Debate Results are Always Debatable
Sunday, September 28, 2008

Candidate debates are generally farcical to me, in that results are always just a matter of opinion. After the much anticipated debate, do we really think any McCain supporter has a changed view, and likewise for Obama supporters. The old adage, "do confuse me with the facts, I've already made up my mind" usually applies. Actually, Friday night was a characterization of misdirection and muddle. Fact checks abound on-line, but most sites have an agenda exposed by which facts they actually check. PolitiFact.com seems fairly straight-forward, and has a fun "Truth-O-Meter" for counting the score. Even the "Truth-O-Meter" has trouble with politicians, and has to include the categories of "mostly true", "half true", and "barely true". With so many categories of truth, will the truth ever set us free?

Amazingly, after 7 1/2 years of Republican rule in the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches (with the exception of stalemate power of both parties in the Legislative branch for the last 20 months), some people are still unsure about whether or not a change is desirable. You may think of these folks as cave dwellers, but please have a little patience, and encourage them along. I'm not much for polls, but the following my be of interest:

CBS News and Knowledge Networks conducted a nationally representative poll of approximately 500 uncommitted voters reacting to the debate in the minutes after it happened.

Thirty-nine percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. Twenty-four percent thought John McCain won. Thirty-seven percent saw it as a draw.

Forty-six percent of uncommitted voters said their opinion of Obama got better tonight. Thirty-two percent said their opinion of McCain got better.

Sixty-six percent of uncommitted voters think Obama would make the right decisions about the economy. Forty-two percent think McCain would.

Forty-eight percent of these voters think Obama would make the right decisions about Iraq. Fifty-six percent think McCain would.

Uncommitted voters are those who don't yet know who they will vote for, or who have chosen a candidate but may still change their minds.

The margin of sampling error could be plus or minus 4 percentage points for results based on the entire sample.

If you weren't able to see the debate, you may want to watch it now (or later).

A little change of subject; I thought you might find this article on Chryslers electric sports car, jeep, and minivan interesting and encouraging.

- Posted by JLM - 9/28/08 12:12

Sunday, September 21, 2008
Pop Quiz

Well, it's been a busy week. The big news item of course is the disaster on Wall Street. You could throw a cliché party to describe the melt down, but we can settle on "chickens coming home to roost". More later... Then there was the "terror DVD" that was delivered by major newspapers in the so-called swing states. It is yet another attempt to frighten the nation into an unwise choice on election day. So many crazy things are happening, that it's very easy to become confused and make a choice based on the last 30 second commercial you saw on TV. Let's put things into perspective with a little pop quiz that I found in Truthout this week. I'm copying it here, not because plagiarism saves time, but because it's essential that we look beyond what corporate media shows us. Don't feel bad if you didn't know any of the answers, but rather be glad that now you have a better understanding. Looking at just one side can of anything can give one the impression that the world is flat. We have enough of those flat-world types in Washington, and we don't need more. So here's the quiz:

  1. How many deaths are there worldwide each year due to acts of terrorism?

    Answer: The US State Department reported there were more than 22,000 deaths from terrorism last year. Over half of those killed or injured were Muslims. Source: Voice of America, May 2, 2008. "Terrorism Deaths Rose in 2007."

    2. How many deaths are there worldwide each day due to poverty and malnutrition?

    A: About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. Poverty.com - Hunger and World Poverty. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes - one child every five seconds. Bread for the World. Hunger Facts: International.

    3. 1n 1965, CEOs in major companies made 24 times more than the average worker. In 1980, CEOs made 40 times more than the average worker. In 2007, CEOs earned how many times more than the average worker?

    A: Today's average CEO from a Fortune 500 company makes 364 times an average worker's pay and over 70 times the pay of a four-star Army general. Executive Excess 2007, page 7, jointly published by Institute for Policy Studies and United for Fair Economy, August 29, 2007. The 1965 numbers from State of Working America 2004-2005, Economic Policy Institute.

    4. In how many of the more than 3,000 cities and counties in the US can a full-time worker who earns the minimum wage afford to pay rent and utilities on a one-bedroom apartment?

    A: In no city or county in the entire USA can a full-time worker who earns minimum wage afford even a one-bedroom rental. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urges renters not to pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent. HUD also reports the fair market rent for each of the counties and cities in the US. Nationally, in order to rent a two-bedroom apartment, one full-time worker in 2008 must earn $17.32 per hour. In fact, 81 percent of renters live in cities where the Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom rental is not even affordable with two minimum-wage jobs. Source: Out of Reach 2007-2008, April 7, 2008, National Low-Income Housing Coalition.

