Comments for ScottOnCapeCod's Weblog http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com Daily Therapy for a Conservative Living in Massachusetts Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:55:01 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Jackie Mason Explains PDS by Flo http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/jackie-mason-explains-pds/#comment-295 Flo Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:55:01 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1493#comment-295 I LOOOOOOVE Jackie Mason! He sure says a lot in short space of time. I LOOOOOOVE Jackie Mason! He sure says a lot in short space of time.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by David L Cassidy http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-290 David L Cassidy Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:26:53 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-290 J Peek, thank you for your measured response, and I too enjoy intelligent debate. You made this statement, "Overall, bailouts have been a great big sucking sound so far. I have seen no good come of them. In fact, jobs continue to disappear at a much more rapid clip than anyone thought they would." This may be true, but how do you know the "big sucking sound" (whatever that is) would not have been worse without the so-called bailouts ( a nondecript term, not well defined). And how do you know that 3, 6, 9 or more months from now the bailouts will not have been beneficial. In other words, why would you expect any such short-term results? These problems are not simple or recent in development. There are no simple or quick answers to complex and long-term problems. The problems could stem from decisions like made in 2000 (Commodity Modernization Act), 1980 (Reaganomics), or 18th Century (Adam Smith). Or the problems may just be cyclicle and random. In other words, what goes up must go down, and vice versa. No acts, no economists, no politicians and no Federal Reserve Board Chairman may be at fault. It may be all random. But, where's the fun in that. We would have to stop blaming Chris Cox AND Barney Frank. Sorry, I still blame people like Madoff, the unregulated criminal, and Chris Cox, the criminally or ideologically deficient SEC unregulator. J Peek, thank you for your measured response, and I too enjoy intelligent debate. You made this statement, “Overall, bailouts have been a great big sucking sound so far. I have seen no good come of them. In fact, jobs continue to disappear at a much more rapid clip than anyone thought they would.” This may be true, but how do you know the “big sucking sound” (whatever that is) would not have been worse without the so-called bailouts ( a nondecript term, not well defined). And how do you know that 3, 6, 9 or more months from now the bailouts will not have been beneficial. In other words, why would you expect any such short-term results? These problems are not simple or recent in development. There are no simple or quick answers to complex and long-term problems. The problems could stem from decisions like made in 2000 (Commodity Modernization Act), 1980 (Reaganomics), or 18th Century (Adam Smith). Or the problems may just be cyclicle and random. In other words, what goes up must go down, and vice versa. No acts, no economists, no politicians and no Federal Reserve Board Chairman may be at fault. It may be all random. But, where’s the fun in that. We would have to stop blaming Chris Cox AND Barney Frank. Sorry, I still blame people like Madoff, the unregulated criminal, and Chris Cox, the criminally or ideologically deficient SEC unregulator.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by J Peek http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-286 J Peek Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:53:57 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-286 David. I agree & disagree all at the same time. Contradiction? I think not. Yes, emotion is involved. We are human & unable to escape emotion. In many ways, that's a good thing. It fuels passion which fuels commitment and change. Let's not forget that the last election was a very emotional one in which many could just taste 'change', whatever that meant. Most did not know, they just wanted it. It sounded good. I agree that Republicans screwed it up in many ways. I also state that Democrats are not taking responsibility for their part & power these last several years. Yep. It's all politics all the time. That's the sad part. Oops, there go my emotions again! Not being mean, just trying to lighten it up a bit. Overall, bailouts have been a great big sucking sound so far. I have seen no good come of them. In fact, jobs continue to disappear at a much more rapid clip than anyone thought they would. Remember, we are being told daily that the turnaround is about to happen. Meanwhile, the stock market continues to plunge. The economy continues to bleed. This car dealer is not at fault. He ran a business as well as he could. I have not heard any disparaging remarks from his customers or employees (he is fairly local here), rather the opposite. Much like the bank bailouts, the auto industry bailouts have had little or no positive impact on the folks on the front line who depend on them for their paycheck. Except maybe for the CEO's & CFO's who have enough money already stuffed away to not really care. There's some emotion for ya - well, lack of it. Everyone appeals to emotions. Often emotion & logic are very cozy bedfellows if given equal space. Fear can be a great motivator. Believe me, I'm not hiding under the bed sheets & I do enjoy an intelligent debate. David. I agree & disagree all at the same time. Contradiction? I think not. Yes, emotion is involved. We are human & unable to escape emotion. In many ways, that’s a good thing. It fuels passion which fuels commitment and change. Let’s not forget that the last election was a very emotional one in which many could just taste ‘change’, whatever that meant. Most did not know, they just wanted it. It sounded good. I agree that Republicans screwed it up in many ways. I also state that Democrats are not taking responsibility for their part & power these last several years. Yep. It’s all politics all the time. That’s the sad part. Oops, there go my emotions again! Not being mean, just trying to lighten it up a bit. Overall, bailouts have been a great big sucking sound so far. I have seen no good come of them. In fact, jobs continue to disappear at a much more rapid clip than anyone thought they would. Remember, we are being told daily that the turnaround is about to happen. Meanwhile, the stock market continues to plunge. The economy continues to bleed. This car dealer is not at fault. He ran a business as well as he could. I have not heard any disparaging remarks from his customers or employees (he is fairly local here), rather the opposite. Much like the bank bailouts, the auto industry bailouts have had little or no positive impact on the folks on the front line who depend on them for their paycheck. Except maybe for the CEO’s & CFO’s who have enough money already stuffed away to not really care. There’s some emotion for ya – well, lack of it. Everyone appeals to emotions. Often emotion & logic are very cozy bedfellows if given equal space. Fear can be a great motivator. Believe me, I’m not hiding under the bed sheets & I do enjoy an intelligent debate.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by David L Cassidy http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-285 David L Cassidy Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:18:09 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-285 "However, I can hear it faintly in the background – successful business owner bad, government oversight good. That seriously scares me. Again, it’s the faint drumbeat I heard all through the campaign & louder & louder since January. Redistribute the wealth. Take away from those who work for their success & profit & give it to those who won’t or can’t." Well said, as it expresses what too many people are rallying around. Nothing in this quote is real, except one thing, the sentence, "That seriously scares me", which is an expression of an emotion. The emotion is real, but that is not necessarily reality. Unfortunately, emotions have been exploited for too many years, mainly the emotions of fear and anger. This exploitation has been the tactic used to divide the country, not for the general good, but for the benefit of certain special interests, whether it be in politics, religion or business. I disdain liberalism. However, conservatism has embraced these tactics of appealing to emotions, which is antipathetic to appealing to logic and reason, which should be the basis of conservative thinking. Conservative or liberal, one of the most important and powerful statements in the last 100 years when Americans needed it the most was, "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself". That sentiment is as true now as it was then. When we make decisions based on emotion, those decisions are more likely to be wrong. “However, I can hear it faintly in the background – successful business owner bad, government oversight good. That seriously scares me. Again, it’s the faint drumbeat I heard all through the campaign & louder & louder since January. Redistribute the wealth. Take away from those who work for their success & profit & give it to those who won’t or can’t.” Well said, as it expresses what too many people are rallying around. Nothing in this quote is real, except one thing, the sentence, “That seriously scares me”, which is an expression of an emotion. The emotion is real, but that is not necessarily reality. Unfortunately, emotions have been exploited for too many years, mainly the emotions of fear and anger. This exploitation has been the tactic used to divide the country, not for the general good, but for the benefit of certain special interests, whether it be in politics, religion or business. I disdain liberalism. However, conservatism has embraced these tactics of appealing to emotions, which is antipathetic to appealing to logic and reason, which should be the basis of conservative thinking. Conservative or liberal, one of the most important and powerful statements in the last 100 years when Americans needed it the most was, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself”. That sentiment is as true now as it was then. When we make decisions based on emotion, those decisions are more likely to be wrong.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by J Peek http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-284 J Peek Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:46:15 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-284 I always check these things out b4 forwarding, esp on Snopes (who has nothing at this point). Yes, sure, this is somewhat of a domino effect from American auto makers' bad business decisions over the years. I'll give the naysayers that. However, I can hear it faintly in the background - successful business owner bad, government oversight good. That seriously scares me. Again, it's the faint drumbeat I heard all through the campaign & louder & louder since January. Redistribute the wealth. Take away from those who work for their success & profit & give it to those who won't or can't. Those who legitimately can't, I'm all for giving a hand, but our government has never been very good at weeding out the won'ts from the can'ts. I won't pass this on until I can qualify it better, but I hear many similar stories on the news daily. I don't begrudge anyone the spoils of their hard work. There's a big difference between getting rich stealing other people's money & providing a product/service that people are willing to pay for. We vote every day with our wallets, whether we realize it or not. I always check these things out b4 forwarding, esp on Snopes (who has nothing at this point). Yes, sure, this is somewhat of a domino effect from American auto makers’ bad business decisions over the years. I’ll give the naysayers that. However, I can hear it faintly in the background – successful business owner bad, government oversight good. That seriously scares me. Again, it’s the faint drumbeat I heard all through the campaign & louder & louder since January. Redistribute the wealth. Take away from those who work for their success & profit & give it to those who won’t or can’t. Those who legitimately can’t, I’m all for giving a hand, but our government has never been very good at weeding out the won’ts from the can’ts. I won’t pass this on until I can qualify it better, but I hear many similar stories on the news daily. I don’t begrudge anyone the spoils of their hard work. There’s a big difference between getting rich stealing other people’s money & providing a product/service that people are willing to pay for. We vote every day with our wallets, whether we realize it or not.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by David L Cassidy http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-281 David L Cassidy Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:54:53 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-281 HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN? THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY. These are contradictory statements. The Chrsler bankruptcy happened precisely because it was NOT a government entity. It would not happen in a Communist country with government ownership of industries and central planning like the USSR. When things go bad because of wrong decisions by the central planners, the whole country goes down, like the USSR. In the USA and other capitalist economies, private businesses fail. The result is bankruptcy, restructering and financial pain to individuals by ripple effect. Mr. Joseph's business may or may not have been failing on its own. But, Chrysler failed bringing his business down. Maybe, it could happen ONLY in America. HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?

THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY.

These are contradictory statements. The Chrsler bankruptcy happened precisely because it was NOT a government entity. It would not happen in a Communist country with government ownership of industries and central planning like the USSR. When things go bad because of wrong decisions by the central planners, the whole country goes down, like the USSR. In the USA and other capitalist economies, private businesses fail. The result is bankruptcy, restructering and financial pain to individuals by ripple effect. Mr. Joseph’s business may or may not have been failing on its own. But, Chrysler failed bringing his business down. Maybe, it could happen ONLY in America.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by David L Cassidy http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-280 David L Cassidy Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:44:39 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-280 Examine these claims. "We currently employ 50+ people ....". "my Dodge franchise.... was given to another dealer at no cost to them.". "This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed." Did the other dealer fire his 50+ employess, and hire none others? Mr. Joseph cannot have it both ways. If the dealership is still open, there are employess. How many, who are they and where did they come from? "A federal bankruptcy judge approved automaker Chrysler LLC's plan to terminate 789 dealer franchises, calling it an "appropriate and necessary" step by the company. Effective immediately, the dealers are no longer authorized Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers. The decision to cut the dealerships "constitutes an exercise of sound business judgment" by Chrysler, which filed for bankruptcy protection in April, Judge Gonzalez wrote. The dealerships Chrysler wants to close represent about 25% of its showrooms, but only 14% of its total sales, the automaker disclosed in court papers. http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/09/news/companies/Chrysler_dealer_cuts/?postversion=2009060920 Examine these claims. “We currently employ 50+ people ….”. “my Dodge franchise…. was given to another dealer at no cost to them.”. “This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed.” Did the other dealer fire his 50+ employess, and hire none others? Mr. Joseph cannot have it both ways. If the dealership is still open, there are employess. How many, who are they and where did they come from? “A federal bankruptcy judge approved automaker Chrysler LLC’s plan to terminate 789 dealer franchises, calling it an “appropriate and necessary” step by the company.

Effective immediately, the dealers are no longer authorized Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers. The decision to cut the dealerships “constitutes an exercise of sound business judgment” by Chrysler, which filed for bankruptcy protection in April, Judge Gonzalez wrote.

The dealerships Chrysler wants to close represent about 25% of its showrooms, but only 14% of its total sales, the automaker disclosed in court papers. http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/09/news/companies/Chrysler_dealer_cuts/?postversion=2009060920

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by scottoncapecod http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-279 scottoncapecod Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:30:46 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-279 No offence, just did not get around to approving it, free speech is seldom offensive and reasoned thought is encouraged. Thank you for your consideration of the possible offence, but none taken. No offence, just did not get around to approving it, free speech is seldom offensive and reasoned thought is encouraged. Thank you for your consideration of the possible offence, but none taken.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by David L Cassidy http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-278 David L Cassidy Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:21:48 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-278 My comment was deleted. If I offended you, I apologize. My comment was deleted. If I offended you, I apologize.

]]> Comment on Sunshine Dodge Letter to the Editor by David L Cassidy http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/sunshine-dodge-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-277 David L Cassidy Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:34:17 +0000 http://scottoncapecod.wordpress.com/?p=1415#comment-277 I could not have said it better than shrinkrap. BTW, has anyone bothered to establish the validity of all the claims in this letter. And as usual with this kind of right-wing propaganda, other authors take it upon themselves to add or alter certain claims, not in the original. I assume the version posted here is the original. For example, the email I received included the following statement attributed to Mr. Joseph: "On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to a MINORITY dealer selected by the Federal Government at no cost to them." I could not have said it better than shrinkrap. BTW, has anyone bothered to establish the validity of all the claims in this letter. And as usual with this kind of right-wing propaganda, other authors take it upon themselves to add or alter certain claims, not in the original. I assume the version posted here is the original. For example, the email I received included the following statement attributed to Mr. Joseph: “On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to a MINORITY dealer selected by the Federal Government at no cost to them.”

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