For starters, donations that come in via text messages can take anywhere from 30 to 120 days to settle. The donor texts their donation, then the mobile phone service provider adds the dollar amount to their bill. At some point in the next 30 days, the mobile phone bill gets mailed to the donor. Around 15 - 30 days later, the donor pays their mobile phone bill. At some point after that, the phone company sends the donation (minus their fees) to the organization who solicited the donation. That’s a long time for a donation to get to the recipient.

Other problems with texting to donate are with the donation caps. Mobile phone companies typically cap the donation at $10. This helps avoid abuse and fraud. Compare that to the average online donation of $200, you would be paying a lot of services fees and waiting a long time for those $10 donations.

The real major issue with donations by text is the amount of money the non profit actually gets to keep after all the fees. There are few backbone service providers that provide the glue to move money over these text donations. They have monthly fees anywhere from $50 to $200, additional transaction fees, and set up/registration fees. On top of that are the fees the mobile phone service providers charge. There is no flat rate across the board here as all mobile service providers impose their own fee structure. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and other mobile carriers all have their own schedule of fees. Normally you can expect that to be around 10%. An article recently published by Caf� Online stated that organizations are now retaining UP TO 90% of text donations, and that is suppose to be GOOD news. Loosing 10% off the top of each donation is not good news, that’s awful news. Put those fees on top of the monthly fees and transaction fees imposed by the application providers and now you are looking at something hopefully in the 80 percentile range.

All in all, because it’s new and buzz worthy, text to donate is going to turn heads, but in the end, it just doesn’t add up.

The iPhone Facebook app has had a bug for sometime now that yields an annoying error every time you try to upload photos through the app. Error: Your photo could not be uploaded at this time. You can save this photo and try to upload it again later.

However, you can save and try later, but it still won’t take it. Until Facebook fixes their iPhone app, you’ll have to use the work around fix.

Go to www.Facebook.com/mobile from your iPhone browser. Log in. On the landing screen you will see a link near the bottom left that speaks to uploading photos via email. They will assign you a random email address like blabla123blabla@m.facebook.com. Add a contact in your phone named Facebook and type the assigned email address in as the contact’s email. Now, when you view your pictures on the iPhone picture viewer you have the option to email that photo to someone. Email it to your Facebook contact and just put your comment/caption in the subject line and wa-la, it will show up on your wall lickity split.

Why is this so important? For one, these square-shaped QR Codes are going to start showing up everywhere. Two, they are free to use and store a LOT more data than the typical bar code. Three, they can be used in so many different ways. Imagine watching a commercial and seeing a QR Code in the bottom corner of your TV. While watching, you might let your phone scan the code from where you’re sitting and it could take your phone’s browser to a web page with more information about the product, or directly to a screen to buy what you just saw. Or the QR Code could automatically have your phone call a certain number. No typing, just a quick scan and you’re off. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of different applications for these things and ease of use and probable adoption by many industries will make it as common as displaying a phone number in the years to come.

Want to try it out? First, download a QR Reader for your smart phone (I use QR App on the iPhone). Then try these below.

1. Our health care is a broken system and it’s bankrupting the American citizen.

Are you sure? I’ll give that a maybe, but is it health care that is bankrupting America, or is it the effects of frivolous lawsuits on health care providers? Oh, so it’s complicated. Well then if that’s the case, let’s not throw out broad statements just to make a great sound bite.

But let’s assume it is bankrupting America. Does that mean the answer is a government takeover? We all know how good the government is at running things. They couldn’t run a small business for 2 months without driving it so far into the ground it would come out on the other side.

2. If you like your current health care plan, you can keep it.

So what I’m being sold is: health care is broken, but if we want to keep our broken health care plan, yes we can. That’s about as desperate of a sales speech as I’ve ever heard. Basically it means they’ll spend a ton of money trying to fix something, and if it doesn’t work, the people can just stay the course, only with $940 billion less. Now that is an attractive offer... for a MORON.

3. Health care reform will save $1.2 trillion dollars in its second ten years.

Please, please, try not to laugh. In all seriousness, all who believe that raise your hand. What’s that? Not raising your hand? I’m shocked. If the government has an example of anything they have done on at least half this scale that saved the money they said it initially would, a bogus pledge like that might actually carry water. But really, $1.2 Trillion dollars? I would love to meet one person who sincerely believes the government can do something this drastic that will save $1.2 trillion dollars. Now keep in mind, $1.2 trillion right now is about $2.4 trillion in 20 years at the current inflation rate. So if in 20 years it saved us $1.2 trillion that’s 600 billion in today’s terms. So how much is it going to save? I mean since we’re lying about numbers anyway, how much is it? $600 billion? $2.4 Trillion? What’s it going to be? The government doesn’t know what something is going to cost NEXT YEAR, much less at the end of the "second ten years". Who speaks like that anyways? I’m offended that the government treats the people like a bunch of sheep, who can’t possibly know what’s best for them.

