This month, the head coach position for the University of Hawaii football team switched from Gregg McMackin (aka Coach Mack) to Norm Chow!
1) Coach Mack
Coach Mack was hired as the head coach back in January 2008.
Previous coach June Jones left UH for Southern Methodist University (SMU)
Jones was the coach from 1999-2007. Back in 1999, Jones took an almost dying program to greatness! It was followed by many great teams, ending with the 2007 team which was undefeated during the regular season, but lost the Sugar Bowl!
For more on June Jones, check out
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2008/01/end-of-june-jones-era-uh.html
When Jones left, the people wanted some continuity! They wanted someone who already know Jones' system, knew the players, and just continue the success the team was having!
Coach Mack just happened to be 2nd in command, being the team's defensive coordinator!
He had previous success in other places including college (Miami, Texas Tech) and NFL (San Francisco, Seattle)
He also seemed more media-friendly than June Jones who usually sounded grumpy in interviews. (though people who do know Jones say he's a nice guy)
What was not to like about Coach Mack?
Being that Jones (who was paid $800,000 at UH) left for SMU's $2million position, we better pay Coach Mack some big money too!
Coach Mack got a contract for $1.1 million annually for the following 5 years.
2008 was a rebuilding season for UH, being that Jones as well as many 2007 offense stars were no longer there! But the team had a winning season (7-6) but lost the bowl game to Notre Dame!
The following summer, at a press conference, Coach Mack taunted Notre Dame's chant as a "faggot dance" then ask the reporters to not report what he just said! It all went downhill from there!
(for more on that issue, check out:
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/08/coach-mack-controversy.html
While no wanted to admit it, the issue was a distraction for the 2009 season. Also, the QB Gregg Alexander had a season-ending injury, forcing Bryant Moniz to be the starter! The season ended with a 6-7 reason. An average record, with no bowl game!
2010 was much, much better! Bryant Moniz showed some serious improvement! The receivers Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares were on a roll! So was running back Alex Green! The team shared the WAC title with Boise State and Nevada! The team was 10-4, and played the Hawaii Bowl against Tulsa. Unfortunately, Tulsa was the most under-rated team of the year, and we lost!
2011 expected great things. Sure, offense lost Salas, Pilares and Green! But this was to be Moniz's senior season! Plus, the defense had some great returning starters like Corey Paredes, Aaron Brown, Richard Toress, Vaugh Meatoga and Kaniela Tuipolotu!
However, the 2011 started with some serious distractions with Aaron Brown and Darius Bright getting arrested and suspended over a bar fight!
That didn't stop the team from winning the opening game against Colorado! Little did we know, that Colorado would go on to have an extremely junk season!
We lost to Washington ( a very good team). That was expected!
But we also lost to junk teams like UNLV and San Jose State! We also lost to Utah State! Sure, Utah State was better than usual this year! But those 3 loses really PISSED OFF many UH fans!
We got lucky against Idaho, which missed their last minute field goal!
Those things added up! People were ANGRY!
Apathy set in!
It got to the point when I was at Varsity Bar to watch Hawaii play Fresno State ( a usually heated rivalry that nobody wanted to miss), there were more patrons watching the mainland games on TV instead!
That in itself is an insult to the UH program! Especially in years past, when bars were filled with UH fans when they were playing LESSER KNOWN OPPONENTS!
(and we lost that game to a junker-than-usual Fresno! How in the hell????? We could've tied that game with a field goal and go into over-time! But noooooo, they tried to make a touchdown from 40 yards with seconds left!)
THe following week, UH beat a junk Tulane team. 1 more win and we could've at least barely make it a winning season.
But the next opponent was BYU! That used to be the hated rivals back in 1980s-90s! We haven't played them since 2002, so that was supposed to be exciting!
UH did fine in the 1st half of the game! In the 2nd half of the game, UH fell apart! Dropped balls and our QBs taking too many sacks! Season over, no bowl game!
To add insult to injury, the stadium was only about 60% full! Only 60% ? In the past, games against BYU used to FILL THE ALOHA STADIUM!
Apathy had gone too far!
UH fans could no longer take it!
Fans not showing up to the stadium, fans angry at the losing team, fans angry that the top local players choosing other college teams ............
........ and fans angry that Coach Mack was making about a $1 million but not only losing, but losing to crappy teams like UNLV and San Jose State!
[add to this: the hard economic times, when universities are cutting budgets. There is a lower tolerance for paying big money to football coaches in general, but more so when they're not living up to expectations]
Jim Donovan , the UH Athletic Director, had to do something!
But he also didn't want to look like some kind of bad guy that enjoys firing people!
So, there was the press conference announcing the retirement of Coach Mack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x_Oxf67xTE
2) Transition
But then what?
The UH football coaching job isn't like all other college coaching jobs!
Sure, you still got to coach the players into becoming winners! You also got to make sure the players are taking care of academics AND not acting irresponsibly out in the community!
But in Hawaii, you're 2,500 miles away from everyone else! You can't just drive to the next state! You can't even drive to the next island!
Also, Hawaii is culturally different from the other states! Not anyone can fit in easily! You don't have to be from Hawaii to fit in, but you have to be culturally flexible if you're not! June Jones and Coach Mack were good at that! But other mainlanders have a more difficult time with adjusting to Hawaii!
Hawaii does have a great population for finding college football players! That's the good news for UH!
Bad news for UH? Many other college football teams want those players too!
And just like anywhere else, not every high school athlete want to play for their local college! Some want to play somewhere else!
UH also tries to recruit players from other places! Problem is ...... those other places are 2,500+ miles away! Hawaii might sound like fun, but not every player from the continental US wants to go so far away from their families while playing college football!
So UH had to find someone who can coach football, recruit local players AND recruit mainland players!
Not so many people can do that!
Rich Miano, a former assistant with June Jones and Coach Mack, was one candidate for the head coaching position! He was a very charismatic guy who was popular in the community! He had NFL playing experience! Problem was ......... he was coaching under Coach Mack and many fans wanted someone different!
The other names being spread around were Duane Akina and Norm Chow! Both grew up in Hawaii, went to Punahou, then played & coached at mainland colleges!
Akina played college football at Washington and was a defensive coach at the very successful University of Texas program!
But Chow got the job
3) Norm Chow
Norm Chow is now the new head UH football coach!
Here's the press conference!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee1xoie-f4c&feature=share
I was surprised to see Chow having such a relaxed, funny personality! The reason why I said that, because before, when I saw him on TV, he seemed so serious!
Anyways, it's great to see Norm Chow is now the head coach, after so many years on the continental US!
Chow grow up in Palolo, and went to Punahou!
But he left the islands to play college football at Utah! He did return to the islands to teach & coach at Waialua High School back in the early 1970's.
But afterwards, Chow spent the next few years on the continental US! He spend 27 years as an assistant coach at BYU, which was once UH's most hated rival!
Afterwards, he spent a few years as an offensive coordinator at North Carolina State, Southern California, UCLA, and Utah! He even spent a few years coaching in the NFL, with the Tennessee Titans.
During those years, he was responsible for the success of many great players like Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Phillip Rivers, Reggie Bush, Vince Young and many others!
His offense style will different from the ones used by June Jones and Coach Mack! Jones & Mack used the "run &shoot" with emphasize lots of passing, using 4 recievers and 1 running back! Chow's pro-style still emphasizes the passing game, but uses 2 running backs, 1 tight end and 3 receivers!
I did enjoy certain parts of the "run & shoot" especially since it highlighted some smaller players that can dodge tackles like Chad Owens and Davone Bess! But too much emphasis on "run & shoot" meant not having a Tight-End (TE) or a Full-Back (FB) on the field! Those tend to be big guys that can move around! They can run or catch the ball! But when they don't have the ball, they can provide extra protection for their quarterback! UH lost too many games without having such guys on the field!
Also, because UH's version of "run & shoot" offense didn't have TEs or FBs, that hurt our defense too! It left the defense UNPREPARED against opponents that used TEs and FBs!
I know Norm Chow is going to fix that! He should able to implement such systems, since he's done it so many times before!
Sure, Norm Chow might not have the easy access to California players like he did at USC and UCLA! But his system is designed to suceed with the many players we can get from Kahuku, Kamehameha and similar schools, as well as from American Samoa! He could still get some players from California, Utah, Texas and other places, though it will be more challenging to do so than from his previous colleges!
But I think Norm Chow can do it! Times will be challenging, but I see great things ahead for UH! I think UH can finally the gain the kind of success Boise State, Texas Christian, and yes ...... Utah and BYU!
Norm Chow .... WELCOME HOME
4) Our other rival - Fresno State
I usually view Fresno State as the enemy!
I viewed their previous coach Pat Hill as the Leader Of The Enemy for the last 15 years!
Sure, he might've beaten us this year (and got Coach Mack into retirement) but his teams were also declining the past few years.
And like Coach Mack, Pat Hill was let go from the university that he loved!
Like Coach Mack's press conference, Pat Hill had a press conference after he got fired! Even though what he experienced could make any person angry & bitter, Pat Hill handled the situation with honor and class!
That is why I just want to end this blog post with a link to the article & video on his press conference!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee1xoie-f4c&feature=share
While I never wanted Pat Hill to feel happy after a game against UH, I do have to honor everything he said in that press conference! I will miss seeing him in the opponent's sidelines next year!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
deaths in 2011
It's almost the end of 2011, and the start of 2012!
And so much unfisnished business on my blog!
Now that I got time, I can finally blog on the stuff I wish I had time to write about earlier
1) Those who have Passed Away
I already wrote about the passing of Steve Jobs, possibly the most popular guy to pass away this year
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/steve-jobs-occuppy-wall-street-and.html
And I wrote about the death of one of my favorite singers from my teenage years - Nate Dogg
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/03/in-memory-of-nate-dogg.html
But there's more that I want to cover
----
Andy Rooney - this was the guy who had his few minutes of commentary at the end of "60 Minutes".
"60 Minutes" usually 3 stories on serious topics (ie. war, disease, politics, racism, etc) for the first 50 minutes.
Then, at the end of the show, we had Andy Rooney!
Rooney usually made some humorous observations about things like shoes, cars, time, bag of potato chips, or whatever else he felt like complaining about that day!
Ocassionally, Rooney got serious at times, especially when recounting his memories working for the Army's newspaper during World War 2!
I didn't always agree with Rooney, but either way, he was funny as hell!
Though at times, Rooney did go too far! The worst was after rock singer Kurt Cobain killed himself! Rooney didn't think it was right that Cobain being honored after his death, and he insulted Cobain's fashion sense! Very bad timing!
The very next week, Rooney apologized.
Some people did react the same after Rooney died, if you read some internet commentary.
But I won't go there!
But I will end the topic with this -- Rooney's last commentary on "60 Minutes"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKvRPh5QXUg
---------------
Heavy D -- he was a popular rapper back in the 1990's. His songs had an R&B flavor and focused on the funner side of life.
His most popular song was "Now that We Found Love" from 1991
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNEgUPKxk7A&feature=relmfu
But my favorite was from 1995 "Nuttin but Love" with a very funny video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJEbfeG2oAE&ob=av2e
yes that was Chris Tucker and Busta Rhymes in the video, but they weren't that famous back then! It was about 1 or 2 years before they became famous pop icons! And "Nozcema girl" in the video? Totally forgot about her, until I saw the video again this year. She was always in the ads for a famous skin care lotion!
Heavy D also appeared on Micheal Jackson's "Jam"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbHI1yI1Ndk&ob=av2e
ype, MJ the singer, with MJ the basketballer in the video!
and on Soul for Real's "Candy Rain"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAyCyETLT1o&feature=related
----------
Christopher Hitchens -- an author, a frequent talk show guest famous for his controversial, provocative comments.
As with many other pundits, sometimes I agreed with him, sometimes I didn't.
Though he was mostly a far-left liberal,Hitchens didn't hestitate to protest the hypocrisy of many Radical left-wingers. Many Radical Left-wingers were QUICK to call Republican presidents "fascists", but too many of those same people were either SILENT or TOO MIDLY CRITICAL about serious human right abuses committed by communist governmnents and Islamic Fascists!
However, Hitchens did go way too far at times! His book title "God is Not Great" was totally unneccessary! I mean, if you're an atheist, fine! But insulting many good people of faith, and comparing them to violent religious fanatics is ridiculous!
I also remember writing a blog post criticizing Hitchen's hatred of sports. Hitchens basically blamed sports for all the ills of society, and stereotyped all athletes as being like Micheal Vick or Mike Tyson!
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/02/attack-of-sports-haters.html
--
Vaclav Havel -- started out as a playwrighter, but became a pro-democracy activist in the communist dictatorship of Czechoslovakia from the 1950s to 1980s!
After the communists gave up control in 1989, Czechoslovakia split into 2 countries - Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Havel became the president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003!
Havel passed away earlier this month from lung cancer.
To learn Havel's insipiring story , check out http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/vaclav-havel-dissident-playwright-and-former-czech-president-dies/2010/09/21/gIQATAeD2O_print.html
--
Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong Il ---- Terrorist leader and a dictator dead this year! Good riddance!
-------------
Obviously, there's more who passed away this past year! However, these are the ones I have commentary for!
No offense towards those I didn't comment on!
However, feel free to share your list with everyone!
And so much unfisnished business on my blog!
Now that I got time, I can finally blog on the stuff I wish I had time to write about earlier
1) Those who have Passed Away
I already wrote about the passing of Steve Jobs, possibly the most popular guy to pass away this year
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/steve-jobs-occuppy-wall-street-and.html
And I wrote about the death of one of my favorite singers from my teenage years - Nate Dogg
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/03/in-memory-of-nate-dogg.html
But there's more that I want to cover
----
Andy Rooney - this was the guy who had his few minutes of commentary at the end of "60 Minutes".
"60 Minutes" usually 3 stories on serious topics (ie. war, disease, politics, racism, etc) for the first 50 minutes.
Then, at the end of the show, we had Andy Rooney!
Rooney usually made some humorous observations about things like shoes, cars, time, bag of potato chips, or whatever else he felt like complaining about that day!
Ocassionally, Rooney got serious at times, especially when recounting his memories working for the Army's newspaper during World War 2!
I didn't always agree with Rooney, but either way, he was funny as hell!
Though at times, Rooney did go too far! The worst was after rock singer Kurt Cobain killed himself! Rooney didn't think it was right that Cobain being honored after his death, and he insulted Cobain's fashion sense! Very bad timing!
The very next week, Rooney apologized.
Some people did react the same after Rooney died, if you read some internet commentary.
But I won't go there!
But I will end the topic with this -- Rooney's last commentary on "60 Minutes"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKvRPh5QXUg
---------------
Heavy D -- he was a popular rapper back in the 1990's. His songs had an R&B flavor and focused on the funner side of life.
His most popular song was "Now that We Found Love" from 1991
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNEgUPKxk7A&feature=relmfu
But my favorite was from 1995 "Nuttin but Love" with a very funny video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJEbfeG2oAE&ob=av2e
yes that was Chris Tucker and Busta Rhymes in the video, but they weren't that famous back then! It was about 1 or 2 years before they became famous pop icons! And "Nozcema girl" in the video? Totally forgot about her, until I saw the video again this year. She was always in the ads for a famous skin care lotion!
Heavy D also appeared on Micheal Jackson's "Jam"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbHI1yI1Ndk&ob=av2e
ype, MJ the singer, with MJ the basketballer in the video!
and on Soul for Real's "Candy Rain"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAyCyETLT1o&feature=related
----------
Christopher Hitchens -- an author, a frequent talk show guest famous for his controversial, provocative comments.
As with many other pundits, sometimes I agreed with him, sometimes I didn't.
Though he was mostly a far-left liberal,Hitchens didn't hestitate to protest the hypocrisy of many Radical left-wingers. Many Radical Left-wingers were QUICK to call Republican presidents "fascists", but too many of those same people were either SILENT or TOO MIDLY CRITICAL about serious human right abuses committed by communist governmnents and Islamic Fascists!
However, Hitchens did go way too far at times! His book title "God is Not Great" was totally unneccessary! I mean, if you're an atheist, fine! But insulting many good people of faith, and comparing them to violent religious fanatics is ridiculous!
I also remember writing a blog post criticizing Hitchen's hatred of sports. Hitchens basically blamed sports for all the ills of society, and stereotyped all athletes as being like Micheal Vick or Mike Tyson!
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/02/attack-of-sports-haters.html
--
Vaclav Havel -- started out as a playwrighter, but became a pro-democracy activist in the communist dictatorship of Czechoslovakia from the 1950s to 1980s!
