binder'sblog

Governor Romney Really Wants to Win

2012-01-27T23:52:00.000-08:00

Governor Romney has decided he wants to be President.

After getting hammered in South Carolina, Governor Romney decided he wants to be President of the United States.

The Governor had the fire in his belly, but was running a soft campaign, based on inevitability and electability. He and his supporters would run effective, negative ads, especially against Speaker Newt Gingrich, but he tried to stay above the fray. He had never released his tax returns in past campaigns, and was stalling on them this year, almost as if he had something to hide.

He was a soft campaigner, appearing all too programmed and robotic. FDR was also a patrician, but he could connect with the people. Romney’s defenses of Bain Capital and capitalism were weak. He would have been destroyed in November as President Obama can demagogue even better than Speaker Gingrich.

Governor Romney had appeared on a roll, winning Iowa and New Hampshire. South Carolina would form a trifecta.

The Fates turned on Romney. He lost Iowa and South Carolina. To paraphrase George H. W. Bush, Governor Romney lacked the Big Mo. He lost South Carolina because he appeared wooden, evasive and unprepared in the debates. He stuck to the script.

The Republicans want a fighter in November. They need a strong nominee who can withstand the negative ads coming from the President’s campaign and the media bias, and then strike back. Newt was the man, not Romney. Momentum swung to Gingrich. The Congressman may have a lot of baggage, but he could fight.

The Governor was facing a failed campaign. He could no longer win the nomination by relying upon his finances and organization to outlast the other candidates.

He had to change if he wanted to become President. An epiphany was at hand.

He quickly released his tax returns. He’s rich, but we already knew that.

South Carolina steeled him as a campaigner. He was prepared for the debates, putting Gingrich on the defensive. He hoisted the Speaker on his petard when it came to Freddie and Fannie, making Newt look like a hypocrite. The Speaker’s campaign had peaked, and the Governor survived.

He still has to get better in defending Bain, capitalism, and RomneyCare, but voters saw the potential.

Most significantly the Governor was aggressive. He was strong, authoritative, and showed no mercy. Senator Santorum may have technically won both Florida debates on points, but the Governor won Florida.

He's now a better campaigner.

Joseph Vincent Paterno, R.I.P. You Deserved Better

2012-01-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

Joe Paterno R.I.P. – You Deserved Better

Joe Paterno was laid to rest earlier today. Rest is what JoPa deserved after his vilification in the Jerry Sandusky scandal and disgraceful ouster by his beloved Penn State.

Joe Paterno passed away at age 85 from complications from metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung. While he was suffering from treatable lung cancer, and a broken pelvis, the real cause of death was a broken heart.

Joe Pa is the football equivalent of John Wooden. No one will probably ever beat his records of 409 victories and 5 undefeated seasons with a major college team, not to mention 61 years with one school, 46 as head coach. Too many coaches today are vagabonds lacking loyalty to any program, including their alma maters.

He was devoted to Pennsylvania State University. He may be the only football coach whose name is on the university library. JoePa and his family gave over $4 million to Penn State through the years. His salary of slightly over $1 million, was low. The legendary coach was the public face of Penn State.

Public universities are not as highly regarded in the Mid Atlantic and Northeast states as they are in the West and South. The region is a bastion of elite private education, but Penn State rode JoePa to academic as well as athletic prominence. He drove the once sleepy Penn State into the mighty Big Ten.

He was a source of pride to his family, his team, Penn State University, and the Penn State family. His was one of the few athletic programs not to receive a visit from the NCAA.

He coached past his prime, but he kept winning. President Graham Spanier wanted him out in 2004 after several unsuccessful seasons, but Joe Pa’s team went 11-1 the next year, betting Bobby Bowden’s Florida State in the Orange Bowl. He was a winner every season since.

His life fell apart on Saturday, November 5, 2011, when it was announced that former Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested for sexually abusing young boys. Also indicted for perjury were Athletic director Tim Curley and Vice President – CFO Gary Schultz, to whom the Penn State campus police reported. The Penn State Board of Trustees was blindsided by the indictments. I’ve read the leaked Grand Jury Report; the sordid report is damning.

Coach Paterno, as well as Assistant Coach Mike McQueary, received blame for not stopping Sandusky’s predations. A tsunami of national blame overtook the Coach, eventhough both he and McQueary reported the incident to superiors. Coach McQueary also met with both Curley and Schultz to discuss what he witnessed. They fulfilled their legal responsibilities.

Penn State’s Board of Trustees panicked on November 9. They felt President Spanler had sandbagged them on the seriousness of the developing Sandusky scandal. Thus, they fired him. No Board likes unpleasant surprises. But they also voted to terminate Coach Paterno, the most loyal employee Penn State ever had. The Board’s Vice Chair phoned the coach at 10:00PM, telling him the University “no longer needed
his services.” – a totally classless act.

The two pillars of Joe Paternos life were his family and Penn State. The Trustees stripped him of Penn State.

As the students and alumni erupted over the treatment of the beloved coach, board member Joel Myers said the Coach was fired because while he fulfilled his legal responsibilities, he did not meet his moral responsibilities. Board member Mark Dambly echoed these remarks, as once again they tried to justify their shameful act by degrading the coach.

The students and alumni were not condoning pedophiles, but instinctively felt Coach Paterno should not be the fall guy for the Board’s failures. Both the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board have since resigned their positions on the Board, but remain as trustees of Penn State. They should have resigned from the Board.

The Board lost control of the scandal as it rushed to judgment. It also forgot the American presumption of innocence until proven guilty. (I do believe based on the Grand Jury report that Sandusky is guilty, but the state still has to prove it). No one has yet been found guilty, except in the court of public opinion, or pled guilty. The indicted parties have proclaimed their innocence. No one has yet had their day in court while the prosecution’s case has been laid out in the leaked Grand Jury report.

Joseph Vincent Paterno deserved better.

Newt Disses the Media

2012-01-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

The best defense is a good offense.

Speaker Gingrich showed last night why he’s won many of the debates this year.
CNN and John King, the moderator, thought they had Gingrich by starting out the debate with a question about his wife’s appearance later in the evening on ABC claiming Newt wanted an open marriage. No waffling, no groveling, no equivocation, no cowering. No appeasement of the media.

Nope, Newt Gingrich was prepared. He probably couldn’t believe, in his wildest dreams, that John King would start the debate with the question. What luck! The Speaker could set the tone for the debate and win the sound bite battle.

He was ready. He hit the question back at ABC, CNN, and the media for their bias, for their scurrilous (my word) attacks on conservatives while protecting President Obama. The Speaker threw red meat to the Republicans in the red state of South Carolina and nationally. The response was electric - two standing ovations and most likely victory tomorrow in the South Carolina primary.

The public knows the media is biased, but no major candidate yet this year had directly attacked the media. One study shows only 22% of NBC’s coverage of the Republican candidates is favorable. 78% is negative. CBS, which learnt its lesson with Dan Rather, and Fox are the most balanced in their coverage.

Republicans know the media tried to avoid Governor Clinton’s “Bimbo Eruptions” in the 1992 campaign, explaining a lot was “old news.” The Speaker’s divorce is “old news.” Even the story about “an open marriage” was in Esquire magazine last year.
Republicans understand that the media will not normally run a story without two independent sources. Yet ABC was featuring two days before the primary election a story by Marianne Gingrich about their divorce without any validation. The normal rules of journalistic integrity do not apply to Republicans.

Republicans know the media, led by AP, “parachuted” into Wasilla, Alaska in 2008 to flyspeck every inch of Governor Palin’s public and personal life, giving publicity to some of the most outrageous accusations. Yet, they gave Senator Obama a pass.

Republicans know that any misstatement by Governor Palin or Representative Bachman would be blown up as if the two female politicians were blithering idiots. But Vice President Biden also gets a free pass from the media. He said the other day in San Francisco that he was rooting for the Giants to win the playoff game this weekend. The Vice President doesn’t understand the San Francisco Giants play baseball and the New York Giants football. The media also gives him a pass on his past ethical issues. Imagine the media frenzy if a Republican candidate made that mistake.

Republicans witnessed the media destroying Herman Cain a few months ago. So much for wanting a campaign based on issues and ideas.

The public wants to see strength in their candidates.

Governor Reagan lost the 1996 Iowa caucuses to George H. W. Bush. Due to legal issues, the Governor paid for the debate in New Hampshire. An issue arose over whether the debate would be between just Reagan and Bush, or open to other candidates. The moderator ordered Reagan’s microphone cut off.

Ronald Reagan yelled out “I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green.” New Hampshire voters loved his statement of force. He won the election that night in Nashua.

Perhaps so too with Speaker Gingrich.

However, the consensus is he won the Monday’s debate and Senator Santorum last night’s. The clear loser in both debates is Governor Romney, who cannot, for whatever reason, articulate why he won’t release his tax returns (What is he hiding?), Bain Capital, or RomneyCare. He’s smart. He had to know these issues were coming, but he seems unprepared to handle them.

Strength – the public wants strength in their President.

Speaker Gingrich showed it last night.

Keystone Pipeline

2012-01-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

The American economy has been built on cheap energy, beginning with the mill dams in colonial days: cheap hydro. Hydro is still the cheapest source of power, but the challenge is to maintain the existing sites with new ones out of the question.

Inexpensive coal powered the factories of the Midwest, the heartland of America.

Cheap oil, less than $.19/gallon transformed America on wheels. The steam engine and the internal combustion engine made America.

Natural gas is clean and plentiful, but it's still a fossil fuel.

High priced aviation fuel is devastating to air transportation. Costly diesel fuel is a killer for the trucking industry.

President Obama believes expensive green energy is the future, often in the form of crony capitalism.

Billions of subsidies to promote green energy in the U.S., with production of the solar panels in China.

That is his vision. That is his dream – a green America.

How ironic therefore that if the Keystone Pipeline is not built in the U.S. from Canada, then Canada will export the oil to China as we remain dependent on Mideast Oil.

Does this Presidency, this Administration have any understanding of basic economics?

We don’t know because his vision is not driven by economics, but by the liberation politics of the Reverend Wright, the radicalism of Bill Ayers, and others. Remember, he was ranked the most liberal Senator during his short Senate stay, based on his votes, when he wasn’t abstaining. His Dream Team of economists has bailed on him.

President Obama is a true believer in the green economy of tomorrow.

In an interview with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle prior to his election, he made clear his desire to shut down the coal economy. Any company that deigned to build a new coal plant would pay dearly for its foolishness.

His EPA is doing the best it can to destroy coal.

The EPA also issued a misleading report last month about the environmental effects of fracking, which is on the path of restoring energy independence to the United States, America’s dream for the past 40 years.

The Administration said it could not complete the necessary on Keystone in 60 days, so it would have to deny the permit. However, it jammed Solyndra through in 60 days. But that was a green project - not one of fossil fuels.

When gas shot up to $5/gallon 4 years ago, his response was not that it was unfortunate, but that it rose too quickly. He needs high energy prices to sustain his green economy, regardless of what it does to the American economy and the American consumer.

Thus, his decision to block the Keystone Pipeline and increase our reliance on imported oil from the Mideast. Inexpensive oil, even accompanied by thousands of American jobs, including union jobs, is too high a price for him; it threatens his green vision.

The Keystone Pipeline would be 1700 miles long, connecting Alberta to Texas. 833,000 barrels a day would flow through the pipeline.

The smart approach would be to encourage all forms of energy development, and then let the market and technology pick the winners.

That’s not the President’s approach. Flexibility is not his mantra; he’s rigidly wed to the green agenda.

The Keystone Pipeline will be built in spite of President Obama. The bipartisan support is too strong in the Midwest. Even the Washington Post found the decision to be absurd. Robert Samuelson, its columnist, declared the decision to be an act of insanity.

President Obama handed a major issue to the Republicans in the November election. It will cost him votes in the Blue States

Reflections on the Iron Lady

2012-01-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

We saw The Iron Lady Sunday before the Golden Globes. Meryl Streep’s performance was truly a tour d’force, as one has come to expect from the great actress. Harvey Weinstein for the second year in a row has a success based on Great Britain. Last year’s was The King’s Speech.

One review had it totally right though. It’s sad to see a movie on the great Prime Minister looking at her from the perspective of her current dementia. It would be just as wrong to review President Reagan’s life from the perspective of his dementia. Their greatness should not be eclipsed by their unfortunate age related illness. But it is; and that wasn’t an accident.

So much for the movie; let’s talk about Lady Thatcher herself.

The once despised PM is now rated by the British as their best Prime Minister in the past 30 years. She should join Winston Churchill as the two greatest British prime ministers of the 20th century. The country has a history of great leaders, in which they justly hold their own.

Churchill saved Great Britain’s independence and Thatcher England’s economy.

Both became Prime Minister in times of great peril. Hitler was poised to conquer England, and the unions were destroying the Thatcher's Great Britain. History tells us today that a number of England's leaders were willing to seek peace with Hitler.

Churchill and Thatcher rallied the English people through their strength of will.

Thatcher’s problem was partially the mess created by Labour when it assumed power after World War II and nationalized industry, especially heavy industry. Her solution was to close down unprofitable mines, privatize the public businesses, and bust the unions - all at a time of rising inflation and unemployment. She had the “silent majority” of the British people behind her. They had enough of the union thuggery.

The economic medicine was severe. Unemployment rose to 3 million, but the economy turned around. The unions fought every inch of the way, throwing strike after strike at public services. The Iron Lady, so named by the Russians, did not give an inch.

She won, England won; the unions lost. She broke them. They never regained their
power, not even under a subsequent Labour government. She had the cajones many of the male politicians lacked.

The middle class daughter of a grocer fought for everything she achieved. The first, and still only, woman PM of England did not achieve success by birth or inheritance.

She fought for it. Neither the unions, an Argentine Junta, Saddam Hussein ("Don’t go wobbly, George") or European socialists would cower her. Appeasement neither suited her nor Churchill.

Here’s the question. Who is today's America’s Iron Lady or Ronald Reagan?

The public employee unions, as represented by their actions in Wisconsin, and control over the California political system, are bankrupting states and local government.

Who will take them on?

It’s certainly not President Obama or Governor Jerry Brown of California.

Governor Romney seems eager to veer his views with the winds. We saw that earlier with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Governors Christie, Kasich, Palin, and Walker aren’t running.

Who will be America’s Margaret Thatcher?

It has to be either Speaker Gingrich or Senator Santorum.

It's Too Early to Annoint Governor Romney

2012-01-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

Don’t Anoint Governor Romney Yet

Governor Romney received 25% of the caucus in Iowa, and either won Iowa by 8 votes or lost by 20. He won a convincing 40% of the New Hampshire primary.

These two victories gave him 25 delegates, out of the 1,144 needed for the Republican nomination. He’s only 1119 delegates short of clinching the nomination.

He won’t capture them in South Carolina or Florida. The process will go on through Super Tuesday, perhaps all the way to the Convention.

The Republicans changed the rules this year. The state results are not winner take all, but proportionate. Theoretically, the contest could go into the Convention if a conservative opponent to the Governor catches fire with the voters, and both fall short of a majority.

The Governor is obviously in the best position to win, with the strongest organization and financial resources. He has the fire in the belly, and will engage in negative campaigning to win. He has the endorsements. Karl Rove is singing his praises, but the conservative base of the party doesn’t want him. RomneyCare nullifies the strong Republican campaign against ObamaCare.

Gingrich, Huntsman, Perry, Santorum cannot all survive South Carolina and Florida.
As the non - Paul candidates drop out one by one, the surviving conservative, perhaps Senator Santorum, will narrow the race to essentially a one on one, discounting the 15% Ron Paul vote.

The Governor proved last week that even the brightest, most disciplined candidate will utter a gaffe during a long campaign. His quote “I like to fire people” will be taken out of context, especially coupled with the Bain ads. It occurred too short before the New Hampshire primary, and hence was a non-factor. It’s not going away.
Of course he meant that when people and companies provide poor service, we fire them.

Governor Romney has yet to craft an effective response to the Bain ads or the questions about RomneyCare. He's vulnerable.

The advent of the SuperPacs means candidates are not as dependent as in past years on direct political contributions. If the funding dried up, the candidate was out.

Not now. These “independent” campaigns can keep a candidate in the race. Governor
Howard Dean paved the way for low cost internet contributions.

Finally, the media simply cannot stand the possibility of neither a heated Democratic or Republican primary season. They will keep the race going.

Governor Romney’s success partially depends upon Congressman Paul remaining in the race. The Congressman makes the Governor appear much more moderate and reasonable to the general electorate. In addition, his presence precludes a unified “Block Romney” candidate, making Governor Romney’s plurality wins seem larger than they are.

Speaker Gingrich will probably shoot himself in the mouth again. Governor Huntsman has little traction, and is even more moderate than Governor Romney. Governor Perry is still trying to make a second first impression.

That leaves Senator Santorum, who delivers warmth in his speeches.

If not Romney, then Santorum or a brokered convention.

Just don’t anoint the Governor, at least not yet.

But First, and Foremost It's Michigan

2012-01-05T17:33:00.000-08:00

From Appalachian State to Virginia Tech, the five year fog at Michigan lifted.

Think of the ride the 15 fifth year seniors have been on, starting their careers with the tragic 34-32 loss to Appalachian State with the Mountaineers blocking 2 Michigan field goal attempts at the end of the game.

Michigan is Michigan again. Brady Hoke willed the players into believing in themselves. How else can you explain an abysmal field goal kicker of last year 1/5, going 13 of 17 this year, including three in the Sugar Bowl with the final one being the game winner in overtime. No clutching this year. Brady Hoke even said a few days ago that he had confidence in the kicker. Field goals won this year.

Brady Hoke was clear in assuming the helm of the Michigan Wolverines football team.

When questioned about the past few years, he replied “I mean, we’re Michigan.” At another event, he said “But first, and foremost it’s Michigan.”

He made it clear: Michigan is Michigan. You play for Michigan, for the team, for toughness, for integrity. The seniors lead the team. He drilled MICHIGAN, the game’s winningest program, into the players, disabusing them of any memories of the past three years.

Call his attitude “arrogance” if you want, but arrogance can instill confidence.

Confidence built over the season with game after game. The critical game was Notre Dame, when the Fighting Irish snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Toughness won, with the help of Denard Robinson. As you win, as you begin to believe in yourself You go into games knowing you will win. The Oakland raiders in the days of John Madden always found a way to win. “Just win baby” Al Davis said, and win they did.

Michigan in recent years entered the Ohio State game hoping to win. Ohio State knew it would win – 7 straight years. Not this year.

Brady Hoke also knew that defense wins games.

The Michigan defense last year ranked 110 in the nation out of 120 teams – 16th this year. Last year’s coach whose name shall not be mentioned said “Vince Lombardi could come in and not fix the problems on defense.” Greg Mattison fixed them.

Michigan’s defense bent, but did not break against Virginia Tech. twice in the red zone, the Hokies had to settled for field goals. On a third occasion, they turned the ball over by failing to gain a first down on 4th and 1. That is defense- Michigan defense.

Michigan played a horrific offensive game Tuesday night. Robinson ran 13 times for 13 yards, Fitzgerald for only 30 yards. The Hokies of Virginia Tech outgained Michigan 377 yards to 184. They controlled the clock for 37 minutes compared to 23 for Michigan. They gained 22 first downs to the Wolverines 12.

The only statistic that matters is the final score, 23-20 Michigan.

The football gods smiled on Michigan. Several times this year the breaks went for Michigan, unlike recent years. Jump balls on sloppy passes went for touchdowns. Robinson’s passes that should have been intercepted were not. The season hanged on miraculous catches by Junior Hemingway, Jeremy Gallon, and Roy Roundtree.

You make your breaks. Play hard, play tough, play disciplined, believe in yourself, and good things can happen.

Indeed, Virginia State was betrayed by Beamerball. Frank Beamer’s Virginia Tech teams have thrived on special teams for a quarter century. The Hokies’ special teams failed 4 times, costing them the game: failed fake punt, fumbled kickoff return, roughing Michigan’s punted when the Wolverines had been stopped, and finally missing the field goal in overtime.

The football gods are not always fair to great coaches. Bo never won the national title, and Frank Beamer is but 1-4 in BCS games. The Big ten ended up 4-6 in bowl games this year, but the ACC is only 2-13 in BCS games.

Michigan finished the season 11-2 with a bowl victory. The most optimistic prediction was 8-4. Victories over Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech were not predicted.

Brady Hoke coached San Diego State last year in the Poinsettia Bowl. This year he won the Sugar Bowl with Michigan.

The slide began with 2 blocked field goals by special teams. The miasma lifted with three field goals by the special teams.

The circle is complete. Michigan is back.

Go See Cal. Go See Cal. Go See Cal get Divorced

2012-01-04T00:20:00.000-08:00

Go See Cal. Go See Cal. Go See Cal Get Divorced

Here’s to Cal Worthington, a potential divorcee at 91?

Cal epitomizes the American Dream.

One of 9 children growing up dirt poor in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, he dropped out of school in the Ninth Grade. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corp during the Great Depression, and then became an Army Air Corps pilot of B-17 Flying Fortress during World War II.

He co-piloted the first American bomber over Berlin. He flew 29 missions, and was personally awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the fabled Jimmy Doolittle.

Like many veterans, he found his way to Los Angeles after the war. He bought an auto dealership and then took off.

Southern California boomed, and he saw the potential first in radio and then the nascent TV. Cal is eternal; he is TV’s longest pitchman. He’s been selling cars for over 6 decades, over 1 million new and used vehicles by his estimate. He owned 29 franchises at one time.

There's been disgruntled customers and state false advertising and bait and switch claims, but that's not a bad record over time.

Cal Worthington is the last of the old time iron movers. Earl “Mad Man” Muntz (My wife thinks I’m Mad”) and Ralph Williams (“Ralph Williams here; Do I have deal for you”) went out of business, but Cal prospered.

He had a three hour show, Cal’s Corral, featuring such country western stars as Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Buck Owens, Roy Acuff, and Flatt and Scruggs. The Stetson wearing Cal was the originator for Dodge’s Good Guys in White Hats.

His biggest success came with his ads. A competitor started advertising with “my dog Storm.” Cal responded with his dog “Spot.” Cal and Spot appeared together, but Spot was never a dog. Spot could be a Bengal tiger, lion, bear, gorilla, camel, chicken, rhino, hippo, skunk, boas, and even Baby Shamu.

And he had a ditty : “Go see Cal. Go see Cal. Go see Cal” accompanied by a lyric, such as “Give a new car to your wife, she will love you for all her life.”

He created his own advertising agency, Spot Advertising, which only had one account, Cal Worthington, a clever economic move.

He owns ranches in California, Idaho, and Nevada, and three shopping centers.

His personal life has been just as interesting. He’s been married 4 times, the first
marriage for 37 years, and the second and third for seven years. He has two children from his first and second marriages and one from the third. His children range in age from 10 to 64.

The youngest child makes Cal the fabled figure of estate planning, The Fertile Octogenarian.

And now comes the marriage to wife number 4 in April. She was only 50 years younger than him at 41, hardly robbing the cradle.

Anna Mjoll Olafsdottir, an Icelandic singer living in Los Angeles, filed for divorce seeking spousal support, citing irreconcilable differences. He probably snores at night. He may not have given her a car, not even a Focus. Perhaps he offered spot to Anna.

Cal’s been around the block a few times, so we assume he had a prenuptial, rather than being blinded by love as Sir Paul McCartney was with Heather Mills. In any event, Anna took his name, and now she wants to take his money to be supported in the life style she quickly became accustomed to.

Apparently she could not hold out until Cal croaked. She is no Anna Nicole Smith.

His auto empire in the dismal economy shrunk to a Ford dealership in Long Beach, a Mitsubishi shop in Carlsbad, and both a Ford-Lincoln and Mercedes dealership in Anchorage, but his vital signs remain strong. He's a survivor.

As marriages go, the Worthington-Olafsdottir 8 month marriage falls between Sinead O’Conner’s 4th marriage of 18 days, Kim Kardashian’s 72 day romance, and Katy Perry-Russell Brand of 14 months.

Go see Cal’s divorce.

Senator Rich Santorum - The Tortoise versus The Hare

2012-01-02T23:08:00.000-08:00

Can Senator Santorum pull Iowa out?

He’s followed the Jimmy Carter protocol – essentially live in Iowa for a year, introduce yourself to everyone in the state, and campaign in all 98 counties.

Governor Romney’s strategy is based on being the last man standing at the end of the primary season. He has the finances and organization. The Governor is intelligent, articulate, poised, and disciplined. He succeeded in business, is very religious, and is fiscally conservative. He’s a winner – on paper.

He may succeed, knowing the Republicans and independents might have to hold their nose in November, but they will vote for him. He’s not the wrong candidate, but he just doesn’t feel like the right candidate.

He may succeed, but in the meantime the conservatives are desperately seeking salvation in the form of a true conservative. They have carefully scrutinized the candidates, and with the exceptions of Senator Santorum and Governor Huntsman, who is focusing on New Hampshire, they have been found wanting.

Congresswoman Michelle Bachman of Minnesota, a native Iowan, was quick out of the gate. She won the Iowa Straw Poll, but didn’t seem ready for prime time. The media pounced on every gaffe. Her campaign is broke.

Governor Perry of Texas was everyone’s choice until he bombed in the debates (He was recovering from an illness at the time). He has the money to last, but has to overcome the bad first impression.

Herman Cain with his 9-9-9 and folksy approach connected with the Republicans as no one has since Sarah Palin. He was on a roll until overwhelmed by Bimbo eruptions.

Congressman Newt Gingrich would have won three weeks ago. He is widely believed to have won the debates as he clearly focused on President Obama and the issues. He peaked too soon. He may have survived his marital issues, but getting into bed with Fannie and Freddy was too much.

Congressman Ron Paul is from Mars.

So why not Senator Rick Santorum? He hasn’t had his 15 minutes of infamy before the GOP circular firing squad. The former Senator is sufficiently conservative and religious for the Republicans voters. He is pro-life and anti-gay marriage. He is a fiscal conservative. He appeals to both evangelicals and fiscal conservatives. He has spent more time in Iowa than the other contenders.

He only has two major problems in the primaries. First, he lost reelection to the Senate 5 years ago by 18 percent to Bob Casey, Jr., a truly uninspiring candidate.

Second, he heavily endorsed and campaigned for Senator Arlen Specter 7 years ago in the Republican primary when Arlen was challenged by Pat Toomey, a true conservative

Governor Romney is hoping that the Senator and Congressman Ron Paul will be his opponents coming out of Iowa and New Hampshire. Congressman Paul will fall by the wayside, but Senator Santorum could well defeat him.

If the Senator becomes the primary opponent to the Governor, the money will be pouring out of the woodwork for him. There could well be a bandwagon for Senator Santorum.

The Senator’s campaign has been one of the tortoise. He’s proceeded in a slow, steady gait, plugging ahead while the others enjoyed their time in the sun. Nobody noticed him as he campaigned under the radar. He more than held his own in the debates, but wasn’t considered to have a chance. He’s positive with a warm smile.

He will pass the gravitas test.

The Iowa caucuses have sprung many a surprise, introducing candidates to America. Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama rode Iowa to the White House.

Senator Santorum is the last Republican standing against Governor Romney – the tortoise versus the hare.

What Will Iowa and New Hampshire Foretell?

2012-01-02T00:13:00.000-08:00

The Iowa Caucus is two days away. What will 120,000 or less “Republicans” (120,000 would be a record turnout. tell us about the Republican nominee? Who will be The Man or the Woman?

Iowa will not decide the nominee. Neither will New Hampshire. Iowa's winner gets a boost in New Hampshire, but only a boost.

The potential for political mischief is great since both are in essence “open” venues. A Democrat can walk into an Iowa caucus, register as a Republican, vote in the caucus and then become a Democrat again the next day. 5,000 faux Republicans can have a tremendous impact, indeed anointing an unelectable caucus winner.

Iowa and New Hampshire do not usually decide either the nomination or general election. Senator Obama was an exception to this political reality four years ago. Governor Huckabee won the Republican caucus four years ago. It did not propel him to the nomination. George H. W. Bush won the Iowa caucus in 1980, not Governor Reagan.

The trek through Iowa and New Hampshire is often criticized because these two small, Frost belt states are unrepresentative of American’s demographics. Even if that statement were true, it's irrelevant.

The strength of Iowa and New Hampshire is that they winnow the field. Those that fare poorly often fold their campaigns as financing and media attention dries up. Candidates who cannot convince the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire, after a year of up close and personal, probably cannot appeal to the broader American populace.

They are a test of whether a candidate is ready for prime time. They show us how the potential president responds to crisis and bad news (Cain). Do they have the fire in their belly? (Thompson and Perry). Iowa and New Hampshire size up a candidate for America.

Iowa often produces a surprise because of the small turnout in the dead of winter to spend hours discussing each candidate before voting.

Thus, success usually depends upon an organization turning out a dedicated core of supporters, or in the case of Senator Obama, a community organizer “organizing” often with non-residents doing the organizing in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Contenders who cannot organize Iowa will be unable to manage a general election campaign.

A twist this year is the millions of Super PAC money invested in the advertising campaign. These ads are not endorsed by Mitt, Newt, Rick, or Michelle. Indeed, by law they must be independent of the candidate’s campaign. By way of example, the “Willie Horton” ad, that Democrats claim defeated Governor Michael Dukakis in 1988, was not by the official Bush campaign, but by an independent group. Similarly, Senator Kerry was “Swiftboated” by Swift Boat Veterans for truth and not the Bush Campaign.

Labor organizations operate the same way in elections funding their own campaigns as does George Soros in funding progressive candidates and causes.

Restore Our Future, a Super Pac on Governor Romney’s belief, has spent millions in attack ads against Romney’s primary opponents. Former Romney aides run the Super Pac. Governor Romney’s reply to Speaker Gingrich’s request to stop the ads is that he legally cannot, which is true. Thus, a candidate like the Governor can have it both ways. He runs a principled campaign while others do the hatchet job. That’s certainly not unusual in elections.

The First Amendment protects a vigorous debate on the issues and candidates. Free speech is great.

Don’t run for President if you can’t take the heat.

Whiners and criers usually lose, as did Senator Muskie in New Hampshire.

Gingrich saw the nomination in his sights. It was there, but now it’s slip sliding away. He also lacks a strong organization or dedicated core support.

Iowans justly resent candidates who are caught on video years earlier trashing the Iowa Caucus (Remember Howard Dean - the presumed 2004 winner in Iowa?)

Citizens of Iowa have little regard for those who bypass the beautiful state (Check out Mayor Giuliani and Governor Huntsman).

What will Iowa and New Hampshire foretell?

Will this year’s Iowa surprise be Bachman, Perry, or Santorum?

Does it reaffirm that money is the mother’s milk of politics?

Iowa, the Media, and the Debasement of the Political Debate

2012-01-01T00:11:00.000-08:00

The economy has been in the tank for three years. The country is at a junction point between capitalism and entrepreneurism or statism and dependency. These are the issues that will be decided next November.

But that’s not the campaign this year in Iowa.

If we are to believe the media, the result of the Republican caucuses next Tuesday will be either a candidate, Governor Mitt Romney, the Republicans can’t abide, or a lightweight the American people will not elect. As the saying goes: “You can’t beat someone with no one.”

Bachman, Gingrich, Paul, Perry, Santorum are all portrayed as deeply flawed, unethical, two-faced, flip-floppers, or stupid. Statements from decades ago are flyspecked with an electron microscope to find “gotcha’ moments.” The Washington Post does a “Pinocchio count” by its fact checker for misstatements by the candidates. The New York Times ran color photos of the candidates’ homes, as if that’s relevant.

Gaffes are seized upon as evidence of stupidity, ignorance and incompetence, rather than as a manifestation of tiredness from non-stop campaigning.

There’s nothing new here. The media always says these canards about Republicans. Tricky Dickie was unethical. Gerry Ford was a bumbling dolt. Ronald Reagan was a naïve, stupid cowboy. George H. W. Bush was out of touch with the American people. His son, George W. Bush, was an idiot who stole the election.

Etc., etc., etc.

The difference this time is that the Republican candidates are playing along with the media in painting the picture of the Republican slate. The attack ads are relentless, belittling both the target and the attacker. The candidates, with the exception of Newt Gingrich, have lost touch with Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment “Thou shall not speak ill if a fellow Republican.”

Have we forgotten we are electing a President, not the Pope or a saint?

Imagine if it came out that one of the Republicans used cocaine and other drugs?
Imagine the uproar!

Of course, that’s President Obama in his younger years.

We are told Ron Paul is a naïve isolationist, to the left of the Democrats!

Was it Congressman Paul who said that the Taliban are not per se our enemy?

No, it was Vice President Biden last week, who is a living, walking, breathing gaffe machine.

Did Herman Cain hit upon women? Probably, but did Gloria Allred and the media raise an outcry about Governor Bill Clinton’s record of “Bimbo eruptions?” Did the media pursue the statements of Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, or Juanita Broaddrick? What about Jennifer Flowers and Elizabeth Ward Gracen? What about Senators Chris Dodd and Ted Kennedy?

Did Newt Gingrich receive money from Freddie and Fanny while out of office? Senator Barack Obama was the largest recipient of campaign contributions from Freddie and Fannie.

As for gaffes, let us not forget Senator Kerry campaigning in Taylor, Michigan on August 1, 2004 saying “I just go for Buckeye football.”

Also don’t forget Senator Obama in Beaverton, Oregon in May 2008 “I’ve now been in 57 states, and have one left to go.”

You probably never heard these in the media, but you would have if uttered by one of the Republicans. Since both President Obama and Senator Kerry are presumed brilliant, the media assumes these misstatements are the result of being tired. No similar mercy is shown Republicans for gaffes though.

Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan was gaining traction, but then he was Borked out of the campaign. Governor Pawlenty was a non-factor in the Iowa Straw Vote, so he dropped out early. Governor Huntsman is ignored as if he is an afterthought.

Any of the Republican candidates, with the exception of Congressman Ron Paul and his pacifist foreign policy, is more qualified to be President than the incumbent, and will do a better job for America.

The Iowa voter, the American voter deserve more. We need an airing of the issues, not the slinging of trivia and mud.

Happy New year: Where Are They Now?

2011-12-31T23:49:00.000-08:00

Where Are They Now?

President Obama’s Economics Dream Team

Berkeley, Chicago & Harvard

Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jessie Ventura

Who cares?

Governor Jenifer Granholm

Having inherited a sinking economy, the Berkeley and Harvard grad rode it down and then fled Michigan to Berkeley when her term expired – don’t let the door hit you on the way out

Governor Rob Blagojevich

Visiting his predecessor Governor George Ryan in the federal pen

Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York

Enjoying his new child with his faithful wife Umma

Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida

Planning a comeback

Dominique Strauss-Kahn

The future leader of France is no more

Jon Corzine

The epitome of hubris and the destroyer of wealth

Conrad Murray

Celebrities who violate the law may be acquitted, but not doctors who kill
celebrities

Greece

Paving the way for Italy, Portugal, and Spain, not to mention California

Vivian Schiller, Ron Schiller, & Ellen Weiss of NPR

Ask Juan Williams

Whitey Bulger

Please come to Boston

Kim Jong Il

He joins Francisco Franco in still being dead

Hosni Mubarak

Has he become a living mummy?

Muammar Gaddafi

Sleeping somewhere in the dessert

Osama bin Laden

He swims with the fishes

Christians in the Arab Mideast

The new Diaspora has begun

Occupy Wherever

Evicted by their political supporters

Joe Paterno

His name’s off a trophy and his wife is barred from the university swimming pool

Jim Tressel

Making replay calls for the Indianapolis Colts

The new LAUSD school menu

Food fight by the students

Notre Dame

Football

Rudy

Regis Philbun

Borders

Filene’s Basement

Solyndra

The light will shine on The White House

Saab

Twice sunk by GM

The old GM

Howrey LLP

Won’t be the last law firm to fail

Incandescent light bulb

Political burn out

Bank of America’s $5 debit fee

Verizon’s $2 payment fee

About as popular as the $2 bill

Coke’s new white cans

Didn’t Coke learn from the New Coke

Law & Order

Moved to London

Detroit 1-8-7

Who’s going to save Detroit?

L.A. Lakers

Meet Donald Sterling’s L. A. Clippers

Indianapolis Colts

See Jim Tressel, above

Mel Gibson

Met his Apocalypto

Merry Christmas: Explain How the Republicans Blew the Payroll Tax Cut?

2011-12-26T22:30:00.000-08:00

Here we are, a day after Christmas and a week after the House Republicans caved on the 60 day extension of the payroll tax cut, not to mention the unemployment compensation extension.

How did they blow it?

How did they hand a tax cut issue to the Democrats – a true political oxymoron?

How did the House GOP manage the seemingly impossible task of getting the Wall Street Journal, Senator John McCain and Charles Krauthammer to agree with the New York Times and the Democrats?

Why didn’t they just accept the fraudulent Senate 60 day extension, and send it back to the Senate with one simple amendment – change the 60 days to 365 days?

Why didn’t they relabel the 60 day cut a “tax holiday” instead of a tax cut, even a phantom tax cut?

Can a 2 month $160 tax cut sink the Republican agenda?

What’s going to happen in two months when the payroll tax cut reappears in the middle of the primary season?

Will they be rolled again on the lure of a middle class tax cut?

Has the House GOP forgotten that the Democrats still control the Senate and the President has the Bully Pulpit with a friendly media?

Have the Republicans forgotten one of the most significant political strengths of President Reagan – better to get 70% and call it a victory than fight for the last percent?

When will the Republicans learn when to fight and when to fold?

Will the Republicans figure out how to beat the Democrats’ mischief as President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid use every trick possible to retain the Presidency and Senate?

Is any of this going to matter on November 6, 2012?

Merry Christmas Trent Arsenault, The Giver of Life

2011-12-24T23:04:00.001-08:00

We celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas – the miracle of Jesus, and indeed the miracle of life. To hold our newborn son or daughter in our arms is to witness the miracle of birth and life. As our children grow, we go to bed every night saying “Thank You God.”

Not all women though can share in the celebration of life. They may lack a fertile lover.

Trent Arsenault has been offering the gift of life for 5 years. The minister’s son had an epiphany in 2004 when he read about a neighborhood teacher who wanted a baby. He found his calling. He would donate his sperm to women who desire it. He would gift these women with life.

What greater gift can there be?

Trent is a free standing sperm bank in Fremont, California.

Trent does it for the love of life. He charges no money for his services and does not know the women in the Biblical way. He obviously does not claim a charitable contribution. All he asks in exchange for his semen is a contract in which he disclaims any paternal rights or responsibilities.

Even God’s angels today need the services of lawyers.

Trent offers his services on line and provides complete medical records along with his photo.

He has donated his sperm 348 times to 46 women. 14 babies have been born and 4 more are on the way. He has provided the gift of life to suffering women.

The Grinch, aka The Food and Drug Administration, is attempting to stop to his ministrations. The FDA, which does a poor job of safeguarding our medications or food, issued Trent a cease and desist order, threatening fines and imprisonment. It claims he violates their regulations, which require a blood test within 7 days preceding any donation of body tissue or fluids. They view sperm as a body fluid, even when no exchange of body fluids exists. The agency charged his “firm or establishment in Fremont recovers and distributes semen, and therefore is a manufacturer of human cells.”

The whole situation is illustrative of a bureaucracy gone wild, of a Nanny State that does not know when to quit.

Of course, artificial insemination through strange men poses risks to fetuses. Some men pass on genetic problems. STD’s can also reach the mother and child. So too though with sex through marriage and other relationships.

The FDA has no jurisdiction over normal heterosexual relations, which carry much
more risk than the non-carnal sperm donations. A man can father as many children as he wishes through as many women as he can entice into a sexual relationship. The late Wilt Chamberlain supposedly claimed he had bedded 20,000 women and 23 in 10 days. Magic Johnson, who admitted to being a “Party Animal,” was sued by one consort for giving her AIDS.

Every act of sexual intimacy between fertile couples carries risks to the baby and the couple itself. Whatever risks may exist with artificial insemination are probably less than with traditional sex, especially the classic one night stand. The breakup of a relationship may also cause great emotional trauma to at least one of the two.

At one level, the FDA’s action reeks of 1984. At a basic, constitutional level, the FDA’s stance also clashes with the fundamental precepts of Roe v. Wade and Griswold v. Connecticut – those of a woman’s right to choose

Merry Christmas Trent.

Is Jon Corzine That Stupid?

2011-12-21T00:20:00.001-08:00

Vice President Joe Biden said Jon Corzine was the person they called between the November 2008 election and inauguration day. They wanted his advice on the economy. He was the most brilliant person they knew on the economy. Corzine advised the Stimulus Package.

We know how that worked out.

Strike One!

Jon Corzine must have been brilliant. The tenant farmer’s son with an MBA from Chicago rose to become Chairman of Goldman Sachs at age 44. The wunderkind is a true genius.

So why last week did he not plead the 5th Amendment before Congress, but even worst, ignorance? He had no answer for how $1.2 billion in client funds went missing shortly before his company, MF Global, entered bankruptcy: “I simply do not know where the money is.”

Neither did the CEO and CFO he appointed at MF. Their defense is one of abject ignorance. The reality is one of gross mismanagement.

$1.2 billion is not petty cash, even for Goldman Sachs. How could MF’s senior management not know where it is? The farmers, grain elevators, and others who invested the $1.2 billion only know where it is not. The man who ran the company claims not only not to know where it is, but also that he never authorized an illegal transaction.

How can the brilliant head of Goldman Sachs be so ignorant and incompetent?

Of course, Corzine’s record is not that brilliant.

He was Chairman of Goldman Sachs from 1994 to 1999, when he was ousted from the firm.

Strike Two!

His consolation prize was $400 million in GS stock.

He spent $60 million of it in 2000 securing a Senate seat in New Jersey. The seemingly arch-capitalist discovered his inner self of a clueless progressive. His voting record was to the left of Senator John Kerry.

His 2003 divorce cost him half of his fortune – the price to pay for openly cavorting with a mistress. The consolation prize, the girlfriend, did not work out. He then spent several million cutting his ties with her, a union official.

Strikes 3 and 4!

Don’t you only get three strikes in baseball?

He spent an additional $40 million in 2005 winning the New Jersey Governorship.

He then presided over 4 years of mismanagement, incompetence, infidelity,
arrogance, and corruption, while taxes, especially property taxes, keep rising. He also raised the sales tax to 7%.

The voters toss him from office; a progressive Democrat in one of the bluest of blue states, is defeated for reelection.

Strike 5! He’s on borrowed time, but doesn’t realize it. Hubris pride.

A new consolation prize awaited. An old friend from Goldman Sachs, J. Christopher Flowers, offered him MF in March 2010.

He assumed control, and within 20 months drove MF into bankruptcy. It had a debt/capital ratio of 40:1. This leverage exceeded even those of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers when they folded.

Strike 6!

He bet $6.3 billion in the debt of five European countries: Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. At least he avoided Greece. He was warned against it, but felt the rewards were great, while the risk low. Leverage; he was betting with other investor’s money. The firm had assets of $39.7 billion and liabilities of $41 billion when it folded. The securities firm was out of cash. He learnt nothing from the 2010 Crash. A fool doesn’t learn.

He’s not so smart after all.

By the time he’s finished with litigation, settlements, and attorneys fees, he may be a pauper.

He never learnt to cut his losses.

It’s not easy to blow $400 million.

Jon Corzine is a stupid fool.

A Salute to Myron Miller - A Great High School Coach

2011-12-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

We glorify professional and college coaches. Let’s start with Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, and Clark Shaughnessy. Names like George “Papa Bear” Halas, Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi, and Bill Walsh ring through the NFL eons. College greats include Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian, Paul “Bear” Bryant, John McKay, Woody Hayes, Bud Wilkinson, Darrell Royal, Eddie Robinson, and Bobby Bowden. College stadiums, such as Tennessee’s Neyland stadium, are named for coaching greats.

But what about high school coaches? For example, who is the coach of Concord De la Salle? What about Massillon, Valdosta, or Long Beach Poly?

Myron Miller, currently at Tustin High, is one of the great, unsung high school coaches. The Tustin Tillers defeated El Toro of Lake Forest at Angel Stadium last Saturday, 35-28, to win their first California Interscholastic Federation Title (Southern California) since 1948. Tustin has been in the finals 3 of the past 4 years.

The victory was typical Miller power football. Tustin went five for five on 4th down, including twice in the last 5 minutes, even when deep within their own territory. His view is simple – if they can’t get 2 yards on 4th and 2, then they don’t deserve to win.

Myron Miller has been coaching for 42 years, 17 at Tustin. The Tillers have been league champions 9 times in these 17 years, and also in the CIF semi-finals 9 times.

What’s amazing is how Myron Miller does it. Last Saturday’s game was typical – 8 yards passing and 334 yards running. Myron is Old School, really old school. Forget about anything as modern as the T Formation, much less the Wishbone, Pro Set, Power I, or Spread. I screamed out to my wife in 1997 when we went to a Tillers game: “That’s the double wing!’

He plays the double wing, which is so ancient that teams do not know how to defend it. It’s a power running offense that eats up the clock. His style is vintage Lombardi. His teams depend upon conditioning and execution to win.

His players are in excellent condition; he believes in a rigorous weight lifting regime. His exercise regime is so tough that when games begin in early September, he has less than 30 players on the team, often less than 2 dozen. Many players have to play both ways.

The great championship game in 1997 featured the Tillers, behind running back DeShaun Foster against Carson Palmer’s Santa Margarita, which seemingly had more coaches than Tustin had players. Foster ran for 378 yards and 6 touchdowns while Carson passed for 413 yards. Santa Margarita prevailed 55-42. Carson Palmer won the Heisman at USC and is still in the pros.

Many of Miller’s graduates have played at higher levels. Six were in the NFL in 2008: Sam Baker with the Atlanta Falcons, Beau Bell with Cleveland, Chris Chester with Baltimore, DeShaun Foster with the 49ers, Matt McCoy at Tampa Bay, and Frostee Rucker with Cincinnati. Another running back, Anthony Wilkerson, currently plays for Stanford.

Here’s to Myron Miller – a champion

The October 2012 Ad Against Governor Perry in the General Election

2011-12-14T22:30:00.000-08:00

The October 2012 Ad Against Governor Romney – Should He Win the Republican Nomination

Governor Romney has run a disciplined, focused campaign. Stay apart from the circular firing squad of the other Republican candidates. Stay alive in Iowa, win New Hampshire, survive South Carolina, and let his well organized, well financed campaign survive the primaries as his opponents fall one by one by the wayside. Polls show he has the best chance against president Obama in November.

And yet, the businessman has fallen behind Congressman Newt Gingrich, a career politician, when the public consistently shows disdain for politician. The non-politician politician should be cleaning up, not watching the possible nomination slip – sliding away.

He made a mistake in the recent Republican debate. The Governor misspoke when he offered to bet Governor Rick Perry $10,000. Born rich, the product of America’s elite boarding schools and colleges, he appeared out of touch with the American people. The patrician FDR never would have made this mistake. The predictable ads have appeared.

But these are but a foreshadow of the October Ad.

The Ad does not bring up the $10,000 bet. Nor will it morph RomenyCare into ObamaCare to discourage Republicans and Independents from voting for the Governor. No, it directly attacks his job-creating business background.

The non-politician governor would have been a career politician if he had won the 1994 Senatorial contest in Massachusetts against the incumbent, Senator Ted Kennedy. The young, dynamic business executive was a refreshing change from the Senator. The Massachusetts public was receptive to dumping the Senator. A founder of Staples, the creator of jobs was gaining momentum.

Then came the Ad.

Mitt Romney was a founder of Bain Capital, which invested in other companies, often reorganizing them, then flipping them for a profit. One example is the acquisition of Dade International, a medical company, which Bain turned around, and then cashed out for $242 million. Dade later went bankrupt.

The one at issue in the Ad was Ampad. Bain acquired it in 1992 for $5 million. It then merged competitors into Ampad, cutting costs by downsizing the workforce. Reorganization of a struggling company entails cutting plants and facilities, product lines, and laying off employees, including entire factories. The alternative to a reorganization could be liquidation.

One of the laid off employees was featured in the ad, explaining how he and his co-workers struggled after losing their jobs while Bain made millions. The violins are playing for the unemployed. In short, Romney prospered by firing productive workers. As one terminated employee said “If he’s created jobs, I wish he could create some here, you know, instead of taking them away.”

Brutally effective ad! The candidate had no response. End of campaign. Kennedy 58%, Romney 41%. The Ampad ad had the same effect on Mitt Romney’s campaign as the Willie Horton ad against Governor Dukakis.

That’s the ad that will run in October, timed for the maximum effect on the November election.

Bain Capital apparently made $100 million off of Ampad, which entered bankruptcy in 2000.

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times have all in the past two weeks discussed the record of Bain Capital. Newt Gingrich referred to it on Monday in appearance in New Hampshire.

The ex-Governor demanded the ex-Speaker give back the $1.8 million in consulting fees he received from Freddie Mac. Congressman Gingrich responded the Governor “should give back all the money he earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain.”

The Massachusetts voters may be familiar with the Ad, but it will be a novelty to the American voter.

Questions, Questions, Questiona About Newt

2011-12-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

Has Newt Gingrich peaked too soon, or just in time?

Can Newt win Iowa without a strong ground game in effect?

Does Newt carry too much Baggage?

Will Newt’s infidelity trump Mitt’s Mormonism in the South on Super Tuesday?

Can he survive the statements of former staffers and colleagues?

What are his former campaign staffers thinking today?

What will the intensive media fly-specking, the Sarah Palin treatment, uncover?

Will Newt be Cained?

Can a lobbyist become President?

Will Congressman Gingrich become the first Republican to walk the plank on Freddie Mac?

What weight is given to a Newt flip flop versus a Mitt flip flop?

Is a career politician electable as President?

How many of his nine political lives does he have left?

Is Survivor his favorite reality show?

Will the candidate be able to control his mouth throughout the primary season and general election?

Will his new found support for immigration reform hurt him in the primaries, but help in the general election?

Is Congressman Gingrich the second coming of Lincoln, Churchill, Reagan, and Thatcher combined?

Will his wife’s spending habits become an issue?

Is Newt too short to be elected?

Is he too paunchy to be elected?

Is the former professor too cerebral for the public?

If Congressman Gingrich fails, who will be the next anti-Mitt?

Did Governor Romney play it too safe?

The Demonization of Herman Cain

2011-12-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Herman Cain has suspended his quixotic campaign for President. He soared and fell like a meteor.

How sad!

The articulate, accomplished plain-spoken Cain seemed the anti-Romney the Republican conservatives have desperately been seeking. He knew jobs came from private employers. More significantly, he was the first Republican since Sarah Palin who connected directly with the voters. He was not a career politician. Even Governor Romney has been running for office for 15 years. He spoke simply, directly and genuinely to the people.

No programmable, robotic talking points – just real ideas. His ideas, like Ronald Reagan’s seemed to make sense, even though heavily criticized by the experts.

Common sense.

A positive campaign – not a negative campaign.

A true conservative – not a faux conservative.

Indeed, could Cain be the second coming of Reagan?

A fresh breeze

Herman Cain would represent the Party of Lincoln.

The Republican Party that freed the slaves.

Even if he entered the election for ulterior or unknown reasons, Cain soared in the polls. Cadres of Republican activists flocked to him. 9-9-9. Cain was The Man.

Authentic, but flawed, as we all are.

And then came the women with accusations of sexual harassment and long affairs. I don’t know the truth of the charges, any more than Anita Hill and Justice Thomas, but we must take sexual harassment claims seriously.

And yet, some of the “charges” seemed more like a man hitting on a woman than sexual harassment.

Cain offered to take a polygraph. Clinton never did.

The media went ballistic. Gloria Allred appeared with her client, Sharon Bialek, the first accuser, eventhough the statute of limitations had long run.

Where was Gloria with Kathleen Willey’s accusations against Governor Bill Clinton?

Where was the media with the candidate who had a campaign squad created just to handle his “Bimbo Eruptions?”

Where was Gloria Allred with Paula Jones?

Where were the investigative reporters with Jennifer Flowers?

Where was the media harassing President Clinton with his obstruction of justice, settlements and surrender of his law license in Arkansas?

Have you noticed that one by one, the mainstream media has destroyed each major opponent to Governor Romney?

Have you noticed the fly-specking and vitriolic treatment that conservative woman Republicans, like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman, and conservative Republicans such as Herman Cain, receive without any media outrage by the double standard?

How about the candidate who campaigned in all 57 states with a couple left to go?

Where was the media on that gaffe?

Of course, Herman Cain probably was probably not going to win the nomination. He had little fund raising and no ground game, especially critical in Iowa.

We are electing the President of the United States, not a candidate for sainthood.

The economy is in the tank, the dilettante President has been a disaster spending his time golfing, traveling, and fundraising, and basing his campaign on demagoguery.

Social issues are important, but this election should be based on economic issues.

Herman Cain’s out, at least for the Presidential nomination.

Thanksgiving Weekend in the Big House

2011-11-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

The call went out. The faithful returned to Ann Arbor. The Wolverine Nation poured through DTW. This is the year. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, execs, parents, children, grandparents, all answered the call. They came. They knew. They believe.

The team believes.

The cry, the chant, the call, two simple, but powerful words: BEAT OHIO.

Even the Columbus Dispatch knew. They dropped the clock.

The stadium was a sea of maize and blue – not the blurry scarlet and gray of 2 years ago. 114,132 in Michigan Stadium, the Big House. Less than 10,000 Buckeyes. BEAT OHIO.

The forecast was rain -52% chance of rain. And yet they came.

Michigan-Ohio State, Wolverines versus Buckeyes, the greatest rivalry in sports could not descend to the level of the Harlem Globetrotters and Washington Generals. Ohio State wanted to win, but the Wolverines had to win. 2926 days were 2926 days too many. Only one win in ten years.

The two schools hate each other, but they need each other. Hence, the mutual respect.

The sun broke through for a few minutes at kickoff and then hid behind the gray clouds. Were the football gods sending a message? But then the clouds broke and the blue shone for the 4th quarter. Go blue. Ohio State was doomed for this was the omen. The football gods had spoken: BEAT OHIO.

104,000 closest friends and neighbors in the Big House erupted into a continuous chant of The Victors, interrupted only by the PA system playing Sweet Caroline. The stands shook. The players knew. Michigan would beat both the Buckeyes and the officials. The scattered Buckeye fans could only woefully look on. Michigan, unlike Notre Dame, was not going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The two worthy opponents marched up and down the field. No quarter was asked, and none given. The Buckeyes played their hearts out, but it was not to be. They were destined to lose this fall day. Michigan pasted 40 points on Brutus, the most since 1946.

The Best Damn Band in the Land played its loudest to cheer on the Buckeyes, but its sounds were muffled in the home of The Victors. BEAT OHIO, not Carmen Electra roared through the stadium.

Four Buckeye cheerleaders plaintively cried out "Go Bucks." The deafening chorus responded "Go Blue."

This was more than a game, more than the annual clash between two intense rivals. This game was not for the national championship; nor the Big Ten title. Not even a trophy. It was more than that. This game is the rebirth of Michigan football.

The nation’s winningest football program was in a malaise, just as in the 1960’s. An attempt to rebrand Michigan football failed, as miserably as had the New Coke.

The Wolverines had been declawed and defanged. Jim Tressel was doing to Michigan what Woody Hayes did 5 decades earlier. The hallowed grounds of Harmon, Carter, Howard, Woodson, and Brady were desecrated.

The sins of Appalachian State and Toledo had to be expiated.

Every major program has its lows. Texas is hurting now. Notre Dame has fired every coach since Lou Holtz retired in 1996. USC was suffering until Pete Carroll arrived. Nebraska had similarly tried to remake itself. Alabama, LSU, and Oklahoma went through football droughts.

But this is Michigan. Appalachian State was a debacle, and the spread without defense and blocking is a failure. The buzzards were circling. Michigan had to rid itself of the albatross.

The great university survived the collapse of Detroit and the Michigan economy, but the football program was in systemic decline. Michigan, Notre Dame, and USC are great academic institutions, but football is in their DNA. Michigan is not Michigan, Notre Dame not Notre Dame nor USC USC without football.

Time to return to the fundamentals – the team, defense, conditioning, the will, and a Michigan Man from Ohio. Bo in 1969 and Hoke in 2011. This is Michigan football.

BEAT OHIO

So what if Tressel is out for cheating and lying. Michigan won.

So what if Pryor turned pro. Michigan won.

So what is Ohio State’s QB was a raw freshman. Michigan won.

So what if the Ohio State team was banged up. They lost.

So what if the Ohio State players had more tattoos. The Wolverines had more points.

History records the final score with no asterisk.

Tens of thousands stormed the field as the final seconds ticked off. No one left the stadium. This was the second coming of November 22, 1969.

10-2 with victories over Notre Dame, Nebraska, and The Ohio State University. The new genesis of Michigan football has begun.

THE VICTORS beat Ohio.

Huggies Dump on Santa

2011-11-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

How do you distinguish your disposable diapers from the competition? – Huggies, Luvs, Pampers and private labels up the kazoo.

Go designer diapers. Add cachet to the little pooper catchers and throw in a noble cause for good measure.

Tis The Season to be Jolly with Santa diapers and wipes.

As Huggies advertised “Dress’em like Claus for a cause.”

Catchy

Cute

Full of guilt

Tug on Santa’s white beard for a good cause (the donation of 17 million diapers to diaper banks).

Offset the guilt of filling our landfills with disposable, non-biodegradable diapers rather than reusing cloth diapers.

Rip’n Wrap is all so convenient.

Huggies does not actually say the diapers bear Santa’s image. Rather the ad shows a baby clad in red and white with a Santa cap and a matching red and white diaper. My initial impression though is of Santa diapers. It’s Santa’s diapers and wipes.

How jolly can Santa be when he must carry a load in his pants as well as on his back?

Think of the song: “Here comes Santa Claus; here comes Santa Claus, right down “Detritus Lane.”

Santa lands on the roof, climbs down the chimney, and expects a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. Instead, he gets a different gift from the little crapper. Mommy and Daddy deserve lumps of coal!

Santa distributes IPods, ITouches, Imacs, IPhones, and IPads, and gets “ICraps” in exchange.

Santa’s Little Helper has now become Santa’s Little Pooper. No more need for the Grinch to raise a stink in Santa’s Workshop. The Little Pooper serves the purpose.

Santa has to carry all those diaper gifts back to the elves for proper disposal.

Or Santa can scatter the scat over the Midwest to boost ethanol production without a permit from the EPA. The sprinkling of the fertilizer bomblets will throw off NORAD’s tracking system of Santa’s sleigh.

Parents at some stage in their children’s growth must face that painful, difficult talk. No, not the birds and bees. Your little one learnt that from the internet, but the painful conversation that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy do not exist.

Now you simply say that the reason you can pollute Santa’s diaper and wipe your bum with Santa’s baby wipes is that “Yes Virginia, there is no Santa.” Virginia already figured that one out.

How can any child believe in the existence of one they shat upon?

Tomorrow is Election Day in Ohio

2011-11-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

Ohio’s voters face a critical election tomorrow, a precursor in the battle ground state to next year’s Presidential election. President Obama cannot win reelection unless he carries both Michigan and Ohio. Conversely, Republicans do not win the White House unless they carry Ohio.

Tomorrow’s election though is not for an individual, such as Governor, Senator, Attorney General, Congressman, or to the state legislature. It may be viewed indirectly as a referendum on Republican Governor Kasich, but it may also be a referendum on the future of public employee unions in Ohio and he nation.

The 2010 midterm elections swept Republicans into office in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The newly elected Republicans stuck it to the public employee unions in the name of fiscal reform. The goal was also to cripple these unions and their financial lifelines for Democratic candidates.

Wisconsin’s anti-union efforts to cripple the public employee unions received the most national attention. The unions unsuccessfully poured millions of dollars in initially fighting the legislation, in a contested state Supreme Court election, and then in recall elections against Republican legislators. Their supporters also occupied the state capitol.

Amidst the Wisconsin furor, the Ohio Republicans quietly enacted S.B. 5, an even more restrictive limitation on public sector unions in the state than Wisconsin’s.
S.B. 5 requires public employees to pay 15% of their health insurance and 10% of their salaries to their pensions, hardly out of line with the private workplace.

The main feature bars binding mediation for health coverage, pensions, and staffing levels. The real kicker though is that in cases of bargaining impasses between unions and city councils and school boards, the cities and school boards can unilaterally impose their last offer on the employees.

The effect is to essentially repeal public sector collective bargaining in Ohio.

The unions have spent $30 million in the repeal campaign, established phone banks, and mounted a door to door get out the vote effort.

Polls show the recall effort succeeding. If so, it will be a major victory for the unions. If they fail though, they will witness an increase in anti-union legislation across the nation and a major hit on their financial base.

The unions are emphasizing the threat to public safety through S. B. 5. The Wisconsin legislation exempted first responders from its coverage, but S.B. 5 includes police and fire in its ambit.

Even if the unions win, their victory may be Pyrrhic. The resulting cost constraints on state and local government will result in increased layoffs in the public sector.

Occupy Oakland - Why?

2011-10-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Occupy Oakland?

Why?

What’s to Occupy?

Wall Street's 3,000 miles away, and Montgomery Street is across the Bay - a world apart.

There’s just Oakland.

Oakland is a blue collar, lunch bucket city with high unemployment.

Oakland is to San Francisco as Newark is to New York City.

It’s Oakland.

Not even Silicon Valley, down the road, is will to move into Oakland with cheap downtown rents.

Even the predecessor of Cal moved from Oakland to Berkeley.

Clorox and Safeway are in Oakland, but who wants to occupy a bleach manufacturer and a flailing supermarket chain? You might borrow some Clorox from Safeway to clean up though.

There are no one percenters in Oakland, with the exception of the fabled Charles Crocker, Dominic Ghirardelli, Henry J. Kaiser, and Warren Bechtel, but they reside in the crypts of Mountain View Cemetery up in the hills. You could occupy the crypts, but it’ll be tight. Sleeping on marble and concrete might be an improvement though.

You could occupy Frank Norris’ grave and learn how to write a book about the malefactors of great wealth – a book, the Octopus, that’s still in print a century later.

You could occupy the gravesite of Fred Korematsu as a tribute to the valiant Japanese American who fought interment in World War II. He did not want to occupy a concentration camp.

You could occupy the gravesite of Reverend Henry Durant, the first President of the University of California Berkeley, and perhaps learn how to build a great institution.

You could visit the sites of Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck, and learn about beauty as you walk through the grounds laid out by Frederick Law Olmstead.

Yes, you could do all this, but you are occupying Oakland.

Why?

My mother and grandma are interred in Mountain View Cemetery on the ridge above Millionaire Row looking down on the crypts, but with a splendid across the Bay to San Francisco. My mom, a Berkeley grad, would love it if you paid her a visit.

The living affluent, but hardly “One percenters,” live in the small enclave of Piedmont and in the Oakland Hills along Mountain Blvd., but their premises are secure.

You might try occupying Mills College. They could accommodate you. The coeds could use an education in squalor and filth.

Jerry Brown, in his 8 years as Mayor of Oakland, couldn’t make it work. Now he’s moved on to another basket case, the State of California.

Make it a meaningful protest in Oakland. Occupy the Oakland Army Base, the facility which ships munitions to the Pacific.

Occupy the Oakland Coliseum, the cement slab where the Raiders and A’s perform – the last dual municipal venue in the nation. The Grateful Dead used to perform in the Coliseum on New Year's, but Jerry Garcia is now a deadhead.

Occupy the adjoining Oakland Arena, and thus fill it with more than show up for Warriors games.

Emulate your Occupy Wall Street idols by occupying the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. If you are going to get arrested, tear gassed, and struck, then become a martyr for a memorable cause, but occupying Oakland in front of the Federal Building?

Gertrude Stein had this sage advice about Oakland, her childhood home: “There is no there there.”

Represenative Jesse jackson, Jr.'s Brilliant $40,000 Proposal for the Unemployed

2011-10-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Congressman Jesse Jackson proposed giving $40,000 to each of the 15 million unemployed persons in America for four years.

Utterly brilliant; even the Greeks haven’t thought of this one.

Just think about it a moment.

Which makes more sense? Congressman Jackson or President Obama’s "Enact it now" non-jobs jobs plan?

The cost will come to roughly $600 billion annually, or the equivalent of 1,200 Solyndras. It’s much cheaper than the President’s non-jobs jobs bill.

It would solve so many problems.

State unemployment funds are broke, and hence borrowing from the Feds. No more unemployment compensation. Indeed, we could do away with the state employment and unemployment offices at substantial savings to the states.

No more debates about the minimum wage, since the new minimum wage will de facto become $40,001 annually. Any one earning less than that will quit and file for the guaranteed federal $40,000.

Forget any “Stimulus Bill” with or without shovel ready jobs. These checks will go directly to the people.

No more hypocrisy about the jobs bills really being mostly payoffs to teachers unions. No payoff to public employee unions.

Thus, we could cut the $1.2 trillion deficit in half by eliminating the other programs.

No more fictitious government make-work jobs.

No more ambiguity about who’s on the public dole.

Some issues still have to be resolved. For example, would it apply only to those currently on the unemployment rosters, or could it extend all unemployed and unemployable persons?

The potential for fraud and corruption is great. The Skid Road liquor stores could register all the homeless bums, and then reap the ensuing booze sales. I saw a sign yesterday in a downtown. It said “No lies; It’s for beer.”

I forgot. Congressman Jackson is from Chicago so corruption is not an issue. He was interested in buying a Senate seat Governor Blago was interested in selling.

Will the $40,000 constitute taxable income? Will the government thereby give with one hand and take back with the other?

Will the $40,000 annually count towards federal pension plans?

How about the government’s medical plans?

Will the beneficiaries pay into social security?

Do prisoners qualify? They seem able to tap into many government funds.

Will defeated politicians qualify?

Will undocumented immigrants qualify and day laborers qualify?

What about college students?

Maybe they will occupy the federal building rather than Wall Street.

Of course, the plan makes no economic sense, but neither does President Obama’s three year economics plan.

Congressman Jackson’s suggestion rates right up there with Herbert Hoover’s 1928 “A chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage” and George McGovern’s $1,000 tax credit for every citizen.

The Paul BunyanTrophy is at Stake

2011-10-14T15:41:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is the Big Game, the fight for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, a 4’ piece of wood,
which is not to be confused with the Paul Bunyan Axe. Michigan plays Michigan State to decide the best football team within a 63 mile diameter. It might actually be a good game.

Who will win?

Who will be exposed as a great pretender?

6-0 Michigan or 4-1 Michigan State?

Michigan State should be favored.

Michigan leads the series 67-35-1. ,

Little Brother has grown up, beating down Big Brother the last three games. Last year’s score was 34-17, but it wasn’t that close.

Michigan was 4-1 two years ago, when it lost to Michigan State. The Wolverines won only one more game that year.

Michigan was 5-0 last year, and then lost to State. The team only won 2 games over the rest of the season.

