Future of our country...

On Election night at the bowling alley I had an interesting discussion about the future of our country with one of my teammates.  My teammate felt that our future was in jeopardy because of our relationship with China. This night he did not go into any specific details as to why, but this wasn't the first conversation we have had on the subject. I knew he was referring to the affect their cheap labor has on manufacturing here in our country, and his concern about the fact that China holds a considerable amount our countries debt. I agreed that it was a problem, but instead of just letting it end there where I usually do, I decided to "stir the pot" a little, and see if I get a reaction.  My expectation was that he would just dismiss my question, but he did not.

He said, "Let's suppose you wanted to start a company making T-Shirts, and you wanted to hire Americans. Well the first thing I would do if I were President is give you a grant, then I would give you tax breaks and incentives."

I said, "That sounds good. Lets assume that the company becomes successful, employing lots of people, and I as the owner start making over $250,000 year.  Would you take away the tax breaks, incentives or ask for the grant back?"  He said, "Absolutely not, I would continue the tax breaks to keep the company going."

From previous conversations I knew he was of the "Tax the Rich" philosophy, so then I dropped the proverbial "bomb" on him and asked, "Then why do you support raising taxes the wealthy? They are hiring people and creating jobs, just like this fictional businessman you and I are talking about."  He responded by saying that "those wealthy" people are building their business by buying stuff from China, and have outsourced their workforce.

I am not sure how he knows that all of the existing people with money are spending all of their money out of this country, and how he knows that this new fictional business would not. My guess is he must have some inside information from the Democratic party that tells him that all of the people today built their companies without government tax breaks or grants, and they ALL spend their money by hiring people from outside the country, or buying foreign made supplies/parts.  Not being a member of the Democratic party means I do not have access to that inside information.

So he agrees with giving tax breaks to the "rich" as long as they run the business as he prescribes... He went on to support this stance by saying that if they do not run their business the right way, (i.e spend their money on US employees and materials) that he "as President" would nationalize their business because "that would teach them a lesson, and they would never do that again."


Both he and I have jobs. Those jobs are with companies where the owners are wealthy. These owners are spending their money keeping both of us employed. Common sense (not inside information) would tell a person that they keep spending their money on the both of us, because we help them make even more money.

I would like them to continue spending their money on me, which means, I hope they have lots of it to spend on me... so I do everything I can to help my boss and his company become successful. I also vote for change in government so he can keep as much of that money as possible to spend on me instead of giving it to the government in taxes so they can in turn give someone else (not me) a grant.  If that happens then the company becomes more successful, hires more people, sells more stuff, and generates more revenue, which in turn... generates more income for everyone, including the government.

I believe in the freedom of a company/person to run their business/life the way they chose and if they fail, then they fail... no bailouts... They pick themselves up after they failed, and learn from their mistakes and start over, or do something different. The most successful people are those that fail more often, and keep trying and keep learning.

Our country's future can not be good if we let the government decide how we should conduct ourselves.  We have over 200 years of proof that freedom to do whatever we want, and to mistakes, makes our country more successful than any other nation in the world. Why should we change that?

Surprises...

I had a few surprises last night.

As I pulled up to the bowling alley for my weekly league game, I noticed some unfamiliar faces hanging outside the building.  I also noticed they were milling around an part of the building I never really paid much attention to before.  As I checked out the scene, I noticed a sign on a door that identified it as a polling location. This door is not the main entrance to the bowling alley, as there is an extra room in building that I never noticed was there.  If I did notice it in the past, I just figured it was storage room of some sort, and never gave it a second thought. I talked with a few other people at the lanes, and found out that the owner has been renting out that room for polling

Look out Speed!
There's an election ahead

for quite some time.  I never considered that a polling place would be located in a bowling alley, let alone adjacent a bar. Now the room isn't located in the bar, and the people casting their votes did not have to go through the alley or lounge to get to the polls, so I guess that's why it's OK. I was just surprised, that as long as I have been bowling there, I never noticed that it was used for the elections.

My second surprise, and slight disappointment was that I was expecting the election results to be on the TV screens at the bowling alley, but they were not.  There was quite a bit of discussion about the elections, and I even had a lively discussion with a man with whom I disagree with politically.

