Inspirational

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

'Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's really, really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.'

'I beg your pardon?' said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little.

'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.'

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a miracle does your brother need?'

' I don't know,' Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money..'

'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago.

'One dollar and eleven cents,' Tess answered barely audible. 'And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle.' He took her money and told her he would begin working on the miracle.

He then went to the local diner and ordered a cup of coffee. Sitting back and enjoying the hot liquid, he thought to himself, 'You know it really is a miracle how a cup of coffee someone else buys tastes better than one you pay for yourself.'

Why I Hate Dogs

In August of 2009, I closed the debate on why cats are better than dogs. That masterpiece can be found here and here. The posting proved that sanity is defined by the intrinsic hatred of dogs. Why do I hate dogs you might ask? Great question. Because they are the lowest form of mammal. May I expand on my response?

Growing up I usually had canine pets. The first was a terrier mutt named Sparky. Sparky was an okay dog as dogs go. He was stupid as they all are, but a good friend as I grew up. When Sparky died, my parents decided they wanted to become dog breeders. The breed they chose was the poodle. A poodle is the lowest sub-species within the species. We had 4 of them at one time. There was Bridget, a large black female. Then Thumbelina (not an especially good dog name), a white small female. And then Ginger, and small apricot colored female. Pierre' came last. He was given to us by an Aunt and Uncle who knew better than to own poodles. My parents accepted the gift as a last piece in their breeder business plan.


The first problem with poodles is their high yappy index. A poodle will yap for any or no reason at all. Only Pomeranians and Chihuahuas yap more. But those breeds are much smaller so don't hurt your foot so much when you kick them. During my youth, a simple knock on the front door would bring on a maelstrom of yapping, dashing, darting dogs through the house. The second problem with poodles is their long curly hair. They must be groomed often and bathed regularly. This never happens, so poodles smell and often look ugly.

The poodle breed also has other issues that make them somewhat grotesque. Their eyes ooze a pinkish liquid that must be cleaned from their face. If this isn't enough of a mess, 3 female poodles in the house bring with it a special ooze and smell during their "season". And there are the poodle's "anal glands" that must be cleaned periodically (don't ask me how). These were the details you don't hear about when your parents decide they want to breed poodles.


So in summary, poodles are gross animals I compare to a cross between a sheep and a pig. My parents made the bad situation worse by keeping all 4 dogs in the house. They were trained to pee and poop on newspapers (the dogs, not my parents). The task of cleaning up the used newspaper and putting down fresh newspaper was given to ... you guessed it - me.

And then there was the time after I had moved away from home when my parents went on vacation and left me in charge of feeding and watering their menagerie. One afternoon I stopped by to fill the water and food dish and was surprised to find baby puppies littering the yard. It seems the old fat dog was more than just fat. This was long after my parents aspirations of becoming award-winning poodle breeders had faded, so the litter was only 8-10 mongrel pups. Several had already died, while others were scattered through out the yard. I did my best to round up the survivors and let the mother's instinct take over.


This episode scarred me for life. After thousands of dollars spent on therapy, I have come to terms with the uselessness of dogs and the insanity of those who like them. Dogs definitely drool.

Unemployment Insurance

Driving in to work this morning I was listening to a talk show host speak about the current unemployment insurance payments made by the federal government to those who have lost their jobs. The key details I honed in on were 99 weeks (the length of time a person can draw unemployment) and that most people who find jobs while drawing unemployment do so just before it runs out.

I need to be careful here or risk being called a cruel, cold-hearted conservative. I do support the unemployment program as a safety net for those who unexpectedly lose their jobs. I also believe that 99 weeks is an overly large safety net. While I understand that very few people would retain their accustomed lifestyle while drawing unemployment, I also believe that a 99 week period does not convey the proper sense of urgency needed by a job hunter drawing their support from fellow citizens.

The fact that most people who find jobs while on unemployment do so near the end of their benefit indicates that desperation may set in when the end nears. People begin to accept any job instead of holding out for "the" job. In this context, desperation is a good thing. I would suggest the program be modified to inject even more desperation.

What if the 99 week limit were to remain the same, but during the first 25 weeks, the pay out would be 125% of the current amount. The second 25 weeks would be at current levels. The next 25% at 75% of current levels and the final 24 weeks at 50%. I believe this plan would accomplish 2 goals. First, the overall cost of unemployment payouts should drop, even if a person draws the entire 99 weeks of unemployment.

But the most significant benefit would be if the periodic drops in unemployment pay would be enough to encourage many unemployed people to take a lesser job earlier in the process. This would return significant savings to the program.

Whether you agree with this approach is probably driven by how you see the unemployment insurance program. Is it a safety net or an entitlement?

American Idol - The Finale

Tonight (as I write this) Crystal Bowersox will compete in the AI finale against Lee DeWyze. Crystal was the early favorite, but Lee has come on strong the past few weeks. My prediction is the winner will be decided on popularity, not singing talent. This bodes poorly for Crystal. Let me explain.

During the AI season, fans of the show begin to align with one of the contestants. The contestant with the most aligners (fans) move from one week to the next. Once you get to the top 3 or 4, each contestant is receiving a substantial number of votes. As the fourth and third place contestant is eliminated from the show, huge blocks of votes move to one of the survivors.

Knowing this make picking the winner from the top 2 or 3 is much easier than the loser in early rounds. This year, Casey James was eliminated from the top 3. Casey is eye candy for the female fans. His block of votes will most likely swing disproportionately in favor of Lee and not Crystal.

Talent has little to do with the final results - both have talent and will enjoy a professional music career. But my prediction is that Lee will win the final popularity contest and be the 2010 American Idol.

But could Crystal pull off an upset? Yes. She is capable of having a moment as she did early in the competition. And Lee could vomit on stage. Either or both could swing the vote to Crystal. But if both have mediocre performances, anoint Lee with the title.


UPDATED: Wednesday morning - It got interesting last night. Crystal nailed 3 songs while Lee did not. He didn't vomit on stage, but might have spit up a little. Regardless, Crystal turned in a performance that may be enough to overcome Lee's popularity advantage. We will see tonight.

Grandsons

I have a couple of them. Colteton and Clayton aka Bubsy, aka Thomas, aka Arguman (more on that in a moment). Last Sunday, Terri and I watched them for 5 hours while Lyndy and Madison attended a wedding shower. It was the longest period of time we had watched them in several months.

The observations were many. First, young kids, especially boys seem to have unlimited reserves of energy. Clay will sit and watch a movie that interests him, but Cole is constant motion. He takes no breaks and is always looking for the next thing to do. At the 3 and a half hour point yesterday, he had worn Terri and I out enough that we needed a break, so we loaded the two grandsons into the car and went for a drive. Within 10 minutes they were both asleep. A good mind always trumps youth.

Clay has recently learned that he can get paid for doing chores. He likes money, but still does not understand the relationship between the level of effort and the amount of pay. Any task is worth a dollar in his mind. On Sunday he asked if he could do something for money. I agreed and asked him to go pick up trash in the yard. Knowing there was little to no trash in the yard, I grabbed a candy wrapper on the way outside.

He could not find anything to pick up, so I tossed the wrapper down while he was not looking. When I pointed it out to him, he responded "I really never pick up stuff that small". After searching the entire yard, we had only found 2 small scraps of paper, so I asked him to pick up the pine cones from a nearby tree and dispose of them. As we stood surrounded by 20-30 pine cones, he said "I don't see any". I began pointing each out individually.

That was the start of the Arguman nick name. He immediately claimed what I was pointing at was not a pine cone, or was not my yard. After a little coaxing, he did pick most of the pine cones up. Later, while walking with the boys, I noticed that after every comment I made to Clay would respond with an argument. I told him he was special. He said he was not. I told him he was special because he was my first grandson. He argued with that. The same was true with any topic brought up for conversation. Finally I told him he was arguing about everything. His response? No I am not! I let it slide but created the new nickname.

In the end, Clay was able to earn $2.00 on the day. $1 for picking up the trash in my yard. A second for picking up the toys his brother scattered through the house. He wanted another dollar for picking up the train and tracks that he had set up, but I refused setting the ground rule that he wouldn't be paid for picking up after himself.

One final word for our grand-daughter. Madison graduated pre-school last Friday. She is officially a Kindergartner now. Her "graduation" picture can be found below. She was very proud as were we. She begins her elementary education next fall. She will be an exceptional student. She already wants her Nana to teach her to read. After all, her Mimi (Dan's mother) will teach her to play the piano so her other grandmother should teach her something too.

Jack Booted Thugs

A jackboot, as defined by Wikipedia, is a combat boot rising to at least mid-calf, with no laces, and typically leather soled. The term probably originates from association with the word jack or jerkin, as a common garment worn by the peasantry. Although jackboots date since before the Napoleon Bonaparte era and are still worn by many American police officers on motorcycles, 20th century jackboots, or the word at least, has been associated with totalitarian motifs.

When I hear the term, I think of Nazi Germany, with their Gestapo and the Secret Police. Those Nazi Jack Booted thugs brought terror to Germany's enemy and citizenry alike. If one was encountered on the street, the natural tendency was to quietly pass without attracting attention. I am sure you have seen movie depictions of the Secret Police questioning a suspected Jew for papers, or a citizen who was suspected of harboring an enemy. If they didn't like the answer, torture or death followed.

There is a new Jack Booted thug in America. Anyone who works for a large company will agree that Corporate Security employees operate much like the Nazi Secret Police. If you are in charge of a project, the last thing you want to happen is for a Corporate Security person to become interested in it. If that happens, you will be pulled in for intense questioning. If you satisfy their security concerns, it is only temporary. Soon, another Corporate Security person will notice the project and restart the questioning. Eventually, your project will be deemed a threat to corporate or customer protected information and is either neutered or shut down. This is because the Corporate Security mission is to render all project useless.

Corporate Security has absolute power in a company. If they determine there is a modicum of risk, they demand the project halt until all risk is mitigated. Refusal only leads to forced execution of the project by cutting off all feeds and interfaces to IT systems and databases. Corporate Security owns the IT world. IT serves as Corporate Security's Wehrmacht, the army of Nazi Germany.

You can never win an argument with Corporate Security. They don't operate logically and balance is never considered. Here is an example of how every conversation goes with them.

Corporate Security: Does your application contain information about the customer?
Me: Yes, we need to know the customer's name, their telephone number and any network information that describes problems they may have had on the network.
Corporate Security: Why do you need to know who the customer is?
Me: So that we can fix the problem they may be having.
Corporate Security: So they have asked you to fix a problem?
Me: No, we are trying to fix their problem before they even know about it.
Corporate Security: Why would we do that?
Me: Because it is becoming the standard for good customer service. It makes the customer very satisfied with the product.
Corporate Security: But they didn't ask you to look at their network information?
Me: No, they did not.
Corporate Security: Then you can only look at the network information anonymously. You cannot associate the customer's name or phone number to the network information.
Me: But without the customer's information, we would not know what to go fix.
Corporate Security: You will need to figure that out some other way.
Me: So why can't we know the customer's phone number or name?
Corporate Security: There is a risk it could fall into the wrong hands.
Me: Like another employee?
Corporate Security: Like an unauthorized employee.
Me: You mean an unauthorized employee who signed a pledge to never disclose customer information or risk losing their job?
Corporate Security: Exactly
Me: So my application is responsible for protecting the customer, and every employee who uses it?
Corporate Security: Exactly
Me: Then why were they required to sign the pledge?
Corporate Security: To protect the customer's privacy.
Me: Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

I have had this same conversation with a Jack Booted Thug several times over the years. There really is little doubt why this company has lost literally millions of customers over the past 5 years.

Stupid Letter of the Week

There are no stupid letters. There are stupid people who write letters. For someone looking for a blog topic, this was a gift.

Where’s the reform?

I am a progressive liberal. I decided to find out how this health care reform law would affect me. Upon phoning Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s office, I asked how someone who is waiting 10 months for a disability hearing could get help at little or no cost. The response was Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and the Kansas City dental college.

The exact same collection of underfunded, inadequate, wait-for-four-hours, maybe days with the dental college, if you can get in at all. This is not health care reform. This is just more of the same. The poor wait in lines that never end.

There is nowhere you can get a pair of glasses. This is nonsense. Nothing will change as long as we play by the deal-making rules of Washington. We must take to the streets and demand the same health care that our elected officials have so freely heaped upon themselves.

I am not a tea party member. I am an angry progressive.

This is not reform. Health care is a right more than being able to carry a concealed weapon as part of a well-regulated militia.

Steven Addison

Steven proves the assertion that liberals do not live in the real world. He expects free or no cost health services that "our elected officials have so freely heaped upon themselves". According to Steven, Congress must have found a free health care system. I have always thought the taxpayer paid for their care. And then he expects there would be no lines for this free care, and that eye glasses should also be offered. Maybe these free clinic should also hand out pixie dust?

He again proves his ignorance by claiming that health care is more of a right than gun ownership and a well regulated militia. I'd like to see his copy of the Constitution. But as a liberal, he doesn't deal with facts, only feelings. I am sure that Steven feels he should get free care, but he has no facts on his side.

Finally, Steven wasn't paying attention during the health care bill battle. If he did, he would have known that free health care was never on the table. In fact, wait until he learns that if he doesn't buy health care, he will be fined.

I Like to Watch - Deadliest Catch

Imagine a job where you perform strenuous tasks, such as horsing around 1,300 pound steel cages, continuously for up to 48 hours at a time. After a short nap, you repeat the process. Add to that, you perform this work outdoors in temperatures near zero degrees, winds of over 50 mph, and you are drenched with water very often. Finally, your workplace is a pitching deck of a boat in waters so cold that if you fell in, you would die of exposure after only a few minutes.


This is the work environment documented by the Discovery Channel reality show called The Deadliest Catch. A captain and crew of 6 or so journey into the Bering Sea in search of crab. A good trip will last only 3 weeks and pay as much as $50k to each deck hand.


While the pay is pretty good, the suffering is immense. Each man is away from civilization and their family and at the mercy of hard driving captains and the severe weather found within the Arctic circle. Each crab fishing season, many deck hands will die or be severely injured. Most years, an entire fishing boat with crew will be lost at sea. The Deadliest Catch portrays this life in excruciating detail. Watching the show make you want to grab a blanket and get warm.


Over the years, the show has developed the different characters that serve as boat captains. Most are chain smoking, hard-hearted, tattooed, slave drivers who chug Red Bull, curse, and smoke their way across the Bering Sea's fishing grounds. While their environment is much warmer than the crew's, the hours are the same. In their role as Captain of the boat, they navigate the boat, determine where to fish, track the location and production of each "crab pot", supervise the deck hands and drive them to endurance not normally seen in any job.


This year's season has an added interest. One boat skipper, Captain Phil, has been on the show for many seasons. His character has become one of the favorites on the series. Two season's ago Captain Phil became ill with blood clots that reached his lungs. He was helicoptered from the boat to the nearest hospital, if you can call a small clinic with one doctor a hospital. There he almost died, but has recovered enough to retake the helm of his fishing boat. He with his 2 sons that serve as deck hands on the boat, are again fishing the cold waters of the Bering Sea.


Phil's health issue did not change his lifestyle, which could be best described as poor diet, low exercise, Red Bull and chain smoking addiction. All fans of the show have wondered how much a human body can take before completely breaking down. We are to find out soon.


In January of this year, Captain Phil suffered a massive stroke while on his fishing boat. He was airlifted to Anchorage Alaska where he died at the age of 53.


The show has yet to deal with the loss of a primary character. With the season winding down , they will very soon. The show has other characters of interest and will continue. The compelling story of The Deadliest Catch is enhanced, but not dependent on the characters. The story is about the brutally hard life of an Alaskan crab fisherman.

The Sinking of a Franchise

Tony Muser
John Mizerock
Tony Pena
Bob Schaefer
Buddy Bell
Trey Hillman

These are the Kansas City Royals managers with losing records since Hal McRae. Tony Pena led the team to a 83 wins, 79 loss finish in 2003. Hal McRae was the last manager to leave KC with a winning record. That was 1994.

Jeff Suppan
Mike Sweeney
Carlos Beltran
Johnny Damon
Jermaine Dye
Raul Ibanez
Paul Bryd
Kevin Appier
Mark Teahen

Since David Glass bought the team in 2000, these are the player they traded away to save money and remain profitable.

Prior to the arrival of David Glass as the Royal's owner, they had a 2,471 win and 2,412 loss record. That is a .506 winning percentage. Hardly a dynasty, but definitely a winning tradition and nothing to be ashamed of.

After David Glass, the Royals have struggled to a 672 win, 948 loss record through the end of the 2009 season. That is a .415 winning percentage. You can only draw one conclusion. David Glass is a loser.

The Royals fired manager Trey Hillman last week. Trey was not a great manager. But firing him will do nothing to help this team. David Glass is the problem.

What will David Glass do? Same as he always has. The only thing a Walmart executive knows to do. He will offer up Zach Grenke, Billy Butler, Gil Meche, Joakim Soria, Luke Hochevar and David DeJesus to the highest bidder. He will cut the payroll to maintain a profit as the fans reject this team. Do you hear that thump thump thump? That is Ewing Kaufman spinning in his grave.

Oil Spill

I have consciously refrained from posting my thoughts on the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as I waited for events to unfold. I now feel comfortable sharing my thoughts.

First, you will be shocked that I believe Barrack has handled his role well. His constituency was ready to use this accident as a reason to demand a complete ban on off shore drilling. That would be an extreme over reaction. I am pleased the president did not over react and only agreed to delay future approvals until the current accident is understood better. That was a cool headed decision that was unpopular with his tree hugging base.

I am a "drill, baby drill" proponent. It makes absolutely no sense to import oil from enemy nations when we have untapped resources here in America. It requires years to drill and begin production, so delaying current off shoring drilling applications a few weeks or months has little impact on the amount of oil we import in the near future. After the 60 Minutes report last Sunday, it has become apparent to me that we need to know what happened on BP's Horizon oil platform.

60 Minutes featured an interview with a Senior Technical Manager who narrowly escaped the platform after the explosion. He recounted 2 serious issues that may have led to the destruction of the platform and the subsequent spill in the gulf. The first was a work error committed a couple of weeks before the event that possibly damaged the BOP (Blow Out Preventer) that failed after the accident, spilling millions of crude into the gulf. He witnessed the accident that damaged the device and saw chunks of the damaged rubber seal come up from he device. Yet, BP did not stop to repair the device. In fact, they also ignored ths AND the failure of 1 of 2 BOP controllers.

The second issue he witnessed was that of a BP manager who overruled Trans Ocean's manager on the process used to cap the well and ready it for production. This change removed a concrete plug and the "mud" used to fill the well prior to production. The absence of the mud and plug may have allowed the oil and gases from the well to escape and cause the catastrophic failure of the platform.

Both of these potential errors seem to be critical bad decisions we have seen before. Remember the shuttle Challenger? Bad decisions were made in that case all in the pursuit of a schedule. The similarities seem all to consistent with each other. Just the mere suspicion that a bad decision was made on safety concerns in order to meet a schedule should deserve an investigation. Since BP owns many other deep water wells in the gulf, some with environmental risk far greater than the Horizon platform, an understanding of what went wrong is critical before new wells are approved.

Out of Gas

This marks the longest period of no blogging since I started last June. Even during vacations and Christmas holiday I was able to come up with blog ideas and the time to write. I still have the time.

I am finding it more difficult to come up with ideas for a daily blog. I sense that some of my recent blogs were forced out of a self invented need to blog every day. I have now decided to blog when I have an idea, and not simply generate one post every day.

Expect me to post every week. Maybe several times. But also expect there to be stretches of several days when I do not post. Hopefully fewer posts will translate to better quality. Or maybe not.

Stupid Letter of the Week

I have come to the conclusion that there are no stupid letters. There are just stupid people who write letters. Bob Hemenway is this weeks example.



Immigration debate



The governor of Arizona has signed into law a provision that may well violate the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. Law enforcement officers can stop anyone who is brown skinned or has features derived from Mexican or Spanish descent, demand papers and if not produced arrest the person.


It kind of reminds me of the black guy, who, when asked why he was stopped, answered, "I was stopped for a DWB. Driving while black." What about the Indians who have been in Arizona long before the white man came? Do they get stopped, questioned, delayed and then sent on their way or, perhaps, detained?


Sen. John McCain has said he respects America’s immigration policy and it must include the implementation of temporary worker programs that reflect the labor needs of Arizona. He’s in a tough primary race with a conservative for his Senate seat. He has moved to the right and now says he supports the governor’s new law. You can’t have it both ways, John.


This may come to rest in front of the highest court in our land. Hold on folks. As Betty Davis said, "This is going to be a bumpy ride!"


Bob Hemenway
Kansas City



Bob opines when he obviously hasn't read the law. First, Arizona law enforcement cannot stop anyone based on race.

Another interesting fact (not that Bob would desire to know the facts) is that the Supreme Court has decided that "Stop and Identify" statutes enacted in 25 States, including Arizona (2006) are legal. Stop and Identify statutes are based on "reasonable suspicion" as is the Arizona bill. They apply to EVERYONE including white male citizens.

Bob's race argument just doesn't work. There is a better case to be made that Bob is the racist. He is the one who is willing to give races in the country illegally preference over those her legally.
Funny how 4th amendment violations are only mentioned when illegals are concerned.

American Idol Final Four

This is a little risky writing this the day before an elimination to the final 3, but here goes. Her are my picks for the final 4:

1. Crystal Bowersox - I am real happy with this pick. Crystal has proven herself to be the "artist" in the top 4. She had a couple rough weeks trying to mold her indie-rock style into big band and movie songs, but overall she did okay. If I were to pick a winner at this stage, it would still be Crystal.
2. Casey James - Casey is at risk of elimination. I still believe he is the best musician in the top 4, but good musicians don't necessarily win this competition. Regardless, Casey has made his mark and will end up with a recording contract soon.
3. Michael Lynche - Michael the survivor. He was eliminated once, only to be saved by the judges and has made the most of it. Despite his duet performance with Casey on Tuesday, they are both in trouble. I expect one to leave. If pressed, Michael is that one.
4. Siobhan Magnus -Siobhan was my bad pick. She did not make it to the top 4. I thought she might be the season's dark horse, a quirky odd tattooed girl with a big voice. Turned out her only strength was a good voice even when screaming, which she did a lot.

Lee DeWyze was the contestant who made the top 4 that I did not see making it. Lee convinced me early that he had a very good voice, but was too timid and afraid to make it this far. Over the weeks he changed. We saw his confidence grow a little each week, bolstered by the judges. He made the top 4 deservedly so. Good for him.
This is the time in each season when it seems unfair whoever is eliminated. But Wednesday evening I a predicting Michael to be eliminated. If not he, Casey would be my next choice. For the competition I entered, I would like to see Lee leave. That would practically guarantee the family title of best talent judge would be mine. Crystal's elimination would take me out of the competition. But after all, this is all about me.
If I don't win, my daughter Allison is well placed for the title. She accurately picked the top 4 and has Lee going all the way. This tells me the talent is genetic. So Allison, if you can leverage the gift I gave you into a few million dollars, I'd like a nice cottage on some non-oily beach.

Elena Kagan

It is no surprise that radical leftist Barrack Obama has nominated a radical leftist to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by John Stevens. This is what presidents do. It is their right and their legacy. I would expect nothing less of a left wing liberal than to nominate someone who believed like they do. He even nominated someone who has little experience, just like he did when elected president.

Elections have consequence. The only lasting legacy of a president is who they place on the Supreme Court. Kagan is a young woman by Supreme Court Justice standards. She could continue the left tilt for 3-4 decades. But then again, Obama is simply replacing a leftist liberal with another. The real damage to this nation would be if a conservative judge is replaced by Obama. That would skew what balance there is on the court for years.

Expect a media blitz informing us of how mainstream and moderate Elena is. Not true. She has no judicial experience so there is very little fact to understand how she may rule in the future. But what is known supports the idea that she is very left of center in a country that is center-right. Here is what we know:

• She is pro-choice
• She has never been a judge
• She opposes "Don't ask, don't tell" and would prefer that gays serve openly in the military
• She banned official military recruiting on the Harvard Law School campus.
• She argued at the Supreme Court to find the Solomon Amendment unconstitutional and lost 8-0 (the Solomon Amendment cuts off government funding to schools that ban recruiting)
• She and other law deans signed a letter objecting to aspects of an amendment that limited court challenges by Guantanamo prisoners. That law later passed the Senate by a vote of 84-14.
• She once wrote “Americans are more likely to speak of a golden past than of a golden future, of capitalism’s glories than of socialism’s greatness,"
• She hoped that the future would “be marked by American disillusionment with conservative programs and solutions, and that a new, revitalized, perhaps more leftist left will once again come to the fore.”

Mainstream?

All other Obama mistakes will be corrected within the next 5 years. This one will live on much longer. When will the American voter realize that elections have consequence?

Season is Over

Not long ago I blogged on the anemic Kansas City Royals and how they will never win with David Glass (Walmart CEO) as the owner. It did not take much talent to see this future vision accurately. The Kansas City Royals are the worst franchise in Major League baseball. The ownership has squandered the rabid fan base it enjoyed since entering the American League in the early 70's and continued into the dismal 90's and 2000's. There really isn't a single aspect of the baseball operations that is working.

Why? Money! David Glass runs the franchise like he runs Walmart. He squeezes the supplier side (the talent, farm system, etc.) so that he can show a profit. Running a baseball team like a business has not worked for years. Ever since the NY Yankees changed the sport by overpaying for talent and developed the "win at any cost" strategy, baseball stopped being a business. It is a hobby for rich owners. If the cost is too great for the current ownership, they need to sell to a billionaire looking for a hobby.

So we find ourselves 32 games into the season with a record of 11 wins and 21 losses. We are 10 games out of first place and its not even June. Only Houston and Baltimore have worse records. This season is starting to look very familiar. It looks curiously like the past 10 or so.

There is not much hope the Royals can turn it around. Hitting has been anemic. The opponents has scored 42 runs more than their own offense. They stand 22nd in hitting out of the 30 Major League teams. But it gets worse. They are 27 out of 30 in pitching. The bullpen has been repeatedly rocked. The closer has been inconsistent at best.

Trivia question: What Cy Young award winner hasn't won a single game since winning the award for best pitcher? That would be the Royals lone star, Zach Grienke. Zach is 10th in overall ERA, but has a record of 0-4.

Expect this performance to continue. There is nothing the manager or general manager can do to turn this season around. The only notable aspect of the 2010 season is the players seem to be packing it in early - resigned to their 90-100 loss fate. This is very early to give up, but if correct, the 2010 season may be the worst season in KC Royals history. Thank you Mr. Glass.

Amnesty for ILLEGAL Aliens is UNFAIR and RACIST!

Over the past 10 years that I have managed people, I have had 10-15 aliens on my staff. I sponsored one for citizenship. She became a citizen last year after a seven year effort. Currently I have 7 alien employees. All are legally in the United States on work visas.

Having alien employees on your staff is a serious commitment by the company and manager to the employee. It entails significant expense for immigration lawyers, and a lot of human resource paperwork. It would be far easier (but illegal) for the manager to decline hiring legal aliens to their workforce.

It is also a hardship for the legal aliens. To retain a green card, they cannot switch jobs or titles within the same position without restarting their clock. The red tape is massive and a real inconvenience for management, the company and the alien. But all of the effort does provide the immigrant with the promise of America.

Now consider the amnesty plans that have surfaced. Many more will be unveiled over the next few months. Most, if not all provide legal residency to the ILLEGAL alien after meeting certain requirements. All give preference to those who ether entered the country ILLEGALLY or let their legal status lapse. All favor the ILLEGAL criminal over the legal alien.

There are an estimated 20 million ILLEGAL aliens in the country today. Most are from our neighboring country Mexico. Providing any shortcut to residency or citizenship over those who follow the existing immigration law would favor one race over another. When the libs start calling those who favor enforcement of immigration laws racist, remember who is the real racist.

Stupid Letter of the Week

Liberal bashers are fantastic at taking conservative sound bites and twisting the context to make it sound stupid. Their fellow liberals don't ract logically, but instead agree with them based solely on feelings and how it sounds. This week's stupid letter to the KC Star comes from Robert Haight of Harrisonville. Robert is either airheaded, an extremely shallow thinker, or intentionally twisting the words of Sarah Palin by comparing them to unrelated words of John F. Kennedy.

