Pulpdiddy's Place

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I write, research, and edit this blog. I work on the search engine and handle all technical matters. I wish I could devote even more time to it but I work and have a family and there’s so much out there to enjoy. This isn’t an excuse or even an apology for quality or content – I’m just letting you know my reasoning for my Sunday posting. Except for posting this column (which I will repeat every Sunday), I take the day off.

Of course today like any other day you can use the search engine to see earlier column and topics. Though I have been wrong at times in my prognostications I believe I am right more often than the pundits out there. I have goals, sure, but not when I make a prediction (unless, of course, I start out with “I hope this will happen” or something like it). Check it out, use the search engine.

In addition to using the search engine there are slide shows to look at, you can make a comment on any of the columns, or check out the sites I have listed in the blog roll, and if you’re in the mood to shop, click on the Amazon logo, make a purchase (remember not to log into your account until you are prompted at checkout). With a purchase I get your thanks, a buck or two, and your privacy is not disrupted.

As for today, enjoy!

Voltaire would have puked. These days a narrative is developed and no matter what the reality is, the narrative remains. The Mittster created jobs alright, perhaps not 100,000, and perhaps lots of misery was caused as divisions were spun off and companies bled dry until they went bankrupt. But he did create jobs. Unfortunately for those who bother to analyze just a teeny weeny bit it’s just not the creation of jobs but of what type. At Staples and Domino’s and Sports Authority you have a whole bunch of low paying retail clerk positions, about at minimum wage. Sure, there are some management positions but those are rare.

This is the thing about minimum wage – it sucks and you can’t live on it unless… you room with others, or stay with your parents, or don’t have a car, or get food stamps, or use community resources all the time – find books at the library, shop at the 99 cents store, obtain medical care at the community clinics, or a combination of the aforementioned. I’m not saying any of the previous is bad, but it certainly isn’t easy and there is no cushion for any accidents or emergencies that can put you right out onto the street.

Romney probably thinks he’s a job creator. That’s the thing; there is so little self awareness out there. People can talk themselves into anything. Like breaking a company so that you can squeeze out a few extra million for yourself. I’m not talking about the negative aspects of such a thing, I’m not even talking

about the Ben and Jerry’s experiment (which has ended) of the no more than 7 to 1 ratio between the highest and lowest paid employees. What I’m writing today about is the need for self-awareness. An honest Romney pitch would be – “I made oodles of money and I was good at it. I believe my capabilities as a Governor, and head of the Olympics and earning money show that I can lead and that I have leadership abilities. Though I have never led anything on the grand scale of the U.S. government, I believe I have the talent to do so.” Of course, the Mittster will never say such a thing. It’s far too honest.*

Politics, like business is full of bullshit representations. Suddenly, austerity is a key word for tea-baggers, right-wingers, Republicans, and everyone buying into their talking points. And supposedly many of the aforementioned believe that someone who has earned a large profit for themselves and their class of owners can run an austerity campaign. Even if you were to take austerity seriously as a way to stimulate an economy (it’s not) how you could think that Romney, or someone like Carly Fiorina, could run a government when the way they deal with problems is to cut jobs and outsource? Another of the right’s heroines is Meg Whitman who as the new leader of Hewlett Packard, is cutting about 8% of the workforce, composed almost all of U.S. workers. At the same time she is maintaining or increasing outsourcing. How does that prepare one to run an economy?

College courses in accounting and economics are broken down between private and public sectors. It’s true that public accounting jobs, especially after generations without proper review, tend to lead to get

sloppy and wasteful – but that is true of just about anything. Of course a goal should be to minimize waste. The right fails to see that there are two sides to this. Those in the private sector also have to understand that the means for making a profit do not necessarily work for a whole economy. If waste has an ancillary benefit of creating more jobs than it costs, it is not necessarily bad thing. The components and result of the waste must be analyzed. To really comprehend this the scope can’t be narrow; you have to see the whole. And be self-aware.

*Though I’m singling out Romney for the sake of the argument, the problem is wide-spread.

Raw Story notes that TED Talks, which promotes a rotating series of speeches advertised as by the “greatest thinkers of our times” included some time ago a talk by Nick Hanauer, a Seattle venture capitalist. This was back in the days when the Occupy Movement was mostly just an idea. Hanauer’s speech, according to TED, was one of its most popular, yet the organization

then decided to not use his speech again. The theme? That the rich do not create jobs; that instead job creation is caused by pressures from a healthy and developing middle class. Here’s some of Hanauer: “That’s why our current policies are so upside down,” he said. “When you have a tax system in which most of the exemptions and the lowest rates benefit the richest, all in the name of job creation, all that happens is that the rich get richer.”

