Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Republican Radio Shows Have Highest Ratings

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

I am sure the Democrats will have a testy or humorous comeback to this, but I just read an article in a recent edition of Forbes Magazine that the three highest rated radio talk-shows in America are Rush Limbaugh 15.3 million weekly listeners, Sean Hannity with 14.3 million and Glenn Beck, with 9 million.

Meg Whitman Fights Claims of Racism and Job Outsourcing

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay is running for governor of California, we all know this.  We also know that eBay grew leaps and bounds under her watch, and made her and many eBay employees and investors phenomenally wealthy.

The fact that people from around the world, from all walks of life and all political slants utilize the eBay platform to earn a living, seems be lost on Democrats who would elect a French poodle over any Republican, regardless of their pedigree.

When opponents cannot come up with any real beef against a candidate they grasp for straws, so let’s toss the racism card at Meg, since after all, she wants to control illegal immigration from Mexico.  A perennial candidate for office, Stewart Alexander, makes these “Meg Whitman is a racist” claims for no other reason than because he can.  He claims, and I quote, “Whitman’s position is racist and discriminates against Mexican-Americans.”

Immigration Control Benefits Mexican-Americans

Huh? If anything, it helps Mexican-Americans in the view of non Mexican-Americans in that there won’t be a question if they are here “legally” or if they are undocumented.

There is a huge difference between immigrating legally and going through the proper procedures versus hopping a fence and avoiding border patrols.

This leads me to a man named Osama Bedier.  Osama, who?!  Osama Bedier is the Vice President of New Ventures at the eBay subsidiary, PayPal.com.

osama-bedier-paypal-ebay

Osama-Bedier-VP of PayPal-eBay

Would a woman hire a man named Osama if she were a xenophobe? Or did she hire Mr. Bedier because he was the best candidate?  That is something few democrats grasp, Silicon Valley and start-up companies work on merit – if you are great, you are greatly rewarded.  If you are mediocre or lazy, you’re gone.  There are no unions here.

Another jab at Whitman has been that since she is pro-business, she will outsource all jobs to a far-away land, like India, and all the “real” jobs will vanish.  Something to chomp on here – ex-eBay and PayPal employees have spawned companies such as YouTube.com. LinkedIn.com, Yelp.com, and Slide.com to name just a portion of the long list.  In other words, she hired really smart people who left to start new companies that also hire really smart people and create more jobs.

Meg Whitman will likely become California’s next governor, despite taunts and jabs from democrats that have no muscle behind them.

Stanford Grad Damon Dunn for California Secretary of State

Monday, April 19th, 2010

It’s funny, Democrats want the lower class of our society to believe they are their only friends, and that without government, they are doomed to wallow in their misery for generations.

Democrats want us to believe that without social programs we will all wilt and die.  Now some programs are good, don’t get me wrong, but they are a crutch not a solution. Food stamps have helped many many families get through rough patches in their lives, but it is a short-term solution not a lifestyle as some have made it.

When I see a person who has come from nothing and has become something and someone, I am always curious to hear the story.  How did they do it?  What did they do differently that others could model?

In most cases it comes down to two things: education and hard work.  There are no shortcuts.  I tell my 7 year-old daughter this every day: “Do what you have to do first, and then you can do what you want to do.”  TCB – Take Care of Business.

This leads me to Damon Dunn, who is running for California’s Secretary of State.

Ex NFL Player Damon Dunn for California Secretary of State

Stanford grad Damon Dunn for California Secretary of State

Damon, who spent part of his childhood living in a trailer and who’s mother is just 16 years his senior, was an outstanding athlete but also a superior student who was accepted to Stanford, arguably the finest university in the world.  Yes, he played football, but unlike so many underprivileged athletes that let their scholarship go to waste, he took full advantage of his surroundings.

Damon Dunn suited up for a few games in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, but was never a star and never made any real money playing ball.  He realized he was essentially a fringe player and retired in his mid-20′s to pursue a business career, and it appears to to have been the correct choice.

Just 34 years-old, Damon Dunn appears to be a rising star within the Republican party with good looks, an athletic build, charming smile and a real speaking style – a complete opposite of the lecturing college professor-style that currently resides in Washington D.C.

I look for my politicians to be well rounded, to have held a real job and not be trust fund babies.  I want to be able to relate.  If you are looking for the future of the Republican party, it might be the guy who has overcome hardship through the virtues that have made America great – self-reliance, perseverance, not quitting, regrouping when something isn’t working and trying something else and most of all, hard work.

