Tabor Laws; Return of Unused Tax Revenue

Wall Street Journal
Friday June 17, 2005
Opinion
Review & Outlook (A14)
"America's Next Tax Revolt"

Per the article, there are "...20 states... working on a Tax Payer Bill of Rights (Tabor) to cap runaway spending and tax increases."

Tabor laws serve a number of purposes.
1) Requires state government to have a budget cap
2) Requires states to refund tax revenues collected above the budget

In paragraph 4..."The National model here is the Tabor law passed in Colorado 12 years ago. "...In six of the last nine years Coloradans have received tax refunds in the mail exceeding $3.2 billion, or about $3,000 per family over the period."

Paragraph 5 has the most telling fact...."real per capita state spending in Denver has grown more slowly....IOt's probably no coincidence that Colorado has also seen faster growth in personal incomes and population thien any other state over this time period."

MoreThanCorn believes state governments should be guided financially just as individuals, families and companies handle their own finances. What the State brings in, is what the State has to spend. Paragraph 9 & 10 read like this;

"Replubican Governor Bill Ownes who is pro-Tabor, has called for a "five year Tabor time out. Mr Owens complains that during the recent two year downtourn in Colorado actual revenue collections fell. The solution is to allow somewhat larger spending growth in bad economic times. Let the states build up budget rainy day funds during the boom years and then during recessions let them spend down these reserves... [this would] smooth out revenue cycles so state governmentds don't go through boom and bust as economic growth rises or falls. Many states nearly drowned..in the last mild recession because they had gone on a spendiong binge during the tech driven go-go years of the late 1990's."

Governor Owens and the author of the Journal article are trying to fix bad behavior with other bad behavior. It appears they are admitting the mistakes of state governments in the 90's for over spending. Governor Owens wants to end Tabor laws for "five years" (it would be permanent no doubt) and the author makes his own mistake by suggesting the government could keep the excess revenue.

Budgets are necessary to keep. If a single, working mother does not budget her finances, either the rent, electric bill or groceries are sacrificed. If a company does not budget, it's days will be numbered. In boom years everyone from the single mom, to the state government should be working off their current budget. If in mid year a recession begins, the mother may need to redraw her budget, so should the state.

Yes, reductions in social services or other programs are painful. So too is it for the mother and the family. The mother may already be riding the bus to work and have a subscription to the Sunday paper just for the coupons. Finding further reductions in monthly costs is difficult, however I know many families who always seem to find another way to shed cost. Any money the mother does not spend, in good times or hard times, could be saved if desired.

This last point is where the financial paths of the family and private enterprise begin to diverge from the public coffer. All money left over from state taxes each year should be refunded to the taxpayer.

The Heritage Foundation addressed the use of excess tax revenues under Tabor laws; "Budget surpluses could be split automatically between tax rebates and debt reduction." This is appropriate if the state government has debt. However once the debt has been paid down, the state should be held responsible to keep spending in line with the budget. Moving forward, the entire surplus could be refunded to the taxpayer.

Who earned the money? The taxpayer worked to earn their pay. Did the government work hard to earn the tax revenue? It was EFT'd from your paycheck before it ever was deposited. Who knows better how to spend your money? You or the state legislators.

The $3 Billion the Coloradons received back was their hard earned money. They deserve to receive it back. Their own use of the money, whether spending it back into the economy or investing (which is also injected into the economy), will promote further growth and job creation. An increase in per capita wealth will follow causing people to spend/invest more, indirectly spurring the most blessed and wealthiest of our fellow American bourgeoisie to increase their current manufactures or take risks with their extra money into new enterprise. All the above increase tax revenue for the state.

Had the $3 Billion been kept in a State bank account it would either a) spent on other projects or b) sitting in low interest accounts and not really helping the economy.

MoreThanCorn argues the $3 Billion would have increased the economy by not just the original amount, but the ripplies would have a multiplying impact. It can be argued a recession would not have come into existence at all, or at the very least the recession would be brought to a more hasty end.

It is critical the taxpayer understands this is their wealth being taxed away. This money is in addition to your yearly state and federal income tax returns. Those states without Tabor laws are states where the public are complacent with tax codes, ignorant of the economic choices or have been intentionally misinformed.

WORKING MEN OF ALL STATES,

TABOR!

Oil For Food - Annan May Have Known About Cotecna

Article by FoxNews today suggests UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, may have known about future of Cotecna contract under Oil For Food Program. Cotecna is a company who employed the SG's son, Kojo Annon. The SG has denied any knowledge of the contract talks between the UN and Cotecna. The FoxNews article links an email from a Cotecna rep, Michael Wilson (a friend of Kofi) to other Cotecna associates following a supposed meeting with the SG. Read the article; http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,159532,00.html

Until the above is proven true, MoreThanCorn is still a supporter of Kofi Annan. MoreThanCorn does not support the UN, however with the organization as it exists, summations can be made about their day to day decisions and activities. These same opinions can be drawn about those in positions of authority at the UN. As of today it is the opinion of the author the SG is responsible for what happens on his watch. However like any leader of an organization of thousands, it is not possible for the leader to head off all issues prior to their arrival. When mistakes or improprieties are found, it is the SG, CEO, or President's job to replace those committing the wrongs. Taking Mr. Annan out of his post due to the wrong doings of others below him is not necessarily the best answer to the problem. Terminating those who gravely erred is appropriate. The more quickly the problems are found and the wrong doers flushed from the UN, the more quickly the organization can get back to focusing the resources on constructive endeavors.

Big Three Continue Competitive Faulter

As an addition to the 05/25/05 post about the challenges of The Big Three with competitiveness, Reuters published an article today.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,158444,00.html

The article discusses plant effeciency in terms of total hours it takes to produce the average vehicle (from pieces to driving the vehicle to the train for shipment);

Hours Profit/Vehicle
1) Toyota 27.90 $1488.00
2) Nissan 29.43 $1603.00
3) Honda 32.02 (not listed)

This gave Toyota a competitive advantage; "Ron Harbour, Harbour Consulting's president, told a news conference that Toyota's productivity edge gave it a cost advantage of $350 to $500 per vehicle over U.S. manufacturers."

"While Harbour said Detroit's automakers were "very competitive from a manufacturing standpoint," he noted that they face a litany of revenue and product problems, and massive costs for pension and health care that equate to about $1,600 per vehicle."

Hours Profit/Vehicle
GM 34.33 ($2311.00)
Chrysler 36.98 $186.00
Ford (not listed) $620.00

Not a typo, GM lost an average of 2300+ dollars on every vehicle they sold.

One point missed in the article are other factors in Japanese manufacturers dominance and growing market share. A Washington Post article found by heydudewhoa gives one prominent answer; Union control of prices from pensions, health care and above market wages for UAW members.

The argument has been made about the lost wages of the UAW employees. "How are they going to find new work? How are they going to feed their kids? What do they do if their jobs are taken from them?" This is answered not by philosophy (though MoreThanCorn would be up for the debate), but by an example of a towns tough transition in the Post article.

I have included quotes from heydudewhoa and the Washington Post article;

(heydudewhoa) ...the article indicates that the rise of Asian auto manufacturers comes at the same time that textile plants are meeting their demise. In effect a lower-paying industry is being substituted by a high-paying industry:

(Washington Post) "The auto companies and suppliers account for up to 40,000 workers statewide, have invested billions of dollars and have caused the state to revamp its education and worker training programs, Deravi said. Rural Crenshaw County, for example, lost five textile mills in recent years to cheap foreign competition. Those jobs have been more than recouped, and at higher wages, by companies supplying the nearby Hyundai plant, said Doni Ingram, the county's economic development director."

All workers, including MoreThanCorn, must be prepared for our skills becoming outdated and useless. Education, career changes are the norm in 2005. We need to be more prepared for future tribulation. We can not sit on our duffs if we lose our jobs to competition overseas and let the answer to our problem arrive in the mail as a welfare check.

President Bush had a great idea. The nation needs to realize the importance in Community Colleges (and all other high ed institutions). These schools could be the backbone of retraining our workforce for the jobs of our future.

450 Economists

Read a poast today, Absentee, a publish stating the Social Security Choice issue is being lost. MoreThanCorn feels the message is being scuttled by the mainstream media.
a) Total Avoidance; no coverage in their papers and journals and/or
b) Buried Coverage; publishing on page 14 of 20 and 'below the fold'

On Absentee, view the list of blogs which post on SS Choice. It is truly important this does not fade. The names on the list of 450 economists who support choice of private accounts are respected; Namely Milton Friedman. Read his book Capitalism & Freedom. I bought my copy on Amazon for $3.00.

'You're Fired'; Annan Announces First Oil For Food Dismissal

Joseph Stephanides - head of the U.N. Security Council Affairs Division
interfering in the competitive bidding process for Oil-for-Food inspections.
Lloyd's Register Inspection Ltd. won the contract even though there was a lower bidder.

Resource; Associated Press, 06/01/2005

This is the first name of a long list.

Airlines, Another Welfare Industry

It is no secret a company must be able to compete in order to survive. If it can compete with competitors it will live to see another day. If it cannot compete for any reason, it will not survive.

It is a popular idea in circles, unions pitting employees against corporations . Employees want their cake and to eat it too. The company wants the same cake and is equally hungry.