    5. In 1968, the minimum wage was $1.65 per hour. How much would the minimum wage be today if it had kept pace with inflation since 1968?

    A: Calculated in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars, the 1968 minimum wage would have been $9.83 in 2007 dollars. Andrew Tobias, January 16, 2008. The federal minimum wage is $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008, and will be $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.

    6. True or false? People in the United States spend nearly twice as much on pet food as the US government spends on aid to help foreign countries.

    A: True. The USA spends $43.4 billion on pet food annually. Source: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association Inc. The USA spent $23.5 billion in official foreign aid in 2006. The US government gave the most of any country in the world in actual dollars. As a percentage of gross national income, the US came in second to last among OECD donor countries and ranked number 20 at 0.18 percent behind Sweden at 1.02 percent and other countries such as Norway, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and others. This does not count private donations, which, if included, may move the US up as high as sixth. The Index of Global Philanthropy 2008, pages 15-19.

    7. How many people in the world live on $2 a day or less?

    A: The World Bank reported in August 2008 that 2.6 billion people consume less than $2 a day.

    8. How many people in the world do not have electricity?

    A: Worldwide, 1.6 billion people do not have electricity and 2.5 billion people use wood, charcoal or animal dung for cooking. United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008, pages 44-45.

    9. People in the US consume 42 kilograms of meat per person per year. How much meat and grain do people in India and China eat?

    A: People in the US lead the world in meat consumption at 42 kg per person per year, compared to 1.6 kg in India and 5.9 kg in China. People in the US consume five times the grain (wheat, rice, rye, barley, etc.) as people in India, three times as much as people in China, and twice as much as people in Europe. "THE BLAME GAME: Who is behind the world food price crisis," Oakland Institute, July 2008.

    10. How many cars does China have for every 1,000 drivers? India? The US?

    A: China has nine cars for every 1,000 drivers. India has 11 cars for every 1,000 drivers. The US has 1,114 cars for every 1,000 drivers. Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, "Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future" (2007).

    11. How much grain is needed to fill an SUV tank with ethanol?

    A: The grain needed to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a hungry person for a year. Lester Brown, CNN.Money.com, August 16, 2006.

    12. According to The Wall Street Journal, the richest one percent of Americans earns what percent of the nation's adjusted gross income? Five percent? Ten percent? Fifteen percent? Twenty percent?

    A: "According to the figures, the richest one percent reported 22 percent of the nation's total adjusted gross income in 2006. That is up from 21.2 percent a year earlier, and it is the highest in the 19 years that the IRS has kept strictly comparable figures. The 1988 level was 15.2 percent. Earlier IRS data show the last year the share of income belonging to the top one percent was at such a high level as it was in 2006 was in 1929, but changes in measuring income make a precise comparison difficult." Jesse Drucker, "Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow," Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2008, page A3.

    13. How many people does our government say are homeless in the US on any given day?

    A: A total of 754,000 are homeless. About 338,000 homeless people are not in shelters (live on the streets, in cars or in abandoned buildings) and 415,000 are in shelters on any given night. The 2007 US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Annual Homeless Report to Congress, page iii and 23. The population of San Francisco is about 739,000.

    14. What percentage of people in homeless shelters are children?

    A: HUD reports nearly one in four people in homeless shelters are children 17 or younger. Page iv, the 2007 HUD Annual Homeless Report to Congress.

    15. How many veterans are homeless on any given night?

    A: Over 100,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. About 18 percent of the adult homeless population are veterans. Page 32, the 2007 HUD Homeless Report. This is about the same population as Green Bay, Wisconsin.

    16. The military budget of the United States in 2008 is the largest in the world at $623 billion per year. How much larger is the US military budget than that of China, the second-largest in the world?

    A: Ten times. China's military budget is $65 billion. The US military budget is nearly 10 times larger than the second leading military spender. GlobalSecurity.org

    17. The US military budget is larger than how many of the countries of the rest of the world combined?

    A: The US military budget of $623 billion is larger than the budgets of all the countries in the rest of the world put together. The total global military budget of the rest of the world is $500 billion. Russia's military budget is $50 billion, South Koreas is $21 billion, and Irons is $4.3 billion. GlobalSecurity.org.

    18. Over the 28-year history of the Berlin Wall, 287 people perished trying to cross it. How many people have died in the last four years trying to cross the border between Arizona and Mexico?

    A: At least 1,268 people have died along the border of Arizona and Mexico since 2004. The Arizona Daily Star keeps track of the reported deaths along the state border, and it reports 214 died in 2004; 241 in 2005, 216 in 2006, 237 in 2007, and 116 as of July 31, 2008. These numbers do not include deaths along the California or Texas borders. The Border Patrol reported that 400 people died in fiscal 2206-2007, while 453 died in 2004-2005 and 494 died in 2004-2005. Source The Associated Press, November 8, 2007.

    19. India is ranked second in the world in gun ownership with four guns per 100 people. China is third with three firearms per 100 people. Which country is first and how widespread is gun ownership?

    A: The US is first in gun ownership worldwide with 90 guns for every 100 citizens. Laura MacInnis, "US most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people." Reuters, August 28, 2007.

    20. What country leads the world in the incarceration of its citizens?

    A: The US jails 751 inmates per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the world. Russia is second with 627 per 100,000. England's rate is 151, Germany's is 88 and Japan's is 63. The US has 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any country in the world. Adam Liptak, "Inmate Count in US Dwarfs Other Nations'" New York Times, April 23, 2008.

Now, back to this weeks disaster; the Decider wants taxpayers to pay $700 billion to bail out Wall Street for its reckless investments in mortgage-backed securities. That's on top of $800 billion for other recent bailouts, including A.I.G., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns.  Even I can figure out that adds up to around $1.5 Trillion. If you think that will be the end of the mess, you most be drinking that funny cool-aid. Unfortunately, the trillion figure is far to great to be within our comprehension.

The current financial disaster is the direct result of deregulation, corruption, and greed (business as usual). I spent a few years of my life as an registered agent (series 7 & 24), helping folks with investments and retirement planning and personal insurance. The education that I gained in per suit of licensing led me to realize that Wall Street is little more than a huge casino. You may win, or you may loose, but the firm that handles your account always wins. It seems that casinos are actually better regulated than Wall Street. I have often said that when you make up the rules of the game, you generally win. Now we have CEOs strapping on their "golden parachutes" and sailing away with millions at tax payers expense.

Actually, since the US is already in a terrible financial situation of indebtedness, the money will initially come not from taxpayers (we're broke), but from (you guessed it) China, Saudi Arabia, etc. In short, a $1.5 trillion bailout is not a solution; it's a band-aid on a cancer. It's a shovel to dig us into a deeper hole. If you are curious as to the diabolical mechanisms that got us into this mess, I suggest you read an article in Global Research entitled Financial Bailout: America's Own Kleptocracy by Michael Hudson.

What can you do for yourself in this situation? Remember to buy low and sell high (which means this is no time to sell). If you're going to invest, take the time to understand your investments, and the rules of the game. Don't react on emotion; you will lose. To end with another cliché - been there done that! Oh yes, and it's high time to throw the bums out!

- Posted by JLM - 9/21/08 11:55

Sunday, September 14, 2008
Issues? What Issues?

It is quite unfortunate that a large percentage (maybe a majority) of the population of America is functionally illiterate. That is... they don't read. Consequently, the future of our great country is dependent on TV pundits and talking heads. Instead of issues, we (as a country) decide who will lead us based on personality, sound bytes, prejudices, and often lies. Paul Krugman of the New York times gave us an article this week entitled Blizzard of Lies. We need to be looking at such issues as, where all our wealth is going (hint, we spend more on military than the rest of the world combined). Where are our jobs going (China, if you haven't noticed)? What happened to the value of our homes (deregulation of the financial industry, i.e. "free market"). When will we be free of foreign oil (never if the oil companies have their way, and they do)? Instead we get fed diversions, and downright stupidity.

I was listening to a debate this morning, and the right-winger declared that Iraq has everything to do with 9-11 as evidenced by the fact that we're fighting "al-Qaeda in Iraq". The lefty let him get away with that falsity. You should understand that the Pentagon calls any anti-American insurgent of the Sunni sect al-Qaeda. It doesn't matter that they are Iraqis that had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, bin Laden, or any attacks on America (with the possible exception of American force now occupying Iraq). Of course if you're John McCain, you expand that definition to include any Muslim that's fed up with American hubris, which explains why he thought that Iran was training al-Qaeda. In fact, Iran and al-Qaeda are bitter enemies, and Iran was the first Middle Eastern nation to offer condolence and assistance following 9-11. How times have changed! Remember those days when America was respected? Middle Eastern expert Juan Cole has an interesting perspective on the realities that exist in the Middle East. His posting - Time to Declare the original al-Qaeda Defeated is must reading for anyone that cares about the future of America. Bottom line, we can't continue to squander our fortune and our future as we have in the last seven years.

