Playoffs!

I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks.  Those who wondered if I was sick or worse, no I am not dead.  You be the judge of whether I am sick.

Over that 2 week stretch, a rather amazing thing happened.  The Chiefs made the playoffs.  The Chiefs have proved my prognostication skills are lacking several times this year.  First it was the opening game of the season, played in a rainstorm on Monday Night Football.  Going in, I saw no way for the Chiefs to win that game.  The Chargers were and still are a better team on paper, but have one glaring problem.  They can't win in bad weather as proved in their last loss to Cincinnati.  The Chiefs also proved me wrong by winning the last 3 games of the season.  I felt they could only win 1 or 2.  But with St. Louis and Tennessee games won handily, only Oakland remains.  This was to be a war with the winner going to the playoffs.  In that scenario it would have been a difficult win.  But with the conference title wrapped up and Oakland already eliminated from the playoffs, the Chiefs should win this game rather easily and finish with an 11-5 record.  Impressive on the surface.

I still hold the belief the Chiefs were given an easy schedule so that pro football would remain viable in Kansas City.  This team is marginally better than last year's 4-12 team. But due to weakness of schedule, they will be 11-5 and realistically could be 13-3.  They let 2 wins slip through their fingers in Houston and Oakland.  Do you remember the old man from KC that predicted a 8-8 season, only to be rebuffed by the young kid from Memphis, the self-proclaimed football expert?  That kid predicted a 4-12 season.  I don't feel a bit embarrassed by my 8-8 prediction.

The Chiefs deserve their playoff spot.  They had a very good season, weak schedule not withstanding.  They were just that bad the past few years.  But before KC becomes giddy with visions of a Super Bowl, a little realism is in order.  In the first round of the playoffs, KC will likely face the Jets, Steelers or Ravens.  If they draw the Jets, it could be an entertaining game.  If it is the Steelers or Ravens, forget about it.  Remember that each of these 3 teams compiled a similar season record playing a much tougher schedule.  Expect the Chiefs to go down in the first round. Bet the house on it.

Stupid Letter of the Week

Just as there are no stupid questions, there are no stupid letters.  Instead, there are only stupid people who ask questions and write letters.  Gregg Gehrig of Overland Park is one of those people.  His stupid letter to the KC Star follows:

End tax cut for rich



Paying taxes is an honor reserved for those who make money. Politicians of both parties have conned the public into believing that taxes are evil. In 1960, the rich were taxed at a higher rate. The middle class was so robust then that a man could support his family with just one job.

Now the effective tax rate on the rich is low. What’s evil is the national debt exacerbated through this redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the rich.

The national debt didn’t appear overnight. It took decades of giving tax breaks to the rich and war spending. David Stockman, Reagan’s budget director who coined the term “trickle-down economics,” said recently that wealth doesn’t trickle down because the rich hoard the wealth.

It’s time the rich do the honorable thing by telling the politicians, whom they bought, to tax them more. Giving the rich an additional $700 billion doesn’t help.

The rich won’t create new jobs. Instead they’ll keep the money until they die. Then their heirs will pay a reduced estate tax.

Let’s tell Congress to restore taxes on the rich.


Gregg Gehrig
Overland Park

Gregg has heard the liberals refer to the Bush tax cuts as tax cuts for the wealthy so many times that he now believes it is fact.  He is so gullible that he doesn't question the statement or search for the truth on his own.  I have to wonder what rich guy stole his lunch when he was a child.  Something obviously scarred him for life.

So to quickly correct Gregg with a few facts: The Bush tax cuts were not for the wealthy alone.  THEY WERE FOR EVERYONE WHO PAYS TAXES!  Sorry Gregg they did not cover those who don't pay taxes.  Giving money to those who don't pay taxes is called entitlement spending.  Liberals like to use that to buy votes. 

Congress is now debating who should be fortunate enough to retain their current tax rate.  Republicans want everyone to retain the current tax rate, while democrats want the rate to increase for those who make more that $200k individually, or $250k for couples.  You live in Overland Park Gregg.  Overland Park is a fairly affluent community.  Allowing the democrats to RAISE taxes (tax cuts are not the discussion) would impact most families in your fair city.  Doing nothing would RAISE taxes for virtually everyone in your town.  Is that what you want?

History is not on your side Gregg. Taxing the so called rich does not work.  Allowing them to keep a larger portion of their EARNINGS has repeatedly worked to invigorate the economy.  We need economic invigoration now.  You need to understand that America does not have a under-taxation problem  WE HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM.  Congress is out of control and the power shift from democrat to republican does not guarantee that our spending problem is solved. 

Only when spending is bought under control can we once again expect to see the federal budget approach balance.  Raising taxes on anyone will not increase revenue. That false argument has been disproved time and time again.  The lie continues to be repeated when morons like you believe what liberals say.

Chefs are Toast

Not officially.  I mean the Chefs win their division if they win their last 3 games.  It is in their control, that is certain.  They could win all three, but a chance and actually winning all three is 2 completely different things.  With Oakland's loss last Sunday, the Chefs could have won the division with a win over San Diego. 

One small problem.  They aren't as good as San Diego.  The result was a 35-0 loss that wasn't really as close as the score would indicate.  Oh sure, the Chefs didn't have their starting quarterback.  Nobody is going to miss Brodie Croyle when Cassell returns.  It was good that any quarterback controversy was nipped in the bud last Sunday.  It was unfortunate that Cassell had appendicitis.  Unfortunate things happen and good teams adjust and continue to win.  Cassell might have turned Sundays 35-0 loss into a 35-10 loss.  He wasn't the difference between a win and a loss.  The Chiefs can't complete with San Diego on a dry field with nice weather. 

All that remain is 3 winnable games against St Louis, Tennessee and Oakland.  They could go 3-0 and win the division.  Or they could go 1-2 which is far more likely.  San Diego has 3 easier games left on their schedule.  They will finish 10-6.  And, they are a pretty good team that is peaking at the best possible time.  If San Diego goes 3-0 and the Chefs lose 1 or more, San Diego wins the division. 

The Chefs could end the season with a respectable 10-6 record, but not go to the playoffs.  That is probably appropriate.  Remember, my contention all year was the NFL gave KC a weak schedule to ensure that pro football remains successful in Kansas City.  It is working well.  The city is again behind their team.  I am not sure they are much better on the field than last year.  I am certain that if this year's team played last year's schedule, they would not be 8-5 and leading the division.  They would probably be on track for a 4-5 win season.

It is better this team sits out the 2010 playoffs.  Regardless of who they would face, they would be pounded.  The result would be embarrassing for a division winner.  It could harm the young player's psyche and damage them for their careers.  It would be better to mature for 1 more year before moving on to the next level.

Madison's Debut

On Sunday, I posted an abbreviated video of my grand daughter Madison's first singing performance.  Below I have made the entire video available.  The longer version is mostly the solo performed by the male character in the song, but -T and I really enjoyed watching Madison prepare herself for what had to be a stressful performance. 



I am amazed that Madison did so well.  I remember her mother performing a solo part 25 years ago in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in front of a much smaller crowd.  Before she sang, I thought she was going to throw up due to nerves.  Madison seems to enjoy the singing in front of others.  I know she enjoyed the attention paid to her after church.  Several people made a point of chasing her down to tell her what a great job she did.  After each, Madison had an ear to ear smile.  What a day for her and her grandparents.

