Ranting Rex

During the Thanksgiving holiday this week, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the relatives. Nice people really. I love spending time with family. There is no other group of people who are willing to accept your faults, and still love you. Still…some make it a challenge. As with all group gatherings someone brings up the topic of politics, and this week was no exception. While I’m more than happy to entertain other ideas, or points of view, this time I was shocked at the complete inability of someone to comprehend their own situation.

I am a huge fan of Bill Maher, and Jon Stewart. I find their shows very entertaining. They take some of the most ridiculous comments made by conservative media and political outlets and display them for us all to see. However, I have always felt that some of their characterizations they present of those people a little unfair. They like to show the hypocrisy of conservative ideas, and the outright ridiculousness of Republican opinions on what they call “Socialism.” Many times they have illustrated how Republicans spout about their hatred for social programs while benefiting from their participation in those programs. I mean how can someone who is so against socialism then take full advantage of social programs? Is the bubble they live in so thick that they can’t see what is happening? Can’t they see how they are benefitting from the programs they are vehemently claiming to hate? It appears…No.

One of my in laws is a retired state employee. He receives a union sponsored pension, as well as Medicare, and Social Security. On top of this, he works six months per year preparing taxes for a large accounting firm. As a consequence, when his time is done during tax season, he is eligible, and receives unemployment for those months he is not working. Now…let me just summarize that this man is getting a State funded pension, Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment. You would think that someone in this situation would support a Democratic agenda. After all, he is benefiting COMPLETELY from the socialism fought for by the Democratic platform, and maligned by the Republican. But if you think that’s the case…you would be wrong. Nope…he’s a hardcore Republican through and through.  I guess I could worry about him reading this, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read.  If he did, he’d have a different opinion.

This guy complained to me at great length about how the government spends too much money on social programs. “How can Obama and the Democrats keep funding this crap that I have to pay with my taxes.” Um…really? Hey…clueless…taxes are funding every check you get! There is a complete disconnect here. I just don’t get it. How can someone in this situation not put two and two together? I always thought Stewart and Maher were just making hay about the bubble. I didn’t think it really existed. It turns out I was WAY wrong. It exists, and science really needs to figure out what it’s made of because NOTHING gets through.

If science could determine what material makes up the bubble, we would never again have to worry about a nuclear missile attack. The substance with which this device is made can keep out even the most real of materials. It is impenetrable. This thing is greater than a led lined box thousands of feet under the ground. Hell…even reality can’t get through. It’s a void in space and time which eliminates the ability of all matter, energy, and reality from reaching its inner sanctum. It’s the only explanation I have for people in this world to completely deny their situation. How can this be? This is like someone being hit in the face with club, bleeding profusely through the nose and mouth, and then denying they were injured. Really…if these people were knocked upside the head I might understand how they came to that conclusion. Only someone with severe brain damage can explain this complete lack of common sense.

Now…I’m not saying that every Republican feels the way this guy does, or that they have a complete disconnect from their reality. However, I think that there are a lot more of them in the Republican Party than in the Democratic. After all, Democrats actually value education while Republicans demonize it. If you have a brain, you’re considered an Academic Elite, not fit for public office. I guess if you have ideas like my relative above that makes perfect sense. After all…why would you want anything like facts to break into your preconceived and unfounded fantasy? As the Republican strategists for Romney were quoted as saying “We don’t let facts dictate our reality.” Yea…why would you want that?

Just in case you’re wondering…this is why you lost.

Rex

It turns out that another public official, or public officials have strayed from their marriage bed. Any conservatives out there wishing to respond in fake derision and outrage can do so now… Now that that’s over we can move on. It’s a pretty tangled web of sexual innuendo, lies, and deceit so it needs some explanation. Therefore, in an effort to keep everyone on the same page about this latest sexual drama, I thought I would put things in a perspective suitable to the situation.

Ok…hold onto your spanks. Here I go!

It turns out that the head of the CIA, General David Patreaus (let’s call him Senior Class President) was sleeping with Paula Broadwell, his biographer (let’s call her the Head Cheerleader). Over the course of his rise to power, the Head Cheerleader spent a lot of time with the Class President, and even though he had a wife (let’s call her a “steady” to keep with the theme) he decided that the Head Cheerleader was a lot sexier so started sleeping with her. After all, if she was willing, so was he. It turns out, however, that Jill Kelley (she’s the Drum Majorette) was also sending notes and flirting with the Class President. The Head Cheerleader found the notes, and was pissed! After all, existing steady not withstanding she had dibs. So the Head Cheerleader sent a nasty note to the Drum Majorette, threatening her with losing her baton. Now, to add more spice to the drama, the Drum Majorette was also sending dirty notes to General John R. Allan, head of NATO forces in Afghanistan (we will call him the Team Captain). Evidently this had been going on for some time as well. The Drum Majorette’s popularity might not have been as distinguished as the Head Cheerleader, but at least she was trying.

