Donald Trump - Make America Great?

Seems this fellow thinks he can change things in America on the employment by putting some attention in the area of foreign trade, or taxes, or business practices or .....

Hey Mr. Trump.  Open your eyes.  The biggest problem we have here in America is that some of our largest companies not only send jobs overseas (I talked to ATT customer service people this weekend in India and the Caribbean), but also talked to supervisors in San Antonio Texas.  Many (actually, most, if you read the two pieces where employees are noted by name, ID, time and date) of those they employ are incompetent, not empowered to take action to resolve problems, they pass the customer from one person to another only to have the dialogue repeat, and are technically inept, to start the proverbial list.

Mr. Trump.  As long as the employees of our "flagship" corporations hire people that do not take pride in their work, cannot think outside the box, show little skill in the areas of people skills, make the customer feel that they are of little or no value, the lynch pin of your plans is flawed to say the least as the very foundation of corporate America is in shambles.

You say that you will make changes over time and things will improve?  Look at the two links below to my experiences with ATT / Uverse since 2010.  Thing were awful but then improved.  This cycle was repeated a number of times only to end up in the proverbial toilet once again.

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2012/07/at-so-wrong-in-every-way-part-ii.html

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2010/11/at-so-wrong-is-every-way.html

The first link is the most current, latest antics at the end of the piece.  Two parts were necessary as the activity and documentation grew too large to add to the original piece.

1,175,826 reads of these two parts since November 2010.  23,918 reads since yesterday of the latest ATT / Uverse antics since 26 March 2016, less than three days.

As far as who may be your opposition, Hillary Clinton .....  It was under the Obama Administration that the historic profits for ATT and rate increases came and were tolerated if not outright supported.

I am not trying to turn this into a political piece.  I am just stating that you look pretty darn foolish in my eyes when you wear that hat or utter those words based on personal experience and observation.

#trump #att #clinton #uverse #sanders #cruz #economy #obama #democrat #republican #abc7eyewitness

Needle in a haystack? A good politician.

I use social media a lot.  Most of you know what amp or guitar folks I like, what concerts or artists I am working with, where I am at a given moment in time and what I am eating and who I am with while eating.

I generally don't write much on this page that is of a political nature unless it is a link back to my L.A. Blog where I bitch about political issues, companies that give poor service, the homeless, the latest reports in on my testing in the vacuum tube market, and at times offer some advice on things I like. 430,000 folks read my blog last month in August.  My blog is followed by organizations in both parties and I am followed on Twitter by these folks as well who can be found in my twitter followers.

One piece I wrote received enough attention that John Boener included it in his newsletter.  Guess they only looked at the one piece and thought they had me figured out.  I guess they used it as fodder in reference to the economy.

Click on image for full size display
My piece is "Financial Repression Coming to America". 

My political posts focus on the inept actions of our Government, at all levels.  No state has a monopoly on lack of sense, lack of participation on the part of our representatives, folks we have elected that end up being prosecuted for criminal behavior, or just doing things that we would not expect from a twelve year old.

I am not what some would label as a political person.  I focus my attention on things I enjoy and watching political antics are things that I don't have to seek out.  A few minutes watching the news is enough to disgust anybody.

I apologize my habit of not getting to the point.  I digress, as typical.

Mike Gatto.  California State Assembly. Does the guy just phone it in?  Nope.  Does he miss meetings?  No. Are there photos of him on the internet playing solitaire during session or dozing off?  No.  Does he go along for the ride and do little or nothing?  Nope.

I guess I could list all the things he does not do.  I will also say that I might not agree or disagree with everything he has done or is doing.  But .... yes, the proverbial "but", if you look at his 2014 legislation (heck, go back to 2010 if you wish),  you will find he is very active and has done a lot of really great things for the people that put him in office.  Look at his record at http://asmdc.org/members/a43/legislation/2014-legislation.  Stuff that actually makes sense, well to me anyway.

Many of you reading this in California are not in District 43 so why should you care?  Two reasons.  

1 - Here are some facts that give us hope that not all folks in politics are crooks, lazy, liars, lack leadership, stall the government like a six year old when things don't go their way, folks incapable of working with others, or just plain criminals like Senator Yee right here in California.  There is that needle in the haystack.

