Quoteman's Weblog

quoteman — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:21:41 +0000

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The current financial crisis demonstrates just how out of touch Congress is from the needs of our country and from their duties as elected representatives.

A forensic analysis of the crisis reveals smoking-gun type evidence consisting of the fingerprints, DNA and eyewitness testimony of both political parties standing around while a financial system was allowed to suffocate from the inaction of Congress. Still, the pundits, talk radio junkies and the Congresspeople themselves are pointing fingers at only the other party.

Arch Republicans attribute the beginnings of the crisis to President Jimmy Carter and the Democrat controlled Congress, who passed the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and started the ball rolling by trying to put unqualified low income borrowers into houses so that they too could realize the American dream.

The supposed infamous deregulation of the 1980s was accomplished by a Republican president and a split Congress, so no one party can blame the other party for excessive deregulation in that decade.

The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 was a tipping point, adding more deregulation to the mix, and banning the regulation of those now infamous credit default swaps that led to the downfall of AIG and got the other heavyweight investment banks in over their collective heads. Simply put, this act, signed by President Clinton, along with a Republican controlled Congress, allowed for the types of fraudulent speculation and overextension in which the investment banks engaged in while craving ever higher profits.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were pawns in the mega chess game played by Congress and private banking institutions, all of whose last concern was for the soundness of the financial system of this country.

Finally, from 2000 to 2006, the entire federal government was controlled by the Republican party, who put the finishing touches on the crisis by what they thought was benign neglect, although the result has proven to stem from crippling incompetence. One party or the other claims that at one time or another in the past 30 years the fox was guarding the henhouse, but really no one was watching. One party or the other (and one presidential candidate or the other) claims that they tried to do something but no one would listen, a childish attempt to deflect blame. One can imagine them as children pointing their fingers at each other as their mother asks, “Who did this?”

Since January 2007 the Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress, and there was time for them detect the situation and begin to do something about it. No action was taken, though plenty of blame has been spread like fertilizer in the hopes that something beautiful would grow.

Despite deregulation attempts by the Bush administration, plenty of regulations still existed that the government and Congress could have used to protect the financial system. How about the SEC? How about the respective committees in the House and Senate, whose duties included direct oversight of the banking system? How about Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs? Paulson of all people should have known the dangers of the shenanigans by Wall Street’s investment banks and the disastrous result they could have had on Main Street. His neglect is morally and ethically criminal.

Our current leaders have followed a troubled path trod smooth by years of neglect of the sound financial principles on which this country functions. This is the fault primarily of Congress, whose leaders remain in office and power for decades. A President who wields some power for a maximum of eight years has little opportunity, time or power to ruin a financial system. Congress has all three of those dangerous components. Add incompetence to that mix, and one can see how and why we are all in this mess. (This is not a good argument for term limits, which are not part of the solution.)

President Bush did have the power of the bully pulpit, and he used it with incomparable ineptitude. Terrorism is a threat to this country, to be sure; but President Bush and the Congress took their collective eye off the ball for so long that they neglected the financial system.

A lesson for us all—a sound financial system is the single most important aspect of our economy, our government and our way of life.

America can survive with poverty, racism, drugs, crime, hatred, abortion, a crumbling infrastructure, too much government intervention in our daily lives, fruitless military actions and a litany of other flaws. We don’t want any of these, but no country is perfect. A sound financial system is important for any country and its economy, but even more so for one such as the United States, which combines capitalism (expressed nowhere in the Constitution) with the freedoms and powers specifically granted by the Constitution, as perfect a mix of private and public cooperation as has ever been seen in history, and will never be equaled.

Our financial system is the single most important component of our very way of life and is vital to our survival. Any single threat, such as terrorism, is minor compared to the threat that has been imposed on us by Congress’ neglect of its single most important duty—that of ensuring a sound financial system for the country. Without it, we won’t even have a country in which to practice the freedoms we all cherish. Without it, we won’t have clean water, or water at all. We won’t have houses, cars, DVDs or even free elections. Everything we have will be in jeopardy.

This poses no solution, except for the wholesale replacement of Congress, which is not feasible or realistic. Congress still doesn’t realize the roots of the problem—its own failings—and how to solve the crisis. Their first and best response was to act too quickly, like cattle stampeding off a cliff, and throw incomprehensible amounts of money at the problem, which is what Congress always wants to do. Already they are saying that more money is needed.

