The Smell of Integrity is About All That is Left in America

Remember the history books that told those wonderous tales of how hard our grandparents worked to build railroads, highways, dams, national parks, monuments, and all that cool stuff that's now beginning to crumble?  Yeah.  That was a generation that put the place they lived in above their own personal whiny-assed complaints.  Those days are just about dead and gone.

During a recent discussion, the same thing came up, which elicits the same response from me each time.  It's almost Pavlovian in how it runs the same course like tossing fries out your car window and watching the birds lose their minds attacking the scraps.

It goes something like this:

Person A says, "There's a drought in the West and flooding in the East!"

Me: "We could solve that."

Person A: "How?"

Me:  "The same way your great grandparents would have done:  build a pipeline, putting people to work, fueling the upstream industrial systems like manufacturing, engineering, logistics, banking, food, housing, you name it."

Person A: "That's impossible."

Me:  "If it was oil it would have been done already."

We will send battalions of young men and women into hot, dry shitholes, to spill blood for the sake of oil, yet we dare not consider spilling a drop of sweat to save our own land from drought, crop destruction, fires, flooding, and all that it cascades into beyond that.  Americans are too preoccupied with what the Kardashians are wearing or screwing, and what team traded what contract slave to another team, and what band is putting out a new recording.  And we wonder why people in poor, war-torn places don't like us very much.

Everything now is done for the good of the banks, the corporations, the shareholders.  Fuck the people.  They're disposable commodities that feed the machinery that keeps the cash flowing between places like China, India, Guatemala and the great vacuum bag of consumption called the US of A.

It's like this:  I always try to think of how I would stand in front of my grandfather and explain some issue I'm having a lot of stress over.  Things like petty office politics, irritating people in traffic, annoying TV shows and the latest social network craze.  He would look at like Samuel L. Jackson looked at Brad in Pulp Fiction.  Without saying a word, I'd know he would want to smack the living sissy-ass pettiness off my face.  (He never raised a hand at anyone as far as I know.  But he had a way of making you feel like you deserved to smack yourself for being stupid).

Even our knee-jerk behavior is becoming predictable.  When the ACRA bill was release, and the "news" pundits started their chainsaw jaw-jacking spewage of bullshit editorialized reviews, nobody, and I mean NOBODY, bothered to read the bill itself.  It was (and still is) posted online.  After a week or two of suffering through rednecks arguing with vegans about how it would fix or destroy the American economy, I decided to go download the PDF from the source, and READ IT.  Yes, actually READ IT.  O-M-F-G.  How shocking that someone would bother to read something anymore unless it blabbers on about vampires, zombies or some other stupid worn-out crap.

Someone moaned about that saying "but, it's like 1900 pages or something!"

If that was the latest installment of a Harry Potter or Hunger Games series, people would have snapped it up like raw turkeys at the Florida Alligator Farm (a pretty neat demonstration, by the way).

Instead, most (99.9999%) of "Merkans" tuned into their favorite spoon-feeding, bullshit-manufacturing TV, web or radio outlet to have the ugly details chewed and spit into their brains like momma birds feeding their young.  Never mind that momma removed 90% of the facts and twisted the rest to suit their sponsor's agenda.  They got a Cliff Notes version of it and ran like leaving a gas station without paying.  Turn the key, and start blabbering the same misinformed BS that they just had connected to their brains on the way to work.  RTFM is dead.

Sorry for the sideline diatribe.  Back to the roll-up-yer-sleeves-and-do-some-work-beyoches discussion...

We could be putting our efforts into building the next generation of cross-country (heck, cross-continent) transportation, energy generation, resource allocation management, high-speed Internet connectivity, bridge and tunnel repair/upgrades, and whatever.  You know: Like our ancestors did FOR US.  We could be doing for our kids.  Yet we spend all our time putting some sports team flag or sticker on our shitty trucks and SUV's which are made from 90% foreign parts and consume foreign-supplied oil products, on our way to WalMart and CostCo to buy foreign-made crap, and some fattening food to keep our guts ever-expanding like a Hardees commercial.  I know I sound like an old man (confession, I am), but it's true.  We're now the lazy shitheads our parents hoped we'd never become.

Now it looks like China and the rest of the emerging economic powers will gradually buy us out from under our own noses.  Farms first, then transportation, then shipping terminals, and then all of it.  Sold to the highest bidder, because the shareholders can live anywhere and don't care which team has which players because they can simply buy and trade them around from their yacht.  Meanwhile, nobody notices because we're busy teaching our kids to claim "We're Number One!!!" in between TV shows.

Good luck China!  I hope you get your money's worth out us.

Daily pessimism delivery completed.  Enjoy!

If I was a Billionaire...

I know this is going to sound a bit trite, maybe even glib, or just like outright bullshit, but whatever. One of my biggest dreams has always been to have the means by which to build things to make a better place to live for those around me. I'm talking about the kinds of things that require massive funding.

This isn't a new idea, obviously. Plenty of American philanthropists have done amazing things over the past four hundred plus years. To me, having cool toys would be nice, and I would definitely collect a few; but spending some of that money on making the area more fun and livable would make me feel more content and fulfilled. Just sayin.  The one big difference here is that I'm anything BUT a philanthropist.

Having more or less planted my roots in the area of southeast Virginia, I feel like I could target things more effectively here than elsewhere. I know the nay-sayers will argue that much of this is unattainable or impractical, but fuck them. I'm sick of hearing about what can't be done. Every big idea and big project in this country's history has had it's share of push-back. From national parks, to interstate highways, to the space program. Even Ben Franklin was laughed at when he suggested we implement public schools and libraries. Besides, my list isn't all that pie-in-the-sky really.

So here's my "top ten" list of things I would build or improve around here, if I had the means to do so:

1. Build/expand a unified light rail system throughout the seven cities. Connecting all military bases, shipyards, airports, schools, public venues, parks, oceanfront, and shopping centers. Find a way to make it cheap to use, maybe free, and yet self-sustaining.

2. Build or expand several large parks, so they would be capable of supporting mountain biking and hiking, with hills and interesting features.  Trucking in some dirt and big rocks could make a lot of places more interesting and fun to use.

3. Expand and build more biking/hiking trails that would make it possible to ride or hike between, and throughout, all of the local cities and to Richmond, and/or Raleigh.

4. Implement public broadband and WiFi. Gigabit to every neighborhood, library, school and so on.

5. Fund a program so every dog and cat can get spayed and neutered, and get their required shots for free.

6. Push hard (REAL hard) to end the ban on sliding down hills when it snows.  You can "swim at your own risk" but you can't slide at your own risk? It's completely retarded.

People having fun on snow - illegal in Virginia Beach

7. Build a high-speed rail line from here out to Richmond, Raleigh and connect up with Acela to form a line along the coast passing through here.

8. Expand local scholarship programs so local students who prove themselves by grades and financial need can attend local colleges and universities.

9. Fund programs to offer more incentives to military families to remain in the area after ending their service. Jobs, schooling, housing, tax breaks, whatever.

