Next Year is Next Week

2008. It's almost here.

Another presidential election season, one of the most uncertain in years, is upon us. Frankly we have no idea who from either party will be nominated, much less elected. Rudolph Giuliani and Hillary Clinton have campaigned for this year since seemingly the 1990s but struggle to build support within their own parties. Giuliani looks too liberal for many Republicans and Clinton has become anathema to the Communist kookies. Once again the Republican party offers a variety of strong and moderate candidates while the opposing side offers a lineup of aspiring George McGoverns.

With the public and even the media, everyone but the Democrats, recognizing success in Iraq the issue focus will shift to the economy. Apparently seven years of prosperity do not earn Republicans high marks. The housing market collapse and high energy prices will likely replace Iraq as the main issue for the Democrats. Neither of these issues falls very close to the purview of a US President. Since the Democrats control Congress, too much harping on these issues could boomerang on them.

Within West Virginia, this looks like a year that Republicans could make gains. The venerable Jon Blair Hunter's seat is open and Gary Howell will make a strong run for the seat. The 14th Senatorial district is one of the most difficult in the state in terms of how the geography separates the various regions. However Dave Sypolt's resounding victory in 2006 indicates that the district preferred a candidate committed to developing business while protecting property and personal rights. If Manchin picks 2008 to launch an assault on old time liberal Democrats in West Virginia, a united GOP would benefit from the fallout.

Unfortunately no major candidates have stepped forward to run for governor or to challenge Alan Mollohan in the First Congressional District. Both incumbents in these races appear very entrenched. Few people want to devote the time to run a real campaign and likely even fewer want to invest a lot of money.

One of the big problems facing those running for office is that fatigue has already set in. Presidential campaigns started way too early in this cycle and many are already fed up with mailings, news coverage, and other aspects of the political season. Politics has a time and place in the American calendar. It no more seems natural to see debates on who will be the next president a year and a half before the election than it does to watch college football on Wednesday night.

In any event, for those still interested, it promises to be an exciting season.

Ghosts of Christmases Past

I have found that the Christmases that don't look like Norman Rockwell's usually prove to be just as memorable as any others. Christmas 1967, which I spent near the DMZ in Vietnam, is one I remember vividly and fondly even after forty years.

We were awash in greeting cards, home-made cookies and candy, and little gifts which were sent to "a Marine in Vietnam" by total strangers. We had posters signed by school children all around the mess hall. The press would present those times as cruel ones for soldiers and Marines shunned and reviled by society, but we were actually very well-remembered, and not just by our own friends and families.

Christmas Eve we went to Midnight Mass in a large and lovely church in the countryside near Quang Tri, the roof of which was mostly missing. A Vietnamese priest, a French priest and a Lutheran chaplain concelebrated the Mass. Probably not even Pope John XXIII could have approved of that arrangement, but fortunately all concerned thought it better not to ask. We sang verses of "Silent Night" alternately in French, Vietnamese and English. We all sang "Adeste Fideles" in Latin, and each nationality sang one favorite Christmas carol in its own language during communion . The Marines sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and, my, did it sound amazing sung softly and a capella by three or four hundred men.

That Christmas there was a 48 hour truce, so we were given two beers each. (The Marines did not allow alcohol in the combat zones, so this was quite an unusual treat). On Christmas Day we (the regimental command group) loaded into a couple of Amtracs and went all over northern Quang Tri Province visiting the Marines at each location, and on Christmas night, instead of the usual command post operations, we played cards and board games. I only played bridge twice in Vietnam, and that was one of the times.

Introduction to Internet Retailing to be taught at PSC

Introduction to Internet Retailing

Course Covers

· Online Sales including Ebay

· Writing Item Descriptions and Keywords

· Accepting Payments including Paypal, Credit Cards

· Shipping using USPS, UPS, FedEx and Freight

· Fraud Protection

· Profitability

· And Much More

Thursday Nights

Class 6:00 pm - 8:45 pm

Academy Hall Room 119

Jan. 31, 2008 – Feb. 28, 2008

Course Number:

SPTP:Intro-Internet Retailing - 17070 - CIS 293B - P01

Enroll by contacting Potomac State College
1 Grand Central Park, Suite 2090
Keyser, WV, 26726
1-800-262-7332 or (304) 788-6820
Fax: 304-788-6939

A 21st Century Christmas

I was thinking to myself, I'm having a traditional Christmas with my family and friends, but then it dawned on my that I wasn't. In fact does a traditional Christmas exist or does it change with time?