Back to McCain, as I watch his "deer in the headlight" expressions, and listen to his stumbling, bumbling responses to questions that really matter (like al-Qaeda, the economy, energy, and on and on), I have to wonder if Alzheimer's is beginning to manifest itself. Actuarially speaking, there's a very good chance that were he elected President, he could not fulfill his first term.

Sunday, September 7, 2008
Déjà vu All Over Again

Tear gas, percussion grenades, pepper spray, arrests, detention, and release without charges... my, doesn't it sound like the old days! Ah, but it was just last week. We heard a little about it on the news (a token here and a slip-of-the-tongue there), but very little. It makes little sense to report actual news, when you can just put on two political pundits and watch then try to kill each other with sound-bytes. All that spin makes me dizzy. It's interesting though, that this week in St. Paul it was the press that was a major target for the "authorities", who seemed especially intent on singling out independent journalists and activists covering the Republican convention for the Internet and other alternative forms of media.

I remember the smell and the burn of tear gas. I lived in Berkeley in the late '60's and watched the disruption, not as people were "protesting" or rioting and being disruptive. Publicly speaking out against the war in Vietnam was all it took to bring riot police who would proceed to riot. They were well trained to riot, you see. I remember once walking out of my apartment to the sight of three policemen kicking an individual in the head, the ribs, between the legs as a young lady was crying and pleading "don't kick him, don't kick him". Their nightsticks, handcuffs, and all were neatly stowed in their little holsters. I would like to say that I did something about it. I was about 145 lbs. The police totaled about 700 lbs., and they were armed. I kept walking. Where do you go to report that? To the police? You've got to be kidding! It was dangerous then, and it's dangerous now.

When the authorities use violence to quell people as they exercise their right to peaceful assembly, and freedom of speech, the authorities are the criminals. When the authorities arrest and harass reporters that are trying to record the abuse of power, the authorities are the criminals. The right of peaceful assembly, and freedom of speech are rights that are guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States of America. The authorities are not the the law (regardless of what they think). They have sworn an oath to protect and defend the law; when they act counter to that oath, they break the law. This is very important. We need to realize, that uniforms and weapons are not the definition of the law. We send our children off to war to fight totalitarian regimes. Shall we then tolerate totalitarianism at home?

"Without free speech no search for truth is possible... no discovery of truth is useful... Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech. The abuse dies in a day, but the denial slays the life of the people, and entombs the hope of the race."
      -- Charles Bradlaugh

We have seen and discussed ad nauseam the abuses of the Decider's administration. We have witness total disregard for our Constitution, and indeed even attempted reversals of the constitution by the Bushies. This is why in June Congressman Dennis Kucinch introduced 35 (yes 35) articles of impeachment against Bush. Read it, save it, send it to everyone you know. The impeachment will never happen, since (when you include turn-coat Joe Lieberman) the Republicans have the numbers to never allow justice to prevail against this alleged president. Additionally, enough spineless Democrats have had enough of impeachment to last them a lifetime. Nonetheless, the Bush Administration has broken the law (a lot), and violated the Constitution (a lot). If you'll read the Articles, the word treason may come to mind.

In Sicko Michael Moore's award winning documentary on health care, Moore asked why things are so different in France, compared to the US. The answer he received was that in France, the government is afraid of the people; whereas in the US, the people are afraid of the government. I'm not sure that's the answer, but it does cause one to reflect. Here's a quote from Alexander Tyler. He wasn't writing about the United States; Tyler was writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic .

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."

I hope we haven't progressed to dependency, though it would appear so. We need to turn this ship around, and that should be apparent. This upcoming election is extremely important. Please make sure you are registered at your current address. Make sure of your registration now, and in November VOTE! If you're like me and don't like lines, you can request a ballot by mail by contacting the supervisor of elections by phone or on-line. If they only allow that for absentee ballots, make something up. Have your mommy write you a note, but VOTE!

Now let's lighten up a little:

I heard Governor Palin announce that the difference between a mayor of a small town and a community organizer is that the mayor has actual responsibilities. In a town of less than 10,000 isn't the mayor more like the president of a home owner's association? I wonder if she realizes that Jesus was more of a community organizer, and certainly not a mayor. Hmmm...

- Posted by JLM - 9/7/08 18:51

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