DanEnglish.com

Down With the Rich!

dane5588@aol.com — 2012-01-17T00:09:20+09:00

A piece in today’s Washington Post by James Wilson titled “Angry About Inequality? Don’t Blame the Rich” spiked my attention to the ongoing national discussion these days, partly brought on by Mitt Romney’s detractors, about wealth and its role in America. I think it’s a healthy conversation that will ultimately affirm America’s attitude towards the value of wealth and the important role it plays in maintaining a healthy, innovative economy. The result will continue to starkly differentiate the United States from Europe, where a lack of entrepreneurial spirit and boiling unrest between the rich and poor threaten economic stability and recovery.

While I hold no ill will towards the wealthy, I do worry about undeniable trends showing the growing gap between the rich and the poor and the disturbing statistics that show certain segments of the population becoming trapped in a cycle of poverty. That entrapment, on an individual level, denies the person the dignity of having a job and the hope for a better future. On a larger cultural level, the cycle of poverty threatens to sow resentment and unrest, potentially leading to negative effects for the entire country, as seen by the unfortunate riots seen over the past years across TV screens from Greece, France, and the UK.

So, why aren’t more politicians focusing on defeating the cycle of poverty instead of demonizing the rich? Are their proposals like millionaire taxes aimed more at punishing a certain segment of the population versus aiding the segment that needs it most? Do they really believe that the tens of millions of dollars collected in new taxes on the super-rich will directly affect the unarguable problem of poverty? Or is this more of an effort to get the poor and their alleged allies like labor unions and community activist organizations to reelect them? If Mitt Romney had paid $5 million more in taxes last year, would the poor be better off? Seems a bit disingenuous to me.

For politicians, it’s easier to attack the rich than to have an uncomfortable discussion on what actually causes and perpetuates poverty in America. How would the teacher’s unions that turn out millions of votes and transfer millions of dollars to Democrats react when they’re told that America’s failing schools, especially in the inner-cities, should be a priority rather than protecting the pay and pensions of some lousy teachers? How would a black church react when confronted with the fact that a 70% illegitimate birth rate is really harmful for the development of successful children? How would a group of disadvantaged rural voters react when told that sometimes you just have to move on from an economically dead area if you want to move up the ladder, even if that means leaving the plot of land that one’s family has manned since early America?

If Democrats and even Republicans want to have an ounce of credibility when it comes to leveling the playing field or pulling Americans out of the cycle of poverty, they need to be willing to have conversations that will make these groups yell and scream and remove the incentives that the government creates to satisfy these groups in the posh names of diversity, cultural preservation, and fairness.

In the mean time, stop attacking those who have made something of themselves and instead encourage them to take a moral interest in aiding those who have been less fortunate, whether it be through charitable giving to newfangled groups that have successfully found ingenious ways to combat the cycle of poverty, or through donating time and personal skills. Because if anything has been shown to be true over the past decades and centuries, it’s not the government that most often alters cycles, but selfless people and organizations like Teach for America, the Pine Street Inn, and Habitat for Humanity.

Bain Backfire

dane5588@aol.com — 2012-01-14T16:10:32+09:00

Like other conservatives, the recent attacks on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain really get under my skin. They show incredible ignorance and inspire the class warfare more commonly furthered by liberals. Thankfully, it seems that after a weekend of surprise and confusion, Mitt Romney’s team has begun to effectively counter the argument, which he certainly would have faced later in the election, anyway. Additionally, the desperate, hopeless candidates who started these attacks are both retreating from their positions after uproar on the right and have lost big name supporters as a result. Newt Gingrich was even booed by the crowd at an event for undecided South Carolina voters hosted by Mike Huckabee yesterday.

Mitt Romney’s Bain detractors seem to take issue with the fact that Bain went into already struggling companies and laid off workers. What’s the issue with that? Someone in politics needs to have the audacity to stand up and say that eliminating jobs is part of a dynamic capitalist system. Jobs come and go, they’re not a guarantee. If they were a guarantee, we’d look a lot more like Greece and Italy. Most of the companies that were taken over by Bain probably got to their distressed position because of either unnecessary or underperforming jobs. Their economic duress was a result of their inefficiencies. Bain’s role in the process is to sort out and correct those inefficiencies.

Venture capitalists, not “vulture capitalists” as Rick Perry alleged, are huge risk takers and play a vital role in the economy. And, yes, with high risk often comes high reward. That’s the nature of investing. Without proportionate reward for risk, we would all settle for mediocrity and America wouldn’t be the innovator of the world like it is today.

My question to Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry is: What do you see as a more viable alternative to those jobs being eliminated in the hope that the fortunes of the company would be turned around? It’s painfully easy to pick and choose disgruntled workers who were laid off from these underperforming companies and allow them to disparage the firm that went in and cleaned house. The problem is that these workers are unable to see past their own agreeably unfortunate situations and see the bigger picture of how their former employer fit into the big economic picture.

Anyone who plans on being qualified to be President of the United States needs to be able to rise above the weeds of individually unfortunate circumstances and stories and see the larger surrounding field that promises better results for everyone. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry have proven that they lack that qualification.

Mitt the Nominee

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-11-20T15:58:59+09:00

Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican nominee for President in 2012. His slow and steady approach has been vindicated as his challengers rise and plummet on a monthly basis. I must admit that his approach tested my will at times, especially when now-laughingstock Rick Perry quickly soared in the polls. However, Mitt Romney will be the one who gets the last laugh.

His sharp approach on focusing on President Obama and the state of the economy in the campaign season displays his type of discipline and leadership. Instead of tacking sharply at the appearance of a seemingly big issue, he continues to steer forward on the same charted path.

I understand why many voters, especially Republican primary voters, are uncomfortable with his past “flip flops”. However, I’m convinced that the manner in which he has run this nomination process says more about his leadership style than any past or present political positions. If he is faced with a controversial decision as president, one that challenges a declared position, you can bet that he’ll examine the issue closely, discuss with advisors and experts in the field, and come to a rational decision.

I’m also a firm believer in the fact that personal life decisions display a man’s true character more than any campaign season. A man of integrity and steadiness in family and work will more than likely carry those values with him to public office. Mitt has been married for over forty years, has a stable family, and has worked hard to be successful in business, though those who don’t understand business will assuredly challenge the benefits of his business record. Others on the campaign trail have gone through wives, estranged families, and never had long term success in any theater outside politics and the who’s who of educational high society.

And beyond all of these reasons for which I’ve been a Mitt Romney fan since he was governor of Massachusetts, 2012 will be a referendum on President Obama. In 2008, voters were willing to take a chance on beautifully crafted words and speeches, hoping that they would translate into a better America. Instead, America chose a leader who has been rudderless, making seemingly bold decisions, but then hedging on them. America chose a leader unsure of what makes the United States so great. And America chose a leader who has managed to pit American against American, instead of focusing on what we can do to climb out of this ongoing mess and avoid the fate of our European friends across the ocean.

Mitt Romney offers a clear alternative to President Obama. He’s a man of personal conviction and proven leadership. Independents, who elected President Obama in 2008 and who will single-handedly elect the president in 2012, have grown tired of the promises and lack of results. A recent Pew poll shows Mitt Romney with a 12-point advantage of Independent voters over the president. These numbers bode well for Mr. Romney. It is my hope that the Republican clown show that has taken the stage during this nomination process continues to dig its own grave, as Mitt sails forward, focused on November 2012.

"Boomerang", by Michael Lewis

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-10-29T23:30:31+09:00

I just finished a great book that I high recommend for anyone trying to understand the European debt crisis: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis. It’s a quick read that tackles a different distraught country chapter by chapter. Lewis, unlike many analysts or authors, attempts to pin each nation’s economic woes on some of their cultural habits and customs, which is interesting. He ends with America, which isn’t as screwed as many countries in the European Union, but is close. He also does an interesting analysis on who is to blame for America’s current economic crisis, elaborating on an overall economic moral failure. I highly recommend this book, as well as Michael Lewis’ others.

Entitled America

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-10-15T09:37:25+09:00

Occupy Wall Street is a dangerous movement. It’s an unorganized cluster of disenchanted young people, old Vietnam-era people who simply enjoy a good protest, and greedy union people who would rather not have to work. It vilifies wealthy Americans, who have created the jobs of their own often-wealthy parents and created the products that they cling to religiously. iPhones, REI tents, Patagonia clothes, etc.

A democratic society that doesn’t encourage or approve of wealthy people is a society that aims to settle for less. History has not drawn a winner from that pool of thought.

Herman Cain got it right in an op-ed piece the other day. He says, “That’s not America- and not how American dreams are made. Empowerment is the key to success, not entitlement. So those asking for a handout on Wall Street, my message is this: ‘If you’re not rich, don’t blame the rich- go on there and work for it. You have to earn it.’

I stopped by many of the Tea Party rallies in Washington during my almost five years there. They were made of up middle aged working people fighting for a cause: small government and adherence to the Constitution. Look at the pictures online from Occupy Wall Street. You won’t find a normal American in the bunch. They’re either hippies, homeless, or spoiled college students who have no idea what the real world is really like outside the gates of their university. And what’s their cause? Is it simply anti-rich people? Are they for tax reform? Are they environmental activists? Anti-war protestors? Who knows? It sounds to me like they’re just anti-everything.

Being anti-everything can’t sustain a movement. Instead, it only creates more social unrest, allowing people who truly are victims of the current economic crisis and the administration’s inability to handle that crisis to lose hope in their abilities and their futures. If everything has gone to hell, why bother to update your resume or continue to look for a job month after month? Why bother keeping your dream to buy that nice house across town? Why not just join the masses sitting on their asses in parks across the U.S. and just give up? Social unrest creates more social unrest. Just look at the youth riots across Europe over the past years- the result of a society that continues to tolerate the crisis of today’s “entitled” youth.

From a selfish political perspective, I say keep protesting. Because as more and more news outlets, who are obviously in favor of the protestors and their causes, expose the true colors of the protestors, the more Americans will see that the ideas they espouse are not what’s best for America. Liberal politicians who were quick to jump on the protest bandwagon will have a hard time explaining their support for socialist/anarchist youth to Independents casting their ballots next November. Also, people will begin to seriously wonder why these protestors aren’t camped outside the White House, directing some of their anger at the man who’s been in charge for three years and hasn’t enacted much of that “change” that they were all sold on back in 2008. If President Obama hasn’t been liberal enough for them, I urge them to continue making that argument to the American people. American voters simply won’t buy it.

Fringe Audiences

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-09-25T18:10:23+09:00

The recent outbursts at Republican debates are exactly why I always refer to myself as a conservative and not a Republican. Cheering for capital punishment, condemning a hypothetically sick 30 year old to death, and, most abhorrently, booing an openly gay soldier serving in Iraq doesn’t attract mainstream voters. It repels.

To be fair, the left has more than its fair share of crazies. Just look at some of the fringe elements blocking roadways and harassing New Yorkers on Wall Street this week. But, the Republican crazies, to my disappointment, seem to be the more hateful and hypocritical of the bunch.

Either way, if the Republican Party wants to win in November it better take the microphone and spotlight away from these types of people who make it harder for independent voters and disaffected Democrats to vote for the name next to the R. Because now they’re only creating campaign fodder and allowing the media to cast a negative light on the race to unseat President Obama. Just look around the Internet for the number of articles talking about the outbursts, which could instead be dedicated to more meaningful political discussion.

Life in Okinawa

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-09-25T14:16:24+09:00

Life in Okinawa is good so far. As someone who likes traveling to different places and experiencing different cultures, I was worried that the US military presence on Okinawa might have diluted the Okinawan culture here. However, that is definitely not the case. Once you leave the gates of the many bases here on the island, there’s no question that you’re in Japan. There are some restaurants and bars on the closest blocks to base that cater to American servicemen, but you’d be hard pressed to find many English speakers or signs closer than that.

Though I’m told the hottest days are past us for the year, most days are hot and humid in the mid to low 80s with pretty steady winds. It’s typhoon season, so it seems like we’re always on watch for one or feeling the remnants of a system that passed by. The coasts and beaches look really nice, with Caribbean-like waters and lots of coral. The scuba diving and snorkeling is supposed to be some of the best in the world. Inland, the island resembled the LOST island, with lots of mountains full of trees and greenery. Okinawa Island is 65 miles long and only 2-15 miles wide, so it’s a pretty small place. The population is just over 1 million people.

Okinawans (and now myself) drive on the other side of the road. Getting used to driving on the left hasn’t been as difficult as I had expected, as you usually just follow the guy in front of you. I always tell myself to keep my right knee on the yellow line. But, inside the car, I keep forgetting that I’m on the other side of the vehicle. You can tell an amateur like myself by seeing windshield wipers wiping when there’s no rain, turned on instead of a blinker. I also walk to the wrong side of the car to get in, reach for the wrong side to unbuckle my seat belt, and look to the wrong side for the rear view mirror. Cars on the island are generally older, but very low mileage because there aren’t many places to drive. I bought a Toyota Altezza from an Air Force guy a few days ago. I bet there’s more Toyota Altezza’s on Okinawa than anywhere else in Japan, because it’s as close to an American car as you can really get on island. They’re everywhere. Otherwise, you’d be driving a little box on little wheels with a little Japanese engine. And all Japanese cars are silver or white. Not much variety.

Since base housing is full, I should soon be living out in town, which is exciting. That will force me to get away from the comforts of Subway and Dunkin Donuts on base, where I’ve pretty much been eating every day. Though, I have experienced a fair share of Japanese and Asian foods, including sushi at a place that delivers sushi on a rotating conveyor belt throughout the restaurant and delivers special order sushi on a race car shaped tray that zips to your table on the conveyor.

For contact, I bought a US Skype number (781 544 4908), so that people can call from home for free. The Skype app on iPhone is awesome. If someone calls that number, the Skype app knows to automatically open and it rings through Skype instead of the actual Japanese cell phone service, which would be expensive. I’m 13 hours ahead of EST here.

That’s all for now. Week two on Okinawa begins tomorrow. I’ll post more pictures to the site or Facebook soon.

iPhone

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-09-25T14:10:06+09:00

Bought an iPhone 4 out here in Okinawa, as there aren’t any Blackberries to be found. I generally like it, though I miss my Blackberry sometimes. The Internet on the iPhone is awesome compared to the Blackberry, and I like using apps for frequently used websites like Politico and for personal services like banking and credit cards. The camera is also way better than the one on my Bold.

Despite all the good, I really miss the Blackberry key board and the message indicator light that blinks when you have an email or text/bbm. If you miss the vibrate or ring on the iPhone you have to wake up the phone for it to search for new messages. I wish Blackberry hadn’t screwed up the Torch, which is only offered by AT&T and has a full touch screen with a full keyboard hidden underneath, but has horrendous reviews. Maybe by the time I get back to the States Blackberry will have an answer to the iPhone (if they’re still in business by then) or the iPhone will introduce some sort of physical keyboard.

Labeling Japanese Drivers

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-09-25T13:51:26+09:00

Old people (70+) have to place the orange and yellow stickers on the front and back of their cars, while new drivers (<1 year experience) have to display the yellow and green stickers. Therefore, you can steer clear of them on the roadway.

They should do this in America! The ACLU wouldn’t sleep until that rule was overturned, though.

Also, cars with small engines have yellow license plates so you know it’ll take them a little longer to accelerate or make it up a hill. Cars with larger engines have white plates.

Goodbye, Scituate

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-09-15T02:24:15+09:00

Perry Debates

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-09-15T02:08:13+09:00

The past two Republican debates have been a rude awakening for Rick Perry, who has been attacked on all sides both nights. The attacks have clearly gotten under his skin. The images of a smooth, tough-guy politician we saw when he announced have given way to a flustered, sometimes incoherent debater.

The fringe candidates like Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann have hit Perry on conservative issues that aren’t on many people’s radar given the state of the economy, such as immigration and parental rights. While the more mainstream Mitt Romney has fired away on his positions, record, and rhetoric with regards to the economy and social security. The combination of these attacks has caused the far-right to question his conservatism, which was previously undeniable as one of the tea party favorites, while political operatives now question his electability further than his obvious weakness of reminding people of President Bush.

A Gallup poll released yesterday has President Obama ahead of Mitt Romney by only four points, but ahead of Rick Perry by double digits. Both strategists and voters who once thought Mr. Romney had an electability issue because of his perceived sliminess or too-perfect image, have had the tables turned. Romney’s camp must now relish the fact that they can make the electability argument to voters. The presence of the fringe candidates over the past months has really made Mitt look pretty mainstream. And his strategy of talking about nothing but the economy and his plans for turning it around seems to be paying off.

The coming months have many more GOP debates. We’ll see if those months give Rick Perry the time he needs to polish his debating style, fortify his positions and talking points, and reconvince primary voters that he’s the swift, strong answer to President Obama that he was made out to be when he entered the race.

Jobs Speech

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-09-13T03:58:21+09:00

I don’t understand how President Obama gets away with giving an overly political speech that could have doubled as a campaign speech, while bashing the current political climate. Does he not think that a bunch of foolish lawmakers zealously clapping or booing his magical teleprompter act is political in itself? If the President was serious about tackling the jobs crisis in a non-political manner, he would have given an address from the Oval Office or simply released his jobs bill to the public without all the pomp and circumstance (and controversy, given the original date his picked) of a partisan room of lawmakers.

President Obama is the Politician in Chief. He has mastered the skill of politicking, yet has struggled enormously with leading. His speech the other night was a big hypocrisy.

With regards to the content of his speech and the jobs bill, the President needs to stop proposing these short term solutions such as payroll tax cuts for 2012 and focus on creating a long term business friendly regulatory and tax environment so that American companies, which are sitting on record levels of cash both at home and abroad, will spend their resources to hire workers. The President has obviously never run a company if he thinks that a one or two year tax credit for hiring long term unemployed Americans or a decrease in the payroll tax will increase hiring. What kind of company only looks a year or two in the future? The costs of hiring that employee (especially with the full effects of Obamacare set to take place in 2014) greatly outweigh any short term saving to be had by this type of bill. Why not permanently lower the capital gains tax or reduce the barriers for bringing foreign money back into the United States?

And if anyone thinks that these construction jobs that the President proposes are going to be any more “shovel-ready” than the last ones funded by the massive stimulus package... I heard Big Foot was spotted in downtown Boston yesterday.

Dunkin, Southern Style

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-08-21T11:40:08+09:00

Reforming Military Pensions

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-08-17T11:10:08+09:00

Check out this article in regard to my earlier post “Military Waste” (below) and the possibility of reforming military pensions.

Who Knew Al Sharpton Could be a Comedian?

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-08-17T11:08:34+09:00

The Perry Possibility

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-08-17T10:26:13+09:00

So the Republican race for president finally seems to be heating up now that Rick Perry has joined and snoozer Tim Pawlenty has quit. Rasmussen released a poll today showing that Perry has skyrocketed past Mitt Romney 29% to 18% in the few days he has officially been in the race.

Most know that I’m a big Mitt Romney fan and I think he’d make a great president. So, what do I think about the emergence of this serious challenger? I’m intrigued by Perry. On the one hand, he’s the ultimate politician, which I generally don’t like. If one could win shaking hands and kissing babies, it would be Perry. But on the other, he’s been governor for over a decade, with mostly successful results. He espouses conservative positions, even though he endorsed Rudy Giuliani in 2008 and Al Gore back in the late 1980s. And he seems like a human character.

But, what I like most about Perry is his energy and refusal to apologize for his political opinions. He shows unending enthusiasm and optimism, while beaming with seemingly genuine pride in America and all it stands for. These are traits we haven’t seen in the White House for quite some time. Watching his announcement speech in South Carolina on Saturday, I could almost feel the positive aura in the room from the Red State convention.

Perry has already stirred some trouble with his freewheeling comments, even among Republicans. He recently stated that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke would be beat up if he visited Texas after printing more money. However, after eight years of George W. Bush letting the media and his adversaries walk all over him, I’m ready for a president that speaks his mind and refuses to back down on his principles.

As the primary season begins, I look forward to seeing how Governor Perry performs under the spotlight- or should I say microscope- of a national election. In the mean time, I’m still with Romney.

Military Waste

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-08-04T10:13:41+09:00

Many Republicans are up in arms over military spending cuts that were part of the debt ceiling bargain passed yesterday. Even some so-called tea-partiers are upset. Anytime anyone, especially a Democrat, mentions cutting defense spending, opposition is instantaneous and the opponent is painted as a dove or anti-American. These folks might as well move to some peaceful northern European country, wear Birkenstocks, and sing Kumbaya.

This is a shame. Any true conservative should be willing to look in all places for waste and fraud, no matter how important or noble the institution. This is especially true given the fact that government and government contractors play such a role in the military- two groups all too familiar with waste and abuse. You can be fiscally responsible with the military without being anti-troop.

I challenge any of these conservatives to step on a base and look around for waste. It won’t take them very long. From retired service members having cushy, relatively well-paid jobs on base that don’t accomplish much to the 42” flat screen TV’s that our classroom building has affixed to the walls of every room, even though they’re not hooked up or even wired. They’re literally just wall ornaments. And these are just the simple, obvious items of waste that exist on every military base across the country.

Addressing this spending would be an admirable first step. However, the real elephant in the room is military pay and benefits. No sane politician would touch these with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole. But, they must be examined in these tough fiscal times. Some servicemen are as bad as the most diehard union employee when it comes to playing the benefits game, whether they’re deserved or not.

Thought should be given to how the military pays for housing and per diem costs, where government rates effectively determine the local housing markets. Landlords and businesses simply charge the maximum rate Uncle Sam is willing to pay. Or what about pensions? Is it really feasible/morally right for someone to magically gain a full retirement pension after 20 years and retire at age 38? Why not a sliding pension scale or a 401k plan? What about supplying gear more like the private sector? The military has some of the crappiest, most out-dated equipment that it pays ridiculous amounts of money for because of bureaucracy and the fact that all the manufacturers like Boeing and Northrop Grumman are stacked with former high-ranking servicemen.

Conservatives, you’re seriously telling me that you can’t find a little to cut here?

Admittedly, these are controversial opinions and many of those around me here in NC vehemently disagree. And I might not even feel comfortable blogging about this stuff if I wasn’t part of the system, for fear of being labeled as anti-military. Who wants to be called that? I don’t. Politicians don’t want to either. But, if America is going to be serious about being fiscally responsible, politicians need to strengthen their spine and take up the subject. Americans will listen to the truth if you come prepared to battle the uproar with facts.

I'm Officially a Kindler

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-08-03T09:58:30+09:00

Deal or No Deal

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-07-27T10:00:44+09:00

Am I the only one who isn’t really paying attention to/losing sleep over this whole debt crisis ordeal?

It has to be because of all the Marines I saw needlessly freaking out last time the government threatened to shut down and stop paying the military. I swear people from my platoon lost years off their lives from the stress that event caused. Of course the deal went through at the very last minute and everything was fine and dandy.

I guess I’m just expecting the same this time. I’m sure the dysfunctional government will come through at 11:59 PM and our debt will go on to live happily ever after. And every politician will continue to go on blaming each other, while the media goes on to only blame Republicans. Same old, same old.

Globe Shows True Colors Again

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-07-20T08:46:19+09:00

The Boston Globe showed its true colors again today with the front page story about the “infamous” Koch brothers donating $5,000 each to Senator Scott Brown’s reelection campaign. Whitey Bulger himself could donate to a Democrat and the Globe wouldn’t blink. The liberal media started the circus surrounding the successful businessmen Koch brothers and refuses to let it die. Looks like the Globe is starting its campaign early to bring down the most popular politician in Massachusetts, an enemy Republican.

DC Dysfunction

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-07-18T09:33:46+09:00

This is a good article from Politico, titled “Governors gag over DC dysfunction,” that highlights how both Republican and Democrat governors have been able to enact large-scale measures over the past few years, even with divided legislatures. It makes you wonder why the federal government can’t do the same...

Keeping History Alive

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-06-23T09:16:53+09:00

In this interview, titled “Don’t Know Much About History”, historian David McCullough laments the state of historical education in the United States. The Department of Education recently reported that only 12% of high school seniors have a firm grasp of American history.

“Who cares?”, you might think. Well, McCullough does. He states, “History is a source of strength. It sets higher standards for all of us”.

This author of recent history bestsellers like John Adams and 1776 pinpoints four leading causes in the American student’s decline.

First, teachers who major in teaching as opposed to a favorite subject are unable to relay their passion to their students. Teaching your area of expertise gives teachers a vested interest in education and their student’s retention.

Second, history these days, especially at the college level, is taught in overly-specific categories instead of chronological order. So, students learn about African American history or Women’s history, but have no spatial recognition of where that history falls on an overall historical timeline.

Third, text books have become overly politically correct, which forces teachers to allot historically absurd amounts of time to events and people who appeal to their student demographic, as opposed to some of the main players in history (especially American history).

Finally, he states that today’s text books are flat-out boring. And that’s no help in inspiring America’s schoolchildren.

While I agree with Mr. McCullough on all of his points, one of them especially hits home. After attending B. C. High, I’m a firm believer in the importance of teacher’s majoring in the subjects that they will eventually teach. Over my four years there I experienced countless teachers, most only a few years out of college, who were truly dedicated to their subjects. They were able to convey that passion each and every day and helped their students see the value in the subject, even if the text book fell victim to some of Mr. McCullough’s noted points of contention.

Were some teachers less adept at handling unruly students, counseling, etc.? Perhaps. After all, they certainly didn’t learn those skills majoring in English or History in college like they would have at a teaching institution. But, at the end of the day they used their natural people skills to adapt and overcome and successfully impart their knowledge on their students. And, come to think of it, if they were unable to overcome the challenges of the classroom, you didn’t see them around the old halls of McElroy the next year. Now that’s something you certainly wouldn’t see in a public school.

I will always be thankful for the dedicated teacher’s I experienced on Morrissey Boulevard who were true masters of their educational domain.

This Can't be Politically Correct

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-06-20T11:32:49+09:00

Debate Reaction

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-06-14T10:48:46+09:00

Just finished watching tonight’s Republican debate that was held at St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire. Here are my post-game takeaways:

-Romney seemed the most presidential and walked away the winner of tonight’s debate. He avoided sounding extreme on many issues that turn off independent New Hampshire and US voters and stuck to his talking points on the economy. He also engaged the crowd and seemed more human than usual by updating the crowd on the Bruin’s score and mentioning his home in New Hampshire.

-I wish Ron Paul had more mainstream views on foreign policy and/or was electable. He definitely came off as the smartest candidate and the one most devoted to his beliefs. He’s practically a walking Constitution and has no problem engaging his audience. I’m lucky enough to have seen him speak before and think he’d make a great president. He just doesn’t have the means of getting there.

-Herman Cain’s long shot candidacy has effectively been ended after the moderator, John King, brought up some ridiculous comments he made earlier in the week about not appointing a Muslim to his Cabinet because he couldn’t trust his/her dedication to America.

-Newt Gingrich looks old and pathetic on the stage and should just follow the lead of the majority of his staffers this week- and bail.

-Unfortunately, people will always associate Michele Bachmann with Sarah Palin because of her faultless conservative views and personal similarities. And she is therefore unelectable.

-Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty failed to rise above the noise and make any real impact tonight.

-All the candidates should stop trying to be the most conservative on gay rights, especially in a state like New Hampshire. Gay marriage may be an issue for older voters, but their importance is fading year by year. Most people under the age of 40 either: A) don’t care about gay rights, especially given the fact that we are a country at war and in the midst of an economic crisis or B) supports gay rights. Why not make an attempt to please all sides by saying that you might oppose gay marriage personally, but that as a constitutionalist you support the right of states to make their own decisions on the issue?

-John King should never be allowed to moderate another debate. His mumbling during the candidate’s answers was distracting and annoying. If he wanted them to speed up or move on he should have just said so.

-The candidates need to do some serious work on their Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security talking points. If I was approaching retirement or relied on any of these services, none of the candidate’s answers would have mollified my fears. They cannot let the Democrats gain the upper hand on communicating these vital issues.

-I look forward to John Huntsman and Texas Governor Rick Perry joining the group for future debates.

Now back to the Bruins game...

Scituate in Virginia

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-06-02T10:51:37+09:00

Car in front of me on the way home from base today. A little bit of Scituate in Virginia!

Kindle at the Beach

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-06-02T10:49:34+09:00

Saw this sight down in Hilton Head this past weekend. Not sure how comfortable I would feel with my Kindle surrounded by water...

UMass Headache

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-05-26T08:37:57+09:00

This article is a prime example of why the University of Massachusetts university system will never reach the stature of other state public university systems like University of Michigan, University of California, University of Virginia, etc. The UMass system is subject to the radical political projects of Massachusetts lawmakers, appointees, and union employees who are more interested in a utopian educational system than developing a respected, functional group of colleges and universities.

As the article states, the University of Massachusetts system has gone through four chancellors in the past ten years. Such high turnover and such short-term scrutiny by the who’s-who of the Massachusetts political machine means that the university cannot create a stable mission and environment necessary to build an under-achieving association of colleges into a world-class group of schools.

The current chancellor, Robert Holub, came from uber-liberal and uber-respected University of California Berkeley three years ago. His crime here in Massachusetts? Apparently he hasn’t shown enough concern that black enrollment at UMass has decreased 24% during his three years. Nevermind the fact that Hispanic enrollment has increased 33%. Additionally, UMass has become more selective, attracting students with higher GPAs and SAT scores. He has increased out-of-state enrollment, which is vital to increasing national standing and for bringing in out-of-state tuition. And he has made UMass football a Division I team. All this success, yet it’s not good enough for Massachusetts politics.

As Holub states, “In my view, things are all going in the right direction. I have every academic indicator on my side. I have so much of a stake in things that are going on here. So much of what I started, I want to see them through”. Regarding his lengthy academic record, The Boston Globe notes, “...those academic credentials did not prepare the 61-year-old chancellor to navigate the minefield of Massachusetts politics”.

It’s a shame that in a state like Massachusetts, which has some of the most educated residents and innumerable resources that could propel a successful university system, crazy politics rules the day.

Observations from Dulles

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-05-20T07:25:16+09:00

Stuck at Dulles in Virginia because of fog in Boston. So, I’ll kill some time with airport observations. Airports are great places to people watch.

1) I can’t believe the number of people who have iPads. Maybe it is indeed more than a fad.

2) People just don’t wear hats like they do in Boston. That was one of the first things I noticed last week when I landed at Logan.

The scene from Dulles below:

Stand by for photo of the hat-wearing crowd at Logan when I land...

Random Observation: Cigarettes are Very Cheap in VA

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-04-28T12:22:14+09:00

Gasoline Witch Hunt

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-04-27T01:12:25+09:00

Much like 2008, we find ourselves witnessing another gasoline witch hunt. President Obama recently ordered the Justice Department to investigate the seemingly endless increase in gasoline prices at the pump for fraud and manipulation by everyone’s favorite villain: speculators.

Once again, though, it’s nothing more than a political ploy. President Obama recently lamented to the well-heeled attendees* at a fundraiser out in San Francisco that his poll numbers rise and fall with gas prices. And who can blame voters? I certainly don’t like the fact that it costs me over $80 to fill my car ever week down here in Virginia where prices are even below the national average. But the fact of the matter is that the President has little, if any, control over the price of gasoline- at least in the short run.

As long as crazy dictators continue to be threatened by their weary people in the Middle East, the markets will push the price of oil up. After all, removing and transporting that oil has become more dangerous and uncertain, while there could be major disruptions in supply at any moment if a group decides to take an oil field or block a port. Hence, higher prices. Also, the dollar continues to plummet in value. A cheaper dollar buys less oil. Again, higher prices. The President cannot easily control either of these market drivers, which must be incredibly frustrating to him.

Ironically, the one concrete plan he has proposed this week will likely result in even higher prices for consumers. He wants to reduce or eliminate the billions of dollars in federal subsidies that oil companies receive in the U.S. and put that money towards reducing the deficit. Again, he’s simply trying to brush all the current political issues on the minds of voters with the deficit being among the most heavily discussed. But, once again, we have nothing more than sound-bite. Now, I’m not defending these subsidies. Neither is Speaker Boehner. But, the issue certainly isn’t going to lead to lower prices at the pump any time soon.

So, will voters fall for the bait? I don’t think so. Voters, though largely ignorant (not meant in a demeaning way- see Wikipedia article on rational ignorance), are smart enough to see turmoil in the Middle East on the news and understand that the situation over there drastically affects prices at the pump, not some dorky number-cruncher “manipulating” the markets in his gray cubicle.

Will they continue to blame Obama? Probably. This is just one issue in a line of many for which voters hold the President accountable, including health care, unpopular wars, unemployment, etc. It’s a lot easier for voters to lump gas prices together with these issues and hold it against Obama than it is for them to believe that his investigations will have any meaningful effect on the cost of filling up our beloved trucks and SUVs.

