Recent Obamanations

A recent Obama speech made me nauseous. In the speech he provided a few new obamanational quotes:

We've had to take emergency measures to prevent the recession from becoming another depression....But the emergency measures have added about $1 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. As a result, even as we take these necessary steps in the short term, we have an obligation to future generations to address our long-term, structural deficits, which threaten to hobble our economy and leave our children and grandchildren with a mountain of debt.

He guess he recognizes what he is doing to future generations, but I would rather he act than talk. His next obamanation makes me think he has no intention of acting in a meaningful way.

We've been scouring the budget, line by line, identifying more than $20 billion in savings this year alone.

Twenty billion dollars out of a $3.5 TRILLION budget? That is a whopping .5% reduction. It is finding a 50 cent savings for every $100 you bring home. It is insignificant and a simply an absurd statement to make.

I kept my promise to pass a health reform bill without adding a dime to the deficit. In fact, by attacking waste and fraud and promoting better care, reform is expected to bring down our deficits by more than $1 trillion over the next two decades.

Okay, it brings down the deficit if :

• you believe we will experience extremely optimistic economic conditions despite his other growth-killing initiatives (such as finance reform)
• you forget all the hidden, off-the-books costs not considered in the financial impacts
• medical service providers agree to accept less money for their services
• Murphy's Law is a myth

Then he made statements about the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, who have the unenviable task of reducing the deficit and the national debt.

It's important that we not restrict the review or the recommendations that this commission comes up with in any way. Everything has to be on the table. And I just met briefly with the commission and said the same thing to them. Of course, this means that all of you, our friends in the media, will ask me and others once a week or once a day about what we’re willing to rule out or rule in when it comes to the recommendations of the commission. That's an old Washington game and it's one that has made it all but impossible in the past for people to sit down and have an honest discussion about putting our country on a more secure fiscal footing.

So I want to deliver this message today: We're not playing that game. I'm not going to say what's in. I'm not going to say what's out. I want this commission to be free to do its work.

Let me interpret for you. He said that when the commission recommends stiff tax increases, he can renounce his pledge not to raise taxes on households earning less than $250,000 a year. I am having a more difficult time respecting the office.

Apology

It has come to my attention that my last post on ILLEGAL immigration was offensive. Because of my cold conservative heart, I am not aware of how hurtful these words can be. On Tuesday, I finished my post by saying that liberals words are reduced to that of drunk monkeys mumbling stupid phrases if they tell the truth. So now with a spirit of humble contrition I make the following apology.

I am sincerely sorry if I offended any monkey with a drinking problem by comparing you to a liberal. That was an extremely harsh thing to say about a fellow warm blooded mammal with a drinking disorder. I should have realized that your disease protects you from criticism and I erred by venturing into that sacred ground. So to all drunk monkeys, I am sincerely sorry.

I feel so much better now. Confession makes the heart free!

Conner Olsen

Conner Olsen, the young Tonganoxie man about who I posted a video of his early graduation last week died last week. The KC Star article and tribute can be found here.

ILLEGAL Immigration

Can common sense ever prevail in this politically correct climate we live in? Last week Arizona passed a law that will go into effect later this summer regarding law enforcements ability to question the residency status of a suspect in an unrelated matter. The bills broad instruction to police that when there's "reasonable suspicion" that a person is an ILLEGAL immigrant, a "reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable" to check for documents. This common sense bill has liberals wetting themselves.

The state's top prosecutor fears it will be used excessively and will lead to ethnic profiling. Critics have exaggerated the bill now makes "walking while Hispanic" a crime. Wrong. The crime is not walking or being Hispanic. The only crime is living in the Unites States in violation of immigration laws. Arizona, with is proximity to Mexico, finds itself in an especially difficult situation. Many ILLEGAL aliens reside in Arizona and soak up entitlements from the state. It is in the Arizona taxpayer's best interest to let police act on suspicion of a person being in Arizona ILLEGALLY.

What seems like common sense is disputed. Not surprisingly, President Obama over the weekend stuck his federal nose into state business by calling it “misguided” and “irresponsible”. Why would he bother? Because Hispanics are the last hope of the democrat party. If the democrats can look like they are acting in the best interest of Hispanics, they hope to retain power. If not this year, that support is expected by the 2012 presidential elections. It is all a power play.

As the debate grows louder, notice how the liberals never say the word ILLEGAL. They really can't. The liberal argument evaporates if they truthfully frame it as being about ILLEGAL immigration. Their words are reduced to that of drunk monkeys mumbling stupid phrases if they tell the truth.

Hidden Taxes

The Obama administration is making a big deal out of their claim that 97% of Americans received a tax cut since he took office. On the surface, this claim is a bold-faced lie. How can 97% receive a tax cut when nearly 50% of Americans do not pay any federal income tax at all? I am sure he meant to say 97% of all Americans who pay taxes received a tax cut. But his unfortunate truth is that sayin git that way reminds the taxing paying half that they are also paying the bill for the other half. Not a good thought to place in the most productive American's mind.

While it is true that most of us who pay federal income tax did see a minuscule decrease, all Americans are seeing increases in local taxes and fees. These taxes are increased to pay for the unfunded mandates of the federal government. In Kansas, the economic downturn coupled with reductions in federal spending for education has left a budget deficit of nearly $500 million. The state is looking for new revenue streams, and has decided to pursue a sugary drink tax. It seems that Coke and Pepsi are the new sins that are begging for a tax. The proposed tax rate is 2 cents per ounce. A 12 ounce can will increase by a quarter, and a case could rise by almost $6.

