Ones and Zeros

I do not understand why my printer is having difficulty installing under Windows 7 when it worked so perfectly under XP. It's all ones and zero's folks - this isn't rocket science!

The Big Lie (One Of Many)

I saw this today in the parking lot of the Firestone station that was fixing my tire. Someone has been duped - big time. This idea that companies are moving their operations overseas because of excessive taxes is a big lie. And apparently it is working (on those that don't think for themselves). The truth is that American companies are moving their operations overseas because they can get cheap labor there - very cheap. Corporations can pay people in these 3rd world nations a few dollars a day to work 12 hour days - 6 days a week and maybe even more. These countries have few labor laws and extreme poverty and American corporations are taking advantage of this desperation in the name of higher profits. It has nothing to do with taxes. Even if these corporations had zero taxes - they would still be operating in these countries and simply add their tax savings on to their profit margin.

Now - about those taxes. American corporations use a lot of government services. It is their big trucks that are tearing up our roads. They use our ports, airports, and many other government run transportation for delivery of their goods. They also enlist the services of the fire department, police and other government agencies. I dare any corporation - even if they are operating overseas - to run their business without using any government resources. They can't! Therefore they must pay taxes to support this infrastructure. It cannot be the sole responsibility of the working poor to pay for our countries shared services. Those who profit from this infrastructure should be the first ones to help pay.

Corporations won't bring their operations back to the USA until American workers agree to work for the same wages as those overseas. No thank you! I'm strongly against turning America into a 3rd world country. In my opinion, corporations that move their operations overseas to take advantage of cheap labor or lower taxes are un-American. Not only should they be taxed - they should be fined!

I'd like to be known for who I am and what I do rather than what I have or some tattoo.

The Perfect Evangelical Candidate for President

For Evangelical voters who are looking for a Presidential candidate who has strong family and Christian values - they needn't look any further than the White House. President and Mrs. Obama are a shining example of what the Christian right thinks families should be. Liberal voters know that families come in many different forms, including single parents and gay parents. For liberal voters - those families are just as perfect. But if a "perfect two parent family" is all you can accept, then I urge you to watch this 20/20 Barbara Walters Special on the First Family. You would be hard pressed to find a better example on the Republican ticket.

Jesus was born naked in the sand - and that is how I intend to honor him today.

The Spenders

We have heard a lot over the last several years regarding the "Job Creators" ie rich folks. We've heard how they must be swooned, coddled and protected from any financial inconvenience so they can continue to create jobs. But the so called "job creators" are only one piece of the complicated puzzle we call economics. Another giant piece of that puzzle is the working middle class - those normal families trying to get by paycheck to paycheck. I call them "The Spenders". Without the commerce of day to day life of normal working folks - there simply is no economy. So, to improve the economy we must help the spenders spend. How? Easy. Get them more money. Not more credit - more money. There are really only two ways to do that - lower prices and/or higher wages.

Prices just continue to rise. And the only raise I've gotten in the last 5 years is from the Federal Government in the form of a payroll tax break that saved me over $1000 this year. Believe me when I say that made a significant impact in my very tight budget. Yes, I spent it - I had to. But while the job creators are clinging to their own multi-million dollar tax breaks, they want to take away my $1000 break that was supposed to be extended for another year. Somehow it doesn't seem fair.

The point is that the job creators do hold the reigns on economic recovery through job creation and government policies that affect the working middle class. Right now - quite on purpose I believe - they are pulling on those reigns and slowing the economy. The economy will not recover until they let go of the reigns and give the spenders the power to spend. But why would they purposefully slow the economy?

It is the one dollar question that is so easy to answer you surely don't need my help.

Magic in 3D

Awesome! I finally got to see a great movie on my new 3D TV. Last night I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. I had seen it in the theaters this summer and really enjoyed it - it is the best movie of the series. In fact you could watch just that one and get a short version of the entire saga. My "at home" experience was just as good as the theater version - maybe even better in some ways. I have to admit that 3D magic is better enjoyed with a glass of wine, a pause button for a bathroom break, a rewind button to thoroughly enjoy the great 3D scenes and a furry companion curled up next to me. Perfection.

