WE BEGIN THE YEAR 2009

Most of us are probably quite happy to see 2008 end; but remain apprehensive about how events will unfold in 2009. I continue to read statements from school administrators who enthusiastically proclaim that all high school seniors will not only graduate; but be academically ready for college. Unfortunately, this one tract fits all approach will fail. It may come as a big surprise to the “suits” in the administrative offices; but some students are not interested in college, will not be college bound and have other educational or career paths to follow. Are these students left behind or are they just taking a different path?

Thankfully the 2008 presidential campaign is over and the days of “Dubyah” are drawing to a close. Has there ever been a president who has done more damage to this country both at home and abroad than GWB? One can only hope that President elect Obama will have the cooperation of congress as he tries to put things right. I would hope that for both Democrats and Republicans the word bipartisan actually becomes a focus point and not just a media buzz word.

Of the four senate seats up for grabs it will be interesting to see if Al Franken wins in Minnesota, whether Caroline or Bill gets Hillary’s New York seat, whether the sleaze bag Governor of Illinois gets his way and who will take Joe Biden’s seat. I suggest watching Saturday Night Live which is not as entertaining as Anderson Cooper; but much more objective.

Baggage from the past that I would like to lose and possibly never hear about again, in no specific order: mid-east crisis, Hammas, The Bail Out Plan, Executive Compensation, bank foreclosures, the Oakland Raiders, the Surge, winning the Iraq war, anything about professional basketball, TV drug & medication commercials, mighty putty & Billy Mays, AIG, and San Francisco’s mighty mouth mayor, Gavin Newsom.

I hope this message finds anyone who is reading it happy, healthy and well. For a truly entertaining view of the events of 2008 visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWiXy55OHyY

and let Uncle Jay set things straight.

A Modern Parable

This parable was sent to me by a close friend. I am sure that someone probably sent it to him via an e-mail. It is both relevant and timely enough to post here.



A Modern Parable

A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford
Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both
teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance
before the race.
On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.
The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to
investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team
made up of senior management was formed to investigate and
recommend appropriate action.
Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person
steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2
people rowing.
Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a
consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a
second opinion.
They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the
boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to
prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management
structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2
area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent
steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the
2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was
called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings,
dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of
getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation
days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to
'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were
channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted
development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all
capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was
distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was
unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid
off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and
the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India.

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last
thirty years moving its factories out of the US, claiming they
can't make money paying American wages.
TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen
plants inside the US. The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in
losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting
bonuses... and now they want a bail out!

IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY.

Buddy Can Ya Spare a Couple Billion?

Remember when Bush wanted to invade Iraq and Congress approved the invasion because Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction ? More recently Congress in another act of irresponsibility and gullibility approved "The Plan" giving former Wall Street Executive Paulson complete control over $750 billion dollars of bail out money. The Congressional procedure of "Ready - Fire - Aim" seems to always miss the mark. There were no WMD and the plan to spend billions to buy up toxic loans and allow the banks to once again offer credit did not happen.

The Bail Out Billions have kept the cesspool giant AIG afloat and will allow for continued upper level executive bonuses, rewards and compensation for jobs poorly done. Is this a form of merit Pay? U.S. banks who have been recipients of the billions have been allowed to do pretty much whatever they want with the money. It seems offering mortgages and freeing up credit are not on the short list; but using the billions to acquire banks is quite popular.

Now we have the auto industry. Unfortunately this is an industry run by CEO's who have seen the movie Wall Street far too many times. I imagine when Gordon Gekko announces "Greed is Good" these CEO's jump from their seats and high five each other. They are so out of touch, so arrogant and feel so entitled that they arrive in Washington, D.C. with hat in hand, not asking; but expecting billions of dollars in Bail Out funds having arrived in the luxurious comfort of their private corporate jets. If it costs $20k to fly their corporate asses from Detroit to D.C. one can only wonder how much has been spent on previous flights ... and to where?

The other day the Kelly Blue Book announced the top ten list of Green Cars for 2008 --- all ten were imports, not one U.S made car made the list. As I have written before ,in my opinion the U.S. auto industry has not had a creative ideal since the introduction of the Mustang in the mid 1960's. It would not surprise me to learn that there has been collusion between Big Oil and the Big Three of the auto industry.

The plan would be more palatable to many middle class Americans if there had been accountability built into the plan. Banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and industries that receive Bail Out funds should immediately be taken over by an economic control board to see that the top incompetent executives are immediately fired and the funds are used wisely .... not squandered on private corporate jets, retreats, end of year bonuses,and obscene salaries.