* Who certainly don’t worry about the cost of filling their Bentleys, Teslas, or Prii (Wikipedia claims the plural of Prius is Prii. If Wikipedia says it, it must be true.)

The College Check in the Box

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-04-12T06:48:09+09:00

Anyone who has spoken with me about education knows I believe that college is useless for many, if not a majority, of Americans who attend it these days. The relaxation of standards for admissions and overall performance has made college a mere check in the box for most students. This is so much so that in order to appeal to many businesses today you need to have obtained your masters or MBA just to stand out from the competition. In addition to college itself having become a check in the box, college classes focused around liberal arts have also become so. Students are forced to take classes throughout their four years that don’t appeal to their personal or professional aspirations and end up dejected about higher learning in general or taking away from the experiences of those students who are interested in those subjects.

So, what should be done?

Students should be encouraged to take classes that develop their strengths and inspire them. The brainiacs can stick to mathematics and sciences, the B students can invest their class time in entrepreneurship or other classes that appeal to them. Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic piece, tells his awesome story of discovering entrepreneurship in an article worth reading in the WSJ a few days ago, titled “How to Get a Real Education at College”. He blatantly states, “Why do we make B students sit through these classes? It’s like trying to train your cat to do your taxes- a waste of time and money”.

Speaking from personal experience, Entrepreneurship was undoubtedly the most valuable class I took in college. Forget Calculus 101. I learned skills that I use on a daily basis and will continue to use throughout my life, no matter what sector I find myself in the future. These include speaking and presentation skills, time management and prioritization, and dealing with failure. I’m grateful for these skills almost every day.

It is my hope that people continue to discover the value in thinking outside the box with both education and in the real world, and encourage those disenchanted with their classes or career to move beyond striving for that check in the box.

I'm back?

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-04-12T06:46:41+09:00

It’s been a while since I last posted. Apologies. Things are winding down a little bit here in Quantico, so it’s my goal over the few weeks to get back into the rhythm of at least one post a week. Keep up the pressure if I stumble.

GUASFCU

dane5588@aol.com — 2011-02-08T09:57:24+09:00

Very cool article in today’s Washington Post about GUASFCU.

Check it out here.

Holiday Inn

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-12-31T01:09:51+09:00

The Wall Street Journal has been chronicling Holiday Inn’s efforts to modernize its properties and establish a new brand image over the past few months, recently declaring the company’s efforts complete and interviewing hotel owners across the country about the results. Some owners weren’t happy with the over $200,000 of renovations that each Holiday Inn location required to meet the new standards and those that didn’t comply were forced to separate from the Holiday Inn group. But, most franchises saw the work as an opportunity to draw new customers from the crowded market to their properties.

Well, as a customer, I say the efforts were worthwhile. After driving for almost ten hours after the recent blizzard back down to Virginia, I decided to call it a night and stop at a new-looking Holiday Inn Express on the New Jersey/Delaware border. The hotel stood out among its competitors in the not-so-great-looking area with new signage and lighting. The lobby was nice and new as well. For $85/night I got a room that felt new with a 42” flat screen TV that’s nicer than the one I have at home and got a better than expected free breakfast the next morning in the lobby before I continued my journey south. In the future I’ll definitely look to see if any Holiday Inn’s are around for a stay.

Legacy Carriers Stink

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-12-31T01:03:37+09:00

I’m once again reminded why I avoid flying the big legacy carriers at all cost... United now charges a $50 fee to fly standby. And, to add insult to injury, I got suckered into paying an extra $20 when I booked the ticket for one of those “extra legroom seats” because there were only middle seats left on the plane. So, if I get on this standby flight, I obviously don’t get that seat and I don’t get the extra $20 back. If I had checked luggage I would be paying more in fees right now than for the flight, which is just how the big airlines like it I guess. Back to JetBlue for me.

Commie Christmas?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-12-26T02:53:33+09:00

Each year around Thanksgiving and Christmas my friend Matt questions my libertarianism/conservatism because of my support of some of Massachusetts’ old Blue Laws, which were generally enacted in the olden days by the Pilgrims and still stand today. For example, almost all stores in the state have to be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas to allow employees to celebrate the holidays. The only exceptions are gas stations, pharmacies, and a few other basic necessities. I just drove around the entire South Shore trying to find an open Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks and finally found one open in Cohasset. Coffee counts as basic necessity around here. But, no booze, no last minute gifts, no food. So, is this the state breathing down the necks of business owners and their customers? Or is it acting within its bounds?

Here, I say the state is within its bounds. It’s a decision being made at the local, state level that could be relatively easily altered if enough people in the state actually had a serious problem with it. If it were a national policy, that would be a no-go in my book. But, Massachusetts can do whatever it wants in the spirit of federalism. And those workers at Wal-Mart who would otherwise be stuck stocking shelves today can spend this valuable time with family.

Here’s an article debating the matter that was posted in the Herald on Thanksgiving.

Class Warfare

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-12-15T03:02:54+09:00

An excellent article by Roger Simon of Politico on class warfare that I hope to have time to actually blog about later: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46333.html.

Federal Freeze

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-11-29T03:14:52+09:00

Wow! Liberal Boston Herald and Boston talk show host Margery Eagan actually wrote a nice article in today’s Herald revealing the absurdity of state and federal employee wage spending.

Couldn’t have said it better myself: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view/20101130beacon_hill_yes_we_can/srvc=home&position=also

Probably the most ignored road sign in Virginia

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-11-13T11:57:40+09:00

Spotted, written in lipstick in a gym parking lot near base:

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-11-07T03:01:07+09:00

Blue Mass

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-11-04T10:53:01+09:00

Wow, what a day for Republicans nationwide. But, what a crappy day for Republicans in Massachusetts. I was convinced that we would pick up at least one seat, win the governor’s race, and repeal 40B. Not the case. I’m pretty sure that the results were the exact opposite of my entire ballot.

It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to take advantage of the current political climate and turn Massachusetts a little more purple. The flawed candidacy of Jeff Perry squandered a ripe chance to pick up the most conservative seat in the state, which is now going to be held by a liberal who doesn’t even own a home in our district.

I’m still trying to catch up on the news of the election, so hopefully I’ll have a more in depth post later. Comcast has yet to hook up cable/Internet in our new dorm building in Quantico, so I was in the dark for most of election night. But, there’s sure to be much debate surrounding the Tea Party Senate candidates in Delaware, Colorado, and Nevada who lost and whether or not their candidacies were worthwhile. Stay tuned.

It's October 24th...

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-10-25T04:25:39+09:00

...and there’s Christmas items in the CVS in Stafford, VA.

02066

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-10-11T14:09:50+09:00

Cahill Supporters?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-10-07T04:27:54+09:00

Since Tim Cahill can’t seem to find any supporters for his selfish, failed Independent bid for governor these days, especially outside his hometown of Quincy, it seems that he and his campaign staff have decided to make up for the voters who won’t display his yard signs by placing them on public property up and down the heavily trafficked Route 3A. Nothing like trying to drum up support with illegal yard signs...

Online Voting

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-10-07T00:42:46+09:00

I officially voted today using Massachusetts’ new option to receive the ballot via email for military members or those living overseas. The process isn’t as advanced as you might think. The town clerk simply emailed me a PDF version of the official ballot, which I printed, filled out, and dropped back off at town hall. If a voter isn’t in the area the ballot can be faxed or scanned and emailed back to the clerk’s office as well.

After I initially printed the ballot, I was alarmed that it didn’t fit on regular 8 1/2” x 11” printer paper. I figured it wouldn’t scan correctly and my vote would be meaningless. But, I eventually printed the ballot to fit-to-screen and learned that Internet ballots are automatically placed in the non-conforming ballot box and counted manually on election day. So, it didn’t really matter that the image was shrinked (shrunk?) onto 8 1/2” x 11”.

My ballot request originally caused quite a bit of confusion, as I’m pretty sure I was the first to ask for a ballot by email in town. Hopefully future electronic ballot voters will be informed of the print formatting required and the fact that the formatting won’t affect the vote count. Overall, though, this new type of voting solved my problem of not knowing my new address in time to receive a regular mail absentee ballot, so I’m pleased.

Christine O'Donnell Can Win in November

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-09-17T06:34:12+09:00

You heard it here first.

Christine O’Donnell will be portrayed by the media and by liberal interest groups (wait, aren’t they one in the same?) as a monster. But, in reality, voters face a stark choice in November- one that has been set in stone electorally. They can either choose the candidate who will vote the Obama line or they can choose the candidate that will stand up to Obama’s government power grab. Plain and simple.

Democrats have no right lambasting the Republican nominee. Didn’t they just re-nominate Mr. Corruption himself, Charlie Rangel? Bet you haven’t seen much of that on the news.

O’Donnell’s ability to remind voters of this will determine her chances of being elected over the next seven weeks. From what I’ve read, she did an impressive job defending herself against RINO (Republican In Name Only) Mike Castle, whom she defeated on Tuesday in the Republican primary. I’ve lost the quote, but at one point when he challenged her on her alleged financial difficulties, she quickly took control of the conversation and accused him of running away from the issues that matter in the election, like a European cap and trade system he so strongly favors.

I don’t care how many people say that Delaware is a blue state, so it won’t elect her. Guess what? Massachusetts is even more blue and since Scott Brown, things are looking pretty good up here for conservatives. People are unhappy with the direction of government everywhere, from the reddest of red states to the bluest of blues. These people are the electoral force that will take hold in November.

Pack of Wild Turkys Takes Over Meeting House Lane Cemetery

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-09-15T11:49:48+09:00

Spotted this scene on my way home from the harbor yesterday.

PS- who else knew the plural of turkey is turkeys? Had to look it up.

I Voted

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-09-15T07:48:00+09:00

What's in Store for Today's College Grads

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-09-15T03:19:15+09:00

Customers at work constantly ask me about the job market faced by recent college graduates, probably because they’re confused why I’m still working at the summer job (for now) that I’ve held since eighth grade. Fair question.

Here’s what I’ve come to realize:

If you graduated from a high ranking school or have a specialized degree and weren’t a sloppy drunk for the past four years, you’re very likely to have a respectable entry-level job at a big corporation. For example, Wall Street seems to love Georgetown McDonough School of Business students with Finance degrees and recruits them heavily. So, most of my peers are gainfully employed in America’s worst city. The same goes for students with engineering degrees from schools like University of Maryland, University of Michigan, etc.

If you have an English degree or an Art History degree from an Ivy or near-Ivy school, you’re unemployed and living at home. Get used to it. You probably think you’re “above” any of the other jobs that you might be able to find involving manual labor or seemingly-menial work. Until you gain some hard skills, unlike the ones you gained in those thought-provoking classes, you’re unlikely to find work in this economy.

But, if you’re an average student with an average degree who went to an average college, you’re most likely back home working the same job you’ve been working summers throughout high school and college. It’s tough getting recognized from the big firms that don’t recruit at these schools, so you’re left with what you’re familiar with.

This isn’t all that bad, though it’s not what most graduates entered college thinking they’d do afterwards.

From the point of view of the local company, these graduates have specialized knowledge of the business and market gained through years of lower-level summer work. Additionally, given the job market, companies can retain or rehire these graduates at below market rates (often with no benefits), paying small change for now-skilled college graduates. This stinks for the employee, but it’s better than being unemployed like more than 10% of America (forget the BS official unemployment numbers, real unemployment is much higher than stated).

One might argue that this situation isn’t good for these graduates at all. Relatively low level work, low wages, etc. Not to mention the fact that the market for summer hiring might be thrown off next season with graduated workers hanging on the payrolls.

Long term, though, I’m convinced it will be a positive experience for these workers. Small businesses are the heart of America. Here, graduates get to experience every aspect of these small businesses, from first-year hire to manager and so on. They see the ups and the downs, the struggles and successes, the efficiencies and the inefficiencies. If the economy doesn’t improve any time soon (I’m not holding my breath), they’ll continue to move up the ladder instead of moving on to other fields of work they might have experienced pre-recession. Who knows? They might eventually be offered to take part in ownership of the business. Or, someday they could use their now-specialized skills to open up their own small business in that field, or any other for that matter, already having the invaluable experience of small business management.

I have one friend in mind who particularly fits well into this category. He’s worked as a stocker and clerk at a local liquor store forever. Recently, he moved up to a manager position, which means he plays a role in examining and forecasting sales, ordering products, suggesting sales strategies, dealing with distributors, etc. The raise they gave him for this position is pretty lame, but these are skills that will make him a far more attractive job candidate or small business owner in the future. Certainly more so than a paper pusher constrained to a cubicle post-graduation.

Just goes to show that a crummy economy isn’t the end all for motivated, driven workers.

Welcome to Fall Boating

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-09-11T04:57:57+09:00

Massachusetts 10th

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-09-10T09:12:16+09:00

Politico recently compiled a list of House seats that are up for grabs this November and could lead the path to a Republican takeover of Congress. In the article they designate three types of races for Republicans to take control: must-wins, majority-makers, and landsliders.

My Massachusetts district (10th) shows up on the list as a landslider, meaning “a tough climb for GOP candidates, because of either the strength of the Democratic incumbent or the partisan tilt of the seat”. It goes on to say, “If the Democrats in this category start to fall on election night, a wave election is unfolding”.

The 10th district is the only competitive Congressional district in Massachusetts, both because the current hack-incumbent Delahunt decided to retire rather than face this unfriendly political environment and because it is the most conservative district in the state according to the Cook PVI (Partisan Voting Index). Additionally, Senator Scott Brown won his highest percentage of the vote here, 60%.

At first I was surprised by the “landslide” district label. Based on conversations with people in the area (customers at work, family, friends, people at the gym, overheard conversations around town, etc. etc.), yard signs, bumper stickers and the like, I would think that the Republican candidate would definitely be favored to win, thus at least deserving a “majority-maker” tag from Politico. However, the Republican ticket is more complicated this year than it ought to be, endangering what should be a relatively easy pick-up for Republicans. The leading candidates all come with significant baggage, which threatens to distract from the real issues in the race.

Jeff Perry, who has raised the most money and picked up endorsements from Scott Brown and Mitt Romney, was involved in a strip-search scandal of a teenager when he was a police officer earlier in his career. Additionally, he posted credit for a degree from a non-existent online university on his website during his race for state congress a few years ago, thus calling into question his honesty and credibility. Joe Malone, who is from Scituate, was Massachusetts’ Auditor in the 1990s. While he enacted successful changes during his tenure, an employee stole $10 million in state money on his watch, which he claims to have had no knowledge of. The other two candidates, Ray Kaspercowicz and Robert Hayden, have raised almost nothing and don’t really have a chance in the September 14th primary.

All of this is a shame, since their likely Democratic opponent Norfolk County DA William Keating should be a relatively easy target given the current anti-incumbent mood and Keating’s long political career and now-unpopular political positions.

The Republican candidates have sharply criticized each other leading up to the primary and have spent valuable campaign cash. This, and voters’ understandable uneasiness with the history of whichever candidate wins in the primary next week, threatens the vote. Dismayed voters will doom the GOP’s chances of success. If this is the case, Keating and his cronies will gather up their union minions and sweep the polls.

Given this situation, I understand Politico’s assessment of the race. Deep down though, I’m confident that conservative and independent voters will look at their Democratic alternative, move on from the primary and vote for the political values they want sent to Washington. In that case, I can’t wait to see that “election wave” roll on through the country.

Who is Guy Glodis?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-09-08T07:26:08+09:00

Who is Guy Glodis?

I can tell you this much: he’s a Democrat running for Auditor in Massachusetts. He also seems to be the ultimate political insider based on his website “credentials”.

But, I don’t understand why his lawn signs show up on so many conservative lawns.

Yards chock full of signs for Republican candidates often have Glodis signs as well instead of the sign of Republican candidate and CPA Mary Connaughton.

Hmmm...

There were lots of Europeans at the Grand Canyon

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-08-21T14:01:17+09:00

Southwest 2010

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-08-21T13:57:31+09:00

Pictures from family trip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas are up here.

Also, Dad has some good ones on his SmugMug site here and here.

Where's the Shame?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-08-17T03:00:17+09:00

What happened to the days of people being ashamed about receiving handouts from the government?

Photos and videos from a section 8 housing voucher handout event in Atlanta, Georgia last week made news when 30,000 people showed up and riots nearly ensued. All in all it was a pretty disgusting scene. You might have thought the rally was a free inner-city concert. Yelling, screaming, shouting, and shoving. Kids were trampled and riot police were called in. Sixty-two people were injured.

Watch this local news report from the riot and try not to be disgusted.

In these times of the government rewarding failed behavior left and right through bank bailouts, mortgage bailouts, government-paid funerals and benefits for dead gang-bangers, etc., it’s a wonder we don’t see more scenes like these in inner-city neighborhoods, which subsist almost soley on the hard work of other Americans.

I think anyone who receives section 8 housing, food stamps, extended unemployment, etc. should have their names publicly posted as motivation to get off the government dole. We need some way to begin the reversal of this dangerous cultural change that is sure to doom American productivity and values moving forward.

Newt Gingrich

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-08-11T04:05:31+09:00

This is why Newt Gingrich will never be President. Ex-wife number two comes out against him.

You can’t trust someone who has been married three times. They’re either really sleazy or have some serious commitment issues, both traits of which the U.S. government suffers from enough already.

I don’t care how much people like Howard Dean (of all people) and other Republicans respect the guy for his work as Speaker and for his history of getting things done as opposed to using rhetoric. He’s not electable and probably not trustworthy anyways.

DC Bumper Sticker

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-07-26T12:35:05+09:00

Saw a great bumper sticker on a car parked outside my rommates’ apartment building in DC this weekend:

“Obama & God have only one thing in common: No birth certificate! The difference is God doesn’t think He’s Obama!”

Sarah Palin

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-07-23T03:47:05+09:00

Sarah Palin intrigues me.

During the 2008 campaign, I “liked” the McCain/Palin ’08 Facebook page. After their loss, the page split into a McCain fan page and a Palin one. It took me a while to realize the split, but I eventually removed Palin’s page from my profile. I though, “Eek, she doesn’t represent me as a conservative”. It seemed almost shameful and a threat to my credibility to have any sort of link to someone portrayed by the media as anti-intellectual and crazy.

But how do I really feel about Sarah Palin?

As time moves on, I’m more and more torn. At this very moment I think she would be a terrible presidential nominee. She’s viewed as too ideological and could never win the all-important Independant vote, no matter how upset voters are with the way things are going in government today.

But the attention and following she commands is incredible and impresses me greatly. Add her name to the roster of any event and thousands mob the scene, worshipping their idol. Endorse a candidate and that candidate wins. Say anything about her and the media is in a frenzy. That’s real power.

I only wonder now how effectively she can harness that power into an official political future over the next years. She has already spearheaded what seems to be a female GOP revolution of sorts in politics, in addition to stoking the ongoing Tea Party revolution. What’s next?

Also: See Roger Simon’s article from Politico today, “Sarah Palin is at the top of her party”. Very insightful.

Despicable Me

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-07-21T12:24:37+09:00

So I saw Despicable Me with my dad the other night... Highly recommend. Ya, ya, ya, it’s a PG kids movie. I know. It was still hilarious. Check it out.

Taxes and the Black Market

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-07-08T04:06:28+09:00

A few times this week family members have mentioned that they’ve noticed businesses doing more work under the table. A local bagel shop has switched to cash only and rarely enters purchases into the register. A salon owner likewise takes payment in cash and simply puts it in her pocket instead of recording the sale. A computer programmer will only work if it’s hidden from Uncle Sam.

Now, I’m no tax expert. I’ll leave that to my friends who have become accounting slaves post-graduation. But, based on near-universal complaints from individuals and businesses, United States tax code is mired in complexity and impartiality.

In tough economic times it makes sense that business owners are desperate to increase revenues and decrease expenses. And what an easy way to do just that by asking for cash, which is almost untraceable, and subsequently not paying taxes on that revenue.

So, what’s the big deal?

Local and national budgets, which rely heavily on tax revenue, are wracked in these tough economic times. Rosy tax projections and wasteful spending put into place during the boom years have lead to unsustainable budgets in all levels of government. Thus, the government needs to be able to collect all due taxes in order to continue to function.

Taxes that are too high or a tax code that is too unwieldy does just the opposite. It creates a black market for goods and services that seriously harms government at all levels and citizens’ quality of life by straining budgets and services. The current debacle in Greece proves just that, as agencies have been unable to appropriately collect taxes because of a long standing culture of opacity instead of a culture of compliance, prompted by unfairly burdensome tax rates and distribution.

As the United States looks head on into a continuing economic crisis, federal and state governments owe it to both themselves and their citizens to promote and enforce a fair, growth-oriented tax code aimed at increasing business and investment.

This is What Happens When You Walk Away From Your Boat at the Spit

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-07-08T04:02:37+09:00

GOPrius

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-06-24T06:56:10+09:00

I pulled through the Dunkin Donuts drive thru this afternoon and rolled my eyes at yet another Prius plastered with bumper stickers. Much to my amazement, though, they were anti-Obama bumper stickers! If Obama has lost his tree-hugging Prius constituency, he’s really in trouble!

They read: “How’s that HOPEy CHANGEy Thing Workin’ Out For Ya?”, “Stop the O’Merican Nightmare!”, “OBAMA, Not the CHANGE You’d HOPEd For?”, and “I Have NO MORE CHANGE Left in My Pocket!”.

India

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-06-23T00:15:55+09:00

Just returned home from India last night after traveling for 24+ hours from Mumbai to Brussels to NY to Boston. Myself and five friends from school spent two weeks over there starting in Delhi. We then drove to Agra, Jaipur, Rathambore, and Udaipur. From Udaipur we took a quick flight to Mumbai. Each city is a three to six hour drive, so we had a driver most of the time who shuttled us place to place.

I’m guilty of going to India knowing very little about the country itself. We didn’t really plan activities or destinations until we got there and I certainly didn’t do any research beforehand. We were winging it.

Thus, my impressions of India were based soley on what I had learned in business school. India was an emerging economy with over a billion people spitting out engineers and Internet tycoons at an amazing rate, threatening to undermine a sleepy American workforce. Sure, the country had some infrastructure issues, but growth was tremendous and the country was undergoing a transformation.

The minute we arrived in Delhi I realized that I knew nothing about what India was really like.

As we pulled out of the airport that night I was immediately struck by the poverty and the pollution. The streets were covered in both dirt and heaps of trash and men were sleeping all over the streets and sidewalks. Animals, notably stray dogs and cows ranging from healthy-looking to emaciated, wandered the streets picking through piles of rubbish for food. Many of the trash heaps were smoldering.

Our hotel in Delhi was in the bicycle section of the city. The markets are dispersed throughout the city by category. There’s a spice section, a soap section, and candle section, etc. The number of people roaming the streets during the daytime was almost overwhelming, as you were bumped over and over again by people walking by (all the while continually patting your pockets to double check on your wallet, phone, and passport). After two days we made our way outside Old Delhi into New Delhi, which was a bit more touristy and a bit less crowded. There, we visited a number of temples, forts, and historic sites.

In Agra we saw the Taj Mahal, which is just as impressive as it looks on TV. Like most other places on our journey we were continually harassed by little kids (think Slumdog Millionaire) and seemingly friendly Indians who wanted to show you the best spot to take a picture at the Taj or tell you a fact about its history...and then want a “tip”. This became more than annoying after a while. But, its just how things work over there so we got used to it.

In Rathambore we went on a tiger safari, which was neat- minus all the critters like these lizards that accompanied us in our hotel room. I felt pretty sick for the two days there, so the rickety, 120 degree ride through the tiger reserve wasn’t too friendly to my pounding head or queasy stomach. In Pushkar we rode camels from our hotel into the desert, where we had dinner and watched some Indian dancers and musicians after the sunset. That was awesome. Camels are goofy animals.

We saw our lives flash before our eyes on the car rides from city to city. Most of the roadways were simple two lane roads jam packed with enormous tractor trailers that could only travel 40 km/h, mopeds, tractors, cars, buses, pedestrians, cows, and goats. Seeing that cars like ours were the speediest of the group, we would weave in and out of our lane to pass the slower vehicles ahead of us. The driver would fly straight ahead into oncoming traffic at 80 km/h and then quickly swerve back into our lane, missing a head on collision by literally inches. Traffic on the other side of the road, including large trucks avoiding animals or tractors, would do the same to us. In the early days we were on the edges of our seats and would gasp aloud at the surely fatal oncoming collision. After a few too many near death experiences, though, we quickly became desensitized. Some of our seats didn’t even have seat belts. I remember one time Mike calmly said, “Well, nice knowing you guys”, as a truck barreled towards us on a remote Indian roadway between Jaipur and Rathambore.

The last three days of our trip were spent in Mumbai, which is the business capital of India. It was the first city that looked different from all the others, as skyscrapers and electric ads dotted the skyline. Here, we had managed to get a deal at one of the five star Taj Hotels. Being a weary traveler by this point, desperately looking forward to the comfort of home, I barely left the hotel once over those days. Life was good at the Taj. Western food, a sweet rooftop pool, comfortable beds, etc. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Overall, my adventure to India was worthwhile. If I was planning the trip again I’d probably only book a week. After a while the cities, temples, and forts all looked the same to me. But, I was able to get a good feel for the culture, the georgraphy, and the economy. And it was good to put a face on a subject studied so much in school over the past four years, even if I found the state of affairs to be a little less spectacular than advertised.

Here are the pictures I took on the trip. When a few friends get back from the rest of their journey to Europe in a few weeks I’ll throw a link up to their pictures too, since they undoubtedly took more and better pictures than I did.

Oh ya... at the Delhi Zoo, where we might have been a more popular exhibit than most of the animals, and throughout India it seemed we were minor celebrities. Indians would constantly walk up to us and ask to have their picture taken, as seen in a few of my photos.

Vacation

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-06-06T12:52:15+09:00

Headed to India for two weeks. Be back with some good blogging material for sure.

Thursday’s expected temperature: 105

Purposeful Media Ignorance

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-06-02T11:29:14+09:00

The Wall Street Journal had an illuminating opinion piece yesterday highlighting the media’s refusal to acknowledge America’s evolving stance on abortion. The piece examines the seemingly unexplainable inconsistencies in the American attitude towards abortion. While the majority of Americans respond in polls that they wish to see abortion remain legal, more Americans identify themselves as pro-life as opposed to pro-choice (47% vs. 45%). Additionally, 50% of Americans view abortion as morally unacceptable, while only 38% view it as morally acceptable.

Thus, American’s views on the subject are both more complicated and more pro-life than the mainstream media would like you to think. The author openly admits that he doesn’t write claiming that America is a pro-life nation. Instead, he simply writes to draw attention to the fact that the nation’s mind is not set one way or the other.

A statement by the author towards the end of the piece really hit home for me on the double standard. The author writes:

‘In news reporting, it’s not unusual to encounter constructions such as this AP dispatch from the presidential campaign about Sarah Palin: “She has worshipped at a nondenominational Bible church since 2002, opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest and supports classroom discussions about creationism.”

That’s fair as far as it goes. Just once, however, wouldn’t it be interesting to see a leading newspaper write something like, “Nancy Pelosi, who opposes any restrictions on abortion, even in cases where a pregnant minor is taken across state lines without a parent’s permission or where the fetus is halfway out the mother”?’

Wow, can you really imagine a media that routinely highlighted the extreme positions of liberal leaders with as much enthusiasm as it does conservative ones?

Chris Christie

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-05-27T07:32:53+09:00

The more I read about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the more I like him.

He is the only politician I’m aware of who will stand up to the BS scare tactics and bullying by unions, especially teachers unions.

At a town hall event in New Jersey yesterday, a public school teacher began to complain about her salary- ignoring the insane benefits and number of holidays that she receives, of course.

He quickly told her that if she didn’t like the job and the benefits, she was free to quit and look for employment elsewhere.

I love it.

LOST Finale

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-05-25T05:33:53+09:00

More important than any sort of graduation, politics, or world affair, LOST ended its six-year run last night with a four and a half hour season recap and finale.

I thought the final episode of the series was great. Yes, we were left with innumerable questions about the island and its existence. But, the ending scene in the church and the awakenings of the characters to their intertwined pasts added closure to people we’ve cared deeply about for six seasons. The characters and their oddities are what really made the show and kept us coming back each week for so long. I was glad to see their stories resolved into a happy ending.

It was funny looking at the people around me watching the show towards the end. I’m pretty sure the entire group (myself included) sat there in complete stillness and silence with rapt attention, mouths open in awe as the final scene unfolded. That’s when I knew it was a success.

Arizona Boycott

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-05-20T10:29:02+09:00

This is pretty funny.

According to Politico, Arizona is threatening to cut its power supply to Los Angeles, California after the city decided to boycott the entire state of Arizona because of its controversial new immigration law.

Arizona supplies 25% of Los Angeles’ electricity and a good bit of its water.

What a great comeback to a stupid political stunt.

What Caused the Financial Crisis?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-05-16T03:53:27+09:00

GFMI <--- Click here to read my thoughts on what caused the financial crisis and, briefly, what we can do to avoid such situations in the future. I just passed this in as my last paper ever at Georgetown for one of my finance classes. Crazy.

Typical Prius...

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-05-12T03:52:02+09:00

The Big Short

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-05-02T05:35:00+09:00

I just finished Michael Lewis’ The Big Short. Highly recommend.

The book covers the few people who saw the potential for a housing bubble back in the early 2000’s and attempted to profit from their foresight by shorting subprime mortgages. It’s a quick, easy read that, like Lewis’ other successful books, focuses much more on the characters behind the finance rather than the nitty gritty finance itself. Probably the first finance book that I’ve ever laughed out loud while reading throughout.

If you’re looking to get a better understanding of what went wrong before and during the recent financial crash or learn what’s going on behind the Goldman vs. SEC case, definitely pick the book up.

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-04-22T03:39:15+09:00

Rob, Dublin

Rob, Dublin

View details

Hey Dan, I was wondering what you think of Brown's first Sunday morning interview and his statements that he would join a GOP filibuster of the finance bill? This doesn't really seem to correspond with the reasons he was elected to office. How also can his position be reconciled with the views of the Tea Partiers, people he is well aligned with, whose number one qualm is with Wall Street (along with most Americans)? Certainly finance reform is a solution most people can agree on and that deregulation during the nineties led to our current predicament. Hope all is well, great work. Thanks.

Rob

Good question. A few issues with assertions in the question itself and then I’ll do my best with it.

First, I don’t really see how this doesn’t correspond with the reasons he was elected to office. He was elected to be the 41st vote against Obamacare and to take back the Massachusetts Senate seat from simply being a legacy seat. Aside from healthcare, his goal, which I think he has accomplished thus far, was to make it so that both sides of any political debate need to pay attention to Massachusetts constituents. As someone who has sided with both Republicans and Democrats since his election, he holds incredible bargaining power, which he can use to benefit those who have elected him. Filibustering the current finance bill allows the measure to be brought back to the drawing board so that it can be more effective for those who elected him.

Secondly, I think Senator Brown is hardly aligned with the Tea Partiers. Many national Tea Party members may have helped to get him elected, either thinking that he would be a sure fiscal conservative or that his vote would simply be better than the alternative, but he has upset the Tea Party a number of times since becoming Senator. He was one of only a few Republicans who sided with Democrats and voted for the $15 billion jobs bill a few months ago and he also angered Tea Partiers by once again being one of only a few Republicans to vote recently to extend unemployment benefits. Additionally, Wall Street certainly isn’t the number one qualm of Tea Party voters. Instead, Tea Partiers have huge qualms with the ever-increasing size of government and its ability to interfere in both the market and everyday lives via new regulation, mandates, and spending. So, if anything, I highly doubt Tea Partier’s care very much about the workings of Wall Street- as long as the government doesn’t use their tax dollars to bail it out again.

In regard to the question- many people, though not all, agree that financial reform is needed for our markets. However, the issue is that financial reform is just a pretty term that hides incredibly complicated mechanisms that have the potential to have far-reaching effects on the world economy. And, unfortunately, financial deregulation in the 1990s is far from the agreed upon cause of our current predicament. The sole goal of one of my finance classes this semester is to pull apart the financial crisis and find the cracks in the system and propose ways to repair them for the future. It’s been almost an entire semester and the class is nowhere near coming to an agreemeent or understanding of the dozens of factors that lead to the collapse and how another one can be avoided. We’ve read books and articles that blame the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates too low, the Clinton Administration for forcing mortgage companies to make risky loans in the seemingly-admirable name of “home ownership”, ratings agencies like Moody’s and S&P for failing to properly assess risk, Wall Street executives for being greedy and short-sighted, etc., etc. The list goes on and on.