Lots of Stupid Stuff

Well I just can't get enough of watching this reality TV show called the GOP Primaries! It is truly very entertaining. The funniest part is that none of the candidates are Tea Party enough for the Tea Party. But of course none of them would be unless Reagan or Jesus were on the ticket. But wait - both of them were pretty liberal compared to the Tea Party - especially Jesus so that wouldn't work. Today alone on CNN I heard 3 or 4 Tea Party folks tearing apart all the various candidates - and they had some pretty serious gripes! But - all can agree that no matter who the nominee finally is - they will all vote for that person instead of President Obama. Isn't that just a little sad, funny and scary all at the same time?! Meanwhile the sane folks are shaking our heads in disbelief that these people would vote for a terrible candidate - who would likely do terrible things for this country - just because they don't like the President. No TV writer could do a better job of writing a situation comedy.

Let's get back to Jesus for just a bit since it Tis the Season. Next time you see one of these GOP buffoons talking - just ask yourself "what would Jesus do?" I'll bet you dollars to donuts it wouldn't be what the presidential candidates are suggesting. Ask yourself the same thing when you hear President Obama talking. Hmmmmmm. Interesting

In other stupidity - are we really having a debate on whether to extend the payroll tax break?! Seriously?! This is so much of a no-brainer that you wouldn't even think they would need to meet to approve it. Yet it is a big topic of debate this week. Why? Because the GOP wants to attach a very controversial oil pipeline bill to to it. What?! You heard right. They can't hold Americans hostage unless they have something they want. So there you have it folks - the terrorists are back again - just in time for Christmas.

If the payroll tax cut doesn't get extended I wouldn't call it a tax increase - that is just silly word play. This would return taxes back to their previous rates - just like if the Bush tax cuts were to expire they would return rates to a previous level. It's not a tax increase. But it is fun to hear the President use the GOP word play back on them. But seriously folks - this is really important! That tax break was significant for me this year - it helped me and a lot of other people too. So GOP - put down the gun - er, I mean pipeline and pass the payroll tax break extension. It's the right thing to do.

Oh I could go on and on - so much stupidity - so little time.

The Right Answers

In my seemingly never ending search for the cause of a lingering abdominal pain, I had a colonoscopy done this week. I've had one before so I knew what to expect, but I will mention to anyone reading this that it's not a terrible operation and if you are scheduled for one - don't worry. However, I wouldn't plan any intimate dates for the previous day - the "prep" is not entirely pleasant.

ANYWAY.........

Prior to my procedure the very busy nursing staff buzzed around doing what they do best. It was like an assembly line in there with at least 10 patients queued up and when one went out another replaced them. It was really amazing to see the process. One nurse took to the computer and began asking me a long string of questions:

(Lots of questions prior to this then)

When was the last time I had solid food? Tuesday

What time? 11:30pm

Did you void before you came in today? Yes

Do you have any infectious diseases (and listed a few)? No

Do you have a living will? Yes

Are you an organ donor? Yes

At this point she turned to me and smiled and said - you have all the right answers! The questions continued.

That kind of made my day. :)

I wanted to take this opportunity to give my props out to the nursing staff at this hospital and to nurses everywhere. These are the true unsung heroes in our society. They deal with an insane amount of pressure, work long hard hours, all the while treating patients like people. And they do all this while making an average working person's salary. Doctors make all the money and have an ego to match, but it's the nurses who are the real champions in health care.

GOP Gripes Without Answers

I was just about to write on this exact subject - but this dude at CNN beat me to it and did a better job I'm sure. This is so relevant to me right now as I am being bounced from Doctor to Doctor trying to find an answer to a nagging pain in my abdomen. Nobody can seem to diagnose the pain in 6 months of being poked and prodded (literally) and the insurance co-pays and deductibles have seriously cut into my food budget. I've been prescribed antibiotics three times yet I have not tested positive for any infection. All this while listening to the GOP debates where every candidate yells to repeal "Obamacare" without any mention of an alternative.

This sentence best describes the article - please read the whole thing - it is important.

"The question is: What are GOP candidates saying when they promise to repeal health care reform but are silent on health care and poverty?"

The article is: Don't Take Away America's Healthcare Lifeline.

Health Care reform has only just begun. We don't need to step back - we need to move forward and quickly. Steps have been put into place to address insurance coverage for most Americans - next we need to address costs. It really should have been done the other way around by addressing costs first - but people die while debates take place. Let's not repeal "Obamacare" - let's revise it. Let's take a good thing and make it better.

