"Wisdom from the Northwoods..."
(and other such nonsense)
(and other such nonsense)
If you have read this far down on the home page, odds are this is your first time checking out my website, rather than a 'regular' who comes here to read the latest DAILY blog. I have no sponsor, no ads, and no hidden agenda. My writings are simply because of strong core values and a love of writing, coupled with the time and desire to do so. And I welcome you as a new reader.
The words are based on truth as I FIND IT, not on truth as I SEE IT. My 'rants' are honest opinions and are presented as OPINION. Ex-sailors tend to use strong language on occasion. It often helps get a point across. If you offend easily, this website is not for you.
If you prefer hype and bullshit, those type sites are all over the internet.
The words are based on truth as I FIND IT, not on truth as I SEE IT. My 'rants' are honest opinions and are presented as OPINION. Ex-sailors tend to use strong language on occasion. It often helps get a point across. If you offend easily, this website is not for you.
If you prefer hype and bullshit, those type sites are all over the internet.
Send Cap
an email
an email
No website sponsor. No ads. No pop-ups. Nothing to sell. Nothing to buy. No hidden agenda. No one pays my way. I write from the gut and with truth seasoned by humor. A new essay here EVERY day. No guarantee you will like them. Just read and enjoy!
A Strange Contentment.
Stay with me to the end of this writing. And you will be able to use what you read as a baseline for what appears here with frequency between now and the first Tuesday of next November.
Will start by mentioning that it is my intent to sell my fishing shack, boat-motor-trailer, and all equipment at my place on Dogtooth Lake in Ontario. This after 61 years since discovering this paradise of trophy size fish in 1949. NOT because the fishing has dropped off (it is the best ever); or because I have lost my interest and enthusiasm for it (THAT will never happen).
It is because my body is simply and totally worn out, and now that I have hit my mid-eighties in age, figure that I would be a danger to myself fishing alone on this far-flung lake; and, a danger to myself and others on the highways driving back & forth each fall & spring. I won't be quitting with bitterness or regret, but with a smile on my face when I recall all the years of bliss on this lake.
This is how it has been over the many years, as one by one my other interests have been put aside for one reason or the other (golf, hunting, skin diving, island hopping, hiking, building, etc., etc.). Each time mostly because one body part or the other told me that particular activity was over. And each time I accepted it with good grace and moved on to other things with a positive outlook on life, reaching for something else. So it now is with Canadian fishing.
I have been blessed. As each part of my body has worn out, it has left my mind clear and sharp, if anything, constantly improving with age like a fine wine. Leaving me these days with a strange feeling of contentment. All my life being a 'doer' and a problem solver, I now have endless hours to sit and think, ponder and reason, analyze and then fact check. With the beauties of the Internet in its ability to cough up tips from the collective experience of humanity, that can shake up a lifetime of learned acts.
And understanding completely that mixed in with the truths and facts to be found there, that there are also cleverly disguised OPINIONS posing as facts to further the agenda of an individual or organization. And it is at those times I am able to turn to the dozens of book shelves in three rooms of my home that include hundreds of volumes of non-fiction, books of reference on almost any subject, a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica, and maps & atlases of every corner of the world.
PLUS my collection of National Geographics that go back to 1914 and are fully complete from about 1940 to date. I consider them the FINAL word on almost anything of importance about the world as a whole, the one single publication that has always held itself above the fray while presenting truth and facts often found nowhere else.
The many newspapers and magazines that I read daily for current events, I always take with a grain of salt. And when some East Coast pointy-head attempts to impress the hoi-poloi with rare never used multi-syllable words, I have my trusty huge Webster's UNABRIDGED Dictionary that allows me to pierce the smoke and mirrors and poke holes in his/ her attempt to confuse an issue.
All the foregoing is to help the thousands of readers of this website fully understand that TRUTH is and will be the mainstay. Bullshit and hype we leave behind, and if the day's column is OPINION that will be so stated. And when indicated 'both-sides-of-the-coin' will be brought out. Between now and November when it comes to politics you can feel safe referring the website to others who want a bit of help in making a decision. And I am ALWAYS open to honest debate, and meaningful honest input. Just click on the top link to write me.
If it is good for country and family, it WILL be here. I have no other agenda than that. If it is good primarily for government/ politicians/ bureaucrats (of either party)... you will be forewarned. And thus, forearmed when you visit the voting booth.
CAP 3/5/10
www.capndee.com
THE website
for TRUTH!
Stay with me to the end of this writing. And you will be able to use what you read as a baseline for what appears here with frequency between now and the first Tuesday of next November.
Will start by mentioning that it is my intent to sell my fishing shack, boat-motor-trailer, and all equipment at my place on Dogtooth Lake in Ontario. This after 61 years since discovering this paradise of trophy size fish in 1949. NOT because the fishing has dropped off (it is the best ever); or because I have lost my interest and enthusiasm for it (THAT will never happen).
It is because my body is simply and totally worn out, and now that I have hit my mid-eighties in age, figure that I would be a danger to myself fishing alone on this far-flung lake; and, a danger to myself and others on the highways driving back & forth each fall & spring. I won't be quitting with bitterness or regret, but with a smile on my face when I recall all the years of bliss on this lake.
This is how it has been over the many years, as one by one my other interests have been put aside for one reason or the other (golf, hunting, skin diving, island hopping, hiking, building, etc., etc.). Each time mostly because one body part or the other told me that particular activity was over. And each time I accepted it with good grace and moved on to other things with a positive outlook on life, reaching for something else. So it now is with Canadian fishing.
