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TERRY’S TIDBITS by Terry Gray

December 13, 2004

"Facts are the enemy of truth."

- Don Quixote - "Man of La Mancha"

BUYER BEWARE

          Caveat Emptor is an axiom or principle in commerce that says, “…the buyer alone is responsible for assessing the quality of a purchase before buying.”  Getting ripped off is the buyer’s problem, and it happens all the time - - not just in Louisville Kentucky, as our media would have us believe, but all over the world.

          The media recently seem to be concentrating on the trades – plumbers, electricians, roofers…and I can only imagine their motivation for this.  I know that Charla Young needs a job but…

          These folks that have more money than sense need to slow down and take a good look at what they are doing.  Trust is a great thing, but blind trust leads to rip-offs.

          A few years ago, I needed some work done and was too busy to do it myself.  Besides, it was on a roof, and I don’t do roofs.  Being high in that regard isn’t to my liking.  So I contacted a couple of companies.  Then I interviewed extensively.  But even then I wasn’t going to part with my money quite so fast.  The job was $2500, and the contractor wanted half up front for material.  Not this kid.

          I told the guy to make a list of what he needed and come back the next day.  When he brought the list, he and I went to the supply house, and I paid for the materials.  It only came to $895, but that’s okay because I figured the contractor would mark up the materials; that’s just good business.  After we took the materials to my house and unloaded them, I asked when he could start.  He committed to the next day, so I told him that I’d have a check for the difference between $1250 and $895 when he came to work.  This is called a draw.  He was there the next morning.

          The job was supposed to take 4 days.  On the morning of the 3^rd day, the contractor asked for more money.  I gave him another $400.  He was on schedule and doing good work, from what I could see from the ground.

          The day he finished, I paid him in full.  The job was well done and all parties were pleased.

          It isn’t that hard to protect yourself.  It just takes common sense and a little healthy distrust.

“A doorway sets the occasion to enter but it does not absolutely demand an entrance.”

B.F. Skinner

GOOD SENSE IN THE SMOKE WAR

          Franklin County Wisconsin rejected a smoking ban this week – and they did it with good common sense.

          “The right to breathe clean air ends when you enter another’s private property,” Alderman Steve Olson told the standing-room-only crowd before moving to reject the ban.  Unbelievable!  Can we clone this guy?  Everyone actively opposing smoking bans has made this statement in one fashion or another but this guy gets to the heart of it.  I want to bring him home with me.  I bet he ain’t a Liberal.

          Opening a business does not demand a response from potential patrons.  As B.F. Skinner would say, it sets an occasion for a response to enter.  You may stick your nose in a place and find that you don’t like it.   As a result, you don’t go back.  Today’s nannies stick their noses in, don’t like what they find and want to change it.  It isn’t yours to change!

          Last week I told you about the Beaumont Bar and Grill in Lexington and their thrilling victory in court.  (Lexington Bar Wins Freedom).  The owner, Monte McQuinn, made a simple statement similar to Alderman Olson’s, “They can’t come in here and tell me it’s illegal to something that it’s legal to do.”   Three cheers to both of you guys for standing up and taking notice of what is wrong with the overall picture.

          The nannies in Franklin County, Wisconsin are buzzing around like bees with no hive.  “What to do, what to do?” 

          Members of the group Fresh Air for Franklin said they would “re-group and may consider legislation to override the council’s decision.”  This amazes me.  Mike Kuntz with Smoke Free Louisville, as well as most other nanny groups, believe that City Councils should have the final say in smoking bans.  He thinks referendums hurt the democratic process by usurping the power of our elected officials.  Fresh Air for Franklin hasn’t even mentioned a referendum.  They want to skate around the council altogether.    

          This is very typical of the Nanny World.  They want fair play and level playing fields when they work to their advantage.  They don’t like fair play when it is truly fair.  Mike Kuntz would welcome a referendum if all other efforts at oppression fail.  But who really knows what these people are thinking?  They don’t know themselves.

REMEMBERING BROWN AND WILLIAMSON

          Remember last year and the years before that when we had a corporation here in Louisville that took civic responsibility to new heights?  Remember all the millions that were poured into our economy by that company?  Remember all the charities that were helped?  I don’t want you to forget.  Jerry Abramson and Smoke Free Louisville were partially responsible for all of this money and good neighbor assistance leaving town.  How many former Brown and Williamson employees won’t be having such a good Christmas this year?

