Decoration Day

It is appropriate this Memorial Day to salute all those who have given their lives in defense of this nation. Without their sacrifices we would not be free to ask questions, to challenge our political leaders and to take an active role in our system of government. To them we owe an unrepayable debt.

The United States of America was born from the blood and ashes of war--the Revolutionary War of 1776. It was fought to defend the "self-evident" truth "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Those who fought and died were committed to the notion that government derives its "just powers from the consent of the governed" and that when a government does not protect the unalienable rights of the people, it is the "Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness."

Since the war of 1776, nearly two and a quarter centuries ago, thousands, thousands of men and women have died for the same cause. Tyranny does not reign in America--as it does so many places around the globe--because so many have love their country more than their own lives.

While this is the weekend that generally kicks off the summer season with family get-togethers, cookouts, and three-day get-aways, let’s not forget the true reason why the holiday exists.

Memorial Day—originally known as Decoration Day—was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. It has been celebrated ever since then as a day to honor veterans of foreign wars and all the men and women currently serving in the armed forces. Take some time this weekend to recognize the true meaning of the holiday and share the history with your children.

A moving tribute to our veterans is the photograph below. Taken by the photographer Todd Heisler for The Rocky Mountain News, “Jim Comes Home” – which documents the return and burial of Second Lt. Jim Cathey of the United States Marines, who lost his life in Iraq – the photo shows his pregnant widow, Katherine, lying on an air mattress in front of his coffin. She’s staring at her laptop, listening to songs that remind her of Jim. Her expression is vacant, her grief almost palpable.

Not only the picture shows the bereaved young woman, but the Marine who stands behind her. In an earlier photo in the series, we see him building her nest of blankets on the air mattress. In this photo – he merely stands next to the coffin, watching over her. I believe this photo is so honest about one’s grief but also so modern. During a spouse’s deployment your laptop is your battle buddy. Your sense of connection and emotional well-being is sustained via e-mail, Facebook, Skype and Instagram. It appears, per Lieutenant Cathey’s widow, that the same is true even in a time of loss. This heartbreaking photo showcases the intersection of technology and agony.

We are in a time when thousands of wounded service members need care, jobs, and attention. Civilians need to be aware of the struggles of our returning veterans and also their widowed families. The civilian-military gap isn’t always born of indifference, but rather, at times, a sense of helplessness on the civilian side. What can I do? If you do nothing else, you can remember those who have given their lives for their country. Our country. Remembrance, which may seem a modest contribution in the moment, is a sacred act with long-term payoff – a singularly human gift that keeps on giving, year after war-fatigued year. By hanging your flag, saying a prayer, shaking a hand, offering assistance in any shape or form, civilians will be bearing witness and remembering in their own way – that those who are gone and those who are returning are not forgotten.

CONGRATULATIONS – to Geoff B. on his commission this coming weekend in Washington D.C. to the United States Marine Corps. His example is no finer representation of this generation.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Greg Ball …wanna be Rockies announcer, Anderson Cooper (45), Clint Eastwood (82), Morgan Freeman (75), Anthony Geary (75),  Dennis Haysbert (58), Carol Ann Lewis …famous Arizona Wildcat, Ron Wood (65).

Next week, Dear Rink Rats and Major League Baseball at the quarter pole.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA

May 28, 2012

#III-5, 110

Commencement 2012

Our annual commencement notes from around the country:

Barnard College, New York, NY – President Obama: “After decades of slow, steady, extraordinary progress, you are now poised to make this the century where women shape not only their own destiny but the destiny of this nation and of this world.”

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA – Elon Musk

Clark College, Vancouver, Washington – J.R. Martinez

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY – Michael Bloomberg

George Washington University, Washington D.C. – Brian Williams

Louisana State University, Baton Rouge, LA – Bob Schieffer: “There is no penalty anymore for dirty campaigning.”

Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR – Michelle Obama

Pomona College, Claremont, CA –Cameron Munter

St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY – Garry Trudeau

Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA – Steve Wozniak

Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY – Aaron Sorkin

University of La Verne, La Verne, CA – Freeman Hrabowski

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA – Maria Shriver: “Who you work for is as important as what you do.”

CONGRATULATIONS – To Barb and Carl Colley on the birth of their 8 pound daughter Blair Charlotte. I wonder if Blair will be buying her first Ford online?

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Thomas Chong (74), Barb Colley …famous online educator, Genie Francis (50), Barbara Hasse …Mom, Jewel (38), Henry Kissinger (89), Brent Musburger (72), Stevie Nicks (64), Frank Oz (68).

RINK RATS TMZ.COM – Has learned that a famous life-long card caring Republican is thinking about switching to the Democratic Party. Say it ain’t so.

MOTHERS’ MILK -  President Obama and the DNC raised $43.6 million in April, down from the $53 million raised in March but well above the $31 million raised four years ago.


WALL STREET WEEK - To say that the month of May has been a Wall Street washout would not likely be considered hyperbole: the major U.S. averages are coming off their biggest weekly losses of 2012, and the Dow and S&P 500 are now on track for their biggest monthly losses since May of 2010.  The Nasdaq is even more bearish: it’s on pace for its biggest monthly percentage drop since November 2008.

WORTH $100 BILLION AT BIRTH - "Facebook Inc has become the first U.S. company to be worth more than $100 billion at its debut, as investors bet on a big pop in the stock when it begins trading on the Nasdaq [today]. Frenzied demand ... is expected to drive Facebook well above its initial public offering price of $38 a share, which was already at the top end of its target of $34 to $38. Analysts were divided on how high the price might go on the first day of trade, with some expecting a relatively modest gain of 10 percent to 20 percent while others said anything short of a 50 percent jump would be disappointing. ...

