The Top 10 Albums of Summer
10 years ago
Monday, March 31, 2008
Cheap Chinese NBA Players Falling Apart After A Couple Seasons
Reports from several NBA teams indicate that cheap, flimsy Chinese basketball players frequently break down and fall apart when faced with the normal wear-and-tear of an NBA season. "We got one a couple years ago, but the foot broke," said Rockets GM Carroll Dawson about Chinese center Yao Ming. "Now it just sits there. We don't even use it anymore." Said Bucks guard Michael Redd: "It was fun playing with Yi Jianlian for the first few weeks, but then it seemed like every time we got too rough, he stopped working and we had to get him fixed. Maybe we just got a crummy one." Some NBA GMs, however, claim that it is still worth it to buy Chinese players, as European players remain expensive and many domestic models are unreliable, unrefined, and occasionally malfunction and shoot someone.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
There's desire... and then there's Hillary.
"It was just my imagination, once again, running away with me." — The Temptations, 1971
In a way, it's unfair to single out Hillary Rodham Clinton for lying.
They all do it, after all. Eight years ago, John McCain, conductor on the Straight Talk Express, swore he saw nothing wrong with South Carolina flying the Confederate battle flag atop its statehouse. He later acknowledged this was a lie. Last week, Saint Barack Obama called for passage of legislation "I put forward with my colleague Chris Dodd" to help homeowners threatened by foreclosure. The Washington Post says Obama's co-authorship of the bill came as news to Sen. Dodd.
Most of us, I suspect, consider such fibs the political equivalent of white lies: unavoidable, but of no lasting significance. Besides, if you disqualify liars from the presidency, you'd have to do without a president for a while.
But even by that forgiving standard, Clinton's lie stands out. If you missed it: She's been telling audiences, as a way of burnishing her foreign-policy credentials, how she had to dodge bullets when she went to Bosnia as first lady in 1996. "I remember landing under sniper fire," she said. "There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."
It's a story that's thrilling, hair-raising ... everything but true. Sinbad, the comedian who was with Clinton on that trip, disputed her account, but she — incredibly — stuck with it. She did not stop telling the untruth until reporters who were on the trip called her on it and produced video showing Clinton and daughter Chelsea stepping calmly off a military transport and accepting a little girl's greeting. No gunfire, no running for her life.
She now says she "misspoke." It's a benign characterization of a troubling fact: The gap between Clinton and truth has become suddenly vast. And that raises manifold questions.
Chief among them is the one people asked of her husband Bill and New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer under different circumstances: What in the world was she thinking? Did she forget her arrival was viewed by witnesses, many with cameras? Did not it occur to her that if the first lady of the United States came under sniper fire, it would be newsworthy, something we'd all remember?
So bald and bold is the lie that it leaves me wondering if maybe she honestly remembers it that way. Science has shown we're all susceptible to false memory; it's not unheard of for a person to believe she's had an experience she has not, especially after years of telling and embellishing a story. As it happens, the events Clinton recalls did occur — just not to her. The Post reminds us that Sen. Olympia Snowe came under fire on a visit to Bosnia six months before Clinton got there. So perhaps Clinton has transferred the memory?
I know I'm reaching. Granted, someone might innocently misappropriate someone else's memory of something trivial, even something relatively important. But it requires a 6-year-old's credulity to believe a woman would not accurately recall whether she and her daughter came under sniper fire.
I've always wanted to ask a presidential candidate: What would you not do to win? The answer, I think, would say more about character than all the slogans and 30-second spots in the world.
I'm curious to hear how Clinton would respond. Because if anything has distinguished her campaign this year, it's how nakedly she wants this job. They all want it, of course. You've got to want it badly to spend months slogging through truck-stop cafes and Rotary Club meetings shaking hands and kissing babies. There's nothing wrong with wanting it badly.
This past week suggests, however, that there's something scary about wanting it too much.
In a way, it's unfair to single out Hillary Rodham Clinton for lying.
