Has anybody posed the question to Barack Obama recently if he still considers himself a member of the “middle-class?” I personally find the term degrading, and insulting. Who wants to be the “middle” of anything? Not me. So I don’t identify with the “middle-class.” I don’t want to be considered in the middle-class, and I don’t want to accept that there is even a middle-class of just average Americans. I believe in American exceptionalism. Acknowledging a middle-class says that we accept a society of average people. It’s like saying we want our football teams to be average, we want our cars and electronics to be “normal” and that there is no reason to compete against anybody else because we don’t care about the final score. It’s like saying to a video game player who is obsessed with a game like Call of Duty that they should be happy with their “average” score instead of playing over and over to increase their rating.
Yet Obama talks about the “middle-class” like its something good that he wants to expand—and accept more of. He is actually promoting it, and is trying to expand government education to actually make more “average” people. Yet it would be safe to say that Obama considers him and his family as part of the “upper” ruling class. Such behavior was always typical among the communists who wanted to be affiliated with the enforcers as opposed to the commoner. The ruling class always gets better living accommodations, and social status and Obama clearly enjoys his elevated political class status as President of the United States. He will never be considered a part of the middle-class for the rest of his life—so why does he want to promote it to so many people? It really doesn’t make any sense.
The answer comes from deep inside the type of collectivists that Obama is. If they can eliminate competition, they will never be challenged by anybody seeking to actually surpass their social status with actual aptitude. A gigantic middle-class means for people like Obama no challenge to his social status as a member of the elite. So he naturally wants to protect his status with more “middle-class” type people, and the way he performs the task is to propose that the effort is actually good for people.
This is the real nature behind Obama’s new education plan which he actually sent to me through an email. You can read that email promotion from Obama’s White House below where the intent of the proposal is to lower standards for children so that they will be further dumbed down into a compliant “middle-class” of adults giving the federal government more centralized control over students. Of course Obama’s people never tell the whole truth, just as in the first sentence below which attempts to state that students are functioning at a higher level than ever before and that the government education system is actually working. The secret is that the standards have been lowered to make students appear better—without actually achieving anything. For the government, they are successful because they are in the business of making more compliant—average—people. But for the hopeful parent who wants their child to be the next Einstein—there is nothing about the following proposal that will help their child achieve greatness. Obama simply wants to clip their intellectual wings so that in the future—those children will be happy in the middle-class.
From: Barack Obama <democraticparty@democrats.org> Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 Subject: Stand with me on education, Rich
To: Rich Hoffman
Just last week, Rich, we found out that our high school students are currently graduating at an all-time high, and last
year, our younger students posted the highest scores ever recorded in both math and reading. That’s great news! But ensuring our children get the most from their education in today’s ever-evolving economy
remains one of our most important responsibilities. It’s also a major part of my vision for a stronger middle class,
which I laid out in the State of the Union last month. That’s why I’m making the replacement of No Child Left Behind a priority. We need a better education plan — one that
cuts standardized testing to a bare minimum, invests in our preschools, and gives every kid in every corner of our
country a fair shot. I’m calling on Congress to pass a law that makes this vision of a brighter tomorrow for our sons and daughters a reality, Rich.
If you agree with me, then go ahead and let them know right now by adding your name next to mine. This plan is just common sense, and it deserves a vote in the House and Senate. But Republicans on Capitol Hill have their own ideas, and without support from people like you, it will be pretty darn tough to have a meaningful debate about any of this. I’m confident that we can work together and get this done, but I could use your help today to show Republicans that
Democrats are committed to making this level of progress permanent. So sign your name today, and tell Congress to pass an education bill that works for middle-class families: http://my.democrats.org/Better-Education-Plan Thanks for standing with me today, Rich.
I’ll be in touch again soon.
Barack Obama
Now, here is a message from the Liberty Township Tea Party describing what is really going on with Obama’s new education plan. To those who think that the Tea Party is still a group of radicals, the evidence below should be obvious.
The White House and government position in general is to make more compliant “middle-class” people through federal education programs. As any intelligent reader will quickly notice by reading the following additional information deliberately removed from Obama’s letter on the same subject, the attempt is to erode more state sovereignty issues at the level of educationand to give even more central control over education matters to the federal government. Read it for yourself:
ACTION ALERT: STOP THE STUDENT “SUCCESS” ACT (HR 5)
Congressional Leadership Is Bull-Rushing Through HR5, the 600 Page Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (rebranded the “Student Success Act”)
The House votes on it this week. Call your Representative and call the Speaker of the House and tell them to vote “no” on HR 5!
202-224-3121. Below are just a few of the problems.
HR5 Denigrates Parental Rights and Seizes State Sovereignty
No program shall “operate within a State, unless the legislature of that State shall have . . . waived the State’s rights and authorities to act inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed by the Secretary as a condition of receiving that assistance.” (Sec. 6561) (emphasis added).
Federal requirements will trump the rights “reserved to the States and individual Americans by the United States Constitution” to lead in the education of their child. (Sec. 6564)
Requires states to change laws and regulations to “conform” to HR5. (Sec. 1403)
HR5 Does Nothing to Relieve Children From No Child Left Behind’s (NCLB’s) Oppressive Testing Requirements.
Feds Will Effectively Direct State Education Policy through Enhanced Continuation of Heavy-Handed NCLB Policies
Requires states to demonstrate to the federal government that their standards, assessments, and state accountability systems meet the goal of “prepar[ing] all students to graduate high school for postsecondary education or the workforce.” (Sec. 1001)
Requires states to submit comprehensive state plans, which the Secretary can disapprove. (Sec. 1111)
Increases Federal Data Collection To Control Curriculum
Empowers the Department of Education to request individual student and teacher data from State and Local Education Agencies.
Just like the situation with Net Neutrality, Obamacare, or any other scandal, the Obama White House cannot be trusted with even small truths—because they will lie and mislead about virtually anything, particularly in regard to education. Their end game is not the same as the rest of the world. It’s rather selfish and full of presumption—they want an expanded “middle-class” to protect the seeds of progressivism created by their radical left-leaning predecessors. They care about the end because it justifies the means—and in this case they want a dumb population full of average, middle-class slugs so they can easily dominate their thoughts and actions over the next century. That in essences is what Obama didn’t say in his email. But if he wanted to tell the truth—he would have. Instead, it took the Liberty Township Tea Party to say what the truth really was by a political class who considers itself well above the middle-class and is protecting itself from future insurrection through poor education and centralized federal control.
I once had the rare privilege of being called an “elitist” by Carlos Todd while speaking at a Liberty Township zoning hearing. So my comments about an event his grandson Todd Hall organized to rally Governor John Kasich at the Ronald Reagan building on Monday October 13th to a second term should be understood with clarity. I like Todd, he’s a nice fellow, but he’s running the Republican Party the way his grandfather did two decades ago, and it’s not working. The political tides are moving in a different direction and he doesn’t have the sail to those winds and this is a warning to him and those who are working with him so to save themselves before it’s too late. Todd and I have worked together before and when he listened, he had success. When he hasn’t, well things fell apart. So take this as a warning.
Early on Tuesday morning Hall sent out an email about the event citing that there was much excitement during the evening, that Cindy Carpenter, Sheriff Jones, and Bill Coley were speaking and that it was a packed house. Well, as the pictures here show, it was far from a crowded room that came out on a Monday evening to see the Governor of Ohio. I’ve seen more people show up in that building to rent boats for the lake on a Saturday afternoon. The amount of people who showed up to see the current governor was disgraceful. Just a few years ago—three to be exact—we packed the barn at Carriage Hill to welcome the Governor to Southern Ohio in support of the SB5 fight against public sector unions. But that night ended in a loss and the GOP reorganized to rally behind the moderates and push out the “right-wingers.” That was a stupid move.
