Freedom for All!

Cheers to the brave men and women of Iraq, who shrugged away the bombs and threats, and went to cast their God-given right to freedom. Did you look at the voter turnouts? It was indeed exhilarating!! And people said Iraqis weren't ready for democracy, and we shouldn't try to "impose" it on them. Well, looks like they seem pretty ready to me!

You have to be delighted, whether or not you supported the war. I myself have wafted on the issue, but am leaning towards the idea that this may be worth it after all. It is still too early to tell. But I do get upset with Kerry and the other partisan Democrats who spent Sunday focusing on "well, when are our troops coming home" and "what's the next step" rather than stepping back and appreciating the true watershed moment this truly is!!

Another Bhopal ...

I was shocked to read this tale of flagrant environmental pollution, including the accounts of people suffering burns by contacting the local river due to the hydrochloric acid, and women reaching puberty at 15! Clearly, environmental conciousness has a long way to go in much of the world ...

Stossel Kicks Butt!

John Stossel had an ABC special called 'John Stossel Takes on Myths, Lies and Nasty Behavior' and true to form, truly kicked butt! Whether it was pointing out that gas was cheap in inflation-adjusted historical terms, or going after the government for cell phone taxes, pork and urban sprawl, or berating people for being noisy, he really packed a punch. Although missing the wonderful Stosselian style, the summary of the program can be found here.

Colin Vs Condi

On this day when Condi Rice battled senators on both sides for confirmation, I can help but feeling sad that a fine Secretary of State like Colin Powell is being replaced by a lame duck rubber stamp. I mean, Powell was known to ask tough questions, challenge those within the administration and was vital in influencing administration decisions during the 1991 Gulf War. (If you are not familiar with the goings-on during this war, visit PBS' Frontline Page for fascinating insights from this time) Condi, on the other hand, has done little in her role as National Security Advisor to impress us, besides a devotion to the President is touching. Alas, what a pity the administration is being filled with more and more yes-men and women.

Do the Math, You Leftie Nutjobs!

This story only highlights how economically ignorant some of these stupid left-wing nutjobs who dominate academic campuses are. They are upset that Harvard University pays its money managers so handsomely, never mind that these managers have produced phenomenal results for Harvard's endowment, growing it by as much as 20% per year. Well sirs, I disagree with your objection. A good money manager is worth his weight in gold.

It's one thing to argue if returns after fees and costs were adequate, but to simply whine about pay independent of performance is NUTS!! Universities are tight on cash, and if a manager can help produce above average returns for below average risk, pay him ... heck, throw in a kiss as well!!

Quote of the Day: Cummings

"It is unbelievable that the administration used limited taxpayer dollars to self-promote No Child Left Behind, while underfunding money for our schools, books, technology and after-school programs"
- Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland), in response to news that the Education Department paid a conservative commentator to sell the public, and especially the black community, on the NCLB proposals.

Paying for News

I am so outraged by this story that the Education Department actually paid a prominent black commentator to support the No Child Left Behind Act. Has this what it has come down to - taxpayer dollars being used for partisan advertising? Worse yet, has this what our "journalism" has come down to - commentators who speak not with their hearts but based on the swelling their pocketbooks will receive. SHAME! If the Bush administration has a shred of decency, it should apologize for the gaffe, and seek to recover the illegal payments.

In the Bedroom

I watched the movie 'In the Bedroom' last night. Don't let the name fool you - this isn't a soft porn movie or the like ... it's actually a wonderful movie, which earned 5 Academy Award nominations. I won't let you in on the story (I liked watching it cold) but I will say it was very interesting. However, be warned: this isn't one of those big studio productions, and lacks the "momentum" that those movies do. The focus is not just on a story, but adequately (and may I add brilliantly) conveying the emotions of the characters. I give it two thumbs up!!

Charter = Better?

