Written 2011 The examples referencing the” Destroyer weeds” represent my personal experience of doing business with BP. They were a major stop, encompassing many facets-experienced by so many who were in search of a “promised land”. Many of the examples demonstrate how connected the government and “Select’’ Big corporations have become. To me for the government to do nothing to stop the elimination of the middle Class means that it, not only, support the elimination, but participates by cooperating in the process. I demonstrate how the Pendulum for this elimination is in motion. Once in motion, the pendulum swings independently. Because the negative “Domino” effects, thousands of Middle Class Americans are reduced to Poor Americans with every complete swing. My personal journey with BP, gives clear examples of how “select” Big corporations and the U.S. Government cooperate with each other for the good of the “select” Big corporations. From where I stood during the years 2000 through 2009, I saw an America controlled by what I label: “Big-cooperations” for the good of a select few Americans. .
My story is just one of hundreds of thousands. I refer to BP because it reflects my true personal experience in which my “Company” was broken down step by step and destroyed by BP. It also demonstrates how the unspoken rules of politics joined-in, and play a major role in eliminating the American Middle Class. This elimination includes installing steel over “select glass ceiling” to limit the break through to only a “select” few, who have reserve seating in “select” rooms. This is occurring as “select” governmental policy enforces, and gate keepers collect campaign funds to look the other way. This gives “select” Big corporations the power to do what they please unless, or until "Something Happens" that gives undeniable evidence that the Government cannot deny being a “figure Head” with reference to particular situations like with the “ BP Deep water” disaster-the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. History as of July 2010 . The saddest thing of all about so many politicians, from where I stand, is they do not seem to think long-term or deeply enough to even recognize the damage done to the Americans that they claim to love. If they cared about the damages being done, they would not look away from Americans-majority-needs, in favor of immediate big corporate campaign contributions.
"Recent analyses have shown that income inequality in the US has grown steadily for the past three decades and reached its highest level on record, exceeding even the large disparities seen in the 1920s, before the Great Depression. Norton and Ariely estimate that the one percent wealthiest Americans hold nearly 50 percent of the country's wealth, while the richest 20 percent hold 84 percent of the wealth." I do not resent the 50 percent being wealthy, but I strongly resent the fact that so-many of the 50 percent are allowed to quash all efforts made by so-many of the Middle Class to, even, remain middle class. Even worst while the quashing of the Middle Class is done by this "select many" of the wealthy, the US government has done little to nothing to, even, slow the process.. My true experience represents working with BP as a contractor, and trying to get someone in the US government to simply enforces the compliances that are written by the US government to protect small businesses, and not a single representative would, or was capable of helping because it was The" Mighty" BP.....
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Continuing to eliminate the American Middle Class and allowing select big corporations to engage in cannibalism-like behavior toward small businesses, guarantees that there will be fewer business leaders. Additionally it guarantees that there will always be enough hard-working people for theses-big corporations to manipulate and have functioning as robots in whatever way deemed financially beneficial to the heads of theses “Big cooperations “ (my word created when government and "select" Corporations work as one, for the benefit of "select" Corporations) This type of control can only stifle and ultimately stop any progressive growth of America. It leaves "One" little choice but to work for, and be controlled by the “Big cooperations.” No matter the value, or improvement one might otherwise bring to the, now, global society as a small business, with the freedom to pursue One's dream and earn a respectable wage…
Having fewer Small Businesses also makes it easier to control the earning capacities of more people; it strengthen the political power of the big Corporation; they have more money, they can buy more politicians; Just because it “Ain’t” Pretty Doesn’t Mean It ‘’Ain’t”True. It is, what it is from my personal experiences.
A simple clear third grade example: Think about the word “monopoly,” which means possessing all or nearly all of the power, and the word “antitrust”, which was designed to prevent monopolies. What happened to the antitrust laws; have they been eliminated? For all practical purposes to list a few, the US has one electrical company supplying the major percentage of the needs of all Americans, one gas company supplying the majority of households as well as most commercial gas needs. There are two companies supplying the majority access to the Internet and related technological services with little competition. What can the government do, if any one of these companies take a” Stand” to do whatever they want to in reference to servicing the customers.
The integrity of a company is questionable any time one has to wait on the phone 15 minutes to an hour to discuss their accounts. When it comes to sincerely valuing their customers they are as caring as the robotic voice on the other end which repeats “We Appreciate Your Business”. Why should theses companies respect and appreciate their customers when the customer’s only choice is to do without, or deal with them. For example: the government could talk big talk, but ultimately they had to rely on BP to clean up the Deep water spill, because the Federal Government did not know how to clean it up at the time of the BP Deep water spill in April 2010. However President AMA was being criticized for not speaking kind of BP, in order to do-right by the people in the Gulf, he also saved BP from financial ruins…..Strangely the Only person to reference that was Tony Hayward...... Of course you will see Tony Hayward is not a favorite in my life when you read my letter to him dated March 2007
MY journey toward the “Promised Land” was as bumpy as it was full of growth and joy, yet a lot of progress was made. Then, in the worst way, "Something Happened"... My encounters begin with the ultimate “Bitterweed”, the oil company “BP.” From 2000 to 2009, BP was my “Hell”; using their controlling influence and financial might”, they worked to stop any money producing activity available to my company that the “BP” money and connection could smother. A few politicians and government agencies whose job it is to promote justice, joined in with BP as “Bitterweeds” also. When I reached out to them for help, they just assumed that BP was “always right”.
