Betrayed

She danced excitedly at the door aware that the car was being loaded for a trip. She loves trips and traveling. The driver side backseat is her spot. The place she always rests unless the front seat is open.

As each successive piece of luggage went out the door, her excitement grew. Her hope that the coming trip would be fun.

The moment came. It was time for her to join the rest of the family in the car for the trip.

But wait. The front door was closing and she was not going to the car.

As I closed the door and told her that we would be back soon, I could see the betrayal in Makayla's deep brown eyes.

She wasn't going on the trip. She had to stay behind, again.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Frustration of Excessive Packaging

Consider the plight of a parent who tries to free a new toy from packaging without a complete tool box of cutters and screwdrivers. Now consider that the child is in the back seat of the car in the lot where the toy was just purchased and wants to play with the item. How is that going to end?

Or have you tried to open a package of light bulbs lately? I wonder what would have happened had I actually been in the dark?

Why do I need a college degree in difficult packaging to obtain access to the products I purchased?

How much money and how many resources could we save by eliminating excessive packaging?

Just think of the ease of cardboard over polystyrene.

I bought some new razors the other day and found out that they were more secure than all of the gold in Fort Knox.

Wow.

Check it out--too much packaging equals a lot of frustration. And the really sad part is that it all just goes into the recycling bin to help do it all over again.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Pinning the Budget Deficit Rose on the Wrong People

For 2012, the US will spend $53 Billion to provide foreign aid to countries around the world, some of those countries are not our friends. See foreign aid escapes budget cuts.

For 2012 and 2013 together, the US will save a total of $26 Billion by freezing Federal Worker pay. See pay freeze.

The federal deficit for 2012 (see page 23) is still estimated to be $1.1 trillion.

What is wrong with this picture. The people of the country demand quality services from government, yet the government is unwilling to pay for them. And then wonder why people are complaining that the government is bureaucratically fat.

Many federal workers give up constitutional rights to be employed by the government (see the Hatch Act) and they are working for less money than they could get working for a contractor. Plus, they are subjected very stringent guidelines and very invasive income and investment reporting requirements.

I think it is like going to the tire store for set of new tires and only putting three tires on the car. It is not the fault of the tire store that the car doesn't drive right, yet they ultimately get the blame.

Congress and the DoD are also evaluating ways to reduce benefits to the military, active duty and retirees. That certainly does not send the right message to the veterans in our country.

So here is my rub--the government is willing to provide billions of dollars in stimulus aid to corporations and banks, but is unwilling to fairly compensate the people who are part of the engine of the recovery. It doesn't make good economic sense to me. Every fee and every tax that is levied on a company is ultimately paid by whom?

The consumer.

Think about it.

Taking money out of the pockets of consumers will cause the recovery to fail. Federal workers are consumers. And, unlike people receiving benefits in this country for doing nothing, federal workers contribute to the greater good and expect fair compensation for their work.

I believe that federal workers are being unfairly singled out by Congress as the cause of our economic distress. The relative pittance saved by not ensuring the continued prosperity of the civilian workforce is nothing more that a politically misguided effort to shift blame for our current economic woes away from those really responsible.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Dark Side of the Super Bowl

Aside from all of the hoopla and the game, which really wasn't too bad, I noticed that there was a dark side to the commercials. I got thinking about it today after I read an editorial and realized that as a society we are becoming a bit dark and depraved.

In reflecting about the commercials I saw, I was reminded that there was a dog covering up the murder of the family cat for some chips, a boy peeing in a swimming pool and then smiling when his sister jumped in, and there was the half time show which was a poster ad for talent past its prime and sex.

David Zurwick in his article titled Super Bowl TV: Good Game, Nasty Ads, Pathetic Halftime Show makes a lot of good points.

Here is what he wrote, and I have to agree with him: "The ads are a barometer of our culture. And what they said to me is that we have become a truly dumbed-down, crass, trashy and even cruel society -- and somehow proud of it."

