When he is right....he's right

Like many Americans, I did not vote for President Obama. Regardless, I watched his speech on Libya and agree with his leadership in this critical situation. Like his direction in Egypt, President Obama has maintained America's credibility among Arabs in support of self determination. This is not an easy path to walk and President Obama deserves credit for the way in which he has worked in support of Arab freedom fighters.

Many, including myself, have did not want "another war" in a Muslim country. We have spent nearly two trillion dollars fighting two pointless wars with no end in sight. President Obama, in his speech, was clear that the US role in Libya would not degenerate into another long term expensive conflict. He also was clear about our unique position to save thousands of people from certain death. These people would have died as a result of an attack on Benghazi. America and our allies saved these people so as to help them continue their struggle for freedom.

America has often been wrong in the past when we support dictators who crush their citizens. In Egypt and Libya we are on the right side of the conflict and the President deserves credit for his leadership. When he is wrong....say so. When he is right....be sure to tell him.

HOW MUCH WAR CAN YOU AFFORD?

On September 11, 2011, it will be ten years since the Terrorist attack on New York and Washington. As a result of those attacks, America went to War in Afghanistan and Iraq. To date, after nearly ten years of fighting we have not caught the persons responsible for the attacks. This week we began a third war with Libya. I think it is time to ask....How much War can America afford?

In the Congressional Research Service Report "The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations since 9/11," Amy Belasco lists the current cost as of September 2010. Here is a link. Please read it yourself: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf

• The War in Iraq has been costing America $5 Billion per month, or $60 Billion per year, a Total of over $500 Billion
• The War in Afghanistan has been costing America $4 Billion per month, or $48 Billion per year, a Total of another $500 Billion
• Total cost of these Wars has reached over one Trillion Dollars

Now we have begun another conflict in Libya. The cost of this new War will quickly reach a Billion dollars per month. You and I are paying for these Wars. President Urkel said he was opposed to these Wars and would end them if elected. How much War can you afford when your country is near bankrupt? Do you really think you are getting your money's worth from the fighting in any of these places? It is time to rethink BIG GOVERNMENT.

Quality Edjamacation

I like trade unions. While I was in College, I worked summer jobs as a Union Boiler Maker, Carpenter, and Brewery Worker. I made way too much money, filling in while real workers were on vacation. It was this money that helped me pay for college. Along the way I learned more than I wanted to know about Unions.

Unions helped to create the modern work place. They established the 40 hour work week, paid vacations, retirement plans, and healthcare coverage. Work would be awful today if it were not for the hard work of Unions in the 1920s. But, have Unions lost their way?

Today Unions seem to be focused on unreasonable demands. Union Teachers seem to be the most out of touch. Teachers work nine or ten months a year and only six or seven hours a day but they expect to earn more than other people. They complain about layoffs, when millions of other workers have been unemployed for years. And, they refuse to take responsibility for the students they produce. Now the Teacher Unions want all the rest of us to help them. Fat Chance.

Unions need to accept responsibility for the products they produce. If a product or service can be produced better with a non union work force, where is the value in Union Labor? As a union Carpenter, I helped to build high quality homes. We took pride in the product we produced. How can Union Teachers expect us to support them when they have produced poorly trained and near illiterate students? If Unions want broad support they need to make Union Labor a point of difference in producing quality products and services. Teachers need to be accountable for the students they produce.

The Six Ps

It was my Dad's Birthday on March 15. He would have been 91 years old but he died in 1998. He was a great guy and I miss him.

Dad fought the Japanese on Okinawa in WW II and never really ended his personal war with Japan. He was attacked by a Japanese solider in hand to hand combat. He killed the Japanese soldier and brought back the sword that almost killed him. Yes, Dad if you are reading this....I still have the sword.

Dad grew up during the depression working with his brothers selling illegal whiskey. His job was to carry a shotgun and shoot people who tried to rob them. He told me many times that he was really lucky that WW II came along because he never graduated from eighth grade and didn't have any real skill, except his ability to shoot people. Dad stayed in the military as a First Sergeant and retired after 30 years. One of his favorite sayings was about the SIX Ps. He told me that: Piss Poor Planning Predicated Poor Performance. Dad was full of wise First Sergeant Idioms.

Dad would have laughed his ass off this past week at the Japanese and the events at the Fukishima Power Plant. Yes, I know it is all horrible and a tragic loss of life. But, if you were my Dad, and you spent most of your adult life hating the Japanese, the Japanese cars, Japanese TVs, and all things Japanese. If you lost friends at Pearl Harbor and hated watching TV during the 70s and 80s because they kept saying Japanese this and that. If you heard it 10,000 times that the Japanese are soooo much better at making things, inventing things, and business. Then last week was your big HA! The Six Ps caught up with Japan and I'm sorry Dad did not live to see it.

I guess the shock for me has been the total lack of anything close to a real plan to protect and save these reactors. I grew up thinking Japan really had their shit together when it came to industrial and manufacturing stuff. Turns out they don't know any more about what they are doing than we do in the good old USA. There is a place where old military guys go when they die, I'm sure Dad and some of those guys from the USS Arizona are drinking beer and laughing.

Rethinking the Oscars

I watched the Oscars last week. It was the most disappointing Academy Awards Show I have ever seen. The best Movie of the Year was clearly True Grit, the story of a young girl's struggle for justice. The original movie version of the book won an Oscar for John Wayne. That was a movie which failed to capture the quality of the book by Charles Portis. The 2010 movie by the Coen brothers was extremely well made and both Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld deserved Oscars. Jeff Bridges won an Oscar last year and Hailee will no doubt go on to win many herself.

The real tragedy of the Oscars was the praise dumped on the King's Speech. I'm upset about the movie because it seems like a really minor event blown way out of proportion. Let's get our facts straight. Albert, King George VI, was the dull brother of the rightful heir to the British Crown, Edward VIII. He only became King because his playboy brother abdicated. During his reign, Britain went from a global leader to its current status. George was not a great leader and, as the movie explains, a poor speaker.

The idea that King George VI inspired anyone is total rubbish. All of the inspiration among the British came from Winston Churchill. Moreover, Churchill had an American mother and right to US Citizenship. He used this to gain support with President Roosevelt and bring America into the war and that saved England. The speeches by King George VI make good reading if you are a person who stutters but the reality is he was a dull and uninspiring leader. The movie attempts to remake history and create the sense that King George VI inspired Britain. It did not happen and the movie is much ado about nothing.

Finally, the Social Network was a great movie that provides insight into the creation of Facebook. I loved the movie and the portrayal of the Winkelvoss idiot brothers. Clearly the social network was better than the King's Speech. I think the same people who rig the Super Bowl are rigging the Oscars.