With all of the media and press surrounding the surge in Somali pirates, I think I may have figured out a way to stop Somali Pirates from laying siege to these ships in the Gulf of Aden.

Step 1: Shoot the pirates as they try to board.

Step 2: Well… there really is no step two. Just sail away I guess.

Try not to practice blind allegiance. Educate yourself.

This morning, a friend of mine who decided to support Obama sent me an email. This supporter of Senator Obama does NOT agree with all of Obama’s philosophies and principles, but I don’t think he knows entirely what they are and decided to support Obama anyway. I tried to explain to this person in the past that he has been told to vote this way by his family even though he doesn’t agree. He is actually more libertarian than anything else, but will vote for Obama anyways. I tried to explain to my friend a while back that the democratic party is not what it once was, but he decided to stick with them anyways instead of finding out for himself.

I have no problem with anyone supporting any candidate, but if you are going to throw your weight behind them at least make sure you know why. I’ll state that again, in no uncertain terms, so there is no confusion: I don’t care who you support. You can support any party or candidate for all I care provided a) you at least take the time to educate yourself on who and what you’re supporting, and b) you fully support everyone else’s right to support their candidate and/or party of choice.

This morning, my friend decided to make fun of McCain supporters. Here is the email conversation we had:

From my friend:
Picture of your average McCain Supporter

My Response

Picture of an Obama supporter This photo is from an actual Obama campaign office in Houston, TX. See that lovely flag on the wall? That’s the flag of the Republic of Cuba, yes… the Marxist-Leninist Cuba that adopted Communism. The man depicted in the superimposed image? That is none other than the infamous Che Guevara. Interesting fellow. He’s the one that actually helped Castro implement communism in Cuba. You should read up about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara Hrmm…. capitalist with his head up his butt or a communist supporter with the flag of a murderer proudly displayed on her wall? Tough choice?

My friend replies, somewhat in disbelief.

If you believe that is an actual campaign office of Obama in Texas, I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn, N. Y. that I’ll give you a heck of a deal on. ~

My friend is a big Snopes fan, so I replied with links to the proof on the Snopes website itself.

My good friend JJ White is the executive director for Dale Carnegie Training here in Roanoke. His blog always has great tips. This morning he published five characteristics that team members must possess to enable a team to become a ‘High Performing Team.’

I read his blog regularly and make it a point to re-read Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” every few years. In doing so, I can’t help but notice a significant amount of overlap with some of the leadership traits taught by the Marine Corps. Common sense would lead most to believe that high performing teams need high performing leaders, leaders with character and principles. Have a look at the Marine Corps leadership traits and see how you match up:

1. Justice
2. Judgement
3. Decisiveness
4. Integrity
5. Dependability
6. Tact
7. Initiative
8. Endurance
9. Bearing
10. Unselfishness
11. Courage
12. Knowledge
13. Loyalty
14. Enthusiasm

For the past year or two, this site was static… an online brochure. It didn’t get many hits, and it was more or less there just to say, “yah, I have a website.” Today, I switched it to this Blog format. I will use it for a variety of content including both personal- and business-related items. Read the About page and stay tuned for more!