ACER & ME

On the road again.............. in Seattle for one night. I really hate being away. They call it separation anxiety. It just makes me feel ill. I went to the Bar for dinner. Three shots of Irish Whiskey helps but then...Pam called.

Yes, I am at the bar with other crazy people watching the World Series. I also had dinner.

My road trip is soooo much better now that I have my new Acer Netbook. It's smaller than a laptop and perfect for travel. If you are thinking about a new computer, think about the netbooks.

Friday I fly back home. Feels like I have been gone a month. Nice to have Acer along to keep me company.

A NO WIN SITUATION

It was 1968, nearly 40 years ago and a different War. Greg and I made 3X5 cards that said "BOMB HANOI" and posted them on the college bulletin boards. The War in Vietnam was stalled and going nowhere. Now Amerika is fighting another stupid winless war with no clear goals and no hope of ending. Seems like we keep making the same mistakes.

Just to be real clear about me. I come from a military family. My father landed on the beach at Okinawa. He was a First Sergeant. I grew up understanding the role of a strong military and believe in killing bad guys. Dad bought me a gun for my twelfth birthday. It's in the closet down the hall. I plan to give it to Jack.

Afghanistan is not our fight. Afghanistan did not attack Amerika and we have no business invading or occupying their country. The British Army could not defeat the Afghans. The Russians could not win in Afghanistan. After eight years of fighting, we have chased the bad guys to Pakistan and have little or no hope of winning. It's time to stop spending our money on a winless war and bring the troops home.

You may see and hear all kinds of stupid nonsense about the War in Afghanistan. But remember this:

· On 9/11 we were attacked by Al Qaida, not Afghanistan or the Taliban
· The 9/11 attackers were Saudi Citizens in America on legal Visas
· The 9/11 attackers went through airport security and passed the screening
· The current War in Afghanistan is costing a Billion dollars a month to taxpayers

I believe we need to put America First by ending the War in Afghanistan and Iraq and improving US boarder protection. There is no real military security without financial security and we are over spending on the War. Likewise we are over spending on the War on Drugs and the TSA. We need to rethink a cheaper smarter America First security policy. The War in Afghanistan is a waste of taxpayer money and Military lives.

BIG MAC ATTACK

The Big Mac, a symbol of American influence, is sold in over 120 countries. Today I read it is over in Iceland. The McDonald's owner in Iceland has had to close because of the current economic crisis. Iceland has been hit much worse than America by the Banking Failure. Its economy nearly collapsed. The devaluation of the Icelandic Krona pushed the real cost of the Big Mac to $6.36. Almost as high as Norway at $7.00 for the Big Mac.

I decided to look up the 2008 Big Mac Index. This is the Economist Magazine Index of the cost of the Big Mac around the world. They began this a few years ago to study currency devaluation and market forces. I know it seems silly but it's all about supply and demand....as Pam would say, "that's what she said." The Big Mac index is really pretty interesting. Here is a link to the 2008 version: http://www.economist.com/markets/Bigmac/index.cfm

There are really two Indexes [indices?] One is the cost by country and the exchange rate. The other is the time spent working by persons in the country so as to pay for the Big Mac. Seems like even with the entire financial crisis we still have a good deal here in America.

My friend John has a point.............

My friend, John Chellemi, and I had a spirited discussion last Friday night. John was drinking Sierra Nevada and I was drinking Tullamore Dew. We attempted to resolve America's foreign and domestic problems during and after dinner. John's son, Jack, and my wife, Pam were just about fed up with the both of us. Pam kept saying we were yelling. I don't think it was really yelling, just spirited discussion.

John is a contractor and spends some of his time riding in his truck listening to talk radio. This has given John the opinion that America is a mess and it is all because of illegal Immigrants, Obama, or liberals. These are the BIG THREE in the on-going right wing talk radio list of things to bash. I will try to list a few of John's points for consideration:

Illegal immigrants are draining this country because they use services and do not pay taxes. They send their kids to schools but don't pay property taxes, they go to the emergency room but the tax payers, like John, have to pay the bills. My point was that illegal immigrants DO pay taxes. They pay sales tax just like everyone else. They rent apartments and part of their rent goes to pay property tax. They buy gasoline and pay fuel taxes. And, many of these illegals use fake social security numbers to find work. Their employer with holds taxes and because the numbers are fake, they cannot file for a tax return. Illegal's pay Taxes, just like everyone else.

John thinks we need to win the war in Afghanistan. I think we need to follow the golden rule of do unto others as you want done to you. We do not want to be invaded and should not be invading other countries. The war in Afghanistan is UNWINNABLE and cost far too much. We need to bring the troops home and secure America. I suggested they be reassigned to the Mexican border to stop Illegal immigrants. John agreed that might help but he doesn't want us to give up in Afghanistan. He points out that "those people attacked us on 9/11." In fact the attackers were Saudi citizens and NOT Afghans.

John thinks health care reform can only take place after tort reform. John feels that too many people sue Doctors and Nurses and that these law suits drive up healthcare cost. He may be right. Regardless, do you want to be able to sue the doctor who amputates the wrong leg? I think we need some form of Universal Healthcare as a safety net for the poor. We currently pay these costs for uninsured patients in our Health Insurance premiums.

The bigger questions we need to decide are these: What do we want government to do for us? How do we want to pay for it?

The current $1.8 Trillion deficit and the decline of the value of the dollar will force these discussions and decisions over the next two years. These are not going to be easy times. I'm looking forward to a time when everyone is as smart as John and can discuss these options and alternatives as well as John. Thanks John, come back again soon.

GOLD GOES WILD

The graph shows Krugerrand pricing over the last five years. It means if you bought one Krugerrand in 2004 for $450 it would be worth $1089 today....just five years later. This is a 142% increase over five years.

The only reason for this incredible change is the shrinking value of the US Dollar. Gold and Krugerrands do not change in value. The only change is in the value of the currency used to buy gold.

Nearly two years ago I predicted this continued decline of the US Dollar as a result of the coming housing crisis. It is painful to say, I was right and the buying of gold is your only way to hedge against the current financial mess. Money in the bank is earning about 1% interest. Money in housing is earning negative interest. In 2010 and beyond you can expect that the dollar price of gold will creep up to $1500 an ounce. It would increase higher and faster but the demand for gold among jewelry makers has declined due to recession. You can see the price in the last 18 months has been stalled at or near $1,000. Again this is due to reduced demand for jewelry.

Don't say I didn't warn you. Buy now if you want to hold on to the value of the dollars you have.

PEACE PRIZE BINGO

Wow. I think the only people more surprised than me were Barrack Obama and Osama Bin Laden.

The Nobel Peace Prize is kind of a big deal. It has also been widely criticized. Mahatma Gandhi, perhaps the leading pacifist of all times, was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace prize. In 1948, the year Gandhi was assassinated, the Nobel committee did not give a Peace Prize. Clearly the Nobel Committee has made misjudgments in the past.

Obama really hasn't done much of anything, except talk. He is quite good at talking and creating a vision for the future. Bill Clinton was the only other President who was really good at talking. The prize seems to mean that the Nobel committee is hoping Obama can deliver on some of his talk. Many of us in America are hoping he can't, or at the least we don't want to have to pay for his "change." The one clear opportunity for Obama is to end the War in Afghanistan. It is unwinnable and after eight years it is costing us too much.

I 'hope' Barrack Obama sees the Nobel Peace Prize as his chance to end the War and save taxpayers a few billion dollars, when we need it most. Thanks Nobel Committee, this might just make up for your screw up with Gandhi.

Observations

Our recent trip to Orlando was an eye opener in more ways than one.

First, I have never seen so many fat people in one place. I read all about the growing problem of obesity in America but I just had no idea how bad the situation really was. Fat is out of control.

Second, people are so fat that they can not walk. Disney World is a place where walking is sort of required. Forget about it. Fat people who have reached the point of no return have given up all hope and moved in MASS to electric carts. The status symbol of the RICH FAT is to own your own electric cart to haul you around. Between baby strollers and electric wheel chairs of all varieties, it was nearly impossible to walk at Disney World.

Third, Fat people are even less atractive when it is over 90 degrees. It was hot and waiting in lines for a 30 second ride was not much fun. It was made worse by the sweat running off the fat people in line. There were puddles of sweat in the ground from fat people waiting to get on rides.

Finally, I have always been BIG and in the last five years I have gained weight, but this trip to Disney World has put me on a mission. I am going to drop this extra weight or move to a trailer in Alabama trying.

POT for $ALE

I read today that the Federal Government will have a $1.4 Trillion dollar deficit in 2010. California has been "running on empty" for over a year by borrowing money and playing with the state budget. The interesting thing was that next to the article about the deficit, was this article about Marijuana legalization. It seems like a new source of tax revenue is waiting just around the corner.

SAN FRANCISCO — Marijuana advocates are gathering signatures to get at least three pot-legalization measures on the ballot in 2010 in California, setting up what could be a groundbreaking clash with the federal government over U.S. drug policy.

At least one poll shows voters would support lifting the pot prohibition, which would make the state of 40 million the first in the nation to legalize marijuana. Such action would also send the state into a headlong conflict with the U.S. government while raising questions about how federal law enforcement could enforce its drug laws in the face of a massive government-sanctioned pot industry.

The state already has a thriving marijuana trade, thanks to a first-of-its-kind 1996 ballot measure that allowed people to smoke pot for medical purposes. But full legalization could turn medical marijuana dispensaries into all-purpose pot stores, and the open sale of joints could become commonplace on mom-and-pop liquor store counters in liberal locales like Oakland and Santa Cruz.

You may say.....NO! Ha, remember when gambling was illegal? Way back in 1970 the only legal gambling was done in Las Vegas. Slowly it crept into nearly every state via some loop hole in the law. It came either as "River Boat Gambling" or "Indian Casinos". Regardless, today Gambling is paying taxes in nearly every state and I think Pot is just around the corner.

You may not realize it but the same government that is nearly broke and owned by China with a $1.4 Trillion dollar deficit is still trying to legislate morality. It doesn't work and it is far too expensive. As I have said repeatedly.....We have lost the war on drugs. Everyone who wants to get high, is getting high now. It's time to stop kidding ourselves and make Pot legal and taxable. We really need the money here in the USA as opposed to sending it to Mexico.