NY Suing H&R Block...

Hmm, seems the allegations in the NY suit against H&R Block are exactly the complaints I have about the UPromise 529 College Savings Plan. I bet suing UPromise just doesn't generate the same publicity and might harm is run for Governor so I won't hold my breath. I wonder if the NY State plan has the same sort of fee structure as UPromise?

Milosevic et al

The press seems to be having a field day with the potential that Milosevic's death wasn't natural. Every story puts focus on the family saying he was killed by the UN.

What every story should headline is that the Butcher of the Balkans is dead. He escaped justice here on earth the same way that Hitler did.

If someone poisoned him they should be caught for stealing justice from his victims. The world choked on it's own benevolence when the slaughter in the Balkans wasn't stopped (not to mention other locales). Failure to bring those responsible to justice is simply keeping the wounds open amongst the victims.

When will the media recognize it's culpability in these actions and report stories based on facts and not mere inuendo and slander propogated by those with clearly biased views.

Mortons - The Steakhouse.....in San Diego

There are times when I wish that I were a food critic. Today I get my opportunity.

Last night I dined at Mortons - The Steakhouse in downtown San Diego. I don't anticipate returning there any time in the near future.

To be fair the food I had was wonderful. We started out with a Lump Crabmeat appetizer that was fantastic. Iced Vodka shots stuck in the sides of the fancy serving dish would be a nice touch but not a requirement.

The Filet I ordered was tender and cooked as ordered as was my wife's. The serving size was large but then so is the cost. There are a lot of steakhouses around these days and many have meat just as good, perhaps better, then Morton's in my experience, not that Morton's was bad, it wasn't, just that they aren't above the bar like they might have been once.

Now to the problems as I see them. When I was younger I would spend good money to go to a rock concert to have my hearing damaged. When I go to a top rated restaurant I don't expect the same experience. The noise level in the restaurant was mind numbing. I thought I was sitting in the middle of a club on 5th Avenue, not the Morton's dining room. Some acoustic damping design features are sorely needed.

While working on design features the glass partition between the bar and dining room needs some attention as well. Being a party of two we were seated along the bar/dining room wall. The top portion of this wall is glass with some designs etched into the panels. The bar itself is set slightly above the dining floor or appears that way with the bar height tables and chairs in that section. What this does is give the bar patrons a birds eye view of the dining room. I don't particularly care for someone staring over my shoulder when I am eating unless they are the wait staff and then it shouldn't be noticed.

The wait staff is a hard working group of individuals who were constantly on the move. This has more to do with a lack of structure in the organization of the roles and responsibilities then in a need to be rushing around. Our service was poor. When we had clearly finished with out bread there was no one to notice and remove it. I was surprised when our server actually removed the bread and assorted dishes that went with it and the appetizer. At a truly top restaurant the servers are serving the food and meeting needs, not schleping dishes.

My wife had been suffering from an upset stomach most of the day and by the time we reached the main course she was feeling full and only had a couple of bites. The waitress never noticed and never asked if everything was alright which it was but they couldn't have known that. Someone ignoring their steak deserves a little attention. During this period our waitress actually disappeared. I ate a bit of my steak and some of the vegetable and then stopped as well so that we could wrap things up and my wife wouldn't have to sit there feeling bad. Still no one came to our table. Eventually our waitress did reemerge and simply asked if we wanted everything wrapped to go. No questions on how was it.

This issue with the staff actually began with the hostess. Upon entering the restaurant her opening was, "What Can I Do for You?" with a bit of attitude reflected in the tone she took with us. What she can do is lose the attitude. We weren't exactly dressed up for the night but we weren't dressed down and in comparison to several other diners we looked downright respectable.

