Apple is sitting on about $54 billion in cash right now. iPad’s are still back ordered, and the company is looking at record earnings.

However, this isn’t generating jobs here- it’s generating jobs in China- where the workers can’t afford to buy the products:

Taiwanese contractor Foxconn said today it would hire 400,000 workers at new plants in China. The plants will be built closer to the new employees’ homes, as the company tries to increase worker happiness after a recent number of suicides. The company’s revenue has increased by 50 percent and will help afford the new workforce, which will number between 1.2 and 1.3 million.The new factories will be built at inland provinces Henan and Sichuan …This plant has about 900,000 workers, and over five years, this is expected to decrease by 170,000 with those workers moving to the new plants.

via Foxconn hiring 400,000 new workers, locating closer to home | Electronista.

And to think Apple used to make computers in Fremont, California- with former auto workers and a lot of automation. Just imagine the impact if Apple decided to start making products in America again- maybe even at the former GM Moraine Assembly plant?

If American companies want to have a U.S. market in the future- their best investment would be to start hiring Americans as fast as possible- before the dollar becomes worthless on international markets and our economy collapses.

Last night I watched “Street Fight”- a documentary that was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005. In some ways, it reminded me of Dayton politics when I ran for Mayor the first time (vs. Clay Dixon where Mike Turner won by 400 votes). My windows were shot out two nights in a row at the office, I was warned that my life was in danger, I was assaulted by the sitting mayor, and a union boss- and asking questions about where the money was coming from was considered bad form.

However, as backward as Dayton politics were in 1993, they were small town little league compared to Newark, N.J.:

Street Fight chronicles the bare-knuckles race for Mayor of Newark, N.J., between Cory Booker, a 32-year-old Rhodes Scholar/Yale Law School grad, and Sharpe James, the four-term incumbent and undisputed champion of New Jersey politics.

Fought in Newark’s neighborhoods and housing projects, the battle pits Booker against an old style political machine that uses any means necessary to crush its opponents: city workers who do not support the mayor are demoted; “disloyal” businesses are targeted by code enforcement; a campaigner is detained and accused of terrorism; and disks of voter data are burglarized in the night.

Even the filmmaker is dragged into the slugfest, and by election day, the climate becomes so heated that the Federal government is forced to send in observers to watch for cheating and violence.

via Street Fight – A film by Marshall Curry – About Street Fight.

Even though both candidates in the Newark election were African American, the race issue was part of the argument. The campaigns raised unholy amounts of money- for what is supposed to be a “non-partisan” race (just like Dayton)- there were charges of the challenger being a Republican, a tool of Jews, and other misguided mudslinging. The city was polarized, the election was highly charged- and for all the wrong reasons.

The system was showing how broken it was- with the filmmaker being manhandled repeatedly by Newark cops to stop him from taping the sitting mayor as he campaigned. This wasn’t the America I pledge allegiance to.

The challenger, Cory Booker, was a Stanford grad, Rhodes scholar, Yale Law grad, had the nerve at 33 to challenge a man who had been in office since 1970. Labeled a carpetbagger by the incumbent, Booker had come to Newark to help the less fortunate get a shot. He had the nerve to live in a public housing project called “Brick Towers” and as a sitting councilman, had been labeled “unconventional”- from Wikipedia:

In 1999, he went on a 10-day hunger strike, living in a tent in front of one of Newark’s public housing projects (Garden Spires), to protest open-air drug dealing and the associated violence. For five months in 2000 he lived in a contemporary motor home, parking on street corners where drug trafficking frequently occurred.[7]

He proposed a variety of Council initiatives that impacted housing, young people, law and order and the efficiency and transparency of City Hall, but was regularly rebuffed by a resistant Municipal Council and often outvoted 8–1. While on the Council, Booker became an outspoken advocate of education reform.

via Cory Booker – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

To me, Cory Booker is one of the few people who have managed to beat the system and stay true to their roots- an objective that has escaped me. And while Gary Leitzell has managed to do the unthinkable- by unseating one of the last vestiges of Dayton’s old political machine- I’ve seen little from him to show either passion for change, or leadership on the very real issues we’re facing.

Not to give away the movie- since it is a documentary, Booker loses the race in the movie, but does get elected the next time, when the incumbent doesn’t run again. The incumbent, who had managed to be mayor and a state senator at the same time, went on to eventually get busted for fraud and sentenced to prison for 27 months.

Booker campaigned for President Obama and:

was offered the chance to head the new White House Office of Urban Affairs Policy; Booker turned the offer down citing a commitment to Newark.[29]

via Cory Booker – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

He even gets social media-

Booker made news when on December 31, 2009, a constituent used Twitter to ask the mayor to send someone to her father’s house to shovel his driveway because her father, who was 65 years old, was going to attempt to do it himself. Booker responded by tweeting; “I will do it myself where does he live?” Other people volunteered, including one person who offered his help on Twitter and 20 minutes later the mayor and some volunteers showed up and shoveled the man’s driveway.

via Cory Booker – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

If you are looking for a future presidential candidate, you should be watching Cory Booker. As to Dayton politics, I want to find our version of Cory Booker- because what has passed for politicians in this city hasn’t cut it. I am going to begin in earnest to get the Dayton Process started for the next commission election cycle.

Would you please help- by identifying people who you believe might be willing to step up and serve?

Just remember- Cory Booker lost to the machine the first time- but that didn’t stop him. I’m not going to stop running until we elect some brilliant minds who will lead- instead of wiggle at the end of puppet strings.

And- btw, crime in Newark is at the lowest levels in over 50 years since Booker took office.

It’s time Dayton voters demanded more from those they elect, and if they can’t deliver- replace them. Newark did, and is better for it.

We as Americans are quick to point at other countries as corrupt- as having barriers to entry for foreigners, of having politicians who must be paid off to be able to do business. Yet, it’s tough to look in the mirror and realize that we too, have become as corrupt and politically immoral.

In a discussion at the dinner table with my father, a political science major,  I posited the theory that the huge expenses of television advertising have helped drive the politicians to graft. This was after reading a piece in the New York Times about corporate gifts to endowments named for politicians:

The donations from businesses to the endowments ranged from modest amounts to millions of dollars, federal records show. And the lawmakers, who include powerful committee chairmen or party leaders, often pushed legislation or special appropriations sought by the corporations.

via Current or Former Lawmakers Linked to Endowments Made by Corporations – NYTimes.com.

This country is paying to play on steroids. My father says it goes back to the days of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall. I don’t disagree- but, the amounts at play and the openness are becoming more evident in my eyes- either because of the Internet and its flow of information, or just because the amounts required have turned it into a high-stakes game.

What we pass off as political dialogue these days is disappointing- and the art of debate is long lost. Even with our great orator president- the message was “Hope” instead of action.

Up until George W. Bush made his mark on history- Jimmy Carter had the rap of being a bad president because of tough financial times. “It’s the economy, stupid” was the rhetoric that sent him packing, yet- GWB got a hall pass by many for his backing of policies guaranteed to fail. I came across this clip on YouTube- and it made me think- which is what I try to do here with you- and so I’m sharing it: Hunter S. Thompson covering Jimmy Carter.

Now, for many, putting the words Hunter S. Thompson together with the word journalist is a stretch- just as putting my name together with the word electable, but the claims that his exposé on Carter was part of what helped Carter win over Ford make it at least worth consideration.

Watching that clip, and comparing what passes for political rhetoric today- should inspire all citizens of the United States to demand more than the 30-second spot and sound bite politics we’ve come to expect. That Carter was also the first and only president or candidate to interview with Playboy- also speaks to Carter’s willingness to step outside the lines of what a politician is supposed to be and say.

