MILLIONAIRE

THE MILLIONAIRE

When I was a kid there was a Television show called “The Millionaire”. The premise of the show was that a very wealthy benefactor would give away a million dollars to a perfect stranger with the provision that the recipient never divulged the source of the money.

Although I’m not in a position to give perfect strangers such a large sum of money, I thought it would be cool if I could do the same sort of thing, just on a smaller basis. (Ok… A much smaller basis) I figured I might as well get a jump on this whole “Redistribution of Wealth” concept that the government seems so bent on. (don’t that call that Socialism ?).

Well, in keeping with the whole “take from the rich and give to the poor concept”, I formulated a plan of action. I mean, why wait until the government taxes me; puts a cap on my wages, or just plain confiscates my savings (now that they own the banks and all). I might as well get some joy and personal satisfaction out of giving away my own hard earned money.

It turns out, I had to scale down the whole program to a certain degree. In the original show, the rich guy hired representatives to do his good bidding for him. Since I found myself on a much tighter budget, I decided to do the actual awarding of funds on my own.

Well, it seems people are not quite as trusting as they once were. In fact, the first few people I tried to befriend, with cash in hand, slowly backed away from me while threatening to call the cops. After that experience I decided to take things a little slower and offer a little more in the way of explanation before I got to the “show me the money” part of the script.

Well it turns out this whole, let me help my neighbor succeed concept, is not as easy as one might assume. Over the course of the next few attempts I was threatened, robbed, beaten, and reported to the local authorities as some kind of nut case. Maybe this is why the original Mark Antony guy used proxies in neat black suits (they must have been more socially believable than me in my jeans and wife beater T-shirt.)

Not to be a quitter, I decided that I had better refine my approach, and perhaps do a little more research on my selected recipients before waltzing in with the cashola. Perhaps some of the people I selected, just didn’t need the money, were too proud, or maybe they just didn’t believe in charity. After careful study I decided to select a guy that seemed rather down on his luck, that I ascertained by virtue of the “will work for food” sign he was holding at the side of the highway.

I approached the fella with outstretched arms and told him that good fortune was smiling down on him today. I thought I would be brief and get the business disclaimer part of my offer out of the way, and began explaining the part about how he could never disclose the source of his good fortune only to find him fast asleep before he could acknowledge his part of the deal. In disgust, I left him 20 dollars in his make shift collection plate and moved on with a renewed sense of purpose. (I had determined that I would not be denied my ‘warm and fuzzy feeling” of giving away my money)




Tired but undaunted I spent the next day devising a sure fire plan to give away some money to those in need, thereby fulfilling my social, patriotic, and philanthropic instincts. A quick trip to the bank in the morning served the purpose of turning in all my cash and withdrawing the same amount of funds in a great number of certified bank checks.

I now set about my day randomly selecting worthy looking recipients and with very little fanfare I handed each of them one of the bank checks. I handed out checks to people in front of the hospital (my answer to Universal health care), I handed out checks to students gathered in front of the local college ( leave no student behind), and I handed out checks at the old folks home (my answer to social security) The plan worked perfectly because each one of them (both rich and poor) to a man simply looked down at the check then smiled as they put the check in their pocket, wallet, or purse.

With a great deal of satisfaction I finished the day after having exhausted my supply of checks and money. I was now broke and in fact quite destitute but rewarded by the fact that I had so diligently and completely accomplished my quest. I was feeling quite noble, but in a more pensive moment, I had cause to question my own actions. Did I actually help the economy, or did I just give money to strangers, that I may have personally spent to better purpose. (perhaps creating long lasting jobs)

You also might ask, how I so totally overcame the natural resistance of most Americans to put aside their pride and take handout money from a perfect stranger…..Actually it was quite simple. (I just borrowed a lesson from the Federal Government) I simply added one line of explanation to the bottom of each check…..

“Stimulus Check”

Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.

FAILED FOREIGN POLICY

FAILED FOREIGN POLICY

Sometimes we all choose to believe something is real, even though intellectually we know it isn’t so. Some times we just want to believe in something and allow it to pass our reality test, and at other times it’s just good honest fun. Most of the time, its harmless for us to perpetuate these myths and go about of lives in the real world. So, I’ll give a pass to all of you who believe in Wrestling, Santa Claus, and the Easter bunny.

However, we clearly lost the recent contest of wills with the North Koreans. They announced they were going to launch a “communications” satellite and we postured up and told them we would shoot it down. We bandied about some other strongly worded political rhetoric and then sat back and watched as the North Koreans did what they wanted to do. They knew the odds were strongly in their favor because we had backed down on the much larger nuclear proliferation contest already. Not to mention the fact that we prosecuted a half won war there many years ago that we are still supporting with troops.

To make matters worse they threatened us and the world community with superlatives as to their retaliation if we tried to interfere.( their bluff worked). We retracted our own statement regarding shooting down the missile, and of course they took that as intrinsic permission to move ahead. There is no doubt that their regime gathered important scientific data that will enhance their ability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at the U.S. (giving them even more tactical and political capital to use against us at the next showdown). We could have stopped the missile pre-flight or had our Japanese Allies shoot it down (we have given them the means to do so). There is no question in my mind that they will both use, and export this technology to our enemies. (some have bombs and no delivery systems, others have delivery systems and no bombs.. go fish)

I think what concerns me most is when we incorporate this “wishful” thinking into our foreign policy. When we knowingly accept the word and propaganda of another country that intends to do us harm. I get upset when we are being intellectually dishonest with our self and the American people, in matters that concern national security. The worst part is we do it over and over again, with every despot and half baked dictator around the world. What naiveté, “Come on, let’s not make waves”, maybe they really are doing what they are telling us.

