May You have a Prosperous 2012

Prosperity.  Webster defines it as: a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition, especially in financial respects; good fortune.  I say that prosperity is something that happens between a person's ears.  Yes, financial success contributes to a person's sense of prosperity, but so does family, faith, and self-contentment.  You can be prosperous and broke.  But our society too often equates prosperity with wealth.


Many people feel that prosperity is a right, something they are entitled to, or something that can be given to them by someone else.  The Occupy Movement is a great example of this belief.  They are wrong.  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  The Declaration of Independence tells us that we have the right to pursue happiness (or prosperity), not that we have a right to be happy or prosperous.


Only a very few lottery winners, debutantes, heirs or heiresses are awarded their prosperity.  Most prosperous people have worked  to attain it.  If anyone relies on someone else for their own prosperity, they will be disappointed.  Governments cannot give prosperity.  Neither can those who are already prosperous.  


But you can learn about prosperity from those who already have it.  How did they get it?  They most likely started with an education.  They then applied what they learned to create value, whether by producing a product or service that others are willing to pay for, or by filling a role within someone else's enterprise.  Regardless, nearly all that have achieved prosperity have worked hard for it.  


So I wish you a happy new year, and a prosperous 2012.  But you will need to work for it.

Campaign Kickoff

With the Iowa caucus less than a week away, we are nearing the official kickoff of the 2012 campaign for President.  On the democrat side, we have Humpty Dumpty, a broken president that has been and will continue to be patch together by a complicit mainstream media.  Humpty Dumpty should not have a chance to win, but as we learned form 2008, the press can make a difference.  Much of whether Humpty Dumpty is re-elected has to do with who the republicans decide to run against him.  Without the mainstream media and with a modicum of intelligence, the American people would elect Rodney King before they would re-elect Obama.  Who can the republicans run that has at least the same electability of Mr. King?

Newt Gingrich - Always the smartest guy in the room, has great ideas and a track record of leading a successful conservative movement, but says really dumb off-the-cuff things.  If we anointed presidents, Newt is the right guy.  Unfortunately, we don't and a successful candidate must gain a majority of those who bother to get our of bed vote.  So many people hate Newt.  During the campaign, he will probably say something that will cause more voters to hate him.  I like Newt a lot, but I don't think he can win.

Rick Perry - Americans won't elect another Texas governor for a few decades.  Perry has few new ideas, and a propensity for looking dumber than a box of rocks.  If he were to become the republican nominee, we would see his brain cramp during the republican debates over and over between now and next November.  He just can't beat Humpty Dumpty.

Ron Paul - Strong on fiscal policy, weak on everything else.  I tire of Paul supporters telling me how his foreign policy is pure brilliance.  He has no policy.  His so called foreign policy is to do nothing.  That's not a foreign policy, that is doing nothing and letting other countries do it to us.  If by chance he becomes the nominee, expect 4 more years of Humpty Dumpty.  Paul's more likely impact on the election would be a third party run.  If he does that, expect 4 more years of Humpty Dumpty.  Paul can't win, but he can help Obama.

Michelle Bachmann - The favorite of the Tea Party, and much like Sarah Palin, Michelle has been destroyed by the media.  Who might be the most effective opponent of a slick black man?  Another one (Herman Cain) or a woman.  The democrat machine has made sure the women, Bachmann nor Palin, can beat the anointed one.

Jon Huntsman - Forget about Jon.  He would be more at home challenging Obama for the democratic nomination.  Jon comes off as smug and arrogant.  His demeanor is not presidential, and he isn't a conservative.  Enough said.

Rick Santorum - Rick was given little time to make his case during the 500 republican debates held so far, but he is one of the true conservatives in the race, and a personal favorite.  I am hoping that his recent move in the polls is a sign of things to come.  Rick has no major baggage that would restrict a national campaign.  His biggest problem is name recognition, something the debates have not helped.  In all likelihood, Santorum becomes the VP candidate for whoever wins the nomination.

Mitt Romney - Mitt is worrisome to any conservative.  He has a history of a chameleon.  He is liberal when he feels he needs to be.  Is he acting conservative now for the same reason?  He does have a lot going for him.  He has weathered the criticism level against his past positions very well.  He seems to be a good debater, and would probably hold his own against Obama.  Conservatives have done a good job at cornering him on key issues.  He can't run from his commitment to stop Obamacare and out of control spending.  Nobody has better private enterprise experience and results than Romney.  He is an executive that has the skills to lead.

Any of these candidates would be a better president that Humpty Dumpty.  What is most important in 2012 is assuring that Obama is defeated.  Who is the best candidate?  I feel somewhat guilty for this, but Romney seems to have the best chance of beating Obama.  I would rather have Gingrich, Santorum or Bachmann but feel these three have problems that Obama might use to win.  That cannot happen.