I have been blessed. As each part of my body has worn out, it has left my mind clear and sharp, if anything, constantly improving with age like a fine wine. Leaving me these days with a strange feeling of contentment. All my life being a 'doer' and a problem solver, I now have endless hours to sit and think, ponder and reason, analyze and then fact check. With the beauties of the Internet in its ability to cough up tips from the collective experience of humanity, that can shake up a lifetime of learned acts.
And understanding completely that mixed in with the truths and facts to be found there, that there are also cleverly disguised OPINIONS posing as facts to further the agenda of an individual or organization. And it is at those times I am able to turn to the dozens of book shelves in three rooms of my home that include hundreds of volumes of non-fiction, books of reference on almost any subject, a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica, and maps & atlases of every corner of the world.
PLUS my collection of National Geographics that go back to 1914 and are fully complete from about 1940 to date. I consider them the FINAL word on almost anything of importance about the world as a whole, the one single publication that has always held itself above the fray while presenting truth and facts often found nowhere else.
The many newspapers and magazines that I read daily for current events, I always take with a grain of salt. And when some East Coast pointy-head attempts to impress the hoi-poloi with rare never used multi-syllable words, I have my trusty huge Webster's UNABRIDGED Dictionary that allows me to pierce the smoke and mirrors and poke holes in his/ her attempt to confuse an issue.
All the foregoing is to help the thousands of readers of this website fully understand that TRUTH is and will be the mainstay. Bullshit and hype we leave behind, and if the day's column is OPINION that will be so stated. And when indicated 'both-sides-of-the-coin' will be brought out. Between now and November when it comes to politics you can feel safe referring the website to others who want a bit of help in making a decision. And I am ALWAYS open to honest debate, and meaningful honest input. Just click on the top link to write me.
If it is good for country and family, it WILL be here. I have no other agenda than that. If it is good primarily for government/ politicians/ bureaucrats (of either party)... you will be forewarned. And thus, forearmed when you visit the voting booth.
CAP 3/5/10
www.capndee.com
THE website
for TRUTH!
I SAT.
For ten minutes at noontime, on the step of the portico. In my tee shirt. The outside temp had shot up to 38 degrees. There was no wind, the sky was clear, and the sun was blazing. But still too far South in the sky to melt the huge pile of snow on the North side roof of the garage. On the South side the melt was pouring off with steady drips.
My cat was inside by the partially open door, yowling and complaining because I seem to have upset his daily winter routine. Guess I forgot to tell him in advance that I wanted to feel the warmth of the sun on my winter-weary body and that I would be AWOL for awhile. (Or, most likely, he is just hungry.)
During those delightful ten minutes I listened to silence. Our migrating song birds haven't yet returned, and those that wintered over must be enjoying a noontime siesta. While our half-mile driveway is a morass of mud in the low spots, the freeze-drying effect of our still zero night time temps have made the snowless higher areas normal, even though the frost has not gone out of the ground.
And as I look around and see every place other than the driveway still covered with at least a foot or two of snow, with a few six foot drifts, can't help but think the frost likely is not very deep this year. Mainly because the snow that started to fall in early November is still there. Part of the 'blanket' that prevented the frost from going real deep. This is our first decent thaw since then.
Out front I can see water flowing in the river. That started in spots a couple days ago, but now it is flowing in a narrow channel in the middle of the river ice. Telling me exactly where the force of the current is the strongest. Also telling me where I can most likely expect to see river bank erosion in a couple months. Once we get into the full-fledged spring thaw, considering the amount of snow nature left us with, reckon this could be one of the years when our little river goes way out of its banks.
Few years ago when that happened a couple of our regular Canada Geese pairs that had not built their nest high enough, were forced to see nests and eggs wash away. Made us a bit sad as we watched that all happen. Last couple years, no nests in those same spots, guess they weren't going to be fooled twice by mother nature.
That's about it for today, just wanted to share these thoughts. Figured we all need a break now and then from the nonsense that is going on in Washington D.C. Now you can go back to fretting & fussing about those nincompoops in Congress and the Oval office.
CAP 3/8/10For ten minutes at noontime, on the step of the portico. In my tee shirt. The outside temp had shot up to 38 degrees. There was no wind, the sky was clear, and the sun was blazing. But still too far South in the sky to melt the huge pile of snow on the North side roof of the garage. On the South side the melt was pouring off with steady drips.
My cat was inside by the partially open door, yowling and complaining because I seem to have upset his daily winter routine. Guess I forgot to tell him in advance that I wanted to feel the warmth of the sun on my winter-weary body and that I would be AWOL for awhile. (Or, most likely, he is just hungry.)
During those delightful ten minutes I listened to silence. Our migrating song birds haven't yet returned, and those that wintered over must be enjoying a noontime siesta. While our half-mile driveway is a morass of mud in the low spots, the freeze-drying effect of our still zero night time temps have made the snowless higher areas normal, even though the frost has not gone out of the ground.
And as I look around and see every place other than the driveway still covered with at least a foot or two of snow, with a few six foot drifts, can't help but think the frost likely is not very deep this year. Mainly because the snow that started to fall in early November is still there. Part of the 'blanket' that prevented the frost from going real deep. This is our first decent thaw since then.
Out front I can see water flowing in the river. That started in spots a couple days ago, but now it is flowing in a narrow channel in the middle of the river ice. Telling me exactly where the force of the current is the strongest. Also telling me where I can most likely expect to see river bank erosion in a couple months. Once we get into the full-fledged spring thaw, considering the amount of snow nature left us with, reckon this could be one of the years when our little river goes way out of its banks.