Palin speech revealing

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." said President John F. Kennedy in Washington, D.C., in 1961.

"We should not be working for our government. Government should be working for us," said Sarah Palin in Independence on Saturday (5/2, Local, "In defense of oil").

Two visions of leadership. One inspires us to compassionate service; the other appeals to selfish greed.

Robert W. Haight
Harrisonville

Robert seems to not know the difference between country and government. We should act in the best interest of our country as the JFK quote says. It is called patriotism.

That is not blind allegiance to our federal government. Sarah's comments were directed at our government, not our country. She made a great point. We should not be working for the government. Look at Greece. Their economy has melted down in large part due to the enormous deficit spending generated by creation of government jobs. America seems to be on the same path.

So Robert, the tea partiers are working (doing) for our country by opposing the policies that will fail. There is nothing more patriotic.

The Arizona ILLEGAL Immigration Law

I have watched with equal parts amusement and nausea, the mainstream media reporting how unconstitutional and racist the new Arizona law is that allows law enforcement to check for ILLEGAL immigrants. When ever you hear someone shout that it tramples the constitution, is blatantly racist, like a Nazi asking a Jew for their "papers", or otherwise horrible, one thing is sure - they have not read the law.

I have. I wanted to share a short snippet from the law that proves my point. The law reads:

A. No official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state may limit or restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.

B. For any lawful stop, detention or arrest made by a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency of this state or a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency of a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state in the enforcement of any other law or ordinance of a county, city or town or this state where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who and is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person, except if the determination may hinder or obstruct an investigation. Any person who is arrested shall have the person’s immigration status determined before the person is released. The person’s immigration status shall be verified with the federal government pursuant to 8 United States code section 1373(c). A law enforcement official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state may not consider race, color or national origin in implementing the requirements of this subsection except to the extent permitted by the United States or Arizona Constitution. A person is presumed to not be an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States if the person provides to the law enforcement officer or agency any of the following:

1. A valid Arizona driver license.
2. A valid Arizona nonoperating identification license.
3. A valid tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification.
4. If the entity requires proof of legal presence in the United States before issuance, any valid United States federal, state or local government issued identification.

Hey, can't we all be detained if we cannot produce identification? How does this law treat possible ILLEGAL aliens any differently than legal citizens? Have ILLEGAL aliens become a protected class?

To me the Arizona law seems like common sense. Remember what you read when you hear the far left scream about the rights that are being trampled on.

Workplace Characters

Fans of the TV show "The Office" are familiar with the personality types found in many offices. I have my own list recognized over my working life.

• Engineerguy - As the name implies, Engineerguy is usually an engineer. His expectation of every project he touches is that every detail is in order and every question answered before he will lift a finger. His expectation of everyone he works with is they are as squared away as he is. Engineerguy will bring projects to a halt with his demands for the perfect information he needs before he producing his magic.


• Whinerguy - Whinerguy will complain about anything and everything. When asked to provide a status update, he will immediately launch into why someone else is making his project difficult or delaying him. One thing to remember about Whinerguy is that whining makes him happy. When he stops whining he is usually looking for a new job.


• Teflonguy - When assignments are given, Teflonguy is uncanny in his ability to convince the boss that an assignment is best suited for someone else's talents or responsibilities. Teflonguy is also very good at describing how any task should be done, but even better at describing why someone else is responsible for doing it. Teflonguy rarely leaves a meeting with an action item. He knows the organization's functional org chart better than even the lead executive. Teflonguys usually rise into leadership roles where they can add a new tool to the repertoire - delegation.


• Littleworldguy - Littleworldguy is a lower level worker bee who claims total ownership of a small slice of an workgroup's operation. The slice is usually a very repeatable process, such as working a ticket or checking a box and passing it to the next spoke in the cog. If Littleworldguy ever ran out of tickets to work or boxes to check, he would not know what else to do. If anyone else tries to work his tickets or check his boxes, a turf war ensues. It is good to have an army of Littleworldguys since they will sit in their little world, work overtime, and pound out the work until it is complete. Companies are built on Littleworldguys.


• Perfectionguy - You can usually spot these people by their desk. Every pencil, pen, stapler, tape dispenser, mouse and keyboard are arranged in organized symmetry. If you suspect a coworker is Perfectionguy, wait until they leave their desk for a moment and move one item slightly. When they return they immediately recognize the unorganization and move the item back to its former position. Another way to tell if someone is Perfectionguy is to watch them take notes. They always use a pen, and write very neatly in a uniform format. The top of the page will be dated and titled. Perfectionguy is usually one of the most unproductive people on a team.


