Cast Iron Soul

Judgement Day

2011-05-22T12:14:00.001-04:00

FREEDOM TO BELIEVE

As May 21st, 2011 approached, and eventually past, the media and social nnetworks were full of jokes and commentary about the prediction of the Rapture. Some were humorous and some revealed the true nature of a persons outlook on religious beliefs and Christianity specifically, and what's amazing is this consensus that talk of a Rapture is viewed as one mans folly. Really? Now if someone has chosen to be an atheist I can understand his disbelief, and perhaps even his ridicule but what amazed me was how the main stream media addressed the event.

It makes me wonder how this world will react when the second coming eventually happens? For those that believe it's not a matter of if but only when, and certainly when you look around at the events on this planet it would be easy to draw the conclusion that the time has come to blow it up and start all over. Weather events, religious wars, unchecked pollution of our planet, total disregard for your fellow man, leaders that lie, are only interested in personal greed and power, a total breakdown of morals and manners in society and you think it's ludicrous to think the end time may be near? If you'd like to tilt your head and look at someone like they are crazy perhaps you need to start with the man in the mirror.

Now, I can say that none of these reactions are actually a surprise. In today's society the acceptable think is to make fun or what that of which we don't understand, and God forbid the media should revert back to the good old days where they present the facts without an undertone of bias or agenda. It's really sad when you think about it.

In any event the 21st is past, we are still here, and there will be another time in our future someone will make a prediction. The interesting thing will be home many will be laughing and joking when it's the real thing? That is one day I hope I am here to see.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T13:31:00.001-04:00

In the year of our Lord 2011, if you look around at the events of the world you might be inclined to believe we are entering into the rapture. Now, for those that do not believe that comment may seem silly but to those that have read God's word it has merit.

Throughout the world there is universal unrest, religious wars, nature as we have never seen her before, and our own government has slowly but surely turned from being Representatives to being Rulers. With the advent of a world based economy businesses no longer have a vested interest in community. They are only concerned in the "bottom line" regardless of the cost and with little regard to human suffering. Our Religious leaders preach how theirs is the only "true" way, when in reality the only true way is in the hearts of mankind. War in the name of religion, hate in the name of religion, all of these actions have become way too common place, and are indeed an abomination to the Lord.

Throughout the history of mankind, the common person has chosen to believe while the leaders have attempted to manipulate. And this action is not exclusive to one religion or sect, it is almost universal. Now, some would say it is basic human nature while others would say it's the work of Satan, but in reality aren't they one in the same? Today the catch phrases most associated with religions are extremists, radicals, or something similar in nature, and while at first glance you think of Islam, if you take an honest look you will admit those terms can be associated with every organized religion. We have all seen the "preachers" that espouse hate at funerals, on religious holidays, and in the mass media. Just as we have seen Rabbi's and Imam do the exact same thing. In then end, it's not often we associate the words peace or love anymore is it?

So, as you are reading this you are thinking; what is his point? Is this an Easter message or an indictment on organized religion? Well, the simple answer is it is both, yet it is neither.

What this is about is that as Christians, which should never be confused with Roman Catholics or Protestants for they are organizations with specific agendas, we realize that regardless of how chaotic the state of the world around us appears, the Lord Jesus Christ gave his life so that we are safe. With all of the fire and brimstone, doom and gloom, and guilt evangelized by organized religions, those that truly believe understand in our hearts that God is a loving God, he is a forgiving God, and while we should all strive to live a better life he does not expect perfection from us. See, we don't need to be perfect because God loved us so that he gave his son Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, to cleanse us of our sins.

This allows us to make mistakes, this allows us to break a commandment, this allows us to make poor choices, as long as in our hearts we keep the Lord. Believers know that being a Christian is about ones action, not one's words. We understand that we are entitled to opinions but in the end only one has the power to judge or criticize, and he gave his life so that we may be free.

I am a sinner and I know that you are too, therefore who am I to sit in judgement of how you live your life? Yet there are those that do, and they call themselves Christians, or Jews, or Muslims, or Hindu's, and regardless of what names they adorn themselves with, true believers know the only one that has the power to judge is the Almighty.

And that is the reason we give thanks today. That is the reason that families will gather in groups both small and large, with festive clothes, chocolate bunny rabbits, and delicious dinners, to acknowledge the fact that we are free to make mistakes. Now some would say we commercialize our religious holidays because they are meaningless, whereas I choose to think we do it to make believing more comfortable, more personal. Because despite of all of the tangible things we have at Easter, at some point everyone will say a prayer, either aloud or to themselves, thanking the Lord Jesus for his sacrifice.

You see, the point is our beliefs are about people, ourselves, what we carry in our hearts, and how we chose to share them. I believe that while the world around us is a mess, it is not beyond redemption or repair. I know this because can I walk without fear of failure, I can walk without fear of dying, for the Lord Jesus Christ gave his life so that you and I are insured peace ever after. So, may your hearts be filled with peace and love on this and every other day, and Happy Easter to you all, my friends.

Catching Up With Life

2011-04-11T19:05:00.001-04:00

We all get absorbed with things at different stages of our lives. Sometimes it's family, sometimes friends, sometimes politics, sometimes religion, sometimes sickness and sometimes death. We tend to dwell in that snapshot in time that we are currently standing and, too often, we shut all else out.

For me, I have been standing in to political arena, assessing my country, its political system and the people it affects. I have to say there have been times in my life where I was prouder to call myself an American, and the system seemed just a little more "pure". After all of the debates, the editorials, the pontifications and protests not much has changed and it saddens me to realize that people would rather complain than make the effort to take an action.

Now, I'm not the brightest guy in town but my momma didn't raise any stupid children either, and since I do understand the definition of insanity, I've decided to make the transition to other frames in the movie of life. It's time to let someone else pick up the fight for a while.

FRIENDS AND LOVERS
As I transcend from veteran young guy to rookie older guy I have been fortunate to reestablish many old friendships from my youth. In the list of regrets in my life I will add losing contact with the people high upon my list. In making up for time lost I am finding that the "Reader's Digest" versions we have exchanged about our lives only stimulates the need to want to know more. To know the details of that marriage, the kids, careers, divorces, medical issues, and I think it's just human nature to be curious this way. I'm fortunate to be living in an era with social networks like Facebook because they make it so much easier to reach out to people.

Now on my Facebook page I have a little over 700 friends. About 60% of those are because I play the games associated with the network and they are also players who have, by the shear nature of interacting, become new friends. The remaining 40% are a mixture of friends of my youth and a handful of former lovers. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I was able to find a lot of my old friends and certainly the power of two had a lot to do with that. Now they have become a short daily visit to share so many different things about life or just a laugh. It was also surprising to learn how different we all grew up to be, yet, we all still have a common denominator based in the community and values we were all raised with.

As for the former girlfriends and lovers that has actually worked out quite well. The tend to want to protect me or mother me in a humorous was to let me know when I may be getting into potential trouble. All and all it's a pretty good fail safe and there is only one or two missing from the group that I am not connected too. Not that I didn't try they just rejected my request which should tell me they probably aren't mature enough to handle friendship without baggage, so that works for me.

JOY AND SADNESS
One of the hardest things to face when you're trying to make up for 40 years lost is that along with the joy of renewing friendships you have to face the cold realities of life. In 40 years people get sick, have accidents, or just give up and die. Friends that were as solid as a rock have pass on years ago and you shake your head and say "wow". Then there is the reality that as we age there are friends here currently that are fighting for their existence and their lives.

It is at that point that you understand that a true friend isn't the one that stands by you when things are good, he is the one remaining when things are bad. And here we are 40 years later being a support system for each others. Being the sounding boards that never pass judgement, that try to be objective, and offer solutions as well as pep talks. We are there to talk about retirement, to brag and complain about our children, to visit those that are slipping through our fingers and into the hands of God. It's what friends do.

Sometimes, support can take the form of helping a person forget about the past, or about the moment. Give them a diversion that allows them to relax and rest their weary mind. Me, I post jokes, I play the frustrated DJ, I flirt, I post useless facts, I post (what my friend Tracey calls Barryisms) which are nothing more than sayings collected over the years and I do my best to help people find that safe place we all need in our lives.

Do I sometimes I talk politics. Sometimes I talk about God. I try never to play the evangelist because I've always found those that do are phony, real Christians walk the talk. And for all of the things I post or say, I listen and read twice as much. Life is put before us to live and to learn, to absorb every moment, every nuance, every fleeting glance, every smile, and every laugh. You learn about life from both the positive side and the negative, then it's your obligation to share that knowledge and pass it along to the next generation.

Looking
When it's all said and done we are all looking for that comfort zone, that safe place. If your uncertain of where to begin I've found returning to my roots, finding lifelong friends, and knowing that the Lord is usually two steps to my left is a good place to start.

Be back with more soon, take care!

Fallacies in America

2011-02-05T11:13:00.008-05:00

I can't help but shake my head when I look around at the fallacies that the majority of Americans overlook on a daily basis. Now call it what you want, blind faith, convenient truths, brainwashing but the fact of the matter is we live in one of the most hypocritical countries on earth. Now before you start telling me to move to Iran, let me say, I love my country and there is no greater place to live on earth but I am also grounded enough to know that nothing, besides God, is perfect and there is always room for improvement.

Now, improvement can only begin when people start to think, to question, to open their eyes to what is going on around them. In today's society you would think that would be a fairly easy task but the reality is we are not the free thinkers that we'd like to believe we are. We have become a society accepting of being manipulated by the media and too often we allow them to dictate to us what we think is right and what we should think we want.

As an example I have two good friends and a brother that lean to the far right in their politics, and as such I love to push their buttons from the middle or left perspective. We often discuss or debate a variety of current event topics regarding politics and more often than not they, all three, will use the "exact" same verbiage or phrase to express "their" opinion. To chide them I will say "oh, I see someone has been listening to Rush or Beck again" and they go into this state of denial. "No, I don't pay attention to that guy" they'll say and then all three will say did you notice they, the media, never talks about the movie made about assassinating George Bush?

Now, I've never heard of this movie and I have randomly asked several of my non political friends about it and they haven't either. But three different guys, from three different generations, in two different regions of the country, all have the same "original" point of view? Gee, I kind of doubt it. And the same can be said about you that live on the far left, you too are just as brainwashed so don't go getting all self righteous because you are just as bad.

Now with the prelude written, the table set, and my intent identified, let me warn you that I am about to write some things that are bound to piss people off. Because I am going to step out of that cozy, little box we live our lives in and make you think about different topics. I will also say that not everything I write may be what I believe but I say it because it needs to be factored into the equation if you are going to look at the big picture. So, it's your choice at this point. Open your mind for a few minutes, read, think, formulate your own opinions and go make others think, or leave now and enjoy your weekend.

LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD
America, the greatest country on earth. The hallmark of democracy, an example for all to strive for, or are we?

In your lifetime how many promises has our country broken to others? Can you name one? Two? Several? I want you to think about it honestly and write one down. If you cannot write one down you are lying to yourself and you really shouldn't be reading this. I can think of a few, we don't torture people, we believe in the due process of law not just for our citizens but as a covenant in the basic laws that govern mankind, just to name a couple.

How many allies have we kicked to the curb? Most recently it's Mubarak in Egypt. Here is a staunch supporter of U. S. Middle East policy for the last 30 years, a country with a stable government that we hailed as our friend and ally. Then one week's worth of protests happen and President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have all but told this guy to step down. Do you call that loyalty? You're our friend until there is a hiccup in your country and we'll turn our back on you?

Now before you Republicans and Tea Totalers start yappin' about "See, it's that Commie Obama" let me refresh your memory with a few names; Noriega, Marcos, The Shah of Iran, and if I needed to I could recite a dozen more. All allies until there was unrest in their countries, then we turned on them. During each instance there were sitting Presidents representing both the left and the right, so nobody gets off scott free in this argument.

You may recall an event in our history called 9/11 and shortly afterwards we decided to invade a sovereign nation, Iraq, with no cause and a few of our allies, think Germany and France, objected. To hear the average American tell it Germany and France were communist, pinko, scum sucking traitors for not supporting our President in his quest for justice (revenge?). After all we support all of your governments and countries through thick and thin, or until there is a week of protesting, right? Can you say hypocritical? I think you can. If you think I'm saying this due to leftist leanings you couldn't be more wrong.

Now do you understand why the rest of the world doesn't think we are as wonderful, as we think we are? We are a legend in our own minds because our actions betray what were our principles. My opinion, I think Obama needs to butt out and keep quiet and let Egypt determine their own destiny.

For an eye opening point of view on 9/11 read Donald Rumsfelds new memoir "Known and Unknown", here is an excerpt;

"Just 15 days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush invited his defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld, to meet with him alone in the Oval Office. According to Mr. Rumsfeld’s new memoir, the president leaned back in his leather chair and ordered a review and revision of war plans — but not for Afghanistan, where the Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington had been planned and where American retaliation was imminent.

“He asked that I take a look at the shape of our military plans on Iraq,” Mr. Rumsfeld writes.

Think about that for a bit.

CONSERVATIVE VALUES

Another fallacy in today's political arena is the purported conservative values of the Republicans and the, so called, Tea Party. How's that for pokin' 'em with a stick? Before you start to monitor my email and phone without a warrant let's look at a few facts.

The Conservative Right, the Moral Majority, the Tea Party, all champions of smaller government, less welfare, morality, self determination, family values and the right to life, correct? Can you agree with that statement? I think we can but a few questions needs to be asked.

All of the aforementioned traits are admirable if they were consistent but there are gaping holes in their philosophy that they refuse to address when asked. If you dare question them you are part of the far left media conspiracy trying to make them look bad. In reality no, I'm not, I'm just an average guy that can see things at face value. And when I look at the Conservative movement in this country I see the following contradictions:

MORAL ISSUES

We are for smaller government except in matters of personal choice like abortion, interpersonal relationships, and basically any moral and/or personal choice issue. Now, before you get all worked up, I do not believe in abortion but I also do not believe that I have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body, unless I am willing to stand in line to take that unwanted child and raise it in a safe environment. The right says "Why should I have to raise that child?" and my response is you took on that responsibility the moment you decided what was best for it. The truth is that the choice of life is a choice that needs to be judged by the Lord God, and not by man. To think you have that right is as contrary to the teachings in the Bible as the act itself.

GOVERNMENT IN BUSINESS

Why is it that the right thinks Unions are the cause of all failures in business? It's ok for a company to go bankrupt, deny it's obligations to it's workers all in the name of profits? Now you can say they have never said that directly and maybe they haven't, but they haven't said it is wrong either, have they? In some circles that is known as implied consent.

Can you imagine the uproar there would be if the Conservative applied their philosophy evenly across the board? Why should military personnel receive lifetime health care, educational benefits, preferred mortgage rates, and shopping privileges at the PX? "Because they served their Country", you say? It was their choice. just like it is the choice of a auto worker, factory worker, salesperson, it was the vocation that they chose. "It was dangerous", you say? So is window washing on a high rise, putting your arms in a press machine, deiceing a jet plane, again it was their choice? "Because they were injured", you say? Well, what is wrong with them drawing social security benefits? Using local health facilities? Just like others that made a career choice and have to live with the consequences?

Sounds absurd, doesn't it? But in a true conservative society that should be the way things are. After all society doesn't owe you anything. Life is about personal choices and living with the consequences, right? But you'll never hear that from the right, especially not in an election year.

LIBERAL LEFT

The party of the people, bastion of the worker, the downtrodden and the average man. Really? In the last half century the Legislative branch of our government has been controlled by the Left for about 80% of the time. During that time we have seen countless deregulation of businesses, lopsided trade agreements, and an overall decline in the quality of life for the average worker in this country. How'd you let that happen?

We asked you for a program to ensure that no American is denied the ability to receive basic health care and you gave us a 2,500 page document that convoluted the entire health system.

We asked you for some assistance when we fall upon hard times in our life and you instituted a system that rewards multi-generational welfare recipients.

We asked you for a decent education and got money instead of programs, money instead of guidelines, and money our children's, children will have to repay.

We got incompetent teachers locked into iron clad jobs. We got a society that has forgotten the value of failure because it has been legislated away.

You took the simplest sentence and turned it into a novel. You allowed those with money determine our destiny.

The fallacy of the party of the people is that you have been, and always will be, the party of the extreme. More is not always better and less is not always a bad thing.

There was a time in my youth when this was the greatest nation on the face of the earth but we have allowed that time to slip away. Look around and actually see what is happening. The attributes that made us the most powerful, desirable country in the world have been traded away by those entrusted with our welfare.

We are no longer an economy growing but we are an economy in decline. Why, because we no longer build anything. We were the place to come with "streets paved in gold" because you could come to this country and find work. Now, if you don't have a degree you're useless. And we have allowed it to happen.

The next time we have to save the world who is going to provide our weapons? Our fuel? Our Vehicles? Our Computers? What work force will we mobilize to protect our country, provide for our common defense? We no longer have one?

Can we recapture what we once were? Yes, I believe so but only if we the people start to use our heads for something other than a convenient place to keep our hair. We need to demand some changes, we need to be willing to pay a few dollars more for items, and do without a few things for the overall benefit of "our" society.

At least that is my opinion, what do you think?

You've Got To Be Kidding Me, Right?

2011-01-28T17:34:00.002-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110128/us_yblog_thelookout/house-abortion-bill-redefines-rape-incest-exceptions

With an economy that is held together with bailing wire and bubblegum it appears the best the Republicans can do is a "symbolic" vote against health care and dust off decades old "Moral" issues.

Folks you've been trying to legislate morality for going on 50 years now and it hasn't worked. Do you know the definition of insanity? If you really hope to regain the White House in two years I strongly suggest you quit dusting off old ghosts that the MAJORITY of Americans could care less about and focus on things that matter; the economy, jobs, restoring housing values, revamping piss poor trade agreements.

You've cried wolf too many times in the past two years about not being able to get anything done, and now you hold the majority in the House so nobody is going to buy it again come election time.

And before you all start with your liberal references, stuff it. I'm tired of politicians that ignore the majority and pander to the minority, on both the left and the right.

Random Thoughts for 2011

2011-01-02T15:59:00.004-05:00

I have a good feeling about 2011. I think it is going to be a year of progress, a year that will allow more people to get back on their feet, and it will be a year where we, the people, will make our thoughts heard louder than in the past. At least I hope so.

Starting this new year off I think I need to clear my head of all the cobwebs and get some things off my chest.

Reducing Medical Costs

Now as our politicians continue to do their best to mess up any chance of guaranteeing every American has affordable access to health care, I can't help but wonder what these idiots use their brains for? When I was a trainer we used to have a saying, "Rise up to the basics", which is exactly where our government needs to start when the discussion turns to medical care and reducing costs. Here are a few Ideas I'll share with them.

Let the "patient" be a "consumer". You want to save money on medical costs? The answer begins with making Doctors and Dentists provide costs before the work is done. Make them post a schedule of their charges and fees just like any other business that does not have a huge, rich lobby. The average American does not want to waste tax payer money and if they could price compare "elective" care, you might be surprised at the result.

As an example I recently went to my Dentist for some work and I came away mad as hell. I am fortunate enough to have some form of Dental Insurance. The total annual benefit is $1,000 so going in I felt pretty comfortable I could get my teeth cleaned, 4 x-rays (computer generated) and take care of some decay that was noted under a back crown. I didn't ask about cost, shame on me, but I received a bill today for $378 that went over and above my $1,000 benefit. Now that was a crown and a filling, no root canal, and a basic cleaning on the 24 teeth I have left in my mouth. $1,378! Had I had the opportunity to know the costs up front I can guarantee you I would have shopped around, and I will be looking for a new dentist now.

The point is that more often than not, whether we are talking a Doctor or a Dentist, the patient has no idea what the charges will be up front. If the government were truly serious about wanting to reduce health care costs they would enact legislation to correct this huge flaw in the system.

Homeowners Insurance

Speaking of legalized rip-offs is there a bigger one out there than homeowners insurance? Here is another "Gorilla Lobby" industry that our legislators let get away with murder. They, our government, would like us to think that they are watching out for our best interests but that's a load of crap and every American knows it.

What are you actually covered for? Beyond a house fire what isn't excluded or limited by an obscure clause in your policy? Floods? Nope! Broken plumbing? Uh uh. Slip and fall? Yes with limits. Tree falls on your house? Only after your deductible.

And then there is my favorite "Replacement Cost" policies. Every year I have to argue with my insurance company that they don't need to raise my coverage. They say it'll cost $230k to replace my house worth $140k that I owe $170k on. I explain only if I have to replace the underground utilities and buy the lot. When I say I want only enough to cover my mortgage obligation they say they cannot sell it to me, or if they do it will cost the same or more? Does this make sense to anyone?

Commercials

I know you're waiting for me to rip on all of the obvious fraudulent products advertised on TV and in the print media. And if I had several hours I might but let's just agree that the media has morals as long as they don't interfere with their revenues.

No my comments are about the way commercials have evolved and what we are willing to accept into our living rooms. If you are over 50 did you ever think you would see commercials for erectile dysfunction, massage cream that make everything more intense, or vibrators designed to blow your hair back? Seriously, if you are a parent of a 10 year old today I pity you. You have way more explaining to do than I ever had did.

Sports

Does anyone still believe professional sports should be called sports? Aren't they just entertainment? The money made in sports by the player and owners passed obscene several years ago, and the extends down into the college ranks as well. The NCAA suspended 5 OSU players for half of the 2011 season due to a beach of the rules, but they are allowing them to play in this years bowl game. Gee, I wonder if the money paid to the NCAA by the bowls sponsor had anything to do with that? Based upon what I have seen in the sports world in the last 10 years we better quit making fun of the wrestling fans.

That's all I have today. I know it was short but part of my new outlook includes trying to talk less and listen more. So what do you think?

Christmas Memories

2010-12-15T15:29:00.004-05:00

As the year winds down I thought I just reflect a little bit and wonder out loud.....

Christmas for me is a contradiction in feelings. On one had it is my favorite time of the year yet on the other hand it is a time when I tend to get a little melancholy. Memories of Christmas in my childhood were not always happy and that left an impression that has remained with me throughout my life. It taught me a valuable lesson about what the meaning of Christmas is, and why it is so important to enjoy the season.

Of course the important reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. To those of us that believe this alone is enough reason to celebrate. But then there is the commercial side of Christmas which plays an important part in the family unit and in society.

When I think of Christmas, I think of smiling faces, children laughing, singing Christmas carols, fires in the fireplace, wonderful old movies and fantastic family dinners.

I remember it was this time of year my mother would always bake Cinnamon Bread which was one of my favorites. I loved it so much she would bake a loaf or two for the family and one exclusively for me. Oh, I can still smell the aroma of the Cinnamon waifing through the air.

Another tradition was decorating the house. Inside and out there were lights, garland and tinsel, and every year we would go harvest a freshly cut tree. My father, brothers and I would go off to a tree farm and tramp through the hills in search of the "perfect" tree. I can envision the grey sky with drifts of fluffy snow rolling around out like wave on the ocean making the trek a little difficult at times. Of course when we did this I was very young and my attention span was that of a puppy. I would run up and down the hills while the others cut down the tree and hauled it back to the car. And every year my dad said the same thing to my mom, " Bea, Barry is like a fart in a windstorm out there, running around like a wild child. Next year we were going to get an artificial tree", and of course it never happened, at least not for several more years.

I remember my Mom putting the Christmas records on the stereo and my father would start singing along with them. It didn't take long until we all tried our hand at the family version of "American Kareoke" singing along with my Dad and the records.

The there was watching the old classics on TV. My Mom would pop us up a pan of popcorn and we'd sit and watch the black and white TV for hours. A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and all of the others helped make the season special.

The on Christmas Eve we'd go to the midnight service at church and when we got home "Santa" had already been there!!! The cookie and celery were gone from the plat as well as the glass of milk. We were all allowed to open just one present then it was off to bed, to try to sleep, until the clock struck 6!

Some of my favorite toys I received at Christmas. Of course a bag of "Army Men" went a long way until Bertsch, Roach and I discovered lighter fluid and flame throwers! LOL I remember this "Lady Bug" I got when I was about 3, it was motorized and went straight until it hit something then it would change directions. Now that was cool to a 3 year old. Then there was the year Brad and I got plastic swords and shield, ala Sleeping Beauty", and he'd beat the hell out of my head with his sword. Did I ever mention how much I loved my brother? Then the year he got a "Stromberg Slot Car" set, I was so jealous because it was so neat! Then he and I got skis' one year, I think I was about 8. "Seven Seas" was one of my favorite board games because I loved geography as a kid. Then there was the "Snubby Gun" snub nose 38 with a shoulder holster that shot "Greenie Stick'em Caps". Of course ever kids dream was a "Davy Crockett" coon skin cap and musket. And the ultimate gift was a "Daisy" lever action BB gun! (Yes, they did say you could shoot your eye out)

The funny thing is we would have had fun with anything back in those days. It was a time for the family to "be a family"and give thanks to God for his son. Those were the good times....memories that live with a person forever. As for the not so nice ones, well, it's not worth worrying about because this is a time to be happy.

So, Merry Christmas to you and yours! May this holidays season create wonderful memories for you! And Merry Christmas to you Brian!

Those are some of my memories, what are some of yours?

The Common Sense Party

2010-10-26T13:13:00.004-04:00

With the mid term elections less than a week away I thought it might be a good time to dust off the keyboard and the blog, and share a few thoughts on politics.