My final issue is with the food cart/menu. The idea of showing a diner what they have to offer is fine, I actually appreciate it generally speaking. What I didn't appreciate was the live Lobster. I grew up in Maine, I have relatives who earn a living as lobsterman, I have handled many a lobster. This lobster was a magnificent specimen who was being tortured and slowly killed to act as a display for diners. The lobster sat still on a platter, never moving. I was wondering if it was dead until the waitress picked it up and it reacted. I have never seen a lobster that would sit still for any length of time while out of it's natural environment unless it was very cold or just about dead. This specimen was warm. That display was just cruel.

I don't really have a problem with the vegetable display but I did find it odd. They had whole vegetables like a potato, an onion (I think) and asparagus laid out. You really had no clue what you would be served other then one of these items prepared and looking very different - like the potato that came in 5 variations. And they made a big deal out of their Jumbo Asparagus. If I see jumbo asparagus in the store I keep on walking. Skinny asparagus is more tender and in my opinion flavorful. I passed on the asparagus although I do love it as a vegetable.

Morton's says it is The Steakhouse and they had magazine covers on the walls showing how one of it's restaurants was picked as the Best of or some such award in various cities. The San Diego location deserves no such award and is coasting by on the reputation the chain already has established. If San Diego is any insight into where these restaurants are headed that reputation is in for a bumpy ride.

Chinese Censorship of the Internet

It seems to me that if China wants to censor access to the Internet for it's citizens then the internet should be blocked from China.

Imagine the interruption to their economy as manufacturers couldn't email the buyers and the list would go on.

Harrassment or Discrimination

Do you own stock in First American? It has had a nice run as of late but I wonder if it is in for a rocky time.

Long story short. A friend works there. She is dating a co-worker who had essentially the same job she had. This co-worker was promoted to be a supervisor.....of my friend. Essentially everyone knew of this relationship when the promotion occurred although it is possible that management was unaware.

Recently my friend was given an award by her supervisor that gave her a free trip. She is taking the supervisor on the trip with her. For those of you keeping score at home...employee is screwing boss, boss gives employee bonus award, employee shares award with boss. It should be noted that there is no stated basis for awarding the reward, it goes to who management selects.

It is no longer possible for management to claim they are unaware of this relationship as most of them were somehow on this trip as well.

It is clearly stated in the employee handbook that supervisors can not have personal relationships with those reporting to them.

How do you think all my friends co-workers feel about this situation? They are a wee bit upset. My question is...Is this sexual harrasment or simply sexual discrimination?

Doesn't really matter does it? Some enterprising employee could easily contact a lawyer (probably one of the ones I already trashed) and file a lawsuit on behalf of everyone in the department. They won't get millions but $10K each to someone who resigns for a new job still sounds pretty good.

I am further amazed by how many people have essentially laid their jobs on the line by turning a blind eye. From what I hear I think the Supervisor, the supervisor's manager and that manager's manager have got to be aware of this and thus all subject to immediate termination with cause if someone makes a stink.

Who is the Racist?

Today I read an article about a woman, Nadine Thompson, who sued Southwest claiming racial discrimination. She is black. Clearly she never watched 'Airline'. Nadine is a fat woman who the airline staff tried to charge for a second seat.

The airline admits that it's staff didn't apply the policy correctly as they are required to charge extra prior to a passenger boarding and Nadine was already on the flight. The only claim from Nadine on race was that they tried to charge her because she was black. No one ever said anything to her about race. The only racial statements made were by her while she was screaming at the airline staff. She should be the one sued for being a racist and arrested for her actions like other passangers who become unruly. Maybe it would knock that chip off her shoulder.

Remember, when you fly you are at their mercy, you give up your rights at the metal detector.

Her lawyer was Neil Osborne - don't have his contact info but he was in Concord,NH so if you can locate him feel free to call and get the details.

Apple Sued over Ipod

Some lawsuits are so riduculous that one just can't believe a lawyer would file them. The sad part is that we all pay for this. If you think the lawsuit seeking redress from Apple for selling a product that can harm the users hearing is ridiculous you should let the lawyer who filed it know. Why shouldn't he pay for wasting out money and resources?