“Since 1980 the share of income for the richest Americans has more than tripled while effective tax rates have declined by close to 50 percent….” “If it were true that lower tax rates and more wealth for the wealthy would lead to more job creation, then today we would be drowning in jobs. And yet unemployment and under-employment is at record highs.”

Pressure from Raw Story and other organizations led to TED relenting and reissuing Hanauer’s talk. Why the need for pressure to begin with? Was there other pressure from someone with big bucks?

Boehner and the other Congressional leaders are trying to devise a plan to show that they are not to blame if healthcare is invalidated by the Supreme Court. Of course this is ridiculous as it was Republican leadership in state after state that led to the present crisis and the Supreme Court taking up the case. It was also the federal Republicans that weakened the best

proposals of the original healthcare when the bill was first introduced. As is the case with Republicans, the extremists are dominators and the Republican leadership consists of the submissives and ala the Paul Ryan budget the Republicans whole healthcare concept is full of “I haven’t thought that part out yet” and “Trust me, I will.” Yuck.

I can’t think of a better place to meet women then the library. Except perhaps at a bookstore because there you know they also have a few shillings. Which would be a great help if I could tap into any else’s shillings because I surely don’t have any. After they canned me from my Human Resources job after only 6 months of doing nothing (a slight miscalculation there, I expected it would take them 10 months to figure out about my non-existent work output) I was in for a rude awakening as I had already spent my next month’s wages that I now would not be getting. Obviously they are more observant at that company than I thought.

I went to Barney Grenoble to check out the titles, to flick through a few pages, to suck in the atmosphere of such a place, and to look for chicks. As usual I didn’t say anything to anyone and after a short while focused on the books. The problem is, I never know

what to say. The whole routine is so intimidating! But looking for romance in a bookstore is more romantic than, say, speed dating as there is always a fallback – the books. I end up picking up a book (much easier than a woman) and get lost in the pages. And that’s what so great about the books as whatever you are in the mood for its already there and ready to be read. There’s no coy, no signals to read, no demands, no confusion of its own desires, there’s just the desire to read and to be read.

For once I was sensible and left Barney’s and did the short walk to the library. What a place! Books, the internet, a working bathroom, meeting rooms…give me a couple of sandwiches and a TV and I could snuggle up there forever.

This library, by the way, definitely has a Marian and she is almost as beautiful as Shirley Jones. I smile now that I see her and think of the song, especially the last stanza as Robert Preston

says: “But when I try in here to tell you, dear I love you madly, madly, Madam Librarian…Marian It’s a long lost cause I can never win For the civilized world accepts as unforgivable sin Any talking out loud with any librarian Such as Marian…..Madam Librarian.”

Ssh.

A Special Note: I am still traveling and hope to be back to my home base by late tonight. Because of my trip Neurotic Man will appear tomorrow. I apologize for any inconvenience.

As Natasha Lennard at Salon.com noted in her column of May 7, 2012, these are rough times for Occupy. the Media, usually fickle, has ceased to find the Occupy Movement noteworthy. No matter what the future holds for the movement Occupy has been responsible for causing the national debate and review of income inequality and the perception of individual economics. Due to Occupy terms such as economic inequality, the 1% and the 99% have become part of our everyday lingo. As Lennard notes in her column when Occupy events have caused the Media to report additional stories on economic realities for the majority have increased fourfold.

As we move toward the summer months protest like so much in nature will surely bloom. Those discouraged by the news coverage of Occupy these last few months, include all of the May Day activities, please note that the Civil Rights Movement took decades and the Vietnam War took close to a decade before our troops were withdrawn from that hapless war. This is not to say that protest results should take this long, it is just not uncommon. Meanwhile, the Occupy movement continues to take its baby steps forward.

Any discussion about cuts in federal spending, to be taken seriously, should begin with those programs based in fear such as defense, homeland security, and incarceration. We still spend hundreds of millions on military equipment that is obsolete from the minute we build it. Most importantly, we compete in the world marketplace with our GDP hampered by these fear based expenditures while countries such as Japan and Germany do not have that disadvantage. Having such economic hindrance is a silly way to try to strengthen our economy.

Our current prison system is another source of economic folly. As the New York Times reported on March 26, 2012, about 1 out every 100 adults in the United States are in prison and overall we incarcerate about 6 times more than the world median. It is a “we’re number one” category we should not be proud of. In this column I am not debating toe positives and negatives of incarceration other than the cost to society does note end with a convicted person’s release. For those incarcerated we spend roughly $40,000 per inmate per year. In the case of non-viplent crime there should be a way to cause the convicted person to work off their crime thus providing a benefit and a limited cost to society. In addition, societal costs including costs to the family which has ripple effects for generations, is thus mitigated. Let’s develop sentences that are not just based in fear and punishment but in what is best for the community.

Hopefully, if someone is an alchoholic they don’t work in a bar. And if someone is a compulsive gambler hopefully they don’t work at a casino or a race track. Somehow or another, compulsive gamblers that work at our financial institutions not only remain but are encouraged. There is a high to making that bet, waiting for the results. It is becoming apparent that those who led Chase Bank’s latest fiasco did not completely disguise their activities and others at the Bank knew of them. Who would have thunk it? The bank world is full of enablers.

As I occasionally followed the corrupt follies of Rupert’s company I came to the realization that as much as I am attracted to redheads, I still find Ms. Brooks repulsive. It may have something to do with that person being introduced and kept in high society though that person is a dangerous snake whose main function is as a lackey for Murdoch. Now that she’s charged with obstruction of justice let’s see who flees for cover.

Carlos De Lunapaid was executed for a crime that he didn’t commit. It was a case of mistaken identity and the state execution happened about 23 years ago. A law professor and his team have come to this conclusion based on existing evidence. As upsetting as this case is it is also to be expected of the state that it took place in. While Arizona is the state that will limit human rights, Texas is the state that’ll kill you.

I’m travelling today – sorry for the short column.

So much of what we hear when it comes to economics is hogwash. First of all, the time perspective of our current problems as presented by analysis from both the right and left is too narow. As I have brought up before in this column, our current economic malaise didn’t begin with Bush, or even Clinton, they just exacerbated the situation. Think about it – in the 60′s an average worker could feed, clothe and house his family and provide some money toward his/her kid’s education. Jump ten years later and both parents are working to accomplish the same thing. Add another ten and at least one of them has a second job. A few more years and they’re maxxing out their credit cards and taking seconds on that house they once easily afforded. This is not the scenario of a healthy economy.

When you add the blood suckers playing the derivative and swaps games while the fat cats happily wave bye bye to American jobs as they outsource to a more compliant, more easily exploited group not protected by government regulation, the economic backup we had as a country is gone. Trying to prop uo an economy with a tax reduction (hey, if it’s over a few years it isn’t a cut, it’s a way of life – there are teenagers today that have had what we keep calling a “tax cut” for their whole lives) doesn’t cut it. It’s a lousy magic trick. Selling houses to people that can’t afford them also doesn’t cut it – another lousy magic trick. And insisting that it’s the fault of poor people with little assets and getting them to adjust to a life of eating poorly, with litle hope, and several families cramming together in one house like it’s third world redux also doesn’t cut it.

What is especially galling to me are the structural apologists like that asshole Brookes. It isn’t that we can’t afford decency for everyone it is that we won’t. The way to right the economy is for everyone. including the rich, to work toward our future like the nation it once was. Not Republicans demonizing the Democrats or the rich demonizing the poor. Bashing people who say positive things about civil and human rights. Instead, we can work together to make this country better by focusing on a concerted effort toward improving the future. If we don’t work together it doesn’t matter what the regulations are, it doesn’t matter what kind of tax benefits are provided, the country will continue to sputter. You don’t grow a healthy country by having part of it shitting on all the rest.

As in the past I am taking Sunday off. Have a pleasant day and to all of you out there who find this appropriate, Happy Mother’s Day!
Pulpdiddy

It started with Bill. He couldn’t keep it in his pants and then exacerbated the situation by trying to play lawyer semantics. Ridiculous. In order to make nicey nice with the

haters he did a reverse monica and didn’t see the okie doke and ended up taking one in the kidneys. Credit derivatives and swaps, speculative banking, all the bad shit came back…it all got its turnaround when Bill got monica’d.

