Mark Knows It All

Hurrah for Penney's!!!!

2012-02-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever opened up your mailbox only to have a plethora of coupons and papers and circulars and more coupons and more circulars, all touting BIG SALE 50% off, fall all over the street or the driveway or your front porch? It pisses me off. There I stand in the middle of the street in my business suit, my car running, and my butt sticking up in the air picking up all of this stuff that I neither requested nor wanted. Geez oh man, how many sales do they run? Macy’s is just one big sale, after sale, after sale. Come closer and I will show you where you can put that star.

Grocery stores are worse still. I HATE coupons!!! My wife and I both work full time, and have neither the inclination nor the time to sit around and figure out how to save 10 cents off a bottle of Prell. Do I really need a coupon to buy peanut butter?

And then there are those freakin’ loyalty cards. I had to have special pants made to carry all those cards in my wallet. All I want is a loaf of bread…where is your Giant Eagle card? All I want is a birthday card…where is your Hallmark card? All I want is some deodorant…where is your Walgreens card? All I want is a cup of coffee…where is your Dunkin Donuts card? All I want is some ink for my printer…where is your Staples card, and would you like to buy a package of paper for $5.00? NOOOOOO!!!!!!

But there is hope. A major retailer has seen the light, and in all seriousness, I wish them the best in the world and hope they make a killing. Penney’s has figured it out. It’s better to offer the merchandise at the lowest price they are able to sell it all of the time, than raise the price up 50% only to mark it down 20%, then 20% again, and spend a whole lot of money on advertising saying that you dropped the over inflated price.

Penney’s announced last week that it is lowering all of its store prices by at least 40% on a permanent basis. It will run very specific specials on regular days of the week, but the days of massive and continual sales are over. This makes sense to me, and actually is a sales technique used by Walmart.

Penney’s is revamping its “A” stores to make them more shopper friendly. It sent out a boffo catalogue last week that impressed the hell out of me. Classy and simple. The marketing strategy is being run by the same gentleman who ran the Apple retail stores, and he is using that template for Penney’s.

It works. I needed several pairs of shoes badly. Because I have a wide foot, I have to order my shoes on line (or as we said in the old days…by catalogue). I have been using Zappo’s, the online shoe retailer recently purchased by Amazon. Zappo’s used to offer fairly decent prices, but as of late not so much. The two pairs of Florsheim shoes I wanted were $145.00 through Zappo’s. I tried Reyer’s, and on line they were $105.00.

Then I thought about Penney’s. The website was a little slow because it was the first day after it announced its new pricing policy and it was “backed up.” But eventually I got through, and the shoes were $75.00/pair . Hurrah for me. Hurrah for the consumer. Hurrah for Penney's. It was like getting a two-fer, so I bought four pairs. And in my size!!!!!

I wish this is something that all stores would follow, especially grocery and drug stores. I am not so sure how long Penney’s will be able to hang in there with this sort of pricing policy at a store that is traditionally not a discount store. But I suspect that the bottom line of the store is going to jump. After the shoe experience, Penney’s will be the first place I look for staple clothing like shoes and Dockers and plain white shirts.

And I don’t need a loyalty card!!!!!!

Friday Night With Tony Bennett

2012-01-29T08:23:00.000-08:00

Tony Bennett and Queen Latifah - Who Can I Turn To?

Tonight is the end of a bad Friday ending a really bad week. Outside it’s cold and windy, drizzly, usual northeast Ohio weather!!! A cold that I got over last week liked me so much it has decided to visit me again. My nose is running like sieve. What’s a body to do? Television is filled with more Republican debates and discussion and pundits yakking away on the same stuff they were talking about this morning, yesterday, last week…enough already. And television just plain sucks. People actually get paid to write this stuff! I must have picked the wrong profession.

So it was with a degree of trepidation that I sat in my chair dressed in my pajamas and robe, wrapped in my throw blanket with an angel stitched into the fabric to watch over me, and channel surfed hoping against hope to find something worth watching. I struck gold tonight.

PBS aired a ninety minute Great Performances program of Tony Bennett’s Duet II album. It featured all of the cuts from the album with a diverse range of partners from Lady Gaga to John Mayer to Amy Winehouse to Michael Buble and Josh Grobin to name a few. These weren’t ersatz duets recorded separately in different studios and mixed into a sellable product at the local electronic mixer store. These duets were recorded live and together, with the majority of them including all of the instrumentalists in the studio.

I am not a music critic. I don’t have any special talent that makes my opinion worth much more than anyone else’s. I just know what I like. And this was perfection. I sat in awe watching these talented people, one after another, open the American song book and hit each of the songs out of the park. It is a classic.

While others my age were doing the hippie freakie thing in 1968, my musical taste drifted towards Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Steve and Edie Gorme, Dave Brubeck, Henry Mancini,and bossa novas by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Brazil 66. These performers had class. They represented a way of life that I always hoped for but never attained…maybe because it never really existed.

At the top of my list was Tony Bennett. He was then, and is now at the age of 85, the best of the best. On my first trip to New York by myself when I was 18 I snuck into the back of the Empire Room at the Waldorf Astoria where he was performing. I was in awe. Many, many, MANY years later he came to Youngstown and I was fortunate enough to see him again. Still the best around. And today, his voice is as clear and strong as it has ever been. His phrasing is impeccable. His tones are sustained and he can hit the high notes better now than he could 40 years ago.

I never could figure out what it is about him that I like. In an interview in tonight’s program, John Mayer spelled it out. Mayer said that his voice makes you feel safe. That’s it exactly. You can turn him on and let his voice wrap around you and you feel that everything is okay. I can’t think of one other singer that can do that.

From time to time I have written about finding the perfect chord and how it elevates you to a high. It doesn’t just have to be a chord. It can be an entire musical experience. I read some of the critical comments about Duets II. Well…everybody has their opinion. But for me, it doesn’t get any better than this. One song after another wraps you up and keeps you safe. Tony Bennett brings out the best in his partners. You can feel the chemistry.

The song choices are terrific. You can cry at the loss of a great talent with Amy Winehouse’s Body and Soul. You can pull out the Jack Daniels with John Mayer’s One for My Baby. Josh Grobin’s This is All I Ask is a stunner. Gaga shows she is a musician on par with Ella Fitzgerald as she camps it up with The Lady is Tramp. Michael Buble doesn’t have to worry about Don't Get Around Much Any More. He gets around just fine.

And through each of these songs, Tony Bennett shows his apparently ageless ability to match his vocal partner, and show that his talent knows no bounds. I can close my eyes and I am back at the Waldorf, standing in the back of the Empire Room watching an irreplaceable talent.

There’s nothing better than Friday night with Tony Bennett, unless I didn't have a cold!!! . And let the music play as long as there’s a song to sing. And I will be younger than spring.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!

2012-01-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday was my birthday. Normally I am NOT a birthday person. I find them a tad more retrospective than I can tolerate. Let’s start with the ten pounds I gained since my last birthday. Don’t even talk about surprise parties. My wife threw me a surprise 40th birthday party, and I thought the house was being robbed. All I saw was this round thing pointed out the front door of my house right at me in the dark. Turned out to be a camera!! I thought it was gun. Took three years off my life!

My friend has the opposite attitude. He loves birthdays, especially his own. He says he looks good for his age, feels better than most his age, and there are several his age who no longer have to worry about birthdays, if you get my drift. I envy his attitude.

Notwithstanding, this year is different. This year is a landmark birthday. I turned 62. I can retire!!! So this is what retirement age feels like! And don’t forget all the additional senior discounts that come with the territory. Get me the senior special!!! 20% off at Perkins on Tuesday nights ain’t too shabby!

But you know what? I don’t feel like I am 62. I look in the mirror and say to myself I don’t look like someone who can retire. I know how my uncles looked when they retired. They looked OLD. I don’t look old. Well…maybe my hair is a little…a lot….thinner. And maybe it’s a little grayer…a lot grayer. My belly is – my belly is – well….it could be a lot worse than it actually is. That extender on my pants helps a bit. And I jump out of bed every morning, after I sit on the edge of the bed for ten minutes trying to get the kinks out of my back and some feeling back into my feet, which aren't too swollen…well, my left foot is swollen more than my right, except if I eat salty food and they both swell up, not as bad as mother’s. Maybe close!!! I should buy bigger shoes.

Seriously, this is the first birthday in a long time that I haven’t felt a little funky. In fact, it is just the opposite. I am elated. This is the first time I have been able to look at my life and say I made it. I survived. Each of us reaches that realization at some time. This is mine. Each of our journeys is different. Each of our advantages is different. Each of our crosses is different. Everyone has both. It’s just a matter of the mix.

In my case, the financial and educational advantages given to me were counterbalanced by serious issues in my household growing up that were hidden deep beneath the surface. In this day and age, those issues would not have been allowed to exist, but it was a different time back then. Coming to terms with those issues has been my struggle. But I survived! And God has compensated me many times over for those difficulties. Like I said…it’s all in the mix.

I remember a sermon given by my minister a few years ago. He said to look to the left of you, then look to the right of you, then look around the entire church. Find one person with whom you would want to trade places. It’s funny. Whatever the mix in life each of us had sitting in that church that Sunday morning, not one of us would trade places with another.

This birthday it's time celebrate the triumphs in life. My beautiful wife and great son and I have persevered and succeeded together. Now it's time to bury the past, celebrate the present, and look forward to an exciting future.

Of course, just because I can retire doesn’t mean I will. I am just beginning my life fresh doing things that will hopefully keep me young for years to come, expanding belly and graying hair notwithstanding!! Everyone knows that lawyers never retire. We are like a fungus. With a little ointment you can keep us in check, but we never go away!

So go have a piece of birthday cake on me, or at least a Hostess cupcake before they go out of business.

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

That Non-inflation Thing

2012-01-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

How’s that no inflation thing working out for you? In case you haven’t noticed, things are getting mighty expensive notwithstanding what the government and a supplicant press wants you to believe. Check out the cost of Peanut Butter, Crisco, Cereal (oatmeal in particular), almonds, olive oil, orange juice. Then look at the price of clothing, men’s shirts and shoes in particular. How about the cost of gasoline? Have you gone to a movie lately? Even deals in electronics don’t look like such good deals anymore, but rather desperate ploys to get rid of last year’s merchandise at last year’s prices. I did not see the bargains for electronic goods this year that I have seen in the past.

Inflation is bubbling all around you. Have you tried to have a home appliance repaired lately, or have someone come in to do some electrical or plumbing work? Nail tech’s and hairdressers are off the charts, with prices rising almost weekly. Don’t even mention the cost of hotel rooms and airplane tickets. The airlines will charge you for the emergency gas mask that falls from the ceiling in case of decompression. Hey…decompress this.

The press doesn’t want to report on these things; just like it doesn’t want to report on the homeless, the hungry, the soup lines, the people living in poverty under the Obama administration. The only time you hear about the hungry is during a Second Harvest Food Bank drive that claims that the local food banks are being swamped by unprecedented demand.

Folks…things are bad, and they aren’t going to get much better anytime soon. As things heat up with Iran, lack of drilling in the United States due to EPA regulations will drive the cost of gasoline up even higher. The Federal Reserve is getting ready for QE3 (no, silly, not Queen Elizabeth…Quantitative easing-that means it is going to print more money!!!). Things are slowing down in China. Europe is a basket case. The unemployment figures will start to rise again as the temporary Christmas hires get laid off, and more people drop out of the work force, discouraged and desperate.

It’s time that this country wakes up to what is really going on. Our banking system is not out of the woods. The national debt is now equal to 100% of a year's GDP…that is approaching European style default levels.

Any you won’t read about any of this in the New York Times, or the Washington Post, or on NBC/CBS/ABC or CNN. It doesn’t fit the Obama narrative of blaming the rich for piss poor governmental policy allowing China and OPEC to drain our currency, and an out of control EPA that is killing the domestic supply of energy in the name of global warming.

And before I forget, when was the last time you got a raise? This is scary stuff. Remember all of this the next time you pay $8.00 for a jar of peanut butter, and then go home and watch Matt Lauer sing Obams's praises.

Fast and Easy: Your Virtual Savings Bond

2012-01-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

It’s tax time. And one of the lawyers in my office was going ape over IRS requirements on filing various forms. Specifically, the IRS has decreed that all W-2’s must be filed electronically. If you file a handwritten W-2, it will be assumed that there is fraud and the filer will be subject to audit. The rules are a little less stringent with 1099’s, but still you have to be a Philadelphia lawyer and CPA to figure who does or does not get a 1099. All of this, of course, must be verified by YOUR signature on YOUR tax return under the severest of penalties…and the threat in the booklet reads like a horror movie. Another gift from your friendly progressive Obama who is afraid you may make a nickel.

Even more disturbing, and almost poignantly sad, my buddy who has several grandchildren, went to buy his granddaughter a birthday savings bond. Guess what!!! No more paper savings bonds. Instead, you get an electronic account that you may only access through use of a computer. I found that interesting since grandparents are among the least computer literate demographics in the United States. I asked my friend if doesn’t this discriminate against senior citizens? He said Obama doesn’t care. Obamacare will make sure we won't have to worry about these folks too long!!!!

Is this what we have become in this country? Obama blew ½ billion dollars on a phony solar panel company owned by one of his cronies. He threw away another ½ billion dollars on a luxury car maker based in Scandinavia…that’s our money given to a foreign car maker making cars that cost in excess of $125,000.00. Let’s not even talk about the cost of the extravagant vacations for him and his family. And you can’t allow senior citizens buy paper bonds for their grandchildren? Obama and cronies...talk about being in the 1%!!!

Computer snobbery is a symptom of the me generations that are now approaching their 40’s. There is no use for anyone who has worked hard, been screwed with their pension, and now have to struggle at a computer to do the most basic of tasks that used to be done with ink, paper and a stamp. Use ink and a printed tax form…you will be assumed to be a tax cheat. Really?? And you don’t have to bother to buy a Series E bond if you're not computer literate.

I am fortunate that I have a degree of computer savvy. I pay all my bills on line using the bill pay service offered by my bank. I maintain all of my accounts, both broker and bank, on line. I shop online, a lot!!! On the other hand, I have difficulty with things like setting up flat screen televisions and digital alarm clocks, which should be outlawed!! It is frustrating and demoralizing when I have to call somebody in to help me do things like change the time on the clock in my car.

The dichotomy between computer literate America and computer illiterate America is an obviously shrinking problem, and will be gone entirely in 25 years. But answer me this. How do you give a “savings electronic bond account” in a Christmas envelope? And how many of those accounts will be hacked, or simply lost in the shuffle as the grandchild grows older, and Grandma and Grandpa forget it is there, or simply not tell anyone before they die?

We can do better than this!!!!

Honestly Holistically

2012-01-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

This is an odd topic. Notwithstanding, the older I get, the more I have come to believe in it. I have become a firm believer in holistic medicine. This comes from three chronic illnesses in my life that were treated conventionally for years, and ultimately resolved by an holistic approach to the problem.

Let me qualify my comments by saying that I fully believe in conventional medicine. I would never counsel ANYONE facing a serious illness to forego the medical doctors and the miracles modern medicine has to offer. Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs did, and an untreated curable form of pancreatic cancer cost him his life. On the other hand, one shouldn't overlook holistic approaches to illness to compliment whatever the doctors are recommending. Many modern medical centers offer holistic supplements as a matter of course. The human body is wondrous mechanism, and as I can personally attest, acts in strange ways to odd thngs.

After I graduated from college, I was diagnosed with bi-polar disease, except then it was called manic depression. Whatever the name, it was awful as I vacillated between periods of extreme depression and periods of euphoria. I bounced from doctor to doctor and clinic to clinic who offered various anti-depressants, most of which worked a little bit, but mostly left me lethargic. But after years of feeling bad, I was happy with what little I could get.

Then about 15 years ago, I ran out of my medication thinking I had another bottle. One thing anyone who is on mood altering medication knows is you can't quit cold turkey. I called the doctor for a prescription renewal and he had gone to Europe without leaving a referring physician. I panicked. A friend of mine suggested I try St. John's Wort, an over the counter mood enhancer, to help me until the doctor got back. I took two pills, my whole body tingled within ten minutes, and a lifetime of problems dissipated within an hour. IT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT. All studies show that it was minimally effective, if that, for my diagnosis.

When my doctor got back, he was mystified. He knew right away that whatever I had, it was not bi-polar disease. We did a complete review of my lifestyle from exercise to what I ate. I am a chocoholic. I was eating copious amount of chocolate on a daily basis. For those of you who don't know, chocolate contains serotonin which can have adverse effects on certain chemical processes in your body. I eliminated chocolate from my diet, and within two weeks it was determined that I suffered from what can be called a glorified food allergy.

Since that time, I have learned that only certain types of chocolate sets off the problem (dark chocolate and chocolate rich in cocoa is verboten!!. I get along well with Hershey's. Locally I can eat Philadelphia Candy milk chocolate, but not Gorant's, which will have an almost immediate effect on my mood. I still use a minimal dose of St. John's Wort as a precaution, but I have had no bi-polar symptoms for 15 years. Other folks I have known suffering from the same type of problem have discovered that exercise and sunshine help more than any medication.

Now....bi-polar disease or clinical depression is serious business. Those suffering from it should ALWAYS take their medication and work with their medical doctor. But simultaneously, diet and exercise should be explored with your doctor who can hopefully work with an holistic practitioner in a joint effort to alleviate symptoms.

My other experience turned out to be two chronic issues seemingly unrelated, but solved simultaneously. As the depression problem was "cured", it was replaced by back issues and colitis. The back issue was horribly painful and debilitating. And there seemed to be no relief from any doctor I contacted. They finally sent me to a neurologist who put me through a series of very painful tests and another series of MRI's which showed nothing. The pain was excruciating, and there were times when I could barely walk. At the same time, I developed a relatively severe case of colitis and ended up in the hospital for 10 days after passing out. The doctors were able to control it with some heavy duty medication, but it was chronic condition that was literally a pain in the you know what.

About 2 months ago, in search of relief for my back, I visited a recently opened massage business. This place was NOT designed for therapeutic massage, although all of the folks there are licensed therapists and they offer it as well as more spa type treatments. I discussed my back problem with the therapist, and told him whatever he does, DO NOT TOUCH MY LOWER BACK NEAR THE SPINE. Well....he sort of did. I jumped up, but the back felt better. Over the past eight weeks, he has continued to work on my lower back muscles particularly at the base of the spine, and the pain was relieved...and all of my muscles relaxed in a manner I hadn't experience in years, even after weeks of traditional physical therapy.

He taught me to relax all of the muscles deliberately, and worked on moving the muscles away from the bottom of my spine and relaxing my butt muscles. This is the best my back has felt in years. But the surprise was the colitis disappeared. Gone. No symptoms. And it happened within a week of him working on my lower back.

I have an appointment with my physician next week. The cause of colitis is up for grabs, although most doctors believe it is an immune deficiency disorder. But like the chocolate, I wonder if the cause of my colitis is that I simply was a literal tight ass, and scrunched all of the muscles around my lower back and stomach to the point where it affected me in ways that it shouldn't have. Whatever it is, the massage therapy did what neurologists and GI guys couldn't.

All of this has caused me to believe that holistic approaches to medical issues are not as farfetched as you might believe. Always use your medical doctor. But sometimes it may be good to search around for some alternative type treatments to supplement the traditional. Be it massage, or meditation, or diet, or exercise, or various herbal medicines...they may be worth a try. It worked for me.

New and Improved: Big Bosomed Women Who Party

2011-12-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

Of all the words in the English language that I have learned to fear and despise, the phrase that sends chills up and down my spine the most is "new and improved." The new part is probably right, at least partially, but the improved is open to question. It usually translates to confusion, work, and money. This is especially true of the computer geeks at Google, You Tube and Facebook, along with all of my stock programs. Those are particularly aggravating because I actually pay a monthly fee for some of these digital age gems.

What is wrong with these people? Do they take delight in terrorizing hundreds of millions of people by making them figure out how to get a program or site to do what it used to before they made it better? Case in point is Google, the most used search engine in the world. Google does everything for you now but go to the bathroom, and it can probably give a print out for that too. I think it can actually predict when you will belch. It tries to predict everything else that you want.

Is it aggravating to you when it makes suggestions as to what it is you want to search when you start to type in the word which may or may not be related to what spills out onto the screen? Some of this is based on general usage. Other recommendations are based on your prior searches and web page visitations. So....if you share a computer and have searched "big bosomed women who party" you are in trouble if your significant other wants to search "big cookie trays." If I were the porn sites, I'd be pissed!!!!! Add to the issue Google knows if you scratch yourself and makes a record, I think I need to find another search engine.

Then there are my financial sites. The one I use the most is Smart Money...and I pay them a monthly fee for the privilege. It used to take me two clicks to get to my stock screen with real time price quotes. It was wonderfully easy. Now, I have to click to get on the site. Then click what list of stocks I want to see. Then I have click pop up, which pops up another screen. Then I have to click on view......and what I get is my stock list either partially loaded, or worse, has a pop up ad for Citigroup that you cannot click off. It just stays there in the middle of the screen until I close it and start the whole process all over again. I complained to SmartMoney and they replied they have to make their money somewhere. And by the way, those real time quotes you used to get from the New York Stock Exchange are no longer totally reliable since we switched the service providing the quotes which uses some other way to determine the current price. It may or may not be reliable. Ahhhhh!!!!

You Tube, which is now operated by Google, is not much better. It had a perfectly fine system that allowed me onto the site to watch some videos, then log off. Then they decided they wanted to show you your history. So....if you again share your computer and the other person signs on to You Tube, there is the list of "big bosomed women who party" videos you may have been enjoying. But at least they gave you a way to "erase your history." Then they changed everything. Now when you log on, whether you are signed onto your site account or not, it will list in a long column all of the videos you have previously watched...and you can't get rid of them. There is no history to delete...just the list of videos you have recently watched, or ones they suggest you might like based on your history. So much for my evenings with big bosomed women who party.

Here's my advice to all of the computer services that have that insatiable urge to "improve." Don't do it!!!! Leave it alone!!! If it's not broke....don't fix it. Now I have to go back to watching the ticker at the bottom of the television screen and back to the quarters to watch big bosomed women who party. On the other hand, maybe Google, You Tube, and Smart Money can find me some new and improved big bosomed women who love to party!!! They can put it on my history!

Seasons of Love

2011-12-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

The other night I was browsing through some choral music selections I could recommend as possible songs for my community chorus next year. I came across one of my favorites. It is called Seasons of Love from the award winning Broadway musical Rent. I always thought it was a catchy tune, but never paid much attention to the words. So I listened, and it hit home.

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year;

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee,

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

How do you measure a year in the life?

How about love? Measure in love! Seasons of love!

How will you measure this past year? We have many standards. I have a friend who measures how far he has pedaled his bike. I have another friend that looks at golf scores. I might look at how much money I made or what professional accomplishments I have achieved. Others look at how their favorite sports team performed. We all have different standards of what we consider to be success.

But the song tells us to measure the year in love. What a simple but abstract concept! How can you measure a year of love? It is unquantifiable. You don’t go to the deli and ask for a pound of love sliced thin, or measure out a cup of love or a bushel of love. Yet the idea of measuring a year in love is comforting, especially in the times we live in where we are lucky if we experience even basic civility and common courtesy. Everybody is so angry these days.

I think modern America has forgotten how to love. In a digital age with all sorts of stuff being blasted at us from all sorts of places 24/7, our over stimulated minds are barely functional trying to get through daily life let alone having to worry about love. Love? Love what? Love whom? Who is going to love me? Are you nuts?

Think in terms of macro vs. micro love. Let's face it. We all struggle on a daily basis with loving our neighbor....especially if the neighbor is a pain in the ass!!! People are people and I know I'm not capable of putting a dumb "peace of God" smile on my face when somebody or something makes me angry. I'm more "give the finger to the guy who cut you you off with his car" type. Don't even mention family issues. As one of my relatives told me...sometimes things are too broken to be fixed.

On the other hand, there is the sage who said "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand." Maybe that's the ticket!!!! Those of us who are children of the sixties understand that All You Need is Love, and What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love...It's the only thing there is just to little of!!! Maybe there is something to that.

How does one approach life? If you start with love, then you start to pay it forward. Love doesn't mean that you have to have a Kumbaya moment where you drop out of life and go live on a commune. It doesn't mean that you need to give all of your money to the poor. I like money. It's a good thing. It doesn't even mean you have to be a liberal!!!!! On the other hand, if you measure the small things you do, and add up the little courtesies, meet new people with an open mind and with respect, then you start to accomplish something good.

It's like the insurance commercial where it follows a single act of kindness that moves through the day from person to person. Opening a door for someone whose arms are full of whatever, letting someone cut into a line of traffic even if they don't thank you, telling someone how nice they look, offering a warm and genuine handshake, making someone laugh, putting your arm around the elderly guy in church and wishing him a sincere Happy Birthday when he turns ninety...the traditional Italian birthday greeting "100 years", all of these things help measure your life in love.

These are simple rules. Reach out to people in pain. Help those that you can. Forgive those you are able and come to terms with yourself if you can't. That's how you build a year of love and a lifetime of love.

As we are about to celebrate Christmas, the true season of love, maybe the collective we should learn how to celebrate four full seasons of love. Merry Christmas.

Christmas Card 2011 - Make a Joyful Noise

2011-12-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm not really a Christmas person. I have come to the conclusion that Christmas is the one holiday in the year that the cards are stacked against you. Too much money, too much food, too much work, too much decorating, and too much depression as different people come to different ends of impossible trying to achieve the ideal. It's tough, and I have been at the fuzzy end of the lollipop one too many times. But....

If there ever was a season for a joyful noise, Christmas is it. And those of us who live in the Mahoning Valley do our fair share of noise making. So put aside the Christmas drudgery and go buy some gift cards, forget the diet, stop the decorating, and screw unpleasant and difficult family and friends. Sample what this area has to offer. It has an embarrassment of riches. We are so fortunate to have access to some of the best events in Ohio at a level of excellence those of us who live here don't truly appreciate. It doesn't get any better than right here.

This past weekend my wife and I attended Move Over Broadway's production at St. Michael's in Canfield. They offered a chorus of near professional voices which is about as close to perfection as you can get for a contemporary chorus. The blend and musical precision were top notch. I know the audience doesn't appreciate how good this group is, and I am not quite sure the chorus appreciates how good they are. But they memorized and performed flawlessly...get this...27 songs. This is the gold standard...if Henry Mancini were alive he would hire these guys. Mark your calendars for next year!!!!

Last night the Dana School of Music in conjunction with the Stambaugh Auditorium and the Stambaugh Chorus with the Lakeview High School Madrigal Singers offered a boffo performance that rivaled anything you would see in New York City. Its annual Cocoa and Carols event was a 3 hour musical extravaganza that started with cookies and hot chocolate in the ballroom and the moved up to the spectacular and acoustically perfect auditorium. Kathy Miller raged on the mighty Skinner Organ backing up a stage full of musicians and choral members from Dana and the community performing something for everyone. This is the personification of the talent that lives here in the Mahoning Valley. Don't miss it next year.

My Seraphim Chorus, which is pretty good if I do say so myself, is performing all over the Youngstown area over the next two weeks, with its primary performances on December 9 in New Castle and December 11 in Youngstown. The Youngstown Symphony is offering its always spectacular Christmas program on Saturday, December 10, with the DeYor hosting the annual Miracle on Easy Street Christmas Show the weekend of December 16. And on consecutive weekends this December the Oakland offers its wildly popular and uber campy How The Drag Queen Stole Christmas while the Playhouse offers a more traditional musical Christmas Carol. These are just the things that I know about, not counting Manheim Steamroller at the Covelli Center, and whatever might be happening with the Ballet Western Reserve. I am sure it is something wonderful.

It gives hope that even in a period of financial hardship and political uncertainty, this area turns to its strong suit of music and arts to ward off the Christmas doldrum bogeyman. The abundance of unending talent in this area is astounding and a marvel to those who move here. In a very real sense it brings people together to share a common group experience. It collectively uplifts our souls when turmoil may be swirling around us. More importantly, it is real and live...something unusual in this digital and ersatz world.

This year, take some time from the Christmas hum-drum to sample some of what the Mahoning Valley has to offer. Be uplifted. Be inspired. The world won't end if the cookies aren't baked or the presents don't get wrapped. My sincere Christmas wish for you is to go out and experience Christmas rather than try to create it. By joining hands with strangers to sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing or O Come All Ye Faithful you will feel Christmas...and the rest of the stuff...it won't seem so important. Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas.

Christmas Offending

2011-12-06T05:14:00.000-08:00

There are 350 million people living in the United States. So for all of you folks who are afraid of offending someone….GET OVER IT!! With 350 million people, I can guarantee you that no matter what you say, no matter what you do, or whatever your good intentions, you will offend somebody. Even if it is just getting out of bed in the morning, you will offend somebody.

