Walk the Walk

Over the weekend I learned that someone is having a difficult time financially. I've never meet this person. She is an acquaintance of my wife. Regardless, I felt compelled to help. The circumstances are unimportant. There is no need to mention her struggles, or the relationship she and my wife enjoy. The only fact that's germane is that this person is in need and I am able to help.

There have been times in my life when strangers have extended a helping hand to me. It was just five short years ago that my daughter Meghan was involved in a serious accident. In that difficult time, my family was embraced by family and friends, but it was the actions of complete strangers that changed me forever. Nearly every day for six months a check would appear in my mailbox. Many times it would be from someone that I never met. The US field hockey community adopted my family and supported us until it was clear that Meg would fully recover.

Today I feel a solemn responsibility to give back when I can. Unfortunately, it seems that there is no shortage of people experiencing tough times. Unlike those who politicize the events that result in hard working people resorting to public assistance, I try to recall the kindness of strangers and say to myself "there for the grace of God go I". There is no shame in needing help.

I've been vocal in my support for the President and willingness to pay a little more to help our nation pay down its debt. On the eve of the election I restate the desire to do my fair share and ask everyone who reads my BLOG to look in the mirror before pulling the lever. Regardless of who wins the election I'll continue live the Christian covenant as my brother's keeper. Maybe one day it will be you that needs my help. It's my sincere wish that you don't need to suffer the kind of life altering tragedy I did to understand what this means.

Gotta Get out of NJ - sort of

I plan to work another 15 years, not because I have to, but because I love it.  Regardless, I hate NJ and want to find someplace to buy a second home that will allow me to change my primary residence and cease paying NJ income tax. I'll never truly escape because my family is here, but it is time to accelerate the search.

I really like Nevada, have a friend and golf buddy already there. If Bryn moves to CA this will be a  no-brainer.   The following is a list of criteria:

• cost of living
• property taxes
• unemployment rate
• violent crime rate
• climate
• population growth of the senior demographic

Talk to me Ed!

Romney & Company Shipped Every Single Delphi UAW Job to China

OK. Now I'm pissed!

I've said many times that Romney is the most dishonest politician of my lifetime. Not corrupt, dishonest.

Just last week he said during the debate, "I would do nothing to hurt the US auto industry."  This is yet ANOTHER BLEEPING LIE!

Here's the facts as reported in this week's The Nation magazine cover story "Mitt Romney's Bail-out Bonanza," the Romneys are in a special partnership with the vulture fund that bought Delphi, the former GM auto parts division.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RwG_sBQU7OQ

The Romney vulture fund investment syndicate shipped every single UAW production job - every job - to China.

The truth? On June 1, 2009, the Obama administration announced that Detroit Piston's owner Tom Gores, GM and the US Treasury would buy back Delphi. The plan called for saving 15 of 29 Delphi factories in the US.

Then Romney's vulture funds pounced.

The Nation discovered that, in the two weeks immediately following the announcement of the Delphi jobs-saving plan, Paul Singer, Romney's partner, secretly bought up over a billion dollars of old Delphi bonds for pennies on the dollar.

Singer and partners now controlled the company - and killed the return of Delphi to GM.

These facts were revealed in a sworn deposition of Delphi's Chief Financial Officer John Sheehan, confidential, but now released on the Web.

Sheehan said, under oath, that these speculators threatened to withhold key parts (steering columns), from GM. This would have brought the auto maker to its knees, immediately forcing GM's permanent closure.

The extortion worked. The government money that was supposed to go to save jobs went to Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Management Corporation and its partners, including the Romneys. Once Singer's crew took control of Delphi, they rapidly completed the move to China, sticking the US taxpayers with the bill for the pensions of the Delphi workers cut loose.

In all, three hedge funds run by Romney's million-dollar donors have pocketed $4.2 billion, a return on their "investment" of over 3,000 percent - all care of the US taxpayer. The Romneys personally earned a minimum of $15.3 million, though more likely $115 million - a range their campaign does not dispute.

Frankly, I DON'T SUPPORT the way Obama allowed speculators to crank the US taxpayers for $12.9 billion in subsidies - losing almost all the auto parts jobs in the process.

But when I heard Romney, tell the nation, "I would do nothing to hurt the US auto industry," it really pissed me off. This guy cannot be trusted! Everything that comes out of his mouth is a carefully conceived fabrication designed to fool the low-information voter.

Hello, anybody home?

