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By JBM, July 10, 2011 8:54 am

I suppose this is as good a forum as any to warn you about a poor product experience I had.

In context of this story you may be most interested to know that I prefer purchasing the highest quality products I can afford. To the detriment of those close to me I usually seek out the priciest of the products, as I think the general rule is that products are price-competitive, and the most expensive is usually of the higest quality. I took this approach with my video cards but I am changing my ways.

In 2008 I purchased a 8800GT Alpha Dog from XFX. This card had a flaw in that the fan is not variable. I did not realize it was set at some low setting, perhaps 30% (I cannot recall the exact setting.) I think this contributed to the demise of the card.  Personally I own very few games and rarely buy newer games that have significant hardware requirements.   After a couple years of playing mostly Half Life 2 and Team Fortress I began to see artifacts on the screen during gameplay. They began to appear a couple minutes into gaming making me think the issue was hardware degradation due to heat. I contacted XFX for help. They forced me to do all kinds of very time-intensive testing of the card, including, but not restricted to, putting it in another system. (For me my PC is so reliable, I own ONE, that’s it. Not the two or three cheap servers I used as backup in the late 1990′s.)

At some point I decided to buy a new card, thinking I could continue gaming, get the Alpha Dog repaired or replaced, and have an extra high-quality card as a backup. I purchased a new XFX Radeon card, and have not seen articfacts since. I sent in a rebate form for this new purchase but received a rejection letter. It stated that the retailer I purchased from was not a participating retailer.  Now I distinctly recall reading the rebate form thoroughly and there was no mention of any retailer on the form. I requested my proof of purchase back from them so that I could return the item. I never heard from the rebate center again.

Back to the Alpha Dog. I came to think that XFX’s requests for additional testing were unreasonable and I stopped all correspondence. I even deleted all of my personal information from my online account.  To me, if something has an obvious break, and it is guaranteed for life, the product company should jump through hoops for me. If they want advanced testing, I can mail them the card, and they can determine in their factory if the card is broken or not. Considering that I paid a premium for this card I felt that I received nothing extra from XFX, save for a spectacular runaround.

Before I purchased the 8800 GT I read all of the blogs and tried to make an informed decision. After all I replaced a PII 400 with a 2.4 MHz quad core, and thought it would be likely that I would use this computer for five to ten more years, the same as my last computer (insert disparaging comments here about how the PC will be outdated soon…) The rest of my PC consists of the highest quality components – An Intel motherboard, Western Digital Drive, and an Antec Sonata III case with the Earthwatts power supply. All of these components have served me without a hiccup for three and a half years, except for the XFX card, with its inherent fan control flaw and ostensible overheating. At the time I built this PC I distinctly remember many others asking in the newsgroups if the XFX brand was worth the extra cost. Feelings were mixed, and so I went with my gut: I should buy the card with the lifetime transferable warranty, it is a no-brainer.

If you are currently on the same mission, to purchase a quality card, and wondering if the $20 – $30 premium for an XFX card is worth it, I, having been through my own novel of an experience, can say ABSOLUTELY NOT. Do not pay the premium for the XFX brand. The runarounds with service, especially in this day and age where time is of a premium, make the price exorbitant. The failure to pay me a rebate for my second card, and failure to even contact me to explain the rebate rejection versus the text of the rebate terms makes XFX another one of those “profit above all” companies. When purchasing a video card, take any of the major brands, keep your case cool (I have a tornado blowing right on the video card), and take time to install fan control software and set it for your gaming conditions. Use the money you save by not buying XFX brand for ice cream or a music CD or anything cool in life. But for goodness sake, do not send it to XFX.

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By JBM, June 5, 2011 5:50 am

Fiscal liberals want to raise the tax rates. Here is an opinion piece which details some, but not all, of the double taxation paid in the U.S.:

A 62% Top Tax Rate?

For those Americans who truly care about the country it is important to try and understand what is truly best for the economy. Let your guard down, and release your pre-conceived notions. Now consider this: Increasing tax rates do not generate more revenue. They never have and they never will. If you are a fiscal liberal, you are now shouting at your screen, “Oh this blog is part of the right-wing conspiracy, and this guy has no idea what he is talking about.” Unfortunately you would be wrong. The truth is that the amount of money collected by the federal government is historically inversely proportional to the tax rates. So you scratch your head in wonder, thinking how this could be? Mathematically if the rates on the rich are raised from the current top rate of 35% to 90% for example, then the government would collect 55% more taxes on the top income. However, this never happens, so put aside your old math and prepare for JBM’s Reality Math. The truth is (this is going to offend you jealous people who wish to punish the rich, so be courageous) the amount of income tax the federal government collects is solely related to the size of the economy. If President Obama and congress take steps that help increase the economic output, tax revenue will go up. If the economy remains in recession, tax revenue will not change.

There is another factor that must be thrown into the equation: The income of the rich is highly volatile and is proportional to the robustness of the eonomy. Areas like California have taken the worst tax hits in this recession because they rely more heavily on taxing the rich. The income of these rich plummeted with the recession, wiping out a huge portion of California’s income tax. Now let us take the step that the government is contemplating and boost the top tax rates, for example by 55%.  What is 55% times zero? Zero. That will be the additional revenue generated by taxing the rich. No, it will be slightly more than zero, but with the dead economy, the top bracket income is dead in the water, so the gains will be tiny.

Additionally, and regardless of how staunch a liberal you are, or how much you are in favor of Obama’s policies, raising the tax rates will put a damper on this economy, the economy that is already in a “double-dip” mode. Raising rates puts a damper on the economy every time it is tried. Something supporters of higher tax rates are missing: Taxes in America are already punitive to the economy, thus higher rates will have a more profound economy-killing effect.

It is true that jealousy is described in the Bible as a terrible sin.  Those who wish to tax the rich based on “fairness” and their personal jealousies should understand this: Upon meeting the Lord, they will not only have to account for their own personal sins, but also the sin of taking money from others out of jealousy. This being said, many Americans support higher taxation, and president Obama and the congress will most likely raise top income rates. They will do this out of jealousy, and partially out of anger for all of the banking corruption that has occurred. The unfortunate result is well-proven: The economy is going to tank further. If you support the forthcoming policies of higher taxation, even though you did not learn from any of history, I would like you to pay close attention to the financial state of everyone around you. It is going to get worse with higher taxes. Once the severe damage is done, I hope you take a second look at your ingrained politics, and hope for you to begin thinking freely, not only about reality, but about what is right and wrong. Note that this is not an encouragement to vote republican. The republicans will go right along with higher taxation. They seem to revile the US as much as democratic leaders do, and wish to have a stranglehold of control just the same. So I encourage you to understand what is happening if only because you have an obligation to use your God-given brain. When more people understand the true effect of taxes and regulation, we as a nation will be less likely to repeat these mistakes.

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By JBM, May 22, 2011 8:50 am

Politicians keep stating that we need more education to move people ahead. This old article details the folly of that notion, the notion that we all need advanced degrees, and the notion of how worthless vocational education and working with one’s hands is.

In the Basement of the Ivory Tower

The truth is that our economy falters due to the exportation of manufacturing industries, inflated costs, withering wages, and increasing taxes and regulation. Note that Washington is doing nothing to remove these problems, but does continue to augment them.

The 2012 presidential election should be interesting. Economic conditions continue to wither, president Obama continues to soliloquy with thousands and thousands of words, but nothing is changing. In his mind he probably presumes the economy will even out, the same thought that most analysts have. However, with each new recession, conditions have continued to wither, and the Economic Collapse of 2008 has been a tsunami of a decline. Will the next election be split 50-50 like most of them due to the polarization of the voters and the weak candidates who are always put forth? Will the election easily sway republican, mostly because the people usually vote to reject the person in power, and with good reason? Irrespective of the next leader, (they are all in it together) I do not see conditions changing much, so hold onto your wallet and plan the most detailed household budget you have ever planned. We as a country are lost in the dark woods, and there is no light peeking through to guide us.

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By JBM, January 23, 2011 8:44 am

In this new book Ron Reagan states that his father had developed Alzheimer’s to some degree while he was still in office. Considering that Alzheimer’s is little understood, and a disease that develops slowly and sometimes stealthily over a long-period of time, this may be true. The strange thing about this is that the responses to President Reagan at the time, and the responses to Ron Jr. now gather more attention that the late president’s sickness itself.

To begin, Ron Jr. is of a liberal mindset unlike president Reagan who was known for his conservatism, such as strong military support and low taxes. Reagan did support protectionist tariffs on Japanese goods, and create the overwhelmingly large Department of Veterans affairs, decidedly liberal actions that are ignored by his liberal critics. However, because of the differences in their primary political aims, Ron Jr. is being accused of intentionally slighting his father with the Alzheimer’s claims for the purpose of selling books and denigrating conservatism. In my view there is nothing wrong with Ron Junior pointing this out, presuming it is a real observation of his. We may never know the truth because critics of the president always attacked Reagan as an old man with dementia and his allies, as well as those who simply maintain a great regard for the presidency will argue that these criticisms are fabricated and Reagan was always quite sharp while leading the country. Which brings up the most poignant observation of all: Critics of Ronald Reagan who called him nasty names and implied that he had a loss of brain function were mostly likely making fun of a human being who was suffering from a disease of the elderly. What is astounding is that the critics are primarily political opponents, liberals, who regard liberalism as purely compassionate and conservatism as heartless, even barbaric. Out of all of the political squabbling that has occurred during my lifetime, I look back at this, and aside from the pure lack of respect for the presidency that it indicates (every president gets thrashed by opponents, so the lack of respect is clearly universal) it is an unusually bold and inhumane treatment of someone, by a group of people claiming humaneness as their own. Clearly, well-known liberals, including congress, the media, and anyone else in the public eye, who criticized Ronald Reagan for their perception of him being confused, having memory loss, and the such, truly owe the late president and his family a great apology. Meanwhile, we should probably take Ron Reagan Junior’s statements as observations and not presume that he is denigrating his father, whom he vehemently opposed politically.

