Sorry Mitt... you just don't get it!

Barack Obama and his constituency, the environmentalist, Labor Unions, and the 47% who pay no taxes and long for more handouts, are destroying our country. For that reason, if, next November, the choice is between Romney and Obama, I will support Mitt for president. But I hope, in my heart of hearts, that Mitt will not be the Republican nominee.

I don't know if any of the other candidates can beat Obama, but I am afraid that Mitt Romney would just give us more of the same.... big government, getting bigger: another nail in the coffin of this great nation.

This morning, on Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace asked Mitt about other candidate's proposals to drastically cut spending by instantly eliminating several cabinet level government departments. Mitt answered that we would have to study the activities of each department to see what could and could not be wisely cut.

Having observed the policies of ten administrations, that position means just one thing: the formation of yet another cabinet-level department, The Department To Study Which Departments Can Be Cut and By How Much; another $30 to $50 billion load on the budget; and no conclusions.

A persistent belief that the government can solve the problem if we just go about it correctly, is exactly what gave us the useless departments that are now destroying America. Sadly, my friends, regulations that require opposite and mutually exclusive actions are the rule... not the exception!

We now know that while the Department of Justice is suing states because their police are inquiring about  citizenship; the Department of State is demanding that each state's police do inquire about citizenship (so aliens may be advised about help available from their home country's consul.)

In my state, the Executive VP of the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau reminds us (http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_19571153) that the average age of American farmers is advancing - meaning young people are rejecting a career in agriculture. Thus, his bureau is urgently trying to develop programs to encourage farm youth to stay on the farm. He believes that it is work on the family farm that trains kids to "grow into teenagers with a strong work ethic; a sense of responsibility and a heart full of compassion". After college, these kids often return home to follow a career on the farm. Toward that end, the USDA is now spending well over $50 million annually to train beginning farmers and ranchers.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor is striving to eliminate the coming generation of farmers and ranchers by proposing regulations to prevent farm "children from working with farm animals, storing or transporting raw agricultural products, climbing on or into anything higher than six feet tall including ladders and haylofts or even being on the premises of grain elevators, livestock auctions or feedlots."

As a kid who grew up on a farm, I find this so preposterous it is unbelievable.

No, Mitt... you are wrong. Ronald Reagan understood: government cannot fix the problem - government IS the problem. No more study... no more investigations - it is past time to nibble. We now must cut, cut, cut! 

Why I will Never Again Vote For A Democrat

The Democrat Party in the United States has become the party of fools - or liars. They have justly earned either or both descriptions on several fronts. One is enough to convince me.

That one is the determination to look facts in the eye and declare them untrue. Barack Obama repeatedly asserts that Republican policies have been tried and did not work. It is politically incorrect to call the POTUS a liar, but it is incredulous to believe he does not have access to the facts about the Reagan policies.

For example, Reagan cut the top tax rate from 70% to 28%. In 1979, before Reagan, the top 1% of income earners paid 18.3% of the total tax bill. In 2006, the last year for which we have numbers, the top 1% paid 39.1% of the total tax bill. Likewise, in 1979, the bottom 40% of earners paid 4.1% of all taxes. By 2006, they were receiving 3.3% in direct payments from the U.S. Treasury. Today, Democrats insist that increasing taxes on "the rich" will benefit the middle class. In light of historical facts, are they fools or liars?

Under Reagan's policies, economic growth grew. Per capita GDP grew. Per capita income grew. Can you believe Obama does not have access to these and many other figures proving the success of  Republican policies? Or, like me, can you believe he is denying those fact to create class warfare and garner votes?

But... will this class warfare work? In 2000, Al Gore ran on a platform of  "People vs. The Powerful". He lost the election. In 2008, John Edwards touted his theory of "Two Americas"... the 99% against the 1%. He lost in the primaries.

Today, the Democrats see more and more Americans distracted from following and understanding the news. More and more Americans misled by a dishonest news media. They now believe they can try the class warfare tactic one more time... this time, perhaps, with success. 

That's a Direct (mis)Quote...

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is accused of advocating we abolish child labor laws. Well, that is true, in a sense. Newt suggested a program in our schools where poor kids may take some sort of menial job, such as a janitor's assistant, to learn about responsibility on the job and be rewarded with cash. In other words, a program to teach kids how to work and earn. To make that endeavor legal, may require some easing of child labor laws.

Almost immediately, Newt's excellent proposition was morphed into an effort to subject children to long, hard hours in sweatshops.

Some fifty years ago, in Kansas, I was privileged to become friends with an elderly back minister who was president of the local N.A.A.C.P. chapter. The good pastor spoke of employing kids from poor families. These kids, he said, have no concept of dependability in the work place, because they have had no family role model to teach dependability. He urged employers to understand this fact and mentor poor kids on dependability.

For a small company, that may be a tall order. Existing employees, who need extra help on the job, would now  have to teach newcomers how to show up for the job!

Now comes Newt Gingrich with a solution! Teach them in school, the proper place for teaching!

No, can't do that! It serves others to accuse Gingrich with wanting to see kids suffer in sweatshops.

So long, candidate Cain!

My lifetime experience has taught me that liberal Democrats will cheat, lie, say anything to destroy their opponents and advance their cause.

If those tactics do not work for them, they will resort to violence. As a union representative once told me, "two broken legs" would change the mind of our employer. 

The events leading to Herman Cain's having suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, reinforces that belief.

I would guess that Mr Cain, while an intelligent, accomplished and experienced man, simply could not believe that the Democrats would go so low. And, perhaps, he did believe that our news media would, in the end, stand for truth and honesty.

Best wishes, Herman Cain. I hope we hear from you again in the future.

Camp Victory

One of the big news stories today was the closing of Camp Victory, by the U.S. Army in Iraq. That event provoked some old memories for me. When Japan surrendered in World War II, millions of U.S. men and women were in uniform, scattered around the world. They wanted to come home. America wanted to bring them home. But America had vast war resources in every corner of the world. These resources had to be disposed of in some proper fashion.

Among those resources was a large Army presence on the Island of Leyte, in the Philippines. Headquarters and command was at Base "K" at Tacloban, where I was stationed. Elsewhere on the island was a large Ordinance unit; an Engineers unit; the Port Authority; There was a vehicle park, where tanks, trucks, Jeeps, even motorcycles originally intended for the invasion of Japan, had been unloaded when Japan surrendered. At Base "K", there was a Fire Department; A Military Police Department. There were warehouses; PX facilities; even the Prisoner Of War Camp where 10,000 Japanese prisoners had been held.

Throughout 1946, individual units were closed and their facilities turned over to the Philippine Army. All U.S. combat veterans were home; all Japanese POWs were repatriated. By the spring of 1947, it was time for Base "K" to be closed. All the work was done. It was time - it was proper - for the Philippine Army to take possession of the Port Authority, the barracks, the motor pool... everything we had so meticulously maintained. We sent the last message: "From C.O. Base K to CG AFWESPAC" from my message center.

We also were going home, but... it was bittersweet. We were losing our "home" of so many months... even though it never really belonged to we individual soldiers. We watched the usual cloud of smoke from evening cooking fires rise over Tacloban  as we boarded a motor launch for the ride to Manila There we would catch a troopship (the Gen. A.W. Greeley) bound for Okinawa, Yokohama and San Francisco.

Au revoir, Base "K", you served us well. As had Camp Victory.

Yard Signs

The state of Missouri is known as "The Show Me State". Amazingly, few Missourians know why. The nickname came about in the Civil War. Some states permitted slavery. Other states did not. Missouri was divided. When Missourians met a stranger, they never knew if the stranger was pro-slavery or anti-slavery. Before expressing an opinion, they sought a signal from their new acquaintance.

In today's election periods, we put yard signs in front of our homes to show which candidate we support. A yard sign shows your political choice and indicates you are not ashamed of  that choice.

Knowing yard signs receive only a fleeting glance from passersby, these signs rarely show more than the name of the candidate. I would like to display a different message for next November's presidential election. Perhaps I should make a sign that said "Due to the policies of President Obama, this home is worth 40% less than four years ago." or, maybe, "President Obama's policies wiped out my equity in this home".

Maybe I will.

Bonus Schmonus

The current outcry against bonuses for executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proves that Barack Obama's efforts to create class warfare are succeeding. It is further evidence that our educational system still has not taught that labor is a commodity. Its price determined by market forces.

Commodity prices are governed by the rarity of the commodity and the demand for it. Gold and corn are both yellow. Ounce for ounce, gold is "worth" the most... unless one is starving on a desert island, in which case the demand for the corn would greatly exceed the demand for the gold.

I started two small businesses, both highly successful in terms of the product we provided. But I lacked the necessary management skills and both businesses failed. A lot of people lost their jobs. What would it have been worth to each of those companies to have found someone to do the job, and had the money to hire them away from their former position?