Stream of Consciousness

So I've been considering how to best identify the general theme for my BLOG. My readers are probably equally confused. Posts have ranged from my struggle to conquer personal demons, to my political perspective, and understanding of economic theory. It should come as no surprise to those who know me that my posts have jumped from one topic to another. My daily life is often a self-inflicted jumbled chaos. I can't sit still. My mind races to either analyze what's been done, or to plan how to best prepare for events on the horizon.

Sometimes the chaos intrudes upon my dreams, with entire sleep cycles lost to an invasion of job stress or the excitement of anticipation. I wish I knew how to turn off the images that flash uncontrollably in my head, but I don't. Instead I toss and turn all night, or awake suddenly at 2:00 AM fully alert. On these occasions I've no option but to rise and act upon what ever issue is assaulting my psyche for control of my thoughts. Last night was one of those nights!

I went to bed at 11:30 and fell fast asleep. To the best of my knowledge it was restful, until 2:30 when I awoke for the first time. From that point forward, until I got out of bed at 8:30, a freight train of sounds accompanied the lighting storm of images that agitated all attempts at sleep. No single thought won the battle. It was just a constant stream of consciousness that tortured me until I my only option to stop the "noise" was to get out of bed. 

Perhaps stream of consciousness should be the ongoing theme. It seems a natural extension, the essence of who I am. Stream of consciousness is a form of interior monologue which claims as its goal the representation of a lead consciousness in a narrative. This representation of consciousness can include perceptions or impressions, thoughts incited by outside sensory stimuli, and fragments of random, disconnected thoughts. Stream of consciousness writing often lacks "correct" punctuation or syntax, favoring a looser, more incomplete style.

Do I have any other choice?

The Energy Independence Myth

I'm so sick of hearing people bitch that the price of gas has risen under Obama! Listen up numb-skulls - oil prices are determined on world market just like the prices of wheat and corn. When a drought in Asia sends up the price of wheat, we will pay more for wheat in the United States even though we are a huge net exporter of wheat. Similarly, when the world price of oil skyrockets, people in Canada pay more for gas even though they are energy independent, as would we in the USA if we were energy independent.

A lot has been made of the Obama's lack of support for the Keystone Pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the US' Midwest and Gulf Coast. I won't support the POTUS or debate this issue because I lack sufficient information to take a side. Unlike most people I know, I won't espouse an opinion unless it's based on thorough analysis. I never speak unless I'm certain of what I'm saying.

Depite my inability to offer an opinion on the merits of the pipeline, I can say with aboslute certainty that it would have no impact on our price of gas. All one needs to do is look at what Canada is paying. The country is energy independent. Canada has also been celebrated by Republicans as having courageous politicians that have been willing to kick environmentalists in the teeth. How has this benefited the people of Canada? They only have to pay $4.00 a gallon for gas.

Anyone that has studied economics understands that being energy independent doesn't mean anything unless the country is at war and somehow cut off from foreign oil supplies. If this is our concern then drilling out our oil and gas now would be assinine. It would mean that the resources would not be there if we ever face such a crisis. I'd like to take credit for this suggestion, but it is a reality that was taught to me by an economist I follow - Dean Baker.

I wish others would take some time to santize their conclusions before sharing them with the world!

RIP Mrs. Allen

Earlier this week I returned from a business trip to attend the funeral of a woman I did not know particularly well; certainly not well enough to refer to her by her given name. Our interactions were limited to the few occasions when I would see her and Mr. Allen at a field hockey game. Her granddaughter is one of Bryn's former teammates, closest friends, and a young woman I've grown to love as a daughter. By the time I met her grandmother, Mrs. Allen was not the person that was being eulogized. Time and dementia had robbed the world of what I've since come to learn was an amazing woman.

The funeral mass was the most touching ceremony I've ever been a part of. Although my attendance was intended simply as a small measure of support for the Allen family, I now realize that I benefited from being there far more than any comfort the Allen's could have derived from me. Sitting in church it was impossible to not recognize that Mrs. Allen was the center of her family, that she was deeply loved and respected by all who knew her. Even an outsider like me could feel her spirit uniting the family one last time. There were several instances when it was difficult for me to contain my emotions, but none more so than when the grandchildren gathered, after the presentation of gifts, in a group hug that was as genuine an expression of true grief that I've ever witnessed.

The experience was a stark contrast to my mother's passing, when I didn't shed a single tear. That probably says more about me than my mother, but I don't think it's unfair to say that there was a very different vibe at Mrs. Allen's funeral. Although somber, it was a celebration of her life. A palpable sense of pain and joy engulfed the sanctuary. It was a privilege to observe a family say goodbye to its matriarch in a manner so foreign to my personal familiarity.