A lot can happen between now and November, but at this point, I believe Romney has the best chance of beating Obama.

Payroll Tax Holiday

The continued Keystone Cops routine playing in the halls of congress took a bizarre turn this week when the Senate got off their lazy butts and passed an idiotic 2 month payroll tax cut extension.  Assuming the senators understand that a 2 month extension enactment is burdensome to both large and small businesses everywhere and that it will not have a significant impact in improving the economy, one can only conclude they wanted to kick the can down the road two months and fight about it later.

Clown #1 (John Boehner) mistakenly believed the house republicans would take the easy road too and pass the 2 month extension.  Much to clown #1's surprise, the house did not go along and instead passed a 1 year extension.  Under normal rules the two bills would be sent to a house and senate conference committee to resolve differences and resubmit a single modified bill to both houses.  That is when clown #2 (Harry Reid), who had already adjourned the senate, refused to participate.

So now, clown #1 is emphatically broadcasting that his guys are still in Washington and ready to negotiate, while clown #2 is refusing and blaming the impending payroll tax hike on the house.  Obama has sided with clown #2 by calling for the house to come back in session and pass the 2 month extension.  If you have been following this circus, you might be wondering what Frank thinks.  Get ready for a surprise.

My take is this.  Everything is fine just the way it is now.  Let the rate return to 6% on January 1st.  Why?  Because if you have a popular program like Social Security that is not fully funded (meaning that Chinese loans will make up the difference in 2012), you do not intentionally cut funding (or in this case, continue to extend a tax break).  At a tax rate of 6%, Social Security continues to remain solvent for a few more years.  At 4% it is immediately insolvent.

The Washington lunacy followed closely by a radical left media are trying (somewhat successfully)  to put all the blame on the republican house.  They will trot out case after case of sob stories, people who will claim they cannot survive without that extra 2% in their paycheck.  All the pain a suffering caused by the republicans who wouldn't agree to a flawed and idiotic 2 month extension, but instead agreed on a 1 year extension.  They will be flogged mercilessly, all in the mainstream media's attempt to put humpty dumpty (Obama) back together again in time for the 2012 elections.

Why aren't they asking why Obama cut funding to Social Security in the first place when he initially instituted the payroll tax cut?  While they are at it, why not ask why this progressive socialist president cut Medicare funding as part of his grandiose Obamacare take over of the American health care system?  Why would he support the continued under funding of Social Security? Obama is the only president in history to cut both Social Security and Medicare funding - all in the first 2 years of his first term!  Isn't that a big deal?  Republicans have attempted to reform both entitlements.  Democrats have simply cut funding to both.  Who does the mainstream media characterize as enemies of Social Security and Medicare?

If these facts were reported accurately, the Occupy movement might have to battle senior citizens for park space in which to demonstrate.

UPDATE: Just 10 minutes after posting this I read that clown #1 blinked.  How come I never get what I want?

Beale Street

Friday afternoon was spent at the National Civil Rights museum in downtown Memphis.   Friday evening was spent just a few blocks away at a location known simply as Beale Street.  Beale Street is the club district in Memphis and boasts a talented and diverse line up of local bar bands.  I had not been to Beale Street since BILL's bachelor party some 30+ years ago.

But BILS wanted to go Beale Street, sort of his last hurrah before going under the knife.  He has shoulder surgery schedule for this afternoon.  So BILS, SILL, nephew Willy and I headed downtown for dinner and to catch some music.  Since I am a servant at heart, I volunteered to be the designated driver.  I didn't encourage the other 3 to take advantage of my service, however they did.

Our first stop was Blues City Cafe to continue my pursuit of the best barbecue in America.  I didn't find it, but the local ribs were fine.  The band was supposed to start at 7:00, which turned into 7:30 and finally 8:00.  Within a few minutes of their first note, we all agreed to find a better spot for music.  Just two doors down, we settled on a place where the Patrick Dodd trio was playing.  Patrick is a gifted blues guitarist.  We spent the next two hours enjoying a couple of sets.

That is where the trouble began.  Nephew Willy spotted a Petrone Tequila logo on the bar.  Three or four shots later, nephew Willy took a nap.   BILS was keeping up with nephew Willy and in fact took the lead a few minutes later with his fourth or fifth shot.  BILS was tolerating the alcohol far better than nephew Willy.  In fact, BILS was having a pretty good time which would continue for the next hour or so.  Nephew Willy's good time ended just a few seconds after the following video was shot.