If the financial and economic scholars who wrote these books are at such odds for what caused the crisis, how can we expect a bunch of legislators, most of whom didn’t even have a basic knowledge of the workings of Wall Street a few weeks ago, to write legislation that will adequately protect US taxpayers from reckless bankers, while keeping these vital markets flowing?

Instead of looking to score political points with an understandably upset populace before the ominous 2010 mid-term elections, members of both parties need to slow down and attack the problem in a piece-by-piece manner, starting first with actions that most everyone agrees should be taken to rein in banks, while saving the more complicated and controversial actions for later days when the crisis and the effects of legislation are understood. For example, everyone from free-market guru Alan Greenspan to the most radical blame-Wall Street-faction like Congressman Barney Frank believe that reserve requirements should be increased to make sure that banks are less leveraged and can cover their obligations in times of financial crisis like the one last year. Why not start there?

While it’s all the rage these days to bash Wall Street, we cannot forget the vital role it plays in the world economy and the effect that premature, rushed legislation could have throughout the world. Wall Street greases the economic wheel that keeps money flowing from people and institutions that have excess money to invest to people and businesses that need money through the form of loans, penions, etc. Without it, credit markets would dry up and economies would freeze to a halt.

So, as I have argued here, Scott Brown’s decision to filibuster the upcoming financial reform bill is a decision that both meets the promise of his election and best serves the future of the financial markets. Rushing to haplessly design new rules and reguations for such a vital, interconnected industry only serves to hurt American taxpayers and constituents in the long run- all for the sake of a flashy White House photo-op.

The New York Times has an unusually helpful synopsis of the financial reform actions being taken by the House, Senate, and White House, which can be found here.

Tea Party Express

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-04-14T13:51:30+09:00

Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express are making a stop on Boston Common tomorrow afternoon, casuing quite the uproar in nearby liberal enclaves Cambridge, Arlington, Newton, etc. Counter-protestors are allegedly planning all sorts of tricks to spin and distract from the true meaning of the gathering- overtaxation and an ever-expanding government.

I wish I could be there to witness.

I’m definitely going to pay a visit to the final stop by the Washington Monument on Thursday evening, though. If you’re in the area and want to see what a Tea Party rally is really like, feel free to tag along.

The Call

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-04-12T10:29:00+09:00

I get goosebumps every time I watch this music video. Check it out.

Another Problem with Socialized Medicine

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-04-06T10:20:35+09:00

The Boston Globe highlighted statistics yesterday that show many Massachusetts citizens gaming the state’s health care laws by signing up for insurance right before an expensive operation or treatment and then immediately dropping the coverage afterwards.

A Globe comment’s section writer put it best: “Well Duh!!, who thought anyone would game the system. Maybe a better question would be who didn’t think it would happen”.

It’s cheaper (and financially smarter) for a relatively healthy person like a recent college graduate to pay the meager $93/month penalty for not having health insurance than to pay for insurance that would otherwise cost hundreds of dollars per month. Then, because insurers can no longer legally deny someone coverage for preexisting conditions, they simply sign up for insurance before fertility treatments or other expensive elective surgery. Post-operation, they drop the coverage, leaving the insurance companies with thousands of dollars in expenses.

Liberals would like you to think that insurance companies are pure evil, looking to snip the string of life like the three evil witches in Disney’s Hercules. Thus, serves them right. However, as much as people like to forget, insurances companies are businesses just like McDonalds and the rest of them. They need profit to survive. So, when selfish, expsensive customers like these gamers take advantage of anti-business laws, someone has to pay. And of course, the sucker becomes the good guy who plays by the rules and carries insurance like it should be carried.

Representative Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) (the congresswoman who became famous this past summer for oh-so-conveniently reversing her position on the value of town halls) was embarrassingly met with hearty laughter from a crowd of constituents the other day after claiming that Obama’s health bill was “paid for”. The crowd legitimately thought she was cracking a joke. Health insurance gamers like those mentioned above are precisely why claims like Shea-Porter’s or claims that Obamacare is deficit-reducing are met with laughter throughout the streets of the United States. If only the liberal writers of the bill had the common sense and the reality-based thinking of the room full of laughing New Hampshire voters...

Scenes from Opening Night

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-04-06T10:06:27+09:00

Went to Red Sox Opening Night with Andrew last night at Fenway Park. What a game! Fireworks, the 5 year-old kid who impersonates the famous Miracle speech, Pedro Martinez first pitch, Steve Tyler’s “God Bless America”, and Neil Diamond’s live performance of “Sweet Caroline”. Plus, a 9-7 comeback win against the Yanks. I’ve also never seen so many people get thrown out of a game by security and the Boston police. The lull’s during the game were more than made up for with the action in the bleachers.

Spring in Scituate

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-04-04T07:19:52+09:00

Tea Party Protest

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-03-25T05:33:20+09:00

On Sunday I attended the smaller Tea Party protest of the weekend to get a feel for the scene. I was sitting around pretty bored on Sunday afternoon and realized that I’m not going to have the luxury of simply hopping in my car to see some real political action much longer after I graduate in May.

It took me almost an hour to find a parking spot (as there were two other much larger protests going on that day as well) and I ended up parking in a Congressional staff space and risking a ticket. I got a feeling that the Capitol police would be a little more concerned with the thousands of immigration marchers that day than writing a few parking tickets, though based on the amount of fun I had roaming around the protest, I would have gladly paid the price of a parking ticket.

As you can see from the video, it was probably a couple hundred people camped out on the lawn outside the House chamber. Throughout the time there were lawmakers on the upper balcony that would either egg the crowd on or just take pictures with their phones in amazement. Barney Frank spent a good deal of time on the balcony. His ears were greeted with the chant “Jump Barney Jump!” throughout.

Are the Teapartiers crazy? Well, some of them are. But, you’re bound to get a bunch of crazies in any protest group. Can you imagine some of the fringe loonies that show up at the Code Pink rallies and the like? Somehow those people never seem to make the news. Wonder why?

Generally, though, it’s just a bunch of upper middle aged people who are sick of the government’s recent grab for power. They’re knowledgeable and articulate in their reasons for taking the time out of their lives to trek to DC and make their voices heard. They’re not simply repeating Glenn Becks’ talking points.

I don’t think they’re a bunch of racists and homophobes like the media has made them out to be. Counter protestors tend to show up to egg on some of the crazier ones for the sake of a news clip. Unfortunately, MSNBC and the likes are all too happy to broadcast it and tar and feather the entire group. While I was standing on the outskirts of the protest, Jesse Jackson walked right through and then tried to stir up the crowd himself by stepping beside a House Republican speaking to the crowd and raising his arms to get attention. He had no business being there. Of course he was just looking for one person to say something inappropriate so that he and the rest of his followers could write off the entire group as extremists. Though no one fell for his bait, it seems that the crowd wasn’t so restrained earlier in the weekend, thus tarnishing its image.

Anyways, I’m glad I chose to head downtown for such a historic day. It’s nice to be able to say “I was there” and get a better feel for the movements and issues defining our political time.

How About 80?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-03-19T05:44:17+09:00

It looks like the trend of lowering speed limits is turning, as states like Virginia and Texas move to increase highway speed limits.

The WSJ’s “Why 70 Miles Per Hour Is the New 55” has a good analysis of the political implications of 55 and how times have changed. Turns out that people tend to drive 65 on the highway irregardless of the actual posted limit, based on a study of Tom Tom navigation users.

Anyone who has driven with me knows I’m obviously a proponent of this change (in addition to any law that gets stupid drivers off the road altogether).

Healthcare Will Pass

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-03-19T05:41:05+09:00

I predict that Obamacare will pass the House on Sunday, unfortunately.

Speaker Pelosi is not stupid, and I just can’t see her bringing the measure to a vote if she isn’t 100% confident that 216 the votes are there.

Sox Hat

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-03-19T05:31:29+09:00

If an important person* like Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick can wear his Red Sox hat on the job, I refuse to take any more guff from anyone for wearing mine with my suit!

*Important until he is soundly defeated in the November election

Rotten Apple

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-03-19T05:25:28+09:00

Just had a scary few days with my beloved Macbook...

Last week my computer randomly wouldn’t turn on and wouldn’t even recognize the power cord when plugged in. I let it sit for a day and it magically turned on again the next day.

But, two days ago... I wasn’t so lucky. Wouldn’t boot up again and the light on the power cord wasn’t lighting up again. So, either the battery was dead, the connector between the cord and the battery was dead, or the cord itself was dead.

Thankfully, it seems to be the latter. Just got back from the Apple store at Pentagon City with a new power adapter. I can’t believe it cost $79, but I guess Apple has a patent on the ingenious magnetic power attachment. And $79 is a heck of a lot cheaper than a new battery or computer.

Looks like the black Mac will indeed live to see its fourth birthday soon.

Crooked Cabbies

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-03-14T02:33:47+09:00

Yet another reason not to trust cab drivers- some of the sleaziest people in the world in my opinion.

According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, taxicab drivers overcharged NYC travelers $8.3 million last year by knowningly charging the outside city limits rate of $0.80 per 1/5 mile to riders traveling downtown, which should cost $0.40 per 1/5 mile.

Guess that explains why the drivers were so against the 2007 initiative that installed GPS tracking and metering systems in the vehicles...

However, I would guess that this fraud doesn’t even come close to the abuses by Washinton, D.C. cab drivers before meters were installed last year.

Blinded by Brown?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-02-26T00:35:40+09:00

Michael Graham, local talk radio host, defends Senator Scott Brown in yesterday’s Boston Herald from some of the crazies around the country calling him a traitor for voting for the $15 billion Senate jobs bill.

Don’t get me wrong- I don’t support the jobs bill. I’m inherently skeptical of the government’s ability to create private sector jobs out of thin air no matter how many billions of dollars Uncle Sam throws around.

But, Scott Brown wasn’t elected as a Tea Party candidate. He was elected as a “Scott Brown Republican” who told Republican leaders on day one that he would not be a guaranteed vote on any issue. Instead, he would vote with his conscience on what’s best for Massachusetts.

No one with half a brain was swindled by Scott Brown and his vote for the jobs bill. Those whining should count their blessings that they have Brown roaming about the pot-holed streets of D.C. in his green truck instead of the elitist, deserving Martha Chokely (cringe).

Hallowed Hair¢ut$

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-02-20T08:40:14+09:00

Sometimes I think the Wall Street Journal reads my mind.

After spending the past week arguing with roommates and friends how stupid it is to pay big bucks for a haircut, the WSJ publishes this gem: “Does a Pricey Haircut Pay Off?”.

The cheapest haircut I’ve been able to find down here is $22. Yes, $22.

I would rather eat the cost of a flight home to Boston and get my haircut at Pat’s in Cohasset for $13 than pay over twenty bucks for a seven minute clip. Just on principle.

Better yet, you could trek down to Marine Corps Base Quantico and pay $8, though you might end up with a not-so-fashionable (at least around here) high and tight.

As the author notes, “How can anybody assert that a fancy haircut, something that begins depreciating almost as soon as you spring out of the barber’s chair, is a good investment?”

Well said Mr. Templin, well said.

CPAC No-Show

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-02-19T12:15:54+09:00

I was indeed a Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) no-show today.

Sort of a bummer, given the relatively favorable environment for conservatives looking ahead to the 2010 midterm elections. I’m sure there was even more energy than usual at the annual conference, which was held in an even bigger hotel this year to hold another thousand attendees.

I’ve had a great time at the show each year down here at Georgetown. You get to see great conservative speakers and travel around to different political action booths, all while rubbing shoulders with politicans and other active conservatives. Additionally, they make it really cheap for students to attend ($25 for a weekend pass, compared to hundreds for an adult).

Throughout the day today I checked in on the speeches and anecdotes from the event through Politico. As usual, Mitt Romney’s speech seemed to be well-said and well-received. And I loved current House Minority Leader Jim Boehner’s plans to make Congress more transparent in the case that he becomes House Majority Leader later this year, which would be awesome.

But, I can’t help but shake my head when I see some of these GOP dinosaurs- including Boehner himself- speak about the brewing conservative revolution. Maybe I’m a cynic (actually, there’s no maybe about it) but these are the same exact fools who sat silent while President Bush spent like crazy, while politicians put offensive earmarks in every piece of legislation, and while the Democrats swooped into power in 2006 and 2008.

I don’t think we can see a real change in bringing conservative ideas to the Republican Party, which has yet to prove its loyal conservatism, or to the government until these career politicans step aside and let new blood like Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown enter the ranks. We need officials like Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former Governor Mitt Romney, who aren’t afraid to speak their minds and won’t sit quietly while the government runs counter to their values- no matter what the MSNBC and CNN pundits say about them. We need new, young leaders who don’t hold their seats for life like Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Dan Inouye of Hawaii and everyone’s favorite liberal crook, Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

When some of today’s career politicans who spoke at CPAC take a step back and let the dozens of exciting conservative up-and-comers take the stage, a true revolution will have indeed begun.

Snow Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-02-11T09:59:20+09:00

Forget the snow day. Bring on the snow week.

It’s official. We just received word that class is cancelled yet again tomorrow. And since no one really has classes on Friday, it’s a snow week! The Provost claims that they will now hold classes on Monday, President’s Day, but I’m not sure how they can get away with that. I know a bunch of kids who will be away for the long weekend anyways.

Long live the Blizzard of 2010.

(Thanks to Caroline for the picture of snowed out M Street)

Snowpocalypse

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-02-09T09:11:04+09:00

I survived the storm of the century for D.C.- Snowpocalypse 2010. After getting over two feet of snow during the past few days, they’re now calling for another 10-20 inches for Tuesday through Wednesday. School was cancelled today. Rumor has it that it’s probably going to be cancelled again tomorrow and maybe for the whole upcoming week! Any road that isn’t a main roadway is still a disaster. My street still hasn’t been plowed once. The highways are full of huge clumps of ice and snowbanks that randomly jut into a lane, causing traffic to swerve into another lane. Trees are down everywhere, too.

Everyone likes to give the Mid-Atlantic region a hard time for being wimps about the snow, but even I have to admit that if these storms hit New England there would be almost as much chaos.

The first picture is my poor car, which took hours to dig out of its spot and then a few more hours to get it back into its spot after it became clear that there was no way that it was going to survive the journey down the street.

The second is the scene from the local Safeway the night before the storm. Good luck finding any food. The place was picked clean and check out took almost forty-five minutes.

I just took these with my phone over the past few days. More to come eventually.

State of the Union

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-29T02:19:33+09:00

So, what exactly is the state of this union? After last night’s State of the Union speech by President Barack Obama I’m not really sure. My ears were anxiously awaiting specific policy solutions for the problems plaguing America right now.

Instead, I heard a snarky campaign speech full of hypocritical lines and cheap shots at Republicans. Instead of being reassured that the White House learned its lesson from Massachusetts and now understands the true concerns of Americans, I heard populist rhetoric and plans to go ahead with onerous cap and trade legislation, to allow gays to openly serve in the military, and to continue the push for socialized health care.

Granted, these are all important issues. However, I don’t think Americans care very much about them at this moment in history when more and more jobs are being lost and billions and billions of dollars are being added to the national debt and deficit. Instead of playing the role of a people pleaser, looking to score political points with his teammates like a losing forward on the basketball court, Obama should grow some convictions and lose the wishy-washy “post-partisanship” campaigning and get to work solving America’s foremost concerns.

Gen. Petraeus Speech

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-22T14:18:38+09:00

Today I was lucky enough to see General David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, speak in Gaston Hall at Georgetown. The event was sponsored by the School of Foreign Service and the Lecture Fund and was more of a question and answer session than a speech. President DeGioia and another lady on the stage each asked General Petraeus a question before turning the microphone over to the audience.

The General struck me as incredibly intelligent and well-spoken. I have heard that he is a very articulate man, but didn’t realize just how smart until I saw him this afternoon. His answers to the questions, even ones meant to trip him up or put him in a difficult situation, showed a true mastery of foreign and military policy, as well as economic policy as it pertained to one or two inquiries. Additionally, while reflecting on his experiences at Georgetown during a fellowship, he managed to throw in a few jokes along the way.

Of course, being tolerant* Georgetown, the speech was interrupted ten to fifteen times by classless protestors who would rather cause a scene than engage in real dialogue. So, ten to fifteen attendees were escorted out of the hall, screaming throughout their journey to the door. Funny thing is, if you gave me a chance to scan the crowd before the speech, I probably could have picked out which ones would cause the disruptions. Most members of the group apparently read the same fashion magazines and coordinated a beard, pony-tail/long hair, flannel look. Classic. Anyways, they stood up throughout the event and began to read the names of casualties of the ongoing wars in the Middle East, conveniently omitting the names of the radical Muslim terrorist victims throughout the world from New York City to Spain to London to the streets of Baghdad.

During the proper question and answer time, there were indeed a few worthy and thought provoking questions from anti-war members in the crowd, including a student himself from Afghanistan. Their respect for the speaker, attendees, and institution in the manner that they asked their questions added to the value of the event. If only their radical cohorts would have the self-repect to do the same. Since they are allegedly so principled in matters of life and death, I fully expect to see them loudly marching during tomorrow’s March for Life on the National Mall.

I won’t hold my breath.

*Tolerant- noun. 1. Respectful of others’ opinions. 2. At Georgetown: respectful of others’ opinions as much as they align with the radical/liberal beliefs of student activists.

Brown WINS!

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-20T12:23:57+09:00

Congratulations Senator Scott Brown!!!!!!

I’m still sort of in shock with the results of tonight’s election. It’s amazing to think that my Massachusetts vote mattered for the first time in my life.

More to come later, but special Scott Brown Happy Birthday wishes to Jimmy English and Ben Read...

Getting the Vote Out

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-17T13:41:43+09:00

Read “Enthusiasm Gap in Mass. Senate Race” from Politico. A hopeful article regarding my earlier point about getting the vote out for Brown on Tuesday.

I also like the mention of all the Brown yard signs in Massachusetts: “He’s drawing crowds rarely seen by Republicans in this state and seems to have more organic support than Coakley, an impression underscored by the imperfect measure of yard signs spotted for the Republican (many) and the Democrat (none) along the South Shore and on the Cape”.

Also, the Boston Globe changed the article/link that I wrote about in the previous blog post. Apologies. But, from the comments there I’m guessing that you’ll be able to get the jist of the article.

Typical Boston Globe Antics

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-15T22:58:20+09:00

This is one of the most biased headlines and articles that I have read in the Boston Globe Democrat in a while. I think these two user comments sum up the attacks best:

JohnPaul16 wrote:
This seemed to be a straight up factual report until the end, when the author just couldn't resist putting in the following:

"Brown has long been best known in Massachusetts as a former model who once posed naked in Cosmopolitan magazine, as well as the father of an "American Idol" contestant."

That's it! Not one thing about his political career in the Mass state Senate; nothing about his eductaion or voting record; nothing about his popularity with law enforcement, etc.

According to Glenn Johnson, all you need to know about Scott Brown is that he posed naked and his daughter was on AI.

This is more pathetic, biased, cheap shot journalism.

and:

swimmerkennedy wrote:
Bias is usually what you hide, not how you report.

Example:

LAST WEEK, SCREAMING AT TOP: COAKLEY LEADS BY 15 POINTS

TODAY, BELOW FOLD (NUANCED AS CAN BE): MASS SENATE POLL SHOWS SHIFT TOWARD GOP CANDIDATE

Nevertheless, what is mentioned in the article is unbelievable news and just goes to prove that even in the most liberal of states, voters have become sick and tired of the games played by Democratic politicians and their hitmen like the Boston Globe.

The Race Heats Up

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-15T12:40:55+09:00

There’s about a million (give or take) good articles about the close Massachusetts special election coming up and how it’s a lose-lose situation for the Democrats and President Obama’s agenda. So, I won’t bother regurgitating any of their stories, though I highly recommend that you check them out and get excited for a potential upset.

But, I’ve been debating over the past few days whether or not the national attention now being paid to the race helps or hinders Brown. I’m leaning towards hurt.

This race is such a shocker because Massachusetts is so liberal. So, Brown will need to convince thousands who are comfortable voting for the big D to leave their comfort zones and use that black marker to check the forbidden R. Naturally, these people will be uncomfortable in the ballot booth doing so. The recent nationalization of this race could stir the liberal inner self-consciousness of these folks and cause them to take the easy way out and vote Coakley.

Additionally, the attention being paid to the race has the potential to bring out the Democratic machine, which has a reputation for playing dishonest, Chicago-style politics. ACORN, the unions, and the like will play their dirty tricks to prevent a Brown upset. It’s already been rumored that unions are paying their minions to hold Coakley signs over overpasses and at busy intersections, while Brown has no trouble finding willing volunteers to do the same. As I read in an article earlier, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the residents of Forest Hills Cemetery making their voices heard from six feet under on Tuesday.

Even Secretary of State Bill Galvin has hinted that he might delay Brown’s certification until the hideous health bill passes. Now isn’t that true Massachusetts democracy?

And now, a question: Are absentee ballots counted like regular ballots on election day or are they only tallied if the election is within a certain close percentage? Something tells me that they’re only counted if its close, which is unfortunate because thousands of motivated change-seekers like myself, friends who have gone back to college already, and family members have cast Scott Brown votes via absentee. Leave a comment if you know the answer.

So, I anxiously await the arrival of Tuesday to see if Massachusetts can make history. The outcome of the election will undoubtedly depend on which group (notice I don’t say party because of all the tired Democrats casting Brown votes) turns out in force that day. Let’s hope to see droves who are tired of the same old, same old in Massachusetts.

Brown Upset?

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-08T13:51:52+09:00

A new independent Rasmussen poll released the other day reports that Republican State Senator Scott Brown is within nine points of Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley in the special Senate election to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat. Brown leads Coakley among registered Independents, who make up more than 50% of Massachusetts voters, 65 to 21 percent.

So...Dad, Jimmy, and I trekked down to Brown’s Plymouth campaign office to pick up a yard sign, which now proudly stands along Route 3A.

This is pretty startling news that could have far reaching consequences across the country. The poll shows that this election is not so much about the two actual candidates, but instead serves as a referendum on national politics. A victory by Brown, or even a single digit loss, should serve as a very strong wake up call to moderate and vulnerable politicians up for re-election in 2010.

So, make sure to go out and vote on January 19th. All the town halls already have the ballots, so if you’re trying to vote absentee, just go down and vote today.

Airport Security

dane5588@aol.com — 2010-01-03T09:18:46+09:00

Happy 2010 everyone

In light of the Christmas Day attempted terror attack on a Detroit-bound plane by a Muslim terrorist, I figure I’ll share my recent experience at the airport.

I fly pretty often because of the fact that I go to school relatively far away from home and it doesn’t make much sense to drive all the way from DC to Scituate for a quick weekend break. I’m one of those people who can’t stand wasting time at the airport and I aim to arrive at the gate right as the plane starts boarding, much to the annoyance to my parents who are always more stressed than I am while driving to the airport.

Despite the hammering that airports and airlines take from the media and general public, I must say that I’m one of the few happy customers. The flights from DC to Boston are so frequent that they’re rarely late and I always absolutely fly through security. No checked luggage. No problems. No hassles.

Which brings me to my next point: security. I generally shouldn’t have the luxury of flying through those metal detectors and baggage scanners. I usually have a bunch of different liquid bottles strewn about my bag, definitely not in the mandated one quart zip lock baggies. But I’m never, ever stopped.

So, when I flew down to Florida last week a few days after Christmas, I suspected to go through a little more trouble to make my way to the Delta gate.

I was wrong.

I showed up at Logan carrying a one-way ticket to Orlando (I had booked two one way tickets) and carrying only one carry on bag. Much to my surprise, there wasn’t a single person in line at security. Excellent. For once, I had put most of my liquids in a one quart bag, as per the rules. But, I had two bottles of liquid above the 3 oz. limit that were not in the bag. As I dropped the bag on the conveyor, I was just waiting for someone to remove it and sift through to check. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

“Have a good day” was all I heard. Now, my 3 oz.-plus liquids weren’t technically against the rules as they were prescriptions. But, none of the TSA screeners bothered to check that. It looks like things haven’t changed, even after the attempted attack.

What can TSA do to make air travel more safe? Not much, unfortunately. The big talk now surrounds the personally invasive full-body picture screeners. I don’t really have a problem with them, but I still don’t think they are the solution. I saw a special report on Fox the other night where a reporter tried to make it through the new scanners with liquids. Placed in certain areas of the body (crotch especially, like the terrorist), even the new scanners only showed the tiniest, slightest glimmer on the security screen signifying the liquid. There’s no way that a low-level TSA employee making $10 bucks an hour sitting for hours on end staring at a computer monitor is going to catch that faint sliver of glow most times. The only person that wins in this situation is the company that produces the new scanners who is most likely padding the pockets of some congressmen or TSA officials who don’t need to deal with security anyways when they travel.

So, I’m not too sure what can be done. I am comforted, however, that today’s passengers are brave enough to take security into their own hands when the onerous system falls flat on its face.

Healthscare 2009

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-12-17T10:42:47+09:00

First off, apologies for taking some time off from blogging. I finished up final exams yesterday. One more semester to go.

Anyways, it’s looking more and more like the Senate will be unable to pass their version of the health care bill before the Christmas deadline. Now isn’t that a little Christmas miracle. This bill is wrong for America from so many angles and it is completely irresponsible for Congress to try to force it down our throats in such a short period of time.

Recent polling indicates that more American voters believe that they would be better off with the health care system as-is rather than any of the plans being pushed by the House, Senate, or the White House. No one, from the Congressional Budget Office to the Democratic leadership, seems to be able to put a finger on just how many trillions of dollars this monster will cost future generations of Americans. No one seems to agree on how Obamacare will affect the premiums and coverage of the 85% of Americans who currently have health insurance. What about seniors? Will their Medicare benefits be trimmed in the name of “cost savings”? And how about that public option? Will the best doctors and hospitals opt out from government funded medical plans?

Question after question abounds. Given these uncertainties, why are the Democrats wheeling and dealing behind closed doors each day with lobbyists and power brokers downtown to move on this bill before the Christmas break? Are they really that politically selfish that they would force through a hastily made stack of papers affecting each and every American without forming some sort of broader consensus among voters, doctors, businesses, and the like?

Even from a political standpoint, how can liberal politicians pat themselves on the back (or give themselves B+’s) and tell their liberal supporters with a straight face that they are satisfied enough with the bill to cast a historic vote in its favor? The bill, now basically stripped naked, doesn’t include a public option, doesn’t include a single-payer system, doesn’t extend Medicare to 55 year olds, and certainly doesn’t cover a majority of the currently uninsured.

And yet, Congress has its eyes fixed on that December 25th date. Despite all the red flags screaming like an injured hospital patient, Reid and Pelosi will push onwards.

Now isn’t that leadership...

A Few Good Reads

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-12-07T07:00:20+09:00

This has to be my third blog post from up in the air over the past month or so. Guess I’ve been doing a lot of flying. Currently about an hour and a half away from San Francisco.

It’s been a busy week, so I’ve been a little more detached from the news than usual. I’ve had roughly a million (give or take a few) end-of-semester projects and papers due over the past days so I don’t really have anything political to rant or rave about, though there is plenty going on- health care, the surge in Afghanistan, Climategate, etc.

So, I’ll share with you a book I just finished here a few minutes ago, squeezed in the middle seat between an antsy businesswoman and a man a little too eager to share his germy coughing with myself and the rest of the plane.

The book is called Joker One by Donovan Campbell. I don’t think it’s out in full release yet, but you can get an early hardcover copy on Amazon or BarnesandNoble.com. It’s written by a Princeton graduated Marine Corps Lieutenant who leads his platoon through Ramadi, Iraq in 2004. He’s a great writer and really captures the feeling and emotion of the scenes he saw on this tour. You’d be hardpressed not to get gooesbumps or a tear a few times throughout the piece.

Anyways, its worth checking out if you’re interested in getting a firsthand account of the war, as well as Nathaniel Fick’s One Bullet Away and Marcus Luttrell’s Lone Survivor.

BC vs. BU Hockey

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-12-02T13:57:50+09:00

Here’s a really good WSJ article on the historic Boston College vs. Boston University hockey rivalry. Makes me wish Georgetown had some sort of similar rival... or even a hockey team for that matter.

Catholic Power

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-11-25T10:13:51+09:00

The news has been filled recently with stories about how the Catholic hierarchy pulled a fast one over the pro-abortion crowd by squeezing the Stupak Amendment into the House healthcare bill. Catholic bishops, who support universal health care, lobbied fervently to halt the expansion of government support of abortion. Additionally, news articles have detailed the efforts of organizations fighting for their way with abortion in the Senate health care bill, set to debut in the coming weeks. Pro-abortion advocates have attempted to mobilize members of liberal groups like EMILYs list and NOW, while pro-life factions have attempted to mobilize Catholics.

Throughout all this I have been amazed by the power of the Catholic lobby and the Catholic vote in America. Catholics represnt only 1/4 of the country, but hold incredible power in its function and policy. I’ve recently been asking myself why this is so, when evangelicals are statistically much more pro-life than the average Catholic. Perhaps it’s because there is no go-to evangelical leader who speaks for all evangelicals like there is for the Church- namely, the Pope and his bishops. Though only about 50% of Catholics may be pro-life (though the numbers for Catholics who attend church regularly are much higher), those 50% are relatively easily mobilized. Their impressive power has shown itself over these past few weeks in the healthcare debate.

Go Ahead. Fail.

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-11-16T21:36:18+09:00

Every week my Entrepreneurship class hosts a successful guest entrepreneur who speaks to the group about his career path and shares tips on how to make it in the business world. I look forward to these classes each week, as they reaffirm my beliefs and experiences that business is all about doing things your way and sticking to your core values, as opposed to the narrow, live-in-a-cubicle, get-rich-quick-by-being-a-slave-to-Wall-Street type of business that Georgetown preaches.

Anyways, our guest last week was David McCourt, a B.C. High graduate and telecommunications pioneer who has had quite the career. His entire presentation was fascinating, from his refusal to settle for “no” when getting started to his adventures getting his business into foreign countries. But, what struck me most were his final few thoughts on why the United States is the entrepreneurial leader of the world. I had never really thought about it this way, but after hearing Mr. McCourt it made complete sense. America celebrates failure, he stated. If you fail at first, people will be there to support you the second time around. If you fail again, they’ll be there even more the third time as you try to overcome your weaknesses.

He’s right. America has thrived on failure. A failed early constitution. Failed policies like slavery. Failed scientific experiments that lead to discoveries like the light bulb. America has emerged from each of these failures stronger. Likewise, every entrepreneur who has spoken to the class has been frank with his failures. But these failures aren’t what defines these guys. Instead, it’s their ability to move beyond failure, often with the help of family or a mentor, and come out stronger. Mr. McCourt joked (sort of), that in Japan, if you fail, it’s acceptable to kill yourself. In England, he claims, once you fail, you’re done. But in the U.S. you’re given a second chance. And brilliant ideas come from those second, third, and fourth chances.

I think that’s pretty cool.

Happy Flyer

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-11-16T21:27:54+09:00

Very rarely do I have anything positive to say about airlines (except Jetblue), but I must say that United surprised me this morning. I somehow convinced myself that I had a 6:40 flight from Logan to Dulles, only to find out when I got to the airport at 5:45 this morning my flight was at 6 AM. Looks like I wouldn’t be making my first class.

So, the guy at the ticket counter said he could get me on the next flight at 8:20 and it wouldn’t cost me anyting more. I always thought you had to buy a new ticket when you missed a flight, so I was already pleased. But then, when I mentioned that I’d be missing class, he said, “Let me see what I can do”. Sure enough, he was able to get me on a 7 AM US Airways flight into DC Reagan, which is much more expensive to fly into and only ten minutes away from campus, as opposed to 45 minutes from Dulles. And, no extra charge. Bingo. Props to United for going out of their way to get me down to DC as soon as possible.

Worth Checking Out

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-11-11T08:29:08+09:00

Two good opinion pieces from today’s Wall Street Journal:

“Dr. Phil and the Fort Hood Killer”

“The Man Who Made Pelosi Cry ‘Uncle’”

Principle vs. Party

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-11-04T07:46:39+09:00

There’s all sorts of debate going on right now about the New York 23rd District election that takes place today and its effects on the Republican party and the 2010 midterm elections. In upstate New York Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman entered the election with the support of “tea party” supporters and gained unexpected support, appearing tied or ahead of his competition in the most recent polls. His soaring popularity lead to the withdrawal of liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava and her subsequent endorsement of Democrat Bill Owens. The previously boring race gained national attention when Republican heavyweights like Sarah Pailin publicly endorsed Hoffman over the Republican on the ballot. While many conservatives and Republicans rallied for Hoffman, Newt Gingrich warned that having a conservative litmus test for Republican candidates would only drive the party into obscurity and hurt its chances in attracting more moderate, Independent voters. Politico has a nice article today titled “Uncivil War: Conservatives to challenge a dozen GOP candidates” that speaks to the effects of this race on up and coming elections, as moderate Republican Senators and Representatives like Charlie Crist now face more conservative challengers backed by the tea party faction.

