Telling It Like It Is

THE ENTERPRISE--PROACTIVE OR REACTIVE? TRUTH VS. TRUST

THE ENTERPRISE--PROACTIVE OR REACTIVE?  TRUTH VS. TRUST

PROACTIVE OR DESPERATE--DELL'S DESPERATE DEAL FOR PEROT
Dell is playing catchup and paying for it, big time.  In attempts fo emulate the IBM--systems/services model, Dell is late and small compare to IBM and HP.  Plus the price it paid for Perot systems didn't reflect Perot's inability to really make it against the "big boys."  When Dell's on-line customization model fell prey to "all the laptops come with almost everything on them" situation, it found itself in the same position as option crazy US car companies did when the Japanese imports started hitting the shores with all the most popular options already installed and included in the price.  HP, who had trailed, jumped into the lead by virtue of its retail placement--where option rich models attracted prospective individual buyers.  Corporate customers may crave customization, but that only goes so far.  Right now, Dell is in danger of becoming an "also-ran" and you know how those turn out.

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND COMPLAIN
John Murtha the PA Congressman who never saw an earmark he didn't like now has an expensive airport built just for him and his homies.  $150 million in Federal subsidies and earmarks resulted in an airport that few use, and nobody "needs,"  except Murtha.  About 30 passengers use the airport grabbing one of the 3 flights per day to where?  You guessed it, DC!  Earlier this year another $800,000 in federal stimulus money went toward paving a second runway!!  Murtha also has $8.5 million for a new radar system in his pocket too.  This guy is shameless and its our tax money he's wasting in the name of "supporting his constituents."  Write your Congressional representative and senators.  Complain!    This is just wrong in so many ways.

PROACTIVE OR REACTIVE DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU SIT--WITH POLITICIANS ANYWAY
Carter's trade policies were huge failures.  Now Obama is re-running that horror film to serve his supporters--Unions--to the detriment of Americans--employers and employees BOTH!  George Will says it so well, I have just pasted his column below.  Gary D. Halbert takes apart Obama's Healthcare speech and tracks down the misrepresentations and lies (Rep. Wilson's outburst was accurage--he does lie!).  The MSM (Main Stream Media) also lies and does so as much by omission as by inclusion.  Did anyone see the coverage of the huge event shown below?

WHETHER PROACTIVE OR REACTIVE--TRUTHFULNESS IS CRITICAL TO TRUSTWORTHINESS
As one correspondent reminded me, "they all lie."  I did not rebut him then, but I will here.  That doesn't make it right or acceptable, and the higher the position, the bigger and more important the lie, then the greater the damage done by it.  The President of the US has many occasions where he cannot tell the "whole truth" or reveal information what is not appropriate for wide distribution.  BUT--HE SHOULD NOT PROMOTE HIS POLICIES WITH OUTRIGHT LIES AND MISREPRESENTATIONS.  Bush was vilified for his reputed lies about Iraq's WMDs, based on the CIA's intel.  Perhaps that criticism was valid, but IF he was basing it on "misinformation" from his sources, shame on him and shame on them.  When the President deliberately ignores the facts, that is far worse.  When he plays to a small audience (as Bush did with his misguided Steel Tariffs during term one), he is actually doing harm to the vast majority of Americans.  THAT IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE.

WE CAN DIFFER ABOUT POLICIES, SOLUTIONS AND APPROACHES, BUT THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH--OR NOT!

Best,  John

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Tire fiasco shows who is pulling president's strings
Wednesday,  September 23, 2009 3:08 AM
By George F. Will

While in Pittsburgh, a sense of seemliness should prevent President Barack Obama from again exhorting the G-20, as he did April 2 in London, to be strong in resisting domestic pressures for protectionism. This month, invertebrate as he invariably is when organized labor barks, he imposed 35 percent tariffs on imports of tires that China makes for the low-price end of the market. This antic nonsense matters not only because of trade disruptions it may cause but also because it is evidence of his willowy weakness under pressure from his political patrons.
In 2000, as a price of China's admission to the World Trade Organization, Congress enacted a provision for "relief from market disruption" to American industries from surges of Chinese imports. Congress said disruption exists whenever imports of a product "like or directly competitive with" a U.S. product increase "rapidly" and threaten "significant" injury to a U.S. industry. Evidence of disruption includes the volume of imports of a product, the effect of imports on the prices of competing U.S. goods and the effect on the U.S. industry.

Notice that China need not be guilty of any wrongdoing: It can be punished even if it is not "dumping" -- not selling goods below the cost of manufacturing and distributing them. (That we consider it wrongdoing for a nation to sell us things we want at very low prices is a superstition to be marveled at another day.) And China need not be punished: Presidential action is entirely discretionary. So Obama was using the sort of slippery language that increasingly defines his loquacity when he said he was simply "enforcing" a trade agreement.

None of the 10 manufacturers who comprise the domestic tire industry sought this protectionism. Seven of the 10 also make tires in other countries. Most U.S. manufacturers have stopped making low-end tires, preferring the higher profit from more expensive models. (Four U.S. companies make low-end tires in China.)

The president smote China because a single union, the United Steelworkers, asked him to. It represents rubber workers, but only those responsible for 47 percent of U.S. tiremaking. The president's action will not create more than a negligible number of jobs, if any. It will not restore a significant number, if any, of the almost 5,200 jobs that were lost in the tire industry between 2004 and 2008. Rather, the president will create jobs in other nations that make low-end tires. They make them partly because some U.S. firms have outsourced the manufacturing of such tires to low-wage countries so the U.S. firms can make a small profit, while making high-end and higher-profit tires here.

The 215 percent increase in tire imports from China is largely the fault, so to speak, of lower-income Americans, many of whom will respond to the presidential increase in the cost of low-end tires by driving longer on their worn tires. How many injuries and deaths will this cause? How many jobs will it cost in tire-replacement businesses, or among longshoremen who handle imports? We will find out. The costs of the president's sacrifice of the national interest to the economic illiteracy of a single labor union may also include injuries China might inflict by imposing retaliatory protectionism or reducing its purchases of U.S. government debt.

Obama was silent when Congress, pleasing the Teamsters, violated the North American Free Trade Agreement by stopping Mexican trucks from delivering goods north of the border. And although he is almost never silent about anything, he did not protest "Buy American" provisions in the stimulus legislation. And he has not denounced the idea many Democratic climate tinkerers have of imposing "border adjustment mechanisms" -- tariffs -- on imports from countries that choose not to burden their manufacturers, as the Obama administration proposes burdening American manufacturers, with restrictions on carbon emissions. And he allows unratified trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama to languish. Nevertheless, he says he favors free trade.

He must -- or so he thinks -- say so much about so many things, perhaps he cannot keep track of the multiplying contradictions in his utterances. But they -- and the tire tariffs -- are related to the sagging support for his health-care program.

George F. Will writes for the Washington Post Writers Group.

[email protected]

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TO COMPLAIN OR TO STEP FORWARD
Is this the first such picture you have seen like this?  I was stunned to see the size of this crowd in our Nation's Capitol, protesting the policies that are being implemented by our government--Congress, President Obama and his horde of "unconstitutional" czars.  If you think posting these here is inflammatory, then you don't understand the history of America, and how a Democracy "of the people, by the people and for the people"...operates.  If I were a candidate up for reelection to public office, I would sure take heed of this reaction.

