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Honey, I’m Dead!How God rewards a female suicide bomber.By Michelle TsaiPosted Thursday, March 1, 2007
A female suicide bomber detonated a vest filled with explosives at a university in Baghdad Sunday, killing more than 40 people. If male martyrs can expect to find 72 virgin maidens in paradise when they die, what rewards can female suicide bombers expect?
Their husbands. The Quran itself describes little about the specifics of the afterlife, but it does note that believers will find huris, or maidens “of modest gaze, whom neither man nor jinni will have touched before them.” (Every believer can end up in heaven; martyrs just get there faster.) Respected commentator Al-Tirmidhi said in a hadith that every man will have six dozen huris in heaven, but very few commentators enumerated the rewards for women. Ninth-century scholar Al-Tabarani did argue that women will be reunited with their husbands in the next world, and those who had multiple husbands can pick the best one to be their eternal spouse. (Other commentators added that a woman who never married can marry any man she wants in paradise.)
From the 9th through the 12th centuries, Muslim scholars described paradise as a place of sensual delights—for men. They debated whether men remained married to their wives in heaven, whether they could have sex with the virgins, and whether the heavenly virgins had anuses. (Some said there was no need for elimination in the afterlife.) There was even disagreement on the number of virgins assigned to each man. While Al-Tirmidhi said it was 72, Mulla Ali Qari, an 11th-century imam, counted 70 virgins and two human wives. Imam Al-Bayhaqi was more generous, granting men 500 wives, 4,000 virgins, and 8,000 previously married women. The meaning of the word hur is also open to interpretation, since it reads as “white raisins” when translated as a Syriac rather than Arabic word.
?Republican — you should send that to the White House and State Department — they can use a lesson or two on the culture of the people they are trying to save.
More Importantly:
“Honey, I’m Dead!How God rewards a real Patriot”
Pfc. Nathan Brown wanted to become a lawyer and was preparing to enroll in Adirondack Community College in January when his Army National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq. The 21-year-old had joined the Guard shortly after graduating from high school in South Glens Falls, about 45 miles north of Albany, N.Y. His mother, Kathy Brown, said her son e-mailed her twice a week, saying he missed friends and family and wanted to come home. Upon his return from Iraq, he planned to marry. Brown _ who loved paintball, war games, adventure and fantasy novels _ died April 11 after he and others were attacked while patrolling Samarra in Iraq. “A mother’s worst nightmare obviously came true for me,” Kathy Brown said.
The Clinton question: electabilityhttp://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070414/REPOSITORY/704140320
“For me, the most important thing now is trying to end this war,” she said.
I would feel a lot better about Hillary if she’d said that the most important thing is WINNING this war. If we don’t WIN, we’re in deep doo-doo. Whatever your political affiliation, you’re not going to like the results if we don’t win.
I think Hillary would be a great president, but count on Democrats to march over the cliff if they nominate her. Hillary as the democratic nominee will guarantee another 8 years of republican domination in the Whitehouse. Sadly, the best 2 candidates Democrats have to offer are unelectable.
XXX predicts that the next occupant of the Whitehouse will be a white male.
Iacocca: Where Have All the Leaders Gone?Home » Archives » Lee Iacocca » Iacocca: Where Have All the Leaders Gone?print email
American Empire | Books
Excerpt: Where Have All the Leaders Gone?By Lee Iacocca with Catherine Whitney
Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.” Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies.Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don’t need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I’ve had enough. How about you? I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, “Lee, you’re eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people.” I’d love to, as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I’m going to speak up because it’s my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I’ll tell you how I see it, and it’s not pretty, but at least it’s real. I’m hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don’t vote because they don’t trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Who Are These Guys, Anyway? Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them, or at least some of us did. But I’ll tell you what we didn’t do. We didn’t agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn’t agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that’s a dictatorship, not a democracy. And don’t tell me it’s all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That’s an intellectually lazy argument, and it’s part of the reason we’re in this stew. We’re not just a nation of factions. We’re a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a LeaderI’ve never been Commander in Chief, but I’ve been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I’ve figured out nine points, not ten (I don’t want people accusing me of thinking I’m Moses). I call them the “Nine Cs of Leadership.” They’re not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let’s be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It’s up to us to choose wisely.