They all do it, after all. Eight years ago, John McCain, conductor on the Straight Talk Express, swore he saw nothing wrong with South Carolina flying the Confederate battle flag atop its statehouse. He later acknowledged this was a lie. Last week, Saint Barack Obama called for passage of legislation "I put forward with my colleague Chris Dodd" to help homeowners threatened by foreclosure. The Washington Post says Obama's co-authorship of the bill came as news to Sen. Dodd.
Most of us, I suspect, consider such fibs the political equivalent of white lies: unavoidable, but of no lasting significance. Besides, if you disqualify liars from the presidency, you'd have to do without a president for a while.
But even by that forgiving standard, Clinton's lie stands out. If you missed it: She's been telling audiences, as a way of burnishing her foreign-policy credentials, how she had to dodge bullets when she went to Bosnia as first lady in 1996. "I remember landing under sniper fire," she said. "There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."
It's a story that's thrilling, hair-raising ... everything but true. Sinbad, the comedian who was with Clinton on that trip, disputed her account, but she — incredibly — stuck with it. She did not stop telling the untruth until reporters who were on the trip called her on it and produced video showing Clinton and daughter Chelsea stepping calmly off a military transport and accepting a little girl's greeting. No gunfire, no running for her life.
She now says she "misspoke." It's a benign characterization of a troubling fact: The gap between Clinton and truth has become suddenly vast. And that raises manifold questions.
Chief among them is the one people asked of her husband Bill and New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer under different circumstances: What in the world was she thinking? Did she forget her arrival was viewed by witnesses, many with cameras? Did not it occur to her that if the first lady of the United States came under sniper fire, it would be newsworthy, something we'd all remember?
So bald and bold is the lie that it leaves me wondering if maybe she honestly remembers it that way. Science has shown we're all susceptible to false memory; it's not unheard of for a person to believe she's had an experience she has not, especially after years of telling and embellishing a story. As it happens, the events Clinton recalls did occur — just not to her. The Post reminds us that Sen. Olympia Snowe came under fire on a visit to Bosnia six months before Clinton got there. So perhaps Clinton has transferred the memory?
I know I'm reaching. Granted, someone might innocently misappropriate someone else's memory of something trivial, even something relatively important. But it requires a 6-year-old's credulity to believe a woman would not accurately recall whether she and her daughter came under sniper fire.
I've always wanted to ask a presidential candidate: What would you not do to win? The answer, I think, would say more about character than all the slogans and 30-second spots in the world.
I'm curious to hear how Clinton would respond. Because if anything has distinguished her campaign this year, it's how nakedly she wants this job. They all want it, of course. You've got to want it badly to spend months slogging through truck-stop cafes and Rotary Club meetings shaking hands and kissing babies. There's nothing wrong with wanting it badly.
This past week suggests, however, that there's something scary about wanting it too much.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Opening Night At Denver Democratic Convention Announced
6:00 PM - Opening Flag Burning Ceremony
6:05 PM - Pledge of Allegiance to the U.N.
6:15 PM - Secular Prayers by Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton
6:30 PM - Antiwar Concert by Barbara Streisand
6:40 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
7:00 PM - Tribute to France
7:10 PM - Collect Offerings for Osama bin Laden Defense Fund
7:25 PM - Tribute to Germany
7:45 PM - Antiwar Rally (Moderated by Michael Moore)
8:25 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
8:30 PM - Terrorist Appeasement Workshop
9:00 PM - Roundtable Discussion of Taxes: "Calling for Higher Taxes on Others While You Pay
None" (Moderated by Nancy Pelosi)
9:15 PM - Bill & Hillary Clinton Host a Seminar on "The Successful Selling of White House
& Air Force One Mementos on eBay"
9:20 PM - Gay Marriage Ceremony (Both Male and Female Couples)
9:30 PM - * Intermission * Special Guest Soloist Jane Fonda
10:00 PM - Posting the Iraqi Colors by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins
10:10 PM - Reenactment of Kerry's Fake Medal Toss
10:20 PM - DNC Chairman Howard Dean Screamfest 'Yeeearrrrrrrg!'
