I'm Back - Sort Of...

Man, do I miss converting the contents of my overactive grey matter into digital form. Two and a half months ago I said that I was almost finished working on the new store that I'm opening and I would be back soon. Well, here we are in a new decade and I'm still not finished...My progress has been impeded by multiple factors. The first and foremost is the old rule of thumb when starting a new business: It's gonna cost twice as much and take three times as long as one expects. The next stumbling block is life in general - Shit Happens (another wise old adage). The third is probably the reason I'm writing this post today - petty tyrants. The non-elected bureaucrats that can hold such an impossible sway over one's fate. I don't wanna get into details unless they piss me off too much - then I'll name names & everything - but suffice it to say that between the local and state officials, the insurance and banking stuffed shirts and the buffoons on the federal level, several days after my 51st birthday, I'm still in a "defy-authority" mode. Ya'd think I would have grown out of it by now. But the bastards keep grinding at me.

So I guess that I would have to say that I have learned some things throughout this process. The main addition to my cerebral stockpile would be that: government needs to be changed starting at the LOCAL level. I had always been of the opinion that we needed to start from the top and work our way down, but my recent experiences have shown me that the biggest impediments to small businesses and economic prosperity are far greater at the city & state levels. Our cities cry for businesses to re-locate there and then wallop the prospective entrepreneur with fees & licensing requirements and regulations & restrictions that boggle the mind. Sometimes I think they're just paying us small business people lip-service in order to be able to suckle from the federal teat. I have been self-employed my entire working life and every time I've ever sought assistance from one of the so-called administrations that aid small businesses, they've boggled me down with paperwork and run-arounds. Always and without fail, I've ended up becoming disenchanted with them and had to find a work-around. Usually us employers are left out swinging in the breeze, but when it's time for the powers that be to collect - watch out!!! They all of a sudden remember your name...

More importantly, for once in my voting life, my vote in Massachusetts finally counts. It's not foregone that the vote will go to the democrat candidate. A vote on January 19th for Scott Brown is truly a vote for change. In addition a vote for Brown is a vote to end the one-party rule in the Senate. We can actually make a difference on a national stage. My viewpoints are summed up perfectly in my 01/17/10 Facebook post:

In 1775 the citizens of MA stood up against tyranny & forced rule. On Jan. 19th, we are again presented with that opportunity. If you think DC is headed in the right direction, vote Coakley. If 1-party rule isn't your idea of democracy, Scott Brown should be your choice. Vote with your conscience!!!

Enuff...