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MY GREEN VIEW

2008.11.30 - Pulled this from The Right Coast while browsing Instapundit.com - it's the best description of how I feel about "going green":

THIS IS DANGEROUS

2008.11.22 - Go ahead and try...

IT'S THE ECONOMY

2008.11.20 - Here's a good article in WSJ explaining why the stock market has gone down and why it will continue to go down... until February? Wow.

AUTO QUESTIONS

2008.11.11 - More thoughts about the demise of American auto makers... like, if you check out the parking lot of an upscale restaurant there'll be more Lexus (Lexii?), BMWs, and Mercedes than Cadillacs or Lincolns. There was a time when Caddys and Lincolns were the luxury cars of choice... BMW used to be just a foreign sports car and most Mercedes were owned by eclectic car enthusiasts.

Today GM is known for powerful vehicles like trucks, Corvettes, and SUVs... Ford could sell full size F series pickups until just about the last drop of oil was pumped out of the desert... except Americans decided the price of that oil was too much and decided to order Prisms from Toyota by the boatload.

This is the second gas crisis that has kicked Detroit's butt, and both times Japan has embarrassed the Americans. Again I have to point out that Toyota is not looking for government help - and they have American factories with American workers and American suppliers...

More and more people are questioning whether it makes sense for US tax dollars to prop up auto manufacturers when it looks like they haven't a clue about how to run a business.

2008.11.10 - GM, Ford, and Chrysler are making noise asking the government for a bailout similar to the banking system. Everyone agrees the Big 3 are desperate but again I have to ask some questions...

Like, why isn't Toyota also considered for a bailout? They have several US factories that employ US  workers. Is Toyota not hurting as bad as the Big 3, and if not, then why? GM is certainly as large as Toyota so the two are worth comparing.

MORE OF THE SAME

2008.11.09 - Hate to sound like broken record, but here it is again...

Two Senators, one Republican and one Democrat.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R) is charged with receiving gifts up to $250K and is in the news daily as an example of corruption in politics, particularly the Republican brand.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D) is a top recipient of Countrywide Financial favors, receiving a super sweet deal on an $800K home loan... oh, and he's chairman of the Senate banking committee... at a time when financial markets are melting and many Americans are facing foreclosure.

Sen. Dodd is also in the news occasionally amid speculation he may join the Obama administration.

Seriously. 

ADVENTURE

2008.11.07 - Love this quote...

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.
 - G.K. Chersterson

If I'm in the right mood (not often enough these days) I can work from that quote. 

Here's another good one...

Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no straight lines.
 - R. Buckminster Fuller

ELECTION DAY NOTES

2008.11.06 - So now the dirt is being dished about Sarah Palin and infighting that happened among McCain's campaign workers... some, even Republicans, are relieved this much disorganization didn't wind up winning the election and running the country.

But I have another question - if McCain's campaign was run so poorly and Obama outspent him 5-to-1, why wasn't the election more lopsided?

Only one of two answers: either support for Obama wasn't as significant as everyone assumes, or reports about McCain's faulty campaign are over rated. 

2008.11.05 - Watched very little election night coverage on TV but one thing I noticed repeatedly were standard answers people gave during exit poll interviews.

Realizing they're going to be on-camera, everyone wanted to sound thoughtful and intelligent. However most could only parrot answers heard from talking heads on all the political shows. So if you voted Democrat you wanted change; if you voted Republican then high taxes were a concern...

Just once it would have been nice to hear someone say “because the voices in my head kept screaming his name.” Or give a poor reporter something to really chew on make a Neanderthal comment about electing a black man.

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Obama seems to have gathered quite a following, which is understandable considering he’s so charismatic. But some ascribe tributes to him that go beyond the human potential... wish I had some specific examples but right now I’m coming up short.

Let’s just say that when talking about political leaders, never ever underestimate their ability to be fatally human.

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So I've heard the phrase "record turn-out" describing this election and I don’t quite get it.

2008 election...
63 million = Obama
56 million = McCain

2004 election...
62 million = Bush
59 million = Kerry

If this is a record turnout then what happened to the plaudits due George Bush in 2004? Again, I think the media slant toward Democrats shines brighter on one candidate than the other.

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Already tired of the phrase "first African American president". It's gonna be a long 4 years...

And please OH PLEASE can we dispel once and for all the question of whether America is a racist nation? Pardon my blunt language but take that whiney ass charge and shove it in the tight place where some people confuse their ass with their brains.

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And what of our departing president? Popular opinions can't wait for him to leave. Too bad…

I voted for Bush in both elections and while I've come to understand his weaknesses, I also think he has a chance to leave a phenomenal legacy.  

First the weaknesses... without a doubt he is one of the worst media communicators. I say "media communicator" because he just doesn't come across well in front of a microphone. For the past year or two I'd hold my breath whenever he spoke, thinking any moment new material would arrive for late night comedy shows.  

However this is contrasted with many who meet him in person and describe a warm, compassionate, genuine man. I guess the challenge of any leader is to project a caring persona to the masses. George didn't do a very good job of that.  

And speaking of media and communicating, Bush seems to have taken on the press as adversaries. While I understand his point of view (they're all Democrats!) he still needed to work with them and at a certain point it was obvious this wasn't going to happen.  

But nobody - and I mean NOBODY - can accuse him of wavering from his commitment to fight Al Qaeda.  

Whether or not you agree with the decision to go to war, you absolutely have to agree that George Bush never once gave Al Qaeda a hint that he would do anything other than pursue their sorry asses into a cold grave. If anyone has a reason to celebrate his departure it would be America's enemies, and frankly that's what I want in a president.  

The other strength I see is the possibility of a free democracy in Iraq. I know the region is highly unstable and there are many forces wanting to destroy the current government - but go back to 2005 when the first elections were about to occur...  

Terrorists were threatening to blow up polling places and the world was convinced any attempt to hold elections would only escalate the violence. But Bush insisted on maintaining the election schedule and on voting day Iraqis defiantly celebrated by holding up purple stained fingers in the air as evidence they voted, signaling to the world they were not only ready for democracy but willing to risk limb or life to make it happen.

Seriously, consider the reaction of Americans to salmonella tomatoes or Chinese lead paint, then estimate how they'd handle the threat of terrorism at polling stations – would you be willing to risk your life to punch a voter card?

The Iraqis were nothing short of awesome.  

And this is President Bush's legacy - a democratic nation in the Middle East. Few leaders would have the courage to reach for that lofty goal, considering the financial as well as political costs. Time will tell whether those costs were spent well.

CONGRATS TO OBAMA

2008.11.04 - As mentioned earlier, if Obama wins I want to see at least a diminished presence of bitter partisan politics. McCain was very classy in his concession speech and I can only hope his supporters will be the same.

UNCERTAIN CERTITUDE

2008.11.04 - Lately it seems that things which used to be described with unquestioned certitude have developed uncertain qualities or either reversed course completely. Are we really that bad at predicting things?

• The Iraq War - last year it was all be certain that America had lost this war and would either be bogged down in a bloody quagmire or end up retreating in shame. Instead there is what can only be described as a quiet US victory occurring.
• Gas Prices - 6 months ago everyone was certain gas would reach $5 per gallon in the US. Oil was at $147 per barrel and $200 was looking quite certain. Today oil is $65 per barrel and gas prices continue to drop... well under $3 in most places.
• Real Estate Values - at least for the time being there has been a definite pause in this axiom. Here in the bay area prices have dropped a little, but nothing like the bottom falling out of other regions.

FUN & GAMES

2008.10.24 - Here's a fun new game that's played at only the smartest of parties filled with panache - it's called "Imagine If" and the idea is to pick a rather unassuming news story and imagine the ensuing media hysteria if a Republican had been involved:

IMAGINE IF... a Republican presidential candidate raked in a record amount of private donations after breaking a promise to run his campaign within public finance rules.

IMAGINE IF... a Republican congressman was involved in multiple affairs, hired his mistress as a staff member, asked her to flirt with big donors to loosen their wallets, then paid hush money to keep her quiet.

IMAGINE IF... a Republican congressman received political donations from the banking industry he "regulated", helping trigger the nations largest financial meltdown since the Great Depression.

IMAGINE IF... a Republican VP candidate had vaguely speculated about 4 or 5 scenarios where our country would be tested by foreign nations after the election. BONUS POINTS: Imagine creative use of the word "inexperienced" in describing such a Republican VP candidate.

IMAGINE IF... a Republican presidential candidate cheated on his cancer stricken wife, covered up the affair, and weaseled his way around an obvious paternity test solution.

IMAGINE IF... a Republican VP candidate were sequestered from the press and not allowed to respond to open questions. Don't guess Palin... try Joe Biden, that 30 year veteran of the Senate gaffes.

IMAGINE IF... a voter registration organization endorsing a Republican candidate was investigated in several states for voter fraud while grossly exaggerating their effectiveness.

READ THIS

2008.10.23 - More inexcusable examples of media bias...

2008.10.22 - It's not what one political party says or does that offends me... politics is politics, and each side will stretch truths and bend the rules in an attempt to win votes. We all expect that, and it would be headline news if that DIDN'T occur.

But the manner in which the press treats Republicans vs. the Democrats is reprehensible.

Orson Scott Card is a DEMOCRAT who wrote this article about the housing crisis and the pattern it follows where the press paints Bush and the GOP as the bad guys, when in fact specific politicians with a "D" after their name have some major explaining to do.

Over and over the same theme is examined: If McCain and the Republicans had done what the Democrats did, we would be treated to non-stop election news coverage of GOP greed and corruption.

There's a $700 billion government bailout occurring and because the money trail leads to one particular political party, our news topic of the day is Sarah Palin's clothing budget or how great Obama is because he visits his sick grandmother.

The media, that fourth estate responsible for speaking truth to power, have become a mouthpiece for the Democrats.

COAL: THE NEW NUCLEAR

2008.10.18 - On the heals of skyrocketing energy prices and the national guilt of of an imported oil addiction, we are now about to embark on yet another foolish public policy - demonization of coal plants.

Forty years ago environmental wackos successfully redefined nuclear power as a horrible, world-ending destructive force. Never mind that since then countries who developed and embraced nuclear power (France) now enjoy clean, safe CHEAP energy.

So here's Al Gore urging environmental protest of coal powered energy plants. Coal is inexpensive and abundant in our country - but the world will end if we use it to warm those cold winter nights. So rather than consider technology that would make it more clean and safe, let's demonize it from consideration all together.

You read it here - coal will become the next protest topic to enable fools with nothing better to do feel like they're making a difference in the world.

This is just plain stupid and further pushes America into the dark ages when it comes to our energy future.

TOLD YOU SO

2008.10.18 - So here's my "I told you so" - election officials are dumping electronic voting machines in favor of what amounts to paper ballots. Apparently electronic machines, supposedly the solution to Florida's "hanging chad" problem in the 2000 election, are not as reliable or foolproof as previously thought.

The reliability factor could be managed, but the security implication of storing millions of votes in an electronic database is just asking for trouble.

I work with large databases everyday and have to be very careful not to inadvertently mess with the data - one simple keystroke and a large amount of data could be changed in the blink of an eye.

Imagine what could happen if the wrong people gained access to an election database?

JUST SHOOT ME

2008.10.17 - A huge peeve of mine is the ridiculous highway alert signs alongside our freeways. I don't know how many times I've been stuck in traffic that had to slow to read a useless "Click it or ticket" message. Rarely do these signs provide meaningful information, and when they do people have to slow down to read them - during the twice daily rush hour commute this means yet another friggin traffic jam.

Now California is considering putting ads on the damn signs. Seriously - if state finances are that bad we should consider selling ad space on the backs of irresponsible politicians in charge of this mess.

Or set aside all pretense and, similar to naming a stadium, we could sell naming rights of the politicians themselves.