Winter

The temperatures have dropped to uncomfortably low levels.  Last weekend's wind tore shingles off the neighbor's house and blew out a basement window at our house.  What an inconvenience. 

The house feels cold.  A week ago I was on the beach. Cabin fever is spreading.  This is just the beginning.  Officially, winter doesn't arrive for 8 more days.   

This morning I went outside to retrieve the newspaper, silently cursing the 5 degree bone-chilling cold.  Then I looked up.

This is what I love about winter. What a beautiful start to the day.

I'm Still Here

I just noticed that it is December 10th and I haven't posted yet this month.  I'm not making excuses (yes I am), but it has been a busy start to the month.  That job thing continues to get in the way of what I want to be doing.  It started last week when I attended 2 days of classes where I was taught how to use Jedi mind tricks on customers and direct reports.  Watch out -T, -L, -A because they say the tricks work on family members also.

Immediately after the mind trick class, -T and I left KC for Orlando.  We arrived Wednesday evening after the typical full flight.  It was our first experience with the new TSA full body scanners.  I am happy to report they don't seem to want to scan old fat guys.  -T wasn't so fortunate.  She was ahead of me in line.  The TSA agent waved her into the scanner line, but directed me to the old metal detector line.  I guess the vomit bags back in the scanning room were full, so they were only scanning good looking people. 

On Thursday and Friday last week, I reported to the local office and worked with peers and internal customers for a couple days.  -T did was she does best - worked out, lounged by the pool and shopped.  It was a well deserved two days of rest for her.  On Friday night we dined with good friends from the area at an upscale restaurant named Season's 52.  It began our weekend of eating as much seafood as we could.

Saturday morning we moved on to New Smyrna Beach to a condo owned by our friends. They were gracious enough to allow us to stay there a couple of nights. The weather was spectacular, sunny with calm winds and a high temperature around 70. The mornings there and in Orlando were in the 40's. Locals were wearing parkas and heavy sweaters and whining about the cold. It felt like paradise to us.

I'll show the rest of the weekend in pictures.  We took the solo shots on the beach just after arriving in New Smyrna Beach.  It's our "The hillbillies from flatland Kansas have arrived" shots.



The beaches were deserted.  A huge difference from summer visits



This was as crowded as it got.



   



Shot was taken just across the parking lot from our condo.





On Sunday a cold front moved in just after noon and cleared out the few who were on the beach.



A nice little park on the inter-coastal.







Carpe Defeatem

Last year I blogged about a new experience for me, shopping on Black Friday.  I had never, ever ventured out into the mean streets during this dangerous time.  But with SILC, BILL, Heather and NILK in town, we took the challenge of attacking certain retail establishments to win the desired door crasher bounty.  It was a successful outing and you can read about it here and see my niece's video report here.

The plan for this year was to do nothing.  -T and I opted to sleep in and possibly forage during daylight hours for the scraps left behind by the rabid masses.  That plan was in place until mid-day Thanksgiving.  That was when daughter -L was reviewing the 3 inch thick pile of circulars in the morning paper, creating a list of everything she wanted to purchase for Christmas gifts.  The question came innocently.  "Dad, do you think Mom would go out shopping with me tomorrow morning?"  I should have stayed quiet and given a non-committal answer.  Instead, I provided an alternative.  I let her know that -T would be more likely to go out later that night.  The Legends outdoor mall was to open at 10PM and the nearby Super Walmart had door crashers beginning at midnight.  And then I really screwed up bad.  I said that "we" could start the evening by having a little breakfast at the local IHOP before heading out to the battleground to begin the onslaught.  It just slipped out.  -L was happy that I had volunteered since SILD (son-in-law Dan) did not want her going out alone.  -L then spoke with her mother, who was not overly excited about the idea, but went along anyway. 

Thanksgiving day came and went, and SILL indicated that she was also interested.  Somehow, she was under the impression that Walmart would be desolate if we went at midnight.  Was she in for a shock.  -L, -T and I headed to IHOP for fuel around 9:30.  I was hopeful that we were following a successful plan since the restaurant was only half full.  We got right in.  It was disconcerting that the parking lots at Legends shopping mall, immediately across the street, were rapidly filling.  We had a nice meal and then set out on our adventure.  First we did drive bys of the nearby Target, Best Buy and Walmart.  Of those, only Best Buy had campers out front in line on this cold 22 degree evening.

Arriving at the Legends just after 10:00 we parked in the back of the lot and headed in with very little idea of what we were looking for.  These stores were the only ones open at the time.  We found the outdoor mall completely packed, so much that just walking around was difficult.  Our first stop was Broadway Shoes.  Never have I seen this store so full.  Every aisle was full of shoppers.  It is a large store, but it took 10 minutes to walk to the rear.  We did make a purchase.  -T bought -L a pair of boots.  She had bought -A a pair last week, so we needed to even out the favoritism. After leaving the shoe store, we considered other shops.  Each either had a line of 50-100 people to get in, or a line just as long to check out.  After 20 minutes we decided to call SILL and meet at Walmart.  We thought we could scope out the bounty from -L's list and get in and out quickly once midnight arrived.

Upon arriving, the huge parking lot was half full.  We got in with no problems and wandered for a bit identifying the location of items on -L's list.  The children's toy section was especially frightening.  I noticed the pink Barbie motorized Jeep pile of boxes surrounded by people, each with a hand on one of the boxes.  They were staking their claim to the item once midnight rolled around.  As I passed, they sneered.  I don't know if the sneer said "Ha, ha, I got the Barbie Jeep", or "Back off jerk, this one is mine".  Either way, I cleared out.

The 3 of us set up our base camp near items that could not be loaded into our cart until midnight.  As we got closer, the store began to rapidly fill.  At 11:45, there was no room to maneuver a cart from any location to another.  We were effectively trapped.  We did abandon the shopping cart occasionally to scout for merchandise, but one of us was always left behind to guard our home base.

At 11:55, the Walmart employees began to uncover the midnight door crashers.  This set off a flurry of wide-eyed zombie-like clutch and grab shopping from hundreds of shoppers who had staked their territory.  A cop that had been monitoring the crowd close to where I was, suddenly received a call on his radio and rushed in the general direction of the Barbie Jeeps.  I think it was getting ugly over there.

We rapidly loaded our cart with a few items, and I went to get a Thomas the Train table and chair set.  Fifteen minutes later I had covered the 100 foot distance only to see that -L and -T had already arrived via a peripheral route.   We had all that we were going to get, which was most everything on the list except the Wii games.  That was another rough area.  Now we just needed to get out so that I could be in bed by 1:00.

SILL, -T and -L used the peripheral route knowledge to make their way to the check out.  That brought us to the front of the store on the extreme left flank.  Sounded good when we started, but turned out to be a colossal tactical error.  The line we were in led to a single checkout register and was 30 to 50 carts long, and was also being fed by another long line snaking up the center of the store.  The chaos happening in front of us was extraordinary.  In the first 10 minutes we made no progress toward a cashier.  SILL, looking shellshocked, gave up first, and I followed her out to the parking lot to give her an item in my car.  When I returned, -L and -T had made no progress, and I was no longer able to get back to them through the masses.