2 - If Mike Gatto can be convinced by others to run for Governor of California then many of you can vote for the man and would be making a good call. 

Check the man out.  He is the real deal.    

Respect Our Government

How should we treat some of our government leaders in DC now that they have cost this nation so much money, disrupted the lives of so many and accomplished less than nothing? 

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/assessing-the-cost-unnecessary-damage

First, I think that everybody that passes most of "them" on the street should spit on them.  That is my personal reactive response but the action below is a better idea.  It is more productive and will make a statement each time a government official was refused service in a restaurant and asked publically to leave.

Second, I feel restaurants should exercise their right to refuse service to many of them. I feel that the publicity a restaurant would receive for doing that would increase their business ten fold and put the American public squarely behind their eating establishment. 

Now, some PR firm feel free to grab my idea and run with it. 

Government is too big. I am now convinced

I am a simple minded man that is not very well informed when it comes to politics or political science.  

This Government shutdown thing.  I don't get it.  Maybe somebody can explain.  It must be more than this.

Click on "Read more" for the rest of the story

March Against Corruption

If you are not comfortable with the actions of our government take a few minutes to watch the video.  You may find it interesting.

President Obama. One very smart cookie?

I am going to point out some FACTS.  Take this or leave this.  Put the pieces together or walk away from the compelling evidence.  

It is clear to me that our President and his administration are masters at working the system.  There are none better at working the media.  They have no equal in history at leveraging tragic events to put the nation back on track to prosperity and growth.

Click "Read more" to continue.

Obama. Has he finally gone insane for real?

Say what you will about our President, Obama.  Was he born in the USA?  The debate continues.  But .... there is one thing that cannot be disputed.  He is now clearly insane and it may be time for Vice President Biden to step up to the plate.

What the hell am I talking about?

How many folks realize that our President is considering the Mayor of Los Angeles a candidate for Secretary of Transportation?  If this does not show that our President is insane I don't know where one could find a better example.

First off, our Mayor never had any education in traffic patterns.  All the work done here in Los Angeles has been done by others, not by him  We continue to have some of the worst traffic in the nation and considering the size of our city one of the worst public transportation systems in the nation.

Our Mayor also allows major streets such as Sunset Blvd to be impacted by road work during the height of traffic.  This is one more area that shines a spotlight on the man we have elected as our Mayor and the man we have elected as our President.

Well Mr. President, I am ashamed to say that I voted for you the first time and due to two horrible options in the last election I voted for you again BUT .... next time I may just vote Republican based on the antics of many of "my Parties" recent behavior.  As far as the Mayor of Los Angeles?  The guy is a media clown and I have personally seen him act one way when the cameras are not running and another way when they are turned on.  The guy is an asshat and fart face on more levels that one can imagine.

http://www.governing.com/blogs/fedwatch/gov-next-transportation-secretary.html 

How do folks feel about Obama this time around?

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Maybe more?  The past ... USA and USSR.

I have written a number of pieces on our economy and government over the last few years.  You can find them in this blog.  One of them ended up in the newsletter of the Speaker of the House.

On November 14, 2012 I wrote this simple statement on my facebook wall:

Just because the election is over it is not a reason to slack off. Keep an eye on the antics of our Government closer than ever before.

The comments and debate are intense to say the least.  

This morning I took a look at the dialogue and posted my own comment on my original post:

Not to digress but ....

How we got here is not the issue, other than the history lesson that showed me that if I look at our nation as a ship I make the analogy that we have a weak Captain with a dysfunctional crew on something much akin to the Queen Mary now docked in Long Beach. A great ship decades ago but her glory days are long gone.

With a proper crew who could work together, some time in the yard for a refit, updated propulsion systems, updated electronics and the "right stuff" the restoration could once more attract attention and be an impressive craft.

But alas, at this point all I see is an outdated rust bucket with things that continue to break as they deteriorate with a dysfunctional crew and clown for a Captain.

There is little value in pointing fingers in regard to how we got here.  It is now time for all of us to keep a closer eye on our government and be more involved by making our voices heard via social media or whatever means one has at their hands.  We have all seen it countless times, grand restorations are possible whether it is a boat, car, airplane, even a country.

