Say Goodbye to Point & Shoot Cameras

Ladies may carry a camera in their bag or purse but men usually don’t carry those things.  The cell phone is enough baggage for us guys.  Read this report from CES.

“AT&T will also sell Sony’s Xperia ion 4G LTE smartphone as the first smartphone to be sold under the Sony brand in the United   States. Launching in the second quarter, the Xperia ion is based on Gingerbread, and has a 4.6-inch HD display and a 12-megapixel camera.”  The source for this item is http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Latest-News/CES-ATT-Verizon-Sprint-Tout-Android-Smartphones-638610/?kc=CIOMINUTE01112012STR1TOC

Buying a New Car

I was a purchasing agent before retiring.  I held that position for seven years.  I like negotiating a “deal.”  So it was great fun shopping for a new car.  Unlike the previous two cars, that were used and bought from car rental companies that refuse to negotiate a price, I was now in the driver’s seat on pricing.  Translation: if you don’t want to negotiate I am going elsewhere.

However, car shopping is also a passion buy.  You see a car that is just what you want and suddenly that desire takes over your sense of reason.  That OMG moment hit both the lovely wife and me.  There was the car that was almost perfect.

The consequence was that I did not pin the salesman to the wall demanding the very lowest price.  That would be a price I may not have obtained.  However, I made an offer of 18% off the sticker price and he countered (after conferring with his boss) with a 13% off the sticker price.

XM radio and a Bose sound system makes my wife very happy.  Making your wife happy is more than half the battle!

Jobs Should Be Job One!

Neither the president nor the ambitious GOP candidates know how to fix the American economy.

Happily the total unemployment number improved in December bringing down the percentage of those still looking to 8.5%

The BLS summary included this statement. “The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.6 million and accounted for 42.5 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)”

There is the crux of the problem.  Not one politician talks about this issue.  No wonder.  No one knows how to solve this problem.

Imagine you are 50 years or older and now are part of that 5.6 million people.  Your career is probably over.  If you have not found an alternate career that takes advantage of your prior experience you are most likely looking at low paying jobs in a new profession.  Who is likely to hire you when you are part of the older workers group?

I have been through all of this and understand the pain.  Fortunately I was able to utilize some of my prior experience.  For those who cannot there is no solution.

Hoping that the government will show the way is foolish.  Politics have ground the government to a near stop.

The next national election will be between “the audacity of hope” that failed and a list of GOP candidates that are focused on cultural issues.

Goodbye to America’s Middle Class!

The GOP Iowa Caucuses

Thanks to CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News we have all had an extreme over dose of Iowa.  It’s a small state of just over 3 million residence with over 88% non-Hispanic White people and a Black population of less than 3%.  Hardly a representation of America.  Of that 3 million people a little over 100,000 have voted in the GOP caucuses.  I wonder what the cost per vote was for each candidate.  Does anyone really care about the results in Iowa?  The cable networks care.

Four years ago Mike Huchabee won the primary.  That led no where so this year’s caucus has as much impact.  WOW!!

If nothing else the cable networks had lots of viewers and that earned them more advertising revenue.  Money was spent by all the news media and that is good for the economy.

Edging Towards War

Iran threatens Strait of Hormuz

US warns Iran against closing Hormuz oil route

Oil price falls as Saudis trump Iran threat

Is it saber rattling or is Iran and the United States moving towards war?  All of this is the consequence of American opposition to nuclear weapons development in Iran.  American politics is also pushing the Obama administration towards more assertive behavior when Republican candidates say that Brack Obama is too timid and apologetic when addressing the Iranian threat.

This is not the only place in the world where the United States has become more militarily assertive.  This past November at an economic Asian conference President Obama announced that “ About  250 U.S. Marines will begin a rotation in northern Australia starting next year, with a full force of 2,500 military personnel staffing up over the next several years.”  This is confrontation with China.  “Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the goal of the new security pact is to signal that the U.S. and Australia will stick together in face of any threats.”  What threats have there been?

America’s military-industrial complex couldn’t be happier.  More war means more weapons.  The factories that hire thousands or people will be humming.  What a great way to boost our economy.

It was a Very Bad Year

Sadly, it was an ugly year.

Nature showed her worst side with an earthquake followed by a tsunami in Japan.  Meanwhile there were an extraordinary number tornadoes and earthquakes that occurred in the eastern United  States.

Dictators fell thanks to the Arab Spring but lives were lost and the Middle East is still in turmoil.  The dictator (president) of Syria is still killing his people.

America has left Iraq but the outcome of the effort is still in doubt.  Bombings and turbulence are rocking that country.

Iran and North Korea are on the same paths that strike fear into their neighbors.

The United States government has declared the recession is over but those that lost their jobs and significant home value have not recovered.

A debt crisis is impacting both Europe and the United States.  The U.S.had its own debt struggles. In August, Standard & Poor’s lowered the country’s long-term sovereign debt rating to AA+ from AAA. These are situations brought on by incompetent politicians.

America’s political system is deadlocked.

So what was the good news?

The one wonderful event was the marriage of Kate Middleton to Prince William.

Unemployment is down and American car sales are up.

The movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life” is a message of hope.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” is a Message of Hope

Clarence the Angel and George Bailey 

In honor of the film’s 65th anniversary, the Los Angeles City Council declared Friday “It’s A Wonderful Life Day.”

Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, for the one or two people who still haven’t seen the classic Frank Capra film “It’s A Wonderful Life,” is a man driven to the brink of suicide when he comes to believe his life never really mattered.

“My father always said that ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ was the best movie that he ever made,” Tom Capra said. “As a matter of fact, he said it was the best movie ever made.”

“It carried with it the message that you can find in each of my dad’s films. The message of hope,” Capra said. “Maybe like George Bailey, we should pause for a brief moment and examine our lives and see if we can make a difference as long as we never give up.”

It’s available in on DVD from Netflix and it airs again Saturday night on NBC.

This story originally posted by the Associated Press.