What's To Come.....

I am now counting myself as a member of the uncounted community.... those that are not really unemployed but can no longer count on a steady paycheck. The US unemployment rate is at 10%. Some analysts say that if you count my group then the unemployment is nearer to 19%. This is a shocking statistic. Even more so when you are the 1 in 5 that is not earning a steady salary.

Do the people that embraced the Obama euphoria ever sit and reflect on what they have wrought?

We are now a year into his presidency and so far, his accomplishments are minimal. Sure there has been a lot of hand-shaking but really not a lot of actual accomplishments.

- More than a trillion dollars went into the first stimulus - it really was nothing more than the democratic party paying the debts they owed for years and years of promises.... it was not intended to address the economic issues.

- Then came the second trillion dollar stimulus which propped up the failing car industry - an industry made up of poor leadership and bad decisions.

- Now it is time to spend another trillion dollars on a healthcare reform bill. This is a bill which, similar to the tax code, no one can understand. The question still lingers.... why not just enroll everyone into Medicare? Medicare does work and the infrastructure for it is already in place.



BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, THE DEMOCRATS WILL HAVE SPENT MORE THAN 3 TRILLION DOLLARS! AND still I don't see a steady paycheck in my near future.

And what about those campaign promises?

Infrastructure: As the president acknowledged during the presidential campaign, our electrical, water, sewage, road and transportation infrastructure is failing nationwide. Initially, he said that creating jobs to repair and upgrade would get people back to work and boost our economy. Of all the statements and promises, this one makes sense. But, sadly, it is not being pushed forward.

Afghanistan: troops are dying daily; yet there is no decision on what to do - stay in, pull out???? Petraeus speaks and the politicians ignore him.

Iran, North Korea, Trade - again, no decisions, no action!

And, no one is complaining! No one is talking about this! If this was Bush administration (I backed his first term, but not his second), it would be editorial fodder.


As an example of more ineptitude;

Here in Hawaii, the unemployment fund is running short of funds. Yes, we are a 'Blue' state and as such, the solution being proposed is to increase the employers unemployment tax from about $1200 per employee per year to more than $12,000 per employee per year. What an absolutely absurd idea!

And for an idea which is even more ludicrous, I give you this one. A financial group in the UK has come up with the novel idea of adding a transaction tax to all financial transactions. It seems that the cause of the global economic meltdown may have been caused by frivolous financial transactions, so by taxing these, it may serve as a deterrent in the future. So, in addition to taxing my earnings, taxing my purchases, and taxing me for having employees, they now want to tax my financial deposits and withdrawals!!!!???

A Despicable Act(s)

Yesterday, a hazmat team was at the Diamondhead campus.  The staff and students had reported a foul smell.  They found an animal carrier containing a dead dog.  The entire carrier had also been wrapped in a tarp.  

What a strange way to dispose of the dog.  No matter the circumstances surrounding the death of this dog, it should not have been dumped in a field.  It was a very despicable act!  They could have buried the dog or taken it to the Humane Society for burial.  There is no excuse for handling it in this way!

Then it seems that most people tend to NOT do the right thing.

About a week ago, we saw several people walking up the hill near our house.  Several small groups of people kept passing a dog which seemed to be searching the hillside.  My wife and I initially assumed the dog belonged to someone that was walking nearby.  But it soon became apparent that the dog was alone.  I was able to leash the dog and we gave it food and water.  Of all the people passing by, not one person even took the time to check on the dog - no one cared! What has happened to compassion?  What a statement this lack of action says about human nature in general.  I have come to believe that the percentage of people who will stand up and just do the right thing, is actually very small.

Somehow I wanted to lead into the Michael Vick discussion, but I could not find a smooth transition....  After all the sheer cruelty and brutality that this man inflicted, he now seems destined to become even more glorified, more famous and more wealthy than he ever was.  In the press conferences and the interviews, he only speaks of the impact that dogfighting had on his life; he has never stated that he has any remorse for his actions.  It is obvious that he has changed very little.  He was not punished for his actions, he was rewarded for them!  

Web: White collar or Blue collar? An Observation

Yesterday, I attended a one-day Writing for the Web class. Mostly, I took the class for personal reasons; to improve my blogging and to be more effective at modifying my web sites.

The class was completely full - about 35 people. At the start of the class, we had to introduce ourselves and give a snapshot of why we were in the class. About 90% of the class were there to become web designers as a career track!

Does this make you wonder, as it does me, that the entire web world is becoming more of a blue collar profession? I now see job postings for web designers at about $18/hour. That is now on par with a CDL truck driver.

At one time, higher education meant less competition in jobs. And as a result, a higher earning level. We are beginning to see that these technical skills are now fundamental skills which most people need to possess. They are no longer what sets you apart from the pack but rather, what allows you to become part of the pack.

State Furloughs

The economy sucks!
By now we all now this; the nightly news' employment and layoff statistics verify this.
People are getting laid off, businesses are closing and people are taking salary cuts everywhere!

Here in Hawaii, the Governor has decided that, to alleviate the budget shortfall, all state workers should take a weekly furlough. One day a week, off without pay. The alternative would be to reduce the number of state employees.

Well as usual, the union is not happy with either choice. AND, of course, they have no alternate plan. Their only plan is to take the state to court!

What yanked my chain today was this: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090623/NEWS01/906230344/-1/NEWS01
Search for 'thousands of cards'.....

The union is launching a campaign. They want state workers to distribute cards to places where they do business.

By doing this, they are saying that they have more value than anyone else and therefore must keep their income untouched, no matter what happens to everyone else! What a selfish elitist attitude!