The irrational logic coming from the Governor's office is that sugar promotes obesity, which is bad and unhealthy. So it is only logical that it should be taxed. Never mind that none of the tax revenue will go toward promoting health or reducing obesity. Instead, it will go into the general fund to be spent and squandered as politicians do. Another missing tidbit of information is whether diet soda will be taxed. If you believe their sugar logic, diet soda should be excluded. Other states that have implemented this tax did not exclude diet drinks, and becomes just another hole in their logic.

And it is only the very tip of the iceberg. As health care legislation slowly goes into effect, costs will be reduced by cutting the amounts paid to providers by sanctioned plans. Doctors and hospitals will be forced to make their losses up from other sources, just like they do today with Medicare. And then comes Cap and Trade. New carbon taxes levied on energy producers will be passed on the consumers. Virtually every good and service will need to charge more to cover increased energy costs.

The net result is the Obama administration has formed a plan that if enacted, will become the most punitive tax ever levied on Americans, even those in the low income range and least able to pay. And many don't even know it is coming based on their blind allegiance to him.

Stupid Letter of the Week

This week's winner is Maria Baldwin from Kansas City. Maria suffers from a severe case of WBS. For those who have not heard of this disease, WBS is Whiny Baby Syndrome. The afflicted's symptoms include the inability to get out of bed and dress themselves, a chronic desire to whine about things in their lives (dead end job) that with effort they could change. and a general lack of bowel and bladder control.


Meaning of freedom
I have been musing about all the talk about "freedom" (anyone lost any yet?) and "we want our country back." I like to put in another way: "We want a better country" -- a country where people don’t have to die for lack of health care.

I call it freedom when you and not your employer decide who will be your health care provider, and when you decide your co-payment and how much your employer pays for that privilege. All or part of this will be tax deducible for your employer.

I call it freedom not to get stuck in a dead-end job because of these so-called benefits. How many of you could have achieved more if it were not for the fear of losing your job and losing everything you worked for?

I call it freedom when losing your job might not always mean receiving unemployment benefits in which you and the employer have paid into.

Yes we want a better country, with better education and some hope for all of us, and with no wars and less violence. A country not living by fear but in peace.

Maria Baldwin
Kansas City

Gag me with a spoon! Nobody is dying because they have no health care. They die because they don't make the effort to go to a hospital where they cannot be refused treatment. And yes, Maria, I have lost freedom. I lost the freedom to spend my money as I see fit.

But there is help for Maria's WBS. She could receive stem cell implants to help her grow a backbone.

That is if she has insurance.

How was your Earth Day?

Did you hear doom and gloom tree huggers warn that if we don't change our behavior there will be catastrophic consequences? You probably did. Earth Day is the most holy day in their religion. Earth Day is now 40 years old. Have the tree huggers ever been correct?

On the first Earth Day in 1970, prominent biologist Barry Commoner wrote, "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." He was not talking about global warming Back then it was the threat of global cooling. That same year, ecologist Kenneth Watt said, "If present trends continue, the world will be about 4 degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but 11 degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." Wow. That was a big miss.

And a New York Times editorial proclaimed: "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and possible extinction." The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Before their apocalyptic predictions of the 70's, Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford professor and prominent prophet of population doom, predicted in his 1968 best-seller, The Population Bomb, that the world would have more than seven billion people by 2000, and that "massive famines" would occur soon, "possibly in the 1970s, certainly by the 1980s."

The world's population in 2000 turned out to be six billion. As the world population doubled, food consumption per person in poor countries increased from 1,900 to 2,600 calories a day while malnutrition fell from 45 percent of the population in 1949 to 18 percent today.

Forty years from now, people will laugh at those who now claim we are on the precipice of another global catastrophe. They are always wrong and always will be.

I Like My Droid

If you asked me a couple of years ago, which smart phone was the best I would have answered immediately it was the Palm Treo. Back then, Palm was a time tested operating system that rarely crashed and was the most reliable for mobile devices. That reliability came from their head start with the Palm PDA.

Does anyone remember the devices we called PDA's (personal digital assistants). At the time they were very cool. Every up and coming executive, or wanna-be executive carried one. I was surprised to learn that new PDA's are still sold. PDA functionality is now built into all mobile operating systems, and smart phones double as PDA's. Once the market was essentially cornered by Palm. Not so anymore.

About 18 months ago, I tired of the aging Palm operating system and took a chance on Windows Mobile. I was concerned that Windows Mobile had an unreliable reputation, but made the move anyway so that I could use new applications that were not available on the Palm. I found Windows Mobile to be serviceable. The shine wore off pretty fast because it's unreliable reputation was based in fact. The phone would reboot itself if allowed to run continuously for more than a day. As Apple and Blackberry built solid mobile platforms, the allure of Windows Mobile faded.

Earlier this week, I took a chance on another mobile operating system - the Android (Google phone). While early, I am very satisfied with what I have experienced so far. Many of the Android features mimic what I have seen on the iPhone. Much like the iPhone, it is highly configurable for individual tastes, and offers a huge library of application to choose from. Many of the applications are free or add supported.