So, is this challenge from conservatives healthy for the Republican Party? Or will the tea party activists turn away the ever-important Independent voter and cement a Democratic U.S. government?

Conservatives have every right to challenge liberal to moderate Republicans and should continue to do so. The conservative principles in question here are winning positions both ideologically and with U.S. voters. Americans are fundamentally hesitant to allow Uncle Sam to stick his nose in their medical business and decide what type of medical care one may or may not receive. The same goes for European-style carbon trading and its subsequent astronomical effect on the already stretched wallets of ordinary Americans. Republicans strayed from their most basic party principles while in power over the last decade and paid dearly for their betrayal last November.

Why vote for a dishonest Republican who preaches fiscal responsibility while spending like a drunken fool when you could vote for a Democrat who will at least be honest with you in his desire to tax and spend on various social programs? A party that comes to be defined by hypocrisy or blurred ideologies cannot campaign or govern effectively. Unconventional political players who are appropriately enraged at past and present spending habits are performing their duty in standing up for principle over party and challenging what has become the status quo over the past years. If a Republican is so willing to sacrifice his supposed political beliefs for the sake of the letter R on a ballot, as Mr. Gingrich and other crooked Republican Party leaders are, one must question the genuineness of their positions. It’s time for the Republican Party to reinforce its most basic values and drive a disciplined, consistent punch to the ongoing and upcoming political fights that have the potential to drastically alter the shape of American government.

Wrong foot

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-10-29T04:34:42+09:00

So I started my day on the wrong foot this morning. After getting called out for not doing my reading in my government class this past Monday I emailed the professor last night letting him know that I had caught up on the reading that I had missed because of the marathon and looked forward to participating in class this morning. Well, wouldn’t you know that my phone apparently froze as I set the alarm and didn’t go off this morning at 7:30 like it was supposed to. So, I embarrassingly missed the very class I had told the professor I was so much looking forward to this morning.

It’s probably a bit too ridiculous to email him once again explaining my situation. I tried stopping by his office later in the day to no avail. At this point it’s probably best to just move on...

Sky Blogging

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-10-13T04:18:55+09:00

I’m currently blogging from 30,000 feet up. Pretty cool! Flying back to school after being home in Boston for the weekend. AirTran has free wireless through December from Boston to Baltimore BWI.

Nobel? No way!

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-10-10T05:04:13+09:00

I must admit: news that President Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize made my morning. Initially I was dreading my Elements of Political Theory midterm, but after reading the headlines on my phone in between brushing my teeth and showering I was all smiles. I can’t help but laugh when I think of the absurdity of the situation. To think that Obama had made enough change in the world to warrant a Nobel nomination a mere two weeks into his presidency should astound me. But, in fact, it doesn’t. Of course Norway and the rest of Europe has been drooling over Obama since his controversial tour during the campaign. While Obama’s ratings have fallen back home, he remains ever-popular with his European friends.

I can almost imagine the looks of awe on the faces of Obama and his staffers this morning. Surely this is attention that no one expected, no more wanted. At a time when the President is attempting to keep a consistent message and push through unpopular health care reform, the last thing he needs is a distracted media. Even more importantly, perhaps, it opens him up once again to the charge that he’s more liked in Europe than the United States and playing politics with our sovereignty. I particularly liked GOP chairman Michael Steele’s quote: “One thing is certain- President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action”. I personally wish Obama had declined the “prize”. Time to stop caring so much about what liberal Europe thinks and focus on the U.S. and its interests.

Open Carry

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-09-28T03:53:21+09:00

So I was wandering across the front of a Giant Supermarket in McLean, Virginia this past weekend, thrilled to have found a normal sized grocery store with a fully functioning deli counter, when I did a double take. No, it wasn’t a pretty girl. No, I didn’t see an Aston Martin cruise by the storefront window. It wasn’t even a famous politican. Instead, it was a shiny, black handgun.

Even more shocking, I was the only one who seemed to take any notice of it. Moms, kids, and old ladies alike strolled on by, pushing their shopping carriages full of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, frozen dinners, and whatever 12 pack of beer was on sale this week.

Now thankfully this wasn’t a hold up- though I guess that would have made for an even more exciting story. It was simply an older gentleman, clearly not a cop or some other sort gun-toting agent, wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a holstered gun attached to his brown leather belt.

Can you imagine the looks that man would have received back home in Massachusetts? Here, though, no one batted an eye.

When I got home I paid Wikipedia a visit and learned that only seven states and D.C. completely prohibit the open carrying of weapons. However, the vast majority of states- like Massachusetts- severley restrict the practice. Virginia, at its core a Southern state, has pretty limited restrictions on both open and concealed carry. Obviously it’s more common in central and southern parts of the state, but even in the tony suburbs of Northern Virginia it’s perfectly legal.

So, I ended my day a bit more cultered and knowledgeable, I guess. But more importantly, I ended my day with my first taste of freshly sliced, white American cheese since returning to Georgetown. A success.

A Lesson in Chaos

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-09-18T04:55:24+09:00

President Barack Obama and the Democrats crafted an election campaign based on strict discipline. Every appearance, word, and even question was part of a formulated strategy meant to propel the then-Senator to the White House. To the Republicans, his defense seemed inpenetrable. Over the past weeks and months we have witnessed both the President’s and the Democratic Party’s focus descend into a blurry state of chaos. From health care to czars to accusations of racism, the party message seems to be spinning out of control- much to the delight of Republicans hungry for a 2010 turnaround.

The serverity of the situation for Democrats especially struck me this morning when I opened up Drudge Report to a barrage of headlines displaying contradictoy and accusatory statements being thrown around the Democratic U.S. political circle. First up, former President Jimmy Carter alledges that racism lies behind the motivations of many conservative protesters seen across the nation over the past weekend. Accusations of racism are a political third rail that no Democrat wants to touch at the moment, for fear of alienating the white, Independent vote. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Majority Whip James Clyburn, and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were quick to distance themselves from Carter’s statement- not the first time Carter has caused Democrats to grimmace in the past year.

Next, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Robert Byrd (D-WV) jump on the anti-czar bandwagon, questioning the constitutional authority of White House czars, who avoid Senate confirmation and oversight. These czars are a new invention in presidential politics and have thus far avoided the headlines. However, constituent’s concerns on ever-increasing govenment powers have brought them into the spotlight.

Most imporantly, the left seems to be in disarray over the bill released by Democratic Senator and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. Baucus’ bill was meant to attract bipartisan support by not including a so-called “public option”. Instead, legislators on both sides of the aisle have announced their displeasure with the document, including RINO (Republican In Name Only) Olympia Snowe of Maine. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), under intense reelection pressure himself, released a statement yesterday saying that the bill “won’t work” for Nevada and that he won’t vote for a bill until it does. Rockefeller (D-WV) and Schumer (D-NY) are but a few more Democratic politicans who came out against the bill yesterday, too.

And finally, everyone’s favorite corrupt organization: ACORN. Democrats, who claimed that Republicans assault on President Obama and his ties to ACORN were simply political games, have realized that such a stance is nowadays “nuts”. After an undercover sting showed ACORN volunteers advising a couple on how to avoid taxes in a child prostitution ring, the House voted 345-75 yesterday to completely defund the group.

The Republicans are in no position to sit back and enjoy the ride, though. As has been noted by many political analysts, the growing frustration with the Obama administration doesn’t necessarily equal GOP votes. As someone who attended the Taxpayers March on DC last weekend, I can assure you that the majority of both sentiments and signs were anti-government and anti-Obama, not necessarily pro-GOP. In fact, a whole lot of the attendees weren’t very happy with Republicans either.

So, the Democratic PR train has seemingly been derailed. Now we can only wait and see if the party comes together with a common message on these important issues and prevents the caboose from falling off the tracks.

I'm Back

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-09-10T02:30:14+09:00

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, DanEnglish.com has been painfully inactive for quite a while now. No, I haven’t gone on strike. No, I don’t all of a sudden hate blogging. No, I haven’t forgotten how to type. Instead, I decided to do something a little different this summer- something that took my mind far away from politics, annoying drivers, and Georgetown life. I decided to attend U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA.

OCS is a 10-week training camp that stresses physical fitness, military knowledge, and, most importantly, leadership potential. The program I took part in (called PLC combined) was comprised of kids who had also just completed their junior and senior years of college. After graduating, juniors return to college for their senior year to decide whether or not they will accept their commission to become a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Seniors immediately commission after graduation and move on to the next training school, TBS.

People continually ask me about my experience this summer. I’ve decided that the best response is: “It was miserable, but in the good sort of way you’d expect it to be”. I survived the first weeks by going meal to meal. After “morning chow” each day I would say to myself, “Well, only two more meals until lights out”. Every day. Mentally, it got better as time went on. Or, maybe everyone just got used to it.

Our days began at 4:00 AM (0400) when we awoke before lights turned on at 0500 to shave, brush teeth, etc. before the bathroom (head) closed at 0415 for cleaning by designated people in the platoon. We would then make sure that the items needed for the day were perfectly layed out on our foot lockers as ordered, the “house” was relatively clean, and our uniforms looked presentable before hopping back into the racks a few minutes before lights to “wake up” at 0500.

What followed was generally some sort of chaos involving getting dressed quickly, cleaning the house even more, and getting the heck outside as soon as possible for either a morning PT (physical training) session or a march to morning chow. The rest of the day generally included a few classes on subjects like military history, customs and courtesies, etc., some sort of physical course like an obstacle course, drill (marching) practice, or “transition training”, whereby the instructors worked on transitioning us from civilian to military life.

The offical day concluded just before lights out at 9:00 PM (2100) with “evening devotion” and mail call. Catholics would head to the back of the squad bay and Protestants would meet in the middle for a few minutes of prayer and reflection on another busy day. Mail was treated sacredly, especially during the first four weeks when we had no other contact with the outside world.

Though lights went out at 2100, the day was nowhere near over. Many nights I’d find myself up until 000 writing letters home, studying for exams, and remarking identification on clothing and gear using permanent markers and black boot polish. Despite all the hours we were awake, the days went by pretty quickly. We were constantly moving, never having much time to stop and think about what we would rather be doing back home or outside the confines of Quantico, VA. That is, until the last few weeks when all the yelling and hustling let up just a hair.

So, 36 out of the original 65 members of Bravo Company 1st Platoon graduated on August 9th- a month ago today. Upon returning back home, I took it upon myself to become as lazy as possible and enjoyed every minute of it, though it took me almost two weeks to be able to sleep past 6 AM and I still eat meals quicker than ever before. I even made my bed down here at school a few weeks ago with hospital corners. Yikes. But, school has snapped me back into action a bit. I’m back to working out again, preparing for the Marine Corps Maration in DC in late October (I had already signed up for this prior to learning about my summer options. Coincidence). And I’m back to putting in a bunch of hours as the credit union (yes Jimmy, they’re unpaid), no matter how much griping I hear from family and friends about it. Classes for the semester have begun, and I’m off to the races for my senior year at Georgetown.

Learn more about OCS here.

Road Rage

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-05-15T08:15:09+09:00

As any of you who have been lucky enough to drive with me know, I tend to be one of the more aggressive drivers on the road. Indeed, mom taught me how to tailgate the day I turned 16 on the way home from the Quincy RMV. Now, I’m not some jerk who goes around trying to tick off every driver in sight. No, I like to think of myself as more of a police man for the fast lane. If you’re not passing anyone, you shouldn’t be in it. Very simple.

I also live by the theory that no one wants to get into a car accident. So, theoretically, most people will do anything they can do avoid one. Hence, I tend to be a bit more risky crossing streets because hitting a human isn’t exactly fun. Lots of court, lots of paperwork, lots of money, etc.

So, why does all this warrant a blog post? Well, I think I found my driving match the other night on the way home.

I tailgated this woman in a black BMW X5, traveling 65-70 in the fast lane, for a good five to seven miles. As we were a few miles away from exit 14 on Route 3 in Rockland she finally sped up to 75, so I moved over to the slow lane perfectly happy to be traveling 75 mph. There was another car traveling a similar speed a few car lengths ahead of me. Well, only a short time later as we approached the exit, this lady decides that she wants to get off the highway. Ohhhh no you don’t. After ticking me off for the last five miles, there’s no way I’m letting you get into the slow lane that easy, lady.

So, I eased forward a little bit again and again, making it impossible for her to get into the lane. Payback’s a you-know-what.

Just when I think I’m winning this battle, sure enough she takes advantage of my favorite accident avoidance theory mentioned earlier. She simply swerves into my lane right as we’re beside eachother and drives me into the breakdown lane and proceeds off the exit.

As her tail lights faded into the distance, my horn still blaring and high beams flashing, the only thought I could muster was: “touche”.

Weather

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-05-02T11:08:18+09:00

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced weirder weather than I have this past week or so in D.C. One day its freezing cold (60) and raining, the next three days the temperature averages 95+ humid degrees. And now its back to cold and rainy again. For the past two years I’ve been down here, spring has arrived in early to mid-March. This year, though, its been a seasonal rollercoaster alternating between spring and summer.

Anyways, the school year is wrapping up. Classes ended on Monday and exams started today. I have my first two exams next Tuesday, my 21st birthday. Looks like I’m going to have to celebrate that night instead of midnight the night before.

Back to Boston on Friday.

Ford

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-25T11:14:45+09:00

Ford is a good buy right now. Check out this article from Yahoo! Finance to learn why Ford has been able to avoid federal bailout money and turn both its models and image around.

Relay for Life

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-16T01:45:56+09:00

Georgetown’s annual Relay for Life, which benefits the American Cancer Society, happens this Friday. Relay’s goal is to raise another $100,000 over the next two days. I’ll be walking with a group of friends and coworkers from GUASFCU. So, even if it’s just $5, please donate to this great cause by clicking this link.

And...

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-15T12:51:24+09:00

Check out a classmate’s experience from the speech here. He interestingly notes that both the Jesuit logo and cross located above the stage in Gaston Hall were covered during the speech, assumedly to separate Obama from any perceived religous identification. Interesting...

Obama Speech

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-15T12:34:47+09:00

President Obama gave a speech on the state of the economy this morning at Georgetown. Yesterday morning the Georgetown community received an email announcing the last-minute appearance and informing us that seats would be given out based on a lottery system. I immediately entered the lottery, but found out later that night that I wasn’t selected to attend. Would’ve been quite the opportunity, but I’m sure he’ll be back next year some time. I was in class for the speech, but noticed pretty heavy security (no parking around a two block perimeter of the school) and a few protesters protesting Obama’s stance on abortion.

Also, just noticed this on Politico, but Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius amended her tax filings yet again to report that she actually received almost $40,000 in campaign donations from the notorious late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller, perhaps the most vicious man in the United States, instead of the previously stated value of $12,450. I encourage you to check out http://www.dr-tiller.com to learn more about him. Pro-life or not, I bet you’ll be disgusted.

Golf

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-09T03:40:16+09:00

As someone who has personally witnessed the horrors of Alzheimer’s though family members and by working in a nursing home for a summer, this article from today’s Wall Street Journal actually brought a tear to my eye. It’s a touching story about an assisted living facility out in California that discovered that many of its patients deeply affected by Alzheimer’s were able to seemingly snap away from the symptoms of the disease momentarily when brought to a golf course to putt and chip for a few hours. Several studies have shown that some of the memories and functions that hold up best to this debilitative disease are the one’s that either happened earliest in life or one’s that were imprinted through “muscle memory” (think Frank Niles drills at South Shore Baseball Club). For many of these people, golf is that memory. Either they followed their parents around golfing when they were younger or played often themselves with friends and coworkers. Suddenly, patients who are often withdrawn from life and struggle to recall their closest relatives names or even speak coherent sentences are happily working on their swings and commenting on their past.

Many nursing homes attempt to hold activities that might jog the memories of their patients to replace the anxiety associated with the disease with a few moments of peace and happiness. The exercises usually focus on singing, dancing, bowling, etc., which work well for some patients. Indeed, I remember a kind Irish woman from the nursing home in Scituate who used to sing semi-professionally. Sadly, she couldn’t put together an sentence on her own and was constantly frustred by the fact that she couldn’t. It was a heart-wrenching sight. However, when the home played certain Irish tunes she would sing the words like she was the author herself. Unfortunately, though, such activities don’t do it for everyone. Some, like those mentioned in the above article, need something more uniquely tailored to their past. It is my hope that nursing homes will learn a bit more from the article and look for ways to improve the lives of their residents.

Smoke and Save?

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-08T08:56:33+09:00

Last week, Democratic congressmen argued in favor of FDA control and regulation of the tobacco industry. Among their strongest talking points was the claim that smokers cost the United States $96 billion per year in health costs and an additional $97 million per year in lost productivity- meaning that the economy loses because a productive worker can no longer work, for example.

Well, this argument seems to have awakened a few sleepy economists. It turns out that since smokers die, on average, ten years earlier than non-smokers, they actually save the government money in terms of Medicare, Social Security, penions, etc. A Vanderbilt University economist claims, “It looks unpleasant or ghoulish to look at the cost savings as well as the cost increases...but if you’re going to follow this health-cost train all the way, you have to take into account all the effects, not just the ones you like in terms of getting your bill passed”. In fact, his research shows that the country actually nets a cost savings of 32 cents for every cigarette pack smoked.

Now I’m not suggesting that you take one for the team and go pick up a pack of smokes for the sake of the country, but the study certainly provides an interesting angle to the argument.

Econ4U

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-07T11:51:41+09:00

So I took a trip on the Washington D.C. Metro with a few friends this weekend to pick up some food from Eastern Market, the outdoor food and flea market (no fleas on the food thankfully). Our first train had an avertisment that said something to the tune of:

For every $100 earned in revenue by big businesses in the U.S., how much is profit? $5? $10? $50? $75? Answer: $5. Contrary to popular opinion, big businesses, on average, make similar profits as small companies. Its just that their revenues are much, much bigger.

We saw a similar ad on the way home, also urging riders to visit Econ4U.org. At first when I saw the ads I chuckled, thinking “Wow, these big businesses must really feel threatened by popular sentiment at the moment to come together and spend on these ads”. But, after checking the website, I’ve learned that they’re sponsored by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy, which seeks to “teach economics and personal finance using interesting, informative, and real examples...and present facts on personal finance, business economics, entrepreneurship, and government spending in unusual venues...”.

I’m still curious to find out who the major donors are for the center, but at first glance it seems well-intentioned.
---------------------------------------------

On an unrelated note, our train was full of people wearing Red Sox gear. Given the fact that the entire city was packed with tourists for the Cherry Blossom Festival and the seventy degree weather, we were obviously packed into the car like sardines and I couldn’t help but hear two groups talking about their Massachusetts hometowns. So, I jumped into the conversation only to find out that one of the guys was the former Director of Admissions for B.C. High back in the eighties and early nineties and was a member of the class of ’58, the same as my neighbor down the street. Small world!

Green Death

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-04-02T09:46:24+09:00

Alright, so I didn’t realize that this whole Green Death controversy in Scituate was that big of a deal until I just saw a still frame of ESPN talking about it (!).

Apparently the coach of the Scituate Rec 7 year old girls soccer team resigned the other day because of parent uproar over a sarcasm-laden email (click to read) that he sent to the team. The email included phrases like “The kids will run, they will fall, get bumps, bruises, and even bleed a little. Big deal, it’s good for them (but I do hope the other team is the one bleeding)” and “And speaking of meat, I expect the ladies to be put on a diet of fish, undercooked red meat and lots of veggies. No junk food. Protein shakes are encouraged, and while blood doping and HGH use is frowned upon, there is no testing policy”.

Well, appreantly phrases like that hurt the feelings of all these Scituate parents. As the story has spread across the nation, writers and bloggers have torn apart these “PC parents” from “goody two shoes Scituate”. Barstoolsports.com, a local Boston sports commentary website, is even selling t-shirts with the team motto, Losing is for Losers, printed on them.

I’m going to have to agree with the majority of bloggers. This sounds like a funny, dedicated coach trying to have a little fun with his team who was stopped by a bunch of obnoxious parents.

Here’s the original Patriot Ledger article. Check out the comments (112 of them at the moment). Some of them are pretty funny.

Wireless

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-03-31T14:49:22+09:00

It looks like more and more airplanes will soon have wireless capability during flights. American Airlines announced today that they will be adding wireless to about half of their flights over the next two years.

I’m all for Internet while in the air. Unfortunately, it seems like most airlines plan to charge $7-13 for service, depending on the length of the flight and type of device used (laptop vs. Blackberry). Once the service becomes standard in the airline industry, though, I hope competition will eliminate or reduce those fees.

I’ve heard some critics lament the new wireless options, claiming that the air is one of the few places left these days where one can avoid that ominous feeling that there’s important e-mail to be read on your phone or computer. Overbearing bosses will now be able to invade space once inpenetrable. Such is life and technological innovation, though.

So, bring on the wireless. And don’t forget to check DanEnglish.com from 30,000 feet up!

Insurance Fraud

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-03-25T12:20:36+09:00

An interesting article on the huge increase in insurance fraud in cities hard hit by the financial crisis like Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Looks like people who bought cars they could not afford during the whole $0 down 0% interest loan scheme a few years ago are regretting their decisions and torching or dumping their wheels for the insurance payments.

Live Free or Die

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-03-21T11:54:49+09:00

New Hampshire, with its famous state motto “Live Free or Die”, is one of the last great states of the Union left relatively untouched by the government. No income taxes, no sales taxes, no motorcycle helmets, and, my favorite, no seat belt laws for aduts. No seat belts? Yep. New Hampshire is the only state in the country that doesn’t mandate seat belt use by adults. Though I always wear my seat belt, every time I cross the border I’m sure to unclick my belt for a few minutes... just because I can.

Who is Uncle Sam to tell me that I need to protect myself from my own stupidity? If I feel like taking the risk of flying through my windshield in an accident, so be it. Live free. Or die.

When it comes to government, I’m a huge fan of the saying “Do whatever floats your boat unless it sinks someone else’s”. Well, as far as I can tell, my seat belt use, or lack thereof, isn’t sinking anyone else’s. Therefore, I should be free to wear it as I please.

Well, poor New Hampshire is falling victim to its liberal neighbor, Massachusetts. The state, with its beautiful scenery, good schools, clean air, and low cost of living, has become an attractive option for those looking to escape Massachusetts. The only problem is that the escapees bring their government-breathing-down-your-neck ways with them. So, as southern New Hampshire becomes politically more purple, the elected officials there have gained the ability to change the state.

The new Democrats elected this year have decided to strike quickly and end one of the liberties that makes the state great. They want to force you to buckle up. The idea of protecting you from yourself and the thought of the revenue from tickets just makes them giddy.

I can only hope that the real New Hampshire resident’s interviewed in this Wall Street Journal article cause a big enough stink to sink the legislation.

UK Trip

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-03-16T06:37:00+09:00

I spent last week in the UK visiting a few friends who are studying abroad there for the semester. Spent most of the time in London, except for a night in Oxford, which is about two hours north of the city. I had never been there before, so it was definitely great to see a different part of the country. But, in both London and Oxford we managed to cram a ton of sight seeing into a relatively short amount of time and successfully visited the majority of attractions in the city. I even got to see my first Broadway play, Avenue Q, and the dining hall at Christ Church at Oxford that inspired the Harry Potter dining hall scenes.

A few memorable moments from the trip and cultural differences that caught my attention:

- A girl we met on the bus one night on our way home told Rich that someday she’ll be proud to be able to say, “I met the Prime Minister of America on a bus one time in London”. I guess that’s a compliment...
-They don’t use card strips to read credit cards over there. Instead, each card has a chip in it that is inserted into a reader. It makes the whole process a bit slower.
-There’s no iced coffee anywhere!
-East Acton does not equal Aldgate East. One night we got distracted by the word “east” and ended up at the wrong bus stop about an hour in the opposite direction. Needless to say we were very late for my first Indian dinner.
-A coffee shop in Oxford had quotes from famous musicians like Bob Dylan and the Beatles framed all over the walls. Somehow, a Greenday quote was deemed worthy enough to share a wall with such music giants.
-Flavored potato chips are popular there. Walkers (Lays) makes prawn (British for shrimp) flavored chips. Why anyone would want to eat chips flavored like shrimp beats me.
-American music is everywhere. Malls, pubs, loud iPods on the bus, you name it.
-No one puts bumper stickers on cars in Britain. Not sure if it’s because the US is more politically active or because the Brits care more about their cars.
-The vast majority of sinks have separate hot and cold faucets, which makes getting warm watter quite difficult. I was taught that you have to turn on both faucets, catch the cold water, and then move your hands to the (boiling) hot water to make the combination warm.
-Though the British drive on the left side of the road, there is absolutely no visible consensus as to whether or not that transfers to walking. So, people walk all over the sidewalks and constantly run into each other.
-Brits have funny accents. They just do.
-Obama is a star over there too (see this entire shelf dedicated to him at a convenience store)

More pictures are up under “My Photos- UK 09”

March

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-03-04T08:13:44+09:00

We got the most snow I’ve seen in D.C. the other day: 3 or 4 inches maybe. Although I’m told a few other local colleges cancelled classes, we just got a 12 noon start time.

The stock market is at levels not seen since 1996. My fake portfolio for a school stock competition isn’t doing much better... There have been a number of articles on Politico describing bankers’ feelings towards the White House. A legislator from Florida kindly reminded Treasury Secretary Geithner today that every time he opens his mouth the market falls farther.

In other news, it looks like the Democrats will be bringing the fight for universal government health care back to the table. A conservative group, Conservatives for Patients Rights, launched ads across the country today against the President’s plans.

Apologies for the lame post. Had one midterm today and another tomorrow. I’m counting down the days until I get the chance to get out of here and head to London...

What's in a Town?

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-02-25T12:27:27+09:00

I had a funny conversation this past weekend that reminds me how different the fifty states are from each other and how those differences shape our language and thought.

A friend of mine mentioned that he was headed to Massachusetts this spring break to visit his girlfriend, who recently moved to Duxbury. After telling him what a lucky guy he is to be traveling to Mass, I told him that Deluxebury is “two towns below my town”.

At this point, both he and another kid in the room looked quizzicly at each other, laughed, and replied, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” It just so happens that both of these guys come from Indiana, where towns can stretch for miles and miles and miles. I was clearly implying that Duxbury is close to Scituate. However, saying “two towns south” back where their from doesn’t exactly tell you much about the location of the town. If anything, it means that you better be preparing for a road trip...

Bloomberg

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-02-20T07:18:45+09:00

So I’m struggling through a 150 person Comparative Political Systems lecture at the moment, admittedly surfing the web as my professor rambles on and on about subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with the topic of the class.

Anyways, check out the following article from the Wall Street Journal. It’s short and will only take a few minutes to read.

Over the past weeks and months New York State and NYC’s tax revenues have been falling quickly as the stormy financial market cuts earnings and spending. So, what do you do when your city, which already taxes its residents at sickening European-esque tax rates, notices a shortfall? Tax the rich, of course! That’s the knee-jerk reaction of most liberal politicians.

However, Mayor Bloomberg (no friend of low taxes, by the way) kindly reminded such politicians the other day that 1% of the city’s residents pay an astonishing 50% of the city’s taxes. So, a mere 40,000 or so people pay 50% of all the city taxes. Bloomberg has finally realized that nothing is forcing these people to continually be robbed blind by New York City. Indeed, these people could quite easily relocate to nearby New Jersey (yuck), Pennsylvania, Connecticut, or even warm Florida (0% state-local tax rate) instead of shelling out 10.5% in NYC. Raise taxes even more and the departure of even a few of these wealthy residents will wipe out any tax gains realized by the tax increases.

I hate to break it to some of these closeminded city politicians, but there’s more to budget deficits than raising taxes...

Greenspan at Economic Club of NY

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-02-18T12:13:07+09:00

Few people have had their reputations crash as quickly and drastically as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Poor Mr. Greenspan was once hailed as an economic genius, holding onto his post through both Democratic and Republican administrations. Today, however, his name has tumbled even further than the queasy stock market as critics point to his easy-money Federal Reserve policies as the catalyst for the greedy personal and corporate borrowing and lending habits that gave birth to this mess.

Despite his possible failures as Fed Chairman, one cannot deny his economic knowledge and experience. Realizing this, I was glad to see Greenspan’s level headed comments at the 401st meeting of the Economic Club of New York. There, after noting that this economic debacle is a once-in-a-century event, he stated that the government must fix the financial system as a whole before taking on stimulus spending and tax cuts, which are in danger of being squandered in the ongoing panic and confusion. For proof of such waste one only needs to look at the billions of “bailout dollars” irresponsibly spent without safeguards under the Bush Administration. Additionally, is anyone surprised that General Motors and Chrysler are back with their pockets open looking for a combined $35 million more? I’m sure not.

Finally, Greenspan reminds us that we tend to act recklessly in times of alarm and are liable to cause long term damage to a system that has worked for centuries because of a rare, cyclical bump in the road. “We need not rush to reform. Private markets are imposing far greater restraint at the moment than would any of the current sets of new regulatory proposals”, says Greenspan. A wise, level headed statement indeed.

Long Weekend

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-02-17T06:10:37+09:00

It’s the end of a long weekend here at Georgetown, which is lucky for us because many schools like Loyola Maryland didn’t have President’s Day off. The Naval Academy had the long weekend too, so I had a visitor in town who kindly reminded me and Rich that we’re pathetic for having seen so few of the Washington, D.C. sites and attractions in our three years here. Thus, we became tourists for the weekend.

On Saturday we went to the Natural History museum and then the American History museum, which was just recently reopened after two years of extensive renovations. The Star Spangled Banner exhibit at the American History museum is pretty impressive and deserves a visit. We didn’t end up having time to check out the Newseum, unfortunately. I’ve heard it gives a great behind-the-scenes view of the most recent presidential elections, so I hope to get there someday soon.

On Sunday we saw The International down on K Street (not bad) and then walked around both the National Cathedral and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at Catholic University. Both of these are impressive churches that rival their famous European counterparts in size and grandeur, but I was especially impressed with the Basilica, where the Pope gave mass earlier in the school year. I can’t imagine the work that went into designing the walls and ceilings of the Basilica made of millions of tiny, colorful tiles. Finally, we ended our tourist efforts at the famous 2 Amy’s Pizza on Wisconsin Ave, which Rich assures me is the closest to real Italian pizza that you will find in the U.S. I actually had a second dinner for the bank at Mie N Yu on M Street later that night, which features Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food and was apparently voted “best bathrooms in D.C.” recently (in case you’re wondering, they were pretty cool).

Overall, a good weekend.

--------

And now for a few song and video recommendations, since I’ve been criticized for my lack of suggestions recently:

-Renegades of Funk- Rage Against the Machine
-God Love Her- Toby Keith

(How’s that for some diverse music tastes?)

And here are a few videos that are good for a laugh:

“Iran So Far” - a SNL skit
“Sneezing Panda” - a personal favorite
“Charlie Bit My Finger” - 82 million YouTube views

Bailout

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-02-09T14:57:14+09:00

Is it wrong to be against something without knowing the full details of it?

That’s what I’m asking myself these days about the huge financial stimulus package being sent through Congress. At almost 1,000 pages long, I’m sure not very many people fully understand the package. And I’m not quite sure I believe those who claim to understand it anyways.

So, why am I against it? Principle. On principle, I’m against the idea of a bunch of drunken politial spenders potentially squandering almost a trillion dollars that will burden myself and future generations for years and years to come. The nature of the legislative system rears its ugly head in times like these, as congressmen face the enormous challenge of balancing the good of their respective legislative districts with the good of the entire United States. Hundreds of politicians swayed by the pressures of reelection and special interests cannot be trusted to put together any sort of package to get us out of this mess.

Am I offering any type of solution? Admittedly, no. However, at this point, I honestly ponder the potential consequenses of the wait for natural, cyclical economic recovery versus a potentially wasted $800 billion and wonder which might be worse.

Update

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-02-05T09:05:22+09:00

It’s been quite a while since I last blogged. Hope no one was holding their breath!

Not that I’m important enough that anyone should care what I’m doing this semester...but I’ll fill everyone in anyways.

I’ve received a new position at the bank and my weeks have been filled with meeting after meeting preparing for transition on March 1st. On that date each year a new board of directors moves in, while new executives are chosen to lead the seven departments and former tellers, recently replaced by new hires, officially begin to move into their respective departments. So, we’ve been holding meetings and strategic planning sessions to prepare for the next year and interviewing for positions each weekend. I’m looking forward to the transition phase dying down so that I can get a little of my free time/sanity back.

