I have not had any coffee all week. No reason, I am just to lazy to make the stuff. I watched an old John Candy movie last night. The wife and I shared a bowl of popcorn. The grilled chicken sandwich we had for supper left me a bit hungry. I grilled them with a homemade honey/Dijon mustard glaze. We bought the car the boy and I liked. I will likely get the cold shoulder for a few weeks. The perfect car will appear everywhere we look, practically for free in the coming days. That is just how my life works.
The boy begins play in the Regional Tournament this week. The team gets to play because we are hosting the tournament. I know they are good enough to win a few, but I bet they go two and out. The boy has been playing well and hitting the crap out of the ball in practice. They have been bringing in recently graduated high school pitchers to throw batting practice. It will not matter if he hits a homerun every time. The coach is determined he will not play him. One kid got to hit,I should say try to hit, for about ten minutes. He was never able to put the bat on horsehide. He will still get to play, because the coach once saw him hit a triple. We have to overlook the fact he cannot field, is an idiot on the bases and strikes out more than any other player. The one time out of twenty he makes contact he hits it far.
As you know, I rarely comment on other blogs or even here. Usually when I do I am trying to be funny. Last week I left what I thought was a hilarious comment gently poking fun at another blogger for not posting. I guess I hit a sore spot. My mom always warned me others do not always see my humor. I guess I will be back to being a lurker.
July 31, 2008
July 30, 2008
Up in smoke
More funny stuff from the local paper:
Yes, I know they are talking about weeds, not weed. It is still funny.
At its regular Monday night meeting, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners decided to hold a special joint meeting to discuss funding the weed board. --The Shelbyville News
Yes, I know they are talking about weeds, not weed. It is still funny.
Baby you can drive my car
Didja miss me? Sometimes my need to earn a living trumps my hobbies; mea culpa.
You may recall (or maybe I did not report it) the boy threw a rod in his piece o crap car several weeks ago. We have been car shopping since. I hate car shopping. Part of the reason I hate it is the wife is an impossible shopper. She is the kind that goes to the mall and looks at dresses in fifteen stores and goes back and forth comparing them. I ask why she does not buy the first one she likes. She says she might find something better later on. I say I wouldn't because I would have quit looking. Imagine her approach when shopping for cars. We find one we like, test drive it, let the kid drive it, negotiate on pricing and move on to look at others. She cannot understand why the salespeople will not call her back or keeping looking for other vehicles for her. She is looking for that perfect car, but does not know what it is until she finds it.
We found a nice car for the boy. Low miles, fairly new, clean. The price is within 1-2 hundred of our budget. The payments are in the range we expect to pay. The boy likes the car. He wanted a 'dark' car, this one is silver but he says he is OK with that -- he meant he did not want a bright color like red or yellow or gold or blue. Since he did not list silver on his list of wants she thinks he is settling because he has been without a car for more than a month. He says he likes the car. His first choice would be a brand new Civic or Smart Car, but he knows that is not an option so this car is fine. The wife hears that as "OK I will take it". I hear "the car is fine, buy it". The real hidden truth is the car is not what she would want to drive (it is an '05 Malibu). I keep reminding her that the car is for the kid. He has been emphatic he does not want spoilers or anything sporty. He wants a plain four door vehicle and this car fits the bill.
So here we are, negotiating done, financing approved and she wants to keep shopping. I say we are done. The boy says the car is fine buy it. She wants to keep looking. I ask her again what she wants -- she does not know, but when she finds the car she will know. I cannot tell you how frustrated I am about this. She does this every time we buy a car, and she wonders why I hate car shopping.
I told her she has to talk to the sales guy when he calls this morning. I also told her I am done, she can do all of the finding, negotiating arranging for financing etc. if she backs out. I had to explain for the tenth time that you have to redo the financing if you choose a different vehicle (she thinks we are just approved for x amount and we can choose the car based on that budget). I tried to tell he that this particular salesman has been really, really patient. he calls every few days with another car for us to look at. I say he will never call again. She says why not?
She thinks I am being an asshole.
I think I would rather have live chickens stuffed in my pants than spend one more minute buying a car with her.