For years I have explained, to any that would listen, that I am neither Conservative nor Liberal, that I cast my vote based upon my definition of common sense. But what exactly does common sense mean, you ask? Isn't that subjective? Sure it is, but there will always be differences and common bonds when ever the discussion turns to politics, and frankly with the current situation in our nation we could use a little more "common sense" and a lot less politics.

I don't know about you but I have grown weary for both the Democrats and Republicans. I am tired of extremist in both parties. I am tired of the negative campaigning. How refreshing it would be to have a candidate tell us why we should vote for him versus why we shouldn't vote for the other guy. Think of how productive that would be. It would actually allow you and I to make an intelligent decision.

A classic example of this is taking place here in Michigan. Our next Governor is going to win the race solely on the merit of not telling anyone what he plans to do! And he's going to win!! His opponent on the other hand has told us all the reasons why we don't want the other guy to be our Governor but he hasn't yet told us why he should be? This is politics in America, go figure.

My single greatest fear in this election is that the Republicans will take whatever victories that achieve, and they will be numerous, as some form of "Mandate" by the people that we want their same old far right rhetoric. Nothing could be further from the truth. The majority of Americans live in the middle. The only reason the Republicans will see gains is because we don't want to live in the far left any more than the far right, but that is where President Pelos, 'er Obama has us living.

Now in a perfect world we would have alternative choices. A third party. The "Common Sense Party" which has an allegiance to the voters and not some political party ideology or special interest groups. Unfortunately the odds of this happening are slim to none because the two major parties have "brainwashed" (forgive me George Romney) the citizens of this country that a vote for someone other than the "big two" is a wasted vote. They like that you think that way. It gives them control.

For a moment let's pretend we do live in a "perfect" world and we do have that third choice. What would the Common Sense Party be like? What would be their platform, their standards, their ideals? Let's take a few moments and see what we can come up with.

First of all the Common Sense Party, hereafter known as the CSP, believes in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We believe that the most important statement made by either document lie in the preamble to the Constitution that states:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

We believe we are a Democratic Republic that was formed for the betterment of the "people" and it is the people that we serve. Not the party, not the lobbyists, not the special interests. And as such, we believe that there needs to be an amendment to the Constitution stating that every law enacted shall apply equally to everyone in this country including elected officials.

We believe that the Constitution should be interpreted the way it was written. We do not believe that our founding fathers had some "Nostradamus" type powers that allowed them to view 200 years into the future as they drafted the tenets that were to become the standard for American Society. We do not believe it is a living and breathing document. We believe changes made to the basic interpretation should be done in the political arena not the judicial. Justices do not answer to the people, nor should they.

When drafted the First Amendment meant exactly what it reads: You can speak out against the government if you disagree, you can assemble and protest against the government if you disagree, and the government shall not make any laws prohibiting that right. What it didn't mean is you can call your neighbor a Mo%&er F*c%$r and not expect a consequence. It does not mean that society cannot stop child pornography, it does not mean you can display offensive words on you shirt. It does not mean any of these things nor does it prohibit it but the only part of "free speech" is what is directed at the government. You have a right to say whatever you want but then society has the right to react how they want. Again the paragraph began with "We the people" not "Dick the anti-social pinhead". As far as religion goes, again to it's true form it says government may not prohibit or endorse a religion. It says nothing about separation. that part was interjected by the judiciary. In God We Trust.

We believe in the Second Amendment. We believe you have the right to bear arms and defend yourself. We also believe that you can kill a man, rabbit, wolf, bear, elk and deer better with a rifle than you can with a hand gun, and as such society can regulate who owns hand guns. Everyone should own a rifle or a shotgun, but not a hand gun. If someone has something sinister in mind you at least see they are armed if they have a rifle.

The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments are good except that a convicted criminals rights shall never exceed the rights of the victims. The death penalty is not a deterrent, it is a method to rid society of a plague to prevent a repeat performance.

We can discuss the rest at the party convention.

We believe in a system of check and balances as it exists between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of the government but with one caveat. We would propose again to amend the Constitution that allows for a vote of 2/3 of the electorate in a popular vote to override Judicial interpretation of the Constitution. When the founding fathers established the system of checks and balances judges were political but rarely used the bench to "write" law. Today's judiciary is far more political, more activist, than in the past and the Constitution is grey on how to "check the Judges. The bottom line is if "We the people" believe in a law as being good for our society it should not be the judiciaries place to override those wishes. If the law is unfair there is a political process in place to change it where the people actually have a voice in the matter.

The CSP believes that the Federal Government is in place to provide common defense, regulate commerce, and act in a mediator capacity between the individual States. We believe that the majority of laws should be made and regulated on a state level. This gives the people a more powerful voice in what is going on.

We believe in God, we just don't believe that he needs to be our candidate. This trend in society that a political candidate has to be beyond reproach has severely limited the field of potential leaders. In fact it has left very few that are qualified to lead. Don't get me wrong I am not saying we need to pitch morals or ethics out the window but I know few people that don't have some form of regret or skeleton in their closet. Our leaders should be elected on their ability think in a creative way, honor their promises and lead, pure and simple. If they left a stain on a dress in the past it is between him and his wife, truthfully.

We believe that there should be a "national primary day". Too often the election boils down to candidates we don't want because the field has been widdled down a little at a time. There should be a national primary with the top two finishers in all parties being included on the national ballot. The electoral college is obsolete, the election of the President and Vice President should be based upon the popular vote.

We believe schools need to be regulated on the State level. That teachers need to teach the students to learn not to pass proficiency tests. We believe in reasonable corporal punishment, as it is necessary, can be administered by both the schools and the parents. This should not be mistaken as a license to abuse children but sometime you need to close the book and swat them on their ass to get their attention.

In addition we need to revamp our education system. Teachers need to be paid higher wages and school needs to become a year round experience. Physical education will be incorporated daily in all grades from K thru 12. Physical education will be the basics of exercise not archery, golf or croquette. The reason they are obese is they sit on their backsides all day.

We believe in free enterprise and capitalism. We also believe that companies that prosper here owe a bit of loyalty to society. We believe in tax breaks for companies that create jobs here in America and we believe in additional taxes on those that ship jobs over seas.

We believe that we should cease with all foreign aid. We have been giving our money away and trying to buy friends since WWII and it hasn't worked out that well. Bring all of our troops home, concentrate our resources on improving our country and society, and recapture our position as the strongest economy in the world. In the 21st century financial strength is greater than military strength.

We believe that all trade agreements should be repealed and renegotiated to keep our manufacturing on a level playing field with those in our trading partners countries. We will no long trade with countries that manipulate currency to artificially deflate the cost of their products to undersell American manufacturers.

Security is an absolute priority. It is the job of the federal government to provide for national security, therefore as our soldiers come home they will be stationed along our borders to eliminate illegal border crossings.

We will return to stringent enforcement of immigration. Deport the illegals and let them come in the front door as our forefathers did.

We do believe in a national health care policy. We believe that a network of clinics should be established at every hospital in the country, that allows for walk in health care for the uninsured. These clinics will be staffed by various doctors and nurses working 8 hours a week to work off their student loans. These clinics would be funded under revised Medicare and Medicaid regulations and funds. This would allow for protection of those that have no insurance without intruding into the open market place.

We believe in tort reform. Unnecessary law suits have place a huge burden on the cost of everything in society but to limit the ability to seek justice is tricky. Therefore in a radical move we would amend civil law as such; if a suit is brought against a defendant that is found not guilty or the suit is discharged as frivolous, the burden of all court costs and attorney fees shall be become the obligation of the plaintiffs Attorney. Let that happen a few times and you will see frivolous suits go down by 400%.

Financial reform needs to include reform of the credit rating services. For years non essential information has been utilized to determine a person credit worthiness. It make no sense that a man with $8,000 of credit with $2,000 of open credit is a greater risk than a man with $24,000 of credit with $60,000 of open credit, yet the man with the higher balance is deemed worthier. Also credit score shall not be used for anything other than credit, not jobs, not insurance, nothing else as they are an inexact science.

We believe in a national sale tax of 5% and a flat income tax with the only allowable deductions being taxes paid, house interest, domestic vehicle loan interest and qualified charities. Everyone would pay the same rate of 18%.

We believe in general assistance. There are times in any ones life when they may need some assistance and we believe such a program is necessary in our society. We also believe there needs to be limitations on how this should work. Assistance is meant to be temporary not a multi-generational way of life. One limitation would be if you are receiving assistance you will be required to volunteer times to local hospitals or charities to offset the money being paid. Also if you have more than one child while on assistance that will terminate your participation in that program. You may not receive assistance from the government for more than 3 years unless in the case of a medical disability and you may not receive assistance more than one in a decade.

We believe in laws that promote a fair and balance representation of society. We believe in protected classes but condone any laws that eliminates basic protections under the law to any one class.

Ok, I have started it for you but what would you add? And why?

The important think to remember is it is your obligation to vote, to participate in managing the greatest country on the face of the earth. Perhaps not perfect, but still the greatest.

August 10th

2010-08-10T18:56:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Buddy! I hope you had a great day hanging with your friends!

Maybe one of these times I'll make it too....

King of Nothing

2010-07-07T19:01:00.004-04:00

So, Lebron James is holding an hour long TV special on ESPN Thursday to announce where he is going to play basketball. Who really gives a rats cadaver?

"The King" as Lebron has self-proclaimed himself to be is a slightly above average talent that was created by Nike. Trust me anyone can be great when Nike says you are but only until the hype wears off.

So I'll ask, "what is it that makes the "King" so great"? All of his titles? Nope. How about his conference championships? None of those either. How about the way his play attracted big name players to Cleveland? Shaq? Booby Gibson? Delante West? Scratch him!

In seven season in the NBA the second coming never came. Oh, he talks a big game, and the media talks him up, but would they without Nike's advertising money behind him? I wonder. He's the poster child of the NBA because of hype, not substance. The only thing this guy has shown in seven seasons in the NBA is he can mug a camera as well as Erin Andrews and Al Sharpton.

Striking a pose for the camera doesn't win rings, hard work does, walking the talk might but he has to show that he can pick up a team and carry it on his back for an extended period of time first.

LeBron better than Kobe? Michael? Larry? Hell, he hasn't proven he is better than Chauncey yet. At least Billups took a team of cast-offs from around the NBA and won several conference titles, a championship and came within 3 minutes of winning a second.

But Lebron wants you all to tune into the "LeBron Show" tomorrow to feed his ego. To pay homage to the king without a crown as he proclaims his new kingdom.

Thanks, but no thanks. Call me when you have won something. When you have actually led a team to a championship. Because right now, from the outside looking in, you couldn't lead a group of kids into a candy store.

Strike the pose!

Happy Birthday America

2010-07-04T14:21:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday America! And long may you thrive!

That is a phrase someone, somewhere in this country has been saying now for 234 years. With any luck someone will get to say it for another 234 years and beyond. But for that to happen it is time for the American people to start to take some responsibility for the future of this great country.

The truth is we have become a country of talkers and takers, but few want to give back. They don't because it would mean personal sacrifice, in an age of it's all about me, that is not surprising. This nation is being dragged down by our detractors from a far, and more so by our own people and elected officials from within.

Depending upon where you live you have been in or experienced some form of recession and decline in standard of living over the last decade. For most that decline hit its peak over the last 3 years, but believe me when I say, the seeds of the decline were sown years ago.

One of the things that have allowed us to thrive is we have been the industrial base of the world for the last 125 years. If you needed something the Americans would invent it or design it, and manufacture it better than anyone. Or at least we used to, when we had an industrial base.

It may have started with NAFTA or some other obscure treaty, but slowly and methodically we have given away our title as the Industrial leader of the world.

And before the finger pointing starts, this isn't a Republican/Democrat thing, it's a government thing. It's a greed thing, it's a PAC thing, it's a lobbiest thing, it's an ego thing, it's a corruption thing and it's bigger than one man or one political party. It does have a lot to due with us, as a people being lazy. It would be hard to hold our politicians accountable, it might mean we can't own the latest cell phone, or big screen TV. It might mean that we have to pay an extra $150 for a washing machine, or a dryer, and we might not be able to buy shorts for $6.99 at Walmart.

It might mean you have to sacrifice 300 channels on your cable TV and have only 50, and say to hell with 3-D movies.

A little sacrifice can go a long way to rebuilding a society we once knew. A society where we welcomed immigrants because we had a multitude of jobs available. A society where we had values, standards and a work ethic. That is part of the solution.

The second part is to really have a change in government. We elected President Obama on the promise of change, but has he really delivered? Do we still fall prey to lies and half-truths from our politicians?

It's time to grow a pair America. It's time to make some hard choices and take some personal responsibility. It's time spot being a sheep lead by a party, and become an individual that says he is an American, not a Republican or Democrat.

In the next 5 years we need to change our leadership from top to bottom. If they have been in politics for more than 2 years vote them out. They are part of the problem and not the solution. You need to send a message to Washington and your state legislature, which is "This is my country and you work for me"!

Just maybe, if we all pull together like those people did back in 1776, our great grandchildren will be able to say "Happy Birthday America"!

Things That Make You Go Huh?

2010-05-03T17:25:00.005-04:00

So these are public servants:

While the rest of this country is trying their best to salvage or rebuild their lives after the recent financial and real estate melt down, our elected public servants have decided that maybe we need to look into some reforms. You would think this concept stands out so glaringly that even Stevie Wonder could see it, so I guess we should get too excited about our legislature suddenly being proactive.

Now I cannot claim to be an expert on the bill they have been trying to debate for the last two weeks but it's obvious that it is one drafted by the Democrats. I say this with a degree of confidence knowing that the Republicans have been filibustering like crazy to prevent any meaningful discussion on the topic.

Far be it from me to imply that common sense says that instead of blocking this maybe you, the Republicans, should offer a few ideas, or maybe even your own plan? We all know how well this tactic worked on the health care issue. You decided to play word games and offer no solutions or options, hoping that the worst will happen and it'll be a debacle, and the public will then vote out the Democrats. Who, by the way, are not blameless in this fiasco either. In fact there is enough blame to lather both parties easily.

Isn't that wonderful. You'd sell out the nation and our people just so you can be right! That's what it boil down to, doesn't it?

I have a hot flash for you, the voting public isn't that stupid. So, how about this, while you're busy playing politics in Washington let's do a "stop gap" measure and temporarily reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act. For all of its faults it would at least give the common man a fighting chance.

Oh and a special word of thanks to Senator Levin for your efforts.

Tree Huggers:

Every time I watch what is going on down in the Gulf of Mexico it makes me sick. Now don't get me wrong, I have always been a big let's drill where ever we can kind of guy to keep the price down. I was usually critical of the environmentalists that stood in the way with their predictions of doom and gloom.

When the story first broke up here on the radio I heard CBS report that off shore drill rigs in the United States are not equipped with an automatic shut off device on the well head, as they are in other countries. Now, I don't know if that is a fact or not, and anyone that has good knowledge on the topic I encourage you to provide it, but if this is true then shame on us and shame on the oil companies.

From a different angle, for the conspiracist out there, I find the timing of this disaster uncanny. A mere three weeks after President Obama opens up our shores to more extensive drilling this tragedy happens. A tragedy in terms of human lives lost and damage to our earth. But I do think we need an extensive, open investigation of who or what cause this, and I pray it wasn't some fringe group making a point.

Yes, folks I going to say it, we don't own the earth we are just the caretakers for future generations, so we need to be more proactive. So, in the mean time say "I'm sorry" to a tree hugger, because right now the facts are on their side.

Freedom of Speech:

In case you missed it recently the great state of Michigan made the news again, and this time it had nothing to do with Detroit or Kwame. It had to do with a "fringe" group of the Michigan Militia called the Hutaree.

Now prior to the story breaking I had never heard of this group or what their point of view was. What I read and heard locally is they are a religious based, radical right wing group that was plotting to overthrow our government. The way they reported it initially you would have thought they had several hundred follower in three state, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, and the war was imminent.

Once the dust settled it turned out to be 5 or 6 people, supposedly caught on tape talking about killing police officers as part of a plot that would be prelude to war. In any event they were arrested and locked up. I had heard they would be charged with "Sedition" and that got me to thinking, how in the hell can you have sedition in a country with supposed freedom of speech?

Those that know me well know that I have a rather conservative view of the 1st Amendment. In fact, I believe that most of the ills facing this country can be traced back to how the lawyers and politicians have expanded and bastardized the true meaning of that paragraph. But sedition? Really? So what you have said, in essence is you have freedom of speech provided you don't say, "Our government is broke beyond repair so lets disband it and try again"?

You guys really need to think about this one.

Immigration:

I am all for legal immigrants regardless of race, creed, color, gender, origin or whatever. After all we were all "legal" immigrants at one time in our history here.

Arizona has been taking hits from all sides because of their new immigration law that was recently passed, and I have to say what is the big deal?

First of all if I understand it correctly it is a secondary offense, not a primary offense. Secondly folks something needs to be done, and it need to start with a question? Remember they are here "Illegally". If they want to leave and come back in the front door, God bless 'em they are welcome with open arms. But it has to start somewhere. And I would rather see a state institute a law rather than the federal government because, in theory, you and I have more control over it. We can oust our local politicians if we don't like a law and vote in those to repeal it. That is how democracy is supposed to work and that is why I have no problem with Arizona doing what they have done.

If you think the boys in Washington are going to do anything about this you are sadly mistaken. They would never risk the voter block or the public opinion backlash as Arizona is facing right now.

Hopefully like any law it will not be abused, and if it is, it will be repealed by the people of the great state of Arizona. However, if it works and is not abused maybe others will follow suit around the country. The southwest does not have an exclusive on people entering the country illegally.

What do you think?

Now My Liberal Friends Can Yell At Me

2010-03-04T17:54:00.007-05:00

After my last blog entry, which I viewed as fairly balanced in my outlook of both parties, I had several of my more conservative friends(?) start yelling about me being a "flaming lib'. It was said that I showed my usual bias against the Republicans and conservative thinking. I found it to be an educational and eye-opening experience. Not only did I increase my insult vocabulary, I learned several new Obama/Pelosi jokes which I will use sometime at a future date.

For now, I thought I might address something that was in the news this week, the extension of unemployment benefits and the Senator who fought them.

Now I am not a big fan of Senator Jim Bunning even if he did pitch for the Detroit Tigers at one time during his career. He endeared himself even less to me when he, and the other southern Senators feeding from the Foreign Automakers trough, tried to put Detroit out of business.

With that said, Jim Bunning answered his critics in a piece in USA Today,
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2010/03/column-why-i-took-a-stand-.html , and his argument makes sense. Here is the reprint:

Jim Bunning: Why I took a stand

‘If the Senate cannot find $10 billion to pay for a measure we all support, we will never pay for anything.’

By Jim Bunning

I have been serving the citizens of Kentucky for nearly 24 years in Washington. During that time I have been a member of both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. I have taken thousands of votes in relation to spending the taxpayers' money. I will be the first one to admit that I have cast some bad votes during my tenure, and I wish I could have some of them back. For too long, both Republicans and Democrats have treated the taxpayers' money as a slush fund that does not ever end. At some point, the madness has to stop.

Over a month ago, Democrats passed and President Obama signed into law the "Pay-Go" legislation. It calls on Congress to pay for bills by not adding to our debt. It sounds like a common sense tool that would rein in government spending. Unfortunately, Pay-Go is a paper tiger. It has no teeth. I did not vote for the Democrats' Pay-Go legislation because I knew it was just a political dog-and-pony show to get some good press after some political setbacks. Since the Pay-Go rule was enacted, the national debt has gone up $244,992,297,448.11 (as of Wednesday, that is).

Why now?

Last week, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked to pass a 30-day extensions bill for unemployment insurance and other federal programs. Earlier in February, those extensions were included in a broader bipartisan bill that was paid for but did not meet Sen. Reid's approval, and he nixed the deal. When I saw the Democrats in Congress were going to vote on the extensions bill without paying for it and not following their own Pay-Go rules, I said enough is enough.
Many people asked me, "Why now?" My answer is, "Why not now?" Why can't a non-controversial measure in the Senate that would help those in need be paid for? If the Senate cannot find $10 billion to pay for a measure we all support, we will never pay for anything.

America is under a mountain of debt. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a hearing last month that the United States' debt is unsustainable. We are on the verge of a tipping point where America's debt will bring down our economy, and more people will join the unemployment lines. That is why I used my right as a United States Senator and objected.
Only in Washington

After four legislative days of impasse, I reached a supposed deal with Majority Leader Reid to have an up-or-down vote on a pay-for amendment that would fully fund the legislation and not add to the debt. Only minutes before the vote, Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver to set aside my amendment and not vote on the actual substance of it. Only in Washington could this happen. The Democrats did not want to vote on my amendment because they knew they were in the wrong and ignored their own rules. Hypocrisy again rules the day in Washington.

I have 40 grandchildren, and I want them to grow up in a country where they have all of the same opportunities I had as a child. I fear that they will not have those opportunities if Washington continues on its course of spending without paying for it. We are at over $12 trillion in debt. I know many Americans sit around their kitchen table and make the tough decisions. It is time for the politicians in Washington to do the same.

Jim Bunning is a Republican senator from Kentucky.

Now I need to say that in principle I agree with the Senators stance on funding additional spending. Where we disagree is with when to apply it. With all of the millions of dollars our government throws into the toilet via Iraq, Afghanistan, pork in almost every spending bill and budget passed by Congress, you had to make an example out of one that helps people who are in a situation largely created by our Government?

Good thought, bad timing, and another example of how out of touch Congress is with America. And I'm not singling out Senator Bunning, I mean Obama, Pelosi, Reid, along with Bunning. We do need to reduce the budget, we do need to reign in rampant spending by both parties, but for the millions of Americans that fall asleep every night wondering if they'll make it through the next week, you had to add to their worries? Next time play politics with your own emotions.

I only hope someone doesn't treat your 40 grandchildren that way someday.

Just My Humble Opinion

2010-02-28T12:06:00.009-05:00

It seems like forever since I've been here and I miss this place but the fact is there are only so many hours in a day, and Facebook is addictive. There have been so many days where I have had thoughts on different events and failed to make it here to share them. So today I'll make time to clear the cobwebs, reflect a little and comment on what has been on my mind.

Happy New Year:

Now, I don't know about you but I have never been so glad to see a decade end in all of my life. I believe everyone was effected adversely at some point during the first decade of the 21st century. Here in Michigan, we have turned to calling it the "Lost Decade" as we have been in a ten year recession but elsewhere it has been just as bad. September 11th, two wars, two recessions, dirty politics, layoffs, downsizing, exporting jobs and a deteriorating sense trust in out society certainly has left everyone wishing for a "change". The problem is what it will take for that to happen.

What Year Is It:

I graduated from high school in 1971, as in "Nineteen Seventy-One" not "One Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy-One" or " One Nine Seven One". Does anyone besides me find it strange we can't decide how to universally address what year it is in the 21st century?

The Tea Party:

I have a love/hate relationship with politics as many of you know. My friends can't figure out whether I am conservative or liberal, and the truth is I try to explain to them I am neither. I am common sense, right and wrong, I vote based upon how I want to be represented.

Now, it is well known that I have a disdain for both the Republicrats and the Democans because, truth be told, I believe they all are criminals. Those are pretty strong words but they are not without merit.

When you and I exercise our constitutional right to vote for a representative to Congress the winner is charged with exactly that duty, to represent the will or best interests of his or her constituents. At least on paper that's how it's supposed to work but reality has shown us they do everything but that. We are the little people back home once they reach the capital or Washington. There they become a servant of the "Party", an ideology, special interests, PAC's and personal greed.

Doesn't it bother you that almost all of out lawmakers are millionaires? Yet they are supposed to relate to your struggles?

I was in a debate with a conservative friend of mine the other day and he didn't understand that I don't elect an official for his morals or values. I elect him to represent me, my morals and values, not his. If I need spiritual guidance I'll go talk to my pastor not my elected politician.

So people are starting to see the light and the "Tea Party" is the latest organization saying we need a change. Now, of course, the Republicrats are racing to embrace this movement like it is some sort of peoples mandate that they are against the Democans, when in reality it isn't nor should it be. I have a hot flash for the Republicrats and the Democans, you are no different!

I would hope that the "Tea Party" stays true to its origin, which is not about an ideology that leans to the far right nor the far left. It should be about moving towards the middle where the "common man" lives and not the special interests. What do you think?

How'd That Taste:

Hey Al Gore, explain to us again about this whole global warming concept, will ya?

Toyota owners, tell us again how much better your cars are built than the domestic auto manufacturers?

NBC, try mixing in a little Olympic coverage between interviews and commercials, OK?

Consumers, did you know the mortgage companies can still come after you for money after an agreed upon short sale?

The biggest rip off in America today is Homeowners Insurance! Can anyone tell me why I need to carry $218,000 worth of coverage on a house worth $149,000 that I owe $175,000 on? I bet you can't but I have to because it's the "formula". Do you think the government will take a look at this?

Hey people BOHICA they are getting ready to hose us again with artificially inflated gasoline prices. Not sure if it's to make the Democans look bad or just to ruin what little recovery we've had, but it will. Hey, President Obama, how about owning us an petroleum company? Just one that's all we need. Trust me nobody would complain.

Isn't it time we elected the most qualified person to lead us instead of the most marketable one?

Who reading this agrees that we are living in the "Fall of the American Empire"? I'm sure the Romans thought everything was going to be fine too, but look at the parallels. Waning trust in our system, greed, moral decay, crumbling infrastructure, and a world that despises us. Can you say "Uh Oh"?