The polls closed at 8PM EST in my area, so I figured by 8:30 some of the early results and even some commentary from exit polls should be available.  Since I could not get this information from the news on the TV, I did the next best thing. I opened up the cell phone's internet browser, did a quick Google search for a good election results site, and started looking for the best site to watch for the next hour or so.

I was curious about the results in the entire country, but I figured for the short time while I was bowling that I would just focus on the races in my state. I found a site from my state's state department, that had up to the minute results.  My first view of the site showed only 0.26% of the vote had been submitted, and at this early point the difference between the candidates was significant: 70% to 30% range.  My first thought was of immediate dread thinking that if most of the polling locations turn in similar results it would be a landslide, and not for the choices I made. 

I used up most of my battery for the remaining hour of bowling by hitting the refresh on this website, and by the time I left at 9:30 nearly 50% of the vote had been submitted, and the difference between the candidates was not as severe, but my choices were still not leading.  I was starting to loose hope.

After bowling I stopped at the entrance door of the polling place at the bowling alley, and they had posted the results from this location, and I noticed that all of my candidates had squeaked out a win.  I stopped at the place where I cast my vote earlier that morning, and noticed my candidates fared much better and won overwhelmingly there. When I got home, I brought up the election results website on my laptop bolstered by the local results I had seen, and by 11PM as the vote submission was nearing 90%, many of the races the gap closed significantly and in others the tide had completely turned.  With the trends, and the little information I gathered by looking at a results at few local polling places, I went to bed thinking that most of my choices had either won, or would most likely win.

When I got up this morning I got another small surprise. A few candidates I thought had won last night had in fact lost but by only a few percentage points. The results are still unofficial, and some of the close races will probably have a recount, but it looks like not all of my choices won last night.

It was a significant election last night, and the Republicans made a historic change in the number of seats in the House of Representatives. The question that has to be on everyone's mind, including mine, has to be whether or not within the next two years, if these newly elected people are the same as those that just lost? Or will we be pleasantly surprised to find out that they are in fact different, and willing to hold their own, and will in fact make real positive change in our economy and our country?

Election Day

Today is the day when we elect people to hold various positions in Federal, State and Local governments throughout the country. It's a big election, or so we have been told by the President, the media, and tons of political commentators on both sides of the aisle. 

Here where I live the polls opened at 7AM EST, not that it mattered much to me, because I did not arrive at my polling location until 8AM.  When I walked up to the polling location there were two men hanging around outside the door with a plastic bag of pamphlets. I ignored them. I went into the polling place, and told them who I was, and they found my record and I signed my name.  No ID is necessary to vote, which I always found odd...

SIDETRACK: Why is it that you don't have to prove your identify? I get pulled over for a traffic violation I have to produce ID. If I want to buy cigarettes or alcohol ID is required. If I want to deposit or take money out of my bank account ID is required. If I forgot to sign the back of my credit card while making a purchase, my ID is questioned. I cannot enter my building without my employee ID. I cannot count the number of times in my daily life that I have to produce some form of proof of who I am... but not when I vote.

At my polling place they use touch screen computers that are in a suitcase, and the suit case is propped up on some legs like a TV dinner tray stand.  The top of the case opens to provide a "privacy shield" so the person next to me can't see my vote... However, the people walking behind me can see perfectly fine.

The polling worker placed a cartridge into the suitcase computer, and gave me a quick overview of how to cast my ballot.  It was simple. Touch the name of the person I want to vote for (insuring it was selected), and then clicking "VOTE".  It gave me a confirmation screen, which I accepted, and I was done. 

The whole process took me less than 5 minutes. I placed my "I voted" sticker on my shirt, and left the polling place with a smile knowing that I had helped decide the future of my state and country.  Of course, while I walked back to my car, I had to update my Facebook status to let everyone know I voted!

So all that is left today is to find out whether or not enough people in my district and state joined me, and voted for my choices, and whether or not we spend the next two years with the same or new people in our government offices.

Since it's a big election, I am betting the screens at the bowling alley tonight are tuned to the election results instead of the normal "sporting events".

Trick or Treat

Halloween is October 31st every year, however, Trick or Treat isn't always held on that holiday.  It's almost as if the two are not related any longer.

This year Halloween is on Sunday, but my local town held Trick or Treat on Thursday - 4 days before the  holiday. I am not completely sure why they moved it, but I have an educated guess: Friday night is High School football, Saturday night is College Football, and Sunday is the NFL, and living near Pittsburgh, the home of the Steelers, football is not just a fun activity it is THE activity of the season.  