If the company and employees come to an agreement somewhere in the middle where they each get a piece, both are satisfied and the focus can remain on staying competitive.
Unions however, make it difficult for a company to stay focused on being competitive. The Unions who are devoting so much to protecting their members are biting the hands feeding them. Biting so deep, it brings the company to their knees.

United Air, Union Reach Agreement, Associated Press, May 31, 2005; United Airlines and the machinists union came to a verbal agreement. United asked the union for the second time in 2 ½ years to take reductions in pay and benefits. The Union fought hard against this, however
“Like the machinists, the mechanics' union had authorized a strike if the vote had failed…. But the union's leadership told them a "No" vote this time could produce worse terms than the ones negotiated… but knew they ran the risk of putting United out of business with a vote rejection and strike.”

United has been on the verge of being sold in pieces to payoff the creditors for those 2 ½ years. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have known this all along. Yet they continued to push until the last possible minute.

The Union is doing their members a disservice. A union members believes there job is secure as long as the union has the power of forced negotiation with the airline. If my employer was going through similar financial difficulties as United, I would have been looking for a new job some time during the last 2 ½ years. When questions of solvency arise, each of the baggage handlers and customer service agents who would be effected by a company meltdown should begin looking out for their own welfare. This should mean looking for plan B, a new job. The same goes for investors in United Airlines. If I had money invested in United right now, I would get out and cut my losses. A company bordering bankruptcy has problems to deal with, but not with my money. Free markets allow freedom of choice. Take your skill and money from the risky United and into more stable Southwest (no unions).

The union membership has this false sense of security their jobs will be there tomorrow. Therefore many of them do not look for new work. If United falls, the Union can pull a Pontius Pilate and wash their hands of the cause of the bankruptcy. They can enrage their employees into believing it was wholly the industries fault and the union was just looking out for the general welfare of the worker.

New airlines without unions such as Southwest are doing well because they can make quicker decisions. Their enterprise is fluid. They can stay competitive. The old guard of airlines, United, US Air.. will go the way of the Dodo-Eastern Airlines with their top heavy organizations.

If United does fall, all those union workers may be brainwashed into anger at corporate fat cats. They must not realize poor people do not employee other people. I thank fat-cat business owners for every time they post an open position. Organized labor does not share my opinion.

The Burgeoning Welfare Industry

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday, May 25, about the Fitch Ratings company lowering the credit rating for GM to a 'junk' status.

This decision will likely make it more expensive for GM to borrow money. This will effect the competitiveness of the automaker.

Fitch Raings cites reasons for their decision;
1) Soaring health care costs
2) Higher gas prices
3) Loss of market share to Asian competitors.

B Craig Huton of Gimme Credit cites a a more general causation;
Inability for GM to negotiate concessions with the UAW to reduce "structural costs"

These "structural costs" may be comprehensive, including the soaring health care costs Fitch Ratings had suggested, however I believe it goes deeper then this. The UAW negotiates more then health benefits. Pension, wages, number of workers at each plant are also negotiated by the UAW.

Through higher then market driven wages for the union employees, the UAW itself could be seeding the destruction of GM, Ford, Chrysler and other American companies employing thousands of American and overseas workers.

This may seem to be an extreme synopsis for the future of American Auto Manufacturers, however the possiblity is real.

Popular are the products of the 'Big Three' (I own a Ford), however it is apparent their popularity is waning. Competition is changing things. This is good for customers of all automobiles. It is only bad for GM, Ford, and Chrysler in the short term. If they respond to the competition with 1) increased quality of products, 2) lower relative costs, 3) reduction in their own expenses (increasing profitability) 4) continual adapting of marketing, they will be more competitiv. This will be good for the three in the long run.

The UAW has a key role in this issue. The unions have the ability to make or brake American car manufacturers. Historically the UAW has chosen short term gains for the worker over long term solvency of the companies to which their members work. Bad choice. If a company falls flat, the members are out of work.

I remember talking to my uncle about his work at the Ford plant on the South East side of Indianapolis just West of Loop 465. He described the work in more detail, but the work itself is not as significant as the resulting backlash received from fellow union members when finishing his job early. He was told to slow down in fear of making the other union workers look bad. If he completed his alotment of work early, he was made to sit idle at his station. He was not allowed to do any more work. This was in the 1980's.

An example of mismanagement is told well by Dr. Jim Windle, a Professor in the College of Technology at Purdue University. I asked him for an example of the GM/UAW problem consistent with the theme. Doc Windle responded, "They [General Motors] have always had too many people and too much capacity. In addition, neither their people nor their plants have been flexible enough to produce to customer demands...The Fairfax, Kansas plant was rebuilt at the cost of one-billion dollars to produce 200,000 Pontiac Grand Ams per year. They [GM] could only sell 100,000 per year. Unfortunately, the plant was not flexible enough to produce any other model. They just cannot get it right!"

These mistakes in capacity, driven in part by UAW negotiating, has contributed directly to todays credit rating problems for GM. When one consideres millions of automobiles being produced by our automakers, even $10 of cost per unit due to decreased effeciency in the plant will mean an incredible amount of lost revenue and reduction in competitiveness. In the example above, half the capacity was needed at the Fairfax plant. For argument only, if capital costs were overspent by $500 million, these costs would have to be absorbed by the price tag of each Grand Am, or by other GM products. Additional costs would be the salaries of additional employees the UAW required of GM to staff the plant. Health care costs for the additional workers, HR costs, even the retooling/re-engineering of the plant itself to accomodate additional union workers.

Anyone say what I am seeing?

The Fairfax currently builds Malibu and Malibu Max for Chevrolet. The plant is scheduled to begin production of the Saturn AURA in 2006. "GM is reportedly investing $200 million to expand the plant to build the AURA. An additional 300 workers are expected to be needed to help build the new Saturn," according to PlantSaturnFans.com 'AURA Concept Unveiled to Workers at GM's Fairfax' , February 26, 2005.

How many of these workers will be sitting idle with an hour left in their shift?

MoreThanCorn sees the history of union decisions. After a company hires more union workers then necessary at a tremendous salary, these same workers will go on strike when the company has to make changes in order to stay profitable. The auto industry is becoming a welfare industry. The ones to suffer would first be the union workers when they lose their jobs because the plant closes. The long run benefactors will be the competitive market. It would have shed an old dinosaur who cannot adapt to the changing weather.

How many more years will GM be able to do business with their handicap, the UAW forcing changes in business decisions? The UAW may have great intentions. I just can not imagine any of them being educated in economies of scale.

P. Diddy Daddy

CNN reported, the ex-girlfriend of P. Diddy was taking him to court to increase the child support checks from $5k to $21,782. Not per year, per month. The suit claims P. Diddy is not taking care of his son. http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/24/people.diddysupport.ap/index.html

Puff replies to this accusation with... "I do take care of my child to my fullest, that's something that should be rewarded..."

Per the CNN article, P. Diddy also pays child support to his girlfriend, Kim Porter, the mother of his second child, Christian, who went to court seeking more money when they were estranged.

Although P. Diddy claimed Hylton-Brim was driven by "greed," he also said their relationship was good. "I've forgiven her on it, but I'm not going to let up on it."

It appears Puff-The-Magic's problems may have started, not with greed of ex's, but his personal choices. He has two children out of marriage. Yes, it his his choice. However his selfishness will contribute to both of his children having difficulties as they get older.

In the kid's head, "Dad is a superstar, Mom gets pregnant, mom and dad do not love each other, mom wants Dad to pay more because $60k/year just does not cut it anymore. Dad pushes back, mom hires a lawyer, Dad pays $140k/year.

The pressures of growing up are plenty under relatively ideal conditions. A selfish-superstar dad + no marriage vows + greedy mom(s) = child with emotional problems.

Economists Vote on Social Security Private Accounts

The Cato Institute has compiled a list of 450 Economists from Harvard to Ball State University and private practice Economists from the entire nation. All these economists support Social Security Choice as the best way to ensure solvency for the system in the future.

Milton Friedman is one of the economists on the list who supports private accounts.

Read the article; http://www.socialsecurity.org/press/releases/05-11-05r.html

First Successful Opposition Rally in Cuba!

Per an article posted by the Associated Press today,

HAVANA — With shouts of "Freedom" and the singing of the Cuban national anthem, more than 200 people on Friday opened a rare opposition assembly in communist Cuba, uninterrupted by authorities...

...Martha Beatriz Roque (search), the meeting's lead organizer and a former political prisoner who attempted a similar gathering nine years ago, called it "a point of departure" for future work.

"There will be a before and after for May 20 in Cuba," Roque said, claiming it was the first such gathering in Fidel Castro's (search) 46 years of communist rule. "This is a triumph for all the opposition."

"This is a really nice surprise," said the veteran activist Vladimiro Roca. "My predictions were not realized. I didn't think the government would allow it to happen."

Seated in rows of plastic chairs bought with donations from exile groups, the delegates cheered as organizers played an audiotaped message from President Bush;
"I have a message to those assembling today to protest in Cuba: As you struggled for the freedom of your country, the American people stand with you," Bush said in his traditional May 20 speech recognizing Cuban Independence Day. "Viva Bush" or "Long Live Bush," some delegates shouted in contrast with cries heard earlier in the meeting of "Abajo Fidel" or "Down with Fidel."

Your own investigation into Ward Churchill

Ward Churchill, the Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, claims to be a member of an Indiana tribe. Mr Churchill may have been building a career, using as one pillar, his Indian ancestry.

