All posts by James DeVol

Good riddance…

Well…as I advocated the other day…the President has removed General McChrystal from his position leading the effort in Afghanistan strongly reaffirming to this country and the rest of the world that the civilians are now and always will be in charge of our military. And, as more and more information comes out on this guy, what I said about him in the other post is also true: that this guy was just one of the tea partiers that could not accept that their side lost the election and was just throwing an immature fit like you see at all of the tea party rallies. Now, I know that some of you that read this are bosses…what would you do if one of your employees did what McChrystal did to the President? If one of your brightest engineers, for example, spent his break or work time bad-mouthing you to the rest of your team and showed you no respect? I’m sure you’d warn him that it wasn’t appropriate…but if he kept it up you wouldn’t tolerate it and would probably ask him or her to go somewhere else. Just what Obama did.

But, there is a larger danger here that has been ignored by our generation; a warning of which was given by an ex-general who was also president Eisenhower. “Beware the military-industrial complex”…to that I’ll add my own corollary…”Beware the hero worship of the military”. Many of the commentators seem to want to give the military a pass on everything with the right being the biggest cheerleaders…and yes they do sacrifice…but they also know what they are getting into when they sign up. It’s become almost like a religion to some folks and what the world doesn’t need is another religion…geez.

June 24th

Well…had fun out with Tom last night but made a huge mistake of continuing to drink when I got home…feel like crap today..but I did win at pool so maybe that makes it okay…nope….it doesn’t. I guess it’s just from boredom but that’s no excuse. Oh, well…

Not much to do today…man…I’m just not thinking right now so I’ll stop…you don’t want to read when I’m not at my best so come back later…I’ll have had coffee and a shower that might make me feel and think human….

This is just wrong…

On my way home from shooting pool with Tom and we ran across some kids that were having fun jumping off the camelhump bridge between Ada and Cascade…something that every kid that lives in the area has done since the bridge was built…I’ve gone off it too many times to count as has everyone I know…what made this wrong was a Kent county cop had to stop and give those kids crap about it..”hey teacher, leave those kids alone”, leave them to be kids…why do we have to criminalize doing what every kid has done since forever? geez….

USA, USA, USA…

Man….what a heart-stopping match between Algeria and the USA….and Donovan wins it in stoppage time. I couldn’t stand just sitting here so I went over to the local Mexican place to watch with some of the guys over there…the only other soccer fans I know so that was fun….even had lunch…great Mexican food at Cabana Tres Amigos…go there some time..yummy. As soon as the US scored I got a call from my daughter in Chicago checking to make sure I didn’t have a heart attack. England won, too, so her husband will be happy that they got through….I’m smiling….

June 22nd

Well…need to get this one out early today since I have to be ready, willing, and able by 10 when the US faces Algeria in the World Cup this morning…but why did they have to have the England/Slovenia game on at the same time…might have to go out where I can have two screens…nope, can’t do that…going to shoot pool with Tom this aft and can’t start drinking that early…will need to take a nap and there just isn’t enough time before 3. Of course, I could just power through the day but I think I lost that ability about 20 years ago…along with the desire to do it….might be a thing to try at some point in the near future, though; just for scientific curiosity mind you…not that it may be fun.

That’s enough for now….it looks like big storms here in about an hour and if the damn dish goes out (again) I am going to scream….

McChrystal has to go….

Well…haven’t been paying to much attention today and this story just appeared like a quick thunderstorm…the commanding general in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, in a far-ranging interview with Rolling Stone Magazine has shown his true colors..or I should say has re-affirmed his true colors by again being insubordinate to President Obama. This guy needs to be removed and immediately. President Obama, do not think about this, do not mull it over, do not study it…just do it. This guy is acting like Bush is still president…when they could talk a good game and not accomplish anything and still keep their jobs. And, it appears that he has the same infection that the rest of the Republicans do…that makes them do and say irrational things whenever Obama is involved. Just look at the tea partiers….

I wouldn’t be surprised if McChrystal lands a new job as the Fox News military consultant.

He’s acted like a spoiled child throughout his career when he didn’t get his way…the definition of insubordination…he has to be taught that the military is under civilian control…geez…

You’re on your own….

