If you have ever traveled I-40 between Tennessee and North Carolina, you never forget that particularly harrowing bit of it across the mountains at the border.
Now, to make the journey even more unforgettable, a rock slide has closed lanes in both directions for up to three months.
Joel Setzer, a division engineer with the state Transportation Department, said the freeze and thaw of recent rains could have contributed to the slide. Setzer says geologists and geo-technical experts with the Transportation Department did a preliminary assessment and agreed with the engineers’ estimate of up to three months to clear the area. “An estimated 22,000 to 25,000 vehicles pass through this section of Interstate 40 daily, about half of which are commercial trucks,” Setzer said.
That's some 10 to 12 thousand truckloads of stuff that will have to take other, longer routes across the mountains. Every day.
That's a lot of stuff! And I keep noticing that retailers like WalMart have been cutting way back on inventory on the shelf. It will be interesting to see what actually begins to arrive where and when.
oops...no one planned for this one.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
A Prayer for Our Day
Fishers
Tangled in the nets of our wild philosophy,
Caught in the backlash of ideas ill-cast;
Heaving the lead into unplumbed infinity,
Baffled we stand beside the shore at last.
Snagged barbs, snarled lines, torn sails,
What fishers we!
Teach us Thy ways
O Man of Galilee.
attributed: Albert Reginald Gold
And, Since It's Sunday, Some Rays Of Hope
It's not all doom and gloom out there in America. Some good things are happening here in The Great Recession. Culture shapes economy, and here we have some successful cultural examples.
1. Trader Joe's
These guys have reconnected with the idea that food should be good, and shopping should be fun. The prices are generally very good, the quality is very high, and almost every item on the shelf carries their brand name. Last night, we cooked up salmon patties purchased from the freezer section, and they were wonderful. Trader Joe's understands the power of THE BRAND, and that everything that bears their brand should be first rate, to reinforce loyalty to the brand.(Something GM and Chrysler forgot long ago.)
2. Cracker Barrel
Same idea, but in a family restaurant context. The food is plentiful, tasty, comforting, served up cheerfully. Often, you have to wait for a table, especially on Sundays. No problem, they have one of the most cleverly-merchandised gift store operations on the planet. They have become a major recorded music retailer via their private-brand (that brand thing again!) label. In time for this Christmas, they're expanding to a co-branded line of merchandise with country star Alan Jackson.
In both places, the employees are genuinely happy to be there. The brand trumps all. They deliver good product and good fun to boot.
On the not-for-profit front:
1. The American Choral Directors Association
This organization is actually growing in the face of The Great Recession! Under the energetic leadership of Tim Sharp, the organization seems to have relocated its 'mojo'. Choral singing is a fabulous tool for music education, and its benefits extend far beyond arts alone. It is also relatively inexpensive, since everyone comes born with a voice, and there is no upper limit to the numbers who can participate. It's recession-proof art that everyone can participate in.
2. The University of Louisville
In the midst of The Great Recession, and in spite of some truly embarrassing scandals, U of L managed to raise $98 million from donors in the year just ended. President James Ramsey was a great hire seven years ago. In the wake of chaos left by his egoist predecessor, Ramsey brings a refreshingly level-headed leadership rooted in both his career in economics, and the fact that he was raised in Louisville--a graduate of Fern Creek High School. His roots and family are there. Both his children attend U of L. His full resume is published on the website, complete with home address and phone! The opening paragraph of the 2009 State of the University address, delivered by the provost, is inspiring reading.
Again, attention to the brand, the mission, the employees, the customers--they just don't seem to go out of vogue.
They prosper because they serve.
1. Trader Joe's
These guys have reconnected with the idea that food should be good, and shopping should be fun. The prices are generally very good, the quality is very high, and almost every item on the shelf carries their brand name. Last night, we cooked up salmon patties purchased from the freezer section, and they were wonderful. Trader Joe's understands the power of THE BRAND, and that everything that bears their brand should be first rate, to reinforce loyalty to the brand.(Something GM and Chrysler forgot long ago.)
2. Cracker Barrel
Same idea, but in a family restaurant context. The food is plentiful, tasty, comforting, served up cheerfully. Often, you have to wait for a table, especially on Sundays. No problem, they have one of the most cleverly-merchandised gift store operations on the planet. They have become a major recorded music retailer via their private-brand (that brand thing again!) label. In time for this Christmas, they're expanding to a co-branded line of merchandise with country star Alan Jackson.
In both places, the employees are genuinely happy to be there. The brand trumps all. They deliver good product and good fun to boot.
On the not-for-profit front:
1. The American Choral Directors Association
This organization is actually growing in the face of The Great Recession! Under the energetic leadership of Tim Sharp, the organization seems to have relocated its 'mojo'. Choral singing is a fabulous tool for music education, and its benefits extend far beyond arts alone. It is also relatively inexpensive, since everyone comes born with a voice, and there is no upper limit to the numbers who can participate. It's recession-proof art that everyone can participate in.
