Finished a book this afternoon
Jackie completed her puzzle last midnight
David McCullough's history of Ohio's beginning
Heritage providing a memory of July's trip to Lake McDonald
Outside the day is gray and windy
two robins stand with heads cocked to the side then fly away
a few brown leaves are tumbling across our lawn
somewhere on a dead stump is the tat tat tat of a woodpecker
Yesterday we watched a new Hallmark movie
he was trying to escape the hub bub of fame and the big city
she wanted to snag a big promotion by interviewing the poor sap
we were on the edge of our rocker recliners until they kissed
Little pieces are back in their box and card table put away
when this is all over we will return puzzles and books
give each of our grandchildren an extra long hug
then turn our heads to the side and drive away
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
12 Things The Democrats Tried To Add To The Covid19 Relief Package
Well, it's day two of State mandated stay at home for Jackie and me (minimum of 3 weeks). I was wondering what kind of relief package our government would pass that would help take the bite out of not being able to work for that amount of time and how could small and big business be helped so that many of them don't have to go out of business. And I wondered if that would be possible without adding excessive amounts of dept for my children and grandchildren.
It turns out that there was a package ready to go Sunday night that was hammered out between Dems and Repubs that focused just on those areas (except for the debt). And then Nancy flew into town on her private jet, talked with Chuck, bipartisanship flew out the window, and the following stuff was added into the relief package.
Please point out to me which one of these is needed to dig us out of the hole that the Covid19 virus is putting our country in.
- Racial and gender pay equity provisions
- Diversity on corporate boards
- Increased use of minority banks by federal officials plus other diversity provisions
- Increased collective bargaining power for unions
- Cancel all U.S. Postal Service debt
- Fuel emissions standards for airlines
- Required carbon offsets for airlines
- Tax credits for alternative energy programs
- 9.5 billion in funds to colleges and universities
- 100 million to juvenile justice programs
- Suspension of various aspects of immigration laws
- Election requirements for States
There was more but I digress. It really doesn't matter if you are for these provisions or not. Our country is in a crisis and elected officials are putting ideology ahead of recovery.
I would like to boil up some tar, gather some feathers, tie a rail or 2 to the top of my car and drive to Washington. But, oh yeah, I'm currently sheltered in place.
It turns out that there was a package ready to go Sunday night that was hammered out between Dems and Repubs that focused just on those areas (except for the debt). And then Nancy flew into town on her private jet, talked with Chuck, bipartisanship flew out the window, and the following stuff was added into the relief package.
Please point out to me which one of these is needed to dig us out of the hole that the Covid19 virus is putting our country in.
- Racial and gender pay equity provisions
- Diversity on corporate boards
- Increased use of minority banks by federal officials plus other diversity provisions
- Increased collective bargaining power for unions
- Cancel all U.S. Postal Service debt
- Fuel emissions standards for airlines
- Required carbon offsets for airlines
- Tax credits for alternative energy programs
- 9.5 billion in funds to colleges and universities
- 100 million to juvenile justice programs
- Suspension of various aspects of immigration laws
- Election requirements for States
There was more but I digress. It really doesn't matter if you are for these provisions or not. Our country is in a crisis and elected officials are putting ideology ahead of recovery.
I would like to boil up some tar, gather some feathers, tie a rail or 2 to the top of my car and drive to Washington. But, oh yeah, I'm currently sheltered in place.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Driver Testing With Covid19
My blue latex gloved hand
holds a yellow number 2 pencil
jotting down upon a legal sized scoresheet
intersections, head checks and stop lines
I notice every eye flutter and sweaty palm wipe
how markets are full while roads are sparse
an itch on my cheek that cannot be touched
and the wash of bright Spring sun on fading brown
When our forty-five minutes are up
certificate signed, black pen Cloroxed wiped
I great the next customer from a distance
extending my blue fingers for their documents
It has been two crazy weeks without inspiration
words like the virus hiding somewhere out there
perhaps next week I will shelter-in-place
watching for cars outside my window
holds a yellow number 2 pencil
jotting down upon a legal sized scoresheet
intersections, head checks and stop lines
I notice every eye flutter and sweaty palm wipe
how markets are full while roads are sparse
an itch on my cheek that cannot be touched
and the wash of bright Spring sun on fading brown
When our forty-five minutes are up
certificate signed, black pen Cloroxed wiped
I great the next customer from a distance
extending my blue fingers for their documents
It has been two crazy weeks without inspiration
words like the virus hiding somewhere out there
perhaps next week I will shelter-in-place
watching for cars outside my window
Sunday, March 1, 2020
It's All Over Except For The Shouting
As I write, the South Carolina Democrat primary is over and the all important Super Tuesday primaries are coming up in just two days. Joe Biden managed to stay important with a 30 point victory margin. However Bernie Sanders (according to Five Thirty Eight) is still the odds on favorite to win Super Tuesday and advance to the July Democrat party convention with the most delegates in hand, although maybe not enough to secure the nomination. The only other person who may figure into the race is Mayor Bloomberg, whose billions bought him name recognition but whose lack of personality was priceless.
