Who cares about Detroit?

I've been meaning to write this for some time now. Months ago I heard some TV personality say that the US Automakers should file for bankruptcy because after all they got themselves into this situation and why should we, the American People, have to bail them out. "Let Detroit go under" he said. The whole bailout thing I actually agree with. Why should my tax dollars be used to help a private industry or business? But I take serious issue with it being a "Detroit" problem. This problem is a national one and could be crippling for our economy for many years. To be so naive as to believe that Detroit is the only area affected by a possible bankruptcy of the "big 3" is well, naive.

I have customers in TN and KY who used to buy cutting tools on a weekly if not by-weekly basis. I can tell you that one of these two customers has not purchased anything in 8 months and the other has placed one order in the last 6 months. I know that each of those companies have also gone through some pretty massive layoffs. I hear it from customers all across the country that things are slow. Companies go out of business or are very slow paying their bills now.

I recently saw a show on CNN where a panel of 4 (2 men and 2 woman) were discussing this whole auto industry issue. They were interviewing the mayor of Lansing, Michigan (sorry I dont have his name right now). The Mayor of Lansing was insisting that we need to manufacture things in this country. One of the panelists argued with him saying that we as Americans cannot afford to buy things that were made in this country because they are just too darn expensive. After the Lansing Mayor hung up and the interview was over this same panalist stated that he personally wants to buy things made in China and that we have to keep making things in China because they are cheaper. I do not wish harm on anyone but I wonder how his opinion would be if he had a child that spent the afternoon chewing on the lead paint of its latest toy. I also wonder how he would feel if CNN became the "Chinese News Network" and he lost his job. Afterall couldn't we just pipe in via satellite the world news from Bejing? You could have an entire Chinese staff give us our American news. He would be the first one to cry when his overpaid job went away to foreign competition.

I have nothing against China or the Chinese. I do believe though that at one time the United States of America was the land of opportunity. We, as Americans, accept foreigners into this great country of ours so that we can share the American Dream. I have never heard of the Chinese Dream or the Asian Dream. When did it become our responsibility to worry about what lifestyle the people of communist China were living? Why is it presented to us that we cannot pull all of the work out of China and bring it back here to the US because it would devestate China? Where is the American Dream my Grandfather, Uncles and my Father fought for?! I don't get it.

So who cares about Detroit? Well, I as one do because I am not solely out for myself but I am out to save and restore what was once the American Dream - The Land of Opportunity - the greatest nation on Mother Earth. Oh sure, Ford GM and Chrysler could go the way of the Dinosaur and we would get by somehow. But if we do not continue to manufacture in this country where will we be? We must make things here to keep people working, to keep the economy flowing and to maintain our peace of mind. If we stop making things and we go to war how long will it take for China to make a tank for us and why once we get it do I see forward gear going reverse and left being right? It doesn't work people. A slow boat bringing us Chinese made armed tanks and aircraft doesn't make any more sense than us receiving lead paint toys for our children and tainted toothpaste for our twice a day routine.

What language would you be speaking now if it had not been for the manufacturing efforts of Detroit during the World Wars? The Declaration of Independence states that we as a people have an obligation to rise up and take back our country from our own government if that government fails to lead us in a prosperous direction. An OBLIGATION. I bet George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson are a little unsettled in their graves these days.

In Congress July 4, 1776. The unanimous declaration of the thirteen united States of America as penned by John Hancock states: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Hancock was speaking of the King of Great Britain but do not the same words apply to any government that governs and/or controls these great United States?

Why do things have to change?

I thought about the title line for this post for a few minutes.  "Why do things have to change?".  At first read this sounds like something an old man might say along with "I remember when" or the infamous "Back in the day..." but I am not an old man.  Not by number or spirit.  I will say that I have seen change many times in my life and though many people do not like change I accept it and typically do not have an issue with it.  

Last week I heard of General Motors dropping the Pontiac Brand Name.  For most of you this probably passed in one ear and out the other as you could possibly care less about that news.  But for me it hit a nerve.  In 1984 I bought my first real car.  I had others in the past but they were given to me or sold to me by family members.  This car was my first out-of-the family car purchase.  A 1978 Pontiac Trans-AM.  Now, "back in the day" these babies had a 6.6 400 HP motor in them.  Mine had a .... hmmm.... well this is sad I cant remember if it was 454 or 455 but either way this car moved when you hit the gas.  My only complaint was that it was bright yellow with black interior.  The interior was going to receive peer approval for sure but the yellow exterior made me cringe a bit.  My friends were driving GTO's, Chevelle's, Fast back Mustangs and none of them were yellow.  There were a few of us who wrenched on cars and helped each other keep our road machines running.  

"I remember when" you could work on a car yourself.  If it stopped running you dragged it to "Norms" house. Yes his name was Norm.  He had all the tools and all the tricks to keep our cars on the road.  We would wrench on one thing or another for a couple of hours and "bam" you'd be up and running and the smile would return.  You can't work on cars anymore.  Many young people are probably asking why you would want to and the answer is this:  It was a bonding thing.  Three or four guys standing around a car, wrenching on this, replacing that and you talked about everything from hamburgers to girls while you worked.  It may sound crazy if you didnt participate in anything like this but it was fantastic.  It was worth having a car that needed constant wrenching to keep it going. (editors note: If you are smiling right now because you know what I am talking about you are ok in my book)

But this post really wasn't to be about my '78 Trans-AM.  No, it was about things changing.  You see, I don't see Norm or any of those guys anymore.  In fact our time together was fleeting because we were young and youth is fleeting.  We all grow up and move on to live our lives.  I met those guys when we all worked at McDonalds flipping burgers or doing maintenance.  Those were our first jobs so we shared that together too.  This is where my story starts.

I was born just after the baby boom in this country.  My older brothers generation caused many new schools to be built to hold their masses.  My generation was the beginning of the smaller families with fewer children.  All of the schools and teachers wouldn't be needed as class sizes diminished.  I had the honor of being the last class out of nearly every school I attended.  I went to Clay Elementary School in Livonia Michigan.  It closed after I graduated to Junior High or Middle School now I guess it is called - another thing that changed for no reason.  I attended Dickinson Junior High (Funny I can't remember now if it was spelled "Dickenson" or Dickinson" come to think of it I don't think I ever had to spell it before) also in Livonia.  It closed the year after I graduated from it.  Two schools closing right after my class.  This still may not mean much to you but I knew then that it was a sad thing because I would never be able to go back revisit my youth by walking the halls or if I lived in the area later in life have my children attend those schools and be able to mutter "I remember when".

Remember that McDonalds that my friends and I worked at?  Well, just after I left for a better job - they torn it down.  How many times have you seen a McDonalds get torn down? But it gets better.  They rebuilt a new McDonalds building, not down the block or around the corner but on the same plot of land.  In the exact same location.  I had many great times at that McDonalds Restaurant.  I met great friends, I dated many great girls, I practically started my adult life - the life after high school - there at McDonalds.  What a great place that was to meet people.  Most of my girlfriends at that time I met there.  We played baseball against the other area McDonalds. The store managers actually coordinated other crews from other McDonalds to come to our store and work it so we could go play baseball against another store.  You know, that was really cool!  I bet they do not do that anymore.  One other thing about that place, I had a few girls at the time who told me that they hated going to work until they pulled in and saw my yellow Trans-AM in the parking lot.  How cool did that make me feel? Great! - nice to hear too that the whole yellow car thing didn't keep me down! It must have been the shaker hood.

You can see how all of this is linking together.  It is my past.  It is ultimately how I have shaped into the person who I am today. Norm and some of the other fellas working together to get our cars ready for the weekend are still in my memories.  The great girls that I dated are still in my memory.  We all have a past of things that we experienced.  It would be nice if these remained the same so we could go back and visit but things must move on.  

Now it is Pontiac.  Up until last week when GM announced it would drop the Pontiac label I held hope for a new Trans-AM.  Even after the new Camaro came out I still thought there was a chance but now there is no chance.  It is ok and I will survive but it is just another thing that I will never be able to go back and revisit.  One of my favorite songs of that era was "When you close your eyes do you dream about me?"  I believe it was by Honeymoon Suite but I may be wrong. One of the lines in that song is "I remember when we learned about love in the back of a Chevrolet".  It just doesn't sound the same if it were: "I remember when we learned about love in our Toyota". 

Move on and get over it.  I can read your mind you know.  Especially if you are young you are probably thinking that I should stop complaining and move on - things change.  Just remember this, one day your children will be playing virtual reality video games.  They will put a helmet on and sit in a chair or lay down on their bed and they will be able to just think their next move.  You will stand there and say, "Back in the day we had it made - we actually had to move levers and push buttons and hold a controller.  Now a days these young people don't know what it's like to play a video game. All they do is sit there and think and the game does everything for them. These kids are lazy."   

Ah age - the horrible part is that things change - the great part is too that things change.  Wouldn't it be boring if everyday were the same as the last one?  Some like blondes, some like brunettes for me it's redheads. 

Happy New Year

So we have another new year. 2009. My parents were right in that time does go faster and faster the older you get. What is it about a new year that gets everyone so excited? Is it just another reason to party? Is it just another reason to get a day or two off from work? Is it the rare opportunity to see family that we only see during this time of the year? I don’t think so. To me and through my observations it seems that it is the sense of new hope and a chance of a brighter future that leads everyone to celebrate the New Year so much.

You know, of course, that the New Year is not just celebrated here in the US but it is globally celebrated and embraced. I watched live footage of several countries as the New Year rang in. Australia where the fireworks and the celebration were on a very grand scale. Bejing where the lights flashed and people cheered (although I thought that the Chinese New Year took place in our January but what do I know I sell cutting tools for a living). And, of course, in New York where many of us love to watch a glowing ball drop down a poll as we count down the remaining seconds. Don’t get me wrong I feel the same joy and excitement of bringing in a new year. I just don’t understand why I feel this way.

If the current year was so bad and we just want to get rid of it and move on then I understand the joy of sending it packing into history. If there were something big coming in the New Year (world peace would be nice) I would understand it too. But we know nothing of the coming New Year. One thing for sure is that it brings us one year closer to the end of the Mayan Calendar which some say predicts the end of mankind in the year 2012. “Oh don’t be so negative and enjoy the moment” I can hear you now and I agree we should enjoy this moment. Perhaps this is exactly what I am getting at.

Why don’t we celebrate everyday as if it were the last day of the year and the dawn of a new one? Nobody was upset yesterday. I stood in line at a small convenience store at 8:30pm needing Tequila to make margaritas. No salt – shaken not stirred – a small slice of lime and pour it over a glass stuffed with ice please. So here was this line, a line that typically would consist of people moaning and griping and wondering why the lady in front is writing a check for $15.81 and holding up the line. But last night there was none of that. There was only patience and understanding. Sure, everyone there had someplace they were going even if it were just back home to make sour drinks with ice. Lots of ice – did I mention that yet? So why is everyone so kind and understanding on December 31st and how do we roll that into January 1 and so on?

So how can we get pumped up like this everyday? I’ve said before that I admit a lot of personal things on this blog - probably much more than I should. I chest pound. Yes, you read that correctly. I pound my own chest. I take right hand into a loose fist and I tap the left side of my upper chest two times. Just below the shoulder to be exact and only twice. No, not three times as I would after scoring any goal in air hockey but only two times. The air hockey thing I will tell you about at another time. At least one person knows that story and is shaking their head right now remembering it in utter dismay. Why do I chest pound? I don’t know for sure. My wife hates it. She says I look silly and a few other things but I do it anyway. It isn’t for her or anyone else. I do it only for myself. My daughters have not seen it yet but my wife still doesn’t feel special about being introduced to the chest pound. I wonder why?

The chest pound is a way of showing confidence in me. It pumps me up after a big sale or making a good decision. It is reserved and not used daily but only used for special situations. I know you are reading into that “special” and I do not blame you as I will admit it is a bit strange but I never was one to get in line and follow. Up until this Christmas I only chest pounded in the privacy of my own home. This holiday season I introduced my visiting from out of town family to the chest pound. Yea, nobody understood it.

Wouldn’t it be a great thing though if we all got fired up everyday like we do on New Years? So here is a toast, moderate on the sour mix, a bit heavy on the Tequila, a squirt of lime and packed with a bunch of ice for a new year filled with happiness, joy and peace. May we all carry with us each day the warmth we feel on New Years Eve. Happy 2009!

Leading a Horse to Water.

Growing up my parents had many sayings:

"Do you want your face to stay like that?"

"It only hurts for a little while"

The infamous: "If they were jumping off a bridge would you do that too?" -- sorry to say that I did indeed jump off of bridges, rooftops, garages and out of trees which leads to wonder why I never heard: "There is something not right about that one" from my Father.

Speaking of my Father he has to be one of the best, yet still undiscovered, sayings creator in history.  I'll never forget the gems my Father came up with when he would get angry while working in the garage on one of our cars.  If things went awry he would shout out things like:

"Cheese and crackers!"

"Son of a pup!" - I didn't get this one until I was much older and I still don't get the whole cheese and crackers thing - although I do like cheese and crackers to this day. I wonder if that is some type of psychological thing?

You see my Father worked on vehicles in the Korean war.  He is an electrical engineer by education and a purchasing manager by occupation - retired now - thank you very much.  I know first hand how working on vehicles and being a purchasing manager can drive you a bit batty because I have been there. No, I have never muttered "Cheese and crackers" of course, unless there were a bottle of wine near by.

One of their best sayings and one said by many over the years is "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink." I often think about where I would be today if someone actually told me things straight out instead of in rhyme.  Just tell me that you can show people what they should do but only they can choose to do it or not. Is that so hard?  So that was me growing up amongst all of these life lessons hidden within speech.  It leads me to my topic today: "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink."

Take Toolinghouse.com for example.  Come on, you knew this was leading to commercial. Did you think you would get all of this wonderful stuff to read without hearing a pitch or two? Toolinghouse competes with the big boys of the online world - you know who they are so I don't have to mention them.  If you were to compare our prices against their prices I can tell you that Toolinghouse is 25-55% lower on almost everything we sell.  I have introduced many end users of cutting tools to toolinghouse.com.  Many have ordered from me over the years and continue to do so today.  I cherish my customers as I know they are my corporate lifeline. What makes me wonder though are the others whom I have introduced Toolinghouse.com to but who have never ordered a thing from me and worse yet, continue to buy from that 3-letter company.  It is ultimately the buyers choice but coming from a purchasing background like I do, I cannot resist wondering why they choose to spend more for the same things they can get from me much cheaper?  "Well, I need it here tomorrow" and I reply with "so order it from me today and you will have it tomorrow." Most of our items can ship same day just like the 3-letter company. Now, for those of you who do not know, Toolinghouse is not some multi-billion dollar company with warehouses all over the land.  Kudos to the big boys for having so many brick and mortar locations.  This overhead of theirs is passed on to you the customer in higher tooling costs.  That's it. I have much lower overhead and therefore much lower prices.  The drawback, and I hope you find my honesty refreshing, is that all of our orders ship out of Michigan.  I'm not selling gasoline and I do not have a location on every street corner - nor do I have the high prices associated with that type of infrastructure.  That's how I can sell you "Great Tools - at Great Prices."

In today's market there are many goofballs (that's the technical term for it) running around out there telling you anything you want to hear to try and make a sale.  It is tough out there these days but I do not believe in deception as a sales technique.  Those of you who know me know that I am a straight up kind of guy, I don't - hey, I just remembered another parent saying, worse yet it came to mind just now and it applies - "Pull the wool over your eyes." Yikes, that stuff is still up in my head.  Probably because I am still trying to figure out what half of it means - 40 some years later.

Look, I know you have choices when it comes to making your cutting tool decisions.  All I ask for is an opportunity to quote your cutting tool needs.  All I can do is show you how I can save you money and provide you with quality US Made Cutting Tools at affordable prices. That's the sales pitch - not much to it I know but it is the truth and that is the best kind of water to be led to isn't it?  Call me today and let's talk. Toll Free: 1-866-583-TOOL. Or log onto www.toolinghouse.com and check us out. 

The bottom line is that good 'ol Mom and Dad were right about most things, confusing and twisted in their method of getting it across to me, but right none the less. They taught me some important lessons.  They confused the heck out of me and they have instilled some of the silliest yet pertinent sayings into this head of mine - even if I have only deciphered 50% of them so far.

The Wonderment of Youth

I had a 9:12 tee time this morning but a rain shower has pushed my time back to 12:16. So that gives me some time to sit here at my iMac and write. When I woke up this morning, it was already raining. I made my coffee as I usually do and I took it along with a blueberry muffin out onto my screened in porch to sit and watch the rain. Actually, I really like rainy days except for when they kill tee times.

While sitting and watching the rain fall I saw a mother deer and her fawn run past my driveway and onto my neighbors property. Great thing these fawns are as they sleep during the day either under some of my trees or my neighbors and the mother sleeps in the woods behind my house. Why they separate like this during the day I do not know but they do.

Today, the mother walked and the fawns bounded around and along side of her. If you have read my blogs you probably know that I have a 2 year old daughter. I had mentioned this before when I warned the world that I reproduce every 14 years. You know what is really great about kids? The innocence and the wonderment of everything they do. They do not know anything. They do not know to be afraid. They do not judge people on looks. I can carry an extra few pounds around the middle and she doesn't care one single bit.

