APRIL FOOL

Tomorrow is April 1. Time HAS flown! I still have trouble fathoming the fact that Tizu has been with us just over six months. Anyway, this was always an interesting day growing up with the "April Fool's" jokes attempted, some even successful. Sherri recounts cute attempts by her preschoolers after she explains how the tradition is supposed to work. The biggest joke this year is in Europe trying to spread Marxism there...again (still?).

Now that "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" has taken over major banks and a two auto companies, they've passed the "Pay for Performance Act of 2009". It gives this bunch catre blanche to regulate the pay of ANY person on the payroll of any company receiving government bailout money based on that person's "performance", as determined by the Treasury Department bureaucrats. The only group that this "performance" exempts is...drum roll, please...themselves. That's right, this bunch of know-it-alls, most of whom have never managed the pizza concession at a convenience store, have placed themselves in charge of over $1 trillion-worth of the American economy and its employees' livelihoods. I am glad that the company that employs me isn't "too big to fail". It's hard enough dealing with our home office bureaucrats in Houston.

I watched the movie "1984" last night on line. It's been a very long time since I've read the book, but it was very grim. However, some of it seems appropriate for our current circumstances, especially the part that insists we are not to merely obey "The Leader", but also to love "The Leader". I guess I am guilty of think crimes as well. I hope I do not have to go through re-education.

LET IT SNOW?

That's right, it's spring in Wisconsin. That means a late March snowfall! No big deal. It was only four inches or so, and as of this writing (1:22pm), half of it has melted and the streets are clear and drying. I believe the plows never left the garage, at least not here at the Madj palatial estate.

FIRST GRANDPARENTS' OUTING

Today marks a real milestone for me (and my awesome Grandma as Jimmy Buffett sings). Tizu was allowed to leave the the house without her parents in tow. Her Grandma and I, after "forcing" our way into their lives this weekend, were allowed to take her to Appleton to the children's museum and out for lunch at our choice. She was her usual well-behaved, intelligent, cute self! She elicited many comments from strangers and impressed everyone within earshot. She has an amazing vocabulary and enunciation for a two-year-old, especially for one who has been in the U.S. for only six months.

We also had her fascination, appreciation and affection for trucks confirmed. On a side trip to "Toys 'R' Us", she came upon a large plastic yellow dump truck with a backhoe attachment on the front and large "Legos" in the back. She pushed this toy around the entire store, even after stopping to check out what we adults assumed to be "cooler" are "better" toys. On the way to the museum and back to Oshkosh, the truck rolled around in the back of the car and with each roll, she felt it necessary to comment "truck" and ask me to make it happen again. She is truly a joy!

In our escapades these past weeks, we could not help but notice the lack of confidence Wisconsinites have in our President's constant berating of the economy as the parking lots of Wal-Marts, restaurants and stores in general are not lacking empty spaces. Maybe, like everything else, this trend is slow to arrive in Wisconsin. We'll see.

1984 ALL OVER AGAIN

What if a president had proposed a complete government takeover of the entire financial sector of the U.S. economy? What if he proposed a panel to overhaul the tax code to change it to reflect his personal philosophy? What if he proposed to spend so much of our tax money that the deficit became 20% of the GDP? Does anyone but me think the media would have a couple of questions of the leader of the free world? Well,it's happening and WHERE IS THE MEDIA?!? Also, where is the "loyal opposition"?

The "loyal opposition", namely the republicans, having been shut out of the governing process by the "rules" of the majority party, are busy mucking up collegiate football by proposing anti-BCS federal laws. Don't get me wrong, a football playoff makes sense, but for the feds to get involved is utterly preposterous.

Then again, the more time politicians spend on this stuff, the less time they spend mucking up our lives substantively. So, I guess, keep up the good work!

NO MORE "WAR ON TERROR" - YEAH!

We have no more war on terror. Who knew? I guess the mission is completed. Just like we now have no more "enemy combatants", we have no more "war on terror". That's right, the official word from Camelot II is "Overseas Contingency Operation". Now that's change!

