President geo. bush . has sacrificed his dearly held life long principles of self reliance and personal responsibility . To freeze interests on ARM mortgages to stop the avalanche of foreclosures happening right now, and the disaster that is coming like a train wreck in slow motion.
How did this mess happen in the first place? Well it is simple . The bankers gave mortgages on properties people could not afford . Before we blame the poor for this . Allow me to point out there are millions of white middle class Americans who bought " Starter Castles" with ARM mortgages that were nothing but hallucinated wealth . Well those ARMs are resetting to higher interest rates . The value of the properties did not go up as expected so they can not refinance to a lower payment . Ain't that a bitch.
The bankers in all their wisdom cooked up a new scheme . They took the mortgages and sold the future profit up front , so instead of waiting 30 years for the mortgage to payoff and take the profit monthly . The investors could have it all now. The future profit was sold in units to lots of investors , pension plans , mutual funds , etc. with Bushs Banker Buddies enjoying jumbo size commissions and bonuses. excuse me , This is more hallucinated wealth.
Confused , thats ok . It was set-up that way , like any scam . The republicans are always crying that that big government regulation hurts business.
My friends this is what happens when we let the republicans and their faceless corporate masters run wild . Let us be real . Bush froze interest rates so his banker buddies , So his corporate masters who have bought and paid for his services . Would not go belly up , So the nation would not slide into a depression .
What will the next president do? Will the next president have the guts to stand up to the shuck and jive scammers who talked 10s of millions of people into buying a piece of the American dream they could not afford , But wanted so badly they lied to themselves and became the suckers in the scam. Which i think for most of these people is what hurts the most .
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
the return of civility or policticaly correct speech ?
I for one am glad to see a return to civility in the work place . Over the past 5 years there seems to be a new trend in the work place that has extended into our private lives . this is a trend where no one says anything negative about anything . It is all positive and morale building or one says nothing and changes the subject to the weather .
let us turn the clock back to 1970 . The popular feeling was " tell it like it is , be real " this was originally meant be real about civil rights and women's liberation , phony materialism and the military industrial complex . I know pretty weighty issues . I am not surprised the baby boomer's left these behind . Unfortunately these issues did not go away .
These issues mutated into some serious problems . we now have a uncontrollable pornography problem all over the TV and Internet . We have taken phony materialism to the point where are country is broke and in hock to the Chinese and Arabs , and the military has tuned into the presidents private army regardless of what the American people want . But hey all that is depressing . Lets talk about that LCD TV were getting for Christmas .
I find it ironic that in 1974 . playboy and penthouse were sold from displays next to the cash register . Fast forward to 2007 . Brown paper wrapper in the mail . Public school teacher gets caught reading playboy magazine . Whoa now he is a predator . We have a ocean of the sickest porn on the Internet that we have been unable to stop , so we condemn and vilify playboy and penthouse . The cleanest of all adult material .
Telling it like it is and being real while it might be depressing and burying our heads in the nice warm sand easier . While this mindless smiling and being infinitely agreeable makes social intercourse more pleasant . We should move to the next phase and start discussing real issues and solutions . Then move to a even higher level . Do something .
There are endless seminars , workshops and think tanks . All that happens is talk more talk and even more talk , but no action . We all need to get involved in the political process . By that I mean vote . Just vote . Stop saying " I am just not into politics , it is not my thing " . Vote for your ideals , vote for what you believe in . This is our country and our culture . Let us use all that positive energy and winning attitude to make a real difference . Let us be passionate about our nation and where we are going . Let us stop looking in the mirror and look out the window , There is a big world out there .
let us turn the clock back to 1970 . The popular feeling was " tell it like it is , be real " this was originally meant be real about civil rights and women's liberation , phony materialism and the military industrial complex . I know pretty weighty issues . I am not surprised the baby boomer's left these behind . Unfortunately these issues did not go away .
