The Oscars
The Oscars, at least to me, used to be exciting, I normally would make an effort to see the movies nominated, the pop some corn, and watch with bated breath to see if my picks won. Later it would be Oscar parties. We would get dressed up, have a fake red carpet, and drink shots of whiskey. A shot was drunk anytime someone mentioned something...a political statement, god, told their kids to go to bed, over thanked (meaning they talked over the music).
In later years, the Oscar show has taken on a new meaning to me, no longer do I make an effort to see a movie just because it was nominated but instead wait for the show, and see the clips. Then I would start a list of movies that might look interesting. If a film is nominated for several different categories, you can end up seeing several different clips, giving you a better idea about the film than the standard movie trailer. However not this year. This year instead they had other actors talk about it seemed whatever they damn well pleased. Some talked of past movies, some of the present, some seem to ramble, and while I'm sure it was nice to individually recognize them; it just didn't help me. I hadn't seen the movies and they talked as though everyone had seen them. To me, it should be about the current movie their nominated for, not all the great movies they starred in, in the past, some which they had won for, or not.
My other huge complaint was when they showed the people that had passed on...I didn't need to see the person singing during that...hearing her voice was enough, I wanted to see better who they were, what they did and why they were being mentioned. Instead I saw a smallish picture, and nothing more...it was sad and honestly insulting.
So in my opinion it's all official, Hollywood is in a serious recession, they couldn't afford clips of the movies nominated and I hated it. If it continues like this I suspect a tradition will slowly die, much like the Miss America Pageant. As for the big winner Slumdog Millionaire, I still have no clue what it's about. Pity, I thought about renting it, but probably won't bother now.
Some States Do the Darnedest Things
While the State of Oregon contemplates closing schools to cover budget deficits for the currant school year, the state legislators in all their wisdom decide now might be a good time to raise the beer tax. Now, I know before you groan and say I don't care about beer, just listen to this...say you make something and your business is taxed for every 1000 you make you pay three dollars. What would happen if your state government told you instead of paying 3 bucks you'll now have to pay $59.60. Seriously, how would that impact your life? Now it is true different states charge different amounts, and close border states charge anywhere from 3-7 bucks per barrel of beer made, this jump Oregon is currently discussing puts them at the top, above Alaska and Alabama for the highest beer tax in the country.
Just another beer fact, Portland Oregon has the most breweries in the country and the statewide beer industry employs around 5300 people. This is all despite the fact there is a world wide grain and hop shortage. Nothing like kicking an industry in really hard economic times while they're already down.
In Other News
Last weekend Pissboy as part of a school project was to bring home a baby. Not a real one but one of these...He did but it didn't work right. The caregiver is supposed to wear a wrist strap, with some sort of device on it that sends a signal to the baby when it cries. The idea being that it knows it's caregiver is there and taking care of it. Otherwise it just cries, then stops. Then cries again. This can continue until it registers 12 hours of neglect (failing to do anything) and then it shuts down.
As luck would have it Pissboy's baby had the wrong wrist strap, so it never worked. 12 hours later it shut off, I guess others weren't so lucky, their babies didn't shut down after 12 hours and continued crying all weekend.
We're trying it again this weekend. Wish us luck.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
What If?
Would we be better off if McCain had won the election?
One month after Obama's inauguration his approval rating has dropped and this is not surprising, but the bigger question remains would we be better off had McCain won. I don't believe for a moment a McCain White House could cause our country to do an economic 180. I doubt it would be any worse and I also doubt his approval rating would be much higher. I do however feel the stimulus package would look differently and that could be better or worse (notice I'm not making a judgement call on this). I'm certain it would included a lot more tax cuts, in the hopes of it trickling down to the little folks in a couple years, but meanwhile the little folks might be in worse shape. Since we all understand most of the day to day purchase power lies with them, businesses will fail. However, I also feel throwing a few bucks at them isn't help much either.
I did find this to be interesting...
What does everyone else think? I find it interesting that our exports are starting to look more like that of a 3rd world country than an economic superpower. However maybe I'm wrong, maybe someone else with more knowledge has a different take.
