Life

How would those under your leadership answer these questions?  Does your group support one another, and camaraderie is visible?  Does the group feel encouraged to bring up new ideas and take risks?  Do they trust senior leadership to tell the truth?  Are we strong enough to give up ideas that no longer work? Are you proud of what has been accomplished?  Are managers available and approachable?  Is there a process for decision making?  Are people aware of how decisions are made?  Are you in the “weeds” or are you being strategic in your thinking?   Just some thoughts on a hot June afternoon as I listen to Willie Nelson and Ray Price.

Several news reports in our area as well as national news have identified inhumane, squalor, filth, and cruel boarding conditions of some kennels.  Animal rights groups have been calling for more government oversight (which tax payers are responsible for) to monitor and close down these flea and disease infested kennels.  Now that Cyprus (Cyper, Girl, Cat) has passed into the eternal heavenlies, we are pet-less.  Kathy and I have agreed to remain pet-less for the near future (I’d like to one day have a talking exotic bird but that discussion can wait for now).  I’m not a big dog lover however we once had a chocolate lab when we lived in Virginia so we’ve done the “dog thing.”  It was fun while it lasted but didn’t work...

Despite the MSM’s attempt to “dumb” down the role of men in society by sarcasm and “put-downs” whether it’s in TV commercials, sit-coms, or news stories,  which tries to belittle men and their significance, strong fathers are needed even more than ever.  Fathers need to lead and be engaged with the family.  Bradford Wilcox is professor of Sociology at University of Virginia has written a great article which documents the facts as opposed to myths about today’s fathers.  When dads are engaged, teen depression and delinquency is decreased.  Affectionate fathers are critical to steering daughters away from early sexual activity.  Dare I say (the evidence says) dads are even more critical to preventing early sexual...

I’m not sure which point to make on this one since it seems to have endless possibilities for critique and analysis.  I guess I’ll start with my first impression when I heard the “news,”  BO has swatted and killed a fly.  “Got the sucker” he gleefully brags.  This was the leading news for several web sites and even made it on the state run NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.  Who else but the government run news sites would report such a meaningless event and actually call it news?  After all, the MSM (for first timers this is main stream media), nightly news shows have only about 18 minutes (30 if you count the shamless  capitalist commercials) to promote their ideas and call it news.  You’d think they would...

I’m sure it goes on regardless of who wields power in Washington, but I can’t recall more examples of double standards not only within the govt but also in the public.  It’s recently been revealed that BO’s Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor maintains membership in an exclusive elite all women’s club (Belizean Grove).  We’ve already discussed her racist remarks in which she opined that a Latina female would be capable of making a better decision than a white male.  Would a white male be approved for the highest court in the land with a similar membership in an all men’s fraternity and then making racist comments alluding to male superiority? Really.  See how this sounds.  Try to visualize John McCain saying, “I...

Do municipal workers and road engineers ever actually travel the same roads I do? How could they?  One of the most annoying irritants on my daily travel to and from work is going through areas with a series of several traffic lights.  The lights are never programmed to allow traffic to flow freely through.   You know what I mean. You stop at a red light to allow 2 cars to go through, wait for another 2 minutes, the light turns green and you go another 100 yards to find that the traffic light has just turned red which means another time consuming stop. The cycle repeats for the next 5 miles.    This is annoying for several  reasons. It causes delays, congestion, and ties up traffic. What are the city planners thinking about?  Not the...