I have no idea whether the Fannie - Freddie officers now receiving the bonuses are capable of pulling those entities from the jaws of greater disaster. I have no idea how many dollars it will take to keep them on the job if they do. But, to simply say they should not be paid the required amount because taxpayers have money involved, is foolishness of the first order. (Or, perhaps, of the second order! Hope and Change supporters who elected Obama in the first place could hardly do anything more foolish!)

Occupy - the Liberal mindset

This weekend, the media has overflowed with stories of  filth, lawbreaking, illegal drugs, even murder amongst those in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Mayors and police in various cities are saying "enough" and evicting the rowdy, destructive crowds.

On Sunday morning, the Managing Editor of our local newspaper, a Liberal Democrat, wrote a lengthy column about the OWS movement. I did not read the entire column. When I reached this sentence, I quit reading:

"I support it completely and wish them well in the cold winter months ahead"

Sunday evening, 60 Minutes, the CBS TV news magazine carried a story about Congressman Brian Baird, from Washington, a Democrat, and his efforts to thwart unlawful inside stock trading by Congressmen. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Liberal Democrat, apparently the biggest offender.

And, I recall a recent statement by an old friend, a lifelong Democrat and once a close family friend of Harry Truman, saying the former president must be spinning in his grave over the conduct of the current Democrat Administration.

I have felt ill about Democrats for 75 years. As a small boy, I heard my father and his friends complain that Franklin Roosevelt was destroying their country.

Today I am easing a bit on the old-fashioned, labor favoring Democrats and placing the blame purely on the Progressive Liberal movement. Yes, I still believe that some Democrats will support any Democrat - think Bob Beckel! But it is only when Democrats fully adopt the Liberal ideology that they go completely whacko.

Unlike our local newspaper editor, I hope the scum "occupying" Wall Street, and other cities, freeze in the cold winter months ahead.

American Culture

What's that? I guess it depends on whom you ask. You've probably heard the story of the California school boys who got in a bit of trouble for wearing patriotic American T-shirts to school on Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May). To some Americans, that was outrageous.

After the Mexicans gained independence from Spain, Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists backed that clown Maximilian to become Emperor of Mexico. The Mexicans pretty well ended the adventure when their Army defeated a French force at Puebla, Mexico on May 5, 1862. In Puebla, the date is celebrated as the anniversary of The Battle of Puebla. Elsewhere in Mexico, the date is generally ignored.

In the U.S., it is fun to say "Cinco de Mayo" and the date has become an excuse to drink a lot of Tequila. Some Hispanic American kids - especially in California and other border states - celebrate the day out of some sort of ethnic pride. Okay? Then, why is it not also okay for non-Hispanic American kids to wear red, white and blue T-shirts?

On November 11, a number of TV personalities observed Veteran's Day by wearing little "Buddy Poppies" on their lapels. Buddy Poppies came on the scene some time after World War One. During that war, Army surgeon John McCrae wrote a poem titled "In Flander's Fields", in which he spoke of poppies growing in the military cemetery in France. In 1918 US professor Moina Michael, inspired by the poem,  vowed to always wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in the war. Throughout my life, I remember the Disabled American Veterans organization selling little artificial poppies (on Armistice Day, which later became Veteran's Day) they called Buddy Poppies, to help fund their activities.

Yesterday, I was shocked when TV commentator Juan Williams, seemed to not know why people were wearing Buddy Poppies.

How is it that today, in America, more people seem to know about Cinco de Mayo, an almost insignificant event in Mexican history, than about Buddy Poppies which commemorate an event in which over 116,000 U.S. military personnel were killed?

Do events in our history need a more catchy name to survive in our culture?

I wish...

We all say that, throughout our lives. I often say it to myself when I think of my father. More than anyone I have ever known, he appreciated the good that has come from industry, technology. Born and raised in the era of the horse, I often heard him marvel at the convenience and comfort of travel by modern automobile, on modern "hard-surface roads", as he called them.

He once told me of driving an early automobile from Tulsa, OK to Oklahoma City. The existing dirt road had three deep ruts, two caused by teams of two horses and the wheels of the wagons they pulled. A center rut caused by a single horse pulling a buggy. Driving the car on the road often meant the ruts were deep enough that the car would "high center" and the wheels just spin. So, they drove alongside the road through pastures, cutting and mending fences as they went. The trip takes about two hours today. His trip took a couple of days.

He told another story of attending some sort of fair in which a telephone company had set up a display where people could stand on one side of the room and talk, by phone, to someone on the other side. One attendee remarked that "Some day they'll do it without the wires".

My father died years before cell phones or personal computers. Imagine the fun of demonstrating smart phones to him... or explaining the internet and all it offers. He may have a little trouble grasping the techniques of operating these new devices, but he would be impressed and appreciative. 

I wish... I could.

But, they paid a Settlement!

So, he must be guilty, right?

Republican presidential nominee hopeful Herman Cain, it is revealed, was accused of sexual harassment 12 years ago. His employer at the time, the National Restaurant Association, paid a settlement to the women who made the charges.

I hold that that fact tells us nothing.

If the public knew the truth about "settlements", I believe there would be a huge outcry against the kind of lawsuits clogging our courts.

In my career in advertising, I have witnessed events where a business is sued for some wrong-doing and said, "Bring it on", so certain were they of their innocence. Offered a chance of making a cash settlement in lieu of the lawsuit, they said "No Way!"

Then their lawyers tallied up the time it would take to successfully defend their case, and advised them to take the settlement.

Understand, please, that it costs money to practice law. Even the most rudimentary practice requires an office, utility bills, employees to answer phones, prepare complex legal documents, do research, etc. A lawyer cannot work for free and still pay his staff, his bills, etc., even if he wanted to donate his time.

So, if a lawyer computes that it will cost $10,000 to defend a case and the matter can be closed with a $5,000 settlement, the honest lawyer will so advise his client. That happens over and over and over in America. Doesn't matter if the charges are valid or just made up. Sad, but true.

But, let me speak to the fact of sexual harassment. There was a time when sexual harassment was rampant in the business world. A superior of some rank catches a secretary in the supply closet, closes the door and forces her against the wall, attempting to undress her. That was bad, really bad, and the perpetrators should be severely punished.

Some were. Some companies have paid big bucks when that sort of behavior was proven. And, quite naturally, some persons have seen charges of sexual harassment as an easy route to a big payday. Bring the charge, challenge the accused to a costly lawsuit - or in the alternative - a handsome cash settlement.

Happily for the women of the business world, the reality of harsh punishment for acts of sexual harassment has helped to minimize the practice.

No charge of sexual harassment should escape investigation. But, no charge of sexual harassment should be plastered across national news media unless and until substantiated. Especially not 12 years after the event, when the accusation can cause irreparable harm to the accused, even if never proven valid.

Victory in Iraq - Afghanistan

I like the Japanese and I like the Germans. There is much to be admired about the people of both these great nations. Yet, I spent much of my youth nurturing an inflexible hatred for both the Japs and the Krauts. Why the change?

Because of my age, I, thankfully, entered the military too late to experience combat in World War Two, but I spent much time with combat veterans. From them I learned that war is a brutal business. From them I learned that marble monuments and marching bands are not an accurate depiction of war. One writer of the time suggested that to build a war memorial we should dig a huge pit into which every veteran could defecate and vomit until it rotted and stunk and offended everyone for miles around.

But, I also learned from the combat veterans that war is sometimes the only way to bring justice to oppressed peoples... in those instances where injustice is supported by huge and powerful armies. And, I learned the concept that, once in a war, the only acceptable conclusion is complete victory. That is what was achieved in World War Two.

Now, people are debating what we should consider to be success (it is politically incorrect to use the word victory) in Iraq or in Afghanistan. Ken Blackwell, in a column titled "Arab Spring and Islamist Fall" (available at http://townhall.com/columnists/kenblackwell/2011/10/30/arab_spring_islamist_fall), explains it well:

We should be proud of what we accomplished in Japan and Germany, both of which nations are mainstays today of the world economy and, with some salient exceptions (e.g. Germany’s persecution of homeschoolers) models of democratic legitimacy. We de-militarized and de-Nazified these vanquished regimes. We forced changes in their constitutions and in their educational systems. We shaped their economies.

We attempted no such changes in Iraq, Afghanistan, or in any of the other countries in the forever turbulent Mideast. That is why, tragically, any claims of hope and change in this region—especially when based on American dollars—are fatally flawed. We are building our houses upon sand.

I see it as like police caught a man robbing a bank, took back the loot, and let the robber go. The paradigm of World War Two would be to mete out justice in a way that would both prevent further mischief on the part of this robber and scare the pants off anyone else thinking of robbing a bank.  

Accidentally effective commercials

For years, I've made a living producing broadcast (radio and TV) commercials.Sometimes you work very hard and come up with a failure. Sometimes you produce a great one by accident.

