Figures don't lie, but ...

... liars sure can figure; and so it goes.  As a statistician I can understand the utility of statistics, but people who have no business using statistics are making pronouncements and decisions based upon statistics. You are just a number, I am just a number, we are all just numbers. Once we become numbers, we are no longer human. We are just an abstract entity. Even with a discrete number we lose our identity to another set of abstract entities, percentages, means, medians, standard deviations. We may be part of a regression (or correlation) and we will never be able to find ourselves in there nor will anyone else. So what happens when a person is dehumanized? Well, it is easy to disregard them, to not care about them, it is easier to cause them harm.

So who are these miscreants who are dehumanizing us with their numbers; they are the statisticians, the pollsters, the economists, the CEOs, the politicians, etc. Do they even stop to think about who they effect, or do they just think about how the numbers will change? Do they even care? Not as long as the numbers support their position.

In addition, statistics are often fudged in order to gild the lilly. Take for example inflation. Inflation determined the amount of COLA that was applied to Social Security, but in the opinion of some these old geezers were getting too much money, so they changed the index. In the mean time, CEOs are hauling in millions. Take the unemployment figures that come out each month, They are based on the number of people collecting unemployment compensation, but when your benefits run out, you are no longer included in the unemployment figure. Ha, you are not only not human, but now you are not even a number! Need I say more?

Know It All Politicians

It never ceases to amaze me how politicians can be so certain of their conclusions. In the current controversy about whether or not to bail out the auto industry, both sides are so sure of their positions that it is scary. The Neocon free trader, let the market rule bunch say that the only thing to do is to let the big three go bankrupt, let the market rule. The other side says no, that if we let the big three co bankrupt, that will pitch us into a depression, put millions of people out of work, and we can't afford to let this happen. There are more issues than those mentioned above. There is the issue of our national security, of our ability to support ourselves and produce what we need. The auto industry is one of our last that produces any industrial products. Try to buy an American made TV or radio. Hell, we can't even clothe ourselves!

The only thing that I have not heard these know it all politicians and pundits say is "What if I am wrong, what are the consequences of my being wrong"? Don't hold your breath waiting for these arrogant SOBs to even suggest that they could be wrong. Someone needs to do an analysis of the possible alternatives and outcomes.

RepubliCONS Didn't Learn Their Lesson

The Republicans are the same old mean spirited hacks, they did not learn anything from the election. John Boehner, R. Ohio is already taking swipes at Obama because Obama picked Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. I can see that nothing is going to change. The Slobbering Neanderthal Right Wing Wackos are going to go after Obama just like they went after Clinton. The politics of destruction is alive and well in Washington. We can see that it is all about their own hold on power that motivates the Republicans, it is not about the country. And they questioned Obama's patriotism?


While I did not vote for Obama, I think that it is time to give him support and a chance to see what he can do. That is how I treated Bush during his first term. Hell, Obama has not even been sworn in yet. However these Neocons are not about to do that, they rather see Obama and the country fail. Mr. Boehner, why don't you just keep your mouth shut?

Who Will Be At Fault If ....

In a previous post, I voiced my opinion of the hate and fear campaign being waged by the Republican party. They appear to be losing and they are becoming desperate. They are rabble rousing and hopefully we will not suffer from the fruits of their evil labors. Their words arouse the passion and hatred of the extreme right for Obama in particular and liberals in general. They paint them as unpatriotic, un-American and enemies of the state. Some have even gone so far as to apply the cold war label of communists. They have given the bigots an easy way out by supplying these emotional labels to Obama and the Liberals. Division and fear are the only means of salvation for the right. Their plan is to divide and conquer, but there are other consequences, they evoke similar feelings towards themselves from their intended targets. After all hate does engender hate.

So I ask you, Senator Mc Cane and Governor Palin, what if your plan works too well, what if the unspeakable happens? The country can not stand another JFK, RFK  or MLK, so will you and your right wing cronies accept the responsibility for such a tragedy, I doubt it. I pray that it does not happen, but if it does, I will hold you responsible.

What Is Positive About This Political Season?

Even though I have said why I can not support Obama, there are some positive aspects about his campaign. Specifically, the large number of people who have decided to participate in this election. There are some who will just vote and others who will contribute time and/or money. It does not matter to me whether they are Republicans or Democrats, at least they are participating.

However it does not end with November 4th. If your candidate for POTUS, congress or state and local government wins, you have to keep on them and make sure that they stick to the principles which they espoused during the campaign. You must be committed to followup because there are numerous forces which will try to divert the candidates from their promised goals.

Business Schools

What are business schools teaching? While it seems that they are teaching the basics of capitalism, business, marketing, economics, finance, accounting, etc; it seems that they fail to teach and instill in their students some other basic disciplines that are necessary to function in modern society. What do they need to do differently? They could start out with teaching ethics, not just business ethics, but ethical behavior in general. How about courses in civics and citizenship? How about some studies of the humanities to humanize them. Then they could throw in some studies about what they owe to a society that allows them to prosper and why they should not treat business as nothing more than a zero-sum game. Social responsibility has certainly been lacking from the behavior repertoire of our modern business leaders. Sure they owe the shareholders, but what laws of God and man are they allowed to ignore in order to service their share holders. Their behavior certainly tells us what they believe. Bend over society!

GORDON GEKKO IS ALIVE AND WELL

Greed is good or so says Gordon Gekko. Well, we see where that has gotten us. Over the past 8 years the unrestrained, anything goes business environment has lead us and the world down the path to ruin. Even Allen Greenspan seems to grudgingly admit that lack of, or failure of regulation has lead us to this sorry point. He could not foresee this outcome? Well the man must be a totally uneducated boob. He knows nothing about history or human nature and how it applies to business and economics. That along with the naive assertion that government IS the problem totally ignores why government and laws and regulation have proved necessary throughout history. If men were angels there would be no need for government, would there, but wait, wasn't Satan an angel?

History? Well it would seem that most of the neocons  and business people either never studied history, never learned from it or just ignored it for their own short term gain. Thus, we repeat. The problem is that their screw-ups don't effect them, just the rest of us poor schmucks.

This idea that they owe nothing to the country, that they should keep all of their "hard" earned money is crap. Don't they think that they owe something to the country that has given them the freedom the environment and resources that they have used to "earn" their money? I guess not! If not, they should go somewhere else and see how they fare. Their patriotism ends with their wallet.

Many business people seem so enamored with China, I wonder how they would do there. Of course, if they pulled some of the same stuff there that they have done here, their reward would be a bullet behind the ear. Then, their families would be billed for the bullet. Perhaps we should make bank and Wall Street fraud a capital offense.

Instead we bail the SOBs out and they make off with their ill gotten gains, while the rest of us see our savings and pensions disappear. What about all of those who have or will lose their jobs? Who is going to bail out all of those who are retired or soon to retire who have seen their homes and pensions lost or decimated?  Certainly not the Gordon Gekkos, the George Bushes and the John McCains of the world. They have theirs and their aim is to keep it at all cost. Their motto: Let them eat cake!

Greed is good!

The Party of Hate and Fear

The Republican party used to be a respected alternative party. They were the party of fiscal restraint and national security. However the party of Barry Goldwater, let alone the party of Lincoln is gone. Their current issues are the issues of hate and fear. Their issues have moved from traditional conservative values to the issues which appear to be motivated by bigotry and fear.

Now we have the Christian right being pandered to by Republican candidates. We have proposed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. They think that "don't do it" is all there is to sex education. They are against birth control and at the same time they oppose abortion. If we had more of the former, we would need less of the latter. They shout about family values, but don't promote those things that foster families, like education, health care, etc.

Their issues in the current campaign are tax breaks for the rich, continuing a war that was started under false pretenses, drill baby drill, and continued calls for deregulation. The latter, even when deregulation led us into the current fiscal and economic mess. They continue to add to the deficit and the nation debt at a rate that boggles the mind. They tout free trade, even though many of our industries are no more. They export our jobs and try to force down our wages in the name of free enterprise and the market economy. Who in the Hell do they think will buy their crap that they import from China when the only jobs left are flipping burgers? Our once mighty steel industry is almost gone. Commercial ship building is no more. I say what electronics industry! You can't but a TV that is made in the USA, nor can you buy a pair of shoes or a shirt that is made here. They refuse to reinvest in our infrastructure, so roads, bridges, ports, etc. are crumbling. They refuse to regulate even when it is in the interest of our national security. Examples are the refusal to increase fuel economy standards, they say let the market control it. Well look at the price of oil and fuel earlier this year. Their market economy is pricing us right out of prosperity. So, given that performance, what do they have left? Hate and Fear.