"Will the honorable Senator Tidy Bowl please relinquish the microphone."

Yeah - I like the sound of that.

MAJORITY

2008.10.17 - If the polls described in national media hold true there could be a super-majority of Democrats in the House and Senate, along with a Democrat president. The Wall Street Journal describes how such a scenario could play out...

Not saying it'll come true, but still not a pretty picture.

CAREFUL WHERE OBAMA WALKS

2008.10.17 - Out on the campaign trail Mr. Obama decides to walk an Ohio neighborhood in search of middleclass votes. Problem is he stopped to talk with Joe Wurzelbacher (AKA Joe the Plumber) who had some audacity of his own and asked an unflattering question about Obama's tax plan.

Next thing you know Team Obama has dug up dirt on Joe, informing the public of $1200 in unpaid taxes and a possible unlicensed plumbing violation.

Ouch - just for asking an unscripted question.

So the lesson here is if you see Obama strolling thru your neighborhood make damn sure your business is squared, or run for the door and don't dare answer if anyone knocks.

UNBELIEVABLE

2008.10.04 - We're gonna look back and wonder why there were no reports of people jumping out of skyscrapers. In the span of only FIVE WEEKS:

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are taken over by the federal government. Both mortgage giants had guaranteed $6 trillion of the collapsing US mortgage market.
• Lehman Brothers, a Wall Street investment firm dating back to 1850 and with assets over $600 billion, declares bankruptcy.
• BofA agrees to purchase the struggling Merrill Lynch, another Wall Street firm in danger of collapse. Merrill had been around since 1915 and had assets of $1 trillion.
• American Insurance Group, the largest US insurance corporation cannot raise cash fast enough to pay rising interest on it's downgraded debt. The federal government steps in and lends AIG $85 billion in exchange for 80% ownership.
• Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announces a sweeping proposal to spend $700 billion on bad debt which has hobbled financial markets since last year.
• Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the two remaining investment banks on Wall Street, agree to convert to "traditional bank holding companies" - according to the WSJ this means "Wall Street as it has long been known will cease to exist."   UPDATE: What this means is more government regulations. The under-regulated Wall St. firms that went bankrupt were allowed to leverage their assets at 50:1 ratios, as opposed to federally regulated 10:1 ratios. Easy to see how dropping home values wiped out players that bet their entire company on 50:1 "safe" mortgage investments.
• Washington Mutual, $300 billion in assets, is shutdown by FDIC. JP Morgan agrees to purchase WaMu's assets.
• House of Reps shocks the world and votes down the $700 billion federal spending plan. The Dow drops nearly 800 points.
• After 3 days of political posturing the House follows the Senate's lead and finally passes the spending plan. President Bush signs it into law within hours of approval.

In light of this some questions are desperately appropriate... Why were banks allowed to make so many bad loans, and who benefited from all that risky lending? Large corporations are always getting rescue money - why not a bailout for the little guy? And how about that partisan bickering in Washington - if this is really a crisis, shouldn't these dipsticks at least ACT like they want to solve it?

Michael Malone of Pajamas Media has one of the better articles I've seen that attempts to draw some conclusions. If I get a chance later I'll post more.

Unbelievable.

UPDATE 1: Openly gay congressman Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, had a gay lover who was the director of product initiatives at Fannie Mae - conflict of interest maybe? Seriously, I'm not making this up!

UPDATE 2: Remember those tax rebate stimulus checks? That was $150 billion bailout for the "little guy".

DEATH

2008.09.30 - Every once in a while I run across the writings of P.J. O'Rourke... this was particularly good, though the topic was about his recently discovered cancer:

I looked death in the face. All right, I didn't. I glimpsed him in a crowd. I've been diagnosed with cancer, of a very treatable kind. I'm told I have a 95% chance of survival. Come to think of it -- as a drinking, smoking, saturated-fat hound -- my chance of survival has been improved by cancer.

...I have, of all the inglorious things, a malignant hemorrhoid. What color bracelet does one wear for that? And where does one wear it? And what slogan is apropos?