There is a game that children pay called “Mother May I”. In the game the children all stand obediently in a line before the all knowing “mother”. One at a time they each ask mother for permission to take a step forward. Mother plays a strategic game allowing each to make some forward progress, some by baby steps and some by giant steps (based on how pleased Mom is with each of their behaviors and how eloquently they each ask for permission.) But, Old Mom is no fool, she knows that if she allows one participant too many steps forward, they will eventually “catch” her. To insure she stays in power, Mom appears gracious in her allocation of small successes, but in the end always sends the advancing participants back to the starting line. It’s great fun as a kid’s game, but is this the way for us to conduct ourselves on the world political stage?

It seems to me that all the world leaders that would threaten and defy the United States and the world community all know how to play this game, very well. They have learned the game of patience; they know that the leadership of the United States will play by the rules. They move forward with their destructive agenda and allow us some small successes along the way. As we get closer to making any real progress they cry foul and send us back to the starting line. The whole time these devious leaders have no real intention of complying with our wishes or objectives, as they slowly make progress to their ultimate goals.

Two steps forward and one step back, appearing to comply or feigning the desire to negotiate, while inching ever slightly towards their ultimate objective with each passing day. ( Insert the Iranian nuclear contest of wills here) They allow us to rejoice in our perceived diplomatic momentum, offering us just enough apparent success to keep us in the game. (and avoid the penalty phase). These rouge governments also realize that we have allies and detractors in the United Nations and the world community. They alternately seek approval from one sympathetic ear and then the other, much as a child that was told not to do something by one parent.

How foolish our efforts truly must appear in their eyes as they play a careful and well calculated game of cat and mouse. They know that time and public opinion will dilute the resolve and attention span of the American people. We are always so willing to trust and forget the lessons of the past. While we couch our foreign policy statements in carefully constructed, politically ambiguous, and correct terms they threaten us with blatant and inflammatory statements and threats of retaliation.

We adulterate our demands with the use of politically correct language such as “ We are leaving all options on the table” (a watered down reference to the possible use of force), or we may need to take “extreme measures”. Of course, none of these veiled threats ever deter the “evil doers” from their mission at hand. For a threat to be effective, you have to occasionally back that threat with action. Our enemies know that we are a paper tiger, and rarely if ever, back a diplomatically correct “threat” with any action. They also know that we are increasingly reluctant to act unilaterally, and God forbid acting preemptively to defuse a threat. (We need to learn a lesson from our friends in Israel) Those that would defy us and do us harm, realize that we would first go to the United Nations or try to form a coalition before taking any action.

Over time when you don’t say what you mean, and mean what you say, you loose creditability. When you loose creditability you loose the “fear factor” and perhaps more importantly, also the ability to “bluff”. In any negotiation, when you loose the ability to bluff, you are left with only a few options including walking away with your tail between your legs and all out war.

We need to revamp our foreign policy and regain our international creditability. I think the reputation we need to portray to the world is that we are fair, but tough. We need to lead with diplomacy, but not rely solely on it. Mostly we need to be consistent in our demands and expectations so that others can tell where we really stand on matters of national and global security.

Remember, there are others out there who would doubt our intentions and our resolve. There are many who will confuse our compassion for weakness. It’s vital that we respond to threats and intimidating gestures with the right posture, and measure reactions, the World is watching.

Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG ?

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG ?
Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we could all just get along? Well, I hate to drop this little reality bomb on you, but we can’t. (Please stop holding your breath, with your fingers crossed behind your back saying pretty please with a cherry on top). People and countries tend to be afraid of what they don’t know and will always be inclined to put their own interests in front of that of others. (sorry, but that’s human nature). Also as in any argument between two parties, there are usually 2 sides, 2 opposing points of view, and both parties are equally sure they are right.(not to mention that God is on their side) Now, give both of those opposing sides a big army, some tanks, and maybe some nuclear weapons and there is going to be trouble.
Now maybe, if it was just a couple of citizens from each country engaged in this disagreement they would work things out. Or maybe, they would just throw down with a few well placed punches. At the end of the day the two “warring parties” would most likely end up at a bar and buy each other a few drinks. But, add a few politicians and diplomats into the mix and all of a sudden nobody can back down. A lot of politicians actually like a good conflict; it takes their people’s minds off of other important things like hunger, oppression, and a failing economy. It works especially well when the “politician” is more of dictator, or guy with a small mustache. The people can not object to, or oppose the conflict. (it turns out, those mothers don’t want to send their kids off to war either..imagine that)
Behind the scenes, each country is always jockeying for position, stature, and even relevancy. The leaders that represent these countries can’t let themselves be seen as soft or a sell out. To make matters worse, big countries love to exert their power, and small countries have to make it known that they won’t be pushed around. Now further aggravate the situation because everyone is saluting a different color piece of cloth on a flag pole, and throw in National Pride, and that’s how fights start.
Countries for centuries have gone to war over a myriad of things including border disputes, invasions, religious differences and political ideology.(not to mention the drop of a hat). There is also a deep seated desire to demonstrate to the world, that their own specific brand of religion (affiliation), culture, economics, or social structure is the best.
Self defense between people used to mean you could punch a guy in the eye if he tried to hurt you. Now, we go to war if “our interests” are being compromised. “Our vital interests” can cover a lot of gray area that might entail a shipping lane, oil, natural resources, or even fishing rights. To complicate things further, countries also compete for friends, Clients, exports, imports, and allies, all on the world stage.
There is no such thing as the “status quo” in world affairs anymore. Remember, friends and allies are always in a state of flux, based on current needs and conditions. It sometimes comes down to who is chipping in with the largest handout.
At the end of the day, the real danger for all of us is that we become so indoctrinated to our own particular way of life that by default, we become somewhat intolerant to all other ways. Perhaps we even consider them to be wrong or even sinful, by our own standards. But the real trouble starts when one ideology feels compelled to force another group of people, into “doing it our way” (for their own good, of course). I think that’s why I like the Scandinavian countries so much, they tend to stay neutral. (Not to mention the Swedish Bikini Team)

I can tell you form my travels and interactions with other people and cultures. We are all more the same, than different. It’s a small world, and getting smaller by the minute. Maybe it is time that “We All Got Along”


Please feel free to contact me at pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.