© 2009 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
One month after Obama's inauguration his approval rating has dropped and this is not surprising, but the bigger question remains would we be better off had McCain won. I don't believe for a moment a McCain White House could cause our country to do an economic 180. I doubt it would be any worse and I also doubt his approval rating would be much higher. I do however feel the stimulus package would look differently and that could be better or worse (notice I'm not making a judgement call on this). I'm certain it would included a lot more tax cuts, in the hopes of it trickling down to the little folks in a couple years, but meanwhile the little folks might be in worse shape. Since we all understand most of the day to day purchase power lies with them, businesses will fail. However, I also feel throwing a few bucks at them isn't help much either.
I did find this to be interesting...
What does everyone else think? I find it interesting that our exports are starting to look more like that of a 3rd world country than an economic superpower. However maybe I'm wrong, maybe someone else with more knowledge has a different take.
© 2009 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Random Stupidity
Sometimes I'm just not that bright. I left towels in my dryer for two days, then washed them only to forget them again. What have I got against my towels? Aside the fact they're ugly but I'm not wasting the money replacing them, nothing is wrong with them. I loaded the dishwasher but didn't turn it on (you know it works better when it's been on). I haven't made my bed, well that's normal for me.
I just have a case of the I don't wannas. I don't want to do these things I know I should do. I had a kid home from school two days this week. One on Tuesday and the other one today. When I started running the vacuum I'd get the old...Mom I'm trying to sleep like you told me...blah blah...
I did clean two of our three bathrooms...but the third, which is the smallest and the one guests would see if we had any, is horrible. Seriously, the mens room at the Unocal station is probably cleaner. It's the "go to" toilet everyone, except me, uses. I'll admit it, I use the clean bathroom upstairs...might catch something using the one a few yards from me.
I would love to blame it on the winter dooldrums but it's not, our weather of late has been fairly rain free, peppered with only the occasional nonsticking snow (which is just the way I like it). Snow is expected tomorrow but eh whatever, I don't think it's going to be a big deal.
I am itching however for Spring, and growing weary seeing the dead looking trees, and monochromatic landscapes. I'm starting to long for varying shades of springtime colors and warmer daytime temperatures. Until then....
© 2009 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
I just have a case of the I don't wannas. I don't want to do these things I know I should do. I had a kid home from school two days this week. One on Tuesday and the other one today. When I started running the vacuum I'd get the old...Mom I'm trying to sleep like you told me...blah blah...
I did clean two of our three bathrooms...but the third, which is the smallest and the one guests would see if we had any, is horrible. Seriously, the mens room at the Unocal station is probably cleaner. It's the "go to" toilet everyone, except me, uses. I'll admit it, I use the clean bathroom upstairs...might catch something using the one a few yards from me.
I would love to blame it on the winter dooldrums but it's not, our weather of late has been fairly rain free, peppered with only the occasional nonsticking snow (which is just the way I like it). Snow is expected tomorrow but eh whatever, I don't think it's going to be a big deal.
I am itching however for Spring, and growing weary seeing the dead looking trees, and monochromatic landscapes. I'm starting to long for varying shades of springtime colors and warmer daytime temperatures. Until then....
© 2009 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Monday, February 09, 2009
Stimulous Part Two
To Simulate or Not to Stimulate....that is the Question
It just aggravates me to no end when either party has control and feel it's okay to bully the other. This doesn't work because it just causes the other party to dig in their heels and make life miserable. It doesn't work in business, it doesn't work on the playground, and when it's our Federal government the American people end up the losers. Take the latest stimulus package, the democrats added in a bunch of pork to show how great it is to be the big shots on campus, and it caused the republicans to dig in their heels and whine to anyone that would listen.
It's not that the republicans whining is not without merit, but they also seem to forgot that when they were control the democrats and the American people were forced to eat their pork. It also needs to be said I don't care much for pork especially fatty pork and both sides have their history of fatty pork padding. John McCain said he hated republican pork as much as democratic pork, but he voted the republican pork filled bills.
Yesterday and Today
No, I'm not talking about Y&T, but literally lets leave yesterday to historians, and worry about today and tomorrow. The bill the democrats support is full of pork, some fatty, and some lean but pork has no business being in this particular stimulus package. I have to wonder what would the Republicans had said if the bill had been pork free. However we'll never know because the Democrats screwed up a big chance to show the American people that they truly care about these difficult times. Now it appears the Republicans are the caring ones but the truth is they really don't care. I don't think either side does since they have no worries about being laid off.
They need to start acting like neither side has a majority and think about what is best for the American people. Historically speaking when the congress is more narrowly controlled by one side or the other, they are forced to work together more. When one side has a overwhelming majority they become drunk with power and pass whatever they like. If the president happens to be on the other side, then he will become an insignificant president, but if the president happens to be on leading side, then he has big problems.
I think this president is in trouble because the higher they are, the further they will fall.
The Politics of Being Political
I can't be a democrat or republican, because I have to watch both sides closely and listen to what they are both saying. Some of the infrastructure spending is a good thing but I don't think it's enough nor do I think it will solve all our economic problems. Lowering taxes on businesses will help the businesses but I really don't see them expanding much as a result of this. When times are hard people hold onto their pennies more, and it's true for everyone. I don't think a business is going to look at their lower taxes and say let's expand. They are still going to be uncertain that their business will even be around in a few months with or without lower taxes.
It's all a gamble, with the Republicans wanting to fix everything by just cutting taxes alone and the Democrats wanting to spend their way out. Tax cuts for businesses and wealthy people sounds great on the surface but it doesn't wash with the middle and lower middle class people, since with them lies most of the spending power. We already know that alone doesn't work, it hasn't worked for the past 8 years. If a business large or small gets a few paltry tax cuts, but people still don't feel comfortable enough to buy their goods, their business will fail. If the government puts lot of money into infrastructure, which would create jobs, but if people still don't feel comfortable they still won't spend money and businesses will still fail.
I think what bothers me the most is the Republicans are just standing back, saying it won't work and seriously hoping things will just fall apart.
What They Aren't Saying..
I was watching Bill O'Reilly's show after the President spoke and he was talking with Dick Morris, who explained that the Japanese in the 1990's tried to spend their way out of their big recession...both of them and subsequent guests just threw up their hands and said it didn't work. The problem is they didn't mention that the Japanese also cut 2 trillion in taxes too...and it didn't help them in addition to their big spending. What the Japanese did have going for them was the fact they saved their money roughly 13% of their income goes into savings. Roughly 1% of the average American's income goes into savings.
The problem is I don't think either has it right...you can't cut taxes to get out of a recession (at least it's never worked in the past) and you can't spend your way out of it. The only thing you can do is curb your spending, save as much money as possible, and hang on because I think the only cure for a recession truly is time. When goods and services get too expensive too fast recessions are useful. When the stock market starts to nose dive they call it a price correction--over-inflated stocks come down in price more in line with their true value. When houses dropped they called it bubble and the effect is the same, prices came down to where they probably should have been had the boom not occurred. Now the whole economy is going through the same thing. It's going to take a long time but I believe things will get better--it will just take time and probably more time than the next couple presidents will have. And yes you did read that right. We're talking 8-10 years people!
I believe if Obama's stimulus goes through as planned, we will benefit from it but I'll be very surprised if it's within the next four years. If the next president doesn't try to undo everything, then perhaps during that term things will start to turn and they can take credit for it. If they do try to undo everything, then we'll sink deeper but still eventually things will improve. The question is would things improve without all this on it's own in the same amount of time.
That too, I believe is possible, but try to convince Washington of that.
© 2009 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
It just aggravates me to no end when either party has control and feel it's okay to bully the other. This doesn't work because it just causes the other party to dig in their heels and make life miserable. It doesn't work in business, it doesn't work on the playground, and when it's our Federal government the American people end up the losers. Take the latest stimulus package, the democrats added in a bunch of pork to show how great it is to be the big shots on campus, and it caused the republicans to dig in their heels and whine to anyone that would listen.