And therein lays the fallacy of a politically correct Christmas. What is wrong with people? The facts are simple. Accroding to ABC news, 83% of Americans identify themselves as Christian. Although we don’t have an official religion, Christianity and the Judeo/Christian ethic permeate our society. It is the basis of our consumer society. The financial success or failure of much of our economy rests on the last five weeks of the year. “Holiday” shoppers aren’t shopping for the hell of it…they are shopping for Christmas.

So can someone please tell me why the liberal types have to bastardize Christmas with the fear of offending someone who is not Christian? Why does society have to purge itself of "Christmas" references? December 25th, Christmas, is a national holiday. I don’t expect Jews to call Passover something other than Passover because I might be offended as a Christian. I don’t expect Muslims to call the month of Ramadan something other than Ramadan because I might be offended as a Christian. I might wish them Happy Passover or blessed Ramadan or even “have a good holiday.” I would even like to join in their celebrations. But I would not expect anyone to diminish their holy day by calling it anything other than what it is in the public vernacular. I have too much respect for other people’s beliefs. Even if an atheist wants to celebrate Festivus, I would dance around the pole and do more than my fair share at the airing of grievances.

Christmas is many things to many people. To most, it is the birthday of Jesus. To others, it is Santa Claus and Rudolph. Still to others, it is pretty decorations, parties, and the giving of presents. It may be the birth of Christ or the celebration of the winter solstice, or simply a time where one wishes good will to others and peace on earth. However it is viewed, Christmas is inclusive. And if you are celebrating another holy day, God bless you. And if you are celebrating nothing at all, don’t expect the rest of us to comply to your beliefs. For one day out of the year, keep them to yourself and be as respectful to the rest of society as you demand society be respectful of you.

If I am going to buy a Christmas present…as 83% of all Americans are going to do…then I want to go to a store that has a Christmas tree and is selling Christmas presents. It is my Christmas money that I am spending. I don’t want to spend it on holiday presents or holiday trees, or go to the American Holiday at the Butler or the Winter at the Old Mill with political correctness being shoved up various parts of my anatomy.

The denigration of societal customs and beliefs by a small minority is just plain wrong when there is ample room for everybody within those beliefs. It might look all tolerant and goody two shoes on the surface, but underneath, it just plain pisses people off having the unintended consequence of building intolerance rather than diminishing it. The American Holiday doesn’t create tolerance…at the end of the day it destroys it.

So for once in our miserable lives, let's be truly tolerant. Merry Christmas…and Happy Holidays!!!!

Change and Irrelevance

2011-11-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the privilege of attending a seminar on social media and mass marketing. It was sponsored by the local Power of the Arts and the Wean Foundation and ostensibly aimed at non-profits. It was moderated by Tyler Clark of Tyler Clark consulting and held at the Youngstown Business Incubator.

I went expecting a ho-hum seminar, more curious about the Incubator than the seminar topic. Was I wrong!!! The topic was fascinating, and was probably the most informative 1 1/2 hours I have spent over the last several years. Mr. Clark did an outstanding job in presenting difficult material. To often with tech savvy folks, the assumption is the person to whom they are talking is the know much more than they actually know to start out hence losing everybody's attention within the first five minutes. Mr. Clark was patient with those in attendance who obviously had only a limited grasp of how these things work, and answered more technical questions in a concise manner.

The subject matter dealt with the inter-relationship of web pages, blogs, facebook, twitter, and YouTube. Clark attempted to show how each of the above feeds off of the other, and how to develop a marketing strategy through the adept use of all of the above. Fascinating stuff, but disturbing on so many levels I can't address them in this essay, except for one which I find personally upsetting.

At the top of my list is the lack of participation in social media by seniors. 93% of all adult internet users are on Facebook. That is 800,000,000 Facebook users. But there is a huge age discrepancy. Only 31% of internet users over the age of 65 have a Facebook page. And the figure is just 52% for those over the of 55. That compares with those between the ages of 25 and 35 where it is almost 100%!!! So for seniors starting with a low internet usage to begin with, that 31% shrinks even more as a percentage of the entire population over the age of 65.

It occurred to me that some of the political turmoil we are experiencing today is a result of this lack of social media usage by those over 55. There has always been a generation gap, but as of late it has been growing by leaps and bounds. It is becoming wider and wider as our society as a whole rewards those who can keep up technologically, and absolutely discards those who won't, can't, or are unable to keep up. Witness the new report this past week stating that recording studios will cease making CD's by the end of 2013 except for special edition CD's. If you want to purchase music, you will have to be able to download it to your computer, you cell phone, you Ipod or Ipad...and the recording industry has just turned its back on the largest segment of our population with the most money. It's almost sad. In fact, it is just plain wrong.

We have heard of many American divisions: rich/poor; black/white; urban/suburban; red states/blue states. But the most disturbing to me, and certainly the most insidious, is the division between a tech savvy young generation, and a tech illiterate older generation. As the digital age rapidly propells the country into the direction where the information life blood flows through social media as opposed to the commonality of more traditional sources, we will be excluding large portions of the population from political discourse and decision making...and this is the wealthiest group, the most populous group, and the group that votes the most. That doesn't bode well for the country.

Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and blogs and URL work well for those who have access. For those that don't, Tyler Clark started the seminar with a quote from General Eric Shinseki. "If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."

It is dangerous for seniors. It is dangerous for our country.

CHANGE

2011-11-30T04:57:00.000-08:00

During the next weeks you will notice a change in Western Reserve America and Mark Knows It All. We have been working to establish Western Reserve America Group as a 501-(C)-3 non-profit corporation established for the purpose of promoting conservative education in Northeast Ohio. Donations to Western Reserve America will be tax deductible. The stated purpose is as follows:

1) Establish an endowed chair for Constitutional Studies at a local university.

2) Develop a supplemental curriculum for secondary schools emphasizing conservative political thought.

3) Develop in-service materials for educators demonstrating the importance of teaching personal responsibility in the classroom.

4) Establish scholarship funds for conservative high school students who demonstrate excellence in governmental studies and wish to pursue a degree in journalism or education.

A major fund raising campaign will begin mid-January upon completion of the paperwork.

In order to comply with IRS standards, we are “divorcing” political commentary and activity from Western Reserve America to allow it to pursue the educational goals which were the basis of its founding.

Mark Knows It All will now be part of WRAGPAC, a political action committee formed specifically to participate in conservative politics. The nature of this PAC is currently being determined, but it will provide a framework to allow for maximum bang for the buck.

Finally, the ever popular Youngstown Eats will find its own home at YoungstownEats.com beginning March 1. You will still be able to access it through my always insightful and witty weekly mailings, but moving it from a “blog” site to a normalized URL site will allow for a greater readership.

This is an exciting time. We have some great people on board. I thank each and every one of you for your comments and encouragement.

Mark Mangie

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-15T04:45:00.000-08:00

I am going to be taking some time off next week, so I want to wish all of my readers a Happy Thanksgiving a little early. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. It caps a beautiful fall season. It is an eating holiday, so there is no muss or fuss with gifts and cards outside of the preparation of one of the best meals of the year. I’m not a turkey fan, but I love everything else that comes with the dinner package… and my wife makes the best stuffing ever.

But mostly Thanksgiving is the only time of the year, at least for me, for some quiet contemplation. We can give thanks to our God for all of the blessings of this life, and hopefully in the one to come. Thanksgiving forces us to look at the good things in our lives, centering on family, friends, health and freedom. And let’s not overlook monetary issues. Even in the hardest of times, as a country we are still better off than most of the rest of the world in our standard of living and way of life.

We face challenges. But we should be thankful while many of those challenges seem to be out of our control, most of them are absolutely in our control. In a society where values seem to be discarded like so many pieces of trash, the values that are in each of us individually are intact and sacrosanct. In a society where the value of family is diminished on a daily basis, I still see families going en masse to Sheely’s to buy mattresses, coming out of Reyer’s after buying shoes, and cramming the aisles at Kraynak’s with Grandpa and Grandma, Mom and Dad, and the kids, visiting Christmas Tree Lane and scooping up those Christmas lights and ornaments in the second week of November. It’s not what they are buying that is important, it’s the process of buying that counts. These are family events. Long after the shoes and furniture and ornaments are gone, the memory of that trip to Kraynak’s will still be there, a crazy memory that lasts forever.

This year I am particularly thankful for many things. I am thankful that the education of my son is complete, and he is fully graduated with an undergraduate degree in accounting from Youngstown State, a Masters Degree in accounting from Ohio State, and has passed all parts of the CPA exam and as of last week is a fully licensed CPA.

I am thankful that my son and I have been able to share our passion for politics, and work together on many political projects always hoping to make the Mahoning Valley a better place to live. I am so lucky we work together on so many things.

I am thankful for my wife’s success as a teacher as she approaches her 35th year teaching and retirement. She has done an outstanding job under difficult circumstances. And while doing that, has become an award winning quilter with her work garnering blue ribbons in Akron and in national shows in Columbus.

I am thankful for the health of what's left of my once large but now dimished family. I am thankful for old friends, some of whom I have known for over 40 years, others all of my life. We have traveled through the years together.

I am thankful for all of the new friends I have made in my community work. It is a privilege for me to get know these folks and the outstanding work they do. Most of these folks are on the opposite end of the political spectrum from me, but the dialogue has been stimulating, and working together we are accomplishing good things.

And here is my guilty pleasure for which I am thankful. Most of those folks I am working with are much younger than me, and I will be eternally grateful for them helping me to think young, and helping me to view being almost 62 as a beginning rather than an end.

And finally, I am thankful for my readers. I have been at this for over five years, and my readership has grown every year. The surprise has been Youngstown Eats, which will take on a new form after the first of the year as the readership has reached a level that will allow me to move it from my blog site to its own website with new and exciting additions. I didn’t know so many people liked to eat out!!!

As for my always sparkling and insightful political commentary…I am thankful for all of the comments and for the debates. If I can open up even a small dialogue on a particular topic, then I have succeeded. It is through vigorous debate that we can solve our nation’s problems.

Happy Thanksgiving, and may God bless you and our great country.

Will The Real Youngstown Please Stand Up!!!

2011-11-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, the Mahoning Valley was shocked to learn that out of the top 100 metropolitan areas in the United States, it has the highest rate of poverty in the country. The Brookings Institute, who compiles data such as this, stated that Youngstown has the nation’s “highest concentration” of poverty. Concentrated Poverty is defined as a population in which 40% live with an income at or below the poverty level, approximately $22,000.00/family of four. 49.7% of the City of Youngstown’s population lives below the poverty level. By comparison, Cleveland has 42% and Columbus is around 27%.

Well…what do you with this? The study says this is still a residual result from the loss of the steel mills 35 years ago. I suppose that's part of it. But statistics don’t always tell the story. In addition to being listed as the city with the most poverty, over the past 1 ½ years Youngstown has been listed as the best city in the country in which to start a business, and hold onto your hats, one of the top 5 cities in the country in which to find a job. What????? We’re nothing if not schizophrenic!!!!

Actually, all of these labels are correct. On the down side, there IS a concentration of poor directly resulting from the loss of the steel mills. These folks never left the city, caught in the Great Society/government welfare trap. They have no life chances, no hope, and are entwined in a web of poverty, drug use, and violence. At this point, I’m not sure what type of program can help these folks. We did this to them. Just go to the Jobs and Family Services and look at the blank expressions on these folks’ faces. It is tragic, and more of the same is NOT a solution.

This is a long standing problem from the past, and those of us who live here are not surprised. But the statistics are factually misleading. Youngstown is not now, and has not been for a long time, considered to be in the top 100 metropolitan areas. It has a population of barely 75,000 and shrinking rapidly. Many are seniors who, one by one, are claiming their reward in heaven, concentrating the poverty within the city limits even more. Mahoning County's population has shrunk from being close to 400,000 to around 235,000. It has taken 35 years to get to this point.

But there’s good news tonight. All of the above is looking in the rear view mirror. The fact is that Youngstown is on the cusp of a dynamic and growing future. It is already leading Ohio out of the economic doldrums and is flashing on everybody’s radar. There are a number of reasons that make the Mahoning Valley the place you want to be over the next 20 years.

1) Youngstown has always had a strong small and mid-sized manufacturing base even after the mills closed. That is what kept the area from total collapse. And these operations grew lean and tough. The Mahoning Valley has one the highest export rates as a percentage of its GDP in Ohio. We are the Ohio leader in international trade and are major beneficiaries (more money coming in than going out) from NAFTA, something the unions don’t want to admit.

2) Although it still maintains a reputation as a union stronghold, a lot of it is bravado and habit. The truth is that the local unions have learned that everybody has to thrive in order for an area to grow. The proof is in General Motors Lordstown where the unions have actively worked with management to allow the growth of the area's auto industry. With new car lines and three shifts, it shows that this area is not just a strong union area, but an area where business and unions know how to create an atmosphere for job growth and industry. it is a dynamite combination.

3) Youngstown is ground zero for America’s gas and oil shale boom. V and M Star is building a $600 million pipe mill on the Mahoning River. Who’d have thought? That project is so big, it is overshadowing all of the other smaller companies associated with shale that are popping up all over the valley, both start ups and existing companies moving here from all over the world. This is a big deal.

4) Along with the shale, the local banks which were barely surviving just a year ago, will be flush with cash as the gas lease money begins to make its way into our economy. It is a lot of money, and locals still don't understand how much money is involved. I keep harping that local officials should meet with the local banks to see what can be done to keep them local and prevent a raid on the area's deposits by the big nationals, which will take the deposits for growth in other areas. We need a collaborative effort to keep the money here.

5) Youngstown hasn’t gotten the name Dehli on the Mahoning for nothing. It is a major call center hub…and growing every year. At least 6,000 jobs are based in this industry. They are not the highest paying jobs in the world, but it provides good income in an area where the cost of living is low.

The Youngstown area is one of contrasts. I suspect that when the next census is taken, you will see a startling growth in the area’s population as things turn around and the senior population residual from the steel glory days continues to die off. Youngstown has weathered this current recession well compared to areas like Toledo and Dayton. We are on our way. We are survivors. Perhaps as we work hard on growing our Valley, we will be able to devise ways to address the legacy of the past, and develop worthwhile and effective programs to deal with poverty and get folks out of the cycle. We need to get our name off of that poverty list.

Meanwhile, as the saying goes, a rising tide raises all boats…and the tide is rising here in the Mahoning Valley.

Confused about Issue 2? Here's the skinny!!

2011-10-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Issue 2 is a referendum on what is popularly known Ohio Senate Bill 5 (SB 5). To RETAIN Senate Bill 5, you vote YES. To RESCIND Senate Bill 5, you vote NO. This has been a hotly contested issue, so let’s take a look at what Senate Bill 5 does. This is the real poop. I report. You decide. (Did I say that?)

1) Issue 2/Senate Bill 5 has nothing to do with balancing the state budget in Ohio. It has everything to do with local government and state run institutions. It applies only to unionized public employees. It does not cut veteran benefits. It does not cut senior citizen benefits. It does not apply to the 135,000 nurses in Ohio except if they work in a state run hospital. Mostly these nurses work at Ohio State University. There are approximately 2500 of them and their contract already includes most of what is in SB 5 already.

2) Senate Bill 5 first and foremost prohibits Ohio’s unionized public employees from striking. That was the rule in Ohio up until 20 years or so ago, and is the current rule for all Federal public employees. Many unionized Ohio employees are already prohibited from striking including police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel.

3) Senate Bill 5 does NOT generally prohibit collective bargaining. It changes the process. Cases may be sent to arbitration, but the decision of the arbiter, often from states like California, is not binding. The ultimate decision rests with the elected officials.

4) It does prohibit collective bargaining on specific areas, such as accumulating unused sick time and vacation time to use as a pension supplement by cashing those days in at retirement. It also requires unionized employees to pay 10% of their pension contribution and 15% of their health care costs. No more 100% contributions.

5) It does NOT prohibit collective bargaining on issues of safety and equipment as the television ads have indicated. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Columbus Dispatch, in editorials ENDORSING RETENTION OF SB 5 pointedly commented on the misleading television advertising by the anti SB 5 forces.

6) Senate Bill 5 DOES allow public employee union members to OPT OUT of mandatory collection of union dues by their government employer. In Indiana, more than 50% of the unionized public employees chose to opt out when similar legislation was passed.

IN ADDITION, Senate Bill 5 attempts to reform part of Ohio’s education system by requiring school systems to establish criteria for teacher hiring and retention OTHER THAN UNQUALIFIED TENURE. Although length of employment may be one of the criteria considered in determining pay and retention, systems must also consider teacher performance and effectiveness. This is popularly known as MERIT PAY. It also prohibits teacher unions from bargaining for caps on class sizes and other similar issues. Those decisions belong to local school boards.

That, in a nutshell, is what Issue 2 does. Should you vote for it? Read Opinion for my opinion.

Why Floppy Discs and Morse Code Still Matter!

2011-10-24T04:57:00.000-07:00

The theme for this week’s Business Week magazine was sports promotion. It tackled everything from winning teams that were “bought” (Steinbrenner’s Yankees to DeBartolo, Jr.’s 49ers) to advertising debacles such as Citigroup buying naming rights for a new stadium as the government was bailing it out…hence the name Bailout Field!! Interesting stuff.

But more germane to my life was a series of articles preceding the sports section about IT, or for us mere mortals, Information Technology. The first article dealt with “cloud” computing. That means most computer functions and storage are handled through offsite third party servers. This acts as a money saver for big business because they can buy bare bones hardware that only needs as much power and disc space to allow it to connect to these remote servers where the hard core stuff takes place. More efficiency means more bottom line revenue. Makes sense, I think!

Cloud computing is also moving down to “retail” clients like you and me who may opt for that approach to our computer functions. It is being marketed to us by Google and Amazon and just about everyone else (think access and storage for music, movies and games) as well as small businessmen like me. Carbonite offsite backup is an example.

The next article dealt with computer security, and the rapid development of super viruses that are now infecting computers. It talked about the necessity for security programs like Norton or MacAfee. It suggested common sense solutions like turning the computer off when not using it. Even in sleep mode, the bad guys can gain access. It also talked about the need for backup on a regular basis and suggested solutions like Carbonite which backs your stuff automatically as you use it for about fifty bucks a year.

But here’s the thing. Did you see the movie Independence Day? The aliens came down from the heavens to destroy the earth. The first thing they did was to destroy the communication systems leaving folks to listening to AM radios trying to find out what was going on. At the end of the movie, after the good guys figured out how to destroy the massive flying space vehicles (literally shoving an atomic bomb right up the saucer’s….you know), the only way they could communicate with other countries was through good old fashioned Morse Code. Try to find someone today that knows Morse Code…which leads me to the final phase of this discourse.

I had to get a new computer this weekend for my office. In the process of setting it up, I went to install the Carbonite backup program to protect my files, and was feeling a little smug that I knew enough to do this. But…I couldn’t get the program to work the way it should. I had to call the information telephone number to figure out how to transfer my files from one computer to another using the Carbonite system. I still couldn’t do it, and ended up doing it through my portable hard drive, which is always an interesting experience. (BTW, notwithstanding, I highly recommend Carbonite). Quickbooks was installed using my flash drive that I carry on my key chain.

It dawned on me that I used to do those things by using a floppy disc. In fact, I keep a floppy disc drive attached to my computer to this day. You can’t beat it for ease of use and portability. Burning CD backup discs is awkward, and I don’t care what anybody says. For normal document useage, I can copy to the floppy. Take it out of my computer and take it to a file, or keep it in its own filing system. The drive doesn’t need a separate power source. It operates through the computer.

And I don’t have to worry about my cloud server being infected by some unknown virus developed by China or North Korea or Iran. And I also don’t have to worry about the aliens coming down from the heavens and paralyzing our power grid or somehow disbursing the “cloud” so we don’t have access.

We live in scary times. I back up my most important client information and my financial information, both in the cloud, on a CD, in my flash drive…and the means by which I am still the most comfortable…my floppy disc. It is easy. It is low tech. It is convenient. And it still works. I am MOST comfortable with my floppy backup. Just like Morse Code. On the other hand, I still listen to AM radio.

Herman's 9-9-9; Mark's 20-5-5

2011-10-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of buzz about Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax reform plan, and rightfully so. Of all the candidates, he has articulated with specificity the problem with taxes in America and why our job situation is so dismal. He has addressed the first pillar of my three pillar plan to bring America back to prosperity: Tax Reform / Energy-EPA Reform / China Trade Reform.

So let’s look at what the pizza dude has to say. It is a beautiful thing in its simplicity. He proposes to reduce the corporate tax rate to a flat 9%; a flat personal tax rate of 9%; and a national sales tax of 9%. He has stumbled on the obvious. A tax system in which 47% of working Americans pay no tax while complaining while complaining about the 53% that do is not going to work. Everybody should pay something, even if it is nominal.

He also realizes that the corporate tax rate in the United States is the highest in the world at 35%. The norm is 25%. Couple that with all of the regulations, high wages, and EPA crap companies have to deal with here, he queries why would anyone want to come here?

Finally, he spells out that there are a large number of Americans and foreigners in the country that pay no taxes at all because they are under the radar. These are folks who are currently skirting the system in the underground economy or participating in the illegal economy (translate: drugs). That is a large reservoir of untapped revenue that can only be tapped by either a sales tax or value added tax.

I am for this plan, or something like it. But there are some political potholes the pizza delivery man is going to have to dodge while delivering the pizza (am I good or what). Democrats are going to argue that he is reducing taxes on big corporations while shifting the burden to the middle and lower classes who currently pay no income tax and no federal sales tax. They will also argue that the sales tax is a “regressive” tax that hurts the poor the most. I can hear him them lamenting profusely that Cain want to tax milk and bread for the poor while the rich have their caviar dreams and champagne wishes. Maybe yes...maybe no.

But that doesn’t mean that the 9-9-9 plan can’t be a starting point for a workable tax reform package. Here are some proposed moderations that might make Herman’s proposal a little more palatable.

1) Reduce the corporate tax rate to 20%. Eliminate tax credits and accelerated depreciation. Close all other loopholes. No corporation should be in the position of General Electric and IBM that paid NO taxes last year.

2) A flat income tax rate of 5% for individuals who make over $35,000.00/year regardless if married or not. Keep the dependant and home interest income deductions…but that’s all.

3) A flat sales tax of 5% on items that cost more than $250.00. That eliminates the tax on basic food and clothing items.

4) Cap capital gains tax at 20%

And this is important for conservatives who like the plan but don’t trust the government, do the sales tax in the form of a constitutional amendment requiring any modification of the rate be subject to approval of at least 30 states. That removes the temptation from the government to start nickel and diming the sales tax up!!!!

So cheers to Herman Cain for starting a serious discussion about the tax code. This is do-able.

Steve Jobs: A Partial Legacy

2011-10-11T05:05:00.000-07:00

Don’t get me wrong. Steve Jobs will go down in history as one of the great American inventors along with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. He took what those two American originals gave to us and stretched the telephone and the radio and recording business into directions unimaginable just twenty years ago. In my lifetime I have gone from 78’s to 45’s to 33 1/3rd rpm’s to reel to reel tape recorders to smaller reel to reel tape recorders to eight tracks to cassettes to transistor radios to CD’s to illegal Napster to legal Napster to burning my own CD’s to I-Pods, I-Tunes and MP3’s to my tunes downloaded to my smartphone. That doesn’t even count Apple Computers…the gold standard by which all computers have historically been measured.

Although I have never entered the Apple universe, by both accident and design, Steve Jobs walks with me every day when I am on my PC or laptop or net book or pad downloading music. Books and movies are just a click away as my house is now wired for the digital age. Everything is connected to everything else. My life, literally, is on my Blackberry, including my tunes which connect to my car speakers through Bluetooth. It’s a whole lot easier than carrying all those CD cases. Do you remember the eight track monstrosities? Madonna Mia!!!!

The legacy of Steve Jobs, and other’s of his generation like Bill Gates, is forever changing how we live. And it will be my generation…those middling baby boomers who are at the tail end of the old analog technology and at the beginning of the digital technology that will have the last first hand word as to whether that is a good thing; or whether it will follow the rule of unintended consequences leaving us with something that is not so good.

Maybe I think too much, but it appears to me that the technology outpaced the culture. Over the years as the country progressed, we were given time to adapt, to learn how things work, to absorb the impact of the new technology, and evolve rules of behavior and etiquette that allowed us to function with it in a civilized manner. But when the technology is literally evolving faster than the “new” products can be produced, adaptation is difficult and we end up serving it instead of it serving us.

What we get is constant, nonstop stimulation. Our senses are assaulted every minute of every day. Big screen televisions, the bigger the better, are screaming advertising at us 24/7 augmented by surround sound or its equivalent. Our phones are always with us. Even driving down the street modern billboards change images every 30 seconds filled with LED lights that you can see miles away!!!!

People my age and older have developed a sink or swim mentality. I personally dove into the technocrap full blast. I taught myself how to do things right from the first word processor we bought over 20 years ago…right from the first IBM Selectric Typewriter with a touch of memory 30 years ago. But it has been getting harder and harder to keep up, and I find myself spending the greater part of each day either learning new “stuff” or trying to keep the old stuff going. Anyone with a crashed mother board knows that technology does have its glitches. To get away from it actually takes a concerted effort on my part, and to be honest, I am not very good at either keeping up or turning it off!!

At least I am aware there is a problem when I can't turn it off. Those 30 and under don’t seem to know that there is a problem. They have been fiddling with technocrap since they were toddlers. It is second nature. Technology, with all of its social networking, serves as a wall to hide from others. I have clients and tenants who will ONLY talk to me through texting and email. Phone calls go unanswered. And face to face? Fuggetaboutit!!!

That is the problem, and it is getting worse. Self reflection and contemplative thought are non-existent. What counts is instant information and anonymous instant communication. Some of these folks literally don’t know how to say “hello” to someone else. When life ceases to be “instant”…like instant jobs in a slow economy…people don’t know how to react. Why can't things be fixed "right now" as Obama has commented.

The death of Steve Jobs at the very early age of 56 is a sad for his family, and for a grateful world that honors the man who defined what we are today. The question is, he taught us how technology can alter lives…but who is there to teach us how to live? In order for it to get better, don’t we need both?

How Long Can the Mahoning Valley Stay Democratic?

2011-10-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Local Democratic elected officials are in a pickle. The Mahoning Valley is obviously a bed of union activism, but not as much as it used to be. Outside of GM and the public employees unions, there isn’t a whole lot going on. As the area shifts to being a center of natural gas and oil production, the question arises as to when the area will actually shift Republican.

Forbes Magazine mentioned the wealth that will be pouring into Eastern Ohio over the next ten years, but it is from a product which is not only frowned upon by today’s Democratic Party, it is downright demonized. The stated intent of Barack Obama and Democrats like him is to put the fossil fuel business out of business.

An article in the Youngstown Vindicator unintentionally demonstrated the dilemma facing local Democrats. Jason Wilson, son of former Congressman Charlie Wilson, currently represents the Ohio 30th Senate District in Columbus. But he has been redistricted out as a result of Ohio’s loss of population. Unlike the Feds, in Ohio you have to actually live in the district you represent. The districts have been consolidated and the lines have been redrawn. Wilson now lives in the new Ohio 33rd District whose state senator is the very popular Joe Schiavoni. Wilson doesn’t have a chance in hell of beating him, and is in the untenable position of having to move to another district before the November election to qualify to run.

The article also stated that Wilson voted more with Republicans than any other Democratic state senator. What the article didn’t say is why. The Democratic district represented by Wilson may be Democrat, but in name only. For all intents and purposes, the fate of the coal industry, and now the natural gas and oil industry, dominates the issues facing the district. What these folks are realizing is that the potential of billions of dollars flowing into the region, and into people’s pockets, is at risk as the EPA begins to move to prevent fracking and any more carbon fuel production.

Not that there isn’t a core constituency in the area that feeds the uber liberal beast. Bob Hagan serves these folks and is a true believer. He defines his constituency as uneducated, unskilled, senior, and government assistance recipients…and that is almost a direct quote to a question I asked him several weeks ago.

On the other hand, the balance of local Democrats, even some of the union folks, is Blue Dog Democrat. These folks are basically conservative. They believe in gun rights. Many of them are Catholic and send their kids to parochial schools. They are anti-abortion. They are hawks on American national security. They are hawks on immigration policy. Where they fall into the Democratic camp is on union rights. And if you ask them why they are Democrats, the usual answer is my mother and father were Democrats. Unfortunately, this ain't your Mom and Dad's Democratic Party.