During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt told the country, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Fear is an intangible concept, like the “war on terrorism.” Something more tangible is Congress, which has now proved that we have nothing to fear except an incompetent Congress itself.

This is no time for blame, says . . . Congress. Why? Because they know that all too many fingers will be pointed in their direction. It may be no time for blame, but attributing responsibility for the problem at hand is useful. Congress created this mess, and now we are stuck with trusting Congress to get us out of it. That is something to fear.

Time for a new surge–in Patriotism

quoteman — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:02:53 +0000

TIME FOR A NEW SURGE—OF PATRIOTISM

We joke about political pork. We laugh at the Defense Department paying $600 for a toilet seat. We tolerate the confused craziness of the farm subsidy program. Forty years ago, former Illinois Republican Senator Everett Dirksen said, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you are talking about real money.” Adjusting for inflation, “A trillion here, a trillion there . . .”

Such cynical sentiments about our government used to be funny because they seemed harmless. After all, the country has rolled along quite nicely as long as anyone living can remember. The stock market and housing prices kept rising and gas (despite a spike last summer) has remained relatively cheap for a comfortable long while. As Winston Churchill said, democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. Flawed though our government is, it is still the best. We cannot expect perfection. A little graft here and a little pork there is to be expected. We were generally a country of patriots, served by patriots who wanted nothing more than for the United States to continue its course of greatness.

It’s not so funny any more as the threat of another Great Depression-like economic fiasco looms large, and this time the blame lies mainly with ourselves. Nearly every person you talk to can easily imagine his or her livelihood horrifically impacted by the financial threat, which carries as negative an effect on our way of life as a once-a-decade terrorist attack on our soil. America’s brand of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness takes work by every citizen, work the general citizenry has shirked, myself included.

After September 11, 2001, expressions of patriotism soared. Military enlistment rose

significantly, accompanied by unprecedented public support for those fighting outside America’s borders. Civilians sported lapel pins, flew the flag and displayed bumper stickers that declared one’s dedication to the country. Initially, Congress gave Commander in Chief Bush nearly everything he asked for to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In our current crisis (and if you don’t believe America is in a crisis, read the comics instead), now is the time for another surge in patriotism, which is not just for war. No one can define it, but various definitions of patriotism will remind you of what it is. Country first. Devotion to country. Love of country. The word country appears every time.

The surge must come from the bottom, where the average American resides, because it has been lacking at the top. We just can’t consent to be led any more by people who were asleep at the switch, or rather, were paying attention to a different switch—that of the interest of their particular political party instead of the best interests of the country. It is doubtful that the people who could have and should have acted to avert the financial crisis had the best interest of the country at heart.

Sure, if there had not been rampant greed on Wall Street and fortunes to be made in poorly regulated markets, this crisis might not have occurred. But the role of government is to provide for a sound economy to function, and that role was vacated by our leaders. At most, we have had some finger pointing in a childish display of political accountability. You indict your most culpable set of leaders, as I will mine, but the list is long and includes people who have been abdicating their responsibilities as far back as 30 years. The government has suffered from complacency that has devolved into bureaucratic negligence.

A new surge in patriotism includes what is best for the country. Until now, it seems as if the government bailout has paid particular attention to what is best for Wall Street, with GM next, and soon many other large businesses who mismanaged themselves. The good of the country has been subjugated to the interests of its largest private interests.

This is not a call for a social revolution, because the revolution is already here. The government may soon own a stake in GM and other car makers. It now has a say in the operation of the nation’s largest banks. In the past several decades, through the actions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government has been acquiring a large stake in millions of mortgages. We now pay mercenaries (private contractors whose prime motivation for the war seems to be profit) to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of our new president’s priorities is to gain control over another 16% of the GDP in the name of providing universal health care. The revolution has begun.

A testament to America’s greatness is that nearly all such social revolutions have been peaceful. Big changes are going to happen, so we citizens might as well direct the flow of the revolution more to our liking. How to do this is more than just a tricky question. Trusting in Barack Obama as our rescuer is not the sole answer. Many of us, including those of us who did not vote for him, wish him all success and hope that his promise of representing “main street” will be upheld. But these promises have been made before by politicians as seemingly capable and charismatic as he, without the desired results. We can’t just cross our fingers and hope that he succeeds, and we can’t wait until he fails if he does.

The late William F. Buckley said (in a paraphrase of H.L. Mencken), “The problem with Communism is Communism. The problem with Capitalism is capitalists.” Capitalism has not failed America; politics and politicians have failed Capitalism, and in turn America.

Capitalism, like patriotism, requires vigilance, and those who were elected to be vigilant have failed. It is now up to us, the common citizen patriot, to remind those at the top the meaning of patriotism.

Strong families, strong communities, strong defense and a strong economy are essentials of the American brands of capitalism and patriotism. Capitalism and patriotism involve many efforts and take many forms: military service, volunteerism (the country needs it now), donations (time, money, or whatever can help another person), leading youth (scout leader, coach of a youth sports team). Attend a city council or school board meeting. Write your Congressman or go to one of his events and voice your opinion to his or her face. Celebrate Independence Day for what it is and not just another day off. Partake in the holidays honoring servicemen. Inform yourself about the events of the day so that you can act and vote accordingly, and you can do this by reallocating some of your free time spent watching an NFL game or for a glimpse of Britney Spears’ underwear, playing mindless video games, doing drugs or drinking excessively, doing too much Sudoku, whatever—find an hour a week—you can do it. Voting straight party has also failed. The very act of voting does not make for a patriotic citizen, but voting for your country does.

You figure it out for yourself!

America’s success depends on the success of the individual. Not the profit—but the success as defined by strong families, strong communities, a strong defense and a strong economy. Have faith in what is printed on our coins—E pluribus unum—from one, many. I will do the same. Maybe our leaders will catch on, and America will continue to succeed.

Pete Rose Still Doesn’t Get It

quoteman — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:52:53 +0000

I just heard Pete Rose on the Dan Patrick show this morning. He spoke, almost braggingly, that he only bet on his team, the Reds, to win every game. His tone of voice almost begged, “Where’s the crime in that?” Rose still doesn’t get it. He still doesn’t seem to realize that being the manager of a team, and betting on that team to win, by its very nature changes the game. There had to be nights when he was pressing himself and his team to win because he had $2,000 on the game (he admitted this amount on the Patrick show).

We all know what it’s like to press too hard to win. On the golf course, when we need a good drive on the final hole, at the free throw line to win the game, at the plate thinking we need a home run–we all know we can’t perform our best in these situations when we are pressing, when we are feeling that pressure to succeed.

In pressing, he might have left his starting pitcher in too long, or pulled him too soon, which would have overtaxed his bull pen and affected games later that week. He might have called a steal or a hit and run in desperation to get that run he needed to win $2,000 that night. In pressing to win, he was not managing his best and he was not serving his team or the game of baseball. His gambling was perverting the game, and he still doesn’t get it.

To cap off the interview, Rose claimed that he should be managing again, that his presence would be better for the team, the city and for baseball. Managing is the last thing he should be doing. Put him in the Hall of Fame before giving him control of a team. He still doesn’t get it.

NBA Whiners Detract from the Game

quoteman — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:39:24 +0000

People who constantly whine are no fun to be around–or to watch. Such people are the current NBA players. They whine about everything. Allen Iverson whined about practice. Latrell Sprewell whined that $14 million was not enough of a yearly salary to feed his family. Rasheed Wallace complains that he is innocent of any foul, but the replay shows he was just playing lazy defense and had no case to be made for his histrionics. Tim Duncan whines that he is fouled every time he misses a shot. He must think his woeful free throw percentage is attributable to a phantom foul from the opposition.

No player ever seems to commit a foul, except those cheap shot “hard fouls” the former players and announcers like to wow about, when really they have no place in basketball. No player ever seems to miss a shot, he must have been fouled.

If they’re not careful, the initials NBA might be made fun of, like the NFL taking on the moniker “No Fun League” or “Not For Long.” How about the National Bitching Association? Or, Never Been Acquitted. Nice, Blameless and Angelic. And, since Josh Howard’s admission about marijuana and Joakim Noah’s recent arrest, Narcotics, Bud, Afghani, or Noah Buys Afghani.

The refs take the fun out of the game. With all the whining the players do, it seems no one appreciates the refs, and all they do is muck up the game. The NBA itself has created this mess, which threatens to ruin the game and there is no solution in sight because of the whining that would come from management, the players and their union, and the coaches.

And with refs like Tim Donaghy, who was recently caught gambling on NBA games, how about the National Betting Association.

A dream of an NBA game without referees

quoteman — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:59:54 +0000

I have a dream, a dream of seeing a real NBA game without referees. A pickup game with just the players making calls themselves. If there is a disagreement, the resolution would be, “We get the next call.”

If you put the Pistons and Celtics on the floor in a pickup game, the foul calls would be more honest. Every pickup game has whiners and guys who would act like they do in a real NBA game–complain every time they are called for a foul because, miraculously, they have NEVER committed a foul. These same guys have never been defended skillfully–NO–they always get fouled. But that would be better than having a game with NBA refs.

At least in the pickup game, things would even out. The peer pressure from the other players would police the whiners and cheap shot guys. If a guy whines too much and makes too many cheap calls, even his own teammates begin to look at him with derision. In the pickup game you would even see players calling fouls on themselves. Amazing! But a better “officiated” game.

This won’t happen, but think of it. We have all been in the gym when it happens that the teams are the two best, most evenly talented teams, and it is a blast to watch, or be in. When a winner is decided, it is not because of referees making home court calls or the stars getting special treatment. The talent prevails.

We had the Dream Team. This would be the Dream Game.

Don’t Blame Thoroughbred Owners

quoteman — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:17:53 +0000

Thoroughbred horse owners and racers of horses love their horses and the game of horse racing. Their “breed” has been racing for centuries. For all but the last century it was not scientifically known that a horse’s bones don’t completely mature until they are 2 to 2 1/2 years old, and with some horses not even then. Still, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) allows the racing of three-year-olds. Most of these horses don’t suffer any serious injury as a result of being raced too soon, while some horses sustain more serious injuries that prevent them from racing again, but the horse survives. Rarely will a horse sustain an injury as serious as what Eight Belles suffered at Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, which resulted in the euthanasia of that magnificent horse.

This problem of young, not yet mature horses breaking down as Eight Belles did could be eliminated almost entirely with one simple action by the NTRA, the governing body of horse racing. Ban the racing of three-year-olds, making the minimum age four years old. One year. That would hurt no one and would dramatically improve the image of thoroughbred racing. Yes, some owners would scream bloody murder and cite the breaking of tradition, but two years down the road their cries would be regarded as the protestations of greedy, heartless, abusive, short-sighted, cruel animal owners, an image that is growing in the minds of the casual race fan, the very fan horse racing wishes to convert to a dedicated fan.

A plea to the NTRA: make this simple change. The quality of horse racing would improve, the image of your sports would be enhanced, and as a result you and your racing constituency would be more profitable. This is a trifecta that would generate a huge payoff for your industry, the fans and the horses. There is no win, place or show here–just a win, win, win.

Why not lie to Congress?

quoteman — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:47:08 +0000

Just about any reputable poll reveals that most Americans believe politicians lie to the people. And there is no real penalty for political prevarications. Yet the penalty for the average citizen lying to Congress is a possible prison sentence. Until Congress and other politicians stop lying to us, there should be no penalty for us lying to them. In their perches in committee rooms, Congress assumes a supercilious, artificially virtuous demeanor and uses its bully pulpit to force people to tell the truth under penalty of perjury (ie, prison). Members of Congress can lie until the voters lose interest but will still probably maintain their official positions even if they are caught lying. Since we can’t stop politicians from lying, let’s stop sending people to jail for lying to them. End the hypocrisy.

NCAA tournament like great sex

quoteman — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:58:11 +0000

The men’s NCAA basketball tournament is like great sex, which, for most of us guys, is any sex at all. In 18 days you get all the action you could want, and a true national champion–not the best team, but a championship. In contrast, the NBA season is like waiting all week for a chance at sex, then trying to have sex while the kids are in the house and might knock on the door at any minutes (this happens with kids from ages two to 22), and because of all that the experience is anticlimactic, which is what the drawn out NBA playoffs are like, ending in June after two and a half months. The NCAA tournament is like when you look across the room at your wife, realize that the kids are out of the house and you know they won’t be back for at least two hours, and you
jump on each other like you’ve both just gotten out of prison. She smells good, tastes good, the excitement is automatic, and you might even go into overtime. Now, isn’t that just like the NCAA tournament, which annually guarantees an orgy for the basketball senses?