Now enter the FBI agent who started the investigation into all this (I will call him the Mathlete). The Drum Majorette was angry with the Head Cheerleader for threatening to take her baton. So, she decides to tell the Mathlete that the Head Cheerleader had access to test answers for finals week, and was passing them out to her friends. The Mathlete was outraged! He worked hard studying. It’s not fair that the Head Cheerleader should get an “A” (or piece of “A”) even though she wasn’t as smart. He had an obligation to tell the Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta (the Principal) what’s been going on.

So…the Mathlete tells the Principal, that the Head Cheerleader had access to the school’s testing system, and has been using the information to influence her friends. In the course the investigation they find out that she is sleeping with the Class President, even though he has a steady. The Principal also finds out that the Drum Majorette has been flirting with the Class President as well AND the Team Captain. To make things worse, they learn that the Mathlete actually has a crush on the Drum Majorette, and have found the notes he sent to her with pictures of himself in various states of undress, an obvious ploy to persuade her with his daunting physique. Hey…don’t laugh… math books are friggin’ heavy!

Now, to make things more ridiculous, the AV club (let’s call them Republican members of Congress) decided that there is a major conspiracy afloat and that an all out investigation must be performed. They want to spend millions of dollars, and thousands of hours figuring out who knew what, and when, and why were they not informed? As lead AV guy who has no life (Senator John McCain) said to the school paper “The kids at the cool table knew all this, so why didn’t the rest of us?

So…now that everyone is on the same page let’s put away the high school antics and get back to work. We have soldiers and American citizens in harm’s way, and this is no time to be screwing around with these high school antics. The politicians, the press, and the people involved need to get back to what’s important.

All of you should be ashamed of yourselves. All of you!

The talking heads are in full force discussing the ins and outs of why the campaign went awry and the Republicans lost the election. With budget woes, and another impending financial crisis, they don’t understand how America wanted to keep the existing leadership. The fault they say lies with Romney’s Mormonism, the two debates, liberal media bias, and a storm off the east coast. But personally, I think what happened is that without even trying, the party showed its true color…white.

Republicans garnered the old white guy vote, hands down. In the area of redneck, retrospect, and regressive, they reigned king! Their quest for a return to the 1950s lost to hopes for the future. They pine for a time when women lived in the kitchen, children never spoke, and minorities had the good sense to keep out of sight. Their old, outdated, and unsupported ideas have taken their party to the brink of irrelevance.

Republicans try to call themselves the conservative party, and Democrats the socialist party. The problem is that the party is anything but conservative. Last year when the Republicans submitted their budget in response to the Democratic one, the only difference was where they wanted to spend their money. Republicans like the military industrial machine, and Democrats like social programs. Republicans want to cut taxes on the wealthy, and Democrats on the middle class. That pretty much sums it up.

The voting public is growing up. Either that or they are just growing annoyed with the same tired old rhetoric. They’ve learned terms terms like “job creator” are really nothing more than a description for the rich. Rich people don’t create jobs. Hungry people create jobs. Industries create jobs. The rich just consume. They create very little. Voters have learned when they use the term Socialism, it means programs that help people find jobs, get medical care, and obtain an education. When they speak of religious freedom, they’ve learned that it only means freedom for one religion. And when they talk of freedom of speech, they know that it only means speech for their ideas, and their agenda.

Republicans do love to fund the military. Well…that’s kind of true. They will fund it to the point that their cronies in business make billions on contracts. However, when it comes to funding benefits for soldiers and their families, they are less than giving. They even refused to vote for benefits for the heroes of 9/11 until they were embarrassed by a couple of comedians on comedy central. That’s just sad! Now they want to cut retirement, medical, and educational benefits for soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Eisenhower is turning over in his grave.

The Grand Old Party has lived up to their name, especially the OLD part. It’s time for them to move on. In the 1980s and 90s, the Republican party let themselves be taken over by the Christian right. In this decade, they let themselves be taken over by the Tea Party. In their effort to chase any vote, no matter the source, they’ve lost focus of their core values. Is it any wonder they actually picked Romney? It’s time they stood on their own. The party has a lot of good people, with great and wonderful ideas. It’s too bad they have let them be drowned out by right-wing extremists. Think I’m exaggerating? Where have I heard that we need to bring back corporal punishment, turn our lives back to the Bible, or to bring religion back into education? If you need to see an example of how that works, think Taliban.

So, since everyone has learned that Republicans have refused to negotiate with anyone outside their party, they have no choice than to vote for candidates of another party. The people have spoken: If politicians won’t break the stalemate, we will. The world is changing, and if you don’t change with it, you will be left in the dust. It’s time to take a stand.  It’s time to make a change.  Most people want this country to succeed.  So either get on board, or get out of the way.  We won’t be left in the dust. 

When I go into the mountains I make every attempt to make sure I don’t encroach on someone else’s fun.  I think when people try to respect each other, everyone has a good time.  It really doesn’t take much out of my life to make sure I’m not imposing on others. 

I started working for a major insurance company right out of high school. I was only supposed to be there one day. It lasted almost ten years. It was a different time in business. You started at the bottom and worked your way up. The company had a clear vision that if they provided a good product, educated their staff, and participated in the community, they would be successful. They understood the value of all levels of customer service. One of the first things I learned while working there was the focus and dedication to the customer both internally and externally. Say what you want about insurance companies, and I can…and have…said a lot. But their success is clearly attributed to being able to deliver a product their customers want and need.

Something happened in the digital age to change all that. The focus now seems to be on starting a venture, and selling off the assets as soon as possible. I’m reminded of PT Barnum’s opinions on suckers and money. It seems that during the late 90s and early 2000s the focus had been on what idiot you could get to invest in your enterprise long enough so that you can get some quick cash, and retire to an island paradise without extradition.

I have always judged a business by their focus on the customer. If I sit in an interview for a job or contract, and the person talking to me starts to discuss their venture capitalists, or how smart and talented they are, I start looking for the door. However, if they start to talk to me about what they are doing, and what they are providing to their customers, I perk right up. This gets me excited. I could care less if you have the smartest Java developers in the world, or if your VC is a peach, and your free soda machine speaks to you in 12 languages. If you’re not clearly focused on the customer, you’re wasting your time…and mine. Companies that focus internally are short lived. Either they don’t really have a product anyone wants, or they are under so much scrutiny by the guy writing the check that they can’t deliver the product they need to make their business successful.

If you can solve a problem, or provide a service, you have a business. Most companies start out with good intentions, and then forget the customer. Customers drive business, shareholders do not. If you keep your focus on the customer, they will buy your product. Let that drive investor decisions. Selling things makes investors happy. That doesn’t mean that the cost of revenue isn’t important. However, if all you’re doing is reducing your costs, you pretty much remove the revenue.

There’s no shortage of stupid decisions. I once worked for an online university that refused to market online. Think about that for a moment. They refused to market to their primary audience. It was baffling. On September 12, 2001, the day after the attacks on September 11th, I was working for WorldCom. Bernie Ebbers sent an email to every employee stating in effect “Yes…this is sad…but get back to work. We have a responsibility to our investors.” I’m so glad he’s in jail. After that, I worked for a small startup. Within a year the VCs fired the founder and CEO and all the developers. It was cheaper in Ireland and India. They didn’t consider that getting rid of all their intellectual capital might be an issue. They didn’t last much longer.

I have worked with many companies throughout my career. I have found that when companies pat themselves on the back, or are focused on their VC capital, stockholders, bondholders, and not their customers, they are doomed to fail. When I was in graduate school, my business professor hated Amazon. He called them vaporware. I couldn’t see it. In fact, I was buying things on Amazon almost weekly. Where else can you buy a book, an iPad, and a cold air intake for your sports car without leaving your couch? They have a clear focus on what the customer wants. They have some major critics too…mostly their investors. But they stay focused on the customer, and now they are the most successful online retailer in history.

Look at companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and wow, Facebook. They are hugely successful not because of their focus on the investor, but because of their dedication to their customer. Facebook went public this year to rave disaster. However, I don’t see the user base going down. They seem to still be making money hand over fist. They aren’t focusing on their investors as much as their users. Sure, they have their critics, but they also have over a billion users. Retailers fall all over themselves trying to market to that customer base. I even hear that they will fail in ten years. I heard that about Amazon too. If Facebook fails, it will only be because they ignored the customer, and focused on the investor.

Make no mistake.  Investment is important to business.  It’s the money which feeds the innovation.  Just ask any pharmaceutical company.  However, to ensure ongoing success you need customers.  Long term goals, and strategic planning will always serve your business.  Once you establish that, look for the investor that will meet your vision.  Focus on the customer.  To do any less, is to fail before you get started.