Archive for May, 2010

A Memorial Day Tribute

By Jim Whitt As this was our first trip to France we suffered from a perpetual state of directional disability. And that is how we met Michel. We wandered through the gate of a small cemetery not a stone’s throw from Omaha Beach in Normandy.  Michel did not speak much English but fortunately, Suedy, a friend of ours from the U.S. spoke a little French. So, with much hand signaling, exaggerated facial expressions and a few exchanges of French and English we were able to communicate. It turned out to be a most fascinating conversation. Michel explained to us that… Read More

May 26th, 2010 at 11:49pm

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This Is Who I Am

By Jim Whitt A few years ago I spoke to a group of postal workers in New Jersey and I have to tell you it was one tough audience. It was a little like speaking at the Sopranos family reunion. This is not a slight against New Jersey. It‘s home to some great people but it’s no place for the thin-skinned. I was reminded of this when I saw a video on YouTube of a press conference featuring an exchange between a reporter and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie the other day. Reporter: “Governor, do you think this sort of… Read More

May 19th, 2010 at 8:10pm

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Keep the Heck Out of Dodge

By Jim Whitt The Associated Press keeps a running Economic Stress Index which measures economic strain across the United States. They recently published a list of the 20 most and least economically stressed counties with populations of at least 25,000 and their March 2010 Stress scores. Let’s compare the most economically stressed county, Imperial County in California with the least economically stressed county, Ford County in Kansas. The indicators AP uses are unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Here’s a side-by-side comparison: INDICATORS IMPERIAL COUNTY FORD COUNTY Stress Index 31.27 4.07 Unemployment 27.0% 3.5% Foreclosure 4.59% 0.01% Bankruptcy 1.32% 0.58% As AP… Read More

May 12th, 2010 at 6:37pm

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Rx for an Ailing Society

By Jim Whitt If we view society as a patient in need of treatment, the doctor I would turn to would be Abraham Maslow, the psychologist most remembered for his hierarchy of needs. Although deceased, we don’t have to wonder what he’d say — he diagnosed the ailment and penned the prescribed cure many years ago: “The difference between the great and good societies and the regressing, deteriorating societies is largely in terms of the entrepreneurial opportunity and the number of such people in the society. I think everyone would agree the most valuable 100 people to bring into a… Read More

May 5th, 2010 at 8:49pm