There is no D in Denver

quoteman — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:10:13 +0000

The Denver Nuggets are a curious bunch. When you list four of their five starters, eyebrows raise with high expectations. Carmello Anthony and Allen Iverson can give 50 combined points a night. Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby can defend and rebound while giving you enough points night in and night out. So what’s the problem? As a team, they don’t defend and it takes more than two stout defenders to stop the other team’s five.

An old sports proverb says that defense wins championships. Scoring has obvious, instant rewards. But so do defense and all the other aspects of the game that depend on hustle and determination. Stopping the other team’s offense by sheer effort is an incredibly satisfying feeling. When you steal a ball, get a rebound on either end of the court or pick up a loose ball, that is like putting a point on the scoreboard. And dishing out an assist is as much fun as a score because the passer probably did much more work than the receiver of the ball who just jammed it home for an easy two points. Since we will never eliminate the histrionics after a monster jam, I hope defenders will begin their displays of superiority to show just how fun defense can be. It is done in the NFL after a sack or monster tackle. If someone steals the ball, let him strut about with his face all scrunched up. After a blocked shot, let’s have an automatic five-second showtime, something like Dikembe Mutombo’s finger wagging.

Allen Iverson is the linchpin to the Nuggets. He is a former MVP (under Larry Brown) who surely knows the value of defense to get the top. He does not openly get on Carmello for lackadaisical defense, or ballhogging, and he should. If he is doing so behind the scenes, good for Iverson. If Carmello is not responding, then he should be shipped to another team at the end of the season. The Nuggets could get top value for a scorer like Anthony.

Coach George Karl should share some of the blame. His job is to get the team to play both ends of the floor, and it is not getting done. They say that the NBA is a players’ league, so maybe Karl just can’t get through to Carmello, or even Iverson. Again, it comes back to Iverson. If he can’t get through to Carmello, and the other Nuggets, then a major shakeup of the team is in order, which might even include getting rid of Iverson as well as Anthony, and any other Nugget who refuses to play defense.

Refusing to play defense is exactly what poor defense is all about. If you have the talent to score 25 or 30 a night, you have the talent to play defense. The will to defend is missing. No will, no title, just lots of cash for those guys who think basketball is only about scoring.

There is no I in team, and for the Nuggets there is no D in Denver.

Terrific Tiger

quoteman — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:45:35 +0000

Tiger is terrific. In his past two wins he tied Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan at 62 and 64 wins, respectively. Woods is 32. Hogan and Palmer were 43. He can win any way possible. The only thing he has not done is to come from far behind on Sunday and win a major, as Jack Nicklaus did in the 1986 Masters. But he has not had to, as he takes tournaments by the throat and dominates, this year like no other.

Today’s action at Bay Hill was just another example, as he drained a 24-foot putt with a style and drama unique to him. Standing in the 18th fairway, he knew what he needed, a shot that allowed for no chance of losing but provided the best chance of winning, so he placed his approach within range. If he had missed, he probably would have been closer to the hole than he had planned, as had happened several times throughout the week. Before the putt, the NBC commentators noted that Woods had not made a putt this long in his 21 tries all week. Johnny Miller then added, But that doesn’t matter to Tiger (as it would to anyone else). So, the putt broke a few feet to the right, going downhill, and it was perfect, not only because it had been read and struck perfectly, but because had it missed (which perfect putts sometimes do), it would have been no more than a few inches from the cup for a tap-in to put Tiger in a playoff with Bart Bryant.

We Tiger fans–and who cannot be a Tiger fan–like it this way, winning with flair by draining a lengthy birdie for a win. We also like to see him challenged, which Bryant did, so kudos to him. With his winning putt, Tiger said, No playoff today, it’s puts my streak in jeopadry. I’ll go for it here. The streak stands at five in a row. With another win next week, he’ll tee off at the Masters with six in a row to enter the second phase of his streak towards 12 in a row–the Masters, the TPC and the U.S. Open and whatever tournament he enters in between. I may be looking past Doral, but Tiger is not, which is why he will contend and probably win.

Get on the Tiger bandwagon. It’s not too late, for this year or the rest of his career. Thrills are guaranteed.