Rob's Rants

Values and Health Care Reform .....

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:15:00 +0000

Got lucky recently ... caught a podcast on NPR TALK of the NATION - SCIENCE FRIDAY which tackled the topic of our American Values and how that relates to health care ....

The Hastings Center has set up a website to track essays in how health care relates to or values such as: Justice, Fairness, Liberty, Freedom ... just to mention a few.

I read a few ... but one stood out the most .... an essay by Michael F. Cannon from The Cato Institute.

Mr. Cannon argues that is the LOSS of freedom in health care choices that has got us into the predicament we're in as a nation. While absolute freedom to some my sound like utopia ... but the sad truth is we live in a nation where the under-educated, uninformed, inexperienced and ignorant would rather spend their money on a bigger flat screen TV and blue-ray player rather than purchase health insurance ... it sounds like a race to the bottom. I felt compelled to leave this comment:

The problem with your argument is you assume everyone in our country is as educated, informed and as practical as yourself. In a country obsessed with reality TV, video games and junk food that has led to obesity becoming an national epidemic do you really think the majority of Americans are responsible enough to make all of these health care choices themselves? For example we have known for decades the effects of smoking, yet with government regulation, education and exorbitant taxes people still choose to harm their bodies by smoking. How can we expect people as such to make sane health care choices? Your utopia of absolute freedom sounds like a race to the bottom. Comprehensive health care in our country should be a basic right just the way primary education is. If you don't like the basics, you always have the freedom to use your disposable income to purchase more.

I survived 14 roller coasters !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Just got back from Mystery Trip '09 ....
Cedar Point Amusement Park, The Roller Coaster Capital of the World on the shore of Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio. Cedar point boasts of 17 roller coasters of which I had the ... err .. pleasure of riding 14 of them. Nick and Lisa did 15 ... Sam and I sat out on one. The most intense was probably Top Thrill Dragster .. a ride that only lasts 17 seconds ... however you are launched from zero to 120 MPH and then shot up 420 feet to an arc where you then fall face down 420 feet. My first comment upon seeing it up close was: "It's a frikkin rocket sled!!"

Other coasters include:
Maverick <- Sam and I sat out.
Millennium Force
Raptor
Magnum XL-200
Disaster Transport
Mantis
Blue Streak
Mean Streak
Gemini
Iron Dragon
Corkscrew
Wicked Twister
WildCat
Mine Ride

Picasa Photo Album

Mystery Trip '09

The things we do for our kids ......

Chrysler Refused Government Loan Over Limits on Executive Pay

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:52:00 +0000

According to the Washington Post officials at Chrysler turned down a $750 million loan from the federal government because it came with limits on executive pay. Chrysler instead opted for more expensive private financing instead.

So it appears the executives would rather ride the company into the ground rather than give up their lucrative salary. So the next time they come to Capitol Hill looking for a bailout on the basis of "all the jobs that will be lost" don't believe them.

I would think the shareholders would have a case against the board and the CEO for abandoning their fiduciary responsibility for their own personal gain.

Wha??? Comcast wants to be your phone company?

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:41:00 +0000

Couple of weeks ago Comcast's email servers were out ... down ... kaput ... for most of the day. I joked with Lisa .... "if I was responsible for a service like this that was down for this long I'd probably be fired"

Comcast recently sent out an apology email:

We owe you a big apology. On Saturday, April 4, 2009 we experienced a significant disruption of our email service. While you may or may not have been affected, we want to explain what happened.

The problem was caused by a power disruption at one of our datacenters that affected some of our email servers.

Here is the link to the detailed explanation.

Wow .... a power disruption took down their email complex. Yup ... I definitely would have been fired. The mantra of anyone providing a 24X7 service is redundancy. Redundant servers, redundant networking, redundant disks ... oh and yes ... redundant power. Redundant power means two feeds to each system .... and those feeds are first protected by a UPS and then backup generators. In fact ... power might be the easiest and least technical element to make redundant. Some of the better data centers I've worked in are strategically located on the border of TWO electric grids so that even the commercial power could be redundant.

