Guhor!

 

 

"I am not sure, but I might be afraid of the dark...."

Back when I was on active duty in the Navy, the Russians were known to use a word on occasion called Guhor. Guhor was a radio term which meant either "I can't hear you" or sometimes "All is darkness". It was a word used infrequently, as it was usually used out of total frustration.

Most of us prefer light to dark. It is the way we are wired. Most of us are up during the day, and sleep during the night. Lightness illuminates, darkness hides or conceals. Some kids (even some adults) are afraid of the dark - not too many people are afraid of the daytime.

I will now speak only for myself. Most of my life, I have been able to peer into the future with some degree of clarity and hope. I could plan. Like most of us, I could not predict the future, but the path to the future was clear enough to allow most of us to do some amount of planning. As of late however, I see more darkness than light. I have lost the way forward. Financially, politically, socially - all are clouded. For me, it is Guhor, plain and simple.

This morning it was reported the Speaker said he would not default on the debt. In other words, it sounds like he is going to acquiesce and agree to raise the debt limit without conditions. We will come out of this shut down with nothing to show. Obamacare will remain to be unfair and broken, and our unchecked spending will keep us on the road to Greece.

More and more Americans are asking "Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?" Most people are not stupid. When they look at their retirement accounts, paychecks, and mortgages, they know something is not right. We send people to Washington every two or six years to REPRESENT us - not themselves. We ask them to do one simple thing every year - pass a realistic budget. Just like most families sit down on occasion and plan their spending as it relates to their income, we expect the same from Congress. Once they get to Washington, they seem to lose their way. They have aides write behemoth bills that nobody can or will read, and then every September, pass a continuing resolution to fund the next year's governmental operations.

Even some members of Congress can sense the growing darkness. Washington is indeed broken. People in power do not have the will, nor the wisdom to fix it. For many in Washington, the people's work has become just going though the paces rather than effecting positive change for the electorate.

One of my former bosses would use the word reclama when things got really screwed up. Reclama is a seldom used word which means "complete change in direction". In other words, a reset. What is happening now in Washington is not working - not at all. We need people with vision who shun the status quo and desire a total reclama. We need to be able to pass yearly budgets, write meaningful bills people can understand, establish a FAIR and non-political tax code, and RUDUCE our debt.

Until we can do that, we will continue to live in darkness. We will have total guhor and then some.

Another Word from the Bird....

20,000!

Yesterday was a big day for the Very Angry Bird. Early yesterday morning, the blog hit 20,000 views and kept climbing throughout the day. It was a humbling experience. Many times I expose not only my faith and political views, but also life experiences (some of which have been revealing about my many quirks and weaknesses).

Another big milestone for the Very Angry Bird. Today, the blog hit 20,000 views. It was only on May 15th of this year, the blog hit 10,000 views. It took 10 months to get the first 10,000 views - less than 5 months to get the next 10,000 views. It pleases me that more people are finding the daily posts a worth while place to spend a minute or two.

First a bit of blog history. My first blog was called Maximus Garrulous (big talker). It dealt mostly with faith matters and it was fun to do. However, it never really caught on and thus became more of a journal than a blog. Flash forward to 15 months ago. A good friend from high school liked some of my rants I would post on Facebook. She thought I should try a blog. At first, my reaction was "been there, done that". However, on second thought - what the hey. In July 2012, the Very Angry Bird was launched.

A few facts about the last 15 months:

• As was stated, over 20,000 views
• 498 postings
• Read in the United States and 12 other countries (Russia in second place)
• Did first two novelettes (The Worst Case and Fatal Splash) using the blog

Where do I go from here? More of the same - hopefully better and more insightful. My experiences being retired Navy, retired industry ranging from defense to IT, (and many, many hard knocks) play a part in many of my posts. I do try and vet my facts to ensure my postings are as accurate as possible.

So, for those who read the Very Angry Bird, thank you. I will continue to be a political and social critic using not only facts, but also a pithy attitude. With the crowd we now have in our Federal and State governments, the well of subject matter continues to be very deep indeed!

