Egypt

We all hope that Egypt and Tunisia will transition to a quality democratic form of governance. But they could also go the way of Iran. Here is hoping for democracy.


We visited Egypt in 2008. Amazing country. But the economy was not good and people were dissatisfied. In a democracy you get to peacefully change your government periodically. In a dictatorship it takes a revolution


Latin America has mostly transitioned to democratic forms of government over the past twenty years.Perhaps the Muslim world can make this transition.

Read more:

We Are the Indians

Pocahantas - Rebecca Rolfe

The conventional view of the settlement of America is that white Europeans immigrated to North America, stole the land, and killed most of the Native Americans. The few survivors were driven to reservations, where a relative few descendants live today.

This view is partially incorrect. Some murder and mayhem did occur, but what happened in many cases is that whites and Indians peacefully intermarried and interbred. The second and third generation American was often a hybrid North American, carrying genes from European, Native American, and African genes. Continuing immigration of white settlers gradually increased the percentage of European contribution to the population. Our ancestors gradually forgot their origins and that they were part Indian.

The early settlers in the 1600's and 1700's were tough people immigrating to a difficult environment. They were largely young men coming to the new world to make their fortune. They often came without wives, and/or their wives died in childbirth. They did what was natural and what occurs whenever two population groups come together - they intermarried. Who did these settlers marry, if not Native American women? I have it on good scientific authority that women are required for the creation of descendants.

When two populations come into contact they usually interact, socialize, and intermarry to form a new population group. This takes place in all countries. In North and South America there are a number of countries that proudly recognize their Native American roots. Mexico and Chile are two prominent examples. But Argentina and the US are examples of countries where large ongoing European immigration continued to dilute the original population mix.

Our history is full of conflicts and short wars between colonists and Native Americans. The wars get a lot of publicity and are a big part of our historical understanding of the past. But relatively few Indians and settlers killed in the Indian wars. For the most part they peacefully traded and interacted and intermarried.

There are numerous accounts of intermarriage. The marriage of Captain John Smith to Pocahontas is perhaps the best known example. But there is little historic memory of the intermarriage since it was not very noteworthy then. People simply married and had children. Their children did the same and after a few generations little was remembered about the origins of the great and great great great grandparents.

Both my wife and I have family histories that indicate that one or more of our ancestors were Native American. And most of the known intermarriage would have occurred in the 1600 and 1700’s, when much of the European immigration was young men. And in the early years the population of the country was majority Native American.

Most of the social intercourse among Native Americans and colonists would have occurred at the edge of the colonial settlement. And this line very slowly moved west, allowing for many years of opportunities for trade, sexual intercourse, and marriage.

Disease also played a part. Europeans brought diseases which heavily impacted Native Americans who had no natural immunity to old world disease. And the Americas were the home of diseases for which Europeans had little native immunity. A person carrying both European and Native American genes had better immunity and a better chance of surviving and passing on his genes. The hardy survivors intermarried and passed on their immunities to their descendants.

Most people do not know their complete ethnic heritage back over 3 or 4 generations. There are roughly 10 generations back to pre colonial America. Ten Generations equals 1024 forbears. Virtually no one knows the background or makeup of their 1024 ancestors.

I can only follow a dozen or so names back to the colonial era. Most of these were male lines who they kept their last name. It is much more difficult to determine the ancestry of the women they married, who changed their name with each marriage. And some of them were probably Native American - more then my one known Native American ancestor.

In Mexico, for example, male ancestors are often of European descent, while female ancestors were Native Americans. This follows the pattern of the conqueror, with better technology and wealth who successful father's the most children. The same situation prevailed in the US, but with ongoing waves of European immigration overwhelming the Native American contribution.

Save Billions

Here's one that will save billions: We bid postal services to the private sector. Let the winning bid, perhaps UPS and/or FedEX, deliver mail to homes. Reduce home deliveries to every other day; MWF or TTS.  The entire US Postal Service goes out of business and everyone gets reasonable service.


Mail service used to be bid. My grandfather delivered mail by horseback and Model A in western South Dakota during the depression. This would save a lot of money. Many people would like this - but certainly not postal employees.


First proposed by "Big Pete"

GovMint Spending

A great deal of angst and anger is coursing through our citizenry, with major concerns about the economy. We are all disgusted with the performance of government. The great recession dramatically dropped tax revenues and as a result the Federal and some state and local governments are running unsustainable deficits.


There are a number of ways to correct our deficit problems. The best solution is to grow the economy. But we also must reduce costs and/or increase income (taxes).


