President of the United States of America
The President has created a plan for immigration. Rubio slams it. When will the Republicans learn to respond to good ideas they may differ with. Rubio, try this: “Pretty good plan Mr. President. How about these changes to make it a great plan”. Rather, the Republicans are instigating the Second Civil War. Their manner of negotiation mirrors exactly the stances taken in 1861. Come on.
The Civil War
Howard Means sets out the numerous reasons for the South to have declined to go to war with the North over any issue, least of all Slavery. He cites numerous sources documenting the economic imbalance in the States in 1860 all making the eventual outcome inevitable. The economic machine in the north was far more powerful, so much so that Lee’s superior expertise in Battle meant only short-term success for he lacked the logistics and supply inventory of the North. So why did Beauregard pull the pin in Charleston Harbor? Why did the rest of the South join in the war; it was simply not rational.
A few months ago I stood next to the cannons aimed at Fort Sumter hoping I would gain some insightful idea of what was going through his mind at the instant he pulled the trigger? Certainly he was surrounded with the residents of Charleston, some male, some female. What makes a man do something he knows will hurt himself and his friends and family, likely the very people standing witness to his bravado? What makes a man shoot himself in the foot?
Broken Ribs
This is where I broke my Rib on January 10, 2013. Here’s how. I stood on the step stool trying to get a water hose from the ‘loft’, but the stool was not high enough. I was impatient to get going on a trip to play music with my friend Ivan Sexton in Virginia, so I placed my left foot on the sill of the window; still not enough height. So I propelled myself up and let go my handhold to grab the box containing the hose. Bad idea.
As I was falling backwards, back facing the ground, my body twisted and I faced the floor at the time of impact. My right side hit solidly the air compressor to the left of the picture. Thus the broken rib.
What in the world possessed me to not do what I consciously knew I should? to Wit: Get the larger ladder from the house; find a broom handle to extend my reach; get a different hose from the other shed. Why did I do what I did?
Theory of Broken Ribs and The Civil War
Our brains don’t always govern our actions. Well, actually they do, but it’s the emotional section, not the rational. I was impatient. Perhaps so too Beauregard. Perhaps his anger at having to pay for labor in his fields and his fear of the consequences of the loss of his slaves overcame his good Judgement. I think so.
(At one point in the run up to the War, Lincoln, in Congress at the time, suggested the Federal Government, among other things, pay the slave owners in the District of Colombia full market value for the slaves emancipated by the bill he proposed. It stood no chance then, and it was never again considered as an option. But at worst it was a rational approach to the emancipation issue.)
Beauregard acted in Anger. I acted impatiently. Neither of us properly weighted the consequences. We both suffered. Had either of us acted rationally the outcomes would have been very different.
The Good News About Brains
I twistd in the air. How and why? The reason is my brain, and all brains, are capable of creating an action faster than our senses, and our conscious ‘mind’, can react. Trust me. While falling I was thinking “Uh-Oh, Please don’t break”, while my brain was doing something about it. Namely, twisting and not shouting. It’s in Incognito. Not me of course, but the idea.
A body in motion stays in motion, until … In my case the floor. The consequences of The Civil War are still, most unfortunately, in motion.
What a Surprise
The Bald Eagle in Millville, New Jersey. I trust I’ve got it right. If not let me know. There are eagles setting up shop along the Delaware Bay, but this one was cruising along the Mays Landing Road and was kind enough to wait for me to stop, turn-a-round, get the iPhone out, go through the menu to get to camera, and then pop. The tree on which it perches is part of the woods that wrap around and end up in my back yard. If a crow had flown by, I’d say he flew no more than 1/4 mile from my home. In Southern New Jersey.
Folgers $2.16 per ounce, $34.56 pound
Would you pay $34.56 per pound of coffee for anything other than 100% Kona or Jamaican Blue Mountain? In these two examples Folgers is charging more than Stabucks.
There are many ways to conveniently make single servings in the morning, or anytime, without paying an exorbitant price and at the same time using tons of plastic containers.
Starbucks: $31 per pound.
Johnson’s Law: A little number times a big number is a big number.
Much more to come.
The Class of 1963 has organized a ‘relief’ fund for the members of the class who were hardest hit and the leaders of our 50th reunion ‘committee’ have graciously agreed to collect and disperse the money.
The Really LIttle Rascals
It’s a good bunch of people, my class of 1963.
