That Generation Thing

Hub has occasion to do business with colleagues in Great Britain this time of year especially, though on a lesser level throughout.  He gets irritated with what seems to him to be slovenly work habits with no sense of urgency what-so-ever.  When he needs something his go to people are always on 'holiday' and more than once it has put a huge crimp in our own plans.

I finally convinced him to not plan anything  during this peak period.  He's learning.  It's frustrating though because some of the things we enjoy are scheduled and cannot, of course, be changed.

The whole fiasco reminded me of my own days past in an office environment.  It has been a very, very long time since I've even stepped into a real business office.  I'm not sure I'd recognize what passes for them today.

In my day, there was a dress code.  This was long before jeans were common place, or even pant suits for that matter.  Women wore heels.  Men wore suits and ties though often shed their jackets while in their offices.  Back on they went for meetings.

We had two fifteen minute breaks and an hour for lunch.  Our hours were eight to five.  Period. I cannot help but note this was back when this nation was roaring.

Let's face it, the European way of conducting business is very different from our own.  They are far more laid back and heaven forbid they miss any holiday time. I've learned a great deal about those differences from reading faithfully several columns in the Financial Times of London.  One of my favorites is Lucy Kellaway.  Last week she wrote about this being a golden age for office workers which garnered some wonderful comments.

One such applauded the fact there is no more smoking.  Another pointed out the difference in attitudes toward women.

The best, however, was one that waxed nostalgic about office life in the 70's when tea ladies made the rounds of the offices with their urns and buns.  How very British. As to promoting good work habits, desks had to be cleared once a week so they could be polished.  How great is that?  I don't clear my household furniture once a week for a good dusting!

Working late apparently wasn't allowed because the security men sent you packing.  That must hold true today because no phone is ever answered a minute after office hours.

Best of all perhaps was the ritual of starting meetings with gin and tonic and no matter what ended at three.  Maybe that's something Congress should try as they go into session.  It might mellow them out enough to actually get along.

I don't know if these are practices are continued this day and age, but I rather like the concept.  I'm willing to wager all that civilised behavior led to a degree of productivity seldom seen today. Think about it.  Yesterdays serenity versus today's frenzy. It is, you know, a generational thing. I wonder, if we'd go back could we have a better future?

Lost In The Process

I am not going to watch the State of the Union speech tonight.  I'm just not up to it.  It will be nothing new.   The President will lay out his intentions and  lay the ground work to blame the Republicans if he isn't successful.  Nothing new.

His tone will be confrontational, not conciliatory.  I'm not sure he even knows what it means.  With all the talk that goes on about bullying, from my observations the President and  Harry Reid are the biggest bullies in the country.  Yet they never seem to be called on it.  People are too conscious of having to be politically correct to be able to speak truths without somehow softening them.

I cannot sit and listen to the President's plans to pull the country further to the left.  To continue spending money unchecked.  And most of all, his blatant contempt of the rule of law. Even if I agreed with everything he is trying to do, I would still have a great deal of trouble with the way he is doing it.  He is ignoring process and procedure as are his top underlings.  They do it so cavalierly it makes me boil.

For a man who is supposedly a Constitutional scholar, he obviously has a great deal of disdain for it and by default the people it is meant to protect.  My resentment for that attitude has grown to Vesuvian levels.

Worse yet, I know the President alone is not guilty of these attitudes. When I look at Washington I see men and women we've sent to serve us caught up in a big game of power grabbing that has no rules and really no sides.  They're all after the same thing - power. The power to advance their ideology. How they get it makes no difference.  The only thing that changes is which party is playing offense and which defense and that's determined strictly by who holds the most cards.  Even the cards aren't dealt fairly thanks to gerrymandering.

For now the President proceeds glibly throwing his weight around because he can.  Because he holds the most cards.  There is not one iota of leadership in play any more than real concern for the welfare of the country and it's citizens. When the Republicans win, all their breast beating rhetoric will be transferred to the newly aggrieved Democrats and the Republicans will glibly take over the 'our way' stance. Pay back.  Of course.  That's how it's played.

In the meantime we've sacrificed nearly all that we once had been.  Because we're merely spectators.  We don't play the game.  Either we don't understand it, don't see what's happening, or like the government players, really don't care.

So be it. I'm tired.  Maybe it's the weather.  One can tolerate only so much gray.  As for what's said tonight, it will be analyzed and reanalyzed for days to come.  I don't have to be front row center.

Maybe, in my own review of what's said I'll see or hear something heartening, but I'm not holding my breath.

I sound depressed? You nailed it.  Aren't you?

Scheduling Alone Won't Help The Republicans

The Republican National Committee is striving to eliminate before it starts the self-destruct mode that has become their hallmark in primaries.

Tightening up their primary schedule and holding an early convention seems to me they're putting the cart before the horse.  First they need to decide on where they want to country and how they intend to get there.  Then they have to decide if the big tent is really for them or like Governor Cuomo, declare that there is no place in the party for certain types.  This is the tricky part.

Just who has the responsibility to bring the Tea Party and the main streamers together has been and seems to still be the biggest of their hurdles.  Sure, fewer debates may keep the candidates from destroying one another - or will it? If there is no consensus as to what the party stands for, a one week debate schedule and primary season will do no good. They're going to have to decide whether or not the social issues should get the same amount of play as things like the economy and foreign policy.

Most of you know how I feel.  The economy, jobs, national security and foreign policy effects all of us as a nation.  That's what government is designed to to accommodate.  Social issues like gay marriage and abortion are very personal issues and do not dominate the scope of interests of many of us.  When those issues become the ones most discussed, those who feel it is not in the realm of governance are turned off and walk away from the process.

