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.

Support Our Troops

Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul conduct a key leader engagement with village elders in Arghandab, Afghanistan, July 30, 2011. PRT Zabul's mission is to conduct civil-military operations in Zabul Province to extend the reach and legitimacy of the Government of Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras)

This photo can be looked at in very different ways. If one is in support of America's actions or against our actions.

I strongly support our troops. That does not mean I support our government.  These are two very different things.

I have written more on the subject of our troops and veterans -
http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/military

For me, this photo took me back to my days in the military when young children dressed in local attire, while I was dressed to kill, would look up at you with eyes that questioned why this was happening to them.

I had no answer then and I have no answer now.

The shot above was taken by a cool fellow and friend, Grovert Fuentes-Contreras.  He has taken a lot of terrific shots and I keep an eye out for his work.  Side note .... just because you carry a camera and are in the Air Force it does not keep you out of harm's way.  All it means is that you have one more piece of gear to carry and one more job to do.

The slide show below - from the jungle to the desert over five decades

America - a brief history

Many Americans have lost all faith in our government whether Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Independent or whatever. 

People such as John Boehner have shown no leadership and there have been many pieces published which point to the facts. 

Some of my own thoughts on the economy can be viewed from the link - http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/economy

The video at the bottom of this piece shows many of the points which are of concern to Americans.  In the end, the video turns out to be a political statement.  I overlooked the political aspect of the video and just let some other aspects of the video stand on their own. 

 

I prefer pie

DSCF1855, originally uploaded by myles111us.

Some folks stop to smell the flowers. I prefer pie.

Last night I slept with a roof over my head

IMG_0678, originally uploaded by myles111us.

Be thankful today if last night you had a roof over your head as you slept.

Check out http://urm.org/ to learn how you can help or if you want to learn more and be informed with real facts.

Shame on our government

Disclaimer:  This piece is intended as satire.  I believe that all human beings have value.  I also believe that our government in Washington is very ineffective and their recent actions in regard to the debt ceiling are petty, childish and irresponsible at best.  If you are a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Tea Party or any form of the current government in Washington all I have to say to most of you is shame on the lot of you.


My intention here is to voice my level of concern in regard to the recent actions of our elected officials.  If I offend anybody in this piece in regard to harvesting them for body parts I apologize.  That is not my intention as those who know me can attest.  I do not apologize for my expression that I feel our government is ineffective, harmful, not to be trusted.  

If anybody has their own thoughts on how to help our government feel free to leave your idea as a comment.  Please feel free to pass this link along to others.

I have an ongoing post at http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2011/05/financial-repression-coming-to-america.html which is continually updated with one news items after another in regard to the worthless job our elected officials in Washington are doing. 

One shot in the dark after another.  One stupid idea after another.

I have suggested a few of my own ideas and some of these are in the post referenced from the above link. 

At one point, The Speaker of The House even referenced my blog piece in his own blog.  Perhaps one man in the street was being listened to?  Seems that was not the case.

Today 7/28/11, there was a news item:   The final kill shot to the trashed housing market? Mortgage tax break eyed to help cut debt - http://t.co/PPVUA4O

I thought, it looks as the folks in Washington are grasping at anything as long as does not raise taxes on record setting profit level corporations or those in the highest tax bracket.  The last part of the American Dream being taken away by those in Washington.  Shame on all of you no matter what your political party.  This country has never been closer to collapse in the entire history of America.  America has also never been closer to revolution in her history.

I realized why some of my ideas were being ignored after looking at their latest thought to attack the problem of the economy from the above story.  It was obvious!

My prior ideas were not thoughtless.  My ideas were not insensitive.  My ideas lacked bad taste and poor judgement. 

My ideas lacked a basic foundation in key elements such as taking away something that people had already paid for such as Social Security or put more Americans in harms way at extreme cost to the American people even though we have the technology to wage war remotely.