You may recall (or maybe I did not report it) the boy threw a rod in his piece o crap car several weeks ago. We have been car shopping since. I hate car shopping. Part of the reason I hate it is the wife is an impossible shopper. She is the kind that goes to the mall and looks at dresses in fifteen stores and goes back and forth comparing them. I ask why she does not buy the first one she likes. She says she might find something better later on. I say I wouldn't because I would have quit looking. Imagine her approach when shopping for cars. We find one we like, test drive it, let the kid drive it, negotiate on pricing and move on to look at others. She cannot understand why the salespeople will not call her back or keeping looking for other vehicles for her. She is looking for that perfect car, but does not know what it is until she finds it.
We found a nice car for the boy. Low miles, fairly new, clean. The price is within 1-2 hundred of our budget. The payments are in the range we expect to pay. The boy likes the car. He wanted a 'dark' car, this one is silver but he says he is OK with that -- he meant he did not want a bright color like red or yellow or gold or blue. Since he did not list silver on his list of wants she thinks he is settling because he has been without a car for more than a month. He says he likes the car. His first choice would be a brand new Civic or Smart Car, but he knows that is not an option so this car is fine. The wife hears that as "OK I will take it". I hear "the car is fine, buy it". The real hidden truth is the car is not what she would want to drive (it is an '05 Malibu). I keep reminding her that the car is for the kid. He has been emphatic he does not want spoilers or anything sporty. He wants a plain four door vehicle and this car fits the bill.
So here we are, negotiating done, financing approved and she wants to keep shopping. I say we are done. The boy says the car is fine buy it. She wants to keep looking. I ask her again what she wants -- she does not know, but when she finds the car she will know. I cannot tell you how frustrated I am about this. She does this every time we buy a car, and she wonders why I hate car shopping.
I told her she has to talk to the sales guy when he calls this morning. I also told her I am done, she can do all of the finding, negotiating arranging for financing etc. if she backs out. I had to explain for the tenth time that you have to redo the financing if you choose a different vehicle (she thinks we are just approved for x amount and we can choose the car based on that budget). I tried to tell he that this particular salesman has been really, really patient. he calls every few days with another car for us to look at. I say he will never call again. She says why not?
She thinks I am being an asshole.
I think I would rather have live chickens stuffed in my pants than spend one more minute buying a car with her.
July 28, 2008
Monday, Monday
Working, on the road today and tommorrow, Vacation the balance of the week. Woohaw.
I had a beautiful, pithy post composed in my mind yesterday. I did not write it down, and sunsequently slept. Mow I cannot remember even the basic idea. Too bad for you, too bad for me.
Have a good day.
I had a beautiful, pithy post composed in my mind yesterday. I did not write it down, and sunsequently slept. Mow I cannot remember even the basic idea. Too bad for you, too bad for me.
Have a good day.
July 26, 2008
July 25, 2008
The Sounds of Silence
Hear that? What you hear is the sound of Ethernet crickets chirping away. There is no staccato clickity-clack as I two finger the keyboard. The gentle hum you perceive is my brain trying desperately to find something, anything, interesting to share with you, gentle reader. I have no rants, no jokes, no anecdotes, no cartoons, no desire to create Friday Five feature you all hate.
Buck up little cowboy, you got multiple posts yesterday. More importantly, in spite of my best efforts, you got one today after all!
Buck up little cowboy, you got multiple posts yesterday. More importantly, in spite of my best efforts, you got one today after all!
July 24, 2008
Packing beef in his pants...
5:39 p.m., Kroger's, 1601 E. Michigan Road - According to the police report, a loss-prevention employee first saw Gary E. Junken, 50, pulling ham out of his pants and leaving it in the soft-drink aisle. He then followed Junken and observed Junken packing beef in his pants. When stopped after going through the checkout and leaving the building, he had three packages concealed in his pants, approximately nine pounds of Kroger-brand ground beef, priced at $6.27 each. Junken was charged with criminal conversion.--The Shelbyville News 07/22/2007
Me and Junken are...