Here is how he viewed the commercials:

A dog having killed a cat and trying to cover it up was supposed to be funny in a Doritos ad. A little kid urinating in a swimming pool and laughing when his sister jumps in was the punch line for an online tax service. The joke in a brain-dead, apocalyptic Chevy Silverado ad featuring a group of survivors is that one of the group died because he drove a Ford. Is this where the Obama bailout money went?

But I think the ad that best summarizes how debased our excessive commercialism has made us is the Go Daddy commercial that features two women using another woman's body as a billboard on which to write and draw the Go Daddy brand. There is something especially calculating about having two women do it to another woman -- when you know the intended appeal of the ad is male voyeurism.

I have to agree with him.

And I'm not going to bore you with his review of the halftime show, suffice it to write, he was unimpressed.

These ads are about the worst in us and appeal to our dark desires and sick sense of humor.

I believe we need to spend some time listening to Clint Eastwood in his piece, It's Halftime in America.

America--we need to change our direction or pretty soon we are going to be building coliseums and watching the gladiators for Sunday afternoon excitement.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 6, 2012

1. Today really is the morning after the night before.

2. The Super Bowl was a great game. I watched all of it and was impressed with the level of play. Congrats to the Giants for knocking off the Patriots.

3. It is hard to understand some decisions and late-changed plans--but in the end, they often make sense.

4. Super Bowl commercials did not disappoint this year. I enjoyed the Volkswagen dog with the Star Wars ending and the Matthew Broderick Honda commercials, but Clint Eastwood's "It's Halftime in America" was probably the best.

5. I'm still kind of upset at the groundhog for imagining to see his shadow last week.

6. It is less than two weeks to the start of baseball season. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota on February 18th.

7. Check your tax bill--I have heard it said the the governor of Maryland never met a tax he didn't like.

8. I can't begin to express my frustration at another year of Federal Worker pay freeze, if only my costs to live were not continuing to rise. My idea to start balancing the budget--stop giving away money to foreign countries.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Making a Difference

An article in the New York Times on Saturday really touched me. It was about life in Maine during the winter living on a restricted income and unable to afford fuel oil to heat a home. The article titled, In Fuel Oil Country, Cold that Cuts to the Heart brought home the hard decisions that must be made by business owners when faced with needy and destitute people.

Although the article is about the hard decisions that the owners of a fuel oil delivery company has to make to keep his business solvent, it is also about how those hard decisions take a toll on him and those who work for him.

The real heartening part of the story though, is the last part where an anonymous donator has a standing agreement to provide 50 gallons of fuel oil for an emergency case.

I have heard of this before--a local auto repair shop told me of the generosity of one of my neighbors who anonymously pays much of the repairs for other more needy neighbors. This is the true nature of paying it forward. But it meets real needs far better than buying someone's dinner at the Fast Food window.

We really can make a difference.



-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Secret of Life

I do not often use the stuff from the countless chain emails I receive, but the other day a story was sent to me which at the same time made me cry--because I've been there; while also making me realize--yeah, that is so right! And so here is that story from my email--
A Dog's Purpose?(from a 6-year-old).
Being
a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish
Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their
little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping
for a miracle.
I examined Belker
and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do
anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for
the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa
told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe
the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the
experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat
as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the
old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was
going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The
little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty
or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death,
wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than
human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''
Startled,
we all turned to him.
What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more
comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.
He
said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life
-- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The
Six-year-old continued,
''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''
I love my dog--everyone knows that and now, I know why. She is an example for me to emulate.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Groundhogs and daffodils

I was not amused by Punxsutawney Phil's prediction yesterday about six more weeks of winter. I think he was seeing things when he reported that he saw his shadow.



All things considered though, given the weather we are having, how can we be afraid of six more weeks of mild winter? I walked through the gardens yesterday and noticed that the daffodils were already budding--as if March were upon us already. I have also seen buds on some of the trees ready to burst forth and soak up some of the warming Springtime sunlight.

