War With Islam

     This is not politically correct, but needs to be addressed.  Our government can criticize the Christian crusades, but won’t criticize Muslims in any way.  The fact that the Christian crusades were in reaction to Muslim conquests seems to be irrelevant.  Here is a brief summary of Muslim conquests.

610-750 – Conquest of Byzantine and Sassanid

633-651 – Conquest of Persia and Mesopotamia

637 – Conquest of Syria

639 – Conquest of Armenia

639 – Conquest of Egypt

644 – Conquest of Iraq/Persia

652 – Conquest of North Africa

654 – Conquest of Cyprus

662-751 – Conquest of Transoxiana

664-712 – Conquest of Sindh

665 – Second conquest of North Africa

674-678 – First siege of Constantinople

700-1600 – Conquest of Nubia

711-718 – Conquest of Hispania

711-750 – Attempts to conquer Caucasus

717-718 – Second siege of Constantinople

718-750 – Umayyad conquests

719-720 – Conquest Septimania

736 – Conquest of Georgia

820- Conquest of Crete

827 – Conquest of Sicily and invade southern Italy

831-902 – Invade central and southern Italy

1060-1360 – Conquest of Anatolia

1299-1453 – Byzantine-Ottoman Wars

1200-1800 – Conquests in Eastern Europe, Asia, and India

1801-1805 – U.S Barbary War with Tripoli

1815-1816 – U.S. Barbary War with Algiers

Do you see a pattern here?

The tactics of the Islamic war have changed to a terrorist war except for some areas like Iraq and Afghanistan, and some Islamic groups like Isis, which take and hold ground.

I am not going to list terrorist’s attacks against Americans on foreign soil, although it is hard to ignore civilian beheadings, attacks against our military like the USS Cole, and attacks on our embassies like Benghazi.  We t end to think we are safe at home because oceans insulate us, but that is not true.  Here is a list of Islamic terrorist attacks on American soil. 

Date                    City/State                            Killed         Injured

4/14/1972           New York, NY                         1                 3

1/19/1973           Brooklyn, NY                          1                 1

7/01/1973           Bethesda, MD                        1                 0

7/18/1973           Washington, DC                     8                 2

10/19/1973         Oakland, CA                           1                 1

10/29/1973         Berkeley, CA                          1                 0

11/25/1973         Oakland, CA                           1                 0      

12/11/1973         Oakland, CA                           1                 0

12/13/1973         Oakland, CA                           1                 0

12/20/1973         Oakland, CA                           1                 0

12/22/1973         Oakland, CA                           2                 0

12/24/1973         Oakland, CA                           1                 0

1/24/1974           Oakland, CA                           4                 1

4/01/1974           Oakland, CA                           1                 1

4/16/1974           Ingleside, CA                         1                 0

3/09/1977           Washington, DC                    1                 1

7/22/1980           Bethesda, MD                        1                 0

8/31/1980           Savou, IL                                2                 0

11/06/1989         St. Louis, MO                         1                 0

1/31/1990           Tucson, AZ                            1                 0

11/05/1990         New York, NY                         1                 0

1/25/1993           Langley, VA                            2                 3

2/26/1993           New York, NY                         6          1040       

3/01/1994           Brooklyn, NY                          1                  0

3/23/1997           New York, NY                         1                 6

4/03/1997           Lompoc, CA                           1                 0

3/17/2000           Atlanta, GA                             1                 1

9/11/2001           Washington, DC                184               53

9/11/2001           Shanksville, PA                    40                 0

9/11/2001           New York, NY                   2752            251

3/19/2002           Tucson, AZ                            1                 0

5/27/2002           Denton, TX                            1                 0

7/04/2002           Los Angeles, CA                   2                 0

9/05/2002           Clinton, MD                            1                 0

9/21/2002           Montgomery, AL                    1                 1

9/23/2002           Baton Rouge, LA                   1                 0

10/02/2002         Wheaton, MD                         1                 0

10/03/2002         Montgomery, MD                   5                 0

10/09/2002         Manassas, VA                        1                 1

10/11/2002         Fredericksburg, VA               1                 0

10/14/2002         Arlington, VA                          1                 0

10/22/2002         Aspen Hill, MD                       1                 0

8/06/2003           Houston, TX                           1                 0

12/02/2003         Chicago, IL                             1                 0

4/13/2004           Raleigh, NC                            1                 4

4/15/2004           Scottsville, NY                        1                 2

6/16/2006           Baltimore, MD                        1                 0

6/25/2006           Denver, CO                            1                 5

7/28/2006           Seattle, WA                            1                 5

1/01/2008           Irving, TX                                2                 0

7/06/2008           Jonesboro, GA                      1                 0

2/12/2009           Buffalo, NY                             1                 0

4/12/ 2009          Phoenix, AZ                           2                 0

6/01/2009           Little Rock, AR                       1                 1

11/02/2009         Glendale, AZ                          1                 1

11/05/2009         Ft. Hood, TX                        13               31

12/04/2009         Binghamton, NY                     1                 0

4/14/2010           Marquette Park, IL                 5                 2

4/30/2011           Warren, MI                             1                 0

9/11/2011           Waltham, MA                         3                 0

1/15/2012           Houston, TX                          1                 0

2/07/2013           Buena Vista, NJ                    2                 0

3/24/2013           Ashtabula, OH                       1                 0

4/15/2013           Boston, MA                           3             264

4/19/2013           Boston, MA                           1                 1

8/04/2013           Richmond, CA                      1                 0

3/06/2014           Port Bolivar, TX                    2                 0

4/27/2014           Skyway, WA                         1                  0

6/01/2014           Seattle, WA                          2                  0

6/25/2014           West Orange, NJ                 1                  0

9/25/2014           Moore, OK                            1                 1

That adds up to 3,103 Americans killed by Muslims on American soil in 75 terrorists attacks.  The number of attacks surprised me.  Many just killed one person, which may seem insignificant unless it happened to you or your family.  This list does not address any terrorist acts that were stopped by law enforcement, or brave citizens.

Why don’t we hear more about these attacks?  When we do hear about them, they are also not identified correctly.  Calling the Ft. Hood attack “workplace violence” is a joke.  If a white police office kills a black person, it is on the news for months even if the action is justified.  We need to get our priorities straight.

The Muslim religion has always demanded continual expansion or conversion by whatever means possible.  The saying, “Kill all infidels” is still considered part of the Muslim religion by the Islamic extremists.  I am not saying all Muslims are bad, but the peace loving Muslims must take a more active role in stopping violent extremists.  A passive response by Muslims to terrorist’s acts condones those acts.

We are at war with radical Islam.  We all better recognize and deal with that fact.  As Winson Churchill said before WWII, “Fight your enemy while you can beat them.”  I hope we don’t wait until it escalates to WWIII.

 

Productivity

      Two measures of a country’s productivity are the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Gross National Product (GNP).  They both measure the value of goods and services produced.  The GDP counts all goods and services produced in the United States including those procuced by foreign individuals and companies, but nothing that id produced outside the country.  The GNP counts goods and services produced by only Americans and American owned companies anywhere in the world.  This is sometimes referred to as Gross National Income (GNI).

The difference between Gross National Product and the Gross Domestic Product may be significant and relevant. The United States estimated the GNP at $16.455 trillion and the GDP at $16.768 trillion in 2014.  This means foreign owned companies produced $313 billion more goods and services in the United States than American owned companies produced out of the country. 

Does this mean American companies should have more overseas production or that Americans should own more of the companies operating in this country?  That is a question that is beyond my area of expertise, BUT if we don’t reform and lower our corporate tax structure, we will have more and more American companies moving their headquarters out of the country.  That will have catastrophic consequences for our country.

Some economists used to predict that government debt was not a problem until it exceeded the GNP or GDP.  The debt then could create serious problems.  News flash, the national debt has exceeded $18 trillion.  We have exceeded that limit and better wake up.

If we are going to restore the American Dream, we need American entrepreneurs to produce products and provide services.  We need government to get out of the way.  I recently heard that six of the ten wealthiest counties in this country were in the Washington DC area.  How can this be?  Washington DC produces nothing.  The only thing they do is what some people call “legalized larceny” in order to redistribute wealth.

Many years ago I attended a Governor’s meeting on international trade.  Only about one hundred people attended, but several manufacturing companies in the state, and representatives from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East were represented.  There were some very interesting speakers on import/export and international law. I was fortunate to have some representative from Asia at the table in front of me so I could overhear them.

I found some of their comments very interesting.  They did not understand why the United States gave medical doctors and attorneys such high social and economic status.  These professions were vital in their country, but they considered them to be in a service category.  They place the international traders and heads of industry at the top of the social and economic status.  They also found it interesting that many American companies only planned twelve months in advance.  They planned for decades in the future.

