Two Amercians To Respect and Listen To - Pat Summit and Howard Schultz

As a follower of America's political class and their antics and insanity, it is not often I write about an American who I think should be respected and listened to. Today's post covers two such people, neither of whom are politicians.

Let's start with Pat Summit who is the head basketball coach of the women's basketball team at the University of Tennessee. She is really more than just a coach, she is a legend in college sports. According to the September 5, 2011 issue of Sports Illustrated (in an article written by Kelli Anderson), Coach Summit's teams have won eight NCAA women's basketball national titles and her teams have won 1,071 basketball games, more than any coach in major college basketball history, both men and women.

Unfortunately, Coach Summit was recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 59. The Sports Illustrated article lists out some facts about Alzheimer's:

• This is an irreversible disease that progressively destroys memory and cognitive function.
• There is no cure, just a handful of drugs that provide modest improvement, if that.
• An estimated 5.4 million Americans have the disease of which 96% of those afflicted are over the age of 65.
• That number could grow to 10 million Americans within the next 20 years, given the aging of the baby boomer generation.
• Despite these numbers and the financial and emotional stress this disease currently places on the country, and the increased stress it will place on the country going forward, the Federal government spends only $450 million a year on Alzheimer's research, or about $83 for each American afflicted.
• Given that the Center For Disease Control estimates that 11.74 million  Americans currently have some form of cancer and the Federal government spends $5.8 billion a year on cancer research, the Federal government spends six times as much per person who has cancer than one who has Alzheimer's.
• The Federal government spends more than three times as much on heart disease research and more than six times as much on  HIV/AIDS research than on Alzheimer's.

I am in no way saying the Federal government should stop spending at the levels that it is currently spending on heart disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. What really ticks me off about the political class is that over five million Americans have Alzheimer's disease and that number is growing every day but:

• The Navy recently acknowledged that it wasted $310 million on building two Navy ships that will NEVER be used. This waste could have increased one year's worth of Alzheimer's research funding by over 64% and obviously would have been much more valuable.
• We still have about 46,000 troops stationed in Iraq for no strategic purpose, costing the country upwards of $10 billion a year, twenty times more than we spend on Alzheimer's research. What would be a better use of taxpayer wealth, deploying U.S. troops in Iraq (or South Korea, or Japan or Europe or Afghanistan) or addressing the health needs of over 5 million Americans?
• It is estimated that we lose about $60 billion a year to fraud in the Medicare program, about 120 times more than we spend on Alzheimer's research.
• The General Accountability Office found that more than 3,700 government contractors and nonprofit organizations received $24 billion from the President's economic stimulus program even though they owed over $750 million in taxes. $24 billion is 48 times more than what the government spends on Alzheimer's research, a better use of funds than subsidizing tax evaders.
• Speaking of the economic stimulus program, an Associated Press investigative report found that over a thousand bridges that used stimulus funds for repair did not have anything wrong with them. Would it not have been a better use of taxpayer funds to increase Alzheimer's, and other deadly disease research, than to give it to politicians to fix unbroken bridges in their districts and states?

You get the idea, our political class priorities are all screwed up and wasteful. Certainly not something we should respect them for, their general handling of taxpayer wealth has been selfish, disrespectful, and a disgrace.

Which gets us back to Coach Summit. Having been intimately involved with a relative who suffered through Alzheimer's, I can attest to what a horrible disease this is. However, rather than melt away from public view, which Coach Summit has every right to do, she has decided to publicly battle the disease and continue coaching basketball to young women at the University of Tennessee.

According to Sports Illustrated: "It is hard to imagine, given her friends and fans around the country, that there won't soon be an Alzheimer's fund raising foundation in her name. One way or another, she'll be following the footsteps of other sports icons whose own public battles with disease have increased awareness and understanding and raised money to fight them."

This obviously will be a stronger factor if Coach Summit continues to be in the public eye. Or as Sports Illustrated closes their article: "It (the disease) will no longer be just a disease of the elderly that is suffered behind closed doors. It will be an opponent all of us should be focused on." All because this courageous American has decided to battle on in the public eye, something and someone to respect, listen to, and support.

Step 4 from "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" is in alignment with this situation. I tend to come down heavy on the political class for spending and wasting too much of our wealth through an onerous tax burden and that Federal government spending has to be drastically reduced. However, while spending needs to be cut dramatically, we still need to focus resources on needs and diseases that affect vast numbers of Americans. No more allowing fraud to steal taxpayer funds, no more deployment of troops in unnecessary foreign locations to support the military/industrial complex, no more building ships and other armaments that we never use. We need more people like Coach Summit who will be brave enough to do the right thing for the country and the diseases that affect everyone's family.

