“The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.” – Thomas Jefferson
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First Principles: The God Who Gave Us Life, Gave Us Liberty At the Same Time
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Destroy, Disjoin, First Principles, God, Hand of Force, Liberty, Life, Same, Thomas Jefferson, Time
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Speaking Up From the Heart
Speaking Up From the Heart
by Michael Doyle
Sometimes life flies at me undeserved,
And my viewpoint seems a bit underserved
So I find myself, as I have from the start,
Speaking my mind straight from the heart.
We might be in opposition, and that's okay.
But still, each of us deserves our say.
We should just do our best to be amicable.
At least, as best as we can be capable.
Sometimes there isn't a pure wrong or right.
But we deserve our say as best that we might.
It is appropriate that we enter into discourse
While politely remembering to consider the source.
Few of us are experts, even the experts.
This is true, however strongly we each exert
That we somehow know more than can be known,
And usually this comes out as time has shown.
Where the art of the grift has become the machine,
It can be a little hard to say what we mean.
But truth be told, the truth must be told
As best as we know it, whatever we've been sold.
I have just never liked bullies from any side.
This was an easy one and not very hard to decide.
When you see a bully, it's time to take a stand.
Is that proposition so hard to understand?
(c) July 3, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Amicable, Appropriate, Art, Bullies, Capable, Consider the Source, Decide, Deserve, Discourse, Exert, Expert, Grift, Heart, Known, Life, Machine, Mean, Okay, Opposition, Poetry and Poems, Propsition, Pure, Say, Shown, Side, Sold, Speaking My Mind, Speaking Up, Take A Stand, Truth, Underserved, Understand, Undeserved, Viewpoint, Wrong or Right
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First Principles: There Is Nothing Wrong With America That Cannot Be Cured By What Is Right With America
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” – Bill Clinton
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Tagged American, Bill Clinton, First Principles, Nothing, Right, Wrong
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Thought For the Day: Every Experience Has Its Element of Magic
“Every experience has its element of magic.” – Hermann Hesse, novelist, poet, Nobel laureate (2 Jul 1877-1962)
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Tagged Element, Every, Expereince, Hermann Hesse, Magic, Thought For the Day
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Click Track To Health
Click Track To Health
by Michael Doyle
There's a click track to having good health.
It goes beyond other things like wealth.
But it isn't really all that much deep.
It's a thing called regular, consistent sleep.
Insomnia has crept across the nights of our nation,
And with it comes a sense of morbid fascination.
How is that one night we are happy, sleeping well?
Then, the next, we find ourselves consigned to this Hell.
The tick-tock of an incessant clock ticks in our head,
While we keep wishing for the Neanderthal sleep of the dead.
I had such a night last night at the start of vacation,
As me and my children went off to explore a part of the nation.
Staying in hotel room that had seen its much better days,
I found myself counting sheep and looking for better ways
To somehow drift off to sleep while the AC rattled,
My inability to get to sleep left me feeling slightly addled.
Still it was and still it is that it's on with the show,
It's morning now, and it is on up and back on the road.
My daughters wafted off to sleep with dreams in their head,
While I myself found myself caught up in mild dread.
The itinerary shows that I'll be driving five hours today,
While we drift along from sight to sight along our way.
A cherry chocolate coffee awaits me to cross my lips.
So, just maybe it's not the day of the apocalypse.
(c) July 2, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Addled, Cherry Chocolate Coffee, Click Track, Health, Hell, Insomnia, Michigan, Night, Poetry and Poems, Sleep, Vacation
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Thought For The Day: If You Take Responsibility For Yourself, You Will Develop A Hunger To Accomplish Your Dreams
“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” – Les Brown
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Accomplish, Develop, Dreams, Hunger, Les Bown, Responsibility, Thought For the Day, Yourself
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First Principles: You Cannot Escape the Responsibility of Tomorrow By Evading It Today
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln
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Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Escape, Evasion, First Principles, Responsibility, Today, Tomorrow
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Where Are the Kids’ Bikes?
Where Are the Kids' Bikes?
by Michael Doyle
Driving down the suburban streets
It seems the few kids out are on their feet.
What happened to the bikes in my neighborhood?
The fun of this, I thought, would be understood.
But even as I tried over and over again
To teach my daughters this would bring friends
Even they thought of this as somehow passe.
I become something I would never bother to say.
The school-aged children in protective helmets
Riding in lines together is seldom met.
It is as though computers have made them forget
And that seems something they will one day regret.
I know that I do already, and think of the health.
Computers might be too engaging and maybe bring wealth
But what good is a ton of money when you're sedentary?
I don't mean to sound like a Luddite or too contrary.
Only one in five are now biking frequently.
This to me seems almost a tragic absurdity.
It's one of the healthiest things for a kid to do,
And is good for their emotional and physical health, too.
I think its correlative value is more than coincidence.
There is no doubt that it builds up a child's confidence.
All of this, plus a fall or two, builds resilience
And all of this together creates a kid with shining brilliance.
(c) July 1, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Absurdit, Bikes, Briliance, Computers, Contrary, Daughters, Feet, Forget, Friends, Fund, Health, Kids, Kids Bikes, Lines, Neighborhood, Passe, Poetry and Poems, Protective Helmets, Regret, Resilience, School-Aged Children, Sedentrary, Suburban Streets, Understood
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Thought For the Day: The Happiness of Your Life Depends On the Quality of Your Thoughts
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts” – Marcus Aurelius
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Depend, Happiness, Life, Marcus Aurelius, Quality, Thought, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: Government Is Not Reason; It Is Not Eloquent; It Is Force. Like Fire, It Is A Dangerous Servant and A Fearful Master.
“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Experience has taught us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession, and when the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” – George Washington
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Dangerous, Eloquent, Fearful Master, Fire, First Principles, Force, George Washington, Government, Reaason, Servant
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ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 