I am still amazed that some idiot would be happy to publicly admit he doesn't know how to turn down the volume of an Ipod. The real kicker would be if the idiot smoked. Too bad I don't have his contact number.

Here is how to contact him.

Steve W. Berman
steve@hbsslaw.com
206-623-7292

And what is the NBA thinking?

A player goes into the stands to defend his wife. A claim that seems legit based on the fact that he went straight to her, didn't touch anyone else in the stands and went back to the court when she was fine.

The NBA suspends him for 5 games and says they are being nice. Talk about Family Values. Personally I think professional basketball is a joke - to make it exciting they relaxed all the rules I learned as a child and combined it with a crop of super sized humans. I can not stand to watch the players palm the basketball repeatedly so I don't watch it.

Now they are trying to drive away families with their actions. Pity.

And don't get me started on the fan sitting by his wife - threatening a lawsuit for $1million dollars!?!?! Get real loser. Just for making the threat you should be brought up on blackmail charges. Your family should be ashamed to see you on TV and have the world know it is their relative who is such an idiot. Or maybe he comes from a 'Jerry Springer Show' family, I don't know.

Google Saving the World - NOT

I haven't had much to complain about lately and have been distracted with travel for work. But this little disagreement between Google and the US Government got me thinking.

All the news stories seemed to pit poor upstanding Google as being on the side of the little guy as the big mean US Government overstate it's rights and demands information on every search done in the last year.

The single fact that Google HAS all of this information and MORE is a mere saddened frequently not even mentioned. Who is to say the Google is any better then the government in having and utilizing this information?

I think the government is a bit over it's head in this situation and question if they even have enough drive space to store the data but since when has reality ever been an issue with the government?

But Google actively uses this information, not for the benefit of you and I, but for it's own economic interests. I bet if the government walked into the offices of Google and said we would like to pay you to do a search of your data and identify X situation we wouldn't have even heard about this topic. Google would have done it's magic and handed the information over - just like they do to all their other clients.

You think the government seeing what you search is bad? Think what corporate America is doing with that same information then decide how righteous Google really is.

** The opinions espoused in this post are solely the authors in case you didn't know that - don't you hate these stupid idiotic disclaimers that the law essentially requires to avoid being sued over something very obvious.

Politicians Have Run Out of Intelligent Actions to Take

Now that I have your attention let me clarify. In the scheme of life there are rules and regulations that are fairly obvious and useful. These laws were inacted when the country began and existed before that in England and other places. I am thinking of things like no robbing, no murder, no rape, etc.

After several hundred years the opportunity to enact new intelligent laws starts to be a bit thin. Advances in technology or societal changes will bring about new rules but these don't occur daily. In order for politicians to feel useful and have something to do besides spend out money they come up with mediocre or downright awful regulations.

My favorite law to pick on is the Seatbelt Law. The use of a seatbelt is not stupid, not using one is actually fairly unintelligent given the trade off, live through an accident or die. That isn't the issue, the issue is that the politicians felt they had to make a law to force individuals to use a seatbelt when the cost of not using one is shouldered by the one not using it.

Granted some individuals will be severely injured in a car wreck as opposed to killed and thus end up on the public dole but I have to think the number here is fairly small. If someone wants to not wear a seatbelt go ahead and let them.

On the flip side of this discussion is smoking. Smoking kills those who do it and according to all the hoopla can kill those simply in the area of those smoking. I think 'area' is relative, if you are in a smoky bar it sure can kill you, if you are on the street it is more likely simply annoying as all get out as opposed to seriously deadly.

The politicians have passed laws making it illegal to smoke under a certain age and banned smoking in public places and on an on but smoking is still legal. So here we have seatbelts that really only effect the person in the seat versus smoking that kills all. Spock would be catatonic trying to figure out the logic in these rules since there is none when taken together.

Perhaps he would be able to figure in the $$$ doled out by the cigarette firms to politicians and paid in taxes and come to an understanding. If something provides the politicians with more money to spend as well as campaign funds it is OK even if it kills people.

