It was seven months ago that I said "stay tuned for a lot more posts, and shorter ones too." Ha!! Was everyone in suspense? Yeah, I bet...
Ok, really, this time I mean it. I'm going to get back to this blog and clear my head and start posting all the time. First of all, I'm a totally different person than I was seven months ago. I went from being President of a company and calling the shots to being a stay-at-home dad and a full-time student. And a pretty broke one too. No more golf rounds, no resorts, no going out to dinner all the time. No. It's egg & toast with the baby in the morning, a turkey sandwich with the baby in the afternoon, homework during naps, children's music in a minivan and a crock pot dinner for the working wife. All of this in seven months. Not bad.
I hate to keep going back to the psychic story (which started this whole blog in the first place), but he said "the winds of change were howling towards me." Well, I had done the same thing for 16 years, and had planned on doing the same thing for another 40 years. Now in just over a half-year, my whole entire world is backwards? I'm just saying it's a little weird.
So I'm a stay-at-home dad to a beautiful little girl. I'll be about 20 college units ahead of where I was before. By the way, when I said I did the same thing for 16 years, I've been enrolled at Mira Costa for 16 YEARS! Not many people are on the 20-year college plan but I am. I'm also a certified tax preparer, I'm an 8th grade football coach, plus I interned on the Meg Whitman campaign, which is something else I always wanted to do. So yeah, all in all it's been a pretty cool transformation and I honestly feel like an entirely different person. I guess having a kid can do that to you.
But seriously, this is the time. I really mean it now, I'm going to get this blog going and get some followers! If this blog is supposed to be part of my new life, then I need to put the time in to make it work. So it's official, The Dan's Opinion is back up and running. Now I just need to start the P90X program I've been meaning to do.
The Dan
Friday, August 13, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
This is such a great photo. President Obama is speaking to a 6th grade class, in a 6th grade classroom in Falls Church, VA...with TWO teleprompters! Are you kidding me? I was in a Communications class tonight where the professor referred to President Obama as "one of the greatest public speakers of all time." Granted, he is a great speaker, but lets hold off on annointing him as one of the all-time best anything for a while. Just like his Nobel Peace Prize, it may be a little premature.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
I'm at a serious crossroads in my life and faced with the reality of being out of a job here pretty quick. I kept thinking I could hold it off and fight through the bad times, but it's coming, and probably sooner than later. And thank God if it's sooner! I'm so done with the business, I'm ready to move on and get this show on the road, start the next chapter in my life.
As a result of this reflection (and fear of being unemployed for the first time), I've been doing a lot of thinking about my future and have decided it's time to finally finish school. After working full-time for almost 16 years, it's something that has been haunting me not having a degree. So it's time to become legit and get some credentials to back all my opinions. I've also been thinking a lot about this blog, which is something I'm passionate about, but I think I'm going about it all wrong. Instead of treating these things like essays, I need to just let her rip and write what comes into my head, like an extended Facebook post (thanks to my wife on that one). I feel like I've gotten in so many good debates on Facebook that have been wasted because they should have been done here so my massive fan base (of six) can get involved and put there opinions out there too. I'm not a dictator, I allow free thought!
Something that sparked 36 different messages on FB was when I referenced a video of Obama saying EIGHT DIFFERENT TIMES on the campaign trail that he would open up the Health Care debates to the public and broadcast them on C-SPAN. This was of course before he lied, because in reality they held closed door meetings, for Democrats only, with no cameras, for them to decide what is best for us. It's bullshit really. And then Scott Brown came along and spoiled all the fun for the Dems! I haven't been that pumped up in a long time as when I was watching his acceptance speech after taking back the Senate seat from the Kennedy family! He was absolutely right on the campaign, it was NOT Ted Kennedy's seat, it was America's seat! It was awesome. I'm so proud of our country and I'm proud that we are fighting back against this socialist machine that is in power.
So stay tuned for a lot more posts, and shorter posts too, which I'm sure everyone will appreciate. I get a little wordy sometimes, but I've got a lot to say! But now I'm pumped up, ready for some real change to take place in America and not this bullshit "hope and change" that was promised. Nope, real change...and it started this week in Massachusetts. Let's fight back!
The Dan
As a result of this reflection (and fear of being unemployed for the first time), I've been doing a lot of thinking about my future and have decided it's time to finally finish school. After working full-time for almost 16 years, it's something that has been haunting me not having a degree. So it's time to become legit and get some credentials to back all my opinions. I've also been thinking a lot about this blog, which is something I'm passionate about, but I think I'm going about it all wrong. Instead of treating these things like essays, I need to just let her rip and write what comes into my head, like an extended Facebook post (thanks to my wife on that one). I feel like I've gotten in so many good debates on Facebook that have been wasted because they should have been done here so my massive fan base (of six) can get involved and put there opinions out there too. I'm not a dictator, I allow free thought!
