Bangladesh Cyclone Deaths

On tonight’s news we learned that a Cyclone in Bangladesh killed 580 people and in 1998 another Cyclone KILLED 158,000 PEOPLE!!! All this death and destruction occurred without the incompetence of a FEMA and incompetent Louisiana and New Orleans government. Just imagine how many more would have died if they had a Ray Nagin as their mayor.

When All Is Said and Done

A while ago I saw the results of a study on the effects of various political parties in power versus the stock market performance. The conclusion was that the stock market has historically gone higher when the Democrats are in power than when the Republicans are in power. However, the stock market has had it’s best historical performance when power is split between the parties for example a Republican President and a Democrat Congress or visa versa. The study concludes that a split government causes gridlock resulting in little new legislation, which is best for the stock market and, presumably, the economy. You may have heard the adage “When all is said and done, more will have been said then done.” A split government results in lots being said but little being done which is ideal for the economy and stock market performance.

Feeding The Soul

I’ve heard that food feeds the body, books feed the mind and music feeds the soul. Tonight our souls are well fed. We attended our fourth live outdoor concert on the Redondo Beach pier. These concerts are held every Saturday and Tuesday nights all summer long for a total of 19 concerts. No two concerts have the same genre and they always include audience dancing. The genre tonight was Zydeco and one of the audience dancers was almost as entertaining as the live music. What a great benefit of Southern California living.

Extremism (what I believe)

One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of extreme is: “exceeding the ordinary, usual, or expected” I note lately that it is increasingly difficult to discuss the “ordinary, usual, or expected” without being contradicted by well meaning but misguided people who focus on the extremes. I am as guilty as anyone else. We tend to be the product of our environment that forms our beliefs and our judgments. Some people are influenced by daily newscasts, some by pop culture, some by their personal daily contacts, some are influenced by all or a combination of the above. A case in point is the impression of Muslims. If you watch daily newscasts you see suicide bombers, kidnappings and beheadings by Muslims on a daily basis. It would be reasonable to conclude that Muslims are violent fanatics. If you are exposed to Muslims in the US on a daily basis you see peaceful, gentle, hardworking people. It would be reasonable to conclude that Muslims are peaceful, gentle and hardworking people. I believe both of these views are in the extreme and do not represent the “ordinary, usual, or expected”. I believe that Muslims in the US are not representative of the vast majority of Muslims who happen to reside in countries that are governed by Islamic law. All of these countries are autocracies and most are theocracies. (Note that some of these countries CLAIM to be democracies but they are no more democratic than was soviet Communist Russia in the 60s that also held elections periodically but surprise, surprise, the communists always won.) This is what I believe: 1. I believe the vast majority of Muslims are very religious and feel so strongly about their religion that they are contented to be governed by people of a like mind. 2. As such, they do not crave freedom as we know it (i.e. freedom of religion and speech). 3. They hate (may be too strong a word) the west because we are non-believers and tolerate decadence. 4. I believe that some verses of the Qur'an in their historical and literary context sanction military action against non-believers as a whole. I also believe some verses of the Bible condone the same thing but there are fewer strict Bibelists (new word) than strict Islamists. This is what I believe based on my environment. What do you believe?

Doublespeak

Is it just me or has the art of doublespeak gotten out of control. I started thinking about this last month when the sheriff of LA county defended his early release of Paris Hilton unapologetically as a "reassignment to home"!! When people try to disguise their actions or beliefs they seem to find words that are less offensive or less controversial. This is true in all fields of endever especially politics. Anti abortionists call themselves pro-life. I guess the word anti has a negative connotation to some people. Pro abortionists are not any better. They call themselves pro-choice. Probably because the word abortion has a negative connotation. I don't think people that call themselves pro choice are any more pro choice than the people who call themselves pro life are really pro life. Here are some recent examples of doublespeak: redeploy rather than retreat revenue enhancement rather than tax increase investment rather than spending fairness doctrine rather than free speech suppression rightsizing rather than layoffs undocumented worker rather than illegal alien recycle collection area rather than junk yard negative patient care outcome rather than died ethnic cleansing rather than genocide Doublespeak is not new by any means. Here are some historical examples: pre-owned rather than used passed away rather than died sales associate rather than clerk friendly fire rather than fratricide mentally challenged rather than retarded sanatation engineer rather than garbage collector maintenance engineer rather than janitor Do you think doublespeak is getting worse? What are some of your favorite doublespeaks?

Sixth Sense

We just returned from 3 days in Las Vegas. Stayed at The Orleans on Tropicana Ave. again. We really like that hotel. The rooms are huge and clean, service is good (not like Sean's cafeteria) and they have a great buffet (although we use it less and less as our appetites diminish). We have stayed there so often they send us special deals on rooms, meals and shows. Already made reservations for this September. Did not attend a show this time but did our share of slots, shopping and walking. Nancy bought me a new driver for my birthday next month. Can't wait to use it tomorrow. Our gambling losses were well within expectations thanks mainly to Nancy. She amazes me at how she can walk up to a machine occasionally and know it is about to pay off saying "This one is talking to me.". It does not happen often but when she gets that feeling she is usually right. An amazing sixth sense!

Spoiled Brat

Paris Hilton

Paris is a pathetic character whose parents gave her everything she wanted and now they are defending her actions claiming that police are just picking on her.
I think Warren Buffett said about inheritance: You should leave children as much as they need to do whatever they want but not so much that they can do nothing. Hear Hear