So, here’s my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the “Yes, sir” crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. “I just scan the headlines,” he says. Am I hearing this right? He’s the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.” Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he’s ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn’t put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he’s right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don’t care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn’t listen to the polls. Yeah, that’s what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a “thumping” on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn’t listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There’s a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President, the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. “The President was serene,” Joe recalled. “He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. ‘Mr. President,’ I finally said, ‘how can you be so sure when you don’t yet know all the facts?’” Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe’s shoulder. “My instincts,” he said. “My instincts.” Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush,”Mr. President, your instincts aren’t good enough.” Joe Biden sure didn’t think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn’t. Leadership is all about managing change, whether you’re leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I’m not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I’m talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don’t know if it’s denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it’s painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn’t cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we’ve stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths. For what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he’s tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I’m talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn’t courage. Tough talk isn’t courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn’t mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you’re a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can’t even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you’ve got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You’ve got to have passion. You’ve got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President, four hundred and counting. He’d rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake. It’s no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That’s eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that’s not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I’m not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It’s the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That’s my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn’t look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don’t go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn’t it? You’ve got to know what you’re doing. More important than that, you’ve got to surround yourself with people who know what they’re doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let’s see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we’ve got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we’ve run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that’s just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can’t be a leader if you don’t have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham’s rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford’s zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, “Remember, Lee, the only thing you’ve got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don’t know a dip of #### from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you’ll never make it.” George Bush doesn’t have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know, Mr.they’ll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once said, “I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world, and I like it here.” I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while.
The Biggest C is Crisis Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It’s all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn’t safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day, and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero. That was George Bush’s moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he’d regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq, a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn’t listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn’t scare the crap out of you,I don’t know what will.
A Hell of a Mess.So here’s where we stand. We’re immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We’re running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We’re losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you’ve got to ask: “Where have all the leaders gone?” Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn’t happen again. Now, that’s just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when “the Big Three” referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I’m trying to light a fire. I’m speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I’ve had the privilege of living through some of America’s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of our worst crises, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: You don’t get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it’s building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That’s the challenge I’m raising in this book. It’s a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It’s not too late, but it’s getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the #### and go to work. Let’s tell ‘em all we’ve had enough
Excerpted from Where Have All the Leaders Gone?(C) 2007 by Lee Iacocca. All rights reserved.
Richard, I usually skim over loooong posts, but yours was a winner.
Should JOCO and Douglas Counties become independent of the state legislature? If both counties forgot to send tax revenue to the state so that funding education becomes the priority where would that put the state cookie jar?
Could be that out of county tuition is on the horizon?
Kansas legislature continues to take steps backwards since about 1987 as Lawrence city government becomes evermore corrupt by way of the real estate/development community. Both levels of government seem to be living in days gone by instead of thinking outside the box and moving forward.
For instance the new Lawrence city commission was elected on 18% voter turnout with 4 commissioners put into office by way of special interest funding aka real estate/development community. Inflated personal property taxes still going through the roof after 17 years and this NEW commission is talking a 1% increase in sales tax which puts Lawrence at the top of the list in Kansas.
What Lawrence needs is a heavy influx of well educated,practical and frugal hippies who give a damn and WHO VOTE to return and take over city government.
At least JOCO stepped up and realized the need to fund its’ public school system instead of running the county into more big time debt building many times slum quality new residential that cannot pay for itself/Costs of Community Services. Experienced public school educators receive higher salaries in the JOCO district. When I read of USD 497 retirements JOCO school district comes to mind…aka migration.
