Jade Helm - Menace or Myth?

 

 

"Hopefully, it is probably nothing. However if it is not nothing, it could be something - big..."

Our most transparent Administration in American history is at it once again. The new TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Trade Agreement is a classic example of this newly found openness. Okay, a bit of a sarcastic joke. This trade agreement is being handled like it was top secret or higher. Why? It is only a trade agreement. Not even members of Congress are allowed to get a copy of it. One must make an appointment, and go into a closed room to review it. And by the way, notes are not allowed to be taken.
 
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine had tipped me off about an upcoming event called Jade Helm 2015. I was blindsided. I had never heard of it. However, she advised me to quickly get up to speed as this thing could be dangerous. And just like with TPP, Jade Helm 2015 is shrouded in secrecy.

And now comes the real clinker. Jade Helm 2015 might not be just some cute and confusing name of an upcoming exercise. More and more websites now are saying it is really and acronym. JADE (Joint Assistant for Deployment and Execution) HELM (Homeland Eradication of Local Militants) in 2015. Does that mean us? The patriots? That can't be right.

Truthfully, when I first started looking into this, I thought there might be a modicum of truth to this rumor about Jade Helm 2015. Word had spread it was going to be a secret military exercise which was going to be held in Texas and surrounding states. I was convinced that our government had received actionable intelligence that ISIL had penetrated our border and was planning attacks in the desert southwest. We were sending the in military to neutralize the threat. After all, they are the enemy - right?

However, if Jade Helm is not focused on foreign intrusion into our country, what threat is the military training for? To keep conspiracy buffs at bay, would it not have made sense to come right out and tell public what Jade Helm 2015 is all about. It is after all, only a training exercise.

Here is the real problem. According to a CNN poll from last August, trust in our government is at an all time low. Lower than Watergate. It is no wonder that people see something like Jade Helm 2015 and expect the worst. If Jade Helm 2015 is for real, this country has big, big problems. If Jade Helm 2015 is anything else than a training exercise for desert warfare, it will signal the end of our Constitution as we know it. It will be the end of our country as we know it.

So Mr. President, here is you chance. Send your press secretary out to address the public. Strap him to a polygraph so we know we are getting the truth. Then tell us what the hell is going on with the TPP. With Jade Helm 2015. Failure to do so will do nothing but take our faith and confidence in our government even lower. How low? As we said in the Navy, lower than whale manure.  

Our Two May Anniversaries....

 

 

                                          

"Remembering these events were not a good way to start out the merry month of May..."

This is quite a week for anniversaries. Neither one of them good. The first happened on Monday. It was the 45th anniversary of the Kent State shootings. The second anniversary is today. It marks the 50th anniversary of the Fridley tornado outbreak.

Kent State - I have addressed this issue before and got into a bit of trouble with a friend. I will try again to express what I remember of it as well as what I learned from it. For those who are too young to remember this day, I will try to give some background. Kent State is a medium sized college in Ohio. That campus, like so many in those days, was fraught with dissent due to the unpopularity of the draft as well as the Viet Nam War.

In April of 1970 and at the beginning of the following May, the social unrest at some colleges really started to spike. In Ohio, the Governor made a decision to call up the National Guard. You know, to help keep the peace. Turns out that was a big mistake. I was not in-county at that time - I was stationed on Okinawa, Japan. So I was only able to read about it in the Stars and Stripes. Many young men who joined the National Guard back then did so for a singular reason - to stay out of the draft. Many were ill equipped or trained. The focus of the Army back then were the forces in Viet Nam.

Something happened on that normally sleepy little campus in Ohio on that May 4th in 1970. Student protests continued to develop and get larger. Nobody is exactly sure what set off the Guard. A firecracker, a backfire, a thrown rock, or something. The Guardsmen had been issued live ammo (please don't ask me why) and then something spooked them into firing into the crowd.

After the cease fire had been given, four students lay dead. Others lay wounded. It was a mess and a stain on our history. Everyone had their hands dirty. The students who were disrupted class for others, the outside agitators who tried to shut down the campus, the Governor who overreached by calling out the National Guard, and the Guard itself for having live ammo on a college campus. It was a sad day, a bad day. A very good example on why a nationalized police force in this country is a terrible idea.

