Thursday, February 26, 2009

Leadership 101

By Tim Philbin


Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'.

Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America'. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

Monday, February 23, 2009

We Have To Pay For This Too1?

By Tim Philbin

Here's a bit of news I just got.

"The massive government bailout of the nation’s financial system could help thousands of illegal immigrants who obtained home loans from banks that were encouraged to offer them by the federal agency in charge of preserving and promoting public confidence in the system.

The controversial $700 billion bailout will offer foreclosure relief for those at risk of losing their homes and that includes thousands of illegal immigrants who got mortgages from U.S. financial institutions thanks to a push from Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which began encouraging banks to offer services to illegal immigrants a few years ago.

Headquartered in Washington D.C., The FDIC insures more than $3 trillion of deposits in U.S. banks and is managed by a five-person board of directors appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. In the last few years the agency succeeded in getting several large lending institutions to offer a variety of banking services to illegal aliens, including home loans.

Now U.S. banks routinely offer services to people without Social Security numbers by accepting the Mexican identification called matricula consular to open accounts. Some states—like Illinois and Wisconsin—even used millions of dollars in public funds to provide low-interest home loans for illegal immigrants with no credit history or documentation in the U.S.

The loan default rate among illegal immigrants is high because they are inherently unreliable, are prone to fraud and may be forced by circumstances to return to their home nation at any point, according to a congressman representing a state that operated a large mortgage fraud ring featuring hundreds of unqualified borrowers that used fake identities to get money."

The veteran Colorado Representative, Tom Tancredo, wanted to assure that the bailout, didn’t offer incentives for illegal aliens. In a letter to his colleagues in Congress, Tancredo asked that safeguards be included on the bailout plan to verify the legal residency and identity of potential homebuyers. This will prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining federally backed home loans and assure that U.S. taxpayers are not absorbing their debts or bad loans made by banks to illegal aliens. (Complete details on the eligibility will not be announced until March 4th, when the program will start.)

Could it be a coincidence that the area’s hardest hit by home foreclosures happen to be illegal immigrant sanctuaries like Las Vegas, large parts of southern and northern California and the famous Arizona sanctuary of Phoenix?

Monday, February 16, 2009

People,People, People

By Tim Philbin

Stop all the bitchin and moanin!

Can anyone tell me where is it written that the USA owes any of us a house, education, health care or even food?

Get off your backside and go fend for yourself.

I was watching TV an saw people whining and crying about their lot in life and how it' s so tough to get by or take care of a family. Here's a bit of news ---NO ONE - NO ONE is owed anything by this country except a chance to try and possibly succeed. And as far as that goes let me share what my daddy told me, "even if you fall on your face - at least you are going in the right direction".

When the President was holding a town hall meeting his handlers rolled out a bunch of "OH WOE IS ME" types. With all that misery on the evening news I guess he figured his stimulus bill would be more acceptable to the audience.

One women cried that she had no kitchen! Yes, a kitchen. When the President told her he was going to help her the audience applauded like she had just won "the prize behind door number three"
You have got to be kidding!!! We owe people kitchens??? Want to know why they applauded??? I will explain in a future post.

Wake up people it's time to build your ARC. The storm IS coming. (more about the "ARC" later)

Friday, February 13, 2009

They're Smoking What?

By Tim Philbin

Many years ago (more then I care to remember) teenagers who chose to smoke had a particular brand of cigarettes.

Maybe you too could name the "brand" that was the one every one had to have. It was a status symbol, the one every cool kid had. No they were not Virginia Slims. Can you name it?

If you said Marlboro you are right. It was "THE" brand, soft pack or hard.

Now the CDC has done a study to discover what we knew so many years ago that this brand was preferred by more then half of all teen smokers. And do you know why?

According to the study it's not peer pressure, preference or looking "cool". It is all the advertising done to adults that is spilling over onto teens making them smoke. You might even call it "second hand advertising". Can you remember the last time you saw a tobacco ad?

Again, more bureaucrats justifying their existence by spending our money so they can tell us what we already knew. Oh yes, now they can go after the tobacco companies for MORE money to stop this blight on the American landscape. It is also timely in that state governments are out of money.

Don't you just love when a plan comes together!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Government Health Care - Government Rationing

By Tim Philbin

I hate to say I told you so, but...

Yes a little known provision in the new "stimulus" plan would allow a new governmental agency to choose who should get, how much and what kind of treatment based on a still yet to be determined governmental review process.

Who uses the system the most? Well sick people especially elderly sick people.

Doctors and hospitals who violate the directives would face penalties. In short, rationing would be determined, encouraged and enforced. Hope all you baby boomers are paying attention because you are the next elderly generation who might see this new plan hanging over your hospital bed.

But it's not just the elderly, what about the severely disabled or chronically ill of any age? They too would have their treatments reviewed and determinations made as to what should and should not be allowed.

There is a silver lining though. Those with lots of money (remember the democrats are now the party of the rich according to the US Census) can buy "private" health care anytime they may need it. It may be on a Caribbean Island some place but it would be available.

Just remember all of you that wanted change ... you got it.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Those Who Live In White Houses

By Tim Philbin

The President says he "will not tolerate" Wall Street CEO earning more then $500,000 in compensation while their companies are getting taxpayer bailouts.

Why reward failure is his attitude

I'm not sure if the President has checked his own CEO compensation package. It's a goody bag full of freebies that he gets and unlike others doesn't have to pay tax on any of it.

Yes he gets $400,000 in pay, plus a $50,000 expense account, a free chef, vacation home, two jets at his disposal, and a rent free home.

If the President was honest with himself and the rest of us he should look at the crooks who let this mess get started in the first place. It was the members of congress that allowed the bad mortgages to be issued (under the guise of social engineering) to people who should not have gotten them in the first place. They refused to correct the problem, while taking money from the political action arms of Fannie May and Freddie Mac.

Yes, even then Senator Obama was to blame but I don't hear him not "tolerating" the pay raise that members of congress just got from the taxpayers.

Stop grandstanding and get down to work fixing the problem you and your friends created.