Category Archives: Lobby/PAC

Wherein We See OWS Grow Up And Become Conservatives

Posted on October 22, 2011 | 3 comments

There’s an old joke:

While speaking with a friend’s daughter, I asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.

Marcia proudly announced, “I want to be President!”

This caused her parents, both of whom are liberal Democrats, to beam with pride.

I then inquired, “If you become President, what is the first thing you would do?”

Marcia replied, “I would give houses to all homeless people.”

“That is a worthy goal,” I said, “but you don’t have to wait until you’re President to do that.  You know our dog, Poco?  Well, he likes to poop in our backyard and I have to clean that up.  I’ll pay you $5 a week if you’ll do that for me.  Then I’ll then take you to see a homeless man up there by the grocery store so you can give him the money to help him buy a home.”

Marcia looked at me and asked, “Why don’t you ask him to clean up the poop himself?”

I smiled and said, “Welcome to the Republican Party.”

I laughed out loud, really, when I came across the real life version of this:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When “Occupy Wall Street” protesters took over two parks in Portland’s soggy downtown, they pitched 300 tents and offered free food, medical care and shelter to anyone. They weren’t just building, like so many of their brethren across the nation, a community to protest what they see as corporate greed.

They also created an ideal place for the homeless. Some were already living in the parks, while others were drawn from elsewhere to the encampment’s open doors.

I think this gets a little fuzzy.  I say that because I think there are dangers when personal obligations mingle with State obligations.  See, this is where the Left is able to effectively hammer the Right.  See, it is ABSOLUTELY our personal responsibility to perform charitable work for those of us less well off.  However, that same responsibility does not exist for the government.

Anyway, this nicely frames this nugget:

Homeless transplants from the city’s Skid Row have set up their tents within the larger tent city. No violence has been reported, but protest organizers are attempting to discourage people who are only at the encampment for the amenities.

I smiled and said, “Welcome to the 53%!”

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Posted in Economy, Idiots on Parade, Liberty, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National

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Teacher’s Unions: It’s About Power – How They Hate Kids

Posted on October 19, 2011 | 3 comments

I love teachers.  My dad taught, many of my friends teach, some in my family currently teach.  Hell, I was a teacher.

I love great teachers.  We should fire the horrible ones, not the bad ones, just the horrible ones, but that’s a post for another day.

My beef is the Union.  That organization that represents teachers and bargains and negotiates for them.  If you ever had any doubt, any doubt what so ever, that Unions not only don’t care about kids, but hate children, here it is.  In all its glory, how Unions are power hungry monsters:

To the relief of college-bound seniors, Lakeville high school teachers will once again write letters of recommendation under a deal reached this week between their local union and the school district.

The agreement ends a standoff that began two weeks ago during contract negotiations between the union and district. Hoping to spur a settlement, some teachers began refusing to write recommendation letters, among other measures requested by their union.

The Union requested teachers stop writing letters of recommendation for seniors trying to get into college.

Power.  Pure and unapologetic power.  Unions do not exist for the benefit of the children.  They exploit children.  And teachers.  And you.

Measure teachers.  Fire shitty ones.  Reward great ones.  And abolish teachers unions.

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Posted in Education, Liberty, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National, States Behaving Badly

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99% And The Top 1%

Posted on October 17, 2011 | 9 comments

All of us are trying to figure out this #OWS stuff and  how it impacts us.  The opinions ranges from one of skepticism and disgust to respect and admiration.  Clearly the movement is having an impact.

My personal reaction to the movement is one of disdain.  It’s my understanding that these folks are upset that 1% of the people control more than 1% of the wealth.  That the remaining 99% of the population is somehow getting screwed.  To be sure, there is some version of protest that speaks to the very elite rich manipulating the “system” to their advantage in a way that endangers our economic fabric, but I firmly believe these people to be few and far between.

What we are seeing is a bunch of folks upset that there are rich people.  Or rather, who have more money than they have.  But is that the real picture?

Let’s take a look at the top 1%:

I sit in an interesting chair in the financial services industry. Our clients largely fall into the top 1%, have a net worth of $5,000,000 or above, and if working make over $300,000 per year. My observations on the sources of their wealth and concerns come from my professional and social activities within this group.