          Here is a partial list of charities and civic organizations that Brown and Williamson contributed to and/or helped during their stay in Louisville.  Thank the nannies for B&W’s exit.

American Civil Liberties Union, Animal Care Society, Association of Community Ministries, Audio Studio for Reading Impaired, Bellarmine University, Boy Scouts/Old Kentucky Home Council, Boys Haven, Bridgehaven, CASA – Court Appointed Special Advocates, Cathedral Heritage Foundation, Cedar Lake Lodge, Center for Women and Families, Clothe-A-Child, CLOUT, Community Action Agency, Crane House, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Crossover Mission Services, Cystic Fibrosis, Dare To Care, Day Spring, Downtown Development Corporation, Exploited Children’s Help Organization, Family and Children’s Agency, Franciscan Shelter, Fund for the Arts, Highlands Community Ministries, Inc., Home of the Innocents, Hospice of Louisville, Junior Achievement Kentucky, Kentucky Arthritis Foundation, Kentucky State University, KET/GED, KMSDC, Kentucky Center for Assault Prevention, Kentucky Independent College Foundation Library 2000, Louisville Ballet, Louisville Central Community Centers, Louisville Community Development Bank, Louisville Deaf Oral School, Louisville Science Center, Louisville Urban League, Louisville Zoo, LULAC Scholarship Fund, Metro United Way of Louisville, National Hispanic Scholarship Fund, National Kidney Foundation of Kentucky, National Merit Scholarship Fund, National Urban League, OIC/A, Old Walnut Street Capital Campaign, Park DuValle Meals on Wheels Program, Pitt Academy, Prodigal Ministries, Project One, Quest Farm, Recording for the Blind, Salvation Army Angel Tree, Schuhmann Social Services Center, Senior Citizens East, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Sister Visitor Program, Society of St. Vincent DePaul, Spalding University, St. John Center, St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged of Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Stephen Family Life Center, St. William Neighborhood Center, The de Paul School, United Negro College Fund, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Volunteers of America, Wayside Christian Mission, to name a few. 

64 AND COUNTING  

          Isn’t it about time that Police Chief White left town?  He has little support from Louisville cops, and we just had our 64^th murder of the year under his command, not to mention the incidences of cops shooting citizens and cops being crooks.  What’s the deal?  Chief White, when you leave will you take your pal Jerry Abramson with you please?  Thanks.

          Update.  I began this piece on Thursday afternoon, and 2 hours later the toll went up to 65.  My headline stays as an example of how quickly folks are dying around here.

A spokesman for the police said that about 50% of the murders were attributable to drugs.  There is a danger in saying things like that just as there is a danger in saying that second hand smoke causes so many deaths a year.  Both statements lead the public astray.  In the case of second hand smoke, when the fine print is read, the statement would more truthfully read that second hand smoke has been associated with so many deaths a year.  In the case of drugs, the problem is not that people are getting high and killing each other; it is that they can’t get drugs to sustain their high.  It isn’t drugs that are killing people; it is the war on drugs that is killing people.

FAIRNESS ORDINANCE

          It passed - big deal.  It is a token gesture and not one to promote much of anything except frivolous lawsuits.  Let’s take a look at really being fair.

          Should old folks be forced to pay school tax?  Shouldn’t politicians and the wealthy pay social security taxes?   Should our government extend the enlistment of soldiers in our “all volunteer army”?  Should honey bees sting?  Should some businesses thrive while others go out of business?  Should Hillary Clinton be allowed to speak?  Why are hamburgers bigger at some places than at others?  Should nose-pickers be allowed to work in public?  Why can’t tobacco companies advertise?  Why can liquor companies advertise?  Why can’t terminally ill patients do what they want to themselves?  Why can’t we own fully automatic weapons?  Why are drywall compound buckets round when all drywall tools are square?  Why do we pay more for removing used water from our properties than we pay for bringing clean water to our properties?  Why do we need permits to build barns on our properties?  Why do dogs get to have sex in the streets?

          Haunting questions for a confused time.    

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