Right and Wrong

 

 

"And the difference between right and wrong is ---- who cares?!?"

I have been preoccupied as of late thinking about right and wrong. Not right or wrong - rather right and wrong. The reason I say that is simple - the concept of "right" has evolved (or devolved) to many as nothing more than moral relativism. One time we as a society had a common set of norms that defined right or wrong.  Today by contrast, we use a whole slew of politically correct non-descript words to describe our actions. We have become our own moral arbiter. If it feels good, we are good to go.

Many on the Left have given up on the teachings of the Bible as well as the constructs of our Constitution. Why? Both are too absolute. Instead of right or wrong, we have become comfortable in the world of right and wrong. If it feels good, do it. Guilt has become so passé. We always seem to have a reason, an excuse, to define our actions or behavior.

We see this all the time today. For example, we recently had the trial of a member of congress who was caught with "his hand in the cookie jar". In days gone by, the perpetrator might say have said something like, "I did wrong and I am sorry. I will accept the consequences of my action." Not today. This representative said he had bi-polar and that was the cause of his misstep. Or, it could have been the devil made him do it; or the dog ate his homework. The court system gave him a light sentence, retirement pay of almost $9,000 a month, AND disability payments due to his "disease". As a convicted crook, he will now make more money in prison than I make as a retired person.

Moral relativism is one of the cancers which eats at our country today. There has always been, and always should be absolute right as well as absolute wrong. The Bible has the Ten Commandments - not the ten suggestions, or the ten "do-betters" - the Ten Commandments. When people of faith fall short of any of the Ten Commandments, they know it. They know they were WRONG. Not right and wrong - just WRONG.

Moral relativism is a big part of the problem with the direction our country has headed since the 1960's. We need to get back to the basics our Founders visioned in the beginning. We need more people to do the RIGHT thing, and if the WRONG thing ever happens, we need personal accountability. Until we can turn this around, we will continue to drift and stumble down the wrong path.

A Grand Bargain?

 

 

"To get a little, you got to give a little"

I was waiting to see how long it would take for this old catch phrase to come up again. Since the shutdown has become so mired in the muck, and nobody is ready to give an inch, the idea of a Grand Bargain as again surfaced. I have always liked the idea of an omnibus solution to many vexing problems or issues. With larger deals (although complicated), there are more opportunities to give and take, make concessions, make gains, get results.

My only issue with a Grand Bargain at this juncture is timing. The regular clock has run out and we are running out of overtime. However, many of the things being discussed are familiar topics. For the Republicans, it would probably be tax reform, entitlement reform, approval of the Keystone Pipeline and maybe some others. For the President, it would be immigration reform, a version of "Cap and Trade", and of course, keeping ObamaCare intact. In exchange for agreement on some of issues, with absolute milestones established for agreement on the rest, a clean CR would be released, and the debt ceiling would be raised.

Before I go much further, I know that some have just fallen off their chairs laughing. Some  might be saying, "Oh my gosh! This is TOTAL capitulation - total surrender!" To that I will respond by saying a basic cornerstone of any good negotiation is this - you have to give some to get some. The Vikings would not trade Adrian Peterson for some future 5th round draft pick. They would trade him for something of commensurate value. The same is true for a Grand Bargain - both sides are going to have to give up a "pet rock" to get something in return they really want.

To get to a Grand Bargain, there are some basic rules to follow:

• First and foremost, stop the name calling. It is childish and serves no purpose in obtaining a settlement.
• Show leadership, especially from the President. Crossing your arms and saying "I won't negotiate" will solve nothing.
• Stop posturing through the media. Negotiations should be between the two parties only. If negotiations go well or poorly, only the parties need to know.
• Treat each other with RESPECT at the table.
• TRUTH TALK instead of lies, half truths and talking points. 
• Try to understand where the other party is coming from on each issue.