It is reported the keetoowah Indiana Tribe gave Ward Churchill an “associate membership” prior to 1996 when the associate memberships were revoked due to “abuse” according to the tribe. President Bill Clinton has an associate membership to the Keetoowah tribe and may be just as Indian as Ward Churchill.

It would be interesting to know what other individuals interviewed for the Assistant Professorship position Mr Churchill was granted in 1990. At some point, those who hired him as professor made a judgement about Mr. Churchill and the others interviewing and decided Mr. Churchill was more qualified, or possibly represented something the university wanted at the time. Having an Indian professor sure looked nice for the university. Who was passed up for this post in favor of Ward Churchill? I hope these people come forward soon.

Ward Churchill Exploits Indians
By David YeagleyFrontPageMagazine.com February 28, 2005
(excerpts)
“…Ironically, today, the Cherokee Nation has no blood quantum requirements for membership. To be recognized as a member, one proves genetic relations with someone who was in fact enrolled during the 1899-1906 census. That is the sole requirement. This is why there are so many “white” people who are members of the Cherokee Nation today, and why many real Indians are not. It was all about law and land.

Interestingly, Ward Churchill never sought membership in the Cherokee Nation. Though he claims his mother was Cherokee, she apparently wasn’t on the 1899-1906 rolls. The Keetoowah Band of Cherokee however, a separate and federally recognized group (as of 1950), offered Churchill a chance to make good his claim. Although their membership requirement was enrollment on the 1949 lists, which Churchill and family apparently weren’t, the Keetoowah were issuing “honorary” tribal membership cards in the 1990’s, and Churchill got his then, the same year Bill Clinton got one. John Ross, chief at the time, later decided the program was inadvisable, and in 1996, all such memberships were revoked, and the records were destroyed. This, according to Keetoowah tribal employee Marilyn Craig, is the state of affairs.”

Churchill's membership in tribe honorary only
By Stuart Steers,Rocky Mountain News February 4, 2005
“The former chairman of the Keetoowah band of Cherokee Indians says University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill was given an honorary membership that required no proof of Cherokee heritage.

John Ross led the tribe for several years in the 1990s. He says the Keetoowah established an "associate member" program to recognize friends of the tribe.
"If somebody helped out in a certain way, to honor them they'd give them an associate membership," Ross said Thursday. "There were 300 or 400 associate members."
Former President Clinton also was given an honorary membership in the tribe.

Ward Churchill Information;
Everything known about Ward Churchill to date seems to be at Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/ward-churchill

Ward Churchill Investigation

Ward Churchill, University of Colorado, Boulder professor who had compared 9/11 victims to Nazis calling them "Little Eichmann's" in an essay, is being investigating for charges of plagiarism and charges of fraudulent Indian geneological claims.

Read;
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050517/ap_on_re_us/embattled_professor
The article quotes Churchill's attorney, David Lane (segment of article);

In his response to the plagiarism allegations, Lane said Churchill in one instance simply took articles written by other people and put them together for a chapter of one book, which Churchill did not take credit for.

"His name does not appear as the author of the piece. He was asked to edit it, and he did. He checked for typos, punctuation, grammar, those type of things. He never claims himself as the author," Lane said. "That is not plagiarism."

I would like to see the articles or chapters for myself. From what I remember in college, if we used 4 or more consecutive words from another work and used it as our own, it could be considered a plagarized piece. This may just be a plagarism rule Purdue University laid down for our research papers and homework. However I believe the true definition of plagarism goes much further. It is not just the words used, but the thoughts and ideas of someone else you are trying to pass off as your own.

There is some grey area in this and the committee at CU investigating this has some proving to do for charges to Professor Churchill.

MoreThanCorn is of the opinion, if an article is written with the thoughts of someone else included, they must be cited and given credit on the same page or within the same work. The credit must be very deliberate. Simply leaving out the names from which ideas are gathered and collaging the ideas into one work would be plagiarism by default.

There is another copyright issue in which Professor Churchill is involved;

Read;
http://news4colorado.com/topstories/local_story_055200531.html and also view the CBS4 Denver investigation and report on video. Impressive research by Journalist Raj Chohan.

Paintings Mr Churchill sold as his own are mirror images of deceased artist Thomas E. Mails.
Read the articles and keep your eyes/ears open, when you have enough evidence to confirm or refute, decide for yourself.

Shameful Newsweek, Allegations on Koran Desecration

The recent Newsweek article quoted a nameless yet “knowledgeable U.S. government source” accusing interrogators for flushing a Koran down the toilet. The article has been a catalyst for demonstrations throughout the Middle East. In some demonstrations-turn riot, a dozen or more people have died and many more injured.

The writers, Michael Isikoff and John Barry did not substantiate the claims of their article by any other source.

While Newsweek should not be held to responsible the deaths and injuries at demonstrations, they should be held to responsible for gross negligence for their journalistic mistakes. Both Michael Isikoff and John Barry should be terminated and their ability to work in Journalism should be stripped. They wrote a biased article with no proof of their allegations. They work for a formerly respected publication. The two writers have brought discredit to Newsweek.

Newsweek has apologized for the mistakes. A little late.

A less obvious note to be made; Muslims took the desecration of the Koran very serious and were enraged by this article. While the actions of a few causing violence is pathetic, the anger of many is justified. Why should they not believe a media outlet from the United States, accusing the United States of desecrating the Koran. Those responsible for the violence should be held accountable like those in charge at Newsweek and the two writers.

I am impressed how Muslims are upset by even the possibility the Koran was disrespected. If the Bible was flushed down a toilet by some in this nation, the media may send shouts of praise through their columns and call it “exercising the right to free speech.”

The old media giants are giving the public more reason each day to let them go the way of the Dodo.

Reluctance to learn English, Handicap for Success

My employment includes many out bound and in bound phone conversations to and from customers for explanations, negotiations and problem solving.

I speak to 30-40 customers per day. Working in he state of Arizona I speak with about 10% Spanish speaking customers. When I get a Spanish speaking customer on the phone they will typically ask immediately for an interpreter for help. Generally I will attempt to discuss there issues with them in English and feel out how much they understand and their level of English competency.

About half the callers can converse in English well enough, their concerns are resolved promptly. With the remaining callers, an interpreter is needed to even handle the simplest conversation.

In general there is reluctance by the Spanish speaking population to converse in English whether they have the English speaking background or not. Even with some of those who speak English very well, their knee jerk reaction when calling is to ask for an interpreter. I understand in their situations they may feel more “comfortable” speaking in their native language.

In one instance, I was able to recruit a family member for interpreting in order resolve some problems for a customer. The conversation with the three of us was going well until the customer became frustrated and grabbed the phone from his family member and said in broken English, “If no Spanish, no more talk.” The customer hung up the phone.

MoreThanCorn feels this is a great concern for the futures of these Americans or non-Americans hoping to earn a living and improve their family’s lives. Whether it is a comfort issue or directly refusing to speak English, the careers and opportunities of many are stifled by the inability to communicate in our English.

Who is going to hire a Spanish only speaking employee? Farmers, Day-Laborers, Construction crews, Landscaping companies. These are all good jobs and many of them pay the employees well. However being paid $10/hour for the rest of your life is not acceptable. These folks are handicapping their “American Dream” by not learning English in earnest. These individuals and their families will not have improved lives until a bread-winner of the house is an English speaking individual and gets an education.

Often times the children of our customers know English very well. They will interpret for the parents. These children are probably being educated in our schools and English/Spanish speaking comes naturally when they hear both languages when they are at school or home. There is great potential in this observation.

Even if the “old dogs can not be taught new tricks”, their children will be fluent English speakers. The younger generations of these families will contribute to an upswing socio-economically as they are their peers find higher paying (often requiring higher education and skill sets) positions. This may seem oversimplified, but why complicate a simple subject with irrelevant detail?

I anticipate a boom in Hispanic middle class in the next 20-30 years, so long as young Hispanic-America are encouraged in this direction. Those Spanish speaking families who are new to the country or who refuse to adapt to American culture will be naturally handicapped for success. They will eventually be marginalized by their language barrier with employers and others. Those who do change, on average, will be successful. The bell curve of success for Hispanic Americans has the potential to move ever right and further positive.

Smart immigrants learn English. Who would hire a Spanish & English speaking, educated applicant? Smart employers.

Commuting Commentary

Tuesday evening I commuted home from work on Valley Metro, the Phoenix bus system. Typically I have a book or magazine open, reading some and gauking out the window. The buses are a little loud when up to street speed and not much more quiet even when at idle at a stop light, but one can hear conversations in and around their half of the bus.

In the back half of the bus I sat a row in front of a young high school aged girl. As the Route 24 bus moved south on 24th St there is a section of road just to the West of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The road makes wide sweaping S curves before heading straight again under the I-10 overpass.

As the bus entered the S curve we were at about a 40-45mph clip, which is normal for the area. Typically the driver on this route will let off the gas and probably dip just below 40mph to negoitate the S-curve. This evening though, the driver did not slow up a bit, but kept the bus driving in the 45mph range. A little roller coaster effect was felt and the G's on the body were similar to those when the bus comes to a rapid stop at a freshly changed intersection light.