This is the first great conservative anti-statist manifestation in American history. The conservative movement, which developed in the post-WWII, Cold War environment has now fully matured into the most significant political movement of the 21st century. I believe that this day could be referred to in the not too distant future as the day that changed America . This was the day the great silent conservative majority finally found its voice. 

Many of the attendees were quite meek and timid and were unsure of exactly what to expect, this being the first time in their lives they’d been involved in a protest movement. Their fears evaporated early in the day and I saw people reveling in the camaraderie , the joy and sheer civility that was exhibited at the entire event. Chants of “Freedom, freedom, freedom”, “No more czars! No more czars!” carried through the air without the slightest hint of rancor or incivility which is the norm at the leftist rallies I have photographed over the years.

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MAYBE OBAMA IS NOT LYING, BUT IT SURE SEEMS LIKE IT
If he will "misrepresent and lie" in this one, why would his handling of other issues be any different?
Excerpt from Gary D. Halbert:

 Misrepresentations, Omissions & Falsehoods in President Obama’s Healthcare Speech
The number one problem with the Democrats’ massive healthcare reform proposal is a simple matter of supply/demand.  There is no way to provide healthcare insurance and coverage to 46 million people who do not currently have coverage, with the same number of doctors, nurses and hospitals/clinics, without rationing healthcare.  Even if the number is half that, some 23 million people (or even just 15-20 million as some argue), the problem is still the same.

The law of supply and demand also dictates that if we substantially increase the number of Americans covered (demand) with the same number of doctors, nurses and hospitals/clinics (supply), the cost of healthcare will increase, perhaps significantly, unless there is rationing.  We must look no further than Canada or Great Britain to see how this will happen.

The question at the end of the day is, why can’t the president and the Democrats just admit that there will berationing and just be straight with the American people?  In all of his healthcare speeches, President Obama totally avoids this simple supply/demand fact.  The president wants us to believe that we can insure and provide healthcare to at least 15-20 million more Americans and actually spend less.  No wonder that millions of Americans are up in arms over this!

Some observers have called this a “convenient fantasy” on the part of President Obama and the Democrats.  How are we are going to save money by spending a lot more money – $1 to $2 trillion over the next ten years?  How are we are going to solve our exploding fiscal problems with a massive new federal bureaucracy that will control at least one-sixth of the national economy going forward?

President Obama claims that the new government-run healthcare system “won’t add one dime to the deficit.”Unfortunately, presidential administrations and Congress are notoriously bad at forecasting the costs of their pet projects, especially entitlement programs that are intended to be permanent.

President Bush’s Medicare Prescription Drug program is a perfect example.  When it was passed in 2003, the White House and the Congressional Budget Office forecast that it would cost apprx. $400 billion over 10 years.  Guess what – the CBO now projects it to cost $1.2 trillion over 10 years.  Do we really think Congress and Obama’s cost forecasts are any better?  I doubt it!

Obama says the government will guarantee that you can keep your current insurance, even though his healthcare plan would encourage your employer to stop offering it; and when they do, you will have no optionexcept the government-run plan.  The same is true should you get fired or decide to change jobs – the government-run option is the only option in H.R. 3200.

In addition, he says we aren’t going to insure any illegal aliens; however, in H.R. 3200 passed by the House Committee on Education and Labor, there were no citizenship verification provisions to assure that illegals can’t apply and get benefits.  Yet President Obama promises that the new healthcare plan will only cover American citizens.  (Maybe he plans to make them all citizens – amnesty - before the new system goes in place – think about it.)

At one point during his healthcare speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama drew cackles for remarking that “there remain some significant details to be ironed out.”  No kidding!  Here again, Obama delivered a message that was strikingly similar to the one that has failed to resonate with the American people thus far.  The reason is that while Obama can paper over political and policy realities by speaking in broad strokes, it’s always the specifics that have caused him problems.  Healthcare is too big not to nail down the specifics!

As he has done before, Obama pledged to veto any bill that added to the federal deficit. But despite that commitment, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the House Democrats’ healthcare reform plan would cost over $1 trillion over the next decade and add a minimum of $239 billion to the deficit.

Obama again touted the cost-saving potential of “preventive care.”  Here, too, the independent Congressional Budget Office has determined that preventive measures would actually increase health care costs, and that a so-called Medicare Commission that Mr. Obama has suggested would have a negligible impact on curbing government healthcare spending.  Why are the president and the Congress ignoring these warnings from the independent CBO?

Back in May, President Obama went before the American Medical Association and declared, “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.”  He has made this exact claim in numerous other healthcare speeches.

In his latest speech before Congress on September 9, Obama offered a more nuanced pledge that “nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have.”  As noted above, this is simply not true if you lose your current coverage for any reason under H.R. 3200.

Regardless of whether or not the proposed healthcare legislation specifically requires that Americans give up their private coverage, there are still many changes to the system that could cause many people to lose it anyway.  For instance, one provision Obama backed in his latest speech - to tax expensive health plans - is explicitly aimed at encouraging employers to drop benefit-rich policies in hopes that it would help rein-in medical spending (ie – rationing).

At another point in his recent healthcare speech, Obama said that, “The middle-class will realize greater security, not higher taxes.”  How does this jibe with the preceding sentence in the paragraph just above? Then, at another point in his latest speech Obama gave an unwavering endorsement of a requirement that individuals either purchase health insurance, or pay a tax. 

Under the Senate version of healthcare reform/mandate proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), individuals would face a tax of at least $750 annually if they do not purchase health coverage.  How is this “greater security, not higher taxes”?

And while the Baucus healthcare proposal would provide subsidies to lower-income Americans, those subsidies would stop at 300% of the federal poverty level. What that means is that a family of four with a household income above $66,150 would face a tax of $3,800 if they do not obtain health insurance, while individuals with income above $32,490 would face a tax of $950.  Yet Obama argues that this is not a “tax,” if it’s something that is good for you.  Yeah, right!

This is a problem that Obama himself noted when he was campaigning against Hillary Clinton back when he said he opposed such mandates.  In a February 2008 debate referring to healthcare reform, he said, “In some cases, there are people who are paying fines and still can’t afford it, so now they’re worse off than they were. They don’t have health insurance and they’re paying a fine.”  He was referring to conditions under a similar healthcare mandate in Massachusetts.

During his speech two weeks ago, Obama advocated the creation of a plan to be offered on a government-run insurance exchange that would be “administered by the government just like Medicaid or Medicare.”  He said that the reason we need such an option is that, “by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits, excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers.”

Yet later in the same speech, he argued that he could pay for most of his proposal with cuts to Medicare that would not have any impact on benefits to seniors.  Say what?  The reason, he explained, is that we could save money by reducing “the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud…” in Medicare - the very government-run program he touts as a model for the creation of a new government-run healthcare program.  Do they really think we are that stupid?  

While acknowledging that the new plan would be run by the government, Obama tried to argue that it wouldn’t be subsidized by taxpayers, but only funded by the premiums it collects.  Sorry, but I must point out that any new government plan would require taxpayer money to fund huge start-up costs - at the least, and should it run into financial trouble, it’s hard to believe that lawmakers would allow it to fail without pumping taxpayer money into it, just as they did in the cases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and those were allegedly private companies).

President Obama speaks in such broad circles and contradictions.  You can keep your current plan and doctors, but not really; your taxes will not go up, but they probably will have to; we won’t cover illegals, but there’s no way not to; etc., etc.  No wonder the number of Americans who oppose government-run healthcare is now at a record high – 56%!

