Whether or not you are familiar with the viral-video phenomenon known as "Winnebago Man" (outtakes of Jack Rebney making Winnebago promo videos), if you get a chance to see the movie of the same name, do it!
Winnebago Man gets behind the YouTube schadenfreude of watching people bonk or otherwise find the next level of humiliation on camera, and gets to a deeper story about a thoughtful, articulate man and the times he found himself living in.
Whether you agree with protagonist Jack Rebney's musings or not is beside the point. At the very least, you will probably get some very welcome laughs.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
28th Amendment?
A friend of mine sent me this... I like it so much I'm going to shamelessly plagiarize it. If you agree, please pass the message along to 20 people in your network.
You are one of my 20!
Governors of 35 states have already filed suit against the Fed eral Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention.
The following will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.
An idea whose time has come...
For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform... in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.
Have each person contact a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.
The following will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.
An idea whose time has come...
For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform... in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.
Have each person contact a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.
Proposed 28th Amendment
to the United States Constitution
"Congress shall make no law
that applies to the citizens of the United States
that does not apply equally
to the Senators and/or Representatives;
and, Congress shall make no law
that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives
that does not apply equally
to the citizens of the United States."
You are one of my 20!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Independence Day
As we approach the official anniversary of the founding of our Republic, we should pause to reflect on the meaning of Independence. Here are ten things I’d like our country to be Independent of:
10. Non-critical, ungrounded commentary – parroted, packaged & distributed; anchored by an intentionally ineffective Fourth Estate
9. Reality TV
8. Bad manners and general lack of civility (which came first, the #9 or the #8?) in all domains of life – a modicum of decorum is still necessary for everyone to realize their Pursuit of Happiness
7. Permanent, Full-Time Politicians, even worse than standing Armies
6. Double-dipped and spiked public pensions (#7 & #6 are competing with #8 & #9 !) exemplifying the shift in our culture from industry and contribution to bureaucracy and entitlement
5. The 1999 Graham-Leach-Bliley Act repealing banking/speculation separation prohibition of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, together with the allowance of multiple layers of synthetic derivatives (the towering house of shaky cards built by Goldman Sachs that is amplifying the worldwide financial crisis). Giving the country over to the Financial Elite was perhaps not the best idea in the history of the USA…
4. Politically-driven public education… having schools as political footballs and training grounds for future ranks of full-time politicians is at best a distraction from focusing on the education of our youth -- as Frank Zappa said, “shut up and play yer guitar”
3. Government-issued statistics (major dietary item for #10)
2. Customer service policies that say “I understand…” but mean “SCREW YOU!”
and finally…
1. Brand marketing that concatenates two English-sounding names, with or without hyphen… our Republic fought hard to gain independence from the British Empire; why the nostalgia?!
So go online and read some of the original text of our Declaration of Independence http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html . Guaranteed to be inspiring, guaranteed never to go out of fashion.
Happy 4th!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Policitians Proclaim Homogeneity of Irrelevance
Yesterday I attended the SF Pride parade. I've never witnessed this happening before, but it's well worth going especially if you live in the area.
Two impressions - first, that the acceptance, tolerance and live-let-live bias in San Francisco is a pretty remarkable thing regardless of your position(s) in the human diversity spectra. When everything from hedonism to courage (the small VFW contingent - what it must have meant for them to come out?!) can peacefully coexist, there is some reason for celebration.
Second, seemingly EVERY local politician had a spot in the parade, with their entourage of handlers/supporters/beneficiaries. By and large, the current crop of politicians and cronies have no real claim on the social climate that is San Francisco, but they're all for sitting in convertibles getting their faces in front of x00,000 free advertising impressions to assist the next re-election grab. How does this kind of grandstanding contribute to the celebration of the day? Maybe some day, parade organizers will ban politicians... oh wait, how would they get all the necessary permits?
Two impressions - first, that the acceptance, tolerance and live-let-live bias in San Francisco is a pretty remarkable thing regardless of your position(s) in the human diversity spectra. When everything from hedonism to courage (the small VFW contingent - what it must have meant for them to come out?!) can peacefully coexist, there is some reason for celebration.
Second, seemingly EVERY local politician had a spot in the parade, with their entourage of handlers/supporters/beneficiaries. By and large, the current crop of politicians and cronies have no real claim on the social climate that is San Francisco, but they're all for sitting in convertibles getting their faces in front of x00,000 free advertising impressions to assist the next re-election grab. How does this kind of grandstanding contribute to the celebration of the day? Maybe some day, parade organizers will ban politicians... oh wait, how would they get all the necessary permits?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The State Budget Deficit Derby Finalists
Many States cannot legally resort to bankruptcy to clear the decks on their busted budgets. With taxpaying voters justifiably recalcitrant to hand over more dough to governments at any level, budget impasses will only get more interesting as shortfall pressure builds. When resources are scarce, what do competing interests do? Smile and shake hands? NOT!
So let's consider the positions and actions of the heavy combatants in coming budget debacles. Who do you think will win? Who has the strongest hand? Who will voters/taxpayers support?
