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How long has it been since I have posted on this blog (with any regularity)? For starters Blogger now has labels so I do not have to mess with creating my own.

I also want to say that it has been sice we had a conservative in the White House, but that would imply that I hold the ridiculous notion that Bush was a conservative. It has been so long that TradeSports.com has died thanks to the nanny state loving President a couple of years ago.

Suffice it too say it has been a long time. I have had the itch to resume jotting my thoughts down again. Now I am looking at what kind of conveniences I will be able to use.

I am sorry to disappoint you at this point. This post is simply a test of the broadcast system.

Can't Blame It On The Speculators or CEOs Now

Listening to an interview this morning (6/2/09) with a Vice President of General Motors made it more clear why investors, businesspeople, capitalists and Americans should all be scared to death of the Obama administration (as well as all who are complicit in Obama's takeover of private business).

As we should all be aware by now General Motors has filed bankruptcy. We have also heard about the closing of many dealerships and the sell off of many of GM holdings such as Saturn. What we may know already is that the union was able to have the government (aka Obama & gang) strongarm GM into trading token legacy cost cuts for ownership to the United Auto Workers Union. The UAW will own approximately 17+% of GM (now needing to be renamed UAW GM). So the next contract negotiations between GM and UAW will present an immediate conflict of interest which will (a) give UAW an incredible and unfair negotiating advantage and (b) be unaddressed or uncorrected on a permanent basis.

Through the facade of "bailout" the government will own approximately 72+% of GM (now needing to be renamed Obama UAW GM...and eventually just US UAW GM). While the rhetoric from both the Obama administration and GM claims control of "day to day operations" will not involve the government the fact is the government is already dictating longer term strategies for GM. Product lines are being "suggested" and modifications to current product lines are being "suggested".

In fact, one set of questions to the VP that was being interviewed was about the Corvette. Will it still be a fast performance car or will it become a fluffy V-6 engine. The answer was that GM is being "allowed" to continue with certain "niche" lines which includes the Corvette...but there was no response to the questions about the questioner's implication that the V-8 engines are finished at GM. Sometimes silence speaks volumes.

If you are doing the math at home you will notice that there is still around 10% ownership remaining. Will that be for the stockholders? Remember, when you buy stock you are buying actual equity ownership! Or will it be for the secured creditors who have loaned money to GM with collateral as a promise for repayment of some sort?

Nope. The remaining ownership will go to neither stockholders or secured creditors.

The outstanding stock (exact words from the VP coming) "will be wiped out". If you own stock in GM you have worthless paper now. You paid for ownership (either for an investment or to have ownership) and you are getting ZERO. GM will be de-listed from the NYSE...no longer will it be a public company.

Instead the remaining ownership of GM will go to unsecured creditors. Repeat: ownership will go to UNSECURED creditors.

Yet one more nail in the coffin of capitalism and free markets being forged and hammered by the Obama administration.

But what I really want to know is why are we not hearing cries of corruption because of investors who are losing everything. I mean, there had to be investigations because investors got burned by their own bad investment decision (like staying in Enron stocks for far too long) and pillorying of "speculators" when oil prices were skyrocketing. Where are the tar & feather crews now that GM stockholders are having their investments robbed at a rate of 100%?

Angels & Demons

This will be short and sweet...unlike the movie, Angels & Demons.

Anti-Catholic or not? I do not really care and quite honestly it does not matter. The film was a poor effort at making a carbon copy of The DaVinci Code's successful template. The problem is that Tom Hanks' character is still flat and the suspense that is supposed to be created throughout the movie is un-suspenseful. From very early in the film we know who is going to die, who/what are the red herrings and who the bad guy is.

There is more suspense watching a Barney the damn dinosaur shows than there was in Angels.

As I try to find words to describe the plot I am suddenly reminded of basic training. In basic training we always had to "hurry up and wait". The same futile cycle exists in Angels: "run and race to run and race some more".

Short and sweet, unlike the 130+ minute movie that served best as an excuse to eat movie theater popcorn.

Grade: D

Obama will provide for us all

In case you have not heard the expectations of the Obama supporters check this out.

"I never thought this day would ever happen. I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know. If I help him, he’s gonna help me."