The point I'm getting at ..... Comcast wants to be in the phone business as well as being a TV / Internet provider .... that's fine ... but they need consider that telephone service ... is a "life line" not "entertainment" like TV and Internet. If they can't get the small stuff right .... how can they expect to provide a critical service??

Full Circle

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:04:00 +0000

Back in college professors would always request term papers be typed .... never an issue for me .... being a geek in the early 80s I was one of the few who had a home computer with a printer and a word processor.

Fast forward to 2009 .... I found a website that will create custom fonts .... so I created one using my handwriting. It looks hauntingly realistic ... except it's too straight ... I don't tend to write in straight lines ... or in-between the lines for that matter .... a product I assume of my non-conformist attitude bolstered by 8 years of Catholic school.

But I digress ..... can you imagine handing in a typed term paper that looked like this .....

NYT: What You Don’t Know About Gaza

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Great OP-ED in the NY Times by RASHID KHALIDI giving a different perspective on the crisis in Gaza .... actually surprised the Times had the balls to publish it. (Thanks Lee!)

The whole situation aggravates and frustrates me .... there are innocent people dying all because of the sins of a few ..... and please don't tell me they should "rise up" and do something about it ... as history has shown that worked well for all sorts of evil regimes in the past ... NOT.

How can Israel expect to live peacefully if they insist on breeding more hatred with these unbalanced retaliations.

Someone else who's off my list ....

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:37:00 +0000

I was reading a Newsweek column by Anna Quindlan ... where I picked up a little known fact: While the media made a big deal about all the money the Mormon church piled into the anti Proposition 8 movement ... there was little mention of the money the Catholic organization the Knights of Columbus poured into the anti prop 8 effort. Several news sources (LA Times, Catholic News Agency) confirm that the Knights contributed at least $1 million to the anti-prop 8 effort.

While I've never been a financial supporter of the the Knights .... I thought their "charitable" goals were admirable. Now I wonder how many people who thought they were contributing to charity were actually making a donation to nothing more than a political PAC!

$1 million could have feed a lot of children, bought them clothes for school, or supported a few mothers who chose to have their baby rather than terminate their pregnancy. (Right to life is another big Knights initiative) Instead they elected to spend that money to spread bigotry in the name of God.

Maybe someone should be looking into their 501(c)8 tax status.

Gettin old ... skippin a beat ....

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:16:00 +0000

Alas the ol' plant earth ain't what she used to be .... 2008 will be a second longer. A leap second will be added to the worls atomic clocks at 23:59:60 to make up for the earths slowing rotation. This will be the 25th leap second added since the practice began in 1972. So at this rate ... average about 0.69 seconds a year ... the earth will stand still in about 97,000 years

Happy New Year!!! May 2009 be Healthy and Peacful.

Top Ten ....

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:53:00 +0000

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan accepts the first ever YouTube Visionary Award.

We have a new NOUN ....

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Well it seems Sarah Palin has left her mark in history .... she's now a NOUN. From the Urban Dictonary:

Palin (n):
1. An applicant lacking even basic job skills 2. Someone supremely un-self-aware or lacking any relative sense of what he/she does or doesn't know.
HR sent me another Palin for the marketing manager job.

A night to remember ....

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:07:00 +0000

My 200th post .... and I could think of a better way to spend it .... here is a video put together by the folks at DailyKos:

Is this a great time to be alive or what???

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:51:00 +0000

There has been so much I've seen in my short life ... men walking on the moon .... information at your finger tips .... but now:

.... Only 145 years after slavery was abolished ....

.... Only 53 years since Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger ...

.... Only 45 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

.... On November 4th, 2008 a majority of voters elected Barack Hussein Obama the 44th President of the United States.

Congratulations ...... now get to work!!!

(by all means, call me if I can be of any assistance)

The Superbowl for Geeks

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:50:00 +0000

Lisa is concerned and thinks I'm obsessed ... maybe so .... I'm glued to intrade and pollster.com ... and I've come up with this: an election night scorecard to have handy as I sit and watch the returns come in.

