Portland.CityJournal.us

Tonight the Pro 300 Lanes bowling alley on SE Powell Blvd. was packed. It's July the 3rd and hot outside but inside General Manager Donna Stewart had everyone of her employees on hand to serve up $2 hotdogs, pizza and drinks to a full house of happy bowlers. Stewart was throwing a July 4th party and used Craigslist to invite Portland families to come and bowl for free.

"Last year on the 3rd, we were empty. We had to do something" Steward explained. Her idea was a hit. Guests had to reserve via email. Those that came spent money on drinks and food and got to bowl free for three hours. Stewart's crew of waiters were busy all night. Bowlers also learned about free summer bowling for kids and summer leagues. One lucky bowler won an Obama/King bowling ball.

I think there's a lesson to be learned here. Stewart could have written off a July 4th. weekend night as just another slow night and sent her staff home early. Instead she took advantage of free advertising on Craigslist and brought in a couple of hundred new customers and kept all of her employees working. Her take on the drinks and food made this an above average night for the lanes instead of a write off. She figured out a way to increase business during hard times and it worked.

When money is tight and people are being conservative about how they spend it, businesses need to exude high value. It's no wonder why Walmart is doing well right now. Pro 300 Lanes showed good business savvy by opening their doors and showing folks how much fun they can have. They also made money and kept their staff working. Earning market share by working hard in slow times is smart. My prediction is good times ahead for Stewart and AMF bowling.

"My personal view is that there is not currently any reason to regulate (carbon dioxide)," he said. "There may be in the future. But global temperatures are roughly where they were in the mid-20th century. They're not going up, and if anything they're going down."

E-mails indicate EPA suppressed report skeptical of global warming... -- CNET.com

So Letterman says, “These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl."

So if the girl is 18, then it's OK to make jokes about her being raped? This just shines a light on how mean and morally empty liberals are. I don't think the average person out there who votes for Democrats is mean. The liberal power elite are mean though. It's time for the average Democrat to take a hard look at the elite who represent them. Is this what you really want our country to be like?

For me, I'll be boycotting any company that advertises on the Letterman show. For now that's the M&M Mars, Best Western, and Embassy Suites. I used to be a customer of all three, no more.

Make your voice heard now and again in 2010.

The answer is 36,000. So the next question is, why is the swine flu news such a big deal if on average almost 100 people a day die from the flu already?

You should see this...

We Won!
We're starting to hear, "But we won!" This means don't tell us we can't get our way. You lost, we won so we get to do what we want. You know the media is dead when this has now been around for a week or so and it's still being repeated. Let's just get the facts straight. You did not win all the seats in the Congress or Senate. And, just if you've forgotten, winning as president does not mean you can ignore the rest of the duly elected Republicans. Winning means that you must serve all of the country, even the 45% that voted for the other guy. Are we back in kindergarten or what? No, you have to play fair and follow the rules.

What is so sad is that all the Democrats seem to think about after gaining the power they were so desperate to get, is funding their pet projects and taking care of their friends with billions of our tax dollars. Their greedy, power crazed, spending hearts see this crisis as an opportunity to spend more than they ever thought they could hope to. That's why they are all in a rush. They know that as more light is shed on this spending bill, the American people will see it for what it is and them for who they are.

Read as much as you can stomach on the stimulus/spending plan. Stimulus News Feeds

Ten simple ways to stimulate the economy that will help everyone:

1. Have your car detailed. $100
   Your car needs it and 100% of the money goes to pay for the salary of a person who needs the money. Do us a favor though, at least make sure the detailer is working here in the US legally.
2. Go out to dinner at a local restaurant. $40
   Most of your money goes for labor and some may even help out a local farmer. You're going to eat food anyway so take your significant other with you and do something that will help everyone.
3. Have something in your house fixed. $100
   For about $25-$50 an hour, you can pay someone to fix some of the things on your list of things to fix. For just $100 you get a shorter list and everyone's a winner as most of the money here goes for labor and to a sector where employment is now hard to find. You might even get a great deal.
4. Buy a pair of Danner boots. $120
   

Today President elect Obama got the other half of the $700 billion. I guess the first half went poof pretty fast. One thing about how this money may be spent is that at least we might see some of it. I've been hearing about a long list of bailout ideas and it seems like everyone has their hands out. Funny that when I look at who's going to get the money, the list looks like a lot of Obama's biggest supporters. Yup, you guessed it right. Obama is about to go from being a top porker in the Senate to doling it out from the Oval Office.

I'm not the only one noticing this. The question is who will stand up and say something?

I'm at an age where I'm trying to plan for grandchildren and would like to make investments on their behalf that they can enjoy later. Looking down the road and making responsible choices today is a good thing. I'm of a double mind about this though. Some investments will pay off for future generations. Some will leave only the burden of repayment as a legacy. How to discriminate between the two will be key.