Few years ago when that happened a couple of our regular Canada Geese pairs that had not built their nest high enough, were forced to see nests and eggs wash away. Made us a bit sad as we watched that all happen. Last couple years, no nests in those same spots, guess they weren't going to be fooled twice by mother nature.
That's about it for today, just wanted to share these thoughts. Figured we all need a break now and then from the nonsense that is going on in Washington D.C. Now you can go back to fretting & fussing about those nincompoops in Congress and the Oval office.
MY TURN ON The HEALTH CARE BILL!
For a long time, probably ever since all the hype/ B.S./ fire and furor of the so-called "health-reform" has become the stuff that makes media salivate about all the juicy ins and outs, drippings, droppings, and droopings that emanate, thus giving them headlines such as "Just In!", "Breaking News!", "Flash!", ad nausea in an effort to draw the boobs-to-the-tubes ... ever since then I have wanted to have my say on the matter but haven't done so in simple plain words. I now do so.
For a long time, probably ever since all the hype/ B.S./ fire and furor of the so-called "health-reform" has become the stuff that makes media salivate about all the juicy ins and outs, drippings, droppings, and droopings that emanate, thus giving them headlines such as "Just In!", "Breaking News!", "Flash!", ad nausea in an effort to draw the boobs-to-the-tubes ... ever since then I have wanted to have my say on the matter but haven't done so in simple plain words. I now do so.
As a beginning: Erase ALL of this Obamacare crap thrown at us in the form of an unreadable 2,400 page bill and begin with facts, truth, and a whale of a lot of common sense.
Not that it would make a whit of difference, and would likely cause BOTH sides of the issue to holler in loud voices how heartless, unthinking, cruel, and callous I am for even thinking such a thing! (Plus it would cause thousands of unnecessary government workers to shake in their boots in fear someone would listen to common sense, causing them to have to find REAL work.) But here goes.
DON'T DO A DAMN THING! Leave things exactly as they are! Must I tell/ remind/ gag down their throats/ that right now the uninsured and unemployed in the USA are getting medical attention for free at hospitals and clinics and from caring medical professionals? Yes, they may have to wait a bit longer, not get a doctor of their choice, or tests they don't need, have to (horrors!) be in a four-bed hospital room or ward, instead of a private or semi-private room. While these caregivers either eat their costs or pass them on to those who can pay.
Tell me about how much worse that kind of care that we presently have is, than the horror stories that I hear about the health care in Canada or England where they have Socialized GOVERNMENT dictated health care! Or the great health care in pre-earthquake Haiti. Maybe Bangladesh. Or Indonesia. Africa perhaps ...
And if all these damn do-gooders, sob-sisters, socialists, and far-left liberals want to do something meaningful to help keep health care costs in line ... start with what I have been screaming about that needs to be done for the past four years ... TORT REFORM. If someone would boil down the 2,400 page bill they are so desperately trying to jam down our throats into ... get this ... ONE page in very simple language, detailing the INDISPUTABLE "good things" it provides, and will do them better than what we now have; and, at the same or less INDISPUTABLE cost we now experience ... I will be happy to eat crow.
If I haven't offended someone with what I have written who needs a bit of common sense drilled into their heads, do let me know who I missed. I will go after their sorry ass in my next attack on stupidity.
Cap 3/9/10
Not that it would make a whit of difference, and would likely cause BOTH sides of the issue to holler in loud voices how heartless, unthinking, cruel, and callous I am for even thinking such a thing! (Plus it would cause thousands of unnecessary government workers to shake in their boots in fear someone would listen to common sense, causing them to have to find REAL work.) But here goes.
DON'T DO A DAMN THING! Leave things exactly as they are! Must I tell/ remind/ gag down their throats/ that right now the uninsured and unemployed in the USA are getting medical attention for free at hospitals and clinics and from caring medical professionals? Yes, they may have to wait a bit longer, not get a doctor of their choice, or tests they don't need, have to (horrors!) be in a four-bed hospital room or ward, instead of a private or semi-private room. While these caregivers either eat their costs or pass them on to those who can pay.
Tell me about how much worse that kind of care that we presently have is, than the horror stories that I hear about the health care in Canada or England where they have Socialized GOVERNMENT dictated health care! Or the great health care in pre-earthquake Haiti. Maybe Bangladesh. Or Indonesia. Africa perhaps ...
And if all these damn do-gooders, sob-sisters, socialists, and far-left liberals want to do something meaningful to help keep health care costs in line ... start with what I have been screaming about that needs to be done for the past four years ... TORT REFORM. If someone would boil down the 2,400 page bill they are so desperately trying to jam down our throats into ... get this ... ONE page in very simple language, detailing the INDISPUTABLE "good things" it provides, and will do them better than what we now have; and, at the same or less INDISPUTABLE cost we now experience ... I will be happy to eat crow.
If I haven't offended someone with what I have written who needs a bit of common sense drilled into their heads, do let me know who I missed. I will go after their sorry ass in my next attack on stupidity.
Cap 3/9/10
Yesterday on 3/09/10 my loved one took this picture of our river out front breaking up, huge blocks of ice being swept away. As I looked at the picture, could not help but think what a story it has to tell. So will share it with you.
This great recession we have been living through can be called our winter of discontent. The river represents the ebb and flow of humanity, the work it does, the energy (tax money) that flows from it keeps the river flowing in an orderly fashion.
As the winter set upon us, ice formed on the river. We will call that ice 'Congress', a covering and 'umbrella' over the flow of humanity. And as the recession worsened (winter got colder) the ice got thicker and thicker (thick ice we will call expanding 'Government') using up the river's energy (tax money) that flowed beneath, until only a trickle flowed under the ice as government got thicker and denser, demanding more and more energy (tax money).