THE ERASER

THE ERASER

“In times of war the truth is so precious that it must be attended by a
bodyguard of lies” Sir Winston Churchill

Note: The following is from a letter sent to my attention and that I plan to publish in the morning. John Casik, Editor: The Washington Explorer.

I should have figured I'd end up alone in my final days. The work I did for the last 40 years, almost guaranteed it. I can still remember the day I started, I was just a young kid with a lot to prove.
The agency had already been in existence for almost 20 years back when I was recruited, and to this day very few people in government know about it. I've always thought that the work we did was very important, but we could never take credit for it, it was just that nature of the business. We even set up an “Office of Public Diplomacy”, as a cover to our true work. (Google it)
The way my first boss explained it to me, was that to preserve national security there are some things that the American public just are better off not knowing. When those situations occurred, our department was called into action. Our job was to mislead, and provide alternate but believable editions of the truth.
To do our job efficiently we had to have unrestricted access to a lot of top secret information and a chain of command that would allow us to dictate directions to the top leaders in all of the other agencies. Everything we did was strictly on a need to know basis, and we certainly did not make any friends in the FBI, Justice Department, Department of defense, or a host of other government agencies.
I had to take an oath when I first started that I would take my knowledge of past events to the grave with me and that is what I had planned to do. Our department had such a high level of security clearance that we were exempt and immune from testifying, even before congress.
Most police and investigative agencies are very good at investigating and gathering data, clues, and information, our job was just the opposite. When we were called out, it was our job to hide, obscure, destroy, and even alter evidence. We are masters of “Black Propaganda” and misinformation. Our task and our training even included fabricating and widely disseminating counter intelligence as well as propagating conspiracy stores. We offered alternative realities, that were plausible and even verifiable by alternative clues and witnesses that we fabricated. We often reversed engineered our own forensic evidence and clues, left carefully for law enforcement and the FBI to “discover”.
Eventually we got so good at our job that we could create events for public consumption, which never even happened in the first place, both for Domestic and Foreign consumption. We have been involved in almost every type of scenario from assignations to UFO sightings and satellite shoot downs. As time went on, we were called on with increasing regularity to reverse engineer events so that they would be portrayed to the public exactly as the government wished. It became common place for key information and witnesses to disappear, only to have perceptions reversed that we could corroborate with our own witnesses, crime scene evidence, and clues.
Many of the "fixes" we did left an almost "hard to believe" aura around them, but our work was so detailed and our stories so well scripted that it left investigators, politician, world leaders, and the general public as a whole, no choice but to come to our pre-planned conclusions.
We contributed to the public’s perception of events overseas like Vietnam, Iraq, and El Salvador. I think the Kennedy case was some of our finest work. Key witnesses disappeared and had "untimely" accidents. Hard evidence was lost or misplaced, and even the Warren Commission was furnished with our own fabricated evidence.
In any case, I spent most of my life serving the government and I guess, at this age I’m just a burden. I’ve seen too much and I know too much, and in my line of work, that make me a liability. I’ve tried to contact other agents that have recently retired or otherwise left the agency to no avail. I have reason to believe that my life is in jeopardy. I have placed the above information in safe hands in the event of my untimely death, suggesting that my agency has succeeded in “erasing me”
Senior Agent (Retired)
Scott Livenback
Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com
P.I.B.

BREADLINES

BREAD LINES

I’ve never been known as an alarmist; however I am reaching for the alarm button now. Alright, let’s man up now and admit that we are in a depression. In fact some economist are predicting that this will be the worst economic down turn in 100 years. Now if my math is correct that would include the Great Depression of 1929.

Many people believe that the Great Depression was caused solely by the Stock Market crash on Oct 29th of 1929, but Black Tuesday was more a symptom rather than a cause. Well the stock market today has lost almost half of its value in the last year or so, but that’s just the start of our problems. We now have a major melt down in real estate, business, housing, and manufacturing, topped off with a huge liquidity crunch.

Generally when one segment of our economy takes a dive, there are others that remain very solid. The old saying was that “smart money” would always move to solid ground. Well, ladies and gents, this time is different. Smart Money would move out of stock and into real estate, but real estate is in the crapper also right now. Ok, then smart money should move to business, ahhh you guessed it, most businesses are sucking wind right now also (just ask G.M., Circuit City, Ford, Wachovia Bank, or a host of other previous behemoths.) Well, then smart money would move off shore, except this time the crisis is global.

Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane for a moment, back to the early 30’s. Now, even though most of us are too young to have experienced that time of economic ruin, it left a scar on not only our nation, but on a whole generation of Americans. The previously robust economy took a nose dive that devastated our industry, banking, job base, and stock market. Good, hard working Americans walked the street in search of work. Millions had to take government handouts. It breaks my heart till this day to see pictures of proud people standing in bread lines and soup kitchens for something to eat. It was a terrible and humiliating time, and an experience that I never imagined our country would ever go thru again.