So it should be no surprise that the only people at the rally, which should have filled the room with thousands—were political office holders and direct financial backers. It was an inbred event aimed at reconciliation of the party instead of addressing the differences. The first mistake was that it featured Sheriff Jones who spoke so poorly against John Kasich during the SB5 fight—but now was speaking at his rally. People see that kind of two faced opportunist as lecherous and very unattractive—and not worth the gas to put in their car to see, let alone donate money to the party. And Cindy Carpenter who is technically a liberal was there speaking as a representative of conservativism, that’s like inviting Bill Clinton to a morality conference. Most people who stand to make money off their political alliances—who were at that rally might have short memories because their livelihoods demand it. But for other people—the real conservatives who reside in Butler County, they have long memories—and they are looking for winners, not hand-shaking moderates.
For context there was much dispersion over the recent Cincinnati Bengal game which ended in a tie with the Carolina Panthers that took place just the day before the Kasich rally. Sure the Bengals didn’t lose the game, but they didn’t win it either. It is that kind of blasé political approach that guided the sparse few at the Kasich rally on Monday. People don’t get excited to see Kasich shake hands with his political Judas Sheriff Jones—they want to see Kasich body slam the union spokesman. If Kasich did that—more people would show up—not just the insiders who make money off the political process, as either office holders or business people seeking government contracts—but real people with real passions
When Carlos Todd called me an elitist it was in the context that I suggested that Liberty Township should strive to mold itself after Indian Hill—a successful and affluent community in the Cincinnati region—as opposed to a conglomeration of mixed development township with United Dairy Farmer stores every mile across the region. As much as I enjoy development and the creativity of capitalism, sometimes more is less. And when it comes to maintaining real estate values for the long haul, homes don’t need to be located near trendy endeavors. Today’s shiny new development is tomorrow’s slum—so I encouraged those leaders within the Republic Party over a decade ago to be mindful of the future and not the short-sighted development that puts money in their pockets tomorrow. Ethically, Todd’s interest in politics was not philosophically driven, but profit driven which makes him one of those crony capitalists unlike the laissez-faire capitalists that I advocate with much celebration. People are aware that there is a problem with such people and that their intentions are less than sincere. So their passions toward the cause of conservative philosophy is quelled and they are left without a spokesmen.
Political advocates and the money that comes from them want action, passion, and an adherence to a philosophy. The split in the Republican Party which took place in Butler County recently was reflected at this rally for Kasich and is the deliberate isolation that these moderate conservatives—bordering on out-right liberalism have created for themselves and the more traditional branches of the party. And unbeknownst to them they have played right into the strategy liberals have conducted against them allowing for this gradual erosion of value within the Republican Party. They listened to their critics and distanced themselves from the “radical right-wing” just as the liberal masses hoped they would. As a result, nobody of any passion showed up at the Kasich rally leaving Todd Hall to attempt to put a good spin on the event—which was embarrassing at best for a sitting governor who actually did straighten out some of the finances in Ohio
I’ll vote for Kasich but not with pleasure and pride. It will be a painful process not unlike scheduling surgery. Kasich is not what could be called a strong conservative—he is a moderate at best. For instance, he often states that he has a friendship with former Governor Strickland. I could not have such a friendship. To say such a thing indicates common values and beliefs that go beyond professional respect. Respect and friendship are not the same things. Kasich deep down inside believes some of the things that Strickland does leaving a small string of commonality that leads to friendship. In this way current Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon used to be a Democrat but converted because the politics of Butler County under Carlos Todd meant that Democrats would never get elected in such a conservative county. So he changed political parties to survive in that environment. Another Butler County Commissioner Cindy Carpenter if she lived in San Francisco or even New England would be a Democrat. Her behavior is undeniably liberal and she is Sheriff Jones’ right-hand woman in Butler County. There is nothing coming from Sheriff Jones and Cindy Carpenter that is going to excite the conservative base who lives in Butler County. They see through the haze at the reality that they have very weak representation in elected office as conservatives.
Kasich himself has spent the last couple of years seeking votes for Medicaid expansion essentially endorsing Obamacare. So there is nothing exciting there for real conservatives to invest their passions into—they will likely hold their noses and vote for Kasich, but they won’t waste their time on a Monday night to hang out with a sell-out and rally him to a victory. Sell-outs are easy to see, unique people with real passions are not—so this is why nobody showed up to the Kasich rally
It is easy to call people like me a radical elitist because the real concern is that moderate politicians like those at the Kasich rally can’t suddenly become ethical. It is easier to just isolate themselves from the competition of thought. It is more comforting for Todd Hall’s Republicans to compare themselves to their liberal rivals as opposed to their actual conservative base. Without that conservative base—and in Butler County it is the David Kern Republicans—there will continue to be eroding support for political events and the money that needs to be generated by them. The situation is quite serious as the evidence is in the event organized by Hall for the sitting Governor. In this part of the state he finds his strongest support. Just imagine the reaction in places like Toledo and Cleveland just days before the election. That is the cost of sitting in office and behaving like a liberal.
(Reuters) – So you say all you want to do is to take a few minutes to sit down and think without anyone or anything bugging you? Maybe that is true. But you might be in the minority.
A U.S. study published on Thursday showed that most volunteers who were asked to spend no more than 15 minutes alone in a room doing nothing but sitting and thinking found the task onerous.
“Many people find it difficult to use their own minds to entertain themselves, at least when asked to do it on the spot,” said University of Virginia psychology professor Timothy Wilson, who led the study appearing in the journal Science. “In this modern age, with all the gadgets we have, people seem to fill up every moment with some external activity.”
In some experiments, college volunteers were asked to sit alone in a bare laboratory room and spend six to 15 minutes doing nothing but thinking or daydreaming. They were not allowed to have a cellphone, music player, reading material or writing implements and were asked to remain in their seats and stay awake. Most reported they did not enjoy the task and found it hard to concentrate.
That information may seem extraordinary, but it’s really not—rather it is consistent with general human behavior and is caused by two basic roles that individuals evolve into as they mature into adulthood. People will become either a producer type personality—who makes things from self-initiative and are quite rare in the world or they will become a second-hander, a person who essentially lives through others. An example of second-hander behavior would be the type of person who dates a beautiful woman because of the prestige of being seen with her might provide. An example of a producer would be a person who dates a beautiful woman because they personally enjoy her. The same could of course be applied from women to men, cars, clothing, homes, food—just about every category of human endeavor. The typical “gold digger” personality from women who marry for money would fall into this category versus the woman who marries for “love.”
These behavioral conditions can actually be seen on any playground in the world where children play. Future producers are the kids who are the first to climb to the top of the monkey bars, or help a kid stuck on the slide whose nerve has left them as they descend. Most of the kids will reside in the safety of numerical superiority watching the producers be the first to climb to the top of a slide, or crawl under a strange obstacle, or swing across a crevice. Once they see the safety of the task, they will then follow—gaining assurance from the leader—the producer.
The differences in creating these personalities come directly from the parents. If a parent lets children gain self-sufficiency by doing things on their own at the earliest possible moment—then there are favorable odds that a child will develop into a producer. But most parents coddle children and enjoy caring for them as dependents—as the behavior provides meaning to lives of parents who are otherwise insecure about their roles in existence. So too long parents carry children on their hips, feed them too long, and help them up when a child should learn to climb on their own stunting the growth of the young minds into the role of a second-hander. They learn as children to live through their parents. As older children they live through their peers. As adults they live through the rest of society.
This is why as adults they don’t know what to do with their own thoughts and would rather be electrically shocked than to think on their own for 15 minutes—a second-hander must get their next thinking actions from a producer otherwise they can’t function. It would be the producers who would happily sit for 15 minutes or more thinking quietly. The second-hander needs music made by someone else, television made by someone else, reading material made by someone else, video games made by someone else, etc—in order to have thoughts put into their head. With those things removed—they are terrified at the lack of thought in their minds and would gladly endure great amounts of abuse to have that sense of terror removed from them.