We are all interested in our own States. States that have very severe cost / income problems are California and Illinois. Both States have suffered from being led by either inept or corrupt elected officials. But it also behooves us to take a look at where the respective States stand on expense per capita.


Per Capita Expenditures for selected States and Local Governments in 2006, according to the Tax Foundation who cites the Censure Bureau for their data.


California $10,136 ranked 4th highest


Illinois $7,922 ranked ranked 24th


Florida $7,858 ranked 25th


South Dakota $6,643 ranked 48th


Illinois does not look so bad compared to California.


Move home to Illinois, where it just so happens that I have a great house to sell. And you can get a great deal on homes in South Dakota. Or Florida if you like warm weather.


Click for all rankings:


Click for my Illinois house for sale:


http://historichighstreet.blogspot.com/

Social Marketing

Social Marketing is a low cost and effective way to market your organization, business or yourself. There are many different ways to use the internet and social marketing to promote your business and organization. The following is one way.

http://socialmarketing201.blogspot.com/

Deficit

 


Eliminating the deficit is easy, according to 


John Stossel.I wish it was that easy.


Read More.

Financial Crisis

From The Economist


"America’s Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission produced its final report into the events that led to the banking system’s meltdown in 2008. It concluded that the crisis was “avoidable” and spread the blame far and wide among policymakers and bankers. " 


The Democrats blamed the Republicans and vice versa. To be expected.  Any Commission should have a non partisan chair if you expect to get decent results.

See article

Left and Right

Whackos to the Left of me -- Whackos to the Right of me Volleyed and Thundered

One of the things wrong with our country is that the left and the right are not talking to each other. And with the proliferation of cable news people choose to listen to their favorite news shows, which give a partisan slant to the news.

MSNBC to the left of me  -- Fox to the right of me
Volleyed and Thundered

Now there is nothing wrong with associating with and talking primarily to those with whom you always agree. You can think what you want and listen to whom you want - it is a free country.

But it seems to me a far wiser course is to listen to both sides. Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz was a German military theorist who said "know your enemy". You should know what the other side thinks - directly from them, not edited by your favorite mud slinging pundit. So even if you disagree totally with the other side, you should read and listen to a little of their drivel so that you will be informed.

One of the reasons that the media has developed a slant is that it pays very well. Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann have become very rich by providing the news with their own bias. And they need to fire up their base by exaggerating the follies and evils of the other side. It is entertaining and fun to listen to these guys and get angry about what the other side is doing.


A wise person who wants to get both sides should listen to both sides. That is one of the things we are trying to do with this blog. Fair and balanced is a good slogan and the best way to achieve this is to listen and read both sides of an argument.


Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to read a little of the blogs on the left and the right. 

Who Owns Our Debt?

The surprise is that China owns only 7.5% of our debt.

Thanks to Hepburn Capital for the info:

http://hepburncapital.com/newsletter/37181-target-date-funds-may-be-trouble.html

http://hepburncapital.com/

History

"History is one damned thing after another"

Henry Ford

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

George Santayana

"History does not repeat itself. The historians repeat one another."
Max Beerbohm

History must be written of, by and for the survivors.
Anonymous

History is interim reports issued periodically.
Anonymous

If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.
Aristotle

History is something that happens to other people.
Anonymous

God alone knows the future, but only an historian can alter the past.
Ambrose Bierce

Illinois is Broke

The State of Illinois is in deep debt. 
There are only two solutions.


Increase Income (taxes)
or
Reduce spending


The State has finally started making some moves. They increased the State Income tax, and have reduced pensions for future employees. But not enough yet.


This is the fault of our elected officials, but it is also the fault of Illinois voters - us. We keep electing bad leaders - Governor Blogo comes to mind. And we did this twice - what were we thinking?


We also need to elect a relatively same number of Democrats and Republicans, with some independents. We need checks and balances in Government - which really demands two viable and relatively equal parties. We need two or more parties to keep a watch over the other side.

Pretty good web site on this issue.

http://www.illinoisisbroke.com/

Best Places to Work

Fortune Magazine has written an interesting article where they rate the 100 best companies to work for in the United States.

My insurance company USAA is rated. They primarily insure military personnel and their dependents. Most of the Board and many of the workers are former military. Their workers and insured are an ethical group, and they provide excellent insurance at fair cost to their membership. The members own the company, and we get a distribution of the profits each year.

They are a fine company, but one thing that caught my eye was that this year they extended employee health benefits to domestic partners. Interesting that a military dominated company made this move.