They admired the ’’bigness’’ of BP and its money. Therefore, they ignored all of the damages that BP was doing to my company and others even though I reported them in a timely manner. No value or respect was given to the work that we did as a Small Business.
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Therefore, after 20 years in the Asphalt and oil related business-just as I was turning the corner and entering the- section-where I-would-benefits from a ” Promised land”, BP ran ahead of me, and set-up road blocks in every direction. Apparently “this” was an extremely “limited” section of the “Promised Land” where only “those” with reserved seating were allowed to enter; later that clarified the “political Blindside.” With this realization, I encountered growth that, personally, I felt that I could have lived without, but apparently the Divine disagreed with me; here I was forced to grow beyond my boundaries very quickly, armed only with my faith in God. In hindsight, I understand why the Divine allowed me to experience this type of barrier. Maybe my story can inspire others to “Stand” and perhaps it will inspire more Corporate and political flowers to do the “Right Thing” just because it is the” “Right Thing” to do.
Had it not been for the found mental and spiritual foundations inbred in me by my grandmother during childhood, I would not have been able to endure the torture of BP, the Bitterweed’s; their torture set in motion a financial downturn that resulted in my 20 year old business crumbling , no matter how hard I worked to keep the pieces together; the domino effect resulted in my receiving 5 eviction notices in less than a year, from five separate properties; the properties included my personal home and office building.
Over a four-year period, I had “worked” the chapter 13 restructuring remedy to death trying to borrow time to minimize my lost... Yet, because of BP’s influence and financial “might” their road blocks were always ahead of my efforts to get the time that I needed. Even though at the time of the eviction notices, my 50-60 hour work weeks over the same four-year period, had resulted in my company’s amassing approximately $100,000,000.00 (million) in pre awarded Federal and other oil contracts, eviction’s-doomsday was still arriving. (one hundred million in the oil-world is not a lot) The contracts were to be completed over a two to three year period. That would have giving me the finance that I needed to cover all of my debt including the Real Estate…It would have also enabled me to develop the additional small businesses that I was working on and creating jobs.....Each of the pre-awarded contracts had the possibility of doubling in size and being extended beyond the two to three years.
One can’t begin to imagine the gut-wrenching pain I felt watching my life’s work vanish. I had to remember to remain calm in the midst of the relentless “BP’’ storm. Even though, I often felt I was trying to swim to the “top of the rain” to stop the down pour, I needed to keep my feet planted solid on the ground. I knew that being hostile was a waste of time and energy. So I spent time meditating and praying. This helped me to be still, listen for wisdom and summon up the courage I needed to preserver, keep working and doing the “Right Thing”.
Part of” BP’s strategy was to torture me into giving up, by breaking me down so low financially and emotionally that I felt lower than, “the belly of a cock roach”. Once accomplished, they gambled that their torture would push me over the edge of “sanity”; which , would give them the opportunity to publicly label me “Crazy” , thereby, discrediting me so no one would believe anything negative that I said about BP. They play these mind games of, “Bingo, Gotcher”! And BP walks away totally unscathed. The “Break Them Down, and Discredit” game” is one of the top mind games in the “Bitterweed’s” world; they know that it is always easier and more expedient to do the “Wrong Thing”, because they have accumulated a lot of experience and money doing the “wrong thing”.
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In spite of continuing to get up after each BP knock down, the falls were extremely painful; At that particular time in my life it hurt deeply to watch the things that I had given so much of my life to, broken an taken by BP, just because they could. The thought of having to stoop and re build a business again “with worn-out- tools”, as I had used to build the businesses the first time was an unbearable thought; and even worst , the tools that I used in the 1980’s and early 1990’s to start a business will not work during this current “BigCooperation” technological robotic age. Also, since “911”, most days are “Cloudy” days for small businesses in the oil industry.
Obviously, BP took pleasure in watching just how fast my company would fall as a result of their choking; but of course, that was the purpose of BP’s sabotage. BP was checking my credit report it appeared, every 30 days during their sabotage to me, and my company to verify just how fast I was falling. This was to help BP determine how high they needed to raise their “bar”, for their next round of sabotages against my company and me personally.