The list is sorted by percentage-Margin-of-victory from the 2004 election .... the closest races up top ... I'm expecting this is where all the activity will be ... I've also included columns for which way the state went in 2004 and what the polls are saying about that state this year.

This election is by NO MEANS a done deal. I'm still concerned about Pennsylvania, and I'm not convinced about any red to blue conversions.

It boils down to this: For an Obama victory he needs to HOLD all Kerry blue states PLUS add either one "jewel" like Ohio or Florida or pick up a "set" like New Mexico, Iowa and Colorado .. or Virginia and Iowa. In short 18 more electoral votes than Kerry.

I think it's going to be a long night ....

Farewell @MarsPhoenix

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:35:00 +0000

The Mars Phoenix Lander is reaching the end of it's mission .... unlike the rovers ... as Mars moves into winter the landing site where Phoenix is will become progressively colder and darker ... the Lander will no longer be able to function and will eventual be encased in carbon dioxide ice as the polar cap begins to extend.

What makes this more interesting ... I've been following the progress of the mission on Twitter .... @MarsPhoenix is the only person (thing??) I'm following on Twitter that is sent to my cell phone .... also the team has been tweeting in the persona of the Lander. Lately it's all been talk about how the team is doing everything it can to keep her going ... as if the doctors and family were keeping vigil at her bedside. It's like we're loosing a friend.

It seems like only yesterday I posted this.

Winter is here '08

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:07:00 +0000

Not too surprising .... we've had snow for Halloween before .... however Mother Nature wasn't prepared this time ....

A lesson in Putting Country First

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:14:00 +0000

I hope Mr. McCain was watching "Meet The Press" this morning. He and is running mate have campaigned on the platform of "putting country first" but I think this morning former Secretary of State Colin Powell taught us all a lesson on the topic.

Colin Powell, General in the United States Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush during the first Gulf War, former Secretary of State for George W. Bush, by all accounts a committed Republican, today endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President.

The reasons Mr. Powell gives for his decision:

On the economic crisis: "[McCain] was a little unsure as to how to deal with the economic problems that we were having, and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem.... He didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had."

On Mr. McCain's choice of running mate: "I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of vice president... that raised some question in mind mind as to the judgment that Sen. McCain made."

On the whole William Ayers issue: "I think this goes too far, and I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for."

On the insinuations Mr. Obama is a Muslim: "What if he is [a Muslim]? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that's not America."

On where the Republican party is going: "It has moved more to the right more than I would like to see it." "Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower." " ... the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration."

Here is the segment in his own words:

Rob's Rants endorses Barack Obama for president

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:04:00 +0000

Note: The title of this post was going to be: "Reasons I prefer Obama over McCain" but after putting so much work into it it just didn't seem right.

Last nights debates prompted me to think about any personal debates I may engage in. Intelligent debate requires preparation, so I decided I should list the reasons why I will be voting for Mr. Obama this fall rather than Mr. McCain:

1- Inovation:
Mr Obama would champion increased federal funding for basic research doubling that amount currently funded over the next 10 years. He would also propose federal funding for "high risk - high payoff " R&D that the private sector would be reluctant to fund. His education department would encourage a strong science curriculum with the hope of attracting more young people to technology based careers. Finally his administration would make the current R&D tax credit to business permanent.
Mr. McCain says he will also fund basic research in nanotech, biotech and manned space exploration by eliminating wasteful spending and elimination of earmarks.
My opinion, Mr. Obama is more focused on funding education and academia vs. Mr. McCain who would rather drive federal funds toward corporations in biotech and aerospace.
(source: www.sciencedebate2008.com)

2- Stem Cells
Mr. Obama believes stem cell research holds great promise and should be federally funded, unencumbered by ideological restrictions. Mr. McCain says he also favors federal stem cell funding but is unclear and says it should not "sacrifice moral principals." Accoring to votesmart.org Mr. McCain would NOT allow laboratories to create new lines of stem cells for additional research. I trust Mr. Obama more to do the right thing.
(sources: www.sciencedebate2008.com
votsmart.org)

