1. Go back to school. If you didn't graduate from high school, get your GED. Take a course at the local community college or on the internet. Try something different, you might just like it. And if you are older, you get to meet some of the young kids who are doing well. It misght surprise you.
2. Don't use or sell drugs. They will only take you down. It's a one-way street to hell.
3. Don't get married too young, or have children too young. Wait until you are at least 25, for both. Concentrate on developing your skills: academically, emotionally, and socially. That will help prepare you for what is to come, marriage and kids.
4. On a daily basis, let your employer know that you are worth more than you are being paid and you deserve benefits, particularly health insurance. As long as employers don't speak out for universal health-care, they should pay. Employers today are taking advantage of globalization and funny politics.
5. Don't borrow money from a title loan company or other hight-interest rate loan sharks. They are not out to help you. They want to dig their fingers into you for a monthly payment for life. Beg on the street corner before you go to them. You will be better off, and learn about humility at the same time.
6. If you have a landlord charging you an arm and a leg for a dump, and they are unwilling to fix anything, I would recommend you take pictures and send them to the owner. Mention next time they are going to the local newspaper and city council. Don't apologize. They may kick you out, which will also make for a good story.
7. Don't use credit cards unless you pay off the balance each month. This is a rich mans scheme to keep you poor and them rich. You'll end up broke, and with bad credit. More likely both.
8. Never accept violent behavior from anyone. When he or she begs you to forgive the, that they will never do it again, I would suggest you tell them to start packing. Walk away, however hard it may be. Life is too short to try and change other peoples behavior. Worry about your own.
9. Never put down another persons religion. How are you so sure yours is right, and theirs wrong?
10. Respect yourself. Take care of your body. You don't have to be a fanatic about it, but there are some simple things you can do: Don't eat all fast food, don't smoke, don't drink to excess, basically follow a course of moderation for everything you do, drive as little as possible, and make sure you get your rabies shots. I would also be a bit more careful about what you read.
(Headed for Omaha for a long weekend. Let me know if you want me to say hello to Warren for you).

* Plant a garden.
* Say "thank you." "You're welcome."
* If someone is saying something far-fetched, or that you know ain't true, ask them where they got that information. This will help break up the Rush Limbaugh mentality that has got ahold of us.
* Remove hatred and revenge from your heart.
* Give $20 to someone who could use it more than you.
* Write a letter to the editor about something you see that could use fixing, or something you support, or something that needs changing.
* Mow your neighbors lawn.
* Take a college course. This will help your brain and keep you up with what is going on. And it will also keep you in touch with younger people, if you happen to be older. Believe it or not, this will help you.
* Read. Read. Read. Everything you can get your hands on. No dime-store novels or The Enquirer. Something useful.
* Hold the door open for others.
* Look people in the eyes and say hello.
* Kindness is as easy to express as hatred, and uses a whole lot less energy. And besides that, it's a lot more fun.

I think we should all go to Washington and pay them a visit. All three-hundred million of us, minus, of course, those that are already there. We should surround the White House, Supreme Court, Senate and House chambers, get comfortable, remain nonviolent, and ask for a few things from our duly elected, (for the most part), public servants:

1. Nuclear weapons have to go. You can't go around asking nations to give up their nuclear weapons or not develop any, when we possess the largest nuclear arsenal ever known to humankind. Ours have to go. Any two year old kid could figure this out.

2. Immediately, while we are sitting here, end the war in Iraq and cut the defense department budget in half. We'll be back later if you don't comply with further cuts each year, from now till eternity. Use the money for education, national health-care, and the environment. You can find money for war, but you can't find money for peace. Why is that?

3. Abolish the electoral college. Today. We are in charge of who gets elected. The one receiving the most votes is the winner. Any questions?

4. You get a limited amount of money to run for office. Being a public servant is not a commodity that you should be able to buy. You get a $100 from any individual or corporation. That's it. And don't bother writing any loopholes into this new legislation, or we'll be back.

5. You get 12 years in any given office. You can move from Senate to House, or the Presidency to Congress, but 12 is plenty in any one spot. Sorry for the insecurity this may cause you, but we are your boss. Over the years, you seem to forget this. Not to mention you start screwing around an awful lot.

6. The environment vs profit. Let's see, would we be better off allowing a few white, rich men make unlimited profit, or protect the Earth for our children's great-grandchildren? We're going with protect the Earth. Obviously, this means we will all have to sacrifice. We cannot keep using and using and not pay. We expect your future actions to comply with this wish.

7. We want an electric, solar car. We know you can do it. The technology is available. We want this to become a reality, sooner rather than later. Get Malcolm Bricklin to head this project. We suggest you give him what he needs. We are tired of gas powered vehicles. Everything has changed in a hundred years but this. We are not asking you to do this, we are demanding it. Get the difference?

8. Universal health-care, now. Defense department cuts will pay for it. Health-care is a human right, not a commodity. To help in your decision to move forward with this, you no longer have health insurance. We just took it away from you.

9. The Supreme Court likes guns. We don't. Everyone gets a shotgun. The government and policing agencies get the same, so we are all equal. My gun is no longer any bigger than yours. This will hurt many a male ego, but they'll get over it.

10. After the first nine are done, we expect you to keep working on them and others. We don't expect to hear you talk about abortion, or stem-cell research, or English as our official language, or flag burning, or any other such mundane nonsense. We expect you to work on solving the bigger issues: Hunger, over-population, water scarcity, the greenhouse effect, globalization, jobs, world cooperation and compromise, think tanks, equal justice. We expect you to earn that good retirement you are getting. We'll be back in ten years, or sooner, if necessary. We hope you'll be doing much better.

P.S. (This should also be done on the state and local levels, with some variation of content, but with the same level of intensity and determination).

* Piercings, pennies, and political conventions.
* Fat free, no sugar, ice cream, non-alcoholic beer, and holes in donuts.
* The federal government, the state government, and local government.
* Gambling, gossip, and gadgets.
* Lawyers, meteorologists, and proctologists.
* Brussels sprouts, liver, and Limburger cheese.
* Reality TV, soap operas, and talk shows.
* Political pundits, lobbyists, and lunatics. (Whit)
* Sun roofs, spoilers, and 4-wheel drive.
* Push-up bras, spiked heels, and edible underwear.
* Having kids, having more kids, and no one telling you to stop.
* Men's ties, women's hats, and any clothing for dogs. (Anexplorer)

BEER IS NOW CHEAPER THAN GAS. DRINK, DON'T DRIVE.