10. ?? (I'd leave this one open for future ideas)

Made in 'merica

I've lived in the South most of my life.  We can't pronounce shit correctly here.  In fact, we can't pronounce the word "shit" properly.  We say "sheeeit" and usually follow it up with something cerebral like "f-ing A" or "dang rat" (that's "dang right" with a special twang on it).

The news here, and probably in many localities (since they're owned by larger corporate interests, and often cross-load their content to save wasted effort and extra thinking), has been gradually ramping up a series of "news reports" on "Made in America".  The basic aim is to go into a typical house (or trailer, "if yuze from round heeah buoy!") and identify what items are made in America.  I love how the word "news" has become synonymous with running your mouth on TV while wearing a suit in front of a green screen.

This effort is both falsely constructed and stupid as shit in its aim.  Let me explain why.

First off, what is "made"?  Does that mean the rare Earth minerals, timber, gasses and fossil fuels are mined or extracted here?  In a bonafide "state" or a protectorate?  Or does it mean the raw materials are imported (most likely, since U.S. mining is in a state of near comatose stupor now) and are then processed into wholesale commodities for downstream manufacturing?  Or does it mean the wholesale materials are imported and the final products are assembled here?  Is it the diamond coat paint, or the pigment and vehicle in the can or the can itself?  Does that include the paper label?  What about the brushes, handles and fibers?  How about the air brush kit, the compressor, the electric motor, the conductors, brushes, bearings and windings?

Yes.  It's "D" or "All the above".

Retarded, I know.  But that's what they call "fine print" reading.  That covers the falsely constructed aspect I mentioned above.  If you do some research, you will find that the current state of raw mineral mining in the continental United States is dramatically lower than it was in the 1970's.  As of 2010 and into 2011, the vast majority of many raw materials like Copper, Iron, Zinc, Paladium, Tin and Nickel are imported from countries with abundant supplies and vastly cheaper labor.  When I say "vastly" I mean "VASTLY" cheaper. 

A representative from Rio Tinto, one of the largest, if not THE largest of, mining companies on Earth said recently that it would take the United States roughly five years to restore mining output to what it was in the 1970's and the net result would be materials that cost five or ten times as much as they do now.  Have you priced Copper lately?  Are you familiar with what a spool of 200 feet of Copper wire cost in 2000 and what it costs today?  Imagine that increasing again by 5x or 10x.  Not a very practical goal.  Sound familiar?  Ever heard oil company executives talk about domestic drilling costs? (no, I don't count politicians talking shit about it. I only count the official sources).

I haven't lost you yet, have I?  Good.  Stay with me…

So, this "Made in America" crap is dangerously misleading.  It's a twisted, fine-print riddled mess designed to spin up the emotions (and viewer ratings) of people who think NASCAR and competitive eating should be awarded Nobel prizes.  But that's not all.  Now on to the stupid as shit in its aim aspect…

If you can add numbers, just basic numbers, you should be able to pull up some official numbers from government and industry web sites and add them up and realize, eventually, that if we only bought domestically produced products, it would make things worse.  Why?  Because we, as Americans, cannot consume enough goods to keep all our current factories running.  We have to sell some of our goods to other customers: Translation = foreign consumers.  That's right: we do in fact, regardless of what you've been told, still export things for sale in other countries.  Amazing.  I know.

Without the ability to spread our sales across America, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East, a lot of our manufacturing would simply die out.  Any Economics 101 student knows this, but if you don't believe school is any good I suppose that's a meaningless claim.

The story from here on gets more and more complicated obviously.  In order to convince another country to sell your products, they also want an agreement that you sell theirs in your country.  Then it progresses from this to the trend of establishing manufacturing and distribution channels around the world to improve distribution and delivery to all customers, so you build factories and warehouses in other countries, and they build in yours.  That's why there are Toyota and Honda plants in America and we have Nike, Ford and GM plants in Germany and China.

So, when you decide to only buy American products, you may feel good.  But if everyone does that, sales of foreign goods drop in America and foreign trade partners cancel agreements and then American products don't sell outside of America.  Guess who bought most Harley-Davidson motorcycles last year?  Guess who buys most Levi denims and Apple iPad devices?  Here's a hint: "taint 'merica!"

Conclusion

Instead of buying something because it has a label, buy it because of its quality.  Buy the best made products and force the competition to step up.  Pandering to sub-standard shit only keeps them making, and you paying for, shit.  Don't reward shit.

My Interview with some Extreme Visionaries

This month I sit down with two diametrically opposed people to pick their minds, or what's left of them anyway. The two this time are "Bill" and "Bob".  Bill is a self-described Tea Party proponent.  Bob is a self-described liberal Democrat.  Sharp objects were hidden away and suitable protective staff members were present to suppress any potential emotional outbreaks.  Let's get started!

Dave: "Welcome.  Thank you both for taking the time to sit down and share your views and have a little discussion with me today."

Both: "Thank you!"

Dave: "To start with, I need to give a shout-out to our sponsor for this event: Peppy's brand Caffeinated Laxative pills.  When you need to go, and you need to go right now!  It's Peppy's or nothing."

Dave: "So Bill.  Let me start with you.  What do you see as your ideal government of the future?"

Bill: "As little as possible.  Maybe even none at all."

Dave: "None?"

Bill: "Yep.  Private business and constituents can do things just fine themselves.  It's all about self-empowerment and getting big government off our backs.  Let small business thrive and get families back to home-schooling and growing their own crops.  Fundamentals."

Dave: "What about essential services like FAA flight control, border control, Customs inspections, safety recalls, food and medical testing, and defense?"

Bill: "We don't see those as 'essential', Dave.  That's over-hyped. We should let the private sector handle those responsibilities. They know them better than government ever will."

Dave: "Home schooling?  For everyone?"

Bill: "Everyone.  Cut taxes and get kids back in their homes learning in their own family environment."

Dave: "Everyone?"

Bill: "Everyone."

Dave: "Single-parent families too?  Who will bring home the income?"

Bill: "Everyone.  We can work on single-parent families.  We need to provide additional tax breaks to heterosexual married couples to provide incentive to stay married."

Dave: "They'll stay married longer if they get a tax break?"

Bill: "Absolutely."

Dave: "Have you ever been to PeopleOfWalmart.com?"

Bill: "What are you trying to say?"

Dave: "Have you?"

Bill: "Yes.  Disgusting filth."

Dave: "You believe those same people are qualified to teach their own children to become productive citizens and compete in the global marketplace of the future?"

Bill: "Why not?"

Dave: (eyebrows raised, stunned)

Dave: "Do you live near a Sam's Club or Costco?"

Bill: "I sure do. Costco."

Dave: "Do you shop there often?"

Bill: "All the time. Either my wife or I shop there every week."

Dave: "Why don't you shop at locally-owned businesses instead?"

Bill: "Are you kidding?!  I save a ton at Costco, and they have a huge selection of things to choose from."