I went to the farmer's market
One of the things I like best about summer is the availability of fresh produce. So I was pleased when the local open-air produce stand finally opened a few weeks ago. I stopped by yesterday to grab a few fresh tomatoes. I love tomatoes, especially those with a fresh tangy flavor. It reminds me of my youth when we used to pluck them from the vine and eat them on the spot. Sometimes I even ate them from our own garden...The juice would run down your chin...I can still taste that sweet, acidy earthy flavor...
I grabbed a half dozen beauties, four red and two yellow (I like yellow best). They were ripe and a nice size, just a few imperfections in the shape and skin. No engineered hot house perfectos for me. I diced one last night for taco toppings. The tomato seemed rather tasteless, but maybe it was overpowered by the spices in the dish.
This morning sliced up one of the red beauties and prepared some bacon as accompaniment. I made some coffee and poured a glass of OJ to wash it all down. It was a breakfast fit for a king. Only again the tomato was bland and tasteless. It was no better than the tomatoes I could have grabbed at Marsh or Kroger. In fact the last bunch of tomatoes I bought at Marsh were far superior. Has my local produce guy begun to buy his produce from the same old hot houses as the big grocery stores? I hope not. I had my heart set on buying a fresh cantaloupe for a Saturday cookout.
I grabbed a half dozen beauties, four red and two yellow (I like yellow best). They were ripe and a nice size, just a few imperfections in the shape and skin. No engineered hot house perfectos for me. I diced one last night for taco toppings. The tomato seemed rather tasteless, but maybe it was overpowered by the spices in the dish.
This morning sliced up one of the red beauties and prepared some bacon as accompaniment. I made some coffee and poured a glass of OJ to wash it all down. It was a breakfast fit for a king. Only again the tomato was bland and tasteless. It was no better than the tomatoes I could have grabbed at Marsh or Kroger. In fact the last bunch of tomatoes I bought at Marsh were far superior. Has my local produce guy begun to buy his produce from the same old hot houses as the big grocery stores? I hope not. I had my heart set on buying a fresh cantaloupe for a Saturday cookout.
Humping it on hump day
I am sore as heck. Yesterday I put in a full day's work. I mowed the yard. I hit around a tennis ball with the boy. I took apart the bunkbeds. I made a delicious supper of tacos an cleaned up the mess. The wife was making fun of me because I fell asleep in the chair.
She did laundry all day. I would rather have my day's activities.
She did laundry all day. I would rather have my day's activities.
July 23, 2008
A case of common sense
Sometimes you read something and say "I wish I had written that". What he said Common sense abounds in Nathan's post. His thoughts do not just apply to Gary or Indianapolis, they are accurate for Mulberry or Madison, Fort Wayne or French Lick. His ideas will work in Chicago, LA, Detroit or Washington DC (ok, maybe not Detroit).
Buy a gun, look out for your neighbors, and remember it not the the policeman's job to prevent crime, but to find the criminal afterward.
Buy a gun, look out for your neighbors, and remember it not the the policeman's job to prevent crime, but to find the criminal afterward.
Finally I can come out of the Clothet
Joan, always one to call a spade a spade (relax Dallas, Texas the reference is to cards) has outed me. I am now out of the closet. You all now know I am as gay as South Carolina! I am listening to the soundtrack from The Sound of Music right now. A Chorus Line is up next. Come on and sing along: One...singular sensation.... I am off later to complete my Judy Garland CD collection. The H&G network is tuned in and I spent the night catching up on all of the Design Star episodes. I think I am going to like this gay lifestyle, well, except the taking it up the no no chute part. But what-the-heck, if my wife can get by without putting out, I can do the same with my not yet found gay partner. Maybe I can be gay without being, gay. Can I be a queer guy who likes chicks?
The little one's baseball team finished as runners up in the SE Indiana State Championship. They have finished as number two five of the last six years. The boy ended up hitting .400 for the tournament, scoring two runs. He got little playing time. It makes you feel good when the parents all ask why he is not playing and most of the team is asking him what he did to the coach to not get to play. Even the coach's son is telling his dad the boy should be playing. Of course the coach is a cement head who will never admit he is wrong or made a bad decision, so he will not change the starting lineup no matter what. One kid had ONE hit in over twenty at-bats (with 5 errors). Thank goodness this is the last year we have to play for this guy.
I am not one of those parents who thinks his kid is the greatest ever. I recognize reality. The boy is a good, better than average player. He is the 6th or 7th best player on the team. He was good enough to play with the high school JV team this summer and start. If he can play for the high school (he is an incoming Freshman)and start and hit against high school pitching, he is good enough to start and play for a team of 14 year olds. I got into an argument with the coach TWO years ago, and he has taken it out on my kid ever since. As a 9,10,11,and 12 year old all-star the boy started and played every minute. Then the coach and I had a disagreement (I thought we should play fall baseball, he did not want to), and the boy has played sparingly since. Did the boy suddenly become bad?
Drama.
The little one's baseball team finished as runners up in the SE Indiana State Championship. They have finished as number two five of the last six years. The boy ended up hitting .400 for the tournament, scoring two runs. He got little playing time. It makes you feel good when the parents all ask why he is not playing and most of the team is asking him what he did to the coach to not get to play. Even the coach's son is telling his dad the boy should be playing. Of course the coach is a cement head who will never admit he is wrong or made a bad decision, so he will not change the starting lineup no matter what. One kid had ONE hit in over twenty at-bats (with 5 errors). Thank goodness this is the last year we have to play for this guy.
I am not one of those parents who thinks his kid is the greatest ever. I recognize reality. The boy is a good, better than average player. He is the 6th or 7th best player on the team. He was good enough to play with the high school JV team this summer and start. If he can play for the high school (he is an incoming Freshman)and start and hit against high school pitching, he is good enough to start and play for a team of 14 year olds. I got into an argument with the coach TWO years ago, and he has taken it out on my kid ever since. As a 9,10,11,and 12 year old all-star the boy started and played every minute. Then the coach and I had a disagreement (I thought we should play fall baseball, he did not want to), and the boy has played sparingly since. Did the boy suddenly become bad?
Drama.
July 22, 2008
Mr. Sandman
I rarely dream, and if I do I usually cannot remember what happens. This morning I woke from a fitful sleep, the strangest dream bouncing around my cranium, playing tag across my feeble synapses. I would come barely conscious only to be pulled down into slumber again by those crazy brothers Hypnos and Morpheus. Then the dream began again.
What was going on in this dream, you ask? What perverted, strange notions are revealed about my tortured soul and inner mind? I was obsessed that I need to make buttermilk biscuits. I needed to make them for the baseball team.
Have at it Freudians.
What was going on in this dream, you ask? What perverted, strange notions are revealed about my tortured soul and inner mind? I was obsessed that I need to make buttermilk biscuits. I needed to make them for the baseball team.
Have at it Freudians.
July 21, 2008
An open invite for Obama fans
Let us say you worked for a big company, made a decent wage and liked your job. Lets say the company hired a guy right out of school and made him a low level supervisor on a swing shift. After a few months he moved into a higher position. After about a year in mid-level management the company and its board of directors decided this bright, good looking, articulate young man should be handed the reigns of the company and made CEO. Would that give you a warm fuzzy? Would you feel comfortable your job would be there in a year or two?
I did not think so. Then how in the fuck can you even consider voting for an empty suit with NO Discernible accomplishments, no demonstrated leadership skills, nothing on his resume at all to indicate he should be given the office of President of the United States of America? Name one thing, besides offering an empty promise of Hope and Change that Obama has EVER accomplished?
If you believe Obama is the man for the job you are an idiot. His platform is straight from the Communist Manifesto. Look it up. Go to Barry's web site and read his plan for Hope and Change. Then read the seminal works of Marx and Engels. Seven of the ten points outlined by the fathers of communism are part of Obama's vision for America. Do you think it would be cool to live in 1970's USSR, or Cuba, or any of the African shitholes that have adopted Communism? Does the life of a Venezuelan peasant sound good to you? Do you want to stand in line to by a roll ofsandpaper asswipe or bread?
