I like Oprah and I like Dean Kamen too. I especially enjoy watching him fly his helecopter to & from work each day. :D
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I like Oprah and I like Dean Kamen too. I especially enjoy watching him fly his helecopter to & from work each day. :D
:( I want to ride in a helicopter. that is one thing I haven't done that I would really like to experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by elizabethann
LOL it beats driving that's for sure lol
Well lets look at it this way.Quote:
Originally Posted by sparks19
If you are a low income earner....taxed less, you will be able to afford to fly in your helicopter sooner.
If you are a high income earner, taxed more, then you are still going to be able to fly in your helicopter, but it may have to be tomorrow.
Soon....we may all have had that experience.
Oh...by the way...I fell out of a helicopter once....so I'll just sit back and watch you going for the ride... LOL
( Have I opened up another Pandora's box here ??? If so, I will hide behind my sandbags until the barrage is over...LOL )
Wombat
A helicopter is 50,000 parts all moving the wrong way in close formation.
It's the crew chief's job to keep the formation as tight as possible.
I have NO further interest in flying in an eggbeater.
Dumb PFC sitting in the back of a chinook talking to the crew chief:
"Sarge, why is that barrel of hydraulic fluid sitting back there with the hand pump in it?"
"Look up, Pvt. See that gearbox?"
"yep"
"See how it's leaking?"
" Yep"
" The hand pump is to keep it full. If it stops leaking, we stop flying"
And that was the last time that Pvt. flew on a heliochopter
Well that is a very fine opinion of yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
Perhaps somebody told you that ???
Wombat
We have ridden in helicopters, both times in tourist situations (Florida and Hawai'i) and it was really cool! Despite knowing how my brother feels about them.
Oh my goodness....yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lady's Human
Those things are 20,000 rattling rivets flying in formation, and every one making a different sound.
Wombat
Nope...don't need anyone to tell me...I know cuz I'm smarter...remember? :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by wombat2u2004
I know you are. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
Interesting Fact...
the Iraq war is costing us....the US TAXPAYERS $9 billion dollars a month. Makes Oprah's $40 million seem insignificant.
Bet $9 billion could build alot of schools.
according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office
I agree with Gini one hundred percent. The media here in America spends almost all it's time writing about Paris, Anna Nicole, Lindsey. What have these people done to help mankind, or animals for that matter? Nothing that I know of, yet the press and we americans want to know and hear everything they do. Along comes Oprah and we critcize this woman for doing good. http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/redface.gif That is wrong. It doesn't matter where she is spending her money, it's her money. She is using it for the good of mankind. It doesn't need to be spent in America, people other then us suffer and have needs much greater. If she wants to spend it overseas that is her business, she is helping others. Who are we to judge who is worthy of Oprah's money, time and help? The more people who know or read about this the better. Perhaps it will make us as people look to help others. I would much rather read about Oprahs' good deeds then Brittany's night on the town. Also I have never heard one word of Oprah drinking, doing drugs, or breaking the law. As far as my own daughter, I would rather have her be like Oprah then Brittany and do good for this world then be known for not wearing panties at a nightclub.
Oprah is a holier than thou, sticky sweet, blowhard. She speaks one way and does exactly the opposite. She proclaims to be such an animal activist, yet she goes to expensive breeders to get her dogs and looks down on shelter dogs. She has been contacted thousands of times about the plight of puppy mill dogs, but, it's not a big enough money maker for her show to waste her time with the suffering of these poor animals.
As far as the school goes, $40 million school in Africa is ridiculous. How many more schools could she have built that are more than suitable in how many different areas, servicing how many more children....
Kudos to her for at least attempting to help, but, the lack of common sense is amazing. And unfortunately, she definitely comes across as, "HEY! Come look and me and see how much money I have and how many kids have a new school because of ME!"
Oh and Richard....You have become the Roger M of Pet Talk...I just told Mike that you and my friend Roger are probably a lot alike (other than the fact that he is an ultra liberal! lol). You know who you are and what you stand for and aren't afraid to say it (especially if it is important to you) and you make people mad because you are so straightforward! ;) :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marigold2
Right on. :) Young people couldn't have a better model to follow. :)
She grew up with nothing but a strong determination to better her self
and having done that wants to help others that have nothing, not even
the blessings of being born in America.
I do enjoy Oprah's shows and catch them when she has someone interesting on. I like the fact that she has introduced us to such people as Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz and she has motivated countless people to take steps to do things that will make them feel better about themselves. I do think she is not quite as humble as she was in the days when she started out but I guess that isn't so unusual when you "make it big."
And another thing..... what about Bill Gates...naming a foundation after him and his wife. I mean...come on! How much attention and publicity does that man need? And what does his wife have to do with it anyway???
And spending all that money in third world countries promoting learning and global health. With their faces plastered all over their website.
What's next for these egotist blowhards? Curing cancer or something?
Where is their common sense? Why are they fighting malaria?
And I saw Bill interviewed on the Jon Stewart show and ....the family doesn't have a pet!!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
Oh no, always thought that guy was a loser. :D
You know...Oprah should look for a better role model...perhaps...
Donald Trump! A man who started out the old-fashioned way...he inherited the business...
always the first to point out his own shortcomings....always gracious in victory and defeat...
would NEVER splash his name or face on anything!
No African stuff for this man! Why he singlehandedly saved the Miss USA pagent! What a guy! What a patriot!
Learn something Oprah!
Malaria kills a lot of people !!!!! Need there be any other answer to that question ???Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
Quote:
Originally Posted by wombat2u2004
AHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHH x10000!!!!
I just choked on my juice.
I think what Oprah has done is nothing short of amazing. You may not like the woman, but how can you fault her generosity?
For all these years I found your ideas and opinions interesting. Not today.
I don't know too many people as generous as Oprah. I just don't understand what infuriates some folks when it comes to someone else's generosity. You should be so lucky to have that kind of money and be able to give so much of it away, to profoundly poor people.
Go back to bed Richard.
When people have money to burn, they burn it - do what they personally think will help the most, without getting relevant advice. Oprah's heart is in the right place. It's her information deficit that led to an inefficient use of her wealth.
It's a perpetual problem of philanthropy. The people who are in a position to make a real difference don't have a whole lot of clues about what differences need to be made.
Who here doesn't have an "if I win the lottery" idea about what you'd do to make things better? And where did that idea come from? Your own heart, right? Since you haven't won the lottery yet, of course you haven't done any research about whether or how well it would actually work. Well, people who have boatloads of money think that if they're smart enough to get all that money, they're smart enough to figure out how to put it to work. But it's a different flavor of smart, and a fairly rare one, and most rich people don't know much at all about the world outside of their own experience. So huge amounts of money end up going down inefficient holes because the rich people don't know that they don't know everything.
There's nothing wrong with bragging, in my book. If you do something, and present it honestly and in its entirety, there's nothing wrong with putting your name on it. And I like the recent trend for the rich to show off by trying to help the poor. But it's the ones who start with good solid research who actually succeed.
Love, Columbine
Columbine, very interesting post! Thanks for expanding my brain. :)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16396343/site/newsweek/
This is just one article that I researched about this subject. Yes, she went way overboard - oversized closets - fireplaces everywhere - 200 count bedsheets -
great mattresses - so what?
I still see that Oprah did her homework and she is banking on the initial 73 (?) students to get a great education and then start making a difference in South Africa - and the next group of students will do the same.
Read the article from her point of view - why not give her a chance and look for the results of her efforts down the road?
I for one, hope that she has created an environment that will be a huge success in terms of educating young women that are from a background not unlike her own.
well put Columbine, i found your post interesting too and something i had not given much thought, personally i don't give a toss if they want publicity or their name put on anything ,bragging as such, if it helps people that is all that matters to me.,and who are we to say where their money would be best spent, the simple fact is, it is their money, end of story, to do with as they wish,I would not take kindly to people telling me what to do with my wealth, if I had any ,I would probably help animals, and there would be people saying i should be helping human beings first,we should be thankful i think that they indeed are generous enough to share it , even if it is not what we think it would be best spent on,they could be complete miser's and keep it to themselves, so i say good on ya oprah. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by columbine
I think it's very presumptuous of you to make a comment inferring Oprah
"has to much money and not enough sense". As a very successful business
woman who has very good council to help her make the most of the funds
she chooses to distribute. You certainly have an opinion, but so do the
people who see what a blessing she is to many people.
What if Oprah is right?
What if these girls, having been given the best education that money can buy, go on to do great things and really help their country? Then we will look back at this and say "that was money well spent".
who knows?
I lost my dial up connection just as this thread was hot and heavy and I wanted to revisit it now that HARPO has the looset purse strings on the planet.,
I had left off with Dean Kamen.
The Techo Stud who refined that stupid engine -Stirling is the name- You know, the one that makes eleck-trcity off of Methane/Poop fumes at night and makes clean drinking water during the day...
In a Sundance Channel special he invited Isabella Rossellini to his home and showed her his invention. It was a wonderful look into his operation. Without the pompous guests, doctors and phone number for tickets to his show!
The gist of the convo was that people are dying becuse of the lack of clean water.
A machine like that will purify water so that it can be used for drinking and irrigating crops....Funny how a little fecal matter in water can ruin a whole village's outlook!
--------
Kamen went on to stae that politics is the main reason that his refined engine is not being shipped to areas that need it!
It's way too expensive for Kamen to donate machines to every area that needs them, and the governments are way too crooked to let those machines go to the people..
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A few Sterling/Kamen engines would be far more practical in some areas than a 150 person school.
But hey, Dysentery, explosive diarrhea, starvation and E coli are not as important as education.
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When the coup, junta or other civil problem breaks out I wonder which buildings will be plundered by the 'have nots'?
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I apologize to you all that have no patience for my opinions.
I do respect yours!
Going back to bed now!
---------------
BTW,
LH, Where is your sense of helicopter adventure?
