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Coffee and ProzacDan Bimrose (1,239)    Dan Bimrose    Coffee and Prozac Free to ThinkPosted Tuesday, August 25, 2009 (88 days 23 hours ago.) Viewed 1,658 times. In a past life, when I was a raging conservative Republican I considered Milton Friedman close to God, and his book Free To Choose an ancillary to the Bible. Something would happen to me that would change my views dramatically. That event? Life. Over time it became clear that the concepts proposed by Milton Friedman and embraced by conservatives work best in a laboratory environment. They work best in theory. They will only work in a world where greed does not exist. I assure you greed does exist in this world. There are those who would argue that greed is a good thing and I would agree with some of those arguments. You see I am the type of person that will accept that there is little in this world that is black and white and that there are certain truths on both sides of most arguments. Greed is a great motivator, and many great innovations can be traced to greed. I do not believe that greed should be or even could be eradicated but, I feel that it must be controlled. If not we end up with an economy in its current state, due in part to irresponsible lenders, with the result that we must help out both those lenders and their equally irresponsible borrowers. We end up with a health care system that forces us to pay twice as much for woefully inadequate health care as any other industrialized nation. Am I now a bleeding heart liberal? I do not think so. I consider myself an independent voter that is anxiously waiting for the Republican Party to field a candidate that I can consider voting for. I do not recognize the Republican Party as it stands today. Ronald Reagan is for me and probably always will be the greatest President that I have lived to experience. If Ronald Reagan were alive today I would find it difficult to believe he would embrace the current practices of the Republican party. Perhaps it is only the ones shouting that are able to heard right now and are deemed newsworthy but, there seems to be little rational thought on the part of the conservative leaders. So much of what has the right inflamed is based on items which have no basis for truth. I have heard very few Republican leaders stand up and challenge these notions. In fact, they readily encourage them. The race is on, because I feel the first one who does stand up for truth, and makes his argument on substance, just might have a chance to win a national election. Truth to conservative Republicans right now, very literally, seems to be easily discarded as if it was a candy bar wrapper. In politics, just as in religion, I believe that if you must try to persuade me with fear and not by reaching my intellect I am immediately skeptical of your positions. It certainly does not earn my respect. I choose to think for myself and not be told what to think by others who claim to know the truth. Because of this I eschew the wisdom not just of Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck but also the "sensationalistic" rhetoric of Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz. Do not get me wrong, I do think Olbermann and Schultz are right most of the time, I just find some of their "inflammatory" language non-essential to the argument. The truth should be the ultimate goal and that goal should never be compromised. Tell me one lie, just one, and I will have difficulty believing anything else you say. I do not swallow every hook that comes along, nor should anyone else. I look forward to once again becoming a regular contributor. Hopefully this will mean renewing old friendships and starting new ones. Of course, I do accept that over the course of time I just may tick a few people off. 
Permalink Comments (13) Bailing Out The Auto IndustryPosted Monday, December 15, 2008 (341 days 4 hours ago.) Viewed 77 times. Sometimes I do not know exactly what to write about when I sit down at my desk. There is nothing that gets me going like a little injustice though. Today I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. I recently heard something that I just could not believe. I discovered that when workers get laid off at General Motors they still are paid 95% of their salary. Does this make sense to anyone besides a laid off auto worker? I would love it if someone would explain it to me. They are no longer working but they still are making 95% of their income. At most factories, and in my distant past I have worked in some, people do not look forward to lay offs. Why? Because you stop making money. I am 39 years old and I have always thought that when you were laid off, the company did not pay you to do nothing. Do not get me wrong, lay offs, for a lack of a better word, are never a good sign for the company that is forced to impose them. They are unfortunate. They are an indication that the company is not doing well but it is supposed to allow them to free up some money so that the company can keep its head above water. Another shocking fact to me was that the average auto worker receives $73.20 an hour in compensation of one form or another. Seriously? Is there really a mystery as to why the auto makers are struggling with an impending recession and a vast reduction in sales? Do not get me wrong, the auto manufacturers made a huge error by pushing SUV's and other gas guzzlers when they should have spent a little more money and investment on hybrid vehicles and alternative energy vehicles. The Boy Scout motto is "be prepared", perhaps the CEO's of the auto manufacturers should have been Boy Scouts, because they sure as heck were not prepared. What about the United Auto Workers Union that negotiated the unbelievable hourly raise and very attractive lay off programs? What are they saying? Well they are saying that they will not accept wage concessions or benefit reductions. Huh? Where I come from, when you ask for a handout, you better have something to offer in return. You have to give something up. You have to compromise. What is so troubling is that there are no guarantees that the auto makers are willing, or possibly, able to make. They need this money to get through the next few months. No one knows if they can make it after that. At the end of that time they quite possibly are going to need another bailout or will have to declare bankruptcy. Giving them money now, seems to me, like delaying the inevitable or placing the industry on life support. Obviously a large proportion of our economy is tied to the auto industry. We should do everything necessary to ensure that they can survive. Forcing them to declare bankruptcy allows them certain advantages like renegotiating contracts and terms of their debt. They should be given nothing without restrictions on bonuses, mandates concerning production of fuel-efficient vehicles, enabling them to renegotiate salaries without fear of strikes, and getting rid of their absurd, preposterous lay-off terms that they have been forced to agree with. In order to get something, you should have to give something up. That is the way it works where I am from. Dan Bimrose is the creator of coffeeandprozac.com which features daily Opinions, Editorials, and Stories and the website tuesdaysreleases.com which is devoted to recently released DVD movies.