The reason I began writing this blog was to counter the persona painted of me by the Dayton Daily News Editorial board, who’ve done a masterful job of mangling every idea, or thought I’ve shared with them. I’ve often wondered how Rolling Stone was able to publish Thompson- since he didn’t fit the mold of journalist any better than I fit the political mold.

Being honest- and saying what one believes needs to be said- despite the audience, is something I strongly believe in, and have paid a price for doing for the last 20 years in this city. I’m watching with amusement as the Dayton Daily News still offers a link to Bill Pote’s Dayton Most Metro on their site as a local blog- as he starts to solicit advertising to compete with them. So far, despite scooping them numerous times, and running for office a few times (in comparison to scoops)- they have never once linked to this site. For the record- although my stats are on par with what DaytonMostMetro just announced, and have been for over a year- I’ve not monetized this site due to concerns about being attacked legally by the powers that be- preferring to keep this a personal opinion site and retaining protections. DaytonMostMetro- as a feel good, happy news site, with multiple- authors and the support  and endorsement of local non-profits doesn’t have to worry about the same issue.

It’s sad to say that political thought is now limited often by liability, but that comes with the times. It’s not enough to own a printing press anymore to publish- but, having the financial backing to be able to afford one is part of what decides how much risk you can afford to take as a publisher.

As a last thought- I wondered why we have so many quotes from Ben Franklin- and realized it was because, like me, he was a publisher. Considering the economics and costs of distribution in his day- I wonder what his readership was, and how it compares with mine (Wikipedia to the rescue: He sold about ten thousand copies per year (a circulation equivalent to nearly three million today via Benjamin Franklin – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.) So far this year, 202,000 visits by  86,225 unique visitors and about 111 gb of data transferred.

Political speech has changed, journalism has changed, the question in my mind is “when will we change?”

I’d take a Jimmy Carter story by Hunter S. Thompson over what passes for both political speech and journalism any day.

It’s been a year. The killer of Sgt. Maj. North E. Woodall is still missing.

It’s time to stop letting punks run the streets, it’s time to stop making excuses for bad behavior, it’s time to stop blaming the courts, the prosecutor, the system, the drugs, the thugs and the media.We’ve all lost something and someone valuable today.From the Dayton Daily News:

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Ret. North E. Woodall was found bloodied and unconscious by a neighbor about 11:30 p.m. Monday, July 27, at 1028 Walton Ave. after an apparent home invasion, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

via Unforgiveable.

He’s not the only one where someone got away with murder in Dayton, Ohio.

Remember Heather Walker? Unsolved.

At CityFolk I ran into an old friend. Her brother’s killer is still missing as well- and he was a Dayton Police Officer: Kevin Brame- and there is a $100,000 reward out for the killer.

While it’s easy to point fingers at the police for not solving these murders- it’s harder to look at our community, and ask “how did we let this happen.”

When did it become OK for some people to live in our city- and cause problems for the rest of us? Why are we afraid to confront society’s rejects and tell them to shape up or ship out? We’ve got one house on our block that the police visit at least weekly- is it fair to the rest of us? How and why does this happen?

Some would say that it’s a lack of fearing God- others say it’s a lack of fearing consequences from “the system”- but- could it be that we’ve failed as a society to integrate? It’s not just a black white thing- (although black males die by homicide at a greater rate than whites)- but it is related to education. Dumb people don’t have as many opportunities as the rest of us- and so they turn to crime.

In a State where the Supreme Court has ruled four times that our system of funding education is unconstitutional- we’re still a stupid electorate- voting in stupid leaders to continue the stupidity. And it’s not because we’re afraid to lock people up:

Ohio houses more prisoners than the three closest states by population — Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania — with more than 50,000 inmates.

via Editorial: Ohio can’t keep locking everyone up | A Matter of Opinion.

It’s time to step back and look at what we are achieving by locking up drug-related criminals- while missing murderers. It’s time to come up with a more creative way to fund our schools. If the lottery was supposed to help- and that was OK- maybe a sales tax on pot is a more equitable way?

Just imagine if a whole career field opened up tomorrow for pot-peddling high school dropouts? What would change? Imagine if our homes and businesses weren’t getting broken into to find cash for crack- because we had real health care that took care of addiction professionally? Imagine if the drug subculture came out of the shadows-

Imagine if we found the scumbags who killed Kevin Brame, Heather Walker and North Woodall- and the system was working to protect us from the really dangerous people amongst us?

There is reward out for the Sgt. Maj. Woodall’s killer too- but the real reward is we’d be living in a better community if the real criminals were taken off the streets.

The last major third party candidate to make it on the ballot (Ross Perot) had it right- there was a giant sucking sound coming, and we didn’t listen.

But, it’s more than just the sound of “free trade” sucking jobs from our highly regulated- centrally directed economy (and don’t say it isn’t after the bailout of Wall Street  – while Main Street took a sucker punch) it’s the sound of money flowing from the masses to the minority. We’re taking from the needy to give to the greedy at an alarming rate:

83 percent of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1 percent of the people.

61 percent of Americans “always or usually” live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.

66 percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans.

36 percent of Americans say that they don’t contribute anything to retirement savings.

A staggering 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement.

24 percent of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.

Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008.

Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.

For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together.

In 1950, the ratio of the average executive’s paycheck to the average worker’s paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to one.

As of 2007, the bottom 80 percent of American households held about 7% of the liquid financial assets.

The bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.

Average Wall Street bonuses for 2009 were up 17 percent when compared with 2008.

In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private sector.

The top 1 percent of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America’s corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago.

In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks.

More than 40 percent of Americans who actually are employed are now working in service jobs, which are often very low paying.

For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.

This is what American workers now must compete against: in China a garment worker makes approximately 86 cents an hour and in Cambodia a garment worker makes approximately 22 cents an hour.

Approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 – the highest rate in 20 years.

Despite the financial crisis, the number of millionaires in the United States rose a whopping 16 percent to 7.8 million in 2009.

The top 10 percent of Americans now earn around 50 percent of our national income.

via the u.s. middle class is being wiped out here’s the stats to prove it: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance.

We are a Third World nation in every single respect, other than we’ve got more bombs and guns than anyone else. Just as a reminder- our founding fathers were rebelling against an imperialist nation, and now- we’ve become one.

The two-party system has failed us. While a sideshow called Washington continues, the people of this once great country fall deeper into despair and poverty. We’ve got our soma of cable TV with its 500 channels of mind-numbing dreck, we’ve got the internet where everything is free- until you can’t afford the equipment or bandwidth to share in its bounty. The divide is growing greater- and we were warned, not only by Perot, but by Orwell and Huxley, by Malcolm and Martin and even the evilest of all- the economist Marx- the list goes on.

If you stop thinking about the typical uses of the word discrimination- by race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, and look at the big picture, we’ve been divided into haves and have nots- and the class war has already been won, the masses just haven’t figured it out. In the meantime- politics as usual has continued at all levels- from Federal to local, we’ve put capitalism on a pedestal that believes commerce is king. We do everything in the name of creating jobs and wealth- instead of putting people first.

Our government began with words of equality: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We have witnessed the end, where “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others“ and we are now animals, being manipulated like Pavlov’s dogs.

