Basic Digital Camera Sales Are Falling

This article appeared in the Los Angeles Times dated December 23, 2011

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/…echnology/2011/12/phone-camera-photos.html

The essence is 27% of photos and videos taken this year were shot with smartphones — up from 17% last year. Not surprisingly, sales of the basic digital point-and-shoot cameras suffered.

For the upper-level point-and-shoots — with optical zooms of 10x or greater and an average price of $247 — unit sales grew 16%. And digital single-lens-reflex cameras — with an average retail price of $863 — were popular enough that some camera shops were out of them the week before Christmas. Unit sales were up 12%.

All of this according to a survey by NPD Group (formerly National Purchase Diary), a leading North American market research company.

Best Buy Screw-up Means the Economy is on an Upswing

Some shoppers are having a very frustrating holiday season, thanks to retailer Best Buy. Some of their gifts aren’t going to make it in time for Christmas, according to Moneyland.

Amazon along with some major on-line photo suppliers ran out of some cameras a week before Christmas.

ABC television reported an upswing in car sales during December.

In the latest sign that the economy is surging at year’s end, unemployment claims have dropped to the lowest level since April 2008 as reported by the Associated Press.

Unfortunately, whether you are buying a new washing machine or a new television, the goods are not manufactured in the United States.

Still there are signs of growth in house construction and other businesses. Let’s not forget the increased employment in North Dakota thanks to oil extraction activities.

70% of or economy is based upon consumer consumption. Reports are indicating a 6% increase in sales over last December.

It appears we have turned the corner!

Lower Social Security Taxes Harm Everyone

Surveys tell us that congress has a favorable rating by about 9% of the population. That is significantly worse than the president’s rating that is about 45%. In spite of that the congress continues to behave as if they had public support.

The most recent outrageous decision was the vote by the Senate to extend the reduced Social Security tax for two months rather than the one year requested by the president. To add to this foolish political dance the House refuses to confirm the Senate’s regulation. The consequence is that there may not be an extension of the lower tax regulation.

The idea of reducing the Social Security tax is a bit of political nonsense. The law puts $20 a week more into the hands of those earning $50,000 per year. This is not a consequential tax reduction. It is enough to buy a half a tank of gasoline for most cars (not SUVs). The effect of the first year of this lower tax has been reported to be zero.

So why is the president pushing so hard for this lower rate? He will win the political argument no matter how the congress votes. If the law is not passed he will blame the Republicans and point out that they only favor tax cuts for the rich. If the law is passed he will point out that it was he who triumphantly won a tax cut for the average man despite the efforts of the Republicans to block fairness.

The worst part of this law is that it lowers tax collections needed to support the Social Security trust fund.

This entire tax battle is another example of politicians legislating short term benefits at the expense of long term financial needs of the nation.

Mitt Romney is Out of Touch with Working Americans

Let’s be clear about this situation. I know some people who really have no concept of living in a 1200 square foot home. Worse yet they have no idea what it is like to go without a meal. Mitt Romney is one of those people.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa—Mitt Romney opened himself up to criticism Friday by saying he didn’t understand Medicaid until he started working in government. The Republican presidential candidate later tried to clarify the comment, but Democrats had already pounced, saying his words were further proof that the multimillionaire businessman is out of touch.

“You wonder what Medicaid is, those that aren’t into all this government stuff. You know, I have to admit. I didn’t know all the differences between these things before I got into government,” Romney told voters at a campaign event. “Then I got into it and understood that Medicaid is the health care program for the poor, by and large.”

Medicaid is a federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled.

Romney tried later to clarify what he meant, telling reporters traveling with him to South Carolina that he understood the program but didn’t quite grasp how it was funded. He called his earlier comment a “self-deprecating understatement.”

Democrats said the comment showed Romney doesn’t understand working-class people.

“One has to wonder how Mitt Romney thinks he can represent American workers, their families and seniors when his concern for the poor and the middle class comes across like an afterthought,” Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.

Romney, who was in his late 40s when he ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 1994, told reporters that his prior work for a health care consulting company taught him how important Medicaid and Medicare, a health care program for seniors, are to hospitals.

Jewish Newlyweds

Please excuse the four-letter words toward the end of the

following story… I would have deleted them, but the story wouldn’t be the same..

—

A young Jewish couple got married and went on their honeymoon.

When they got back, the bride immediately called her mother.

“Well”, said her mother, “so how was the honeymoon?”

“Oh mama”, she replied, “the honeymoon was wonderful! So romantic”… Suddenly she burst out crying.

“But, mama, as soon as we returned, Sam started using the most horrible language — things I’d never heard before!

I mean, all these awful four-letter words!

You’ve got to take me home!!

“PLEASE, MAMA !”

“Sarah, Sarah”, her mother said, “calm down! You need to stay with your husband and work this out. Now, tell me, what could be so awful?

WHAT four-letter words?”

“Please don’t make me tell you, mama,” wept the daughter.