It's not that the republicans whining is not without merit, but they also seem to forgot that when they were control the democrats and the American people were forced to eat their pork. It also needs to be said I don't care much for pork especially fatty pork and both sides have their history of fatty pork padding. John McCain said he hated republican pork as much as democratic pork, but he voted the republican pork filled bills.
Yesterday and Today
No, I'm not talking about Y&T, but literally lets leave yesterday to historians, and worry about today and tomorrow. The bill the democrats support is full of pork, some fatty, and some lean but pork has no business being in this particular stimulus package. I have to wonder what would the Republicans had said if the bill had been pork free. However we'll never know because the Democrats screwed up a big chance to show the American people that they truly care about these difficult times. Now it appears the Republicans are the caring ones but the truth is they really don't care. I don't think either side does since they have no worries about being laid off.
They need to start acting like neither side has a majority and think about what is best for the American people. Historically speaking when the congress is more narrowly controlled by one side or the other, they are forced to work together more. When one side has a overwhelming majority they become drunk with power and pass whatever they like. If the president happens to be on the other side, then he will become an insignificant president, but if the president happens to be on leading side, then he has big problems.
I think this president is in trouble because the higher they are, the further they will fall.
The Politics of Being Political
I can't be a democrat or republican, because I have to watch both sides closely and listen to what they are both saying. Some of the infrastructure spending is a good thing but I don't think it's enough nor do I think it will solve all our economic problems. Lowering taxes on businesses will help the businesses but I really don't see them expanding much as a result of this. When times are hard people hold onto their pennies more, and it's true for everyone. I don't think a business is going to look at their lower taxes and say let's expand. They are still going to be uncertain that their business will even be around in a few months with or without lower taxes.
It's all a gamble, with the Republicans wanting to fix everything by just cutting taxes alone and the Democrats wanting to spend their way out. Tax cuts for businesses and wealthy people sounds great on the surface but it doesn't wash with the middle and lower middle class people, since with them lies most of the spending power. We already know that alone doesn't work, it hasn't worked for the past 8 years. If a business large or small gets a few paltry tax cuts, but people still don't feel comfortable enough to buy their goods, their business will fail. If the government puts lot of money into infrastructure, which would create jobs, but if people still don't feel comfortable they still won't spend money and businesses will still fail.
I think what bothers me the most is the Republicans are just standing back, saying it won't work and seriously hoping things will just fall apart.
What They Aren't Saying..
I was watching Bill O'Reilly's show after the President spoke and he was talking with Dick Morris, who explained that the Japanese in the 1990's tried to spend their way out of their big recession...both of them and subsequent guests just threw up their hands and said it didn't work. The problem is they didn't mention that the Japanese also cut 2 trillion in taxes too...and it didn't help them in addition to their big spending. What the Japanese did have going for them was the fact they saved their money roughly 13% of their income goes into savings. Roughly 1% of the average American's income goes into savings.
The problem is I don't think either has it right...you can't cut taxes to get out of a recession (at least it's never worked in the past) and you can't spend your way out of it. The only thing you can do is curb your spending, save as much money as possible, and hang on because I think the only cure for a recession truly is time. When goods and services get too expensive too fast recessions are useful. When the stock market starts to nose dive they call it a price correction--over-inflated stocks come down in price more in line with their true value. When houses dropped they called it bubble and the effect is the same, prices came down to where they probably should have been had the boom not occurred. Now the whole economy is going through the same thing. It's going to take a long time but I believe things will get better--it will just take time and probably more time than the next couple presidents will have. And yes you did read that right. We're talking 8-10 years people!
I believe if Obama's stimulus goes through as planned, we will benefit from it but I'll be very surprised if it's within the next four years. If the next president doesn't try to undo everything, then perhaps during that term things will start to turn and they can take credit for it. If they do try to undo everything, then we'll sink deeper but still eventually things will improve. The question is would things improve without all this on it's own in the same amount of time.
That too, I believe is possible, but try to convince Washington of that.
© 2009 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved