Lacking The Art of Compromise

We all know that Washington is broken.  The Everett Dirksen’s and Tip O’Neill’s of the past are nowhere to be seen.  The last major social legislation put into law was 1965 (Medicare and Voting Rights Act).  Instead we have the Democrats saying, “we have the majority and to hell with you” and the Republicans “no” to everything proposed.  Our form of government requires compromise.  After all how could the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution been written and ratified if there had been no compromise?

As Steven Pearlstein  wrote in his Washington Post column dated February 5, 2010, “The only way a democratic system like ours can work is if the majority party acknowledges that winning an election means winning the right to set the agenda and put the first proposal on the table, though not the right to get everything it wants.”

Senators John McCain (Republican from AZ and Russ Feingold (Democrat  from WI) are two of the few who have worked together on some compromise legislation. Now they have become very quiet, fearing challenges from their party or their opponents.  Clearly they have put their jobs above the needs of the nation.  That appears to be the attitude of most members of congress.

It appears that Tea Party advocates and other Independents, like myself, do not support either party view.  This could spell trouble for all incumbents.  Perhaps new people in congress will bring a new perspective.  That would be a good thing.  Then again there are the lobbyists and that could mean more gridlock.  Is this what our founding fathers wanted?

Is This American Culture?

“La mejor música de Balada y Pop en español, con Promociones, Regalos, Horóscopos , Santoral, Reporte de Tráfico, Noticias, Espectáculos.”

KXOS (93.9 FM, Exitos 93.9) is a Spanish AC station serving Los Angeles and the surrounding area.  A door hanger appeared on my front door today advertising this radio station in español (Spanish).

I object to the conversion of my state to español as the primary language!  I am not a member of the Tea Party movement but do agree with some of their positions.  As reported in the Washington Post, former congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) offered a fiery defense of Judeo-Christian faith and traditional American values at their convention in Nashville, Tennessee.  During his speech, Tancredo received a standing ovation when he said multiculturalism and immigration are “a threat to us.”  I am in agreement with that position.

Freedom of speech should not mean freedom to change American language and culture.  Whether it’s Latinos, Arabs, Chinese, or Arabs they should be required to accept American culture.  Not the other way around.

The Optimism Meter

Updated Feb. 5, 2010.                                                                                                              Despite the new claims for unemployment rise there is reasons to be optimistic about the nation’s economy.  I am not alone in this view.  The January unemployment rate has actually dropped to 9.7%.  BusinessWeek offers a small item in its Executive Summary titled the Optimism Meter.  That has a thermometer from 0 to 100.  It’s based upon a YouGov pollster measurement.  The “proprietary” measurement offered by Bloomberg is now 59.  That is the highest number reached since Bloomberg purchased the magazine.

Technology will lead the nation out of the recession.  The evidence is growing every week.  Apple and Google appear to be on a path to providing more smart phones at lower cost.  Apple has introduced its i-Pad.  Cisco is the only stock on the DOW that rose today.  There is a new hunt for an Autism drug.  For between around $300 and $500, you can buy a netbook and they are replacing laptop computers.  Quallion LLC, the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium batteries, announced this week that they are building a new facility in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles at a cost of $85 million.  The new facility will hire 200 employees.

Start smiling!

 

Pew Research Center News IQ

There are no tricks here -

just a simple test to see if you are current on your information

This is quite good and the results are shocking.

Test your knowledge with 12 questions, then be ready to shudder when you see how others did.

http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/quiz/index.php

RACIST

In this politically correct world every word must be considered before it is spoken.  That is true even if it is spoken among friends.  The best man at my wedding is not a friend anymore as the result of his hateful remarks.  More so if you are a public speaker even in a small town.  Consider Bob Kellar, a councilman in the town of Santa Clarita at the very northern edge of the Los Angles metropolitan area along Interstate 5.  The next thing you see after passing north thorough that town are the Tehachapi Mountains.  At a rally in his town against illegal immigration he identified himself as “a proud racist.”  That was a very poor choice of words.  I am opposed to illegal immigration and also believe that English should be the official language of the United States.  I am not a racist.

This You Tube video from a “Save Our State Anti-Illegal Immigration Rally” is the damming evidence that can induce racism.  I do not believe that it was Mr. Kellar’s intention to start a war of words or the actions of others who might take his words as a call to action.

The dictionary definition of a racist is one who believes that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.  I have never said that nor did Mr. Kellar.

Tragic Followup to An American Murdered in Mexico

The leading investigator in the killing of Bobby Salcedo was slain in Mexico.  This story was reported on Los Angeles local news and in the Los Angeles Times.

The paper reported that investigator Manuel Acosta had been killed in an ambush while conducting his investigation.  Apparently very little progress had been made in his efforts.  Acosta was ambushed by gunmen in a five-seat red pickup truck, the kind frequently used by drug traffickers. He was hit as he returned to his office from another deadly crime scene.