Michigan is now 6-0 and plays Michigan State. ?????

A void exists in Schembechler Hall, a vacuum where Paul Bunyan normally resides.

Michigan State has the better players, a great coach in Mark Dantonio, the best defense in the nation, the home field advantage (especially the clock), no major injuries, a bye week, and The Jinx.

No first year Michigan coach has beaten Michigan State since Bennie Oosterbaan in 1947.

Not Bo in 1969 (23-12 loss). Bo beat Woody, but the loss to Sparty haunted him.

Not Mo in 1990 – 27-28, close, but still a loss.

Not Lloyd in 1995 (25-28)

Not Rich Rod in 2007 (The Coach whose name shall no longer be used)

The Coach who shall not be named recruited in Florida, essentially ignoring Michigan and Ohio. Mark Dantonio, from Michigan and Ohio, has spent 4 years at Michigan State recruiting the best players out of the State of Michigan.

Both teams played Notre Dame earlier in the season. The Wolverines won as the Irish choked, but then The Fighting Irish destroyed the Spartans the following week.

Michigan State plays a traditional Big Ten, smash mouth football. Michigan did not for the past three years. Whether or not it can regain its old-time swagger in 7 games remains to be seen.

Michigan has great coaches,DRod, an improved defense, and youthful enthusiasm.

Michigan State dominated the series from 1950-1969, 14-4-2, winning or sharing the national title in 1965 and 1966. Then came Bo and the dominance of Michigan. Even Nick Saban in 5 years at Michigan State could not capture the magic he has since shown at LSU and Alabama.

Go Blue.

Occupy wall Street

2011-10-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

Occupy Wall Street

By all means, occupy Wall Street

Fill the Park Hyatt Hotel at 75 Wall Street and the upstairs condos

Take 40 Wall Street, the Trump Building, off the Donald’s hands

Occupy Trinity Church at Broadway at Wall. Take a break on Alexander Hamilton’s grave

Occupy the apartments and fitness center at 37 Wall Street

Occupy the condos at 55 Wall Street

Clean up your act

Get dressed at the Wall Street Custom Clothiers of Mercer Island, Washington
Occupy the Esquires Barbers and the Wall Street Café at 14 Wall Street - the last capitalists on Wall Street

Grab a bite at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse, and then occupy it across from the Exchange
Occupy the Deutsche Bank Building at 60 Wall Street, but that’s German

Go around the corner to the American International Building at 70 Pine Street, but AIG is bankrupt.

Occupy the restrooms, instead of using a police cruiser for that purpose

Occupy the Wall Street Cleaners in Texas

Wall Street is not Wall Street anymore

Occupy the Wall Street Journal offices by hiking up to Midtown. Make sure not to leave any bed bugs behind

Occupy the Morgan Stanley offices on the same hike to Midtown

Occupy Goldman Sachs, yes Goldman Sachs, in Battery Park

You’re decades late

Wall Street is not Wall Street anymore.

Occupy the Wall Street Deli, a franchise chain out of Alabama

While you’re occupying Wall Street, read the Bawl Street Journal on-line with your white earpods attached to IPod, ITouch, IPhone, and I Pad, from the philanthropic billionaire Steve Jobs.

Really occupy Wall Street, not Zuccotti Park a few blocks away

Your ancestors at Berkeley knew who they were, where they were and what they were protesting. Peoples Park, Free Speech, Cambodia and Kent State were real; Occupy Wall Street is not.

Why Not Governor Romney?

2011-10-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Why Not Romney”

Governor Romney has so much to offer.

He’s a successful businessman.

He pulled off the Salt Lake City Olympics.

He was elected Governor of Massachusetts as a Republican in one of the bluest of blue states.

He is highly intelligent with a JD and MBA from Harvard.

He’s an experienced campaigner who comes across well in debates. This is the fourth time Mitt Roney has run for office.

He does not lose his composure. He’s poised and polished. He stays on message.

He’s run before, and Republicans usually nominate a prior candidate.

He’s not associated with Washington.

He says the right things as a Republican.

The governor has a loving family.

So what’s not to like.

First, he’s a Mormon. It doesn’t bother me and most Americans. We believe in religious tolerance, but some Ministers belief a Mormon is not a true Christian. That’s absurd in today’s America and harkens back to the days when Catholics were suspect.

That he believes in God should suffice.

Second, he’s not a true conservative because he took liberal views as Governor of Massachusetts. The reality is that Republicans must be pro-choice and in favor of gun control to be elected in Massachusetts. Senator Scott Brown was supported by the Tea party in Massachusetts, but the Senator has shown moderation in his views.

Third, he has changed his views on abortion and other issues to get the Republican nomination. Thus, he can’t be trusted. Most politicians make strategic shifts at some point in their career.

To most the main issue is RomneyCare in Massachusetts, which President Obama has claimed to be the basis of ObamaCare. RomneyCare has been a financial disaster for Massachusetts, as it will be for America. Records now show that Romney’s advisors advised President Obama in preparing ObamaCare.

Governor Romney does not, and cannot, disown RomneyCare, but his defense of it is unconvincing. He says it’s proper for a state to mandate health insurance, but not for the federal government. No principled basis exists for the distinction.

He could say that mistakes were made in RomneyCare and that we should learn from them, but he doesn’t.

My problem with the Governor is different. I saw him campaign 4 years ago in a 500 person auditorium. He looked like, talked like, and walked like a preppy, which he is. He did not connect with the audience on a personal level – the essence of a Ronald Reagan as a campaigner. There’s nothing wrong with preppies, but it’s not the image to convey to the average American.

He says all the right things, except for RomneyCare, but the sense is he doesn’t really believe what he’s saying. He’s too robotic.

A whole different problem will arise if he wins the nominations. Jobs are the number one issue for Americans. Governor Romney first ran for the Senate in Massachusetts against Senator Ted Kennedy.

Romney was leading in the polls. The Kennedy Campaign then ran a brutally effective TV ad. Mitt Romney’s firm, Bain & Co., had taken over a manufacturing company and laid off 10,000 workers. The ad was one of the fired workers explaining what Romney had done. Senator Kennedy never looked back.

Why not Governor Romney?

He's too robotic.

So What's Up (or Down) with Governor Perry's Campaign?

2011-10-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

So What’s Up (or Down) With Governor Perry’s Campaign?
Republicans are desperately searching for a nominee who will win in November 2012. They do not want a replay of Sharron Angle in Nevada or Christine O’Donnell in Delaware. President Obama cannot win reelection by himself, even if he raises a billion dollars. But the Republicans can reelect him with the wrong nominee.

The nominee must come across as a leader, as one who is comfortable in his or her skin.

The media, and many Republicans, are dissatisfied with the existing slate of candidates, but why conservatives should follow the lead of the media remains a mystery.

Five different candidates win five different, otherwise meaningless, straw polls.

All have risen in the polls, and all have fallen, with the exception of Governor Romney, who holds steady in the 15-25% band.

Republicans are carefully scrutinizing the candidates, but none emerge from the pack, hence the waiting for Godot, the searching for Superman. The pressure to find an alternative unleases a media frenzy. Anticipation builds, euphoria sets in, as it did with Governor Christie. The siren call can be seductive to an ambitious politician, as almost all politicians are.

Governor Perry’s entry into the race sucked the oxygen out of the political air for a few days.

And then a strong blast of cold reality sets in.

Governor Perry had not heeded the lessons from every four years. First, the media builds you up, and then it brings you down, and then repeat the process to prolong the race. The media, which had heralded the new arrival, now turns and dumps on him or her.

And dump on Governor Perry they have, aided by a few Republicans who do not heed President Reagan’s 11th Commandment “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.”

No candidate is perfect; we are all humans. The longer a politician is in office, the longer his record, unless he continually votes “present.”

Governor Perry has been Governor of Texas for 10 years, an eternity in politics, creating a book of actions that call for scrutiny.

Here to date are the attacks on the Governor:
1) He referred to social security as “a Ponzi scheme.”
2) Texas leads the nation in capital punishment;
3) He had low grades in college;
4) Too many recent Presidents come from Texas, especially as governors; Perry seems the second coming of Bush;
5) The Governor is overtly religious; he wears his religion on his sleeve;
6) He mandated young women receive the HPV vaccine;
7) He doesn’t want Fed Governor Ben Bernanke to visit Texas;
8) He favors in-state tuition for illegal immigrants;
9) He performed poorly in three debates, in essence, phoning it in; and
10) The New York Times and Washington Post last Monday ran front page articles saying his dad leased a hunting camp in 1983. The entrance rock to the land said “Niggerhead,” a once common, but now unacceptable word, in the South.

We all know social security is an underfunded, government sponsored Ponzi scheme. Even the liberal economist/columnist for the New York Times, Paul Krugman, has called social security a Ponzi scheme.Telling the truth about social security is not a failing, but failing to propose a solution loses votes. He has ideas.

243 executions to date during his governorship. Most Americans favor capital punishment. That will not cost him votes.

The Perry and Bush camps do not like each other. President Bush has degrees from Yale and Harvard. Governor Perry is an Aggie – that says it all.

Governor Perry was not meant to be a science major in college. Organic Chemistry, the bane of pre-meds, was especially challenging to him; hence, the occasional aspersions about his intellectual abilities. Let us remember the saga of Senator John Kerry, supposedly smarter than President Bush. The Senator had lower grades at Yale than the President, indeed 4 D’s, including Geology, Political Science, and 2 in History, as well as another D in his sophomore year. Vice President Gore was also brilliant compared to President Bush, until you asked about his Vanderbilt grades, not to mention his D in Natural Science (Man’s Role in Nature). The Vice President also received a C- in Economics. That’s appropriate! How ironic! President Bush had but one D in 4 years. Vice President Biden graduated 76th in a class of 85, after having been readmitted for being expelled for plagiarism.

When asked by a reporter in Iowa about his views on the Federal Reserve, Governor Perry responded

“If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.” He also stated that printing more money at this time is almost treasonous.

Governor Perry’s first two debates were underwhelming, but the third gave rise to substantial doubts about his electability. He questioned Governor Romney’s inconsistencies, but seemed robotic, not himself, in these comments.

The Governor appeared uncomfortable in this exchange, demonstrating no leadership presence,

Then came the critical immigration question. Texas has granted in-state tuition to illegal immigrants for 10 years, roughly the length of his governorship.

He strongly supports this position. Governor Perry, like President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain, recognize that the Republican Party cannot survive by being anti-Hispanic. The Hispanic immigrants must be embraced by the GOP, else the Grand Old Party will fade the way of the Know-Nothings 1½ centuries ago.

He should have defended the policy by simply saying that “I want the sons and daughters of our Hispanic immigrants to become doctors, lawyers, and engineers rather than gang-bangers.”

Instead, he echoed Democratic talking points by stating “If you oppose it, I don’t think you have a heart.” That statement is an insult to all, perhaps the majority of Americans, who oppose in-state tuition for those illegally in the country. Debatable issues, in which reasonable minds can differ, should never be personalized. His opponents, especially Governor Romney and Senator Santorum, immediately dumped on him on the illegal immigrant issue.

His position will hurt him in the Republican primaries, but help in the general election.

The Republican electorate is flexible right now. The Governor can easily come back with a strong performance in the upcoming debates. The base is looking for the viable alternative to Governor Romney.

Governor Perry has an advantage most of the contestants lack – a steady supply of campaign funds. He raised over $17 million the past seven weeks. Most of the candidates are campaigning on a shoe string.

The governor is a brash, plain speaking Texan. He says what many of us think. That will appeal to many voters this election cycle.

Whichever candidates who survive the early caucus and primary season will also have a second life. Florida has advanced the primary season to the first two months of 2012. The Iowa Caucus is now tentatively scheduled for January 3.

The media never likes the race decided too quickly. They must keep the suspense going. Thus, they will revive the candidacy of a once moribund campaign to prolong the campaign.

If Governor Perry wants it enough, if he has the fire in his belly, he will step up in tonight's debate.

It’s still most likely to come down to Governors Perry and Romney.

Public Nudity and the Arousal Police in San Francisco.

2011-10-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

I love San Francisco; I really do. I left my heart in San Francisco in 1970.

A great city, but sometimes the politics get zany.

The Summer of ’67, the Haight Asbury, Free Love, Polk Street and the Castro, the San Francisco folk scene, the hungry i and the Purple Onion, the Kingston Trio, Limeliters, and the Smother Brothers, followed by the psychedelic sound, the Fillmore, the Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company, not to mention Broadway, Carol Doda and the Topless. Those were the days my friends, those were the days, but sometimes it’s just plain crazy.

And sometimes the city tries to exercise common sense and do the right thing, but the real zanies with their gluteus maxima emerge out of the woodwork.

David Goldman and his husband were sharing a joint at a public plaza in the Castro when naturist Eric Anderson sat down at a nearby table in the buff. He placed a sarong between his bare cheeks and the seat, an act of “normal etiquette.”

Laws exist against lewd and lascivious activity, indecent exposure, public nudity, and even public displays of expression, but this is California.

The California Supreme Court held nudity by itself is not lewd. For what it’s worth, the court sits in San Francisco.

The health implications are great. As of now, chubby checks could deposit anal detritus or expel methane gas on the public accommodations. Flatulence is not attractive.

Private businesses, such as bars and restaurants, may have to amend their existing signs “No shoes, no shirts, no service” to “No shoes, no shirts, no skivvies, no service.” Yes, they’ll probably be sued for discrimination with the argument that public nudity is but a form of free speech.

Note to San Francisco. Even Berkeley and the University of California Berkeley in 1993 banned public nudity as Andrew Martinez, “Nature Boy,’ liked to attend classes wearing only his backpack and sandals.

Supervisor Scott Weiner has introduced an ordinance that would prohibit nudity in restaurants and would require naked persons to put a towel or other appropriate article between their bare derrieres and benches or other public seats. Supervisor Weiner represents the Castro.

Nudity would otherwise be permitted unless signs of arousal existed. Hence, the arousal police, a unit of the old sex crimes or vice squad, would have to monitor for signs of arousal.

Of course, the arousal exception could be legally attacked on sex discrimination charges since it would result in a prima facie case of discriminatory impact on males, easily demonstrated through statistical analysis.

As a practical matter, if the photo in the September 26 New York Times is representative, then most of the “male strippers” are middle aged men letting it all hang out, but hardly calculated to arouse.

The response by some denizens to Supervisor Weiner’s proposal was, of course, a public “Nude-in” in San Francisco’s fabled fog and cold. One tourist commented “Where are the supermodel types? We want to know why it’s always the people who should not be naked who get naked.”

Some advocates of the nudists argue they could be a tourist attraction, perhaps equal to Carol Doda with her silicone 44’s in her prime, but they are not. The homeless camped out in front of the major downtown hotels were also not a tourist attraction.

Others argue nudity is protected expression and speech under the First Amendment. Judges don’t see it that way.

Michigan - Notre Dame 2011

2011-09-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

Once again the fabled heavyweights of college football played football. Once again, the third time in three years, Michigan won the game in the last 30 seconds – the final 8 seconds this time.

114,804 fans in the first night game at the Big House, all but 5,000 of whom were waving maize pompoms, watched Notre Dame snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for the third straight year.

The Fighting Irish controlled the line of scrimmage for the first three quarters, leading by 17 points entering into the final quarter. Then its defense collapsed, yielding 4 touchdowns, including 2 in 82 seconds at the end of the game. Notre Dame led the entire game until the final 73 seconds, when Michigan scored the first of two touchdowns while Notre Dame scored one. The Fighting Irish’s offense had faded in the fourth quarter, committing five turnovers overall.

Michigan has won more games than any other college. All the while the fabled Fighting Irish were exciting America under their fabled coaches Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine, and Lou Holtz, Michigan just kept racking up wins.

These two schools, barely 140 miles apart, one private and one public, share much in common: academic excellence, dedicated alumni, 2 of the 3 greatest college fight songs, 2 of the 3 top winning programs, 11 national championships each. Notre Dame has had 96 All Americans compared to 77 for Michigan and 7 Heismans to Michigan’s 3.

Just as the old ad said “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile,” neither the current Michigan nor Notre Dame football teams are those of past eons. They are but shadows of their former selves. Both are rebuilding, an unheard of experience for two teams who simply reloaded year after year.

Notre Dame has been rebuilding since 1996, the year Lou Holtz either resigned, or was pushed to resign. Every coach since Lou has been terminated: Bob Davie, Ty Willingham, Charlie Weiss, and George O’Leary after a record 5 days. A few more losses like last Saturday’s and Kelly will be unemployed, unless he has a heart attack first. The Fighting Irish are rapidly joining The Ohio State Buckeyes as the graveyard of coaches.

Michigan just suffered through the worst three years in its history – so much for Rich Rod and the spread. The Wolverines have lost three straight times to Little brother Michigan State. It has been, according to the daily clock on the Columbus Dispatch web site, 2,853 days since Ohio State has lost to Michigan in football.

The Wolverines’ slide had been apparent for several years, but was blatantly obvious to the world on September 1, 2007 when the Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated Michigan 34-32 in the Big House, with 2 Michigan field goal attempts being blocked in the final two minutes.

Special teams have become a weakness for Michigan. Watching field goals has become an adventure.

Michigan, which has produced a score of All American defensive backs, including Charles Woodson and Ty Law, hasn’t had a good pass defense in 4 seasons. The secondary has joined special teams in losing games.

Notre Dame’s pass defense was equally porous on Saturday.

Touchdown Jesus can’t help Notre Dame anymore.

A relaxation in admissions standards might, as Notre Dame’s great Paul Hornung said a few years back. Notre Dame doesn’t give slack in admissions of football players.
However, Stanford has the same high admissions standards as Notre Dame, and Jim Harbaugh proved you can build a winning program at Stanford.

Saturday was a great game. Michigan and Notre Dame weren’t playing for No. 1, or even a BCS Bowl, but for pride. They fought like two aging pugilists refusing to go down for the final count.

What Will Today's Elections Portrend for 2012?

2011-09-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

By year elections often foretell electoral shifts during the general election. For example Democrats picked up safe Republican seats in Louisiana, Illinois, and upstate New York as President Bush’s popularity plummeted.

Two Congressional elections today may, or may not, forecast the November 2012 elections result. Two “safe” seats, a Republican seat in Nevada and a Democratic District in New York, are in play.

Nevada is presumed to remain Republican so New York’s 9th Congressional District is attracting attention. The district overlaps Brooklyn and Queens. It is 30% Jewish and has voted Democrats to Congress since 1923. It’s been a blue district for 88 years.

The disgraced Anthony Weiner recently held the seat. He was preceded by his mentor, Senator Charles Schumer.

The Democratic candidate is David Weprin, scion of a politically prominent family and an orthodox Jew. Bob Turner, the Republican, is a 70 year old Catholic, whose claim to fame and fortune is that he produced the Jerry Springer Show.

Polls show independents, and perhaps Jewish voters, breaking for the Republican.

Assemblyman Weprin has run a poor campaign, perhaps because he is a carpet bagger who does not live in the 9th District.

Turner has run an inspired campaign, attacking the Assemblyman on local issues, and President Obama’s policies, especially to Israel. The President is in danger of losing the Jewish vote in 2012.

The long term implications of the election are small. New York lost 2 Congressional seats in the 2010 census. New York’s 9th District is presumed to one of the reapportionment casualties so whoever wins will be a short termer.

However, the short term political consequences will be dramatic. The election will reaffirm the 2010 election results. If the 9th, the bluest of blue Congressional Districts bleeds red, then few Democratic seats can be viewed as “safe” in 2012. The public employee unions will be politically weakened. Democrats nationally, especially Blue Dogs and Senators running for reelection, will stumble over each other as they run away from the President. The Democrats will accept any campaign funds he raises for them, but avoid him publicly. His proposals will be dead on arrival, even in the Democratic Senate.

The Democrats cannot afford to lose this election. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has poured $500,000 into the election. The teachers union is mounting a get out the vote campaign.

The Republican has two powerful allies in his campaign. Both former mayor Ed Koch and the New York Post have endorsed him.

The election should not even be close. Congressman Weiner defeated Turner in 2010 in a landslide 61-39% margin. But then again, Scott Brown never should have won Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in Massachusetts.

Let Us Pray at Ground Zero, But Just Not Today

2011-09-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

Today is the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, a day of remembrance and reflection, a day to honor the survivors and the families of the victims, and America and the American Spirit

9/11 brought America together ten years ago, if only for a few days. Congress sang Kumbaya on the steps of the Capitol.

The FDNY rushed up the stairs into the fires to their deaths while civilians escaped. The police forces of New York and the Port Authority suffered heavy losses. 341 firefighters and 2 paramedics died in the collapse of the Twin Towers as did 23 New York City police and 37 Port Authority officers.

Among the early fatalities was Fr. Michael Judge, Chaplain of the Fire Department.

New York City commemorated the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 earlier today. Ground Zero is undergoing a rebirth. Most of the perpetrators have been killed or captured. President Bush promised American justice and he and President Obama delivered.

The tragedy of 9/11 made us stronger us a country. Treating terrorism as an act of war rather than a criminal act freed the United States to mount a full scale offense. Increased security, enactment of the Patriot Act, the combined actions of federal law enforcement services and intelligence agencies, the unpublicized efforts of the treasury Department to track monies, and the active intelligence operations of the NYPD, as well as some luck, have resulted in no successful external produced terrorist acts against the United States since 9/11.

9/11 and America’s response shows the growth of the American people. We demonized our enemies in the two World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. We interned American citizens of Japanese descent in concentration camp in World War II.

9/11 was different. President Bush led the way in not blaming the terrorist acts on Muslims, but on a fringe of radicals who happen to be Muslims.

But we did not pray at Ground Zero because Mayor Bloomberg said no clergy. No Catholics, or Protestants, Muslims or Jews, Hindus or Sikhs No priest, reverend, minister, pastor, rabbi, imam, mullah, pandit, guru, monk, or nun.

Mayor Bloomberg said no. He does support though an Islamic Mosque next to Ground Zero.

No fire or police either. Mayor Bloomberg said no to them too. They suffered individually and collectively for the loss of one fire fighter is felt by all, but the Mayor felt different.

The explanations make no sense. In essence the site is too small; so no room exists for the clergy, fire, or police. America is bigger than that.

The site of 9/11 can never be too small for religion, police, or fire. This is America, and they are victims. We are all victims of 9/11.

Today is a time for all of us, a day of unity.

It’s not just Mayor Bloomberg. The National Cathedral in D.C. is hosting clergy, which places it ahead of New York, but is excluding evangelicals.

9/11 was not just an attack on America. It was barbaric assault against the world and civilization, a crime against humanity. Christians were killed, as were Jews and Muslims. Presumably other religions as well, but I have seen no breakdown by religion. Religion, all religion, was under attack.

The site of Ground Zero is legally controlled by New York City, but it belongs to all Americans.

We needed to reaffirm religion today

Reflections on President Obama's Speech

2011-09-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

President Obama can still deliver a speech. This is his most impassioned speech in eons. He was in his groove; his mojo was humming. He was smoking. The President regained his cadence. Vice President Biden stayed awake.

Forget the details; the presentation was great.

He felt this jobs speech; it is personal for the President is facing unemployment.

This speech was the kickoff of his reelection campaign, but it was good.

But was anyone listening?

Has the public tuned him out?

If so, nothing he says will make a difference.

As he spoke out to Congress, was he thinking how many of the Senators and Representatives will be unemployed after the November 2012 election? How many of the Senators and Representatives fear unemployment?

He repeatedly demanded “Pass it now” 17 times! That was the President’s tag line. He threw down the gauntlet. He challenged Congress, but the Republicans remained seated. They were not moved.

The Democrats stood, as they must for a Democratic President, but there were no long, time-consuming ovations.

The sounds of silence from both sides of the aisle are telling.

Of course, his campaign is based on running against Congress – a “Do Nothing Congress” – but that was President Truman’s campaign theme in 1948.

"Pass the American Jobs Act Now," but no Bill has been presented to Congress.

Pass the bilateral trade bills with Columbia, Panama, and South Korea, but he has yet to present these agreements to Congress.

As for the contents of the speech, it was poor. Nothing new, just repackaged fairness and spending. President Obama is big on recyling. “Shovel ready” is now “infrastructure.” Extending unemployment benefits is still extending unemployment benefits. Tax increases on those who can afford to pay more are still tax increases.

He quoted Warren Buffet in support of raising taxes. Just increase Buffet’s taxes, and be done with it.

The President proposed targeted tax breaks, up to a $4,000 tax credit for hiring those who have been unemployed for at least 6 months and for increasing wages.

Employers hire when they believe it will be profitable to do so. The targeted tax cuts to date have not worked.

The former political science major, community organizer remains ignorant of even basic economics.

The $450-500 billion plan is paid for, but the details won’t be available until Monday (Is it next Monday or a week from Monday? Promises, Promises!

And put teachers back in the classroom, and hire more teachers. Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO was an invited guest at the speech. President Obama knows the base of his reelection campaign.

The Republicans did not even present a televised response. Representative Pelosi was offended that the Republicans would insult the President by not responding. Why respond, when nobody watches these responses anyway? Why respond, when it would conflict with the pre-game show?

Caution: Paintballing is Hazardous to Your Silicon Gel Breast Implants

2011-09-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

The health risks of silicone gel breast implants have been extensively studied, analyzed, and litigated. Just last month another study was released that absolved the implants. Fears of rupture and leakage are over blown. “Rupture phobia” was a false alarm.

And as trial lawyers in Southern California, the heartland of plastic surgeons, discovered, juries were unsympathetic to women who were unsatisfied with what nature endowed them.

The investigators should have noted the BBC news from Croydon, England. The British have given us so much, our language, our laws, our founding fathers, penicillin, radar, sonar, flush toilets, Bob Hope, Marxism, Mark Burnett, James Bond, and Twiggy.

And now comes definitive proof of the rupture risks of silicone gel breast implants.

A 26 year old English woman with implants was paintballing on Saturday, August 20 – not the balling the implants are intended to attract.

She was, of course, balled with the paint gel.

Complaining of pain from the paint, she visited her GP two days later. She underwent surgery after being informed an implant had ruptured.

The paintballs shoot out of the gun at about 190MPH, and then decelerate before striking the target, the ballee. The paintball capsules are made of a special gelatin shell filled with food coloring and “bio-friendly” paint. Our ballee’s gel was attempting to gel with the shooters gel – gel on gel, if you would.

Upon hearing of the unfortunate accident, a lead specialist nurse counselor said “Breast implants are made to meet the highest European and American standards and are extremely robust.” I always thought they were extremely inert.

UK Paintball, which operates the Croydon and 49 other UK sites, responded to the incident with two measures.

First, they want women with surgical breast implants (are there any other kind of implants?) to notify them at the time of booking. They then want the participants to sign a revised waiver form with the added line “Paintballs can damage/rupture breast implants.”

Second, the British have such a way with words. UK Paintball did not note the irony in this statement for women with the implants: “You will also be issued additional padding to protect your implants while paintballing.”

Once Again With Michigan Football Predictions

2011-09-03T00:14:00.000-07:00

The Big Bo Era (Bo, Mo, & Lloyd) ended at Michigan 3 years ago. The Rodriguez Era began. The Pro Power Set era was over; it had shown signs of fading. The Spread offense was in, brought by the master. Out with the old; in with the new.

Coach Rodriguez had been a success everywhere before. There would be no transition.

The change would be installed immediately. It was Rich Rod’s way or the highway. 25 players chose the highway. Even the weight lifting equipment was tossed.

He would run the spread, even if he lacked a quarterback to do it. He would run the spread without an offensive line. Offense was his forte.

Defense would be an issue; the secondary was weak and porous, and several star defensive linemen and linebackers had moved on to the pros. Recruiting had lagged a little the past few years of Coach Carr, but this was Michigan after all – the winningist program in college football history. Defense wouldn’t matter, because the explosive offense would rack up the points. It was time for the change. The baton would be passed seamlessly.

The predictions for success were made by those of us suffering from excessive exuberance. I predicted perhaps an 8-4 record. We were all wrong with the exception of Kirk Herbstreit, the ESPN broadcaster and former Ohio State quarterback. He predicted 3-9 or 4-8.

We scoffed at the Cassandra, but he spoke the truth.

He predicts 8-4 this year, and I will plagiarize his prophesy this time.

Coach Rodriguez went 3-9, losing to Toledo, 5-7, and 7-6. He lost three times each to Michigan State and Ohio State (by blowouts). The defense got progressively worse, setting records for futility. Denard Robinson may be an incredible QB, but you can’t score if you don’t get the ball. Wisconsin blew Michigan away last year, not throwing one pass in the second half because Michigan’s once fabled and feared defense could not stop the Badgers running game. The Coach recruited quickness out of Florida, almost all on offense.

Rich Rod was the wrong coach for Michigan – the fit wasn’t there.

Brady Hoke, perhaps the second coming of Bo, has arrived as the new head coach. He has brought with him two of the most respected defensive and offensive coordinators, Greg Mattison and Al Borges, in football.

This may not be a season of miracle. The defensive line and linebackers are suspect and the team lacks depth, especially on defense, but Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Ohio State play in Ann Arbor. The team is probably 2 years away from becoming a contender, but the Wolverines could start out 6-0, facing Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, San Diego State, Minnesota, and Northwestern, followed by Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Ohio State. The 5 toughest games should be Notre Dame, Michigan State, Iowa, Nebraska, and Ohio State. One win out of those five game should yield an 8-4 record.

A win against Ohio State would signal the second coming of Bo.

Anticipation; anticipation!

Why Can't We All Get Along in Wisconsin?

2011-09-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin has brought us so much political excitement in the past year in between the football seasons.

The Republicans swept the 2010 election; a blue state bled red. The new Republican governor and legislature acted quickly, as did the Democrats in Washington in 2008, to capitalize on their newly acquired power.

Wisconsin’s state and local government budgets were hemorrhaging, as they were nationally. Public employee salaries, medical expenses, and pensions, as well as related contractual obligations were a major cause.

The Republican response in Wisconsin was to use the budget as the means to reform, that is, to curb public employee collective bargaining rights through the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. Benefits would be trimmed. The employees would contribute more to their benefits. The unions, of course, screamed bloody murder.

But this wasn’t the real issue. The Republican measures were intended to defund and defang the public employee unions as banks for the Democratic Party. If money is the mother’s milk of politics, then the Republicans were aiming to forcibly wean the Democrats.

Government would no longer collect the mandatory dues of the public employees. Indeed, the public employees no longer have to pay mandatory dues, which makes Wisconsin a semi quasi right to work state.

No wonder the unions went ballistic. Other newly Republican states, especially in the Midwest, might follow. The union funds are an even greater issue to the Democrats than reapportionment.

The Wisconsin unions suddenly agreed to the employee contributions if the union busting provisions were dropped.

They demonstrated, followed by civil disobedience and sit-ins in the state capitol. The democratic senators fled to Illinois to avoid a vote. The unions sued; a friendly judge in Madison enjoined the bill until overruled by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

They unsuccessfully fought to block the reelection of a conservative judge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The vote was 4:3 to uphold the statute. They mounted recall campaigns against 6 Republican Senators to turn the senate blue again. They won two Senate seats, but fell one short of control of the Senate. They are threatening to recall Governor Scott Walker next year.

Solidarity forever. Unions from outside Wisconsin poured funds and organizers into Wisconsin to defeat the Republicans.

The citizens of Wisconsin want the parties to work together. The Republicans are speaking magnanimously, but they won. They can be graceful in victory.

Some labor leaders are not in a conciliatory mood.

Randy Radtke, President of the Marathon County Labor Council, announced last week that elected Republicans would not be allowed to march in the Wausau Labor Day Parade. It is, after all, a parade to celebrate workers and the union movement. Republicans are not going to rain on their parade.

The ban received national attention, but not necessarily favorable.

The ban appears petty and vindictive. It feeds into the negative image many have of unions. One conservative wrote “Union Thugs Ban Republican Rep. Sean Duffy From Their labor Day Parade.”

The labor representatives refused to budge from their principles.

Jim Tipple, the non-partisan Mayor of Wausau, then stated that the labor organization would have to foot the costs of the parade. He said “This is not a political rally, it’s a parade, for God’s sake.” He also stated that the banning of a political party from an event co-sponsored by the city is against public policy.

He’s only talking $2,000, and the unions could certainly raise that money, but Radtke relented yesterday. Republican politicians, including the Republican Congressman, state senator, and assemblyman from Wausau can march in the parade.

President Obama Caves in Less than a Day - A Sad Day for America

2011-08-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

President Obama has said he wakes up every morning worried about American jobs.

President Obama had three years to call a joint session of Congress to address the jobs problem.

President Obama had 9 ½ days of vacation on Martha’s Vineyard to call a special session of Congress to present his plan for jobs.

Instead, he called for a Joint Session of Congress for next week to present his plan – the reelection plan.

Congress is not in session Monday, Tuesday or Friday next week. That leaves Wednesday or Thursday.

Wednesday is a long-scheduled Republican debate at the Reagan Library. Thursday is the kickoff of the NFL Season – Green Bay versus N’awlins.

Jay Carney, the President’s press spokesman, announced today that the President’s speech will be on Wednesday. The President’s Office advised NBC that they could move the coverage of the Republican debate.

The Republicans objected; preempting an opposing party’s long scheduled debate looks pity and a political dirty trick.

Jay Carney suggested the GOP is free to move the time of the debate.

Speaker Boehner advised the White House that Wednesday was unacceptable, but that Thursday would work.

The White House announced earlier tonight that the Joint Session will be on Thursday, September 8.

The President caved to the Speaker in less than 12 hours.

This is the type of act that makes any Administration appear incompetent and weak.