Continuing from the fore quoted article:

What do most Americans have to offer in the marketplace other than their labor? Not much. The truth is that most Americans are absolutely dependent on someone else giving them a job. But today, U.S. workers are “less attractive” than ever. Compared to the rest of the world, American workers are extremely expensive, and the government keeps passing more rules and regulations seemingly on a monthly basis that makes it even more difficult to conduct business in the United States.
So corporations are moving operations out of the U.S. at breathtaking speed. Since the U.S. government does not penalize them for doing so, there really is no incentive for them to stay.

What has developed is a situation where the people at the top are doing quite well, while most Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to make it. There are now about six unemployed Americans for every new job opening in the United States, and the number of “chronically unemployed” is absolutely soaring. There simply are not nearly enough jobs for everyone.

It is time for the government to step in on the side of the people- and use the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to restore  balance- and make this once again a land of opportunity.

It’s time to stop the giant sucking sound- and to stop listening to the banter of the two-party system. It’s what got us into this mess- and it’s not going to get us out.

If there was ever a time for a third party, or proposing changes to the way we hold and run elections, now is the time. If we continue what we’re doing and expect different results- well, there is a word for that.

The two party system has given us only one thing- a two-class economy. Are you ready to do something about it?

Thanks to brilliant lifecycle planning, the Dayton Police Department is about to lose a ton of senior officers through the “DROP program”- to make matters worse, we’ve also been in a hiring freeze thanks to a Department of Justice deal that’s been trying to address the whiteness of our boys and few girls in blue.

Net result: we’re going to be down to a very low number of officers on the streets- at the exact time when the worst effects of the depression start occurring. With long term unemployment benefits ending, no jobs in sight, and foreclosures still happening in record numbers- we’re looking at possible rioting and a definite increase in property crimes- just so people will be able to eat.

Enter the technology solution: we’ll make the data readily available to the community so they can help us  identify the evil doers among us- primarily in Dayton:

For the first time, Dayton residents and those visiting the city will be able to use a website to find where crimes such as car break-ins, burglaries, arsons and thefts are happening.

Launched Wednesday, July 14, www.daytonohiopolice.com/crimemap comes as the city is seeing a 4 percent increase in property crimes over last year.

The site is the first of its kind in Montgomery County and gives residents in the city and those in bordering communities such as Oakwood, Riverside, Kettering and Trotwood a sense of crime trends in their neighborhoods, Dayton police Chief Richard Biehl said.

“We want to engage the public and empower people to be an active partner with us,” Biehl said. “Citizens are much more likely to be victims of property crimes versus violent crime and with a good partnership with the community, they can be prevented.”

The purpose of the site is to make property owners more alert and avoid high-crime areas, which will lead to fewer crimes. Biehl said the site will help supplement his shrinking force to police the city.

via Search for crimes in your neighborhood on new city site.

The data is rudimentary, and missing some info- a break-in on July 5 on my street wasn’t reported. And while it may be great for junior detectives, it’s also another tool that Realtors can use to redline neighborhoods: “But, have you seen the crime stats in the Hillcrest neighborhood, you’d be much better in Old North Dayton.” Not exactly what we need, considering property values are still dropping like a rock in Dayton (a friend just bought a house in St. Annes Historic District for $13,000 with a three car carage, 2 story, three bedroom- that’s less than I paid for my house in 1986).

The United States is already locking more people up per capita than any country in the world. The problems are systemic and aren’t going away. Our failed “war on drugs” has been a major contributor to our prison system- while our war on the working class has not (when was the last time you saw a CEO go to jail for ruining his company, firing people, off shoring jobs while stealing the value from the shareholders?)

We’ve created a whole sub-workforce of prison tainted social capital that is being excluded by our mainstream economy, which has created a sub-economy that doesn’t play by the same rules the rest of us. This is not a model of sustainable practices.

Until we value our citizens, our citizens will have little of value left. We can map the bad guys to our hearts content- but when the “bad guys” hit critical mass, there will be no turning back. Our Rome is falling, we just refuse to look at the data and realize that it’s not a micro problem- it’s the elephant in the living room that we can’t deal with.

Nov 3 2009, DAVID ESRATI 9440 votes. City of Dayton commission race.

July 13 2010 David Esrati 958 votes Democratic special primary, OH-3

add in 50 votes in part of Warren County, no results available in Highland County, and 28 votes in Clinton County with ZERO results on the Secretary of State page and you have the answer on what happens when election officials play with voting.

I’ll make no bones about it- running in OH-3 is a gigantic task. What was once a nice compact district, encompassing Montgomery County and ruled over by Tony Hall for years, has become an uncompetitive mess. To reach the voters in this district via TV would require a media buy of epic proportions- with buys required in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton. Luckily the district will be redrawn for the next round, but- the process still hasn’t been decided.

Considering I was just on the ballot in November of last year- and received over 9K votes- losing to an unknown 25 year old was a surprise. Yes, he got the Dayton Daily News endorsement which included their usual dismissal of me, but that still means a lot of people who voted for me before sat home. Yes, parts of Dayton where I ran strong were cut out of this election thanks to the custom crafted Mike Turner district, but there was another factor at play: “Centralized Voting.”

In yet one more allowance of our government to the power of the internal combustion engine, the powers that be decided to use this election as a “test case” for centralized voting. Instead of the normal number of precincts (which was just reduced in redistricting last fall) the State Legislature in a 5am vote decided to allow Montgomery County to open just 4 polling places.

This was to save money- not the democratic process.

Even a State Legislator found that they “didn’t do what the law allowed” when he showed up to vote at Cox Arboretum to vote and was sent to the assigned Fairgrounds location (he claims that people were supposed to be able to go to ANY polling location- which should have been easily possible with the electronic poll books). The number of complaints I heard were many- from Trotwood voters who were told to vote at the Animal Resource Center- who also had to drive their grandmother from Jefferson TWP to the Fairgrounds- to the number of people in Huber Heights who came to vote (including a former Council member there) only to find they are part of John Boehner’s district.

Confusion ruled.

Many voters North were clutching their BOE notification- and said they had gone to the wrong part of Webster Street. And although the BOE had said that all locations were on bus routes- I didn’t see many voters heading to the Fairgrounds location from the bus stop between 6:30 and 9:30 am. Many thought this was going to be where they were going to vote in the future and were really mad.

But the sadder fact was- many just had no clue about the election when I was walking door to door- even though as the smug head of the Montgomery County BOE had told me on more than one occasion “every one got a mailing.”

Let’s talk about mailings

I work in advertising. The general rule of thumb when doing a direct mail campaign to a good targeted list is 2% is an awesome return rate. The BOE sent out cards to 230,000 registered HOUSEHOLDS- not voters in Montgomery County. Considering a 6k voter turnout (being generous) he got his 2% which is amazing- considering the notification made the design of the infamous “butterfly ballot” look like an award winning piece of graphic design. The absentee ballot request form was also a “winner” with over a 10% rejection rate because of it’s poor design. Even the absentee ballot envelope made people question what to do- was it a “special election” or a “primary”? A map on each notice would have helped.

Reality is, if they really wanted to save money- and get you to vote- why not just mail the ballots in the first place like in Oregon.

There were representatives from other counties and equipment makers here to observe the results. Lots of love for the idea of fewer polling locations forcing more people to either drive or vote absentee. If this turnout was supposed to be a validation of the idea of anything other than moving to vote by mail- it failed. MASSIVELY.

The process of voting in America

I’ve often said we have the best politicians money can buy. The process of informing voters has become big business- for the media companies, our supposed “fourth estate.” With newspaper readership dropping, and there still being a digital divide in this country- we’re seeing a move backwards from voting for all to voting only by those with money (advertising isn’t really designed to reach those without money- because they can’t buy anything)- now we’re moving the same way with our elections process.