Years ago I was making TV commercials for a large, retail furniture dealer. Most of our advertising budget targeted the big sellers: living room, dining room and bedroom furniture.

My client also sold grandfather clocks. But, so few grandfather clocks were sold, we never wanted to spend money on a commercial to feature them. Then, in one commercial promoting living room furniture, we showed a picture of a living room which, coincidentally, included a grandfather clock. Most of the response was for the living room furniture. But to our surprise, we also received a number of inquiries about grandfather clocks.

In future commercials, we often included a picture of the featured furniture item, but with a grandfather clock in the background. We never mentioned grandfather clocks, never gave a price, but my client continued to do a small but steady business in grandfather clocks.

Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain has made an internet commercial which shows one of his staffers smoking a cigarette. Nothing is said for or against smoking, but the guy looks right into the camera and takes a drag. Guess what? Many cigarette smokers are now Cain supporters!

Smokers pay exorbitant taxes on their tobacco products. This tax revenue is used for many beneficial programs, including health care for children. Yet, smokers are almost universally vilified. Smoking is banned in more and more places. Some companies will not employ a smoker. Smokers feel they are treated unfairly.

Now comes an ad for Herman Cain. It says nothing directly, but seems to say that the Cain campaign does not agree with the barrage of anti-smoking propaganda. Many smokers now feel there is someone on their side.

Accidentally, or on purpose, that commercial is brilliant, because it is effective!

Will the real crook please stand up?

The First Amendment spells out our right "to petition the government for a redress of grievances". But, if, for example, you run a small business that operates in several Midwestern states, how do you do that?

If you have enough spare cash, you may employ one of the many professionals who know exactly how to do that. That would be a lobbyist. These professional petitioners use many tools to advance the petitions of their clients - including money. One of the uses of that money is making campaign contributions to politicians whose voting record generally favors their client's cause.

So far, so good. Nothing in the First Amendment prohibits that. Today, however, President Obama triumphantly declared that his re-election campaign would accept not a dime in contributions from lobbyists! Isn't that a violation of the First Amendment?

Obama and like-minded politicians want us to believe  they are above corruption. But it isn't the petitioner who is potentially corrupt... the corruption comes when the politician  makes policy decisions in direct repayment for the petitioner's constitutionally permitted political contribution.

In Defense of Herman Cain

Candidate Cain declared himself to be Pro Life, anti-abortion, no exceptions. Then he permitted some exceptions. Some are screaming.

Like most pro-lifers, I believe all abortions should be illegal. We suspect that most abortions are for someone's convenience! We say a woman has the (legally protected) right to refuse sex. The right to follow the so-called "rhythm method" to avoid pregnancy. The right to use a medical or a physical contraceptive. The right to demand her partner use a contraceptive. But we believe that if she bypasses all those "rights" and becomes pregnant, she does not have the right to kill the unborn child.

Even if she is denied all those rights and is impregnated by force, we civilized types tend to imagine every fetus (regardless of the context of the act that produced it) to be a viable infant who could possibly grow to become another Steve Jobs.. or, at minimum, a healthy, productive Mom or Dad. 

Realistic? Of course not.

Most allow for exceptions "for the mother's health", but often we envision that position as some abortion provider stretching facts. I am reminded of a story from Africa, wherein a very young girl was impregnated. When the fetus developed it was too large for her tiny body. Her internal organs were literally torn apart The unborn infant died but she could not deliver because of its size. Miraculously she made it to a clinic where her life was saved. She became an advocate for women's rights and worked in prenatal care for poor African women.

Okay, that is truly a case where abortion could have been declared "for the mother's health". But, what if all abortions were illegal? If that female child had aborted her fetus, should we have then thrown the little girl in jail?

There are always exceptions... not in principle... but in reality; except of course in politics, where, if statements are not artfully made they will be used to vilify you.

Illegal Immigration. My Take.

Growing up on farms in Missouri and Kansas, I loved the outdoors and wildlife. I especially liked doves. There, we had only mourning doves, named I suppose, for their mournful call. As a boy, I learned to imitate their call.

When I moved to the Southwest, I discovered three species of doves. The mourning dove; the white-winged dove which looks like a mourning dove but has snow white primary feathers on the edge of each wing (a stylish touch) and a call that sounds somewhat like a rooster crowing; also we have the Inca dove - about half the size of a mourning dove. Incas display a more reddish-brown color. We see at least one dove in our yard every day.

To our delight, an occasional covey of Gambel's quail also visited our yard. They are a wonderful bird, but like all quail, Gambels are easily spooked. In hope of attracting more quail and of making them less fearful, I bought some bird seed and spread it on the bare ground.

To my surprise, after spreading seed, the ground was soon covered with a mass of doves. All three species at times. Yes, quail would show up, but if they were a little late the seed would all have been devoured by the many doves.

I still like doves... but these doves were getting all the birdseed. Is that the dove's fault? And what should I do? Kill all the doves? (Against the law, for starters.) Put up a fence? (That would also keep the quail out.)

Then I discovered bird seed blocks... bird seed mixed with some kind of adhesive material (looks like a molasses mix) that enables the vendor to form seed into a solid cube, about ten inches on a side.

Interestingly, the quail seem to have a stronger beak and readily pick individual seeds from the bock. Doves find it more difficult to feed from the blocks. Problem solved. A bird seed block lasts for several weeks. Quail now feed several times a day. We still have doves, but only one or two at a time.

Yeah, an occasional feral cat also shows up and I grant them no quarter.

Living close to the Mexican border and a frequent visitor to Mexico, I find the Mexicans to be delightful people. But when they come to our country in numbers that overwhelm our hospitals and other social services, it is not so delightful. Who is at fault?

Just as my spreading an abundance of free birdseed to attract quail created an invasion of doves, the U.S. government's abundance of free services for the "needy" has attracted large numbers of illegal immigrants... mostly good people looking for some relief from grinding poverty.

Like feral cats, the criminal element must be dealt with. But for the vast majority of immigrants, it seems that cutting back on the free stuff would seem better than fences, and other punitive actions.

Just my opinion.

Home Grown

The press calls him "The American Cleric". While I have doubts about the veracity of the cleric part, there is no doubt that Anwar Al-Alawki was American... born here in my adopted home town of Las Cruces, NM - probably in the same hospital where my granddaughter was born.

No one in Las Cruces today was proud of Al-Awlaki... but there is more to the story that does make us a little proud

The Physical Science Laboratory at New Mexico State University, in cooperation with the U.S. Military at White Sands Missile Range here, develops and tests Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Their UAV Test Site is near our airport.

White Sands is the birthplace of America's missile program and is where the Hellfire Missile first delivered hell and fire to a target.

Down the road in El Paso, TX, my friends Jeff and Ruthie are proud parents of a drone pilot, who has been on assignment in Afghanistan flying drones to deliver Hellfires to Taliban bigwigs in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As you can see, his "Control room" is mobile. His current assignment is a secret, but a good guess would be somewhere within striking distance of Yemen.

So, perhaps the world will forgive us for birthing a terrorist-to-be, when they learn that we also birthed at least part of the technology that has put the drones in the air; and we first tested the Hellfires that arm the drones.

Now, how cool is it that one of our locals may have been flying the drone over Yemen that delivered the Hellfire (and damnation) to Anwar Al-Alawki?

What a country!

The Great Depression

Every day or so I hear another statistic which someone says is the highest or the lowest or the worst since the Great Depression. Each time I hear some such "truth", I am reminded of the famous, if not accurately attributed quotation, "Lies, damned lies and statistics."

Then I remember President Ronald Reagan's quote about the definition of recession, depression and recovery. "The Gipper" said, "If your brother-in-law loses his job it is a recession; if you lose your job it is a depression; if Jimmy Carter loses his job it is a recovery." In other words, President Reagan understood that statistics never describe reality.

I once had a friend who invented statistics, just for fun. Usually ridiculous numbers. I was always amazed at how many people accepted his numbers as truth. Today I am amazed at how people react to statistics from The Great Depression. Also, I am amazed that so many people who were not born until decades after the depression ended, are now telling us these "facts" about the 1930s depression.

Respectfully (always) I submit that if you are younger than 75 years of age, you cannot possibly understand the Depression. Those statistics the youngsters quote may as well be labeled damned lies. They are meaningless.

Consider unemployment numbers. Today, "unemployment" means you do not have a "good" job, paying a high salary, while providing health insurance, unemployment insurance, guaranteed vacations, sick leave, etc., etc., etc.

Flipping hamburgers? That is not a "real" job.

In the 1930s, "unemployment" meant you had nothing to feed your family this day. It meant you could not find even an hour's work, of any description. A job flipping burgers? What a blessing... you might fill your stomach with a few scraps and earn a couple of dollars to purchase a sack of beans to feed your family..