Obama, even without being monica’d found himself getting the same sort of kidney punch. This one was delivered by his advisors two-fold, first of all by L.S. who decided it wasn’t important to let the President know that there were those on the economics team who thought that 800 fat ones wasn’t nearly enough to handle an economy that needed at least 1,200 of them. And then there was the ferret, who said “you don’t need to regulate these guys,” and “I got your back.” Geithner was wrong and more wrong and the mess continues; there is much suffering and hunger and loss of self-esteem and if you think esteem is hippie talk check out the great economies in history and you’ll see that success ran hand in hand with how the citizenry felt about itself. And the Summers way, and the Geithner way, which has become the Obama way, isn’t gonna close the deal, and the pain parade rocks on.

Meanwhile, the Bankers play with other’s money. It’s their game only because we let it be so. They outta be in a cell, either psychiatric or criminal – your choice. The creep that cost Chase 2 billion and had the catchy nicknames (you know that Chase, the one whose officers made fun of anyone else in trouble, the Chase we insure) earned about 100 million last year. Shit, I could lose 2 billion for them at a fraction of the wage and everyone would be happy.

It’s not that I’m really against the various police agencies. It’s just that for the most part that they’re ill trained (lack of funds) and in many cases don’t even know they need more training. It’s the type of profession that needs constant reinforcement of the training but hides behind bravado and macho tendencies. The cops have to deal with an unnatural situation – to see so many problems and we don’t do nearly enough to keep those working from having the PTSD take them over.

I watched the video of Kelly Thomas, the homeless man in Fullerton, who appears to have been beaten to death by members of the police force. It is one of the saddest things you’ll see. First of all, it took me all of ten seconds to recognize that Thomas had a mental disturbance and it took me another ten seconds to realize the first cop on the scene’s interpretation of Thomas was that he was high on something. That’s part of the problem with police training – a supposition is developed and everything after is shoved into that box.
At one time in our communities there were facilities and there were doctors and social workers and people like Thomas were assisted. That’s what developed societies do – they help those who require assistance. They don’t dump them on the street without any help except for a monthly SSI check.

So Thomas didn’t understand what the cops were asking of him. And the cops didn’t realize that Thomas could not fathom their requests. And now he’s dead and there’s a jury trial but that doesn’t change a damn thing without understanding the problem and doing something to fix it.

The video of Kelly Thomas being beaten is below:

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O’Donnell got it right. Marriage between one man and one woman is a relatively new concept in mankind’s history. Even that bully, that emotionally frigid Romney, should know this as he comes from the Mormon world which has a history of polygamy. For those of you who are giving the president and the rest of us

grief with responses like “He didn’t go far enough” or “It was political”, fail to deal with the enormity of the first step. There’s no going back, some repressive states and their legislatures will balk, but the future is and should be equality for us all. I don’t give a shit about the president’s motivation – taking the step was the right thing to do.

Several news outlets had this headline Obama Loses Votes to Prison Inmate. As I’ve said before the news media, in addition to all of its crass tactics can also be subtle. Say the headline fast a few times. When you say the headline fast what you drop is the s at the end of Vote. The headline as constructed is awkward and obviously is meant to be read incorrectly. Scandalous.
At one time last names gave a clue to profession, such as carpenter, mason, potter, or tailor. One characteristic that remains is a trait to start acting a certain way based on profession. A person with no tendency toward certain action will behave differently when hired, say, as a police officer, for instance. When insufficient training is provided then it is common for behavior to be abnormally influenced by the environment. The result is often inefficiency, incompetence, even brutality. Tomorrow I’ll address this in greater detail with a column on Kelly Thomas.

The media, no matter the numbers, or philosophy, has grown tired of the Occupy movement. The dynamics of this change and how to get back in favor with the media will be discussed in a column early next week.

Watch how the anti-regulatory types will ban together and pretend to ignore this. Chase has a division devoted to lower risk investment keying on generating sound return for the bank in general. Instead the division invested in credit derivatives which offer high yield but a potential of great loss. The loss part kicked in and two billion was just flushed away.

Banking used to be boring but it was mostly composed of sound, steady investment targeting community improvement. Now it is games, it’s all games which doesn’t provide help for the development of the community and instead focuses on creating bloated wallets for the assholes who forgot what their job was like – before deregulation. The saying is old, it’s funky but it’s also oh so true – “If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem”.