Rick Raw: Political Conventions–Epicenters of Rabble Rousing Tongue Wagging

By Rick Grant rickgrant01@comcast.net www.rickatnight.com

Now that hordes of politicos, fat cat lobbists, publicity grabbing celebrities, and party animals are descending on Denver for the Democratic Convention, it’s a good time to consider why on earth we still have these rabble rousing spectacles of self serving political tongue wagging in the first place.

In the beginning of our country’s democratic process, the political convention was a gathering of the party to actually nominate their candidate. The convention was held for the same reason we have an Electoral College–the power was in the hands of the politicians in Washington that had representatives of the masses (the Electoral College) who may or may not have had enough sense to know who was a good choice for president.

As the years went by, and America evolved into an industrial nation, the power shifted back to the people, assuming we were no longer a gaggle ignorant farmers wearing overalls and chewing tobacco, who didn’t know a candidate from his mule.

Now of course, we have the primary system to thin the herd of candidates into one glorious person who will lead us from the folly of the incumbent. In some states they still have "caucuses" which gathers a group of people into a small forum for deciding which candidate has the best hair or is not having a torrid affair with his documentary filmmaker chick. Oh yes, it’s still a strange and mystifying process. For all I know they play spin the bottle and swap wives in those caucuses.

So what the heck do they do at today’s conventions if not nominate the party’s candidate? Well, they do a lot of schmoozing, drinking., and canoodling, but the real purpose of the convention is to offer party members a chance to gather together to discuss the party’s platform. The platform is the party’s stance on the political issues. In the case of today’s Democratic Convention in Denver, the party’s platform is undoing everything W did in his eight years of screwing up the economy, spending billions of dollars on the Iraq War, running up the deficit to over 9 trillion dollars, and making the United States a debtor nation dependent on foreign oil.

In theory, conventions bring the party’s movers and shakers together to discuss important matters. But in reality, it’s just an excuse for a weeks’ round of parties with luminaries and celebrities and lots of networking (ass kissing). I doubt Bill Clinton will go up to Ted Kennedy and say, "Hey Ted, let’s talk about the platform." No, it’s more like Bill will be cruising for chicks and Ted will be taking it easy since he’s battling brain cancer. Hillary will be setting up her voting block for her run for president in 2012. So it’s hoopla galore, motivational speeches, consumption of alcohol products now owned by foreign companies, and impromptu sex in Denver’s four and five star hotels. Oh yeah, party like its 2012!

Protesters are always part of any convention’s tradition. Denver’s police have been building jails that look like cattle pens inside warehouses to lock-up the influx of protesters who are organized to get their message across. This gaggle of seedy looking people, who have no jobs, thus they have time to protest, represent every wacked out group imaginable from Save the Whales to Bring Back Flipper.

Over the years the protesters seem to emulate the original Yippie movement to End the War in Vietnam crazies who got beaten to a pulp at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention. To rile up the riot police, the Denver Police Chief probably showed films of that debacle as an example of a protest that got out of hand when 10,000 protesters battled the police, soldiers, National Guardsmen, and Secret Service agents. Mob rule took over and all hell broke loose.

When the dust cleared, the melee was called a police riot with many casualties on each side. When viewing the films of this tragic event, the viewer will notice that the police had the clubs, guns, and tear gas and the Yippies were defenseless. The lesson is: Law enforcement agencies hate protesters and are just itching to beat them silly. But, the convention delegates do their partying and have their trysts despite the protests. And, our savior from the incumbent is crowned king until the election.

Rick Raw: Paperwork Avalanche Choking the Life out of American Business

By Rick Grant rickgrant01@comcast.net www.rickatnight.com

When the terrorists’ jumbo jets crashed into the Twin Towers, causing unimaginable death and destruction, an explosion of paper was released into the atmosphere. The countless files and reams of other printed material from the destroyed offices floated down like snow. The brazen attack on our nation resulted in the death of thousands of people when the Twin Towers collapsed, which was shocking and traumatic.

Like all Americans that morning, I was horrified by the scope of this tragic event. I was stunned by the surreal scene. Strangely, in my state of shock, I was fascinated by all the paper raining down. It substantiated my long held belief that American business is being buried in an avalanche of paperwork–bogged down by bureaucratic paper pushing that, in this computer age, could be greatly streamlined or eliminated. The planes had ruptured the epicenter of the paperwork temples.

Ten years ago, Bill Gates was advocating his concept of the "paperless office." In retrospect, he must have been dreaming. If fact, in today’s computerized world, ironically, the flow of paper has increased exponentially. Every time you make a deal, buy a car, apply for a loan, hire an attorney, or go to the hospital, you set off a stream of endless documents–enough to choke a herd of horses.