But let me say this to all my liberal friends and family who may be convinced that Bernie, Joe or Mike actually has a chance of beating Donald in November. The political world has been and is currently rapidly undergoing a fundamental shift in alliances. In probably appears to you and to your friends that Progressive ideology is winning and the revolution is at hand when in truth just the opposite has been happening. This shift has been so fast that it doesn't matter who the Democrat Party runs in 2020. He or she will lose, the margins may be huge and there is a real possibility that your party will splinter and not recover for decades.
The first trend is with the African-American electric. In 2016 Donald Trump collected just 8% of that voting group, which is about average for Republicans in past Presidential elections. Several months ago 3 different polls showed Trump with an average 33% favorable rating with Blacks. Those numbers increased to 40% in a poll released 2 weeks ago. There are several reasons why, not the least of which is the Democrat Party's surge to far left social positions. So it's not just about Trump popularity but also about a movement away from the traditional alliance Blacks have had with the Democrat Party.
Twenty-seven per cent of overall Democrat votes come from the Black community. I'm not saying that President Trump will increase his share from 8 to 30% votes in 2020, but if he increases to 15% or even 12% with Blacks then it is game over (for a long time).
In may shock you but President Trump's approval rating in the Hispanic community is also over forty per cent (he received 28% in 2016). There are a lot of reasons for this as well (some the same as with the Black community) but the important thing to note is that the numbers are increasing. Forty per cent of those who attend Trump rallies in places like New Mexico are Hispanic.
The current Democrat Party is rapidly losing their traditional support from White working class voters in industrial states. In 2016 Trump's narrow victories in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and one other industrial state were because of this. In those states there were a total of 200 counties that had voted blue by a twenty point margin since the 1980's who voted red by a 20 point margin in 2016. Those voters have not been given any reason to flip back. In fact I predict they were just the tip of an oncoming iceberg
Which leads to the next interesting point. Trump received about the same total number of votes as Romney did in 2012. That means that if he overperformed in the traditional Democrat white working class he underperformed in another area. And I can tell you for certain that area was with Evangelical voters who did not believe that Trump would do what he promised and were put off by the person. Many either voted third party or did not vote. Many are still put off by the person but are thrilled by what President Trump has accomplished in regards to pro-life, pro-Christian, pro-Israel efforts and by the 2 Supreme Court selections and the 200 Federal and Circuit Court judges chosen and confirmed.
President Trumps approval rating in his party is over 90%. That is higher at this point in a Presidency than ANY OTHER PRESIDENT - EVER. Unlike most other politicians he has kept or at least tried to keep almost every one of his campaign promises. From pro-life to judges to building up the military to getting other countries to pay their fair share be it NATO funding or trade agreements, to a middle class tax cut to reducing Federal regulations and the size of the Federal government to moving our embassy to Jerusalem to eliminating ISIS to reducing our military presence in the Middle-East to removing the government mandate in Obama Care to reducing the flow of illegal immigrants across the Southern border to shaking things up in the Washington swamp, Trump has followed through.
And of course there is the economy stupid, which has been robust in almost every historic metric under Trump and where most people actually feel and understand that it has been. The average American votes on how they think the economy is treating them.
So a note on the Corona Virus where the stock market has seen a sharp drop because of fear and the disruption of supply chains. This really could not have come at a better time for President Trump. The Dow average rose from a 18,000 high when President Obama left to 29,000 in just over 3 years under Trump. It was due for a major correction and the virus and disruptions were as good any reasons to get the needed correction. Drugs to treat the virus will be available within 3 months, factories for Apple and others in China are starting to open again, and by fall it will all be a distant memory.