If we hope to see a return to sanity in the process, the only logical solution is:

• pay for elections out of tax dollars- eliminating all campaign contributions from the process
• move to vote by mail
• create a platform for voter education about candidates by distributing information to all voters equally

The goal of those in the role of elections overseers should be to improve voter participation and education- not just be impartial bean counters. Without these changes, democracy is taking a backseat to the power of the dollar.

To justify my three part solution: we now pay for the error of electing the best advertised or cash backed politician by way of their allegiances now being owed to those who donate to them. Eliminating the leash of the special interests would transform our politicians back into erudite and effective representatives.

Vote by mail takes the issue of the weather out of it. I stood for 4 hours in the pouring rain- to watch very few cars pull up- including one that pulled up- and sat- and left, rather than walk 100 feet in the downpour. Add in all the people who didn’t want to drive miles to the polls and you see my point.

Even with my attempts to educate voters by dropping over 2500 educational, non-partisan postcards all over town- many had no clue about the election. If they had received an informational ballot in a brochure, with a postage paid return ballot, many more would have voted.

I’m assuming if you are still reading this, you aren’t thinking this is just a sour grapes post. But here is my one statement of culpability in this colossal exercise in futility: The Boards of Elections in the counties that closed polling places failed miserably by NOT POSTING A SIGN AT THE NORMAL POLLING PLACES directing voters to their centralized location- like I posted early on election day (I thought that this was the case- up until 4:45 the day before the election). In fact- I had more than a few voters leave the polling place with a sign- with their centralized location circled- and a piece of tape- to post at their normal polls.

To me- this was the nail that closed the coffin on the “centralized polling” experiment- without doing this- the process was invalid.

Am I ok with losing? Will I bounce back to tilt at windmills again? I’ll leave that up to you. Maybe I should set a threshold of $10k has to be in the kitty before my next race, or I don’t run. Would I still like to run the Dayton Process- yes. Can I afford to take the time to do it? I won’t know for a while. The toll these campaigns has taken on my business has been real. Running for office isn’t easy for those with other responsibilities. We’re almost forced by the process we have to only be able to run those of means.

I wish Mr. Roberts the best in the bi-annual slaughter of the lambs- unless Turner gets caught in a wide stance or with cash in the freezer- he’ll be re-elected with a 20 point margin again.

To all my supporters, especially: Brian W. Brien D. Greg H. Josh S. Rick R. Mike R. and the people who donated- Thank you. To my incredible partner Teresa- I’m the luckiest man alive. To the people who continue to vote for me- I apologize for letting my opinions get in the way of getting elected- even if you agree with them. If there is one thing I should learn by now- voters seem to like less than more.

This is post 1507 on this site. There are 13,618 comments on this site. It’s been an honor to be a part of the community in this way for the last 4 years. I hope you get a representative elected some day who believes in this form of communication and uses it effectively to connect with voters to represent them with dignity and respect.

mea culpa mes amis, hasta la vista, sayonara

For all the talk about the unemployed going to work for small businesses, or start-ups to get us out of this depression, there is one major stumbling block: FICO

Figures provided by FICO Inc. show that 25.5 percent of consumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders. It’s unlikely they will be able to get credit cards, auto loans or mortgages under the tighter lending standards banks now use.

Because consumers relied so heavily on debt to fuel their spending in recent years, their restricted access to credit is one reason for the slow economic recovery.

via More Americans’ credit scores sink to new lows.

Even credit cards are harder to get, with higher rates. Because bankers are a conservative bunch when it comes to small business (but reckless and wild when it comes to their own trading and holdings) it’s going to be even harder for small businesses to start up, because credit cards are one of the prime tools of the bootstrap start-up.

What’s also interesting to note:

On the positive side, the number of consumers who have a top score of 800 or above has increased in recent years. At least in part, this reflects that more individuals have cut spending and paid down debt in response to the recession. Their ranks now stand at 17.9 percent, which is notably above the historical average of 13 percent, though down from 18.7 percent in April 2008 before the market meltdown.

Or- put another way- the rich have gotten richer while the majority of Americans have hit the skids.

Yes, many people are learning to live without credit cards- especially after the wave of bankruptcies, but as to getting credit again, many are moving to a cash economy. This is bad news for the IRS- where a lot of unrecorded transactions can cause an under-reporting of income and hence- lower collections. If I’d had a hundred dollars for every customer that has asked for a “cash discount” so I could keep it off my books- I’d be a wealthy man (by my standards).

Just as a reminder, FICO isn’t much different than the bond-rating organizations- which all failed miserably in predicting the financial health of AIG, Lehman, etc.

There is only one thing that’s going to put people back to work- demanding accountability from American companies for the wild compensation of executives. We have to put financial incentives back into the tax codes for creating good-paying jobs in this country- or liability for tanking companies- beside tanking the company and bailing out with a golden parachute.

We also have to simplify the processes and regulations involved in starting up small businesses. The number of forms, tax reporting dates, payment schedules, licenses, permits, ID numbers, etc., involved in starting a small business, or incorporating, must be simplified fast.

The number one goal in America right now is putting people back to work- tied with ending the trillion dollar wars. It’s part of the reason this small business owner is running for Congress- and asks for your support.

In the Jewish faith there are “mitzvahs“- commandments or “good deeds”- and one of the most respected is that of giving people a job. Yep, the Jewish faith says that full employment is great in God’s eyes.

The idea that firing people wholesale is OK- without suffering any consequences- as an acceptable business practice has to stop. If the company is private, and not traded on the stock exchanges, you are free to do what you want- but, the moment you are playing games with other people’s money- there has to be some code of conduct that stops shifting the pain of bad leadership to the troops. You are the CEO- you fire a bunch of people, your pay can’t exceed that of the average pay of the people you fire. End of story.

Oh yes, and shareholders get paid before you do, so, if you are losing money- you don’t make it- just like the small businesses in this country. Kiss your stock and options goodbye if you decide to toss a bunch of people off onto the public’s shoulders with unemployment.

Wells Fargo bank- already bailed out by us, is playing grim reaper to a whole division according to the Dayton Business Journal:

Wells said closing down Wells Fargo Financial will incur pre-tax charges of about $185 million, with $137 million, or 2 cents per share, hitting in the second quarter for employee-severance costs. The remaining charges are expected to be largely reflected in third-quarter results.

Cost savings from closing Wells Fargo Financial are expected to offset these charges in the first year and a half.

Of the 14,000 employees working at Wells Fargo Financial, about 2,800 positions will be cut in the next 60 days and another 1,000 positions will be eliminated in the next 12 months. The remainder of the employees are being reassigned to other Wells Fargo businesses. Wells employs more than 278,000 people.

The move will also create more empty storefronts in strip centers across the nation.

via Wells Fargo to close financial unit, lay off 3,800 – Dayton Business Journal.

And for the record, the Wells Fargo CEO:

Wells Fargo’s CEO, John Stumpf, received compensation worth $21.3 million for last year, according to materials filed with U.S. regulators on Wednesday.

The San Francisco-based bank, fourth-largest in the United States by assets, last year repaid the $25 billion it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

via Pay czar questions Wells Fargo CEO’s compensation | Reuters.

Simple math: divide 21.3 million by 3,800 people- and you get $5,605 each. Throw in the $185 million in charges and divide out- and it’s $54,289 each. Considering that the CEO is paid to be brilliant and lead the company to growth and prosperity- maybe he should try living on a million a year until he figures things out- that’s over twice what the President of the United States makes. Or maybe, he should find another line of work.

