A Right-Wing Civil Rights Act

How do you compel a retailer to sell guns to 18-year olds while allowing a baker to sell wedding cakes to straight couples only? I read on forums from many commenters. including a few members of the intellectual class. The right-wing answer is as follows: "Gays, rental cars and hotels are not mentioned in the Constitution. But guns are specifically mentioned in the Bill of Rights".

In all practical matters, the decision of Dick's Sporting Goods to restrict gun sales to 21+ is a boon to local sportsman stores. (Walmart has come to the same conclusion, but read below for my verdict). These local stores presumably have regular contact with county law enforcement and support public safety while serving customers. This face-to-face contact is something large corporations cannot achieve, with directives from coming from headquarters from a state far away.  .

One might mention that hotels and car renters restrict to 21+. Often, a hotel will waive age stipulations if a company, especially the US Military, will foot the bill. Understandably,  a hotel is at stake if young Spring Break revelers trash the room. For car renters, an age of 21 can serve as a proxy for "five years of licensed driving experience". Indeed, inexperienced drivers are more likely to accumulate a claims bill! Requiring auto rentals at 18 would create an undue burden on car rental companies.  I went to college in New York and benefitted from the state's requirement of renting cars to 18 year-olds. (I'm a good driver, as everyone thinks they are). Now turn to guns: Due to the legal precedent in this nation, gun sellers do not face liability if their customers raise Cain with the products they sell.

I believe that discriminating against customers is sheer stupidity. I feel that African-American economic empowerment in WWII was a significant factor in securing equal rights under law.  Integration of the military was very important as it gave African-Americans buying power that they didn't have before. There was the "Don't buy where you can't work" movement in the 1940's, referred to in August Wilson's Fences. After WWII, Woolworth's and other interstate chains no longer had incentive to racially discriminate asides from local regressive laws. Indeed, I read that southern Woolworth's were encouraged to 'discriminate politely' so as to not offend the northern African-American market. BS.

In Virginia where I have bought a condo, since the same year interracial marriages were allowed, alcohol licenses have been issued to  restaurants, while taverns have been outlawed for 100 years. Notably, restaurants and hotels  are subject to more stringent anti-discrimination laws than other forms of privately-owned venues. Concealed-carry weapon owners have been able to carry in "bars", and the ability to create a 21+ environment is limited. Most often, age restrictions in alcohol-serving establishments will not apply until 9 or 10pm due to the fact that an establishment must function as a restaurant to qualify for a license. This is in a "commonwealth" which does not treat homosexuals as a protected class.

I suspect that Walmart's board of directors anticipates a letter from an "Attorney General of xx southern/western state". With that, they will "suspend efforts" to restrict gun purchases to 21+ in compliance with the law. As a further aside, posters on gun forums have commented that they didn't even know that Dick's sold guns. If so, they were overpriced. They should focus on selling "concussion causing" footballs to gym teachers.

Discipline of Quality Control

Had I been born 20 years earlier… I wouldn’t have invented the internet, but I might have been a messenger for the message of quality control. Someone defined stupidity as “doing the same thing and expecting different results”, and apparently that is what large companies like the auto makers were doing in the 1980’s. “We’re Number Five”, boasted Buick: This became the title of a chapter in Chuck Colson’s book, “Why America Doesn’t Work”, a book which I have reviewed on this blog. Quality Control, Continuous Improvement, Lean Processes,  Cost-Quality-Schedule; these were terms I learned to breathe in college. Where do these high-minded ideals fit in the real world? Last year I took the CAPM test- Certified Associate of Project Management- to see how my education in “Shipyard Management” measured up to other undergraduate management courses.  I was up to par.

Taylorism, originating in the early 20^th century, took autonomy away from workers, with a vision of “slide rule and stopwatch”. In place of craftsmanship, writes Chuck Colson, came a feeling of disassociation between employees and their work. Dr. Deming, who emerged after World War Two, insisted that employee buy-in was essential for successful quality control. The Japanese, whose industries were flattened by war’s end, bought into this idea. The Americans held off.  