Now that a barrel of oil has dropped $100 in the past month why hasn't the oil industry collapsed? Will they be next to ask for Bail Out Funds? Better yet, maybe the oil companies who have racked up obscene profits quarter after quarter should be the source of auto industry Bail Out funds. They can afford it !!

And the Beat Goes On ......

Well, the dust has settled and both the cheering and the crying have somewhat stopped ; but the economic debacle and the financial chicanery continue. Citi Bank has apparently realized that it may be better (for the bank?) to put a moratorium on foreclosures while other banks continue with foreclosures. The giant septic tank of an insurance company, AIG, continues to suck up billions of dollars of tax payer bailout money and complain that the terms are too stiff and the interest rate is too excessive. As Bruce Willis said in the movie Die Hard .. "Welcome to the party, Pal !!" I am sure at AIG's next executive gathering at some exclusive resort there will be much complaining over the absence of top shelf liquor and the loss of Cuban cigars.

While billions of dollars are being doled out to the corporate needy the line of greedy open hands continues to grow. Now we have the U.S. auto makers, who haven't made a sound decision since the introduction of the Mustang in the early 60's, crying that their sky is falling. We have the daily batch of economic experts telling us that the auto industry must be saved as it is now described as a matter of national security. When will saving or just helping middle class homeowners become a matter of national security?

On the political front the intelligentsia of the news media are totally preoccupied with the really pressing questions of the day: where the Obama children will attend school?, where is Sarah Palin's $150,000 RNC purchased wardrobe?, and will the Obama's socialize more than the Bush's. Missing from this media saturation coverage is any report on the whereabouts or doings of the Maverick. It is like John McCain has disappeared. However; it appears that his aides and staffers have been quite busy. They are in what appears to be a junior high school drama event to soil the reputation and future political career of their choice for VP --- Sarah Palin, the next Senator from Alaska?

As San Francisco's greasy haired, big mouth mayor ("Like it or not folks") inadvertently did his part to pass Prop 8 , the McCain people did their part to defeat the Maverick --- they put forth the Queen of Alaska and her first Dude of a husband for the American public to consider. Rally after rally we were treated to the on stage site of the Maverick, his Stepford Wife, the Alaska Queen and her First Dude and to round out the court there was the smiling face of the court jester -- Sen. Joe Lieberman. Poor Joe ... where ya gonna run to now? You are not a Democrat, and you may be a Republican; but right now you are a dependent independent.

Maybe the national bird should have been a turkey.

Random Thoughts

Sarah Palin

Palin hasn't stolen the spotlight from John McCain as some suggest. She is shielding McCain from the spotlight. She is doing exactly what the Republicans wanted. We are not focused on problems & issues; but Palin's eyeglasses, hairstyle and inexperience. What a strategy ... or was that a tactic?

With Wall Street CEO's and other banking and insurance executives being paid millions for their "hard work", the $150K spent to spruce up Palin is chump change. Do I really care if the RNC spent $150K on Palin? NO, I don't care. Is the fact that the alleged Walmart Mom got a new wardrobe from Neiman Marcus hypocritical -- of course; but so much of what the McCain/Palin road show says and does is hypocrital.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. In less than 2 weeks this exceedingly long, tedious, monotonous, yet at times, humorous mini series will soon be over. And then we can focus our attention on some real issues rather than the cost of Palin's wardrobe.

The Economy

To finance our efforts in WW II the US government sold War Bonds or maybe they were called Liberty Bonds. It was the patriotic thing to do (buy bonds) for everyday citizens to support the war effort. Maybe it is time for another round of bond sales. As opposed to the current "solution" at least with bonds the common citizen got something back. With depositors withdrawing money in the billions from banks and S&L's there is money out there. Would this work?

Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper is an entertainer not a reporter. He would be better suited with FOX news. He likes to make news or work on stories, certainly not report the news. It was entertaining to see him standing in the middle of a flooded street in Texas with water up to his waist holding a wired mic. Isn't he Geraldo Rivera in disguise ?

John McCain

As a senior member of the Senate John McCain was respected. His choice (or was it his advisors choice) of Palin for VP shows serious flaws in decision making. Of course the Republicans have a history of strange VP candidates: Nixon, Agnew, Quayle and of course Cheney. Scarier still is that all four of these candidates became VP and one actually became President. Could it happen again?

CNN

For the Presidential Debates viewers were able to watch the reactions of Democrats, Republicans and Independents as McCain and Obama spoke. For the VP debate the reaction graph was tied to gender. Would it have been better to keep the reaction groups similar so comparisons could be made between the presidential debate and the VP debate? Was CNN reporting news or attempting to make news?