Lets not kid ourselves, the current economic disaster is heading in the same cataclysmic direction. Without a well conceived plan, executed immediately, we will all be in line for government cheese. The government stimulus package must be massive and immediate, however the funds must be well appropriated to create demand and jobs, and not just be a handout. This is not the time to bundle in “Pet Projects” and pork with the purpose of giving favorable treatment to one sector of our constituency. The danger of this government sponsored stimulus package would be to cripple future generations of Americans with a huge debt they can not repay. This situation is not to be taken lightly; this time, it is a world wide meltdown of business, finance, and credit.

Headlines this week announced loss of American jobs climbing to a rate of 500,000, per month. Hold on, maybe you glossed over that fact, yes I said 500,000 more jobless Americans per month, are out of work. This is an unprecedented drop in jobs, and the effect on human lives is horrendous. To add insult to injury the unemployment rate is skyrocketing, and there is no end in sight.

What’s even worse is that most people’s nest eggs, their life savings, investments and “store of wealth” are decimated. The stock market is down from a previous high of 13,900 in July of ‘07 to under 8,000 lately. Millions have lost their investments and young people and old have devastated their retirement funds. It’s particularly challenging for people in their 60’s and 70’s that had relied on those carefully planned retirement accounts to help them survive for the rest of their natural lives.

The government decided to intervene by offering “bail-out money” to large banks and insurance companies. In their wisdom they acted to keep these large institutions afloat. The concern was that if they failed, hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost, and the American people would loose faith in the banking system. Well, in retrospect, I’m not sure it was a good decision, because soon afterward a long line of business lined up with their proverbial hand out. I can tell you that this kind of interference in the economy is neither art nor science, and the ramifications are not yet known. Being that the government screws up most things they try to fix, don’t be surprised if they don’t mess this up also.

Perhaps, we should have let these businesses fail and let the free marketplace make the adjustments. The banks were given millions in bailout and TARP money so that they in turn could inject liquidity into the housing and business market place. Well, guess what, the banks patched up their wounds, consolidated with other banks and institutions and kept a tight fist on the bulk of the money. Many are using the bailout money as a way to increase their profits rather than as a way to help deserving individuals keep their homes. (While an ever increasing number of Americans loose their houses and businesses each month.)

I’m not trying to place blame here, this is not a partisan political issue and because that will do no good. Was it greed, impropriety, lack of controls, or just an inevitable economic cycle? American capitalism, free enterprise, and home ownership have always been the backbone of our way of life; and now these ideals are threatened. I ask you, what went wrong? Why are honest hard working Americans being thrown into financial turmoil and many are loosing their houses, their business, and their much needed retirement funds? More importantly .. how will we get the economy back on the right track. Don’t let anyone kid you, it’s going to be a while.

Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.

ENEMY OF THE STATE

ENEMY OF THE STATE

I’m laying here face down on the tile, in a pool of my own blood. I’m breathing very heavily through my mouth, because my nose is certainly broken and I’m slipping in and out of consciousness. My wrists are contorted uncomfortably behind me, and aching from a case of overzealous application of handcuffs. Out of the corner of my eye I can see two guys from the N.P.F. or National Police Force, hi-fiving each other. They are dressed completely in their black uniforms and jump boots, with the NPF gold badge and logo emblazoned on their jackets.

To tell you the truth, I’ve always been a law abiding citizen, and I never figured I’d have a few guys like this kicking my own door down. I’m really not sure why it’s come to this but I guess, I should start back at the beginning

At some point back in the early years of 2000 or 2001, half the people of the United States seemed to increasingly distance themselves politically from the other half. Soon it seemed as if the two sides had little that they could agree on. These differences made themselves all the more apparent each time a national election was decided. Power swung wildly from the left to the right and back after each election.

The parties that eventually came to power tried to overcompensate and alienate the voters that did not want them in power. Eventually dissenters became thought of as dissidents and political trouble makers, and became the subject of increasing government attention. The most vocal and high profile of these dissenters became the targets of endless investigations and harassment by law enforcement and government agencies.

Another dynamic in place at that point in time was heightened concern over national security. We were engaged in several wars overseas with terrorist organizations and they had vowed to bring the war back to American soil. Our people were rightfully frightened and they demanded a new, and even higher level of national security and they were willing to forgo a few civil liberties to achieve it.

New and previously reserved powers were given to enforcement agencies such as the FBI, NSC, Border patrol and the BATF, however these agencies tended to operate independently and with little cohesion. Agents for these organizations all reported to different bosses, had separate budgets, and were careful not to intrude on each others “turf” or domain.

The climate was ripe and the people were trusting, and a few new agencies were born in the shadows, one of which being the N.P.F.

This department was set up in the early months of a very popular presidency. It was originally designed and promoted as a country wide adjunct to the local police agencies, but soon took on the look and firepower of a para-military organization, with broad ranging search, arrest, and pursuit powers.

The N.P.F. was originally conceived as sort of a loaner SWAT team to aide and assist local police departments. The teams were comprised of the best candidates from the military and law enforcement agencies. It was clear from the beginning that these guys were to be the “best of the best”, an elite band of brothers. The problem was they reported directly to the director of the National Police Force who was in turn was selected by, funded by, and reported directly to the president of the United States. This in effect made them the Presidents personal security force, to be used and directed as he alone had seen fit. Even their budget and funding was not subject to review or oversight by congress or the Justice department, making them a very independent entity unto themselves.

In normal times I’m not sure a department like the N.P.F. could ever be formed. The strange thing is that no one actually votes for a thing like this, it just sort of happens. However at the time, every one was very concerned with National Security and most of us were willing to trade off a few civil liberties to feel more secure. Because of their direct chain of command to the commander and chief, the organization grew quickly and was very well funded.

