Category: Home

  • Sen. Joe Manchin Takes Advantage of GOP Extremism Despite Community Opposition

    Sen. Joe Manchin Takes Advantage of GOP Extremism Despite Community Opposition

    Pipeline
    Pixaby

    Joe Manchin’s Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Is Poised to Wreak Havoc

    “The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), touted as the most extended and largest-capacity new gas pipeline in the eastern United States, is an environmentally destructive project that threatens the well-being of Appalachian communities in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. We must stop it.

    Community opposition had successfully blocked the 300-mile pipeline, but in the recent debt ceiling negotiations, Sen. Joe Manchin took advantage of GOP extremism to extract promises to fast-track the construction of the MVP. This pipeline is poised to wreak havoc on West Virginia and southwest Virginia’s low-wealth, Black, and indigenous communities and plunge us further into the climate crisis. As a veterans organization, we know that climate change is an existential threat facing our country and communities, and building more pipelines only worsens the problem.

    The resilient Appalachian communities refuse to be silenced or overlooked. However, disheartening reports have exposed a troubling “side deal” that prioritizes the fossil fuel industry’s interests over the well-being of the communities it purports to serve.

    Joe Manchin’s debt deal only serves to solidify the status of Appalachian communities as sacrifice zones, their voices stifled and their concerns ignored.” 1

    “It’s time to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline system, aka MVP, and its dangerous attempts to transport dirty fracked gas across Appalachia. This massive dirty energy project makes no more sense today than when it was first proposed more than five years ago. It would keep communities dependent on dirty fossil fuels for generations while jeopardizing sensitive rivers and streams, drinking water sources, the climate, and local communities.” 2

  • The Importance of Taking That First Step – by Ross Reck

    The Importance of Taking That First Step – by Ross Reck

    Pixaby

    In life, one step leads to another, but you have to take that first step before it can lead to another. Sometimes our dreams appear so far away that they seem out of reach. When this happens, it’s important to remember that every journey has a starting point that begins with that first step. Dreams are rarely achieved by taking giant leaps. Rather, they are achieved by taking one normal size risk-free step at a time. So, if you’re harboring a dream, now is the perfect time to act on it. Get out there and take that first step and then another…. You’ll find the whole process quite liberating because with each step, your dream becomes closer and closer to being a reality.

    References:

  • Dumbbell Bench Press

    Dumbbell Bench Press

    Dumbells
    Pixaby

    The dumbbell bench press is an extremely effective movement for increasing upper body strength and muscle mass for both aesthetics and performance.

  • Taking a Few Moments to Appreciate the Beauty Around You Can Set the Tone for the Rest of Your Day – by Ross Reck

    Taking a Few Moments to Appreciate the Beauty Around You Can Set the Tone for the Rest of Your Day – by Ross Reck

    Smelling the Roses

    I have always appreciated the phrase “stop and smell the roses.” Not long ago, I was out for a morning walk while feeling a bit frustrated because a project I was working on wasn’t progressing the way I wanted it to. As I continued to walk, my nose picked up the aroma of something sweet. The further I walked, the stronger it got. I soon came to someone’s yard that had a good-sized lattice structure of star jasmine in full bloom. The fragrance was amazing! I stood there for several minutes and inhaled the sweetness over and over deeply. As I did, I could feel the tension I was experiencing start to leave my body. When I returned home, my mind was clear, and my body was relaxed. When I returned to my project, things progressed far more smoothly than they had before I took my walk. So, the next time you’re feeling a bit frustrated with something, get outside and take some time to appreciate the beauty around you. You’ll find that doing so will set the tone for the rest of your day.

    References:

  • Invest In Relationships – by Ross Reck

    Invest In Relationships – by Ross Reck

    Relationships
    Pixabay

    Several years ago, when I was conducting a seminar in Atlanta, one of the participants stood up and asked, “how come there aren’t more millionaires?”  As I mulled this question around in my mind, it began to occur to me that the reason there aren’t more millionaires, or highly successful people in any endeavor for that matter, is that most people don’t recognize the important role that personal relationships play in being successful in any profession.  As a result, these people don’t devote any time or effort toward developing these necessary relationships because they don’t see the need.  Without these relationships, however, they are unable to enlist the active support of other people on their behalf and so are destined to go through life trying to do everything by themselves.

    On my return trip from Atlanta to Phoenix I had to change planes in Dallas.  As I took my seat, I recognized the person sitting next to me.  His name was Bill King and he was the owner of a very successful chain of brake repair shops known as Bill King’s Brake-0.  I had seen him many times in his television commercials.

    As the two of us got to know each other, Bill King began to share with me his philosophy on success.  At one point, he leaned back and said, “Ross, let me tell you from personal experience that the road to becoming a millionaire is so simple that it boggles most people’s minds.”

    I thought to myself, “Mr. King you keep talking, because I am taking notes!”

    He went on, “If you develop a sense of trust with your employees (relationships) and take good care of them, your employees will take good care of you.  Furthermore, if you develop a sense of trust with your customers (relationships) and take good care of them, your customers will take good care of you.” He then said, “If you want to make a million dollars a year, you need a million friends each turning a dollar a year for you.  Or, you need a half-million friends each turning you two dollars per year and so forth.  If you work this process long enough, you’ll eventually develop enough friends who each generate the right amount of revenue on your behalf.  Once that happens,” he concluded, “becoming a millionaire is a piece of cake.”

    I remember saying, “No wonder wealthy people don’t seem to work so hard!”

    Bill King laughed at my remark because he had just spent several days participating in a celebrity golf tournament.  He did say, however, that developing all these necessary relationships doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes time, and it involves a little effort.  On the other hand, it has a virtually guaranteed payoff.

    So, invest in relationships with the people who stand between you and success or failure and take good care of them and they will take care of you.

    References:

    • RossReck.com