Something that sparked 36 different messages on FB was when I referenced a video of Obama saying EIGHT DIFFERENT TIMES on the campaign trail that he would open up the Health Care debates to the public and broadcast them on C-SPAN. This was of course before he lied, because in reality they held closed door meetings, for Democrats only, with no cameras, for them to decide what is best for us. It's bullshit really. And then Scott Brown came along and spoiled all the fun for the Dems! I haven't been that pumped up in a long time as when I was watching his acceptance speech after taking back the Senate seat from the Kennedy family! He was absolutely right on the campaign, it was NOT Ted Kennedy's seat, it was America's seat! It was awesome. I'm so proud of our country and I'm proud that we are fighting back against this socialist machine that is in power.
So stay tuned for a lot more posts, and shorter posts too, which I'm sure everyone will appreciate. I get a little wordy sometimes, but I've got a lot to say! But now I'm pumped up, ready for some real change to take place in America and not this bullshit "hope and change" that was promised. Nope, real change...and it started this week in Massachusetts. Let's fight back!
The Dan
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Death by Environmentalism
I told you how our family business has given up the good fight and is going under, like so many other small businesses across the country. Unfortunately, that is still true and for the first time in my 16 year career, I'm sending out resumes! I guess it was bad timing to have a new baby and then decide to the close the business the same month, but I never thought it would come to this. No one did. So here I am, looking for work at the worst time since the Great Depression. I've known this day was coming though so I've been hustling trying to start other businesses like a broker company and insurance agency. However, because the entire auto industry is so tainted right now, those other ventures are struggling to get off the ground. We office on the Mile of Cars in National City, CA and the joke going around is that it should be renamed "The Half Mile of Cars" because of all the closed dealerships. It's sad really, so many guys out of work. Which makes me more pissed off about the situation each day and a lot more compassionate for our customers who keep getting laid off. I really feel bad for the truck drivers though. They were our bread and butter, our lifeblood, and they are gone. I mentioned before that I feel the banks were responsible for a huge part in this collapse, but there was another culprit....the environmentalists and the passing of AB32.
AB32 is the the name of a California Assembly Bill that passed in 2006, also known as the "Global Warming Solutions Act". It should be called the "Death of California Business" because that is exactly what it accomplished! It's a huge factor of our company closing down because we were so closely tied to the trucking industry. Almost 90% of our business was loaned out to independent owner/operator truck drivers, and this bill helped put them out of business. It is really depressing to witness someone come to America (usually from Mexico or South America), work as a driver for a big trucking company and save every cent until they can go out buy their own truck. He comes in a couple months later to buy another truck because business is booming and we finance that one too. Eventually he has four or five trucks on the road, supporting him and his family and everything is great. He makes money, we make money, the world goes round. Then some bullshit, completely over the top law like AB32 comes around, authored by two democrats of course, gets pushed through and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger (who should be ashamed for even calling himself a Republican). Our customer is now being told by the government that he has to pay $175 permit fee at the port he runs containers out of because his truck is "non-compliant with emission standards." His only alternatives are to overhaul the engines at a huge expense, or buy a truck that is 2001 or newer.
(On a side note, I think it ties in to a much greater plan of nationalizing the major industries, but that's just me. These independent drivers for the most part are all hard working immigrants who can't afford a new truck, which is upwards of $150k. But you know who can? The government. I know it may sound crazy now but do not be surprised if by 2012, Obama has not nationalized the trucking industry. It's just a hunch. Anyway, back to our independent trucker.)
This guy now has five rigs and four drivers who all can't get work because the economy is slowing down, diesel gas hit $5 per gallon in 2008, and now he has to pay a permit fee in the port on top of it? So what does he do? He turns ALL his trucks in one day to our company. We now have five more repossessions for the auction which is already flooded with the same type of non-compliant trucks. Just like that, all this equipment is now worthless and just as fast, his American dream is officially dead. He goes back home and literally vanishes (it's a little tough to collect from someone in Guatemala). And do you want to know the really messed up part of this? The science used to author this bill was FALSE! The lead scientist behind the study for AB32 was recently found to have "grossly exaggerated his academic credentials", and you probably noticed that Global Warming as a whole is under a hell of a lot of scrutiny now.