Memphis

Using my last few vacation days of the year I was able to spend a few days in Memphis celebrating NILK's graduation from the U of Memphis.  That celebration occurred last Saturday evening.  Since I arrived on Thursday evening, I had quite a bit of time to spend doing other things.  One of the "other things" I decided to do was visit the National Civil Rights Museum in downtown Memphis.


The trip included NILB, NILK and FILN.  The four of us headed downtown, and started with a lunch at Gus's Fried Chicken (it's World Famous!) just a few blocks from the museum.  Gus's Chicken is a soul-food establishment with a limited menu - spicy chicken.  You can order it white, dark, or as strips, but it all comes out white and spicy.

While Gus claims to serve soul food, the patrons were overwhelmingly pasty white even though the restaurant is located in a predominately black neighborhood.   The chicken was tender and juicy, just like you get at KFC.  It was a little spicy, but not too much, just enough to get your attention.  Would I go back.?  Probably so, if I was in the mood for spicy chicken.

After lunch we were off to the museum.  I did not go immediately into the museum as a call from a boss at work delayed me.  I loitered outside as I took the call.  Seeing me as easy prey, a fairly aggressive panhandler approached.  His first comment was that he knew I was not prejudiced because, well,  I was here at the Civil Rights Museum wasn't I?  Memphis has some of the most thoughtful and intellectual pan handlers I have ever encountered.  After disposing of him without losing a cent (my personal policy), I entered the museum where I garnered my first ever senior discount.  At 55, I was entitled to a $2 discount over the normal $13 price of admission.  I could get used to this!

The museum is laid out chronologically, beginning with the early slave trade that included many of the founding fathers.  It moved on to Lincoln and the emancipation, followed by KKK, lynchings, and the WW1 and WW2 eras.  Most of the information presented dealt with the 50's and 60's and the struggle to force an unwilling south to abide by equal employment and civil rights laws enforced at the federal level.

Images from this period were especially powerful to me.  As a boy, I did not see "Whites Only" signs in my Kansas hometown.  They weren't there because the local population was 100% white.  But that doesn't mean there was no overt racism.  There was.  The news footage of blacks being literally washed off the streets with water cannons brought back distinct memories of comments I heard back then, such as "they should machine gun those niggers down".  Johnson County Kansas was no different than Selma Alabama in those days.  There just wasn't as much opportunity to notice.

The first half of the museum was much like others I have visited - far more information than can possibly be absorbed without spending days there.  I quickly found myself "driving by" most of the exhibits, stopping occasionally to spend time with something that caught my attention.  The second half of  the museum contained the most memorable items.  This is where the National Civil Rights museum acquired and restored the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was murdered, and the boarding house across the street from where Jame Earl Ray shot him.  I can only express the experience of seeing (and remembering) the news footage and pictures from 1968 while standing on the same spot 43 years later, as especially powerful.  These are the memories I will retain.

The museum's content also brought back memories of that night in 1968.  While much of my family remember the night vividly since they were in Memphis, I remember the night because I and a friend "slept out" in my backyard.  We had seen the scenes of rioting coming out of Memphis and other cities.  There was a curfew in Kansas City that night, although rioting was minor.  But my friend and I wondered if blacks would begin burning the town down.  In my small town suburbia, it never happened.  A few nights later, a couple of arson instances were committed in Kansas City, but Shawnee Kansas emerged unscathed after the assassination of Martin Luther King.

Unscathed, but not unchanged.  In my lifetime, civil rights have progressed more that what my father could have ever imagined.  I remember when there was only a couple of black families who lived in the "colored holler" of Merriam, and when a single black kid began attending the same school as I did.  Now, blacks represent 5% of the local population.  I work with blacks every day.  They no longer are maids, custodians and bus boys, but can be found in just about any profession.  I believe most are seen as people first, and blacks second.  No matter what I hear from the "blacks are victims" charlatanism coming from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, I know that we have all come a long way in one generation.

DS of the Week - Robert L. Thatch

So I had a couple minutes and thought it might be time to bring back the DS of the Week blog.  It was just too easy.  In 30 seconds I am on the KC Star Letters page, and there it was, the second letter published today from Robert L. Thatch.

Republican Party’s small government lie



I am tired of Republicans trying to present themselves as the party of “small government.” They usually say it is “as the constitutional framers intended it.”


Think about Homeland Security, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the huge growth in the NSA (National Security Agency), plus wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. All of those are of Republican origin, and all are extremely large, expensive and intrusive on personal freedoms.


The next time you hear comments from a Republican about them being champions of small government, say something about their pants being on fire.


Robert L. Thatch
Kansas City

What Robert must have missed was the Constitutional reference that obliges the Federal Government to provide for the common defense.  Since that reference is on the preamble to the Constitution, it is highly likely that Robert L. Thatch is not a constitutional authority, he just plays one in the letters he writes.