If we are going to restore the American dream for future generations, we better get our priorities right and get the Federal Government out of the way. 

       

Back to the Basics

      When businesses get in trouble, the solution is very often to go back the basics.  In my book, Business Fits, I give many real life examples from the last forty-five years.  It is interesting how technology changes, but the basics of business don’t change. 

      I think we need to go back to the basics in government too.  Last week Rick Santorum announced that he was running for president.  He is a conservative who says he wants to restore the American dream for hard working Americans.  He gave simple workable solutions for tax reform, the war on terror, immigration reform, protecting individual rights (even for Christians), and stopping the out-of-control growth of government and government spending. 

      His solutions were simple and workable except for the problem of big business, big government, and the political elite that do not want to give up their power and control.  Both big government and big business are in cahoots together.  To blame one and not the other is naive.

      One of the shows I enjoy is The Five on FOX.  When they covered Santorum’s announcement, several people on the panel criticized him because he didn’t have any new and innovative ideas.  The panel disgusted me with these statements.  We don’t need new and unique ideas.  We need to get back to the basics and the Constitution.  We need to elect a qualified President that wants to restore the American dream.  I am not endorsing Santorum, but I liked what he said. 

      We don’t need a rock star or celebrity for our President.  We need someone with knowledge and experience that will represent the working class and the American entrepreneur.  There is a marketing strategy in business called “Sell the Sizzle.”  This strategy is effective, but the product must be a good steak.  Just the sizzle with no meat doesn’t work.  How many of you are old enough to remember the old Wendy’s “Where’s the Meat” ad campaign?

It was nice to have a black president, but it would have been better for the country if he had some experience.  I am an advocate of on-the-job training in business, but not in the Presidency. 

It would be nice to have a woman president at some point in time, but more importantly, we need a qualified President that will address the nations problems.  We need a president who is not in bed with big business and big government.  We need a President that will restore the American dream for the American worker.  We need to take this country back from the political elite. 

http://BusinessFits.com

Spare Us Your Brilliance

        “Spare us your brilliance for the first year” is a common instruction to new franchisees by franchisors. A proven business system is the greatest asset of a franchise.  The new franchisee must learn and implement that system before making or suggesting any changes.  If the new franchisee is not going to follow the system, he or she should never have bought the franchise.  Not following the system is a leading cause of franchise failure, second only to divorce.

        After the first year, franchisees do make significant contributions to the business system.  McDonalds started with a hamburger, cheeseburger, fries, and a shake.  The rest of today’s menu came from franchisees.  Franchisees serve a vital market research role to keep the franchise viable in an ever-changing market.   No individual business could afford this continual market research. 

        For more about franchising read Business Fits.  http://BusinessFits.com

        This is the season for graduations.  High School and collage graduates could also heed the “Spare us your brilliance” advice.  It would be nice to start one’s career in the perfect job, but that is often unrealistic.  Get a job, any job, learn that job and do it well.  Only then should the new hire try to show their brilliance.  Remember the world is not fair and does not owe you a living. 

        Congratulations to all new graduates.  Best wishes and good luck.

The Root of the Problem

        I’ve been so worried that our great Country had some serious problem.  I was concerned with an out of control federal government, government debt, failed federal policies, big money buying elections, partisan politics, corrupt and incompetent government officials, and government cover ups.  I was thrilled to learn these were not the problem. 

        I heard our Commander and Chief, President Obama say the real problem was Fox News.  I am so relieved.  I thought we had problems.  Now that we have identified the real problem it should be easy to find the solution.

Or maybe not.  Trying to blame Fox News for all our problems is so ridiculous that it would not even make a good Saturday Night Live skit.   The really sad thing is that the Progressives actually believe this bull.

        I am a news junkie.  I watch several networks every morning.  I usually start with ABC or CBS, then CNN, and finally Fox.  I admit I seldom watch NBC or MSNBC (AKA government networks) unless I am looking for a laugh.  Fox News does not do as good a job at covering sports and celebrities, but does an excellent job covering government.  I do believe Fox tries to be “Fair and Balanced”, but it is hard sometimes.  I can certainly relate.

Every network makes mistakes and some even have anchors manufacturing stories about themselves to improve their stature and credibility.  Some politicians do that too.  The interesting thing is that when Fox screws up, the disclaimer is front page with everyone including Fox.  With the other networks, the mistake is and forgotten if possible. 

FOX News is not the problem.  We need to deal with the real problems including out of control federal government, government debt, failed federal policies, campaign spending reform, partisan politics, corrupt and incompetent government officials, and government cover ups to name a few.

