Minnesotans aren’t laughing at Franken (or Coleman)

The senate race between republican incumbent Norm Coleman and democrat challenger Al Franken, a former Saturday Night Live comedian, is in full automatic recount mode and it’s no laughing matter.

On November 5th, incumbent Norm Coleman led by a 725 vote margin; however as of Wednesday, November 12th, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie gives Coleman a chopped-down 206 vote advantage – down from last Friday’s 221 margin, according to the newest unofficial figures.

Minnesota voters cast 2.9 million ballots giving Coleman a total of 1,211,562 votes and Franken fell less than 1% short of the incumbent with 1,211,356 votes consequentially triggering an automatic recount. All of Minnesota’s 87 counties are expected to have the ballots recounted by December 5th and both candidates have dispatched lawyers to oversee these recounts.

Allegations of voter fraud are rife and certainly plausible. As the recount unfolds, seemingly all of the luck has been on Franken’s side, with absentee ballots inexplicably appearing for the democrat. Hennepin County has been the exception, where the Franken team failed to have 461 absentee ballots counted because the signatures did not match or because the forms were incorrectly filled-out. But attorneys for the comedian have stated they plan to appeal.

But most suspicious is the statistical improbabilities that have unfolded. According to an Associated Press report, approximately 8,900 voters did not vote for president, which translates into an estimated 33,700 could become subject to a hand recount – making for a Florida 2000 déjà vu.

Coleman enjoyed a near constant five to seven point lead among likely voters since March, spiking in July to fifteen points and returning to two to three points above the margin-of-error just days prior to the election.

The latest development came Wednesday from St. Paul in which Secretary Ritchie, a Democrat, selected five-member a canvassing board to certify vote totals and likewise resolve divaricating over disputed ballots after the recount is completed by local officials.

The board is comprised of himself, State Supreme Court Justices Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Justice G. Barry Anderson –– appointed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty –– and Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin, along with her her deputy, Edward Cleary, who was appointed in 2002 by Independent Governor Jesse Ventura.

The board’s political biases have been called into consideration by Coleman and Franken supporters alike. But Secretary Ritchie has assured both camps the board will be completely impartial, being described as “extraordinarily nonpartisan”.

Of course, that’s what was promised by officials in Florida eight years ago when boards were going so far as to determine the “intent” of anonomous voters by simply looking at improperly marked ballots.

Mr. Obama's successful presidential campaign

Congratulations to President-Elect Obama.

And congratulations to David Axelrod, whose strategies guided Mr. Obama to victory. It was Axelrod’s mantra of “change” that defined the Illinois Senator’s campaign and put Hillary Clinton on the defensive early.

The Obama campaign managed the nominee’s biography nearly perfectly throughout the primaries and general election, even up to November 4th, names like Aunt Zeituni Onyango (who lives as an illegal in a Boston slum) and half-brother George Hussein Onyango Obama (who lives in a shack in Kenya on less than $12 a year).

Even during the democrat debate when Hillary Clinton attacked Mr. Obama over Tony Rezko, the Chicago political fundraiser, restaurateur, and real estate developer convicted on several counts of fraud and bribery in 2008 – he escaped unscathed.

Mr. Obama’s success was undoubtedly aided by an uncurious press, but ultimately, David Axelrod’s promise to re-arrange the electoral map was made good using the early Bill Clinton model of man-on-the-street and grass-roots campaigning derived from groups like Moveon.org.

The campaign was successful at turning the national black-average turnout from it’s typical 9% to 13% and slightly expanded the youth vote over 2000 and 2004. In addition, turning Florida and New Mexico from red to blue was no easy task…bringing the electoral landslide predicted by Karl Rove, 349 to McCain’s 163. Additionally, former Hillary supporters were peeled-off in decisive numbers.

If Mr. Axelrod is able to engineer President Obama’s re-election, he would join an elite class of political advisers that include Dick Morris and Karl Rove.

Recession recovery track: a U or a V?

In the last recession America faced, we had a pad on which to bounce-off. With the housing industry beginning to boom consumers were tapping into their home equity as the technology sector suffered. Credit was also readily available and employment was low.

The strength of the dollar and relatively low federal deficit, coupled with the psychological effects of a new administration favorable to cutting taxes and fiscal restraint (the latter of which did not occur) resulted in a shortened recession – a “V” shaped recovery track.

Conventional wisdom holds the economy will have a “U” shaped recovery track, as the housing market continues to suffer from falling property values and the dollar’s recent weak performance.

The markets even the day after the election are reacting and businesses are preparing for an Obama Administration.

The Heritage Foundation has calculated that in 2008 Congress enacted $332 billion of "emergency" supplemental spending bills, only half of which was for the Iraq war. And Democrats in Congress are preparing for $150 billion to $300 billion in new spending.

Small businesses, which create nearly 80% of the new jobs in the American economy, won’t fair well under Barack Obama’s proposal to send the bulk of their job-creating profits to Washington.

Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration has reported that since the mid-1990s, the small business sector has created 78.9% of the net new jobs in the United States. Sen. Obama is claiming his proposed tax hike on incomes over $250,000 will hardly stifle job creation in this key job-producing sector because "98% of small businesses make less than $250,000."

But Obama arrives at his 98% figure by lumping firms with no employees, the majority of small businesses, with small businesses that have 50 or 100 employees (SBA's Office of Advocacy reports that 52% of small businesses in the U.S. economy are home-based). Census data show that 79% of all American companies, counting both large and small firms, have no employees.

What-is-more the tax rate on the lion's share of small business income could reach 54.9% under a President Obama. The individual top rate will climb from 35% to 39.6% and the Social Security/Medicare tax rate could climb from 2.9% to 15.3%. Put those together and you get 54.9%.But it’s not just small business or Wall Street that is worried, Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga recently said of Obama, "He wants to double the capital gains tax, or almost double it."

A higher capital-gains tax, along with the proposed income tax hike would surely delay the recovery as raising taxes have historically resulted in less revenue to the Treasury and burden small business.

Moreover, the government bailout interloping and uncertainty ought to insure a slow “U” shaped recovery track at best.

Digging to Ireland (situation comedy)

Two scenes...

POV…pan around newsroom, everyone working, some typing, others speaking on the phone; quick cut to the wire desk.

Wire desk: There’s a crisis in London’s Underground, most of the trains have stopped running…have we got a London bureau?

O’Sullivan: Right; call David Vega.

Wire desk: Great someone on-the-scene!

Assistant Editor: When did we open a London bureau?

O’Sullivan: We didn’t, David was my golf instructor, he retired to Orlando.

Assistant Editor: Orlando?

O’Sullivan: Yeah, Epcot has an England façade…wah la, man on-the-scene!

Assistant Editor: But that’s ridiculous.

O’Sullivan: How? It looks like England, plus everyone that
works there speaks real English!

-------------------------------------------------


O’Sullivan: Alright, it’s getting close to the holidays; we need to do some pieces on retail sales for the holiday.

Copy editor: [Copy editor opens his file cabinet, thumbs through the files and waves a sheet of paper] Got you covered…quotes and stats to-boot.

O’Sullivan: [Reading from paper] Experts forecast dismal retail holiday sales [Voice trails-off to a mumble while continuing to read] Good piece, but who is predicting bad holiday sales?

Copy editor: The experts.

O’Sullivan: I see that. [Shakes paper] But who are they?

Copy editor: The ones making the predictions! Didn’t you read the article?

O’Sullivan: [Shaking his head to accept the answer] Oh yeah, the experts.

[Reporter enters]

Reporter: Hey, copy editor, have you got that story on the latest hurricane forecast?

[Copy editor turns back to file cabinet and again thumbs through, producing a sheet of paper and hands it to reporter.]

Reporter: [Reading from paper] Experts say grim forecast for the rest of hurricane season. [Looks up] Great! Thanks!

The Escape

When I was serving time in prison…I tried to break out only once.

I noticed that some of the guards always bought candy from a vending machine to take home with them. I realized that was my ticket out.

So I stuffed myself into a Twinkie wrapper, but my plan was foiled when I realized I couldn’t get myself through the drop-slot on the vending machine.

Damn it.

Scoring the campaigns

This election has seen its share of surprises: the quick rise-and-fall of Fred Thompson, the slugfest between Hillary and Barack, the late Huckabee surge and McCain’s rise from obscurity.

But the most head-scratching is what’s happening now – with only six days left, McCain is fairing well in the national tracking polls as Obama slides.

Why?

McCain’s campaign has been a disaster, period. Save the selection of Sarah Palin, bringing an instant flash of excitement and momentum.

While Barack Obama has been lauded for running a stellar campaign, it’s far from accurate.

Obama has had the benefit of a media more curious about a plumber’s past than Obama’s, the gift of rhetoric without substance and the favorable poll numbers. The most egregious error was the selection of the ever-gaffing Joe Biden over Hillary Clinton.

To spite all the advantages, the democrat nominee finds himself in a very tight race, as Gallup’s latest tracking poll has McCain within two points of Obama and four other national polls show the race is closing:

Rasmussen Reports

Obama 50, McCain 47 -- Obama +3

Diageo/Hotline

Obama 49, McCain 42 -- Obama +7

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby

Obama 49, McCain 44 -- Obama +5

GWU/Battleground

Obama 49, McCain 46 -- Obama +3

The reason for the shrinking lead is directly traceable to self-inflicted blunders, as the McCain campaign pounces to widen the gap.

The tale of two Joe’s may decide this election – one, an average American who asked a simple but tough question; the other pleaded supporters not to question his running-mate’s response to an international crisis during the first six months of their administration.

But the most devastating phenomenon is what sealed the fate of Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton – the label of inevitability. Once the air of inevitability has been floated by the candidate and legitimatized by the press, the results of the election are often opposite the conventional wisdom.

The Perfect Season vs. Parity

The Tennessee Titans are 2008’s only hope of breaking the 1972 Miami Dolphins record…going undefeated and recording a perfect season.

By this point, all but one of the thirty-two NFL teams has recorded a loss. Some, like the Miami Dolphins, lost their opener and others have yet to record a win – the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.

The word “parity” has dominated the league lexicon and been outright abused by sports reporters, players and coaches. Parity is defined as, “equality, as in amount, status, or character.”

But is that really true in the NFL?

At large, the answer is yes because as the hackneyed paraphrased-adage goes, "anyone can beat anyone on any given Sunday.” However it isn’t true as stats and standings go. The Lions, Raiders, Buccaneers and Bengals have proven this, by earning reputations for suffering year-after-year losing seasons.

Parity is not all the Titans have to overcome, they have to win more games as the 1972 season comprised fourteen regular-season games compared to sixteen today. The Dolphins 1972 record was 17-0, just one more game than today’s regular season – something nearly accomplished by the Colts and Patriots in recent years.

Likewise, the Titans may have to overcome the loss of star players, as happens so often in the NFL, once a star is sidelined; the whole team suffers an injury.

It’s not only parity aspiring perfect-season teams are up against, they are threatened weekly with the best of the best in contact sports, the biggest and fastest in league history. Moreover, they are up against sometimes hostile crowds and extreme weather.

Mercury Morris recently told the Nashville City Paper, “I’ll be watching the Tennessee Titans, and I hope to see them go unbeaten,” Morris said. “We’d like a little company.”

With all of the challenges the Titans face, Morris is likely to be waiting a long, long time.

A Whole-In-One Mentality

I was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area. Because I’ve lived here for 37 years, one might readily surmise that I have played a lot of golf – a lot of bad golf.

Nevertheless, I have made the intrepid journey onto many courses and like other golfers have had moments of brilliance among the many more moments of frustration.

But the most brilliant moment I have ever experienced was my one hole-in-one (to-date).

I was playing an executive course, Countryway in Tampa, Florida with a friend of mine. We had just finished a twilight-start of the front nine and were approaching the tee box of the tenth hole when the weather rapidly turned (as so common during a Florida summer).

In just a matter of minutes, the sun was obscured by dark and heavy clouds and rain was imminent. We agreed we could weather a little rain, but at the first sign of lightning, we’d head-in.

By the time we played the eleventh hole, a slight sprinkle had become a steady rain; and as we approached the twelfth, the course ranger motored past us and removed the pin as I teed-up – an unsubtle sign the course was closing. I decided to make my tee-shot anyway.

With iron in-hand, I looked toward the green; it was barely visible, obscured under rain and gray sky.

I tweaked my grip, and repeated in my head the same refrain I always do, “Head-down, nice-and-easy swing, follow-through.”

I swung…head-down, nice-and-easy and followed through.

My friend complemented me on my swing. I accepted and then asked if he had followed it, he had – right to the green.

With the rain now heavier, we decided to just pick-up my ball and head to the pro-shop.

As we approached the green, neither of us could find my ball. My friend was sure it was on or very near the green, so it must be there. After a few minutes of vain search, my friend asked me if I had looked in the hole. No, I had not; it didn’t even occur to me.

Lo-and-behold, there it was!

The moment I pulled the ball from the hole, we began laughing and celebrated with high-fives and cheers.

I could not believe it, a hole-in-one!

As soon as I got home, I phoned my brother and told him about my magnificent swing, detailing exactly what I did: addressed the ball and told myself, “head-down, nice-and-easy swing, follow-through.” Wah-la!

My brother asked if it hit the pin or rolled-in. I could answer because I lost-track-of-it and the pin had been removed. Then it hit me, the mere fact that I couldn’t see the pin meant I followed my ritual without inhibition. That is to say, all the pressure and reservations were removed when the pin was removed; all I could do is relax and swing.

That’s a whole other mentality than golfers normally take. Instead of trying to remember every single game-changing tip and incorporating them into the perfect swing, I was resigned to the essentials, to the basics…a simple, but whole-in-one mentality.

Businesses and Markets Brace for Obama Administration

With the presidential election just seven days away, the markets and businesses are preparing for an Obama Administration.

The Heritage Foundation, has calculated that in 2008 Congress enacted $332 billion of "emergency" supplemental spending bills, only half of which was for the Iraq war. And Democrats in Congress are preparing for $150 billion to $300 billion in new spending.

Small businesses, which create nearly 80% of the new jobs in the American economy, won’t fair well under Barack Obama’s proposal to send the bulk of their job-creating profits to Washington.

Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration has reported that since the mid-1990s, the small business sector has created 78.9% of the net new jobs in the United States. Sen. Obama is claiming his proposed tax hike on incomes over $250,000 will hardly stifle job creation in this key job-producing sector because "98% of small businesses make less than $250,000."

But Obama arrives at his 98% figure by lumping firms with no employees, the majority of small businesses, with small businesses that have 50 or 100 employees (SBA's Office of Advocacy reports that 52% of small businesses in the U.S. economy are home-based). Census data show that 79% of all American companies, counting both large and small firms, have no employees.

What-is-more the tax rate on the lion's share of small business income could reach 54.9% under a President Obama. The individual top rate will climb from 35% to 39.6% and the Social Security/Medicare tax rate could climb from 2.9% to 15.3%. Put those together and you get 54.9%.

But it’s not just small business or Wall Street that is worried, Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga said this past Sunday no date has been set for selling up to 45 percent more of the team to Stephen Ross, but the presidential election is among the issues weighing on his decision.

That's because a Barack Obama administration is expected to mean higher capital-gains taxes.

"He wants to double the capital gains tax, or almost double it," Huizenga said."Ross purchased 50 percent of the team and Dolphins Stadium for $550 million earlier this year with the intention he would eventually become majority owner if NFL owners approved the deal.

"If you do it this year or you do it next year, the difference is humongous because of the taxes," Huizenga said. (Regardless of when he sells, Huizenga vows to maintain a 5-percent stake in the team.)

The recent volatility in the markets has been due not only to the sub-prime meltdown and credit instability but also to the would-be punitive tax plan under an Obama administration.

House of Lost Souls (fiction writing sample)

A humid breeze sifts through the screened second-story window of an ambient-lit room where three masculine-lit figures sit slouched in chairs triangulated around a card-table as if the very breath of life has gone stale. The stench of grudging immurement thick in the air pressed against the walls as though an insulator inhibiting any fancy of redemption.

Each breath of wind bittersweet, the insouciant moistened draft mixed with the tired recycled respirations of each man – all silent, alone in their thoughts and absent design. To this uncompromising fate each one condemned, to this resignation of soulnessness each one convicted, without hope of repeal or pardon. The subtraction of precious inspiration now aggregated into this ratio - quality proportioned against existence. The total of this difference, indifference – and the sum of what was to be, void.

Breathing ever more shallow, ever more apathetic in the labor to merely exist, each recounts their memories, their experiences now tasting sour as though the pain of tortured retrospection is all that is left to indulge or to give some measure, some genuineness of purpose. Yet each knows full well this is not the end, rather the means thereunto. The lure of sweet complacency, the prayer for relief whispered nearly silent into the ear of whatever divinity might listen, and give some attentiveness, some amnesty so that they may be assured of the proverbial Elysian peace.

The center of the card-table littered with an ashtray of overflowing cigarette butts, spent pipe tobacco, lighters, and a solar-powered pocket calculator with the numbered keys nearly rubbed off from overuse. Sections of the local newspaper crinkled and refolded are weighted down by the ashtray and calculator, the print stained and smeared from spilled coffee and liquor mixed with soda. The classified section spottily marked and highlighted in fluorescent yellow and circled red permanent marker – noting managerial and trade employment opportunities. Each advertisement having been read dozens of times, the figures transposed and accounted just as many times. Scribbled accounting in desperate hand written numbers line the margins, alongside layman shorthand notes – indecipherable to anyone but the author.

Breaking the silence, one looks up from the table and softly addresses his tablemates, “Are we really prepared to do this?”

Real Credit Repair (writing sample)

Introduction


My first introduction to credit was much like anyone else’s – when I turned eighteen, I applied for a credit card and was promptly denied because I didn’t have a credit history (something many consumers learn when first applying for credit, it is just as bad, and in some cases worse, than having derogatory credit).

Eventually, I did get a credit card and that’s where the trouble started. Having credit is a double edged sword, you need it to get a mortgage, car loan, or unsecured credit, but the more you expand it, the less creditworthy you become.

And that’s where nearly two out of three consumers end up, maxed out on high interest credit cards, with a mortgage, car loans and student loans to repay. Their dilemma is they may have accomplished securing the credit, the problem is they have too much of it. And if they fall behind in repaying those loans, their creditworthiness dramatically suffers.

So how does one repair their damaged credit? Call an attorney, use gimmick tactics such as creating a new identity or pay a credit cleaner to erase derogatory items?

None of the above.

The cold, hard truth is none of these is truly effective or guaranteed. But the methods presented in this e-book are. Why? Because they have been real-world tested and government sanctioned.

Government sanctioned? Yes, that is indeed the case. And to prove it, at the end of this e-book is a reprint of the Federal Trade Commission’s report, “Credit Repair: Self-Help may be Best” – if you compare and contrast the methods in this e-book, you’ll find they fall right in-line with the Federal Trade Commission’s recommendations.

So how exactly do you repair and maintain good credit? The answer, summed-up into the simplest explanation is, keep yourself credit-minded, and act accordingly. Now, that may sound simple but it isn’t. In fact, it’s the reason that about 60% of Americans have “good credit” at any one time. And that in itself is important to remember as a credit score is more or less a monthly snapshot that can change drastically in 30 days.

Before getting into repair, it’s crucially important to understand some fundamental things about credit and credit reporting.

Firstly, there are only three credit bureaus in the United States and they are governed by federal law, imposed and overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (more detailed information on this is later explained).

FTC regulations outline how and what the three credit bureaus can report. But that doesn’t mean they are intimately involved in policing every credit report produced by these bureaus, it does however, give you as a consumer, some important rights that you should be aware of and as least somewhat familiar with.

Unfortunately, this federal regulation and oversight does not mean that the bureaus’ reporting is mistake-free. On the contrary, their reporting is far from what any reasonable person would consider to be proficiently accurate.

For instance, statistics place the accuracy of the average consumer’s credit history at only 50%. That percentage is shamefully low, considering we live in the age of information. So, the chances that you’re credit history report is inaccurate, erroneous or outright false information is quite high.

Consumers are often unaware of such inaccuracies until they apply for a mortgage, car loan, or unsecured credit. It is usually then that a consumer will find anything from minor to major inaccuracies.

How to Plan a Wedding & Honeymoon w/o Getting Divorced (writing sample)

Till Debt Do Us Part

What’s your real budget?

“We’ll get by.” These famous last words have been uttered by thousands of couples planning (and paying) for their wedding and honeymoon.

We all want our big day to be a perfect, memorable affair and enjoy a fair-tale honeymoon that will make all of our friends insanely jealous every time we drag out our scrapbooks or gossip about so-and-so’s tacky theme wedding. But many of us suffer from “beer budget, champagne taste” syndrome. The last thing we want to face is the fact that our checkbooks aren’t as big as our dreams.

The majority of couples today pay for their own wedding and honeymoon. And, the majority of couples who pay for their own wedding start their new lives in debt – paying for those elegant table favors or that trip to the Bahamas months after the ceremony. Obviously, this is no way to start your new life together – no one wants their wedding to become a year-long monthly bill.

So, the first thing you’ll have to do is be honest with yourself. What’s your real budget? How much can you really afford to spend on nuptial necessities? Can you really afford a $1500 dress or a $1200 cake? Is your bank account putting the brakes on the private limo service to the ceremony?

Take the time to tally a realistic budget. Don’t worry about how much everything will cost. For now, all you need is a down-to-earth financial basis. By realistic, I mean be practical, first, figure out how much your and your fiancé receive in net income, and then deduct your monthly expenses – how much cash do you have left over?

If you’re like most young couples, chances are this figure will be unimpressive. But don’t panic, your wedding doesn’t have to be – with a little imagination and resourcefulness, you can turn a small budget into a big affair.

First of all, keep in mind that it realistically takes well over a year to plan a wedding and you won’t be paying for the entire shin-dig at once. That means you can pay for a lot of those little nuptial necessities as you plan and some many months before the big day.

Who Left the Toilet Seat Up? (writing sample)

Every year, thousands of young couples get married and begin their new lives together. But this “new life” is often complicated by having to live together. And living together doesn’t mean that you won’t come live apart.

What does that mean? You ask. It means that many young couples begin with the proverbial honeymoon bliss, but when that inevitably fades, they’re left not only with each other, but they’re careers, diversions and those damned idiosyncrasies – you know – like “who left the toilet seat up?”