Imagine living in a house with no electricity, no running water, no kitchen sink, no indoor bathroom. Imagine eating only beans, or greens, or some other persons leftover food, and being thankful that you are not hungry. Now, in that scenario, imagine someone trying to describe your life with  statistics. What a waste of breath.

Elect Me President.

I'll solve the nation's problems. Fast. Guaranteed!

Ever since humans first developed a written language and invented the tools for writing: clay tablets, papyrus, paper; chisels, quill pens, word processors, people have observed and recorded events of their lives. So much so that there are tens of thousands of libraries with millions of books. Books that sit on shelves, collecting dust, unread, while governments make the same mistakes over and over.

Forget partisan politics. I wouldn't care who carried water for the elephant, hay for the donkey. My administration would be packed with people who didn't give a damn about politics, but were passionate about history.

In the relatively short two and one-third centuries of our government's existence, we've seen it all. Boom and bust, recession, depression, inflation, war and peace. Civil unrest and periods of tranquility. Natural disasters. Katrina, yes, but how about the Chicago fire, the San Francisco earthquake, the Johnstown flood, the dust bowl. The administrations of our 44 presidents have faced these events in different ways. Sometimes with spectacular success. Often with painful failure.

My administration would study, learn from and follow those successes while avoiding repeat of the failures.

We already have an example of such a form of administration, It is the United states military. At West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs, the military academies don't dwell on social welfare BS or on PC fantasies, they teach the facts - the facts of history.

What happened at the battle of Waterloo? How did Washington's rag tag army of volunteers defeat the highly trained, well organized British? Why did Rommel lose in North Africa? Lee at Gettysburg?

The result? The most successful, most powerful military in the history of the world.

All the events have occurred. All the solutions have been tried. It is all written... the big picture "The Rise And Fall Of The Roman Empire", "The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich"...the minute details of every Parliament, every Congress, every dictator. All we have to do is read it.

Sadly, we are governed by politicians, theorists who imagine that their idea is the big one.

I would change that. You like Marxism? How has it worked in the past? You are a fan on Keynesian economics? How has it played out? Big on environmentalism? How many humans have suffered for the welfare of the brown pelican or the spotted owl. How many die annually for an imaginary theory that DDT was wiping out all birds?

I don't need a donation. Just your vote!

Ronald Reagan Said It:

Government IS the problem!

Hasn't that always been true? True of any people, of any era?

Think about the Russian people. Have you ever heard of any reason to fear or to hate a Russian? But the governments there - from the Czars to Stalin to Putin, are another story.

The German people. A highly advanced people in every way. World leaders and innovators. Then there came
Bismarck, Kaiser, Hitler. Bad memories.

Japanese. Remarkable people with much to be admired. Except when Tojo held influence.

Venezuela. Cuba. What's not to love about these beautiful, tropical nations on the Caribbean? Can you say  Hugo Chavez? Fidel Castro?

The vast majority of the world's people want the same thing, a happy, peaceful life. Perhaps because they are concentrated on this goal, evil people muscle there way into power.

The United States has one advantage over other nations. Constitutionally mandated elections. Every two years we have the choice to throw out a Congressman. Every four years, the president. Every six years, a senator.

Happily, in the case of the president, the choice is made for us at the end of eight years. Now, if we can just add term limits to members of Congress, we will have created Utopia!

Worst President

Lately many are saying Jimmy Carter was our worst president, but that Barack Obama is about to steal that title. I disagree.

Forty four men have been President of the United States. Twenty eight served before I was born. I can't honestly speak about those 28. All I know of them is what the history books say, and I do not totally trust the history books. So let's just talk about some presidents who have served in my lifetime.

Jimmy Carter was a bumbling fool. He gave us The Department of Energy, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. That department has been an abject failure, yet we continue to spend some $27 billion annually to sustain it.

Jimmy also gave us the Department of Education which now costs between $64 and $77 billion annually, but by every accepted yardstick, our schools have just gotten worse.

Pretty bad performance! But nothing compared to F.D.R. Here is the product of his first term:


Agricultural Adjustment Act    AAA  
Civil Works Administration    CWA  
Civilian Conservation Corps    CCC  
Federal Emergency Relief Act    FERA  
Glass-Steagall Act        FDIC  
National Industrial Recovery Act    NIRA  
National Youth Administration    NYA  
Public Works Administration    PWA  
Rural Electrification Administration    REA  
Securities and Exchange Commission    SEC  
Social Security Act        FICA
Tennessee Valley Authority    TVA  
Wagner Act            NLRB  
Works Progress Administration    WPA
  
Granted, some of these programs were discontinued, but some have lived on to bleed America for over 75 years.

Franklin Roosevelt was the worst president. But he ground on until he died in his fourth term. Obama cannot overtake Roosevelt, but he will surely occupy second place. Jimmy Carter should rank number three.

Good Language

Essentially all birds and all mammals communicate with some sort of sound. A shrill cry of alarm to warn of imminent danger; a signal to scare off a competitor; a signal to declare a territory; a call to attract a mate. Each of these events, in numerous species, has been documented by researchers.

Humans, with their ability to utter a wide variety of sounds, developed language. These languages often consist of thousands of words. Steven Pinker, in his book The Language Instinct, suggests that speaking a language is done instinctively. He counts up the number of words understood and used by the average college age student and feels it would be impossible to learn and remember that many words in their short lifetime... so people must have an instinct to speak a language.While some academics disagree with Pinker's conclusions, his arguments are persuasive.

Early European explorers, who first visited remote regions of the earth, were surprised to find that inhabitants there spoke well-developed languages. Pinker even found that in many languages, common items, such as milk, were often referenced by similar sounding words.

The ancient Romans developed a marvelous language we call Latin. Over distance and time, that language nuanced into what we today know as Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Some native speakers, notably the French, try to maintain the "purity" of the language by discouraging the "bastardization" of traditional French words. The Spanish language, spoken by native speakers in America, is rife with such variations. While the Spanish word for truck may more properly be camion, many American Latinos prefer to use trucka.

English speakers, on the other hand, show no such tendencies toward purity. If another language has a word that fits well, English speakers will happily adopt it.

A French journalist was quoted as having said he wished he wrote for an English language publication because he could then express himself more precisely. But, could he? Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, one of the world's best speakers of the English language, once had a problem explaining her anger at some government for acting unilaterally. She simply dropped the use of unilateral and started saying their behavior was "one-sided". Everyone understood.

If you are writing for a scientific journal about a discipline that employs very specific language, you may require complex, even foreign words to make your point. But if you are making a speech to a general audience, remember that they cannot turn back the page and re-read your last comments. In that setting, it is wise to avoid using words or terms that require even a moment of careful thought to absorb your meaning.

Again paraphrasing Steven Pinker, If I orally express a thought and a listener fully understands my thought, that is good language!

Insults Reversed

Years ago, in southern New Mexico, there was a State Senator named Burton Roach. Sen. Roach was a robust man with a huge paunch. In one campaign, an opponent said the last thing needed in the State Senate was another "pot-bellied politician". Everyone, including Roach, recognized this as an insult to Roach. But, Roach was the smarter politician. He turned the insult around had a large button made with the letters PBP emblazoned, and as if to brag about his big belly, wore the button everywhere he went.

I have no recollection of Roach's ideology, but his general good humor and refusal to engage in name calling appealed to voters, and he was re-elected.

Andrew Jackson so infuriated his opposition that one speaker openly called him a jackass. Jackson apparently liked the comparison to a hard headed donkey and adopted the nickname. The donkey - jackass, if you will - remains the symbol of the Democratic Party to this day.

Margaret Thatcher angered Communists worldwide. Even before she became Great Britains Prime Minister, one called her an "iron lady"... meaning a stubborn, uncompromising person. But Maggie Thatcher liked the label and today, if anyone mentions The Iron Lady, everyone knows they mean former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher!

Politicians and political consultants should think before they write campaign commercials insulting their opponents... you may just be creating a buzz word certain to get him, not you, elected!

What do they mean?

When I was an announcer I was taught the importance of correct pronunciation in the interest of clear communications. We were cautioned against the perils of placing the em-FOSS-us on the wrong syl-LOBB-uhl.

Today, when I hear a spokesman read copy on a well crafted TV commercial while seemingly placing emphasis on the wrong syllable - or word - I wonder if it is on purpose or just a mistake.

On a commercial for Legal Zoom, an outfit that provides self-help for preparing legal documents, the spokesman promises "We put the law on your side", without emphasis on any word, or syllable. Okay, no one wants the law on their back... but, why on your side? Shouldn't he be saying "We put the law on YOUR side"?

Maybe there is a reason. Amazingly, there are all sorts of legal requirements placed on advertising. You have heard an announcer identified as  "a non-attorney spokesman". Really? Who cares if the spokesman is a non-attorney? Or, you have seen commercials for some medical product labeled as a "dramatization". Is that so we won't think someone with a hidden camera is filming in a doctor's office? Only a lawyer would dream up a need for those disclaimers.

