Now do you believe me?
Category: News and Politics

I have received vindication, now that President George W. Bush has finally admitted that the economy is in recession. His proposal to bailout his friends in the banking business was met with a lukewarm response, even amongst his colleagues in the Republican Party. Most of them object to the obvious socialistic aspects of the bailout, which uses public funds to keep insolvent banks from bankruptcy. Politics often makes for strange bedfellows, and such is the case where members of both major parties are finding common ground to disagree with the President's plan.
The stock market took a nosedive yesterday when they received the news of Congress' failure to act on the bailout. In ten minutes on Wall Street, when the news broke, stocks took a tumble, and fortunes were lost. Some of that money was probably yours. If you are like me, you probably have some if not all of your retirement money in stocks, or in mutual funds, none of which are immune to losses when the economy stumbles. This is just more of the bitter pill all of us now have to swallow for allowing greed to continue to drive the market for so long.
The problems with our economy started years ago, with the short sighted wisdom of Ronald Reagan and his economists who insisted that supply-side economics would result in a trickle down effect, where money would flow from the rich to the poor. Instead we know that that this effect is more like Robin Hood-in-reverse. The rich steal from the poor and keep it. For this reason, many members of Congress have been steadfast in their insistence on limiting corporate executive pay.
I agree that if the government is going to bailout banks, there needs to be some strings attached. Limiting the amount of money a corporate CEO can siphon off and pay themselves seems like a good idea to me. It is ridiculous for anyone to think they are worth salaries of $1M or more a year. No one is worth that kind of money. For too many years, we have allowed the rich to rape the poor, and now we see the result of it. it's time to put a stop to it.

4:35 PM - 27 Comments - 22 Kudos - Add Comment

Politics Has Become A Dirty Business
Category: News and Politics

One of the things about politics that really puts people off and creates an ugly image is negative campaigning. When candidates for political office think it is OK to personally attack each other, politics becomes a dirty business. Politicians lose credibility, and alienate large numbers of voters. This problem has become worse over the years, and is particularly bad during this election season.
I've stated before that I believe political advertising is to blame for many of the problems in modern American politics. Particularly on television, many of the ads I have seen, especially ones from Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain, personally attack the character of Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama. Since both of these men are sitting U.S. Senators, I feel both of them are due a certain amount of respect, just for that fact alone. Putting my personal political beliefs aside, as a patriotic American, it offends me when anyone suggests that a U.S. Senator, and a Presidential candidate, should be equated as a terrorist. Equally offensive to me is the idea that one could be a Senator, and not be a citizen of the United States. Rumors and innuendos, such as the one circulating now that Senator Obama is a Muslim, and took his oath of office on a copy of the Koran, are not based on fact. Such statements are really nothing more than blatant lies.
As Americans we deserve better than bottom of the barrel tactics and conduct in our Presidential election. I believe both of these men running for our highest office deserve more respect than either one of them receive. Politics has become a dirty business. We need to insist that it gets cleaned up. Reforming elections, and campaign finance reform will go a long way towards restoring public trust in government. The perception people have that politicians are bought and sold by the lobbyists and special interests is really not far wrong. Our Presidential election process starts with primaries and campaigning that take nearly two years and costs hundreds of millions of dollars. The primary system and the electoral college need to be abolished. The President should be elected strictly by popular vote. No one group, or person should be able buy votes. No one state should be able to have more influence on the outcome of the process than any other state. Unless we make our elections fair, and demand an end to negative campaigning, politics will remain a dirty business. We need better leadership in this country. The only way we will get that is to improve the political system, and restore the ideals of honesty, integrity, decency, and public service in government.
This mudslinging must stop!

6:39 PM - 24 Comments - 20 Kudos - Add Comment

The Fundamentals of the Economy Are Strong...NOT!
Category: News and Politics

For many months now, I have been ringing the alarm bell that the U.S. economy is in deep trouble. More news today confirms this is the truth. Another large investment bank, Lehman Brothers, has filed for bankruptcy. Bank of America purchased financially strapped Merrill Lynch. Adding to the woes, the devastating effects of Hurricane Ike, which has taken oil refineries offline, and gasoline prices rose sharply over the weekend.

With more problems in the financial markets, and increasing inflation driven by high gas prices, combined with the continuing home mortgage foreclosure crisis, how can it be true that the fundamentals of the economy are strong? The truth is, our economy needs help. We've got problems, and they need immediate attention, not denials.