Realistically, this reform will not save the country money. What’s that? How do I know? You need proof? Let’s take a look at government experience:

The U.S. Post Office was formed 235 years ago. It’s broke, subsidized, and can’t compete with private UPS and FedEx.

Social Security was formed 75 years ago. It’s broke & failing worse each year.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - 72 and 42 years old respectively. They are broke, failing, corrupt, and caused the housing crash and credit melt down of 2008.

Medicare and Medicaid formed 45 years ago and the government has been trying to sweep them under the rug ever since. They are bankrupt failures.

Amtrak was formed 40 years ago. Guess what? It runs at a loss and it was bailed out less than 2 years ago.

So wait, maybe the government has turned over a new leaf. I mean, that’s all old stuff right? Maybe we should talk about the $787 billion dollar Stimulus Bill of 2009 which has and will continue to primarily benefit the recipients of non-bid government contracts. And how about Cash for Clunkers? You know, the catch phrase program that stimulated the economy of Japan? Those are all screaming successes right? The stimulus bill fixed unemployment right? What’s that, it’s worse now? Even worse than Obama said it would be if they didn’t pass the stimulus bill? Oh, did anyone tell the government?

Anyone with an IQ over 7 should see a pattern here. Please forgive me if I hear the government say they will spend $940 Billion and save $1.2 trillion while making my health care better when their track record is a resume full of failure.

Years ago I started up a coffee shop with some friends. If someone followed us around and graphed how we spent our time before we opened, I guarantee you the results would make me cry. We pooled the money together and got cracking. We settled the legal structure, secured a lease, bought equipment, installed the POS (point of sale) machines, bought insurance, wrote employee schedules, and on and on. But just looking back, we spent gobs of time thinking and dealing with pieces to the puzzle that were trivial. We spent a lot of time on decorating, planning the music play lists, booking events (bands), and what not. We spent a lot of time thinking about things that weren’t involved with agenda of being profitable. In fact, I can’t think of much we did that was on the profitable agenda. That was a mistake of magnificent proportions. We were more concerned with running a cool coffee shop than running a money making machine. We just bought stuff, set up stuff, planned stuff, prettied up stuff, and the like. We should have sat down with excel and planned out to the penny where money was going and where it was going to come from. That was a huge mistake.

When you choose the fun and interesting agenda over the revenue agenda, you become busy. And for the record, busy is not a good thing. In business, busy should be defined as spending too much time doing things that are not important, and not enough time doing what is important.

So why do we business owners drift towards fun and interesting and away from profit from time to time? For one, fun and interesting is easy, and protecting profits is hard. Turning a revenue stream into a moat takes a lot of work. Just visualize a moat. Remember that thing was not built over night. It probably was a stream a long time ago. But someone did a lot of work to stack tens of thousands of stones several meters high to line the walls around and in inside of it. That moat is a revenue stream all grown up. I believe the business owner’s job is to turn revenue streams into moats.

So with every agenda, you have to ask yourself: is this truly valuable? Will the time invested have a positive return? A perfect example is one of my favorite charities in Houston put on an $11,000 fishing tournament, but only raised $7,000. They flushed $4,000 because they chose fun and interesting over revenue.

For you business owners out there, focus on revenue. Without revenue, you don’t have a business, you have an expensive hobby.

Certainly, the logo does become the business’s mark as they sign their products and marketing materials with it. But when you are coming up with a new logo, how important are those decisions to shave a corner there, deepen the blue there, or shrink the symbol there?

As an entrepreneur or business owner, logo decisions will be a true test of your decisiveness. Having worked with over a 100 start-ups, I have seen people waffle for days on end over some of the most non-impacting decisions ever known to man. That is the trap; to over think it, and tweak it to the ends of the earth. Often times, it is one of the few creative/subjective processes that one is involved in. Those people usually either could not care less, or worse, are on track to make up their mind right after the second coming of Christ.

Barring any terrible design decisions, here is where I rest on the issue. The value of a logo sits on a continuum between design and perception. On the left side, and early on, the value of the logo rests on the design, and how well it graphically represents the business. On the right side, after business successes/failures, and brand awareness settles, you have perception. The perception phase, which is far longer than the initial phase, depends on the quality of the business. The coca-cola logo would never be talked about if the whole world ignored the soda. The K-Mart logo would not carry its loser value if the business had not inherited its inferior reputation. If Nike shoes were uncomfortable and placed 9th or 10th in people’s minds as the athletic shoe of choice, the swoosh would have a negative perceived value. On the contrary, the swoosh is as cool as it is and carries amazing brand recognition because of the success of the business and the quality of the shoes, not because it is a swoosh.

Do your best to not over think your logo decisions. Focus on the business. If your business succeeds, the logo is good.

Fame is a drug, but much more like coffee and alcohol than crack. If you take crack, we know exactly what is going to happen to you. If you’re on coffee or alcohol (or fame), the outcome is far more unpredictable. Results vary by individual. But either way, if you get too much of it (fame), bad things will happen. Even Bono sings that no one should be too good at celebrity. And if there ever was a lethal dose of fame, people like Elvis and Michael certainly had it.

But here is my real takeaway from the media circus that is Michael Jackson’s death. If you are a parent, a wife, a husband, or you sincerely love anyone more than you love yourself; pay attention to the fifteen second speech that Michael’s daughter Paris gave at his extremely public memorial service. There was genuine, deep, real, unscripted, sadness from here father’s passing. Possibly unknowingly, she showed the whole world her deepest hurt. If you saw it, and were not even temporarily moved, then check your pulse, the girl lost her father. It is sorrow at its deepest.

It is no secret now that Michael was routinely taking drugs that doctors now say created the perfect storm for the event of his death. I can not imagine that anyone is shocked to learn there was at least some substance abuse in his fame filled life. But I feel confident if Michael could have seen the sadness of his children, family and loved ones, (but primarily his children) at his own memorial service, he would have quit those drugs cold turkey, and never looked back.

I can’t think of anything that I wouldn’t stop doing (or start doing) to ensure that I never have to see my daughter Ava go through that kind of pain.

Torture is frying someone’s hands over fire. Torture is dripping water on someone’s forehead in the desert until they die. Torture is beating someone to death’s bleeding edge. Torture is cutting off private parts, or fingers, or whatever. The history of torture is way, way, way way way more severe and permanent than pouring water down someone’s nose.

So the question is: is water boarding torture? It causes no long term damage, and it doesn’t kill, or leave scars. The victim completely and totally recovers from the experience. So in the words of Dennis Miller, perhaps its heaven sent.

I just find it interesting that right now, there are US troops abroad killing the enemy. Shooting them, blowing them up with bombs, destroying buildings, you know... all out no holds bar war.

But in Cuba, they just poor water down captured terrorist’s noses. So are we saying that it’s okay to wipe them clean off the face of the earth with superior fire power, but not okay to poor water down their nose? I’m confused.

And now Gitmo is supposed to close. And the million dollar question is: where do we put the captured terrorists? The obvious solution has been overlooked for too long. Many people suggest you can’t just take them back to where they came from, they’ll become terrorists again. Sure, history has certainly proved that true. I say send them back to the war, where they came from. But instead of dropping them off at the city center, where they can be welcomed home by their terrorist buddies, just drop them off in the middle of the battle field... say... a half a click (0.3 miles) from a marine base. I mean, if we have to close Gitmo and send them somewhere, back to war is the only logical answer. Unless they are insane (which unfortunately is highly probable), would they not beg to go back to Gitmo?

I just find it fascinating that generally speaking, it seems that so many people have a bigger problem with water boarding, than killing the enemy in battle.

Naturally, that’s easier said than done. But it’s definitely easier that finding some car czar that has a magic wand to waive and fix all the problems of the auto industry. But on a side note, the thought of some government appointed person to oversee the Autos has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. That person doesn’t exist. And you can’t have some outsider telling you how to spend your bail out dollars.

But I digress. Here’s my suggestion: Disappear for one year.

Support current warranties, repairs, and yadda yadda yadda. But for now, and at the least; stop making stuff that isn’t competitive. Bolt the doors. Go into deep R and D. For one, the media will go nuts because they won’t know what you’re up to. Spend a year thinking, researching, prototyping, and stop making all the same old same old.

For years, we have watched the American Autos go BACKWARDS. They have been sitting around the boardroom thinking, "Hey, what worked in the 70s?... Lets make that again. And what was that one car that was popular in the 80s? Let’s do that again." It’s regression at its finest.

Now, you might be saying, what about all the union workers, and all those jobs? Well, if the autos stay on the track their on, then they will all be unemployed anyway. Wage cuts are a way better option. Massive unemployment is already the probable case scenario. It’s time stop making crap just so you can employ people and start looking long term towards, "What can we do to get a competitive edge?" Now, I’m not literally calling the product crap, it’s not; but it’s seems like they have 15 brands of cars that are the same ol same ol, producing ridiculous volumes of brands and cars and nothing is sticking. That’s a lot of crap. So stop. Spend some time thinking, and come up with something (like the mini-van) that will be a game changer. Tweaking one curve of the fender to come out with next year’s model has got to stop.

Americans don’t need a cooler looking car, and we don’t need to relive the muscle car days. We don’t need a 3rd cigarette lighter under the rear passenger seats, and more gadgets and options that will break in 2 years anyway. We need fuel economy, safety, performance and reliability. Is that so hard?

Now, you want the easy road to profitability? Just kill off every model except the overgrown black SUV’s. We all know those things have sold like hot cakes, and still are.

On a side note, I watched a discovery channel special on aircraft carriers the other days. An American aircraft carrier only has to fill up once every 24 years. So if I’m supposed to believe that an American made 97-thousand TON boat can run on fuel so that it only has to fill up once every 24 years, but the best GM can do is make their Hybrid Tahoe achieve 2 more miles per gallon than it’s gas guzzling non hybrid counterpart, you’ve got to be kidding me.

If you want revenue, you have to make something that people want to buy. I don’t know how any company can go on employing tens of thousands of people spinning all their wheels making a product that isn’t competitive, while executives fly around on private jets begging for money.

Point 1

The bail out is not the American thing to do, it is the stupid thing to do. As an American (company, businessman, entrepreneur, or otherwise), you can not go on year after year making a product that your American consumers are buying less and less of. That’s not American, it’s foolish. America is an innovation powerhouse; (businesses) get on that train or get left behind.

Point 2

Point 3

The economy is down, and it’s hit my business too. People are spending less, paying invoices slower, and everything in between. Should I line up and ask the government for money? No! You, me and anyone else with a business has to adapt, not whine off crying to mommy government saying give me money, or jobs will be lost.

Economy or not, if you aren’t making product people want to buy, your business will decline; it is as simple as that. All this lining up for the bail out buffet is absurd.

The negative side for me is the lesson of responsibility. If I tank my company from personal greed and/or stupid decision making, no one is coming to my rescue. I believe at the heart of the credit crisis, mortgage write downs, and other financial collapses is personal greed. And I’m not really hypothesizing here either. There are several cases of a new CEO coming into leadership with a company and in just a year or two they wreck the company having created such a golden parachute in year 1, that the fines and firing that will take place in year two are simply a quick way out, where they can wash their hands of it all. And after all of it, they still have gobs of compensation they created and approved for themselves in year 1. So in those circumstances, there is no accountability.

There is one positive I see with the ridiculous rescue plan. Individual investors like myself can take heart of a certain stability of the markets. I can now throw my money into 10 baskets of good companies, and feel assured that if I picked industry leaders, my money is safe with a higher probability of positive return. With the example of the bail out, if things get bad enough, the government will step in and inject cash to fix the potential recession times. So my fear of my investments tanking, is much less. Sure it’s now more of a fixed game, but we are forced to play the game with the rules at hand. It’s not just supply and demand anymore. The market won’t simply correct itself anymore. The market will correct its speed bumps, but if there’s a road crater, it’s government to the rescue. The big picture is kind of crappy, but we the individual investors can play this game with the new rules.

And here’s a side note on the mortgage crisis. Everyone has been playing a ruthless game of blame for sometime now, and that’s really a rope that has no end. There are so many people at fault, you can’t just say it’s the crooked CEO’s, or the predatory lenders, or the dumb people who didn’t read their contract and signed mortgages that are way over their pay grade. You can’t say it’s the real estate investors that spiked up a market so full of hot air that it was bound to deflate. Again, greed is at the forefront of the fault.

Greedy home buyers wanted to get in huge houses with little down, and then bet the farm that their over sized house would appreciate and make them gobs of money. How many millions of people want(ed) to make their millions off real estate? When board games are sold in stores about the industry, that’s a sign of a bubble I would say. Lesson learned, the housing market doesn’t always go up. But then again, no market does.

Then you have the mortgage industry. In this industry there are zillions and zillions of bees swarming around fishing out the next origination fee. They place a loan, and at minimum they get a point. We’ll call it a point, because it sounds a lot better than saying you’re going to finance an extra $1000 over the next 30 years so I can put that $1000 (1% of the loan) in my pocket right now, for placing your loan. And that’s only on a $100,000 home. The national average is around 200K per home, which makes that one point yield a quick bee bonus of $2,000. Do you think any of these bees might present a not so good situation as great if they are a signature away from a quick $2,000? Many of these bees cared not about honest, ethical, situation appropriate loans. They would just push and fix and sell (which is the industry word) things until they could get their "point" on your loan. And because of this behavior, most of these people aren’t working anymore. The days of those points getting passed out like bubble gum are over.

The end result, definitely not laissez-faire. I don’t even know if there is a French economic term to describe our current economic state. Some are saying it’s the United States of France; not from an ownership point of view, just from an economic governance point of view. That phrase certainly sounds strange, so even if it is accurate, I can’t really buy into it. Never the less... and for now... long live the mostly free markets.

http://www.socialmedia.biz/2008/08/google-cache-on.html

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/27/sports/OLY.php

Now if I could only find some credible sources to explain the idiocy of the judge�s inconsistent method of scoring and the new gymnastic scoring system.

I expected somewhat of a liberal based question drilling of the President to happen, given that Costas is with NBC and they almost exclusively drink the liberal Kool-Aid anytime it’s served. But I personally think that Bobby showed very little respect for the President. Like him (Bush) or not, he deserves respect. Bob’s questions were long, leading, carried a sour attitude, and were worded in a spoon fed liberal fashion; anything but balanced and unbiased.

But to cap it off, Bob’s final remarks in the short interview directed to President Bush were, "You are dismissed." Did I really hear that? A reporter telling the President, "You are dismissed?"

I think, "Thank you for coming" (to the interview) might have been an appropriate final remark. Or how about, "It was an honor having you." Maybe, "Thank you for your time." But no, it was, "You are dismissed". It was extremely pompous.

I wish someone with cue cards, or working a camera could have quietly reminded Costas, "Hey... remember you are a news reporter, and you’re talking to the President... just remember that in case you have the urge to feel more important then you actually are."

So let’s just say the tables have turned. I bought an iPhone 3G on opening weekend. News outlets will tell you that they sold a million units in the first 3 days, while it took them 74 days to reach the same milestone on iPhone v.1. So very literally, I’m one in a million now. But the question is, should you believe the hype?

Apple says it’s twice as fast. Coming off of my well featured Treo (which had email, touch screen web browsing, etc), I would say the 3G unit is far more than twice as fast. As far as mobile data speeds are concerned, this thing is way faster. The phone imported all 7 email accounts from my Outlook (Win XP), and it checks all the accounts at lightning’s pace.

The web browsing is just insane. Though the 3G unit’s network is the fastest cellular network out there, it will pick up any available WiFi networks in reach. Being honest here, I only sense a mild speed difference between fully connected WiFi networks and the 3G network from ATT. The multi touch zoom in/out and drag while browsing is without doubt the most efficient mobile web browsing available.

Not even being an avid iTunes user, I easily synced the phone to my XP Pro running Dell, and threw a couple music and photo albums on the phone. Continuing to play around, I downloaded Bloomberg’s free application for financial markets news and quotes. It also comes with a Google Maps app complete with pin point GPS location. So if you’re lost in the car or otherwise, help is right in the palm of your hand. Bottom line, It was all a snap. A dumber than average monkey could work this thing like a pro.

Final remarks. I was once an iPhone doubting skeptic, but now I’m not only drinking the Koolade, I’m ready to serve it up to others. It is by far the best smart phone device out there.

Though Kanakuk started in 1926, it came into my world while I was in Junior High. Just this past week, we attended their family camp, K-Kauai. Calling it a family camp is accurate, but almost misleading. It’s really an all inclusive family resort, that happens to have some similarities with camp. They take care of all the meals. Each family has their own air conditioned, 2-bathroom cabana. Kids of all ages, are not just taken care of when the grown ups are busy, but they are involved in age appropriate teaching and activities every day. All the Kanakuk staples are present: multi level ropes course, unbelievable pool grounds, on site water park, zip line over the edge of a cliff, most any sport you can think of and several others you can’t, water skiing, bluff jumping, and many others. I hardly call it vacation, because there just isn’t a lot of resting going on. After one week, I’m tired and sore.

The week is over, and one item of interest keeps standing out. Most of the 40 families there while we were had all been to Disney World before. And time and time again, I heard the same story from families who asked their kids earlier in the year if they would rather go to Disney World or Kanakuk? Each time the kids would give the parents the unanimous decision for Kanakuk.

I have to stop right there, because that seriously blows my mind. But on the drive home, it clicked:

Kids would rather have authentic, inspiring, and challenging activity based interaction with their family, well trained Kanakuk staff, and counselors, then have entertainment to the multi-million dollar N’th degree from Disney. Put simply, it’s authentic interaction vs. world class entertainment.

All reflections aside, we had an awesome and unforgettable time and can’t wait to go back. Enjoy the photo album on the left.

But back to welcoming high gas prices. High gas prices are pretty much the only thing that will kick energy innovation into high gear, because frankly most of the solutions being pitched right now just aren’t going to cut it. I would even say it’s an embarrassment to U.S. innovation that the 145 million cars on our highways are virtually running on the same fuel that the first cars ran on exactly 100 years ago. In 1908 the Model T ran on gasoline and ethanol. Now in 2008, our cars (vast, vast majority) are running on gasoline and ethanol. The Model T also ran at about 18 mpg (miles per gallon). I think the only reason we’re not still driving the Model T is probably because it wouldn’t pass today’s safety inspections.

Ethanol is a great buzz word; I sure fell for it a couple years ago. And FYI, ethanol is not going to cut it. It’s caused the price of certain crops to skyrocket, so many countries can’t even afford basic foods now. And it takes a boat load of corn and 80 gallons of water to make a gallon of ethanol fuel. That’s immeasurably ridiculous.

So how about Hybrids? That word is about as grey as "broadband internet service". What does it really mean? You could buy a 2 wheel drive hybrid Tahoe and get 22 mpg (Hwy). But wait there’s more. What if you opted to save $15,000 and get the non-hybrid version, and just take the 19 mpg (Hwy). Pretty simply math here; for 15 grand you get 3 more miles per gallon. NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Now, there certainly are some hybrids that are just killing it out there. They’re not all marketing scams. The Prius boasts more than 45 mpg. That’s pretty impressive. For me, I’m not really drinking the hybrid Kool-Aid yet. My well performing sports sedan gets close to 30 mpg on the hwy, and I’m fine with that for now. Premium gas and all.

And as many are pitching, the future is not in driving less for me. It’s not in ethanol, hybrids, carpooling, windfall profits taxing, or any of the other insufficient ideas out there. It’s not in better fuel economy as far as I’m concerned. It’s in DIFFERENT fuel economy. We’re a hundred years past the Model T right now. I’m actually shocked that my car isn’t running on tap water, nuclear energy, batteries, stored solar power, or frankly anything other than the energy that OPEC gouges for.

Quick reminder, it’s takes between 2 and 4 dollars to get a barrel of oil out of the ground in the Middle East. The current market value for that barrel is close to $140. And crying about it doesn’t do much, because it’s a great case and point for Economics 101: Supply and Demand. Very few people control the supply, and about a billion people feed the demand.

So I look forward to high gas prices. Real pain at the pump is simply a line we will all have to cross. There is no doubt it will have to get worse before it gets better, and I am really looking forward to better.

From the Heart...

But what is Obamamania? This week, we have received 4 messages on our home phone from Obama telemarketing. Yesterday, we had a family stop by our house doing some door to door promotions for Obama. Certainly that is Obamamania. They were disappointed that both Katie and I had already voted earlier that day, and not for Obama. I did not have the time to ask "why" when they knocked, but I wanted to. Why is a simple question. Why Obama? I just want to know why those who support Obama so passionately do.

Here is my Obamamania.

I hear Obama make a speech, and I’m moved by it. I look at his voting record as a senator, and I’m disappointed (if not disgusted).

I watch Obama’s performance at the debates, and I’m impressed. I take note of his various relationships and associations with questionable characters, and I’m disappointed.

So it turns out, when I see the guy on TV, when he opens his mouth, when he inspires the masses; I too get caught up in the Obamamania. But when the rubber meets the road, it turns out he has the most liberal voting record in the history of the senate. Well that doesn’t really gel well, when my views typically aren’t in line with the far left.

So I am constantly baffled about how on the surface I can be so attracted to a candidate with whom I couldn’t disagree with more?