These issues mutated into some serious problems . we now have a uncontrollable pornography problem all over the TV and Internet . We have taken phony materialism to the point where are country is broke and in hock to the Chinese and Arabs , and the military has tuned into the presidents private army regardless of what the American people want . But hey all that is depressing . Lets talk about that LCD TV were getting for Christmas .
I find it ironic that in 1974 . playboy and penthouse were sold from displays next to the cash register . Fast forward to 2007 . Brown paper wrapper in the mail . Public school teacher gets caught reading playboy magazine . Whoa now he is a predator . We have a ocean of the sickest porn on the Internet that we have been unable to stop , so we condemn and vilify playboy and penthouse . The cleanest of all adult material .
Telling it like it is and being real while it might be depressing and burying our heads in the nice warm sand easier . While this mindless smiling and being infinitely agreeable makes social intercourse more pleasant . We should move to the next phase and start discussing real issues and solutions . Then move to a even higher level . Do something .
There are endless seminars , workshops and think tanks . All that happens is talk more talk and even more talk , but no action . We all need to get involved in the political process . By that I mean vote . Just vote . Stop saying " I am just not into politics , it is not my thing " . Vote for your ideals , vote for what you believe in . This is our country and our culture . Let us use all that positive energy and winning attitude to make a real difference . Let us be passionate about our nation and where we are going . Let us stop looking in the mirror and look out the window , There is a big world out there .
Sunday, November 18, 2007
thats got to hurt
It is going to be tough going forward to deal with the fact that America will not be the most powerful nation in the world . It is our own fault of course . one of the main reasons the roman empire fell was because it hired mercenary armies to fight its wars . the mercenary armies eventually attacked Rome .
We have done the same thing with our industries . We have farmed out our R&D and manufacturing to the nations that hate us the most China ,Japan and Korea .Now we are dependent on these countries for everything except our food . Please do not believe that Japan has forgotten what we did to them in WWII or that they and China will place Americas prosperity ahead of their own .
we have allowed capitalism like fire to consume everything there is to burn . when oil is priced in Euros . We as a country will be like a guy who has gone bust and has borrowed every nickel he could, mortgaged anything he could. There is nothing of value left to sell . Because no one wants used goods . just the latest and greatest .We have to face the fact that the party is over . so where do we go from here .
Well , I think that it will be good for us as country . we will get back to basics . no matter how much the advertisers will try and hypnotizes us into buying all those Chinese goods . the reality of buying gas for the car to get to work , putting food on the table and heating/cooling our homes will be sucking up our extra money .
perhaps we will forsake phony materialism and start to look for something deeper , more meaningful and lasting . I hear so many people say they could not possibly live without [fill in the blank] . people are going to be surprised what the can live without . perhaps we will not have to engage in neurotic dramas . We will have real crisis to face .
I believe that all this will make us as a culture, nation and individuals . much wiser and stronger . In 50 years we will probably be the most powerful country in the world again .
We have done the same thing with our industries . We have farmed out our R&D and manufacturing to the nations that hate us the most China ,Japan and Korea .Now we are dependent on these countries for everything except our food . Please do not believe that Japan has forgotten what we did to them in WWII or that they and China will place Americas prosperity ahead of their own .
we have allowed capitalism like fire to consume everything there is to burn . when oil is priced in Euros . We as a country will be like a guy who has gone bust and has borrowed every nickel he could, mortgaged anything he could. There is nothing of value left to sell . Because no one wants used goods . just the latest and greatest .We have to face the fact that the party is over . so where do we go from here .
Well , I think that it will be good for us as country . we will get back to basics . no matter how much the advertisers will try and hypnotizes us into buying all those Chinese goods . the reality of buying gas for the car to get to work , putting food on the table and heating/cooling our homes will be sucking up our extra money .
perhaps we will forsake phony materialism and start to look for something deeper , more meaningful and lasting . I hear so many people say they could not possibly live without [fill in the blank] . people are going to be surprised what the can live without . perhaps we will not have to engage in neurotic dramas . We will have real crisis to face .
I believe that all this will make us as a culture, nation and individuals . much wiser and stronger . In 50 years we will probably be the most powerful country in the world again .