Then one day about a week or so ago, a small black hole appeared in the ice. Water started to flow ON TOP of the ice as the sun warmed it. We will call that top water the 'Tea Party', and as the water for the 'Tea' started to boil, it cut an open channel in the middle of the river, leaving huge ice shelves (government) sitting idle on both sides of the river.
But it quickly became obvious that those ice shelves were HANGING ABOVE the water level a good 7 or 8 inches with nothing supporting them, because they had already sucked too much water (tax money) out of the river to create themselves. And now the channel widens as the Tea Party boils over, and with no support the non-productive, inert and motionless ice shelves (Congress) suddenly break off and fall into the river. To be forever swept away in the now rising river (a tide of unhappy taxpayers).
Warm days arrive (voter discontent mounts) and now it is their turn to melt and sweep away those useless ice shelves in a frenzy of common sense called ELECTION DAY. So only one question remains:
Will YOU be an ice-breaker on election day?
CAP 3/10/10This great recession we have been living through can be called our winter of discontent. The river represents the ebb and flow of humanity, the work it does, the energy (tax money) that flows from it keeps the river flowing in an orderly fashion.
As the winter set upon us, ice formed on the river. We will call that ice 'Congress', a covering and 'umbrella' over the flow of humanity. And as the recession worsened (winter got colder) the ice got thicker and thicker (thick ice we will call expanding 'Government') using up the river's energy (tax money) that flowed beneath, until only a trickle flowed under the ice as government got thicker and denser, demanding more and more energy (tax money).
Then one day about a week or so ago, a small black hole appeared in the ice. Water started to flow ON TOP of the ice as the sun warmed it. We will call that top water the 'Tea Party', and as the water for the 'Tea' started to boil, it cut an open channel in the middle of the river, leaving huge ice shelves (government) sitting idle on both sides of the river.
But it quickly became obvious that those ice shelves were HANGING ABOVE the water level a good 7 or 8 inches with nothing supporting them, because they had already sucked too much water (tax money) out of the river to create themselves. And now the channel widens as the Tea Party boils over, and with no support the non-productive, inert and motionless ice shelves (Congress) suddenly break off and fall into the river. To be forever swept away in the now rising river (a tide of unhappy taxpayers).
Warm days arrive (voter discontent mounts) and now it is their turn to melt and sweep away those useless ice shelves in a frenzy of common sense called ELECTION DAY. So only one question remains:
Will YOU be an ice-breaker on election day?
NO MORE NEED BE SAID.
The following was written a bit ago by the Chairman and Editor in Chief of U.S.News & World Report, Mortimer Zuckerman. It speaks volumes about what is happening, and is meaningful because being a big contributor to Democrats, he is considered a liberal Democrat himself. What comes to mind is the age-old adage of how "Rats Desert A Sinking Ship." His article is today's posting.
CAP 3/11/10
He's Done Everything Wrong
by Mort Zuckerman
January 19, 2010
Obama punted on the economy and reversed the fortunes of the Democrats in 365 days.
He's misjudged the character of the country in his whole approach. There's the saying, "It's the economy, stupid." He didn't get it. He was determined somehow or other to adopt a whole new agenda. He didn't address the main issue.
This health-care plan is going to be a fiscal disaster for the country. Most of the country wanted to deal with costs, not expansion of coverage. This is going to raise costs dramatically.
In the campaign, he said he would change politics as usual. He did change them. It's now worse than it was. I've now seen the kind of buying off of politicians that I've never seen before. It's politically corrupt and it's starting at the top. It's revolting.
Five states got deals on health care-one of them was Harry Reid's. It is disgusting, just disgusting. I've never seen anything like it. The unions just got them to drop the tax on Cadillac plans in the health-care bill. It was pure union politics. They just went along with it. It's a bizarre form of political corruption. It's bribery. I suppose they could say, that's the system. He was supposed to change it or try to change it.
Even that is not the worst part. He could have said, "I know. I promised these things, but let me try to do them one at a time." You want to deal with health care? Fine. Issue No. 1 with health care was the cost. You know I think it was 37 percent or 33 who were worried about coverage. Fine, I wrote an editorial to this effect. Focus on cost-containment first. But he's trying to boil the ocean, trying to do too much. This is not leadership.
Obama's ability to connect with voters is what launched him. But what has surprised me is how he has failed to connect with the voters since he's been in office. He's had so much overexposure. You have to be selective. He was doing five Sunday shows. How many press conferences? And now people stop listening to him. The fact is he had 49.5 million listeners to first speech on the economy. On Medicare, he had 24 million. He's lost his audience. He has not rallied public opinion. He has plunged in the polls more than any other political figure since we've been using polls. He's done everything wrong. Well, not everything, but the major things.
I don't consider it a triumph. I consider it a disaster.
One business leader said to me, "In the Clinton administration, the policy people were at the center, and the political people were on the sideline. In the Obama administration, the political people are at the center, and the policy people are on the sidelines."
I'm very disappointed. We endorsed him. I voted for him. I supported him publicly and privately.
I hope there are changes. I think he's already laid in huge problems for the country. The fiscal program was a disaster. You have to get the money as quickly as possible into the economy. They didn't do that. By end of the first year, only one-third of the money was spent. Why is that?
He should have jammed a stimulus plan into Congress and said, "This is it. No changes. Don't give me that bullshit. We have a national emergency." Instead they turned it over to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi who can run circles around him.