The move toward rejecting globalism and embracing nationalism has been happening throughout Europe. The effects of large immigrant communities not adapting to a countries traditional norms and beliefs has been a huge factor there. While we in America do not have massive immigration of Muslim populations from Northern Africa and the Mid-East who live separated in their own communities it should not be underestimated how important the issue of illegal immigration is to the vast majority of average American. It was one of the main issues Trump ran on. The current Democrat position of open borders and universal amnesty of illegals is not a winning political argument. And by calling President Trump racist on the issue it is at the same time calling everyone else who agrees with him racist.
If Bernie Sanders comes into the convention with enough delegates he will get the nomination. He has already surrendered Florida because of the Cuban vote. He will be positioned not as a Scandinavian Socialist (which he is not) but rather as a Marxist/Communist which he and a couple of the top people in his campaign actually are. The motivation on the Republican side (already very high) will be huge. There will be a fever pitch of excitement with the Bernie true believers but it will not be enough to overcome those Dems who will sit this one out. Bernie will lose by historic margins.
If Sanders comes into the convention with out a clear majority of delegates it is very likely that the DNC will go with someone else. Let us say Sleepy Joe. Now Biden might make the race a little closer (although he has his own problems) except for one major problem How will the Bernie Bros react? Will they riot? Will they want Bernie to go third party? Will many of them sit out or even some of them vote Trump? A third party run by whomever will mean a 50 state sweep for Trump.
One last word on trends. Unlike what you may have heard, the percentage of the White population is not shrinking in America. Historic trends show that not only do 70% of Americans identify as White but that 70 per cent will remain constant for many decades forward. The major immigrant population in America is Hispanic.Ten per cent of first generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Forty per cent of second generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Seventy to ninety per cent of third generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Most of the offspring of those that intermarry identify themselves as White and adopt the same (mostly Conservative) values.
So come November, even though the media and your friends have assured you that Bernie has it in the bag and no one of right mind would ever vote for Trump again, remember to take a deep breath, stay calm, and if you want to make a little extra money, invest in some Pence 2024 buttons.
But let me say this to all my liberal friends and family who may be convinced that Bernie, Joe or Mike actually has a chance of beating Donald in November. The political world has been and is currently rapidly undergoing a fundamental shift in alliances. In probably appears to you and to your friends that Progressive ideology is winning and the revolution is at hand when in truth just the opposite has been happening. This shift has been so fast that it doesn't matter who the Democrat Party runs in 2020. He or she will lose, the margins may be huge and there is a real possibility that your party will splinter and not recover for decades.
The first trend is with the African-American electric. In 2016 Donald Trump collected just 8% of that voting group, which is about average for Republicans in past Presidential elections. Several months ago 3 different polls showed Trump with an average 33% favorable rating with Blacks. Those numbers increased to 40% in a poll released 2 weeks ago. There are several reasons why, not the least of which is the Democrat Party's surge to far left social positions. So it's not just about Trump popularity but also about a movement away from the traditional alliance Blacks have had with the Democrat Party.
Twenty-seven per cent of overall Democrat votes come from the Black community. I'm not saying that President Trump will increase his share from 8 to 30% votes in 2020, but if he increases to 15% or even 12% with Blacks then it is game over (for a long time).
In may shock you but President Trump's approval rating in the Hispanic community is also over forty per cent (he received 28% in 2016). There are a lot of reasons for this as well (some the same as with the Black community) but the important thing to note is that the numbers are increasing. Forty per cent of those who attend Trump rallies in places like New Mexico are Hispanic.
The current Democrat Party is rapidly losing their traditional support from White working class voters in industrial states. In 2016 Trump's narrow victories in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and one other industrial state were because of this. In those states there were a total of 200 counties that had voted blue by a twenty point margin since the 1980's who voted red by a 20 point margin in 2016. Those voters have not been given any reason to flip back. In fact I predict they were just the tip of an oncoming iceberg
Which leads to the next interesting point. Trump received about the same total number of votes as Romney did in 2012. That means that if he overperformed in the traditional Democrat white working class he underperformed in another area. And I can tell you for certain that area was with Evangelical voters who did not believe that Trump would do what he promised and were put off by the person. Many either voted third party or did not vote. Many are still put off by the person but are thrilled by what President Trump has accomplished in regards to pro-life, pro-Christian, pro-Israel efforts and by the 2 Supreme Court selections and the 200 Federal and Circuit Court judges chosen and confirmed.