The second American who has gotten my attention in a favorable way is Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz. I had read about his brave initiative in the news and our family recently received an email from him which I have copied below. Mr. Schultz is basically calling out the American political class for their cowardness and selfishness that has been on full display these past few years.

He has received commitments from over a hundred business leaders and the promise that they will not donate to any politician's election funds until they the politicians start acting like adults. No re-election support until the politicians seriously and unselfishly put together a coherent economic plan that addresses our crippling national debt and that eliminates the overwhelming economic uncertainty in the country.

What makes this movement so worthy of our respect is that the American political class has shown that it can be a very vindictive animal through history. Nixon and Clinton had different versions of their "enemies list." President Obama gave a speech last fall, citing the need to "defeat our enemies," which included any American who dared to have an honest difference of opinion with Obama's policies. Ask the Gibson Guitar company, who just got raided by two dozen Federal agents. I suggest that you follow where that story is going and see what government and political class vindictiveness looks like.

So I applaud and respect Mr. Schultz and the hundred other business leaders for taking this courageous stand. They want America to be great again, they want leaders that make the hard choices, they want leaders who care more about America and Americans and not their own careers. I hope they are successful in finally getting our politicians to do the right thing.

In summary, thank you both Pat Summit and Howard Schultz. I applaud your courage and wish you both the best of luck in your battles

*********************************************************
2011


Dear Starbucks Friend and Fellow Citizen:


I love our country. And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love.


Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders' steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can't find jobs. Small businesses can't get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues.


We are better than this.


Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies - large and small - joined me in signing a two-part pledge:


First, to withhold political campaign contributions until a transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security. Second, to do all we can to break the cycle of economic uncertainty that grips our country by committing to accelerate investment in jobs and hiring.



In the weeks since then, I have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt stories of Americans from across the country, sharing their anguish over losing hope in the strongest and most galvanizing force of all - the American Dream. Some feel they have no voice. Others feel they no longer matter. And many feel they have been left behind.


We cannot let this stand.


Please join other concerned Americans and me on a national call-in conversation on Tuesday September 6th hosted by "No Labels," a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering cooperative and more effective government. To learn more about the forum and the pledges, visit www.upwardspiral2011.org


America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. We must restore hope in the American Dream. We must celebrate all that America stands for around the world. And while our Founding Fathers recognized the constructive value of political debate, we must send the message to today's elected officials in a civil, respectful voice they hear and understand, that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now.

Yours is the voice that can help ignite the contagious upward spiral of confidence that our country desperately needs.



With great respect,



chief executive officer, Starbucks Coffee Company
 
 
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available, at http://www.loathemygovernment.com/. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.


Please visit the following sites for freedom:


http://www.loathemygovernment.com/
http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment.com/

An Honorable American Teenager, A Dishonorable American Politician

Two vastly different stories came together in my mind the past day or so. The first story involved an American who did the honorable and compassionate action as it related to recognition and the feelings of others. The other American was involved in lying, sexting, and crudity. If I was tell you these incidents included a teenage boy and an American Congressman, most people, without knowing what has happened in the news this past week  or so, would probably attribute the honorable and compassionate behavior to a supposed mature adult, a leader of the country and the immature, childish behavior to the teenage boy.

However, you would be wrong on both counts. Let's start with the honorable and compassionate teenager, as reported in the golf section of a recent Sports Illustrated article that was written by Jonathan Price. Jonathan Price is a high school sophomore and his friend, Michael Pope is a high school senior. They are good friends and both play on the Granville Central High School golf team. Both were competing in a round of golf to determine which one would go on to play in the state tournament and possibly become state high school golf champion.

Both Price and Pope finished their round of golf tied. However, since only one of them would be allowed to go on to the state tournament, their fate would be determined by a sudden death playoff. Price writes how much he wanted to go to the state golf tournament and how much it would mean to him.

On the first playoff hole, both golfers reached the green in two shots. Pope's long putt ended up about four feet short. Price's first putt almost went in the hole but ended up only a few inches away from the hole, a sure par. If Pope missed his difficult putt, Price would go on to the state tournament.

However, Price writes that if that happened, then his friend Pope would have missed his last opportunity to compete in the state tournament since he was a graduating senior whereas Price would have two more years to qualify  for the state tournament. Putting his own desires, wants, and needs aside, Price picked up his ball, which disqualified himself, and conceded the hole, opening the way for his friend to get the final slot in the state tournament.

What an honorable and compassionate thing to do, looking out for his friend's needs and desires, sacrificing his desires in the process. Certainly a noble gesture from what sounds like a noble kid who concluded the article with the following quote: "I gave up a chance to go to the state tournament, but I know I made someone else happy, and that's all that matters." Fabulous, unselfish  performance from an honorable American teenager.

