Refusing to Make Things Up

What is it with everyone playing mind reader on everything ever said by anyone? I was all set to berate Former Utah Governor and US to China Ambassador Jon Huntsman following a headline from the Boston Globe titled “Jon Huntsman refuses to rule out possibility of independent candidacy for president”. Not wanting to illustrate illiteracy I read the article and in it, technically kind of and sort of based on some leading questions from a reporter Huntsman doesn’t rule it out. But there isn’t any kind of solid reporting on the relevance of the question other than his moderate stances. If there were any explicit signs from Huntsman other than assumptions based on flimsy premises then the question would be valid. As is, it’s just a waste of space masquerading as news intended to unnerve voters looking to elect a new President who know that an ostensibly conservative independent could sink the Republican challenger to President Obama next fall.

Feeling Superior by Failure

In the time past the ‘failure’ of the so-called congressional “super committee” meant to determine some kind of deficit reduction for the federal government much news on the subject is consumed of finger pointing blaming political parties, think tankers and tea partiers. Never mentioned is the question of if there was some kind of agreement if it would have even been adopted by both congressional houses and eventually signed by the President.

The apparent failure was foreseen by many making the committee a joke. The House of Representatives passed a budget this past spring containing budget cuts much greater than those that were to come from the committee and it has never been brought up in the Senate, the same Senate that has failed to pass a federal budget in more than two years. How anyone paying attention could think that a subset of congress could come up with what has so far proved elusive, namely any kind of budgetary restraint, and then have it prove acceptable by their peers is absurd.

Compromise is well and good on positions where there exists some daylight. On matters budgetary one side is dedicated to cuts while the other is dedicated to higher taxes. There really isn’t a middle ground there because once raised taxes effectively justify what is viewed as excessive and irresponsible spending. And as put forth by advocates of big government funded by increased taxation on some believe their position virtuous and cuts only justify their opponent’s characterizations of excessive and irresponsible spending.

All the finger pointing is simply an attempt at feeling self important and superior. There is no guarantee that tax increases will increase revenue to the government and no one ever went broke not spending what they did not have. Buying into the blame narrative is not seeing the forest for the trees. The composition of our government’s legislative and executive branches is made up of representatives duly elected by the people. One side had complete control for two years leading to a historic change in one half of the legislative branch leading to deadlock. Priorities in the legislative branch are led by ideologies and the current stalemate will not cease until we the favor a side

Warranted Skepticism

Two recent experiences have proven instructive. Both have provided reason to question credentials and given reasons to better understand a situation before making assertions. First I am working on a group project in lieu of a final in one class. 80% of the group segmented the real actual work and went off into their respective corners while the remaining 20% awaits input from the group to paste into a final document. In a recent meeting, this 20% took up an inordinate amount of time for a proven unproductive member to blather on about what “we” should do with the project speaking in a pejorative tone offering vague and confusing suggestions. This 20% happens to be a manager at an engineering firm specializing in the subject of the course and their experience would be invaluable if they only would offer real, actual examples instead of talking about how much they know. Their speechifying took a condescending tone when they decided to offer career advice on the assumption of the 80% not yet starting engineering careers. Nevermind that the program is targeted towards working professionals and that the group is made up of mostly working engineers, including myself with ten years experience. The old saying about making assumptions proves itself again, no one should ever assume a lack of experience, especially when they should know better.

In another class the final features an exercise that was not discussed in class and differs from methodologies provided in the text. This same issue came up in the midterm. The professor is cryptic with regard to these issues but fortunately students are allowed any references and are able to find ample help if they have the ability to execute a competent web search. Beyond cryptic the professor states in class that they do not work the problems beforehand even though the midterm problem solution was found on the professor’s website, unchanged since 2002. I got it partially wrong, because I did not understand the solution and went with what I knew based on the class text and notes. This professor spends an inordinate amount of time discussing their own brilliance in class including “beating” other professors in academic forums and numerous awards from conferences below his stature. At the same time tells stories about not working problems that are sourced from text books, repeated from previous semesters and require research because they cannot be solved within the parameters of the class.