It's funny how those fawns were bounding and bouncing around their mother this morning. Ironically enough my daughter does the same thing. Anytime she wants to go somewhere she runs. Time for lunch and she runs to the table. Time to go outside and play and she runs to the back door. Time to brush her teeth and she runs the other way. The joy of life in her is one of the things I love so much. She is just amazing because she is just happy to be. To be what? It doesn't matter. Just to be is enough for a child as they can find pleasure and happiness in anything.

There is absolutely no greater feeling on Mother Earth for me then walking in the back door from the garage to see my little girl running just as fast as her little legs will take her, down the hallway, past the kitchen towards the back door where "Dada" has just come in. The exuberance in her actions as those little legs try to run 90 mph just to get to see me faster. What an amazing feeling that is for me. She runs so fast that her hair blows back and she almost loses her balance.

We, as adults should take this approach to life. At least, if it does nothing else, it would help some of us tone up a bit. After all, when was the last time you ran to your car just because you were so excited to take a drive to the post office? When was the last time you ran as fast as you could to catch a big yellow rubber ball you had just kicked across the lawn? I admit some strange and personal things on this blog and this will be right in line with those other confessions. I've run around on the inside of my house chasing my daughter and playing as she plays and it is not easy to keep up. I run to a lot of places now. I sprint to the car in the garage. If I am going to water the trees in the back, I run to the faucet. My 2 year old giggles at me and that is why I do it. But what a great change of pace for me. She and I will run around the yard. Instead of taking long strides I take what seems to be about two trillion tiny steps to get where I am going. Just like she does.

I hope she will always feel that exuberance when I come home and when she sees me for the first time on any given day. Right now, is very special and I am old enough to know it. The sheer magic that "Dada" holds right now is fleeting. There will come a time when she will question everything I say and I look forward to her doing it. But right now, I am reveling in what can only be called one of the best times of a Fathers life. Sure, those little legs that try so hard just to get to the back door a little faster will slow down. The excitement will fade in the legs but I hope that, if I do my job right, the excitement will never fade in her spirit or her desire to see Dada.

Maybe one day she will call me "Father" or "Dad" and maybe even in quite or silly times between us I will be the "old man". I'm not sure but I do know that even though Dada by name may fade, Dada by spirit in me, never will.

Keep jumping - keep leaping. We need more of that in this world.

New Blogs Started

Well the “trinkets” blog has gone in many different directions as I thought it would. This is not a bad thing but it has made me re-think the blog. I’ve decided to allow myself (and you) to continue to go in any direction on this “trinkets” blog. However, I want forums to seriously discuss cutting tools. Therefore I have created www.carbideendmills.blogspot.com to discuss carbide end mills. I also started www.holemaking.blogspot.com for the discussion of drills, reamers and deburring tools. These two blogs will be used for on-topic discussion and the “trinkets” blog will be used for miscellaneous topics.

Thanks for reading the blog and please feel free to contribute.

When is enough, enough?

Gas prices topped $4.00 a gallon here today in Howell Township, Michigan. This is getting a bit sick and it is and will continue to devastate this wonderful country of ours. It would be one thing if the big oil companies were barely squeaking by and making modest profits. I don't have any problem whatsoever with a "for profit company" making a modest profit. After all, that is what it is all about. I do take issue with these companies making record profits, quarter after quarter, while we, the American People suffer trying to fill our tanks. The government was supposed to stop monopolies and protect us consumers yet here we see the largest of all monopolies helping to crush the American Economy. I said "helping" since they are not the only issue we have here that is devastating our economy. I'm going to address the biggest crusher here too and that is the "Global Economy" that some Einstein thought of years ago. All the global economy has done is lifted Asian Countries and deflated Western ones. I wonder how long it will be until we can't afford to commute to work any longer and we'll just live in small huts on the back parking lot of our employers - wait that sounds like China. Maybe this idea of globalizing economies does work. We will soon be just like China. More about that later.

I've heard people suggest that since we have President Bush in office and since he is from Texas and since Texas is about oil there may be a connection to him being in the White House and us paying these high prices for gas. One big clue to the answer may be found in profits for these oil refineries and their sister companies. Big profits, like the billions they are showing every quarter, could, COULD mean that some shady things are being done by some shady people. Greed can be very tempting as I know people who have been consumed by it.