As the local economy begins to boom on the back of fossil fuel production, not only from direct drilling but from all of the manufacturing that will pour into the area as a result, the question is will union loyalty and familial ties trump a Democratic Party overtly hostile to the development of coal, natural gas, and oil?

Locals have yet to realize the magnitude of the shift happening in the Valley’s economy. They have yet to comprehend how much money will be pouring in here. When they do, unless the Democrats shift their whacked environmental policy, I suspect that even the local unions will have to seriously reconsider the relationship between their traditional political allegiances and move to a party that will ultimately best protect their livelihood and well being, one that encourages the development of all kinds of energy...not the rationing of energy.

Whether that will be in the form of states like West Virginia whose Senator Joe Manchin is Democrat in name only…or whether it will shift Republican like many of the right to work southern states, has yet to be seen. Whichever way it goes, the Democratic stranglehold on the Mahoning Valley may be in play, and the local Republicans should be prepared to take advantage.

Autumn is Here

2011-09-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

Today marks the autumnal equinox. It’s the first day of fall. For SAD sufferers like myself, it means a rapid descent to long nights and short days. On the other hand, in just ten weeks, it starts to stay light later again. But that is a column for another time.

New Years Day may be January 1st, but for those of us who are teachers or are married to teachers (like moi), the real start of the new year is the beginning of September. Labor Day marks the end of summer and beginning of a new season of everything. There are new television shows. There is the new theater season. There is the new NFL and NCAA football season. School starts anew, and we once again ready ourselves for a “new year” based on how we live rather than a day on the calendar.

For those of us involved with politics, it marks the beginning of the active political season, especially as we approach a presidential election year. Debates are all over the place. Television commercials begin in earnest for candidates and issues, the focus of this November’s election.

Christmas promotions are already starting. They are extra early this year because of the lousy economy. Kraynak's Time of Year is already playing on television. QVC has been pushing Christmas merchandise on television since July. I kid you not!!! I actually bought a bunch of wrapping paper and tasteful decorative gift bags perfect for re-gifting that bottle of wine Uncle Bill gave you last Christmas…or perhaps a lovely fruitcake.

Autumn is my most favorite time of year. It contains my two favorite holidays…Halloween and Thanksgiving. (My least favorites are New Years and July 4th. Christmas is “ify” at best. Have to double down on the xanax). While spring may be nature’s renewal, autumn seems to be a time for personal renewal. As the days grow shorter with a chill in the air, and colors abound all around us, it’s easy to become pensive; to think about what we have accomplished, and what we yet want to achieve. We might even make some resolutions about goals for the new season.

It’s easy to be reminded of years past as we watch the school buses go by our houses in the morning as we drive off to work. I still remember the apprehension about starting a new school year…and the anticipation of being another year older…closer to that driver’s license, closer to graduation, closer to starting a grown up life. If we knew then what we know now, perhaps we wouldn’t have been so anxious to grow up!

But for right now, it’s time for trips to the apple farm. Whitehouse Farms is like Times Square. It’s time for pumpkin pie and goblins and ghosts. It’s time for firing up the leaf blower, and testing the snow blower to make sure it will start when the snow flies. My wife and I have made it our custom to take a long weekend autumn trip. These past few years we have driven to Washington DC. We like to stay in Georgetown, especially around Halloween…right by the Exorcist house!!!! The fall can even make Washington politicos almost tolerable!!!

Then it’s time to come home. We begin the Christmas rituals early because there is so much to do and we are extremely busy. If we don’t get most of the holiday prep done early, it don’t get done!!!! Outside lights are usually up by the second week in November even if we don’t turn them on. Christmas decorations are up in parts of the house we don’t use on a daily basis the week before Thanksgiving. The Friday after Thanksgiving, the fall season is over and the rest of the Christmas stuff goes up.

Sound depressing? Not really….because the first week in December starts the countdown to the winter solstice…and it actually starts to stay lighter later on December 15. Hurrah!! All that’s left is a few fa-la-la-la-las, 12 weeks of winter and spring is here!!!!

Okay, we’ll go with that!!! Happy Fall.

Another Failed Economic Goose

2011-09-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Federal Reserve reached the bottom of its bag of tricks today when it announced it was going to extend the term of its short term debt in the hopes of driving down almost non-existent interest rates even lower. Here is a little secret fellows. Come closer and I will whisper it in your ear. IT WON’T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. Low interest rates are not the problem. The problem is nobody will loan money. Business is slowly grinding to a halt.

Obama’s incendiary speech on the debt and jobs this past week is the real problem. One can’t tell whether he doesn’t have a clue, a firm possibility, or completely understands and just doesn’t care, the more probable possibility. Until this guy is out of office, nothing will get better because nobody trusts him anymore. He is a liar, and will say anything to advance his ideological agenda of income redistribution, solving global warming (also income redistribution), and global government. That is his agenda. When one views increasing dependence on government control as a good thing, one could care less about unemployment and jobs and loans. That is a minor price to pay to achieve the greater good.

His class warfare agenda is disturbing. I will leave for another column how much bunk the contents of his speech were…right on down to Warren Buffett’s secretary, the corporate jets, and everyone paying their fair share. When ½ of working Americans pay NO income tax, it’s a tough sell when criticizing those who pay all of the income tax for not paying more.

This past week, in a semi tongue in cheek article, the Chicago Tribune called on Obama to not seek a second term. Sounds like a plan to me. I keep writing that the American public does not understand just how much regulation is percolating around out there. Until it does, it will be fooled by Obama and his silver tongue over and over again. Look at what he does, not what he says. He may give lip service to allowing oil drilling in the gulf, but he has completely smothered it with more and more rigs moving to the coast of South America or Africa. He may say he ordered the EPA to relax “carbon emission” standards…but it is from a bunch of new ones that it was going to take effect. The net effect is an increase in these phony carbon standards already rejected by the Congress.

CNBC, the business NBC business channel, recently hired a new commentator who is also a columnist for the New York Times. Andrew Sorkin sat there with a perfectly straight face this morning and asked the Governor of Indiana what the government should do with people who make the wrong decisions. Sorkin said with a perfectly straight face that people can’t be trusted to make the right decisions and government has to be there to protect them. Oh boy!!!

The economy needs to be goosed, but not by monetary or fiscal policies. Both are bankrupt and ineffective and actually make things worse. Here I go again for the thirtieth time. Start an aggressive energy policy using ALL energy, including rapid development of American fossil fuel resources while planning for an orderly transition to other energy in 20 years. Muzzle and neuter the EPA. Get aggressive with countries that are manipulating currencies…like China. Plug the money leaks to China and OPEC. That is what we need to do to get this country moving again.

In the meantime, Ben Beranke and crew can do the interest rate shuffle ‘til the cows come home. As my grandmother used to say: “Save your breath for your soup.”

Obama's Plan: Time for Him To Go

2011-09-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

In my Mark Knows It All column, I mostly try to do non-political or semi-political pieces. This time I can’t hold back any longer. The Chicago Tribune ran an editorial today saying Obama should not run for re-election. Partial tongue in cheek notwithstanding, I agree, especially after the speech Obama gave relating to spending cuts and tax increases. Does this guy have a clue?

His plan incorporates billions of dollars in spending, and claims it is paid for through “cuts”. Those cuts mostly stem from walking away from the Iraq and Afghanistan (already accounted for in budger calculations), and lower interest rates. Oh yes, he wants to cut reimbursments to nursing homes, doctors and pharma companies. Now there's a plan. And those war savings? Smoke and mirrors. Our troops are leaving, but are being replaced by private contractors paid for and trained by us, the taxpayers.

Even more irritating is his so called Buffett tax plan. Warren Buffett, who is worth approximately $55 billion, and who has been a minion of Barack Obama from the beginning, stated that his effective tax rate is less than his secretary’s tax rate. Here’s the problem, his secretary pays income taxes on earned income…like from a job. It is progressive by design…mostly by Democrats...so the more you make the more you pay. She earns $60,000.00/year taxed at a rate of approximately 25%. The effective rate, the amount most taxpayers pay in that tax bracket, is actually 6% after allowable deductions.

Mr. Buffett, on the other hand, doesn’t get a paycheck, at least that I know about. He makes his money through investing. He pays a 15% tax rate on capital gains. For example, if you buy a house for $20,000.00 and resell it for $30,000.00, you would pay 15% of $10,000.00 in taxes. The same goes for stock. The same goes for companies. Buffett deals in each of those. The only criteria are the investments must be owned for more than a year. I do a lot of investing through trading options. I rarely hold anything more than a year…so for me, any profit would be ordinary income and taxed at a rate of between 10% and 35%. Capital gains tax rates go up to 20% in 2013.

So what is a capital gains tax? Capital gains tax is just that…it is a tax on capital. That is the money floating around in the country that is used to start businesses, expand businesses, loan money to businesses, and invest in the future of America. But like anything else, capital has a cost. If I own stock in which I have made some money, I might be willing to sell the stock to free up capital if the tax rate was 15%. I might not be so willing to sell the stock if the tax is 35%. When you raise the tax rate on the free flow of capital, you in effect lock up the money. That was one of Reagan’s success stories…he lowered the capital gains rate to 20% from 28% freeing up a massive flow of capital into the economy. (Unfortunately, it went back up to 28% before the end of his second term). Bush II lowered it to 15%, and that seems to be the tax rate that people are willing to pay to free up capital, anything more locks it up. Why would anyone want to lock it up now when it is needed more than ever? Raising the capital gains tax is one of the top two things the government could do that would bring this economy from slow to a screeching stop!! Adding insult to injury, 15% is the capital gains tax rate pretty much everywhere else in the world. It can be raised a little bit...but not that much or the capital won't come here.

That leads me to Obama. Does he have any understanding at all as to how even the most basic of business principles work? Apparently not! Outside of a few left wing economists, I can’t think of one that believes this would be a good idea. The only thing that is worse is his campaign against corporate jets. I hope the jet maker employees realize it was Obama who forced the coming layoffs in that industry. He must have found out that attacking corporate jets makes for good political fodder in some opinion polling. The only effect it will have on the economy is bad.

On the other hand, he may know exactly what he is doing. He worked on Wall Street for about 6 months after he graduated from law school. Then he left to register inner city voters. He must know something about capital and capital gains tax. But if his goal is income redistribution rather than job growth, why worry? And ideologue that he is, that wouldn’t surprise me.

Class warfare is exactly the wrong thing we need right now. I know it, most of the American public knows it, and I suspect that he knows it. He should be ashamed. Not even the moderates in Obama’s own party can support this one.

What makes me even more angry is how stood up there and lied to the American people. How can he do it with such a straight face? Today’s speech was just another in a long line of ideological ranting that if implemented would bury the economy once and for all. Americans are hurting, and that liar is using the bully pulpit to rally his uber liberal base rather than help this country.

As for Warren Buffett and his $55 billion, he is so anxious to pay taxes to the government that he has sheltered all of his fortune by willing it to the Bill Gates Foundation. You know how much tax money the government will get from the death tax? Not one penny. And you thought Buffett thought the rich should pay more taxes!!!!

I wish I could say I feel better now. I don't. I won't feel better until Barack Obama has left Washington on a pension....if there is anything left from which to pay him.

Reagan and My Mother's Big White Lincoln

2011-09-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

So it’s 1980 and Ronald Reagan is running against Jimmy Carter for President. In Youngstown, the steel industry has collapsed, and the area has lost tens of thousands of jobs in a very short period of time. If the American economy was bad, it was catastrophic here in the Mahoning Valley.

In the midst of the campaign, Reagan decided to make a pit stop in our lovely valley. He visited St. Rose Church in Girard, and visited several of the closed down steel mills. I got a phone call from some of my Republican friends and asked if I would like to drive some of Reagan's staffers in the motorcade. I was thrilled to death. Reagan had been one of my political heroes for years.

Then came the edict. At the time I was driving an Oldsmobile 98, a pretty big car that I bought used from my parents. My Dad was driving a two seat sports car, and my mother had this big, freakin’ white Lincoln Continental. The word from the Reagan people was we were to drive them in nothing more than a Chevy, Ford, or an equivalent. I had to scramble. The two seat sports car was out. My Olds was out. And my mother’s white Lincoln….no way in hell could I drive that. I borrowed a Chevy from one of my relatives. I got to meet President Reagan personally in the St. Rose Rectory. He asked me to get him more ice for his drink....I kid you not!!!!!

But I went home angry. I had a vague understanding about class warfare, but c’mon. Both the Lincoln and Olds used lots of steel, and were made by union labor in union automotive plants. So I made a hand painted sign and put it in the window of my car. It said “Don’t laugh. This car was union made using lots of steel.” It made no impression at all on my Democratic friends, but I thought I made a good point.

Now we are hearing the same thing again. How many times have we heard from the President the evil inherent in private corporate jets…and how greedy those corporations are that use them. Really? Who does he think makes those jets? Maybe we should shut the private jet industry down. Never mind those who assemble the planes, and the fabricators who make the parts, or the companies that make the engines. They must be serving the devil. Just put them out of work.

At the end of the day, from the migrant worker to the highly skilled tradesman to the lawyers and accountants and to the corporate secretaries and presidents, we are all part of the American economy. Poke any part of it, and someone is going to suffer or be displaced. Does President Obama know this? In his presidency so far he has attacked tanning salons, Las Vegas, corporate jet owners, insurance companies, the Chamber of Commerce and every health care entity that ever existed. Why?

Class warfare is a dangerous game. People make fun of trickle-down economics, but just think about those people who would lose their jobs if corporations stopped buying private jets, or driving big cars, or holding conferences in cities like Las Vegas. If those folks were to lose their jobs, the nation would learn quickly that non-existent trickle-down economics would quickly be replaced by the very real trickle down poverty. When the plant closes, then maybe people will understand.

As the saying goes, I never worked for a poor man. Perhaps Obama think it would be better if we were all vassals of the state. That way, we could all drive the same car, live in the same house, wear the same clothes, and make the same amount of money…because that is fair. Wait a minute. The world has already seen that. It’s called communism.

I think I would rather drive the big white Lincoln…and perhaps drive a President who would have the guts to ride in it…complete with my sign. Made with lots of steel. Assembled by union labor.

Remebering 9/11

2011-09-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

In April of 2001 I was having dinner with my family at Smaldino’s Restaurant on Market Street Extension. All of a sudden a horrible feeling of foreboding came over me. My wife looked at me and asked what was wrong. I said there was something wrong, something was wrong in the universe. The morose went straight to my core. I had never felt anything like it my life, and it lasted for several days. I never felt anything like that again…until the morning of September 11.

My wife had started back to school leaving for work around 7:00. As is my habit, I would leave for work at the same time. It was a glorious morning with a crystal blue sky and bright sunshine. As I made the left turn from Lockwood Blvd to 224 that feeling of foreboding came over me again, only this time it was stronger. It was so strong I had to pull into a parking lot along the road in order to regain my composure. Something was wrong. As the feeling partially subsided, I finished my drive to work.

We had a dispute in the office over something or other, and I turned on the television in my office as I loudly made my feelings known to another lawyer in the office about the issue at hand. Out of the corner of our eyes, we saw the bulletin on television that a plane had crashed into one of the Trade Towers. I remember the comments we made to each other about what kind of a jack-ass would fly a small craft into a building? He must have been looped, and we didn’t give it another thought.

But the news got steadily worse. The other lawyer left the office somewhat oblivious as to the deteriorating situation. I continued to watch, and it wasn’t until the second plane hit the trade tower that I was able to convey to the other members of the office staff that we were under attack.

I was supposed to have lunch with a friend of mine who lived in Steubenville. I left my office early and stopped at my stockbroker’s office. He was a close friend of mine and we watched the news together as things went from bad to worse. I made the trip to Steubenville, but instead of staying for the third martini as was my habit, I decided to drive home right after lunch. I was numb.

When the second plane struck the south tower, the feeling of foreboding lifted. Something WAS wrong in the universe.

9/11 will join a list of seminal moments in American history, along with Pearl Harbor; John Kennedy’s assassination; the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King; and the Challenger tragedy. We remember where we were when those things happened, and all of these things changed the course of American history.

The new millennium, wrapped in the cloak of the tech revolution and the fall of communism, promised a future of prosperity, peace and freedom. September 11 marked the end of that optimism. In the course of dealing with it, we have fought two wars plus a military intrusion; we have experienced a housing bubble and a financial collapse; we have given up freedoms to the point where they do everything but cavity searches at airports…and they still can’t get it right. Our economy is in shambles…and the Hope and Change promised by a charismatic President has turned into something else. Those who follow these things can make the case that the troubles we have today are directly related to the massive cut in interest rates after the 9/11 attacks, which were never rescinded and ultimately proved to be one of the origins of the financial collapse in September 2008,

On 9/11 America lost her way. Like after discovering that a burglar has broken into our house, we feel violated. We no longer feel safe and we don’t trust the alarm we have installed to prevent it from happening again. We have fallen into an abyss of political correctness. We have turned a blind eye to the loss of freedoms as we are scanned and searched and observed from cameras pretty much everywhere we go…all in the name of security.

We have lost our ability to see the truth because of our inability to accept the truth. There is evil in the world. It is all around us. You cannot turn a blind eye that there is good, and there is bad. We have to call it what it is. Yet we have built a politically correct wall around us that prevents us from dealing with the problem. Unless you are allowed to define it, you cannot fix it.

America has always been a beacon of good in the world. America isn’t perfect. It is made up of people and people aren’t perfect. But collectively we try and strive for the truth, for freedom, and for the rights of man. Mostly we succeed. Sometimes we don’t. And we need to learn to be proud of our efforts, and not be afraid or ashamed because we aren't perfect.

On the ten year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, let’s remember those who died on that bright shining morning. Let’s remember those who bravely charged into the burning towers to save who they could only to die themselves as the towers collapsed. Let’s remember those who have died on the battlefields in the subsequent military actions. Let’s remember those who are still fighting to protect our nation.

On this tenth anniversary, it’s time to get our “mojo” back. It’s time for America to be reborn and return to the principles that made us great…freedom, personal responsibility, common sense, and individual initiative. These are the four pillars of America. It’s time to rebuild the foundation and make, and keep, America great..the land of the free and the home of the brave. We cannot continue down the path we are going. If we do, they win. And that is unacceptable.

The New Mahoning Valley

2011-08-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

One of the anecdotal indicators of the economy is traffic. If traffic in the Mahoning Valley acts as a local barometer, things must be booming around here. I remember when Route 11 was first constructed. You could shoot a canon up the freeway and hit nothing. It was a consolation prize for Kirwin’s Ditch (the lake to river canal), and for many years it seemed the canal would actually have more traffic!!!

Now it's packed. Bumper to bumper during rush hours between Columbiana and Mahoning Avenue; and from 680 to Route 82, it is extremely busy pretty much any time of the day. Have you driven to Akron on I-76 lately? Where are all of those people going?

It’s not only car traffic. There are lots and lots of trucks. It seems like every day I am passing an oversized load with an interesting piece of heavy equipment tethered to its flat bed. I suspect that most of it is headed to the new Vand M pipe mill and other related Marcellus Gas Shale endeavors. Some of this stuff is mammoth. It also goes to show that if Obama would call off his EPA dogs, the energy industry would be the catalyst for a massive surge in American economic growth. (Don't hold your breath).

Since the shutting of the steel mills, the Mahoning Valley has always had a high unemployment rate. It continues to be high and actually ticked up last month. Much of that is due to a large number of people living here who for all intents and purposes, are unemployable. That remains one of the biggest challenges for the Valley.

The latest census shows a massive drop in our population. Stark County (Canton) has passed Mahoning County in population. But there is a big BUT. Of all the areas in Ohio outside of Columbus, the Youngstown-Warren area is actually generating jobs. GM is working three shifts. V and M is the largest industrial construction project in the country right now. Call center jobs have poured into the area. And a myriad of small support businesses are expanding. All of this is happening at time when the rest of the country is in crisis. I suspect that if you look at population trends over the last 10 years, the county lost most of the population at the beginning of the decade. I'd bet a quarter that if you look at the last three years, the population would actually be increasing, and getting younger.

The foundation of future economic development for the Mahoning Valley lies in two areas. Both state and local officials have worked hard to move some technology jobs to the area, and it is succeeding. The Business Incubator is more successful than I thought possible. Next on the list is the center for international trade currently under construction. Ten years ago I would have laughed at the idea. Not now. It will take time, but these core projects, along with Youngstown State University, are reaching critical mass.

The other area is the Marcellus and Utica shale deposits and natural gas found therein. Even those that are signing those lucrative gas leases don’t fully understand how much money is going to be pumped into this area. Although many of our local banks are shaky, when the drilling commences and those royalty checks start rolling in… local banks will be flush with deposits. Rich banks make for increased lending, assuming banks like Farmers, First Place, Cortland, and Home Savings can resist being takeover targets as national banks eye those deposits. We should be preparing to defend our local banks three to five years down the road and keep the gas royalty money local.

When my son graduated from Ohio State with his Masters in Accounting degree, we debated where he should go. I told him to come home. The era of big steel is finally dead in the Mahoning Valley, and it’s about time. There is a new era in the Mahoning Valley. Maybe it’s not so apparent to many who live here, but I can see it. I can feel it. The challenge to the area is to put aside its normal propensity for crooked politics, and its addiction to parochial political subdivisions that worked well in 1910, but are irrelevant now. One of the challenges is frame a modern political structure for the 21st Century. The challenge can be met with proper leadership, and those who live here realizing what a precious opportunity this area has been given midst the largest national economic downturn since the Great Depression.

If you would have told me that they would ever build another pipe mill along the Mahoning River, I would have laughed in your face. I am not laughing now. Seeing those cranes outside of Girard reaching for the sky, seeing all of that traffic on the freeways, seeing all of those oversized loads, seeing new building in downtown Youngstown, seeing technology companies locating here…that makes me happy!! It is the Mahoning Valley resurgent.

NCAA Redux: University of Miami

2011-08-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

It’s time for the NCAA to wake up and smell the coffee. Over the last 18 months at least nine major schools have been investigated for various athletic violations related to amateur status of sport teams. These are big schools including Ohio State, Michigan and USC. Now the University of Miami is in the NCAA’s crosshairs. Did it ever occur to the NCAA with so many “serious” violations of its policies, the trouble may lie with the policies rather than the violations?

Reports this past week stated the University ofMiami had consistently and knowingly violated NCAA rules by allowing a donor, one Nevis Shapiro, to shower players over a period of years with money, jewelry and whores. Nice work if you can get it. Mr. Shapiro is now serving 20 years in jail for running a $930 million Ponzi scheme. With friends like that who needs enemies?

Unlike Ohio State, the allegations infer that the Miami mucky mucks knew this was going on and looked the other way for years. In the Ohio State matter, only Coach Tressel knew that those nasty football players got tattoos in exchange for personal OSU memorabilia. Nothing like destroying a team and a Coach over tattoos and players selling stuff that belonged to them. Who knew?

The problem is too many schools and the NCAA are making too damn much money. Players are treated like slaves. What do they expect from some of these inner-city dudes when they see all those around them making big bucks and living large off their backs? Of course they are going to skirt the rules. Who wouldn’t? What do these players cost the schools? NOTHING. They cost the school a seat and desk in a classroom, and maybe a dorm room. It's obscene.

Calls for a revision of the NCAA rules have been going on for years, but to no avail. This past month 50 NCAA university presidents met in Indianapolis to discuss how to change the rules. What they came up with was….underwhelming.

1) Relaxing less important rules, like no free texting, in favor of effective enforcement of the more serious rule violations. Does that mean an end to the “self policing honor system”? Who knows!!! Like that self policing system really works. There really was a rule that players weren't allowed to be given "free texting."

2) Allowing “full cost of attendance” scholarships to relieve some of the financial pressures on the players. These scholarships would include tuition, fees, room, board, books, personal expenses and travel home. In other words, the players have ALL expenses paid plus a stipend wrapped up in bureaucratic jargon. There’s a plan!!! Ohio State can afford it. Youngstown State cannot.

3) Raising initial academic standards for freshman players. The figures bandies about would be a 2.5 GPA up from the current 2.0. Hurray….the front lineman will be able to read the words in the playbook. And recruiting options will be cut in half.

4) Requiring at least a 50% graduation rate from the team over a 4 year period. Using the new standard, 12 of the BCS Bowl teams from last year, including Ohio State, would have been ineligible. Hard to believe, but that didn't stop the NCAA from making tens of millions of dollars off those ignorant players.

All of these standard changes are admirable, but misguided. None of them address the issue of BCS College Football as a hundreds of millions of dollar business built on the backs of those who are paid nothing. None of them address the issue of pie in the sky dreams of players hoping for a chance at the pros with only small percentage grabbing the gold ring. None of them address the issue of entrenching conferences and universities in a cement block of money and a craving for ever increasing revenue.

Until the main issue of too much money made by too few schools at the expense of too many indentured players is addressed outright rather than changing the polemic wrapper…it will never get better. And we are all the worse for it.

REF: “Check the sky for pigs: NCAA's APR Ruling the Result of Common Sense;” by Stewart Mandel; SI.com; August 11, 2011.

REF: “Full Cost of Attendance Gains Traction;” by Ivan Maisel; ESPN College Sports; July 11, 2011.

Git on the Bus / Git on the Bus

2011-08-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

From time to time things happen that absolutely confound me. What is Obama doing in America’s heartland driving around in those black monstrosities that we paid for? What is he doing? He says he wants to talk to America about unemployment. What for? What doesn’t he know after 3 years in office? And by the way, who ordered those black multimillion dollar mass transit vehicles? If it was under Obama, we need to know. If it was under Bush, we need to know. Who else is going to ride in those things? They said “heads of state.” Well, that’s one way to keep the riff raff out of the country.

In all seriousness, let’s go through what the tour director of this bus travelogue has done. TARP 1, TARP 2; the trillion dollar stimulus; Obamacare; Quantitative Easing 1; Quantitative Easing 2; NO BUDGET FOR 800 DAYS, and when he produced one, it was so over the top with spending even his own party voted against it. Now he is touring the Midwest at our expense, and will be vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard with all those rich people he hates, and then, he says, he will produce a jobs plan in September. Is he serious?

Obama always reverts to what he does best…campaign. And he is doing it again. This time, it’s not playing so well. Even CNN says it is a campaign trip at the taxpayer expense. Mr. President, go back to Washington and give us, in writing and on paper, a deficit reduction/jobs stimulus plan. All the hands you shake in Iowa won’t produce one job. If you don’t know what needs to be to be done, maybe it’s time for you to leave. People are broke. Businesses are scared. White blue collar workers need jobs…the ones your party said we didn’t need more of. Teen unemployment is off the charts, and there are riots going unreported in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit where minority unemployment for those under 25 is pushing 60%.

Does he see the poor from the bus? Does he see the homeless from the bus? Does he see the fear in seniors’ eyes from the bus? Does he feel your pain from the bus? Does he see the jobs moving to China from the bus?

Who in his administration, in an effort to denigrate Rick Perry, said that the jobs created in Texas are irrelevant because they are “oil drilling jobs” that don’t pay much. What? If Obama would get off those gas guzzling busses and take a look around, that is where the jobs are. Energy production doesn’t cost the government a dime. It creates tons of jobs. It actually creates revenue. It alleviates foreign policy issues. It lowers gas prices. And all you have to do, Mr. President, is to call off your EPA dogs. And you won’t do it because you hate oil, and your agenda is global warming and not the welfare of the United States.

Don’t get on the bus, Mr. President. Get off the bus, and try leading instead of talking, accusing, and campaigning.

Going to the Ox Roast

2011-08-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

In that great expanse of America located in what my liberal friends call fly-over country, somewhere in between New York City and Los Angeles, is the little town of Shiloh, Ohio. It is located about 20 miles northwest of Mansfield near the bustling towns of Plymouth, Willard, and Greenwich (pronounced Green Witch). About 10 miles up the pike is the town of Shenandoah (pronounced shawn-a-door), just a little ways from Celeryville. Population is about 850. It has a diner, a Methodist and Lutheran Church, a post office and a bank, and an historical society. My late father-in-law’s barber shop still has the barber pole outside even though the space is now occupied by a beautician. This is America.

I have never been one to ascribe some sort of special status or wisdom or insight to life to those who live in small towns, or any one else for that matter. On the other hand, I am not willing to dismiss them as country rubes and racist bumpkins who cling to their bibles and guns because they don’t understand the complexities of life. These are the folks who work hard and raise their families without ready access to many of the modern amenities a lot of us take for granted, and without the social ills that so many of us urban dwellers have come to fear. The folks from Shiloh represent America in the purist sense. I should know. My wife is from Shiloh, and she reminds me of her good common sense on a daily basis. We are the ones who look a little different to her, not the other way around. The phrase “what’s wrong with you people?” is one I have heard for going on 40 years now!!!!