It's very sad. It's really sad.
He's improved America's image in the world. He absolutely did. But you have to translate that into something. Let me tell you what a major leader said to me recently. "We are convinced," he said, "that he is not strong enough to confront his enemy. We are concerned," he said "that he is not strong to support his friends."
The political leadership of the world is very, very dismayed. He better turn it around. The Democrats are going to get killed in this election. Jesus, looks what's happening in Massachusetts.
It's really interesting because he had brilliant, brilliant political instincts during the campaign. I don't know what has happened to them. His appointments present somebody who has a lot to learn about how government works. He better get some very talented businesspeople who know how to implement things. It's unbelievable. Everybody says so. You can't believe how dismayed people are. That's why he's plunging in the polls.
I can't predict things two years from now, but if he continues on the downward spiral he is on, he won't be reelected. In the meantime, the Democrats have recreated the Republican Party. And when I say Democrats, I mean the Obama administration. In the generic vote, the Democrats were ahead something like 52 to 30. They are now behind the Republicans 48 to 44 in the last poll. Nobody has ever seen anything that dramatic.
The following was written a bit ago by the Chairman and Editor in Chief of U.S.News & World Report, Mortimer Zuckerman. It speaks volumes about what is happening, and is meaningful because being a big contributor to Democrats, he is considered a liberal Democrat himself. What comes to mind is the age-old adage of how "Rats Desert A Sinking Ship." His article is today's posting.
CAP 3/11/10
He's Done Everything Wrong
by Mort Zuckerman
January 19, 2010
Obama punted on the economy and reversed the fortunes of the Democrats in 365 days.
He's misjudged the character of the country in his whole approach. There's the saying, "It's the economy, stupid." He didn't get it. He was determined somehow or other to adopt a whole new agenda. He didn't address the main issue.
This health-care plan is going to be a fiscal disaster for the country. Most of the country wanted to deal with costs, not expansion of coverage. This is going to raise costs dramatically.
In the campaign, he said he would change politics as usual. He did change them. It's now worse than it was. I've now seen the kind of buying off of politicians that I've never seen before. It's politically corrupt and it's starting at the top. It's revolting.
Five states got deals on health care-one of them was Harry Reid's. It is disgusting, just disgusting. I've never seen anything like it. The unions just got them to drop the tax on Cadillac plans in the health-care bill. It was pure union politics. They just went along with it. It's a bizarre form of political corruption. It's bribery. I suppose they could say, that's the system. He was supposed to change it or try to change it.
Even that is not the worst part. He could have said, "I know. I promised these things, but let me try to do them one at a time." You want to deal with health care? Fine. Issue No. 1 with health care was the cost. You know I think it was 37 percent or 33 who were worried about coverage. Fine, I wrote an editorial to this effect. Focus on cost-containment first. But he's trying to boil the ocean, trying to do too much. This is not leadership.
Obama's ability to connect with voters is what launched him. But what has surprised me is how he has failed to connect with the voters since he's been in office. He's had so much overexposure. You have to be selective. He was doing five Sunday shows. How many press conferences? And now people stop listening to him. The fact is he had 49.5 million listeners to first speech on the economy. On Medicare, he had 24 million. He's lost his audience. He has not rallied public opinion. He has plunged in the polls more than any other political figure since we've been using polls. He's done everything wrong. Well, not everything, but the major things.
I don't consider it a triumph. I consider it a disaster.
One business leader said to me, "In the Clinton administration, the policy people were at the center, and the political people were on the sideline. In the Obama administration, the political people are at the center, and the policy people are on the sidelines."
I'm very disappointed. We endorsed him. I voted for him. I supported him publicly and privately.
I hope there are changes. I think he's already laid in huge problems for the country. The fiscal program was a disaster. You have to get the money as quickly as possible into the economy. They didn't do that. By end of the first year, only one-third of the money was spent. Why is that?
He should have jammed a stimulus plan into Congress and said, "This is it. No changes. Don't give me that bullshit. We have a national emergency." Instead they turned it over to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi who can run circles around him.
It's very sad. It's really sad.
He's improved America's image in the world. He absolutely did. But you have to translate that into something. Let me tell you what a major leader said to me recently. "We are convinced," he said, "that he is not strong enough to confront his enemy. We are concerned," he said "that he is not strong to support his friends."
The political leadership of the world is very, very dismayed. He better turn it around. The Democrats are going to get killed in this election. Jesus, looks what's happening in Massachusetts.
It's really interesting because he had brilliant, brilliant political instincts during the campaign. I don't know what has happened to them. His appointments present somebody who has a lot to learn about how government works. He better get some very talented businesspeople who know how to implement things. It's unbelievable. Everybody says so. You can't believe how dismayed people are. That's why he's plunging in the polls.
I can't predict things two years from now, but if he continues on the downward spiral he is on, he won't be reelected. In the meantime, the Democrats have recreated the Republican Party. And when I say Democrats, I mean the Obama administration. In the generic vote, the Democrats were ahead something like 52 to 30. They are now behind the Republicans 48 to 44 in the last poll. Nobody has ever seen anything that dramatic.
HITTING HOME RUNS.
Forty-five years ago I was what is referred to as a 'rising-star' in the health insurance industry. After a dozen years in the business working for the nation's fourth largest health insurance company (out of over 325 such companies) that was solely owned by a brilliant businessman named Charles Sammons. (His widow Elaine, the last I heard of her, was one of the world's richest women and Chairman of the 'Charles Sammons' billion dollar 'Trust'.)