After all- he kept his job, despite having to borrow from the government to keep his company going- at a time while he was dropping the hammer on many small businesses who were facing the problems he helped cause.

If employing people is a mitzvah- firing that many people should send you straight to hell. Of course, “Three of the negative commandment fall under the category of Yeihareig ve’al ya’avor, meaning one should [let himself] be killed rather than transgress the prohibition” according to Wikipedia and although I don’t agree that the three cited commandments should make you want to do hari-kari before committal. Firing employees like this in Japan in days of old, the CEO would fall on a sword first. I’m all for that in this case.

At least in a universe where accountability and responsibility are at the forefront.

It’s time we returned the values of accountability and responsibility to public office and to public companies.

The whole country is in a depression and the best that the “Republican Governors Association” can do is blame Ted Strickland for job loss and the loss by bribe of NCR to Georgia:

The Republican Governors Association is using a new TV ad to blame Gov. Ted Strickland for NCR Corp.’s move from Dayton to Georgia.

In the 30-second spot unveiled Wednesday, July 7, the RGA says Strickland lost 400,000 jobs on his watch, including 1,250 NCR jobs. NCR was Dayton’s last Fortune 500 company.

“Four years ago, Ted Strickland promised to create thousands of new jobs for Ohio,” RGA spokesman Tim Murtaugh said. “Sadly, not only has he broken that promise, he has also overseen the loss of hundreds of thousands of existing jobs. He’s left Ohioans disappointed and wondering when their own jobs will disappear.”

via New TV ad pins blame for NCR move on governor.

The reality is that NCR was bribed to move the executive offices to NYC for $1.5 mill and the rest of it to GA for $110 million. That money was collected to pay for essential government services- and instead was handed over to the Charlatan Executive Officer, Bill Nuti, who makes $2k an hour to lose 2/3 of the company’s value in 4 years. Why is the checkout person working at Piggly Wiggly, who makes minimum wage- providing corporate welfare? Ask the Republican Governors Association that question and you won’t get an answer. The whole site they’ve built: “TedfailedOhio.com” reminds me of what kids talk about in Junior High School.

I write and produce :30 second TV spots for a living. It’s hard to get a lot of information in one- but the reality is, big media will never criticize the politicians for making and running them- because it’s their bread and butter.

We spend way too much money on political campaigns, and where it comes from- are the people who are the recipients of those corporate welfare dollars and loopholes in laws that put us at risk.

I made a TV ad for my last campaign for Congress about big media:

And- last night I recorded a short video about blaming instead of fixing the real problems to respond to the Republican Governors Association ad:

The cost of campaigns and the cost to us with the “best politicians money can buy” is astronomical. It’s time to start funding all political campaigns out of our tax dollars- and put the lobbying industry out of work. It’s why I’m adding the Open Secrets campaign widget to the sidebar.

Reader Truddick included this video link in his response to my post this morning: Nation or Empire.

It’s by Professor David Harvey, City University of New York (CUNY), who teaches courses on Marxism.

At the end, it talks about candidates spewing the typical pablum- something I try hard not to do.

Do I believe that any single theory can explain the financial transactions of 7 billion people? Absolutely not. This isn’t atomic physics where the rules actually do apply. People have very different goals and use different methods to achieve them. Not everyone is ruled by the almighty dollar or dinar.

When Marx set out to define Socialism- it wasn’t to invent Communism, nor was it the opposite of capitalism. Everything in life comes in shades of gray- not black and white, or as in this country, Red vs. Blue when it comes to politics.

Would we have the interstates if it had been left up to every state on how to do it? Unlikely. There are some things central planning can and will do more efficiently than a committee or by consensus.

Do I believe in socialism? No. I don’t trust people in large groups to take care of everyone equally, nor do I believe we all contribute equally to society.

Do I believe in letting markets take care of themselves? After watching the accumulation of wealth via game theory in the Wall Street Casino I’d have to be insane to think that even our businesses that have their stock traded there agree with what is happening. How can it be that a guy who buys and sells stock- makes more than the guy who actually makes the things people want and need? Something’s very wrong there.

The decline of the American worker, the expansion of credit, the transfer of wealth from the needy to the greedy is taking place at epic scale, at a rapid pace. If we re-elect corporate tools like Mike Turner to Congress, we will hasten the fall of our country to special interests and the wizards of Wall Street.

If you need proof- go look at the former GM facilities in town, look at one of his prime donors – NCR, look at others: Iams, and DHL

Watch the video- share your thoughts. Please. If I’m going to be your representative, I want to have a discussion about ideas- not about personalities or dogma.

Thank you.

It’s Independence Day. The day we celebrate when Americans long before us stood up and said that we’d had enough of a government that was out-of-touch.

The people who crafted the Declaration of Independence and our great Constitution wouldn’t recognize what we pass for government today. They wouldn’t understand the way we’ve twisted the idea of government to provide for individual freedoms- into one that “steals from the needy to give to the greedy” (and believe it or not, I’m quoting Ronald Reagan).

The foreclosure crisis, the banking systems implosion, the casino on Wall Street, the pay-to-play politics of the major parties- where candidates are measured not by their ability to think- but their ability to raise money and sell out the people they are elected to represent- are killing our country and its freedoms.

No where did the founding fathers imagine a two-party system that shuts out the ideas of the minority by limiting access to the ballot and the ballot box. Less than half of all Americans who are eligible to register to vote register- and typically less than half of the registered ones actually vote.

We’re caught up in a blame game of epic proportions. We have expectations of those we elect to solve all of our problems- and to stick their noses where they don’t belong. So many voters believe that the only thing that matters are the “hot button issues” of abortion, the death penalty, the Second Amendment, universal health care, or even just the label of D or R- and they’ve lost track of what elected representatives are really supposed to do: watch out for you.

We’ve let the government create so much government to protect us- that we now need protection from it. Please follow this closely- it’s really the most important issue for our future- it will define the way we either come out of this depression- or have our entire system file bankruptcy.

Government or quasi-government, needs to get out of the business of business. No more “economic development” by government- because it’s proving to be a disaster.

To quote Reagan again (from 1964 no less):

“Well, now, if government planning and welfare had the answer—and they’ve had almost 30 years of it—shouldn’t we expect government to read the score to us once in a while? Shouldn’t they be telling us about the decline each year in the number of people needing help? The reduction in the need for public housing?”

Instead, we have four stories in the Dayton Daily News about “Economic Development” in the area- run by government, or quasi-government organizations- paying ridiculous salaries to make the playing field unlevel.

Going back to Reagan:

“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So governments’ programs, once launched, never disappear.
Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth”

When government steps in and buys a video editing suite for one local ad agency- they give them an advantage over the others.

When the government contracts with a private insurance company to distribute tax dollars to the poor- the private company pays its CEO $3 million a year. Yet, no government executive would make that.

Why do we hire lobbyists to represent governments? Isn’t that what we elect people to do?

Cities throughout Ohio and the United States now farm out some, if not most, of their economic development efforts to nonprofits, many of them relying at least partly on public money. City officials say those nonprofits often provide significant expertise — the Dayton Development Coalition, for example, has developed strong ties with congressional representatives. And a Dayton Daily News examination of four area counties — Montgomery, Miami, Greene and northern Warren — found private economic development nonprofits were entrusted with nearly $5.8 million in public funding in 2009.

via Transparency at issue when it comes to funding of nonprofits.

Instead of just making it easier for small business to do business with the Federal Government (the biggest buyer of goods and services in this country) we have a system of “Procurement Technical Assistance Centers” that are federally funded to help you wade through the rules and regs.

