More jobs lost.

From the AP:

GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) -- A gearing production plant will move from southern Kentucky to Mexico and take about 100 jobs with it sometime this year.


Dana Corp., which runs the plant in Glasgow, is making the move aimed at "improving the competitiveness" of Dana's commercial vehicle business, said Chuck Hartlage, a Dana Corp. spokesman.

The move means 100 people employed at the plant will be laid off, Hartlage said.

Dana Corp.'s move is the latest to hit Glasgow and southern Kentucky. Johnson Controls moved its production operations to Mexico in late 2005. It manufactured sun visors for the automotive industry.

SKF USA, Inc. announced plans to phase out operations at its Glasgow plant over an 18-month period and to move a portion of its production to its manufacturing facility in Puebla, Mexico. The Glasgow plant makes a limited assortment of automotive hub units, both for North America-based original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket distribution.

"How can you compete with Mexico?" asked Mayor Darrell Pickett. "There's no competition for Mexico. What do you do?"

Stephen Biggers, executive director of the Glasgow-Barren County Industrial Development Authority, said the economy is pushing Dana and other companies like it south of the border.

"Their reason for it, and they are very straightforward, is they have to be competitive. You are either competitive or you don't survive," Biggers said.

The mayor' right, as is Mr. Biggers. If we can't "compete" with Mexico, and there is nothing else keeping them here, what are we to do?
For one, we could return to a more community-centric society. This is something that I'm quite fond of, and could help a lot of our problems. What we need to do is build more homegrown industrialists and small time entrepreneurs. These people will not likely provide thousands of jobs. They will, however, provide from one to 50 jobs within the community. The real kicker to this is that these jobs are very likely to stay in the community permanently.
I'll have more on this later, as I'm three hours from home and have an early class in the morning.

God Bless,
Micah

Hillary doing shots in IN at a campaign event.

To avoid the criticism of hypocrisy, I have been known to partake in KY's finest on occasion.
However,
1) the Secret Service isn't usually present (apparently trying to talk her out of it). 2) I am not running for the highest office in the land.
3) If I were, I'd be sure that no one was video taping my taking a shot with a beer chaser.

Hillary, you're a wealthy woman. Go for the bottle next time you want to look like one of the 'little people'.

-Micah

In Memoriam

Forty years ago last night, a prophet stood at the Masons Temple in Memphis, Tennessee:

part 1







part 2

Who's to blame?

As I stated in my previous post (see below), I've been quite introspective of late. I have been intentionally staying away from my usual reading of various philosophers, ignored the pleas for money from the RNC (like I believe that Mrs. Bush is pleading with me to fund the party), and trying to figure out this mess that our country and state are in.
I'm not being pessimistic, just calling things like I see them, which is really hard to do with all of the political double-speak going on from both sides of the aisle.
Whose fault is it that we are now in what could turn out to be the most expensive military engagement of all time? Why do so many people feel so disenfranchised? Why can't a simple budget even get passed in this great Commonwealth?
We can find the blame everywhere we look in the media. Democrats want to ruin our lives by increasing taxes to an unbearable level, Republicans want to squander our nation's wealth by pulling us further into an unnecessary war, Democrats are attempting to socialize everything in America so we closer resemble our "Nanny State" neighbors to the north & across the pond, Republicans want to screw the "working class" making the way for more insanely high "golden parachute" retirements for their friends...the list goes on.
So, who's to blame? After a great deal of soul-searching, I discovered a surprising truth. The answer, dear readers, is Me. I could quite easily pass the blame onto you as well, and I will, as soon as I'm finished confessing my part in the division of the people of this fair land.
I know what many of you are thinking, "How conceited can this young punk be to say he can cause what so many are trying to fix?" It's not conceit. It's reality. You see, those who are most capable of changing things for the better are too consumed with the "next election" to work with what we have. I, for one, was constantly looking forward to the next electoral victory. The day after an "enemy" of the Republican party was elected, I'd start working against him/her so "we" could win the next election. The fact of the matter is, no matter who I voted for, "we" did win. The people of Kentucky or the US voted and won. It is not mine to undermine the will of the people and begin an immediate sabotage campaign against those who I see as standing in "our" way, I should, instead, immediately begin to build bridges so that the best compromises can be made to best provide for the people of this land.
These divisive habits spill out into just about every area of American culture.
Take a look at the "green" movement. Al Gore has presented himself as an enemy to some, and we've accepted his self-appointment. His rhetoric about global warming is so much in line with the old "with us or against us" mentality that it seems that there can be no compromise between "us" and "them". Not to mention, "Al Gore drives a car!" So what if global warming is bunk? Many of the solutions provided for global warming also go a long way towards a more community-centric populace, and decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Both of these results are definitely favorable, but in coming out "against" many things that we hold dear, Gore and Co. have left a sour taste in the mouths of some. This sour taste only leads to the plugging of ears anytime someone mentions "sustainability", "conservation", or, God forbid, "preservation".
We have created an environment in which people are afraid to talk about common sense answers to common sense problems. Far too often, I have tried to prove myself "more conservative" than the next guy with my rhetoric, even though "more" isn't always "better."
I go back to the advice that my grandmother gave me as a young(er) man. She said, "Anything to an excess is wrong. It doesn't matter whether it's alcohol, work, or anything else, too much of anything is wrong." At first, I took this to mean that I shouldn't get drunk. While I'm sure that she definitely didn't want me to become the next town drunk, there is much wisdom in applying these words to other aspects of our lives. Some of the most conservative people in history have been ruthless dictators. Consequently, the same goes for some of the most liberal people in history.
Looking around the globe I have found that I really haven't met a true "liberal" in my life. Honestly, if you look at the way R's and D's are currently acting, there isn't a shakes worth of difference between them. As soon as Republicans were elected in '92 to counter the Clinton presidency, they started spending like drunken sailors. So much so that Newt Gingrich, the author of the "Contract with America" quit, saying that he "...knew that we would have to do things to stay in power that I didn't want to do." And so they did.
The only real difference between the two parties is who they are against.
Am I saying that complacency is the answer? Should we just give up on our elected representatives all together and let them do what they will? Never. What I do intend to do use my energy to best serve my community. I want to focus on getting problems solved instead of getting people elected. I know that conventional wisdom states that you have to get a man elected before he can solve a problem, but conventional wisdom is wrong.
I believe it was Helen Keller who said something to the effect of: "I am only one man, and can not do everything. But I am still one man, and nothing shall stop me from doing what I can."
Expect to see me around a lot more. Don't, however, expect me to keep Reagan's 11th commandment.

