Come on!! get on board ~! and get MAD!!~!

If the book is as good as this it is likely a great read................Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?
'.Lee Iacocca Says: '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 all 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 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 the '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. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)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. A hell of a mess, 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, omnipotence, 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 debit, 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 bonehead 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 1970's 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 crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!

Fried OATMEAL BURGERS

I just finished paging through an old cookbook titled “Stories n Recipes From the great depression of the 30’s”. At the very least a sobering revelation to the current day issues. But also a accurate tribute to the Ingenuity and resourcefulness of young families of that time.
We are so very spoiled. And yes, we have come so far. But much has been lost as we moved forward in search of more comfort and an easier lifestyle.
My mother used to tell us how she and her brothers pulled a wagon down the Railroad tracks picking up coal for heat. Because the alternate was huddling together under a feather tick throughout the night to sleep. In my own childhood I have vivid memories of quickly running downstairs to huddle in front of the fuel oil stove in order to dress without freezing. And the kids of today would have all been “In style” , as everything we owned was patched upon patches. One of my favorite digs to my youngest Daughter was “ you’d better hope that Betty Crocker lives a long life because with out her little boxes you can’t cook. “ It was always done in fun, but my point was made. And I’m happy to say that she has become a very impressive little homemaker in her own Right. But the issue is a tragedy. Betty sells us a box of flour, to which we add most of the primary ingredients anyway and we bake. But in the process we’ve lost the ability to do things on our own.
80 years ago, The bottom dropped. Jobs were scarce at best and money hard to come by. and Life, or survival became the everyday challenge for everyone.
The present Generations can’t begin to understand the strange changes this country went through at that time. And the structure of our American Society had disintegrated. Banks became worthless, businesses closed, and factories followed.
The role of mothers became a challenge to provide meals out of the most basic of ingredients. This book tells of moms canning Weeds for food as gardens were not able to furnish enough for the winter. And work if you were very lucky paid a dollar a day. Gas was .19 cents a gallon, to expensive to waste so walking became the acceptable mode of travel. Shoes were worn to nothing, and then you replaced the cardboard everyday that covered the holes in your sole. Soda pop was 5 cents a bottle but there was never any extra money for unnecessary sweets.
Cooked oatmeal was a godsend. Mom served it for breakfast, then pressed it in a pan to fry for burgers on the evening meal, meat was for the rich folks. Old clothes were recycled of not usable. Feed sacks turned into school dresses. Seams were carefully ripped apart and the cloth re-used to make new garments. Grandma’s old shredded nightgown became baby clothes and lining for mittens, Grandpa’s old worn socks became the cuffs for those mittens.
Often we see the frugality in older folks, and we snicker, but we were spared that struggle. And we have no rights except those given to us freely by a people who survived things that would challenge our very being.
We need to re-visit those days and take account of what we have and what we deem important.
A recent summer storm knocked out our power requiring that we grill out for a few days. I saw with my own eyes Actual Panic at the local quick stop because folks were unable to buy a little ice. I saw both anger and fear, and this was just three or four days. My God!! What will happen if we are required to re-live the 30’s?
We don’t need to dwell on what might happen, but we should consider where we are and what we can do if we are called on to function without all our comforts.
It’s called the 30’s because this was not just a day in our History, It spans years of struggle as those hard working folks brought this Country back from the hardest times on record. We need to be responsible with what we’ve been given.