Dave: "And why is that?"

Bill: "They have lower prices."

Dave: "I mean, why do they have lower prices?"

Bill: "Because they buy in bulk."

Dave: "Over the course of a given month, would you say you spend more of your money at Costco than at small locally-owned businesses?"

Bill: "I wouldn't say that."

Dave: "Well, what would you say?"

Bill: "Ok, I probably spend half my money, maybe a little more, at Costco."

Dave: "So, by a 'voting with your dollars' perspective, you put as much support behind 'big business' (air quotes) as you do small business?"

Bill: (blank stare)

Dave: "You are aware that over ninety percent of the items sold at Costco are made overseas?"

Bill: "Says who?"

Dave: "Says their own inventory reports.  You can stroll down the aisles and verify this yourself."

Bill: "I have staff that takes care of that sort of thing for me."

Dave: "But I thought you were in favor of small government.  Why not do that yourself?"

Bill: "I don't think I like your tone."

Dave: "So, big or small business?"

Bill: "We need to protect small business while also protecting big business.  It's all about jobs and employment after all."

Dave: "So, when big business threatens to overtake small business, such as when a Sam's Club or Walmart moves into a rural area and the local businesses cannot compete, what then?  Who do you support?"

Bill: "We need to protect small business while also protecting big business.  It's all about jobs and employment after all."

Dave: "Didn't you just say that?"

Bill: "Pardon?"

Dave: "Are there any government services you see as being necessary? Any that you would keep?"

Bill: "Maybe the CDC.  Everything else would be eliminated or cut to less than half what they are now."

Dave: "How would you propose we provide support to our trading partners around the world?"

Bill: "We need to focus on America first.  The rest of the world will have to wait.  If that means we pull out our military forces from all foreign places, then so be it."

Dave: "Even if that results in layoffs and cutbacks at American factories due to reduced sales and shipments?"

Bill: "Yep. We must feel some pain to truly heal."

Dave: (shaking head with raised eyebrows)

Bill: "See, Dave, there's also no credible evidence to support that government has really improved safety or security over what private business could do.  Whether that's food safety, product safety, environment and ecology, research or military defense, it can all be outsourced to private businesses and done better."

Dave: "What small businesses can provide military security around the world?"

Bill: "We put it up for bid and allow the markets to compete.  We could have twenty or thirty thriving small businesses providing ground, sea and air defenses, and the taxpayer would win."

Dave: (blank stare)

Dave: "How would you fund the CDC without taxes?"

Bill: "They would be required to sell services or products to fund themselves."

Dave: (inhales deep, exhales slowly, while staring wide-eyed at the floor)

Dave: "Gay marriage?"

Bill: "Against it.  They should be jailed and rehabilitated for their illness."

Dave: "Gun control?"

Bill: "None.  Allow anyone to buy any gun they so choose."

Dave: "Safety inspections and recalls?"

Bill: "Let businesses take care of that themselves.  We trust them."

Dave: "Defense?"

Bill: "Pull our forces out and bring them home.  No need to stick our noses in other people's business."

Dave: "Oil?"

Bill: "Drill at home.  Stop buying from OPEC.  Even if it costs way more to drill and produce domestically, it's the right thing to do.  Drill off of every shore, in every National and State Park.  Everywhere.  Oil comes first."

Dave: "Alternative energy?"

Bill: "Solar and wind are bogus.  Nuclear is messy.  Oil is best."

Dave: "I'm going to list some agencies and ask you to respond with either 'keep' or 'eliminate'..."

Dave: "CIA and FBI"

Bill: "Eliminate"

Dave: "FDA"

Bill: "Eliminate!"

Dave: "FAA"

Bill: "Ditto!"

Dave: "DOJ"

Bill: "Like we need more lawyers?  Eliminate."

Dave: "DoD?"

Bill: "Cut waaaaaaaay back."

Dave: "NASA"

Bill: "Eliminate"

Dave: "HUD"

Bill: "Eliminate"

Dave: "How should we compete against China in the future, especially with respect to their signifcant ownership in U.S. T-bills and their tightly-integrated relationships with U.S.-based corporate operations?"

Bill: "Cut off trade with China immediately!"

Dave: "What if that causes U.S. businesses to fold and lay off workers?"

Bill: "It won't.  We have faith."

Dave: "How do you see the effectiveness of the recent Health Care Reform legislation?"

Bill: "It's totally unnecessary.  We don't need to fix anything.  It's working fine. Prescriptions are affordable.  Co-pays are affordable.  Services are the best in the world.  Paper forms have worked fine for decades. There's nothing whatsoever wrong with our current health care system.  Leave it alone.  Let the market determine what needs to be done."

Dave: "Finally, what do you believe the responsibility of the GOP or Tea Party movement is now?"

Bill: "To remind Americans that we are right and they (points to Bob) are wrong!  They are destroying our country while we are doing our best to save it."

---

Dave: "Ok then.  On to you, Bob.  How would you propose we shape the government of the future?"

Bob: "Government should be the ultimate service provider.  It should provide all that we need or want.  Private business can still thrive in a supporting role, but the actual decision making and execution should be government."

Dave: "How do you address the growing concerns about over-spending, waste and increased taxes?"

Bob: "We have to pay for this stuff somehow."

Dave: "And the over-spending part?"

Bob: "How would I address over-spending?  That's a good question.  I'm glad you asked that Dave.  You see, some people think we spend too much in this country, and that's a valid concern."

Dave: "You're not going to answer my question, are you."

Bob: "Could you repeat the question again?"

Dave: "Never mind. Gay marriage?"

Bob: "It should be protected and supported by the government.  We should teach kids in school that two daddies or two mommies is ok as well."

Dave:  "Gun control?"

Bob: "Guns are violent.  People don't kill people.  Guns kill people.  We should ban them."

Dave: (eye brows hurting from being in the "up" position for so long now…) "Safety inspections and recalls?"

Bob: "Increase them both.  Make it more difficult to get things through the inspection process so we slow down and do the right thing up front, not later on."

Dave: "Defense?"

Bob: "Do more with less.  More work, less people."

Dave: "Oil?"

Bob: "Stop buying from Canada, Mexico and OPEC."

Dave: "Alternative energy?"

Bob: "Electric from solar, wind and geo-thermal.  Build them in every state.  Wind turbine farms off of every coast, on every mountain top.  Solar panels on all buildings, across every open space we can find."

Dave: "Methane?"

Bob: "Sure."

Dave: "How do you see the effectiveness of the Health Care Reform legislation?  What does it really do for Americans?"

Bob: "It fixes everything.  It restores quality health care and our faith in the health care system."

Dave: "Some argue that it punishes insurance providers but doesn't put enough pressure on hospitals to control spending and cost increases - that the dramatic increase in the construction of new hospitals, new wings and facilities and renovations to existing facilities is coming at a cost to increased material and services charges to insurance companies and patient deductibles and co-pays. What do you say to that?"

Bob: "It fixes all that too."

