Time To Check And Adjust!

Every once in a while it's a great idea to reflect upon how well a course of action is going. Leadership guru Orrin Woodward calls this process, "plan, do, check ,and adjust." So I thought I'd take pause today and review the old adage, "how's it going?"

During the previous election we were told President Bush was hated throughout the world and considered a cowboy, when it came to foreign policy. We were sold the idea that we needed to coddle other nations, then we proceeded to apologize for our past perceived indiscretions. Our current President humbly apologized for our arrogance across the Middle East, and promised a more nurturing posture, offering an extended hand of friendship. The President aligned himself with Bush's harshest foreign policy critic, Hillary Clinton and assigned he the job of Secretary of State, his ambassador to the world. He's leaned heavily on the foreign policy experience of the master of foreign affairs, Joe Biden, every big gun opposed to the way we were doing things has been consulted and used. Stepping back and taking a 30,000 foot view, I'm not seeing much progress. We have an additional war going on, the other two are still active, the Middle east is one giant revolution, Iran has now acquired nuclear means, and North Korea is more rebellious than ever. Apparently ignorant power hungry dictators don't understand Harvard diplomacy tactics! Who might of foreseen that?

Now on our energy policy. When our current administration took office gas was under two dollars a gallon, it has now doubled. The introduction of green electric powered cars has resulted in a vehicle that is overpriced, and hardly practical for the average consumer. I'll also highlight it's responsible for burning down one devoted green minded owner's home, apparently you can't park two in a garage to charge as one caught fire. Though the government has thrown all kinds of subsidies at the solar and wind power industry, there isn't much going on there. We are also burning our food supply to refine ethanol so we can water down the gasoline we use at the pump and not be so dependent on foreign oil. The result is higher prices in the food market. Who could have imagined that happening? I've always been taught that to be independent of something or someone, you have to stop relying upon them for whatever you lack. So until technology creates an industry that provides us with an affordable and practical means to replace foreign oil, we might consider using our won resources. Just a suggestion, because sending our tax dollars to Brazil so they can supply us with oil, just seems like more of the same.

Now it's time to reflect on our fiscal policy. How's that working for you? Despite the influx of cash in an attempt to "stimulate" our market, we're not seeing much in the way of results. You might point to the rise of the Stock Market as a shining star in the sea of bleakness, but that is totally predictable. If you crash the value of the dollar, and you have, then the stock market rises in concert with the decline. Check the graphs of the big Stock Market crash back in the 20's, we're on the same path. Unemployment is abysmal, and food prices are climbing rapidly. Even thought they are trying to disguise those increases with decreased volume in the product, we are feeling it in our pocketbooks. The debt is rising faster than the space shuttle is coming to an end, and there is no sign of a balanced budget anywhere in sight. Basically America is broke and living on maxed out credit cards.

The immigration policy seems to be working though. Most of the illegal's who ventured here for a new and prosperous life have fled back to their homeland to find jobs. We are left with just the criminals who feed off the drug and gang lifestyles at least now when you find one you can be sure of their intent when you check their immigration status. Oh wait, we're not supposed to do that. They might take exception and think we are profiling criminals. Is that policy of expanding a suspect's rights beyond the normal, right to remain silent, and the right to counsel, really such a good idea?

So as we reflect, the plan part was flawless. The do part, they did just fine. While we are checking, the results seem less than desired. Now can this administration humble itself like it did with foreign policy, and admit it has taken the wrong direction? It's easy to apologize for someone else, do they have the spine to do it for themselves? Let's see if they taught that at Harvard!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

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