3- Women's Reproductive Choice
Mr. Obama supports a woman's right to choose while Mr. McCain is strongly opposed to abortion and has a senate voting record to back it up. Mr. McCain considers Roe v. Wade a "flawed decision" however he seems to lighten his stance in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.
Mr. McCain also opposed legislation that requires health plans to cover the cost of contraception.
(sources: Fact Check: Obama on McCain's abortion stance
McCain's lack of candor on reproductive rights)

4- Sex Education
Mr. Obama believes in and has supported legislation for comprehensive sex education in schools. The McCain camp attempted to turn this support against him by implying he supported sex education for children as young as kindergartners, while it's true the legislation mandated some sort of sex-ed at that level, the type of education would be more about recognizing and responding to attempts at sexual abuse.
Mr. McCain favors abstinence only sex education. In our day and age, children get bombarded with messages about sex from the TV, Music and the Internet. Even if you are the type of parent the closely monitors their media there are still their friends at school that fill them in and apply peer pressure. What's worse teenagers having safe sex or teenagers dropping out of high school to have babies?? Abstinence-only sex ed defies common sense. Those who favor abstinence only sex-ed believe "It is the will of God that you abstain from sexual impurity until you are married." Some promoters of Abstinence-only admit: It's doesn't matter if the programs are effective at preventing teen pregnency and STDs but rather the "values" that are being taught.
(source: McCain's lack of candor on reproductive rights, It's Magic: How Can McCain and Palin Still Support Ab-Only?)

5- Health Care
Mr. Obama would like to see ALL children covered by health insurance, with either a new public health insurance or private plans. He would also look to insurance companies to cover young adults on their parents plan until age 25. Employers that don't provide a "meaningful" health insurance to their employees would be required to pay a new payroll tax that would fund the new public plan. Those who could not afford (based on income) to purchase health insurance would receive federal subsidies to purchase insurance or enroll in the new public plan.
Mr. McCain would prefer to encourage competition, decrease regulation, expand the use of Health Savings Accounts, and provide a $2,500 tax credit to individuals, $5,000 to families to help pay for private health insurance. Well that's nice .... but what if you don't make enough money to PAY $5,000 of taxes in the first place????
(source: The Joint Center on Economic and Political Studies: Health Care Proposals of the 2008
Democratic and Republican Presidential Nominees)

6- Gay Rights
Neither candidate supports gay marriage. However both oppose the "Defense of Marriage Act" and believe the issue should be left to the states to decide.
Mr. Obama opposes "don't ask, don't tell" believing that gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military. He also believes gay couples should have equal rights in matters of adoption.
On the other hand Mr. McCain believes "don't ask, don't tell" has been "effective" and that gays in the military "presents an intolerable risk to morale, cohesion and discipline." He is against gay and lesbian couples adopting children, and states: "it is important for us to emphasize family values."

7- Diplomacy
Mr. Obama realizes you can't have "diplomacy in isolation." In order to find diplomatic solutions one must have a dialogue. Mr. McCain has echoed Mr. Bush's phrase "all options are on the table" basically signaling our adversaries should bend to our military might. Let's not forget his famous ditty "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran!" Clearly he is in "Clint Eastwood" mode with his finger on the trigger waiting for someone to flinch.
(source: Presidential Candidates on Foreign Policy)

8- Iraq
Mr Obama seeks to remove combat troops from Iraq immediately leaving behind a small contigency (35,000) to protect diplomats and weed out Al-Qaeda. Mr. McCain's plan: a continuation of the Bush plan, stay fight and see what happens .... no end game in sight ... no goal to speak off.
(source: Presidential Candidates on Foreign Policy)

9- Net Neutrality
A tough one to unravel since there is no commonly accepted standard for what is Net Neutrality. While John McCain claims he supports an open internet by "keeping the internet free of government regulation" That might work if the internet wasn't run by large telecoms that function as pseudo-monopolies interested in only promoting their product. Barack Obama supports Net Neutrality openly.

