...America in the "black?"

Since world currency is essentially based on oil prices....good news for the home team!! America is sitting on top of a super massive 200 billion barrel Oil Field that could potentially make America Energy Independent and until now has largely gone unnoticed. Thanks to new technology the Bakken Formation in North Dakota could boost America’s Oil reserves by an incredible 10 times, giving western economies the trump card against OPEC’s short squeeze on oil supply and making Iranian and Venezuelan threats of disrupted supply irrelevant.

In the next 30 days the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) will release a new report giving an accurate resource assessment of the Bakken Oil Formation that covers North Dakota and portions of South Dakota and Montana. With new horizontal drilling technology it is believed that from 175 to 500 billion barrels of recoverable oil are held in this 200,000 square mile reserve that was initially discovered in 1951. The USGS did an initial study back in 1999 that estimated 400 billion recoverable barrels were present but with prices bottoming out at $10 a barrel back then the report was dismissed because of the higher cost of horizontal drilling techniques that would be needed, estimated at $20-$40 a barrel.

It was not until 2007, when EOG Resources of Texas started a frenzy when they drilled a single well in Parshal N.D. that is expected to yield 700,000 barrels of oil that real excitement and money started to flow in North Dakota. Marathon Oil is investing $1.5 billion and drilling 300 new wells in what is expected to be one of the greatest booms in Oil discovery since Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938. The US imported about 14 million barrels of Oil per day in 2007, which means US consumers sent about $340 Billion Dollars over seas building palaces in Dubai and propping up unfriendly regimes around the World, if 200 billion barrels of oil at $90 a barrel are recovered in the high plains the added wealth to the US economy would be $18 Trillion Dollars which would go a long way in stabilizing the US trade deficit and could cut the cost of oil in half in the long run.

Let’s go America….do something for the “USA” this time instead of feeding other countries! Stop saying "no" all the time and finally say: "YES we can."
What about me and my needs? (Forget the battery cars)....

...learn to "balance your checkbook!"...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Oregon voters approved two special tax measures Tuesday designed to close a $733 million state budget gap. With 95% of the vote counted, Measure 66 garnered 54% of ballots and Measure 67 received 53%, the Associated Press reported.

What they didn’t report is that Oregon “over-spent” 4.6 BILLION last year during the heart of the economic shortfalls. That’s right “billions.” And have increased spending on average of 30% over the last 30 years! But it is 'all about the children' (especially all the new Spanish-speaking teachers we need today).

Oregon voters have spoken up in defense of state programs and schools (like they always do because they watch stupid commercials) and they will soon see a larger portion of the state's revenue coming from both individuals who earn higher than average incomes, and Oregon corporations. County and state educators breathed a sigh of relief after voters approved a tax hike Tuesday that will ward off deeper cuts into school budgets this year.

"Passage of these measures means we keep core services of education, health care and public safety that Oregon families, businesses, and communities count on," said Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt, a Democrat who represents Clackamas County. Defeat, he said, would have forced the state to cut nearly a billion dollars more from such services.

The twin ballot measures also served as a gauge of anti-business populism and highlighted a nationwide debate over whether to fix state budgets by targeting the affluent. But they also fueled resentment of "tax and spend" legislators, as well as public-employee unions whose members enjoy job security at a time when thousands here have lost jobs.

But allow me to piss on the victory chant for just one moment to inject a small dose of reality: What Oregonians might have said in voting "yes" for Measures 66 and 67 is that taxing wealthy people and business owners is simply too hard to resist, especially when misleading ads suggest that business owners only contribute $10 a year to government services.

You see?  Most Oregon businesses don't pay state corporate taxes because they aren't C corporations. They pay taxes on their business income through the personal income taxes of their owners. (You will see them moving out of Oregon soon).

For now, it seems to me that all we know from the "yes" votes is that most voters believed that more money for government is a good deal when it costs a minority group rather than everybody.

Measures 66 and 67 will hurt businesses' ability to restore jobs Oregon has lost in this recession, and they will hurt Oregon's venture-funded startups. But these permanent tax hikes -- the biggest tax increase in the state's history -- affect more than just startups. They are bad for all businesses.