President Trumps approval rating in his party is over 90%. That is higher at this point in a Presidency than ANY OTHER PRESIDENT - EVER. Unlike most other politicians he has kept or at least tried to keep almost every one of his campaign promises. From pro-life to judges to building up the military to getting other countries to pay their fair share be it NATO funding or trade agreements, to a middle class tax cut to reducing Federal regulations and the size of the Federal government to moving our embassy to Jerusalem to eliminating ISIS to reducing our military presence in the Middle-East to removing the government mandate in Obama Care to reducing the flow of illegal immigrants across the Southern border to shaking things up in the Washington swamp, Trump has followed through.
And of course there is the economy stupid, which has been robust in almost every historic metric under Trump and where most people actually feel and understand that it has been. The average American votes on how they think the economy is treating them.
So a note on the Corona Virus where the stock market has seen a sharp drop because of fear and the disruption of supply chains. This really could not have come at a better time for President Trump. The Dow average rose from a 18,000 high when President Obama left to 29,000 in just over 3 years under Trump. It was due for a major correction and the virus and disruptions were as good any reasons to get the needed correction. Drugs to treat the virus will be available within 3 months, factories for Apple and others in China are starting to open again, and by fall it will all be a distant memory.
The move toward rejecting globalism and embracing nationalism has been happening throughout Europe. The effects of large immigrant communities not adapting to a countries traditional norms and beliefs has been a huge factor there. While we in America do not have massive immigration of Muslim populations from Northern Africa and the Mid-East who live separated in their own communities it should not be underestimated how important the issue of illegal immigration is to the vast majority of average American. It was one of the main issues Trump ran on. The current Democrat position of open borders and universal amnesty of illegals is not a winning political argument. And by calling President Trump racist on the issue it is at the same time calling everyone else who agrees with him racist.
If Bernie Sanders comes into the convention with enough delegates he will get the nomination. He has already surrendered Florida because of the Cuban vote. He will be positioned not as a Scandinavian Socialist (which he is not) but rather as a Marxist/Communist which he and a couple of the top people in his campaign actually are. The motivation on the Republican side (already very high) will be huge. There will be a fever pitch of excitement with the Bernie true believers but it will not be enough to overcome those Dems who will sit this one out. Bernie will lose by historic margins.
If Sanders comes into the convention with out a clear majority of delegates it is very likely that the DNC will go with someone else. Let us say Sleepy Joe. Now Biden might make the race a little closer (although he has his own problems) except for one major problem How will the Bernie Bros react? Will they riot? Will they want Bernie to go third party? Will many of them sit out or even some of them vote Trump? A third party run by whomever will mean a 50 state sweep for Trump.
One last word on trends. Unlike what you may have heard, the percentage of the White population is not shrinking in America. Historic trends show that not only do 70% of Americans identify as White but that 70 per cent will remain constant for many decades forward. The major immigrant population in America is Hispanic.Ten per cent of first generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Forty per cent of second generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Seventy to ninety per cent of third generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Most of the offspring of those that intermarry identify themselves as White and adopt the same (mostly Conservative) values.
So come November, even though the media and your friends have assured you that Bernie has it in the bag and no one of right mind would ever vote for Trump again, remember to take a deep breath, stay calm, and if you want to make a little extra money, invest in some Pence 2024 buttons.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
My Newest Book - When I Worship: Devotional Poetry
I have just released my second book of spiritual themed poetry called - When I Worship. It is a collection of 40 of my poems, each introduced by an appropriate Bible verse. It is available from Amazon HERE at a special introductory price of $4.99.
Here is one of the selections from the book.
WHO IS JESUS/
Whom do you say I am. (Matthew 15:16)
I sought not a teacher to show me the way
who says this is bad and this is OK
for what gain is there with human opine
seems right with the world but not the divine
But what of a prophet who channels the truth
with miracle powers, is always astute
can this guy take care of rebellion and sin
establish God's kingdom so I enter in
There is only One who is sent from above
the Son and the Christ who gives us His love
without Him as Lord there is no place to go
and only His blood can new life bestow
This question remains for each one today
about Jesus Christ, so what do you say
a thousand religions, each one man can scan
yet new life in Christ is the Father's great plan
Here is one of the selections from the book.
WHO IS JESUS/
Whom do you say I am. (Matthew 15:16)
I sought not a teacher to show me the way
who says this is bad and this is OK
for what gain is there with human opine
seems right with the world but not the divine
But what of a prophet who channels the truth
with miracle powers, is always astute
can this guy take care of rebellion and sin
establish God's kingdom so I enter in
There is only One who is sent from above
the Son and the Christ who gives us His love
without Him as Lord there is no place to go
and only His blood can new life bestow
This question remains for each one today
about Jesus Christ, so what do you say
a thousand religions, each one man can scan
yet new life in Christ is the Father's great plan
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Ukraine Told As A Business Story
There once was a very large corporation, which we shall call Company A. Like most large corporations, company A had a CEO, a board of directors and shareholders. In order to advance their strategic interests Company A would provide funds, or investments, to various other, smaller companies. The amounts allocated were determined by the board of directors.
One of those companies was Company B. Company B was important to Company A because of its location, near a very aggressive and potentially dangerous competitive corporation.
Now one thing you need to know about Company A is that they had a fairly new CEO, and when this CEO came in he began to question every one of their strategic investments, wanting to make sure that Company A was actually getting maximum benefit for the money invested. He hated wasting money and began asking questions that were not asked before, sometimes shifting long assumed priorities.
This was not very popular with many of the directors in Company A. Even though the CEO was chosen by the shareholders (an annoyance to many in the board) the board of directors liked to do things the old, proven way, and were wary of anyone rocking the boat. And, if you must know, many of the directors had a financial interest (outside of what their corporation provided) from the investments they were making into other companies.
When the CEO got around to considering Company A"s investment into Company B he noticed that in the past a lot of the money invested ended up not actually being used by Company B but instead were being siphoned off to third parties. One of the main third parties benefiting from this bit of corruption was Company C., who produced much of the raw material for Company B. The CEO discovered an interesting story to go along with this.
Before the new CEO came in there was an high ranking executive in Company A who had a son who was on the board of directors for Company C, while Company C was siphoning funds from Company B. One year, after the board of directors allocated a large sum of money for Company B but before they received it, the board of directors for Company B chose one of their executives to investigate the suspected corruption of their relationship with Company C. A short time later, the high ranking executive from Company A flies over to visit Company B and informs them that they have 6 hours to fire the executive in charge of investigating the corruption with Company C or they will not receive that year's funds from Company A. The guy gets fired, Company B gets their money and the high ranking executive is shown on tape bragging about tough he was doing this.
Some time after Company A gets their new CEO, company B also gets a new President, who obtains his job because he has promised to end all the endemic corruption throughout Company B. The board of directors of Company A, as they have done every year, allocates a large investment into Company B. Funds are promised to Company B (timing for the story sake) on July 1st and according to company policy the funds must be distributed to Company B before the end of the year.
Shortly after taking office the new President of Company B is interested in having a phone conference with the CEO of Company A, which is arraigned. Before the phone conference happens the CEO is aware of a some dynamics concerning Company B and their new President. One is that although he has promised to end corruption throughout Company B his ability to obtain his position was made partly possible by financial backing received from known corrupt sources. And another thing on the CEO's mind is that he knows some of his board of directors who were opposed to him being selected by the shareholders had worked with various executives at Company B so they would make public statements opposing his election to the position of CEO of Company A.
The phone conference happens a couple of months after the board of directors have approved the disbursement to Company B but before they funds are actually sent. One of the things on the CEO's list of concerns was that the corruption problem would actually be taken care of, and was not just rhetoric the President used to obtain his position. During the phone conference many things were talked about. At that point in time the President of Company B was not aware that his company had not received their annual funding from Company A. Part of the reason might be because those funds did not have to be received until the end of the year and there still were a few months to go.
During the phone conference (according to an official transcript of it) the last name of the former executive's son (and perhaps by association the former executive) was brought up by the President of Company B, not by the CEO of Company A. The CEO did pick up on this and repeated the last name in connection to his desire that Company B would publicly announce they would be examining any corruption in regards to Company C. At no time did he stipulate or hint that there was any connection between the disbursement and a need to announce an investigation.
This subject was not brought up during a second phone conference between the two. It was not brought up during any of the 5 official meetings that high ranking executives from Company A had with their counterparts in Company B before the end of the year. Company B never publicly announced an investigation into Company C before the end of the year and the funds did get released as required before the year ended.