Each year, the Shiloh Volunteer Fire Department sponsors an Ox Roast the last week of July. The population of the Shiloh jumps from 850 to about 10,000 as people flood into the town to enjoy this little slice of Americana. The firemen dig a deep pit on the outskirts of town, then stoke a fire in it for several days to get it hot enough. Then they load up the pit with 10,000 pounds of seasoned beef wrapped in individual packages of aluminum foil, and lets them cook for about 12 hours or longer. The pit yields a beef that is tasty and smoky, and sells for $3.00/sandwich. The event starts on Friday, but sandwiches are usually sold out about by late Saturday afternoon. At the beef stand you go to the left for a sandwich and drink. You go to the right if you want a sandwich and the "fixin’s" which means baked beans and lots and lots and lots of homemade pies…hundreds of them donated by the local citizenry. Just a stone’s throw from the beef tent you can get locally grown roasted corn on the cob dipped in a bucket of butter. Live dangerously, and use lots of salt.

On one side of the street is a mammoth tent for bingo frequented mostly by the ladies. Across the street and next to the railroad tracks that run through town is the Amvets Hall…where you can sit outside with your beer on a hot night and watch the trains go by. Across the tracks is where they have specialty events like the tractor pull. And at 7:00 on Saturday night the town fills up with people to watch a parade that lasts over an hour with entries coming from as far away as Cincy and Toledo. People actually line up beginning around noon in order to get a good spot in the shade with a clear field of vision. By 7:00, both side of the streets are filled with people out for an evening’s entertainment of the Plymouth High School band and tractors on parade.

I hadn’t been to the Ox Roast since before my father-in-law died over 15 years ago. This year was special. My 82 year old mother-in-law, a life-long resident of Shiloh, was named Queen of the Ox Roast. They put a crown on her head, sat her in a convertible to ride in the parade, and for an evening she was Shiloh royalty, Queen Bonnie. We had to be there to share the moment and the tribute to a family that has,over the years, contributed much to the good of the town.

Not much had changed since the last time we went down to the event. They moved the beef stand across the street. But my wife said that her Auntie Helen usually worked the home made pie table, and sure enough, there she was selling slices of ground cherry pie for a buck (ground cherries are really teeny tiny tomatoes, and make a great pie!). And what was really nice was the street was crowded in the middle of the afternoon. Folks were coming out to chat and talk and reminisce and talk some more about politics and corn.

I don’t know when and if we will ever get back to another ox roast. It will seem anticlimactic after the special excitement of this year. But I can tell you that yesterday’s nostalgia is today’s reality in Shiloh, and I think it will be that way for many years to come.

The Good Stuff

2011-08-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

What kind of ice cream do you like? My favorite is spumoni, and it better be the good…not the Neapolitan Ice Cream stuff you buy at Sparkle Market. Three layers of variably colored layers does not Spumoni make (huh?). Spumoni needs to be made with love. It needs a rich chocolate layer with bits of chocolate throughout. It needs a pistachio layer with chopped pistachios adding texture. It needs a strawberry layer with real dried fruit bits added…preferable soaked in something good like wine or rum. THAT makes good spumoni. Then top it off with some real whipped cream and sprinkles.

Spumoni, like all good stuff, is hard to come by these days. There was an editorial cartoon in the Vindicator where a couple driving a car stopped and asked someone at an Internet Café for directions. The guy answered: “A retail bookstore? You drive past the drive-in theater. That’s down where the doctor who makes house calls lives. Turn left at the record store. It’s right across the street from the full service gas station at the end of You Must Be Dreamin’ Avenue.” Ouch!!!

Where do we get the good stuff these days? Actually, I have been pleasantly surprised a number of times. My barber goes out of his way to make me happy. I bank at PNC and the folks there are terrific. Their efforts at friendly “local” service are a bit transparent, but they are always pleasant and call me by name. If I have a problem, I go to the branch and they go out of their way to solve it. We have had some work done around our house, and all of the workman have been prompt and courteous and priced within reason. Best Buy did an outstanding job of installing my new television system (you have to have a “system”), and helping me out with my home wireless network issues. They were pricey, but worth every dime. Even down at the courthouse, the employees there have been on their best behavior. Lately it has been a pleasure dealing with these folks. I was in the Probate Court in Warren a few weeks ago, and those folks would have made me lunch if I asked them. I didn’t know what to do.

My doctor is great. He comes in and lies down on the table and asks me to tell him my troubles. He listens intently and always has a solution with a smile. My car guys are great, always friendly and helpful and honest. They even wave when I drive by their garage (Bellino’s) on Route 224. My new masso-therapist dude is also great. I am uncomfortable going to these guys, but the doctor says I have to. Dan is extremely considerate and always asks if it is okay if he does something that he feels may make me feel uncomfortable (that is good stuff because some of them just push and knead the hell out of you).

I do miss those things mentioned in the editorial cartoon. But then again, I always fell asleep at drive-ins, and the sound really sucked. I loved to go to the bookstore and browse, especially in the winter. So many have gone under, but Barnes and Noble is still there hocking its Nook, but the books are still there too. I told you about my doctor…with the parrot in his office. I used to look forward going to the record store and listening to albums back in the listening booths. But now I got my smart phone, and I listen to samples on Amazon and I download right in the comfort of my family room…and I can play my tunes in my car, on my Bose, in my bathroom, and while walking around the block for my constitutional. Serve yourself gas is still a bummer, but if we get electric cars, who needs gas?

I still go to the smaller grocery stores, and avoid all big box stores. I can order stuff by the case on line and it is delivered right to my front door. I bought a year’s supply of deodorant that way, and I gave a case to my son as an early Christmas present. I even buy my suits on line…and when they are delivered by the friendly UPS or Fed Ex guy, it is like Christmas in July. I open the box, and ooh and ahh. Just like in the Music Man, I wait for the "Wells Fargo Wagon" to come down the street. That’s good stuff, isn’t it? And not too much different from today. (Didn't think I could tie that You Tube video in, did you!!! And isn't Opie terminally cute?)

Lots of good stuff is gone, but it has been replaced by other good stuff. And I really do need to find good Spumoni ice cream. Here’s an idea. Like lots of things today, sometimes the good stuff is found in things you make yourself. Would someone please get me some dried fruit and rum? On second thought, screw the dried fruit. Just the rum, please. No, make it Jack Daniels. That is really good stuff!!!!!!

Hot Summers

2011-07-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

I am a little bit freaked. As I sit at my desk in my air conditioned home office (a table in a second bedroom used either for me or junk storage, depending on the circumstance) they are telling me on television that I am sitting under a heat dome. Lordy, Lordy…what the hell is that? Isn’t it bad enough I am told there are super viruses floating around, the country is going to broke on August 2nd, the cost of gas is going up again, the stock market is going to crash, and that I won’t be able to retire until I am 85…and now I have to worry about a heat dome?

Well…that’s what they said in some dogged attempt to explain the hot weather. Of course, there is always that old stand-by global warming. But that is so déclassé. A heat dome is much better.

Actually I am somewhat amused by the all of the haranguing around about the heat. What am I missing? It is summer, isn’t it? And it does get warm in summer, doesn’t it? It’s hard to remember this past May when it rained every day and we shivered our butts off. But such are the trials of weather aficionados who relish outlier weather.

It doesn’t seem so unusual to me. I remember summers like this when I was a kid. We used to watch the temperature sign at First Federal Bank at the corner of Market and Midlothian. We would watch it climb into the 80’s, then the 90’s. It was a REAL event when it hit the 100's, and it did that plenty of times. Or at least it seemed that way.

Our cars weren’t air conditioned. Our houses weren’t air conditioned. We use a lot of fans and opened the windows. When my family moved from our downstairs duplex to our house in 1958, the house had a ceiling fan on the second floor that did a fairly good job of keeping the air circulating around the house. When I got a little older, we bought window air conditioning units for the upstairs bedrooms…which were really not that great. The technology just wasn’t there. But we were happy to have them nonetheless. If we really wanted to cool down, we would go out to eat or to a movie at establishments that proudly displayed signs with polar bears and icicles saying it was cool inside. That was a treat.

Speaking of which, if it was real hot, my parents would take me to the Dairy Queen…which only had one flavor most of the time, vanilla. Chocolate would pop up maybe once a month and it was big deal!! And the cool drink you sipped would most likely be a lemonade...and on a special occasion, a Coke or Pepsi in glass bottles. If it was really hot, my buddy and I would ride our bikes down to the Lake Newport Boat Docks and use the vending machines with money pilfered from my mother's desk drawer. Cokes were a quarter!

My family finally got air conditioning for the house in 1970, the year I went away to school to a non-air conditioned dorm. The family car got air conditioning in the mid 1960’s, but it was still an expensive luxury for secondary cars. I didn’t have a car with air conditioning until 1975 when it became part of the standard package for all but the most basic of cars.

I often think it’s ironic that now I close the windows on my sun porch to keep the air conditioning inside, when in the past I would open the windows on the sun porch to let the cool evening breezes in. Tempus fugit.

Long gone are the days at Shady Run pool, then a stop at the dairy on Indianola for Popsicles. Long gone are the long hours sitting on my neighbor’s back porch where we would talk until midnight or later because it was too hot to go inside. When we did, we might continue the conversation through the open windows…or my neighbor would ask me what was on television at three in the morning that made me laugh so hard (cable television had 12 channels which included the four local stations).

Summers are different now. And I have to admit I would be lost without my air conditioning. But I think tonight I am going to turn it off, and open up the sun room sliding doors, and see if I can hear anything going on at my neighbor’s house. Maybe eat a Peanut Buster Parfait. And try to pretend that now was then...when things weren't so complicated.

Why America is Broke - Your Tax Dollars at Work

2011-07-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

One can get used to anything, even oppressive government. The United States government, trying to save us from ourselves, has become more oppressive these past few years intruding into every aspect of our lives. It’s no wonder, therefore, that we are broke as government has stuck its ugly head into places it ought not to be.

1) Recent do-gooder gurus have proclaimed that child obesity is child abuse, and obese children should be taken away from their parents and put in foster homes. Oh my. Are there that many foster homes available that either don’t have obese children themselves or have obese foster parents? Sounds ridiculous? This is just the type of program the left wing loves. Scales anyone?

2) What’s that? You would like a cup of coffee? The Styrofoam cups are in the cupboard behind the Twinkees. Oh..never mind. Twinkees have been outlawed, and so have Styrofoam cups. In the midst of the debt ceiling “crisis”, Congress has decided to consider banning Styrofoam cups. OMG. They are destroying the environment and landfills. Of all the stupid ass things to worry about when our debt rating is about to be downgraded! Congress has yet to vote on this proposal, but it will be coming to a McDonald’s near you soon. Hey…maybe we can have those individual mugs behind the Big Mac counter just like the saloons in the old days. No? What should we replace the Styrofoam with? Plastic!!!!!

3) How about those places that are now banning plastic bags in grocery stores. How horrible. Those plastic buggers which serve double duty as grocery carry home bags and garbage bags for all of my selfish refuse are being outlawed from coast to coast. Instead, they give us those cheap bags that are re-useable…and filthy. First of all, you can’t tell me they are not made with formaldehyde. Second, when that dripping chicken loaded with salmonella drips into the bottom of the formaldehyde bag and contaminates everything in it today, tomorrow and the next….well just remember we save the environment by nixing those plastic bags. I suppose we should just throw the raw garbage into the trash cans unbagged and unwrapped. The Waste Management dudes are going to love us.

4) Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was shown getting a TSA pat down at an airport security checkpoint. It was picked up by all the new networks to show that even “Rummy” is subject to personal violation by these TSA thugs. The networks thought it was funny. I didn’t. No matter how you slice or dice it, it was a waste of the taxpayers’ money to frisk the Donald Rumsfeld as is most of the other security checkpoint procedures against innocent Americans in order to keep from “profiling” the ones responsible for the terrorist threats.

5) Georgia has raised shutting down kids’ lemonade stands to an art form. The most recent affront to common sense was in Midway, Georgia, where the police taught kids trying to raise money to go to a water park the futility of capitalism under the thumb of an oppressive state. The police chief piously claimed they didn’t know what was in the lemonade, or who made it, and the kids needed a $50.00 vendor’s license. Shame on these people! Why aren’t the police out chasing real bad guys, like the ones who kidnap young women, or male children and chop them up.

And you want to know why America is broke!!! Take a look!!!

Truth in America

2011-07-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried looking for truth in modern America? It’s becoming more elusive as time goes by. The latest example was the Casey Anthony trial. It was fraught with so many lies, the jury finally threw in the towel. Everyone lied. Casey Anthony gets the liar of the decade award. Her father comes in a close second. The prosecutor who trumped up chloroform as a murder weapon with a sniffing machine is right in there. Of course, there is the defense attorney accusing the father of incest. Last place is a tie between mom Cindy and brother Lee who looked amateurish but still put on a good show.

Of course the Anthony trial is the most obvious case, but the loss of truth in America is becoming something more insidious. CBS admitted this past week that its broadcast of the 4th of July fireworks from Boston was doctored with phony angles and photo-shopped computer generated backdrops. They photo-shopped 4th of July fireworks and claimed the broadcast was live? Really?

Media is spinning out of control blending truths, half truths, and outright lies into one big ersatz reality show. Sixteen and Pregnant, Say Yes to the Dress, I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, Hoarders, Real World, Big Brother, the Bachelor all claim to show real life. Are people really that whacked? Are people really that mean and self centered? Is this the kind truth we are teaching our children?

Several movies are being released this week centered on “mean girls.” This is a pervasive theme on television and in the movies. Those of you who teach high school will know what I am talking about. This is what we hold up to be a truth of life? Physical violence, narcissism, collaborative thuggery, tribal girl on girl dancing, bitchiness…is the truth we are teaching young women today? Is a kick to the male groin the solution to everything? The media phony view of life is so pervasive, this how people now act. Doesn’t everybody? As Marshall McLuhan correctly said over 40 years ago, the media is the message. I might add: any relation to the truth is purely accidental.

Then there is politically correct truth vs. actual truth. Politically correct truth says TSA agents should feel up five year old little girls and remove diapers from a 95 year old wheel chair bound woman dying of cancer. The truth they use is that someone “could” smuggle a bomb on a plane that way....and I "could" lose forty pounds in two weeks. The actual truth is that a terrorist is probably a Muslim male, aged 16 – 35. To a much, much lesser degree, Muslim women of the same age category comes after that. The real truth is a Swede with a wife and three screaming children trying to board a plane is not going to blow it up. But then the real truth is politically incorrect therefore not valid.

Then there is election truth. President Obama got on national television and actually told seniors that their social security checks would not be in the mail August 3rd if the debt ceiling is not raised. I know that is a lie. But more importantly, he knows that is a lie. Politicians from all political spectrums lie...but the President of the United States making a comment like that is off the charts.

The truth is actually easy to find. What is difficult in America is admitting the truth how uncomfortable that might be. Until we do that, not much is going to get a whole lot better.

Gay Marriage: Suffer With the Rest of Us!!

2011-07-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

Alright, your howling is coming through my router loud and clear, but what can I say? Six states now allow gay marriage. Whether you personally agree with it or not is up to you. But as a lawyer I can tell my gay friends…be careful what you ask for, you just may get it. In plain terms, the gay community had the greatest gig going on in history and didn’t know it. I can guarantee you there are a bunch of straight guys, and women for that matter, who are sitting around wondering why the hell they got married. But if you were gay with a persistent partner wanting to tie the knot, you had the greatest excuse in the world…it’s illegal. Now, you are just like the rest of us. So get ready for what you don't know!!!

1) THE MARRIAGE PENALTY: Let’s start with tax issues. Yes, married couples are taxed at a lower rate than two incomes pyramided on top of one another. But married filing jointly is always more than if the two individual were not married and filing separately. That’s why many working hetero’s choose to live together rather than get married…it’s cheaper.

2) DIVORCE: Can you spell community or marital property? If you get married, your partner will be entitled to half of you have if you comingle the funds or make the money while you are married. People are people regardless of sexual orientation. And the gay community as a whole tends to be more financially well-off than the general population, thus more at risk. My advice: Pre-nup…especially if there is a pension! State Domestic Relations laws are unforgiving!!!

3) CHILD SUPPORT: If you decide to adopt, remember that custody and support issues will rear their ugly heads. This is a NASTY business. Tread carefully.

4) SENIOR ISSUES: If you are an older gay couple deciding to fulfill a lifelong dream of entering into marital bonds with your long time partner…think twice. Social Security will be cut. You become subject to Medicaid spousal asset and spousal support issues. You become subject to maximum amount of property you are allowed to keep if your spouse goes into a nursing home. This goes for ANY person over 50 contemplating getting married, first or fifth time around. DON’T DO IT without fully understanding the responsibility imposed by statute on married couples for each other’s expenses.

5) IRA and 401(K)’s: Surprise. You thought that money you contributed into your account was yours, but you can’t do a whole lot with it without your spouse’s signature. Financial institutions everywhere are now requiring the spouse to sign off on someone else being named a beneficiary. This can be disconcerting to those with blended families.

6) PROBATE: You can disinherit your partner sharing living quarters. You can not disinherit your spouse. It is called the spousal share. SURPRISE!!!

7) DOWER: This is a good one. If you own a house when you get married, you can’t sell it without your spouse’s signature even if it is in your name alone. It is called Dower. SURPRISE AGAIN!!!!!

Generally speaking, while the United States appears to be family friendly, the government actually tends to be hostile and punitive. That is why the marriage rate is going down, more and more seniors are living together rather than choosing to get married, and the age people get married is steadily rising.

Granted that while issues such as health care, rights to benefits, the right to bury your partner without hostile family interference are resolved by marriage and/or civil unions, straights have found that many of those issues can be taken care of by a series of relatively simple documents such as Powers of Attorney, Wills, Prepaid funeral contracts, and the like. You get all of the benefits, and none of the crap.

On the other hand, love of another human being is a force to be reckoned with; straight, gay, or otherwise. But you know what? The guy with the whining gal nagging to get married always ends up giving into convention. Wouldn’t it be nice just to look over and say: “Babe, I’d love too, but it’s illegal!”

I will be out of town for the next several weeks and no phone line will be long enough to find me. Please send all of your complaints to Barack Obama!!!!!

An Independence Day Message: A Nation of Do-Gooders and Zealots

2011-06-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

It’s time for all Americans to take stock of their lives and how they relate to government. Ignorance is the enemy, and unfortunately ignorance is running rampant in the country. What happens in Washington matters to all of us! It is not esoteric. It is not theoretical. It has consequences to our lives, our families, and our pocket books. And it is also difficult to change after some whackadoodle policy becomes law. And there we are left standing….

I have lots of friends who laugh at my blog and web site. To them, I am some sort of a nut who goes off the deep end in caring for what happens to my country. I have always been politically active, but when I started trading securities, I learned quickly that bad government policy has immediate and serious consequences for the country. The stock market it the great prognosticator. It is saying things aren't so good right now.

Do you really know what is in the health care bill? Do you know that in 2014 you will probably lose your current coverage...and if anyone tells you different they are lying or are uninformed. Do you know that the EPA is promulgating cap and trade regulations to implement by fiat the very laws rejected by Congress last year? Do you know what the mandatory light bulb change is going to do to your pocketbook and your home…and even your light switches? Do you know the political philosophy of the Secretary of Energy and how it will relate to gasoline and oil prices? Do you know how far the IRS reaches into your private life? Do you know how the schools have implemented philosophically and scientifically questionable environmental theories into your school’s curriculum? Do you mind having your private parts patted down at airports? How much freedom have we as a people lost? How much will we lose?

Right now, as I write this in Obamamerica, 95 year old women in wheelchairs are being forced to remove their Depends and undergo degrading and merciless searches to satisfy TSA requirements before boarding airports. The same goes for 6 year old little girls. Anywhere else, these TSA thugs would be arrested for child molestation. Let's not even talk about the camera watching what students are putting on their lunch trays in Texas. It is disgusting. It makes me physically ill that this nation is doing these types of things instead of excercising common sense, and following the Constitution. Is this America you want to live in?

The founding fathers did not trust a strong, centralized government, and yet that is what we have, and it is getting worse. Federalism is an endangered species, being swallowed up by politicos with an agenda that worries about everything but you.

Here is a rule of thumb. People involved in politics ALWAYS have an agenda mostly consisting of three types:

1) Those that view government jobs as a paycheck and are ideologically neutral. They will do anything to stay in office and go with the flow. These types are harmless, but expensive as they vote for give away programs that will keep them in office.

2) Those with an agenda. These are the do-gooders and zealots who are out to right all the wrongs in the world. A lot of pop science and social utopian types in this group. They worry about global warming. They want to regulate what you and your family eat. They want to define how you should raise your children…spanking not allowed. These folks are dangerous because what they believe generally goes against human nature and therefore involves lots of coercion in the name of fairness and social justice. What you get is the coming light bulb fiasco…and no chocolate milk in schools..but lots of sushi…seriously.

3) Then there are people like me, who want to slap those in category number two around. We just want to be left alone. We don’t want the government telling us what to buy, what to eat, what to wear, where to drive, where to work, how many times we can flush the toilet,and we want to keep what we earn. We want to be left alone to pursue our dreams in a world governed by common sense and rule of law. Government is a tool, not a god to right every wrong and to cure every ill that afflicts mankind.

Do you fit into any of the above categories? Or are you in the vast 4th category of apathetic Americans who turn their backs on the workings of our democracy, lost in a sea of electronic gizmos and MTV?

This July 4th, take some time to look at America and decide if you like what you see. If you don’t, take a stand…get involved. Get off your butt and do something. Democracy only works if you become informed and then act. The future of our Constitution depends on it. Our country’s future depends on you.

It's Energy, Stupid!!

2011-06-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

I continually pound the table that at the end of the day, the well being of the American economy is directly tied to the cost of energy. The ups and downs in the economy, albeit subject to other forces as well, are directly linked to the cost of energy in a straight forward manner that doesn’t need some academic economic whackadakic scholar to analyze it. When the cost of energy spikes, the economy tanks! It happens every single time. The inevitable recessions are severe. It has been this way since the oil crises in the mid 1970’s.

There are those who scream and yell that our government has no energy policy. They are wrong. The United States energy policy is to restrict and prohibit the development of new energy sources within the confines of our borders. Environmental concerns have been raised to a religion. We have put most of the oil reserves off limits to drilling, and have actively discouraged either through deliberate policy, accidental policy, or through the courts, the development of additional coal, natural gas, and nuclear options. Witness AEP shutting down one of the largest coal fired electric power plants in West Virginia because it can't comply with EPA standards. Even solar and wind farms are falling victim to the environmental whack jobs that have pretty much called the shots in my lifetime. And now we have a President whose Energy Chairman believes that $4.00/gallon gas is a good thing, and should go up.

Couple that with a flawed Mideast policy where we failed to use our military strength and our courts to limit the power of OPEC when we were the only developed country in the world, we are now faced with China that is sopping up every bit of energy that is available! For the first time China has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest consumer of energy.

Now we have our most inexperienced President, who bows to the King of Saudi Arabia, dealing with chaos in the Mideast. The liberal press talks about the Arab Spring. The winds of freedom are blowing. Not quite.

Last week’s meeting of OPEC proved to be a disaster. The friction between Saudi Arabian and Iran is at a new high as both deserted the conclave. Much of the turmoil in the Mideast has been fueled and fermented by Iran. This isn’t a benevolent democratic movement. This is Iran laying the groundwork to become the dominant player in the Mideast, and foretell the destruction of Israel

The Saudi royal family is shaking under their white robes and dark glasses. And ironically, is once again looking to the United States to defend them as they did in the first Iraq war (and subsequently shoved it up our posterior). The quid pro quo is so obvious that I can’t believe the press is not putting two and two together. We defend the Saudi’s; they break with OPEC and start to pump oil to stabilize the price. That is exactly what is happening as the United States is stepping up its efforts in the war in Yemen under the radar of Congress and the press.

This is a dangerous game. Since the fall of the Shah of Iran, the United States has been dancing around the two main problems in the Mideast: OPEC and Iran. Sooner or later, whether we like it or not, we are going to have to fight Iran. It would have been easier in during the Iranian hostage crisis. Now Iran will have a nuclear weapon, and those religious fanatics will not be afraid to use it.

Meanwhile, we still are prohibiting energy growth in the United States. Until such time as our government removes the shackles of the EPA on our energy well being, we are in big trouble, and look for a falling standard of living unprecedented in our history. Here’s the bad news. With the EPA and Energy Department promulgating all of those nice carbon emissions regulations as the liberal capitalists get rich selling air, don’t look for that to happen anytime soon.

I firmly believe that ALL of the problems in the United States economy are ultimately linked to energy. Energy independence is the holy grail to the solution of our economic problems, and is within our grasp. All it takes is common sense and some leadership. If you find some, let me know.

My Big Fat Seraphim 1960's Concert

2011-06-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the Seraphim Chorus under the direction of Kris Harper, made a quantum leap from traditional and stodgy choral stuff into the world of pop and performance doing a boffo choral concert showcasing the music of the 1960’s. It had a WOW factor as we tuned up to sing some Mamas and Papas, some Association, some bubble gum fluff, some folk music, some peacenik music, and some inspirational freedom rider music from the civil rights song book. It was a ride down memory…and who knew that we had it in us???

It was supplemented by some talented musicians from Westminster College and the one and only Jim McClelland of The McClelland's fame. Add into the mix some outstanding commentary by local activist Staughton Lynn (you might not agree with him, but he walked the walk), the concert was a home run.

It was also one of our more difficult performances. Pop musicians use rhythms and harmonies unfamiliar to those of us growing up singing standard SATB fare in high school. It’s even worse when you think you know the song. Maybe you do, but I guarantee it won’t be what’s written on the music in front of you. Singing what you hear is one thing. Singing what you see is another. Many thought the concert was going to be a snap. Surprise!!!!

And that usual choral audience was up on their feet swaying and dancing and clapping their hands and singing along. People my age wondered where the time had gone. How could forty some years go by so quickly? Singing Hey Jude brought back memories of my Newman retreats, where we literally sat around the campfire singing that popular Beatles tune. Those folks are still my friends today. It was hard not to tear up.

In a world in which Glee is among the top television programs, choral music has ceased being a dying art form and is being resurrected into something that is dynamic and fun. Glee has redefined classic, and has shown that singing pop music is every bit as challenging, if not more so, than the standard oratorios and requiems. Not that there isn’t a place for them, but in modern America they have limited appeal. As a person very close to me (that would be my wife) once said when I asked if she was attending our March requiem concert…"it is cold, dark and wet outside. Why would I want to go hear a program about death?"

That being said, those classics honed my chorus' skills. It was that intricate oratorio Elijah that elevated my chorus to the point where we could sing the type of concert we did last weekend. It elevated us as musicians. We learned intonation. We learned diction. It is a fast moving piece and made us get our oxygen and pace makers pumping to capacity as we learned to sing with gusto. It all goes into the mix.

But now maybe it is time to move into the 21st century. While singing the classic classics is noble and righteous, there is nothing wrong with wanting to entertain those who choose to come and hear our programs. In so doing, we entertain ourselves. We live in difficult times. People want to leave a program humming a tune and tapping their toes. I want to leave a program humming a tune and tapping my toes. It’s a good thing to make people feel good. For those of us used to the old traditional stuff, it's okay to leave some of it behind to move forward. We don't have to feel guilty.

Does that mean we abandon our traditional choral roots? Of course not! Our group sings in many different venues and programs demanding all sorts of music. California Dreamin’ doesn’t quite cut it when you are singing a celebratory Mass with the Diocesan Bishop. On the other hand, the emphasis may shift as we learn to blend the old with the new, as we re-balance the type of music that we sing. Like all things in life, it is a balancing act.

What’s wrong with “Disco Seraphim” or “Seraphimly Sinatra” or “Gilbert and Sullivan and Seraphim” or “That’s Seraphtainment” or “Opry Seraphim”? Maybe those will be programs in the future. And some of the classics will be there, too.

In the meantime, if you didn’t see our 60’s extravaganza, you will have several times over the next few months to see an abbreviated reprise as we perform it in various venues as we sing for our supper, so to speak. It is called show "business". We have to pay the bills.

See ya at the next concert, Dude!!

The American Economy: Feeling Better?