Which brings us to the dishonorable American politician. Unless you have been living under a rock these past few weeks, you now know the twisted, pathetic story about New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. After reviewing the details of this sordid affair below, I doubt you would use any of the adjectives we used above for Jonathan Price, honorable, compassionate, noble, and unselfish to describe the Congressman:

• About a week ago, news reports started circulating that someone had sent a photo of a man's aroused crotch to a young lady using Weiner's twitter account.
• The Congressman initially denied he sent the tweet with aroused crotch, falsely claiming that some unknown person had hacked his Twitter account and sent the picture.
• However, shortly thereafter, the Congressman retracted the lie and admitted that he had sent the picture himself.
• But, he avoided definitively answering the question whether the picture was a picture of himself, which it now turns out it was indeed a picture of himself.
• Finally, yesterday, the Congressman admitted he sent the lewd photo of his own underwear clad crotch and that he repeatedly lied about his role. He also admitted that he had "inappropriate" contact with six women over the course of three years, both before and after his recent marriage, both over social networking sites and over the phone.
• One of the woman, as reported by the Associated Press, told the press that she had exchanged over 100 electronic messages and that the Congressman constantly tried to steer the conversations towards sex. In his press conference, the Congressman confirmed that this was one of the women he had communications with.
• Another woman claimed that she had received shirtless photos of and from the Congressman, which the woman claimed were among numerous intimate photos, chats, and emails the two had exchanged.
• Numerous potential ethics violations may have been made especially if the Congressman used government issued computers, cell phones, or telephones to carry on these exchanges with the six women, which may require a House of Representatives ethics investigation.
• Even if he had not used government equipment, he might still face an ethics inquiry since he may have violated House of Representative rules including the one that reads: "a member shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House." Repeated lying and sexting probably falls into this category.

What a role reversal, a teenage boy acts like a compassionate leader, an elected  official acts like a twelve year old boy. The Congressman' private life, which many would say is none of our business, really is our business as voters and Americans:

• This type of reckless behavior of the Congressman left him vulnerable to blackmail on my different levels, personally, professionally and legislatively, if someone had an agenda and a blackmailing type of disposition.
• While the country is facing so many issues in so many areas, a House ethics investigation will take valuable time and resources away from addressing those issues and divert them to a needed ethics investigation effort.
• Other major politicians in Washington, notably Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Chuck Schumer among others, have had press conference and issued press releases relative to this matter, more waste of time, resources and efforts, that might be better spent on real issues.
• The Congressman has verified this week that he is a serious and serial liar, destroying any credibility in the future he might have on any issue since we would never know if he was lying again or not, further diverting focus from solving real problems.

For these reasons and more, the Congressman needs to take an example from Jonathan Price and put others ahead of his apparently very selfish needs and resign from office immediately, for the good of his family and more so, for the good of the country. The last thing we need in office in Washington is a liar, there is enough lying, misinformation, demagoguery, and spin doctoring there already, we do not need to keep a confirmed liar in office. Resign, Congressman, and let us get on with the business of being serious about the country. 

Honor, compassion, and unselfish behavior can be found in America today, just not in Washington D.C. We found it alive and well at Granville Central High School. Thank you Mr. Jonathan Price for giving us an honorable example of human behavior amidst the dishonorable and despicable behavior we seem to constantly find in Washington D.C. 


Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at http://www.loathemygovernment.com/. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.



Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.loathemygovernment.com
http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.repealamendment.com

Jill Costello: Profile In Courage And Leadership, The American Political Class: Not So Much

I hesitated to do this blog post for a number of reasons. First, I could never do justice to the the fantastically written article the post is based on. The article is entitled "The Courage of Jill Costello" and was written by Chris Ballard. It appeared in the November 29, 2010 issue of Sports Illustrated. Second, I know my writing cannot do justice to the courage and leadership that Jill Costello exhibited during her lifetime. Third, I really hesitated to compare Jill Costello to the behavior of our political class in the same article, the chasm of leadership and courage between the two is unbelievably wide.

However, I decided to go ahead anyway, with apologies up front, if I do not capture the fine writing of Chris Ballard or the courage and leadership impact of Jill Costello.

Jill Costello was a 21 year old junior and a coxswain on the crew team at the University of California when she was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer, the most advanced form, even though she had never smoked a cigarette in her life. The survival rate is about 15% for this type of cancer. The article describes the fight that Jill put up against the cancer:

• She put up with 14 rounds of chemo treatments.
• She put up with radiation treatments.
• She put up with aches and extreme fatigue
• She put up with night sweats, skin sensitivity, puffy cheeks, liquid retention, her abdomen swelled, and her ankles and feet swelled up so much that she could not wear shoes.
• She was weak and susceptible to the smallest illnesses such as a common cold that could lead to pneumonia in her weakened condition.
• She took an untold number of pills.
• She self injected herself with anticoagulant that always resulted in an instant new bruise.
• After many chemo sessions she was so weak that she could barely stand on her own.
• She continued her studies at Cal, attaining a 4.0 in her final semester despite having to use a powered cart to get to classes.
• She graduated with her class at Cal.
• She never stopped dreaming of getting back to the Cal crew team as the coxswain in one of their boats.