10:30 PM - Seminar: "The Boy Scouts and Other Paramilitary threats to National Security"
10:40 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
10:45 PM - Abortion Demonstration (NARAL)
11:00 PM - Multiple Gay Marriage Ceremony (Threesomes, Mixed and Same-Sex)
11:15 PM - 'Maximizing Welfare' Workshop
11:30 PM - 'Free Gitmo Detainees' Pep Rally
11:50 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
12:00 AM - Obama-Franken Ticket Sealed With A Kiss
12:01 AM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
12:02 AM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
6:05 PM - Pledge of Allegiance to the U.N.
6:15 PM - Secular Prayers by Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton
6:30 PM - Antiwar Concert by Barbara Streisand
6:40 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
7:00 PM - Tribute to France
7:10 PM - Collect Offerings for Osama bin Laden Defense Fund
7:25 PM - Tribute to Germany
7:45 PM - Antiwar Rally (Moderated by Michael Moore)
8:25 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
8:30 PM - Terrorist Appeasement Workshop
9:00 PM - Roundtable Discussion of Taxes: "Calling for Higher Taxes on Others While You Pay
None" (Moderated by Nancy Pelosi)
9:15 PM - Bill & Hillary Clinton Host a Seminar on "The Successful Selling of White House
& Air Force One Mementos on eBay"
9:20 PM - Gay Marriage Ceremony (Both Male and Female Couples)
9:30 PM - * Intermission * Special Guest Soloist Jane Fonda
10:00 PM - Posting the Iraqi Colors by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins
10:10 PM - Reenactment of Kerry's Fake Medal Toss
10:20 PM - DNC Chairman Howard Dean Screamfest 'Yeeearrrrrrrg!'
10:30 PM - Seminar: "The Boy Scouts and Other Paramilitary threats to National Security"
10:40 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
10:45 PM - Abortion Demonstration (NARAL)
11:00 PM - Multiple Gay Marriage Ceremony (Threesomes, Mixed and Same-Sex)
11:15 PM - 'Maximizing Welfare' Workshop
11:30 PM - 'Free Gitmo Detainees' Pep Rally
11:50 PM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
12:00 AM - Obama-Franken Ticket Sealed With A Kiss
12:01 AM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
12:02 AM - Ted Kennedy Proposes a Toast
Social Security
Look and feel 15 years younger!
The latest report of the Social Security Trustees is out. I think the key message is what has happened to the estimate of actuarial balance — the difference between projected outlays and projected revenues over the next 75 years. This is the thing that’s supposed to get steadily worse as time goes by, as the 75-year window contains ever fewer years in which the baby boomers are in the work force, paying payroll taxes, and ever more years when the boomers are out of the work force and collecting benefits.
In fact, however, the actuarial balance has been improving rather than worsening. It’s now better than it’s been since 1993. What this tells us is that projections made in the mid-to-late 1990s were, in the light of subsequent revisions, way too pessimistic.
Moral: Social Security’s financial problem is relatively minor. It doesn’t deserve the emphasis it receives from most pundits
The latest report of the Social Security Trustees is out. I think the key message is what has happened to the estimate of actuarial balance — the difference between projected outlays and projected revenues over the next 75 years. This is the thing that’s supposed to get steadily worse as time goes by, as the 75-year window contains ever fewer years in which the baby boomers are in the work force, paying payroll taxes, and ever more years when the boomers are out of the work force and collecting benefits.
In fact, however, the actuarial balance has been improving rather than worsening. It’s now better than it’s been since 1993. What this tells us is that projections made in the mid-to-late 1990s were, in the light of subsequent revisions, way too pessimistic.
Moral: Social Security’s financial problem is relatively minor. It doesn’t deserve the emphasis it receives from most pundits
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Little Clitoria Jackson will Likely Undergo a Name Change
In a decision that’s expected to send shockwaves through the African-American community—and yet, give much relief to teachers everywhere—a federal judge ruled today that black women no longer have independent naming rights for their children. Too many black children—and many adults—bear names that border on not even being words, he said.
“I am simply tired of these ridiculous names black women are giving their children,” said U.S. Federal Judge Ryan Cabrera before rendering his decision. “Someone had to put a stop to it.”