I was ready to  surrender, but did not.  I could see the smiles on my grand children's faces as they unwrapped the packages on Christmas morning full of the bounty we won on this night.  I was willing to hang in there an hour or so if that is what it would take.  Then I see -L mouthing something to me across the crowd of shoppers.  I think she said "Do you want to go?"  Yes, yes, a thousand time yes!"  -T and -L then committed the cardinal sin of Black Friday shopping.  They abandoned the cart.  The shoppers behind them were not happy, insisting that the cart be removed so not to impede their progress.  The shopper around them realized what was happening and immediately began scavenging through the items that were formerly ours, looking for something they wanted but did not get.  We left them all behind.

So my final attempt at Carpe Dealem is now over.  I will remember this as Carpe Defeatem, as we lost.  Interestingly enough, -L went back the next morning at 8:00 to a nearly desolate Walmart and was able to buy most of the items we had abandoned just a few hours before.  I am sure she will get the rest online today.  I think that was the lesson learned this year - there is an easier way to win.  And you don't lose sleep.

Stupid Letter of the Week

This week's Stupid Letter writer of the week is Hugh Hollenshead of Chanute Kansas. 

Supply side sham



The Republicans started two very expensive wars; gave themselves and their rich friends huge tax cuts; deregulated the mortgage/banking industry, which caused the economic meltdown — and now they and the tea party people want us to believe that the whole mess is the Democrats’ fault.

If Congress had the courage to let the George W. Bush tax cuts expire, the deficit would disappear in time.

Supply-side economics is a hoax.

Hugh Hollenshead
Chanute, Kan.

Let's break down Hugh's delusions one at a time.

The republicans gave their friends huge tax cuts.  I guess that makes Hugh and I friends of the republicans.  Hugh is swallowing the liberal lies that Bush tax cuts went to the rich.  In fact, they went to everyone who pays taxes.  The more you pay,the larger the cut, but in the end the rich still pay far more taxes than the rest of us.

The republicans deregulated the mortgage banking industry.  Wow.  What revisionist history that statement is.  It was under Bill Clinton's watch that mortgage standards were reduced to allow those who could not afford a house to buy one.  And it was Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, liberal democrats, who declared Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to be well run and healthy just months before the mortgage crisis.

Tea party people want us to believe that the whole mess is the Democrats’ fault.  Yes, because that are at least as guilty as republicans and have controlled the congress for the past 4 years.

If Congress had the courage to let the George W. Bush tax cuts expire, the deficit would disappear in time.  Good luck Hugh.  The only way to reduce the deficit is to grow the economy.  You can't collect enough taxes to pay it down.  Tax cuts are the only government action that has ever grew the economy.

Supply-side economics is a hoax.  So what is your model?  Let the parasites of our society grow the economy?


So Hugh, when you Google your name someday and see this blog, I want you to

 remember Abe Lincoln's quote: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt".  Sorry that it is too late for you.

The Stuff Nightmares are Made of

I hate snakes. Seeing them fly does nothing for me.



I hate snakes.

A New Level of Thankfulness

This year, as in years past, I am exceedingly thankful for what God has given -T and I.  We are truly blessed.  We are thankful for our jobs that has served us well during the recent economic troubles that have severely impacted so many people.  We are thankful for our friends and family, both immediate and extended, that make life so rich.  We are thankful for our church that feeds us each week.  We are thankful for a nice home and plenty of food to sustain us.  And most importantly, we are thankful to live in the greatest country on earth, served by the finest volunteer army ever to defend freedom.

But this year, I have been thinking on how I can take Thanksgiving to a new level.  How can I instill a deeper level of thankfulness in myself and those around me?  And then it just came to me.  I could help others understand how they can be more thankful for me.  Think about it.  We all do pretty well being thankful for the blessings we receive, but how often do you express thankfulness for having a certain 54 year old stud-muffin in your life? This blog post is intended to help you with that.  This is groundbreaking.  Something that has not been done before. So lets get started.

To -H, please be thankful for the smartass and irreverent comments I leave on your blog.  I truly do look forward to each new post.

To NILK, you should be thankful that I read your blog full of birthday wishes, UK Men's Basketball fantasies, and Lee DeWyze man crushes. I may be your most regular reader (not too hard lately).

To Charlie, be thankful that I keep you grounded in reality.  When your Wildcats have dominated the Big 12 for over 10 years, and achieve a winning record over my Jayhawks, I will then acknowledge them as a basketball powerhouse, but not until then.

To SILL, I gave you bluegrass.  That special Saturday will remain with you for the rest of your life.

To BILS, for all that free labor I donate to the projects my kids hire you to do.  And that I like to paint.

To Allison, without me you wouldn't have a biggest fan.  It is my calling.

To Lyndy, be thankful that I relearned my kindergarten coloring skills so that your neighbors would know of your 30th birthday celebration.

To BILL, be thankful for the understanding ear on our shared management trials, tribulations and experiences.

To SILC, you must be thankful for the laughs I provide on the golf course.

To -T, I only hope that you are as thankful for me as I am for you.  For over 33 years, you have been my wife, best friend and love of my life.  I only hope that we are blessed with 33 more.

We have so much to be thankful for.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob

Just too good not to share.  I could see this replacing the tradition of carolling.

Extra 30 Seconds a Day

In a prior post, I justified the purchase of a iPad to the extra 30 seconds a day I would get.  The only remaining question was whether to get the 16, 32 or 64 GB model.  On Saturday, -T and I found ourselves in my favorite toy store, Nebraska Furniture Mart.  It uncanny how that happens almost every weekend.  On this day, I happened to cruise through the clearance department and was met with an opportunity.  There on the shelf sat a new 16 GB, WiFi only iPad priced $75 below retail.  I immediately grabbed it before another shopper could recognize the bargain and snatch it from me.

I approached the sales clerk and asked why the new device was in clearance.  Was it a floor model that had been pawed by the great unwashed over the past few months?  Or was it refurbished?  I needed to know why a device the evil genius' at Apple never discount was discounted.  The clerk was able to look up the reason and found that it had been sold and returned.  The return reason was the former buyer was not aware that an iPad needed to be managed by connecting it to a PC with iTunes.  That person must not have owned a PC, so ate the 15% restocking change and returned the iPad.  Good for me.  It was the same as if the former customer sent me a check for $75.

Now my only decision was whether I wanted to lower myself to a 16 GB model.  After all, I had determined several days before that 16 was less than 32 and 64, so 64 was my preference.  For the good of my community, I was willing to accept a 32 GB, but never considered slumming all the way down to a 16 GB model.  Here was my opportunity to save a few dollars that could be used to make Christmas better for others.  And recover 30 seconds of my life each day.  Not much really to think about.  It is a win-win.  I bought it.

Almost immediately, I began to feel cooler.  -T noticed that I was much better looking with an iPad in my hand.  Even SIL and BILS noticed the difference on Saturday night.  They didn't say anything, but I could tell.  The Apple magic was now on my side.  I was a cooler person by simply purchasing an iPad. 

By Sunday evening the new iPad was set up on the network, all bookmarks were loaded, and I downloaded a couple solitaire games for -T.  The new iPad is now a favorite with -T.  She uses it to get on the internet, check email and everything she would normally use the laptop for.  It probably saves her 30 seconds a day also, so now we are up to a minute for the household.  The iPad is already making life better for others, and that is what I am all about.  I have also noticed that she is looking mighty fine working that iPad.  Thank you Steve Jobs, for making my wife cooler than she already was.