Yes, I wanted the driver to slow down a bit, however I had faith the driver has probably driven this route 6 times already in the day and possibly 30-40 times per week. The young lady behind me was not so confident in the driver's skill. She too wanted him to slow down. She announced to the back half of the bus, "He better slow down." I turned my head around and responded to her with agreement, "I hope he does, at least a little."

Upon her awareness I recognized the concern she felt, apparently she had the green light (pun intended) to unload more of her thoughts on the driving habits of the Metro employee. "I don't want to get hurt. He better slow the 'f-bomb' down... If we get in a wreck I am going to sue this bus, this town, for a million dollars... I'll be rich."

What started as a mutually concerned dialogue between to complete strangers, quickly fell apart into a annoying monologue as I spun back around in my seat and stopped acknowledging she was in the seat behind me. The girl finally stopped talking. Either she got tired of hearing herself complain or maybe she looked around to see no one was paying any attention to her.

The above clip was an observation made. It was not surprising but it was disheartening to hear the first reaction of someone in this situation (age irrelevant), is the programmed, "sue".

Journalist vs Journalist, Economic Boycott in AZ

For all readers viewing from outside the state of Arizona; The Arizona Republic and the Scottsdale Republic are both under the Arizona Republic banner. The Scottsdale Republic is just an additional section added to the Arizona Republic for Scottsdale residents.

It appears the Hispanic boycott was a failure in the eyes of the Arizona Republic and a success to the Scottsdale Republic.

Read the AZ Republic article; http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0511latinoboycott11.html

“Valley Hispanic boycott called a success”

“The articles starts with, “Organizers…say the day was a success... Hispanics gave up lunching out or shopping in support of the boycott.

The boycott was a response to… measures pending… that propose restrictions on undocumented immigrants.

‘It couldn;t have gone any better. It was more than I expected,’ said organizer Elias Bermudez.”


Then read the Scottsdale Republic article;
http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0511sr-boycott11Z8.html

“1-day Latino boycott appears to have failed”

“Representatives of golf courses, hotels and construction companies said their Hispanic workers turned up as usual.

‘They told me they needed the money,’ said Bob Hicks, whose company supplies concrete workers to builders.

“nothing that indicates an impact from the boycott.”

Ann Lane, public relations director at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort ‘suffered none of the effects…’ and added, ‘We understand where they were coming from.”



Again, these two articles are printed today and are in the same newspaper, just different sections. It looks like the results of the boycott are simply in the eyes of the be-writer.

MoreThanCorn feels the people in discussion are “illegal aliens” not “undocumented immigrants.” The author of the article, Yvette Armendariz is obviously sympathetic to the boycott due to her articles context. I think her credibility to be fair and objective are trumped by her comments and word usage.

It is possible Carol Sowers of the AZ Republic article is sympathetic to business or “white folk” however I do not see this in how she wrote her article.

It looks like Baja Fresh in downtown Phoenix was closed for the day due to not enough workers behind the counter. If this is a success event then I will be running for Governor next cycle.

Hispanic Boycott in Valley

There was some hype the last few days regarding an economic boycott by valley hispanics. The boycott organizers instructed hispanics on May 10, 05 to not work, not shop and come and protest. There were a few demonstrations in the valley and the local papers like the East Valley Tribune are reporting there were some workers who did not go to work yesterday.

These organizers are in a leadership position for these illegal/legal immigrants. A leader telling his supporters to not go and work? Not shop?

Firstly, any shopping for groceries and other necessities if not done on May 10, 2005, these same protestors will just catch up with shopping on the 11th or 12th. They still have to eat. Any shopping they would have done on any other items will also simply be purchased at a later time or a substitute will be purchased. Therefore these family's spending requirements and habits will not change, but the amount of money in their pocket book will change. A hispanic family, just like any other family, will continue to incur daily costs whether money is earned or not.

There is also a reasonable possibility there were employers yesterday you will not keep a protestor on their payroll due to not showing up to work. I would not blame the employer for making a decision like this. If the worker is able bodied and healthy, they have a responsibility to be at work. Some of the protestors may have lost their jobs yesterday. Probably to another immigrant waiting in line for work.

If they were looking to gain sympathy for their cause, they did not find any here. Better cut this post short...need to get ready for work.

Zarqawi to Bin Laden, "What were we supposed to accomplish?"

If authentic, the letter released yesterday supposedly intended to reach Zarqawi, the Al-Queada leader of Iraqi terrorism, may show weakening morale of terrorists and sub-par leadership in their ranks.

Yesterday, Charles Krauthammer who is a Washington Post Columnist and Fox News Analyst said something which is critical to understanding the “stage” in which Iraq is in currently.

He first reminisced of the nay-sayers who announced the invasion would not be successful, then Saddam could not be found, democracy cannot be fostered in the Middle East, elections would never be held, a parliament could never be established.Mr. Krauthammer went onto point to the self-proclaimed role of the terrorists has been a decidedly anti-American crusade, justifying their cause by attempting to remove the US by use of terror. This argument may have been hard to disprove until recently when the terrorists are mainly targeting Iraqi citizens, Iraqi police stations and recruits, Mosques and on and on….

Yet another conclusion could be drawn from Mr Krauthammer’s analysis. It is possible terrorists are losing credibility amongst their own. While already a minority, those who consider themselves part of this crusade may be questioning the legitimacy of the cause. As was suggested by Mr. Krauthammer, the terrorists announcing their intentions, however their actions do not follow suit. If the terrorists hold true to their voiced intentions, then as the US role is declining in the region so would the suicide car bombings. However in place of one US soldier not killed we are seeing 10 Iraqi policeman and citizens killed.

Pole; Iraq War Not Worth It

After glancing at the title of an article on MSNBC I hesitated before continuing to the article. I had to do a double take of the date it was posted. It was posted May 4, 2005 by Reuters @ 7:27am ET.

“Poll: Most Americans Say Iraq War Not Worth It”

This article seemed a little dated due to changes in Iraq…Democratic Elections, Parliament, steady hand-over of security from US troops to trained Iraqi forces. The article reminded me of negative portrayals (correct or incorrect) of the war in 2003 and 2004. The article had a picture of a US soldier protecting a recent car bomb site. MSNBC seems to be preaching more doom and gloom. The poll question(s) were not included in the article therefore I question their wording and intention. But I will comment on the possibility more Americans actually feel this war was not worth it.Here is a scenario where I would agree with the Poll. The war is not worth it;

1) In 1988, when Saddam Hussein supposedly gassed Kurds in Iraq where in just one, of a reported 40 gas attacks, 5000 people were killed. It has been found the Kurds actually died after gorging themselves on mustard seeds, not mustard gas.2) The tens of thousands buried in mass graves inside Iraq were actually taking part in a Jim Jones style mass suicide. Instead of Kool-Aid as the choice of death, they chose AK-47s as they dressed in their Sunday best.

In 1990 just before the first Gulf War, it has recently been reported the Kuwaitis had invited the Iraqi soldiers into the country for a festival. When the soldiers were well within the borders, the Kuwaitis began raping and killing the Iraqi soldiers and their own people just to blame it on Iraq so the US would get involved. The Kuwaitis had so much money from the oil industry, they decided to set fire to their oil wells to see how long it would take to put them out.

Of the many, multi-million dollar palaces Saddam supposedly had built with oil money which could have gone to his people, it has been discovered one of the palaces was divided up and housed the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce, the Iraqi Red Cross, and a couple non-for profits. A second was a shelter housing 2000 abused women. A third was a Band-Aid factory.Saddam never got the memo from the UN with the laundry list of rules he broke. Did someone confirm the receiving fax number?

In 2003 the US and allies invaded Iraq and were thwarted by the Republican Guard, Medina and the farmers with rocks and sticks. Casualties of our troops were very high similar to those on D-Day when thousands of troops per hour were killed. The Coalition forces were tossed from Baghdad like a salad.

Finally the Iraqi court trying Saddam in the near future clears him of all charges and the country of Iraq appoints Mr. Hussein as Director of the Iraqi Civil Rights Commission.I would then have to agree our American soldiers died in vain. But I would still have to convince a few thousand military families and a the relatives of the 200,000 or so Iraqis murdered by the regime over 30 years. Maybe I will leave this difficult job to Reuters.

State of Congruence w/Heritage Foundation

As an addition to the MoreThenCorn post on March 6, 2005, "To Salvage Power, Syria Bends". MoreThenCorn felt the Syrian pullout from Lebanon was just too easy. Something just did not add up from aloof. The Damascus pull out of "forces", as Mr. Brookes suggests, may have remnants of Syria left to continue infecting Lebanese progress. He suggests the US and France should go to the UN and ask they step up to the plate to insure Syria is not creating it's own definition for pullout of forces.

Read the article by Peter Brookes of The Heritage Foundation, "Syria's Spy Lie"; http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed050205a.cfm

The Self-fullfilled Prophecy of Economic News

Last week the The East Valley Tribune (Phoenix Suburbs) found it necessary to post as the top story of the day when the Dow dropped 122 points. As I read the paper in the morning in Tempe, AZ the NYSE had been open for 3 hours already and the market was already on a major rebound and to gain more then it had lost.