As has been declared on many occasions at this site—except without the direct correlation—public education systems are in the business of making second-hander children who will grow up to become second-hander adults. The entire ordeal of public education is primarily focused on building these types of minds which works well for consumerism—but not so great for capitalism as industry and invention are created by producer type personalities. Producer type children tend to not do so well in public school as the system is not geared to develop their skill sets—so they become frustrated. This is also why homeschooled children do better generally than publicly taught children, because homeschooled children are taught to be producers as opposed to second-handers.
As a test dear reader if you consider how something might make you look, or how others might think before you do something—you are functioning as a second-hander. If you do a task because of the curiosity of doing it when no eyes are upon you and enjoy thinking alone with no input from the outside world—then you are thinking as a producer. But it is very clear on the playground of children who will be who. The future lives of all those young people can be predicted just watching children play. You can see who will have marriage difficulties, who will have nervous breakdowns when their cars won’t start, who will bounce aimlessly from job to job—just by watching children play. You can also see who will be the future inventors, leaders, and wealthy elite—not because they are greedy, or vicious—but because they are often the first to climb to the top of the monkey bars, and will not hesitate to push bigger kids out-of-the-way to be the first to go down a slide.
What the test reported by Reuters above says—which is supposed to be shocking—is that public education systems and parents in general have successfully built a human race of second-handers who are all waiting for someone to tell them what to do next. It therefore should not be a surprise when there is so much apathy in the world. It’s not because people are bad—or stupid—it’s because they have been taught to be second-handers who cannot act until told what to do. It is for society to determine if this is acceptable.
Speaking personally, it isn’t for me. But then I’m the kind of person who could spend weeks alone in a room with everything turned off alone with my thoughts—and be perfectly happy.
That is the kind of nonsense that is being taught in public schools and has been adopted into general business practices. It is essentially behind the new Common Core methods of teaching which Glenn Beck so elaborately dismantled in his new book Conform. That book shows why well-meaning politicians and philanthropists are backing Common Core—which is a complete destruction of the American education system—specifically destroying the individuality inherit in American children—and integrating them into a more global view which embodies that basic quote of Miyamoto Musashi shown above. As traditionalists cling to the notion that Common Core must be eradicated from public education systems so to preserve the uniqueness that is desired in American children a far more sinister threat can be found behind the politics of the movement.
Most large companies in The United States cling blindly to the management teachings of William Deming—which has proven itself to be a tragedy. Deming is the man responsible for all the ridiculous attempts at Total Quality Management which has tied the hands of American business by putting engineers essentially in charge of the management of company resources so to hamper proper productivity. This trend exploded in America through the largest manufacturers in a time when it appeared that the Japanese were dominating all fields of productive endeavor threatening to overtake American methods in the 1980s. The Japanese in a desperate need to get back on their feet after World War II had embraced Deming, an engineer from America to beat their former rivals at their own game. Deming found among the Japanese people a collective based society that quickly unified behind his management methods which were essentially old Samurai strategy concepts dressed up behind mathematical formulas to justify himself being a paid consultant. Deming was perpetrating a scam to justify his celebrity status as he propped up the Japanese.
Deming was a ruse because he essentially disliked management and sought later in his classes to ridicule American executives free of their ego and to force them into collaboration with employees and co-workers through his collective based management methods. American businessmen listened to Deming as it was believed that the Japanese were dominating manufacturing because of him—which wasn’t true. The Japanese were dominating because of their sense of selfless dedication to collective causes. They thought differently than Americans and the result of their labor could be seen in their products.
It must be remembered that American businesses and the Japanese were both struggling with the spread of communism in post World War II global economic concerns, so Deming was delivering a way that management could restrict the impact of labor union quota refusals by offering managers up to laborers as sacrificial victims. This worked well in Japan who had managed to contain the spread of communism in their society through their selfless dedication to Miyamoto Musashi’s strategy guide The Book of Five Rings. As they were already functioning as a collective society, labor unions had little to offer them, so they were able to resist the push toward communism. Labor unions in Japan maintained an unusually close relationship to their companies as their identities were less focused on individual achievement and more concerned over the general health of their company. This gave Deming fertile ground to develop his management methods.
William Edwards Deming (October 14, 1900 – December 20, 1993) was an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant. Trained initially as an electrical engineer and later specializing in mathematical physics, he helped develop the sampling techniques still used by the Department of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, championed the work of Dr. Walter Shewhart, including Statistical Process Control, Operational Definitions, and what he called The Shewhart Cycle[1] which evolved into “PDSA” (Plan-Do-Study-Act) in his book The New Economics for Industry, Government, and Education,[2] as a response to the growing popularity of PDSA, which he viewed as tampering with the meaning of Dr. Shewhart’s original work. [3] He is best known for his work in Japan after WWII, particularly his work with the leaders of Japanese industry which began in August 1950 at the Hakone Convention Center in Tokyo with a now seminal speech on what he called Statistical Product Quality Administration, which many in Japan credit with being the inspiration for what has become known as the Japanese post-war economic miracle of 1950 to 1960, rising from the ashes of war to become the second most powerful economy in the world in less than a decade, founded on the ideas first taught to them by Dr Deming:
That the problems facing manufacturers can be solved through cooperation, despite differences.
Marketing is not “sales,” but the science of knowing what people who buy your product repeatedly think of that product and whether they will buy it again, and why.
That In the initial stages of design, you must conduct market research, applying statistical techniques for experimental and planning and inspection of samples.
And you must perfect the manufacturing process.[4]
He is best known in the United States for his 14 Points (Out of the Crisis, by Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Preface) and his system of thought he called the System of Profound Knowledge, consisting of four components, or “lenses” through which to view the world simultaneously:
Deming made a significant contribution to Japan’s later reputation for innovative, high-quality products, and for its economic power. He is regarded as having had more impact upon Japanese manufacturing and business than any other individual not of Japanese heritage. Despite being honored in Japan in 1951 with the establishment of the Deming Prize he was only just beginning to win widespread recognition in the U.S. at the time of his death in 1993.[6]President Reagan awarded him the National Medal of Technology in 1987. The following year, Deming also received the Distinguished Career in Science award from the National Academy of Sciences.
The philosophy of W. Edwards Deming has been summarized as follows:
Dr. W. Edwards Deming taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations can increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs (by reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation while increasing customer loyalty). The key is to practice continual improvement and think of manufacturing as a system, not as bits and pieces.”[26]
In the 1970s, Deming’s philosophy was summarized by some of his Japanese proponents with the following ‘a’-versus-‘b’ comparison:
(a) When people and organizations focus primarily on quality, defined by the following ratio,
quality tends to increase and costs fall over time.
(b) However, when people and organizations focus primarily on costs, costs tend to rise and quality declines over time.
“The prevailing style of management must undergo transformation. A system cannot understand itself. The transformation requires a view from outside. The aim of this chapter is to provide an outside view—a lens—that I call a system of profound knowledge. It provides a map of theory by which to understand the organizations that we work in.
“The first step is transformation of the individual. This transformation is discontinuous. It comes from understanding of the system of profound knowledge. The individual, transformed, will perceive new meaning to his life, to events, to numbers, to interactions between people.
“Once the individual understands the system of profound knowledge, he will apply its principles in every kind of relationship with other people. He will have a basis for judgment of his own decisions and for transformation of the organizations that he belongs to. “
Deming advocated that all managers need to have what he called a System of Profound Knowledge, consisting of four parts:
Appreciation of a system: understanding the overall processes involving suppliers, producers, and customers (or recipients) of goods and services (explained below);
Knowledge of variation: the range and causes of variation in quality, and use of statistical sampling in measurements;
Theory of knowledge: the concepts explaining knowledge and the limits of what can be known.
Knowledge of psychology: concepts of human nature.
He explained, “One need not be eminent in any part nor in all four parts in order to understand it and to apply it. The 14 points for management in industry, education, and government follow naturally as application of this outside knowledge, for transformation from the present style of Western management to one of optimization.”
Key principles
Deming offered fourteen key principles to managers for transforming business effectiveness. The points were first presented in his book Out of the Crisis. (p. 23–24)[28] Although Deming does not use the term in his book, it is credited with launching the Total Quality Management movement.[29]
Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive, to stay in business and to provide jobs.
Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.
Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for massive inspection by building quality into the product in the first place.
End the practice of awarding business on the basis of a price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.
Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.
Institute training on the job.
Institute leadership (see Point 12 and Ch. 8 of “Out of the Crisis”). The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.
Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company. (See Ch. 3 of “Out of the Crisis”)
Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, in order to foresee problems of production and usage that may be encountered with the product or service.
Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.
Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute with leadership.
Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers and numerical goals. Instead substitute with leadership.
Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to pride of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.
Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride of workmanship. This means, inter alia, abolishment of the annual or merit rating and of management by objectives (See Ch. 3 of “Out of the Crisis”).
Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.
Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody’s job.
“Massive training is required to instill the courage to break with tradition. Every activity and every job is a part of the process.”[30]
Of course there is one essential ingredient that Deming avoided and if his work, lectures and methods are studied properly it will be discovered that Deming was attempting to use mathematic equations to get his mind around leadership—and he never succeeded. The Japanese succeeded because as a society they are happy to yield their individualities toward collective goals, but in The United States—which is an individually based society—workers are not. Goals for American workers have to be made to align with the company’s goals—they cannot be bent to subjugate themselves to a system devised by Eastern manufacturing methods. Deming’s methods worked in Japan, but they never have, and never will work in America. There were initial increases in profit for companies who applied Deming techniques—simply because they began with so much waste to begin with—but most large companies today have simply outsourced their manufacturing to evade the impact of Deming—because once an American worker is broken down from their individuality they become automatons and resist the impulse to innovate. Their negativity often turns into a corrosive relationship with their company as they psychologically see their employer as the source of crushing their individual will.
All through the 80s and 90s in America there was grave concern that America was somehow inferior to Japan and everyone else in the world who seemed to find success with Deming’s methods. Yet what those same critics ignored was that America produced Deming, and the machinery that won World War II, and had never had any manufacturing issues prior to Deming—so why did they need him? American executives had lost their incentive to be innovative, and to push themselves as they had been pushed into a collective goo following Deming methods of Total Quality Management that really sought to alleviate their personal input. Modern managers were discouraged in using their individual gifts to improve productivity, quality, and work environment because Deming had already provided a system that their companies were forcing them to adhere to—leaving them generally uninterested in the manufacturing process.
What Deming never put his finger on and seemed to struggle with all his life was the source of his “concept of human nature.” Within that was the realization that some people were born leaders and some people were just born followers and this equation did not fit well into the mathematical formulas of an electrical engineer. The ability to create a leader is what everyone wanted, but they lacked the ability to detect them—so companies used Deming as a second hander to give them a process that would hide their inability—and deficiency in recruiting, staffing, and mid-level leadership.
Yet, America has produced without any help from any college, or management consultant many leaders who have created companies that amassed huge amounts of wealth—Microsoft comes to mind. Yet Bill Gates who founded Microsoft as a college dropout is the premier instigator of Common Core leaving him to be thought of as the modern Deming. Politicians and other business leaders think that because Gates created a company that generated so much wealth that he is somehow qualified to provide an education method that would create a generation of children that can compete with the world. However, Americans are not like other people—there is a reason that American Excepetionalism exists and it isn’t because they can integrate themselves into a Deming process. Bill Gates with all his genius has been unable to put into any kind of mathematical formula the reason for his success—so has been unable to create an education system that can make more of him—which American companies and state governors are hoping Common Core will do for the youth.
Common Core like Deming’s Total Quality Management ignores human initiative and thus fails to find the best among human populations to instigate innovation and productive enterprise—and to capitalize off of American Excepetionalism. Instead they are seeking kill it which is why most people are ready to hang themselves in The United States after they take one of Deming’s four-day seminars. It’s not the extreme boredom of the classes, or the lack of real relevance to manufacturing—it is the destruction of individual initiative yielding toward collective causes that creates the anxiety.
The failure of Deming, and thus of every company that follows his methods is the destruction of internal leadership that was foolishly studied from the East as if such things could have been born there. Deming was an American creation and had he never went to Japan, he would have remained an obscure engineer that nobody would have listened to if he had not struck it rich bringing together a battered people in the Japanese to resurrect themselves. For Japan, Deming was like the feather Dumbo carried around making the elephant believe it could fly—Deming was a crutch to rely upon in a time of need. He didn’t give the Japanese anything they couldn’t have given themselves—because their culture would have achieved those same heights completely on their own. Deming in the United States appealed to the second-handers who live through others and looked at Japan and wanted to copy what they were doing—ignoring their own propensity toward leadership, because they failed to see who among them had the capacity to rise. When second handers are in charge and fear being replaced by those who are truly oozing with leadership and human initiative, Deming systems are adopted to protect their social status—which is why Total Quality Management ultimately fails in America.
Those same second handers are behind Common Core and for the same reasons. Bill Gates became wealthy building operating systems that could interact with machines to usher in the personal computer revolution. He doesn’t know why he was so different from everyone else—but he was. Now he hopes to do the same for education through Common Core. However, like Deming his problem is a complex one because what his methods are achieving is not self initiated leadership among work forces—but rather destroying individuals into simple machines who can function within a system. Gates is building a machine with Common Core and like Deming before him—the world is eating out of his hand hoping that Gates knows something about human nature that they don’t.
Deming his whole life struggled with the notion he obviously learned from the Japanese of profound knowledge. As he said, “once the individual understands the system of profound knowledge, he will apply its principles in every kind of relationship with other people. He will have a basis for judgment of his own decisions and for transformation of the organizations that he belongs to. ” But he never figured it out. He was seeking the basis of leadership which is not produced by any system put in place—it comes from human initiative and creativity and is a by-product of American Excepetionalism—the same Excepetionalism that invented the airplane, the light builb, and built an economy based on capitalism where the exceptional rise to the top and are easy to spot instead of being hidden behind a TQM system obscured from the eyes of the people who could most directly benefit. Common Core is essentially the same failure applied to American business from Deming—which has all but destroyed manufacturing in the United States, and passed it on to education. The crime is not that Common Core will destroy the millions of minds who are destined to be simple cogs in a grand machine that will dance willingly to Deming’s processes. The crime is that Common Core will destroy the few exceptions that will have a vast impact on the development of the human race led by America. It is for that reason that Common Core must be vanquished. Deming did enough damage for one lifetime. The world certainly doesn’t need more of him.
The cries of anger from the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby by feminist groups is so reminiscent of my complaints of school levy supporters who are typically feminists looking to cover their parenting deficiencies with tax payer funded baby sitting services, that I had to go back to an article that caused a lot of controversy toward me as a kind of time capsule confirmation of my thoughts—to validate its merit. An article I wrote after a very contentious first quarter—politically in 2012 became cherry picked for negative comments to use against me, so I put it on password protection to stop the bleeding. Of course it was the Cincinnati Enquirer who was doing the cherry picking on behalf of the type of feminists who are now howling in rage against the recent high court decision. In the wake of that political turbulence I had not revisited that article to take the password off—which I should have done earlier—because if people could have seen the context of the article—they would have seen what the Enquirer had done. But I never got around to it until I wanted to see how true many of my statements were in the winter of 2012 compared to the radical position of the feminists against Hobby Lobby. At the link below, my comments from that time can be revisited.
The trouble with these feminists—the ones against Hobby Lobby and the typical school levy supporters which I described with my open opinion is that they cross the line in expecting other people to fund their beliefs. People are free to believe what they want to—those feminists are free to conduct their lives in their families and be man hating despots all they want—until they ask me for something. In the case of the school levy supporters they demanded that I support their politics with my tax money. Their reasons for a school levy and their demands of the public education system put the burden on me as a tax payer to support. When they did not respect the vote from Lakota residents in the fall of 2011, I saw that they were just going to keep coming until they got what they wanted, and I let my thoughts about their actions be known. What is the point of playing the same stupid game with them when they have only one objective in mind—higher taxes to support their progressive world outlook—which I do not support? The essence of their argument was take something from me that I didn’t want to give—and to get it they were more than willing to assassinate my character and anyone attached to me through brute force.