I Like to Listen - A Special Saturday Evening

Last Saturday, purely on a whim and completely spontaneously, -T and I decided to catch a bluegrass show at a local saloon that regularly hosts all kinds of live music performances.  Before logging on to purchase tickets, we called SILL and BILS to see if they were interested in joining us.  BILS appreciates bluegrass music.  SILL is more of a headbanger rock and roll type, so I had my doubts.

But surprisingly, SILL agreed to go.  I think I had her at "bluegrass".  We began the evening with a fine upscale dinner at an Italian white tablecloth restaurant.  That started a little rough when BILS broke a wine glass just getting to our table.  Dinner was served and satisfied all.

Then, we went to Knuckleheads for the special treat promised to -T and SILL.  We arrived at 8:00 for an 8:30 show and found the last 4 seats in the room.  They were 4 high captain's chairs covered with beer stained worn out material, but fairly comfortable.  SILL immediately made friends with the video technician who sat just in front of us.  At just before 8:30, the garage doors immediately behind our seats were opened to accommodate the overflow crowd.  At 8:30 sharp, The Greencards took the stage and played a 50 minute set.  After a short break they came out for another 45 minutes. 

The sound was okay, but the overflow crowd just behind us was distracting during the slower, quieter songs.  As a fan of The Greencards, I found the show to be very entertaining.  -T and SILL, the discriminating musical ears, were also impressed by the band.  SILL even commented on the obvious talent of the musicians.  I think this special Saturday evening has won over another lifetime bluegrass fan.

I found the video clips of The Greencards on YouTube and included them below for your listening enjoyment.

I Like to Watch - Winter's Bone

-T and I watched a rare Thursday evening movie last night.  Originally, I became interested in seeing the low budget movie Winter's Bone simply because it was shot close to KC.  I also heard that it had won a few film festival awards even though it was not widely distributed to major theatres across the country.  It only played in the small "eclectic " and foreign film venues locally.

We had heard from others to be ready for a depressing movie.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I would not call Winter's Bone depressing.  It is dark in places.  The movie presents the best and worst of families, its darkness coming from the worst side of family life.  The plot follows the lead character, Ree, a teenager who has taken on the parent role in her family as the caregiver for her two younger siblings, mother and assorted animals.  Ree's mother is mentally ill and unable to take care of herself.  Ree's father is a meth head and cook in legal trouble with the local police.  He uses the family farm as collateral when bonding out of jail, and then disappears.  The bondsman provides a weeks notice to vacate.  Ree is then left to find her father, or become homeless with a useless mother and two small children.   The dark edge of this movie comes through as she contacts extended family and known acquaintances in her search.

The movie is brilliantly shot.  You can tell that no part of the movie was shot in a studio.  Instead, each scene was shot on site in the Ozark area between Branson and Springfield Missouri.  Each scene was shot at a real life homestead in a very rural part of America.  This brings an authenticity that few movies have.  I found myself constantly exploring each area of each scene absorbing the minute details.  The acting also added to the authenticity of Winter's Bone. There were no big name actors.  In fact, the only actress I was able to recognize was the character Merab played by Dale Dickey, the prostitute character on the show My Name is Earl. 

I found Winter's Bone to be dark but not depressing, and was thoroughly entertained.  I give it two thumbs up.

Stupid Letters of the Week

There is no such thing as a stupid letter.  But there is Carol Reger of Milan, Missouri and Donna Campbell Brice of Kansas City who writes letters like these.

Re-uniting America


In Plato’s “The Republic I” it is written that injustice is said to occur “... wherever she takes up her abode, ... that body is ... rendered incapable of united action by reason of sedition and distraction ...” Let’s consider that “body” to be the U.S. Congress.

And within that body are the Republicans. Republicans are a tight-knit group looking out only for their welfare and that of their moneyed donors. In their eyes injustice is all right as long as it doesn’t affect them. Refusing to “unite” with Democrats for the good of the country, when Obama was elected, they set a course of “no” to everything the party in power proposed.

There was no “uniting” to provide health care for a nation in need; no “uniting” to provide adequate stimulus to put money into the hands of the unemployed and small businesses; no “uniting” to extend the unemployment benefits. The “uniting” they did was to protect the tax cuts for the wealthy, to fill their pockets with money from lobbyists and to continue the control of this country by corporations.

Perhaps that group should review our Pledge of Allegiance and the words “liberty and justice for all.”

Carol Reger
Milan, Mo.

Carol seems to not be particularly friendly towards republicans.  She seems to think they are the root of all that is wrong with our nation.  Stingy, selfish people.  I guess they didn't represent the 50+% of voters who provided affirmation to the party of NO on Nov. 2nd.  I suppose the republican opposition to Obamacare wasn't representative of Carol's position so it was not "uniting".  Like most libs, it's all about Carol.  Carol might want to change the Pledge of Allegiance to say "On nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all who agree with me".

If only the republicans had swallowed their principals and went along with the jack booted thugs who have controlled congress for the past 4 years.  But I guess the thugs get a pass.


Support for Obama



What did the tea party participants and Republicans complain about before President Barack Obama was elected?


It’s amazing how the United States was brought practically to its knees before Obama became president. Obama was dealt a bad hand, and it was left for him to correct the mess created by the previous administration.


I think tea partiers’ complaints and statements such as “Let’s take our country back” are code words for “I don’t want a man of African descent to be president of the United States.” Who is the “our” and “take the country back from whom or what?” I believe it’s all about the color of President Obama’s skin and his genes. We are one nation of people, regardless of race, skin color, creed or nationality. President Obama is a highly intelligent man of integrity whose heart is in the right place. We must all work together to clean up the mess created by the previous administration and support our president.


Donna Campbell Brice
Kansas City


Donna has gotten under my skin.  She has called a large number of Americans racists simply because we disagree with the policies promoted by this administration.  She needs to study up on Dr. King's dream.  He dreamt of a day when blacks would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.  I judge Barrack on his actions not his race, and then endure race-baiters like Donna call us racist.

Donna, someday you will Google your name and this blog will appear.  I hope you read it and know that I think you are a moron.

Business Travel

I have never travelled excessively for my job.  During the first 20 years of my working life, I made 2 trips.  The first was to the bustling town of Champagne, Illinois to help open a new Red Lobster restaurant.  The second to Lexington Kentucky to teach a class on software that I had developed.  I remember little of either trip.  The locations are not tourist hotspots.

The past 14 years have brought many more business trips.  While working for the Local Telephone Division of Sprint, I regularly travelled to much more pleasant destinations that led to memorable experiences I would not have otherwise had.  It was on business trips that I first experienced the gaudiness of Las Vegas Nevada.  I also spent a day at Monticello when travelling to Charlottesville Virginia.  Different trips to Orlando Florida allowed visits to Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral and Disney.  I have been lucky enough to witness 2 launches of the space shuttle, of which one was a rare night launch.  In 1999, I was able to spend a week in Brazil visiting Sao Paulo and Rio De Janero.  Attendance at an industry seminar allowed me the opportunity to stay at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.

Due to the declining business environment and the acceptance of web meeting software and conference calls, I have not travelled at all during the past 2 years.  I really did not miss it much.  An improving economy is now opening up the travel budgets.  I travelled to Dallas a couple weeks ago and will go to Orlando in another couple weeks.  Terri will accompany me on the next trip and we will stay over the following weekend for some beach (and maybe golf) time. 

The changes in air travel I now notice after not travelling for 2 years are stark.  In the trip to Dallas, I never saw an empty seat on the plane.  I hear from others that there are none.  If the flight doesn't sell out, it is usually cancelled.  Airport security is another joy.  While I tolerate the inconveniences for security, it is still not pleasant.  On my recent return to Kansas City, I was randomly selected to participate in the wand treatment, and have my shoes chemically checked.  I passed both and was allowed to return home. 

I have not yet been subjected to the full body scanners or optional frontal pat down.  I suspect the trip to Orlando will provide that choice.  I think I will let the TSA agent select the method that would be a treat for them.  After all, I am all about spreading joy to others.

Chefs, Again

On Halloween, Kansas City was excited the KC Chiefs appeared to be play off bound.  With a 5-2 records and full 2+ game lead in the division they looked at an easy schedule that appeared to have at least 5 more wins in it.  It was too easy to forget that Buffalo had taken the Chiefs to overtime and did not look like a winless team in the process.

Then came the hated Raiders.  Despite Oakland coaching blunders that handed the Chiefs a 10-0 halftime lead, the Chiefs handed the game back to the Raiders in the second half.  Any team that believes they are playoff caliber must win games when handed a lead.  The loss was the first sign that KC wasn't going anywhere in the post season.

Then comes the debacle in Denver.  The Donkeys are a horrible team.  The only things they had going for them were 2 weeks to prepare and playing at home.  Still, KC looked to be a better team.  The Broncos can't run the ball - the KC defense has played pretty well most of the season.  The Broncos can't stop the run - KC runs the ball well.  This should be a win, right?

Denver torches the KC defense and runs out to a 21-0 first quarter lead.  At that point I had seen everything I could bear and switched to the NASCAR race.  This saved me from 2 more quarters of ineptness and disappointment.  After the race I switch back to see the Cheifs are once again the Chefs and losing 42-10.  The final score was 49-29, but it wasn't that close.  The game was more like a 70-10 scorching.  My consolation was the NASCAR race was excellent and I saw most of it.  I was also glad that I was back  in time to see our classless head coach refuse to shake Josh McDaniel's hand after the game. 

Now the Chefs are 5-4 and tied for the AFC West lead with Oakland.  I am still feeling pretty good about my 8-8 forecast record.  They need 3 more wins and should get them in their weak schedule of remaining games.  But it is nowhere near certain.  The past 2 weeks has exposed the Chefs weaknesses.  Teams know they can stop the Chefs running game and won't be penalized by long pass plays.  They also know now this team is beaten up on defense.  The secondary is in shambles.  Any quarterback from Pop Warner league on up should be able to throw for 300 yards a game.

In two weeks, the Chiefs have gone from apparent playoff favorite to a struggling team trying to maintain a .500 record.  By Thanksgiving, they may be essentially out of the playoff picture.  This is the Chefs team I have come to know.  Things are once again right with our universe.

Dangerous Ground

I am stepping out on a limb with the blog.  A more intelligent husband would not go here, but I have never claimed to be that intelligent.  This blog is about my wife.  Terri has many fine qualities.  She is a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother.  She can cook, she earns a paycheck, she is my best friend.  I could (and probably should) go on endlessly on her positive qualities.   But that is not what this blog is about.  This blog is about her largest deficiency.  It is about her defective sense of humor.

I have known about it since just after we first met.  Every once in a while, she laughs at something that isn't funny, or doesn't laugh at something I say or do that is hilarious.  An I am a funny guy.  Hilarious at times.  My earliest recollection of her wacky sense of humor was one winter day when she and a neighbor friend went out shopping.  The roads were snow covered and slick. Her friend lost control of the vehicle when making a left turn and slide onto the island median between lanes.  I wasn't there, but her friend recounted that Terri didn't seemed frightened, but instead laughed uncontrollably. 

Last week another proof point was seen.  Father in Law Neil (FILN) was at our house for dinner.  After we ate, we sat and talked fora few minutes.  FILN told us that his doctor had just underwent hip replacement surgery, but planned to be back in the office seeing patients the following week. He would use a walker when in the office.  Terri began laughing hysterically.  Her laughter was caused by a visual image of the doctor waddling into the examination room using a walker. 

Sorry, but I don't get it.  And I have a good sense of humor. Terri does not.  Her sense of humor is so bad that she won't laugh at this blog.  Come on dear, its funny!

Stupid Letter of the Week

It has been a while since I have shared a stupid letter on this blog.  So long that I feel I must remind everyone (all 5 of you) there is no such thing as a stupid letter.  There are stupid people who write letters.  The recent election has brought many of them out of their stupor to write letters to the local newspaper.  This following letter from John Dunham of Marceline Missouri is an excellent example.

Waiting for GOP fixes


Congratulations to the GOP. The party did a masterful job of guiding a disgruntled electorate into a state of amnesia all across the country and even into county races in our fine state. The party guided voters to the “realization” that the woes of this country can be the work of one man and one party of big spenders.

How quickly the citizens forgot that without the economic blunders of the GOP leadership there would have been no need for stimulus packages. How quickly people have forgotten that the sitting president wasn’t the one who started two misguided wars that certainly didn’t help the economic situation of this country and that continue to pile onto the growing deficit, which the GOP so proudly jumped on to secure votes.

The measures currently in place over the last two years to improve the economy will most certainly be taken credit for by the same party that rode the wave of “no” to victory in the election. It’s masterful how a party that helped create the problem can be elected to solve it.

I wait with interest to see how a party of “no” fixes it.

John Dunham
Marceline, Mo.

John starts with a familiar liberal rant.  We voters are just too dumb to know what is true.  He knows better than we the majority.  Those GOP scoundrels are able to fool us into voting for them, but he wasn't fooled.

I think that most voters who chose to vote out a democrat in favor of a republican knew that they were picking the lesser of two evils.  We know that both parties are responsible for the current economic conditions and the national debt.   Most of us know that constitutionally, war funding was proper, while entitlements are simply nice to have.  In the totality of our current situation, the 2 wars did not cause the current budget deficit.  Inconvenient fact: Iraq has cost America around 1 trillion dollars over 10 years.  That is less than the Obama first year deficit.

I hope the republicans can can lead us out of our current mess, but I am not convinced they will.  Still, I would rather transfer control to them versus allow the corrupt, incompetent democrats have another 2 years of unrestrained damage.  "No" can be a good thing when used against bad ideas.  The republicans are the party of NO, and it lead to their decisive victory in NOvember.

Country Music Awards

The 2010 CMA awards were handed out last Wednesday evening.  As the preeminent music expert in my household, I feel compelled to comment. 

The first award handed out was for Single of the Year.  Need You Now,” by Lady Antebellum was the winner.  I was thinking "Here we go again". Country music awards shows have a habit of bestowing multiple awards to one artist each year.  Past multiple winners have been Kenny "Pretty Boy" Chesney, and Brooks and Dunn.  Last year it was Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum.  I knew that I could not make it through another night of seeing Lady clean house.

But it was not to be.  The next couple of awards went to Miranda Lambert.  She wins Song of the Year and Video of the Year for “The House That Built Me.”   New Artist of the Year then went to the Zac Brown Band.  Well deserved.  The band then performed As She's Walking Away from their new album with Alan Jackson.  It was the best performance of he evening.