I did send out my Christmas cards, I put up my tree, my lights, wrapped presents, etc, but there was a 21st Century element to my Christmas. I hadn't really thought about, I just did 21st Century Christmas things as well. It just seemed natural.

Probably the first is receiving and sending Christmas e@mails. Some were from my online friends, some were friends I see on a regular basis. Then I began receiving Christmas wishes on Myspace, and felt the need to respond in kind. When I got up Christmas morning I sent a text message to everybody in my cell phone wishing them a Merry Christmas.

I never really thought about these things being new, but they are. While some may have started at the end of the 20th Century, they truly are a part of the 21st. Scrooge would now run a cell phone store, the Red Rider Bebe Gun has given way to Call to Duty 4, & the catalyst in A Wonderful Life would not be about a loan scandal..... OK somethings never change, but it is clear to see the traditions of a traditional Christmas will change with the time and technology.

However there is one thing we should never change in a traditional Christmas; the reason for the season. The celebration if for the birth of Christ, and we should always remember that tradition. I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and have a great New Year.

I can't be the Grinch

I hadn't realized this would be the case when I took on this crazy business, but for the first time in my life I have been accused of ruining several people's Christmas dreams this year. Of course, I didn't ruin Christmas fun or family time, didn't overcook a meal, nor did I force my staff to work overtime during this season, but my company does still send bills in December, and some are even due on Christmas Day. That cuts into the gift budget and I have officially ruined Christmas for several people. In the past, my wife was a loan originator and she too ruined Christmas for many a child when her underwriters denied loans to customers. And, even if I didn't ruin Christmas, I have had my head torn off by several people who are really stressed this time of year.

It seems that money, or the lack thereof, is the number one concern of many people during a time of year that might be better spent if we took more time off of work, spent more time with family reflecting on the year that passed and planning for the next year. Of course we couldn't outspend our income by 2.2% each year if we did that. Plus, the economy would surely crash due to low sales at major retailers and life might cease to exist if we didn't over do it this year. All of a sudden we are obligated to overspend during the Holidays just to keep this country on track. I hope you and I didn't drop the ball this year.

Of course, I love gift giving (I am a little more partial to gift receiving), but I don't view the dollar value of the gift as a measurement of the strength of my relationship or feelings for the other person. I was raised to believe that my parents gave the best Christmas they could out of love and not obligation. It was a time to make sure I understood why they worked so hard during the other 364 days...to help my siblings and me build a better life than they had. Christmas morning was a slow, family focused, and ultimately fun event. Probably the longest my siblings and I sat in the same room all year long. I remember few gifts that I received, but I do remember that my older sister never ripped wrapping paper, my little sister counted her gifts vs everyone else's, I sat in a specific chair every year, my brother and I got a lot of the same clothes in different colors, mom insisted that we enter the living room at the same time to see what Santa brought, and dad gave several speeches about why we did all of these things in such a drawn out manner and how much we meant to my mom and him.

As most first time parents, my wife and I were really excited to do our first family Christmas shopping trip. Of course, the stores were not flowing with Christmas cheer nor decorations for that matter. It was not magical, but rather it was a little like walking through a warehouse in many cases. I was hoping for a trip like the one on "A Christmas Story" ending with a visit to Santa, maybe a ride down an over sized slide, but it was a little different. In the end, my wife and I had fun together and made it a wonderful date, but we were constantly surrounded by fighting, arguments about over spending, and even profanity at The Children's Place. We all have the desire to give the best gifts to our children, believe it or not, it is hard-wired into our DNA. That desire to shower our children with the best gifts in the world is seen in the reason that we celebrate this Season...God's giving His son for the salvation of mankind. But God didn't give us expensive toys, or the latest fashionable article of clothing, He gave us the best gift He could to improve our lives. I understand that lesson more now than ever before.

My daughter is getting some great gifts this year, but I am hoping that the message of why her mother and I want to shower her with the best of everything we have to offer is what stays with her, not the memory of a toy that we pulled off the shelf of a fairly dirty toy store. We have dedicated ourselves to providing a great life to our kids, we strive 365 days a year to show that as do most parents, and it is my hope that my children will never confuse how much I love them with how many gifts I am able or willing to give during Christmas. By letting that be the focus of my trip and not focusing on which item would best indicate to a toddler that I love her, I was able to simply enjoy the experience (despite the grumpy people around me).

I wish all of you the Merriest Christmas and best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year.