Who can tell me, did anyone openly mock Franklin Delano Roosevelt for having polio?

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By JBM, December 18, 2010 8:34 am

Cass Sunstein explains the government’s reaction to the Gulf oil spill in light of the “precautionary principle.”

The ‘Paralyzing’ Principle

Things are truly awry when the government will spend any amount of money attacking any problem, while the wages and tax revenue that fund it continue to dwindle.

Meanwhile, back in reality, this WSJ reader gives a real perspective on the degree to which the citizens are being taxed. Hint: It is far greater than the tax rates would indicate.

The Spending Is the Taxpayers’ True Cost

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By JBM, December 5, 2010 10:11 am

In response to the current debate about extending the Bush era tax rates:

The chief motivation for pro-tax, pro-government ideologues to raise taxes on the rich seems to be equity. The rich pay lower tax rates, and so their rates must be raised to be “fair.” I am simply astounded that a large segment of our society continues to support increased taxation and every resulting government action that has failed to produce any positive result, other than for the sake of “fairness.”  Social Security has caused poverty of the elderly. The Department of Education has not significantly improved education these past thirty years.   Continue reading 'TAX THE RICH! TAX THE RICH! Let’s all shout TAX THE RICH!'»

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By JBM, November 22, 2010 5:49 pm

America, are you okay with receiving X-rays at the airport? How about being groped by the TSA officials? If you are fine with groping, how do you feel about your mother, sister, neighbors and such being groped? It is time to put an end to this barbaric treatment: Boycott the airlines. If you have business flights, cancel them. Personal flights? Cancel them. Bring the airlines to their knees. Once that has happened, demand a return to simple metal checks and limited profiling. Violating the civil rights of every United States citizen that gets on an airplane would have given all of our founders a heart attack. Don’t just sit there, do something. That something is to stop flying. Period.

America, you thought when they started teaching sex to some of your eight year olds that public officials could not become any more disgusting.  You were wrong. They decriminalized groping of everyone you know and clearly never thought twice about it.  These people have truly forsaken God and the great moral values our country once stood for.  The people pushing this agenda, President Obama, and much of congress, these men are perverts, there is no other word for them.  This is not about blue versus red, flyover country versus the coasts, or anything political.    I once thought president Clinton was a bad man for the stories of violent rapes he committed, but now I wonder if most of our representatives have gotten away with such in their personal lives.  This groping law they created is so grotesque, there is no way I would leave kids or women alone with our leaders.

If you feel the pain of deep financial insecurity, other aspects of our lives are bound to get much worse.  We cannot legalize perversion and then expect God to continue to bless us with comfort.  Make no mistake about it, the actions of the TSA are the greatest violations American citizens have ever experienced.

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By JBM, November 19, 2010 9:19 am

From the wall street journal:

Egypt Hunts Ancient Artifacts

Egypt is lobbying museums around the world to return Egyptian artifacts, and having great success at it. It is a very good, ethical action for American museums to return artifacts to their home country upon request. People are more advanced now and can understand that tombs that were raided in foreign lands are not the property of the finders. With the good rapport built, artifacts will always return to the U. S. periodically in the form of temporary exhibits, for all of us to enjoy.

Are their many native American artifacts spread around the world?

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By JBM, September 25, 2010 1:05 pm

A co-worker approached me this week and requested that I donate to a Lupus charity fund. I gave him my standard lecture about how charities do not solve problems, and this is why I am adverse to giving to many of them, such as disease allocated funds. Just after our conversation I discover this striking quote from DNA discoverer James Watson that validates my concern:

Notable and Quotable

Note  his extraordinary statement that cancer researchers who are only interested in research and not cures in particular!  America you should learn something from this:  Many charities exist only for their own propagation, for their own jobs and budget, and they may be complete detached form the purpose that you think you are contributing to.

Realize when you give to a charity, depending on the charity, that you may be temporarily comforting another human being, but you most likely are not contributing to a cure or any sort of fix to a major problem.  If the problem were to go away after all, the charity would cease to exist.  In this manner, charities are like government: They only exist for themselves.  I suggest you consider comforting a neighbor or relative before funneling your hard-earned cash down the Toilet of Supposed Compassion.

Oh yes, for my analytical speech decrying charities I was called quite a nasty name, by an otherwise pretty decent fellow at work.  I suppose I understand and he probably thought that I implied that he is a sucker.  Take this argument for what you will.

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By JBM, September 25, 2010 12:38 pm

Are you a U.S. technology worker, and struggling to understand why tech wages have remained so low after the 1990′s boom and bust? These corporations have agreements to not take each other’s employees!  They see nothing unethical about it.  Yet one more reason you, the poor working sap American, are taking home less bacon than ever before.  How’s the financial stress Mr. Working Sap?

U.S. Tech Probe Nears End

JBM

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By JBM, September 11, 2010 1:23 pm

Here is an article detailing how the economy of the U.S. and perhaps other countries will not, in fact, return to high growth.

Paradise Lost: Why Fallen Markets Will Never Be the Same

Here are the reasons why I think this article is accurate in its predictions:

1) Many areas of the United States never recovered from the 2000 recession.

2) The U.S. government is on a hiring bonanza right now while revenue in the private sector is flat.  The bill will become due for the government waste and it will further hinder the economy, if not destroy it via money printing and the consequential mega-inflation.

3) The last boom was the PC and Internet boom.  The PC has allowed corporations to slim down to ridiculously productive levels.  They no longer need the 18 million people who are out of work.  Many of these jobs are simply not coming back, or not as full-time jobs with professional salaries.  This represents a further slimming of Americans pocketbooks, which reduces the tax receipts of the government dramatically.  The result is increased tax rates (if Americans do not riot first) to pay for the current spending bonanza.  Consumers will continue to be thrifty.  All of these factors will contribute to a flat economy or even a slow, steady downward spiral from the current anemic economic conditions.

JBM

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By JBM, September 4, 2010 6:35 am

The following is an article detailing some overall saving statistics among baby boomers:

Boomers Going Bust

Notice the median value of retirement accounts from ages fifty-five to sixty-four is one hundred thousand dollars.  Can you recall twenty years ago when grandma passed away and she had the same amount in her savings account?  Also can you remember how many years since then that medical costs went up thirty percent a year?  That spells doom for baby boomers.  At a minimum it spells no retirement.

One major problem that has led to this is our reliance on the stock market for savings.  What many people now understand is that  the stock market is one hundred percent risk.  A one percent interest rate, which is pretty high nowadays, would have been better for savings, than losing forty percent of it in the recent downturn.  Note that the Dow Jones first hit ten thousand in March of 1999, and it sits there today.  Wall Street made a killing off of personal retirement funds, and individuals lost the farm.

The second major problem is Social Security.  This program was designed to supplement the income of the elderly in case of disaster.  It was designed to feed retirees if they had severe financial problems, in other words, a last resort to prevent financial devastation similar to what occurred during the depression.  Fiscal conservatives knew it when Social Security was implemented, and know it still today:  Handing people money changes their behavior.

The baby boomers had the greatest opportunities of anyone in American history for income growth.  Jobs in many sectors of the economy flourished from the 1960s through the 1990s.  There were many years of high interest rates, such as 6.5%, on savings accounts.  But the fact that social security was waiting in the wings for them meant they would never save their money. They learned the bad lesson from their parents that  Social Security, designed as an emergency stipend, could be used as a primary income source.   Yes, a primary income source if one loves to live a life of  near destitution. So we continually hear stories that grandma cannot afford her medication.  Now, mom and dad are never going to retire, never going to get a chance to just sit back and relax, and enjoy the fruits of their lifetime of extremely hard work.  They thought that SS was going to pay all of their bills.  Keep in mind we have not had severe economic conditions until the economic collapse of 2008.    In my mind, Social Security has caused people to live in squalor, even though the conditions of the Great Depression, until now, have never repeated themselves!

The strange thing is that although Social Security has actually caused poverty, the same poverty it was designed to prevent, few people will consider making any significant changes to it.  This is called the public being on the government dole.  Everyone gets a government payment now, so even fairly fiscally conservative people want to make sure they get as much of the payoff as possible.

Far be it for me to criticize without suggestion a solution, which is to offer social security as optional. The politicians can talk all day long about the greatness of this program, but how about freed om of choice?  (Do not tell Nancy Pelosi or President Obama, but “choice” only exists for killing babies in their mind, and real choice should never exist:  The government knows best.)   Let us give a generation of people the choice of Social Security or not Social Security.  After forty years of observation we can empirically compare the lifestyles of those that opted into the program and those that opted out.  Those with the better lifestyle will prove that their decision was correct.