THAT is either the Welfare state (who will pay for that?) or that is Socialism (we all pay for that with our freedom).

Yes, Obama won. How could he not when he promised everything to everyone! This list of promises is so long that people were viewing him as a savior (if not THE Savior).

The expectations of handouts and free rides are so high that by October 31 Obama's camp was trying to figure out how to lower expectations after their victory.

"Barack Obama’s senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week’s election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harbouring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve."

How can his supporters NOT harbor unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve when in just one speech on October 30 he gave this laundry list of things he will do:
* "give a tax break to 95 percent of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paycheck every week";
* "eliminate income taxes on Social Security for seniors making under $50,000";
* "give homeowners and working parents additional tax breaks";
* not increase taxes on anyone if they "make under $250,000; you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime –- not your income taxes, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains tax";
* "end those breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas";
* "give tax breaks to companies that invest right here in the United States";
* "eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country";
* "create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, and schools -- by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country";
* "invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade";
* "reopen old factories, old plants, to build solar panels, and wind turbines";
* build "a new electricity grid";
* "build the fuel efficient cars of tomorrow";
* "eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in 10 years";
* "lower premiums" for those who already have health insurance;
* "if you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress give themselves";
* "end discrimination by insurance companies to the sick and those who need care the most";
* "invest in early childhood education";
* "recruit an army of new teachers";
* "pay our teachers higher salaries, give them more support. But ... also demand higher standards and more accountability";
* "make a deal with every young person who's here and every young person in America: If you are willing to commit yourself to national service, whether it's serving in our military or in the Peace Corps, working in a veterans home or a homeless shelter, then we will guarantee that you can afford to go to college no ifs ands or buts";
* "stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq whole the Iraqis have a huge surplus";
* "end this war in Iraq";
* "finish the fight and snuff out al Qaeda and bin Laden";
* "increase our ground troops and our investments in the finest fighting force in the world";
* "invest in 21st century technologies so that our men and women have the best training and equipment when they deploy into combat and the care and benefits they have earned when they come home";
* "No more homeless veterans"; and
* "no more fighting for disability payments."

Veto Transportation Bill - Call the Governor!

We all know this. Minnesota's Taxes are outrageously high. We are the 4th most taxed state in the United States, while we should strive to at least be Number 26 or Number 50... but the Transportation Bill that has recently passed in Minnesota house and is going to the desk of the Governor Tim Pawlenty, and I ask, anyone who feels that higher taxes are bad, please contact Governor Tim Pawlenty office (details listed below), and let them know (as politely as you can) that you don't want higher taxes.

Contact Governor Tim Pawlenty and let him know you want the Transportation tax bill vetoed.
(651) 296-3391
(800) 657-3717
E-Mail tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

Let Them Know How You Feel on the Smoking Ban

Go HERE and Vote on what you think about the State of Minnesota's proposed Smoking Ban the want to pass, which would keep you from smoking in your own house if you have someone else working there (construction) or in your car if you are transporting you and one other person for work. I don't need to tell you about it, the bill speeks for it self.

Here is the letter that I sent with my vote:

It is not right that you are limiting someone's use of a product that is legally sold in the United States without a prescription.

If it is bad for you, it should be illegal completely or not at all. None of this Half-N-Half junk that allows you to make money on the taxes of the product AND fine people who use it. There are too many taxes on the product in the first place, and I don't even smoke!

Minnesota in general needs to lessen taxes, not raise them. We are the 4th taxed state in the United States, and that’s not a "Top Five" list I want to be on. I have lived in this state all my life, and the continued passage of "user fees" and taxes has been making me think about moving to the Dakotas for a year. $160.00 moving violations, Government making double the profit on Gasoline then "Big Oil," It all adds up. But then you are listening to someone who believes we shouldn't have speed limits on highways either (much like Montana did for a few years with a steep reduction in deaths during that time, and a jump after they put the speed limit back).