For what it’s worth, Damon Dunn has my vote.

Omni Berkshire Hotel in New York, Unions and the Mafia

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Is organized crime involved with union affairs in New York City?  Is the mob involved with their daily operations, work stoppages and protests?

I was in Manhattan last week, and while on my way to a meeting there was a big commotion with banging drums and a group chanting, “union…union…” across the street from the Omni Berkshire Hotel on 52nd and Madison.  There was a 10-foot tall inflatable rat placed in the street directly in front of the hotel’s main entrance to imply the hotel’s management is rodent-like in their dealings with their particular union.

Omni Berkshire Hotel New York Union Protests and The Mafia

Omni Berkshire Hotel New York Union Protests and The Mafia

It was a small gathering, maybe 20 guys who looked like rugged dudes from Hollywood Central Casting, if there indeed was a call for longshoreman and construction workers.  The guys were mostly standing around looking like rugged union members tend to look, while a couple of loud-mouths did the screaming into a distorted bullhorn.

And then I saw him, in the sea of ruggedness, there he was.  We made eye contact, and I made him.  He wasn’t rugged, and he wasn’t a loudmouth.  He was standing behind the barricade next to the HVAC guys, looking like a leftover from a Soprano’s episode.  He didn’t wear a well-worn paint-stained t-shirt like the rest of the guys, calloused hands or a weathered leathery skin from decades of working in the elements.  No, he had perfectly combed, slicked-back hair, a designer sweater and gold chain around his neck.  It wasn’t a Sir Mix-A-Lot rope chain, but it wasn’t purchased at Zale’s for $99.00 either.

He looked how “muscle” is supposed to look, or at least how it’s portrayed in the movies.

Could he have been there to protect the “interests” of someone or some group, or protect the union workers from being harassed by hotel security or a local beat cop?  Maybe.

Could he have simply been the well-dressed son of one of the protesters hanging out in the middle of the afternoon showing solidarity and support for his dad’s union?  Maybe.

Teen Pregnancy – Give Teenagers Free Condoms

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

At least once a week I see a girl no more than 16 years old who is visibly pregnant.  She will have a child in kindergarten before her 21st birthday, and possibly be a grandmother before her 35th.  The chances of this girl graduating college are close to zero, and the chances of her finishing high school aren’t high, either.  She likely will not marry the father of the child, and the father likely will not or can not support the baby when it is born, or at any point through its 18th birthday.

My solution is one that will piss off the Religious Right and the “Just Say No” camp, but their solution does not and never will work.  Kids are horny, and one thing leads to another, and saying no is easier said than done.  Guys will forever convince the girl, that “it can’t happen the first time,” or the girl will convince the guy by saying, “don’t worry, my period just ended, it’s impossible for me to get pregnant,” or the infamous,” it’s ok, I know my body.”

Give kids condoms.  Yes, there you have it; I said give kids free condoms, all the damn condoms they want.  Hand them out in gym class, put fishbowls full in the restrooms, and send them home with their report cards.

I can hear the cries now, “OMG, you are endorsing pre-marital sex?” and, “how can you condone teen sex?”

Well, guess what, kids are having sex today, they had sex last week, and they will have sex next month, and there is not a damn thing you can do to stop this.  And guess what, Leticia will get knocked up, and Johnny, the sperm supplier, who is in the 11th grade and holds a 2.5 GPA doesn’t have a job.  That leaves me and you and our over-extended tax dollars as the god-parents responsible for buying Pampers and baby formula, and paying for immunization shots.

You can be holier-than-thou and say this is wrong, and keep believing that abstinence is the best policy, or you can be a realist and understand that hormones rage when the bucket seats are reclined.

Look at it this way – this child will be your dependent for the next 18 years, and possibly much longer if he or she happens to fall into our criminal justice system.  You could have prevented this from happening, with the donation of a single condom to Johnny and Leticia.

MBE MWBE Minority And Women Owned Business Scams

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Are you a white guy or maybe you know a white guy who owns a business or company that bids on government business and keeps losing out on work to minority and/or women-owned businesses because they get preference on certain contracts?

Yes, we all know how ridiculous these programs are – where a wealthy kid from let’s say, Singapore, comes to America to get his MBA on daddy’s dime.  He then gets a gig at Company X who agrees to sponsor his H-1 Visa so he can get a Green Card.

Packing his Green Card and on his way to citizenship, he ventures out on his own and opens up Singapore Sling, the latest in military weaponry – laser-directional stealth slingshots, and your direct competition.

