Short Retort

Have you heard about the Teleprompter blog? A very clever person has created a blog done in the first person from Obama's teleprompter. Yes, his teleprompter. Obama is so dependent on his teleprompter that it has quickly become a joke. So now his teleprompter is speaking out about his new best friend. Perhaps what makes this so funny is that it is the first time since Obama has begun campaigning that anyone has come close to rediculing the man. Up until this, it has been almost taboo to say anything bad about the President much less to make fun of him. So it is refreshing, although illiminating, that the first person to poke redicule at Obama is doing so under the cover of his teleprompter. So if you haven't seen this and need to start off the weekend with a chuckle try out this website which I have now posted at the rightside along with the other recommended blogs.

Managing Change

Years ago I was part of a management “take over” of a casino. This casino has since been sold and I’m sorry to read that it is now going into foreclosure but back in the early nineties it was owned by Merv Griffin, the talk show host and producer of game shows. He had hired the president of the Harrah’s in Atlantic City to run his casino. Over the next few years this man also hired away from Harrah’s people to fill top positions at Merv’s casino including COO, legal councilor, CFO and VP of Marketing. It was the latter who had been my boss at Harrah’s and then he brought me over to Merv’s casino. I was hired to start a new Marketing Finance Division and given four or five employees from the Finance department.

Oh it was heady times! I remember that we laughed a lot back then. There was this great feeling of comradery as we exHarrah’s employees banded together with an us vs. them attitude. This was also the first time I was part of the executive team and it was exhilarating. In meeting after meeting we outlined what we were going to do, how we would implement all the things that worked at our old casino and try out new ideas that we were never free to try before. We were going to take this small underperforming casino and make it into something wonderful. We worked long hours but we didn’t mind. And every now and then we took time off to go to a cocktail party and hobnob with Merv where he came to know us by name. Could it be any more fun?

Sure there were some obstacles. Like the fact that the head of Finance, my actual boss, had no say about hiring me and then wasn’t thrilled by the fact that the COO and VP of Marketing continued to bypass her and go straight to me for information and assistance. And yes, my new employees were a bit resentful of me, too. In fact they didn’t like any of these outsiders coming in and taking over. In retrospect none of us were very “gentle” with the existing employees. We were also way too impatient in bringing about change and in doing so we stepped on a lot of toes. And God help anyone who would tell us “that is how we’ve always done it”.

By the time I was brought over, the top man from Harrah’s had already been at this casino for 2-3 years. In the casino environment that is a long time since the average duration of a casino executive is only about 2 years. I started in August and it was my bad luck that this man left the casino in early October. Then right before Thanksgiving Merv conducted a black Friday by firing a dozen or more of the top executives which included almost everyone originally from Harrah’s. Merv then brought in his own friends. The new President assured me I was safe, as did the guys leaving but sure enough, that January in another massive layoff I was fired.

Luckily my old boss quickly landed on his feet at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and shortly thereafter I was packing my bags to work for him there. This time I did a lot of things differently. Once again I found myself working for someone other than my old boss but unlike last time I no longer went around my new boss. In fact this time when the man who brought me there left, I stayed. And a few years later I followed my new boss to another casino, Rio, where the President was the same guy that had previously run Harrah’s and then Merv’s. Like so many businesses, the casino world is very small and you never know when you might run into someone from your past. (Ironically, today Harrah’s owns both Caesars Palace and the Rio!)

I am relating this story because I can’t help but see the similarities with Obama’s team. If my colleagues and I were exhilarated by our newfound power to control people and ideas and to bring about the changes we envisioned then I can only imagine the feelings of the new guys in power in Washington. I learned and became a better manager the second and then third time around. But for Obama and most of the people he brought with him this is their first time out and they don’t have the luxury to make rookie mistakes at our country’s detriment.

This biggest rookie mistake is to take on too much change. Yes you were “hired” because you had great ideas but neither employees nor the country can tolerate a lot of changes all at once. It is too much culture shock. Plus those hired need to spend time understanding their new jobs, environments and the people they work with and work for before they begin to implement any changes. And when they do make changes, they need to make sure that they have won over the old crowd who will then help and not hinder them in implementing the new directions. Instead of hitting us with so many changes in their very first budget, Obama’s team should have prioritized what the country needed most and focused on that in their first year.