Speaking of doom and gloom, do you think Mother Earth is doing a lot more payback lately?

Health Insurance:

The solution is simple folks. Give the Republicrats their "Tort Reform" in this text, if you are an Attorney and you bring a suite against a Doctor or Medical Institution for malpractice and lose, YOU go to jail for a year. That'll eliminate malicious prosecution.

Now from the Democans side, quit trying to reinvent the wheel, you honestly aren't that smart. The runaway medical costs are largely caused by a couple of things, an intentional shortage of doctors and going to the wrong place for help.

Every year over 300,000 QUALIFIED students apply for the 213,000 available openings to go to medical school. That means 77,000 people annually don't get in, yet you say medical costs are up because there are not enough doctors. Here's a thought, build a few more schools! Oh wait, if you do that Doctors may not make as much money due to a change in "supply and demand", and therefore they may not be able to contribute as much to your reelection, silly me! But we could do this without quadrupling the national debt.

We have these things called Hospitals all over the place. Now part of the problem is people without insurance go there, to the Emergency Room, when they are just sick. The costs involved with running an emergency room are exorbitant and so are the fees. So treating a cold may cost $500. Here's a thought, put clinics in those hospitals and staff them with Doctors that have federal student loans. Let the Doc put in 8 hours a week in lieu of paying back the loan. I'm guessing it would give the uninsured a place to go and not quadruple the debt.

Another thought, enough of the "you have to go to the Doctor for a prescription for this medication". So many of the common medicines we take in the United states are bought "over the counter" in both Canada and Mexico. Just think if we reduced the Doctors workload by 2,000,000 horny men looking for a Viagra script. Think that might free up some time for the sick and reduce medical costs?

Obama, Pelosi, and the rest of you in both parties, I'll share with you the old KISS theory, which means Keep It Simple Stupid. Funny how that seems to apply, don't it?

Talking Heads

I love listening to the Republicrats talk about how they are the Party of Morals, Values and God, because it makes them such an easy target. Even Stevie Wonder could see through this hypocrisy. Talk to a Republicrat for 24 hours and you walk away with the sense that there is a list of people they "hate" that is six feet long. Liberals, gays, foreigners, minorities, the unemployed, unions, and the list goes on, they are all part of the downfall of this country, according to the average Republicrat.

Then there is the talking heads, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and that ilk, with their rants on the liberal drive-by media, fem-nazis, Obama the magic negro parodies, calling people socialists, communists, abortionists, atheist and, extolling venom and hate. Now it's funny, because I am 56 years old and I can honestly say I cannot recall ever hearing Walter Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson, Tom Brokaw, Frank McGee, Frank Reynolds, Howard K Smith, or any other nightly news anchor speak that way about an Republicrat. If they did, there would have been a common voice and demand for their removal, ala Dan Rather. But this is the unmoral "Drive-By Media", huh? How does that equate?

Then there is Glen Beck, this guy is a piece of work. I was walking through K-mart the other day looking for something and went through the book department. I noticed what I assume is his latest book on the shelf, and on the cover is Beck wearing what appears to be a Nazi Gestapo uniform without the insignias. Now, I'm of German descent and that offended even me. This is just wrong in so many ways that if I have to explain it to you, you are a sick puppy! But this guy is the face and voice, along with the other bimbettes, of the "Moral Majority"? The Righteous Right? And you wonder why you got swept out of office?

You people not only need to clean up your act, you need a reality check. You are a party of self serving clowns that will say or do anything to win. Two wrongs don't make it right!

Change:

Guys I'm going to leave you with this thought. If you are tired of the status quo, tired of having the political elite telling you how you need to live your life, tired of them telling you what should be important to you, then vote for change. And change will only be accomplished if you vote the sitting incumbents out of office. Put aside your political allegiances for once and send a message. You will represent me or I will vote you out too. We don't need term limits, we need voters to participate and exercise some common sense.

Thanks for listening, as always if you have comments I'm happy to hear them!

People I Miss

2009-12-01T17:36:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I wonder about people I knew from before. Like some of my associates from my old office. I so enjoyed having Shirley Kinsey, Shirley Smith, Rae Rockafellow, Henrietta Ugorowski, and Carol Holcomb around to make me feel needed.

Then there was Lana Patenaude who used to bring her son Brian Patenaude into work. I'd carry that little guy around the office all day while his mother worked. Someday I hope I have the opportunity to sit down with him and tell him some stories from those days. I know it'll blow his mind. And of course if I can't mention Lana without talking about my friend Denise, who turned into one of my best friends. Joyce Prybycien, Marie Krolikowski also come to mind.

Also there was Mike Niemann who left us a few years ago, and Joe Herska that was the best 80 year old associate you'd ever want to meet. Marge and Maury Young were always there to help people too.

Old memories, good thoughts, on a cold fall day.

A Ton of Truth Lies In These Words

2009-11-16T19:46:00.003-05:00

Have I told you I love Craigslist? Especially "Rants and Raves". Yes, it is inhabited by a ton of trolls but it also has a ton of regular contributors that often provide good sources of information too. If you read between the lines on many posts you can get a feel for what people are thinking and what is important to them. I like to posts words here that make people think and I have used several sources, including Craigslist R&R, to accomplish that desire.

By the OP (original posters) comments it would appear this is an email circulating around the web but I haven't seen it yet, and it's possible you haven't either. It's says a lot:

REPOST From CL

Please take a few minutes to read and absorb just what this woman had to say, and then hopefully everyone will pass it to their entire mailing list, and theirs to theirs until it circles the nation! Time is short and arrogance, stupidity and ignorance abound.............. Americans everywhere identify with this 53-year-old woman. She has given us a voice. Once you read this, you will want to forward it to all of your true American friends

"I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.

There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.

You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into politically-correct quicksand.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children, and grandchildren. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down! Fix only what is broken -- we have the best health care system in the world -- and test any new program in one or two states first.

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real [Constitutional] obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes -- how did they pull that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with any of our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs -- and that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now. Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from nonpoliticians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not.

It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent spending of our tax dollars.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to Washington . Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented.. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone... and we are now looking at you.

You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office.

We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them.. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you.

If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming.

'We the People' are coming."

The End

Now many of you may read these words and think "Great, another conservative gimmick email", and you may be right. But for a minute try to pull out your broad paint brush, eliminate the words Obama or Democrats, and insert the words "Elected Officials".

It takes on a new perspective, don't it? And when you apply the context in that manner, then it becomes not only more understandable but it is believable. I agree with much that was said in those words. Our politicians, long ago, stopped representing the electorate, they only serve the "party" and you and I pay the price.

I guess you might just want to save this and read it the next election day.

I Hate To Say This....

2009-11-15T12:10:00.003-05:00

But I told you so. Several months ago on this blog I addressed the "Stimulus Package" saying it would create few jobs due to the allocation of money. I said the construction jobs would go to the same players that always get it.

Below is an article that appears in today's Detroit Free Press that I thought was worth sharing:

Posted: Nov. 15, 2009
FREE PRESS SPECIAL REPORT

Billions for state, but where are jobs?
Majority of stimulus awards have brought little help

BY TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON -- Seven months into the massive federal stimulus program, the vast majority of government grants, contracts and loans in Michigan so far have created or retained virtually no jobs, a Free Press analysis shows.

The analysis also revealed that others who have been promised or have received stimulus money have overstated -- in some cases greatly -- the number of jobs created or protected.

Obama administration and state officials say it's too early to draw conclusions about the overall impact of the $787-billion nationwide program to stimulate the economy and generate jobs. They promise that job growth will follow as more funding arrives.

"It looks to us like the program is unfolding much as we hoped in Michigan," said White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein.

The Free Press examination of more than 1,800 government reports of those who have received or expect to receive stimulus money found the biggest impact was spurring or protecting public-sector or summer jobs -- not private-sector jobs. Michigan has the nation's worst unemployment rate.

Officials reported that by Sept. 30, some 22,500 Michigan jobs were created or retained thanks to the promise of $5.2 billion in stimulus money for the state, $1.2 billion of which had arrived.

The analysis also found:

• Three of every four stimulus grants, contracts and loans approved in Michigan created or retained one job or less.

• Fewer than 700 awards had received some money, and nearly half of those -- 327 -- had created one job or less, at a cost per job of $2.7 million.

• Some job estimates were wrong: General Motors Co., for instance, reported 105 jobs saved or created for a government purchase of 5,000 vehicles but later said no jobs were saved or created. The City of Detroit reported 342 jobs it now says were projections -- not jobs already created or retained.

Peter Morici, a University of Maryland economist, said the results suggest the stimulus won't deliver promised results.

"All those claims," he said, "are ridiculous."

Flawed reports raise questions about how stimulus has helped

At first glance, the impact of the federal stimulus act so far in Michigan looks like cause for celebration -- some 22,500 jobs created or saved in about seven months, $1.2 billion received to date and promises of $3 billion more to come.

But closer inspection reveals flaws in the claims and raises doubts about the mammoth spending bill's impact to date.

A Free Press analysis of reports on more than 1,800 awards to agencies, departments, municipalities and firms in Michigan under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act found huge inaccuracies in job estimates of several recipients and millions of dollars in errors in their reports.

It also found that the vast majority of jobs reported or created -- 85% -- were tied to 15 primary recipients, with three-quarters of all stimulus awards made to date in the state creating or saving one job or less. Most of those funded still were awaiting checks, which could help explain the lag in job creation. Still, hundreds of awards led to reports of job creation before stimulus money arrived.

Some are clearly wrong.

Detroit reported on a grant award -- $10 million for work on 14 improvement projects in the city -- saying 342 jobs had been saved or created, despite none of the money actually reaching the city yet. Last week, city officials told the Free Press those were only projections -- not jobs saved or created.

The White House Recovery Office warns against projecting jobs. It wants an accurate reflection of jobs created or retained to date.

There were other exaggerations.

The Ingham County Health Department reported 97.49 jobs retained, but an official with the agency said without the funding, six jobs would have been lost. The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan in Sault Ste. Marie, which provides services to member American Indian tribes, reported 99 jobs created or saved thanks to $46,000 in cost-of-living adjustments for Head Start employees. An official with the tribal council said she believes no jobs would have been lost without the government money.

Promise of transparency

Signing the stimulus bill into law in February, President Barack Obama promised an unprecedented amount of transparency in how the money was spent -- even as officials warned that with so much money being poured into the economy so quickly, there was bound to be error and fraud. While few instances of the latter have been charted, there seem to be may indications of the former.

The $787-billion federal stimulus is the equivalent of about $6,800 for every American household.

Leslee Fritz, director of Michigan's Recovery office, spent two days in Washington, D.C., last week talking to stimulus officials from other states about how to improve reporting. Still, she said, she's pleased with the federal investments.

"In a state like Michigan, there's never going to be a situation where we feel they've moved fast enough" to get money flowing and jobs created, she said. But, she added, "I think we're off to a good start."

The spending

Jared Bernstein, an Obama administration economist, said the reports from agencies and larger contractors getting stimulus money make up a sliver of the stimulus act.

About a third -- $275 billion -- will be directly spent nationally in areas such as state stabilization funds to support government jobs; building and repairing roads, bridges and other infrastructure; investing in drinking water and wastewater projects; funding alternative energy projects, and much more.

Those are the areas where recipients must file reports on their spending. The rest of the stimulus spending goes for tax cuts -- the Making Work Pay tax cut was worth about $65 a month to the average household, for instance -- and entitlement programs, such as those increasing unemployment benefits and covering the government's commitment to pick up 65% of the premium for health insurance for laid-off workers.

Bernstein says those tax cuts and entitlements have already contributed to the 3 million to 4 million jobs expected to be created or retained through the stimulus.

Last month, the Recovery Office reported that $37 billion in checks had gone out for $159 billion in direct investment awards by the end of September. The estimated jobs created or saved: 640,000.

Errors in reporting

Since then, news media reports across the country have found errors. A Boston Globe review last week of claims of 12,374 jobs being created or saved in Massachusetts concluded the claim was "wildly exaggerated." The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel found that a report saying 10,000 jobs had been created or saved in Wisconsin was "rife with errors, double counting and inflated numbers."

"Are you surprised?" asked Peter Morici, an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland who is a critic of the stimulus bill. "Using this ruse, we now have unemployment" nationally "above 10%, and it's going to keep going up. In Michigan it's much worse, and worse is going to become terrible."

Morici's biggest complaint is that, despite Obama's claim last January that 90% of the jobs the stimulus created or retained would be in the private sector, it is set up to produce mostly public-sector jobs.

So far in Michigan, the numbers support his claim. Of 22,513 jobs reported, 13,555 were tied to state money for education, doled out to local school districts. Without a huge economic turnaround or more federal money after the 2-year stimulus ends, many of those jobs could be threatened.

Another problem: More than 3,000 were summer-only jobs for youths. Those jobs do little to bring down Michigan's highest-in-the-nation unemployment rate.

Both Bernstein and Fritz say what's missing from any snapshot analysis of the recipient reports to date is that the stimulus spending is still in its infancy. Investments in so-called shovel-ready projects, such as road and bridge building, are just now getting under way.

Job creation tied to high-speed rail improvements have yet to be felt, and $1.35 billion in grants for advanced battery and electric vehicle manufacturing and development are estimated to create 6,800 jobs in Michigan by the end of 2010.

If they're correct, the stimulus may deliver on its promise.

"We think the kind of time-release mechanisms built into the Recovery Act are very appropriate," Bernstein said. "This is not a program we would want either phasing out or fully up and running at precisely this moment. We need to be generating good jobs at least through next year."

Help for more than jobs

Fritz said she expects job creation to swing from the public sector to the private sector soon, but she also notes that much of the money is for purposes other than jobs. Rental assistance grants, for one, help people stay in their homes, she said, and justice grants help police purchase technology to keep people safe.

The Hamilton Community Health Network in Flint received $625,000 of a $920,000 award for equipment at a new facility serving growing numbers of people who have no or inadequate health insurance.

That award didn't create direct jobs, but Chief Executive Officer Clarence Pierce said without the equipment, the hires the network made for the facility would be irrelevant.

In Ingham County, Deputy Health Officer Jaeson Fournier said the department may not have really retained 97 positions -- but the funding it has received has resulted in nine new hires, with four more jobs being posted and more to come.

Perhaps more important, it received a designation that allows it to collect higher federal reimbursements to serve the growing numbers of uninsured people.

"We have not seen so much demand," Fournier said. "It couldn't have come at a better time for us as a community."

Contact TODD SPANGLER: 202-906-8203 or tspangler@freepress.com

Clearing The Cobwebs From My Mind

2009-11-04T18:28:00.009-05:00

It's been a while since I sat down to write about anything serious but it's time to clean some thoughts I've been storing. In my life, just as in yours, events take place every day that impact the way I feel, live, spend, eat and sleep. Some of these events are within my control and some are not. This blog is my place to feel like my opinions matter to someone other than me. It's my place to rant at the big guys and point out how wrong they are or how right they may be. It's therapeutic at best and a good way for me to keep reality in check. By reading my thoughts perhaps it will help keep your world in check too.

FRIENDS, LOVERS, POLITICS AND RELIGION

My friends don't always know how to take me. To the conservative ones I'm a liberal and to the liberal ones I'm conservative. The truth is I am neither. As a brilliant woman I once worked for used to say about herself, I am every man. I am the middle of the road. I am the one that will stand in your face and ask questions that hundreds of others wish they could. I am not a sheep waiting to be led to the slaughter like so many others. I am a product of the generation that learned to question everything, and remained true to that ideal.

With that said I will also say that I am a person that does not believe I am always right, nor do I close my mind to any mans, or woman's, opinion. A closed mind has no chance to grow, it becomes a vacuum that lives with archaic concepts. A closed mind leads to a lack of progress, and it stifles personal growth and the advancement of society. Many have said a version of this thought before me, and they were certainly wiser than me, but the only certain thing in life is the uncertainty of constant change. Life is flux and to be a productive member of society, we too must be in flux, in our thought process, in our willingness to adapt.

Note that I said to adapt. No place did I say we had to put aside our values or our ideals, but in a democratic republic you do need to be willing to open those values and ideals to personal review. In our form of government there is no "It's all my way" or "I am against everything you stand for". That was never the intent of the founding fathers. If it were they never would have created such a complex system of checks and balances within our government. If they thought that "I'm right and you're wrong" attitude was the proper way to govern they would have created a parliamentary monarchy, or a theocracy, but certainly not a democracy.

With that said our political arena today turns more venomous and hateful with each passing day. Personally I have lost three friends in the last 30 days due to political debate. How stupid is that? Now it so happens that these friends were conservatives and making statements about Obama, socialists, death panels, political lies and religion in a public forum. When I pointed out that many of the things they posted were untrue they took exception. When I asked them to back up their statements with clear facts, I was called names. And when I pointed out the hypocrisy of their sitting in judgement of others in the name of Christianity I was rudely dismissed.

How stupid was that? How ignorant have we become that people, friends, cannot express conflicting or different points of view without someone reacting like a 6 year old? In fact, to draw a parallel to a 6 year old is an insult to every elementary playground in the nation. Everyone knows when they get mad they take their ball and go home but they always return the next day.

Now, my three friends severed all ties. I feel bad for them and I feel bad for myself. For them because they live in a vacuum and they are destined to live a life filled with frustration because they can't always have it their way. I feel bad for me because I cared for these people, I sometimes agreed with them and other times I thought they were a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. But they were always entitled to their opinions because the more I saw someone else's point of view it allowed me to allow mine to evolve.

Oh, and before all of my liberal friends start high fiving each other, you're just as closed minded as the conservatives. How'd that taste?

WAR, HUH, GOOD GOD Y'ALL, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR...ABSOLUTELY N'THIN'

Do you realize that our country, The United States of America, has not won a war or major conflict since WWII? And if you look at the amount of Toyota's on our roads or the products on the shelves at Walmart, that statement may not be so accurate either. But I digress.

No, we did not win in Korea, Viet Nam, Bosnia, Somalia, Desert Storm nor are we winning in Desert Shield. (All the other skirmishes we were involved with ( Panama, etc) were like pitting 280 pound NFL lineman against a little league football team so they don't count.) Now before you get your panties all up in a wedgie, think about it, we had no absolute victory in any of these wars named. They all resulted in political resolutions.

I believe it was General George Armstrong Patton that is credited with the quote " Wars should be fought by soldiers, not politicians", and if he didn't say it, well dammit, he should have.

We have seen time and time again the severe toll in human lives that takes place when politicians try to play soldier. Today I received a call from my niece and in the course of conversation she mentioned that her brother-in-law was hit today by a rocket in Afghanistan. The family is not aware of how he is doing but hope to find out soon.

Now I was one of the first ones yelling to invade Afghanistan, to kill Bin Laden, after 9/11. I objected to our invasion of Iraq because it served no purpose other than GWB cleaning up the mess left by his Dad in the last war run by politicians. But after 8 years of young people trying and dying to fulfill their mission, I need to say;

Mr. Obama shit or get off the pot! Play politics with your health care, green energy, electric cars, but let the Generals dictate how to win wars. They know, you don't! And if you don't want to be in this war then get our children out of harms way.

Sir, you are the Commander in Chief and as such it is your constitutional obligation and job to protect this country. But based upon your indecisiveness over the last 30 days about whether or not to send additional troops requested by your Afghanistan Commander I'm having serious doubts whether or not you're the right man for the job. Being a leader means you need to make snap decisions sometimes. You can't govern by quorum. It appears you want a quicker response to your national heath care plan than you are willing to give the soldiers dying on your watch.

Quit playing politics with young peoples lives.

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

Just this last week I lost a friend to cancer, I had another friend diagnosed with cancer, and a relative continue his courageous fight against cancer. I also had a friend give birth to her first baby, a boy named Mason. I'm waiting to hear from another friend who is about to be a Grandpa for the first time. I have a dear friend with a daughter needing surgery and another child sick. One friend lost his job and another finally found work, and one friend is getting married.

This is life. This is what you and I share in common every day. We have those moments that make us laugh and those that make us cry but each moment is precious. Take the time every day to tell someone you love them, for you never know if it will be the last chance you have to say it.

Love Is A Verb....

2009-10-22T18:36:00.008-04:00

.....As well as a Noun.

That phrase has been at the top of the list in my thoughts to live by for almost 30 years now. When I write it or say it you can see there are those that get it, both male and female, and there are those that don't have a clue. In simple terms it means that you need to show your feelings for your lover as often as you say them.

Now at this point I direct these comments to the guys, because as the years roll by we forget how to be creative. Science has proven, on numerous occasions, there is a direct correlation between the male sex drive and male creativity. At a young age there is nobody on the face of the earth more creative than a teenage boy in pursuit of a young woman. At that age we need to become creative because we do not have the resource material at our disposal that young girls have. They don't give us a book of "Guaranteed 'Get Lucky' Lines" in "Home Ec" or "Sex Ed" class, but every guy on the face of the planet knows you get that book...that cursed book, that they give out to you girls when you hit about 12 or 13 years old. Say it with me guys: "1001 Ways To Cause Him To Take A Cold Shower", now available in paperback, dvd and blu-ray disc.

Laugh if you will but that book has done more damage, and inspired more creativity, throughout the years than any other book in the history of mankind. Without that book how many 14 year old boys would have been shipping out tomorrow? How many Midwestern boys would have contacted deadly malaria or other incurable diseases that could only be cured with a tall glass of Dickens Cider? Think about it? How many bottles of Boonesfarm, Slo-gin, or Wine Coolers would have never been sold, if not for that damn book?

Anyway, I digress....

This piece today is to help my fellow man, to regenerate his creative juices, to put words to paper, yes guys I said words not pictures, in hopes that these ideas will promote a creative streak that is sure to get you lai....'er, that is sure to enhance the way you and your lover communicate. So guys, get out your crayons and take notes!

SIMPLE IS MORE EFFECTIVE:

That is the absolute truest statement that can be made when talking about men and romance. The reason simple works so well is that way we can't screw it up. It does no good to be creative and then look like a fool doing it. Keep it simple, keep it inexpensive! (Got your attention now, didn't I?)

1. The number one complaint with most women about their men is that men don't listen to them. You come home and either want to talk about you, you, you or you take a disinterested view on what they have to say. Try this, tomorrow when your significant other mentions something casually about a friend or family member, go write it down and put it in your wallet. Wait 4 days and then pull it out and ask her about it. Did it work out, how is she, show her what she said was important. You will sweep her off her feet.

2. Tonight, after dinner, get up and clear the table, tell her to sit and relax, you'll take care of it. Load the dishwasher or do the dishes together, or do it for her. There is no greater way to say I love you.

3. While she is in the shower tonight or in the morning, sneak her robe out and put it in the dryer for 5 minutes. Make sure it is toasty warm for her when she gets out of the shower.

4. Stop by her office in the middle of the day and take her, her favorite candy bar or snack.

5. Put a brief love note in her shoe. Nothing fancy...just I love you, have a great day.

6. Stop on the way home and pick her some wild flowers. Now gentlemen let me be specific here, by wild flowers I mean from a field. Do not come home and hand her a bouquet of cut flowers with a card hidden inside that says "Forrest Lawn Cemetery", it'll spoil the whole mood. Women don't always want $40 roses, they want to mean enough to you for you to stop and pick some free ones yourself.

7. If flowers are her thing, again stop by her work and place a single rose on her front seat. If you want to have extra fun deny doing it when she gets home and ask to see her cell phone. No don't do that!

8. Start a date night. One night out of the week with no kids, no work, no cell phones, just you and her. Alternate weeks as to who decides what you will do. Try new things, go roller skating in the park, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money, it just has to allow you both to dream again.

9. Rent "Play Misty For Me" or another old time scary movie, turn off all the lights, light a single candle, cuddle and watch the movie.

10. Hold her hand while driving together, get lost in her eyes the way you did when she was 25 and compliment her. Be her Knight in shining armour.

11. Send a card to her Mother thanking her for having such a wonderful daughter.

12. Spent an evening massaging her feet and her shoulders, without a single move towards an erogenous zone. She may help direct your hands.

13. Buy her a $10 ring at a store or flea market. Think back to the times when you struggled together to make ends meet. Those were the best of times.

14. Stop home on your lunch hour, and set out her favorite beverage or treat so it's ready when she walks through the door.

15. Save every card she ever gives you from now on.

16. Walk up and kiss her in the mall and let everyone stare, then tell her you don't care.

17. Let her know that the most beautiful sunset you two have ever shared pales in comparison to how beautiful she is in your eyes.

18. Ask her how she feels about something? Seek her guidance, her input.

19. Buy her something sexy because she still wears it well.

20. Help her with the laundry.

21. Write her a poem, even a lousy one.

22. Clean the bathroom.

23. Make her laugh.

24. Tell her you love her!

There you go guys. I've got you started now it's up to you to custom tailor your actions to HER needs. If you master that, then you'll have mastered "Love is a verb"......

"You Lie" The Exclamation Point

2009-09-13T11:41:00.005-04:00

This is a reprint of Mitch Alboms column from the Detroit Free Press dated September 13, 2009. In it he sums up what I have been saying for about 10 years now, and he does it better than I could. Enjoy!

Yell at Obama a new low but not the last

It was just two words.

"You lie!"

Two words. Not even curse words. But the where and the when made those two words significant.

"You lie!" It was screamed from the floor of Congress, by an elected official of the state of South Carolina, and aimed at the president of the United States.

"You lie!"

In the history of American politics, no one could recall a similar act. Not with all the fudged truths that have been told by American presidents. Not with George W. Bush and the Iraq war, not with Bill Clinton and his private life, not with Ronald Reagan and Iran-contra, not with Richard Nixon and Watergate.