The rule applies to all black women, but Cabrera singled out impoverished mothers.
“They are the worst perpetrators,” he said. “They put in apostrophes where none are needed. They think a ‘Q’ is a must. There was a time when Shaniqua and Tawanda were names you dreaded. Now, if you’re a black girl, you hope you get a name as sensible as one of those.”
Few stepped forward to defend black women—and black women themselves seemed relieved.
“It’s so hard to keep coming up with something unique,” said Uneeqqi Jenkins, 22, an African-American mother of seven who survives on public assistance. Her children are named Daryl, Q’Antity, Uhlleejsha, Cray-Ig, Fellisittee, Tay’Sh’awn and Day’Shawndra.
Beginning in one week, at least three white people must agree with the name before a black mother can name her child.
“Hopefully we can see a lot more black children with sensible names like Jake and Connor,” Cabrera said.
His ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by a 13-year-old girl whose mother created her name using Incan hieroglyphics.
“She said it would make me stand out,” said the girl, whose name can’t be reproduced by The Peoples News’ technology. “But it’s really just stupid.”
The National Association of Elementary School Teachers celebrated Cabrera’s decision.
“Oh my God, the first day of school you’d be standing there sweating, looking at the list of names wondering ‘How do I pronounce Q’J’Q’Sha.’?” said Joyce Harmon, NAEST spokeswoman. “Is this even English?”
The practice of giving black children outlandish names began in the 1960s, when blacks were getting in touch with their African roots, said historian Corlione Vest. But even he admits it got out of hand.
“I have a niece who’s six. I’m embarrassed to say I can’t even pronounce her name,” said Vest, a professor at Princeton University. “Whenever I want to talk to her, I just wait until she looks at me and then I wave her over.”
Cabrera’s ruling exempted black men because so few of them are actually involved in their children’s lives.
“I am simply tired of these ridiculous names black women are giving their children,” said U.S. Federal Judge Ryan Cabrera before rendering his decision. “Someone had to put a stop to it.”
The rule applies to all black women, but Cabrera singled out impoverished mothers.
“They are the worst perpetrators,” he said. “They put in apostrophes where none are needed. They think a ‘Q’ is a must. There was a time when Shaniqua and Tawanda were names you dreaded. Now, if you’re a black girl, you hope you get a name as sensible as one of those.”
Few stepped forward to defend black women—and black women themselves seemed relieved.
“It’s so hard to keep coming up with something unique,” said Uneeqqi Jenkins, 22, an African-American mother of seven who survives on public assistance. Her children are named Daryl, Q’Antity, Uhlleejsha, Cray-Ig, Fellisittee, Tay’Sh’awn and Day’Shawndra.
Beginning in one week, at least three white people must agree with the name before a black mother can name her child.
“Hopefully we can see a lot more black children with sensible names like Jake and Connor,” Cabrera said.
His ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by a 13-year-old girl whose mother created her name using Incan hieroglyphics.
“She said it would make me stand out,” said the girl, whose name can’t be reproduced by The Peoples News’ technology. “But it’s really just stupid.”
The National Association of Elementary School Teachers celebrated Cabrera’s decision.
“Oh my God, the first day of school you’d be standing there sweating, looking at the list of names wondering ‘How do I pronounce Q’J’Q’Sha.’?” said Joyce Harmon, NAEST spokeswoman. “Is this even English?”
The practice of giving black children outlandish names began in the 1960s, when blacks were getting in touch with their African roots, said historian Corlione Vest. But even he admits it got out of hand.
“I have a niece who’s six. I’m embarrassed to say I can’t even pronounce her name,” said Vest, a professor at Princeton University. “Whenever I want to talk to her, I just wait until she looks at me and then I wave her over.”
Cabrera’s ruling exempted black men because so few of them are actually involved in their children’s lives.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Hillary's Bald Face Lie
It’s amazing to watch. And the more I see, the more embarrassed I become as a consumer of the American news media.
Hillary Clinton, one of three finalists in the contest to become the 44th president of the United States, is caught on videotape delivering a bald-faced lie about her experience in foreign affairs.
