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WF THOUGHTS (1/27/12)

Doesn’t France make you sick.?

It seems to me that we’ve saved France’s ass a number of times. France is supposed to be our ally. As you know, for more than 10 years there has been an ongoing war against terrorism in Afghanistan. France, our great ally has participated. Of course, the participation by the French cowards has been quite limited. We have had 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. France topped out at 4,000.

Last week, four French soldiers were killed and twelve were injured. That brings the total number of French casualties to 82. Our casualties exceed 1,900.

So what are our great friends, the French, doing? They are heading for the hills. They have announced an early departure. They don’t want to be exposed to suffering the kinds of losses that they suffered last week. They have 3,600 troops in Afghanistan right now. One thousand will leave this year. The rest will leave next year (2013).

I am no big fan of the war in Afghanistan. History will probably show that the war achieved nothing. Our loss of life has been tremendous, and it will probably exceed 2,000 before we leave. We have also absorbed a huge financial cost, currently running at the rate of five billion dollars a month. Our troops have been heroic as usual, but we should have saved those lives and put that money to better use. I know we have been planning to exit during 2014, but it is hard to understand why we waited so long.

Questions about the war, and a general departure plan for 2014, do not give the French the right to be cowards or turncoats today. They are supposed to stick with us. They should go home when we go home, and not a second sooner. The early departure is shameful and cowardly. I guess that’s what we should expect from France.

The next time France needs us, I hope our president is the son or daughter of one of our fallen troops from Afghanistan. We need to know who our friends are. France makes fine fries and breakfast breads, but we can’t count on it for anything else. We should not forget this lesson.

WF THOUGHTS (1/22/12)

You probably heard that Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina GOP presidential primary. I am not thinking about that. I am thinking about football.

For a few minutes, join me in thinking about football. Think about some top tier college team. Maybe Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, or USC.

These teams are big. There are 100 guys (or more) on each team. Assisted by his staff, it is the job of the coach to make his team the best team in the world.

About 5 guys on each team, around 5 percent of the team, are real superstars. Natural talent. Good discipline and organization. They are going to excel under all circumstances. They will be professional players someday, and they will be rich.

About 25 players on each team, about 25 percent of the team, clearly have weaknesses. They have a function in the overall scheme, but they are never going to rise to the top and they will stay at the bottom of the heap.

That leaves 70 other players. Any coach will tell you that they are the 70 most important guys on the team. The success of the team is totally dependent on the middle 70. If the conditions can be created so they excel, the whole team will excel. Some of them might even break into the top 5, which might allow a few of the bottom 25 to rise too. If the conditions do not encourage the middle 70, they will not perform and everyone will suffer. The whole team will be dragged down. The top 5 will probably still go to the NFL, but it will be an unpleasant and unproductive season for the whole team.

Guess what? I am not talking about football. I don’t know much about football. I am talking about the class system in America. I know all about that. Every American does. We see it everyday. We just don’t talk about it.

America has always had a rich class, a poor class, and a vast middle class.

For obvious reasons, the rich class is always in good shape. The rich have the resources to live nicely in all circumstances. They do fine despite the swings in our economy and the changes in our political leadership. Nobody needs to worry about the rich, just like nobody needs to worry about the top 5 guys on the football team.

In a strange way, there is also no reason to worry about the poor. It is sad that we always have a poor class. It is, however, an unchanging fact of life. Just as there will always be a “bottom 25” on a football team, there will always be a poor class. Fortunately, this is America. We can argue about the details, and there may be some retrenchment in current programs, but help will always be available to the poor in America. In addition to many generous charitable programs, the government will provide assistance with food, housing, medical care, and education. The poor may not be thrilled with their circumstances or with the assistance available to them, but there are no grounds for the poor in America to revolt and I do not foresee any such revolt.

But what about the middle 70 percent? The football rules apply here. The middle 70 percent has always been the backbone of America. When the middle class is happy and successful, all of America enjoys some of that happiness and success. When the middle class is depressed and oppressed, all of America feels the pain.

