Life of Riley

smart man

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. " Thomas Jefferson

I came across this quote this afternoon while making my way into the city. To me, this quote probably has never before held so much weight. In the past 8+ years we have been engaged militarily within Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars have been tough on America as a country and as an economy. These wars, however, have not brought this country or its economy to its knees in a way that the near-failures of many of the nations financial institutions have. There have been many a discussion on the skirting of laws (and impact on personal civil liberties) within the framework of these wars...it will be interesting how our freedoms will be touched as the government continues to "save" those institutions that put us into this mess to begin with...

The Transparent Presidency

The Media Kitchen recently issued the inaugural issue of The Fridge, out agency's bi-monthly newsletter. To follow is my article about Obama's use of social media in the election.

Here's a link to the full newsletter...Download TMKTheFridgeIssue1

put it on the tab

Read this article. If it doesn't piss you off...read it again.

It wasn't even a month ago that the government proclaimed to the citizens of the US of A that we were in such dire straights that they needed to pass a $700 billion bailout plan. The government is going to take part ownership in private banks in order to ensure their continued stability. Me, you, the guy sitting next to you...we are all footing this bill so that Wall Street survives. Yet, somewhere deep down in the vaults that good ole' Uncle Sam keeps, he was able to scrounge up $350K to sponsor a NASCAR team. A freaking NASCAR team. Here is the best part, though...they are sponsoring the car to further remind everyone that the country is switching to digital broadcasting in February.

So our economy is in the shitter, we all need to worry about economic collapse, our retirements are all at risk...yet the government sees it fit to sponsor a car to remind us all to watch TV. Maybe that is just Uncle Sam's way of trying to get us to forget about the mess we are in...or the biggest scam they just pulled on us taxpayers.

just another gimmick

I just read an article in the Times Union that reported on local politicians’ plans to donate their salaries to charity. At first blush I have always thought this a noble thing to do. I mean, if someone is in it to truly help people and they do not need the money then why take a salary? But when I stopped and thought about it for a brief moment I realized that this is just another political gimmick that benefits no one but the politician attempting to get elected…and of course the couple charities that get the money.

Now I find nothing wrong with charitable donations, but not when they come from the pockets of each and every taxpayer in a district. If an elected official pledges to donate their paychecks, they still need to be paid. This salary is included in the budgets that are supported by tax dollars…tax dollars that come from you and I. So these donations do nothing to help in lowering our tax burdens because we still need to pay these people to show up and donate their money.

The next problem that I have is that the politician reaps the benefit of such a donation. If these people are wealthy enough that they do not need to collect a salary then they probably have a pretty significant tax burden. I am no accountant, but I would imagine that donating tens of thousands of dollars to charity will help out the overall tax burden.

Think about that…these salaries are included in budgets, the budget is supported by tax dollars (paid by you and I), the politician then donates all sorts of cash and then they are the ones that get a tax deduction. How fair is that?? They are using my tax dollars and your tax dollars to save their tax dollars…ones that obviously don’t matter as much if they do not need to be paid for their work. I think that each and every citizen that helps to support these salary donations should be given a pro-rated tax deduction…even it is only cents, I don’t care.

This is just another political gimmick to help these people to get elected into positions of power to reap the non-monetary benefits of running city/state/national government.

The one politician mentioned in the article that I do have respect for is NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He accepts a salary of $1 per year. So in NYC the mayor’s salary does not need to be included in the budget or paid for by tax payers. This is the way it should be done. If a politician doesn’t need or want to collect a salary, then they shouldn’t be given one…instead the money should be removed from the budget in order to help out the people they are hoping to support.

Politics makes me sick. Every politician that claims to go to work for Americans and fix Washington only becomes one of them. We need fundamental changes in this Country before it unravels at the seams and falls apart...

this should not be happening

This is, as of a few minutes ago, the feature article on CNN. When did we become a socialist state? I didn't think Obama took office yet...

If things keep going this way I may as well just move to France...at least they have crepes there!!

there is a business here...

I'm back! After more than three weeks of learning to do many things one handed...off-handed...I am back, able to use both hands and able to type a bit more efficiently. I have been sitting idly by the past few weeks...cheering on my 'Boys to a 3-0 record, watching the Government create a welfare system for big business/financial markets, watching countless campaign ads, betting horses...wishing I had the power and/or energy and/or ability to sit up and put a few words to the computer screen. Well, after pondering the past couple days as to what I would come back with, I found this article on wsj.com today...

There is certainly a business here and, as the author points out, a difficult one. Give the right structure I think that a company in the business of buying homes at deep discounts to rent out is a great idea. I looked into it after Katrina. Given my own experiences I didn't get too far with the idea, since most of what is listed in the WSJ article is true...leaky toilets, driving to fix things, seeking out tenants for rent...and can lead to many headaches.

However, I do not see why some states or locales don't get into the practice of purchasing foreclosed homes or pre-foreclosed homes in order to rent out. The 'boom' that we experienced created a rather sizable shortage of 'affordable' housing. Why not buy up these properties and turn them into affordable housing?

I know, I know...who will look after them, who will fix things, who will collect rent...etc, etc. Well, if this were to come to fruition, locales could appoint a position in the government to do these things. The rental income would offset the salary and, if done right, help to increase income.