A few features I like better than the iPhone. One feature is what I call the applications drawer. Every application available on he phone can be access from the drawer and dragged to your main 3-pane desktop, where you can arrange applications and gadgets across the 3 panes. The application icon remains in the application drawer until the application is un-installed. Gadgets are another nice feature. I have a clock gadget, a weather gadget, and a calendar gadget that keeps me informed of my next meeting.

Setting up the phone only required about 30 minutes. Within that time, I had configured 2 personal and 1 business email account, transferred my contacts and calendar, and downloaded a couple of free card games. The hardware I selected was a Samsung Moment. The Moment has a slide out keyboard, much like the HTC Touch Pro I moved from. The Moment has a much larger and brighter display. So far, my only complaint with the phone is it's weight. It feels twice as heavy as the HTC, and is probably 3 times that of the iPhone. Becasue of my 3 email services I am hard on batteries, and find the battery life of the Moment almost identical to that of the HTC Touch Pro. I must recharge every day, and sometimes in the middle of the day if I have used the browser or email a lot.

The future of mobile operating systems is controled by Apple. Blackberrys, Windows and Android devices have significant market share now, but only because Apple has an exclusivity agreement with AT&T. If that agreement expires and iPhones are made available on the Verizon and Sprint networks, expect Android, and possibly Blackberry, to collapse. Apple could own the mobile computing world if they would just divorce AT&T.

You've Got to be Kidding Me!

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift ... and me?"

Those were the words from Miranda Lambert when accepting the Academy of Country Music's Best Female Vocalist award Sunday evening. Many of you know that I am a big Miranda fan. Heck, I practically discovered her. After all, I have the knack of recognizing talent. But Best Female Vocalist? In that crowd?

Miranda also won the ACM for best album, something I predicted could happen. That makes two in a row, and was well deserved. Miranda's Revolution was a superb and diverse effort that has her moving effortlessly from head banger rock to soft ballads and classic country. She is now part of country music's singer-songwriter elite. But Best Female Vocalist?

During the ACM award show, Miranda performed "The House that Built Me", a soft story teller kind of song that showed us a side of Miranda that only fans have seen before. The melody remained in Miranda's lower vocal range and was a little rough in places. If this performance had been on American Idol, the judges reaction would have been:

• Randy - I don't know dog, you know, it was just alright with me. There were a couple of pitch problems, you know. Just keeping it real dog.
• Ellen - You look marvelous Miranda. What are you doing later?
• Kara - You know I love you sweetie, but I just didn't get it. You got to pick songs that complement your voice, and that wasn't it.
• Simon - That was a mess. No, more like a train wreck. It started bad and just got worse. You know that I am a big fan of yours, and I hope you are around next week.

This from the Female Vocalist of the Year?

Maybe. If the award was a talent show, Miranda doesn't win it. She does not have a voice that compares well with Jennifer Nettles, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, and scores of other artists. But Miranda does have a unique voice that is interesting in it's quirkiness. She makes country twang listenable. Her vocal calisthenics and flutters are her signature. Is she the best vocalist? No. But she may be the most fun to listen to.

Dress Codes

In 1996, I changed collars from blue to white. Blue collar jobs sometimes have a dress code. That dress code is usually consists of a uniform the employer expects a person to wear. White collar jobs usually do have a dress code that all are expected to adhere to. I have come to learn that one universal truth of the universe is that whether blue or white, employees will always test the bounds of the code.

Just as I entered the white collar work force, the code was changing. The old code was that men should wear suits, or at least a shirt and tie with jacket. The new code was shirt and tie, jacket not required. I worked at the corporate headquarters of a Fortune 100 company. You never knew when you would pass a division president in the halls. Even the lowly peon (like I was) could dramatically impact the company's stock price by accidentally backing over the CEO in the parking garage. The atmosphere was rigid, yet we always challenged the dress code. Leaving the top button undone on our shirt, or loosening the knot in our tie were small ways to make the rigid dress code more comfortable.

It wasn't long before the dress code changed if only on Fridays. Casual Fridays brought the elimination of ties. Dress pants and shirts were still expected. We employees welcomed the change, but still tested the new boundaries. Instead of dress shirts, we wore collared golf shirts. The dress code again changed to allow golf shirts, but only if they were not vendor logoed. The thought was that corporate employees wearing vendor colors might send the wrong impression to competing vendors. The problem was that corporate employee's closets are full of vendor logoed apparel. The vendors learned that if they softened the logo to make it hard to notice, corporate employees could get away with wearing the logos at work.

It was around 1998 the company I worked for dropped ties from their dress code. The new code was dress slacks (no cotton Dockers) with collared dress shirt. Every man in the company welcomed the change. Every man in the company ignored the cotton Docker exception. Soon the cotton Dockers exception was eliminated because it was impossible to enforce. With the new code came the realization that Fridays were no longer special. If every day was business casual, casual Friday needed a new definition. Casual Friday then became blue jeans Friday.

Four days of business casual with blue jean Friday became the norm for several years. This dress code survived longer than any other in my memory. But even the boundaries of this code are tested. During this past harsh winter, an executive I work for allowed blue jeans on inclimate days. His non-specific definition of inclimate referred to days with extreme cold and snow. Employees interpreted this to any day that was cold or when there was snow falling or on the ground. Essentially, that was any day this past winter. Some employees continue to test the code by wearing jeans on rainy days or days with below average temperatures.