It’s time to stop this insanity and simplify government.

It’s time to stop letting politicians buy their way into office by selling out to big business.

It’s time to stop expecting government to do anything but govern and provide basic and essential services.

It’s not a Democrat thing or a Republican thing. It’s a right or wrong thing. To quote Reagan again:

Federal employees—federal employees number two and a half million; and federal, state, and local, one out of six of the nation’s work force employed by government. These proliferating bureaus with their thousands of regulations have cost us many of our constitutional safeguards. How many of us realize that today federal agents can invade a man’s property without a warrant? They can impose a fine without a formal hearing, let alone a trial by jury? And they can seize and sell his property at auction to enforce the payment of that fine.

Just last year I wrote an interesting piece on what can happen when you run afoul of the system.

For $24.66, the State will threaten to take your home.

I’ve often wondered why the Sheriff enforces a contract for a bank- by foreclosure, while I can’t get the Sheriff to collect a debt for my business (sorry- can’t find the link right now).

And the list goes on.

I’m pretty sure that if we keep electing the same people there will only be three kinds of people left in this country: the very poor, the very rich and those who work for the government.

It’s independence day again in America- but, I’m wondering if we even know what independence is anymore. The way we’ve tangled things up- with “too big to fail”- and a seat in Congress costing on average $1 million or more every two years- maybe we should rename it:

Interdependence Day.

“Liquidity” was the invention the wizards of Wall Street came up with to create a lot of fake wealth and transactional opportunities for them to siphon off “investors’s” money for themselves.

The great run-up in GDP thanks to all this liquid capital came to a crashing halt in the fall of 2009 when the banks collapsed (yes, that’s what happened) and the taxpayers had to step in to bail them and a few other big industries out. In 2011, China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the largest producer of goods. All the while, Congress is still arguing over derivatives markets and disclosure rules.

Let me make things clear: Before this move to liquidity, programmed trading, hedge funds and other fancy financial instruments- we used to deal with things like profitability, price/earnings ratios, leverage and market share. Now, we don’t. A company’s actual value has no connection to its market position, products or projections. Wild swings in stock prices have swung our economy around by the neck- almost to the point of death. It’s time to stop.

Back in the old days, when people in my business still used acetate, keylines, press-type and the like to create ads, there was a book on typography that I loved. One example was how you would set the tagline in a specific typeface to match the message. “Our advice is rock solid” was the line- and it called for a strong, sans serif typeface- not some swishy swashy face.

We heard about “Get a piece of the rock” when we thought about insurance. There was a recurring theme of strength in financial products ads- because the idea of “investment” was tied to something concrete. They didn’t say “Our advice is like water” or “Get a piece of the spill” because we had to believe in these financial instruments that weren’t backed by the old “gold standard” or anything else as concrete as just saying “trust me.”

The move to liquidity made it easy to ignore the skimming of the cream- which is what made Wall Street go nuts. Every transaction paid a commission, and the people who did the deals, just became junkies for more deals- until the deals were being done for no other reason than to get the quick fix of a little cut on a lot of money being moved. It got so crazy that 70% of stocks are now held for 12 seconds or less. In the meantime- the companies that are supposed to be benefiting from these crazy transactions stopped worrying about making widgets- but making sure their stock stayed strong. That might account for the chicanery that showed AIG as a grade A investment, weeks before its mighty fall.

The reality is: it’s a lot harder to steal a little bit from concrete- but easy to siphon off some liquid and pretend it’s still all there. After they couldn’t play with the liquid anymore- the concrete started to crumble- plants closed, jobs lost, economy in shambles.

That’s why the only way to fix this mess is to put some concrete rules in place that put balance sheets, profit and loss statements and investors back in control and take this wild ride created by Wall Street off line. No more trades bigger than .01% of any company for less than a year, no more programmed trading based on fluctuations, no more big CEO pay outs before the shareholders. There must be a ratio set for pay- so that it’s based purely on performance- not on what “the market will bear.”

Put real numbers back in play- and we’ll see real jobs. You don’t employ Americans, you don’t make over a million dollars- simple. It’s time to tighten up what we allow to be collected as rewards- for instance, can anyone tell me why running DP&L, with no competition, a captive market, and a commodity product rates a salary of over a mill, while running Sony- a global company in a highly competitive marketplace doesn’t?

If you wonder why your pension fund was robbed blind- the answer is that it’s easier to steal liquid than concrete. That’s why people will siphon gasoline, but have a hard time stealing your home’s foundation (however, the bankers found a way to do it- just create credit default swaps and punt your loan). Put the fundamentals back into the market and this mess will begin to straighten itself out quickly.

“Changeling” was a movie that was nominated for three Oscars, including Angelina Jolie for “best performance by an actress in a leading role.”

Here is a synopsis from IMDB:

Los Angeles, 1928. A single mother returns from work to find her nine-year-old son gone. She calls the LAPD to initiate a search. Five months later, a boy is found in Illinois who fits the description; he says he’s her son. To fanfare and photos, the LAPD reunite mother and son, but she insists he’s not her boy. The cops dismiss her as either a liar or hysterical. When she joins a minister in his public criticism of the police, they in turn use government power to silence and intimidate her. Meanwhile, a cop goes to a dilapidated ranch to find a Canadian lad who’s without legal status; the youth tells a grisly tale. There’s redress for murder; is there redress for abuse of power?

via Changeling (2008) – Plot Summary.

In Dayton we have a true story- but it’s full of bad actors, and it has been going on for a long time.

I think my first indication that the city wasn’t run by rational management came when local businessman Tom Danis paid Tyree Broomfield, Chief of the Dayton Police Department $100,000 to resign- and no, it wasn’t even in small bills delivered in a trash bag- it was front page news. If anyone wonders why we’re now paying people who failed the police exam- or who may have even thought of taking the test, well, the story started long ago.

Has our government used its power to silence critics and intimidate them? Absolutely. Has there been abuse of power? The articles about 43% of elected officials having family on the public payroll, or no-bid contracts to the Congressman’s wife, should make it abundantly clear.

In the movie, a preacher uses his radio broadcast to challenge the corrupt nature of City Hall. Now we have the Internet and sites like this. I’m still shocked that my story last Friday about the Magistrate who was fired for daring to challenge his boss, and then having his petitions as an “independent candidate” disqualified by the partisan Board of Elections has only 3 comments as of this writing. This is a test case for the State- if not the Nation on how we limit ballot access to all but the party faithful.

The movie upset me. Not because of what happened in 1928- in what was known as the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, but because we’ve all been witness to the greatest crimes of the century- on Wall Street, in Washington, and even right here in Dayton- as we’ve watched the rich buy the feckless politicians and manipulate them to pass laws and regulations that aren’t in the voters’ best interests- and we haven’t marched en masse on the Capital.

This morning I read a lengthy article in the New York Times on the failures of regulators and the corporations to realize that blowout preventers have a critical weak link- and fail at an astonishing 40% rate. I listened to “This American Life” where they discussed how the State of New York is once again faced with a “budget crisis” caused by fly-by-night accounting- and also how Barbados didn’t suffer the same face as Jamaica when realizing they’d overdrafted their nation.

The true stories are all around us- and yet, we only react if the stories been sensationalized, sanitized and romanticized with a Hollywood script and soundtrack before it registers.

This video has a bombshell dropped in it- one that I’ve been holding back for too long. So to those of you who faithfully watch, listen carefully- because, even though it’s only mentioned in passing- there is a true story ready for the big screen right here in Dayton.