I had enjoyed promotion after promotion while piling up (and saving) my money while working for Charlie, learning the skills of money management, promotion, and being an entrepreneur. My long term goal was to save enough money to quit and go into business for myself as eventually the owner-manager of two American Plan summer lake resorts in Northern Minnesota. Which I did April of 1965.
When I resigned it was much to the chagrin of the company that had been grooming me to take over as the national promotional VP of the company, a position to inspire and train the company's top level of sales management in every state. So Charlie made one of the single biggest mistakes he ever made. After I was gone he hired Mickey Mantle to do the job. (For those who don't know who 'The Mick' was, think baseball and his teammate Roger Maris, the world's leading HOME RUN heroes of those times.)
Mickey was mister personality, a boozer and a schmoozer of the first order, a revered name in the baseball hall of fame. And an absolute miserable failure as the national spokesman for a major health insurance company. He lasted only a short time, hit no home runs in the insurance industry, simply because he didn't have the foggiest idea of what the hell he was doing. While the record shows that I hit many 'home-runs' in the resort business and was able to retire 13 years later at the age of 51.
Which brings me to these days, and the essays, columns, blogs & rants that I write and post here. And also those I submit as my weekly newspaper columns. I am not such an egoist as to think for a single moment that each and everything that I write is a 'home-run'. While my two crooked forefingers pound stuff out to the best of my ability, and in good faith, some of what emerges could have been better. But not even the 'Mick' or Roger Maris hit a homer every time they came to bat.
But at the risk of sounding like the egoist that I just wrote I wasn't, will lay claim to the facts of record that I do know what the hell I am talking about when it comes to health care, money management, and the inter-relationship of the two. If you read it here, you will be as close to reading TRUTH as you will find anywhere on these matters. At this point in my life I have NOTHING to gain by writing otherwise. And from the git-go, Obama's 'health care reform bill' of 2,400 pages is a monumental disaster in the making.
CAP 3/12/10
Forty-five years ago I was what is referred to as a 'rising-star' in the health insurance industry. After a dozen years in the business working for the nation's fourth largest health insurance company (out of over 325 such companies) that was solely owned by a brilliant businessman named Charles Sammons. (His widow Elaine, the last I heard of her, was one of the world's richest women and Chairman of the 'Charles Sammons' billion dollar 'Trust'.)
I had enjoyed promotion after promotion while piling up (and saving) my money while working for Charlie, learning the skills of money management, promotion, and being an entrepreneur. My long term goal was to save enough money to quit and go into business for myself as eventually the owner-manager of two American Plan summer lake resorts in Northern Minnesota. Which I did April of 1965.
When I resigned it was much to the chagrin of the company that had been grooming me to take over as the national promotional VP of the company, a position to inspire and train the company's top level of sales management in every state. So Charlie made one of the single biggest mistakes he ever made. After I was gone he hired Mickey Mantle to do the job. (For those who don't know who 'The Mick' was, think baseball and his teammate Roger Maris, the world's leading HOME RUN heroes of those times.)
Mickey was mister personality, a boozer and a schmoozer of the first order, a revered name in the baseball hall of fame. And an absolute miserable failure as the national spokesman for a major health insurance company. He lasted only a short time, hit no home runs in the insurance industry, simply because he didn't have the foggiest idea of what the hell he was doing. While the record shows that I hit many 'home-runs' in the resort business and was able to retire 13 years later at the age of 51.
Which brings me to these days, and the essays, columns, blogs & rants that I write and post here. And also those I submit as my weekly newspaper columns. I am not such an egoist as to think for a single moment that each and everything that I write is a 'home-run'. While my two crooked forefingers pound stuff out to the best of my ability, and in good faith, some of what emerges could have been better. But not even the 'Mick' or Roger Maris hit a homer every time they came to bat.
But at the risk of sounding like the egoist that I just wrote I wasn't, will lay claim to the facts of record that I do know what the hell I am talking about when it comes to health care, money management, and the inter-relationship of the two. If you read it here, you will be as close to reading TRUTH as you will find anywhere on these matters. At this point in my life I have NOTHING to gain by writing otherwise. And from the git-go, Obama's 'health care reform bill' of 2,400 pages is a monumental disaster in the making.
CAP 3/12/10
LIFE WITHOUT WALLEYES
On This Date Some Years
Ago, Cap'n Dee Displayed
A 'Salt-Water-Keeper' At
Quintana Roo, Mexico. So
Life CAN Be Good When Not
Catching Walleyes!!!
On This Date Some Years
Ago, Cap'n Dee Displayed
A 'Salt-Water-Keeper' At
Quintana Roo, Mexico. So
Life CAN Be Good When Not
Catching Walleyes!!!
WHICH IS IT? YOU ANSWER:
When all else fails, and there is no obvious answer, it becomes time for good ol' common sense to take over. To go any other way is foolish, if not stupid. To do nothing and say the situation is "beyond me" & then ignore it is a sure sign of either laziness or indifference. Anyone that fits should forever be disqualified from being allowed to bitch and whine about "how bad things are."
The events of the past 14 months since Obama was sworn into office following his grandiose campaign promises of what he would do now begs two simple questions: Was he an out-and-out liar and charlatan in making them, fully knowing in advance he didn't have a chance in hell of getting them done? And is he now, after 14 months, a hypocrite of the first order for reversing himself on those positions?
Or, did he make all those pie-in-the-sky promises and pledges in absolute good faith, while reading them from a teleprompter and delivering them with the sheer magic of skilled oratory, honestly and truly thinking that "YES, I can do them"...??? Is that where he is coming from? Is that why we have the utter chaos today in the way our government is being run? If THAT be the case.....