"Facebook is selling an up to 18 percent stake in the company at a valuation of $104 billion, comparable to the market worth of Amazon.com Inc, and exceeding that of Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc combined ... Enthusiasm for Facebook shares comes despite questions about the company's long-term money-making capabilities, particularly after it reported a quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in April. Others warn that the price tag, equivalent to over 100 times historical earnings versus Apple Inc's 14 times and Google Inc's 19 times, makes Facebook a risky bet.

TYPEWRITER OF THE DAY -  Royal 'Apollo 10' model from 1969. Electric that got us to the moon! It's noisy but types fine. http://say.ly/DRF1wkc

GAS PRICES KEEP EASING - "Gasoline prices fell for the fifth consecutive week, extending a sharp decline that has eased fears that prices would soon top $4 a gallon at the pump. The average price of regular gasoline dropped to $3.790 a gallon as of Monday ... down 3.8% from the 2012 peak of $3.941 reached April 2. Many of the forces that drove gasoline up are reversing, and that is helping bring prices back down, though they still remain near record highs. Tensions over Iran's nuclear program have eased, while softening economies in the U.S. and Europe have curbed demand. ... The changes have led analysts to temper their price predictions for the summer driving season.

"A few months ago, some were saying pump prices could shoot above $4 a gallon and even reach $5 by the summer, but now they say that is highly unlikely. That is good news not just for America's drivers, but also for the economy and potentially ... Obama, who has spent much of the year deflecting Republican criticism of rising fuel prices and his stewardship of the economy"

BIG BROTHER – The United States Post Office, the bastion of efficiency in business, has announced that they are closing the San Dimas, California post office. We believe this is the best performing post office in our region. I blame myself for taking too many deductions this year and not paying more taxes.

CHANGING AMERICA -- "Whites Account for Half of Births in U.S.": "After years of speculation, estimates and projections, the Census Bureau has made it official: White births are no longer a majority in the United States."

"Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 49.6 percent of all births in the 12-month period that ended last July, according to Census Bureau data made public on Thursday, while minorities - including Hispanics, blacks, Asians and those of mixed race - reached 50.4 percent, representing a majority for the first time in the country's history...."

"While over all, whites will remain a majority for some time, the fact that a younger generation is being born in which minorities are the majority has broad implications for the country's economy, its political life and its identity. "This is an important tipping point," said William H. Frey, the senior demographer at the Brookings Institution..."

Next week, Dear Rink Rats and the Jack Ass of the Month.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA

May 21, 2012

#III-4, 109

Ah La Famiglia

This past week this writer was told by some avid readers of this blog that he tends to be a bit cynical in his weekly observations. Rightly so with bankers continuing to rip off the tax payers and citizens, with politicians spinning from one opinion to another, with administrators holding no accountability in their actions, you can become a tad cynical in your outlook of events.

But this week I pause, though briefly, from my cynicism to comment on the joy and love of being a member of a family. Yes, families can be a pain in the butt, the sometime dysfunction of family can drive you nuts. But when together, be it on birthdays, graduations, illness, sporting events, and even funerals, the feeling of being among those who care about you despite all the mistakes and history is truly something that cannot be expressed in words.

With all the commentary these days on La Famiglia (The Family) from families who are gay or straight, interracial or not, rich or poor, the most important part of all this is that you are together as one, if you live in the same town or across the country. The love, caring, personalities, generations all together sharing life, helping and supporting each other is what makes Family above all else. What a cool feeling to have in ones’ life.

CONGRATULATIONS – A double congratulations to niece Barbara B. on her graduation from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.A. degree in Political Science. Barbara now heads to Washington D.C. to begin her career in the political consulting field. Also to Tara P. on her graduation from Brownies to Girl Scouts this past week. Tara continues her march to dominate the world.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Madeline Albright (75), David Byrne (60), Bill Dillhoefer …the best practice swing in golf, Craig Ferguson (50), Shelly Lamotte …famous hotel consultant, Brooks Robinson (75), George Strait (60), Mark Zuckerberg (28).

THE BIG PICTURE - "Crisis claims another leader, is Obama next?" "The transatlantic economic crisis has scythed through Europe's leaders. ... President Obama lost a flamboyant, sometimes erratic but ultimately trusted partner in Nicolas Sarkozy after France picked Francois Hollande, its first Socialist president in a decade, to pull it out of the slump. Sarkozy Sunday joined Britain's Gordon Brown, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, Ireland's Brian Cowen, and leaders of Denmark, Spain and Portugal sent packing since Obama took office himself in 2009. Though each election featured unique national factors, those leaders paid for their failure to mitigate the worst economic crisis since the 1930s.

FORTUNE 500 TOP 10 LIST: 1. Exxon Mobil 2. Wal-Mart Stores 3. Chevron 4. ConocoPhillips 5. General Motors 6. General Electric 7. Berkshire Hathaway 8. Fannie Mae 9. Ford Motor 10. Hewlett-Packard." http://www.fortune.com/500

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – We are halfway through sports greatest tournament, The Stanley Cup Playoffs. The only non-surprise thus far is the New York Rangers reaching the eastern final; New Jersey, Los Angeles and Phoenix all big surprises. Where are the Red Wings, the Bruins, Vancouver, even Pittsburgh? A very interesting tournament thus far; the Los Angeles Kings by far the best team at this point in the playoffs. This writer had them not making the playoffs, today their speed, size, goaltending, and team play have them as the favorites to win it all.

RINK RATS TMZ.COM – At a graduation this weekend; why was a Mother of a University of Colorado graduate strangely not in attendance? Rink Rats Tmz.com has learned there is more to the story than meets the eye.

WALL STREET WEEK - U.S. stock index futures are pointing lower this morning, as investors digest the political tumult in Greece, as well as the fallout from JPMorgan Chase’s $2 billion trading loss revealed last week. The Dow has posted losses in seven of the past eight sessions, and comes off its biggest weekly drop of 2012.