If you want further evidence of the lack of intelligent things to do in politics start reading the US Tax Code. They will tinker with this time and time again but make it simple and logical - not a chance.

I wonder if the law stating a job will expand to fill the time alloted to it has come into play in politics? They really have nothing to do so they make up stuff to fill the time and look busy.

Workers Unions

I will start by saying that I believe Unions have a valuable place in society and in the development of the United States into the successful nation that it is today. This does not mean that I believe Unions are perfect. I believe that they have their place and their time and then they seem become a burden to society and a detriment to further progress.

What is the role of a union? It is to get the best deal for the workers and look after their interests. American laws grant unions exemptions to the monopoly rules so they can represent the entire workforce of a single company or many companies.

When a group of workers is being exploited this is a required tool. The hotel maids and office building cleaning staffs are an area that has seen a lot of activity as of late. These employees are paid very low wages and are frequently immigrants who have little or no knowledge of American law. With their education levels (frequently basic at best) and lack of English language skills they are easy prey for large corporations. Unions are able to band these employees together and provide them with basic knowledge of the law in the US, making sure they receive what they legally deserve and helping garner them better wages.

This union power can also be extended too far. The Autoworkers Union is a classic case although far from the only example. As the US auto industry dragged itself into oblivion the union kept demanding more and refusing to give up anything it previously received. This is good for union leaders since the members like getting more and vote to keep them in power. Only recently while the automakers have been choking to death have the unions been forced to surrender some benefits. In prior periods the Union could threaten to strike and the companies were at a point where they were losing money but not as much as during a strike so they would cave. Now a strike would send a company into bankruptcy so the union's hand has been called. They have lost the power to hurt the company without killing themselves in the process.

Despite my blaming the union it should be noted that the management of the auto companies shares the blame for their current problems. Unions just capitalized on the weak and ineffectual management. US automobiles are boring and generally pieces of crap that die around 50,000 miles if they make it that long. Japanese autos are just getting their first tune up at that point. My last car was a Chevy Blazer, the handle used to adjust the angled of the seat back had a habit of breaking off. I hadn't realized this until both of mine broke off and I was talking with a friend who also had a Blazer. Their handles had broken off once, been fixed at a cost of something like $300 each and then broken off again. Once while the drivers seat was reclined and they were not at home. Despite this clear driving hazard there was no recall and Chevy would not replace the seats. This and other issues led me to trade it for a Toyota and to cancel my GM Credit card since I would not be using the rebate offered as an incentive. I digress.

Garment worker unions are another group that killed themselves and their industry with the help of corporate management and cheap overseas labor. Once they reached a certain level there was no coming back so they rushed over the precipice.

Over the holiday I was flying coast to coast and had the luxury of being held captive to a viewing of 'A Perfect Mind'. I can't help by tieing the theory from the gentleman in this movie to unions. The theory is that if everyone takes a little bit less then perfection then everyone comes out ahead. If you saw the movie the depiction was that if all the men went for the prettiest lady she would reject them and when they rebounded and approached her less lovely friends they would reject them as well since the ladies were a second choice. Meanwhile, if the men all went for the less lovely women they would be accepted and everyone would have a date except the beauty and thus be ahead over all even though no one scored the beauty.

I think Unions need to follow this logic a bit more. It isn't frequently in their long term best interest to get the absolute maximum for their members at every point in time as this robs the company of flexibility and should their be a downturn everyone is hurt - the company loses money to the point of bankruptcy and the union loses jobs weakening itself.

I propose that employee compensation needs to be tied more closely to corporate profits. Employees should receive a base compensation package that is comfortable but not overly generous. At the same time they should receive bonuses of a certain percentage of the corporate profits on a periodic basis (one year being the longest period). When a firm is doing good the employees profit and when things are tight the employees share in the pain. This type of alignment could be utilized to improve the corporations operations as employees strive to maximize profits to maximize their profit sharing.

