AA Batteries vs. Proprietary Batteries

I bought a Panasonic DMC-FZ28 camera from Costco. With a 90 day return policy and good reviews on the camera I believe the choice was wise. However, the camera has a proprietary lithium battery. A low battery warning light appeared about 3p.m. Sunday afternoon. Two hours later I was able to continue learning about the camera. The cost of an additional battery is $25.00. Now I am wondering if these batteries might not be available in the future and that would obsolete the camera. AA batteries are available almost everywhere (like a general store in Yosemite or in Paris?).

So is the light weight lithium battery really that good if the cost is high and the availability is in doubt? Send me your opinion!

A New Political Party

For the first time in many years we now have the opportunity to start a new political party. The statistics support this possibility.

This data from Rasmussen Reports dated March 1, 2009.

“Currently, 38.7% of Americans say they are Democrats. That’s down from 40.8% a month ago. It’s also the first time the Democratic total has slipped below the 40% mark since the Republican convention bounce last September. … In March, 33.2% of American adults say they are Republicans. That’s down from 33.6% a month ago. … A growing number – 28.0% – say they’re not affiliated with either major party.”

On This Week on ABC television it was reported that a survey showed that only 21% of registered voters consider themselves Republicans.

The Republican Party has become a regional party that has lost another senator (Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania) and has no Congressmen from the Northeast in the House of Representatives. The west coast is dominated by Democrats and so is Michigan and Illinois. No wonder the Democrats have a majority in the House. The largest population centers, with the exception of Texas, are represented by Democrats.

The Democratic Party is almost totally dominated by labor unions and “liberal left” special interest groups (think ACLU, Sierra Club). Moderates, who swing from Democrat to Republican based on candidate positions rather than party affiliation, are choosing the Democrats because the Republican Party has been taken over by “right wing” and “Christian conservatives” that do not want to tolerate any dissention among their membership.

Republican Party activists are primarily focused on just a few principles that the majority of American do not consider primary to their well being. Those views are:

1. Reduced taxes.

2. Smaller government.

3. No abortions.

4. No gay marriage.

5. No gun controls.

6. Support for White Christian values.

With the views of each of the primary political parties so divergent, this seems to be the time for a new political party. This would not be a party built around one individual but instead a party about ideas that that are more in line with the growing number of independent voters. Those “middle of the roaders” who are not comfortable with either the Democrats or Republicans. This is a party that would hold some of the value of both Democrats or Republicans but would look for leaders that reflect the growing numbers of people who want a more moderate, more inclusive political party.

This may not be doable because political parties need financial backing. That backing would destroy what most of us want. A government that cares about most Americans.

Another Toy, I’m Worth It!

It all started when I was just 10 years old. My parents bought me a cheap little camera. The Dick Tracy camera took film that was a approximately the same size as 35mm. It was not a 35mm camera. Along with a developing and printing kit I was on my way to a lifetime hobby.

On April 29, 2009 I bought my second digital camera. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 offers a zoom lens that quickly moves from 27mm to 486mm. That is an 18x optical zoom. The camera offers a complete set of manual settings. Surprisingly this camera weighs less than a pound.

My latest motivation for a new camera is the consequence of a digital photography class. The class quickly made me realize that my old Canon A70 was an antique in the digital world. Prices have dropped dramatically. It is likely that this will be the last camera I will buy. Thanks to Costco’s 90 return policy, I have time to change my mind.

The Panasonic telephone help line should get me through any questions about set up and use. My first question was about aspect settings (manual information: 4:3 for conventional TV display, 3:2 for 35mm, or 16:9 for HD TV display). Strangely the help line person said I could use either 4:3 or 3:2 setting. I have the camera on the 3:2.

My only complaint is this camera will not fit in my shirt pocket. A cheap price to pay.

The First 100 Days

All the political talk shows are focused on Barack Obama’s first 100 days. Everyone has an opinion about his performance as president. Even the president himself has given an opinion about how he has done. The 100 day thing is the equivalent of the usual 90 day probation that most people must survive to hold on to a new job. The difference is America can’t discharge him even if he is doing a poor job. Unless he has been found guilty of a crime, Barack Obama is our president for the next four years.

Recalling eight years ago to George W. Bush’s first 100 days I cannot remember that there was any considerable discussion about his performance. CNN had a group of people that graded President Bush. His grade was mostly around a B. Of course no one knew that 9-11-01 would determine the course of his presidency. That was an incident that occurred 234 days into the Bush presidency. It was the September 11 event that impacted everything about President Bush’s presidency.

Like President Bush, President Obama is just another president impacted by unplanned events. In the 20^th century Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson all saw their presidencies significantly impacted by events beyond their control.

The only thing we know about President Obama is that he is willing to take action that might affect the future. He knows that the first 100 days is just the warm up.

To Big To Fail

Bill Moyers Journal had two experts on the economy and the laws that regulate it on this week’s program. Michael Perino a scholar of Law and Securities Regulation and Simon Johnson, former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund.

This one part of their discussion needs to be repeated here.

SIMON JOHNSON: I think the banks have control of the state, Bill. Not the state control of the bank. If the state had control of the banks, the banks wouldn’t be able to turn around and say, no on your Chrysler deal and no way on modifying the rules about mortgages and allowing bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages in bankruptcy. These are two hot issues this week. The banks are saying no to the government.

