Jay Allen's Blog

Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich was arrested this morning at his home for allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

According to Chicago's WLS the affidavit includes the following...
During the call, Rob Blagojevich stated, "unless I get something real good for [Senate Candidate 1], s--t, I'll just send myself, you know what I'm saying."

Rob Blagojevich later stated, "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. You hear what I'm saying. And if I don't get what I want and I'm not satisfied with it, then I'll just take the Senate seat myself." Later, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that the Senate seat "is a f-ing valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."  (For the sake of humor... I also find the use of a double negative in Blagojevich's last sentence to be troubling.)

Corruption is this decade's trend for both Republican and Democratic Illinois Governors. Blagojevich was preceded by George Ryan, who is currently serving a six and a half year sentence for corruption.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay


Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

As I write this post, I am listening to a fantastic new Paul McCartney album!  The album, Electric Arguments, under the moniker "The Fireman" is a collaboration between McCartney and a producer named Youth.  This is the third release from The Fireman, but it seems to have attracted the most attention.  My favorite song is Traveling Light - it sounds like Pink Floyd plus Paul McCartney in 1971.

Let me know your thoughts, if you listen to the album!

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Google has recently published several volumes of photographs from LIFE magazine.  I've spent the last hour looking at many of these fascinating, depressing, and bizarre pictures dating back to the 1870s.  Every picture I see, seems to flood my mind with more blogging ideas than I can possibly write - pictures of the Great Depression and if it relates to current economic conditions - pictures of Congress from decades ago and how odd it is to see no women and all whites - pictures of windmills from the 1800s and how odd it is to think that this "technology" is part of the future - and the list goes on...

The picture that caught my attention the most was of the Washington Monument under construction in 1876.  Construction on the monument began, nearly 30 years prior, in 1848 and the monument was not completed until 1884.  Funding problems and the Civil War were two of the primary reasons for the lengthy construction.

© Time Inc.

For some reason, the picture is calming to me, especially in our country's economic crisis.  It reminds me of the simple adage - plan your work and work your plan.  1876 was nearly 3 decades after construction began on the monument, nearly 1 decade away from the monument's completion and 1876 was not much more than a decade beyond the Civil War, our country's biggest crisis.  There's a lot more pictures and a lot more monuments 132 years later.  However, I can't help but wonder what Americans in 2140 will think of our generation.  Will we leave behind more than shopping malls?

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

It's interesting if not astonishing to compare the $700 billion bailout to the cost of other major government projects and wars. According to CNBC, when adjusted for inflation, the Vietnam War, Korean War, Gulf Wars 1 & 2, and the war on terror have all cost less money than the bailout. And the ten years of technological advancements to send a man to the moon was 1/3 the cost of the bailout.  The following is a list of big projects with original costs and inflation adjusted costs:

Hoover Dam
Original Cost: $49 million | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $782 million

Panama Canal
Original Cost: $375 million | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $7.9 billion

Gulf War I
Original Cost: $61 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $98 billion

Marshall Plan
Original Cost: $12.7 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion

Louisiana Purchase
Original Cost: $15 million | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion

Race to the Moon
Original Cost: $36.4 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion

Savings & Loan Crisis
Original Cost: $153 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion

Korean War
Original Cost: $54 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion

The New Deal
Original Cost: $32 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion

Gulf War II / War on Terror
Original Cost: $551 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion

Vietnam War
Original Cost: $111 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion

NASA (Cumulative)
Original Cost: $416.7 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Salaried professionals/white collar workers are more likely to have control of their work schedule than hourly blue collar workers. Therefore, white collar workers would have easier access to the election booth than their blue collar counterparts. It seems logical that this would create a situation in which people earning less money would be less likely and less able to vote.

In fact, Census data from the 2004 election shows a direct correlation between participation and household income - lower class citizens are much less likely to vote than upper class citizens. Only 36.5% of individuals from families earning less than $10k/yr voted, while 78.3% of individuals from families earning more than $150k/yr voted.

Do you think that election day should be a national holiday to help more low wage workers to vote?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

This weekend, Sarah Palin's hometown newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News announced that it would endorse Barack Obama for President. Based on Palin not being able to name one newspaper or magazine in an interview, it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't read the article. Despite her qualifications, the newspaper stated that "Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment."

In terms of the economy, The Anchorage Daily News cites McCain's longtime opposition to market regulation. And more recently his erratic (as the paper states "erratic is a kind description") behavior during the economic crisis and inability to demonstrate presidential maturity or leadership in the process. It shows that McCain is "ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery."

The article concludes... Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Are you surprised that Palin's hometown paper opposes her ticket or has the liberal/elite/gotcha media infiltrated Alaska?

Best regards,
Jay


Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

A Democratic President, Senate, and House ended the Great Depression... and they'll do it again.