The same is going on over the Hobby Lobby case, the feminists are very concerned that the progressive gains they have made against American tradition—which I support—are slipping away so they feel they must become aggressive to defend their position. But their position is essentially the expectation that a corporation fund the sexual exploits of women without those women taking responsibility for their actions. In a lot of ways, this is far worse than the school levy supporters who really just want free babysitting and the guilt of their career building removed from them as the government takes responsibility for their children’s educations. In this case the feminists are demanding that Hobby Lobby fund sexual activity—which is the decision of women whether or not they wish to participate in such an activity or not. Sex doesn’t just happen—it is a decision and Hobby Lobby has no obligation as a corporation or a family business to contribute to those kinds of personal activities. If women want to work for a company that does endorse that kind of activity—then they can apply for a job at such a place, or start their own company where they can provide those benefits to employees–that way feminists could work together and not muddy the water of women who actually enjoy working for a company that respects religious beliefs and traditional value.
Yet the feminists expect “others” to fund their recklessness—and their personal philosophy of complete independence of males in their life. At the foundation of their proposal is to actually enslave everyone—whether they believe in the same things as the feminists or not—into contributing to their lifestyles. So the feminists are far from independent—but rather they are more dependent than ever. The only difference is that the feminist demands that society care for her instead of a single husband which might expect something in return—such as traditional housewife roles within a home, caring for children, preparing a majority of the meals, taking care of most domestic obligations—etc. The feminists want to be free of all those obligations, yet they still want the support of big government to care for them the way a typical “man-of-the-house” traditionally did, bringing home the money, taking care of fixing things and providing non emotional advice regarding priorities for the family’s direction—the “father knows best role.” In that role a housewife might have told children—“don’t do this or that or I’ll tell your father.” The children fearing such an overpowering figure might then correct their behavior. The modern feminist instead tells her children—“do what the government tells you, do what your teachers tell you, and mind the police.” The feminist has simply replaced the traditional head of household man with government. The trade-off was that government doesn’t expect anything from the feminists in return leaving them free to do anything they want, believe anything they want, and to espouse values regardless of their destructive tendencies without feeling the impact of direct consequence. Instead—those consequences are distributed to many people—people like me who do not support the feminist cause.
It’s not that women should be pushed down into a passive role in society. The only real difference between men and women are purely physical. The mind of people is where value really is—so in that context men and women are equal—if the mind is the root of judgment. But the feminists do not have the right personal philosophy—they are wrong about most of their assertions—at least compared to my traditional American values. They are free to believe or be as wrong as they wish—but they are not free to impose those values on other people who disagree with them. In essence, that is what the feminists against Hobby Lobby are attempting to do. It is that same attack gay rights advocates have against Chick-fil-A, or that race baiters have across the entire economy—the goal of all these parasitic groups is to gain something from other people who do not necessarily support those viewpoints—making those parties contribute in the acts by default.
This strategy puts the blame of bad, reckless behavior on the entire society as a result making correction of such behavior irredeemably impossible. For instance, a cost of feminism is the destruction of parenting ability provided to children. The divorce rate has increased, men have become feminized, and role models have been removed from the home as the state through teachers, and through court appointed liaisons became the central figures in a child’s life. Judges decide where a child sleeps in divorce hearings as opposed to the parents. The parents lose their rights to instruct their children once lawyers and government in general becomes part of the process. The adverse effect is that a whole generation of children are coming to age who look to government for decisions—which government is incapable of making—causing major problems currently. Feminism can be traced as the cause. It is of course more complicated than that—not all men are capable of being a good head-of-house; women not so attractive then don’t have access to the same type of good men as attractive women do—most feminists are not very attractive—which is the deep insecurity that they have and foundation for their commitment to feminism. Yet their commitment to that particular cause then has a chain reaction effect that could be blamed on destroying society—the effects are just now being recorded—socially. But all that is hidden because feminists through legal victories in the past have pulled everyone into contributing to their faults.
Feminist are fearful of the Hobby Lobby case because they see the trend turning against them and it is scary. If they cannot hide their stupidity behind all of society—behind large corporations like Hobby Lobby and others—they will be left vulnerable to take responsibility for the cost of their beliefs against society. For them, that is a terrifying prospect. Just as my comments from over two years ago have proven, the feminists are extreme radicals and when I made sure that I wasn’t going to go along with their plan—they did everything they could to come after me publicly which still angers me. They had no right, which led to my comments in the article linked above. And when I called them on things, they cherry picked my words and attempted to manipulate the situation into their favor just as they are doing now against Hobby Lobby and the Supreme Court. But history will prove what I’m saying correct. Just as I was able to resurrect the article above from two years ago, ten years from now this article will be reviewed similarly. And the facts will be known, the cost of feminism will be well documented, and the truth will be obvious. It is that truth which the feminists are terrified of in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby. The tide is finally turning against them—and there isn’t anywhere or anybody to hide behind. Hobby Lobby is one less place in a field of vanishing confinements that a decade from now will be an empty plain leaving the feminists and other such progressive groups bare and completely exposed for what they have always been.
Wonderful American women are people like Dana Loesch, Ayn Rand, and Annie Oakley. There are many others, those are just a few examples. So it isn’t women hating to declare that feminists are destructive, and on the wrong path. Just factual. And thank God for women like the Tampa Bay Buccaneer cheerleaders–symbols of American exceptionalism.
It was bitter-sweet news for me to learn that the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show at Hollywood Studios, Florida is closing at the end of fiscal year 2014 to make way for a new Star Wars land in the popular park. While I can’t wait to take my grandkids, and children to the new Star Wars land, since in our family, those films have so much reverence—I have a long history with the Indiana Jones show that I will always cherish. I wrote about my latest visit to the park in an article complete with footage from the show. Years ago, I nearly moved my family to Florida to be a stuntman in the show which was only supposed to run for 3 – 5 years according to casting agents 20 years ago. But, the show has been so popular that it has endured all this time. On the same day as I received this news, my friends at U.S. Wings let me know that they had a new Indy jacket limited edition that they were releasing based on the original measurements from Raiders of the Lost Ark made of kangaroo hide. Kangaroo hide is a favorite of mine as many of my whips are made from the common Australian hide and is very tough stuff. The jacket will cost $849 which is well worth the price giving more meaning to fans of the popular show in Florida. Once the show closes, it will mark the end of an era with Indiana Jones that the world will never see again. If fans of the films wanted to buy a special jacket to remember this time—now would be the time to do it.
Closing the Indiana Jones show along with the American Idol exhibit will free up a lot of space in the already packed park. Star Wars is the future of Disney—so it is only fitting that they make good use of the area. As much as I love the Indiana Jones show, it is dated and can only really be enjoyed in a nostalgic way. Star Wars will fill that space far better than the same space is used now—so it’s a great decision. But for me, Indiana Jones will always have a special place that can’t be matched any other way. I am happy I was able to take my first grandson to the show at least once. Crowds for the show from now until the end of 2014 will be intense and in high demand as fans from all over the country will flock to see it one more time. For those people I suggest remembering this year with an official jacket from U.S. Wings which is the closest thing to the jacket shown in the show that anyone will ever get anywhere. Here is the press release from U.S. Wings:
Limited Edition – Back By Popular Demand! We last manufactured a kangaroo Indy-style jacket more than 10 years ago, but we’re once again offering one in this outstanding leather! We’ve chosen to offer our authentic Indy-style “Legend” Jacket (which is based on the specs of one of the original movie jackets from three decades ago) in this ultra-durable material. Besides being a rather rare and unique jacket material, Kangaroo-hide is outstanding for its practicality: it’s perhaps the most rugged leather available while still being light in weight.