..... then once and for all he has proved that he had neither the experience nor ability to be hired for the job he assumed. His woeful resume was totally ignored by emotional, mostly young and poorly educated voters seeking a "quick-fix" to problems that Obama only has made worse since taking office.
Yes, he has done a few (very few) 'good things' since setting up his temporary residence in our oval office. But no more than the average 'A' high school student with a modicum of common sense and good intentions probably could have done under the same circumstances.
As strongly as I opposed his election for two years, I now hope-against-hope that in his final 34 months in office that there will be some miraculous coming together of good intentions that begin to solve our nation's problems WITHOUT saddling my great grandsons (whom I adore) with a lifetime of unpayable national debt. But in all honesty, am forced to admit that in the end it comes down to the age-old adage that begs an answer...
"Put Your Hopes In One Hand And S*** In The Other, And You Will See Which One Fills The Fastest."
CAP 3/13/10
When all else fails, and there is no obvious answer, it becomes time for good ol' common sense to take over. To go any other way is foolish, if not stupid. To do nothing and say the situation is "beyond me" & then ignore it is a sure sign of either laziness or indifference. Anyone that fits should forever be disqualified from being allowed to bitch and whine about "how bad things are."
The events of the past 14 months since Obama was sworn into office following his grandiose campaign promises of what he would do now begs two simple questions: Was he an out-and-out liar and charlatan in making them, fully knowing in advance he didn't have a chance in hell of getting them done? And is he now, after 14 months, a hypocrite of the first order for reversing himself on those positions?
Or, did he make all those pie-in-the-sky promises and pledges in absolute good faith, while reading them from a teleprompter and delivering them with the sheer magic of skilled oratory, honestly and truly thinking that "YES, I can do them"...??? Is that where he is coming from? Is that why we have the utter chaos today in the way our government is being run? If THAT be the case.....
..... then once and for all he has proved that he had neither the experience nor ability to be hired for the job he assumed. His woeful resume was totally ignored by emotional, mostly young and poorly educated voters seeking a "quick-fix" to problems that Obama only has made worse since taking office.
Yes, he has done a few (very few) 'good things' since setting up his temporary residence in our oval office. But no more than the average 'A' high school student with a modicum of common sense and good intentions probably could have done under the same circumstances.
As strongly as I opposed his election for two years, I now hope-against-hope that in his final 34 months in office that there will be some miraculous coming together of good intentions that begin to solve our nation's problems WITHOUT saddling my great grandsons (whom I adore) with a lifetime of unpayable national debt. But in all honesty, am forced to admit that in the end it comes down to the age-old adage that begs an answer...
"Put Your Hopes In One Hand And S*** In The Other, And You Will See Which One Fills The Fastest."
CAP 3/13/10
GOT MY 'IRISH' UP...
... when I read an article from a national Canadian newspaper sent me by a long-time good Canadian friend. The writer of the article must use his mouth much more than his ears and eyes. He didn't seem to understand why Obama is failing so miserably. My personal opinion of the writer's intellect kind of boiled over when I responded, and I resorted to strong language when I wrote my bud in return. (If you are one of the fast declining number of people who STILL think Obama is qualified for his job, maybe you shouldn't read what I wrote. Might hurt your feelings.)
CAP 3/14/10
Colin...
Good God! "Why is Obama failing?" this numbskull asks? Let me reply with one simple question to him: "How long would a man live if he had never flown an airplane and suddenly found himself flying an F-35 super-jet warplane?"
This supreme asshole says Obama brought to the White House a "...glowing reputation..." What the hell is he smoking?
What the blue blazes does someone expect when they hire an untrained individual with NO experience to run the greatest country in the world? Who then surrounds himself with incompetents as advisors and quasi-felons as cabinet members? Miracles????
And then groping through the fog of his feeble mind the writer says "He has no one to blame." What blind jerk decided to pay good money to have this flake write articles for a newspaper? Is he/ she trying to bankrupt the paper? Does he/ she think that such drivel will increase readership? Or is he/ she just screwing the individual and engaging in a flurry of nepotism?
Obama sure as hell has someone to blame. As a matter of record, he has lots of 'someones' to blame. I mean lots and LOTS of someones, enough of them to hire him for the job in November 2008. Just wish there was some way that I could start a class-action lawsuit against all those sheep who lead us all to Obama slaughter, and then find a judge who would issue a judgment against them in the amount of our now unreal national debt created by this dumbly-doower.
Then this nincompoop ends up his childish writing by saying ... "Perhaps he's become the star of a drama for which he has no script." How about calling him what he is instead of a 'star'... he is a 'black-hole' in space, sucking us all into nothingness. A 'star' shines. I see absolutely no luster, no shine, no gleam of hope, no burst of light, nothing at the end of the tunnel but blackness as long as he remains in office. And as the 'sheep' are beginning to realize that it is a long, hard & cold winter after they have been shorn, this 'black hole' will disappear in 2012 in a cloud of 'star dust'.
Yes Colin, after I now have written my gut reaction to Fulford, it in all likelihood will appear almost verbatim on my website.
Sigh.
Cap
(P.S. No, not "almost-verbatim", word-for-word as I wrote it.)
... when I read an article from a national Canadian newspaper sent me by a long-time good Canadian friend. The writer of the article must use his mouth much more than his ears and eyes. He didn't seem to understand why Obama is failing so miserably. My personal opinion of the writer's intellect kind of boiled over when I responded, and I resorted to strong language when I wrote my bud in return. (If you are one of the fast declining number of people who STILL think Obama is qualified for his job, maybe you shouldn't read what I wrote. Might hurt your feelings.)
