Occupy Wall Street or Should it be Occupy Washington? Part I

Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Oakland, Occupy Los Angeles.  Where is Occupy Compton?

Occupy Wall Street is a movement that addresses the disparity in income between the fat cats in Wall Street and the other 99% of people who are trying to make a living in America.

First question:  What is the Occupy (insert city) movement all about?

Simply, I believe the movement is about changing the dialogue and political discourse in the United States from how to create more jobs to why there are no jobs.  I am not sure how changing this discourse can actually benefit the "ninety-nine percenters.  Yes, the anger against the big banks is justified to the extent that they received bail out money to extricate themselves from the very decisions that led America into its current financial predicament.  However, part of that anger needs to be, if not more, targeted at Washington than it does at Wall Street.

For example, Michael Moore argues that politicians are not responsible for the disparity in wealth in this country because they are just paid employees for the banks.  The premise behind Moore's argument is that corporations lobby and control politicians with money in exchange for the creation of policies favoring big corporations.  While Moore's argument is well-taken, his premise fails to recognize that Washington and the politicians who are put there to represent Americans have a duty to protect the interests of the People first.  In other words, politicians do not have to take the money directed their way to support their campaigns.  If politicians truly want to take away the incentive of big corporations to finance their campaigns in a quid pro quo way, they need to reform campaign laws that tilts the balance of how one is elected away from money and towards one focused on substance.  That is to say, politicians already have the power to create the laws that can limit big businesses' influence in politics.  While campaign finance reform laws have been introduced and passed during the past decade, there are still too many loopholes in the law to effectively prevent influence from big corporations.  Therefore, the well-intentioned protesters need to focus more of their energy in Washington, where the rules of the game often dictate who receives the most influence.

Question II and its conclusions will follow soon.

Gaddafi is Dead. Now What?

Muammar Gaddafi is dead. After billions already spent in overseas action in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, the ultimate question is whether the human and economic costs resulting from these military actions have been worth it.

There is one simple fact:  America has not been hit by another terrorist attack since 9/11.  If national security is our nation's number one priority, then we indeed have done our jobs.  Today, we are more safe, more secure, and more confident that a misguided, vengeance-hungry terrorist will not attack us.  However, simply analyzing the benefits of improved national security ignores the reality of the human and economic costs these wars have incurred on military families, and to a broader extent, the United States as a whole.

Today, we are arguably in the middle of one of the largest recessions this young and prosperous country has ever experienced.  Some will argue that this was entirely or substantially caused by the housing crisis that began in 2007-08.  I disagree.  What happened on 9/11 was something more than an iron-clad commitment to fight the bad guys.  It began the eruption of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund military actions overseas. According to the New York Times, the "War on Terror" has cost the United States $3.3 trillion.  Even if we take the "liberal spin" on that number away, the Congressional Research Service, a non-partisan group, put the figure closer to a paltry $1.3 trillion. Even if we take the low-end of this figure, this number presumably does not account for the interest and borrowing costs that inevitably occur when financing such an expansive operation.  The point is that we have spent over a trillion (yes that is a "t", and not a "b") to fight these wars.

I have presented these facts for one reason, and that is to make U.S. citizens to start thinking about whether the costs of these actions has actually been worth it.  If your answer is "yes," then you must also accept the premise that the idea of receiving more government protection is a quid pro quo, a trade-off in exchange for a less economically stable economy.  If your answer is "no," then you should vote for the leader or leaders who will be in the best positions to end these military actions.

Please think.

iCON, GENiUS, iNNOVATOR

Yes, I know I am probably one of a million people who is writing about the legend that is Steve Jobs.  However, I felt compelled to share my thoughts.