2011-06-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

How’s this recovery working out for you? Good? Glad to hear it. Tell the rest of the country. In all seriousness, the economic indicators reported last week are abysmal. If this isn’t a double dip recession, it sure feels like it. Housing prices still continue to fall. The private sector only produced 53,000 jobs last month. It needs to produce about 200,000/month just to keep the unemployment rate steady (break even). The unemployment rate is up to 9.1%, but in reality is closer to 19% taking into account discouraged workers. Productivity is anemic. The chronically unemployed are at a higher percentage rate than during the Great Depression. Housing prices as a percentage of value have fallen more than in the Great Depression. America’s credit rating has been downgraded to negative. And last, but not least, the stock market is sliding. What’s really scary is the Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, said on CNBC last week that HE is afraid. If this guy is losing sleep over the current state of affairs, what should we be doing?

Mitt Romney said it best when asked about the current state of the economy. How can President Obama address what is clearly a crisis when he doesn’t know there’s a crisis? That sums it up. While Rome is burning, Obama is fiddling…taking a victory lap to Toledo touting the rebirth of the American car industry. Really? How much government money did it take to do that? Obama seems to think that the way to solve the problem is print money, and lots of it. That is his solution, and his only solution. I can’t believe he is that stupid. On the other hand, if he is smarter than I give him credit for, that is a bigger problem. That means he is destroying the economy deliberately, and for that he should be impeached.

Meanwhile, the press keeps rallying around him. It was almost “amusing” to watch them try spin the horrible news away. But even that has started to sound hollow. They didn’t look convinced, and some of them are beginning to back off. Some things just can't be spun. Suffice to say ALL of Obama's economic team has left the service of the people to head back to Academia to feed all this Keynesian drival to impressionable students who don't know any better.

There are many solutions to the problem, none of which are within Obama’s ideological framework or his life experience. He knows NOTHING about business. He knows income redistribution. He has turned his back on Europe. He has ignored Japan. He has been taken to the cleaners by China…and has thumbed his nose at our traditional allies. What he has done to Israel is unforgivable.

Three things will solve our economic problems: 1) Rein in the EPA; 2) Get currency issues under control, both American and Chinese; 3) ENERGY, ENERGY, ENERGY, ENERGY!! Drill now. AND I MEAN MORE THAN LIP SERVICE. He announced more drilling. But as in all things Obama, look at what he does, not what he says. He has actually tightened oil exploration up. There are no permits and/or licenses to drill being issued. You have to understand. Obama thinks that $4.00/gas is a good thing, not a bad thing.

If the United States re-elects this guy, then we get everything we deserve. His Keynesian Socialist view of the world has failed everywhere it has been tried. Utopia doesn’t exist. The real world is hard and cruel and unforgiving. It takes a tough nation to stand up to reality. With the proper leadership, I know the United States can do it.

But it’s time for this guy to go. The sooner, the better.

Another Valley Favorite Son Bites the Dust

2011-05-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

It was with great regret peppered with some anger that I watched the news from Columbus. Jim Tressel resigned as Ohio State’s football coach. What a pity. What a shame. But he is another in a long line of Mahoning Valley favorite sons to bite the dust.

I wrote several weeks ago that the NCAA crossed the Rubicon in using “amateur” players to enrich itself and its member schools years ago. It is a crime that the NCAA and its members have built a billion dollar business on the backs of often times broke students who are willing to indenture themselves for a 1 in 500 chance of playing in the NFL.

Although I am an Ohio State fan, I much less so now than I was when I was younger. Big time football has always been a business, but lately it has turned into something much more ugly with luxury boxes and tickets that are out of reach of many of the fans. This is especially true in the state schools. This isn’t pro football. At the end of the day schools like Ohio State are taxpayer funded institutions…and Ohio State uses A LOT of state money in its various pursuits. At Ohio State, the average schmuck gets a chance to buy two tickets to one game. If you want season tickets, it will cost you several thousands of dollars each year in various money schemes including everything from straight donations to purchasing insurance policies.

There is no excuse for what Tressel did. He let the players play when he knew he shouldn’t have. He lied about it to Ohio State and the NCAA, and given that another of his players spilled his guts last week about sweetheart car deals, there may be more to come. It’s admirable that he wanted to look out for his players. It also understandable that at $3.5 million/year he would look out for himself! After all, he built his team around those guys. He had to produce. Had he done the right thing, the entire season would have been lost. Minimally it would have shown that the character of the recruits played much less a role than their football ability. He had already been down that path before. Didn't he learn anything?

But the lawyer in me gives me pause. If you don’t like the rules, you work to change them. You don’t cheat on them. You don’t lie about it.

Tressel is not native to Youngstown, but we certainly adopted him as one of our own when he turned the Youngstown State University Penguins into a football team to be reckoned with. Now he is just another in a long line of people who pushed the envelope over the edge of the table. Marc Dann and Jim Traficant come to mind. You might say this is not the same thing; that there is no comparison. Why not?

People from this area have been honing basic survival skills since the mills shut down. We are tough, and more often than not we succeed in tough businesses be it Wall Street, Hollywood, or sports when we leave the area. Don't be surprised if the next Ohio State coach also has a strong Youngstown connection. We know how to compete. We know how to walk that line.

Unfortunately, lots of times we get caught crossing over the line. The reputation of the Mahoning Valley anywhere in the state is abysmal. And we came by it "honest." It might be a good idea that anyone who is from here, or works and has associations here, be given a fast ethics course before being issued a driver’s license. Ethics is a word that is seldom heard around here; witness the latest round of local official indictments….AGAIN. You think we would learn our lesson.

At the end of the day, I hope that this turns out to be a good thing for Ohio State. Maybe, just maybe, it will move the university to do some soul searching as to exactly how its program is operated with maybe some adjustments in priorities. I hope that this turns out to be a good thing for the NCAA as some of the larger schools have started a drive to revise what “amateur” status means in the context of big time college football.

And I hope that is a new beginning for Jim Tressel, who is a decent guy by any standard. Perhaps he can re-evaluate what is important in life outside of the spotlight of being Ohio State’s head coach with all of the attendant pressures. (I personally think it has to be worst job in the world). He will be fine. Maybe he will go the pros. Maybe he will come back to Youngstown State to finally move our local team into the big leagues, but in a way that would restore his pride in self, and in a way that might teach our local population what the word “honor” means. If anyone could teach that lesson to us, it is Jim Tressel.

Singing at St. Patrick's

2011-05-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

These past few months I have had the privilege of doing some supplemental singing with the St. Patrick’s Catholic Church choir. The director of Seraphim, my community chorus, is Director of Music at St. Patrick’s, and arranged for some of us individually and for the whole chorus to do some singing in this magnificent church.

This year St. Patrick’s celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding. It is a big gothic old style Catholic Church located in Youngstown’s south side. In a city built on steel, the neighborhood was ethnic, blue collar and middle class. They even considered making it the Cathedral for the newly formed Diocese of Youngstown (a function it temporarily served when St. Columba’s Cathedral burned down in the early 1950’s).

But the neighborhood has been in decline for years and years, and has been long considered classic inner-city surrounded by urban blight. But like several other old neighborhood Catholic churches in the area, the faithful who moved to the suburbs refused to give up their church. Through perseverance and innovation, St. Patrick’s held its own, and has experienced a renaissance of sorts as it has moved into the life of the neighborhood offering a hand up to those who live around it, and cleaning up much of the urban decay that once surrounded it.

While the actual experience of singing with such warm and welcoming people in an historic church has been exciting and fulfilling, it has also been bittersweet. I have heard numerous stories from long time parishoners recollecting memories of a lifetime attending St. Patrick's. While the history of the church itself is fascinating to history buffs like myself, it is the individual stories that are the foundation of this church's one hundred years.

Even for us non-parishoners, the old church sparked way too many memories. Although I have lived in the Youngstown area all of my life, I had only been in St. Patrick’s once before at the wedding of a friend. That being said, the church reeks of old style Catholicism which to those of us raised Catholic tends to be one great blur. Whether it was attending Sacred Heart Church with my grandmother, or standing as my cousin’s best man in the old St. Mathias Church (torn down for freeway development) or attending my Uncle Tony’s funeral in Sharon, these types of churches are ingrained in our DNA. The reaction to them is visceral: pleasurable to some, but painful to others.

More poignant was the drive to and from St. Patrick’s. There’s the old South High School, my parents’ alma mater. There’s my grandmother’s house on Judson in which my mother was raised. There was the duplex on Prestwick Drive that I spent the first 8 years of my life. There is where the Newport Theater used to be. There is where the South Side Library used to be. There is where Isaly’s used to be. There is where Sears and Strouss used to be. There is where Gorant’s used to be. There is where Burkland’s used to be. There is St. Dominic’s where I went church growing up. There is where I rode the Jack Rabbit and Wildcat at Idora Park , now torn down and decayed. There is where Vivo’s Florist (now Something New) used to be. There is where Colla’s Barber Shop used to be. There is where the A&P used to be. Rimedio’s Market used to be in that plaza. We would buy Italian sausage there. There is the old Princeton Junior High where my aunt served as school nurse. There’s my Dad’s old dental office…that one is tough. Here is where my life used to be.

My father told me, even as he was dying, to never look back, always look forward. I often wondered whether that was what he actually believed…a rule to live by that served him well; or whether looking back was just too painful. At the end of the day, I suppose it was a little of both. One thing I know for sure, singing at St. Patrick's was definitely a little of both.

Last night the church centennial committee brought the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra to St. Patrick's for its first performance outside of Powers Auditorium in 25 years. Hosted by the Mayor Williams and Bishop Murry, it was a musical journey through the past, and an affirmation for the future not only of St. Patrick's, but for the Mahoning Valley as a whole. Another reason why it is great to live in the Mahoning Valley.

Here is wishing this outstanding congregation another successful 100 years. "Cent'anni"

Open Season on Public Employees

2011-05-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

These past few months have seen an unprecedented attack on public employees. Never in my life have I seen anything quite like it. Salaries are being posted. Implied derogatory descriptions about benefits are in newspaper articles, blogs. I have even experienced some “critical” questions from acquaintances relating to my wife’s benefits, a teacher who has just completed her 33rd year of teaching.

My son is also a public employee. He is the financial officer at the Board of Elections. When he took the job, I got many raised eyebrows from some folks along with some surprisingly smart ass comments that verged on insulting. His credentials were actually pulled by the local press. He has a Masters Degree in Accounting from the Ohio State Fisher School of Business after graduating from YSU with a degree in accounting and a 3.9 GPA. That’s the last we heard of that.

Of course, nothing is said about the benefits and pay guaranteed by the government for the auto workers whose pay scale is beyond that of most mere mortals, including many public employees and myself personally. That’s another issue. That’s the most sacred of sacred cows. That is what happens when government picks winners and losers. Talk to a Delphi white collar retiree. While the press is focused on public employees, I am sure Walmart employees are wondering why their tax dollars bailed out the biggest, highest paid union of them all, the UAW. Does it sound tacky to talk about such things? Does it make you angry? That's because it is, which is the point of this essay.

Of course, all of the above does not obviate the need for thoughtful and considerate debate on the issues of public employees and benefits. There are plenty of legitimate gripes, especially when the pay to public servants is substantially more than the pay of the people supposedly being served. The tax well has run dry. There is no more money for generous raises when everyone is getting salary cuts and benefit reductions. It is insensitive. It is bad government. It is bad labor policy. It is bad politics. And yet the pay increases go on. Nobody can be that tone deaf…or can they?

The sad thing is that many good and faithful public employees have been demonized in this economic shakeup of how our system works. Like any other line of work, there are more than a few bad apples in the public employee barrel…and they can be real lollapaloozers!! As a politically active lawyer, I have known more than my share fair of these idiots and slackers. But for the most part, the vast majority are good, hardworking folks who try to do a good job under sometimes difficult, if not totally impossible, circumstances.

In Ohio, SB 5 is now law curbing the abuses…and then some. In my opinion, the effort to repeal it in the fall will fail. Although I don't agree with everything in SB 5, I do NOT support its repeal. There is a strong vocal minority that does, but so far the only screaming and indignation I see is coming from the unions. Canfield still defeated its school levy. Boardman defeated its police levy. But the bloodletting of the press and radio jocks and general public continues non-stop...and now it needs to stop. How would they like their salaries splashed all over the front page of the local paper or on some blog site? How would the press like their press “perks” exposed? What perks? Believe me, they have perks. Would the Youngstown Vindicator care to share with the public the amount of paid advertising done in its paper from the public sector? The editorial staff should look at how much of their salaries emanate from the public spigot, which is sizable through direct and indirect advertising.

When all the hullabaloo has died down, the folks on the receiving end of this vendetta will be the teachers who will still be teaching your kids, the police who will still be protecting your house, the firemen who are there for every emergency, and the clerks that file your documents in the courts. Isn’t time to tone down the rhetoric? These are folks just like you and me. Honest debate on the merits is needed. Venom should be left at the door, on both sides of the issue.

I learned a lesson from a wise man a long time ago…never knock another man’s hustle. It may come back to bite you in the ass.

Lost in the Fifties - Again

2011-05-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to see the Easy Street Production of Forever Plaid. It was an encore performance from a few years ago. I saw it then and it worth going to see again. Unfortunately, with Tim McGraw at the Covelli Center, Canfield High School's Senior Class Play, and the Boardman High School's spectacular fundraiser featuring scenes from past Senior plays with the people who originally played the roles in high school….the Ford Recital Hall was only ½ full. If you haven’t seen Forever Plaid, it runs for one more weekend. GO AND SEE IT. As always, you will see no better version anywhere as you will with Todd Hancock and company.

The story deals with a vocal quartet called the Plaids killed on the way to a gig at the airport lounge by a school bus filled with parochial virgins in the early 1960’s. But the Plaids are given one more chance to give the performance of a lifetime before gaining permanent entrance to the afterlife, realizing that the style of music they love is over. What ensues is an evening filled with music like Shangri-la, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Three Coins in a Fountain…you get the picture. And lots and lots of laughs.

I was born in 1950 which made me age 0 – 10 during that idyllic decade. America was trying to get back to normal after the World War II. It was a beautiful decade. America ruled supreme in a world rebuilding after being destroyed. We were the only game in town, so to speak.

My parents raised me like we lived in a movie. Everything needed to be perfect. We were solidly upper middle class, and never wanted for anything. My mother had beautiful clothes, and a cleaning lady to clean the house, and a lady to help with the laundry…even though we lived in a one floor two bedroom duplex!!! It was a different time.

We listened to radio. We didn’t get a television set until 1954. I remember the day we got it. My Dad drove a two toned Pontiac Bonneville…tan and cream. It was a hell of a car. Then my mother wanted to drive the Pontiac…so we actually got a second a car. It was a stripped down blue Plymouth. It had a heater, and that was about it. No back seat. No radio. My uncle eventually bought it from my father, and drove it almost to the late 1970’s. It was literally held together by coat hangers.

Women wore gloves and hats. Men wore suits to baseball games and hats to work. It was the golden age of senior proms, malt shops, greasers, hot rods, drive in movies, guys wearing white socks...and conformity. Rebellious teenagers looked positively Mary Poppins-ish with jazz and coffee shops and poetry readings…beatniks!!! Drugs were around, but certainly not the problem they are today.

If a girl got pregnant, she went to visit her aunt in Pennsylvania until the blessed event was over and the baby put up for adoption unless there was quickie wedding. I had at least one relative in the latter category. No birth control. No abortions. In fact, my physician next door neighbor went to jail for doing abortions.

Most of my cousins were older than me. The guys had flat tops with rolled up sleeves on white tee shirts with cigarettes tucked in. My cousins really wore poodle skirts and bobby socks. They did things like “hitting the Cove” on the weekend (at Idora Park) or driving up to Geneva on the Lake. For vacations, their families would go caravan style to Wildwood, New Jersey and enter some Shag contests. Not mine...to bourgeois for them. I think I missed out on some really good times.

Those with some bucks flew to Miami sometime in the winter or early spring. The women wore their mink stoles on the plane and dragged on the tarmac behind them when they got off of the plane. You would stay at the Fountainbleu; and hit the clubs with big name entertainment like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin…unless you caught them at the Sands or Desert Inn in Las Vegas. But I was too young to appreciate all of that.

What I remember was the glorious music. In the early 1950’s my mother LOVED Mario Lanza. WBBW aired a radio program called Candlelight and Silver in the very early 1950’s at 5:45 in the afternoon and played that type of music. As time went on, there was Perry Como, Patti Page, Connie Francis, Peggy Lee, the Four Aces, the Four Lads, and at the very end of the decade, the Lettermen. Those are just a few. Of course, there were the rockers of the period. But even they wore suits. Look at Buddy Holly and the Crickets. I couldn't look that geeky if I tried, even at my age!

I am now sixty one and was the among the youngest of my cousins. Most of my cousins who I watched and envied through the 1950’s are seventy or older. Some of them sadly have died. A lot of years have gone by.

It was fun taking a sentimental journey back to that wonderful period in American history at the show last weekend. It was a Leave it Beaver, Father Knows Best, I Love Lucy, and Donna Reed world. We know in retrospect that it really wasn’t. But in my mind, I always be eight years old watching my cousins go out to “hit the Cove”.

Simple Rules for Life

2011-05-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who is currently recuperating from some back issues in a rehab center. He is close to 80 years old, but you would never know it to talk to him. I have known him for over 40 years, and he sounds and looks the same. He always has a smile; always has a good word: always ready for a laugh.

Several months ago I was having some personal issues. He must have seen it in my face when out for dinner with some mutual friends, and on his own he asked me to pay him a visit just to sit and chat. We talked awhile. He was just what the doctor ordered. He told me all you have to know in life are God’s two great commandments. Love God. Love your neighbor. If you can do those two things, you will have lived a good life. How simple and to the point. Two simple rules that can make a difference!

I am no great theologian. Being raised Catholic I thought there were many more rules than that; meatless Fridays, fast for three hours before communion, go to Catholic School or go to hell, don’t touch the host, don’t go to morally objectionable movies…etc. Oh yes, and don’t forget those Holy Days of Obligation. I think there are seven of them.

Watching the events of this past weekend, I know that I am a little short of the mark on the second rule…that loving your neighbor thing. We were able to compare and contrast. We saw the love of a young couple born into privilege and wealth. We saw a pope beatified and on his way to becoming a Saint. And we saw a mass murderer meet his end at the hands of those he hated the most. How do you love him? What do you do with someone who killed thousands of people in the name of his God? There isn’t any answer. I guess you just have to work on it.

Tonight he gave me another rule. He said he most important things in life are family and friends. Cherish them and keep them close. There are too many people in the world who have neither and are alone. I do a lot of work with seniors, and I have seen loneliness. Nobody deserves to be alone in their senior years and yet that is exactly what is happening more and more in our age of digital enlightenment. Once again, there is no answer. Something else we need to work on.

So there you have it, the key to a happy life. Love God. Love your neighbor. Cherish your friends and family. Simple rules! If only we knew how to do it!!! If you figure it out, let me know.

Does the Monarchy Matter?

2011-04-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

By the time you read this, Prince William and Kate Middleton will have become man and wife in another “wedding of the century” at Westminster Abbey. All week long, cable news channels as well as channels like the History Channel, Lifetime, TLC, PBS, and Discovery have been running various specials relating to the royal wedding, including topics like Charles and Diana, the ghosts of Westminster Abbey, and what’s on the menu for the reception. All of this being reported with gusto by questionable British reporters and American reporters who think it cute to say "cheerio"!

All of this begs the question who cares! As Americans, we divested ourselves of the British monarchy in the late 1700’s with that American Revolution thing. Many of us try to act nonchalant about the whole thing. We cite the waste of money and the anachronistic nature of the Royals. We should have the problems those people have!!!! And that old lady Queen….what a puss!!! The British really ought to dump her.

Well…maybe yes, maybe no. But at the end of the day, I think Americans are secretly enamored by the monarchy. In the past three years two monarchy related Academy Award winning films have enjoyed financial success in American theaters. The Queen examined how the royal family reacted to the death of the divorced Princess Diana. The King’s Speech told the story of how Queen Elizabeth’s father, the speech impaired George VI, handled becoming King after Edward VIII’s abdication of the throne to tally-ho with Wallis Simpson.

Whether we like it or not, whether we want to admit it or not, following the British Monarchy is about as American as apple pie! Do we lose sleep over it? Of course not! On the other hand, notwithstanding all of the melting pot theories about our society, the roots of the America are planted firmly in the Britain. Those roots have flowered into a special relationship between our two countries that came to fruition in the 20th Century through two world wars and the ultimate victory of the west in the Cold War. The UK is our number one ally in the world today. Even our legal system is based on the British system of common law. So what happens there matters to us…a lot!

Brush away the fluff of the tabloids and the escapades of the idle rich, the monarchy has played an extraordinary role in world history. The expansion of the British Empire culminating under Queen Victoria; the inter-relationships of the European royal families leading to World War I; the bravery of King George and his family, including the current Queen Elizabeth, during the German bombardment of London during World War II; and Queen Elizabeth’s supervision of the dismantling of the British Empire and establishment of the British Commonwealth during the 1950’s and 60’s all demonstrate that far from being irrelevant, the monarch still exercises influence that effects all of our lives.

And at the other end of the spectrum, in today’s dreary world, it is a diversion into a world almost all of us will never experience, but gee whiz, wouldn’t it be fun if we could.

I will be watching the wedding at 4:00 AM this Friday morning, mostly because I am usually up at that time drinking my first of at least 10 cups of coffee and I doubt if there will be anything on other than wedding coverage anyway!!! But also because it’s fun and interesting to watch another link forged into an historical chain that goes back a thousand years. Very few other institutions can claim the that kind of longevity.

God Save the Queen…at least for a little while.

Strouss-Hirshberg; Things That Aren't There Anymore

2011-04-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

Youngstown was at the heart of the American industrial revolution in the mid 1800’s. During World War I, more steel came from Youngstown than anywhere else in the world. It’s no wonder, then, that the area was home of some of the best of everything, including department stores. Strouss-Hirshberg and McKelvey’s were the Macy’s and Gimbels of northeast Ohio, and offered to local residents the best of what money could buy.

Strouss will always hold a special place in the heart of this area. It is hard to believe that there are twenty somethings today that haven't heard of it, or go “huh?” when you mention it. I tried doing some research on its history. Believe it or not, it is hard to find. As near as I could figure, the Strouss Hirshberg Company was originally known as D. Theobald and Company. Isaac Strouss clerked there, and eventually bought the store in 1875 with his new partner Bernard Hirshberg. The store was incorporated in 1906.

The Readers Digest version of the life of the company begins in 1947 when it was purchased by May Company and became May Company’s outlet in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania. The decline of the steel industry and rise of discount department stores marked the end of the Strouss name in the area when May Company merged the Strouss operation with its Kaufmann’s division based in Pittsburgh. The hyphenated name lasted about a year. May Company and Federated Department Stores then merged, and soon Strouss-Kaufmann’s then Kaufmann’s assumed the name Macy’s, the flagship store of the Cincinnati based Federated Department Store chain.

Like other area names with colloquial pronunciations (Campbell pronounced Camel/V-eye-enna rather than Vee-enna), Strouss- Hirshberg was better known as Strouss’s. Any high school English student should know that is grammatically incorrect.

Although there may be a lack of historical information on the internet about the company the impressions in my memory are abundant. My earliest memories are of the traffic at the back of the store that was always congested with delivery trucks, busses, and people dropping off or picking up passengers. “I will pick you up at the rear door of Strouss’s.” It was located across from the Erie RR terminal. My grandmother tells the story about my ne’er do well, happy go lucky uncle who came home one day after he graduated from high school, and announced he wanted to attend Notre Dame University. That very day my grandmother literally took him on the bus to Strouss’s; bought a suitcase; bought him clothes; took him across the street to the Erie Station and stuck him on a train to South Bend, all in the same day. He later became one of the most successful mall developers in America, ironically one of the reasons for the decline of downtown department stores.

My mother was Strouss shopper. I can see the inside of the store like it was yesterday. Back in the day, women wore white gloves, and I remember her dragging me to the glove counter on the first floor where they were kept in drawers behind the counter in beautiful wooden drawers. She would buy elbow length gloves for her formal attire, and mid arm and regular white gloves for everything else.

“Shoes on Three” was another of her favorite spots, with all of the shoes displayed on individual pedestals. Next to the shoe department were hats, with dressing tables with round mirrors located within the department so ladies could try them on. She would head for home loaded with shoe and those wonderful round hat boxes. She kept those hat boxes for years.

Being a child, it was always a treat to visit the toy department on the fifth floor (or second floor depending on what year you gravitate to), and especially Santa Land at Christmas. I was terminally cute in the pictures of me sitting on Santa’s lap taken by legitimate photographers. I remember it being a big surprise one year when they put Santa between the up and down escalators going to the mezzanine from the first floor ala A Christmas Story. Ho Ho Ho!!!

Speaking of the mezzanine, that was where the “Best Buy” department was located. Radios, televisions, stereos…and mostly records…were located on the mezzanine. The record department had those wonderful booths in the back where you could listen to the tunes before making your purchase…or heading to Record Rendezvous across the street to see what else might be available.

My family rarely shopped at McKelvey’s for some reason. Maybe Strouss’s had a wider selection of merchandise because of its affiliation with the May Company. Or maybe it was because I had two aunts that worked there. My Aunt Josephine worked in ladies shoes, and my Aunt Jenny worked in curtains and blinds. Even as late as the 1980’s, when my office was located in the Wick Building, I would go and have lunch with my Aunt Josephine in the employee dining room.

Food was never a problem in Strouss. I learned to eat pecan rolls from the Strouss’s bakery…and those swonderful little orange marmalade rolls my mother would order for special occasions. Strouss’ bakery boxes always indicated a special treat inside. And after a long day of shopping, you could get lunch in the Western Reserve Room…the fancy restaurant…or the grill on the first floor with wonderful malts, hamburgers, and my favorite, chicken croquettes!!

I remember what a big deal the Strouss parking garage was being built with the bridge to the third floor. It was a big deal competing with McKelvey’s Pigeon Hole parking deck. You remember? The cars went up and down an elevator!!!

Strouss’s was the first downtown store to open branch stores. The first was located in the Uptown…then in the Boardman and Austintown Plazas…then in Southern Park and Eastwood Malls. The original branches were opened Monday and Thursday nights…otherwise the stores closed at five.

Then slowly but surely, the downtown Stouss store began its long, slow death spiral. It was one nail in the coffin after the other, as the population patterns shifted to the suburbs, as the steel mills closed down, as discount stores expanded in earnest, as the retail industry consolidated and local brand identification became a quaint relic of the past. First they closed the top two floors, then another floor…then the entire store.

Then the name changes started…and now Strouss is a memory…along with May Company, O’Neils, Higbee’s, Lazarus, Shillito’s, Rike's, and Kaufmann’s. Now we got Macy’s.

Somehow it’s just not the same. But one thing they can’t take away is the memory of my mother buying arm length white gloves in the first floor glove department from those beautiful wooden drawers, just below the escalators…at Strouss-Hirshberg’s Department Store.

This Land Is Your Land

2011-04-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

My Seraphim Chorus is doing a Summer of Love, Music of the 60’s concert in June. One of the concert selections is Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie’s folk song standard This Land Is Your Land. It is a boffo arrangement that elevates it more than a tad beyond some of the hokey versions many of us sang in our high school choir days. Sometimes a song has been performed badly for so long, to hear it done well is almost like a re-introduction. This is one of those songs.

I was curious as to the song’s back story, so I did a little research. It was written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 as a backlash of sorts to Kate Smith’s version of God Bless America. He felt the Irving Berlin standard did not ring true to his vision of the spirit of America, and I suspect neither did Kate Smith. He put his lyrics to the tune of an old Baptist Gospel Hymn entitled Oh My Loving Brother and made famous by the 1930 Carter Family recording re-named When the World’s on Fire. You can follow the sequence from Kate Smith to the Carter Family inspiration to Woody Guthrie’s adaptation on the Mark Knows It All home page.

Guthrie recorded the song in 1944 but it was never released. The recording was “lost” in the Smithsonian Archives until 1967 when it was re-discovered as the archives were being transferred to digital format. The music was published professionally in 1951. But it was in the 1960’s that the song became an anthem for the decade and a folk song favorite sung just about everywhere. Among those who recorded the song were Peter, Paul and Mary, the Kingston Trio, Bob Dylan, the New Christie Minstrels, the Seekers, and especially Pete Seeger among others.

Over the years the song morphed through various lyrics with strong political overtones. Among various conservatives it has been called the alternate National Anthem and/or the Marxist God Bless America. Obama used it in his 2008 campaign, starting and ending it with his “Yes, we can!” chant. Here is an example of some of the more interesting lyrics sung by some of the more leftist artists in concert but never recorded.

One bright sunny morning
in the shadow of the steeple,

by the relief office
I saw my people.

As they stood hungry,

I stood there wondering
if God blessed America for me.

Maybe there is some political baggage associated with the song…but the version that we are singing now, and that I sang back in school, makes it as patriotic as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. I teared up while practicing last night. What a message for America today. It describes the vastness of our country, and the freedom we are so blessed to enjoy. All I could think about was the malaise that seems to have settled in over the nation. We have always been a “can do” people. What happened? Where did it go?

This isn’t a left issue or a right issue. It is an American issue. Where is the leadership? Where are those who can point to America as that Shining City on a Hill? Where is our President? America needs to be told….Yes, We Can. Together, we can move forward to a better tomorrow. Where is the vision? Where is the hope?

It is time for America to resurrect its spirit. It is time for all of us to recognize the inherent greatness of our nation and our people. We are the land of opportunity. We face challenges. But we are nation of people who work hard and persevere. This land IS your land…my land…our land. And with the deepest apologies to Woody Guthrie…God Bless America.

The Civil War Sesquicentennial

2011-04-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

April 12 marks the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War. 150 years ago, General Beauregard, commander of the Confederate forces in Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison located on an island just off the coast. When Major Robert Anderson refused, the Confederates opened fire on the military installation. Two days later, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter to the Confederacy. The war had begun.

I find it amazing that nowhere is this being reported, considered, talked about…whatever you want to call it. The Civil War is the single biggest event in the history of this country. It formed who we are today.

In 1861, the population of the United States was 35 million. 24 million lived north of the Mason Dixon line. 9 million lived in the south. Of the 9 million who lived in the southern states, 4 million were slaves, leaving a white population of about 5 million people. The industrial capacity of the entire South was surpassed by the industrial output of New York State alone. It was a backward, rural economy. Ken Burns, in his PBS masterpiece, the Civil War, stated that when you crossed the Ohio River into the South, it was entering into another country, one of poverty and deprivation.

Over 600,000 people died in the Civil War. In case you can’t do the math, that equals 2% of the nation’s population that perished in the melee. More people died in the Civil War than in all other American wars combined to date. At Gettysburg alone 45,000 Americans/Confederates died in three days; that was the total number of American casualties in the Vietnam War.

Two periods of history interest me: the period leading up to the beginning of WWII, and the period leading up to the beginning of the Civil War. Both are fraught with miscues, misjudgments, mistakes, miscalculations, which if done some other way, would have avoided disaster.

In my reading, the Civil War should never have occurred. Slavery, that peculiar and morally disgusting institution, formed the foundation of the Southern plantation system feeding cotton to Northern and European factories. While the North industrialized, the South remained rural with capital tied up in enslaved human beings. On the other hand, slavery was on the way to becoming uneconomical, and several scholars have speculated that had there been no war, slavery would have collapsed under its own weight anyway over the next 10 years and die the ignoble death it so richly deserved.

While the moral high ground was on the side of the North, the political arguments rested with the South. The relationship between the Northern and Southern states had never been good…ever. The Southern states signed the Declaration of Independence reluctantly. The Constitution was a battle over slavery, and the South viewed its joining the Union conditional on the North keeping its word about slavery in the South. If the North broke its promises, the South could always leave the Union. But for seventy years, the South dominated politics in America, and controlled Washington.

It lost its control with election of Abraham Lincoln. He won the election with only 40% of the popular vote. His name didn’t even appear on the ballots of ten southern states. No wonder he was viewed as a threat and a usurper, even though in practicality he was a moderate who despised slavery, but never promised to abolish it in the South, but only to prevent the expansion of slavery to the West.

So the North viewed the Union as unbreakable. The south viewed it as a voluntary association, secondary to the sovereignty of the states. You were a Virginian first…and an American second.

As time goes on, and the Civil War becomes distant history…more so than now (the last Civil War veteran died in 1959), I wonder if there will be any revisionist history. Slavery was a horrible and despicable thing, but given that it was on its last leg anyway, was it worth 600,000 dead people to end it a decade earlier? Was it worth the catastrophic reconstruction of the South, which in turn led to the Jim Crow laws, segregation, the KKK, and many of the problems we still face in the area of race relations?

If you were a slave, the answer is a resounding yes. Morally, and as a Christian, the answer is yes, and again yes. How dare the question be asked in the first place? But 600,000 people died…and most of the south and its infrastructure destroyed. It at least gives one pause.

I think this is a question that should be examined by historians during this 150th year commemoration of the firing on Fort Sumter, and over the next 50 years as we approach the 200th anniversary. Not to say the war was just or unjust, or wrong or right, but to look at the stupidity of people causing the war in the first place. Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.

Life Gone Full Circle

2011-03-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed when life goes full circle. In my Youngstown Eats blog, I wrote that I had had contact with a gentleman named Howard from California who was originally from Youngstown. He said he was a graduate of YSU, and was putting together a reunion for his ZBT fraternity. On his web page, he was posting pictures of old restaurants and was wondering if I could get him one for the old 20th Century Restaurant on Belmont Avenue. He and I talked quite a bit, and I was successful in procuring him photographs with the help of a friend of mine.

In conjunction with my trip down memory lane with Howard, I wrote a blog about old Youngstown restaurants which turned into one of the more popular things I had written. Get into the Wayback Machine with me and travel back to the mid 1960’s. My cousin Debbie, who was two years older than me, married a guy named Bob Turner when they were very young. Bob was a nice enough guy, and there was a big wedding on the way to happily ever after. Unfortunately, the train got derailed very early on. They had moved to Williamsburg where Bob was attending William and Mary Law School after an illustrious career at Youngstown State University where he was extremely active in student government. One day, according to my cousin Debbie, Bob walked into their apartment and announced that he didn’t want to be married anymore and took off.

I never really knew whether the story was true. I know that my Uncle and Bob had a serious confrontation when Bob showed up at my Uncle’s house to pick up some personal belongings. I was told that Bob then left the area, never to be heard from again. I was told nobody knew where Bob went, or what had happened to him. By then, I was attending Ohio State University.

On the day the divorce was final, I asked Debbie to visit me in Columbus to help her feel better. School was over and I thought it might be a good idea to fix her up with someone for a fun night out. All of my friends had left for the summer, so I fixed her up with Jim, who was at the bottom of my fix up list. As luck would have it, they hit it off, and Debbie and Jim were married within a year. Debbie had five kids with Jim, who was a professional man.

But there was trouble in Mudville. I never got the full story, but apparently there was a lot of violence in the marriage and abuse directed toward my cousin from various members of her family. After the kids were grown, a nasty divorce of the worst kind ensued. Unfortunately, in the middle of all of the mess, my cousin contracted bladder cancer, a very deadly strain. She successfully fought it for years. Two or three years after the divorce, she married her neighbor Joe. He was, and is, a really nice guy. But the cancer returned with a vengeance, and she died two years after marrying Joe. Her mother and my mother and our other aunt also died within a year of Debbie’s death. Joe is now taking care of her 97 year old father.

My Youngstown restaurant blog generated a lot of emails. I opened one the other day from Kansas City. It said “Mark, I just found your blog. I am from Youngstown and was active in YSU politics. My campaign manager was a man named Howard. It has to be the same guy…could you please tell me how to contact him?” Signed – Bob Turner. I was shocked. He addressed his email to Mark, but all emails I get usually are addressed to Mark because of the name of the website. But my last name does not appear anywhere and he wouldn’t know who I was. To make sure it was him, I Googled him and found a picture. It had to be him…a little older…but still had that sandy hair and fair complexion. I emailed back giving him Howard’s telephone number (with Howard’s permission, of course) and then I said “Are you who I think you are? Were you married to my cousin Debbie in the late 1960’s?”

I got a response from Bob a few days later. The contents were personal. I am glad he saw fit to answer my question, and tell me some things. Given that I introduced Debbie to her second husband, I have always felt somewhat responsible for the horrible outcome of the second marriage, and the indignities suffered by my cousin. On the other hand, third time's a charm and her third husband and I have become good friends, and I am thankful for the wonderful job he is doing taking care of my Uncle.

Over the last several years, I have come across several people under various circumstances whom I knew when I was younger. Facebook has been great in re-establishing contacts with people, especially my old high school friends. But I have also had many encounters that seem to have closed old unfinished chapters in my life. I have lost relatives to death, and re-established contact with one’s I haven’t seen in years by sheer coincidence. That has been a blessing. Life always has a way of coming around full circle. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I guess it depends.

Obama's Connecticut Military Operation

2011-03-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

We have a problem. I got home from work yesterday and found out that the United States had launched a Connecticut Military Operation. The television dude the reason they did this is that Congress would never approve a Declaration of War. I would hope not. What’s wrong with Connecticut?

President Obama says that this operation is necessary to protect the civilian population. From whom do they need protecting? Supposedly its against the leader of the state. I looked it up. Her name is M. Jodi Rell. She must be pretty bad because even the Arab League is upset with her. Maybe she had snow removal issues this past winter. Or maybe they want her to wear a burqa. Gee, I hope she doesn’t get caught by any Egyptians. The Drudge Report said the army was given protesting women virginity tests. Yikes.

I don’t think Obama is really into this Connecticut invasion. He is looking to hand it off to somebody else. I am guessing that New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island aren’t interested in taking over. That’s probably why Obama is looking to hand it over to the French. He tried to hand it over to the British, but they already had a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthr's Court. He really should let the Italians lead the Connecticut Military Operation because there are lots of Italians in Connecticut. I saw it on Mystic Pizza. Those Connecticut Italians would surrender real fast, too; unless of course, they call in reinforcements from New Jersey.

Obama also seems concerned about how long this Connecticut Military Operation is going to take. He said it would be over in a few days. He must afraid he will get his buddies Sean Penn and Tim Robbins mad at him given he won the Nobel Peace Prize and all. They must live in Mystic, Connecticut, too. They both won Academy Awards for Mystic River, and that’s way better than a Nobel Peace Prize, especially if given to a war monger President who would invade Connecticut!!! Wait a minute, I don’t think we are supposed to use the word “war.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the brains behind this Connecticut Military Operation. She said she was targeting Connecticut, and she has to take it before the next election. She said she waited way too long the last time and it cost her the election. She worked hard at forging a coalition to do the Connecticut Military Operation. Its are called a campaign exploratory committee. But I thought Hillary and her husband Bill teamed up with the Chinese instead of the French and British. Why should we pay for her Connecticut Military Operation? Let the Chinese do it! That's why we need NATO to investigate campaign fraud.

Wait a minute. What’s that you say? What do you mean it’s not a Connecticut Military Operation? Of course Connecticut isn’t spelled with a “K”! Oh…Oh. You mean it’s Kinetic Military Operation. What the hell is that? Against who? Against Libya? And they aren’t bombing Hartford. They are bombing Tripoli? Isn’t that next to the Halls of Montezuma?

Nevermind!

(With deepest gratitude to Gilda Radner and Roseann Roseannadana!)

The Oakland Theater Hits a Homerun

2011-03-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

I usually try to vary topics for the Mark Knows It All blog. I know I wrote a local arts column last week, which for people not from this area, and some that are, is probably B-O-R-I-N-G! But sometimes things just need to be said, and this is one of those of times.

The Oakland Theater is among my favorite venues in the area for live theater. Its intimate space lends itself to smaller, edgier pieces. Many of them are controversial dealing with subjects that would make some feel uncomfortable. But the productions are ALWAYS top notch quality, well conceived and well produced. Some of the productions don’t appeal to me, and I don’t go to see them. But many do, and they just keep getting better and better. Those of us who enjoy theater are fortunate to have these kinds of offerings available to this area.

Over the past two weekends, the Oakland hit a home run with its production of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play by Doug Wright “I Am My Own Wife.” Not only was the Oakland smart enough to choose this moving piece, it was even smarter to collaborate with Youngstown’s own James McClellan, who gave a bravura performance in this one man tour de force. Folks, Jim was on stage alone for two hours performing more than 40 parts all by his lonesome. It was a stunning, perfectly balanced performance.

The play is the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (born Lothar Berfelde in 1928) , a gay German transvestite who lived through the Nazis and then the Communists and eventually won the German Medal of Honor after the fall of the Berlin wall. While living in East Berlin during the cold war, “she” operated a private museum of things she collected over the years. Included was a gay bar that was dismantled when the communists moved to tear it down. She quietly reassembled it in her basement where gays secretly congregated to avoid Communist persecution.

McClellan, dressed as Charlotte for almost all of the performance, moves between major and minor characters following a story line of the play’s actual author trying to write a report about Charlotte’s life through a series of live interviews. At the end of the first act, the audience is left quiet as it contemplates the hardships Charlotte said she had to endure at the hands of the Nazis, the Communists and her own abusive father whom she claims to have killed to protect her mother and siblings.

But as the second act opens, Charlotte’s entire life story becomes suspect as information is discovered about her possible cooperation as an informant with the Stasi, the East German Secret Police, leading to the imprisonment and death of several of her contemporaries. The play never resolves the issue as to which parts of her moving life story were true, which were not, and did she or didn’t she make a deal with the devil. Did that deal enable her to ramp up her massive collection of artifacts in her private museum from Jewish homes under the Nazis and from homes of people who disappeared from Communist East Germany?

In the role of the author of the play, McClellan portrays his difficulty coming to terms with what he discovered, stating whether or not Charlotte's life as she told it was true, he and all of us needed it to be true…because the alternative was unfathomable.

James McClellan is a well known entertainer in the area, appearing in numerous productions in just about every venue in town, but primarily for his musical talent and beautiful voice. He and his brother and sister are better known as The McClellan’s, a vocal trio known throughout the Mahoning Valley for their outstanding programs of contemporary Christian and light pop music.Even though I have seen many of Jim’s other performances, this one was beyond the pale. This is real talent, and I was blown away.

So cheers to the Oakland for giving us the opportunity to see this outstanding, thought provoking play. Cheers to James McClellan for giving us a Broadway caliber performance. If there is ever a reprise, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is, go and see this one.

Another reason why it’s good to live in Youngstown!

Stambaugh's Mighty Skinner

2011-03-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight I experienced again why this is a great place to live. Stambaugh Auditorium, a local treasure in its own right, showed off its own masterpiece: the newly renovated 3600 plus pipes Skinner organ. The renovation literally was finished this morning, and a dry run free concert was offered by Organist Dr. Edward Moore, originally from Girard, and now a world renowned organist and professor at Catholic University of America. It was a stunner.

Like most of you, my experience with organs has mostly been in churches. Those organs range from barely working old pipe organs, to newly installed new fangled pipe organs, to electric organs that sound like pipe organs. We semi listen to a church prelude, and then sing a couple of versus of Rock of Ages, with the pipes of the organ decoratively gracing the rear wall of the church balcony.

That isn’t what this is. It was build in 1926 as an integral part of the newly constructed Stambaugh Auditorium. Pipes range from pencil thin to 32 feet tall. I was fortunate enough to be given a tour of the organ structure last week, and it is beyond description, including a turbine engine that provides the air flow and sounds like a jet engine taking off when powered up.

Skinner was the crème de la crème of American organ builders. The Stambaugh organ was one of his larger and better efforts with consultation regarding its construction from organ experts in England and France. The 1920’s was the golden age of organs as they were installed in movie houses all over the United States to accompany silent movies, and in auditoriums for organ recitals.

But the local Skinner organ had problems from the beginning as the roof leaked above the pipes, and wasn’t repaired, and it fell into complete disuse 50 years ago as large parts of it became unusable. The Stambaugh Board of Trustees beginning in 2003 led the charge to restore this magnificent instrument, and secured $1.25 million in financing primarily from a California foundation designed specifically to restore Skinner organs, as well money from individual contributors and the State of Ohio.

What we have now is a masterpiece. It is one of the few Skinner organs in the United States that has been restored to original condition, not altered electronically or totally reconfigured. It is now what it was then…making Youngstown a mecca for organ enthusiasts and educators from all over the country. This organ represents an era when organists had to do by hand and by their wits what electronics do now. To play this thing, you got to know what the hell you are doing.

This isn’t your father’s Hammond. This is a mammoth organ in an acoustically perfect auditorium. The sound blows you away. It was the rock concert of its day with bass notes that shook the building just as bass guitars shake rock venues. Although I don’t know if this is true, I suspect that the organist tonight held back on what this baby could do. It is the original wall of sound…and it smacks right into you. When you hear it, you will never think of organs the same way.

The official dedication of this music thumper of an instrument is scheduled for September 18 in a joint concert with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, playing at Stambaugh Auditorium for the first time since the late 1960’s when it moved its venue to Powers Auditorium. It should be a humdinger. Check the Stambaugh schedule for other organ recitals where you will be able to hear the full range of what the Mighty Skinner can do.

$1.25 million? You can hear every cent…and it was worth it.

My Old People's Chorus

2011-03-01T21:07:00.001-08:00

My choir director teaches as an adjunct music professor at a local college. At a recent rehearsal, he told us a story about one of his students whose assignment was to read an article about music outreach. The young lady came across a magazine article about community choruses such as the one I sing in and my director directs!! In her comments about the article, the young lady opined that she would not want to be involved with one of those old people choruses.

My director said he let the young lady know in no uncertain terms that her comments were inappropriate, and that sooner or later we all end up at the far end of life. He then listed the virtues of the old people’s chorus, the loyalty of the members, their work ethic, and their dedication…those things that sometimes seem lacking in the young folks of today. She should be so lucky to be involved with an old people’s chorus.

But even with our director’s kind words, it still gave me pause, and brought a tear to my eye. When did I become a member of the old people’s chorus? Am I relegated to watching the Golden Girls on television? Unfortunately, for anyone over the age of 50, society has already buried us in the ash heap. Youth is celebrated now more than ever, in every phase of our lives. Even the Academy Awards went after a “younger demographic” with the broadcast hosted this year by James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Both are extremely talented, but who?

I am involved with several arts related projects in the area. One involves a young film maker who is filming a documentary in Youngstown. He has some film experience. He knows some people that count. He may or may not be able to pull it off, but he described to me the project…and it was so far beyond me that I laughed out loud. The Youngstown he lives in and the Youngstown I live in are apparently two different Youngstown’s. I must live in the old people’s Youngstown while the oldest person in his Youngstown is thirty five. This will be interesting if nothing else.

So how does my old people’s chorus stack up? Every Monday night just about everyone shows up for practice, complete with all of our aches and pains. Even in the horrible snow a week or so ago, more than a few showed up for rehearsal. Many come in with limps or bad backs. Many have had serious illness. Some have had major surgery. In my case, it was two years of severe back pain. Yet week after week we hobble into rehearsal. We show up for six performances a year plus numerous on the road gigs. Some members drive back and forth from New Castle in the worst winter weather…in the dark. We perform in hot venues and cold venues. At one church we have to keep our coats on…but we show up nonetheless. We sing in places where the word acoustics doesn’t exist. We sing in nursing homes. We will be singing for veterans. We sing in auditoriums and cafeterias and country clubs and Italian restaurants.

Some members have outstanding voices, and have been able to maintain them through the years. The most I ever had was a barely average choir voice that over the past five years has become weaker and lower…bye bye being a tenor. Some voices have become thicker…some have developed tremolos that must be controlled. Some can’t see the music…and some can’t hear the music. Some continuously lose the music. But they all make music.

Although a lot of our members are over 65, we have many members who are in their fifties…some in their forties…and even an occasional twenty or thirty something. We have accountants, lawyers, nurses, dental assistants, teachers, secretaries, salesmen, political activists and retirees from all walks of life. We have several married couples…always interesting!!! In every sense of the word, this is a community chorus. We have liberals and conservatives, sometimes to the extreme!!! But music bridges the divide. Maybe Congress should have an old people’s chorus!!

I am proud to be a member of my community chorus. From my perspective, it isn’t an old people’s chorus by a long shot. It is a collection of people from all walks of life and all ages coming together in the commonality of beautiful music. It is a respite in a world that sometimes isn’t so pretty. And when you hit that rare choral overtone that resonates around the room, so perfect in every way that it consumes you…you have touched heaven and become addicted…always wanting more…in my old people’s chorus!

Where Does the Water Go?

2011-02-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

We bought our house 12 years ago from my ninety year old aunt as she entered the nursing home. It is a nice house; a three bedroom ranch. It was built in 1972, the year my wife and I were married, by my aunt who was then in her seventies, and her husband who was in his eighties. It was built by old people for old people, excuse me: senior people for senior people. It has no steps, except a very tiny one to get into the kitchen from the garage. It has an abundance of closet space, always a nice feature. We bought it because we thought we could grow "senior" in it over the years, and not have to move.

The only problem was that the last improvement to the house was in 1972. So for the past 12 years, the house has been a work in progress as we got rid of the dial telephones, installed cable television, got rid of the 1951 oven that that was brought over from their previous house, and the companion refrigerator!!!! Replaced the roof! Replaced the kitchen counters! Upgraded the bathrooms! Replaced the lawn. Replaced the garage doors. The list kind of goes on and on!

But the house, we discovered, had a hidden fatal flaw. The builder, who had a shady reputation back in the day, didn’t grade the house quite right. He graded the yard to the house rather than the other way around, and the house is set low to the street. What that means is all of the water in the yard goes to the house. We found the lawsuit papers buried in my aunt’s filing cabinet. It cost $60,000.00 to build the house in 1972, and $40,000.00 to “correct” the water problems after the lawsuit.

So…we have a French drain in the driveway to catch the water that rolls down from my neighbor’s yard into the garage. There are all sorts of criss-crossed cement markings in the basement where underground pipes were put to move water from God knows where to God knows where. The basement wall is bowed from water gathering outside the wall. Massive brick support columns were built to keep the basement wall up. My aunt told us that things were under control. Not quite.

We have spent the best part of the last twelve figuring out where the water goes, and correcting the problems. For example, because it is a ranch, there is a huge roof. The water from part of the roof goes into the gutter in the back of the house to a downspout that goes into the ground apparently under the garage which was supposed to go….where? Contractor after contractor could not tell us where that downspout went….perhaps to those criss-crossed pipes under the basement. Where did the water go?

The downspouts we were able to follow were supposed to go to the storm sewer at the corner of the property…except the pipes carrying the water were made out of some sort of papermache and had collapsed backing the water up. Even then, the paper pipes carrying the water were below grade and could not possibly get the water where it was supposed to go because water can’t flow up-hill!!

Which led to our terminally soaked back yard which rotted out a few trees which fell and plunged the neighborhood into darkness for a week when it took out all of the utility lines! Of course, that was the part of the water on the wrong side of an attempted grade redo, the front side still drained to the house, into a hole in the wall in the basement, I kid you not, which somehow managed to get to a sump pump which pumped the water back out of the basement into one of those paper pipes that went to nowhere…except back into the basement.

Having reached the end of our patience, we bit the bullet. First, we brought in somebody who knew how to grade landscaping and completely redid the backyard grade right after they removed the downed rotted trees and accompanying power lines.

We tore out the concrete back walk which was slanted towards the house, and repaved it slanting it the other way.

We didn’t even try to find the existing drainage pipes, and completely redid all of the trenching from scratch making sure that the water flowed “down” to where it was supposed to go in plastic pipes. We redid all of the lines from the driveway French drain. If we didn’t know where a downspout went from the back of the house, we cut it and put an external drain pipe to the driveway to use the French drain protecting the garage.

Then we called in Ohio Waterproofing, and hocked away our financial security for the rest of our lives and had them do a major basement waterproofing job…major being the operative word because the house is a very long ranch thus doubling the waterproofing cost of a normal two story colonial!! The hole through which outside water flowed to the old inside sump pump is now cemented over.

The new sump pump does not pump into a drain, but to a small retention pond we rigged up along the side of the house, into which another drain will be installed this summer to move the water out to the street.

When we bought the house, we knew nothing of these things. Now I understand why the house was on the market for 2 ½ years!!!! So we got the house really cheap. And the good news is that in spite of all of the ultra expensive water work we had to do, (are you ready? Here it comes!!), we are still above water!!!!!!

Where does the water go? Now I know where every drop goes…and our house is blessedly dry.

Ohio vs. Public Employees: A Republican Tar Pit?

2011-02-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

Riding high on the top of State of Ohio news is the pending bill in the state senate that would gut Ohio’s collective bargaining laws for public employees and neuter teacher unions. It is sponsored by Senator Shannon Jones from Springboro, Ohio. It has drawn the wrath of the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio Public School Employees Union, and just about every other union that exists in the great State of Ohio. It is a dangerous bill with ramifications which will destroy education in Ohio.

By way of full disclosure, both my wife and son are public employees. My wife is a teacher retiring at 35 years in 2013. My son is employed by the Mahoning County Board of Elections as its financial dude. If my remarks seem sympathetic to the cause, it’s not because I disagree with the basic premise of Governor Kasich's goals. It’s because I have seen with my own eyes what goes in the public sector. What they are contemplating in Columbus will not fix the problems. It will only fuel tempers and hatred.

Let’s start with the attempt to prohibit strikes by public employees. When I was young, it was against the law for public employees to go out on strike. They did it anyway, and did it en masse making the law ineffective, so the law changed accordingly. Remember the Blue Flu? Remember the "sick-ins"? Here's the problem. The is nothing wrong with collective bargaining. But the public was supposed to be represented by the elected officials they put into office. And those elected officials didn't bargain. The enemy is us. Our representatives caved every time, and then came whining to the taxpayers for more money. The public employees union did exactly what it was supposed to do...bargain!!!! The system didn't fail. Our elected officials did. Over time, the line blurred between who was actually representing whom. After awhile, common sense was gone, and the ELECTED public officials made deals with the public employee unions, AND OTHER EMPLOYEES AS WELL, using other public employee salaries from other districts as the salary/benefit yard stick rather than equivalent salaries for equivalent work in the private sector. Once they started down that path, all contact with reality disappeared, and you have the dichotomy in public/private salaries that has developed today.

While one can make a big deal about unionized employees. The BIGGER problem is salaries given to the employees of elected officials who are not unionized. Those salaries are determined DIRECTLY by the people we have elected to office and seem to follow the old adage about spending other people's money. How many times have we heard we don’t want to lose employees to higher paying jobs in the private sector? Wait a minute. Let me laugh. There are no higher paying jobs in the private sector. In fact, what we have now are public sector jobs cannibalizing other public sector jobs with higher public job salaries. It’s a joke. This has profound consequences in the millions of dollars to county and municipal entities. This is what needs to be addressed in Columbus...not beating up on teachers.

As for the teachers, if the state legislature really wants to make a difference, cap the salaries of administrative personnel in a school system to a percentage of the overall school budget. Salary increases for teachers over the past 5 – 10 years have been nominal if any at all. Meanwhile, the salaries of superintendants have skyrocketed, with raises of 5 – 10% being given on a regular basis BY ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS. The same can be said for other administrative personnel, whom the school systems continue to hire while laying teachers off. Let’s not even go to coaches. Governor Kasich, fix this!!!!

Finally, a word on the teacher seniority system! Suffice it to say that you haven’t seen politics in action until you have seen it with school boards and their hiring and firing practices. The laws that currently exist are there to protect teachers from being fired by newly elected school board members who have nieces or nephews looking for jobs. For many areas of Ohio, the local school districts equal a local employment agency…hiring the locals to do very little work at very high salaries. The seniority and tenure systems in Ohio are not there to protect bad teachers from being fired. They can be fired with a little bit of effort. Those laws are there to protect good teachers from being fired in order to provide a job to the daughter of the president of the local school board; to protect teachers from political prosecution as the tide shifts from election to election. Most importantly, to protect teachers at the high end of the pay scale from being fired to bring in lesser paid new teachers.

It is easy to point the finger at teachers, who have been saddled with everything from mainstreaming to multiculturalism to no discipline to cell phones continually going off to parents chronically demanding that disruptive little Jimmy be admitted back into school to counting sharp pencils that might be weapons to providing breakfasts and lunches to providing physical care to physically handicapped students who would best be served in a specialized class….it goes on and on. If you want teachers to teach…start there. Not at salaries. It’s a wonder any teaching gets done today in what is nothing short of a hostile environment.

My wife’s first job was at an inner city junior high school in Lima, Ohio, back in 1972. During a study hall, a particularly disruptive student refused to sit down. The student first stood up on his chair, then pranced around the study hall. When the teacher in charge told the student to report to the principal’s office, the student picked up a desk and hurled at the teacher hitting the teacher on the head. The teacher climbing out from under the desk, said to the student…a 17 year old still in the 8th grade…”you mother f____er.”

A week later, the school board held a public meeting broadcast over the radio….to chastise the teacher who was hit by the flying desk for calling the student a mother f___er. Nothing was done to the student. That's when I knew public education was in trouble. That is why we have laws on the books protecting teachers from being fired.

While obviously something has to be done about the ballooning rate of public sector salaries, I would hope that my beloved Republicans in Columbus would take a more reasoned and scholarly approach to the problems rather than throw the baby out with the bath water. If Kasich and the legislature go down that road…they will end up in a tar pit deeper and stickier than anything they can imagine.