Serving the Illinois State Legislature, Obama voted "Present" 129 times. Present means I’m here at the vote, and I choose not to vote Yes or No. That’s essentially showing up to vote and passing, like it’s a game of Go Fish. He defends that point in interviews by saying that voting Present is a tradition in Illinois. So indecisiveness is a tradition? For a leader? The President of the USA doesn’t get to vote Present. It’s yes or no, all day every day; much like any leader. Voting present is a habit that needs breaking.

On government spying, I say let them spy and Obama says no, not even on foreign suspects. That means our agencies must acquire a court order every time they want to tap the phone line of a foreign suspect. I call that thick red tape in the form of delaying productivity.

On partial birth abortion, he voted Present. On lowering the penalty from carrying an unlicensed concealed weapon from felony to misdemeanor, he voted Present. On firing a gun near school grounds, Obama voted Present. On sealing the trial records of Sex-Abuse victims to protect the victim’s privacy, he voted present (making himself the only member not supporting the bill.) On protecting the life of a failed abortion, he voted Present. On prohibiting strip clubs from operating within 1000 feet of schools, churches and daycares; he voted Present.

Now keep in mind, voting present aligns with NO, because Present will not get a bill passed. Voting Yes gets bills passed, while No and Present will not. But we’ll keep calling it Present, because that’s what the vote says.

Even in his book, The Audacity of Hope, he writes, "You must vote yes or no on whatever bill comes up..." Well that is interesting.

So I guess I’m at a point where I just don’t get it anymore. Why all the fanfare? Why all the fainting at rallies? Why all the support?

By no means am I saying Hillary and McCain are saints to be praised. I just don’t get the run away blind love that Obama receives from so many. Obama coming to Dallas got the same response as U2 did, as if Obama has been building a fan base of millions for 30 plus years.

He says he wants to have an immediate withdraw from Iraq. But if he withdraws from Iraq and turmoil develops there again (in the Middle East) then he’ll order troops to go back. I’m sure that would be cheap. Of course he will raise taxes, so maybe that will help with the Leave and Go Back plan.

I wonder what would happen if the US left Iraq. I wonder if things would go bad in the Middle East? I mean, I have no historical reference to draw from, so I just wonder. I mean, it’s not like we have sworn enemies growing armies, and taking refuge in nearby territories or anything? I wonder if Oil prices would go so sky high that it would cause serious and long term damage to the US economy. Now, more so than ever, is not the time to mismanage the Middle East.

I am simply truly interested to hear why people support Obama. I don’t want hear about Bush, he’s not running. I would like to know Why Obama? That’s my question.

It is apparent: people are absolutely desperate for inspiration. Whomever shows the first inkling of inspiration; Hollywood and its na�ve-idealist followers all come running. Passion. Charisma. People are yearning to hear something and be moved by it.

Here’s the problem. It’s a speech. It’s a song. It’s the image of the famous, who most people unfortunately confuse with the wise minds of our time. For the most part they Act. They pretend to be someone else, for a living. Does it take talent? Yes! Can it be unbelievably entertaining? Absolutely! Does it deserve the blind and inherent personal influence it gets? No.

Don’t hear me wrong, it took strong talent to put that piece together. It IS a great piece. It also takes strong talent to put an amazing speech together.

I cannot discount the talent it took to create and deliver that message in song. What I can discount is its ease of impact on the masses. What does this mean? Good, original rhetoric is powerful. Combine that with song, and you have an emotional magnet.

If needed, I could write a song to convince people of a position (at least 51 percent of an audience). I cannot say my song will be near as good as Will-I-Am’s, but I bet I could put together a pretty good piece.

What does this mean? Nothing. It’s music and lyrics. Songs can be powerful. Words, emotion, music, delivery... it’s just that. It is art. It’s not a plan and follow-through.

This election is not about our Nation’s issues anymore. It’s not about finding the best man/woman for the job either. It is a popularity contest. A presidential hopeful doesn’t really need to convince people that their plan is the best plan. They need to figure out how to get you to vote for them. There is a big difference.