Now with citizenship paperwork in hand, our newly-minted American is bidding on government contracts, and since he is now a certified MBE, the acronym for a minority-owned business, his operation now gets bidding preference over your true-blue American company on certain set-aside contracts.

Let’s review and get this straight: He comes from a country where he is of the majority, not disadvantaged or poor, but comes to the land of milk and honey and low-and-behold, he’s now a disadvantaged minority!  All he has to do is make sure all his family money is off-shore in his family’s name and he’s set.

What to do now, Mr. Non-Person-Of-Color?  Guess what…you, too, can own one of these Minority-Owned companies, Mr. White Man!

I am assuming you are single and straight.

Go to a mail-order-bride website and choose a girl from a country where the people are yellow, brown or black hued and get hitched.  Of course not all brown people, Africans or Asians are considered minorities, so choose wisely.

Next, jump through the ICE hoops and bring her home.  Soon thereafter she will get her Green Card and a few years after that she can be a full-fledged US Citizen, although in New York and some other states, she doesn’t even need to be a citizen for MWBE certification.

New York MWBE Program Certifies Non-Citizens

New York MWBE Program Certifies Non-Citizens

Teach her the ropes so she understands the business model, print up some cards saying she is the President and CEO, give her 51% of the stock, and you are now in a winning position.  Your slingshots are now getting even more of a preference over Singapore Sling’s because your wife is not only a minority; she’s a woman, too!  The only thing that would make it better was if she happened to be disabled.  Hmmm!

Yes, folks, this is how absurd our government’s programs are – a rich SOB from another country can come here for school and just because he happens to be the correct shade on the color bar, he is now a disadvantaged minority – even though he never experienced discrimination, never heard of Rosa Parks and only is familiar with Martin Luther King because of the holiday.

Pathetic.

Google look alike site Goojjle launches in China

Monday, February 8th, 2010

China once is again showing why patents and copyrights are meaningless, and why companies who hold such intellectual property cannot trust the Chinese government.  A Google look-alike site called Goojjle has launched in China, yes, China allows a fake Google.

Goojjle a Chinese Google Look Alike

Goojjle a Chinese Google Look Alike

Google has had a well-publicized spat with the Chinese government regarding its alleged hacking of gmail accounts, and threatened to leave the country.  This bodes well for Baidu, the Chinese-run search engine, and the rip-off artists who take others’ ideas and copy them for their own profit, without risk of backlash from the lawless Chinese government.

A similar site in a country with enforceable laws would have been taken down almost immediately, with cease and desist letters sent within minutes of Google’s legal department becoming aware of the site.

It is pretty clear that China’s government is no friend of the United States legal system, and has no interest in enforcing laws within its borders so long as it can benefit monetarily.  Our government seems to turn the blind eye when it comes to foreign relations with China, not wanting to upset them for fear of something, of which I am not certain.

While I am a huge proponent of using their limitless labor pool which helps us monetize the Chinese market from sales of McDonalds, Coke and eBay, any company that decides to use this labor to build a patented product should do so at their own risk.

Chinese Search Engine Baidu Sues Register.com

Monday, January 25th, 2010

There is some real irony here as Chinese search engine, Baidu, is suing Register.com, it’s U.S. based web hosting company for allowing hackers to penetrate their servers and take down their site.

Baidu tops Google in the Chinese search market with a 60-percent market share, and after service was reinstated, they posted the following on their homepage: “The fault of register.com led to the malicious and unlawful altering of the domain name of Baidu, which made thousands of people unable to visit baidu.com and brought serious losses to Baidu.”

The hackers re-directed Baidu traffic to a page that read, “This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army.” These are the same folks who have allegedly hijacked several other well-known sites in the last few months.

A company headquartered in a country with little litigation and nominal copyright protection, that is also believed to be behind many high-profile cyber attacks themselves, can sue an American company for negligence. That is funny, but not in the ha-ha fashion.

I realize this is our system, a system that offers outsiders all the protections of citizens, but that same system can also be our downfall when we offer these rights to those who can abuse them for the benefit of their government.  Certainly if the tables were turned, a US-based company would have little or no recourse suing a Chinese company on Chinese soil, just ask Bill Gates and Microsoft.

Welcome to The People’s Republic of Berkeley

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Why are some really smart and intelligent people Democrats?  It’s a really good question to ponder, and most of these Democrats cannot really tell you why, other than “because.”