Sieg Heil Michelle Bachmann

Our fathers fought WW II to get rid of people like Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R. of Minnesota. However, people like her keep popping up like a bad penny. Her comments on Hardball the other night were over the top. While I can not support Obama, her attempt to make him into an anti-American terrorist and to equate liberals with anti-Americanism, Communists and terrorists is too much. Her Fascist inclinations are reminiscent of Joe McCarthy. I believe that Ms. Bachmann is the real anti-American traitor and the real terrorist. She is attempting to incite her Slobbering Neanderthal Right Wing Wacko followers to violence on the perceived enemy, the dreaded liberals aka commie pinko goons. People like her are too stupid to realize that words have real meaning and consequences. Then again, perhaps she knows exactly what she is doing: Spreading hate. Ms. Bachmann, Ms. Palin and others of their ilk will not be satisfied until someone actually kills him, not being content to just shout it. Words do incite. People who are sickened by people like Ms. Bachmann should send her a white sheet and hood to wear in the halls of congress.

Write in Hillary

Well I got my absentee ballot yesterday and there are a zillion (13) candidates for POTUS. As I stated in my previous post, I can not vote for either McCain or Obama. The rest of the names on the ballot are either unknown or extreme fringe groups which I can not support. It is hard to soar with Eagles if you vote for Turkeys.  I could decide not to vote for POTUS, but I need to show my displeasure with the system. Sooooo, I think that I will write in Hillary Clinton for POTUS and Joe Biden for vice. Take that Obama and McCain!

What a Turn Off!

The negative ads, the negative speeches are too much.

I can not bring myself to vote for Obama because he played the race card during the primaries. He tried to make Bill Clinton out to be a racist and by association tar Hillary Clinton with the same epithet. Bill Clinton is a lot of things, but neither he nor his wife can be said to be racist. How can Clinton go from being "The First Black President" to being a redneck bigot. Bull feathers!

So, I was reluctantly considering voting for John McCain. However, his attempt to portray Obama as a terrorist, an Arab and God knows what else, while ironic considering the above, prevents me from supporting McCain. I guess I will not vote for president because I consider both choices to be equally distasteful.

Energy

I just joined the Pickens Plan for Oil independence. Basically, his plan is to use wind power to generate about 20% of our electrical needs and then use the natural gas that is freed up to power our cars and trucks. Pickens proposes placing wind turbine farms where we have enough wind to generate about 20% of our electricity. Most of the wind farms would be built in the center of the country from Texas to North Dakota where the wind is the strongest and most consistent. He estimates the costs of the wind farms at $1 trillion with another $200 billion to be spent on a distribution system. Pickens estimates that his plan could be implemented within the next 10 years. This could work.

I started this post a few days ago and I just came from reading some comments on the Pickens site about his meeting with Palin. Same old crap, people arguing Democrat or Republican, McCain or Obama. Bull! On this issue, it makes no difference who wins the election, which party controls the government. Both parties are part of the problem, they are certainly not part of the solution. Arguments about sex education do not belong in discussions of the Pickens plan. I am beginning to think that the human race is stupid, that it does not deserve to survive. Arrggg!

We the People

"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The Preamble to the Constitution says it all. The rest of the document just fills in the details and/or corrects oversights and errors. What is the importance in terms of our modern day society? Well it would seem that politicians conveniently ignore or interpret the document to suit their own political point of view. Take the phrase "... promote the general welfare ..." What did the framers mean by this? It is hard to tell, but I would say that the government should not show favorites.

 The phrase "promote the general welfare" means that where possible all segments of society should benefit equally. Is that the case today? I think not. If McCain is elected, one segment of society will benefit disproportionately; on the other hand Obama's supporters will benefit if he wins. Our political parties play this as a zero-sum game; thus if someone wins, someone else has to lose. While this approach may be valid in business, it is not the business of government to enrich one group at the expense of another. The monarchies in the 17th, 18th 19th centuries took this approach and guess what happened to them?