Well…can the Repubs get any more obvious who they are lining up behind in the oil spill mess? First, you have Joe Barton apologizing to BP for Obama slapping them on the wrist…and then you have the new talking points that are urging impeachment for Obama since the Repubs think that asking BP to step up to their responsibilities is an unconstitutional use of presidential power. It’s not like the scene from “The Godfather” where a character holding a gun says that either the subject’s signature or brains were going to end up on a contract. What Obama did is called “jawboning” and it has been a part of the president’s prerogative since there was a President. What the hell is with these guys? I think Eugene Robinson, from the Washington Post, said it best…that the Repubs just want to attack Obama and it doesn’t matter if what they say is true, false, or even rooted in reality…it is the same tactic they used on Clinton, Kerry, and a host of other Democrats. The sad thing is that the Repub followers believe and support this crap.

What Obama is doing, and what I have advocated for many, many years, is a key role of the government that was abdicated under the Repubs…that is to be a referee between the average American and the overwhelming power of the modern corporation. What the Repubs want to happen is, instead of the 20 billion fund that Obama has gotten from BP, is for each and every harmed individual to bet their life savings and take BP to court, or, if you don’t have any savings, you are just out of luck. If we sit here and think for just a second…that’s long enough…we’ll see the other predominately Repub group that would benefit from extended litigation and court fights. Yep, you guessed it..the trial lawyers; not to mention BP.

Please, please, please, America….open your eyes and see just once what the Repubs are all about…they don’t care about you or any other American that is part of the middle class….this is their “let them eat cake” moment…and I hope the results are the same as the French revolution. Geez….

June 22nd

Well…had a fun night out with G last night…finally found a dive bar to replace the LC that has Keno and we won some cash…at least enough to keep playing all night. Have a bunch of stuff to get done this morning so this one is going to be kind of short…take a look at the last one if you really need to read more…or should I say please, please look at the last one? Nope..that’s just not me…read if you want…I do have something to say to the repubs who think Obama’s arm twisting to get BP to pay for the spill is unconstitutional later so come on back…it will fit a theme that I have been trying to get across….

How much profit is enough?

Well…this is one that I have been thinking about for quite a long time now…and this post was inspired by the simple thing of trying to find a softsided, 12-pack cooler to replace the one I’ve had for a few years. For months now, I have searched and searched every store in the area, looking for one that was made in the USA to support my fellow workers but I got to the point that I just gave up and bought one that was made in China. As an aside, since I lost my job at a local furniture manufacturer for the stated reason that my job was no longer needed, (and I guess the 15 million dollars per year in cost reduction I gave them wasn’t either), I have become a more conscious consumer; trying to buy American when possible but also making note of how the retailer treats their employees. Needless to say, I will never shop at Walmart. I can’t believe that all consumers are only motivated by price, but the choice of supporting our fellow Americans has been taken away by CEO’s whose only motive is more and more profit and the resulting bonuses that accrue to them from that profit. Personally, I would have paid 30 to 40 percent more for the cooler if it was made in an American factory that paid a living wage and healthcare to their workers….so those workers would be able to buy American made things that could put me and many like me back to work.

What if, instead of hundreds of millions of dollars going to the CEOs, a company would take, say, half of that and invest it in an American manufacturing plant that would employ 2 to 3 thousand workers? Would Ford’s stock price have plummeted if it had made 1.5 billion dollars and put on 10 thousand more American workers instead of the 2 billion it made? Yeah, I know it would have because the stock price is driven by the greed of the traders who could make a lot of money by shorting the stock and who don’t give a damn about anything except their next bonus and the new BMW…but I think that distorts decisions that would be made if they didn’t have to think about Wall Street.

When are we, as a people, going to stand up and say no more…no more billion dollar payouts for one hedge fund trader, no more CEOs making hundreds of millions while all they do is lay off people and line their own pockets? No more political protection for oil companies who make obscene, record profits and ruin the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Geez…

Oh, if you’ve read this post and remember that I drive a 1993 Mazda and have the urge to call me a hypocrite, don’t…because the Mazda was made in a Ford plant in Flat Rock Michigan by American, union workers….and it has almost 300K miles on it..that’s what I call quality….