BILL MOYERS: Here are these people receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer money who are now raising fees on credit cards, who are resisting any more regulation of credit card interest rates, who are, you know, saying, “We’re going to get out of the game if you insist that we do something about executive compensation.” What is going there as you see it? Both of you.

SIMON JOHNSON: I think there’s an arrogance of power. They think they won, Bill.

BILL MOYERS: Even now–

SIMON JOHNSON: And actually they’re pretty confident they won…

BILL MOYERS: So, they’re not hearing any of this clamor? This rage? They’re not hearing this–

MICHAEL PERINO: I think they are hearing it. I don’t think it’s reached the level that it reached, anywhere the level it reached in that period that we’ve been talking about in the 1930’s. So, maybe it isn’t quite strong enough yet.

In this discussion was the talk about “to big to fail” and the attitude that the banks, investment houses, and auto manufacturers have held that belief.

Their view happens to coincide with mine. We cannot allow companies to grow to the size that they must be protected by society. “To big to fail” is too big to exist.

An End to the Drug Smugglers

Illegal drug consumption in the United States has remained consistent for many years according to government reports. Chronic users of Cocaine were over 3 million people in 1994 and had dropped to 2.7 million in 2000. The number of occasional users had increased from 2.9 million to 3 million people in that same period. Similarly the number of Marijuana users was 11.6 million in 1998 and had grown to 12.1 million users in 2000.

The conclusion that I make from this White House report is that we have a consistent non-growing group of Americans who are determined to keep using drugs no matter what the cost in dollars, relationships, or jail time.

The similarities to America’s fight against alcohol usage are overwhelmingly obvious. Gangs were promoted by our banning of alcohol and today gangs are promoted by the ban of drug use.

As George Will pointed out in his February 23 Newsweek column, “Banning Sunday liquor sales pleases Baptists – and also pleases bootleggers by increasing demand for their services.”

Most of us will agree that the use of tobacco and alcohol is damaging to our lives but we do not ban either of those substances. Instead our state and federal governments apply substantial taxes to both products but not enough to stop the revenue stream.

Many people will say we must not allow the use of Marijuana and Cocaine because it addles the brain and those effected will harm the rest of us when driving a car or operating machinery. Those people are charged and convicted under DUI laws. Many lives have been lost by the actions intoxicated people. Obviously our laws have not deterred the users.

We are not solving the problem of Marijuana and Cocaine addiction. The statistics support that fact. We are now losing lives in the United States as the result of the drug smuggling. Reports of slaying far from the Mexican border are becoming common place events.

The solution is simple and it will put an end to the cartels that are becoming an international problem. We must legalize the use of all the currently illegal drugs. Instead we should apply taxes on the sale of those currently outlawed drugs. The benefits to this plan are obvious. We reduce the impact of gangs in our cities, drug smugglers are put out of business, our government has a new source of revenue, and the killing is stopped.

T.E.A. Parties

Taxes Enough Already!! We don’t like taxes! Let’s do demonstrations to tell the government our views. There is of course a few small details that the organizers of T.E.A. Parties have overlooked. Lower taxes means we won’t have the where with all to provide all the services we want. A few that come to mind are:

Money to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
Money to pay for the FAA, FCC, FDA, and the many other important functions provided by the government
Unemployment insurance payments to all of those who have been laid off
Public schools
Highway maintenance and construction
Police and fire protection

The list is too long to recite here but there is a myriad of services provided by our government. Some are provided by local agencies and others are provided by the state or federal government.

At the beginning of April the federal government actually lowered withholding on our paychecks and lowered the actual income tax rates.

The complaint about our government ought to be about waste and inefficiency. There are too many bureaucrats that do nothing to but add to the morass of functions that do not provide any worthwhile services. Here in Los Angeles the city says it will have a $500million shortfall in its next fiscal year. The solution will be in the elimination of unnecessary commissions and departments that provide very little to the welfare of most citizens.

President Obama has discussed improving the purchasing functions of the federal government. Defense Secretary Gates has proposed eliminating unnecessary projects. But wait, these actions will result in the loss of jobs.

Everyone complains about the cost of government and “pork barrel” projects until the project is in their community. Suddenly it’s not pork. Oh yes, one other thing. The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation. If we don’t like our representatives we can vote them out office.

LEGACY

A legacy is an inheritance, a birthright, a bequest, or a heritage. Some families have a heritage or tradition of participation in politics. Some famous families have participated in the entertainment industry for many generations. My family’s legacy is the belief in higher education. Whatever the legacy, it is a word that is synonymous with something positive. This word has become the victim of our government’s use of positive words to whitewash negative situations or laws. “Toxic assets” are now “legacy assets.”

Doublespeak (sometimes called doubletalk) is language constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning. The U.S. government has become expert at covering up its actions with positive terminology. The Patriot Act implies that it is a set of laws designed to protect patriotic Americans. “Down sizing, right sizing and reduction in force” are corporate America’s positive spin when there are layoffs.

The term “toxic assets” was also a poor choice of words. Toxic implies those banks assets are poisonous, deadly, lethal, noxious, contaminated, or venomous. Perhaps that may be true if applied to the banks’ balance sheets. The truth is that those “toxic assets” do have value but the banks lent money inappropriately and now need to defend their behavior. “Legacy assets” sounds so much better and implies they were inherited from some past evil doer.