Obama or Romney?

Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz and Amber Boyd from the 633rd Security Forces Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. are greeted at the Newport News airport by family and coworkers on Nov. 2, 2011 . The two were part of a group of Airmen that deployed in June, but returned a couple of months early after President Obama announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of the year. They were among about 20 633rd SFS members who returned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis from deployment with the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Balad in the past week. About 10 633rd SFS members are still deployed in Iraq, but they are scheduled to return later this month, hopefully by Thanksgiving, although more are expected to deploy to Afghanistan in January. (U.S. Air Force Photo by: MSgt Jeremy Lock)

A few minutes ago I replied to a comment left on one of my posts where somebody apologized for a comment they left.  I told them, no apology necessary.

I tend to point out some of the Romney antics but bottom line are my brief thoughts below as copied from my reply.

Both of the candidates are awful options with little to hold in esteem by either party. 

If you are one of the troops on duty you can take pride in America for the job you are doing regardless of the stupid antics of you civilian leaders. 

If you are in government, the odds are you don't have much to be proud of. Most of you asshats are part of the problem rather than the steps toward an eventual solution. Shame on the lot of you for the most part. 

Obama is a weak leader, never one who would a picked as a Captain of a ship. 

Romney is a fellow so far out of touch with the majority of the population it borders on pure stupidity. 

Anybody who can find more good than bad in either case should go and put their head back in the sand.

The American Economy. A Turnaround?

I have written many pieces on the economy in this blog.  One of my past pieces even found it's way into the Speaker of the House's blog.

Click on this image for the full size image

I have spoken about the government and my observation on the ineffective way they have addressed problems in our nation.  I have pointed out issues with both parties.

There has been a big push to the issues of Medicare.  Perhaps the Republicans no longer wish to point a spotlight on the economy. You can talk about some issues from either side.  You can assert that the current administration was handed a disaster while others assert it was all the fault of the current administration.  I will do my best to avoid retreading old ground.

In the past I have posted a financial model which has now been running for over 500 days.  Rather than focus on Wall Street in reference to the Dow, S&P or NASDAQ, my model uses a mix of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs and Gold.  I feel it is a more diverse picture of the economy.

If you look at the chart below, yesterday on August 22, 2012 our nation crossed the high line for the first time since April 29,2011.  Things look to be improving.

The employment situation is still dismal.  There are millions who are no longer counted in the unemployed figures.  They are the 99ers.  Their benefits have expired and they have dropped off the roles of those counted.  But, the numbers of new claims are decreasing.  We still may be much like an airplane headed toward the ground but our rate of decent is slowing.  Perhaps it is slowing enough that the Republican Party is worried.  Perhaps this is why Medicare is being addressed rather than the economy.

Rather than debate these issues, just take a look at the chart on the financial picture and the chart from the current employment figures and take it or leave it.  Draw your own conclusions.

Click on the above image for a more clear image
Look at the total for last year versus this year in the last line

Click on the image for a more clear picture
511 days of up and down
Only time will tell if this is an ongoing trend or just .....???

Mr. President, Senate, Congress ... take a bow.

June 21, 2012

Click on either image for a full size display.

On the financial side:  It seems as if a "well done" or congratulations are NOT to be expected by the financial minds that head our country.  It appears your latest plan failed.  Not much of a surprise.

The Dow is not an accurate indicator.  We have all seen layoffs continue at the rate of over 350,000 per week.  There are other ways to look at a more broad picture of our true economic picture. 

America - a Nation Of No Direction - or a downward direction from another viewpoint

On the employment side:  In the week ending June 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 387,000. The 4-week moving average was 386,250, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 382,750.  Rough concept ... more than a quarter of a million people but less than a half a million people lost their jobs in one week.  

Democrats, Republicans, Senators, Congressmen and government officials, please take a bow.  Don't bother to stand back up.  You do not deserve much of anything other than contempt and a lack of respect from the people of this nation.

Our government leaders continue to argue with each other.  Our government comes up with one plan after another which have done nothing to improve the problems in our nation for a number of years at this point.

It does not matter whether times in Europe are good or bad, if fighting moves from one country to another or any of the reasons for a lack of movement in any direction are considered as they change.  This nation is a nation with no direction and your efforts have been directed toward anything but working together or helping this great nation.

In closing I will repeat again what I wrote above:  Democrats, Republicans, Senators, Congressmen and government officials, please take a bow.  Don't bother to stand back up.  You do not deserve much of anything other than contempt and a lack of respect from the people of this nation.

Improvement in the U.S. Economy?

Improvement?  I does not seem to be the case.

The last 420+ days of our economy using a diverse model rather than a focus on Wall Street
rather than where our government wishes us to turn our vision.
Click on this chart if you wish a larger version.

My point here is not to make a political statement.  I feel our government, collectively, are a bunch of incompetent fools.  Some of my other thoughts and observations can be seen here:

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/economy

During the election debates the economy was improving.  Perhaps it was the attention on the antics of the candidates in the media.  Perhaps it was that the Republican party and Tea Party folks were too busy to stop the wheels of government dead in it's track on each and every issue.   Perhaps it was manipulation by the people in office with big business to make things look better and reduce on of the glaring arguments of the opposition.  Perhaps it was dumb luck and chance.

Click on "read more" for the more complete story.

Jon McNaughton - an artist with a gift

Jon McNaughton - an artist with a gift and a message
  

More at http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/

Occupy L.A.

* Other than this shot

These photos and videos are the raw files.  No cropping, enhancing, editing etc*.  Typically I at least tend to look over the shots and perhaps crop a bit or color correct.  Not so this time as I used a small camera rather than my cellphone camera.

More below...

And the stupidity continues

In middle September of this year I wrote a piece on the Tea Party debates held in Florida.  It was a pathetic showing on the part of most of the participants.  If this is the best America has to offer you might as well trade in your coins of gold for bullets of lead as the revolution is coming.

My original post can be read at 

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2011/09/republican-tea-party-debate.html

After seeing the story below I felt that a post that will follow some of the headlines which lead up to the next election was indicated.  The Rick Perry piece below is the first of what may be many as this post is updated in the future.

More below.

Republican Tea Party Debate

Last night I recorded the debate.  I have reviewed the debate.  I will now boil it down for folks using my political expertise and keen powers of observation and insight.

The woman on the left did not answer a single question.  All she would do is go on and on and on about a vaccine that she said was forced onto 12 year old girls.

Click on 'read more' to read more

Piles of money - heaps of need

This is one of my shots that I have in my collection which I took downtown in Los Angeles.  This is the Gas Company Building. 

This is the area of Los Angeles where there is so much financial wealth in the companies, buildings and many of the individuals in the buildings mere minutes away from areas with the highest number of highest need individuals in any single city in the United States of America.

The Southern California Gas Company provides good service from my own experience.  They make a lot of money but in my mind it might not be out of line as some banks and other corporations.

Everytime I look at this building my eyes move to the top of the building which reminds me of a classic hull form or wing cross section.  If it were a boat the points are east and west in direction.

If one stands on 5th Street in Downtown Los Angeles and follows the direction of the right point in this photo as a reference you will be walking east.

Walk for about ten minutes.  It is an easy walk.  It is even slightly down hill.

Glance back over your shoulder at the building as you walk.  The taller building you see next to this one?  That is the U.S. Bank Building.  Those folks have a lot of money as well, perhaps even more than the Gas Company.

As you walk do you notice a change?  Look at the cars, the people, the buildings.  You are walking from one of the most wealthy areas in Los Angeles to one of the most poor areas of Los Angeles, Skid Row.

In ten minutes the landscape will change and the mood will change. 

A minute can make a difference.  In celestial navigation being off one minute in your calculations will put you off your destination by one mile at the equator.  In a fraction of a minute a tragic accident can occur ... or be avoided.  In less than a minute a life can change.

In less than a minute to can feed a family of five people by helping the folks at Union Rescue Mission where $10 will feed five people.  It takes seconds to donate from your cell phone.  To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.