Monday, November 5, 2007
gas pump gastapo
Last month I was asking people this question " If oil is 90.00 a barrel . why isn't the price of gas going up ? " most people just shrugged . well reality is creeping in . the price is starting to go up . speaking of reality and i know it is a delicate subject in the land of plenty .
Geo. Bush announced at a press conference. that the price of gas is to high and that he was going to work to bring down the price of gas for the American people . this is where reality comes in . the American people may not understand the oil situation , but the people who produce oil do and they know that we have reached peak oil production . going forward, demand is going to be higher than supply. it is inevitable that the price of oil and gasoline are going to go up .
no one has ever been able to break the law of supply and demand for long . Not even Geo. Bush . Reality always comes in to balance it out . Speaking of balance . The oil companies despite their carefully groomed public image . Have not been investing in new drilling equipment , refineries or people to do the work . It is such a drag on the balance sheets .
Putting all this together . How than do the oil executives find new profits if there is not as much black gold coming out of the ground ? The answer is simple . Short the supply . Make sure it is readily available but keep inching up the price . See being an oil executive is easy .
The American public shares some of the blame though . We all knew this was coming . Did we demand our government do something besides talk about the dependency on foreign oil problem ? Did we demand any steps towards real conservation of resources ? Do any of the politicians running for president have the guts to talk about the harsh realities that are coming in the next 5 years and what we are going to have to do and what we will have to "this is the delicate part" Sacrifice . The answer is a very loud NO .
It is going to be a very interesting future . the politicians like to talk about the innovative spirit of the American people . Well we are going to need all of that and a lot more . Most of all we are going to need elected repersentaives who will be able to make the tough decisions and make them work . We are going to have to realize we are all in this one together . Weather we like it or not .
Geo. Bush announced at a press conference. that the price of gas is to high and that he was going to work to bring down the price of gas for the American people . this is where reality comes in . the American people may not understand the oil situation , but the people who produce oil do and they know that we have reached peak oil production . going forward, demand is going to be higher than supply. it is inevitable that the price of oil and gasoline are going to go up .
no one has ever been able to break the law of supply and demand for long . Not even Geo. Bush . Reality always comes in to balance it out . Speaking of balance . The oil companies despite their carefully groomed public image . Have not been investing in new drilling equipment , refineries or people to do the work . It is such a drag on the balance sheets .
Putting all this together . How than do the oil executives find new profits if there is not as much black gold coming out of the ground ? The answer is simple . Short the supply . Make sure it is readily available but keep inching up the price . See being an oil executive is easy .
The American public shares some of the blame though . We all knew this was coming . Did we demand our government do something besides talk about the dependency on foreign oil problem ? Did we demand any steps towards real conservation of resources ? Do any of the politicians running for president have the guts to talk about the harsh realities that are coming in the next 5 years and what we are going to have to do and what we will have to "this is the delicate part" Sacrifice . The answer is a very loud NO .
It is going to be a very interesting future . the politicians like to talk about the innovative spirit of the American people . Well we are going to need all of that and a lot more . Most of all we are going to need elected repersentaives who will be able to make the tough decisions and make them work . We are going to have to realize we are all in this one together . Weather we like it or not .
Monday, October 29, 2007
funny thing about history
" He who can not learn from history is doomed to repeat it " well we have all heard that one many times . it has become rather cliche . i would like to present a alternate view .
history does not repeat it self . Human Nature repeats itself over and over . history provides a record of what was learned or unfortunatly not learned . let us try greek phlisophy is it really old hat . the country of greece is still here . the idea of democracy is practised in some form in the industrial nations and it is the ideal people in the poor countries around the world struggle for .
speaking of industry the Romans gave us civil engineering which is alive and well today all over the world . the Romans also gave us the new testement of the Bible . if they had not crucified jesus . christianty would have never been born .
history is a living testimony to the progress the human race has made and continues to make . against its own human nature . there is always a mad man who wants to rule the world just as much as there is always a man who wants to save the world . the same charchters reappear through out history with every generation . history provides the stage and the props .