Government and Police are seen too much as Tax Collectors as it is. Add in the 4th most taxed state in the US, Government funded private stadiums, mass transit systems that cost billions (see light rail) to transport thousands, your new little rule about forcing energy companies to adopt overpriced enviro-power, and the amendment to the constitution that takes money from people who buy cars and gives it to people who ride trains (even though those train riders purchase things that are transported on the highway system) with no limit of the funds that can be diverted away from my roads… and you have convinced me to start looking else ware to live. Even though I don’t smoke, this is just a nail on the coffin. My wife and I will not be around for the laws that say we can get fined for eating McDonalds. The Government has NO PLACE telling me what I can do in my business or my home. If you really cared, You would make Tobacco Illegal. But then you can't make money on it hand over fist, like you do when you tax me or user-fee me for doing everything else.

My wife and I are both 26 years old, on our second home, own 5 cars and a boat, and it would be a shame to loose us and our taxable income, but we are fed up.

Keep up the good work guys.

Vista Getting Some Un-Due Flack

You know, the more of these articles "critiquing" Windows Vista I read, the more comical they become. Julio Ojeda-Zapata of the Pioneer Press has done a critique that I don't agree with. Much like some of these critiquers, they are comming out and saying "oh, Vista isn't special, its just Mac OSX"

Instead of re-writing a blog post, I will just show you my responce to Julio's article in the paper:

JULIO,

I thought your critique of Vista was a little off. You left out the important part about lack of business functionality with Mac OSX. I don't buy software because its "different," I buy software because it works... and Windows has 95% of the market share, not because they pointed a gun to our heads, but because over the years, their product has been the better product for just about everyone for just about every kind of use... so everyone uses their choice and their money to purchase what works best for them. Does Microsoft charge you 100 bucks per service pack like Apple has done with OSX 10.1 10.2 10.3 (service pack 1, 2 and 3?) No they do not.

So, in respect to "Ripping the other guy off" I would argue that every time Apple tries to increase their market share or cater to businesses or gamers, or anyone besides the Photoshop user, they are copying what Microsoft has already done. But let me ask you this. What would you rather have: An Operating system that you can use with a wider variety of software, and you can install on any computer you wish (including computers you make yourself)? Or an OS that is not only less compatible, but that forcibly restricts their user as to which computer they can put it on?

Also, when you look at safety and security... you have to account for the the users as well. For example:lets pretend you are a very safety orientated person. You want the safest car you can get so you can be as safe as possible. So you buy a Volvo. you drive your Volvo like any safety orientated person would... safely. You have the car for 3 years and never get into an accident. What is it, the car or the driver that is safe? I would argue that like a Gun, it’s not the machine that does the killing or the saving, but it is the user of the machine.

Now, enter Mac users. They are arguably cultist. They will admit to this. you would be hard pressed to find as many anti-mac clubs as you would anti-windows clubs. Is this because of their software being a failure? Not with 95% of the market share. People vote with their money remember. The anti-windows clubs exist because there are people who find the need to push and rebel against the system. Any system. If the same base of cultist windows users existed, I would be willing to bet, much like Apple OSX, it would be virus free. What about Right Clicking? For the longest time, Apple users couldn't right click. That was a Windows Only thing. Now you can Right-Click on a Mac. I didn't hear anyone complaining that Apple stole right clicking from Microsoft Windows, do you?

Some Fun Facts and Links about Apple:

Apple 'falsified' share documents
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/28/appel_share_fakes/

Apple takes $84 million charge
http://news.com.com/2100-1047_3-6146295.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news

Apple options review claims Anderson's scalp
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/04/apple_stock_options_review/

Apple may need to restate last 15 quarters
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/04/apple_results_restatement_likely/

Apple, CA investigate share option grants
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/30/ca_apple_option_trouble/

Unpatched bug bites Apple Mac OS X
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/22/mac_zero_day_bug/

Month of Apple bugs planned for January
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/20/month_of_apple_bugs/

Apple to delay quarterly results filing
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/11/apple_to_miss_sec_filing_date/

Apple's Extreme Arrogance:
http://news.com.com/2100-1047-6149285.html?tag=yt

Apple partnering with Microsoft in 97
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxOp5mBY9IY&mode=related&search

in 2006 Net Profit Margins:
Apple Computer: 10.34%
Exxon: 10.15%
ConocoPhillips: 8.10

So Apple has a higher profit margin then “Big Oil.” Where are the calls to look into price gouging? So, perhaps you should compare things like this. Compare who has chosen what OS. When you ask people to make the switch (like I have from Apple to Windows) you should ask them to weigh in more to their decision then how pretty it is... like how they can use it for their business, how it will make them more productive, how they can use it for entertainment (Mac isn't exactly known for their game selection either) or how it has helped the world. Apple us used for movies. Great. Go Arts. Windows is used to run the world economic system. But Apple fanboys will never admit to this. I would expect a "reporter" such as your self, Julio, to be more objective.