I am not saying that this will work everywhere, and I am making it out to be much simpler than it would be in reality, but I still believe that some sort of similar program would certainly work.

great ads

The other day while listening to ESPN radio I learned that during the 2008 Beijing Olympics somewhere near 100,000 condoms will be distributed to athletes in the Olympic village. What is interesting is that there are only about 2,000 athletes or so. Why so many condoms? Well, apparently in Athens, during the ’04 games, over 75,000 condoms were provided…and demand was not satisfied.

 So when I shared this info on Friday night, Caroline took it upon herself to research these interesting facts. Well, she came upon this article, which shows some very intriguing, comedic uses of condoms in advertising. I am not really sure how the accompanying slogan of “Sports make you health." fits within the scheme of this, though. Whatever…the ads are great and make light of a somewhat awkward product to market.

The ads seem to be working. There is quite a bit of buzz surrounding the campaign, which is exactly what advertising is supposed to do. Great job. I've included one of the ads above, but there are many more here...including a basketball, gymnastics, & swimming gimmick.

'greening' transportation

I am not a big believer in this whole need to go green movement that seems to be encompassing the country. I think that global warming is a big farce...thought up by Al Gore to make a movie and some money and promoted by the "left" to help win elections. It is the liberal's version of a scare tactic...similar to the way the 'right' has used national security in recent years. Though, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the need for national security is not there because it is in a big way. I follow the green movement because I believe that it holds many lucrative business opportunities...

Anyway, back on track, I came across the following today on MSN:

Toyota may put solar panels on new Prius to power air conditioning

A Japanese newspaper is reporting that Toyota plans to install solar panels on its next model of the popular Prius hybrid. If the company follows through, it would be the first major automaker to incorporate solar power into its vehicles. Even with the panels, though, the pimped-out Prius wouldn't actually run on solar power (it's still a gasoline-electric hybrid, yo); instead, the solar panels would reportedly power the vehicle's air conditioning.

Sources: Reuters, BBC News

I found this to be amusing and interesting at the same time. Like I said, I believe that there are many opportunities out there while the whole green movement is happening...and this may be one. I think that solar power can be used in many different applications and corporate America will begin to explore the true expanse of these applications...not just in cars. I find it to be amusing because I was actually thinking the other day about powering an entire car off of solar power. There are many hurdles to overcome before this can be done...but I think it would be interesting.

Another thought that I had related to alternative energy relating to cars had to do with windmills. What else out there generates more 'wind' than a car going 70 mph down the highway? It gets cloudy sometimes, which will hinder solar power, but you cannot drive anywhere without generating wind. I think it is a no-brainer...will someone else too??

I also have begun to explore mini-windmills that could be placed upon residential roofs in the same manner as solar panels are. The idea is the same and there are definite hurdles...like no wind days...but there are also no-sun days for solar panel users.

happy 4th to all

I am posting this today as I will be away camping on Cape Cod this weekend...should be fun!

I was listening to a talk radio show yesterday morning on my up to Lake Placid and the host, I don't remember who, but he was on Sirius' Patriot station in the morning around 9:30 or so, and he began to tell an interesting bit of history that I was not aware of...

Congress actually voted to declare independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776. We celebrate this independence, and birth of our Nation, on July 4th, which was the date in 1776 when Congress actually approved the wording on the Declaration of Independence. The actual document wasn't actually signed by Congressional delegates until the beginning of August in 1776.

I found this to be interesting. Whatever the date, this time of the year is a great time to sit back and reflect on the freedoms that we are all lucky enough to enjoy. Wherever you stand, however you lean, whatever you believe, be thankful that you are lucky enough to live in a country where it is possible to not only hold a set of beliefs but are able to express them as well.

As we all sit with our friends and family this weekend, take a moment to think of all the brave men and women, past and present, who have selflessly defended the rights and freedoms of all citizens. This is a great country...

June Madness??

I cannot wait until tomorrow to check out the news stories and studies and reports pertaining to worker productivity and the US Open. I, among thousands of other workers, spent the better part of the day with my computer tuned into the playoff round of this year's tournament. I kept it on in the background for most of the day, but did get a chance to watch during lunch...and peeked every now and again as they came through the final few holes. I kept an eye on the fan comments on the bottom and it seemed as though there were quite a few people thoroughly enjoying the tournament while also at work. As big as the event is, as exciting as the finish yesterday was, and as huge of a star as Tiger is, I would bet that the ratings (online) and viewership (online) would come close to matching that of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. I would also bet that the productivity of US business dropped significantly today, probably to levels equaling the Basketball Tournament.

The final playoff today was absolutely amazing. It was competitive to say the least as the two went back and forth. It was great to see Rocco battle back around the turn and make this final day quite amusing to watch. I am nothing of a super fan, but rather a casual Sunday (maybe saturday) gold watcher. I know many others like me and I am sure that today and this past weekend will do nothing but boost interest in golf.  Congrats to Tiger for pulling it off in the end. And congrats to Rocco for playing one hell of a tournament and keeping it close and giving me something to pay attention to today...it really helped the last few hours of the day to fly by.

I hope that other leagues that are trying to garner more national attention...like the MLS...see the response today and find some way to themselves capitalize. Baseball was probably the first to truly capitalize on online viewership...though it's paid...and they seem to do quite well. I would love to see a comparison of paid viewership, of say baseball, to unpaid, of say today's match. I think that the smaller market sports, like golf and tennis and soccer, really need to begin to capitalize on the internet on a more regular basis in order to begin ramping up interest in their respective sports. How they can do this is not entirely clear, but I would hope that the possibilities are being explored.