10- The Economy
Both candidates want to give tax breaks, they differ in who they want to give them to. No surprise, Mr. Obama would prefer to give tax breaks to individuals and families rather than corporations. He would look to create a $500/person or $1000/family tax credit which would virtually eliminate federal taxes for the poorest 10 million Americans. He would look to eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 a year. He looks to streamline the tax filing process by having the IRS use information it already receives from financial institutions and employers to pre-complete tax returns that individuals need only sign and return saving nearly $2 Billion in tax preparation fees. Mr. Obama will also look to create new jobs by investing in our nations infrastructure.
Mr. McCain, like most of his Republican colleagues, feels the best way to help the economy is from the top, by giving businesses and the more well-to-do tax breaks. He would look to cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% and fund those cuts by reducing "pork barrel spending" .. easy to say ... hard to do when just about EVERY piece of legislation in Washington has a "little something" tucked in it to get someones vote. He speaks of a "line item veto" which was tried once before during the Clinton administration and the Supreme Court found it to be unconstitutional. He would also look to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax COMPLETELY rather than just adjust it for modern times.
The Obama plan intends to put money back in the hands of those who will spend it and drive the economy, while the McCain "trickle down" approach will likely not do that.
(sources: Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan, McCain proposes economic plan with corporate tax break, McCain's Economy Platform: Big Tax Cuts, With Caveats)

11- Choice of Running Mate
This is more personal opinion that fact based .... but I'll try .... Barack Obama picked Joe Biden. Mr. Biden has years of experience in Washington and is also a long-time member and current chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. So one could say where Mr. Obama lacks experience, he can count on his most trusted adviser his Vice President. It's also clear that Mr. Biden would be ready to assume the roll of President if it ever became necessary.

Mr McCain, as the Chicago Tribune says:
"McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate--but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country."

I can't blame him for trying to put a woman on the ticket, but what about: Olympia Snowe, Elizabeth Dole, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Jodi Rell, Condoleezza Rice .... No, instead of brains and experience we get the "pit bull" with a "six pack." What was he thinking??? Mr. McCain sold out his country, the country he fought for and sat in a P-O-W camp for .... to make nice with the conservative fringe of his party.

So there you have it, well thought out, finely researched, all sources cited. I welcome any and all opposing viewpoints ..... but be prepared to back them up.

Special thanks to my loving wife and intellectual confidant Lisa who squelched some of my more snarky comments in an effort to keep me on message.

Why is the USA content to be stupid??

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:28:00 +0000

A story in the New York Times caught my eye: Math Skills Suffer in U.S., Study Finds.

The story goes on to say how we are failing to develop math skills of boys and girls ESPECIALLY AMONG THOSE WHO COULD EXCEL AT IT.

From the Times Article:

A major reason, according to the study, is that American culture does not highly value talent in math, and so discourages girls — and boys, for that matter — from excelling in the field.

A Study done by the American Mathematical Society: Cross-Cultural Analysis of Students with Exceptional Talent in Mathematical Problem Solving goes even further saying:

Many USA-born white and historically underrepresented minorities who are gifted in mathematics do not participate in MATHCOUNTS®, AMC examinations, or, even, school mathematics clubs and teams. When asked why, a typical response is, “Only Asians and nerds do math (extracurricularly).” In other words, it is deemed uncool within the social context of USA middle and high schools to do mathematics for fun; doing so can lead to social ostracism. Consequently, gifted girls, even more so than boys, usually camouflage their mathematical talent to fit in well with their peers.

So there you have it ... it's just not cool to be smart.

It makes me angry, it makes me sad. I just don't understand it. Why is it cool to be ignorant?? I can't say it's that everyone is so self absorbed to care about the world around them .... because I'm willing to bet the last season of American Idol saw more votes cast then will likely be cast in the upcoming election. It just seems that everyone is distracted about things that don't really matter.