Add to that a rather new component of corporate fundraisers selling jeans days for donations, and we soon found that anyone might be wearing jeans on any given day of the year. The question arises if they are wearing jeans due to a donation, or the inclimate weather? Now the days are getting warmer and a few people are again testing the boundaries by wearing tennis shoes. A few even dare to wear flip flops.

Most of my business day involves conference calls, Livemeetings and email. Aside from my cube neighbors, I rarely know what others are wearing on any particular day. Yet, I wonder when or if the relaxing dress codes will end. If we had swim suit Mondays, toga Tuesdays, tank top Wednesdays, bath robe Thursdays and flip-flop Fridays, would those boundaries be tested also?

Sorry About the Clumsy Employee Joke

Last Thursday, I cracked wise at the expense of the poor Hard Rock Cafe waitress who fell off the table and became permanently paralyzed. The wise crack "in the name of humor" was out of line, but very typical of my sarcasm. I provide this blog for the absolution of this and my many other sins.

I have recently learned of a touching story that has unfolded just a few miles from my house in the town of Tonganoxie Kansas. The story is about a high school student who has been dealt a difficult hand. He has cancer, endured many rounds of treatment, and recently suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side. He is not expected to live much longer, yet maintains a positive attitude. His high school held a graduation ceremony a few weeks early to ensure he got his diploma. The story is about an incredible young man who despite his affliction made a positive impression on those around him. This video is simply their thanks to him.

Stupid Letter of the Week

Barb McAtee of Overland Park wins this week's award. Barb has fully bought into the state media's depiction of conservatives, tea partiers and anyone who disagrees with Barry. She starts her letter by swallowing media lies of alleged racist incidents, and attributes threats, (later proven to be made by democrat party members), to the right.

Ease up on incivility

Despicable rhetoric on the airways and in the halls of Congress has polarized and threatened to paralyze government. Purveyors of hate have created a national climate of intolerance, which has fostered racist insults, criminal assault and terroristic threats against congressmen; as well as criminal damage to their offices across the country.

These actions are a form of terrorism, designed to intimidate political opponents and destroy our government. I have no doubt that what we see is just the tip of the iceberg of hate.

Can democracy function in this atmosphere? Surely such behavior is un-American. We cannot condone this behavior. Please stop the crazy, hate-filled rhetoric that foments a fanatical fringe into frenzy.

Where is the voice of the Republican former president who once called for "a kinder, gentler nation?"

It is time for conservative "leaders" to demonstrate their leadership capacity by calling for a stop to this craziness.

If they don’t do so, they are tacitly condoning, if not encouraging criminal and unpatriotic behavior.

Barb McAtee
Overland Park

I am sickened by her request for conservative leaders to call for a stop to "this craziness". Is she saying this behavior is purely a conservative phenomenon? Where were the democrat leadership when President Bush was being called a murderer, or when republicans were accused of killing old people and children? Oh, yeah I remember now. The democrat leaders were the one making the statements.

Both sides have mis-behavers. And civil discourse on areas of disagreement is not mis-behavior. But to only blame one side for bad behavior is nothing short of brainless.

What KC Wants to Be

Last weekend Terri and I spent some time in St. Louis. While Terri became a better hair dresser, I became a better relaxer. She was busy going to classes all day on Sunday and on Monday morning. I used the time to explore St. Louis.

We stayed at a downtown Holiday Inn. I was a little concerned when we arrived because the hotel was one block from Martin Luther King Boulevard. One of the great sages of our time, Chris Rock, once said "You know what's sad? Martin Luther King stood for non violence. And I don't care where you are in America, if you're on Martin Luther King Boulevard, there's some violence going down."

But it turned out we were near Martin Luther King Boulevard and not on Martin Luther King Boulevard. I walked everywhere. Early on Sunday morning, I walked to the Arch. I visited the free museum under the Arch and spent some time watching the Mississippi River from the adjacent park. The weather was perfect and the relaxation was severe.

I began to notice that my ever enlarging forehead was starting to burn, so I began a quest to buy a hat. I have all but given up on the KC Royals and being in St. Louis, I decided that my forehead would be best protected with a St. Louis Cardinals hat. The new Busch Stadium was just a few blocks away, so I walked over to the fan shop that was part of the facility. They had a lot of Cardinal's hats. They wanted $35 for the least expensive. If you know me, you know that I am cheap. Not prepared to spend $35 for a hat, not even a Kentucky hat, so I left and continued my walk. A few blocks later I found myself at the finish line of a marathon run. Bands were playing, food was being cooked and consumed, adult beverages were flowing, it was a party atmosphere. I hung around a few minutes and watched the poor suckers who run 20 some miles for exhilaration as they stumbled across the finish line. I will never understand runners. All that pain, and only a few received any recognition.

My next stop was Union Station. Terri and I had been there many years ago and always wanted to go back. It was a cool facility, nicely restored, and full of shops and restaurants. I was disappointed to see the recession had taken its toll on the place. About a third of the shops had gone under. However there were several sporting goods stores that remained opened. I continued my pursuit of a Cardinal's hat. Three stores later, I resigned myself to the fact that licenced Major League Baseball stuff commands a stiff price. Each store wanted at least $35 for my coveted hat.

Then I spotted hope. A store named Lids was just down the hall. They have hundreds of hats. Maybe a few can be obtained for less than $35. To my surprise, Lids also carries shirts. And everything in the store was buy one, get the next for half price. I found a Cardinal's hat for $24, and a Cardinal's shirt for $20. I brought both to the register and paid $35 after tax. What a deal. My forehead is protected and I also have a shirt. I guess I taught those high priced hat places a lesson.

The rest of the afternoon was sent with the husbands of Terri's co-workers who were also in St. Louis to relax. We met at a Hard Rock Cafe on the Union Station property and spent the next couple hours relaxing and watching the Masters. At around 3:00, I noticed that we were the only people left in the Hard Rock. I had never been in a quiet Hard Rock before and asked the waitress when they would start dancing on the tables as I have seen in other locations. I was sad to learn that after one employee had fell off the table and became paralyzed for life, Hard Rock had prohibited any of their employees from dancing on the tables. Another self-improvement lesson learned: Don't hire clumsy employees.

Kansas City is trying to be just like St. Louis. Twenty years ago you could go to downtown KC when you wanted alone time. Since then, Union Station, Liberty Memorial, the Power and Light District, Sprint Center, and a proliferation of lofts binging grocey stores and other necessities has revitalized KC. Still, KC is nothing like St. Louis with it's football and baseball stadiums collocated with so many other attractions. I was a fun weekend, and we will go back for more.

I Like to Eat - 17th Street Grill

Several months ago I watched a Food Channel show on barbecue restaurants across the United States. Several restaurants that I have enjoyed were featured. The 17th Street Grill caught my attention because if isn't too far from Kansas City, or at least too far from our travel route between KC and Memphis. As part of my ongoing self-improvement project, I vowed to get there for a sampling. That opportunity presented itself last weekend when Terri and I spent the weekend in St. Louis. Terri attended a hair show, while I did what I do best, relax.



We arrived late afternoon on Saturday and checked into our hotel. Not wanting to delay my self-improvement, I immediately booted up the PC and got directions to O'Fallon, Illinois, the location of 17th Street Grill. Their web site claims they have the best ribs in the country. I began to quiver with excitement. I tempered my excitement remembering this claim is based on a bon appetit article. Red flag #1. Can you really trust the French? They probably eat their ribs with a spoon. Still I was hopeful this could be a memorable experience.



First, this is not a BBQ joint. It is a BBQ restaurant reminding me of a Corky's in Memphis. I was somewhat surprised that at 6:00 on a Saturday evening, there was no wait for seating. Red flag #2. The waitress and menu arrived and I began to plan my attack. When you only get one shot at a restaurant, you must make the best of the opportunity. Knowing they specialized in ribs, I decided on the 4 bone appetizer. It would give me a taste of their specialty and allow me to sample other selections for the main course.




The ribs (babyback) arrived. Four beautiful bones resting on a bed of onion straws. I found the ribs to be extremely tender and meaty. I look up and notice the waitress wearing a t-shirt that said "Add all the sauce you want, but BBQ is how you cook it". Those are words I can live by. The menu claimed their meat was smoked for up to 24 hours over cherry and apple wood. The flavor validated the claim. I also noticed a distinctive flavor I found very pleasant. It must be what they call "magic dust", the rub they sprinkle on everything. The ribs were great, 10 out of 10. I am starting to question my strategy of a rib appetizer and a different main course. But then again, if they really cook all the meat the same way, what comes next should be every bit as good as the ribs.



The main course was a combination plate of pork and brisket served with sides of cole slaw and fries. Unfortunately, the most interesting item on he plate was the cole slaw. I did my normal mixing of cole slaw and pork (like God intended), and wondered where the heat was coming from. I tried the sauce, first the mustard based sauce. It was okay, but no fire. Then the red sauce, better but still no fire. Then I looked closely at the slaw. What was the dark green content? Jalapenos! I found the heat. They put shredded jalapenos in the cole slaw! I would rate their cole slaw as a 9 our of 10. Their pork and brisket did not rate as well. I found both to be tender, but bland. Both get a 3 out of 10. I have tasted better BBQ at Costco. If not for the cole slaw, the dinner would have been wasted.

My self improvement activity is over. What did I learn? I learned that you should not over think BBQ. If the specialty is ribs, get ribs. I have learned my lesson and am now a better person.

Too Busy to Blog

Most of my 6 faithful blog readers were surprised on Tuesday to see there was no blog. After 9 months of faithful 6 day a week blogging, I missed a day. There may be more. I am finding myself too busy to blog.

A 3 day weekend trip to St. Louis provided a couple of good blog subjects, but no time to do the writing. Getting back to work after missing a day found me buried in real work, so I spent my lunch break catching up. Tomorrow looks no better.

I will get back in the habit once the schedule allows. I promise.

Following Up on 2010 Resolutions

Last January, I like many others developed my resolutions for the new year. As an accountability tool, I put my resolutions into my blog. You can review that blog here.

We are now well into April and as a self-improvement activity it is now time to evaluate my progress.