It's not like the chopper was burning the whole 50 gallons in one trip! :rolleyes: :confused: :eek:
My sister works at a school in New Jersey. It is for boys and uses the discipline of music to help educate boys (happens to be all minority -- location -- but open to all.) They are always raising funds....that is what my sister does for them.
Do you know Oprah has a group that does School Makeovers -- all her money. My sister is working to get a makeover for her school. It would be a VERY BIG help for a school that does lots of good in a city that needs it.
No...it isn't written up in PEOPLE magazine. Just one of the many things she does for people right here in the United States.
Why bashing one philanthropist over another? Why not just say...here's is a guy who does a lot of good and doesn't always get recognition.
Isn't that rather.......phony????
Maybe you should learn as much about all that Oprah does....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
Wow,
Now that you mention it....
Nope- Kamen is about keeping people alive- Check out his work with medical tech- like dialysis machines- some of his technology kept my dad alive for a few years- Oprah didn't do squat for him.
You have to keep people alive before you can educate them.
Kamen looks at the welfare of people with little or no fanfare, Oprah's outlook is kinda skewed.cameras, T.V. specials and "hey Look at what I did!" just smacks of a little self-agrandizement!
----------
I saw a blurb for her road trip/TV special with her buddy...Funny how two chicks in a car make interesting TV? I was hoping for a Thelma and Louise ending!
The shot was of Oprah trying to put gas into a car....and she could not do it.
Her line was, "Ha ha ha ha, It's been years since I put gas in a car."
I guess philantrophy and common sense don't run in the same circles.. :confused:
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If there is no coverage of her good deeds here in the US, why the fanfare for a foreign school?
I am more concerned with how my tax dollars are wasted then I am about how others spend their disposable income. Oprah, myself, and anyone else can spend their money on the charity of their choice.
Maybe the girls Oprah educates will run the government one day and then people like Kamen will be able to get their help to the people who need it. Clean water will only go so far if the government is that crooked.
So doing something that benefited your father is better than doing something that benefits someone else.
Got it.
Without education...who will figure out how to keep people alive?
Entertainment...that is what Oprah does. It is how she makes the money that enables her to do so much good.
You know when I was a teenager (before your time I know) you went to a gas station and there was a person who pumped the gas for you. (I lived in the country and we had to pump our own from the pump on the farm.) Most people...especially women...at that time did not know how to pump gas.
Based on what you posted...that made them stupid? Or lacking common sense?
Give it a rest RICHARD. She is a successful woman. Something you seem to find terribly offensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
One of my alltime favotite gals is Bernadine Healy.
She is a doctor and ran something called the Red Cross.
Carly Fiona, Hewlett Packard?
My mom?
I like to save my sexism for the truly irritating girls. Hey, Did I mention Rachael Ray?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RICHARD
or Pariis Hilton. Now there's a piecs of work for ya. :rolleyes: but Rachel
Ray ? without her we never would have had the memorable " Hi rocking chair
Lady" line. :D :D
ummm...is it possible that the school Oprah built has CLEAN RUNNING WATER???
Quote:
Originally Posted by Catty1
For about 150 people, same with the elek-tricity?
Let's review?
Putting up a school for 40 million dollars is fine and dandy.
Making a huge deal about it makes me laugh.
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Finding a way to get clean water and electricity to places that don't know either is kinda specail.
A few months ago we were looking at infected spinach killing people.
SO what! We find other spinach. Ii winder what the options are for a small tribal group in the bush?
The narrow focus on some Oprah-ette factory is laughable.
saving a few thousand people by cleaning up their feces infected water and giving them a a life without diarrhea, intestinal parasites and death really isn't that big a deal.
Mea culpa.
No need to apologize RICHARD. After all...your antipathy for success women makes me laugh!Quote:
Originally Posted by RICHARD
I do like you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
Did I mention that I loathed Cindy Margolis--Until she posed for playboy!
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It's the Success-fool women that bug me!
I just finished reading this entire thread. Quite interesting.
I think what infuriates folks about Oprah's generosity is they aren't on the receiving end of that generosity.Quote:
I just don't understand what infuriates some folks when it comes to someone else's generosity.
RICHARD and Edwina's Secretary, I am laughing my butt off at your contempt for one another. You two really know how to push each other's buttons.
As far as Oprah is concerned, I never cared for her. What she does with her money IS her business. However, I also believe that charity begins at home.
Donna...I am sorry if you percieve contempt on my part. I do not have contempt for Richard.
I think a woman who was born poor and black in the Jim Crow South, succeeds beyond dream due to hardwork, smarts, and some good luck should be admired. She is a role model for all of us...especially young black women...that in America, if you work hard and study and are diligent, you can succeed...regardless of the circumstances of your birth.
I do not believe she should be called a phony because someone does not agree with how she decides to give millions of the dollars she earned -- through her hard work -- to help others.
She preaches hard work, education, sobriety, empathy and generosity. And she lives what she preaches.
Does that make her a phony? A fool?
I don't know her so I do not know if I "like" her or not...but I certainly respect her.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...6/eddd574a.jpg
contempt? never!
Should I ever be found sans head..... :eek: :rolleyes: :D