It doesn't make any sense ... it seems counter intuitive .... on an evolutionary scale .... why does it matter who got voted off the island .... or who will be the next super model??? It's like mosquitoes being drawn to the the bug zapper. Why is our country so preoccupied with the "bright and shiny" to the detriment of useful knowledge when it will eventually lead to our demise?

Don't get me wrong ... I'm not so much of a nerd that I read ONLY math books for entertainment .. I like watching Football, Soccer, Basketball, Women's Beach Volleyball. But I know what's important. I question the world around me ... why stuff works the way it does ... I don't believe everything I hear with out researching it more ... and I sit here and write about the things I don't understand in the hopes that someone with the answers will read this someday and share that knowledge with me.

US debt clock runs out of digits

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:16:00 +0000

Well it seems that $700 Billion bailout (err .. excuse me ... as Mr. McCain would say "rescue") broke something else .... The National Debt Clock in Manhattan "rolled over" .... the National Debt now exceeds $9,999,999,999,999 .... or $10 Trillion. The owners of the clock have had to improvise and tack on a number one. They will be making a more permanent modification soon .... adding TWO more digits positions .. upgrading the capacity to just shy of $1 quadrillion.

Joe Sixpack ????

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:21:00 +0000

It's been hard enough over the last 8 years dealing with a president that thought he represented the "regular guy" .. dressing up in his Wranglers, checkered shirt, cowboy hat .. toting his chain saw around the ranch clearing brush .... talking with terms like "Wanted: dead or alive" .... I've winced every time I saw the man ....

Now the Republican Vice Presidential candidate wants to represent "normal Joe Sixpack" .... I physically SHAKE every time I hear that ..... WTF!!!!

Doesn't that offend anybody??? It conjures up an image of an overweight guy, belly hanging over his pants, t-shirt riding up .... hasn't shaved in 3 days .... hair is a mess ... covered with a "CAT Diesel" hat .... with a six-pack of bud (cans) in one hand and pretzels in the other ..... are people seriously proud of looking like that???

Is this the image we want to project to the rest of the world???

Enough is enough ...

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:21:00 +0000

When I heard our president poked his head out of his undisclosed hiding location to address the American people directly ... urging them to support his "economic rescue proposal" it was almost enough to drive me to running in the streets screaming.

This all coming from the party that is suppose to favor personal responsibility and a free market economy. This is where the rubber meets the road ....

Make no mistake, things are bad, they may even need to get WORSE before they get better but using US TREASURY dollars (also known as OUR MONEY) to prop up failing companies that mad bad investments is the WRONG answer.

These financial institutions made bad decisions. Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes, hopefully we learn from them, move on and live a better life. Those who DO NOT learn from their mistakes will eventually perish. That's how evolution works, that's what life in the jungle is like.

In the short term it seems bailing out these institutions is the right answer .... it only compounds and delays a much bigger crisis. Like the child that touches a hot stove these institutions must learn from their mistakes OR perish. Granted some will fail outright ... and we will be all better off when they do. The stronger will survive and hopefully come out wiser.

This is not all philosophical, there are real economic consequences to the government artificially propping up the economy. The Treasury does not have this money in the bank, it will need to be borrowed. As the US government incurs more debt there is less confidence in our currency and the value of the dollar drops in the worldwide market. As the value of the dollar drops the cost of goods we sell overseas also drops ... but more importantly since we have a TRADE DEFICIT the cost of goods we purchase ... oil in particular ... rises. This all becomes an inflationary feedback loop.

Then let's not forget the hangover after the party. The government borrows money by selling debt in the form of treasury notes or bonds, these notes accrue interest. The government is not like an individual or a company ... it doesn't "make" money by converting the value in either labor or goods into cash .... it collects taxes. Taxes will need to be raised in order to cover the new debt service. Sure you can cut services to keep the tax bill the same, but how much of the federal budget is discretionary, will we cut defense ... I doubt it. We and our descendants will be paying for this.