A had a few people tell me that they noticed quite a few less kids doing Trick or Treat this year, and I at first wondered if it had anything to do with the separation of the Trick or Treat and Halloween... I mean, if Trick or Treat isn't held on the actual holiday how do people know when they can in fact do Trick or Treat.  I only found out when Trick or Treat was being held around my home because a friend asked me if I wanted to join them in giving out candy.

The low turn out could also be because of the economy, and people are thinking that there will not be a lot of houses giving out candy, so they decided to stay at home. However, I don't really think that is a good reason, because if the bad economy was the reason, people would be more likely to be out looking for free candy.

I was discussing this perception about fewer costumed, candy rustlers this year over previous years, and an astute observation was made.  When we (myself and the astute observer) were kids candy was a rare treat.  It was something we did not get very often.  We could not wait till Halloween, because outside of Easter baskets, and a little candy in the Christmas stocking, it was the ONE time we could get candy without a big fight/argument with our parents, and the amount of candy had more to do with our ability to go to as many of the right houses as possible, rather than how much money we or our family had.  Before we started our trick or treat adventure we plot out our path, so that we would visit more of the houses that gave out large, and unique stuff, and avoid those that gave out lame "non-candy" or "non-fun" stuff. Today kids get candy seemingly all of the time, so the treat, is no longer a treat, instead it is just another day of candy. 

Also when I was younger the fun of trick or treating used to be (especially as I got a older) about stashing a roll of toilet paper or a few eggs in the bag for those places that didn't have any treats to give.  Today most pre-teens, and teenagers think trick or treating is lame, and don't even bother.

I say bring back the tricks, and the treats, and put them where they belong... on Halloween.  Sure you might get an egg or toilet paper thrown at your house, because you are busy watching the game... but for those out doing the trick or treating, it will bring back the real fun of the night!

Angry Birds!

Angry Birds
by Rovio

I have a new addiction, and believe it or not, it's not a Facebook game... It is a game for my cell phone called "Angry Birds" by Rovio.  It's available for the iPhone, Android, and webOS (PalmPre). 

There are three of us at work and we each have one of the above phones, yet, we are all playing the same game (with the same content) on our individual phones.

I just found out that they released a "Halloween" edition of the game for iPhone.

The game is fairly simple to play, but can be very difficult to win, which creates a nice challenge.  The concept of the game is that some Green Pigs have stolen eggs from the Birds, and the Birds are ANGRY and are trying to get back at the Green Pigs by destroying their hiding places, which are constructed out of various materials. 

The user uses a "slingshot" to aim the birds at the structures in an attempt to either colapse the structure onto the pigs, or destroy the pigs themselves. There are various different types of birds, and each bird type has a special ability that can help the attack.  There is a puzzle component in that you have to figure out how to use the birds available to get all of the pigs for that level, and there is an arcade element in that you have to control the aim, power, and special ability of each bird. There are many levels, and each one is unique.

If you haven't tried Angry Birds yet, I suggest you take a look at it.  There is an "Angry Birds Lite" that is free so you can get a taste (or become addicited) before you spend a buck or two to buy it!

It's been awhile

Well it's been quite awhile since I have actually "rambled along" here, so here goes a little wandering of my mind to get things started again. I won't bore you with details of my personal life, at the moment, so I will save that for later! I do, however, want to make a few comments about things going on in the world from my perspective.

At the bowling alley every Tuesday where I toss a 16lb. ball down a 60 foot long, oil-coated, hardwood lane towards ten 3lb. and 6oz. wooden pins arranged in a triangular pattern in an attempt to knock down as many of those pins as possible with the fewest number of throws, they have a few television sets above the lanes with various channels on. (Hows that for rambling?) Usually these boxes are all tuned to various sporting events of some sort which are littered with beer commercials or the like. This was not the case last night. I was attempting, unsuccessfully, to help my team win for the evening, and between my throws, I would glance up at the screen above our lane to take my mind off of my poor ability to improve our team's score. Almost every single time I looked, I saw a political advertisement for or against some candidate. There was no sporting events on any of the screens, as a matter of fact I couldn't tell you what program was showing.  It seemed as if the political ads were the sporting event, littered occasionally with some news or other miscellaneous stuff, and as far as I know politics isn't very sporting, so I was quite amused by that fact. 