Prove me wrong. Here is an open invite to any Obama supporter -- I will let you have the keys to this broken down Chevy Nova blog to create your own post refuting me. Highlight where I am wrong in the comments and I will give all the space you need for a post detailing your position. Make it good, I have to be convinced.
I did not think so. Then how in the fuck can you even consider voting for an empty suit with NO Discernible accomplishments, no demonstrated leadership skills, nothing on his resume at all to indicate he should be given the office of President of the United States of America? Name one thing, besides offering an empty promise of Hope and Change that Obama has EVER accomplished?
If you believe Obama is the man for the job you are an idiot. His platform is straight from the Communist Manifesto. Look it up. Go to Barry's web site and read his plan for Hope and Change. Then read the seminal works of Marx and Engels. Seven of the ten points outlined by the fathers of communism are part of Obama's vision for America. Do you think it would be cool to live in 1970's USSR, or Cuba, or any of the African shitholes that have adopted Communism? Does the life of a Venezuelan peasant sound good to you? Do you want to stand in line to by a roll of
Prove me wrong. Here is an open invite to any Obama supporter -- I will let you have the keys to this broken down Chevy Nova blog to create your own post refuting me. Highlight where I am wrong in the comments and I will give all the space you need for a post detailing your position. Make it good, I have to be convinced.
July 20, 2008
July 19, 2008
Saturday In the Park
What can I say? I have nothing for you that would be interesting. Right now we are doing baseball, and I am sure you have no interest in that soap opera. Work, well it is work. The weather, it is hot. It is summer. You make the connection, and it has nothing to do with global climate change warming, whatever. My bad attitude is still here, sarcasm and cutting remarks not far from the edge of my tongue. I wish some idiot trolls would stop by. I thought my mini-rant on GW would encourage some leftists to join in, but all I got was an honest disagreement among friends. In the end, my complaint is GW is not conservative enough, and some of you rightly point out he never claimed to be a conservative. C'est la vie.
July 18, 2008
The Dark Night
New Batman movie -- 4 stars, go see it. More later, I am going on three hours of sleep. I am just up to make sure the eldest boy is up for work.
July 17, 2008
Tide Pens and Eyeglasses Cleaners
I was at the store the other day. In front of me was a little girl in the cart. As her mother unloaded the groceries, the little girl grabbed candy bars from the rack. She must have liked bright colors because Reese Cups and Juicy Fruit were her sweets of choice. The harried mother repeatedly admonished the tyke and replaced the candy.
Stores like to put products near the check-out line because they can catch us on impulse purchases. As you stand there fuming about the old lady and her coupons you ponder buying that laser pointer keychain. As she writes her check with an agonizing slow scrawl you wonder if that roll of packaging twine will be strong enough to choke the life out of her. As the welfare queen gets out her WIC vouchers and food stamp debit card you weigh the option of Payday or $100,000 Grand candy bars. Do you need the travel pack of tissues or the disposable lighter? Does the cover shot of anorexic celebrities warrant the purchase of People? Are we out of glue, do I need a disposable lighter emblazoned with the #20 of Tony Stewart? Breath mints, jerky, and sodas in a cashier-side cooler beckon me.
There, in a nutshell, you have the benefit of adulthood staring you in the face. You can have that Milky Way. You can buy the miniature can of WD-40. You are free to choose. You make the decisions of life. If you want to drop your hard-earned cash on the CD cleaner you can. It is good to be me, it is good to be an adult...at least by chronological measurement.
Stores like to put products near the check-out line because they can catch us on impulse purchases. As you stand there fuming about the old lady and her coupons you ponder buying that laser pointer keychain. As she writes her check with an agonizing slow scrawl you wonder if that roll of packaging twine will be strong enough to choke the life out of her. As the welfare queen gets out her WIC vouchers and food stamp debit card you weigh the option of Payday or $100,000 Grand candy bars. Do you need the travel pack of tissues or the disposable lighter? Does the cover shot of anorexic celebrities warrant the purchase of People? Are we out of glue, do I need a disposable lighter emblazoned with the #20 of Tony Stewart? Breath mints, jerky, and sodas in a cashier-side cooler beckon me.
There, in a nutshell, you have the benefit of adulthood staring you in the face. You can have that Milky Way. You can buy the miniature can of WD-40. You are free to choose. You make the decisions of life. If you want to drop your hard-earned cash on the CD cleaner you can. It is good to be me, it is good to be an adult...at least by chronological measurement.
Alternative energy, what is it good for?
Go read this and agree.
A cowardly troll chastised me last week when I pointed out that investing in alternate fuels is a joke, since these "alternate" fuels do not exist.
I take that back, for the last decade or so they have raced solar powered cars across the US. They make the trip slightly faster that Grandpappy did in his Conestoga wagon. Solar powered cars will work great in the upper Midwest and Northeast in the winter [sarcasm alert], (let us sing) when the skies are cloudy all day...from late December until early March. Have you ever been to Michigan in February?
Wind turbine powered cars will be a terrific idea until Ralph Nader and his bunch sue the pants off the inventor because some moron got his arm chopped off by the fan blades. We must make everything idiot proof to keep from getting sued.
Yep, I am still in a pissy mood, and it ain't gonna get better. I am fed up with politicians, with government in general, and and idiots who think we need more laws, more regulation, more Government interference, more taxes, and think they can legislate for my better good.
The spirit of my Revolutionary War era ancestors is running strong. I am becoming more and more ( I think 'increasingly' is the word I am looking for) convinced we need to start over.
A cowardly troll chastised me last week when I pointed out that investing in alternate fuels is a joke, since these "alternate" fuels do not exist.
I take that back, for the last decade or so they have raced solar powered cars across the US. They make the trip slightly faster that Grandpappy did in his Conestoga wagon. Solar powered cars will work great in the upper Midwest and Northeast in the winter [sarcasm alert], (let us sing) when the skies are cloudy all day...from late December until early March. Have you ever been to Michigan in February?
Wind turbine powered cars will be a terrific idea until Ralph Nader and his bunch sue the pants off the inventor because some moron got his arm chopped off by the fan blades. We must make everything idiot proof to keep from getting sued.
Yep, I am still in a pissy mood, and it ain't gonna get better. I am fed up with politicians, with government in general, and and idiots who think we need more laws, more regulation, more Government interference, more taxes, and think they can legislate for my better good.
The spirit of my Revolutionary War era ancestors is running strong. I am becoming more and more ( I think 'increasingly' is the word I am looking for) convinced we need to start over.
July 16, 2008
The legacy of GW Bush
I have come to the conclusion that our current President is the Republican version of Jimmah Carter, inept and leaderless. He did a good job following the attacks of September 11, and he has shown some occasional bright spots since, but his desire to get along and to be liked has failed miserably. Bush has trampled the Conservative principles of those that elected him twice. The Republican Congress of his first term spent like drunken sailors in Tijuana and Bush lifted nary a veto pen. He did not lead from his bully pulpit to encourage fiscal responsibility and as a result we have a falling dollar and rising inflation. He has mismanaged the War on Terror. It is rare he speaks against anyone. The recent spike in oil opened a perfect door for the President, a former oilman, to push for increased domestic drilling. He has spoken out, but only in mild terms. Sometimes the situation calls for fist pounding and angry accusations.
We looked for this President to get the Government smaller and it has only grown under his watch. The No Child Left Behind Act is a disaster -- ask anyone involved in Education. He did get us tax breaks, and the economy rebounded well after 9/11, but we have seen little leadership since. His appointments for Sec State and other high level positions have been lousy.
President Bush came to office with a reputation of getting along with the Democrats. He wanted to be known as a bipartisan leader. Instead he just looks weak. I learned long ago that the way to win a debate is to get your opposition to accept your argument on a small level and build from there. If you can get buy-in on a small premise, you can win the argument or negotiation.
For example in negotiations, I may make a statement like "I am sure you agree our quality and delivery are unmatched in the industry." When the customer agrees, I will tell him that he knows such standards have a cost. Now we are negotiating on my terms. The customer will agree that a Rolls Royce has a hefty price tag because it is better. By the same token, my widgets command a higher price. Now we are discussing how much more he will pay for my product instead of negotiating the lowest price possible. It may or may not be true I have the best quality, but that was accepted by his previous agreement.