• Bigpictureguy - Bigpictureguy is great at describing how things should work in a company. He usually understands what is most important and can quickly determine whether a particular project is important to the big picture. Bigpictureguy will never do menial tasks because his efforts are limited to big picture tasks only. Bigpictureguy is also unproductive because all his efforts are spent chasing a utopia that can never be attained.

NASCAR Truck Race

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the NASCAR truck race at Kansas Speedway. For the first time, I sat very close to the start/finish line and was 25 rows back from the track. For those who do not know, at a race the closest seats are not the best (in fact they are the cheapest). They limit your visibility to what is immediately in front of you. That action is somewhere between 150 and 200 MPH, so it is just a blur. Twenty five rows back is just about perfect. One section past the start finish line is also a good place to be. You can watch the race come to you out of turn 4, and continue watching as it moves into turn 1.

Sunday's race was a good one. Because there were 5 cautions in the first 40 laps, the trucks stayed bunched up quite a while. There was always at lease a few trucks racing for position somewhere on the track. It was enjoyable to watch, even though a severe thunderstorm shortened my participation in the event.

Many people wonder why people can get so interested in NASCAR racing. After all, the primary strategy is left turn, followed by another one, and another. But the sport goes much deeper. Each car or truck represent a team. They team is made up of a business segment who attracts sponsors and pays the bills, an engineering department that builds the car including chassis, motor and body (aerodynamics), a pit crew led by the crew chief who service and improve the vehicle during the race, and of course the driver.

Anyone who has watched NASCAR with any curiosity knows the sport is a team sport. As a proof point, look at the 2 most popular drivers in racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick. Both are good drivers but neither are winning. Dale hasn't won in over a year. Danica has only one win in her entire open wheel career. The reason is they don't have the best team in their respective racing series.

And there is also the raw animal and visceral elation of experiencing 39-43 800 + horsepower vehicles take the green flag, gun their engines and paste themselves into the banking of the first turn. It is a feeling that I never tire of experiencing.

Political Hope

Most of you know that I am nothing if not opinionated about the world of politics. Politics should be a contest of ideas - ideas are debated, and the best idea win. Politics is also conflict. Much like sports, politicians attempt to beat their opponent in elections, and in the public eye. Sadly, today politics is mostly about conflict. Ideas do not get debated. Crushing the opponent to extend their own reign of power is the only real goal.

I have political hope for this country. It does not come from the current president who promised to change Washington. He has failed just as his predecessor did. My hope comes from the electorate. For the first time in my life, I believe that apathy is on the wane. More people are taking note of political shenanigans and don't like what they see. This can only be good. I believe the elections of 2010 and 2012 will be just as pivotal as they were in 2008.

My hope is simple. I hope that in 20 years American will look back on this decade with disgust. They will be revolted by stories of politicians who squandered the country's wealth for the benefit of a small constituency. They will revile the thought of politicians not listening to their constituents, and passing laws that do not apply to themselves. In 20 years, we will have instituted term limits to eliminate the political self-preservationist behavior of securing another term before serving the people.

In 20 years they will see this time as a lost decade, where political parties savaged each other in the press every day. A time when each political party opposed any idea that came from the other. A time when politicians attacked each other personally, leaving scars that eliminated any chance of future alliance or success. We must learn from our mistakes.

This is my hope.

Done!

On December 26th 2009 I began a new project to finish off a bedroom and bathroom in our basement. Terri and I were suffering in that our 3 bdroo, 2 bathroom home did not see large enough. So I set out to finish off the last unfinished area in our basement. I did not know how long it would take, nor did I have a deadline. You can see the progress after the first week of labor in this blog. Progress slowed dramatically with the health situation of Terri's mother, and later when a cabinet shop delvered the bathro vanity 5 weeks late. On Sunday I finished the project and wanted to share the pictures.

To the right you will see a view of the entrance into the newly finished area. In the background, you see the door to our safe room which is now sheetrocked.




After stepping through the new entrance and turning to the left, the new bathroom is to the right and the new bedroom is straight ahead. To the left is access to the furnace room.











Looking into the bath room, vanity and toilet are on the right side.








The delayed vanity was built by the cabinet shop that provided all of our kichen cabinets.

















A walk in shower is on the right.

And finally the new bedroom. Yes, that is a flatscreen TV on the wall.

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Stupid Letter of the Week

Ray Wilson of Lenexa wins the title this week. I suspect that Ray and I would agree on many things, but his letter to the KC Star reminded me of what we conservatives (and federal health care opponents) are up against.

Beware ‘free’ service

As a member of the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, I am able to get health care through the VA. In early April I had scheduled a visit with a doctor who said I should see a lung doctor.

In mid-April I saw a doctor who told me to lose weight. The doctor looked down my throat for 10 seconds and said it looked all right and I was on my way.

Two days later I was coughing up blood.

I hope people find the free health care they get to be all that they wanted.

Ray Wilson
Lenexa

Enough said.