If KU gets put on the backs of Douglas County somehow the state should have less access to Douglas County tax dollars. JOCO Community College may well be put completely on the backs of JOCO residents. JCCC is one damn good school.
Some local construction people are building too many slum quality new residential units. Price protects no buyer from this activity. The horror storiesrun amok about what some good carpenters are hired to build and what the good carpenters and finer craftsman find when contracted for repairs and upgrades. If buying into a new Lawrence neighborhood of high maintenance T-111 siding that has been constructed in the last 30 years BUYER BEWARE. Paint jobs required after only 2-3 years old,dry rot, replacing siding after four years due to mold,cheapest materials on the market and the list goes on and on. There is always this story that sticks in my mind about a 5 year old $600,000 home that had every window replaced due to dry rot.
My advice if moving to high dollar Lawrence is purchase a home in old neighborhoods and restore. May not save money but you may become owner of historic housing and KNOW what you’ve paid for. The better builders are not into being part of the mass produced cookie cutter look of housing. The older neighborhoods are home to educated,income levels covering the spectrum, friendly and politically involved residents in spite of the appearance are generally very good places to live. STILL Lawrence is looking to be the most expensive town in Kansas to reside.
Turkey threatens military incursion into IraqTurkey has tried on several occasions in recent months to pressure the U.S. and Iraqi governments to take action against the PKK.Monday, July 24, 2006Turkey has said it was taking steps to prepare for a cross-border incursion into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters holed up in the Qandil Mountain range. The announcement came following a series of PKK attacks on Turkish troops in recent days that left more than a dozen soldiers dead.
The Turkish General Staff was asked to plan and prepare for a possible cross-border operation following antiterrorism board and ministerial council meetings earlier this week. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on July 19 that preparations are under way, telling reporters in Ankara: “Authorized institutions and security forces are proceeding with their work. Whatever step needs to be taken will be taken according to the study.”
Change In U.S. Stance?
Turkey has tried on several occasions in recent months to pressure the U.S. and Iraqi governments to take action against the PKK. The latest attempt appears to be based on an assumption that the U.S. position regarding cross-border operations has changed.”Of course, we understand the Iraqi government’s position, but if they are not able to control their land, they should not hesitate to cooperate with us. If they cannot stop it, we will have to take action.” — Turkish foreign minister
A “strategic vision” document signed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Washington on July 5 stressed the United States’ continued commitment to eradicating the PKK, which it considers a terrorist organization.
“We will work very actively with Turkey and also with the new Iraqi government to deal with this problem because, as I have said before and as I said when I was in Turkey, no one wants the PKK to be able to operate, to carry out terrorist attacks against Turkey anywhere, but most especially from northern Iraq,” Rice told reporters after their meeting. However, it appears Rice meant diplomatically, not militarily.
The United States maintains that any Turkish military operation could destabilize Iraqi Kurdistan. U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson told Turkey’s NTV television on July 17 that the United States would oppose any unilateral action on Turkey’s part.
‘Iraq Is Not Lebanon’
Wilson denied that the U.S. position reflected a double standard because of its support for Israel’s attack on Hizballah positions in southern Lebanon, saying that Israel’s circumstances were different. “Turkey has an ally in Iraq. Israel does not have such an opportunity. Besides, [the] PKK is not only in the north of Iraq, it is in Europe and in Turkey. Entering the north of Iraq will not resolve the problem,” Anatolia quoted Wilson as telling the news channel. The ambassador’s remarks were widely criticized in the Turkish press.
The U.S. Embassy clarified Wilson’s remarks in a July 19 statement posted to its website, saying the ambassador’s remarks had been misinterpreted in the Turkish media. “Of course, Turkey, like every country, has a right and an obligation to defend itself and its people. For over 50 years, we have stood together as members of an alliance dedicated to collective defense and security…. Working together with the United States and the government of Iraq can be an essential part of advancing Turkish security.
