Posted by Nathan Mahan on 07/08/09

This lady sure makes Bernanke sweat...

Posted by Nathan Mahan on 04/28/09
Last updated 04/28/09

From The Jackson Citizen Patriot, Tuesday April 28, 2009

Gun-toting citizens cause stir

Police respond to calls about sidearms worn in public

An apparent organized flexing of Second Amendment rights last weekend was a bit too Wild West for some local citizens and business owners.

Police and deputies responded to a  number of complains about citizens packing sidearms at restaurants, stores and other public areas.

None of the gun carriers was cited.

Michigan's 2001 shall-issue concealed weapons law greatly increased the number of citizens packing hanguns.  The public, however, does not notice the guns because they are hidden under clothing.

But a shopper with a hundgun on his hip in Target is another matter.  Security officers followed the man Saturday and contacted city policy. 

"One of our officers had contact with the man in the parking lot, and that was the end of it," Lt. Christopher Simpson said.  "He was carrying legally."

Blackman Township officers responded to reports of a diner with a handgun in a hip holster at Bob Evans Restaurant on N. West Avenue and another with a visible sidearm at Walmart on E. Michigan Avenue. 

"We verified they were legitimate side carries," Blackman Township Public Safety Director Jon Johnston said.

While the appearance of citizens carrying weapons is unsettling to some, it also is an expression of freedom.

"Sometimes it is a matter of educating the public that this is a constitutional right," Johnston said.  "We do not take enforcement action against those who obey the law."

Sheriff's deputies, meanwhile, were called to Vandercook Lake to check out two suspicious males, each carrying a handgun on his side. 

It was a father and son, and the father also was packing two concealed handguns, sheriff's Capt. Kevin Stellingworth said.  The father has a concealed-weapons permit.

Stellingworth and Undersheriff Thomas Finco said that citizens who exercise the right to carry guns openly should realize it alarms the public and the police. 

"It hypes people up to see someone carrying a gun," Finco said.  "What people don't realize is it is perfectly legal."

Aside from designated pistol-free areas, such as schools, bars, stadiums, churches and hospitals, most public and private areas in Michigan are open to both concealed weapons and open sidearms.

Stellingworth said law officers and business owners cannot become complacent regarding citizens showing weapons.

Because more citizens are choosing to carry weapons in public, police trainers are addressing that by incorporating scenarious in which officers approach those who could be exercising a right, or are up to no good.

Posted 04/28/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

You're alive!

Posted 04/28/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Yeah, it only took a sick day home from work to get me back on the C4L site. How you been? Still alive and kickin?

Posted 04/28/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

I'm good man, well as good as I can be all things considered ya know. You ok?

Posted 04/29/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Yeah, working way too hard, and commuting 2 hours per day. Ridiculous! Working on some new business ideas, too. Trying to realize the dream and start a real economic stimulus in Michigan. How's the dispatch business?

Posted 04/29/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

I understand where you're coming from. I had a long commute once. The dispatch business... I don't know, been unemployed for a while now brother. 2 or 3 months, something like that. Might go back to school if I can take advantage of the "no worker left behind" program Michigan offers.

Posted 04/30/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Oh that sucks big time. Man, freakin' Michigan. It's a black hole. Know anything about machining? I need some help with some reverse-engineering of mechanical parts.

Posted 05/07/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Sorry bro, nothing at all.

Posted by Nathan Mahan on 01/15/09
Last updated 01/15/09

THIS IS THE STORY OF MOST SMALL BUSINESSES.  FOR EVERY ONE OF THE "GREEDY" LARGE CORPORATIONS WE ALL LOVE TO HATE, THERE ARE HUNDREDS, MAYBE THOUSANDS, OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES.  IF IT SOUNDS A LITTLE "WHINEY" TO THE ENTITLEMENT MINDED, PERHAPS THEY NEED A DOSE OF ECONOMIC REALITY.  LET'S READ THE STORY AND THINK ABOUT IT!

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a Back Story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the BACK STORY:

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you never realize the Back Story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero.. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple.  I'll fire you.  I'll fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....

Signed,  THE BOSS

Posted 01/15/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

I got this email a while back. Funny story to that email, from what I understand "the boss" never actually wrote it, but an employee who was close to the boss. Don't know how true any of it is, but this still sends a nice message.

Posted 01/15/09 sunshine Washington, NH

This is very well said. I am a small business owner; the business is in its 3rd year. There is no Mercedes yet. So far we are teetering on the red/black line. I fear for the future and the tens of thousands of dollars we have invested in it. It doesn't really matter who wrote it. There are lots of people out there who could truthfully claim it as the story of their lives. The message is true. And what country will he move to?

Posted 01/15/09 Felegund Jonesville, KY

I can see my stepfather writing this. He runs a small shipping business that just hit the one-year mark. They employ two other people full-time, my mother does the taxes, and they've been rewarded with full repayment of the debt on all 5 of the house vehicles (two business vans, my car, my stepfather's truck, and my younger brother's truck). No flashy mercedes yet, but they are (or were) well on their way to it before the economy began tumbling. And Obama's new taxes (on anyone making over 250,000 per year)look like a good way to kill that dream once and for all.

Posted 01/15/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Felegund: What kind of stuff do they ship? Is it automotive related? Just curious, I'm a dispatcher for a trucking company myself.

Posted 01/15/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Hey wait, so am I. Don't be stealin' my business, Fu!

Posted 01/15/09 Sarabeth Rudd Johns Island, SC

I like this... especially the title, I taught my class about that motto, on the first coins in America :) They thought it was funny, like "mind your own business" so that started a giggle-fest :) It was quite hilarious :D

Posted 01/16/09 Tony DeMott Ypsilanti, MI

It makes a good point and if employees looked at that way we would be better off.

Posted 01/16/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Yes. Got guts? Start a business. Don't got the guts? Don't complain.

Posted by Nathan Mahan on 01/14/09
Last updated 01/15/09

It has occured to me recently that most people don't really understand the VOLUME of money which congress has allowed the treasury and Federal Reserve to print.  Now that "700 billion" is a word we throw around lightly, the way we used to say "thousands", it has almost lost its meaning.  We've ceased to really COMPREHEND how much money that really is.

With that in mind, I've made a small demonstration to remind us all of HOW MUCH MONEY that really is.  Enjoy! 

This is the largest Federal Reserve Note ever printed.  It was, at the time, a cashable "check" from this private bank which could be traded, or exchanged for gold.  100,000 dollars.  (Look closely - Gold Certificate!)

That is a LOT of money!

While Jackson County is a very cheap place to live, the above bill could easily buy you a house.  Although you would have to continue to pay the property taxes, for all intents and purposes, that piece of paper equals this:

Got it?  Pretty sweet house!  "Jackson - a great place to be from."

Moving on, let's pretend you shrunk that bill down to a very small size.  Let's pretend you shrunk it down so that a few of them could fit on a postage stamp.  Something like this:

Tiny house!

That's a pretty small house.  But it's still a house.  The bill is still legal tender, still exchangeable for that 2-story slice of suburban heaven.

Now imagine you could print them on your computer - any time you like.  You could put dozens on a single piece of computer paper!  As a matter of fact, on a single piece of standard computer paper, you could fit about 960!  Almost a thousand pieces of Jackson real estate, all on one page. 

Here's how that would look:

DANG I'M RICH!   A real estate tycoon!  With this piece of computer paper alone I am worth 96 million dollars! 

Maybe I'll finally be invited to a Clinton donor dinner...

Anyway, now that I can print money at will, here's some more pages.  Scroll down to see 13 more pages of Federal Reserve Notes, each of which would buy 960 houses in my neighborhood.  

(Blog entry continued below)

...still with me?  Good!  Fortune cookie says, "You are a patient person.  With too much time on your hands."

So what does this have to do with the Bailout?  How much is 700 billion dollars, anyway?  I mean, I thought America was a rich country!

To answer that, press these butttons on your keyboard:  CTRL+P.  Then press enter.   (On a Mac computer press command+P. Then enter.) 

Just do it!  It'll bring you good luck!

...as your computer prints out all 14 pages of 100,000 dollar bills, it will print the equivalent of 2.6 billion dollars. 

Press print again.  Another 2.6 billion. 

Tomorrow, get up in the morning, re-read this blog entry, and press print. 

Twice.

Come back and re-read this blog entry every day, and print it off, twice. Do it every day, including weekends. 

--------------------------------------------------

Somewhere around the anniversary of September 11th of this year, you will have printed around 7,539 pages.  The pile of paper in your office will look something like this:

THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS 700 BILLION DOLLARS.  A big pile of paper.  And just as worthless.

-Nathan

Posted 01/14/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Question two should read, is that two story beauty your crib, please remove the first your, it makes me look stupid! ha

Posted 01/14/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

I TRIED to delete your comment, Fu, but it won't let me! Let it be known, publicly, heretoforth, that I tried to make Fu Manchu look smart, but failed. I'll try again later. No, I just searched "suburban house" on google images.

Posted 01/14/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Oh, and that's some treasury secretary's picture on the bill. I'm not kidding, actually. Can you imagine Hank Paulson's bald-ass cranium on a dollar bill? Haha!

Posted 01/14/09 Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

There it goes! Deleted! You now look smart!

Posted 01/14/09 Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Thanks for trying to make me look smart, but NOBODY is that good, not even you Nate! Hey wait a sec... I think you were successful, it's gone!