The Big Spenders

We keep hearing that the leaders of the US Senate had to add (earmarks)$150 billion to the $700 billion dollar bail out/rescue (merit pay?) plan in order to achieve passage. It would be most interesting to have the names of individual Senators listed and publicized as the individuals responsible for this additional $150 billion. Basically, the list would show what each Senator's "YES" vote costs. Since 74 Senators voted "YES", then it is obvious that some of these "YES" votes were very, very, very expensive. But hey, its not their money.

Colin Powell

Colin Powell is an honorable man. During his tenure as Secretary of State he basically took orders from Bush (The Commander-in-Chief) who was greatly influenced by the super hawk, Rumsfeld, then Secretary of Defense. Powell believed the twisted, doctored and distorted information from Bush and Rumsfeld and provided by both NSA and The CIA that "proved" Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He took the Bush/Rumsfeld lie to the UN to convince the world of the presence of WMD.

Later, when Powell finally realized that Bush had used him to sell the WMD story to the world he resigned. Now, watching the McCain-Obama battle for the Presidency and realizing that McCain believes we belong in Iraq Powell chose to endorse Obama. Call it pay back or getting even for being used by the Bush administration, none-the-less Powell's eloquent denunciation of McCain and support for Obama was a stunning and well deserved blow to the Republicans.

"What's Going On ... What's Happening Brother"

Marvin Gaye released this song in 1971 and it is worth listening to. Just Google the song title and you can watch and listen to Marvin sing. It was calming to hear the nine minute version tonight after watching the last Obama/McCain Debate. Considering recent events the song title is very appropriate. However; I would change the wording to "What the Hell is Going On / Just What the Hell is Happening".

The daily events play out like a poorly written mini series. We have President Bush doing his imitation of a ground hog as he steps outside the safety of The White House to tell us the sky is not falling and then quickly run back inside lest he get hit on the head. Yesterday, the stock market was up over 700 points and today it was down over 700. Anderson Cooper continues to identify the Culprits responsible for the Collapse and we have been treated each night to these culprits explaining their innocence or justifying their mega million salaries and bonuses. Watching these crooks is enough to gag a maggot.

In his inaugural Address in 1961 John Kennedy stated, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." How things have changed. Wall Street Executives and Bank Officials have followed instead the Gordon Gekko business model in that "Greed is Good". Their problem is now our problem and must be fixed with our money not their money. We have a rogues gallery of characters offering and explaining the latest version of the bail out/recovery plan. The problem is that for most middle class Americans we are still not sure exactly who or what is being bailed out. Home buyers can not buy, home sellers can not sell, 401K's are tanking, and cost for the basics is climbing.

The candidates' answer to this mess is to buy our vote. Both Obama and McCain are offering how they would implement the federal bail out plan and what additional perks Americans would receive if one or the other is elected. We are being tempted with Medical Premium help, college tuition assistance, reduced capital gains tax, reduced 401 early withdraw penalty, foreclosure moratorium, and much more. We don't have to ask what our country will do for us -- they are telling us. All we have to do is vote.

Virgil in the Aeneid wrote "Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bear gifts." Of course many of us know the story. The Trojans accepted the gift not knowing that Greek soldiers where hidden inside the huge horse. Under cover of night the Greek soldiers exited the horse and opened the gates of Troy to the Greek Army. Troy was defeated.

We must be wary of the candidates, all politicians, anyone connected with the U.S.Treasury and the Federal Reserve and of course anyone speaking for the current administration. Even bearing gifts these characters are not to be trusted. The gifts being offered come with a price tag. We have been spending money lavishly, foolishly,and carelessly both domestically and on misguided foreign ventures for too long. The result is that we are billions, if not trillions, in debt. Maybe it is time to ask what all of us we can do for our country. And the first group that should respond to this question are those who have profited the most. Wall Street and Bank Executives are you listening?

What's going on ... What has happened here? Who can we trust?

The "PLAN" ........

In September was the Plan.

- And then came the Assumptions.

- And the Assumptions were without form.

- And the Plan was without substance.

- And darkness was upon the face of the citizens.

- And they spoke among themselves, saying, "It is a crock of sh-t, and it stinkith"

- And the citizens went unto their Congressmen and said, "It is a pail of dung, and we cannot abide the smell."

- And the Congressmen went unto their Leaders, saying "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."

- And the Leaders went unto their Senate, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer and none may abide its strength."

- And the Senate spoke among themselves, saying to one another, "It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."

- And the Senate went to the Candidates, saying unto them, "It promotes growth, and it is very powerful."

- And the Candidates went to the President, saying unto him, "This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the company with powerful effects"

- And the President looked upon the Plan and saw that it was good.

- And the Plan became Policy.

- And that, my friends, is how sh-t happens.