I expect the daffodils will be blossoming with their yellow blooms very soon.

Harbingers of Springtime despite what that rodent in Pennsylvania predicted.

Groundhogs--how did they become the predictors of the weather, anyway?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Famous Airplanes and their Names

As I reflected upon Sunday's visit to the Air and Space museum, it occurred to me that there are some very famous named aircraft which have made a significant mark upon history.

Often, I think in terms of series of aircraft--like the Boeing 707, the first successful jet passenger plane (the actual first jet passenger plane was the Comet); or a call sign, like Air Force 1; but there are some individual aircraft which were named and their names are a significant part of history and they need to be remembered.



Of course, one of these most famous named aircraft is on display at the museum and that would be the Enola Gay, a B-29. The Enola Gay is remembered for dropping an atomic bomb which caused wide spread devastation in Japan that hastened the end of WW2 in the Pacific and likely saved millions of American AND Japanese lives.

There are other named aircraft that I am familiar with, like the Pride of the Adirondacks, a B-47 bomber which used to grace the main gate at Plattsburgh AFB in northern New York. But that aircraft is not famous for doing anything other than being lucky enough not to be scrapped and being relegated to standing guard over a now closed Strategic Air Command installation.

As I thought about the names of famous aircraft, I was surprised by the relatively short list of less than 10 that I discovered.I wrestled with the number 1 position, but in the end had to succumb to the pressure that it was the aircraft which reliably ushered in the air age over 100 years ago. So here are my top named famous aircraft--in my personal order of precedence.

1. The Wright Flyer - the airplane built by Orville and Wilbur Wright,

2. Enola Gay. Nuff said!

3. Spirit of St Louis - which Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic.

4. Voyager - the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling.

5. Memphis Belle - the first B-17F to complete 25 combat missions over Germany during WW2. And it was a good movie, too.

6. Glamorous Glenn III - The Bell Aircraft Company Model X-1 that Charles Yeager flew faster than the speed of sound in 1947.

7. Spruce Goose - the airplane built of wood by Howard Hughes which was the largest aircraft of its time. Sadly, it only flew once, but it is a tribute to the power of thought and achievement. I'm not sure why this aircraft is so famous other that it is a relic to a genius who eventually lost himself.

So there they are--100 years and only seven named famous aircraft. But history, nonetheless.

I guess I have three additional spots--and there are some other's out there but somehow their comparison's pale to those on the list.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Out of Touch -- Legislators and Taxes

I read an interesting article in the Baltimore Sun the other day about a proposal in Congress to address back taxes owed by some government workers. I couldn't find the Sun article so here is the one from the LA Times titled Fire Them? Federal employees, retirees owe $3.4 billion in taxes.

It seems many of my federal co-workers are slugs (yes, I wrote it) and do not pay their taxes. This includes military personnel. I believe paying taxes is a responsibility that good citizens of our country need to accept--that does not mean that I like paying taxes, because I don't. But, as a citizen, I must accept the responsibility for doing my part to contribute to the operation of our government.

But here is my take on this emotional, election year issue. If they fire the workers who owe the taxes--which means they know who they are, then how do they reasonably expect the people to pay their back taxes--plus penalties and interest.

Yup, they owe the money. And according to the article we are talking about 280,000 people.

My answer is to take the money out of their wages and make them keep working until the debt is paid.

Why is that hard?

Hello, Congress!

Admittedly, the article says pretty much the same thing: "Critics of the legislation have said that firing employees who owe taxes would make it more difficult to collect the money. The unemployed hardly make for very good taxpayers, the Federal Managers Assn. said in a letter to lawmakers last year."

So if I can see the problem with trying to collect taxes from unemployed people (who then begin to receive benefits which may compound the problem) and the Federal Managers Association can see it, why is Congress wasting time trying to pass legislation that is counter productive to what they want to do?

Of course--we've been there before, haven't we?

Wake up and let's move on.

Next issue?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD