Show Me The Money !!!!

Despite the GOP's lack luster attempts the derail the money train, the House signed-off on President Obama's $819 Billion "rescue" plan. The mindset being: the stimulus package will get money into the economy quickly and it will invest money in projects that supposedly will have long-term economic benefits.

That all sounds good but there is one nagging question that nether the White House nor Congress have been able to answer. What happens if this stimulus package turns out to be a dud like the last one, what then? What is the fall back plan...is there a plan "B" ? And more importantly, why isn't the government seriously studying these questions before signing off on $ 1 Trillion gamble ?

And while were on the subject, has anyone in Congress bothered to look at the more than 600 pages of the stimulus bill ... at a rough guess I would say "hell no." Why would they, it's Christmas time in Washington and all the little boys and girls on both sides of the aisles are getting stocking's full of goodies paid by the tax-payers of today and Christmas yet to come. Yes Virginia can we say pork...like a lot of unnecessary items hidden in the fine print of the stimulus package. Juicy items that amount to hundreds of millions in spending that wont help the economy.

Last time I checked, money like that doesn't grow on trees and we just don't print up more and chalk up everything to experience. But in the long run it's only money right? After all, our kids wont mind picking up the tab for our Christmas goodies...that reminds me, I want a gas guzzling, environmentally unfriendly, Ford F 150 pickup truck, with a pulley in the front and 32 inch spinning rims.

Hey, its Christmas in January and I've been a very good boy.

State of the Economy...The Axe-Man Cometh

The economic numbers that came out today are bad ... real bad.

Job losses announced today--over 50,000!!!

White collar, blue collar, or no collar the axe-men is looking to chop your head off. Massive lay-offs across all sectors of the economy in all income strata: Cat laying off 20,000, Home Depot 7,000, GM 2,000, Sprint 8,000, Phizer 8,190, IBM 2,800, Texas Instruments 3,400. Some economist are whispering that the national unemployment rate for 2009 might reach 9 to 10 percent. On the housing front, home price data indicates that were down 25 percent from the peek in 2006 in terms of home prices. And last but certainly not least, the January consumer confidence index hits a record low...(37.7).

Who would have thought, a deteriorating economy eroding consumer confidence...go figure.

But lest we despair, there is some good news to be found. Even though the job losses are rather glum, there is a ray of light at the end of tunnel. We can be all thankful that 9 out 10 of senior executives that were at the controls of the banking system which had to be bailed out still have their jobs and are hard at work figuring out how to spend the $825 Billion stimulus package coming down the pipe!

Capitalism hard at work...who could ask for more?

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If At First You Don't Succeed... Spend, Spend Again

A few days into the Obama Presidency and the government is getting ready to write more checks with no funds to cover them. Our new Commander and Chief wants Congress to sign off on a new stimulus package worth $825 Billion dollars! And the best part of all, we the tax payers don't to get to say anything on how it gets spent. Lets recap: last year the government in its so-called infinite wisdom give the finical institutions that drove our economy over the cliff $3oo Billion to get credit flowing again. That money was given with no oversight, which led to banks buying more banks but no money being made available, so therefore, no available credit leading to our current economic paralysis.

Now the new sheriff in town wants Congress to write out another check, without any oversight. And this is going to help us how? Lets be clear on this, the tax payers of this nation are shareholders in the banks, yet we get no say in how they run their business and that is not acceptable. The cold hard truth is that our lending institutions have ruined our economy and they are being rewarded for their greed and incompetence. Enough Already! President Obama and Congress need to stop spending our children's money and show some real leadership and nationalize the banks. We have already socialized our lending institutions by bailing them out, so we might as well go all the way and have a voice on how our money is being spent and invested. The American people need to get angry and make it clear to their elected officials... the spending spree needs to stop.

Another stimulus package is obscene and doesn't solve the problem... accountably and good old fashion oversight and transparency are needed. We are courting disaster if we continue down this path...

Changing Of The Guard

The new President of United States of America was sworn in today with much fanfare. Barack Hussein Obama, 47, in his inaugural speech promised a new era of "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." The 44th president of the United States has a lot of work ahead of him and very little time to accomplish it... three years and if he is lucky, a second term. The most powerful weapon President Obama has in his arsenal is the vast majority of Americans want him to succeed and a complaint Democratic controlled Congress.

From this moment on the honeymoon is over and the hard job of leading our nation back from the abyss begins. Of course we will hear a lot of saber rattling about the first "100 days" being a litmus test of the new administration but the ultimate success or failure will take longer. All this notwithstanding, urgency is the key word that needs to be used. Like former Vice President Al Gore stated in the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", "we don't have a lot of time to play around with this stuff." Time is ticking and the world is not waiting for America to "rediscover itself" or grow up and lead by example. Hate to sound like an alarmist, but our window of opportunity is very small and we are in serious danger of becoming irrelevant or worse yet, a "Sunset Power" as Korea has called us, using military might to prolong our fading American empire. Time is indeed ticking and the hour is very late and we all know the outcome if our government continues to ignore the problem, continues to undermine the tenets of our democracy. The next eight years will be real crucial for our country and no amount of political lip service from our elected officials is going to be sufficient to stem the tidal wave of pain and suffering if we don't make the hard choices now.

Like all Americans, I smile at the thought that forty years after Dr. King led the fight to wipe away the ugly stain of segregation in our country, we celebrate the inauguration of the first black man to become Commander and Chief. Today is a moment in American history that our great grandchildren will read about and rightfully so. Its not everyday, that we witness a tremor in The Force.

RIP Number 6...The Village Will Never Be The Same Without You

Patrick McGoohan (1928-2009) who starred as a British spy in the 1960s CBS series "Secret Agent" (also known as "Danger Man") and won two Emmys for his guest appearances on the detective drama "Columbo" passed away on January 13th. He was 80. McGoohan most recently appeared as King Edward Longshanks in Mel Gibson's Academy Award-winning film "Braveheart."

McGoohan was most famous as the character known only as Number Six in "The Prisoner," a 1968 British series about a spy who resigns from the intelligence service, only to be abducted and held captive in a mysterious haven known as "The Village." There his overseers strip him of his identity in their attempts to glean information, while thwarting his attempts to escape. The show was a stylistic science fiction fable that was a masterpiece that sadly was misunderstood during it's initial run back in the sixties. AMC is preparing to bring the show back to television in a "reinterpretation" starring Jim Caviezel (The Passion of The Christ) playing the lead, Number Six. Ian McKellan (X-Men, Lord of The Rings) co-stars as No. 2, the mysterious second in-command. The show premieres sometime later this year.

Mr. Magoohan was one of the most brilliant and creative minds in television history and literally an inspiration to a generation, myself included. He was an enigma and a visionary that refused to pander to the dictates of media and instead of doling out mindless drivel disguised as entertainment he choose to create stories that were thought provoking (something that is sadly lacking today) and bold. He successfully combined poetry, philosophy, drama and social commentary like few of his contemporaries in broadcast television and film. Number Six has left "The Village" but he will not be forgotten.

Thanks For the $11. 5 Trillion Memories

According to the most liberal estimates, the Bush Presidency has cost the U.S taxpayer about $11.5 Trillion. The Obama administration is expected to inherit a $1.2 Trillion deficit from the Bush crime family and that figure doesn't factor in the recent stimulus package and the cost of the Iraq war which is estimated to cost another $6 Trillion. The final numbers could end up being about $20 Trillion!!! That is the price tag for eight years of neo-conservative policies and cowboy style, "shoot-first-die-with-your-boots-on" gun-boat diplomacy.

This is a snap shot of America today and it wont get any better until the broad citizenry get involved, hold their leaders accountable and take back our democracy. One thing that history has taught us is "real change that you can believe in" doesn't drop down from the sky, it comes from the ground up and it becomes a moral imperative when the "unwashed masses" scream to the leaders, "get it done, or else!" No matter how well intentioned, President-elect Obama isnt going to change anything unless "WE THE PEOPLE" demand change and hold him (and all of Congress) accountable.

The days of writing blank checks that our children are going to have to pay for need to stop. Our nation needs a real plan for the future instead of a new stimulus package which is going to cost the government another $850 Billion. The ship has run aground and the Captain and the Crew need to to start bailing water otherwise, unlike the movie "Titanic", the band is not going to play on. The first decade of the 21st century is almost a done deal, in many ways it is very reminiscent of the way the last century started and that is a very sobering and frightening thought. I sincerely hope it will not take another Global War and tens of millions deaths to jump start our economy and get a "New Deal" written into law.

RIP Ricardo...You Will Be Missed

Richardo Montalban, the mexican born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and best known for his role as the white-suited Mr. Roarke in the television series "Fantasy Island" (1978-1984) and more recently, he appeared as villains in two hits of the 1980s: "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (which was by far the best movie in the whole series) and the farcical "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad."

Perhaps his most important work was off screen, where he founded the nonprofit Nosotros (WE) Foundation to improve the image of Spanish-speaking Americans on the screen; to assure that Latin-American actors were not discriminated against, to stimulate Latino actors to study their profession. Mr. Montalban was widely respected for his efforts to create opportunities for Latinos, although he and others believed that his activism hurt his career. He also achieved a cult status fronting a long-running series of car commercials, in which he was seen smoothly extolling the virtues of their "soft, Corinthian leather" interiors of the Chrysler Cordoba – a great marketing invention apparently (there's no such thing).

For my part Mr. Montalban was part of a small select group of actors(Yul Brynner from the Ten Commandments is another example) that was the total package, smooth, charismatic, courtly and dignified. He embodied an era of hollywood and a style of acting that is sadly gone forever and will never be duplicated. One of my fondest memories of Ricardo involves a 1974 TV movie,"The Mark of Zorro" starring Frank Langella as the masked avenger and Ricardo as Captain Esteban -- the oily and cocky villain that you loved to hate. No matter the role, Mr. Montalban always made you believe he was that character...he will be sorely missed

Still Not Even Close

The next time your conservative friend tells you how fiscally responsible Republicans are, or how soft Democrats are on terrorism just look them square in the eyes and thank them for their insightful observation. Of course, right after your heart felt thank you, don't forget to ask them, "by the way(fill in the blank), how is your 401k?", or "did you get your unemployment extension?." I am sure, they will probably have a really interesting and enlightening point-of- view, take, or explanation.

After all, bringing democracy to the rest of the world at the point of a gun and fighting terrorism is worth a little inconvenience. So what if your 401k has gone belly up, or your job laid you off, or your house is not worth the value of the mortgage your still paying for, or someone you loved has died in the debacle of Americas invasion of Iraq. The really important thing is that we are a much safer country then we were eight years ago and Saddam Hussein is now in the company of 27 virgins. As far as our standing in the international community, and our badly bruised economy...hey, at least we are a few days removed from our first black Commander In Chief and George Bush gets to work on his Presidential library on your dime.

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Dr King... His Dream, Though Unrealized, Still Endures

The MTV generation would mostly likely be shocked to observe that it was only about forty years ago that blacks, even highly educated ones, were routinely denied the right to vote or participate on juries. It really wasn't that long ago that they weren't allowed to eat at lunch counters, register at motels or use "whites only" bathrooms, they couldn't attend certain schools, universities or churches, nor could they buy or rent homes wherever they chose. In striking contrast to the present landscape, it was only a little over a generation ago that blacks could not freely participate in professional sports or the mainstream entertainment industry and they most certainly could not hold positions within state and federal agencies. Some rural enclaves in the South compelled them to get off the sidewalk if a Caucasian walked by. Dr. King's nonviolent movement swept all those institutions aside and its victory was so complete that even though those outrages took place within the living memory of the "baby-boomer" generation, the events seem like ancient history.

It should come as no surprise that Dr. King is the second most admired person in the 20th century according to a Gallup poll and was voted 6th in the Person of the Century poll by TIME magazine. On the international scene, Reverend King is one of the ten 20th century martyrs from across the world that is depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London. His legacy includes influences on the Black Consciousness Movement and Civil Rights Movements in South Africa. Dr King's work was citied by and served as an inspiration for another black Nobel Peace prize winner who fought for racial justice in that country, Albert Lutuli. Despite the fact that the mainstream media and the church have never come to terms with what Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for during his final years -- his dream, though unrealized, still endures.

Dr. King was indeed a Pastor, not only on a congregational level, but he ultimately became pastor of the entire nation as a whole. Inspired by the majesty of God and fueled by the power of Love, Dr. King dared to have a dream and gave his life to redeem America's soul. It is a testament to his greatness that nearly every major city in the U.S. has a street or school named after Dr. King. It is a measure of how sorely his achievements are misunderstood that most of them are located in black neighborhoods.

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To Digital Convert Or Not to Convert..That Is the Question?

For over three years the National Association of Broadcasters has been telling us that change was coming, that analog was going to become obsolete and digital was going to become the standard format in 2009. This change was mandated by Congress in 2005, requiring broadcasters to switch from analog to digital broadcasts, which are more efficient and to free up valuable chunks of wireless spectrum. The newly available room in the airwaves can be used for commercial wireless services and for emergency-response network.

Now at the eleventh hour, President-elect Barack Obama is urging Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital television broadcasting, arguing that too many Americans won’t be ready for the transition. The Obama transition team decided to push for a delay after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration admitted that it had hit a $1.34 billion funding limit set by Congress to pay for converter box coupons. The coupon program allows consumers to request up to two $40 vouchers per household to help pay for the converter boxes, which generally cost between $40 and $80 each and can be purchased without a coupon.

The Bush administration and the Consumer Electronics Association, opposes a delay in the digital transition, mostly on the grounds that first responders urgently need the analog spectrum, as do innovators waiting to deploy innovative new wireless broadband services and the government and broadcasters have invested so much preparing for the transition date. For once I agree with our lame duck President, the time for procrastination is over. The genie has been released from the bottle and there is no turning back, the future is here, and whether we are ready or not the digital age is upon us.

I understand there is uncertainty, frustration and confusion among consumers and too many Americans who relay on analog TV sets to pick up "over-the-air" channels wont be ready. But the proposal to put off the transition, if even for only a few months is not the answer -- the problems with the coupon program can be fixed without forcing a delay. It might sound cruel but the future is not for the meek at heart, the final frontier envisioned by shows like Star Trek is fraught with danger and incredible rewards... adapt and evolve or stagnant and become extinct.

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The Economy ... Still Not There

A few days ago I posted a blog regarding the state of our economy. The malls of America may give the appearance of business as usual but according to the dismal numbers cited in the story below, the reality is far different for retailers.

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Gamers, The Military Wants you!

Just when you thought you and the Master Chief had saved the Earth from the evil alien scum bent on destroying humanity the call to arms is sounded again!

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Were Laying-Off The Polar Bears?!?

Pinch me I must be dreaming.

The richest and most exciting city in the world is so cashed-strapped that Gov. Paterson’s budget proposal would eliminate the Bronx Zoo’s entire funding in two years along with funding for living museums across the state which includes the New York Botanical Garden and Wave Hill in the Bronx. The hack and slash numbers are as follows: the 2009 fiscal year state budget for the New York Zoos, Botanical Gardens Aquarium Program will be reduced from $9 million to $4 million. And funding would be be eliminated entirely in 2010 under the proposal.

So is this what it comes down to? Is this the message we want to send to the rest of the world? New York city forcing its Wildlife Conservation Society (which runs the city's zoos and aquarium) to send some of its animals out of state, letting flowers die at the gardens, reducing staff positions at museums. Pretty darn sad if you ask me, and totally unacceptable when you stop to consider that the taxpayers burden for the new Yankee Stadium stands at $374 million, and the "Amazing Mets" tab is around $435 million!

Yup, you heard right.

Billions of dollars, readily available for new sport stadiums and the so-called war on "Terror", but not a dime for protecting and sustaining cultural institutions and living collections that make living in New York so desirable. The cupboards are always bear on that account. Perhaps the ancient Romans had the right idea -- give the masses Bread and Circuses and you can gain the whole of the world with minimal protest. Unfortunately, the Bread we receive in the great American Empire is rather moldy and the Circuses in most cases, not worth the price of admission. According to legislators in Albany, the beauty, the fresh air and the refuge the gardens and living museums offer is to be consigned to history's dustbin.

Hail Mediocrity

The NFL playoffs are underway and my beloved Jets are on their annual post season vacation. The thing that amazes me is the stunned and angry legion of long suffering fans that actually thought this season would be different. Call me cynical, but the story was a foregone conclusion from the moment Brett Favre was signed.

To Recap: Chad Pennington was cast out to make room for Favre, create some buzz and help sell tickets. The Jets won a few games, looked good for a few weeks, there was talk of Super Bowl run, then collapse. The final act which surpassed any Hollywood yarn, featured Pennington the cast-off leading the Miami Dolphins, (who had a record of 1-15 last season) against his old team, beating them with ease and best of all, clinching the AFC division with a regular season record of 11-5. Chad who won the Comeback Player of the Year award and the Dolphins go onto the playoffs (where they got demolished by the Ravens) while the Jets look for a new coach to correct the sinking ship and wait for Favre to announce his retirement.

Not to pat myself on the back, but I saw that "ugly duckling" ending the day Pennington was sent packing, lets be honest, it couldn't have unfolded any other way. Unfortunately that type of ending is all too familiar to New York sports fans. We hope and pray, pay outrageous ticket prices, slurp stale, water-down beers and in the end are left wondering "what happened?"