This article in the NY Times suggests that charter students may be performing WORSE than public schools, although it appears some of the difference might be from more minority students. But wait a minute ... wasn't that the premise of No Child Left Behind - that "excuses" like the size of the minority population, etc will not be tolerated? Ah hah ... turns out education is more complicated than we'd like to believe!

I say this even with the bias of someone who agrees that we've got to have and enforce standards to prevent the slide of our educational system into the dumps!

Tween Marketing

I just watched a 60 Minutes story on Tween Marketing, where tweens (8-13 year olds) are recruited to be 'secret agents' who host slumber parties and convince their friends that the stuff they 'just happen to have' is cool! What the f*** is going on? I mean, what will these damn marketing firms stop at in their effort to undermine parental authority and brainwash our kids.

Sorry future-kids-of-mine, this is why you aint getting slumber parties, you aint getting malls, you aint getting shit ... you gonna be raised to be half-decent people ... cos half-decent trumps cool and bitchy!

The Big Chill

I found this article very interesting. I can attest to the benefits of stress management. I remember developing a limp due to a bad knee, and being in severe pain towards the end of my consulting career. A vacation in India and back to school and the limp and the pain were eventually gone!!

It's funny ... here life is going on, and there is so much to be excited about, from the chirping of the birds to the wonderful loving people we are surrounded by, and yet we allow some silly thing at work to trump 'em all!

Economics of Outsourcing

Interesting stats ... reprinted from a quiz on Yahoo Finance.

Each dollar that a US company spends on outsourcing a service job to India generates an estimated 1.13 USD in net value for the US, according to a recent study in the current edition of the Milken Institute Review (reg. req'd). The study also estimated that India gains 0.33 USD in net value from local wages, profits earned by local outsourcing companies and their suppliers, and taxes collected from all the local companies involved in the operation.

The net value generated by the outsourcing is returned to the US through several different channels. The outsourcing company can immediately recognize cost savings through lower wages, and many companies have seen additional cost savings from efficiency gains. US consumers benefit from the resulting lower prices. Outsourcing can also boost US exports to India, as the company builds the infrastructure to support the outsourced jobs. The Milken Institute points out, "A call center in Bangalore is likely to be filled with HP computers, Microsoft software and telephones from Lucent, and to be audited by PriceWaterHouseCoopers." The newly employed workers also have more money to spend on goods imported from the US. In 2003 the US exported 5b USD to India, an increase of 1.3b USD from the 2000 total.

While the outsourcing of jobs has become a hot-button issue for politicians and business leaders alike, a new study indicates that the actual impact on US workers is not as drastic as some may believe. A report by Lori Kletzer, an economist at the University of California Santa Cruz, studied the impact on American workers of non-manufacturing job loss due to free trade. Professor Kletzer found that between 1979 and 1999, 69% of US workers who lost a non-manufacturing job due to free trade found a new job within one year with an average salary equal to 96% of their prior job.

Jus' Say No to Martha!

So Martha Stewart's tipped to do a reality show for NBC. Great, another celebrity who is rewarded for infamy. This is the woman who committed FRAUD and got thrown in jail for it, made ridiculous comments to the effect that she was in the same league as Nelson Mandela (hang her for blasphemy!) and now she will make tons of money for it all. Oh yes, I do understand she was no Enron or Global Crossing, but her fraudulent ways cost tons of shareholders a lot of grief, not to mention life savings.

I think 5 months is justified punishment ... heck, I could even live with her not getting jail time. But to reward her is taking leniency a tad too far, don't you think? I say boycott the bitch!!

Damn the Dam!

This story reminds us again of our inadequacies in engineering natural systems. While human ego prods us to achieve the impossible (and this is personal - I'm myself a civil engineer), history tells us we should always be critical of our efforts, and prefer small-scale local solutions to gigantic works. And yet, at some level, engineers, policy makers and the other suspects favor the latter in a skewed desire to match up with a Wiser Power.

Wonderful book!