Dave: "How should we compete against China in the future, especially with respect to their significant ownership in U.S. T-bills and their tightly-integrated relationships with U.S.-based corporate operations?"

Bob: "Learn Chinese."

Dave: "What do you believe the responsibility of the Democratic party is now?"

Bob: "To remind Americans that we are right and they (points at Bill) are wrong!  Dead wrong!  They are destroying our country.  We are doing our best to save it."

Conclusion

I think we are doomed.

[disclaimer: this is satire.  don't take me too serious, ok?]

What do these things have in common?

• Curing Cancer
• Building a Bridge
• Building a Company
• Invading a Country
• Sending Humans to the Moon (or other Planets)
• Diving to the Deepest Places under the Ocean
• Climbing the Highest Mountains
• Breaking Speed records
• Graduating College
• Operating to Fix a child's Cleft Pallet
• Feeding a Thousand Homeless people
• Capturing a Terrorist in a remote mountainous region

Give up?  Scroll down...

They cannot happen without a BUDGET

M & A + Technology Evolution = What?

How does the current economy impact IT operations, purchasing, projects and technology trends?
 
Why, I am glad you asked.  Yes, I’m being rhetorical as ****.  I’m betting my lunch money that this angle didn’t dawn on you:
 
Microsoft’s AGPM 4.0 added:

• Support for exporting and importing GPOs between Active Directory forests
• Searching and Filtering GPOs

You say: “So what?” or “Who cares? That was 2009 news.”
 
I say: “It’s perfect for the needs of companies who are buying other companies”
 
Think about it.  What is the general trend of corporate business in 2010?  M&A.  That’s right: Mergers and Acquisitions.  Every day in the news there is mention of one company being acquired by another, or merging into a bigger entity.  And what do most businesses run as their comprehensive security and resource environment?  Active Directory. And what is one of the biggest headaches of merging two Active Directory forests?  Synchronizing Group Policy rules.  Company “A” buys company “B” and wants “B” to implement the same environmental conditions as they have in place.  It can help smooth the way for ADMT, USMT and the usual junkie needle exchange program that follows close behind (Exchange, SQL, file shares, printer shares, etc.).  Just having these features for DR assurance is enough to make it worthwhile, even if you have no M & A plans on your horizon.  (for you noobs: “DR” means Disaster Recovery).  And lastly, or thirdly, is being able to cleanly export your GPOs to a test environment.  That makes it easier to keep your test lab configured identical to the production environment.  All the SOX weenies should get a woody over that aspect alone.

Contrasts and Dichotomies

Everyone knows we're still in the depths of a Recession.  Some indicators show improvement, some show worsening, some show no change at all.  The aggregate indicators seem to converge on nothing really changing for anyone but a few small segments of our population (mostly the wealthiest and the poorest).  Here's some interesting juxtaposed figures to make you scratch your head:

Video Game Sales	Way Up	source: Reuters
Movie Box Office Revenue	Way Up	source: IMdB
Housing Prices	Continue to Fall	source: IRS
Commercial Real Estate Leases	Continue to Fall	source: Reuters
Mortgage Rates	Continue to Fall	source: Reuters
Employment	Steady at 10 percent	source: US BLS www.bls.gov
Number of Uninsured Americans	Continues to Rise	source: US CDC
U.S. Military Casualties Rate resulting from major limb damage	Relatively unchanged (since Vietnam conflict)	source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18176164
U.S. Highway Vehicle Fatalities	Down	source: NHTSA/FARS
Tourism Inbound to U.S	UP	source: US DOC

Doing the numbers so you don't have to.

If You Repeat Something Enough Times…

After months of listening to Ford fanatics blabber on about how Ford didn't have to take a hand-out, while GM did, well, I've had enough.  Time to vent a little.

First off: You cannot compare GM with Ford in this context. Aside from cars, they have nothing in common. Check out the list of "products" and "services" GM provides to the US government (read: DoD) and it should spark your brain juices. One makes consumer and commercial stuff, the other supplies a good portion of our military. They can't let a vital defense supplier go under. Period. It won't happen.

Second, Ford didn't "roll up their sleeves" and put in "elbow grease" to "pull themselves up by the bootstraps". They fired shitloads of veteran workers and shut down plants, and "leveraged" their foreign supply chains (read: cheaper labor and parts). That's not "hard work". That's fucking people. That's fucking families and ENTIRE communities. Big difference.  But the Ford PR machine has done a great job of smearing icing on a cardboard cake.

Now, was Ford wrong to cut back? No. They did what they had to in order to stay in business and please their shareholders. That's what a business is supposed to do. But don't put on the costume of superhero and claim it was something else. Call it what it was: a cutback. A downsizing.

Third: For all the talk about how they’re JUST NOW focusing on “quality” and “value”, I have to ask, and YOU should be asking this also: What were you doing all this time up until now?!  Screwing us.  That’s what.  To be fair, this is not a Ford problem, it’s been an American car problem for 30 years.  Chrysler and GM were also letting us down.  But as soon as the economy ripped the rug out from under them, boom! Then they wake up and start trying to make cars people “want”.  I know I’m not alone in feeling that they waited too long and made it obvious they only woke up in order to benefit them, not us.

If you use words like “luxury”, “class” and “sophistication” don’t point to a Ford Edge or a Chevy pick-up.  Those words do not apply.  Words still matter to some of us.  Using words like “affordable”, “smart” and “practical” work better for most of their products today.

I’ve owned a lot of cars in my life.  Driving a car is not the same as owning one.  It takes time to learn how a car behaves.  I’ve owned vehicles from GM, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Subaru.  I have no favorites.  I can say though that I will never willingly buy a “new” car from GM, Ford or Chrysler.  Used cars, maybe.

The Virginia Beach Election Erection Eradication

Yes, I said it.  That’s what it means, and I mean what I said.  Our choices on the ballot this year are a “boner killer”.  A cargo ship laden with Viagra pulling a barge filled with bottles of the best wine, poured by a naked and oiled-up Jenna Jameson can’t overcome this level of crap.  Ok, maybe Jenna alone can, but only if she ran on our ballot.

If you don’t live here, that’s fine.  But if you do live here, and you may chuckle (or just shake your head in disbelief) at the sexual innuendo, but the choices this year are desperately lame.  LAME.  L-A-M-E.

Let’s break down the choices:

Platform…	Glenn Nye (D)	Scott Rigell (R)	Kenny Golden (I)
Jobs Stimulation	Beg the Navy to keep JFCOM alive and keep carriers in Norfolk	Same	Same
Address Transportation Congestion	N/A	N/A	N/A
Basic Platform Message	“Keep jobs by keeping the Navy happy”	“Keep jobs by keeping the Navy happy”	“uhh… what those two guys just said.”
Education Spending	Blah blah	Blah blah	Blah blah
Alternative Energy Investment	Blah blah	Blah blah	Blah blah
Qualifying Experience	Ran around with the Marines	Owned a car dealership	Once had hair
Most Significant Accomplishment in the Past Year	A spiffy new web site	A spiffy new web site	A complete piece of fucking shit web site (but a nice new suit)
Personal Distinctions	Young and Nerdy	Old and Nerdy	Wears Hats
Would I trust to Babysit one of my daughters	No	No	“uh, whatever those guys said.”

As a consequence: I have made a FIRM DECISION (unlike any of these pukes) to skip their vote and vote only on the remainder of choices: Virginia State Constitutional Ammendments, City Council Representatives, and School Board.

As for how I’m voting on the other folks: none of your business.  That’s why they have curtains on voting booths.  Right?  Am I right?

Ok, I’ll clue you in: Our region has some of the worst transportation problems I’ve ever seen in the U.S.  Whoever convinces me they are interested in fixing that (and by they, investing in fixing it, thereby investing in jobs, materials, and helping us in the long term by leaving our children in a better situation…) will get my vote.

Peace.

Be Right Back

Fighting a Cold while working insane hours on a big project.  Need sleep.  Need to recover.  I’ll be right back.

Meanwhile, I watched “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”.  It boils down to this, at least from the perspective of how this impacted ME personally…

• Government was strong-armed by lobbyists (Ken Lay, Abrahmson, etc.) to relax Federal oversight (aka “de-regulate”) over energy markets.
• Enron and companies like Worldcom, Tyco and others drank their own Kool-Aid and grew into the Hulk, pushing stock prices higher and higher, artificially.
• They in-turn gave hand-jobs to accounting firms like Arthur Anderson and others to help them inflate market prices and in-turn share in the artificial margins of trading on them.
• Californians got raped like nobody’s business
• The market turned out to be a house of cards and imploded
• People at all levels of the market, the auxiliary markets, and their families and communities were pulled down in a spiral of 401-k meltdown.  Some even killed themselves.
• The government finally stepped in and realized the car was spinning off the road and nobody was behind the wheel.  Investigations ensued and eventually it was “discovered” that oversight isn’t such a bad thing.  Gee. (Personal note: If you have teenage kids, and they want to throw a party at your house, and they say to you “hey, go see a movie, you guys can trust us”, what would you do?  Ok, now imagine those teenagers are drunk on the lust for outrageous profits, insane CRAZY-ASS profits, and they want to party inside your bank account)
• The fallout yields a determination to lay down some new rules on behalf of the two folks Mr. Sarbanes and Mr. Oxley.
• IT folks are left holding the bag to implement and enforce a tangled mess of who can do what and see what between various segments of their financial departments.
• IT folks suffer with SOX compliance and no sleep.  The financial department managers go to Vegas, Orlando, or Honolulu to attend conferences, but tell the IT department there isn’t enough budget to attend MMS or TechEd, sorry.

What a sad story.  Remember to have my part played by Brad Pitt.

Now, think about this: Think that’s all behind us now?  Think again.

Dear Mr. Prez-o-dent

Politically speaking, because I once read something with the word "politics" in it years ago, it seems like a very bad idea for a president to endorse a Mosque at ground zero for two reasons: it only helps polarize and anger an already divided constituency, and it doesn't help already-strained relations with Israel, one of our only real allies in the Middle East.  At best, I would think he should have stayed clear of the whole issue.  


But regardless, I say again: Is this the most important issue we have to face right now?  I mean, is the economy all patched up and looking good?  Are we safe from terrorism yet?  Are we driving electric cars and trucks yet and giving the middle finger to OPEC?  Are our kids graduating from school at pace or ahead of other countries?


All of this stupid concern over gay marriage, health care and bank bail-outs seems to give the message that all of the other issues are done.  There's nothing else more important, or even AS important to address?  Really?!


Don't get me wrong. I'm sure gay marriage and health care are important to a lot of people.  But when there's not enough jobs to keep us moving forward it seems like we're worrying about a split toenail when we have a gaping wound and losing blood.  Let's fix the BIG issues FIRST, and THEN move on to the lesser issues.  It seems we are letting the news media dictate what WE feel is top priority, rather than assessing the issues OURSELVES and making this determination.  Our priorities are upside down.

Kicked in the Nuts: Many Borrowers Getting it from Both Sides

I must apologize in advance for this one.  I promised my next post would be positive, uplifting, maybe even jovial. But a “man in the street” segment on one of the lame-ass cable news channels ticked me off and I have to vent.  Next one will be more jovialistic.

Begin:

I've had it with the narrow-minded bullshit talk from economic “gurus” about homeowners defaulting because they either "overborrowed" or "couldn't afford" their house in the first place.

Hello?  Anyone out there still actually reading the news?

There is this thing called UNEMPLOYMENT.  That's right.  It's basically a tally of those folks who WERE working a steady job, but are now NOT working.  The VAST majority of that tally consists of persons who were laid off.  A HUGE portion of them were from downsizing.

So, using the rationale I hear from the suit-wearing pundits on Fox, MSNBC, CNBC and CNN, they are saying that those people should have known they were going to get axed and shouldn't have bought a house at all, or should have bought a $50,000 shack when they were pulling down a $100,000 income.  Yeah.  That makes sense.  We’re all just a bunch of idiots.  I mean after all, YOU obviously know when you're going to be downsized, right?  So, why did YOU buy that nice house or condo then?

In fact, I've actually seen this entire concept debunktified (my own word, you like it? ha ha) on CNBC and MSNBC and Fox.  Whenever they have a "panel of experts" on to blabber about how the economy tanked, and what needs to happen to "fix it", they invite the most flaky person to represent the homeowners.  Then they use them as the entertainment punching bag.  That person will TRY to suggest that maybe a lot of the borrowers didn't buy too much of a house for their income, or that they weren't late on their payments, but were just caught off-guard by a sudden lay-off.  And that a lot of those unlucky folks happen to live in places where there is NO other employment (think Michigan, Arizona, Tennessee) and so on. That person might as well walk into a redneck bar and ask if anyone wants to buy a Toyota pick-up and a CD of Kanye West to go with it.  They commence to mocking and verbal beating and all the brainwashed viewers cheer them on like it’s a football championship game.

I know quite a few people in this boat.  They were fine and doing well until they got downsized.  Now as they struggle to keep up on their mortgage, support their families, and pay their other bills, they get to enjoy the constant bombardment with insults, mockery, blame and harrassment, all focused on THEM being the cause of the problem.  "Yeah, Mr. Homeowner!  It's YOUR fault!  You should've known you were going to be axed, and you shoulda bought a cheaper house ahead of it!"

So, to all those "pundits" like Larry Kudlow, Squawk Box goons, and all you conservative financial gurus that smirk at the thought of someone NOT having a country club membership: F-OFF.

The Never-Ending Reminder of Being Screwed

Once upon a time, in a land not long ago, there lived a company named SAIC.  And within it’s enormous grasp it held a tiny little company constructed of smoke and mirrors named AMSEC.  In this land where AMSEC once stood were seemingly noble men who wore suits of the finest quality and spoke of the highest esteem about ethics and integrity and the meaning of individual sacrifice and the “good of the team”.  They rewarded those that benefited the bottom line with bonuses, vested and unvested stock shares, and stock options.  And it was good.

