In Honor of President's Day

In honor of President's Day coming up Monday, why not impart a little Presidential trivia?  I am sure many of you already know these tidbits, but it is always fun to re-visit them.  Like my old history professor at Baylor, Dr. Paul Armistead would say, "You can put that in your storehouse of useless information."  I always liked that saying.  Good, bad or otherwise, those tended to be what you remembered most about his class.  Anyway, I digress.  Back to Presidential trivia:

President who served the longest term:  Franklin Roosevelt
President who served the shortest term:  William Harrison (32 days)

The tallest Presidents:  George H W Bush and Abraham Lincoln were both 6'4" tall
The shortest President:  James Madison, who stood 5'4" tall.  It is also reported that he weighed less than 100 lbs.

Most popular Presidential name:  James.  We have had six presidents named James:  James Madison, James Monroe, James Polk, James Buchanan, James Garfield, and of course James Earl ("Jimmy") Carter.  Fortunately, we have had only one President with the names Rutherford, Chester, and Millard.

We have had 4 Presidents named John, and 3 were from Massachusetts:  John Adams, John Quincy Adams and John Kennedy.  The only other was John Tyler from Virginia

We have had two father & son Presidential combinations:  John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams and George HW Bush and his son George W Bush, Jr.  The only other family connection was William Harrison and his grandson Benjamin Harrison who both served as President.

Four Presidents have been assassinated:  Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John Kennedy.

Six Presidents survived assassination attempts:  Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan

Our youngest President:  Theodore Roosevelt, who became President at 42 when President McKinley was assassinated.

Our Youngest Elected President:  John Kennedy was just 43 when he was elected President

Presidents with the longest lives:  Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford were both 93 when they passed away.

President with the shortest life:  President Kennedy was just 46 when he was assassinated.

President who was never elected either President or Vice President:  Gerald Ford  Mr. Ford became President when Richard Nixon resigned the office.  Ford, who was his VP was never elected on the ticket but was appointed by Nixon when his VP, Spiro Agnew, was forced out of office due to a tax scandal.

Grover Cleveland was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms.

Interestingly, Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander was born during President Grover Cleveland's first term.  In 1952, Grover Cleveland Alexander would be portrayed in the movie The Winning Team by future President, Ronald Reagan.  Doris Day starred opposite Reagan as the pitcher's wife.

Presidential Top Ten List - The 10 Best Presidents in Our History
1 (tie)  George Washington
1 (tie)  Abraham Lincoln
3  Thomas Jefferson
4  Franklin Roosevelt
5  Harry Truman
6  Ronald Reagan
7  Theodore Roosevelt
8*
9*
10*
* - help me fill in the blanks.  They could come from the following list:

Most Underrated Presidents:
1.  James Polk
2.  Calvin Coolidge
3.  Bill Clinton

Most Overrated Presidents:
1.  Andrew Jackson
2.  Woodrow Wilson

Most Incomplete Presidents:
1.  John Kennedy.  Just long enough to glimpse that he might have been great.  We shall never know.
2.  Gerald Ford.  His pardon of Nixon was scorched at the time, much appreciated later.  No other lasting legacy.

I hope you've enjoyed some of this trivia.  If you have anymore trivia that you can pull from your storehouse of useless information, then do so and share with us!

The Architect of America

If you enjoy American history, as I do, and particularly enjoy the stories of the men and women who made that history, then I would recommend Jon Meacham's new book, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.  The book covers a lot of material in 496 pages of the hardback edition.  The author does not get the story bogged down anywhere, and covers all the major points of Jefferson's life from the Declaration of Independence to his Presidency.  Many thanks to my wife who gave me this book as a Christmas gift.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

What I most enjoyed about the book is the author's portrayal of the human Jefferson.  Yes, we know he was a man who pursued knowledge in all its forms, was a statesman and a leader of both the Revolution and the country.  But I most enjoyed the author's portrayal of Jefferson the man.  We see a man who was passionate about many things including music, science, politics, women, wine, the country, and his family.  We are introduced to a Jefferson who was born into one of Virginia's wealthiest and prominent families.  He admired his father and loved his mother.  Jefferson was a man at ease in many different circumstances, and people found him very likable.  We also see a Jefferson who was full of anguish as he wrote the Declaration of Independence, since his wife was unable to be with him, and she was already ill (she died in 1782).  This in addition to knowing that the Declaration would be considered a treasonous document in Britain and he was therefore writing his own death sentence. 