And it’s not Page One news.
It was on Page 18 of The New York Times. It (four paragraphs) was on Page 24 of the Rocky Mountain News. It was on Page 6 of The Denver Post. It wasn’t even reported - not a line of it - in my hometown newspaper.
This wasn’t even a close call. It belonged on Page One.
Hillary Clinton claims to have vast experience in foreign affairs, the person you would want to answer the telephone at 3 a.m. when an international crisis erupts unexpectedly on the other side of the world.
She claims that it is her experience that recommends her candidacy above that of her primary rival, Barack Obama.
Experience isn’t a small-print item on her resume. It is right there, up on top, No. 1 on her list of credentials.
For several weeks, critics have been searching for some evidence of her substantial experience in foreign affairs, something that transcends the social hostess experience of all former First Ladies. Even a morsel of bona fides would suffice.
Finally, in a speech delivered last week, on St. Patrick’s Day as she was decked out with a green scarf decorated in cloverleaves, she offered something up.
During a trip to Bosnia in 1996, Clinton recalls that:
“I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base,” she told a hushed audience.
There is only one problem - no, there are at least three problems - with that recollection.
1.) There was no sniper fire.
2.) The ceremony wasn’t cancelled.
3.) No one ran to their vehicles with their heads down. Everyone strolled across the tarmac to a waiting motorcade, leisurely shaking hands and chatting in smiley-faced conversations.
But, it turns out, there was a fourth problem. CBS has produced its videotape of the airport arrival Clinton described last week.
It shows Hillary and daughter Chelsea being greeted at the Tuzla airport by an adoring crowd of well-wishers, including an 8-year-old child who personally provided the First Lady with a warm welcome. The Clinton entourage calmly walked with the crowd to her waiting vehicle, stopping to chat along the way and to shake hands with dignitaries and local folk.
There were no shots fired, no one ducking in fear, no rush to escape the danger, no one running for cover, nobody scrambling for the safety of a vehicle.
Clinton’s version of events was not only a lie, it was a dramatic lie. It was a fantasy.
In fact, there is no evidence that any such event has ever happened in her life. She apparently wasn’t confusing this event with some other incident, where a welcoming ceremony was canceled under the danger of hot sniper fire.
It never happened - anytime, anywhere.
She just made it up.
CBS Correspondent Sharyl Atkisson, who accompanied Clinton on the flight and on her travels abound Bosnia, not only recalls the cordial welcoming ceremony at Tuzla, she remembers the entire visit in Bosnia. “There was no sniper fire, either, when Clinton visited two army outposts, where she posed for photos. And no sniper fire back at the base, where (Clinton) sang in a USO show starring Sinbad and Sheryl Crowe.”
This lie ranks right up there with historic presidential lies like “I am not a crook” and “I did not have sexual relations with that woman - Ms. Lewinski.”
The Clinton campaign, after nearly a week of insisting that her recollection was accurate, finally admitted (after CBS aired the 1996 videotape) that the candidate “misspoke” about her adventure.
No, she didn’t misspeak. She lied. She imagined something that didn’t happen. And she spoke of her whimsical vision as if it were fact and truth and real experience.
Hillary Clinton, one of three finalists in the contest to become the 44th president of the United States, is caught on videotape delivering a bald-faced lie about her experience in foreign affairs.
And it’s not Page One news.
It was on Page 18 of The New York Times. It (four paragraphs) was on Page 24 of the Rocky Mountain News. It was on Page 6 of The Denver Post. It wasn’t even reported - not a line of it - in my hometown newspaper.
This wasn’t even a close call. It belonged on Page One.
Hillary Clinton claims to have vast experience in foreign affairs, the person you would want to answer the telephone at 3 a.m. when an international crisis erupts unexpectedly on the other side of the world.
She claims that it is her experience that recommends her candidacy above that of her primary rival, Barack Obama.
Experience isn’t a small-print item on her resume. It is right there, up on top, No. 1 on her list of credentials.
For several weeks, critics have been searching for some evidence of her substantial experience in foreign affairs, something that transcends the social hostess experience of all former First Ladies. Even a morsel of bona fides would suffice.