Many people have expressed concern, especially given the current depression-esque state of the economy, about Democrats controlling the White House, Senate and House. The suggestion is that spending will run rampant, socialism will ensue, and the country will disintegrate. However, the great depression ended with the Democrats in "full-control".

The years leading directly to the Great Depression were lead by Republican Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover and were supported by Republican controlled Congresses. As the saying goes, the Rich got Richer and the Poor got Poorer with the Republicans in total control and ultimately the economy collapsed due to the excesses of the rich. As illustrated by the timeline below, the Democrats fixed an economy that was broken by the Republicans. If history really does repeat itself, Obama will be President, the Democrats will control the House and Senate and our economy will be restored.

Do you think history will repeat itself?

Here is a brief timeline as seen on Hyperhistory.com...
1924 - The stock market begins its spectacular rise. Bears little relation to the rest of the economy.
1925 - The top tax rate is lowered to 25 percent - the lowest top rate in the eight decades since World War I. 1933 - Roosevelt does much to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, but is concerned with a balanced budget. The free fall of the GNP is significantly slowed; it dips only 2.1 percent this year. Unemployment rises slightly, to 24.9 percent.
1936 - Top tax rate raised to 79 percent. Economic recovery continues: GNP grows a record 14.1 percent; unemployment falls to 16.9 percent.
1937 - Roosevelt fears an unbalanced budget and cuts spending for 1937. That summer, the nation plunges into another recession. Despite this, the yearly GNP rises 5.0 percent, and unemployment falls to 14.3 percent.

One last thought... people lose track of time. And it's easy to look at a man of John McCain's age and think - "he knows what it was like to suffer because he grew up during the depression" - well, the fact is both McCain and Obama grew up after the depression.

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Here’s something entertaining that I came across earlier this evening. If you've got a couple of minutes visit palinaspresident.com (be sure to click on the door to the left a few times). The website makes light of many of Governor and Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin's quirks.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I found this website at Oursignal.com.  Oursignal.com complies a list of the most blogger/researched stories on sites similar to Yahoo Buzz and Digg.

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

It's been nearly a week since the second presidential debate. In hindsight, the statement that stands out the most to me is Obama saying that health care is a "right". The founding principles of our country include certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

• We have national defense to protect all Americans from death by attack.
  
• We have government imposed speed limits to protect all Americans from death by high-speed crash.
  
• We have government sponsored police and fire departments to protect all Americans from death by murder or fire.
  
• Why should we not have government sponsored (universal) health care to protect all Americans from death by disease?
  

No bailout is/was needed...
To reverse this nation's economic crisis, I would argue that universal health care is the best answer. Most people that do not have employer sponsored health insurance are working a lower wage job and cannot afford to buy an individual policy (the same people who are likely to have a subprime mortgage). If you're one of those people, McCain's $5k tax credit does nothing, but add insult to injury. People would be able to afford mortgage payments if they did not have to pay for health care. Universal health care would result in a healthier, more productive population, fewer bankruptcies and no need for any bailout, because many more people would be able to afford to pay their mortgage.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay


Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Yesterday, I posted an article about Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and his CEO friends losing hundreds of millions of dollars from their personal portfolios. In fact, during the last 20 months Paulson has lost nearly $300 Million from stock at Goldman Sachs, his former employer. It seems that Paulson has two significant ulterior motives for selling Congress and taxpayers on the $700 billion bailout - his friends and Goldman Sachs.

Following many spectacular collapses of financial firms (Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Bros, etc.), Goldman Sachs somehow managed to stay afloat - perhaps they knew long ago about this a bailout from their former CEO.

So, let's keep this situation and change the characters and companies... Ronald McDonald has served as Treasury Secretary for the last couple of years. And during the last few years, fast food corporations acted as irresponsibly with their finances.  Then Burger King goes bankrupt, then Wendy's, then Taco Bell nearly goes bankrupt to absorb Subway and its debt. However, McDonald's manages to survive and then Sec. Ronald McDonald suddenly decides to push for a $700 billion bailout.

Would Ronald McDonald have a conflict of interest? Yes.
Does Henry Paulson have a conflict of interest? Yes.
Did Dick Cheney have a conflict of interest? Yes.

There is no question that this country is facing an economic crisis. The average family has an increasing amount of debt and an income that doesn't increase at the rate of inflation. However, I do not believe that this $700 billion bailout is anywhere close to the answer. I would argue that universal health care is the best answer. Most people that do not have employer sponsored health insurance are working a lower wage job and cannot afford to buy an individual policy (the same people who are likely to have a subprime mortgage). If you're one of those people, McCain's $5k tax credit does nothing, but add insult to injury. People would be able to afford mortgage payments if they did not have to pay for health care. Universal health care would result in a healthier, more productive population, fewer bankruptcies and no need for a bailout, because many more people would be able to afford to pay their mortgage. Paulson's plan is going to result in a rebound for Goldman Sachs stock and a recovery of Paulson's $300 million personal loss.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Today's telecast of The McLaughlin Group showed 10 of the biggest losers from the current mess on Wall Street.  9 of the 10 could be described as friends of Secretary Henry Paulson and the other one is Paulson himself.  Here's the list biggest CEO losers based on their personal portfolio of company stock...