Fox News business headlines for Monday 05/02/05;-Oil Prices Fall Below $50-Manufacturing Activity, Hiring Slow in April-Construction Spending Hits Record High-Tyson Profit Falls on Trade Bans, Mad Cow-Morgan Stanley Board Backs CEO; Sharles Fall-Fed Expected to Raise Rates by Quarter-Point-Humana Profit Surges on Medicare Members-Avon Profit Up but Outlook Disappoints-Chevron Texaco Profit Surges-Archer Daniels Midland Profit Disappoints-Proctor & Gamble Profits Up, Outlook Hiked.

The bottom line here is no need to get ourselves in an uproar. For most of us, making investment decisions based on day to day headlines from any media outlet is silly. Newspapers and news services are not economists, they do not understand trends, they are journalists. They may interview economists or trend researchers however, in the interview the journalists may lack understanding of macroeconomics. They see one company faltering or one sector of the economy surging and it is an instant story, headline news.

I watch financial shows occasionally. Neil Cavuto from Fox News seems to have the ability to get the brightest and best in market experts. Commonly he may have 3-4 guests from the top brass of financial institutions. As often as not, all the guests will have conflicting viewpoints. They will each have plausible and believable arguments why the economy is preparing for a surge, preparing for a bust or preparing moderate growth (I think these experts like to say "lackluster"). While I enjoy the Cavuto, "Your World" and I do seem to learn each time I watch, I typically leave the show with more questions then answers.

I am not sure what one should take from this post.... For answers to investment or the market, "When in doubt, turn off the news."

Mass Graves of Kurds, Nearly all Women & Children

The linked article is a must read from the Washington Post;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/29/AR2005042901191.html

The article states there have been 300+ mass graves found in Iraq since US forces entered the country in 2003. These 18 discussed in the article are near Samawah, about 150 miles southeast of Baghdad.

US investigators are recovering bodies from the graves in Iraq. A group helping to investigate the crimes by Saddam Hussein to his own people were showing the graves to journalists.

"Investigators said that women and children were forced to stand at the edge of the pits, then shot with AK-47 assault rifles. Casings were found near the site, they said....Ten of the 18 trenches are believed to hold remains. Magnetic imaging was used to help reach the estimate of 1,500 victims....Of the 113 bodies removed from one trench, two-thirds were children or teenagers. Most of the children were very young, and 10 were infants, authorities said."

President Bush- Televised News Conference

Below are notes taken during President Bush's news conference. These are rough notes with little editting therefore when a journalist asked a question the first name was included then the question is the first line. The Presidents response begins typically on next line.

Social Security (SS)Want a plan which will not raise payroll taxes or hurt our economy

Give younger workers opportunity to put a portion of their SS taxes in voluntary retirement account… hire rate of return then current systemWould supplement check of SSA number of invest options, simple and easy to understand1 investment option could be treasury bonds (little risk)this would make investments safercan pass on to whomever he or she chooseswilling to listen to any good idea from any partyone political party advantage or another, SS is too important for politics keep SS out of party and expand ownership for every backgrounddems and repubs stand up and do what’s right for our children and grandchildrenWe asking people to do things no one has addressed in 20 years… not surprised some are balking.. I have a duty as president to find answers to problems… if SS don’t think they will get a check, they won’t support…Once Americans know there is a problem they will start asking their reps from states why aren’t you doing something about it”If a president tries to govern by poles, kind of like a dog chasing your tail… SS is a big issue, the longer we wait the more expensive it will be for future problems… each year we wait costs about 600 million dollars

Journalist; SteveRichard Myers says insurgency is just as strong now as it was a year ago

President; I believe we are making really good progress, Iraqi people are seeing benefits of a free society… military performing much better then in past… safer iraq gets the more isolated terrorists will become… some are hard nosed killers… free iraq is important in middle east, “democracy is taking hold… peace is more likely to be norm”Talked with prime minister of iraq, appreciate his courage to stand up… America makes a commitment will stand by… he recognizes this is very important to future… timely arrival of constitution… reach out to disinfected groups in Iraq, invited him to come to America… it’s not easy to go from tyranny to democracy… passed sovereignty about 10 months ago

Journalist greggory; head of family research council, “attack against people of faith”How is faith being used, role playing in politics…

President; Some would like to see judges legislate from bench… I don’t think this is the role of the judge… For the sake of fairness, people I have nominated should get a vote…Role; I view religion as a personal matter… faith plays an important part of my personal life… people oppose my nominees due to judicial philosophy…I am mindful people in political office, you are not american if you don’t agree with my position… I don’t condemn someone in pol process… you should be able to worship how you want and if you don’t, you still equally patriotic

Journalist JohnSeveral times we’ve asked you and aids… about high prices of oil.. how energy bill would have effect on current prices of gasThe best way to effect current prices, ask petro producing nations to increase amount of oil on market… main factor is price of crude oil… if nations have access capacity, can decrease demand and take

Can’t wait a magic wand, Ft. hood soldier said “go lower the price of gasoline” it’s not that easy
1) recognize need to be more energy independent
2) onwar is 19 million acres of land, need 2000 acres to produce oil and gas
3) liquefied natural gas, a lot of natural gas in shipped by liquid form.. only 5 terminals who can receive liquefied natural gas
4) active Nuclear energy
5) abundant coal reservesJournalistIf we had an energy strategy, now we we are in a fix

Journalist JerryTerrorist attacks are at all time high… how do you explain more people are dying on your watch…When you engage terrorists abroad vs at home, we are relentless… there are still those who want to do harm to American peopleIn a broader sense, Long talk in slovakia about democracy, strongly supports democracy… working closely with russians on vehicle mounted weaponry to Syria… Russia has agreed to do is send enriched uranium to nuclear power plant and then collect it once it is used… what US, great britian france and germany realize is we can not trust the Iranians to enrich uranium… iran says can’t we have a nuclear power industry like you… I find it a little strange since they have such vast oil reserves

Journalist;Have you asked john Bolton, about allegations he acted inappropriately
President; John Bolton is a seasoned diplomat, serving our country for 20 years… has been confirmed by senate 4 times… john Bolton is a blunt guy… can get job done.. makes sense to me Isn’t afraid to speak his mind… put some like this at united nations…Before I send you up there, do you think the un is working? Bolton said, no it’s important, but it needs to be reformed…;Today I met with mr Larsen, un diplomat to Syria… he said the world expects mr assad to withdrawal all military and security forces from Lebanon…We have played a role, us… the UN has done a very good job in Syria and Lebanon,… elections in may are free of influence…On other ahdn un has had problems… if un is to be effective they need to clean up their problemJournalist; SS.. if congress were to pass legislation without personal accounts…It’s got to be a part of the package… a lot of debt, unfunded liabilities..workers need to be able to get higher rate of return… why should ownership only be for rich people… why can’t everyone who is not “investor class” not invest… if it is good enough for congress then it is good enough for everyone… government return is not as good as personal accounts… there is no bank account for ss., the system is pay as you go. Through payroll taxes, spends money on current retirees, all that is left is file cabinets of iou’s … encourage ownership.. people to have real assets, here is my mix of stocks and bonds and I can leave it to anyone I want…We are giving people flexibility… vital part in making America a hopeful place for the future… the accounts will mean something to a lot of workers…

Journalist David;Iraq, when troops can come back…
President; based on what you have learned now, fight insurgents and training iraq troops, within next year

There is a temptation to lay out a time table… I don’t think it is wise to lay out time table… the enemy will adjust…. When iraq people are ready…North Korea; Kim Jong Il is a dangerous person, he starves his people, concentration camps, and fear about ability to deliver nuclear weapon… we should assume he can…Bring more leverage by other countries… it used to be just America… Everyone used to say America go fix it… Bilateral approach did not work… the man said he was going to do something and he didn’t. do it… decided to include other people in the “neighborhood”… when Kim Jong Il announced nuclear weapon capablilities… the Chinese took note… it is important to have more then one voice toward Kim Jong Il…Have instructed Sec Rumsfeld to set up missle defense system, in process of getting it up and running. It is important if Jong Il launches a missile, it would be important to shoot it down.

Competitive Medias

You are probably aware the media is evolving. TV anchors, cable news, talk radio and now blogs are fighting for your attention. Print is looking for your readership, TV your viewership and radio your listenership.

The newest to be added to the media is the clout growing from blogs. I read the first blogs arrived maybe 5 years ago, however they were not taken seriously by other forms of media until last year. Until recently it appeared many journalists at the New York Times and many other anchor newsprint were attacking the crediblity of blogs. They attempted to diminish contribution bloggers in their "pajamas" would bring.

The best article I have found thus far regarding the blogging media was posted by PressThink, “Bloggers vs Journalists is Over,” Janurary 15, 2005.
Read; http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2005/01/15/berk_pprd.html

The major media outlets have realized change has arrived. NBC, New York Times, and some radio hosts are either voluntarily adapting or feel compelled to change to retain their audience. Some are running articles and discussing seemingly disdainful comments for the weblogs. Others are adapting to the change, incorporating the blogosphere and adding their own personality to the evolution of “contributory news”.

MSNBC is contributing to the evolution of media through shows such as “Connect” hosted by Ron Reagan and Monica Crowly. In this show they are ‘jacked’ right into the public through the web and blogosphere. The shows formula is captivating and the content is provoking. As topics are discussed with callers and experts, the hosts will search the online to see the "chatter" of the blogs. This "chatter", quoting the Hugh Hewitt radio show out of Los Angeles, is the dialogue quickly growing to a roar blogs as news breaks. If you want a futurists look at the future of TV news/shows, I think Connect is a pioneer. MoreThenCorn is a consumer who would enjoy seeing their show daily, however like many I too can not regularly schedule TV time. Competitive media will find a way to get the information I want, to me.