Yet somehow last week, during a speech on, of all things, health care, Joe Wilson, a Republican congressman, was unable to control himself. He yelled those two words loudly enough to be heard in the chamber, on national TV and around the world.

And in so doing, he lowered the bar of American behavior another few feet.

Never mind that Wilson was incorrect. The president had said that under his health care bill, the benefits would not apply to illegal immigrants -- and they would not. The bills before Congress declare that. You could argue that illegal immigrants still could buy insurance or sneak through, but that hardly supports a liar charge, does it?

Never mind that. Never mind that Wilson apologized that night.

Something bigger was at work.

A culture of confrontation
Hate breeds hate, anger breeds anger, and I have been arguing in this space for years now that the American discourse -- fueled by the Internet, talk radio and cable TV -- has turned so mean it has nowhere to go but get meaner. Little wonder that immediately after Wilson's unforgivable outburst, it was being justified by certain Republicans not because it was correct, but because Democrats had been equally insulting to Bush.

Hate breeds hate, and there is money and fame in yelling louder and angrier. You don't get on TV by asking thoughtful questions at a town hall meeting, but you sure can get there if you curse, holler and scream like a captured banshee. Come to think of it, that applies to TV hosts as well.

Is it any surprise such behavior eventually finds its way into a room with the president? We were abhorred when an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at Bush. We called it barbaric, typical of a country hopelessly behind us on the civility scale.

Where does Wilson rank on that scale?

Clearly near the bottom. But why did he yell those two words? Why did that speech and this president cause a veteran politician like Wilson to lose control?

The right to actually lead
I have a theory. For all the fawning popularity Barack Obama enjoys in certain circles, he is equally vilified in others. Those who don't like him truly don't like him. And there seems to be an element in this country that doesn't want to accept him as the president. From the kooks hollering about his birth certificate to the paranoids insisting he is a closet Muslim, there are people who just don't want this guy in that office.

The fact that he is half-black is not wasted on them, either. Let's be blunt. Nobody can use the N-word in public anymore. But they can use socialist, anarchist, alien.

And somehow it's now acceptable to deem a guy who has been in office barely eight months unfit and unworthy. It's acceptable to suggest he's taking us straight to hell. It's acceptable to yell "You lie!" at the commander in chief in a place where it has never been yelled before.

Hate breeds hate. Two days ago, I boarded a plane heading for New York City. As we descended over the Manhattan skyline, I realized it was Sept. 11. I thought back to the emotions that followed that day eight years ago, a feeling of unity, a feeling a patriotism, a feeling that no enemy, no matter how evil or determined, could ever tear us apart.

The enemy doesn't have to. The way we are going, we'll do it ourselves.

For tickets to Mitch Albom's charity book launch for "Have a Little Faith" on Sept. 30 at the Fox Theatre, call 800-745-3000 or go to ticketmaster.com. Contact MITCH ALBOM: 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090913/COL01/909130431/1318/-You-lie---a-new-low--but-not-the-last&template=fullarticle

I Believe...

2009-09-03T18:13:00.005-04:00

In God the Father Almighty and Jesus Christ, his son, my Lord.

In the United States of America and despite all of the things that could be improved about her, she is still the greatest country on the face of the earth.

That God and Christianity are an integral part of the history, culture and character of this country.

That there is nothing wrong with "in God we trust" on our money or in our federal buildings.

That if a community decides to celebrate a religious holiday, be it Christmas, Easter, Passover, Hanukkah, Dewali, Ramadan or whatever, it can be displayed on a government building provided it is done in good taste.

That you have the right not to believe in God but if you make that choice don't expect me to alter my life to please you. It was your choice after all.

That you have the right to your political point of view.

That you have the right to express your point of view, provided it is done in a courteous manner.

That is is my obligation to honor your right of free speech.

That I have no say over a woman's personal decision about reproductive rights.

That if a politician lies or reneges on a campaign promise he forfeits the right to run again for reelection.

We should bring every American soldier home tomorrow. Use them to provide for the common defense, and save the billions of dollars we spend overseas to house our military.

Every trade treaty we have with a foreign nation should have the same restrictions here on them as they put on us there.

The government should forget a national health care program and instead pay private providers to supply health care to every American. They already know what they are doing.

We need to cut all current foreign aid by 75%, take that money and invest it in America.

Schools should once again have the right to administer corporal punishment. The experiment of Dr. Spock is a miserable failure, most parents do not discipline properly and we have several generations of people that have no respect for authority or rules.

We need a national primary so that everyone has an equal voice on who runs for President.

That the following cabinets/departments should be eliminated and their powers consolidated in other cabinets or, better yet, turned over to the individual states. Health and Human Service, HUD, Transportation, Education, Homeland Security, EPA, and the Department of Labor.

That State Government should become larger and the Federal Government smaller. This would give us all a bigger say so in how we are governed.

Truth in advertising return to what it was in the 60's.

Gasoline and oil should be regulated as a utility, and removed from the commodities markets.

All oil reserves in this country should be explored to their highest potential and output.

We should rescind NAFTA.

We need to reestablish our supremacy as an industrialize nation again, limit imports and have American made products or options available.

We should return to being the breadbasket of the world, encourage farming, ranching and stop importing foods that make us sick.

Every illegal alien in this country should be deported, then allowed to apply for immigration following the legal process every other American had to follow.

We need a death penalty in this country that provide for one appeal, and only one appeal.

Every child needs to be provided with a proper education, and to have funds available for college.

We should return to life before 9/11. Airlines free of scanners, crossing into Canada or Mexico as we did before.

We need to do away with political correctness. We have become a hypersensitive nation of cry babies. Someone called you a name, live with it.......our parents did.

People need to move beyond hate, racial and other stereotypes. Contrary to what some of you Neanderthals believe, we are all made of the same organs, genes, and feelings. I quit a job back in '91 that paid me $55k a year because they wanted me to fired a man solely because he was black. And you know what? I'd do it again today. Racist people, homophobic people, are ignorant people.

Children with special needs deserve all of the help we can provide. It was probably many of the contamination's that are throughout our society that led to those needs. We caused it we should own it.

In showing respect and manners. I believe in please and thank you, yer ma'am and yes sir, standing when a lady enters the room, holding a door for a lady, opening her car door, removing your hat at the dinner table, or standing for our national anthem. I believe we should respect our elders and those who served our nation, be it in the military, police, firefighters or other parts of public service.

Wars should be fought by Generals, not politicians and fought to win.

I believe everyone should own a firearm but handguns should be banned. (No, NRA guns kill people, people just aim them)

Teachers aren't underpaid. If I could make $50k for 9 months work I'd be damn happy.

Helmet and seat belt laws are against the Constitution.

The secret to reducing insurance rate is to follow Shakespeare's lead. (First, let's kill all the lawyers).

Everyone that is qualified to become a Doctor should be allowed to be a Doctor.

A 19 year old boy with a 16 year old girlfriend is not guilty of rape, or vice versa.

All advertisements for political causes should reveal who REALLY paid for the ad.

Women get sexier with age.

It is healthy to laugh and tell jokes. We all take this thing called life way too seriously.

The only term limits that should be imposed are done at the voting booth.

We should have electronic voting so that everyone has a voice. (If Federal Express can track a package across the country this should be a snap)

The Federal Government exists to provide for the common defense, monetary regulations, and to negotiate treaties.

We need to hire mercenaries to kill Bin Laden and pay the guy who does it $1 billion.

We need to slow down technology. As soon as a operating system or cell phone come out it is obsolete.

Cell phones should not have cameras or text features.

Long hair and bangs makes a woman look hot and a man feel young.

Love is a verb as well as a noun.

It's easy to fall in love. Falling into like is much harder and is necessary for a lasting relationship. It's liking our mate, or our friendship, that allows us to forgive the mistakes that happen in a relationship.

Cell phone should have larger displays and numbers! LOL

Parents get smarter the older we get.

Family and friends make a person complete.

Now, what do you believe?

Politics Makes For Strange Bedfellows

2009-09-01T17:30:00.009-04:00

It's been a while and there are a myriad of topics running through my brain, but the one that won out was politics. So I decided to use a quote as the title of this little rant and rave that I have heard numerous times in the past. But before I begin could someone please tell me: What the hell does that quote mean?

One of the things I learned while working in management is there are a few things you never discuss around the water cooler. Things like taxes, religion, and politics were pretty much off limits because they are so volatile, and there is no absolute right or wrong. The truth, as with much in life, lays somewhere in the middle.

Lately I have become more outspoken on political issues, as have my friends, and I think that is a normal progression as we age. Maybe it's because we have something to say, maybe because now we have the experience to back up our thoughts and maybe now because we worry we are running out of time.

Those that have known me a long time, know my political background. I came from a working class, Republican household that believed the less government involved itself in our lives the better off all of us were. I was a Milliken Republican, a Romney Republican (George not wimpy, 'er Mitt). Were they conservative? Yes but they were also moderate or progressive in their thinking. Both were excellent Governors in the Great State of Michigan during my childhood and their accomplishments are renown. They understood that it took give and take to make our political system work. Hell, they were Republican Governors in the most unionized state in the country, and they held the highest office for the better part of 16 years. They were politicians that served the people first, and the party second.

As I grew older there were changes going on all around me in both the political arena and society in general. Like many my age I experienced Viet Nam, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Watergate, Free Love (such a great idea), Dr. Spock, Timothy Leary, Chicago 7, Ollie North, the Black Panthers, Jane Fonda, Charles Manson, Mohammad Ali, Patty Hearst, and the Moral Majority. So many events molding how we looked at the world. We became a generation that questioned everything, and rightfully so. But then something went terribly wrong. We evolved from an "us" society to a "me" society. And in doing so we became a society that forgot the merits of debate and compromise.

I moved out of the Republican Party about the time the Moral Majority moved in. First because I do believe in the separation of church and state, but mostly because those that professed to be moral seemed to pontificate an inordinate amount of hate. They said Liberals were "Godless" and socialist which I'm sure came as a shock to the many millions of Americans that lean towards the Democratic Party yet go to church, pray and tithe on a regular basis. It's that old adage God is on the winning side of the war. The problem is he isn't on either side because he loves us all. The MM hated gays, they hated reproductive rights, they espoused the dangers of the liberal government involved with every aspect of our lives then wanted to legislate a ban on personal reproductive choices of a woman and capital punishment. Is there anything more intrusive? They spoke of the "drive by liberal media" controlled by the left, yet I found it ironic I never heard someone from ABC, NBC, or CBS call a Republican Politician a Magic Negro, or Fem Nazi, or Shemale, or a Fag, but I have heard those terms used by Rush, Hannity and the like. So much for love your neighbor.

Now with that said I couldn't move on to the other end of the spectrum either. As much as Newt Gingrich (who is a brilliant man, by the way) made my skin crawl, the likes of Kerry, Dukakis, Ferraro, Gore and Biden didn't necessarily strike me as leaders. I look at this whole global warming debate with tongue and cheek. This theory was pushed into the limelight by the "Father" of the Internet, Al Gore. Of course they've had to change the term from global warming to climate change because of the holes in the theory, but hey, we didn't need those gas guzzlers anyway.

It seems Nancy Pelosi, while on the way to making this a greener world, has neglected to figure out how to prevent her home state from having it's annual 3 month marshmallow roast in the fields and woods of California, spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and would rather put a couple of hundred thousand auto workers out of a job. They even had a cash for clunker program recently and the DOT did some creative accounting to show the biggest seller was Toyota, proving once again that Americans want small, fuel efficient cars. The problem with that is the NADA did there own tally by accepted sales recording methods, and it turns out Toyota was not only not first, the Ford Focus held that honor, Toyota finished 5th behind the Ford F-150 pickup truck! So much for that fuel efficient thing Nancy.

I watch Republicans say Bush did no wrong and that this recession has nothing to do with his lack of a domestic monetary policy for 8 years. He was a saint that could do no wrong. Water boarding isn't torture it's just aggressive conversation. He didn't lie to a nation, take advantage of the underlying fear of 9/11, just to have an excuse to invade a sovereign nation to clean up daddy's mess, did he? The hell he didn't! We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and Saddam is dead, so are 4,000 young American men and women, and Bin Laden probably has 10 more kids. Yet the Conservatives want to tell me George did everything right? I defy any Conservative to list for me 7 things George Bush did wrong during his Presidency, without stuttering.

Then we have the recent passing of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. He was eulogized as a saint by the Liberals much as the Conservative do for Bush. Ted was a dedicated public servant, he believed in his causes but he was hardly a saint. Yes we all know about Mary Jo. It was a tragedy and he never owned it properly. In any event I thank you Mr. Kennedy for your efforts.

You have a new breed of Democrat in public office today. I like to call them Republicrats, liberals with an attitude. You have there leader, no not President Obama, it's Nancy Pelosi who makes Hillary Clinton seem warm and fuzzy, and she believes that just because America grew tired of George Bush she has a mandate to radically alter our way of life. She is on record as saying she doesn't need the Republicans, and with help from the Great State of Massachusetts she might be right. The problem with it all is power is fleeting. And power is never absolute in a democracy!

Our nation is in a stalemate. We have elected officials that serve the party first and the people second. You have elected officials that no longer know how to negotiate. When in doubt tell a lie and the people will blindly support you has become the mantra of the modern politician. We are a nation of lemmings, sheep, that will blindly support a party doctrine because we don't have the backbone to force a change.

No, not an Obama change. I mean real change. Obama is a disappointment. He had a window of opportunity to really change the course of modern politics in this country and what did he do? He recycled the Clinton Administration. That's not change! His policies are not those of a free thinker but are the policies of the Democratic Party, no more, no less.

Change will never come from the politicians, it has to come from the people. People need to demand honesty, accountability, and integrity from their elected officials. There is a need for a third party in this country as well because the difference between the Democrats and Republicans is negligible.

We need politicians like Bill Milliken and George Romney again. Politicians that understand name calling and being a standard bearer for a political party results in failed attempts for change. We need to embrace the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and return our political process to what it was, to what allowed us to evolve over the last 200 years. A system of government that focuses more on a mans political point of view than how much dirt we can dig up on him.

The next time you feel like spewing hate upon a political opponent, stop and think, will this accomplish anything positive or is this just more self gratification. See, that's what it's really about. Do "we" want this country to be about "us" or "me". If we choose to stand alone, we will fail.

Try something refreshing, admit you might be wrong. If you will, I might too.

Love Thy Neighbor?

2009-07-28T19:42:00.004-04:00

I have to be careful how I write this because I don't want this to sound like I'm fishing for compliments, and I'm not, but I need to sound off on this topic.

Where I grew up we played outside from dusk til dark, we never locked our doors, and we had events like block parties throughout the year. You knew every neighbor for blocks, their names, their jobs and yes, even their naughty little secrets. When a neighbor was sick or suffered a loss it impacted us all and we responded with charity. I lived in an age where people cared about people, you care about them and you cared what they thought about you. We were raised to believe we should contribute to our community and our society, and that a man was judged by those he helped along the path of life. I took those childhood memories and lessons to heart, I cherished them and carried them with me throughout my life, and they have served me well.

Now this may be a rhetorical question but when did those things change?

I've lived in my home for 28 years and I'm ashamed to say I probably only know about 12 of my neighbors. But those that I do know I have, over the years, developed a good relationship with and tried to be that neighbor I remember from growing up.

As an example; my neighbor to the west had a bad hip and for four years I cut his lawn every week. In return, he'd plow my drive during the winter with his pick-up truck, he got it. Whenever it stormed the tree in the front yard of the widow next door would drop huge limbs and I would cut them up. When she passed away I cared for the house for her niece that lived up north who inherited it.

When my neighbor across the street lost his job and moved to Florida I cut his lawn for almost two years until the house sold. Some in the neighborhood thought I'd fallen on hard times and was cutting lawns. Little did they know I did it because I'm a good neighbor they paid for nothing. My other neighbor kitty corner from me asked to park his boat in my drive while he tried to sell it and I said sure, and then when he lost his job and went to Tennessee for job training I trimmed his lawn and watched over his family. When he got back I called a friend in a related field and tried to help him get a job. He was astounded, he said he owed me...I said no, you're my neighbor.

The young kids that just moved in behind me were unprepared for being without power for two days and were about to loose everything in their refrigerator so I hauled over an extension cord from my generator and plugged them in, they were so grateful they didn't have money for more food.

Over the years I have done things for them and some have done nice things for me, but what puzzles me is the majority look at me like I'm goofy. To me it's simple you reap what you sow...I believe in karma, and I believe the lessons my community taught me as a child.

When did those lessons go out of fashion? And more importantly how do we get them back? Perhaps you know....

The Real Estate Market The True Story

2009-07-11T17:12:00.010-04:00

Sometimes it's a curse to be burdened with being right all the time. Over the years I have amazed many of my family, friends and contemporaries with the things I have predicted. A large part of the burden is people tend to blame you for everything that goes wrong. In fact, I have two ex-wives and several former girlfriends, plus a current one, that will tell you it's almost always my fault. Just ask them! So accurate am I, that many that know me have taken to calling me by my other world name, Nostradumbass.

But today I want to convey to you a discussion I had back in 1995 regarding the future of real estate in this country.

Back in '95 I was a Sales Manager for one of the largest, privately held, real estate companies in the United States. It was a job I did well. I not only recruited and trained sales associates in my office but I also trained throughout the company at different times. I was one of their "go to" guys when it came to building an office up or making it profitable.

For those of you that don't remember the real estate market back in 1995 it was pretty darn good. We had just come out of the "Bush Senior" recession and the market was alive with a pent up demand. Homes and real estate experienced appreciation at a double digit rate in most communities, and it wasn't unusual to sell a home within a week of it hitting the market. All and all it was a good time to own and sell real estate.

I always kept things loose in my offices. There was a lot of joking and kidding, but my people were also the most Professional Realtors you could find anywhere. They had an insatiable thirst for knowledge because they understood that knowledge was power. And as such we would frequently discuss the current market, and the "what ifs" about the market as well.

I recall one day towards the end of the weekly sales meeting we got into a discussion about what the market would look like 10 years from now (1995).

I remember watching my Associates jaws drop and they looked at me like I was on recreational drugs when I said "at some point in the next 10 to 15 years the bottom was going to fall out of the market". I went on further to say; "When it happens I will feel bad for all of these people today, especially the young people, that are over extending themselves to buy these $300, $400 and $500 thousand dollar homes because they were going to take the biggest hit".

Of course even though they chuckled in disbelief, they did understand I was "Nostradumbass" and, therefore, they respected my opinion so they asked me to elaborate. Now before I go farther, let me say I did not foresee the man made energy crisis, nor 9/11, nor had any thought about our latest recession that borderlines a depression. None of these factors came into play, it was merely the basic laws of supply side economics.

I explained to them that within the next 10 years the "baby-boomers" were going to start to retire and as such they would begin a massive exodus to downsize and migrate. In doing this there would be a tremendous void left in the high end of the market place and when this happens the only result will be a glut of product and falling prices.

I could see the light turn on as I reminded them that the "baby-boomers", with a demographic population somewhere in the neighborhood of 78 million people, were about twice the size of the "Gen-X'ers" which was estimated at about 41 million people. Then behind them the next two generations combined barely equal the "baby-boomers".

When you start to realize that at some point there will be 75 million homes for sale with approximately 50 million buyers, what do you think the end result will be? Of course they said falling prices.

And that is what we are watching and experiencing today. You can blame the sub-prime mortgages, the banks, the auto industry, Bush, Obama, oil, politics, foreign cars or Larry, Daryl and Daryl, and you'd still be wrong.

The culprit simply is too many homes and not enough buyers. It is the basic principle of supply and demand, and that isn't going to change any time soon. The irony is, it isn't going to change because the real estate market is as much to blame for people being unemployed as anything else. The politicians can stimulate us all until we're orgasmic but until people are employed with a good paying job they won't be buying houses any time soon.

For those of you waiting for the market to turn around, for your home to regain the value and equity it once had; I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it you don't have at least ten years, you've got a problem. Or at the very least a tough decision to make.

Because even if this country gets back to work, with unemployment down to a respectable 3%, the basics will not change. You have workers, in this new "green" society that the Republicrats are molding, that will earn about 2/3 of what their parents did. That fact alone works against any rapid recovery of home prices because they flat out can't afford that $400,000 shack mom and dad owned. Secondly if you have 100 hamburgers for sale and only 10 people hungry, the odds are pretty slim you're going to sell more than 20 burgers. The best thing the government could do, if they really want to help the homeowners, is plow down those foreclosed homes. At least then you would reduce some of the inventory.

It's a bitch always being right! Well wait, I can think of 3 or 4 times I made a mistake......

Craigslist Rants and Raves

2009-07-05T19:27:00.004-04:00

I enjoy reading Craigslist. If you are not familiar with CL it's a worldwide bulletin board where people can buy and sell anything, it has a singles section, a kinky section, a real estate section, chat rooms, and my favorite Rants and Raves.

Now R&R is a great idea in concept. It's a message board where you can go to praise something you think is worth while or to rant about something that ticks you off. And, of course, like most message boards it has been taken over but those dregs of society we affectionately term trolls and flamers.

Trolls and flamers are basically people with no life. Their sole purpose is to sit around all day posting stupid things in an attempt to get a rise or reaction out of someone. They all went to the same troll academy and the insults usually follow a topic pattern of racial, fat, death, gays, children, and ethnic backgrounds.

Despite the proliferation of these flamers on a place like CL, there are still some that make interesting posts. They make comments designed to make you think or that are topical in nature. You can find me on the Detroit Cl and my handle is (sitting here reading).

Now, typically I will post things on CL much as I will post them here. Topics that I believe are worthy of discussion. Of course sometimes, when I stumble across an idiot, I can't help but respond in a way to let them know they're a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. I especially like when they reply to another persons post and resort to name calling....that almost always will get me going is the original poster (op) made any sense at all.

Here is an example of a post I made tonight. The OP told anti-smokers to be careful what you pray for because if it comes true the state of Michigan will have to find a revenue source to make up for the $2 billion dollars in taxes they now collect from smokers. The follow is a typical sequence on R&R.

This was the reply to that post:

RE: non smokers, careful what U wish for (Michigan)

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Reply to: pers-ra5ny-1254288338@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-07-05, 12:05PM EDT

Just a couple of comments. Can you tell us some of the programs that are paid for by the sacrifice your making to your life for the better of mankind? Perhaps we'd be better off without some of them. It would be a good way to cut some of the over spending this government does in the first place. You have every right to smoke, hell.....smoke until lungs shrivel up into a raisin, and emphysema has you breathing from a tank of oxygen you have to cart around with you. Go ahead jackass puff down all you want.

You said "They have also forgot to tell you that alcohol, risky sex practices, obesity, auto & motorcycle accidents are a far bigger drain on medical resources than smokers could ever be".

None of those have any effect on my life, and health. What you don't have the right to do is endanger MY life or MY children's lives. Every time you smoke down in a public restaurant or some other enclosed place you endanger everyone around you with no regard. Don't try to make yourself out to be some type of martyr either. Acting like your doing a public service by slowly rotting yourself from the inside out by sucking on a cancer stick to the betterment of Michiganders everywhere. Dick.

To which I replied:

Re:RE: non smokers, careful what U wish for (Michigan) (sitting here reading)

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Reply to: pers-xkjdc-1254838921@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-07-05, 6:50PM EDT

***None of those have any effect on my life, and health. What you don't have the right to do is endanger MY life or MY children's lives. Every time you smoke down in a public restaurant or some other enclosed place you endanger everyone around you with no regard. Don't try to make yourself out to be some type of martyr either. Acting like your doing a public service by slowly rotting yourself from the inside out by sucking on a cancer stick to the betterment of Michiganders everywhere. Dick.****

Can you say Baaaaaaaa? I think you can.

Before you go calling people a "dick" maybe you should enlighten us.....which test was it that verifies that smoking causes cancer? In a 5,000 square foot restaurant with 50,000 cubic feet of air at what point is the concentration of cigarette smoke enough to cause cancer when ingested? Can you name me three research scientists that have said, conclusively, that cigarette smoke causes cancer in everyone that smokes? These are trick questions because you can't. There are no conclusive tests. Not for lung cancer or any other form of cancer.

Cancer is caused by a predisposition genetically "dick". Not by smoke. Smoke may be a trigger but so might after shave, cologne, hair spray, bug repellent and breath like a buffalo fart. It is people like you that run like lemmings to the cliff then ask why am I falling. Because you don't question, you believe what anyone in authority tells you and you fail to research a topic.

I don't know what the OP's first post was because I haven't read it yet, but if it has anything to do with warning fools like you to beware of your rights running out the door, you better thank him. Let me ask you something....did you know that in the new Senate Health Bill for President Obama's proposed national health program there is a clause that allows the government to fine you up to $1,000 a year if you fail to provide yourself with health insurance? And as a result of these fines that expect to collect $38 billion dollars a year. You do the math. Then show me where in our Constitution it gives the government the right to dictate to us that we have to have health insurance?

Your rights are being reduced on a daily basis and you sit there and nod your head like a plastic dog in the back window of a real car.....not one the government tells you, you want.

Now back to the smoking question....do you know where second hand smoke came from? It came about when doctors and scientists couldn't come up with a reasonable answer to why do people that don't smoke get lung cancer and die! And they had no answer and it was a big hole in their anti smoking campaign...then suddenly, viola, second hand smoke kills babies from 100 feet away. Lemming.........

•Location: sitting here reading

To which someone replied to me:

re:Re:RE: non smokers, careful what U wish for (Michigan) (sitting her (yeah, right)

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Reply to: pers-uuwkm-1254877119@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-07-05, 7:21PM EDT

Whether or not second hand smoke causes cancer is irrelevent. kinda like you.

Smoking STINKS. Smokers STINK. Second hand smoke burns your eyes and irritates your lungs.

Around people with lung desiese it could be dangerous, even causing a fatal asthma attack.

Smoke all you want, just do it in your own stinky house.

Fuck all you stinky smokers. I hope you all die painfull cancerous deaths.

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To which I replied:

re:Re:RE: non smokers, careful what U wish for (Michigan) (sitting her (sitting here reading)

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Reply to: pers-v4cf2-1254910122@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-07-05, 7:48PM EDT

Dear Functional Illiterate,

It was the other poster that said it causes cancer not me. As for my smoking I quit 3 years ago after 42 years of smoking. I had the will power to see that I was doing something that could harm my body and decided to change that. Unlike you that, based upon your grammar and spelling, probably decided school wasn't your thing somewhere around 8th grade. Good luck with that!

Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion but it may mean more if you understood what it was you were responding too, versus finding new and unusual ways to put "fuck you" into a reply.

Carry on as if you were normal.....

•Location: sitting here reading

This could go on all night but even I know you shouldn't argue with a fool...but it's good for the occasional giggle. I'm betting you wish you had the last 4 minutes of your life back, huh? Anyway, if you want some interesting reading log into your local CL and take a peak. But be careful you just may want to post!

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T19:54:00.003-04:00

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

This Is Scarey

2009-07-03T09:47:00.005-04:00

More and more I look and see our individual rights being subtly taken away by our government. The worst part of the whole scenerio is "we the people" are allowing it to happen. I don't have time to comment on this at the moment but here is a reprint of an article from this mornings Detroit Free Press. If this doesn't scare you...than you are either a special kind of stupid or dead:

Uninsured would face fines under Senate health bill
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR • Associated Press • July 2, 2009
http://www.freep.com/article/20090702/NEWS15/90702064/Uninsured+would+face+fines+under+Senate+health+bill

WASHINGTON — Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled today by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families would pay higher penalties than individuals.

In a revamped health care system envisioned by lawmakers, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor and many middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up would face penalties.

Called “shared responsibility payments,” the fines would be set at least half the cost of basic medical coverage, according to the legislation.

In 2008, employer-provided coverage averaged $12,680 a year for a family plan, and $4,704 for individual coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey. Senate aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the cost of the federal plan would be lower but wouldn’t provide specifics.

The legislation would exempt certain hardship cases from fines.

The new proposals were released as Congress neared the end of a weeklong July 4 break, with lawmakers expected to quickly take up health care legislation when they return to Washington. With deepening divisions along partisan and ideological lines, the complex legislation faces an uncertain future.

Obama wants a bill this year that would provide coverage to the millions of Americans who lack it and reduce medical costs.

In a statement, Obama welcomed the legislation, saying it “reflects many of the principles I’ve laid out, such as reforms that will prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the concept of insurance exchanges where individuals can find affordable coverage if they lose their jobs, move or get sick.”

The Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions bill also calls for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees.

Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said in a letter to colleagues that their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way toward coverage for 97% of Americans.

In a conference call with reporters, Dodd said the revised bill had brought “historic reform of health care” closer. He said the bill’s public option will bring coverage and benefit decisions driven “not by what generates the biggest profits, but by what works best for American families.”

The two senators said the Congressional Budget Office put the cost of the proposal at $611.4 billion over 10 years, down from $1 trillion two weeks ago.

However, the total cost of legislation will rise considerably once provisions are added to subsidize health insurance for the poor through Medicaid. Those additions, needed to ensure coverage for nearly all U.S. residents, are being handled by a separate panel, the Senate Finance Committee. Bipartisan talks on the Finance panel aim to hold the overall price tag to $1 trillion.

The Health Committee could complete its portion of the bill as soon as next week, and the presence of a government health insurance option virtually assures a party-line vote.
In the Senate, the Finance Committee version of the bill is unlikely to include a government-run insurance option. Bipartisan negotiations are centered on a proposal for a nonprofit insurance cooperative as a competitor to private companies.

Three committees are collaborating in the House on legislation expected to come to a vote by the end of July. That measure is certain to include a government-run insurance option.

At their heart, all the bills would require insurance companies to sell coverage to any applicant, without charging higher premiums for pre-existing medical conditions. The poor and some middle-class families would qualify for government subsidies to help with the cost of coverage. The government’s costs would be covered by a combination of higher taxes and cuts in projected Medicare and Medicaid spending.

End of article

Extorting fines against Americans that may not be able to afford health insurance? This from the party that cruxified John McCain for suggesting taxing health benefits?

Music On My Mind

2009-06-28T22:55:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKmOKa9nwLg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1a_ikfUico

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4uPp69TMLI

How's that Angel?

Women Over 40

2009-06-27T18:56:00.002-04:00

From 60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.
Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off that you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal.

For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress.

Ladies, I apologize.

I couldn't have said it better....

Thank you ladies!

It Happens In Three's

2009-06-25T18:52:00.004-04:00

They say deaths in the entertainment industry comes in three's. Whether you believe in this sort of thing or not, it's a little eerie that today we lost Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, on top of the passing of Ed McMahon the other day.

Whether you were fans of these entertainers or not what cannot be denied is their lasting impact and icon status in society.

Of the three obviously Michael Jackson was the one surrounded by the most controversy. Between the multiple cosmetic surgeries or the multiple accusations of abusing minors Jackson today still has throngs of fans. He ushered in the video age of MTV with his Thriller video.

Farrah is one of those icons that only needed one name. She was a fantasy to millions of young boys and grown men. More than a pretty face she proved that she had the talent to stretch into any number of roles and make them believable.

As for Ed not only was he Johnny's second banana, his "Star Search" franchise should be considered to grandfather to shows like American Idol, America's Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars.

They impacted the way we thought, looked at life, watched TV and listened to music.

It's a sad day indeed...

Hey Lord.....

2009-06-23T18:39:00.004-04:00

Heerrrrrrrreeeeessssss Ed!

No that wasn't in poor taste. In fact it was a tribute to a man that made a career out of being the "second banana".

As I get older more and more of the icons from my youth pass away. Several had major impacts on me. People like Johnny Carson, John Wayne, Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra or Spencer Tracy, all legends in the entertainment industry. These were people that not only survived on talent but had the talent to transcend multiple generations.

Unlike the "stars" of today that claim celebrity status by the fact they make fools of themselves on some "reality" TV show, or they are the pampered little princess of some wealthy person, these people have no staying power.

I actually feel bad for the younger generation because I often wonder who will be their Steve McQueen or Katherine Hepburn or Charleston Heston? What will be their "Mary Poppins", West Side Story", "Grease", "The Longest Day", "Blazing Saddles"?

The passing of a generation is marked by the imprint made by the talent of that generation. So as each icon leaves this world I watch a small piece of my youth go with them. Do I have fond memories? Of course I do but there is something about losing a "friend" that you thought would always be their.

So long Ed you had a great run....

Mr. President Clean Your Plate

2009-06-16T18:45:00.004-04:00

My Mother at dinner used to tell me to clean my plate before taking seconds. My Dad used to tell me to finish the project I started before starting another. Over the years as I've gotten older, and my parents grew wiser, I learned that these were some sound bits of advice. And I can't help but wonder if these words were ever said to President Obama when he was growing up?

I listened to some sound bites about the Presidents aspirations for a national health care program, and while I agree there is a need, I think we need to take a step back for a moment. I've watched our new President spend billions of dollars in the banking industry, the auto industry, in stimulus spending and push two or the Big-3 into bankruptcy. I'm not saying these moves were wrong or a failure, but I'm also not willing to say they were correct or successful. The truth is they are unfinished works in progress and the results are not in yet.

I think before we mortgage our future any further it might be a little comforting to see you finish a project to the end. See, I understand where you are coming from because I'm that way. I love to build things. I love to work with my hands. Three years ago I remodeled my kitchen, new cabinets, new counters, new appliances, extended the breakfast area and added a French door. I was inspired and what is done looks great. The problem is three years later I still don't have the molding down. My intentions were good, it looked good on paper, it built nice, but I got distracted with the next project.

Mr. President you are being distracted. Distracted by the numerous problems facing this country, distracted by the media, distracted by your detractors and by members of your own party. Finish what you have started, make one program show some signs of success, clean you plate, then go get another helping....

Gym Update

2009-06-15T18:42:00.005-04:00

It's been a while since I commented on my workout experiences so I thought I'd waste a few minutes of your life talking about it.

When this whole thing started a few months ago I honestly didn't know how it was going to work out. I will say I'm surprised at how much I enjoy working out. I always thought "gym people" were a few cards shy of a full deck but after doing this I understand where they are coming from.

I've met all sorts of people since I started working out but most are only to nod my head at as we pass in the isle and say "hi". There are a couple of guy about my age that I actually talk to on a regular basis. We compare workouts and results, and share things that seem to work for us. This one guy, who is really a good guy, makes me laugh because every time I see him he keeps telling me how I'm shedding the weight. I don't have the heart to tell him I've been stuck at the same weight for seven weeks now.

I get a kick out of watching the "kids" work out. It's as much a show as it is for health benefits. There is this one guy who is about 28 that I end up near on the treadmill at least once a week and his routine never changes. Instead of starting slow, stretching or warming up gradually this kid takes off at about 6.5mph and runs for about 40 seconds gets a cramp, jumps to the side and stretches for a second, starts running again and the cycle repeats itself about a dozen times before he gives up and walks. I so want to turn to this guy and say "stretch first", but I keep it to myself. I don't want to be a lunk!

Gym etiquette takes a little getting used to. Gyms are a lot like men's rooms. For those of the gentler gender, unlike you women that go to the bathroom in herds, men at totally homophobic. You stand at a urinal, eyes straight ahead and you don't say a word to the guy next to you. God forbid you make eye contact with the dude wizzing in the urinal next to you. I think there is some rule that if that happens you go blind or something. Anyway Gyms are a lot like that. You leave gaps between you and the person next to you. if there are open machines and you get on one right next to a person you get a look that could kill. It's like you can hear them think; "fool I don't need to smell you or hear your burp or cough, so move your sorry ass over to another machine".

Cleaning the machines appears to be optional, for some. When I started it took about 30 seconds to figure out that most people wiped down their machine after use. I figured the reason we did this because belonging to this gym is dirt cheap and it helps keep the cost down. Then I noticed some, mostly princesses with good manicures and old guy, that felt it was beneath them to clean up. So now I clean before and after. By the way I am not "old guy". I am a veteran young guy, there is a difference.

Now the other thing that sort of makes me laugh is the fact they have pizza night and bagel Saturdays. Now here I am busting my backside trying to lose weight and they are waltzing in the door with 15 pizza's on the first day of the month. Have you ever tried working out while being assaulted by the smell of pepperoni? It's not easy, your stomach starts to growl really loud and then the girl two machines down looks at you like you just ripped one off. Another thing that gets me. They have about a dozen TV's set to different channels to watch while you work out and that's cool because it helps the time pass. But why in the world would they have one of those TV's set to the food network? I mean, isn't that a little like bringing a 12 pack of beer into an AA meeting? Also, am I just a perve or does it make anyone else snicker when watching a commercial for the food network and they say "party in your mouth". I can just go all sorts of different directions with that one.

Anyway, needless to say I am still working out, enjoying it, and I have yet to hurt myself! So I guess I'm doing good!!

Calling Al Gore...Calling Al Gore....

2009-06-15T18:31:00.002-04:00

Be on the lookout for unexplained events in the world that are starting to poke wholes in this entire global warming thing.

Argentine glacier advances despite global warming

By JEANNETTE NEUMANN, Associated Press Writer Jeannette Neumann, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jun 14, 3:55 pm ET

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is one of only a few ice fields worldwide that have withstood rising global temperatures.

Nourished by Andean snowmelt, the glacier constantly grows even as it spawns icebergs the size of apartment buildings into a frigid lake, maintaining a nearly perfect equilibrium since measurements began more than a century ago.

"We're not sure why this happens," said Andres Rivera, a glacialist with the Center for Scientific Studies in Valdivia, Chile. "But not all glaciers respond equally to climate change."

Viewed at a safe distance on cruise boats or the wooden observation deck just beyond the glacier's leading edge, Perito Moreno's jagged surface radiates a brilliant white in the strong Patagonian sun. Submerged sections glow deep blue.

And when the wind blows in a cloud cover, the 3-mile-wide (5 kilometer) glacier seems to glow from within as the surrounding mountains and water turn a meditative gray.

Every few years, Perito Moreno expands enough to touch a point of land across Lake Argentina, cutting the nation's largest freshwater lake in half and forming an ice dam as it presses against the shore.

The water on one side of the dam surges against the glacier, up to 200 feet (60 meters) above lake level, until it breaks the ice wall with a thunderous crash, drowning the applause of hundreds of tourists.

"It's like a massive building falling all of the sudden," said park ranger Javier D'Angelo, who experienced the rupture in 2008 and 1998.

The rupture is a reminder that while Perito Moreno appears to be a vast, 19-mile-long (30 kilometer) frozen river, it's a dynamic icescape that moves and cracks unexpectedly.

"The glacier has a lot of life," said Luli Gavina, who leads mini-treks across the glacier's snow fields.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090614/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_argentina_glacier

Why dont we hear more about these types of stories?

WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years

2009-06-11T19:35:00.003-04:00

The World Health Organization officially declared the "Swine Flu" a pandemic and, call me silly, but I'm wondering what all the hub bub is about. Let's look at a few basic facts, shall we?

First, while I'm obviously forming a conclusion based upon limited information, every death I have heard associated with the "swine flu" has resulted due to an underlying health condition. Thus far the "swine flu" has resulted in 144 deaths world wide while the regular flu accounts for about 500,000 flu deaths annually. Now certainly I am not minimizing the deaths of 144 people, the death of anyone is tragic but doesn't it seem just a little alarmist to call this a "pandemic" at this point? Who is the Director of the WHO, do any of you know? His name isn't Dr. C. Little by any chance is it?

Secondly, lets look at how the media just eats this stuff up. When this "swine flu" first reared its ugly head in Mexico back in late April the media had a field day. Both the national and local news led off each night with "breaking" news about the latest "swine flu" cases or reported deaths. This went on for weeks alarming people about a virus that was about as irritating as a mild case of food poisoning.

For weeks the media rammed it down our throats effecting the travel industry, airlines industry, restaurant industry, schools, job places, local transportation and running up millions of dollars in costs for an already overwhelmed heath system. People were wearing masks on public transportation, in congested areas, airports, train stations and other places where more than two people gather. The demand for face masks was so high that, a news report said, the manufacturing plant went to 24-hour operations and were being delayed due to a lack of materials. All of this because of a media created frenzy about 144 poor souls that died of the flu.

The irony here is in 2008, 30.8 million people worldwide had AIDS and you still can't convince people to wear a condom. On a side note they still call AIDS an epidemic yet 144 deaths has made the "Swine Flu" a pandemic. Pandemic sells more advertising space I guess.

Certainly, when any type of health issue occurs there is a need to to make the public aware. And any health issue that could result in death needs to be taken seriously. But in this day and time, in a world filled with daily doom and gloom, be it the economy, wars, droughts, natural disasters do we really need one more thing to worry about daily?

I'm thinking with a little more "good" news you might just find that peoples resistance to ailments might just improve. But what do I know I'm just an optimist at heart.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_he_me/un_un_swine_flu

Happy Birthday Dad

2009-06-10T18:37:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, June 9th, would have been my Dad's 89 birthday. Now I've mentioned my Father before on this blog and while some would say he was a hard nose kind of guy, I'd say he loved his family the best way he knew how. He had an uncanny resemblance to an actor named Forrest Tucker whom you may remember from several John Wayne movies or the TV show "F-Troop". Several times in my life I had been with my Dad where people would point, whisper and come right out and ask him who he was, and it always made for interesting moments. That's my dad on the left.

I guess this sort of thing runs in the family because I my older brother could pass for Bob Seger, and while I don't see it, I have had 6 different people tell me in my life I resemble Sam Elliot, go figure.

My Dad passed away in 1993 but there isn't a day that goes by when I don't talk to him. I've heard his words echo in my mind every time the situation applies but it sure doesn't replace the real deal, ya know? Much in my life has changed in the 16 years since I was last able to speak face to face with my Dad, a divorce, a career change, a granddaughter, a few life events, some changes in health, several new loves and several loves lost. Now this may be TMI for some but I wish, somehow, I could communicate with him one more time. If I could it would probably go something like this:

Hey Pop,

It's been along time and I sure miss you, Mom, Bobbie and Skip. Since today is your birthday I thought I'd bring you up to speed on my life.

I want you to know yes, the leaf finally turned over, and I do sometime think with my head but I still think with my heart a lot also. I'm still a soft touch and will be until we meet again. I'm lucky though because most that I hold near and dear don't abuse that fact too often. You were right we can't buy back time although now I understand why I wish I could.

When faced with the choice I've always tried to do the right thing versus the easy thing. I take pride in what I do even when it doesn't turn out as I hoped. You remember how you told me I was going to be your millionaire son...well that didn't work out quite as planned but the lessons you've taught me and how I've been able to apply them in my life make me feel rich sometimes.

You know I have a way of making poor choices at times but you'll be happy to know they don't happen nearly as often anymore. You were right, regrets hurt so I've tried to keep them to a minimum. I've also learned to make good choices along the way. I have found life to be very rewarding if I can help others as I move from frame to frame. It's good to be needed.

I have a beautiful little granddaughter now. She's Chrissie's and Mike's daughter. They named her Natalie Grace. I keep trying to find a way to get out to see her but so far I've failed. You would have been there by now but it's different when you're single, and the job is shaky.

Things have been a little bleak lately and in some ways I know it would crush you and Skip if you were here to see this. GM has gone bankrupt and all of that stock you both accumulated over the years is worthless. We have a different way of doing things today and they are nothing like you saw in your lifetime. Needless to say times are tough and many are hurting but you know me I always land on my feet so I'm doing better than most.

I still have my real estate license and my home inspection company. The real estate is about dormant but the home inspection business still provides some income. I left the industry full time back in 2001 and have worked for the government. I build and manage construction projects in the field. You should see some of the things I've built, you'd be impressed. I've built three runways, a couple of taxiways, several hangers, reconstructed a multi-level parking facility, helped build a terminal, a water system, a training facility for police, fire and fams, and I've done several projects for the FAA. I'm good at what I do thanks to much of what you taught me growing up, and I thank you for that.

You'll be happy to know Brad and I are a lot closer now that it's just him and me. The way we fought growing up who would have thought it. In fact I was over at his place for a couple of weekends helping him tile the new bathroom he built. Oh, and tell Skip my bedroom ceiling is still up there 18 years later.

Your grandkids would make you proud although they are spread all over. Brighton, Traverse City, Lima, Lawrence, Royal Oak, South Lyon, Orlando, New Haven, Raleigh, and Boston. Tell Ma she now has 5 great grand children and 4 great great grandchildren.

I sold the Harley, damn, that's right you didn't know I bought that one did you? Well I knew you'd be on my back about it if you were here, but I sold it because it was a shame to waste it. I had neither the time to ride nor a partner to ride with, so I let it go although I'll probably pick up another here next year if things work out.

I did start golfing again. It didn't help to take 10 years off. I shot a 122 the other days and that was after coming out with a birdie, bogie, bogie, pretty bad, huh? You'd never tell you almost sent me to Q-school when I was 19. Silly me I chose to get married instead.

Brad is doing good. He turned 60 this year, you know. He is loving being a Grandpa. His job seems to be doing ok too so that's a good thing.

Pop, do you remember how you used to call me every Saturday when I was at work? I remember thinking how since you had retired you lost all track of things. That you couldn't figure out that if I was working on a Saturday it was probably because I had too, and I probably didn't have an hour to sit and chat. Damn I miss those calls.....

Well I should probably let you get back to your day. I just wanted you to know, that I miss you, and that I am so thankful for the lessons you passed on to me. I'll keep trying to make you proud and I hope I succeed. I'll also keep working on the golf game. Promise! Happy Birthday!!

Love you Pop!

Bye

Outta My Mind On Monday Moanin'

2009-06-08T18:41:00.009-04:00

It's the start of a new week and several things have gotten me to thinking over the weekend. I'll share them here because maybe they'll cause you to think too.

If the bulk of General Motors profits in the last 10 years came from their overseas (Europe, Asia and South America) markets why is the government making them sell off those units? Wouldn't it make sense that if the object is to have a viable domestic auto industry in the United States you'd want to keep your most profitable branches in the company?

So Sidney Crosby is the face of the NHL, huh? This is the kid they have chosen to be their standard bearer, the poster child for the wholesome sport of hockey? I wonder if that's what Gary Bettman had in mind as the hockey world watched "Sid the Kid" take an unprovoked, cheap shot, slash with his hockey stick to the side of Henrick Zetterberg's knee in the second period of the game Saturday night, just because thing weren't going his way? I seriously doubt you would ever see Mario Lemeiux, Steve Yzerman, or Wayne Gretsky pull a stunt like that, they had too much pride and class.

While we are talking hockey what the hell is with NBC? Here in Detroit we have what is called "Joe Vision". When the Wings play an away game during the playoff they open Joe Louis Arena and broadcast the game on the big screen TVs. I think they charge all of about $5 or $10 to get in and it's a cheap way for people, that may not be able to afford a regular playoff ticket, to experience the excitement of a playoff game in the arena. I think it's pretty decent. So what does NBC do? They say the Wings can't do it because it might effect their ratings! Their ratings? First of all this is the same network that all but cancelled "Chuck", did cancel "Life, "Deal or no Deal" and "Lipstick Jungle", and then had the stones to put Conan O'Brien on the tonight show. And you're worried about ratings? Conan O'Brien is to Leno or Carson what a life raft is to a battleship. Rating? C'mon you greedy morons let the people enjoy the series! Oh, and did I mention NBC isn't even paying the NHL to broadcast the games? Another great move by that mental midget, Gary Bettman!

So let me get this right. Kwame owes the City of Detroit $1,000,000 in restitution and is supposed to make payments to the city of $6,000 a month but was late because he only makes about $8,000 a month and there isn't enough left over to live on? Furthermore he is living in a subdivision of million dollar plus homes, Carlita is still driving an Escalade, his kids go to a private school, and we are supposed to feel bad for him? Can you say "A special kind of stupid" I think you can!

I love this! Roger Penske has bought Saturn from GM at the fire sale and he announced he'll have the lowest bidder with the best quality build the Saturn's for sale here! There is the reason this gentleman is the successful millionaire that he is....he thinks outside the box!

They found little Nevaeh's body last week along the banks of the River Raisin. They are currently awaiting the autopsy results as to the cause of death. During the time she was missing they arrested, I believe, 3 convicted sex offenders that were friends of the little girls mother yet thus far have not charged any of the men. Her mother said they paid their debt to society but I guess I have to ask, how in the hell did she befriend, not one, not two, but three sex offenders in a town the size of Monroe? You'd have to pick them off the web site! The other thing that is bothering me is over the weekend the mother started to profess her innocents in what happened to this poor little girl. Now, granted, I haven't read every item on the case but until she mentioned it I had heard no reference made that she was suspected of any wrong doing. Things that make you go hmmmmmm....

So they are coming out with a remark of "Taking of Pelham 123". I have to ask, as a baby boomer, have any of you people behind us ever had an original thought? Every time I look at movie releases you're remaking an old movie, TV show, or stage play thinking you can make it better with computerized blood and gore or special effects. I dare you, name 10 movies made in the last 5 years that were original screenplays and hits.......

The "Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy" is trying to prevent the remainder of the demolition of old Tiger Stadium again in court. They filed for an injunction to prevent the wrecking ball from swinging this week. Now I have as many fond memories of Tiger Stadium as the next guy. Hell I even have memories of it as Briggs Stadium. I remember watching the Lions play there and of course the Tigers. Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Norm Cash, Gates Brown, Bill Freehan, Dick McCauliff, Alan Trammell, Mark Fydrich were just a few of the Tigers I saw Play. Then there were the other hero's of the day Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Rod Carew, Harmon Killibrew, Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, and George Brett. I'll never forget the first time I walk in and saw that amazing green grass and the old wooden green seats, (you clunk them up and down to cheer), and tasted my first "ball park" hot dog but those days are gone now. Yes, I cherish those memories but the grand old lady has been sitting empty now for 10 years and it's time to let her go. You've had 10 years to come up with options or plans, yet here you are again in the 11th hours wanting to halt the demo? It's time to move on, take your memories, embrace them, and pass the stories along to the next generation.