My resolutions:

1. Accept more back rubs from my wonderful wife - I am not doing very well with this one. It appears that to be really effective, my wife would need a companion resolution to give more back rubs. My candid assessment of my performance is that I need to coordinate my New Year's resolutions better with anyone I must rely on to succeed.
2. Notice how clean the house is more often, and complement Terri on her excellent work - Interim grade: Needs much improvement. In fact, most of my comments to her have been that she cleans too much with a construction project underway. I will work on this one once the basement is complete.
3. Renew my effort to visit every BBQ joint within 20 miles - Interim grade: Very good. We recently visited the new Backfire BBQ restaurant located at The Legends. My expectations were very low since this is a chain that plays on the Orange County Chopper theme. We came away pleased with the meal. It ain't Oklahoma Joe's, but it ain't bad either. I am setting a stretch objective to expand my radius for the rest of 2010.
4. Read more books, listen to more music and watch more TV - Interim grade: Books: C-, Music: A, TV: A+. I am very happy with my progress on this resolution. My book grade will rise when the basement is completed, and the weather suits sitting on our deck with a good book.

Overall, I am improving nicely. Another year or two of this progress and I might reach "That Guy" status.

Stupid Letter of the Week

Sometimes you stumble upon a letter so stupid that it needs no commentary. A letter from Ken Knox fits that description like a glove.

Parker column

After reading Kathleen Parker’s diatribe against Rep. Bart Stupak (3/29, Opinion, “Stupak’s cave-in, betrayal will be long remembered”), I would like to publicly thank him for not allowing Ms. Parker and her ilk to dictate how my federal tax dollars are spent. If a woman in America needs a legal, medically necessitated procedure, I have no problem paying for it.

I do, however, view with great alarm Ms. Parker’s apparent lack of regard for the First Amendment right of all Americans to be free of laws that would force her religious beliefs on us.

Thank you, Rep. Stupak for protecting my rights and, I suspect, the rights of many thousands of Americans.

Ken Knox
Rushville, Mo.

How many absurdities can you spot?

The AA Party

Most of us believe that we live in a country governed by a 2 party system, the republican and democrat parties. Sure, there are other parties - the independent, green party and libertarian to name a few. But for years we have been dominated by the AA party. They are the ones who have allowed Congress to subvert the intent of our founding fathers, to spend irresponsibly, to ignore their constituents, to earmark, and compete against each other for the most pork. All the while, they live a life of perks the common citizen cannot, and pass laws that do not apply to themselves. All the while the AA party tolerated this behavior.

The AA party is not a party that is declared when registering to vote. It's members are actually made up of members of all other parties, as well as people who do not associate themselves to any party. To join the AA party you need to do nothing. Together they are more powerful that all political parties combined. They have watched as presidents and congresses have amassed a debt for our children to pay. They have stood by as government has expanded into every nook and cranny of our lives. They have supported politicians based on feelings and not facts. They have elected people to power who are ill-prepared to lead. They have allowed our capitalist economic system be diluted by socialism because it sounds good. They are the party of Apathetic Americans and they have ruled for decades.

But now a new party is rising. This party is also made up of member of other parties, and those who do not claim an affiliation. This party, however, is not based on apathy and ignorance. Instead, it has gained power by leveraging protest and action. In spite of mounds of ridicule coming from the mainstream press and established politicians, the party has grown, and in small ways has changed the political landscape. This party is the Teabag party. Their protests of 2009 identified politicians who were not acting in the best interest of Americans. It caused them to cower behind their office, lie, cancel town hall meetings, send surrogates to represent them, weasel-word their positions, and instilled fear in their hearts.

The Tea Party movement is the current manifestation of America's "Throw the Bums out" attitude. The powers in both major parties have noticed and they are concerned. You can see their fear in how the media reports Tea party events, and how they have tried to bait Tea party protesters into violence or racism. So far, it hasn't worked. In spite of being called racist, hate mongers, and gun toting, knuckle dragging Christian mouth breathers, the Tea Party movement is growing. Next week on tax day (4/15), tea parties will be held across the country. It will be another opportunity to gauge the strength and resilience of the movement. The press coverage will be brutal. If there is poor behavior exhibited by a single participant, it will be magnified and used to paint the entire movement.

But if they are well attended and peaceful, they will be the mechanism that continues to energize conservative Americans. We need to maintain the momentum until November. Let the media know the Tea Party movement is the true party of NO (vember).

Baseball Season

For most major league towns, Baseball Opening Day fell on the same day that College Basketball season ended. It was kind of a violent transition between the culminating basketball event, and the start of an extremely long baseball season. The baseball season in Kansas City is extremely long. Excruciatingly long. Painfully long, Tediously long. We have not had a competitive team in years.

The glory years of the 1970's and 1980's are long gone. Since then we Kansas Citians have been subjected to some of the worst professional baseball teams every assembled. We have seen multiple 100 game losers, super star players traded away to save money, and keystone cop acts on the field. The only recent bright spot was the Cy Young award winning performance of Zach Grenke last year.

Yet, even that performance was tempered by the reality that a single dominate player having an incredible year cannot overcome the talent he is surrounded by. There has never been a pitcher in baseball history with the number of innings (229), strikeouts (242), and ERA (2.16) that did not win at least 20 games. Zach was 16 wins, 8 losses in 2009. Many of his losses were hard luck losses when the team did not support him with runs. Many of his no decisions were games he left with a lead, but were lost by the bullpen.

Now is the time of year that Royals public relations department makes the case that this year will be different. They need to in order to sell tickets. Last year, attendance was up, but not because of the quality of play. Rather, attendance was up due to a remodeled "amusement park" stadium. Many Kansas Citians attended a game or two last year merely to see the new stadium. That is old news this year.

