Immigration and Cowboy Boots

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

boots Like all guys from Montana, I love my boots. When you get a pair of boots that fit just right, you want to keep them wearable as long as you can. I needed new soles and heels, and quickly – I was starting a new job in a couple of days.

I found Lee’s Shoe Repair on the web and called. In a deep Chinese accent, the shop owner said, “You bring them over, we take care of you.” I grabbed my old boots and took off.

Mr. Lee is getting on in years, and is probably a fairly recent immigrant to the United States. I don’t know that he is here illegally, but he sure could be. His English is passable, but broken – he had trouble understanding me, and I him. He said, “I have you boots on Saturday.”

“No, Mr. Lee,” I pleaded. “I need them by the end of business tomorrow. I’ll pay extra if you can help me.”

Overhearing the conversation, a husky young guy stuck his head through the doorway from the workroom and drawled, “Hey, no problem there, buddy. I know how important a man’s boots are. I’ll git ’em done for you by tomorrow.” He showed me a better kind of sole that would be more comfortable for long days on my feet. Relieved, I left my boots in his skilled Texan hands.

The next day I returned to the shoe repair shop and was greeted by Mrs. Lee, a gray-haired lady with bright eyes and a smile as big as China and Texas put together. The Texan cobbler came out to say hello, too, and I slipped him a ten-spot as a thank you for the rush job. Mrs. Lee said, “You need insoles so your feet don’t get tired. I won’t charge you for them.”

I thanked her, marveling at the extraordinary care and pride this couple and their happy Texan employee put into their work. Then she slipped into the back room, returning with a wrapped package of her special home-made fruit and cinnamon bread. “You take this,” she smiled. “Good luck with your new job!”

A week later, I stopped in to the neighborhood Bank of America across the street from Mr. Lee’s shoe repair shop to find out why I had not received my order of checks. I had been told ten days, and after three weeks they had not arrived. Annoyed at being bothered, the assistant manager checked his computer and said, “Looks like they were never ordered. I will put in a new order and you should get them in about ten days.”

I looked him in the eye and asked, “And the magic words when your company screws up are . . . ?”

He gave me a puzzled look.

“How about, ‘I’m sorry?‘” I said.

“Oh, um . . . of course. I’m, uhh . . . sorry.” He looked like he just ate a mouthful of worms.

I went across the street to thank Mrs. Lee and the Texan again for the great job they did on my very comfortable boots, and the delicious fruit bread. Her eyes twinkled, and there was that big smile. “You wait, I give you ‘Happy Candy’! You take it!” I left her shop, chewing her delicious Happy Candy, and reflecting on the difference between these two businesses a few hundred feet apart.

I’m still developing my thoughts on immigration. And on the Big Bank bailout.

Tom Balek – Rockin On the Right Side

These boots are made for walking
And that’s just what they’ll do
One of these days these boots are gonna
Walk all over you!

Are you ready boots?
Start walkin’!

These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra

Watch this video, if only to see the MINI-SKIRTS! Those were the good old days . . .

LNG – It’s a Gas, Gas, Gas!

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 3

You know all about natural gas. It has been a cheap, plentiful, relatively safe energy source in the US for a long time. Recent discoveries of huge natural gas reserves as a result of “fracking” indicate that we will have a more than plentiful North American supply far into the future.

Natural gas is typically delivered by pipelines which pump the product from wells to homes and businesses. If that were the only way to move natural gas, its utility would be limited. No pipeline, no natural gas.

But there’s another way. Natural gas can be liquefied by cooling it to -260°F. With impurities removed and at near atmospheric pressure, liquefied natural gas (LNG) takes up 99.84% less volume, making it easy to transport in tanks to areas without pipelines or a nearby natural gas supply (can you say China?) lng_ships_4

And the prospect of powering motor vehicles with LNG at lower costs and emissions than gasoline and diesel makes the world-wide move to LNG more than a temptation – it’s a no-brainer.

The tremendous promise of LNG would seem to put the United States, with our huge natural gas supply and technology advantage, in the global energy ‘catbird seat’. We should be gearing up to export LNG all over the world, getting the jump on Russia, Argentina and other gas-rich nations. Leading LNG companies like Excelerate Energy and Cheniere are chomping at the bit to build plants and start shipping.

So what’s the hold-up?

The Department of Energy is currently studying the national implications of exporting LNG and is taking comments from interested parties. Some US companies, like Dow Chemical and Alcoa, want to hold domestic natural gas prices down by keeping our excess supply within our borders. Their lobbyists, and some US congressmen, including Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), have expressed opposition to allowing LNG exports, claiming that sharing our surplus of natural gas may increase domestic gas prices.

