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Aim For The Stars
A
few years ago, when my son
Binyamin “graduated” from
nursery school, his teachers put
together a yearbook. There was a “What I
want to be when I grow up” section, and
most of the little boys
and girls answered they
wanted to be mommies
and daddies.
(I suspect that kids so
often give that answer
because they think that
their parents get to stay
up as late as they want.
Rochel Burstyn
Then they grow up and
discover that actually
parents don’t want to stay up late at all;
it’s just that there aren’t enough hours in
the day to do everything that needs to be
done, especially when there are these little
ankle-biters pulling at you all day, wanting
snacks and attention and to play with your
phone.)
One ambitious little girl in Binyamin’s
nursery class had answered she was hoping
to be a cleaning lady, but Binyamin took
the cake by stating that his goal in life was
to one day “turn into an elephant.” (I was a
bit concerned that he was choosing unat-
tainable goals, but a friend reassured me
that it’s entirely possible to develop huge
floppy bits as you get older …)
A few weeks later, Binyamin decided he
didn’t want to turn into an elephant after
all. Apparently their diets don’t contain
enough sugar and ketchup or something.
He decided he’d rather turn into a giant
chocolate chip cookie. Hesitantly, so as
not to crush (crumble?) his ambition (and
originality), we told him that was not
necessarily the best way to live a long and
fruitful life. Someone was bound to come
along and eat him, and even if he had an
exciting trip through the digestive system,
the aftermath was sure to be a bit of a flop.
He seemed to get our point. These days
his future goals involve remaining a human
being, something we’re quite pleased about.
The thing is that the world is full of end-
less possibilities, and it’s a balancing act for
parents to find the right words between
the supportively cheerful, “You can do any-
thing you want to do!” and the fearful, “Oh,
please, have your heart set on something
that will actually earn you some money so
you’re not dependant on us into your 60s
…”
I tell Binyamin (and my other kids):
Aim high, try hard, be nice to everyone,
stay positive and brush your teeth. (Not
necessarily connected, but it’s something
that kids always need reminding. Proof: A
kid said, ‘The dentist asked me, ‘When was
the last time you brushed your teeth?’ and
I told him ‘You don’t remember? You were
there!’”)
Sometimes, the best tip is to fake it
till you make it. But if you’re doing that,
be careful you aren’t faking it in front
of the wrong person. Don’t be like the
stranger who crashed my son’s bar mitzvah
and then, evidently trying to blend in,
approached me and asked casually, “So,
how do you know the family?”
Mazel tov to all local graduates — and
all the proud parents, grandparents and
teachers — on this milestone!
*
guest column
America Must Stop Ceding Ground to Iran’s Terrorist Ambitions
I
n recent months, the Iranian regime
agreement “was largely manufactured for
test fired several ballistic missiles—
the purpose of selling the deal.” It’s a stun-
one of them had the words “Israel
ning admission from the White House
should be wiped off the Earth” spelled out
that its selling of this agreement to the
on it. These missile tests have
American people was a work of
all come following the Obama
fiction.
administration-brokered nuclear
While the president tries to live
agreement with Iran last year.
up to his Nobel Peace Prize, his
This misguided and poorly nego-
agreement will make the world
tiated deal offers Iran billions
less safe by paving the way for Iran
in aid and leaves the door open
to develop nuclear weapons. After
for the radical regime to build
10 to 15 years, the limits on Iran’s
nuclear weapons in the future.
Rep. Dave Trott enrichment program will end, and
Despite the numerous conces-
we will have little to rely on but a
sions made by President Obama
promise from the Ayatollah that he
in crafting the nuclear deal, new reports
will behave.
over the past couple months continue to
The administration’s nuclear deal was
show the administration is pursuing even
poorly negotiated from the beginning.
more giveaways to the Iranians. First, the
President Obama came to the table with
American people learned the president was the misguided mindset that the United
eyeing the possibility of giving Iran access
States and Iran are equals. But nothing
to the U.S. dollar and our financial sys-
could be further from the truth. Iran is the
tem. Then came the news that the Obama
world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and
Administration purchased $8.6 million of
has repeatedly made its intentions crystal
“heavy water” from Iran — a key chemical clear — the regime wants to wipe Israel off
ingredient in nuclear reactors. This move
the face of the map.
will directly subsidize the regime’s nuclear
President Obama knowingly forged this
plans.
deal as an executive agreement rather than
And the most disturbing new develop-
a treaty so that he could bypass Congress
ment came via a New York Times story
and not allow the representatives of the
about President Obama’s Deputy National
American people to have a say in this
Security Adviser Ben Rhodes and how the
debate. In response, I’ve been working with
administration’s description of the nuclear
my colleagues on both sides to do what we
can to stand against this misguided deal
and block the president from making fur-
ther concessions to Iran.
Recently, I authored legislation to pre-
vent the administration from giving Iran
access to the U.S. financial system. The
fact that the Obama administration won’t
definitively rule out offering Iran access to
the U.S. dollar is unacceptable. There can
be no hedging or political games with this
issue — Iran must not be given access to
the U.S. financial system, either directly or
indirectly.
A bipartisan majority in the House has
already stood against this disastrous agree-
ment, but President Obama has ignored
the will of Congress and pressed on with
his plans. But it’s not too late to change
course. In November, Americans will have
the opportunity of making their voices on
Iran and other issues heard at the ballot
box.
In the meantime, I believe it’s impera-
tive that Congress continues to hold the
Obama administration accountable on
these continued concessions to Iran and
advance solutions that strengthen our
national security and protect America and
our allies.
Your
Your
Legal
Financial
Issues
Issues
Do NOT use your IRA
or Retirement to Pay
Credit Card Debt.
Elderly clients often come to our office
seeking help with their debt situation.
In almost every case, before they have
come to see us, they have withdrawn
retirement funds - IRAs and 401ks
- to pay bills. I cringe at this. It is a
terrible mistake. Retirement funds
are there to provide the supplemental
income beyond social security that
is needed to cover living expenses
through retirement. When we stop
working – our income is capped but
inflation and our lifespans are not.
You must make sure retirement funds
are used wisely. IRAs and retirement
funds are protected in bankruptcy
– which means you can keep that
money and eliminate the credit card
debt. Another little known fact is that
a normal creditor cannot garnish or
levy on your social security income.
These two facts – combined – mean
that you should NOT use your
retirement funds to pay down debt.
If you’re retired and in this situation –
you should come see us right away.
If your parents are in this situation –
you need to take action now. When
their funds are exhausted, providing
for their support is on you. “You can’t
just keep paying until you’re broke.”
THAV GROSS has been solving
problems since 1982. Be sure to tune
in to Law and Reality – Sunday
mornings at 11 AM on TV20.
*
U.S. Rep. Dave Trott, 11th Congressional District,
(Troy, Birmingham, Commerce) is Michigan’s only
member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
thavgross.com lawandreality.com
30150 Telegraph, Suite 444
Bingham Farms, MI 48025
May 26 • 2016
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