God Bless,
Micah

It's Been A While

I have been extremely busy with life for the past 6 months or so. This time off has been good for me. I've had several major (some life-altering) events take place in these few short months. These events, both negative and positive, have led to a good deal of introspection. Don't worry, fair reader, I'm not contemplating changing political parties, converting to Scientology, or anything of that sort. I've just been looking into the divisive nature of today's American society and trying to piece together my own philosophy on how this all happened, and how we can go about changing it. I'll post on this more a bit later in the day.

Thank all of you for your patience, well-wishes, and so forth. They have been greatly appreciated. I'll try and post at least semi-regularly for a bit and gradually work up to the "full time" blogging again.

God Bless,
Micah

What to do?

A lot of people are asking that question today. It is September 11, after all. I would encourage all who read this little post to remember that today is September 11, 2007, not 2001. Am I asking that you forget the innocents lost, the families destroyed, the heroes whose bright lights were removed (at least from plain sight)?
Absolutely not. I would encourage you, however, to remember them fittingly. Don't forget the acts of superhuman heroism that took place whose anniversaries lie in the days ahead.
I personally intend to throw the football with my son when he gets home from school. I may even throw a shoulder on the bbq with a nice dry rub. I choose to do so because I can. I don't have to worry about some zealot of evil coming into my back yard with a bomb strapped to his waist...likely I never will. I furthermore refuse to allow some old, decrepit sheep herder on dialysis in a cave eating locusts to ruin my day. I am 27 years old. If I live for another fifty years, that will be giving a man more deserving of my pity and scorn than anything else almost two months of my life. Not I. I suggest that you throw that football, fire up that grill. If there's a major (or minor) purchase that you've been putting off, make it. Go see your "mom'n them" for a while. Run down the holler or across the fence to see that neighbor whose friendship you've been neglecting. Above all, don't allow for them to control what you do today. If you do, you've allowed them to accomplish no less than 1/365th of their goal.

God Bless,
Micah

String Bikinis for Toddlers?

From: The Consumerist

The Arizona Republic is reporting that Gap Kids now offers a crochet string bikini for 1 year-olds.

You have got to be kidding me.
More:

GapKids recently featured a white, crocheted string bikini you'd likely see Anna Kournikova wearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. The bikini was for a 12-month-old.

Racks at Target held several bathing suits perfect for a Hawaiian Tropic bikini competition. The crocheted and camouflage-designed suits started at Size 4 in the little girls' section.

Inseams on "classic" shorts at stores such as Abercrombie Kids and Hollister Co. are microscopic. And halter tops, shirts often lauded by fashion consultants for their ability to enhance a less-than-voluptuous chest, are everywhere for every age.

Moms hoping to find anything even mildly modest have to be happy Bermuda shorts are trendy again.

I've had a problem for years with the "over-sexing" of teenagers, then "tweens". Now we are to the point where some parents are trying to make their toddlers "sexy"? This sickens me.
It's easy enough to blame the fashion plates, after all, it is they who make halter tops and other shirts with "ruching" around the top in increasingly smaller sizes (even to the point where you now see such "enhancing" clothing at stores such as Limited Too-a store which caters to young girls). Both of these design features are designed "enhance" a smaller chest. It isn't all too uncommon anymore to see plunging necklines in the children's department at Wal-Mart.
However, who dresses these kids? It's clear to see that at some point, some manufacturer came up with a "sexy" look for kids, and people started buying these clothes. From there, it was all down hill. Thus, parents must, too, shoulder the blame.
What's to be done? As a Libertarian leaning Republican Conservative, it's ingrained into my psyche that the authoritarian "you can't make these kids look like tramps" answer from the government (which would definitely curb such instances)is a no-go. However, given the lack of common decency and common sense from today's society as a whole, the question begs to be asked: Is the governmental solution to this problem the only one which we can turn to? Perhaps so...perhaps not.
All that I know is that it is instances like this, coupled with many excursions into the malls with my wife, that make me shudder at the prospect of my son being joined by a baby sister any time soon. I can assure you that if Faith and I were to have a daughter, I'd have to give serious thought to the prospect of removing my family from our current locale, and going somewhere very cold (to prevent the "sexy" look) or somewhere quite sparsely populated. Maybe the cloud forests of Mexico.

-Micah

What's wrong with "our" party?

John Hawkins has a proper summation of The Problem With the Republican Party in Less Than 100 words.
To me, he hits the nail right square on the head. What do you think?

McConnell on the importance of Immigration Enforcement

I hadn't seen it anywhere else in the state, so I'll provide the quote here:

``This is a divisive issue'' for both parties, said McConnell, a Kentucky Republican. But, he said, ``I don't think there's a single member of either party next year who is going to fail to be re-elected over this issue.''

From: Bloomberg

I've got a long, fuming post ahead on this issue.
Till then,
God Bless
--Micah