I Think, Therefore I Rant!

The massive mid-term election of 2010 is now over. My phone won’t ring 25 times today with some computer imploring me to vote for one candidate over another. The signs that are all along the streets in my town can come down (hopefully the candidates come out and clean up their mess). Life can now go back to some sort of normal.

The Republicans evidently picked up approximately 60 seats in the House of Representatives. They also made major increases in the Senate and that house appears to be split nearly 50/50 (the exact count probably won’t be known for a couple days as Alaska will probably take a while to count due to the write-in candidate).  

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On this tax day, I think this opinion from the Wall Street Journal is excellent.  It appears that Mr. Donohue is a 2 or 3 years older than I am but, other than that, his life and mine are very similar.  Not surprisingly, so are our opinions.

I would add that there is another huge tax that I am paying that many people that are poor do not pay.  My oldest son is in college.  Because I work very hard and make a very nice income, I pay list price for college education. My son is not eligible for financial aid simply because his old man works too hard. Luckily, he understands the value of hard work as well and has earned some merit based grants based on his academic credentials. He also works at part-time jobs to help pay the way. Anything in excess of that, Dad pays for.  

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Currently, President Barack Hussein Obama is planning on going to Copenhagen to be a celebrity pitchman for the city of Chicago (and America in general) for the home of the 2016 Olympics. While there is plenty of controversy over this decision since there are probably hundreds of movie stars and celebrities that could be tasked with helping the cause, the concern that BHO is too busy to go is probably not relevant.

Currently, every head of state for a city that is in the finals is visiting the IOC.  BHO’s lack of attendance would be telling if he did not go.  If BHO stayed home and spent more time socializing our economy, he would be vastly criticized if Chicago lost their bid. It is the sad state of Olympics politics that the head of state needs to be involved in order to win since Blair did that 4 years ago to secure London’s hosting spot.  

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First, let me be clear, I think that Rep. Wilson of South Carolina should be censured for his outburst while President Barack Hussein Obama was speaking in a joint session of Congress. He reminds of irresponsible brats such as Kanye West. Public outbursts while the President is speaking are simply unacceptable in any format and definitely not allowed in a joint session of Congress.

I do think that it is interesting that the rude outburst occurred due to a statement from BHO regarding healthcare for illegal aliens. There is a reasonable argument that BHO, while perhaps not lying, was not telling the complete truth. Check out this interesting video below and then read the rest of my comments.

   

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I received this as a “joke” email today from a friend that is quite conservative in his political beliefs.  I thought it was a unique commentary on the state of our nation.  I find it refreshing that this email doesn’t blame President Obama for the solid state of the economy but instead is complaining about him adding to the problem.

Dear Employee: 

As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barrack Obama is our President and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, our prices  would have to increase by about 10%. But since we cannot increase our prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy caused by banks that can’t run an effective business, we will have to lay off sixty of our employees instead.

 

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With any downturn in the economy, there are always new rules and regulations that are discussed or passed to prevent the previous calamity from occurring again. The same is true for this latest downturn with a variety of efforts and attention being shown to the banking and mortgage industries.

Now attention is also being shown to the venture capitalists. This is not necessary. Nothing in this current downturn can have VC activity pointed to as the cause. In fact, VCs are fairly well self-regulated by the activity of the stock market and they take a sizeable set-back when the tech bubble bursts (most notably in the early part of this decade).

No VC is too big to fail and no VC has a huge majority of the market. It simply doesn’t make sense to overly regulate this industry when so much of what we enjoy on a regular basis is the result of VC activity (nearly the entire IT industry including the technology that makes this blog possible and your ability to read it).  

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• ‘Birthers’ Are Truly Certifiable

July 28, 2009

• Unreality-Based

July 28, 2009

• 10 Questions for Supporters of ‘ObamaCare’

July 27, 2009

• Boost Your Sales: “Beware of Hiring Your Competitor’s Sales People,” by Lee Salz

July 27, 2009

• 10 Ways To Use Twitter As A Reminder Service

July 27, 2009

• Ever wonder who your hard drive’s father is?

July 27, 2009

• Stumbling Governors Signal Trouble for Democrats

July 26, 2009

• Obama Health-Care Plan Would Take Away 5 Important Freedoms, CNN Says; Obama Would Also Raise Taxes, End Affordable Plans, and Break Promises

July 27, 2009

• Lindzen on Climate Hysteria

July 26, 2009

• Declassified Images Reveal Extreme Arctic Ice Melt

July 26, 2009

• Boost Your Sales: “The Power of 1% Negotiation,” by Michael Schatzki

July 20, 2009

• Boost Your Sales: “Collaborative Negotiating Strategies,” by Dr. Tony Alessandra

July 22, 2009

• The iPhone Story
 

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I am not a big fan of federal government spending.  There are few times when I think that the government can do a more effective job of spending than my local municipalities where they are far more accessible to my influence.  However, the current economy definitely needs a kick-in-the-butt and so I supported the stimulus bill (now called “Economic Stimulus Package Act of 2008“) if it really is going to be used for getting things done on a local level.

I wrote about this back in February in my article “38 ways to fill the stimulus bill with pork and save our economy“.  I still question that the stimulus is being adequately implemented but an article in the Sunday edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer gives me some hope.  This is exactly what we should do as a stimulus – create hundreds of small projects that will get people in the local communities working.  I only hope that most of the jobs the article cites were contractors as opposed to government workers.  As contractors, this will insure that these entrepreneurs stay in business and can augment this public money with some private sector jobs and keep these workers on their payroll.  

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• Thoughts on Memorial Day weekend…the thrill of the race…the fun of the barbeque…the REAL meaning of the day. http://hub.tm/?VHjaL #
• “We cheat the other guy and pass the savings to you.” This encapsulates the Obama profile! #
• RT @tibco: TIBCO Positioned in Leaders Quadrant for BPM Suites Magic Quadrant: http://bit.ly/ORyng #gartner #
• I continue to be amazed that people don’t understand that school taxes come from homes in Ohio. People need to get a clue. #
• Check out: http://bit.ly/rPN57 I think the comments on Michelle’s shoes, Cheerios, and soft drinks is off but it is spot on. #
• RT @tibco: TIBCO is recognized as an industry leader by appearing on the 2009 VAR500 list published in the latest issue of CRN magazine! #
• Yes, there is money in Columbus. Deal just closed. WOOHOO!! #
 

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There is an article in the Wall Street Journal that has AT&T whining about the cost of supporting the data plans for the iPhone.  Seems that with all of the really cool apps that the iPhone has, they tend to load up on the data!  No surprise, the quality of the apps is excellent (check out this site that reviews iPhone apps)

Too bad!  The iPhone is by far the coolest product in the mobile world. It has also set the standard for all other phone developers and networks to aspire to.  Because of this, there is no way that we are going to roll back time and start to use a less flexible and featured product.

AT&T may not like it but Apple and it’s iPhone have given them first mover advantage in mobile computers.  Everyone else is trying to play catch up.  If AT&T screws it up, the competition will be all over them.  

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