Attorneys’ offices are nothing but paperwork mills. They have special software for divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure, et al. Inside any lawyer’s office, a gaggle of assistants enter data into the software that spits out volumes of paperwork. Walk into any lawyer’s office, and you’ll see stacks of documents everywhere. Criminal attorneys create so much paperwork, they need hand carts to carry the boxes of documents into the courtroom. It’s crazy.

Some progressive hospitals have managed to computerize their filing systems, making patients’ medical histories available on-line, and more importantly, giving doctors hand held tablet computers with patient information and access to on-line medical libraries. It’s gradually catching on when doctors realize that they no longer have to spend long hours doing paperwork instead of practicing medicine.

Our Government Printing Office (GPO) is the most egregious waster of paper in the world. Inside huge buildings scattered around Washington, D.C., giant automated presses crank out millions of dollars worth of printed gobbledegook at taxpayers expense. The IRS tax code book is 1,900 pages long and the GPO prints thousands of copies. The thing is, no one reads or understands it. The evil IRS empire prints millions of tax forms and other falderal that no one understands either. Millions of trees have to be chopped down to feed the hungry GPO beast. If terrorists blew up Washington, the paper snow storm that would ensue would form a white curtain over the remnants of the city.

My point is: Computers were supposed to make our life easier. Ah, but we haven’t utilized computers to their fullest extent to relieve this burden of paperwork by storing it in secure offsite computer storage facilities. I use a company called Carbonite to store my files offsite. If my computer hard drives crash, or my apartment burns down, all my files are secure and I can access them anywhere from any computer. Paranoia about computer storage is rampant. Old school professionals still insist on hard copy backup in case their computerized storage systems are wiped out.

Now, however, these facilities have their own failsafe backups on indestructible drives and are more secure than warehouses full of stored paper documents, that can burn down. Imagine the time wasted in offices across the land looking for documents in filing cabinets or warehouses when it could all be stored on offsite computers and called up when needed.

We should step back and stop printing so much wasted paper that jams up the free flow of information. Take the big step and store all your files on computerized networks. Adopt Bill Gates’ idea of the paperless office as the new goal for American business.

Rick Raw: Ageing is not for Sissies –Scientists Closing in on Age-prolonging Drugs

By Rick Grant rickgrant01@comcast.net www.rickatnight.com

The late actor Jack Palance joked that "ageing is not for sissies." And we seniors know what he was talking about. Age prejudice by the younger generation and the fractured health care system have made living into old age difficult. The fact is, people are living longer in developed countries. Today, about two thirds of all older people are living in the developing world. By 2025 it will be 75%. In America the very old (age 80 +) is the fastest growing population group. Today there are more people age 100 and older than in the entire history of the human race.

Advances in biotechnology have enabled researchers to pinpoint genes that may prolong human life while delaying its late-stage diseases, frailties, gray hair, and wrinkles. With the successes of experimentation on laboratory animals, the geneticists hope to develop compounds to stretch health lifetimes beyond limits once presumed to be fixed.

So, in the near future we my see people living to 150, 200, and even 300–not as crippled victims but living active lifestyles. This is not science fiction but a real possibility. These same researchers have long believed that old age could be cured. In other words they considered old age a disease. Incredibly, Cynthia Kenyon, a molecular geneticist at the University of California, said a life-prolonging drug could be available in the next five years.

Well hell, if this happens it will change how society relates to various age groups. Today, the prevailing prejudicial undercurrent is to force seniors to retire, so younger people can take their jobs. However, people over 50 and 60 are in the majority in America. We have the power to change attitudes. If people live to 200, then the whole age scale will be skewed. Young people in their twenties will be just babies. Clearly, our sociological attitudes will have to change.

Clearly, the idea of retirement is already archaic. Most seniors over 65 who are healthy can start other careers, or continue in their present jobs. However, if you are drawing Social Security and a pension, it doesn’t pay to work a full time job because the IRS takes most of it. Billy (Bob) Clinton surreptitiously sponsored a bill requiring seniors on Social Security to pay income tax. Before that, you could draw Social Security and make as much as you wanted on the side without paying income tax.

As life is prolonged up to over 150, new ideas of living will have to be instituted. The drug that prolongs life will also reverse much of the aging process. People will stay looking younger and more vigorous into advanced ages. But now we are stuck with the media driven stereotypes of old age, depicted as grandma baking cookies for the grandchildren. Every night, Jay Leno jokes about John McCain’s age, which is funny, but it perpetuates the stereotypes and myths about people in their early 70s.

