do with this. What’s at stake is our Constitutional rights of freedom of speech and assembly. Read the rest of this entry »
The following is a speech that I gave at my Toastmasters club today.
There are plenty of gifts that we can give this holiday season, but one of the most important is the gift of encouragement. When someone is down, when someone has suffered a great loss, or when someone has just lost faith, the support you can give that person can be the greatest gift they can receive. A few words can turn around a person’s entire life.
Words of encouragement must have three attributes. Read the rest of this entry »