Then the king of this little AMSEC kingdom decided it was time to cash in his royal chips and bend his employees over a bench and give them a sound fisting.

It went something like this…

In the months that followed his decision to divest of his own doings, it was decided to make a slight, but noticable shift from mostly cash to mostly unvested shares and options as the vehicle for rewarding employees for their performance.  Not long after, the dissolution of the company (to be split amongst the two parent companies) was announced.  Near the time of the actual disjoining, it was also announced that all unvested shares and options would be null and void.  In other words: “Thank you for your outstanding sacrifices for the good of our ability to live above average means, but now you may kindly go and fuck yourselves.”

In the same breath of this announcement, was included a release form we were “asked” (demanded) to sign, which agreed to the conditions and forfeited our rights to arbitrate or file legal or financial claims after the fact.  It was a classic double-or-nothing offer: Hold out and attempt to sue, but give up all claims on immediate pay-outs of vested shares, or bend over and take it like a sissy.

Most everyone bent over.  Only a small handful fought it, and while it was an admirable feat, it was unsuccessful in the end.  A symbolic win is still a win for them I suppose, but the dragon was unscathed and moved on.

So, I rounded up my scraps, licked my wounds and moved on.  I sold my vested shares and those which were partially vested above a minimum percentage were sold soon after they vested.  I asked again and again if this would empty and close my account and each time the fine Mellon folks said “Yes!”  Alas, it has not.

Every year, I get a sweet tax form for 1.0x shares and a letter asking me to vote by proxy on shareholder issues pending with the board of directors.  And every year I kindly ask them to take the pretty little voting form, roll it up in to a tight tube, dip it in hot tar, roll it in thumb tacks and shove in their ass a hundred times.  They don’t seem to get the message however.

So today I called and asked how to put a nail in the coffin of what was once my retirement plan.  SAIC called me and guided me to Mellon again.  Mellon asked 100 questions, told me the share I have is worth $17.0476 and that the sale fee is $20.00 USD.  Lovely.  Then they passed me back to SAIC where I was greeted with a recorded message saying they’re closed and to call back tomorrow.

Dear SAIC:  GO FUCK YOURSELVES.

“That’s all I have to say about that” – Forest Gump

Monopoly: A Definition

Merriam-Webter’s defines “Monopoly” as follows:

“exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action”

Here’s why Microsoft, Adobe and Google are NOT monopolies:

1. None of these companies rose to their positions of prominence as a direct or indirect of “legal privilege”.  Any laws they benefited from were applicable to all other companies of their industry .
2. None of these companies exercised a “command of supply” in the sense that they control no entity or object which cannot be circumvented, or excluded.
3. These companies did NOT control their rise to prominence as a result of “concerted action”.  They rose due to customer support.  Period.

Let’s face it: From PURELY FACTUAL STANDPOINT (rhetorical emotion aside) – Microsoft Windows has never been the only PC operating system.  Office has never been the only Office Productivity Suite (spreadsheet, word processor, etc.) available on the market.  In fact, there have many times been FREE alternatives.

At all times in the past 20 years, consumers, businesses and government entities have had the option of purchasing products by other vendors.  Apple Mac, Linux, UNIX, among others.  WordPerfect, OpenOffice, Star Office, etc.

Consumers, businesses and government entities CHOSE to buy these products.  And as a result of some of them establishing standard processes, others followed suit to remain “compatible” and reduce operational costs due to inefficiences.

The spirit of the laws which seek to prevent or remedy monopolistic practices is based on preventing any one entity from “unfairly gaining a dominance of their market”.  How is it unfair if they wound up in a dominant position as the result of consumers choosing them?

We put them where they are.

The term “monopoly” has been skewed into a completely incorrect definition in the minds of the media and the general public.

Let’s say that YOU decide to produce a software product and put it on the market.  Let’s also say that consumers go crazy over it and decide to snap it up like drinking water in the desert.  And let’s say over time none of your emerging competitors can manage to pull a significant share of your market away.  Maybe they suck.  Maybe they’re fighting internal corruption and ineptitude.  Whatever.  You end up being the dominant player in your market.  Now you are labeled a monopoly and must be punished.  This is how the law is interpreted today.

Did these companies abuse their ethical boundaries in the course of their growth? Sure.  Did they play unfair at times?  Yes.  Were they punished for it? Most certainly.  But were they EVER the ONLY option from which to choose?  Never.

Retarded Idiots in Charge

So, I'm sitting at yet another traffic light and notice the car in front me has a bumper sticker that says:

"Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less."

So, I have to ask the obvious dumbass question: What makes anyone think, for one second, that getting oil in our own backyard will translate into cheaper prices at the pump? What is that idiotic bullshit "logic" based on?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those environmentalist wackos. I’m not chaining myself to the pier to protest drilling off of our shores.  Based on the trash I see flying from car windows every day I think most of you aren't either. This has nothing to do with fighting offshore drilling or any of that. It’s really about focusing on understanding the insanity behind making such an enormous leap of rationale.

Bored yet? Try this:

Drop some *OFFICIAL* statistical numbers into a spreadsheet and then make a chart to show the overlapping relationship between each of the series. Include the following series for 2007-2008:

• Unemployment rate
• DJI market numbers
• Housing starts and sales
• GDP vs CPI
• Average gasoline price

Go ahead, I'll wait... (finger's tapping... Hmmm mmmm mmmm...)

Ok, done? Good. Notice anything? Do you see any *consistent* relation between the economic data and the price of gas yet? Exactly my point. Consistency is my point. In fact, take a look at the peak profit points for Exxon-Mobil with respect to the concurrent economy. When we were suffering, the oil companies were posting record profits. And I mean "record".

That’s right.  When you and I were shelling out $4.00+ for a gallon of gas at the pumps, Exxon-Mobil posted not just their largest profit ever, they posted the largest profit of ANY COMPANY IN AMERICAN HISTORY.  This is all public information.  Go find it yourself, like maybe here.

So, getting back to my original point: There is absolutley ZERO historical basis on which to draw a conclusion that oil companies will pass along big savings, hell: ANY savings, to consumers. They will almost certainly pocket the difference as profit and shareholder dividends.

What’ll happen is this:

Like OPEC did when the U.S. tried to jump-start oil production in the Gulf of Mexico: they dropped barrel prices drastically, making it impractical to continue pumping it from the gulf.  Anyone who was around in the 1980’s remembers this.  Shit, almost everyone in my region who hails from Texas either came here as a result of shutting down the oil rigs down in the Gulf or from being in the military.  But in the early 1990’s it was mostly from a downed oil market.  As soon as OPEC gets a whiff of U.S. domestic drilling, they’ll drop the price and we’ll run back to mama again.  The only wildcard here is offset demand from China, maybe.  We’ll see.