I have said this before - what both sides need to realize is our DEBT is the biggest internal danger we face right now as a country. Getting a handle on this should be the goal that BOTH sides have as item number one. Raising the debt ceiling every few months and then going through this stock dance over and over is no way to run a railroad (or a country). By the way - whether both sides want to admit this or not, ObamaCare is part of the debt issue. We all know it is going to cost more than forecasted, so we need TRUTH TALK at the table.

One final thing. There is a reason why outside negotiators are often brought in for important deals. People who are too close, who have too much history, are often too tainted to be objective enough to craft a deal. Both sides should bring in non-aligned pros to get this thing going.

October will be a pivotal month for our country. We will either show the world we know how to solve complicated issues, or confirm the worst fears in many - we have become ungovernable. For me, I will vote for the former.

The other side of Scott

 

 

I first met Scott LeDoux late in his life. I had heard of him, seen him when we attended a former church, but never met him face to face. He had long since retired from boxing, gone into real estate and ran for (and won) a seat on the Anoka County Board. He was heavily involved in fund raising for the new Andover Community Center as well as the collaborative YMCA.

And that is where Scott and I met. He was the first Board Chair for the newly established YMCA and I was the Y Partners Chair. When he and I first shook hands, I was amazed by the size of Scott's hand. All I could think of was how much it had to hurt other boxers who had to face the business end of those hands. Scott was always polite to everyone on the Board and pride never seemed to be an issue with him. I liked him from the get-go.

A few months after the Board was established, he and I were suppose to attend a meeting for all Board and Y Partner Chairs at the Edina Country Club. He called me up and said he had a problem - his routine colonoscopy was scheduled for that morning. Since they "dope you up" during the exam, you are not allowed to drive home after the appointment. He asked if I could come to the hospital and pick him up. Not a problem I responded. I would pick him up, take him to the meeting, and then back to the hospital where his car was parked. By that time he would have been okay to drive home.

The next morning I was at the hospital at the time he requested. Scott was late coming out as the procedure took a bit longer than he thought it would. When he got in the car, I could tell he was still a bit groggy. I decided to just let him be and not engage in too much talking. Scott, however, had a different idea.

He told me about the struggles he had with some of the fighters he faced. In particular, a very famous opponent really gave him fits. I won't go into details, but many hurtful things were said to and about Scott by this boxer and his team. When Scott told me one particularly troubling thing that happened, I asked if he was tempted to get him out of the ring and have a go at him. He turned and looked at me and said something very simple - "Maybe at one time. Today I could not, as I now have the love of Christ living in my heart". To hear this mountain of a man, probably the most famous boxer in our state's history, confess his love for the Lord was humbling. I will never forget that moment.

As most of us know, Scott developed Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). It is one of the cruelest diseases which resides in the Muscular Dystrophy family. Inch by inch, it robbed Scott of his mobility, his health, and finally his life. Many miss Scott - not just because of who he was, but also because of what he did for Minnesota. Hundreds, probably thousands of people who live in Minnesota got to know Scott much better and much longer than I did. However, during a car ride to a meeting on a early May morning, I was blessed that Scott was able to share with me his best news of all.

The ACA Endgame?

 

 

 

"I am sure it will be fine. Heck, they said it again on the news last night."

Yesterday was "day one" for not only this year's Federal Government shutdown, but also the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. "Day one" of the shutdown went on as expected - very few people noticed. In fact, if were not for the shrill voices of the media, even fewer would have known part of the behemoth was asleep. "Day one" for Obamacare however, did not go well at all.

I know from my working days at IBM, any "go live" day is highly critical. The company would go over every detail in painstaking detail to make sure the debut of any new service came off as smooth as glass. If for some reason it did not, careers could end in a heartbeat. The big problem yesterday was the website. It seems that it was not "stress tested" nearly enough, and it could not handle the less than 3 million hits it received. You Tube can handle 3 million hits and then some. One Democrat said out of frustration yesterday, "Government just can't seem to do anything right". Yup.