Firstly, I never thought Steve Job's death would have such an impact on my life.  I do not know the man nor do I pretend to know what he eats, which books he reads, or why he still has not spoken to the former CEO of Apple who fired and replaced him in 1985. However, his impact is still very real.  And I am now going to try and explain why:

In 2004, Steve Jobs gave a commencement speech at Stanford University.  I have listened to this speech four times.  To summarize, since you yourself probably have seen it, Steve outlines three main points: (1) what the  dots in each one's life means and how they are connected; (2) how to understand failure; and (3) why we should confront and not turn away from the topic of death.  Within each point, Steve explains and encourages students to see that life is not always what it seems.  For me, this overarching theme carries great weight for me today.  In fact, I try and live by it because I believe it to be true. For example, even though life is tough and the economy seems to be in the tank, I know that where I am today will not define me.  However, what I do today will begin the momentum that will help me achieve where I want to be in ten, fifteen, or twenty years. Steve made me understand this and I thank him for that even though I never knew the man.

Most importantly, it was Steve's last point that had the most impact on me.  Facing death is somebody nobody expects or wants to think about; however, Steve describes death in a way that is in a way beautiful because it is the natural transition that leads to birth.  The people who eventually die will lay the foundation for the new.  However, even more profound was how death makes you realize how important each day is, and how it should affect how we live our lives in a positive and free-spirited way.  Gone are our fears, humiliation, and desire to be noticed.  It allows us to live the life we always wanted to live but could not either because of social, family, or economic pressures.  Ultimately, it is the reality of our own mortality that should help us to create our own identity.  And so it was his last words that rings true for me today:  "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."

Thank you Steve.  It was never your devices that I found so compelling, even though it did make my life more enjoyable, but your value in helping all of us understand that we are flawed, but individually unique human beings.

Don't You Wonder...

If anything bothers me more than anything, it is probably my twin brother.  But some of these things bother me just as much.  For example:

1.  Drivers who speed up in traffic.

• Guess what genius, I just passed you, and that was after you just cut me off and five other cars just so you can get to the left lane. 

2.  Bicyclists who bike in the middle of the road.

• This annoys me more than getting updates on my phone telling me that our stock market has fallen another 400 points-- and yes, I own stocks.

3.  People who pretend to read the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or the Economist just to make themselves look smart.

• Hey, it is ok if you don't understand why Democrats and Republicans hate each other.  Just accept it.  

4.  Friends who pay for their meal without taxes and tips

• Who do you think I am? The Salvation Army? Do I need to ring a bell to tell you that we are not at a fast food restaurant?

5.  People who drink decaf coffee

• Do you want to wake up? If not, drink some tea and treat yourself to some crackers you wussies. 

Annoying Things People Do

1.  Wearing sunglasses indoors.

• For the love of Ray Charles, only blind people should be wearing sunglasses indoors

2.  Big women in X-small shirts.

• No, I don't want to know why you believed that drinking a pizza shake for breakfast was a good thing

3.  Hipsters.

• Be a man, do the right thing

4.  USC fans

• Driving a red car while smoking your Marlbro Reds is not cool; however, doing so might get you shot by the Crips

5.  PDAs

• Not the technologically out-dated device, but couples who want the world to know that there are only  two important people in the world--and they do not include the President of the United States or Justin Bieber

First Post

Yes.  I have caved in, but I am sure Batman does not mind.  If you are one of the fortunate few to gain access to my blog, consider yourself unlucky.  Here, you will find musings on everyday life, sports, and politics.  However, what you will not find here are updates to my personal life, unless I win the lottery.  If such things happen, I promise, you will be the first to know--so please, keep refreshing my page.

Before I begin on my first topic, I thought you should know that I had to decide between Blogger and Words Press--well, not really.  I chose Blogger over Words Press because in asking Google's tool bar "Wordpress v. Blogger," the first website that popped up was a forum saying "Blogger."  After a little investigation, I found out that Google had bought Blogger-- therefore, I was a little skeptical on Google's placement of this particular forum presumably listing Blogger as the know-all, be-all of all blogs.  Needless to say, it worked.

In closing, I want to thank all my future fans who, as I mentioned earlier, are so unlucky to have found and navigated to my website.  I look forward in providing more fodder and food of thoughts for you in the near future.

Signing off.