My ideas did not have factors that made no sense.  I proposed a higher tax rate on corporations which are posting higher than ever profits as they lay off more workers.

Our government seems to miss the math that less workers mean less money paid into the tax base and fewer jobs equal fewer workers taking home a paycheck.

For my ideas to work I need to follow a few guidelines, very important guidelines.

1.  Lack of thought.

2.  Lack of responsibility.

3.  Lack of common sense.

4.  Need to be insensitive.

5.  Need to be unfair.

6.  Need to single out the wealthy from what is left of the middle class or blue collar work force.

7.  A requirement to make people upset at even the basic concept of the idea.

8.  A need to single out a group of people and target them.

9.  A requirement to be able to state that some issue was solved and be able to come up with statistics as proof.

10.  A simple and basic stupid idea where even the concept of the idea has no redeeming social value.

In short, the idea or concept needed to be stupid enough, offensive enough and thoughtless enough that no matter what the education level, background, position in the community or respect that an individual may have held in the past the basic proposal or thought of the idea alone carried enough negative value that they would be thought of as a fool.  This was the only way I would be able to match the tone level with our current government and communicate with them on their current level. 

After moments of thought I had a plan that would raise revenue, mostly from the wealthy AND solve a social issue.

There have been news stories about the laws in Arizona concerning illegal aliens.  My plan addresses that issue.

Tax the wealthy?  My plan addresses that issue.  The most wealthy can participate in the program and those with less wealth will automatically be excluded from the program.  Before you say that is illegal let me state that I am aware of no law that says that a person in a low income bracket cannot legally purchase a Bentley Turbo R or Ferrari.

Generate revenue?  You bet.

Here is the plan in all it's simplicity.

First we can create more jobs by adding numbers to our internal home defense forces.  They are not paid a salary.  They are commission based and paid on actual head count of people collected.  To use an old phrase from the sixties and my day in the military; body count.

Second, we round up all illegal or undocumented aliens using our new defense force. 

Before anybody goes of the deep end and panics due to worry about housing, feeding and caring for those rounded up let me put your mind at rest.  All detainees will be taken to the geographically closest hospital where they will be given 24 hours to prove they are a U.S. Citizen.  If proof cannot be shown there is no deportation or added expense.  They are terminated within the 24 hour period and all their organs are collected.

Third, the collected organs are put on eBay for sale.  The sale mechanism already exists!  No need for additional government expense or the creation of yet another agency of ineffective and worthless people who collect a salary for accomplishing little more than making the lives of millions worse each day. 

If you need a kidney you can have a kidney.... if you have the dollars.  Money would flow in from all over the globe!  We could get money back into the USA that went to China.  People that live in countries where jobs were lost to outsourcing would be a new revenue stream as well. 

OK.  It seems as if I covered all the aspects of stupidity while being insensitive at the same time. 

I was offensive as well yet address a number of problems while focusing on the wealthy to raise the money and dividing the wealthy from the remainder of the population. 

To our government, all parties.  You are an embarrassment for most Americans.  You act like school children as you argue and posture while you come up with one stupid idea after another. 

It matters little at this time whether our current President was handed a problem that took decades to develop.  It matters little at this time that previous administrations raised the debt ceiling multiple times during their administration.  It does matter to me that some people in our government are avoiding these facts to push their own agenda in spite of further damage to the economy.

To our government:  The American People are disgusted with the lot of you.

By the way, if you do go along with my idea I propose that before the illegal aliens are taken we first move upon our nation's Capitol and start the collection right there.

Joe Lieberman Says U.S. Should Cut Social Security To Pay For Fighting ‘The Islamist Extremists’ http://t.co/ftV8omo - move Lieberman to the front of the list for deportation from America.  I paid into Social Security based on promises our government made over my entire working career.

9/23/11 Update - seems as if they are at it again - Senate rejects House funding bill; shutdown looms http://t.co/1Xylav34

Photographs or Original Art?

What do you have hung on your walls at home?