When asked about overseeing so many changes, Obama laughed and said something about being able to think about more than one thing at the same time. Of course he can multitask. That was an egomaniacal answer and his accompanying laughter was very rude and condescending. This shows just how much of a rookie he is. For the real question is not if he can handle all his proposed changes but can the country?

Banking 4 Beginners

As many of my readers already know, I spent ten years in the banking industry and another seven years as a consultant to bankers. Admitting this is almost akin to saying you were a thief and a liar but not every banker is to blame for the mess we are in today. Anyway, I mention my association with banking for a reason. One aspect of my previous job was to help educate our banking clients. I spent a lot of time designing classes and writing what amounted to text books on banking. Over the years I gave numerous lectures on the industry ranging from very technical seminars with bank CFO’s to teaching the basics of banking to newly hired bank employees. I discovered that I had a knack in making the incomprehensible understandable. In fact, most of these classes and textbooks are still being taught today.

Truth be told, I miss writing the classes and giving the lectures. I also think there is a greater need than ever to explain to nonbankers just what is going on and why it is happening. So I would like to try to fill in this gap. I want to spend time delving into the history of banking and how we got into this mess. I lived through a lot of the changes that are impacting us today and can discuss some of this first hand.

I strongly feel that people need to understand the hows and whys of the bank failures, mortgage crisis and stock market declines. But the business analysts on TV are talking to each other and rarely explain what is happening in terms that the average person could understand. Plus the situation today is very complex and no one has the time or space to cover more than just the highlights. So there is a definite need to educate people. Therefore I am going to try to remedy this since I now have the time and genuinely enjoy discussing the banking industry and explaining difficult concepts so that anyone can understand them.

In the past I have already written a few blogs on banking. But I realized that PC Fugitive isn’t the right platform for what I want to do. So I have created a new blog: Banking 4 Beginners. There is a link to this on the right. I am using a new feature which not only shows the name of the blog but also the name and date of the last posting. This way you can see at a glance if a new article has been added in either my new blog or in Lorena Mae. However, unlike my original blogs, Banking 4 Beginners won't be updated a couple of times a week as many of the articles will require research which will take time. My goal with Banking 4 Beginners is not quantity but quality and to be informative without sounding too professorial or boring. So to try to achieve these goals will take a lot more time than my current blogs.

I also know that Banking 4 Beginners is not for everyone. That’s ok. I know this can be a very dry subject. The blogs might be long and I doubt if there will be pictures. And even though I will try to present information in an entertaining way it still won’t ever be that exciting. But life today is certainly “exciting” in a very scary way all due to banking, mortgages and economic problems. Yet most of the population doesn’t understand any of it. So if I could help to educate even a handful of people then my new Banking 4 Beginners blog will have served a purpose.

Short Retort

I am beginning to wonder just how stupid is Obama? First he and his handlers insult the British Prime Minister when he was here. Now for St Paddy's Day I read that Obama is planning a large party for American Irish lawmakers and leaders. Excuse me? That just seems so very insensitive. I might ask what were they thinking except that it is beginning to be quite evident that nobody is thinking at all in our White House. Next thing you know they will want to dye the White House green for their party...

* Update - I was joking when I wrote this on the night before St. Patricks Day. However I woke up today to news reports that although Obama didn't dye the White House green for St Paddy's Day today, he actually did dye the big fountain in front of the White House green!

Beck and Call

The President recently started a war of words with Rush Limbaugh in which the liberals quickly jumped on Rush, too. Now Limbaugh is a big man in the GOP (pun intended) but I think the far left would be better served to stop another man – Glenn Beck. In the long run Glenn just might be more of a threat to the far left than anyone else in the Republican Party.

