Rasta Rants

California -Gas Prices & More I live in California and I recognize that complaining about anything out here will probably fall on deaf ears. Folks in the rest of the country tend to think Californians are all fruits and nuts or the weather is so good we should shut up and take whatever is thrown at us. To some degree I understand that perspective but I want to opine on California, its gas prices and more as it might give some insight into what the rest of the nation may face soon. As all of you have seen California gas prices have spiked enormously in the last two weeks. The excuse is that we had two big refineries go off line and thus supply was cut causing prices to jump. In many metro areas we are seeing prices between $5 and $6 a gallon . The highest recorded last week was $6.65 a gallon. This is serious inflation and is hitting our businesses and citizens hard. The average is supposedly $4.67 but you would be hard pressed to find that in most areas. Compare this...

Well I hate to ever say I told you so but I said in my Debate blog a few days ago Biden would come out on the offensive. Biden was on his game last night and clearly won in a few areas. He had a strong mastery of the facts and Ryan did not challenge them enough. He clearly dominated the time and won most points. And surprisingly he he won is addressing the American people. I know this was Paul Ryan's first debate and he was nervous. It also appeared he was thrown by the attack of Biden and decided to respond by trying to act "Vice presidential" and not lower himself to Joe's status. This was a mistake and it cost him. Much has been made about Joe Biden's demeanor and smirking by the Republicans but it appears the American people were not put off by his behavior and in most cases they seemed to like it. In a debate it is okay to show some emotion and while I think Biden went over board I don't think Ryan showed enough. I agree that Biden's fake smile ...

Immigration Policy We all know that we live in a global environment and marketplace. However, we still must compete for nearly everything. If we assume that we will not return to the days of conquering and pillaging then we must have a foreign policy that conveys our values, limits and desires. It is only fair that our allies and enemies both understand clearly what our policy boundaries are and why. If everyone knows the rules then there is a greater chance that we will get high levels of compliance and cooperation. We must lead from a position of strength and pride. We must start with our Immigration Policy. Today, it seems we have no concrete immigration policy. We are fighting internally about it and states are trying to address their problems because the feds won’t. We can’t display this front to the rest of the world or we will never be taken seriously and we will definitely be taken advantage of. Knee jerk Executive orders by the President to garner political gain are ...

US Energy Strategy For the US to compete globally we must have affordable energy. Without this we cannot have a vibrant manufacturing sector and without that sector we can’t achieve full employment or the American Dream. Every economist agrees without a solid energy policy we can’t fix the American economy. Additionally, making things here in the US is also part of our Return the Pride Program. What do we really make in the US anymore? Not much - some cars, some tech, some raw materials and a few other minor industries. Post World War II we became a great nation because of our manufacturing sector. Obviously I realize we can’t beat the labor arbitrage that India and China have but we can still compete for manufacturing jobs in many areas if we have cheap energy. We all know that we have some of the largest deposits of oil and coal in the world right here in the US (or in our territorial waters). We also have a natural geography that can produce a lot of green energy as well....

Romney vs. Obama   Well the country and all the Republicans are a buzz with Mitt Romney's apparent victory over Barrack Obama in last week’s debate. The talking heads can't stop talking about it and the pollsters are going crazy with new polls every day. Even some die hard Democrats are a bit worried. I had one ask me if I thought Obama was ill last Wednesday.   I hate to be the one rational voice in the crowd but here I go:   Romney clearly was stronger than Obama last week but he is far from a winner. He waffled on a number of subjects and he missed a bunch of facts. (The good news so did Obama). He won a skirmish not the war. He has two more debates with the President and there is a VP debate on Thursday.   It was great for nearly 67 million Americans to see Romney and realize that he is not just a rich guy but a real person and one with some good ideas and a deep devotion to his country and its people. To see that he is a true g...

Understanding Hatred I was born and raised in Jamaica. As a then British colony the English influence was significant. The country became independent in 1962 but remained a Commonwealth nation. I was raised never to hate anyone – ever. You could dislike someone or not want to be around a person but you were never to hate anyone. I was raised Catholic and to hate was a sin. My mother was a living example of this moral. She hated no one. To this day I don’t believe she hates anyone. As I grew older and went to college this concept of not hating was further driven into me by my Aunt. Her perspective was that hate was a wasted emotion and only caused hurt and problems. She said hate never solved any problem – neither did violence. She like my Mom never hated anyone. Actually she devoted her life to loving people – particularly children. While we disagreed on politics we loved each other and always believed there was no place for hate in this world. As I graduated from co...

Today I find myself musing on several current issues. So I did some research that I thought would help as you evaluate these current issues that are dominating the news. As always I welcome comments and opposing views. I hope the information is helpful.   The Ownership of General Motors As most of you know, we the American taxpayers, during the “bailout” purchased over 500 million shares of GM stock (at least that is our current holding). With this stock we also have a strong presence on the GM Board of Directors and for all intense and purpose the US government helps run GM. Recently this has become increasingly difficult for GM management and rumors are rampant that they have asked the administration to let them buy out the government shares (our shares). Naturally the administration has said no. Here are some facts to ponder:   If we sold our 500M shares at the current stock price of $23 we would lose about $15 billion dollars on our original investment. Th...