Fortune explains how they develop their rating.

"Two-thirds of a company's score is based on employees' answers to questions about such factors as job satisfaction, management credibility, and camaraderie. (The other third is based on the companies' responses to detailed questions about pay, benefit programs, hiring practices, recognition programs, diversity efforts, and more."


Interesting that no local or state government made the list, despite the anger in the country about government cost and pension benefits. Apparently they are not such good places to work despite the benefit package.


Click to Read the article.

Destroyed Village

Winning the Hearts and Minds?

We had to Destroy the Village to Save it?

War is a very tough and nasty business.

"An American-led military unit pulverized an Afghan village in Kandahar’s Arghandab River Valley in October, after it became overrun with Taliban insurgents. It’s hard to understand how turning an entire village into dust fits into America’s counterinsurgency strategy — which supposedly prizes the local people’s loyalty above all else."

"But it’s the latest indication that Gen. David Petraeus, the counterinsurgency icon, is prosecuting a frustrating war with surprising levels of violence. Some observers already fear a backlash brewing in the area."

Click to Read the Story:

Rasumussen Poll

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

Click to Read More

Senator Lieberman

Sorry to see that Senator Lieberman is retiring. I think he was an excellent Senator.

Of course many Democrats despise him because he bolted the party to run as an independent. But to me it was because he was a centrist that he was effective. He was pragmatic, open and honest. We don't have enough of that in the United States Senate.

Click to read David Brooks writes about Senator Lieberman  

Marine Leadership for Government

Marine Corps Leadership Principles

for Local Government

For

Mayors, City Council Members,

City Managers, and Planners

The Marine Corps motivates American teenagers to wake up at 5:00 am, work hard, and charge machine guns uphill, all for minimum wage.

Click Here to Read More

President Obama Video on JFK

Barack Obama We are the heirs of President Kennedy, who showed us what is possible. Because of his vision, more people prospered, more people served, and our union was made more perfect. Because of that vision, I can stand here as President of the United States.

President Obama on the 50th Anniversary of JFK’s Inauguration

www.youtube.com

The President marked the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s presidential inauguration last night at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The World is Getting Smaller

South Korea's navy has rescued crew members from a South Korean chemical ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea.


The world is getting smaller. Korea has ships and their Navy half way around the world.


And I read this on Al Jazeera News, one of my favorite news sources.


Click to Read More


Koreans are tough guys. I served with 5 Republic of Korea Marine Lieutenants in Quantico and Vietnam. One was my roomate. Three of the five were black belts.  The senior officer would physically hit junior officers or men if he thought they were out of line. The Vietnamese were very afraid of them.


Hwang Young Nam, if you are out there, give me a call. I miss you, buddy. Ballywa, Hwang.

Ask What You Can Do For Your Country

My fellow Americans, ask not
what your country can do for
you; ask what you can do for
your country.


John F. Kennedy
20 January 1961

Hard to believe it was 50 Years. His statement and leadership challenge certainly influenced many of our lives. One of the reasons I did my Prince of Peace Corps tour and Marine Corps tour.

http://popv.blogspot.com/

http://popv.blogspot.com/

Go Bears!!!

If the Bears go to the Super Bowl, President Obama will be there.

Of course, they have to beat the Packers first. Not an easy assignment.

Go BEARS!!

Read more

Amy Chua Is a Wimp?

David Brooks is one of my favorite columnists.  Read what he has to say about Ms. Chua, who I am pretty sure is a reincarnation of my former Parris Island Drill Instructor. I would never dare call him a wimp - same with Ms. Chua.

"Amy Chua Is a Wimp"

By DAVID BROOKS

"Sometime early last week, a large slice of educated America decided that Amy Chua is a menace to society. Chua, as you probably know, is the Yale professor who has written a bracing critique of what she considers the weak, cuddling American parenting style."

Read the story at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/opinion/18brooks.html?adxnnl=1&src=un&feedurl=http://json8.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.jsonp&adxnnlx=1295377265-p1BRIZ8XpC/iN9yS4kr20Q

Felony Spy

Interesting program. Put in your address and your neighborhood map will pop up.

Every place you see a red balloon or thumb tack is the home of a convicted felon.

Hover your mouse over an icon and the name, age and  the crime they were convicted of will appear.


Now, is this a good idea or bad? Will it influence people not to buy in certain neigborhoods?  Does it stigmatize the individuals highlighted?

        http://www.felonspy.com/search.html

Is China’s Rise Overrated?