MoreThenCorn sees a future media changing as the public dictates their desires to access information. Probably no different then in the past as media has changed with introduction of radio, then TV, the web.I remember growing up I would sit with my foks and watch the CBS evening news with Dan Rather. This routine grew my interest in current events and politics and for the medias benefit it would help foster the next generation of viewers relying on anchor-disseminated news. Generations would have continued in this routine if our options had not multiplied through today. Where once I watched local and national news and occasionally read a paper, now it is newspapers online, MSNBC/FoxNews, talk radio and blogs.

Many of the old guard in media will still be popular sources of information in the near future. Some outlets will be used less in the future but not proportionate to the increase in other mediums. As media changes over the next 5+ years, MoreThenCorn predicts a substantial increase in demand for information. This will be spurred through accessibility by the public in turn interest in news will grow because of more active participation and our “contributory media.”

Looking further down the pipe, 20 years from today the face of media may not be much different then it is today. By then blogs will be as commen as web pages and maybe their popularity will peak or even decline. The eb and flow of demand by the public in 20 years is just as difficult to predict as fashion in the same year.

It is important to re-emphasize a point from this post; The growing use and popularity of the blogosphere is just an addition to the gathering and distribution of information. Blogging ispreceded by a ‘+’ in the media formula. Network News + Local News + Print + Online Print + Talk Radio + Editorial Columnists + Blogs = well informed public.

Media will only be improved for the consumer and held to more account by the weblogs. If individual professional journalists align themsleves with the blog audience and truly take advantage of this niche, the journalists can use this as a spring board for their careers.

The TV Anchor was popularized by Kronkite. But it was relatively new then. Change occurred when radio news developed into a behind a desk anchor broadcasting through your TV in the living room. The arguments at the Town Hall meeting or whether the Cubs are going to have a winning season will be spread through old channels and new. In the end, there will be creators of information, gatherers of information and consumers of it. These fundamentals will never change.

Now go to the library or Amazon and order a copy of “Who moved my cheese.” You will feel better.

Ali al-Timimi, a American born Muslim was convicted by a jury on 10 counts in Virgina.

(portion of article follows)
Begin ArticleJury Convicts Islamic Scholar of ExhortationTuesday, April 26, 2005Associated Press

Five days after Sept. 11, al-Timimi addressed a small group of his followers in a secret meeting and warned that the attacks were a harbinger of a final apocalyptic battle between Muslims and non-believers. He said they were required as Muslims to defend the Taliban from a looming U.S. invasion, according to the government.

While nobody ever joined the Taliban, four of the defendant's followers subsequently traveled to Pakistan in late September 2001 and trained with a militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Three of them testified that their intention had been to use the training they received from the group to join the Taliban and fight in Afghanistan, and that it was al-Timimi's speech that inspired them to do so.

The evidence included a 2003 e-mail in which al-Timimi described the Columbia shuttle disaster as "a good omen" that "Western supremacy (especially that of America) that began 500 years ago is coming to an end, God willing."

End ArticleThe Judge for the case, Leonie Brinkema is allowing the convicted to remain free on bond until July for his sentencing.

MoreThenCorn; "al-Timimi will flee over the pond and will disappear. If he had such a following in the states, then there is someone who will finance a plane trip to the Middle East where he can escape sentencing.

HipHopMusic.com on Pope Benedict XVI

Was reading through some blogs, MoreThenCorn came across;Posted on April 19, 2005 on HipHopMusic.comTitle; Pope Benedict XVI"So, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is now Pope Benedict XVI. Advance word pegged him as the worst possible choice, so far as any hopes for the church becoming more progressive. I'm gonna go see if there's any good analysis up yet."MoreThenCorn read all of the replies to this post. There were quite a few. Following the above post there were many replies concuring with the original. The Catholic Church was being blasted, the Pope Benedict was being slandered, and the replies keep coming with below examples;

***********************************

"it's like the bush election for catholics!Posted by: beelove at April 19, 2005 02:24 PM

I heard he also had nazi ties back in the dayPosted by: sally at April 19, 2005 03:13 PM

what 50+ year old German DIDN'T have "Nazi ties" back in the day?Posted by: Hashim at April 19, 2005 03:28 PM

Whatever, dude's carrying so much baggage, as is the church, and the College of Cardinals still decide that THIS is the best possible way to go as far as picking the next Pope? C'mon...I'm sure he can't rhyme as good as me...That thing on him being against turkey in the eu... that is just mondo-bad dude. Anyway, i'm pretty sure the ottoman owned a lot of europe a couple hundred years ago. They were muslims, not christians. Take that!Posted by: SAKTi at April 20, 2005 05:03

AMSUP APOCALYPSE HOW'S IT GOINPosted by: koopa at April 20, 2005 07:04 AM

*******************************************

The site was full of these thoughtless comments. There were only a few replies containing any historical reference, any objective thought. Below are four thought provoking replies posted on HipHopMusic.com;

**********************************

"I've never seen so much ignorance. There is something greater at work in the Church, and no one here seems to have eyes to see or ears to hear. It is precisely the poison and lies that you all wish to promote, such as liberal theologies and weak morality, that the Holy Spirit intends to stamp out. Perhaps one day you will all wake up - with open eyes and open ears - and realize that the Truth that is upheld and maintained by the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, could never change and will never change. It is not at all a question as to wether or not the Church will accepted the liberal ideas and theologies of people. She won't. The question is this: will the liberal minded people have and accept the Church?Posted by: luxmundi at April 21, 2005 01:59 AM

I was listening to a Christian radio station today, and they brought up an interesting point. Why would the world expect the bishops to choose a priest that is not anything but completely devoted to his religion. Sure, that may make him an extremist in the world's eyes...but his job is not to please the world, it is to be a leader of the Catholic church worldwide. Why would they choose a softie for that position?Would the Green party choose a candidate who was just moderately passionate about Green party issues? Would liberals support a candidate who was pro-choice? Why would they expect it to be any different for the Catholic church?Posted by: Judy at April 21, 2005 03:16 AM

I see last comments are in favour of the pope-the first ones have lost their interest, it's already an old topic, I suppose. Anyway, notice that people have lost the sense of sacred and the transcendental and seem to possess so little knowledge of and respect for a spiritual tradition.Posted by: anca at April 21, 2005 08:29 AM

People in the Holy Bible it is noted that when Judas committed suicide the Apostles selected another Apostle which was Matthias(Acts 1:26).Notice there was no more mentioning of this Apostle any where in the Bible. Look at Luke 11:47-49. Here you see that Jesus Christ will send prophets and apostles not to be voted in but selected by Jesus Christ. How can man ever see the heart of every soul in the world, he can not, but Jesus.Posted by: Will at April 24, 2005 12:23 PM

******************************************

I edited some of the posts for brevity however the points were not lost from both sides of this battlefield. The beginning posts were full of hate and name calling. These people showed their inability to think for themselves. Unless any of them were present at the Vatican all last week, then I believe they must have read some other hateful media outlets and are just following each other like Buffalo off a cliff. Did they all read just the first two sentences of the same article?

Then comes the last half a dozen posts on the site. We saw historical, biblical context and quotes. Wow! Luxmundi, Judy, Anca, and Will are true thinkers. Catholic they may be. Catholic they may not be. Everyone can self-educate and come to the debate 'open minded' enough to speak with such respect as they.

Yes Anca, when educated posts finally made it to the site, the bloviaters lost their will.

And Progressive is for car insurance.

Spinning, Discover It Already!

Ask 6 time Tour De France champion, Lance Armstrong, what he does to stay in shape? He might say “I ride my bike.”

Not everyone has the ambition, motivation or even the time to ride a bike for hours each day. But there is something the rest of us can do to achieve similar benefits. Those benefits are increased endurance, strength, stronger bones, improved circulation and better sleep. All this and more can be accomplished without running on pavement or doing other impact sports. Many of us want to get in shape stay in shape or take our fitness to the next level.

Staying fit and healthy is not something that can be done for a week or two then put on the shelf. It is a lifelong priority, not needing to consume a lot of time. To be good at anything consistency and quality are most important.

If your current fitness level is great or poor, if your spare time is extensive or minimal, a fun way to exercise is indoor cycling classes called Spinning.

The classes generally last 45 minutes to an hour and are upbeat from the use of an instructor, fast tempo music and the collective motivating power of a class workout. Participation in classes usually vary by club but generally number 8-25. They are often held in a room dedicated strictly for spinning classes or sometimes in dual-purpose rooms such as aerobics at 9am and spinning at 10am. They just roll the bikes onto the floor.What to expect; If attending a class for the first time one should arrive 30 minutes in advance for the instructor to give you the standard function and safety lessons. They will familiarize new 'spinners' with the fit of the bike, adjustability and safety.

Spinning bikes are surprisingly different then bicycles on the road. A typical mountain or road bike for the outdoors will allow the rider to stop pedaling at will and coast. A spinning bike is always a ‘fixed gear’ bike. Fixed gear bikes keep your legs in constant motion. Anytime the rear wheel is spinning, your legs will be in motion. Barring a need to stop for a bathroom break, an entire class will be spent non-stop pedaling. Getting used to this type of gear calls for caution in the beginning. Expect a few classes before a level of confidence is achieved.