Personal example. Ten years ago, I interviewed with a partner of a big firm. He was the decision maker of me getting a job or not (getting elected you might say). The interview with this company was my last straw. But instead of talking to him about why I am the man for the job, I researched his interests. I talked to people that knew him. For over an hour and twenty minutes of conversation, we talked about his interests and hobbies, and boy I was excited about them. I didn’t have the credentials for the job, so I pursued the path of convincing him to LIKE me. I didn’t have the experience. I didn’t have a plan, the skills, or the knowledge. Granted I might figure out a plan, and acquire the skills and knowledge to get things done and make things work. But at the time of the interview I was a blank slate. So instead of talking about technologies (the issues), my previous work with them (experience), my plan on how I can make his team better, and my ability to invent solutions to solve problems; I worked every angle so he would LIKE me. I needed him to go back to his boardroom, with the rest of the million dollar salary partners, and say, "I like Matt, I think we should go with him". I needed his vote. This man knew absolutely nothing about my experience, my skills, or my potential to learn and become and asset on his team. He simply had an enjoyable hour and twenty minute interview. You could say I did a song and a dance. Was it right? You be the judge.

Back to the Yes-We-Can song and dance. Let it entertain you. Let pop culture and musicians entertain you. Let Hollywood entertain you. That is what they are there for. But do not let them influence you. Influence is Power. Do not hand that power over to the first person who entertains you. Look at the facts. Look at the plans. Look at their beliefs. Look at their position on the issues. Look at their experience. Weigh that on your own personal scale, however you see fit. Make your own decision. We should all be so careful that we don’t let someone else do that for us.

I’ve been to Aruba, and it’s a beautiful place. Great beaches, great food, and very friendly people. The US dollar is accepted everywhere, and over all, it’s an inexpensive travel destination. Given that it’s only 3 hours south of Miami, the year round temperature is in the upper 70s, and the fact that it is a Caribbean island outside the tropical storm path make made it a great place to vacation.

Despite the fact that Aruba has the lowest overall crime rate in the region, Katie and I thought it was quite close to a lawless society. Traffic laws aren’t enforced. You can go as fast as you want. No one stops at intersections. Right of way is lost to anyone who yields. You can drink and drive, while not wearing a seat belt. Some drugs that are illegal here in the states are legal there. For the most part, if you don’t kill or steal, you won’t get yourself in trouble.

The Holloway case started in May of 2005. Understating the obvious, it is a terrible story. For the past couple of years, I’ve found myself wanting justice for those involved, but sticking up for Aruba with comments like, "They aren’t prepared or qualified to solve high profile/serious crimes, because they have no experience." The USA has tons of experience solving violent crimes. We have several branches of law enforcement, zillions of lawyers and private investigators. Our media is like an unstoppable rebel force. It was our media who practically moved to Aruba so the story wouldn’t disappear. Aruba doesn’t know how to deal with serious crime, because it so rarely happens. The island is roughly 7 miles by 19 miles. There’s nowhere to hide.

I have a new opinion now, and I will say I have already visited Aruba for the last time. Here is my problem. Natalee Holloway’s step father was interviewed just days after the disappearance. He was asked a series of questions about whether or not Natalee was epileptic, or had a history of seizures. That line of questioning seems strange all by itself. Now just this week, an undercover video is exposed to the world with confessions (albeit conflicting and confusing at best) from Joron. Regardless if his recorded statements are true or not, he spoke at length about Natalee shaking, and displaying seizure like symptoms, just before dying (he claims).

Why would the Aruba authorities have asked Natalee’s family just days after her disappearance if she was an epileptic? Is that question normally asked in a murder or missing persons investigation? How would they know to ask that question more than 2 years before the release of the undercover confessional video? Now, I am not bringing any new information to the table. However, I do feel that question is the most important question on the table right now, and the answer to that question is in the critical path to solving this terrible crime.

2. The audience roared uncontrollably on the thought of a Clinton/Obama (or Obama/Clinton) ticket. If the two dems want to trade their pride for the office, I think that transaction is readily available. I think it would be very hard for the Repubs to win under those circumstances.

3. The republican debate was disappointing for me. CNN invited all four candidates, and only let two of them talk. They almost focused their questions completely on Mc and Rom. What an insult to the others.

4. Why do moderators continue to chime in with , "so and so just took a stab at you". You know, in some cases they did (stab), and in some cases they didn’t. Either way, the candidates are smart people, they don’t need jokers trying to stir up drama out of thin air.

5. Romney is growing a likeability problem from where I sit. Almost as if he’s caught the disease from HRC as she cures. More and more he’s showing a defensive demeanor, and an almost abrasive attitude with come back comments. Aren’t we talking about the President of the United States here? There are massive problems on the table. If I hear one more word about the Olympics, I just might break out into a conniption. Part of me feels like comparing Olympics to Presidency is like telling the world you are going to take your tee box lemonade stand all the way to Fortune 500.