The original story was reported here on January 4, 2010.

A ’statistical recovery and a human recession’

The economy expanded at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the second straight quarter of growth.  More details on this AP report. 

Mike Allen’s POLITICO Playbook daily update includes the following item:  

LARRY SUMMERS: ‘a human recession’ — WSJ’s ‘Davos Live’ blog, Neal Lipschutz: ‘Key Obama economic adviser Larry Summers coined a telling way to look at the current American economic state of play. He said the U.S. is experiencing a ’statistical recovery and a human recession.’ It is a phrase that should resonate through much of the industrial world, where high and long-standing unemployment is increasingly becoming a huge domestic political issue. Speaking on a panel at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Summers said one in five American men aged 25 to 54 are unemployed. He said given a ‘reasonable recovery,’ that rate could improve to one in seven or one in eight. That still contrasts with a 95% employment rate for that group in the mid-1960s. He said the U.S. can gain from increased global integration, but if it is to be politically sustainable it ‘has to work for people.’ That means job creation in the U.S. is a crucial issue.’

The question is what is the unemployment rate in other industrial nations?  The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency pops up as the first source on a Google search.  We know the unemployment reached 10% in the United States so I take these numbers to be the overall numbers for the year. I have marked significant countries in bold text.

Australia	5.7% (2009 est.) 4.242% (2008 est.)
Austria	4.7% (2009 est.) 3.858% (2008 est.)
Belgium	8.3% (2009 est.) 7% (2008 est.)
Canada	8.5% (2009 est.) 6.158% (2008 est.)
Czech Republic	9.3% (2009 est.) 5.433% (2008 est.)
Denmark	3.6% (2009 est.) 1.842% (2008 est.)
France	9.7% (2009 est.) 7.4% (2008 est.)
Germany	8.2% (2009 est.) 7.8% (2008 est.)
Japan	5.6% (2009 est.) 3.992% (2008 est.)
Korea, South	4.1% (2009 est.) 3.175% (2008 est.)
United Kingdom	8% (2009 est.) 5.642% (2008 est.)
United States	9.4% (2009 est.) 5.808% (2008 est.)

January Forecasts the Stock Market

Since 1950, the Standard & Poor 500’s performance in January of each year has been a pretty accurate indicator of how the stock market would perform for the entire year. There were only six years when the S&P 500’s January results went in one direction and the index moved significantly in the opposite direction for the full year, a forecasting accuracy of 90 percent. This history has been thoroughly discussed in the January 10, 2010 Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The Market Oracle in the UK wrote about the same phenomena on January 6, 2010. Even Mark Hulbert acknowledges the history of the January indicator although he does point out some flaws that I have not been able to verify.

January 2010 has been dismal for the market. Let’s face it, the economy sucks. I will be watching for growth indicators but right now the January theory is the one I will follow.

It’s Called Assimilation

It is reported by Sphere.com that “French lawmakers said they want to ban Muslim women from veiling their faces in public facilities, a plan applauded by some French Muslim women but criticized by Muslim leaders, who said it could provoke Islamic extremists in France and abroad.”

The Toronto Star reports Quebec, Canada is the province that requires all schools to conduct their classes in French.  The street names are all in French.  Most of the people conduct their lives using French.  Of Montreal’s five newspapers only one is written in English.  To become a citizen of Quebec new immigrants must attend “culture lessons” and that the application for citizenship in Quebec requires applicants to sign a declaration agreeing to abide by the province’s values.

When you move to most nations you must learn to conform to their culture.  However, the United States is different.  Here we accept everyone including those who do not share American values.  That acceptance of everyone has resulted in Mexicans, Chinese, and many others living in isolated communities where they never have to speak anything but their native language even though they are second and third generation Americans.

Those people who refuse to participate in the American melting pot are similar to those immigrants that pass up citizenship in Quebec.

Yes, I am pointing to the Latino population in the states bordering Mexico.  At an ever increasing pace their numbers are growing larger.  So much so that by 2050 the State of California is projecting that the Hispanic population will exceed 52% in 2050.  There is no law that requires English usage or that makes English the official language of the state or the nation.

I believe the French and Québécois are correct in wanting immigrants to conform to their native societies.  The United States ought to have similar requirements for those wanting to immigrate to this nation. It’s called assimilation.

A Prince for Governor of California

At the very least this situation has some entertainment value.  The Husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, Prince Frederic von Anhalt,  Officially announces he’s in the race for governor of California.  Of course it’s all a joke but this is part of the fun of living in Los Angeles (Beverly Hills is a separately incorporated city in the middle of L.A.).  The character is at least entertaining.  Since California is ungovernable why not have some fun. 

The prince has a web site with some very nice pictures of Zsa Zsa and him in some very nice poses.  What more could Californians want?