I hope you know that it is getting VERY close to the mid-term elections, as they are happening in just 6 days (Nov. 2nd).  These kinds of advertisements this close to any election is not much of a surprise. However, what I noticed, and have been noticing for the last few weeks, is that there seems to be an inordinately large number of political advertisements this year, which seems at odds with the expected turn out of the election being held.

Data from table comes from the US Census, Current Population Surveys, 1 November 1972-2008, as sited by CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement)

Mid-term elections traditionally have a lower turnout than the presidential elections, but to it seems that the advertisement level is not in sync with the expected turnout percentage.  I hear more ads on the radio, see more on the TV, and pass more yard signs and billboards than I did for the last presidential election, however, I did notice there seem to be considerably less bumper stickers though.

About half way through the evening, which is the middle of the second of three games, I voiced this observation to one of my teammates. He surprised me by his response. He immediately grimaced and went into a tirade about how these extra advertisements are the result of the foreign money and corporations trying to "sway the election".  He mentioned that the Supreme Court changed the rules allowing corporations (and foreign countries) to throw tons of money into elections without restriction.

Yes, there was a ruling in January, 2010 that overturned parts of McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, however, it didn't give the corporations or foreign entities the right to donate unlimited amount of money directly to a campaign. The ruling does in fact allow corporations to express their opinion about candidates and topics publicly before an election. In other-words return a freedom, one granted in the first amendment of our constitution: The Right of Free Speech to all people, not just "nonprofits" or "PACs". If we treat corporations as public entities (just like individuals) and tax them, then they should have the same right to express their opinions as do individuals. Of course, no one is obligated to agree or even listen even if they have more money, and can express their point of view to a broader audience than the average individual. The change in the ruling still requires that the corporations add the necessary disclaimers of where the money is coming from, so people can judge the ad based not only on content, but it's source.

I personally think this new ruling is good, not because the corporations have money and have a bigger voice, but because now the corporation's opinions/thoughts are public and not hidden behind "close doors".  As a voter, I can choose to agree/disagree with their public statements, and to choose to use that information or not for deciding on a candidate. As a consumer, I can also use this same information to decide if I want to continue vote daily for that corporation by deciding on where I spend my money or not.

I have to disagree with my teammate though, because I do not think this ruling is what caused the inordinate amount of extra advertisements this year (although I admit I could be wrong), because most of the ads that I am seeing/hearing are not from corporations. The advertisements claim to be from the same nonprofit organizations that we saw the previous election, and from the candidates themselves. I think the driving force behind the extra advertisements is the grass roots response of the population to the massive "change" in how the government is affecting our day to day lives. I think a lot of people are not pleased with the "change" because it's not the change they wanted from the last election. This has sparked a debate between two sides, not necessarily between political parties. The two sides are those that support the new change and those that don't. Those that do not support the change, believe that the established politicians are not listening to their own constituents, which in turn has caused the outcry of "down with the establishment". Gee, not to look for parallels in the past, but that outcry sounds like the underpinnings of the revolt from England in the late 1700's. The same underpinnings that spurred people to take action in 1773 against the establishment by throwing tea overboard in Boston. The people of that time used that event to focus the attention of the people and of the establishment to the discontent of the colonies. Today people use the name "Tea Party" to signify that same level of discontent, but instead of throwing tea overboard in the middle of the night, people have held public gatherings in the middle of the day for the last 2 years. As we get closer to the election, the debate that has been held in courtyards and conference halls across the country has moved to public advertising, and it continues with the same level of veracity from both sides, which is what I think causes the inordinately large number of ads.

Those that follow the political world, have most likely already made their decisions about who they will cast their vote for on Tuesday. Those that do not follow that world, will either not even realize that there is an election, or will vote out of habit, the same way they have voted in the past (straight party line).  Even though the debate isn't over until election day, this last ditch effort by various entities (including corporations) to affect the decisions of those voting next week is being ignored.  So this concern my teammate had about the affect that this ruling would have on this election have been overshadowed by the debate caused by the grass roots movement.

Even though, I don't think the extra money spent on these ads is having any effect on the results of the election, money IS being spent, and in our current economy, people and corporations spending money is a good thing! Right?