I’m afraid to go back right now, but feel I must. While growing up, my family lived in three homes. I believe two are quite intact, but one I’m told had water up to or over the roof.
This was my father’s retirement home, which he dearly loved. It was on the water, but inland on a tidal river, Mill River if memory serves, and no one here would ever think of flooding as a problem. My High School has extensive flood damage and will open in a couple of months. It too was situate on Mill River. And just across this Old Mill Stream sat my brother Bill’s home. His home was higher so only his basement got wet.
My nephew Tom lost his home in Long Beach.
Another Johnson, nephew Billy, operates a construction and landscaping business and he is of course very busy helping not only his dad (Bill) but many other folks on the Island (which is how Long Islander’s refer to Long Island, as in “out on the island”). They were working 22 hours a day pumping out basements and making initial repairs. Bill has trucks and diesel-powered equipment but never ran out of fuel. He sent each night a vehicle either west or north to locations where gas was plentiful and trucked it back to the Island. His crews were able to work and his trucks continued to run. Nice job.
My brother Gerry, a builder of magnificent Kauai, Hawaii homes, flew back for a few days to survey the damage and is evaluating a one year move to the Island. He has experience with FEMA (remember Iniki?) and building and rebuilding homes, skills needed badly.
I’ve driven many times through the Battery and the Lincoln Tunnels, and because I have a vivid imagination, had visions of flooding and me out-racing the surge. I never once thought that these impossible day dreams would come true. I feel badly for the man in NYC who stood at his post in a parking facility, protecting his charges, and paid dearly when the water filled the garage. He was a New Yorker, Ghanaian by birth, a New Yorker by attitude. Sandy will be around for a long, long time.
Imagine Ryan as President?
Six months ago I had about given up on President Obama, and sat laughing at the Republican primary debates. “When will we get candidates who are truly worthy of the Presidency”, asked I of Cathy, my wife. “Not from this bunch”, she replied. To which I agreed, wholeheartedly .
Who would have, back then, believed that Willard Mitt Romney would get to this level. Back then he was going to cut taxes, kill Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood, and disavow some of the beliefs of his own church. No tax returns, Swiss Bank Accounts, Cayman Island Investments, Bain shipping jobs abroad, all, by golly, I thought, precluded his membership in the ‘Club’. The most liberal medical plan ever initiated by a state, private elevators, unequal pay, killer of auto company’s, yacht-ie. How in the world did he get here? Answer: blowing in the wind.
And he loves Teachers, but “you can leave their unions behind”, says Willard. He wants to kill unions too! What is going on here? How does he survive in the heat of presidential politics and billions of bucks debunking his beliefs. This too is the answer: Billions of Bucks.
When a republican solicitor called to ask for funds, she was heralding the selection of Ryan. My knee Jerk reaction, for which I now feel pain . was “no way, the guys a jerk”. And I believe this, now, and forever. He ought to wear the Cheese Hat.
Economy is Simmering
I’m pretty sure the economy is simmering nicely at the moment, and I know the Obama Administration helped my small business over the past three years. And I know I like the idea of being in a larger medical insurance pool, and for college more money available to my grand-kids. And a few other things.
And I love the idea of Biden in the wings should anything happen to the President. And truly I like the idea of President Obama setting a stage for Hillary Clinton, with that incredibly suave husband of hers. Imagine the Clinton’s leading the world once more. I can.
Think about this: President Ryan. By golly if this doesn’t scare your socks off, what will? Answer: Ryan’s Supreme Court.
Did you hear Dylan’s answer?
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
Springsteen singing Blowing in the Wind on YouTube. Followed by Bad Moon Rising.
One of my favorite sights in the fall is a freshlly mowed lawn. These fall lawns are beautiful and bright when freed briefly of the weight of fallen leaves. They were beautiful this morning and I tip my hat to Mother Nature for reminding me that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
For Mother Nature was powerful and pitiless this week, taking lives and livelihoods and leaving anquish and anxiety in her wake. She reminded us in the most forceful way that she is the most powerful force on this planet.
For me, this brief, beautiful morning at home stood in stark contrast to the destruction Sandy dealt the Jersey Shore, and it is for me, however simple, a reminder that while life is indeed fragile, Mother Nature will provide light and beauty once again.
My wife Cathy and I, and our staff at Kaffe Magnum Opus were all fortunate to escape unscathed, and we hope that those whose losses are so large, get the help they need, and are able to endure and move forward.
Today’s title is the synopsis of the Romney campaign. His real name by the way (by the way is Romney’s favorite term when chastising POTUS) is Willard which means ‘Strong Desire’. Fitting I think and I’m not sure why he hides it, except that it is aristocratic. Romney has a strong desire to gain personal wealth fast, and he is saying that he can get America rolling faster than Obama, thus getting you and I ‘Richer Quicker’. Yeah, yeah.
A person who takes risks for themselves is fine, and the returns earned, if large, are fine too. But don’t take risks for me. I like slow and steady. I like strong foundations, large sea walls, strong roofs and good drainage systems. Especially in a hurricane.
FDR saved US in 2009
The hurricane in America ended in 2010, maybe 2009 when we stopped losing 800,000 jobs a month. Problem was the foundation was weak, the sea walls low, the roofs designed poorly and the drainage systems sucked. Rebuilding a city, think Katrina, takes a long time. Rebuilding an economy takes a lot longer. It took a war and the GI bill of rights to end the Great Depression. Thank goodness FDR had the foresight to build a strong social security system or America would have been in a world of hurt in 2009, and still.
Passing Obama Care is the equivalent of passing Social Security, and it is working; please ignore the hypotheticals. Americans want, and in many cases need Obama Care, but the country has to pay for it. We pay for medicare, social security, and now will pay for medical insurance. This is good, for the benefit is less worry about those who are uncovered. Most of us have family or friends who have gone uncovered for a long time. No more.
Did His Customers Get Richer Quicker?
Without Social Security and the Safety Net provided by ‘big government’, 2008 would have been the start of a great depression. And for many Americans it was a great depression. Especially by the frequently cited definition: A recession is when your neighbor is unemployed, a depression is when you loss your job.
The stock market is back, auto sales rising, home prices rising, construction of housing units apparent in many areas (it is pacifying to see new construction), Mortgage rates at 3.5%, 3.5%, the war in Iraq is over, Afghanistan is finishing up (read “Into the Fire” by Dakota Meyer, a fast read, and, while not intended as such, an expose of the roadblocks to building a strong central government in Afghanistan), Gadafi was toppled without American ground troops, repayment terms for student loans are now 20 years, you can refi a mortgage to a lower rate even if the appraisal is below the loan value, and small business (mine for example) has benefitted from tax modifications over the last three years.
The tax modifications allowed KMO to go to a new, much improved plant, acquire new roasting equipment and expand our workforce by at least six (that’s six added to 12 and that doesn’t count the part time staff expansion) because our sales expanded.
So I’m perfectly satisfied with the progress the country is making.
Stay the course. Stick to the Status Quo. It’s pretty good, and getting better.
Here comes the money for Romney Family
Romney ‘crafted’ a persona built to satisfy the needs and wants of citizens. He is a product. All of his positions are designed to increase sales, in this instance measured in votes.
He now unveils the public relations campaign painting him as the winner, the candidate with the momentum to carry the election. Actually brillant, in my business judgement.
Problem is, Romney believes that a presidential campaign is just words and slogans. It is a business strategy and might very well work. It will become a Harvard Business Review case study.
Let us remember that the 2000 Presidential election was determined by the Supreme Court and that an appointment to the Supreme Court is the plumb sort by the Republican Party. My blood pressure is rising.
The Media is the Message for the Marketing Man.
I have no doubt that Romney is a good business man, a smart tactician, perhaps a brilliant strategist.
But I have no idea what he will do. No idea.
One Day Romney is Tricky Dick
I doubt these men were counting the number of ships in the Navy of either side. These battles were slaughters. The picture comes from Google Images and the search term WWI images.
So why did the Republican Candidate select the middle of WWI as an appropriate year to compare to the size of the Fleet of the United States Navy in 2012??? I suspect we will never know the answer.
It is not wise to put your head on an anvil when the blacksmith is holding a sledge-hammer, ready to pound. I suspect Governor Romney selected 1917 on the fly. The comparison must have been just too tempting to pass up.
These are the times that try Presidential thinking; they are trying indeed the souls of our soldiers and sailors who are all risking life and limb for me and you. These noble warriors need to know that the Commander-in-Chief is making decisions and giving orders based upon well thought out arguments, not on cursory reviews of facts, and snap decisions yielding unwarranted conclusions.
It seems to me that Governor Romney, while appearing calm in the third debate, was ill prepared to discuss the United States Navy, and needed sorely the strenght and accuracy of a true swordsman.
Ready, Fire, Aim.