Fridley Tornados - Fifty years ago today for those of us old enough to remember, was a day of terror. Many who recall that day remember how green the sky was. The sirens which kept going off, over and over again. The seemingly endless onslaught of death and destruction from the sky.

When I worked at FMC in Fridley, there were pictures of the plant after the storm had hit. The building had hundreds upon hundreds of windows. Most all were broken by the storm. A man I worked with was a 6 year old boy when the storm hit. He was in the family car with his mother and brother. When his mother saw the tornado approaching, she tried to outrun it. She did not quite make it. The tornado caught up with the car and the force of the wind started to suck the little boy out  the back window. His mother was trying to hold on to him for dear life while still controlling the car. Somehow they all survived it, but it was the closest of calls.

Most of us old codgers who lived on the north side of town at that time have memories of this storm. Some have stories. Some had experiences which they will never forget. We are fortunate that in the Twin Cities, storms such as the Fridley tornados are rare. Down south they are not.

Two anniversaries in one week. Two very tough events taking place in a month we wait so long for. Now it is time to get back to enjoying the newness and greening which only happens during a Minnesota May. 

Re-imagining America

 

 

"If we can't get Carly to run our country, can we at least get someone just like her?"

Yesterday Carly Fiorina jumped into the 2016 Presidential sweepstakes. I have made no secret of this in the past. I really, really like this woman. I liked her when she was at HP, even though as an IBM'er we wished she played for our team instead. I like what she has done since leaving industry. She has a history of being an iconoclast in a all too stagnant world. I think she is just what the doctor order for 2016. And she wants to "re-imagine America".

Carly is smart, she is able, and she has been around. She has seen the highs in life when she was the CEO of a major American company. And she has seen the lows. She is a breast cancer survivor, and has lost a step-child to the demons of addiction. She is a "thinking outside the box" person. Or as some would say, a re-imaginer.

Re-imagine. That is a word that Carly uses quite a bit. And what is it, some kind of modern day business jargon? Not quite. Our great country was founded on imagination. Our Captains of Industry forged products, employment and innovation due to imagination. But imagination is a temporal thing. If it is not nurtured, care for, and organically grown, it will wither and die. And that is what has happened to large portions of our country, our government, and ourselves.

Always keeping our Constitution in the forefront, Carly wants to "shake it up a bit". Changing the VA is an excellent example. She would like to take a dozen or so vets, and give them a blank canvas. The marching orders would be very straight forward. They were to "re-imagine" what the VA should look like in order to REALLY serve the veteran population. Carly does not know, as she is not a veteran. But the vets would know. Not a bunch of politicians or bureaucrats doing it, but the people who need and would use VA services. She is convinced the product produced would be light years better than what we have right now.

Carly would re-image our tax code. Our debt. Our entitlements. Our energy. Our foreign policy. Our military. Our just about everything. She is an ardent change agent only when change is sorely needed. And she is not afraid to change course if a course correction is required. All this she would do while honoring our Constitution and her faith.

I am excited about many of the Republican candidates I have seen thus far. Some are ready to lead a ticket, others maybe ready for a VP slot. As much as I like Carly, I think a VP slot would be her best fit in 2016. Her influence and innovation as a sitting Vice President would be enormous.

To meet tomorrow's challenges, we need people to think in tomorrow's terms. We don't need people who are as stale as yesterday's news. We don't need anymore dynasties. And we sure the heck don't need anymore charlatans. It is not over yet for our great nation - but it might soon be if we don't start to re-imagine our country and our future.  

Is there something wrong with the picture?

 

 

"To be rich and famous is great - however to be poor and downtrodden is turning out to be more common than uncommon..."

Today in the paper there were two interesting and disturbing articles. Let me preface what I am going to address by saying the following - I am not a Socialist; I am not an income redistributor; and I am not a RINO. I am a citizen who cares deeply about our country and the people who live here. That being said, there is something wrong with this picture.

Homeless Elderly - This one has snuck in under the wire. I has been a growing problem and now is at crisis levels in many homeless shelters across the metro area. People in their "golden years" having to live like vagrants. And most homeless shelters are not equipped to handle seniors or geriatrics.

My wife and I have had exposure to the homeless issue in our county, especially the youth. Our youngest daughter works in outreach to find and help homeless folks. In the paper this past weekend was an article stating that 25% of our population does not have a dollar put aside for emergencies. And it has been said time and time again, many of us are one lost job, one medical emergency, one major unexpected bill away from losing our homes. This is a huge problem which has become much, much worse during the past six years.