After the communists gave up control in 1989, Czechoslovakia split into 2 countries - Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Havel became the president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003!
Havel passed away earlier this month from lung cancer.
To learn Havel's insipiring story , check out http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/vaclav-havel-dissident-playwright-and-former-czech-president-dies/2010/09/21/gIQATAeD2O_print.html
--
Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong Il ---- Terrorist leader and a dictator dead this year! Good riddance!
-------------
Obviously, there's more who passed away this past year! However, these are the ones I have commentary for!
No offense towards those I didn't comment on!
However, feel free to share your list with everyone!
crime and poverty
The same group of women have been arrested for 2 separate thefts, one from a Toys R Us, another from WalMart!
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/136396208.html?id=136396208
Members of a group suspected of hauling items out of a Kaneohe toy store who claim they stole the toys as gifts for their children are also suspects in a theft two days prior of two flat-screen televisions, Honolulu police said Thursday.
Five women and a man were seen on surveillance footage carrying out boxes of merchandise on Dec. 1 at a Toys R Us at Windward Mall in Kaneohe. Several of the women contacted an attorney after police released the footage, claiming they're unemployed, single moms who stole for their kids. Four of them surrendered Tuesday and the man is expected to turn himself in on Thursday. A fifth woman is expected to surrender in the coming days.
(skipped paragraphs)
Myles Breiner, the attorney who is representing one of the women and arranged for the five others to get representation, could not immediately be reached Thursday. He has said all the women are down-on-their luck single moms desperate to "meet their kids' expectations." They're remorseful and took the toys to his office, Breiner said, and that he has since turned over to police.
----------
OK, good news is they turned themselves in!
But this stuff about being "down-on-their luck single moms desperate to meet their kids' expectations." ?
My grandma raised 8 kids in a public housing project in Kalihi (Lanakila Housing aka Puahala Homes)!
Some of those years, she was a divorced mother!
How would she react if any of her kids bought home a toy they have found at a park?
She would YELL at them to "PUT THAT TOY BACK, IT ISN'T YOURS!"If that kid refused, she would've given them a couple slaps!
(note:I'm NOT trying to glorify using corporal punishment, I'm just telling you what actually happened)
The whole point, is that even though my grandma was raising multiple kids in a ghetto neighborhood, she NEVER thought it was OK to take stuff that isn't yours!
True words of wisdom!
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/136396208.html?id=136396208
Members of a group suspected of hauling items out of a Kaneohe toy store who claim they stole the toys as gifts for their children are also suspects in a theft two days prior of two flat-screen televisions, Honolulu police said Thursday.
Five women and a man were seen on surveillance footage carrying out boxes of merchandise on Dec. 1 at a Toys R Us at Windward Mall in Kaneohe. Several of the women contacted an attorney after police released the footage, claiming they're unemployed, single moms who stole for their kids. Four of them surrendered Tuesday and the man is expected to turn himself in on Thursday. A fifth woman is expected to surrender in the coming days.
(skipped paragraphs)
Myles Breiner, the attorney who is representing one of the women and arranged for the five others to get representation, could not immediately be reached Thursday. He has said all the women are down-on-their luck single moms desperate to "meet their kids' expectations." They're remorseful and took the toys to his office, Breiner said, and that he has since turned over to police.
----------
OK, good news is they turned themselves in!
But this stuff about being "down-on-their luck single moms desperate to meet their kids' expectations." ?
My grandma raised 8 kids in a public housing project in Kalihi (Lanakila Housing aka Puahala Homes)!
Some of those years, she was a divorced mother!
How would she react if any of her kids bought home a toy they have found at a park?
She would YELL at them to "PUT THAT TOY BACK, IT ISN'T YOURS!"If that kid refused, she would've given them a couple slaps!
(note:I'm NOT trying to glorify using corporal punishment, I'm just telling you what actually happened)
The whole point, is that even though my grandma was raising multiple kids in a ghetto neighborhood, she NEVER thought it was OK to take stuff that isn't yours!
True words of wisdom!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Part 2 of me vs Scrooge : GOOD NEWS
Earlier today, I posted the blog post concerning the rude, arrogant, Scrooge-like mid-level manager at Ala Moana Macy's who goes by the name of Michelle Range (aka Scrooge).
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-stood-up-to-scrooge-of-macys.html
Well, I did email a few media outlets. What they did with the info is up to them!
But I did get a call from Malia Zimmerman, the head of Hawaii Reporter, a news-oriented website! She posted an edited version of my blog on Hawaii Reporter!
Check it out at
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/i-stood-up-to-the-scrooge-of-macys/123
----------
I also left a voice message to the REAL store manager of Ala Moana Macy's. That would be Mimi!
I finally was able to talk to her about this issue!
She agreed that Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) was out of line! While Macy's usually prefer their workers not wear hats on the job, THE POLICY IS FLEXIBLE ON CHRISTMAS RELATED HATS!
Yep, the Santa hat is back on tonight :)
As for Scrooge (aka Michelle Range), she is going to have a meeting with her direct supervisor (Lavina Wong) on her diva-like attitude!
Justice is about to happen :)
If Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) still want to start static with me, I'll let you guys know! But if she's smart, she'll just leave the issue alone already! She lost, she might as well as accept defeat with dignity!
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-stood-up-to-scrooge-of-macys.html
Well, I did email a few media outlets. What they did with the info is up to them!
But I did get a call from Malia Zimmerman, the head of Hawaii Reporter, a news-oriented website! She posted an edited version of my blog on Hawaii Reporter!
Check it out at
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/i-stood-up-to-the-scrooge-of-macys/123
----------
I also left a voice message to the REAL store manager of Ala Moana Macy's. That would be Mimi!
I finally was able to talk to her about this issue!
She agreed that Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) was out of line! While Macy's usually prefer their workers not wear hats on the job, THE POLICY IS FLEXIBLE ON CHRISTMAS RELATED HATS!
Yep, the Santa hat is back on tonight :)
As for Scrooge (aka Michelle Range), she is going to have a meeting with her direct supervisor (Lavina Wong) on her diva-like attitude!
Justice is about to happen :)
If Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) still want to start static with me, I'll let you guys know! But if she's smart, she'll just leave the issue alone already! She lost, she might as well as accept defeat with dignity!
I stood up to the Scrooge of Macy's
I am a part-time employee at Macy's! I work at the store in Ala Moana, the biggest mall in Honolulu, Hawaii!
Macy's is a famous retail store with a strong connection to the Christmas holiday. From the "Miracle on 34th Street", the Thanksgiving parade, holiday seasonal workers, long store hours for the customers and all the Christmas dcorations in the store, it's a fun and magical place.
Of course, whenever there is fun, there is always someone who wants to ruin the fun.
The Scrooge I will discuss is Michelle Range, one of the mid-level managers who runs some of the women's clothing departments on the 3rd floor of the store!
(and yes, I am using REAL NAMES HERE! None of this BS "phony names to protect the guilty" crap from me!)
She has a problem with me wearing a (oh my god....... noooooooo!) Santa hat on the job!
Who in their right mind would have a problem with someone wearing a Santa hat at MACY'S ?
This letter was written on 12/18/11 concerning what happened the night before!
--------
-------
I was going to give this letter to Mimi personally on 12/18/11! I was off that day! I saw my direct supervisor that day, and she said she didn't see Mimi that day! (And yes, I walked in with that Santa hat) I left that note, and was hoping that Mimi was going to handle the issue internally!
Well, yesterday Tuesday, Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) saw me on the 3rd floor with the Santa hat!
Though she is normally just the manager of some women's clothing section, she was the substitute manager of the store that night!
She thought she was going to intimidate me into taking off the Santa hat! She tried to tell me repeatedly to take off that hat!
I quietly reminded her of the Christmas spirit that Macy's was known for!
She didn't want to hear it!
I told her I will come and talk to Mimi tomorrow about this! Scrooge( aka Michelle Range) said "you can wear it tomorrow, but I'm the EIC of tonight, so take it off now!" (imagine her saying that with a diva voice)
(also, notice that it sounds like she's making up her own rules! Otherwise, she wouldn't say "you can wear it tomorrow" when she's not scheduled to be the substitute store manager aka EIC)
I also told her that issue can bring bad publicity and I WILL SPREAD IT!
She got interrupted by the company's cell phone! And I walked away with my Santa hat on!
She didn't bother me for the rest of the night! I went on with my Santa hat on, acting like nothing happened!
One of the 3rd floor sales associate saw that happened, and told me that is how Michelle Range operates! I that sales associate "you're a witness, I'll bring it up to Mimi tomorrow". And I wrote down that sales associate's name! (that's right Michelle Range, someone else might finally have the guts to testify against you! Your diva act has its limits)
I didn't talk about the issue with anyone else that night! They saw me smiling as usual! They thought I was just smiling because I can be the lovable fun guy! They didn't realize that Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) tried to get tough with me and LOST THE BATTLE!
I'm not the type of guy who goes the nearest person to whine about my problems! I just don't operate that way! I just operate like nothing happened!
( a good skill for salesperson anyways : angry customer got on your nerves? We still greet the next customer like NOTHING HAPPENED)
But I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!
SANTA WILL NOT BE DISRESPECTED LIKE THAT!
No, I dont whine to my co-workers about it! They got nothing to do with it! I just want to distract myself and enjoy their company!
But I WILL bring this up to Mimi and the higher-ups at Macy's!
And I WILL contact as media outlets as possible!
That's right, Michelle Range, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE MESSING WITH!
I might have a soft personality at times, I might be conflict-avoidant at times, BUT DO NOT LET THAT FOOL YOU!
No, I'm NOT interested in physical threats.
I'm interested in having ALL the fans of Christmas, Santa, and ALL the Macy's shoppers to stand up for me!
But MORE IMPORTANTLY, I want all the fans of Christmas, Santa and Macy's TO STAND UP FOR THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!
Tell the world how much the Santa hat inspires you! Tell the world how happy it feels to see a Macy's store associate wear a Santa hat! Tell the world that the Christmas tradition shall not be disrespected!
What will happen next, I don't know!
Some would prefer I handle this internally! I understand such concerns!
BUT I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!
Some say "just do what your boss says". I've been honoring my boss's requests 99% of the time! But I am NOT an ass kisser!
The USA was NOT founded by ass kissers!
I'm taking a stand!
---
PS: Here is the contact information for Ala Moana Macy's
1450 Moana Boulevard
Honolulu, HI 96814
808/941-2345
I do encourage you to let them know how you feel, but PLEASE KEEP IT CIVIL! I want the store to know how hurt the customers are in hearing this news, NOT voices of loud rage!
Macy's is a famous retail store with a strong connection to the Christmas holiday. From the "Miracle on 34th Street", the Thanksgiving parade, holiday seasonal workers, long store hours for the customers and all the Christmas dcorations in the store, it's a fun and magical place.
Of course, whenever there is fun, there is always someone who wants to ruin the fun.
The Scrooge I will discuss is Michelle Range, one of the mid-level managers who runs some of the women's clothing departments on the 3rd floor of the store!
(and yes, I am using REAL NAMES HERE! None of this BS "phony names to protect the guilty" crap from me!)
She has a problem with me wearing a (oh my god....... noooooooo!) Santa hat on the job!
Who in their right mind would have a problem with someone wearing a Santa hat at MACY'S ?
This letter was written on 12/18/11 concerning what happened the night before!
--------
From : Pablo Wegesend (recovery associate)
To: Mimi (my note: this person is the head manager of the store)
Subject : Santa hats
I am writing this letter because it has come to my attention that Michelle (the 3rd floor manager) was telling Patricia Carrera [my direct supervisor] that I wasn’t supposed to be wearing a Santa hat because the dress code for store associates supposedly prohibits the wearing of hats!
When I was working the last holiday season at the Macy’s in Kahala Mall, the Santa hat was never an issue. I wore it the week before Christmas, and I have not heard anyone having a problem with it. Because it was never an issue when I was working at the Kahala Macy’s, it is my gut feeling that this prohibition on Santa hats is not coming from Macy’s headquarters. I am not sure who is the person who decided to prohibit Santa hats, and I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, as I am guessing Michelle was just being unflexible in enforcing a “no hats policy”.
Macy’s is known by many as a great place to come during Christmas holiday season. From the “Miracle on 34th Street” to the Thanksgiving parades to the long hours on the week before Christmas, it is very shocking that anyone within the Macy’s organization would have a problem with me wearing a Santa hat!
When I wear the Santa hat on the job, many children and adults smile and greet me! In fact, their reactions lift up my spirits just when I’m about to feel tired. It gives me the energy and motivation to keep going.
It would be a tragedy if Macy’s associates are banned from wearing Santa hats. If that issue was ever to be made public, either through Facebook, Twitter, the local news, CNN, Fox News, YouTube or talk radio, it is guaranteed to be a public relations disaster at a time when Macy’s can least afford one.
I hope that the store associates can continue wearing the Santa hats with pride this holiday season. I am also hoping that you can clarify this issue to all managers and staff, in order to protect us from mid-level managers who enforce rules that defy common sense. And then we can all move on and provide exceptional service with a Christmas spirit for the rest of the holiday season.
Mahalo,
Pablo Wegesend
-------
I was going to give this letter to Mimi personally on 12/18/11! I was off that day! I saw my direct supervisor that day, and she said she didn't see Mimi that day! (And yes, I walked in with that Santa hat) I left that note, and was hoping that Mimi was going to handle the issue internally!
Well, yesterday Tuesday, Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) saw me on the 3rd floor with the Santa hat!
Though she is normally just the manager of some women's clothing section, she was the substitute manager of the store that night!
She thought she was going to intimidate me into taking off the Santa hat! She tried to tell me repeatedly to take off that hat!
I quietly reminded her of the Christmas spirit that Macy's was known for!
She didn't want to hear it!
I told her I will come and talk to Mimi tomorrow about this! Scrooge( aka Michelle Range) said "you can wear it tomorrow, but I'm the EIC of tonight, so take it off now!" (imagine her saying that with a diva voice)
(also, notice that it sounds like she's making up her own rules! Otherwise, she wouldn't say "you can wear it tomorrow" when she's not scheduled to be the substitute store manager aka EIC)
I also told her that issue can bring bad publicity and I WILL SPREAD IT!
She got interrupted by the company's cell phone! And I walked away with my Santa hat on!
She didn't bother me for the rest of the night! I went on with my Santa hat on, acting like nothing happened!
One of the 3rd floor sales associate saw that happened, and told me that is how Michelle Range operates! I that sales associate "you're a witness, I'll bring it up to Mimi tomorrow". And I wrote down that sales associate's name! (that's right Michelle Range, someone else might finally have the guts to testify against you! Your diva act has its limits)
I didn't talk about the issue with anyone else that night! They saw me smiling as usual! They thought I was just smiling because I can be the lovable fun guy! They didn't realize that Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) tried to get tough with me and LOST THE BATTLE!
I'm not the type of guy who goes the nearest person to whine about my problems! I just don't operate that way! I just operate like nothing happened!
( a good skill for salesperson anyways : angry customer got on your nerves? We still greet the next customer like NOTHING HAPPENED)
But I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!
SANTA WILL NOT BE DISRESPECTED LIKE THAT!
No, I dont whine to my co-workers about it! They got nothing to do with it! I just want to distract myself and enjoy their company!
But I WILL bring this up to Mimi and the higher-ups at Macy's!
And I WILL contact as media outlets as possible!
That's right, Michelle Range, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE MESSING WITH!
I might have a soft personality at times, I might be conflict-avoidant at times, BUT DO NOT LET THAT FOOL YOU!
No, I'm NOT interested in physical threats.
I'm interested in having ALL the fans of Christmas, Santa, and ALL the Macy's shoppers to stand up for me!
But MORE IMPORTANTLY, I want all the fans of Christmas, Santa and Macy's TO STAND UP FOR THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!
Tell the world how much the Santa hat inspires you! Tell the world how happy it feels to see a Macy's store associate wear a Santa hat! Tell the world that the Christmas tradition shall not be disrespected!
What will happen next, I don't know!
Some would prefer I handle this internally! I understand such concerns!
BUT I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!
Some say "just do what your boss says". I've been honoring my boss's requests 99% of the time! But I am NOT an ass kisser!
The USA was NOT founded by ass kissers!
I'm taking a stand!
---
PS: Here is the contact information for Ala Moana Macy's
1450 Moana Boulevard
Honolulu, HI 96814
808/941-2345
I do encourage you to let them know how you feel, but PLEASE KEEP IT CIVIL! I want the store to know how hurt the customers are in hearing this news, NOT voices of loud rage!