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=125&id=4565
This was brought up on Cspan this morning with a reporter that has spent a good deal of time in Turkey.His express Turkey’s view on this using an analogy: For Turkey, the PKK is their version of Al-Qaeda the leader whom is imprison on a island off the coast of Turkey is their OBL. Turkey has back down on their rhetoric some in the last few days. But is sighting the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq and the invasion of Lebanon by the Israelis as a justification for a preemptive strike upon the training camps in Iraq.
Of all areas in Iraq the most peaceful and stable is the Kurdish region, the most support for the U.S. occupation is from the Kurds. In the book “The secret history of the Iraq war” it was stated that at one point the Turks were so concern over the impact of the invasion.. That they actually threaten a “shooting war” with the U.S. Our troops in between Iraqis and Turkish troops with the Kurds fighting both troops along side the Americans.
An invasion of Northern Iraq will make a worst case even worse, who’s side we would choose is a no win outcome. Turkey has been one of the most dedicated supporter of America for years and a member in good standing in the U.N. and NATO, the Kurds of all the people of Iraq is seen as our greatest supporter too.Both will be demanding of our support and both have a right to expect it. Sadly I think we will side with Turkey in this, once again bending to the politics of the issue instead of standing up for the Kurds.
When the Kurds staged a upraising against Saddam it was Saddam who gases them. But it was the United States that inspired them to upraise with the promise of our support. That support failing because of political pressure.
Richard,
I agree about the sorry state of new home construction!
A lot of what you pay for is prestige and location. My wife and I bought an older ‘bank repo’ in ‘92 and we’ve been remodeling and repairing since then. At least we are fixing up a home that was constructed good in the first place.
We would go to open houses for new homes and study their color schemes and try to get ideas we could use in remodeling our home. What we saw was crap! $5,000,000.00 and up homes and the finish work was crap!
There are new homes on the market now that I wouldn’t buy with your money. I think it’s a shame.
Hank
Hank, that would describe a lot of what passes for “goods” now. I work in an industry that uses a lot of component parts. I’m amazed how many we have to toss because of quality issues. Most of it comes from off-shore suppliers. A lot of it we used to make in-house (there weren’t quality issues).
Your example of housing…Imagine what you get charged for such sloppy workmanship. What ever happened to Craftsmen?
I like the older homes for the same reason…back in the early 1900s houses were built stronger, I have had several properties built around that time. The floor plans are lacking, but when you tear out a ceiling or wall, the quality of the materials used were far above what’s used today. They throw up houses so quicky now, and everything from the framing to the plumbing is done as cheaply as possible.We have a big old house in Riverside that I would love to totally restore to it’s original condition, it was split into a duplex during WW2, but once it was a great single family home.
Our home is rapidly approaching 50 years old. It has real cedar siding. All of it is still in very good condition.
The inside has oak trim, built in cabinets and book shelves. All made and built on site. There are no more finish carpenters anymore. Hell, most carpenters can’t even hang adoor anymore.
Hank
Your house is really cool, Hank. Dave and I went through it when it was up for sale, but we decided on “Noah’s depressed ark” instead…our ongoing project for life!
I bought a rural home that was 120 years old. It had hand-carved oak throughout and several columns. Remodeling was hell…it was exhausting just trying to get the old plaster and lath out (they used horse hair to bind the plaster). All of the studs were oak and were actually 2″X4″ and rough cut. Try sheetrocking that!
They really don’t build them like they used to. All that counts now is fast and cheap.
Hank’s lovely home has a million dollar view, IMO.
Think about this: DON Imus was fired on Friday for saying HO and Saturday DON HO died (nobody has yet said if Ho had nappy hair at the time of death)!!
But he did have stem cell treatment.
Thanks XXX,
Seems like I’ve put that much in it the past 15 years!
Mary’s house is one of my favorites, they have the only house that’s both on the lake and the airstrip.
