Weblog

Thursday, 04 September 2008

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

  • Currently Listening
    All the Right Reasons
    By Nickelback
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    Recession?

    I’m tired of hearing all the negative rhetoric about the US economy from our Media. Just this morning I heard it reported that existing home sales “edged up slightly” by 3.1% in July. Now, think about that wording for a minute; “edged up slightly”. Why not something like “Existing home sales rebounded sharply in July, up 3.1%”? Suppose there was a 3.1% drop in existing home sales – would the media report a “slight drop” in sales? No, we all know a 3.1% drop would be hailed as a “sharp plunge”, or some wording with a far more negative psychological impact. I’m sure the reason behind ‘the economy is terrible’ campaign is basically just to scare voters into casting their ballots for Obama, but I think it will ultimately fail miserably come November.

    The bottom line is that US economy is not actually in a recession, and while it’s not fantastic, it’s not terrible or gloomy and it certainly isn’t something that George Bush caused (I’ve never been a Bush fan, but I find the blame-Bush-for-every-probl
    em-under-the-sun game absolutely ridiculous). Fact is the economy is opening up with opportunities in many areas. In our company for example, we manufacture wood stair parts (among other things) and quite frequently our builders request iron railings or balusters. There are only a handful of large-scale manufacturers that make such iron stair components, and in times past it was impossible for us to order directly from the manufacturers (mainly due to minimum order restrictions) – we were stuck with ordering from their retail distributors ultimately paying the same price for the components as our higher-volume competitors were selling them for. This left us with no markup, and it wasn’t economical for us to offer the product, consequently sending our clientele to buy from our competitors. Now things are different. With the housing market slowing down, manufacturers are getting more competitive and seeking more outlets for their products. One of those outlets is selling direct to smaller companies like ours, without requiring large quantity orders.

    Just last week I attended the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta, where I had the opportunity to speak with literally hundreds of manufacturers, distributors, and contractors in the woodworking industry. When I asked the question “How’s business”, I got basically the same response from everyone I asked – “It’s not great, but it’s steady.” This seems to be the case in most areas, it’s just that average American’s are so used to a great economy that they tend to freak out when things slow down (and when the Media is constantly insisting things are horrible). In all fairness, our economy is seeing a sort of correction, and while it does cause things to slow down it will ultimately produce a positive effect. If nothing else, it will teach us Americans to live on less money than we make – an all too common fault we’ll have to overcome at some point.

Friday, 25 July 2008

  • Abortion isn't even the issue

    I  believe Alan Keyes to be one of the most articulate speakers I have ever heard on the subject of Life. In fact, he is in general, one of the most articulate speakers I’ve ever heard on any subject.


    I recently downloaded a speech from www.renewamerica.us that Keyes gave in 2006 on the Worldwide Sanctity of Life Day. After listening to this speech, my perspective of the miracle of life in general was greatly broadened. I hope that anyone also hearing it would have the same feeling.

    Enjoy.


Thursday, 24 July 2008

  • Iran

    I watched a C-Span clip today that just about sent me through the roof. Someone needs to explain to me why some of our Congressmen are so freaking naive when it comes to discussing how the possibility of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons should be handled. One congressman actually went so far as to defend Iran’s missile test, saying that it was only done because Israel performed war-game exercises over the Mediterranean. While it is true that Iran’s missile test was in response to the Israelis, we all know very well that if Iran had not already made it plain that they wanted Israel “wiped off the map” there would be absolutely no need for Israel to be practicing bombing runs intended to wipe our Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

    And they cry for diplomacy?

    Yeah, if I remember my history correctly, that didn’t work so well with Hitler (and that was before nukes were an issue). This time around you’ve got a psycho –Islamic ruler telling the WHOLE WORLD that he wants Israel destroyed, while his country edges closer and closer to producing a nuclear weapon with the capability of doing so – and our politicians cry diplomacy? Are these guys out to prove the “history repeats itself” thing false, or what? That’s a big gamble.

    Meanwhile, exacerbating the situation even further is the possibility of a Muslim-raised politician becoming our next president. Obama has already said he would invite Muslim leaders to "a discussion about how we can prevent the widening misunderstandings and gaps between the Muslim world and the West” I, for one, would be incredibly relieved to discover that all the tensions between Islam and everybody else were merely “misunderstandings”. All this time, I thought they wanted to see the infidels (infidel: one without faith) like me, dead. Oh, wait, they do preach death to the infidels! Well, I guess that might be a problem for the summit that Obama intends to hold if he becomes president.

    I personally don’t believe that Obama has a serious chance of winning, although there are many people that disagree with me on that issue. Still, I just don’t see it happening – but if by some miracle he does win, then I’ll be convinced that he must be the antichrist.

Friday, 11 July 2008

  • Currently Gaming
    Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
    By Activision
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    History Repeats Itself

    We’ve all heard this before, and I really can’t argue with the concept. It does scare me though when I look at the current global situation. I see a similar situation today as that of the 6th century C.E. when the first Islamic expansions – or more accurately, conquests – began. These conquests started in 634 and finally collapsed in 1924, in the aftermath of World War I – that’s nearly 1,300 years of continuous Islamic militancy. It is a stunning fact that from the very founding of this ‘faith’, Islam has almost constantly been at war with any and all non-Muslim cultures.

    Of all battles fought against the Muslim expansionists – or Muslim terrorists, if you prefer – my favorite is the Battle of Tours (732), where Charles 'The Hammer' Martel defeated a Muslim army of 50,000 that was led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. This battle essentially halted the Muslim expansion in Europe and allowed the further expansion of Christianity, which undoubtedly would have seen little tolerance under Muslim rule.

    Today, we are witnessing an unprecedented global expansion of Islam. There are twenty-nine ‘hot-spots’ globally, of which eighteen are directly related to Islamic violence. I find it very interesting, and very sad, that over 60% of the conflicts on this planet involve Islam. Fuse that with the fact that Islam is also one of the fastest growing religions, and it begins to paint an ugly picture. Many people don't realize the ultimate goal of Islam as a religion - it is to mandate Islamic law over the entire world. They believe this must be done in order for their great     Imam al-Mahdi to come and 'save' the earth.

    So, are we looking at a new era of Muslim expansion? You tell me.