What is really ironic, is the fact that if we fail to promote the general welfare, then none of the other aims expressed in the preamble will come to fruition. Is it too much to hope that McCain and Obama will put the country as a whole first? We shall see!

And so it goes!

Yesterday, the house rejected the Wall Street bailout. Most Republicans voted against it and only about 60% of the Democrats voted for the bill. They (both sides) are posturing and playing politics while the country burns, the DJIA dropped almost 800 points, more banks are failing or are on the verge of failure. The price of everything goes up while wages for the average American either are stagnant or in decline. That is if they still have a job. The future for the average American is in doubt.

We use to have a social contract between the people, government and business, but it has been abolished in  favor of greed. Even as the stock market and peoples savings and pensions tank, the greedy ones continue their rant against the regulation that would have prevented this disaster. They have no shame. One has to ask why regulations were put in place to begin with. Well, the answer is simple, regulations were imposed because someone tried to abuse and take advantage of the system. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Is it time for revolution? I don't know, but we have been abused enough. If our government will not or can not protect us, then what purpose does it serve? We now have the best government that money can buy; this is true at the local, state and national levels. As the economic situation deteriorates, so will society, with increased crime, violence, prejudice and disorder. People take extreme measures when their economic well being is threatened. The let them eat cake attitude of the business and governmental elite can lead to the same results as the French Revolution. 

A Self Fulfilling Prophesy

What am I talking about? The Housing crisis! Housing has been on a down turn for at least two years. Why do I say that it was a self fulfilling prophesy, because for several years prior to the actual down turn there were news reports on an almost weekly basis about the housing bubble and how it can not be sustained. The media were beating the drums of a housing downturn until it became a reality. Did the media contribute to the down turn, we can't tell for sure, but it sure didn't help the psychology of the market.

When the housing market went south, it also precipitated the current mortgage fiasco. Now most of those shouting about the overpriced housing market did not stop to think about all of those sub-prime mortgages out there. Once the price of housing started to tank, a lot of people ended up owing more than their houses were worth. That coupled with the ARMs which started to adjust upwards caused the mortgage markets to go south. A lot of theses now worthless sub-prime and ARM mortgages were bundled into packages that were bought by investment banks which in turn resulted in the failure of some big names on Wall street.

A perfect example of the perfect storm.

Bush must think we just fell off the turnip truck!

Today I listened to the "shrub" touting his administration's plans to get us out of the financial mess that we are in. What I didn't hear was why in the hell they let it get so bad in the first place. They have been shouting about deregulation for years as if regulation was the source of all of our ills. Well, they got their deregulation and they exercised a hands off approach towards business. Look what it got us! These greedy bastards almost brought the economy down, not just here, but world wide. Even now they are whining and "warning" that new regulations will harm business. Bull! These neocons are true Slobbering Neanderthal Right Wing Wackos. They have no sense of decency, country or patriotism; they would pimp their own mothers for a buck.

P.S. The new bailout proposed by the Shrub administration is at least $700 billion, that is on top of the $800 billion already committed. We now have $1.5 trillion added to our national debt, financed by China and other countries that don't like us. The Neocons shout about freedom, what kind of freedom will we have when China et. al. decide to put the screws to us?

Did you know?

Did you know that as of September 2008 the national debt is $9.65 Trillion, that is over $31K per person in the United States! It is growing at a rate of $1.80 billion per day. Who knows that the deficit for 2008 will be with all of these bailouts (currently about $800 billion including the stimulus package). The Bush Administration estimated that the 2009 deficit will be $490 billion. I am sure that must be optimistic, wishful thinking with all of the bailouts yet to come.

On top of the budget deficit, we are currently running a current account (trade) deficit  of about $183.1 billion. All of that junk we buy from China and all of the foreign oil contribute to the trade deficit. To make matters worse, all of this debt has caused our dollar to become less valuable, which in turn causes the debt to rise, and so on.

What are our leaders doing? Nothing is the answer, at least not until the horse is out of the barn! Now they are running around like chickens with their heads chopped off, giving our tax dollars away to every crook (oops, I'm sorry, I mean banker CEO) who pleads for a bailout.