They may get to drill, and have a few accidents (oops!? sorry about that) and destroy our beaches, but who cares.  We have that dream of cheap gas to keep us happy as we drive past roped-off beach areas and mansions owned by families of big oil companies.  It’s what we want, right?  I mean, after all, it’s not like oil facilities have ever had any accidents or harmed anything.  That’s all fluff.  Right?

So, let them drill and suck in some additional “domestic oil” to offset their coffers.  But don’t expect to see American gas prices drop as a direct result. 

Why I Feel Politics is For Kool-Aid Drinking Idiots

We try to draw physical boundaries (states, counties) around illogical regions (blue-tards vs red-tards).  Which has always added confusion to our landscape in America as far as how we expect people to vote.  Every state has varying degrees of left-vs-right depending on which geographic area you happen to be in.

But I don't buy into the notion that one side of the tired left-vs-right debate has inherently "better" followers than the other.  The red-tards are knuckle-dragging, tobacco-chewing neanderthals for the most part, but the blue-tards tend to be smug, obnoxiously close-minded and prima-donna-ish while espousing having a more "open mind" yet any counter-opinion is immediately and venomously attacked as being red.  If you’re not blue, then the blue-tards call you red.  If you’re not red, the red-tards call you blue.  There is no tolerance for purple or green, not from either side.  I see it is another cycle in the long rolling history of America's polarization, which follows economic cycles.  

When things are bad, the red-tards come out swinging with anti-immigration and conservative rhetoric, church this, school that, and the usual book-burning diatribe of isolationist idealism.  But the blue-tards come out with the kool-aid and insist everyone drink it and all will be fine.  Gay tolerance for everyone, no bounds on topics for books tv radio for anyone, regardless of age or (gulp!) religious leanings, no more torturing peoples that want to destroy us, pass all kids through school regardless of their ability to add numbers or read a sentence and so on.  One side is no free lunch, not even if you’re starving to death.  The other insists on free lunches for all, even those who have a full refrigerator.

I ask this question to everyone that jumps into political discussion after each election: what has really changed from this?  Tell me.  What specific improvements have you seen that directly impact your life?  Every time it’s the same response:  A lot of hemming and hawing.  Let me translate that answer for you: NOTHING.

Looking over the elections of the past 30 odd years that I’ve been involved or familiar with, I can summarize the impacts of each election:

• It impacts the lives of people in oppressed lands around the world
• It impacts the lives of people in disaster-stricken areas
• It impacts the world markets
• It impacts the banks and financial systems
• It impacts defense spending
• It does nothing for Americans

I’d like to see improvements to public education, health care, the environment, transportation, personal taxation, energy resources, national security, space exploration, undersea exploration, and the general well-being of mankind around the planet. 

But we will never see that. 

Why?  Because no two humans agree on what those improvements should be.  Some actually think those individual topics are fine as they are or should actually be eliminated.   Politicians simply play to the statistical base of their demographics.  They have to, or they don’t have a paycheck to count on.  They will eternally tell us what they think we want to hear.  Why wouldn’t they?  That’s why you will never hear a politician directly admit that we’re in the midst of a religious war around the globe.  That would be political suicide.

So ask yourself how the following issues have been improved as a DIRECT result of any given election:

• Conflict in the Middle East (as bad as ever)
• Public Education (as bad as ever, maybe worse)
• Public Health (worse than ever, even statistical mortality)
• Environment
• Taxation (ha!)
• Transportation (in isolated areas it has improved.  overall it’s worse)
• Terrorism (oooooh.  Not better, sorry)
• Economy (nope.  it heals itself.  everyone else just takes credit)
• Unemployment (same)
• Immigration (same)
• Gay marriage (hey, didn’t they promise this too?)
• Drug Enforcement and Drug Crimes (no difference at all, ever)

I have voted for blue as often as red.  Not because I’m keeping a quota, but because:

• There are usually only those two choices
• I vote by individual clarity of agenda (i.e. do they have a lucid plan?)

And when neither side has an idiot-liar, oops, I meant “candidate”, I feel is worth voting for?  I skip.  It hasn’t hurt anyone, so relax.

Wearing a badge does not make a person automatically viable, smart or worthy of my vote.  That's my biggest gripe.  I'm just fucking tired of people telling me I have to drink the kool aid.  I stopped drinking that crap years ago.  I don’t give a shit about NASCAR or gay marriage.  So the next time you feel like trying to aim your bullhorn in my direction, just please STFU.

Is America “Number 1” at Anything Now?

Let’s take a look…

(name) = country ranked #1
[x] = U.S. ranking

Category	U.S. Rank	Who is #1?
Marriage Rate (per 1000 people)	1
Divorce rate (per 1000 people)	1
Obesity Rate (per capita)	1
Prisoners (per capita)	1
Car Thefts (total)	1
High School Graduation Rate (per capita)	>158	Kirbati
Teachers as % of Labor Force	15	Iceland
Children Out-of-School (Primary level, total)	3	Pakistan
Mandatory Primary Schooling (years)	7	Germany (13 yrs)
Infant Mortality (per capita)	46	Iceland
Defense Spending (% GDP)	18	Eritrea
Military Personnel (active duty)	3	China
Manufacturing (value per $1000 GDP)	75	Thailand
Gross National Income (per capita)	5	Luxemborg
Patent Filings (by residents only)	2	Japan
Suicide Rates (per capita)	7	New Zeeland
Murder Rates (per capita)	25	Columbia
Birth Rates (per capita)	153	Niger
Married Couples with Children (per 1000)	22	Italy
Single-Parent Households (with children)	3	Canada
Total Death Rate (per 1000)	94	Botswana
Death by Cardiac Arrest	2	Egypt
Death by Cancer	9	Netherlands
Death by HIV/AIDS	34	South Africa
Infant Deaths (per 1000 live births)	152	Afghanistan
Abortions (per capita)	6	Russia
Automotive Sales	2	China
Automotive Manufacturing	3	China
Railway Passengers (per capita)	73	Switzerland
Broadband Access (per capita)	16	South Korea
Life Expectancy at Birth (male)	49	Macau
Official Executions	7	China
Drug Offenses (prosecuted)	41	Germany
Food Production (total output)	81	Tajikistan
Labor Hours Worked (total)	3	Australia
Labor Force Foreign Nationals %	5	Luxemborg
Education Spending (% of GDP)	37	Cuba
Bank Liquid Reserves Ratio (index)	165	Panama
Debt (per $ GDP)	52	Iraq
Components of Property Taxation	3	United Kingdom
Tax Contribution by Middle 40% (% of total taxes)	13	Denmark
Highest Marginal Income Tax Rate	41	Camaroon
Total Tax Rate (as % of GDP)	17	Sweden
Jews (per capita)	4	Israel

Sources: CIA World Factbook, U.S. Census Bureau, Gallup, UN / WHO, World Psychiatry Assoc. (via NCBI), WIPO, USPTO, US FTC, US DOC, NationMaster.com (UNESCO), World Bank