Classwise, this semester is much easier than last semester. I talked to my dean a few weeks ago and, much to my surprise, found out that I only need to take four classes each semester for the rest of my Georgetown career instead of the normal five. I’m still shocked that I’ll be able to double major and minor taking so few classes, but I guess APs from B.C. High and studying abroad last summer put me ahead of the game. Can’t complain there! Besides only taking four classes, I didn’t get into any of the finance classes I signed up for (a mixed blessing), which certainly helps with the workload. Taking Advanced Financial Mangement (AFM) and Principles of Investments (POI) concurrently killed me time-wise last semester. So, I spend my time in Comparative Political Systems, International Relations, Global Logistics, and Productions and Operations Management. The first two classes are intro government classes that I really should have taken freshman year, but skipped in order to take more interesting higher-level gov classes instead. But, I also recently learned that I need those intro classes to get my government minor. So, that’s where I am. The other two are technically operations and information management (OPIM) classes, but the Global Logistics one overlaps with my International Business major and the other is just a general business school requirement.

International Relations (IR), despite being filled with annoying little freshman, is by far my most interesting class. My professor, Dr. Victor Cha, is apparently the leading voice in the U.S. on North Korean relations and was President Bush’s leading advisor on the subject. He left Georgetown between 2004 and 2007 to become the Director of Asian Affairs on the National Security Council and often recounts incredible first-hand stories of negotiations between North Korean leaders and Western powers over nukes in the country. Besides his fascinating experiences and background, he’s an entertaining lecturer who often breaks down complicated international relations theories and dilemmas with his kids’ stick figure drawings in Powerpoint slides. IR is my only class on Mondays and Wednesdays, so they’re generally pretty good days.

Alright, that’s enough about my semester for now. I’m about to go watch LOST and then go for a quick run. Goodnight!

Imagine

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-01-26T14:55:31+09:00

I just found a great new ad released by CatholicVote.org that fully displays the inherent discrimination and racism often involved in abortion. The 41 second spot shows an early ultrasound, while statements used to justify abortion along the lines of cost, single parenting, etc. are displayed above. The ad concludes with a picture of President Obama, an African-American child born into an unstable family of few economic means -characteristics that greatly increase the chances that a child will become a victim of abortion- and a powerful slogan: Life. Imagine the potential.

Take a minute and follow the link. It’s an important message.

Inauguration 2009

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-01-21T13:52:07+09:00

Originally, I decided that I wasn’t going to make the trip to Barack Obama’s inauguration. After all, I’m not exactly Obama’s biggest fan and I figured I’d get stuck at work all day covering shifts for coworkers more interested in his inauguration than me. But, after thinking about the situation a bit more, I decided that it would be a huge waste of my college experience in Washington for me to miss the historic event. What are the chances that I’ll ever be down here in DC again for such a big day? They’re pretty slim, I think.

So, I awoke at 5:45 A.M. this morning and met up with two friends at 6:30 to trek down towards the National Mall. The moon still shone over the Potomac at such an early hour and the street lights on M Street cast shadows over the dozens of Georgetown early birds heading towards Pennsylvania Ave. It was just about 20 degrees at that point, which didn’t feel all that chilling under at least five layers of clothing. I even mustered up the courage to order an iced coffee at Starbucks on the way, only to be told that they weren’t expecting anyone to order iced drinks on such a cold day and therefore didn’t have any ready. I decided to be normal and settle for hot coffee, instead.

The sun began to rise as we made our way a mile or two north towards the Washington Monument. Here, we were greated by enthusiastic Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts volunteers with bright red hats, exuberantly screaming “Welcome to Inaguration! Welcome to DC!”. The mall was already beginning to fill, with some viewers settling for farther away spots directly in front of the monitors instead of risking a closer spot without sound or visual of the events. We tried to get as close as possible, but the Army National Guard and park rangers closely guarded metal fence partitions acting as road blocks. After running around the foot traffic on the mall like Frogger crossing the highway, we finally realized that the more we back tracked to get around the obstructions, the more likely we were to get stuck back there. So, we settled for a spot near the front of the 7th Ave. road block, between Jefferson and Madison Streets.

The ceremonies started around 11:00, as the announcer welcomed the House and Senate. Prior to this, those around me huddled together for warmth and tossed around a beach ball in the image of the world, much like they do at Fenway Park. The crowd was largely indifferent to the House and Senate, then snapped into attention at the sights of Beyonce, P. Diddy, etc. Afterwards, during the procession of past presidents, Jimmy Carter recieved warm applause, George H.W. Bush was lightly booed, and Bill Clinton was cheered like a hero. The presidential families then followed. Laura Bush and Lynn Cheney recieved light applause, while former President George W. Bush was greeted with jeers and boos. My section of the crowd, containing tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people, joined together in the infamous athletic event song “Na na na na...hey hey hey....good bye”. Before this I was honestly hoping that the crowd would have enough class and respect to receive the then-President warmly. I was wrong. Instead, the crowd continued the troubling trend of the past eight years, mocking and belittling our head of state. It’s really a sad sight to see the leader of the free world treated in such a way, not to mention detrimental to our national image and standing as citizens and governments abroad lose a degree of respect for the office. Any president, regardless of ideological differences, deserves public respect.

After the chain of past presidents, the swearing in of Vice President Joe Biden, and the benediction by pastor Rick Warren, the man of the hour made his way on stage, greeted by the roar of the crowd shouting “O-bama, O-bama”. It was a pretty powerful moment feeling the excitement of such a large group of people. He then awkwardly recited the oath just after noontime, already legally President according to the Constitution, as both he and Chief Justice Roberts stumbled over the words.

Following an introduction by Dianne Feinstein that focused on the historical significance of the election of America’s first black president, President Obama gave a well written and spoken speech highlighting his confidence in America’s ability to face the challenging times ahead based on our past history and shared values. I was actually surprised by the reception of the speech because of my following of his campaign over the past year. In those speeches, convention halls always seemed to be filled with roaring, cheering crowds. Here, the scene was almost serene. The audience clapped and cheered a few times, but nothing like the stump-speech-like excitement I was expecting. The seriousness of his words, the history of the moment, and the bitter cold played a role in the reaction, I’m sure. The speech itself was lofty, as expected given past speeches and the circumstances. He spoke of sacrifice and turning around many of the troubles facing Americans these days. He not-so-subtly criticized the administration lead by the man seated right behind him. He unapologetically told terrorist threats to the nation and the world that America will not tolerate their actions. And finally, as the speech came to a close, his ending words were meet with a final round of jubliant cheers.

We then battled the crowds back to Georgetown, again confused by the lack of direction and random road blocks entrapping the million-plus people in attendance. After standing for eight hours, the movement away from the mall was welcomed by my stiff knees and frozen toes. Along the way back I ran into two friends from home, much to my surprise. Small world.

My first inaugural experience was capped off with a three hour nap back in my warm Village A. It was a memorable day for sure. Looking back, I can’t believe I was about to skip it.

---------

I’ve posted a new album under my Photos tab titled “Inauguration 2009”. Feel free to leave any questions about the day in the comments feed and I’ll get back to you.

Florida

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-01-21T13:45:19+09:00

Sights from St. Petersburg, Florida, where I spent the first part of the weekend in beautiful 68 degree weather at the ALPCA (American License Plates Collectors Association) regional license plate show:

And for those of you who can’t picture a license plate show...

See also: PlatesUSA

Gaza

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-01-16T13:57:04+09:00

Responsibility for the ongoing crisis in Gaza rests on the shoulders of Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by most of the Western world, and Hamas alone. I find many of the protests that I’ve witnessed around the streets of Washington, D.C. and the Georgetown campus exceedingly misleading. Granted, there have been great costs associated with this brief war thus far, both civilian and military, and these losses are indeed regrettable. The focus on civilian casualties is important, and pressure should be placed on Israel to be discriminate in its attacks. However, it must be remembered that Israel is finally taking action against Hamas’ own disrespect for Israeli civilians and the war resolutions. Israel did not just wake up one morning and decide to attack Hamas in Gaza. Hamas invited this attack on its people by continually lobbing rockets into Israeli territory, indiscriminately endangering the lives of Israeli men, women, and children. Hamas, like most other militant Muslim terrorist organizations, shows no respect for any sort of life, even that of its own people, as Israel has allegedly discovered booby trapped school buildings. Until Hamas changes its behavior, neither the residents of Gaza, nor the world can expect peace in the region.

Georgetown Moment

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-01-12T11:12:18+09:00

Alright, so I just had a big “Georgetown Moment” as I like to call them. A Georgetown Moment is a sort of epiphany when I realize, “Wow, I’m really lucky to be at such a great school in the heat of the action down here in the capital of the United States”.

So, I’m sitting at 8 PM mass tonight listening to the readings (about ephphanies, ironically), looking around the chapel...and who do I see? None other than Massachusetts Senator and former presidential candidate, John Kerry and his wife. He’s taller than I expected and was standing on the base of the organ, so he stuck out like a sore thumb. It was funny watching the rest of the church realize that he was in attentance throughout the mass, as you would catch wandering eyes freeze, then widen. Excited hands would then tap the knees of those around them and covertly point to the back of the chapel.

Only at Georgetown...

Inauguration

dane5588@aol.com — 2009-01-11T11:24:09+09:00

You can sense the aura of inauguration in the air down here in DC right now. The city feels excited, yet on edge, hoping it will be able to meet everyone’s high expectations and run both safely and smoothly. Traffic is already starting to build. I had a hard time driving to the Georgetown vs. Providence basketball game at the Verizon Center this afternoon because a big section of Pennsylvania Avenue was closed in preparation of Tuesday. All along the detour workers were assembling stands for the crowds and putting up banners on light poles. You can feel the inauguration everywhere.

What does it mean to me? Well, it means a day off from school! Four day weekend with MLK day and the inauguration. I can’t decide if I should hang around in town for the big day or visit my brother or friends in Maryland and avoid the chaos. What do you think?

Obama Bubble

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-12-29T05:47:20+09:00

I feel bad for Obama these days. He’s attempting to lead as normal a life as possible given the fact that he’s the President-elect of the United States. Obama, in what the press has stupidly dubbed “Waikiki-gate”, ditched his press pool the other day while vacationing in Hawaii to visit a theme park with this family and friends. Who can blame the guy for wanting a few hours to breathe? Can you imagine being surrounded by the constant clicks of cameras and voice recorders and the inherent guardedness I’m sure he displays, constantly worrying that something he says or does might be taken out of context and turned into a ridiculous news story? I can’t.

At 47, Obama is still very much an active adult and most importantly, a father to two young daughters. With that, its expected that he, more than past presidents, will want to have some freedom to break from the rigid structure and routines of the Secret Service and the hounding press corps. I know he’s addicted to his Blackberry and is lamenting the prospect of having to give it up for security reasons when he assumes office (I’d put up a fight for mine, too). I hope he finds a way to keep it and to maintain some semblance of a normal life. I’ve always said to myself that if I ever decide to stick my toe into politics someday, I’m going to be an unconventional politician. Forget the 24/7 details and the motorcades. I’ll be sure to throw everyone for a loop every once in a while and go out for an unannounced run on my own or go for one of my favorite, wandering Sunday drives. A life restrained like that seems to be a waste.

Auto Bailout

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-12-21T10:41:51+09:00

General Motors and Chrysler have officially managed to threaten, beg, and whine enough to bilk taxpayers out of $13 billion to correct their senseless management and operational strategies of the past decades. They have been unfairly rewarded at the expense of struggling taxpayers, the same taxpayers who would never be lucky enough to receive such a bailout on their own. If Joe Schmoe spends like a lunatic and racks up tens of thousands of dollars of debt on the hand-out credit cards that seem to magically appear in the mail, where’s his bailout? He won’t get one. Instead, he’ll pay for the consequences of his actions and end up in bankruptcy court. But the U.S. automakers? Forget it. They have influential lobbyists, a public voice that Joe lacks, and a nice little hostage note threatening layoffs that Joe lacks.

The big three automakers need to be treated like every other person and business in America. Let them pay for the consequences of their own foolishness and irresponsibility by going through a structred bankruptcy if necessary. To do otherwise sets up a danerous precedent and only fosters a backwards culture. This is the first public example of the faults inherent in handing a $700 billion blank check handed to Treasury Secretary Paulson weeks back, which should have never been done in the first place. As promised by those who bravely fought against the bill, the money has indeed begun to be used in ways not originally promised or mentioned. This is just the beginning on that front. On a more micro level, if the auto industry somehow qualifies for a bailout, why not the airline industry? Why not the retail industry? All of these industries play a large role in American employment. By Bush’s thinking, all of these potentially deserve bailouts as well. Does it ever stop? Will our economy begin to look more and more like Venezuela?

The bailout also supports a culture of cushion and complacency so apparent in the industry. Executives hop around the country and the world in plush private jets. Union bosses making millions of dollars per year are allowed to squeeze every penny out of payrolls, allowing workers to receive wages and bonuses most Americans could only dream of- all at the cost of competitiveness. Did you know that each American car carries an extra $2000 on its pricetag compared to its foreign counterparts because of such perks? These counterparts, which I remind you, are similarly made by good, hardworking Americans right here in the USA in states like Tennessee and Kentucky.

While companies like Toyota and Nissan have consistently designed stylish, energy- and cost-efficient vehicles, Ford has knowlingly produced bulky, low quality automobiles that have been ruining its brand name now for years. For example, first there was the highly successful Ford Taurus, America’s number one selling car for a number of years in the 1990s. But then the Taurus disappeared for a while, runing the continuity of the brand name. But wait... its back now. But its a boxy, old-person car instead of the all-around family vehicle it once was. Now, why would any American family buy this car instead of the Toyota Camry, which has consistently existed and performed for over a decade? I can’t think of many reasons why. Also, look at the Ford Flex released earlier this year. This was supposed to be Ford’s saving grace and bring the word “cool” back to the brand name. Are you kidding? Consensus is that the things looks more like a hearse than a hip machine. I don’t know how many twenty-somethings you’ll catch rolling around town in what could be the death-mobile. Of course, sales are dismal. But I’m sure the guy who pushed so hard for that model still has his job, and probably even received a nice bonus this year.

Such a culture in and around the auto industry cannot be sustained or supported any longer. Now is a unique opportunity for taxpayers, drivers, and lawmakers to say “enough is enough”. The companies need to get their acts together and once again prove to Americans that they can get themselves out of the mess they have gotten themselves into and emerge once again as a mighy, proud stalwart of the American economy.

Finals!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-12-12T11:18:28+09:00

The scene from Village A G103:

As much as I would like to be blogging on the auto bailout (thumbs down), Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, or some other exciting news, I’m instead studying for my final exams, which begin tomorrow.

Be back Monday!

Christmas Decorations

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-12-07T11:52:05+09:00

Back to the Blog!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-12-07T03:57:24+09:00

It’s been quite a while since my last post, but for good reason. After my excruciating 14 hour car ride back down to Washington, D.C. on Sunday, my computer quit on me. I tried time and time again to reboot, only to be confronted by a haunting blue screen. Pretty crummy timing for a computer to bust on the heels of final exam week. On Wednesday I woke up early to trek to the nearest Apple store at Pentagon City and decided to give the power button one last try. Sure enough, my Mac decided to come back to life that morning after three comatose days. Phew.

In other news... classes officially ended on Thursday for me, so crunch time is upon us. We had our Christmas Party at the Holiday Inn last night for the Credit Union, which was a lot of fun as always. My exams start Friday the 12th and run until Wednesday the 15th- not bad this year. I’m expecting a less painful car ride home on the 15th or 16th than Thanksgiving, but then again, that doesn’t say very much.

And in real news...we are starting to get a look at what the Obama administration will look like beginning next year, as a number of key positions have been filled over the past few weeks. I found this article the other day on Politico and tend to agree with its analysis. Republicans don’t have much to complain about regarding his national security and economic picks. No one can find much fault with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and National Security Adviser Jim Jones, who are widely respected by Democrats and Republicans alike. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton isn’t all that bad either.

Interestingly enough, it seems that peace activists who had high hopes (disillusional ones, in my opinion) for a pacificst Obama are most disappointed. They obviously aren’t happy with Gates, who currently plays a large role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under President Bush, and Jim Jones, a decorated U.S. Marine. And they’re still bitter that Hillary won’t apologize for her vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq- a position that I give her a lot of credit for, as mentioned in a previous post a few months ago.

Economically, incoming Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers have extensive and respected economic backgrounds. The market showed its strong approval of Timothy Geithner with an impressive rally the day of his announcement a few weeks ago. Hopefully Geithner can clean up much of the mess created by current Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson in what my Principles of Investments professor calls the “Paulson Panic of 2008”.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon with a few pictures of my Christmas decorations...

Sunday Drive

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-24T04:13:43+09:00

This map makes me appreciate how huge Virginia really is:

Why? Because I drove almost 70 miles west of DC today and only ended up at that little red dot. But, it was yet another great Sunday excursion. I finished the trip in a small town called Front Royal, Virginia. It actually reminded me a lot of New England; The town was set among the mountains dotted with little white churches and lots of trees and open space. Tons of cows, too.

I’m still amazed each week by how quickly the scenery changes once you get about half an hour outisde the DC-Metro area. All of a sudden there’s very few people, houses, or businesses. Instead, it’s all forest, farmland, and all the horse-trailers surrounding me on the two lane highways. It also makes me think that a lot of the urbanites I’m surrounded by in DC forget that the rest of the country doesn’t necessarily look like the place they’re familiar with. I’m lucky to have the mobility down here to explore like I do each week and learn about the area.

I think I’ve also discovered that my sense of direction (or lack thereof) is naturally attracted to expensive gas. With my gas light glaring in my face, I pulled off the highway to fill up, first passing a station offering gas for $1.85/gallon. I figured the station closest to the highway would be most expensive, so I found another one a little bit up. This one turned out to sell for $1.87/gallon. I figured $0.02 wasn’t worth the illegal U-turn, so I filled up there. Satisfied that I filled up for just over $30, I pulled out of the station and turned the corner...only to find a station selling for $1.66/gallon.

>:-o !!!!

Still, I can’t complain. Who could’ve imagined it that “cheap” a few months ago?

I’m making the 500 mile trek back home Wednesday afternoon for Thanksgiving break and pretty much counting down the minutes until I can relax in Scituate with family and friends.

That’s all for now... Happy Sunday

Dunkies

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-22T01:02:20+09:00

Dunkin Donuts in China!

Auto Bailout

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-20T02:04:44+09:00

Definitey check out “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” by Mitt Romney from today’s New York Times opinion section. It’s definitely the most well-written example I’ve found yet that matches how I feel about the Detroit bailout issue.

I’ll write about it here sometime if I get a chance.

Tolerant Georgetown

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-13T11:09:24+09:00

Well I’m glad Georgetown is so tolerant of people’s beliefs and opinions, no matter how crazy those beliefs might be.

Actually, on second thought, I’m pretty sure Georgetown is only tolerant of ideas and people who are crazy or out of the mainstream.

For the second time this year somone stepped into the bushes in front of my window, actually reached into the open window, took my McCain sign, and proceeded to tear it up and throw it on the ground (doens’t that harm the environment?).

Tolerant indeed...

44

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-09T10:06:37+09:00

The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States is a historic event by many means. Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that America has demonstratively shown its ability to move past race. Beyond the important racial significance of the election, though, we see other important factors and events. Many different demographics and electorates gained interest in American politics for the first time, most notably blacks and a large number of youths. I read an article in the Boston Globe yesterday written by an inner-city Boston school teacher who described the attitude and emotion that filled the school the day after the election. It is my sincere hope that the emotions of those school children, often so defeatist and hopeless, will expand and evolve into a more determined, positive outlook of their capabilities and the future. Additionally, for the first time in a long time we see a young family in the White House, which will undoubtedly affect the atmosphere and the business that takes place there.

So, yes, this is a historic election and I appreciate and recognize this as an American. The recognition transcends political ideology.

That being said, friends, coworkers, and classmates have continually bombarded me with questions like, “When are you moving to Canada?”, “Did you cry yourself to sleep that night?”, and “Aren’t you frightened for the future of the country?”. Well, the answers are no, no, and no.

Firstly, Canada has ridiculous taxes, so you wouldn’t catch me there. Can you believe sales tax in Montreal is 15%!? Insane! Secondly, I’d probably move to Ireland before Canada. Lastly, the United States is the best country in the world, so you won’t catch me moving any time soon anyways.

And no, I didn’t cry myself to sleep that night. I just put my “somber” playlist on my iPod and drifted off to sleep. Just kidding.

Now, the question regarding my fear of the next four years is more pertinent. But, to the amazement of those around me, I’m am not fearful.

Why? At the most basic level I trust that Obama is an intelligent, level-headed American who isn’t going to take this country on a 180 degree political U-turn. I think anyone has to look at his faith, family, and the way he lives his life and at least give him that much credit. Secondly, the American Constitution is remarkably designed to prevent such a drastic political change. Any radical measures proposed by Obama will have to be supported by legislators who are already on thin ice with their consituents, who, we must remember, remain center-right politically. Also, thank God the Democrats did not get a supermajority in Congress. The fact that some semblance of a balance of power still exists also allays any wild fears that I might have. Finally, any chanages that a President makes (e.g. tax increases) can be amended in the next administration. Not very much is permanent. So, if things do go horribly wrong (again, I don’t think they will), a lot of the damage can be reversed.

Two things that do cause some degree of honest fear in me, though, involve the Supreme Court and the war in Iraq. These two seem to be the exceptions to my previous statement. The President’s ability to nominate lawyers to the Supreme Court is his greatest power. The nomination of a judge affects the legal and political landscape for decades to come. Now that is indeed a scary thought. I am somewhat comforted, though, by the fact that the justices expected to retire in the next four years are liberal justices. So, barring any unforseen circumstances, the ideological makeup of the court shouldn’t change much.

Regarding Iraq, it would be an incredible shame to precipitously withdraw troops despite the gains that have been made over the past five years there. To carelessly pull the plug on a war that has so greatly affected the lives of our soldiers would be insulting beyond words. The importance of a stable, democratic ally in such a region of the world is immense. A pullout would not only cause the money, time, and blood of countless Americans to become a sacrifice made in vain, it would cause even more chaos in a country that is gaining solid footing in the effort to become a stable democracy.

So, I have hope (not the corny political campaign kind) for the next four years. I hope that the positive energy put into this election can instill a more motivated, positive attitude in America. I hope we Americans can work ourselves out of the current economic mess, start saving for the future, and learn from our mistakes. And finally, I hope and trust that the inherent goodness, values, and decency of Americans will prevail no matter the political circumstance.

With that, I congratulate Barack Obama on his victory in last week’s election and wish him the best of luck.

Update

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-07T15:56:42+09:00

“Why hasn’t Dan yet posted his thoughts on the outcomes of the 2008 presidential elections?”, you might appropriately ask.

Well, the answer is that I’m busy, busy, busy (currently writing an overdue paper for my Religious Ethics and Moral Issues class at 2AM on the 4th floor of Lauinger). So, I haven’t had time to write out my thoughts on the previous days yet, though I assure you I have them floating all around my head. I figure that this election is so historic that it deserves a little more attention than a hastily put-together blog post.

So, once I finish this paper tonight or early tomorrow, I should get a chance to sit down and collect all those thoughts wandering around up there and put them together in a more serious, thoughtful fashion.

Until then...some fall photos:

The Day Everyone's Been Waiting For

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-05T03:41:03+09:00

Well. Here it is. Election day at last. Georgetown is teeming with election signs and pins. You can be assured that the McCain pin on my backpack has been getting funny looks all day.

Sunday Drive

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-03T03:05:21+09:00

It’s hard to compare my Sunday drives. They’re generally the highlight of my week, as I finally get out of the bubble of Washington DC and travel into the real world- away from the congested, hyperpolitical, urban utopia of Georgetown and into communities filled with families, farms, and churches.

Despite the difficulties in picking favorites, I’d have to say that this morning’s Sunday drive beats the others thus far. I traveled about 40 miles west of DC through Manassas and Antioch, Virginia. The majority of the trip was on a narrow, winding country road that often didn’t even have yellow travel lines. The road wound past the famous Civil War Battle of Manassas field, over hills, and past dozens of farms filled with grazing horses and cows. The leaves are finally changing down here too, which made the miles and miles of uninhabited, open land and fields even more picturesque. I’m kicking myself for not bringing a camera along. Words can’t really describe the beauty of the scenery.

And to top it off, once I hopped back on I-66 East I got off at the next exit and stumbled upon a Derby Street-esque shopping mall seemingly plopped in the middle of a field that had a Panera Bread and a Starbucks right next door to each other. So, I got my fix of Panera, which is hard as anything to find down here in DC, and my typical black iced coffee to go.

It’s also funny how not only the physical landscape changes with the miles, but also the political landscape. You would have been hard-pressed to find an Obama sign anywhere around these parts of Virginia. I ran into a nice McCain campaign volunteer who formerly supported Hillary while getting coffee, too. Yet another reminder of just how different different parts of the country and even different parts of a state can be...

Article

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-11-02T11:33:24+09:00

So I planned on seeing McCain speak in Virginia today, but decided to cancel the trip after I printed my ticket and MapQuested the town. Turns out Virginia is a heck of a lot bigger than I remember, and the rally was over 200 miles away. But, it also turns out that I was an idiot and printed out the wrong rally ticket and therefore missed out on the fact that there was indeed a McCain speech/rally in Springfield, Virginia only a few miles away this morning. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll have the opportunity to see him again close by on inauguration day?

In the mean time, check out “McCain Calls on Schilling for Miracle Comeback”.

And two song recommendations for the day:

The Pretender- Foo Fighters
He Ain’t the Leavin’ Kind- Rascal Flatts

Sunday

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-27T03:29:52+09:00

Happy 15th Birthday Andrew English!

You’re still not as cool as your older brother, and one full year away from being able to visit Georgetown! :)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other news...

Barring any miracles, its looking more and more likely that Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. I’m slowly coming to terms with it. This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m not praying for those miracles, but we’ve gotta face reality. However, I’ll tell you one thing that bugs me: Barack Obama and the Democrats are going to get credit for solving the financial crisis when it ends soon enough.

This drives me crazy because, in reality, all economic booms and crises are cyclical. We’re bound to get a crisis once or twice a century, no matter who’s in office. That’s just a fact of economics. It will be more of a lucky coincidence that the economy begins to regain its footing during the next president’s term. We’ve seen this now with oil, too. A barrel of oil is almost 50% cheaper now than it was a few months ago when everyone thought the sky was falling. Oil, too, is cyclical (though it is somewhat cyclical because the greater economy is cyclical). Every few decades, we’re bound to get drunk off cheap oil, raise demand, and thus raise prices like we saw in the 70s and like we’ve seen today. Given all this, it is my hope that the Democrats coming to power next year won’t abuse the economic woes and rebounding economy by putting into place New Deal-like policies that we will have to live with for the rest of time.

Article

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-24T01:26:11+09:00

Check out “The Dangers of Liberal Bias” by Joan Chevalier from today’s Boston Globe. It’s a well-written piece that explores the mind of rural voters and their understandable distaste for Ivy league liberal politicians like Barack Obama.

Leave comments on what you think...I’m curious.

Fall

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-23T06:05:14+09:00

Dare I say that I’m looking forward to the end of this election? Maybe its because of McCain’s dimming prospects or maybe its becuase this event has been going on for what feels like ages, but I won’t miss the constant gotcha-questions and articles, the mud slinging, and the faux controversies...

Anyways, its midterm time down at Georgetown. I had two last week, one tomorrow, and one more next week. It’s also finally beginning to feel like fall- 60s during the days and colder at nights. Apparently it snowed today up in Vermont! We’re not quite there, yet. I know the boat has been pulled out of the water back home after a successful season. I’m still jealous to see all the boats traveling up the Potomac on weekends here, where they generally stay in until Thanksgiving.

I’m also doing a cool, though time-consuming, project for one of my finance classes. I’m in charge of presenting an in-depth analysis and forecast of CVS/Caremark Corporation’s financials and valuation for the next five years. It’s a good taste of what most Georgetown business graduates do out of college for the first years of their careers. And its nice to finally put a lot of the things I’ve learned in accounting and finance over the past two and a half years to work. Who knows though, this might scare me away from the finance industry even more.

Well, there’s an update on my life in DC (an update unasked, I realize). Only about a month until Thanksgiving break!

Vote

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-22T04:19:45+09:00

I have officially voted in my first presidential election!

Sunday Excursion

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-20T03:13:41+09:00

So now that I have my car down in Washington, I have a new Sunday routine. Every Sunday I get up early, hop in my car, and drive with no particular destination in mind. After driving for an hour or so, I find a coffee shop, get coffee, and throw on the GPS to take me back to school. It’s definitely the most relaxing few hours of my week.

This morning I stumbled upon Alexandria, Virginia. It’s a quaint, historic town on the water that reminds me a lot of Annapolis, actually. If I had been smarter and brought a jacket this morning I would have walked around the waterfront a bit. Instead, I just drove around and took in the sights for a while. I’d say Alexandria is definitely worth an afternoon trip if you’re down in the area some time. I might try to go back sometime this year when its warmer or I have a coat with me.

Debate

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-17T10:41:57+09:00

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. It was both a fun week, as I had visitors from out of town, and a long week because I didn’t get any work done this weekend. But, now on to the real news...

Last night’s debate had two stars: John McCain and moderator Bob Schieffer. I’ll start with Schieffer since his praise is short and sweet. The moderator asked tough, relevant questions unseen thus far in debates. Additionally, he didn’t let either candidate shy away from the question and resort to his stump speech. And most importantly, in my opinion, he let the two candidates go at it beyond the selected time limit. If Obama contended any of McCain’s rebuttals, Schieffer let him challenge the statements and then let McCain respond once again. The questions themselves were extremely fair and fact-based. He began many questions with specific examples from both campaigns, perhaps the one involving campaign negativity being the most memorable. Overall, he successfully responded to the vocal, valid criticisms of the former debate formats and turned the night into a successful, revealing event.

That being said, McCain finally showed ferocity and specificity last night- a large improvement over his prior debate performances. McCain began the night with sharp criticism of Obama’s tax plan, a sign that he was no longer going to let Obama’s claims and plans go unchallenged on the national stage. McCain focused his message on the fact that Obama is both untested and politically on the fringe. He brought up his own ability to reach across the aisle and his disagreements with the Bush administration. Perhaps most importantly, he called Obama out on the fact that George W. Bush is not running this year, and that if he wanted to run against Bush, he should have made an appearance four years ago instead. It’s about time McCain called Obama out on that. Also, McCain highlighted Obama’s out-of-touch positions on every imaginable type of abortion and infanticide, free trade relations with countries like Columbia, freedom of choice with vouchers and charter schools, and his refusal to solve our energy woes with domestic drilling and nuclear plants.

All of these facts were meant to convince skeptical independent and undecided voters that McCain is the safer choice and more aligned with their values. I think he successfully conveyed that message.

Given McCain’s performance, I expected to awake the next morning to headlines claiming that McCain exceeded expectations and showed a fiery side missing from the past two debates. Instead, the media seems to think that Obama won simply by acting calm, cool, and collected in the crossfire. Admittedly, I was pretty dismayed to read the opinion pieces and headlines that morning, especially given the fact that most everyone I talked to on campus that night, both Democrats and Republicans, thought McCain had the better performance. But, then again, we should always be skeptical of everything the media says. I saw a reliable Politico post-debate study that showed that independent, undecided voters favored McCain’s performance 51-42%. Additionally, a Gallup poll came out today showing McCain behind only 49-47% among likely voters. Both of these offer some hope for what is increasingly becoming a nerve wracking final three weeks.

Cops or Crooks?

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-09T04:29:41+09:00

This is the biggest crock I have EVER seen. These cops who are interfering with road construction and maintenance crews around Boston this week should all be sent to jail.

For those of you unfamiliar with big-spending, union-loving Massachusetts, prepare to be amazed. Governor Patrick recently made Massachusetts the LAST state in the union to allow flaggers to direct traffic in low-traffic work zones, as opposed to the greedy cops who have historically sat on their tails for $40+ an hour to wave the sporadic car past a construction job. So, of course, the spoiled cops who have been made delusional by their unions are up in arms. Now they’re even protesting the poor flagmen who have replaced them at these intersections- causing traffic, disregarding professionalism, and endangering the safety of those around them. With budget deficit’s soaring because of the faltering economy and unnecessary spending, the last thing we need is to be paying these bums that much money.

Read the article. If you live in another state, it will make you glad to see that you live in reality.

Article

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-06T03:08:59+09:00

A funny (and true) article from the Boston Globe about Massachusetts drivers’ refusal to yield while entering the highway...