As some of you may know I've been on this workout kick that began back in February. After losing about 18lbs I have been holding steady now for about 6 weeks. I have already gone to eating one meal a day (dinner) which trims my caloric intake by about 3,000 calories a week, I walk 3 miles a day on an inclined treadmill and then spend 20 minutes on the weights. So now I'm thinking, ok, what's next? Diet? God no! You need to know that I have never met a cookie I didn't like, pastries are a food group of their own, when I increase my dairy intake it usually involves names like "Bryers, Baskin-Robbins, Edy's or Strohs" but I do it in moderation so I figure it all balances out. One of my favorite night time snacks is Frosted Brown-Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts while watching the tube. So I thought this can't be helping but what can I do? Aha! I said as I pushed the shopping cart down the breakfast foods isle at the supermarket, LOW FAT POP TARTS! It was a sign from God! I knew the answer to my problem I'd cut back on fat! Surely I would again start to shed pounds and it probably would be too bad for the cholesterol either! I bought a box and Saturday night, while watching the Red Wings spank Cindy...'er Sidney Crosby, I went up stairs and got a pack. I sat back down and opened the foil container anticipating the flavor of the tasty little morsel and took a big bite!! As I started to chew the image in my brain went from a dancing myriad of flavors to the floor of an old saw mill! My God I said to myself as I drank half a 20oz bottle of Pepsi, they make these LOW FAT things out of sawdust!!! No wonder diets don't work. Now, I have tried diet pop, low fat pop tarts and a few other low fat items and I can say without a shadow of a doubt, they are only suitable for laboratory test rats. The only exception to that rule is Bryers Low Fat Chocolate Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips, it has half the fat and is darn tasty! I guess I'm not in that big of a hurry to lose weight anyway.....

I just want to mention an old friend Bob Talbert who used to write a column for the Detroit Free Press. He passed away several years ago but the headline above was hi regular Monday by-line. I always loved his in site into people and events in Detroit....so I may do Monday Moanin' again some time.

The Easy Way Out

2009-06-02T17:51:00.004-04:00

There are times when I like to sit and reflect of the changes in our society that I have experienced in my lifetime. Like everyone I have my own opinions about whether or not the changes over time have been for better or for worse. Some have been pretty substantial while others have been more subtle, and both have had long lasting effects on how we live.

Typically when we speak of change we are saying we are looking for a better way, a more efficient way, or perhaps an easier way to get something done and it has a positive effect. Easy is the key word for today. We all strive in one way or another to make our lives easier.

In sales we used to say work smarter not harder although I was more inclined to believe that those that worked smarter and harder we're the most successful. But the reality is there is nothing easy about sales.

Anyway, I thought we might look at a few things doing things the easy way versus the hard way.

Easy to be hard:

The Family Life -

1). It's easy to throw a pre-packaged meal in a microwave or to bring home a carry-out. It's hard to cook a meal from scratch because typically it takes a couple of hours to do a nice meal that way.

What we gain by the easy way is some much need time in our day. What we lose is mothers passing down the art of cooking to their children. We lose traditions and fond memories of favorite recipes, and shared quality time between a parent and child. The problem is that it's time consuming but if we plan ahead we can combine the best of both worlds. Take a Saturday a month and spend the day cooking with your children, freeze the meals and have them "microwave ready" for use throughout the month. You'll improve their nutrition and create lasting memories.

2). Go to the grocery store for bread is easy. Take a trip to a bakery with the kids and you fill their senses with a host of wonderful smells. I takes a little longer and may cost a few pennies more, but I bet 25 years from know they'll remember those trips.

3). It's easy to send the kids off to sit in front of the "boob tube" or have them play video games all day. It's a little harder to motivate them to go outside, open their minds and use their imaginations. The fresh air and activity will make them healthier and happier in the long run.

4). Being a parent is the hardest job on earth. You are charged with the responsibility of molding the minds and charecter of your children, teaching the right from wrong, instilling morals and so much more. Over the last 30 years parents have tried to become "best friends" first and parents second to their children and for some it worked and others it didn't. When it didn't work we decided there must be a reason and excuse, and as a result we have a generation of medicated kids that have no boundries or self-control. That was easy! It's much harder to be a parent first, show them a little tough love and teach them medication is not the solution for bad behavior. Now that's the hard way but in the end it'll be better for both parent and child.

See how this works?

Our Society -

1). We have become a society of social networkers. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter all ways to network with others. It's fast, it's easy and for the most part uncomplicated. In a society that lives in sound bites it is the way to be seen but what about interacting? When was the last time you had a block party? Can you name 10 neighbors on on the street where you live? Today most people can't. It's so much harder to have personal interaction with people. Not only because of the time factor but because to personally interact you need to make an emotional investment. Facebook is fine for casual acquaintences but for lasting friendships, where they know you and you know them, you have to invest the old fashioned way.

2). Turning your cheek or looking the other way is the easy thing to do when you witness something wrong. As I posted in a previous blog there was an incident here in Detroit where a kid car jacked an 80 year old man in front of a handful of people. They stood and watched, and videotaped, this kid as he beat this old man, then took his car. See that was easy. The hard thing to do would be to intercede and help, or call the cops but then you'd have to testify. If we ever hope to regain some form of order in our society we need to step up and own it.

3). The easy thing to do is sue someone when there is an accident. It's easy to say I tripped on your sidewalk and you owe me. It's so much harder to get up, laugh at yourself, and say I should have watched where I was walking.

4). It's easy to blame others for the decay going on before our very eyes. The erosion of values, respect for the law, respect for your elders, respect for traditions, showing basic consideration to one another. It's so easy to say it's his fault or I can't make a difference alone. The hard thing to do is take an action. Be a leader versus being a follower. There is risk involved with building the road versus driving down it. It starts by expecting and demanding higher standards. Form yourself, your community, your government, your educators, your clergy and your employers.

5). It's easy to read your news on the internet. You get the headlines for both the national and local scene. It's much harder to sit down and read a newspaper. You have to turn from section to section to completly read a story but along the way you may fond something else of interest to read. Perhaps a human interest story or a story about something nice happening in your community, heck, you might even find out something new about the place you grew up. The internet has opened a whole new world there's no doubt about it, but there's something to be said about a good old fashioned newspaper that puts you more in touch with your surroundings.

The Government:

This is really a no brainer to comment on with the state of our country today....

1). It's easier to raise taxes to solve a problem. The old adage is if we throw enough money at it, it'll get better seems to be governments way of handling a problem. Here in Michigan we have a Governor and Lawmakers that have kept us in a 9-year recession. Annually they cannot balance the budget so there answer is to impose a new tax somewhere. It would be hard to sit down, put aside partisan politics and work for a common solution. To make the hard decisions on how to streamline our state government by making it as efficient as possible, and as citizen friendly as possible. That would be hard.

2). We have a Federal Government that just put 2/3 of the domestic auto industry into bankruptcy to "save" them. They told us we need to sacrifice, which is easy to say when your retirement is $80k a year and your get lifetime health benefits. It's not so easy when you have to care for your family. The hard thing to do would have been to actually sit down and plan a long term strategy to keep as many people working as possible. Create alternative industries and jobs where you could shift the work force. It's easy to say so sorry, good luck, keep your chin up. It's harder to say this will hurt us all but here is a way to minimize the collateral damage.

3). It's easy for the government and green people to dictate mileage standards for the auto companies. It would be so much harder for them to stand up and find a way to do a much needed improvement and expansion of the transportation infrastructure. The last major overhaul of this network came 60 years ago at the end of World War II. Think it might be out of date? According to IBM Technologies Americans burn up 4.8 billion gallons of gas annually in traffic jams. Think that might cause a little global warming there Al? I do. Maybe if we had more roads, considering our population has tripled in the last 60 years, we might not need to raise the mileage standards. Maybe gas wouldn't be artificially inflated? Maybe we should have earmarked "Stimulus" money to be used to widen roads or build new roads? Maybe we should close all the drive-through windows? But that would be hard, wouldn't it?

4). Every year both the Federal and the State Governments write new laws. When a problem comes up we just right a new law. It quick and efficient. It's easy! What would be hard is to look at our laws we have on the books, eliminate those that have outlived their usefulness, en enforce those that are effective. That would be hard! Do I really need my government telling me I have to wear a helmet to ride a bicycle? I think not! If that's all they can find to do then they are not paying attention.

5). It's easy to say we cannot regulate a free market commodity such as oil even though it should fall under the definition of a utility. It's easy to say that because our politicians collect a lot of money for the oil companies and traders. It would be harder to take them to task. Demand and get answers, and charge those that continue to price gouge. You may have noticed that gas has gone up about a $1 in the last 6 months? You'll also note that the price of diesel fuel is less than gasoline? That tells you that it's not the price of oil driving the price increase. It's pure greed. Now in another time it may not bother me so much but our country is not going to rebound until gas prices are stable. But to deny all of that money is a hard thing to do.

Easy is a good thing in most cases but sometimes the hard way bring a greater benefit due to the thought, planning and effort involved. While it is only natural that we change the way we do thing, we should never forget to look back to a time when the best fix was the one crafted with thought and hard work.

Options? What Options? Did I Say Options?

2009-06-01T18:47:00.005-04:00

The die is cast and now we move on, and if we don't learn anything else from this maybe, just maybe, we'll learn never to take a politician at face value.

His campaign touted a change in politics, a transparency in government. The only thing that has changed are the names and the logos.

When President Obama was campaigning and after the election I remember seeing him on TV saying to the nation that he would form a select task force and look at "every option" available to keep a viable domestic auto industry.

Well it appears we again have been sold a bill of goods.

Here is an article from the New York Times where they are quoting the "kid" heading up his task force saying from day one bankruptcy was the intention and that was why Rick Wagner had to go:

The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M.

by David E. Sanger

Monday, June 1, 2009

It is not every 31-year-old who, in a first government job, finds himself dismantling General Motors and rewriting the rules of American capitalism.

But that, in short, is the job description for Brian Deese, a not-quite graduate of Yale Law School who had never set foot in an automotive assembly plant until he took on his nearly unseen role in remaking the American automotive industry.

Nor, for that matter, had he given much thought to what ailed an industry that had been in decline ever since he was born. A bit laconic and looking every bit the just-out-of-graduate-school student adjusting to life in the West Wing — “he’s got this beard that appears and disappears,” says Steven Rattner, one of the leaders of President Obama’s automotive task force — Mr. Deese was thrown into the auto industry’s maelstrom as soon the election-night parties ended.

“There was a time between Nov. 4 and mid-February when I was the only full-time member of the auto task force,” Mr. Deese, a special assistant to the president for economic policy, acknowledged recently as he hurried between his desk at the White House and the Treasury building next door. “It was a little scary.”

But now, according to those who joined him in the middle of his crash course about the automakers’ downward spiral, he has emerged as one of the most influential voices in what may become President Obama’s biggest experiment yet in federal economic intervention.

While far more prominent members of the administration are making the big decisions about Detroit, it is Mr. Deese who is often narrowing their options.

A month ago, when the administration was divided over whether to support Fiat’s bid to take over much of Chrysler, it was Mr. Deese who spoke out strongly against simply letting the company go into liquidation, according to several people who were present for the debate.

“Brian grasps both the economics and the politics about as quickly as I’ve seen anyone do this,” said Lawrence H. Summers, the head of the National Economic Council who is not known for being patient whenever he believes an analysis is sub-par — or disagrees with his own. “And there he was in the Roosevelt Room, speaking up vigorously to make the point that the costs we were going to incur giving Fiat a chance were no greater than some of the hidden costs of liquidation.”

Mr. Deese was not the only one favoring the Fiat deal, but his lengthy memorandum on how liquidation would increase Medicaid costs, unemployment insurance and municipal bankruptcies ended the debate. The administration supported the deal, and it seems likely to become a reality on Monday, if a federal judge handling the high-speed bankruptcy proceeding approves the sale of Chrysler’s best assets to the Italian carmaker.

Mr. Deese’s role is unusual for someone who is neither a formally trained economist nor a business school graduate, and who never spent much time flipping through the endless studies about the future of the American and Japanese auto industries.

He lives a dual life these days. He starts the day at a desk wedged just outside of Mr. Summers’s office, where he can hear what young members of the economic team have come to know as “the Summers bellow.” From there, he can make it quickly to the press office to help devise explanations for why taxpayers are spending more than $50 billion on what polls show is a very unpopular bailout of the auto industry.

Several times a day he speed-walks to Treasury, taking a shortcut through the tunnel under the colonnade, near the kitchens. The other day he talked about how sharply perceptions of the industry’s future changed after Mr. Obama’s election.

“At the first meeting with Rick Wagoner,” he said, referring to G.M.’s recently deposed chief executive, “they were in a very different place. He said publicly that bankruptcy was not a viable option. It’s been a long process getting everyone to look at the options differently.”

In fact, from before Inauguration Day, few in Mr. Obama’s circle saw any other choice. Every time Mr. Deese ran the numbers on G.M. and Chrysler, he came back with the now-obvious conclusion that neither was a viable business, and that their plans to revive themselves did not address the erosion of their revenues. But it took the support of Mr. Rattner and Ron Bloom, senior advisers to the task force charged with restructuring the automobile industry, to help turn Mr. Deese’s positions into policy.

“The president’s instruction to us was that we had to come up with a solution that would work on a commercial basis, that didn’t involve indefinite federal financing,” Mr. Deese said. “But we didn’t want liquidation, which would have even worse effects. So the question was how do you design a very substantial restructuring, and do it fast.”

Mr. Deese’s route to the auto table at the White House was anything but a straight line. He is the son of a political science professor at Boston College (his father) and an engineer who works in renewable energy (his mother). He grew up in the Boston suburb of Belmont and attended Middlebury College in Vermont. He went to Washington to work on aid issues and was quickly hired by Nancy Birdsall, a widely respected authority on the effectiveness of international aid and the founder of the Center for Global Development.

But he wanted to learn domestic issues as well, and soon ended up working as an assistant for Gene Sperling, who 17 years ago in the Clinton White House played a similar role as economic policy prodigy. Eventually, Mr. Deese headed to Yale for his law degree. But his e-mail box was constantly filled with messages from friends in Washington who were signing up to work for the Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigns. Mr. Deese chose Senator Clinton’s.

“He was pretty quickly functioning as the top economic policy staffer through her campaign,” Mr. Sperling said. “He could blend the policy needs and the political needs pretty seamlessly.” On the day that the Clinton campaign ended, Mr. Deese left her concession speech and received a message on his BlackBerry from a friend in the Obama campaign urging him to sign on immediately to Mr. Obama’s team.

He resumed his policy work there, and found himself stuck in Chicago — unable to fly to Washington with his dog — as the economic crisis deepened. Finally, one night, he decided to get into his car with his dog and just started driving back to Washington. Tired, he pulled over to catch some sleep in the car.

“I slept in the parking lot of the G. M. plant in Lordstown, Ohio,” he recalled. The giant plant, opened during G.M.’s heyday in the mid-1960s, is where the Pontiac G5 is produced. Under the plan Mr. Deese worked on when he arrived in Washington, Pontiac will disappear.

“I guess that was prophetic,” he said, shaking his head.

(End of story)

Now, whether you are a fan of the American Auto Industry or against it you need to understand one thing. GM's move into bankruptcy today, and Chrysler's filing 30-days ago, will forever change the complexion of Capitalism and Free Enterprise in our country.

It's effect will extend far beyond cars and Detroit. Today alone it was revealed GM plans to close twice the number of dealers previously reported. The number now stands at 2,100 dealers. That equals about 125,000 jobs. That is on top of the 50,000+ jobs lost with the closing of Chrysler dealers.

Tell me, what do you do for a living and what will happen to your job if you have 125,000 less customer? Something to think about, huh?

It will be interesting to see what is next not only for Michigan but for the Country.........

GM's Defender - Ralph Nader?

2009-05-30T16:58:00.004-04:00

Obama's GM Plan Looks Like a Raw Deal
Congress, not a secret task force, should decide the company's fate.

By RALPH NADER and ROBERT WEISSMAN

What public purposes animate the government's planned rescue of General Motors Corp?

Millions of people in communities across the country depend on the government getting the GM rescue right. That's why it is startling -- and mistaken -- for the future of GM to rest with a small, largely unaccountable, ad hoc task force made up of a handful of Wall Street expats.

A congressional abdication of authority of historic proportions has left the executive branch with nearly complete discretion over how to handle GM and Chrysler's restructuring. President Barack Obama has further delegated authority, giving effective control to this task force, which operates under the titular authority of a top-level interagency group headed by National Economic Council Director Larry Summers and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

In the days before an avoidable June 1 bankruptcy filing, it is imperative that Congress honor its constitutional duties and demand that the GM restructuring deal be sent to it for deliberative review -- before any irreversible measures, such as a voluntary bankruptcy declaration, are taken. This means delaying any precipitous decisions until after Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess.

The case for congressional involvement would be solid enough on constitutional and procedural grounds alone. But the secretive task force's plan raises red flags and requires Congressional examination in open hearings. With the government set to take a 70% ownership stake in GM, there are too many unanswered, troubling questions to proceed with a risky bankruptcy declaration. Here are 10 pressing issues among many:

1) Has the task force conducted any kind of formal or informal cost-benefit analysis on the costs of a GM bankruptcy and excessive closures? These may include the social effects of lost jobs (including more than 100,000 dealership jobs alone), more housing foreclosures, the government expense of providing unemployment and social relief, lost tax revenues, supplier companies that will be forced to close, damaged consumer confidence in the GM brand, and impacts on GM's industrial creditors.

2) Do GM and Chrysler really need to close as many dealerships -- which do not cost manufacturers -- as have been announced? Is the logic of closing dealerships to enable the remaining dealers to charge higher prices? If so, why is the government facilitating such a move?

3) Is the task force asking for too many plants to close and the elimination of too many brands?

4) Why is the task force permitting GM to increase manufacturing overseas for export back into the U.S.? Under the GM reorganization plan, the company will rely increasingly on overseas plants to make cars for sale in the U.S., with cars made in low-wage countries like Mexico rising from 15% to 23% of GM sales here. For the first time, GM plans to export cars from China to the U.S. in what is a harbinger of the company's future business model. What is the conceivable rationale for permitting GM to increase manufacturing overseas -- especially in dictatorships, for export back into the U.S. -- when preserving jobs and industry is the avowed goal of this immense taxpayer bailout?

5) Why is the task force supporting GM's efforts to devise a two-tier wage structure, whereby new auto jobs no longer provide a ticket to the middle class?

6) How will bankruptcy affect GM's overseas operations, with special reference to China and GM's corporate entanglements with Chinese partners? Are they and their large profits being exempted from the conditions imposed on domestic operations? Are GM's China-based assets and profits inside or outside of the bankruptcy process?

7) Would a corporate and government-driven bankruptcy process comport with any rights of owner-shareholders to decide whether they want their company to be dissolved?

8) How will bankruptcy affect GM's obligations to parties engaged in pending or future litigation in the courts with GM regarding serious injuries suffered because of design or product defects in vehicles sold prior to the bankruptcy? Or parties engaged in "lemon" litigation?

9) What guarantees are the task force, supposedly representing the taxpayers' investment, obtaining to ensure that the GM of the future invests in safer and more fuel-efficient vehicles?

10) Why is the Obama administration signaling that, after reorganization, when the government owns 70% of GM, it will not exercise the control that attaches to ownership?

Many in Congress have been eager to disassociate themselves from the perceived mess of the GM reorganization, believing it too complicated. This is a stark contrast to 1979, when Congress held extensive hearings and passed enacting legislation on the Chrysler bailout and later with the complex Conrail restructuring.

If not motivated by their constitutional duty, members of Congress might perhaps listen to political arguments to assert their rightful authority. If GM and the task force take the company into bankruptcy, more than displaced workers will be demanding that Congress answer: "Why are we bailing out the auto companies and then facilitating their moving production overseas? Why aren't we leveraging the public investment to protect jobs and manufacturing capacity, as well as facilitate investments in environmentally appropriate technologies?"

It need not be so. The congressional leadership still has a few days to stop the reckless rush to bankruptcy court and to assert its responsibilities.

Mr. Nader is a consumer advocate. Mr. Weissman is editor of Multinational Monitor magazine.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124355327992064463.html#mod=article-outset-box

Stimulus Package Falls Short

2009-05-30T16:49:00.003-04:00

Stimulus projects bypass hard-hit states
By Brad Heath, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — States hit hardest by the recession received only a few of the government's first stimulus contracts, even though the glut of new federal spending was meant to target places where the economic pain has been particularly severe.

Nationwide, federal agencies have awarded nearly $4 billion in contracts to help jump-start the economy since President Obama signed the massive stimulus package in February. But, with few exceptions, that money has not reached states where the unemployment rate is highest, according to a USA TODAY review of contracts disclosed through the Federal Procurement Data System.

In Michigan, for example — where years of economic tumult and a collapsing domestic auto industry have produced the nation's worst unemployment rate — federal agencies have spent about $2 million on stimulus contracts, or 21 cents per person. In Oregon, where unemployment is almost as high, they have spent $2.12 per capita, far less than the nationwide average of nearly $13.

That money "is needed nowhere more than it is needed in Michigan," says Leslee Fritz, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Economic Recovery Office, which is coordinating stimulus efforts in that state. She said officials are generally satisfied with the pace of federal aid, but added, "We certainly feel very intensely the need to move quickly."

The $787 billion recovery package was intended to help turn around the economy using federal money to create jobs, especially in places where the recession has taken the most severe toll. Most of that money goes directly to states to pay for work such as highway repairs, but federal agencies also will spend billions of dollars to do everything from fixing runways and improving national forests to cleaning up nuclear waste.

The first waves of that money flowed unevenly in large part because some federal agencies have moved more swiftly than others to sign contracts for projects funded by the stimulus. In many cases, those first contracts went to projects that began years ago or to companies that have long track records of doing government work.

For example, about $3 billion of the government's first contracts were to speed cleanup of some of the nation's worst nuclear waste sites, scattered over a handful of states. That has created hundreds of additional jobs at the companies that manage the sites, says Matt Rogers, a senior adviser to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, but the impact has been limited to only a few parts of the country.

Liz Oxhorn, a spokeswoman for the White House stimulus effort, said any examination of federal contracts provides "an incomplete picture" of a law that is "providing unprecedented assistance at a record pace to benefit as many Americans as possible." Obama said Wednesday that the stimulus had created or saved 150,000 jobs in its first 100 days. Overall, however, the economy shed more than 1.2 million jobs in March and April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In addition to the contracts it has awarded, the government has asked companies to bid on thousands of additional projects worth upward of $30 billion, according to Onvia, a firm that tracks government purchasing.

Even so, the first contracts have amounted to only about $7.42 per person on average in the eight states with unemployment rates higher than 10% last month. By comparison, government records show it has awarded about $26 worth of contracts per person in North Dakota, whose unemployment rate is the nation's lowest.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-05-27-contracts_N.htm

Thoughts While I Was Away

2009-05-27T18:14:00.005-04:00

AUTO INDUSTRY

What happens to GM and Chrysler, when after this government "sanctioned" restructuring and bankruptcy is complete and they still can't sell any cars? Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs, homes, retirement plans, benefits, and futures all because the Democrats/Green People believe that people weren't buying their cars because they wanted smaller, greener cars with better gas mileage. I hope they are right but I'm afraid the reality will be just as many of us have said all along, people can't or won't buy cars if the banks won't loan money and if they either don't have a job or are uncertain about their job.

STIMULUS

President Obama told a gathering in Las Vegas today that his $787 billion dollar stimulus jobs has either created or saved 150,000 jobs. God, I hope he is talking just about the state of Nevada because by my math that equates to $5.4266 million dollars a job. I hope the program works better than that. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090527/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_solar_power

REPUBLICANS

So the Republicans are now changing their tune about helping the domestic auto industry. It seems they just realized cars are built and sold in 48 out of 50 states. The jobs lost nationwide solely due to Chrysler and GM closing dealerships will surpass 120,000 jobs. That is just the dealerships and doesn't include the support services like lending, insurance, auto parts, uniforms, landscaping, window washers, local advertising. Hey Senator Numbnuts...'er Shelby how'd that taste?

POLITICIANS

I believe if all you do is sit and bitch about a problem you become part of the problem. To be part of the solution you need to be proactive. Now there are many that read my writings here and on Craigslist that swear I'm a Republican because I keep slapping President Obama and the Democrats, and I'm not. In fact because I am proactive I get fairly regular correspondence from Senator Carl Levin and Representative Barney Frank of the House Banking Committee. The other day I received emails from both informing me about the new Credit Card Reforms the Obama has requested and congress has passed. I emailed back and applauded the President and our lawmakers for long overdue protections for the consumer. But being one not to mince words I also asked why to you give them 7-months to continue to rape, pillage and plunder the working man when the changes enacted merely are typographical. I said this has been the problem with the Republicrats all along. They pass a law and thump their chests, and tell us how they are "protecting " us then give the banks time to find loop holes. It all smoke and mirrors. If the law is what it is there is no reason it cannot be implemented in 30-days. Hell we implement new tax code in 30-days and that effects every working soul in America. BTW I admire both Levin and Frank, at least they communicate.

SMOKING BAN

The Michigan Legislature has passed a state wide smoking ban but it still needs to make it through the Michigan Senate. I hope someone there has the brains God gave a good sized gnat because although the anti-smoking zealots are dancing in the street, this stupid bill would be a critical blow to Michigan. Tobacco tax revenue totaled $1,129.2 million in fiscal year (FY) 2007, down $39.9 million from FY 2006. This represented a 3.4 percent decrease in tobacco tax revenues compared to FY 2006. Tobacco taxes now account for 4.8 percent of all Michigan taxes. At $2.00 tax per pack with 550 million packs sold each year, who is going to make up for that lost revenue when people quit en mass because they can no longer smoke in public? And don't kid yourself they will, I did. The non smokers? Maybe, but only if they have any money or jobs. My lady LJ lives outside of Columbus Ohio and I think it was two years ago they passed a similar ban. From what she told me restaurants and bars took a huge hit in the revenue due to the law and let's be honest here, can Michigan afford to lose even one more job?

The other problem I have with this proposed law is the exemptions. This law bans smoking in public places, restaurants, bars and public buildings. Where you can still smoke is in Casino's and Cigar Bars. What the hell is that? Either you are going to ban it or you are not. You don't ban something under the guise of health then say you're exempt if your revenue, tax base and kick backs are large enough. I mean we've all seen the improvements made in Detroit due to the Casino jobs and revenue. They've expanded the parking around the Federal Building to handle all of those gambling addicts as they file for Chapter 7.

I could live with the ban if it were applied equally but if it isn't, then there shouldn't be a ban.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/treasury/2007Stat_246388_7.pdf

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

As I am typing this the police, FBI, family, friends and neighbors are searching for a missing 5-year old girl named Nevaeh Buchanan, down in Monroe, Michigan. The fact that this little girl is missing is, in and of itself, tragic. I pray and I hope you will join me in prayer for her safe return. I will say that it doesn't look promising as her Mother was dating a registered sex offender and he is being looked at closely by the police. But that is a story for another time.

What is bothering me is there seems to be an increasing trend in violence again those most vulnerable, children and the elderly. At first, like many, I thought it was only because there is more media today and therefore more exposure to these types of stories but research shows that isn't the case. We all watched that horrible video on the news two years ago of that monster in Florida leading that innocent little girl to her terrifying death. He was convicted and I believe sentenced to death. It made the national news when a punk tried to car-jack and 80 year old man in Detroit and instead of helping, people stood around and video taped it on their phones.

We have become a society filled with people that are callous to things we found terrifying just a generation ago. There has been a desensitizing of people through the media and through the court system. There is no consequence today for actions. If you murdered someone and you're not in Texas or Florida the chances are you'll get another shot at it in your lifetime. They talk about the rights of the accused. What about the rights of the victim? And the potential victims yet to come? In the case above if this man is a pedophile on parole and this little girl is dead, why shouldn't he be dead as a well?

Today "Project Innocence" uses DNA and science to free people wrongly imprisoned and I think that is a fantastic thing. If we have the science and technology to conclusively free a man wrongly accused, then doesn't that mean if we have the same science and technology to condemn one to death? It should! If the science and technology proves beyond a shadow of a doubt guilt then there is not reason for multiple appeals. You get one if a point of law or rights were trampled on but after that you get to meet your maker.

And before all of the bleeding hearts come out of the woodwork....don't tell it to me. Go explain it to the family of Nevaeh Buchanan. Her picture is accompanying this entry so if you have seen her please contact the authorities.

Down Day Today

2009-05-14T18:12:00.005-04:00

There are times I come on here and try to be witty, and other times when I have serious thoughts. But through it all I try to stay upbeat and have a vision or light at the end of the tunnel. Then there are days like today where I'm just frustrated. We all have them so you know what I'm talking about.

I have always been a take charge kind of guy. I was the guy people would come to when they had a problem to make things better, and a lot of times I did. I have a knack for that sort of thing. I don't believe in the term "you can't". When someone says that to me it's like waving a red cape in front of a bull. I'm not the smartest kid on the block but God graced me with common sense which has proven to be an invaluable tool throughout my lifetime. I also have been blessed with a keen sense of human nature and the ability to communicate. My Dad used to say, "that boy was vaccinated with a phonograph needle" and there are times I think he was right.

In my lifetime I have started and ran three successful corporations and I have worked in a variety of jobs. I have seen good times and bad. And when the bad got worse I always created my own opportunities. But today I feel like I have run out of steam.

I had dinner with my friend Denise tonight which was good because it was her turn to buy. Denise and I go back to the early 90's when she worked for me at Real Estate One, and we've been buddies ever since. We have shared all sorts of life events and we know when to listen and when to speak to each other. Tonight we talked about her recovery from some surgery and about the economy.

She listened as I told her that I felt frustrated. That in the last 24-hours I had a neighbor come to me and asked for some help while he was away at school training for a new career at the age of 54. Of course I told him no problem but it just was sad that this guy and his family have to do this sort of thing at this stage in his life. I communicated with a former girlfriend, who I fell hands over feet in love with years ago, just to see how she was doing. I knew she was going through some tough times and I wanted to let her know I was there for her if she needed me. Then I heard from a buddy that I grew up with. We've been friends for over 50 years and he told me he just lost his job, and again I felt helpless. These are all friends of mine, people I care for and people I love, and I know they are scared and feeling alone right now.

Our society has become a funny thing, in a way a sad thing because we have, for whatever reason, lost our sense of compassion at times. Maybe it's media overload or bad news overload and this wall we've thrown around ourselves acts as a sanity defense. All I know is we see the news, read the numbers of people struggling and say "that's a shame". It really isn't genuine until it strikes close to home and then the reality sets in.

Today Chrysler released a statement saying they are closing 789 car dealerships across the country. And tomorrow General Motors is expected to close about 1,200 of their dealers. We hear this news, shake our heads and go on with our lives but think about this:

The average dealership employs 53 people between sales, service and administrative staff. That means between today and tomorrow 1,989 dealers will close effecting 105,417 families. Living, breathing, people. Maybe a friend, a relative or acquaintance might be effected. Almost 106,000 families that may lose their homes, will need assistance to feed their families, 106,000 families left without much hope, and for what? Why did this have to happen? Is it the car companies or is it our government? I don't know and today I don't care.

Today, what I care for are my friends that are struggling. Today, I care about 106,000 families that are struggling. Today, I am frustrated that I don't know what the answer is. Today, I'll leave it up to those smarter than me to suggest a solution. Today, I'll pray for my friends and loved ones, and for those I don't know as well.

Sometimes all it takes is letting someone know we are here for them, then back it up with action. Who knows maybe if more of us tried that it might do some good.

What Is The Problem?

2009-05-13T20:28:00.004-04:00

Now I'm no big media maven I leave that sort of thing up to my friend, LJ! I am forever asking her who is this person or that person when we watch TV or a movie and she provides me with all the information I need. Now I'm telling you this as a preface for my comments because I admit that I only know what I have seen in the news about this topic.

What I do know is this: A week or so ago during the Miss America contest there were questions asked of the contestants. Miss California Carrie Prejean was asked a question regarding her opinion about gay marriage. In the readers digest version she said she felt marriage was exclusive to a man and a woman. Well, you would have thought she said lets all go kill some baby seals and maybe a few human ones, too.

Lighten up people! They asked her for her opinion and she gave it.

I learned a long time ago that if you don't want to hear the answer then you probably shouldn't ask the question. If this is how this woman feels about the topic it's her right to feel this way. Do you have to like it, no, but it doesn't make her the anti-Christ. It makes her the same as you and me.

Now before the question gets asked let me clarify my position on this. First, I have a step-son that I am very proud of and love like a biological son, who just happens to be gay. Was it hard to accept at first, sure, just like everything else in parenthood it doesn't come with a manual so you learn to adjust on the fly. Over time I came to understand that this wasn't a choice, it was genetic. If he had options I think he would have chose them.

Now as far as gay "marriage" goes I am against it. I don't and will not deny gays to have the right to enter into some form of legal contract, be it a life partner, significant other or whatever other name you wish to place on it. They should have the same rights to pass on estates, benefits and whatever as you and I but I do feel the institution of "marriage" should be reserved in it's traditional term. Meaning between a man and a woman.

Now for some gay activist what I just described is not acceptable, in which case I reply to them that their arguments about wanting the same rights as married men and women is probably not valid. I say this because if you have a contract and it allows the same rights why does it matter what it is called? You could call it hemorrhoids but as long as it gave you equal rights, stop yer bitchin'.

Anyway, I just find all the ruckus about this woman and situation to be silly but then that's just my opinion.

Doom and Gloom

2009-05-12T20:58:00.003-04:00

Have you ever given any thought to the fact that someone is always trying to control your thoughts. They like us to worry. Worry sells newspapers, media advertising, gives the local tv "news" something to say is a "breaking story".

And have you ever noticed it's almost always bad news. As if we don't have enough of that already people find ways to change the rules to have something else to worry about. Radon? Lead based paint? Asteroids? Social Security? Every week there is a new definition of some dilemma that effects you and I.

Recently the medical profession changed the definition of Autism. Now Autism is a serious disease and every parents nightmare, just the thing that people want to jerk with to scare the hell out of unsuspecting people.

If I understand this correctly under the old guidelines approximately 1 in every 2,500 births produced a child with Autistic symptoms, but by the new definition that rate is now considered to be 1 in every 150 births. That is a tremendous worry to place on couples about to become parents.

Now I'm not the brightest guy in the world but this topic got me to thinking, if this new definition is true that means the odds are fairly good that one of you reading this is Autistic. I wonder which person it is? Again, I'm not making a joke out of Autism, what I am making a joke out of is how the public buys into things so easily without question.

If today you were expecting a child I think you'd ask a lot of questions. Maybe we all need to question things more.

Sitting Here Thinking

2009-05-12T20:17:00.003-04:00

Governor Jen Jen if you want this state to recover why not start with a singular identity? We have 47 different license plates, two versions which are so rusted you can hardly read them, and everything from Internet advertising to what war a guy served in on them. What happened to "Winter, Water, Wonderland"?

Speaking of license plates all of you bicycle riders that think you are cars? When you pay a license plate fee to use the road then I'll agree that you are entitled to the same space as cars. Until them stay on the shoulder and knock it off with the spandex you're not riding in the Tour d'France. ( I wonder how this slipped by Gov. Jen Jen?)

So the people that own credit cards are half the blame for the credit card issuers being in trouble, huh? Let's see...I paid my bill a month ahead every month but they still raised the interest rate we agreed upon after taking billions of our tax dollars. I have never called someone and applied for credit, they always offered it to me. With that said how is it my fault I took them up on their offer?

President Obama I'm pulling for you but your whole plan is getting turned upside down and you're doing nothing just like the last guy. Believe if or not it was artificially inflated gas prices that started the fall of this house of cards, and they are doing it again. Care to tell me what shortage, new war, tropical storm has caused gas prices to go up almost 70 cents since the first of the year? You guys in Washington seem hell bent on nationalizing everything how about grabbing an oil company? I bet you'd see those prices stabilize real quick.

Speaking of Washington buying up all the private businesses. What ever happened to the "Sherman Anti-Trust Act"? It seems to me the United States Government has turned into the largest monopoly in this country.

Before you "dittoheads" start to answer that previous thought, remember your President wiped his feet on the Constitution and got us in this financial mess by ignoring it.

The experts say the recession is about over!!!!! Someone hand me a gun!

Pulte thinks housing prices have hit rock bottom....I wonder if they'd like to buy my house?

The government says social security is running out of money sooner than it expected. I have a solution, how about you fools pay back all of the "loans" you took out of the social security coffers over the last 60 years? Now there's a pregnant idea!

To the City of Detroit. Kudos! With Bing as Mayor and Cockrel on city council you may just have a change.

To the fools that think Ford has it all under control. Two years ago they were smart enough to go out and mortgage everything they own for cash to survive. The problem is now they own nothing, even the Glass House, the banks do. Let's just hope they can pull it off because I don't want any more nationalized car companies.

The government now wants to tax soda pop. How about we start to tax bottled water and, wine and cheese?

If conservation is such a big thing in Washington, why are they exempt to having to use 1.6 gallon flush toilets like the rest of us? They still have the 5 gallon models in congress.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/107062/Banks-Brace-for-Credit-Card-Write-Offs

Ok Little Angel

2009-05-10T17:26:00.002-04:00

You get to be Mommy's little girl today!

Happy First Mothers Day, Chris!

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T16:39:00.005-04:00

On this day we choose to honor those very special women in our lives, Mothers. Whether we honor our own Mothers or the Mother of our children this is her special day. It's the day, to make up for all of the other days, when we forgot to say "Wow, you're pretty amazing".

My Mother passed away in 2002 at the age of 83 after a brief illness. To this day I carry a little guilt for a promise made that went unkept but that is a story for another time. Like all Mothers she was the backbone of the family. She was the one that got us educated, kept up fed, kept us clean, taught us right from wrong, hugged us when we needed it and punished us when we needed it. And through it all she managed to keep her sanity which with 3 sons and one daughter was a pretty neat trick.

I remember back in '93 or '94 I was struggling with what to get my Mom for Mothers Day. Any adult child knows just how difficult that task can be at times, especially when the parent keeps saying " There is nothing that I need so save your money". So on this particular Mothers Day I decided to write my Mom a letter, recognizing everything in my life that I knew she had done and thanking her for those things, plus apologizing for the things I may have missed.

I sat down and started to make a list of those things I wanted to mention, and to my amazement before long I was on my third page. I realized then just how much my Mom, like my Dad, had passed on to me. She taught me values, she taught me that it was OK to cry when you lost someone dear, she taught me about compassion, she taught me to tie my shoe, she taught me to love above all else, she taught me the virtues of loyalty, and the list could go on and on.

After some editing and several attempts at proof reading for errors (those that know me are laughing hysterically right now because they know I murder the English language without spell check) I typed it up single space and managed to get it all on one page. I signed it your loving son, Barry and tucked it in a card.

At the time my Mom was living down in Florida and I was leaving the next morning to go spend Mothers Day with her. I arrived at her condo about 3pm on Saturday and after relaxing for a while we went out to dinner. The next morning as we were having coffee out on her balcony looking out over the ocean I gave her that card, kissed her and told her Happy Mothers Day. She laughed then opened it and spent several minutes silently reading it. I saw tears well up in her eyes as she stood up and hugged me. She said " Thank you honey, that meant more to me than anything in the world". She later framed that letter and kept it on the wall next to her dresser until the day she died.

The point is Mothers are an invaluable part of our lives and we often take them for granted. On this Mothers Day do more than send flowers, let them know you realize just how hard their job is day in and day out, and that nobody could ever replace them.

So to all of the women in my life that are Mothers, "God bless you all and thank you".

Happy Mothers Day!

The Fall Of The American Dream

2009-05-06T17:42:00.009-04:00

When times get tough it's easy to sit back and find fault or to point fingers. In fact Americans make up some of the best armchair quarterbacks in the world. We find fault with political parties, businesses, local government, foreign governments, the media and other factors but rarely do we take a serious look inward. Now the reasons for that failure will vary from person to person, it could be because our egos will not let us, it could be fear of validating what we already realize, it could be that by looking inward and at our system could possibly make us have to act or be silent.

In my opinion there is no specific reason for the deterioration going on in our society today, it's a culmination of things that have evolved over the past fifty years. The interesting thing is that at this point in our history I'm not sure we can or would want to reverse the ongoing deterioration of our society. I say this because there are many that would disagree with me that any problem exists at all, that things are evolving nicely and "deterioration", like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

That is the beauty part of living in this great country, we are all entitled to have an opinion and it's opinions that keep a democratic republic true unto itself. But have we? Have we been true to those ideals that founded this great country or have they been blurred with time and interpretation?

To understand what has happened we first must understand how it began. Now, most all of us learned the Preamble to the Constitution while in grade school, but for many just like Algebra and Latin it's been tucked away to the back of our minds to that place we store "useless" information. So let's begin there:

The Constitution of the United States of America
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Simple but direct words that prefaced the document that created our nation. Today it would be called a "Mission Statement". But those words were put to paper almost 250 years ago and it was called the Preamble to the Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States is one of the simplest, yet complex, documents ever drafted by the hand of man. If taken in it's purists form, in the literal sense of the word it would still be relevant today and effective. We, on the other hand, chose to allow this document to be a living breathing being subject to interpretation and amendments as the times require. In nearly two and a half centuries we have altered this document 27 times. Altered for the better? That too is subject to opinion but altered by the majority it was. Of the 27 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution the first 10 are those we hold dearest for they are the Bill of Rights. These Amendments were worked out during the constitutional convention and made part of the original document in 1789. The Bill of Rights contain certain inalienable rights or guarantees to the citizens of this young country. Rights and liberties that were guaranteed and that were simple to follow. Our founding fathers, indeed, were collectively not only brilliant but forward thinking. Unfortunately they were still drafting this document in 18th century and had no idea how it would be changed in the future.

Shakespeare Had It Right

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71–78

While they are not the sole reason for the downfall of the American Dream, Lawyers hold a position of notoriety because they wrote most of our laws, then found ways to bend our laws to suite the needs of the minority or for their own personal greed. For clarification the term "minority" is used to describe criminals, businesses, politicians, and is not used to describe a race or religion.

To understand how the attorneys have contributed to a downfall in our society you must first agree on some core values that made this country great. Whether it is real or not, fact or fantasy, this country has existed on the set of core values; hard work, honesty, respect for others, respect for authority, morals, family, manners, social acceptance, sense of community, a love of God and country. Now you may not agree with any or all of those but don't use today as the standard to judge them, use 50 years ago. And most of these core values have been distorted due to the actions of politicians, courts and lawyers. Since the road I'm walking down is sure to irritate the majority let's get the biggest sacred cow out of the way, shall we?

The First Amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

A simple, concise, on point group of words. As a blogger I am blessed that they exist but then I like to think of myself as being responsible blogger. I respect any persons right to agree with me or take exception. Debate is healthy provided it is done in an intelligent manner. You don't need to be a genius to read the paragraph of the first amendment and understand what our founding fathers intended with these words.

While there are those that reject this theory the facts bare out that this country was settled and founded on the basic principle of judeo-christian beliefs. The Puritans and the Pilgrims migrated to this country to get away from the religious oppression that was found in Europe. Therefore the First Amendment addresses that issue, and it goes on further to say that you are not only entitled to believe or pray as you want, if the government tries to control your beliefs you may speak out against it, you may publish notification of it, you may assemble and peacefully protest it, and you may petition the government to uphold its promises. It's pretty straight forward. I'm guessing that most could read it and comprehend it, and I'm fairly sure it was written the way our founding fathers intended.

Now, in the 230 years since it was originally drafted, thanks to our courts and attorneys, the First Amendment has been broadened to cover everything imaginable. Porn you bet, profanity yep, separation of church and state definitely, crass and rude behavior it's my right, flipping off my teacher sure thing, calling my neighbor a f*cker uh huh, demanding God be removed from anything related to the government got to, take down Christmas decorations they offend (but f*ck you doesn't?), using the N-word, C-word, B-word, F*g word, P-word those are my freedoms of expression, lying in advertising free speech, playing music so loud it rattles windows my right, write slanderous accusations secret source, artistic expression just call me Van Gogh, and so on, and so on, and so on.

The interesting thing is I don't see any of that in the original verbiage of the first amendment. How do you correlate the freedom to believe in whatever God you want to become you cannot display the ten commandments on a government building? How do you go from I can speak my mind about the government to become watching a woman copulate with a farm animal is artistic expression? I don't think so!

We have taken one of the most basic of our rights and turned it into an excuse for bad behavior. Now before you get on your high horse let me say I'm not a prude, nor am I a conservative, but I am a realist. And it's the realist in me that says to have a functioning society you need to have limits, for a society without limits is anarchy. There was a time not too long ago when there was porn, you just kept it tucked away. If you wanted to tell your teacher or parents to go to hell, you yelled it in your mind not out loud.

We have bastardized the First Amendment in such a manner that it has attacked and deteriorated the moral fiber of this country. Anything goes according to the courts and attorneys. The problem is when anything goes, so do personal freedoms, so do intelligent conversations, so do honest debates, so do rules and so does authority.

(This will continue)

Happy Birthday Brad....

2009-05-03T16:18:00.003-04:00

60? Damn that's old!

Men Where Are Your Testicles?

2009-05-03T15:35:00.011-04:00

Since the beginning of time man has been the hunter and provider of food for the family. It's a passage to manhood that we still celebrate in today's society when a boy learns to hunt or fish from his father. It is a form of bonding that has been going on for centuries. Part of that right of passage includes cooking your kill or catch over an open fire.

Now fire was probably the most important discovery man ever made. Some will argue it was the wheel but fire offered man warmth, protection, the ability to cook, to dry clothes and to avoid tipping the pizza guy. It was around the campfire that stories were passed along to younger generations, legends were repeated, first beers were consumed, and young men were taught the age old art form of how to cook over a fire. This culinary education would be carried back into the civilized world and became a valuable part of his future relationship with his wife and family.

For generations men have taken charge of the right of summer called the Bar B Que or grilling. It was with this simple act that he reassured his mate and family that he was the ultimate provider. The alpha male that could not only bring home the bacon but, in the event of an emergency, prepare the meal for the family over an open fire. His woman would swoon in amazement as he mastered the flames, seasoning the meat, the flipping and turning it as the savory juices were sealed inside as the outside seared. Throughout history it was a proven fact that there was a direct correlation between a man cooking the family meal over the charcoal grille and the increased frequency of trying to procreate. Scientists assume that the females feel so protected and reassured by their mates actions that they have this natural maternal urge to bring another life into the world.

So with all of this said what in the name of God is going on with men today? I listened on the radio the other day as grown men debated purchasing a gas grille or a real charcoal grille. Men were calling in talking about side burners and infra-red coils on a BBQ grille. They were talking about spending up to $1,200 for a BBQ grille. While walking through the grocery store today that had several grilles for sale and only one was charcoal. The rest had warming tray, bread ovens, timers and lights.

Men, and I use this term loosely, do not go out and purchase one of these new fangled devices. You already have one, it's located in your kitchen and it is called a stove! Your woman cooks you meals on it almost every night. These new "BBQ" grilles take no effort, no special talent, they do nothing to reassure the family that you are the alpha male. They are a friggen outdoor stove for crying out loud. Your kid could cook the dinner by following a recipe off the Food Network!

I feared this day would come as men were forced to become more aware of their feelings back in the late 70's. We were told that we needed to be in touch with our feminine side. Slowly the testosterone has been sucked out of our bodies causing our, well not mine because I still cook on a charcoal grille, testicles to grow smaller with each passing decade. Over the years we have wondered why our family doesn't look at us with the amazement of our youth and it's all because of these new gas grilles. Your woman doesn't need you to cook outside any longer, and she keeps talking about her friend "Bob". I've never met this "Bob" but he seems to have a specific edge over you or I. The once mighty charcoal grille has evolved into a prop that could be used at a Village People concert.

It is time for men to look back, reach back and move to a simpler time when all that was required to cook ribs, chicken, burgers or hot dogs was a grate, some charcoal, lighter fluid and a pair of tongs.

Now that was cooking!

One Down 4 To Go - Wings 3 Ducks 2

2009-05-02T11:23:00.003-04:00

This is going to be a rough and tumble series. I like the Wings in five because, like Columbus, Anaheim will think the answer is to rough up the Red Wings but they are used to that.

The answer is to show the same kind of patience that the Wings display and to out play them, the problem with that is Anaheim is not talented enough to do it.

Osgood, Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and company will prevail!

Study: Ice jam caused Great Lakes water levels to drop

2009-05-02T11:06:00.003-04:00

Calling Al Gore, calling Al Gore, you better speak to these fellas because you're not going to like what they have to say. It appears they, like many others, believe some environmental changes are the fault of Mother Nature and not global warming. Shocking! The scary parts is they appear to have evidence to back up their statements. Here, I'll reprint the article below and you can check it out for yourself:

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Study: Ice jam caused Great Lake water levels to drop

Jim Lynch / The Detroit News

A steady drop in water levels in Lake Michigan/Huron over the first half of this decade resulted from natural causes, not man-made ones, according to U.S. and Canadian researchers, noting that the past 18 months of rising waters could be an indication the lakes are headed back to normal levels.

Researchers working for the International Joint Commission this week released the findings of a two-year study on the St. Clair River and the amount of water running through it out of Lake Michigan/Huron. The study was launched to answer questions by lake shore residents who had watched the steady drop of water levels in recent years.

The study found that Mother Nature has been behind the changes under way in the last eight years. "It's not ongoing; it has definitely stabilized," said Ted Yuzyk, the Canadian co-chair of the study board, who added the changes have reversed in the last 18 to 24 months. "And it's not human driven. This is more natural."

For years, many blamed the water loss on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and dredging work the agency performed on the St. Clair River bed in the early 1960s -- work designed to broaden and deepen the channel for better navigation.

Critics believe that work increased the capacity of the river for carrying water out of Lake Huron and led to increased erosion of the river bed that continues today.

The commission is not calling for any corrective action in the Lake Huron-St. Clair River now. And that's not sitting well with members of the Canadian environmental group GBA Foundation, which funded its own study in 2004 which put the blame on human activity.

"The fact that (the report) completely dismisses such an enormous increase in outflow and recommends that nothing be done about it is very disturbing," said Roy Schatz, GBA's founding president, in a press release.

The joint commission looked at changes in the Great Lakes between 1962 and 2006, during which the difference in the water level between Lake Michigan/Huron and the lower-sitting Lake Erie has shrunk by nine inches.

Researchers suggest three contributing factors:

• A change in the St. Clair River's capacity, or conveyance, most likely created during a month long freeze of the river in 1984 that resulted in scouring of the river bottom.

• Changing climate patterns, including greater rain and snowfall in Lakes Erie and Ontario than in the northern Great Lakes.

• Shifts in the Earth's crust, called glacial isostatic adjustment, that are the result of the planet's rebound from the melting of glaciers 10,000 years ago.

Chester Kolascz said he remembers the ice jams created on the St. Clair River in 1984 and isn't surprised it may have played a role. But after 32 years in the area, he has seen the water levels rise and fall and doesn't allow his concerns to move with them.

