Stand Up Honesty

I’m ashamed of myself today because I allowed a conversation to continue that I could have and should have stopped. Instead, I stood back and shook my head, keeping my thoughts of disgust internal.

It doesn’t do any good to keep those thoughts internal, it perpetuates the belief that you cosign the conversation and you’re now an accomplice. The first step towards redemption is acceptance through honesty.

I accept that I was more concerned with my perception at the time of the conversation than I was with the content of the conversation.

I willfully allowed my ego to dominate my decision making process in hopes to remain in good ties with the crowd.

By allowing the conversation to continue I became an accomplice in the propogation in the objectification of women.

By allowing the conversation to continue I allowed others to continue their belief that I am in acceptance of their belief in the objectification of women.

1st Class Fail?

Could any single company last as long as Microsoft and still fail as frequently as Microsoft? I think not.

It Doesn’t ADD Up

Over the past couple decades we’ve seen a boom in diagnosed cases of Attention Deficit Disorder, ADD, and Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder, ADHD. Either the food we’re eating is jacked with hormones (as Bill Maher may say) or the pharmaceutical companies love selling Ritalin.

Could there be another answer though? I think there is. I think we have technology to blame, and I’ll tell you why.

Today’s technology is twice as advanced as yesterday’s technology, and this exponential growth will continue for generations to come. Computers, phones, PDA’s, and even MP3 players have the ability to multitask several high priority processes without as much as a hiccup (unless of course you’re running a Windows based product…. … ). A person’s capacity to multitask has also grown exponentially these days; to the point where it becomes one of the most widely used keywords searched by on websites like Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com.

Today’s generation can’t get a job unless they can multitask the very processes that management can’t multitask themselves. But in an age dominated by technology and devices, has management come to expect “device-like” behavior from their employees; which are oddly perceived more as resources and tools than personnel?

I think we will all begin to suffer from some form of ADD/ADHD in the near future, at least those of us working in an industry that relies heavily on technology and instant gratification. Your UK clients are aware of technology that allows them to send an email to all of your accounts and simultaneously ring all of your telephone numbers. You can’t hide.

Now back to work.

New, Clear Hyper Nation

So I started learning the guitar last month and I’m officially 4 lessons in and absolutely addicted.  I pick up the guitar and play for about 20-25 hours every single week, neglecting meals and all other luxuries in life.

Part of my new found guitar obsession is this new appreciation for good music.  I am more aware of talented musicians who write bad songs and get terrible publicity for it.  At the same time, I’m realizing how truly talented guitarists are, and in general, how talented musicians are.

Here are the songs I’m working on as of today:

• “Gloria” Van Morrison
• “Everlong” Foo Fighters
• “Wonderwall” Oasis
• “About a Girl” Nirvana
• “Blackbird” The Beatles

In addition to playing these songs, I’ve been writing down thoughts.  I hope these thoughts will eventually lead to songs that I can write music to and play along with.  But either way, I’m really having a great time and would urge anyone to pick up any instrument, take some lessons and start smiling more.

New, Clear Hyper Nation
Greed and deceit
Bleed and retreat
Conspire and lie
Fight and die
This is our cycle

Our new, clear hyper nation
A loss of power
A rise in devastation
A call to arms
A nuclear heightened nation

Knife the back
…redact
Knife the heart
Just the start
We can take this back

Our new, clear hyper nation
Make it true
Fight for Youth
Make it new
Fight for Truth
We’ve got this one shot,
Cannot,
Must Not,
Let it go, it’s over
Your time has come
We’ve finally won
Cannot,
Must Not,
Let it go

This is our cycle
Our new, clear hyper nation
A loss of power
A rise in devastation
A call to arms
A nuclear heightened nation

2008 In Review

Saying 2008 was an eventful year would be an understatement. But don’t let that fool you into thinking 2009 is my off year. I anticipate much of the crazy, hectic, hair-losing that my friends went through in 2008(weddings anyone?). 2008 can be summarized in far more entertaining ways than what I am about to regurgitate, but nevertheless, I must go on before I forget everything.

January “Decision Month:” I had a big decision to make in January 2008; granted, I had been pondering this for much longer but it was this month that a decision had to be made. At the time I was working at CA, which was a convenient 15 minutes from my apartment at the time. The location was fantastic, the facilities were outstanding, the work itself was pretty good and the coworkers were good coworkers. So what decision did I have to make? Well, the manager who hired me in had left and the new manager had a new way of managing the department – which included my role. To make a long story short, the old manager had put a ton of faith in me and wanted me to take on high visibility projects while the new manager wanted me to stick to my defined role (and that itself is a story all of its own). I spent a month looking around the job market and couldn’t find anything that was grabbing my attention. I looked internally, but was stonewalled because I had to be with the company for 1 year before I was allowed to change positions internally. Right about the time I was going to just suck it up and stick it out (oh that’s filthy!!) the new manager promoted the new girl to SAP Project Manager. The former SAP Project Manager was the current new manager, someone who had 20+ years of experience. The new SAP Project Manager was a former car salesperson with experience topping out at 5 years and 0 years was in SAP! My coworkers had thought I was the person they were announcing as the new SAP Project Manager and to make another long story short, unhappiness ruled the SAP Training Team. So back to the big decision! I made a few phone calls and in a matter of weeks, was on the brink of working for myself as an Independent Consultant. This would afford me the opportunity to hand-pick my projects as well as my rate of pay. The death of the American Economy was looming and people were chatting about it here and there, but at the time, we all still thought a recession could be fought off. So did I take the opportunity to work on my own and risk job security or did I stick it out and make changes with the current job?

February “Big Chill:” The shortest month of the year was the longest 4 weeks of 2008 for me. I told CA that I was leaving and the new manager’s timeless response was simply, “Shit!” They didn’t do much to retain me, and those who I had worked with closely were sorry to see me go but happy that I was getting into something better. I had made a contractual commitment to work at Select Comfort in Minneapolis for a minimum of 8 weeks at a pay rate that would help kick start my poor ass finances. February 21, 2008 was the day I first flew out to Minneapolis (nice and chilly!) and started work as an Independent Contractor. The coworkers were pretty good and the location was awesome for a number of reasons. A week or so into the project I was nearing the end of February, and it wasn’t the bad economy looming – just really shitty luck.

March “Big Scare:” Frikin March. We were only 3 weeks into the new project and I find myself hearing chatter that the project is about to be cancelled. What. The. Fuck!? I clung to the phones and was searching for a new project when I hadn’t even been paid for the first project! What frikin crappy luck! I leave my cushy job at CA and 3 weeks later the inept client has to cancel the project; wish I would’ve known before!! Anyway, I spent a couple weeks looking for the next project and had to turn down some undesirables along the way. If it wasn’t the location, it was the pay rate, and if it wasn’t the pay rate, it was the length of the contract. All I wanted was something a bit more stable, maybe a new project, and something along the lines of what I was getting paid in Minneapolis (which I’ll likely not see for years to come). It only took a few weeks, but in the last week of March, I found it. The client was Colgate and the location was New Jersey. Guess who lives in NJ? You got it! I moved into a new apartment with 2 roommates as well. The apartment is OUTSTANDING!

April “Big Easy:” Colgate rules. I had a week off in between projects and was happy to get back to work. Colgate was a 3+ hour commute but I had a great hotel, a decent rate, a good coworker (singular) and the client was a former project of mine so acclimating was quick. Being in NJ during the month of April afforded me the opportunity to spend time with my New Jersey friends, and I took advantage of that at every opportunity. I even got grilled by someone’s father about Hindu and why I should convert immediately. And how can I forget the classic eye rolling of his daughter when he mentioned how women had all the power – HA! – what trip! April was also the month that I started my own company officially with the help of the aforementioned father and daughter. TSC – Think Solution Consulting – would offer me the opportunity to apply for more contracts and would help legitimize my name in the industry of Independent Consultants. My best friend and future Co-Best Man was wed to his lovely wife who shares the name of my fiancé. The wedding was a ton of fun if you subtract the part when I slid down the hill in my tux as I was running to my car for my wallet.

May “Lazy:” Colgate ended in May and I spent the rest of the month and part of the next month not working at all. The fiancé was freaking out and I was starting to get nervous towards the end, but that wasn’t until June so I won’t include that in May. May brought me 3 weeks of sleeping in, playing video games, chilling with my puppy Trot, and drinking 6 days a week; just because I could. I’d take calls from potential clients while playing beer pong or shooting heads off with a sniper rifle; May was good.

June “Long Haul:” June started slow and picked up pace quite fast. I started a new contract, my first as an employee of my own company and was flying to Baltimore, then training to Washington, D.C. to provide services to AES, an energy company. Again, I found myself earning a fair pay and working with good people. This project was slated to last a few months and by the time it ended I would be debt free and rolling in dough! The other big event was the biggest, longest (filthy!!) wedding I will EVER attend, and according to the bride, the ONLY wedding she’ll ever have! The entire day was jam packed with awesomeness, except when the fiancé was bit by a random pit bull on the side of the highway (long story!). Oh and my roommate, friend, and fraternity brother (all in one) announced he was having a baby!

July “Huh?:” I don’t remember much of July. I worked. I traveled. I tried buying a house I think, but that didn’t work out too well. Oh yah! After 5 solid weeks on the project, I hear chatter that a new change management team is coming on board and everyone’s job is at stake. AWESOME! Back to the frikin phones!

August “Back to Reality:” August was the month where all my hopes and dreams of being a filthy rich bastard with no debt came down with a crash; quite the precursor for our nation’s economy might I say! I had to abandon my hopes to continue working for myself in exchange for job security. Luckily, I found a full-time job making a fair salary. The only compromise is the 2+ hour commute each way to the big city coupled with another move! The fiancé and I decided that since one of our 2 roommates was moving out, that we should probably resign a lease for our apartment until after the wedding in 2009 so that we don’t have to find housing while we plan a wedding. This was the plan since the house on Party Drive fell through. So I’m working in the city and I’ve got a few friends working in the city as well, this can’t be that bad!

September “Families Meet:” September’s big event was the engagement party where my family first met the fiancé’s family. It also marked the first time that my various groups of friends would all be in the same place at the same time. The event was a decent success, although I would’ve been happier if the fiancé’s family spent more time with my family. It was almost as if her family went into their standard party mode and totally forgot how immense and important this was to me and my family. Still had a good time though.

October “Grinding:” October was nothing special. Did stuff. Turned 25. Worked. Move along.

November “Reigning Champion:” November was a bit more exciting than October. I returned to the Rubinson household and reigned supreme as beer pong champion with my fiancé. The losing team was not so thrilled with the loss; but they got over it. My friend bought a house in New Jersey and we celebrated the same weekend I defended my crown at another New Jersey home – so all in all, good month. I ate a ton of food on Thanksgiving too.

December “Finale:” December wasn’t too shabby. I spent half the month working from home and the other half was uneventful. New Year’s Eve was spent on a heated, rooftop garden bar in the city and I survived until way past 1 A.M. this year!

The end.

Easy there buddy – Racism is NOT dead!

Barack Hussein Obama is the President of the United States of America (Acceptance Speech: Goosebumps Galore).  But slow down there big fella!  Racism is not dead in America simply because we elected an African-American as President.

You don’t need me to tell you that you can win an election with less votes because your candidate has more electoral college votes (see 2000 Presidential Election Results).  This year, President-elect Obama received more votes than Senator McCain, and many more electoral college votes.  While I am not trying to cast a shadow on this tremendous achievement, and this monumental step forward in equality in America – I would find it naive for us to believe that racism is a thing of the past.  People still voted for McCain because he is White, just as people voted for Obama because he is black.  But when people vote for McCain because Obama is black; that’s when we have a problem.

Last night on CNN, their table of old white dudes said that many questions of racism have to be put behind us if Obama is elected President.  I could not disagree more.  While racism is not a way of life for the majority of Americans, racism is still quite prevalent in this country.  I don’t see the old white lady smiling and waving to a black man at night because Obama is President.  I don’t see the KKK and Al Sharpton sitting down at a table together and sharing a cup of coffee (guess who wants their coffee light and sweet?).

Far beyond the racist tendencies of the individuals and small racist organizations peppered throughout America, stands the ever powerful Institutionalized Racism.  This form of racism exists at the institutional level; education, corporations and other public/private organizations.  This type of racism is the strongest because the discriminatory acts against people of different color are not performed at the individual level, but are aimed at the roots of these people.

An example of Institutionalized Racism would be a requirement by an organization that all members of the board must be able to track their lineage back at least three (3) generations.  Or an organization that provides health benefits to all workers that are not in seasonal-work like agriculture.  Even the SAT’s have come under heavy scrutiny as a form of Institutionalized Racism as the test is written and designed by a generation of men who decide what children today should and should not have learned.

It is no secret that many African-Americans cannot track their lineage as many are descendants of slaves.  It is no secret that African-Americans and Hispanics make up the majority of seasonal workers, specifically agriculture.  It is no secret that public schools across this nature in the poorest neighborhoods suffer from low funding and are populated with more African-American and Hispanic students than White students.  These students from these poor school districts and poor homes are not meant to pass the SAT’s and receive grants to help them pay for school.

The social structure of this nation has already decided how far we may go and how much success we will have.  I am unable to count the privileges I’ve had in my life because I am a White Male, but I am certain that I have received leniency from some and favors from many.  The practices of Institutionalized Racism hardly come into question because to question the foundation of such long tenured institutions, to some, is to question the foundation of America.  The America that was founded through bloody wars and civil uprisings.  The America that was cultured by Western Europeans who initiated the Slave Trade and defended it as a right of “God’s Children.”

I could not be more excited for President Obama and the next four years (maybe eight?).  I believe he will lead America into a new era where having the most bombs doesn’t necessarily make you the most powerful nation.  This new era is a Global Era, because we cannot continue to act in our own self interest without regard for the other members of the Global Community.  A nation and its people cannot be successful in life by amassing wealth and property.

We can be successful in this Global Era under the guidance and leadership of Barack Obama.  The foundations of our racially biased institutions will no longer be able to compete and survive unless they change; drastically.  I don’t expect Obama to illegalize or investigate institutionalized racism, that task is nearly impossible.  I do expect Obama to encourage people to participate in the global community and to encourage people to help out in their own communities at home.  I expect people to change their way of life for the better because they will be faced with a growing trend, a trend that is calling us into action.   A trend that refuses to deny a Black Man a job simply because he is a Black Man.

The first step of many has been taken.  We cannot expect change to happen; we must be the catalyst for that change.  We cannot become complacent and put racism behind us because we have a Black President; we must work to better ourselves and in turn our neighbors and friends.  If I’ve learned one thing from this past election, it’s that when people really want something, when they really need it – they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it.  I hope others are as hungry for change as I am, because we’ll need that hunger to continue this tidal wave of change.

The “What-ifs” and “I-hope-nots”

I close each program that is open before I shut down my PC.  When the screen finally goes black I unplug the wireless mouse and iPod headphones from the computer and tuck them away in my desk drawer.  I slide back my chair from my corner desk and flick my thigh so that the chair rotates like an automated clothing rack at the dry cleaners.  My coat is now facing me and I’m looking towards the Exit sign when the coat slides over both arms and is popped up onto my shoulders.  I turn back around and grab the shoulder strap of my new Dakine bag and adjust the soft pad on the strap so that it rests neatly on my collar bone; and toss the strap over my head and onto my shoulder.  A slight adjustment of the strap pad and I’m good to go.  I check for my wallet, phone and keys before I turn back around with my hands in my pocket.

I’ve always felt awkward leaving work at 4:30pm, all the while never feeling awkward that I’m the first to arrive at 8:00am – and not to mention the 140 minute commute each way.  As I reach the end of the aisle of desks I turn to my right and extend my hand towards the desk of my coworker buddy Marcos, “Have a good one.”

“You too buddy.”

I turn the corner to my left and raise my head in a quasi-nod to another coworker pal, “Enjoi your evening Lora.”

“You too Dave.”

The Exit sign is now sitting well above my head as I turn to the right and reach for the door.  I lower my head as usual and duck through the open door and round the corner towards the elevator.  7 floors up and you would never know with the speed of that elevator.  Within moments I am bounding out of the elevator and down a flight of stairs to 48th Street.  The street is lined with black vehicles with illegal black tint on all of their windows.  They also bear the Diplomatic license plates and their country’s name and flag in the back window.  The street is rarely occupied by a moving vehicle so I can move freely across the street without so much as a care.  The next corner I am approaching is speckled with pretzel, hot dog and some middle eastern food cart that serves a mighty tasty dish for $5.00 – best to get there at Noon sharp or expect to wait in a surprisingly long line.

My destination at the moment is 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue, the Downtown E.  My ultimate destination is home in Bellport, Long Island.  I check my watch under my coat sleeve and see the time is 4:33pm, I have 18 minutes if I want to catch the 4:51 from Penn Station to Ronkonkoma so I pick up the pace when the crosswalk signal fades to white.

I arrive at the subway and glide down the stairs without much effort, all the while I’m plucking my wallet from my back pocket and sliding out the monthly Metro/LIRR card that will grant me access to the most complex and mind boggling subway system this side of the Atlantic Ocean.  I don’t have to wait long for the Downtown E, and that is what I was hoping for.  A slightly packed Downtown E is an anomoly; one I’ll gladly accept more frequently until the 2nd Avenue Subway line is completed in a few years.

Then I realize that I haven’t stayed with a job for more than 2 years and I laugh at the thought that I could still be working here in 4 years.  I keep my head down on the ride to Penn Station and think about the book that haunts my Dakine bag.  Roland, Jake, Eddie and Susannah are frozen in time and awaiting my return so they can continue their journey to the Dark Tower.  I feel a pang of guilt for making them wait so long, but such is the life of a working man eh?

The Penn Station stop on the Downtown E looks eerily similar to those Bridal Shops in November that sell wedding gowns at a drastic discount.  The doors open and panicky commuters dart for doors in hopes to make a train that is scheduled to leave in less than a minute.  I check my watch under my coat just prior to the Penn Station stop and see that I have 4 whole minutes; I’ve got time and I’ll be sure to step to the side and avoid the stampede.

Finding a seat on the train is as expected, an adventure.  The weight on my shoulder bears down on me, and not because the bag is heavy, but because Roland and the gang anxiously wait for the crease of the book to be opened to the stale train air beneath the never-sleeping city of New York.  I tuck myself next to a small Indian guy who is glancing longingly out of the window towards the neighboring train; not much of a view if you ask me.  It doesn’t take long for my bag to find my lap and the book to find it’s resting spot for the next 90 minutes.

The pages blur by as I am transported to the world of Roland, Jake, Eddie and Susannah.  Their journey has captivated me entirely and refuses to release its grip on me until we finish the journey together.  Jake, the youngest of the crew, is reminiscing about the last few months of his life.  He had to grow up so quickly but is quite happy with his life up until now.  Jake is beginning to make friends with a young boy from a town he and his ka-tet are passing through.  The young boy helps remind Jake of what it means to be a boy again.

I am immediately transported away from this journey and into another, far less exciting, journey that I have been living for the past decade or so.  I am recalling a discussion I had earlier with a good friend during lunch at Johnny Rockets that day.  We spoke about the little kids in our lives, not our own, but little ones nonetheless.  I told my friend a brief story of my baby brother Matthew and how he would squeeze my finger with surprising strength.

Now I’m sitting on this train as it idles through the tunnels of New York and opens onto the borough of Queens.  Light pours in on both sides of the train as faces turn away like young children turning from the TV during a scary scene in a horror movie.

“I wonder what Matthew looks like now.  How big is an 8 year old, or is he 9?  Does he know I exist?  Does he know that he has 2 older brothers; one in particular that would love to sit and share an ice cream cone with him and talk about his school, his friends – perhaps share an older-brotherly bit of advice with him about family?”

I chuckle at the thought.  After all, who am I to give advice on families?  To my own family especially!

“What if I don’t exist to my brother?”  I hope that isn’t the case.  “But what if I do exist to my brother; as a villain or an outcast who denounced his family and his brother?”  I hope that isn’t the case, but I’m scared to death it is.

I haven’t thought this thoroughly about my brother in a long time.  It hurts to think that I have someone who shares my blood, my origins (even if only half of those origins) but who I cannot share a thought with.  I’ve tried so many times to rescue a relationship that has been doomed for over 10 years; but I tried and tried and failed and failed.

My biggest failure.  My biggest heartbreak.

I can’t return to the journey now.  Jake and his new friend are going to have to put their friendship on hold while I collect myself.  I’m sorry young friends, but my own journey has to take precedence over your search for the Dark Tower; for I have a darkness of my own to conquer.  I hope you’ll understand and I look forward to returning to you and narrating your epic story of friendship and hardships; and family.

The Anti-Capitalists

Is it just more or is the United States Government’s interaction and “saving” the failing companies the exact opposite of capitalism?  Isn’t capitalism supposed to be Laisez-Faire; hands off?  If the government feels the need to step in and save these failing companies because it is in the American People’s best interest, isn’t that all the proof we need that Capitalism doesn’t work?

Bear Stearns, AIG, Morgan Stanley, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wachovia, Lehman Brothers.

If these companies practiced a flawed form of business and failed, should they not be allowed to fail?  The government says they stop these companies from failing by taking the taxpayers money and giving it to them (after those companies took our money by artificially inflating the cost of living) so that the country’s financial system doesn’t crash.  They save these companies to save us; or so they say right?

Let them fail.  That’s Capitalism.  The company did business poorly, made poor decisions and now they should be allowed to fail.

But it’s too late.  The United States Government has stepped in and taken taxpayer money, yet again, to save companies – to shelter us from financial failure.  Well fuck that!

If the United States Government wants to promote Capitalism and reep the benefits of Capitalism, then they should also allow the world to see the flaws in the system.  Instead, they plug it up with borrowed money.  They hide the fundamental flaws of Capitalism (greed) by giving money to those who lust for money.

It just seems so wrong!!

What a load!

$700,000,000,000.00 USD

Was it as good for you as it was for me?  Blowing that $700,000,000,000.00 load was supposed to help save our economy!  Bush came out in a near panic and said that we needed to pass this bill immediately because each day the economy lost Trillions of dollars ( $X,000,000,000,000.00).  The US Treasurer Paulson backed Bush and made it abundantly clear that if we didn’t pass this bill, the economy would tumble.

Then some people asked questions.

Why $700,000,000,000.00?
Answer:  We think it’s enough.

Will it work?
Answer:  We hope so.

So have you seen the latest measures of the American economy recently?  The DOW is below 10,000.00 for the first time in four (4) years when we were at the height of this war in Iraq.  And if you think the DOW is only one indicator, take into account the huge losses across the global markets.  Trillions up Trillions of dollars have been lost and people are looking for someone to blame!

The McCain Campaign is blaming Barack Obama, after telling us for months that Barack was a rookie and had no experience.  Apparently a rookie with no experience is capable of bringing down the world’s financial markets!

The McCain Campaign is blaming all of the Democrats in the Democratically “lead” Congress – keeping in mind that with a Republican President, the Democrats would only have the lead if they had more than 66 seats (Senate), which they do not; they have 51.

Amidst all of this blame, behind all of the mud slinging and crap flying – I haven’t heard one person speak up and offer a solution to this crisis; except Barack Obama.  Barack would rather focus on the real issues at hand and let the children of politics (McCain, Palin) soil themselves in their playpen.  Because while Palin is claiming Barack is “pallin’ around with terrorists” she was busy supporting a campaign that pushed to seceed from the United States.  A Campaign that is lead by a man who has openly admitted his hatred of the United States and everything the American People stand for.

So let it fly.  Wave your shiny pinwheels around and distract the mindless masses.  But don’t try and come to me with these flimsy ‘facts’ about what’s what.  If I want facts, I’ll do the research.  If I want a pile of shit thrown in my face, I’ll come find you.

Professor out.

Why I’m Glad Lehman and Others are Failing

I know, I know.  I’m such an insensitive jerk who isn’t thinking about all of those employees who are going to lose their jobs, or all those people with their life savings and retirement accounts who are broke.  But you know what?  I’m not the bad guy here.

The past 7 years have been a bumpy 7 years, and that’s being generous.  The American Economy was poised well above the other world’s major markets; and our dominance in that arena was lock solid.  Or so we thought.  Amidst all of this, America suffered the most horrific of events when terrorists took control of no less than four (4) airplanes and dealt a devastating blow to the American Armor.  

The attacks on that day left us momentarily paralyzed, unable to conceive the atrocities that had just unfolded.  Some turned to anger; “Kill them all!”  Others turned inward; “Why us?”  In the end, we were told to go about our lives. 

Fast forward 7 years.

We’re fighting a war with a country that had no hand in the attacks on our country.  The biggest American Financial firms are collapsing.  Foreclosures are leaving families homeless or scrambling for residence.  The average American worker’s salary is declining.  Crude oil has skyrocketed to numbers unforeseen and unpredicted by even the elite of the industry.  A 72-year old POW is on the precipice of a seat as POTUS with his former beauty queen and self proclaimed “Pitbull with Lipstick” Alaskan hockey-mom as runner-up; should his numerous bouts with cancer spur up during his term.

It’s hard for me to survey the current landscape of this country that I adore, and to avoid feelings of resentment and anger.  While many war-mongers are angry and resentful at those who attacked us, I’m casting a sideways glance at those responsible for leading us down this path of inevitable destruction.  Those same people who have been made wealthy beyond their wildest schemes and who are just now seeing their world fall around them.

I think it’s about time that this artificially inflated economy of ours, that has done no good for the Middle Class American and has done wonders for the wealthiest, is hit with a reality check.  I’m not happy that people are losing money, that would be far too vindictive for my style.  I am happy that at long last, those who make the decisions on our behalf, get to experience the pain we’ve all had to experience for the past half decade.  

Maybe now we can hope for real change.  Maybe now people will realize that the policies of the past 7+ years are failed policies.  Maybe now people will take a second look at the other candidate and see what so many of us see – a chance for redemption.  Redemption for ourselves, and redemption in this world. 

We’re starting to realize that America can not operate unilaterally.  American cannot do as they please simply because we have the most nukes.  The world is nothing more than an expansive community, and if we don’t start treating our neighbors and fellow man (and woman!) with respect; well, I see no end in site.