Dave and I are in a contest to see how many do it yurself projects we can have going at the same time.
Dave’s winning!
Hank
I wouldn’t even know what it’s like to live in a finished house, in the 36 years we’ve been married, we’ve never done it!
Momma has released the funds and given permission for the deck this year!
I’m putting in a french door to the screened in porch off the dining room then I get to put the deck on!
That will get me up to about a dozen unfinished projects!
Hank
Anybody know anything about heating and cooling on this thread?
My old system is almost 20 years old and I want to replace it.
I got a pretty good estimate for a new cental unit: two stage 80 percent heater and a 14 SEER 4 ton AC.
Is that a decent system for a bigger than average house?
An engineer talks about split systems in depth here:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eere.energy.gov%2Fbuildings%2Fappliance_standards%2Fresidential%2Fpdfs%2Fchap4_engineer.pdf&ei=2GAiRpyOOJO4igG6u4HoBg&usg=__5COi67jRPVpPPulXP7DoG09TZak=&sig2=G-5xkuu351eXCitM-_XE7A
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece
If cell phones really are the cause of the bee colony collapse that threatens our food supply, they would seemingly have be banned, restricted or somehow retooled.
Imagine the effect on businesses, the economy, and our lives. We are basically dependent upon on them. Anyone want to buy some pay phone stock?
Hey Capt.
You might get an estimate from the place in garden Plain. They are very reasonable and helped me with a problem that had two other places stumped. I needed some additional duct work and they made it for me and told me how to install it. Saved me a bunch!
Also, you might qualify for some tax credits or government programs if you are replacing a system that old.
As far as knowing if the system your looking at is adequate or not I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much help.
The system in my house wasn’t and isn’t adequate. It would have cost a bunch to redo the duct work installed to get a satisfactory system.
Our bedroom is furthest from the central H/C unit. I installed a three sided gas fireplace in our bedroom. In the summer I have a little window unit AC I install.
Not the best arrangement in the summer, but it’ll do until I hit the lottery!
Hank
http://www.kansas.com/252/story/44899.html
Anyone read the Bob Lutz article on the new WSU Basketball Coach? What is Bob Lutz’s problem.
Didn’t listen to any of his programs before and I am for sure not going to listen to them now.
I hope the new Coach remembers Bob Lutz and passes over his questions when it’s time to get an Interview about the Shocker’s Basketball team.
Thanks Repub and Hank.
Sounds like you have the same situation we’ve got–an add on without duct work.
They had put in electrical baseboard heat that made sense when electricity was half a cent a kilowatt, heh.
After you see your electric bill, you never use those again. In fact, I eventually just tore them out and threw them away, heh.
I bought a new house in Midwest City before I got out of the service. I noticed it was very hot in the large walk-in closet for the master bedroom located at the North East part of the house.
The contractor for the house hadn’t run duct work to closet. I asked him why and he said it didn’t need it. I invited him over asked him to step in the closet and then closed the door. Told him I’d let him out after 10 minutes and see if he didn’t think it needed it.
Well, it didn’t work out, because the contractor filed for bankruptcy. So, I had to pay for the work myself.
What surprised me, is that additional insulation I had put in that corner of the house and the duct work was worth it as my electric bill went down about $15.00. I was surprised how such a small space (relative to the house size) could make a difference when it came to the electric bill.
But it certainly does! By the way, the house was about 2200 sq. feet and the closet was 8X6. Odd how heat cache like that can make your air conditioner run harder
A rare access to the internet and so opportunity to post presents itself.
Three weeks of no internet access has convinced me that easy and free access to the internet SHOULD be a basic entitlement in a nation that calls itself modern. How many voices are not heard here because of the economics of affording the technology and access to the internet? How many are still in the dark of the days before the information super highway?
It is well past time that internet access and the technology to use it were made universally available free or at greatly reduced expense.