Along with allowing people to opt out of SS, the populace needs a steep education on money.  All Americans must save more.  Our real wages, with the collapse of 2008, have taken a permanent dip.  Unemployment is here to stay, part time jobs are here to stay, the ability to increase ones standard of living is going to be extraordinarily difficult from here on out.  Thus, personal savings are the key.

As part of the Social Security Opt-Out plan, the government shall mandate that the employer contribution be paid to the employee.  I will gladly take a 15% raise, and will no doubt prove that I can do much more with this money than the federal government of the United States.

JBM

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By JBM, August 21, 2010 1:45 am

Gerald Celente with predictions defying the positive notes in the news daily, such as “the recession is over.” [Video to follow] Continue reading 'Here comes the Greater or Greatest Depression'»

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By JBM, August 13, 2010 2:50 pm

I do not care to get political most of the time but I want to address a Time reader taking a potshot at former governor Sarah Palin:  ”Why can’t people cut the President some clack? Do they remember what he was handed? Did they expect the economy to rise out of the ashes in the first year? Obama is obviously committed to health care, the economy and other concerns. He’s not out playing golf, vacationing at Camp David or quitting halfway through his term like certain governors we know”  Randy Pettit, Elyria, Ohio from Time Magazine, August 16, 2010.

To Randy:

1) The people should expect that with the largest corporate and government payouts in all of history, that the economy should improve significantly.  The economy is now tanking again after little improvement, making most of the president’s major financial actions completely ineffective.  If we realize that the these huge payouts could result in deflating the value of the dollar, and that as a result we may be paying ten dollars for a head of lettuce in a few years, these actions may result in absolute catastrophe.

2) Please see CNN’s observation of the unofficial White House statistician.  President Obama, very early in his presidency, has already played more rounds of golf that President George W. Bush played in his eight year presidency.

President Obama plays more than Bush

I do not have explicit feelings about Sarah Palin leaving the governorship and I am sure there are many factors that contributed to this, such as her want of the presidency, and the distraction of the perpetual ethics charges against her by her political opponents.  I can say this:  The presidency overtly affects me, the Alaskan governorship does not.  Randy you appear to be a clear fan of President Obama, and that is fine.  However, I wonder if you are interested in opening your eyes to the realities of today.  Now that you know that during the worst recession in our lifetime, and through the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, that the president has played more golf than an eight year president, do you have any concerns for the country’s short-term future under President Obama’s rule?

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By JBM, August 8, 2010 12:59 pm

Charitable giving is ubiquitous in America, a phenomenon of the highest level.  Americans seem to have an inner feeling of always wanting to bring a better life to those around them, whether the answer is food, clothing housing, medicine, or other special services, we are perpetually called to provide these goods and services for literally anyone in need.  There is no doubt that Americans are the greatest givers in the history of mankind.  We love our work, do not mind being workaholics, and are happy to buy consumables as well as give freely to charities of all sorts.  I am quite worried though that our levels of charity are causing a great deal of harm.  There is simply too much charity today and not enough opportunities for people to take care of themselves. I hereby leap from the cliff and make the argument that most charity is bad.  I clearly risk the reader thinking that I am a horrible person but my possible reward is making people think think quite differently about what the United States truly needs.

Cancer

The money flowing into cancer charities must be spectacular by any count.   Quick Internet searches indicate that the American Cancer Society alone has put several billion dollars into cancer research through its history.  The list of cancer charities has grown much larger in recent years as people have it in their forethought to cure the mysterious illnesses classified as cancers.  However, what is the reality of cures and advancements in cancer medicine versus the dollars taken in?  The most popular treatments are radiation therapy, surgery, and chemotherapy.  According to Wikipedia, radiation therapy for cancer has been around since the late 1800′s!  Chemotherapy and surgery, while helpful, seem medieval in how they attack the human body.  For all of the donations, what has truly helped cure people of cancer?  The answer is early detection.  Yes, age-old, visit the doctor once a year, and have standard tests performed based on the patient’s gender and age. By doing so, one can catch the cancers that commonly afflict people who are similar to you.  Once a cancer is caught early, many times it is eliminated with the old barbaric cures I listed above.  There you have it in a nutshell:  Catch the cancer early, and attack the little blob before it gets out of control.  Now I want the reader to compare and contrast these treatments against the billions of dollars flowing into cancer charities and research.  If cancers overall are not being cured, where is the money going? I am certainly not new to introduce the concept of “The Inefficient Charity”:

American Cancer Society: The World’s Wealthiest “Nonprofit” Institution

One would think that charity funds, whenever possible, would be directed to research or to those individuals suffering from the affliction. This recent Wall Street Journal article points out that a great deal of charitable money may go to attorney fees atsome charities:

Charity Brawl: Nonprofits Aren’t So Generous When a Name’s at Stake

If a charity rides the coattails of another charity by infringing on a trademarked name, and collects more money as a result, does it matter to the victims of the affliction? Why would a charity be so vehement in protecting its name if it has the identical interests of helping the afflicted? I fear the answer is the same as always, “Follow the money.” The money provides salaries, jobs, and a certain lifestyle for those working for the charity. I question that charities with such selfish needs are truly charities. The major charities have overtly grown into businesses but we do not call them such.  They have a selfish interest to support themselves above any cause such as a cure for the afflicted.  Even comfort for those suffering comes secondary to many charities.

United Way

With layers upon layers of management, and six-figure salaries galore The United Way has taken its share of criticism from people like me.  I ask the average reader, do you make a six figure salary?  If not then why would you give to a charity to support its six figure salaries?  If you have read my writings you already know that I am not an anti-success or jealous person. On the contrary  I would like all hard workers and entrepreneurs to become wealthy so that they may take care of their own.  I simply find it impossible to identify large bloated organizations with huge salaries  as “charities”.  United Way is even a “pass through” charity, meaning they give money to other charities while taking a cut of the money for themselves.  This poses another question, why not give directly to the charities and leave out the middle man?  The United Way is a business.  It is supported by, among other things, coercive efforts in major corporations where employees are highly pressured to give to United Way.  Many workers find it mandatory to fill out Untied Way donor cards even if they never give to the charity, an embarrassment of a high order.  Clearly the management of major corporations makes efforts to pad the pockets of their executive friends at the United Way.  I find my personal experiences with coersion as downright repulsive and I dare call the corporate efforts “evil.”

The Bible has always set a good example as the moral examples in it always best any alternate ideas that modern man creates.  The Old Testament sets the example of a ten percent tithing to the church, and the New Testament reinforces the general idea of giving of oneself to the less fortunate.  While church hierarchies are full of politics and even abuse of funds, when I see my local church feeding and clothing people who live down the street from me, I cannot help think of the church as a worthy donee.  Church services are perpetuated mostly by volunteers and thus make an efficient charity.  There are other examples of efficient charities but I hesitate to present names as I find myself disagreeing with people over the same organization.  And debate is good as I really do not know a charity’s effectiveness without looking at the books.

What would I suggest if Americans were to pull a great deal of funding out of the non-profit segment?  The following article is the piece that helped me decide to put my overwhelming and negative thoughts about charity onto paper, or screen as it were:

Job Creation Is the Very Best Charity

I agree fully with this letter to the editor and understand that to some, this argument may sound like a hard-core right wing pro-business argument that neglects the needs of real people.  However, my dream world is one with escalating salaries, where Americans canalmost exclusively take care of themselves and their families without charity.  Americans do need to put more money into health insurance plans in order to combat the unlikely disasters that sometimes happen to loved ones.  We need to forego the iPods until we have made sure that our immediate family, include grandma, have the resources to pay for their medicines and medical treatments.  We must be responsible as individuals, and not spend all of our money on toys, then spend years worrying about grandma being able to afford her heart medication.  However, some things that are out of our control are nose-diving real wages.  Some studies show that the real wages for non-supervisory workers are one-half of what they should be when indexed against inflation over the past thirty years.  Congress and large corproations are alwya promoting H1B visas for educated workers which has turned into a proactive effort to reduce wages in America.  The deck is stacked against the average worker there is no doubt about it.

Despite overwhelming taxation which will perpetually fund Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, all of which are broke, and America’s spectacular charitable giving, the roles of those in need never, ever seem to go down.  On the contrary, in the midst of this recession the roles have increased like never before.  I would like the reader to understand that despite their giving, most diseases are not being cured.  Charitable giving at most provides comfort to people (which is great!) but at the least gets eaten up by a bureaucracy of money managers, administrative assistance, and medial researches.  To help provide something better than the American Charity Economy, I encourage you to start a business, leverage the Internet and the ease of worldwide distribution, create great wages, and promote individualism to your children.  One must plan for medical costs, retirement, and unlikely disasters.  Teach as many people to fish as you can.  These tenets will help to make the so-called “charity” a nearly extinct species.  If charity were to become extinct it would only mean that the needy are finally taken care of.  That is the goal isn’t it?

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By JBM, June 21, 2010 10:42 am

Several days into the oil spill the president of the United States should have called all private companies and all foreign companies, with no prejudice to relations or oil skimming methods.  The Gulf Of Mexico should have quickly looked like a naval war zone, with so many oil skimming ships that it would appear the U.S. was under attack.  By brute force a significant amount of oil would have been cleaned up every single day, while the oil still leaked into the water.  Instead of this solution, the president refused to waive the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 which prohibits Continue reading 'The Gulf Oil Spill is no priority for President Obama'»

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By JBM, May 15, 2010 12:57 pm

Dear Mr. President: Buffalo needs ‘freakin’ jobs, billboard says

I think such in-your-face style demands are going to increase dramatically for president Obama.  With the excitement surrounding him during the elections, he certainly made it seem as though he would provide drastic relief in many ways for Americans.  Unfortunately, after billions of dollars in payoffs to his corporate buddies at the banks and General Motors, the president’s policies have had a net zero effect on the American economy.

Of course we here at the State of Affairs do not believe the federal government creates real jobs, so we do not rely on Washington unlike many others.   Additionally, while layoffs seem to have bottomed out, I do not see any substantial growth in jobs for five to seven years or longer.  What will that effect have on the presidency?  People vote their wallet, and with little improvement, the president with the most excitement surrounding him in all of history is clearly going to be out of a job come 2012.  The only remaining question will be if Hillary or other high ranking democrats can completely distance themselves from this administration in an effort to gain the presidency.  With the economic collapse of 2008 fresh in everyone’s minds, and with none of the promised relief from president Obama and the democratic congress delivered, the answer will most likely be “no.”

JBM

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By JBM, May 1, 2010 4:16 am

I liked this article:

Lost iPhone Brings Scoundrels, Sharks and Shysters Out of the Woodwork

The author of the above story poignantly demonstrates how sometimes morals are completely thrown out the window.  I myself would like to make one point from this story.   We are caught in an era where the populace will skewer the Wall Street Robber Barons ad infinitum, and rightfully so, for their colossal moral failures which have devastated the world’s financial economy.  We can plainly see though that individuals, nobody’s, will make deals with Satin all day long, just the same.  It is hard to point fingers at moral and ethical failures with a seemingly large proportion of our population that has no moral standards left.

Reading the above article I would surely believe that there are thousands of bloggers, lusting for cash, who would have done the same thing as the mentioned perpetrators.  There are certainly a large number of people who would sell their soul for the potential for such notoriety.  Too bad, I say.

A friend told a story about visiting Europe years ago.  This happened I believe in the 1980′s.  He left his camera equipment, a set of Nikon or some high-end hardware, in a high-traffic public place.   He discovered his mistake the following day, and went back to retrieve his camera equipment.  Astoundingly, it was sitting in the camera bad, on the public bench, exactly where he had left it.  It was completely untouched.

As you read this, you may be on one side or the other, but I sure long to belong to a community with such great respect for other people.  Unfortunately, no matter where one is, the ethics of the town are a crap shoot anymore.  How thoroughly sad this is.

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By JBM, April 16, 2010 3:44 am

Story Here

In lieu of the White House granting gay people the “right” to visit loved ones in the hospital, I wish to inform any Americans who see this as an advantage that it is meaningless. That is an important distinction because the president has now distracted many people from doing the things they need to do in order to assure that they do in fact have visitation rights! Please note I am neither gay nor an attorney so I have no stake in the recent proclamation, but all Americans in fact need to take the proper legal precautions or risk losing visitations to loved ones, or other significant financial problems.

If you have never retained an Estate Planner, please do so. You can contractually setup arrangements such as designating anyone your want be your beneficiary, have hospital visitation rights, etc. Your planner will guide you to state forms and procedures (yes, our freedoms truly lie with the states, not the federal government) that will guarantee your related needs. If a hospital were to violate these legal preparations they will in fact be violating the law. However, until you prepare, you are at risk, whether you are straight, gay, martian, or Purple Gambezian Poison Flower Chomper, of being turned away from your loved one’s hospital bedside unless you are in fact their legal guardian.

JBM

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By JBM, March 26, 2010 4:37 pm

ACORN offices are changing their names around the country.  They are keeping their same employees and their same tax identification numbers, but will attempt to hide in shame using aliases.  I thought I would provide some suggestions for names.

TOP SUGGESTED NAMES FOR ACORN BRANCH OFFICES

1) Walnut (Wild And Looney Nuts Undercover Today)

2) POOP (Previously Ostercised Operational Politics)

3) PECAN (Prostitution Easily Can Annoy Non-leftists)

4) CASHEW (Communists And Socialists Helping Elevate Welfare)

Feel free to share your ideas!  There are thousands of branch offices doing covert leftist political work, prostitution, drug smuggling, and more, and they all will need unique names so that you cannot find them.

JBM

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By JBM, March 25, 2010 4:47 pm

I like what Drew Carey has said.  He seems like a progressive thinker.  Note his statements about “rich kids’ syndrome.”

Can Drew Carey save Cleveland?

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By JBM, February 28, 2010 5:17 pm

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Justin Fox of Time Magazine has it nailed as to why I ignore the statistics that are published in the newspapers each day:

When Economic Indicators Aren’t Worth That Much

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By JBM, February 17, 2010 8:32 pm

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Please see the following article:        The U.S. Needs an Industrial Policy

Perhaps it does.  However I believe in the free market and it seems counter-intuitive to ask the same government that has screwed up literally everything it has done to command yet another top-down economic policy.  On that level I disagree with Mr. Hofmeister.

I agree with one aspect of this editorial and that is no one in the world has replicated the spectacular movies that Hollywood has created.  Hollywood is so good at what it does (notwithstanding the garbage that it also spews) it seems to be the most irreplaceable asset we have!   If that does not leave you with an “UGH!”, nothing I say will.  That being said, thanks for “Pirates” Hollywood!

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By JBM, February 14, 2010 10:23 am

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This editorial talks of how the Super Bowl ads were crass and sexist.  Let us face the fact that class is nearly gone from Hollywood.

Super Game, Stupid Ads

I would like to know who is the marketing weasel who selected Won’t Get Fooled Again to be played as the players took the field?  The Who performed at half time, so that just reaked of not being original.  Oh well, Mean Joe Green, here’s to you.  And where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?

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By JBM, January 31, 2010 4:55 pm

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Here is a chart produced by Wall Street Journal writers which ranks the top movies of all time.  Depending on how one looks at the list, it may differ dramatically from much of the uproar depicted by movie advertisers:

Reel Dollars

Sort the list by “Inflation-adjusted domestic box office”. AHA! Classic movies occupy a huge percentage of the top movies.    I am surprised to see how high Titanic truly ranks.  What was the draw to this movie?  A young talented, handsome actor?  Was not this a chick flick?  I cannot speak as I did not see it.

I am happy someone did their homework here, as I get tired of hearing about new movies being top dollar movies.  An adjustment for inflation eliminates most of the manufactured hype and gives us the reel [syc.] story.

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By JBM, January 31, 2010 12:14 pm

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This is the my opinion regarding the supposed unintended acceleration of many different Toyota car models. To begin the conversatino I refer you to this brief but excellent article:

Toyota’s Ghost in the Machine

Jenkins points out that sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) complaints plague all manufacturers, and that strange things happen in small numbers when millions ob cars are in use.  He argues that despite not having a well-defined engineering problem, Toyota will define a problem anyway, and subsequently provide a fix for it.

I am in agreement with this author and will take this argument even further.  Does anyone find it strange that Toyota is declared the number one seller of automobiles in the world, and all of a sudden Toyota’s everywhere are ramming into bridge abutments without any input from the driver?  The conspiracy theorists out there can certainly glom onto this one:  The media has magnified SUA complaints against Toyota dramatically.  For unknown reasons they have put a hit out on Toyota to knock them off of their high perch.

If you have a recalled automobile, I would not worry one iota, unless your accelerator is actually sticking.  Sticky parts will happen in small numbers and that is why we have mechanics – to unstick them for us.  I refuse to believe there is a Hal 9000 lurking inside my own Toyota (not on the recall list) waiting to drive me into a river because of my body odor is smelling up the cabin, or because I weigh the car down with too many musical instruments on gig night.

What is difficult to understand is why the hierarchy of Toyota is playing along with this charade, the president even apologizing to the public.  A problem here is that respectful Japanese are shamed by the rumors, and feel they must fall on a sword in repentance.  Akio Toyoda, understand this:  We the American consumers are just looking for someone to sue, for any reason.  We will sue you, get a big grab bag of cash, and quit our miserable jobs, which we otherwise could never do in this post 2008 apocalyptic economy.  Keep in mind, we did the same thing to McDonalds when we spilled their hot coffee on our lap.   After doing business in the U.S. for seventy something years, you still do not have a clue about how we like to coerce money-rich corporations into funding our personal lives.   With all of your high quality cars, you Mr. Toyoda, still fall short on developing a basic understanding of the American public.

Before you go, check out this article which rightfully so rips hard on the American public.  Enjoy.

Toyota Can’t Get The Floormats Right

UPDATE:

I stand corrected by the man, the myth, the legend, Steve Wozniak.

Wozniak cites ‘scary’ Prius acceleration problem

Woz, being one of few smart people in the public limelight, seems to have discovered a problem that Toyota does not know about, or has not defined yet.  He has a Prius that is not on the recall list, and he can produce SUA in his car at will.  SOMEONE LISTEN TO THIS MAN.

March 16 Update:

Runaway Prius Tale Prompts New Probe

It certainly appears as though this Reality Show seeker kept his Prius at high speed intentionally.  Toyota notes that the brake was pressedd 250 times.  He clearly was letting up on the brake to speed the car back up.    Note also that the driver was on a freeway, at a particular time, which just happened to be so open that he could fly at 90 mph without fear of hitting anyone else. Toyota engineers will be able to note that the damage to the brakes is consistent with slight pressure over a long period of time, and not a stomping of the pedal.  Lastly, the reader should know that slightly pressing the brake over many miles will in fact destroy the brakes although this driver is going to argue otherwise.

The law enforcement of San Diego and of the state of California should immediately issue an arrest warrant for this man and press the most severe charges against him, including endangering the lives of everyone around him.  The warrant should be based solely on the objective testing returned from Toyota.  Two years in prison will signal to all Americans that we cannot destroy companies’ reputations for our own selfish purposes.  The engineering data from this case has already proven Balloon Prius Man to be a complete fraud.

Respectfully to the highway patrolman:  Just because you saw this guy acting like he was putting full force on the brakes does not mean he did it – He was ACTING, even for you, in a thoroughly pre-planned event.  Again, the car data proves this to be right, so do not let your eyes fool you.

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By JBM, January 17, 2010 8:41 am

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Try this article:

The U.S. Needs an Infrastructure Bank

The president of Oracle is correct. We have a one hundred year old infrastructure and our politicians have put little money aside for maintenance and repair. My argument against the author’s suggested new account is that the federal government has decided to pay for everything else: Social Security, welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, education, the list is endless. A full two-thirds of the federal budget is social spending.

I think the government should only do the things that only it can afford to do, such as protect us and maintain the infrastructure. Alas, our million man standing army is gone, our bridges are falling down, and we the tax payers are tapped out. Unfortunately lives will be lost as a result of this situation. Now that Americans in all groups understand that they may vote themselves pay raises, I see it as impossible for our fiscal system to correct itself.

JBM

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By admin, November 2, 2009 5:40 pm

JBM is my pen name, and you will not find information about the overtime lawsuit here. But you will find it here:

JBM, Inc. Overtime Pay Litigation

JBM

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By admin, October 25, 2009 5:07 am

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Here is an article I just came across which seeded my brain into yielding some profound thoughts on the matter:

Why Don’t More Americans Believe Climate Change Is Real?

Since you have been inundated with an uncontrollable influx of Global Warming rhetoric, which succeeded the ink-wasting debacle of The Ozone Hole Forthcoming Calamity, I will toss you something you probably have not thought of.

Let us replace the Global Warming slogan with (not “climate control” which is taking over, due to the fact that the globe is measurably cooling) GLOBAL HEAT EXCHANGE.

Lava of several thousand degrees is pouring into the oceans from volcanoes all over the earth.  Periodically scientists discover new, massive volcanoes far beneath the ocean’s surface.  These volcanoes significant.  They release massive amounts of heat from beneath the earth’s crust into the water, and subsequently into the atmosphere.

This process is a convective and conductive process, much like the household oven, or a home’s air circulation.  Heat is transferring around the earth, but this does not mean that new heat is being generated.  The majority of heat that is being generated comes from the sun.  All other heat on earth is existing, or is being converted via a natural or man-made process.
Man converts fossil fuel into heat.  And the heat created by this process needs to be measured and compared with all of the other natural processes. Volcanic heat being released into the oceans and air needs to be measured just the same.   Imagine lava of several thousand degrees pouring into the ocean.  The natural currents carry that heat to the far reaches of the planet.  Some glaciers will melt as a result.  Some climates will see hotter air as a result.

The first step that needs to be taken to begin to understand global temperatures is that volcanic heat must be measured and compared to other heat sources.  Once measured, my theory is that the volcanic heat released on a daily basis far surpasses the heat that mankind creates over a much longer period of time, perhaps a month, six months, or several years.

With a proper investigation, we most likely will determine that man is not a significant factor in global temperature changes.  When basic sleuthing gives us an answer to this question, then we can focus more on a real, measurable  problem, and that is pollution.  Pollution generated by man, including solid waste and gaseous waste, should be continuously minimized through better manufacturing processes, better individual daily habits, and more recycling. Now that the first world has completed a long cycle of industrial evolution, we can use all of our lessons to lower the toxicity being created in China, India, and the rest of the third world, while at the same time allowing these areas to produce their way into a modern, clean, successful economy.

JBM

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By admin, October 11, 2009 12:09 pm

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America, please complete this two second survey. We would like to know if you support waterboarding Bernie Madoff in an attempt to recover the stolen investment money.

[The survey is expired.  Thanks!]

JBM

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By admin, September 6, 2009 5:14 am

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Inspiration:

The Best Places to Launch a Career

This BusinessWeek article, from the purveyors of the “Best of” survey, states that Google was in the top 10 places to launch a career last year, and this year declined to participate. Not to pick on Google specifically, but this illustrates the folly of surveys. A survey that has a company at the top one year, and then does not even list the same company the following year is worthless. Imagine the surveys this year from the employees whose friends in the adjoining cube were laid off.  There is no solution to this, except mandating that once a company participates in a “great place to work” type of survey, it must always participate in perpetuity.  Hrm, that would keep the corporations a little more honest methinks.

I encourage the reader to think about this: A company being fantastic one year, and the next year it lays off a significant portion of its workforce. The bottom line is: Millenia 3 Worker make sure and take care of number one, yourself, in your career, because chances are the company will not.

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By admin, August 24, 2009 7:09 pm

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The following blog post is my inspiration for this post.  A bogus argument, repeated incessantly by many people, including Bill Gates, politicians, and this myopic blogger over at TechCrunch.  I actually wonder if she is this ignorant, or she just wanted to make everyone mad.

Foreigners Attending US Grad Schools Way Down: Wake Up, Xenophobes

To begin with, I am highly offended that because I believe in enforcing immigration limits that someone would call me a xenophobe. People should not throw the “x” term around as if it is candy. It is plainly insulting. Continue reading 'The baloney of “We need more skilled immigrant technology workers.”'»

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By admin, July 25, 2009 11:34 pm

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Alright, so I exaggerate. However, as if the cruise ship industry has not tanked far enough in this economic depression, one of these ships hauled a gigantic stinky dead fish all the way back to the tourist port. See the story here:

Dead Whale Gets Stuck in Cruise Ship Bow

No one knows the circumstance yet, but I am relieved that there is finally a real story where P.I.T.A. can justifiably protest and not look like a bunch of whack jobs. Here is a suggested line of attack for P.I.T.A. to approach the cruse line:

“Didn’t your pilot feel the whale collision? Or did the pilot know the whale was there but not have the correct tools for dislodging a whale body from the ship? Are you prepared to invest in whale-dislodging equipment for your next Caribbean cruise?”

JBM

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By admin, July 22, 2009 9:22 pm

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Here is a wiki that explains all of the facts:

Tasty Tasty Taco dog

The Taco Bell dog died of a stroke.  The poor dog was heartbroken and in financial ruin after losing her job promoting the fast food chain.  A handful of Hispanic people protested the dog as some sort of racial stereotype  (I still do not get this one)  and killed the dog’s career.

I hope those who protested the Taco Bell commercials understand that they have blood on their hands.  This dog should not have died from a stroke during her golden years, but alas, the stress of the situation just got to her.  Rest In Peace  Gidget.

As for the alternate Taco Bell dog, Dinky, he was spotted with an AK-47, heading straight south at an unprecedented speed.  Dinky is looking to avenge Gidget’s death, and I would not want to be on the receiving end of that one.

JBM

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By admin, July 22, 2009 9:09 pm

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I have a theory that I wish to share with you. It has arisen due to President Obama, Ben Bernanke, and other fearless leaders talking of the recession ending this year, and a recovery happening next year. I do not think the recovery schedule will be that fast.

Everyone and their mother are presuming that the classic American economic growth patterns will take hold and will severely limit the recession.

The experts among us should take a second look. Most people in America already have a washer, a dryer, a radio, a television, and possibly a computer. Our economy is based on the flow of goods, and for the above reason, I do not see a great increase in sales in most sectors for the near future. We would need a post-World War II era manufacturing boom to relieve the country of this severe economic turmoil, and it is not going to happen. Even if it did happen, the United States no longer makes most of our staple household goods, so most profits would flow right back out of the country.   Additionally I think there is little trickle-down effect from the service sector, which comprises a large portion of our economy now.

President Obama’s ratings are going down slightly in some areas, especially those areas hit hard economically. I predict that by the end of this year, when average people see no financial relief in sight, President Obama will become perhaps the earliest lame duck president the country has ever seen. When he campaigned, the words he spoke made it sound like there was great hope on the way. While I hate to be negative, I really do, I write what I think and this is the direction I see: A prolonged U.S. recession and a great deal more suffering for the many people in financial trouble.

If you could prove me very wrong, believe me, I would rather have the good news than believe all of these negative thoughts.

JBM

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By admin, July 22, 2009 8:56 pm

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Question: What is “cancerschnitzel”? How about “tumorworst”?

Definition: The standard hot dog renamed to reflect an anti-meat group’s opinion about the hot dog. Why an anti-meat group is protesting hot dogs is a mystery unto itself.

A non-profit group of vegan members wants hot dogs labelled as cancerous. Here is your reference:

L.A. Times Article

Question: How many people will buy fewer hot dogs if they are labelled as cancerous?

I do not know if a hot dog increases a person’s cancer risk, although I figure that a hot dog is probably dangerous to the human body in ten different ways. However, I do not care as I love a hot dog with lots of onions and mustard, and will eat them until I am no longer able. Since hot dogs are processed ,mushy, and easy to eat even without teeth, I should be able to chow them until the day I die. And I figure the hot dog is the authentically vegan part of my diet.

JBM

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By admin, June 18, 2009 6:39 pm

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Today the senate of the United States of America approved a resolution to apologize to African Americans for slavery and Jim Crow laws.

I understand that people everywhere live more difficult lives due to discrimination. However, people need to educate themselves on history and first put slavery in the United States into perspective.

In the Civil War, more Americans died than in any other war. While the Civil War has many facets, the bottom line is that more Americans died in a battle about slavery than for any other cause. For congress to apologize in 2009 for slavery, Continue reading 'Slavery'»

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By admin, June 12, 2009 9:22 pm

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After adding bits to this for weeks, and never concentrating on organizing and polishing this post, I am going to let it loose now. Feel free to comment on spelling, grammar, anything. We need to start discussing the monumental problems that are building daily in America.

I am an optimist, but one would not know it. I think times are bad for this country. The pockets of success will get slimmer and slimmer and the poor and former middle class are on the edge of revolt. Where is the balance and comfort of yesteryear for the average American? Here goes…

Foreign students are now going back to their home countries to work or start their own businesses. So we let people flood in and get educated here, and now that their countries are going through their industrial revolution, these students will help propel their homelands to be major economic competitors with us.

The good news: Engineering wages should finally go up in this country as the need for engineers increases and the supply decreases. This country needs wage inflation like I need a candy bar, and that is badly.

Taxes and accountants: The IRS code is extremely complicated, and intentionally so. The congress of the United States does not want the citizens to know or understand how much they actually pay in taxes, thus the unbelievably complex tax code. Continue reading 'The Ever-growing List of things to worry about in The U.S.'»

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By admin, June 6, 2009 12:30 pm

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I immediately dismissed American Idol when my coworkers raved about it early in its tenure. It just sounded plainly dumb to me. Then I began watching it. As an amateur musician, the opportunity to critically analyze new talent sucked me right in. The show became an opportunity to analyze these singers based on the lessons that my music teachers taught me.

American Idol is a terrific show. Aside from the sometimes fruity pop austerity it brings to the table, it has a great redeeming quality. American Idol demonstrates the extreme hard work associated with becoming the best a singer can be. In many cases the singers who rise to the top do have quality voices with respect to the standards of pop music singing. Thus the show helps the average person to understand what a good voice sounds like, and what flawed singing sounds like also.

After watching a couple of seasons in a row, 2009 just seemed like a really boring season. Has the show lost its spark? Have I become numb to its overall format? Or were the 2009 contestants just plain boring? I may come back, but for for the short term I would rather surf the web, or do anything but watch Idol. Thanks Idol, though, for teaching us how to achieve supremacy.

I could probably copy most of this post and add the title, “America’s Next Top Model”. How to survive an extreme professional competition when just learning the trade. Tyra, you rock!

JBM

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By admin, May 30, 2009 1:04 pm

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The latest on what should have been a very cool federal appointment:

Google Executive To Become Federal Deputy CTO

The President, in a good move, created the Chief Technology Officer position for the United States. In a bad move, he appointed the Public Policy Chief of Google to the Deputy CTO position.

Google is one of, and possibly the most untrusted name in technology because of its perpetual use of peoples’ personal information. Just search the web for Google + big brother, or Google + trustworthy and read a bit about them.

Google’s montra is “do not evil”, but they do not hesitate to “do things that are unethical” and that has been proven many times over.

America, if you think your personal liberties have been perpetually eroded, whether you know much about the Internet or not, this political appointment should have you quaking in your boots.

JBM

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By admin, April 18, 2009 8:44 am

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Recently a YouTube video surfaced showing a couple of Domino’s Pizza workers who used poor hygiene methods to create some disgusting pizza pies. It is single actions like this that can completely destroy an otherwise spectacular business.

[Here is the CEO's response.]

The State of Affairs calls on all United States citizens to financially support Domino’s in the near future. We need to show the business that we understand that this is an isolated incident, that teen boys will be teen boys and there is absolutely no way of preventing this sort of behavior. In light of my constant support for country and the people and businesses in it, I am asking you America to go out and buy food at Domino’s. Perhaps you prefer Pizza Hut. Do not do it! For once in your life, even if you have never been there before, go to Domino’s soon, and purchase more food than you normally eat out. Get yourself an extra, super-high margin cola while you are there. Give the waiter a twenty-five percent tip. Do not be your usual, 2009 Economic Collapse Stingy Self. Domino’s needs you, and America needs you. Fill up the Domino’s soon, so that there is a waiting line at every local Domino’s restaurant.

America, you will know that your job is done when you walk into Domino’s, the employees are crying their eyes out, and the staffs’ pockets are overflowing with dollar bills.

When all is said and done, sit back and congratulate yourself on being a good, (full bellied) United States citizen.

JBM

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By admin, March 24, 2009 4:42 pm

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While perusing BusinessWeek, I came across the following article about student loans. I know that student debt is a major problem for many Americans, and was curious about related news during this severe economic downturn.

Asking for Student Loan Forgiveness

Let me first address the issue of the cost of a college education. The education system as a whole in this country is a sham, designed to suck the livelihood from millions of people. Here is how the system works:

A school argues that it cannot compete with other schools due to aging infrastructure or lack of newer resources. It then demolishes perfectly good, but smelly, 100 year old buildings. Continue reading 'Student Loan Forgiveness Group Sparks Debate'»

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By admin, March 20, 2009 10:34 pm

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I am not even going to comment on this. I do not need to. May the title of this story live in infamy.

Sen. Kerry Urges Asylum for Gay Brazilian Man Who Married in Massachusetts

JBM

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By admin, March 18, 2009 7:53 pm

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In gauging the citizens’ response to bailout recipient AIG’s paying of massive bonuses to employees, I feel the need to say that America needs to understand the congress of the United States better.

Congress handed big hay bales full of cash to large financial institutions. As the financial institutions ran away at full speed with the cash they heisted, congress then said, “Hey, wait, we have some rules you’ll need to foll…Hey! Wait a second!”

If you are broiling mad over this issue, please consider this: Is there anyone out there who thinks congress did not know that if they handed businesses more money than you and I could count in a lifetime, that the businesses would pay some of those funds to their employees?

The bailout institutions were paid off by congress for the evil that they have done, to paraphrase a friend of mine. Congress definitely knows what it is doing, at all times, with large funds that it hands out. For our representatives to pretend that the misuse of money represents new and unpredictable actions, is for congress to simply be the scoundrels that they are.

Do not hold your congressman’s or congresswoman’s dishonesty against him or her. Send them a sympathy card, and state that you understand that they were born with criminal minds, and to call you if they need moral support. (You will need to explain what that means to them.)

Ah, here were go. Senator Dodd admits exempting bonus pay!
Sen. Dodd Admits Adding Bonus Provision to Stimulus Package

AIG, do not give your bonuses back, you rubes! The law excplicitly states that you do not have to!

Yes, I always support the Law of the Land.

JBM

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By admin, March 15, 2009 11:58 am

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Trisaic for the iPod & iPhone

Caught up in the hysteria, my business partners and I wrote a new application for iPhones and iPod Touches. Just search for the game “Trisaic” and you will quickly find it, or use the above link.

What is the iPod / iPhone application hysteria all about? Why is this happening? How can Apple garner so much success, and bring so many developers with it, during a time of economic disaster?

One explanation: Despite being expensive, iPods are on par, or less in cost than home gaming machines. However, they have the great advantage of portability. People can play games at work, in school, on the bus, anywhere they choose.

Secondly, the availability of games is stunning. One can download thousands of free games for their time-killing pleasure. (Trisaic has a free version for you to try out.) Additionally, paying for an iPod game is so easy to do. While most people have to carefully budget for a $50 cartridge for a home game machine, or gaming software for the computer, how does 99 cents, or $1.99, or $2.99 sound? If one finds something fun or interesting they can latch onto, the cost for hours of entertainment can be well worth a few puny dollars.

JBM

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By admin, February 12, 2009 12:12 pm

Support this site!

The electronic book readers that are hitting the market by storm are very cool. Personally, I love the feel of a real paper book or magazine. I could change my mind someday after using an electronic device, but it just seems like blasphemy to digitize books and rip the paper from our hands.

Here is a warning for authors distributing books via Amazon’s Kindle 2: Continue reading 'Amazon Kindle 2: Cool, but may take advantage of inexperienced authors'»

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By admin, February 9, 2009 6:13 pm

Here is an article referencing the new president’s proposal, which consists of mounds more spending on top of the previous president’s ridiculous budgets:

World worries how U.S. will pay for stimulus

My thoughts:

1) The President of Mexico (of all places) is the first world leader I have read about it who actually “gets it.”

2) With unemployment skyrocketing and manufacturing within U.S. borders at a low level, and even $7 Starbucks jobs flying out the window, Continue reading 'The Latest “Stimulus Plan”'»

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By admin, January 17, 2009 12:29 pm

Whatever happened to human decency? For a glimpse of the worst of mankind, I suggest that you google “Obama assassination”. Seriously, you need to know what goes on, even on the vast web of interconnected idiots. Here is the outlandish result of such a Google search:

” Results 1 – 10 of about 2,750,000 for Obama assassination. (0.39 seconds) ”

There are nearly three million results for web pages that at least mention this phrase. Continue reading 'Proliferation of racist talk and Obama Assassination talk'»

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By admin, January 4, 2009 1:41 pm

Purchase The History of the Cleveland Browns on DVD

Purchase Three Classic Cleveland Browns Games

Cleveland is rebuilding, once again. Actually, I think this is part of their long-term planning: Rebuild every couple of years to keep things fresh. I need not describe how Browns fans are feeling as we all know the feeling too well.

The Cleveland Browns completely fell apart in 2008. There are clearly mental issues going on amongst the ranks. We played the Giants and looked like a Super Bowl team. We then proceeded Continue reading 'The Cleveland Browns – Here we go again.'»

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By admin, January 3, 2009 4:04 am

SPONSOR:
Trisaic for the iPod & iPhone

Check it out, interested Google fans:

Google Wants You To Be Its Unpaid Muse

Yes, there are a zillion great ideas. What makes one stand out? EXECUTION. Google, MS, et al of the behemoths have now forgotten how to execute, and to a mind numbing extent. Continue reading 'Google wants your ideas…for free.'»

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By admin, January 1, 2009 12:32 pm

Here you go, it could not be easier! Copy this code and use it at Bonobos.com for, get this, PANTS! American Made!

The State of Affairs Bonobos Offer

This code gets you 15% off your first order with Bonobos.

JBM

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By admin, December 13, 2008 1:33 pm

Reference article:

Feds say Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme was worst ever

The former Nasdaq chairman Bernard Madoff ran a spectacular Ponzi scheme, a system where the first participants receive extraordinary payouts, and all of the other participants receive bupkus. I fully support this scheme, without any regret. Continue reading 'In Full Support of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme'»

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By admin, December 7, 2008 10:27 am

News article, in case you have been sleeping:

Guitarist sues over 2008 Coldplay hit

Joe Satriani is suing the band Coldplay for allegedly plagiarizing one of his songs. Upon hearing of this lawsuit, I listened to both songs. The melody of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” does sound Continue reading 'Satch vs. Coldplay'»

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By admin, December 1, 2008 4:19 pm

Reference articles:

Search of BusinessWeek for the term “oil tumbles”

The best action the OPEC members could take is to do nothing right now. The $150 oil prices helped to kill the global economy. I do not think that the oil producing nations have any understanding of this. While the towering prices were mostly due to oil futures trading, OPEC received a great deal of profit as a result. They need to lay low now and allow oil prices to reach a natural equilibrium.

Lest you be warned OPEC: If you cut supply dramatically in order to raise prices, you may help drive several major nations into deep recessions, or even depressions. If commerce stops, transportation stops, and then you might as well kill your oil flow entirely. Be selfish now, and you will learn a new meaning of “What goes around…”

JBM

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By admin, November 28, 2008 2:08 pm

The United States citizen should stop and ponder for at least a minute about the ongoing death and destruction in Mumbai. While America has been detached from most Muslim terrorist acts, we also suffered one of the worst acts in history with the annihilation of the World Trade Center in 2001. Let us pause, deliberate, and say a prayer for the thousands of people whose lives have been touched by the slaughter or their friends and families in India. May the Indian troops bring a swift end to the ordeal.

12/1/2008

There were many warnings about the Mumbai terror attacks, even as early as four months ago:

India had warnings of attack by sea, on hotel – source

We believe that we have created a civilized society, but we cannot even take credible information and prevent the horrible destruction of these animals. History repeats itself.

JBM

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By admin, November 27, 2008 8:43 am

Gauging the economy, the mood swings of the citizens, and their forthcoming actions has proven to be an impossible task; Just ask the thousands of economists who did not see the recession coming. The prices of retail goods are plummeting, with sales everywhere that will appear to be similar to post-Christmas closeouts. What will the American consumer do tomorrow, the day after Thanksgiving? Will the incredible sales entice Continue reading 'Black Friday appears, just as our family cuts out the gift giving.'»

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By admin, November 22, 2008 3:34 pm

Here is a teaser describing president-elect Obama’s economic plan:

Obama: Country Facing ‘Economic Crisis of Historic Proportions’

Here are the forthcoming comments, all of which I warn you are negative:

Number of jobs: The number of jobs in president-elect Obama’s plan is 2.5 million. Note that a normal growing economy will create this many jobs in one year without any assistance whatsoever from the federal government.

Timeframe: Over two years for this plan to be implemented. Continue reading 'New jobs from the new president? Dubious plans ahead.'»

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By admin, November 16, 2008 7:53 am

I have listened for years to liberal pundits arguing that the 2000 election was “stolen” by voting impropriety at the control of republicans and rulings by a republican sympathetic court. This was hard to understand since the contested counties in Florida, to my understanding, were all controlled by the Democratic Party. Regarding the courts, I do not think I know a person who wants the courts to be involved in our elections, irrespective of party Continue reading 'The 2008 presidential election stolen? Of course…now let us move on.'»

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By admin, November 5, 2008 6:41 pm

We now have a new president. I think it best for all Americans to pray for president-elect Obama, that he will make decisions to improve a country that has been on a downslide in many ways, for many decades.

I do fear that the plenary democratic control of the federal government may result in the bankrupting of America. Spending will be more aggressive than it has been, and it has been ridiculous. As the economy is in terrible shape, higher federal spending is going to put even more stress on the average American worker. If your stress about personal finances and the country’s direction was high already, I fear it is going to get even worse. Continue reading 'Happy Post Election. PHEW!'»

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By admin, November 2, 2008 6:31 pm

Note that the “big money” candidate in 2008 is Senator Obama. At this point I think his campaign has twice the funds of Senator McCain’s. With years of relating republicans to the rich, including more recently relating big money with the Swift Boaters, the Democratic Party will not be able to intellectually argue this mantra anymore. This election will probably change political dynamics in several significant ways.

Senator McCain and Governor Palin brag about their career fights against pork spending. However, their proposed spending will result in even greater government borrowing than exists today. Continue reading 'Notes on the election, Senators Obama & McCain'»

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By admin, October 11, 2008 8:30 pm

Try this on for size as the federal government continues to go the wrong way down a one way street:

The end of American capitalism?

America, congress has walloped you twice. First, they neglected to implement basic rules that would have prevented the marketing of risky mortgages as highly rated financial instruments. Secondly, they taxed you greatly to pay for a huge stack of ineffective laws. Next (oh, I see this makes three wallops, not two) they now risk your money in taking control of banks, nationalizing them, and shredding the Constitution in the process. Never fear, though, as the president and both presidential candidates have talked greatly…lots of talk and more talk…about protections for you, the taxpayer.

JBM

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By admin, October 4, 2008 2:39 pm

“It actually destroys the idea of a free-market economy.”
- Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Turning to congressman Kucinich and hearing the most intellectual quotes regarding the bailout is novel and refreshing. He was in the minority as the financial bailout bill passed its second congressional vote, but he did the right thing by voting no.

As you know by now, congress decided to purchase the caustic assets from failing banks with the goal of preventing an economic crisis. Of course, immediately after passage, news reporters were already stating that this funding would be a long-term process. I predict by the time that all is said and done, all of the congressmen who supported this bill will take credit for everything good that may happen, but Americans who paid for this bill will have no idea whatsoever if the spending was truly needed to sustain our economy.

JBM

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By admin, September 30, 2008 6:21 pm

Everyone by now knows that Congress failed to pass the proposed 700 billion dollar bailout plan. Despite leaders of the congressional crew constantly telling America how good the plan is for us, calls to congress have been three hundred to one, yes, 300 to 1 against the bailout plan. A business partner of mine assures me that this bailout is needed because the economy will shut down completely due to tight credit. I say “hogwash.” Continue reading 'Congressional bailout failure = an “F” to be proud of!'»

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By admin, September 20, 2008 6:47 am

Dear Mr. Spielberg,

I just read that you have partnered with Reliance ADA Group, India’s largest entertainment company. While not being a part of the movie business, I do not completely understand the implications of this move with regards to jobs and the U.S. economy. However, my gut instinct upon seeing the headline to this story was to skewer you in an article detailing how the United States cannot afford any more job losses to other countries. In fairness to you, I would like to first ask you to respond to such criticisms. As the United States and its moviegoers have been the prime support of your vast fortune, how can you justify feeding an overseas entertainment company with your great creative products? I argue that you should solely do business in the U.S., which is in such desperate need of new business.

Thank you,

JBM

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By admin, September 13, 2008 12:48 pm

April 30th, 2008, another blogger opened shop at “stateofaffairs.info”. They call it “The State of Affairs” also. They are certainly a formidable contender. After all, they say this about their site:

“The State of Affairs web blog is one of the most unique blogs on the web today. Continue reading 'Check out the cheap copy of this web site.'»