Features include two front cargo pockets with original-style pocket flaps, side-entry handwarmer pockets, pleated action back for freedom of movement (with correctly-sized small side gaps), small yoke on back panel, original-length side adjustment straps with rectangular sliders, an interior pocket, satin nylon lining, brass zipper, and plain cuffs & bottom. Also features a shorter overall length and a trimmer, more tailored fit in the body & sleeves. Our Kangaroo jackets have that desirable “rugged look” right from the start, because the hides come from wild Kangaroos, not farm-raised. The hides will display naturally occurring scratches, scuffs, and other range marks which adds character to the jacket. This will be a limited production run, so get this unique jacket while you can. A U.S. Wings exclusive. Made from hides imported from Australia.
Limited production run: once these jackets are gone, they will no longer be available.
Availability: These jackets will be available late Summer 2014.
As I’ve said in previous articles I have a U.S. Wings leather jacket of a similar style and I wear it every day. They don’t just look good, but are actually functional—which is basically why Indiana Jones wears that type of clothing no matter if the time period is the 1930s, the late 1950s—or the current time. There isn’t a better style jacket for a person who conducts their life with actual adventure. I have an A-2 variation of the same jacket that U.S. Wings is offering made of Kangaroo hide and let me declare how tough and stylish it is.
Just the other day I had people from outside the country visiting and we were meeting in downtown Cincinnati for dinner. It was a hot day and I had to high tail it to the city from about 30 miles out in 20 minutes, so I was speeding down I-75 during rush hour in heavy traffic with bugs and grit from cement trucks bouncing off my U.S. Wings leather jacket. Without the jacket, the ride down a busy highway at those speeds would be nearly impossible. At times I had to use the emergency lane which was filled with gravel to avoid crashing into cars coming to sudden stops in the wall to wall procession of cars heading south. I was late to dinner and parking downtown anymore on a motorcycle is a nightmare as the parking garages no longer allow them, so I was pressed. After a series of adventures parking in a safe lot about eight blocks from Fountain Square, I climbed over walls, up ladders, across rooftops and then back through heavy traffic in a full sprint dripping with sweat dressed in a suit. Protecting the suit was my U.S. Wings jacket which was covered with bugs that I was brushing off as I approached the restaurant and directed the hostess to take me to my table where the guests were already waiting with expensive wine and appetizers. I was stylishly late, but better yet, the jacket was dressy enough to match the surroundings, but tough enough to get me there without screwing up everything that was underneath. That is the gift of a U.S. Wings jacket.
This is why the actors of the Indiana Jones show in Florida have used jackets like these A-2 types for years. Indiana Jones wore them to allow the stunt men to do all the dangerous stunts with an added layer of protection that still looks good on film. In the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, the actors use those jackets show after show, after show giving that added protection in the hot Florida sun as the stuntmen fall from the ceiling and rappel into the stage area five times a day for twenty years. The leather jacket doesn’t just to look good; they protect the people who wear them.
So in the year that the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is closing for those who are willing to drop a couple thousand dollars to watch the show one last time before it closes, do yourself a favor—buy the new Indy-style “Legend” Jacket from U.S. Wings at the link provided. Don’t even waste your time thinking about it—because it is a real treasure that you can give yourself. I like the jacket so much I may even buy another one. The jacket U.S. Wings is offering is thinner than the one I use everyday, and would have its uses on hot summer nights in remote locations far from home—which is of interest to me.
I’m sure Disney will do something with Indiana Jones that will appease fans—but it won’t be the same as the era that we have all just moved through. That era of live shows at Disney World and Harrison Ford films will end in 2014 and for that a treasure is deserved—and I can think of nothing better than a new U.S. Wings jacket from their “Legends” collection to hang in a closet and remind the owner of a period in their life where Indiana Jones was new, fresh—and original.
Someone I know was showing a new addition to their house that he was proud of, and there were a couple of tag-alongs hanging out to enjoy the benefits of his luxury. This didn’t seem remarkable by itself, however they were watching a movie and in it there were images that were alien in design when one of the guys pointed at and declared with a laugh—“those look like penises.” I had to wonder if I had heard what I did, this was a guy in his early 40s—clearly above the age of such sophomoric humor. But I did, and he thought it was funny—that the images on the movie screen were so similar to phallic representation. I don’t normally associate with those types of people, so it is often shocking to me how stupid people are happy to be—but this guy was proud of his lack of sophistication leaving me no wonder as to why the nation of America is in such bad shape. There are hoards of these types of people voting, working, and living in the world around us—and they are really—truly unambitious in the ways of learning.
This guy was a reminder that any nation where such stupid people are in a majority is a guarantee that democracy will fail. If people are so stupid and easily distracted and see penises in every object that could be construed inadvertently as phallic—there is just no hope that anybody of such a caliber can be expected to vote for a proper elected official, decipher the contents of the nightly news, or even read a newspaper with the eye of a critical thinker. For such people, their minds are turned off—their primary desires are food and reproductive concerns. They are the bricks of a crumbling civilization cracking at the foundations that will soon be a mere pile of rubble. They are unequipped for the task of a democracy—and are the exclusive reasons that they all fail.
A successful nation cannot be maintained by such people. It is impossible to consider that life can go on for any country that is run by minds addicted to low quality attributes. And America finds itself in this condition currently. It is a far cry from the vision of the Founding Fathers and their philosophic approach to the beginning of America. Those were wise men, deeply committed to thought. They worked hard all their lives to be men of knowledge and still felt they hadn’t done enough. This was obvious to me when I took my family to visit Monticello in Virginia which is the home of Thomas Jefferson. I had always respected Jefferson as my favorite president, but after actually visiting his home, I had even more respect for him. Fairly or unfairly, I have judged most of the people I met against Thomas Jefferson. For instance, the guy watching the movie doesn’t even live in the same universe as Jefferson’s America. On the other hand, my father-in-law is very close. He and Jefferson would be right at home with one another. My father-in-law knows something about just about everything and you could speak to him all day and only tap the surface of his knowledge. You won’t hear fart jokes around his dinner table—or references to penises without a deep scowl. He puts up with the rest of the world with a kind of quiet impatience where he overlooks a crowd and places his consciousness behind layers of protective friendliness; much the way an adult speaks to a kindergarten class knowing they have extremely low vocabulary skills and worldly knowledge—slow and purposeful. He doesn’t even try to speak to them because it takes too much work to dumb himself down enough to have a conversation that they can understand.
Jefferson seems remarkable today, but in his day, he was not alone in his ambitions. When the Constitution of America was written, there were many like Jefferson who woke up each morning trying to prepare their minds for virtually anything. It was a hobby for them to be smart—and Jefferson made good use of his time in this regard.
Thomas Jefferson started learning very early in life and never stopped. The following is based on a popular email distribution listing that has been going around which makes some excellent points about one of the most prominent, and finest examples of what Americans should strive to be.
At 5, Thomas Jefferson began studying under his cousin’s tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek, and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. Also could write in Greek with one hand while writing the same in Latin with the other.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the widely circulated “Summary View of the Rights of British America?” And retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia’s legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States.
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation’s size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello.
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams.
Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws, and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the past to lead us in the future:
John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes, a principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
— Thomas Jefferson
It would be impossible for many contemporary voters to even comprehend many of these statements by Thomas Jefferson because they have devolved as human beings into a kind of slime permeating society as a parasitic organism. The world makes so much sense when I read, write, and contemplate things alone with my thoughts. But things rapidly fall apart when such ideas are bounced off the minds of people like that penis guy. There is no way to speak to someone like that, let alone expecting them to vote correctly or even raise children properly. When I hear from those people, the real hopelessness of our present condition is grossly knowable. Most people are just too stupid to be Americans. They are not smart enough to understand its freedoms, its Constitution, its global necessity. They are not capable of voting and living good productive lives—because it’s just not in their minds.
I used my father-in-law as an example of some modern embodiment of Thomas Jefferson. I actually know quite a few people like this—but in the context of society at large; they are like drops of water in the ocean. They are few and far between and what fills those gaps are people who think fart jokes are funny, a woman’s breasts are something to crash a car to see, and everything that is elongated in a cylindrical shape has a reference to phallic pursuits. There is simply no hope for a society made of such minds, and it is from such people who Obama was elected president and continues to rule like a European prince placed in power not by intellect, but by the heritage of his past. It was the very dumb, and literally stupid that elected him—and will continue through the rule of the masses to keep idiots constantly flowing into the White House leading to the end of American civilization as Jefferson conceived it yielding to the buttheads who would rather listen to a fart joke than read Ulysses.
It took me a few weeks to get around to it, but I finally had the opportunity to watch the new documentary by my old friend Doc Thompson featuring the origins and validation of the TEA Party movement which began during the Bush administration and exploded under President Obama. Now 14 years of deficit spending that is a train wreck in American history the TEA Party has risen as a direct response to the irresponsible nature of government. The documentary is very good and even better, it is free. Doc and his producer Skip LeCombe put a lot of effort into the enterprise and are offering it for mass viewing. They are asking for donations, but the heartfelt documentary can be seen in its entirety at the following link:
Written and produced by Matt Roman, along with Doc Thompson and Skip LaCombe, Intolerable was released on Tuesday May 6th featuring original music and material marking the inaugural project of File 55 Productions. It was an ambitious effort that certainly caught the eye of Glenn Beck and was featured on his radio show.
Glenn had been encouraging his audience to stop thinking and start acting when it comes to following through on various passions and projects. The Blaze Radio Network’s Doc Thompson and Skip LaCombe personified that advice.
Glenn asked Doc and Skip to talk a little bit about the purpose of the documentary.
“You know the misconceptions about the TEA Party that’s been pushed out there. I got really frustrated after our tour, and I said, ‘Let’s tell the truth about the TEA Party, so people can share it and save their friends and neighbors,’” Doc explained. “[That] is what it really is: It’s good, hard-working Americans that share your same values… You’re going to watch this. You’re going to get good information. And you’re going leave feeling good. You’ve going to have some direction for the future.”
“We offered it for free because we want as many people to see it as possible, but we’re also capitalists,” Doc said. “And then from here, some of the donations we get, we’re going to put the money toward a whole lot of other projects that we have rolling out. We have about 15 things we’re going to do in the next couple of years… We’ve got a bunch of good stories.”
As I watched the film I thought back in time a bit and remembered how the Republican Party tried to cozy up to me during this TEA Party rise. Actual candidates and the people who finance them expected me to be pulled into their web. The Republicans rode the wave of the TEA Party making it their own, and around 2012 turned on it all together. The establishment began taking drastic steps into the other direction, back toward the progressive middle. I remember well the difficult conversations I personally had with high level local Republicans in my town who hoped and prayed that I would play along nicely—which of course I didn’t.
Of course this is how they play the game in Washington and why people like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are such bad people—at least as politicians. They talk tough on the stump speeches, but behind the scenes, where the money gets raised—it’s a different story and they expect that the friendships established will make good people overlook bad things for the good of the Party. TEA Party supporters of course didn’t go for this and stood against the establishment which is the cause of a kind of civil war in modern America. The result is that only the strongest people of the TEA Party movement are still actively involved. Gone are the crowds shown in Doc’s documentary, but we all knew even back then that the momentum would not last.
My personal crises came as Judge Napolitano was pulled off the Fox Business Channel, and my friend Doc Thompson was fired from 700 WLW radio within days of each other. Doc was being attacked for his beliefs and the company he was working for hid the termination behind a ratings drain—which wasn’t the case. And my Republican friends wanted to pull me into their world of charity events and careful politicking that was sensitive to progressive issues—which I personally have no sympathy for. I made my stand, pissed off a lot of people and relationships were fractured forever. When the smoke cleared, I was still a TEA Party supporter and my friends were left without the benefits of my friendship. It was foreign to them that a man would stand on principles and that realization made me very angry.
Many people have pointed out that my articles from the start to the present have changed over time. I can understand that. In the beginning I had hope for people like Governor Kasich, Governor Christy, Paul Ryan, even John Boehner—but after just a few years, they have all failed to hold their moral ground. They proved to be a lot of talk, but way too willing to make a deal just to stay in power. I have watched the NDAA get passed in the middle of New Years Eve, and watched Obamacare shoved down people’s throats. I have watched the Justice Department commit crimes and get away with it because they are the law. With each story, my hope for the preservation of the system as it is currently has evaporated. So the tone of my articles has evolved with that sentiment.
Doc Thompson could have just given up after he was terminated from 700 WLW and his home station in Richmond, Virginia. But he didn’t. After a lot of fighting, he become employed by Glenn Beck and has excelled from there. Most people would be happy with just a gig like that—but Doc is taking things several steps further and this new documentary is just the start. I am proud to see the documentary Intolerable be released. There is a defiance in it that is healthy for America. Anyone who watches this film and thinks the TEA Party is a bunch of racist radicals is the actual villains of society. Nobody can watch Intolerable and then turn around and say the TEA Party is not the last beacon of light for the freedom that is unique to America—unless they are part of the undoing of it.
Doc and Skip did a great job of representing the TEA Party and getting to the truth of the movement and providing context to the rhetoric that is against it. It is a documentary that has been needed, and now it can be seen by anyone anywhere who has an internet connection. So there is no excuse to not see it. So watch it, learn from it, and spread the word around. Doc Thompson has done the hard work of making it. The least you can do dear reader is give it an audience.
Today is a wonderful day to be alive. Why? Because a new Godzilla film is out and I love that particular movie monster—I understand him. I do not understand the cry baby cop on some television drama distraught over their many bad decisions in life. I do not understand the middle-aged man who would trade everything he built in life for sex with a 20-year-old girl. I do not understand a bunch of wives sitting around a table playing cards complaining about their husbands. But I do understand a rampaging monster that can pick up buildings and throw them around like toys.
I have always loved Godzilla. As a kid I watched the entire 1954 version ignoring the plot all together just to see the monster appear around the halfway mark. The boredom was worth the visual spectacle of a monster destroying everything in its path. One of my favorite films of all time is Godzilla versus King Kong—I will watch it to this very day when it’s on television. However, many of the reviewers, which are shown below seem to think that a Godzilla film is supposed to be about the human characters—and they are terribly mistaken. After watching the film they expected the humans to live up to the gigantic movie monster and were disappointed that they did not measure up. Here is what they said about the new 2014 version of the film.
“Edwards’ ‘Godzilla’ is a pleasingly paced 3-D spectacle that pays chilling homage to the artful legacy of the original 1954 film — Ishiro Honda’s ‘Gojira’ — while emerging as its own prodigious monster movie.” — Jessica Herndon, Associated Press.
“Someone should tell Warner Bros. that when they’ve got a presence as big as Godzilla, they don’t need movie stars, because frankly, who remembers the characters in a rampaging-kaiju movie anyway? Still, just to be safe, the studio has stuffed Gareth Edwards’ deafening, effects-driven reboot with an Oscar winner (Juliette Binoche), three Oscar nominees (Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins and David Strathairn), an Emmy winner (Bryan Cranston) and an Olsen sister, leaving scarcely enough screen time for the monster itself.” — Peter Debruge, Variety.
“Unlike last year’s disappointing ‘Pacific Rim,’ ‘Godzilla’ actually shows us its monsters without a scrim of rain and a cloak of darkness. And the thrill of the film is getting the chance to fetishize their sheer size and physicality as they rip through power lines and demolish buildings with their lashing tails. In its handful of moments like these, ‘Godzilla’ almost makes you feel like a kid again.” — Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly.