JR,
Wichita has great public access to the internet. There are public computers in all the city libraries, plus there are coffee shops around town with public terminals (Vagabond and Riverside Perk come immediately to mind).
Every kid has access available in school. Internet access can be had for as little as $10 a month. You can buy a used computer for under $200.
There’s no need for the government to subsidize internet access. People with something to say are going to find the means to say it.
Welcome back J R!
Glad things worked out for you that you could come back to WE Blog. I guess you had some equipment problems or something?
The boy and I just got back from vacinating and banding the lambs. We have 14 of them now. We lost two, was hoping to get a few more, but I don’t think three of the ewes got bred.
Oh well, I’ll check on them later and see if they’re all still standing!
Hank
The boy and I just got back from vacinating and banding the lambs. We have 14 of them now. We lost two, was hoping to get a few more, but I don’t think three of the ewes got bred.
Oh well, I’ll check on them later and see if they’re all still standing!
Hank
With the GAWD AWFUL weather in Wichita where it is snowing Monday and 105 on Friday, you will need a heavy duty unit to stay comfortable. I had mine replaced a year ago with a dual fuel heat pump system that is an AC and Heat Pump that is backed up by a gas furnace. The nice thing about this configuration is the heat pump does the job on all but really cold (25 degree or less) days and saves lots of money on the gas bill while not adding alot to the electrical bill. The gas furnace came on only 2 days this year but winter here is pretty mild. My old gas bill used to be about $240 in the winter and went to $85 while my electrical bill only went up by about $45 in the winter. In the summer, which is hot (in the 80-95 degree range) my eletric bills were $340 last July and went to $211 this July.
“Every kid has access available in school. Internet access can be had for as little as $10 a month. You can buy a used computer for under $200.”
Internet access is often free if you have a wireless card. I never have a shortage of open wireless connections I can connect to.
“A rare access to the internet and so opportunity to post presents itself.
Three weeks of no internet access has convinced me that easy and free access to the internet SHOULD be a basic entitlement in a nation that calls itself modern.”
Internet access is not a necessity of life and, for the most part, it is available. As I said above, with a wireless card there is almost always somebody in the neighbourhood with an open connection. I rarely ever have a problem finding one when I want on the net. What should be universal and what we pay too much for is phone service. Wireless service in this country cost more than it does in most countries where it is often unlimited for about $30 a month! We need to STOP allowing cellular companies to merge and open up the market to more companies with more frequency allocations. We should have at least 10 cell phone companies and 2 wireline companies. And the poor should get free no frill basic service.
xxx if you feel Hillary will be a fabulous president, why do you CARE what the others think?
Obviously there are a hellova lot of people who think she should be in the White House. SO I think you worry too much.
Capn – we’re putting in almost exclusively exterior heat and air – SEALED units these days. Depending upon your existing ductwork system – you may be able to go that route.
Best part- no fumes from inside furnaces, they are cost effective, and safe. Good prices, too. You would need to pour a pad for it to sit on – and be able to source your ducts and return airs to that spot.
We have a big Colonial and run a split system. If you have a large degree of rise between floors it may be hard for one system to force the air up to the second story. Sometimes putting a second ‘attic’ unit in makes the difference. It keeps all floors climate-controlled, so to speak.
XXX, Hank and Mary – I AGREE about the lack of quality building these days – but not all of us are that way.
Typically, cookie-cutter builders use unseasoned, or ‘green’ wood and as it dries, heats, cools – there will be movement. Using roof trusses is also a problem. If your builder won’t stick frame your roof but wants the trusses engineered – I can almost promise you when the weather changes – they will contract at some point and ‘pop’ off the sill plate, creating cracks – or worse.
Anytime you buy a home based upon a developer’s ‘model’ you may have trouble down the line. Especially if the contractor is from out of the area. There is a one-year ‘implied’ warranty on new homes in KS – but that doesn’t mean much.
I’m sorry to say there is a LOT of ripoffs in the construction industry.