“I’m so embarrassed, they’re just too awful! COME GET ME, PLEASE!!”

“Darling, baby, you must tell me what has you so upset. Tell your mother these horrible four-letter words!”

Sobbing, the bride said, “Oh, Mama…, he used words like: “DUST, WASH, IRON and COOK…

“I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes,” said her mother.

Fear of Retribution Results in Bigotry

I admit to being somewhat frightened by the growing number of Muslims in the United States. Their desire to enforce Sharia law could become a serious problem. At the same time I want to support our desire to recognize everyone’s right to practice their religion no matter what that religion may be.

Lowe’s, the nationwide big-box home improvement chain, is facing criticism for its decision to withdraw advertising from a reality cable show about American Muslims. Their decision was based upon pressure from the Florida Family Association. That group described the television program as “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”

“I’m saddened that any place of business would succumb to bigots and people trying to perpetuate their negative views on an entire community,” said Suehaila Amen, one of the cast members of the show, in an interview with the Detroit News.

Thus I am faced with a dilemma. It happened that the program appeared on my television on the TLC channel just minutes before I saw the news item about Lowe’s pulling their advertising support. The program really is a harmless and somewhat silly show focused on five Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan. Honestly the program was not very engaging. The program definitely did not promote Islam to the rest of American society.

The same channel could provide programming focusing on Hassidic Jews or the Amish. Perhaps they could offer a program about Sikh’s in America. Here, where I live, there seems to be a large Indian and Sikh population.

Lowe’s is just a half mile from my home and Home Depot is 1¼ mile from my home. Lowe’s has the right to do as they wish. The Los Angeles Times editorial in their December 14 edition points out that Lowe’s has the right to cancel their advertising. The Times is correct. I just cannot stand for bigotry!

ISRAEL’S PECULIAR POSITION

THIS WAS WRITTEN IN 1968. 43 years ago – Astonishing!

You probably don’t remember the name Eric Hoffer.

He was a longshoreman who turned into a philosopher, wrote columns for newspapers and some books.

He was a non-Jewish American social philosopher.
He was born in 1902 and died in 1983, after writing nine books and winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

His first book, “The True Believer”, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic.

Eric Hoffer was one of the most influential American philosophers and free thinkers of the 20th Century. His books are still widely read and quoted today. Acclaimed for his thoughts on mass movements and fanaticism, Hoffer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983. Hopewell Publications awards the best in independent publishing across a wide range of categories, singling out the most thought provoking titles in books and short prose, on a yearly basis in honor of Eric Hoffer.

Here is one of his columns from 1968 — 43 years ago! Some things never change!

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~

ISRAEL’S PECULIAR POSITION…by Eric Hoffer – Los Angeles Times 26/5/1968.

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.

Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it.
Turkey threw out a million Greeks and Algeria a million Frenchman.

Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese and no one says a word about refugees.

But in the case of Israel , the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.

Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single one.

Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.

Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms.

But when Israel is victorious, it must sue for peace.

Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.

Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.

Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967], he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.

No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on.

There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia .

But, when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one demonstrated against him.

The Swedes, who were ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we did in Vietnam , did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews.

They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troops in Norway .

The Jews are alone in the world.

If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources.

Yet at this moment, Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally.

We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us.

And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war, to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.

I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us.

Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us all.

Lindsay Lohan in Playboy Updated

To see the rest of the just released pictures click here.

This is all just for fun. Isn’t that what blogs should be about?

January 4, 2019 :A just released video from that infamous Playboy photo shoot was just posted by Lindsay Lohan on Instagram. This is a screen shot.

lindsay lohan

To avoid getting a mature rating I have cut this picture using Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Los Angeles River as a free-flowing waterway

The Los Angeles River was encased in a concrete channel to protect lives and property. Councilman Dennis Zine’s idea of “bike paths, walkways and restaurants” will work out well as long as there is no flooding. We weren’t here then but the river has a history of flooding adjoining land. Here are some examples provided by The City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works web site.

1815–The original Plaza is washed away as the river overflows and changes course at Alameda and Fourth Street

1861-62–Heavy flooding. Fifty inches of rain falls during December and January. Much of San Fernando Valley is under water.

1884–Heavy flooding causes the river to change course again, turning east to Vernon and then southward to San Pedro. The Downtown section of the river is channelized.

1914–Heavy flooding. Great damage to the harbor. Public called for creation of the L.A. County Flood Control District and discussion of channelizing the river begins.

1934–Moderate flood starting January 1. Forty dead in La Canada.

1938–Great County-wide flood with 4 days of rain. Most rain on day 4. Red Cross said this was the 5th largest flood in history at that time with 113 lives lost, $40 million in damage ($360 million in 1994 dollars). Recorded as a 50 year storm. Public demands action. Army Corps of Engineers begins channelizing the river with 10,000 workers applying 3,000,000 barrels of concrete by hand.

1941 to 44–L.A.River floods five times.

1983–Flooding kills six people.

1994–Heavy flooding. Estimates range from a 15 to over a 100 year flood.