Oregon's current economic challenge, the worst in 70 years, is the loss of more than 131,000 jobs -- more than 9 percent of Oregon's private-sector employment -- since November 2007. That's why state revenues haven't grown.

In addition to expressing faith in and thanking voters, supporters of Measures 66 and 67 should start writing thank-you notes to the state's wealthy people and business owners who will pay the higher bills. And they should keep some notes of sympathy on standby for any private-sector employees who soon could be out of work as a result of increased business taxes in a time of recession.

Oh, and when the businesses refuse to move to Oregon and many move to others states…hear me clearly when I say that is way too far for you to ride TriMet or your little bicycle. Grow-up you idiots! You have no idea what you just approved.

Theodore Roosevelt never said 'yes we can'

Theodore Roosevelt Accomplishments

President Theodore Roosevelt was surely one of the greatest United States presidents. He was a man of many accomplishments. Teddy Roosevelt was a volunteer Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War. Before becoming president, he was Secretary of the Navy. Roosevelt was a published author.  What many people may not know about Theodore Roosevelt is the deep gratitude we owe him. Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to seriously think about saving some of the beauty of the United States for future generations. With Roosevelt in office, more than 200 million acres of land in the United States was conserved.

Theodore Roosevelt the Conservationist--Passenger pigeons became extinct about the time of Roosevelt's presidency. Roosevelt then established the first National Bird Preserve in Florida in 1903. This was the start of the Wildlife Refuge System in the United States. This would be the first of many acts by President Roosevelt to conserve land and important historical and archaeological sites throughout the United States.

The United States Forest Service was established while Teddy Roosevelt was president. Many national parks and preserves were set up by President Roosevelt. Some of the areas that President Roosevelt placed under protection were the Grand Canyon, Crater Lake National Park, and the Mesa Verde National Park.

Theodore Roosevelt's Antiquities Act--Theodore Roosevelt also passed the Antiquities Act in 1906. This act allowed presidents to preserve sites as national monuments without needing approval of Congress. The very first national monument established by Theodore Roosevelt was the Devil's Tower in Wyoming. This act also allowed Theodore Roosevelt to protect the Grand Canyon after failing to make it a national park. Since the Antiquities Act was passed, it has been implemented more than 100 times.

Tell me more!

---The Teddy Bear is named after Teddy Roosevelt. While hunting in Mississippi during his presidency, a few of the men in Roosevelt's party treed a small black bear and summoned Roosevelt so that he could take the shot. Roosevelt decided that killing the young, trapped bear was not sporting, and spared it. A New York toymaker heard the story, and asked Roosevelt's permission before styling a child's stuffed toy bear as the "Teddy Bear". Roosevelt gave his permission, noting that he did not expect many sales.

---Roosevelt had a photographic memory. He could read a page in the time it took anyone else to read a sentence.

---In 1912, Maxwell House coffee once asked the President what he thought of their product. He responded: "It’s good to the last drop". Sound familiar?

---He was the first President to ride in an airplane. He flew for four minutes in a plane built by the Wright Brothers on October 11, 1910.

---Once while preparing to give a speech on October 14, 1912 in the Milwaukee during a campaign, a crazed man attempted to assassinate Roosevelt, and shot him with a pistol at nearly point blank range. Roosevelt declared "it will take more than that to kill a bull moose!" and finished the lengthy speech before visiting a hospital. Even though the bullet entered his lung, he still gave the speech!

---Oddly, Roosevelt's wife and mother died on the same day, February 14, 1884.

---After Roosevelt retired from politics, he led an expedition in South America to find the source of a river known as "the River of Doubt". Most of the party died, and Roosevelt caught the fever yet survived. The river is now named "Rio Roosevelt."

---Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace prize in 1906 for his role of peacemaker in the Russo-Japanese War. Although an aggressive president when it came to military matters, he is the only president to have been awarded the honor while President of the United States andthe first American to ever win the award.