BP’s personal pleasure in their victories against me and my company, to include all the surrounding devastating financial fall-out that would follow, added fuel to the fire of my pain caused when I could not execute the approximate one hundred million in oil business that my company had worked so hard to acquire. BP’s cannibalism-like behavior toward my small company would not have impacted BP’s survival in any manner; the only purpose served was BP’s personal amusement from flaunting their powerful connection and using their financial might to destroy my company.…..
On the other hand, is it really winning when the fighter uses their political and financial buying power to purchase all weapons that might be available to the object of their war? Absence of financial might and any visible power including political, made my only weapons, hard work, perseverance and faith in God.
My living the BP sabotaging ways made me realize when the “BP” types takes one down, their intent is to use their political connections and money to guarantee that one does not rise again… With this revelation, "Something Happened." Seemingly from out of nowhere, as soon as, I acknowledged BP’s torture plan of breaking me down, I remembered,” But BP is not God.” The light of this revelation renewed my strength like a resilient enduring tenacious flower, which emerges from hibernation in season…
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Once again my childhood training as well as having won many, seemingly impossible, adult battles, including having encountered many earthly Angles along the way., had prepared me to stay calm and focused, meditate, pray and listen; this preparation enabled me to continue working, and using the “pen” instead of the “sword”; That is exactly what I did for nine years, or maybe ten years since it is the tenth year December 22, 2010, and I am now writing this book…
I believe if the BP executives, who ordered and approved the torture to me and my company, had been forced to walk a half mile in my shoes, they would have literally killed themselves. I also believe likewise in reference to “Select” politician….. This is based upon those who seem to have killed themselves for far less than I endured…
No one, even President Obama, seems to acknowledge the harmful effects that certain “Bigcooperations” (spelled by my design) have on the economy when they eliminate U.S. Small Businesses-just because they can. I acknowledge that President Obama and “Company” had a lot to fix just to “keep the lights on” of a government that was 80 percent broken as of 2009, but I hope the “Bigcooperations elimination of small businesses-in-record-numbers is on their broken, but” must fix it” list.
My personal experience, using my true examples of BP as a “ Bitterweed”,among the worst, details how America’s current political system fails Small Businesses in favor of” Select” Big Corporations; this collaboration is responsible for millions of jobs lost nationwide, which has been disastrous for the economy. The long term effect has yet to be fully assessed.
Does the examples referenced within “In Spite of I Stand” imply that those included in the “Bigcooperations” collaboration are corrupt, despicable, evil, cowardly people, no it does not, It simply emphasizes how they are products of our (the American peoples creations) and they do what they feel that they have to do, to keep their jobs. I see the situation as a runaway train ; the “select” few who knows “where the bones are buried”, and want to apply the brakes, but cannot, because of decades of short sighted deals made behind the scene, including global financial investment commingling. Theses “special arrangements” were designed to benefit only a select few Americans, without considering the long- term damage to the majority of Americans.
Based upon my experience with “Said “ system to apply the brakes now that many of the “long term damages” have arrived, and the decades of trial and error have finally entrenched those deals in the system, It appears that only world devastation will force needed corrections.. Or, on the other hand, it might be possible for a US president and “Company” (who will be hated by 49 , percent of the world), because he/she will do what benefits the majority of the American people, regardless of the fact that the remaining 39 of the 49 percent do not know that they also need rescuing. Decades of those short sighted deals makes viable, much needed solutions, appear even more devastating and being paralyzed by this fear, we endure the suffering, and just let the train run until destiny applies the brakes, and Destiny always does…. Ask any Historian. It’s just a matter of time…."Something always Happens"
(Any place in the book where I have referenced “big corporations”, please mentally add the word “Select”. You will also notice as you read, that I encountered several “Big Corporations” who, (in my garden of business life), were definitely flowers of the brightest hues representing hope. What was so amazing about theses Big Corporate “Flowers” was that they were not only good people, but they respected the Federal government’s compliance “Idea” enough to just follow them above and beyond the call of duty. This was done in-spite of the fact, based upon my personal experience 2000 through 2009, the Federal government, seldom (if ever), enforced the written contractual obligations governing Big corporations doing business with Minorities, Women and Small Businesses.
That being said, and after reading all the bad stuff that big corporations like BP have done to eliminate Small Businesses, one might conclude that therein lays the answer- one big corporate “Blossom of hope” at a time. A “Big” Corporation, big enough to do the “Right Thing”, just because it is the “Right Thing” to do, might serve to inspire others to help the American economy get off life-support.
On the other hand, my coming from the “Golden Rule”/ Social Service background, occasionally I have tried to inspire select big corporations to do the right thing by shaming them for their evil acts. However some years ago, I recall one day while writing a letter of complaint to BP about their evil infractions against my company , I explained the situation to my daughter, an attorney, who gave me an attorney's wise respond : “Ma, you are wasting your time; that’s like counseling the “Devil” to become a better “Christian.” I ultimately realized this insightful truth. However, with me, Hope, continues to reign eternally” -The Age of Aquarius