MARK'S WORLD - motopoet's Blog - Bakersfield.com

I'll relent..Just a little

I have been boycotting Bank of America since they decided to hand out credit cards to undocumented persons. It was a ridiculous idea ideastically(to me anyway)but actually a sound business move well worth the risk to BofA. I'm no financial genius(just have a peek at my bank account), but I believe they figured that the percentage of people who might never repay the $500(the card limit)and those who would pay, at least some of it back, measured against the business they would aquire by pandering to the documented persons(let's be honest, 99% of undocumented persons are Mexicans or Central Americans)who may then move to Bof A from WaMu or whoever they banked with. Whatever, I was still pissed.

I see now that BofA will modify thousands of its mortgage loans to help people keep their homes in the face of todays crisis. Some will have principal slashed, others will have to pay only interest for ten years and so on. I like it. Kind of reminds of John Deere not repossesing one piece of farm equipment during the depression. Granted, it was a marketing technique, but it worked. Many farmers will pay more for a Deere to remain laoyal to a company that was loyal to them. I'm sure BofA is emplying the same strategy and I am sure it will pay off.

I still won't bank with or engage in financial business with BofA(for other reasons), but maybe i'll start using their ATM's again

It could be worse!

2008 has been a terrible year for me. I can't remember a year when so many things have gone so wrong in so many areas. Financially, emotionall, physically, work, people; it really has been a bad year and there is still a good chunk of it left!

In January I had enough in savings to get me by, just barely, for a couple of months should the need arise. That safety net is, for teh most part, gone. I am fine as long as I am working my ass off, but if anything at all goes wrong, I am screwed. Immediately! Between many major unexpected expenses and the weakening dollar, I am nearly wiped out. I have been very broke in the past, but it was always because I simply wasn't making much money. I make plenty now, but I have never hemmoraged money like this in the past.

I haven't had the chance to do anything this year to "get away", not even for a weekend. On the rare occasion that I had a little coin, I had no time or I was just to beat from working too much and needed rest. I have put in more 12-16 hour days this year than I ever remember doing before. After nearly thirty years I am finding myself back in the ditch and back on poles..and I am a BOSS! It's wearing me down physically and mentally.

I August my daughter moved away to Vegas and took my little grandson to whom I had grown very attached. It killed me to watch them drive away. My oldest had moved to Fresno in 2007 taking my older grandsons there and with all of us having hectic schedules, I rarely get to see them.

Last month I lost an old buddy to a heart attack. He was 49 and a father of tennaged kids..just like me. He didn;t take care of himself and was a heavy smoker, but still..49? We were running buddies for many years, working and playing together. Chasing women and dreams. I sold him the last 125cc dirtbike I ever owned in 1980 and he still had it when he passed away! We hadn't hung out in a few years, but it still hit me hard.

Yesterday I found out that a long time online friend has lung cancer. Her e-mail did not sound encouraging. I have never met, or even talked on the phone with her, but we have shared many of our difficulties and laughs. She is 64, a mother and a grandmother and a very cool gal. Her name is Judy and she lives in B.C., Canada. Please keep her in your prayers, or if you don't believe in that, just keep her in your heart.

It just stinks, but there are always positive aspects of life too, The things that keep me from sitting in a deepening rut or too long on the pity pot. My daughter is coming back to stay next week so I get to hang with Aidan again. My younger girls are with me and doing well. It's football season and that means the family gets together for my grandson's games whether in person or on TV. I get to actually see Ryan and Dante for a few weekends. Trish, my oldest, is working in town again and I see her regularly. I DO have a very good job that isn't likely to be greatly affected by the economic problems and I have breakfast every Sunday with the family at one of our houses(or at the Sugar Mill when it's Dad's turn)and that keeps me in touch with Mom, Dad, Sis, my Nephew, his wife, my great nephew and soon enough, Cassie and Aidan.

I am healthy and virile, my Harley is paid for and life is pretty good as a whole. I just wish things would calm down a little so I can catch my breath!

Forward or Back? It's up to us!

I can't believe how one sided, narrowminded, inflammatory and uninformed some people are. I don't know if some of these folks really believe what they are saying or if it is just blind hatred that drives their opinions, blanking out the part of their brain that harbors common sense and rationality. I mean there are actually people out there who believe the looming economic crisis is a Bush scam to draw attention from the war! Read my lips people..No matter what happens, he is gone, history, vamoosed! This crisis is no sham and those who believe it is are in for a rude awakening over the next few years.

Then there are those stuck in the past. Forever looking back and never concerning themselves with the present or the future. Buried in recriminations rather than recommendations. Never realizing that past failures are the key to future successes because instead of learning from the past they choose to remain bound up in it.

There are also those who blame the income tax loopholes and paydays of hedge fund managers for teh problems facing a credit market out of control. One guy even claimed they were getting away with only paying a 15% capital gains tax while the rest of us are stuck with 37% income tax! Um..Those guys have to pay taxes on their salaries on top of gains and my effective federal and state tax rates over the last seven years has averaged 15% and 11% respectively. This crisis was not brought about by exorbiant salaries or tax loopholes.

How about the ones dedicated to partisanship? It HAS to be the other guy because he disagrees with me! In my opinion there has never been a more bi-partisan created problem or lack of a tenable solution. Both the executive and legislative(both sides) branches stood by and watched this thing snowball and no one raised a finger to stop or even slow it down when it would have made a difference. Now they are pounding their chests and pointing across the aisle. They are voting against the bailout for all the wrong reasons. Last week it was said they had the votes, but when it came to crunch time, the swing state legislators backed down in the face of pissed off people just to get votes. They have no regard for what is really happening, they just want to keep their jobs while our jobs will be the ones on the chopping block when the dust settles. The honchos in the industry are even more liable. They KNEW this was going to happen. You know how I know that? Because I knew it was going to happen and I'm just a schmoe who works for the railroad!

I heard a guy blaming the republicans for deregulation and that is what has caused so many woes. Well, deregulation has been going on for decades and I agree with it. Regulating an industry doesn't guarantee it will be well and properly managed nor does it guarantee that special interests won't wind up pulling the strings anyway. Deregulation didn't stop oil from being called on the carpet for making money, why blame it for this? You can't have it both ways.

It's time to move forward, stop worrying about why this happened and figure out how to keep it from happening again. It's really not that complicated. Pay closer attention to who is allowed to get money. Stop pointing fingers at the past and start pointing the way to the future. If, in the course of investigations, heads roll, fine, and I don't care who's heads they are as long as they are the right heads and not just those of scapegoats to make the fingerpointers feel warm and fuzzy.

Anyway we look at this, no matter which course is taken, it is going to change the face of American finances forever. I am glad I never did the house bouncing in the market, over mortgaged my house or ran up much credit card debt. I don't spend a lot of money and I couldn't care less about keeping up with the Jones'(sorry Tom and Nancy!), so this crisis won't have a significant effect on me other than me having to pay, once again, for the irresponsibility of others.

Smoke, Mirrors, Democrats and Drilling

It seems the democrats just love making their detractors right. They love to prove themselves to be disingenuous and manipulative and they have done it again. Their bill to open up the coastlines for oil drilling as a gateway to energy independence is no more serious than the promises they made in 2006 to become the "New Kids on the Block". This plan, like their hundred day plan, is a sham; a smokescreen to lure a desperate public to their side before the elections. I don't think it will work this time.

The bill opens up waters, but only fifty miles or more offshore and then only if the state whos shores will be drilled off of agrees to it. Even if the states agree to it (which is unlikely when you consider that democrats control most of the states where this drilling would occur which which would allow the state senates to say no for the sake of their states even though their Washington representatives said yes for the sake of getting elected) it is still fifty miles offshore. The oil is much closer inland and they know it. Oh, did I mention that the Gulf states are not included in this bill? The only states that that would throw their waters open because there IS oil in the fifty plus mile zones in the gulf.

Nancy Pelosi, who ram-rodded this hoax of legislation, has already been overheard telling deomcrats to "say whatever it takes to get the votes". You can't buy high quality glass as transparent as this woman!

I read an article slamming McCain for his energy plan because it wasn't, essentially, short term enough. Hey people, there is no short term solution to oil prices. My last post spoke to the real reason gas prices have fallen even the small amount that they have and it has nothing to do with political decisions(on oil anyway) or public opinion.

I am confident that more Americans will come to the same conclusions I and many others have where a realaistic, long term solution to energy, namely fossil fuels, is concerned. Stop gap election year whitewashing is beginning to wear we average Joe's down. We all want real solutions and the dinosaurs in donkey suits are going to find that out the hard if they don't start listening.

Oil companies have already stated that they will not invest in drilling operations outside the fifty mile zone, so I ask you, what did the democrats accomplish? Nothing, nada, zilch; at least not as far as drilling is concerned, but hey, shoehorned into the bill is a tax on oil companies that will collect billions from the largest oil companies that can be used to "promote energy effenciency"! Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy now? You can lie under a blanket in your cold, darkened house with a car full of gas in the driveway that no longer has those cute "Malibu Lights" alongside it as you ponder the shape of the economy due to higher taxes that help no one and hurt the rank and file oil industry workers with job cuts to accomodate the higher taxes, but at least gas prices wont go back up! Whatta plan!

Yes, unrealistic drilling plans and higher taxes on oil companies. Umm..that helps you and me how? Now or in the future? This plan is another democrat smokescreen that I honestly believe will be disapated by the winds of change, and it's not going to resemble the change the likes of Pelosi and Obama have spoken of.

Dont get giddy just yet

You see it everywhere. People smiling at the gas stations because prices are falling. It's a warm fuzzy feeling because now they can take the wife to dinner or the kids to the beach. Then they get there and reality sets in. The twenty they saved at the pump isn't the same twenty they were holding a year ago. It may buy a few more gallons of gas, but it won't but the two of you dinner at Denny's or the family a bowl each of clam chowder at Pismo.

Uprisings in Nigeria, the problems with Russia, Irans continued insolence, the mid east situation and the uncertainty over domestic production; these are things that should be driving prices UP, not down. The dollar is a mess and the economy is staggering under the weight of a recession that the Fed should have let happen after the dotcom collapse and 9/11 instead of floating hope in the form of money that really wasn't there.

It's easy(and quite popular)to blame the current administration, but in reality, Alan Greenspan is as much to blame as anyone else. The easy money of the last eight years was his baby. It was he who decided America shouldn't have to weather the storm of the easy money of the nineties going haywire so we could have more easy money in the new millenium. That America had suffered enough..On HIS watch anyway. Well, he is gone and hopefully so are his ideas about saving us from ourselves.

It's time for us to feel the pain that Bill Clinton said he felt along with us(I doubt he and Hillary will feel any of this pain..I guess that really makes them Republicans!)and allow the economy to take the lumps it should have taken back then when it wouldn't have been so painful. Lumps that would have healed by now. We can't keep putting it off by printing more money. We made this bed, why should we not have to sleep in it?

So, as our cars sit, tanks full of cheaper gas, in our driveways, let us look at the big picture and contemplate why that is happening so next time it starts to happen we will say "Hey, Wait a minute"!

YEAH RIGHT! And people have the nerve to say that conservatives have THEIR heads in the sand!

My butt is too big, but nobody is bailing IT out!

Chrysler in the seventies, the S&L's in the eighties and now Freddie, Fannie and possibly the Big Three and American Airlines. I'm speaking of bailouts. The excuse? They're too big to be allowed to fail. What about letting them fail and allowing those interested in rebuilding the markets in a way that won't wipe out the economy all at once? Maybe smaller companies could better manage things as they tend to be more accountable in these matters. Hey, I'm no economist or even a businessman, but I can't help wonder how they were allowed to become so large that it was obvious that their possible failure would have devestating economic repercussions that would, once again, overburden the taxpayer.

Chrysler re-paid it's debt to America, but it is unlikely that will happen by any of the bloated entities calling for todays economic cavalry given the problems in todays economy. It seems as we have no choice but to either give them the money or nationalize them, neither of which I agree with, but hey, I just work for the railroad. In the former case the taxpayer loses, in the latter, society loses.

I hate the idea of telling a company how to do business, but there comes a time when we need to ask ourselves "When is too big going to cost us too much"?

Where is OUR parachute?

Well, it happened. Fannie and Freddie are now, for all intents and purposes, under the control of the government who has pledged unlimited backing of bad loans held by the two corporations. In the beginning it was said the cost of the bailout to the taxpayer would be in the neighborhood of 100 billion dollars. Now economists are saying that in reality it will be somewhere between 1.2 and 2.7 trillion dollars which translates to about $7,500 to 14,000 to every houselhold in America over the next five to ten years!

This is an outrage and not due to just the numbers or the poor management of these titans, but the fact that this is as much about politics as is about economics. It probably pisses Dubya off that this couldn't have waited till after the elctions to happen, and instead of committing the government to an immediate bailout or truly nationalizing the two, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulsen says it is only a temporary measure. Yeah..He also said the actual cost to the taxpayer is difficult to calculate. Um..Doesn't he mean hard to be honest about?

No, this mess is going to be one of the first problems the next administration will have to deal with. McCain is on record as being against bailouts and Obama is on record as being all for higher taxes and more government control, so it's easy to figure out what he would do, not that either would really have a choice at this point. Hmm..I don't see myself having an extra 14K in mad money over the next few years to pay for a problem I had nothing to do with creating, do you? No matter what ends up happening here, hard working, responsible Americans will, once again be called upon to take up the slack of the irresponsible.

It would be very difficult to just throw the two to the dogs as that would have serious domestic as well as global economic repercussions so maybe there was really little choice now that it has gone this far, but the fact is that it didn't have to happen in the first place. There is no way anyone is going to convince me that the Grand Poobah's at these places didn't realize the possible future impact of such flimsy lending practices and limit their liabilities, but it is apparent that they realized the government would send in the financial cavalry at the appropriate time, and this is not an administrational issue as much as a congressional and senate issue. When big oil started making money hand over fist they were called on the Washington carpet, but nobody made a peep when high finance was doing the same thing. Someone should have to answer for this very expensive mess and it shouldn't have to be me and you. So, I ask again, where are the senate inquiries and hearings?

If no one is made to explain themselves and answer for their actions (or lack of them), what is to keep them from making the same mistakes over again? If I knew that someone would bail me out financially everytime I was on the verge of bankruptcy, what motivation would there be for me to change my financial practices and reckless habits?

The managers of the two need to be called on the carpet if their companies are going to be allowed to survive, but as it stands now, these men are going to be allowed to stay on, salaries and bonuses intact, to help the government manage the conservatorship.

I say it's time to lay the blame where it belongs and I also say it's time to initiate serious reform in lending practices, not just in the mortgage market, but all the way down to credit cards. Are you listening B of A? When borrowers don't even have to show proof of adequate income or even proof of citizenship(I can't get squat without my social, but illegals can at B of A)so the creditors can squeeze every possible drop of blood from the masses, many of whom will never pay their debt whether by circumstance or by design thus causing the mucky-mucks to lay that bad debt off on the taxpayer, something needs to be done. Until me and you stop playing P.C. patty-cake and partisan pocket pool, this will continue to be an issue. Are you ready to get serious? I am. If we, on both sides, spend as much time and passion writing our elected officials as we spend writing blogs and getting rid of, through the vote, those who continue to protect their special interest buddies in the world of high finance, maybe we can be the ones who initiate that change.

Who's Watching the Watchers?

I am a people watcher. Wherever I go I spend a great deal of time just looking around seeing what people are doing, how they are dressed, what little moves they make and tells they may have. I can spot certain types of people a mile away and very accurately predict their behavior. I am wrong once in awhile, but not very often.

I used to sit outside the Thrifty Drug store in Tehachapi with an old friend eating ice cream on we called "Inventory Bench" because we wouls sit there and take the inventory of everyone who walked by. If character assasination were a crime, we would both be doing life sentences!

During the years I was involved in AA and NA I honed my skills at figuring people out quickly. I could tell if someone was serious about changing their life just by watching the way they walked in the room and how they sat. People watching there was shooting mice in a barrel! I know these programs aren't supposed to foster that type of judgement and aren't there for teh purpose of people watching, but they are and human nature is what it is.

The mall is an excellent place to people watch for myriad reasons. The age groups, income brackets, attitudes, cliques, etc. Christmas is particularly interesting because almost everyone is pissed by the time they have fought traffic and parking to get there then realize that in the next couple of hours they are going to spend more than they made in the last couple of months. It's fun to witness the dichotomy of grumbling mall scrooges elbowing their way through the churning mass of humanity as gleeful, hopeful Cristmas music wafts from the PA system.

Doctor and dentist office waiting rooms are also a palette of hunan colors and hues of attitude and personality. Nobody wants to be there, but I always try and make the best of it. Just today while waiting for my daughters to get exams, I watched a very attractive woman with her teen daughter as she grumbled about the wait and then groused on her cell with a son who had obviously screwed something up. When she hung up she grumbled "Idiot"! I had to go outside and laugh. When I came back in she was looking at me oddly and I said, "You sound just like me"!

All these are great places to pick on the human condition, but none come close to the true candy store of human diversity. Las Vegas! I have never run out of crap to talk, cultures to slam, drunks to dog or women to watch while there. From guys gambling away a savings account to married women on the loose with a casino full of young men and free booze, from foreign tourists dissing we Americans in God knows how many languages to Seniors on bus tours dressed in Neo-Gift Shop neon to locals looking bored and annoyed with the whole thing. It makes me want to go back just thinking about it!

So, the next time you're somewhere and see some guy looking around with alternating looks of humor and amazement, possibly even stopping on you for a moment, come over and say hi!

At least I don't get headaches!

In the summer of 1971, when I was eleven, I was working for a guy named Jimi Monji cleaning horse stalls. It was my first job and I made $1.00 an hour. One day as I pushed the loaded wheelbarrow up a 2x12 plank that led to the "Big Pile" to dump my load, the plank flipped over and one of the skids of the barrow landed on my right big toe. It split the toe open and hurt more than anything I had even known to that point. I never went to the Dr. but I am sure it was broken, having experienced the same thing a couple of times since.

Thus began a thirty seven year run of broken bones(over 15), torn muscles and ligaments, blown cartilige, sprains and various owies including two broken femurs(1975 and 2000), two fractured vertabra and disc fusions in my neck, which was my last major malfuction associated with a very rough and demanding physical life, and I tell ya people..I feel it.

As I look fifty in the face I am beginning to realize that my body will not last forever. Aside from mutants like Jack LaLane, our bodies wear out, some faster than others depending on the abuse we subject them to, and I have subjected mine to plenty. Motocross, Baseball(didn't think it was a rough sport, did you?), fighting and work have conspired to age my bones beyond their years.

I limp, I pop and crackle and I grunt when I get out of a chair. I sometimes take scalding showers because my burning skin takes my mind off whatever else is bothering me. I can no longer run and even walking more than a mile or so makes all my joints below the waist give me fits. I have to take sabbaticals from the gym because I am only good for a year or so before even that catches up with me.

I have to be very careful when walking on uneven ground and especially down inclines as I have no ACL in my left knee and it tends to pop out of place if I put too much lateral pressure on it. I have a prescription knee brace, but I only wear it when I am on the dirtbike.

After my broken femur in 2000, I started taking Vicodin and still do occasionally, when my body demands relief. It doesn't matter if it's hot or cold. My body hurts when it feels like it.

Yeah, I've been pretty hard on my body over the years and the lessons I've learned over time generally keep me from doing any more damage to myself with the exception of riding dirtbikes. A dangerous habit I just can't seem to shake.

I don't remember what it's like to feel like a million bucks or wake up in the morning not aching. I can't hold a phone in the crook of my neck and it's difficult to hold a pillow under my chin while I try to put a pillowcase on it. I should pay more attention to what I say in tense situations as my shoulders are too messed up to throw a decent punch and my legs are too messed up to run away!

I have enough metal in me to start a small scrap metal business and one of my most prized trophies is the first rod they put in my femur in 2000. The first was too small and had to be replaced. I really do think of it as a trophy because on a Sunday I went 3-1 for second overall and Monday(It was Memorial Day)I went down and to AVMC for an all expenses paid week! I also have copies of all the x-rays of my little metal collection. Is that classified as Sadism?

I haven't had a steroid injection in my left shoulder for over a year and it is starting to keep me up at night again and really hurt after exertion. My right ankle is starting to "hitch" more often(it has a screw in it) and my hips never stop hurting, but I have no regrets. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat, although those who have been burdened with my recoveries may have other ideas!

Yes, it has all been worth it. Like the Garth Brooks song says, "If I hadn't taken the chance, I'd have had to miss the dance". I can't wait for it to get cooler so I can go ride the dirtbike again. Yeah..I need some excitement even though my life has been anything but boring..

Hey..Can you pass the vicodin?

What's left to say?

Well, We all know who is running on both sides..The Prez, the Veep. Both have made their speeches at their respective conventions, and let's face it. 99% of Americans have already made up their minds on who they will pull, punch or touch for. Liberals made their minds up after the Primary as did Republicans and most conservatives. I say MOST conservatives because some, so fed up with the inadequacies of the last few years of Dubya defected to the Libertarians, but not enough to make a real dent in the final look of the fender.

Yeah, the debates still loom, but those rarely cause any defections from either candidate, it just gives the networks another way to try and monopolize my time, but instead, send me running to the History Channel or some such enlightening network.

I am not going to change anyone's mind with my blatherings on things political and I tire of preaching to the choir. As I recently said to an old liberal friend(he would make RF seem like a moderate),"It's not like you are going to open one of my e-mails and say..OH MY GOD! I've been wrong all this time"!

With that attitude in mind, I am going to write about some things that make me feel good. Ya know..Life in general. Talk about things instead of talking crap about things and people. I feel emotionally bankrupt and politics just wears me out even more...

So..On with the show