The sooner we turn our attention to reversing the economic downturn, the better off we are going to be. The longer it takes to respond to increasing numbers of unemployed, high inflation, bank failures, and our dependence on fossil fuel, the longer the path to recovery. As I see it, we've already waited too long, and unless we change our leadership at this election, it maybe too late to salvage anything. Bottom line, the U.S. economy will plunge into a long and deep depression, one which will make the crash of 1929 seem like a small bump in the road.

I don't want to see people jumping out of windows on Wall Street, or having thousands of people standing on bread lines, but this is looming unless steps are taken to fix the economy. We have a choice, we can choose leadership with a plan to address economic issues and put a plan for recovery into effect, or we can choose more of the same. If we choose the later, it will be a miserable existence for us all. It is time to take off the rose colored glasses and admit our economy is trouble. My bullshit detector warns me not to believe the statement that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. It is simply not true, and it is dangerous and stupid to deny the truth.

9:43 PM - 37 Comments - 25 Kudos - Add Comment

Political Advertising
Category: News and Politics

If you watch any television, you can't avoid seeing endless political advertising. Personally, I favor banning these TV ads. For one thing, these ads are a tremendous waste of money. The cost of producing the ads, and the cost of buying the air time for them is horrendously expensive. Campaign donations finance these ads, which do little if anything, to factually inform voters on the issues and the qualifications of the candidates.
Most, if not all the political advertising, is full of distortions and outright lies. That is typical of advertising in general. When we are talking about something as serious as the selection of our government leaders, it is dangerous and downright ignorant to make our selections based on TV advertising. Not only that, the costs associated with advertising have made political campaigns very expensive. As a result, candidates spend more and more of their time fundraising, and spending less time on the really important job of government-governing.
My advice to my readers is to ignore the political TV ads. They are not really informative anyway. You are much better off to do your own research. Be careful to fact check your sources. I have seen ridiculous and incredible stuff on the internet. Do not buy into sensationalism. There are reputable sources, like the Congessional Record for example. If you want to know how a candidate voted on the issues, you will find that in the record.
The bottom line is this, don't believe the TV ads. Educate yourself, and be an informed voter. Fact check the sources of your information, and base your choice on which candidate most closely represents your views. Do your duty as a citizen and participate in the process. Making an informed choice means that there is work involved, but it is worth it. The future of our country will be determined by the choices we make.

5:54 AM - 11 Comments - 11 Kudos - Add Comment

White Collar Criminals Escape Punishment
Category: News and Politics

I wrote a blog recently about the white collar criminals who are responsible for the mortgage banking crisis. While the chief executive officers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae made multi-million dollar salaries, these two men lead these two mortgage banks into financial ruin. The home mortgage foreclosure crisis lowered the property value of nearly every home in the nation. These two Federally backed mortgage banks are so close to bankruptcy, that the tax paying citizens of the United States must now shoulder the burden of preventing their collapse.
What amazes me the most is how the CEO's of these two banks are not held accountable for the gross dereliction of their duties. Instead, they are rewarded with millions of dollars for their ineptitude. Frankly, I don't believe either of these men could run a lemonade stand, let alone a mortgage bank. I think they deserve a long prison sentence, be ordered to pay back their salaries, and pay a hefty fine.
I don't see why white collar criminals escape punishment. If we can put people in jail for a myriad of other offenses, why is it that millionaires should get away with horrendous crimes?
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae banks made irresponsible loans. When any business is poorly run, they should go out of business. Instead, we bail them out, costing us billions, and now we have to take them over, costing us billions more. As a taxpayer footing the bill for this, I am completely outraged. It angers me even more to know that no one is being held accountable for it. White collar criminals need to know that they will face stiff fines and long jail terms. As it is now, they thumb their noses at the law, thinking they will never get caught.
My house is worth less now than it was a year ago, but I am grateful that I still own it. Many of my neighbors are not so lucky. The mortgage banking crisis should not be repeated. We need to take steps now to insure it does not happen again. The best way to do it, is to make laws to insure that white collar criminals get punished for their crimes.

