NOW you tell me...

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God.. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It is never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?"
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

housing opinion

Fifty years ago, when someone wanted to buy a house, they had to have a down payment, and a good credit history. Two things changed. First, the Glass-Steagal Act was repealed, which barred banks from using depositors money for investments. Second, members of Congress - like Barney Frank, insisted that mortgages be made available to people who could not afford down payments, and who earned less money and could not afford payments. Contrary to an earlier comment, this did not mean minorities, it meant poor people. Frank, and others in his party, believed that poor people should also buy homes, homes that they could not afford. They pressured Fannie Mae, etc. And it was done. Soon, people were buying homes with no money, getting cash from the builders and getting mortgages higher than the house value. Speculators joined in, and help drive the rush. Banks sold packages of these loans. It was all fine as long as the house prices rose, then it collapsed. We need to go back to when you had to have a down payment to buy a house, and good credit. No, you cannot give poor people houses. They have to be able to buy them. Frank and his congressional allies were responsible, Countrywide and other institutions made those loans, but so did banks. Was it minorities who bought? Well, some, but it wasn't that they were minorities, it was that those who bought were people who did not have the money to qualify under the old system. And, there were those who were not minorities who bought, and the speculators bought under the same terms designed for poor people. So, now the middle class is forced to pay for all of this nonsense, and Frank will be re-elected because he is in a gerrymandered, bulletproof Democratic district. He has refused to answer any questions about his role in the crisis, as has Nancy Pelosi. They know, but the Press is not really interested in pursuing them. And, the President does not appear to be looking for a substitute for Glass-Steagal. The system is ready for another round. You cannot give poor people houses, and make conditions that speculators will join in. People need to be able to pay for what they want to buy.

The March '09 Book: The Reader

by Bernhard Schlink...set in 1960's Germany...the retelling of a sickly boy's preoccupation with his new female friend and lover, an older woman with a secret past. I found the story compelling and the writing style unique for its perspective. The drama is found in subtle emotions that is not readily understood by everyone. The book was made into a major motion picture, of which I have not yet seen; I have some doubts as to how the movie adaptation could accurately reflect the different levels of experiences felt by the protagonist. The first half of the book is a series of accounts between the teenage boy and the much older woman; The second half of the book is more brutal in its assessment of how the now older boy observesation changes his outlook on life. What did you think of the book?

A little perspective on Socialism...

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.  After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little..  The second test average was a D!  No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.
 The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.  All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.

-- thanks to Mr. Victor Burek via MBS Close commentary...and well said.

What were They thinking?

There seems to be a ripple in the universe lately with the news that AIG gave out HUGE bonuses to employees, shortly AFTER receiving billions in bailout money from the U.S. Government. This in spite of constant hemmoraging by AIG within their balance sheets. Logic would dictate that this wouldn't be prudent, by any means, because naturally, people would become upset over the very idea -- how can Joe Six Pack, he of the unstable employment situation and house under threat of foreclosure, accept this TraviShamMockery? There is no disputing the fact that AIG management failed, yet again, to exhibit proper judgement in this instance, but then again, they ARE following the proviso's as set forth by the pre-bailout comp plans to their employees who met or exceeded their goals. This is an incentive-driven business, something that Wall Street is very sensitive to, something that Obama does not (nor seemingly care to) understand, and something that Tim Geitner has apparently forgotten after only having been removed from Fed Reserve of NY post just three months prior.
If anyone within AIG is to have their bonuses retracted, it should be the employees within the financial division who were so lax in their diligence so as to put the company in this predicament from the beginning. This is the consensus shared by most Wall Streeters and peers of the perpetrators. Obama and Geitner would be wise to re-think their populist hard-line drivel before they spout off about something they failed to understand or refused to associate themselves with, in the name of politics.
Memo to Congressmen who are currently spouting off their versions of "oh, the humanity" speeches regarding AIG bonuses: spare us your flow of illogic -- and where was this incredible display of concern 18 (or even 8) months ago when it was needed most? Welcome to the party, pal! And oh, by the way, when you grovel on your hands and knees next year, hat in hand, begging for political donations -- who the crap do you think will be in the better financial position to get you a donation: Joe Six Pack or Winthorp Wall Street? Good Luck with that.

Letter from The Boss

internal memo circulating the interwebs...

Fellow Employees:
As the CFO of this business that employees 140 people, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama is our President, and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, I estimate that our Clients will have to see an increase in our fees to them of about 8%. Since we cannot increase our fees right now due to the dismal state of our economy, we will have to lay off six of our employees instead. This has really been eating at me for a while, as we believe we are family here and I didn't know how to choose who will have to go.
So, this is what I did: I strolled thru our parking lot and found 8 Obama bumper stickers on our employees' cars and have decided these folks will be the first to be laid off. I can't think of a more fair way to approach this problem. These folks wanted change; I gave it to them. If you have a better idea, let me know.

Sincerely,
The Boss

It's the JOBS, stupid

Hey, Mr. President, here's a suggestion on how to get the economy back on track: CREATE MORE JOBS! Gee, what a concept. People aren't buying because they don't know if they'll have a full-time job tomorrow, let alone a part-time job. Many have leveraged themselves to the hilt, and now they are pulling back to stabilize or increase cash flow. We don't want a hand-out, we want to have the ability to earn our keep, to pay our own bills, to participate in the success of the country by paying our FAIR SHARE of taxes. We are not into subsidizing Joe Deadbeat because he couldn't budget his finances. Try sharing this concept with Main Street -- I have and they all say the same thing. More jobs equals more payroll taxes, which means more help to local municipalities. Most of us want to contribute to society, and not many want to be on the dole. Create incentives to hire more employees. Create joint ventures with States to get the infrastructure repaired asap. Don't let the federal government take on all the responsibility -- let corporations contribute by way of incenting new hiring policies in exchange for tax credits on contributions to their local communities and charities. Provide attractive awards to scholars of universities that promote goodwill or work in conjunction with other organizations to make the world a better place (very general statement, I agree, but it can be fine-tuned, you get the idea). Finally, leave Wall Street alone. It can correct itself. The bad will be singled out and eliminated by their own kind. Enforce the existing regulations more stringently, otherwise stay away and it will come around, it always has before. Stop getting on the air every other day with the gloom and doom talk -- you are not solving anything with that negative nay-bob crap. Bottom Line: don't openly advocate subsidizing things -- instead, promote private corporations and municipalities with joint ventures, all the while providing a safety net (for emergencies only), and sit back to watch it evolve into a brighter, shinier future...think about it.

Running out of excuses in Obama-land

At a business networking event, I was asked what I thought about the Stimulus Package. Seems there's lots of small business owners still not sure what to make of the new proposals by the Obama Administration, and for good reason. Let's start with the facts, or should I say lack of them. I hear lots of fluff and good general ideas and shameless self-promotion, but no substance of any specific kind. Hard to get behind something that carries no weight. Meanwhile, the Dow continues to fall, and sooner or later Obama will run out of excuses or people to blame, so I hope he's re-adjusting his spin. Maybe he's starting to get the point: just today, the President has sent out a message (albeit subtle) to buy stocks now because they are so cheap -- wait, what? If Dubya did that, he'd be skewered in so many pieces by the MSM it wouldn't be funny (and it wasn't funny towards the end). Here's an idea, Mr. President: put your money where your mouth is by publicly disclosing the invesments you've chosen for your daughter's 529 accounts -- I'm sure they are fully vested into the equities market, right now, today. Aren't they? Really? And today we get another slap-down by the Administration because of disparaging comments on the stimulus package, as made by another financial advisor on CNBC; Press Secretary Gibbs tells us that the audience garnered by this show is too small to be considered a fair representative of the Court of Public Opinion, yet if that was true, why bother commenting about it? Speaking of CNBC, check out the comments made by Eric Hovde today: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1050674027&play=1

Let's hope Obama and Geitner are paying attention to what really matters and not the stupid fluff that Pelosi and Reid are promoting...get real, for once!!