HGEA, you suck!

To Jimmy Page....

I imagine that you had expected a resurrection of Led Zeppelin to bring back the glory of past years. Certainly you would have sold out stadiums and arenas. And you would have created a new following of Led Zep fans. It would have been tremendous and glorious.

I saw Led Zeppelin in Chicago, in 1975. By then, I had seen most of the great bands (and I saw many more after). But, there was absolutely nothing which could match that concert. The raw power and energy - it was phenomenal.

Over the years I have collected some concert footage of Led Zeppelin. The quality is lacking in some but what comes through in each one is the soul of Led Zeppelin - the endless talent and showmanship.

I am certain that this is what Jimmy and Co. wanted to relive by touring again.

In my collection of footage are some that are unique - Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and Aerosmith, Jimmy Page and Counting Crows..... and then we recently watched Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis closing the Olympics. Each of these is also great to see again and again, not because it is Led Zeppelin (they are not), but because of the talent showcased in each clip. I've watched these many times and I think there is an idea, a concept here which you should explore.

Jimmy, bring your friends into the studio, into small venues and play. Capture this and produce a DVD - I am certain the outcome will be intense; it will capture the talent and the soul of Led Zeppelin. Make your own tribute to the Greatest Band - I will buy it!

A Fan

Links in a Chain

As I look back on the chain of past events, I sometimes wonder why their correlation was not apparent to me. My father is convinced that it all stemmed from a car accident so many years ago. I did not think so; but then the cause, as the Brain Scan showed was very real and physical. The scan showed extensive scarring on the frontal lobe of the brain. By the time it was discovered though, many years had passed and there was nothing to be done but deal with what was to come. Even if we had discovered this much earlier, we don't know if anything would have gone differently.

I am writing this because I need to. Maybe this will also help someone else.

Sometime after graduating college, the tension between my mother and I grew more intense. As the years passed, there were bouts of paranoia where she was convinced that people were conspiring against her. This caused friction with neighbors and acquaintances. Don't get me wrong; there were also some very good days. My father had to suffer through this more than I since I was away for most of these years. As she got older, she refused to see any specialist and her doctor misdiagnosed most everything. She did not want to move into my home, even though she knew it was necessary. Her obstinacy was a consequence of the disease - dementia causes the mind to seek comfort in familiar surroundings. I know this now.

It wasn't until about 6 months prior to her passing, that we finally had a true diagnosis. She had Frontal Lobe Dementia. The path to finding the real diagnosis was an ordeal in itself - it is a trail of incompetent doctors, doctors who diagnose by 'googling', doctors who just don't think before they act, and doctors who are everything you want healers to be - this in itself is another story.

In the last months, my mother would hear sounds and misinterpret them to be something directed at her. We tried a multitude of pain medications to control the neck and head pain that she had. I know the pain was real - she had compression of C1 and C2 vertebrae, probably caused by that car accident. And she may have had pain from her Dementia as well. No one really knows the full spectrum of symptoms. Food lost its true taste - what she liked before, she now hated. This could have been a result of the medication as well though. Interestingly, the high blood pressure which she had most of her life went away. As the days passed, she ceased to even attempt to walk - it was a chore for her to stand and walk the length of the bed. We began serving her meals in bed and we placed a commode next to the bed. Later it came to a point where I had to lift her up and onto the commode. I became the parent and she the child. Persuasion was not possible - she had to be treated and handled as you would a child.

Shortly after my mother's Dementia diagnosis, I met with the local Alzheimer's Association. They provided some information on how the disease would progress but did not offer any real help in getting assistance and giving us any real direction. It was purely by chance that a nurse suggested I contact one of the Hospices. We found a hospice which allowed us to keep my mother at home, they provided a hospital bed in our home. This was a real Godsend at the time when we needed it most. My mother's last three months were in 'at home' hospice care. By the time hospice had started, my father and I had become very strained from lifting and moving my mother to care for her. There were times when she and my dad ended up on the floor, rugs and floors became soiled - the constant cleaning was a chore. Hospice taught us how to care for her in the hospital bed. We were provided with bandages, salves and a suction machine to clear her throat. We received the proper tools and instruction on their use.

In the last few weeks, she lost the ability to chew and swallow. We transitioned from whole foods to pureed foods to baby foods in a couple of months.

Words became arbitrary - she made no sense and she did not understand us.

It is the most terrible thing to watch someone that you love and care for endure this. It is a strain to care for them 24 hours a day without a respite.

There were certain events which occurred when they were supposed to. I was able to move my parents in with my wife and I just weeks before her dementia worsened. We found hospice just as the strain was physically affecting us all. 'At home' hospice is covered my Medicare - this meant that my mother received loving care by her family - and the care was supplemented by medical professionals. The financial cost on my parents was small.

Thank you for coming to our aid when we needed you St Francis Hospice.
Thank you, my wife, for being there when I needed you.

Mother, please rest in peace. We miss you and remember you always.

Your son.

Breaking News

January 14, 2009 approx. 8pm.
The Safeway on Kapahulu Avenue.
We witnessed (by counting) at least 15 police cars and 1 ambulance in the parking lot. We also witnessed the coroner's van leaving the parking lot. Crime Scene tape was up in the parking lot near Burgers On The Edge and we observed police taking statements from many people.
With this amount of presence, the event must have been a shooting and the presence of the coroner's van indicates a fatality.

Turns out that this was a domestic dispute gone very bad. The woman asked someone at Safeway to call 911 because her life was in danger. A plainclothes police officer intervened, the man released a pit bull on the officer and the officer shot the pit bull. Dog did not die. Man was arrested.