Later, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo of the Year.  Their performance of Stuck Like Glue was difficult to watch.  Seeing Jennifer Nettles with the ballerina gag was way over the top.  What was once my favorite country music band is now gone.  Their performance curled my toes and made me throw up a little in my mouth.  The choreography made me think of a cheesy Showboat program.  The Sugarland handlers have ruined a talented band.  They now make me sick.


But the evening was salvaged when Miranda won Album of the Year for Revolution, and later Female Vocalist of the Year.  Another big winner for the evening was her fiance Blake Shelton who won Musical Event of the Year for Hillbilly Bone, and Male Vocalist of the Year.  If those two every have children, there will be a line of agents outside the hospital trying to get the baby under contract.


The evening ended with Brad Paisley winning Entertainer of the Year.  Who says life isn't fair?

Christmas is Coming!

With Halloween behind us and Thanksgiving just ahead, the TV commercials tell me that it is now time to begin thinking about Christmas.  The holiday season provides us with ample opportunity to reflect on our personal situation.  Terri and I are fortunate to be in a very happy place in life.  We need nothing as we have a nice house, good jobs, two nice vehicles, four flat screen TV's, and two Bose sound systems.  And a cat.   Life is good, but these are reflections best saved for Thanksgiving. 

Christmas soon follows, so now is the time to think about my Christmas list.  My list is short.  I need nothing, so maybe the list will include things that Terri or the kids and grand kids need. Maybe I will buy things the less fortunate need or want, and give it to them.  After all, I need nothing.  But I would like one of those iPad thingies.  Steve Jobs has this nasty habit of creating slick, shiny things that I want but don't need.  He is the devil's spawn.  Or at least the anti-Christ. 

Terri and I visited the Apple store a few days ago to play with the Apple toys.  I liked the iPad.  If I had one, I could display it on the coffee table.  Everyone who visits our home would see it and think that I am such a cool person.  I would respect myself more as an iPad owner.  If I had one, I would no longer need to go all the way into our spare bedroom to use the laptop computer.  That would probably save 10-15 seconds every day.  It adds up.

The iPad is really just an over sized iPod.  I have an iPod.  So does Terri.  It's a His an' Hers thing.  I guess I could use the iPod for everything I want an iPad for.  But I would still need to get up, go into the spare bedroom to get the iPod.  I would also need to find my glasses in order to see the smaller print on an iPod.  That's another 15 seconds.  Wow.  That's 30 seconds a day of my life back.  How can you put a price on time?  You can't get it back, so it's priceless.

They make iPads in 3 sizes.  There is the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models.  I would want the 64 GB model.  Why?  Because 64 is bigger than 16 and 32.  Even if you add them together.  A 64 GB model is so much more of a bargain, I would be compelled to purchase one just in case I ever needed all 64 GB's.  My iPod has 16 GB's.  It's half full, but I think I am running out of space.  It was once completely empty.

I feel like I am being sucked into Steve Jobs evil world.  He wants me to buy an iPad, but do I need one?  NO!  I would be a better person if I were to be more generous this season.  After all, there is so much need in my local community.  For the price of an iPad, several needy children could have a memorable Christmas.  Or a homeless family could be fed and sheltered for several weeks.  I could be a secret Santa to  a few people.

But each of these would require effort and time. Maybe an hour or more.  Maybe I can sacrifice with just a 32 GB iPad.  I would still benefit from the cool factor and the extra 30 seconds per day.  How can you put a price on time?

Summer's Last Gasp

After a long, cold Spring, and a typical if not humid, wet Summer, I am now coming to terms with the end of nice weather.  We lost an hour of afternoon daylight last Sunday.  If long range forecasts are to be believed, today is our last 70 degree day for at least 2 weeks and more likely for the rest of this year.  Bummer.  We have enjoyed Chamber of Commerce weather for the past 5-6 weeks.  I will miss it dearly.

I Can't Wait for 2012

While the Mainstream Media continues to explain away the voter's 2010 thumping of  democrats across the country, the news just keeps getting better for conservatives. Forget the 61+ seat pick up in the house of representatives and the 6 seat pick up in the Senate.  While these wins give the republicans the power needed to curtail Obama's socialist agenda, the real story is the gains made by republicans in the state elections where they now have majorities in governor's mansions and state legislatures.  It is these majorities that will return control of congress for years to come.

But wait, there is more!  Harry Reid, the gift that keeps on giving, won reelection in the Nevada Senate race, so we have another 2 years of his weak leadership of the Democrats and six years of habitual speaking gaffes.  And better yet, Nancy Pelosi has decided to run for house minority leader.  As one republican replied, "I approve!"  In 2012, republicans everywhere will still be able to unveil effective ad campaigns that tie their opponent to Queen Nancy. 

Next consider the surviving democratic congress people are more liberal than those who lost in 2010.  The 2012 choices will be between a more conservative republican party and a more liberal democrat party.  For a center-right country, the choice will be far more clear and decision more conservative.

Finally, just listen to Nancy, Harry and Barrack.  To day, it is apparent they have no clue what happened last Tuesday.  Barrack thinks the vote was simply displeasure with the economy, which is only partially true.  He still believes that his health care law will eventually be seen as a good thing and will garner support.  He must have missed the fact that so many congress folk that support the bill are no longer employed.  He must not think that runaway deficit spending or the multiple broken campaign promises were further reasons to send a clear message.  Oh well, I hope they never get it.

The republicans need to do only 2 things in the next 2 years to assure themselves of full control of the house, senate and white house.  Number 1, they need to deliver a bill to Obama's desk that extends or makes permanent the Bush tax cuts.  Failure to do so is equivalent to a tax increase.  It matters not whether Obama signs the bill.  Just give him the chance.  The party who loses this fight is either the republicans for not sending a bill to the white house, or the democrats if Obama veto's it.

Number 2 is to provide a national health care alternative.  Again, it doesn't matter if it is passed by both houses and sent to the white house for an immediate veto.  All that matters is that a bill is passed in the house and sent to the senate where the democratic majority will kill it.  That bill should not only resend aspects of the current bill, but should also include the republican ideas (torte reform, medical savings accounts, competition, etc.) that were ignored by the democratic freight train.

If the republicans do these two things they will control the federal government for years to come.  I am jazzed.

How Could THEY get popular?

A few months ago Terri and I purchased a new vehicle that is equipped with satellite radio.  I absolutely love it.  We now listen to mostly commercial free country music.  My only complaint is their play list is relatively short, but at least I don't need to wait through 5 minutes of commercials before hearing the same tune I heard an hour ago. 

Occasionally, I switch the station to the Classic Vinyl genre.  The play list is much deeper and I recognize almost every song.  Terri is not so pleased with that station selection.  She will roll her eyes like women do, but usually put up with it for a while before commandeering the station selector.

Last weekend I made the switch to Classic Vinyl and was immediately treated to a Jerry Garcia Band tune that I readily recognized.  It was followed by a song from Bob Dylan.  The combination was more that Terri could bear.  She responded with a question, "How can THOSE people become popular?"  Fair question and it made me think about how any musical artist becomes popular.

Any musical artist that can play, sing and write has an advantage.  But people who do all three very well are rare.  A quick mental glance at my iPod produces a few names that meet that high standard.  John Mayer, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley are good examples of artists that do all three things well, and each have achieved a high level of popularity. 

So how do people like Jerry Garcia or Bob Dylan become popular?  Neither could make it past a first round American Idol audition.  Dylan has two strikes against him as he can neither sing nor play well.  Yet, both artists are iconic with large groups of devoted fans.  I agree with Terri that their popularity is a puzzle.