I think this solution would also help with employee moral during good times as too frequently corporations strive to maximize their profits on the backs of the employees, especially those not unionized. There is the risk of demoralization during lean times but this would tend to happen when the economy was in a dip so staff defections should be controllable and the base compensation will keep them from financial ruin.

Many workers will find this situation uncomfortable, they are used to fixed paychecks and don't like the uncertainty of profit sharing. What they should think about is that this is how management is paid, although at a much higher level I admit.

I also think companies should tie workers bonuses to management bonuses. If the boss gets a 200% bonus so should the workers. How often does the boss actually do something that directly leads to the improved profits - usually it is a result of the workers doing their job and not much more. If I sit and punch keys on a keyboard all day and the corporate profits double I deserve a reward just like the senior executives. They did exactly what they were supposed to do and so did I, why should their compensation be any different when it comes to bonus percentages?

Socialism here we come.

Real Estate taxes

Governments fund themselves via taxes as we all know. There are varying forms of taxes but a common one in the US is a tax on real estate by local towns and municipalities, perhaps this is common worldwide - don't know.

For years real estate in the US had a relatively uniform value so this tax performed well. Over the last 20 years or so real estate values have skyrocketed with varying factors resulting in some significant valuation differentials between fairly similar properties. An easy example of this would be waterfront property versus inland property. Otherwise identical properties in the same town have radically different values based upon proximity to water.

Many towns and/or states have laws on the books that require the re-valuation of property for tax purposes on a regular basis, some don't and just adjust values when sales occur but that is becoming less common. This re-valuation has led to the proverbial land rich, cash poor phenomenon among many long time residents of now valuable property. By nature, long time residents tend to be retirees on fixed incomes with the result being a forced sale of the property to avoid bankruptcy via real estate taxes.

Real Estate taxes tend to go to the local governments (with exceptions of course) and pay for significant indirect benefits such as police, fire, roads, schools and parks. Since the benefits are indirect it isn't possible to charge the folks using the services directly as an alternative means of paying for them.

My issue is that I don't see it being fair to charge an elderly home owner with a choice piece of property significantly more in taxes then a family of four living in a similar home. I feel that thier tax burden should be similar as well.

Some may feel that the tax system is fair since it taxes the rich but this isn't true. Many long term property owners are not rich and simply scored in the real estate lottery IF they should decide to sell.

As a result of the current system many pieces of real estate can only be sold to developers who split up the land and cram in as many homes as possible leading to the rabid development currently seen in the US.

I feel that the current Real Estate taxation system needs to be amended. I don't know the perfect solution and doubt there is one but feel a greater fairness can be attained and should be. I do not believe that there should be any attempt to align the taxes with usage of services - the family with children in school might be getting a bargain today but they compensate for this later in life when they assist in paying for their grandchildren's educations and so on.

Will politicians step up and improve this broken tax - of course not, the folks with expensive properties already know they are getting screwed so why upset those getting the bargains? Too bad, someday the system will break and then they will be forced to take drastic action.

Morgan Freeman and Bill Cosby

Hats off to two men who are willing to stand up and speak the truth despite the overwhelming public pressure and condemnation that comes with it.

As long as differences are actively promoted integration can not fully occur.

At the same time people will always congregate with like kinds whatever that likeness may be so vigilance must be maintained to prevent the rise of hatred and bigotry. It is not always the standard differences such as Black vs. White or Judaism vs. everyone, take a look at Houston Teens vs. New Orleans Teens - ignorance comes in all forms and must be guarded against.

Could you imagine a White History Month (I know, every month is white history) or the NAAWP?

Music Industry

I wish I had thought to name an all girl group the BlowUp Dolls and have them release single titled, "A Slut Like Me". Then again, that happens every few years so I still stand a chance.

Bonus - My Wife's Complaint

On Friday my wife takes the baby girl to My Gym - an exercise place for babies and small children. After today's visit they went across the street to a store called Tuesdays...... which sells home goods stuff. My wife was looking for picture frames.