Do you prefer photographs, original art, bare walls or?

We have all heard phrases such as "you are what you eat", "dress for success" and many similar phrases.  Some say some of us are defined by the car we drive.

What can be learned by what we hang on our walls?

There are some surprising pieces of information that can be discovered by observing what somebody wears, what they eat, what they drive or what they hang on their walls.  Especially if one reads between the lines.

Helping the Homeless on Twitter

I would just like to take a moment to thank the folks below.  There are many more that I cannot begin to count to list or mention for their support in helping the homeless, thank you.

There is no quick fix.  We can continue to pass the word with facts rather than just try to present the problem in a flattering light or hide the issue with smoke and mirrors.  http://vimeo.com/25203421 

These are some of the people who have passed along some of my more recent writing commentary on the subject of the homeless.

Some of the various pieces I have written on the homeless can be viewed from following this link:
http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/homeless

I will be adding to this list and from time to time have links to stories that one can pass along via social media tools.

Ex-Homeless Speak Out To Change Perceptions - http://t.co/wDJ0D4s

Please click on "read more" to continue....

The real deal directly from Andy Bales

This blog piece will be an ongoing and continually updated post.  Much of the content of this piece will come directly from Rev. Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission ( http://www.urm.org/ )  which is the largest mission in the United States.  At times there may be posts to news items which spotlight Rev. Andy Bales.

Andy Bales has his own official blog which can be found in one area of the URM website.  His blog link is http://www.urmblog.org/category/rev-andys-blog/  My blog here will be a bit less official, something that may point to some areas on a different level than Andy's blog.

I will start out by saying that Andy Bales just might be the most impressive human being I have ever met.  I will just leave it at that.  If you want to know more about the man ask around, look on the URM website, look him up on google, find him on countless news stories or look on many of my other blog pieces.

Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the United States.

Please click on "read more" for the latest.

Los Angeles Times - shame on you?

Shame on you Los Angeles Times newspaper.

On July 14, 2011 you published a story Homeless rate drops 9% in L.A., 3% in L.A. County

I am shocked at the obvious lack of fact checking.  Forget real journalism fact checking, your offices are less than a five minute walk from the heart of skid row.  Did you even look out a window? 

 

Nobody at the Los Angeles Times found this story full of nonsense and fabrication devoid of fact? 

 

You people are not blind.  What do you see each day when you go to lunch?  Was Steve Lopez in your office aware that this nonsese was being published? 

 

Did you check with ANY of the missions?  If you would have asked any of them you would have learned, with facts to back their information, that they are providing more services than ever before.

 

You should be embarrassed. 

 

Perhaps the purpose of the Los Angeles Times should be where people can turn to look for shoes that are on sale?  Maybe read about car accidents or news with hard facts.  In these cases where you do nothing more than pass along "facts" that you have not verified, "facts" that go against what everybody in your office building see in front of their own eyes, you have no credibility in my eyes.

 

Responsible journalism is NOT just passing along anything that you read.  Let me repeat that for you folks:  Responsible journalism is NOT just passing along anything that you read.  

 

As far as the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority who came up with these figures, this is one agency or organization that did not do any sort of job of any value.  At best their report was a disservice to the homeless and organizations trying to get funding to help the homeless.  You want to save money in our budget?  Eliminate this agency and request a refund for anything that was paid to them for this report.

 

Perhaps this was all sort of some big media plan for the government to show people that things are getting better? 

 

Thing are not getting better.  They have gotten worse.  Much worse. 

For those who want to read the Times story here is the link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/06/homeless-rate-drops-los-angeles-county.html

It will be interesting to see if the above story and link remains online.  It is an obvious piece of nonsense on so many levels.

I did a little fact checking myself.  I used my own eyes.  I counted individuals over the last two years.  I talked to the people at Union Rescue Mission ( http://www.urm.org/ ) which is the largest mission in the country. 