Prior to the first phone conference the high executive whose son had been on the board of directors of Company C put in his name to compete to be chosen by the shareholders at the regular election to choose the companies CEO. The members of Company A's board of directors who were opposed to the current CEO later heard that the former executive's last name had been mentioned by the current CEO in the phone conference. Looking since he came in to get rid of him they now came up with the following strategy.
Instead of wanting to follow through on examining any corruption or inappropriate relationships with former executives or board members with Company B they instead declared that the current CEO was unfit to lead their company. They said that the mere act of mentioning the former executive's name to the President of Company B in relation to any investigation of corruption amounted to a high crime and misdemeanor.
In order to try to accomplish the CEO's removal the board of directors, because those opposing the CEO had more members than those supporting him, were able to have meetings. During the witness depositions for those meeting they only allowed witnesses called by their side and not the other. They did not allow the other side to ask certain questions of the witnesses. They did not allow the identity revealed of the second hand witness to the phone conference that they used to set the whole thing up to be able to start the whole process.
And finally in their rush to remove the CEO they did not make any effort to go through proper legal and procedure channels in order to obtain certain records or testimonies that the CEO initially denied them. They then declared his following of proper procedures as a perfectly reasonable second reason to remove the CEO.
Although this was all a farce from the beginning it happened that 10 of the 12 major avenues where shareholders would get their information about what was happening were owned by close friends and supporters of the majority board members. It was their job to make this all sound reasonable, which they attempted to do, 24/7.
However, as fate would have it, Corporation A was so large that if a CEO were to be removed by its board that removal would have to be approved by an elected Federal board of directors. They saw through all the smoke and mirrors and kept the CEO. After the hearings were done, profits kept increasing, board members all around were still slicing up their piece of the pie, and the CEO of Company A kept winning bigly.
As for the board of directors, they two would eventually be subject to election by the shareholders and it didn't go well for many of them.
As for the former executive, he sank into a daze of confusion and challenged the CEO to a push up contest. When his former friends later pulled the rug out from under him he went home and took a long nap.
The End.
One of those companies was Company B. Company B was important to Company A because of its location, near a very aggressive and potentially dangerous competitive corporation.
Now one thing you need to know about Company A is that they had a fairly new CEO, and when this CEO came in he began to question every one of their strategic investments, wanting to make sure that Company A was actually getting maximum benefit for the money invested. He hated wasting money and began asking questions that were not asked before, sometimes shifting long assumed priorities.
This was not very popular with many of the directors in Company A. Even though the CEO was chosen by the shareholders (an annoyance to many in the board) the board of directors liked to do things the old, proven way, and were wary of anyone rocking the boat. And, if you must know, many of the directors had a financial interest (outside of what their corporation provided) from the investments they were making into other companies.
When the CEO got around to considering Company A"s investment into Company B he noticed that in the past a lot of the money invested ended up not actually being used by Company B but instead were being siphoned off to third parties. One of the main third parties benefiting from this bit of corruption was Company C., who produced much of the raw material for Company B. The CEO discovered an interesting story to go along with this.
Before the new CEO came in there was an high ranking executive in Company A who had a son who was on the board of directors for Company C, while Company C was siphoning funds from Company B. One year, after the board of directors allocated a large sum of money for Company B but before they received it, the board of directors for Company B chose one of their executives to investigate the suspected corruption of their relationship with Company C. A short time later, the high ranking executive from Company A flies over to visit Company B and informs them that they have 6 hours to fire the executive in charge of investigating the corruption with Company C or they will not receive that year's funds from Company A. The guy gets fired, Company B gets their money and the high ranking executive is shown on tape bragging about tough he was doing this.
Some time after Company A gets their new CEO, company B also gets a new President, who obtains his job because he has promised to end all the endemic corruption throughout Company B. The board of directors of Company A, as they have done every year, allocates a large investment into Company B. Funds are promised to Company B (timing for the story sake) on July 1st and according to company policy the funds must be distributed to Company B before the end of the year.
Shortly after taking office the new President of Company B is interested in having a phone conference with the CEO of Company A, which is arraigned. Before the phone conference happens the CEO is aware of a some dynamics concerning Company B and their new President. One is that although he has promised to end corruption throughout Company B his ability to obtain his position was made partly possible by financial backing received from known corrupt sources. And another thing on the CEO's mind is that he knows some of his board of directors who were opposed to him being selected by the shareholders had worked with various executives at Company B so they would make public statements opposing his election to the position of CEO of Company A.
