I watched Obama on 60 Minutes last night and couldn't help but think, "I'm glad this is the guy we put in charge."

There is some speculation that Pakistan may have been either incompetent or complicit when it came to Osama Bin Laden's 5-year stay in an affluent community near the capital.  I'm not sure how a fortress built in the middle of everything went unnoticed.  It's like after the raid, the locals saw the burning home and said, "Hey, were did that castle come from."

The United States suggested that Pakistan might want to conduct an internal investigation into how this could have happened.  Their immediate response: "No, you shut up."

Elsewhere...

I saw a financial analysis that suggests job growth is being stymied by regulation.  I agree with this.  The Democrat party is very big on micro-managing businesses.  The labor laws in California are ridiculous.  They don't meet the needs of companies or workers.  They only meet the needs of a bureaucrat to make a law about something.

So the Democrats are bad for job creation because they interfere.  The GOP is bad for job creation because they believe the laws of economics don't apply to them.

Companies come to me when they feel that they need to make a change.  I do the math and let the numbers tell us what to do.  I have done this with hundreds of companies over the last 20+ years.  These are large companies with hundred of employees at a single site.  Not once have we ever factored in the personal income tax rate.  The reason for this is: IT DOES NOT MATTER.  If you ask 1,000 small business owners to name the top three things they consider before creating a job opening, none of them will say, "It all depends on my personal income tax rate."  This idea is so false that those proposing it as the truth have to be knowingly lying.

And the Democrats are complicit by staying quiet about this.

Onward...

I'm considering that my next laptop be an Apple.  I want to give them a try before they go out of business.  And they will.

I priced an AirMac laptop at $1,500.  By the time I loaded it with enough software to make it functional, the cost had risen to more than double.  So, they have a good product but you have to pay for it.

Here is why they will fail in the long run - Competition.

Apple has a knack for entering a market with a great product that everyone quickly copies.  The i-phone is falling to the back of the pack.  There are new players in the tablet market everyday and their laptop is .... well it's just a laptop that costs more than all of the others.  I even read an article about how i-tunes is fading simply because it's slow, expensive and overly proprietary.

And abroad...

In Egypt, Muslims set fire to a Christian church.  Both sides then duked it out in the streets, throwing rocks at each other.  In the end, 12 people were killed.  I'm wondering which side God was on.  I will never understand this type of thing.  People have different religious beliefs and somehow feel the need to attack the ones that don't agree with them.

I saw a guy on the news. This was in the United States.  He was against Muslims and Christians sharing a church.  Why?  "Because the Muslims believe in a false God."  This is what he actually believes.  And you know what, there is a good chance that many people reading this believe that as well.

There is a game called Indian Poker where everyone puts a card on their forehead, facing out.  In this way, you can see everyone's card but your own.  You bet that your unknown card can beat what you see on everyone else's head.  When I was a kid, these two boys were playing.  They were laughing and laughing and betting and betting.  I went over to see what was so funny. They were playing Indian Poker.  Each was absolutely convinced the other would lose.  Why?  Because each had a 2 on his forehead.  Each was certain they had the winning hand and the other, a losing one.

Religions are a lot like this.  They all think the other guy has the losing hand.

Note:  I have been trying to blog more regularly lately.  However, I do miss some days from time to time.  I only post this once on Facebook per new blog.  If you want to be notified when I post a new blog, fill out the email box at the top of the right column.  You will be notified automatically.  I have nothing to do with it.

It's Monday and the world is in terrible shape after I took the weekend off so I need to leap some tall buildings and such.

Up, up and away...

jim

P.S.  Have a Happy Birthday, Wes.

Targeted

I got up this morning and before heading down the stairs, I sat and talked with my dog about the day ahead.

We do this every morning.  He waits at the top of the stairs and when I sit, he sits.  He listens carefully for keywords such as "Walk" or "Car"; things that mean fun ahead.  Mostly, I think he just likes to hear my voice.  So I put my arm around him and talk.

I go to work.  I come home.  I read.  I write.  I meet with friends.

And Al Qaeda wants to kill me.

Why?

Maybe it's because they don't like the "cut of my jib", whatever that means.  Maybe they blame me for the fact that they live in mud huts.  Maybe they are mad because I don't think exactly like they do leading them to doubt their own beliefs (this is probably it).  Maybe its the virgins.    I wonder what would happen if a terrorist had a near-death experience and when he woke up he said, "I've been to heaven and there are no virgins there."

I bet there would be a steep drop in Exploding Underwear Club membership.

Elsewhere...

The economy added 244,000 new jobs last month.   And yet, unemployment rose from 8.8% to 9.0%.  The reason for this is basically, there was a shift change down at the bureau (<- hard word to spell) of numbers and they had a new guy throwing the dart this month.

I wonder where we would be if the rich didn't get their tax break.  I'm thinking that we'd be right where we are now but with a much smaller national debt.  I can't say this enough.  "Create jobs by creating customers first."  This mean put the money in the hands of the buyers.  The "makers" aren't going to make a thing until this happens.

I tried my hand at making Hungarian Pagacsa (po-gatcha) yesterday.  I now know the origins of cardboard.

A pagacsa is a light, buttery biscuit that tastes great.  There are about 30 different ways to make them. I got one off the internet and inadvertently made the "drywall" version.  Today I will try again.  Once I find the right one....millions!

Then Al Qaeda will really be after me.  ("That man has delicious pagascas and we don't - kill him!")

Politically, I am a Democrat that was a Republican.  I voted for Bush (twice!) and for that, I ask your forgiveness.  However, I am really not one or the other.  For example, California has labor laws that are right out of the liberal playbook.  As a result, companies don't come here to start up business.    The state seems to be oblivious to this.  As much as I blame the Republicans for just about everything (including yesterday's pogacsa debacle) the Democrats are to blame for California's budget woes.

I'm not talking about the Tea Party "Let's cut spending because we sound really just when we say it" gang.  I'm talking about getting government out of the workplace to the point where it is no more intrusive that the other 49 states.

California cannot compete with the other states in much the same way that the United States cannot compete with China.

China has no rules.  The United States has some rules.  California has ALL of the rules.

I like Jerry Brown.  I liked Arnold.  I want them to succeed regardless of political affiliation or quality of film making.  I must admit that back in the late 70's, I was a bit put off by Jerry dating Linda Ronstadt, just when I was thinking of making my move.

I told my dog I would mention him in today's blog.  He wagged his tail in approval.

I need to get him a cape.

Off to save the world.

Up, up and away...

jim