Although a professed libertarian, Beck’s ideology is pretty much in step with conservatives. For years he had a radio show plus a half hour show on CNN where he was one of the token conservatives. This year he moved from CNN to Fox where he easily fit in. In his first few months with Fox the ratings for his hour long show at 5pm EDT has been a huge hit with ever increasing viewership. Then a few weeks ago he hit on an idea or more like a philosophy to help people cope with the world today. And if you haven’t heard about it yet, you will. For this is literally sweeping the nation and growing by leaps and bounds.

Glenn Beck’s concept is succinctly outlined in the name: You Are Not Alone. No, this isn’t about ET but rather for the millions of people who feel unwelcome in today’s society, who feel that our government does not reflect who they are and that if you believe the media, no one shares their values anymore. In other words, Beck is filling the huge void in the GOP by helping the rank and file feel empowered.

The basis behind You Are Not Alone are Beck’s Nine Principles:

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, libery and the pursuit of happiness but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

And his Twelve Values: Honesty, Reverence, Hope, Thrift, Humility, Charity, Sincerity, Moderation, Hard Work, Courage, Personal Responsibility, Gratitude.

Yesterday Beck kicked off what he called his 9.12 Project. This partly stands for his nine principles and 12 values. But it also symbolizes how most of the country reacted on the day after 9-11. As he put it, on 9-10 our heads were in the sand, on 9-11 we were scared and angry but on 9-12 people reacted as Americans always have by rising to the occasion and reaching out to help each other. Beck wants us to return to that kind of commitment based on the above values and principles. Anyone, regardless of race, religion or politics can be a part of this if they believe in seven of the nine principles.

Beck wanted this kickoff and the entire movement, in fact, to be a grassroots effort. So he asked his listeners to do a couple of things. First they could send in a picture of themselves. Unbeknownst to them, his show took some of the pictures and patched them together to make the picture on the right and found on: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/program/we-the-people.

Then he asked his audience to gather together to watch Beck’s show on Friday when he kicked off his movement. Oh my. I was completely in awe by the response. I don’t know the exact number but well over a hundred meetings were held throughout the country. Heck, there were easily five or six gatherings just in Central Florida. And I am sure Tampa wasn’t the only area where they were overwhelmed with over 1000 people wanting to attend so they had to find second and third sites to watch Beck’s show.

Glenn Beck has definitely tapped into the heart and soul of the American people with his principles and values. He not only is igniting the conservative base but he is also starting to draw fire from the far left and the media (yes some will say they are the same thing). They are still at the name calling stage but if Beck continues to attract more and more people than the media will get harsher.

This movement might fizzle out as swiftly as it was ignited. I hope not for it could become the next religious right or silent majority. A powerful group of citizens who could change America for the good by voting in men and women who believe and live these principles and value.

Failing Britannia

I am beginning to wonder if President Obama is running his State Department by an old quote from Moshe Dayan: “If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” The only problem is I am not sure if he first understands who our friends are and who our enemies are. In just six weeks this man has managed to offend our greatest ally and has been insulted by some of our greatest enemies. Yet President Obama still believes he can cozy up to truly evil and malignant leaders who openly despise America while in turn he belittles our friends with no impunity. Wrong.

Starting with our friends, which admittedly even before Obama was elected, was becoming an increasingly smaller list. Our staunchest and most loyal ally is Britain, of course. They still fight side by side with our men in Afghanistan, even sending in a royal son. For decades our President and their Prime Minister have had good working relationships, and frequently close personal friendships, too. Reagan and Thatcher immediately come to mind, as does Clinton and Blair and even Bush and Blair. Now, thanks to Obama’s rudeness, not only is there no chance of a personal friendship but the official relationship is at risk.

You may have already heard about this but only if you watch Fox or read conservative websites but those who only see the MSM evening news this will be new to you. To be honest, I hadn’t even realized that Britain’s PM Gordon Brown was here last week to pay a first visit with our new president. Maybe NBC, ABC and CBS all passed on the story because it showed Obama as being either ignorant at best or extremely rude at worst. But you can be sure the story was front and center on Britain’s papers.

So what was the problem? First, someone of PM Brown’s stature expects to receive a formal press conference with the two men and a state dinner. Apparently Brown’s office had to repeatedly ask for the press conference before it was begrudgingly set up and during it Obama “looked like he would rather be anywhere else” according to a British columnist Ian Martin. As for the state dinner? Forgettaboutit. Barack and Michelle have time for their new Hollywood friends but not for our greatest ally. There was no state dinner given to Britain’s Prime Minister, even though he had changed his schedule last fall to accommodate Obama when he was visiting England. The snub couldn’t have been any more obvious. And it got even worse….

A part of the ritual of a state meeting is the exchanging of gifts. Britain gave Obama a gift that a Downing Street spokesman said would “reflect the historic nature of the relationship between the two countries.” The gift turned out to be a pen holder made from timber of the historical anti-slave sister ship of the HMS Resolute whose timber was used to make the desk Obama was using. He also received a first edition autobiography of Winston Churchill. And in return? President Obama gave Prime Minister Brown a box of 25 DVD’s. Gee, just what he wanted; ET and Gone with the Wind. Oh, wait, it isn’t even formatted for use in England! Talk about a tacky, impersonal and disrespectful present, especially in comparison to the gift that was obviously hand picked just for Barack Obama. But the insults keep on coming.

In addition to this exchange of gifts there was also an exchange of gifts for the children. Britain gave the Obama girls dresses from a trendy store in England plus matching necklaces. The Brown boys got models of the President’s helicopter, a gift found in any DC gift store for $15. It reeks of bring picked out at the last minute.

Even before the PM’s visit, Obama was showing signs of a less than lukewarm attitude towards Great Britain. A famous bust of Churchill was loaned to President Bush after 9/11 and then the loan was extended after the 2004 election. Obama comes into office and one of the first things he does is tell the Brits he doesn’t want it here anymore. Excuse me? They were quite nonplussed and said he could keep it as a continuing sign of unity but our leader basically said thanks but no thanks and that was it. The bust is now sits in the home of the British ambassador in DC. This was an uncalled for and extremely rude and arrogant action by Obama. No wonder Britain is more than a bit nervous about their relationship with us now that Obama is president.

Some have conjectured that Obama has less than kindly thoughts towards Great Britain because of its historical treatment of Kenya, the home of Obama’s father. Additionally it was Churchill who put down the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya which included Obama’s grandfather. If this is true then it can only bode ill for our future relationship of our greatest friend. It also hints at a deception of Obama’s true loyalties. If he truly is more supportive of Kenya than Great Britain, it makes you wonder if he has been equally deceptive in his religious preferences, too. The bottom line, though, is that he will be placing the United States in a precarious situation if he continues to antagonize our friends while he simultaneously tries to cozy up to our enemies.

One last note: President Obama will be in England for the G2 Summit next month and recently received an invitation for tea with the Queen. British tabloids state that they couldn’t say yes fast enough. Amazing how quickly attitudes change when it is royalty wanting a meeting rather than the less than glamorous yet more important Prime Minister. This shows the shallow, arrogant and narcissistic personalities of President Obama and First Lady Michelle better than anything else.

Believe Me*

The President again stated today that "the cost of health care is the cause of bankruptcy every thirty seconds". In a later interview with Christina Romer, the President's Chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisors, a Fox reporter said he couldn't find where the President got that figure and asked Ms. Romer to respond. Her response?

"I think I am not going to talk about any particular statistic, the key thing is the idea". And later on repeated “I’ll have to check the facts but the key thing is the idea is absolutely true.”

*After writing my recent blog on Audacity to Tell the Truth I thought somebody should be pointing out when anyone in Washington, particularly Obama and his appointees, refuse to talk facts and instead tell you to hope or believe or that they just know something is true. I didn't realize that I would hear a blatant use of the "Believe Me, Not the Facts" rant just a few hours later. So I decided to go ahead and start publishing these myself. If you see or hear any, let me know and I will publish them, after I verify that they are true, of course.

Audacity to Tell the Truth

I had never listened much to Rush Limbaugh and must admit I wasn’t sure if I really liked the man. But after this weekend and all the uproar over his speech at the CPAC convention I decided I should see or rather hear for myself what he said. So I found a video on line and listened to his speech.