The phone conference happens a couple of months after the board of directors have approved the disbursement to Company B but before they funds are actually sent. One of the things on the CEO's list of concerns was that the corruption problem would actually be taken care of, and was not just rhetoric the President used to obtain his position. During the phone conference many things were talked about. At that point in time the President of Company B was not aware that his company had not received their annual funding from Company A. Part of the reason might be because those funds did not have to be received until the end of the year and there still were a few months to go.
During the phone conference (according to an official transcript of it) the last name of the former executive's son (and perhaps by association the former executive) was brought up by the President of Company B, not by the CEO of Company A. The CEO did pick up on this and repeated the last name in connection to his desire that Company B would publicly announce they would be examining any corruption in regards to Company C. At no time did he stipulate or hint that there was any connection between the disbursement and a need to announce an investigation.
This subject was not brought up during a second phone conference between the two. It was not brought up during any of the 5 official meetings that high ranking executives from Company A had with their counterparts in Company B before the end of the year. Company B never publicly announced an investigation into Company C before the end of the year and the funds did get released as required before the year ended.
Prior to the first phone conference the high executive whose son had been on the board of directors of Company C put in his name to compete to be chosen by the shareholders at the regular election to choose the companies CEO. The members of Company A's board of directors who were opposed to the current CEO later heard that the former executive's last name had been mentioned by the current CEO in the phone conference. Looking since he came in to get rid of him they now came up with the following strategy.
Instead of wanting to follow through on examining any corruption or inappropriate relationships with former executives or board members with Company B they instead declared that the current CEO was unfit to lead their company. They said that the mere act of mentioning the former executive's name to the President of Company B in relation to any investigation of corruption amounted to a high crime and misdemeanor.
In order to try to accomplish the CEO's removal the board of directors, because those opposing the CEO had more members than those supporting him, were able to have meetings. During the witness depositions for those meeting they only allowed witnesses called by their side and not the other. They did not allow the other side to ask certain questions of the witnesses. They did not allow the identity revealed of the second hand witness to the phone conference that they used to set the whole thing up to be able to start the whole process.
And finally in their rush to remove the CEO they did not make any effort to go through proper legal and procedure channels in order to obtain certain records or testimonies that the CEO initially denied them. They then declared his following of proper procedures as a perfectly reasonable second reason to remove the CEO.
Although this was all a farce from the beginning it happened that 10 of the 12 major avenues where shareholders would get their information about what was happening were owned by close friends and supporters of the majority board members. It was their job to make this all sound reasonable, which they attempted to do, 24/7.
However, as fate would have it, Corporation A was so large that if a CEO were to be removed by its board that removal would have to be approved by an elected Federal board of directors. They saw through all the smoke and mirrors and kept the CEO. After the hearings were done, profits kept increasing, board members all around were still slicing up their piece of the pie, and the CEO of Company A kept winning bigly.
As for the board of directors, they two would eventually be subject to election by the shareholders and it didn't go well for many of them.
As for the former executive, he sank into a daze of confusion and challenged the CEO to a push up contest. When his former friends later pulled the rug out from under him he went home and took a long nap.
The End.
Sunday, January 5, 2020
The King of Glory Comes
"Lift up your heads O gates, and be lifted up O ancient doors" Psalm 24:7
This year 2020 will be a year of declaration leading into a decade of declaration. As we speak out and declare, so God will respond and do.
And what we are to declare is that the King of Glory is welcome to come into the hearts and the affairs of the people and institutions of this country, to move with great power, changing hearts and changing structures.
Psalm 24 begins by declaring that the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains. It also goes on to say; This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.
Commentaries on Psalm 24 say that this psalm talks about a procession carrying the sacred ark, bringing it to a city which would be called Jerusalem, in order to place it into a tabernacle set up for it there. This is a city King David conquered to be Israel's capitol, the same city called Salem where the High Priest Melcizedek (a representation of Christ) lived, who came out of it to bless Abraham from whom he received tithes centuries before.
