Archive for April, 2009
Obama blasts Chrysler investors, stands behind company’s workers
I was fascinated at the little I caught of the President’s news conference today in which he blasted some of the Chrysler debt-holders and openly stated he was standing behind the autoworkers at Chrysler and elsewhere as he announced a bankruptcy reorganization for the troubled automaker.
His specific comment about a group of hedge fund investors went something like this:
“They were hoping that everybody else would make sacrifices and they would have to make none. Some demanded twice the return that other lenders were getting. I don’t stand with them. I stand with Chrysler’s employees and their families and communities. I stand with Chrysler’s management, its dealers and its suppliers. I stand with the millions of Americans who own and want to buy Chrysler cars.”
Let me be the first to inform you if you’ve missed the obvious here: President Obama can play politics with the best of ‘em, and at least part of that statement (and his news conference in general) was purely political.
I was as stirred as many others probably were who were watching that live announcement of the Chrysler bankruptcy, sure I was. Many people, myself included, probably thought something like, “At last, Obama’s getting tough with these fat cat investors who’ve decimated our nation since last fall in one way or another. At last, Obama’s applying some sort of serious metaphorical “acne treatments” to the nasty boils and blemishes of Wall Street largess that’s hurt us all here on Main Street.”
Or something like that.
Then I ran onto a short L.A. Times business report on the whole statement and whole Chrysler deal that was published about an hour after the President’s statement. I discovered the lenders Obama accused of submarining the Chrysler deal included a group of 20 hedge funds that manager, among other things, teachers’ pension funds and other workers’ pension funds. According to the L.A. Times account, some of these smaller groups had offered earlier this week to take a 40% loss on their investments, but that had been rejected by the federal government negotiators.
So — what’s really the story here? I suppose that it might be something like this: Major American automakers ought to be saved, and hopefully will be saved, but the picture is ALWAYS complicated beyond what we see and hear in the media, because the picture always includes politics.
Now excuse me as I get back to reading my papers. Haven’t seen the comics page yet today.
How about a straight answer when health’s at issue?
Doctors did a study reported today about painkillers. The drug they studied was acetaminophen — most popularly sold as Ty****l. Their study found people taking acet. at the highest recommended dosages showed abnormal results on some liver testing.
Not happy news, no matter how you cut that. But here’s the deal — did the drug cause liver damage or liver problems, or did it simply mess up the tests? Some stories (like this one, for example) come right out and say using the stuff could “trigger” liver damage. Whatever “could trigger” might mean?? The report they had about it on the local TV news emphasized at the start of the report and the end that the drug only caused irregular test results, not liver damage.
Small issue, maybe, but within 15 minutes of the TV coverage, a spokeswoman for the major pharmaceutical company which manufactures that best-known name brand acetaminophen was quick to appear in a commercial urging customers to take their product only according to the proper dosage.
My point is this: Will high dosages of the drug harm me, or only give some sort of false tests that LOOK like they’re harming me?
For an old guy like me always taking painkillers for ongoing aches and pains, I’d really like to know — before the health breakdown rather than after.
Darn media people. They need to get it straight before they report it.
But, hey, what do I know? I’m just a guy who reads the papers.
Is the world filled with people who only know how to PANIC at the news?
Is the world really filled with people who only know how to react with panic when they read or hear the news?
I ask because everything negative or dangerous going on in the world seems to inspire panic or near panic, whether we’re talking about economic trouble or swine flu. From the 24/7 cable channels to Internet blogs, no one seems to pause and reflect on ANYTHING. Instead, everyone runs around screaming: “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
Look at the economic downturn, for example. As grim as the economy is worldwide, there still are people out there finding the best buy on everything from TV sets to cars to stock prices. I realize that’s not really good news for people who have lost huge chunks of their retirement funds or even their jobs. But for those with even a little bit of money for buying or investing, these are not bad times.
And then there’s the huge crisis (?) dominating the news cycles yesterday and today — a swine flu epidemic (?) spreading throughout the U.S. and Mexico. I would not pretend to minimize the potential problems associated with this new strain of flu. Health officials are urging everyone to take two major precautions to maximize their chances of being infected with this or any other flu: 1) cover your mouth when/if you cough or sneeze, and, 2) wash your hands with lots of soap and hot water frequently.
But whether you’re facing hard times economically or you’re worried about the flu outbreak — DON’T PANIC. Don’t take foolish risks and don’t ignore real dangers — but DON’T PANIC.
Got it? Good.
If you can’t celebrate Earth Day — how about Earth Minute?
If you can’t find the time and effort to celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday, April, 22, how about finding a spare minute — literally — to celebrate Earth Minute?
Go ahead and read that blog post I’ve linked to above. It’s a tongue-in-cheek proposal by a blogger Shea Gunther. I know little about Mr. Gunther, but having found his blog I’ve bookmarked it to check back regularly. He makes it clear at the end of his Earth Minute post that it is tongue-in-cheek — but who knows? As he suggests, in these days of Twitter and other microblogging venues, perhaps it’ll catch on?
I found that blog and that particular post in a Tweet on my Twitter account by Mr. Gunther. (If you’d care to “Follow” him on Twitter, his account is @sheagunther.)
More from the recession front lines: Even luxury car sales are declining
Alas, economic hard times are even hitting luxury car manufacturers and sales, according to an online article I read recently at a Tampa Bay area newspaper website. (You remember newspapers, don’t you? Those large pieces of paper with lots of words on them that many of us used to read for daily and weekly news in pre-Internet days? You do remember, don’t you??)
Apparently Rolls Royce is doing best in that area, only dropping from 37 sales in February 2008 to 36 in 2009. Alas, Ferrari sales declined for the same months from 135 to 90, and Lamborghini went down from 84 to 70. All that makes you wonder, though, have Ferrari parts or Lamborghini parts increased in sales over the last year as owners focus on repair and maintenance so they can make do and hang on to their aging vehicles, rather than replacing them? No word on that.
I know you can make a case that the “rich” or “super rich” suffer during economic times just as the rest of us do. After all, to the man or woman who’s accustomed to living on, say, $1.7 million annual income it would be a radical cutback to make a go of it on $975,000. (And I’m only half sarcastic about that. Really.)
I mean, wow, how many Rolls or Bentleys can you possibly buy and maintain if you’re facing such a hit in income?? Hard times are upon us all.
Fair question — how much do we waste on ‘health’ products despite recession?
I posted just awhile ago about people who continue to pamper their pets in recessionary times, which leads to another very fair question: Do we “pamper” or needlessly spoil ourselves in recessionary times with all the “health” products we eat, swallow, rub on, etc.?
I saw part of an interview with the new Wal-Mart’s CEO, Rick Duke, in which he was being questioned about consumer spending habits in recessionary times. He was fascinated to discover that one of the retail industries that was doing very well in all the Wal-Mart stores was — vitamins, minerals, and other “health” products. (I use quote marks around health because I’m not qualified in any way to give health-related or medical advice, so I’m not going to call such products healthy. Consult a medical professional for that, please.)
Yet if we simply exercised regularly and ate healthy, balanced diets consumed carefully and in moderate quantities — would we really need diet pills or phenphedrine reviews to tell us how to be healthy??
I’m sure there are some wonderful “health” products, diet pills, vitamin supplements, and all the rest out there. (My wife and I both take multivitamins daily; I’ve used diet pill products in the past myself.) But perhaps these economic “hard times” have cut the budget in ways that mean we’ve got to cut back on such purchases.
Don’t be alarmed. You PROBABLY won’t die if you have to give up your favorite supplement, or at least cut back on it. How about, go eat half a cantaloupe and some crunchy raw broccoli instead? (Well, okay, not necessarily together.)
Will pet lovers let hard times dampen their pet pampering ways?
Will pet lovers let hard times dampen their pet pampering ways? I don’t think so.
I was at our local supermarket today and stopped to talk with a buddy of mine who manages their freezer section. He and I were laughing about an exclusive line of very high-ticket “natural, organic” pet supplies a distributor convinced one of the other section managers to carry. It has been an absolute bomb for the story and all the section managers raze that pet supply guy about it.
That started the two of us speculating on how these recessionary times are impacting pets and pet lovers. Although their specific efforts at pampered pet foods (all organic pet foods?? ‘Cmon!) failed, there’s plenty of evidence both of us could cite that the truly most fanatically pet lovers out there might complain of their personal and family hard times — but would continue such silliness as “Pupperware Parties” for pampered pets anyway.
Whether you’re talking about dog supplies, cat supplies, or ferret kibble, calling anything you do for pets “pampering” is a very dangerous, slippery slope, I know. Nothing angers pet owners quite so much as ridiculing the pet carry bags, pet strollers, pet clothing, etc., which they buy for little FooFoo.
At the same time, there are ongoing reports from various animal shelters that foreclosures and rising unemployment are sending a ton of pets to their shelters because owners can no longer keep them. So I don’t mean to make light of the impact economic hard times have on pets and pet lovers. For those folks and their pets, I offer my sympathy and concern.
But for the “organic, all-natural” fanatics and those who sponsor Pupperware Parties — really, get a life. Let your pet have a real life, too.
Scary news from front lines of ‘cyberespionage’ reported today
Some scary news from the front lines of the battle of “cyberespionage” was reported today: Cyberspies from foreign nations have penetrated the nation’s powergrid — and left various types of hidden software in place to have their way with the U.S. energy system pretty much whenever/however they decide to knock us around.
Seriously. This is NOT some sort of late April Fool’s joke, not some sort of tongue-in-cheek thing. This is the disturbing reality of living in our time. I don’t know about you, but I like to hope someone out there is doing something about this matter. Living in an area with miserable ice in the winter and unbearable humidity most of the rest of the year, I’m not thrilled about someone browning out or blacking out the power. For ANY reason.
So let’s get our IT acts together, people, and find a way to save America from this hideous stuff. Surely the nation that brought the world such minds as Edison, Ford, Tesla, and others (Was Tesla American? He lived here, anyway) can pull this one out of the fire? Can’t we? Can’t we??
Always had very mixed feelings about April Fool’s foolishness
You can guess from the title above that I have very mixed feelings about April Fool’s foolishness. Okay, you don’t need to do any guessing at all — because I flat out said so. And I really am conflicted about it.
If I told you that the world’s best acne treatment had been revealed and that it involved smearing oatmeal mixed with green food dye on your face overnight three times a week — you’d immediately know that I was kidding around, or that I’d lost my mind. (You would know that was a joke, right? Right??)
But if I posted on a members-only forum at a software site raving about the newest upgrade, when no new upgrade had been released, you might not immediately “get it.” (Lame example, but it happened earlier today to several of us — yeah, they got me and at least three other people who posted to the forum.) Still, that ranks as irritating or distracting, not really harmful.
If, on the other hand, I created a computer virus that spread to millions of computers and carried the threat of a big outbreak to spread further on April 1, there would be NOTHING either lame or funny about that. In fact, if you use a computer and the Internet at all (and if you didn’t you wouldn’t be reading this, would you?) you know that is exactly what has happened with that ‘Conficker’ virus which has been in the news for weeks.
I guess my biggest beef with April Fool’s jokes is that really good ones walk the line between irritating and malicious, but too often cross the line and come off malicious. Sure, no harm no foul on many April Fool’s jokes. But I get distressed that so many people who mean well — and who are downright clever many times! — carry things too far and someone gets disrespected, humiliated, or even downright harmed.
Have fun out there today, boys and girls, but stay away from harmful, malicious stuff, whadda ya say? (Put down the oatmeal and walk away from the food coloring now.)