(If you really want to be amused, do a search into some articles written in 2006 about global warming, in the height of the doom and gloom fear-mongering by the environmentalists, essentially guaranteeing that if we don't pass legislation right away, the Earth is going to melt and all mankind will be reduced to ashes. Articles like that go all the way up to November 2009 when thankfully, Climategate hit the Internet. Just to be clear, I don't normally condone hacking into e-mail servers and stealing documents, but in this case...it was heroic!)
This bill has been getting a lot of scrutiny because of Climategate, and on December 9, 2009 there was a meeting of the Air Resources Board to deal with this bill. Michael Gardner of the Union Tribune reports that during six hours of public testimony, dozens of struggling truckers implored the board to consider their plights. They shared stories of lost business and layoffs. "It's a job killing rule," said Byron Bloom, president of Priority Moving in San Diego. He said compliance with cost $1 million." These are independent drivers, business owners, they don't have a million dollars. They were trying to show that because so many people have lost their jobs as a result of this law, they are actually ahead of schedule for emissions compliance and now need to relax their ridiculous compliance standards. Basically, the environmentalists did such a good job of putting people out of business, they don't need to worry about the environment anymore! Great. Congratulations. You killed the trucking industry.
Now you've got this legislation in place, this job killer, which has been debunked, so what do you do now? How do you fix it? Can you give everyone their jobs back? No. Can you give us our bank line and all of our customers back? No. All you can do is repeal AB32 and unfortunately, the clown we have in charge, the RINO (Republican in Name Only), the Governator won't do it! He has hordes of hard working California business owners begging him to do something to fix the problem and he doesn't care! There is someone out there though that does care and is willing to do something about it. Once again, that person happens to be Meg Whitman! I told you in the last post about her, about the incredible CEO who can fix California and guess what? She wrote an Op-Ed piece on September 17, 2009 to the San Jose Mercury News calling on Schwarzenegger to issue an executive order to put a one year moratorium on AB32. Then she said the following: "If he does not, I will issue that order on my first day as Governor."
Let's hope she gets that chance.
The Dan
AB32 is the the name of a California Assembly Bill that passed in 2006, also known as the "Global Warming Solutions Act". It should be called the "Death of California Business" because that is exactly what it accomplished! It's a huge factor of our company closing down because we were so closely tied to the trucking industry. Almost 90% of our business was loaned out to independent owner/operator truck drivers, and this bill helped put them out of business. It is really depressing to witness someone come to America (usually from Mexico or South America), work as a driver for a big trucking company and save every cent until they can go out buy their own truck. He comes in a couple months later to buy another truck because business is booming and we finance that one too. Eventually he has four or five trucks on the road, supporting him and his family and everything is great. He makes money, we make money, the world goes round. Then some bullshit, completely over the top law like AB32 comes around, authored by two democrats of course, gets pushed through and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger (who should be ashamed for even calling himself a Republican). Our customer is now being told by the government that he has to pay $175 permit fee at the port he runs containers out of because his truck is "non-compliant with emission standards." His only alternatives are to overhaul the engines at a huge expense, or buy a truck that is 2001 or newer.
(On a side note, I think it ties in to a much greater plan of nationalizing the major industries, but that's just me. These independent drivers for the most part are all hard working immigrants who can't afford a new truck, which is upwards of $150k. But you know who can? The government. I know it may sound crazy now but do not be surprised if by 2012, Obama has not nationalized the trucking industry. It's just a hunch. Anyway, back to our independent trucker.)
This guy now has five rigs and four drivers who all can't get work because the economy is slowing down, diesel gas hit $5 per gallon in 2008, and now he has to pay a permit fee in the port on top of it? So what does he do? He turns ALL his trucks in one day to our company. We now have five more repossessions for the auction which is already flooded with the same type of non-compliant trucks. Just like that, all this equipment is now worthless and just as fast, his American dream is officially dead. He goes back home and literally vanishes (it's a little tough to collect from someone in Guatemala). And do you want to know the really messed up part of this? The science used to author this bill was FALSE! The lead scientist behind the study for AB32 was recently found to have "grossly exaggerated his academic credentials", and you probably noticed that Global Warming as a whole is under a hell of a lot of scrutiny now.
(If you really want to be amused, do a search into some articles written in 2006 about global warming, in the height of the doom and gloom fear-mongering by the environmentalists, essentially guaranteeing that if we don't pass legislation right away, the Earth is going to melt and all mankind will be reduced to ashes. Articles like that go all the way up to November 2009 when thankfully, Climategate hit the Internet. Just to be clear, I don't normally condone hacking into e-mail servers and stealing documents, but in this case...it was heroic!)