The Public is Revolting

I've been writing this blog for over 6 years now under the title "The Public Is Revolting". For most of this time the public outcry was muffled in cyberspace in blogs like mine. But blogs are not that effective in getting change to happen because of the sheer number of writers and the difficulty of being chosen by the great Google decider. The people's voices need to be actually heard and it appears the time has come. People from all over America - in fact all over the world are taking to the street in protest of gross income equality, lack of jobs, corrupt politicians and corporate greed. The people are angry - very angry - and they are doing the only thing they feel they have the power to do - they are revolting. Many people watching this "Occupy" movement ask why the protesters are not marching in Washington in front of the politicians? There are several reasons for this - the largest of which is that government does not control wages (except the minimum) or employment benefits or bank fees, or most of the things this movement is about. But there is another reason why they are not specifically asking Washington for help. Washington has stopped. Literally stopped.

Two months ago today - in the comment section of this article, I made the following prediction:
"I predict the next two months will involve tons of tax payer money spent on another frivolous lawsuit (remember the Clintons?). I also predict we will still be bickering about the Presidents Jobs Bill because of GOP hostage taking and nothing will have been accomplished.

Nothing"

I wish I had been wrong. People are without work, losing their homes, losing their cars, some losing their lives while our elected officials hold our country hostage over tax breaks for the wealthy. This can't be allowed to continue.

Notice in the paragraph above I said "elected officials". We put those people in office. Usually the opposition between the two parties is a good thing because it creates a system of checks and balances. But in the mid-term election of 2010 something terrible happened - the Tea Party. It's not that the Tea Party candidates are not doing what they promised. The problem is that this obstruction is exactly what they promised to do. They signed pledges that they would not raise taxes under ANY circumstances. Well guess what - we have some very big circumstances and they are holding true to their pledges while America suffers.

In a two party system, compromise is not an option - it is required. Otherwise we have a one party system. Any elected official that signed a pledge not to compromise under any circumstances is not working under the established government of this country. They should have not been elected in the first place because their actions are unconstitutional. These officials either need to revoke their pledges and agree to compromise or should be removed from office immediately! Only then can our established system of government continue. In future elections any candidate that would sign such a pledge should be immediately disqualified. This is not how America works.

Until then the people will continue to revolt. We will not sit back and watch a government in stagnation while corporations send our jobs overseas. We will not allow bankers to steal our homes and our savings. We will not allow the burden of the economy to fall only on the working poor. We have numbers, we have power we have votes and we are revolting!

Send Halliburton The Bill

I can't believe I'm going to write another article on something Michelle Bachmann said but she is a Presidential candidate and once was a front runner and therefore speaks for a lot of those in her party. Her current message is that we should send a bill to Iraq and demand payment for our efforts in their liberation. Now I have to admit that the war was extremely expensive for this country. The problem is that they didn't ask for our help. What Michelle fails to remember is that we took preemptive action when we started that war killing thousands of innocents in a mighty show of "Shock and Awe". Then we occupied their country for almost a decade against the will of most of the surviving residents. Now we should demand payment?! It reminds me of the dude on the street who cleans my windshield when I stop at a light and expects payment. Actually, for that analogy to be correct the dude would also have to break my windshield and murder my spouse and kids. Here's your dollar!

Michelle is either sadly ignorant of the facts (surprise!) or she is illustrating what the real purpose of our GOP lead invasion was. Sadly both are likely true in this case. It wasn't about liberating the people from an evil dictator. It wasn't even about weapons of mass destruction. It was about profit. Those that started the war knew well in advance that it would be a quagmire - a very profitable quagmire. They also expected to rape the country of it's natural resources - more profit for Halliburton and those in the oil industry.

Sorry Michelle - I don't think Iraq owes us anything but forgiveness.

On this Veterans day - I want to make perfectly clear that we do not blame the brave troops who fought in this war or any war. Many of our brave soldiers lost their lives simply following orders. American troops did their jobs well- as usual - and their service to our country is always immensely appreciated. To those brave Veterans and all those serving our country around the world we say THANK YOU!

It's Not the President They Want Out

I had an appointment for a medical scan today where I waited to be seen for over an hour in a crowed waiting room. Why medical professionals think they can overbook and waste people's time like that is beyond me. Anyway we were all sitting quietly for quite some time when someone foolishly decided to start a conversation on politics. I didn't say much and just nodded and smiled because I wanted to see what the current political temperature was amongst this group of mostly seniors. As it turns out everyone waiting were Democrats and it wasn't long before the conversation got loud and heated. You would think with all the media coverage and Tea Party rants about President Obama's "failed" policies that they would be mad as heck at the President. But they were not complaining about President Obama at all. In fact everyone in the room felt that the President was doing a great job with the unprecedented opposition he has had to deal with. I must say the anger at the Republican obstructionists and the disgust at the current GOP presidential candidates was more intense than I was expecting given this age group. In an election year, one has to consider the fact that the other side could possibly win the election. While nobody in that room felt it was remotely possible, they all agreed that any one of the current contenders would be a disastrous choice for America. The conversation ended shortly after a patient at the front desk shushed everyone because he couldn't hear the person at the desk - that's how loud and heated this discussion was.

Quite surprising given the fact they were all in agreement.

Greed In 2D

So I finally got the 3D TV I wanted for so long. It's fantastic - except for the lack of content. DirecTV has several channels dedicated to 3D content and I've been enjoying some of the nature and space documentaries. But I want to see some of the fantastic 3D movies that have been in the theaters over the last several years.

Sorry. Those are not available. I've searched all the streaming services that my TV connects to (including Amazon, Netflix, Blockbuster, and Vudu) but there are only a handful of 3D movies. And those that are available are to "Own" not to rent. I refuse to pay $25 for a streamed movie! Especially when the service it is streamed on may not be in business another month.

So what's the deal? The deal is that there is no deal. It seems that there are a lot of debates going on over digital media rights and who owns what and what they want to let out and who can show it and what can be charged and bla bla bla! I just want to watch Avatar in 3D in my home - is that too much to ask? The movie is two years old already and still no streaming service has it for rent.

Greed. Here I am willing to pay for streaming movies and there are none available. This is not the free market. If there is a demand there should be a product available. Clearly there is a demand - yet there is no product. They would rather I not watch their movie? Why bother making it?!

So I went back to watching content already included with my DirecTV subscription. They lost my sale - I hope they are happy. I'm not. I waited a long time for my 3D TV. How long do I have to wait to be able to enjoy it?

Minced Words

Here is a topic that is, perhaps, a bit TMI for my mostly political blog. But it's funny and fits into the theme of my blog under "also some light hearted commentary...."

I frequent an adult gay Internet meeting site - it's an international site and I've virtually "met" some interesting people from all over the world. Since this site is international, many profiles are written in another language. No worries - Google Chrome browser offers to translate them for me. That's where the fun starts. I guess Google has some difficulties translating adult words or concepts - making for some very entertaining profiles.

You could say something gets lost in translation. I would argue something is gained in translation - and that is a good chuckle.

Obstructionists Confess

Myself and other bloggers and even some prominent politicians have accused the GOP and especially the Tea Party of purposefully blocking efforts by Democrats to fix the economy so that President Obama will fail. Senator McConnell has already admitted this as his primary goal and now we have a blog article on the Tea Party Nation website that also admits to this. Here is a short excerpt:

I, an American small business owner, part of the class that produces the vast majority of real, wealth producing jobs in this country, hereby resolve that I will not hire a single person until this war against business and my country is stopped.

I hereby declare that my job creation potential is now ceased.

“I’m on strike!”

How patriotic! You might also be interested to read the associated comments from other Tea Party Nation members who have their own versions of ways to obstruct the successful recovery of our economy. Nice.

Thankfully, these people do not have the same power as the Tea Party obstructionists in Washington. That's because they are under the false notion that only Republicans are job creators. Democrats are business owners too and we will be happy to hire workers to do the jobs these people are choosing not to do. And, we will do so while paying our fair share of taxes without complaining. That's how we roll.

If we all worked together and really tried to get things fixed in this country we actually might get something done. Fighting those who's primary goal is the failure of our economy makes things a lot harder - but not to worry, we Democrats know how to do it and we will manage without you. If you won't hire - we will. So thanks for those extra job opportunities that will help us get America back to work.

Conservatives - No Compassion for Those Less Fortunate

The Occupy protest movements across the nation and the world are growing daily. Today I read an article in USA Today that some protesters that have set up camps in city parks are now offering food, shelter and medical treatment for local homeless people. These protesters understand and are showing that they have compassion for these homeless people - even when it is difficult and possibly dangerous. Many homeless people are homeless because they are mentally unstable or have uncontrollable addictions that require medical attention. Others are veterans who returned from the horrors of war damaged and unstable. Still others have lost their homes to the housing bubble bust, lost jobs or other sad circumstances. The protesters understand and want to help - but not everyone does.

Take a moment to read the article that explains the situation - then take another moment and read the sad comments associated with the article. The commenters are typical GOP - Tea Party folks who have no compassion for those less fortunate. You can tell they are right wing voters by the way they use the word "Liberal" as if it were a bad word. It's not a bad word at all - look it up. I have repeatedly called the GOP un-compassionate in this blog and I think it is important to show an article like this every once in a while to prove that I am not just making baseless claims. These people are truly selfish and heartless. It is their greed that have kept these protesters out in the cold for over a month now.

Blame Yourself!

Presidential candidate Herman Cain says if you are unemployed or poor - you have no one to blame but yourself. I couldn't agree more.

• Shame on you for putting blind faith in the unrealistic concept of the free market.
• Shame on you for thinking your hard earned degree was worth something.
• Shame on you for thinking the corporation you work for cares about you.
• Shame on you for working extra hours on a fixed salary to help your company succeed.
• Shame on you for thinking your efforts would be rewarded.
• Shame on you for believing anything would "trickle down"
• Shame on you for thinking experience was valuable.
• Same on you for depending on health insurance benefits that were used to lure you in.
• Shame on you for accepting a cost of living increase that eventually made you over priced.
• Shame on you for thinking you were anything but a number.

Oh - and by the way - Shame on you for using your own vehicle and gas to deliver pizzas for $2.00 an hour plus tips. Herman Cain could have easily delivered them all himself.

Occupy America

The Public is Revolting.

It's about time.

Change is finally here.

3D - Not Just A Fad This Time

Back in March 2010 I wrote an article on 3D TV technology - or lack of it. In the article I couldn't figure out why special expensive glasses would be needed to view 3D content on a normal TV. I have since found out they are not really needed - but much preferred! I'll tell you why, but first a quick history on how someone as broke as me ends up buying a shiny new TV.

I blame Netflix for my 3D TV - but not because they have any 3D content - in fact they don't have ANY now since they don't do disk delivery. I was so mad at their recent price increases that I decided to end my long time business with them. I asked myself what were my options and decided to check out Pay Per View (PPV) on DirecTV. My research revealed that not only do they have 3D PPV movies - they actually have three channels dedicated to 24 hour 3D programming! Now I was very interested in upgrading my aging Tube TV to HD with 3D - except for the added costs for HD equipment. A quick call to DirecTV revealed that not only would they get me an HD DVR for free (with a new contract - grrrr!) but they would also give me a discount on the HD service for a year as a loyal customer. At this point I decided I couldn't afford NOT to get a new TV! A beer at a bar costs $6 here - it won't take long to pay for my quality entertainment by staying at home. So, after extensive shopping I finally settled on a Vizio 42" 3D HDTV. It's fantastic! I waited over a month to write this article because I wanted to see if still enjoyed it as much after a while. I still do - very much.

Now, back to the technology. It is true that you don't need expensive electronic glasses to see 3D content on a normal TV - even an old tube TV. You can use the old two color glasses if the picture displayed is in that format. But I discovered why the electronic glasses are needed - clarity! Red-Blue glasses not only reduce the light getting to your eyes but they can also distort the picture. My awesome Vizio TV has active shutter glasses that alternately open and close each eye to match the picture on the TV. Doing this cuts your image quality in half - but thankfully the Vizio TV is a 480hz set instead of the normal 240hz that most HD TVs in this price range have. That means that even in 3D you get a real HD picture. The TV even boosts the brightness of the picture to make up for the light loss created by the glasses when viewing 3D content. The result is amazingly clear 3D picture quality. I love it!

So is 3D just a fad? After all, it's not new - 3D imaging has been around for a very long time. What's changed?. Actually several things have changed that I think will make 3D something that will stick around for a while. The technology to produce 3D movies is very inexpensive now - you can even get an inexpensive personal camera or cell phone that will shoot 3D content. Plus the movie studios have embraced the movement bringing some amazing content to the big screen. All those should eventually end up being available for home viewing just as easily as HD content already is. Plus, there is a wealth of recently passed Imax documentaries, sports content and even concerts currently available on DirecTV on those three dedicated channels. DirecTV is the first to offer dedicated content but I'm sure the other providers will follow soon. But the biggest factor isn't here yet but will be soon - TV's that don't require glasses!

Now that I've enjoyed 3D TV for a while, I find myself watching my normal network shows and thinking "this would be great in 3D!" I don't think it will be long before every show is broadcast in 3D and 2D simultaneously - much the same way they are currently broadcasting in HD and normal definition . I'm looking forward to seeing all my favorite shows in 3D!

Now, if only I could find ANY company that would stream Avatar in 3D -but no! You notice above I said those great 3D movies SHOULD make it to our homes, but once again, consumers are stuck in the middle of stupid legal battles and contracts over content - a subject for another article.