We also see into Jefferson's political mind with this book.  Jefferson always believed that hereditary rule (i.e. monarchy) was inherently evil.  He believed in a republican form of government, one which was ruled with reason by people who merited the office through achievement, knowledge and election.  Although history records that Jefferson had a long running feud with John Adams, we do not see that in this book.  What we do see is that his biggest political rival was Alexander Hamilton.  Hamilton favored a strong banking system, accompanied by the issuance of paper money, both of which were vehemently opposed by Jefferson.  Hamilton also favored strengthening diplomatic ties with Britain at the expense of France.  Jefferson seemed to carry a lifelong loathing of the British monarchy, and preferred ties with France.  This view became more unfeasible as the French Revolution became more violent, and President Washington sided with Hamilton in this argument.

Jefferson's ascension to the Presidency in 1800 was after perhaps the most contentious election in history, one that makes our own 2000 election look like a quiet afternoon tea.  Jefferson eventually won the election on the 36th ballot of the electors.  His political opponents of the day, the Federalists, were deeply distrustful of Jefferson and there was talk of secession among the northeast states (Federalist stronghold), with a hopeful return of the British monarchy.  However, Jefferson was politically popular among the people and his political allies continued to gain power throughout his Presidency.  There was always a delicate balance to be played in foreign affairs since the British and French seemed to be in a constant state of war with each other.  Domestically, the country prospered in general.

Jefferson was often a man who philosophically believed in a limited federal governmnet, but in reality used his power to suit his purposes.  The author shows a man who questioned whether or not we needed a constitutional amendment to sign the Louisiana Purchase.  When the French started expressing second thoughts about the deal, Jefferson no longer worried about the theoretical and pushed quick passage of the deal before the French could change their minds.  He also generally believed that government should stay out of the affairs of commerce, but intervened with an embargo in 1808, an event which went a long way towards the War of 1812 with Great Britain.

While many people saw Jefferson as a dreamer, he was also very practical.  He kept exquisite details on the business at Monticello, the home he loved.  He knew all the business going on at his home.  Of course, those of you who have visited that home know of his passion for architecture and for gardening.  He enjoyed the finest of things, and his enormous library of books.  He longed to spend many days at Monticello.  Time and again, he believed himself retired to Monticello, only to be called back into service, whether as Governor of Virginia, envoy to France or his work in the first three adminstrations of the United States.

I believe the author paints a thorough picture of Jefferson the man.  I enjoyed seeing the human side of him.  We are shown a man who loved his family and took great delight in his grandchildren.  A man who grieved deeply when his wife and children died.  He had 6 children with his wife and outlived 5 of the 6.  We also see the fallible Jefferson, one was seen as weak and a coward when he fled British forces who were authorized to arrest Jefferson in 1781, and the one who carried on a 40 year love affair with the slave Sally Hemmings which produced at least 4 children.  The author shows us a man who believed in limited authority, but was quick to use expanded and questionable power when it suited his purposes.

Finally, Mr. Meacham used a term describing Jefferson that I had not seen before:  "The Architect of America."  He was indeed the architect, as he laid out basic freedoms of individual liberty and freedom.  We are shown a Jefferson who had his flaws, was human, but also did many incredible things and advanced the cause of freedom and individual liberty that we still enjoy today in this still unique thing called America.



This & That
Today, for the first time in years, I helped host a garage sale.  We raked in the big bucks!  Over $300!!  What amazed me was the quantity of items for sale.  I would likely have as many or more items to sell if I were to sell my stuff the way my wife did.  Truly, one person's trash is another person's treasure.  Lots of people got lots of bargains today and we sold off a number of items we no longer needed.

Afterwards, I came home and watched college football (and napped!).  I love college football, but I found it interesting to compare the two best conferences, the SEC and the Big 12.  The SEC is a better conference, playing higher quality football, particularly on defense.  But, the Big 12 sure is entertaining!  I'm watching West Virginia-Texas, and it is a high scoring shootout!  Meanwhile, I was deeply impressed by both defenses (especially Florida's) in the Gators' 14-6 win over LSU.   Big 12 definitely has better offenses, but the SEC clearly has better defenses.  I do not think I will see any SEC teams score 63 points in a conference game and lose.

Debate Chatter
Most pundits called it for Romney, and it is easy to see why.  While I thought Obama factually made his points, but there is no question Romney spoke with more passion and authority.  And this is what made the difference.  I figure both candidates lied equally, and both candidates made good points.  In the end, it probably didn't make any difference in the outcome of the election

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
The good news is that 114,000 jobs were created and the unemployment rate fell to 7.8%.  However, the data in this report was strange to say the least.  Do I think there was some kind of conspiracy theory?  No.  The same people who are crying conspiracy are the same ones who were thrilled with last month's report.  I thought this article in Fortune really did the best job of explaining the strange data.  Likely just evening out of some seasonal data.  What we ultimately find is that the economy is still sluggish, growing slowly.  I do not see this report as a game changer.


I Want My Money
How would you like to be this guy?  He wins 7.3 million GBP at London's oldest casino and now they will not pay him.  I would want my money! 

Until next time...

The Need for Balance

"A word to the wise isn't necessary, it's the stupid ones that need the advice." - Bill Cosby

It Is All About Balance

In light of Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comments last week, was thinking about all the ways I have depended on the government in my life.  First, I received a public school education through high school, courtesy of the taxpayers.  Second, I have received Social Security survivor benefits for the past 13 years, courtesy of the American taxpayer.  Of course, I have also received other benefits such as roads (some obviously better than others!), national defense and others that I cannot think of at this moment.  And I am one of the 53% of income tax filers that pays an income tax.  It is not just the 47% of filers that do not pay taxes that are dependent upon the taxpayer.

Surely, we do need a safety net for the most unfortunate in our society.  However, there is a balance to all things.  President Obama says we need to strengthen the middle class.  I agree with this statement.  We create a stronger middle class by creating a favorable business environment, so that employers will be inclined to hire more workers.  We need a strong private sector that creates wealth so that we can provide for the "47 percent" and more.  We need a strong private sector that incentivizes innovation and entrepreneurship.  Business start-ups have fallen dramatically in the last five years, and this needs to change.

Breaking down the economy to its most basic element, nothing happens in our economy until someone sells something to someone else.  Until something gets sold to someone else, there is no revenue out of which to pay an employee (who then pays his/her own income tax), a supplier or to pay for basic business services.  Until something gets sold to someone else there is no profit to tax for streets, roads, bridges, police and fire protection.  And this all emanates from the private sector.  Yes, we need to provide for the "47 percent", but we must also have a strong private sector, one with a favorable business environment. 

As an aside, my guess is that many of the "1%" have no problem paying a higher tax.  It is those that aspire to the 1% that are most likely to oppose it, since their growth opportunities are the ones most likely to get shut down.  Just an educated guess.

Washington DC versus United States?