Today, generally speaking, the younger generation is alienated from their elders. It goes beyond the normal rebellion against their parents’ authority. They tend to brand all people over 50 as clueless and unhip. Frankly, I’m dedicated to changing that perception. Although young people and seniors run in different societal circles. As journalist writing music, movie, television, and socio-political commentary, I cross paths with younger people quite often. Once they get over the shock that I’m actually invading their special places, they interact with me with intelligent conversation. My point is: The young and old have many of the same problems. Of course, breaking through the thick ice of perceived stereotypes is a constant battle.

Indeed, it’s not too soon for scientists and scholars to consider the profound impact of long life drugs will have on our society. The system is set up as a rigid life-span–you go to school get your degree or postgraduate degree and work until you’re in your late 60s. During that time you marry get divorced, then marry again, and so on. Then you either retire or jump to another career. Our whole medical insurance system is set up to get everyone off the planet by 85 years old. Good bye, it’s been fun.

But what if our life span went to 150 or more. Whoa! Our way of perceiving our life would completely change. This is huge! Hell, you could go back to college at 100 years old. Or, start a whole new life and raise a new family after passing 100. Well, it’s worth pondering.

Rick Raw: Bankruptcy-- DEFCON 1 Event

By Rick Grant www.rickgrant01@comcast.net www.rickatnight.com

Filing bankruptcy is a DEFCON 1 event in anyone’s life journey. Indeed, it is a last resort that can happen to anybody. Due to a string of unfortunate events out of my control, I was forced to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Suddenly, I was Humpty-Dumpty. Last March, I lost my salaried position that I had held for 24 years. Suddenly, my income dropped like the stock market hearing gloomy economic news from the Chairman of Fed. "Mayday, I’m going down!" I cried out.
My financial situation rapidly degenerated. Bills piled up, especially my IRS debt, which had escalated due to the IRS’ usurious interest and penalties rising exponentially. I was forced to retire. I really had no other practical choice but to declare bankruptcy or face an endless succession of annoying lawsuits.

Two years ago, the hypocritical, bathroom-stall-shuffling Republicans pushed through a revised bankruptcy law that made it much tougher to file Chapter 7. This was a concession to the banking lobby that’s swimming in red ink from credit card defaults. Under the new law, the requirements are much more stringent.

Now, Chapter 7 clients have to be practically destitute to qualify. My case definitely cried out for bankruptcy relief. "Help me Whamba!" So, I hired a lawyer and spent a month gathering together copious amounts of documentation and paperwork. Just when I thought I had turned over everything to my lawyer’s assistant, she wanted more. Finally, my wife and I met with the assistant to sign the paperwork, which was as thick as a phone book.

During the month of hellish document gathering, I never saw my attorney, which he warned me about."You will never see me until you go to court," he said. The whole process is done by underlings entering data into special bankruptcy software. It’s strictly a burdensome bureaucratic procedure. As one can imagine, in today’s economy, bankruptcies and foreclosures are a growth industry for lawyers.

When I signed the paperwork, the assistant filed with the court by a click of the mouse. For this paperwork shuffling, I paid a hefty amount of dinero, which is ironic. I’m bankrupt because I’m broke, but I had to come up with a large sum to go bankrupt, which fortunately I had in my saving account.

Then a strange thing happened, our lawyer’s assistant suddenly got on my case and caught me off guard. After all, she is supposed to be our advocate. In a strident voice, she asked my wife and I some odd questions that came from left field.

"How much is your jewelry you are wearing and your watches worth. And, Mrs. Grant’s necklaces and that wedding ring--and that other ruby ring worth?" she inquired. "And how much cash do you have on hand and your bank account?" she went on to say. She said it in a mocking and accusatory tone like she was trying to humiliate us. Both my wife and I were flabbergasted.

I explained to her that my watch was a Timex that new sold for $25.00. My wife said her necklaces and rings were not worth much. And the faux ruby ring was a gift from her daughter. I had $14 bucks in my wallet and $69 in the bank And, I had $4.00 in my ETrade account, thanks to my lawyer taking it all. Her comments were completely inappropriate and degrading. It was as if she was taunting us. She said her reason for asking us these questions was the trustee would want this money to distribute to the creditors. But, that didn’t make any sense. I believe she was busting our ass trying to make us feel bad for having to go bankrupt. What a bitch! And, she’s our advocate? I’d hate to meet our enemies.

This is another case of nasty bitches that work in offices who hate their jobs and take it out on clients or patients. And, I know it’s not just me. Other people (men and women) have told me their office bitch horror stories. What’s wrong with these women? I dare not say, but what ever it is, it’s epidemic in offices across the land. My advice: Take a pill or find happiness but be civil or quit dealing with the public.