This is just a thought but maybe "We the Fans" are the problem. Maybe the fans are not appreciating the greatness that comes from choking and losing year after year. Instead of crying about not making it into the playoffs or failing to deliver another champion title after waiting so long, we should celebrate the fact that our respective teams went belly up like the economy. Call me crazy, but we need to look into immortalizing hapless losers as much as we celebrate winners.

Yeah...we could even have a Super Bowl or World Series dedicated to the best of the worst teams, we could call it the Mediocrity Bowl. And lets face it, if there was such a thing, most New York sports franchises would win every year...

Yup, I can see it now, the fans screaming at each other across the parking lots "My teams is worse than yours, where going all the way, baby!"

No Time for Winners.... cause WE are the Losers... of the World!

All hail mediocrity.

The Economy... Are We There Yet ?

Sorry to be a Gloomy Gus, but the worst is yet to come.

In a nutshell the federal government and our families continue to pile up debts that exceed the ability or will to repay them.
According to the latest data, our country has been in a "recession" since December 2007, retailers claim the holiday season of 2008 was the worst in the last twenty to thirty years, the national unemployment rate will go as high as 10 percent with no turn around until 2011, and the housing market will remain stagnant at least until the third year of President-elect Obama's administration, and last but certainly not least, the debt due on the Iraq war is lurking on the horizon. Welcome to 2009 !

However, I am beginning to believe we are moving in the right direction to solve some of our problems. The U.S. and other governments have been acting aggressively. The bailout became the de-facto law. Other steps have been taken to to thaw the credit markets and interests rates have been lowered around the world. But resolving the problems will take a substantial amount of time, and there's always the risk that the folks up in Washington will play politics with the economy rather than working together for a solution.

Prediction: Don't expect to feel comfortable any time soon. Even with lower interest rates and firm government action, our economy is still bleeding badly and the Doctor on duty doesn't accept our health coverage.

Belated Merry X- Mas and Happy New Year

Its a few days into the new year and already the middle east is in full crisis mode, the American economy is still in the dumper and the New York Jets are yet again on their annual post season vacation. 2009 promises to be a real roller coaster ride...lets party. But before we all strap-in and take off into land of fun and mayhem I would like to take a moment and reflect on Christmas and Santa Claus and why they are so desperately needed. Yes, I am an old fashion kid that still believes in Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life."

I could ramble on about the whole spirit of Christmas and good will towards all men and women but that stuff is pretty self-evident and if it is not, then we as a community are really in deep trouble. Christmas is about something that our world needs badly and perhaps more importantly, what our inheritors, the children that shall inherit the Earth need to sustain them in the years and decades to come. This something I speak of is called Hope. It begins with and is nurtured by and sustained within the individual heart. And even when you think it might be lost, you can find it again if you look hard enough.

My take on Christmas and the gift of hope can be summed up in one little letter and editorial response. On Sept. 21, 1897, The New York Sun published what was to become the most widely read letter to a newspaper.

It was sent by 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, who lived with her parents in Manhattan.

Below is the full text of that letter and the reply written by Sun editorial writer Francis Pharcellus Church.

Dear Editor, I am 8 years old.

Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.

Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so."

Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon

115 W. 95th St.

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God he lives and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10 thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Should Star Trek & Star Wars be allowed to fade away ?

Note: I posted this on Robotech.com(April, 28, 2005) purely to get a feel for the state of fandom regarding Star Trek and Star Wars and whether it was time to finally let go of our childhood adventures rather than seeing them dragged through endless sequels purely to make huge amounts of money. I got many responses, many of which were truly classic... and with the advent of a (Omg!!!) a new Star Trek movie directed by J.J Abraham's and a new Star Wars TV series on the horizon, the two beloved franchises are not going anywhere. Go figure...


Star Trek Enterprise has unfortunately run it's course and will soon go off the air, sad news considering the show was pretty good and getting better in terms of story-lines. Paramount claims that it's time to give the Federation a rest...

After two very forgettable prequels the Star Wars franchise has been reduced to a money making sci-fi kiddie romp living of its past glory. Even with all the money and film technology at his disposal, Geroge Lucas has utterly whored himself and his golden cow out.

Despite the monetary cosiderations and 'Corporate Realities' the question that begs to be answered is: Has the time come to let go of our childhood favorites. SHOULD Star Trek and Star Wars show some dignity and bow out of the mainstream pop culture ?

IMHO Kirk, Spock, Luke and Han were and still are the best...unfortunately all good things, even in Galaxies Far, Far Away come to an end.

What do the real fans think ?

By the way...lets keep it polite and friendly.