Lee Iacocca speaks the truth

A reader sent me this, which I haven't verified. But the words really ring true.

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation fromit's death throes? He 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? Wherethe hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.
We've got agang 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 aftera hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Staythe 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 maybeI 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 inhandcuffs. 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' insteadof asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' myparents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How aboutyou? 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! Leaders are made, not born.
Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It'seasy 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 forwinning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in thehistory 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 classis being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out forleadership. 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 ustake off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spentbillions 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 outwhat you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we canrestore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese carcompanies? 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 thedebt, 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 ourcountry 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 'GreatDepression', '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 onthe sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.
Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we allhave 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.' "
Excerpted from 'Where Have All the Leaders Gone?'.Copyright (c) 2007 by Lee Iacocca. All rights reserved.

Friday Night Lights inspiration dead at 20

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-obit-edwards&prov=ap&type=lgns

latest conan jokes (welcome back, writers)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which is unrelated to this posting but holds lessons for all of us (especially the two major parties in D.C.).

From our friends at NBC, as heard on Conan O'Brien's latenight show:

"Yesterday, a couple in Minnesota celebrated their 83rd wedding anniversary. When asked how it felt to be married for 83 years, the couple said: 'Please kill us.'"

"This morning, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro announced that he is stepping down, ending 5 decades of rule. But the biggest surprise was when Castro said he's going to retire in Miami."

"President Bush is in Africa this week, and yesterday he visited a school and read to the students from the 'The Cat in the Hat.' There was an awkward moment when one of the students told Bush, 'Sir, this is a college.'"

"The founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream are endorsing Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. Which makes sense - because 'Ba-rocky Road' is a catchier name for an ice cream than 'Pantsuits 'N Cream.'"

"The Spice Girls say they want to play at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday party. When he heard this Mandela said, 'Thanks, but I'd rather go back to prison.'"

"Senator John McCain has unveiled a new campaign slogan: 'Ready to lead America into the 21st century.' This is alot better than his old slogan, 'I've been around since the 19th century.'"

"Yesterday, a couple in Minnesota celebrated their 83rd wedding anniversary. Then today, the husband left his wife for a younger woman - Angela Lansbury."

"Someone has found a new Paris Hilton sex tape, and this time Paris is having sex with a woman. When asked about it, Paris said, 'See, I did learn something in jail.'"

"Yesterday Senator Barack Obama won the Wisconsin Democratic Primary. This makes Obama the first black man to ever win a primary in Wisconsin and the first black man to ever go to Wisconsin."

"The band ABBA wants John McCain to stop using their songs at his campaign rallies. When asked about it, McCain said, 'Who cares about ABBA, kids today are into the Bee Gees."

"Yesterday, Fidel Castro announced he's stepping down as the leader of Cuba and will be replaced by his brother Raul. According to the State Department, Raul Castro is the 'Jim Belushi of Central America.'"

"Kirstie Alley has left Jenny Craig and announced that she is starting her own weight-loss program. Apparently, under the program, every time you feel like eating something, Kirstie Alley comes to your house and eats it for you."

"Today's New York Times is claiming that John McCain, who is 71 years old, had an inappropriate relationship with a woman who is a Washington lobbyist. The good news is there's no footage."

"Political experts say this could be a huge scandal for McCain because he's married and the woman he's accused of having an affair with is 31 years younger than he is. In a related story, earlier today McCain was endorsed by Bill Clinton."

"After more than a year of delays, Southern Methodist University and President Bush have finally agreed to the terms for building his presidential library on the SMU campus. SMU promised to build the library and President Bush promised to stop calling the school, 'Smoo.'"

"This year - all year long - the restaurant chain Hooters is celebrating it's 25th anniversary. Hooters says they're trying to really enjoy being 25 - because soon it's all going to start to sag."

"The store The Sharper Image has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy was filed using 'The Sharper Image Bankruptcy Filing/Folding Bicycle/Massage Chair.'"

"Kirstie Alley said her split with the Jenny Craig diet company was amicable and they both decided to go in 'a different direction.' The direction Kirstie went was towards the cookie aisle."

"In Florida, police arrested a man after he walked into a Dunkin' Donuts without any pants. The police arrested the man after he offered to glaze the donuts."

"Last night, Senator Hillary Clinton once again accused Barack Obama of plagiarizing a speech from another politician. Hillary said, 'Plagiarizing is the second worst kind of cheating.'"

"Senator John McCain has been accused of having an affair with a woman who was a lobbyist for a cable television company. During their affair the cable lobbyist would show up at McCain's house sometime between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m."

"This week, footage surfaced of Senator Ted Kennedy singing in Spanish to a Latino group. There was an awkward moment when someone in the crowd pointed at Kennedy's head and said: 'Look - The piñata is singing!'"

"Police in Maryland found more than $1 million dollars worth of marijuana in a car parked just outside a 7-Eleven. Police became suspicious when they saw the owner of the car eat a 7-Eleven hot dog."

"The Pentagon says it successfully shot down an old satellite over the Pacific Ocean. According to the Pentagon, this is the largest object to be shot down since Star Jones was fired by 'The View.'"

4 from 'American Idol' eliminated

All four are in front row: Colton, Joanne, Amy and Garrett. Now it's down to the top 20.
Paula's new video was OK to look at but the song wasn't very good. And what was Randy playing? All I heard was some background bass and he didn't seem to be playing it.

Fox getting back to business

From Fox network:
FOX RETURNS SERIES TO PRODUCTION

“BONES” Returns with All-New Episodes on April 14

“‘TIL DEATH” and “BACK TO YOU” Return with All-New Episodes
on April 16

“HOUSE” Returns with All-New Episodes on April 28

New Series Premieres Include “UNHITCHED” on March 2;
“CANTERBURY’S LAW” on March 10; “NEW AMSTERDAM” on March 10
with Sneak Previews on March 4 and March 6 after “AMERICAN IDOL”;
and “THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES” (photo at right with Parker Posey, left, and New Haven-raised Lauren Ambrose) on March 14

Get 'Lost' on Thursdays at 10 soon

Says TV Guide:
According to multiple sources, ABC plans on airing this season's final batch of Lost episodes on Thursdays at 10 pm/ET beginning in late April, where it will follow all-new episodes of Grey's Anatomy

From NBC:
NBC has picked up its freshman drama series "Chuck" and "Life" -- as well as its hit "Heroes" -- for the 2008-09 season, it was announced today by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment

Also from NBC:
NBC will resume the broadcast of many of its scripted series in April with new original episodes following the settlement of the Writers Guild of America strike.
The list of comedies and dramas includes: "My Name Is Earl" (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET), which will return with a one-hour episode on Thursday, April 3;
"30 Rock" (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET) will begin on Thursday, April 10; likewise, the Emmy-winning "The Office" (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET) also resumes with new episodes on Thursday, April 10; and "Scrubs" (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET) will come back with original episodes beginning Thursday, April 10.
"ER" (Thursdays, 10-11 p.m. ET) also will come back on Thursday, April 10 with new episodes following the complete run of "Lipstick Jungle," which concludes on March 20.

ABC picks up shows for fall

from ABC:
ABC ENTERTAINMENT PICKS UP NINE SERIES FOR NEXT SEASON

Pickups Return Fall’s Most Successful Series: “Brothers & Sisters,”
“Desperate Housewives,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost,”
“Private Practice,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Samantha Who?” and
“Ugly Betty” Receive Pickups for ‘08-‘09 Season


Today ABC Entertainment announced pickups for nine of its most popular shows, returning broadcast television’s most successful fall series. ABC Entertainment ordered episodes of “Brothers & Sisters,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost,” “Private Practice,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Samantha Who?” and “Ugly Betty.”

Free podcasts from NPR

FROM NPR:

ADDITIONS ARE NPR’S NEW “IN CHARACTER” SERIES AND
16 NEW STATION PODCASTS, NOW INCLUDING WYEP PITTSBURGH

NPR PODCASTS TOP 200 MILLION IN DOWNLOADS


February 11, 2008; Washington, D.C. – The NPR Podcast Directory, which features hundreds of free podcasts produced by NPR, NPR Member stations and other public radio producers, just reached the 617-title count with the addition of the new NPR News “In Character” series profiling classic fictional characters, seven podcasts from new participant 91.3fm WYEP Pittsburgh and nine from current station contributors.