Oh yes...the teacher assault in Columbus will do NOTHING to fix the state budget shortfall. School budgets are local. There is a state contribution, which goes up and down, per student. Canfield, where I live, gets practically nothing. Youngstown City, on the other hand, gets unlimited funds with unlimited dismal results. And another oh yes....State Teachers Retirement is statutory. Adjustments have already been made to the system raising the retirement age and cutting back on benefits and increasing teacher contributions. All the legislature has to do is vote on it...and the problem goes away. Finally, most if not all teachers make a contribution to their health care packages. We do not have the same problem here that there is in Wisconsin or California.

One Republican to another....guys in Columbus.....think twice about this.

Imported from Detroit

2011-02-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

This year’s Super Bowl commercial highlight was the Imported From Detroit; Chrysler’s two minute homage to the rebirth of the American auto indusrty. If you haven’t seen it, it is the embedded video at the top of the MKIA page. Starring Eminem, it takes us on a gritty tour of Detroit with the message saying the hardest steel is forged from the hottest fire. Given our own history in Youngstown, it was ultra appealing to me, even giving a serious tear to my eye. We get it!

The question is does the rest of the nation? Detroit comes to us with a lot of baggage. Ford is experiencing resurgence with numerous top notch auto entries, and gets kudos for not needing a government bailout. It is a long way from “Fix Or Repair Daily” days. General Motors has a hit with the Cruze. The efficacy of the Volt has yet to be proven, but Buick is breaking out as a major brand, especially in China. For the first time in its history, GM has made more money overseas than in the United States.

Chrysler is making some moves, integrating even more with Fiat, the Italian automaker that came to its rescue. If its cars match this ad, I may even give it a look the next time around. Takes you back to when the Chrysler Imperial was the luxury car of choice, and Chrysler led the way in automotive engineering.

It’s important that America make things. But we have given it away, industry by industry. The bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler was an embarrassment to the nation. The subsequent bailouts were understandable, but have left a bad taste in America’s sensibility palate. Why did foreign automakers thrive in the United States, survive the financial crisis, while the largest automaker in the world went belly up? Did the bailouts solve any of the fundamental issues, or did they only allow the resurrection of corporations suffering the same problems as before but now with the government imprimatur?

The primary way a traditional capitalist government can help industry is through proper tax, regulatory, labor, fiscal and monetary policy. The current administration may have blown the dust off some corporate dinosaurs, but may have left them ultimately stuck in the tar pits. In fact, given the social justice culture it has tried to instill in GM as a condition of the bailouts, it may have shoved it further in the muck.

Although all carmakers in the United States are subject to the same regulations at the base level, General Motors and Chrysler still have to deal with an archaic union structure in states with archaic tax structures based in something else other than what is good for manufacturing. They are structured with boards of directors designed to appeased social justice demands rather than demands of industry.

I am not sure how all of this is going to work out. I wish General Motors and Chrysler well. We all want American companies to succeed. I hope that Chrysler lives up to the promise in its gritty and emotional Super Bowl advertisement. I hope the Volt knocks it out of the park. But I have my doubts. I truly hope that I am wrong.

Boomer Bust

2011-02-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

If you were born between the years 1946 and 1964, congratulations! You are a baby boomer just like me. There is some question as to whom coined the term. But popular consensus gives credit to one Sylvia Porter, who was a financial columnist with 40 million followers, who in 1951 wrote: "Take the 3,548,000 babies born in 1950. Bundle them into a batch, bounce them all over the bountiful land that is America. What do you get? Boom. The biggest, boomiest boom ever known in history." Well, there you are.

Us members of the Baby Boom generation have been both blessed and cursed. Because of the demographic bulge in the population, most boomers faced a shortage of just about everything. For example, as the boomers entered grade school, there was a shortage of classrooms as well as a shortage of teachers and books. In what would be a nightmare to today’s education do-gooders, boomer class sizes usually ranged from 35 per class in public schools, to between 50-60 in a class in parochial schools. Many students had to share not only desks, but school books. Yet we all managed to learn to read and write and do arithmetic with nary a complaint. How did we survive?

And it followed us throughout our lives. Getting into college was difficult. When we graduated, too many people were looking for too few jobs. Housing costs skyrocketed when we reached the home buying age. Those same housing prices are falling as we try to sell the mammoth homes we bought trying to "downsize." Health care is now being rationed either by the government and/or the insurance companies. Pensions have been slashed. Social Security is on the verge bankruptcy. That demographic bulge has strained societal limits again.

Boomers were spoiled by indulgent parents. Dr. Spock was the kid raising guru, whose book probably would have been better used smacking us on our butts. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” disappeared from the lexicon. We did drugs, sex and rock 'n roll in the sixties, discoed in the seventies, made money in the eighties, digitalized in the 90’s, and are now retiring in the new millennium to enjoy the fruits of inherited wealth from our parents estimated to be a whopping $11.6 trillion!! It is the largest transfer of generational wealth in history. No wonder the government wants an estate tax. And it’s lucky for us that we got that money, because the savings rate among boomers was, for all practicable purposes, nonexistent.

A soon to be decimated health system has kept boomers healthier than any previous generation, and many are opting to keep working. Eighty is the new seventy and sixty is the new forty, and the women in particular are silicone and botoxed up…with the men not too far behind…and lots and lots of tanning.

While the boomer parents are primarily luddites, boomers themselves have adapted to the age of computers. The fastest growing segment registering for Facebook are between the agest of 55 and 65. And we can drive down the streets with a cell phone strapped to our hearing aids as good as the next guy.

Being a boomer gives you a glass half full glass half empty choice. All of societal problems were magnified for the boomer generation simply because society at all levels was not geared to handling so many people. Social Security will be the ultimate test as the government struggles to find a way to pay to the boomers what was promised…and will most likely fail. Look for means testing and an ever older retirement age…70 seems to be the number being bandied about.

On the other hand, a close friend of mine set he enjoyed being a boomer because he had the opportunity to meet all sorts of people in his class of 55 students at Ursuline High School, and has remained close friends with them throughout the years.

I fall somewhere in between. But here’s the funny thing. The older I get, the less I seem to care. Lets see…a shortage of classrooms; a shortage of books; a shortage of jobs; a shortage of money for college; a shortage of housing; a shortage of health care; a shortage of social security. Next up: a shortage of cemetery plots!!!! Cremation urns anyone? Peace!!!!

The Vermont Country Store - Back in the Day is Today

2011-01-23T19:54:00.000-08:00

My mother loved catalogues. In fact, she was addicted to them. Beginning in August, she would get stacks of catalogues delivered daily much to the chagrin of the post office. On a light day, she would get ten in the mail. I won’t tell you how many on a heavy day. And she would buy something from almost all of them, which in turn resulted in more catalogues sent to her. As she got older, I would stop to visit her and literally move the catalogues from her mail box to my car to my trash can at home. It was a little scary.

I am not a catalogue shopper except for food. I love food. But what is delivered never matches what is pictured and very expensive. So I threw what few catalogues I got out…except for one.

Tucked midst the naked, writhing bodies of Abercrombie and Fitch and the glitz of the Neiman Marcus Christmas was an innocuous little catalogue with a different print and paper quality. Sometimes it would even be in black and white. It came from the Vermont Country Store and rapidly became my catalogue of choice.

The Vermont Country Store is a long time family operation based in…you guessed it…Vermont. And it specializes in basic, well made stuff of all sorts from gadgets to clothing to food to beauty and health supplies. You can buy a warm flannel robe or flannel pajamas. You can buy supp-hose. You can buy fade cream. You can buy Clove gum. It is a combination of your grandmother’s clothing, your mother’s toiletries, your father’s aftershave, and food you can remember from your childhood.

Although you can buy all sorts of things from the catalogue, new and old, Vermont Country Store’s specialty is finding hard to get brands from the past. In the food category, you can find such delights as Ralston Purina hot cereal, B + M Brown Bread in a can, Walnettos, Cherry Mash, Original Dentyne Gum, as well as Beemans, Clove and Black Jack. Don’t forget Necco’s and Chiclets! There is also a wide variety of canned food that will bring you right back to the 1940’s and 50’s. My mother fed us canned peas and canned corn until the mid 60’s. One of the biggest surprises of my life is when I discovered I actually liked peas and corn...when frozen.

You can buy an old fashioned whistling tea kettle, a wind up alarm clock with the big bells, cobalt blue and ruby red glassware, and jelly glasses. Leaf a few pages further and you will find typewriters, record players, princess telephones, and heavy duty steel canister vacuum cleaners.

The clothing is beyond the pale. I have purchased some of these things myself and Victoria Secret they are not. But on a cold winter’s night, you will be glad to own those night clothes that kept your parents and grandparents warm while the wind was howling outside. The snuggy has nothing on some of this stuff.

But the real hoot is in the health and beauty section, both for women and men. Guys…when was the last time you used Bay Rum and Clubman Aftershave. For the ladies, promise her anything but give her Arpege; or Evening in Paris; or any number of scents by Coty. If that doesn’t work, how about Tangee or Tabu lipsticks.

The women’s hair section is a hoot. My wife used to have one of those cover all hair dryers that would go over the big rollers…all of which you can still buy at the Vermont County Store, along with old timey bed coverings and pillows…and plastic rain caps and hair nets. It’s back to the future back in the day all mixed up into one. Oh ya….don’t forget the Your Hair Smells Terrific and Lemon Up shampoos after you shower with your Lifebuoy Deodorant Soap, if you have any skin left.

Here is the link to the Vermont Country Store website. But do yourself a favor, order something and request a catalogue. Each issue is a trip down memory lane of what was yesterday’s state of the art. When you are stressed out at night, turn of the television and enjoy some quiet browse time.

Now that I’m 61, I think I will try some of that fade cream. Do you think it would fade away about fifty pounds?

Praying to Dead Popes

2011-01-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

So I was having lunch with a friend of mine the other day who is a non-Catholic. Stories abounded on television about the beatification of John Paul II, one of the most popular popes in my lifetime, if not for hundreds of years. My friend asked me: “Why would people pray to a dead pope?”

I was taken aback. I am a lapsed Catholic who considers himself to be an Episcopalian while currently attending a Lutheran church…don’t ask. I just assumed everybody knew why people would pray to a dead pope…or any of the saints for that matter. “What is it that you expect him to do?” he queried further.

Being raised Catholic, I never questioned the saints. I explained to my friend that we don’t pray to the saints for a direct act. We pray to the saints to intercede on our behalf with God. “Can’t you do that directly yourself?” he further inquired. He got me there. The Lutheran in me began to come out.

A few days later, I talked to another Catholic friend about the conversation. My friend said that I need to explain to my skeptical lunch mate that it is kind of like wanting to ask Barack Obama for a favor. You could write him directly, but he's a busy man. So you go to his closest advisor, say Rahm Emanuel, and ask him to put a good word for you. Rahm gladly obliges, but mentions that Joe Blow from Chicago would make a great Congressman, and could use some financial assistance. “I got it!” I said. Kind of like buying indulgences to get out of purgatory. There goes the Lutheran in me again.

Saints play a part in all Christian religions at least to a point. In mainstream Protestant religions, they are looked upon as people who lived lives worthy of imitation, people to be admired. We are all saints in the eyes of Protestantism. The Catholics are a little bit more pro-active. Catholics have special place in heaven for these holy people as evidenced by miracles attributed to them on earth after their death. These miracles show that the proposed saint is still with us, and will work on our behalf and assist us with our problems. It shows they have God’s ear.

The Catholic Church now has procedures for determining who should be declared a saint, or “canonized.” The first step is an inquiry into the life of the proposed saint, and an investigation as to whether this is a life worth emulating. The candidate is then deemed “venerable”, or worthy of special attention.

The next two steps are tricky. There has to be two miracles demonstrating the candidate has the ear of God in helping those who pray for intercession. After the first proven miracle, the candidate is beatified, and given the title “Blessed”. If a second miracle occurs, then the candidate is canonized, and becomes a full fledged saint. (Only one miracle is required if the candidate is martyred).

The church takes these miracles seriously. Each miracle is investigated thoroughly by both lay people and clergy. There can be no other explanation as to whatever the miracle happened to be. Sometimes this process takes a hundred years; but as of late the process is being sped up because of the popularity of John Paul II, and Mother Theresa, also being considered for sainthood. The Catholic faithful are demanding they be made saints.

This goes back to the roots of sainthood! In the early church, saints weren’t determined by a process, saints were declared by acclamation of the members of the church. There are approximately 10,000 saints in the Catholic Church. In a biblical timeline, the person furthest back who is a current saint is St. Anne, the non-biblical mother of Mary. Next is St. Elizabeth who was Mary’s cousin and the first to know of Mary’s pregnancy. “My soul doth magnify the Lord!” she declared. Her “Magnificat” has served as inspiration for many of the world’s greatest composers.

With so many saints, the Catholic Church has had to clean out the closet, so to speak. Many folks believe Paul VI threw out a bunch of saints, including the popular St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, whose statue or medals graced the dashboards or rearview mirrors of many an automobile. That isn’t what happened. Each of the saints had a feast day, and with so many saints, the calendar became a bit much. So he removed from the calendar those saints whose existence seemed to be based on tradition rather than fact. None were de-canonized, including St. Christopher. On the other hand, have you seen him on any dashboards lately? My St. Christopher medals are neatly stored in my jewelry box. When you're out...you're out!!

Many saints have worked their way into our secular culture. St. Nicholas is the obvious one. But many Catholics and non-Catholics alike pray to St. Anthony to help them find misplaced keys or glasses. St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes, is also a national favorite. And how many houses in Youngstown have been sold because the owners buried St. Joseph upside down in the backyard. It works…try it!!

When it comes to saints, I tend to take the Protestant view of things. These are good people who led holy lives that we should all study and emulate. But if I were in trouble, or if a family member of mine were seriously ill, would I pray to the dead pope? Damn right I would; and I am glad John Paul, and all the saints, are there to nudge the Lord when I need some help.

American Snapshot 2010 - Oh My!!!!

2011-01-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

Every now and then I come across a magazine article that is just too good to pass up. George Will wrote an editorial in last week’s edition of Newsweek giving us a snapshot of America in 2010. Here are some of the interesting facts contained in the article, but tweaked with my sparkling commentary.

1) Democrats compared Republicans to Neanderthals, which was probably close to the truth. In 2010 we learned that 4% of the human genome of modern non-Africans comes from the extinct Neanderthals who mated with our migrating forefathers in Europe. Quick, find me a woman to drag by the hair.

2) 52% of American adults are married in 2010 compared to 72% in 1960. And you wonder whatever happened to family values!!!!

3) The government owns General Motors. General Motors is building the electric Volt to quell government global warmers. The government is giving a $7500.00 tax credit to anyone who buys a $42,000.00 Volt. The government has to borrow the money from China in order to give the tax credit. Do you think Ford may have some issues with this? Now you know why the government shouldn’t compete with private business.

4) The government says green energy will produce American jobs. General Electric just closed the last incandescent light bulb plant in America as those bulbs will be outlawed in 2014 in order to promote energy savings with those squiggly fluorescent bulbs. All of those bulbs are made in China. Well, as always, the do-gooders intentions were…good!!

5) The election for officers in the American Postal Workers Union had to be delayed because the ballots were lost in the mail. Seriously.

6) We are experiencing one of the worst winters in recent histories. But that doesn’t deter the valiant global warming (excuse me, climate change) brigade. The headlines from Voice of America read: METEOROLOGISTS: GLOBAL WARMING AND COLD WEATHER GO HAND-IN-HAND. Does anyone have a muff?

7) PETA requested that Punxutawney, Pa, replace the groundhog with a mechanical substitute because the Groundhog Day ceremonies are cruel to the little varmit…who quite frankly lives better than me. Maybe they can pull me out of the little house. I’ll give them a weather forecast they will never forget.

8) California’s Solyndra, Inc., was the poster child for Obama’s dreams of green energy. It manufactured solar panels. To finance the business, it received a $535 million stimulus loan, plus a visit from the Pres in the flesh. It has since announced that it is going out of business, closing the plant laying off hundreds of workers. Oh well, how about making electricity burning coal?

9) In legal news, police in California raided a health food store with guns drawn looking for unpasteurized dairy products. They confiscated the yogurt. A man in Illinois who offered free rides to drunk bar patrons was arrested for running an unauthorized taxi service. Oh yes, let’s not forget the new government pat downs at the airport. Ooooo! Can you do that again a little higher?

10) The health fascists airbrushed a cigar out of a photograph of Winston Churchill at a London museum’s Britain at War exhibit.

11) In a new way to show sportsmanship / fairness, a Canadian children’s soccer league announced that if any team scores in excess of five goals, the other team will be declared the winner. Huh? What are you laughing at? Sounds like the American tax code to me.

It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Living in a world that produces the above, the wonder isn’t that there is violence…the wonder is that there isn’t more.

You can read George Will’s article here.

DECLINED

2011-01-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

It could have happened to anyone. It was an ordinary day. My wife and I had a major celebratory event occur in our lives and I wanted to commemorate it with a piece of jewelry. I had picked something out a month ago. I even put it in layaway and had been making weekly payments on it getting it down to a balance that I could afford to pay off. I owed $x,xxx.00 on the balance of the bauble, and this weekend marked the event. Would she be surprised!

Being the pseudo computer geek that I am, I paid the balance owed to my credit card company on line the day before I went to pick up the little sparkly so I wouldn’t have to write a check. On Friday, off to the jewelers to get my shiny gift out of hock.

It was soooo pretty, all laid out in the leather bound folder. “Do you want it gift wrapped?” asked the lady. “Of course I do!” I responded. The owner of the store is a friend of mine. We belong to the same club. He runs a hell of a business. The store, as usual, was filled with customers. Bill brought out the layaway slip. “I still owe you $x,xxx.00!” I told him before he could get the words out of his mouth.

I pulled out the credit card and gave it to one of his clerks to process. She kept punching the buttons and the machine kept whirring. Then I heard the words every person dreads. From the clerk’s lips came “Bill, we have a problem. The credit card has been DECLINED.” DECLINED, I thought? The card has a credit balance of $x,xxx.00. Then the lady looked over to me and said “I am sorry, Mr. Mangie, you card has been DECLINED.” “Run it again!” Bill said. “It’s still DECLINED” the clerk responded…a third time…and a fourth time. DECLINED echoed around the room like the Grand Canyon.

Of course, none of this happens in a vacuum. A hush came over the customers who tried not to appear that they were staring at me. Two old ladies were whispering to each other at another section of the jewelry counter. There you have it. The whole world now knew that my credit card had been…….DECLINED! In a jewelry store…buying hot rocks.

I tried to be nonplused. I quietly asked Bill if there was a phone I could use that would allow me to call the credit card company and to check out what this was all about. He took me to the other side of the store, and dialed for dollars, hitting the “O” button as the phone tree started. In a flash, I was talking to Dehli Dan. I explained the problem to him, and he advised me that my card had not been declined, the purchase was put on HOLD. But I told him the credit card processing machine read “declined” not one, but four times. He said the purchase was larger than my usual amount, and they just wanted to make sure it was me making the purchase.

Then why didn’t it say “contact the credit card company”? “Not to worry!” Dehli Dan told me. He had pushed a few buttons, and the problem was fixed. "Tell them to run it through again." I walked to the other side of the store, and quietly told the girl to do it again. “It is still being DECLINED!” she loudly announced. The two old women on the other side of the counter were now looking at me out of the corner of their eyes talking non-stop.

I went back to the phone and told Dehli Dan that it refused to accept it again. “Do it again!” he told me. I walked back to the other side of the store. The same clerk said “Mr. Mangie, it just won’t accept the credit card. It is still DECLINED!” Everybody tried not to look. I knew they wanted to. Those two old ladies’ mouths were now going a mile a minute.

In desperation, I told the owner of the store to get on the phone and talk to Dehli Dan and see what he could do. In a few minutes, they processed the transaction over the phone rather than through the credit card machine. I grabbed my package, and got the hell out of there, with those two friggin old ladies still yakking up a storm while pointing as I tripped over the door jam trying to escape.

But not all is well that ends well. In the conversation between the store owner and Dehli Dan, I heard the store owner try to give Dehli Dan his store number. You know, so the credit card company would know to whom to pay the money from the charge. Dehli Dan told the owner he didn’t need the store number. So today I am going back to make sure that everything is alright because as of noon today, it still isn’t showing up on my online credit card statement.

On the other hand, maybe I should just stay home. With my luck, the clerk who handled the transaction would call the owner shouting: “Hey boss! That guy is back. You know. The one who was here yesterday and his credit card was….DECLINED!”

Happy New Year...Mark Style!!

2010-12-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

My New Year’s resolutions for 2011: I resolve to lose fifty pounds. I resolve to work out at least three times per week. I resolve not to swear. I resolve to get things done when they are supposed to be done. I resolve to be nice to ALL of my relatives. I resolve to clean out my drawers and my closet. I resolve to save money and not use my credit cards. I resolve not to drink so much on Friday nights.

And if you believe that, let me talk to you about some land I own in Las Vegas. Are we nuts or what? On the list of holidays, Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas are my top three. The bottom three on my list are the Fourth of July, New Year’s, New Year’s, and New Year’s again. I know that is four, but I must have forgotten to resolve last year to learn how to count.

As you can tell, I dislike New Year’s as a holiday intensely. They don’t come much more depressing. All of those glittering Christmas decorations all of a sudden look sad and shabby. The hoopla of the holiday season is over as you hit the inevitable brick wall let down. And there is more work taking down the Christmas finery…well, my wife takes it down while I watch intently. (We take down the stuff you can see on the outside of the house, and leave the lights up until spring when it is warmer).

July 4th and New Year’s are both transition holidays. As everyone is making jolly on New Year’s Eve, all I can see is another year gone by in which I failed to reach some unattainable goal I set the year before. Same goes with the Independence Day. The summer solstice is over and the days are beginning to get ever so shorter. Nothing is quieter than sitting on the back porch listening to distant fireworks. Get me some pills!!!!

The one solace has always been the college football games, and even those are screwed up. Sure, some of the bowl games are on New Years Day, but not the championship game. And this year Ohio State is playing on January 4th, I believe, suspended players and all. Speaking of which, guys…your Big Ten championship ring for a tattoo? Really?

But all bad things resolve to the good. January 2nd follows January 1st, and that is when the New Year really gets going as I forsake my guilt ridden New Year’s resolutions for another piece of chocolate cake; sit down to watch television instead of walking at the mall; squish my Christmas sweater back into my over stuffed drawers; pour myself a Jack Daniels; blow off a few of my relatives; make sure I "God Damn" the Democratic Party; and order something I don’t need from QVC trying out my new Mastercard.

Life is good; and THAT'S a Happy New Year.

Christmas Card - 2010; My Mundane Christmas

2010-12-15T04:40:00.000-08:00

I have been writing my blog since June, 2005. Every Christmas I have been fortunate enough to have some transcendent experience that has given some insight or meaning to the holiday to me in a personal way. Those experiences, in turn, became the subject of my Christmas blog and some of my most read essays. Everybody loves Christmas.

So this year, I anxiously awaited my transcendent experience. I looked for it in the snow events we have had the past couple of weeks. I have searched in my choral activities, both in my church choir and Seraphim. I have looked for a meaningful Christmas movie or television program. I have listened to untold hours of Christmas music, even breaking my proverbial rule of “no dead people” Christmas recordings. (It really is time to bury Perry Como and Bing Crosby!!!)

But this year, I got nothin’. No revelations. No warm and cuddly feelings. No inspiration. No life epiphanies. Plain and simple, I got Christmas bupkis. I haven’t bought myself my Christmas present from my wife this year. (So what’s wrong with that? I know what I want…she doesn’t. I buy it. She wraps it. I open it. I give out an exclamation of surprise. End of story!!)

So have I become Scrooge? Well, maybe. Like my grandmother said, after listening to Silent Night for 84 years, it gets a little old. Plus the general mood in the country is bad. People are angry and depressed and jobless. Food bank drives are all around us constantly reminding us how tough it is for so many people. Decorations are chincy in the stores, and the merchandise selection leaves much to be desired as retailers have cut back. That deep sense of security has been washed away for a myriad of cultural, social, and political reasons. What is left is the shell of Christmas, and a lot of people going through the motions.

Mostly I think it is a function of age. I will be 61 years old next month. The last of my close relatives died two years ago, and my immediate family has moved on. My son is grown and there are no grandchildren to spoil as of yet. My entire family is political, and we have been extremely busy, even after the election, doing the things political families do…which is a lot different than normal folks!! Yes, I can definitely confirm that we are nuts.

But that being said, this will probably go down as one of my better Christmases. Both my church choir and Seraphim have never sounded better, although the basses got ahead of the director a few times in our stellar performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria at Martin Luther Lutheran Church last Sunday…certainly a musical landmark for Northeast Ohio!!! Our director has sent us out into the audience to sing Christmas carols at each of our performances, and that has been wonderful meeting and greeting people somewhere between Hark the Herald and Joy to the World. We sang an Italian Christmas Donkey song which brought people to their feet!!!

My church choir reached a new pinnacle by caroling at the Cornersburg Dairy Queen. Well, it’s not Carnegie Hall, but we got free hot fudge sundaes. And the church choir has held together; anchoring our church through a very difficult period. That’s a good thing.

The Christmas shows have been spectacular around the area. High on my “glad I went to see” list was Move over Broadway’s annual “Believe” Christmas show…what talent!! And the Oakland Theater’s How the Drag Queen Stole Christmas reached a new pinnacle of raunchiness, and the audience and I loved it. Certainly this isn’t for everybody, but go with an open mind and Away in a Manger will have new meaning.

My wife and I have joined any number of our friends for nights out. Last Friday night we spent almost 4 hours with some of our friends just talking and lingering over dinner. We closed the restaurant and had a wonderful time. Tonight we will be doing the same thing with some newly made friends. Should be a lot of fun!!

My closest friends will be stopping by my house on Christmas night, a new tradition that has developed over the past 15 years. They aren’t my late mother and father, or aunts and uncles or cousins, but certainly are the people that have a special place in my life. It is one of my favorite nights of the year.

So in writing this rambling treatise of literary excellence, maybe I have discovered that the transcendent experience for this year is realizing that my Christmas has actually become mundane. But that being said, there is comfort in constancy, and happiness in the mundane…because my mundane Christmas is not bad at all...no, not too bad at all!!!

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas.

WikiLeakyCondoms

2010-12-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

And the winner of the most fascinating story of the decade goes to Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks leaks!! You couldn’t make this story up if you tried. So Mr. Assange is an avowed leftist with support from socialists and libertarians…an interesting combination if there ever was one. At any rate, his goal is to destroy the security of the United States by leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the public allegedly provided to him by one Private First Class Bradley Manning who downloaded the stuff on a laptop in the middle of the Iraq desert. The peachy faced Bradley Manning is now in jail, which hasn't prevented the City Council in Berkley from honoring him as a great American.

Assange releases the first group of classified documents, and the Obama administration ignores him. Then he releases the second group of classified documents, and the Obama administration ignores him again; but this time there is trouble. This group wasn’t mundane and listed a whole bunch of bad stuff…but mostly it documented unflattering statements about how our government really felt about other countries and world leaders. How humiliating…but fascinating reading!! Hillary spied on other heads of state…quelle surprise!! Saudi Arabia is funding Al Qaeda…who knew? Obama doesn’t like Sarkozy…I never would have guessed. Korea will collapse in three years…we can only hope!

In the middle of the muddle, it turns out the Mr. Assange has a bad case of the hot pants. While attending a conference of lefties in Stockholm, he hooks up with this sweet young thing, and moves into her house so he doesn’t have to pay for a hotel room. Wonder of wonders, they have sex. Who’d have thought? In the middle of the happening, his condom breaks. The next morning, the babe wants a redo. He doesn’t have a condom and they decided to do without. Then she cooked him breakfast. Threw him a party. And all was right with the world.

Until the sweet young thing introduces him to another sweet young thing, who promptly joins him after one of his lectures going to the movies where they decided to have sex. I don't want to know where. Of course, he didn’t have a condom…nor did he have any money for a train ticket to get out of town. Sweet young thing 2 then buys him a train ticket after he goes back to sweet young thing 1's house for another roll in the hay..and he skips town. SYT 1 buys him a train ticket back. But somewhere along the line 1 and 2 have a talk, and find out he was boinking both of them at the same time. Oh my. Of course, what Mr. Assange didn’t know was that in Sweden, it is rape if you don’t use a condom. I kid you not…and the angry female duo proceeds to file charges against Mr. Assange, who is now in the sights of some aggressive female prosecutor out to castrate the dude. Such are the ways of do-gooder leftist governments. Can we be far behind?