The Kansas City Royals will never play .500 ball with the current ownership. Owner David Glass of Walmart continues to run the team as a business. He expects to make a profit each year. That is far different that in the Royals glory days. The legendary, hall of fame owner Ewing Kaufman realized that competitive baseball in the Kansas City small market would never be profitable. He took his losses and let the baseball people build a winning franchise. It worked then, and would now if profit margins did not drive baseball decisions.

So we can expect the same this year. There may or may not be flashes of a winning team, but the truth is there are not enough talented players to win consistently. It is really sad when the most reasonable and attainable goal for this team is to lose less than 100 games. Another manager may be fired, the general manager could be in jeopardy if disaster strikes, but these would only be acts designed to buy more time. The best answer would be to fire the owner, and sell the team.

Funny

From a McLatchty article today:

WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.
Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors' offices, human resources departments and business groups.

"They're saying, 'Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?' " said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states.

Summer Vacation

We are just putting the finishing touches on our Summer vacation plans this year. The most notable difference between this year and those past is that we will vacation 2 consecutive weeks. The first week will be spent with my Brother-in-law and Sister-in-Law, Lloyd and Cindy Wilson. We will meet them in Memphis and caravan down to their time share condo in Destin, Florida.

This will be our fourth trip to Destin with them. The first 2 were years ago when we both had young families. The last visit to Desitn was last year. Destin is a beautiful resort city located in the Florida panhandle. The white sand beaches are somewhat unique. During this first week in Destin, we will feast on seafood and play a little golf.

We will then drive to our favorite vacation haunt, Sunset Beach, North Carolina. There, Terri and I will golf every day weather permitting. Evenings will be spent trying out each beach-side seafood restaurants and walking the lonely beaches. It is a routine we have practiced several times before, and constitutes the perfect get-away vacation for us.

I need to stop now since I feel myself sliding into vacation mode a few weeks too early.

A Nice Easter Weekend

It started with dinner at our good friends Charlie and Chris Clark's home. We usually only see them at the New Threatre, so a Friday night dinner at their home was a treat. They had purchased hormone-free organic steaks at a local butcher shop, which we prepared on the grill and were delicious. The evening concluded with a card game - not my favorite past time. I cannot remember the name or the rules, but it was a pretty fun game as card games go. It was a team game, so Charlie and I annihilated our life partners.

I spent most of Saturday getting the basement ready to paint. Everything is complete except for enameling the doors and woodwork. That task will take most of the month with all the other activities that will compete for my time. I will post pictures when completely complete. The afternoon was devoted to the first grass cutting of the year. While I did that, Terri cleaned up the planter beds. All of this was accomplished in time for us to make the 5:00 service at church.

Easter Sunday was as nice as any I can remember. We had the family over for BBQ brisket and ribs that I had smoked the previous weekend. Everyone except nephew William was able to attend. Dan was able to attend once getting off of his shift as a Bonner Springs cop. The weather was absolutely beautiful - brilliant sunshine, mid 70's with a stiff breeze. The grand kids eagerly participated in an Easter Egg Hunt. Even Coleton was able to score a couple of eggs for himself.

Spring has arrived in Kansas City, as evidenced by green lawns, flowers in bloom, ideal temperatures, and late afternoon storms. Sunday's weather is why we live in Kansas City. It is our reward for enduring this past winter.

An F-bomb to a Manager

Recently, a team lead (call him Ryan) who reports to me dropped an F-bomb. He claimed there was Favoritism going on within my team. To a manager, this is like dropping an F-bomb. Favoritism will destroy a team faster than any other disease. It spreads like wild fire, fragmenting the team, reducing morale and productivity. If a manager ignores it, it will quickly become out of control and the manager is toast.

Ryan has a very tenuous claim. One of my other team leads takes members of the team he formerly managed out to lunch on a monthly basis. He buys their lunch at significant personal expense. He has done this for years, ever since he was the manager of this group people. He even extends an invitation to former members of his team and those who have been laid off in the past 2 years. Two people that are invited to the monthly lunch are now members of Bryan's team. The favoritism charge comes from the fact that only 2 members from Ryan's team are invited. Two others are not.

So the favoritism charge was not aimed at me, but at one of my team leads. However, if I tolerated actual favoritism on my team then I would be just as guilty. Based purely on the facts, this does not meet the definition of favoritism. To be, the business resources (money, time, promotions, best opportunities) would need to be directed to those who are favored. In this case, the group met on their lunch hour and the bill was paid for by the team lead, not the company. Additionally, the team lead does not have the authority to favor anyone with the mentioned business resources. By any stretch of the definition, this could not be considered favoritism.

Yet, if some act is perceived as favoritism it cannot be ignored. The appearance of favoritism is just as destructive as actual favoritism. So what to do? I met with Ryan to understand his concerns. I fought hard not to blow off his concerns as just a symptom of WBS (whiney baby syndrome). I asked Ryan what he would suggest to alleviate the problem. He suggested that lunch invitations be rotated to everyone on my team. So the complainer wants to require another person to spend their money on everyone, not just the people he wants to spend it on. Sound familiar? Sound like spreading the wealth?