7:35 AM - 12 Comments - 20 Kudos - Add Comment

Sarah Palin-Who?
Category: News and Politics

The Republican Party's Presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, has selected his running mate. His choice for Vice-President is the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, a political novice who is virtually unknown outside of her home state. Until today, I'd never heard of her, and I have a few theories about how Senator McCain made this unlikely choice.
With the Republican Party Convention beginning on Monday, Senator McCain had to make a decision about selecting his running mate. Today's announcement came as a complete surprise to nearly everyone, including me.
With the political heavyweights on the "short list", I was certain McCain was going to select someone who was widely recognized and experienced. I was wrong.
So why pick Sarah Palin? There are several reasons that jumped into my mind. Senator McCain has been making statements for weeks about attracting Hillary Clinton Democrats to his campaign. He knows that unless he can attract women voters, it will make his campaign for the Presidency even more difficult and unlikely to succeed.
While some of Senator Hillary Clinton's supporters may defect to McCain because he selected Palin, in all likelihood, most of them will support Senator Obama.
I spent some time researching Governor Palin. The more I read, the more I realized that she could not possibly have been his first choice. To select someone with so little political experience, leaves McCain wide open to criticism. In McCain's TV ads, he attacked Obama for inexperience, and not being ready to lead. Is Palin experienced and ready to lead? You've got to be kidding me!
Palin is married to an oil worker. Just what we need now, another family in Washington
with ties to the oil business. The oil business desperately wants to keep its stranglehold on power, and with the McCain/Palin ticket they believe they have the magic bullet to make it happen. Both McCain and Palin are drill, drill, drill, Republicans. Rather than support alternative energy and renewable sources like wind and solar power, the Republicans want you to believe that drilling for more oil, and sacrificing a clean environment to do it is a sensible policy. Bah humbug, I say!
Barack Obama made his priorities clear in his speech on Thursday night in Denver. On the issues that matter most to working families, healthcare, education, the economy, energy, and tax breaks for the middle class, there is no doubt about where he stands. It is clear which direction McCain wants to go, and it is the same direction we are going already with President Bush. Even with a woman as Vice-President I can't stomach the idea of four more years dedicated to the destruction of the American middle class. It is time for change, not four more years of McSame.

7:25 PM - 23 Comments - 27 Kudos - Add Comment

Out of touch with reality
Category: News and Politics

The Republican Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, is out of touch with reality. Perhaps it is due to dementia, which is not unusual for a seventy-two year old person. When a person is so confused that they do not even remember how many houses they own, it would seem they have a serious health issue. I do not believe a person with a cognitive disorder is fit to lead our country.
I am not making fun, and this is not a joke. The President of the United States is not a job for someone who cannot be counted on to think clearly. As the Commander-In-Chief, the responsibility of our nation's defense is in his hands. Much has been made of Senator McCain's experience as a prisoner of war, and his record of military service. i am not attacking that record. What I am saying is that it is incredibly dangerous to give a man with memory problems control over nuclear weapons.
To say that I was disturbed about Senator McCain's response about how many houses he owns is an understatement. This really scares me. Most of us are fortunate if we own just one home, the one we live in. Only someone with incredible wealth could possibly own seven homes. I am concerned about that fact too. Democratic Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama comes from a working class background. It is just my opinion, but I think when it comes to issues that we face today, this is important.
We need to think carefully about our choice for the next President of the United States.
Senator Barack Obama is a young man, with energy, ideas, and a plan to lead us back to our true place as a respected world power. Bush and McCain come from backgrounds of wealth and privilege. They are out of touch with reality. Before any more damage is done, it is time to consider the possible result of four more years of Republican control of the White House. We need positive change now, not four more years of McSame. Do we really want to trust someone who forgets how many houses he owns, to live in the White House? I think not.

7:27 AM - 25 Comments - 23 Kudos - Add Comment

And yet another new job
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Just in case I didn't already have enough going on, I've added yet another new job to my list of responsibilities. Now I have three jobs, and I am doing all of them at the same time! This week I was named as the Production Manager of the Daytona Beach International Festival.
The Festival job allows me to do something that I love doing more than anything else; work with music. This two week long music festival features the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as internationally renown artists from all over the world.
Over the course of the last few years, I have deveolped an excellent working relationship with the organization that produces the festival, and they asked me to help them. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity.
I'd like to invite all of my friends and readers to Daytona Beach for the upcoming Festival. It will run starting the last week of April '09 thru the first week of May. I hope to see you there.