Union Carbide or Bethlehem Steel, anyone? On that note, I’ve looked at pictures of the now-abandoned Martin Tower, Bethlehem Steel’s former headquarters in Pennsylvania. After-hours access required employees to state their name, department- and alphanumeric personnel code.  Humble the peons! This is Illustrative of rigid thinking; just one of the factors that allowed the continuously-improving Japanese to eat Bethlehem’s lunch.  The Dilbert cartoon contemporaneously parodies the corporate world’s discovery of quality control.  Beginning in the late 1980’s, Dilbert’s Pointy Haired Boss comically portrays the implementation of Japanese methods, from implementing sleeping tubes to animal costumes; to training sessions conducted with no clear objective. 

I said in a previous blog post that big business today is a finely tuned machine. Buick went bankrupt; and it seems that today, a low-performing CEO would be sacked rather than be rewarded with a bonus. This perfection cuts both ways for the consumer. Yes, you might get the right product in the mail, but expect no perks.  I recently ordered a book “How Boys and Toys Were Made”, a story about AC Gilbert and the once-famed Erector Set. Two-day shipping became six-day shipping over a holiday weekend- all accurately predicted by the website. I ordered on Thursday and received the book on Wednesday, not a day late nor a day early.  

This “new way of thinking”- employee empowerment for better, quantifiable results- specifics be darned- has been co-opted by the right-to-work movement, which insists that labor unions, working as an intermediary between workers and management, are not compatible with these worker-enabling production and quality methods. My own experience? The Department of Defense is looking into Six Sigma’s Lean Operation system. In addition to being a valuable credential, it would put a formal cap on what we were already doing- predictive maintenance and statistical analysis. It could be received with skepticism by the tradesmen- is it just another management tool that prefers the science of data over the art of skill? Brainwork over brawn? You can now see how employee buy-in matters.

Obecalp(2) by New Age Pharm House

These days, doctors and other authorized prescription writers like to prescribe medications- especially those that give the doctor a generous kickback. When pharm means kickback- that's 1K to 5K dollars. You know, not too much work to get that new car. As long as no one gets side effects, all's happy and well.
On the other hand, Obecalp has no side effects, and is a low-cost alternative that reaches the same placebo effect which fancy, expensive, and time-consuming solutions may do. Obecalp is so revolutionary that it's not on the medicare/aid schedule yet. Don't let the doctor prescribe an unnecessary medication which pads his or her pockets and milks yours! There are many different forms of Obecalp specifically suited to each patient's needs:

Obecalp: (active ingredient: carbonated sucrose dehydrogenase) is a powerful remedy that is prescribed by doctors for many different conditions. Ask your doctor if Obecalp is right for you. Side effects may include a craving for sweetened items or even tooth decay; withdraw symptoms include sugar crash.

Obecalp Lite: (active ingredient: saccharin) goes easy on your waistline, and is suitable for those with conditions which counteract Obecalp Regular.

Obecalp Once-a-day: (active ingredients: aspartame, gelatin) Don't let taking Obecalp get in the way of your daily routine! Once-a-day Obecalp is formulated with two layers to provide both fast acting and long lasting relief.

Obecalp PM: Specially formulated to reduce risk of tooth decay when taken at bedtime.

Obecalp for Kids: (active ingredients: moderate fructose corn syrup, niacinamide) Obecalp for Kids increases immunity to schoolhouse germs and has been proven to increase levels of physical activity among youngsters. Comes in groovy grape or bubbly bubble gum flavors. Side effects may include hyperactivity, which can be counteracted with Ritalin.

Obecalp Xtreme: (active ingredient: agent Y) Feeling tired after midnight is a chronic condition, which, if not treated, may lead to serious problems that can hinder your performance throughout life. Obecalp Xtreme contains the natural ingredients found in OTC Aspirin medication. (some varsity athlete): All your friends are taking it! What are you waiting for?

Obecalp Antacid: (active ingredients: sucrose, sodium bicarbonate) Regular antacids only mask acid reflux! Obecalp Antacid has been shown in clinical trials to cut to the root of the problem. Do not take if overly full from food or drink.

Obecalp KO: (active ingredients: ethanol, petrolatum gel, castor oil, methane by-products) Remember those bygone college days when you were so full of vitality, yet could get a good night's sleep? If you've lost that pep, you may have a condition. Ask your doctor if Obecalp KO is right for you. Obecalp KO may cause drowsiness. Do not operate hazardous machinery or a vehicle until you know this medication's affect on your motor abilities.