The podcasts, covering 40 topic areas, can be found at www.NPR.org/podcasts

Politics, from the citizen-journalist POV

From Cynthia Farrar, a pro-democracy activist in America (we need it bad these days) and the top exec of "Purple States LLC" on this big primary day:

As Super Tuesday dawns, visit http://www.purplestates.tv/ to see what the Purple States citizens say about their choices. Check out what McCain, Romney, Clinton and Obama have said to our citizens, organized by candidate and by topic. Ask the citizens what they heard on an issue of special interest to you. Chat with Alex, Bert (shown at right), Liz, Tamara or Tanya about how you're planning to vote, and why. Also on our site: Alex and Bert visit the border! new uncut footage from Purple States in California, on an issue that looms large in many Super Tuesday states: immigration.Tune in at http://www.purplestates.tv/! And as always: you'll find our latest episode on the New York Times opinion page.

Jerry DeCapua DeGiantsFan, almost live from Los Angeles!

Says Jerry in an e-mail this week:
There's something serene about knowing the sun rises and sets in a Giant universe starting today.
(He describes how he sent his old friend, a big Boston fan, an Apple iCard saying, "The DeCapua family wishes to be the first to congratulate the McDonough family on the New England Patriots' fine 18-1 season."
He continues in his e-mail to New Haven, "There are some things in life you just know. I knew the Giants would win this game. I only wish I had large sums of money to bet.
It was a done deal since I woke up two Mondays ago after the Jints sent the Packers packing. They learned how to play with heart. No other team wanted it more. Some people think it was destiny. I say it was desire.
The coaches cancelled each other out. The team that makes the most big plays decides the game. The Giants wanted nothing more than to walk off the field as winners.
I've been a Giants fan since YA Tittle's bloody head. That was the best game I ever saw the Giants play in my lifetime. Yes, even better than the pre-Jerry-football-awareness "Greatest Game" in '58. That game was only great for the Colts.
Go back and find your old dog-eared copy of "Semi-Tough." Forget the movie because it sucked. Check out the last name of the Giants quarterback in that excellent work of fiction. In the book the qb's last name was Manning. The team was part owned by entertainment types. There are many other incredible 'coincidences' in the book to the last two weeks."

See Jerry's Comment for the shocking followup to the above taunt. I only left it out because there was some question in my mind about the timing of the sent cards to Pats' fans. I'll take Jer's word it was before the game.

Oh. My. Goodness. The Giants are world champs.

Some thougths on the Giants' impossible ascendance to the top spot in the sporting world today:
The way the Giants were rushing the passer, Tom Brady was on the grass more this night than Tom Petty.
Brady chuckled when it was suggested that he would score only 17 points in the Super Bowl. He and his suddenly tight Pats scored 14.
Tom Brady didn't even nod his head when Eli Manning trotted by him and said hello in pregame warmups. He looked like he was being haunted by ghosts. NFL ghosts from Miami.
The Manning to Tyree (Bucky Dent?) play ranks as one of the most unbelievable plays in NFL history.
Once again, the Giants played an entertaining, heart-stopping game, one that could put a stop to all the adulation among young, new NFL fans that have been donning Pats' jersies for six or seven years now. It's a cyclical thing, but a new generation of Giants fans was probably minted Sunday night.
I like Joe Buck a lot better when we win, but not much better.
Little of this season made sense, which is why it's so special to Giants fans -- not the Burress injury that kept him out of practice and made him a better player, not the 0-2 start ending in a championship, not the mediocre play of Manning until the last six weeks, not the fact that an inconsequential game at the end of the regular season would propel Coughlin and the Giants, not the fact that the Giants needed to hold the Patriots to their lowest point total of the year, but they did. And the sports fan is left stunned.
Our guy in Glendale, Jack Barletta of Branford, said the Patriots fans were obnoxious before the game, boasting it was all going to be a matter of time until 19-0. I recall the Boston writer who said this would be more of a coronation than a contest. Note to Boston area: A contest broke out Sunday night and your team didn't get it done.