It seems that if a person spends more time talking themselves up than providing anything tangible or constructive, it’s probably because they aren’t as good as they think.

The Presidential Adulation Fallacy

As a different Republican Presidential candidate has assumed front runner status at somewhat regular intervals throughout the primary campaign a narrative has developed that it is primarily the result of an electorate unsatisfied with their choices. This narrative takes the premise that many voters are searching for a candidate that checks all their boxes, to basically be all things to all primary voting Republicans. It’s impossible to know for certain as it’s impossible to read minds and get millions of people to agree on anything. While it may seem like a popularity contest, anyone who’s been stuck behind an indecisive person at Taco Bell knows that some people have difficulty choosing from a menu with a bunch of similar options. Perhaps what these polls are measuring is not exactly whom those questioned are going to vote for but whom they like at the moment as they learn more about them.

This is a good thing because it means that the voters are scrutinizing each candidate and learning as much as possible. It is also preferable because there is nothing more grating and dangerous than a large portion of the electorate falling head over heels for a candidate. The next president, just like each before them, is a human being above everything else and not a savior. Ours is a country ruled by fellow citizens in shifts by the discretion of their peers. It is better for the electorate at large to have some dislike of our leaders because they cannot be everything to everyone and should not only be elected by granting favors nor by a cult of celebrity.

Five and One

First things first. Good luck to Kyle Orton in Kansas City. The record speaks for itself. Recent Broncos history tells us however that recent optimism should be cautious. After all, the Broncos started 6-0 in Josh McDaniels’ first year as coach only to implode. However, it’s difficult not to be exuberant with the Broncos. While aerial fireworks may be lacking their rush heavy offense takes up a lot of time tiring out opposing defenses, allowing their own to rest and opening up passing options. That rested defense has been playing superbly. A few seasons Denver has had good starts for their D, only to see it deteriorate over the length of the season. This time their defense is getting better as the year goes on. And no matter the criticism of his game, Quarterback Tim Tebow is winning and seems to inspire the entire team. The most persistent argument is the assertion that it can’t last, that Tebow cannot continue to play at this level. This is inevitably true, what professional football player remained on the field forever? None, because it ends for everyone. It’s just a matter of when. With an increasing command of the Broncos offense and improving passing statistics as the games progress Tim Tebow is proving to be a good quarterback and no matter when it ends, it will be fun to watch.

So, Why is a Foreclosure?

The dreaded radio blurb has reared its ugly head again this morning. After being kicked out and then re-welcomed to UNM park spaces, after obstructing traffic in several high volume roads the cadre of generally aggrieved miscreants is back. Under a slightly new name, Occupy Albuquerque losing the Un- prefix, whatever that meant, was reintroduced this morning by a ten second 770 KKOB news blurb. In this latest incarnation the Occupy folks are planning to discuss amongst themselves ways to stop foreclosures. To which I wonder, really? The idea that a bunch of know-it-all incoherently and continuously aggrieved layabouts with no practical understanding of how and why things are will actualize any kind of constructive solution is laughable.

Protesting the existence of foreclosures and blaming faceless entities for foreclosing on homes ignores the real issue. Foreclosures occur when some kind of change, to income, to market conditions, to mortgage terms, leads to a mortgage loan recipient to be unable to meet their financial obligations on the mortgage. Following negotiations with the loaning entity and unsuccessful attempts at selling the home above the value owed the loaning entity forecloses on the mortgage taking possession of the home resulting in a degraded credit rating for those whose loan was foreclosed that requires many years to build back up.

For many, changes are completely unforeseen and there are programs to help those in extenuating circumstances. They are supposed to be a very small minority. Recently, the number of foreclosures has increased greatly, effectively mimicking federal housing initiatives forcing lenders to decrease standards for what is considered credit worthy leading to more demand in the home market leading to higher prices. It may be attractive for a person to follow the minimum guidelines and buy as much as permitted but it is not prudent. The loan recipient must be responsible for understanding their capacity for repayment. The loaner cannot be expected to hold their customer’s hand and cannot discourage anything within federal guidelines because to do so is illegal.