Income Gap - The second article in the paper today concerned the income disparity at the Capital Building in Washington. You know which one - the one where the people who always bitch about income disparity work. While our representatives make a tidy annual salary of $174k (some get even higher), some of the folks who keep the place clean and neat make about $10/hour. $10/hour equals about an annual salary of $20k. In a city with a cost of living like Washington. As I have said, I am not an income redistributor, but there is something wrong with this picture. Visitation on the lower perches of the income scale (most of us have been there as youth) are not places one should stay and try to live on. Solutions? Don't have an answer. I do know this - without fixing our economy in order to have it once again spew out "living wage" jobs is critical. Failure to do so will condemn us to stay on this downward spiral.

Our Thin Blue Line - This weekend two more law enforcement officers were shot. One in New York, and one in Chicago. Six police officers have been "overcharged" for the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. One with second degree murder. All of a sudden, there is a narrative developing there is "something wrong" with our police forces. They are "out of control". We need to "nationalize" them. Here is my take. There is nothing wrong with our police forces. They have and perform one of the toughest (and most dangerous) jobs in the country. Are the perfect? No. Are they corrupt? I believe not. This is one to keep and eye on folks. Powerful progressive forces would love to see our police force nationalized. We would end up with a domestic military force. Posse Comitatus would be thrown out the window, as would our liberties.

We have a whole lot of damage control to do in 2016. We need to undo many, many wrongs. Our homelessness problem has become worse. Our income disparity has become much worse. Our police are under attack like never before. That is the picture I am painting this morning. And there is something wrong, very wrong, with this picture.

Kill them with kindness

 

 

"It is always nice to meet people who practice what they preach..."

Many (and I mean many) years ago I worked at Montgomery Wards part time while still in high school. My entry level job (making about $1.50/hour) was the stock boy in the paint department. I also worked on the dock when a truck would come in with more merchandise. It was a fine job, not too many hours, close to home, and dozens of other kids from high school working there.

One of the part-time salesmen in the paint department was a man called Tony. He was 100% Italian heritage, and his day job was operating a paint mixer at Valspar in Minneapolis. Whenever he got to work, as tired as he might have been, Tony would spend about 10 minutes in the washroom trying to get any residual paint off his hands. When he hit the sales floor, it was always "go time" with Tony. Always smiling, always happy, always helpful.

Working with the public however, has it puts and takes. Once in a while a customer would come in very agitated. Some would have had a couple cocktails under their belts and wanted to blow off some steam. Others (a favorite complaint) would say the "guaranteed one coat" paint did not cover in one coat. They wanted their money back. Many times Tony received those customers when they first hit the department.

Tony, the 100% Italian who grew up in a very tough neighborhood in North Minneapolis, NEVER lost his cool. He would take complaints, yelling, insults and occasionally swearing. Nine times out of ten when the customer left, the customer was no longer upset.

One day I asked Tony how and why he took that kind of abuse from some customers. His answer was quite simple. "We don't know the kind of day that person has had. Or if there were other circumstances which caused the anger. My job is to listen, and try to fix the problem if I can. But most of all, I try to kill that customer with kindness. That is a person just like us." And he did. Time after time. And most, almost all of the customers loved Tony and loved dealing with him.

Years after I left Montgomery Wards, I was out of the Navy and done with school. My professional job led me to have quite a bit of customer interface. I always remembered how Tony dealt with customers. As opportunities, as friends just waiting to be friends. Tony taught me quite a bit in my late teens and early twenties. I learned about how paint was made, how to correctly apply it on a variety of surfaces, and how to correctly clean oil based paint off of natural bristle brushes.

But most of all, I learned about people. How to treat people. How to never lose your cool, even when the fire is the hottest. I learned from Tony how to love people, even when they are the most unlovable. So Tony - thank you. Many of the lessons you taught me are still with me today. Yes Tony, I do still try to "kill people with kindness..."

Caught in a trap

 

 

"People should not have to live like this. In fear. With no hope. Not in this country."

Years ago, I would occasionally listen to Dr. Laura Schlessinger on a local talk station. Once when a caller asked question about a race and stereotype issue, she gave a very interesting answer. The question was why so many white people are afraid of young black people. Dr. Laura's answer was simple - they are not. She went on to say if most people were walking down a darkened street at night, and approached by a group of young black men, dressed in suits and carrying Bibles, most would pass them by without a second thought. However, if it were a group of heavily tattooed young white men wearing motorcycle gang vests, most would cross over to the other side of the street before they passed by.

