Firearms
January 4, 2013
On December 14, 2012, one individual — who apparently obtained by force several semi-automatic firearms from a family member — shot and killed 26 innocent victims at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, CT.
The firearms included one rifle – the controversial .223 caliber Bushmaster AR-15 — which by several definitions has been categorized as an assault weapon.
The other semi-automatic weapons were hand guns – one was a 10 mm Glock which can accommodate a 15 round magazine. The other was a Sig Sauer 9 mm, which can accommodate a maximum capacity of 20 bullets.
Following this tragic event, a nearby regional newspaper – The Journal News — filed a freedom of information act (FOIA) request with Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties in NYS seeking the names and addresses of pistol permit holders in these counties.
By New York State law, the name and address of individual permit holders licensed to own a handgun — a pistol or revolver – is public record.
Owners of ‘long guns’ — rifles or shotguns, which can be purchased without a permit — are not subject to public record disclosure in New York State.
Earlier today, I istened to a radio interview with NYS Senator Gregory Ball on the controversial ‘outing’ of the names and addresses of hand gun permit holders by The Journal News.
In the interview, Senator Ball was adamant in his opposition to releasing information (which is required under NYS law) based on his personal values and opinions.
Senator Ball has held elected office in New York State since 2007. Several times, he has taken an oath of office to “…support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of New York…”
The Journal News published names and addresses of hand gun permit holders from public record information obtained from Rockland and Westchester counties, which is both legal and appropriate in New York State.
Officials in Putnam County have refused to release the gun permit information to The Journal News.
Senator Ball has joined with other elected and appointed public officials in Putnam County to oppose the FOIA request from The Journal News.
Whether it is religiously or morally right or wrong, this FOIA request seems to follow the laws of the State of New York; thus is fully in compliance with the Constitution of the State of New York.
It is my belief that NYS Senator Gregory Ball has violated his oath of office and thus should be sanctioned and removed from public office and further subject to any civil or criminal penalties which are available and appropriate for elected officials in New York State who flagrantly and blatantly violate their oath of office.
Hopefully, there is a procedure in the NYS Constitution to sanction Senator Ball, and the appropriate officals will step in to rescue my fellow residents, voters and taxpayers in NYS from clearly unconstitutional behavior by our elected officials.
A Letter to Hon. John Boehner
December 28, 2012
Hon. John Boehner
Office of the Speaker
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Boehner:
I’ve been following the saga of ‘the fiscal cliff’ since the end of summer 2012.
It was made very clear to us outside the Beltway (commonly known as citizens, voters and taxpayers) that our elected officials in Congress would take no action until after the November elections.
As disappointing as that news was, it seemed reasonable and appropriate to many of us on the outside to expect that our elected officials would do some talking behind the scenes in preparation for a call to action after the election at which time our elected officials would work together in the best interest of the overall U.S. economy — business, commerce, education and the citizens of the United States.
Now – several months later and just a few days from the ‘tipping point’ a.k.a the ‘fiscal cliff’– we seem to have a continuation of the petty, partisan and puerile drama that has come to categorize our Congress following the national elections of 2010.
November 2010 marked the point in time when a number of conservative tea party candidates were elected to the House of Representatives. The infusion of passionate but neophyte tea party representatives — all of whom signed the Grover Norquist Pledge — precipitated your election as Speaker in January 2011, which coincidently seems to mark the beginning of extreme dysfunction in our nation’s capital.
I have listened to you and some of the ‘young rascals’ who were elected in 2010 under the tea party platform.
When I listen, I hear some really great sound bites, focused almost entirely on the federal government.
There is no one I’ve met who wouldn’t like to see smaller government and reduced government spending — sweetened by the magic elixir of reduced taxes.
The real problem seems to be: Government (as we see and interact with it from outside the Beltway) includes federal, state, county, local, schools and a vast number of entities which operate in the public sector as ‘quasi-government’ agencies.
As a citizen, voter and taxpayer in the U.S., I know I pay: federal income taxes; federal excise taxes; state income taxes; state sales taxes; county property taxes; county sales taxes; city property taxes; city sales taxes; city sewer taxes; city library taxes; and property taxes levied by my local school district. I can quantify the majority of those taxes: what I can’t quantify is the amount of other government and quasi-government fees and taxes I pay daily, weekly monthly or annually: highway and bridge tolls, parking fees, hotel occupancy fees, motor vehicle fees, MTA fees, license fees, daily use fees, and park access fees, most of which are invisible to me.
You and the ‘young rascals’ have some great rhetoric: What I don’t hear from you and your tea party cabal is dialogue, discussion, research or new ideas about re-engineering our overall government in the U.S. for enhanced efficiency and longer term sustainability.
Mr. Boehner: With your intractable and rigid focus on cutting spending at the margins and continued tax breaks for the ultra-rich, I think you and your tea party followers may be threatening the very essence of the United States and our economy as a going concern.
That thought leads me to believe that you and some (or all) of your tea party cabal may be guilty of treason because your actions are diametrically opposed to the best interests of my fellow citizens, voters and taxpayer of the United States of America.
It is my hope, Mr. Boehner, that come Monday, December 31, 2012, you and your followers will move away from treason to align with the majority of American citizens, businesses and American society to ensure a rational, sensible and sustainable solution to the ‘fiscal cliff’ dilemma which currently threatens our country.
Thank you in advance for considering my opinions, and hopefully, for adjusting your posture to a more inclusive and mainstream position.
Sincerly,
The Walrus
Mount Vernon, NY 10552
Fiscal Cliff
November 29, 2012
Mr. Boehner: A large majority of us are really disappointed in you and Eric Cantor.
The majority of Americans have no allegiance to Grover Norquist and the Koch brothers.
We want to see our elected officials come to the table with open minds, seeking to do what is correct and right for our country. We don’t much care who your campaign contributors are, or what sorts of issues you are dealing with in your upcoming election campaign.
We do understand that you – as an elected member of Congress – need to run for re-election every 2 years.
That said: you accepted the position of Speaker of the House, which implies that you agreed to rise above the local issues specific to your rural & primarily agricultural district in Ohio and to function as a leader across our very diverse nation.
I think the vast majority of our fellow citizens expect you to be objective, rational and strategic in your words and your actions.
Your recent contention that “No substantive progress has been made in the talks between the White House and the House over the last two weeks” appears to be both confrontational and incendiary.
Incendiary comments certainly do not support the concept of compromise.
Mr. Boehner: As a citizen, a tax payer and voter in the U.S.A., I can’t vote for you because I don’t live in your Ohio district, but I can say that I am truly disappointed by your callous disregard for the needs, wants and desires of me and the majority of our U.S. neighbors.
Job Creators?
November 21, 2012
Over the past 18 months, or so, we’ve been deluged with propaganda about “Job Creators” – mostly referring to private equity firms which are prone to swoop in, acquire companies which are ‘undervalued’ and turn them around for a healthy profit (to the private equity partners).
Some years ago, I recall taking an economics course which was anchored around some research conducted by noted M.I.T. economist Lester Thurow which he categorized as “The Zero-Sum Society”.
Thurow had examined a number of scenarios where costs and revenues were shifted between various public sector entities. One entity would reduce taxes while moving services to another entity. The service-receiving entity raised taxes to fund the shifted services. The ultimate result: a zero-sum outcome to taxpayers.
Today’s news that Hostess Brands – which was acquired out of bankruptcy by the private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings in 2009 – has received approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York “for the orderly wind-down of its business and sale of its assets” is certainly not good news for the 18,500 Hostess employees who will soon be unemployed.
All in all, the ‘ripple effect’ of the Hostess Brands bankruptcy will be the closing of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, 5,500 delivery routes, 570 bakery outlet stores, in addition to the loss of those 18,500 jobs.
This is just another example of Thurow’s Zero-Sum Game. No value added, just a shift of wealth from one group or place to another.
In fairness, Ripplewood enjoys a pretty good reputation among its peers in the private equity sector – where the term ‘vulture capital’ seems to be growing in popularity.
Of course, Ripplewood’s goals generally mirror those of other similar firms: Buy distressed companies at a fire-sale price; fix the problems; and sell the repurposed firm at a nice profit.
Over its 17 year history, Ripplewood has had some major winners, and it is no stranger to losers, or to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
In March 2007, a U.S. investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings acquired Reader’s Digest Association out of bankruptcy for $2.8 Billion, including the assumption of debt. When the dust settled, the equity investment was $600 Million, leveraged against debt of $2.2 Billion.
In August 2009, just 2 years after the Ripplewood acquisition of Reader’s Digest, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved a “new & improved” voluntary bankruptcy of Reader’s Digest which reduced its debt of $2.2 Billion to $550 Million, and erased the entire equity investment from the private equity consortium.
The good news which emerged from the Reader’s Digest saga was that the company was able to continue operations, and effectively, no jobs were lost.
Back to November 2012: Ripplewood’s initial strategy in the Hostess acquisition revolved around seeking major concessions from the unions which represent the majority of the workforce.
For the most part, Ripplewood did act like a responsible “gentle private equity investor”.
Despite the apparent odds against a rescue and turn around, Ripplewood continued to invest in Hostess to keep it going. Ripplewood didn’t extract outrageous dividends or lay on more debt, beyond the 80% leverage they saddled the company with initially.
In the first year, at least, Ripplewood charged Hostess some management and consulting fees, although not obscene, generally thought to have been in the millions of dollars.
Observers contend that one of Ripplewood’s major blunders in their turnaround strategy with Hostess was to increase management compensation while it was seeking to constrain overall employee compensation and benefits. The Union representing the majority of Hostess employees zeroed in on huge increases in executive compensation (i.e. CEO went from $750,000 to $2,550,000) while the company was playing hardball with the union seeking major concessions, particularly in the area of pension and benefits.
All things considered, the timing of Ripplewood’s acquisition possibly was the final straw. In 2009, we were in the midst of one of the worst recessions in U.S. history; commodity costs were very volatile; competitors with lower fixed and variable costs were consolidating; and Hostess was highly impacted by the cumulative effects of collective bargaining agreements.
At the end of the day, Hostess employees will lose their jobs; communities where Hostess facilities are located will lose both tax revenue and the multiplier effect of employee spending; equity will be destroyed; debt will be written down; unsecured creditors will be left holding the bag; but someone will profit significantly from the sale of the Hostess brand to a new private equity fund.
If mapped out very carefully, the effects of the zero-sum game generally look very much like the effects which resulted from the collective works of Robin Hood or Blackbeard the Pirate: A zero value-added, zero-sum game where some get the spoils, some are left destitute.
Job creators? Not so much…..
Fiscal Cliff & A Deal With the Devil
November 16, 2012
I vaguely remember the tale of Faust, a successful scholar who increasingly became bored with his daily life. In the story, Faust made a deal with Mephistopheles, the agent for Satan, exchanging his soul for access to greater knowledge, pleasures of the flesh and many other previously unattainable treasures.
Since its origin in the 16th century, Faust’s tale has been used as the base for many written, film and musical works. The meaning of the word and name has been reinterpreted through the ages. Faust — and the adjective Faustian — is frequently used to describe an arrangement where an ambitious person surrenders moral integrity in order to achieve power and success: the proverbial “deal with the Devil“.
Back in the day, it was generally thought that the person who had made a pact with Satan also promised to kill children or consecrate them to the Devil at the moment of birth; have sexual relations with demons; and sometimes produce children from their trysts with the succubus.
Here we are – late November 2012 — well on our way into the 21st century. What relevance could the Faustian story have today?
Satan is watching very closely as we approach the Fiscal Cliff. Satan knows the House Republicans virtually all signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” with Americans for Tax Reform.
Grover Norquist (a.k.a. Mephistopheles) frequently appears – out of nowhere – to remind these elected officials of their pact (pledge) which commits legislators and candidates for office to oppose tax increases. At the House level, signers pledge to:
(1) Oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and
(2) Oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.
I wondered, “…who is this Grover Norquist, and how is it that he has control over so many of our elected officials?”
I looked him up. Popular sources tell us that he was born in the mid 1950’s in Sharon, PA, grew up in Weston, MA; earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard – just a typical American citizen.
However, recent information about his background reveals that Mr. Norquist was actually born in 1561 in the Swedish province of Halsingland. His family was ostracized as a result of religious and political unrest, and the family was forced to move to Germany in 1567, where they were settled into temporary quarters in the City of Hamburg, ultimately permanently relocated in 1568 to Nuremberg in southern Germany. Nuremberg was the location of Faust’s story, putting Grover Norquist in very close proximity to both Faust and to the real dark side, Mephistopheles himself.
More alarming: There seems to be little to no information available about Grover Norquist from 1568 to 1956, leaving a great deal of question about his activities over that almost 400 year gap.
Whether or not he is a direct agent of Satan, Grover Norquist’s power over a majority of elected officials ought to raise our interest.
Instead, our Congress, our FBI and our CIA seem to be singularly focused on a retired general who slipped into bed with a beautiful and intelligent woman.
I didn’t vote for Grover Norquist. Best I know, none of us voted for Grover Norquist. Why are we letting him commandeer the strings which control the elected officials who are supposed to guide our nation to optimum outcomes?
Shouldn’t we all be enraged that Grover Norquist – who, at best is a 16th century Faustian character – has somehow taken over the moral compass of America?
Shouldn’t we be worried that some of our highly ambitious elected officials in Washington may have signed a “deal with the Devil” where they surrendered their moral integrity in order to achieve power and success?
Shouldn’t we be worried that the elected officials who made their pact with Satan also promised to kill children or consecrate them to the Devil at the moment of birth; have sexual relations with demons; and sometimes produce children from their trysts with the succubus?
Logic, Simple and Fair
October 10, 2012
On the eve of a major national election, it really does not seem to be productive to have adults pointing their fingers and blaming others when we know good solutions require diverse perspectives, compromise and critical thinking.
Fact is: President Obama has championed some great solutions and legislation, only to be continually stymied by some in Congress who steadfastly refuse to debate or discuss.
I’m having some real trouble trying to understand: Why or how is any of this Barack Obama’s fault?
What I’ve observed over the past several years is the GOP Cabal led by John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell hell-bent on stopping anything that could possibly improve our domestic economy.
Yet, despite their herculean efforts – as close to Treason as I can envision – the S&P 500 hovers near an historic high and the unemployment rate has steadily descended, most recently clocking in at 7.8%.
President Obama inherited a society and an economy which suffers from at least 4 decades of whipsaw and erratic decisions.
Our public education system is broken. There are some bright spots: for example, Maryland and Florida. In general, we need to stop pointing fingers, and get to work to move our K-12 system into the 21st century.
We have way too much government. Not at the Federal level, specifically. Not at the state level, specifically. But, we’ve not really stepped back since around 1776 to figure out: How could we be most efficient? How could we be most effective?
I know for sure that New York State – where I live and pay obscene amounts of taxes – sales, property and income – is completely out of touch with the real world.
There is hope and potential out there, but it won’t actualize because of empty political rhetoric.
Real and sustainable progress is only possible if we as a nation demand that our leaders stop bickering and start collaborating.
Otherwise, we will soon end up as a colony of China (or the Koch Brothers).
Romneys and 2011 Tax Returns
September 21, 2012
Willard M. Romney
3 Cottage Road
Belmont, MA 02478
Dear Mr. Romney:
I think I am one of many U.S. taxpayers and voters who really admire and appreciate your release of your personal federal tax return for 2011.
Although it seems to be very long (379 pages?), I’m sure you wanted to ensure that every detail was disclosed so there can be no doubt or challenge to your transparency.
Despite your best intentions, I found as I reviewed each page in your return a number of questions and/or omissions.
The majority of the pages of your 2011 return pertain to Form 8621 reporting. In virtually every case, the preparer tells us, “…the number of shares is unknown.”
Now, I know if this tax preparer worked for me, I would have said, “Well, did you call them to get the number of shares? After all of this extra time we’ve taken to file, don’t you think it would be nice to be able to provide this information?”
As I kept reading through this 379 page document, I could only think that if an accounting firm was presenting this to me, I’d be angry.
I would accuse them of waste, at least. And, I’d be really concerned that maybe they were ‘padding the bill’.
I was tempted to think that this was a creative example of obfuscation, but I’m sure that’s not what you had in mind at all.
I think you need to have a long and serious talk with the folks at Price Waterhouse Coopers. They may have let you down.
Worse than just their seemingly excessive production of paper, it looks as though there may be some computational errors – particularly in the areas of itemized deductions and AMT calculations – that won’t stand the test of scrutiny.
I know you didn’t intend for that, but you did earn both a Harvard JD and MBA, so most people will expect that you would be able to differentiate between compliance with the U.S. tax laws, and stretching them to test the limits.
Again, thank you for disclosing. I know you are very busy, and I certainly will forgive you for not having had the time to do a complete and thorough review of all of the details.
Makers vs. Moochers
September 18, 2012
Plenty of comments – supportive and otherwise – on Mitt Romney’s comments at a private political fund-raiser in May 2012.
Romney — who called President Obama to task for dividing our nation — himself divided our nation into two groups: the Makers and the Moochers.
47% of Americans, he said, are people “who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to take care of them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”
I think it’s useful to look back into history to see what we can learn from the past.
The Brown vs. Board of Education decision (1954) was a seminal Supreme Court decision which ostensibly eliminated the ‘separate but equal’ education doctrine, yet ultimately drew a line in the sand, and created a truly apartheid K-12 education system across most of the U.S.
Add into that equation the impact of heavily subsidized highways which supported the automobile and which exacerbated ‘sprawl’; the prolific conversion of farmland into residential subdivisions; and the residual effects of HUD policies from the 1930’s which encouraged low-income households to exclude wage-earning males.
Pretty soon, we in the U.S. had a perfect laboratory from which to grow a sub-culture which favors 15 and 16 year old girls to make babies, leave school and go on public assistance. The boys? They might go to prison, or maybe die from a drug overdose or a shooting.
Who cares about them anyway? Certainly not Mitt Romney!
It is amazing to learn that this new model exists and flourishes in the Native American communities in New Mexico, in native villages in Alaska, as well as in most cities in the continental U.S.
Is this something Obama created or supports? There is no evidence to support that.
This model of exclusion seems to date back to many prior decades, even centuries — we might even say it began around 1620 when the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth — and now, Romney wants to further polarize our citizenry with his bullshit incendiary commentary.
The real sadness here is that for the past 30 years, or so, there seems to have been no focus on encouraging or developing critical thinking skills for students in public schools.
It would seem that regular people who were challenged and encouraged to do some original research and thinking would be able to differentiate between pure unadulterated bullshit and a more nuanced and careful flowchart that traces back to root causes, and allows for informed conclusions which might result in solutions to our current mediocre position in the world landscape.
Sad. Very sad…..
A Letter to Mitt Romney
September 17, 2012
Willard M. Romney
3 Cottage Road
Belmont, MA 02478
Dear Mr. Romney,
Today, I was listening to the radio in my car (a Chevrolet, by the way) on my way home from the office, and I heard an audio clip in which you were apparently speaking to a group of potential donors.
In that audio clip, you evidently referenced the 47 percent of Americans ‘who are with [Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. They will vote for this president no matter what. These are people who pay no income tax. My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
I want you to know that I am part of the group of Americans who are with Obama.
I also want you to know that – if annual income of $250,000 and under is the cut-off for ‘middle class’, I live in a household which has consistently exceeded your threshold for ‘middle class’.
Yes, Mr. Romney, there are people in the U.S. who rely on earned income to pay their bills; who pay federal income taxes at the marginal rate; and who are penalized by the Alternative Minimum Tax (‘AMT’) — which I recall was originally intended to equalize income tax impact on our U.S. neighbors who excessively benefit from tax loopholes.
Not all of us who support President Obama are dependent on government. Not all of us pay no income tax. In fact, many of us do take personal responsibility seriously, and care for our lives.
Mr. Romney, you have confirmed by rhetoric as well as by action that — while you claim to be a self-made man — you are a member of the “New Elite” – the beneficiary of a wealthy upbringing, private schools and a Harvard pedigree.
You seem to be completely distanced from at least 99% of our fellow Americans.
One has to wonder: Why do you even bother to campaign when it is clear that you could go home, close the gates, and live out your life in the lap of luxury?
Someday, will you share with us: what is your real agenda? And, who is the wizard behind the curtain, directing this improbable screenplay?
Vulture Capital & the American Dream
August 30, 2012
The Walrus has never done this before. I really have nothing more to say other than to direct you to the link, below.
I am absolutely in awe of Matt Taibii, and this link to a most recent analysis on Bain Capital and Mitt Romney is about as good as it gets:
Hope you enjoy!
walrus51 