"Forecasts & Trends" is published by ProFutures of which Gary D. Halbert is the President.   ([email protected])

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BONUS INFORMATION:

POSTED BELOW IS A PIECE OF MEDICAL NEWS THAT MIGHT SAVE A LIFE--YOU OR SOMEONE AROUND YOU:

 

Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue

I will continue to forward this every time it comes around!

STROKE:Remember the 1st Three Letters....S.T.R.

My nurse friend sent this and encouraged me to post it and spread the word.
I agree.

If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.
Seriously..

Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) .she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening

Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this....

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the '3' steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today)

R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other,that is also an indication of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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THE ENTERPRISE--I WONDER WHY?

THE ENTERPRISE--I WONDER WHY?

WHY DO WE SO OFTEN IGNORE TIMELESS TRUTHS?
The material below were the notes I made for the opening of the 13th Annual Reunion Conference that was held this past week.
http://www.shape-shifters.com/reunion.shtml for those who desire more information.

IN TIMES OF "UNPRECEDENTED UNCERTAINTY" (the conference theme), I wonder why we don't heed some wise advice?

• STEPHEN COVEY:  "BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND."
• MATTHEW KELLY:  "WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE? TO DO?"
• WHEN?
• DECIDE!
• WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU HAD MORE OF?  TIME?  ENERGY? HELP?

• ENERGY—GET IN SHAPE—ACTUALLY AND METAPHORICALLY.

            EAT WELL, SLEEP WELL, EXERCISE AND DISCOVER MORE ENERGY.

• TIME—CHOOSE PRIORITIES WISELY—PLAN, TAKE ACTION, ASSESS & ADJUST.

            USING “TIMELESS TRUTHS” DISCOVERED IN “QUIET TIMES.”

• HELP—TAKE TIMES OF SILENCE TO THINK, AND ASK FOR HELP.

            FROM “PARTNERS”  & FRIENDS ... AND FROM GOD.

•  BAN UNPRODUCTIVE THOUGHTS

            DON’T ASK “WHY CAN’T WE?”
            ASK “HOW CAN WE?  HOW ELSE?  WHAT ELSE?

• BAN UNPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIORS

            DON’T SIT MINDLESSLY IN FRONT OF THE “BOOB TUBE”
            READ, LEARN, INTERACT, THINK, (EVEN PRAY!)

REMEMBER--“BOOKS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE. YOU ARE WHAT YOU READ. WHAT ARE YOU READING?"  — Matthew Kelly

From each of these Reunion Conferences, a few conclusions arise above the many worthy ideas discussed, and these few are both memorable and worth sharing here--I will only list four of them.  (The context within which these emerged is part of the richness of an interactive roundtable discussion conference.)

We should concentrate on the "PRACTICE of ASSET-BASED THINKING," (not liability or deficit based thinking)  in other words, think positively not negatively--build on strengths.

We should give great thought to our Purpose, and then, once decided "PRACTICE CONSTANCY OF PURPOSE," using it to guide our priorities, actions and decisions.

TWO OF THE MOST MEMORABLE LINES CAME FROM STORIES:
An old Indian story involved a young brave and an old chief, discussing the internal struggle between good and bad thoughts and behaviors.  The young brave asked the old chief if he had this internal struggle, and the old chief characterized it this way.  "It is like two dogs are inside me fighting; a good dog and a bad dog."  To this, the young brave asked, "which dog wins?"  The chief's answer was one of the most memorable "lines" that came out of the conference:  "It depends on which dog you feed."  The line therefore was, "FEED THE GOOD DOG!"

The second story had to so with a challenge of selling in a retail setting.  The challenge was a regular contest, asking sales people to choose a hard to sell, "ugly" item and feature it in the front of the store.  If they could "sell the ugly item, " then they could certainly excel at selling the other, more desirable items.  It was in finding the skill and the appeal to sell the "ugly item" that the learning occurred.  Thus the second line was, "SELL THE UGLY ITEM."
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ANOTHER INTERESTING POINT IS THAT WE ARE VICTIMS OF WHAT WE BELIEVE, EVEN WHEN IT IS WRONG

Many decisions are made after great thought and deliberation.  However, if the information upon which those decisions were based was wrong, then the decisions will likely be wrong too. This happens every day, in nearly every walk of life--and certainly in business (where most employees are afraid to give the boss the "bad news," thus they "filter" the information going up the organization).  The result is decision making using flawed information--and thus resulting in flawed decisions.

WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT "RIG THE DATA"—e.g., THE DIFFERENCE IN UNEMPLOYMENT RATES:

We somehow expect unemployment to decrease when new job openings just recently hit a new all-time low at 2.4 million, at 1/2 the peak during 2007 of 4.8 million?  We keep publicizing the more favorable U-3 unemployment rate (now at 9.7%) when the real pain of job loss and desperation to find any kind of job leads to a much larger number, known as the U-6 unemployment rate (now at 16.8%)  Wonder why few employers are going to start hiring after just laying off people and while the uncertainty about what new government regulations, taxes and rules are on the horizon?

The BLS calculates the official unemployment rate, U-3, as the number of unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force. The civilian labor force consists of employed workers plus the officially unemployed, those without jobs who are available to work and have looked for a job in the last 4 weeks. Applying the data found in Table 2 yields an official unemployment rate of 9.1%, or a seasonally adjusted rate 9.4% for April 2009.  Accounting for the large number of marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons raises the count of unemployed to 24.0 million workers for May 2009. Those numbers push up the U-6 unemployment rate to 15.9% or a seasonally adjusted rate of 16.4%.

WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO COME HERE FROM MEXICO--DON'T YOU WONDER WHY?

Subject: Moving to Mexico

Dear President Obama:

 I'm planning to move my family and extended family into Mexico for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me.  We're planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico , and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements.  We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws.  I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here.   So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that  I'm on my way over?

Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:
  1. Free medical care for my entire family.
  2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need,   whether I use them or not.
  3. Please print all Mexican government forms in English.
  4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bilingual) teachers.
  5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and   history.
  6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at  their school.
  7. Please plan to feed my grandkids at school for both breakfast and lunch. 
  8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
  9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico , but, I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.
  10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from   their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.
  11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put U S. flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
  12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.
  13.  Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say critical things about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.
  14. I want to receive free food stamps.
  15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.
  16. I'll need Income tax credits so although I don't pay Mexican Taxes, I'll receive money from the government.
  17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Gov't pays $ 4,500 to help me buy a new car to replace my "junker."
  18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who walk over to the U.S. from Mexico.
I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.  Thank you so much for your kind help. You're the man!!!

An American Citizen

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE EXPECT SOMEONE TO PROVIDE FOR THEM?
A modern (partisan) version of an old parable explains the dangers of dependency being created by benevolent, but misguided government policies.

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER
A modern adaptation of an old parable

   OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,  building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.  

   MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself or suffer the consequences!

 MODERN VERSION:

    The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. It is simply UNFAIR!

    The NY Times, CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide coverage of the shivering grasshopper next to pictures of the ant in his warm, comfortable home, with a table filled with food.  America is stunned by the sharp contrast.  How can this inequity exist, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' 

    ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.'  Rev. Jeremiah Wright  then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's  sake. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

    President Obama holds a news conference and makes an inspiring speech on the importance of "fairness."

    Finally, at the direction of the President and Congress, the government passes the Economic Fairness & Grasshopper Protection Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.   The ant is fined for failing to support a proportionate number of GREEN bugs (e.g., grasshoppers)s and, having insufficient supplies left to pay his retroactive taxes and fine, his home is confiscated by the Government GREEN Czar.

    The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he hasn't maintained it.
    The ant has disappeared in the snow, perhaps gone forever.  The grasshopper is later found dead in a suspected drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY:  Be careful who you vote for in 2010—YOU MIGHT BE THE "ANT!"
PS:  Party designations can be misleading too.  Know what the person stands for too!

I WONDER HOW WE CAN TURN THINGS POSITIVE?
During the Bush administration, we wondered why the Democrats were always obstructing what was being proposed.  Now we know the feeling from the other perspective.  Opposition is necessary, important and appropriate--but only until it gets in the way of coming up with better solutions.  It is time for us to spend more energy finding solutions that a large majority of Americans can embrace--not those that are passed by a narrow margin of people who all share one political ideology and party affiliation.  That is not American democracy. 

I WONDER HOW WE GET BACK TO THE FINE ART OF COMPROMISE
Thus my challenge for everyone is:  What is the best, the optimum, the compromise and the solution that a majority of Americans will find reasonable and right.  It is not government totalitarian control. Nor is it complete freedom of individuals or the private sector to do whatever they wants and/or can get away with.  Both extremes lead to bad places.  It is time to synthesize new solutions.  To settle for "half a loaf" if the "whole loaf" simply cannot be accepted by the large majority of Americans.  Whether it is health care, economic policy, immigration, energy, taxes, social welfare, education or a huge array of other issues--the majority of Americans are (in my opinion, and in the results of many polls) "centrists" or "moderates." 

Both the extreme left and the extreme right are too far over to satisfy the majority of Americans. Now is the time to come up with "moderate" and "reasonable" compromise solutions that most of us can embrace willingly. 

I WONDER WHY OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON ARE NOT DOING THAT?

Best, John

-----------------------------------------------------------
 "Government is supposed to work for the people; not vice versa."
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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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THE ENTERPRISE--9/11 SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY DOUBLE ISSUE--NEVER FORGET

THE ENTERPRISE--9/11 SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY DOUBLE ISSUE--NEVER FORGET

On the eight anniversary of that infamous day...

FOR EIGHT YEARS, WE HAVE AVOIDED ANOTHER LARGE SCALE TERRORIST ATTACK

WITH EACH PASSING YEAR, UNDER NEW GOVERNMENT LEADERS WHO TAKE THE THREAT LESS SERIOUSLY... OUR RISK INCREASES

Now the only attacks we must endure are by misguided members of government and media, questioning the morals, methods, and reasons  behind decisions made by military and government leaders in their zeal to protect us during those moments of crises and the weeks and years that followed them. 

It is so easy for these people, safe in their hallowed halls to use 20-20 hindsight about what should or should not have been done and how.  I wonder how they would feel if they were wounded or dying in a pile of rubble that was our Capitol building?   But then, they are not. They are "safe."   For now.

So they wage war on Americans and "bow" to foreign enemies and rogue states.  If we, in America, had to wait for our Congress to reach an agreement on anything, we'd all be dead--of old age.  If we had to wait while the Commander in Chief's teleprompters were set up for another conciliatory speech outlining how bad we Americans behaved, we'd have grown old--or died at the hands of attacks by new extremist terrorists. 

If the misguided mainstream media and the new Attorney General does not stop "witch-hunting" to place blame on government officials who oversaw our safety for 7+ years, then we as Americans will suffer a fate much like those victims of 9/11.  Or perhaps, those very politicians and media will suffer the fate they have been spared for now--but at a different time and place. 

In fact, if Flight 93 had not been downed by brave Americans, who sacrificed their lives to do so, more of Washington would have been in flames.  The outraged politicians and bureaucrats who are now so outspoken might have been among the victims.

NEVER FORGET THESE ATTACKS
Download 9-11 attack-short

Those who organized and carried out these attacks represent tens of thousands of others who hate Americans and the USA.  They revel when our newly elected leaders appease them and apologize to them, and secretly laugh behind those leaders' backs, while they plot the next atrocity.  Only strength and vigilance will prevent a recurrence of 9/11--albeit it will come in a different form, at a different place and some new time. 

Our allies in this struggle will be fewer and fewer as large parts of old Europe is rapidly becoming a Muslim colony—London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc. are all now filled with Muslim enclaves, some of which are spawning home-grown terrorists as I write this. 

Meanwhile, our lives must go on, or the al Qaeda terrorists will have achieved a victory much greater than the atrocity of 9/11.  We must grow and learn and live and carry on the American way.  Meanwhile, our Congressional leaders dither about how to protect our borders, and whether to give illegal entrants the benefits of America's freedom and lifestyle.  Perhaps we can only change them every two years, but there is more we can do.  We can build America stronger than ever.

CELEBRATE THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN 9/11 BY MAKING MORE OF YOURSELF--AND ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO DO SO
Americans can and must learn.  They must learn that with rights, come responsibilities.    Americans must learn new skills.  Not everyone needs to go through college.  Some should learn trades--the old fashioned way, via apprenticeships and on the job learning.  Others should follow shorter, but very productive education--like Practical Nursing--which can later evolve to a Registered Nurse position or more.  There are many good "technician level" jobs that pay well, and require training, but not college degrees.  America still has some of the best "trade schools" around too.  And remember, a good "blue collar worker" is far more valuable than a weak, lazy or unscrupulous "white collar worker."

IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO BASICS ABOUT DEFENDING AMERICA--FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH, NOT APPEASEMENT
In the zeal to "attack the terrorists," and removed Saddam Hussein, and drive down the Taliban, we have forgotten the larger mission.  TO MAKE AMERICA SAFE AND TO LEAD THE WORLD not in "nation building, " but by our words, deeds, and actions.  We tried to "liberate Iraq," and many Iraqis neither understood that or wanted it.  Finally, after 5 years of misdirection, a new direction helped unify some of Iraq's warring factions, and now it is time for Americans to withdraw.  IF the Iraqis can govern Iraq, it will be fine.  If now, it will revert--but we CANNOT BE THE WORLD'S BABYSITTER.

NOBODY HAS EVER "WON" IN AFGHANISTAN-WHY DO WE THINK WE CAN?
Read that line again.  NOBODY!  And we won't either.  Our plan needs to be an abbreviated version of the past 2 years in Iraq.  Help the Afghanis to organize, train and learn how to manage their own country.  If the central government cannot govern and maintain order, the Taliban will take over.  We cannot stop them.  No one can.  It it not our job to do so.

WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE VERY CLEAR, IS THAT ANY REGIME IN AFGHANISTAN THAT WELCOMES AL QAEDA TRAINING CAMPS AND ATTEMPTS TO GET PAKISTANI NUCLEAR WEAPONS -- WILL BE BOMBED INTO OBLIVION (UNFORTUNATELY, ALONG WITH ANY INNOCENTS WHO HARBOR THE TERRORISTS.)
Only if they understand that America will protect its interests,  and will ATTACK THEM, without regard for who is in control or where they are, will thy realize the foolishness of their ways.  The fear of civilian casualties in such an approach is no greater and perhaps less than under an oppressive Taliban control.  (Any one who wishes to debate this should so some homework about how the Taliban operates and is regarded by most Afghan citizens--they are terrified of them, and rightly so.)

IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THE SACRIFICES AMERICAN SOLDIERS ARE MAKING FOR US...CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS BELOW:
Many readers wonder why I become angry with the behavior of our misguided government leaders.  When I see the phony posing of our the preening politicians, from the so called "leaders of Congress," to the Commander in Chief and his "army of 'Czars", to his staff (who seem more interested in finding fault than showing the heartfelt appreciation for their safety). 

Our brave soldiers keep the faith in spite of the nonsense they see, hear about and read from a Congress who should be overwhelmed with gratitude, but instead seems consumed with self-importance and political posturing.  We owe them our heartfelt thanks, as we do the brave NYFD fire-fighters who sacrificed so much during 9/11 to save American lives.

 REFLECT ON THESE WORDS AND PICTURES WHILE YOU LISTEN TO OUR STAR SPANGLED BANNER—TURN YOUR SOUND VOLUME UP & LISTEN TO THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ETrr-XHBjE
This one is sung the way it should be.  Not by some punked-out rocker, or some celebrity anti-American performer, but by true American "FUTURE" Heroes.

NOW READ THE NEXT PIECES AND STUDY THE PHOTOS
-and MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA---AND SHOW US THE WAY TO LEAD US OUT OF THESE "DARK DAYS" AND "LOST LEADERSHIP!"

BEST,  JOHN
------------------------------

To those who wonder what our brave protectors must endure so we can enjoy the freedom here at home.
Yes... It is like that in Iraq!  Count your blessings, pray for them, talk to your Creator.  And the next time when...

The other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes,
Or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be,
Or you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant,
Or you're sitting and cursing the traffic in front ofyou,
Or the shower runs out of hot water,

Think of them...Protecting your freedom!
 





 

 

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON
A Message from Iraq

The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute to our fallen comrades:  So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq, the one way that we could think of doing that is by taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel.



It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this with our fellow countrymen. I was wondering if there was any way to get this into your papers to let the world know that?

'WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN'  And are proud to serve our country.
'Semper Fi, 1st Sgt Dave Jobe.'


The attached photo was forwarded from one of the last U.S. Marine companies in Iraq.  They would like to have it passed to as many people as possible, to let the folks back home know that they remember why they're there and that they remember those who've been lost.

--------------------------------

An American Manifesto
Twelve Points All Americans Must Understand

©John L. Mariotti 2009

Republican.  Democrat.  Conservative.  Liberal.  The labels today are meaningless distractions.  No matter which group is in charge, it seems that government grows.  One example is the dept. Of energy, formed during the oil crisis of the 1970s.  It has become a huge bureaucracy that employs tens of thousands, and costs billions, yet doe has moved no closer to advancing energy policy in four decades.  Arguably, that huge bureaucracy has moved us backward.  As government grows, it consumes a larger share of our income in taxes, fees, and regulatory costs.

1—Government’s growth comes at the expense of our freedom and prosperity.  If we want more of one, it seems we must sacrifice and have less of the other.   This just doesn’t seem right.  Too many Americans have still failed to realize that with rights come responsibilities; to have the rights, they must accept the responsibilities.

 Part I—The Situation

For far too long, America has suffered—and continues to suffer—from a lack of sound policies and the strong, clear-thinking leadership that would make this a freer and more prosperous country.

2—Policy makers currently spend too long in office & too much time catering to their special interests & donors (that give them money & power) and this leads to more government influence, creates less economic freedom, and in the process causes a greater dependency on government.

This has led to many of our country’s woes.  Term limits must be put in place for elected officials and staff bureaucrats alike, and extended to prevent them from moving immediately to the position of lobbyists.  The entrenched bureaucracy, like the DOE example cited earlier, is moving us backward, not forward, while pursing its own agenda and not those of the American people.  There are many things only government can and must do.  There are many things it should never do, (and it does them poorly.)  Choosing which is which remains the challenge.

To stay free, we must stay strong—but we are not.

3—Our freedom is based on strength and resolve; on determination and vision; and on the over-riding conviction that America cannot cower, cannot pacify and cannot yield to rogue nations, to militant fanatics or to misguided pacifists, who think we can talk our way out of all conflicts.  We cannot. 

And yet, our military might is diffused, demoralized, and in serious danger of being lessened, while we remain the “world’s police force,” whether it’s in our best interests or not.  As north Korea, Iran and others strive for nuclear capability, Russia upgrades its aged nuclear arsenal, while our primary deterrent lies rusting and dormant in silos, built based on 1960’s technology, and barely maintained by the small surviving handful of aging scientists who still know how it all works.  And yet, this is the target of misguided budget reductions.  To stay strong we must invest in badly needed maintenance of our deterrent weapon systems.

Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

We believe that the lessons from history clearly show that monopolistic government is inherently bureaucratic, costly, and inefficient.  Economic freedom guarantees each person the opportunity to attain the American dream.

4—Unchecked dependency on government inevitably leads to the creation of a dependent majority who pay little or nothing for the government goods and services given to them, while the productive minority see more of their income appropriated by government to pay for this dependency. 

This behavior leads to a socialistic “caretaker” role for the Federal government that drives out high achievers and rewards those who fall to the lowest common denominator of mediocrity or worse.

 Which path will we take?

5—We stand at a crossroad today where we can choose one of two paths: more government control and dependency—or—more economic freedom and prosperity—and we are heading down the wrong path. 

Most Americans have always preferred freedom and prosperity to more government control and intervention—and they still do.  Because the growth of government occurs regardless of who held power, Americans were not offered the right choices.  Regardless of how they voted, Americans got more government.  As a result, apathy rose, and a larger dependent class developed.  This must change—but it will not change in the right direction with our current leadership in place, pursuing their misguided policies..

America was built on freedom

6—America needs and deserves leaders and a government that firmly understand and believe in the core principles of a free society, a free enterprise system, and free market capitalism.   The USA was formed as a federal democracy, with as much power left in the hands of the people and the states as possible.  That structure is quickly being torn down.

We need:

Ø     Freedom to choose based on transparency, access to reliable information, and the rule of law (and the constitution)

Ø     Limited government that lives within its means, exercises fiscal vigilance, and that sees individuals and the private sector as sources of industry and innovation, rather than sources of taxation and objects of derision

Ø     Individual responsibility as the best means to insure a free society, where only the truly downtrodden become (temporarily) dependent—first on the community—and then only on government as a last resort

Only the private sector can create prosperity and wealth

7—We must be dedicated to enhancing prosperity for Americans through free enterprise,  economic freedom and competition, job creation and entrepreneurship, and appropriate government reform and accountability.   We must pay particular attention to the impact of government regulatory, statutory, and policy decisions on creating (or destroying) a competitive economic climate in our states and our country.  We need a stronger voice for those who create jobs, encourage competition, and leverage the creative class.

 8—All wealth is created within the private sector.  The government does not create wealth—it simply cannot—since all of its investment capital comes in the form of taxes levied upon those who have created the wealth and earned the income on which they are being taxed.   The government can only redistribute wealth from those who have earned it to those who will spend it—and often waste much of it in the process.

Part II—The Solution

What can we do?  Change policies and leadership—to create prosperity anew.

9—We must give America’s risk-takers an opportunity to share their ideas with policy-makers on how government actions can foster – or impede – opportunities for a stronger, freer, and more prosperous country—instead of suspecting them of being villains.   We firmly believe that our future depends on increasing economic freedom and competitiveness in all parts of our economy.

