The Secret to Friendship, Only 3.4%, the #1 Sign of Corruption, Weekend Fun [Brandon’s Brain – #7]

By Brandon Lewis [Founder of the Tennessee Conservative] –

I don’t mean to brag, but I have a lot of friends. Not acquaintances, friends. And that’s after 6 years of being a political and social hermit of sorts prior to launching the Tennessee Conservative – which has once again placed me in communication with tens of thousands, and occasionally hundreds of thousands, of people per month. Many will become acquaintances. I wish I had time to sit down with all of them. Sadly, time does not allow for that and I’ve given myself permission to accept this reality.

So, if you send an email and I don’t reply, it’s not from a lack of trying or desire. Time is finite and cares not for our opinion on the matter. A few will of these acquaintances, in time, become friends. Now, when I say friend, I mean people I communicate with on a routine basis and spend time with. Plus, those who I spent much time with during a period of my life, but only hear from now and again. Yet, we pick up right back where we left off. People I care about. I’ve gathered these people from church, my neighborhood, the gym, business, civic engagement, school, college, conferences, events, concerts, vacations and even camping trips.

I love making friends. It is one of the best gifts God has given us – likely second to salvation. Marriage, after all, is another, deeper form of friendship. So, what’s the secret? Let me tell you in no certain order.

1 – Know What Matters Most to You – Everyone has a set of qualities they are looking for. I don’t know about yours, but here are mine. Reliability & Follow-Through – If someone says they’ll be somewhere or do something, they do it. Genuine & Direct – Just be who you are and be it early. If something’s on your mind, state it plainly. Pleasant – Socializing isn’t hard, unless you make it hard. Funny – This is not 100% necessary, but it helps.Once someone meets these criteria in some acceptable combination or degree, you’re in good shape.Don’t force it. Sometimes, what matters to you most won’t be there. You’ll know it when it is.

2 – Overlook Things – If someone thinks differently from you on some insignificant matter, overlook it. If they’re late, talk funny or are socially awkward in some way. Maybe someone talks too much… doesn’t talk at all. Got into some trouble a long time ago. Or has bad taste in music (this one is hard for me)… overlook it. Guess what. You’re no peach yourself. Remember that.

3 – Tell It Like It Is and Avoid Gossip – If you need to tell someone something, tell them nicely. If you can’t communicate openly with someone, you probably don’t want to be friends anyway. And don’t gossip about your friends or people in your social circle. This does not apply to saying the same things you’ve already told to this friend – or that you would say to them if they were there. This has already happened if you tell it like it is.

4 – Be Intentional About Communication & Events – If there is no communication, there is no friendship at the level you want. Make time to call people. I try to this whenever I’m in the car alone. Make a list, go through it. Touch base. Set up “events” where you get together with your friends. Dinner, vacation, meet-ups, you name it. If it’s not on the calendar, it ain’t gonna happen.

Pro tip: Set up weekly, monthly or annual events that are carved in stone. This gets everyone together and creates your traditions. Traditions are, in my opinion, essential to friendship.

Pro pro trip: Do large events that bring all your friends together from time to time. This helps you keep up with people you love, but don’t get to see as often as you would like.

Now, these things are not comprehensive. But they are a good start. My life has been better because I have done this. Maybe it will help you too!

Only 3.4%?… Ooof…

The other day, I had Jennifer here in the office pull up what percentage of email subscribers give to our publication. It’s only 3.4%. A tiny number by any standard. Why is this?

Well, some very small percentage may be on a fixed income. Others are on what I would call truly hard times. This might be 5% or so of the total 96.6% that do not give.

Others I think simply have the “someone else will do it” syndrome. I think this is the #1 reason we only have two conservative news publications in Tennessee. It’s the reason so few know what’s really going in in Nashville and in our state.

So, I’d like to challenge you to help me get to 5% subscriber participation with this post.

Yes, I’m setting the bar extremely low. I guess I should expect more.

However, life has beat some common sense in to me, I suppose.

This means that 1.6% of people who read this must give. Hopefully you are one of the ones who will. We shall see.

Please click here to support our publication and help us get to 5% participation!

Public Service Announcement: If you have already given and are in the 3.4%, may you have many crowns in heaven and I appreciate you greatly! This post is for you too because I wanted you to understand how vital your monthly recurring or one time gift is! You are the core of our organization. Thank you again!

Moving on…

The #1 Sign of Corruption

As many of you know, I used to work on state, local and federal races as a paid professional.

I don’t do it anymore and I reckon I never will again. So, I am very qualified to talk about this corrupting influence.

It’s the dependence of Republican lawmakers on PAC money from left-leaning corporations for their campaigns. It causes corruption. Almost instantly.

Now, when I say corruption, I don’t mean taking bribes or doing anything illegal – although it often leads to that as well for some lawmakers. What I’m talking about is the corrupting of the relationship between a lawmaker and their constituency back home in the district.

Usually, when someone runs for office the first time, they get very little PAC money. However, as soon as they win, PACS start throwing money at them like it’s going out of style. They do this to buy votes. Before you know it, a candidate that used to only have 5% PAC money now has 75% PAC money. They are now on “PAC Welfare.” And just like real welfare, once you get on it, you may never get off. This means they no longer have to depend on – or care about – their district for financial support.

So, when a conservative piece of legislation is presented in a committee that might anger the special interest PACS, lawmakers think long and hard about getting cut off from the leftist money machines. I have seen it happen, first-hand, multiple times. Until I started working on the journalistic side, I was never able to put two and two together. Now that I have both sets of experiences, it’s sad to watch the corrupting influence unfold in the General Assembly day after day.

If a lawmaker on PAC Welfare has to choose between the interest of their district and the corporate PACS, they will choose the corporate PACS eight times out of ten. Because the people back home, who do not subscribe to the Tennessee Conservative, don’t know what the hell is REALLY going on like you do in Republican politics. This is another reason to support Conservative Journalism and get us to that 5% donor participation rate. We need to reach more Conservatives in our state!

Here’s a little exercise if you want to do it. Click on this link to go to Tennessee’s website for campaign finance disclosure and look for your state representative or senator using the search bar.

Look at the most recent disclosures and those a few cycles back.

Do you see thousands and thousands of dollars from special interest PACS?

Is that amount over 20% or so?

Then your representative, my friend, is on PAC Welfare. If they are over 50% PAC money, you’ve got a REAL problem on your hands. This means your representative is more dependent upon special interests than you to win their reelection. It’s all about the money. Just like in Nascar, the sponsors call the shots. Who’s sponsoring your candidate? Click here and find out…

Weekend Update

Tonight, I’m going to one of my oldest and dearest friend’s house for shrimp kabobs and fellowship. We are joining some other old, dear friends. This is a family affair.

In this particular instance, I introduced one of the couples and have known them both a combined 44 years or so. And, to further entwine us, one friend married the other friend’s sister, coincidentally.

Very often, when these families get together, everyone there is related by marriage or blood – except us. This, again, goes back to that friendship thing.

Tomorrow, I’m on face-painting duty at a festival for my daughter. I’m not nervous, but maybe the kids should be. I am fairly good at drawing and used to love it a great deal.

However, I am admittedly rusty. We’ll see if I can cut the mustard. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Sunday we are going to church and then I have to take my old 72 Chevy Blazer to a buddy who is going to install a fuel pressure reducer. I will assist him by drinking beer and handing him things. Which is all I am qualified to do in that regard.

Thanks so much for reading.

Thanks for your support.

Hope you had a GREAT weekend!

~ Brandon Lewis, Founder of The Tennessee Conservative