In the beginning the NPF troopers were highly respected and even sought after by local law enforcement agencies, however, as they began to flex their muscle in local jurisdictions, that love affair was quickly ended. It seemed that these national guys had an agenda all their own, and weren’t about to let any lowly street cops or FBI agents stand in their way.

After a few high profile arrests that went bad, and increased media attention, people began questioning the tactics and motives of these “men in black”. However critics were quickly silenced or seemed to disappear. Major media organizations also seemed to quickly abandon their coverage of the NPF and their activities, as watchdogs from the FCC (also strongly influenced by presidential appointments) censored and made their life’s more difficult.

As an independent writer and reporter I felt increasingly compelled to investigate and report on what I perceived as the injustices and excesses that I uncovered by these special police. I guess I have ambitions of following in my fathers footsteps. He was a controversial and award winning journalist in his day. So, I crisscrossed the country at my own expense, gathering data and investigating their tactics and actions. I’d then file my stories anomalously or under fictitious names to keep from drawing undue attention to myself and to the media outlets that bought my work.

Well I guess it didn’t take long for an organization with the power and connections that the NPF has to determine the source of what they considered to be, these embarrassing and disruptive articles and reports. Initially I did not feel threatened by them and felt that I was doing a public service and that my work was clearly protected by my 1st amendment rights. In addition to that, my work only appeared in small community newspapers and oddball radio shows. The big media was afraid to run any of my work due to the possible reprisals by the government.

Evidently my work and writings were being read and closely scrutinized by the powers to be and they felt threatened by the information I was disseminating. Evidently my recent article entitled “Ruthless tactics and accompany illegal search and seizure” pushed the wrong buttons in Washington and made me an undeclared “enemy of the state”.

Even though many of my friends and colleagues cautioned me to temper my exposés, I felt compelled to continue and make the truth know. After all, this is America and I should have no fear of free speech. That’s why I am laying here in a state of disbelief.

As the NPF officers pushed me unwillingly out to the street and into their vehicle, I reminded them quite vocally that I have my rights and that I enjoy protection under the constitution and Bill of Rights. No court in the land would find me guilty of simply exposing the truth. There is Freedom of Speech.

As the officers were locking the cage door behind me one of them took off his dark sunglasses and winked at me “Oh..Don’t be silly…we are not arresting you for your writing or speaking out. You’re getting busted for several felonies….listening to “Conservative Talk Radio” and smoking a cigarette within the city limits.”

Please feel free to contact me at pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.

PRIVACY IS DEAD

PRIVACY IS DEAD

I just hung up the phone with my realtor; he found me a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico at a bargain price. I'm so fed up with things around here, I told him I'd make an offer.
All that I'm looking for is little privacy. I am in no way a hermit, or anti social person, I just don't want everything I say and do, to show up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal ( however being a writer, I would be happy to contribute a few articles for a small fee).
I never thought it would come to this but personal privacy is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Hundreds of seemingly minor and unrelated invasions of our privacy add up to a total loss of privacy. More importantly we have to deal with the issue of some person, company, or government agency, misusing this information.
Before you think I'm getting a little paranoid here, just hear me out. Never before in history has there been the technological or data storage capacity to accumulate a detailed picture of each of our lives. When, not if, an individual or group decides to tie together all that information, they could use it for any purpose they see fit.
Let’s use a hypothetical situation, like an average day in your life, to help make my point. Assume for a moment that a fictitious individual (Dr. Evil) had the means to gather, store, and analysis all your personal information and he wanted to use this against you. Here is how he might go about it.
You seem like a nice enough guy, I can see here by checking public records you are a graduate of University of Miami (hey..Dean's List..nice work). A quick search of county records tells me you've got quite the lead foot, 2 speeding tickets (you gott'a slow down buddy..those points on your license can really drive up you insurance rates). Also while I was checking on line records, you seem to be an avid fisherman, hunter, and gun owner; because you have obtained licenses and permits for all of these activities. Oh, and while I was checking the county records I zipped on over to the county property appraisers web site and typed in your name. It seems like you got a great deal on that 2,600 sq. ft house you bought in July of '02 for $152,900. (by the way, I also now have the names of your neighbors)
We can easily assume that I know where you live, heck any phone book or people search could get me that info. In fact I just jumped on Google earth and typed in your address so not only do I have directions to your home, but I have a fairly recent satellite photo and a very detailed street level 360 degree picture of your home. You probably didn’t see the Goggle camera truck that photographed your neighborhood. (hey, that bush on the right of your door needs trimming). Your car is in the driveway and I can see it is a late model Ford with the license plate # (ok..I'll keep that quite for now).
By the way, I took a little drive by your house last week and after only a few visits, I feel like we are old buddies. I hope you don't mind but I grabbed your mail for you on Wednesday and I have to tell you it was like hitting the lotto. I now know your bank account number, checking balance, insurance carrier and that it’s your birthday (gott’a love that mother of your, nice card..and the $20 bucks cash was much appreciated). Also, that copy I have of your phone bill is fantastic, now I have the phone numbers of most of your family and friends. Not to mention that copy of your cable bill, I even know what you watch on T.V.( better take it easy on that pay for view stuff) The best part is that, I didn't even have to use the high tech equipment I own that can monitor your computer usage, because you are foolish enough to use a non encrypted wireless network at your house.( I can tap right in from out front of your house) As a bonus, I picked up all your web sites and even your passwords. I love technology; I don't even have to search thru people’s trash anymore to get all this info.( I never liked that part of the job anyway)
The good thing for me is that your late model car has satellite radio and GPS installed in it..Great invention, that GPS, you can tell exactly where you are at any given time, but so can I. Well, you pull out of your nice suburban neighborhood and I'm tracking you on your own GPS (hey slow down buddy, because I can even see how fast you are going, not to mention having the ability to turn off your car and lock or unlock the doors). Ok, I can tell by where you are heading that you are on your way to work at the local I HOP, but just to be sure I checked the traffic cameras at a few of your local major intersections (smile for the camera)…
And, you are so predictable, a real creature of habit. It's 5:30 pm and your car ignition has been off for 8 hours and 5 minutes (oh yes, I get that info from your car also)..By the way your built in maintenance computer is telling me your car needs an oil change in 200 miles( you need to stay on top of that if you want your car to last). Here's where it gets interesting, you've left work and wouldn't you know my GPS tracker is down for maintenance right now. No problem, I have your cell phone records right here on my screen. You just called your girl friend at (ok..I'll keep that info quiet for now, until your wife's attorney asks me for that info). I can also tell where you are right now by seeing what cell towers your phone is accessing. It may not be as accurate as my GPS gimmick, but its close enough for government work ( note: Freudian slip). By the way, I bet you didn't know that I could turn your cell phone into a listening device, without you even knowing it…shhh.
Must be a big date night, you just stopped at the ATM on the corner of Main and 1st street and withdrew $300 bucks (plus a $1.95 service fee). I wonder where your off to, you shifty fell'a, you turned off your cell phone for a while, probably so the wife couldn't call you. That's ok, I'm a patient kind of guy, it won't be long. See what I mean, I just checked your bank records on line, and a charge on your credit card just showed up for $167.95 at the local high end Italian restaurant (they have an excellent lasagna there, I hear). You really should watch your spending, I recently pulled a copy of your credit report and you need to get that credit score back up, it will affect the interest rate you have to pay on your next loan.

Well, not a bad night's work for me. I have invaded your privacy and have gathered a ton of personal information about you. Of course, that doesn't mean that I would actually use any of that information does it ? Well, not unless it benefited me financially. This kind of intel could be worth real money, if you ever decided to run for political office, or perhaps your ex wife's attorney would paid me for what I know. The truth is I have a lot more data in my file about you and I have many more resources I can use to gather that information at my disposal. I really don't want to give away all my trade secrets, but I think you get the idea….Privacy Is Dead.

Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.

DEAR I.R.S.

DEAR I.R.S.
Dear I.R.S.

I know you guys are busy (especially this time of year), but I have some questions that are kind of bugging me and I was hoping you could help me out. Being a good American, I pride myself on knowing how our government works, so I decided that I had the weekend off, and what better time to read a copy of our tax code. I envisioned myself hunkered up on the couch with a good cup of coffee and a copy of that best seller. ( I heard it was a good read)

Well, I drove over to the local Books A Million and tried to buy a copy and they just kind’a laughed at me. The fell’a behind the counter actually had tears in his eyes. Anyway, I headed over to the library, figuring copies of books and stuff, is their deal. You may find this hard to believe, but the librarian gave me the same look of disbelief and went to laughing also (of course much more quietly than the other guy ..(I mean it is a library).

Not one to be easily dismayed, I went home and fired up the old computer. First I went to Amazon .com…I didn’t know what category to look under so I tried: Fiction, Drama, Comedy, and even Coffee Table Books (well, maybe if you had one hell of a large coffee table). I really didn’t have any luck there so I tried a few google searchs. I found the mystical document alluded to several times but I was not able to actually locate the document (and I’m not sure how long it would have taken me to down load that sucker, if I did find it). Now I’m thinking there must be a copy somewhere, encased in glass or something, and on display like the constitution or the Liberty Bell.

I was however able to find some articles about the (alleged) tax code. I knew it was a rather large document and I’ve heard from some accountants and tax lawyers that it’s actual a real blockbuster. I’ve also heard it’s rather “wordy” with some sources indicating that it may exceed some 67,000 pages. (that makes it longer than the bible) Now, I love to read as much as the next man, but I’d have to take a 3 year sabbatical to pour thru that kind of novel.

Its seems to me that there can’t be too many guys like me that would have the time or smarts to really understand the “ins and outs” of the tax code (maybe I can get the cheat notes , or tax code for Dummy’s version). In fact, I understand that Americans waste some 6.2 billion hours just filling out their tax returns ( Is that more hours than Mcdonald’s has sold hamburgers?), at a cost in lost productivity exceeding 300 billion. ( I need an editor to fact check that for me, but at this point my creative staff is pushed to its limits).

I keep hearing about tax reform in Congress, but from what I can see the tax code has only gotten more bloated and complex. Honestly now, how many people can really get their arms around a law that far out of control ? The code has been added to and band-aided for years, it was a scant 400 pages back in 1913 (too hard to understand, even back then)

Listen, there is no question in my mind that the government has the “need and right” to collect taxes and I whole heartedly agree with them ( hear that guys..this is my fine print disclaimer. By the way feel free to stop by the house anytime for a nice dish of pasta… Love you guys) By all accounts, the system works for them, as they collect over 1.5 trillion (I love the way that word just rolls off the tongue) dollars annually in tax revenue. If It makes you feel any better, the government does a damn good job of spending every dollar of it ( and then some ..Special thanks to the Chinese and everyone else buying up our debt) Hey, they really need all that money, and where else can they get it from. It’s not like they can just turn on the printing presses and print some ( uhhh. On second thought ..maybe that’s not the best analogy in this case) . As a side note: the government could try spending less, but that’s never going to happen.

Alright, just so you realize I’m not just a complainer here are a few alternatives.

One: Discontinue the entire collection of income taxes ( Note: probably wont work,,but I thought I’d swing for the fences on this one)

Two: Move to a Flat tax: everyone pays a tax at the point of purchase. It would be administered just like a state sales tax. Based on the principle that people with money tend to spend money, and people with lots of money, tend to spend lots of money. It places the burden of collection on business owners (who have a lot to loose by not being 100% accurate and honest in their collections and reporting) No complicated paperwork, and very hard to cheat on. Also, its very inclusive because Americans are spenders.

Three: Leave the current system in place but institute a tax incentive to move the economy in the right direction. For instance: If a consumer (A.K.A. taxpayer) buys or spends in a target economic area he/she gets a tax credit. For instance, if the taxpayer buys an American car, opens a savings account, eats at an Italian restaurant (I am a little self serving here), or invests in heavy equipment made in the good old U.S., they get an offsetting tax credit against any income tax they owe. There is a loss of tax revenue from the individual, however the business or targeted entity receives new revenues that are taxable.

Four: We discontinue the tax code and have all the I.R.S. agents standing out front of department and grocery stores with a red kettle on a tripod, and ringing a little bell for donations. (or selling boxes of thin mint cookies)

I hope all you I.R.S. guys realize that I’m just trying to help out here…If your not happy about this article please contact me at poorfrenchboy@writer in exile.com . All others can write me at pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.
Ps: Happy April 15th

LETTERS FROM A POOR ITALIAN BOY

LETTERS FROM A POOR ITALIAN BOY

LETTER#1: The Bailout

Dear Mr. President: This week, I watched with great interest and dismay as the congress passed a bailout law for many of the large banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions this week. (along with the tax relief bill for makers of wooden arrows) You have to forgive me, because I’m not as worldly as you and your friends in Washington. (and I actually work for a living) So, please help me out here with a few items I just don’t understand.

The way I see it, these big financial guys are some greedy bastards. They suck up huge windfall profits when times are good and come crying with their hands out when things go wrong. They made bad decisions, wrote bad loans, based on bad appraisals, and leveraged both themselves and the average home owner to the point of no return. They forgot about prudent lending practices because the money was coming in so quick, that they needed to get “their share”. And aren’t these the same suit wearing and calculator thumping bankers that would charge a borrower exorbitant interest rates and punitive penalties, if he was ever a day late on a payment ? The same guys that would tow a man’s work truck away if he missed a monthly payment, and lecture him on basic economics.

Ok, so here is where I really need your help understanding…..Now, all of a sudden these “Wonders of Wall Street” have gotten in over their heads and suddenly its up to Joe Six Pack and the rest of the American Tax payers (and our grandchildren) to help “Bail” them out ? (with our hard earned tax dollars)..because it will be good for the country…

Well, I sure don’t see the logic in that move but, if that’s the way the game is played, I’d like to ask for a little bail-out for myself. You see, I don’t have any money in my account, because I spent it all on booze, wild women, and alimony payments, and now I’m broke. (I wouldn’t bother you, if I had just wasted the money). I have a stack of “final notice” letters on the kitchen table that would choke a horse, the fridge is empty, I’m out of beer and cigarettes, and the bill collectors are ringing the phone off the hook and knocking my door down. Not only that, but it’s costing me half my paycheck just to fill up the old pick up truck, cauz gas is over $4.00 a gallon.

Being that you guy’s all saw fit to bail-out the big boys to the tune of almost a trillion dollars, then I figured you’d be more than happy to send a little cash my way. I went thru the problem of adding up my bills (I can provide a copy of the adding machine tape, if needed), and figure if you just send me $142,562.57 I can sneak by for a while. Once I get the money, I’ll be sure to recommend your services to all my friends that own small businesses and that can not make payroll. They can all use a bailout also. Remember, tax payers are people too.

Ps: Please send cash (In Unmarked Bills) directly to my home, because I just can’t trust those flim-flam man bankers anymore. I have included a self addressed return envelope, and I even sprung for the stamp.

P.I.B.

NEWSWORTHY PART 1

NEWS WORTHY PART 1

Today is my 80th birthday and I’m sitting here alone, in my home office. As I look about me, my surroundings tell the story of my life. This morning I’ve been reminiscing over all the awards, pictures, souvenirs, autographed keepsakes, and mementos, and even my Pulitzer prize achieved in over thirty years of my professional journalistic career. Yet out of all my accomplishments, one stands out the most vividly in my mind. One single framed and now faded newspaper article has defined my career. Although it was written many years ago, I can remember it, as if it was yesterday. Here is my story:

I Hardly slept at all that night, hundreds of questions kept running thru my mind. I’VE GOT TO BE THE LUCKIEST BASTARD alive. My editor still can’t believe it. I guess being in the right place at the right time is half of success.

My boss sent me down to the federal courthouse yesterday to get some background information on the big Labell trial. So, here I am down there with about 25 other news people, proudly displaying my newly issued press credentials and a total of 3 weeks field experience.

My instructions were to take a few pictures, and gather some background info on the case, maybe interview a few minor players. To be honest I felt a little outclassed in the presence of the top reporters for CNN, Fox, and the network news correspondence. Yet I was pumped up because this was my first real story to cover and it was big news.

The place was a buzz with activity, reporters, journalists, T.V. cameras and high security. This was the first time that a seated congressmen was indicted for treason. And this was no ordinary representative, this was the senior congressmen from New Jersey. He has been re-elected 4 times and is the head of the prestigious armed services committee. Richard Labell was a high profile politician, and had been on the short list for Vice president in the last election. Labell had also just returned from a top secret visit to Iran, where he met with key officials in an effort to defuse a possible U.S. military action against that country.