Permalink Comments (3) History of the High FivePosted Monday, December 15, 2008 (341 days 4 hours ago.) Viewed 37 times. The high five is way past trend status. It is a part of our culture. While our youth, and certain Presidential candidates "pound" it, this may still be just a trend. The high five is forever. I think it should stay forever. There are a few reasons why I like the high five and unfortunately for you I am about to disclose them. The first reason; it's fun. Pretty simple, I like doing it. The second reason; because when people attempt to high five and bungle it you have to laugh. Who does not think to themselves upon seeing two people completely miss each other's hands "Wow, they are so un-cool. I am so embarrassed for them." The third reason; you know when you give someone a high five something good has just happened. Perhaps someone has just won the Super Bowl or the World Series. Someone could have just landed some girl's phone number that he does not have a chance in heck of going on a date with. Remember when you found out that OJ Simpson was going to actually serve time and be held accountable for something he had done? How many high fives did you give that day? My wife and I shared a high five yesterday. If you are married with children it is the best kind of high five a couple can share. It is the high-five that occurs when you get in the car after you drop your two kids, both under the age of two off, at their Aunt's house for the day so that their parents can have an entire day to themselves. What did we do on this glorious day. We went to lunch, to the doctor, ran some additional errands and took a glorious, precious nap. Yeah! You might ask yourself if this was worthy of a high five. You bet your rear end it was. We might not have been going to Disney World afterwords but taking a nap was just as good and a heckuva lot cheaper. Certain things occur that are not worthy of a high five. Getting a bill in the mail does not qualify. Toothaches are not worthy. No one has ever high-fived anyone after hitting a deer with their car. The point is, the high five is the international symbol for "it's going to be a good day." Now for a little history of the high five. There are many different ideas for the origin of this form of expression. It seems that the first time it was used and exposed to the world at large was in 1977 at a Dodgers game. Dusty Baker hit a home run and as he crossed the plate on-deck hitter Glenn Burke raised his hand and Dusty slapped it. Also in 2002, students at the University of Virginia (their claim, not mine) originated the first National High Five Day. You do not believe me, check it out. There is one more reason I like the high five. It requires two people. You cannot perform a high five by yourself. Well you can try but you might look silly doing it. Since it does require two people it means that you have someone with you that you can share whatever joy it is that you have just experienced. That alone, sometimes, is worth it. Dan Bimrose is the creator of coffeeandprozac.com which features daily Opinions, Editorials, and Stories and the website tuesdaysreleases.com which is devoted to recently released DVD movies.
Permalink Comments (0) The New American Idol Judge - Who Is Kara DioGuardi?Posted Monday, December 15, 2008 (341 days 5 hours ago.) Viewed 25 times. Despite the fact that American Idol was the most watched show of the 07-08 season its ratings were down over the previous year. In order to combat this they have chosen to shake things up a little. Kara DioGuardi will be doing the shaking. By creating a fourth judge there will now be something new to watch on the insanely popular show. How will they all interact together? Will Paula Abdul have some relief, since she is no longer the sole female judge on the panel, or will her typically flighty, "pie in the sky" comments seem even more juvenile compared to thoughtful, constructive comments from the other three judges. Kara DioGuardi, 38 is one of America's most successful song writers. Pop stars which have recorded her songs include Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Santana and Pink. She is without a doubt qualified to judge America's next pop star especially since there is a good chance she may write a song for him/her someday. Her addition does bring up the question of what they are going to do about a tie since the judges could very well be split down the middle. Perhaps Randy and Simon will arm wrestle to see if the contestant goes on to Hollywood. That would be a nice twist. At this point in the year the auditions have already been recorded. I am a little surprised that nothing has leaked out yet concerning the chemistry between the four judges. I think an exciting and interesting choice was also made when they decided to hold one of the auditions in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Not exactly an international flavor will be added but it will be interesting to see the result of an infusion of Latino influenced music. For those of us that are hankering for a little American Idol, the eighth season debuts on January 13th. It is just a little more than a month away. Dan Bimrose is the creator of coffeeandprozac.com which features daily Opinions, Editorials, and Stories and the website tuesdaysreleases.com which is devoted to recently released DVD movies.
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