What impact did Jill have on other people while she was undergoing debilitating treatment:

• She organized a charity run which attracted 5,000 people and raised more than $320,000.
• She spoke at Genentech, a cancer research firm.
• She exchanged emails with a half a dozen cancer patients around the world.
• She was interviewed on NPR as a spokesperson for those lung cancer patients who never smoked.
• When returning from treatments, Jill and her family found mounds of food deposited on their doorstep from friends.
• Her teammates, who had all scattered and left school for the summer when she was diagnosed, remotely put together two videos which they send to her to lift her spirits.
• At the beginning of the spring season, her teammates went out for a two mile run and when they returned they had taken off their sweatshirts to reveal tee shirts that read "Cal Crew Cancer Killers."
• While she was in France looking for a treatment and cure, her teammates shed their traditional Cal uniforms for their race with their most heated opponent, Stanford, and wore special uniforms in Jill's favorite color with the Cal bear logo replaced with a silhouette of Jill. Where the word "Cal" typically was on their uniforms, "Jill" had replaced it. Needles to say, Stanford never had a chance.

Now back to her dream of returning to a Cal boat. On May 16, Jill got into the Cal varsity eight boat, and despite a bloody nose that developed in the middle of the race, led the Cal women's crew team to a victory over Stanford which allowed Cal to become the 2010 Pac-10 champions. On May 19, Jill found out that there would be no cure for her condition, the treatments had not stopped the growth of the tumors in her lungs, bones, and liver.

Despite the bad medical news, she spent the next week or so like a regular coxswain would have and went about the duties of any coxswain. And despite her condition, Jill got into the Cal varsity eight boat and led her team to a second place finish in the nationals. Less than a month later, Jill Costello passed away.

What an incredible story. Jill Costello's courage and leadership is probably unparalleled in any story I have ever heard. She was focused on having a positive impact on the world and her teammates, despite constant and excruciating pain. As a leader, she made others around her better in what they did and who they were. She made courageous decisions to train and race and support her teammates despite chronic pain and fatigue, pain and fatigue that most others would have succumbed to and taken the easy way out. She was a leader in so many ways, focused on positively impacting those immediately around her and many, many more that she probably never met. Unbelievable.

Now, not to diminish this outstanding young lady's fortitude and positive attitude, when was the last time any of Jill Costello's adjectives were used to describe our political class:

• Courage - rarely, if ever, do you find a courageous politician. They will hide behind the spin doctors and campaign managers lest they dare to take a stand that might irritate a voting block. Always best to take the easy way out to avoid the pain and fatigue a courageous decision might entail
• Leadership - rarely, if ever, do you see a politician stand up and tell the country the hard truth about what is reality and then lead the country to face that hard reality. Better not to endanger their re-election chances, the good of the country be damned.
• Focus - when has our political class ever focused on anything? The 40 year old war on drugs is still a losing battle, the 30 year search for a coherent energy policy is still lost in  the woods, we still having a failing public school system, our borders are a joke when it comes to illegal immigration, and a whole slew of problems never get fixed. No focus, no solutions.
• Make Those Around You Better - politicians have called segments of Americans some ugly names over the past two years including racists, un-American, Neanderthals, members of the Klan, "the enemy" and other denigrating names. If we had any Jill Costellos in our political ranks, they would not allow this behavior to occur. A leader would make all of us better people and citizens, like Jill did to those around her and around the world. Our politicians would rather run down others for their own cheap political gain.
• As we sit here today, our politicians are arguing over how to tax rich Americans, a decision that will have minimal impact on a $13 TRILLION national debt. They denied a bid to relieve all of America's small business owners the burden of filing massive and useless paper work associated with the health care reform legislation, not because it was a bad idea, but because they did not have the courage to find and cut $18 billion from a $3.5 TRILLION budget, a .5% cut. Thus, their lack of courage will burden millions of American small businesses for no reason. They are bickering about how to cut the out of control deficit spending since none of them wants to be a true leader and accept the political hits that might occur despite what might be best for the country. No courage, no leadership, no focus.

I wish I knew Jill Costello, Chris Ballard writes about an outstanding young woman. I also wish our politicians knew her,  knew her fortitude, knew her focus, knew her compassion, knew her courage, and knew her leadership. I also wish they would start acting in her spirit for the good of the country, even if it is painful and fatiguing and has downsides to their own personal political careers.


Our recent book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.
Please visit the following sites for freedom:
http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/
http://www.reason.com/