Freedom of Speech

         The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees us the right of free speech.  Unfortunately, some extremists think we should have free speech only if that speech agrees with what they believe. This includes political, religious, race, and gender extremists. 

        Two Islamic extremists attacked a Muhammad cartoon contest in Garland, Texas.  An alert traffic cop put the two gunmen down.  Some political extremists try to make the argument that freedom of speech should not allow people to offend Muslims with a Muhammad cartoon contest.  I agree the contest was probably a stupid idea, but that right is certainly protected under the First Amendment.

        I get frustrated with the political correctness of avoiding offending Muslims.  We are at war with radical Islam and they are Muslims.  Muslims need to rise up against radical Islam. 

        Freedom of speech does not give radical Islam or anyone else the right to use the Internet for recruiting Jihadist fighters to kill Americans.  This is a terrorist act of war and should be dealt with as such.

        Why is it we are only concerned about offending Muslims?  Christians are made fun of every day and it is totally acceptable.  Christians are restricted in how they can practice their religion in a clear violation of First Amendment rights.  Politicians sometimes refer to Christians as right-wing extremists.  How did this happen in a country founded on Christian principles?

        Some words are considered politically offensive, but freedom of speech gives us the right to use them.  The “N” word is one of the most offensive, but I was recently in a production of To Kill A Mockingbird and the “N” word was used extensively.  The word was necessary for a realistic production. 

        I had a sister who fought cancer for decades.  I lovingly refer to he as a “tough broad”.  I certainly don’t feel the word “broad” is derogative used that way.  Different words have different meanings for different people and we have the right to use these words. 

        There are restrictions to our right to free speech.  For example, we cannot yell FIRE in a crowded theater creating a panic.  We cannot incite a riot. That is a crime.  If we intentionally slander someone, we may be liable for that action.  If we lie under oath, it is perjury and a felony. 

        I feel our elected officials and leaders should be held to a higher standard and not a lower standard.  Why is it okay for an elected representative to make flagrant lies on the floor of Congress and not be subject to any prosecution?  I strongly support the right to free speech, even if stupid, but politicians need to be held to the same standard or a higher standard. 

        We need to elect political representatives that are honest and trustworthy.   

Personal Responsibility & Behavior

       Coverage of the race riots in Baltimore, Maryland last week showed a woman removing her teenage son from the scene.  She was scolding him and physically hitting him.  The video shows her pushing and shoving him and pulling a ski mask from his face.  It shows her slapping him in the face several times while giving him a verbal tongue-lashing.

        The boy was not hurt except for his dignity and pride.  The embarrassment in front of his friends will take some time to get over. 

        The woman is a single parent with several children.  Some people say she should be nominated for Mother of the Year.  Maybe she should, but isn’t it the responsibility of a parent to teach their children proper behavior?  Where were the other parents?

        I am a little surprised I haven’t heard any liberals saying the mother should be prosecuted for assault.  Slapping him is corporal punishment and he could have experienced some pain.  He certainly experienced some embarrassment and emotional trauma.  She even used language that was not politically correct.  Maybe she should be reprimanded for that.  Maybe she should have met her son at the bus or school and walked him home.  He is a teenager, but I have heard of people being jailed for letting a ten-year-old walk home alone.  Why haven’t we heard from the liberals?  I guess they are just too busy promoting the protests. 

        Things have changed since I was raised, and I don’t think for the better.  That was a long time ago, but I was taught to respect the police and my teachers.  If I did something wrong, I was even more afraid of my parents.  I never heard of a timeout.  That would have been a treat. 

        I was taught responsibility and a strong work ethic.  Parents assumed this responsibility.  There were no excuses or attempts to transfer parent’s responsibility to the schools or government.  

        In the rural area of Iowa where I was raised, kids grew up fast.  They were given responsibility at an early age.  All farm kids had chores from a very young age.  Parents would have laughed at someone being prosecuted for letting a ten-year-old walk home alone.   At ten, farm kids were operating tractors and cultivating corn without supervision.  At age ten or eleven, my ex-wife cooked, cleaned, and cared for a neighboring farmer and his five children while the mother was in the hospital with number six. 

        There seems to be a direct correlation between the decline of the strong, traditional family unitand the lack of personal responsibility, responsible behavior, and a good work ethic in our young people.  Government should consider this, and stop throwing money at programs that not only don’t work, and in some cases make the situation worse. 

It is time for real change.