2. The University of Louisville
In the midst of The Great Recession, and in spite of some truly embarrassing scandals, U of L managed to raise $98 million from donors in the year just ended. President James Ramsey was a great hire seven years ago. In the wake of chaos left by his egoist predecessor, Ramsey brings a refreshingly level-headed leadership rooted in both his career in economics, and the fact that he was raised in Louisville--a graduate of Fern Creek High School. His roots and family are there. Both his children attend U of L. His full resume is published on the website, complete with home address and phone! The opening paragraph of the 2009 State of the University address, delivered by the provost, is inspiring reading.
Again, attention to the brand, the mission, the employees, the customers--they just don't seem to go out of vogue.
They prosper because they serve.
Gone For Good
He reports that many job losses are running through the small business sector(the traditional 'petri dish' that grows jobs), many more employed people involuntarily placed on part-time status, and the reluctance of recovering businesses to rehire.
His chart is here, truly a wonder to behold. It resembles a fighter plane on an afterburner climb.
His article is here, worth pondering.
Remember, this isn't somebody in a tin hat living in Mom's basement. This is a wonk for the Federal Reserve in Atlanta.
I have a buddy who works for Whirlpool in Evansville. Those manufacturing lines are moving to Mexico next summer. Given this bit of cheery news, you have to wonder what they were thinking.
(But, they're MBA's, most likely, so thinking isn't part of the job description.)
He reports a huge overcapacity of manufacturing capacity compared to demand, and Mexican compensation packages that are only 1/6 the US cost, plus lower taxes.
Those jobs aren't coming back, ever.
Now, add on the Brave New Health Care Bill, Cap and Trade, and the unfunded obligations already in place in our federal government, and the taxes that will be required to fund all that.
So, where are the new businesses and jobs to come from? Has anyone in either Congress or the Executive Branch given this serious thought?
President Hopey-Changey's Mortgage Refi Morass
This from an editor at Miller-McCune magazine, who innocently sought to refinance his mortgage via one of the Obama Administration's programs...
If a guy who doesn't need a refi, with an advanced education and lucrative job goes through this torture, what happens to the truck driver who really needs to refi in order to stay in his house?
Business & Economics Articles | Obama Refinancing Plan Needs Work | Miller-McCune Online Magazine
If a guy who doesn't need a refi, with an advanced education and lucrative job goes through this torture, what happens to the truck driver who really needs to refi in order to stay in his house?
Business & Economics Articles | Obama Refinancing Plan Needs Work | Miller-McCune Online Magazine
Friday, October 23, 2009
Next Week, We Make History!
Why do I get the feeling our executive branch is playing 'chicken' with the world?
Do they think they can do this indefinitely?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
BBC NEWS | Americas | Mexican city sees record murders
BBC NEWS | Americas | Mexican city sees record murders
Nope, we don't need to beef up security on the southern border.
President Hopey-Changey has got it all under control.
Move on, nothing to see here.
Nope, we don't need to beef up security on the southern border.
President Hopey-Changey has got it all under control.
Move on, nothing to see here.
Pastor Peters Ponders Pope's Perspicacity
Forgive me. It's been a long few weeks.
Actually, a great part of the formation of culture, both here in the US and elsewhere, has been the practice of Christianity, in its many forms. It really matters, and if the churches can 'find their mojo' again, we'll all benefit.
Pastor Peters does a great job as a highly literate Lutheran minister pondering these questions. He feeds my poor brain weekly, and I recommend him to you.
You can find his latest musings, about Rome's new 'open door policy' to the Anglicans.
I must say, it is a lot more thoughtful than my rant of a few days ago.
Actually, a great part of the formation of culture, both here in the US and elsewhere, has been the practice of Christianity, in its many forms. It really matters, and if the churches can 'find their mojo' again, we'll all benefit.
Pastor Peters does a great job as a highly literate Lutheran minister pondering these questions. He feeds my poor brain weekly, and I recommend him to you.
You can find his latest musings, about Rome's new 'open door policy' to the Anglicans.
I must say, it is a lot more thoughtful than my rant of a few days ago.
Remember How Many Jobs The White House Claimed They Would Create?
Just pass The Stimulus, and the recovery will begin. Millions of jobs will be created and 'saved'.
Well, the results so far are in.
Hmm...if you like charts, this one tells the story.
It worked so well, we keep hearing rumors of another one in the pipeline.
(Breathless anticipation!)
My unborn grandchildren will be paying for this tragic, reckless, counter-productive behavior.
But they don't matter to these guys, since they can't vote.
Well, the results so far are in.
Hmm...if you like charts, this one tells the story.
It worked so well, we keep hearing rumors of another one in the pipeline.
(Breathless anticipation!)
My unborn grandchildren will be paying for this tragic, reckless, counter-productive behavior.
But they don't matter to these guys, since they can't vote.