Wow. I apologize to Mr. Limbaugh for after listening to him I realized that I agreed with almost everything he said. There were quite a few things he discussed that hit home for me which I will probably be referring to over the next couple of weeks. Today, though, I want to give my 2 cents worth on the whole wanting Obama to fail hoopla.

Of course when the Main Stream Media (MSM) shows a clip of Limbaugh they always take it out of context and this was especially true about his remark on Obama failing. Make no mistake, Rush did bluntly state that he wanted Obama to fail. But it was the follow up that few people, other than those in his audience, heard.

First he said that he believed that if Obama’s economic policies succeeded it would mean, well, let me explain it in his own words. After reminding everyone that the Democrats made no secret that they wanted the Iraq war to fail, he went on to say “So what is so strange about being honest to say that I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?”

He continued to explain his point of view by saying that he wants the country to survive and how the country is under assault and that Republicans need to stand together and fight for what we believe in. It was all very stirring while at the same time rather scary. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stand and cheer or go out and buy a gun like so many people are doing today.

So I found myself agreeing with Limbaugh on his, well, you could put it as Rush’s audacity to hope that Obama fails. Except I wish he hadn’t said it out loud. For now, if or rather when, Obama’s economic stimulus plan not only fails to stimulate anything but drags our economy further down it will all be Rush’s fault, not Obama’s.

Obama is our rain man. In the old days a rain man was a charlatan who went from town to town promising a draught struck countryside he could make it rain. And if he couldn’t produce rain, most of these small towns didn’t string him up and run him out of town. No, because he brainwashed them into believing that it was their fault for not believing in him enough. That if even one person doubted that it would rain then it was the unbeliever’s fault, not his, that the skies remained clear and cloudless.

Can’t you just see the same thing happening here? Every time Obama announces something, such as his stimulus package or his budget, the stock market responds by dropping to lows unseen in more than a decade. But you know what? It isn’t Obama’s fault. It’s not that his nearly trillion dollar stimulus package won’t work; it’s that people and businesses don’t believe in it. And that’s all Rush Limbaugh’s fault for being so negative about these plans.

Come to think of it, maybe Obama’s doing a con job on America from the start. Argue that he didn’t have any experience? Argue about his questionable friends? Ask for details of what he wants to “change”? All these questions were retorted by being told you have to hope, to forget the facts, just believe in him. And now, Obama is leading this country with nothing concrete, no evidence at all that supports his “hope” that his outrageous stimulus package and budget will work. Once again the American people are told to turn their backs on evidence and facts and instead be governed by hope, by instinct, by what “everybody believes in”. The list of things you should believe in is endless; climate change and clean coal and open hands to our enemies, even now negotiating with Putin in “good faith” etc. etc. It is scary and frustrating and sometimes you feel like the world has gone insane. No one wants to be bothered with facts and evidence not when they are in contrast to their beliefs. Why else would Congress vote on a 1000+ page bill without even reading it? They just “knew” it was good.

So there stood Rush actually speaking cold hard facts. Even worse is that Rush dares to admit he isn’t a believer in Obama and wants him to fail. OMG. He actually realized the emperor is not wearing any clothes and then had the audacity to… not hope but to tell the truth. No wonder Obama has to squash Rush immediately for if he gets people to doubt Obama, to start demanding the truth then more will see Obama for what he is, a con man, and a fraud. The MSM has already been compromised so we need Rush, Hannity, Beck, O’Reilly and all the other men and women like them to stand up and tell the truth. And we, the citizens, should demand the truth from our government and media and stop accepting their lies, half truths and hopes.

Nixon/Obama

There have been a lot of comparisons of Obama to Roosevelt or Reagan or Kennedy but I am beginning to think he is more like Nixon. Yes, that Nixon. Perhaps enough years have passed so that people can think of Nixon in terms of something other than Watergate and his impeachment. For if you can get past his ignoble ending you might be able to see his brilliant beginning as President.