"My gut feeling is that the lakes in general are a cyclical thing," said Kolascz, 59, who runs the Port Sanilac Marina on Lake Huron. "And from what I'm seeing now, the levels are definitely in an upswing. I wouldn't be surprised if, by the end of the summer, we're back up near our historical averages."

jlynch@detnews.com (313) 222-2034

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090502/METRO/905020351/1409/METRO/Study--Ice-jam-caused-Great-Lake-water-levels-to-drop

Bankruptcy Is The Right Option

2009-04-29T18:16:00.005-04:00

The other day I stated one of my basic philosophies "Opinions should always be in flux, depending upon an open mind and what you discover", and I think I have reached that point with the domestic auto manufacturers.

For the past few months I have railed on how the government needed to step up to the plate and help our auto industry. I've tried to recite reasons that would only benefit our country and the working guy to take an action similar to what was done for the banking industry. I felt the auto industry was a victim of our governments lax attitude towards the cost of oil, unfair trade restrictions and blaming the auto industry for a lack of sales that was obviously the result of people being unable to borrow money at a reasonable rate.

I watched as the Presidents Auto Team, made up of money guys without a single car guy, came to Detroit to "assess" the viability of the automakers. After their report I watched President Obama say the plans they submitted for a "loan" didn't cut deep enough. They said the Big-3 was too fat, they needed to cut plants, workers and debt by 2/3, and they gave GM 60 days to accomplish this. Of course before they made this commitment essentially the President fired GM CEO Rick Wagner, because he knew Wagner was a strong personality, and replaced him with Fritz Henderson. Henderson started singing the bankruptcy blues from day one. They all but gave Chrysler the last rights and told them to go see if Fiat will save them. I then watched in astonishment as 30 days into the GM timetable Obama changed the rules again saying debt needed to be cut by 90% instead of 66%. As I told a friend yesterday that is like planning a 10 course meal for 6:00pm tonight only to have someone change the main course at 3:00pm. It's kind of hard to do. In fact almost impossible.

I've sat here an tried to figure out what the governments agenda was. Green cars? National health care? Greater dependence upon a centrist government to survive? It all made sense yet none of it made sense.

Since the year 2000 the domestic auto industry has lost over 428,000 jobs with nearly 50% of those being lost in the last 3 years. I have been staunchly against any of the Big-3 filing bankruptcy because of the ramifications that action will have upon their retirees, employees, and the ripple effect through their support system of suppliers.

But as I said in the opening paragraph, a persons thought must remain in flux depending upon what he or she learns. In the last few days what I have learned is General Motors should be changing its name to Government Motors. When this is all said and done we have a General Motors that is a mere shadow of itself, with the government appointing members of the board, not run by the majority of the stockholders but run by the government and the union. Not only is that wrong on so many levels, it goes against the concept of "free enterprise". How is Ford, who didn't take a dime of government money supposed to compete with the government? I'm not saying that, Bill Ford Jr made that statement the other day.

The government has pushed GM to cancel the Pontiac nameplate and brand. How does that help things? What difference does the trim package and name make in a car? Well, if you've owned 7 Pontiac's the way I have, perhaps a lot. Will the government now be directing the engineers and designers as to what cars you and I may chose from? It's starting to look that way. In fact I've heard they are already taking deposits for the 2011 Pelosi Hybrid, it runs on bull manure and wax, man! And on top of it all they still may have to go through bankruptcy anyway, but we're going to have a "bad" GM and a "good" GM. What is that?

Chrysler on the other hand seems to be close to a deal with Fiat that gives Fiat 30% of the company for free (BTW I'll do that too if you'll let me), the UAW will control 52 percent and the government will control the balance. Sweet.

Well gang all of this has convinced me that both GM and Chrysler should waltz into the Federal Building in downtown Detroit next Monday morning and file chapter 11. They have nothing to lose, their stockholders have nothing to lose, plus you and I have nothing to lose. Those states, like Michigan, that depend heavily upon the auto industry are already ruined and with the size of the new GM, any form of recovery is years away. Those that have lost their jobs have already been ruined financially, and I would suggest they line up right behind GM and Chrysler at the clerks desk on Monday to file papers.

I don't say this tongue and cheek, and I certainly don't take my words lightly but the bottom line is 2/3's of the Big-3 is going to be run by the government. And we all know how well the government runs things! The die was cast 20 years ago when Reagan began to speak of NAFTA and it was pushed along by Bush Sr, and then Clinton. Since that time Clinton, Bush Jr and now Obama have used the lingering effects to work their own personal agendas with no thought about the lives that have been ruined along the way.

I would rather have GM and Chrysler file bankruptcy, and come out clean to control their own destiny, than to have the government corrupt the concept of free enterprise. For without free enterprise we are no longer capitalist, and we are no longer the United States as we knew it.

This Should Make You Think

2009-04-26T17:31:00.004-04:00

Every so often I come across a post on Craiglist R&R that is worth repeating and this is such a post. The OP acknowledges this is a cut and paste from another site and while I don't agree with it item for item, I do appreciate any post that stimulates dialogue and thought.

From Craiglslist:

My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it." - Barack Obama

History Unfolding

I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books on history that have been published in six languages, and I have studied history all my life. I have come to think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is simply a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it.. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten to fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back? Why?

We learned just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700 billion we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "we the people," who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it simply wants marriage to remain defined as between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?) We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and I know precisely what I am talking about) - the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth.. It is potentially 1929 x ten... And we are at war with an enemy we cannot even name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who, in turn, cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And finally, we have elected a man that no one really knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska . All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)

Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.

This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning..

As a serious student of history, I thought I would never come to experience what the ordinary, moral German must have felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the "savior" was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they should have known was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory. Conservative "losers" read it right now.

And there were the promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and frowned and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully and beat them into submission. Which they did - regularly. And then, he was duly elected to office, while a full-throttled economic crisis bloomed at hand - the Great Depression. Slowly, but surely he seized the controls of government power, person by person, department by department, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The children of German citizens were at first, encouraged to join a Youth Movement in his name where they were taught exactly what to think. Later, they were required to do so. No Jews of course.

How did he get people on his side? He did it by promising jobs to the jobless, money to the money-less, and rewards for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world. He did it with a compliant media - did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and .... . .. change. And the people surely got what they voted for.

If you think I am exaggerating, look it up. It's all there in the history books.

So read your history books. Many people of conscience objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and ridiculed. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though. And the world came to regret that he was not listened to.

Do not forget that Germany was the most educated, the most cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And yet, in less than six years (a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency) it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors.. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.

As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me..

I choose to believe the evidence. No doubt some people will scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. To some degree, perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe-and why I believe it.

I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am. Perhaps the only hope is our vote in the next elections.

Fed says gov't ready to save stress-tested banks

2009-04-24T18:11:00.006-04:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090424/ap_on_bi_ge/us_banks_stress_tests

So our government is ready to rescue the banks again, if necessary, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. I mean it's not like half of them showed a profit in the last quarter or anything on our tax dollars. It's not like all of them collectively "flipped off" the government and the taxpayers, and said we will give out bonuses 'errr retention pay.

This would be the same government, and don't kid yourself it is the same government, that stood by and let us all pay $4.00 a gallon for gas due to fraudulent trading and pricing practices. They told us we had to bite the bullet while Exxon-Mobil posted profits exceeding $100 billion. They shrugged and said we need more fuel efficient cars, you need to turn down your thermostats, and they watched as the world of the working man began to collapse.

This would be the same government that has basically told GM and Chrysler you're going through bankruptcy so you can break your contracts with your workers and stiff your bond holders. And it's not only the UAW guys that is losing their jobs or having their pay cut by 40%, it's the suppliers, it's the local restaurants, bars, dry cleaners, convenience stores, gas stations, small factories, shipping companies, steel industry, scrape metal industry, tire manufacturers, mining, trucking, insurance companies, hospitals, medical profession, lawyers, accountants, banks, and more, they are all being told you have to take a hit. The only one protected are the ones with deep pockets. You and I aren't that lucky.

Some will say this is "old news" and maybe it is but this is about "perspective" as much as it is about substance. You see a lot of people will say this is GWB's fault and other will say it is Obama's. You people argue this point endlessly. It's Fox News against MSNBC. It's Rush versus common sense. It's Democrat versus Republican. When in reality they are almost one and the same.

What is going on in this country right now is basically class warfare. You have the "Elitist" in government trying to control everything we do. Think about it. You just had the President of the United States pretty much fire the CEO of what used to be the worlds largest corporation. You had the government cast blame on the auto industry so they can push forward with their agendas of "green" cars and a nationalized health program, when in reality even Stevie Wonder could see the auto industry wasn't broke until gas went to $4.00 and the banks stopped lending money to buy cars. And who stood buy and did nothing to the banks and oil traders? The government! Oh wait they did do something...they bailed one out and told us to buy duct tape on the other. Then they told the auto industry to downsize and start laying people off.

A day will come when the people of this country will start to use their brains again and think, instead of being told what to think. I wonder if I'll see it in my lifetime? Doesn't anyone find all of this just a little strange? Any of you over the age of 40, do you think this would have happened back in the 60's, 70's or 80's?

One last thing. If this made you think, now start to question, then get involved and act.

Save GM with bold trade stroke

2009-04-21T18:54:00.004-04:00

This was a commentary in last Fridays Detroit News by Jerry Kroth. It brilliantly illustrates why our domestic auto industry is on the ropes. I hope you enjoy it!

Save GM with bold trade stroke

Jerry Kroth

We hear about General Motors' struggling, bailouts and bankruptcy, and we hear about how Toyota, Honda and Nissan will fill the vacuum created by any GM or Chrysler bankruptcy.

But what we don't hear ought to pique your interest: Last year Japan imported a whopping 8,000 Fords. That's right, 8,000 Fords were sold in Japan while Toyota alone sold 2 million automobiles here in America. Honda sold a million. According to Frank Fillipo of Autoblog, poor GM only sold 2,000 cars in Japan last year.

Why? The average GM car in the United States costs about $25,000, but in Japan the same car costs $50,000. A big mark up, plus tons of other obstacles and restrictions. No one calls that protectionism, but that is exactly what it is.

There is an overwhelming pressure to keep foreign imports out of Japan, whether its so-called "inferior" American cars, "infected" Washington apples or "tainted" American meat. Eleven Saturn vehicles were sold in Japan -- a car made jointly by the U.S. and Japan -- and a piddling 12 Rolls Royces. I guess Rolls Royce is considered inferior as well.

Peter Mandelson, the European Union's external trade commissioner, said last week that Japan was "the most closed developed market in the world and that imbalances ... were truly staggering." The social pressures within Japan and the complex layer-cake of bureaucratic restrictions keep all imports marginalized, not just our cars.

To be specific: The Japanese car market of 4.5 million vehicles begrudgingly allowed 6 percent of their car market to be made up of non-Japanese manufactured vehicles. In South Korea, the situation is even worse. It imported 9,000 U.S. cars but sold 800,000 cars in ours. If you think a Kia outperforms a Malibu, good luck.

Imagine a refreshing change -- a new law requiring that Japanese and Korean car manufacturers only allowed to sell the same number of cars in the United States that they reluctantly import into their countries. In other words, the playing field would finally be leveled.

GM, Ford and Chrysler would start filling the vacuum created by the sudden absence of Toyotas, Nissans and Hondas from American showrooms. If Japan could only sell to us what it purchased from us, it would be limited to 5.5 percent of the U.S. car market and not a fraction more, and Korea would be limited to a mere 2 percent.

Thousands of American jobs would be saved; thousands more created. The Rust Belt would experience a renaissance.

Instead of Detroit, let's have Toyota City take it on the chin for a change.
Sure, the Japanese would protest that they had to start letting their showroom dealers start selling Fords and Chevys at competitive prices. Maybe a trade war would start; maybe they'd cash in their T-bills, but it is just as likely that the bigwigs of Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Kia would hurriedly ask parliamentarians to open markets to allow more American cars to be sold there so more of their cars could be sold here.

Maybe Congress and the media are opposed, but in the days of Jimmy Hoffa and Walter Reuther, a healthy strike by autoworkers and sympathetic truckers could shut our country down until we saw some real action. Maybe its time to clog the turnpikes, slow interstate commerce to a crawl, and demand that fairness in trade finally be implemented. If now is not the time, well, just how close does the patient have to get to death before we decide to stop the bleeding?

Jerry Kroth is an associate professor of psychology at Santa Clara University in California and a former Detroiter.

Good Job President Obama

2009-04-19T12:27:00.005-04:00

In the past few weeks I have taken President Obama to task on his actions regarding the economy and spending. I disagree with the path that he has chosen but with that said I also want to thank him when he does something I think is long over due.

This past month Mr. Obama has reached out his hand to Castro in Cuba, Ahmadinejad in Iran and to a lesser extent Chavez in Venezuela. I know many feel this is wrong, but we have tried the "ignore and isolate" policy on all of these nations for decades now and it hasn't produced a single positive result.

By definition, insanity is to repeat the same action and expect a different result and that has been the diplomatic approach of the United States towards these countries. If we are to regain our position as a leader of the free world then we need to establish we can lead by methods other than threats and military action. I say this because the world knows our military is pushed to it's limit right now and isn't capable of handling another full scale outbreak, plus with the dissecting and removal of our industrial base over the last decade we are no longer capable of being self reliant in times of emergency.

There is a saying" Keep your friends close and your enemy's closer" and I believe this is the approach Obama is taking. I liked it when he said he'd do it during the debates and I like it now.

Thank you President Obama for living up to this campaign promise.

The Best And The Brightest Was Real Change

2009-04-17T17:38:00.005-04:00

While the Obama administration continues to focus on a path that alienates 40% of the country I couldn't help but think back a year ago to all of that wonderful talk of change. Now in retrospect, a mere 100 days into Mr. Obamas Presidency, do you see or are you satisfied with the "change" in the White House?

I look at the President, his appointments and his policy moves, and I'm sad to say I don't see much change whatsoever. I see a President that recycled the old Clinton Administration, showed either a lack of due diligence or poor decision making by making several appointments of people with tax or character issues. I see betrayals in policy making moves against those that elected him so that he can acquiesce to the liberal agenda of Pelosi and Waxman, almost as if he were a hand puppet. Lives are being ruined in the rust belt due to a green agenda that, while it may be necessary, could have been phased in such a manner to minimize the collateral damage. Of course the risk there would be Obama losing his popular edge and people starting to question his moves. Where Bush abused our privacy, Obama is manipulating our free enterprise. This democratically controlled government just passed retribution tax laws and that is something to fear.

The idea of change was a good one. Change is indeed what this country needed and still needs but I'm afraid our new sitting President isn't the change we thought he was. I don't know about you but I was hoping for change the way President John F. Kennedy did it upon his election. Kennedy didn't recycle old, tired politician tied to the Washington machine. He did what many of us hoped Obama would do, get a fresh start, go out into the private sector and bring in the best and the brightest, with fresh ideas to move this country forward. Did Kennedy have some politicians around him? Yes, both Democrat and Republican, but he also had leaders of industry join his team. People that knew how to run things. During the election campaign more than one person mentioned they could see Warren Buffet being Obama's choice for the Fed or Secretary of the Treasury. Now did Obama say he would seek out people like Buffet? I think he did, and if he didn't he certainly implied it.

There are some that will say I am anti Obama and nothing could be further from the truth. What I am tired of though is a double standard in this country. What I am tired of are politicians that put their own agendas or personal wealth ahead of the electorate. What I am tired of is people that will blindly line up behind an ideology or party and act like everything they do is perfect. There is nothing I enjoy more than to talk to a ditto head and listen to him say how Bush didn't do a single thing wrong during his 8 years in office, yet when he left the Dow was below when he started, the unemployment rate was rising, wall street was falling, we were in two wars, we became known as torturers, housing was losing value for the first time in 40 years, but hey GWB could do no wrong. These people are brain dead! Just like those that will stand here now and say Obama has brought change!

Last night while watching television I came across Keith Olbermann interviewing Janeane Garafalo and they were discussing the tax day Tea Party protests around the country. Garafalo made the comment that these illiterates probably knew nothing of the Boston Tea Party, and that most were nothing more than redneck, racist Obama haters. Ummm Janeane that statement is about as valid as all those that said if you questioned Bush's policies you were a traitor or a terrorist. Oh and Janeane, I'm kinda doubting you even know what a redneck is, with that deprived childhood of being the daughter of an Exxon Executive. I'm sure you had many a meal that consisted of Ramman noodles. You personify the blind faith idiot afraid to admit the truth.

There are several things in life that truly piss me off. One is the poor little rich kid playing the die hard liberal or conservative like they have any idea what it is like to live without a safety net. Another one, being that I am from Detroit and see this quite frequently, playing the race card because someone disagrees with you. I guess there are those that find her insightful and entertaining, me I found her almost as arrogant as Rush.

The bottom line is unless you are ready to forfeit a whole lot more of your freedoms, freedoms that this country was not only founded upon but has allowed her to thrive for over 200 years, you better start demanding more of your elected officials. Change without change is nothing more than a six letter word found between "coward and chump". Which one are you?

So far he's no Jack Kennedy.

Bankruptcy for General Motors

2009-04-14T20:46:00.005-04:00

Dan Howe's had an interesting opinion piece in the Detroit News today regarding President Obama's auto team announcing that GM should get ready for bankruptcy. This announcement came even though GM has about 45 days left to present their turn around plan. Mr. Obama came out today and stated it is his desire for Chrysler and GM to avoid bankruptcy.

To which I respond....hog wash! Below is a copy of my comment to Dan on his piece:

Dan, while I am an avid fan I take exception with your last paragraph. Indeed there is an agenda at work here, in fact several agendas. First you do have the "green" faction lead by Pelosi and Waxman, they are the reason Wagner was forced out.

Then you have the southern Republican Senators that want to bust the union before more liberalized union organizing laws take effect.

And finally you have our President, Mr. Obama. At first I couldn't understand why he would be interested in seeing the UAW go away, after all they helped him get elected. Then it became plain as day, if indeed the union contracts are void, and legacy promises are void, Mr. Obama has leverage to push his national health plan through Congress virtually unopposed.

The sudden influx of a couple of million people without health insurance will not only put a huge financial burden on the people directly effected but the medical industry as well.

We just came off 8 years of a President that wiped his feet on the Constitution and seemed to forget which country he was President of. So in response we elected a new President of "Change". The sad reality is the only change is we swapped an elephant for a donkey.

Beyond that the political agendas win and the people lose.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090414/OPINION03/904140326/&imw=Y

I Wish I Wrote This

2009-04-13T18:56:00.004-04:00

Rescue the economy? Try the SEALs
Commentary: If banks act like pirates, they should be treated like them
By MarketWatch

Last update: 11:31 a.m. EDT April 13, 2009

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Barack Obama has put the wrong federal agency in charge of the rescue of the financial system. Instead of hiring Tim Geithner and the TARP, he should have hired the U.S. Navy and the SEALs. When lawless pirates captured an American sea captain, the Navy put the hostage first. Now he's safe, and the hostage-takers are dead or jailed.

When lawless bankers captured the global economy, Geithner put the hostage-takers first. And the hostage-takers are stepping up their demands: Change the accounting rules, guarantee us against any losses from the toxic assets, and rig the stress test so we all come out smelling like roses.

Old-timers may remember with nostalgia the days when it was easy to tell the difference between a major financial institution and a criminal enterprise. Those days are long gone.

Consider, for instance, the indictment unveiled last week against a San Diego street gang on multiple counts of mortgage fraud. According to federal prosecutors, the gang arranged to buy 220 properties for more than $100 million from 2005 to 2008. They overpaid for the properties by taking out liar loans using phony appraisals. They then funneled a kickback to a company controlled by the defendants, the indictment says.

Liar loans? Phony appraisals? Kickbacks? That sounds pretty much like the business model for the mortgage brokerage industry in California during the bubble. Maybe the real complaint is that the mob was muscling in on their territory.

Or consider the report in Monday's Wall Street Journal that the Troubled Asset Relief Program oversight panel is investigating complaints that the banks that received money from the TARP are raising interest rates and imposing new fees on customers. See full story.

It is indeed shocking to learn that banks are behaving like banks. Isn't the whole point of the TARP to help the banks get back on their feet? And if they can't sell trillions of dollars in credit default swaps to each other, the most profitable line of business they have left is the customer-gouging unit, also known as their credit-card businesses.

Sponsored by:
C 3.80, +0.75, +24.6%) defended a recent loan promotion that didn't disclose that the annual interest rate was 30%. The interest rates "compare competitively to similar offers in the market," a Citigroup spokesman told the Journal. So this is like an offer you can't refuse?

With interest rates like those, it sounds like Citigroup is muscling in on the mob's territory. Fair is fair.
-- Rex Nutting, Washington bureau chief

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Rescue-economy-Try-SEALs/story.aspx?guid=%7BE3A45585%2DE746%2D4A07%2DB22B%2D1166E0C1BFB7%7D

Music On My Mind

2009-04-11T19:58:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5KWI71s3DY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f06QZCVUHg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BJOfMBJS0A

This is my song....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpN-8bUxlFo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-W_i7Z59I

for my bud....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrgwxLff4Io

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZc6tCWU09k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tunvwCvu2NY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ns8t9iQck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQml5qdbPM0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQJ4_QgLwLc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE11Zrrp24I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k99h5aikc4g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3ORwO5xDUE&feature=PlayList&p=BC5478D84888DA6B&index=0&playnext=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oR-VGMuiAI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PxAIAI1QQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KtMPZUMtAQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH85zttgbGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI6n86nftc4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntzCi1lu2ys&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BARLfUmyBJA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECbcyP92qdA

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Times They Are A Changing

2009-04-09T18:24:00.005-04:00

I'm 55 years old and in the course of my lifetime I have seen many changes in every aspect of life. Which got me to thinking about things that gone or nearing extinction. This is a partial list and feel free to add to it:

Typists, Newspapers, Soda Counters, 5 & 10 Stores, Local Restaurants, Paperboys, Photographers, Film, Tube Electronics, Imaginations in Children, Manual Transmissions, Rear Wheel Drive, Butcher Shops, Record Stores, Mechanics, Mom & Pop Stores, Driving Ranges, Block Parties, Print Shops, Hardware Stores, Truth In Advertising, Intelligent Television Programming, Locally Produced TV Shows, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Newspaper Comics, Comedians, Charcoal BBQ's, Leaf Burning, Curb Side Airlines Check-In, Tailors, Hobby Stores, Slot Car Tracks, Kids Doing Odd Jobs, Record Players, Motorcycles w/Kick Starts, Sans A Belt Slacks, People That Can Count Change, Cash Registers That Ding, Baking From Scratch, Double Headers, Kids Playing Tag, Soap Box Derby, Model Cars, Lemonade Stands, and Local Banks.

I got it started what can you add?

Whither the Dems of Michigan's supine congressional delegation?

2009-04-06T18:48:00.003-04:00

Sometime you come across written words and say to yourself "I wish I had written that". The following is such an article. It is written by Daniel Howes of the Detroit News and it reflects the feelings of many Michiganders. I hope you enjoy it:

Posted by Daniel Howes (-->The Detroit News-->) on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 7:34 PM
Whither the Dems of Michigan's supine congressional delegation?

Carl Levin nailed it today: President Obama's direct talk of bankruptcy Monday is "self-defeating," the veteran senator from Detroit said. "It undermines the companies' economic position to talk about bankruptcy. They can do all the exploration they want (privately), but all the public exploration makes it more likely that that becomes the option used, and I think that would be a serious blow."

Yes, all the chatter -- especially the presidential kind -- does make "BK" more likely, and yes, it would be a serious blow.

To make Levin's point, the feds proposed a new program to guarantee warrantys of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC metal. And GM today unveiled a new "GM Total Confidence" program intended to induce skittish consumers to plump for Detroit metal despite their fears of losing a job, losing their local dealer or losing GM to bankruptcy. If nothing else, the program is evidence the "public exploration" lamented by Levin is having the exact effect he predicts.

Doubt that matters to the Obama White House, anymore than the accurate perception that the president unilaterally removed GM's CEO and began the process to recast the board of directors -- even though the government does not hold a single ownership share in the beleaguered automaker. Unprecedented? Pretty much. Strong arm? No question, not that you'll hear much "public" protest (Gov. Jennifer Granholm excepted) from Michigan Democrats in Congress.

Because they're defeated. Not by Republicans, but by the larger, stronger, lefter wing in their own party that hails from the coasts and is allied with an environmental lobby that considers Detroit, its automakers and much of the industrial heartland an obstacle that needs to be reconstituted in an image they deem to be appropriate, politically correct and, most of all, "green."

The market? They don't need no stinkin' market.

And the Michigan delegation -- the Levin brothers, Dearborn's Rep. John Dingell, the longest serving member of Congress -- look increasingly powerless to influence their own party, while the rest of the Dems in the Michigan delegation appear irrelvant to anything of remote importance to the critical economic issues of the day.

Late today, an e-mail arrived from Dingell's Washington office offering qualified praise for the Waxman-Markey energy & climate bill, officially titled "The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009." I read Dingell's comments. I gagged: "I look forward to continuing to work with Chairmen [Rep. Henry] Waxman [of California] and [Rep. Ed] Markey [of Massachusetts] to get a bill that reduces greenhouse gases by the levels the science tells us is necessary and that protects jobs and consumers."

Fine, except that they have no intention of working with Dingell. Or anyone else interested in balancing jobs and consumer costs against the march to environmental nirvana envisioned by congressional leaders whose states are mostly devoid of anything approaching industry.

They won. They don't have to compromise with their own caucus, much less deal with the opposition. Here, the job is to salute, lay down and roll over.

Some change!

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/danielhowesblog/index.php