I once wrote a commercial in which I said something could be completed in "a few short weeks". I was forced to re-write it by a regulator who demanded "What is a short week?".

Is there a reason why Legal Zoom cannot say "We put the law on YOUR side"? Or is that spokesman, who is a well-known attorney and NOT a well-trained-non-attorney-announcer, just doing a poor job of reading his copy?

Don't face the IRS Alone!

If, that is,  you are a tax cheat!

An outfit called Tax Masters is running a TV commercial in which spokesman Patrick Cox warns, "The IRS will pursue you relentlessly...", to which I say, "They damned well better!" Pursuing tax cheats is what they are paid to do and I find it refreshing that someone in the Federal Government is doing their job... relentlessly, no less!

As politicians are wont to say... let me be perfectly clear:  I deplore the 16th amendment to the Constitution, I hate income tax. But as long as it is the law and millions of us law-abiding citizens are forced to obey, I want everyone to pay up just as we do.

As for the IRS being in relentless pursuit, I will share my personal experience. Having been self-employed most of my adult life, I have paid estimated taxes. There have been a couple of instances when we underestimated and suddenly found we owed more income tax than we could immediately pay. We asked the IRS for help. They worked with us to develop a payment plan we could handle. We followed the plan, paid our taxes and that was that.

And again, I have seen a couple of instances where an individual IRS agent appeared to be a bit unreasonable but, by and large, my IRS experience has been okay.

Repeal the 16th amendment. But until you do, enforce the law evenly and pursue tax cheats, law breakers, relentlessly.

My opinion is that you can save money and time by working directly with the IRS. Let Mr. Cox make his money off someone else.

Foolish Questions

I loved the old country music song titled Foolish Questions. It referenced situations as when a person rushes into the house, literally dripping wet and someone asks "Is it raining?".

At the August debate for Republican presidential candidates, TV host Bret Baier asked candidates to raise their hand if they would reject a Democrat proposal to offer $10 in spending cuts for $1 in tax increases. What a foolish question. Given the track record of Congressional Democrats, the $1 in tax would be taken - the $10 in spending cuts never given. How would you answer such a question?

But, I heard of a worse question: A group was asked to raise their hands if they believe in evolution. In both instances, the question was posed for a "gesture" answer... no explanations requested... no clarifications permitted.

Any sane person would have to answer yes, that they believe in "evolution". We all know that cross breeding and adaptations caused by climate, food or other influences, have caused a species of animal or plant to evolve into some different form. Consider the old "wolf to chihuahua" example. Or, how about the many kinds of roses developed by cross pollination (even patented).

However, the word "evolution" in modern conversation almost always refers to the origin of man. No one can
absolutely answer that question. Many learned people have sought the answer to the origin of man. Many others have speculated. Historic prophets have advanced "truths", sometimes mutually exclusive truths, but each with legends of believers.

Across America there are frequent confrontations between people who want schools to teach one or another explanation for the origin of  man. How can you teach anything when it is impossible to know the answer? But some persist, as if it would truly affect the life of a fifth grader to know what happened thousands or perhaps millions of years ago.

It would be very nice if we could just teach the truth, or at minimum, common sense: "We really cannot explain the origins of man but there are several possibilities. Why don't you discuss it with your parents?" Immediately that would enrage people of all beliefs  - who hold their personal belief to be inviolate. Better to ask foolish (unanswerable) questions. 

Clarification please.

I have always been a little perplexed as to why we show such deference to the President of the United States.


The person is not a king (or queen) or God. They are a politician, in the office because of a skilled and perhaps devious campaign and the donations of hundreds of millions of dollars from people who hope to rake in millions more in political favors; and from people who (often mistakenly) just admire them. They enjoy unimaginable perks and immense powers, and  (in modern times) always become multi-millionaires from their time in office.

But we are always expected to say "Mr. President"! When Barack Obama stood before Congress and told a bald-faced lie, Congressman Joe Wilson shouted, "You lie". Wilson was chastised for that retort, and forced to apologize, even though he was correct - Obama was lying. No punishment for - no apology from the liar.

While I fault the British for their adoration of their royalty, I believe their conduct in Parliament is much more realistic! If their PM makes a statement perceived to be false, a chorus of members voice their feelings.


While I was not a fan of Harry Truman, he was, at least, realistic about the Oval Office job. When he left office, he was offered one or more high salary jobs, which he refused. Harry said, "You don't want me. You want the office of the president and that is not for sale." Harry never became rich.

Fifteen different men have held the office of president in my lifetime. Some have led wisely with great benefit to my country. I appreciate and applaud them. Others have been lousy leaders and have inflicted harm on our nation and our people. I have no regard, no respect for them.

So, until I am persuaded otherwise, I shall continue to regard Barack Obama for what he is doing with his time in office. I think he is a bum... a great detriment to America. I do not wish him any physical harm, I just want him (and all of his cronies) out of office, out of power and influence.

The Big Picture

When I was studying broadcast electronics in my youth, I once encountered an exam question that asked for the probable cause of a malfunction in a described electrical circuit. I looked at the circuit, quickly identified a possible cause and wrote it as my answer.

When the exam was graded, I had answered every question correctly except that one about the malfunction. Disappointed at missing a perfect score, and certain my answer was correct, I challenged the examiner. He advised I reexamine the circuit for a more likely cause of the malfunction... the probable cause, which the question had sought. He was right, of course, there was a much more likely cause for the problem.

I never forgot that experience and through the decades since, have tried to look for The Big Picture. I haven't always succeeded, but frequently enough to know that first impressions are not always correct. How I wish everyone would discover that truth.

Environmentalists are, in my opinion, the worst offenders. They zero in on one conclusion and refuse to accept that they may be causing greater problems than the one they wish to solve. The most horrible example, of course, was Rachel Carson's attack on the pesticide DDT. Based on the belief that DDT would wipe out all bird populations, Carson's book Silent Spring sparked a movement that created a worldwide ban on DDT.

Carson and her adherents truly missed The Big Picture. DDT had almost eliminated the anopheles mosquito, which spreads malaria. Discontinuing the use of DDT allowed this mosquito to flourish and malaria to spread. The British newspaper, The Daily Mail, published this graphic to show the human price paid to satisfy the environmentalists posit that DDT must be banned:

Today, in political rhetoric, in discussions of the economy, in just about every phase of public discourse, we see examples of a refusal to look at The Big Picture. Even when results are indisputable, some still believe their original, narrow view was correct.

Each time someone makes an assertion about anything and asks for your concurrence, pause and look for The Big Picture. In so doing, you could be making a huge contribution to the general welfare.

Theater goers and sports fans are killing us!

Theater ticket prices go up another couple of bucks... but, Gee! You've gotta see the new Harry Potter movie!

Tickets to the ball game are $50! But, Wow! You may not even have another chance to buy tickets to see the team this season!

So the grocer says, "If they'll pay $12 to see a movie, they sure can pay $4 for a gallon of milk!"

The plumber says, "If they can pay $50 to see a ball game, they sure can pay me $100 to come fix their leak."

There was a time when prices were determined by cost to provide the goods or services purchased, plus a reasonable profit for the effort. No longer. The rule today is, What will the market bear?

Fair, honest. reasonable are no longer the language of enterprise. Today we pull a price out of the air. If people pay it, we raise it a little. If they will not pay it, we have a sale, lowering the price temporarily. If they pay the sale price, we take another shot at charging the full price. If they now pay the full price, we again raise it a little.

Every time you smile and agree to pay "a little bit more" for something, you are signaling to someone that raising prices is okay. Only when people begin to walk away from a ticket booth saying they will not pay that much; only when people stop buying something, anything because of price, will someone sit down and seriously search for ways to offer the goods or service for less.

Unintended Consequences

The problems of violence by Mexican drug cartels and the growing resentment against illegal immigration along the U.S. southern border, has led to the dislike of the entire population of Mexico and their thoroughly American descendants in the eyes of many Americans. That is a tragedy.

I live in a city located about 50 miles from Mexico, where persons of ethic Mexican descent are the majority. Having visited Mexico many times, I can attest to the fact that the Mexican people and their progeny, in general, are the kind of people you would like as your neighbors. They have deeply held religious faith and strong family ties. Are there some big cultural differences? Yes. But these differences are not universally apparent.

Last night my wife and I had dinner in one of our city's numerous independently owned "Mexican" restaurants. Actually, that is a misnomer. the cuisine we call Mexican is rarely found in Mexico once you leave the proximity of the U.S. border. In fact, it is probably more common in U.S. restaurants than in their Mexican counterparts.

During dinner, a local group of mariachi musicians came into the restaurant and played for the patrons. They were dressed in what has become traditional mariachi attire... black trousers with silver decorations nicely attached down the outside of each leg, white shirts with a white, satin bow, and black vests.