…

…a family enters the top 1% or so today with somewhere around $300k to $400k in pre-tax annual income and over $1.2M in net worth.

Okay, so that’s a lot of money.  A TON of money.  I can remember a time when earning that kind of money was stupid.  In fact, earning that kinda money for me is STILL stupid.

But let’s go further:

The 99th to 99.5th percentiles largely include physicians, attorneys, upper middle management, and small business people who have done well….

…

The net worth for those in the lower half of the top 1% is usually achieved after decades of education, hard work, saving and investing as a professional or small business person.

Decades.  Hard work. Saving.  Investing.

Decades.  That is, these folks didn’t “come into” this money, they earned it.  EARNED it.  By working, risking and sacrificing.  THAT is the lower half of the 1%.  Which means that we are now talking about the top half of the 1%.

The whole read is fascinating.  But I’ll leave you with what the author leaves us with:

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this: A highly complex set of laws and exemptions from laws and taxes has been put in place by those in the uppermost reaches of the U.S. financial system. It allows them to protect and increase their wealth and significantly affect the U.S. political and legislative processes. They have real power and real wealth. Ordinary citizens in the bottom 99.9% are largely not aware of these systems, do not understand how they work, are unlikely to participate in them, and have little likelihood of entering the top 0.5%, much less the top 0.1%.

I think this is true.  I am willing to believe that the top 0.01% of Americans have much if not all of the power and influence in this country.  Which, by the way, turns out to be about 32,243 people.  And we’re not really talking about people, we’re talking about families.  So it could be half that.

If the cost of 99.99% of us living like relative kings is having 16,000 of us live lives that we can only dream of?  Well, hell, I’m willing to pay that.

Don’t ever forget.  Ever.  That we have a life that would have been the envy of the richest people of the world just 50 years ago.  Imagine what the world’s wealthiest would have paid for what we now see as everyday convenience.

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Posted in Economy, Government, Liberty, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National, Rocket Surgery

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Posted Without Comment

Posted on October 16, 2011 | 6 comments

Sing it sistah!

6 Comments

Posted in Economics, Government, Liberty, Life, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National

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Occupy Raleigh: Follow Up

Posted on October 16, 2011 | 3 comments

I just finished a post I started this afternoon.  I had to wait until I got the family fed, the lawn watered, the driveway power washed, the grass sprinkled and the kids to bed.  Finally, I had to watch the NASCAR race.

NOW I can read some.

And I found this:

RALEIGH — Early on, Occupy Raleigh had the look and feel of a 1960s peace rally, with songs by Pete Seeger, Gil Scot Heron and John Lennon blaring from loudspeakers. A crowd that resembled a family gathering streamed from the old State Capitol grounds and onto Fayetteville Street….

That is exactly as I said it was:  A festival.  But then….

But by late afternoon Saturday, after most of the crowd had dispersed, about 200 protestors debated whether to stay overnight in the park, like their counterparts in New York and other cities, and risk arrest. After nightfall, police arrested 19 people and charged them with second-degree trespassing.

What the hell is the point of THAT!?!?

They got attention.  They got respect.  They got press.  What in the world is the point in getting arrested?

None.

They are adolescent children.

And the response from the official crowd:

Lynn DuPree commented 3 hours ago · Flag

It was a great protest and I want to be the first to say THANK YOU to the 20 brave people who stayed at the Occupy site and gave us the additional media attention we need by getting ARRESTED tonight. As Dr. King taught us, civil disobedience will often involve being willing to offer up our wrists to the police. Gandhi also said non-violent civil disobedience is the backbone of any serious movement intent upon real change; and if I were younger and healthier I would have been happy to stand beside these heroic young citizens and go peacefully to jail. To the RALEIGH 20: I will be honored to march along side you at our next rally!

Nice.  They praise it.

And as long as they do that for people doing that; they’ll never be taken serious again.

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Posted in Government, Idiots on Parade, Lobby/PAC, Politics: North Carolina

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Occupy Raleigh

Posted on October 16, 2011 | 11 comments

I took some time this afternoon to drive downtown Raleigh and see what there was to see as Raleigh was Occupied.

I have to say upfront, I never expected the same time of scene in Raleigh that I would expect to see in NYC currently.  The folks in New York have been at this for nearly a month now and have a permanent camp in the park.  Here in Raleigh, the scene is different.  From what I understand, the organization has a permit.  They have attended informal conversations with like minded lawyers who have advised them on how to interact with people and the police.   They have urged their members to commit to non-violence.

This is to their credit.

Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in Economy, Liberty, Lobby/PAC

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OWS Coming to Raleigh

Posted on October 15, 2011 | 7 comments

Today is the day that the Wall Street protesters come to Raleigh.  Certainly not the original group, but rather, a related organization that is taking the movement in New York as their inspiration.

They call themselves Occupy Raleigh.

We are a group of concerned citizens who wish to raise awareness and demonstrate before the Capitol in support of economic justice and against corporate influence over our elections and political process. Our purpose is to engage the public in this dialogue and make the voices of the people heard. We want local and national legislators to hear our concerns about ways to remedy economic injustice and the unfair influence the wealthy have over the political system.

We are a peaceful, non-violent resistance movement that aims to encourage people to participate in democracy and use their voices to influence positive change.

We are not a Democratic party movement nor are we anarchists trying to overthrow government. Rather, we are a populist uprising that seeks to place the political power back in the People’s hands where it belongs. We are willing to extend our protest indefinitely to effect change.

Better.

A clear and succinct statement.  Much better than the nonsense spewing from NYC.

But still a ways to go.  For example:

We want local and national legislators to hear our concerns about ways to remedy economic injustice and the unfair influence the wealthy have over the political system.

What are those concerns?  And what are the remedies?  What influence?

This is certainly nice, and, in the same way that the Tea Party is non-affiliated, these guys are non-affiliated:

We are not a Democratic party movement nor are we anarchists trying to overthrow government.

I’m sure the protest will be non-violent.  There’s too much at stake for them to remain positive.  Further, they aren’t here to “occupy”.  As far as I know, they come in today and go home today.  And THAT is a reasonable thing that reasonable citizens do.

7 Comments

Posted in Economy, Government, Lobby/PAC

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Stinky Hippies and Greedy Corporations

Posted on October 14, 2011 | 1 comment


I’ve been a long-hair since early 1988.  I did trim it some because I worked at a fascist amusement park that wanted to portray “family values” or something.  But after that, below my shoulders.  I had long hair even as I taught school.

However, it wasn’t until I took an office job that I began to pull it back and keep it tied.  So, for 12-13-14 years now, I’ve been a loyal fan of Scunci brand hair ties.  They don’t hurt your hair, ya know.

But man-o-man have they upset me.  Always I have found the ties to be incredibly durable.  Hot or cold, wet or dry, these things kept their tightness in tact.  The last batch I bought however, they lose their ability to remain tight after 3-5 days.  Then I have to pitch it and use another.

Corporate greed at it’s worse.  Creating a product that wears out quicker.

So listen up fleabaggers!  If you wanna protest, protest Scunci!

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Posted in Idiots on Parade, Lobby/PAC, Stuff

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Something Just Didn’t Sound Right

Posted on October 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’m reading a report of Seattle’s version of Occupy Wall Street.  The gathering is taking place in Westlake Park.  Westlake is a great place.  Open spaces, great shopping and restaurants, close to everything.

I love it.

But, with all the protesters there, the local business owners are getting tired; turns out that tons of anti-capitalists aren’t good for business.

Anyway, that is surprising and isn’t what caught my attention.  This is:

Shelia Locke owns Bobachine Cafe, which is right on Westlake Park. She said she’s supportive of the protesters’ cause but that the crowds haven’t been good for business.

“There’s definitely fewer people you can identify as people out, just walking through the area,” she said.

Some customers are coming anyway.

“It’s no big deal — I’ve been unemployed for two years,” Cindy Hawk said.

Catch that?  I’ll quote again:

 “It’s no big deal — I’ve been unemployed for two years,” Cindy Hawk said.

Awesome.  Unemployed for 2 years, but still has money to eat at the tawny joints in downtown Seattle.

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Posted in Idiots on Parade, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National

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Occupy Wall Street Comes To North Carolina

Posted on October 6, 2011 | 13 comments

With the passing of Steve Jobs, his Commencement Address at Stanford is making the rounds.  The message of his words is powerful, the speech itself, actually, is massively forgettable.  But his Opus, his yawlp, is most impressive.

Stay hungry.  Stay foolish.

I resonate.  I’m nearly 43, well into a decent career at a massive corporation doing better than I have a right to ask.  But I’m hungry.  And I do foolish shit all day long.  All the time.  In fact, I yearn for the foolish, I embrace the foolish.

I get foolish.

So I understand that fire in the belly of the college kid who watches on TV as other college kids go do stuff.  Get noticed and make a name if not a statement.  But holy moly, there is a massive learning curve here:

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Hundreds of North Carolina college students walked out of class Wednesday afternoon as the weeks-long protest against Wall Street spread to universities nationwide.

I get it.  I do.  To get noticed you have to do things that are noticeable.  And if you really think that there are people being victimized, I urge you to get noticed:

Apart from the message of Occupy Wall Street, which is people over profit, is that UNC students, regardless of political or socio-economic background, have issues on this campus,” student Denise Mitchell said. “Students just don’t feel like they’re being heard by the university.

Huh?  Wait, this isn’t some attempt to improve student/faculty relations at some flippin’ university is it?

Mitchell cited a recent study that found UNC housekeepers feel they are treated unfairly…

What the what?  Wait, Occupy Wall Street is a movement that wants to draw attention to the fact that the very wealthy are, in fact wealthy, because of the shenanigans on of massive banks.  So, using that as cover you walk out of class to voice student concerns that housekeepers don’t think life is fair?

…and an investigation into the Department of African and Afro-American Studies following allegations of plagiarism by a former football player.

Right.  ‘Cause the fact that a football player plagiarized his work is shocking only because what, 85% of the student body is guilty as well?  Is it because he’s black?  Hell, IS he even black?

More proof that our education system is failing us follows:

Students used Facebook and other social media outlets to spread word of the noon protests. They say they represent 99 percent of Americans – people struggling to get by while the wealthiest one percent makes financial decisions.

“People will become aware and will know that we are the 99 percent, and our voices will not be ignored,” N.C. State student Katina Gad said.

Do they understand what 99% means?  Do they understand what struggling to get by means?  As an exercise, if they are so poor and so struggling, how are they organizing using Facebook?

The stupid continues:

“If you look at any group of people (who) are being discriminated against, I think youth and students are a big part of that. We’ve taken on massive amounts of student loans to go into what jobs?” said Ryan Thompson, who helped organize the small protest on N.C. State’s Brickyard.

“How are we going to pay $50,000 in debt when there are no jobs out there?” UNC student Ana Maria Reichenbach said.

Stunning.

If you look at any group of people who are being discriminated against…..

Don’t do it man, do NOT say that YOU are being discriminated against.

I think youth and students are a big part of that.

You did it.  But that aside, what does that even MEAN?  Youth and students are a big part of WHAT?  What in the HELL are you talking about?

How are we going to pay $50,000 in debt when there are no jobs out there?

So, now that you’ve decided to drop a cool 50 large on a European Classical Renaissance Philosophy / German Sociology degree and are shocked to learn that no one gives a fuck, you think I’M on the hook for your stupid student loans?

Check this out.  Being 50k down should disqualify you for almost any reasonable job out there where a corporation is going to trust you with their money.  If you can’t manage YOUR money, how do you expect any one to let you manage theirs?

Area college students are planning a citywide protest in Raleigh’s Moore Square at 5 p.m. Sunday, and many of the students said they plan to travel to New York in the next few weeks to show their support in person to the hundreds of protesters on Wall Street.

Again.  I resonate.  But if you are going to flush a $50,000 education down the toilet so that you can get arrested in New York, at least do it with a plan.  Be organized.  Be coherent.  Have points that are well thought out, organized and documented.  Be crisp and concise.  Make sure that one point is related to the next.  It should flow and people should go:

Yeah!  I never thought of it that way before.

But, then again, if you knew that, I suspect you wouldn’t be making the trip to NY in the first place,

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Posted in Economics, Economy, Education, Idiots on Parade, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National

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