Thanks,
Pete

********** Update 1/30/07 4:15pm **********

From Wikipedia.

Apple has also copied certain innovations from other companies: tabbed dialogs on Macintosh appeared after IBM used them in OS/2. Since the original settlement of the lawsuit, many features of the Macintosh and Windows GUIs have been incorporated into the windowing environments of unrelated third-parties, such as OpenWindows, X11, and Solaris.

The Mac OS dock is derived from the NeXTSTEP dock (Mac OS X itself originating from NeXTSTEP). The dock as seen in Mac OS X and NEXTSTEP is very similar to the dock that is a major design feature of RISC OS, which already featured
its so-called iconbar as early as 1987.

Julio's blog can be viewed here. When it comes to a tech blog, it is far from what anyone would call "fair and balanced." I also enjoy how the Comments section of it is broken, thus not allowing users to post information to correct his swill that included a reasonable length. so instead I will e-mail him a link to this blog.

Let he who is without copyness of innovations cast the first raid card.

You Voted For This...

From the same people who brought you zingers like: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" and " I support the military" comes a new year for lies... This time, the lie is:

We will restore civility to our debate. As Speaker it will be my solemn duty to serve not just one party, but the whole House of Representatives. To that end, we will restore bipartisanship to the administration of the House, re-establish regular order for considering legislation, and ensure the rights of the minority – whichever party is in the minority. The voice of every American has a right to be heard, and that is what the American people expect and deserve. - Nancy Pelosi

This quote is directly from Nancy Pelosi's House Democratic Leader website, and it hasn't even been 2007 for 9 hours (where I live) before this is already shown to be a lie. To quote the Washington Post:

House Democrats intend to pass a raft of popular measures as part of their well-publicized plan for the first 100 hours. They include tightening ethics rules for lawmakers, raising the minimum wage, allowing more research on stem cells and cutting interest rates on student loans.

But instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Democratic victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing their party to trumpet early victories.

Folks. I wish I could say I was completely by-partisan... well, not realy. In fact, I believe that most things that is done by the political left is just plain... Stupid. However, I know that without a right wing, and a left wing, our little air plane isn't gunna fly. We need freaks like Nancy Pelosi to use as examples of what liars you don't want your kids to grow up as. And No, I don't agree with President Bush on everything. But the best chance the democrats can use to claim he "lied" (WMDs) was him making a decision based on the intelligence from our own military, as well as the intelligence from MANY other countries and IRAQ Admitting to having WMDs.

Democrats and republicans both lie... they are people. You can find examples from both sides. But I don't know how people can keep voting for the dems. I expected such a move from them... for years they were the minority, and now that they are the majority, they say "now is the time for bipartinship." That line was BS to start with... but that’s how they work. as long as they are in control, its okay to be bipartisan. This is the same group that chastized Nixon but defended Clinton. The same group that believes that the 2000 and 2004 elections were rigged because they didn't win, and the same group that tries to sue-sue-sue when they don't get the election results they want. Amazing, the apparent "lack" of voter fraud in 06 as apposed to 2000 and 2004, isn't it?

But Nancy and her party shows their stripes, taking away the promise of working with "both sides" in a "restored sence of bipartisanship."

House Republicans have begun to complain that Democrats are backing away from their promise to work cooperatively. They are working on their own strategy for the first 100 hours, and part of it is built on the idea that they might be able to break the Democrats' slender majority by wooing away some conservative Democrats.

Which they should have seen a mile away.

But because the details of the Democratic proposals have not been released, some language could be new. Daly said Democrats are still committed to sharing power with the minority down the line. "The test is not the first 100 hours," he said. "The test is the first six months or the first year. We will do what we promised to do."

Yea Right.

********** Update 1/3/07 11:00am **********

Checking on MSNBC's website fore news, something I do often to anger myself, as they do not tend to be... um... "Fair and balanced." I came across this story:

Bush calls on Democrats to work with him.