So we've spent Billions of dollars or is it Trillions now on this "war" with Iraq. We tossed away the lives of thousands of our young people who have had no chance to live the American dream as they were killed trying to defend it. This war has begged the question since it began of "why and is it worth it". I supported Bush and his notion of us having to defend against the terrorists and the "evil-doers". I even supported us going to war as I trusted our government to do the right thing. Now, I believe that label of "evil-doer" may apply to what we need to protect ourselves against right here on our own land. There is a lot we could get into here and you are welcome to chime in but all I will say for now is that I feel that the leaders of this country misled me and the American People when they took us to war in Iraq. The whole driving force on this war was to find and destroy all of these weapons of mass destruction that Hussein had, yet an investigating team didn't find a single one. Perhaps Benedict Arnold would have been proud of this deception.

I come from the heritage of a long line of men who fought to protect this country. My Grandfather fought overseas in WWI. His son, my Uncle fought in WWII and was one of the translators during the German trials. My Father saw action in Korea. I am very proud of this family heritage and I am very proud of and extremely supportive of any American Troops. I do not like feeling as if they are being used to risk their lives under the notion of protecting our Country if they are not truly attacking a enemy that poses a threat. No, I haven't forgotten about the Twin Tower attack. However, I do not believe that Iraq had anything to do with that. I am starting to think that our leaders mislead us into attacking Iraq for oil. Period.

I had heard this notion of a war for oil when our leaders first started to say that we may be going to Iraq. Many people brought this point up and I was one on the other side who defended their decision as a necessary act of war to protect us. I now believe that I was lied to and I further believe that oil was/is the reason we are there now. I think our brave young men and women should be brought home and used for the purpose for which they signed up for in the beginning: To Protect Our Country from Threats. I do not believe that Iraq poses us any threat. Their street bombs and road side attacks only kill our brave soldiers if our soldiers are driving in the streets of Iraq.

Hmmm, so I started out complaining about gas prices and I went off on the war with Iraq. I didn't know I was going to go in that direction but it happened. So perhaps it is time that the government steps in and governs the oil companies. They have done it wil other things such a telephones and then when the companies decided to play nice the government deregulated the market and free enterprise and choice was once again available to us. Lets have the government take over the oil companies, regulate them, get gas prices down to where they need to be and move on.

I know, you want to tell me that a thimble full of gas in the UK costs $3 and we should be happy to "only" pay $4 a gallon. You know what, I really don't care what gas prices are in other countries. They are NOT comparable to us. We drive larger machines, we drive independently and do not use mass transit like other countries do. We are just not set up that way. It is NOT the American way. We do not live in huts build by our employers - we do not walk or ride bikes to work (some of us do I know) - we do not sit at home - we venture out and see what this country of ours has to offer. We DRIVE! We VISIT! We LIVE!

Global Economy: Perhaps the worst thing to ever happen to our business environment. Who's idea was this mess? Now, we check our children for lead poisoning. Lead Poisoning? Are you kidding me! Didn't we learn about the dangers of lead thirty years ago in this country? The buyers for these toy companies should be brought up on charges of negligence for bringing lead painted toys into this country for our kids to play with. Don't think it is a serious issue? Well, my two year old is now ordered by our government to be tested for lead poisoning every six months. Lead poisoning? Lead Poisoning! My 16 year old never had to do this, why now? (Yes, some of you may be frightened to know that I reproduce every 14 years)

It is because some of our leaders, pronounced "lead-ers" (clever eh?) now know how big of an issue this is. Product packaging on most toys made in China now reads, "MUST wash before using". Well thats nice to know. Boxes being packaged full of children's toys from third world countries probably carry some very interesting germs. Some guy unpacks these boxes at Large-Mart and puts them on the shelf for Mr. Consumer to touch and for little Sue to play with. Mr. Consumer touches a drinking fountain, elevator button, door knob and those items are now infected with whatever Mr. Third World Packer generously and probably unknowingly placed in the box for us. Don't argue it isn't happening because it is. Been sick lately? How about your neighbor? There is no immune system for this in us because we have not been exposed to it before. No, I am not a doctor but I play one on my blog.

So where does this leave us? All of our jobs are gone - our gas prices are too high - and we now have things such as lead paint back on our childrens toys. Oh yea, it's 1974! It makes me wonder what else is lurking out there now that we have invited into our country? Maybe in 20 years we will just pee in a ditch, live in a hut on our employers lot and die at the ripe old age of 39. Global economy - bringing third world countries up to us or us down to them?

There are a lot of opinions on these topics and it is about time they were discussed. The forum is open. (But not as open as our borders so keep it clean please)