What does this mean to you and me? Well if you are planning to retire using the proceeds from your 401K, you can now plan on working until you are 75. Even the so called safe money market mutual funds are taking a hit. And the Neocons wanted to invest Social Security funds (aka privatization) in the stock market! Sure!

What to do? Well, we already got rid of one King George.

Borrow and Spend Republicans

This is unbelievable. First  there is Bear Stearns ($30 billion) then Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac ($205 billion), now AIG ($80 billion). Throw in the $165 billion stimulus package and we are in hock to the tune of $480 billon just this year alone; and the year isn't over for another 3 months. All of money has to be borrowed, from guess who? China! What are these people thinking?

In the same breath, both Obama and McCain are talking about tax cuts. How are they going to pay for all of this. I think that over burdening the government with debt is part of the Republican plan to force smaller government. If we are using most of our tax revenues to pay off the national debt, there will not be enough left for so called discretionary spending. Actually, if we are not careful the interest will grow to a point where we will not be able to pay off the principle. It will become like Germany after WW I, where they needed a wheel barrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread. Can you spell hyperinflation?

Obama on the other hand probably has not thought of the consequences of all of this debt. He will be under extreme pressure to come across with the programs that he has been promising to his supporters. Already they are trying to make it over $500 billion by adding a $25 billion loan to the big three automakers.

It does not matter who wins, we are screwed no matter what.

PS Arrrg, I just found out that with other commitments, the bailouts are up over $800 billion!!!!!!! Does anyone want to try for $1 trillion????? Our politicians need some western justice: a tall tree and a short rope!

Expectations

The candidates for POTUS are raising expectations among their support groups. In particular Obama is promising everything but the kitchen sink. In addition to change, what ever that is, he sounds like Hoover promising a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. He is pandering to the wants and needs of his support groups. What he is not doing is addressing the needs of the country, the budget deficit, the trade deficit, outsourcing of jobs, the falling dollar, etc. He mentions many of these things, but there are on real solutions offered.

McCain is now the agent of change! Say what? What is he going to change? He has promised tax breaks when the deficit is soaring. That is no change. He is going to stay the course in Iraq. What kind of change is that... Like Obama, McCain panders to his supporters. His barracuda throws out the red meat to the voracious minions, to be devoured like so much carrion.

Oh God I can't stand it! Neither one of these idiots will do what the country needs. Liberals to the left of us, Neocons to the right of us, the abyss in front us, as we ride into the valley of death... (sorry Lord Tennyson)

Palin

S. Palin is certainly not a pig, but what is she? All you have to do is watch her in action to realize that the woman is a barracuda. Her slash and burn, take no prisoners mentality is obvious from her speeches. I watched Palin's interviews on ABC. Her lack of preparation was obvious from the interviews.

One thing I will say, her family should be off limits, they are not running for office. Also, along those same lines, the "press" should not be making an issue of the fact that Palin is a mother. Unless she proves that she can not handle her job because she is a mother, shut up.

My problem with her is she has partaken of the NEOCON Kool-aid. She has not shown me that she has the intellect necessary for the position she seeks. God save us!

One Year Later

One year after my rants about politics, where are we? Same place! We now know who the candidates are, Obama and McCain. I can not see myself voting for either one of these clowns. McCain is an old man trying to relive the glory of his youth by sending our sons and daughters to die in a war of attrition which we will ultimately lose. There are more of them than there are of us. On the other hand we have the agent of change! Obama talks about change until I no longer know what it means. Has he changed, not that I can see. He is carrying out the same type of sleazy campaign that the Republicans wage. It was most evident in his fight with Clinton. There, in my opinion, Obama played the race card in an effort to defeat Clinton. First he said on TV that if he won he would get Clinton's supporters, but if she won she would not get his. I believe that was a clear message to his black supporters not to support Clinton. Next he tried to make people believe that Bill Clinton was a racist. Bill Clinton is a lot of things, but it is hard to believe that he went from being the"first black president" to being a racist. Obama is a cynical, hypocritical politician of the old type. The only change he wants is to put himself in the white house and he will do anything to accomplish that goal. Both of these men are dangerous for our country either one will drag it down.