Lies, damned lies and statistics
Mark Twain is credited with first uttering those words. I'll buy that. But I want to talk only about damned lies.
My great disappointment today is that so many Americans are totally ignorant about history... and have no particular interest in learning the facts.
The other day I heard someone, speaking on behalf of the Wisconsin labor unions in their dispute with Wisconsin Governor Walker, that America owed the forty-hour work week to labor unions.
Sorry, folks! That is a damned lie.
In 1913, Henry Ford brought the moving assembly line to his fledgling factory for building Ford Model T cars. The assembly line worked well, but it was tough on workers. If a worker paused a moment to catch his breath, the car he was working on moved on down the line, minus the part or adjustment he was supposed to make. The frustration was so great, many workers just quit their job.
Henry Ford brought in new workers. but these new people did not know how to do the job and more problems resulted. So, Mister Ford changed things.. he doubled... yes doubled the pay to workers on the line, reduced the day to eight hours, and reduced the work week to five days... the forty-hour week! 1914! Henry Ford!
(Toyoto, after meeting with Henry Ford, later further improved on the problem by giving workers the ability to stop the line for a moment!)
So, when the spokesman for organized labor says America has the union movement to thank for the forty-hour week... it is just.... yes... a damned lie!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Remembering A Sweet Fishing Spot
About sixty years ago, a fellow employee, a guy named Otis Miller, introduced me to his favorite fishing hole. It was on the Rio Grande River. Otis was the oldest member of our radio station's staff, and we naturally called him "Pop".
About a mile below the big power generating dam that formed the Elephant Butte Reservoir, the river took a sharp right turn. Just before the turn, a hiway crossed the river. In building the bridge, the engineers had dumped huge rocks on both banks, to reinforce the abutments to the small bridge.
When the Bureau of Reclamation was generating power at the dam, and the river was at full flow, the clear, cold water was well up into these rocks, causing a rapid swirling of the water. This action of the water upended small shad and other forage fish. Largemouth bass hung on the downstream side of these rocks and easily nabbed the disoriented fish.
Just around the curve, the opposite bank was solid rock. Water crashing against this rock embankment had scoured out the bottom and the water ran still and deep. Lots of people liked to sit on top of this embankment and fish the still water below, using live minnows as bait. But Pop knew more about game fish, and knew that was not the spot.
You couldn't use minnows as bait on the turbulent side of the river under the bridge, as the swirling water would tear them from your hook. So, Pop Miller found an artificial bait called a Crippled Shad. when cast into the rocks, this bait perfectly duplicated the action of real shad, thrown about in the water.
The first time Pop took me to his sweet spot, I quickly caught a bass. Pop was an avid photographer, and insisted on taking a picture of me with my fish. He instructed me to hold it at arms length toward the camera, to make the fish look bigger! (Maybe the camera doesn't lie... but fishermen do!)
(Those are not UFOs in the upper left corner. Pop made this print for me and one of my two-year-old twins did what babies always do.. she chewed on it!)
In the months after this picture, I caught many more fish at the sweet spot, but I never saw another fisherman fishing the turbulent water in the big rocks.
Recently I had occasion to drive to the old sweet spot. Alas. A new bridge had been built alongside and downstream of the old bridge, completely changing the character of the river banks. At the time, the flow from the dam was closed, but you can see a recent high water mark on the other bank of the river.
Wooden pilings of the old bridge are visible under the new bridge. You can even see a few of the remaining big rocks that created the sweet spot.
Yes, the new bridge is nice. But this picture makes me sad.
About sixty years ago, a fellow employee, a guy named Otis Miller, introduced me to his favorite fishing hole. It was on the Rio Grande River. Otis was the oldest member of our radio station's staff, and we naturally called him "Pop".
About a mile below the big power generating dam that formed the Elephant Butte Reservoir, the river took a sharp right turn. Just before the turn, a hiway crossed the river. In building the bridge, the engineers had dumped huge rocks on both banks, to reinforce the abutments to the small bridge.
When the Bureau of Reclamation was generating power at the dam, and the river was at full flow, the clear, cold water was well up into these rocks, causing a rapid swirling of the water. This action of the water upended small shad and other forage fish. Largemouth bass hung on the downstream side of these rocks and easily nabbed the disoriented fish.
Just around the curve, the opposite bank was solid rock. Water crashing against this rock embankment had scoured out the bottom and the water ran still and deep. Lots of people liked to sit on top of this embankment and fish the still water below, using live minnows as bait. But Pop knew more about game fish, and knew that was not the spot.
You couldn't use minnows as bait on the turbulent side of the river under the bridge, as the swirling water would tear them from your hook. So, Pop Miller found an artificial bait called a Crippled Shad. when cast into the rocks, this bait perfectly duplicated the action of real shad, thrown about in the water.
The first time Pop took me to his sweet spot, I quickly caught a bass. Pop was an avid photographer, and insisted on taking a picture of me with my fish. He instructed me to hold it at arms length toward the camera, to make the fish look bigger! (Maybe the camera doesn't lie... but fishermen do!)
(Those are not UFOs in the upper left corner. Pop made this print for me and one of my two-year-old twins did what babies always do.. she chewed on it!)
In the months after this picture, I caught many more fish at the sweet spot, but I never saw another fisherman fishing the turbulent water in the big rocks.
Recently I had occasion to drive to the old sweet spot. Alas. A new bridge had been built alongside and downstream of the old bridge, completely changing the character of the river banks. At the time, the flow from the dam was closed, but you can see a recent high water mark on the other bank of the river.
Wooden pilings of the old bridge are visible under the new bridge. You can even see a few of the remaining big rocks that created the sweet spot.
Yes, the new bridge is nice. But this picture makes me sad.
Wisconsin
Union busting? I hope so! I have been openly opposed to the activities of labor unions since I was about seven years old. At that time - the mid 1930s - my father was employed by a major oil refinery. Having experienced a period of homelessness at the onset of the depression, he was very grateful for his job. He worked hard, sometimes long hours, for a flat weekly salary. He believed the company was fulfilling it's end of the bargain and he was determined to fulfill his end.
Then, along came the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union. They promised shorter hours, higher wages. But it concerned my father that they were totally one-sided. Every consideration was for the worker - no consideration was given the employer. No concern for the need to keep the company profitable in order to maintain its work force.
What concerned him more was the tactics of the union leaders, always a threat of force to achieve their goals. Never an approach that held fairness an objective. Only anger and a mean spirit.
The Union succeeded in organizing the work force and the shorter hours and better pay followed. But the relationship with the company was never again the same. No longer were they all on the same team. Now it was a perpetual adversarial atmosphere. Work became decidedly less pleasant.
As a footnote, the refinery where Dad was employed is no longer in operation.
I have never forgotten the way the union affected my father.
Years later, as a radio announcer, I experienced an attempt by the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists to organize the announcers at the station where I worked. One of the Union organizers spoke of breaking the legs of the station manager if he failed to grant their demands. That so angered the announcers that the attempt to organize our staff failed.
In the ensuing years I have witnessed an unending stream of corrupt activities on the part of union leaders.
Today, union supporters are claiming credit for things like the forty-hour week, overtime pay, sick leave, and so forth. They deserve no such credit.
The true credit goes to the free market and smart business practices. Once, on a talk program, our station interviewed a member of the famous DuPont family. He said his company had proven to themselves that retention of quality employees was profitable to the company. They granted many concessions toward that end, even paying for the further education of great employees who had reached the limits of their abilities, all while keeping them on the payroll.
In the 1960s, as chairman of a Chamber of Commerce committee charged with attracting new business to our community, I headed research into what inducements companies sought when considering expansion or relocation. Topping the list was a quality lifestyle in the community. Time and again, we were told that companies would have to send top leadership employees to launch a branch in a new community. Under no circumstances would they risk sending their best people to a place where they would be unhappy and possibly quit their jobs. Tax inducements and other financial perks were desired, but parks, theater, quality schools, low crime rates and affordable housing came first.
The days of the sweatshop ended long ago. So did the need for organized labor.
In the case of public employees, the employer is "the people", whereas the person negotiating with the unions on their behalf is often a politician whose election was financed by the very union with which he is to negotiate. What more evidence could you want for ending collective bargaining for public employees?
Union busting? I hope so! I have been openly opposed to the activities of labor unions since I was about seven years old. At that time - the mid 1930s - my father was employed by a major oil refinery. Having experienced a period of homelessness at the onset of the depression, he was very grateful for his job. He worked hard, sometimes long hours, for a flat weekly salary. He believed the company was fulfilling it's end of the bargain and he was determined to fulfill his end.
Then, along came the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union. They promised shorter hours, higher wages. But it concerned my father that they were totally one-sided. Every consideration was for the worker - no consideration was given the employer. No concern for the need to keep the company profitable in order to maintain its work force.
What concerned him more was the tactics of the union leaders, always a threat of force to achieve their goals. Never an approach that held fairness an objective. Only anger and a mean spirit.
The Union succeeded in organizing the work force and the shorter hours and better pay followed. But the relationship with the company was never again the same. No longer were they all on the same team. Now it was a perpetual adversarial atmosphere. Work became decidedly less pleasant.
As a footnote, the refinery where Dad was employed is no longer in operation.
I have never forgotten the way the union affected my father.
Years later, as a radio announcer, I experienced an attempt by the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists to organize the announcers at the station where I worked. One of the Union organizers spoke of breaking the legs of the station manager if he failed to grant their demands. That so angered the announcers that the attempt to organize our staff failed.
In the ensuing years I have witnessed an unending stream of corrupt activities on the part of union leaders.
Today, union supporters are claiming credit for things like the forty-hour week, overtime pay, sick leave, and so forth. They deserve no such credit.
The true credit goes to the free market and smart business practices. Once, on a talk program, our station interviewed a member of the famous DuPont family. He said his company had proven to themselves that retention of quality employees was profitable to the company. They granted many concessions toward that end, even paying for the further education of great employees who had reached the limits of their abilities, all while keeping them on the payroll.
In the 1960s, as chairman of a Chamber of Commerce committee charged with attracting new business to our community, I headed research into what inducements companies sought when considering expansion or relocation. Topping the list was a quality lifestyle in the community. Time and again, we were told that companies would have to send top leadership employees to launch a branch in a new community. Under no circumstances would they risk sending their best people to a place where they would be unhappy and possibly quit their jobs. Tax inducements and other financial perks were desired, but parks, theater, quality schools, low crime rates and affordable housing came first.
The days of the sweatshop ended long ago. So did the need for organized labor.
In the case of public employees, the employer is "the people", whereas the person negotiating with the unions on their behalf is often a politician whose election was financed by the very union with which he is to negotiate. What more evidence could you want for ending collective bargaining for public employees?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
On registering as an Independent.
...or not!
There are occupations which make it difficult for a person to declare their political party affiliation. Take a news reporter. Everyone already thinks people in the news business are biased. Why give them "proof"?
Beyond that, I have never understood the reason for registering as an Independent. There is one. A late, long time friend was an unyielding Democrat. In the latter years of his life he became disillusioned with some of the Democrats policies, but said "My father would turn over in his grave if I became a Republican. Voila! Register as an Independent! No one will ever know which lever you pulled on the voting machine and you have not become a Republican!
But, it all boils down to the same reason... to mask your political preferences. Except for the privilege of voting in a primary, your party affiliation does not affect your vote. On election Day you vote your preference - any party. And nobody knows how you voted.
Having said all that, there is a reason not to register as an Independent. When you next enter a booth to vote for POTUS, there will be two viable choices, a Republican and a Democrat. When you cast your vote (unless you throw it away by voting for Donald Duck, or some out-of-contention candidate), you will vote for a Republican or a Democrat.
If you are registered as an Independent, you will have had no voice in choosing the major candidates. By joining either the Republican or Democrat Party, you can participate in all the preliminary events leading to the nomination - including primary elections. Why not participate in that effort?
Finally, as suggested in the bible, "luke warm" is worthy only of being spewed out of ones mouth. (Rev. 3: 15-16) I like backbone. I like people who stand up for what they believe. Decide which political party's platform most closely matches your beliefs. Then join them. Help shape and support them.
...or not!
There are occupations which make it difficult for a person to declare their political party affiliation. Take a news reporter. Everyone already thinks people in the news business are biased. Why give them "proof"?
Beyond that, I have never understood the reason for registering as an Independent. There is one. A late, long time friend was an unyielding Democrat. In the latter years of his life he became disillusioned with some of the Democrats policies, but said "My father would turn over in his grave if I became a Republican. Voila! Register as an Independent! No one will ever know which lever you pulled on the voting machine and you have not become a Republican!
But, it all boils down to the same reason... to mask your political preferences. Except for the privilege of voting in a primary, your party affiliation does not affect your vote. On election Day you vote your preference - any party. And nobody knows how you voted.
Having said all that, there is a reason not to register as an Independent. When you next enter a booth to vote for POTUS, there will be two viable choices, a Republican and a Democrat. When you cast your vote (unless you throw it away by voting for Donald Duck, or some out-of-contention candidate), you will vote for a Republican or a Democrat.
If you are registered as an Independent, you will have had no voice in choosing the major candidates. By joining either the Republican or Democrat Party, you can participate in all the preliminary events leading to the nomination - including primary elections. Why not participate in that effort?
Finally, as suggested in the bible, "luke warm" is worthy only of being spewed out of ones mouth. (Rev. 3: 15-16) I like backbone. I like people who stand up for what they believe. Decide which political party's platform most closely matches your beliefs. Then join them. Help shape and support them.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Living in Literalville.
When I first heard that term from radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, I instantly affirmed that I was a proud citizen of Literalville.
Not just in things political - in many other areas as well. Years ago I was in a gallery of some sort and saw a painting that depicted a farmer working with a single horse and a walk-behind cultivator. It seemed like the work of a gifted artist, but when I took a close look, I laughed out loud. When a horse is pulling any farm implement, it is fitted with a padded collar that fits snugly against the animals chest and shoulders. Tough leather straps, called traces, are attached to this collar and to the implement to be pulled.
To help the farmer control the animal, it is also fitted with a bridle, equipped with a steel bit which fits in the horse's mouth. Attached to the ends of the bit are light weight leather straps called reins. With a gentle pull on either strap, the farmer can guide the horse to move to the left or to the right. In the aforementioned painting, it was the reins, not the traces attached to the implement. No horse would ever be called upon to pull a cultivator with its tender mouth! Obviously, that artist was not from Literalville.
Now it is TV commercials that drive me nuts. In a commercial for Pictsweet vegetables, the spokesman deplores the fact that so few know of the company. Behind him, a man passes on a tractor, down rows of plants that stand at least three feet high. The spokesman refers to the man on the tractor as Bob, their marketing manager, and says Bob has some ideas to change all that as soon as he finishes "plowing". To anyone who has ever been anywhere near a farm, which is just about everyone west of the Hudson River, it was clear the man was cultivating well established crops, not plowing!
In a commercial for Lipitor, a man standing on a foot bridge talks about the folly of his youth when he skated on "that" ice. The camera pulls back to reveal thin ice on the stream beneath the bridge. That stream appears to be, on average, about six inches deep and littered with impediments to ice skating.
Both commercials are instant turnoffs to folks from Literalville.
Living in Literalville sometimes has disadvantages... if it prevents you from enjoying an otherwise fine painting; or blocks the message intended in a TV commercial. But when a politician espouses a policy that is instantly recognized as pure baloney, it is a gift shared by all my neighbors in Literalville.
When I first heard that term from radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, I instantly affirmed that I was a proud citizen of Literalville.
Not just in things political - in many other areas as well. Years ago I was in a gallery of some sort and saw a painting that depicted a farmer working with a single horse and a walk-behind cultivator. It seemed like the work of a gifted artist, but when I took a close look, I laughed out loud. When a horse is pulling any farm implement, it is fitted with a padded collar that fits snugly against the animals chest and shoulders. Tough leather straps, called traces, are attached to this collar and to the implement to be pulled.
To help the farmer control the animal, it is also fitted with a bridle, equipped with a steel bit which fits in the horse's mouth. Attached to the ends of the bit are light weight leather straps called reins. With a gentle pull on either strap, the farmer can guide the horse to move to the left or to the right. In the aforementioned painting, it was the reins, not the traces attached to the implement. No horse would ever be called upon to pull a cultivator with its tender mouth! Obviously, that artist was not from Literalville.
Now it is TV commercials that drive me nuts. In a commercial for Pictsweet vegetables, the spokesman deplores the fact that so few know of the company. Behind him, a man passes on a tractor, down rows of plants that stand at least three feet high. The spokesman refers to the man on the tractor as Bob, their marketing manager, and says Bob has some ideas to change all that as soon as he finishes "plowing". To anyone who has ever been anywhere near a farm, which is just about everyone west of the Hudson River, it was clear the man was cultivating well established crops, not plowing!
In a commercial for Lipitor, a man standing on a foot bridge talks about the folly of his youth when he skated on "that" ice. The camera pulls back to reveal thin ice on the stream beneath the bridge. That stream appears to be, on average, about six inches deep and littered with impediments to ice skating.
Both commercials are instant turnoffs to folks from Literalville.
Living in Literalville sometimes has disadvantages... if it prevents you from enjoying an otherwise fine painting; or blocks the message intended in a TV commercial. But when a politician espouses a policy that is instantly recognized as pure baloney, it is a gift shared by all my neighbors in Literalville.
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