suppose mankind was to make a radical change in phliosiphy . instead of survival of the fittest . we worked toward survival for all of us . using our military to stop wars instead of starting them . we could change the course of history if we could change the course of human nature .
history does not repeat it self . Human Nature repeats itself over and over . history provides a record of what was learned or unfortunatly not learned . let us try greek phlisophy is it really old hat . the country of greece is still here . the idea of democracy is practised in some form in the industrial nations and it is the ideal people in the poor countries around the world struggle for .
speaking of industry the Romans gave us civil engineering which is alive and well today all over the world . the Romans also gave us the new testement of the Bible . if they had not crucified jesus . christianty would have never been born .
history is a living testimony to the progress the human race has made and continues to make . against its own human nature . there is always a mad man who wants to rule the world just as much as there is always a man who wants to save the world . the same charchters reappear through out history with every generation . history provides the stage and the props .
suppose mankind was to make a radical change in phliosiphy . instead of survival of the fittest . we worked toward survival for all of us . using our military to stop wars instead of starting them . we could change the course of history if we could change the course of human nature .
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
school daze
in all public schools they have " hall sweeps" . this is where after class starts the sentries and adminstrators walk the halls and any student in the hall is brought to the cafeteria . where they are given detension or suspension . this usually results in the student getting angry . and saying " go ahead suspend me i dont care " definatly a bad seed .
is that really true . what i see are students who are teenagers . who were pushed through the grades weather they passed or not . willie did not understand fractions , so they pushed him into algebra . willie did not understand earth science so they pushed him into chemestry . what is happening here is we have high school students who were not prepared for high school . and we blame them for failing .we blame the home life as being dysfunctional , but what about the kids who are naturally smart ? they have homes that are just as dysfunctional . but because they do well in school they are able to rise above that and become functional . blaming the victim is always fun and easy , but it never helps .
another problem is video games and tv . i am not talking about the rotting of the moral fiber . what i am saying is . we have a generation that was brought up on video games where you have to think fast and act fast . TV cartoons that have simple plots that move very fast . a generation who have created a new dialect with text messaging
you can not get this generation to sit and listen to a teacher lecture for 30 minuites . they do not have the time . even the book is to slow . education to this generation has to be delivered electronicaly . that is what they understand . we need class rooms with more computers and more learning software . i think we would be surprised how fast the students would learn .
the baby boomers created a whole new world . a world where every 10 years is a life time . but we expect out kids to learn the way they have for hundereds of years . a chalk board and a teacher . it is like asking a baby boomer to give up the power steering, power brakes , and A/C in his or her car. and go back to the old equipment .
if we are serious about education in this country . which i do not believe we are . it going to take a lot more money and teachers to get the job done , but then we would have the india scenerio . india has the problem of to many highly educated people not enough jobs for them all . if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all ?
if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all .
is that really true . what i see are students who are teenagers . who were pushed through the grades weather they passed or not . willie did not understand fractions , so they pushed him into algebra . willie did not understand earth science so they pushed him into chemestry . what is happening here is we have high school students who were not prepared for high school . and we blame them for failing .we blame the home life as being dysfunctional , but what about the kids who are naturally smart ? they have homes that are just as dysfunctional . but because they do well in school they are able to rise above that and become functional . blaming the victim is always fun and easy , but it never helps .
another problem is video games and tv . i am not talking about the rotting of the moral fiber . what i am saying is . we have a generation that was brought up on video games where you have to think fast and act fast . TV cartoons that have simple plots that move very fast . a generation who have created a new dialect with text messaging
you can not get this generation to sit and listen to a teacher lecture for 30 minuites . they do not have the time . even the book is to slow . education to this generation has to be delivered electronicaly . that is what they understand . we need class rooms with more computers and more learning software . i think we would be surprised how fast the students would learn .
the baby boomers created a whole new world . a world where every 10 years is a life time . but we expect out kids to learn the way they have for hundereds of years . a chalk board and a teacher . it is like asking a baby boomer to give up the power steering, power brakes , and A/C in his or her car. and go back to the old equipment .
if we are serious about education in this country . which i do not believe we are . it going to take a lot more money and teachers to get the job done , but then we would have the india scenerio . india has the problem of to many highly educated people not enough jobs for them all . if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all ?
if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all .