Public Employees
----------------
Public employee one-way ratcheted pay and pension benefits are the proverbial parasite killing the host. the employee unions will argue that their compensation is contractual and cannot be diminished. They will do whatever necessary to fight layoffs and hour reductions. In Stockton, the police officers' union sponsored a graphic (blood on the streets) billboard campaign warning residents that any reductions in staffing will regrettably make in impossible to guarantee their safety. Gee, I didn't know we had a guarantee now? Do we? How'd we miss it? Colorado has taken a bold and courageous stand against budget shakedowns by the public sector, going after CURRENT pay and pension benefits. This is a very powerful interest group with a big voting block and strong lobbying.
Schools
-------
Schools take a big share of most budgets. Schools have been dealt a number of cutbacks already including layoffs. Schoolers have been reluctant to compete head-on with other public employee interest groups. Where possible (universities) they've resorted to compounded fee increases. There will be a resistance point for that... just haven't seen it expressed fully yet. Will the school interest group be willing to detonate real bombs? Like closing neighborhood schools (already FULL) and sending those kids even FULLER schools farther away?
Bondholders
-----------
Running last (at least for now) behind schools and public employees for claim on state money are state bondholders. Even in debt-soaked California, state bond interest is still in single digits... something like 7% of the budget. But even that money is a juicy target. Why not just stiff the bondholders? Don't think so. Bondholders have connections. And even more importantly, states need bonds even in normal or good years to deal with highly seasonal and variable income streams from taxes. Unless taxation can be changed to provide steady revenue (there's a good battle that will bring EVERYONE in) states absolutely cannot do without bonds. Plus, the cost of state bonds is directly related to the perceived ability and commitment of the state to pay the interest. What sane state would risk injuring its #1 finance tool and making it cost much more?
At this point, I'm betting on bondholders to win the budget deficit derby. They will be paid their interest on time, regardless of the political fires raging all around. Who will come in second? The powerful public employees unions and lobbies, or schools? Can either interest group come out of this without major structural changes? Let's see what happens when tapped-out public pension funds start appropriating money out of state general funds... should be a fascinating debate. In the meantime, as state bond interest goes up, those tax-free bonds might start looking pretty good compared to essentially zero-percent Treasuries and money market funds...
So let's consider the positions and actions of the heavy combatants in coming budget debacles. Who do you think will win? Who has the strongest hand? Who will voters/taxpayers support?
Public Employees
----------------
Public employee one-way ratcheted pay and pension benefits are the proverbial parasite killing the host. the employee unions will argue that their compensation is contractual and cannot be diminished. They will do whatever necessary to fight layoffs and hour reductions. In Stockton, the police officers' union sponsored a graphic (blood on the streets) billboard campaign warning residents that any reductions in staffing will regrettably make in impossible to guarantee their safety. Gee, I didn't know we had a guarantee now? Do we? How'd we miss it? Colorado has taken a bold and courageous stand against budget shakedowns by the public sector, going after CURRENT pay and pension benefits. This is a very powerful interest group with a big voting block and strong lobbying.
Schools
-------
Schools take a big share of most budgets. Schools have been dealt a number of cutbacks already including layoffs. Schoolers have been reluctant to compete head-on with other public employee interest groups. Where possible (universities) they've resorted to compounded fee increases. There will be a resistance point for that... just haven't seen it expressed fully yet. Will the school interest group be willing to detonate real bombs? Like closing neighborhood schools (already FULL) and sending those kids even FULLER schools farther away?
Bondholders
-----------
Running last (at least for now) behind schools and public employees for claim on state money are state bondholders. Even in debt-soaked California, state bond interest is still in single digits... something like 7% of the budget. But even that money is a juicy target. Why not just stiff the bondholders? Don't think so. Bondholders have connections. And even more importantly, states need bonds even in normal or good years to deal with highly seasonal and variable income streams from taxes. Unless taxation can be changed to provide steady revenue (there's a good battle that will bring EVERYONE in) states absolutely cannot do without bonds. Plus, the cost of state bonds is directly related to the perceived ability and commitment of the state to pay the interest. What sane state would risk injuring its #1 finance tool and making it cost much more?
At this point, I'm betting on bondholders to win the budget deficit derby. They will be paid their interest on time, regardless of the political fires raging all around. Who will come in second? The powerful public employees unions and lobbies, or schools? Can either interest group come out of this without major structural changes? Let's see what happens when tapped-out public pension funds start appropriating money out of state general funds... should be a fascinating debate. In the meantime, as state bond interest goes up, those tax-free bonds might start looking pretty good compared to essentially zero-percent Treasuries and money market funds...
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Great Addiction: Greed and Debt
Here is an excellent overview of the genesis and state of our greed>debt addiction, which isn't the same thing as capitalism. Well worth reading and thinking about.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-two-decades-greed-unraveling
The $.64 question is, will we have continuing deflation (possibly severe) or will the central banks' tireless print-more-money efforts take us straight to high inflation? Being wrong on this bet could cost savers/investors a tremendous amount of their net worth and purchasing power.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-two-decades-greed-unraveling
The $.64 question is, will we have continuing deflation (possibly severe) or will the central banks' tireless print-more-money efforts take us straight to high inflation? Being wrong on this bet could cost savers/investors a tremendous amount of their net worth and purchasing power.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Zerohedge - an interesting and worthwhile blog
If you are concerned about the state of Rule of Law, Market Transparency (is there any still?), Sovereign Debt and Bankruptcy, Bubbles, etc. you should check out www.zerohedge.com. Maybe not popular or mainstream theses and editorial but well worth consideration along with the swirl of other information and misininformation we are treated to on a daily basis. The authors challenge how most of us usually think. That's a good thing.
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