...exactly what is switchgrass?

In no particular order:

The President said he would be less partisan, but his speech didn't seem to reflect that.

It was still a great speech. So much better than his stump speeches where he does that ET-like hunch and silly smirk.

When the Democrats gave a mocking ovation to the Presidents point that they didn't act on his plan to save Social Security last year, I realized that they really don't know why Americans have not given them the keys to the new car.

Hillary's scripted, televised moment of her 'shaking her head' as if at a naughty little boy who just won't learn his lessons, showed me again (just like the MLK day speech) that she hasn't mastered subtle. And will never be President.

At the risk of being rude, the response by Tim Kaine (Governor of Virginia) might have been more effective if someone had taken a staple-gun to his left eyebrow. I thought that thing was gonna jump off his head and attack me.

Democrats who say this President is too partisan might take a moment to look at their efforts to filibuster an imminently qualified SCOTUS justice. Nominated by an elected President. Purely on partisan grounds.

Altogether, a bad speech for those who enjoy terrorism, high taxes and abortion.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

sharptalk

It's Monday, which, of course, is not always a good thing. But think of it this way:

This is an opportunity to make this week unlike any other week has ever been. A chance to avoid the usual mistakes and a chance to improve on something...anything.

I remember a woman who had recovered from a deep depression saying that she came out of it by making one improvement a day. One day it was cleaning out a closet. Another day it was rearranging files. But her point was that she was taking control and it felt good.

Our HR VP, who had worked as a counselor for some years once told me that as he worked with suicidal people, he discovered that the common thread was always a lack of control. Even in those whose moods made life almost intolerable at times, he was able to let them see how they could control it by understanding it and understanding the rhythms.

Now I'm not suggesting folks who stop by here are depressed. On the contrary I think it demonstrates great judgment and enormous wisdom to read this blog (over the top?). Seriously, though, I think those facts apply to all of us. It's all about a sense of control.

So, it's Monday. Take control. And have an awesome week.

sharptalk

...to an annual rate of 1.1%. I fully expect to see that number raised significantly when "all" of the data comes in. The preliminary data would have had one major piece of sales data missing.

Gift cards.

They aren't counted as sales until they are redeemed, or, I suppose expire.

With a surge in gift card sales, I imagine they'll find a pretty big bump in the Q4 growth numbers.

Boy, I hope so. There's a world of difference between 1% growth and the 4% growth we've been experiencing.

sharptalk

Sharon had a stroke and Hamas won the Palestinian election. The folks who know a lot more than me say that's a really, really bad thing.

But I can't help but think of the old saying, "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it".

From where I sit, Hamas has one very big problem. They have to govern. They have to manage services and create security and deal with foreign countries and all sorts of things like that. But their biggest problem is probably that $1 billion in aid goes to the Palestinians every year - and it comes mostly from Europe and the U.S. Without that money, they have no budget. And no budget means no way to pay for anything at all.

So they may become a lot more friendly to the U.S. and Europe. And they may decide that killing people is a big distraction from governing.

Or they may decide that governing is a big distraction from killing.

Who knows.
sharptalk