Friday, October 19, 2007
' AS SEEN ON TV '
everybody likes watching TV , me too. our entertainment choices have never been broader or more appealing . no matter what your interests are there is a segment for you . i would like to look a little deeper into this subject .
which is exactly what the entertainment industry does not want . who can blame them . when we watch TV we all " suspend disbelief " that's how movies work . have we suspended to much disbelief ?
network situation comedies started going down hill with " all in the family " Archie Bunker was mean and nasty . but there was no laugh track . it was supposed to be a honest look at American life . fast forward to " everybody loves Raymond " it is a show where everyone is nasty with a laugh track . is it shaping American life in a negative way ?
the television programmers would love it if everyone in America spent as much time as possible in front of the TV watching as many commercials as possible . over and over . they have come up with nifty set top box's that keep track of what we watch and auto record shows it thinks we will like . these box's can tell what we are watching when we watched it and if we skipped the commercials . these nifty set top box's are starting to direct advertising to out TVs suitable for our age , race. and economic status .
sales figures are analyzed like forensic evidence to make sure we see the advertising designed to pull all the right emotional triggers with us . so we will leave our TV s long enough to go shopping .
how much of what we see and hear on TV shapes our thinking and actions ? dining out used to be a special occasion now we eat out all the time . we used to save for what we wanted to buy . now we buy it and pay it off . is this good or bad or just the way it is ? are we rude when we should be polite because thats the way they are on TV
how about our attitudes towards each other . Christian stations and there shows are doing a brisk business . the reality shows have become big money winners and real police shows [cold case , forensic files] are staples on discovery and the NGC . are people tired of the fantasy Hollywood has created and want something real ?
I believe TV is the greatest invention of the past 200 years . maybe we are moving out of the childhood of TV . perhaps in the next 50 years the marriage of the Internet and television will be so complete we will start using TV in an adult way . for learning and development of our shared humanity . perhaps it truly help all of us to be healthy , wealthy and wise .
which is exactly what the entertainment industry does not want . who can blame them . when we watch TV we all " suspend disbelief " that's how movies work . have we suspended to much disbelief ?
network situation comedies started going down hill with " all in the family " Archie Bunker was mean and nasty . but there was no laugh track . it was supposed to be a honest look at American life . fast forward to " everybody loves Raymond " it is a show where everyone is nasty with a laugh track . is it shaping American life in a negative way ?
the television programmers would love it if everyone in America spent as much time as possible in front of the TV watching as many commercials as possible . over and over . they have come up with nifty set top box's that keep track of what we watch and auto record shows it thinks we will like . these box's can tell what we are watching when we watched it and if we skipped the commercials . these nifty set top box's are starting to direct advertising to out TVs suitable for our age , race. and economic status .
sales figures are analyzed like forensic evidence to make sure we see the advertising designed to pull all the right emotional triggers with us . so we will leave our TV s long enough to go shopping .
how much of what we see and hear on TV shapes our thinking and actions ? dining out used to be a special occasion now we eat out all the time . we used to save for what we wanted to buy . now we buy it and pay it off . is this good or bad or just the way it is ? are we rude when we should be polite because thats the way they are on TV
how about our attitudes towards each other . Christian stations and there shows are doing a brisk business . the reality shows have become big money winners and real police shows [cold case , forensic files] are staples on discovery and the NGC . are people tired of the fantasy Hollywood has created and want something real ?
I believe TV is the greatest invention of the past 200 years . maybe we are moving out of the childhood of TV . perhaps in the next 50 years the marriage of the Internet and television will be so complete we will start using TV in an adult way . for learning and development of our shared humanity . perhaps it truly help all of us to be healthy , wealthy and wise .
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