Now, I have been quoted as pointing out the extension of the olive branch to 'work together':

1/20/06 - "Consider the partisan olive branch extended."

10/19/05 - "Extend the olive branch, only for a dem to hit you with it sort'a thing."

2/3/05 - "this is so aggravating. why can't the democrats just WORK with the republicans? why do they have to be babies about everything!? You don't have to answer this if it pisses you off. I wanted to draw it to everyone's attention that I think it is another pathetic display on how the republicans have that olive branch extended, but the democrats just can't stop hitting them with it."

2/1/05 - "Bush extended the olive branch, the left is beating him with it while hugging the tree."

However, looking at the rating for this story (of which MSNBC's ratings seam to track the leftist opinion of the stories, don't believe me? Try looking under the environMental section for starters) it would seam there are those who don't want the olive branch to be taken. I expressed my doubt that the democrats would hold to their promise of 'working together' yesterday... and the more I look into it, the more it seams Dems don't want to. Mark my words:

1/3/07 - "The only use a democrat has for the olive branch republicans hold out will only be to give them a concussion"

"To You, for the new year, are offered 1(one) Wheet Thin as a peace offering. Lets make this year a good one... Together. Please don't hurt me." - George W Bush Action Figure

Illegal to rent to illegals?

As our general rule goes... If the ACLU is for something, we're against it. If the ACLU is against something, we're for it... and in this case, we're really for it.

To Quote the Associated Press:

Two civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a suburb's new law that outlaws renting to undocumented illegal immigrants, alleging the ordinance violates federal law and forces landlords to act as immigration officers.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of residents and landlords in Farmers Branch, Texas.

Plaintiffs include two landlords as well as Latino legal permanent residents and U.S. citizen children who fear the ordinance will force them to separate from relatives or leave their homes, the suit said.

The law, along with a measure that made English the official language of the city, was passed in November and is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 12.

Well, these organizations always seam to be confused with the word undocumented "Illegal" so let me help them out:

According to Dictionary.com:

undocumented il•le•gal [i-lee-guhl]
–adjective
1. forbidden by law or statute.
2. contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.: The referee ruled that it was an illegal forward pass.
–noun
3. Informal: undocumented illegal alien
1. a foreigner who has entered or resides in a country unlawfully or without the country's authorization.

Okay. So, the definition of undocumented "Illegal" is something forbidden by law or statute (like my summer driving). That’s pretty easy. So, to use this cool new word we've all learned together, things that are undocumented "illegal" are forbidden.

Then it goes on to define for us undocumented "Illegal Alien" (which is interchangeable with undocumented "Illegal Immigrant," you can look it up if you don't believe me) as a foreigner who enters the country unlawfully or without our (the United States of America's) authorization.

This is fun. In general, Undocumented Illegal Immigrants are not cool. You still with me, ACLU?

Now, thanks to them being undocumented "Illegal" we can do things like tell employers that they can not be hired and deny them things like 'government assistance' for housing. This is where it really gets fun.

HOW THE JUNK ARE YOU GOING TO LEGALLY PAY FOR YOUR APARTMENT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A LEGAL FRACK'IN JOB!?

Seriously! Can anyone at the ACLU answer this one for me? And donations from the Anti-Christian Liberties Union whops... American Communist Liberties Union was that in my outside voice? Ah Hem! Handouts from the American Civial Liberties Union don't count.

So, IF for some reason, an undocumented illegal immigrant could pay for their nice little apartment in Dallas, one of the things you need to show when getting an apartment is a form of ID, and there’s this whole renters credit thing that you get for renting instead of owning, and if you're not supposed-to be here anyway, well, that just fracks that whole thing up. Its a total paperwork mess, not to mention the people trying to get an apartment or whatever are here undocumentedly ILLEGALY! They should be shipped back home, politely asked to remove the Mexican Flag from the back window of their Ford F-150, and to apply for citizenship, in which case, Tony and I will welcome them with open arms, so that they may be assimilated into our culture.

But until that day... Until they have paperwork saying they are here legally, they are not entitled to a place to work, a place to live, or a pot to pee in. They are entitled to Jack.