Stereotype? Maybe. But her point did usher in some truth. If you are going to dress and act like a thug, no matter what race you are, many people will assume you are a thug. Appearances and how you act matter.

Many people who do not live in the inner part of major cities get apprehensive when venturing there. Why? People read the paper or watch the news. It is a commonly known fact that certain areas of large cities have more crime than in the outer suburbs. People dress and act different. Like Dr. Laura talked about. Some regardless of race, look like and act like thugs. Many youth hang around on street corners. Cars drive by with stereos blasting. But this is where people live. Quite a few people actually.

Does life in our larger cities need to be scary or dangerous? Why is it in America, in the year 2015, we are warned to stay away from this part of town, or that part of town? Why is it some areas of town are so devoid of grocery stores, they are called "food deserts"? Why do some of schools look so old and dank, they might a set in a horror movie? Why do many parents teach their kids should they hear gunfire, to hit the floor and stay down until the danger has passed? Why do people live in areas like this? Because many are caught in a trap.

The more I look into issues which infest our largest cities, the more worried I become. Again, in America we should not have to fear traveling to, and into, any part of any city. But we do. There is danger there. And there is danger for those who live there. There is crime, poverty, hunger, inadequate housing, and so on, and so on.

Someone asked me not too long ago if there was any hope to bring some political balance back into the Twin Cites. I said I believe there is. That is, if you can give people hope. A way out. People should not have to flee where they are living, we should be able to fix where they live to make it more livable. Failure to do so will keep people searching for hope. Feeling trapped. Feeling as if caught in a trap.

As a country, as fellow citizens, as brothers and sisters, we owe each other better. Nobody should have to live without hope in this country.  

A waste of space

 

 

 

"But does it live up its expectations? Who cares? Trains are trendy and I love the colors..."

One of the things I always get a kick out of with government spending is the lack of follow through. In other words, before a dime is appropriated, many promises and guarantees are made as to how this will benefit society at large. Money is appropriated, spending starts, and then everyone is on to the next big thing. And what if this new program does not live up to its expectations? Who cares!

From a business perspective, from a return on investment perspective, I would love to know how our transportation dollars are paying off. In particular, I would like to know the TOTAL COST (TCO) of what both the LRT(s) and the Northstar really cost. And if they are truly taking cars off the road. If they are reducing congestion. If they are reducing "man-made global warming". There has to be a black and white reason why we spend so much on trains other than the fact they are trendy.

North Star - Been up and running since 2009. So far, not so good. Ridership is lower than expectations, four people have been killed in accidents, and traffic on Highway 10 is still a mess. What have we really gained? What we have found out is this - not that many people who live in the northwest corridor work downtown. And after the latest Target bloodbath, it is even less. Now there are some who want this line extended up to St. Cloud. Why? Has anyone determined how many people live in St. Cloud and work in downtown Minneapolis? And if they did, would they take the Northstar? This would cost a bunch of money based on a "hunch".

LRT - The estimates for the Southwest Line keep going up. Now at $2B. Chances are if it were built the final tab would be even higher. Plus (what is never talked about), the annual operating budget. And now we find out we have to factor in 10% of the people that never pay a fare (free riders). I have said for a while that this thing is so convoluted, it will die under its own weight. In other words, I don't think it will ever be built. If I am wrong, we are bigger fools than I thought.

Zip Rail - First we heard about this high speed rail going from Minneapolis to Chicago. Then some bright bulb thought we could have one going from Minneapolis to Rochester. Starting out as a diesel train, and then when the technology and cost are right, upgrade to electric which can go more than 200mph. Mucho money for very light ridership. Or better yet, a solution looking for a problem.

NLX - The granddaddy of them all. A cheap little line costing only $1B (projected). I still have yet to talk to one single human being who thinks this is a good idea. MOST people who travel to Duluth or the North Shore like to have their auto or truck with them. The only people who don't seem to care are the ones who will get off at the Hinckley Station. You know - the casino crowd. And now you see where all the pressure is coming from.

Trains, trains, and more trains. A waste of space for sure. But we will keep building them. Why? To quote Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does..."