I had lunch with a friend recently who is a registered Democrat, and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, arguably the finest public university in the United States.  This person graduated with a degree in Economics, and a grade point average north of 3.5.  If we add up the thousands of hours of studying in high school to keep an A-average that is required to gain admittance to Berkeley, unless you are a star athlete or an “under-represented” minority, and the additional thousands of hours to achieve the high class-standing, it is staggering.  The level of sheer commitment and dedication is not only admirable it is commendable.

In review: UC Berkeley graduate who studied for thousands of hours over an eight-year period to find a great job, earn a healthy salary, drive a nice car and live in a clean, safe neighborhood is a Democrat.  Q: Why? A: Because.

When asked if he felt that it would be correct to have some of his wealth re-distributed to level the playing field of life, there was a prolonged silence.

He asked for clarification, so I said, “I’m sure you know some people from high school that decided to hang out instead of study like you did, who made some dumb life choices and are now janitors, un(der)-employed or out on parole, right?”

He said, “Yeah, so, we all do…what’s the point?”

“Well, they made a choice to hang out on the corner, not study or skip going to class, while you were busting your ass to get in to Berkeley, right”

He said, “Yeah, so…the point?”

“Well, your president, the guy you voted for would like you to help them out, and not just with a hand, but a hand out…and not just once or twice, but basically forever,” I said.

“Essentially, what I am asking is this: Do you believe you should be rewarded for all your hard work, or should you be penalized for succeeding?”

“Rewarded, of course,” he said.  “Why the hell should I be penalized for doing the right thing?” he asked.

My point exactly!

Why can’t more democrats and self-professed Obama lovers read between the lines and see reality? Tax investments, money that was already taxed the first time?  Over tax and target the very people who start the companies that hire our citizens? This defies all logic!

Should I, he, you, or anyone who does the right thing have to support others until the day they die simply because they are too lazy to look for a job or study for a class?  I am not speaking of down-on-their-luck, disabled, handicapped, mentally or physically challenged folks here, but rather those who made bad choices and make no effort to remedy the situation.  Government assistance, unemployment benefits and food stamps all have a place in our society to help people and families get back on their feet, not to become a way of life.

In San Francisco, for example, the Community College, City College of San Francisco has campuses all over town which are accessible by bus. They hold day classes, night classes, weekend classes…classes during the summer, spring and fall, and even winter session.  If you cannot afford the tuition there are waivers and grants; if you need child care that is also offered at no cost. Pretty sweet deal.

The People’s Republic of Berkeley

Berkeley is a unique place, where freedom of speech means that your speech better be in alignment with their opinions, or you will be shot down (figuratively), assaulted (physically) and censored.  I can understand how peer pressure can turn influential 17 year-old freshmen into Kool-Aid drinking liberals, the same way a particular dictator spread goose-stepping throughout a region.

Yes, Berkeley is a place where wearing a “Proud to be a Republican” t-shirt may lead to a physical assault by those who believe in freedom of speech…Welcome to The People’s Republic of Berkeley.

Chinese Government Blocks Yahoo Meme and Social Network Sites

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Let’s expand to China…let’s invest in China…China is the fastest growing economy…China this and China that.  The Chinese government has been savvy enough to control the better portion of their 1.3 billion citizens and silence the ones who have gotten in the way.

Supposedly if you are on Chinese soil and search Google for “Tiananmen Square” you will not receive any results that mention a student revolt, death, demonstrations, worldwide outrage – nothing like that.  This link to the Huffington Post illustrates the point succinctly – China censors Google. Of course, Google allows this to happen, but that is not the point of this article.

Tienanmen Square Student Tank Protest

Tiananmen Square Student Tank Protest

Chinese ability to muzzle their citizens is masterful, bordering on amazing.  Yahoo has a microblogging site called Meme, that is now available in Chinese, but the world’s largest audience of Chinese speakers and readers cannot access this site because the Chinese government has blocked access on the mainland.  Yes, Yahoo’s Meme in Chinese is not available in China.

Facebook, Twitter and many other blogging and social networks have been blocked at times or are currently blocked to Chinese Internet users.  Some members of the government believe that increased online access can lead to social instability and unrest and have requested that websites “monitor” content.

If faced with these restrictions in the USA, there would be a revolt of citizenry, as we are accustomed to and granted certain freedoms, whereas the Chinese are just now able to own personal property, wear (fake) Nike shoes and watch (bootlegged) Hollywood movies.  My question is, are we as Americans better off with China becoming more open and democratic or with their government running the show?