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By admin, September 8, 2008 6:18 pm

It is probably a small portion of people who are die hard leftists, or democrats, I am not sure, and I have little interest in defining these people. Let them define themselves through their actions. However, the venom that they shoot at Governor Palin is remarkably sick, and that I must comment about.

After her short walk into the spotlight, it quickly became common knowledge that Governor Palin is pro-life; she believes that a baby, from conception, is a human being. A reasonable belief one would think. She herself has a Down syndrome child. Continue reading 'Governor Palin & Her Personal Philosophies'»

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By admin, September 7, 2008 9:33 am

I have had enough of the idiocy of companies trying to provide products and services. Their gaffs can be funny, so I will start posting the silly things that happen to me on a daily basis. You are welcome to do the same. Try to keep your comments short so that readers can view many of these in a short sitting.

9/7/2008
Fox News has a banner that reads:
Government Ousts Executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: Watch Live

I selected this link and the page that displayed showed: “Tracking Ike: Satellite feed” with a weather map of the southeastern United States. Continue reading 'Service Stupidity Tracking'»

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By admin, September 7, 2008 9:05 am

I watched bits and pieces of the Republican Party convention. Overall, I think both parties spend too much time talking about how their candidates just love to serve the people. I would have liked more talk about concrete policies. I also think that policy talk would help attract more of the swing voters, who are political party agnostic. I do think it is exciting that the republican candidates are not party hardliners, but seem to have individual moral fortitude to do what is right. Continue reading 'Republican Convention'»

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By admin, September 4, 2008 3:57 am

America, update yourself on the current state of the U.S. automakers and their plans for support from Washington here:

Detroit Crashes the Conventions

We need to pay careful attention to the U.S. automakers. There is history in the making here, and probably negative history and events no matter what happens. Continue reading 'The American Auto Makers: ‘Til Death Do Us Part'»

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By admin, August 29, 2008 9:55 pm

The Democratic Party convention is over. A seemingly nice event, with 80,000 cheering fans. Kind of cool no matter what your party is.  Everyone did a nice job. Unfortunately, Senator Obama promised the long list of government services that everyone promises the American people just before each election. (I may be saying the same things about the republicans a week from now.) That is a bit of a turnoff for this society that is paying close attention to the political rancor.  Surprisingly, the candidate with an extremely liberal voting record looked straight at the camera and promised to lower taxes for ninety-five percent of Americans. Of course, after such foggy statements, people wonder where they stand in the income percentiles. Continue reading 'The Presidential Conversation'»

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By admin, August 20, 2008 5:55 pm

Some reference articles to glance at:

Tough Times for eBay Entrepreneurs

EBay: Amazon-ification Takes Hold

The original magic of eBay was that of a worldwide garage sale that perfected the commerce between the person who had worthless junk, and the person who sought treasure in the same item. Somewhere along the way this magic fizzled out and wafted away in a plume of smoke.

Personally, I have some active searches on eBay for some old records and such. I see these items pop up every couple of weeks. I bid on them: First $2, then $5, then $10, then $15, and now always seem to get outbid. Continue reading 'Are we buyers observing the imminent death of eBay?'»

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By admin, August 12, 2008 3:21 am

Here is a weak, non-detailed article from my favorite online source that does make the point:

NOT FEDERAL TAXES FOR THE CORPORATION

I have mixed feelings about this issue. As dad taught me, why should a corporation pay any taxes whatsoever? Recall, a corporation is an entity that represents people, the investors. Many investors are company employees, Continue reading 'Corporations do not pay federal income taxes'»

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By admin, August 9, 2008 12:15 pm

America, look in the mirror and ask yourself what is wrong with you as you participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics? In a medieval fashion, Internet access in China is partially restricted to visiting foreign journalists, which is most likely a very different situation from their home countries. China is restricting the ability of its people to drive Continue reading 'The Historic 2008 Summer Olympics: Welcome to Smelly City'»

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By admin, August 3, 2008 5:10 pm

Oh the sound of thunder! Actually, I like the sound of thunder, it is those blasted motorcycles across the street that I cannot stand…or could not stand before. You are already wondering where I am going with this. Let me start with some background.

Some of my neighborinos drive around in Harley Davidsons. I have been trying to figure this out for years: What is the draw with a motorcycle that makes as much noise as the cars at the top fuel racetrack? Continue reading 'A lesson in gratefulness, a hearful of cycles'»

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By admin, July 4, 2008 1:28 pm

Michael Savage, the conservative radio talk show host, talks frequently about the lessons his father taught him. Among these lessons, his father explained that one political party takes office, botches their jobs, the public sentiment shifts, and the other party takes office and works in the same incompetent manner.

I am thirty-seven years old and now think that my view of our country was greatly rose-colored due to the presidency of Continue reading 'Senator Obama Versus Senator McCain. Add a possible VP Hillary to extend the joke.'»

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By admin, May 3, 2008 10:33 am

Sponsor Link:

Joroto – iPod applications, Gift T-shirts for programmers

This week was a boon for my stamp, paper, ink, and envelope suppliers. I went through a series of spats with several corporations, and decided to shout out a response at the top of my lungs for each. This is our country, and nothing will change until each one of us stands up for ourselves.

* I received a notice for one of my magazines that promised an expensive special issue if I were to renew. Continue reading 'Service? Where?'»

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By admin, April 26, 2008 2:59 am

At the risk of sounding cruel to many, the Big Dollar Giveaway Plans coming out of Washington D.C. are terrible plans that are detrimental to the health of the United States’ federal budget.

Topic One: Tax Refunds

Introduction: Bush signs economic stimulus package

Yes I am a recipient, like most working Americans, of the 2007 Stimulus Plan tax refund. Additionally, this money will help tremendously with my personal budget. With this in mind, the tax “refund” is a poor idea. Notice I put the word “refund” in quotes. For those who do not pay taxes, this “refund” is akin to a lottery win. However, I digress. Continue reading 'Washington D.C.’s 2007 Tax Refund and Housing Recovery Plans = Dumb and Dumberer'»

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By admin, September 16, 2007 9:04 am

Yes, this is all you need as you work hard, endure high stress at work, and feel the perpetual need to take care of your family and occasionally purchase nice things for them: Some author-want-to-be doling out advice on how to be frugal. Take this column for what it is, another exchange of ideas, hopefully some of which you had not thought about or seriously considered in the past. Overall, it is a reminder to be more frugal. That is hard medicine to swallow for Americans who want more and more nicer “things”. With a little planning today, tomorrow will be full of nice things for you! Continue reading 'The Cost of Life, Part Two: Solutions'»

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By admin, May 20, 2007 7:05 am

The purpose of this article is to discuss the various factors that have led many Americans to a state of high anxiety with regard to paying their bills. When I began writing, I quickly dove into extensive details concerning the poor long-term planning of major companies, the errors of labor unions, and more. I quickly realized each point could be extrapolated into a book by itself. This discussion should be useful to the average person, so I started over and decided to merely list some of the factors that immediately affect the Cost of Life in the United States. Subsequently I hope to introduce some philosophies and advice for decreasing the ever-growing economic stress that Americans are feeling. Continue reading 'The Cost of Life, Part One'»

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By admin, March 25, 2007 9:37 am

The latest: Up to Four Generals Should Be Among Those to Be Held Accountable for Tillman’s Death, Report to Say

I know little to nothing about the United States’ fighting forces, but I do have friends who belong to them. One friend suggested to me that Tillman was probably killed intentionally on the battlefield. What explanation can we seek for such a theory? Continue reading 'Was Pat Tillman fragged, meaning intentionally killed, by fellow troops?'»

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By admin, February 10, 2007 2:31 pm

Various legislatures around the country are starting conversations about, even introducing legislation aimed at eliminating the use of incandescent light bulbs. Recall, Thomas A. Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, and this bulb lights up most houses in the United States. The suggested replacement for Edison’s invention is the compact fluorescent bulb. Continue reading 'Goodbye incandescent light bulbs?'»

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By admin, January 13, 2007 7:36 pm

It seems clear that any famous person who is heard or captured on audio or video spouting racist remarks will secure themselves a place on every major news program, and most daytime talk shows for weeks to come. Fervor was generated not too long ago due to Mel Gibson repeating anti-Semitic remarks in a drunken stupor. Then came the amateur video of actor Michael Richards affronting two black people in his audience. The latest incident involves actor Anthony Michael Hall, captured on the same medium as Richards, also spouting the “n” word. In this case, Hall was outside the Laugh Factory on the public sidewalk, unlike Richards who made his presence known on the stage inside. Continue reading 'Racist Rants'»

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By admin, December 20, 2006 8:35 pm

There are plenty of outsourcing articles, but here is a link to an example from BusinessWeek.com to get you warmed up to the conversation:

Outsourcing: Beyond Bangalore

I used to believe that an entirely free world job market is best for the U.S. I thought when low-level jobs leave the country, Americans have more opportunities to fall into more complicated roles that we would perform better than anyone else. Experience in industry has taught me that this is only partially true. Continue reading 'Outsourcing Tech Support and Other Woes'»