In just the same manner this President has allowed the Liberals to set the agenda and grounds for negotiation. Trying to be bipartisan he has allowed them to negotiate from a position of strength. When one begins every argument on the defensive you can only look weak. You have to win a few fights before you can be seen to "compromise", otherwise you are just a loser. By accepting the liberal premise the Federal Government needs to be involved and "fix" education we get No Child Left Behind, not the elimination of the Department of Education. By accepting the Climate Change scenario, we are discussing ways to battle non-existent man made global warming instead of debate on its causes or even its existence. We argue about how much we should mandate for a minimum raise instead of what effects it will have on the economy. We discuss how much of a "rebate" we give people who do not even pay taxes instead of the merits of such a proposal.
As such, I would not be surprised to see the President show up for an Oval Office speech in a sweater telling us to turn down our thermostats this winter.
What really disturbs me is I am afraid the current Republican candidate is from the same mold.
We looked for this President to get the Government smaller and it has only grown under his watch. The No Child Left Behind Act is a disaster -- ask anyone involved in Education. He did get us tax breaks, and the economy rebounded well after 9/11, but we have seen little leadership since. His appointments for Sec State and other high level positions have been lousy.
President Bush came to office with a reputation of getting along with the Democrats. He wanted to be known as a bipartisan leader. Instead he just looks weak. I learned long ago that the way to win a debate is to get your opposition to accept your argument on a small level and build from there. If you can get buy-in on a small premise, you can win the argument or negotiation.
For example in negotiations, I may make a statement like "I am sure you agree our quality and delivery are unmatched in the industry." When the customer agrees, I will tell him that he knows such standards have a cost. Now we are negotiating on my terms. The customer will agree that a Rolls Royce has a hefty price tag because it is better. By the same token, my widgets command a higher price. Now we are discussing how much more he will pay for my product instead of negotiating the lowest price possible. It may or may not be true I have the best quality, but that was accepted by his previous agreement.
In just the same manner this President has allowed the Liberals to set the agenda and grounds for negotiation. Trying to be bipartisan he has allowed them to negotiate from a position of strength. When one begins every argument on the defensive you can only look weak. You have to win a few fights before you can be seen to "compromise", otherwise you are just a loser. By accepting the liberal premise the Federal Government needs to be involved and "fix" education we get No Child Left Behind, not the elimination of the Department of Education. By accepting the Climate Change scenario, we are discussing ways to battle non-existent man made global warming instead of debate on its causes or even its existence. We argue about how much we should mandate for a minimum raise instead of what effects it will have on the economy. We discuss how much of a "rebate" we give people who do not even pay taxes instead of the merits of such a proposal.
As such, I would not be surprised to see the President show up for an Oval Office speech in a sweater telling us to turn down our thermostats this winter.
What really disturbs me is I am afraid the current Republican candidate is from the same mold.
July 15, 2008
Nobody puts Baby in the corner
We were watching Dirty Dancing last night. Everyone who has ever seen that movie knows the stupid line in the title of this post. There are other famous movie lines.
Luke, I am your father
Frankly my Dear, I don't give a damn
we have a half a tank of gas, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses
I love the smell of napalm in the morning
Some people would add "Play it again Sam", but that line is not in the movie Casablanca. What are some of you favorite movie lines?
For many of you the order of my links must have appeared pretty random. Well, I was used to it. Now I have went and alphabetized you. I can't find anyone! If you want a link let me know. If you want off the list, and who would really want to be associated with this blog, let me know.
Luke, I am your father
Frankly my Dear, I don't give a damn
we have a half a tank of gas, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses
I love the smell of napalm in the morning
Some people would add "Play it again Sam", but that line is not in the movie Casablanca. What are some of you favorite movie lines?
For many of you the order of my links must have appeared pretty random. Well, I was used to it. Now I have went and alphabetized you. I can't find anyone! If you want a link let me know. If you want off the list, and who would really want to be associated with this blog, let me know.
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