Bend OR Bust

The Apple of our eyes

2012-01-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

From The Telegraph

We all were wowed this week when Apple reported profits of $1 billion a week for its latest quarter, "blowing past Wall Street expectations on robust holiday sales of its iPhones and iPads," gushed MSNBC online.

From October through December, Apple sold 37 million iPhones and 15 million iPads.

Incredible numbers for incredible, must-have products.

It's a sign of American ingenuity and a rare source of pride during these tough economic times.

Coincidentally, the New York Times has a series this week about "The iEconomy" that everyone should read.

Beware, though, the stories are devastating. They call into question our values, priorities and the nature of capitalism itself.

Although, the series focuses on Apple products, the same could be said about our televisions, video game consoles, clothes and much of the produce we eat.

Much of our well-being these days, unlike in the 1950s, is dependent upon the terrible exploitation of others.

But, Apple is by far the richest, most glamorous player these days and so it gets the scrutiny in the media. As well it should.

For a time Wednesday, Apple was a more valuable company than Exxon Mobil.

The Times' first article focuses on the iPhone and probes the reason why Apple products will never be made in America again. The second article is headlined: "In China, Human Costs are Built Into an iPad."

"Last year, (Apple) earned over $400,000 in profit per employee, more than Goldman Sachs, Exxon Mobil or Google," the story notes.

Apple employs 43,000 in the U.S. and 20,000 overseas. But, Apple contractors, primarily in China, employ 700,000.

China's Foxconn City, where the iPhone is assembled, has "230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. Over a quarter of Foxconn's work force lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day."

In 2007, when Steve Jobs demanded a glass screen for the iPhone, it forced a scramble.

From the Times' article:

"... after a month of experimentation, Apple’s engineers finally perfected a method for cutting strengthened glass so it could be used in the iPhone’s screen. The first truckloads of cut glass arrived at Foxconn City in the dead of night, according to the former Apple executive. That’s when managers woke thousands of workers, who crawled into their uniforms — white and black shirts for men, red for women — and quickly lined up to assemble, by hand, the phones. Within three months, Apple had sold one million iPhones. Since then, Foxconn has assembled over 200 million more."

Working conditions are hazardous with toxic chemicals, dust and smoke.

“We’re trying really hard to make things better,” said one former Apple executive in the second Times' piece. “But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.”

Unions, by the way, are illegal in China. In other words, Republicans here consider China an employers' paradise.

“Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost,” said Li Mingqi, who until April worked in management at Foxconn Technology, one of Apple’s most important manufacturing partners.

“Workers’ welfare has nothing to do with their interests,” he said in the Times.

The second Times' article notes “... right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China.”

Is it any wonder then that at one Foxconn plant the worker turnover rate is 24,000 -- each month.

It was either quit or commit suicide. In fact, suicide is a way out for some workers.

This from The Telegraph in England:

"A suicide cluster in 2010 saw 18 workers throw themselves from the tops of the company's buildings, with 14 deaths.

"In the aftermath of the suicides, Foxconn installed safety nets in some of its factories and hired counselors to help its workers."

But, employees figured out that threatening suicide was a way to improve their lot in life.

Earlier this month, about 300 workers at a Foxconn Xbox factory in Wuhan threatened mass suicide unless their wage demands were met. Apparently, they were met since the workers didn't kill themselves.

The Times series goes into great detail how the economies of scale and supply chains in China mean that it will rule this iEconomy for years to come. Plus, China has four times the population of the U.S., so it stands to reason that it will always have bodies to fill its factories.

Again from the Times' story:

"It is hard to estimate how much more it would cost to build iPhones in the United States. However, various academics and manufacturing analysts estimate that because labor is such a small part of technology manufacturing, paying American wages would add up to $65 to each iPhone’s expense. Since Apple’s profits are often hundreds of dollars per phone, building domestically, in theory, would still give the company a healthy reward."

But, profit margin is what drives the stock market price of Apple and there is no incentive to decrease that margin, only increase it.

“We shouldn’t be criticized for using Chinese workers,” a current Apple executive said. “The U.S. has stopped producing people with the skills we need.”

What he meant was that we no longer produce people willing to work 12-hour shifts, six days a week at any hour for $17 a day.

Meanwhile, Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO, made $59 million in 2010. He was also given stock grants, vested over 10 years, which today would be worth more than $430 million.

Form LID to dredge Mirror Pond

2012-01-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

Bend's official seal

The hand-wringing over dredging Mirror Pond in the heart of Bend is reaching sweaty-palms territory.

And, it's ridiculous.

The city has needed to dredge the pond for more than a decade. The last time it was done was in 1984 and it cost just over $300,000.

Today, it would cost up to $5 million. Naturally, a $500,000 environmental study would need to be done. Hearings and endless meetings would flow like the Deschutes River that is Mirror Pond.

The park district is looking at a one-time dredging plan or a permanent taxing district to handle future dredgings of all the sediment that builds up from the dam at the tiny hydro project on the pond's north end.

Of course, the park district, which has parks on both sides of Mirror Pond, is only looking at property taxpayers to fund either proposal.

But, why should property taxpayers shoulder 100 percent of the cost without any subsidies from the major stakeholders in town who benefit directly from picturesque Mirror Pond.

Obviously, all of Bend benefits, directly or indirectly, by having one of the most scenic urban settings in the state. The city even uses Mirror Pond on its official seal. Realtors and tourism groups use Mirror Pond in their marketing efforts to get people to come to Bend.

So, let's look at more reasonable, and inclusive, funding options for dredging.

First off, Pacific Power, which owns the dam, should be on the hook for a third of any dredging effort. Without the dam, the issue is moot.

Second, the Central Oregon Association of Realtors and Visit Bend, the local tourism entity, need to pony up about an eighth of the cost.

The city collects room taxes and a sizable portion of the money is kicked back to Visit Bend. Half of that money should go towards help defraying the cost of a dredging effort.

Third, an LID, or local improvement district, should be formed to pay it share of the cost. Those owning property downtown directly benefit from their proximity to Mirror Pond.

Also, an urban renewal district was formed a few years ago to make downtown Bend more attractive and the big "improvement" was a $13 million multi-level parking structure, nicknamed the "Taj Garage."

All of Bend subsidized the improvements to downtown Bend, but the main beneficiaries were the property owners in and around downtown Bend. Their property values skyrocketed and "grateful" owners promptly jacked up rents to force out long-time tenants downtown.

It's time for some payback. An LID should pay about a quarter of the cost of dredging.

Lastly, a citywide bond measure should then pick up the remainder of the tab. Those living far from downtown Bend benefit indirectly from the beauty of Mirror Pond and their obligations to dredge the pond should be scaled downward accordingly.

But, of course, these proposals make too much sense, and are too fair, to ever be implemented.

Bend's Reed Market fix more than two years off

2012-01-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for Bend to fix one of the most dangerous roadways in the city anytime soon, well, forget about it.

Bend city staff unveiled basic maps today of the road projects approved by voters last May in a $30 million bond issue. Details will surprise us later.

The biggest, costliest, and most critical, project on the agenda -- the Reed Market corridor from Third to 27th streets -- won't start construction until April 2013. And that's just the first phase.

The third phase of the Reed Market work isn't projected to finish until August 2014.

If we're lucky.

Since Reed Market is last on the agenda, funds for its completion may get gobbled up by the projects ahead of it.

When construction firms see the public trough filled with millions, they scramble like pigs feasting away.

There will be cost "overruns" and "unforeseen" land acquisition costs that will eat into the $30 million budget like sows on slop.

As many residents have figured out, the city believes the most urgent portion of the overall project, the one we can't live without, is the construction of the roundabout at Simpson and Mt. Washington. It begins construction this June.

Yes, that's right, on Bend's west side.

Westsiders are more equal than Eastsiders. They're special. If the entire city votes for money to be spent on citywide projects, then by god, Westsiders are entitled to have their needs addressed first.

Call it the trickle east theory.

Shockingly, the roundabout at 18th and Empire, on Bend's northeast side, won't see construction until this July.

It's shocking because the whole reason we had this $30 million bond measure in the first place was because the city needed to fix traffic issues near Juniper Ridge, its mixed-use development boondoggle on Bend's north end.

Bend needs to show the state that it is making progress there so that the state will allow further development at nearby Juniper Ridge along Highway 97. Nevermind that nothing is being done to correct the gridlock on Hwy. 97, we need to make it much worse before we make it better. It's the Bend way.

The good thing about all the road construction work is that it will allow the city to partially catch up with its road deficiencies before the next housing boom engulfs Bend.

Here's hoping that, in the future, we see only modest, sustained growth, where infrastructure can keep pace with the next gated community here or the next business park there.

And, that developers pay their fair share so that we won't need a $100 million bond measure in five years.

A more measured, moderate growth rate is better for Bend in the long run.

Colbert energizes dismal political season

2012-01-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

President of the United States of South Carolina

Cable and network programming won't change much in 2012, but the space in between the shows will.

Thanks to Super PACs, which came about when the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people, it will be the worst election year on TV in history.

Thank goodness I'm downsizing my cable plan to PBS and the usual suspects.

Instead of ads for erectile dysfunction, we'll be pummeled instead by vicious, political attack ads that will force us to change channels as fast as possible, which could lead to median nerve damage in the channel-changing hand.

Even the Olympic Games this summer will be tarnished by ads comparing Obama to Hitler and Romney to Jesus.

TV/cable networks hype the presidential race so much because they make a killing off these "hate" ads.

It is left to newspapers, which no longer make money off federal political ad campaigns, to sort out what's true and what's false. It doesn't matter anyway because no one pays attention to what newspapers print.

TV/cable networks don't bother to even explain what is real or fake because they let "you decide."

It is left to comedians like Stephen Colbert to do the job that mainstream media is incapable of doing: Mocking the political process that is mocking democracy.

Colbert formed a Super PAC called "Making a better tomorrow, tomorrow." He even collected money from devoted fans of his Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report."

He then made ridiculous, but hilarious commercials to run in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, so far.

Check out this link for Colbert's classic political ads.

But then, even though Colbert's not running for president, he polled better than Jon Huntsman in South Carolina. This forced Huntsman to drop out of the race and led Colbert to form an exploratory committee to consider possibly running for "President of the United States of South Carolina."

This meant he could no longer "coordinate" with his Super PAC. He ceded control of it to someone he does not "coordinate" with: Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," which airs just before "The Colbert Report."

Hence, the new name of his Super PAC: "The Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC."

Colbert, apparently, is having an impact on the "process."

He appeared on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," a show usually devoted to more "serious" political discourse.

When Stephanopoulos asked Colbert if he believed Mitt "The Ripper" Romney was a "serial killer" as alleged in one of his Super PAC ads, Colbert calmly responded: "I don't know if Mitt Romney is a serial killer. That's a question he is going to have to answer."

Even the Christian Science Monitor weighed in with an article titled, "Ron Paul: Are his voters being stolen away by Stephen Colbert?"

Colbert can't get his name on the South Carolina ballot and no write-ins are allowed either. So, he's doing the next logical thing, he's asking everyone in S.C. to vote for Herman Cain, who dropped out of the race last month, in order to gauge his support.

Also, Colbert is holding a rally with Cain tomorrow in S.C.

It is so wonderfully wacky and surreal.

Colbert and Stewart are the only ones making any sense out of our senseless political process.

Consequently, they're the only ones worth watching during this dreary election season.

End of the Reagan era?

2012-01-17T21:17:00.000-08:00

President Obama once said he admired Ronald Reagan for being a "transformational" president.

Reagan slashed taxes for the rich, but raised them on the 99 percenters. Yes, that 8 percent tax on waiters and waitresses came about during the Reagan years. In all, Reagan raised taxes 11 times during his presidency.

Reagan pushed the tax burden downward and it became known as the "trickle-down theory."(1)

It is no small wonder then that while the 1 percent's share of the pie has expanded dramatically, it has come at the expense of the rest of us.

The middle class is now the muddled class.

Reagan also famously said the "government is the problem" and he aimed to shrink it.

Of course, he did the opposite.

Spending escalated during the Reagan years while revenues fell or were flat, thanks to whacking the top tax rate from 70 percent to 50 percent in 1981 and down to 28 percent in 1986.

As a result the federal deficit tripled on Reagan's watch.

The message of Reagan was simple: we can have it all and not worry about paying for it.

(Under Bush I and Bill Clinton the top tax rate floated back up to 39.6 percent and it helped hand Bush II a surplus, which he quickly squandered, and then some.)

By spending far more than was coming in, Reagan demonstrated that "deficits don't matter," which Dick Cheney reiterated a few years ago.

It became so ingrained in the culture that George W. Bush waged two wars without seeking any additional funds to pay for them. In fact, Bush reduced revenues by cutting the top tax rate to 35 percent.

Well, it is now 2012 and the government, thanks to the Reagan "revolution," is drowning in debt and our future depends on the Communist Chinese, which is ironic since part of the Reagan lore is how he, in "High Noon" fashion, stared down and defeated the Communist Soviets.

Since a Democrat is in the White House, the deficit is an all-consuming passion for teabagging Republicans and for those who equate their personal debts with that of the federal government.

But, we have a president who may transform, or even reverse, the Reagan legacy: If we want something, we must find a way to pay for it.

When faced with the opportunity to let the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of 2010, however, Obama blinked, which annoyed the hell out of his base.

But, Obama kicked the can down the road so that one of the major issues of the 2012 presidential race will be: should the Bush tax cuts expire, thus pushing the tax burden up where it belongs and help our government get a grip on the deficit, or should the tax cuts continue, which will further destabilize our fragile economy.

Obama is not talking about raising taxes to the pre-Reagan era of 70.1 percent. No, he may be lucky to boost taxes on the wealthy from 35 percent to 37 percent. Actually, it should be at least 40 percent, if we want to get back to some semblance of fiscal sanity.

Raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans is something that even the majority of the richest Americans agree with. Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha" and one the richest men in the world, is leading the call to raise taxes on people like himself.

Buffett is the cover story of the latest Time magazine. He has some choice words that will rankle those who revere Buffett for his stock-picking acumen.

"We can rise to any challenge but not if people feel we're in a plutocracy," he told Time. "We have to get serious about shared sacrifice."

"People who make withdrawals from societies' resources -- like me with my plane -- should have to pay a lot for it," Buffett said in Time.

The article continues: That means not only higher taxes for the rich and an extremely progressive European-style consumption tax but also fewer loopholes for corporations. Buffett says it's "baloney" that corporate America's tax rates are too high and says companies should not be allowed to repatriate profits tax-free.(2) (It'll just encourage more investment to flow overseas.) In general, he says, "I find the argument that we need lower taxes to create more jobs mystifying, because we've had the lowest taxes in this decade and about the worst job creation ever."

The key phrase from Time's feature on Buffett is "shared sacrifice."

Will the electorate endorse that view, re-elect Obama and let the top tax rate rise?

If it does, Obama will be the "transformational" president he has longed to be.

(1) Also, known as "supply-side economics." Republicans claim it gave us the "booming" economy of the 1980s. The economy revived, however, not because of tax cuts, but because there were no oil shortages like the two that sucked the life out of the economy during the 1970s. In fact, during the 1980s, oil prices declined as the global market stabilized with a glut of oil. Plus, the Soviet Union was collapsing from within.

(2) Read this article by David Kay Johnston for some background. Or this piece from the Tax Policy Center.

Went to a movie, but saw a video game

2012-01-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Dude! Ya got me!

It's been known for more than a decade that we live in the video game era of movies.

I didn't realize how true this was until I read a little factoid in the most recent Time magazine.

In 2011, which was a down year at the box-office due mainly to the excess of franchises rather than films, the money champ was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2."

It snagged $381 million during its entire domestic run.

But, it was less than the video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" made on its first day on sale.

It's no wonder, then, that producers want to mimic video games on the big screen. They have to figure out a way to get butts out of easy chairs and into cineplex seats.

I'll admit, I obliged them. I did see the last installment of the "Harry Potter" franchise during the summer and caught "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," the fourth in that franchise, during the Christmas break.

I mean, why go to the movies at all if it's not going to be visually dazzling.

Except that, with maybe one or two exceptions, most of the video game (VG) movies or franchises run the gamut from dreadful to mediocre.

The first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film was mildly entertaining, but the rest were awful.

I did see the first two chapters of the "Twilight" franchise, but the first was far better than the second, which isn't saying much.

And, why did George Lucas even bother resurrecting the "Star Wars" franchise with leaden sequels/prequels? Apparently, he wanted to get in the (video) game.

It's no small wonder, then, that "The King's Speech," a simple movie really, won best picture last year. It had what all the VG movies lacked: good dialog, plot, character, cinematography, direction and acting.

But, all those traditional elements of great filmmaking take a backseat to special effects (also known as CGI or computer-generated images) in the VG era.

So, if Hollywood wants to fully exploit this VG trend at the multiplex, it needs to double or triple down. IMAX and 3-D are just fads.

It's time that movies become interactive. I know, scratch-and-sniff "Odorama" has already failed.

This time, they should be bold.

A first step is to have viewers use Xbox controllers so they can direct the action. Of course, it could get chaotic, with automatic weapons chewing up the scenery. But, would it make a difference in most VG movies? Not really.

Another way is to let the Wii crowd bring in their light-sabers and go mano-a-mano or tete a tete with some Corellian Jedi master. Headgear is recommended.

Of course, it will get really wild when they incorporate a Kinect-type interactive element to the CGI. With arms flailing about in the seats, it could resemble a mosh pit at a grunge-rock concert.

But, by going interactive, films will be far more entertaining than the current crop of loud, obnoxious and, ultimately, dull VG movies.

New year, higher cable rates

2012-01-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

We can expect this every January: Another big increase from our only cable provider, BendBroadband.

A year ago, we signed up for their "special" promotion and got internet and the "essentials" TV package for $75 a month.

Well, the promotion just ended and our new bill is $92 and that's before the annual increase. No, it doesn't include HBO or telephone service.

Next month, the bill rises to $97.20. Only $2.72 of that goes for taxes and fees. The lion's share of that is TV at $48.49 per month. Wow.

In this economy, it makes no sense to keep pushing rates up because there are options available for TV service.

No. 1 is cut the cable TV portion, put up rabbit ears and enjoy high-definition TV, but with just a handful of channels. Supplement that by cranking up the laptop to watch The Colbert Report and The Daily Show.

No. 2: Scale back cable TV to the "limited" level, for about $23 a month, which is basically what you get with an antenna. Again, the laptop will be needed to watch the Comedy Central shows.

No. 3: Choose between Roku, Boxee or Blu-Ray DVD player with wi-fi. Too complicated.

No. 4: Go for the dish in satellite TV, but that brings in another level of cost and complexity that is really not worth it.

For us, it's either option No. 1 or No. 2.

As we all know, no matter how many channels you have, it always seems as if there is nothing to watch on TV.

Cable companies don't offer a la carte service where TV viewers can choose the channels they want.

The internet does offer this flexibility and it is the direction in which all TV viewing is headed.

Unfortunately, it's all going to get more complicated until Apple or Google simplify this crazy world of TV. With Apple, you'll pay a premium. With Google, you won't.

Iowa cockeyed

2012-01-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

It's hard to find a sane person, outside of Iowa, who pays any attention to the Iowa caucuses.

Whoever wins the Republican vote there almost never wins the nomination.

So, you would expect Rick Santorum to win in Iowa.

But, he didn't. He lost by 8 votes to Mitt Romney.

This is bad news for Romney.

Iowa has its fair share of evangelical Christians who don't cotton to Mormons. And, 75 percent of Iowans on Tuesday voted against Romney.

Santorum, who has extremist views on social issues that place him far out of the mainstream, got the same percentage as Romney, who will win in New Hampshire next week.

But, in South Carolina, evangelicals, fundamentalists and religious extremists will once again come into play.

The die-hard Christians in the South, don't care for Mormonism or Catholicism or Judaism or Islam. They don't even consider them Americans.

They'll go for anyone but Romney.

Factor in those voters who don't care as much about religion and you'll find they don't like Romney because he is a cold, calculating politician who will flip-flop when necessary to get any vote possible.

But, he is lily white, which plays well in the South.

Romney's problem is that when he becomes the GOP nominee, many of the evangelicals may not vote at all next November. This could have a negative effect on down-ticket Republican candidates.

Getting out the vote for Romney could prove problematic for the GOP.

In some ways, though, it's sad to see Michelle Bachmann leave the field after one event. She was fun to have around because she was so wacky.

So was Herman Cain, one of the handful of black Republicans in America.

But, the GOP field is still flush with loonies like Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

They'll provide us with hours of entertainment over the next few months by saying and doing the craziest things.

New year's resolutions

2012-01-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

It's high time I join the 21st Century, tech-wise, and so I have a few resolutions for 2012:

Learn how to use Twitter: I really don't know what Twitter is or how to use it, but, like Google which I use daily, I like the name, and Tweets, too. Plus, any technology that can take down dictators or force corporations to abandon outrageous fees, like $5 per month for debit card use or $2/month for paying your bill online, I'm all for it. Just gotta commit to Twit. Of course, I signed up for Facebook last year and I still haven't figured out how to use it. It's a mystery.

Join the smartphone brigade: I don't know if using a smartphone will make me any smarter, but it will make me poorer. The telecom giants extort exorbitant data charges for spotty service. Plus, with the emphasis on data-use in smartphones, the clarity in actual phone calls suffers. And, the real reason to have a cell phone in the first place is to make phone calls. So, I'll wait until I have no choice but to buy a smartphone, which I know will be sooner rather than later.

Watch TV through the Internet: With cable TV escalating to unaffordable levels, I've gotta figure out how to watch The Colbert Report or ESPN through my existing TV. We finally joined the flat-panel crowd last month by replacing our 28-year-old 20-inch TV with a 37-inch LCD unit that is mid-range on the features, but I hope it can connect somehow to the Internet. The options for that can produce a migraine headache. Let's see, I can get a Blu-Ray DVD player with wi-fi, or try Roku, Apple TV, Boxee, Tivo, Wii or god knows what else. The goal in life is simplicity. Watching TV is anything but simple these days.

Self-publish online: With e-readers all the rage, now is the time for any would-be writer to try and publish through Amazon or Barnes & Noble for their e-readers. Of course, it would help, I suppose, if I had a Kindle or a Nook. If I sell anything online, maybe I will buy one.

The above items made the short-list of overall resolutions. The long list includes the usual mundane things like make more money, lose some weight and exercise more.

Are there apps for that?

A quote of note

2011-12-29T21:14:00.000-08:00

In Time magazine's "Person of the Year" issue, that correctly picked The Protester, there was also "The Short List" of those four individuals that the magazine also considered for the honor.

No. 1 on the list is Adm. William McRaven, who "led the special-ops teams that took down Osama bin Laden."

After 9/11, according to Time, he was the principal author of Bush's National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, which cautioned against a literal idea of combat: "We will not triumph solely or even primarily through military might."

But, here is the money passage in the article:

McRaven speaks respectfully of Bush as Commander in Chief, saying he "made some very, very tough decisions." About Obama, without a question to prompt him, he waxes lyrical and at length. The planning and decision-making for the bin Laden raid, he volunteers, "was really everything the American public would expect from their national leadership."
"The President was at all times presidential," he says. "I would contend he was the smartest guy in the room. He had leadership skills we'd expect from a guy who had 35 years in the military."

Election over.

Why Wall Streeters are better than you or me

2011-12-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Does Iraq war really end?

2011-12-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Was it worth it?

While we're all celebrating the pullout of most of our troops from Iraq, the question remains: Was it worth it?

Obviously, not.

We lost nearly 4,500 troops and around 30,000 seriously injured. It should be noted that advancement in medical technology reduced the number killed, but dramatically raised the number of those who will need daily assistance for the rest of their lives.

The clincher: More Iraqis lost their lives under America's invasion and occupation than were lost under Saddam Hussein.

When you destroy the village in order to save it, you lose the war.

It was true in Vietnam. It is true in Iraq.

First off, there was no justification for the invasion of Iraq. They had no connection to al Qaeda or 9/11.

They had no weapons of mass destruction, particularly those that form a mushroom cloud.

By invading Iraq under false pretenses, it emboldened other Third World countries to acquire nuclear weapons sooner, rather than later.

In what became known as a war of choice, Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn was really just another war over oil: Chapter two, or was it three, of the Petroleum Wars.

By surrendering to our addiction to foreign oil, America and Britain suffered almost irreparable harm to their reputations as defenders of freedom.

Almost, I say, because we have President Obama to shore up our flagging reputation.

It's a difficult task, but it takes someone with brains, rather than brawn, to accomplish this.

First off, it takes a skilled mind to manage the disruptions to conventional wisdom that the Arab spring caused.

If we had Bush Jr. in power or some other neo-con, it would've been disastrous. We would've invaded Libya or Syria with significant loss of American lives and with no tangible gains, much like Iraq.

As it was, we didn't invade Libya or any other Middle-Eastern country.

Yes, they're now more likely to adopt radical-Muslim, anti-woman, anti-American, anti-Israeli positions, but, unfortunately, that is the will of the people in those intellectually-backwards lands.

Muslim countries, without question, choose ignorance over enlightenment.

Civil war will likely break out in earnest in Iraq.

Iran will likely take control of Iraq and flex its wimpy muscles at Israel.

Israel will likely retaliate and then we'll finally have the Armageddon that doomsayers have longed for.

We may have another Mideast war.

Or, we'll just go shopping.

Giving the 1 percent some love in Bend

2011-12-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

Bend's 1 percenters need
a publicly-funded athletic facility

Okay, not everyone on Bend's west side is in the dreaded 1 percent class of Americans who look down on the rest of us.

In fact, much of the west side contains the struggling 20-nothings to 30-somethings to 40-wanna-bes.

It's fair to say, though, that the vast majority of Bend's 1 percenters live on the west side.

But, the park district doesn't want west-siders to travel an additional mile, or less, to work out.

The park district is looking to spend more than $2 million on land to build another swim and fitness center on Bend's near west-side in the Shevlin Center.

It would cost more than $5 million, money the district doesn't have, to build a facility to duplicate the popular facility in Juniper Park, which is on Bend's near-east side.

Both facilities would be about a mile apart, as the crow flies.

The Juniper facility is "nearing" capacity, which apparently is a crisis mode for the park district.

Meanwhile, public schools have to be at least five years over-capacity before it dare ask citizens to approve a bond measure to build another school.

Of course, if you want to build a prison in Oregon that won't be needed for 10 years, you can ask for the money yesterday, and get it.

The big question for the park district is why?

Why do we need another redundant facility so close to the other one?

Is it because the 1 percent west-siders don't want to shower with the 99-percenters, the un-washed masses, on the east-side?

Is the Athletic Club of Bend, for the city's 1 percenters on the west side of town, too exclusive?

In fact, what will happen when the park district builds a west-side athletic facility that puts the Athletic Club out of business?

Well, we know the answer to that.

The Athletic Club, a private entity, will get the park district (meaning taxpayers) to buy the Athletic Club, which will maintain higher fees to cater to the 1 percenters. In other words, the have-nots subsidizing the haves.

The new west-side facility in the Shevlin Center will attract the un-washed masses on the west side of town.

It's a good thing, apparently. You don't want to mix the classes in America.

Because we are classless.

Return to sender

2011-12-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

Will FedEx or UPS get mail to Santa?

The U.S. Postal Service is a perfect example of what ails America.

We want relatively cheap mail service delivered to every nook and cranny in America's dominion, but we don't want to pay the full freight of that service.

The USPS is billions in debt and wants to close 3,700 post offices, including 41 in Oregon, and consolidate 252 service centers. Portland would gobble up Bend's center and its 17 jobs.

Closing the mail-processing center in Bend would save about $2.1 million and, instead of next-day service, it would guarantee two- to three-day delivery for mail sent within our city limits.

But, it looks like such drastic measures are put off again until next May, so legislators can find a solution.

Reducing the Postal Service workforce through layoffs and attrition would result in about 200,000 less jobs in an election year.

Not gonna happen.

Teabaggers and other extreme conservatives want to shut down the Postal Service altogether, claiming that FedEx and UPS can do a much job better anyway.

Well, a few inconvenient facts get in the way.

FedEx isn't cheap. When I tried to mail a small package to the capital of Costa Rica, the Postal Service said it would cost $45 including tracking. I said, wow!

So, I went up the road to FedEx and they gave me a song and dance about how difficult it is to mail anything to Central America, but that they could try provided all the necessary paperwork was filled out. Cost. $150.

I mailed it through the Postal Service for $24 without tracking.

FedEx and UPS do not deliver to every little outpost in America. They may go hither, but not yon. Only the Postal Service does that.

In fact, the Postal Service's biggest customers are FedEx and UPS.

Some have this notion that the invisible hand of the marketplace solves all problems. (That, and tax cuts, of course)

Well, if we get rid of the Postal Service, many places would no longer get any mail and it would cost significantly more for the rest of us. Talk about "going postal."

Yes, the Postal Service has pension obligations that are draining its coffers. But, I'd rather see money go to retired postal workers than to hedge fund managers. Just saying.

Technology and the Great Recession have hit the Postal Service hard. Volume is down, while costs soar, thanks to high oil prices. But, a first-class stamp costs just 44 cents. In much of the developed world, the cost is at least double that. Does anyone think FedEx or UPS would deliver anything for 44 cents? it would be at least a couple of dollars.

In January, the cost of a first-class stamp will soar all the way up to ... 45 cents. Hey, a penny here and a penny there and we may have enough to keep Saturday delivery, not that all those credit card applications couldn't wait until Monday.

Of course, if we could just tax each stock share transaction a mere 1 cent, we could solve funding problems of the Postal Service. Forget that, let's shoot the moon and go for a whopping 2 cents per share transaction and we could help save Medicare. And a bonus: It could limit speculative stock trading which has destabilized the worldwide economy.

But, the Postal Service will likely limp along with diminishing results.

As they say in Washington, if it's broke, for heaven's sake, don't fix it. Use it as campaign fodder.

Thought for food

2011-11-23T23:02:00.000-08:00

With our national day of thanks here once again, it's a good time to take note of things of note.

Like "The 10 Most Tweeted Moments of all Time." I won't give away the most tweeted event in human history, but No. 3 was the indelible moment when the Brazilian national soccer team was eliminated from Copa America. Who could forget?

What I want to know, though, is the moment in this twitter time when the pound sign (#) became the hashtag (#). Could someone tweet me the answer during Thanksgiving dinner? Thanks.

Or, consider the musings of Daniel Kahneman in last week's Time Magazine. Kahneman, as we all know, won the 2002 Nobel prize for economics for his "prospect theory" in behavioral economics.

Anyway, he was asked about experts and if we should trust their instincts.

Kahneman said: "There are domains in which expertise is not possible. Stock picking is a good example."

I think believers in Warren Buffett and a few other stock pickers would dispute that notion.

Kahneman also offered his thoughts on happiness: "When you analyze happiness, it turns out that the way you spend your time is extremely important. Decisions that affect how much time you spend with people you like are going to have a very large effect on how happy you are -- not necessarily satisfied with your life -- but happy."

That's good to know when breaking bread with in-laws on Thanksgiving.

It also helps to show a bit of gratitude. A New York Times story reports that "Cultivating an 'attitude of gratitude' has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners."

Then, naturally, we get another story that says "two studies out this week indicate that negative comments can have health benefits."

So when a considerate sibling turns to you while passing the candied yams and helpfully suggests that "you get a life!" you should show some gratitude and say thank you.

Nittany Lions headed for state pen

2011-11-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

What is amazing about the scandal involving Penn State and its longtime head football coach Joe Paterno is that so many are supporting JoePa in the face of his obvious moral failings.

When the PSU Board of Trustees announced that the longtime school president was fired, along with the head football coach, the only thing reporters wanted to know was: "who was going to coach the team?"

Then the students rioted.

On the Fox News website, they had their usual un-scientific poll asking viewers what they thought of Paterno's firing and if the board of trustees did the right thing.

Only 60 percent of Fox viewers agreed with the firing.

Really? Do conservatives discount alleged child sexual abuse that easily? Apparently, they do.

The culture of top-tier college football has long tolerated a lengthy list of abuses, from crime to drugs to exploitation.

Well, this is where we are.

Add child-sexual abuse to the long list of problems that afflict major college football.

Big money corrupts everything it touches.

And Penn State football was a huge money-making operation. From TV revenue to donations, PSU grew, thanks largely to Paterno's football success, from a backwater, middling college into a huge, 45,000-student institution. During Paterno's tenure as head coach from the mid-1960s until last week, PSU's endowment grew from around nothing to $1 billion.

Anything that could derail this money train had to be squelched or covered up.

Well, as we've learned for decades, the cover-up is worse than the crime.

Although, in this case, the crime of child-sexual abuse is hard to beat. In fact, another rumor out there is that Jerry Sandusky, the ex-assistant PSU coach at the heart of the scandal, pimped out some of the kids he abused to big donors of his non-profit group, Second Mile Foundation, that supposedly helped underprivileged kids.

The alleged crimes and cover-up will spread collateral damage far and wide beyond the abused children and their families. From the school president to head football coach, the entire athletic director's office along with all the football coaches at PSU will lose their careers. They're done.

Civil suits could, and should, drain that huge PSU endowment.

All that blather about high standards and living a life of honor are just hollow phrases. JoePa looked out for JoePa and look where that got him. They even took his name off the Big 10 trophy.

It's all about the money. And now, they can kiss that good-bye.

The big, wet issue of our time

2011-11-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well, thanks to $22.7 million campaign financed by Costco, hard liquor drinkers in Washington state can now get their fix at the corner grocery store or, better yet, at the gas station.

Thanks to the voters Tuesday, Washington returns to its days of yore.

The term "Skid Road," which is often called Skid Row, originated in Seattle where logging roads were lined with joints selling alcohol to weary loggers. The term now means any run-down section of town where the inebriated loiter.

The heat, now, turns on Oregon, which has a similar state-run liquor control business. Beer and wine are sold everywhere.

In Bend, we have just four liquor stores, one of which, is inside Ray's Food Place.

Gee, I remember those long, difficult days when we only had two liquor stores. And, they closed on Sunday, of all days!

The local daily has long championed easy access to hard liquor. Why? They must like their scotch.

Evidently, in this era of high unemployment and diminished expectations, we need a quicker way to spend whatever money we have left on vodka or tequila to drown our sorrows away.

Never mind the social ills caused by alcohol-abuse, just think of the jobs that will pour forth once Oregon gets wetter than it already is.

Let's see, we'll need more alcohol treatment centers, which employ people, not robots. Same for shelters for battered women. We'll see a greater need for police to deal with more drunken drivers. Auto repair shops will employ more to fix the increase in the number of damaged vehicles. Don't forget tow trucks. And, we could always use more divorce lawyers.

I guess it's a win-win situation.

Except that Washington has a sales tax. It estimates that with the number of liquor outlets expected to increase five-fold next summer, the state could reap $80 million in taxes over six years.

Oregon has no sales tax, so the revenue, $178.3 million last year, would no longer go to the government.

Not that it needs any money, with massive budget cuts, school closings, skyrocketing college fees, fewer state troopers, an ailing health care program, crumbling infrastructure and the like.

But, damn, it'll be easier to toast our failings when we can get our hard stuff at 7-Eleven.

Bend home prices improving, Zillow says

2011-11-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

Bend home prices, year to year, rose 3.1 percent to $192,700, according to the real estate website Zillow's Home Value Index.

That's good news, but Zillow also shows that it's far down from 2006, when the price was $383,000. In essence, we're at the same level as of January 2003.

Sisters also saw an uptick of 1.2 percent to $233,500.

La Pine, though, fell 5.8 percent to $114,700 and Redmond was down only 0.4 percent to $125,500.

Bend fell so far the fastest that it's not that surprising it is rebounding better than the other metro areas in the state.

While the Bend metro area was up a modest 1.7 percent to $174,500 (one of the few bright spots in the state), Portland was down 4.3 percent to $209,000, Salem plunged 7.5 percent to $154,400 and Eugene also dropped by 7.5 percent to $170,300.

Overall, Zillow says that, nationwide, nearly 29 percent of homes remain "underwater," meaning that more is owed on them than they're worth.

Zillow also reports we can see the bottom of this national housing mess, but we're not there yet.

Conversation? Is there an app for that?

2011-11-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

How I long for a "smartphone."

It will be yet another way for me to ignore family and friends, especially during mealtime.

And, it will make me seem more important when I have to read a score update rather than talk to the person in front of me.

Remember the pager, that little gadget attached to your hip?

When it beeped or vibrated, it was a convenient way to say, "gotta go."

And you were believed. By appearing that you had more important things to do than talk to another human being, you earned respect.

The cell phone expanded this modern dynamic with texting, yet another case of a noun switching to a verb.

The smartphone has taken this to a whole new level of social avoidance.

With the Facebook smartphone app, you can update your Wall while you're having lunch with a mutual friend, who is doing the same thing on his or her Facebook Wall.

Or consider the modern tableau featured in the Bizarro cartoon. It's great seeing simians enjoying time together even though everyone is playing with their smartphone.

It expands interaction beyond the four sitting there, to everyone following them on Twitter.

Just imagine Thanksgiving this year. There won't be any arguments because everyone will be busy cruising the web on an iPhone, Thunderbolt or Galaxy. There won't be food fights because, hey, those phones are expensive.

In more intimate settings, when you don't have anything to say to the person across the table, you no longer have to chat about that always safe subject: the weather.

With a mere swipe, you can find the weather in Bend or Bangalore, average highs and lows, plus long-range forecasts. You'll sound impressive doing so, even though the person you're with doesn't care at all about the weather in Bend or Bangalore.

No need anymore to ask anyone for directions to anywhere or for suggestions on restaurants, movies or music. It's all at your fingertips.

Disagreements can be settled instantly, rather than waiting to look up something later in a dictionary, encyclopedia or almanac.

Need to figure out when and where Hitchcock appears in "Dial M For Murder?" No problem. Google it on your Droid.

The pursuit of trivia supremacy is now at your fingertips.

Where would we be without the smartphone?

Trick or treat? 7 billion and counting

2011-10-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Am I old?

It seems like only yesterday that the world population was 4 billion.

Of course, that was eons ago, in 1974.

Thanks to industrial, technological and scientific advancements, the world population has jumped in 200 years from 1 billion to 7 billion.

Not even the stock market can beat that rate of return.

During this unprecedented population explosion, the pace of change dwarfed all other periods in human history, combined.

Many great things exist today from electricity to antibiotics to fresh strawberries in January.

Of course, a few bad things also plague us, not that you would hear any of it on Faux News.

We have new ways to kill millions of people instantly through nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

We have dramatic climate change due, in no small part, to the activities of 6 billion more people on this planet in a relatively short span of time. Even a well-known climate change-denier, backed by Koch money, has finally seen the blinding light.

With the population expected to jump to 10 billion by 2083, we can expect more climate change, more degradation of our environment and, of course, more conflicts over the available resources that remain.

Right now, we're in the midst of the Petroleum Wars.

These conflicts will seem like petty skirmishes when the Water Wars flood the planet.

The Northwest, with its abundant rain and snowfall, could be the Saudi Arabia of America. California and other southwestern states could be buying our pure water by the barrel. Or, more likely, they'll just come up and take it. Watch out, Canada.

Since we've developed so many chemicals to make our plants and animals grow faster and "healthier," we've polluted the soil from which these plants sprout up and the animals that sustain us.

Unhealthy air still plagues our big cities, but here, as in so many other areas, China is No. 1. And, the Chinese like being No. 1.

This irks Republicans because if we didn't have the Environmental Protection Agency, they say, we would definitely be No. 1 in air pollution, not to mention, water and soil pollution.

And, if we elect Rick Perry next year, we could all experience the Texas "miracle" by becoming like Houston.

But hey, things could be worse.

At the rate we're going, they will be.

Happy Halloween.

Ending the Iraq fiasco

2011-10-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

Incredibly, there are voices out there, mostly from the right but some from the left, saying we shouldn't leave Iraq so soon.

Are you kidding me?

The only way to correct a mistake is not to repeat it year in and year out.

The time to leave Iraq was 2003 when Bush II declared "victory." Unfortunately, we've been stuck in a quagmire ever since.

It's a no-win situation since most Iraqis don't even want us there.

Would you want to send a loved-one to protect a country where most of the citizens hate you?

And for what?

We found no weapons of mass destruction, which not only soured many fence-sitters on this disastrous invasion, but it also proved discouraging to the troops.

We don't have cheaper gas prices and the region is as unstable as ever. A classic lose-lose proposition.

The late Gen. William Odom urged withdrawal years ago because he noted that it's up to the Iraqis to determine their future, most likely by bloodshed.

Even if we stayed there a thousand years, civil war would erupt as soon as we left.

There are few Americans, other than oil companies, who care about Iraq.

After nearly 9 years of occupying Iraq, I'm sure a majority of Americans wouldn't be able to even locate it on a map.

The real tragedy is that thousands of Americans have been killed or seriously wounded for a deceitful cause.

Also, more Iraqis have died or been forced from their country under the U.S. occupation than under the brutal, tyrannical reign of Saddam Hussein, our onetime ally. Like Vietnam, you have to destroy the village in order to save it.

As we have seen in recent months, there are better ways to handle "problem" countries in the Middle East.

Tunisians voted for the first time recently. Libyans, with help from U.S. bombs, overthrew their own tyrant, Col. Gaddafi/Gadhafy/Kadafi/////. (There were only 112 ways to spell his full name.) Egypt got rid of its despot. Syria and Yemen are teetering on the brink.

All of this happened without a single U.S. casualty. It shows how smart leadership is better than ignorant leadership.

Now, we may not like what becomes of Egypt, Tunisia or Libya, but that's the way it is.

We're not going to like what happens to Iraq, but as long as the oil flows to fill up our SUVs, no one will care.

How to handle a bully

2011-10-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

In case anyone missed it, here's a link to Stephen Colbert's dressing-down of Bill "Bully" O'Reilly.

Yes, it is true that Colbert has more than a dozen writers working for him. But, does anyone believe O'Reilly produces anything without others doing most of the work for him?

Still, this take-down of one of the great bullies of our time is brilliant.

Thank God we have people like Stephen Colbert to make us laugh at the blowhards like Bully O'Reilly.

Occupy Bend, please

2011-10-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

It seems inconceivable that the "frisbee and hacky-sack" crowd in lower Manhattan wearing "V for Vendetta" masks would inspire protesters all the way in Bend, Oregon.

But, Bend is but one of many places around the state to join the general leftish angst sweeping the thinking world.

For a couple of weeks during glorious fall weather with brilliant colors everywhere, a couple of dozen protesters have taken over the former Bulletin site in downtown Bend. There are about a dozen tents, a motor home and plenty of signs decrying war, economic imbalance and the 1 percenters.

These 99 percenters, the ones without fortunes, are mostly young and hip. And, presumably, jobless. That's okay, because the unemployment rate in Central Oregon is nearly double the national average.

What else is there to do before snowboard season?

I'm not sure what these protests will accomplish, but there are good reasons for this spontaneous eruption of anti-corporate sentiments.

Here are a few:

This chart helps explain some of the anger out there. It shows that for every dollar you earn, a CEO in America gets $475. The next closest nation is Venezuela, where an executive makes a mere $50 for your $1.

Of course, this has been going on for decades. No one really noticed because every American believes he or she will be that CEO one day. The odds of that happening are worse than your chance of starting for an NBA team.

But now that the economy continues its free-fall, Americans are starting to wonder why we subsidize American corporations to close plants in America and open them in foreign countries.

We also wonder about our retirement.

Check out "Retirement Heist" by Ellen Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize journalist for the Wall Street Journal, hardly a left-wing rag.

She points out that major American corporations, like G.E., are blaming onerous retirement benefits for our economic malaise. But, she also reveals that it is the retirement benefits of a handful of executives that are bankrupting our economy. G.E. alone must shell out $6 billion, not million, to a few executives. No wonder there is no money left for the rank-and-file worker.

Bank of America reports nearly $6 billion in profits, but says it must charge its account holders $5 fee per month to use its debit cards. Banks point out that the Wall Street reform act, which limited their fees charged to retailers to 100 percent profit rather 300 percent profit, left them with no choice.

Well, we all have freedom of choice.

My choice is to not bank with Bank of America or any bank that charges a debit card fee. I also do not buy products with American nameplates. That includes HP, Apple, IBM, Ford, GM, Chrysler, etc.

Instead, I own a Samsung laptop and cell phone. My next printer will be a Canon product. I own a Honda, Toyota and Subaru that were made in Japan, not America.

I urge other Americans to do the same.

Also, the pyramid scheme of our economy is based on every household paying their mortgage. For those who tried to work with their bank to avoid foreclosure and were rebuffed, I urge you to stop paying your mortgage. It's not ethical, but it's one thing that banks respect since they do the same thing. Check out this story about a guy who tried to get a loan modification, but was repeatedly rebuffed. He stopped paying his mortgage, with minimal consequence.

Can you imagine if most Americans stopped paying their mortgage? That would not only "Occupy Wall Street," but would end up owning it.

We have the power. We need to use it.

Sandy leading the internet way

2011-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

Portland's farthest suburb to the east, Sandy, is going to offer its citizen the fastest internet speeds and the lowest price possible.

Check out this story from last summer in Portland's daily newspaper.

The city leaders have the foresight to make 100 mbps internet available to all citizens for $40 a month beginning later this year. You'll be able to download a high-definition movie in 4 minutes.

Plus, the city of Sandy is making it mandatory for new construction to be wired to the city's fiber-optic system.

By contrast, BendBroadband, which has exclusive franchise rights in the city of Bend and elsewhere in Central Oregon, offers 8 mbps speed for $49.49 a month. It would take more than 70 minutes to download an HD movie.

Of course, BendBroadband does offer 60 mbps, but you'd have to pay $99.99 a month for that privilege.

Yes, you can get those services a little cheaper on BendBroadband, but you'd have to sign up for cable TV and/or cable phone at additional costs.

The internet is evolving into the portal for all television. Instead of 50 or 500 channels, which you can't choose, you'll have access to untold number of channels that you choose.

What the city of Sandy is doing is showing how citywide high-speed internet, at an affordable price, will attract new businesses and citizens.

The internet is becoming as crucial to the economy as our roads are.

Plus, truly high-speed internet is a way to make telecommuting more cost-effective, which, in turn, could mean less vehicles using our roadways.

Highways are at least 100 times more expensive than high-speed internet.

The city of Sandy conducted a survey to see if residents wanted this service. According to the paper, one resident wrote, "I am so proud to be part of a city that is this forward thinking."

That's not something any citizen of Bend will be able to say about our fair city for quite some time.

I've long championed WiMax, which is widespread wireless high-speed internet, for Bend. The city already uses WiMax for communications. They paid for this when they sold property, which was confiscated during drug busts. So, that WiMax belongs to everyone in Bend.

It is up to Bend citizens to demand greater affordable access to the internet. It would benefit everyone who lives here and all those tourists who visit throughout the year.