VP Debate

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-10-05T05:56:45+09:00

I’m pretty shocked at the news that has followed the one and only vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. The vast majority of it has been about Palin’s adequate performance, much to the dismay of Camp Biden I’m sure. Most writers seem to think that she met expectations, that were admittedly set very low after multiple rocky TV interviews, and generally proved her competency. All this ignores the fact that Joe Biden had a very strong debate performance. Politically, he threw the jabs that the campaign wanted him to throw. He linked McCain to Bush and hammered home the middle-class message. Experience-wise, he had a clear grasp of issues, statistics, and history. He didn’t make any noticeable gaffes, either. Overall, I’d say he did very well.

Biden’s performance scared me when I turned the TV off last Thursday night. I could just picture tomorrow’s headlines claiming that Palin had been dominated and the McCain numbers falling even more. Well, I was wrong. Press-wise, she escaped relatively unscathed. But I guess the opinions of the almost seventy million people watching that night matter a lot more than the spin. And only time will tell what those seventy million actually thought.

Hooray Constitution!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-30T10:03:19+09:00

What we saw today with the defeat of the whopping $700 billion Wall Street bail out package was a brilliant working of checks and balances (remember those from middle school government class?). I don’t want a hastily put together, $700 billion dollar tab shoved down my throat as a taxpayer when no one’s even really sure if it will work. Now, I’m no finance wiz...so I can’t really comment intelligently on the matter, but I’m inclined to support the representatives who defeated the bill today.

A great quote from a Republican representative who voted against the bill (I’m pretty sure he was from Texas, but not positive): “Once the government socializes losses it will socialize profits. If we lose our ability to fail, we will soon lose our ability to succeed”.

Well said.

Round 1

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-27T13:28:38+09:00

So tonight was the highly anticipated first debate of the 2008 presidential election. For those who didn’t catch it, the 90, uninterrupted minutes were supposed to be based on foreign policy subjects. While foreign policy made up the majority of the event, questions concerning the ongoing financial crisis made up the first half hour or so.

Who won? No one, in my opinion. I thought both candidates held their own ground and appeared presidential. Neither had a stellar night and neither did poorly. McCain, as expected, hammered home his experience and his relationships with the countries central to the debate. The names of foreign leaders from faraway lands impressively rolled right off his tongue. Obama did his best to link McCain to “eight years of failed Bush foreign policy” and accuse the Senator of ignoring the “real” situation in Afghanistan. Both candidates attempted to capitalize on each other’s misstatements and mischaracterizations of the past; Obama mentioned McCain’s rendition of “Bomb, bomb Iran” and McCain’s hammered Obama on his statement that he would meet with America’s enemies such as Chavez and Ahmadinejad without precondition. It pretty much went back and forth like that the entire time.

Did anyone else notice Obama’s American flag pin on his suit jacket? Looked like he didn’t want people to remember that little controversy....

And now I think everyone is anxiously awaiting the Palin/Biden debate Thursday night. All eyes will be on Palin, who has had a few rocky interview performances over the past week. Hopefully she’ll be able to steal the show again like she did at the convention.

Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-24T14:32:12+09:00

This week in my Principles of Investments and Financial Management classes we’ve spent a good chunk of time trying to pull apart the ongoing economic upheaval on Wall Street. Both professors have put off or strayed from their respective syllabi because we’re living though “one of the most important times in financial history”. That’s not very comforting. Both of my professors have long careers in finance and on Wall Street, yet neither fully understands the situation or knows what should be done to fix it. If finance professionals don’t fully understand this situation, how can we expect our political leaders to expect it any better? Answer: we can’t. So, continue to be suspicious of any politician who tries to show that he or she actually understands whats going on and has the elusive fix to the problem. At this point, I’m pretty sure everyone’s going with the “wait and see” method. Also scary.

In the mean time I’m pulling though a busy week, currently sitting in the library far later than I should be, struggling to argue a normative ethical system for my Religious Ethics/Moral Issues class that appropriately deals with a situation where everyone’s dying from a disease and there’s one guy with the right conditions to find a cure. But, he doesn’t feel like sacrificing himself for it. Is it right to kill him against his will for the betterment of society?

And...anxiously awaiting the first presidential debate on Friday night!

Pandora

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-21T04:36:41+09:00

So I realize that I haven’t blogged in a while given the crazy week for the markets... but hopefully I’ll get around to that some time soon.

In the mean time I have a quick post in the form of a recommendation. I’ve recently discovered a website called Pandora. It’s similar to the sites of regular FM radio stations that allow to you “listen live” to their broadcast via the Internet. Pandora, though, allows you to type in a song or artist and then uses a formula to “create” a radio station for you that plays songs by that artist and similar types of artists and songs, thus creating your own personal radio station. Once it plays you can give certain songs “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”, which all plays into the equation of predicting music you’ll like. It’s great if you’re at a computer without an iPod handy. And it’s all for free.

Check it out. Pandora Radio.

McCain/Palin Rally

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-15T05:40:01+09:00

On Wednesday, September 10th I went to the McCain/Palin rally in Fairfax, Virginia, which is 20-30 minutes outside of DC. It sure made me glad that I’m down in DC at the moment for school and that I’m not missing out on all this election fun by studying abroad at this time. How cool is it that I was only a hundred or so feet away from the potential next President and VP of the United States? Pretty awesome.

I dragged myself out of bed at 6 that morning to head over to Fairfax. Myself and a friend probably got there a little before 8, so we got a pretty good spot in the park before the speech at 11. We waited in line for only half an hour, passed some bitter, angry liberals along the way who were yelling and screaming bloody hell as usual, passed through security, and got situated pretty quickly. Security actually made everyone leave their homemade signs and even American flags outside the gates. So, now you know that when you see these rallys on TV most of the signs are made by the campaign to look homemade, or are either snuck in. Some local government figures like the mayor and school board spoke around 10, highlighting the hypocrisy that both Obama and Clinton spoke at Virginia public schools during the campaign, but John McCain wasn’t allowed to speak at Fairfax High School, where the event was originally scheduled to be held. Next a former Barack Obama supporter made her case for McCain, followed by a former Hillary supporter who made a similar argument.

Surprise guest former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson showed up to introduce Palin, who was welcomed with all sorts of cheering, yelling, and screaming. She was definitely the star of the show. She’s getting the stump speech down pat and didn’t seem to be relying on the teleprompter all that much. But she managed to fire up the crowd with her personal story and accomplishments in Alaska. “Sa-rah, Sa-rah”, “drill, baby, drill”, and “USA, USA” interrupted her speech a few times. There were some funny signs outside the gates too, like “PIGS for McCain/Palin- (P)retty (I)ntelligent (G)irls for (S)arah”. She then lavished praise on her runningmate and introduced John S. McCain to the cheering crowd.

McCain carried himself well and fed the excitement of the crowd with his promise to fight earmark spending, work with Palin’s experience to make the US energy independent, and bring about real change to Washington (now that he has somewhat-successfully adopted Obama’s election motto and reshaped it into his own). He both entered and exited to “Eye of the Tiger” blaring over the speakers above the cheer of the crowd and the blue sea of McCain/Palin signs held by the attendees. The rally was McCain’s largest to date, with attendance estimates ranging from 18,000 to over 23,000. The size of the crowed made the excitement palpable, which made the trip even more of an experience. As the race shifts, I’m looking forward to more exciting moments and opportunities like these!

A Few Good Boston Globe Articles

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-15T05:16:47+09:00

The Boston Globe had a few good articles on their website today that are worth a read.

-The first one by Jeff Jacoby, “Seeing through Obamanomics”, analyzes Obama’s plan to cut taxes for 95% of Americans and raise them for the other 5%. Rich people like those in Hollywood or CEOs living the easy life aren’t that easy or popular to defend, but just because its not easy doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. Jacoby calls Obama out on the unfairness and hypocrisy of income redistribution and an even more progressive tax code. Check it out.

-James Peyser writes “Brain Drain”, an article highlighting the importance of experimental charter schools in failing public school systems, especially poor, inner-city ones. Boston used to lead the way on this front, but its leadership has recently ebbed because of a cap on the number of charter schools allowed. All this while cities like New York and New Orleans fully embrace the schools and see inspiring figures and statistics as a result. McCain has attemped to make charter schools and school choice a focal part of his campaign, especially in courting inner-city and black voters, so it’s definitely both policitally and socially relevant.

The Benefits of Living In/Near a Swing State

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-10T14:18:31+09:00

Well, unlike my homestate, liberal-stronghold Massachusetts, Virginia happens to be a swing state. Virginia also happens to be a hop, skip, and a jump down the street from Georgetown. Aha! So, I’ll be attending a McCain/Palin rally in Fairfax, Virginia bright (dark) and early tomorrow morning. I’ll be back with pictures and impressions for sure...

Speech Central

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-05T14:13:22+09:00

Sarah Palin stole the show at the RNC this week. I’ve endured the chiding of a certain friend (ahem...Lisa) of mine over my description of her performance- electrifying. I’ll stand by that statement. Palin managed to excite the delegates in attendance and hopefully did the same for millions of disillusioned conservatives across the nation. Over 38 million viewers tuned in at the late hour of 10:30 to watch this intriguing governor from Alaska- numbers rivaling and potentially surpassing those of Obama’s sermon the week before.

The VP nominee came across as sharp, witty, and home-grown throughout her remarks. She deftly dinged Obama on his elitism and self-indulgence, while stressing her small-town roots and her experience in the most important and under-appreciated field in America: motherhood. She had the crowd roaring with laughter after describing herself as a pitbull with lipstick, after recalling her sale of the former Alaskan governor’s luxury jet on eBay, and after commenting on Barry O’s Romanesque columns on display at his speech. She set the tone and the hype for the future of the campaign. Democrats be warned.

McCain’s speech tonight was the most you could ask for or expect from someone not graced with the finest oratory skills. It was a speech that was on message. It attempted to appeal to those unhappy with the current state of the Republican party and independents who are deemed crucial to his victory later this year. With the grassroots conservatives satisfied the night before, he had a little more leeway to criticize Republican rule and emphasize his maverick image. Country first, country first, country first.

I’ve seen McCain speak publicly two or three times. Each time he seems to start off slowly and awkwardly. Tonight was no different. By the end, though, he was in more of a rhythm and had the crowd rallying at the end with his rambunctious, patriotic lines challenging Americans to move forward and make a difference as we have before throughout history. In the end, he didn’t get the enthusiasm that Palin did, but he succeeded in telling his heroic story and positioning himself as an experienced, loving public servant of this nation.

Success!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-04T13:47:10+09:00

Palin’s speech was great! The energy, the passion, the strength. It was all there.

More to come when I get a chance over the next few days to elaborate... In the mean time read what Politico had to say about it.

Two Quick Posts in a Row!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-04T02:49:12+09:00

Just stumbled upon an interesting editorial in the Boston Globe by Jeff Jacoby. Check out “A Stark Choice on Abortion”.

Happy Wednesday!

The Real McCain Veep

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-09-03T12:34:09+09:00

So I’ve finally got a free minute to post my thoughts on McCain’s startling VP pick, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. Overall, I’ll give the pick a B-. Here’s why:

All of McCain’s serious VP choices had at least one serious flaw. Romney’s too wealthy in tough economic times. Lieberman is too liberal. Pawlenty isn’t very fierce. Ridge is pro-abortion. You get the picture. So, McCain either needed to settle for someone well known like those mentioned above or make a game changing move that would draw attention to a campaign fighting the media’s obsession with a rock star. He chose the latter. Though there is still huge potential for the pick to fall on its face, it seems to be working...

In the days since McCain announced his running mate he has raised over $10 million, a huge amount for his campaign. Conservative grassroots activists, vital to past Republican victories, have been freshly energized with Palin’s pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-family views and actions. Reporters, still struggling to get back on their feet after being blown away by the surprise, prematurely claimed that the pick was designed to pluck dissillusioned female, Hillary voters from Obama’s hands. Palin is much more than that, though. It would be naive to think that liberal-minded, pro-abortion women are going to hop on the Republican bandwagon simply because of a female VP candidate (remember... pro-life, pro-motherhood positions seem to remove a woman’s status as a female to the NOW/NARAL crowd). Sure, McCain may pick up one or two of Hillary’s more conservative voters, but the numbers won’t be that great. Instead, she has turned the focus of the race back to McCain. Amazingly, no one even seems to remember Barack’s historic speech the night before (which wasn’t all that bad of a performance, actually).

So, what now? Yes, Palin is still a huge gamble. She doesn’t have much foreign policy experience. Okay, she went to Kosovo once. Big deal. She’s younger than even Obama. She comes from a really small town in a really big, far-away state. But, she’s a woman that the majority of Americans can identify with. She’s a mother. She’s an outdoorsman. She didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She’s even dealing with the unplanned pregnancy of her teenage daughter- a real life situation all too common these days. Overall, she’s a shot in the dark. But, in my opinion, a shot worth taking.

McCain Veep

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-29T04:24:44+09:00

I figure I should put my official bet on paper (online?) for McCain’s VP pick. After reading all the news, rumors, and theories over the past weeks I’m putting my money on Joe Lieberman. Well, even if it’s not Lieberman, I think both Romney and Pawlenty are out of the running.

Any other bets?

Georgetown Cupcake

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-28T03:43:26+09:00

Georgetown Cupcake must be doing pretty darn well these days! I stumbled upon the official Georgetown Cupcake Range Rover parked on 32nd Street yesterday:

The bakery is described on its website as “DC’s first and only cupcakery” and sells gourmet cupcakes for just over $3 each. $3 sounds like a rip-off, but judging by the line out the door every day I’d say its a big hit. Well worth a visit.

Hillary in the Spotlight

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-27T13:36:17+09:00

I guess I didn’t really know what to expect from Hillary Clinton’s speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. What I got, however, wasn’t what I could have imagined. Instead of a speech focused on calming her anxious supporters and unifying the Democratic party, I witnessed a speech focused on, well, Hillary. The introductory video segment put together by daugher Chelsea highlighted her family history, career, and presidential bid. It was full of pictures of Hillary- only two or three of which included both she and Barack. Her speech was all about her fight for the presidency- as a woman, as an underdog, as a fighter for middle America. Sure, she intermixed a few lines of support for Barack’s candidacy and dinged “her colleague and friend” John McCain a few times, but it was pretty much the all-about-Hillary show. But, maybe thats what some of her most fervent supporters, nevermind Hillary herself, needed to move beyond the fact that she has indeed lost the race for the Democratic ticket. Now that she’s been given her chance to shine she can move on with the Democratic race for the White House and her own political future.

Joe Biden

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-26T04:11:04+09:00

Joe Biden of Delaware was a wise pick for Barack Obama. He’s a fiery campaigner with a respected foreign policy background that is most certainly meant to disparage McCain’s claims that an Obama administration will be weak on national security and foreign policy. Another important piece to Biden is his Irish-Catholic, working-class roots. Catholics are an important voting bloc that is up for grabs in November. I’m also convinced that the blue-collar voters who generally supported Hillary in the primaries will decide the election. Because of their importance, Barack has already started highlighting Biden’s background to voters against McCain’s public misstep last week when he replied that he was unsure of how many houses he owns.

With all these pluses to the Obama campaign there seem to be only a few potential negatives. First, will the McCain camp be able to successfully paint Obama as straying from his outsider, “change”-based campaign with the choice of the ultimate Washington-insider, complete with lengthy lobbyist and corporate ties (his son is a professional lobbyist)? Will Biden’s many public statements praising John McCain and criticisms of Obama’s lack of experience weaken the ticket? Or will voters see a seasoned Biden as enough reassurance that an Obama administration would not be as inexperienced as Barack himself? Finally, will Biden’s more prototypically American family roots be enough to allay middle-class, white voters’ skepticism of someone who:

>Was raised by his grandparents in Hawaii after being abandoned by both parents
>Spent four years in Muslim Indonesia (though there is no proof he himself practiced Islam)
>Was baptized into and attended for many years a radical black-liberation theology church under Jeremiah Wright
>Has the middle name Hussein

This week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver should prove interesting as the Obama-Biden ticket officially takes shape and the Clinton camp faces the reality of her defeat and their subsequent options for 2008.

Voyage

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-24T07:32:20+09:00

So it has been confirmed that I have inherited my mom’s aggressive driving habits and my dad’s lack of direction. Mom and I had the ride of a lifetime down to DC this Thursday.

A taste of the drive:

All was well heading into the state of New York. We took the Tappanzee Bridge to avoid the infamous George Washington Bridge, which always takes at least an hour to traverse. So, after driving a bit out of the ways on the Tappanzee we were about to hop back on I-95 S. Well, I accidentially jumped on I-95 NORTH, which instantaneously threw us back to the beginning of the George Washington Bridge heading north. Yes, the bridge that we had just gone all that way to avoid. And of course it was jam-packed. So we sat in traffic for about a half hour, maybe forty five minutes until we reached our first opportunity to get off the damned thing. Turns out that exit dropped us off right in Harlem. Excellent. So, after nerviously driving around for a while with no luck finding 95 S we stopped in front of Harlem City Hospital, where mom hopped out of the car to ask an ambulance driver directions. He gave us directions, and then kindly informed us that we “aren’t safe here” and should follow him back to the highways. Gladly. At this point I was sure that if a stray bullet didn’t kill me, mom surely would.

Well, we eventually made it back to 95 S. I managed to delay us a good hour and a half or two with that English-genetic driving move.

After that an 18-wheeler flipped in Maryland, which lead them to shut the entire highway down and divert us down I 895 towards Annapolis without directions. This all would have been nice, as Annapolis is beautiful and I could have visited a friend there (shout out Mike Mearn), but I had a rapidly approaching meeting at school and couldn’t take the car-ride much longer.

Finally, around 5:30 we made it to Georgetown where I’m now settling in for the semester. Total drive time: 11 hours. Record time (last may): 7.5 hours.

Next up: Joe Biden

More News...

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-19T10:35:34+09:00

So I missed out on Rick Warren’s interview with Barack Obama and John McCain the other day and I’m sort of regretting it. The candidates answers and demeanors have been the subject of many news articles all over the Internet the past few days. Here’s one from the New York Post that I found interesting- claiming McCain had a more dominating performance. I’m actually searching YouTube now to see if I can find it up there and watch it...

Drinking Article

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-19T09:50:03+09:00

Just found this interesting article on a petition that 100+ college presidents have signed urging Congress to reconsider the U.S. drinking age.

John Edwards

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-11T08:22:14+09:00

And the biggest slimeball of the year award goes to....

John Edwards

So much for being a “moral Democrat” or a man who represents “both Americas”.

The bigger story than all this is the fact that the national media completely ignored the story even after a witnessed confrontation between Edwards and the National Enquirer during a late-night visit to his mistress’ hotel. Can any of you imagine if this had been Mitt Romney? Or Rudy Giuliani? All hell would have broken loose in the liberal media. Exposed, yet again.s

August?

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-07T09:48:48+09:00

The high temperature today was 69 degrees. The sky was cloudy and it rained all day. Is this really August? I’m wearing jeans now and its 60! Crazy weather continues in Boston...

Update

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-08-05T00:05:33+09:00

So I realize that my blogging has been both lame and lacking this summer, but I’m just not at my computer as much as I am during the school year, making it difficult to keep posting my thoughts and opinions (which, I assure you, have not slowed like the blog has).

But now its already August, so I’ll be back to my blogging routine sooner than later, I guess. Now that’s a scary thought.

In the meantime, there are two articles below that are interesting and worth checking out. The first is on Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley and the work he has done during his five years thus far in Boston. I have seen him preach at mass and speak during Life Week down in D.C. and have been impressed by him myself.

The second highlights the attributed success of John McCain’s new ads and tactics against B.H. Obama. Obama is down nine points nationally this week. While week to week polls this far ahead of the election don’t mean anything, its at least heartening to know that people are listening. Much to the dismay of the Boston Globe Democrat and the Socialist New York Times, who have incessantly tried to paint these ads as inappropriate and negative, people seem to be tuning out their liberal noise and seeing that the ads make a point- that Barack is better off staying a worldwide celebrity than becoming an inexperienced leader of the most powerful country in the world. My advice to McCain would be to let these two ads play their role in defining Barack as “The One” for now, but lay off for a little while so that he doesn’t come off as an angry, bitter old man.

Here they are:

O’Malley Article

McCain Article

The Spit

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-07-24T14:28:02+09:00

The Spit and Mary’s Boat Livery (where I work) got some recognition from the Patriot Ledger today! Check it out.

Evil Unions

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-07-15T04:39:24+09:00

Here is yet another example of the disservice many, if not most, unions do to Massacusetts and American citizens on a daily basis. This story tells of a Boston firefighter who was put on permanent disability for injuring his back on the job. With this, he earns his full, taxpayer-funded salary of almost $70,000 a year tax-free.

Well, it turns out that Mr. Arroyo just finished eighth in a mens bodybuilding competition. He claims that all this heavy lifting “helps his back pain”, yet he somehow can’t manage desk duty at the fire station.

Of course, the firefighters union is up in arms against the new outsider fire commissioner Roderick Fraser Jr., who is apparently “out to get” the firefighters. Give me a break. This is the same union chief that calls random drug and alcohol testing of its on-duty firefighters unfair, because apparently its unfair for Boston residents to expect sober help in their greatest time of need. All this after two firefighters died in West Roxbury this year- one with an alcohol level three times the legal limit and the other with cocaine in his system.

Who are these six-figure union bosses supposed to represent? Seems to me that they benefit no one but themselves. Forget the taxpayers, forget those needing to be rescued. In the Boston police and fire departments, its the all about us show.

Is America Ready?

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-07-10T06:48:02+09:00

Is America ready to elect a President who hates his country?

We shall see in November.

Barack Obama is characterized by his continuous criticism and embarassment of Americans and the United States of America. While his devotees are busy blindly worshipping their Savior of Progress and Change, Barack is insulting the practices and values of the people that he is supposedly set to represent as president.

Long criticized for his elitist rhetoric involving average Americans who rightly “cling” to their guns and God, B.H. Obama continued his tirade against your Average Joe yesterday at a campaign rally in Georgia. Apparently he’s embarrassed that Americans don’t speak French and Spanish. Really?

BHO: I don’t understand why people are around going on about “we want English only”. I agree that immigrants should learn English. But instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English- they’ll learn English- you need to make sure child learns how to speak Spanish. We should have every child speaking more than one language!

It’s embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is merci beaucoup.

The above quotation shows just how out of touch with America Obama is. Immigrants have been coming to the United States and learning English for centuries. It’s just how its done. English is the language of mobility, the language of the American Dream. Accomodating immigrants, often illegal ones, by forcing our children to learn their language and adapting our centuries-old culture for the ease of this group of people is both insulting and absurd.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with being bilingual. In fact, it’s a great asset to be bilingual. But if you want your kids to learn a language that will benefit them later in their lives, Spanish should not be on the top of your list. How about Chinese? Japanese? Arabic? These are the economic and political languages of the future. We shouldn’t go around mandating Spanish just because the majority of over ten million illegal immigrants just happen to speak that language and seem to be resisting the idea of assimilation that generations upon generations of immigrant Americans have accepted.

But I guess we’ll just let Barack continue on his elitist ways- traveling the world to places like Socialist France and teaching his children exotic languages. Accordingly, I’m sure he’ll continue to ignore the wants and needs of everyday American citizens.

Check out a quick 1:08 minute YouTube video of the speech here.

Word of the Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-07-07T06:49:24+09:00

Word of the Week:

Cloy- verb (used with object), to weary by an excess of food, sweetness, pleaseure, etc.; surfeit; satiate.

Clare’s word request...only two months late. My bad.

Funny Video

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-07-05T02:41:08+09:00

OK so I have to post this too...

Check out the Sneezing Panda YouTube video. Its one of the most hilarious things I’ve seen in a while. My family thinks I’m crazy, but I laugh every time I see it.

Jesse Helms

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-07-05T02:36:26+09:00

Jesse Helms is a name that I have heard, but have never been very familiar with. His death early this morning has brought his name back into the spotlight. After reading this, from the Boston Globe, and other articles about him I am now intrigued. Just from this short glimpse, I can tell you I’m a big fan of his politics and his unapologetic character. I think I’ll continue my memoir-streak and pick up his Here’s Where I Stand: A Memoir later this week.

In the mean time, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! I’m especially aware and thankful for all we have here in the United States after spending so much time out of the country recently.

McCain Doomed?

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-28T04:19:22+09:00

A good article from the Wall Street Journal on why the media shouldn’t be so quick to call John McCain’s campaign doomed.

Guns

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-27T05:10:30+09:00

Today’s Supreme Court decision confirming an individual’s right to own a gun, as protected by the Second Amendment, is a victory for every law abiding citizen in the United States. It also underscores the importance of electing a Republican to the White House later this year. The President’s greatest power, as it lasts far longer than his political term, is the power to nominate to the Supreme Court. Without a Republican in the Oval Office we would still have partial birth abortion and we wouldn’t be guaranteed the right to protect ourselves with firearms. If Obama wins the White House you better count your freedoms on day 1 and prepare to kiss them goodbye with his guaranteed appointement of liberal activist judges like those of the 9th Circuit Court of San Francisco.

Religion in America

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-24T04:52:06+09:00

A somewhat-encouraging study on the state of religion in the United States...

The study was published by Pew Research today and has been widely commented on by a lot of writers and news people. I wish it was a little more comparative to the rest of the world, but it seems to be one of the most in-depth studies of religion in America done in a while.

On another subject, I’m back in the U.S. safe and sound, happy to be eating American food, breathing easier, speaking English, not being stared at constantly, and sleeping on a matress that doesn’t feel like a rock. Ahh the comforts of home! I’m sure I’ll post on my overall thoughts about my Asian excursion sooner or later, but for now I’m just unwinding and enjoying home.

Zhongshan

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-15T23:02:10+09:00

We had one of the coolest experiences on the trip thus far this afternoon. After suffering through a terrible Chinese lunch (and later, a terrible Chinese dinner), we went to a toy factory. You can’t even imagine how excited these people were to host us.

First, they tried to find an American flag in the city. Obviously, there aren’t many Stars and Stripes floating around Communist China. So, when they couldn’t find one, they had one personally stitched up. It was flying over the building when we arrived, along with a huge “Welcome Georgetown University” banner. What a nice jesture. Then, after meeting the owner and all of the management, they set off about ten minutes worth of firecrackers to celebrate our arrival. Again, for the second day in a row, we felt way more important than we actually are.

The factory was an experience in itself. This factory, specifically, makes the Chick Fil-A cows, teenie Beanie Babies, the Coca Cola bears, and more. It was amazing to see all the labor that goes into these simple toys. The factory has 1000 employees, all of whom live in dormatories on site, who are sewing away almost all day long with each employee specializing in a small part of the toy (e.g. cutting the tags, stitching the seams, etc.). Honestly, it was yet another humbling moment on the trip. We really all are so blessed and lucky to live the lives that we do back in the U.S. Now obviously the factory wasn’t a sweat shop, but it certainly isn’t work that many Americans would put up with. Here, though, younger women and families travel hundreds of miles from rural China to get jobs like that, which pay US$320 per month for something like 264 hours a month. Quite the eye opener.

We’ve just been hanging around since then this evening. I think we’ve averaged only 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night over the last few nights, so we’re all beat. A quick note on Zhongshan- it’s completely different from what we saw in Beijing last month (wow, can’t believe that was over a month ago). There’s much more business, economy, and culture here. The city isn’t defined as much by drab buildings, choking smog, and Communist soldiers like the capital. I’m beginning to wonder if all the Eastern, coastal cities like this are also drastically different than West and Central China, where Beijing in located.

Thats all for now. Happy Father’s Day!

Macau

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-15T22:38:02+09:00

We spent the day yesterday in Macau, which is a Special Administrative Region of China just like Hong Kong. It was an interesting place- certainly a mix of the East and the West, like Hong Kong, but in a completely different way. While HK was formerly a British colony, Macau was a colony of the Portugese. So, there is a distinct Mediterranean feel to the place. Personally, the houses and apartments with gated porches over the busy streets reminded me of Rome.

Macau is sort of going through an identity crisis, though. On the one hand, there is a lot of great culture there. We saw St. Paul’s ruins, a beautiful Mexican-built Catholic church downtown, and historic government buildings. But, on the other, Macau is the gambling capital of the East. In fact, Macau’s revenue was higher than that of Vegas’ last year. Giant, glitzy casinos shoot up from the ground all over the city. Most of the tourism now comes from this industry.

Anyways, we ate a great lunch on top of a spinning, needle building like the one in Toronto. It’s the longest building-bungee jump spot in the world. Afterwards we met with some of the management and marketers at the MGM Grand, which opened here six months ago. They treated us like kings (I think they thought we were more important than we actually are) with all sorts of appetizers and a fancy reception.

Then that night we trekked to the Venetian Hotel and Casino, which was beautiful. The hotel is massive, with an Italian courtyard-styled shopping center surrounded by rivers with gondolas. The ceiling is painted like a realistic daytime sky so you feel like you’re in Venice. I lost net HK$200 at the Ventian and moved onto the MGM Grand Casino next, which was 15 minutes away. The MGM Grand is a quieter, smaller casino, but still very nice. We played roulette and black jack there and I ended the night up HK$250 overall. It was a lot of fun. I can’t wait to check out Vegas someday to compare...

Hong Kong

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-12T23:05:31+09:00

Man, time flies! It’s my second to last night here at the Horizon Suites in Hong Kong. I can’t believe how quickly the last few weeks have passed. The program isn’t over yet, though. We have a busy week ahead traveling in Mainland China.

On Saturday we head to Macau, a small, formerly-Portugese island off the coast of China. It currently stands as the Asian Las Vegas. During the day we’ll do a cultural tour of the city and then hear a presentation at the MGM Grand, where I’m sure we’ll spend the rest of the night (and pay off the trip, perhaps?). We then head to Zhongshan to visit a toy factory on Sunday. On Monday we visit the Zhongshan government officials and then head to Guangzhou in the evning, where we take tours of both a piano factory and Colgate’s largest China factory the next day. We spend the next few days in Shenzhen, which includes a visit to Wal-Mart on Wednesday, a jewelry factory and the supplier for Philips Electronics Thursday, and a city tour Friday. Then, we head back to Hong Kong by bus where we have our final dinner at a fancy restaurant that I’m eagerly awaiting. And finally, I fly out of Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific at 9:45 AM on Saturday! I land at JFK at 1:15 PM and will hopefully hop on a standby Jet Blue flight since my actual flight isn’t until 4:30 PM. Then it’s home at last!

More Quotes

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-10T08:56:27+09:00

More quotes from my crazy Communist professor from class Thursday-

-"This is something that Communists can do. They can move people if they want. Chinese are obedient people"
-"We don't do corruption. For favors we set up scholarship funds for the politicians' children so that they can study in the States or we hire their children as 'consultants'"
-"Women are equal in China. You can be a general. All you have to do is sing and dance"
-On defending why women in the government are forced to retire at 55, while men must retire by 65, "I bet its about physical strength. You must be strong and need a killers instinct. Women are supposed to be gentle"
-On China's intellectual property rights (or lack thereof) and human rights issues, "In 1910 in the US I'm sure intellectual property rights weren't big when it was developing. In the 1800s I bet human rights weren't big in the US"
-"China emits 1/3 the pollution of the US. We have agreed to cut pollution, but the US won't agree. While you are arguing we are suffering"
-"We really have a good control on the population. People die, people go on"
-"If China falls, everything will fall. Hong Kong will too"
-"Being environmentally friendly requires a lot of captial. We're a developing country. You could buy a lot of Rolls Royces with the money it would cost". Me: "Yes, but didn't you just say you have over $1 trillion in US reserves? You could sure buy a whole lot of Rolls Royces with that". No response.
-On Communist bureaucracy and employment rules, "I can't fire this guy, so I just pay him 2-3,000 RMB per month to not come in. It's easier that way"
-"Don't worry about counterfeiting. It won't hurt you. They might someday be customers". Ya, tell that to P&G and clothing companies who have been crushed by fakes in China.
-"The courts are ignorant. If Hu Jintao told everyone to stop it, it wouldn't work"
-"You can't stop counterfeiting because there's a demand". I can assure you there's a demand for cheap luxury brands all over the world, yet its not so much a problem in any other country.
-"Lets drop the topic [intellectual property rights] until it can be solved. If you're doing something stupid, stop it"
-"If you're not lucky, you get shot. That's China"

Philippines

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-10T00:42:26+09:00

So I just returned from the Philippines this evening after a long day of travel. I must say that Puerto Galera was one of the nicest places that I have ever seen- picture the Caribbean years before anyone discovered it and it became a tourist hub. Also, the people were some of the friendliest I've ever met. Countless people, from our transportation people to our waitress, went out of their way to make sure that we were headed in the right direction, weren't getting ripped off by anybody, and were enjoying our time in the Philippines.