Finally, in a speech delivered last week, on St. Patrick’s Day as she was decked out with a green scarf decorated in cloverleaves, she offered something up.
During a trip to Bosnia in 1996, Clinton recalls that:
“I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base,” she told a hushed audience.
There is only one problem - no, there are at least three problems - with that recollection.
1.) There was no sniper fire.
2.) The ceremony wasn’t cancelled.
3.) No one ran to their vehicles with their heads down. Everyone strolled across the tarmac to a waiting motorcade, leisurely shaking hands and chatting in smiley-faced conversations.
But, it turns out, there was a fourth problem. CBS has produced its videotape of the airport arrival Clinton described last week.
It shows Hillary and daughter Chelsea being greeted at the Tuzla airport by an adoring crowd of well-wishers, including an 8-year-old child who personally provided the First Lady with a warm welcome. The Clinton entourage calmly walked with the crowd to her waiting vehicle, stopping to chat along the way and to shake hands with dignitaries and local folk.
There were no shots fired, no one ducking in fear, no rush to escape the danger, no one running for cover, nobody scrambling for the safety of a vehicle.
Clinton’s version of events was not only a lie, it was a dramatic lie. It was a fantasy.
In fact, there is no evidence that any such event has ever happened in her life. She apparently wasn’t confusing this event with some other incident, where a welcoming ceremony was canceled under the danger of hot sniper fire.
It never happened - anytime, anywhere.
She just made it up.
CBS Correspondent Sharyl Atkisson, who accompanied Clinton on the flight and on her travels abound Bosnia, not only recalls the cordial welcoming ceremony at Tuzla, she remembers the entire visit in Bosnia. “There was no sniper fire, either, when Clinton visited two army outposts, where she posed for photos. And no sniper fire back at the base, where (Clinton) sang in a USO show starring Sinbad and Sheryl Crowe.”
This lie ranks right up there with historic presidential lies like “I am not a crook” and “I did not have sexual relations with that woman - Ms. Lewinski.”
The Clinton campaign, after nearly a week of insisting that her recollection was accurate, finally admitted (after CBS aired the 1996 videotape) that the candidate “misspoke” about her adventure.
No, she didn’t misspeak. She lied. She imagined something that didn’t happen. And she spoke of her whimsical vision as if it were fact and truth and real experience.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Colorado's CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program) Test
Johnnie may or may not have scored well on Colorado's CSAP test.
One thing is sure, though: College admissions offices, military recruiters and personnel offices everywhere could not care less about Johnnie's score on the Colorado Student Assessment Program.
That's right, kids. If you tanked on the CSAP test, don't worry - there will never be any consequences. Of course, if you are beyond the fifth grade, you probably knew that.
Any parents who have observed teenagers in recent years are aware that some middle schoolers and high school students don't try very hard on the CSAP tests. Why should they? And if adults know that, why would they place such importance on CSAP scores?
The bureaucrats and big-government Republican lawmakers who crafted the test were never interested in measuring Johnnie's progress. In political terms, CSAP is a tool used to chastise teachers unions, the natural political enemies of those who support CSAP the most.
CSAP tests are Colorado's version of fulfilling the requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, President George W. Bush's education policy.
Like former Gov. Bill Owens, many Republicans across America were so enthusiastic about No Child Left Behind that they were willing to wink at a huge unfunded federal mandate, as well as the growth of a mammoth federal bureaucracy.
These same politicos embrace the memory of Ronald Reagan, who vowed to eliminate the Department of Education because he thought the federal government had no place in K-12 education.
Now there is a growing number of No Child Left Behind critics, including conservatives opposed to the gargantuan federal role in classrooms. This year, CSAP testing will cost $21 million in Colorado, $15 million of which is paid by Colorado taxpayers.
This profligate spending in support of America's obsession with keeping score won't last much longer. The Democrat-controlled Colorado Legislature is looking at scrapping the CSAP test.
There are a couple of bills aimed at doing that; one of them was approved Thursday by the House Education Committee, whose chairman is Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs.
Merrifield, a retired teacher, has long opposed the unrelenting emphasis on testing, saying "It undeniably has forced administrators to take money and resources and time from the rest of the curriculum, including the arts and humanities."
One inevitable result of CSAP is that schools are encouraged to simply prepare the kids for the test instead of providing education in the deeper sense. It has taken a lot of the fun out of going to school. "You would be shocked at how many districts have cut out or cut back on recess," Merrifield said.
What Colorado decides may be moot if a Democrat wins the White House. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have vowed to end the No Child Left Behind nonsense.
One thing is sure, though: College admissions offices, military recruiters and personnel offices everywhere could not care less about Johnnie's score on the Colorado Student Assessment Program.
That's right, kids. If you tanked on the CSAP test, don't worry - there will never be any consequences. Of course, if you are beyond the fifth grade, you probably knew that.
Any parents who have observed teenagers in recent years are aware that some middle schoolers and high school students don't try very hard on the CSAP tests. Why should they? And if adults know that, why would they place such importance on CSAP scores?
The bureaucrats and big-government Republican lawmakers who crafted the test were never interested in measuring Johnnie's progress. In political terms, CSAP is a tool used to chastise teachers unions, the natural political enemies of those who support CSAP the most.
CSAP tests are Colorado's version of fulfilling the requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, President George W. Bush's education policy.
Like former Gov. Bill Owens, many Republicans across America were so enthusiastic about No Child Left Behind that they were willing to wink at a huge unfunded federal mandate, as well as the growth of a mammoth federal bureaucracy.
These same politicos embrace the memory of Ronald Reagan, who vowed to eliminate the Department of Education because he thought the federal government had no place in K-12 education.
Now there is a growing number of No Child Left Behind critics, including conservatives opposed to the gargantuan federal role in classrooms. This year, CSAP testing will cost $21 million in Colorado, $15 million of which is paid by Colorado taxpayers.
This profligate spending in support of America's obsession with keeping score won't last much longer. The Democrat-controlled Colorado Legislature is looking at scrapping the CSAP test.
There are a couple of bills aimed at doing that; one of them was approved Thursday by the House Education Committee, whose chairman is Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs.
Merrifield, a retired teacher, has long opposed the unrelenting emphasis on testing, saying "It undeniably has forced administrators to take money and resources and time from the rest of the curriculum, including the arts and humanities."
One inevitable result of CSAP is that schools are encouraged to simply prepare the kids for the test instead of providing education in the deeper sense. It has taken a lot of the fun out of going to school. "You would be shocked at how many districts have cut out or cut back on recess," Merrifield said.
What Colorado decides may be moot if a Democrat wins the White House. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have vowed to end the No Child Left Behind nonsense.
Had Enough?
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to—as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.
Who Are These Guys, Anyway?
Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them—or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy.
And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a Leader
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points—not ten (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.
So, here's my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President—the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, "Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't.
Leadership is all about managing change—whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths—for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION—a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President—four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake.
It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it." George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know—Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush.
Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world—and I like it here."
I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while.
The Biggest C is Crisis
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day—and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero.
That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq—a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know what will.
A Hell of a Mess
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen—and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises—the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to—as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.
Who Are These Guys, Anyway?
Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them—or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy.
And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a Leader
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points—not ten (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.
So, here's my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President—the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, "Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't.
Leadership is all about managing change—whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths—for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION—a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President—four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake.
It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it." George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know—Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush.
Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world—and I like it here."
I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while.
The Biggest C is Crisis
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day—and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero.
That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq—a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know what will.
A Hell of a Mess
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen—and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises—the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.
Monday, March 24, 2008
You have to crawl before you can walk
I have given up talking to my 22" widescreen monitor. I am now preparing to enter the world of blogging. 66.666% of my children are bloggers and I must say, as a form of communication, it sure keeps me up to date on their goings on. Will I blog daily? Probably not. Will what I have to say be imminently interesting to the washed and unwashed masses? No. Will I blog things that are interesting only to me? Definitely. Will I type in all Caps? No, my anger shall be mild. This is my corner of the blogosphere and I shall do and write as I please.
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