I'm so very thankful for the opportunity to watch the Allen's say goodbye because it reminds me of the legacy I'd like to leave for my children. They've not been blessed with the love of adoring grandparents. Deb's mother passed before they were born, forever changing my father-in-law. And somehow the grandparent gene wasn't inherited by my parents. To this day I remain confused as to how my grandparents were so attentive and loving to me and my siblings, yet my parents were so disinterested in spending any time with my children.

I think that I can finally let go of that pain because I now can internalize the image of just how wonderful an extended family can be. I cherish my life with my family and friends. Instead of dwelling on the pain of the past, I can focus on continuing to build a future. Mrs. Allen has left a indelible impression on me. I thank her for showing me what is truly important. One day, hopefully many years from now, my family and friends will celebrate my life, recalling that I was always there for them, and will be able to say goodbye content in the knowledge that my love for them will continue long beyond the days I walk the earth.

Racial Overtones - Will Your Vote be Influenced?

Just how angry was the American public at the Bush Administration? We elected a black President. That day was hailed as a seminal point in U.S. history, a sea change in race relations. Yet four-years after an election that inspired hopes of a post-racial future, the Republican Party seems hell-bent on dragging the nation backwards. 

"We're at a tipping point", said Susan Glisson, director of the Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi. "But I don't know which way we're going to tip."

Her concern is based on something called "implicit bias" - prejudices that people don't realize they have. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive to prejudice because of my Hispanic roots. My mother had a dark, olive skin tone. She was a beautiful young woman bearing a resemblance to Lena Horne. As a child my friends would often ask if my mother was Puerto Rican or black. Not that it matters, but we were told that she was Spanish. I never really knew. Regardless, I've always been very sensitive to prejudice and have taken a strong stand when I think an injustice has been done. 

Implicit bias is a curious thing. I've known people who make patently racist remarks and then vehemently object to be characterized as racist. They are so blind to the affliction and shocked to be confronted that they react as if they're defending their very life. I have first-hand experience with just such an incident. A Michigan field hockey parent that I was very close to ended our friendship because I objected to the raciest stereotypes he posted on Facebook. It was a sad day, and I miss my friend, but there are some wrongs that are too important to ignore.

So what does this have to do with the election? Sorry. My readers will come to realize that I have yet to completely master the ability to distill colliding thoughts into a coherent message. Tangential diversions from the theme may occasionally confuse the audience, but I'm hoping that you'll come to realize that nothing I do is ever a simple process.

Anyway, back to the election and implicit bias. Studies show that longstanding negative stereotypes about African Americans have produced a segment of the population that harbors anti-back biases yet don't even know it. You've heard the stereotypes. Blacks are inherently dangerous, unintelligent, or prefer welfare to work. Such unconscious biases are present in people of all backgrounds, not just whites. The disturbing thing is that the Republican Party knows it, and is fanning the fame of prejudice for political advantage.

Turn on the television. The Republican ticket is flooding the airwaves with racially-charged commercials designed to pit middle class whites against the minority poor. Republican ads accuse President Obama of gutting the work requirements enacted in the 1996 Welfare Reform Act.  Another alleges that Obama redistributed $716 billion from Medicare - a program serving an overwhelmingly white constituency - in order to fund ObamaCare - a program for poor blacks and Hispanics. The ads are intended to reinforce each other's claims, and to exploit the implicit bias of whites. 

If the claims were true I would not be condemning the ads as repugnant falsification of the President's policies. Unfortunately for you and me, they Republican Party will stoop to any depth to win back the Oval Office, even if it means inciting a new race war in this country. But don't take my word for it! The Washington Post's fact checker, Glenn Kessler, gave the ads his lowest rating - "Four Pinocchios".  Politifact was equally critical, describing the ads as "a drastic distortion" deserving of a "pants on fire" rating. 

There are so many reasons that I could not vote for Mitt Romney. My issues with his economic policies are paramount, but no less objectionable to me is his total lack of character. As if his position du jour is not enough to question his character, I cannot rationalize how a supposed "man of faith" could be so flexible with the truth. Flexible is the new Republican word for lie. Nor can I fathom how he could willingly endorse a campaign strategy that is intentionally divisive. 

If I influence just one person to take a stand, and cast a vote against racism and divisiveness, this post will have been worth the effort. I'm not suggesting that Obama is perfect, or that the Democratic ticket does not stretch the truth in its ads. They most certainly do. The difference is that the Republicans are inflaming old resentments. The Romney campaign is ignoring criticism about accuracy and veracity in favor of  blowing the dog-whistle of racism. We all know what "take our country back really means.