Folks, I finished this wonderful book called 'Nickel and Dimed' by Barbara Ehrenreich. This is an eye-opening book on the nature of low-wage work in the US. It really brings into focus the need to improve wage levels in this country. I give it two thumbs up, even if I disagree with the author on some aspects like drug testing, etc (sure, it may be a violation of your freedom, but I aint gonna here no dopey if I have a business!)

It's all about Reading and Riting!

Folks, I've gotten at least one reader (who I can identify!) who disagrees with my suggestion that Bush wins on education. Her credentials are far better than mine ... being an education major working with schools and the like. Nevertheless, I thought I'd present my view of why I prefer Bush's approach (the catch phrase is 'prefer' ... I don't think either candidate is a star, but I think we've given up on stars among our pols!)

FIrst, my 2 cents on the 2 candidates' approaches to problems. Bush is an action-minded man ... not super smart but action is what he thrives on. (Dennis Miller, appearing on the Jay Leno show, commented that what he likes about Bush's war on terror is that he doesn't overthink this issue ... 'I think he just wakes up every morning, lands on his 2 feet, scratches his balls and says, "Let's kill some f**king terrorists')

What that means is that Bush is gonna get a good share of his decisions wrong. Some would argue the war in Iraq is an example, as are many others. He has no patience for being caught in nitty-gritty ... he's gonna change the system, damnit! But that is precisely why he will also make some stupendous changes to our systems. He won't accept status quo, and he won't accept sitting by a flawed system.

Kerry, on the other hand, is a tweaker. He understands complexity ... is far smarter ... yadar yadar ya. I suspect he will make the 'right' decision more often ... or rather avoid wrong decisions. But he isn't the type to reform systems. He'll tweak here and there, but stand by failed systems because it's more convenient and because major reform is beyond his cautious mindset.

Then, the issue comes down to which style you think is right ... there is no right answer ... just like stock investing styles. This is part of why I have not yet supported either candidate ... because what we truly need is a blend of the two.

OK, back to education! The reality is that Bush has increased education funding dramatically, but overall funding has probably reduced due to the budget crunch in many states. This is unfortunate, but it is a recession. But the real reason why I think Bush scores over Kerry is the recognition that our education system is in need of major repair, not tweaking ... the decision to impose standards of teaching ... and the voucher program.

The voucher program? That raises your eyebrows, I'm sure. Well, the single biggest cause for bankruptcy in the US is people buying houses they can't afford to be in the "good" school district. The voucher program will eliminate that! Also, I believe when taxpayers are funding education, they should have the choice of the fabric of their school. So, for example, a family who wants to send their kid to a Catholic or a Hindu or a Muslim school should not have to spend exclusively out of pocket, while their tax dollars apparently pay for their education. Needless to say, we need to have standards of performance for these schools, but this is not an impossible task.

Debate III - Conclusion

Schieffer was the clear winner, asking good questions and keeping the candidates disciplined and not allowing them to stretch on and additional rebuttal time.

Between the candidates, I think it was close, with Kerry marginally ahead. Bush just doesn't do well in these situations - he doesn't have the command of numbers and facts that is required in these situations.

On a side note, I think Kerry's gonna sleep on the couch. GOD, couldn't he think of something to say about Theresa. He sounded like he would have wanted Laura except for Theresa's money!

Debate III - Minority Issues

OH Bush is supposed to meet with the clowns at NAACP who compared him to Hitler and Saddam?

TIE - Kerry scores for being for diversity but not quotas; Bush wins for minority home ownership

Debate III - Assault Weapons Ban

OK Kerry, you don't look like a hunter, so quit trying to show off as some machismo! Kerry still wins because of Bush's complete lack of leadership on this issue! SHAME SHAME!!

Debate III - Foreign Policy

Oh George, stop that damn "global test" nonsense! Kerry fails though because there is the lingering question why he voted against the '90 Gulf War.