For all his faults, Nixon was a brilliant strategist. He was only 37 when he won his Senate seat after first serving in WWII and then being a Congressman for his district. Two years later, at the age of just 39, he became Eisenhower’s Vice President. I am sure there must have been a lot of talk about someone of his young age and inexperience becoming one heart beat away from the presidency. He lost his first bid for presidency in the infamous race of 1960 against JFK where to this day many believe that Kennedy’s father and Daley rigged the results from Chicago thereby giving the win to JFK. He finally came to office in 1968 when he defeated Hubert Humphrey.

Republicans are currently outraged that Obama wants to talk to our enemies. Yet no one recalls that Nixon with his Secretary of State Kissinger broke all kinds of barriers and had numerous discussions with our enemies including China and Russia. They also brokered the first agreements between Israel and Egypt and Syria. I doubt if Clinton will serve Obama as well as Kissinger did Nixon, but those who are loudly arguing against President Obama’s decision to meet with almost anyone should remember the past.

Additionally, just as President Obama is ending our involvement in Iraq so did President Nixon end our involvement with Vietnam. Is it the right thing to do? Maybe not for if history is to go by for pnce we pulled out troops then North Vietnam quickly invaded and overtook South Vietnam and still controls them today. Will Iraq someday invade and take over Iran? I don’t know but we are opening the door for them when we leave. And even if they don’t invade I wonder just how long democracy will last before a group destroys the hard earned democracy for a dictatorship or worse, rule by a religious imam.

On the domestic front, both Presidents faced economic problems. From 1968 to 1970 the Dow Jones fell 36% while inflation and unemployment increased to 9% and 6.6% respectively and by 1974 inflation was 12% resulting in even higher unemployment. After trying tax cuts and following the economic advice of Milton Friedman, Nixon did an about face after a huge Democrat mid term win. (And today people are already predicting a Republican comeback in Obama’s midterm elections of 2010.) To resolve the country’s “stagnation”, Nixon imposed wages and prices controls, took us off the gold standard resulting in the depreciation of the dollar and imposed deficit spending. All of this was seen as a betrayal of Republican beliefs and achieved little success resulting in the economic disaster which Carter made even worse a few years later.

Obama, too, is facing economic disasters and is trying to resolve it with sweeping changes. Only time will tell if it will work. But Obama is already disgruntling some liberals by including ideas that are more moderate than they would want. People today are also very concerned about government now controlling private industry through the bailouts and now actually owning a private bank. Yet no one remembers when Nixon had the government control private businesses prices and wages when he imposed price and wage freezes. Could you imagine the outrage today if Obama declared what a business could charge or what you salary would be? Yet that is exactly what happened nearly forty years ago. By the way, it was a complete disaster and did nothing to help the economy which might be a harbinger of things to come.

Almost no one remembers Nixon’s impact on the environment. Nixon personally could care less about the environment but instead implemented a strategy of being environmentally friendly in order to attract moderate Democrats plus it would counter any more radical proposals from the left. As part of his strategy he approved the landmark National Environmental Policy Act and also approved legislation to protect endangered species and threatened coastal areas plus he enacted ocean dumping restrictions along with clean air policies. President Obama, also has ideas on the environment and climate change and he, too, hopes to enact new sweeping proposals.

In addition to being young brilliant political operatives who faced similar foreign and economic problems both President Obama and President Nixon have massive egos. Granted, to run for president you need a big ego in the first place. But I think these two are different. For their ego’s are also fueled by anger; Nixon’s at the rich and powerful and Obama’s at the rich and white. Both may say they are for the little guy but both are actually only for themselves. And they will do almost anything to promote themselves; be it tossing aside dear friends who have become obstacles or tapping the other side’s offices. For with these massive egos also comes the belief that they are above the law, even rules they have implemented. Think of Obama’s self imposed rule of not hiring people associated with lobbyists and then appoints someone with a lobbyist background to a cabinet post! Or appoints a tax evader to the post which controls the IRS!

Again and again Obama has shown he is above the law, just like Nixon thought. So I can’t help but wonder if Obama will have the same kind of ending as Nixon….