Fend off misguided attempts that inhibit prosperity

We must aggressively fend off those special interests (such as unions) that are only concerned with increasing their dues revenue, protecting underperforming employees, while stifling flexibility, innovation and competition.  We must end the unhealthy practice of overcompensating public sector workers, thereby making it more attractive to work for government than in the private sector.

10—No society ever remained great (or healthy) where those in government prospered while those paying the cost of government carried a heavier and heavier tax and regulatory burden.  Government should never be shielded from or shield others from the power of competition.  It is illogical and immoral for the government to pay artificial premiums for goods and services when a better taxpayer value alternative exists.

The only path to prosperity is via the private sector

An economy geared to private sector job creation and entrepreneurship is the only way to ensure that those looking to start or grow a business, and those seeking quality work, can blossom.  From the creation of a pro-business judicial environment to the utilization of our geographic and natural resource blessings, we must ensure that government policy spurs business and attracts the best and brightest—not drives them away or de-motivates them.

Private investments create wealth; government investments create more bureaucracy and dependency.

Our investments in technology, infrastructure, and education must aim to create tomorrow’s fortune 1000 companies and workers.

11—At the same time, our regulatory policies must not unduly burden our companies and entrepreneurs with red tape, regulations, bureaucratic paperwork, and counterproductive mandates, which are already penalizing America’s global competitive position to our detriment. 

The cost and burden of government cannot continue to make America weaker in this intensely competitive global marketplace. We must rigorously review all aspects of government to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, rein in out-of-control spending, and lessen the heavy regulatory hand of government.  And yet, we are moving in exactly the opposite direction.  Those in positions of power in government must be held to a higher standard and also be held accountable when things go wrong—just as they demand from the private sector. 

Change—yes, but the right kind of change

The American people who voted for change had part of their desires right; change was needed—but what is wrong is the kind of changes that are being made.

12—America needs a course correction, of that, we are certain.  A large part of that course correction is to clean house in congress, and get rid of those who have been in power too long, abused that power and forgotten that they work for the people and not vice versa.  That change transcends party lines, too.  

Now is the time to start planning how to do that in the 2010 mid-term elections.  Term limits is one answer.  Retirement age limits is another.  Electing right-thinking people and not just voting “party lines” is another. Choosing legislators with the right understanding, the right character and the right goals is the solution.  Incumbents must feel the consequences of bad behavior.

The resilience of America has come from the collective wisdom and spirit of Americans.  It has saved us in the past. Let’s make it work this time before we have gone too far down the wrong path.  “WE, the people,” have done it before and WE can do it again.
-----------------------------
THOMAS SOWELL IS A HIGHLY REGARDED THINKER, AUTHOR AND OBSERVER
See what he has to say about our President's recent escapades:

A Masterpiece Of Charlatanry For The Naive
By THOMAS SOWELL | Posted Thursday, September 10, 2009 4:20 PM PT
"Hubris-laden charlatans" was the way a recent e-mail from a reader characterized the Obama administration. That phrase seems especially appropriate for the charlatan-in-chief, Barack Obama, whose speech to a joint session of Congress was both a masterpiece of rhetoric and a shameless fraud.  To tell us, with a straight face, that he can insure millions more people without adding to the already skyrocketing deficit, is world-class chutzpah and an insult to anyone's intelligence.  To do so after an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office has already shown this to be impossible reveals the depths of moral bankruptcy behind the glittering words.

Did we really need CBO experts to tell us there is no free lunch? Some people probably did, and the true believers in the Obama cult may still believe the president, instead of believing either common sense or budget experts.  Even those who can believe that Obama can conjure up the money through eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse" should ask themselves where he is going to conjure up the additional doctors, nurses and hospitals needed to take care of millions more patients.  If he can't pull off that miracle, then government-run medical care in the United States can be expected to produce what government-run medical care in Canada, Britain and other countries has produced — delays of weeks or months to get many treatments, not to mention arbitrary rationing decisions by bureaucrats.

Obama can deny it in words, but what matter are deeds — and no one's words have been more repeatedly the direct opposite of his deeds — whether talking about how his election campaign would be financed, how he would not rush legislation through Congress, or how his administration was not going to go after CIA agents for their past efforts to extract information from captured terrorists.  President Obama has also declared emphatically that he will not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations — while telling the Israelis where they can and cannot build settlements and telling the Hondurans whom they should and should not choose to be their president.

One of the secrets of being a glib talker is not getting hung up on whether what you are saying is true, and instead giving your full attention to what is required by the audience and the circumstances of the moment, without letting facts get in your way and cramp your style. Obama has mastered that art.  Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible believe what they want to believe.

No message has been more welcomed by the gullible, in countries around the world, than the promise of something for nothing. That is the core of Barack Obama's medical care plan.  President Obama tells us that he will impose various mandates on insurance companies but will not interfere with our free choice between being insured by these companies or by the government.  But if he can drive up the cost of private insurance with mandates and subsidize government insurance with the taxpayers' money, how long do you think it will be before we have the "single payer" system that he has advocated in the past?  Mandates by politicians are what have driven up the cost of insurance already. Politicians love to play Santa Claus and leave it to others to raise prices to cover the inevitable costs.

Politicians have driven privately owned municipal transit systems out of business in many cities by simply imposing costs and restricting the fare increases needed to cover those costs. The federal government can drive out private insurance the same way that local politicians have driven out private municipal transit and replaced it with government-run transit systems.

Barack Obama's insistence that various dangerous policies are not in the legislation he proposes sounds good but means nothing. Unbridled power is a blank check, no matter what its rationale may be. No law gave the president of the United States the power to fire the head of General Motors, but TARP money did.

When there are "advisory" panels on what treatments to approve and the White House's existing medical adviser has complained of Americans' "over-utilization" of medical care, what does it take to connect the dots?     Copyright 2008 Creators Syndicate, Inc

-----------------------------------------------------------
 "Government is supposed to work for the people; not vice versa."
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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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THE ENTERPRISE--Labor Day BITS, PIECES AND PERCEPTIONS

THE ENTERPRISE--Labor Day BITS, PIECES AND PERCEPTIONS

BAD NEWS FOR LABOR ON LABOR DAY: 9.7% UNEMPLOYMENT UNDERSTATES THE PROBLEM--16.8% UNEMPLOYED IS THE REAL NUMBER
Speaking of progress or the lack thereof: the August jobless rate hits 9.7%; payrolls fell 216,000.  (And June, July numbers were adjusted slightly worse too.) Stop and think for a minute.  That is 216,000 real people who lost their jobs, just in the last month.    Since this recession started about 6 million or more American people have lost their jobs. And,  payrolls are still dropping, so it's hard to declare that a recovery is underway.  The best I can say is that "the rate of decline in employment is declining."    Employers will not rehire people very quickly, so the bottom will be a "big flat spot!"  Watch for it. Then watch for the upturn--in 2010, probably 2Q or 3Q, not sooner.  Stimulus package?  What stimulus. The only thing that was stimulated was all the pet projects the politicians larded into that pork filled boondoggle of a bill.  They should be ashamed. 

Speaking of "messes," there is Afghanistan, where no outside "invader' has ever "won."  NONE, NOBODY, EVER.   