Greg Kozera, president of the Virginia Oil and Gas Association, is taking the high road. He concedes that domestic prices may increase slightly, but that will be more than offset by other economic gains. In his letter to the DOE, he says it is the “right thing to do”:

We need the jobs and all of the economic benefits that come with them, not the least of which is tax revenue for the local and state government services we need, chief among them a high quality education. We also need to do the right thing by nations friendly to us that have been held hostage by OPEC. The Russians and OPEC nations with natural gas are already exporting it to Europe and other nations at their prices. We can change the world in a very positive way or we can choose to be selfish.

At a time when all Americans are concerned about our nation’s economic future, it is comforting to know that there are golden opportunities, if we are bold enough to seize them. We must let our congressmen know that we support the export of liquid natural gas, and we should question why Senator Wyden and others continue to fight prosperity.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

But it’s all right now, in fact, it’s a gas!
But it’s all right, I’m Jumpin’ Jack Flash,
It’s a Gas! Gas! Gas!

Jumpin’ Jack Flash – the Rolling Stones

The End of Football – and Hillary?

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 2

nfl-collision I played high school football in small-town Montana. I wasn’t particularly good at it, but I loved the sport. To this day I and my family, like most Americans, spend a good chunk of our time and money following the monsters of the midway. Football has become more than a pastime – it is a juggernaut industry, and until recently its meteoric growth in popularity seemed limitless. But I digress . . .

It was a kickoff play, and I was the “contain” guy on the end. My job was to make sure the kick returner did not get outside of me and have a clear path down the sideline. He caught the kick near the sideline, on my side of the field. I was barreling down the sideline, full speed, and the returner motored straight toward me. Yep, it was a full-speed, head-on train wreck.

We were both seeing stars and, with assistance, wobbled off to our respective benches. But the cobwebs cleared in a few minutes, and we were soon right back in the game.

And that is what will be the end of football.

A four-year study was recently completed on the effects of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Scientists studied the brains of 85 deceased athletes and soldiers, mostly football players. They discovered that serious brain damage was not always the result of one or more major concussions; it is just as likely caused by repeated, smaller jolts to the noggin.

While professional boxers were commonly “punch drunk” after their careers, most of us were not aware of the devastating effects of CTE until we saw Muhammad Ali reduced to a mumbling zombie at a relatively young age. There were sad stories in professional football, like Mike Webster, who suffered, among other injuries, amnesia, dementia, and depression from his later football years until his death at the age of 50.

As players get bigger and faster (largely thanks to steroids) the hits become progressively more devastating. Many successful players have had their careers shortened by concussions, and the inevitable lawsuit barrage has begun. Junior Seau, star linebacker with the Chargers, committed suicide in May, and CTE was implicated.

The “concussion crisis” is threatening the game itself, at every level. Two Pop Warner kids’ coaches were suspended when five boys reportedly suffered concussions in the early minutes of one game.

While there is little doubt that CTE exists and has wreaked havoc on the lives of many sufferers, there is also the likelihood that it will serve as a handy excuse for a variety of bad decisions. When Jovan Belcher of the Chiefs shot his girlfriend and then himself earlier this month, some were quick to blame CTE.

hillary And when Hillary Clinton was called to testify before Congress about her baffling failure to prevent, mitigate, or correctly report the murder of our Libyan ambassador and those who attempted to protect him at Benghazi, she declined to appear, invoking the “concussion” defense. She reportedly fainted from dehydration and hit her head, although she did not seek medical attention.

I’m going to miss football, but there’s a silver lining. Next time I forget my wedding anniversary, or throw my socks in the laundry hamper inside out, I’ll just explain, “Honey, remember that football game when I was a sophomore . . . ?”

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Don’t you know it hit me like a hammer
Hit me like a ton of lead
You know it hit me like a hammer
You know it hit me, baby

Hit Me Like A Hammer – Huey Lewis

Huh?

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 12

Why do Detroit parents allow their teachers to take instruction days off to protest union matters when only 4% of their students are proficient in math and 7% in language arts?
Why does my small Montana town have “Essential Air Service” taxpayer subsidies costing thousands of dollars per airline ticket when we average only one passenger per day? (Lewistown News Argus 12/8/2012)
Why doesn’t the number of administrative employees decrease in government offices, due to improved technology and communication, as it does in the private sector?
How can our nation afford all the countless grants our cities and counties are receiving every day for frivolous projects in light our staggering debt?
Why is military pay so pathetic?
How can we expect citizens to make good financial and voting decisions, and contribute to our national standard of living, when our K-12 schools provide no economic education?
Why aren’t airplanes boarded in order by window seat, middle seat, and then aisle seat?
Why do liberals think it is abusive to expect women to buy their own birth control, but are okay with genital mutilation, oppression, and murder of women by Muslims?
Why don’t senators let our military close and sell base properties that they don’t need or want?
Why does the Obama administration consider a couple who makes $250k per year “rich”, yet an individual is not rich until he or she earns $200k per year? (Fewer couples are married now anyway – shouldn’t single “rich” be “$125k? Or shouldn’t married “rich” be $400k?)
Why does the federal reserve think that keeping interest rates near zero is a good thing? Should people be punished for saving money?
Why are we concerned about minor skirmishes in the Middle East but we ignore deaths by the thousands in neighboring Mexico?
Why do liberals have no problem with actors and athletes making millions of dollars, but are indignant when a business owner or executive does?
If liberal rich guys think they should pay more taxes, why don’t they just write a check?
After labeling the Bush tax cuts as “only for the rich” for all these years, why do liberals now insist on keeping the Bush tax cuts mostly in place? Are they admitting that the evil tax cuts helped everybody?
What is the benefit to the United States of giving more F-16 fighter jets to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt?

Just askin’.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’d like to know,
Can you tell me — please don’t tell me
It really doesn’t matter anyhow

Questions 67 and 68 – Chicago

Shrinkage: Our Embarrassingly Tiny Attention Span

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 4

Have you heard anything lately about the September 11 debacle in Benghazi? Me either.

In the weeks before the election, Obama and Clinton told us repeatedly that they would have to complete an investigation before they could explain why they lied repeatedly about the attack and the American deaths. benghazi_attack_us_politics_2012_09_12

Did they ever complete the investigation? Is there an investigation? Would they reveal what was learned if there actually was an investigation?

Maybe citizens think that Obama won, so there’s no point investigating any further, or even discussing what has been uncovered. Congressmen Issa and Chaffetz appeared to be very interested in getting to the bottom of the disaster. What happened?

Certainly the mainstream media will not besmirch their anointed ones. In the absence of any news, we Americans will either assume the matter has been satisfactorily resolved, or will forget it ever happened, our tiny attention spans distracted by the latest “crisis dujour”. The story would be buried forever but for reporting by bulldog conservative blogs such as Brietbart.com.

Here is a great synopsis and reminder of the severity and importance of the Benghazi story, and the cold-blooded complicity of our administration:

Let’s not let this important story, or the memory of Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods, fall victim to attention span shrinkage.

Thanks to EG Pettis

Tom Balek – Rockin On the Right Side

Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day

September – Earth Wind and Fire

Canada and Mexico: Hey, Remember Us?

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

north-america-map Here is today’s current events quiz:

Who is the political leader of the largest exporter of oil to the United States?

Who is the political leader of the second largest exporter of oil to the United States?

Which nations are the top two importers of U.S. goods?

Answers:

Yesterday Enrique Pena Nieto was inaugurated as president of Mexico. He promises to create jobs and fight poverty in a nation that suffered 60,000 violent deaths and crushing corruption during the six year term of his predecessor, Felipe Calderon. Some say he is just another insider and not much will change. Have you heard anything about our southern neighbor in our mainstream media or from any of our own political leaders?

Stephen Harper was elected prime minister of Canada in 2006 and is now serving his second term. An advocate of individual freedoms and government accountability, Harper’s administration enjoyed considerable fiscal success early in his presidency, but lately Canada has been held back by the slowdown in the U.S. and world economies. How many times has President Obama met with the leader of our northern neighbor and largest import customer? I can’t find reference to more than one meeting between the two.

See numbers one and two above.

Few Americans know the answers to these questions because WE GET NO REAL NEWS. And because WE HAVE NO REAL POLITICAL LEADERSHIP.

I am embarrassed every time I visit Canada and find that my friends from the Great White North know infinitely more about what’s going on in our country than we do about theirs. Actually, they seem to know more about our government and events than most Americans do.

Recently a friend from Australia lamented to me that he and his wife drove around the United States for ten weeks this summer and never heard a single word about his home country in the news.

If this is how we treat our best friends, is it any wonder we have so few of them? And that those we have are lukewarm, at best?

Earlier this week I railed about our critically injured sense of priorities. What should the top priorities of our President be? He seems to spend most of his time campaigning, either for election or in support of his “tax the rich” non-solution to our economic woes. He engages in small social issues that affect very few Americans and don’t address the thundering herd of elephants in the room – unemployment, debt, and runaway government spending. His priorities are climate change, fairness, and social engineering.

A true leader would be learning about, supporting, and working hand-in-hand with our North American friends and neighbors. We should forge a regional alliance to take advantage of our human and natural resources to compete economically with China and Europe. We should stand side-by-side before the world in support of human rights. And for God’s sake, why aren’t we helping Mexico become the thriving democracy it should be – not only for our own economic well-being and security, but because it’s the right thing to do for a neighbor and friend?

I’m afraid our friends have, rightfully, lost confidence in us. It’s time for all Americans to demand that our political leaders reset their priorities.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

As you walk on by, will you call my name?
As you walk on by, will you call my name?
Or will you walk away? Will you walk on by?
Come on – call my name. Will you call my name?

Don’t You Forget About Me – Simple Minds