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

It is humorous that each point Robert L. Thatch mentions are points that can be honestly argued as defense of America (Homeland Security, TSA, National Security Agency).  Citing two wars can also be considered national defense.  I could give Robert L. Thatch a break if he was arguing against any of the agencies or wars he mentions, but to criticize anyone who say it is what the framers intended only displays a dramatic depth of  ignorance.

Robert L. Thatch, you made it too easy for me.  You are the DS of the Week.

Generating Web Search Engine Hits

During my hiatus from blogging, I did continue to track the number of hits received from Google, Bing, etc.  With so many blogs, the number of hits I get from these sources are sometimes the majority received.  Yes, that's right.  I sometimes get as many as 5 hits in a single day from search engines.  This post is an experiment that attempts to maximize the number of hits received from that source.

First, the majority of hits to my blog have used the key words: "Stack Ranking", "Simple Thoughts", "I am not a smart man", and, George Waldenberger".  Just putting those words in this blog will generate several hits this week.  I can generate a few more using this paragraph:

While strolling through the grocery store, I noticed the magazines that claim you could "lose 20 pounds" without exercise or changing your diet.  They were sitting next to the "Kim Kardashian" and "Lindsay Lohan" magazines, right under the "National Enquirer" with headlines stating "The world will end in 2012" and "Space Aliens Live Among Us".  These ought to be worth a few more hits a day.

The next paragraph should draw hits for the next year:  Did you see "President Obama" and 60 minutes last night?  All the presidential candidates are getting serious air time.  Just the night before, I watched the Republican Debate featuring "Newt Gingrich", "Mitt Romney", "Ron Paul", "Michelle Bachman", "Rick Santorum" and "Rick Perry".

Now trolling for a few more gratuitous hits: "Michael Jackson", "Angelina Jolie", "Brad Pitt", "Jennifer Aniston", and "Jennifer Lopez".  The Internets most popular keywords are: "Google", "E-Bay", "Yahoo.com", "Music", "Mapquest", "Google.com", "Food", "Travel", "Hotmail", and "Computer".  Makes you wonder if most users of search engines are brand new users, doesn't it?  I was surprised the word "sex" was not in the top ten.  I'll keep you posted on whether the number of hits to this blog increase.

Between now and January 2013

Hello, it's me again.  I have intentionally ignored this blog and enjoyed every minute of it.  In case you missed it, the days of one blog every day except Sunday are over.  I found the discipline needed to maintain that pace to be like my personal ball and chain.  "What would I write next?" was my all-consuming thought.  I am glad I did it for a period of 2 years, but even more glad that I have now broken the habit.  I blog only when I want to.  I haven't wanted to much lately. 

While not blogging, I have kept up with the political happenings.  Nothing much has changed in Washington.  In fact, the cancer of that city has only grown larger.  The Left and the Right have become even more entrenched in their positions.  In a way, that makes predicting the future very easy.  I am quite confident in this:  Nothing of substance will happen in Congress or the White House between now and January 2013 when the newly elected president and Congress are inaugurated.  Extension of the payroll tax holiday will not be passed.  Neither the President's, nor the Republican's Job Bills will pass.  For the next 13-14 months, nothing will happen.

Why?  Because the Left is committed to playing class warfare games.  They say the rich have trampled the middle class and they must pay.  The Left will not agree to anything that does not raise substantial revenue from the upper class.  On the other side, the Right will not agree to anything that raises taxes.  They have pledged this to the electorate that gave them a House majority in 2010.  Raising taxes against that pledge would be political suicide.

Gridlock is more locked than ever before.  But the good news is that it really doesn't matter.  America will continue to work much as it has over the past 10 years of gridlock.  Citizens do what they do regardless of politics.  Businesses still produce what is in demand.  Consumers will still spend money on what they want or need.  Capitalism will still work, all be it at a slower pace.  What does matter is the election of 2012.  Next November, those citizens that care enough to vote will either give power to one party or split the executive and legislative branches.  At this time, it appears the Right will succeed in consolidating power, but that could change.  If the polls turn against the No Tax pledge, the Right will see their solidarity evaporate. 

It is no surprise that I hope and pray the Republicans take the White House, hold the House and get a 60+ seat majority in the Senate.  That is the only way gridlock will be broken in a positive way.  As the framers of the Constitution intended, the electorate will determine the direction.  Who will win?  The side that fosters hate and discontent within the citizens, or the side that currently hold to a principle that put them in office?  It seems an easy choice, but so many are deluded into thinking that their prosperity is determined by politicians of any flavor.  Now it's looking good for the good guys, but it ain't over yet.  November 2012 can't come soon enough for me.