Published by deborah.woehr on 09 Aug 2007 at 09:16 am
Letter from Jay Leno
You may have received this in your email from a friend or family member. If not, I’ll post it here.
Jay Leno puts it into perspective and makes us think about the pathetic negativity.
Jay Leno wrote this; it’s the Jay Leno we don’t often see….
“The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?
The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ”What we are so unhappy about?”
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousa nds of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has
67 percent of folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don’t have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful peoples safe from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn’t take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?
Think about it……are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the “Media” told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful excuses every day.
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn’t have to go.
They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ”general” discharge, an ”other than honorable” discharge or, worst case scenario, a ”dishonorable” discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by “justifying” them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn’t kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way……Insane!
Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.
We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.”
“With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, “Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?”
Jay Leno
Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people that need to read this and grasp the truth of it all.




















John (Syntagma) on 09 Aug 2007 at 9:48 am #
Lots of truth there, Deb. I never knew old Leno had it in him.
It reminds me of a post I did on Syntagma a while back : “These are the good times”.
And so they are.
deborah.woehr on 09 Aug 2007 at 9:54 am #
Me, neither. He’s right. You’re right, too. We have much to be thankful for.
Marti on 10 Aug 2007 at 7:48 am #
Yes, it’s easy to take things for granted! Great thoughts - thanks for sharing!
Liz Strauss has a terrific post about women bloggers, and asked for more names of fabulous females so I added you!
http://www.successful-blog.com/1/the-w-list-gathering-a-list-of-outstanding-women-bloggers/#comment-359464
Hope you have a great weekend!
deborah.woehr on 10 Aug 2007 at 8:04 am #
Thank you so much!
I just got back from reading her post. That’s a very impressive list she has. I hope you have a great weekend, too!
mita on 11 Aug 2007 at 6:22 pm #
absolutely comical Jay. We should all be just satisfied and shut our mouths, huh Jay!
Coming from Leno is the best joke I ever heard from him!!!!!!!!
deborah.woehr on 11 Aug 2007 at 7:17 pm #
Glad you enjoyed this, mita.
Thanks for stopping by.
Brett on 12 Aug 2007 at 8:08 am #
while i agree with this entire article it was falsely attributed to jay leno. do some research before you believe every forward that someone sends!!!!!
deborah.woehr on 12 Aug 2007 at 9:19 am #
Hi, Brett. It doesn’t matter to me who said it, just that it was said.
Daphne on 13 Aug 2007 at 1:58 pm #
What a hypocrite! This from a man who makes more money in a week than most people make all year and who owns a stable full of cars and motorcycles! Guess life is pretty good for ol’ Jay! Not so good for the victims of Katrina, the millions in this country who live in poverty and/or have no health insurance, or the hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq who’ve died because of our IMMORAL, ILLEGAL, UNJUSTIFIABLE occupation. I love my country, but I hate its president and his blatant, arrogant disregard of the Constitition and the will of the people.
deborah.woehr on 13 Aug 2007 at 2:58 pm #
Bush has definitely made his mistakes, Katrina and Iraq being the biggest of them. I love my country, too. But I’ve come to the realization that all politicians are self-serving, philandering little cockroaches that don’t care about the people who elected them to serve. I dread this next election.
As for Leno, what can I say? Every society in the world has its have’s and have-nots. That’s the way it’s always been and always will be. The victims of Katrina were screwed over by our government’s incompetence big time, but our society has sent in floods of donations for these people to help them get back on their feet again.
joe on 17 Aug 2007 at 6:21 am #
how is the president responsible for a hurricane? you liberals are insane. it is a documented and mechanically recorded fact (that means audio tapes of the conversation are available) that the president offered help to new orleans and the mayor and governor declined it saying they had a handle on it. lay the blame where it belongs. on mother nature and the leadership of new orleans. Is bush also to blame for those animals there acting like animals to the extent that they where firing weapons at rescue helicpters to further coomit the crimes they were in the process of committing? please get a grip on your facts before you blog.
as for Iraq. where do i start. for those of you who forget on 9/11/01 nearly 3,000 innocent americans were vicously killed by radical islamics. our countries interests, including military camps and embasies have been under attack from radical islam since 1979. any country that harbors these radicals is partly responsible for these attacts. three days into the war in iraq, abu abbas was captured. abu abbas has strong ties to al-qaeda and was the mastermind of the achille lauros hijacking where american leon klinghoffer was killed. it ids also documented that iraq allowed al=qaeda to train in their country. you liberals need to research facts before you blog.
Isnt anyone mad that we are constantly under attack from radical islam? isnt anyone mad that these radicals are attacking our troops? our troops should not leave iraq until the day comes when the streets can be patrolled without one single shot being fired out our service people.
how come liberals dont complain that thousands of people are killed here annually. is it because liberals care more about the safety of radicals then they do americans? it makes you wonder right?
if you dont like this country, get the hell out!
deborah.woehr on 17 Aug 2007 at 9:07 am #
Joe, what upset me the most about the Hurricane Katrina disaster was the fact that Bush didn’t step in and stop those gas companies from gouging the victims who had the means to leave the area. You’re right in that he couldn’t control how everyone else handled themselves. While that’s over and done with, the gas prices are still set at extortionist rates.
As for terrorism, it should have never been allowed to grow this big. I have not forgotten the events that you mentioned. This problem should have nipped this in the bud back in 1979. If the world hadn’t been watching the fate of those hostages, our government may have sacrificed them in order to send a clear message to those thugs. Maybe they wouldn’t have.
If all the world leaders had banded together at that point in time to strike back at the al-Qaeda and any country that wants to harbor them, things wouldn’t have escalated the way they did. Maybe the World Trade Center would still be standing today. Maybe all those people who died from terrorist attacks, here and abroad, would still be alive.
I was glad to hear of the executions of Saddam Hussein and his sons, although I had a hard time believing that it was true at first. I’ll be glad when every last al-Qaeda is dead and rotting in the ground. They couldn’t have sent us a clearer signal on 9/11. They want us dead, so we must kill them before they kill us. It’s called survival. So, I guess you can count me out as a Liberal.
That said, I still stand by what I said about politicians. The world is still standing, no thanks to them.
joe on 18 Aug 2007 at 6:37 am #
Thanks for the response Deborah. I truly believe we have not been attacked here again due to the efforts of our elected officials. I live here in NY and that means alot to me. That and Jack Bauer on 24. If any terrorist watches that show he wouldnt dare come here. Anyway, gas prices are high, but many other items went up in the last few years at a much higher rate. Look at milk as an example, but no one complains about that. You can choose to not buy gas, you cannot choose not to buy milk for your children. Allthough we may not see eye to eye on some issues, I enjoyed reading your blogs and look forward to blogging here again.
deborah.woehr on 18 Aug 2007 at 8:19 am #
Thank you, Joe.