Maurice Greenberg - Former CEO AIG    
Jan '07 - $1.25 Billion | Sep '08 - $50 Million (96.0% Loss)
    
Henry Paulson, Former CEO Goldman Sachs    
1/07 - $809 Million | 9/08 - $523 Million (35.4% Loss)
    
Daniel Mudd, Former CEO Fannie Mae    
1/07 - $26 Million | 9/08 - $476k (98.2% Loss)
    
Richard Syron, Former CEO Freddie Mac    
1/07 - $11 Million | 9/08 - $130k (98.8% Loss)
    
Martin Sullivan, CEO AIG    
1/07 - $3.2 Million | 9/08 - $173k (94.6% Loss)
    
John Thain, CEO Merrill Lynch    
1/07 - $28 Million | 9/08 - $16 Million (42.9% Loss)
    
Richard Fuld Jr. - Former CEO Lehman Brothers    
1/07 - $827 Million | 9/08 - $2.3 Million (99.7% Loss)
    
John Mack - CEO Morgan Stanley    
1/07 - $225 Million | 9/08 - $80 Million (64.4% Loss)
    
Charles Prince III - Former CEO CITIGROUP    
1/07 - $89 Million | 9/08 - $33 Million (62.9% Loss)
    
James Cayne - Former CEO Bear Stearns    
1/07 - $1.1 Billion | 9/08 - $61 Million (94.5% Loss)

It is undeniable that $700 Billion will help Paulson and his friends' portfolios to rebound. Do you think that the bailout is going help the average American family as much as it will Paulson's friends?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

There has been a great deal of discussion this week about what Barack Obama and John McCain are paid to do. No one would argue against the fact that Obama and McCain are paid by taxpayers to serve as senators. It is also a fact that they have both been paid hundreds of millions of dollars by those same taxpayers to campaign to become president. They both have far more influence on their respective parties now as presidential nominees than they ever did. As nominees they have cameras following every move they make and recording every word they say. Given the vast amount of media attention (and the advent of the cellular telephone), what logic supports the need for either one of them to go to Washington for this or any other matter for the next 38 days? Their influence on fellow senators is much more important than their single votes in the senate.

Another idea... many people to whom John McCain could not relate are poor and they must work 2 jobs. Is John McCain too good to work 2 jobs - senator and presidential candidate?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

According to several published reports, John McCain is suspending his campaign and does not want to debate Obama in 2 days.  His excuse is that he wants to focus on the economic crisis.  I think we can all agree we're facing a global economic crisis.  However, what could McCain do with his time on Friday night that will be so great for our economy that he can't spare a couple of hours to debate Obama?  Nothing.

The fact is, he is weak on the economy and knows that debating Obama this week, with current economic headlines, might cost him the election.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

In her VP acceptance speech, Gov. Sarah Palin proved that she speaks fluent English - even better than "W".  However, she is the new Michael Moore of the GOP - every comment about the Democratic ticket was taken out of context.  The biggest question she needed to answer was about her knowledge of foreign policy. She spent less than 2 minutes rattling off the names of Russia, Venezuela, and Iran to "demonstrate" her knowledge of foreign policy.  Palin proved she can read a teleprompter, but did not prove she will make an effective Vice President.

What did you think of her speech?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Many of you are familiar with the TLC show "Flip That House" and other similar shows on HGTV.  Do you all find these shows to be informative or simply a form of entertainment?

It seems to me that these shows provide as much educational value for remodeling and construction as Dr. 90210 provides for plastic surgery.  The expression, "the devil is in the details" can apply to these shows - simply because these shows exclude many of the tedious, but necessary details involved in "flipping".  For years, television has made professional sports look as easy as brushing your teeth, but when you actually try to shoot a basketball or hit a baseball, you quickly realize that it is very difficult and requires a lot of practice.

Let me know what you think... Useful or Useless?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

An article in the current Time Magazine by Amanda Ripley looks at "10 Good Things About $4 Gas" - Below are a few highlights...

• 4 day work weeks - government and private companies are moving away from the 5 day work weeks
• Less traffic - (in Boston, turnpike use declined by 600,000 cars in May)
• Less obesity - ("A permanent $1 hike in prices may cut obesity 10%, saving thousands of lives and billions of dollars a year, estimates Charles Courtemanche, an assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.")
• Less pollution* - less driving means fewer emissions

*As a closing thought, I have noticed that my allergies have been much worse this year than ever before - less pollution may mean more pollen and perhaps my lungs are better equipped to handle pollution than pollen!

If you have any thoughts on this story or my blog, I would love to hear your opinion!

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net