MILK SCANDAL

2008.09.28 - How many billions of dollars went up in smoke this past week as China's impressive Olympic display has been replaced with a still spreading tainted milk scandal. So far Asia, Europe and Africa have turned up powdered milk made in China that has the toxic industrial product melamine in it.

You'd be hard pressed to come up with a worse global image than being the source of poisoned babies...

UPDATE: Why melamine? Apparently milk is tested for protein content, and lower protein levels equal lower quality milk. Melamine fools the tests...

POLITICS OF CHANGE?

2008.09.27 - Been browsing news sites lately and sort of burned out on all the partisan political stuff. Donkeys and Elephants are going at it strong and after a while the news reports all sound the same... just swap out the characters in predictable fashion according to whatever political party is involved. Our guy is good - their guy is bad...

There is one item, though, that's different from elections as I remember them - in Missouri, the Obama campaign is threatening government investigations of TV stations running political ads they deem "untruthful".

The same thing happened back in August when Obama wanted the Justice Department to lean on sources supporting or broadcasting another commercial he didn't like.

Put it another way - can you imagine the meltdown that would occur if George Bush handled Michael Moore the same way?

When did "truth" in politics trump "free speech"? Haven't we all adjusted to the idea that commercials stretch the truth and one man's fact is another man's lying damnation? Seriously - if Obama uses these tactics to control the voice of his opponent, what will happen if he's elected?

This just doesn't sit right with me... as much as I hate political ads, I'd rather ignore their ignorance than ban them outright. This is NOT a good development in the politics of "change".

READ THIS

2008.09.27 - The financial crisis is the topic of smart conversation these days so of course there will be debates about the right path out of this mess. Ran across a site called South Carolina Conservative which spelled out a number of items from the point of view of financial institutions that are NOT in danger of failing... you know - the ones that DIDN'T speculate wildly.

Made a lot of sense... why don't I have any confidence in ability of our government to act on these?

UPDATE: You KNOW things are bad when Playboy bunnies are getting laid off... pun intended!

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM

2008.09.27 - So it seems like it was only August last week (my birthday month!) but next week we start October. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO SEPTEMBER?!!

Don't blink or you'll miss Christmas...

KCSM JAZZ

2008.09.05 - If you like jazz music you should try KCSM (FM 91.1 and here online). It's commercial free ("We put the 'non' in non-profit") so you'll encounter the occasional pledge drive - but they're a great source of all kinds of jazz... everything from Big Band to John Coltrane.

Today they featured an interesting duo - a CD of Willie Nelson with Winton Marsalis... NEVER would have imagined those two together, but it was very very good. Tempted to pick up the CD.

I found KCSM by chance when scanning radio stations looking for something different while sitting in traffic. They always seemed to be playing something really cool and after a while I just programmed the radio button - now it's on all the time.

Oh, and if you're going to purchase music thru Amazon.com go thru the link on KCSM's website - Amazon donates a portion of each purchase to KCSM. Everybody wins...

THE WISDOM OF MR. KRABS

2008.09.05 - What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger? According to Mr. Krabs on Sponge Bob that's not true - "It usually get's you the second time around, lad."

Sounded better when I heard it - guess you had to be there.

For those who don't know, I'm a rabid Sponge Bob Squarepants fan. Reminds me of the old black and white Popeye cartoons - seemingly for children but if you paid close attention to what Popeye was muttering in the middle of his antics you'd catch more than a few comic gems.

SARAH PALIN

2008.09.04 - After Sarah Palin's speech at the Repub's convention I can no longer say I've never donated to a political campaign.

And to answer those questions about McCain being too old, I'd say both the decision to choose Palin and the timing of announcing it (immediately following the Dem's convention) show McCain to be a very clever politician. Stole the spotlight from the Obama and invigorated the Repubs. Not bad for an old guy...

TOO FUNNY!

2008.09.02 - Found this on www.instapundit.com - one way to have kept Bristol Palin's pregnancy out of the news would have been to claim John Edwards as the father...

 

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