8:53 AM - 5 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Things that don’t make sense
Category: News and Politics

I have just enrolled our son into the public school system this year for the first time. He had been going to private school, but for a variety of reasons, we decided this year was the right time to make the transition into public school. School starts in a few days, and it has been an eye-opening experience to see firsthand what is going on in the Florida public schools. It comes as no surprise to me to see what we get in a state that ranks fiftieth out of fifty states on per-capita spending on education.
Last year Florida voters approved Ammendment One, which supposedly reduced property taxes on homestead property. The whole thing was a ruse. I voted against it, simply because it made no sense. The proposal was flawed from an economic perspective. We are still in the midst of the worst residential real estate market in a generation. Property values are plummeting, and the home mortgage foreclosure rate is at an all time high. It should not take a genius to figure out that if local and county governments are legally limited in raising their millage rates, property tax revenue will fall. This loss of property tax revenue has had a direct impact on Florida schools, and to the level of educational services they can provide to students.
Florida's Republican Governor, Charlie Crist, was very vocal in his support of this property tax reform proposal. He assured voters that property taxes could be cut while at the same, "educational funding will be enhanced". This statement proved to be a fallacy. As it turrned out, the state legislature was forced to cut educational funding, which trickled down to budget cuts affecting every school district in Florida. The bottom line is this, our children have received the short end of the deal. If we short change our children, and if we do not provide them with the resources they need to thrive, such as a quality education, what kind of a world are we going to have? It makes sense to pay to educate our children. Nobody wants to pay the taxes to finance it, but does the alternative make any sense? I don't think so.

10:03 AM - 10 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Our real enemies
Category: News and Politics

I wonder if many people think at all about who are the real enemies of the United States. There actually are some, and it is a real and present danger. The thing is, our enemies are certainly not the ones the media and our own government want you to beieve they are. It is exactly because we get deceived so easily, that our country has found itself in such a dangerous situation.
Almost every single person I have talked with about politics, has told me that it is a dirty business, where people routinely lie and decieve. For example, a man I admired, who is a former U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate, John Edwards, had an extramarital affair. He repeatedly denied it in public when confronted with the truth. When he finally admitted what he did, his credibility was gone. So it is with most of our political leaders, because at some point, lies or denial of facts is exposed.
The rampant dishonesty of American political leaders has so dillusioned the public, that on average, only about 20% of registered voters go to the polls and vote in the Presidential election.
It is hard not to feel disconnected when it is obvious that politics is all about money and power. There is no such thing as accountability or responsibility. Public enemy number one is political corruption. It has many sources, but special interest groups and their lobbyists spread money to politicians, and this money is the source of their power, not the votes of the individual voters.
Certain special interest groups, because they come from very wealthy sources, control most, if not all of the entire polticial agenda. I'll give you some examples: Oil companies, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, Defense Contractors, Banking and Financial Institutions. I could go on, it's a long list. All of them are big corporations, and their agenda is what is best for them.
We have another major enemy, and that is the two other major world super powers, China and Russia. Even though the "Cold War" is supposedly over, these two countries are still totalitarian states. Rights we take for granted here, like freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship as we please (or not), are simply not allowed. Yet, China is an ecomonic powerhouse. Just take a look at the Olympics. The U.S. has borrowed billions of dollars from them, and the Chinese flood our markets with cheap goods. These products find their way to the Wal-Mart shelves, where American consumers buy them. Why should we wonder our jobs have gone?
In the Country of Georgia, Russia has invaded and killed thousands of people. China is notorious for human rights violations. Russia and China both support governments hostile to the United States, and are ruthless enough to use military force inside and outside their own borders to quell any uprisings against them. We would be foolish to think that our only enemies are the terrorists in Iraq, or Afghanistan. We have a real threat here at home with our own corrupt government, and from the Russians and the Chinese.
The United States is still a superpower. It is time for individual Americans to reclaim their power. Vote in the next Presidential election. Make sure your votes count. If you are not sure if your vote was counted, demand to know why.
If you are not satisfied that you will be heard, it is because too many people have been apathetic about politics. The time for action is now. We have to change all of our leadership: in the White House, in the Congress, and at the local level. It is time for responsibility, accountability, and ethics in government. I am sick of corruption, and I want my country to have the respect it deserves as a superpower. With the poor leadership we have had, we need move forward and repair our damaged credibility.
It is too late for John Edwards, but not too late for our nation. It is time for us to take our power back.

7:12 PM - 17 Comments - 28 Kudos - Add Comment