Someone make it stop

Dow down another 200 plus points today. There's no end in sight. Thought we saw the bottom last week. It looks more and more like it was a Dead Cat Bounce. It's not entirely rocket science to stop this runaway train at this point, but you wouldn't know it by the signals Washington gives out. If I was President, what would I do, you say?

The Spirit of Giving

Not to be confused with The Season of Giving. This month's theme is Giving (up). OK, I can contribute: recently I gave up drinking soda of any kind, as well as using artificial sweetener. Regarding the first -- it helps to know that I was a heavy soda drinker, mostly because of my affinity for Rum and Pepsi drinks. But I constantly felt bloated and "heavy" whenever I drank soda, so I thought I'd try to kick it for New Year's, and lo and behold, I did it. Cold Turkey. Don't know what I did or how I did it, but it's done. And I'm surprised that I don't have any cravings for it like I used to (years back when I would give it up for Lent). By the way, I don't feel "heavy" as much as I used to, and I'm sure it's good for me to not drink the crap anymore, so I heartily recommend it. As for the the artificial sweetener: same MO, heard it was bad for you, and I don't use sweetener that much, so I decided to eliminate it from daily use. I still drink Aquafina fruit waters, and they do have Splenda in them, but I'm not drinking much of it, plus I wanted to kick the practice of adding artificial sweetener to my coffee and such, and I did. It's all part of the plan to drop 30 pounds by July 4th...hope it works.

The Six for Saturday List

Six People That Need to Stop Aging:

1) Bonnie Raitt. She'll always be the Angel from Montgomery. And I can listen to that voice all night long. Please don't stop singing for us...

2) Anyone from The Brat Pack. Their aging in front of my eyes makes me long for the good ol' days...and further reminds me that Time Waits for No One.

3) Chris Matthews of MSNBC. You may not agree with his politics, but especially after we lost Tim Russert, we need guys like Chris to hang around and give us more human-esque versions of political point-counterpoint.

4) David Letterman. Dave, I remember when you used to come out in dress slacks, blazer, shirt, tie, and...wrestling shoes. Stay gold, Pony Boy.

5) Dennis Erickson. I'll admit, this is a selfish pick. DE is the head football coach of my beloved Arizona State University Sun Devils. I would love to see him have more time and energy to get our program back on national prominence. If only...

6. My Wife. I don't know of anyone over 30 that likes to get old. Jo is still gettin' it done, but she's not one for having patience and dealing with gravity and physical wear-and-tear, and every year takes that glimmer in her eye down just a notch. Hang in there, lady!


Six People for Who It's Already Too Late:

1) Robert Redford. Wow, what happened? The world needs more people like you to raise the level of awareness about injustice and affairs of the heart.

2) Dyan Cannon. I can't believe that she recently turned 71. Wow. I loved her enthusiasm, especially seeing her courtside at Lakers games.

3) Madonna. Sometimes it's better to just let go and accept the aging process. I admire that you got yourself in GREAT shape, but you're still a 50-yr old lady playing in a 20 yr old world -- is that really working for you?

4) Joe Elliot / Simon LeBon. Boys, I admire that you still want to Rock On. God knows that if anyone wants to trade places with you, it's me. But have you looked at yourselves on camera? Either see Madonna's training regimen or step aside -- we want to remember you for who you were, not what you are now.

5) Mohammad Ali. Life can be a cruel thing. You represented a generation, and you will always be The Greatest. May the rest of your years be easy on you.

