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Parting Shots

By Wm. R. Lowry
Editor & Publisher, MiBiz
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note-able quote
“We think this country needs a battle plan, which is why we released our comprehensive ‘Manufacturing Strategy for Jobs and a Competitive America.’  There is a great deal of uncertainty in today’s business environment – from tax, trade and energy policy to healthcare reform and new regulations – and this uncertainty is hurting manufacturers’ ability to create jobs. The manufacturing sector has led the recovery to date and is crucial in our continued economic security and prosperity. To compete, we need to move forward with the comprehensive approach outlined in our Manufacturing Strategy. We can not afford new burdens and added cost.”
— John Engler, President and CEO
National Assn. of Manufacturers

expression less
I had no idea I was about to miss the annual Campaign for Free Expression and International Blasphemy Rights Day, reportedly celebrated every Sept. 30. Grand Rapids plays host to the Center for Inquiry’s Sept. 29 meeting entitled “Muhammad, Jesus & Zeus walk into a bar…”
Cost to hear this free expression: $6.

don’t kill shill bill
I am going to assume that you are now over the shock of summer’s abrupt end as well as the start to another school year for the future leaders of America (and funders of our Social Security and national debt).

I’m also confident that you failed to read all the summer books you annually intend but rarely accomplish, so let me give you two key reading assignments worthy of your time. And please don’t accuse me of favoritism simply because both authors happen to be personal acquaintances and long-standing regular columnists for MiBiz.

For any with the slightest hint of company dysfunction going on (come on, admit it — every company family has some), make sure you pick up “Think or Sink” by John Canfield, our favorite Good Thinking guru.

John’s book is a cautionary tale about what can go wrong when people don’t work together effectively, and a hopeful one about what they can accomplish when they do. The book’s storyline traces steps taken by three branches of a company competing for a major contract with the stakes either growth or downsizing.

John’s hope is that “Think or Sink” will serve as a call to action for many employees and leaders who really want to improve their workplaces.

Meantime, columnist Tony “Mind Cap-ture” Rubleski’s third book, “How to Awaken Your Entrepreneurial Genius in a Time of Great Economic Change” has just been released and is being touted as a “powerful vitamin for the mind.”

Both books ooze with positive thinking and encouragement. Be the first on your block to pick ’em up at Amazon.com.

slam dunk flunk
Speaking of dysfunctional families, I was compelled to read a recent article in the Washington Examiner upon spotting its magnetic headline, “The public hates almost everything Congress has done.”

The article chronicles this month’s Gallop poll which reveals overwhelming majorities of Americans oppose the major accomplishments of this Congress over the last two years: the national healthcare bill, the stimulus, the bailout of auto companies, and the bailout of major banks and financial institutions. The just-enacted financial regulatory reform bill was the only legislative effort to garner majority support among the governed.

The American people are not out of touch with themselves, and this is one report card whose grades cannot be excused nor tolerated, but must be dealt with squarely by the electorate. Representative democracy only performs well when those elected endorse the wishes of their respective constituents. The absence of consent paints a clear picture of dysfunction; the elected must become the disenfranchised.

note-able quote
“What did we expect from these people? Americans are paying the price for having over the decades outsourced their personal responsibilities to the government. This mass abdication of our liberties has emboldened an army of social engineers into taking action on behalf of their political and moral proclivities at our expense. We have a very short time to set matters right before we lose everything.”
­— Washington Examiner reader

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