Basic GearNeeded
Tennis shoes, padded bike shorts, small towel and a water bottle.Riding a bike in one place for nearly an hour has the potential of being a little dull. To keep the class interesting the instructor will change a few variables over the class;1) Music
2) Cadence
3) Commands
4) Resistance
5) Interactivity

Music
The use of music is a given in spin classes. The author has taken just one spin class where the class was instructed purely on voice commands. Popular music incorporated in classes range from jazz to hip hop. The most popular type of music seems to be dance mixes.

Cadence
Simply put, cadence is foot speed on the pedals. It is the rate your feet are revolving. Cadence is important when training on a spin bike or your own bicycle. The range of cadence supports a safe and benefical workout is between 60-110 rpms (revolutions per minute). Ask your instructor how you can tell if you are in this zone.

Commands
In order for the participants to achieve the desire workout planned, th instructor will use a few different commands. These commands are simply words describing an action the eparticpants is to mirror. “Sit, Stand, Climb, Jump, Sprint” are common commands.

Sit and Stand are just as they sound. Either stay seated or stand up out of saddle when pedaling.

Climb is when resistance is increased on the bike allowing your feet to decrease rpms.

Sprint is when resistance is decreased on the bike allowing your feet to increase rpms.

Jump is not over a curb or manhole cover. It is simply a quick stand up and sit down motion done repeatedly.

Interactivity
Some instructors may say encouraging words to class participants during th session. Some may talk with their class and hold a dialogue. Others may get off their own bike, walk around and individually give improving advice.

Successful methods the instructor uses to make the class more enjoyable are; imagining everyone is in a race against the clock, climbing to the top of a mountain summit, or sprinting down a road in the Pyrennes. Instructors may arbitrarily change commands to increase intensity and enjoyability.

There are many health clubs in the valley which offer spinning in their weekly schedules. The author found LA Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, Bally’s all had regular classes. Many clubs will have multiple classes per day to fit a variety of clientele schedules. Classes beginning at 5am, 9am, 6pm during the week and weekend am classes are common. Whether it is work or kids, school or social life; the spinning classes offered through out each day gives one many opportunities for a workout.

The only catch to this seemingly ideal workout experience; It is the requirement to join one of the valley health clubs. In order to participate, classes are typically member exclusive.

Look in the phone book or online for a club near you. Talk to a membership representative and ask them if you can take one class to see how you like it (even before joining with a membership. Everything is negotiable. Start changing your life a revolution at a time.

Confucius Say, "Pope should be less vague"

After reading the following article;Title - "New Pope reaches out"Subtitle- "Dialogue sought with youths, non-Christians"
Chicago Tribune article of April 21, 2005. Written by Steve Kloehn;

What does Pope Benedict mean? Let us read some quotes to make up our minds;Priorities of Benedict XVI; 1) Reunification with other Christians, 2) Dialogue with non-Christian faiths and civilizations, 3) Special Message for young people

"Primary commitment - working tirlessly toward the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers...Theological dialogue is necessary."

"I address myself to everyone, even to those who follow other religions or who are simply seeking an answer to the fundamental question of life and have not found the answer."

Analysis; I am Cornfused. What did he say? And no, reading the entire article did not give the above quotes any additional context. I asked multiple Catholics and non-believers at work and everyone shrug their shoulders and began to studder when attempting to explain or justify the banter.

These statements are vague, dull and if the Pope wants to garner attention to his passion and cause, the quotes need to come with more specificity. Blanket statements reminiscent of corporate speak never reach out to us here at home. I hope the Tribune just mistakenly printed only the quotes without thought or philosophy.

Time Magazine... Staring?, Anne Coulter

Freedom of the press, freedom of speech... these frazes are so overused and cliche perhaps I should delete them from the introduction to this thought.... perhaps one last time.Reviewed the 'Time' article on Ann Coulter, and the analysis on AOL...

Here is the MoreThenCorn analysis;
John Cloud of Time writes "...Coulter epitomizes the way politics is now discussed on the airwaves, where opinions must come violently fast and cause as much friction as possible. No one, right or left, delivers the required apothegmatic commentary on the world with as much glee or effectiveness as Coulter. It is almost impossible to watch her and not be sluiced into rage or elation, depending on your views..."

The Time article is hopelessly tilted. Mr Cloud does not seem to know 'airwave' media nor Ann Coulter as well as he thinks. The airwaves are filled with an assortment of personalities. Most I would dare say are objective and reasonable, but also passionate. The article misses to see the difference between passion and animalistic rage.Ann Coulter is someone who can get her listeners worked into a figurative roar. MoreThenCorn has listened to Coulter recently. She holds the audience attention through bursts of humor for the righties to laugh and the lefties to snarl their teeth. She only gives her opinion with which many can say to themselves, "I concur, Ann!" Some probably listen to her for entertainment value. She does pretty well in this area.

There was hardly a paragraph in the Time article which did not attempt to denigrate Anne Coulter, and suggest what the reader should think of her. To go one step further, Mr. Cloud made attempts to pursuade readers to his opinion of many conservative figures in media. Read the article and decide for yourself.

My own attempts are fruitless to persuade readers of Mr Clouds inability to be objective. You may realize this on your own.

Progressive Church Will Lose Believers

The Catholic Church has a membership of over 1 Billion according to cable news. After Pope John Paul II passed away, Bill OReilly of "The OReilly Factor" aired on either Friday, April 1 or Monday April 4 a show in which his two guests were naming the many great things the Pope has done for the world. Mr OReilly concurred with these points. However he brought out a page he held from which he read the statistics of church attendance of Catholics over the last number of years.The statistics showed a steady and incredible decline in church membership over the last 20+ years. Church attendance is down by 50% on average.

The statistics showed some European countries who are historically devout Catholic having 8-13% attendance by those claiming Catholicism as their chosen religion.

While this is not surprising in a Europe now quite secular, the world average is declining. One of the guests on The Factor stated the Catholic church is in decline however some Evangelical churches are in rapid growth around the world. It was also mentioned, not all Evangelical churches are growing, some are also in decline. Why is the church in decline?

I am Lutheran and attended Easter services at a Lutheran church in Tempe, AZ. I had preferred to attend one of the first 3 services Easter morning, however decided to go for a bike ride early and attend the 4th service at 10:45am. Growing up Lutheran I have heard the Easter service ritual many times and find comfort and hearing thepredictable Easter message. The entire service can be summed up in a short, spontaneous dialogue between Pastor and the congregation;

Pastor; "He is Risen!"
Congregation; "He is Risen indeed Hallelujiah.

"The above two lines would be said often as the services began and again as they ended. For me this is the most important part of the service. Quite possibly these same words are part of a tradition in many other Christian churches?

When attending the 4th service of 4 at the Lutheran church I failed to hear this anchor in Lutheran Easter services. This 'Praise' service is a more modern worship service. Intially I did not care for a service led by a sometimes plain clothes pastor, accompanied by a full band to encourage song and more casual congregation. I did warm up to the Praise services after attending them a few more times.

What I have noticed over the last few years of attending these services some weeks and traditional services other weeks is the message is different. The message of good news is more often watered down in a Praise service. Tradition is less obvious in these services. The pastor seems to have less of a leading roll in the worship. The two old testament verses and the Gospel reading were all done by members of the congregation. The pastor gave up the responsibility of the childrens message to a member of the congregation.

The songs were not out of the hymnal but were modern songs where stanzas are repeated 2 and 3 times because I do not feel the authors spent enough time developing the lyrics. These songs seemed shallow and without a message, so did the service.

The pastor is the educated, trained and ordained servant of the word. Let pastors teach and members listen.

Regardless of whether member numbers of the Lutheran Church are in decline today, if these patterns continue, the Lutheran Church will be desperate times in no time. Tradition and ritual are almost as important to the church as the word itself. Changing the church to fit the times? The times should change to fit the church. A 'progressive' culture has led to an 8% Catholic church attendance in Belgium? For the church to be 'progressive' appears to be dangerous at best.

Habemus Papam

For Catholics and others, today Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected Pope Benedict XVI.Some of the radio personalities and broadcasters were correct. It appears the College of Cardinals decided against candidates for Pope who were younger and would have a long tenure as Pontiff for the Catholic Church. An elder Pope was selected with the idea of a "transitional" pope. Transitioning from the long legacy of Pope John Paul II and into the 266th Pontiff.

MoreThenCorn had incorrectly predicted a Spanish decent Pope be elected. Reason; The Catholic Church is alive and well among Spanish speaking communities. Mexico, Central/South America these countries on these continents are overwhelmingly Catholic.

It is unknown if consideration was made to Pope Benedicts country of origin, Germany. It is reasonable to conjecture this German Pope will bring change in his tenure for rebuilding the European Catholic faith. Countries such as Germany, France, Belgium and many other Western and Eastern European countries are secular today. Churches are empty, of nearly all faiths.

I visited Germany in 1994. Living near Hanover in Peppinghausen, Germany are the Reasoner/Rosener family. They are my family still in the motherland. I attended church with them at their Lutheran Church in a neighboring town. Even in 1994 it was apparent not only the Catholic Church but all faiths were in decline in once staunchly Christian Europe. In this beautiful and large church which probably could seat many hundreds, there may have been 50 in attendance. It was very surprising to me as a kid of 15 years. My family had been going to church regularly from the time I was about 3 years. It was bizarre to me how Germany, from where the great reformer, Martin Luther had come, was a country in religious decline.