Think back on the last 10 or 12 years. As always, the rich have done fine. As always, assistance has been provided to the poor. The middle class has been crushed. Millions have lost jobs. Those fortunate to have jobs have endured wage stagnation. Thousands and thousands of families have lost homes. After years of suffering, the middle class is on the verge of revolt. Occupy Wall Street isn’t
about the poor, it is about the middle class. The Tea Party is not about the poor, it is about the middle class. When was the last time we saw such hostility and anger from the middle class? All of America is on edge today, financially and emotionally, because of the circumstances of the middle class.

A year from today the next presidential inauguration will be behind us. No matter who takes the oath, the rich will be fine. No matter who takes the oath, most of the programs available to the poor will remain.

Which candidate will help the middle class? I think that is the most important issue in this election. The middle class needs relief. If that relief is not forthcoming, and if the rich keep getting richer at the expense of the middle class, the middle class will either explode or give up. Either of those results will be ugly.

Our choice is going to be limited to either Newt, Mitt, or Obama. Just like a football game, the noise from the crowd is loud and it comes from all directions. Stay focused on the 70 percent and the key issue. Who is going to help the middle class? Cast your vote wisely.

WF Thoughts (1/19/11)

It is all GOP Presidential politics here in the Palmetto State (SC). The primary vote is the day after tomorrow (Saturday). There is a CNN debate tonight. Today was very active and, lucky for you, I have some comments.

This morning, Rick Perry quit the race and ran back to Texas. I hear he had an execution to get to. (They killed 27 in Texas the past 2 years. Lovely state, isn’t it?)

Tonight, in addition to some Texas inmates, the most endangered person in America must be Mrs. Gingrich #2. She gave an interview today which confirmed that Newt is a real creep, and apparently a proponent of open marriage. Mrs. #2 should keep one eye open tonight. I bet #3 is out to whack her, Mafia style. As I have mentioned before #3 has a strange look and my guess is that she takes no prisoners. Lookout #2.

In the debate the other night, Newt was asked a question about some past comments that seemed to insult Blacks. Based on the thunderous audience applause, and the South Carolina kudos that Newt has subsequently received for that answer, Newt apparently hit that question out of the park. (Which is strange, because his answer was essentially that it can be factually proven that Blacks are free loaders.) In fact, Newt is surging here in the polls largely based on that answer. In hindsight, I think the whole thing was fixed. The debate questioner was from Fox News. Fox and Newt are in bed together (when Newt is not in bed with young staffers). Newt asked Fox to ask the racially charged question. He was ready for it, and he hit it out of the park by giving the locals the racist spin they were looking for. That’s how the game is being played. I have no support for my theory, but there is no other way to explain the smirk that appeared on Newt’s face when the question arrived.

I also believe that media games and manipulation explain why Mrs. Gingrich #2 came forward after the debate to slam Newt. The timing is highly questionable. My guess is that ABC News, not to be outdone by Fox, pestered the lady until she broke down and started talking. She had been maintaining a low profile. With Newt surging, ABC had to do something to attack Mr. Conservative (and get some ratings to boot). Washington and Jefferson never had to worry about this stuff. They were able to sleep with whomever they wanted to sleep with. Maybe we’ve taken this freedom of the press stuff a bit too far.

It looks like a race to the finish here. The track is muddy. All of the finishers will be covered in mud or some other brownish substance. That’s democracy in modern America. Smelly, isn’t it?

WF Update (1/16/12)

We spent the afternoon in a tent. The other attendees were Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich. I am not kidding. It was quite an afternoon.

First I will give you the “big picture” background. The South Carolina GOP primary is next week. The candidates have been swarming the state. There is a big, televised debate tonight. It is right next door in Myrtle Beach. The pre-debate events have been occurring in Myrtle Beach for a few days. We thought it would be fun to personally see the candidates, but we weren’t going to spend the big dollars that were required to gain entry to one of the official events. (What a racket for the local GOP!) All of the unofficial events (i.e. free) were at weird little towns that we didn’t want to visit. Thus, it didn’t look like we were going to see the big contenders.

On a lark, this morning we took the short drive to the convention center to view the media circus. Because we had not paid for credentials, we couldn’t see much. When we were walking near a distant parking lot (which happened to be near a giant sand sculpture of the candidates), we saw a smallish white tent with a sign that said all the candidates would be there at 3:00 p.m. today. I didn’t believe it. I asked the guy guarding the tent. He said there was a FREE event at 3:00 p.m. and that all the candidates were confirmed. I still didn’t believe him.

We did other things around town and went back to the tent later. There was a short line. We waited in line. At 2:30 we were walked inside, and put in the 5th row, for the 3:00 event.

Now I will give you the “small picture” background so you can get a mental picture. The tent was the size of a professional basketball court. There was an aisle down the middle that would go from basket to basket. The left side of the aisle was enclosed by barricades and was standing room for the press. The right side of the aisle was filled with rows of chairs with 10 chairs in a row. The podium was up front, 5 rows ahead of us.

The event was hosted by a powerful religious group called the Faith and Freedom Coalition. All you need to know about its power is that it is powerful enough to get all of the candidates to appear. The event was from 3:00 until 5:00. I am sure the candidates would have preferred to be preparing for the debate (which starts at 9), but they had to show up for this religious group. I am not sure why they let us in, but it was fun to be there.

The whole thing had the feel of a revival meeting. A big white tent. A big crowd exclusively composed of right-wing religious zealots. In between the short speeches by the candidates, there was preaching by the political and religious leaders of this crowd. Amens and alleluias abounded. Quite the scene.

A rigid format was followed. There was some initial preaching. Then a candidate would take the stage, give a 10-12 minute talk, and exit the tent. There was more preaching until the next guy arrived and did the same. We started with Perry a bit after 3:00 and finished with Newt at about 5:15. We got a close-up look at everybody.

Here is my short description of each guy: Perry = A Texas Dunce Romney = Boring Banker Santorum = Friendly Neighbor Paul = Guy Who Needs A Nap Gingrich: Arrogant Civics Teacher

I will now give a few more comments about each guy.

Perry has huge hands. They are easily twice the size of normal hands. He has clearly been to many of these revival meetings. He waves his massive hands to emphasize his points. He really speaks from the heart, but brain power seems to be lacking. He says he will push for making Congress a part-time legislature staffed with part-time representatives. He figures that will reduce the amount of trouble that Congress can cause. His best line was : ” If you really want to know how a man will act in the future, look at his past.” Perry is very proud of his Texas accomplishments. Haven’t we had enough from dumb Texans?

Boring. Boring. Boring. That’s Romney. He seems to be bored with himself. Mrs. Romney actually stood behind him and yawned a few times. The guy has no passion. He seems like a rich guy who is doing this because he has nothing else to do. You get the feeling that he would like to add another accomplishment to his resume, but that he doesn’t really care if he loses. His best line : ” We know that President Obama was a community organizer, but I am not sure that he intended to organize this community into defeating him.”

Santorum is the friendly guy from down the street. We all know, and like, guys like this. Very basic. Homespun. Authentic. Bright. Serious. Best line: ” We haven’t let President Obama spread the wealth around, so he is trying to spread poverty around.”

Ron Paul is all doom and gloom. Maybe it was an appeal to this audience, but I think he sees himself as a prophet. He preaches that the government is ruining our economy and our standing in the world. He is here to save us and/or help us save ourselves. He talks a bold game, but his body fails him. He is too small and too frail. He doesn’t generate any electricity. He seems like an old, broken-down, economics professor. I feel sorry for him.

Newt is an interesting character. His good side gives you the feel of a super high school civics teacher. His bad side gives you the feel that he is probably having an affair with a girl in the class. He is 100% politician. He launched the biggest attacks of the afternoon, both against Romney and Obama. He says Romney can’t win, and that it is time to unify around him as the other option.

I would say that Santorum got the biggest applause of the day. Close second would go to Paul and Newt. Romney next. Perry at the bottom.