Sen. Lamar Alexander Warns About The White House Enemies List
Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is the antithesis of the grandstanding blowhard that so commonly shows up in the Senate. He made his mark in his first governor's race by donning a red and black plaid work shirt, and walking across Tennessee, visiting every one of the ninety-three county seats. He had to clean up a terrible corruption mess left by Democrat Ray Blanton(exposed by Fred Thompson), and worked conscientiously (if not always successfully) to improve the schools and economic health of the state. From there he moved on to head the University of Tennessee, and eventually to the Senate, while starting a business, serving in the Reagan administration, and teaching a bit at Harvard enroute.
His biggest 'gimmick' for the crowds is that he plays the piano passably well.
He is, in other words, a nerd.
This gives him a real advantage: When he stands up to say something serious, we'd better take him seriously.
Today he stood up in the well of the Senate and issued the warning to the Obama White House: If you create an enemies list, a la Nixon and company, you are on the path to self-destruction. I know, I was there when it happened.
His remarks in part here:
In 1969 and during the first half of 1970, I was a wet-behind-the-ears, 29-year-old staff aide in the West Wing of the Nixon White House. I was working for the wisest man in that White House, Bryce Harlow, who was a friend of President Johnson, as well as the favorite staff member of President Eisenhower, and President Nixon's first appointee.
Based upon that experience and my forty years since then in and out of public life, I want to make what I hope will be taken as a friendly suggestion to President Obama and his White House: don't create an enemies list.
[...]
In 1971 Chuck Colson, who was then a member of President Nixon's staff and today is admired for his decades of selfless work in prison reform, presented a list of what he called "persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration." He said he thought the administration should "maximize our incumbency...[or] to put it more bluntly...use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies." On that list of 20 people were CBS correspondent Daniel Schorr, Washington Star columnist Mary McGrory, Leonard Woodcock, the head of the United Auto Workers, John Conyers, the Democratic Congressman from Michigan, Edwin Guthman, managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, and several prominent businessmen such as Howard Stein, of the Dreyfus Corporation and Arnold Picker, vice president of United Artists. The New York Times and the Washington Post were made out to be enemies of the Republic.
Now make no mistake, politics was not such a gentlemanly affair in those days either. After Barry Goldwater had won the Presidential nomination in 1964, Daniel Schorr had told CBS viewers that Goldwater had "travel[led] to Germany to join-up with the right wing there" and - "visit[ed] Hitler's old stomping ground." Schorr later corrected that on the air.
What was different about Colson's effort, though, was the open declaration of war upon anyone who seemed to disagree with administration policies. Colson later expanded his list to include hundreds of people, including Joe Namath, John Lennon, Carol Channing, Gregory Peck, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Congressional Black Caucus, Alabama Governor George Wallace. All this came out during the Watergate hearings. You could see an administration spiraling downwards. And, of course, we all know where that led.
There is much more, and you can find his full remarks here.
When the nerd starts to crowing, it's best we pay attention.
His biggest 'gimmick' for the crowds is that he plays the piano passably well.
He is, in other words, a nerd.
This gives him a real advantage: When he stands up to say something serious, we'd better take him seriously.
Today he stood up in the well of the Senate and issued the warning to the Obama White House: If you create an enemies list, a la Nixon and company, you are on the path to self-destruction. I know, I was there when it happened.
His remarks in part here:
In 1969 and during the first half of 1970, I was a wet-behind-the-ears, 29-year-old staff aide in the West Wing of the Nixon White House. I was working for the wisest man in that White House, Bryce Harlow, who was a friend of President Johnson, as well as the favorite staff member of President Eisenhower, and President Nixon's first appointee.
Based upon that experience and my forty years since then in and out of public life, I want to make what I hope will be taken as a friendly suggestion to President Obama and his White House: don't create an enemies list.
[...]
In 1971 Chuck Colson, who was then a member of President Nixon's staff and today is admired for his decades of selfless work in prison reform, presented a list of what he called "persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration." He said he thought the administration should "maximize our incumbency...[or] to put it more bluntly...use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies." On that list of 20 people were CBS correspondent Daniel Schorr, Washington Star columnist Mary McGrory, Leonard Woodcock, the head of the United Auto Workers, John Conyers, the Democratic Congressman from Michigan, Edwin Guthman, managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, and several prominent businessmen such as Howard Stein, of the Dreyfus Corporation and Arnold Picker, vice president of United Artists. The New York Times and the Washington Post were made out to be enemies of the Republic.
Now make no mistake, politics was not such a gentlemanly affair in those days either. After Barry Goldwater had won the Presidential nomination in 1964, Daniel Schorr had told CBS viewers that Goldwater had "travel[led] to Germany to join-up with the right wing there" and - "visit[ed] Hitler's old stomping ground." Schorr later corrected that on the air.
What was different about Colson's effort, though, was the open declaration of war upon anyone who seemed to disagree with administration policies. Colson later expanded his list to include hundreds of people, including Joe Namath, John Lennon, Carol Channing, Gregory Peck, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Congressional Black Caucus, Alabama Governor George Wallace. All this came out during the Watergate hearings. You could see an administration spiraling downwards. And, of course, we all know where that led.
There is much more, and you can find his full remarks here.
When the nerd starts to crowing, it's best we pay attention.
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