CAP 3/14/10
Colin...
Good God! "Why is Obama failing?" this numbskull asks? Let me reply with one simple question to him: "How long would a man live if he had never flown an airplane and suddenly found himself flying an F-35 super-jet warplane?"
This supreme asshole says Obama brought to the White House a "...glowing reputation..." What the hell is he smoking?
What the blue blazes does someone expect when they hire an untrained individual with NO experience to run the greatest country in the world? Who then surrounds himself with incompetents as advisors and quasi-felons as cabinet members? Miracles????
And then groping through the fog of his feeble mind the writer says "He has no one to blame." What blind jerk decided to pay good money to have this flake write articles for a newspaper? Is he/ she trying to bankrupt the paper? Does he/ she think that such drivel will increase readership? Or is he/ she just screwing the individual and engaging in a flurry of nepotism?
Obama sure as hell has someone to blame. As a matter of record, he has lots of 'someones' to blame. I mean lots and LOTS of someones, enough of them to hire him for the job in November 2008. Just wish there was some way that I could start a class-action lawsuit against all those sheep who lead us all to Obama slaughter, and then find a judge who would issue a judgment against them in the amount of our now unreal national debt created by this dumbly-doower.
Then this nincompoop ends up his childish writing by saying ... "Perhaps he's become the star of a drama for which he has no script." How about calling him what he is instead of a 'star'... he is a 'black-hole' in space, sucking us all into nothingness. A 'star' shines. I see absolutely no luster, no shine, no gleam of hope, no burst of light, nothing at the end of the tunnel but blackness as long as he remains in office. And as the 'sheep' are beginning to realize that it is a long, hard & cold winter after they have been shorn, this 'black hole' will disappear in 2012 in a cloud of 'star dust'.
Yes Colin, after I now have written my gut reaction to Fulford, it in all likelihood will appear almost verbatim on my website.
Sigh.
Cap
(P.S. No, not "almost-verbatim", word-for-word as I wrote it.)
NAP TIME???
Like many people, after a delicious meal, or a long party, I am always ready for a nap. (And oh how I love a good mid-day nap!) But some folks are now wondering if the members of the "TEA PARTY" and the supporters of SARAH PALIN have decided to rest on their laurels and take a nap, have begun to slack off and take it easy after dominating the national scene for almost a year. And that is because little or nothing is being written about them in the print media, and even less is popping up on TV.
For those folks, and others, the answer is NO... they are NOT asleep at the switch. You see, there is a huge underlying current of fear running through much of the far-left and the liberal dominated media. Fear because they have come to understand that the TEA PARTY and what it represents is NOT a 'flash-in-the-pan', is NOT all about one person, one 'leader' of the party ... it is about what is now the majority feeling amongst the general public. The VOTERS who will call the shots next November.
The far-left and their supporters are no bunch of dummies. They fully understand that it is time to 'try' to just ignore these people who are very unhappy with what they see in Washington. And maybe hope they will just go away, and that the movement will languish and fade when it gets no free ink. But they are sadly mistaken. This movement is NOT going away, and if I am any judge of the national scene, next November it will explode with a flurry of 'new-brooms'!!!
Watch for the very first test of the power of the TEA PARTY and Mrs. PALIN when Obama's so-called health care reform comes to a vote in what may be only a few days. While it already is close to not passing, make no mistake: Liberal politicians being the sorry mess of self-centered egoists they are, who are much more concerned with re-election than party loyalty when push comes to shove, may very well provide the sad-sack Pelosi an unpleasant surprise when all the votes have been counted.
And unless I badly miss my guess, between now and the vote on the bill, the TEA PARTY and its supporters will be twisting an awful lot of liberal Democrat's arms to help them face truth and reality. It will be most interesting!
CAP 3/15/10
Like many people, after a delicious meal, or a long party, I am always ready for a nap. (And oh how I love a good mid-day nap!) But some folks are now wondering if the members of the "TEA PARTY" and the supporters of SARAH PALIN have decided to rest on their laurels and take a nap, have begun to slack off and take it easy after dominating the national scene for almost a year. And that is because little or nothing is being written about them in the print media, and even less is popping up on TV.
For those folks, and others, the answer is NO... they are NOT asleep at the switch. You see, there is a huge underlying current of fear running through much of the far-left and the liberal dominated media. Fear because they have come to understand that the TEA PARTY and what it represents is NOT a 'flash-in-the-pan', is NOT all about one person, one 'leader' of the party ... it is about what is now the majority feeling amongst the general public. The VOTERS who will call the shots next November.
The far-left and their supporters are no bunch of dummies. They fully understand that it is time to 'try' to just ignore these people who are very unhappy with what they see in Washington. And maybe hope they will just go away, and that the movement will languish and fade when it gets no free ink. But they are sadly mistaken. This movement is NOT going away, and if I am any judge of the national scene, next November it will explode with a flurry of 'new-brooms'!!!
Watch for the very first test of the power of the TEA PARTY and Mrs. PALIN when Obama's so-called health care reform comes to a vote in what may be only a few days. While it already is close to not passing, make no mistake: Liberal politicians being the sorry mess of self-centered egoists they are, who are much more concerned with re-election than party loyalty when push comes to shove, may very well provide the sad-sack Pelosi an unpleasant surprise when all the votes have been counted.
And unless I badly miss my guess, between now and the vote on the bill, the TEA PARTY and its supporters will be twisting an awful lot of liberal Democrat's arms to help them face truth and reality. It will be most interesting!
CAP 3/15/10