We stayed in the town of Puerto Galera on the island of Mindoro, which is about 5 hours outside of the capital city Manila. We slept in a hostel in the city overnight and caught an early jeepney (unfortunately I didn't get a picture of one, but they're like extended Jeeps that are used for transportation there) for a 3 hour ride towards the town of Batangas. From there we took a wooden boat for about an hour and a half through the beautiful islands and cliffs of the Philippines and landed at White Beach. We walked over to the beach next door, which we learned from tripadvisor.com (one of my new favorite websites) was much quieter.

We found a hotel that had been recommended online and rented a thatch hut on the beach for 1000 pesos a night (about $22 USD) that had two small twin beds, a fan, a single lightbuld hanging from the ceiling, and a bathroom with all sorts of critters, including a lizard that seemed to like the shower head (thus, we didn't shower the whole time we were there- eek). Talk about living on the edge! It was an experience, though, and it was definitely a great place to stay. There, we did exactly what I had wanted to do: pretty much nothing. Saturday we laid around on the beach and enjoyed the scenery and the weather (a nice break from ever-rainy Hong Kong). Sunday I slept in til 10:30, which is the latest I've slept this whole trip I believe, and then rented a boat to take us snorkeling off Coral Gardens, which was beautiful. I had never snorkeled off real coral before. After more laying around the beach for the afternoon we ate dinner at our favorite pizza place next door, Tutti Frutti, and packed up to head out the next morning.

Turns out we missed our boat this morning, so a local generously offered to drive us to the boat's next stop about 15 minutes away for a few dollars to cover his gas. Seeing the farms and the life away from the beach was worth missing the boat! And it just goes to show again how great the people were there. Also, Hong Kong likes to claim that it's the city where East meets West and English is spoken widely. But, this just isn't true. Here we were, on a small, far-away island, probably the only Americans for miles and miles, and everyone on the island spoke perfect English. That was a blessing in itself seeing that we were cell-phone and computer-less in case of emergency.

So, the Philippines was great. If you're ever in the neighborhood, stop by! Thanks to one of my high school teachers, Mr. Navarette, who is originally from the Philippines and gave us pointers on where to go. And finally, check out the pictures (though they don't do the place justice).

Part II

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-04T20:59:50+09:00

So we're midway through our two courses here at Chinese University of Hong Kong for the summer program. Because of this, we've received two new professors. Both are Chinese. However, they couldn't be more different from eachother. One is ardently pro-China (and probably the closest I've ever come to a Communist [other than my liberal friends back home]), while the other is fervently anti-China. We had the pro-China professor first at the beginning of the week and were shocked by his lecture. Throughout class we would frequently look at eachother with puzzled looks as he uttered a seemingly ridiculous statement. Most Hong Kong people feel a connection to China because of their Chinese roots and heritage, but strongly and publicly criticize the country for its communist ways. So, this professor was something totally different for us.

A few quotes that I wrote down from class:

-When questioned about the removal of residents for the construction of the Three Gorges Dam- "Let me rephrase some of what you said. They weren't kicked out of the Three Gorges. They were 'relocated'". (The girl who asked the question has been there and says that these people most definitely were not simply "relocated")
-On Tibetan protests- "We call them disturbances" (as opposed to politically grounded protests)
-"Mao famously said that if we can feed every person in China, we're doing well. We're feeding everyone these days"
-"China is doing well on pollution now. That might not have been the case for the last 30 years, but we're better now" (as we're all still recovering from our coughs from the Beijing pollution two weeks ago)
-"Guanxi (the Asian practice of forming relationships to do business) isn't corruption. It's nepotism" (Oh, okay then. Nepotism isn't that bad)
-"LG is trying to buy GE" (I watch the news almost 24/7 and highly doubt I and all my classmates would have missed a story like that)
-"The Communists are lucky. They've picked the right people to lead this country since Mao. The politicians have been well-trained. You may be cynical and say his [Hu Jintao] earthquake reaction is for show. It's not. He cares"
-On China's low GDP per capita rate- "GDP per capita doesn't mean anything. We need to focus more on the rich"
-"There are 7,000 people in Tibet causing all this noise"

On the other hand, our second new professor started off class today (the anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square) with a reflection on the incident and the actions and deaths of students. He strongly criticized the response of the Chinese government over the past years and hammered them for covering up the facts. We brought up the fact that when you search "Tiananmen Square" from Google in China, nothing comes up. He also tore into China's economic policies and human rights violations.

A few of his quotes:

-"The logic of control for the Chinese government has not changed over the years. However, we see the power of the NGO's as change after the earthquake"
-"The office of propaganda won't let media publish reports of poor quality school buildings or coruption. It will only allow the publication of heroic military stories and rescues"
-"All countries find enemies. In China, the Chinese people are the enemies"
-"In China it doesn't matter which university your degree came from, only the type of degree" (regarding the effect of the Communist system on competition and hiring practices)
-"Fords and American cards last forever. Japanese cars fall apart after 10 years" (This isn't really anti-China. I just found it funny that his view of American cars was the exactly 180 degrees opposite of Americans' views)

Anyways, the second half of the term looks to be much more interesting than the first half class-wise as we will get the opportunity to see two radically different approaches to business and politics in Asia and China. As absurd as some of the first professor's rantings are, its interesting to see the other side of the story argued for the first time here in ultra-capitalist Hong Kong.

Bangkok Excursion

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-04T13:31:29+09:00

On Friday evening myself and twenty-five others hopped on a 3 hour or so Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Bangkok, Thailand. We hopped in cabs (all brightly colored Toyota Corollas) from the airport and traveled to the Ramada Inn, which wasn't too far away. Tired from the week and the travel, we all crashed that night and went right to sleep.

The next morning we got up early for our first and only full day in the city. We quickly learned the ways of the city when a man walked up to us and offered to arrange a tuk-tuk (small motorcycle-like cabs that you can see in the photos) to take us to some of the sites. Of course right when we hopped in the tuk-tuks he demanded payment for his flagging down of the drivers. We got out and walked away.

We eventually haggled for about ten painful minutes to get a few tuk-tuks to take us down to the river where we were supposed to hop on a riverboat tour. Upon arrival, we were told that the tour would cost 500 baht per person (about $15 USD). We knew that was an absolute rip off, so we walked away here too. Of course the own came back out offering us 300 baht, but we knew that too was an unfair price. As we walked away, the hotel concierge appeared seemingly out of nowhere, very concerned that we were walking away from this place. "Where are you going!?" he exclaimed. He was clearly making a cut from what he thought to be ignorant American tourists. What kind of hotel has a concierge that is in it for personal gain? That was just the beginning of our experiences with the kickbacks and corruption in Thailand.

We eventually walked into the hotel lobby of a very expensive hotel in Bangkok that was nearby and pretended to be guests. We arranged a boat tour with their obviously less-crooked concierge for the 300 baht that was twice as long as the original one and went down a more favored route.

The boat ride itself was an incredible experience. We boarded these long, narrow wooden skiffs that were powered by what looked like 350 block Chevy engines exposed on the outside. The engines had a stick with a propeller attached to it that was used to navigate that shallow, polluted waters. Traveling down the main river we passed huge, rusted tankers rotting away on the shores and saw old ones in the process of being rehabilitated. We then turned into the "Thai villages" which were an astounding, though sad sight to see. The houses were shacks constructed of thin, rotting wood with tin roofs perched above the water by thin, also rotting wooden stilts. You could see right through all of the houses and view their dilapidated conditions. Many houses had rotted away and simply slipped into the river. Its a shame, looking back, that my pictures don't adequately capture the scene, as it was much more desperate than the images portray. The houses were flowered with hanging laundry and Thai flags and often had animals wandering on their decks or on the shores (Bangkok is filled with skinny, stray dogs and cats). Despite their situations, the residents always smiled and waved at us as we passed their houses. I was trying to think of what they think when they see us, wealthy Westerners "touring" their often-miserable situations. It was a humbling thought and moment. Regardless, they always seemed friendly. Perhaps that's why Thailand is nicknamed "Land of Smiles".

After running into an awesome Komodo dragon in the river (see pictures) we stopped for a half hour at a wild animal farm (another kickback, I'm sure) where a bunch of the kids with me saw a snake show and got a chance to have a monkey climb all over their shoulders. I didn't go in, but I hear there were tons of different exotic animals. PETA would have thrown a fit if they had seen the conditions, I'm told. Apparently there was a beautiful tiger kept in a tiny cage and other animals kept in similar conditions. Some of the pictures that my friends took are pretty hilarious, with huge snakes wrapped around some of the clearly-petrified girls.

We next stopped at the Temple of Dawn (another random 20 baht "docking fee") to see the impressive Buddhist structure. It was intricately designed with tens of thousands of small, colorful tiles and had some of the steepest steps I have ever seen. I tried to capture the steepness in the pictures, but it didn't totally work. I'm glad I made it to this temple as a 20 year old and not older. At the top incense was burning and a few Thai people were praying. The top offered a commanding view of the action on the river and the surrounding terrain.

We then landed at our final destination near the Royal Palace. We paid another docking fee and walked through a food market where at least 100 vendors were selling various foods on small stoves in the market. We saw all sorts of food that you wouldn't see back home. There was octopus, exotic fruits, chicken feet, etc. Once we made it through the market we were once again bombarded by thieves who would do anything to steal money from you. Thankfully, we had been warned beforehand not to be fooled by their ridiculous claims. A favorite of theirs is to claim that the palace is closed to foreigners until 3:30 (when the palace actually closes), so you should hop in a tuk-tuk of their friend and see some of the other sites (for a ridiculous fee). Then, you have people who try to tell you that you won't be allowed into the palace because you're wearing shorts (it was 95 degrees that day), so once again you should either abandon your trip or buy clothes from them. Of course they don't want you to know that the palace rents long pants for free to visitors not dressed appropriately. Two crooks even had the audacity to approach me right in front of a military guard at the gates of the palace. They were wearing jackets that said "Royal Palace Security" and told us that only Thai residents could enter the palace at the moment. One guy was even offended that I was apparently paying more attention to his partner in crime than he, and scolded me. All this right in front of the palace and a soldier. You can tell the Thai government is really worried about all this corruption (not). I'm sure someone in the travel board is getting kickbacks from these thieves.

Once you enter the palace, there are finally signs posted on computer paper taped up with Scotch tape that warn you about the posers outside the gates. Gee, thanks for the advance warning. Anyways, once you enter the palace and rent the long pants, you really see its beauty. The grounds are perfectly manicured with flowers and trees. But the palace and temples themselves are the most impressive. They are covered in brilliant gold and colored glass and have a royal aura to them. We removed our shoes to enter a few of the temples and view even more intricate Buddha monuments and statues inside (we also had to sit on the ground and make sure not to point our toes towards the Buddha. Also, no pictures). The entrance to the fee was a costly 250 baht ($10ish) and turned out to be one of our largest expenses, but we later realized that this was a good thing, as it priced the hawkers out of the palace and kept it peaceful. After seeing all the impressive buildings, statues, and a military march, we moved onto our next adventure.

For the rest of the day we haggled and sometimes fought for tuk-tuks around the city to various Buddha statues and sites. At one time a few of the tuk-tuks passed a huge protest (10,000 people according to the papers the next day) against the military that I was bummed to miss. Oh yea, I forgot to mention that the day before we left the Wall Street Journal reported that a military coup was imminent that weekend, as the military was angry that a member of the democratically elected government insulted the King, whom the military serves. Also, the people were protesting the military's attempt to amend the constitution to give greater power to itself, angering the democratically-minded people. So, like they did a few years ago, there were calls in the military to overthrow the "troublesome" democratic government. The day we left the newspapers announced that a deal had been reached after the democratic government apologized for insulting the king and the leader stepped down. I don't think the issue regarding the constitution has been solved yet, though. Now wouldn't that have been excited to see a coup!

After that we had Thai dinner (much better than Catonese Chinese food- sorry Clem) and again crashed at the hotel for the night.

The next morning my room and a few others accidentally slept in, so the groups were smaller. We only had the early afternoon since we had to leave for the airport by 3, so we bargained for a cab to take us to the summer market. Now, the cabs are all fitted with meters. But, of course, the drivers refuse to use the meters. Originally we caught a cab at the hotel with the help of a bellboy who demanded a meter. We hopped in and took off. After about 5 minutes, the driver turned around and said "no meter, 250 baht". He eventually backed off to 150 baht, but this was still ridiculous and we refused. So, he kicked us out of the cab on the side of the road. After haggling with three more taxis, we got one who would take us there for 100 baht. Victory!

The summer market was a huge fairground that was filled with hundreds of vendors selling rip-off clothing and other products like pottery, toys, pets, etc. Seeing all the clothing was pretty funny, though it reminds us of how serious the intellectual property rights issue is in Asia. Most of the clothes were of obviously low quality and had Ralph Lauren or Lacoste logos sloppily ironed or stitched onto them. But, they were only $1 or $2 US dollars. It was funny (disturbing?) to see that a ton of stores sold US Military clothing. There was no shortage of US Marines, Navy, SEALS, etc. clothes for sale. I didn't buy anything because I'm trying to save space in my suitcase for the way home, but looking back it might have been cool to own a $1 Polo shirt!

Finally, we found a cab driver that would use the meter (imagine that!) to take us to the airport that afternoon and we departed Bangkok at 6 that night.

Do I regret trip? No way. It was cheap and an incredible experience to see such a different culture and country, regardless of how frustrating the haggling and corruption was. Would I go back? Ehh, I've probably had enough of Thailand for the next 15 years or so. The country is becoming a hotspot of foreign direct investment, though, with hundreds of factories popping up every year as China slowly becomes more expensive. It will be interesting to see the development that this new industry brings to this country in the coming years.

Alright we're off to meet with Intercontinental Hotels in a few minutes. I'll try to get back on later tonight to write about more interesting experiences we've had this week with our new professors. Good night (US time)!

Thailand

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-06-04T02:01:48+09:00

Bangkok pictures are up. It's been a hectic week, but I promise I'll finally have my post about our weekend in Thailand tomorrow afternoon (HK time!)...

McCain Speech

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-28T01:38:40+09:00

So I just finished watching John McCain's live speech on foreign policy from the University of Dallas. My general reaction is that it shows that McCain is a much more complicated, mature candidate than most voters and pundits give him credit for. He's more than the stupid, evasive response- "just four more years of failed Bush policy"- that liberals like Howard Dean love to spew after a being challenged by McCain on a particular issue.

In the speech he focused mainly on nuclear proliferation issues. In doing this, he brings up an important political issue that doesn't claim much of the spot light. It also makes him appear as a first-mover on pertinent foreign policy issues, which goes against Obama and the media's portrayal of McCain as a relic and puts the spotlight on Obama's foreign policy inexperience.

Ironically, the speech turned out to be more of an anti-war speech- another move that is sure to complicate the liberal attacks in the general election. He spoke about the grave dangers of nuclear weapons and bluntly stated that as one of the two greatest nuclear powers in the world we have the greatest responsibility to reduce the number of nukes. He issued a strong call for Russia (the other nuclear powerhouse) to join in talks with the United States to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, halt production of most new nuclear weapons, and create a more transparent monitoring and transportation system to ensure the safety of the world.

Specifically, he says that he will halt the production of a new nuclear weapon that is being built here in the US. Apparently this weapon has the ability to blast through 1,000 feet of rock to reach deeply buried caves and fortresses that I assume are used in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. McCain strongly believes that this weapon serves no feasible purpose and will only heighten the arms race. Also, he brought up the fact that nuclear power is indeed good for the earth and should be encouraged both in the US and abroad, as long as it is handled in a safe, non-military way. He mentioned that some sort of world watchdog group should be formed to continually monitor these nuclear activities in countries that agree and are allowed to use such nuclear power to avoid situations like Iran, which was harshly criticized by the UN today for evading UN nuclear inspectors (no surprise there).

Also, given that the speech was held at a liberal college campus, it was only a matter of time before the hippies jumped in to cause some sort of disruption. McCain's speech was halted three separate times while security guards removed these screaming crazies from the premises. He kindly invited them to tomorrow's town-hall styled meeting where he would be more than happy to have a civilized debate with them (which might be impossible, as I doubt these people are very civilized) and reminded the audience how rude such actions are. The second time, he forcefully replied to the protestor that he will never back down in Iraq and that our soldiers will come home with their honor and victory. I'm glad he didn't allow himself to get pushed around by these idiots. I hope someday when they're older (and less interesting in being radical liberal college students) they look back and realize how foolish they make themselves look in such situations. In the mean time though, I'm sure they'll all be high from their experience at the speech (among other things). Man, they sure showed him! There's nothing like yelling and screaming at an American war hero...

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-25T23:18:44+09:00

Our first weekend has come to an end and I'm trying to get back into school-mode for class early tomorrow morning. Since my last post we've had a number of new speakers and explored the city a bit more.

On Friday morning we got up and went to class like it was a normal school day to see a young MBA student teach us about Feng Shui, which is the Chinese way of organizing your home and office that hoity toity Americans do these days. It was interesting, though I don't buy any of it. Apparently you're doomed if you position yourself across from a 90 degree angle at any time. I'll pass on losing sleep over my 90 degree angles. Then directly after that we had a presentation on living and working in Hong Kong, where the speaker pretty much told us that Hong Kong workers work the longest hours, have their dollars stretched the thinnest, produce the fewest children, inhale the most pollution, and are constantly threatened by an incompetent government and China. I'll pass on that as well :). After heading back to the hotel to do some research for our term projects we went to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which would have been a lot more interesting had the presenter known how to do a proper Powerpoint presentation. Instead she dragged on for almost two hours in a stifling hot room and lost most of our focus. The subject is interesting, though. In the 1970s and 1980s Hong Kong used to be a city totally ruled by corruption. It was a place where to receive any sort of medical or police help you had to pay someone off and a place where all business deals were greased. Through strict enforcement and education by the ICAC, though, Hong Kong has now become remarkably un-corrupt. It was ranked the 2nd least corrupt city in Asia last year, behind Singapore. After that, we moved out of downtown on our way to one of the best experiences of the trip so far...

Before dusk we took the famous Victoria's Peak tram up a steep mountain to a position that gave us an unbelievable bird's eye view of the city. Atop the peak there is a huge shopping mall full of restaurants (even restaurants that have American license plates!) where we ate and shopped for souvenirs a bit. After dusk fell we went to a clear viewing site and just relaxed in the beautiful weather, took pictures, and admired the view of the dark city lit by millions of colored florescent lights. Check out the pictures under the "my pictures" tab to see what I'm talking about. On the train ride home we also ran into a creepy, drunk, self-important British professor from a university here in Hong Kong who thought we were crazy for not wanting his business card. All he could talk about was how he came here to "chase some skirt" and hasn't left for 20 years. I'm now convinced that all the older, white men in this part of the world are perverts. Anyways, we went home after that and just crashed.

On Saturday morning we woke up early to get a Tai Chi lesson from the same guy who taught us about Feng Shui. Every morning you can see hundreds of Honkies, ranging from young to elderly, doing Tai Chi along the waterfront behind our hotel. I was amazed the other day to find out that the average lifespan for a Hong Kong woman is 85.4 years! The book I was reading attributed this partly to exercises like Tai Chi that a huge portion of the population takes part in every day. After Tai Chi I went back to my room and took a glorious four hour nap.

Waking up motivated, I decided to do a little exploring on my own. I walked out of the hotel door and stumbled into the shuttle that takes guests to Tsim Tsa Tsui, which is a busy downtown area. With no particular destination in mind, I hopped aboard. I then wandered down towards the water front (no surprise there) and found that a harbor-tour ferry was leaving in eight minutes! I quickly bought a ticket and hopped aboard the Star Ferry. After the boat made a quick trip across the harbor and then back to port, I realized that I had of course hopped on the wrong boat. Doh! Well, the tour cost HK$50, so there was no way I was putting that ticket to waste. So, I hung around for another 45 minutes until the next ferry took off. The later ride was just before dusk. It was a nice ride through a crowded Victoria Harbor, though I wish the boat had gone a little deeper into the harbor. I then hopped off at around 7 PM and faced my next debacle: how to get home.

I then saw a bunch of people running towards a bus at the bus station across the street. I saw the bus that everyone was madly running to said something in Chinese (which might as well have been Jibberish to me) and ended in the word "Estate". Remembering that there was a bus stop ending in the word "Estate" near my hotel, I got caught up in the craze and bolted for the bus. I sat down and immediately said to myself, "Well, that was dumb". Sure enough, it was. The bus took me about an hour into suburban Hong Kong, far from anywhere I had ever been before. I ended up just completing the loop after realizing I was totally lost and ended up right back where I started two hours later. I then took the MTR (HK's version of the T or Metro) back to the hotel, which is what I should have done in the first place. Oh well, it was an adventure. That night we went out to a festival in Long Kwai Fong, which was pretty fun.

This morning myself and a few others ventured out to go to mass in Hong Kong. We ended up at St. Benedict's in Sha Tin. The mass was pretty similar to mass back home, since we picked the one that was in English (though the priest didn't speak very good English. I think he was from Italy). Here they don't shake hands for peace (they bow slightly) and they dip the Bread in the Wine during communion. I'm guessing these are a result of the SARS scare a few years ago. I'm also pretty sure that I accidentally donated my room key to the collection basket with the change in my pocket. Not looking forward to that HK$200 fine! After mass we went to Pizza Hut in the mall across the street. It's funny that in Hong Kong Pizza Hut is positioned as a luxurious place to eat. We had to wait almost half an hour for a table (a table with a table cloth and fancy chairs). The decor is all new and the menu is much, much larger than that in the U.S. But, there was a bit of a language barrier when ordered, so my order of a sausage deep-dish pizza with marinara sauce somehow arrived as as deep-dish pizza with Thousand Island sauce (yes, Thousand Island dressing) with sausage, chicken, pineapple, and mushroom toppings. Surprisingly it didn't taste that bad. It was also funny that they had a pizza called the Adventurous American, which included sausage, pepperoni, and corn. Apparently they think Americans like corn on their pizza.

When we got back from lunch we went to my first horse race! We caught the last three races of the day. It was pretty cool. There were probably about 10,000 people in the stadium on one side of the huge racing track. I won HK$125 on the first race when my pick, horse #1, came in first. Great start! Of course, I lost the next two races. But, I ended the day up $25. Not too shabby for my first horse race!

Now we're all just laying around. I'm going to go for a run, do some reading, and head to bed early so I'm not too tired this week. Anyone have any book suggestions for me? I just finished John McCain's Faith of My Fathers. I highly recommend it to anyone. After reading it, I don't know how anyone could not vote for him, regardless of some political disagreements (of which I have quite a few).

Happy Memorial Day to all back home! Enjoy the long weekend.

Pictures from the first week of Hong Kong will be up later tonight, so check those out too.

Update

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-22T22:19:32+09:00

So we just finished our first week of classes here at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Aside from classes we had two speakers/site visits this week. On Tuesday we met with the General Director of InvestHK, a government entity that seeks to attract financial and capital investment in Hong Kong. From the board room of a beautiful skyscraper looking out over Hong Kong's harbor the director spoke to us about the intertwined history of China and Hong Kong and how Hong Kong has evolved as a world-class business center for Western companies. We also learned that Hong Kong's fierce rival for investment is Singapore, which the director claims offers similar, but not quite as good investment opportunities with better marketing and advertising. The meeting lasted about an hour and after that we ventured to Stanley Market.

The trip to Stanley Market was probably the best part of the evening. We trekked for over half an hour on the city double-decker bus through the Repulse Bay community, which is situated on a high mountain overlooking the city and bay. Skyscrapers tower in a seemingly perilous manner surrounded by dense trees and forest, looking like they'll blow over with the slightest blow of wind from a typhoon. There are also a lot of imperial-looking mansions overlooking the bay, complete with Rolls Royces parked in the driveways (Hong Kong has the highest Rolls Royce per capita in the world, interestingly). The Stanley Market reminded me of the Mexican markets from Tiajuana where shopkeepers sell cheap goods mainly aimed at tourists (though I did find a pretty sweet pair of foul-weather rain pants that I'll use for work this summer). The market was pretty dead, though, because of the rainy weather. We then all ate dinner at a wharf that was just a tourist trap full of expensive Western restaurants (though I thoroughly enjoyed my BBQ ribs and fries, even if it cost me over 20 bucks).

After class on Wednesday we took a bus to the Hong Kong Jockey Club where we heard Susan Tang, the PR Director, discuss the history of the prestigious club and its role with the horse events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which are being held in Hong Kong. The Club is an intriguing place. It was created to combat illegal gambling a few decades ago and currently exists as the only legalized method of gambling in Hong Kong. Interestingly, it is a not-for-profit organization that donates hundreds of millions of (HK) dollars back into the community each year for various athletic, health, and environmental projects. It also supplies 8.5% of all of Hong Kong's tax revenues- a gigantic percent for one organization. The group prides itself on its spotless reputation and its intense pursuit of fair horse racing, from all sorts of drug testing to intense camera monitoring of races. It has helped to fund the stadium that the Olympic horse races will take place in later this summer. The horse races that we were supposed to see after the meeting had been cancelled earlier in the week because of the 3 day morning period set by the government for the Chinese earthquake victims. Unfortunately, we had to attend the meeting with a bunch of University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business MBA students who, yes, are just as obnoxious and arrogant as you would expect them to be. Yuck.

We then went back to Tsim Tsa Sui to see the waterfront at night, which is incredibly lit up by thousands of different colored lights and signs. We ate dinner at a British pub. I think all non-Chinese food here is expensive. I guess its wisely targeted at desperate Americans like myself who will do almost anything for meat, dairy, fully-cooked, bone-free food. I paid HK$120 (about $15) for a huge BBQ (if you can't tell already...I really like BBQ) bacon cheeseburger. I think I threw the waiters for a loop when I asked for American instead of Swiss cheese. It must not be called American cheese outside of the good 'ol USA. I don't know what I got on the burger, but it sure wasn't American.

Today we just had class in the morning with a new professor, Professor Lau. He's pretty hilarious and class should be okay for the remainder of the trip. It was really the first day without any other speaking/travel activities planned, so most of us have just been laying around and resting this afternoon.

We have Tai Chi tomorrow morning and then I'm sure we'll find some tourist things to do over the weekend. We still have to see the Giant Buddha and I've heard the islands off the coast of HK are really nice. And we're in the process of planning a weekend trip to Phuket, Thailand for an upcoming weekend.

Hope all is well back home in the USA and that everyone is having a good summer. Send me an email (dee7@georgetown.edu) to let me know how home is!

Hong Kong

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-19T18:47:38+09:00

So today marks our second full day in Hong Kong. We started class bright and early this morning at 8 AM with strategic management. The Chinese University of Hong Kong is about 45 minutes away from our hotel and we get there by either the hotel bus or a public bus.

Once we arrived in Hong Kong we settled into the Horizon Hotel and Suites, which is an extended-stay hotel. The rooms are pretty awesome- two bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room that overlooks the huge pool and ocean. After unpacking we went to a nearby mall in search of food. Matt and I gave up on finding a decent restaurant, so ended up grocery shopping and bought some white bread (their loaves are tiny), Skippy peanut butter, and Smuckers strawberry jelly. Grape jelly is nowhere to be seen in any grocery store here. I'll have to find out why. Since then, I've been averaging at least 2 PB&J's a day. Who would've thought PB&J could be so good?

The next morning we settled in and most people got SIM cards or new phones. After that we took the hotel shuttle to the downtown harbor area, which was amazing. The pictures I'll post soon will do a better job explaining it than I can, but it's pretty much a zoo with unlimited shops and neon signs hanging over and across all the streets. First myself and a bunch of other guys stopped at a McDonald's, which also never tasted so good. For some reason "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" was playing while we were eating our food, which was pretty humorous. We walked down to the water front and saw a cruise ship that had just arrived and looked across the bay to the business hub of the city. Almost every square inch of the city is covered by incredibly high skyscrapers. In the business section across the bay the names and logos of American companies are emblazoned across the tops of all the towers. It sort of looks like a big Lego city. We then took the bus home and went to our first official Hong Kong meeting with the program director and two professors who went over the class materials and schedules.

After that we went out that night to Long Fai Kwan (no idea how to spell that), which is the nightlife part of the city. It's chock full of all sorts of bars and restaurants from every culture you can imagine. It's definitely where I'll be going if I'm craving non-Asian food other than McDonald's. There's Irish pubs (I'll eventually make my way to the Dublin Jack, a pub that Mrs. O' recommended to me), Mexican restaurants, Jamaican bars, and everything else. My other roommate David turned out to know the owner of one of the restaurants, so the whole group of us was treated to much appreciated free food and drink. It's crazy that people even have connections like that all the way across the world.

And that brings me to today, where we just had a tour of CUHK, our first class, and a computer lab session. We're all unwinding now and getting ready to go out to dinner around the corner later on.

Hong Kong couldn't be more different from Beijing. It was a British colony until 1997 and currently exists as a "Special Administrative Region" of China, which pretty much means that China owns it, but doesn't control much of what goes on there. That is pretty apparent from seeing daily life. Honkies (Hong Kong residents- not sure if that's derogatory, but thats what people say) elect their leaders democratically and aren't censored in their speech like their Chinese neighbors are. They also speak Cantonese (and English, mostly) instead of Mandarin.

One of the things that I first noticed upon arrival is that there is religion here, much unlike the mainland where religion is shunned and even forbidden. We've all heard about the persecution of the underground Catholic churches there I'm sure. But, there's a Mormon church right outside of our hotel and we passed a second one in the city earlier. There are a good few churches and people wear crosses and crucifixes around their necks, which is totally different than what we experienced in Beijing a few days ago.

The fact that there isn't a one-child limit here is noticeable as well. Kids are far more visible than they were in Beijing, where the population all seemed to be aged around 60 and there was no sight of children. There, the minivan ads showed mom, dad, one child, and two sets of grandparents in the back seat. The ads look funny, as if it was back home in the U.S. that minivan or Chevy Suburban would be filled with five young kids. I'm sure they cherish the ability to have children here and are thankful that the Communists aren't determining their families like they do in China.

Also, being a million times more capitalistic, business is everywhere here. You see it in varied levels of wealth and poverty- the cars, the hotels, the workers. You see it in the huge buildings and the bustling city. Hong Kong is routinely voted the freest economic country in the world (even after the U.S., which was #5 I believe).

Well those are some of my first experiences and impressions of Hong Kong. There will be more analytic stuff some other time. But, for now, I'm off to be daring and try some Chinese food!

Hello from Asia!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-18T19:19:47+09:00

We're in the middle of our first full day in Hong Kong today after three days in Beijing, China. It's been an eye-opening cultural experience thus far and I look forward to the remaining five weeks.

We landed around 8 PM in Beijing in the incredible new airport and first decided to venture out to get a late dinner. We stumbled upon a "Korean Barbeque" restaurant. We sat down at a table with a grill in the middle and after being handed menus, realized that the waiters didn't speak a single word of English, not even "hello". We were in for an adventure. The menu was just pages full of pictures of raw meats including chicken hearts, dog (they didn't mention what breed), cow brain, etc. We ended up getting chicken and beef (at least thats what the menu said it was) and never ended up with the water we ordered.

The next day we met up with our tour guide Sunny (thanks to our concierge Storm) who was to guide us around the city for the day in a tour bus. We first went to the Ming and Qing Tombs where 13 emperors are buried. A few of them were destroyed by the government during Mao's Cultural Revolution, so we only saw one. When entering the tombs we crossed the "barrier of life". When we re-entered the "real world" girls had to step over the step in the arch with their right foot first, while guys had to step over with their left foot. While doing this we were supposed to scream some Mandarin phrase signifying that we were leaving the world of the dead and re-entering to life. Then we traveled to a jade factory where we watched how they cut, polish, and figure different jade items and then were served lunch at a restaurant in the same building. Next, we were bused to the Great Wall of China, which was pretty impressive. It was in a really cool mountainous section of Beijing and snaked around the mountains as far as one could see. Finally, we toured a silk factory and saw the silk construction process from worm to bed sheet. All this, including transportation, entrance fees to the sites, and a full lunch, for $28 USD. We finished off the night at a Hot Pot restaurant, which was quite the experience. There everyone sits around a table where a huge soup-ish pot sits on a burner in the middle. The waiters bring out various raw meats, sauces, and vegetables that are all thrown into this pot and brought to a boil. The noodles in the pot begin small and thick and are stretched out by a waiter who dances around and whips the noodles around herself until they are stretched out and more like spaghetti. Everyone then scoops their share out of the pot and eats it with chop sticks. That night we went to a Karaoke place recommended by Sunny that was like nothing I've ever seen before. We all agreed that it would be a big hit in the U.S. We rented a private room complete with stage, TV, couches, neon lights, bar, etc. for something like $45 USD from 9 PM to 6 AM. It was a lot of fun. We left around 1:30 or 2, figuring that the $3 each wasn't too much of a burden to leave and get some sleep.

On the second day we were on our own without a tour guide, though the concierge Storm was always there to help us (he actually followed us around the city to places he thought we would encounter trouble). We first took the public bus to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen square was full of police, pollution, and cameras. There were cameras everywhere you looked, watching your every move. I have a feeling that if you made any sort of public demonstration you would be hauled off in an instant. The pollution was noticeable everywhere in Beijing, but especially in Tiananmen, as the buildings were all clouded and difficult to see. Most of us were coughing by the second day. The entrance to the Forbidden City, which served as one of the emperors former palace, was plastered with a huge picture of Mao and surrounded by Communist soldiers (dressed differently than the regular Chinese police that were everywhere), many of whom had red armbands around their right arms, eerily similar to pictures we've all seen of Hilter's guards in Germany. The architecture of the palace was very different, but intricate. The grounds weren't as nicely kept as the palaces in Europe, which was one of the things I noticed most while there. We then ate a quick lunch, which, for me, meant a stop at a pizza joint. I couldn't resist. After leaving the palace we entered the Zoo and quickly saw the Panda bears before hopping on a miserable boat ride where we were screamed at by a tour guide (not literally screamed at, she was just telling her story) on a speakerphone. They then ripped us off on a 30 won fee for entrance to the summer palace. We arrived at the Summer Palace of the emperor at 5:05, 5 minutes too late and 30 won poorer. Nevertheless, the palace, perched high on a hilltop, was a sight to be seen. We then took a cab to a Peking Duck restaurant, which we were told was a fancy Chinese restaurant. There was a stage in front of all the tables where kung-fu people and porecelin-doll-faced women sang and danced and performed traditional Chinese song and dance. The food was not that great and included a full chicken laid out on a plate in body form including the head. Needless to say, the whole chicken was pretty much there when we left.

We packed up that night and passed out from tiredness. The next morning we slept in a little and boarded a bus taxi from our hotel at noon and got to the Beijing Airport at around 1 PM for our 3 PM China Air flight to Hong Kong and arrived around 6 PM.

There's more to come...but I have to run to our first meeting with the program coordinator. I'll finish later. Good morning to the US, I guess. And good luck to all the B.C. High Class of '08 guys graduating today. I wish I could be there.

Barack v. McCain

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-13T09:04:19+09:00

Talk radio is one of the things I miss most while I'm down at school. It gives me new ideas and new perspectives on different issues and candidates. Today on the way home from CVS I was listening to Michelle McPhee on 96.9. She's a woman who has voted the Democratic ticket her entire life and is liberal enough that I disagree with her the majority of the time she's speaking. However, she has endorsed John McCain for president this year. On her show this afternoon she was arguing that Hillary Clinton has every right to remain in the race and that she should indeed stay in the race. McPhee was linking Hillary Clinton to Bobby Kennedy, who joined and remained in the race in 1968 despite criticism from peers, who claimed that he was dividing the party. In response to this, he claimed that he cared more about America than the Democratic party. In the same way that Kennedy stayed in the race because he was dissatisfied with the options on the ticket, Hillary is doing the same. McPhee and her callers brought up some good reasons why she and every other American should be dissatisfied with the eventual Democratic ticket.

There were a good number of liberal callers who phone in saying that they currently supported Hillary Clinton but could in no way support Barack Obama if he became the nominee in November. Most of them also agreed that they would switch their support to John McCain (begrudgingly) in that scenario for a good few reasons.

Firstly, all of them admitted that you just can't win a character contest with John McCain, which is true. They mentioned the fact that he has never mentioned his enlisted son's duty to our country serving in Iraq as an example of his humility. They mentioned that he hasn't been caught lying in his career, unlike the other two Democratic candidates. And, of course, they mentioned his own heroic sacrifice for the United States throughout the course of his life.

Most importantly, though, they rightfully claim that they can't support a presidential candidate with as many controversial ties as Obama has. I guess I don't pay enough attention to this because I've obviously already written off Barack for a million other reasons. But, some good-hearted Democrats who love and care about America just can't vote for someone who has so many questionable and unabashed ties. To begin, Jeremiah Wright represents everything that is wrong with the radical components of black America. He represents unfair hate, anti-Americanism, and racism. He is unapologetic in his beliefs- beliefs that clash with any level-headed, patriotic American. The fact that Barack attended this man's church and angry tirades for two decades and even wrote checks to him says a lot about Obama. Next, Obama's own wife has made controversial remarks about America that cause one to question her own patriotism and adherence to radical beliefs like Wright's. How about her claim that this election has made her proud of her country for the first time in her life? Notice that she hasn't been in the spotlight since then, as words like that make her a liability. And the newest controversial figure added to Obama's repertoire is unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrn, who are 1960s anti-Vietnam radicals. This lovely couple openly advocated the bombing of American buildings to protest the war and to this day claim that they would do the same in a similar situation. Obama allowed Ayers and his wife to hold a fundraiser and their home for him. Barack has also served on the board of one of Ayer's groups for years.

We were all told growing up that who you hang out with reflects who you are as a person. If these are the people that Barack Obama chooses to associate with, what does that say about Barack's character and sympathies? Apparently this is so blatant and insulting that even some liberals can't support him. I don't blame them. I'll just add that to my list of reasons why America is doomed if he and his entourage are elected in 2008.

Summer?

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-11T15:01:01+09:00

So it just sort of hit me last night and today that I'm going to be far, far away for the next almost six weeks. Woah. I was telling my mom tonight that its strange having come home a few days ago and entered into "summer mode" (a.k.a. catching up with everyone from back home and just relaxing all the time) and then realizing that in two days I'll be snapped out of it and back in the classroom. Not very conventional.

But then again, this summer doesn't promise to be conventional anyways. Friends will be all around the world at different times in Hawaii, Africa, Vermont, etc. and others will have legit jobs taking up most of their time. Sure there will be the concerts, the boating, the hang outs, but I feel like it's going to be very disjointed overall. After also being slapped in the face a few days ago with the realization that I'm halfway done with college, I'm beginning to think thats how things are going to be in the future. Yikes!

Regardless, summer is summer I guess. Even if its 39 degrees out like it is right now. Time to take a deep breath, catch up with everyone as much as I'll be able to, and realize that two more years of college isn't that bad after all.

Two contemplative blog posts in a row. Now that's a change! Have no fear, though. I'm sure I'll be back to politics in no time.

Home Sweet Home

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-08T06:44:24+09:00

Well I'm finally back home! After a surprisingly smooth ride from Washington to Boston last night, I'm back in Scituate.

The first day back home is one of my favorite times. That's the time when I really realize how much I love it here. DC is great- great people, great places, great politics. But, you just can't beat home. I put a ridiculous number of miles on my car (another thing I miss while down in DC) the first few days back. I think I've probably already spent two hours today just driving around town aimlessly, looking at the ocean and realizing how much I've missed it, looking at boats (they're already showing up in the harbor), catching up with my family and neighbors, seeing which houses have sold or are up for sale (anyone want to move in next door to me, btw?), taking a shower without sandals and sleeping in a bed without a plastic, twin mattress. All of this reminds me that, as nice as other parts of the country are, I want to try my hardest to end up back here for my first job after college, even though all the pressure is to go to New York.

Well, there's my thoughts on being home.

And oh ya....Hillary got smoked last night :(. We'll see what happens there soon I guess.

Word of the Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-01T16:15:16+09:00

I figure I should do a Word of the Week too since I haven't done one forever and have been circling a ton of words in my readings this week that are prime candidates...

Word of the Week:

Diktat- n., A harsh, punitive settlement or decree imposed unilaterally on a defeated nation, political party, etc.; any decree or authoritative statement.

It's exam week...so don't hold your breath on posts, either.

O'Reilly

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-05-01T15:56:46+09:00

So I watched with amusement tonight Hillary's appearance with Bill O'Reilly on the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. I must say that she pulled the whole deal off. She was humorous and at ease the whole time, probably a result of her recent good fortune after Barack's crazy pastor has come back into the spotlight unapologetically proclaiming his insane views (like the idea that the US government created AIDS to exterminate the black population) and implying that Barack really agrees with him, but can't say so publicly because he's a politician. Hillary should be, and is, all smiles after all that.

On the show Bill started off by pushing her on the whole Wright controversy and got her to unwillingly admit that she was offended by the comments and that she would have left the church had her pastor said such preposterous things. Eventually they moved on to health care, where she tried to falsely claim that her plan isn't a mandate or a big bureaucratic mess (it is) and that it doesn't make payers pay for bums who are willingly destroying their own lives by living unhealthily (it does).

Also, I'm glad he pressed her on raising taxes for the wealthy. I was surprised when she openly admitted that she was indeed going to raise them. O'Reilly rebutted, "Raising taxes on rich guys like me and giving that money out to the poor is income redistribution Mrs. Clinton and you know it. And income redistribution is a step towards socialism". We spent the last few weeks in my government class discussing this, so it was nice to hear it applied in the real world. Throughout this whole part of the conversation the two were pretty cheery, poking at who was wealthier and how they pay their taxes.

Then he moved on to the fact that she's such a polarizing figure like himself, as he said. He informed her (like she didn't already know) that the whole race is mostly about character and that she's losing on that end. She didn't seemed fazed though and just spit her canned rebuttal that fighting the good fight for so long creates battle wounds and enemies.

Finally, the piece ended with O'Reilly asking her if she was surprised that his own Fox News has treated her more fairly this election season than the liberal media. She wittily replied, "Oh of course I'm not surprised! You guys are so Fair and Balanced". It was a smart and answer and the show ended on that note. Tomorrow's show will air the second half of the interview dealing with touchier subjects like Iraq, Iran, national security, etc. Stay tuned...

Here's a page that has the YouTube's of the interview in it.

Hanover Stake Out

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-26T15:12:01+09:00

This is a pretty funny article about an event that took place in Hanover (MA) recently. Apparently the owner of a catering company had been robbed three weekends in a row. After the Hanover police did nothing about it, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He told his employees he was going away for the weekend, but instead hung out in his store at night, accompanied by his 12-guage shot gun. Well, for the fourth weekend in a row, and intruder showed up. After he saw him steal a bunch of meat, the owner shot four rounds- two into the floor and two into the guys car. The crook got away, but was eventually arrested with the evidence in his car. Turned out he was an employee (now ex-employee I would assume).

Of course, the burglar is now being treated like the victim in this case. And the owner of the store is facing charges for firing his weapon. A hardworking small business owner is now potentially in trouble for protecting his private property that had been intruded upon for the last three weeks despite his pleas for help from the Hanover police. All this turns the attention away from the fact that the perpetrator is a thug. I bet there would be a lot less thugs like him if more business- and home-owners used our 2nd Amendment rights like this caterer did and worked to protect their property and livelihood.

More interesting than the article, though, are the 67 (at this point) comments written by readers about the story. It gives me a little hope as a resident of Communist Massachusetts to see that 90+% of them are in support of the caterer and gun rights in general. I don't have enough space to write a lot of what they said, but many of them are very good points.

Pennsylvania

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-24T03:22:49+09:00

Before I begin, a word to the wise. Never, ever take logic.

Well I'm back from my brief hiatus after an incredibly busy week. In that time I missed something big: Hillary carried Pennsylvania by 10%. This is a pretty big deal as it shushed all the naysayers who said she was done after last night. She seems to be alive and well, though just as unlikely as ever to win the party's nomination. Financially, she's doing better, too. She raised $3 million overnight last night. So what does all this mean for the good guys? It means that we can look forward to months more of Democrat on Democrat bashing all the way up until the convention in late August. I'm now convinced that the prolonged battle has been good for McCain even given the lack of media attention paid to him. I read an article the other day that reminded me that John McCain has been ignored by the Democratic PACs that say all the things candidates don't want to say publicly about him. Instead of focusing on their eventual opponent, they have been too busy picking sides in the Democratic race and arguing that position, or treading lightly as to not upset either Democratic candidate.

One of the liberals in my government class was trying to make the point that the primary battle hasn't hurt the Democrats, as the GOP would have eventually made the same attacks and accusations as the Dems are now anyways. But, another member of the class wisely brought up the point that any "attack" by a known conservative group these days is automatically ignored or discredited by the media and voters. The fact that Hillary has been making these attacks on Barack herself, or vice versa, gives the accusations a certain legitimacy in the eyes of voters that they may not have had before. I think thats a pretty accurate argument there.

In the meantime I'll continue to root for Hillary to survive as long as possible, and even grab the nomination. I'd love to watch the chaos that follows that event.

Off to government class...

...

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-23T21:40:57+09:00

I promise I'll be back with a post later today after my Logic exam this afternoon! A lot to chat about!

Pope

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-18T01:30:38+09:00

So after reading the news this afternoon I'm regretting the fact that I didn't make more of an effort to go see the Pope's celebration of mass today at the new National's stadium for two reasons:

1) He is an international symbol of hope, an example for all of us to live up to. In an age where we're all wrapped up in partisan politics and pointing fingers at each other, we forget that there is a higher meaning and Truth to life. His presence is a moment to reflect on that higher meaning and think about issues that often slip to the back burner.

2) In this age where its culturally shameful to "admit" that you're a believer or a Catholic, especially at Georgetown or in any college, I personally cherish the few moments when I'm surrounded by a large group of practicing Catholics unashamed of their faith. I can only imagine the feeling of community in being surrounded by 46,000 mass participants, for once not subconsciously looking to see people's reactions when the words "God" or "Jesus" are mentioned. That's one of the reasons that I like the 8 PM mass, though many of my peers question the legitimacy of the mass for various technical reasons. The power of community I sense there through the music and group Our Father- a sense I've never felt at any other mass- is enough to keep me coming back each week.

Guess I'll have to wait for next time...

Word of the Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-16T16:18:40+09:00

Word of the week:

Opprobrium- n., the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy; a cause or object of such reproach.

From Friedrich A. Hayek's The Road to Serfdom

Oops...did I say that?

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-14T05:04:42+09:00

On people from small towns in Pennsylvania and the Midwest:

"And its not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

-Barack Obama, Candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States

Additionally, two great Politico articles:

-"What Clinton Wishes She Could Say"

-"12 Reasons 'Bitter' is Bad for Obama"

Back for more...

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-12T11:22:58+09:00

Hah. Well the last article was the first one I stumbled upon in the Boston Globe. However, I've just found two more that are just too good to pass up. More good examples of what happens with a Democratic executive...

What's that voice you hear in your car? No, it's not Howard Stern or talk radio. It's Cadillac Deval finding new ways to dictate how you live your life and raise your children....

New Law Increases Mandatory Booster Seat Age

On a happier note...

Governor Patrick's Popularity Reaches a New Low

"Victory" for Patrick

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-12T11:10:32+09:00

Deval Patrick scored a big "victory" today by passing a $392 million tax increase on businesses and consumers. I don't know how anyone who can view this as a victory. The only people who are hurt from tax increases like this are consumers. In these uncertain economic times, the last thing consumers need is to be spending more money on goods and services. Under the new plan, which passed the House today and moves onto the Senate shortly, Massachusetts will raise the taxes on cigarettes to the second highest tax rate in the nation behind New Jersey. It is estimated that a pack will now be 20% more expensive at an average of $6.41. Now, I think smoking is dumb. I've saw my grandmother die of the effects of smoking. It's not pretty. However, I don't believe that taxing these people will do anything to change their habits (they're addicted, remember?). It's just another way to take advantage of a group that not too many people feel bad for. And guess who gets squeezed most by this tax? A lot of poor people, who smoke at a much higher rate than their middle and upper class counterparts. So much for the Democrats being there for the poor.

These politicians will also claim that these taxes only affect "big, bad" corporations who should be seen as evil, profit-mongering entities that exist only to abuse employees, customers, and foreign workers all over the world. What they don't realize is that the companies and banks will deal with the new taxes like they do every time. There are two options: They'll either move out of the state (or not ever enter it), resulting in thousands of lost jobs. Or, they'll just pass the increased expenses onto consumers, who will bear the brunt of the tax increases. Again, so much for looking out for these constituents Democrats claim to support so much.

Congrats on being a typical tax and spend Democrat, Deval. You're just what Taxachusetts needed.

Speech

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-10T16:59:22+09:00

Senator Brownback of Kansas is one of my favorite politicians because of the fact that he really isn't a politician- in ordinary terms, anyways. He's a man who leads an incredible life of faith and uses his conscience to sort through his decisions in the political arena. He's also humble. After seeing him speak tonight on the interaction of faith and politics in Copley Formal Lounge, he stayed after for over half an hour to personally meet and answer the questions of everyone who hung around. Luckily, I was last in line and got talk to him for five minutes and then get my picture taken. It's pretty sweet to think that I was able to talk to someone who plays such an important role in our government.

What struck me most about his speech tonight was one simple, yet profound statement that I've been thinking about all night. He stated:

"We need to start thinking of people as people and not of people as problems"

It doesn't sound like much, but when I think it over and take the statement apart, I find a heck of a lot more than those few words. I do see that politicians and citizens, myself included, treat people mainly as problems. Whether this be the problematic prison inmate, the problematic protester, the problematic tax payer, etc. We take away the humanity of these people in thinking of them as problems.

I think a pertinent example of this is the example of panhandlers. So often I pass these people either with eyes downcast or ears shut- uncomfortable by them and the situation. However, my faith calls me to see that person not as a problem of sorts, but simply as a person- a person with worth and dignity.

Senator Brownback is someone to whom I look up to as a challenge to live out my faith in every day life. I certainly fail to do so, and hope that with the continued reminder and challenge set forth by people like him I can motivate myself to rise to the occasion and see the humanness behind the face, regardless of the circumstance.

Word of the Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-08T12:12:01+09:00

Word of the week:

Nimby- n., not in my back yard; used to express opposition by local citizens to the locating in their neighborhood of a civi project, as a jail, garbage dump, or drug rehabilitation center, that, though needed by the larger community, is considered unsightly, dangerous, or likely to lead to decreased property values. Related form: Nimbyism

So I thought I was going to have a hard time finding this weeks word. Well, that all changed in government class today. While discussing whether or not private property is the last metaphysical right left these days (as claims Richard Weaver), a few classmates spoke all about nimbyism. Not knowing what that was, it earned the spot in the Word of the Week. Congratulations, nimbyism.

Rafting!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-07T13:48:37+09:00

Went whitewater rafting today for the first time! It was a lot of fun. The Credit Union took its yearly excursion this year to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania for some level 3-4 rapids. The four hour bus trip was actually really scenic, as it was all through mountains and farmland- a reminder of what America is really like outside the bubbles in which most of us live in the suburbs and cities of the U.S. The weather worked out for us as best as we could ask. The air was probably low 50s all day, but the sun was out. The water was pretty cold though and most of us couldn't feel our toes at the end of the 3 hour, 7.5 mile river course. Thankfully I managed to stay onboard the raft, so I wasn't shivering the whole time like a few others who got tossed thanks to a few big rocks or a big rapid.

So, if you ever have the opportunity...I can now recommend that you should definitely check out whitewater rafting.

Resource Forum

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-05T06:31:01+09:00

Well I somehow lost the article I had emailed to myself earlier this week with the intention of posting about. However, I found a much more interesting article that includes the quote that I wanted from the old article and even more (!). I'll get the quote from the first article out of the way first:

Barack Obama on teaching his daughters about sex:

"I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby".

The quote speaks for itself, but it just shows how out-of-tune Obama and many members of the Democratic party are on this issue. Since when are children punishments? The Democratic Culture of Death is at work here. It's quotes like this that make us realize how pathetic and disgusting it is.

Next, this article in the Washington Post discusses how Obama has been attempting to portray himself as a somewhat moderate on the abortion issue throughout the campaign, not wanting to appear an extremist. The article does a good job showing just how untrue this image really is. Obama is an abortion extremist just like he's an extremist on most other issues. He was against the ban on partial-birth abortion, which 70-80% of Americans supported depending on which polls you read (if you feel like feeling sick to your stomach, Google "partial-birth abortion" and become informed of the procedure. The actual court transcripts of the case are the most telling, in my opinion). He didn't support a bill that made it illegal for a doctor to kill a child that survived an attempted abortion. He's favored abortion unapologetically and to the max throughout his career.

On another separate, but semi-related matter, I attended Georgetown's Pregnancy Resource Forum last night. The event included panelists from Georgetown, local pregnancy center directors, and a local student-mother. These people were brought together, not to debate abortion, but to discuss ways to better serve pregnant and parenting students on Georgetown and other college campuses so that abortion doesn't seem like the "only option". Georgetown supplies a townhouse for student parents, diapers and baby supplies, some babysitting, counseling, etc. for student parents. However, the vast majority of students don't know this and don't even think there are any parenting students on campus (there are). So, a lot of the night was spent discussing ways to increase the general knowledge of these important facts and ways to improve them even more. Overall, it was a very enlightening and productive event. It's nice to know that there are so many different people out there who care about students in these situations and do their best to aid them through what can be a traumatic experience.

Thats all for now. I should be back tomorrow with comments on a piece published in the Economist recently that shows that conservatives lead happier lives than their counterparts. No surprise there in my opinion. But, its a good article. So be excited for it.

That time of year...

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-03T12:35:32+09:00

It's that time of year again at households and campuses across the country, and perhaps the world. It's that time when no matter where you seem to go, you're followed by the incessant drizzly, congested sound of inhalation. It's sniffle season.

With the opening of the cherry blossoms down in DC comes the invasion of everyone's favorite allergies (not from the cherry blossoms alone) and the sudden realization that you're running on an average of five hours of sleep a night, vulnerable to every little germ. First comes the runny nose, then the congestion, then the reactive sniffle. Again. And again. And again. Sitting here in the library is like sitting through an orchestra of snifflers. An orchestra horribly out of tune.

Sniffling is one of the things (next to eating with ones mouth open and other bad manners) that drives me absolutely crazy. I don't understand what's pleasant about sniffling. Never have, never will (maybe I should try it sometime). I also don't understand why these people will continue to sniffle again and again without getting a stinkin' Kleenex. Instead, they'd rather go on and on disrupting the silence of a library, class room, or dorm room. You'll never catch me without some sort of napkin (usually the Dunkin Donuts or Subway variety) within arms reach to combat that evil little runny nose. For mine and everyone else's sake, let's hope the practice catches on.

Word of the Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-04-01T15:56:15+09:00

Word of the Week:

Prig- n., a person who displays or demands of others pointlessly precise conformity, fussiness about trivialities, or exaggerated propriety, especially in a self-righteous or irritating manner.

You can thank Richard Weaver's "Ideas Have Consequences" for that one.

Thanks!

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-29T07:14:02+09:00

Thanks to Doug Hance and the Hoya for writing a nice article about students who blog at Georgetown!

Check out the article here.

Cadillac Deval

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-27T15:38:00+09:00

So this is a pretty interesting story about the rise and failures of Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. For those of you who aren't familiar with Deval, he rode into the governor's office in a similar fashion as Barack Obama (whom he presently campaigns for) seems to be cruising towards the Democratic nomination. He, like Obama, is a bright, eloquent, African-American Harvard Law School graduate who mastered the art of promising much and saying little. Like Obama, he picked up an oh-s0-clever slogan: "Together We Can". Wouldn't that just make you want to run out and vote for him? Well, given that we're talking about Massachusetts here, it worked. Deval, lacking in any sort of executive or political experience defeated Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healy (R) by a large margin.

Since that time, Deval...well...hasn't done very much. First, he spent $10,000 of taxpayer money on new drapes for his office. Then he upgraded Mitt Romney's old Ford Crown Vic to a new Cadillac (hence, Cadillac Deville/Deval). Next up, he proposed that individual cities and towns be allowed to selectively raise (not lower) taxes in order to increase revenues. Thankfully, this effort failed. After 16 years of Republican governorship in Massachusetts, it looks like Taxachusetts may be making a comeback. He takes credit for Mitt Romney's innovative health insurance plan and complains about a soaring budget deficit, while Romney balanced the budget after facing a multi-billion dollar deficit and left with a $700 million surplus (while cutting taxes). Most recently, Deval lost a battle to allow three resort-style casinos on Indian land in Massachusetts. He grossly inflated job and revenue estimates that would be gained from the project, rightfully causing citizens and legislators to doubt his credibility. While ignoring the serious traffic and gambling addiction concerns of the casinos, he also failed to note how many times Indian reservations have pulled a fast one on states and gipped them of the originally planned revenues. As usual, Deval's efforts failed.

The humor in this whole situation has been watching the battle between Speaker Sal DiMasi (D), who has continually used his longstanding experience and position to derail the governors proposals. They're now even publicly criticizing each other. You know you're in trouble when you're being stopped left and right by a nearly 100% Democratic legislature.

The one positive thing I have to say about Cadillac Deval regards his public availability. Each week he hosts a radio show with two local talk radio DJs where he accepts calls from anyone and attempts to answer their questions and concerns. From what I've heard, the calls certainly aren't framed and he takes flak from a caller from time to time. Hosting some sort of radio show is something that I've always said I plan to do if I ever find my way into politics. Officials elected to represent the people should at the very least be in contact with their people.

Overall, though, it's apparent that leading a state is turning out to be a bit more difficult that "Together We Can"....

Word of the Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-25T15:22:27+09:00

Word of the week:

Simulacrum- n., a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance; an effigy, image, or representation.

Marine Mom

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-23T14:42:39+09:00

This is one of the most touching videos I have ever seen. Unfortunately, you have to scroll down on the right-hand column to the clip titled "Marine Mom Adopts Platoon". It's worth all 3 minutes and 17 seconds. This woman from Rockland, MA, filled with faith and selflessness, is a true American hero. Words can't give justice to her or the story, but briefly, the video from CBS News is about a widowed mother who lost one of her nine children in Iraq last year. This St. Patrick's Day, she used her son's death benefit to host his Marine platoon for the holiday in order to remember him and give these men a break from their daily routine.

May God bless this wonderful woman and her fallen son this Easter and comfort her in her times of grief, questioning, and sorrow.

Happy Easter everyone.

Obama's Latest

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-22T02:35:46+09:00

So its difficult for me to blog in a timely fashion when I'm on break because my routine is all out of whack. But, a lot has been going on lately. As I'm sure everyone knows, the fiery racism of Barack Obama's pastor Rev. Wright was made public and has been flashed all over TV and the Internet. He claims that Americans deserved to die in 9-11 because of all the bloodshed that we have caused in our history. He claims that the US government invented HIV to wipe out the black population. He advocates black separatism. Clearly, this guy is in a whole different league of racists than the whites he hates so much. Instead of spitting hatred, he should work on solving the real problems in his own black community- like the fact that nearly seventy (yes, thats right...seven-zero, seventy) percent of black children are born out of wedlock, like the fact that there are almost more black men in jail than in college, like the fact that black popular culture revers the gangster life of guns, violence, and abusing women. He could put his sharp tongue to work focusing on these real life ills that are hampering black America.

Now what about his effect on the Obama campaign? Well, Barack really blew this one. He's trying his hardest to win the votes of a very skeptical, important voter group- white, middle-aged, blue-collar Americans. Thus far, he's been struggling to do so. After this controversy, its unlikely that he'll see this group, which is understandably sick of hearing about affirmative action and other favoritism issues, running towards him in support. It's unfortunate for Barack that he's suffering politically from the actions of someone else, but in reality, he deserves to. This "man of unity" has sit idly by over the decades listening to this racist rant and rave against whites (well, thats the case now that he finally admits that he has heard him say such words) without raising a word against him. He hasn't written anything about it, talked about it with anyone we know, or challenged Wright in any sense. So, it seems to me that Barack is either sympathetic to Wright's views, or too meek to rise up in opposition- both qualities that American's don't want in the White House.

Also, I don't know much about the following, other than what my mom told me when I woke up this morning. But, apparently Barack described his white grandmother as a "typical white woman" yesterday when referring to her discomfort with blacks. Way to go Barack. Dig that grave a little deeper why don't you?

And finally, in a last ditch effort for some positive publicity, Bill Richardson (who I actually think is a relatively admirable Democrat. I've seen him speak twice and he seems to be a pretty good guy) endorsed Barack today. Bill is a rather moderate Democrat and a Hispanic. I'm sure Obama is hoping that support from a moderate Democrat will swing some of the votes of more moderate Democratic voters who are scared of Barack's uber-liberal views and policies. Also, he's certainly hoping for help with the elusive Spanish vote which has heavily favored Hillary.

And finally, McCain has been rising in the polls this week after all this Democratic controversy. Zogby had him up double digits in a matchup of either Democratic candidate, which was a complete reversal from the weeks before.

So, now I can't decide who I wan't to win the Democratic nomination more: Divisive Hillary or vulnerable Barack?

Tolls

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-19T09:19:16+09:00

Looks like Mr. Argento and all the Western Massachusetts people might be getting their revenge on us South Shore people. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is reviewing plans to more-equally distribute tolls in the state, meaning that the South Shore might be in for a rude awakening. Lets hope everything stays the way it is...

St. Pat

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-16T06:54:09+09:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day weekend!

Trans fat

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-14T07:34:47+09:00

Well, looks like the nationwide trend on banning trans fats has made it to Boston. I can't hardly wait to see what they ban next (perhaps reading the Constitution? Or maybe personal responsibility?)!

Catch up

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-13T05:56:37+09:00

Well, I'm back at Georgetown for a few days between breaks. Spring is setting in down here too, which is nice. Flowers are starting to pop up and it was 61 today, while it was flurrying back home when I called. I flew in to DC late Sunday night and I'm headed back to Boston Tuesday night for Easter break. It has been/will be a long, busy nine days (thus, the lack of posts).

So a lot has happened since I last wrote. Obama, to no ones surprise, overwhelmingly won a very racially divided Mississippi. Some people are wondering if Hillary did even worse than reported, as some statistics show that a decent number of Republicans acted on Rush Limbaugh's call to vote for Hillary to mess up the race. Too bad it couldn't have been more of a help!

I'm now convinced that the absolute best gift the Democrats can give Republicans this year is a Hillary nomination. It will split the party, disenchant voters, and generally cause chaos. Keep your fingers crossed. I will admit that the thought of an Obama/Clinton ticket scares the hell out of me, as that would be almost impossible to beat.

And finally, how about that governor from New York? What a sleaze. His poor wife and kids. I watched the news and read articles this week with a laugh, as usual picking up the liberal media bias. Can you imagine (well, you can, seeing that it has happened recently) the outcry if this had been a Republican governor? The headlines would have screamed "REPUBLICAN governor guilty in sex sting!" Instead, the headlines were a much more discreet "Governor of New York accused in prostitution sting". No mention of party, of course (for a good example of this, check out the Globe's photo slideshow of disgraced politicians. Notice that somehow all the Republicans have their party mentioned, when the Democrats don't of course). Anyways, enough of these holier-than-thou politicians (from both sides of the table). How do we end up with such bums running our country? Out of the 300+ million, we end up with them?

Happy Wednesday. Until next time...

Word of the Week

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-13T05:54:54+09:00

Word of the week (two days late):

Pettifoggery- n., a quarrel about petty points; bicker.

Big Night

dane5588@aol.com — 2008-03-05T15:11:05+09:00

March 4th, 2008 had the potential to be a decisive day in 2008 presidential election history. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view it), the date batted .500.

At last, we have a definite Republican presidential nominee: John McCain. Mike Huckabee conceded defeat to McCain tonight in Texas and pledged to fully support him hereafter. McCain will be meeting with Bush and party leaders in the upcoming days to get the national campaign process rolling.

On the Democratic side, March 4th left the race just as jumbled as it has always been. As of this post, Hillary has won Rhode Island and Ohio soundly and seems to be on her way to taking Texas. Obama, as expected, swept Vermont. These do-or-die races give Hillary the infusion of life she needs to continue her campaign. Obama has downplayed her wins tonight, instead focusing on the fact that months ago he trailed her in these states by double digits. He is poised to win Wyoming and Mississippi in the upcoming days. Hillary has all-but-conceded these states, and has her sights set on Pennsylvania, which awards 158 delegates.

Analysts debate the positive and negative aspects of the continuing Democratic primary. Some claim that the prolonged battle benefits McCain, as he is given the opportunity to lay the groundwork for a national campaign. Others claim that the battle will hurt McCain, as the media will potentially ignore him over the coming weeks. I personally believe that McCain will benefit from a strategic standpoint, as the Obama and Clinton continue to show eachother's weaknesses through their contentious debates and accusations (such as this weeks NAFTA spat and claims that Obama is given a free pass by the media).

Regardless, the upcoming weeks should provide entertainment for all...