The store displays were a disaster. Despite this she found a few items to acquire. She then went to checkout. There was a man there asking for a large bag from the clerks. They responded they didn't have any in a less then friendly manner without looking at the man. He then said he was deaf and repeated his question. The clerks simply got more surly and continued to not look at the man so he couldn't see their lips.

Another lady was leaving and reiterated - the man said he is deaf so he can't hear your response. The clerks gave her a nasty look. The man gave up and left. My wife's purchases were put in a paper bag and she asked why they couldn't have offered the man one of these. The still surly clerk said they didn't have any large bags......

Then my wife went to Von's next door. A place she hates due to an issue while once working there involving a manager, sexual harrassment and retribution. Too bad she didn't know a good lawyer at that time, she could have retired.

Anyway, standing outside the Von's were several of their teeny booper employees and the store manager all enjoying a cigarette. Did I mention they were RIGHT OUTSIDE the entrance, less then 10 feet away. Never mind that the rule in California is not within 25 feet of a public building, forget the entrance. My wife turned and left, there are plenty of other stores where the staff is a bit more curteous.

Maybe this had something to do with the stores being in the beach area which isn't really known for its maturity, I don't know. What I do know is that my wife won't even try to go back there.

PS- I don't care that the 20 somethings party around the beach, I did that when I was that age as well. I just don't care to see that attitude at a retail store that isn't targetting the beach/surfer crowd. Actually, the stores doing that are usually much nicer then what my wife experienced.

Sears and my busy week

This week has no been to good for posting my thoughts. It isn't that I didn't have any, I have a whole series of topics to write about, I just didn't get to writing them. Travelling with a baby is unique and I am a creature of habit so altering a business trip that I make regularly proved difficult. I even forgot to remove my computer from it's bag at airport security - what an idiot.

When travelling with small children remember to take an extra bag or one larger then needed to get there - on the way home it will be full.

On to Sears. Sears is a goner. Within 10 years adults will recollect going to Sears and teenagers will be asking what is Sears?

Over the last year or two there have been extensive stories about KMart and then Sears when they merged. KMart was an investment darling when some hedge fund manager whose name I forget (Eddie Lampert or something like that I think) figured out how to game the bankruptcy process and come out of it holding a ton of the company for the bond holders and then somehow getting the stock price to skyrocket making it clear the bondholders got more then their fare share.

Other hedge funds and investors in distressed debt now worship Mr. Lampert (?). He made them a ton of money, not to mention what he did for his funds. Post bankruptcy KMart acquired/merged with Sears. Despite all this activity, the businesses of both companies are in the dumper. Things have been so bad that Mr. Lampert(?) stepped in as the CEO of the firm and is running things himself.

It is clear from articles in the media that Sears is being milked dry. Money is not being spent sprucing up the stores and holiday advertising was lame at best with other stores dominating the headlines. Everyone has said that Mr. Lampert's skill is in recognizing the value of real estate holdings in a company that otherwise don't show up on the balance sheet. This is how he initially scored with KMart when he dumped a bunch of land for a hefty price.

Sears has old property just like Kmart and some pretty sweet leases at malls. It sure looks like these will be milked and sold off and Sears will go the way of Montgomery Wards and Woolworths. The time to save Sears has passed.

I was thinking that a few years ago someone in charge at Sears should have looked at the retailing landscape and made a great leap. They almost did it when they tried out Brand Central but they were tied to their existing format and didn't want to take the risk.

Imagine a Sears store reorganized and laid out as a series of Big Box stores. You could keep your clothing and makeup in one section but break out hardware and electronics into seperate entities. I would propose physically seperating the 'stores' with distinct entrances and everything. Move away from the malls while you are at it for new locations and go into the new retail locations don't screw around like they did with Sears Homestore. Every area I have lived in has a strong regional furniture store or two, they advertise heavily and are generally in areas shoppers frequent. The only Homestore I ever saw was in an area that no one went to for shopping and was hard to access.

The other option would be to compete head to head with WalMart, slash prices and add food but I don't like that scenario. When Sears developed there were a lot of folks using tools so Sears was a great place to get all they needed. That isn't so anymore. Walmart with it's small tool section and tons of toys and everyday needs sucked in the crowd that used to go to Sears.

To keep selling what it has Sears needs to make it's products more accessible. Walk in and boom, there it is. Not walk in and wonder what escalator to take to the tools or where is automotive?

Automotive if done right could be HUGE. Dealerships open up their super garages with folks just waiting to write up the issue and hand it to the mechanics. Sears could convert to this model with a side for the basics like Oil Changes and it would be magic. Just don't bury the garage in the middle of the mall. If you do that tie it in with the valet parking and add on car wash, oil change, etc for a fee.

Oh well, I fear it is too late. If you are an investor and are considering Sears, figure out what the company is worth liquidated because that is where it is going.

Travelling with the Family

I travel regularly for work. I rarely have any issues and when I do they are minor or easily dealt with. This week I took my wife and baby daughter (10 months) with me to the Bay Area.

I checked on line and the flight status was fine and th airport was humming. We get to the airport early to deal with the baby stuff and life is wonderful. We are sitting in the lounge waiting when they announce that the flight has been cancelled. I look at the board - on time, I look at the counter screen - on time. How could this be?

I go to the counter and sure enough, the 9am flight is cancelled and we are rebooked on the 11:50 am flight. Wonderful. I watched, the status on the flight NEVER changed from On Time. All these wonderful innovation like flight alerts only work if the system driving it is updated. Somehow the counter lady knew but the computer didn't. Now I had to sit in the airport for 3 hours with a 10 month old who decided it was so exciting she wasn't napping.

Thanks to our seats we were able to watch everyone come through security. Talk about a farse (that how you spell that or is hooked on phonics showing?). I couldn't believe how many folks had scissors or knifes in their luggage and then acted baffled or upset when they were discovered and taken away. Of course they had the option to ship them home or check them but that was just too much for most folks to understand. Let's not forget that on the 23rd or sometime soon virtually all of these items would be allowed - why wait to implement this rule? Stupidity, if it is going into effect just do it.

Then there are those poor souls randomly selected for strip searches. Ok, I exagerate a bit, they didn't have to take off all their clothes. Most times this was fine but one lady had gone to the wrong terminal - she went to the American Terminal, not the Commuter Terminal. She had clearly not been very early to the airport or hadn't realized her mistake to quickly. She caught the inter terminal shuttle and was coming through security as the plane was boarding.

This is a tiny terminal so plane boarding gate was 20 feet from security.

She was pulled out for a complete search. She had a 5 year old child and a couple of luggage bags. The folks in security have discretion. They didn't need to open all her bags and search her shoes and hold her up as long as they did. But why be nice, our job is to search. To be fair, the lady was a spaz. Even once the search was over she couldn't seem to grasp the need to drag her luggage to the gate and get on the plane.

In conclusion I want to thank American Airlines for giving me the opportunity to view the security line for 3 hours and for the concern they showed to a frequent flyer such as myself. I will keep this in mind as I continue my travels from Southern California to the Bay Area and opt between AA and Southwest.

New Orleans Hurricane

The topic of New Orleans and the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina have been on my mind since the storm hit.

I listened to a lot of name calling and blame being passed around various government agencies. Recently they even held hearings where several residents got to vent to congress. My first question is why the Mayor is getting off so easy?

There were discussions of studies conducted in New Orleans in regards to what the city could expect to have happen if the evacuation order were given. From what I heard the study findings were highly accurate. Unfortunately I forget the exact number but they were something like 40% of the population wouldn't leave the city either because they were stubborn fools who deserved to die when told a massive storm was coming and they should evacuate and they refused OR they were too poor to be able to afford to evacuate.