---After he left office in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari that netted many of the specimens that now stock the Smithsonian Institute.

---Roosevelt welcomed "the strenuous life"--engaging in daunting physical tests and venturing into hostile locations, even though, taking inflation into account, he was likely the richest president in history due to his family's estate.

---Most of the original National Parks and the National Park system were created by Roosevelt.

---Roosevelt was the first to dub the executive mansion "The White House".

---Roosevelt authored over 25 books.

Well...now we have Obama. Here is a partial transcript of (then) Sen. Barack Obama's remarks after he won the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina.

“Don't tell me we can't change. Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we can. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.”

“And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words -- yes, we can.”

Obama….please stop campaigning…become a real President. Stop saying we can…and learn from the past...learn to do!!

What the hell happened?-part 4

"There are two things that I want you to make up your minds to: first, that you are going to have a good time as long as you live - I have no use for the sour-faced man - and next, that you are going to do something worthwhile, that you are going to work hard and do the things you set out to do."

- President Theodore Roosevelt
Talk to schoolchildren in Oyster Bay, Christmas-time 1898

Understanding Craftsmanship…’what happened to America?’

Earlier this year, on Independence Day, many Americans observed the 233rd anniversary of their country's independence. They drove to the lake or seaside, barbecued, drank, watched fireworks, or otherwise celebrated, but few contemplated the meaning of independence. For those that did, several questions presented themselves: What happened to America? What happened to her independence? What happened to the promise of this once great land?

In 1959 America was the envy of the world, a beacon of freedom. It was still rejoicing in its vibrant, post-war economy, its population had exploded due to the "baby boom," and its people were the freest in the world. It was a nation aware, and justifiably proud, of its accomplishments. It produced more than any other nation. It had large stable families in which men and women worked together to raise strong future adults.

America had industrial and political leaders that took pride in their social responsibilities. It had the lowest crime rate in the world, with a correspondingly low incarceration rate. It had shining cities that were the jewels of the world. Its infrastructure was second-to-none. It had the best healthcare system, an honest government, low taxes, and a booming economy. Its people were rightly proud of it and loyal to it. What happened in the intervening half century?

Today, America's decaying inner-cities are cesspools of crime and blight. Assault, muggings, robberies, home invasions, carjacking, rapes, and murders are the norm. Graffiti and decay are everywhere. Elderly people are afraid to venture out - day or night. The poverty rate is rising even faster than the tax rate that overburdens America's working class.

Diseases like tuberculosis, that had once been eradicated, have returned. New problems like AIDS and H1N1 pop-up semi-regularly. Ideas like civic duty, patriotism, religion, and freedom are openly scorned. Its healthcare system is failed and its education system is corrupt - focused on teaching "tolerance" and other socialist ideologies, rather than giving its students an education useful in the real world. Political and financial corruption are rife, its economy is dying. Its good-paying, manufacturing jobs are off-shored and unfettered mass immigration allows hostile, third-world invaders in to take the service jobs that can't be sent overseas. Those invaders are then given social welfare largely unavailable to the average American and taught to resent White America. Don't believe me? Then you are an idiot and in a coma.

White American women are having 1.3 children per each - the non-white replacement level is 2.8. Aggravating this problem is the facts that, increasing numbers of the children white women, are having, are non-white. White America is going extinct. This deplorable fact is frequently lauded by corporate and civic leaders alike. Even our 44th President is not black as they all mention...he is half-white but let's make sure we never mention that...white is bad now. Why? Even during his inauguration some idiot mentioned, "Now is the time for white to get it right." Kiss my ass! What a stupid statement. But that's America today, say anything...anytime you want...no responsibility!

World-weariness and civic indifference grow daily. Attacks on constitutionally protected freedoms are frequent. Increased substance abuse-especially abuse of prescription medications - abounds. The institution of family is ridiculed and subverted. Every kind of sexual deviancy is advanced as normal. Everyone, including children, are encouraged to be as promiscuous as they like. At the same time abortion and birth control are heavily promoted leading to a dangerous decline in our birthrates.