AFGHANISTAN--THE BIGGEST NO WIN MESS OF ALL
Afghanistan is a mess, and a shaping up more and more as a no-win situation.  It could be far worse than Iraq, and we have no business trying to fix it, or control it. The original invasion was to drive out al Qaeda training camps.  That got done.  But the idea of "routing the Taliban" is another issue entirely.  I'm not sure what George Bush would have done now (maybe "stay the course," but If Barack Obama continues, this will become "his war," and I fear he will regret it mightily ... and so will most Americans.  We need to "clean up" and watch the Pakistan border with Afghanistan and as fast as possible, turn over the rest of the country to Afghanis/Taliban--with one caveat.  If they let al Qaeda come back here and set up camp, we will bomb them, and you into oblivion.  And we CAN do that.  We did it once, because we had to (during the time right after 9/11) but as I said, nobody has ever "won" in Afghanistan.  It's like the "Tar Baby" from Uncle Remus stories.  The harder you struggle, the more entangled you get.  Some experts are saying that things are better than they appear, that more progress is being made, etc. but this time (unlike Iraq) I doubt it!

WHO MONITORS THE CZARS?
And where do they get their power and influence.  Certainly not from the Constitution or from any laws I know about.  They are the Executive Branch's private "power-brokers," and they are powerful--too powerful.   We need someone to remind Congress that the Czars are often more powerful than elected Congressional members.  If that fear is planted, a remedy won't be far behind.

Want to lower health care costs?
MANDATE PORTABLE, DIGITAL MEDICAL RECORDS
The technology is not a problem.  It is resistance from independent medical services providers and the privacy freaks.  This is something the government does well at, and no one else can do.

MANDATE TRANSPARENCY IN PRICING
Taxi cabs have to give you cost estimate sheets in many cities to avoid rip-offs.  How about the same for Doctors, Clinics, and Labs.  When I had an MRI a few years back, the person in the clinic truly could not tell me how much the fee was going to be. Her answer was "like, $1200-$1500 or so."  Wow.  Would I have refused it?  Maybe, maybe not.  But the law should require this information BEFORE services are provided.  Would you like to buy gas from pumps with no prices?  How about groceries with no prices--just a total when you are done shopping.   AND, the list price and real price varies a lot depending on what kind of insurance coverage you have and how much clout in negotiating the insurance provider has. Crazy?  Not in medical circles.  It's normal.

CLEAN UP CORRUPTION AND WASTE IN MEDICARE/MEDICAID
It is chewing up billions of dollars that could pay for more liberal fees for Docs, and service to a larger base of the neediest people.  Do that first.  Cut funding for the "non-medically necessary" stuff:  erectile dysfunction drugs are a biggie, so is quasi-cosmetic surgery, posing as something "necessary," and I'm sure there are plenty of others.  That brings us to the issue of drugs, generics, and so forth.

BAN ADVERTISING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS--ON TV & CABLE, AND MAYBE EVERYWHERE
That will slow down the flow of people going to their Docs demanding to be put on these new drugs, because they are sure they have the symptoms the TV told them about.  Read OVERDOSED AMERICA  by Dr. John Abramson.  It WILL open your eyes.  The money saved by advertising spending cuts could be split into two parts: one to fund research, and the other to subsidize lower drug prices as part of health care cost controls.  It will also reduce pressure for drug companies to "manipulate the test results" or the publication of them, as has happened in the past.

PASS TORT REFORM AND GET RID OF ENORMOUS LIABILITY SUITS--WHERE LAWYERS GET RICH--AND EVERYONE ELSE LOSES
In America, there is nearly no penalty for unjust suits.  In England, loser pays the costs--all of them.  Here, a company with deep pockets can break an innocent party just under the burden of legal fees.  Doctors pay enormous premiums for malpractice insurance, and worry that they don't have enough.

CHANGE THE RULES FOR THE HEALTH CARE INSURANCE INDUSTRY
This industry is part of the problem, not part of the solution.  They sure don't want a public option.  The government is worse to deal with but insurance firms are not so hot themselves.  While adding transparency to pricing, remove state by state barriers and let competition work its magic across the USA.  Give the people who are insured more rights--not to multi-million dollar suits--but to being able to influence the needs, options, outcomes and balance the playing field for consumers.  Few "suppliers" have the power of health insurance companies over their customers.

A HEALTH CARE BILL WILL GET PASSED
What I fear is not the most talked about elements of the pending bill.  It is the bits and pieces tucked here and there that will let the government intrude into our lives and affairs more and more.  That is what Obama really wants--governmental control.  The rest is a smoke screen.

Want to get real about energy use and cost?
DEVISE A NEW METRIC FOR ELECTRICS AND HYBRIDS--MPG IS NOT APPLICABLE
Since gas is a secondary or non-existent fuel for these, there needs to be a new energy consumption metric developed--and fast.  The old one is obsolete.  There is also a safety issue.  Electrics are so quiet, pedestrians do not hear them coming.  Maybe someone needs to figure out how to (figuratively) "clip a playing card in the spokes with a clothes-pin," like we used to do on our bikes?  Tick, tick, tick...

MANDATE THAT UTILITY COMPANIES SEND MONTHLY BILLS
That prominently display what it cost you per day for their electricity, gas, water, etc. followed by at least 4-5 "tips" on how to lower your usage and thus your cost.  No new technology required.  Just get consumers involved.

Want some real problems to worry about?
THE PRICE OF BEER (AND SUGAR) IS GOING UP
Yikes, this could be disastrous.  Perhaps we need a new "BEER CZAR!"  Also, the price of sugar is going up, aided by tariffs that need to be reconsidered, at least.   We all need a "sugar buzz" from time to time, and the artificial stuff just doesn't get the job done.  Please don't tell me there will be a CHOCOLATE shortage.  There is only so much a person can stand. (:-)

MEDIA BIAS CONTINUES TO BE A HUGE PROBLEM--DRIVING POLARIZATION AND PARTISANSHIP
When ABC became the All Barack Channel, and MSNBC became the Democratic National Committee's "house organ," trouble was confirmed.  The right wing radio guys are reacting by being just as polarizing in the other direction.  This does harm all around.  Those who know me know I was not a Ted Kennedy fan, but the guy was part of the old breed who knew how to get in a smoke filled room and hammer out a compromise deal that both sides didn't like, but could live with.  John McCain is too.  There are too few of them around.

CASH FOR CLUNKERS HELPED FOREIGN MAKERS MORE
Of the ten most popular choices of new cars to buy:  3 Toyotas, 3 Hondas, 2 Fords, 1 Nissan, and 1 Hyundai.  No GM or Chryslers.  Ford also won the "clunker derby" with old Explorers being the most common "clunker."  But the new Fords are really spiffy cars.

Two things that are "broken:"
BIG BOX RETAIL STORES ARE A DYING BREED
Circuit City is gone.  Linens 'n Things is gone.  Borders is in trouble.  There's only one "big box" toy store left--Toys R Us.  Sporting Goods stores are next in line.  Watch.  So far, the big "Craft & Hobby stores are hanging on--Joann, Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  But history says more than 3 never make it and 3 often dwindle to 2 or 1.  Petsmart and Petco are hanging on, with a second tier of smaller places like Petland, etc.  Time will tell, but this is a tough way to do retailing.  Too many SKUs, too little margin for the inventory turns or vice versa.  High fixed costs, which demand high volume.  New prey for Wal-Mart & Target & Home Depot and Lowe's.

