That looks so strange - 2010 - I feel like I'm trapped in a badly written science fiction movie.

Well, first of all, Happy New Year to all of you out there. Although there doesn't seem to be a lot of reasons to be happy. The middle class has all but disappeared. We can't get a straight answer from our elected officials and we sit idly by and watch as they vote for more money and job security for themselves. We have reached a point of no return concerning just how far we can take political correctness. We "must be fair" to all new citizens and cater to their needs. But WHY? Since this country was founded English has been the national (dare I say international) language, and yet today we must learn to be bilingual because no one bothers to learn how to speak (or WRITE for that matter) English in their "new homeland". I don't think I have spoken or understood clearly the instructions given to me over the phone about my Internet connection ,computer, or telephone service for the past two years. Our technical service calls are routed to some non-descript building on foreign soil on the other side of the world. Our own kids these days don't seem to care if they can spel gud and the short abbreviated language of Twitter has spilled over into everyday communication. If the cashier at McDonalds - heaven forbid - should encounter computer register problems and they have to actually count change from a ten dollar bill they get so frustrated that they run off to seek the sage advice of the manager. Gas prices are still up there and not likely to EVER come down (better hurry and sell off that Hummer!) and we are held hostage at the gas pump. We continue our sacred quest to be the law keepers of the world and send our young men off to one war or another because we "have to defeat terrorism" all by ourselves, and yet we cannot keep aliens (not the space kind) from walking into our country and demanding that they receive social security even though they are not even registered voters. Our freedoms are slowly and methodically being chipped away from all sorts of directions while our legal arguments get lost in the shuffle of a severely swamped court system. Private contractors are making fortunes building expensive and lavish jails to hold all these criminals being run through the courts like a bad case of the green apple quick steps. We have a president that doesn't even know which hand to put over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance for God's sake! Today's youth EXPECTS their music to be given to them for free, which is resulting in the slow and torturous death of the most sacred form of communication we have had since the dawn of man.... Music is dying and we don't even realize it. If you don't believe me then listen to the radio these days. The gun control fanatics still believe it's the guns fault so they continue to work on gun legislation designed to eventually remove all guns from their owners. They got away with it in Australia and now that country is seeing a drastic increase in violent crimes because the only people with guns are the criminals. They are attempting to repeat this tragedy in Canada right now. How much closer to our borders can it get? The "spin" has proved so successful in politics that everyone does it and so we don't know who to trust anymore. We get totally different views of our newscasts, depending on which network we watch. How can that be possible? I thought the news was "the news", and yet CNN and Fox tell it completely different. We still haven't cured cancer and although cigarettes are selling for around a hundred dollars a pack these days we continue to watch as the tobacco companies attempt to claim yet another generation. BILLIONS of dollars are spent each year to eradicate marijuana although no violent crimes have ever occurred as a result of some stoner. However, alcohol is legal and still claims so many more people through alcoholism and violent crimes committed by drunks. If we took all the money we spend on trying to eradicate pot (which ain't gonna' happen) and spent it on more useful things there's no telling what we could accomplish. Furthermore, if we legalize and regulate the herb we could rake in additional tax money and put the black market completely out of business. I submit that the people crying foul over this idea (Government regulation) are probably card carrying members of the dope growers association. Hell, our parent's generation got fed up with prohibition so they repealed it! Why can't we do the same thing with the current marijuana situation? China owns the majority of America's debt and I'm worried they may try to collect soon. They could do it too, by the sheer weight of numbers. Energy costs are rising, the weather is spastic, and no one seems to care enough to stand up and say "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna' take it anymore!" Have we lost our backbone? Are we SO afraid of being politically incorrect that we cower down whenever evil or injustice raises it's ugly head? Do we not feel ANYTHING any more? As much as I enjoy watching a good football game on my HiDef 51" Sony, I cannot shake the feeling that this is so reminiscent of the Roman Games of the Coliseum. I do not want to see America become an Obamanation while our leader(s) sit by and tune up their fiddles. My greatest hope is that we wake up and take back our country and live by the values and laws set forth by the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.

'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.
We're 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. 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 debt, 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 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. 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.'

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