“Superbly made but burdened by some dull human characters enacted by an interesting international cast who can’t do much with them, this new Godzillais smart, self-aware, eye-popping and arguably in need of a double shot of cheeky wit.” — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter.
“This ‘Godzilla,’ though it surpasses Roland Emmerich’s 1998 Hollywood version, remains safely within the bounds of the modern action movie spectacular. It is at once bloated and efficient, executed with tremendous discipline and intelligence and conceived with not too much of either.” — A.O. Scott, The New York Times.
“The title character looks imposing, in the CGI work of Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital sorcerers, but the movie is often so dark, using a palette of gray and brown, as if coasted in rust, that he’s hard to see. … And the human drama, mostly involving Joe Brody (Cranston), his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) and his son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), never clicks. The problems of these three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans when San Francisco is getting Sanforized.” — Richard Corliss, Time.
“The climactic fight grows a bit wearying, and plot holes loom. Cleverly, though, destruction is not always shown head-on; sometimes it’s glimpsed through a hazy airport window or car windshield….Aiming for a titanic tale that is also seriously ominous, ‘Godzilla’ opens with a bang and concludes with an exhilarating roar.” — Claudia Puig, USA Today.
Years ago when I was at the precipice of overcoming mankind and having my roots deep within its culture I would actually sit on the edge of Price Hill and conceive in my mind walking through the city of Cincinnati and treating it like Godzilla. At the time I was deeply involved in business and politics and felt I was at least equal to the most sophisticated elites within the buildings of the vast cityscape. I no longer felt reverence for meeting mayors, wealthy business owners, political power players and the intellectual gate-keepers—particularly from the University of Cincinnati. I had overcome the art community of Eden Park, the old money of Hyde Park and all their Yuppy children, the criminals of Over-the-Rhine, and the sports figures along the river—and I had outgrown them all.
It was easy for me to sit on that hill overlooking the city and imagine crushing everything intellectually, politically, and economically. At that point I felt I understood my childhood love of Godzilla. I was around 26 at the time.
I no longer relate to the human characters in most films and television shows. So when a film like Godzilla comes out, I am happy because I often feel that such characters were made for people like me. Thus it is a glorious day and the world is better because Godzilla is conceptually alive within it!
Lakota West High School’s band director has been suspended for 17 days without pay after a district investigation found that he violated several policies and state laws, including using his official influence for personal gain.
A letter dated Monday to Greg Snyder, the district’s executive director of human resources outlines the conduct led to the suspension.
“Mr. Snyder, I must indicate to you that I am deeply concerned for your disregard for board of education policies, the Licensure of Professional Conduct, ethical considerations and other directives given by Lakota administration,” Diane Brunsman said. “This attitude and disregard is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Snyder has conducted a band clinic for seventh, eighth and ninth grade students for nearly 20 years that’s never been a district sponsored event. Before the past two years, Snyder received the student participation fee money directly for the band clinic.
Snyder advertised the band clinic by posting a flyer that sits next to programs at band concerts and he made the flyer on his district-provided computer. Snyder determines who receives money for the clinic.
The district said that conduct violated several policies and state laws, including the state’s prohibition against the use of official influence for personal gain.
Snyder also encouraged the hiring and payment of family members by the Upbeat Club band boosters for band camp. That violates state law that says public employees are not permitted to authorize or use their authority to secure a public contract for himself, relatives or business associates.
The district also said that Snyder hosted private lessons at his home for Lakota district students. Board policy required that he received permission for the lessons but the district found no records that he received the approval. The board found that Snyder gave students extra credit for taking private lessons.
Since at least 2004, Snyder received free school band-related trips from travel agencies. The district didn’t pay for the trips. Until a recent New York trip, Snyder arranged the traveling. He decided what vendors to use for travel services, Brunsman said.
The travel-related conduct violated several policies including the prohibition against the use of official influence for personal gain, the district said.
Brunsman found more alleged misconduct.
At last year’s band camp, a student was told by a college student to run laps while all staff and students went inside. The student passed out outside alone. The student’s father found the student and spoke to Snyder about the incident. But Snyder didn’t tell anyone at the district about the episode.
“You were the district employee in charge during this incident and failed to adequately supervise the students,” Brunsman wrote.
The district also said that a uniform vendor treats Snyder and his wife to a variety of places for dinner including Applebee’s, Skyline and an annual dinner at The Precinct or other Jeff Ruby restaurants. That too violates several policies or laws.
Snyder has agreed to retire/resign effective Feb. 20, 2015 or when he is eligible to retire through the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio with 35 years of service.
Snyder’s salary is $81,733.
Lakota West’s band has performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Tournament of Roses Parade.
The school board did the right thing, even though it was surely difficult. However, here is where attention needs to be directed. The story was very cleverly released on the Thursday before Good Friday immediately after the release of the new teacher contract with the union where that same board agreed to pay over $2 million dollars more in raises to over 900 teachers just like Snyder, who are highly paid already. The actions of Snyder who was an example at Lakota West of everything that was right about a teacher proved that the temptation to abuse power for personal gain is just too great, and even large wages cannot prevent the kind of greed that fueled his actions.
The scary thing about Greg Snyder is that he is an example of what’s right in public schools, and not even he with a very comfortable wage can turn down the temptation to abuse power to enrich himself. One of the reasons the school board stated that they needed to give teachers $2 million dollars in pay raises is because they wanted to retain their quality of teachers—yet Snyder is one of their examples of a quality teacher—a real school asset who was very well paid. But the money wasn’t enough to keep him from abusing his power—so why would the school board think that throwing more money stolen from tax payer property values would alleviate future Greg Snyders from their poor conduct? The answer is that they fail to recognize good teachers from bad ones.
Greg Snyder’s behavior is typical of employees protected by a labor union. Even with all the media coverage, Snyder will still teach at the school until he is eligible for retirement, which is almost a year from now. So the punishment is pretty toothless—except for the embarrassment of the experience. Such labor unions like Lakota’s LEA is filled with these types of small-minded employees, who are so cheap mentally that their generous salary isn’t enough—they want more—and more—and more, levy after levy, after levy. They are never happy because they are mentally empty vessels inside perpetually seeking to be filled. There are not enough raises the school board could ever pass or taxes levied against the community that will stop the behavior of similar Greg Snyders. Because Greg Snyder isn’t so good—it is just that the rest of public education is that bad. A person capable of making the bad decisions of Lakota West’s band director is not a person who should be teaching children. So what if they get to go to New York on Thanksgiving Day to participate in the Macy’s Parade—if to get there they had to pad the pockets of Greg Snyder and his wife to become a bit better. It takes extra work to be better than the next competitor, and Snyder was charging students for that boost—so there is nothing special about Greg Snyder which is the heart of this story. What was assumed about Snyder was that his bands were good because he was just better than other band directors. The truth turns out to be that he was teaching in a rich district that had great benefits like being sent to The Precinct and other Jeff Ruby restaurants, accompanied with under the table cash from The Upbeat Club because the parents were willing to pay for their kids to get a bit of a boost in life. Snyder was too cheap to cover those events with his voluminous paycheck. Greg Snyder turned out to be just another typical example of a public employee—much more concerned with their payday than actually doing good work. And at Lakota he was considered one of the good ones.
Imagine what the bad ones are like—and out of the 900 teachers who just got a levy increase funded pay raise, you can bet there are employees in that mix who also make similar money as Snyder did under the LEA collective bargaining agreement who are so bad that they make Lakota’s band director look like a saint in comparison.
“Just as a note to Randy Oppenheimer, Lakota’s director of media and community relations who reads here quite often for obvious reasons—I put this story up after Easter was over, because you know how things are. You released your story during a holiday weekend so that people would have their minds on other things and it would be dead by Sunday morning. Clever move—so I waited until people were reengaged with reality before I commented on it. You didn’t think I’d forget did you? Surely not.” : ) This little chess game between us wouldn’t be any fun otherwise.
The Overmanwarrior 