While the group were not great musicians, they were not bad, and I fully enjoyed their performance. One fellow had obviously acquired his attire at a younger age and had decidedly outgrown the fit. But since they played only for tips, one can understand his inability to afford a new outfit.

I requested a popular Mexican song, made famous by Mexican superstars Juan Gabriel and the late Rosío Dúrcal, but they did not know the song, a testament to the fact that the group were decidedly more American than Mexican.

The musicians played three or four songs and left the restaurant. We finished our dinner with a most warm feeling of affection and appreciation for these friendly people; along with a touch of sadness in the knowledge that many Americans will never learn to appreciate the goodness in so many of our southern neighbors.

Good old folks!

Sometimes when watching the news, I wonder what my father and my grandfather would think if they saw the same newscast. Usually I imagine they would fall off the sofa laughing!

My grandfather was born in 1862 (died in 1937), my father was born in 1893 (died in 1968). No need to explain that these men survived drought and floods, heat and cold, times of prosperity and times of financial hardship; they saw recessions, depressions, booms and busts and numerous wars.

Yesterday a news report covered the hot July weather that is sweeping the nation. One reporter told the sad story of hardship suffered by someone who had no air conditioning.

My grandfather, who had never heard of air conditioning, would have seemed puzzled and asked "Had no what?"

My father (who, late in his life had a window air conditioning unit) would have explained that air conditioning is a machine that makes your house cooler. Both men would have laughed.

We have become a nation of ninnies who agonize over the loss of some modern convenience which our ancestors did very well without for their entire lives.

Were those times the good old days? Of course not. But those were the good old people. They certainly appreciated the benefits of modern conveniences, but they saw those things as conveniences... not essentials for life.

The Casey Anthony Verdict - A Great Day For America

I have always deplored the fact that much of our American Culture is a popularity contest. Many years ago a friend suggested that in America no one could be elected to political office who parted his hair in the middle or who wore a mustache. That may not have been true then or now, but it is a fact that appearances weigh heavily on public opinion.

I also deplore the fact that we defer to a person with a visibly perceptible disability, but often vilify someone with an unseen affliction. We show sympathy for any person with a missing limb, but scoff at a mentally ill person who behaves in an uncharacteristic way.

Like many people, I must struggle to hide my disapproval of a obese person or one who is slovenly. In fact, I usually resent the guy who comes into an eatery wearing a soiled baseball cap and sits across from me, wearing the hat throughout his meal. Those appearances are things I very much dislike, but they are hardly punishable offenses.

I was but 3 1/2 years old when the infant son of hero aviator Charles Lindberg was kidnapped in March of 1932. Like the body of little Caylee Anthony, Lindberg's son was later found, decomposed. A small boy myself, I found that event frightening.

That tragic story and the ensuing trial dragged on for three years before a man named Bruno Richard Hauptman was convicted in March of 1935, and executed a year later in April, 1936, when I was seven years old.

Hauptmann was convicted on circumstantial evidence and, while there was no TV and scant radio coverage available in my farm home, I never believed Hauptmann was proven guilty of that crime. That trial and its outcome, in fact, has haunted me.

Now comes the case of Caylee Anthony. Having been blessed with four sisters, three daughters and seven granddaughters, everyone who knows me knows that I adore little girls. As I have blogged before, I believe little girls to be our most precious and fragile asset. They are, after all, the mothers of our next generation. To see a little girl die so young is the saddest of all tragedies.

If that death was because of a deliberate act by an adult, that person should be found and punished to the full extent of the law... but not beyond. They should not be lynched. Not shot like a dog. Their punishment should be inflicted only after there is solid, unshakable proof of their guilt.

As with the Lindberg trial, I did not follow the proceedings of the Anthony trial. That was the job of the jury, not mine. I had no interest in watching the emotional suffering of others, as did millions of TV viewers.

Casey Anthony has acted in an unusual, largely inexplicable manner. But this was not a popularity contest. The jury, rightfully, did not consider anything but the charges filed against Casey Anthony by the State of Florida. Unquestionably, she lied to authorities - for which she has been convicted. But lying is not a capitol crime. The state of Florida did not prove that she killed her daughter, and I am so grateful for the jury that reached that conclusion.

Having enjoyed a career in the news reporting business, I know we are not permitted to declare someone guilty of a crime unless they are convicted by a court of law. Once that conviction is affirmed, however, we may then legally call them a criminal. Conversely, when a person is acquitted, they are legally innocent. If we are to remain a nation of laws, we must cling to that principle. Agree or not, we must accept the verdict in the Anthony trial.

Casey Anthony did not kill her daughter. We may never know who did, or if it was truly an accidental death, or why Casey behaved as she did. Was she emotionally disturbed, as the defense seemed to infer? We cannot see that disability, if it existed. We can never know beyond the best assessment of medical experts.

She lied to the cops. She has been punished. Now she should be regarded the innocent citizen the court has declared her to be, and allowed, if she so wills, to attempt to put her life back together.

Regulations

There are so many people living on this crowded planet, there must be regulations. Traffic lanes, "No Swimming" signs near dangerous waters, etc.

Some folks, however, want more regulations and government bureaucrats are quick to accommodate.

Some years ago I had an advertising client who operated a small meat packing operation. In the meat-cutting room, there were, unavoidably, scraps of meat that hit the floor. The Dept. of Agriculture arbitrarily determined that this floor be cleaned up and mopped every two hours.

An OSHA inspector checked the plant soon after one mopping and decided it was unsafe for the butchers to work with their sharp knives while standing on a wet concrete floor. He ordered that the butchers be forbidden to work until the floor was dry.

Obeying both orders would essentially shut down the operation.

Shortly after I heard this news, I attended a marketing meeting. Something was said about government regulations and I immediately started grousing. One attendee, Chairman of a large Chicago direct marketing advertising agency challenged me, demanding "Are you suggesting there be no regulations?". I began to criticize Michael Pertschuk, then Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and immediately became invisible. The others just turned away from me and proceeded to discuss another subject.

Okay, as a teen may have said, "My bad." In a discussion with any liberal - or even a sane person - never lead with your emotions.

No, I do not believe there should be no regulations. I do insist, however, that regulations which serve to control the behavior of others, whether in business or personal life, are a serious matter. They should never be taken lightly or imposed without adequate scrutiny.

Given the government's abject failure at managing almost anything, I believe no government should be empowered to formulate regulations without public input.

It is a fact that some government agencies do offer proposed new regulations for public comment before final enactment. Even this, however, has shortcomings.

About fifty years ago, the Federal Communications Commission proposed new rule making governing the way broadcasters maintain program logs. At the time, broadcasters were required to maintain a log, recording the beginning and ending time of every program, the time every commercial was broadcast, etc.

The proposed rules included a requirement that a station log every time the station's call letter was announced. In those days of analog electronics, dial position was difficult to determine on radio sets, so stations promoted their call letter. Most disk jockeys announced their call letters several times during every break. It would be impossible to record every time.

I proposed that the new rules require that station ID announcements be logged on the hour and half hour... but not every time in between. While I was at it, I proposed several other changes.

I couldn't imagine that the mighty FCC would incorporate my suggestions. When the new rules were finally published, they did, to my amazement, include every one of my proposals.

Conclusions? 1. The bureaucrats who originally wrote the new rules had no idea what they were writing. 2. People in the industry are too busy trying to do their jobs to read and respond to proposed rule-making.

Maybe we should just adopt only regulations warning of an immediate matter of public safety. The only permissible punishment for breaking the rule would be to suffer the consequences of the unsafe situation, and no one could file a lawsuit.

Things that irk!

George Mason University's Distinguished Professor Walter Williams recently wrote: "There are a lot of things, large and small, that irk me. One of them is our tendency to evaluate a presidential candidate based on his intelligence or academic credentials."

Well.. that started me thinking... what was Dr. Williams talking about? So I decided to look up the formal education credentials of the presidents.

First, a few of the "good" presidents:

No. 1: George Washington has long been described as First in War, First in Peace, First in the hearts of his countrymen. His education was rudimentary, probably being obtained from tutors but possibly also from private schools, and he learned surveying.

No. 2: Abraham Lincoln gained what education he could along the way. While reading law, he worked in a store, managed a mill, surveyed, and split rails.

No. 3: Thomas Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary and read law (1762-1767) with George Wythe, the greatest law teacher of his generation in Virginia.

No. 4: Ronald Wilson Reagan earned a BA degree in 1932 from Eureka (Ill.) College.

No. 5: Harry S. Truman attended the public schools in Independence, Mo.

And, a few "stinkers":

No. 1: (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson. A Princeton graduate, he turned from law practice to post-graduate work in political science at Johns Hopkins University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1886. He taught at Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan, and Princeton, and in 1902 was made president of Princeton.

No. 2: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. A Harvard graduate, he also attended Columbia Law School.