So do they overcome their inherent deficiencies by being extremely strong in the other two?  Maybe.  Garcia was a very good songwriter, and one of the best guitarist that ever lived.  Also remember that Garcia died 15 years ago, but remains very popular. Dylan is possibly the most revered song writer of his time who wrote many songs that other artists made popular.  He may be the Hemingway of folk/rock music.  Most popular artists only do one or two things well.  Some only do one thing - look pretty, an usually become flashes in the pan, or one-hit wonders.

So my list includes John Mayer, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley.  Remember that to be included, their talent must be more than just singing, playing and writing.  They must do all 3 extraordinarily well.  So who is on your iPod?

Training

Earlier this week I took a class at work that was pretty darn good.  One of the most surprising part of the training was this video.  Everyone who manages people should benefit from seeing this.  I found the findings shocking becasue my employer and most that I have worked for have the motivation thing all WRONG.  It's not about money!

It is also a fun video to watch.

Why did Obama and the Liberals Lose

Yesterday a stinging rebuke of liberalism was handed to Obama and his party.  Today is a good day.  Why did the liberals lose so badly?  Was it because they presided over the most corrupt congress in recent memory?  Was it because they were completely deaf to those they were sent to represent? 

There isn't one answer.  Both of these were key factors in the historic loss.  But there is one other factor that isn't getting a lot of airplay on the talking head shows. Obama did not do what he convinced people he would.  Look at his promises and you come to only one conclusion.  He is one of the biggest liars ever to hold the office.

"Will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will eliminate taxes for 7 million seniors -- saving them an average of $1,400 a year-- and will also mean that 27 million seniors will not need to file an income tax return at all."


"Allow Americans to buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are safe and prices are lower outside the U.S."


To reduce bills rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them, Obama "will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."


"I'll give an annual 'State of the World' address to the American people in which I lay out our national security policy."


"Barack Obama is committed to returning earmarks to less than $7.8 billion a year, the level they were at before 1994."


"I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."


To achieve health care reform, "I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies -- they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process."


"The exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and meet the same standards for quality and efficiency."



"I cannot guarantee that it is going to be in the first 100 days. But what I can guarantee is that we will have in the first year an immigration bill that I strongly support and that I'm promoting. And I want to move that forward as quickly as possible."


The list goes on and on.  Were these just the well intended promises of a naive man not yet ready to become president?  Or were they lies told in order to get elected, with full knowledge they would never be enacted?

I tend to believe they were lies told to get elected, but the reason is unimportant.  Thoughtful Americans from both ideologies have now discovered that Obama cannot be trusted.  Our vengeance has been taken out on his party.  We will wait 2 more years before our vengeance is complete.

Vote!

Terri and I were able to cast our votes during the early voting period in our county.  Instead of getting up at 5:30 AM, preparing for work, and stopping by he polls when they open at 7:00 AM, we voted a week ago in the evening.  That is a nice alternative for working people. 

I am a firm believer that if you don' vote, you have no right to gripe.  And I do not cede my right to gripe.  What else could I blog about?

So I encourage all six of my regular blog readers to vote today.  If you are not prepared, let me help.  This year, as in any year, I would be happy to assist anyone on their voting options.  It is my way of expanding my influence without resorting to illegal democratic methods.  So do you need to know how to vote?  Give me a call.  I would be happy to help.  JUST VOTE!

Halloween 2010

To me, Halloween is the worst holiday ever created.  I am encouraged that many people simply ignore it.  Only about half the houses in my neighborhood participated this year.  We had about 6-7 small groups of trick or treaters come by.  The last 2 or 3 sure got a lot of candy for their effort, but we still had most of 2 large bowls of candy left over. 

There is one thing I like about Halloween.  The costumes and kids.  Here are my favorites from this year.

Coleton didn't like his costume, but quickly warmed to the idea of collecting candy from strange people

Spiderman has a great smile

Not bad for a couple hours of work

Ivory Tower Nonsense

Rick, Knut, Gary, Vicky, Mark, Kelly, Doug, and Larry.  These are the people who I have laid off during the past 2 or 3 years.  Each one was an excruciating decision, followed by  a few weeks of anguish.  As lay off day approaches, anxiety increases.  The days before "Tell Day" day offer little sleep.  Then "Tell Day" arrives and stress level goes off the charts.  Each employee is greeted by the angel of death (me) at their cube doorway asking them to follow to a conference room.  Once there, I notify them of a company decision to reduce workforce, and those decisions have impacted them.  Most are shocked.  A few cry.  No one has shown anger.

After delivering the message, I explain their severance package and we move to their cube to collect personal belongings.  One person expected the lay off and was already packed.  From notification to building exit only 5 minutes elapsed.  Most require 15-30 minutes.  It is a difficult and awkward time for both of us.  Once all notifications are delivered and former employees have left, I gather the survivors together and announce the job actions I have taken.  This is the time I worry most of angry demonstration, but no incidences so far.

Occasionally, I follow up or hear from a laid off employee.  Even after they are no longer part of my team, I remain concerned.  Gary was a new father.  Mark was planning to marry within a few weeks of the lay off.  Kelly was a college hire the company had committed to train for 3 years, then reneged.  Larry was a 50+ white male with little chance of recovering his former income level.

It feels very odd to reach out on facebook to someone I have laid off, but I have twice. Both times the former employee responded with an update on their new careers.  Both found employment quickly.  One is now making more than they did in their old job.  Both seem happy about their change.  Neither harbored ill feelings towards me.  I have heard of others that acquired good jobs before their severance ran out.  It usually works out, even in these bad economic times.

Until yesterday, I was able to wrap my head around the reasons for each lay off.  The economic and business environment was such that any well run company was forced to reduce expenses to remain in business.  In most companies, labor costs account for the majority of expense spending.  In this economy, if a company is serious about remaining in business, hard decisions must be made.  The manager is merely one cog in the machine that carries out these decisions.  I am fine with that.  I don't enjoy it and would worry if I did.  But I understand it.  Lay offs happen.  Laying off a few people to save the company and remaining jobs is better than letting a company go bankrupt.

Yesterday I added one more name to my list of lay offs.  I let Melody go.  She was an average employee on a team of high performers.  The amount and quality of work she did was adequate.  Over her 14 year career she had always been an effective contributor.  So did I need to reduce expense in order to support company profitability?  I did not.  This lay off was a result of an Ivory Tower desire to follow the principals of Jack Welch.  Jack said that you reward your best performers and replace your worst.  The anguish, anxiety and stress leading up to this "Tell Day" was higher than any other.  Even though I have known it was coming for some time now, I could never justify it in my own head.

An executive who acts on that principal without adequate forethought, is completely unaware of the carnage they create.  Bad behavior through the entire company ranks is result.  Employees quickly understand they need to perform better than their peers, or make their peers look worse than they do.  Managers begin to look ahead to the next round to make sure they have a below average employee to sacrifice.  Morale and job satisfaction decline.  Everyone loses the company loyalty that is so important in maintaining high performing teams. 

Melody will be fine. She will likely land on her feet and obtain a good job for a good employer.  My worry is now the 23 employees I did not lay off.