THE POST OFFICE IS A MESS--AND ANOTHER HIDDEN TAX ON US
I went looking for a mail box the other day.  There is a huge retail and commercial complex that has sprung up along Sawmill Rd. cutting through Dublin and Powell, OH.  It has all developed in the past 10-12 years.  The lone mailbox I could find was on "Old Sawmill" (now just a sort of remote "frontage road" that was the main thoroughfare 20 years ago.  It's located in front of  a John Deere tractor dealer, who was also "out in the country" 20 years ago.  I guess nobody in the post office noticed that the area changed radically over the past 10+ years.  Ditto for its services.  Will any one in government do anything about this albatross of yesteryear?   NOPE.  It's easier to just print money to fund the $7B annual deficit.  What's another $7B when we are wasting TRILLIONS?

The question of the week:
WHEN IS SOMEBODY GOING TO INDICT, CONVICT AND THROW CHARLIE RANGEL IN JAIL
The laws he has broken just keep piling up.  Tax evasion in several ways; owning more than one rent controlled housing unit, favoritism toward his family's "supplier" relationship and on and on.  The latest was an "innocent mistake" of understating his net worth and omitting a whole range of investment in his disclosure filings.  (Lying is the other name for that.)  Does being a senior, influential member of Congress exempt him from the laws?  IT SHOULD NOT.  And he should not be allowed to say "whoops" and walk away unscathed either.

The prediction of the week:
IF CONGRESS BULLDOZES THEIR BILLS THROUGH ON A PARTISAN BASIS
They will seal their own fate.  It happened in 1994 and can happen again.  Here's what one correspondent said about the effect on the economy.
'I think everyone is of the mind set that next year will be a better year by a couple of percent. Not sure if that is based on reason or human optimism. My personal opinion is based more on Adam Smith, if the Government fails on coming to an agreement on health care, cap and trade, and card check, we will exceed this year by a good margin. If the Government succeeds on any one of those programs, we will be flat. If they are successful at implementing at least two of those programs, we will not exceed this year.

THE "OUTS" ALWAYS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OVER THE "INS"
They can always say they'd do "it" better, and voters believe them.  Sometimes they do. Usually they don't. They just do "it" differently. 

MINORITIES CAN DRIVE THE COMING ELECTIONS--WILL THEY?
They elected Barack Obama.  They continue to grow as a percentage of the USA voter base.  Obama can give them a lot of "free stuff" and economic motivation to keep voting for him and Democrats in Congress.  That is simply a fact.

Mind blowing thought of the week:
2012 Presidential Election:  Hillary Clinton (she's baaack, with Bill in tow) vs. Jeb Bush (finally, the best of the Bushes)

CLOSE WITH TWO VERY GOOD THOUGHTS (attached below)
The first one comes from a correspondent of mine who is a  very thoughtful guy, and often opens my eyes with his insights.  I thought I'd share this email with readers.  The second is from Matthew Kelly, a widely known speaker and writer how also opens my eyes, and often my heart with his down to earth, inspirational messages.  I hope you enjoy them both.

Best, John
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THE ISSUE IS NOT THE ISSUES
It has been said that this is a nation on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The level of anxiety that people are feeling has not been seen in many years, and nothing will create anxiety more than fear of the unknown. What we don’t know is how the nation will be rocked by the cascading changes that are taking place. But we’re reasonably certain it won’t be pretty. Its pure drama that is exceedingly intense.

Most people sense that we are also at that pivot point of our history, with a new young president unlike any we’ve seen before, and with the promise of breathtaking change whose boundaries are a largely unknown. To the average person, something is happening here, but he or she doesn't know what it is. We feel disorientation as we sense a U.S. Decline in a world gone mad. The fear of the unknown has probably never been higher since the height of the Cold War.

It’s through this lens that the raucous town hall eruptions find traction. Even if they are inflated by activist organizations and cable-TV overexposure, they still cannot be dismissed entirely as irrational behavior.

Pick an issue such as the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars, Health Care, Climate Change, or the Economy, etc., and with the proper focus there will be a firestorm of anger on both sides. Why? People are just plain scared, and they don't know for sure why? Health Care of course strikes a nerve as no other issue can.

These anxieties coalesce in various permutations right, left and center. In most cases they don’t surface in the explosions we’re seeing at these town hall meetings but in the kind of quiet desperation that afflicts the nation. And it has been building for several years.

We witnessed the evolution of the perfect political storm in the 2006/08 elections. The circumstances were right for a political route, perhaps not seen since 1933. The American people handed control to the Democrats and they have the power to do pretty much they want, including Healthcare (with some caveats). The Republicans are powerless to totally stop them.

Right now, you and I are simply bystanders who will have to wait for a change in context, leadership, and voter attitude. The day will come, as it always has, but in the meantime the drama will need to play out.

They say that the mark of a good leader is the ability to take people were they didn't know they need to go. Let us hope that the direction and outcome is generally favorable. Change has an ending, middle, and beginning, so the larger question is, will the beginning be better than the ending?

I still think that it is way too early to effectively assess the Obama administration. I do think that America needs two effective political parties and that people tend to see things as black or white over time as evidenced by the turnover in 2008. So it is in this context that I reaffirm my desire to see both parties succeed, because we need them!

Best regards,

John W. Corbett
International Learning, Inc.
[email protected]

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NOW HERE IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AS THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND ROLLS PAST US!

EVERYTHING IS A CHOICE
by Matthew Kelly
Everything is a choice. This is life's greatest truth and its hardest lesson. It is a great truth because it reminds us of our power. Not power over others, but the often untapped power to be ourselves and to live the life we have imagined.

It is a hard lesson, because it causes us to realize that we have chosen the life we are living right now. It is perhaps frightening for us to think that we have chosen to live our life exactly as it is today. Frightening because we may not like what we find when we look at our lives today. But it is also liberating, because we can now begin to choose what we will find when we look at our life in the tomorrows that lie un-lived before us. What will you see when you look at your life ten years from now? What will you choose? Life is choices.

You have chosen to live this day. You have chosen to live in a certain city. You have chosen to believe certain ideas. You have chosen the people you call friends. You choose the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the thoughts you think. You choose to be calm or restless, you choose to feel appreciative or ungrateful. Love is a choice. Anger is a choice. Fear is a choice. Courage is a choice. You choose. Sometimes we choose the-best-version-of-ourselves, and sometimes we choose a-second-rate-version-of-ourselves. Everything is a choice, and our choices echo throughout our lives... and into history... and on and on into eternity.

Most people never fully accept this truth. They spend their lives arguing for their weaknesses, complaining about their lot in life, or blaming other people for their weaknesses and their lot in life.

You may argue that you are forced to live in a certain city or drive a certain car, but it is not true. And if it is, it is true only temporarily and because of a choice you have made in the past. We choose, and in doing so, we design our lives.

Some may say that we do not choose our circumstances. You'd be surprised. We have much more power over the circumstances of our lives than most men and women would ever admit. And even if circumstances are thrust upon us, we choose how we respond to those circumstances.

Others may argue that they did not choose the country they were born in or the parents they were born to. How do we know we didn't choose these things? We are all endowed with free will. Did we not have this free will before we were born? Perhaps one day we will realize that we have chosen much more than we have even imagined. I hope that day is today.

For the day we accept that we have chosen to choose our choices is the day we cast off the shackles of victimhood and are set free to pursue the lives we were born to live. Learn to master the moment of decision and you will live a life uncommon.

~excerpt from The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion & Purpose
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 "Government is supposed to work for the people; not vice versa."
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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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