No. 3. Theodore Roosevelt. A Harvard graduate.

No. 4: William Howard Taft. A Yale graduate.

No. 5: James Earl Carter, Jr. Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis

And, we must not forget:

No. 6: Barack Hussein Obama obtained early education in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii; continued education at Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif.; received a B.A. in 1983 from Columbia University, New York City; studied law at Harvard University, where he received J.D. in 1991

I could go on, but no need... I now think I see what Dr. Williams was talking about!

Memories From My Youth - III

Clang, clang, clang went the trolley. Those were the opening words of a song about street cars. Amusing to me, that noise was the thing most remembered about those old electric-powered rail cars that once clattered through the streets of America's large cities. They were not all noisy, of course, especially the latter ones, and I loved them.

When I was young, street cars were reasonably fast, they were clean (no exhaust), comfortable and convenient. They were frequent - you never had to wait more than a few minutes - they stopped at almost every other corner, and were very low cost. Fare was 10¢, or you could buy three tokens (for three rides) for a quarter.

By using transfers, you could jump from one line to another, and transfers were free. You could ride all over the city for a dime.

In my home town of Kansas City, the geography is defined by two rivers - the Kansas River (known as the Kaw) flowing east across Kansas and the Missouri River flowing south from Montana. Reaching higher ground at Kansas City, the Missouri takes a hard left turn, just where it is joined by the Kaw, and heads east across the state toward St. Louis to mix with the Mississippi.

Downtown Kansas City, Missouri is on high ground, but a west bound street car line had to transport passengers across the West Bottoms, through Kansas City's famous Stock yards and packing house districts, into Kansas City, Kansas.

The drop from Kansas City, MO into the West Bottoms was essentially a cliff. To make the descent, the transit company dug a tunnel, starting several blocks short of the cliff's edge, then making a gentle drop to the lower ground. I frequently rode that line and loved entering the tunnel on a hot summer day to glide through the cool darkness and emerge into the sunlight on the lower side.

One street car memory was from August 15, 1945. Radio news had informed that the Japanese government was about to sign General MacArthur's unconditional surrender documents and a large crowd began to gather on 12th Street. When the announcement of the surrender came, the huge crowd burst into joyous song, and all the boys started kissing the girls. I was soon smeared in lipstick from ear to ear.

A street car operator, on his assigned route down 12th street, edged into the crowd. Someone went to the back of the car, grabbed the rope to the trolley and pulled it down, disengaging the car's source of power. Throughout the evening that street car sat there in the middle of 12th Street, the operator in his seat watching the celebration.

My wife also remembers street cars. when she was a small girl her father worked for a time as a street car operator. Sometimes at night, when passenger traffic was light, he would let her ride along to the end of his line and return. Truth be known, he even let her operate the car at times. No cause for alarm here... street cars rode on tracks - no steering required.

Most street cars have disappeared from cities across the country. Happily the city of San Francisco has restored a few of the cars which now ply Market Street. You'll even see one with Kansas City Public Transit Company lettered on its bright yellow side. If that old car could talk, it might remember cool summer nights in Kansas City when a small girl sat at its controls on Troost Avenue.

Blagojevich is found guilty!

Well, the jury has found former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich guilty on 17 of 20 counts levied against him!

It isn't over, of course. There will be appeals until there is no higher court to which to appeal, and someone will then decide how he is to be punished.

Here is how I see it: They went into a forest teeming with skunks. One was a little noisy and unlike the others, failed to slink away in the shadows. The skunk police grabbed him by the tail and dragged him out of the forest. "You are stinking up the forest", they declared, "and you must be punished!".

Rod Blagojevich has been punished. Ignoring the decision of the electorate, he was thrown out of office and dragged into court. "He must be punished more!", vowed the skunk police.

Surely he will be punished more - perhaps not until after the November, 2012 elections, and after Rahm Emanuel is well established in his office as Chicago mayor -

Rod Blagojevicjh will be punished more... and, the forest will still stink.

DÉJÀ VU all over again!

So said Yogi Berra - to the consternation of both French and English language police and many others. But we common people knew exactly what Yogi meant... "more of the same old crap"! Today, when it comes to politics, we add "...and again and again!"
 
I was only five years old when President Franklin Roosevelt gave us the AAA. It had nothing to do with automobiles - it was the Agriculture Adjustment Act, intended to protect farmers from price drops. (It lives on in today's Dept. of Agriculture subsidies. Wasn't that smart???). 

Before I was eight years old, FDR also gave us the CWA, CCC, FERA, FDIC, NIRA, NYA, PWA, REA, SEC, Social Security (for pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to blind, deaf, disabled, and dependent children!) TVA, NLRB and WPA.
 
Obviously, as a small farm boy, I was not aware of the significance of all these misguided acts, but I saw adults shake their heads and agonize over their implementation... I knew there was something bad about what FDR was doing.
 
But, at the same time, we often sat in front of our old Atwater-Kent radio set, listening to the rantings (in German) of someone called Adolph Hitler. That was more ominous, and Americans accepted living with The New Deal.
 
We are still suffering from Roosevelt's stupidity (ask Boeing about the NLRB), yet, our current president is trying to do it all over again... just let us manage things and we will recover from this recession we inherited!

FDR stayed in office because World War Two had caused Americans to crave stability. Thus, the 1930 economic slowdown (which the Dems labeled a recession they had inherited from Herbert Hoover) turned into a depression that lasted well into the 1940s.

Please, please, America... we cannot let this conclusion occur "all over again"!

Memories From My Youth II

The other day I heard again Roger Miller's old recording "King Of The Road", wherein two hours of pushin' broom bought the guy a place to sleep. About the same time I heard mention of some event from 1945. My mind blended the two scraps of information and came up with a memory.

In April, 1945, I was 16 years old. Proving that a 16-year-old boy is near the top of the list of the most stupid of creatures, I loaded onto a Greyhound bus in Kansas City and headed for San Diego, CA.

My billfold was about as empty as my head. A friend, newly out of U.S. Navy boot camp and now stationed in San Diego had written me about the wonders of San Diego and the incredible employment opportunities there.

Arriving in San Diego, the first thing I learned was that in 1945 California, a 16-year-old youth had to attend high school. Forget about getting a job! In a few days I was almost out of cash and totally out of a place to live. Turns out my friend had an uncle in Azusa, CA who would pretend to be my guardian and help me get a job - if I came to Azusa.

I could take a bus the next morning... but where would I sleep tonight? I wandered into a YMCA and sat through some sort of religious service in an auditorium equipped with church-like benches. Today I have no recollection of what I watched there, my mind was hung up on the idea of going back onto the street when it ended.

When the service was over, everyone else filed out the door. I walked up to someone who appeared to be in charge and asked if I could lie down on the bench and spend the night. The person thought for a moment and decided I could earn the privilege. He produced a push broom and said if I cleaned up the place I could sleep on a bench.

I don't remember how long the sweeping took, only that I did the best job I could then stretched out on a bench. When I awoke the next morning, there was a guy sleeping on every bench in the auditorium. I headed for the bus depot.

Roger Miller's "King Of The Road" had fared better... he at least got an eight by twelve four-bit room!

U.S.P.S.

Further proof that the Federal government today does nothing very well. The U.S. Postal Service has been around since, when??? Ben Franklin's days? Is that not time enough to learn how?

Our town of Las Cruces, New Mexico (population 100,000) is only about 45 miles from El Paso, Texas. Now the U.S.P.S. is considering shutting down the mail sorting operation here in favor of doing all the sorting for our area in El Paso. The sorting facility in Las Cruces currently serves all of the zip code 880 sectional center, which is much of southern NM.

Okay, I am a strong advocate of the government saving money, but El Paso is in another state, and our postal service is already lousy. Will their service be worth keeping if they make that change?

We receive a lot of invoices from a number of vendors. Most have now switched to copying their invoices to a Adobe PDF and sending them by e-mail. Saves them postage - we receive their invoices immediately, in perfect condition, we can easily print all the copies we need and the PDFs are easy to store on a hard drive or on a CD.

Among our clients, one, who is not entirely up-to-date in computer usage, still wants our invoice in paper copies. We recently mailed our May invoice (which included many pages) to that client, in a U.S.P.S. Priority-mail envelope. He just phoned to report that he received the U.S.P.S. Priority Mail envelope from us... mangled and empty! Yes, we have copies, will reprint them and mail them again.

When we called the Post Office to complain, they shrugged... the contents of our mailing are just lost! If we wanted to recover our $4.75 postage, the client would have to contact the post office in his town, produce the empty Priority Mail envelope and file a claim. So advised, the client said to forget the refund.

So, thanks to the folks currently running our U.S.P.S., postal service is now lousy, and they want to reduce it even more. It would cost a little more to send our invoice to this client via Fedex, but it appears it would be worth it. The Federal government just manages to mess up everything it touches! Does anyone actually believe they will improve health care costs?