DISCLAIMER: This product, Obecalp, is actually a marketed item with a valid patent. Name is used under fair use through the spoof clause. The concept for derivative products such as Obecalp for Kids was created by the author of this blog. Look for these items, under a different trademark, on your local pharmacy shelf in coming years.

That Wasn't Falafel?

"You see, if we go to the nearest Waffle House now, we'll be back in time for class". "Where is the nearest one?" "I think that would be in Frederick (town in the mountains 40 miles from Washington)" (Group chuckle). "Yeah you get it". "I think there's something like that in Ballston (a transit-oriented development community 5 miles from Washington)" "That must be an IHOP" (More laughter).

Upon my quest for finding Waffle House jokes, I came across a legitimate (I think) company document. Waffle House Restaurants Now Accepting Credit Cards. What year? a 1986 doc that found its way to the internet? No, Feb 15, 2006.

“We wanted to make sure credit cards were here to stay before we started
accepting them,” said a VEEP.
Welcome to the future.

http://www.wafflehouse.com/Press%20Releases/credit%20cards.pdf

Funk The War

March 19, 2003

Six years to the date? According to plans, this war is set to end by year 8. So therefore, we can start packing away the protest stuff for a while. But this was not the case for a group of re-creationists. I passed by the affair when it was just starting to gather at Franklin Square. Nothing much, but there was raucous '70's music and lots of collegiate and high school types, retro style, and lots of coppers in blue shirt and helmet.

According to the independent press, various symbolic targets of last year were targeted, as usual. Lobbyist's row (K Street), a recruiting center, and the GOP HQ, which had "too many cops around to break (the doors) down." So if you come by the Farragut Square area, check out the plastered signs. If things go faster than expected, next year's Funk will be dilatory.

http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/142455/index.php

Getting the Best of Us

I started off on the wrong side of the pillow this morning. You see, the pillow was pretty flat, and that doesn't make my day. I get on the E2 to go to school from the station. I get into the Pearls Before Swine comic, and I get off on the wrong side of the street- that is, two blocks down from where I wanted to be. Luckily, I caught it early. An unfortunate lad was once left on the bus all the way to Vincent Gray's office. That was about 6 blocks. I'm not even sure if he made it to class on time. I only realized the blunder on some of his schoolmate's faults when I saw he had not gotten off, before doing the dash across South Dakota. I could only get a little glimpse of the pain. As you can see, there are two stops to get to school. One leads to the "downstairs building". Everyone gets off here. The other one leads to the "upstairs building", up a long, inclined road. So most people don't bother waking you from your paper or nap.

So, mid-morning, we had this assembly for debate. It was uber-boring- of course watching inside Washington and Washington Week and McLaughin Group really destroys reality, until they could see that we were a little turned off. Then they gave us what we wanted! For the last half-hour, it was engaged, and sly comments were thrown. But none was more personally damaging that of the Tax Plan- Obama's plan to revert taxes back to pre-Bush cut levels on hard-working families making over $250K/yr. Earlier, a Democrat representative had stated that lowering healthcare costs were, indeed, important for him and his family, personally. So, not five minutes later, we hear about this microdynasty's holdings across the globe, and a slightly shrinked disposable income of... I won't tell...nah... $50K. So now, there's this 5-foot circle around him when people talk to him. I sort of feel sorry for him, uintended consequences, wrong side of bed and all.

Our Progress

I am very pleased to announce that we have had a steady increase in visitors to our website. Thank you very much! Invite your friends to see!

Also, we have started a video series. More on that soon including DVD's

I did not abandon!

Sorry. Easter was too time-consuming.
Jangoo did a profit review. The result was good at $6.00 plus $11.00 uncollected. Buy on, investors!

I just got breaking news: Oh how I wish I had an airplane to investigate this atrocity! Hate Crime killing spree against stunned German speaking students occur by a mentally disturbed Mongolian! 35 dead, blood spewed on streets. If you can, I think it would help to give them a prayer and visit V-Tech to support the community. PS There is an airfield with a sufficient runway to land a 33-seater plane.