God Bless Pope Benedict XVI.

Investor Confidence, Child Confidence

Yesterday on "Your World" w/Neil Cavuto a few discussions were about corporate accounting scandals and their possible effect on the economy.

The most recent is an insurance company CEO under investigation (..of whom I work and will keep comments to a minimum).

These questionable dealings among larger companies and their leadership is disconcerting not just through these fraudulent activities being realized. It is more troubling these individuals were put in a position with the utmost responsibility and they chose to make illegal decisions. It hurt not just themselves and their careers but the confidence of the employees, their employees retirement-401k and other investors. For someone to knowingly roll the dice on the lives of so many is a poler opposite of the performance they were expected to bring when hired to fill their post.

Not counting the story behind the wife of Andrew Fastow, of Enron... other vicitims of this fraud are the families and especially the children of those brought on charges. Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco), Ken Lay (Enron), David Myers (WorldCom) failed their respect from employees, failed as a leader, but they also failed as fathers due to the positive role model they should have been for their children. All parents can learn a lesson from them, "Everything you do effects your children."

Multi-National Pull Out in Iraq

By now most people know what when the military and Bush Administration would like to begin pulling US troops from Iraq. It is when the Iraq security forces are prepared to shoulder their country's security on their own.

Whether this reduction is done systematically with consistent numbers of troops gradually being pulled over 6 months or 2 years is unknown. We must have confidence in our leadership they know when it is best to begin this withdrawal and how quickly it should be completed.

Yesterday, The Chicago Tribune, posted an article on line; "Army general expresses optimism about troop withdrawal in Iraq." The beginning of the post states, "The Army's top general said Monday that a reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq is possible if the training of Iraqi security forces and efforts to stabilize the country proceed at their current pace.

Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, did not say when the troop cutbacks might occur, explaining that "...such decisions would depend heavily on the judgment of U.S. commanders in Iraq."

According to the Associated Press article today titled, "U.S. Launches Deadly Raid on Iraq Insurgents," another country is considering or maybe scheduling troop withdrawal from Iraq. "Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski, meanwhile,U.S. Launches Deadly Raid on Iraq Insurgents said his country wanted to pull its troops out of Iraq in the first few weeks of 2006, the latest blow to the U.S.-led coalition."

Poland has been a great ally for the war on terror and if they decide to pull troops early in 2006 then their troops should get a warm welcome home for a job well done.

What we do know is the US media is jumping to conclusions as to what the meaning and ramifications of the announcement by Poland. Per the above Associated Press article, "Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski, meanwhile, said his country wanted to pull its troops out of Iraq in the first few weeks of 2006, the latest blow to the U.S.-led coalition."

Perhaps by this time, the US has decided troops from all nations involved can begin going home without risking a Iraq's preparedness to police itself and defend against insurgents. Perhaps the US has already been speaking with Poland regarding when they project some troops can come home. It is also possible the Poles have decided this independently due to political pressure or other reasons. We do not know details. Therefore it is dangerous to make a statement "the latest blow to the US-led coalition." The only blow I see is to the objectivity of The Associated Press.

LA Times article, Misleading w/Purpose

When one visits the Grand Canyon what part of the experience is most lasting in memory? The first five minutes of viewing the mammoth water carving or the last five minutes?

In a meeting at work, when is your attention most keen? In the beginning or at the end?

Edmund Sanders of the Los Angeles Times wrote an artile published Sunday, April 10, 2005. The article was regarding a large gathering of Iraqis. The title of the article, "Iraqi protestors flex free speech force." The subtitle then reads, "300,000 led by Shiites demand that US troops leave."

The story was covering a peaceful rally or protest of Iraqis who are becoming impatient with American Troops and their occupation of Iraq. The beginning of the article paints a very grim picture as you will see. The middle portion segways from negative to more of a positive tone.Below are short quotes from the article.

The first is the introduction;
"Baghdad, Iraq * Chanting "Death to America" and burning effigies of President Bush and Saddam Hussein, tens of thousands of Iraqis flooded central Baghdad..."

"...many Shiite Arabs in Iraq have grown so frustrated by the lingering occupation... they took to the streets to call for... [US] troop withdrawal."

[Protestors] "Carrying banners that read 'Go Out' and 'Leave Our Country' "

"The American people need to know that they can't suppress us anymore, even with all their strength and power," said Salih Khalaf.

"America is the mother of terrorism."

The transition between negative and a more positive article begins in paragraph 9;
"Raising Fists and shouting in unison, protestors chanted. 'No, No to America! No, No to Occupation!' Many waved Iraqi flags and carried pictures of al-Sadr and his revered father, Mohammed al-Sadr, who was assassinated during the Saddam regime. One protestor dragged a picture of Saddam through the gutter..."

The transition becomes confusing when the article shifts gears away from intial negativity. The article begins including quotations of Iraqis in this same protest who are attending for very different reasons then above.

Paragraph 13; "...Some people in the crowd expressed support for the United States and ambivalence about the occupation." 'I came here today to mark the fall of a tyrant, Saddam [Hussein], and to call for his execution," said Mohammed Abdal Hussein."

" '...we deeply thank all the people, including the Americans who helped us get rid of him...' said Nadhum Jaffar."

****************

An Ear of Analysis:
1) Inconsistencies;
The articles title, subtitle and first few paragraphs imply there are 300,000 protestors all calling for American troop withdrawal. The article infers one mass working in harmony. There are inconsistencies with the first paragraph when "tens of thousands" is then used to describe the crowd. Tens of thousands would be any value 10,000 =<> 100,000. Examples continue as the protestors are still inferred to be one mass with one agenda, Paragraph 7; "By 11am, the massive but orderly demonstration assembled in Firdos Square... What are the other 200k people doing while the LA Times is taking a headcount of angry Arab men?

2) Protest, Mix of Agenda;
The protestors came from many different places. Paragraph 6 hints about this; "Most of the protestors came from the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, but busloads also arrived from Kut, Amara, Baqubah and other cities. Did every person arriving from various cities all have one reason for being there? Did they all get the phone call or email to come down to the city? Even according to the Times article the answer is no. What percentage were there because they want the US to leave? What percentage were there to celebrate no more Saddam? What percentage were there because they simply wanted to show national pride and unity to other Iraqis on their new television stations and freedom of speech airwaves? Mr Sanders did not give us these facts. They would be beneficial in writing an objective article.

3) Order of presentation;
When reading a paper, many people do not finish every article. They may either read the title only to see if it something in which they have interest or read a portion of the article and stop short of finishing it. The positive portion of this article may never be read at all.

Those who do read the entire article are likely to fall into the Grand Canyon analogy; They may remember the beginning and forget the end.

Corn Conjecture;
Respectfully, Mr Sanders is guilty of putting the worst possible face on this event. The editor of the Los Angeles Times can argue the article is balanced due to quotations of seemingly opposing viewpoints. Both the Times and Mr. Sanders are intelligent enough to know the negative beginning will be remembered more likely then the positive end.

It seems possible the 200,000 for which Mr Sanders does not account could be your run of the mill US supporter or ambivalent citizen.

In fairness the article does touch on credibility in paragraph four, "At the same time, the fact that so many protestors were able to gather and freely voice their opinions without bloodshed or insurgent attacks suggest Iraq is making progress toward establishing a democratic system and creating a strong security force." However Mr Sanders is just a little late with this news. The democratic process has been moving forward since the 8 million showed up to the polls. The insurgent attacks have been on the decline for months thanks to both the deliberate dwindling of US influence and the proportional increase in Iraqi force preparedness.

Iraq is improving and the citizens still remember oppression and death. Some may be tired of the US troop presence. Maybe even tired and frustrated enough to take part in this protest. Others are not there to protest American at all. Some maybe there to celebrate another day without their family members 'never coming home' under Saddam Husseins 30 years of brutality. Some may be there to cheer the new democracy. Others are there because they are curious of this new thing called "freedom to assemble."

We must remember nearly every person under the age of thirty has never experienced the freedom of choiec, democracy, or a free market. The average Iraqi is at least as smart as the average American. I think the average Iraqi is hopeful for their future and could see through the agenda of the LA Times.

Women Claims Finger Found in Wendy's Chili

Anna Ayala claims to have found a human finger in her bowl of chili. The chili was purchased at a Wendy's in San Jose, CA. Police from San Jose and Las Vegas got a warrant to search Mrs Ayala's house for evidence.Below is segment of an article about the ongoing story. The story is a serious one, however the way the Associate Press worded the below paragraphs is comical;"It's very important to our company to find out the truth in this incident," said Tom Mueller, Wendy's president and chief operating officer.Wendy's maintains the finger did not enter the food chain in its ingredients. All the employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients have reported any hand or finger injuries, the company said.Above is from the article titled; "Cops Raid Home of Fast-Food Finger Finder"Courtesy; Associated PressApril 8, 2005

Ailing Pope

Per the latest online news updates, the Pope's condition is "worsening".His breathing has become shallow and his kidney and heart may be failing. Prayers go out to him and the Catholic Church.

Bush and the First Lady are also praying for the Pontiff. Go to FoxNews.com or Cnn.com to see provoking pictures of catholics at the Vatican, Brazil and around the world in prayer.