Congressman Weiner

should resign. On Fox news, June 6, columnist Juan Williams said Weiner should NOT resign... that his occupying a seat in congress is the business of voters in his district.

That would be fine, Juan, if Weiner's (or any Congressman's) decisions affected only the voters in his district. But that is not the case. A congressman represents those voters in his/her district. His votes, on the other hand, affect all Americans along with our children and grandchildren. Indeed, America herself and her allies may be affected.

Another columnist, Dr. Thomas Sowell, wrote yesterday:

"In the course of any given year, Congress votes on taxes, medical care, military spending, foreign aid, agriculture, labor, international trade, airlines, housing, insurance, courts, natural resources, and much more.

There are professionals who have spent their entire adult lives specializing in just one of these fields. The idea that Congress can be competent in all these areas simultaneously is staggering. Yet, far from pulling back-- as banks or other private enterprises must, if they don't want to be ruined financially by operating beyond the range of their competence-- Congress is constantly expanding further into more fields."

One may argue that while members of congress may lack competence in these fields, they hear from expert witnesses and serve as something like a jury to reach a reasonable conclusion of the facts.

But, would you accept a juror who is a deliberate, aggressive liar, as Weiner has admitted to being? Much less being some sort of narcissistic pervert?

Anthony Weiner is patently unfit to participate in any deliberation, the outcome of which is important to America, Americans or our allies. If he does not resign, he should be thrown out of office and prohibited from ever seeking political office again.

The dressing down of America

Do you remember the 1944 hit song "The Trolley Song"? It was the story of a young woman who went out to ride the trolley for fun and found a new love.

She boarded the old street car in her "high starched collar and her high top shoes with her hair piled high upon her head." The young man, "in his light brown derby and his bright green tie was quite the handsomest of men".

I remember riding street cars and public transit buses as a youth when the vehicle and the passengers were clean and courteous. I remember when flight on an airliner was occasion for shirt and tie, and a sport coat, which you could fold neatly and lay in the overhead bin to keep it from becoming wrinkled during the trip.

Today, two or three other passeners would cram their backpacks on top of your jacket. The last time I rode a city bus in a big city, a disheveled drunk had vomited on the floor in front of his seat. And we all know of stories of passengers stabbed or beaten on public transit vehicles.

There was a time when ladies would not go out without their gloves. Today... well, you know what some wear.

What has happened? What has become of pride in personal appearance? What is the cause of such widespread slovenliness?

For some time I was very critical of rock music stars for their weird apparel and makeup - then I realized they had simply discovered a new way to make a living. But, are they setting the standards for appearance?

Does it begin in the home? As a small boy, I remember my mother grabbing me by the ear and dragging me back into the house if I headed out for school looking dirty or unkempt. Where are the mothers of boys who can best be described as unwashed slobs?

Are there no longer standards at school? I will always believe that one of the best tools in the hands of my early teachers was the paddle. Misbehave in any unreasonable way and you were marched to the cloak room where the teacher ordered you to grab your ankles while she swatted your bottom with the dreaded paddle.

Whatever the cause, I believe that a major problem with the use of public transit is the natural aversion to being seated next to a smelly, unpleasant person... something almost certain to happen if anyone else is riding!

Memories from my youth.

In he 1940s, and before, refrigerated air conditioning was rare. The compact, efficient compressors that provide A/C for cars and private homes, had not yet been developed. A/C was available only in theaters and some retail store. Certainly not in churches.

Thus, most every church provided hand-held fans you could wave in front of your face for a little relief. On hot summer nights, however, many congregations opted to hold their services outdoors. Many churches put up a large tent in a nearby vacant lot, spread the ground with sawdust, lined up folding chairs, and called it church.

In Kansas City, Kansas, where I lived, there were a number of churches with all black congregants. When they had their summer evening services outside, everyone off the street was welcome to walk in and join them, which I did several times.

One thing I found in common with all these groups: worship service was a time of joyous celebration. The service always began with a "song service", and it was wonderful. People singing at the top of their voices, "Isn't it grand to be a Christian", and meaning every word of it. I especially loved joining in as a congregation sang : "Won't you have a little talk with Jesus... "

When the service began, the Pastor was actually listened to, verified by a chorus of Amens from the congregation when he admonished them against the ways of the world. If there were not enough Amens, the pastor would repeat his admonition until he received the desired response.

Recently I attended a memorial service for a deceased friend. A formalized, scripted event with hymns recited in a wooden sort of way. I wished I could have brought in one of those old black pastors. He would have ended the spirit of gloom, assuring us that our departed friend was now in the loving arms of his Savior, for a joyous reunion with his long departed parents, grandparents and friends who have gone before. Then the chorus would sing and the congregation would join in a celebration of the life of our friend.

Is it a surprise that church attendance has waned? There is little joy left inside those sacred doors.

Brain Power

The human brain is the most incredible thing in all of the universe. How can this lump of meat accomplish things no computer can equal? As with Donald Rumsfeld's reference to "things we don't know we don't know", it would take more education than most of us will ever acquire to even comprehend what the human brain can do.

Still, I find it curiously interesting that the wonderful brain can sometimes be easily tripped up. The rising or setting moon appears much larger than the moon seen high in the sky overhead. The answer, I am told, is reference. At moonrise or moonset, we can compare the apparent size of the moon to terrestrial objects, which makes it look larger.

Reference. Our brains seem incapable of comprehending things far outside the range of familiarity. Empty space in the universe is infinite. It has no boundaries. Incomprehensible. To our wondrous brain, everything has boundaries.

The speed of light. 186,000 miles per second. Incomprehensible. We can't even comprehend the speed of a jet aircraft. Recent reports tell of tornadoes with wind speeds of 200 miles per hour snapping large trees like matchsticks. Imagine sticking your head out the window of a plane moving at 500 miles per hour. It might be snapped off like those tree trunks.

But at 35,000 feet we have no reference for gauging terrestrial speed. If we were flying close to the ground, watching fields and towns swish by at the rate of about 2 1/2 football fields per second, we would not calmly consider our choice from the flight attendant's beverage cart... we would be clutching the seat in front of us in white-knuckle panic!

At my advancing age, I have discovered another incident of brain shortcoming - again related to reference. Once we reach the age of about two years, standing upright requires no thought, no conscious effort. The brain sends just the right signal to each of those many muscles in our feet, legs, thighs and back that keep our bodies erect... even on a surfboard or on skis (once we get the hang of using those devices!).

But now, after decades of practice, my brain at times can no longer figure out which way is up - can't decide what signals to send to which muscles, until I give it a reference point. Standing in the shower with a head full of shampoo and eyes closed, I must touch the shower wall and determine which way is up, or all those muscles will just go limp and I will fall.

I laugh to myself when I imagine being given a roadside sobriety test by a police officer. Asked to walk a straight line, placing one foot in front of the other helps to indicate if you are impaired. I can no longer do that when stone cold sober.

In fact, I cannot walk any straight line - I just tend to stagger to one side or the other. I know, a cane will largely solve that problem. Reference! But, walk with a cane? Like some old man? I suppose I will have to fall a couple of times before I accept that inevitability!

Angie's List

Most Americans believe in equal justice under the law. Or do they? Consider Angie's List.

Angie's list TV advertising shows one painter, employed by a painting contractor, performing badly. The ad advises not to call these guys! Hey... do we get to hear the painting contractor's side of the story?

Another ad shows a plumber staying on the job after his work is done so he could walk the customer's dog. "The only plumber I'll ever call", asserts the ad copy. What are they saying? That a plumber should donate his valuable time to accommodate a customer too irresponsible to care for their pet? Should we not even consider the dog-walking plumber's ability as a plumber?

If I understand Angie's List, we are supposed to accept the "verdict" of one satisfied or dissatisfied customer without ever knowing the credibility of that customer.

I have spent decades working with dozens of remodeling contractors, plumbers, painters, roofers, etc. across the country. In those years I have met one or two remodelers whom I believed were capable of being dishonest if it suited their purpose. I have met a few who were incompetent in one way or another. Most frequently it was a failure in communications that led to a misunderstanding. The vast, vast majority were both honest and capable.

In those same years I have seen many, many customers of remodelers who were flat out dishonest and were hell bent on cheating and scamming the remodeling contractor. I have seen customers complain that the work done was not satisfactory while steadfastly refusing to let the contractor fix the problem. I've seen these cases go to court, only to have a judge side with the dishonest customer and punish the contractor.

The Better Business Bureau franchisees, like Angie's list a private enterprise, does it a bit differently. If a customer complains, the BBB office calls the contractor and attempts to resolve the complaint. The BBB files then retain the results of that effort. Call for a reference and they will give you the full details of any unresolved complaints.

My opinion is that Angie's list is neither fair nor just.

Before accepting the finding of Angie's List, I hope you will favor justice and insist upon hearing the full story.