And, btw- if I do get to face off against Mike Turner for Congress this fall, there will be more to this story, guaranteed.

I’ve had several friends struggle with the math teachers at Sinclair Community College. Hell, I struggled with some of the professors at Wright State, and- we’re now creating high school curriculum called STEM- Science Technology, Engineering and Math- because Americans are falling behind.

We also spend billions on jet fighters for the Air Force, that have zero competition- and can be shot down with a much cheaper smart missile. So apparently, those in Congress like “Hawk” Mike Turner didn’t do well in math either.

Here’s a solution- and it’s free: Kahn Academy. They teach math from 1+1=2 all the way up to string theory (don’t ask me what that is- I stopped with Business Calc). Note, this isn’t a government program, and the guy who started it- is  a first generation American just like me (for you knuckleheads that forget where your roots came from).

The only problem- is to learn, students need a computer and an internet connection. If we truly are going to be a superpower for much longer based on anything but atom bombs, we need to develop our social capital (that’s you- we the people).

We have an organization in this country making laptops available to third world countries- One Laptop Per Child- but, that’s not a reality for most of the kids in parts of OH-3 and it’s not something Mike Turner gives a hoot about. We’re more interested in creating a business model for textbook manufacturers in this country- who have a new edition of “Finite Math” every other year to prevent a secondary market in something finite. (note I have a copy of the 111th edition of “Finite Mathematics, for Business, Economics, Life Sciences and Social Sciences” from Pearson, Prentice Hall in mint condition for someone- the new one goes for $150, or $115 on Amazon)

We are dramatically behind in wiring our country. Our internet access and speeds (wired and unwired) trail countries like Finland and South Korea- and if you can show me a commercial cell phone made in this country in the last 5 years- I’d be shocked.

For less than $10B we could outfit every k-5 kid with an OLPC and every 6-12 grader with a MacBook. The wires- well, we built and subsidized the national highway system for National Defense, I think this is just as important. We can start by enacting a national sales tax on internet purchases- all of which goes to data highways and digital infrastructure. It’s time to put bricks and mortar retailers in out communities back on a level playing field. We’d also end the stupidity of delivering education materials best communicated in Bits- by converting them to Atoms- that’s digital files instead of oil based ink on dead trees).

I’ve talked about this before on this site- I didn’t just pop up with this yesterday (like Guy Fogle or Joe Roberts)- and, if elected, I plan to move these ideas through Congress (since I won’t take money from the text book lobby, or AT&T’s lobby- or the School Teachers Lobby etc… I may actually represent your wishes- and I’m sure you agree with me, because I think you’re smart).

And, if you need help on how to figure all this out- http://khanexercises.appspot.com/video?v=XFhntPxow0U

There aren’t enough tax dollars in the city, state or even the federal treasuries to keep buying safe communities. At a cost to the city of millions of dollars, what we are really investing in is propping up the real estate around a major employer and tax base.

This wasn’t necessary in the fifties, because people had jobs that paid a living wage and one income was enough to support a family. However- as the corporate takeover of America, from Congress to City Hall has taken its toll, we now take from the poor, to keep the rich happy. It’s called a plutocracy- and it’s killing our country.

Read the description of this “public/private partnership”

The goal of the Phoenix Project is to return the neighborhood to a working, sustainable community that can stand on its own, supported by affordable housing, safe streets and local businesses.

Along with public-spiritedness comes a healthy dose of self-interest.

Sister Carol doesn’t dispute that, but said it is her hospital’s moral commitment that drives the renewal.

“Our charge as a hospital is to create a healthier community, and that does not just mean physical health. We are the major entity in the neighborhood with 3,200 employees,” said Sister Carol, an 18-year resident of the neighborhood.

via Partnerships improve city’s neighborhoods.

Let’s see, if GM were still building cars in this community- and if the parts were all still made locally, and health insurance weren’t really bankruptcy insurance (thanks to my smart girlfriend for pointing that out on our walk this morning, health insurance today is really protection money to stop you from going bankrupt- not much else- since our premiums exceed what our costs would be for the most part- if we could pay the same price insurance companies pay) we would have people who could still afford their homes, take care of their neighborhood- and not turn to crime to make a living.

Yet, Congress in its infinite wisdom bails out GM and Wall Street, and even local government gets involved in this social engineering experiment- that’s putting our country deeper into debt, without solving the root causes: the gap between the haves and the have nots is at record levels.

A few things I’ve heard lately that make my blood boil.
About 70% of the volume on the New York Stock Exchange is “flash trading” where stocks are held for less than 7 seconds. This is not investing- this is playing with other people’s money with no risk to the traders- but a huge cost to the country.

Even Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, admitted that our financial system has become too complex for one person to understand. Recently I was clearing out drawers and found a note for a home equity line from 1982 and the whole thing was in normal sized type and fit on a standard sheet of legal paper- both sides, in plain English- take a look at the average credit card agreement today for comparison.

And lately, driving past the new Austin Road interchange, which cost $76 million, I wondered what that money would have done for downtown Dayton – which already had all the entrances and exits to support lots of office workers in tall buildings. I look at all those great farm fields being built into sub-divisions of new infrastructure, with new bills to pass on to the public- knowing that nationally we have 108 months worth of housing inventory already and wonder why we’re still building more and out.

If we want to see “sustainable communities” we need to start thinking about “sustainable practices” like increased density of population to share costs of infrastructure better. We need to look at executive pay and corporate profits- to be based on a return for real risk- and to reward creation of jobs for Americans- not the Chinese or the Asian Indians. And it’s time to reform our “health care” to be about keeping people healthy with living wage jobs- without threat of bankruptcy for illness.

Yep- this is a campaign speech. Let’s get out of the corporate welfare business- and reward those who employ Americans with well paying jobs. That’s a model for sustainable communities.

You’ve heard Greg Hunter talk about Peak Oil for quite some time on this site. Today the New York Times has a short piece about the inevitable coming of life after oil.

For Mrs. Wilkerson, 33, a moderate Democrat from Oakton, Va., who designs computer interfaces, the spill reinforced what she had been obsessing over for more than a year — that oil use was outstripping the world’s supply. She worried about what would come after: maybe food shortages, a collapse of the economy, a breakdown of civil order.

via ‘Peak Oil’ Movement Prepares for the Worst – NYTimes.com.

And while there are people who continue to believe the well will never run dry, and some who try to manufacture science to support their ideas, it would seem no one predicted the levy’s breaking in New Orleans, or the Deep Horizon drilling platform blowing up, or any number of other major “doh’s.”

We’ve got people who say global warming is BS too- but, the reality is, if the polar ice caps melt and Manhattan and Miami go underwater- along with a bunch of other prime real estate, does it really matter what the cause was or who was right? Bet the dinosaurs never had a plan for an asteroid strike either- (and neither do we). Yep, one day, life as we know it may be very different.

The part of the article I found most interesting is this:

“I was ready to move out to the country and be an organic farmer, but I learned that’s not the way to do it. You need a community.”

And I thought about my community- in the most basic sense, South Park. We have a group of like-minded people who’ve been working together for years at “building community”- and when push comes to shove, we come to each other’s aid. We know our neighbors and collectively we have the skills to survive and flourish in a situation as bleak as life after oil. In fact, I’d say that Dayton with its aquifer, its nearby farmland, and the people’s general ability to be affable- would point to this being a much better place to be than say NY, LA, Chicago, Atlanta- where the population is already stacked on top of itself like cordwood waiting for a spark to set it off.