I used to like aspects of the Los Angeles Times.  I am friends with some of their staff.  I hope that this reporting did not happen on their watch and hope that an editorial will be published by some of those who are journalists with more integrity.

 

For those that want to read something with facts that can be verified here is one of many links:

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2011/05/take-5-and-help-homeless.html

I have a piece that I wrote after I wrote this piece, something of a companion piece.  After I published this post I talked to Andy Bales at Union Rescue Mission.  I wrote the companion post which can be seen at:
http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2011/06/real-deal-directly-from-andy-bales.html

Today (6/16/11) I received a few direct messages from the Los Angeles Times City Desk.  Here is their dialogue and my own:

LATimescitydesk Myles, we were just reporting what was contained in a report by the LA County Homeless Services Authority -- and we reported the skepticism.

LATimescitydesk Not sure why you keep beating up on us. You should contact the LA Homeless Services Authority if you're upset by their findings.

LATimescitydesk I have no fight with you. I just tweeted our report about the report.

My comments back to The Times:

myles111us If you just pass along bad info when the evidence is right outside your window what can I think about that sort of thing?

myles111us I would think somebody like Steve Lopez would have had a comment on what is obviously a report that is nonsense.

myles111us If you have something I can post that shows the accurate picture I will be happy to do so.

myles111us There are some great folks over at The Times and I would love to be able to support you folks rather than come down on you.

myles111us Hopefully there will be a follow up story by The Times and if there is please send me a link.

myles111us The last thing we need is some agency that writes false reports based on a lazy count or taking shortcuts on a critical subject.

myles111us I somehow missed the skepticism you said you mentioned. So did the folks on skid row that work at the missions as a side note.

Good journalism is more than just passing along the stories of others. You folks are a short walk from the heart of skid row.

myles111us I cannot see why you did not contact the organization who wrote the report and questioned their facts.

LATimescitydesk You should send a msg to Alexandra Zavis, who covers homelessness for us, and tell her your thoughts. alexandra.zavis@latimes.com

LATimescitydesk She's a very thoughtful reporter, cares deeply about the subject and has written some fine pieces.

myles111us I will contact her. If she has a twitter account I can send her the link to my two blog pieces or perhaps you can send her the links.

myles111us The links are http://t.co/XSeqQmi and http://t.co/nEKNjS6 I would be happy to take a walk with her sometime in the area.

LATimescitydesk Story, by the way, quotes Andy Bales at URM expressing his doubt about the numbers.

LATimescitydesk Alex wrote the piece in question. Not sure if she has a Twitter account. But I'm sure she'll respond to an email. Take care, Myles.

myles111us Andy Bales gave me the impression that many of the facts he presented were not in the piece.

myles111us I see no mention of Andy Bales in the piece at http://t.co/XSeqQmi (I found some of Andy Bales commentary in a second piece by the times).

myles111us In any case, please pass along my links to Alex

myles111us Nita - no fight with you. The subject is sensitive and heartbreaking and passing along misleading information does not help.

myles111us I look forward to stories from you folks and pass them along on a regular basis as a side note.

myles111us The homeless issue is just something I take seriously just as I take reporting about the economy, employment and justice.

myles111us Hopefully in the future we can work together in concert to make changes for the better and report both sides of a story.

myles111us Thank you for your time - Myles S. Rose

I was told there was an update to the first story.   My original issue was with the original story which had the title:  Homeless rate drops 9% in L.A., 3% in L.A. County which I found impossible to believe from personal observation.


The second piece can be found at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0615-homeless-count-20110615,0,5810860.story

This update sheds a better light on the subject.

Perhaps with the help of the Los Angeles Times resources can be coordinated to make progress at a faster rate.  The problem is getting larger at a faster rate each month.

I am glad I wrote this piece.  It has introduced me to some additional folks at the Los Angeles Times.  This opened a dialogue between a number of people that have enough of the right stuff that could make steps forward for the benefit of many.
 

-the end-