The picture here is a procession ascending with the ark up to the gates of the city. When the procession gets there a choir outside declares; Lift up your heads O gates, and be lifted up O ancient doors. that the King of Glory may come in. The idea is that the King of Glory, the Maker of the universe, is present with the ark. And when the ark is placed into a tabernacle set up for it in the city (a tent structure at this time) the Lord's presence would reside in a thick cloud of glory over the mercy seat, which sits on top of the ark, inside the most holy section of the tabernacle
However, to get into the city He has go through gates, which figuratively are too small for One so great.
There is evidence that back then those gates may have worked on a weight and pulley system, not opening out or in but rather the doors were set in grooves and moved up to open. Once the choir makes their declaration Lift up your heads, O gates . . . it is answered by another choir from inside the city who ask; Who is the King of Glory?
And the response then from the choir outside is; The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, strong in battle. Lift up your heads O gates, and be lifted up O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory.
I see a connection here to what the Lord wants to do in our country now in a mighty way. It is like in Revelation chapter 3 where Jesus says He stands at the door knocking. There are walls surrounding our hearts and walls surrounding the institutions of our country (government, media, academia, finance and business, arts and entertainment, the family and the Church). We need to declare that the King of Glory is welcome to enter the gates (or doors) through those walls and that He is welcome to reside there.
I believe we are in a generation of those who will, even more than in the past, seek the Lord and seek His face. This year in our land and to our land we will be part of an anointed choir that will declare to the hearts and institutions here: Lift up your heads O gates, and be lifted up O doors, that the King of Glory may come in.
And when they ask us, Who is the King of Glory? We will respond; The Lord of host, He is the King of Glory! Let us then look and expect to see His glory coming in great clouds, changing not only hearts but also the institutions of our land that have been made captive to the lies, plans and schemes of the evil one.
And one more thing. Our call as always is to pray, to intercede, to be in His will, and now to declare. And we can do this in confidence because the battle is not ours, it is the Lord's.
This year 2020 will be a year of declaration leading into a decade of declaration. As we speak out and declare, so God will respond and do.
And what we are to declare is that the King of Glory is welcome to come into the hearts and the affairs of the people and institutions of this country, to move with great power, changing hearts and changing structures.
Psalm 24 begins by declaring that the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains. It also goes on to say; This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.
Commentaries on Psalm 24 say that this psalm talks about a procession carrying the sacred ark, bringing it to a city which would be called Jerusalem, in order to place it into a tabernacle set up for it there. This is a city King David conquered to be Israel's capitol, the same city called Salem where the High Priest Melcizedek (a representation of Christ) lived, who came out of it to bless Abraham from whom he received tithes centuries before.
The picture here is a procession ascending with the ark up to the gates of the city. When the procession gets there a choir outside declares; Lift up your heads O gates, and be lifted up O ancient doors. that the King of Glory may come in. The idea is that the King of Glory, the Maker of the universe, is present with the ark. And when the ark is placed into a tabernacle set up for it in the city (a tent structure at this time) the Lord's presence would reside in a thick cloud of glory over the mercy seat, which sits on top of the ark, inside the most holy section of the tabernacle
However, to get into the city He has go through gates, which figuratively are too small for One so great.
There is evidence that back then those gates may have worked on a weight and pulley system, not opening out or in but rather the doors were set in grooves and moved up to open. Once the choir makes their declaration Lift up your heads, O gates . . . it is answered by another choir from inside the city who ask; Who is the King of Glory?
And the response then from the choir outside is; The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, strong in battle. Lift up your heads O gates, and be lifted up O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory.
I see a connection here to what the Lord wants to do in our country now in a mighty way. It is like in Revelation chapter 3 where Jesus says He stands at the door knocking. There are walls surrounding our hearts and walls surrounding the institutions of our country (government, media, academia, finance and business, arts and entertainment, the family and the Church). We need to declare that the King of Glory is welcome to enter the gates (or doors) through those walls and that He is welcome to reside there.
I believe we are in a generation of those who will, even more than in the past, seek the Lord and seek His face. This year in our land and to our land we will be part of an anointed choir that will declare to the hearts and institutions here: Lift up your heads O gates, and be lifted up O doors, that the King of Glory may come in.
And when they ask us, Who is the King of Glory? We will respond; The Lord of host, He is the King of Glory! Let us then look and expect to see His glory coming in great clouds, changing not only hearts but also the institutions of our land that have been made captive to the lies, plans and schemes of the evil one.
And one more thing. Our call as always is to pray, to intercede, to be in His will, and now to declare. And we can do this in confidence because the battle is not ours, it is the Lord's.
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