Thursday, March 11, 2010

Independent Republican Thinkers

H.Con.Res. 248, a resolution that will require the House of Representatives to debate whether to continue the war in Afghanistan. So far there are 3 Republican co-sponsors: Ron Paul (R-TX); Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC); and Timothy Johnson (R-IL).

I guess there are independent Republican thinkers who understand that the United States does not have enough time or money to change everyone’s view on this planet that America is a great country of opportunity.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Sudden Acceleration

Complaints of sudden acceleration surfaced, in the public arena, around the early 1980's. At Purdue, in the 1970's, I studied the issue. All materials degrade over time, because of expansion and contraction, due to temperature changes, including computer silicon chips. Engineers design products based on warranty periods. I guess some people expect a product to last a million years.
In 2003, the largest known judgment on sudden acceleration was ordered against General Motors. An injured woman and her husband claimed sudden acceleration in their 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass resulted in a crash, and a Missouri jury agreed, awarding the woman and her husband $80 million.
Congress is currently having hearings about sudden acceleration. I guess a licensed engineer, who understands the complex issues before Congress, is not needed in Congress.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Thank you.

I would like to thank everyone for their vote on February 2, 2010.

There are many complex issues facing this country.

Many of the solutions have unintended consequences.

Market tops are created when everyone believes the direction is higher.

How do you convince people of the contrary ?

I believe that the people who voted for me understood my solutions.

No pain no gain. Everyone wanted an easy, "Happy Talk" solution.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Candidate Statement

The next United States Congressman from the 10th Congressional District should be an independent and thoughtful thinker, who understands the complex technical issues, and who can make the hard decisions, that will benefit the greater good, and not just help the special interest groups. We do not need someone who just rubber stamps the party positions. The person should understand the unintended consequences of their decisions. I am a life time resident of Lake Forest, and understand the issues of the North Shore. I am a consensus builder and I have found that empowered people make good decisions. I have my Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. I have 30 years of electrical engineering design experience, in the private sector, plus I have the experience of actively trading commodities and options for the past 30 years. I believe that you are either part of the solution or part of the problem and that I try to work on constructive ideas and not destructive ideas. I am a licensed electrical engineer in Illinois and Wisconsin. I would like to be the second licensed engineer in the United States Congress. One of the characteristics of an engineer is that they change one variable and look for a different outcome. The innovator and the politician have the same dilemma. The task is finding the equilibrium between costs and the requests, of the customers or the constituents. I believe that the principle of cost benefit analysis is an important factor, in legislative decisions, when there are limited resources. I believe that actions speak louder than words. People should lead by example. I am a registered energy professional in Chicago and will bring my environmental experiences with me to the United States Congress. Honesty is very important for me. I will always fight for honest data. I must have valid numbers and strong research. I hate soft numbers without back up data. I was the Energy Star Building Project Director, for a fortune 50 company, and watched people twist the technical data to justify many green projects. If I spend 20,000 dollars then I want to save 20,000 dollars.

One problem is that China is making decisions on fundamental science and not making investments that have questionable savings, so their costs, of doing business, are lower. Solar panels have been manufactured for the past 50 years. The advances in solar technology have been very slow.

My solution involves moving money allocated for environmental programs, to the budget of the National Science Foundation. Currently they are only funding 12 percent of the dollars requested, from engineering professors, at leading United States universities. I believe that research spending is an important part of our future, for long term growth, and prosperity. I am a problem solver dedicated to helping the people of the 10th Congressional District.

Monday, January 11, 2010

I am for TERM LIMITS in CONGRESS.

2 TERMS for SENATE. (12 Years)

6 TERMS for HOUSE. (12 Years)

I believe the legislation could be passed by allowing the current members to be grandfathered and not subjected to the limit.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Pioneer Local Press Article About Campaign

ENERGY STAR Buildings Project Director



http://www.pioneerlocal.com/pioneerpress/1922235,glenview-hamann-121009-s1.article

Engineer seeks role for his profession in Congress
Comments

December 10, 2009

By LYNNE STIEFEL lstiefel@pioneerlocal.com

Paul Hamann is surely the only candidate to boast he's read the National Electrical Code, the nearly 1,000-page manual that sets the U. S. standard for safely installing electrical wiring and equipment.

"It basically took me about an hour a page because I meticulously went through and underlined and highlighted the important things," he said. "To me, the code is very similar to legislation. The code is written in a very general format. You basically write legislation that is in the format of generalizations."

Paul Hamann is one of six candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the 10th Congressional District Feb. 2.
Comparing the code to legislation is a logical correlation for Hamann, a licensed electrical engineer. He's one of six candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the 10th Congressional District Feb. 2.

To Hamann, Congress has too many lawyers and not enough problem solvers.

"The engineer basically looks at the limited resources that they have and comes up with the options," he said. "There is only one licensed engineer in Congress: Joe Barton of Texas, a Republican. I want to be the second one."

Hamann acknowledges it will be an uphill climb. He plans to tap his own fortune for funding up to the $350,000 federal self-financing limit, but intends to do no advertising or campaigning other than forum appearances and door-to-door campaigning.

"It's all about message," he said. "If a person doesn't have a message, they've got to spend the money.

"To me, it's either you want my message or you don't. It's not going to be because I'm going to send you 10 pieces of literature in the last week and you go, 'OK, I remember that name.'"

Hamann's ideas, admittedly not mainstream, are drawn from a 30-year career as an electrical engineering designer.

He retired in February after 17 years as Walgreens' energy efficiency director involved in drug store construction. But it was not always a pleasant experience.

"I saw where a lot of people twisted the numbers to make it so that we would do the project. I basically got fed up with it," he said. "I believe the honesty of the data is important. I fought for 17 years for honest data and I'll fight for the honest data in Washington."

He started trading commodities as a day trader in 1980, specializing in the metal markets.

"That differentiates me from a normal business owner," he said. "You have to look at worldwide forces."

Hamann believes he'll get votes from "people who want somebody to be a serious thinker, to analyze the issues."

Saturday, December 5, 2009

47 % of households pay no Federal Taxes

In 2009, roughly 47 percent of the households, or 71,000,000 households will not owe any federal income tax, according to the Tax Policy Center.

If your not paying any Federal taxes then I can see why so many people want free health care.