6. Me. What the hell happened? Who is that guy in the mirror?

The Bush Legacy

One of the more amusing quotes I've read this weekend was on the topic of how Bush 43 will be remembered by historians. When it was mentioned that critics see the POTUS as clueless and stubborn, former Bush speechwriter Kasey Pipes says Not So Fast, My Friends: (anti-Bush supporters) "suffer from the same flaws the critics say they see in the President: They're too lazy, they're too simple and they're too lacking in nuance."
As most well-studied historians know (and as Obama and his team are quickly learning), the job of POTUS leaves no room for error, and every move is scrutinized and questioned, if not from the opposite party, then certainly by the partisans. No POTUS in recent memory has escaped brutal second-guessing and constructive criticism. Obama will be no exception. Bush 43 left much to be desired, and there were many times that many Republicans felt abandoned and perplexed by the administration's perspective, but it's no different than any other POTUS we've seen in our lifetime. JFK had youthful exuberance and the New Frontier -- he also gave the green light to the Bay of Pigs fiasco soon after taking office. Johnson was instrumental in pushing forward the Civil Rights movements, but he couldn't control the massive anti-war movement at home, resting so heavy on his conscious that he refused to run for re-election. Nixon was a giant in shuttle diplomacy but succumbed to the psychotic strains of paranoia to the point of making a major lapse in judgement, which ultimately forced him to resign. Ford was the right man at the right time to guide America's healing process, but could not overcome the economic recession and double-digit inflation strangling the country. Carter brought hope of being an outsider that was needed to break up the malaise, but only made it worse. Reagan was the pillar of strength our foreign policy needed, and he brought down Communism, but he, too, made a lapse in judgement with Iran-Contra that some say was attributable to his age. Bush 41 rode in on incumbent coattails and the jury was out until he was unable to win re-election. Clinton was an engaging populist and took full advantage of the prior administration's diligence in revamping the economy, but his reckless and callous libido overshadowed any positive influence he may have gained and remains forever tainted. Bush 43 came in as an independent thinker, a governor of a large US state, fully capable on paper, but quickly lost steam with his questionable cabinet appointments to key positions, not to mention his devil-may-care attitude about massive increases in federal spending and imperialistic policies, but on that last note, I will argue that history will show him to be more correct than most give him credit for. Unfortunately for Bush 43, his communication skills and ineffective talent for spin-doctoring has left us yearning for more, and time will be the only solution. But shame on any amateur or myopic critics who are only too quick to mouth off against the man for what they see as a weak leader. As I always say, There's Two Sides To Every Story, and history will soon tell us all of it. I only hope I'm around to see it...and the subsequent washing of egg off many faces.

Already struggling

First off: a belated Happy New Year to all. As we reach the mid-point of the 3rd day of the year, I am already behind on my New Year's resolutions. One of my resolutions was to blog every day for at least a month -- a couple of months ago, I joined this "club" that gives your blog web-wide recognition but the only requirement is that you blog every day for a month. Well, so much for that one. There's always next month, and hey, isn't February a short month? Next on the list is a regular regimen of diet and exercise. So far, no good. Can I use this weekend as my "transition stage" and go legit on Monday? That works for me. But I still have to "transition". OK, haven't had breakfast yet today, so doesn't that count? Playing cards tonight with the boys, so I'll be indulging in cocktails, but I could help myself by not eating or snacking during or after the drinking hours. A couple of years ago, I was on a strict daily run/walk/weightlifting routine and it worked very well. I'd like to restart that program, but it's been difficult for me to get motivated enough to get up early for the walk/run. Doesn't work after work or after the kids go to sleep -- my work hours are too uneven to rely on for a steady program, and by the time the kids go to sleep, I'm exhausted, too. The "crack of Dawn" routine is the only one that works for my schedule, but it's so difficult to implement because of the cold and dark of the pre-dawn hours -- who wants to get out of a warm bed for that? Sounds like the first thing I need to do is to overcome the objections instead of the weather or hours.
Yes, it's a psychological battle that I fight every day. I just have to suck it up and deal with it. My goal is to lose 30 pounds by Easter, then keep it off to at least July 4th. If I can stay with it, it will stay with me. Anything you do on a daily basis over a 30-day period is more likely to be incorporated into your daily routine for the rest of your life, all things being equal, so I'd like to see if I can push myself enough to make it happen.
What's on your resolution list? Feel welcome to share your thoughts and ideas. I need all the motivation and help I can get!