Ways America Could Recoup Lost Revenue

Here’s a few ways our illustrious government could fill their budget gaps…

• Tax non-commercial vehicles by their weight (progressively) and gas mileage (inversely).  Added strain on our road maintenance and oil consumption should come with a price.
• Raise the fee for getting a non-commercial driver’s license (or just give them away free).  Seems the qualifications for obtaining them are almost non-existent as-is.
• Actually enforce existing laws, and collect fines, for failing to cut your lawn, non-commercial vehicles with bumpers higher than 24 inches above the ground, improper parking, and so on.
• Tax people extra if they require medical assistance for issues they caused, such as excessive drinking, smoking or eating.  Exclusions would exist for contributing medical conditions obviously, but they would require a physician’s explanation
• Tax anyone who votes for going to war without contributing one of their own children to fight that war.  If you believe in it, you should be willing to pay for it somehow.
• Add a Tax or fine on “parents” who’s children commit crimes repeatedly while under the guardianship of the “parent”.
• Add a Tax on people who’s house is visited multiple times (within a given year) by the police or animal control.  Extra service should cost extra.
• Tax parents who’s (non-medically challenged) children fail and repeat a grade in public schools.  Do-overs should cost extra.
• Tax people for each “pet” animal over 2 per kind and more 3 kinds.  If you have 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 snakes, fine.  More than that: you should pay extra to cover when the animal control folks clean out your 100-cat shithole and remove the Boa from your torso.
• Raise the fine for littering to $10,000 and include cigarette butts as “litter”.
• Raise the fine for DUI to $10,000, or whatever you have in all of your bank accounts, whichever is greater, on the first offense.  If you really want to help drunk driving, do it right or just forget it.
• Fine people for driving around with stupid flags all over their vehicles.  As if anyone cares what team they like.  The flags are distracting and annoying.  The added risk to nearby drivers should come with a price-tag.  Want your flags?  Fine.  Pay up.  Same goes for spinner wheels, and flashing decorator lights.
• The fine for any business polluting the environment should be equal to one-half of their gross revenue for that year.

And for those people that manage to NOT violate any of these guidelines should get a tax BREAK as well.

I'm Just Sayin...

When it comes to economics, there's already a shitload of so-called "pundits" shilling for their share of the sponsor buck (don't think those commercials on CNBC are just for your enjoyment). But when it comes to consumer behavior, man, these "pundits" are as bad and wrong as a 3rd-string weatherman doing a 7-day forecast. I believe that the term for TV pundits working for salaries funded by the markets for which they report is called: "whore". But that's semantic I suppose.

First off, the biggest factor of personal spending habits is debt. Period. Consumers don't adjust their spending on how the Dow-Jones' is doing. Sorry. And they don't go on a shopping spree when they hear pork belly futures or light sweet crude goes up or down. Sorry again. Consumers look at their ever-growing stacks of bills, then their checking account, savings account (if they even have one) and then the credit card statement. That's it. Then they prioritize any leftovers by medical, house repair, transportation, and then "discretionary" stuff like food, clothing, kids needs and maybe a pinch of entertainment (a six-pack of Bud and a carton of Marlboros). It's human nature.

But there's a hidden candle burning at both ends: gasoline.

Yep. Petrol. The stuff that not only feeds the lifeblood of our industrial AND consumer economies, it controls it. When gas prices go up, everything you buy costs more. Quantities per package are reduced to shore up bottom lines. You pay more to receive even less. And you base personal travel decisions on it too. When gas is near $4/gallon, you probably cancel that road trip across the states. You also defer air travel as fares increase to absorb the fuel costs.  It costs you more to drive to places which will charge you even more when you get there.

But even when gas is "reasonable" (whatever that is), you fall back to basing decisions on personal debt. Priorities get compressed or decompressed as debt rises or falls, since income is rarely as variable as debt.

The catch here is that the two industries which ultimately control these two economic forces (petroleum and personal credit) are relatively treated laisse faire by our government. Sure, they get called in front of a congressional hearing, rarely, but nothing ever happens from that. When was the last time a government hearing caused a reduction in gasoline prices or APR terms?

Here, let me answer that for you….: Never.

Here we have two major, no, wait… GINORMOUS forces directly and indirectly controlling our economy with little or no direct oversight. They work on a broken leash essentially. Which means they are really in control, not the Fed or Treasury. The Fed says that they "influence" (their words, not mine) the U.S. economy, even though the Fed is not a government agency. And the Treasury is now simply an extension of Goldman-Sachs. There was another government that long ago followed this very same path: Rome.

If Exxon-Mobil, RD Shell, Chevron and Texaco decided gas should be $5/gallon, it would be $5/gallon. We'd bitch a lot, maybe even carry cardboard signs around in front of news cameras, and the whores in Congress and the Senate would postulate and act as if bringing on the heat, but that’s about it.  It is a "free market" system, after all, and those companies are well within their legal right to pursue profits within the law, even if it causes consumers a little pain. Where else would you go? What could you really do?  To another gas station?  And why would they keep their prices low?  If Exxon posted $5.00/gallon, WaWa would just rise up to $4.95 and the lines would be around the block.  Oldest game in the book.

The same goes for credit card services and jacking up interest rates. Oh wait, they already are.

Sure, the credit services are facing a looming change in legal guidelines, but the new laws really don't eliminate the gouging, they simply require them to tell you before they gouge you. Read it yourself. But most (all but a few actually) have preemptively raised interest rates to hedge their coffers before the new law goes into effect.  Not one government shill has raised voice over this obvious gang rape of the American working class. Not one.  A few PR statements, that’s it.  Nothing official has been put into action to challenge this behavior, because they just don’t care.

So, these two industries control your spending behavior, whether you want to believe it or not, and directly (and indirectly) exert control over the U.S. and global economies yet almost nothing has been done to put a leash on them.  Nothing beyond lip service and PR stunts.  Think about this:  Our government directly regulates air traffic, drugs, food, transportation, banking (sort of), communications, product safety, marriages, defense and intelligence, even prices your utilities can charge.  But they don’t bother placing any such controls on gasoline or credit cards.

Still don't believe our government is not really in control? Hmmm.

Recommended Reading

Edwin Sarmiento’s blog is always chock full of great stuff, even if he doesn’t post consistently.  A recent post on enabling wireless networking with Windows Server 2008 is very good.

Jeff Hicks’ blog has a great post on using PowerShell to query multiple servers to identify services running under a given service/user account.  This is worth reading if you like scripting, regardless of what language you like.

Fake Steve Jobs is probably the one blog I hit as soon as something is posted.  A great mix of technical and business intellect and humor.  He was recently interviewed by The Unofficial Apple Website (TUAW) as well.  Here’s a good one on Sergei and his monkey socks.

Nouriel Roubini is one of the most respected and feared economists in the world today.  In case you’re feeling too giddy and happy, he will surely bring you down a notch or three.  Ok, maybe five.  Here’s a good but short example.