What the hell happened in just 50 years?

Who says the government schools and the welfare state don’t work? They work perfectly. They were designed to put the American people into a political coma, and that’s what they’ve done. The objective would never be framed that way. The politicians would say that the purpose was to create unity, patriotism, and gratitude toward those who “protect our freedom,” that is, the government. But in fact, the purpose was to induce a political coma, and it’s done so.

How else to explain that few people give a hoot that we were obviously lied into war by the president of the United States, the vice president, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, and others, without a proper congressional declaration, and led to believe that Saddam Hussein was both willing and able to launch so-called weapons of mass destruction against us on 45 minutes’ notice?

How else to explain that hardly anyone notices that with respect to criminal suspects the Constitution has been all but consigned to the paper shredder, with American citizens and others being held indefinitely without charge and without the right to go before a judge to challenge such treatment?

How bizarre that for most people, sticking American flags on the car and front lawn is the highest sign of love for America, and questioning the president’s honor and veracity is the surest sign of treachery. After years of fruitless WMD searches in Iraq, the politically comatose are satisfied with their leaders’ and the media parrots’ inane responses: “We’ll find them eventually.” “We know Saddam Hussein had them back in 1988.” Or: “Hussein was the real weapon of mass destruction. Besides, we liberated the Iraqi people, didn’t we?” Didn't we? How many years has it been?

The question that takes the cake is, “Don’t you support the troops?” The non-comatose would know that to oppose sending Americans into unnecessary war is support. But that question is only supposed to change the subject. It’s the kind of thing the politically comatose say when threatened by the reality of facing responsibility.

Do you realize it has been eight years since Islamic terrorists flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon? It’s one of those defining moments in time when you’ll always remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard the news. Do you remember how our nation responded in the days and weeks following 9-11? Although tragic, it was a time that made us all proud to be Americans.

Fast forward eight years to 2009 and we now have a country that thinks we shouldn’t be at war with Muslim extremists, and a country that elected a President named Barrack Hussein Obama and thinks that we should end this war. In 2001, Barrack Obama was unknown to most Americans outside of Chicago. What would you have thought, if on September 12, 2001, you somehow were able to peer into the future and see a newspaper from January 2009 with the following headline: Barrack Hussein Obama Sworn-In as 44th President of the United States. I know what I would have thought. The terrorists have won with a name like that.

So what happened between 2001 and 2009 that caused such a u-turn in the American psyche? Are we no longer the nation that fought for freedom from British oppression and defended Europe from Nazi and communist schemes to conquer the world? What happened to that America?

The truth isn’t pretty these days. But there it is. Look for yourself. If you can feel proud about it, I don’t understand you.

....enough said about America....

What the hell happened?-part 3

Understanding Craftsmanship…’what happened to America?’

So, what are the attributes of a craftsman? What makes a craftsman a craftsman? There are three basic attributes described herein:

1. Possesses the necessary knowledge and skills to perform the work

The craftsman is an expert in his field of endeavor; so much so that he could easily serve as an instructor in the subject matter. But the craftsman is also smart enough to know that education is not a onetime thing, that his world and field evolve as new tools and techniques are introduced. As such, the craftsman is a student of his profession and is constantly looking to improve himself. This is exercised through such things as continued education, routine certification, studying books and trade publications, and industrial groups. The craftsman willingly participates in trade groups, often at his own expense, in order to network with his peers.

It is Important to note that the craftsman does not need to be told he needs periodic training to sharpen his skills. Instead, he takes the personal initiative to stay on top of his game. Further, the craftsman has no problem with a periodic job review; in fact, he welcomes it for it might bring out a weakness in a skill he needs to sharpen.

2. Attention to detail

The craftsman understands and respects the process of building/delivering a product or service and is acutely aware of the penalties for cutting corners. Earlier (in part 2) we discussed the need for a methodology that specifies 5W+H. The craftsman is intimate with all details of his scope of work, so much so, he could probably write the methodology himself. Further, his intimacy of the work process means he can produce a reliable estimate of time and costs to perform the work.

Although many of the craftsman's tasks may be repetitive, it doesn't mean he easily falls into a rut. Instead, he is constantly looking for new tools and techniques to improve the work process. As such, he plays the role of Industrial Engineer who is normally charged with such a task.

The craftsman's attention to detail also means that he demonstrates patience in his work effort. Again, wary of cutting corners, the craftsman must possess such patience in order to produce the product the right way.

3. Views professional life as an extension of his personal life

The craftsman identifies with the end product which is where pride in workmanship comes from. In his mind, the craftsman has been charged with the responsibility of producing something, and wanting to satisfy the customer, puts forth his best effort to produce it. In other words, craftsmen take their work personally. This is a difficult trait to teach particularly in today's society where the focus is more on financial compensation than on the work product itself. It may sound naive, but the craftsman believes he will be suitably compensated for producing superior results.

Years ago, Dick Butkus of the Chicago Bears (NFL) confounded sports writers who could never understand why Butkus played as hard as he did year-after-year for a losing football team. True, Dick loved the game, but beyond that, the sports writers didn't understand one thing about the seven time All-Pro linebacker: Butkus took his job personally. It was important to him that his opponents know that they had been tackled by the best player; as he said, "When they get up from the ground I want them to say 'it must have been Butkus that got me'." Dick Butkus was a craftsman.

The craftsman has a burning desire to produce a superior product/service because he sees it as a reflection of himself. As such, the lines delineating their personal life and professional life are blurred. This is a significant characteristic that clearly separates a craftsman from the average worker. The craftsman's work is his life. He does not shirk responsibility, but rather embraces it with confidence and embosses his name on the finished product. Conversely, making a work related mistake of any kind pains a true craftsman.

Job titles are normally inconsequential to the craftsman who is more interested in delivering a quality product/service enjoyed by the customer. Instead, the craftsman takes pleasure in being touted as the best in his craft. He appreciates recognition; when someone makes a compliment about a product, the craftsman views it as a personal compliment. This too runs contrary to today's corporate world where people desperately seek recognition through simple job titles. Want someone with an inflated ego? Give them a big title.

Want something done right? Call a craftsman.

....more to come......

What the hell happened?-part 2

Understanding Craftsmanship...'what happened to America?'

Some might say craftsmanship is a simple concept that we should intuitively know. Not true; most people today have no comprehension as to what makes up a good craftsman; they have either forgotten or it has simply passed them by.

Craftsmanship can be found in any field of endeavor imaginable, be it in the product sector or service industry. Craftsmanship, therefore, is universally applicable to any line of work.

Craftsmanship is not "workmanship", nor is it synonymous with quality, although the three concepts are closely related. Let's begin by giving "Craftsmanship" a definition: "The production and delivery of quality goods or services from highly skilled workmen."

Quality relates to the absence of errors or defects in the finished product or service. In other words, finished goods operate according to their specifications(customers get precisely what they ordered). Such products are normally durable and require minimal maintenance. Craftsmanship produces quality products. In the absence of craftsmen, a rigorous methodology or assembly line process is required to produce quality goods using workers without the expertise of craftsmen. Such processes detail "Who" is to perform "What" work, "When", "Where", "Why" and "How" (5W+H), thereby assuring a quality product or service is produced. Such is the underlying rationale of the ISO 9000 certification as used by many companies today. The point is quality is not the exclusive domain of the craftsman, as it once was when I was younger.

Craftsmanship is also a human trait. Some might argue a computer or industrial robot can produce quality products and are, therefore, craftsmen. However, we must remember these devices are programmed by human beings in accordance with the rules of the craftsman. As such, they are an extension or tool of the craftsman.

Craftsmanship can be found in either the overall work process or a section of it. For example, there are craftsmen who are intimate with all facets of building furniture, such as a table, a chair or desk, and can implement the product from start to finish. However, as products grow in complexity, it becomes difficult to find people suitably qualified to build them from the womb to the tomb.