If you want to learn more about Union Rescue Mission, the largest establishment helping the homeless in Los Angeles, which is the city with the largest homeless population in the nation you can read more at http://www.urm.org/ and learn many other ways you can help and learn other methods in which to donate.

http://www.urm.org/



Tea Party Experiment

I thought I would combine two of my activities into a little study.  Maybe I would learn something substantial or maybe the results or data would not tell me much in a scientific way.  Either way I would probably learn something.

I have written about my thoughts toward our ineffective government.  I have written about the homeless situation.

I had been taking notice of how vocal members of the Tea Party seemed to be.   Was this true compassion for the people of our nation or was this just talk?  Perhaps little more than climbing on a band wagon of some sort?  Perhaps a desire to be a part of something ... anything?

I decided to reach out to a number of them directly.  I would use twitter and look at #teaparty and #tcot.

I asked each of them to take a few moments and help the homeless in our country.  They could pass along the word, pass along a link, feed five folks for $10 via a quick cell phone text or go to places like http://www.urm.org/ where they could learn more or help in many ways.

I have not seen a single re-tweet.  I have not seen a single mention.  I have not had a single reply. 

Perhaps as time passes this will change.

 I can only look at this in one way.  Not a single #teaparty member that I contacted lifted a finger to help the homeless.  Ineffective?  Only tuned into their own agenda whatever that might be?  Perhaps I am drawing an improper conclusion?

I will let others draw their own conclusion but I will continue to send out requests for help to these folks and continue my study.  If there is anything to report or mention I will update this post.

If you are one of the people who have received a post from me on twitter which sent you to this link and if you have helped in some way, please let me know.  I would love to post your twitter ID here or website, name, or whatever you wish.  Prove me wrong.  You can pass the URM link, donate to URM via the above link or the homeless shelter in your own area or if you are in a real hurry but wish to help you can do this: 

To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.  Takes less than 30 seconds and will feed a family of five.  Feel free to leave a comment on this post telling me I was wrong .... at least in your case.

To be fair it has only been a few days since I reached out to Tea Party folks.  Perhaps I will have to eat my words as they prove me wrong.  I would not mind at all if I had to eat my words as that would mean that some homeless people would also have something to eat as well, perhaps even have a place to sleep for a few nights rather than on the street.

Side note?  When I sent the same request to Democrats and Republicans there were responses, re-tweets, mentions, questions, donations, friend contact adds and information was passed along.

Thanks to the folks below that are proving me wrong by passing the word.  Hopefully the list will continue to grow.

8/10/11

@hughhewitt - thank you for the RT.  You are the first,  @Jackson902, @marinemajor, @mahilena, @foundersweb, @dansden, @TheRiverWanders, @seriousfun830

8/18/11

@GrowlGirl

S&P Downgrade?

Finally some slight credibility from somebody in our country.  S&P steps up to the plate and states in their own way that the Emperor has no clothes.

Last night on the news there were stories of argument and blame in Washington that ranged from who is at fault to stories faulting the S&P for not using accurate figures when they made their call.

I said slight credibility above because I feel the downgrade from AAA to AA+ was a step in an accurate direction but not accurate.  This nation deserves a much lower credit rating.  The reason we should have any credit rating at all would be based on goods already in inventories and the spirit of the American people, NOT on the leadership, performance or action in Washington in America.

For those who want to argue the point let me ask you this.  If you were looking at a business or corporation to invest in yourself would you pick one who had a track record of such bad performance which continues to decline?  A company with a board of directors who put all effort into their personal agenda rather than in the company?  A company where nobody could or would work together in concert for the good of the company?

Next week we will probably hear many stories on why the move by the S&P should be challenged. 

The S&P pointed out that it is dark.  The folks in Washington are now starting to argue how this was calculated based on the time of dawn and dusk.

To you assholes in Washington, open your eyes.  It is dark.  It matters little if the hour is late and the sun went down or if you are stuck in a closet and cannot find the door.  Bottom line, it is dark and the reason does not matter anymore.

8/9/11 update - US Closer to Junk Bond Status Than Triple-A: http://t.co/HrQ6jtg

Invest in Gold?

Personally, I think investing in gold is not the best idea.

I think the price has gone too high due to panic and uncertainty in our government.

Personally, if you want to invest in metal you may want to consider an investment in another heavy metal - lead.