From a young Manhattan real estate mogul to a U.S. President, Donald Trump has been on Forbes’ radar and in its pages for decades.
The big-talking populist, turned Republican front-runner appeared on the 1982 inaugural list of Forbes 400 richest Americans, then in 1990 reportedly fell “within hailing distance of zero,” all the while—and still today—arguing our calculations short his actual worth.
This back and forth elicited “Forever Frenemies” is the cover of the magazine. Read more
Yesterday and today at the Noon SA Phone Meeting, there was a lot of controversy, mostly related to “principles before personalities”, which is written in our 12th Tradition.
It started when I read the SA Purpose and gave special attention to the wording “…does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sexually sober and help others to achieve sexual sobriety.”
I intentionally read that this reading is “Reprinted for adaptation with permission of the Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine. Copyright The AA Grapevine, Inc.” and someone on the call took offense to that.
Wow. I often wonder if people have anything better to do with their time when they get on the teleconference and complain about other members, or me specifically as the moderator / secretary of the meeting.
I learned over 20 years ago, “whoever complains about the coffee, is next week’s coffee maker”.
“Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern” according to our 2nd Tradition.
A coup d’état literally “blow of state”; or an overthrow, is the sudden and illegal seizure of a state, usually instigated by a small group of the existing government establishment to depose the established regime and replace it with a new ruling body. A coup d’état is considered successful when the usurpers establish their dominance and legitimacy. If a coup fails, a civil war may ensue. Read more
Well, unless I’m wrong, I believe my “higher power – GOD” is trying to tell me something. I decided that I will take a break for a few weeks, maybe a few months. I submitted my letter of resignation, already.
The good news is, I already feel better. Because if the truth be told, it was going to get more and more challenging as the little league baseball season heats up. Plus, my son is participating on a boys choir. My daughter is very active in her schools’ drama program and lacrosse is just around the corner.
I certainly have better things to do with my time then to engage in controversy. I feel like the victim sometimes.
“Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn’t think so.” (AA BB pg. 62)
I firmly believe that there may always be people more sober, recovered and healthier than I, but I would challenge no one loves SA more than I.
“How sweet it is to see how sweet it is” was the old slogan at the AA ODAAT meeting in my area. In other words, when I really examine my life, I have nothing to complain about. Getting sober in Sexaholics Anonymous and better yet, staying sober for any length of time is one of the biggest joys I can experience.
The other day, an elder statesman from the call informed me about the Bible reference “7 x 70 = 490 times Jesus told Peter he needed to forgive others”.
In this image taken from video North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, salutes during a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the country’s founding, Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/KRT via AP Video) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT” width=”300″ height=”150″ />
I must keep my magic magnifying mind on my acceptance and off my expectations, for my serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.
Elder statesmen and bleeding deacons; reading same thing yesterday and someone cut me off.
White Book is outside SAICO.
Hands Services Inc.
ATTN: SA Publications
3947 Landmark St
Culver City, CA 90232
Phone numbers are not controlled by the group.
SAICO has participated with www.saphonemeeting.org
Am I in my group a healing, mending, integrating person, or am I divisive? What about gossip and taking other members’ inventories?
Am I a peacemaker? Or do I, with pious preludes such as “just for the sake of discussion,” plunge into argument?
Am I gentle with those who rub me the wrong way, or am I abrasive?
Do I make competitive AA remarks, such as comparing one group with
#1 no, no at any meeting; phone meetings tend to get a lot more rowdy;
face-to-face meeting – get sponsor suggested in script, don’t agree, temporary, glen 20 years of sa sobrity
civility, judgement goes out the window
railroad group conscience; make phone calls & email others asking people to attend to vote a certain way
we had several business meetings that i personally did not attend because i believe in the 2nd tradition
For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
A monarchy is a form of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in one individual reigning until death or abdication. They are called monarchs. Forms of monarchy differ widely based on the level of legal autonomy the monarch holds in governance, the method of selection of the monarch, and any predetermined limits on the length of their tenure. When the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and political matters, it is called an absolute monarchy, and is a form of autocracy. Cases in which the monarch’s discretion is formally limited, either by law or by convention, is called a constitutional monarchy. In hereditary monarchies, the office is passed through inheritance within a family group, whereas elective monarchies use some system of voting. Each of these has variations: in some elected monarchies only those of certain pedigrees are eligible, whereas many hereditary monarchies impose requirements regarding the religion, age, gender, mental capacity, and other factors. Occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. Finally, there have been cases where the term of a monarch’s reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved: an invasion being repulsed, for instance. Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy. Read more
Dictatorship is a form of government where a country is ruled by one person or political entity, and exercised through various mechanisms to ensure the entity’s power remains strong.
A dictatorship is a type of authoritarianism, in which politicians regulate nearly every aspect of the public and private behavior the citizens. Dictatorships and totalitarianism generally employ political propaganda to decrease the influence of proponents of alternative governing systems, as is the nature of nationalism of any governing system.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, traditional monarchies gradually declined and disappeared. Dictatorship and constitutional democracy emerged as the world’s two major forms of government. Read more
Nemesis—the inescapable agent of someone’s or something’s downfall. synonyms: archrival, adversary, foe, opponent, arch enemy. Read more