Consider military weapons alone, such as the complicated ships, tanks, and airplanes we now use, with thousands or millions of parts to assemble. Such complexity makes it impossible for a single person to have the expertise to build the whole product. The same is true in the service sector where different types of expertise and capabilities may be required. In other words, craftsmen have a specific scope of work. The scope of work may relate to other types of craftsmen through a chain of work dependencies, e.g., Craftsmen A, B and C concentrate on separate sub-assemblies which are eventually joined into a single product....some also call that 'teamwork' (and that's another lost art in America, as well).

....more to come....next "Attributes of Craftsmanship"

What the hell happened?-part 1

When I got into the work force back in the mid-1970's it seemed everyone dressed in a suit and tie, drank black coffee, smoked their brains out, and worked their butts off.

Today, golf shirts have replaced suits, herbal tea and bottled water have replaced coffee, nobody is allowed to smoke, and rarely does anyone work beyond 5:00 pm. And when did the tide turn when I now need Rosetta Stone to order something to eat or get a software technician's help on the phone?

More importantly, we used to care about the work we produced; there was a sense of craftsmanship, regardless of the job.

When I was much younger I went on a tour of a Cincinnati company's machine-tool shop and watched how they could take a block of aluminum and convert it into a high-precision machine tool. It was a pleasure to watch them work, as it is to watch anyone who knows what they are doing, be it a waitress.....a programmer.....a laborer or a clerk.

Quality and service used to be considered paramount in this country. If it wasn't just right, you were expected to do it over again until you got it right. We cared about what we produced because it was a reflection of our personal character and integrity. But somewhere along the line we lost our way and craftsmanship has fallen by the wayside. Why? Probably because most employees no longer care.

In today's society, employees are acutely aware that it is difficult to be fired due to poor performance. They know they will still get paid and receive benefits, regardless of the amount of effort they put forth. Consequently, there is little to encourage people to perform better. Money isn't a motivating factor anymore. People now expect bonuses, raises and other perks to be paid out regardless of how well they perform during the year.

We've also become a nation content with doing small things. America used to be known as a powerhouse that could tackle large projects, such as building skyscrapers, designing innovative bridges and tunnels spanning substantial bodies of water, engineering transcontinental railroads and highway systems, conquering air and space travel, and defending freedom not just once but in two world wars. If you really wanted something done, you talked to the Americans and no one else. Now we get excited over iPods, cell phones, and other electronic trinkets.

Many believe Craftsmanship is in decline due to the general apathy found in today's society. Maybe.... I tend to believe it is due to an erosion of our moral values. Let me give you an example. My interest was piqued recently by an article describing the pervasiveness of cheating and plagiarism in our schools. It is not my intent to make a political statement here but many of the students mentioned in the article rationalized their cheating on the fact that one of our past Presidents cheated and lied under oath, and got away with it. They figured if it is okay for the Commander-in-Chief to act this way, it was an acceptable form of behavior.

Arnold Toynbee, the famed English historian, observed, "Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder." If the moral fabric of our society dies, our story is told as evidenced by other great civilizations that long preceded us. Our perspective needs to be realigned: Our personal and professional lives must be viewed as one. As Toynbee remarked, "The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play." By doing so, we identify more closely with our work and assume a greater pride in workmanship. We do not need to hear this from our boss, but rather from within. As strange as it may sound, I see Craftsmanship as being patriotic in nature; doing a good quality job is part of leading a good and honorable life and builds on the individual's esteem, the company he works for, and the country he lives in.

The biggest problem though is that we have forgotten how to manage people. The manager's primary goal is to create the proper work environment for employees to produce the desired work products. Simple right? This is different than a supervisory capacity that directs how each person performs the various tasks of a job. In fact, I encourage managers to manage more and supervise less. I cringe when I see a manager try to "micromanage" an organization.

Yes, people need to be trained in order to properly perform their work but following this; employees should be mature enough to supervise themselves. In the old days, management stressed discipline, accountability, and structure; three ugly words in today's workplace.

....end part 1....