Next Mr. Assange attempted to blackmail the United States with the release of more documents of a highly sensitive nature, and goes to England…where he is promptly arrested and thrown into jail without bail for rape, or as we say here in the States, having sex without a condom.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I mean Washington, Obama and his sidekick Eric “try the terrorists in New York” Holder are having an investigation about whether Assange broke any United States espionage laws. Let’s see…he is a foreign national who stole United States military secrets to destroy our diplomatic system and putting our soldiers and allies at risk. Mmmm. Isn’t that what Scooter Libby did with Valerie Plame?

This would be hysterically funny if not so sad with deadly consequences. Obama’s lack of reaction says a lot. He can’t react because prior to becoming President, this is exactly the type of thing he and his leftist cronies relished doing. He is one of them.

Do you REALLY think that an army private could download all of this information onto a laptop in the middle of the desert without some help? Do you REALLY think that Assange could set this website up without any outside financial help?

I predict that when the Republican Congress investigates what happened here, the fallout will be more substantial than anyone can imagine. Those with such an extreme left wing philosophy are a 20% minority in the United States, with 5% politically active. Obama is in that group. I predict that the seeds for the collapse of the Obama presidency will be found with Mr. Assange and his supporters. Always follow the money. The same people who funded Obama’s campaign will have financial ties with Mr. Assange. It will get very nasty.

Meanwhile, my advice to any left wing activist about to do some serious spying…use a condom, especially in Sweden!!!!

Moola the Cow and the Anaerobic Digesters

2010-11-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

Every now and then you come across something that is just to good to pass up. This past week’s Business Week magazine contained a story about the massive amounts of manure in Stephenville, Texas, home to a plethora of Texas dairy farms. An equally massive fiberglass bovine named Moola the Cow is plopped right down in the middle of the square in tribute to the area’s primary agricultural product.

Of course, downwind of Stephenville is another story altogether. Those of you who yearn for an idyllic life in the country most likely haven’t lived there. Life on the farm has many advantages. Fresh air isn’t one of them.

But do not run away, green technology will save the day. A company named Microgy came riding into town with a holster full of federally backed green dollars to build a poop to gas plant (technical name: anaerobic digesters). Huzzah!!! The town was thrilled that this green upstart outfit was going to take the cow manure off of their hands and boots, and turn it into pipeline quality natural gas.

The technology is not new. The article says that it is popular in China and Europe. Notwithstanding, you need a visual of what has become the largest poop to gas operation in North America: 73 acres of putrid animal waste being dumped into eight 5 story towers. Water is then pumped in at the top, and a new definition of trickle-down economics is born. Each tower contains 916,000 gallons of this slushy manure/water mixture, and organisms digest the decaying the manure producing methane which is captured then refined into natural gas. Mmm – Mmm- Mmmm. Get me a job there.

In theory, this facility can produce enough natural gas to service 10,000 homes. It had supply contracts with utility companies all over the western part of the United States. But as luck would have it, the process is relatively expensive as is all green technology. In case you didn’t know, as the price of gasoline has gone up, the price of natural gas has gone down. Part of the problem is that the economics of the plant contemplated the trading of energy credits under the moribund cap and trade (tax) bill which never passed Congress. The parent company of Microgy got flushed down the bankruptcy crapper (I couldn't resist).

Not to worry. Another company, Element Markets rode into town on a white horse and “scooped up” the company for pennies on the dollar. The owner of Element Markets learned the energy business while working at Enron. After several Senate investigations, he came out smelling like a rose. Get it? Smelling like a rose. Yuk Yuk. And that’s the rest of the story, so to speak. Doesn't that make you feel real secure?

In all seriousness, poop to gas may sound funny, but I am true believer that we need to do everything we can do to gain energy independence. With our government choosing electricity as the alternate energy of choice, we need plentiful and renewable supplies of fuel to drive the turbines. Organic waste is a no brainer available from farms, garbage dumps and municipal sewage treatment plants. I’m for it. You should be too. Just not in my back yard, unless they had some huge fans or something to blow the odor towards Pa.

I wonder what Moola the Cow thinks?

Based on an article by Paul Barrett, Bloomberg Business Week, "Poop to Natural Gas Makes a Stink in Texas."

Oprah's Favorite Things

2010-11-27T06:08:00.000-08:00

The other day while sitting in a bar having a drink to calm my holiday rattled nerves, the big screen television was showing the Oprah Winfrey Show…the Oprah Favorite Things 2010 edition!!! For those of you in the minority who don’t know what that is…everyone in the audience gets all of Oprah’s Favorite Things to take home. Now I am not an Oprah fan, and have only rarely watched even a part of her show. But this big screen television was in my face…and what I saw was both frightening and fascinating at the same time. It was a greed frenzy of the third kind.

Begin with she “gave away” a whole lot of stuff, from food to lingerie to fragrance to food to I-Pads to more food to jewelry to a Volkswagon…cars for everybody. Of course we all know that in reality, she gives away nothing. It’s the product manufacturer that gives the stuff away in return for a major plug on her show to her vast audience. But a Volkswagaon? Really?

The people in the audience were whooping and hollering. They were screaming and jumping up and down like jack rabbits. And Oprah stood there with her arms outstretched like the Lord. Some of these folks were moved to tears and fainting. in the middle of this mess, she brought in a pop singer who actually sang a religious Christmas carol. So much for Silent Night. What a disgusting display!!!! It was like Queen for a Day on steroids, or a secular religious tent revival. Heal! Amen! Praise the Lord!

Couple that with the obligatory post Thanksgiving news stories about Black Friday herds of customers storming Best Buy’s front door…this year the trampling was in a store in Buffalo. I am just amazed at what I see in human behavior nurtured by shows like Oprah or a discounted hundred dollar television set.

As for Oprah's favorite things, the question is how much food for the poor the value of these products could have purchased. I found it particularly ironic that this obnoxious display of greed and obscene promotionalism took place on Oprah’s show, her being a staunch supporter of Barack Obama and that whole redistribution of wealth thing.

The folks on the left rail against those greedy business people taking advantage of the masses. What is this? My rule in life is never to knock another man's hustle, and normally I wouldn’t knock Oprah’s faux largesse. But the reaction of the audience was unseemly, and the whole premise coming from Oprah raises hypocrisy to a new level. Reducing Christmas to this is just wrong.

Annual Seasonal Affective Disorder Rant

2010-11-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here we go, folks. It’s time for my annual Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) rant. Those who suffer from this unfortunate malady really, really hate winter. How we handle it, however, varies from person to person.

For those of you who don’t know, SAD is a depressive disorder directly related to the amount of daylight. As summer flows into autumn, and autumn into winter, the decreased amount of daylight has an adverse psychological affect on sufferers such as me.

Individuals handle the situation differently. The most severe sufferers should consult a physician and take proper medication. Moderate sufferers, such as me, can use other alternatives. One popular method is to sit under a specially designed light that mimics sunlight. My house is fortunate enough to have ample mercury vapor lighting in our backyard which helps a lot.

My SAD operates differently than most. The problem kicks in with the anticipation of less daylight rather than actually experiencing it, usually right around June 1st when I realize the longest day of the year is less than three weeks away. By the Fourth of July holiday, I am positively batty, making it my least favorite holiday in the year as I watch the Weather Channel and the ever earlier time for sunsets. The problem peaks in late October as the time change looms over the horizon.

Then something happens in my twisted mind, and my mood changes the day we “fall” back. I begin to anticipate the winter solstice, and the lengthening daylight. To that end, I watch the online sunset/sunrise time of the US Naval Observatory. As I write this, my mood is an upswing…much to my wife’s relief as the holiday season approaches…Ho! Ho! Ho!

Here’s the skinny. As you read this, the sunset time is 5 minutes away from its earliest sunset time of the year, which is 4:54 PM. That occurs on December 3, and continues at that time for 11 days. On December 14, the sunset begins to move later at 4:55 PM. By January 1, the sun sets at 5:04 PM. By my birthday, January 22 if you want to send me a card, the sun is setting at a marvelous 5:25 PM.

That is not to say the days are getting longer beginning December 3. The sunrise, which is irrelevant to me as I am usually still half asleep, continues to occur later until December 30, when it rises the latest at 7:48 AM. That continues until January 9, when it finally begins to rise earlier. From December 15 until December 30, the sunrise and the sunset move later in tandem so it seems that the days may be getting longer because of the later sunsets, but it fools you as the length of the days is being whacked in the AM. December 21, the winter solstice, is the center date of that tandem move.

So, to sum up: December 3…good! December 21…getting closer! December 30…the end is here! January 9…working the right way in both directions! January 22…spring is just around the corner, and all’s well with the world!

And yes, I have been told that my obsession is really weird!!!!!!

Vivaldi and the Earworm

2010-11-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

I have come to the conclusion that Vivaldi must have been a Democrat. He has planted an earworm in my head, and I can’t get it out. I have done everything to get this horrendous gavotte out of my head, but Domine Dei Unigenite keeps be-bopping around between my ears. I even tried banging my head against the wall, and all this Republican stuff came flowing out all available orifices leaving Domine Dei Unigenite ba ba-ba ba-baing over and over and over again in the caverns of my brain. I dare you to play it more than once, and you will be humming it forever and ever and ever and ever…and I don’t mean the Hallelujah Chorus. You can listen to it here.

Let’s start with the basics. Wikipedia defines an“earworm” as “a portion of a song or other music that repeats compulsively within one's mind, put colloquially as "music being stuck in one's head." If you fancy yourself to be a half baked musician like myself, it happens over and over again. My last earworm was a song my church choir sang done in an African motif. I kept building “my church, my church, upon this rock, this rock…I’ll build my church, my church, upon this rock, this rock” over and over and over again.

This went on until choir practice on Monday night, when the Vivaldi devil supplanted that African ditty. This dainty minuet written in 3, counted in two, but sung in four has taken over my life. No longer is it Some Enchanted Evening in the shower. Now its Do meeeeeeee nay daaaaay eeeeeeee oooooooo neeeeee geeeeeniteeeeee…Do meeeeeeee nay daaaaaaeeeee….
Lord, take me now!

People have actually studied earworms, and have developed parameters as to why some songs tend to do this to people and others don’t. Generally there is a simple melody line that repeats over and over again along with a discernable beat. Numerous people have actually tried to develop lists of the Top Ten Earworm Songs. I doubt if Domine Dei Unigenite made any of their lists, but then they don’t got no class.

So I have taken it upon myself, as a public service, to review those lists and pick and choose my Top Ten list of Earworm tunes:

10) Who Let The Dogs Out? I’m not sure, but whoever it is should be shot along with the dogs.

9) Achy Breaky Heart: Billy Ray Cyrus’ claim to fame, and we are the worse for it. Someone must have given him CPR.

8) Telephone: If you haven’t heard this Lady Gaga opus, do yourself a favor and don’t. Even the clean version of the video is obscene. But parody versions redeem this club favorite. I have linked to one of those.

7) Single Ladies: Beyonce will have you wha oh oh-ing in your tutu. If your children are pre-teen girls…you will quickly view this song as cruel and unusual punishment. Lil' darlins' love it.

6) TIE: Lucille/Elvira: Kenny Rogers and The Oakridge Boys must have conspired to take control of our minds. Quick! Find Dr. Spock for a mind meld.

5) In The Summertime: Mungo Jerry did the impossible. He made me wish for winter.

4) TIE: Jingle Bell Rock / Santa Claus is Coming to Town: Brenda Lee and Bruce Springstein might as well have recorded these songs together rather than 30 years apart giving us a legacy that sticks with us more than a plum pudding. Is it too late to change religions? (Honorable mention: Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel).

3) I Got You Babe: Sonny and Cher got each other, but they were able to get a divorce. How do we divorce ourselves from this song? Anyone got a lawyer!

2) The Brady Bunch Theme: The show lives forever in syndication. Florence Henderson lives forever in Dancing with the Stars; and this theme song will be in our brains even after we die.

1) It’s a Small World Afterall: Gotcha! Just mentioning it made you groan, didn’t it?. Need I say more?

If you can’t get the small world tune out of your head, try that Domine Dei Unigenite thing at the beginning of the blog. Works every time!

Happy Trails to you.. until we meet again. Sorry!!

Me and My Blackberry... A Slobbering Love Affair

2010-11-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

I did it. I moved the dark side. I crossed over into the land to techies and “text-ies.” I bought a smart phone. More specifically, my new best friend is now a Blackberry Curve. It slices. It dices. It will even wipe my nose. We are, quite literally, joined at the hip….with this really neat belt loop black leather carrying case for $19.99!!!!

How did I live without it? Seriously, folks, I use my computer all the time for just about everything. I bought a net book to take on vacations, and it is a tad on the slow side. But I have always been behind in the mobile device area. I had this five year old LG flip phone which I had difficulty hearing while talking on it. It was a bit frayed around the ages. And to be honest, it was humiliating to pull it out.

My son, who is on our family plan, had the identical phone and seemed to get by with it fine. He could text on the number key pad, a skill I that was way beyond me. He could hear. He could talk on in it. And he told me he would never get a smart phone. They are evil and represents what is wrong with the world today.

But things got so bad I had to do something. Three weeks ago, before my trip to D.C., I went to the Verizon store and did the dirty deed. The very nice but very techy salesman dazzled me with the wizardry of various smart phones at various price points, and I picked out one just right for me. This little ebony marvel is not top of the line, but it does much more than I am actually able to do with the thing, and I am now a true believer.

A short three weeks later, I am texting with the best of them. I am constantly connected to the internet. I can surf the web. I am connected to my Facebook account. My email accounts are now attached to my smart phone account so I can read my emails on the phone. And it has apps. I have always wanted apps. I can now talk about my new apps and download new apps. It is mobile phone (note: not cell phone) heaven. It even has maps. I can get GPS if I want it, but I still like using maps…and it got me out of jam on our way into Washington when I 480 was completely closed down. And I have contacts. I always wanted contacts. Isn’t it great having contacts?

In all seriousness, I am pleasantly surprised by how useful a device this smart phone is. It isn’t near as difficult to use as I thought it would be. It is sufficiently intuitive that I have been able to pick things up quickly. The email thing is terrific because I communicate a lot by email, and it saves me trips to the computer. The calendar feature is helping me organize my disorganized life. And it has enough connectivity that I don’t have to haul around my laptop on a short trip. Even my son, who went kicking and screaming to the Verizon store to get his phone under the 2 for 1 deal, says it’s “okay.”

Sometimes progress is good. Next stop…a reader. Kindle looks interesting, and so does the Nook. But that I-pad looks primo. Hail to me, the technology conqueror. It’s a whole new brave world out there.

2010 Political Hubris Winners

2010-10-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

I go away for a week and all hell breaks loose. Of course, it’s the silly political season…but c’mon. Here I go:

1) I was literally driving past NPR in Washington when I heard about the Juan Williams/NPR firing scandal on the radio. I can’t believe that they are getting away with this. Everyone knows that NPR is a liberal bastion funded by public money, but was quiet about it. Now, it is front and center.

I predict that public funding for NPR will be terminated within a year. The initial justification for public radio and television is rooted back in the day when the three major networks gave short shrift to intellectual and cultural programming. The argument was that type of programming was inherently unprofitable and needed government assistance. Not the case anymore!!! Cable and satellite television is loaded with it…all making money…and all doing it better. You can turn on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, A & E, Oxygen, the Learning Channel…and for liberal news commentary, watch MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC. If the programming is now available to anyone who wants it, why is 430 million dollars needed to fund public broadcasting? Advice to NPR and PBS….get some balance in your news coverage. As a closet fan of both NPR and PBS (especially WQED in Pittsburgh), please cleanse thyself.

2) President Obama is looking more and more like President Nixon. On the campaign trail, he called people like me the “enemy”. He said he was going to take us out. And get this… he said Republicans should go to the back of the bus. In addition, his administration is now gathering information from the Pentagon as to requests for information from potential Republican opponents in 2012. Shades of the Nixon enemies list!! I wrote when he was elected that he had the potential to be the liberal Nixon equivalent. I think I was closer to the truth than I thought.

3) Just when you think it couldn’t do any worse, the View and Joy Behar have reached a new low. It’s one thing to gin up controversy to generate publicity. But to call Sharron Angle a “bitch” on national television is disgusting. The hate of the liberal left never ceases to amaze me. Can you imagine any Republican or conservative commentator making that kind of a statement over the airwaves? Shame on ABC, The View, and Barbara Walters, the producer of the show! I thought she had more class than that.

4) Speaking of hate…how about Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown’s campaign operative calling Meg Whitman a whore. And then the National Organization for Women endorsed him? Really? Only goes to show that NOW must be an offshoot of NPR, no conservative women need apply. Afterall, so what if their accomplishments include CEO of Ebay, CEO of Hewlett Packard, CEO of the WWE, or was elected Governor of Alaska and then was nominated for VP of the United States. Not only are these over achiever examples of feminist movement success derided…they are portrayed as something less than human.

Each of the above examples of political hubris is despicable. Don’t you think we deserve better?

Political Fund Raising

2010-10-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Money is the mother’s milk of politics. You can hate it. You can disagree with it. You can spout a thousand platitudes about the virtues of “grass roots" campaigns. You can scream for reform. You can limit campaign contributions. But at the end of the day, one political mailing in Mahoning County can cost in excess of $15,000.00. One 30 second television ad on the WFMJ evening news costs $1200.00. The post office won’t deliver the mail without being paid. WFMJ won't run the ad without being paid, in advance!!! Somebody has to pay the freight.

So it’s a dirty business, but that is the nature of the beast. How much money have you contributed to your favorite candidate this year? I bet the answer from most of you is nothing. (Alright...I can hear you snickering what favorite candidate!!!) You run the other way when you see the fundraiser coming. You don’t answer the phone. You throw away the mail. And then complain when the candidate you don’t want wins, or when the candidates resort to the big money dudes to finance their campaign.

There are several ways to buy some of that mother's milk. The most obvious one is to simply ask for money. This can be done one on one, but most likely will be done by a mail campaign or internet campaigns. The other popular way is to have an “event.” The campaign, or a friend of the campaign, sponsors a fund raising event. This can range from a home pizza party to a gala event for the more affluent among us. In addition to serving as a money source, the event can also hide contributions by keeping the cost of the tickets under a certain amount. That way, the candidate doesn’t have to identify who purchases the tickets. Joe Mafia can give a grand to the ticket seller, who in turn would distribute ten $100.00 tickets to various individuals who then show up at the event. Nasty business…But if you look at the $400 million dollars not accounted for in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, you will see this scheme in various forms. Do you really think millions of college students and inner city residents gave $100.00 each to Obama’s campaign through credit cards? I didn’t think so.

I have put on three major fund raising events this past year. I like my fund raising events to be on the classy side. It’s like dressing for success. You want the event and the candidate to look successful. In addition to selling tickets, a lot of effort goes into choreographing the event. WHere is it held...who is invited...what if nobody shows up...who's egos have to be stroked. The problem with my approach is that it may tend to look elitist. On the other hand, if you are trying to raise money, you got to give the folks with the bucks something to talk about. It's a fine line. The events I sponsored this year have had ticket prices of $75.00; $150.00; and $500.00 respectively. The most successful was the $500.00 event held just this past week.

Like any other type of merchandising, there are the high end fundraisers, and low end fundraisers. The low end can be just as successful and raise just as much money, but you are dealing with a lot more people attending the event at a much lower ticket price. Booze is not a problem…cash bar is king. You can get your friends and relatives to cook for it; get a tub and throw in some ice and pop…voila…you have a fundraiser charging $25.00/ticket.

Notwithstanding, the success of the event will depend on the candidate. The less established the candidate, the more difficult the fundraising, which is why it is so hard for folks to break into politics, and why politicians get so jaded after having to go through it again and again and again. It can be frustrating and depressing. The general rule is that a candidate will rarely win first time out of the gate. He/she has to run for office several times and lose before the ticket buying public feels it won’t be squandering $25.00 on someone who can’t win. Ironic, isn’t it?

America loves to hate its politicians. In many cases, that hate and scorn is earned. On the other hand, if Americans would take the time to get involved with a newbie candidate with potential, and support that candidate grass roots movements, in the low end fundraising, and offer the candidate some encouragement…maybe things would start to get better.

In the meantime, the next political fundraiser in which I am involved will be a $1500.00 ticket. How many can I put you down for?

Macy Madness

2010-10-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Macy's Headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio

Business Week magazine had an interesting article this week about Macy’s Department Store. Apparently the powers that be have decided that their stores need to be more “local” in character. Its regional managers now have increased autonomy to sell goods tailored to a store’s specific geographic location. For example, you can buy old fashioned coffee percolators on Long Island; boy’s formal wear in Utah; and specific types of candy in Chicago. Gee, isn’t that how it worked before Macy’s took all of the previously local branded department stores national?

Well, not exactly. But the evolution of Macy’s, Inc. is a fascinating story traveling two roads; one of which began in New York City; the other in Columbus, Ohio…and even crossed roads here in Youngstown. There is ALWAYS a Youngstown connection.

The Miracle on 34th Street Macy’s was founded in New York City in 1858 by Rowland Macy. The star in the logo goes back to a tattoo Mr. Macy had on his arm, and has been part of Macy’s image from the beginning. In 1875, Mr. Macy took on some partners. But he died soon after, and eventually the partners sold the operation to Nathan Straus and his brother Isidor Straus of Titanic fame. His wife refused a lifeboat seat if her husband couldn’t go with her, and they went down with the ship snuggling in their stateroom.

Macy’s began its nationwide expansion beginning in the 1920’s with acquisitions stretching from Atlanta to Toledo to San Francisco back to New Jersey…you get the picture. In the 1980’s, Macy’s attempted a leveraged buy-out of Federated Department Stores (see below), but lost the battle to Campeau Corporation of Canada, which was financed by the DeBartolo Corporation of Youngstown. As part of a legal settlement against Campeau…Macy’s ended up purchasing several branches of the Federated chain out west. Things went south…no pun intended, and in 1992, Macy’s filed for bankruptcy.

Federated Department Stores sprung from Lazarus Department Stores founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1851. The Lazarus family believed in expansion. In the 1920’s, Federated Department Stores was incorporated as a department store holding company based in Cincinnati. It’s association stores included Abraham and Straus, Lazarus, Shillito’s, Burdines, Rikes, I Magnin, and Bullock’s. Oh yes…Bloomingdale’s.

You celebrate Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November because of Mr. Lazarus convinced President Roosevelt it would be good for department store business to extend the Christmas shopping season by a week. (It used to be on the last Thursday of November).

When last we saw Federated (see above), it had been bought out by Campeau of Canada. Campeau then tried to buy Allied Department Stores (partially funded by a $480,000,000.00 loan from the DeBartolo Corporation). The deal ultimately resulted in Federated filing for bankruptcy in 1990…and Campeau was ousted from the Federated "family." There’s that pesky Youngstown connection again.

Long story short, Macy’s emerged from bankruptcy…Federated emerged from bankruptcy. It was a match made in heaven, and the companies merged. Well, they call it a merger, but actually Federated bought Macy’s out. Federated took the Macy’s name, and is how happily headquartered in Cincinnati. Let’s hear it for Ohio. (I bet you thought it was in New York City!)

In 2005, Federated announced that it was purchasing May Department Stores. For those of us in Youngstown, that included the evolving Strouss, Strouss-Kaufmann, the Kaufmann’s local stores. Included in the sale was May Company in Cleveland, Kaufmann’s in Pittsburgh, and Marshall Fields in Chicago. It was trauma city for these folks.

Macy’s decided it was necessary to brand itself nationally, and you can see the results today. Macy’s is holding its own financially. There is obvious savings in running one big national brand instead of 40 local city brands. But as Business Week said, surprise-surprise, we may be connected by computers and the internet…but they still like their percolated coffee on Long Island; and those Mormons like to dress their kids up. Who knows? Maybe some of the old brands will come back. And we will all be the better for it.

One more thing. You may wonder why DeBartolo wanted to get into the retail business. He didn’t. He was tired of anchor department stores dictating to him where to build his malls. So he decided to buy them out. I don't think it worked out the way he intended. On the other hand, it’s only $480,000,000.00. Chump change by the Obama deficits!! I couldn’t resist!!!! Happy Shopping!!

Murder/Suicide in America - Where is the Hope?

2010-09-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

Over the past two weeks, you may have noticed in the news an increasing level of murder/suicides. In fact, it has become so common it actually has stopped making news. There have been several right here in Ohio within families, the workplace, schools, and social settings. These stories have moved from the front page of the papers and the leads on national news, to blurbs on the various online news services that may or may not make the evening television news. To quote the lady addressing President Obama at the CNBC town hall, is this the new normal? What is going on? The blame lies in several places with the additions and subtractions to what people my age would consider normal America.

1) Start with technology. We are bombarded constantly with telephone calls, text messages, emails, and instant messages. There is no break. There is no respite. Go into a store and talk to a young clerk. The only human contact these days is filtered through some digital gizmo. The lack of ability to relate to other human beings for those who are younger increases their sense of isolation and destroys empathy. At the other end of the spectrum, the frustration of those over sixty to keep up with technology causes depression and feelings of worthlessness. Put a person over sixty in a story with a clerk under twenty five…life is reduced to “have a good one.”

2) Life is nonstop without breaks. Instant solutions from television to modern day communication. It has destroyed our ability to understand that life has a pace of its own. There are no instant solutions. When one’s problems can't be resolved like a laundry stain in a Tide commerical, people start to think there is something wrong with them. They must be doing something wrong if a problem can’t be solved now.

3) People have become nothing more than a digital number. We are so technologized and bureaucratized that the frustration of dealing with daily life has become unbearable. Phone trees and Indian call centers; punch this; punch that; what is your password; what is your PIN number…it is unending. Quite frankly it is depressing. When one has been wronged with no resolution, be it a warranty on a computer, trying to resolve a cell phone billing issue, or being fired from a job with no one to turn to, what does one do?

4) Secularization has robbed our society of needed support systems. Churches are empty. Families are now “non-traditional;” and most likely spread out all over the country. Divorce is fast and cheap. Single parent households are on the rise. Friends are defined by packs rather than close relationships. One doesn't date. One hooks up. Where does one go for love, comfort and support?

Life in America is becoming harder by the day for more and more people. President Obama talked about “hope.” Good luck with that. It’s hope that is being destroyed in this country. As hope decreases along with the ever growing frustrations of life, as we adjust to the new normal of “Hope and Change” in the form of expansive and onerous government and the destruction of our traditional values and support systems, the wonder isn’t that there are so many murder/suicides. The wonder is there aren’t more.

Where Reality Ends and Fantasy Begins

2010-09-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don’t watch Fox News, Stephen Colbert of the Comedy Channel was invited to testify in Congressional Hearings on farm workers and illegal immigrants. Stephen Colbert is host of a satirical show called The Colbert Report in which he portrays a faux conservative commentator. This, along with The Daily Show, is done in a real news format. The problem is many folks, including many young people and college age students, use it as their sole source of news thinking the programs are real. Seriously! The political content is far left.

At any rate, he was asked to testify in front of the committee by California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren as an advocate of illegal alien rights. It is unclear whether he was supposed to do it in character, but it began to garner attention on the conservative blogs and airwaves yesterday morning, particularly on the Fox and Friends early morning show. They asked a simple question. Why was a comedian, with no particular knowledge of the problem, invited to speak at the hearing, wasting the taxpayers’ time and money? Illegal immigration is one of the more serious issues dividing the country and should be treated as a serious matter.

When Colbert appeared today, the chairman asked him to leave and to submit his comments in writing. But Congresswoman Lofgren spoke on his behalf, and he was allowed to proceed. In his testimony, he attempted to introduce pictures of his colonoscopy, among other things. To his credit, he did take some of his time to express his views that Americans don’t want the jobs the illegal migrants are doing, and perhaps we should give up fruits and vegetables.

This is not a free speech issue. The issue is that we Americans wrapped up in our digital electronic equipment from computers to cell phones to Wi’s to Ipods and Ipads, are losing our ability to tell the difference between fact and fiction. When people believe that these satirical shows are accurate sources of news rather that satirical comedy, there is a problem. Antics like these are best suited for television, radio, movies and the theater. People are hurting in this country. Don't even mention that Congress is adjourning with no action on the tax cut extension issue. The arrogance of left wing lug nuts to pull this type of stunt is offensive.

So Colbert got himself a whole lot of media attention. He got another 15 minutes of fame, as if he needed it. He and the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart are going to host a anti-Glenn Beck rally on the mall in Washington October 30 if they can get permits, which is at issue right now. You see, it’s not a true rally. It is a faux rally, an exercise in living theater.

You know what’s really scary? Those people who believe these guys are serious news reporters…. their votes count as much as mine. And that’s not a laughing matter.