Remember the old term "astronomical"? It referred to the number of stars in the heavens. It was a number represented by 10 to the 11th power. That is 100 billion to those of you who follow Obamanomics. So, to refer to the U.S. deficit after the Obama budget is passed as astronomical would be a grave understatement as it will, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, rise to...drum roll please...1.3 trillion, that's $1,300,000,000,000 or 10 to the 113th power! Whew! I hope my great-great grandchildren are all rich people so this is able to be paid off in this millennium.

Oh, and The One has assembled a panel to study the tax code top-to-bottom and look to "rebalance" it, whatever that means. In a "Wall Street Journal" article, the panel is "ordered to make recommendations on steps to simplify the code, built over the last 96 years, in ways that would reduce tax evasion and what he called 'corporate welfare'". Let's see, tax cheats Geitner and Daschle have already been caught, so there's about $300,000 collected already. Hey, this guy really does know what he's doing! Oh, wait, the ending the corporate welfare thing could be a hindrance to his road to success. How, you wonder? How soon you forget. The Porkulous ($787b), the Obamubus ($410b) and the home mortgage bailout ($275b) for a total of $1.472t have all been passed within the last 60 days with more promised. Hooray! I could fix the tax code in five seconds and I'll charge only $5M to do it. Can you say "flat tax"?

I got an idea from a friend as to stimulating the economy "cheaply". There are 40 million or so of us who are 50 or over. give each of us $5 million with three stipulations:

1. Each of us must quit our jobs (boo-hoo) - 40 million instant job openings
2. Each of us must buy an new American car - 40 million cars sold
3. We must pay off our mortgages or buy new homes.

That would cost the taxpayers only $200 million, instead of $1.472 trillion and would actually stimulate the economy, but, then again, the politicians are not concerned about actually fixing the economy. But, what do I know. I don't have an Ivy League education and a Marxist philosophy.

INCLUSION OF GOD IN STATE

This morning (and early afternoon) the Lutheran church I attend and have served in several lay capacities held a special meeting to vote on immediate fiscal repair motions. The details are mundane, but what astonished me was the questions that were asked at this "lowly" christian assemblage were better, more in-depth and better conceived than any considered or presented by our elected representatives in Washington! We even allowed dissension and true debate! Christian love and admonishment as well as acceptance of responsibility for transgressions were expressed. I only wish Nancy Pelosi and Harry Ried were in attendance to see real democracy in action AND the expected, welcomed and frequent invocation of The Triune God simultaneously. His blessing and influence were even advocated for before and after the meeting. While I, personally did not agree with the decisions made, I voted in opposition, I was still awed by the humble event.

It was also a good day in that our very good, dear friends came to town to visit her parents. The wives have known each other since kindergarten and we assisted in each others weddings. We had dinner with the other couple, caught up on news, traded grandparent stories, reveled in the renewal of our childrens' relationship and ate good pizza.

WISCONSIN'S DC

When one sees "DC" like this, one generally assumes Washington, D.C.. For this discussion, it refers to Door County, the "thumb" of Wisconsin. It is such a unique place in this state. It is extremely nautical and eastern-seaboard-like. There are numerous cherry orchards amid rolling farm fields and immense cliffs of limestone escarpments dotting the landscape. It is a tourist trap extraordinaire. Sherri and I have visited many times, though there was an hiatus while we endured our forties. Now, we have another addition to our family of DC visitors, our granddaughter. She was a delight while climbing rock formations and snowbanks and walking a beach and throwing ice chunks into
Lake Michigan. She was a trooper being put into and removed from her car seat continuously. She especially enjoyed riding on shoulders of her poppa and me through snow-covered tree-lined hiking trails. The weather even cooperated with its fifty degree temperatures and clear skies. Thank you, Algore.

The trip was topped off with a pilgrimage to the Packer Pro Shop at Lambeau Field, which, on a weekend like this was anything but the frozen tundra (actually, it should be only "tundra" as adding "frozen" is redundant, but that's the media for 'ya). Tizu got a pom-pom, grandpa and momma each got caps and grandma got... wait for it... a hooded sweatshirt. The pom-poms were probably the only items in the entire store that did not contain a logo or the name "Packers" (or derivation of same) on them. They are, of course, green and gold.

The visit ended in Oshkosh where Tizu was on her own turf and was as entertaining as ever. I still wonder what we did without her in our lives.

WHO NEEDS CARS

If I didn't work I would attempt to get through life with a minimum of automobile interaction. As it happens, I own two. The larger one is needed this weekend for a trip to Door County (Wisconsin's thumb, if you will) as my teacher wife has off next week for her spring break. I do not like to drive my commuter car long distances as it has no cruise control. The reason that is important is that my ancient knee stiffens up after one hour of immobility and the trip to DC is over two hours.

Anyway, this entry is in regards to the car itself. Because of the mini vacation I made plans to have this larger car serviced after we return from the long weekend. Then, as I returned home this evening (Thursday), I received a call from my wife at the salon (why she goes I do not know, she doesn't need it) to pick her up. Her car, the larger car, would not start after school. The irony is amazing. Luckily, I have a guy, and he is able to get to it in time for the weekend. I retained the original appointment for the other maintenance. I wonder if this qualifies for stimulus?

We are spending the weekend with our granddaughter and her parents also, so, the car troubles are a matter inconvenience in comparison. We are looking forward to the weekend, especially now.

MY NEW HERO

I have a new political hero. Vaclav Klaus, President of...drum roll, please...The Czech Republic! That's right, a former communist state has a duly elected president Americans can be proud of. He is an unrepentant right-wing capitalist who has to warn the entire world what socialist policies can do to the economics of a country, and, ultimately, the world. It's a real shame I need to go half way around the world to find a political leader unashamed to tell the truth about socialism. He knows, he's lived through it and ultimately defeated it. Check out this link: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/206 to learn more of this brave man. One more thing, he's also a global warming denier. How cool is that? Check out this link http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/09/climate-change-deniers for that story.

I hate March. The weather is way too unreliable. It's even thirty-one days long! While there are some really nice spring-like hopeful days, way too many are like our last few, cold, rainy, snowy, windy, just plain YUCK! The subsoil is still frozen, so the 5" of rain just sits on the top and then runs off to the streams causing flooding. We just went through this last June. We spent our anniversary in our basement with shopvacs and tearing up carpeting. In anticipation, we did NOT replace the carpeting.

ANOTHER WONDERFUL GRANDPA DAY

My beautiful 2-yr-old granddaughter spent the day with us after sleeping over last night. She is a treat and a wonder. To think that she has been in our lives less than six months and has changed them forever is astounding. In that vain, I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate her six-month anniversary with us (Thursday).

She is as smart as she is beautiful. She is as compassionate as she is impish. I look forward to seeing her as I did my wife when we were first going out and separated (I still do look forward to spending time with her, but not in the same manner as we are together daily and not with Tizu). She is our pride and joy. We love you, Tizita!

The 1/2 Afican-American vs the Indian-American

I,ve had it with political IDIOTS! Now, after "The One" gave is Marxist diatribe in the form of a non-state-of-the-union state-of-the-union address, the Republican party gave its response to the president's speech, which is customary. The governor of Louisiana, you know, the Katrina state (Mississippi and Alabama were also hit hard by this devastating hurricane), gave the response. Governor Jindl is the son of an Indian immigrant. He is not a large man physically, but his love for this country and his state IS. The Democrats were livid! To think that the son of an immigrant could be a republican and the governor of a southern state is anathema to these elitists.

Governor Jindl also is not as great an orator as is the President. He gave it a shot anyway. What I have heard in response to his response, is not what the Governor said, but, from these self-appointed moral policemen, is cracks about him having off from his shift at the convenience store, his speech pattern and his "youth".

First, if ANY conservative would have made any crack about our 1/2 black President's race, an uproar as big as the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor would have ensued.

Second, the Governor needed to speak to those Americans watching as if they were children because the concepts he needed to get across contained actual facts, figures and proven economic strategies, not mere platitudes, philosophies and callings for hope and change.

Third, Governor Jindl is not all that much younger than the President and he already has more administrative experience!

There, that's done!

We had a rain-ice-snow mix on Thursday here. The roads on Friday were fine as the State and the counties are still allowed to use salt. There were, however, two personal casualties from the storm. My windshield wipers peeled apart. I took the chance and drove to work on Friday without them. Sherri and I went on a stimulus binge on Saturday and I drove wiperless then, also. What a gambler, 'eh? As for the stimulus, we spent our OWN money our own way, unlike those who run our country who are going to spend money our great-grandchildren haven't yet earned.