Interesting article by David Frum.

"This week, Chinese President Hu Jintao will visit Washington on a state visit. Americans may see China as the world’s top economic power but, as I discuss in my latest CNN column, the country still faces enormous social and political challenges Chinese president Hu Jintao arrives in Washington this week at a time of American pessimism."

"A recent Pew poll finds that 47% of Americans regard China as the world’s pre-eminent economic power. Only 31% rate the United States as No. 1, even though its economy, at today’s exchange rates, is almost triple the size of China’s."

Read the rest of the article at:   http://www.frumforum.com/is-chinas-rise-overrated

Chinese Mothers and Marine Drill Instructors

Amy Chua wrote an interesting article on parenting in the Wall Street Journal and her new book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

Ms. Chua reminds me of Sgt Bess, my drill instructor at Marine Corps Boot Camp in Parris Island. Very tough discipline.

Ms. Chua tells us:

“A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:

• attend a sleepover • have a playdate • be in a school play • complain about not being in a school play • watch TV or play computer games • choose their own extracurricular activities • get any grade less than an A • not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama • play any instrument other than the piano or violin"

The rest of the story on the 
Wall Street Journal - Click the Link Below:

 http://tinyurl.com/3ysk9mc

This article and the comments below were originally generated by my high school classmates. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

More Reasons to Calm Down the Rhetoric

VIDEO

Merely a week after a crazed gunman shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head and left several others dead and wounded at a local political event, a Tea Party spokesman in the same area received a public death threat at a town hall meeting– from one of Jared Loughner’s victims.

Local station KGUN is reporting that Eric Fuller a 63-year-old military veteran who was shot in the back last Saturday while attending Rep. Giffords’ “Congress on Your Corner” event, became enraged by the statements of some of the participants at the town hall events and threatened the life of Tea Party spokesman Trent Humphries. 


Click below for the videos and the rest of the story:

http://www.mediaite.com/online/az-shooting-victim-arrested-for-death-threat-to-tea-party-leader-during-abc-news-townhall/

The 60's

If you remember The 1960's with fondness,

           

You were not there, or you were not paying attention.

DOD announces Vietnam War 50th Anniversary!

Department of Defense announces 


Vietnam War 50th Anniversary!

We are too young to have been involved with a 50th anniversary.

Possible Events for how to remember the Vietnam War for the 

Left and Right


Peace marches, sit-ins, demonstrations, riots, love ins, fire fight reenactments, 
helicopter rides, parades, full automatic rifle firings?


I love the imagery - balding Vets in old cammies 
arguing with balding hippies with pony tails

http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/ 

Make Love, Not War ------------------------------------ Peace Through Fire Superiority

Good article by Richard Florida in the Atlantic Monthly on murder and gun control.

RICHARD FLORIDA - Richard Florida is the author of The Creative Class and founder of the Creative Class Group.

The Geography of Gun Deaths

Terrible tragedies like last week's mass shootings in Tucson cause us to search for deeper answers. Many were quick to blame America's divisive and vitriolic political culture for the violence; others portray the shooter as an unhinged, clinically deranged person with his own unfathomable agenda. Arizona has been ground zero for the battle over immigration. Were the state's political and economic travails a contributing factor? There has been some talk about guns, too. Might tighter gun control laws have made a difference?

The map above charts firearm deaths for the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Note that these figures include accidental shootings, suicides, even acts of self-defense, as well as crimes. As of 2007, 10.2 out of every 100,000 people were killed by firearms across the United States, but that rate varies dramatically from state to state. In Hawaii, at the low end, it was 2.6 per 100,000; in New York and New Jersey it was 5.0 and 5.2 respectively. At the high end, 21.7 out of every 100,000 residents of the District of Columbia were killed by guns, 20.2 in Louisiana, 18.5 in Mississippi, and 17.8 in Alaska. Arizona ranked eighth nationally, with 15.1 deaths per 100,000.

Read more at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/the-geography-of-gun-deaths/69354/

Government is not Popular -Rasmussen Poll

By a nearly 3-to-1 margin, voters continue to believe that no matter how bad something is, Congress can always make it worse.  Earlier polling showed that hardly anybody expects government spending and deficits to be cut over the next two years.

Most voters believe the average Democrat in Congress is more liberal than they are. Most Democrats feel ideologically in line with Democrats in Congress but Republican voters are less thrilled with their party’s Representatives. In fact, 37% of GOP voters think the average Republican in Congress is more liberal than they are.

rasmussenreports.com