The discussion was essentially over after that comment. I told Ryan that I wanted to be fair, and in that spirit I would not object if he wanted to take a group of people of his selection out to lunch. He could even buy their lunch if he chose to do so. It only took him a few seconds to decide that he did not want to spoil a good thing for 2 members of his team, and he definitely did not want to buy lunch for the other 2 to be fair. I suspect that Ryan might be a liberal.

Stupid Letter of the Week

This weeks stupid letter comes from Tom Grimaldi. Tom is obviously an Obama supporter that has fully bought into nationalized health care. In fact he goes one step farther and likens the time before the health care legislation as an evil time akin to racial discrimination.

Law right for America


I predict that years from now we will look back at a time when more than 10 percent of our country did not have health insurance and we will ask ourselves, “What could we have been thinking?” The current health care bill, which will extend coverage to 32 million Americans, is not perfect. But maintaining the status quo is a far greater evil. It’s akin to defending “separate but equal” accommodations for minorities, which we willingly and ignorantly justified for decades.

It’s hard to understand how one of the wealthiest countries on the planet can so easily disregard the needs of its poorest, most disadvantaged citizens.

The social and moral implications of having so many uninsured Americans are staggering. The issue is easy for me. I just ask myself one simple question: What would Jesus do?

Tom Grimaldi
Kansas City

Tom creates his own facts when he asks how the wealthiest country on earth could so easily disregard the needs of its poorest most disadvantaged citizens. Apparently he has not been in an emergency room recently. If he had he would no doubt have seen the signs stating that no one can be denied treatment. Granted this is not the most efficient health care delivery method, but I think it adequately deflates his argument that America disregards the needs of its poorest citizens.

Tom then attempts to commandeer the moral high ground by asking what would Jesus do? Jesus told his followers to care for the needy, but he never said that we should enable our worldly government to take that responsibility for us. My comment to Tom would be that I am taking care of the less fortunate by maintaining my own health insurance. It is called personal responsibility. I don't have the right to health insurance. I do have the right to purchase health insurance. Part of my premium is used to pay the care for those who cannot afford it. Don't wag your finger at me Tom. I am not a racist and I do care about the needy. I do my part by being a solid citizen that practices personal responsibility, not by spending other peoples money to create new social programs that demotivate some to let the government take care of them.

My Best Golf Story

The men's 9-hole league that I have participated in for the last 10 years began again this week. Being out on the course reminded me of one of the funniest events I have ever witnessed in the game. Several years ago, my partner and I were grouped with a couple of guys who were new to the league. One looked like he had played before. The other did not. We knew from the tee sheets the second guy had a 9 hole average of 80. He was a very new golfer.

As we worked our way through the 9 holes, the 80's golfer was having his fair share of problems, but not as much as would be expected when considering his average. On the 9th tee, I asked him if he was having a pretty decent round. He replied that he was. In fact, if he shot under 14 on the final hole he would beat his personal best of 64 on 9 holes. I encouraged him that he should be able to come in under 14 if he just hit 9-irons through the entire par-5.

We teed off. The 80's golfer hit his drive fairly long, but to the left and the ball bounced into a small wooded area. Beating 14 was still not a problem. He could simply take a penalty stroke and hit his third from the area beside the woods. The rest of the foursome hit into the fairway or off to the right. I remember looking over to the left and seeing the 80's golfer flailing away in the woods. I assumed he was looking for his ball.

Finally, we all made it to the final green. After everyone had putted in, I turned to the 80's golfer, quite sure he had beat 14 on the hole, and asked him if he had a new personal best. "No" he replied. "It took me 9 shots to get out of the woods." Apparently, in his rush to become a golfer, he never boned up on the rules of the game. He probably had seen pro-golfers hitting their ball out of heavy rough and assumed that you play every shoot from where it lie.

The group informed him of his option to take a penalty stroke instead of bang away in the brush. He thanked us but seemed a little embarrassed that he did not know the rules of the game. I have not seen him in the league since. One thing I can say for him is that he was an honest golfer.

Happy April Fools Day

I have never made much of a big deal out of April Fools Day. My belief is that any day is an occasion for a good practical joke. The recipient of many of the practical jokes I have played was my daughter Allison. During her grade school years, Allison was the picture of gullibility. It was so easy to lure her in and spring the trap.

One occasion that comes to mind was an evening when Lyndy and I told Allison that if we looked into one of her ears, we could see out the other. Gullible or not, Allison did not believe us so we set about proving it to her. I would hold my hand next to her left ear with a number of fingers extended. Allison would place her hand on mine to determine how many fingers were extended.

While we did this, Lyndy would be looking into her right ear. Lyndy would play along by asking me to move my hand a little left so she could see, or telling Allison to sit still so that she could see through. After few moments, Lyndy would call out the number of fingers I had extended. The first time, Allison was surprised but thought it was a lucky guess. But time after time, Lyndy was able to tell how many fingers were extended by just looking into Allison's right ear and apparently seeing my hand next to Allison's left ear.

What Allison never noticed was that however many fingers I was extending on the hand next to her ear, the same number was showing on my other hand in clear view of Lyndy. Time after time, Lyndy correctly guessed the right number. After each correct guess, Allison would become more agitated not knowing how we were doing it. Sometimes the simplest of tricks are the most effective.

I don't remember if we ever revealed to Allison how the trick was done. By reading this, she may just be realizing that we really could not see in one of her ears and out the other.