The Republicans need to create a strategy, too, to keep outside groups from making their issues for them.  The hijacked Tea Party can be thanked for why Harry Reid still leads the Senate.  If they're going to play in the Republican tent they need to abide with what the majority want; not their own interests to the exclusion of others.

They have a pretty good test case before them even before the convention hall doors close.  A Michigan Republican Party committeeman, Dave Agema, has been asked to resign due to disparaging comments about American Muslims and the homosexual lifestyle. He gave the usual response as to how things said had been distorted and taken out of context.  Perhaps, but then they all say the same thing.

However, when the top two officials of the National and Michigan party called for the resignation, there is probably a lot of truth to it.  It's not just some disgruntled locals in a power play.   Mr. Agema says he's drawn voters to the GOP.  Perhaps, but not enough of the kind that win elections, only disrupt the purpose of them.

Ideally the RNC would have criteria for removing officials from their positions if they do not adhere to the guidelines or by laws of the party.  Of course, it would help if they had some in the first place.

The Death Of The Middle East

If you've been watching the news you know the situation in the Middle East is dire.  The new reports on the systematic torture and death of thousands of Syrians make my blood curdle.  Even when the photographs are edited to make them less graphic.

I've long ago quit worrying about our moral responsibility to put an end to the bloodshed.  The President opted out when the method was poison gas and the victims were children. Instead he made a deal with the devil to escape any moral responsibility.  Any responsibility at all.

It goes beyond that, however.  It didn't take long for the rebels whom we could have supported to be infiltrated by those wanting to make any new regime in their own image.  So now it's a three way war.
Some how denying access to medical aid and the most basic of foodstuffs isn't as bad as chemical weapons.  No matter that the people have been reduced to eating cats and rats if they are able to find and catch them being near death themselves.

This is just Syria.  Think about what they're doing to themselves.  They're killing themselves.  Not only children, but those who are of an age to bear children. Given enough time, there will be no one left.

Now let's go back to Iraq where we withdrew all our troops.  They are engaged, once more, in a bloody
civil war where the loser is having the most radical version of Islamic law reimposed. In Afghanistan the same is about to happen.  Do you for a believe Obama will choose the 10,000 troop option over zero troops?  The radical fringe is betting he won't and are just waiting.  Afghanistan cannot defend itself against them.

Iran has suckered us into believing they're going to play nice and give up their nuclear ambitions.  While we fall prey to that scheme they continue to threaten Iraq if they don't keep supply lines open to Syria so they can continue supplying troops and weaponry to Assad.

And now Pakistan is back in the news.  For quite some time Islamists have been killing aid workers trying to inoculate the children against polio.  It is running rampant.

Good news came that there seems to be some progress in efforts to release the doctor who helped us nail bin Laden.  The bad news is that his ploy was one of these inoculation exercises but that is was a sham set up by the CIA.  The end result is that every innocent aid worker trying to save the children are predetermined to be spies for the CIA.  The result?  Parents are afraid so they stay away from access points.

Again, a generation plus of the young will suffer death from disease while their parents die in the most unimaginable battles of just trying to save life and limb.

Maybe this is our President's policy.  Wait long enough, make the token gestures necessary to appease those few who still give us a thought, and the problem will resolve itself.  If that isn't it, then I'd suggest the President is paralyzed with fear.  That indicates to me he has no moral compass.  Rather like thinking smoking pot is no more dangerous than drinking alcohol.  That's comforting considering how dangerous drinking can be and that pot is still illegal at the Federal level.

Turn a deaf ear and a blind eye.  Like the tree falling in the forest making no sound if no one is present to hear it, perhaps war has no consequences unless someone is present to witness it.

Of Facebook, Fans And Winning

Playoff Sunday in Seattle and San Francisco was certainly a surprise.  When a trash talking player gets more press than post game disturbances, it's a refreshing change of pace.  Dare I hope fans are finding visits to the emergency room or the pokey just aren't worth it and doesn't help the home team one bit?

Maybe.  Probably not.  Let's see what happens after the Super Bowl.  That being said, it's nice to see an intense rivalry like Seattle and San Fransisco have an upside.  And leave it to those  who spend more time on Facebook than in the stadium to bring it about!

Pranks between these rivals have been pretty tame and pretty funny.  An example is when the Seahawk fans bought a personalized brick for the new Niner stadium.  Then to fly a 'go Seahawks' banner above Candlestick. In response Niners fans decided to raise money to taunt the Hawks on their own reader board with a sign bearing the image of San Francisco's Super Bowl fruitfulness. Again, pretty funny.

What makes it really great, however, is that the folks who pulled this together decided they'd  donate any funds over and above the cost of the sign to Seattle Children's Hospital.  How cool is that?  They had decided since that's where the prank was played, that's where excess funds should go.

Not to be outdone, Seahawk fans decided to return the favor and began "Hawk Fans for UCSF Children's Hospital" which has wound up pulling in fans from both teams.

As fans know the Seahawks won in a game that wasn't decided until the very end.  It's the way championship games are supposed to be even though the loss probably hurts less of it's a blowout.  But the Hawks weren't the only winners.  Sick kids in both cities won and perhaps will grow up to understand the real meaning of sportsmanship, be it a player, coach or fan.

Forget the trash talk from an over wrought player.  Remember these great fans. The Hawks may have their 12th man, but the kids have a whole lot more. They've got the fans of two great teams!