This bill has been getting a lot of scrutiny because of Climategate, and on December 9, 2009 there was a meeting of the Air Resources Board to deal with this bill. Michael Gardner of the Union Tribune reports that during six hours of public testimony, dozens of struggling truckers implored the board to consider their plights. They shared stories of lost business and layoffs. "It's a job killing rule," said Byron Bloom, president of Priority Moving in San Diego. He said compliance with cost $1 million." These are independent drivers, business owners, they don't have a million dollars. They were trying to show that because so many people have lost their jobs as a result of this law, they are actually ahead of schedule for emissions compliance and now need to relax their ridiculous compliance standards. Basically, the environmentalists did such a good job of putting people out of business, they don't need to worry about the environment anymore! Great. Congratulations. You killed the trucking industry.
Now you've got this legislation in place, this job killer, which has been debunked, so what do you do now? How do you fix it? Can you give everyone their jobs back? No. Can you give us our bank line and all of our customers back? No. All you can do is repeal AB32 and unfortunately, the clown we have in charge, the RINO (Republican in Name Only), the Governator won't do it! He has hordes of hard working California business owners begging him to do something to fix the problem and he doesn't care! There is someone out there though that does care and is willing to do something about it. Once again, that person happens to be Meg Whitman! I told you in the last post about her, about the incredible CEO who can fix California and guess what? She wrote an Op-Ed piece on September 17, 2009 to the San Jose Mercury News calling on Schwarzenegger to issue an executive order to put a one year moratorium on AB32. Then she said the following: "If he does not, I will issue that order on my first day as Governor."
Let's hope she gets that chance.
The Dan
Monday, December 7, 2009
A New California
When the psychic (or my dead Grandfather) said "the winds of change are howling towards me", I had no idea how right he was. In the five months since my experience with him, my whole world is different. I had just always assumed I would do this job for the rest of my life, just like my dad did. However, every day I get increasingly jaded and pissed off with the entire auto industry and have truly grown to hate everything about it. I hate our business, I hate the banks, I hate the car dealers, all of it. I've been involved for almost 16 years now and at only 33 years old, I'm way too young to be this stressed out and beaten up, with my health literally being affected by it. Obviously, the overall economy has killed us with more customers out of work each day and unable to make their car payments, but there are many more factors involved than just "the economy". It's a much bigger problem.
Target number one, the banks. They received a massive portion of the $800 billion dollar stimulus package, specifically to pump that money back into the economy. But they didn't. Instead, they swallowed up other fledgling banks and kept the rest of the money to boost their own balance sheets. Instead of helping the situation by opening up credit lines for independent finance companies like us, they did the opposite. They called all the credit lines. Regardless of time or loyalty or good standing, they just shut everything off, killing the most valuable resource we had which was money to lend. Unable to get any new customers, all we have left is people who are out of work and defaulting on their car loans at historic rates. Repossessions skyrocket, flooding the auto auctions and reducing the vehicle values even further, all of which gives us increasing losses month after month. Massive losses means laying people off, cutting expenses to the bare bone, cutting salaries (which in turn effects everyone around us from the deli to the electronics store to the car dealers) until we can't survive any longer. And sadly, that time has finally come. After being incorporated for 18 years, we are closing the doors. Pulling the plug. Closing up shop. Finished. It's obviously depressing, but we are just a grain of sand in the overall picture. Endless numbers of little restaurants, hair salons, construction companies, hobby shops, clothing boutiques, etc. are all closing their doors along with us because of one simple reason...no money. No money to buy merchandise, no money to buy materials, no money to loan out. Nothing. Even though the banks have billions of dollars from the government (WHICH WAS OUR MONEY DAMMIT!), they have nothing to help the small business?
So the economy is to blame and the banks are to blame, but really, who has the power to fix it? Who has the resources and the legal power to demand a change of this scope? Me? No, not yet anyway. My local Chamber of Commerce? No way. Private investors? Not anymore. They all got screwed by the stock market and Bernie Madoff and the sub-prime housing market. Anyone that still has any money is so shell-shocked that there is no way in hell they are investing it. I have a feeling that half of the mattresses around America are filled with cash right now because who is going to trust the banks after this? The one thing can truly fix this, as much as it pains me to say it, is The Federal Government. Sad but true.