So why are so many opposed to this bill, described as a way to solve a decades old issue of getting every American insured? People who have studied the math of this law understand it is put together like a house of cards. "If this happens, then that could be the outcome. If that does not happen, then so and so might happen." It is a maze of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and more assumptions than you can find at the race track. If enough healthy, young people do not go to the exchange and buy expensive healthcare insurance, then there will not be enough left to subsidize older and sicker folks. Who picks up the slack? Uncle Sam will.

There are a growing number of people however, who believe the system was never meant to work. It is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. The collapse will come when companies decide to pay a modest penalty to the government, and then throw millions of employees off their health insurance rolls. These people (some say as many as 30 million) will be forced to the exchanges. The result will probably crash the system. The insurance companies will be forced to take many who can't afford even the cheapest insurance. Some companies in the exchange will file for reorganization or fail. The government will step in with a new plan to save the day - Universal Health Coverage.

With Universal Health Coverage, we will all get to deal with the same group of folks who could not get a web site working yesterday. Every time you go to the doctor, it will be like dealing with the DMV or TSA. It will be expensive and inefficient. Our once great and admired health care system will become yet another Euro style failure. Death panels will not be called such, but they will be there. Since 50% of all health care dollars go to 5% of the population (sickest and oldest), the name of the game will be to reduce down the 5%. It will be a society even George Orwell could not have imagined.

Those who have not been paying attention to the details of this fight, had better start soon. Our future is at stake. Healthcare is 1/6 of our economy and we have people at DHS who know little or nothing about healthcare promulgating tens of thousands of pages of regulations. Thinking about how this could end up is really enough to make a well person sick. 

The hill worth dying for....

 

 

Run for your lives! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

This is an update to a post from last year.

While out cutting the grass yesterday afternoon, I had a wonderful thought. Imagine, just imagine, if October of 2013, all this nonsense came to a screeching halt. I mean, done and done. ObamaCare was delayed by at least a year until ALL the bugs and unfairness could be worked out. Then the debt. After the 17th of October and the debt limit is not raised, Chicken Little should be taken out and mocked. For all of these many years, Chicken Little (who has been played by many different people) has told us if we don't raise the debt limit,  the full faith and credit of the United States will be destroyed. On the 18th, when the sun rises, the kids go to school, and most adults go to work, everything will be fine. We will have just entered a new era of responsibility which finally puts and end to the tax and spend hangover from The New Deal.

We (collectively) have been acting like morons for decades now. Both sides of the aisle. Spend, spend, spend. Tax fewer people, spend more money, and tax the shrinking group of taxpayers at even higher rates. This has been utter insanity. It is unsustainable. Many of the Left will not be satisfied until we tax the top 1%, 100% of their income. That would be fair. Spread the wealth. Well, most grownups know that our country became rich and prosperous by acting just the opposite. Chase your dreams. Make as much money as you want or can. Spend your money the way you want to. It was referred to as the American Dream.

So here we are in October of 2013. Standing on a hill worth dying for. Like junkies who have been addicted for years, we need to take the needle out of our arm and start acting like Americans once again. No more debt. Live within our means. We have always been a rich and generous people - we will continue to be so. However, until we take the "junk" (debt) out of our arm, we cannot continue to be either. We will soon become a poor, debtor nation with most of our budget going into servicing our gargantuan debt. Our generosity will suffer, as there will be nothing more to give.

We have had skirmishes on this issue many times with both sides agreeing at the last minute to go back to the status quo. Lets just kick the can down the street, and we will get to it later. The problem is, we never do until the next debt crisis arrives. Then we do the "stork dance" all over again, and again, and again.

As much vitriol as I have heard leveled against the Tea Party by the Washington elite, they are the true patriots on this issue. They are shouting at the top of their lungs, "NO- this is not alright!". They hold both parties responsible and accountable to fix it. Without the Tea Party, the sand we are stuck in would soon turn to quicksand. 

As Americans, as patriots, we need to rally to the cause. THIS IS THE HILL WORTH DYING FOR! We owe it to so many - past, present and future. We need to stand tall and be counted - we need to be brave. The battle has been joined - not against each other, but against our stubborn addiction to debt.