Interesting article from Ross Douthat from the New York Times asking if it is good for the rest of us when Washington DC booms.  Washington has had quite the boom in the last 10 years, thanks largely to a larger government complete with the army of lobbyists and other sharks that come with it.  Seven of the ten richest counties in the country now surround DC, according to this article.  This article is a good read.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Last week I saw a commercial for Barack Obama that touts the 4.6 million private sector jobs created over the past 30 months.  The number is factually correct and it is definitely a good thing.  So, why does this still feel like a recession?  Total employment is still 3 million below the employment peak in December 2007.  Incomes have fallen by over $4,000 per household since then.  Much of the job loss occurred on George Bush's watch (I would blame much of the first year of Obama's presidency on Bush).  But overall job creation remains weak.  To put some perspective on this, in 1984, President Reagan stood before the Republican Convention and bragged about his policies had created 6.5 million private sector jobs in the previous 19 months.  With an employment base that was 40% smaller than today's employment base (85 million versus 140 million).  If you applied Reagan's results to today's economy (controlling for the size of the employment base and the amount of time), we would be talking about 16 million new private sector jobs in the last 30 months, not 4.6 million.  Just something to think about.

Football Results

Overall, not bad.  I called Kansas, Kansas State, and the Kansas City Chiefs.  I whiffed on Missouri, California and Michigan.  Maybe I should stick to the local teams!

Until next time...take care!

Redistribution, Apple and more...

Lessons on Redistribution

 

"If you give the employer the freedom to fire his workers, chances are he will hire more of them.  If a government subsidizes something, chances are you will get more of it than you ever counted on."

Dr. Edward Yardeni, President, Yardeni Research

I remember this quote above from a luncheon I attended sometime in the mid 1990's that was hosted by Dr. Yardeni.  I have always remembered, likely due to its simplicity, and also because of the profound truths that lie behind the quote.  I was reminded of this again as news headlines announced a video had been found in which President Obama, back in 1998, announced that he "believed in redistrubution."  Redistrubtion of wealth sounds great in theory.  Take excess wealth from those who do not need it, and use it to lift the fortunes of those who are trapped in poverty.  I only have a minor quibble with redistribution of wealth:  It does not work.  A terrific analysis on the actual consequences of redistribution came out earlier this week from Thomas Sowell.  I thought of the Dr. Yardeni's quote, because redistribution of wealth is actually subsidizing poverty.  If the government ever subsidizes poverty, through redistribution of wealth, I believe the inevitable result is poverty beyond anything we ever imagined.

Dr.  Yardeni's website (www.yardeni.com) is a treasure trove of economic information, although his commentary and analysis are only available to institutional investors at a hefty price.

Trivial Pursuit
In 1896, Charles Dow first published an index of companies that he thought were a good representation of the overall stock market.  This index, which had 30 companies in it, came to be known as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  Of the 30 original companies in this index, only one of the originals remain.  Which original company is still in the Dow Jones Industrial Average today?

Answer:  General Electric, which was originally founded by Thomas Edison.

Continual Amazement
I continue to be amazed at Apple.  With today's release of the iPhone 5, once again we see long lines of people waiting to be among the first to have the phone.  I admit, I do not get it.  What is the appeal of getting the phone on the very first day it is released?  I applaud Apple as they are truly a great American success story.  They continue to command premium prices for their products, even with a struggling economy.  I remember being an analyst who followed this stock, thinking that when Steve Jobs temporarily left the company in 2007, that was the end of Apple's run.  Earlier this year, Apple became the highest market capitalization stock in US history.  Hard to believe this company was on the verge of extinction in 1999.  Microsoft had eaten their lunch in operating systems, capturing over 90% of the market, with MSFT domination in the corporate market.  I still look back to that time and remember that Sun Microsystems attempted a "takeover" of Apple by offering less than market value for the stock (more like a "take-under"!).  Where is Sun Microsystems today?  Oracle rescued it from the scrap heap.

Weekend Predictions
If you are a gambling person, this looks like a great weekend to bet on the underdogs.  It started last night with the Giants win over Carolina, after being a 2 1/2 point underdog.  Other underdogs I like to cover this weekend include Michigan, California, and closer to home...the KC Chiefs, the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks!  So just take all my predictions for what you paid for them.