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Pearl Harbor - 7 decades ; plus APEC
7 decades ago, Japanese warplanes attacked Pearl Harbor and other military sites in Hawaii.
Japan was an imperialist power that wanted large territories of colonies, just like many European countries like France and the U.K.
While the European powers that held Asian territories (ie. French owning Vietnam, Dutch owning Indonesia, British owning Malaysia and Hong Kong) were too distracted by their fight with Germany, Japan chose the wrong country to mess with when they attacked Pearl Harbor!
America had a strong industrial sector, and large amounts of people to draft into the military! Even worse for Japan, the Americans were developing a nuclear bomb!
---------
One of my close friend had an interest in Pearl Harbor, and posted some interesting blog posts related to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Here are the links!
http://wiileecoolstuff.blogspot.com/2011/01/trapped-at-pearl-harbor-escape-from.html
http://wiileecoolstuff.blogspot.com/2010/12/dec-7-1941.html
http://wiileecoolstuff.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-is-uss-utah-forgotten.html
------------------------
Back in 1991, which was the 50 year anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, then US President George Bush Sr came to Hawaii for the commemoration ceremony.
After the 9/11 attacks of 2001, I was really expecting the younger Bush to come to Hawaii for the 60th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor. It would've been the perfect time for him to do so, since the US had just experience a similar attack. Too bad he didn't come.
Now this is the 70th anniversary, Barack Obama should have come here again! I know he was just here for APEC last month, but even so, why not come here to commemorate a major historical event for his country and his home state?
People might complain about the traffic jams associated with the President and the Secret Service. Look, Washington DC face this all the time. We just deal with this for a few days! We have to make sacrifices sometimes.
People in Hawaii need to see the big picture! We are in the middle of the Pacific. We may be small in land and population, but that's no excuse for small-time thinking.
Hawaii was the PERFECT place for APEC, being that APEC is Asia-PACIFIC Economic Cooperation! Notice the Pacific part of APEC? It was about time we had an APEC conference in the middle of the PACIFIC!
APEC showed the world that Hawaii is not just a place of fun & sun, but also a place for serious business!
The APEC forum went well. Unlike other places, we didn't have violent protests here!
The Iolani Palace was locked for the duration of the conference. That was disappointing, since APEC visitors had booked trips there! This was their Once In A Lifetime Opportunity for them.
Though I do think the real reason Iolani Palace was locked because some Native Hawaiian sovereignty activists have previously barged in there as an attempted takeover. The state government didn't want such publicity stunts happening during APEC when all the world's cameras were watching! It would've been humiliating for Hawaii if the Iolani Palace was barged in and taken over by activists when the whole world was watching!
---------
I really wanted to see their group photo with all the participating nation's leaders in Aloha shirts!
In previous APEC photos, all the leaders were the native attire of the country the conference took place. For example, I still remember seeing ex-US president Bush and ex-Russian president wearing traditional Chinese attire for the group photo when APEC conference was in China.
Popular Aloha shirt company Tori Richards even made a special Aloha shirt for the APEC group photo!
However, Obama preferred that the leaders all wear business suits. He didn't want political opponents from the continental US to make a big fuss of "look at Obama wearing Aloha print as if everything's all fun & games during hard economic times". I would've just told them "Screw off! This is Hawaii, Aloha shirts are part of our culture! Get over it!"
Here is the APEC group photo taken by Ko Olina resort
courtesy of http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-14/apec-leaders-pose-for-a-group-photo-in-honolulu---palm-trees-an/3665040
Very nice scenery, good advertisement for Hawaii!
Too bad they just didn't have their Aloha shirts on!
Japan was an imperialist power that wanted large territories of colonies, just like many European countries like France and the U.K.
While the European powers that held Asian territories (ie. French owning Vietnam, Dutch owning Indonesia, British owning Malaysia and Hong Kong) were too distracted by their fight with Germany, Japan chose the wrong country to mess with when they attacked Pearl Harbor!
America had a strong industrial sector, and large amounts of people to draft into the military! Even worse for Japan, the Americans were developing a nuclear bomb!
---------
One of my close friend had an interest in Pearl Harbor, and posted some interesting blog posts related to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Here are the links!
http://wiileecoolstuff.blogspot.com/2011/01/trapped-at-pearl-harbor-escape-from.html
http://wiileecoolstuff.blogspot.com/2010/12/dec-7-1941.html
http://wiileecoolstuff.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-is-uss-utah-forgotten.html
------------------------
Back in 1991, which was the 50 year anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, then US President George Bush Sr came to Hawaii for the commemoration ceremony.
After the 9/11 attacks of 2001, I was really expecting the younger Bush to come to Hawaii for the 60th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor. It would've been the perfect time for him to do so, since the US had just experience a similar attack. Too bad he didn't come.
Now this is the 70th anniversary, Barack Obama should have come here again! I know he was just here for APEC last month, but even so, why not come here to commemorate a major historical event for his country and his home state?
People might complain about the traffic jams associated with the President and the Secret Service. Look, Washington DC face this all the time. We just deal with this for a few days! We have to make sacrifices sometimes.
People in Hawaii need to see the big picture! We are in the middle of the Pacific. We may be small in land and population, but that's no excuse for small-time thinking.
Hawaii was the PERFECT place for APEC, being that APEC is Asia-PACIFIC Economic Cooperation! Notice the Pacific part of APEC? It was about time we had an APEC conference in the middle of the PACIFIC!
APEC showed the world that Hawaii is not just a place of fun & sun, but also a place for serious business!
The APEC forum went well. Unlike other places, we didn't have violent protests here!
The Iolani Palace was locked for the duration of the conference. That was disappointing, since APEC visitors had booked trips there! This was their Once In A Lifetime Opportunity for them.
Though I do think the real reason Iolani Palace was locked because some Native Hawaiian sovereignty activists have previously barged in there as an attempted takeover. The state government didn't want such publicity stunts happening during APEC when all the world's cameras were watching! It would've been humiliating for Hawaii if the Iolani Palace was barged in and taken over by activists when the whole world was watching!
---------
I really wanted to see their group photo with all the participating nation's leaders in Aloha shirts!
In previous APEC photos, all the leaders were the native attire of the country the conference took place. For example, I still remember seeing ex-US president Bush and ex-Russian president wearing traditional Chinese attire for the group photo when APEC conference was in China.
Popular Aloha shirt company Tori Richards even made a special Aloha shirt for the APEC group photo!
However, Obama preferred that the leaders all wear business suits. He didn't want political opponents from the continental US to make a big fuss of "look at Obama wearing Aloha print as if everything's all fun & games during hard economic times". I would've just told them "Screw off! This is Hawaii, Aloha shirts are part of our culture! Get over it!"
Here is the APEC group photo taken by Ko Olina resort
courtesy of http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-14/apec-leaders-pose-for-a-group-photo-in-honolulu---palm-trees-an/3665040
Very nice scenery, good advertisement for Hawaii!
Too bad they just didn't have their Aloha shirts on!
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Steve Jobs, Occuppy Wall Street, and other related issues
So much to say, so little time to say them.
1) Steve Jobs
On October 5 of this year, Steve Jobs, the founder & CEO of Apple Computers, has passed away.!
The younger generation know Jobs as the i-guy whose company gave us the iMac, iTunes, iPods, iPads and iPhones!
But his innovations go way back, before today's young adults were born!
Steve Jobs was known for his many innovative ideas for 4 decades. He was never one who was just satisfied with his achievements. He was willing to create the next big thing, making things people never thought of using before that ended up being things people don't want to live without!
Back in the 1970's, computers were just things used in government agencies and in business. People laughed at the idea of a personal computer existing in middle class homes. However, Steve Jobs came up with computers that were small enough, inexpensive enough and simple enough for the average middle class home. Other existing computer companies (ie. IBM) took notice and made their own versions of the personal computer.
If Steve Jobs stopped there, he would've already been a business and technology legend! However, Steve Jobs wasn't done yet!
Back in the early 1990's, computer animation was just a fringe art form that only appeared in obscure short-film clips. Most animation was still hand drawn. However, Steve Jobs started Pixar, with the idea that computer-animated films can become box-office hits! The 1st major film from Pixar, Toy Story, was a big box-office hit, which paved the way for other hit films like Shrek and Ice Age!
If Steve Jobs stopped there, he would've already been a business and technology legend! However, Steve Jobs wasn't done yet!
Back in the late 1990's and early 2000's, there were fears within the music business that they would soon be out of business. Customers who were tired of paying $12 for a CD with 12 junk songs, just so they could hear 1 or 2 good songs, started getting songs online for free. Artists like Metallica and Dr. Dre started filing lawsuits against file-sharing networks like Napster, while alienating music fans in the process!
Steve Jobs had a solution. He started a website called iTunes where people can pay 99 cents for a song, which can transfer into different formats. And Steve Jobs had a new format for playing music. It was the iPod portable music player that was more convenient to carry around than the boombox, walkman or the portable CD player. And to input songs into your iPod, you need to download them from iTunes! Smart business move from Steve Jobs!
And like the iPod and iTunes, Steve Jobs came up with more stuff with names starting with lower-case i! There was the iMac, which was a popular personal computer of the early 2000's. There was the iPad, which was a portable wireless computer. There was the iMovie, a program that amateurs can use make and edit their own independent films. And there was the iPhone, which was a cell phone with internet access!
This was the work of staying ahead of everyone for 4 decades. That's not easy!
Just coming up with 1 popular idea is hard. But that popular idea can be outshined by your competitors, even ones you didn't see coming!
Sony was once a technology leader in music players. They came up with compact discs and Walkmans in the 1980s. But Apple outshined all that with the iPods!
Myspace was once the largest social network out there! It was so big that NewsCorp (owner of the Fox media programs) spent $100 million to buy it! But all that money and fame wasn't enough to save MySpace from being outshined by newer competitors like Facebook and Twitter.
2) Economic systems
While Steve Jobs was a technology innovator, his success doesn't just come out of nowhere! It doesn't just happen in any economic system!
His ideas might never gotten far in a country where the government makes all the economic decisions!
His ideas and his success happened because he lived in a country that has an economic system that allows individuals to risk their own money to start their own business.
This economic system is called capitalism.
Even if others laugh at their ideas, if they make a good product that people are willing to buy, they can become very wealthy.
This is not an economic system that guarantees success to everyone! Some business succeed, others fail!
Because of the idea that some might take risks and fail, capitalism has gotten a bad reputation, especially the last few years.
Because success isn't guaranteed, some will fail and suffer economically! Because success isn't guaranteed, those who start with disadvantages in life (ie. ghetto childhood, abusive parents, learning disabilities, physical impairments, etc) have a tougher time climbing the economic ladder than those who were born into a rich family! Because success isn't guaranteed, those who don't make it sometimes give up and become very resentful!
The last few years have seen people getting laid off, homes being foreclosed, and people ruined by debt. Recent college graduates who once thought prosperity would be guaranteed by their degrees are not getting the opportunities that once existed! People are having a harder time finding jobs that match their skill set. The older laid-off workers are finding it hard to find a job that paid as well as the ones they once had!
And to add insult to injury, CEOs of many failed corporate got bailed out by taxpayer's money!
3) Occupy Wall Street
This had inspired the Occupy Wall Street movement, which intended to embarrass the corporate executives by camping out in front of their corporate headquarters!
Their grievances are real and heart-felt by millions.
However, many of their solutions are totally unrealistic!
I'll go over the most unrealistic solutions listed from the link below
http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-for-occupy-wall-st-moveme/
Raising the minimum wage will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to improve the lives of minimum wage earners! OK, it will give them one week of euphoria! Yay, I'm making $8.75 instead of $7.25!
But euphoria wont last! In order to pay the higher wages, business will have to charge higher prices! So what was once $7.25 will now cost $8.75!
Just imagine if the minimum wage becomes $20! Everything that is now $7.25 will cost $20!
And the low-earners are still suffering from higher-prices! Even worse, many low-earners get laid off since businesses can no longer afford them!
With all the outsourcing going on, and layoffs occuring, we might as well re-legalize cheap labor! Sure, making $4 an hour isn't the grand life! But it's better than making 75 cents a week begging on the streets!
YIKES! A government-run health care monopoly?
Meaning, if you don't like your government clinic, you have NO alternate routes! That is the reality in Canada and the UK, and that is what many people don't want to see in the U.S.
From Robert Tracinskihttp://jewishworldreview.com/0709/tracinski.php3
(To those who buy the hype of "single-payer health care", READ THAT PARAGRAPH AGAIN!)
And also read this from John Stosell
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=3580676&page=1 ( an written outline of Stossell's documentary on health care systems)
Nothing is done "fast track" unless you're Usain Bolt!
But all kidding aside, changing energy sources requires techonological innovation! Government has been attempting this for decades with no results!
Instead of hating on big business, those occupiers could start their own business in making new sources of fuel!
If Steve Jobs could come up with personal computers and all his iStuff, someone who could make a more efficient energy source than what we got now could easily become rich!
I am paying back my college loans, and it would be nice if it all went away!
However, that money I borrowed for college didn't come for free!
It was a loan, which means the lending agencies lended me the money in hopes of getting the money back!
Let's put it this way - if you loaned your friend some $$$, but he/she didn't pay you back, would you lend it again?
HELL NO!
And that's how banks, credit unions and other lending agencies operate! If they didn't expect that money back, they wouldn't have EVER loaned the money!
Yeah, and do away with criminal background checks too yah!
I mean, if you got a history of not paying the money back, why should the banks loan you some more? The banks have to protect themselves!
4) Advantages of CapitalismAgain, we go back to capitalism. It is the system that produced many great things, but is resented by many! It is a flawed system, but in an imperfect world, it's the best one available.
Rich Lowry from the National Reviewhttp://www.nationalreview.com/articles/279453/jobs-rule-rich-lowry
(skipped paragraphs)
-----
Another tribute to Steve Jobs and capitalism
This one from Kevin D. Williamson http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/279321
(skipped over the images)
my comments : Cell phones get smaller, cheaper, and more efficient because the business who make them want to continue being profitable!
Government bureacracies don't have any real incentives to be more efficient! Why should they? They're already paid for by taxpayers no matter what! And even if there's budget cuts, they'll just blame it on the "low taxes for the wealthiest 1%" instead of trying to be more cost-efficient
Anyways, back to Kevin D. Williamson's comments
(skipped paragraphs)
My comments: It reminds me of this one time I was posting comments on a left-wing article that wanted higher taxes on oil. I pointed out higher taxes on oil will make it harder for families like mine. I mentioned that higher gas prices will make it harder for people like mother to drive my grandma around to buy neccessary supplies!
The other commenters said stuff like "so, the oil companies don't care about your grandma"
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE OIL COMPANIES CARE ABOUT MY FAMILY!
THIS SO-CALLED CARING IS OVER-RATED ANYWAYS! If oil products makes it easier for people like my mother to take my grandma places, then that's good! EVEN IF THE OIL COMPANIES CARED MORE ABOUT PROFITS THAN HELPING FAMILIES!
This is not meant to defend everything oil companies do!
It's meant to say that big businesses do contribute by making our lives convenient, even if they're doing so to make a quick buck!
--------
Back to Richardson:
My comments:
This is why I think's crazy for people to talk about "unaccountable corporations" and "we need a more democratic economic system".
Look, we have to wait 4 years to pick a president. Better than not having a choice!
But when it comes to choosing to buy products, you don't have to wait 4 years! You can make a choice now!
No one is forcing you to buy an iPod! I still don't have one! But lot of people get great joy from iPods, so Steve Jobs make lot of money!
There's a Starbucks almost everywhere! I haven't been in one for YEARS! And the last time I did, I think I just bought a bottle of water! Coffee, expressos, cappuccinos, whatevers, DOESN'T appeal to me AT ALL! I don't have to buy from Starbucks if I don't want to, even if they're on every corner! And no, I don't buy from Starbuck's sister chain Jamba Juice either! I like Hawaiian Sun canned juices better!
So yes, it's EASY to avoid paying certain companies! Companies are accountable to their customers! If someone doesn't like McDonalds, they could easily switch to Burger King! No need to wait 4 years to do that!
Remember, it was only a few years ago when MySpace was the hottest thing! Sony was once the hottest thing in entertainment items! They got outshined! Their declining revenues are a way of being held accountable by the customers!
That is something the new CEO running Apple has to be aware of too! It's enough to have the hottest thing now! Someone can come up with something hotter! Only time will tell if Apple can continue strong in post-Jobs era!
------
More Articles on Captialism and Steve Jobs
Capitalism has gotten a bad rep when it comes to health care! Rising insurance costs has gotten lower-income people worried!
But a more socialistic system does NOT live up to the hype!
There's tons of articles on that, but here's one relating to Steve Jobs
http://townhall.com/columnists/johncgoodman/2011/10/08/thank_us_health_care_for_the_life_of_steve_jobs
(skipped paragraphs)
(in other words, in the supposedly "humane" systems of Canada and the UK, Steve Jobs would've been refused treatment, he would've died, we wouldn't have the iPad or iPhone)
----The policies that indirectly helped Steve Jobs (and many other entrepreneurs of his era)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203914304576628900383779840.html
The article mentioned captial gains tax cuts, changes in pension laws, and protections for intellectual property
-----On why economic freedom and capitalism is important for economic growth, written by John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204358004577032442153911170.html
-------
"Wealth isn't a Civil Right" by Larry Elder
http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2011/11/24/hey,_occupy_wall_street_wealth_isnt_a_civil_right
---
And this one is critical about Steve Jobs, about the way he mis-treated his employees. Just because he got away with it, doesn't mean you will. Learn more at
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/11/be-a-jerk-the-worst-business-lesson-from-the-steve-jobs-biography/249136/
1) Steve Jobs
On October 5 of this year, Steve Jobs, the founder & CEO of Apple Computers, has passed away.!
The younger generation know Jobs as the i-guy whose company gave us the iMac, iTunes, iPods, iPads and iPhones!
But his innovations go way back, before today's young adults were born!
Steve Jobs was known for his many innovative ideas for 4 decades. He was never one who was just satisfied with his achievements. He was willing to create the next big thing, making things people never thought of using before that ended up being things people don't want to live without!
Back in the 1970's, computers were just things used in government agencies and in business. People laughed at the idea of a personal computer existing in middle class homes. However, Steve Jobs came up with computers that were small enough, inexpensive enough and simple enough for the average middle class home. Other existing computer companies (ie. IBM) took notice and made their own versions of the personal computer.
If Steve Jobs stopped there, he would've already been a business and technology legend! However, Steve Jobs wasn't done yet!
Back in the early 1990's, computer animation was just a fringe art form that only appeared in obscure short-film clips. Most animation was still hand drawn. However, Steve Jobs started Pixar, with the idea that computer-animated films can become box-office hits! The 1st major film from Pixar, Toy Story, was a big box-office hit, which paved the way for other hit films like Shrek and Ice Age!
If Steve Jobs stopped there, he would've already been a business and technology legend! However, Steve Jobs wasn't done yet!
Back in the late 1990's and early 2000's, there were fears within the music business that they would soon be out of business. Customers who were tired of paying $12 for a CD with 12 junk songs, just so they could hear 1 or 2 good songs, started getting songs online for free. Artists like Metallica and Dr. Dre started filing lawsuits against file-sharing networks like Napster, while alienating music fans in the process!
Steve Jobs had a solution. He started a website called iTunes where people can pay 99 cents for a song, which can transfer into different formats. And Steve Jobs had a new format for playing music. It was the iPod portable music player that was more convenient to carry around than the boombox, walkman or the portable CD player. And to input songs into your iPod, you need to download them from iTunes! Smart business move from Steve Jobs!
And like the iPod and iTunes, Steve Jobs came up with more stuff with names starting with lower-case i! There was the iMac, which was a popular personal computer of the early 2000's. There was the iPad, which was a portable wireless computer. There was the iMovie, a program that amateurs can use make and edit their own independent films. And there was the iPhone, which was a cell phone with internet access!
This was the work of staying ahead of everyone for 4 decades. That's not easy!
Just coming up with 1 popular idea is hard. But that popular idea can be outshined by your competitors, even ones you didn't see coming!
Sony was once a technology leader in music players. They came up with compact discs and Walkmans in the 1980s. But Apple outshined all that with the iPods!
Myspace was once the largest social network out there! It was so big that NewsCorp (owner of the Fox media programs) spent $100 million to buy it! But all that money and fame wasn't enough to save MySpace from being outshined by newer competitors like Facebook and Twitter.
2) Economic systems
While Steve Jobs was a technology innovator, his success doesn't just come out of nowhere! It doesn't just happen in any economic system!
His ideas might never gotten far in a country where the government makes all the economic decisions!
His ideas and his success happened because he lived in a country that has an economic system that allows individuals to risk their own money to start their own business.
This economic system is called capitalism.
Even if others laugh at their ideas, if they make a good product that people are willing to buy, they can become very wealthy.
This is not an economic system that guarantees success to everyone! Some business succeed, others fail!
Because of the idea that some might take risks and fail, capitalism has gotten a bad reputation, especially the last few years.
Because success isn't guaranteed, some will fail and suffer economically! Because success isn't guaranteed, those who start with disadvantages in life (ie. ghetto childhood, abusive parents, learning disabilities, physical impairments, etc) have a tougher time climbing the economic ladder than those who were born into a rich family! Because success isn't guaranteed, those who don't make it sometimes give up and become very resentful!
The last few years have seen people getting laid off, homes being foreclosed, and people ruined by debt. Recent college graduates who once thought prosperity would be guaranteed by their degrees are not getting the opportunities that once existed! People are having a harder time finding jobs that match their skill set. The older laid-off workers are finding it hard to find a job that paid as well as the ones they once had!
And to add insult to injury, CEOs of many failed corporate got bailed out by taxpayer's money!
3) Occupy Wall Street
This had inspired the Occupy Wall Street movement, which intended to embarrass the corporate executives by camping out in front of their corporate headquarters!
Their grievances are real and heart-felt by millions.
However, many of their solutions are totally unrealistic!
I'll go over the most unrealistic solutions listed from the link below
http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-for-occupy-wall-st-moveme/
Demand one: Restoration of the living wage.
Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment
Raising the minimum wage will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to improve the lives of minimum wage earners! OK, it will give them one week of euphoria! Yay, I'm making $8.75 instead of $7.25!
But euphoria wont last! In order to pay the higher wages, business will have to charge higher prices! So what was once $7.25 will now cost $8.75!
Just imagine if the minimum wage becomes $20! Everything that is now $7.25 will cost $20!
And the low-earners are still suffering from higher-prices! Even worse, many low-earners get laid off since businesses can no longer afford them!
With all the outsourcing going on, and layoffs occuring, we might as well re-legalize cheap labor! Sure, making $4 an hour isn't the grand life! But it's better than making 75 cents a week begging on the streets!
Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system
YIKES! A government-run health care monopoly?
Meaning, if you don't like your government clinic, you have NO alternate routes! That is the reality in Canada and the UK, and that is what many people don't want to see in the U.S.
From Robert Tracinskihttp://jewishworldreview.com/0709/tracinski.php3
Anyone can have a family doctor who makes a wrong diagnosis — but in America, you're not stuck with him. I'm a fan of the TV show "Mystery Diagnosis," which tells the real stories of people with very rare medical conditions who spend years trying to get a proper diagnosis and treatment. One of the things these patients talk about is how you have to "be your own advocate," and most of the cases are solved when the patient himself searches for information on the Internet and finds a specialist who is an expert in his disease.
But how can you be your own advocate under socialized medicine? It is outlawed, because you are no longer in control of your own health care. You have no freedom to choose a physician, or to seek out a specialist on your own, or to decide what medical tests you will pay for.
(To those who buy the hype of "single-payer health care", READ THAT PARAGRAPH AGAIN!)
And also read this from John Stosell
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=3580676&page=1 ( an written outline of Stossell's documentary on health care systems)
Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.
Nothing is done "fast track" unless you're Usain Bolt!
But all kidding aside, changing energy sources requires techonological innovation! Government has been attempting this for decades with no results!
Instead of hating on big business, those occupiers could start their own business in making new sources of fuel!
If Steve Jobs could come up with personal computers and all his iStuff, someone who could make a more efficient energy source than what we got now could easily become rich!
Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now!
I am paying back my college loans, and it would be nice if it all went away!
However, that money I borrowed for college didn't come for free!
It was a loan, which means the lending agencies lended me the money in hopes of getting the money back!
Let's put it this way - if you loaned your friend some $$$, but he/she didn't pay you back, would you lend it again?
HELL NO!
And that's how banks, credit unions and other lending agencies operate! If they didn't expect that money back, they wouldn't have EVER loaned the money!
Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies
Yeah, and do away with criminal background checks too yah!
I mean, if you got a history of not paying the money back, why should the banks loan you some more? The banks have to protect themselves!
4) Advantages of CapitalismAgain, we go back to capitalism. It is the system that produced many great things, but is resented by many! It is a flawed system, but in an imperfect world, it's the best one available.
Rich Lowry from the National Reviewhttp://www.nationalreview.com/articles/279453/jobs-rule-rich-lowry
In the form of the market, Jobs had a more exacting master than any government agency could ever devise. There was no guarantee that his genius would be rewarded. When he made missteps, he failed. The misbegotten Lisa desktop computer is a mere footnote in the obituaries. It didn’t live on in perpetuity, bailed out and propped up. When sales were disappointing in the 1980s, Jobs got ousted for a time from his own company.
Jobs wouldn’t be remembered if he hadn’t connected with customers, knowing what they’d want and caring about their needs. The difference between the private and public sectors couldn’t be captured more starkly than in the difference between Apple Stores and the post office — one sleek, up-to-date, and solicitous, the other charmless, antiquated, and sullen.
(skipped paragraphs)
The government can care for the needy; it can field a military and do much else besides. But it can’t dream. It can’t let its imagination run wild and pursue an individual vision with a ruthless determination. It can’t conjure new and profitable industries out of nothing. What we need to revive the economy over the long term is what the government can never create: Not just more jobs, but more people like Steve Jobs.
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Another tribute to Steve Jobs and capitalism
This one from Kevin D. Williamson http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/279321
I don’t know what Steve Jobs’s politics were, I don’t much care, and in any case they are beside the point. The late Mr. Jobs stood for something considerably better than politics. He stood for the model of the world that works.
(skipped over the images)
That old Motorola cinderblock would cost about $10,000 in 2011 dollars, and you couldn’t play Angry Birds on it or watch Fox News or trade a stock. Once you figure out why your cell phone gets better and cheaper every year but your public schools get more expensive and less effective, you can apply that model to answer a great many questions about public policy. Not all of them, but a great many.
my comments : Cell phones get smaller, cheaper, and more efficient because the business who make them want to continue being profitable!
Government bureacracies don't have any real incentives to be more efficient! Why should they? They're already paid for by taxpayers no matter what! And even if there's budget cuts, they'll just blame it on the "low taxes for the wealthiest 1%" instead of trying to be more cost-efficient
Anyways, back to Kevin D. Williamson's comments
Jobs was sometimes criticized for not being a philanthropist along the lines of Bill Gates.
(skipped paragraphs)
CNN, being CNN, misses the point. Mr. Jobs’s contribution to the world is Apple and its products, along with Pixar and his other enterprises, his 338 patented inventions — his work — not some Steve Jobs Memorial Foundation for Giving Stuff to Poor People in Exotic Lands and Making Me Feel Good About Myself. Because he already did that: He gave them better computers, better telephones, better music players, etc. In a lot of cases, he gave them better jobs, too. Did he do it because he was a nice guy, or because he was greedy, or because he was a maniacally single-minded competitor who got up every morning possessed by an unspeakable rage to strangle his rivals? The beauty of capitalism — the beauty of the iPhone world as opposed to the world of politics — is that that question does not matter one little bit.
My comments: It reminds me of this one time I was posting comments on a left-wing article that wanted higher taxes on oil. I pointed out higher taxes on oil will make it harder for families like mine. I mentioned that higher gas prices will make it harder for people like mother to drive my grandma around to buy neccessary supplies!
The other commenters said stuff like "so, the oil companies don't care about your grandma"
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE OIL COMPANIES CARE ABOUT MY FAMILY!
THIS SO-CALLED CARING IS OVER-RATED ANYWAYS! If oil products makes it easier for people like my mother to take my grandma places, then that's good! EVEN IF THE OIL COMPANIES CARED MORE ABOUT PROFITS THAN HELPING FAMILIES!
This is not meant to defend everything oil companies do!
It's meant to say that big businesses do contribute by making our lives convenient, even if they're doing so to make a quick buck!
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Back to Richardson:
Whatever drove Jobs, it drove him to create superior products, better stuff at better prices. Profits are not deductions from the sum of the public good, but the real measure of the social value a firm creates. Those who talk about the horror of putting profits over people make no sense at all. The phrase is without intellectual content. Perhaps you do not think that Apple, or Goldman Sachs, or a professional sports enterprise, or an Internet pornographer actually creates much social value; but markets are very democratic — everybody gets to decide for himself what he values. That is not the final answer to every question, because economic answers can satisfy only economic questions. But the range of questions requiring economic answers is very broad
My comments:
This is why I think's crazy for people to talk about "unaccountable corporations" and "we need a more democratic economic system".
Look, we have to wait 4 years to pick a president. Better than not having a choice!
But when it comes to choosing to buy products, you don't have to wait 4 years! You can make a choice now!
No one is forcing you to buy an iPod! I still don't have one! But lot of people get great joy from iPods, so Steve Jobs make lot of money!
There's a Starbucks almost everywhere! I haven't been in one for YEARS! And the last time I did, I think I just bought a bottle of water! Coffee, expressos, cappuccinos, whatevers, DOESN'T appeal to me AT ALL! I don't have to buy from Starbucks if I don't want to, even if they're on every corner! And no, I don't buy from Starbuck's sister chain Jamba Juice either! I like Hawaiian Sun canned juices better!
So yes, it's EASY to avoid paying certain companies! Companies are accountable to their customers! If someone doesn't like McDonalds, they could easily switch to Burger King! No need to wait 4 years to do that!
Remember, it was only a few years ago when MySpace was the hottest thing! Sony was once the hottest thing in entertainment items! They got outshined! Their declining revenues are a way of being held accountable by the customers!
That is something the new CEO running Apple has to be aware of too! It's enough to have the hottest thing now! Someone can come up with something hotter! Only time will tell if Apple can continue strong in post-Jobs era!
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More Articles on Captialism and Steve Jobs
Capitalism has gotten a bad rep when it comes to health care! Rising insurance costs has gotten lower-income people worried!
But a more socialistic system does NOT live up to the hype!
There's tons of articles on that, but here's one relating to Steve Jobs
http://townhall.com/columnists/johncgoodman/2011/10/08/thank_us_health_care_for_the_life_of_steve_jobs
On the very day that Steve Jobs died a new report suggests that the U.S. health care system is spending too much money on people near the end of their lives. The timing of the two events could not have been more ironic.
Had Jobs been under the care of the British National Health Service (NHS) or the Canadian Medicare system, he almost certainly would have died two years earlier. That would have been a major loss for the world, by anyone’s reckoning.
Here’s the back story. In 2004 Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He reportedly underwent successful surgery. Then, in 2009 he received a liver transplant. He died on Wednesday.
I haven’t seen Jobs’ medical records and I have made no real attempt to get the details about his medical condition. But for the point I want to make here, none of that really matters. Jobs’ case is interesting because of the issues it raises.
In most places in the world today a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer would be considered a death sentence. Aggressive treatment of the condition would be considered a poor use of medical resources — one involving considerable expense in return for only a few extra months of life. Perhaps Jobs’ cancer was of a rare variety that could be removed by surgery.
Even so, almost nowhere else in the world would a pancreatic cancer survivor be considered an appropriate candidate for a liver transplant. In Jobs’ case, the transplant apparently bought him only about two more years of life. In no other developed country would a patient get a liver transplant in order to live two more years.
(skipped paragraphs)
Plus, Jobs’ end-of-life care enabled him to keep pushing the envelope. Because of his never-ending devotion to innovation, we got the iPhone after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the iPad after his liver transplant.
(in other words, in the supposedly "humane" systems of Canada and the UK, Steve Jobs would've been refused treatment, he would've died, we wouldn't have the iPad or iPhone)
----The policies that indirectly helped Steve Jobs (and many other entrepreneurs of his era)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203914304576628900383779840.html
The article mentioned captial gains tax cuts, changes in pension laws, and protections for intellectual property
-----On why economic freedom and capitalism is important for economic growth, written by John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204358004577032442153911170.html
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"Wealth isn't a Civil Right" by Larry Elder
http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2011/11/24/hey,_occupy_wall_street_wealth_isnt_a_civil_right
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And this one is critical about Steve Jobs, about the way he mis-treated his employees. Just because he got away with it, doesn't mean you will. Learn more at
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/11/be-a-jerk-the-worst-business-lesson-from-the-steve-jobs-biography/249136/
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