Here's one major problem with our nation...

One of the biggest problems that the USA has is that millions of fools receive massive misinformation every day from just three sources, all owned by a despicable man called Rupert Murdoch. The latest examples:

Nothing in this story is true. The Post just made it all up. Admittedly, the press in general did a very poor job of covering the Boston Marathon bombings, but the Post set new standards for craven sensationalism, jingoism and incompetence.

This was even worse, because it targeted two totally innocent young men, both of whom feared being lynched. One hunkered down in his house, the other turned himself in to the local police. Of course, neither had anything to do with the bombings.

Any other "news" organization would have apologized. Murdoch just offered lame excuses.

Note that the second image is of the actual front page of the Post newspaper, sold on the street. Note that the American flag is prominently displayed.

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
—Samuel Johnson, 1775

American Economy Truth...

A couple of days ago, information was posted about the minimum wage and state of the economy in Australia vs the minimum wage and state of the economy in the USA. The argument in the US against increasing the minimum wage is always the same, that it will cause businesses to close and reduction in jobs. As one who has repeatedly said that if a business cannot take care of its employees then it has no business being in business, I took note.

The answer from the naysayers, the negativists, the tax whiners would be that what works in Australia does not translate to what works in the USA. To that, I say bullshxt.

Case in point, In-N-Out restaurants, headquartered in Irvine, CA. In-N-Out is a fast food hamburger joint founded in Baldwin Park, CA in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder. It was an instant hit. When Harry died in 1976, there were 18 In-N-Out restaurants, clustered in Southern California.

Under the current management, Lynsi Torres, the Snyder's only grandchild, there are now 282 restaurants in five states, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Texas, which means that in the 65 years of its existence, In-N-Out has averaged opening only about four new restaurants per year.

Despite cutthroat competition from national chains like McDonalds and Burger King, business is booming. Why?

1. Loyal customer base, derived from the Snyder's original business plan: Give customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment.

That credo has been maintained by refusing to franchise or go public. In-N-Out is controlled by and answerable to only the Snyder family. The Snyders have become multi-millionaires, but no doubt they could have made far more through franchising, but making far more is the goal of only the shallow and greedy.

2. Expertise. The menu at In-N-Out is exactly the same as it was in 1948. You can get a hamburger or a cheeseburger, from a single hamburger up to the "Double-Double", which contains two hamburger patties and two slices of cheese. Your choice of lettuce, tomatoes, onions and "spread" which is a variant of Thousand Island dressing. Fries. Shakes. Drinks. That's it.

If you go to a national fast food place, you will almost always find something listed as "New…limited time", which means that they have just thrown something into their mix in a desperate attempt to increase revenue. If you think through such offerings from the past, you will find that the vast majority were very temporary indeed.

There is a "secret menu" at In-N-Out. If you are "in the know", you can order a "4x4", four hamburger patties and four slices of cheese. Or get cheese sauce on your fries. Or even order a grilled cheese sandwich, for those who are vegetarians, but not vegans.

A few years ago, someone ordered a "100x100" and the local restaurant made it. But the owners were so embarrassed by the resulting vulgar publicity that now you can get no more than a "4x4".

3. But the ultimate success comes from the same place that it always does, loyal employees. All other fast food chains and our #1 retailer, Wal*Mart, pay their employees barely minimum wage, and severely restrict the number of full time employees, thus leaving we taxpayers to provide them with partial support, and thus contributing to corporate profits at taxpayer expense.

In-N-Out has been different from the start. Today, the bottom wage at In-N-Out is $10 per hour, part time or full time. Part time workers receive dental and vision insurance and a paid life insurance policy. Full time workers get full medical and disability insurance as well.

Tell me all about how your business cannot afford an increase in minimum wage or benefits or $21 per year per employee more for unemployment insurance. Please tell me.
-------------

Of course, In-N-Out is run by a bunch of liberal communist atheists, as opposed to the "real American Christian" owners of Chick-faux-A. Chick-faux-A exercised their right to "religious freedom" by pouring profits into their private foundation which supports bigotry in the area of gay rights. When they were found out, their brand rating plummeted to barely half its former level.

Guess what. The owners of In-N-Out are Christians too. And they make an effort to promote Christianity. Everyone who has ever eaten there and actually pays attention to what is going on about them knows it, yet it has not had any effect on their brand rating, positive or negative, because that is the way they want it.

On selected wrappers and containers, In-N-Out prints, in tiny type in tiny out of the way spots, references to Christian Bible verses. Not the verse itself, just the reference, as in Revelation 3:20, or Nahum 1:7 or Proverbs 24:16.

And there is a tremendous difference in what they do with their excess profits. The In-N-Out Burger Foundation, also known as the Child Abuse Foundation, supports organizations that provide residential treatment, emergency shelter, foster care and early intervention for children in need…white, black, brown, red, yellow, male, female, heterosexual, homosexual, whatever.

As Patrick Henry might have said, "Give me freedom…political, religious, economical, ethnic or sexual…or give me death!"

Political Spectrum...

Since idiots who throw around terms like "liberal" and "conservative" with no understanding of what those terms mean, I thought I would post this map of the political spectrum to try to offset their ignorance.

It is far from perfect, being somewhat simplistic and also lacking in the understanding of certain words used thereon, but it will do in a pinch to perhaps get someone to think a bit before running their mouths.

One of the main points is that the farther you get from the the moderate "Liberty" group at the top, the closer you get to the people that you vilify the most. Shut up and think for a change.

Trouble in Benghazi...

Another Woman Warrior...

Captain Emily J. Naslund

Company Commander, Female Engagement Team

I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force

Remember all the fuss about women being allowed to enroll in the formerly all male military academies at VMI and the Citadel. Well this is what it was all about. Capt Naslund is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute.

She deployed to Anbar Province, Iraq from January 2008 to February 2009 with Truck Company, I Marine Expeditionary Force, where she served as a convoy commander, one of the most dangerous jobs in the theater.

Her second deployment was  with the Female Engagement Team, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) from March 2010 to October 2010.  During this tour, her 16 Female Engagement Teams conducted engagement operations throughout Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Women in the Female Engagement Teams play a crucial role in the conduct of the war in Afghanistan. They are attached to regular Marine combat units…they carry the same equipment as any other Marine…they undergo the same risks as any other Marine.

Returning from Afghanistan in October 2010, she served as the company commander for the Female Engagement Team, I Marine Expeditionary Force.  In May 2010 she entered the  United States Navel Academy to complete the Special Education Program.

Who Is Responsible For The Deficit?

As calculated by the CBO. The single largest cause of the deficit, year in and year out, will be the Bush tax cuts, which currently comprise over 30% of the deficit, and by 2019 will comprise over half. The second largest is the economic downturn, wholly attributable to W. Bush. Obama must take the blame for the continuing cost of the Bush wars, which have so far cost at least $4 trillion and may wind up as high as $10-11 trillion. He should have ordered the troops home by the end of his sixth month in office.

Hope...