Here's a straight-ahead reality check..
Wonder why we haven't heard more from him lately? Guess I need to find his book
and read it since it sounds like it will be interesting.
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death
throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book,'Where Have All The Leaders
Gone?'.
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where
the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a
gang 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 after a
hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone
sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the 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 maybe I
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 in
handcuffs.. 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' instead of
asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents
and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
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! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the
first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy
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 for winning and no plan for
leaving.
Obama is running the biggest deficit in the history 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 due to poor leadership in school districts.
Our borders are like sieves..
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
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 us
take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions 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 out
what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore
our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies?
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 the
debit, 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 our
country 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 NBC news or CNN 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 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy
Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's 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 on
the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building
a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role
to play.
Only a few people in the US know you elected a illegal alien to be President!
A Muslim at that! And he jumped right in destroying theUS from the inside.
Osama bin Laden is smiling from ear to ear because he is winning the war on
terror and you helped by voting his man in as President!
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.'
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care
about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!
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"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to
take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic
purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and
sacrifice for that freedom." - John F. Kennedy
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations,
or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and
evidence." - John Adams
"Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of
justice is no virtue." - Barry Goldwater
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