All they had to do was get a commitment from the Speaker and Senate Majority Leader.

Instead, they announced the Joint Session without clearing it in advance.

It was either an initial decision reeking of incompetence or political gamesmanship.

The public is looking for leadership. They also are looking for meaningful proposals from the President - not a campaign speech next Thursday.

Let me add though that I think the GOP also mishandled the situation. They should have moved their scheduled debate back an hour, and asked the media for equal time to respond to the President’s address. The debate would be the response with all 12 Republicans candidates blasting the President’s proposals in real time. This debate would receive a much higher audience than it otherwise would have and whoever delivers the Republican response on Thursday night.

Which do we watch live, and which do we TIVO Thursday night – the President or the NFL?

A sad day for America, and miscalculation by both parties. That’s not what Americans want from Washington.

President Obama's Problem - He's Not President Clinton

2011-08-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Success has many a proud parent, but failure an orphan.

Therein lies President Obama’s problem.

He gave the left everything it wanted, but now he’s in President Johnson’s position.

At some point during Vietnam, the President looked around, and all the advisors, the best and brightest, that urged entry into Vietnam had abandoned him, with the exception of Secretary of State Dean Rusk.

President Johnson was abandoned. He gave up reelection.

President Obama is watching the economy dive on his watch. How ironic! It was the Wall Street collapse that led to his election.

Unemployment is 9.1% on his watch.

The national debt was downgraded on his watch.

Inflation, especially food inflation, is rearing its ugly little head on his watch.

Housing continues downward on his watch.

The banking industry, especially the largest of all, the Bank of America, is shaky on his watch.

The Republicans won control of the House and most state legislatures and governorships in 2008 and are in the process of defanging the public sector employee unions in many of the Midwest states.

All this is the opposite of what his economic advisors told him would happen. These economics advisors, the best and brightest, have returned to Berkeley, Chicago, and Harvard. They abandoned him. They have tenure. They don’t have to stand for reelection.

He bailed out the UAW by stiffing the Chrysler and GM debt holders.

The Stimulus Bill propped up public sector employees (SEIU, NEA, AFT, AFSCME) for
two years.

His NLRB is handing power to the private sector unions.

He gave America government health care.

He’s subsidizing a green economy.

He’s implementing amnesty.

He appointed a Latina to the Supreme Court.

His EPA is delivering on Cap and Trade.

What more can they want?

They want out.

A columnist in Newsweek compared the President to Chamberlain and appeasement for giving in on the debt limit.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters is willing to take on the President.

He expected criticism from conservatives, but not the liberals.

The liberals face an intellectual problem.

They can look inwards to themselves and recognize the failure of Keynesian economics, and all they believe in. Their dream for America is failing.

Or they can attack the President.

The President is also at a loss. He too is a true believer. He soaked up the Reverend Wright’s Liberation Theology for 20 years. He started his political career at the house of Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. He believes in fairness, equality, redistributionism, and the workers. He is a true believer.

Five days before his inauguration, he said “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming America.” His goal was to transform America. He is on his way, but not in the way he expected. He wanted America to emulate Western Europe and social
democracy. Look where that’s gotten Europe.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt connected with the American people during the Great Depression. He felt our pain.

President William Jefferson Clinton was an astute politician who balanced the populism and the conservatism of Arkansas voters. President Clinton knew when to
tack, veer, or drop anchor. He felt our pain.

President Clinton's telepromter failed once. Clinton continued his speech without missing a beat.

President Obama's telepromter failed once. The President froze.

President Barack Hussein Obama’s problem is clueless. He did what he promised, and it failed. His rhetoric is being tuned out, unless he admits a mistake and reverses course. A mea culpa might work, but he’s incapable of admitting the mistakes.

President Obama’s problem is that he is no President Clinton.

On Wisconsin - Republicans Hold Onto Wisconsin Again

2011-08-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

The Republicans won another major victory in Wisconsin yesterday.

Wisconsin is historically one of the most progressive states, as blue as they come - a bulwark of the Democratic Party. Both Al Gore and John Kerry beat Bush in Wisconsin, albeit it narrowly. The strength of the Democratic Party is centered in Milwaukee, Madison and the large unionized workforce.

The 2010 mid-term elections led to a Republican landslide nationally. The Republicans won the House and gained substantially in the Senate.

The real landslide though was at the state level. Republicans won a record number of state legislators and gained many governorships. 20 legislative chambers flipped from Democratic to Republican. The sweep was most apparent in the Midwest, where the Republicans gained control of the legislatures and governorships in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania. They won control of the legislature, but barely lost the governorship in Minnesota. Illinois remained Democratic, and the Democrats barely hung onto the Senate in Iowa.

Just as the Democrats in 2008 used their victory to ram legislation through Congress, the newly Red states took the opportunity to curb the power of the public sector unions.

Governor Scott Walker led the way in Wisconsin. His measure was billed as an attempt to rein in a $3.6 billion budget gap by curbing collective bargaining tights of public employees and requiring them to pay a greater share of their pensions and healthcare premiums, but it was union busting in reality.

It wasn’t union busting in the traditional sense of breaking the union, but union busting in the sense of emasculating their political powers. No longer will public employees be required to pay dues to the union, which dues in turn will be funneled to Democratic candidates.

The unions could still turn out their vote, but might no longer be the bank for the Democrats. Governor Walker was driving a stake into the financial heart of the Democratic-union alliance.

Hence, the substantial, at times violent, opposition to the legislation.

The unions responded by filing a lawsuit to enjoin the legislation. A friendly judge in Madison enjoined the statute. The ultimate decision would be by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which was divided 4:3 with a conservative majority.

The next step of the unions was to fight the reelection of conservative Judge David Prosser to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The campaign was expensive and vicious, but Judge Prosser won the April 5 election by about 7,000 votes.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court shortly afterwards upheld the legislation with Judge Prosser casting the deciding vote in a 4:3 decision.

The unions then turned to the recall, seeking to replace 6 Republican Senators with Democrats – hence the election yesterday. The Senate was split 19-14 after the 2010 election. A recall of three Republicans would turn the Senate.

The Democrats won only 2 seats yesterday with the Republicans holding onto 4. The results were something of a shocker to the unions. They expected victory in many of the Senate districts, which are based in the Milwaukee area. Over $30 million was poured into the elections by both sides. The unions got out the vote. But it wasn’t enough.

It’s not over though. The Republicans responded to the Democratic recall efforts by targeting 3 Democratic Senators for recall. One won retention last week, and the other two are being voted on next week. Speculation is that one of the two seats could flip to the Republicans.

The latest Democratic act is to promise a recall effort against Governor Walker next year.

Lost in all this political flurry is that the Governor signed a Republican gerrymandered reapportionment bill the other day, strengthening Republican prospects in future elections.

As a blue state turns red, the Democratic Party is fighting to retain its historic place in Wisconsin politics. It's fighting for political survival. If the Democrats lose, they should blame President Obama and not Governor Walker.

Maybe Wisconsin is once again leading America.

Is President Obama the second Coming of President Hoover?

2011-08-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Many, including oui, feared that President Obama would be the second coming of President Jimmy Carter.

Mea culpa; mea mas culpa.

After his speech earlier today, President Obama is coming across as the rebirth of Herbert Hoover.

History tells us that President Hoover’s inaction was one of the major causes of the depth of the Great depression.

History is written by the winners. FDR was a winner, and Hoover a loser. Hence, FDR, the activist FDR, was a winner, one of the greatest presidents in American history, and President Hoover, the inactive Hoover, is one of the worst.

The truth is slightly different. President Hoover did prime the pump, albeit not to the extent as President Roosevelt.

Yet, President Hoover was constrained by the economic orthodoxy of the time. He signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff and substantial tax increases in 1932 (with the highest rate of 64%), both of which are universally viewed as turning a recession into a depression. He also inaugurated public works projects, but clearly not to the extent of President Roosevelt.

President Obama believes in protectionism and tax increases.

The great British economist, John Maynard Keynes, proposed the Keynesian solution to economic slumps – spending tremendous sums of public funds to prime the pump and trigger the multiplier effect.

President Roosevelt took Keynes to heart, as well as increasing taxes. He engaged the American people. Remember, his theme song was “Happy days Are Here Again.”
Of course, he didn’t fix the Great Depression. World War II and the post-war spending binge set off the great American economic recovery, coupled with the reality that the European countries and Japan were economically crippled.

President Obama’s speech today proposed no new solutions, but was mostly a regurgitation of his talking points - extend the payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits, and infrastructure investment to prime the pump, while raising taxes.

The $870 billion Stimulus Bill was supposed to put America back to work with “Shovel Ready” jobs, but it was primarily a public employee union subsidy. He invested his political capital in Green Jobs and Keynes.

The Stimulus Bill failed, and the President exhausted his stimulus goodwill with that bill. The progressive Agenda failed.The voters in 2010 rejected it.

President Obama could be bold. His original economic team of academic superstars has bailed on him. Keynes failed. The Treasury Department has done all that it can. The Fed has exhausted existing remedies. The Obama Administration has run out of options, except to print money.

President Obama must be bold or he will lose reelection. He should recognize that Obamanomics has failed, and shift course. One attribute of FDR was flexibility; he was not wed to any one program.

President Obama is a tried and true progressive, weaned on Tax the Rich and Spread the Wealth. He is a community organizer who believes the government is the source of money. He knows that Labor is due its due.

He never understood that the wealth of America was built on cheap energy (oil, gas, and coal) and entrepreneurism. He forgot that he was elected on the stock market collapse and the subsequent economic collapse.

What he promised today was Hoover – steady on the status quo.

The people must know that the President is with them. President Roosevelt's Fireside Speeches resonated with Americans. President Obama took no responsibility and exhibited no leadership.

Crisis is the test of leadership. President Hoover did not step up. President George W. Bush was not perceived to step up. Leadership must look America in the eye – not rotate between teleprompters. Leaders must offer hope and inspiration – not blank words and talking points. The American people do not want to hear a broken record.

His acolytes responded to Standard and Poor’s downgrade of America’s credit rating as a political issue. They attacked S & P, blamed it on the Tea party, which Vice President Biden called terrorists, with the Treasury Department telling the major banks to ignore S & P, and that the credit agency made a $2 trillion computation error.

S & P downgraded today the debts of several federal agencies, such as Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, as well as insurance companies, such as Warren Buffett’s. The nation’s debt is not $14 billion, but much more when one considers the federal guarantee of loans, such as Fannie and Freddy and the Federal Home Loan Bank, guaranteed federal student loans, and who knows how many more.

President Obama quoted Warren Buffett as questioning S & P’s downgrade. Let us remember that Buffett’s company. Berkshire Hathaway, controlled Moody’s, the major credit rating agency that along with S & P and Fitch’s missed the housing debacle.

Unless the economy turns around quickly, President Obama will have a primary opponent and be a one term president whose legacy is worse than Carter’s and Hoover’s.

President Obama’s response to the economic crisis is to schedule two fund raisers tonight. His job is paramount. That tells it all.

It's Not the Debt Limit - It's the Debt

2011-07-31T23:56:00.000-07:00

As expected, Congress and the President reached an agreement to raise the debt limit. The full details are not yet available, but the only figure we need to know is that the agreement supposedly agrees to cut spending $2.4 trillion over the next ten years, back loaded into future years.

That’s $240 billion a year when the deficit is between $1 – 1.5 trillion. In short, Congress and the President are still spending about $1 trillion more a year than the IRS takes in.

Let’s look at it another way. Federal government spending is on auto pilot to rise 8% annually. Now it will be slightly less than 8%, perhaps 7%. The magic, or tragedy, of compound interest is that 7% annually doubles in a little less than a decade.

Assuming interest rates remain at the same low level, we will add $7.5 trillion to the existing $14 trillion national debt. If interest rates rise over the next decade, as basic economics teaches us they will, then the result will be an economic disaster for the United States. High interest rates, high inflation, and even higher unemployment will ensue. The only question is when.

That doesn’t include the damage still to be incurred by Obamacare and the rising prices in fuel and energy today, and the declining dollar.

$240 billion annually is only chump change in our current budget. Even a $4 trillion cut would only have reduced the annual deficit by $400 billion.

So who won?

The Republicans and the Tea Party – they changed the terms of debate in Washington, except that the passage of the final bill will be heavily dependent on Democratic votes.

The American taxpayer - at least for now - maybe. Wait till the new commission makes its report on Thanksgiving.

Who lost?

President Obama – he did not get his “balanced approach,” continues to sound like a broken record, and never showed leadership. He admonished House Majority Leader Eric Cantor not to call his bluff. The Republicans called the President’s bluff, and he folded. Once again the President showed he can talk the talk, but not walk the walk.

Senator Harry Reid and the Do Nothing Senate.

National security, since substantial defense cuts are on the way.

Credibility. President Reagan once agreed to tax increases for subsequent budget
cuts. Subsequent Congresses never delivered on the cuts, and President Reagan realized his mistake.

The big losers though are the American people since Congress did not succeed in substantially slowing the road to Greece.

The devil is in the details. If, apparently the new Committee does not come up with the specified reductions in spending or Congress does not approve them, then automatic spending cuts will take place in 2013 – after the election. The proposal initially seems to be a poison pill, designed to force the committee and Congress to act. Half of triggered cuts will come from the defense budget. Another chunk will come from Medicare providers.

The can, the ever expanding can, was kicked down the road, the ever shrinking road. Economic growth is essentially dead in the water.

This whole debate was politically unnecessary. The Democrats refused to raise the limit when they had total control of Congress last year. Senator Reid wanted the Republicans to have to share in the blame. In the meantime, both parties played to their base.

The $2.4 trillion is either a down payment on a larger cut or simply a lost cause.
The answer will come in November 2012.

Republicans need to win even bigger in 2012 than they did in 2010.

Memo to Media: These Are Not Right Wing Christian Extremist Terrorists

2011-07-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

This list includes the non-Christian terrorists from Al Qaeda, 9/11, the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, the Buffalo 6, Fort Dix 5, London Subway Bombings, the Shoe Bomber, the Christmas Day Bomber, and the Times Square Bomber.

We could also add Anders Behring Brevik to the list since he is not affiliated with any Christian Church or religion.

We could also include the D.C. Sniper

Osama Bin-Laden

Ayman al-Zawahiri

Mohammed Atef

Mohamed al-Kahtani

Zakariya Essaban

Abu Zubaydah

Saif al-Adel

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Abu Ayyub al-Masri

Abd al-Rahim al-Naihiri

Ahmed Ressam

Omar Abdel-Rahman

Abdul Nidal

Major Nidal Malik Hassan

Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo

Mohammed Atta

Marwan al-Shehhi

Ziad Jarrah

Nawaf al Hazmi

Khalid al-Mihdhar

Hani Hanjour

Hamza al-Ghamdi

Wail al-Shehri

Waleed al-Shehri

Fayez Ahmed

Majed Moqed

Salem al-Hamzi

Satam al-Suqami

Abdulaziz al-Omani

Mohand al-Shehri

Saeed al-Ghamdi

Zacarias Moussaoui

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammed

Najibullah Zazi

Mahmud Abouhalima

Mohammed Salamryi

Nidal A. Ayyad

Abdul Rahman Yasin

Ahmad Ajaj

Abu Ali al-Haritha

Abu Al-Rahim al-Nashiri

Jamal al-Badawi

Mir Aimal Kansi

Ramzi Yousef

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Ramzi Bin al-Shibi

Ahmed Ressam

Anwar al-Awlaki

Abu Turab al-Urduri

Richard Reid

Umar Farouk Aboulmutallab

Faisel Shahzad

Mir Aimal Kansi

Muktar Said Ibrahim

Yasin Hassan Omar

Hussein Osman

Ramzi Mohammad

Whabi Mohammad

Ahmed Ibrahim A. al-Haznawi

Ahmed Abdullah al-Nami

Jose Padilla

Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer

Dritan Duka

Eljvir Duka

Shain Duka

Serdar Tatar

President Obama's Problems

2011-07-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

First, he thinks he’s President, but has no idea of what the President does.

President Obama read the 2008 election results as a mandate to radically transform America.

The American public has tuned him out.

He’s pounding talking points into the sand.

Leadership is not reading the same talking points like a broken record.

Nor is leadership relying on focus groups.

Community organizing is not Presidential Leadership

He has burnt out the Bully Pulpit.

Some speakers grow on you.

Others wear on you.

He ignored the economy. President Clinton never forgot “It’s the economy, stupid.”

He’s ignorant of economics.

Demagoguery is not leadership.

Consensus is not achieved through trashing the opposition in divided government.

He’s become irrelevant to members of Congress of both parties in the legislative process.

He forgot about unification and consensus government once he achieved office.

President Clinton achieved reelection through triangulation. President Obama is currently running to the left of the Senate.

No balanced approach was sought in the Stimulus Bill.

Politicians in D.C., especially in the White House, live in a cocoon.

Representatives and Senators try to get out with the public. That too will drop after the crazy shooting of Congresswoman Giffords in Tucson, Arizona. The President does not meet with the public for security reasons.

The President is
A) Petulant
B) Narcissistic
C) Arrogant
D) Frustrated by having to cancel golf matches and fundraising events

The President has become Johnny One Note
A) Corporate Jets
B) Millionaires
C) Fairness
D) Balanced

He hasn't learned that the more he speaks on a subject, such as health care, the more unpopular it becomes

Early Lessons From the Norwegian Tragedy

2011-07-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Once again the world has witnessed a tragic, incomprehensible mass killing by a mad man. I feel for Norway, but especially for the parents of the slaughtered teenagers.

Lessons are to be learned from this disaster, as with all these tragedies.

First, be careful about jumping to conclusions about the actors.

Initial speculation focused on Islamist fanatics. The dual attack, first the government center, and then Utoya Island, had some of the characteristics of Radical Islam, especially the planning.

That was wrong, as it was with Oklahoma City.

It is equally wrong though, as with the Times Square wannabe bomber, to immediately cast suspicion away from radical Islam. The reality in the United States is that school shootings are usually crazy students while the traditional terrorist attacks are from Radical Islamicists. Some are plotted overseas, e.g. 9/11, the Shoe Bomber, Christmas Day Bomber, and the Times Square Bomber. Some are home grown terror cells, and others represent what is often referred to as The Sudden Jihad Syndrome, as with Major Nidal, the Fort Hood Shooter. Some, as with the London subway bombings, are a combination.

That said, this was a right-wing nut job, as was Timothy McVeigh.

The mainstream media is beginning to overreact by, once again, castigating and pillorying the right –wing fanatics. They are a risk, as we also know from bitter experience, but they do not pose the highest terrorism risk – that remains the Islamic fanatics.

One of the greatest lessons from Norway was the ineffectual response from Norwegian police. Anders Breivik methodically went on his killing spree for 90 minutes, while the campers frantically cell phoned their parents and the police. The police claimed an inability to find a boat or helicopter that could get them to Utoya Island. Heads should roll in the police and the government for that failure.

We have learnt the hard way the need for emergency action plans, contingency plans,
and rapid response teams in law enforcement. No country should be so complacent in this troubled world of semi-automatic weapons, ammonium nitrate, IED’s, and crazed mad men (The assailants are almost always male) as to believe it’s immune or sheltered from random acts of violence.

Second, some crimes cry out for the death penalty. Let’s watch the upcoming debate in Norway.

As a personal matter, coming of age in the 1960’s as America was struggling to advance quality to all Americans in the Civil Rights Era, I resented Europe adopting a Holier than Thou posture, attacking the racism in America. The history of racism in post-World War II Europe is shameful. America was striving to right grievous wrongs in its past, while France and Italy are currently discriminating against Roma. The inability to assimilate immigrants, coupled with Islamist terrorist attacks, has fueled the growth of conservative, anti-immigrant political parties. Europe is currently witnessing a rise in anti-Semitism, reminding us that non-Germans were willing collaborators with the Nazis in the Holocaust.

Third, Europeans decry America’s Culture of the Gun, an image reinforced by the high crime rates and random acts of mass killings in America.

Yet Europe, gun free Europe, has suffered mass shootings, even in schools and government offices, in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Norway in the New Millennium prior to yesterday’s shootings. China had an epidemic of crazed adults killing students last year with knifes, cleavers, and hammers. Nor should we forget Canada.

A Norwegian psychopath, who is trying to start a new crusade against Islam, by killing Norwegian teenagers and posting a manifesto, drawing heavily on the Unabomber’s manifesto, is no more rational than Timothy McVeigh blowing up a pre-school at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City as a protest against Ruby Ridge and Waco.

The perverted “logic” of some of these killers indicates more of a need for 15 minutes of infamy than to right a wrong. Anders Breivik's reasons are as crazy and irrational as Jared Loughner's in the January 8, 2011 Tucson shootings.

We live in troubled times in a universe of random acts of violence. We cannot prevent all of them, but improved security can reduce the risk.

Why the Republicans Will Not, Can Not, and Shound Not Raise Taxes

2011-07-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

All the Republicans have to do is vote to raise taxes as part of the budget deficit shrinking package. The obstinacy of Congressman Eric cantor and the Tea Party freshmen is viewed as stupid and mean by democrats and the mainstream media.

The Democrats are the party of government and the Republicans the party of the individual, or are the Democrats the party of the people and the Republicans the party of the rich? Sometimes it’s confusing, but not today.

The Republican sweep of 2010 at the national and state level was a vote to cut taxes and shrink the budget deficit.

The Republicans know that.

They also know their history. They know the legacy of President Reagan, and of President George H. W. Bush and of Senator Robert Dole. They know the story of the Pennsylvania Republicans who voted to raise taxes in the state legislature, and then were bounced from office. They witness the success of the Republicans governors and legislators in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania in controlling costs without raising taxes. They see the future.

But let’s look at history.

President Reagan got a Democratic Congress to cut tax rates 25%, but later reached a deal with Speaker Tip O’Neil to raise taxes in the 1982 Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, which raised taxes $98 billion over three years. He was promised three dollars in spending cuts for every dollar in tax increases.

Of course, the taxes went into effect immediately, and the Democratic Congress never delivered on the spending cuts.

President Obama is currently promising $3 in unspecified future cuts for every dollar in tax increases by the Republicans. Sounds like déjà vu all over again.

President George H. W. Bush pledged in his 1988 Convention acceptance speech: “Read my lips. No new taxes.” Six powerful words penned by the wordsmith Peggy Noonan. “Read my lips. No new taxes” became his campaign theme. Indeed, “No new taxes” became a covenant with the America voters.

He breached the covenant two years later in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. He lost his base in the Republican Party, and reelection two years later.
President George W. Bush never forgot the tax lesson of his dad. He cut, but did not raise, taxes.

Senator Robert Dole, the Republican leader in the Senate, signed onto the tax increases, as he had often done for fiscal stability. The Senator was a moderate Republican, a stalwart of the party, but a young Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich labeled him “the tax collector for the welfare state.” It stuck.

Although he won the Republican nomination for President in 1996, he had to accept a true tax reducer, Congressman jack Kemp, as his running mate.

Today’s young Republicans remember the past.

They remember that they lost the Congress in 2006 because the Republican base was offended by the spending of the Bush Administration.

They know that if they raise taxes, the Democrats will simply spend the additional revenues, just like Lucy always pulls the football out from Charley Brown.

They know that if they agree to raise taxes, they will not only, once again, lose their base, but go far towards reelecting President Obama in 2012.

They are engaged in fight for the future of America - the state versus the individual.

These Republicans will not raise taxes, and the President knows it.

Carmageddon is Coming! What to Do? What to Do?

2011-07-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Carmageddon is coming! Only two days till Carmageddon. Are you prepared?

Only 2 days to go – to go to Togo’s off the 405.

If you are one of the rest of the world who haven’t heard, Caltrans is closing the ten mile stretch of the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass between the Santa Monica Freeway (10) to the Ventura Freeway (101) for 53 hours, from Friday evening to hopefully 5 AM Monday morning. The road is closing for safety. Half the Mulholland Bridge overpass is being town down.

Mulholland’s fame lies with the Owens Valley Aqueduct and his infamy with the tragic failure of the Saint Francis Dam. Now his name is attached to the 405 closure.

The 405’s greatest fame is the fabled low speed chase of O.J. in a white Bronco.

So what if Southern California survived the 3 month closure of the 10 to rebuild after the January 17, 1994 Northridge quake?

Might this be the second coming of the y2k Millennium Bug?

So what of Homo Sapiens existed for 200,000 years before the 405

So what if civilization, born in the Crescent Triangle, survived thousands of years without the 405.

So what if Alexander the Great conquered the known world without the 405.

So what if the Roman Empire survived a millennium without the 405.

So what if the British Navy ruled the waves without the 405.

So what if the United States won World War II without the 405.

So what if Howard Hughes didn’t need the 405 to build the Spruce Goose.

So what if the 405 is not mentioned in the Old Testament, New Testament, or Quran.

So what if Southern California's air quality improves.

So what if this is the first time in 4 decades that the 405 is not jammed.

What would Buddha say?

This is Los Angeles, the self-centered center of the universe.

Half a million Angelenos drive this stretch daily.

The 405 is the working aorta of LA. The 5 suffers from eternal blockage.

Things to do this weekend to escape Carmageddon.

Wait for the Hollywood Calvary to head them off at the pass

Institutionalize any ignoramus heading up to the Sepulveda Pass not knowing of Carmageddon

Institutionalize Kim Kardashian who twittered the wrong date to all her fans

Do something radical – stay at home with the family

Make love, nor car war

Play Grand Theft Auto

Watch Leaving Los Angeles

Read the great novels of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy

Complete the Sunday New York Times Crossword

Wait in line for 5 hours to see the new Harry Potter movie.

Do like the Gubernator – fly over the 405 in a private jet

Fly over the 405 on a Jet Blue 737 between Burbank and Long Beach for $4

Head east to San Berdu

Cross the Orange Curtain to weekend in Orange Country

Follow the Raiders and Rams out of LA

Go to a Dodgers game

Learn how our ancestors survived without the 405 - Pull out the candles, shut off the power, turn off the AC, unplug the phone, toss the cellphone, and silence the internet

Blog it

Enter a pool, not car pool, picking the exact moment of greatest chaos

Cuss out the rich Nimbys in Bel Air, Brentwood, and Beverly Hills who blocked a cheaper and less obstructive alternative

Consult your freeway therapist

Check in for elective surgery; spend the weekend in the hospital getting breast augmentation.

Go to the Wilshire Temple Friday evening and pray for a miracle early Monday morning.

Head for the Slauson Cutoff and look for the fork in the road

Listen for the music of the spheres

Chill out; tailgate on the 405.

Commune with nature

Get a horse

Learn to walk

Bike

Dust off your skateboards

Charter a Hornblower yacht

Public transit

Kiss the Valley Girls goodbye

Zone out

Savor the moment

Get a life! It’s only a weekend.

A Plug for Jacks Firehouse in Philly

2011-07-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

We visited last Wednesday the historic Eastern States Penitentiary in Philadelphia. Eastern States, opened in 1829, was the prototype for over 300 penitentiaries which followed. It finally closed in 1971.

Originally built 1½ miles from the city, Philadelphia grew around it, surrounding it on all four sides. It is now a part of the Art Museum Neighborhood, 5 blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Forget Alcatraz! Al Capone was “luxuriously” imprisoned in Eastern States before Alcatraz. Willie Sutton, the infamous bank robber, was a prisoner until his escape.

The question was: Where do we eat after the visit?

A quick perusal of the neighborhood showed nothing exceptional. The information at the museum led us to Jack’s Firehouse, conveniently located across the street. The interior architecture of the old fire station reflects that of a century ago. The narrow restaurant had a beautiful mahogany bar in the middle. That was clearly not original to the fire station.

Little did we know that entered a famous restaurant, perhaps even more famous nationally than Eastern States. The award winning founder, Jack McDavid, regularly appeared on the Food Network’s “Grillin’ and Chillin’ with Bobby Flay.”

The food is traditional American, with a generous helping of local favorites (think Philly Cheesesteak) and seafood.

None of this really matters.

As we entered Jack’s Firehouse, a woman, who I shall refer to as the Hostess, was serving drinks behind (or within) the bar. She sat us at a table. We small talked with her before leaving, and then asked directions to the 76 from the parking lot up the block.

She provided great directions - the tunnel was the key, and that was it. Or so we thought.

The Hostess came running up as we were paying the parking lot attendant. She was holding my camera which I had left behind. Unbelievable! Let me add that the other wait staff were also very impressive.

Who says good help is hard to find? Certainly not in Philly.

That is service, service above and beyond the norm – service from a hostess at a bar or restaurant that will probably never see us again. Service that validates one’s faith in the American people.

Her generous act says much about her. It also speaks well of Jacks. The restaurants business has a high failure rate. Jacks has prospered since 1989.

Poor service is a major cause of restaurant fatalities. Poor service in turn is often a reflection of poor, often arrogant, management. Treat your employees well, and they will respond. They will go the extra step.

Treat your employees poorly, and they will be surly and lethargic.

Thank God for Eugene, Oregon that Today is the 4th of July and not Flag Day

2011-07-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

The City Council of Eugene, Oregon rejected a proposal to pledge allegiance to the Flag at the start of the Council meetings. After extensive deliberations it voted a compromise, a compromise which can display the worse of political compromises. The Pledge may be made at four council meetings a year, those preceding the Fourth of July, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Flag Day.

But not this 4th of July – it is too soon.

Mayor Kitty Piercy called the Pledge of Allegiance “divisive.”

One Council member, Betty Taylor, “compared saying the Pledge of Allegiance to reading from the Communist Manisfesto.”

Berkeley has a reputation for being far-left, but even Berkeley is not this insane.

As we celebrate America’s independence on the Fourth of July, we do so with the exceptionalism and greatness of America. We celebrate not only the birth of America, but the American Spirit.

We pledge allegiance to the Flag - not to a political party, not to the government, not to a religion, not to the President, not to a king or queen, not to an ism, but to the Flag, which represents America.

America is different; it is the melting pot of the world.

We are not of one religion or ethnicity. We are not a race; nor of one skin color. Our ancestors, with the exception of the slaves, came to America to pursue a dream, the dream of a better life unavailable to them or their children in the old country.

We come from all continents, including Australia. We have always been a peoples of immigrants.

The Roman Empire embraced many, but it was still essentially Roman. The British Empire also welcomed the peoples of the Empire, but it was still a country of the Brits.

We are Anglo-Saxons, Irish, Italians, Greeks, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Scandinavians, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Iraqi and Persian, Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic. We are all of these, but not of one for we are Americans.

We know our roots. We know where our parents emigrated from, but we are Americans.

The Flag is the unifying symbol of America.

The 13 stripes and 50 stars represent the unity and spirit of America - the 13 original colonies and the 50 states. It is also a symbol of freedom and decency.

The Flag flew from Fort McHenry and in the rubble of 9/11. It flies from our ships, is painted on our planes, worn by our military. It became the symbol of Northerners during the Civil War and has remained the symbol of America.

America has other symbols, especially Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam, but they are not the Flag.

It precedes by decades the Statute of Liberty, a wonderful, symbolic gift of the people of France.

Councilman George Brown voted against even the compromise because “It really doesn’t help move the city’s business forward. It does not unite us.”

Pledging Allegiance to the Flag and singing the Star Spangled Banner before athletic events does not improve the athletes’ performance, but that’s not the reason we do it.

We pledge allegiance to the flag before sporting events to affirm the unity of the country and our love for America. It says who we are.

We are sufficiently strong as a people and country that we protect the constitutional rights of protestors to burn the flag. We don’t like it, but we tolerate it.

The symbolism of the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag is even more critical since an increasing number of communities are ending their 4th of July Parades and Fireworks for budgetary reasons.

Has Eugene not learnt anything from the Portland, Oregon Fire Department in March 2003? The Deputy Fire Chief ordered removal of the American flags from fire trucks for fear of inciting anti war demonstrators. The fire chief countermanded him the next day after a flood of protests.

President Obama's June Economic Gloom

2011-07-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

July has arrived. Enough of President Obama’s June economic gloom.

The June gloom could lead to the Summer of Recovery.

Last summer was the Summer of Recovery

Next summer may also be the Summer of Recovery

Instead, we witnessed the June economic gloom.

June started with a rise in the unemployment rate to 9.1%, and an anemic rise in jobs to 54,000 jobs in May.

Weekly new unemployment claims exceed 400,000, while hundreds of thousands have stopped looking.

The GDP growth is slow.

That is not a recovery

President Obama’s economic June Gloom was self-made.

President Obama’s early economics tour d’farce betrays his ignorance of economics
President Obama spoke at the Jeep plant in Toledo on Friday, June 3. He boasted about saving Chrysler, which has repaid the government investment. He ate two hot dogs at Rudy’s and bragged about the secondary impact on Chet’s, which closed two days later on Sunday, June 5. His advance staff screwed up.

He also said the economy was hitting some bumps in the roads, bumps so tough that even a Jeep Wrangler couldn’t get over them. The “humor” was met with boos by the Wrangler builders.

On June 13 in North Carolina he proposed a public-private partnership to train 10,000 engineers for high-tech jobs. Is the President unfamiliar with the great engineering schools in America, two of which are in Illinois (Illinois and Northwestern), that are producing tens of thousands of computer, electrical, mechanical, industrial, and biomedical engineers annually? Is he unfamiliar with Research-Triangle Park in North Carolina?

He extolled Cree’s in North Carolina for its green products. Over 50% of its employees are in China. It held a grand opening on December 8, 2010 of its Huizhou plant in China. President Swobada, Chairman and CEO of Cree, explains the company’s motto as follows “Cree Chip, China heart.”

President Obama ignored China and bragged about the company’s hiring of 375 new factory jobs with another 300 expected to follow. The President also forgot to mention that the Cree employment came after the federal government provided $39 million to the company, which comes out to $104,000 for the 375 workers.
When asked at another appearance at his Jobs Council about ‘shovel ready jobs in the Stimulus Bill,” he replied in a joking manner “Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.”

President Obama believes that the economic future of America lies in green jobs. That he will invest in, ignoring the needs of the American people today, and oblivious to the reality that American green manufacturers cannot compete with Japanese manufacturers, and that Spain's extensive investment in green has failed.

His crack about “shovel ready” was apparently meant as a self-deprecating humorous mea culpa, but it came across as flippant. He said that maybe those shovel ready projects weren’t so shovel ready after all.

The President in an interview with the Today Show said companies were not hiring because of automation, and not his policies: “There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to a bank and use an ATM, you don’t go to a bank teller, or you go to the airport and you’re using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate.”

Imagine that, airlines and banks should not become more efficient. Neither should FedEx or UPS. They should model themselves after the post office.
Imagine that, he wants to take us back to the Stone Age for our economic growth.

The President’s remarks display a basic ignorance of economics and echo the Luddites of the past.

Wait, forget about the ATM’s and Luddites. On Thursday, June 23 he announced at Carnegie Mellon University the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership with 6 universities (Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Michigan, MIT, and Stanford) initially receiving $500 million to increase the number of advanced manufacturing jobs in the country. The idea is to develop techniques for creating new products more efficiently and creatively.

Sounds like automation and technology to me!

July may be a fresh economic start for the President.

President Obama’s economics team has bailed out on him. His words about the team 2 ½ years ago: “Vice President-elect Biden and I have assembled an economic team with the vision and expertise to stabilize our economy, create jobs, and get America back on track.” His brilliant Economic Dream Team may have been wrong, but they’re smart. They recognized that his recovery plan bailed. They are abandoning ship.

Larry Summers, his Director of the National Economic Council, is headed back to Harvard. Christina Roemer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors returned to Berkeley. Austan Goolsbee, the short term replacement at the National Economic Council and long term economic confidant of the President, will be back at Chicago. Peter Orszag left the Office of Management and Budget for Citigroup. Only Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, is remaining, but he lacks a safe haven outside government.

The President views the Golden state as a piggy bank for reelection, but it’s his economic albatross. California generates 13.1% of the nation’s economy, but it shed 29,200 jobs in May. It’s an economic basket case with an unemployment rate of 11.7%, higher than Michigan’s. 2.1 million Californians are unemployed, with over 1 million out of work for 27 weeks or more.

President Obama delegated the budget negotiations to Vice President Joe Biden, the same VP who fell asleep during the President’s April 13 speech on the deficit.

It was well documented at the time that while he was going around espousing the “Shovel ready” expediency of the Bill, he did not know what it actually contained.

He delegated the Stimulus Bill to Congress, especially the House of Representatives, where a King of Pork, David Obey, drafted it. The primary purpose of the stimulus Bill was not to create jobs, but to buoy up state and local government expenditures, especially for the public employee unions. Only 6% was earmarked for jobs creation, shovel ready projects. The rest was transfer payments, which add nothing to the economy.

In short, the Stimulus Act was, at best, poor Keynesian economics. Or it displays the failure of Keynesian economics. Combined with the experience in Europe, the seductive Keynesian economics should be taught along with Communism and socialism as a failed economics theory – a costly failure.

Maybe the June Gloom is gone. Maybe oil prices will continue to fall. Maybe jobs will come back, fueling economic growth again.

Maybe.

Questions About President Obama's Recent Remarks on Deficit Reduction

2011-07-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

Is the President posturing before he caves?

Is the President throwing red meat to his blue state supporters?

Is the President a true believer?

Is the President resorting to rank demagoguery?

Is the President simply pursuing his concept of fairness?

Is the President espousing Populism?

Is class warfare the President’s mantra?

Is the President being a hypocrite, as he shames Congress into continuing in session over the 4th while he fundraises and golfs?

Is the President piqued because the 67 minute news conference cut into his golf game and fund raising activities?

Does the President care that he is even upsetting Democratic supporters in Congress?

Is the President drawing a line in the sand on taxes such that he’s locked in?

Does the President believe that increasing taxes on the oil and gas industry will increase production of oil and gas in the United States?

Does the President believe that raising taxes on the productive segments of society will improve the economy?

Did the President, a political science major, take any economics courses in college?

Did the President drink too deeply of the chalice of the Reverend Wright and imbibe too much liberation theology?

Is the President this economically naive?

Warning - Potatoes May Be dangerous to Your Health

2011-06-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

Researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health published last Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine a study showing that potatoes, especially French fries, are the most fat inducing food.

Spud will join the lexicon of four letter words.

The Harvard researchers followed the eating habits of over 120,000 health professionals for 12 years. Therein lies the first problem with the study. Health professionals are not representative of the general public. What health professionals are going to double down daily on French fries?

The study found that by daily eating an extra portion of French fries an individual would gain an extra 3-4 pounds over 4 years. Potato chips will only yield 1.7 extra pounds. That should make Frito-Lay happy unless you delight in Pringles.

Duh! That’s the second problem with the study. If I eat an excessive amount of any food or consume too much daily of any beverage, I will gain weight. How much in federal grants did the researchers receive for this study?

How many adults will eat extra French fries daily? Teenagers going to MacDonalds for their salty fries I understand, but adults?

Forget soft drinks and red meat. According to Harvard, it’s potatoes. What does Yale think?

Does this mean we can go back to loading up on sugar and salt? Whatever happened to calories, fats, and trans fats?

The United States Potato Board, based in Denver (Why not Idaho or Maine?), responded by stating the Harvard study perpetuates unfortunate myths and misconceptions about the potato.

This vegetable, cultivated by the Incas in Peru, is now a staple of ¼ of the world’s population. It’s ubiquitous in our diet, and traditions.

Imagine Thanksgiving Dinner without the mashed potatoes and gravy? The turkey and dessert will probably yield more calories. Thanksgiving – a veritable cornucopia of all the foods we shouldn’t eat.

That’s right. The Harvard study did not measure caloric intake or exercise regimes – another problem!

Meat and potatoes – They’re already taking red meat away from us. Now it will be meatless and unpotato as our daily diet.

No more baked potato and cream cheese. If the potato doesn’t kill you, the cream cheese will

Lay off the Hungarian goulash

Don’t drink cream of potato soup

Pass on the hash browns

Don’t partake of the shepherds pie

Forget the potato dumplings

Think of this – If we don’t eat, we will most assuredly lose weight

Remember the British and the Irish. England let the Irish consume only potatoes. Grain was reserved to the British. Then came the potato blight, and millions of Irish emigrated, especially to the United States or died from the famine.

Don’t drink a Bloody Mary, White Russian, Black Russian, potato martini, or Vodka

If we no longer have the potato to eat and muse over, then we do not have to resolve the great spelling debate. Is it potato or potatoe – the Vice President Quayle spelling?

Tell Me Again Why California Needs to Raise taxes

2011-06-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

To support the 1/3 of San Francisco’s municipal employees (9,478/27,000) who earn over $100,000 annually, not including healthcare and pensions. The average pay of municipal employees in San Francisco is $93,000. Almost 2,400 San Francisco retirees receive pensions of $75,000 or more.

To support the 30% (647 out of about 2,400) of fulltime Glendale public employees, who also earn over $100,000 annually, and the 45% of West Hollywood employees similarly compensated.

To help Glendale to continue to support a float in the Rose Parade.

To compensate the 16 California city manufacturers, of whom are in California, who earn over $300,000 annually. Bell is but the tip of the iceberg.

To cover the 13 Newport Beach lifeguards, who can recover at 50, who earn over $120,000 annually, with the top pay of $211,000. They only contribute 3.5% to their pensions.

To underwrite Heather Fong’s retirement as San Francisco Police Chief in 2009 at age 53. Her base salary was $187,875, but her retirement is $277,656 annually. She also cashed out her accumulated vacation time, sick leave, and comp time for $303,653.

To support the LAUSD part-time cafeteria workers who were granted full benefits 4 years ago. They now exceed $20 million annually while the LAUSD cafeteria budget is now $20 million in the hole. The workers pay no premiums for their health care’

To fund the newly approved prison guards contract, which lifts the 80 day cap on accrued vacatin days, let the guards cash in all the days at their final pay scale, and provide 12 paid days off over the next 2 years.

To let the legislators retain their automobile allowances.

To support the $3 million annual allowance (slush fund) each of the 5 Los Angeles County Supervisors receives.

To fund the propose rail from nowhere to nowhere. Alaska may have had the $400 million Bridge to Nowhere, but California has the $43-61 billion rail from nowhere to nowhere. The voters approved in 2008 a $9 billion bond to fund a high speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The initial 45 mile stage will be laid in the Central Valley at a cost of $4.15 billion from the unincorporated Borden to Corcoran, with a total population of 25,000 between them. The train will not then run though until more miles are laid.

To allow CalTrans continue to pay up to $171,000 for roof repairs on dilapidated houses it had acquired years ago for freeways never built.

To compensate the 36 University of California administrators who are threatening to sue, alleging they are entitled to higher pensions

To cover the 870,000 Californians who fled the state.

So that Assemblyman Mike Gatto will not have to explain to his wife and daughter that they can't pay their bills because a politician was grandstanding.

I do not begrudge the municipal employees who earn what they did. Rather they negotiated the contracts personally, or through a union, it was the shortsightedness of mayors, supervisors, and councilmen who awarded these benefits. However, these compensation and benefits packages are no longer sustainable.

Governor Palin Versus Congressman Weiner - The Tale of the Net

2011-06-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Once again the media descended onto Alaska, looking for a Palin moment, searching for a blooper, smoking out the stupid statement, the ultimate gaffe, to doom the Governor once and for all. The media salivated to pound the final nail into her political coffin.

Their holy grail was a 55 lb. box containing 24,199 pages of Governor Palin’s emails while in office. Since they had convinced themselves the Governor was stupid, the proof would be in the emails. The media even enlisted volunteers to search through the emails – volunteers who presumably were not supporters of the Governor.

2419 emails – not one smoking gun, not one phrase to be taken out of context.!

The New York Times and Washington Post discovered Governor Palin was a loving mother, hard working public servant, ambitious politician, and she disliked the media. Not one email opened the Governor up to ridicule or contempt. Not one email tarnished her image. She had her act together.

Not one email, not one gaffe blew up in her face.

They diligently searched and found nothing.

They didn’t search for dirt on Congressman Weiner. He threw it into their faces.

The old media didn’t search for Congressman Weiner. He was the Democratic attack dog, the pit bull against the Republicans. They loved him. He fed them red meat.

Then he let it all hang out on-line the new media.

Both the Governor and Congressman twitter. It’s a major communications tool for the Governor, a communications major in college. She uses it to convey her political messages to her followers.

Her twits are informational, political, and persuasive. His are lewd, lascivious, and salacious.

He uses twitter to sext. He follows his followers on-line, opening up his inner charms for all to see.

The internet is amazing in its inherent ability to summon forth one’s past, often one’s forgotten past, one’s repressed past.

None of these embarrassing moments in the life of Governor Palin have emerged. The Congressman’s internet profile is the opposite. Once upon a time he dressed in women’s clothes. The internet has it all.

Disclosures on the internet can still be a drip by drip. Unlike the earlier days, the internet drip is faster.

She uses publicity; he needs publicity.

She’s comfortable in her skin; he needs to preen.

She’s natural; he’s still fighting the inner geek.

The Governor is who she is. The Congressman is who he needs to be.

She uses twitter for political purposes; he uses twitter to sext.

She didn’t engage in sexting, much less serial sexting.

He reveled in serial sexting; “look at me now” to college coeds and porn stars.

She didn't cyber sex unwilling women. He cyber sexually assaulted unwilling women.

She’s assumed stupid – 5 colleges to graduate from the University of Idaho. He went to SUNY Plattsburgh.

Who’s stupid now?

She loves her family; he professes to love his family

Positively nauseating to see his twitters

She’s the darling of the Tea Party; he’s the darling of the Left

And now comes the attention seekers – those who want their 15 minutes of fame.

Gloria Allred and Ginger Lee, once a porn star and now an exotic dancer, surfaced in New York with a press conference. He had over 100 communications with her.

She was outraged.

Imagine, a woman who’s done it all, seen it all, in every conceivable position, was indignant at his sexts. Imagine a porn star, who hung out with Charlie Sheen for 2 years, wished to be taken seriously; he needed fulfillment. How low can you go?

Nothing salacious in Governor Palin’s emails or twitters. No sexting with college students or porn stars.

No narcissism or Adonis behavior.

Both can get face time in a nanosecond. She uses the media; he needs the media attention.

He’s brash, even by New York standards.

The tale of the net.

Dan Akerson is No Charles Wilson

2011-06-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Dan Akerson is definitely not Charles Wilson

Charles “Engine” Wilson was President of General Motors from 1941-1953 and then served as Secretary of Defense from 1953-1957. He was asked during his Senate confirmation hearings if he would make a decision inconsistent with the interests of GM. In other words, would he have a conflict of interest?

His responded that “For years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa.” His statement became misquoted as “What’s good for GM is what’s good for America.”

Thus, he was quoted as placing General Motors on a higher plane than the country, when what he said is that the success of each was critical to the success of the other.

Dan Akerson, GM’s new CEO, has adopted the misquoted Charles Wilson approach.

Detroit has been on the skids for decades. GM’s market share progressively dropped from almost 60% in the late 1960’s to less than 20% in recent years. Japan was eating GM’s lunch and the UAW GM’s cash flow. The last GM dealership in San Francisco closed over 2 years ago.

Chrysler was even more of a basket case, stripped of products and product development by Cerberus after Mercedes ran it into the ground.
The economic collapse 2 ½ years ago doomed the old, inefficient GM and Chrysler.

The Bush Administration kicked the can down the road by loaning $17.4 billion to GM and Chrysler in December 2008, which would carry them through to March in the new Administration. The Obama Administration then bailed GM out with an additional $30 billion, Chrysler with $15 billion, and an additional $12.5 billion went to GM’s former subsidiary GMAC (ALLY Financial). GMAC thought it could make more money from mortgages than auto loans.

The government also loaned money to all three Detroit companies for product development.

GM and Chrysler entered bankruptcy in cooperation with the Obama Administration. Factories were shuttered, car lines eliminated (Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab),
dealers terminated, shareholders wiped out, and creditors stiffed, with the exception of the UAW.

The government, i.e. tax payers, and the UAW assumed ownership of the two companies.

The government also purchased tens of thousands of cars from the three Detroit companies, and sponsored Cash for Clinkers to keep the assembly lines rolling. The Japanese were the major beneficiaries of Cash for Clunkers.

The Obama Administration could just as easily given $250,000 to each UAW worker and walked away.

So how does GM repay the citizens of America?

Dan Akerson has proposed that the federal gas tax be raised to $1/gallon. He believes that a government-imposed tax hike would drive more people to buy small cars, such as Chevy’s Cruze, and do more good for the environment than a government imposed gas-mileage standard.

GM was the beneficiary of the capitalistic marketplace. If it still believes in freedom of choice, then it should compete in the marketplace. GM’s problem is that a majority of Americans believe the Japanese, and now the Koreans, build better small cars at a lower price. That’s the marketplace. Indeed, a number of the closed dealerships in Southern California are now successful with Hyundai or Kia franchises.

$4 a gallon gas is damaging to consumers and $5 devastating to the American economy.

High gas prices drain discretionary spending out of consumers’ pockets. The purchase of big ticket items is postponed.

Once upon a time, in my younger and naïve days during the Arab Oil Embargo, I supported a $.50 gas tax to be used for mass transit. Now I know such funds would simply be blown by government.

Charles Wilson recognized that what’s good for the country is good for GM and vice versa. Akerson believes that what’s good for GM is good for the country.

Akerson’s final comments recognized that it is a decision for the politicians. He must know that in this Congress a gas tax increase is a dead issue. So why raise it?

Is the new GM just as shortsighted as the old, failed GM?

Random Thoughts on Congressman Anthony Weiner

2011-06-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

I bet Congressman Anthony Weiner wishes Al Gore never invented the internet.

Congressman Weiner shows that cybersex is not always safe sex.

I do not expect politicians to be saints. We, as humans are imperfect, so why should politicians, often with excessive testosterone levels, be saints? I don't approve their conduct, but I'm not surprised. I don't expect them to act stupid though.

Once again, immorality, corruption and sleeze are bi-partisan and non-partisan (Republicans Schwarzenegger, Vitter, Ensign, Craig, Ney, Cunningham, DeLay; Democrats JFK, LBJ, Clinton, Edwards, Spitzer, Hart, Mills, Jefferson, Massa, McGreevy, Torricelli, Condit, Traficant).

California has seen three prominent politicians in recent years engage in tawdry behavior: Democratic Mayors Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaragousa and Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

None though engaged in rampant, unwanted cyber sex. No plausible denialabity when you post it on line.

I expect politicians to lie, especially when campaigning for office, but I don’t expect them to act stupidly.

Congressman Weiner loved face time – second in New York politics to only Senator Chuck Schumer, who was once his boss. The Congressman is now getting tons of face time with the media.

Congressman Weiner will resign for he committed several cardinal sins.

First, he has embarrassed the Democratic Party, distracting them from their campaign against Congressman Paul Ryan’s Medicare proposal. Downloading one’s junk unto Twitter is questionable for anyone, but a member of Congress? Sexting and cyber sex is not that swift either, but when you don’t even know the recipients, it becomes stupid, bizarre, and reckless. It doesn't matter if it is a celebrity, athlete, or politician.

Second, his earlier lies about his Twitter being hacked, had several friends and media allies defending him, searching for the culprit, and speculating it was Andrew Breithart. They are embarrassed and compromised professionally.

Third, former President Bill Clinton certainly understands power as a sexual aphrodisiac, but he performed the wedding of Congressman Weiner and Huma Abedin, a long time advisor and aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Fourth, Congressman Weiner never understood one of the cardinal rules of life – be nice to those you pass on the way up for you may see them again on the way down. Like former Governor Eliot Spitzer, he has no friends standing by him. Congressman Weiner was the designate pit bull for the Democrats. He was always front and center on the attack against Republicans, preaching morality and good government. Within the Democratic caucus, he was known not as a workhorse, but a show horse. He was not popular, even within his own party.

Fifth, he has lost his effectiveness in Congress and for the Democratic Party.

Questions?

Why isn’t Nancy Pelosi cleaning the swamp and ending “The Culture of Corruption” in the Democratic Party? In short, why is she not demanding Weiner’s resignation? Of course, she also did not seek the resignations of Congressmen Charles Rangel or William Jefferson, of whom the FBI found $90,000 in cash in his freezer. As soon as Congressman Mark Foley’s emails surfaced, Speaker Hastert’s office typed up Foley’s resignation letter. So too with Speaker Boehner and Congressman Lee’s shirtless texts.

Why do New York politicians get involved with sexual scandals, Governors Spitzer and Peterson, Congressmen Chris Lee, Eric Massa, Vito Fossella, et al, while Illinois politicians go for the money?

Where are the feminists?

Why weren’t either Huma Abedin or Maria Shriver standing by their man during their public confessionals?

How did the National Inquirer miss this one?

How can you do your job in Congress representing the people, when you are sexting a former porn star, a blackjack dealer in Vegas, a college student in Washington, the list goes on?

Can Huma make it as a single mom?

Will Rope A Dope Be President Obama's Reelection Strategy?

2011-06-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

President Obama's campaign slogans for 2012

It was worse than we thought

We were in a ditch, but now there’s just a few bumps in the road.

Save Medicare; don’t throw grandma off the bus or over the cliff

A woman’s right to choose

I’m from the government; we’re here to help you

Tax the rich; class warfare

Cut Defense

Get out the vote; No questions asked!

Mobilize labor, trial lawyers, environmentalists, feminists, African Americans, Hispanics, the youth

Chicago Rules

Community organizing

Demagogue

Demonize Big Oil

Demonize big banks

Demonize Wall Street

Demonize Doctors

Demonize Big Pharma

Immigration Reform

Don’t change horses in mid-stream

Stay the Course (Oops; that was Reagan’s).

He’s the One.

Obama got Osama

We eased the administrative burden on business; no longer will spilt milk be regulated as a toxic spill.

Obama saved Detroit. Most Americans don’t care about Detroit anymore, but it will play in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio

Harvard

$1 billion campaign chest

Hope and Change becomes Hope and Experience

Obama saved or created XXXjobs

Don’t elect the inexperienced, weak, right wing extremist candidate of the Republicans

It’s all Bush’s fault

Attack! Attack! Attack!

They will toss everything out, poll, focus group to see what sticks.

But will the old playbook succeed?

The main strategy until now is Rope a Dope. The Democratic Congress did not propose a budget before the 2010 elections. If they won, it wouldn’t matter. If they lost, it would become the Republicans responsibility. They will then attack the Republicans’ proposals, as with Congressman Paul Ryan’s proposal to stabilize Medicare. It may have worked in the recent NY 26 Congressional election when the Democratic candidate won by making Medicare the issue. However, she won by a plurality of 48%, while a three time loser as a Democrat ran as a Tea Party candidate and split the Republican vote. Winners write the rules, so Rope a Dope won one.

Alternative B:

If unemployment continues to rise, declare victory and step aside

Ohio State Proves Again That It is The Graveyard of Coaches

2011-06-01T23:26:00.001-07:00

Miami of Ohio is called the “Cradle of Coaches.” The Ohio State University is slightly less known as “The Graveyard of Coaches.”

Jim Tressel is the latest in a long string of coaches who have been fired, forced to resign, or pushed to resign, going back at least 8 decades.

Tressel was 106-22 at Ohio State with one national title and a 9-1 record against Michigan, the most significant statistic for Ohio State fans. His immediate predecessor, John Cooper was 111-43-4, but only had 2 wins and a tie in 13 years against Michigan. Earle Bruce from 1979 to 1987 was 81-26- and 5-4 against Michigan – not good enough. The legendary Woody Hayes from 1951-1978 was 238-72-10 with three national titles in 1954, 1957 and 1968 (defeating USC and O.J. Simpson in the Rose Bowl), and 16-11-1 against Michigan. All 4 were fired. Woody struck one too many players – a Clemson player on live TV during the 1978 Gator Bowl. John Cooper was hired because his Arizona State Wildcats defeated Michigan 22-15 in the 1987 Rose Bowl, but he couldn’t follow up in Columbus. Woody succeeded Wes Fesler, who in 4 years was 21-13-3, but 0-3-1 against Michigan, and the losing coach in the famous, or infamous, “Snow Bowl” in Columbus which the underdog Wolverines won 9-7 on a blocked punt. Fesler was out in the cold two weeks later.

Francis Schmidt, coach from 1934-1940, resigned under pressure after losing to Michigan 40-0. He was succeeded by the great Paul Brown.

Paul Brown left on his own in 1944 for the war effort, but Ohio State refused to rehire him when he returned. Instead, he went on as one of the most successful and famous NFL coaches.

The key to winning at Ohio State is to be a good coach and to consistently recruit the top high school players in Ohio. Tressel was an outstanding recruiter and a great coach. He did not need to cheat to win, but winning was his drive in life.

Tressel’s transgressions are by now well known in the age of the internet. 6 players, including 5 starters, traded championship rings, jerseys and other sports memorabilia for tattoos. That’s a violation of NCAA rules.

The history of players selling tickets or memorabilia for cash is a long one. Even though illegal, but commonplace, decades ago, the NCAA has become aggressive in recent years in enforcing its rules.

Christopher Cicero, a lawyer who played for Ohio State, emailed Coach Tressel on April 2, 2010 that players had been selling signed memorabilia to a tattoo parlor owner. A series of emails followed. The coach buried it for 9 months until the emails surfaced. The players should have been ruled ineligible for the upcoming season, but they included star quarterback Terrelle Pryor and running back Boone Herron.

Coach Tressel signed a compliance order with the NCAA on September 13, 2010, asserting he knew of no NCAA violations and has reported to the school and knowledge of possible violations.

Don’t feel sorry for Ohio State. They made a Faustian Bargain when they hired Tressel a decade ago. He was a highly successful coach at Youngstown State, winning 4national titles with a record of 135-57-2, but he and his program were under investigation by the NCAA for alleged violations when he made the move to Ohio State. They knew he was a risk, but they also knew he was a winner. Besides the NCAA cleared him, although it found a lack of institutional control at Youngstown State. That meant Tressel, who was also Athletic Director. The NCAA found that the star QB was paid at least $10,000 and provided the free use of cars by Mickey Monus, former Chairman of the Youngstown State Board of Trustees. Coach and AD Tressel told Youngstown State’s president that the charges were baseless.

Another applicant for the Ohio State position was Glen Mason, the highly successful coach who revived the Minnesota Gophers and was an Ohio State grad. He could not beat Michigan though.

President Gordon Gee of Ohio State hasn’t helped the debacle. He was asked at a news conference on March 8, 2011 if he would be firing Tressel. The President’s response: “No, Are you kidding? … Let me just be very clear; I’m just hopeful he doesn’t dismiss me.” Gene Smith, Ohio State’s Athletic Director, stated at the same press conference “This is our coach and we trust him implicitly.”

President Gee earns $1.6 million annually as the highest paid president of a public university.

This press conference was held after disclosures that Tressel knew of the players’ transgressions since April 2010, and did not inform the University (President Gee, AD Smith, or the Compliance officers) and thus filed a false statement with the NCAA. His material omissions and misrepresentations were grounds for immediate termination, but he kept his job for 11 more weeks after blindsiding his employers.

The United States Attorney’s Office informed Ohio State on December 7, 2010 of the problems. The Athletic Department was told the next day. Coach Tressel said on December 9 that this was the first time he heard of the players’ involvement with the tattoo parlor.

He failed to add that his autograph was on some of the meorabilia.

Ohio State self-reported the violations to the NCAA on December 19 and declared six players ineligible. The NCAA responded three days later by holding the players could play in the bowl game, but 5 were suspended for the first 5 games next season and the other player for only one game.

Ohio State discovered the emails on January 13, 2011 and on March 8 announced it suspended the coach for the first two games next season and fined him $250,000 - hence the press conference that day.

Coach Tressel explained he had promised confidentiality to Cicero, and didn’t know therefore who to disclose the information to at Ohio State. However, Tressel did contact Ted Sarniak, Pryor’s mentor/Godfather/sugar daddy in Mentor, Pennsylvania.
Tressel was a winner, and that’s what mattered.

The University on March 8 essentially sanctioned his coverup.

Tressel misrepresented his knowledge presumably because he had a great team which could be playing for the national Championship. Even after Ohio State lost to Wisconsin, 31-18, his Buckeyes could still play in a BCS Bowl. Ohio State defeated Arkansas 31-26 because the six players, who should have been suspended, for the season and then the bowl game, were allowed to play in the game. Winning meant everything.

We now know that several players, especially star QB Terrelle Pryor, may have received special favors on cars. The Columbus Dispatch reported that possibly 50 suspect transactions are being investigated. Pryor even drove up to the special meeting on Monday with a recently purchased 2007 Nissan 350-Z when Coach Tressel informed the players of his resignation. The dealers involved in the car transactions said that they had run the deals through the University’s Compliance Office. If so, OSU’s problems will mount, and more forced resignations can be expected.

We also know that the tattoo deals have been going on for years and include more than these six players.

John Wooden may have turned a blind eye to Sam Gilbert, and Woody Hayes to a similar supporter, but that was then; this is now. Ed Martin was devastating to Michigan’s basketball program.

Ohio State is in the midst of a $2.5 billion fundraising campaign. President Gee is an excellent fundraiser. Both Ohio State and USC know that their fundraising is much more successful when their football teams are winning championships.

President Gee had another questionable statement on November 24, 2010 in an
interview with AP. He was asked if Boise State or TCU should be in the BCS Title game. His response “I do know , having been both a Southeastern Conference president and a Big Ten president, that it’s like a murderer’s row every week for these schools. We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day.”

He may not have noticed that TCU beat Wisconsin 21-19 in the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin being the only team to defeat the Buckeyes this year, 31-18.

President Gee has now stated that the attention makes it feel like the University has gone through a tsunami. If it has, it is of the University’s making. Coach Tressel made a series of bad judgments and The Ohio State University was unwilling to take decisive action early.

Ohio State and the football program will pay a high price for these violations – perhaps on the magnitude of USC. If not, the USC family has strong reasons to complain about an inequality of treatment.

The cardinal offense was lying to the NCAA. The act of stupidity was forgetting that emails are eternal.

Coach Tressel will now have more time for his work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

What Was Disney Thinking?

2011-05-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time the Walt Disney Company was a corporate sloth. Walt Disney died in 1966. The corporation threaded water for two decades by doing things the Walt Way and asking the question “What would Walt do”? Corporate raiders/predators started circling Disney, like vultures.

The Company turned to Michael Eisner in 1984 for change. And change it got, plenty of change. Eisner may not have been a creative genius, but he understood economics.

The future of Disney would be to make money, and it did. Prices were progressively raised, and costs ruthlessly controlled. The greatest example of bean counting by the Eisner regime is California Adventure. Be sure to check out the stories in Mouse Tales.

Execs were now measured by cash flow – not by what Walt wanted, although Eisner did present himself as the face of Disney, that is, the reincarnation or second coming of Walt.

Shareholders were rewarded handsomely, none more so than Eisner who reaped over a billion dollars from Disney.

I digress.

The new Disney is geared to reacting quickly to seize opportunities. It constantly reinvents itself; Out with the old, in with the new!

Two days after the Navy Seals Raid that killed Osama Bin-laden, the Disney Corporation filed three applications to trademark “Seal Team 6,” presumably for use on products, rides, cartoons, movies, or TV shows. Who knows for sure since the Wonderful World of Disney is a universe onto itself.

The possibilities are endless:

Mickey Mouse as a Navy Seal on an overpriced T-shirt;

Donald Duck as a Navy Seal on an overpriced T-shirt;

The omnipresent giftshops with Seals bobble-heads;

Seals facial kits and outfits;

A new ride in Adventure Land – Obama Offs Osama;

A pin set, made in China, featuring Navy Seals, helicopters, the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, Osama and his entourage, Taliban and Al Qaeda figures, and each of Osama’s successors as they meet a similar fate with the Seals;

A yet again submarine ride, this time searching for Osama’s body;

Tomorrow Land with a super secret stealth helicopter ride over Pakistan to replace Peter Pan’s Ride;

Soaring Over Afghanistan to replace Soaring Over California;

Food stands selling Seals Dogs;

Adding Osama to the pantheon of Disney villains, next to Scrooge McDuck;

The new patriotic fireworks with Osama as the villain;

The Rants of Osama Automaton;

Main Street Abbotabad;

A new TV show, “I Led Three Wives”;

The Hills of Tora Bora to replace the aged Matterhorn;

The daily Electric Light Getting Osama Parade;

Osama’s Magic Carpet Ride;

The Sheik Osama Bazaar;

Pirates of the Mediterranean featuring the Navy Seals;

Save the Seals Foundation;

Ride the Seals through Osama’s Lair;

The Rivers of Pakistan, captained by a Seal shooting at fleeting Al Qaeda;

What was Disney thinking? Did Disney believe that a Mouse could trump the Seals?

Did it really believe two days after the Osama Raid that it could trademark “Seal Team 6’?

Navy Seals 6, Navy Seals Team 6, or Navy Seals belong to the United States, the United States Military, and the American people. Disney should no more be able to trademark the Seals than the Space Shuttles, Navy Polaris Submarines, Green Berets, the 5 Marines and one sailor raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, or the F.D.N.Y. flag raising at Ground Zero.

Disney can certainly protect individual products, but not the generic names. Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh are selling their celebratory Navy Seals merchandise. They made no attempt to trademark the generic names or phrases.

The AP owns the copyright of the 5 Marines and the Navy Corpsman raising the Flag on Mt. Suribachi, and Time the copyright of Eisenstadt’s photo of the sailor kissing the nurse. Neither trademarked the events

The Department of Defense filed applications of its own.

The Walt Disney Company withdrew its applications.

Disney wasn’t thinking.

Da Bibi Disses Da Obama

2011-05-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Three Republican primary candidates for President had a bad May. Senator Rick Santorum called Senator McCain out on torture. That is ill-advised.

Governor Romney has not yet found a good way to escape the albatross of Romney Care in Massachusetts.

Congressman Newt Gingrich self-imploded shortly after leaving the starting gate. Gingrich has an excuse; it’s genetic. He’s a congenital flame thrower, who confuses personal rhetoric with principled disagreement. He forgot President Reagan’s 11th Commandment: Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican. He called Representative Paul Ryan’s proposed Medicare reform plan “radical” He continued “I don’t think imposing radical change from the right or the far left is a good way for a free society to operate.” He compared right wing social engineering to left wing social engineering.

These statements were personally harmful, but only affect their Presidential ambitions.

Statements of the President of the United States are different. When the President speaks, he changes the official policy of the United States.

President Obama delivered a speech at the State Department on Thursday, May 19. The first half laid out his goals and aspirations for the always volatile and byzantine Mideast. His Wilsonian goal is a peaceful, Democratic Mideast.

The second half of his presentation placed at risk the future of America’s most steadfast and reliable ally, Israel, as well as America’s national security in the Mideast.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was flying to the United States when the President unleashed his anti-Israel broadside, blindsiding the Prime Minister, who had less than a day’s notice. President Obama presented it evenhandedly, but it was anti-Israel. The speech was broadcast in English, Arabic, and Farsi.

The next day at a joint conference in the Oval Office, the President referred to the Prime Minister as a friend. As the saying goes, with friends like these, who needs enemies? They met as friends, but the President’s conduct towards Israel has been one of petulance, treating Prime Minister Netanyahu as the satrap of an American province. The two world leaders are equals, both elected leaders of independent democracies.

The President abruptly left a White House meeting with the Prime Minister in 2009 to have dinner with his family. The President had presented the PM with a list of 13 non-negotiable demands, including a halt to new settlements. The Prime Minister rejected the non-negotiable demands.

Vice President Biden was earlier 90 minutes late to a dinner with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The VP was purportedly insulted by Israel approving the construction of 1,600 homes in east Jerusalem.

Most attention in Thursday’s speech focused on President Obama’s statement that “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreeable swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.”

Less attention has been placed on his statement that the Palestinian state, i.e. Gaza and the West Bank, should be contiguous: “The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their full potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.”

Netanyahu referred to the President’s proposals for the 1967 borders with negotiated land swaps as a non-starter. He essentially rejected the President’s proposals as unrealistic. He disclaimed a “peace based on illusions.”

The President appeared before AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, on Sunday. He backdown somewhat by recognizing that Israel would not retreat to the 1967 boundaries, but that land swaps between the Israelis and Palestinians “must be central to any deal.”

He stated that America’s support for Israel is “ironclad,” but tell that to President Mubarak of Egypt.

The Prime Minister clearly restated Israel’s long established position that no negotiations can occur without the Palestinians acknowledging the right of the Jewish state to exist.

The Prime Minister’s subsequent speech two days later before a joint session of Congress received a bipartisan 29 standing ovations. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke in favor of Israel, as did Senate majority leader Harry Reid. The President is out of step with even his Party on the Israel issue.

The President made his remarks when the Palestinian government is negotiating with Hamas, which is sworn to the destruction of Israel, for a joint power sharing arrangement. The Prime Minister responded that no negotiations can take place until the parties recognize the right of Israel to exist.

People hear what they want to hear. The Palestinians are no exception. They echo the call for a return to the 1967 borders, as well as the right to return for the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the dispossessed Palestinians during the Israeli War for Independence.

Israel is justifiably concerned about its security. It is surrounded by enemies and probable enemies. Its secure border with Egypt is now history with Egypt opening the gates to Gaza. Syria has never been friendly. Fatah on the West Bank may join with Hamas in Gaza in a unity government. Both Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon are sworn to the destruction of Israel. Iran is supplying arms and funding to Israel’s sworn enemies. Only Jordan is quiet – at least for now.

Israel has suffered through three wars and two Intifadas, with possibly a third materializing. “Land for Peace” is a proven failure for Israel.

The country deals with harsh reality. It cannot risk Wilsonian Democracy.

The Arab Spring is not directed at Israel. It reflects the human spirit seeking freedom from oppressors. It is not directed at Israel, although, depending on how it turns out, anti-Semitic fanatics, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, may gain control of a country, and direct terrorist activities at the small country.

Only one democracy exists in the Mideast today. It is Israel. The odds are that when the Arab Spring works its way out, Israel will remain the only democracy in the Mideast.

The United States has only one true ally in the Mideast, Israel. Our erstwhile allies, such as Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, either have deposed their leaders, or under pressure by the Obama Administration to do so. Yet, the President has been strangely quiet on Iran, and is treating Assad, the dictator of Syria, with kid gloves and benign neglect. Tell me again why we are bombing Libya and attempting to kill Colonel Kaddafi?

Some White House aides started the standard silent campaign against the Prime Minister by claiming he was arrogant and treated the president with contempt. Only a few commentators echoed that Netanyahu is arrogant and should reach agreement with the President.

They forget that the Prime Minister is not speaking for himself. He represents the people of Israel, the people who elected him as a worthy successor to Ariel Sharon – a leader who places Israel’s security above all else.

9/11 Was the High Water Mark for Al Qaeda

2011-05-18T02:35:00.000-07:00

Al Qaeda peaked on 9/11. We didn’t know it at the time, as we nervously waited for the next attack, just as the West Coast of the United States feared a Japanese attack after Pearl Harbor.

The terrorist group had been on a rising curve. The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Das es Salaam, Black Hawk Down in Somalia, and the attack on the U.S. Cole, preceded 9/11.

Think of our fears:
The Bomb in a major city
A Briefcase Bomb
Bioterrorism – anthrax, ricin, sarin, et al
Poisoning the water supply
Smuggling the Bomb or terrorists through our ports in container ships
Smuggling the Bomb or terrorists across our porous southern border
“Crop dusting” toxics
Suicide bombings
Subway, bridge and tunnel bombings

Even rural America was scared.

Osama Bin-Laden and Al Qaeda were emulated in the Mideast. He was a hero to many Moslems. Bin-Laden became the face of militant Islam, but Al Qaeda was simply the most successful of the Islamic terrorist organization, if you exclude Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Militant Islam will survive the death of Bin-Laden and the decline of Al Qaeda since the militancy, fed and funded by Iran continues. Bin-Laden also stood out as an anti-American success story.

The aggressive response of the Bush Administration, the driving of the Taliban and Al Qaeda out of Afghanistan removed their sanctuary, a population conscious of terrorism, the killing and capture of most of Al Qaeda’s leadership, tightened security at airports and critical infrastructure, the cooperation of friendly governments in the Mideast and Pakistan, enhanced interrogation, the diversion of Al Qaeda’s efforts to fight the U.S. in Iraq, kept Al Qaeda on the run. Planning for a 9/11 takes time. Al Qaeda lacked the time.

New York City, always a prime target, established its own, large, and to date largely successful, anti-terrorism taskforce. London showed the value of cameras.

Agencies, federal, state, local, and international, started working together, sharing info and resources. The international War on Terror racked up successes even before May 2.

Al Qaeda did not have a second act in the United States.

Attacks by Al Qaeda, its affiliates, and wannabes followed, as in Madrid, London, Tunisia, Istanbul, Mumbai, Amman , and Fort Hood. Al Zarqawi unleashed the Sunni fury of Al Qaeda in Iraq on Iraqi Shia in 2005, but he was killed by an American bomb in 2006. Attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan were frequent. The militant Chechens engaged in a series of terrorist acts against Russia. These successful attacks were tragic, but none could have the impact of 9/11.

And yet the recruitment of hapless terrorists, such as the shoe bomber (Richard Reid), the underwear bomber, and the Times Square Bomber illustrate the desperation of Al Qaeda to accomplish more terror in the United States.

Bin Laden's goal was an Islamic Caliphate throughout the Mideast. Rebellion is sweeping the Islamic countries in the Mideast, but Al Qaeda is nowhere to be found. The freedom seeking are not rebelling in the name of Al Qaeda or Ben Laden. His time had passed.

Terrorism did not end on May 2, 2011. The War on Terror is not over. The Islamic terrorists may still achieve an epic attack in Europe, the Americas, Asia or the Mideast, but the world is safer. Virulent anti-Semitism gives rise to terrorist acts, especially in the Mideast and against synagogues everywhere.

Risks will increase, absent total elimination of the terrorist threat, as we become more complacent and let up our guard. The terrorists will keep probing for weakness.
After all, who could have imagined bringing down the Twin Towers with box cutters?

San Francisco Ford Lincoln Closes Its doors

2011-05-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Ford Lincoln closed its doors the other day.

The last Ford dealer on Van Ness Avenue’s historic Auto Row closed its doors.

As the last Ford dealer in San Francisco became history, it joined the ranks of the last Chevy dealer, the last Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Lincoln, Mercury, Chrysler Plymouth, Dodge, Jeep, DeSoto, AMC dealers in the history books.

Detroit’s Big Three, GM, Ford, Chrysler, no longer have a dealer in San Francisco selling their vehicles. No pickups, SUV’s, Minivans, Crossovers, luxury cars, hybrids, compacts or subcompacts in San Francisco.

From a post World War II high of nearly 60 dealers, none exist within the City and County of San Francisco. Van Ness Avenue is down to a few imported brands from a high of 20 outlets.

An era, a century closed with San Francisco Ford Lincoln.

Geary Blvd. once had 20 dealerships. Now it has the remaining Toyota dealer in the City. Reynolds Seiler AMC Rambler, like many AMC dealers in the Bay Area during the large 60’s, dueled with a small import line, Toyota. Within three years the owners dropped AMC and rode the fortunes of Toyota. They also opened up a larger Toyota franchise on Van Ness.

Van Ness Ave. was the fabled Auto Row with the dealerships built a century ago looking like palaces. I remember three Chevy and two Ford dealers on Auto Row. The oldest was Hughson Ford. William Hughson received the first Ford franchise and went on to outlive, that is, collect on his life insurance policy. S & C Ford on Market and Van Ness folded three years ago during Detroit’s collapse. I looked at the original Ford Shelby 350 and 500 Mustangs in its showroom. The Van Ness dealers rented searchlights to draw customers when the new models were released.

George Olson was the large Cadillac dealer on Van Ness. I entered college in February 1964 and joined the college newspaper, The Foghorn, as its photographer. My first assignment was to take photos of the Civil Rights picketing of the Cadillac dealer to integrate the auto showrooms. I heard for the first time “We Shall Overcome” that day. The property is now an AMC Cinema.

The Chrysler Plymouth dealer tried a novel idea to sell cars. It fired the salesmen and replaced them with young saleswomen. It attracted traffic into the showroom, but the young men weren’t there to buy cars. Adverse sales threw cold water on that idea.

The fabled Ellis “If you can find it cheaper elsewhere, I will give you 5 pounds of Hills Brothers Coffee” Brooks closed 2 ½ years ago, the last GM dealer in the city.
The building will become a Nissan-Infiniti outlet.

Les Vogel Chevrolet advertised “See the USA in a Chevrolet at Mission and Van Ness.” It saw its way down the Peninsula as a Chrysler Plymouth, Jeep and Dodge dealer.

Some of the dealers became pillars of the community. Roger Boas, with a Pontiac dealership on Geary Blvd. near Kaiser Permanente, was Chairman of the Democratic State Party.

Detroit’s franchises spread throughout the neighborhoods. Ben Alexander, an actor who was Jack Webb’s partner on the original Dragnet, had a Ford shop on Mission Street, near Sears (also closed). A VW dealer was on 19th Ave. Fazarkerly Cadillac was in Stonestown across from the Emporium. After going through two successive owners, it became a Petco. The Oldsmobile dealer on Van Ness morphed into a chain bookstore.

The land became too valuable, and profits too small, to justify continuance selling cars. Profits could be made by terminating the high cost, low profits dealerships as the economics of the auto industry changed. A 9.5% sales tax doesn’t help sales in the City. The small buildings, lacking parking, became economically inefficient.

If you want to buy a Made in Detroit vehicle today, you must cross the line into Daly City; i.e. Serramonte, or Colma, where the dealerships are nestled between the cemeteries.

The City & County of San Francisco is down to 5 non-Detroit dealerships.

Silicon Valley beat out Detroit in San Francisco.

So What really Went Down in Abbottabod?

2011-05-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

So What Really Went Down in Abbottabad?

Here’s what we know, I think. Osama Bin Laden, three other males, including a son, and a female were killed by Navy SEALS. The initial clues to tracking down the key courier were discovered and pursued during the Bush Administration, perhaps through enhanced interrogation. President Obama gave the final authorization for the Seals to go in. Both Bush and Obama deserve all the credit they get for the successful operation.

I don’t care if he was killed in a firefight. It doesn’t matter if he was unarmed reaching for a gun. I don’t even care if he was captured and then executed. If the Seals’ orders, express or implied, were to kill Osama in the raid (a kill mission), that’s fine with me. What matters is that Osama’s dead at the hands of the United States military. If he was on his knees begging for mercy, and then the fatal shots fired, then he would have faced the same dread as the 9/11 victims who could not even beg for mercy.

My preference would have been to provide him a helicopter ride to Ground Zero, soar to the height of the Twin Towers, and then push him off the helicopter into the abyss of a 1,727’ free fall to the ground, as did scores of the innocent victims on 9/11. That was never going to happen, so a bullet to the brain is a good substitute. Too bad the bullet wasn’t from one of the survivors of 9/11 or a family member of a deceased, but he’s dead, and that’s what matters.

That his two trusted couriers were killed with him is an added bonus. The death of a woman, originally identified as his wife, is unfortunate, but in most of the world, all the people in the compound would have been killed in the raid.

The United States sent a message to the world! Our military can strike anywhere, even in essence in a large military area. No matter how long it takes, American justice will prevail.

The problem though is that as seemingly every hour passes by, we learn that the initial reports were erroneous. The Obama Administration still can't get its story straight.

John Brennan, the President’s Homeland Security Assistant, told the public that Osama died in a shootout, holding a woman, his wife, as a human shield. She was killed as well. Thus, he died the death of a coward.

That was three days ago.

Two days ago, Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary said Osama was unarmed, but was resisting as the Seals were engaged in a firefight during the almost entire 40 minutes they were on the site.

Yesterday we found out that three of the males, including Osama, were unarmed, and that only one shot at the SEALS. He was quickly killed. Any firefight was short. According to Senator Feinstein, the Seals thought Osama was possibly reaching for a gun. The deceased woman was downstairs, perhaps the wife of one of the couriers. Osama’s young wife was shot in the leg as she came at the Seals.

Another claim is that the SEALS were scared he might be wearing a suicide vest. So why shoot him in the chest?

From the beginning, we were told that Osama was killed in front of his wife and 10, 12, 13(?) year old daughter. She claims that he was captured by the SEALS and then executed. Some of the survivors assert the SEALS also took an unknown male with them. So far, only perfunctory denials have been made.

Even if the traumatized daughter’s right, American justice triumphed. We call it justice, but this was vengeance.

Now we learn that the deceased shooter and his wife were in the detached guest house, and that he was quickly killed. And it’s back to Osama pushing his wife at the SEALS, while he appeared dazed and scared in the final minutes of his life.

Scared is good; he felt the pain of his thousands of victims.

We were first told that one SEAL fired both shots. Now we’ll told it was two SEALS, maybe. How about some ballistic tests?

Just today, one of the most intriguing facts emerged. The departing helicopters supposedly flew directly to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea. Osama’s body was quickly removed cleansed and purified, received the Islam equivalent of the last Rites, and then buried at sea – all before the world was notified of his death.

The distance from Abbottabad to the Arabian Sea is about 1,000 miles, and would require flying through India, Iranian, or long stretches of Pakistani airspace. This story does not make sense. What's next?

Clearly, initial reports can be confusing in the fog of war. Also, government can engage in disinformation in wartime. Some of it used to be called propaganda. For example, both Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch are heroes, but the initial Pentagon reports of her capture and injuries and his death were false. Sergeant Tillman, for example, did not die of enemy fire, but was a victim of friendly fire.

The problem for disinformation is that in today’s internet age with questioning reporters, the facts will often come out.

We are debating the role of Pakistan in hunting or protecting terrorists. Supposedly Pakistan was not informed of the raid in advance. So why did the Pakistan army and police respond slowly to the explosions and gunfire roughly 800 yards from their military academy and close to two regiments of soldiers? Was our electronics jamming devises that effective, or was a high level Pakistani officer blocking a response such that the helicopters could escape Pakistani territory? Is the secret in the helicopter’s tail, which is now in the hands of the Pakistanis? Was it really the tale of the courier, or did someone drop the dime and the courier is but a cover story?

Was the shooting legal or illegal? I don’t care. He’s dead and will never threaten America again.

Of course, much confusion exists in the fog of war, but the problem here is that the President and his major aides were watching the operation in real time with a video feed.

The military knew what it was doing. The politicians are blowing it. No excuse exists for Brennan’s initial false statements, followed by more misinformation by others, which cast doubt on the White House story and will fuel conspiracy theories.
Osama is dead by the SEALS. A simple, honest narrative would suffice for Americans.

Well Done President Obama

2011-05-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to President Obama, the Navy Seals, CIA, and the American military in general.

You did it. President Clinton either couldn’t or wouldn’t. President Bush tried, but couldn’t. President Obama did. He gave the order. The military pulled it off.

The President fulfilled his campaign promise to go into Pakistan if necessary.The military did it a mile from the West Point of Pakistan.

President Obama achieved a great psychological victory over Al Qaeda.

No questions; no second guessing today. It is the President’s Day.

President Obama succeeded where President Carter failed with his Iranian Hostage Crisis rescue effort.

The raid on Abbottabad is right up there with the Israel rescue effort at Entebbe.

The killing of Osama Bin-Laden will no more end the War on Terror than the killing of Admiral Yamamoto, the mastermind of Pearl harbor, ended the War in the Pacific, but it will speed it up. Ayman Zawahiri survives, plotting against the United States. He’s the last of Al Qaeda’s 9/11 leadership.

Churchill’s remarks after the great victory at El Alamein said it best, as Churchill often did: “This is not the end. It is not the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Al Qaeda is not the Taliban.

The decisiveness of the Abbottabad Raid trumps the weak, indecisive, confusing and contradictory Mideast Policy of recent months.

Let the Administration build on the success by harvesting the intelligence gathered by the Navy and CIA in seizing the computers, papers and other sources of information. Let’s see of some of the networks can be rolled up.

One dramatic result of the Raid is the lack of anti-American riots throughout the Mideast. Perhaps Bin-Laden no longer has the standing in the Muslim World that he used to. Remember on 9/11 the Palestinians were dancing in the streets.

Let’s also give credit to President Bush as well. The original intelligence about the courier was developed through interrogations, perhaps enhanced interrogations, during his Administration. Further links were added prior to President Obama assuming office. Without the work of the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration could not have found Osama.

However, President Obama gets and deserves the credit. It occurred on his watch.

Let President Obama enjoy his boost in the polls. The underlying economic and foreign policy problems are not going away, but not for today.

Bipartisanship will reign for a few days.

Reflections on the Royal Wedding

2011-05-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

I actually watched it live while completing a paper due the next morning.

Prince William wed a commoner, but all royal families start out as commoners

The Duchess of Cambridge will diversify the royal gene pool. For all too long, the European Royal families have been inbreeding, although one report is that William and Kate are 15th cousins. Of course, except for recent immigrants, everyone is
related to everyone in England

This couple may erase out some of the disglory that Prince Charles has brought onto the House of Windsor

Three decades ago the question was if Lady Di was a virgin. This time the newly weds have been cohabitating

Britannia may no longer rule the waves, but she still knows how to put on a pageant

The marriage between the Prince and Kate Middleton represents the acceptance by the Royal family, indeed the upper class, of the entrepreneurial class in England

If Parliament changes the Law of Succession, then if their first born is a daughter she will be ahead of any brother in the line of succession

Has the shrinkage of the British military resulted in the shrinkage of their great military bands?

The mystery was solved. Sarah Burton of the late Alexander McQueen’s firm designed the wedding dress

Top hats yes, but why must some of the women mar the beauty, dignity, and grace of the wedding with those hats?

Some of the military uniforms look hideous, regardless of the bravery that went into earning them

Is the Duchess of Cambridge on a short term diet, like her mom, to look great at the wedding, or is she becoming anorexic?

Why did the pageboys look like Beefeaters in waiting?

Was Camilla pouting?

Why does Prince Harry have so much hair while Prince William is balding?

The Disney movie will be out soon; the prince marries the granddaughter of a coal miner

Most significantly, this marriage will last. The couple is mature; they know who they are and what is expected of them. Sadly, Lady Di had not yet discovered herself when she married Prince Charles

Let the Birther Issue Go Away

2011-04-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

Stanley Ann Dunham, a brilliant 18 year old Constitutional Law scholar, was lying in labor in a Nairobi (or was it Mombassa?), Kenya hospital. She had a problem. Her gift of prophecy told her that her first born, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., was destined to become President of the United States, her birthplace.

She had everything planned, but you never know. After giving birth, with barely seconds to spare, Baby Barry’s umbilical cord would be cut. They would race to the airport in a waiting ambulance. A private charter jet (or was it a prop? – we’re not sure) was waiting to fly her non-stop to Honolulu International Airport, and then grab a private ambulance to the Kapi’olani Maternal and Gynecological Hospital.

Presto, Baby Barack would be recognized as a live birth in the United States on August 4, 1961.

Even if you ignore the facts that Ann was not wealthy, did not know Constitutional Law, and that no record exists of the Obama child being born in Kenya, none of this theory has a shed of credulity to it.

I checked our sons’ birth certificates recently. The one we have for our youngest son is not technically a birth certificate, but a certificate of live birth. It was good enough to get him a United States passport.

The certificate of live birth, similar to the Massachusetts certificate for our son, of President Obama is what the birthers are complaining about. Donald Trump, a publicity maven, is riding high on the birther balloon right now, but it will burst soon.

Here are other non-birthright issues that have not been an issue in the past.
Senator Barry Goldwater was the Republican nominee for President in 1964. The Senator was born in Arizona, but the territory of Arizona was not yet a state. About the only charge not leveled at the Senator was that he was not a native-born citizen of the United States.

Republican Governor George Romney unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in 1988. The Governor was actually born in Mexico City, which clearly is not in the United States, but his parents were both citizens of the United States.

Questions were raised about Senator John McCain’s qualifications for the Presidency early in the campaign because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, and not in the United States.

Give it up!

President George W. Bush was the duly elected President in 2000. President Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is the duly elected President today.

The President was born in Hawaii. The Birther Movement is a sad distraction, right up there with either President George W. Bush or the Israelis blowing up the Twin towers, or Vice President Johnson masterminding the assassination of President Kennedy.

Those of us who thought Senator Obama was unqualified to be President because of his ultra-liberalism, pacifism, lack of leadership qualities, and inexperience have sadly had our views validated. He is the second coming of President Jimmy Carter.

President Obama’s record should be the basis of the 2012 election – not the bogus birther issue.

You Can Still Partake of the Royal Wedding Festivities Without an Invite

2011-04-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

You’re disappointed, if not a tad miffed, that you are not of the 1,700 who received an invitation to the Royal Wedding. Relax, you can still participate in the festivities and contribute to the British economy in the process.

Just buy a unique Royal Wedding Souvenir with the images of Prince William and the commoner, Kate Middleton.

Look for something special, if not unique.

Anyone can purchase one of the usual cups, mugs, bowls, glasses, spoons, stamps, and commemorative coins. These will soon find their proper place on EBay and Amazon. That’s too déclassé. Besides, they’re mostly made in China – not even Hong Kong, the former British colony.

The Royal family only licenses gifts with class, taste and refinement. The official standards are “good taste, free from any form of advertisement, and no implication of royal custom or approval.”

Therefore, some of the kitsch is tasteless, garish, gaudy, and grotesque. Cash trumps class.

The official rules forbid T-shirts. Thus, no official “My parents went to the Royals and all I got was this cheap T-shirt.” Fear not though, British entrepreneurs are as scornful of trademarks and copyrights as the urchins who show up outside conventions in this former colony with instant T-shirts

There’s rings, and then there’s the brass knuckle engagement rings.

For the truly young, cell phone, mousepads, and I-Phone/Pad apps exist.

The even younger have Pez dispersers, comic books, toy trucks (If only Matchbox could have held survived)the William and Kate Dress Up Dolly Book, jigsaw puzzles, the Franklin Mint Middleton Doll, a teddy bear with the engagement ring, his and her Halloween masks, and bobble heads of the crowned heads.

Kate Middleton wannabes have finger nail decals, “No more Waity Katie Nail Polish,” and perfume.

Ah, but if you can combine many of the royal wedding souvenirs into one, such as going to the Will and Kate fridge, pulling out two “Kiss Me Kate” beers, applying the Will and Kate bottle opener, lying on a Will and Kate cushion (mini or large depending on the gluteus maximus) while placing a Royal celebration CD or DVD in the player. Then retire into the boudoir for the Crown Jewel Heritage sheaths of distinction condoms as you make love with the soft ambiance of Will and Kate Yankee Candles under the Will and Kate Clock. Imagine the newlyweds looking down on you as you copulate.

Why not put also a pair of life-size Will and Kate cardboard cutouts in the room? Some of the past royals have been living and breathing cardboard cutouts.

Take down the American flag proudly hanging in front of your house. Replace it with a large Will and Kate Flag blowing in the wind.

You’ve had too much to eat; proceed to the Will and Kate Royal Toilet Seat, perhaps in memory of Sir Thomas Crapper.

You’re disgusted by now. That calls either for the Will and Kate barf bags, or a look at the royal caricatures.

Bored- the Will and Kate Playing Cards will pass the time with the mystery of who’s the joker.

The proper set, perhaps the Queen herself, can drink tea from Will and Kate tea bags in a Will and Kate teapot in Will and Kate teacups with Will and Kate marmalade on Will and Kate coasters with dainty, but totally unauthorized Will and Kate tea-towels.

You may also have a piece of Will and Kate cake or pie, but they don’t go well with tea or the Will and Kate ale. There's also the classic edibles from Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin Donuts and papa Johns.

Read all about it in a graphic novel.

I swear on my Will and Kate Bible that all these items exist.

Reflections on the Civil War

2011-04-12T22:28:00.001-07:00

The Civil War, the War to Save the Union, the War Between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, That Recent Unpleasantness, the Lost Cause formally began 150 years ago at 4:30AM when Confederate batteries in Charleston Harbor shelled undermanned and ill-supplied Union officers and soldiers in Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

Call it what you want, the North won and the South lost.

The ensuing brutality of the war can be summed up in General Sherman’s pithy statement: “War is Hell.”

Secession actually began earlier with South Carolina voting on December 20, 1860 to leave the Union, followed by 10 other Southern states.

The split was inevitable. The differences between a free north and slave south were unbridgeable. The United States, unlike Great Britain, could not peacefully resolve the differences. England’s slave economy was in a few colonies – not inside England itself. Thus, England under the impetus of William Wilberforce could ban the Slave Trade in 1807, and then totally ban slavery within the British Empire in 1833, buying out the slave-owners. The United States joined England in 1808 in banning the slave trade, but it could not follow up by legislatively ending slavery. Slavery was not the lynchpin of the British economy, unlike the Southern and Border States in the United States, nor of its international trade.

The increasingly industrializing North and the single, cotton economy of the South were losing the ties that bind.

Even the nation’s founding fathers knew slavery was a festering sore, but to keep the states together they entered into the Constitution the first of several compromises that inevitably led to the war. The gulf between North and South widened over the decades in the wake of successive compromises.

Military lessons from the War included the value of railroads in moving large masses of soldiers, the rise of ironclads and the demise of wooden sailing ships.

As wars go, the United States was magnanimous in victory, perhaps too magnanimous. Almost every other winning power in a civil war would have executed the leaders and thousands of supporters of the failed rebellion. The British certainly showed no mercy in suppressing the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 in India.

We learnt that a democracy often lacks the will at the end of a war to carry through, such that the North effectively gave up on securing the freedom of the former slaves.

Victory in war does not always resolve underlying issues, and the Civil War was no exception.

The Civil War at its essence was a war to decide the fate of slavery.

The Civil War emancipated the slaves, but the Freedman was not necessarily free. Slavery was replaced by segregation, Jim Crow Laws, the Poll Tax, the KKK, and lynch mobs, and not just in the South. Anti-miscegenation laws were enacted and discrimination in housing a national reality. Equal opportunity did not exist in employment or college enrollment. Back of the bus was a way of life. Public accommodations were segregated and major college and professional sports teams were white only.

Over a century was necessary for America, and not just the South, to change. It took a Southerner, a Texan no less, to lead Congress into legislating equality. President Lyndon Baines Johnson ushered through Congress a series of civil rights statutes coinciding with the Civil Rights Movement. The United States Supreme Court became a champion of the Civil Rights Movement in a series of cases even before the 1960”s. It was no longer the Court of Plessey v. Ferguson or the Dred Scott decision.

Separate but equal was no longer the law of the land.

The conflict between states’ rights and federal supremacy continues, but the Civil War titled the scales to national preeminence.

The War also ushered in, or accelerated, a number of non-racial changes in America.
The Republicans, in the absence of the Southern Democrats, were able to authorize the construction of the transcontinental railroads, which united the vast American continent. The Morrill Act of 1862 created America’s great public land grant universities. 18 historically black institutions subsequently received land grant status.

The war propelled the United States in becoming the world’s greatest industrial power, and a nascent military colossus. It unified the nation. The United States was now on the way to becoming a true democracy.

However reluctantly, the South was dragged into one America for the South had decisively lost the war and a large percent of its male population. It could sullenly resist, but as generations passed, the flying of the Confederate Flag was no longer a state imperative. The lowering of the Flag is highly symbolic. The South can never return to what it was.

The United States 150 years later has an African-American President and an African American governor of Massachusetts. South Carolina and Florida have elected Republican African –Americans to Congress. Louisiana has a male Indian as Governor and South Carolina a female Indian as Governor; both are Republicans. Virginia earlier had a Democratic African-American serve as Governor. Four African-Americans (three Democrats from Illinois and a republican from Massachusetts) have served in the Senate in recent years. An African-American is the third highest ranking Democrat in the House.

America has come a long way since the Civil War.

Granny in Georgia Cuts Off Armenia

2011-04-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Armenia was cut off from the internet on March 28.

It wasn’t the usual suspects: black ops, Borat, Bulgarian hackers, Chechen terrorists, Chinese computer scientists, CIA/NSA jamming, Israeli geniuses, AT&T drop zone, teenage computer prodigies, Turkish animus to Armenia, or the Russians replaying their invasion of Georgia a few years ago. It wasn’t a virus, Trojan horse, or worm.

It was a shovel, a plain, vanilla shovel without any electronic bells or whistles.

Imagine the power of the shovel. It can blackout an entire nation.

75 year old Hayastan Shakarian, a Georgian pensioner, who claims ignorance of the net, possessed felonious intent. We could, as some, call her a scrap metal hunter or dumpster diver, of which America possesses thousands. She was trying to dig up copper piping in Ksavi, 40 miles from the capitol of Tbilisi, to then sell on the scrap market.

She wanted the metal, whether it was in use or not. You can’t dig for gold in Georgia, but copper is abundant.

She did it without the ubiquitous metal detector, found on our tourist beaches, but rather blind luck.

She dug up something even more valuable than copper: the fiber optic cable which connects the internet from Europe to the southern Caucasus – all of Armenia, and much of Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Alas for Hayastan, the fiber optic cable had minimal value compared to copper, but triggered alarms in Tbilisi. She was caught in copper delecto.

She was arrested, and acquired a new nickname: the “Spade hacker.” The prosecutor said she will stand trial, but in the meantime because of a mitigating factor, her age, she was released. She faces a fine, community service, or a year in prison. Hayastan is fortunate in that her Georgian predecessors, Stalin and Beria, would have had a different fate for her.

Ironically, her ancestry is Armenian. Hence she is a Georgian-Armenia spade hacker, or GASH for short, symbolic of the fiber optic gash.

On Wisconsin, Again

2011-04-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Late Returns From Waukesha County Save Justice Prosser’s Seat

Justice David Prosser’s bid for retention on the Wisconsin Supreme Court was dead Wednesday. A 204 vote victory, out of one and a half million cast, seemed to change the political future of Wisconsin. The conservative lost to a liberal, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg; the composition of the Wisconsin Supreme changed from 4:3 conservative to 4:3 liberal. Governor Scott walker’s union busting bill was judicially dead. The unions sent a message; don’t mess with them.

The unions did their thing. They funded Kloppenburg’s campaign. They got the vote out – a 50% turnout in Madison and Milwaukee. They were on a roll.

The trial lawyers were also celebrating.

Justice Prosser would have demanded a recount, and the election lawyers would have racked up thousands of billable hours. History tells us the Secretary of State (Katherine Harris in Florida and Mark Ritchie in the 2008 Minnesota Senate race) play a critical role in recounts. It is not easy to win a recount when the Secretary of State is of the other party.

The Republican incumbent Senator, Norm Coleman, was ahead by over 700 votes on election night and certified as the winner by 215 votes in the Minnesota race. Then came the recount, supervised by the Democratic Secretary of State Ritchie, and suddenly Senator Coleman lost by 312 votes to a tax-dodging comedian, Al Franken.
Justice Prosser would have had a nearly impossible task to overcome the 204 vote deficit. A circuit judge would supervise the recount, with the judge being appointed by the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Honorable Ruth Abrahamson.

The Chief Justice and Judge Prosser do not like each other. He once called her a “total bitch.” Chief Justice Abrahamson has never felt bound by legal precedence in judicisally legislating.

But suddenly, the late returns from Waukesha County, just like the fabled “late returns from Chicago” changed everything. The Waukesha County Clerk, Kathy Nickolaus, said 14,000 ballots had been counted, but not reported due to human error. Assuming no voter fraud or other misconduct, Justice Prosser is ahead by 7,500 ballots, probably an insurmountable lead.

The voter surge is being questioned -more billable hours for the lawyers.

The unions have to fight this battle to the end. A win for them provides great momentum in their next fight to recall 8 Republican Senators in the state. The following step would be to recall Governor Walker while the Wisconsin judiciary strikes down the law.

For now, they have to demonize Kathy Nicholas as a long term incompetent, political operative. The problem for them is that every one of her actions was overseen by a Democrat. In addition, Waukesha County is heavily Republican. It often votes 2-1 for Republican presidential candidates. A heavy turnout in Waukesha County reflected the conservative voters’ reaction against the demonstrations and unruly conduct by the unions in Madison. Turnout works both ways.

Vice President Richard Nixon believed he lost the 1960 Presidential Election to Senator John F. Kennedy because of voter fraud by Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson in Texas and Mayor Richard Daley in Chicago. The late returns from Chicago and the Hill Country were highly suspect.

The 14 Democratic Senators who fled to Illinois forgot to bring the late Democratic returns from Chicago with them.

The 214 votes or the 7,500 votes decide the political future of Wisconsin.
One final twist is that if the recounts and legal battles ensue, then the case will ultimately go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Justice Prosser would have to recuse himself. The Court would then be split 3:3. Who knows what would then happen?

On Wisconsin!

Reflections on Libya - I'm Confused

2011-04-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

What is the mission?

Is it regime change, non-regime change, regime change, or is the answer blowing in the wind?

Is it a regime change when we only want Qaddafi out?

Why are France, Great Britain, and Italy waging war, once again, against the Arabs in the Mideast?

What does Germany know that France, Great Britain, Italy and the United States are missing?

Why are Christian countries again attacking Arabia?

Why not Iran, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Ivory Coast, or Zimbabwe?

When did Syria's Assad become a reformer?

What if Gaddafi does not leave?

Who are the rebels?

Is president Obama becoming the second coming of President Carter?

Will Egypt or Libya become President Obama’s Iran?

Is President Obama the successor to President Wilson and Carter on moralistic foreign policy?

Did President Obama really win the Nobel Peace Prize?

Can democracy work in a secular state?

Why is Israel the only democracy in the Mideast?

Is the United States the world’s policeman?

Does the CIA not count as ‘boots on the ground”?

Do liberals now believe in the CIA?

Can we go to war with a country without knowing who is the opponent - Qaddafi, Gaddafi, el-Qaddafi, Gadhafi, Kadafi, or Kaddafi?

Why would Foreign Minister Moussa Kosssa seek political asylum in Great Britain when he is associated with the bombing of Pan Am 103?

At what point did the public start tuning out President Obama’s speech?

If President George W. Bush had commenced hostilities against Libya without consulting Congress, would impeachment proceedings be brought against him?

Would President Bush have been accused of blood for oil?

If Colonel Qaddafi is so evil, then why did the Obama Administration and the British Government push a year and a half ago to release the Libyan Bomber of Pan Am 103?

When will the Obama Administration figure out how to evacuate American citizens?

Do the Marines really want to return to the shores of Tripoli?

What if the Muslim Brotherhood ends up controlling Egypt?

When is the last time Congress declared war?

Exit strategy? What exit strategy?

Fear Not the NFL lockout: The Lingerie League is Here

2011-03-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

Fear not if the Dallas Cowboys don’t play, and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders don’t perform; the Dallas Desire may still do Dallas.

Fear not the NFL Lockout. The Lingerie League is here, and it is not a Fantasy League.

The field is only 50 Yards long. Half the distance - twice the fun. Each half is 17 minutes with a possible three time outs, of which a maximum of 2 can be called to adjust makeup. The team physician is a plastic surgeon.

Team names are provocative.

No pansies such as Bears, Jaguars, Lions, Panthers, or Tigers.

No politically incorrect names such as Chiefs, Indians, and Redskins.

This is not your grandfather’s roller derby team, the Bay City Bombers.

The teams, always subject to change, include the Baltimore Charm, Philadelphia Passion, Chicago Bliss, San Diego Seduction, Los Angeles Temptation, and Las Vegas Sin. A new team is the Green Bay Chill. The players will never be confused with Cheeseheads. Still awaiting are the Detroit Divas, Flint Flirts, Fort Worth Foxes, New York Nymphs,Texas Teasers, and Vancouver Vixens.

The players have to learn a new vocabulary.

Split ends are wide receivers and not a bad hair day.

The Hail Mary is not a Christian prayer.

Cover 2 is not the photo spread on the inside cover.

A chop block is not in the kitchen.

A clipping is not a hair cut.

Fade out is a play and not mascara.

Student Body Left is not a political statement; indeed, a college degree is not required.

36-24-36 is a play call and not Marilyn Monroe’s figure.

The taxi squad is, well, never mind.

Check out the tight ends and tail backs.

Savor the naked bootleg.

Love the spread formation.

Admire the moves.

Pay close attention to the sideline action. 20 players are on a team, but only 14 can suit up at a time. Game play is 7 on 7.

All players have to put out 100%.

The quarterback is known as The Goddess.

The Goddess makes passes at everyone.

Anticipate the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction moment.

The rules for drug tests are precise:

Steroids – NO
Silicone – YES

The uniforms consist of shoulder pads, elbow pads, knee pads, garters, sports bras, panties, and helmets with visors.

Think of a pigskin without the pig.

Think Hooters with a ball and not a plate.

There is no beef on the line.

A breach of contract exists for wearing unapproved apparel ; no excessive covering of skin.

The founder of the League explained the marketing objective is “mostly beer-drinking college students aged 21 and up.” That explains it all.

League rules include no field goals or punts; hence no touchbacks, although back touching is allowed.

Out of a spirit of equality, the cheerleaders should be Chippendales.

What's Next For the NCAA?

2011-03-28T23:38:00.000-07:00

The NCAA and CBS are in a pickle - a 14 year, $11 billion pickle. The 4 remaining teams in the NCAA tournament this year represent the teeming media markets of Storrs, Connecticut (actually Hartford-Springfield), Lexington, Kentucky (or the whole state of Kentucky), Indianapolis, Indiana, and Richmond, Virginia.

Almost all the basketball royalty, the blue bloods are gone: Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, Kansas, Michigan State. The Big Ten, Big 12, Pac Ten, ACC all gone. Athletic powerhouses, Texas, Ohio State are history. The Big east – only 1 of 11 teams. The big states, California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio AWOL. No team west of the Mississippi! Past champions, Georgetown, Ohio State, Villanova, Arizona, UNLV, Louisville, Florida, toppled as easily as pine trees before relentless clear cutters.

Absolutely no respect for the anointed teams.

No number I seeds, no number 2 seeds, only a 3, 4, 8 and a qualifier 11 remain. A George Mason, Gonzaga, or Butler every few years to add a façade of openness, but two in a year are disruptive of the settled order. Whatever happened to San Diego State and Jimmer? At least Boise State isn’t in the NCAA’s.

Everyone’s brackets shattered. Anyone who predicted Butler would play Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals had to be Shaka Smart.

Kentucky and UConn, especially Kentucky, are traditional basketball powers, but Kentucky hasn’t been back since 1998. It’s been basketball history. Kentucky playing UConn in the semis is a ratings disaster for it means the winner plays an upstart – a team with players who play the whole 4 years – players who play as a team. No one and done for those two teams.

This year’s Final Four is a travesty of all that true basketball fans whole dear.

U.S. News & World Reports had a solution to the disruption in the force field a decade ago. It ranked Cal Tech as the top undergraduate university in the nation. Not only did the magazine change the criteria so that Cal Tech slipped to fifth the next year, but it fired the editor who picked Cal Tech as the best.

Forget the media. If Virginia Commonwealth wins it all, the sports books in Vegas will take a bath. Too many large bets were laid when VCU was a 80-1 underdog. What goes in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas.

Who are the players on these teams? Quick, name the starting lineup for any one of them. Name two starters for each team?

Questions remaining to be answered:

Who said VCU shouldn’t have even been in the tournament?

Will Calipari be three for three with the NCAA after taking UMass and Memphis to the Final Four?

Will Calipari and Calhoun show their mutual disrespect for each other, or share a beer as they laugh about the NCAA?

Judicial Follies in Wisconsin

2011-03-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Judicial Activism! Judicial Legislation! Judicial Dirty Tricks! Why shouldn’t the
Wisconsin Supreme Court be affected by the vicious partisan politics in Wisconsin?

The Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped in the last judicial election from one of the three most liberal state supreme courts (along with Florida and New Jersey) to a 4:3 conservative bench.

The United States Chamber of Commerce and other conservative forces became exasperated by liberal courts with an anti-business bias. They mounted campaigns beginning a decade ago against sitting judges standing for reelection or to fill judicial vacancies. These campaigns became effective in changing the composition of many courts.

Social conservatives in Iowa on November 2, 2010 voted three sitting justices, including the Chief Justice, off the Iowa Supreme Court. The sole concern of Iowa voters was that the Iowa Supreme Court in 2009 legalized gay marriages in Iowa, striking down the state’s Defense of Marriage Act. My view is that the issue should be decided by the people, either through the ballot or their elected representatives in the state legislature.

Both sides can play the judicial election game, and a particularly bitter one is heating up in Wisconsin before the April 5 election.

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamsom is an unabashed liberal. Her good friend on the court is Associate Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who released emails to the local media, detailing a story about Associate Justice David Prosser, a conservative, in chambers calling the Chief Justice a bitch and threatening to “destroy” her.

Justice Prosser, to his credit, does not deny the story, but corrects it to say that he called Chief Justice Abrahamson a “total bitch.” He claims she goaded him.

Revenge is best served cold, and the story was released three weeks before the April election. The Wisconsin unions are supporting his opponent, the liberal Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. Their goal is to flip the Court back to liberal before the issue of the state’s new anti-collective bargaining statute comes to the Court. They have allegedly spent $3 million so far in their efforts - a small investment if they can defeat the new statute in the courts.

Having lost at the ballot box and in the legislature, they hope to win in the judiciary. They are tagging Judge Prosser with Governor Scott walker, and also using the bitch remark to tell the voters of Wisconsin that the Justice lacks a judicial temperament.

Alexandra Wallace and the Do Not Send Button

2011-03-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

We all know about Alexandra Wallace, the UCLA coed, who posted a video on YouTube - the video in which she appears as a spoiled, immature, drunk or stoned, Valley Girl, who lets loose with a racist rant.

She’s dropping out of UCLA and will have to live with her shame the rest of her life.

She says that it was meant as satire.

Let us not forget Matthew Cucchiaro, who resigned two days ago as the student government diversity director at the University of Colorado. He posted a blog two years ago under a pseudonym. It was entitled: “Today’s Stupid Human Beings: Women.”

It contains such pearls of wisdom as

"Guys, I don't need to tell you this: women are not as smart as men. Now before all you chicks look up from your gossip mags and yammer on and on as you do about how that's sexist, I don't mean all women -- I'm sure there are a couple of heffers in congress or the senate who are about on par with the average male. Also, that Asian character on Grey's Anatomy knows some big words but she obviously doesn't count because, well, she's Asian." (Thanks to the Colorado Daily) (Read more: http://www.coloradodaily.com/latest-stories/ci_17648316#ixzz1HCYLcA73
Coloradodaily.com).

The diversity director also said he meant it as satire.

Satire can be so deadly when people take it seriously.

But that’s not the point of this blog.

The problem is the send button. It can be radioactive.

It’s so seductively convenient to push the send button.

When we finish writing or videoing something, such as Alexandra or Matthew, we believe it is the most brilliant piece ever composed.

Of course it isn’t, which is why I advise students to complete their drafts about a week before the paper is due, so that they can give it a final, more objective assessment.

Do not push the send button.

We would get angry decades ago and write a strong letter. If we had sense, we would place it in the desk for a week or two, and then decide if we really wanted to send it. We usually decided not to. But today with the convenient send button too many immediately push the send button. They soon regret it.

Do not push the send button.

I’ve had colleagues who have sent emails containing ad hominum attacks on others. Sooner or later these emails get leaked with great embarrassment to all involved.
Do not push the send button.

If you are angry, do not push the send button.

If you are drunk, or otherwise under the influence, do not push the send button.

If you are dealing with a creditor, think carefully before pushing the send button.

Too many high school and college students, with a sophomoric sense of humor, post on YouTube, blogs, FaceBook, Twitter, etc. without thinking of the consequences. If you do not wish a future employer, college, or your parents to see it, then do not push the send button.

If you say something offensively, then unless a cellphone captures the moment, you have plausible denialiblity. Not of it’s in writing; do not push the send button.

If you are sexting photos (Vanessa Hudgens et al), do not push the send button.

If you are under the age of 18, delete them from your cell phone. If you are over 18, also delete them.

Lessons from BP, Japan, and Katrina

2011-03-17T23:43:00.000-07:00

Natural disasters become disasters because large population centers develop on, under, over, or next to geologically fragile environs, such as seismic zones, tornado alley, and hurricanes zones.

Man’s hubris is that we can control nature. We may be able to temper nature, but the full force of nature will trump the forces of man.

Man can no more tame nature than a wild animal trainer can domesticate a lion or tiger.

40 years of geologic quiescence and apparent safety lead to delusions of safety and hubris.

The midst of a disaster is not the time to reassess risk analysis.

Worst case scenarios, although rare, do occur, sometimes worse than the projections. If models project a maximum seismic event of a 7.0, don’t be surprised by a 7.1 or 7.8.

A 9.0 earthquake will do tremendous damage to a built environment. Most buildings cannot be designed and constructed to withstand such a quake. So too with a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. The Category 5 will destroy almost any levee in its path.

The force of a tsunami will differ on whether it comes at high tide or low tide.

A great nation, such as Japan, can be brought to its knees when its critical infrastructure, especially roads, railroads, and power, is crippled.

We are truly a global economy with extended supply chains. A volcano in Iceland can disrupt international air travel.

Don’t run your tests in broad daylight on a clear day, because incidents can occur anytime.

Technology that tests the limits of technology will be tested.

To paraphrase Ayn Rand, periodically question your premises and assumptions. Fukushima’s backup generators, the key to the emergency cooling systems, were flooded by the tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power Company placed them on low ground on the assumption the sea walls would hold. After Katrina, when many of the backup generators flooded out by being placed close to the ground, this assumption was no longer viable.

Emergency action plans rarely work as planned in a major disaster, but they provide a framework for flexibility. A grossly inadequate EAP, as BP’s, is not worth the
paper it’s printed on.

As in bridge, a responder who hesitates is lost. Government at all levels initially responded poorly to Katrina, and TEPCO hesitated in cooling the reactrs with sea water, while BP had trouble understanding what was happening with the blowout preventor.

Beware at the beginning of a disaster of the statements of fear mongers and shills for neither know the facts.

The underlying facts and risks will not be known as the disaster unfolds. Only later will the facts come out. For example, Three Mile Island was not the nuclear apocalypse as initially portrayed by the media. Neither was the Gulf Blowout, although it did cause enormous environmental damage.

The media usually highlights the worst case.

Emergencies are often a learning experience. We either learn from the mistakes of disasters and tragedies, or they will reoccur. After Katrina, TEPCO had sufficient time to move the generators.

Engineers and scientists can creatively respond, as with BP and TEPCO, to solve the problem, and adapt future plans accordingly.

Human nature being what it is, we do not always learn from our mistakes. Sometimes we simply want to rebuild in the same place in the same way.

Lightning can strike twice in the same place. For example, New Orleans was struck by hurricanes nine times before Katrina. It will happen again.

Another Setback for Nuclear Power in the United States

2011-03-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

The tragedy in Japan is yet another nail in nuclear energy’s coffin in the United States.

Sadly!

A hydrogen explosion at a second plant is alarming. A “partial” or “total meltdown” are not the words the American public wants to hear. Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts is already calling for President Obama to impose a moratorium on nuclear energy.

Nuclear is not “green” but it is the cleanest of fuels. It is not dependent on weather, international turmoil, or supply problems. Nor does it pollute.

Its reliability and safety record is as good as any other fuel, but, alas, when safety issues arise, the potential risk is great.

The Three Mile Island meltdown in 1979 essentially halted all new nuclear plants in the United States. TMI was not, in fact, a major health disaster, but the adverse publicity, coupled with the untimely coincidence of the movie, The China Syndrome, destroyed nuclear’s image in the public. It had already become the epitome of NIMBY opposition wherever plants were proposed. 63 proposed, or partially constructed, facilities were cancelled between 1975 and 1980. Some of the opposition were reminescent of the Luddites of a century ago.

Silkwood was another anti-nuclear movie that had a major impact on public perceptions.

Seemingly endless litigation, and continual reassessment of safety factors, led to a sharp escalation of costs, while the time interval between conception and generation of power became ten years. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) became the primary legal weapon against proposed nuclear power plants, with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals taking a strong stand against nuclear power on safety concerns. Questions of worst case analysis, psychological impacts, waste disposal, and energy conservation were litigated, all leading to delays and cost escalations.
The Russian blunder at Chernobyl, a true disaster, further blackened the image of nuclear power.

Even today, the problem of disposing of the high level nuclear generated by existing plants has not been politically solved with the Obama Administration trying to shut down Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

One of the safety issues in the early 1970’s was how to protect against a core meltdown when an event, such as an earthquake, shut down the primary cooling system. The answer was to build a backup cooling system, an emergency core cooling system (ECCS). What if though, the triggering event which destroyed the primary cooling system also struck the ECCS?

That’s essentially what happened in Japan. The earthquake shut down the primary cooling system and the tsunami flooded out the backup generators.

We are told that American reactors are safer and that it cannot happen here. For example, the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant is on the California Coastline abutting the San Diego-Orange County line. The owner, Southern California Edison, says it is designed to withstand a 7.0 quake and has a 30’ retaining wall as protection against a tsunami.

These design specifications were based on experts saying the maximum possible earthquake would be less than 7.0 and the maximum tsunami would have a height of 25’.

The tragic San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 is widely estimated to be a 7.9. That’s not a reassuring margin of error. The "Big One" on the San Andreas Fault is considered by experts to be overdue.

Let us not focus just on the San Andreas for the two other great faults are the Cascadia in the Pacific Northwest and the New Madrid Fault in the greater Tennessee Valley area. However, all regions of the United States are subject to earthquakes.

President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget includes $36 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear plants. It won’t happen.

The promise of nuclear energy was very different.

President Eisenhower promoted Atoms for Peace and Lewis Strauss, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, was quoted in 1954 as saying nuclear energy would be “too cheap to meter.” Nuclear energy was the wave of the future as coal power plants were phased out in our urban centers.

France and Japan jumped aboard the nuclear bandwagon. Nuclear generates 80% of France’s electricity and 30% of Japan’s compared to almost 20% in the United States.

Japan may now join the U.S. in its skepticism to nuclear power.

NCAA Follies

2011-03-11T23:36:00.000-08:00

Ohio State is, once again, in trouble with the NCAA. Baylor, North Carolina, Oregon, UConn, and Southern Methodist also have problems.

Sooner or later, almost every major sports school will be in violation of some NCAA stricture. Major sports, especially football and basketball, less popular sports, public or private colleges, research universities or teaching schools, academic powerhouses and colleges I’ve never heard of before, religious or non-sectarian, large or small, the NCAA will come calling. Major violations, minor violations, technical violations, booster violations, say hello to the NCAA.

Here’s a list of schools hit by the NCAA with sanctions going back to 1999, so I can include Notre Dame on the list.

The Big Ten is well represented with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin, as well as the SEC (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Tennessee).

The Pac Ten has Arizona, Arizona State, Berkeley, Oregon, USC and Washington, and its new members Colorado and Utah.

The list is full of saints, whose conduct was unholy to the NCAA: St. Augustine, Bonaventure, Johns, and Leo, as well as Baptist, Catholic, Methodist and Jesuit colleges.

The remainder include Abilene Christian, Albany, Alcorn State, Arizona, Ball State, Baylor, Bradley, Buffalo State, BYU, BYU Hawaii, Cal State Northridge, Central Florida, Central Oklahoma, Chatham, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Chicago State, Coastal Carolina, Dayton, Dominican (Illinois), Eastern Washington, Florida A & M, Florida International, Florida State, Fresno State, Gardner Webb, Georgetown, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hobart, Holy Cross, Howard, Humboldt State, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Jackson State, Jacksonville, Kansas, Kentucky, Kentucky State, Kentucky Wesleyan, Lang College, Lewis, Lincoln, Long Beach State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Lynn, Marshall, Maryland, McNeese State, Memphis, Miami, Middle Tennessee State, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Mississippi Valley, Missouri, Missouri – St. Louis, Missouri Western, Morehead State, Morgan State, Murray State, Nevada Reno, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Nicholls State, Northeastern, Northern Arizona, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio Northern, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Panhandle, Oregon, Prairie View A & M, Richmond, Rutgers, Salem State, San Diego State, Savannah State, South Alabama, Southern Indiana, Southern Maine, Southern Vermont, Southwest Missouri, Stetson, Steven F. Austin, Stillman, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Stonybrook, Temple, Tennessee Chattanooga, Tennessee State, Texas, Texas – Pan American, Texas A & M – Corpus Christie, Texas A & M – Kingsville, Texas Christian, Texas Southern, Texas State – San Marcos, UConn, UNLV, USC, USF, University of the District of Columbia, University of the Incarnate Word, Villanova, Washington, Weber State, Wesley, West Georgia, West Virginia and Youngstown State.

Even Harvard and Princeton have issues with the NCAA.

Something is wrong when so many institutions of higher education with student-athletes run afoul of the NCAA.

Ten possibilities exist to explain the epidemic of violations.

First, the pressure to win is so great that many coaches and schools feel the pressure to cheat, with some head coaches and administrators turning a blind eye. To quote Al Davis "Just win, Baby."

Second, standards and enforcement have changed. Such greats of the past as Woody Hayes and John Wooden would have to be more circumspect with their teams’ sugar daddies today.

Third, old habits die hard. Boosters often provided cars, cash and bought game tickets from players in the past. Some of these activities still go on.

Fourth, many schools are often recruiting a more amoral class of athletes. The rap sheets often exceed the NCAA violations.

Fifth, the NCAA has increased the compliance staff.

Sixth, the age of the internet has broadened transparency; rumors and leaks spread through the web in nanoseconds.

Seventh, other coaches are sometimes willing to turn in competitors.

Eighth, the NCAA rules can be incredibly arcane, arbitrary, confusing, and stupid.
Too many text messages or twitters to a potential recruit can violate an obtuse NCAA rule. Rick Neuheisel, currently coaching at UCLA, used his training as a lawyer to violate the spirit of NCAA rules by engaging in technicalities.

Nine, the NCAA does not accept plausible deniability as a defense.

Ten, major institutions know the NCAA is often feckless in its administration. It can be a crap shoot whether the penalty will be draconian (SMU or USC) or a slap on the wrist (Auburn and Ohio State).

Maybe all of the above.

Here’s the problem. With so many institutions running afoul of the NCAA, either we have a generation of some of the country’s greatest universities knowingly engaged in conduct they will not tolerate on the academic side, or the NCAA has become a clueless, billion dollar bureaucracy, which often gets nailed for antitrust violations, but cows universities.

The Slate of Possible Replacements for Charlie Sheen on 2 1/2 Men

2011-03-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

Rob Lowe (the rumored one)

Tom Arnold

Alec Baldwin

Blago

Gary Busey

Tom Cruise

Robert Downing, Jr.

Bob Dylan

John Galliano

Mel Gibson

Jesse James

Joe Nameth

Randy Quaid

Mickey Rourke

Billy Bob Thornton

Tiger Woods

BYU Takes a Hard Stand Against Premarital Sex

2011-03-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

Brigham Young University is a private, religious institution. If the Mormon University wishes to impose an honor code upon its students and student-athletes, it may do so. If the students sign the code to “live a chaste and virtuous life,” and to forswear drugs, alcohol, coffee, and tea, then they are free to do so. They can matriculate elsewhere if they wish.

I don’t question the precepts of any religion as long as they do not pose a threat to others. The wisdom though may be questionable.

God bless BYU for adhering to its moral values.

As we know the third ranked Cougars suspended for the remainder of the season, i.e. the NCAA basketball playoffs, Brandon Davies, its leading rebounder and third leading scorer. The university is sticking to its principles, as it did with a star football player last year. The potential cost to the university is great.

Davies’ dishonor was to have sex with his girl friend.

Sex? Not marijuana, cocaine, sexual assault, robbery, but sex?

Let’s be realistic.

Trying to ban premarital sex among teenagers with raging hormones is akin to standing in front of a tsunami asking it to stop.

Clark Kerr, the great Chancellor of Berkeley, remarked “the great administrative problems of the day were sex for the student, athletics for the alumni, and parking for the faculty.”

The Jesuits at the University of San Francisco had a strict moral code in the early 1960’s. One of the key principles was no coeds in the dorm. At one point a student, in a ground level dorm room, had his girl friend visiting for three days. The administration found out. The response was farcical. Two RA’s climbed through the window while a priest entered through the door. He was expelled, but the Jesuits could not stop the sexual revolution unleashed by the pill.

The Catholic Church is opposed to abortion and contraception. However, by the mid-60’s many of the Jesuits at USF reached a moral accommodation with birth control. Many Catholics practice safe sex outside of marriage, and several Catholic politicians are publicly Pro-Choice.

We also know, of course, that the Church has great difficulty enforcing chastity among its ranks. Indeed, a Jesuit law professor, who taught me Labor Law, quietly left the order a few years later when he was marrying a 27 year old cocktail waitress he had impregnated.

Our colonial forbears engaged in "bundling" in which, on their honor, they would remain chaste. Hormones often triumphed.

The military can't control sex and fraternization amongst its ranks and officer corps, but BYU expects its students to honor the honor code on and off campus..

Other religions and cultures require the bride to be a virgin. Some plastic surgeons are making a fortune recreating a hymen in some of these brides shortly before the marriage.

The problem with the BYU Honor Code is that it defies genetics and human nature.

And the Host of the 2012 Oscars Is ???

2011-03-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

The 83rd Oscars were a national snooze fest – terminal ennui broken only by Billy Crystal’s appearance half way through, Randy Newman’s rambling acceptance speech, and the conclusion; that is, the fifth graders from P.S. 22 on Staten Island singing Over the Rainbow.

Who shall set the ship of Oscars straight next year? Build excitement, throw a quick quip, and enthrall the effortlessly the audience?

The nominees are:

The obvious choice is, no not Billy Chrystal, but Ricky Gervais. Prepared speech, ad lib, or ad hominum, he will keep the audience wired.

If not Ricky, then either Bob Hope or Johnny Carson. Just pop their caskets up, and photo shop their digitized remarks. The jokes are timeless. Even Francisco Franco would bring more life to the Oscars than James Franco.

Robin Williams – He will never stop, but no one will notice.

John Belushi as Samurai Oscar

Tina Fay: “I can see Russia from the Kodak Theatre.”

Billy Crystal and Steve Martin

Seinfeld - It’s really about nothing

Charlie Sheen: He’s special.

David Letterman is looking better every year

Chris Rock was actually pretty good

Sean Penn – You just never know

Lady Gaga – she’s mastered the Madonna School of Self-Promotion

If co-hosts are needed, then a trio of odd couples could light up the stage:

Keith Olbermann and Sarah Palin
or
Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields
or
Roberto Bernini and Charo

And the winner is Brice Vilanch

Fleeing Legislators: Illinois' New Industry

2011-02-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

State senators from Wisconsin and representatives from Indiana have fled to Illinois, seeking refuge. Illinois has proven hospitable, building a whole new hospitality industry to replace its dying industries.

A proven sanctuary for fleeing solons is recession proof. The economic multiplier will work, as a supporting infrastructure develops, including the always presents lawyers, and cash only operators. Legislators bring staff, lobbyists, and companions.

Illinois’ Governor Pat Quinn said “Illinois is always open.” That’s a proven fact.

Illinois is a proven green state when it comes to openness. It sets the record with 4 governors convicted of corruption and an additional two acquitted. A state, whose legislature once tried to deed the entire port of Chicago, to the Illinois Central Railway, is open.

Illinois’ location is providential. All roads, trains, and planes go through Illinois. The services can easily be marketed to other states with a historic supply of Pols on the Run or the Take, including Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, and all points south.

For entertainment, the motels can set up “Let’s Make a Deal” and “Dialing for Dollars.”

Cable will show reruns of The Fugitive.

Many details still have to be fleshed out:

Do Chicago Rules apply statewide?

Will Happy Hour be 24/7?

Are the hospitality refuges union or non-union?

Can the state legislators’ per diems be credited to their bills?

Do the hotels and motels have to maintain a register of calls?

Will the services extend to members of Congress, governors and judges?

Do extended stays receive discounts?

Will a frequent sleeper/refuge points plan be offered?

Is it limited to just Democrats?

Will refuge be limited to legislative protests, or will it extend to those fleeing civil and criminal process, recalls and impeachment? Fleeing felons and fleeing legislators can overlap like Venn diagrams.

Will other states provide reciprocity to Illinois politicians?

The last three issues are critical because America knows that sooner or later, probably sooner, Illinois is open for business, ranging from Governors down, or is it up, to Chicago Aldermen.

Were the Obamas Invited?

2011-02-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

Did You Receive Your Invitation to the Royals Wedding?

The Royal Wedding – the wedding to date of the century and the New Millennium

A wedding that is worth a fortune to the British economy

A wedding in which the bride and groom enter without dark secrets, ignorance, or innocence. The beautiful young couple have been cohabiting with the blessings of the Royal Family.

So have you received your invitation?

I haven’t, but I can run a copy off on-line.

1900 invitations were sent, but not one to the President of the United States.

The Beckhams received their invitations, but not the Obamas.

Scores of crowned heads, some in exile and some from former colonies, received their invitations, but not one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Elton John, who was so dedicated to Lady Di, received an invite, as did Kayne West, but not The White House.

Prime Minister David Cameron is attending, but not the President.

The President received the same non-invitation as Fergie and President Sarkozy of France.

The President, who was so big during the campaign on twitter and the latest technology, did not even receive an ebrite.

He was shunned.

Shouldn’t the special relationship between America and England warrant an invitation?

Technically, the Royal Wedding is a matter of domestic policy in England. Thus the Royal Family need not consider foreign relations in the invites. Certainly they have forgiven us for those misunderstandings of a couple of centuries ago.

Multiple choice question: Why didn’t the President receive an invitation to the Royal Wedding?

A. The British Government, in the aftermath of 9/11, reaffirmed its special relationship with the United States and the United Kingdom by presenting the White house with a bust of Winston Churchill, the “Churchill Bust.” The great British leader’s mother was American. President Bush placed the Churchill Bust in a prominent place in the Oval Office. One of President Obama’s first acts was to send the Churchill Bust back to England.

B. When then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the United States, he engaged in the traditional exchange of historically significant gifts. President presented the Prime Minister with 25 American movie DVD’s and two plastic models of Marine I. American DVD’s don’t play in standard British players.

C. A spokesman for the Obama Administration stated: “There’s nothing special about Britain…No special treatment.”

D. When visiting England in February 2010, the President presented Queen Elizabeth a personalized IPod.

E. The President demonized BP during the Gulf Oil Blowout, threatening a major income source to British pensioners.

F. The Obama family believes his grandfather was tortured by British soldiers 6 decades ago during Kenya’s Mau Mau Uprising.

G. The President is a megalomaniac whose presence will detract from the solemnity and beauty of the ceremony.

H. All of the above.

The Incredibly Shrinking Borders

2011-02-24T23:28:00.000-08:00

Tom and Louis Borders founded a used book store in Ann Arbor in 1971. It was a success, and soon they devised an inventory control system to wholesale books to other book stores.

Borders Bookstores filed its long anticipated bankruptcy petition on Tuesday, February 16. It listed $1.27 billion in assets and $1.29 billion in liabilities.

That’s not when it died – only a formal date. Theoretically it still breathes through Chapter 11.

Borders has been on a death spiral for years, just like Circuit City, Pan Am, and A & P. The ever-shrinking Borders shrank from 1,249 stores in 2003 to 642 before the bankruptcy filing. It closed 219 stores in 2009, 45 in 2010, and sold its Ann Arbor headquarters in October 2010 for $18.4 million. It plans to close at least 196 additional stores in bankruptcy and perhaps 75 more.

Did Borders fall prey to Amazon.com? Nope. The company even sold its internet operations to Amazon in 2001.

How about when it failed to effectively respond to Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Nobles’ Nook, or Apple’s IPad? Not really.

How about when Wal-Mart became the largest music retailer in the United States, followed by Apple with ITunes? Not then either.

How about its last profit in 2006, and hundreds of millions in losses since then? Negative.

How about 5 years of unsuccessful recapitalizations and years of mismanagement?
No.

What about too many long term leases in poor locations?
It didn’t help, but no.

The Border Brothers sold the chain to Kmart in 1992. That was the beginning of the end.

Kmart acquired eight years earlier the mall centered Walden Books Chain. It couldn’t figure out how to run Walden so it doubled down by paying the Borders Brothers for their operation. Most of the management left after the merger. Borders had little more success with Waldens than Kmart.

Kmart, seemingly the most successful retailer at the time, did not know how to manage its business, much less those of anyone else. It went on an acquisition streak, bringing diversified retailers into its corporate umbrella. Payless Drugs was a thriving West Coast discount drug chain until Kmart paid $25/share for it. Kmart peddled it to Thrifty, which then joined Rite Aide. Payless died, as did Builders Square and Pace Membership Clubs.

Kmart sprung off Borders-Walden in 1995. Stores expanded, sales grew, profits rose, but the numbers hid the corporate drag of Waldens.

Only OfficeMax and Sports Emporium survived the Kmart embrace, which ironically filed to invest in a computerized inventory control system.

Borders has sadly been sinking for decades with no happy ending in sight.

The Pope Speaks Up for the Roma

2011-02-24T23:17:00.000-08:00

A fire roared through a Roma shack in an illegal camp outside Rome two weeks ago, killing four children. The tragedy received but 4 column inches of coverage in the Los Angeles Times, but that's a a paragraph more than in most newspapers.

The current apartheid by France and Italy against Roma in recent years has gone relatively unreported in the American media.

Pope Benedict XVI in his appearance on Sunday, February 13 in St. Peters Square used the Sermon on the Mount as the opportunity for speaking in support of the Roma:
“Thus each precept becomes true as a requirement of law, and they all come
together in one single commandment: love God with all your heart and love
your neighbor as yourself. ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law, St. Paul writes.”

His Excellence then powerfully stated: “Faced with this requirement, the pitiful case of the four Roma children, who died last week on the outskirts of this city when their shack burned down, forces us to face the question whether a more united and fraternal society, more coherent in charity, in other words, more Christian, would not have been able to avoid this tragic event. And this holds true for many other painful episodes, more or less well-known, which happen every day in our cities and countries.”

The Pope had previously criticized France on its deportations of the Roma.

The record of Pope Pius XII in the Holocaust is highly controversial. The basic question is did He do all he could to save, much less even speak out for, the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, not to mention the Catholics and Roma similarly persecuted by the Nazis.

Pope Benedict XVI is not similarly reticent with the apartheid and genocide unfolding against the Roma in two European countries today.

The Wisconsin Idea in Reverse

2011-02-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

President Charles Van Hise of the University of Wisconsin proposed the Wisconsin Idea in 1904. The public university (Wisconsin) existed for the benefit of the people of the state. The University, working with the legislature, would advance reform legislation – progressive legislation in what became known as the Progressive Era.

The great Governor and United States Senator, Robert M. LaFollette, Sr., advanced the progressive causes of labor and women’s rights. The states became the laboratories of democracy. A significant share of FDR’s New Deal built upon the lessons learnt in Wisconsin.

The American Federation of State, County, and Local Employees (AFSCME) was chartered by the AFL-CIO in 1936 in Madison, Wisconsin. The State in 1959 was the first to grant collective bargaining rights to public sector unions. The first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, was centered on the Madison campus.

The history of progressivism continued. Wisconsin was a deep blue state.

But then came the election of November 2010. Wisconsin, like much of the upper Midwest, turned a bright red as Republicans swept the governorship and legislature. A conservative Republican defeated an 18 incumbent, Russ Feingold, for the Senate seat.

Elections have consequences. Just as President Obama’s 2008 progressive tide allowed the Democrats at the national level to roll over a defanged national GOP, the new Republican majority in Wisconsin have their cause to advance as Obama’s tide swept out.

Governor Scott Walker made no secret of his goals. He was going to essentially break the public employee unions. He didn’t use those words, but that was the message.

These unions face a conundrum nationally. How much, if any, do they give back, especially in pensions and health benefits as these costs drain state and local treasuries? The public through is not infinitely deep. A shrinking private sector cannot sustain a swelling public sector. The public, especially taxpayers, understands this reality.

Illinois may be resorting to tax increases to fill the budget gap, but California and Massachusetts proved that doesn’t work. Connecticut’s new governor is looking to raise taxes, but Connecticut never fully recovered from Governor Lowell Weicker’s imposition of an income tax.

Governor Walker asked the public employees to contribute 12.6% of their health premiums (up from 6%) and 6% towards their pensions, up from zero.

The Wisconsin unions are willing to agree to these terms to help reduce a pending $3.6 billion state budget deficit.

However, they are drawing the line at the remainder of the package, which in one swoop will repeal much of their rights in Wisconsin, and serve as an incentive for similar legislation in other states.

The Governor’s proposals exempt police and fire unions, but include all the other public workers.

Collective bargaining goes to the heart of union rights. If they can’t bargain over these rights, then they cannot legally strike over them.

First, the collective bargaining rights of the unions will no longer include health or pension benefits.

Second, while they can continue to collectively bargain on wages, any wage increases above that of the consumer price index would have to be approved by public referendum.

Third, the unions will have to stand for annual certification elections.

Fourth, the unions will now have to collect their members’ dues directly from the members. No longer will the state or local governments collect the dues through payroll deductions.

At least Governor Walker did not propose a right to work state.

The unions cannot stop the proposals from enactment, short of the 14 Democratic state Senators fleeing to Illinois, depriving the Senate of a quorum.

The Republicans are not in a mood to compromise for they must strike while the iron is hot.

Democracy is a two-way street. Sometimes you make major gains, and sometimes you lose big time.

So much for the legislators’ belief in representative Democracy!

If the unions lose in Wisconsin, the birthplace of much of their rights, they will ultimately lose in almost every state. And with their loss comes the loss of power for the national labor movement and the Democratic Party.

Private sector unions have shrank to 6.9 % of the private workforce, and are now outnumbered by the growing ranks of public sector employees with a 36.2% unionization rate with 7.6 million public sector union members. The traditional industrial, trade and crafts unions are disappearing, partially with the export of jobs.

Teachers have called sick-ins to demonstrate, sometimes bringing their students with them. So much for their plea “It’s for the children.” Most teachers continue to teach outside Madison.

Demonstrations reached between 55-70,000 people Saturday, including children, college students, scallywags and carpetbaggers. That’s not a lot historically for Madison, and certainly not for a state of 5.7 million.

Some teachers are allegedly using phony doctors’ excuses. So much for civics and the rule of law! President Reagan would have fired these teachers.

Demonstrators are bussed in from neighboring states. Solidarity forever!

President Obama is supporting the unions for they own him. 2008 may have been the Progressives Last Hurrah for an extended period.

The demonstrations have been peaceful to date, but the Governor has been called a bully, scrooge, Mubarak, and Hitler. So much for the new civility in politics!

Sooner or later the state Senators will return home. The die is cast in Madison.

(By way of disclosure, my wife is a classified employee with the Tustin Unified School District, and served until recently as treasurer of the local chapter of the California School Employees Association, the state union for classified employees.)

2011-02-14T22:48:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine’s Day

What to give? What to Give?

If you’re reading this blog late on Valentine’s Day, it’s too late.

Give your loved one something special, unique, personal, from the heart, or perhaps the kidney, to show you really understand and love him or her. If you can’t give a piece of your heart, then what about a kidney? Ron Spanier and Amy Anderson are engaged. She is donating a kidney to him. That is true love – much more than a paper valentine.

Valentine’s Day is a special day in which it’s not better to give than receive. This should be a day of equal giving and receiving.

Chocolates are nice, but they’re addictive and fattening, whether they’re from Godiva or Whitman Sampler. A red heart shaped box full of chocolates may be a big seller for CVS, but it lacks that special touch.

Overpriced roses are trite red.

How about dinner at an expense account restaurant with ambiance, a view, fire place, and fine wine?

If so, either kneel down on your knees, pull out the ring, and pop the question, or recognize that if you need this venue for romance, it’s either going nowhere or already dead.

Be wary of getting too involved with Cupid. He’s underaged and borders on kiddie porn. I prefer Eros myself.

Go back to the days of yesteryear, when the romance was blooming. A singing telegram would be nice.

Do not send Valentines from Ashley Madison or Craig’s List. A replay of the St. Valentine Day’s Massacre is too bloody to behold. If you personally croon, don't post it on YouTube unless you have a great book.

Try a corny personal poem, perhaps plagiarized from John Donne (only Ph. D’s will recognize it). Just don’t post it online.

Jewelry is always appreciated, but be wary of the priceless jewelry from Danbury Mint. It is truly priceless – as you learn when you try to resell it on EBay when the romance fades.

If you are a lothario, be careful to remember her name. A Hallmark Keepsake valentine doesn’t remember names.

Indulge your true love. What’s their thing – gardening, NASCAR, mud wrestling? Join them. It’s but a small sacrifice on your part, but a meaningful commitment.

Here are the two gifts that mean the most:

The most personal gift of love is free – just listen.

Give a meaningful gift – a weekend without the little ones.

Still perplexed? More to Iran or Malaysia; they have banned Valentine’s Day.

Has the White House Really Dropped 23.6% in Value?

2011-02-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

The Zillow Real Estate firm estimated the White House was valued at $167,861,500 when President George W. Bush entered office in 2001, and peaked with the housing boom three years ago at $331.5 million.

Zillow estimates, using calculations known only to itself, that the value of the White House dropped 7.2%, $23 million, by the end of President Bush’s term, and 23.6% in the middle of President Obama’s term. In short, President Obama drove down the value of the White House from $308,058,000 to $253.1 million.

The White House has 55,000 square feet in six stories, bigger than your normal KMart, 16 bedrooms, 132 rooms, 35 baths, and 28 carbon dioxide emitting fireplaces. It is handicap accessible to accommodate President Roosevelt’s wheel chair. It has a swimming pool, doctor’s office, barber shop, tennis court, basketball court, bowling alley, a horseshoe pit favored by President George H. W. Bush, putting green, jogging track, movie theater, the latest in telecommunications, cable and satellite hookups, the red line to Moscov,HD and closed circuit TV's throughout the complex – all the amenities of a Beverly Hills Mansion or nuclear aircraft carrier, and perhaps a surface to air missile camouflaged by the vegetable garden planted on the roof by Jackie’s Executive Chef, Rene Verdon. It contains guard shacks, servant quarters, an office building, and on-again, off-again solar panels.

The White House has a 1950’s bomb shelter, presumably with a copy of the classic “Kiss Your Ass Goodbye“ poster.

The 18 acres are prime open space, suitable for 13 story condos, coops, and office buildings for the burgeoning bureaucracy. A public park across the street, Lafayette Park, and federal office buildings on three sides preclude further construction in the area. The site is unique.

No comps can be used to value the residence.

Only the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and William Randolph Hearst’s San Simeon in California can come close to matching it. San Simeon is now owned by the state of California, which lacks funds to maintain its properties.

Conversely, the White House is probably the only building owned by the National Park Service that is not suffering from deferred maintenance.

The White House is often confused with the People's House, but that is the House of Representatives a few blocks away.

How can any public housing be worth hundreds of millions of dollars?

How can the White House be valued at only $253.1 million when President Obama intends to raise $1 billion for a new 4 year lease on the White House?

The history, the tradition – the only colonial house where George Washington never slept.

The historic status of the White House is incalculable.

How, for example, do you place a value on America’s first African American President occupying a house partially build by slaves?

How do you value the White House swimming pool where President Kennedy exercised his libido at night with naked young women while Jackie turned a blind eye?

How do you value the Monica foyer in the Oval Office?

What is the rental value of the Lincoln Bedroom to President Clinton for campaign contributions?

Priceless is President Nixon’s farewell helicopter ride.

The deals, promises pacts, betrayals sealed within the walls of the White House.

And yet it can’t be that valuable! It’s a do-over. The British burned and gutted it
in 1814 – so much for our “special relationship” with the Brits.

The Coming Energy Shortage is Now

2011-02-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

Governor Susanna Martinez of New Mexico declared an energy emergency Thursday because New Mexico residents could not receive adequate electricity and natural gas during the cold snap. Texas is short of electricity during this cold wave.

California ran out of electricity nine years ago. Populations rise, demand grows, and no new generating facilities come on line. Throw in an economically bankrupt, political “deregulation bill,” and energy traders, and the electricity stopped flowing.

Gas at the pump hit $5 per gallon in 2008, prior to the Housing Collapse. The trucking industry, especially the independent haulers, was crippled. Detroit was headed to bankruptcy.

Cries of “Drill, Baby Drill” were blocked by the Green Lobby and the election of President Obama. He was quoted three years ago as saying his only problem with the high price of gas was that it went up too quickly.

The President has long been opposed to the oil industry, and even today is trying to cut off subsidies to the industry. His mantra is green. He used the BP Blowout to shut new development in the petroleum rich Gulf. ANWAR remains closed to oil exploration, and just yesterday Shell announced because of regulatory delays it was abandoning plans to drill for oil in the Arctic waters this summer.

The opponents of ANWAR always say it will take 10 years to bring the oil to production. Had we started drilling during the Clinton Administration, we would now have benefited from over a half decade of production.

And yet, gas prices are rapidly increasing to the levels of three years ago.

Crude oil was less than $30 a barrel barely two years ago. It passed $101 a barrel on Monday. It had risen $30 since summer, prior to recent events, because of the world’s recovering economy. Any distress in the Mideast, in production or transportation through the Suez Canal or the Gulf of Hormuz, and $5 gas and $2 heating oil will seem a bargain.

The reality is one of basic economics. If demand exceeds supply, prices will rise and rationing set in, driven by market and political forces.

The United States is the OPEC of coal, but environmentalists oppose it at every turn. Thus, few new coal plants are built in the United States. President Obama also made it clear he opposes coal. Several large coal plants have shut down.

Natural gas is odorless and clean burning, but New York is fighting development of large gas reserves in the state. Former Governor Richardson of New Mexico issued an executive order blocking gas development in the state.

Hydro is clean and renewable, but we are slowly tearing down our dams rather than building new ones.

Nuclear is clean, but it is going nowhere and NIMBY forces will fight any new proposals.

Wind and solar have limits. Solar does not heat homes in the dead of a Frostbelt winter.

Green energy will require new transmission facilities, but these too are blocked.

The United States possesses large reserves of oil, but development is increasingly blocked both onshore and offshore. The oil is there, but the will is not. Indeed, Cuba will be drilling for oil off of Florida, but we can’t.

Californians love SUV’s, but don’t want production off the coast. We pay the highest gas prices in the Continental United States, serving as a hidden tax on an already overtaxed state.

Green does not propel cars. Electric cars will need power plants generating electricity. Green will not end on dependency on Mideast oil.

Conservation only goes so far.

Our economy was built on cheap energy. Those days are gone, ending forever with the Arab Oil Embargoes of the 1970’s.

As prices go up, inflation and unemployment will rise. Heating oil prices will sap households’ discretionary spending. And every dollar we spend on imported oil will go to Russia, Saudi Arabia, Hugo Chavez, and Al Qaeda.

President Obama may become the reincarnation of President Carter.

Tehran or Tiananmen Square: Which Way Egypt?

2011-01-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

Egypt is at a crossroad

Israel faces its greatest threat in decades

The United States is a befuddled bystander

The fall of Tunisia’s corrupt dictator Ben Ali led to predictions that Egypt and Yemen might be next. The self-immolation and student riots have in fact spread to Egypt. Riot police, curfews, the cutoff of the internet, and the presence of the army have not chilled the riots. The students smell blood – that of the Mubarak regime. President Mubarak addressed the nation and announced the termination of his Cabinet, but not his Presidency. The riots continue.

Three options appear for Egypt. First, the military can go along with a brutal suppression of the demonstrations. China used this approach in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 and Mexico on October 2, 1968 in Mexico City’s Tlatelolco’s Square. More recently Iran used brutal force with various levels of secret police to suppress student demonstrations protesting the fraudulent elections two years ago.

The Soviet Union, having emerged from a coup and a brutal Civil War, was determined not to lose to a domestic revolution in the future. It stationed military divisions in Moscow. These soldiers though were not Slavs from the area, but units from the Asia, such as Mongols, who presumably would not hesitate to shoot at Russians.

The Shah of Iran in 1978 had little spine, and was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. He fled. President Mubarak presumably has more determination. Neither the Shah nor Mubarak are the brutal dictators of Nazi and Soviet days and the Ayatollah.

The second alternative would be for Mubarak to flee, joining Ben Ali in exile. The history of many violent revolutions is that moderates may immediately assume power, but are soon pushed out by extremists, such as in the French Revolution, Bolsheviks in 1919 Russia, and the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran in 1979.

The history of the Mideast, except for Israel, is not one of democracy as we know it. The students seeking freedom today may well find themselves as oppressed tomorrow as the Iranian students of 1978.

The United States finds itself in an all-too-common quandary. Does it continue to support a loyal dictator who has served America’s needs, or does it toss him overboard and pray for the best?

The United States tried both approaches in Iran. It supported the overthrow of Iran’s populist Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, in 1953. However, President Carter helped push the Shah of Iran out in 1979. The United States, Western Europe and Israel are paying a stiff price for President Carter’s incompetence and naiveté.

If President Obama pulls a Carter, the consequences for the world and civilization will be far worse as the Mideast turns to Islamic radicals.

The omens are not good. The President in a speech earlier today admonished the Egyptian government not to use force against the demonstrators. The Administration earlier threatened to cut off our foreign aid to Egypt if force is used. This is the same President who turned a blind eye early in his Administration as the Ayatollahs crushed their students.

A Carter Redux is foreseeable.

The third alternative is if with the use of moderate force, President Mubarak can outlast the demonstrators as he has in the past. Even if he does, absent meaningful reform and a booming economy, the pressure cooker in Egypt will blow some day, just as Russia’s suppressed 1905 revolution became the Russian Revolution.

Israel needs a stable, peaceful Egypt on its borders. The peace has held between Egypt and Israel since the 1979 peace treaty. Egypt has cut off much of the arms supplies to Hamas in Gaza, and has cooperated, often secretly, with Israel.

If Mubarak falls, and the Islamicists take over, Jordan would be next.

An Israel, surrounded by Islamic fanatics in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza, all supplied by the militant Iran, will be threatened constantly, as it has not been threatened in decades.

The West will face not only a militant Mideast, but a cutoff of the vital Suez Canal, and perhaps of Mideast oil. Even without a military war, the resulting economic chaos could imperil Western Civilization as we know it.

This is the foreign policy crisis of the Obama Administration. President Obama needs to show more decisiveness and leadership than he has ever displayed.

Father Times Drops By

2011-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

My parents met during World War II, fell madly in love, married, conceived me, and then split like atoms.

6 ½ decades later Father Time has come forward to provide the paternal care I missed. He’s not the surrogate father I would have chosen. I'll rather be touched by an angel.

Father Time has the wisdom of ages. He approaches slowly, like a stealth bomber, and gently embraces you as the initial embrace becomes that of a boa constrictor. You don’t even recognize the initial embrace. A pound here, a pound there, a few kidney stones, you don't even realize it's father Time.

He will never let go – no divorce in this relationship; it’s for life. He grows on you.

Father Time has no respect for time since time is timeless. He visits 24/7, day, night, spring, summer, fall, and winter.

He’s clever all right. Some of his initial embraces mask other touchings, like those of a pickpocket.

He’s a doting father; he envelopes you, poking and probing, expressing interest in all your organs and muscles. Father Time has taken an especial interest in my legs and lungs. He’s left calling cards for the eyes and ears.

He doesn’t fool the doctors for long, but he has millions of tricks in his bag. And he mutates as quickly as insects. He’s clever all right. He grasps you, but you can’t get a handle on him.

You can accommodate him, but not forever for his grasp always tightens and expands.
I’m on a first name basis with Kaiser’s doctors and nurses, but Father Time has no first name.

Think of that; Father Time is known by no first name, or indeed, any other name.
Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Santa, and Father Christmas.
The devil is Satan, the demon, Lucifer, and the Dark Lord.

The man whose name shall not be mentioned is Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, and “He-who-must-not-be-named.”

But Father Time is simply Father Time.

Not even Fr. Time, for he is far from being the friendly, genial, helpful parish priest.

We allude to “senior moments,” but not all senior moments are related to Father Time.

Oh, he’s crafty. The greatest doctors and hospitals cannot defeat him; he toys with them on his time. Even the doctors ultimately meet him face to face.

No more rushing to the front, or exiting quickly, for Father Time marches to his own time.

He loves Medicare and Medicaid for they feed him.

Camelot Finally Ends With the Death of R. Sargent Shriver

2011-01-19T23:34:00.000-08:00

Camelot, the great musical, premiered on Broadway in 1960. Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected President in 1960. “Camelot” characterized the new Kennedy Administration. The charismatic President Kennedy and his glamorous, classy First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, were a spirited contrast to the staid Eisenhower Administration and the 1950’s. Camelot and Kennedy uplifted America. Magic was in the air.

Politicians claim to have been inspired to become politicians because of JFK.

Optimism, American greatness and exceptionalism, belief in the goodness of man, and in the government , Governors Pat Brown and Nelson Rockefeller, civil rights progress, patriotism, of motherhood, apple pie, and the American flag, $.39 gasoline and $.19 heating oil, nickel beer, Broadway, downtown, California, Notre Dame football, the Great Books, Chevy, Ford and Plymouth, infrastructure, plastics as the future, Ozzie and Harriett, The Beach Boys, Folk Music, and Berkeley as the greatest university in the world, marked Camelot. Everything was possible.

President Kennedy embraced the compassionate, idealistic American spirit by creating the Peace Corps, with his brother-in-law, R. Sargent Shriver as its first director.

President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, but Camelot, the mystique and myth, survived.

Sargent Shriver died on Monday. The last of the inner circle is gone. Camelot is over.

The death of Senator Ted Kennedy in 2009 and more recently the consigliore Ted Sorenson essentially signaled the end of Camelot. Others, Stephen Smith, Lem Billings, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. the family historian and biographer preceded them. Richard Goodwin and Ben Bradlee remain, but Camelot is over.

The retirement of Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D. R.I.) is the first time in 63 years that a Kennedy is not serving in an elective position in Congress or the Presidency. Indeed, only one Kennedy serves in elective office today, Robert Sargent “Bobby” Shriver III, the Mayor of Santa Monica.

The Massachusetts Kennedy Senate Seat is held by a Republican, Scott Brown.

Camelot is a Kennedy, not a Brown.

Perhaps one of America’s great political dynasties is over. Camelot is.

President Kennedy was a Cold War warrior, who cut taxes. His politics do not fit into the modern Democratic Party. The political Camelot died with Vietnam.

JFK's great line from his inaugural speech 50 years ago: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

Today's Democratic Party is "We will give to all we can, and take taxes from the rest."

Early on in the Obama Administration, the media attempted to create a new Camelot with Michelle as Jackie. It didn’t work because Michelle is Michelle and Jackie Jackie. Both are unique personas in their own right, but Camelot is confined to the Kennedys.

The Kennedy Center, JFK Airport, JFK Parkway, the Kennedy School of Government, the Kennedy Space Center, the Kennedy Library, numerous Kennedy Schools, remain, but Camelot is metaphysical - not physical.

The image of the young, vigorous Kennedys is eternal, but Camelot is no more. It was but a dream.

Kennedy legalized the unionization of the federal work force, planting many seeds of today's budgetary problems.

"Camelot! Camelot!" The lyrics ring in my ears, but "Those were the days, my friends, those were the days."

The musical is periodically revised, but our Camelot is history.

Perspectives on the Tucson Shoorings

2011-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

The shooting of a member of Congress is a direct attack upon our democracy.

The assassination of a judge is a direct attack upon the rule of law.

The killing of a nine year old child is a barbaric act which is a direct attack upon civilization.

The act of those seeking a political advantage from these horrific crimes, without even ascertaining the facts, is despicable.

Arizona is no more responsible for these shootings than Dallas for the assassination of President Kennedy.

Personal responsibility, even if clinically or legally insane, is the cause of these tragedies.

Sadly, the Tucson shootings would have happened sooner or later in a country where the phrase “Going Postal” has acquired an unfortunate meaning.

Random acts of violence by nutcases are all too common, starting with the University of Texas Library Tower in 1966, including Columbine, Virginia tech, Northern Illinois, and an Amish schoolhouse. Just a few weeks ago a high school student killed a teacher who had disciplined him.

The following establishments have witnessed murderous attacks: Congress, Fort Hood, McDonald’s, Denny’s, the El Al check in counter at LAX, Vegas casinos, churches, city halls, law firms, and an Albertson’s Supermarket. Sane people do not shoot up a North Hollywood, Jewish day care center, a Jewish community center in Seattle, or drive a large Cadillac into a Costa Mesa pre-school. The D.C. Sniper(s) paralyzed the Greater D.C. area in 2002.

Political assassinations are an unfortunate part of American history. President Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mayor Michael Moscone have been killed in my lifetime. Presidents Truman, Ford and Reagan, Governor George Wallace, and Larry Flynt survived assassination attempts, and only the Secret Service knows how many threats it has thwarted against Presidents Bush and Obama.

Increased security for members of Congress is necessary, but do not expect it to prevent all future incidents. Currently the Speaker of the house has security, but the Speaker is third in line for the Presidency.

Security will not prevent all attacks. A police officer was on duty at Columbine when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold commenced their murderous rampage.

A student at Red lake High School in Minnesota in 2005 killed his grandparents one night. Grandfather was a tribal police officer. He then stole his grandfather’s guns, and then the next morning killed the security guard on duty at the high school metal detector, before killing others in the school.

A gunman shot to death a police officer outside the Kirkwood City Center, stole the officer’s revolver, and then killed others inside the City center in 2008.

Increased security can prevent some incidents, and reduce the casualty toll in others, but they will not prevent all future attacks. Members of Congress need to pound the flesh, to be visible. The Secret Service probably cringes every time the President works the rope line. Members of Congress normally fly commercial.

The people’s representatives must appear before the people. That is an inherent risk in our democracy.

Some crazed nut job, perhaps a copycat, will strike again.

San Francisco At Long Last Has a Chinese Mayor

2011-01-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

The City and County of San Francisco has a storied history. The Chinese have been an integral part of San Francisco since the days of the 49ers.

Urban legends tell us the Central Pacific Railroad brought the Chinese over to work on building the Transcontinental Railroad. History tells us that two Chinese men and one woman arrived in San Francisco in 1848. 54 Chinese were counted in San Francisco in 1849

Discrimination greeted the Chinese almost upon their first presence in the City. The state enacted a Foreign Miner’s Tax of $20 on all foreign miners. Another statute prohibited “Negroes and Indians” from testifying against “white men.” The word “Indian” was construed to include Chinese.

San Francisco banned the sons and daughters of the Chinese immigrants from the public schools.

Congress enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 to bar further Chinese immigrants to the United States.

Miscegenation laws and deed restrictions were enforced against the Chinese. They were barred from entering professions, such as the law and medicine. Chinese laundries were banned in San Francisco. Aliens, i.e. Asians, were barred from land ownership throughout the West.

By 1876 about ¼ of San Francisco’s population of 116,000 was Chinese. They mostly lived in the tight confines of Chinatown.

Denis Kearney, the Irish firebrand, organized in 1878 “The Workingmen’s Party,” whose unofficial motto was “The Chinese must go.” Race riots followed in San Francisco, as well as riots and lynchings elsewhere in the West.

The city leaders had mixed views on Chinatown, at one point proposing to eliminate it and then during the plague drawing boundaries that resulted in Chinese, but not Caucasian, blocks being quarantined.

All along, the Chinese quietly persevered while avoiding politics. One by one, the legal barriers ended. Chinatown expanded into the largest Chinese population outside Asia. The residents flowed out of Chinatown into the city, especially the avenues of the Richmond and Sunset Districts.

Roughly 1/3 of San Francisco’s current population of 815,000 is Asian Americans.
Chinese Americans comprise about 150,000 of the population. The sons and daughters now constitute a majority of the student body at San Francisco’s Lowell High School, and matriculate at Berkeley, Stanford, and the Ivies.

The Chinese finally entered politics, claiming their proper place in the public life of San Francisco.

San Francisco had 42 mayors until last week. They included Germans, Greeks, Irish, Italians, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, competent, incompetent, honest, corrupt, wise, dumb, sober, alcoholics, eloquent, tongue-tied, rich, poor, male, female, adulterers, lawyers, dairymen, career politicians, and an African-American, but never a Chinese American until last week.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors inaugurated Ed Lee as Interim Mayor on Tuesday, January 11, 2011. Mayor Lee was the city’s Administrator. He will serve until next November’s election. He promised not to stand for election in November, but two of the candidates are expected to be David Chiu, President of the Board of Supervisors, and Assemblyman Leland Lee. Four members of the Board of Supervisors are Asian Americans.

San Francisco will never be politically the same again. We are all the better for it.

Ironically, San Francisco is not the first major city to have a Chinese mayor in California. Jean Quon was elected Mayor of Oakland last November.

The lady in red

2011-01-09T21:27:00.000-08:00

The Lady in Red wished to be noticed.

And she was.

The Lady in Red entered the meeting a split second before it began, when everyone else was seated.

The Lady in Red exited the meeting five minutes before it ended.

If you didn’t catch her on the way in, you would have noticed on the way out.

The beautiful, blond Lady in Red pulled a Marilyn Monroe. She wanted to be noticed. If you missed her grand entrance, the Lady in Red wore a very tight, very bright, very red, red sweater, projecting every line of her perfect figure.

She wanted to be noticed.

And she was – but not necessarily for the right reasons.

Men pretended not to notice as their eyes furtively, lustily glanced at her. They could not deny their genes.

Women pretended not to notice as they tsk tsk’ed out of jealously.

And yet, the Lady in Red is a professional, a member of the world’s second oldest profession, the law.

She was noticed, but for what?

Not for her brains. Nor her charm or professionalism, much less class.

No, questions were quietly asked:

Is the Lady in Red a natural blond?

Has her face seen surgery?

Is her bosom built on a foundation of silicone?

Has she used liposuction?

How old is she really?

Does she have stretch marks?

What does her personal trainer know that we can’t see?

Can she really be that vain and shallow?

What will she do when her surface beauty fades, as it must?

Beautiful women will always be noticed, whether they dress professional, casual or frumpy. If they dress not to be noticed, but with class, they will be valued and accepted as a colleague, as a professional, as a person – not as an object.

The Lady in Red needs to understand that there will always be a much more beautiful woman in the room – a natural beauty with class.

Reflections on Rich Rodriguez, 2007-2011

2011-01-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

He couldn’t get the job done. His winning record of .405 (15-22) is the worse in the history of Michigan football. He lost 13-10 to Toledo. He lost three times to Ohio State, three times to Michigan State, twice to Penn State, twice to Wisconsin, got blown away by Mississippi State. You get the point.

A Michigan football coach has three responsibilities: winning, winning cleanly without violations, and a high graduation rate.

The previous athletic director, Bill Martin, hired Coach Rodriguez with the expectation he would charter a new course for the Wolverines, the spread versus the Pro-set. Rodriguez failed to understand that winning was part of the job.
Some of the criticism is misplaced, especially the claim Rich is not a “Michigan Man.” Neither was Bo, who coached under Woody and earned a Masters at Ohio State. Bo’s successor, Gary Moeller, played football at Ohio State.

Neither Fielding Yost not Fritz Chrisler were Michigan men. Yost came from West Virginia and Chrisler from Princeton.

The phrase “Michigan Man” came from Bo, as Athletic Director, in 1989 when the basketball coach Bill Frieder announced he had accepted the coaching position at Arizona State prior to the NCAA Tournament. Bo promptly fired Frieder saying he wanted a Michigan Man to coach the team. The 1989 team under interim coach Steve Fisher won six straight games to win the NCAA basketball title. That is a Michigan Man.

If Rich had won, no one would have cared that he was not a Michigan Man.

Yet, Rich wanted to be a Michigan Man. At the December 2 football bust, the annual football banquet, he cried out “I truly want to be a Michigan Man,” and then played Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up. The purpose of the bust is a tribute to the players, not to raise the coach up.

Bo understood Michigan’s traditions when he accepted the coaching position at Michigan. His assistant coaches complained that some of the facilities at Michigan were not as good as those at Miami of Ohio, which they just left. Bo’s response was that this is Michigan and this is the hook Fritz Chrisler hang his coat on.

We anxiously waited for the unveiling of the new Wolverine football team in 2007.

The first year started out with a disappointing, but exciting loss, to Utah. Michigan trailed early, rallied, but lost. Utah was the only team to finish the year undefeated. The offense showed potential, and the sensational freshman Sam Mcguffie was as sensational as expected. Rich though was hung up on Nick Sheridan as the starting quarterback. Sheridan may have been a great practice QB in the spread, but he failed under game conditions.

The first signs of Rodriguez’s stubbornness had appeared.

The lack of an offensive line (Bowen transferred to Ohio State) resulted in Mcguffie and others receiving concussions during the season. The offensive scheme over three years resulted in a high injury rate on the skills players.

The season seemed to turn around when Michigan, down 17 points, pulled out an incredible come-back victory against Wisconsin. The season deflated when Michigan lost to Toledo 13-10, the first time Michigan ever lost to a MAC team. Michigan led at halftime, but went scoreless in the second half while Toledo scored two field goals. Michigan’s kicker misses a field goal which would have sent the game into OT. Toledo was so bad that the coach was fired at season’s end.

The Toledo game showed several problems, which plagued Rodriguez’s three years: 1) failure to make adjustments at halftime, 2) the collapse of the offense in the second half, and 3) the consistent failure of special teams.

Offensive coordinators soon recognized that Michigan had a mediocre pass defense.

The team went 3-9 for the season.

The next year, with Tate Forcier, as QB, the team went 4-0 with a dramatic victory against Notre Dame. The team then lost to Michigan State, and Michigan only won one game over the remainder of the season. Every opposing QB played like an All-American against Michigan.

This year, the team under the explosive Denard Robinson, started 5-0 with another dramatic victory over Notre Dame. Then came a large loss to Michigan State, and the team collapsed, winning only two more games, getting blown out, once again, by Ohio state. The defense deteriorated over the year, and Denard underperformed by injuries and teams watching film.

Rodriguez never learnt that one of Michigan’s traditions is defense. He also stubbornly clinged to an ineffective 3-4 line. He thought small, quick linemen could make his system work. As Wisconsin showed, with 28 running plays in the second half, large, quick linemen can beat small quick linemen.

Defenders often had trouble playing their positions and tackling. Thus, another failure was coaching the fundamentals.

He concentrated his recruiting effort on skills players from Florida, losing the Michigan recruiting battles to Michigan State.

The final problem was thus his inability to change and adapt. He obviously believed that given time and his 6 year contract he could make his system succeed at Michigan, as it had at West Virginia.

He ran out of wins, and thus time.

Michigan is a university which has proven that excellence in football is not incompatible with academic excellence. Notre Dame and USC are two other examples. Both have also fired coaches who failed. Michigan is a university of traditions. Excellence in football is part of the tradition and heritage of Michigan.

Several of us figured pre-season that a 7-5 record and a New Year’s bowl game would save his job. The consistent failure of the special teams, and a pathetic defense which lead to blow-out after blow-out including Michigan’s worse loss ever in a bowl game, sealed his fate. And he knew it.

We do not know yet who the next coach will be. We do not though that the Michigan fan base need a few years of patience. The program, especially on defense and special teams, has to be rebuilt.