But this Government? These people in office? No way. At a time when we are supposed to be cutting expenses, cutting archaic and worthless programs, cutting taxes to increase revenue in small business, creating incentives for working, once again the opposite is happening. Billions are being handed out to not work. On November 4th of this year, Congress passed the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (S.1699), which increased the unemployment benefits an additional 14 weeks (and up to 20 in some states with higher unemployment rates) which pushed the overall time for receiving unemployment benefits to 99 weeks! Almost two full years? Are you kidding me? And who pays for it? Businesses do, with a surtax. Just to be clear, the same businesses who had to lay off their employees because of low profits are now paying an additional tax to keep their benefits coming for almost two years. Wow. Don't you think somewhere along the way, somewhere in Congress or in the White House, someone would look at this model and decide it didn't work? Nope. Instead, they just keep handing out money to people that aren't working and taxing the struggling businesses even more. Pouring money into banks and not requiring they lend it out. Flooding money into social programs without proving they actually work or are even necessary. It's a broken system that definitely needs to be changed. Someone with a brain and a great business sense needs to come along and right the ship or our nation will go under, just like our little business has. And you have to think of the nation as a business and make the decisions that need to be made to fix the business, not please every customer (or citizen).
Thankfully though, I think there is hope for us all, or at least for us here in California. The rest of the country may have to wait until this person can work up to the White House someday but for the Golden State, I have a feeling good things are coming next November. It's clear that California is bankrupt, there is no hiding that. We have a $42 billion dollar deficit without any answer on how to close that gap, other than increasing taxes. But it doesn't matter what you raise the taxes to because regardless of how much the government takes in, they will always spend more. It's just the business model that is in place, as crazy as that sounds. And just like the nation as a whole, California is also a business, and a huge business at that. If California was an independent nation (which isn't really a bad idea), it would rank as the 8th largest economy in the world. We have more people in California than in all of Canada! So in order to fix this sinking business, you need someone that knows how to run a business, right? Not a movie star, not a small town mayor, not a community organizer, but a successful business-savvy trend setter. That's it. Cut the expenses, create more incentives to work opposed to not working, and improve the bottom line. Simple. Well, it just may be if we get the right person in the Governor's office and lucky for you, I think I found her.
Her name is Meg Whitman and she has a remarkable story. M.B.A. from Harvard. 30 years experience with Stride Rite, Proctor & Gamble, FTD, Hasbro, Disney, and most notably, eBay. In her 10 years at eBay as C.E.O., she grew the company from 30 employees to 15,000 and increased revenue from $4 million to $8 billion! Wouldn't it be nice if California could experience a 2,000% growth in revenue? Most importantly though, the whole reason she joined eBay in the first place is because "she saw a company dedicated to helping millions of people reach their goals of launching and building their own businesses." In other words, helping the small business. People like me, my family, our friends, etc. We are small-business owners and we are all struggling, trying to stay alive and we need someone in office that will fight for us for once!
Check out more about her campaign to run for Governor in 2010 at http://www.megwhitman.com/. Also, stay tuned to this blog because I've finally found someone I can truly support, not just because she's a Republican but because she believes in the small business, in creating private sector jobs while reducing government jobs. It's about damn time!
The Dan
Target number one, the banks. They received a massive portion of the $800 billion dollar stimulus package, specifically to pump that money back into the economy. But they didn't. Instead, they swallowed up other fledgling banks and kept the rest of the money to boost their own balance sheets. Instead of helping the situation by opening up credit lines for independent finance companies like us, they did the opposite. They called all the credit lines. Regardless of time or loyalty or good standing, they just shut everything off, killing the most valuable resource we had which was money to lend. Unable to get any new customers, all we have left is people who are out of work and defaulting on their car loans at historic rates. Repossessions skyrocket, flooding the auto auctions and reducing the vehicle values even further, all of which gives us increasing losses month after month. Massive losses means laying people off, cutting expenses to the bare bone, cutting salaries (which in turn effects everyone around us from the deli to the electronics store to the car dealers) until we can't survive any longer. And sadly, that time has finally come. After being incorporated for 18 years, we are closing the doors. Pulling the plug. Closing up shop. Finished. It's obviously depressing, but we are just a grain of sand in the overall picture. Endless numbers of little restaurants, hair salons, construction companies, hobby shops, clothing boutiques, etc. are all closing their doors along with us because of one simple reason...no money. No money to buy merchandise, no money to buy materials, no money to loan out. Nothing. Even though the banks have billions of dollars from the government (WHICH WAS OUR MONEY DAMMIT!), they have nothing to help the small business?
So the economy is to blame and the banks are to blame, but really, who has the power to fix it? Who has the resources and the legal power to demand a change of this scope? Me? No, not yet anyway. My local Chamber of Commerce? No way. Private investors? Not anymore. They all got screwed by the stock market and Bernie Madoff and the sub-prime housing market. Anyone that still has any money is so shell-shocked that there is no way in hell they are investing it. I have a feeling that half of the mattresses around America are filled with cash right now because who is going to trust the banks after this? The one thing can truly fix this, as much as it pains me to say it, is The Federal Government. Sad but true.
But this Government? These people in office? No way. At a time when we are supposed to be cutting expenses, cutting archaic and worthless programs, cutting taxes to increase revenue in small business, creating incentives for working, once again the opposite is happening. Billions are being handed out to not work. On November 4th of this year, Congress passed the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (S.1699), which increased the unemployment benefits an additional 14 weeks (and up to 20 in some states with higher unemployment rates) which pushed the overall time for receiving unemployment benefits to 99 weeks! Almost two full years? Are you kidding me? And who pays for it? Businesses do, with a surtax. Just to be clear, the same businesses who had to lay off their employees because of low profits are now paying an additional tax to keep their benefits coming for almost two years. Wow. Don't you think somewhere along the way, somewhere in Congress or in the White House, someone would look at this model and decide it didn't work? Nope. Instead, they just keep handing out money to people that aren't working and taxing the struggling businesses even more. Pouring money into banks and not requiring they lend it out. Flooding money into social programs without proving they actually work or are even necessary. It's a broken system that definitely needs to be changed. Someone with a brain and a great business sense needs to come along and right the ship or our nation will go under, just like our little business has. And you have to think of the nation as a business and make the decisions that need to be made to fix the business, not please every customer (or citizen).
Thankfully though, I think there is hope for us all, or at least for us here in California. The rest of the country may have to wait until this person can work up to the White House someday but for the Golden State, I have a feeling good things are coming next November. It's clear that California is bankrupt, there is no hiding that. We have a $42 billion dollar deficit without any answer on how to close that gap, other than increasing taxes. But it doesn't matter what you raise the taxes to because regardless of how much the government takes in, they will always spend more. It's just the business model that is in place, as crazy as that sounds. And just like the nation as a whole, California is also a business, and a huge business at that. If California was an independent nation (which isn't really a bad idea), it would rank as the 8th largest economy in the world. We have more people in California than in all of Canada! So in order to fix this sinking business, you need someone that knows how to run a business, right? Not a movie star, not a small town mayor, not a community organizer, but a successful business-savvy trend setter. That's it. Cut the expenses, create more incentives to work opposed to not working, and improve the bottom line. Simple. Well, it just may be if we get the right person in the Governor's office and lucky for you, I think I found her.
Her name is Meg Whitman and she has a remarkable story. M.B.A. from Harvard. 30 years experience with Stride Rite, Proctor & Gamble, FTD, Hasbro, Disney, and most notably, eBay. In her 10 years at eBay as C.E.O., she grew the company from 30 employees to 15,000 and increased revenue from $4 million to $8 billion! Wouldn't it be nice if California could experience a 2,000% growth in revenue? Most importantly though, the whole reason she joined eBay in the first place is because "she saw a company dedicated to helping millions of people reach their goals of launching and building their own businesses." In other words, helping the small business. People like me, my family, our friends, etc. We are small-business owners and we are all struggling, trying to stay alive and we need someone in office that will fight for us for once!
Check out more about her campaign to run for Governor in 2010 at http://www.megwhitman.com/. Also, stay tuned to this blog because I've finally found someone I can truly support, not just because she's a Republican but because she believes in the small business, in creating private sector jobs while reducing government jobs. It's about damn time!
The Dan
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
LV's World
--"PARIS, Texas (AP) - Texas state riot police have swarmed into the streets of an eastern Texas town and broken up a tense standoff between screaming black separatists and white supremacists."
This quote was from an article I just read on the Drudge Report and as amusing as it is that two separatist groups would be fighting in the streets (it seems they would, you know, separate), it is seriously a bit concerning though that after 45 years since segregation was outlawed, you have these radical groups that are pushing for it. As ridiculous as this story is, it could happen anywhere (although Texas is always a safe bet). Maybe I'm a little emotional because I'm a new father. Maybe I'm still a little vulnerable after my strange day with the Psychic Man, or maybe I'm screwed up from watching my wife breast feed while talking to my dad. All I do know is that some strange clairvoyant said my 3 week old girl will marry someone of a different ethnicity and have four children. And I'm fine with that. I think it's great actually because my family needs a little more culture. What I'm not fine with is that at some point in little LV's life, she is probably going to have to deal with some piece of shit that idolizes Hitler and thinks they were on to something with the Holocaust. The same Holocaust that the leader of Iran denies even happened. Keep in mind that Iran has over 70 million people! How many of them do you think would be willing to go to war for their President and carry out his plan, which is to wipe Israel off the map with a nuclear bomb? Not to mention we are dealing with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, North Korea challenging us by firing missiles, Venezuela is taunting us, China practically owns our whole country, we are having a massive recession, a housing collapse, skyrocketing unemployment, and we very well may have just bankrupted the country with our recovery plan...and these idiots in Texas are fighting about White Pride and Black Power? Are you kidding me?
Like I said, I'm a new father so I've had 9 months to fret about what kind of world my baby will be born into. And I'm sad to report that I'm so concerned about the baby's future that I asked a friend of mine, an active duty Marine with a vast knowledge of weapons and tattoos, to go with me so I can buy a shotgun. And I'm not a gun guy. I'm not from a hunting family, I'm from a paper pushing family. I've always done everything to avoid guns. I don't even want to go to a shooting range because some whack job could decide that is when he wants to kill someone, and I'm standing next to him trying to figure out how to load the gun. It could happen. I lived by myself for almost 10 years and never thought about owning a gun but now, everything is different. Now I have a wife and a baby and I need to do something. If someone broke in our house, our two dogs would bark like hell, then one dog would grab a rope and try to lick the burglar and the other dog would go pee somewhere! Great work. So it's obvious I need something more. I need a gun.
If you watch the news as obsessively as I do (I actually gave up news for Lent), a lot of crazy, random shit happens every night. Someone broke in and attacked a couple with a hammer. Someone broke in and attacked a couple with a hatchet. Someone broke in and tied the couple up and robbed them. Whatever, it happens every night. It doesn't help either if you watched hundreds of hours of news coverage of Hurricane Katrina like I did. Very bad things happened. I was taught every single year in school how to prepare for "The Big One", and it still hasn't happened yet. It might. I live about a mile from the ocean, which means I could have oceanfront property if the Big One hits. Great for us for but not so good for the 3 million people in San Diego that will be rioting and looting in the streets, waiting for the Federal Government to save them. Not me though, because I'll have a shotgun. The world that LV is going to face is very, very different than what we faced. We may be going into the Second Great Depression. We may be going into the Third World War. We may be hit with another terrorist attack or North Korea may actually reach us someday with a missle. No one knows. The only thing I know for certain is that I'll have a shotgun. At least until the Obama Administration bans them from every household and then we are really screwed.
The Dan
This quote was from an article I just read on the Drudge Report and as amusing as it is that two separatist groups would be fighting in the streets (it seems they would, you know, separate), it is seriously a bit concerning though that after 45 years since segregation was outlawed, you have these radical groups that are pushing for it. As ridiculous as this story is, it could happen anywhere (although Texas is always a safe bet). Maybe I'm a little emotional because I'm a new father. Maybe I'm still a little vulnerable after my strange day with the Psychic Man, or maybe I'm screwed up from watching my wife breast feed while talking to my dad. All I do know is that some strange clairvoyant said my 3 week old girl will marry someone of a different ethnicity and have four children. And I'm fine with that. I think it's great actually because my family needs a little more culture. What I'm not fine with is that at some point in little LV's life, she is probably going to have to deal with some piece of shit that idolizes Hitler and thinks they were on to something with the Holocaust. The same Holocaust that the leader of Iran denies even happened. Keep in mind that Iran has over 70 million people! How many of them do you think would be willing to go to war for their President and carry out his plan, which is to wipe Israel off the map with a nuclear bomb? Not to mention we are dealing with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, North Korea challenging us by firing missiles, Venezuela is taunting us, China practically owns our whole country, we are having a massive recession, a housing collapse, skyrocketing unemployment, and we very well may have just bankrupted the country with our recovery plan...and these idiots in Texas are fighting about White Pride and Black Power? Are you kidding me?
Like I said, I'm a new father so I've had 9 months to fret about what kind of world my baby will be born into. And I'm sad to report that I'm so concerned about the baby's future that I asked a friend of mine, an active duty Marine with a vast knowledge of weapons and tattoos, to go with me so I can buy a shotgun. And I'm not a gun guy. I'm not from a hunting family, I'm from a paper pushing family. I've always done everything to avoid guns. I don't even want to go to a shooting range because some whack job could decide that is when he wants to kill someone, and I'm standing next to him trying to figure out how to load the gun. It could happen. I lived by myself for almost 10 years and never thought about owning a gun but now, everything is different. Now I have a wife and a baby and I need to do something. If someone broke in our house, our two dogs would bark like hell, then one dog would grab a rope and try to lick the burglar and the other dog would go pee somewhere! Great work. So it's obvious I need something more. I need a gun.
If you watch the news as obsessively as I do (I actually gave up news for Lent), a lot of crazy, random shit happens every night. Someone broke in and attacked a couple with a hammer. Someone broke in and attacked a couple with a hatchet. Someone broke in and tied the couple up and robbed them. Whatever, it happens every night. It doesn't help either if you watched hundreds of hours of news coverage of Hurricane Katrina like I did. Very bad things happened. I was taught every single year in school how to prepare for "The Big One", and it still hasn't happened yet. It might. I live about a mile from the ocean, which means I could have oceanfront property if the Big One hits. Great for us for but not so good for the 3 million people in San Diego that will be rioting and looting in the streets, waiting for the Federal Government to save them. Not me though, because I'll have a shotgun. The world that LV is going to face is very, very different than what we faced. We may be going into the Second Great Depression. We may be going into the Third World War. We may be hit with another terrorist attack or North Korea may actually reach us someday with a missle. No one knows. The only thing I know for certain is that I'll have a shotgun. At least until the Obama Administration bans them from every household and then we are really screwed.
The Dan
The Next Chapter...
It is not everyday that you are told the “winds of change are forcefully upon you” and that “the next chapter of your life needs to begin immediately.” It is really not everyday when you find this out from your dead grandfather. It’s even more uncommon when he’s telling you this through an odd little clairvoyant man with a thick English accent, sipping tea and rocking back and forth in a trance! But that is exactly how it started today; sitting in the living room of a strange little house in a commune out in the boonies, hearing about my chakras and my auras and my duplicate spiritual body, all the while thinking “Oh shit, wait until my friends hear about this one!” I was looking around at the bird clock and all the new age crystals and trinkets, thinking of the Seinfeld episode when George is told to lay off hot water, thinking of all the carnival gypsies, the fortune tellers, the palm readers, the crystal ball reading Oda Mae Brown hustlers out there when it suddenly happened. Somewhere in the whole process, somewhere in the animated trance...it floored me.
This Spiritual Doctor saw a very strong woman looking after my wife and our new baby girl. He said she is very, very happy with the new baby and she is making sure everything works out for us. She is fiercely protecting them both and loves them very much. She is there to help us and wants the best for us. He said this woman is fairly new to the spiritual world and she only entered it a year ago. He asked if we’ve been deeply affected by cancer because this person died as a result of it. All of a sudden I couldn’t breathe anymore and the crying started. He asked me a question and I couldn’t even answer it because I couldn’t catch my breath. And I didn’t even care! I just let it happen. I cried. I cried because this total stranger just told that my mom, a very strong woman, who loved me and my wife very much, who fiercely protected us, who died a year ago of lung cancer, is protecting my wife and my baby! What the hell would you do? Not cry? Bullshit. There were so many other things dealing with our business and my family and how I have a bright yellow aura showing creativity and how I've been lacking self-esteem in it because "someone has severely dented my confidence in being creative." I'm pretty sure I know who that is.
So here I am, writing my first blog after sitting at my desk trying to figure out what happened this morning, hoping the “winds of change” bring me out of a sinking family business which I’ve grown to hate. I’ve done this for 15 years and I’ll be lucky if I have a family left after it. I’m done. It’s time to formulate the old exit strategy and move on. So consider this my Jerry Maguire epiphany, my time to do bigger and greater things. Hopefully you’ll stay with me and help me change the world in my new life....
The Dan
This Spiritual Doctor saw a very strong woman looking after my wife and our new baby girl. He said she is very, very happy with the new baby and she is making sure everything works out for us. She is fiercely protecting them both and loves them very much. She is there to help us and wants the best for us. He said this woman is fairly new to the spiritual world and she only entered it a year ago. He asked if we’ve been deeply affected by cancer because this person died as a result of it. All of a sudden I couldn’t breathe anymore and the crying started. He asked me a question and I couldn’t even answer it because I couldn’t catch my breath. And I didn’t even care! I just let it happen. I cried. I cried because this total stranger just told that my mom, a very strong woman, who loved me and my wife very much, who fiercely protected us, who died a year ago of lung cancer, is protecting my wife and my baby! What the hell would you do? Not cry? Bullshit. There were so many other things dealing with our business and my family and how I have a bright yellow aura showing creativity and how I've been lacking self-esteem in it because "someone has severely dented my confidence in being creative." I'm pretty sure I know who that is.
So here I am, writing my first blog after sitting at my desk trying to figure out what happened this morning, hoping the “winds of change” bring me out of a sinking family business which I’ve grown to hate. I’ve done this for 15 years and I’ll be lucky if I have a family left after it. I’m done. It’s time to formulate the old exit strategy and move on. So consider this my Jerry Maguire epiphany, my time to do bigger and greater things. Hopefully you’ll stay with me and help me change the world in my new life....
The Dan
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