The only question will be is who will lead our region if and when everything breaks down? With so many chiefs currently at the head table, will they all still be arguing while the small neighborhoods like South Park fence off and wait for the unrest to quell? The ensuing battle for Woodland cemetery (the high ground that isn’t a garbage dump) would be the first part of the new civilization that will emerge when the cars don’t work anymore.

Do I spend a lot of time thinking about things like this? No. Have I thought about it? Absolutely- and it stems from my training in Special Forces, where we’re often tasked with rebuilding communities that have been severed from mainstream society. The only difference here would be that the language and cultural barriers wouldn’t be as hard to overcome- the biggest obstacle will be the bubbas with the biggest guns.

I’m pretty sure using ancient history to remind people of what can happen is pointless- but, Rome did fall. History is a great teacher. Democracys generally haven’t lasted more than 200 years. Are we operating on borrowed time already? We’ve already made a mockery of our elections- with offices going to not the smartest- but the ones who are willing to sell out. We’ve lived outside our means for years- with huge personal and national debt, we’ve polluted and are still paying the price in cleanup costs- and now we’ve sprawled with our belief in $3-a-gallon gas and highways. We’re fighting a war in Afghanistan trying to do what other empires have tried and failed.

Am I a crackpot candidate for even attempting to run for Congress?

How many times can we be wrong? Should we keep doing the same thing and expecting different results? Harbingers to reflect on.

Happy Sunday Morning to you too.

Greg Hunter stopped in today and we had a quick discussion about politicians and the embellishment of resumes- as well as job seekers doing the same thing.

What’s most interesting in the case of Richard Blumenthal- is the timing of the “reporting” of his deeds- on the eve of an election. Has the fourth estate lost its credibility- or is it being manipulated just like the American Public?

From the NYT today:

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Democrat running for the United States Senate, said he took “full responsibility” for saying he had served in Vietnam when he actually received deferments between 1965 and 1970, worked in the Nixon White House and then joined the Marine Corps Reserve.

“On a few occasions I have misspoken about my service, and I regret that and I take full responsibility,” Mr. Blumenthal said at a news conference Tuesday at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in West Hartford, “but I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service to our country.”

Mr. Blumenthal said he had been unaware of “those misplaced words” when he said them. He said that the errors were “totally unintentional” errors and that he had made them on only a small number of occasions in hundreds of public appearances.

The New York Times reported on Monday night that Mr. Blumenthal had addressed veterans’ groups without saying that his service never took him beyond the East Coast.

via Blumenthal Calls Military Claim ‘Misplaced Words’ – NYTimes.com.

Yes, Blumenthal is right to own his lies, (which may make him more honest than most we elect), but, the timing of this reporting, of a man who has been elected before- must make you wonder. Is he a threat to those who Chris Dodd worked so hard to protect (Wall Street bankers)? Greg asks if Elliot Spitzer’s hooker encounters were also exposed to protect Wall Street?

Here’s our discussion- what do you think?

Chris Grant- Flexing for a laugh

A little over a month ago- I was helping the people of PUSH- Professionals United for Sexual Health- work on a charity auction. They had 18 bachelors (including Greg Hunter) volunteer to be “auctioned off” to eligible women for a date package.

I took the pictures of most of the bachelors- and got to meet some amazing people. One of whom was Chris Grant who works at Wright State in the Athletic Department for my college friend, Athletic Director, Bob Grant.

One of the ways I judge people’s competency, is by what kind of people they hire. Two of Bob’s new hires were in the auction- and both were just absolutely amazing guys. Polite, bright, interested in the community- and- jocks (it is the athletic department after all). I even tried to fix-up Jack Leopard with my girlfriend’s co-worker.

Today I hear that Chris got shot yesterday:

An employee of the Wright State athletic department is recovering in Tuscaloosa, Ala., after suffering a gunshot wound early Sunday, May 16, in an incident that left one dead and eight injured and is being called one of the worst shootings in that city’s history.

Chris Grant, special assistant to the athletic director at WSU, was attending a high school graduation party for a younger sister when the shooting occurred, said his father, Michael.

Michael Grant, the men’s basketball coach at Stillman College and the former coach at Central State, said a bullet entered Chris Grant’s right side, passed through his liver and exited his body. Chris Grant also suffered a cracked rib and is breathing with the assistance of a breathing tube, his father said.

Michael Grant said Chris’ liver has started to heal and that doctors were performing more tests Monday morning.

via WSU athletic department employee victim in mass Ala. shooting | Wright State University sports.

And no, he wasn’t shot in Dayton.

So far the news indicates that Chris will pull through- but, if you’d like to say a prayer for a really nice guy, who deserves a ton of support- please join me in rooting for a full recovery.

For all of you 2nd Amendment lovers- I’d rather have a few less guns- and an intact Chris Grant any day. A well regulated militia doesn’t let the good guys take a bullet at a graduation party. That’s not the America I believe in.

Yesterday the market went into a wild tailspin- pulled out- then is back to swinging like a pendulum.

This isn’t anything about “investing” in companies- this is all about betting on horses- and that’s a stupid way to manage an economy.

Really- horses and stocks aren’t connected to a predictable financial reality- the one that’s supposed to guide investment. Company A- for Apple- has this product portfolio, this cost structure, a balance sheet, and a  track record and this customer base (I can’t say “market potential” because it would confuse the gamblers on the Street). That’s what I was taught to use to value a company stock.

Not anymore. How else do you explain that yesterday morning- the stock was worth $270 a share and today it’s at $240 (and at one point was at $200 a share). Figure out how many shares there are- and we’re talking billions vanishing in a day. Did Apple change the way they do business- do people not want an iPad today as much as they wanted one yesterday? Absolutely not.

This isn’t business- this isn’t even the weather in Dayton Ohio- this is larceny at a grand scale- driven by computer driven program trading and more arcane financial “instruments” than one can shake a stick at. It’s not investment- especially when we have people betting against companies- by “shorting” stock.

From the NYT:

The market volatility that marked the financial crisis of 2008 returned to Wall Street again on Friday.

After being down almost 180 points, the Dow Jones industrial average regained almost all of the ground it lost only to slip again. In late morning trading, the Dow was down 40.13 points, or 0.38 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock-index declined 6.13 points, or 0.54 percent. The Nasdaq declined 23.28 points, or 1 percent.

The wild swings came as policy makers have sought to calm nervous investors who fear that Greece’s debt crisis will spread within Europe and beyond. The CAC-40 was down by 5 percent in late trading in Paris Wall Street took in a stronger-than-expected report on United States jobs growth, and all but pushed it aside. The Labor Department reported Friday that the economy added 290,000 jobs, much more than forecast.

via Wall Street Swings and Then Turns Lower – NYTimes.com.

All this while Rome fiddles. No calls from Congress to end this charade once and for all. No questioning the methods- these fools we elect are perfectly OK with sitting down to play poker with a partial deck.

It’s time to put an end to complex financial instruments. The only people who should be able to create “paper” is the Fed- or banks that have assets to back up their loans. It’s time to end program trading- put a halt to day trading, end options all together on stock- leave them in the commodities market where they are actually supposed to smooth things out- but- require actual possession of goods- to force “speculators” to have real skin in the game.

It’s also time to reel in the compensation of executives who fail- clawbacks, prison time, real responsibility. In fact- maybe it’s time to end all mutual funds, forcing the hand back to the single investors. Accountability is the only thing that will bring sanity back to the system.

These swings should be a rude awakening for some. And even if some of these measures are only put in place temporarily as a result of market swings- so be it.

Unless of course, you’re not playing with a full deck either.