If I had to pick someone to trust from this group, it would be Santorum. He seems trustworthy. Perry, Romney, and Gingrich seem like politicians who would sell anybody out to advance their position. Paul is sincere, but he is too wacky to be trusted.

Here are some things that I probably shouldn’t say, but I will say anyway: • Perry should consider acting. He has a powerful presentation. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger with a drawl. • Mrs. Romney needs pep pills. • Does anyone else think Adam Sandler when they see Santorum? • Santorum should leave the kids at home. Not a pretty bunch. • Why is Ron Paul married to somebody’s great, great, great grandmother? (She has obviously received good health care to make it to 130.) • Newt’s wife is strange. Really strange. If Romney is physically harmed, the first person they should investigate is Mrs. Gingrich. From 60 feet away, that lady gives me a bad vibe. I miss Michelle Bachman and Herman Cain. Don’t you? They were the life of the party. By the way, what ever happened to Herman’s accusers? They promised a big press conference where the whole story would be told. Never Happened. What a hatchet job on poor Herman Donald Trump would of been a hoot at an event like this.I hate the guy, but he would have been a hoot anyway.

So, it was a fun day here in South Carolina. More soon.

KF - This is a pretty good recap, but I have to say it was all a little scary - and no comment on the Cain matter…

WF THOUGHTS (1/10/12)

It is New Hampshire primary day. Thus, I am thinking about things presidential. You are about to be burdened by those thoughts.

Barack Obama has now been president for more than 3 years. No matter what you think of his presidential achievements, or the lack thereof, the passage of the past three years proves a very important point. The election of an unqualified president does not cause the country to fall apart. America still exists. She is still respected around the world. The wheels did not fall off. Life went on.

I am not picking on Obama. He was duly elected. The fact remains that he had no qualifications for the job.

Obama certainly had no political history that qualified him to be president. He was a state senator for a few years. Have you ever met your state senator? Is that person qualified to be president? While a state senator, Obama tried to win a primary to run for the U.S. House and he lost 70% to 30%. Hardly a ringing endorsement. But ‘ol Barack didn’t give up. When the Republican U.S. Senator from Illinois did not seek reelection in 2004, and when the prior Democratic holder of that seat refused to run, there was a need for candidates. Thus, both parties had to put up rookie senate candidates. With a bit of luck, Obama became the Democratic candidate. He became even luckier when his opponent dropped out of the race a few months before the election and the GOP had to scramble to find another candidate, who arguably was not even from Illinois. Due to all of these lucky events, Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate. He certainly had no record of political achievement. Nonetheless, after 13 months in Washington he announced his candidacy for president. I think we would all agree that by normal standards he was not qualified for the job on the grounds of political accomplishment.

An examination of Obama’s private sector experience also fails to reveal any particular qualifications for president. After attending college at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he went on to secure degrees from better known institutions. He used those degrees to find work as a community organizer, a civil rights activist, and a teacher. Thousands and thousands of people do those jobs. Those jobs are not generally viewed as the entry way to the presidency.

If nothing else, Obama’s first 3 years prove that there are no qualifications to be president. The 3 years prove that anyone can hold the office and the country survives. NOT including the military, there are about 2.7 million (civilian) federal employees. The president is only ONE of them. If nothing else, the Obama presidency proves that the federal workforce can keep the country functioning regardless of the qualifications of the current occupant of the little white house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The above leads me to my main point on this New Hampshire primary day when we are thinking about the presidential candidates.

As I have explained above, it has been proven that no qualifications are needed to be president. It appears that anyone can be elected. People from all walks of life, and with all sorts of backgrounds should be interested in the job. The lack of experience should not dissuade anyone from running. The only requirement, set forth in the Constitution, is that you must be at least 35 years old (plus native born and a resident for at least 14 years).

So why are we stuck with such awful candidates? There are 312 million Americans. Half of them are over the age of 35. Most of them were born here. Thus, there are at least 125 million possible presidential candidates out there. They are all qualified. And the best we can do are Obama and Romney, or Paul, or Gingrich, or Perry, or Santorum ? Those are our 6 choices out of 125 million possibilities ? What is going on here?

I know what’s going on here. Nobody wants the job. That’s why we have such a weak candidate pool.

We have all seen this “nobody wants the job” phenomenon at work in our own private lives. Think about your past involvement with teams, committees, business groups, or church groups. You are at a meeting and there is a request for someone to volunteer for long term assignment to lead the work on a difficult task. Dead silence, right? Not a single hand goes up, except maybe for the one maladjusted person who always volunteers on account of some psychological defect.

We should be very worried about the above situation. Pretend that you and three friends are the Board of Directors of a major business and you have to find a new Chief Executive Officer for the business because the old guy just died. You make hundreds of attempts to find the right candidate, but nobody wants the job. Doesn’t that tell you that there is something wrong with the job, something wrong with the selection process, or both? Wouldn’t that be obvious to you and your friends? Wouldn’t you have to do something about it to save the company?

We are not getting good candidates for president because there IS something wrong with the job. Nobody wants the job because of the toxic environment in Washington. The president cannot get anything done. Nobody wants a job where it is impossible to get anything done. As a nation, we better fix this problem or the quality of candidates will dip even lower.

We are also not getting good Presidents because the process of getting the job is torture. The campaigns go on forever. You have to beg for money constantly. You and your family are put under a microscope and subjected to all sorts of personal attacks. Who needs that? You go through that to get a job where you can’t get the job done? Gimme a break! No normal person is going to do it. Anyone willing to go through all of that hogwash should have their head examined. All of our current candidates fall into that category. Think about it. Do you think any of those guys are normal? If we don’t fix how our elections are conducted, we will continue to see a disappointing applicant pool.

This is serious stuff. Our political system is ruining our country. We need to Occupy Washington and not leave until the necessary reforms are made. We need to stop electing political hacks and start electing people who are willing to govern and compromise. We need to totally reform the election process. If we don’t, we will be looking at another group of chumps when we get to the next election cycle.

WF Update (1/08/11)

I don’t want to gloat, but I must report that I have not worn pants for the past three days.

For all of my life, circumstances (including cold weather) have demanded that I wear pants the first week of January. Not this year, baby. No pants for me.

As you know from previous posts, I think everybody should set personal goals and take the necessary steps to meet them. If you are wearing pants as you read this, I would urge you to consider setting a goal of NOT having to wear pants in January. Just pause for a second and think about that. Pants-free Januaries. Not a bad goal, eh?

I am going to sit here and look at my knees. More soon.

WF Update (1/4/12)

Hello from Surfside Beach, SC.

We did a smooth 370 miles to get here today. The place looks good.

It was 48 degrees here upon arrival. It should be 55 tomorrow and 65 the next day. That’s much better than the low temperatures we are hearing from pals in the NY/CT/PA areas.

Tomorrow we will absorb some warmth. We might even discuss a travel plan. (But maybe not). I will let you know.

WF Update (1/3/12)

We are on the move again! Heading south. Looks like a cold spell will hit the north this week. We got out just in time.

We put the house into the hands of the normal security team. She is all set for the winter.

We did 315 miles today. I am writing from Doswell, VA. We are about half way to Surfside Beach, SC.

We will make a stop at Surfside Beach. After that, we have no real plan. There are several options. I will keep you in the loop. It is also time for thoughts. Bet you can’t wait.

HAPPY 2012 (WF)

Happy New Year!

If you are reading this, you are one of the lucky ones.

Read that last sentence again. How lucky are you? Millions of people died in 2011. Thousands and thousands of people died with no warning at all. You survived all 365 days. Indeed, you are in the lucky group.

Will you be in the lucky group in 2012? Nobody knows.

Every day could be your last. Are you mentally prepared? Do you have unfinished business with friends or family members? Sooner or later, maybe as early as tomorrow, your luck is going to run out. Think about it.

Again, Happy New Year.