Seperation of Church and State

Localities are sued for displaying the Ten Commandments, Christmas trees become Holiday trees, prayer is banned from public schools, and recently a congress woman omitted the words "under God" when leading Congress in the Pledge of Allegiance.  The omission was apparently on purpose.  Why do liberals go to such lengths to remove any mention of religion?  Is it becasue of that pesky seperation of church and state language in the U.S. Consistution? 

I don't think so. While we are led to believe that our Constituion restricts mixing religion with the public business, it does not.  In fact, there is no mention of a seperation in the document.  The language of the Constituion is extremely clear.  So clear it really doesn't need a Supreme Court to interpret for we, the great unwashed. 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."

That is all it says.  So in modern English, I interpret this to mean that our elected doofus' in CONGRESS cannot pass a law establishing a national religion, or prohibit the free exercise of an individual's religion.  It says nothing about how local govenments should act, or that any mention of a religious term or person cannot be uttered..  I realize there are many other letters and writings of our founding fathers that hint at a "wall of seperation", but the text above is lifted directly from the consititution.  Any other ideas that conflict should be disregarded.

Now Christine O'Donnell is being ridiculed for stating the obvious.  Don't these liberals realize how ridiculous they seem with their complex meandering auguments on how the Constitution says what is obvoiusly does not say? 

Thanks Charles

Thanks to my friend Charlie for forwarding the following cartoon.  He's a long time friend, a fellow conservative and an all around good guy.  He'd be perfect if not for his adoration of the Kansas State Wildcats.  Charlie is feeling pretty good about his team during this football season.  His team is also favored over my Jayhawks this year in basketball.  But as certain as the sun rises in the east, March will come and I predict the Jayhawks will be ranked higher than his Wildcats. 

Charlie needs to remember that a long tradition and consistency over many years makes a dynasty, not a couple of good seasons.  KU has beaten Kansas State 32 out of 34 meetings since the Big 12 was established, including the last 5 straight.  Overall KU holds a 180 win, 90 loss advantage.  This year is likely to be more of the same.

I really loved the cartoon.  It summarizes why America will be firing a lot of democrats next week.

Whoopi and Bill

When I first saw this clip of Whoopi Goldberg and Bill O'Reilly on The View, I considered it just another example of liberal elitism.  Whoopi is a big liberal and I haven't agreed with her often.  But later that evening, I watched her explain her behavior and was swayed.  She showed contrition for walking off the set, but her reason for becoming upset has merit.

She was offended by O'Rielly saying that Muslims killed the people in the World Trade Center.  Muslims is a big word.  There are 1,820,000,000 Muslims worldwide.   O'Reilly should have been more precise.  Nineteen specific Muslims did commit the crime, not the entire Muslim faith.  Whoopi stated the way he said it was like saying that "Blacks like fried chicken", or "Italians are in the mafia".  Okay, point taken.

O'Reilly should have said the 19 people who killed 2,752 people in the World Trade Center attack on 9-11 were Muslim.  The other 1,819,999,981 Muslims just smiled and cheered. 

I'm thinking that I probably won't be asked to be a guest on The View.

Freedom of Speech? Your fired

"I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."

-- Juan Williams

National Public Radio to Juan: "Your fired".

 


Duane Hammond, a union stagehand who was part of the crew that built the platform for an Obama event, came to work early on Friday wearing clothing that says "George H. W. Bush". Hammond's son is in the Navy, currently serving on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. George H. W. Bush.  That didn't go over well with his union supervisor. Hammond says he was told to take off the sweatshirt, or he would have to go home. He refused.
Union supervisor to Duane: "Your fired".

I guess that freedom of speech is a right reserved for the politically correct.

I Like to Listen - The Incredible Machine

Earlier this week, Sugarland released their fourth CD.  I am a Sugarland fan.  Heck, I practically discovered them.  Their first CD was a brilliant Country/Pop record that established Jennifer Nettles as one of the best vocalist from any genre of music.  Subsequent CDs continued to highlight her vocals.  Air play featured their commercial Pop recordings, but each CD had a treasure of pure Modern Country songs.  I had learned to disregard the tunes heard on Country radio knowing the best songs were the ones they didn't play.

So last Tuesday, I visited the local Best Buy and bought their latest CD, The Incredible Machine.  As I usually do, I rip the wrapper from the CD and deposit it in the Best Buy trash can as I exit their store.  Once back in my car, I pop the CD in the player and turn my attention to the linear notes.  Jennifer and Kristian wrote every song.  So far, so good.  I always give extra credit when artists write and play their own stuff.  Only 11 cuts, that is a little light for a Sugarland CD.

1. "All We Are"
2. "Incredible Machine"

First couple of songs play and I am thinking, this must be their Pop/Rock stuff.  Seems to be a little more to the Rock side than normal, but that's okay.  I like Rock music too.

3. "Stuck Like Glue"

This song has been playing the Country stations for several weeks.  Didn't like it much when I first heard it, still don't.

4. "Tonight"
5. "Stand Up"

Okay, this is getting serious.  Five tracks into an 11 track CD and not a Country tune yet.
6. "Incredible Machine (Interlude)"
7. "Every Girl Like Me"

Alright, cut six was the first song they have ever released that did not feature Jennifer Nettles vocals.  That was interesting.
8. "Little Miss"

Cut eight, that sounded familiar.  I finally found a modern Country song.  Pretty good one too.

9. "Find the Beat Again"
10. "Wide Open"

Back to the Pop/Rock.

11. "Shine The Light"

I spotted this one quickly when scanning the linear notes.  Shine the Light is a song written by Jennifer Nettles and recorded by her alone.  Just Nettles singing and playing the piano.  After 9 of the first 10 cuts disappointed, I hung my hopes on this last ballad to justify the CD purchase.  Reminiscent of "Stay", Shine the Light delivers.  I expect to see this song performed at all the live awards programs in 2011.  Great song, great performance.

So now I'm wondering, who will play songs from this CD?  Did Sugarland just walk away from their Country fan base and completely cross over to Pop?  If this CD is what we can expect in the future, the answer is yes.  The Country music stations continue to play Stuck Like Glue, but I am not sure why.  Maybe they were as surprised as I was by the new release.  Or maybe all you need is a southern twang to be considered country by them.

The Incredible Machine is a good CD.  The music is upbeat and energetic. Jennifer Nettle's incredible vocal talent is featured on all but one track.  It will get a lot of play on Pop radio stations, and the Country stations that play a lot of cross over music.  The CD may even get a few awards next year.  Shine the Light might be the grammy for best song.  But Johnny Cash will turn over in his grave if this CD wins an Academy of Country Music award.  This CD ain't Country.

Deluded

“We must win, and we will win, this election”

“The Republicans say if they took over, they would take us back to the exact same agenda. We are not going back. We are not going back,”

“In this election, let’s continue to take America forward,” she said. “We’re not going back to the failed policies of the Bush administration.  “We all know that not enough has been accomplished. We need many, many more jobs.”

These are recent quotes from the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.  Surely she must have been briefed on how dire her party's chances are to retain a majority.  Yet, she still stands in front of cameras and does what she does best, lie.  Maybe she is just following  a policy of not admitting defeat before the battle is over.  But, it is over.  From the woman who told us we could see what was in the health care bill once it was passed, absurd statements are nothing new.

Or maybe she believes that all of America is as liberal as her home district in San Fransisco?  That a currently uninterested and unmotivated liberal base will rise up to save the democrats from the coming catastrophe that will occur on 11/3/2010?  Or is she that delusional?