I don't believe it is the national governments responsibility to have evacuation plans in place for local cities when trouble first hits. Although some problems are foreseeable, like a big hurricane crossing the Atlantic, some aren't, like and earthquake, so local governments have to provide the first response to an emergency. When New Orleans ordered an evacuation they should have had a plan in place to put folks on buses and whatever to get them out of the area. Baton Rogue wasn't really that far away in the scheme of things, I doubt they had housing but I bet it would have beat riding out the storm in the city. There was no such plan. The Mayor is responsible for this and yet I don't see him getting called to answer for this failure. I wonder if it is because he is black and we all know the federal government didn't care because all those stranded were poor and black, making them democrats no doubt. I lost all respect for a few individuals who started spouting that garbage - enough said.

The post-Hurricane mess falls on a lot of shoulders. Once the city was wrecked the state and national governments have to step in and they both failed miserably. When they tried to do something they were fighting each other over control and failed to deal with this issue because they were all busy issuing press releases blaming each other for the problem.

The only thing I have heard that worked was the Astrodome in Houston. Kudos to the group that operated this evacuation point. A gentleman from the Coast Guard was in charge and according to all reports performed admirably - too bad the government treats the Coast Guard like a bastard step child while requiring so much from them. Perhaps the other services should have their budgets butchered, perhaps they would learn to perform better using what they have better. Wishful thinking and not really something I would want to test out. But do redirect your money to a satellite network that can track the Iraqi bombers!

After the disaster many communities opened their doors and took in the displaced, Houston perhaps taking in more then anyone else on a fairly permanent basis. Now the news is filled with stories of anti-New Orleans sentiments and ill feelings between the students from Houston and those from New Orleans in the local schools, especially high schools. At least one school had some serious rioting occur.

Now I could act like an ultra-right wing bigot and say it is a turf battle for the local drug trade in Houston but that would just be using extreme stereotypes and making myself to be an idiot. High School is a tough time for many people and is a place where people start identifying their place in the world and society. I think the sudden influx of a large number of new students dramatically upset this structure in Houston. Suddenly you go to school and you don't know a lot of the faces you see and you wonder about them. Then some of the new students will displace the status quo on sports teams or whatever it may be. Those displaced will be upset and blame the new students for their loss of stature, their life long friends will support them in this and suddenly you have riots in the schoolyard.

The news reported that graffiti had been sprayed on one high school door accusing the New Orleans girls of being sluts. I am sure this is debatable but once again it was the status quo being turned on its head, some Houston guys started dating some New Orleans girls and the Houston girls were upset. I bet if we did a little research we would find that the ladies from both towns are equally as promiscuous. The Houston guys probably just wanted something they hadn't already despoiled.

What Houston did taking in those displaced is laudable. I think social workers need to explore the issues that arose with the new students and learn how to better meld two disparate cultures in the future should another disaster like this strike.

The Mayor of New Orleans needs to accept responsiblity like the head of FEMA and resign taking his proper place in the past. The owners of a nursing home that failed to move it's patients resulting in the patients deaths are facing manslaughter charges, why shouldn't the mayor as well?

I almost forgot - the looters who shot at the rescue people and ended up getting shot and killed themselves, excellent! People who take advantage of situations like this and start rioting and acting like gangsters deserve what they get. I hope the individuals involved in shooting them are getting apropriate counseling, they don't deserve what they have to deal with. The widespread looting, I don't really have a problem with that in general, the stores were closed an folks needed food and in some cases clothes. Taking HD TVs and waht not, shoot them as well.

Soft Dollars continued

Kudos to Fidelity for announcing that they are eliminating the usage of Soft Dollars for everything including the payments for third party investment research.

Everyone should get in line and follow their lead.

All those who think compliance and oms systems should be allowed under soft dollars should be shot!

Iranian Airline Crash

Hmm, if a US plane in Iraq went down with 47 journalists on board the media would be accusing Bush of targetting them......