KF - Oh my - really, is that the best he can do? Happy New Year to all - we had a wonderful year, gained two wonderful daughters and a beautiful grandson - we have been blessed and we hope you have been too. Have a blessed, safe and happy 2012!!

WF CHRISTMAS MESSAGE (12/23/11)

This is the third Christmas for the blog. I think my last two Christmas messages were pretty heavily religious. This year I will try a different approach.

Nobody knows when Christ was born. The gospels about his birth were written about 100 years after the event (i.e. about 70 years after His death). Thus, we do not have a highly detailed depiction of the birth scenario. Can you remember the details of something that happened 100 years ago?

To make matters even more confusing, Christmas was not celebrated as a holiday until hundreds of years after the death of Christ. The earliest Christmas celebrations seem to have been around 386 A.D. The Church did not make Christmas a holiday until 440 A.D. This time lag also contributed to inaccurate depictions of the Christmas Story.

We all love St. Francis of Assisi. How can you not like a guy who played with birds and squirrels? We should dislike him, however, for making the nativity scene the symbol of Christmas. In 1223, he came up with the idea for the nativity scene that you now see all over the place. A beautiful and clean manger. Sparkling figures that have a glow. A totally peaceful scene. Hogwash! Christmas was nothing like that, and we have St. Francis to thank for the inaccurate portrayal.

Let’s forget about the picture-perfect nativity scene and get to the real facts about Christmas.

First of all, most biblical scholars think that Christmas was in September. I could give you a complicated scripture analysis here, but let’s just focus on the obvious. There were shepards in the fields near Bethlehem. That only happened from March through October. Caesar Augustus wasn’t stupid. Near Bethlehem, December is one of the coldest months of the year. (Go online. The average nightly temperature in December is 40.) He wanted people to travel for the tax census so he could collect more money. Thus, he picked a month that made it easier for people to travel. Historical records put the census in the September time frame.

So, when you think of Christmas you should think September. The whole December 25th thing is phony. Early Christians were persecuted. They could not celebrate their holiday in public. At the end of December, the Romans always had their winter solstice celebration. The Christians simply put their holiday in that time period too so their celebration would go unnoticed due to all of the other festivities. That’s how December 25th was born. The date has nothing to do with the actual birth of Christ.

Let’s get back to the actual facts about Christmas. It is September. It is warm. Temperatures during the day are in the 80’s. At night it is in the 60’s. Mary and Joseph travel the 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the tax census. After that trip, they are both exhausted, dirty, and smelly. In fact, the whole town is dirty and smelly. On top of it all, Mary is about to have a baby. There are donkeys everywhere, because donkeys were a basic means of travel. There were small lodging houses, where the lucky guests stayed inside and their donkey stayed in a group compound that housed the animals of all the guests. Today, we would call it a kennel. St. Francis decided to depict the scene as a beautiful manger, but that was far from the truth. When they couldn’t get a room, Mary and Joseph went to the kennel. The kennel had baked all day under the 80 degree temperatures. The smell from urine and feces was fierce. Flys and other insects were everywhere. The animals were filthy, and so were Mary and Joseph. Mary was in pain. The noise from the animals was loud and constant. That was the true scene. That was Christmas. It was nothing like the pretty nativity scene that you have in your house or that you see on the town green. It was awful. It was the worst possible place to have a baby. Christ was born in a kennel.

The Miracle Child went on to change the world. Putting other religious matters aside, His basic teaching was to love thy neighbor. No matter what you religious affiliation, or lack thereof, that’s not a bad teaching to follow.

Remember that your neighbors are EVERYBODY. Especially remember that your neighbors include those who are living in the kennels of today. The homeless. The impoverished. Those in prison. People confined to hospitals and other medical facilities. Remember that Christ was born in a kennel. We must care for everyone regardless of their circumstances.

Whether you are Christian or not, it is hard to argue with the basic message of Christ. May that message be reborn in the hearts and minds of all of us this Christmas. The annual rebirth of that message in all of us should be the true meaning of Christmas. Peace.