We’re not that way- but you don’t know me – so you probably don’t believe that.
PM – what others ‘think’ of Hillary will decide if she does, or doesn’t make it after all.
Just for fun:
1. go to http://www.google.com http://www.google.com2. click on “maps”3. click on “get directions”4. type ” New York ” in the first box (the “from” box)5. type ” London ” in the second box (the “to” box)(hit Get Directions)6. scroll down to step #23 and read.
Thanks for the info, GS. I just watched a DVD what you can do for energy efficiency called “Kilowatt Ours.” Geothermal heating and cooling sounds the optimal system–it’s where they run copper tubing into the ground making a giant radiator that is then used to heat the house in the winter and cool the house in the summer.
Going to check into that too. But we’ll probably end up with a quick fix just because we’re going to try to unload this big old place and move closer to our workplaces.
No kids at home any more . . .
Now, if we could just get 75 percent of the ridiculous appraisal the county has us pegged at, we’ll have made out okay.
Just depends on how many people out there want a “project” like I did . . . .
Kev–
That sounds like a good way to go.
Looks like you are saving more than half on your heating and a good third on your cooling.
How much did the system set you back initially?
LOL, that’s funny. To fly or to sail would be my 2 choices, but oh no Google has other travel plans that’re just a tad more intrepid.
Don’t miss that “slight right” at E05 (step #24) or you just might end up in Calais.
I think I read while doing my taxes this year that the furnace had to be 95% efficient. I had one put in my daughters house last summer. Iwas surprised to see that the exhaust vent was made of pvc, as there is very little heat loss through exhaust.
I need to get a new furnace. The one I have is ancient and inefficient. I would like to do it myself to save money, but it is gas, so I need to probably have a pro do it.
But that cost $$$$.
Dear Joe,
Don’t do it your self. Trust me.
Hank
Probably right Hank. That and the A/C.
I’m just saving up for it. Probably have to go out and get a second job just to afford the new upgrades I need on the home. (I never go credit).
I don’t know about other areas, but in Wichita, doesn’t one have to be a licensed HVAC and it has to be inspected by an Inspector?
I think you’re right Republican. But I was just thinking about taking the old one out and installing (not completely) the new one.
The HVAC guy would do the final connections and right it off.
New HVAC, or at least the last one I bought required a continuity test with your Circuit Breaker box.
e.g. sufficient amperage under load.
They are calculating the load for that branch circuit. I believe furnaces are considered noncontinuous load.
It wouldn’t be a continuity check. That is for checking open or short circuits.
They were probably calculating if the load of your furnace is within Code to your circuit box. If yours is electric, it can pull a good load.
Yeah Joe, that’s what it was. I had 200 amp service in that house as I recall.
The first house I owned couldn’t handle a small window A/C unit. Was one of those aluminum coated wire houses. I did a lot of sweating in that house. :)
200 amp service is pretty common. But on some older homes, you can find them as low as 60 amp service.
I don’t know what the amp service was on that house. It was an old WWII era house that was re-wired and modified.
Back in the day of early Microwaves. I couldn’t run the microwave and stove at the same time or it would pop the circuit. :)
Shared it with 2.5 guys during my college days. We considered the one guy .5 has he was usually at his girlfriends. :)
as he was usually not has he…
Hey, JR–
Clean out the e-mail in-box, will ya?
I keep getting my messages bounced back.
A few things going on you might be interested in . . .
We’re thinking about installing radiant heating in the floor of our bathroom, anyone done that? How well does it work? Is it just meant to keep the floor warm, or can it adequately heat a small room?
Mary! This was done before I bought the house, but they actually routed the hot water lines like a radiator underneath the bathroom floors in my house.
I don’t think it doesn’t do anything to help the heat, because you can’t really feel it when it just been sitting there all day, but take a shower or a bath and you have yourself a nice hot floor. Make it nice. :)