Of course the congressmen and his press secretary adamantly denied his involvement in any criminal activities, and had already released several memo’s to the press to substantiate this fact. This could be a very hi-profile long drawn out investigation and trail, the kind that sells newspapers.

Nothing specific had been scheduled for today, but we decided to get involved in the case from the very onset. Having called the congressmen’s office ahead of time, I knew they had not planned a press conference following today’s preliminary hearing. That’s probably why my boss decided to send his most junior reporter to cover today’s activities. The assignment may have seemed a waste of time to our long term correspondents, but I considered today’s assignment a privilege and an opportunity.

Judging by the way the police were pushing the crowd back, I figured that the good Congressmen was about to head out of the court house and down the majestic steps. All the reporters and cameramen were lined up on both sides of the stairs, to get the best coverage as he made his way down to street level.

I knew I didn’t have a chance of even asking a question, being that the make shift reception line was three people deep on both sides. I looked down towards the road and noticed a limo creeping towards the cordoned off parking space right in front of the courthouse. I headed down there and set up shop, right outside the passenger curbside door. The sun roof was opening and I could hear someone yelling from inside the limo. I’m sure I heard… “and I’m not about to let the congressman take this kind of heat for you or anyone else. This kind of scandal could cost you the election. Just remember ..Loyalty is a two way street”

As the congressmen approached, I could hear the repeated chant of : “ No comment, No comment”. It wasn’t long before his security team noticed my proximity to the car and started motioning me away. I explained that I was with the media and just wanted to ask a few questions. As I raised my camera to snap a few photos I felt myself being thrown violently against the side of the car, my face mashed against the window.

I’m not sure if it was sympathy, concern, or fear of making a bad matter worse but suddenly the door of the limo was opened and the occupant invited me inside. Almost without thinking I obediently climbed in and sat down, blood still flowing from my nose. Seconds latter the Congressmen, who witnessed the whole thing entered the car right behind me.

“Sorry if my security boys were a little rough on you. Cant’ be too careful these days.” He handed me his handkerchief and went on to tell me his side of the story as the limo raced away. I could tell that the information he was giving me was carefully scripted and rehearsed. I was cautioned not to take any pictures and I honored their request. The meeting was brief but courteous and the limo dropped me off a dozen blocks latter, in the center of town.

Before I called a cab to take me back to work, I stopped at the Starbucks on the corner for a cup of coffee and took some time to gather my thoughts and take careful notes of our short conversation.

P.I.B.

NEWSWORTHY PART 2

NEWSWORTHY PART 2

I honestly didn’t have a lot of information, but I now had more than the rest of the press had, and that would make my boss happy. The congressmen told me that he was innocent of all allegations and that he felt certain the truth would come out at the trial. I pushed for more information and he cited national security interests as the reason he could not answer. He did make a point of saying that he would not allow his, or anyone else’s best interest, to supersede the best interest of our country.

The very next morning, I bought a dozen copies of our paper, my very first article appeared on page 3. I was very complimentary to LaBell and related the information he gave me in a positive way. I tried to call his office, to get a follow up on the article, but they did not return my call.

Several weeks went by and the case wore on. The press, for the most part, had moved on to more current and pressing issues, as they are prone to do. The new headlines included: an affair by a Governor, the continued decline in the economy, and the steady march to war between the U.S. and Iran. The Iranians were posturing for war, and would not back down. The Pentagon was careful to make its case to the American people that the Iranians were ready to use weapons of mass destruction against Israel. U.S. troops were being rushed to the region and war seemed inevitable.

Not to re-live past successes, but my mind kept going back to the events leading up to my big interview. It was like someone threw a light switch. The congressmen was enjoying unprecedented popularity and good press. He had been regularly doing all the top Sunday morning news shows, and was being scouted by several presidential hopefuls as a V.P. pick again at the next election. Most notably, he had just that week returned from an important trip to the middle east.

My journalists instincts were still being developed, but something inside of me, decided to follow a hunch. That afternoon I left a message at the congressmen’s Washington office that I had information regarding his recent trip and that I planned to publish that info. I would give him 24 hours to meet with me again to discuss his side of the story.

Within hours the same black limo was waiting for me down by the front doors of our offices. This time the Congressmen was alone and seemed much less composed, in fact, he was sweating profusely. He told me about his trip to the middle east, where he met with Irainian leaders. They made it clear that they would back down on there demands and move their troops off the border, but they did not want to look weak in the eyes of their neighbors and the world.

He told me that upon returning to the United States he met privately with the president and relayed their message. The president told him that he had already authorized an attack and was not about to change his plans. Besides the presidents poll ratings had been going down and he felt the people wanted him to stand tall. The congressmen told me that he spent over an hour trying to dissuade the president, to no avail. In fact, he was told that if he mentioned anything about his trip, the president would accuse him of breaching national security and turn the justice department pitbulls loose on him.

The country was heading to war and thousands on both sided would die. It was a war that could be easily avoided. The congressmen was torn between his duty to the president and what he knew was the right thing to do. We talked for about 45 minutes before the limo abruptly stopped again and left me off on the other side of the city. I was concerned about the congressmen’s state of mind, but I had my story.

The next morning’s edition proudly displayed my first cover story. “President Marches U.S. to Avoidable War”. Of course, the story caused an avalanche of press and investigations. In the following days, the U.S. posture on the war reversed itself, and the country returned from the brink of war. The pressure and embarrassment caused the president to resign and sadly, my friend the congressmen shot himself, shortly thereafter.

That one article, now a faded memory on my wall, started my career as a newsmen, averted a war, unseated a president, and lead to the untimely death of a very good man.

P.I.B