Oh wait ... it still gets worse .... who is going to buy these Treasury notes .... well we don't have any money ... it will likely be foreign nationals .... China and our other good friends in the Middle East come to mind .... hint China has the cheap labor and The Saudis have the oil both of which get easily converted to cash. So now were basically shipping our nations wealth off shore. I don't even want to go down the "black helicopter" path and consider whether it is good for our national security for all these foreign nations having financial leverage against us. Has anyone considered this??

This is going to get worse before it's gets better ... yes you're going to see you 401K decline .... yes the value of your home mat decline ... but I feel a little pain now will make us better and stronger in the future.

PLEASE call ... don't even bother writing at this point .... it all happening to fast ... tell them you DO NOT SUPPORT any "economic rescue" or "economic bail out" ....

If you agree with me forward this on ..... if not I'm very WILLING to listen to any counter argument.

ClearChannel to take over management of Radio station WWV

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:45:00 +0000

In a bold move to boost it's portfolio, Clear Channel Communications has signed a deal with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to take over time station WWV in Fort Collins Colorado.

In what seems like the most bizarre case of outsourcing yet, Clear Channel has insisted on several format changes to keep in line with other Clear Channel holdings. Consultants for Clear Channel have said the previous format was "dull and predictable." Additionally, the stations 50% modulation of clock ticks and 75% modulation of announcements was deemed "not loud enough"

The new station will now be known as "WWV - The Tick - All the time, all the time!!"

In addition to the standard frequencies of 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 Mhz "the Tick" will now be broadcast on the web as well!!

Props to low noise productions for breaking this story ;-)

Mega Election Mashup

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:47:00 +0000

My recent fascination has been the concept of prediction markets, the trading of shares based on the likelihood of an events outcome. Admittedly there is a fine line between "investing" and "wagering" ... some have said playing the stock market is a form of legalized gambling ... but to borrow a quote from the fictional character Gorden Gecko: "Greed is, for lack of a better word, good"

People will say anything in a survey, but when it comes to parting with ones hard earned cash they might be a little more cautious.

Intrade is a prediction market where shares of predictions can be bought and sold. I have been watching them for a while but my curiosity peaked recently when shares of Sarah Palin began to trade furiously at least 12 hours before any media broke the story of her selection as Mr. McCain's running mate.

Using data from Intrade for the individual state elections I have developed this mashup of what the current electoral vote tally looks like. Based on this data ... it's going to be a nail biter with about 3 states deciding the race.

So what more could a father ask for ???

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:04:00 +0000

Just got back from our holiday at Ocean Grove, NJ where we stayed at Pete and Diane's hotel The Ocean Vista.

For those that may not know .. Ocean Grove is one of New Jersey's best kept secrets: a quaint, quiet Victorian village on the Jersey Shore .... devoid of all the shenanigans one might associate with a beach town in New Jersey. It's a dry town ... no bars ... no "night life" .. unless you count the two ice cream parlors. (nothing against shenanigans ... I'm just grown up now )

The kids had a great time surfing with their boogie boards. Nick and Sam even had a try at skim boarding. Mom and Dad sat under the umbrella enjoying the rest and the view.

Lisa had arranged to meet her childhood friend Annette who lives in South Jersey for dinner one evening. We met at a local Pizza Restaurant Annette recommended. It was time for Lisa and Annette to catch up ... probably not the most entertaining time for the kids. About halfway through dinner the owner (also Annette's boyfriend) handed this folded note to Lisa.

I wish I knew what I did right .....

Totally Wicked!

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Roschewsk) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:02:00 +0000

Yesterday the kids came back from Wal-Mart with their Hannah Montana 3-D glasses ... I couldn't care less about the "best of both worlds" ... but the glasses ... Thank You Miley!! The University of Phoenix has posted a collection of ANAGLYPHS on the Mars Phoenix Lander Web Site. It's like your computer monitor just became a window on the Lander.

So run to Wal-Mart and tell them your kids sent you .....