I don't post in PRC very often. Mostly because the right has a tendency to try and rip me to shreds. It's rather facinating how they attack and attack because I might just question the nature of our current policies. I will address that bullshit later, however, I will let Lee talk for me now. I have confirmed this is true and from his new book, published last year:

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler
Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years
old and has a new book, and here are some excerpts.

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, crisis
being the first.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leaders hip 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 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, 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 en ergy 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 i n 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.

Think Lee says it all

Don't be so sensitive Andy! I'd venture to say "the right" still likes you. Truth be told, most of us are centrists anyway.

Mr Iacocca is right on the money. But, I'm very pessimistic. Here's why.

- The shift in culture. There was a time when our society held up honor and concern for others as being guiding principles. Now we emphasize "getting yours". Individual wealth, regardless of how it's accumulated, is celebrated. See: "Growing up Gotti". So, outsourcing your neighbor's job so you can make an extra $3.00, you should do it. Nationalism has been eschewed by schools and our society. The greedy among us use that as a cover for their greed. They say: "Why should I give Americans preference, don't Chinese deserve jobs too?"

- Smart people who are either easily led, or disengaged. I constantly hear people say "I'm not political". Which is code for "I'm not interested". And they seem proud of this. My brother is in the group that's easily led. He told me, and he meant it, he'd vote for Osama bin Laden if he was Democrat. He is a hardcore Democrat and only gets news from Democrat friendly sources, such as MSNBC, a huge Olbermann fan.

- A media that is relentless. Most of us, including me, have things in our past we don't want made public. Any move into the public sector opens you to probing by hoards of media types with not enough to do. What sane, or intelligent person would want to put his or her family through all that?

- A totally broken political system. The lobby system totally subverts our politicians. With the lobby system, the Chinese have more influence on our lawmakers than you or I. On the local level, there are a couple of local politicians, county commisioners, who are being investigated by the FBI for corruption. Their homes were raided, they showed their homes on TV. They are huge, expensive homes. How do public servants making $80k-$110k a year accumulate this kind of wealth?

I think we sinking, and there really isn't much hope. Eventually this will lead to a socialist/totalitarian government, (ala Venezuela). That will utimately lead to a real revolution, and the end of the U.S. as we know it.

Wow Andy, I think you got everyones attention. You could hear a pin drop. I hope I don't get banned.

Quote:

Consider this; Its hard to take you seriously when your focus here is merely that the "world will be a better place" when GW is out of the White House.

You still have the house and senate in the hands of the dems and yet nothing gets done. Well, we still hear how bad the other side is..... Not that having the gop in power is any different. Just means that the gun laws are less likely to be attacked.

The kalifornia house is controlled by dems and their answer to their not finishing the budget is to reduce all state govt workers to six bucks an hour! Of course they get their full paycheck. And awwnold isn't helping much either by wanting to raise taxes.

How can anyone take ANY of our state and federal leaders seriously when ridiculous decisions and meaningless laws continuously spew from their chambers?

The system is broke and the only way to break the strangle hold is a third party. Not some mamby-pamby middle of the road group. But a solid constitutionalist party that truly believes in the Constitution and its written intent.

The U.S. has already ended as we knew it. There is some bloated bureaucratic snail moving the government into action today. They are spending money 40 years into the future to repair damages from 40 years in the past. No wonder there is rage against the machine. Our entire system is seriously outdated.

Theres an old saying...when your nieghbor is out of work, thats a recession. When you are out of work, thats a depression.

I think the system still works.

We've had eight recessions since 1929. More recent recessions were 1973(oil crisis), 1980(another oil crisis),
1990(run of the mill recession), 2000(collapse of the dot-coms/Katrina/Sept.11th)and the most recent(sub-prime/arms/
banks/auto industry and brokers).

The above all lasted from one to two years, we got thru them and were able to play again. I've been in the finance industry for 39 years, yes,I'm an old fart. When times were good we make alot of money and when things were bad, we had alot of trouble paying the bills.

Have patients, don't make any stupid mistakes and we all will get thru this in one piece.

The economic system will work.

Given the changes in culture and global input, the political system is definately broken. It will take people of character to repair it. I'm not sure we have any of those in politics.

I will reiterate something I said a few years ago:

What this country needs is less politicians and more statesmen.

Quote:

I don't have time to hit all these points, so I will start with the biggie.

Shit runs downhill. When the top is too myopic to see what is going on, the rest of the system starts to breakdown.

It's no different in business. When a bad CEO is in charge, the company fails, hire a good CEO, company flurishes.

I will stick to my GW go home mantra. I feel his myopia is so much of the problem.

I think after the new POTUS is sworn in things will get better. The people for the most part have ZERO confidence in our current president and Right or Left there is very little confidence from the American consumer. It will get better regardless of who wins the election in November.

People should thank Bush. Without him, they'd have to get more creative and learn more about politics and economics in order to dish out all the blame they have saved up.

I really don't see a need to blame people for all my problems though. It doesn't accomplish anything except make me feel sorry for myself.