Finally, congratulations to the Shawnee Mission East Lancers varsity football team, which defeated defending state champion Olathe South last night 3-0.  Lancers are now 4-0 and have served notice that they are a real contender this year in the Sunflower League, and perhaps the state!

Until next time...take care!

The Week That Was

I know that you, my beloved readers, have anxiously been awaiting another installment from my blog. Without further ado, here it is:

Surprise of the Week
The biggest surprise of my week happened Wednesday night in Independence, Missouri. I attended the Kelly Clarkson concert at the (strong) urging of my wife. She really rocked it! Ms. Clarkson, that is (although my wife knows how to rock it too!). The lady can clearly sing, and the whole atmosphere was positive and uplifting. Ms. Clarkson was not up there urging the audience to defy authority, or slamming politicians or other public servants. Kudos to Ms. Clarkson and her band for putting on a good show. Especially awesome for my wife and daughter was when Ms. Clarkson wandered out into the audience, giving my wife and daughter an opportunity to see Ms. Clarkson up very close.

Tablet or Reader?

I have decided that I need to upgrade my technology a bit and have been looking at readers. Do I want to go with a reader like the Kindle or Nook? How versatile are these machines? Or a tablet such as the iPad? I figure I just want to read books. I have a laptop and a desktop to surf the Internet, email, etc... I have an iPod to listen to music, either on walks or in the car. Seems like I want the reader, but looking for other perspectives that I might be missing. Also, as an aside, are 4G phones worth it yet? And if so, which one is the best?

Home Opener

This week is the home opener for the SM East freshman team against the Olathe Northwest Ravens. I know that high school freshman football does not even begin to compare to the NFL or D-1 college ball. But there is little else I enjoy more than watching my kids play their sports and seeing their talent develop. Few things in life are more rewarding than watching your child take up a passion, whether it is dance, theater, music, athletics, etc..., and watching their talent grow. I want so much to see my children's dreams come true. I think this may be why I enjoy his games so much. And perhaps the dawning realization that this is a chapter in my life where the sun is setting. So, this week, I get to see Jeff wear his black jersey (which he says looks much cooler than the white jersey) to school for the first time on Wednesday. Go Lancers! And Go #18!

Until next time...take care!

A Fine Labor Day Stew

Labor Day Salute to Labor
It is the first weekend in September so that must mean it is Labor Day, which for many of us means a long weekend of R&R (rather ironic for Labor Day), family gatherings, picnics or cookouts, and one last summer fling, whether at the lake or around the house. But I do want to take the time to salute those who labor for the labor movement. I look at the workplace benefits I have enjoyed through the years, as many of us have. Perks such as paid vacations, paid sick leave, pensions, employer paid health insurance, and safer working conditions are all brought to us courtesy of labor unions, whether we belong to one or not. Ironically, labor unions may have done their jobs too well, which may account for only seven percent of private sector workers beloning to unions today. But, I lift a salute to those who risked their jobs, and more, esp on those days when I can take advantage of my perks without fear of losing my job.

Could Not Say It Better Myself
Here is a link to an interesting article by Janet Daley about the future role of government. She contrasts what is happening in Europe with what is happening in America. Read the article! I could not say it better myself.

College Football Season Opens
This weekend was the opening weekend for college football, which I truly enjoy. Being in Big XII country, and having graduated from a Big XII school, I will follow that particular conference most closely. Looks like newcomer West Virginia is the team to beat after Week 1. Things could change, but the Mountaineers were easily the most impressive Big XII team this weekend. Baylor might be the most under rated (picked to finish 7th), as their offense picked up where it left off last season, even without RGIII.

On the national scene, no team was more impressive than Alabama, which made mincemeat out of Michigan. There is no better big game coach in America than Nick Saban. Alabama in my book is better than #1 ranked USC. I see the championship staying in Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide!

Questions of the Week
When President Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention this week, will he do so from an empty chair? The President has taken Clint Eastwood's silly stunt in stride.

Will the "fact checkers" be as vigorous this week as they were last week?