HEARD ON THE STREET: THE KING STUMBLES - "While J.P. Morgan's painful loss should prove manageable-the bank earned $5.4 billion in the first quarter-it presents a host of issues. For starters, the surprise announcement gives investors already fearful of big banks stocks yet another reason not to buy them: namely, the seeming impossibility of understanding the risks the banks entail. ... That banking king Mr. Dimon could stumble in this way also resurrects the question of whether banking behemoths are too big to manage. Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan may have just shot itself in the foot. If the losses were of a greater magnitude, any distress could quickly ripple out through a host of markets-J.P. Morgan, for instance, is a vital part of the market for tri-party repos. That should stiffen the resolve of regulators such as the Federal Reserve that have proposed measures such as limiting the exposures of big banks to each other."

BASIS TRADE 101 - The basis trade is an arbitrage, basically. There are two different ways the market measures credit risk: by looking at credit spreads - the yield on a certain issuer's bonds, relative to the risk-free rate - or by looking at CDS spreads, which are basically the same thing but set in the derivatives market rather than the cash bond market. ... Bruno Iksil, the London Whale, had a massive long position on corporate CDS in general ... He was selling protection, betting that credit spreads would go down, rather than up. ... In any case, CDS spreads went up - and credit spreads, in the cash market, didn't. Cue a $2 billion loss."

FACEBOOK IPO OVERSUBSCRIBED? - " Facebook Inc's record initial public offering is already oversubscribed, a source familiar with the share listing said, days after the world's largest social network embarked on a cross-country roadshow ... Despite concerns about slowing growth, a lofty valuation and signs the company is having trouble ramping up revenue from mobile advertising, institutional investors have so far indicated demand for more shares than Facebook has available, the source told Reuters. Analysts say the company, which is seeking to raise about $10.6 billion by selling more than 337 million shares at $28 to $35 apiece, may raise that price range if demand turns out to be healthy enough."

SPORTS BLINK - USA Today "NFL 2012 Forecast" magazine ranks the post-draft teams : "The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants are the team to beat in 2012. ... 1. New York Giants: :pumped fresh blood into diminishing backfield with first-round choice David Wilson. 2. Green Bay Packers: Replaced Pro Bowl center Scott Wells with former Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday. 3. New England Patriots 4. San Francisco 49ers 5. Houston Texans 6. Philadelphia Eagles 7. Baltimore Ravens 8. New Orleans Saints 9. Detroit Lions. 10. Atlanta Falcons 11. Denver Broncos 12. Pittsburgh Steelers 13. Dallas Cowboys 14. New York Jets: Must balance brewing quarterback controversy with serious playbook expectations. 15. Chicago Bears 16. Kansas City Chiefs 17. Seattle Seahawks 18. Carolina Panthers 19. San Diego Chargers 20. Tennessee Titans 21. Cincinnati Bengals 22. Buffalo Bills 23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24. Arizona Cardinals 25. Washington Redskins: Added franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III who will require improved blocking and receiver play. 26. Oakland Raiders 27. Miami Dolphins 28. St. Louis Rams 29. Minnesota Vikings 30. Cleveland Browns 31. Jacksonville Jaguars 32. Indianapolis Colts: Razed the roster for complete rebuild, but can they protect top pick Andrew Luck?"

Next week, Dear Rink Rats and the Commencement Season.

Until Next Monday, Adios.



Claremont, CA
May 14, 2012

#III-3, 108

Economy Top Ten

“Top Ten Reasons Economy Is Still Weak”

10).     Mr. Thirty Hour Work Week is only working 25 hours.

9).        The hottest new business on Foothill Boulevard is a Big Five Sporting Goods.

8).        Labor force participation rate is now the lowest since 1981.

7).        10 Year U.S. Treasury note yield 1.88%

6).        Leo and Lea find it cheaper to not get married.

5).        40% of students drop out of four-year universities before graduation.

4).        Job growth slows for the second straight month.

3).        Workers with tattoos are being hired before workers without tattoos.

2).        College administrators are getting their haircuts at SuperCuts.

1).       People are still taking advice from Larry Summers.

MIDDLE CLASS KEEPS LOSING GROUND - "Barack Obama campaigned four years ago assailing President George W. Bush for wage losses suffered by the middle class. More than three years into Obama's own presidency, those declines have only deepened. ... Underlying the erosion of the middle class, defined by some economists as the middle 60 percent of income earners, are trends that stretch back decades, including competition from lower-wage workers overseas and technological advances that allow factories and offices to produce more with less labor. As a candidate in 2008, Obama blamed the reversals largely on the policies of Bush and other Republicans. ... Yet real median household income in March was down $4,300 since Obama took office in January 2009 and down $2,900 since the June 2009 start of the economic recovery"

WELCOME TO 2012: YEAR OF CONFUSION - "Don't like the economy we have? Just wait a day and you'll get a new one. One day, [GDP] is a growing at a dismal 2.2 percent rate. The next day manufacturing is at a 10-month high. Jobless claims are up again. That's not good. But maybe it's a just a quirk of the warm winter? Another bad sign: The S&P 500 just posted its first monthly drop since last year. But wait. The Dow is at a 4-year high. ... Welcome to the 2012 economy, a frustrating maze of conflicting - even confounding - data highly subject to partisan spin and defiant of all attempts to fit into a clean narrative.

COSTCO LUNCH – Since 1985 Costco has sold a hotdog and a soda for $1.50.

NETWORK NEWS ALERT - "Harvard, MIT plan free Web classes: Schools hope $60 million initiative will be research boon," by Mary Carmichael in Cambridge: "Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will team up on a $60 million initiative to offer free online, college-level courses under a joint superbrand known as edX ... The Harvard-MIT move -- an altruistic giveaway, a potential research bonanza, and an audacious bet on the future of higher education all in one -- instantly made the schools preeminent players in the burgeoning worldwide online education sector . ... The full edX program is expected to be up and running by fall."

MOOD MUSIC - "JPMorgan Chief Jamie Dimon Blasts Obama, Asks For Simpson-Bowles Now" - Forbes.com: "Dimon was speaking .... at the University of Rochester, where he received the 'Executive Of The Year' award. ... 'The U.S. is the opposite of Europe, we know the way [to solve our crises], it's called Bowles-Simpson. ... Our problem is that we don't have the will ... Why the hell are we so depressed[?] ... We have the best military in the planet, the best universities and ... incredible innovation ... When things go wrong, finance gets blamed, just like this ridiculous stuff of blaming speculators for oil prices."

FACEBOOK EYES $96 BILLION VALUATION - "Facebook Inc. pulled back the curtain on how much it thinks it is worth, targeting a valuation as rich as $96 billion in what would be a record debut for an American company. ... Eight-year-old Facebook would become the most valuable U.S. technology company at the time of an IPO, exceeding Google Inc.'s $23 billion valuation in 2004. At nearly $100 billion, it would also rival the current market values of more established companies including Amazon.com Inc. and McDonald's Corp., and longtime tech giants like Hewlett Packard Co., despite having a fraction of the revenue-or profit. ...

"Facebook's IPO will be a watershed moment for Silicon Valley, spawning a new generation of millionaires, and a handful of billionaires, including founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, whose stake is worth as much as $18.7 billion. ... But while the social network is growing rapidly-more than 900 million people now use the site-there are questions whether its trajectory is slowing. Its revenue in the latest quarter rose 45% from a year ago, but fell 6% from the previous three months." 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Bill Cowher (55), Tom Petersson (62), Mort Sahl (85), Rick Santorum (54), Toni Tennille (72), Steve Yzerman (47).

DINING – Looking for a great sports bar and food in central Michigan? The Beach Bar in Clark Lake, Michigan is the best beach bar in the Great Lake State. Michigan State and University of Michigan alumni are abundant in this central Michigan institution. Detroit Tiger, Red Wing, Lions, and Piston games are exclusively shown on the many HD televisions. The best of all: Ohio citizens in any shape or form are cordially asked to leave the building. There is still some sanity in this world.

3505 Ocean Beach Road in Clark Lake, Michigan (517-529-4211); specializing in pizza and burgers, the Beach Bar is a must when visiting Ann Arbor, Jackson, or surrounding areas.

WALL STREET WEEK - Look for a sharply lower opening for Wall Street this morning, as markets around the world react negatively to the election results in Greece and France. The S&P 500 is already coming off its biggest weekly drop since the week ending December 16, while the Nasdaq had its largest weekly fall since the week ending November 25. Investors perceive those results as a threat to recently negotiated pacts on European fiscal stability.

RINK RATS TMZ.COM – A Rink Rats TMZ.com insider reports that panty hose is making a comeback, yes panty hose. This staple of fashion of the 1970’s & 1980’s is returning to women’s purses again.  

DRIVING THE WEEK - Today is all about global market react to the anti-austerity votes across Europe. Conventional wisdom holds that after an early equity sell-off, things should calm down once it becomes clear that further ECB monetary easing is now more likely and that a modest tweaking of the dials away from austerity might not be the worst thing. And in any event, Germany is not likely to budge much from austerity and there is not much any other euro zone country can do (short of leaving the common currency) absent German support. The big wild card is once again Greece and the possibility that it will leave the euro ... 

Consumer credit out at 2:00 p.m. today expected to show an increase of $9.7 billion ...

Mitt Romney campaigns in Cleveland today ... House Financial Services subcommittee has a field hearing in Chicago this morning on FHFA's Real Estate Owned (REO) Pilot Program ... House Financial Services subcommittee led by Rep. Ron Paul has a hearing on Tuesday on reforming the Fed ... Senate Banking has mortgage refi hearing Tuesday morning ... Other top U.S. data include jobless claims on Thursday (expected to stay at 365K) and University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment on Friday expected to dip to 76.2 from 76.4

Next week, Dear Rink Rats and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA

May 7, 2012

#III-2, 107

Just Stay Calm

As Rink Rats begin year number three of our weekly blog and we head into the month of May, we stress the need for all to “just stay calm”.

The summer months are around the corner.  May is a transition month to the summer: college graduates begin to head out into the world of employment and debt, families plan their summer vacations, the Triple Crown, hockey and basketball playoffs highlight the sports world, and the winter clothes can now finally be put away.

But with the bills of Christmas for some of us still outstanding, the pessimism of our economy and political issues in this election year high, along with the Housewives of Orange County coming to another season end, many of us are uneasy and frazzled.

Yoga, a nice glass of wine, and even an evening of American Idol are of little help to ease this stressful state. Some of us try to comment on Twitter or Facebook our frustrations and ill feelings. But all we get in return is even more idiotic observations and suggestions.

May is a good time to take a morning walk before work when the air is cool and clean before the heat of the summer. Visit your library and find a good book to read, take a friend to lunch, tell your parents you love them, buy some flowers or plant a garden – all these are excellent methods for us to stay calm and relaxed as we head into the heat of the summer.

STAY CALM RECIPE: “Lemon Poppy-Seed Pancakes with Greek Yogurt and Jam”

Time: 20 minutes

1 1/3 cups Greek yogurt, more for serving

2/3 cup whole milk

4 large eggs

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, more for frying

2 tablespoons honey

260 grams all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)

12 grams baking soda (about 2 teaspoons)

12 grams kosher salt (about 1 teaspoon)

2 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Jam, for serving.

1. In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, eggs, butter and honey. In a separate larger bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients and fold in the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in the poppy seeds and lemon zest.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a pat of butter to the skillet and swirl to coat. Working in batches, drop 1/4 cup batter into the pan. Cook until bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes, 2 to 3 minutes; flip and continue cooking until golden and firm, 1 to 2 minutes more. To serve, slather each pancake with a dollop of yogurt and a spoonful of jam.

Yield: 6 servings.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Martin Brodeur (40), Mike Dirnt (40), Chris Krich …famous football coach, Tim McGraw (45), Johnny Miller (65), Pete Seeger (93), Bob Seger (67).

LAW SCHOOLS FLUNK ECON 101 - "U.S. law school deans could do with a little Econ 101. Tuition at the likes of Yale and Stanford keeps rising faster than inflation, despite a dwindling supply of aspiring lawyers. And job prospects for graduates are getting worse. For all their sophisticated skills, legal educators still haven't mastered the law of supply and demand. ... While MBA and other graduate programs show signs of renewed popularity, law schools are still suffering. Applicant numbers have tumbled to about 67,000 for the fall 2012 class, the lowest since 1987. ... Part of the problem is the high price of legal education. Tuition has quintupled at private law schools since 1985, averaging nearly $40,000 last year ... Including living expenses, it costs over $230,000 for the three years required to earn a JD from Chicago's Northwestern, the school's website says."

WALL STREET WEEK - US stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Monday after weaker than expected first-quarter gross domestic product figures left investors little idea which direction the US economy was headed in on Friday. Data on Friday showed U.S. economic growth cooled in the first quarter to 2.2 percent versus expectations of 2.5 percent, partly as businesses cut back on investment, bolstering the Federal Reserve's case that interest rates should be kept near zero at least though late 2014.

WAL-MART STOCK CRUSHED - "Wal-Mart's stock fell almost 5 percent ... accounting for about one-fifth of the losses in the Dow Jones industrial average, as investors reacted to a bribery scandal at the retailer's Mexican subsidiary and a report that an internal investigation was quashed at corporate headquarters in Arkansas. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Wal-Mart investigators had found credible evidence that the subsidiary, Wal-Mart de Mexico, had paid millions of dollars in bribes to support expansion in Mexico, where the retailer has one in five of its stores. Told of this evidence in 2005, top executives in Bentonville, Ark., shut down the investigation, The Times reported ... The fallout for Wal-Mart could be significant. A settlement of any sort would very likely include large fines by both the Justice Department and the [SEC]"

TICK-TOCK: SOCIAL SECURITY: BROKE BY 2033 - "Social Security is rushing even faster toward insolvency, driven by retiring baby boomers, a weak economy and politicians' reluctance to take painful action ... The trust funds that support Social Security will run dry in 2033 - three years earlier than previously projected ... There was no change in the year that Medicare's hospital insurance fund is projected to run out of money. It's still 2024. The program's trustees, however, said the pace of Medicare spending continues to accelerate. Congress enacted a 2 percent cut for Medicare last year, and that is the main reason the trust fund exhaustion date did not advance."

"The trustees who oversee both programs say high energy prices are suppressing workers' wages, a trend they see continuing. They also expect people to work fewer hours than previously projected, even after the economy recovers. Both trends would lead to lower payroll tax receipts, which support both programs ... Unless Congress acts - and forcefully - payments to millions of Americans could be cut."

SPORT BLAST: LONDON OLYMPICS LOOKING STRONG - "This past Wednesday, 100 days before the July 27 opening ceremony, the countdown begins in earnest for the world's biggest sporting event ... So far, except for a few glitches, the Olympic rollout has gone fairly smoothly, a showcase of British know-how and efficiency, officials say. Construction on several new stadiums is finished or nearly there, an extensive transportation plan is being refined, a massive security operation is underway and tickets have sold like hot cakes. But there's little room to take anything for granted here in one of the world's most densely packed and gridlocked cities, a magnet for tourists and terrorists ... And London's status as an expensive destination has been amply borne out by the Games' price tag, which started at less than $4 billion but has been marked up several times to the latest figure, a whopping $15 billion."

ANNIVERSARY – Twenty years ago this past week one evening I was driving home from teaching a class at 10:00 PM and noticed the streets were strangely empty of traffic, the air smelled of smoke. The Los Angeles riots were beginning, a strange and scary time to live in metro Los Angeles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – we begin our third year of weekly blogs. Any suggestions?

NEW SIGTARP REPORT: NO PROFIT? - Out overnight from newly installed Special Inspector General Christy Romero. Top findings: "It is a widely held misconception that TARP will make a profit. The most recent cost estimate for TARP is a loss of $60 billion. Taxpayers are still owed $118.5 billion. TARP's costs and legacies involve far more than just dollars and cents, and an analysis should not be focused alone on money in and money out. ... TARP legacies: Moral hazard and 'too big to fail'... TARP continues to be subject to criticism that TARP helped large banks but not homeowners. In addition, after 3½ years, community banks have an uphill battle to exit TARP because they cannot find new capital to replace TARP funds"

APPLE SCORES ANOTHER BLOWOUT - "Apple has brushed aside concerns that it could soon reach the limits of its soaring growth, with news ... that huge international sales of the iPhone enabled its latest financial results to once again top even the most optimistic Wall Street forecasts. The news gave an immediate lift of more than 7 per cent to Apple's shares in after-market trading, adding more than $35bn to the company's market value and reversing a two-week correction that had wiped 13 per cent from the price. ... Behind the latest surge in Apple's results was news that it had sold 35m iPhones during the quarter, ahead of most estimates. The 11.8m iPads also sold during the period were also at the top end of most estimates and 150 per cent ahead of the year before. .. Overall, the US computing and consumer electronics company said it had seen a 59 per cent jump in revenue to $39.2bn, with net income rising 94 per cent $11.6bn, or $12.30 a share. Wall Street had been expecting earnings of about $9.94 a share on revenues of $36.5bn."

DRIVING THE WEEK - Japanese Prime Minister Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda visits the White House today to discuss expanding Japan's role in regional security ... Obama and Noda hold a joint presser at 2:00 p.m. ... Mitt Romney campaigns in New Hampshire this morning and raises money in Boston this evening ... OWS plans protests in NYC and around the country on Tuesday ... Tons of critical economic data this week including ISM Manufacturing, construction and North American auto sales on Tuesday; ADP private payrolls on Wednesday; ECB rates meeting and initial jobless claims on Thursday; and the big BLS jobs report on Friday ...

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton head to China for key economic meetings Thursday and Friday amid rising tensions (more below) ... French runoff between Sarkozy and Hollande, which could be big for the austerity (Sarkozy) vs. growth (Hollande) debate in Europe, takes place Sunday along with big Greek parliamentary elections ... Per WSJ, CEOs of big banks meet with Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo on Wednesday to discuss exposure limits and other elements of Dodd-Frank ... Carlyle Group expected to price its IPO on Wednesday.

Next week, finally that restaurant review and our Jackass of the month.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA

April 30, 2012

#III-1, 106

Yoga Master

Twenty million people practice yoga in the United States. William Broad, a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer for The New York Times, is one of them. Broad started doing yoga as a freshman in college in 1970 and has been practicing ever since.

"I can't imagine doing [my] job without it. It's an excellent means of stress management. Yoga helps me relax. And that's the thing that most yogis swear by. No matter how poorly you do it or how stressed you are, you're going to get this guaranteed de-stressing, relaxing, anti-civilization effect of yoga — which is wonderful."

Broad's new book, The Science of Yoga, investigates both the risks and rewards of yoga. Using the latest scientific research, Broad explains the benefits of yoga, while debunking the myths surrounding it and explaining why certain yoga moves can even be quite dangerous

"There are [poses] that really bend your neck a lot," he says. "The shoulder stand, the plow, those kind of things. You're rotating your neck around 90 degrees, and it turns out that there are delicate arteries that run through your neck called vertebral arteries. And if they get tweaked around too much ... and you're unlucky, you can tear the lining of the arteries, you can have clots, and you get up from that pose or you're in the middle of a pose — and those clots move into the brain, and you've got brain damage. Some people even die."

Those extreme injuries are rare, says Broad. More commonly, people hurt their lower backs, shoulders, knees and necks.

And some yoga poses can be extremely beneficial, he says. Scientific studies have shown that yogis have more spinal flexibility and show some improvement in cardiovascular health markers.

"There's been study after study after study that says you do not get your heart pumping in the way you do in aerobic sports like running, swimming and spinning," he says. "On the other hand ... yoga has this remarkable quality to relax you, to de-stress you. That means your heart rate goes down. That means if you're prone to hypertension, that lowers. There are all these wonderful cardio effects that come from the other end of the spectrum: the relaxation of the heart, rather than the pumping-up phenomena that you get from aerobic sports."

Broad says there's no consensus yet on how many yoga classes you need a week for maximum health benefits, but there is agreement that a little over a long time goes a long way.

"The benefits start to accrue," he says. "It's like putting a little bit of money in the bank every day or every month. The payoff comes as these things start to multiply."

Yoga also has emotional benefits, he says. It can enhance moods and increase sexual feelings and pleasure (so noted).

So get out your yoga mats and get into it, personally I will settle for a round of golf, a steam and a shot of Gentlemen Jack.

WWII ANNIVERSARY - Seventy years ago this past Wednesday, 80 Army Air Corps crewmen flew 16 B-25 bombers on a secret mission to Japan. The World War II attack became known as the Doolittle Raid, and this week, four of the five remaining Doolittle raiders will be gathering in Dayton, Ohio, to remember the mission.

BASEBALL ANNIVERSARY - To Fenway Park (Boston) on its 100th anniversary this past week as a ball park; the next oldest active are Wrigley Field (Chicago) 98 years, Dodger Stadium (LA) 50 years, Angel Stadium (Anaheim) 46 years, Oakland Coliseum (Oakland) 46 years, and Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City) 39 years.

It also would have been Tiger Stadium’s (also known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium) 100^th anniversary this past week. The Michigan and Trumbull site in Detroit was torn down in September 2009.

BUFFETT HAS CANCER; PROGNOSIS GOOD - "Warren Buffett said ... he has Stage I prostate cancer but that his condition 'is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.' In a press release addressed to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders, Buffett, 81, said he would begin a two-month course of daily radiation in mid-July that would restrict his travel during that period, 'but will not otherwise change my daily routine.' Buffett said he received the diagnosis last Wednesday and had a CAT scan and a bone scan on Thursday, followed by an MRI on Tuesday.

"'These tests showed no incidence of cancer elsewhere in my body,' he said ... The American Joint Committee on Cancer says Stage I prostate cancer does not cause symptoms and often is undetected but becomes more frequent among men as they age. ... Berkshire's A share price closed at $121,310 per share, up $1,785 or 1.49 percent for the day. In after-market trading, the price of Berkshire shares fell $1,596, or 1.32 percent."

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Herm Edwards (58), Meadowlark Lemon (80), Jay Leno (62), Elisabeth Rohm (39), Bobby Rydell (70), Jerry Seinfeld (58), Barbara Streisand (70), Uma Thurman (42).

WORDS OF THE MONTH –

eschew \es-CHOO\, transitive verb:

To shun; to avoid (as something wrong or distasteful).

“In high school and college the Vassar women had enjoyed that lifestyle, but afterward they had eschewed it as shallow.”


viejo, adjective
old

Like old, the adjective viejo can be used to describe things or people.

“Estos zapatos ya están muy viejos.”
These shoes are very old now.

“hacerse Viejo”
to get old

TOP LAWYERS: $873 PER HOUR – To ease the pain of the bar review: "The priciest lawyers in the U.S. are getting even more expensive, but those at the opposite end are getting left behind. Partners in the top 25% of hourly billers boosted their average price to $873 an hour last year, up 4.9% from 2010, according to a report being published [last week]. The country's lowest-billing partners struggled to keep pace with inflation, meanwhile. Partners in the bottom 25% charged an average of $204 last year, up just 1.3%, according to the report by TyMetrix Inc ... and Corporate Executive Board Co. ... On the whole, lawyers last year pushed through the biggest overall annual rate increase, 5.1%, since the recession, when many firms froze prices or scaled back increases to keep clients happy. The slow growth at the low end shows that clients who pushed back on legal bills during the economic downturn are continuing to hold the line"

DEAR RINK RATS –

I am an executive constantly under pressure from my job, my friends, my ego, and my hair color. How can I relieve this stress and pressure I place on myself?

Signed,

Thirty Hours a Week and Still Over Worked

Dear Thirty Hours a Week and Still Over Worked –

May I suggest yoga; I find the following two positions especially helpful for ego and hair color stress:

Downward Facing Dog or commonly called Adho Mukha Svanasana; in this yoga position your hands and feet are roughly four or five feet apart. The hips rise up and you become very popular.

Relaxation or Savasana; yoga students practice savasana at the end of yoga class. In savasana, students learn to relax the entire body, as well as the mind.

Good luck and remember a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Signed,

Rink Rats


RINK RATS TMZ.COM – Seen this past week at a local fitness club a popular college administrator posing a Uttanasana. Note: she did not fall over. But we did notice some tears flowing.

SPORTS BLINK - "2012 NFL schedule announced" - NFL release: "The opener on September 5 on NBC (8:30 PM ET) will feature the defending-champion New York Giants hosting the division-rival Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. ... NBC's Sunday Night Football will get underway on September 9 when the Denver Broncos host the Pittsburgh Steelers (8:20 PM ET) in a rematch of last season's Wild Card playoff thriller. ... ESPN's Monday Night Football doubleheader [on Sept. 10] will feature the AFC North's Cincinnati Bengals at the Baltimore Ravens (7:00 PM ET) followed by the AFC West's Oakland Raiders hosting the San Diego Chargers (10:15 PM ET). ... The 2012 season concludes on Sunday, February 3 when the NFL will crown a champion at Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (CBS).

"Thanksgiving will feature an NFL tripleheader . The early game will send the Houston Texans to Detroit to face the Lions (12:30 PM ET, CBS). The late afternoon game will feature the Washington Redskins visiting Dallas (4:15 PM ET, FOX) in an NFC East showdown. The holiday concludes with an AFC East matchup as the New York Jets will host the New England Patriots on NBC (8:20 PM ET). ... On October 28 at London's historic Wembley Stadium, the league will resume its international series of regular-season games when the St. Louis Rams host the New England Patriots (1:00 PM ET, CBS). Then on Sunday, December 16, the Buffalo Bills will venture north to Canada for the fifth consecutive season when they host the Seattle Seahawks in Toronto at the Rogers Centre (4:05 PM ET, FOX).

"NFL Network will now feature 13 games - all on Thursdays - from Weeks 2-15 (excluding Week 12 on Thanksgiving night). The NFL Network slate will start on Thursday, September 13 (8:20 PM ET) with an NFC North showdown featuring the Green Bay Packers hosting the Chicago Bears."

--"Monday Night Football" schedule announced - ESPN release: "AFC Bengals-Ravens, Chargers-Raiders Division Matchups in Season-Opening Doubleheader on Sept. 10 ... Appearances by both Super Bowl teams - New York Giants at Washington Redskins (Dec. 3); and New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans (Dec. 10) ... Chicago Bears lead all NFL teams with three MNF appearances. Eight teams (49ers, Broncos, Chargers, Eagles, Falcons, Jets, Lions and Texans) have two appearances each."

Next week, restaurant review and year number three of Rink Rats begins (ugh).

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Jackson, Michigan

April 22, 2012

#II-52, 105

Tax Man

APRIL 17 – Tax day is this week, thank God for Turbo Tax.

A few stats for you: 24.9% of your taxes go for National Defense, 23.7% to Health Care, 19.1% to Job & Family Security, 8.1% for Interest on Debt, 7.9% Government Administration, 4.5% on Veterans Benefits, 3.6% Education and Job Training, 2.0% for Immigration and Law Enforcement, the remaining 6.2% for Science, Space Technology, Agriculture, Natural Disasters, and who knows what.

Amid an election-year feud over tax policy, President Barack Obama on Friday released his 2011 tax filings, showing that he paid $162,074 in total taxes on adjusted gross income of $789,674, an effective rate of 20.5 percent. The first couple paid $31,941 in Illinois income tax. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, whose joint return also reported giving $172,130 to 39 different charities —an additional 21.8 percent of their adjusted gross income. Their top recipient, receiving $117,130, was Fisher House, which provides free or inexpensive housing to veterans and military families receiving care at military medical facilities.  Mitt Romney has yet to file his 2011 Tax Returns.

2012 ELECTION – President Obama this week in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.: "This election will probably have the biggest contrast that we've seen maybe since the Johnson-Goldwater election [of 1964] -- maybe before that."

--Lyndon Johnson: 61% (44 states plus D.C.) ... Barry Goldwater: 39% (6 states)

THE MAP- "Campaign 2012-Road to 270: Obama defends typically GOP states in race to 270: President Obama begins his re-election campaign defending traditionally Republican territory that he carried when he won the White House four years ago. Republican Mitt Romney is looking to reclaim any combination of these GOP strongholds now in flux. ... The political spotlight will shine brightly again on Florida, and the Upper Midwest, especially Ohio. But changes in the nation's demographics will mean heavy attention paid to the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest. 'For a long time the map was static. I don't think that holds true anymore,' said Tad Devine, a senior adviser to former Democratic presidential nominees Al Gore and John Kerry. ...”

"Obama expanded the Democratic footprint on an electoral map that had changed little between George W. Bush's narrow 2000 election and 2004 re-election. Against McCain, Obama captured nine states that Bush had won four years earlier. Besides Florida and Ohio, Obama took North Carolina and Virginia ... There were victories as well in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico and Nevada. In Florida, unemployment tops 9 percent, tourism is slow to recover, gas prices are high and trouble persists in the housing market; all that works against Obama. But his team is aggressively organizing in the state, and his visit Friday was his 16th since taking office, more than almost any other swing state."

ELECTION MATH:

--UP FOR GRABS (104 electoral votes): Colorado (9), Florida (29), Iowa (6), New Hampshire (3), New Mexico (5), Nevada (6), North Carolina (15), Ohio (18), Virginia (13)

--LEAN D (56 EVs): Michigan (16), Minnesota (10), Pennsylvania (20), Wisconsin (10)

--SOLID D (186 EVs): California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.

--LEAN R (32 EVs): Arizona (11), Indiana (11), Missouri (10)

--SOLID R (156 EVs): Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (65), Ellen Barkin (58), Bill Belichick (60), Gene Hasse …. Fourscore and never better, Ashley Judd (44), Jack Nicholson (75), Ann Romney (63), Maria Sharapova (25), James Woods (65).

RINK RATS TMZ.COM – We noticed this past week, on Foothill Boulevard no less, a distinguished member of the community getting his hair quaffed at SuperCuts. Yes SuperCuts. No hair color was used but they did use scissors instead of electric shears.

STUDENT LOAN DEBT a looming disaster? Mounting balances a threat to economy" -- "Move over, mortgages. Get out of the way, Greece. Another economic doomsday scenario is emerging. Student loan debt has reached about $870 billion, exceeding credit cards and auto loans, and balances are expected to continue climbing, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said last month. In February, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys referred to a 'student loan "debt bomb"' and wondered if it was shaping up to become 'America's next mortgage-style economic crisis.' ...

"Sen. Dick Durbin ... is pushing legislation, the Fairness for Struggling Students Act, which would allow students who borrowed from private lenders for their education to wipe out that debt in bankruptcy proceedings, just as credit card borrowers and many other unsecured debtors may do. In 2005, Congress changed bankruptcy laws and made private student loan debts non-dischargeable in bankruptcy ... Others argue against allowing student borrowers to discharge their private loan obligations in bankruptcy court. For one thing, if lenders knew borrowers could escape repayment through bankruptcy, they might raise interest rates to account for that risk and lend to fewer people."

U.S. DROUGHT - "Drought condition spreads over USA: 61% of lower 48 states are 'abnormally dry,'": "The USA hasn't been this dry in five years. ... A mostly dry, mild winter has put nearly 61% of the 48 contiguous states in 'abnormally dry' or drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly federal tracking of drought. That's the highest percentage of dry or drought conditions since September 2007 ... The drought is expanding into some areas where dryness is rare, such as New England. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, stream levels are at record or near-record lows in much of New England. ... Wildfires and brush fires have been common along the East Coast from New England to Florida in recent weeks."

WALL STREET WEEK - Wall Street’s bulls are no doubt happy to turn the page on last week, the worst of 2012 for the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq.

GOOGLE TO SPLIT STOCK - "Google has announced an unusual stock split that will effectively hand founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin lifetime control of the search engine they invented ... The decision to cement control for what Mr. Page called 'the very long term' marks what corporate governance experts described as a first for a big public company in the US. It will also result in a new class of Google shares trading on Wall Street. Under its first stock split in eight years as a public company, Google said it would issue a new share for each of its shares already outstanding.

"Such moves are normally welcomed on Wall Street, where a lower price per share is sometimes seen as an inducement for smaller investors to buy ... In a departure from normal practice, Google's new shares will carry no voting rights, leaving control of the company 'frozen' in the hands of holders of its existing shares. That is designed to leave Mr. Page, 39, and Mr. Brin, 38, with a firm grip on the nearly 58 per cent of the voting rights they control between them under a special class of shares."

AUGUSTA NATIONAL, FINAL THOUGHT - I consider the Augusta debate bizarre. It's as if the green jackets have reached a level of silliness that can only be compared to that of obstinate children. Would it kill them to admit a woman member? Certainly not, would it bust their bank to have to add a couple of ladies' rooms in the clubhouse? Heck no. But just like when a 3-year-old who won’t finish his dinner simply because you told him to, it's become a game of wills. The Augusta National members don't want what the place has always been about to change, and they certainly don't want to be told to change. They are wrong and they know they're wrong, but like most men, they can't bear doing the right thing when it's somebody else's idea. It's no different than stopping and asking for directions."

The outrageous, embarrassing part of this debate isn't that Augusta National continues to practice bigoted membership policies. It's that the powers that be in professional golf still associate themselves with a club that does so. What message does it send to the world about this sport when we hold our biggest, most prestigious tournament at a club that excludes people because of their gender? How do we even broach the subject of "growing the game" when this is the image we put forth? (Golf is losing participants faster than we can count -- most alarmingly among juniors, a group whose numbers are down 35 percent over the last five years, according to the National Golf Foundation). 

DRIVING THE WEEK - Senate expected to take up the Buffett Rule today in an effort to put pressure on the GOP to go on record in opposition to a measure that may be gimmicky but is nonetheless quite popular among voters ... Huge pile of first quarter earnings this week including Citigroup today; Goldman Sachs on Tuesday; Bank of America, Blackstone and Morgan Stanley on Thursday. Shares in Wells Fargo and JPMorgan tanked on Friday amid concern that the banking industry could falter again if Europe worsens and the U.S. recovery slips ... Carlyle plans to file for its IPO today with a conservative range of $23-$25 per share, according to multiple accounts (more below) ... House OGR has a hearing on the GSA spending scandal today at 1:30 p.m. ... Senate Banking has an Ex-Im Bank hearing Tuesday ... World Bank and IMF have spring meetings in D.C. Friday through Sunday

Next week, restaurant review, words of the month, Dear Rink Rats, and what’s up with yoga.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA

April 16, 2012

#II-51, 104