Greed: political or economic

Is it nothing to you

"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the LORD inflicted
on the day of his fierce anger."

Lamentations 1:12

Such a passionate appeal from the prophet to look on the suffering servant and to take heed -- no matter who you are!

If you have walked past Him all your life, take heed and see this grace which is given. The call to repent is universal and compels us all to place our faith in the suffering servant who fulfilled all love in our place.

Do you already profess Christ with your lips? Take heed that you do so in your heart. Let nothing supersede that precious and glorious grace in your life. Not intellectual or philosophical musings. Not doctrinal argument or dissension. Not your "good" name. Look around you at your fellow believers and ask yourself if you are willing to be of no reputation among those whose good opinion you value. Are you willing to be the least of these your brethren for the sake of Christ? Are you willing to be despised in the world for His sake. If not, you are an idolator. If you value even your church membership, as precious as it is to your growth and nourishment in the spirit, above the grace of Christ, you have despised his grace.

He was willing to be despised by His eternal Father and die for your sake.

Can you truly leave all for His sake? Or is it nothing to you?

Where's the cattle prod?

This has been floating around for a couple months now. It's a batch of letters you may find interesting. They are authentic from what I can find. It all started when GM sent a letter to their suppliers and and employees, telling them to support the all-but-bankrupt company by calling congress and asking for money:

Dear Employees & Suppliers,

Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis...................... As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.

Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke
President General Motors North America

Mr. Knox, a supplier, responded thus:

Response from:
Gregory Knox, Pres.
Knox Machinery Company
Franklin, Ohio

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General Motors North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaiting our new "messiah", Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"... Believe me folks, The dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities... this dream where you still think the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.

Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I've seen over those years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "There is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not."

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management... how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag a**... so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time... for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week.

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics... for putting out too many parts on a shift... and for being too productive (We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few years .... we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors."

What the h*** has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research , surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". "Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despite what people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day... and the following very important thing would happen... where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up... that is how a free market system works... it does work... if we would only let it work..."

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us"... Save us my a**, H*** - we're nationalizing.... and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really happening... But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams... yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it...

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?... How can that be??? Let's see... Fuel efficient... Listening to customers... Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul... Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning.... Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy"... Efficient front and back offices... Non union environment...

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into - my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it.

Radical concept, huh... Am I there for them in the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults..

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied..."we really might not do it in a year... or in four..." Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks ... That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000... People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits... That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year... We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe...

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home... Let the market correct itself folks - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna' be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has... and doesn't live beyond its means... and gets back to basics... and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world... and probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news". I hope you take it to heart.

Gregory J. Knox, President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005

Thoughts on work, value and growth

Yes, it's a pretty depressing time. Everyone knows it -- even those who profess to have "hope" in the government. Even they can feel it. Only problem is, they can't tell you why.

That's not the only problem, mind you. Many others who have no faith or hope in the government (like me and hopefully you), can't articulate what the problem is either.

Why is it wrong to give money to automakers? No one knows, of course, because they don't know why they are failing. Many of them don't realize that you and I are the objective reason why this economy can't recover. Never before in our nation's history has a good work ethic been so closely connected with the nation's well being.

Allow me to illustrate it with some personal experience:

I was talking recently to a veteran of the company I work for (which I won't disclose). He shared with me a time in the past when his manager purposefully backed up jobs in the plant and took longer with each one, much to the chagrin of those who had a life and wanted to get home to their wife and kids. As was evident to everyone under him, he did this so he could rack up as much overtime hours as he could.
*End of personal experience*

What is you're reaction to this kind of man? In a good economy, a lazy plant manager like this can often get away with it -- since he is often able to establish the long hours as status quo and the company, which has no shortage of business, can still make money.

In a bad economy, because of this man's actions, the company will be unable to lower prices because it costs so much to produce goods that other companies can produce cheaper. If the business is smart, it feels free to take a hard look at the plant's operation and search for ways to become more efficient. If they discover the manager's dishonesty, they will either correct his actions or replace him. Either way, the plant will become more efficient in order to produce goods at the prices consumers can afford.

Simple?

Unless...

...someone tells you that the business has no right to make an arbitrary decision regarding the manager who has worked for decades at the company -- someone like a union boss who is looking out for the thief and the lazy man. So the business is unable to fire the person who is costing them money. The high costs keep getting passed to consumers, who look for competitors, or find ways to live without the product. Company sells or goes bankrupt, costing everyone their job.

Do people know that one man's bad work ethic can cost dozens of jobs if he is not justly fired? It's a simple but profoundly ignored truth that man will take as much as he can get with as little work as possible. If you tell a business owner that he has no authority to demand and reward high productivity and efficiency, you essentially give him no ability to provide any job in the first place because no one will advance based on merit.

Report efficiency

I'm no great proofreader (as many here know), but this brochure just jumped out at me when I discovered it today in a local city hall on a wall rack. It's from the State Auditor's office (see second scan). I don't know how on earth it made it all the way to the rack with no one spotting it. However, there must be no doubt in our minds that Rep. Rick Larsen congressman read the stimulus bill. He wouldn't have been too busy trying to get the federal government to send millions to the WTA for new biodiesel compatible buses. Not OUR Rick!



Remember now, if you see efficiency, REPORT IT!

Bring out your dead

Detroit...in happier times.

Can someone tell me something hopeful about this city? I agree it may seem like this reporter is sensationalizing it, but this story actually seems quite measured in its approach to the issue and the particular incident.

The incident was a dead man which stayed in the bottom of an elevator shaft in an abandoned building, even though people know he was there for some time.

"Why didn't your friend call the police?"

"He was trespassing and didn't want to get in trouble," the caller replied. As it happens, the caller's friend is an urban explorer who gets thrills rummaging through and photographing the ruins of Detroit. It turns out that this explorer last week was playing hockey with a group of other explorers on the frozen waters that had collected in the basement of the building. None of the men called the police, the explorer said. They, in fact, continued their hockey game.

Later we find, many of the homeless people living in the building just assumed someone else would call the authorities.

A colony of homeless men live in the warehouse. Wednesday morning a few fires were burning inside oil drums. Scott Ruben, 38, huddled under filthy blankets not 20 paces from the elevator shaft.

"Yeah, I seen him," Ruben said. The snow outside howled. The heat from the can warped the landscape of rotting buildings and razor wire.
...
His shack mate, Kenneth Williams, 47, returned at that point with an armload of wood.

"Yeah, he's been down there since last month at least."

I have heard similar stories about New York City and how people just assume someone else will deal with it, even if there is a dead man in their path -- and that from the same person who had interesting stories about Detroit.

Gore shivers

An Fairbanks man has unveiled his assessment of Al Gore's warming theories: an ice sculpture of the former vice president shivering.

"(Craig) Compeau unveiled the sculpture — created by a local artist Steve Dean — near the downtown Thrifty Liquor store, where he said it will stay through March or “until it melts.”

The 8 1/2-foot-tall sculpture dominated the corner from its perch on the back of a flatbed truck."

The article gives a little background on Compeau:

"Compeau described himself as a moderate skeptic of those who “rabidly” believe man-made emissions are contributing to a rise in global temperatures. Gore won his Nobel for raising awareness of global warming as one of the greatest challenges facing mankind."

See the link for photos.

History will show...

NOTE: Sorry I forgot to include the link before. Here it is (and in the story).

Andrew Roberts, a British columnist/historian, gives his big-picture assessment of the Bush legacy, and has no time for journalism's thought process, which starts from its own created myth about Bush's incompetence.

"Films such as Oliver Stone's W, which portray him as a spitting, oafish frat boy who eats with his mouth open and is rude to servants, will be revealed by the diaries and correspondence of those around him to be absurd travesties, of this charming, interesting, beautifully mannered history buff who, were he not the most powerful man in the world, would be a fine person to have as a pal."

Roberts, an author, takes the reader winsomely through the real record, point-by-point and encourages us to step back a little to see what no one wants you to see.