Xi Jinping – Just Passing Through the Quad Cities

Current Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, predicted to be the next President of Communist China, is currently goodwill traveling in the US.  He was greeted in Washington DC by unusually extravagant pomp that included a nineteen gun salute and a 350 troop honor guard. A first for foreign dignitary visiting the US. Xi spent Valentines Day in political discourse supposedly working US/China ties, with Obama and his security advisors. To the best of my knowledge, there is absolutely no veracity to any vicious rumor -that instead of doing his normal subservient bow, kneel and kiss of the foreign diplomats signet ring- President Obama, VP Joe Biden and other staff members performed a Valentines Day rim job on the future Chinese President, to finalize any future US/China business and political relations they discussed.  According to a National Press service, which will remain unnamed by this author,  Mr. Xi’s is then to visit some farm in Iowa.  ROFLMAO.

I am constantly haranguing the local press on their lack of effort that they put into modern journalism. The story by a major press service of Xi’s visit to some farm in Iowa is another example of the lack of effort put into contemporary journalistic efforts. If they had actually bothered to use journalistic curiosity in order look into the reasons a future President of China would visit some farm in Iowa – they would have found out, as the Quad City media enlightened their readers, that Mr. Xi had visited the same region outside Muscatine Iowa in a previous visit touring the US. As can be expected when foreign dignitaries visit rural America, there is an ever increasing buzz among the residents. Some of the more giddy, disclosed stories of interaction with the Chinese official during his previous visit. One person was digging out a can of tea that VP Xi had presented to the individual during his previous visit. Hmm – Makes you wonder when the  last time the reporter, who educated his or her readers about Xi’s visit to some farm in Iowa, received any type of gift from a Vice President of a Super Power Nation. Not that the local press didn’t have boo-boos in their story.

The local Quad City media was eager to mention that VP Xi would be arriving at the Quad City airport on Wednesday afternoon on his way to the farm outside of Muscatine Iowa. The story on QCOnline – listed on 02/14/12 – talked about how:

Several Muscatine residents talked warmly Tuesday afternoon about a planned meeting with an old friend today.

Of course the article also mentions that VP Xi is not actually arriving in the QC until Wednesday afternoon, 02-15-12, on his way to Muscatine. Nice proofreading editors. Meanwhile back at the ranch….
Another thing the QCOnline piece mentioned was that there would be a welcoming committee of Illinois Politicians for the Chinese VP, when he landed at the Quad City Airport in Moline, Illinois. I don’t imagine that he will get quite the pomp he received during his arrival in Washington DC . In fact if I were Xi’s security, I would be very worried if anyone mentioned a possible 19 gun salute at the Moline airport – considering that both John McCain and Barack Obama were confronted by assassination plots during their 2008 campaigning in the Quad City region. Though that happened on the Iowa side of the QC.  If I were Xi’s security I would “Just Say, NO!” to any possible welcoming involving projectile weapons.

Even more interesting the Quad City article was the mention that the welcoming committee at the Quad City airport would be headed by Illinois Lt. Governor Sheila Simon and Secretary of State, Jesse White.  Unlike in  Muscatine, where Iowa Governor Branstadt will be welcoming XI, there was no mention of Illinois Governor Three-County Quinn being involved with the Illinois ceremony. I suppose Quinn has better things to do, as he helplessly flounders around trying to right the sinking ship that best describes the Illinois economic outlook. According to the QCOnline article, China imported around 3.9 billion dollars of Illinois products in 2011. Yeah, , I would send my second-in-command to head a welcoming committee for the VP of the third largest importer of Illinois’ goods. Perhaps Three-County Quinn has some more important bootyious maximus kissing scheduled for Chicago “We’re Number 1!!!” Politicos, whose “Tombstone Voting” practices were probably integral in electing Three-County,  that overrides any common courtesy for major trading partners: it is probably some genius plan by Quinn to keep from ending up on a Mad Dog Rahm Emanuel enemy list.

Related articles

• ‘Touching story’ brings Chinese leader to Iowa (thegazette.com)
• Iowa Welcomes Back China’s Next President – TIME (time.com)
• Iowa Town Welcomes Back China’s Next President (time.com)
• China’s heir apparent to meet with congressional leaders (edition.cnn.com)
• China’s heir apparent to visit Congress (cnn.com)

Digging for Gold in an Iron Deposit

Image via Wikipedia

I have a love/hate relationship with polls and surveys. They are both often used tools. They may be informative, they may be useless or they may simply be fools gold. My personal opinion is that most fall in the fools gold category find – of a lustrous mine luring prospectors with false promises of immeasurable treasure. Don’t get me wrong, polls and surveys offer up a great deal of valuable resources for the miners – assuming they don’t become obsessed with a quick-riches strike, by the vein of pyrite – while ignoring the more valuable nuggets embedded in the less obvious areas of the dig.

I was reading on QCOnline a story talking about a recent survey performed by Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB) of local Quad City businesses.  I was reading what was basically a press release stating the summary of the study by the QCCVB – with comments from Quad City area leaders about how they would use the study to assist them in directing their future business decisions. As I read the article, I asked myself just how much of the material mined was going to be useful resources and how much would actually be a fools gold strike leading the Quad City Developers and Political leaders choking and sweating as they hastily dug shiny valueless nuggets while overlooking the actual valuable minerals of the excavation.

One of the most glaring issues I read in the study was that out of a thousand local businesses that were sent  the survey – 10.5 % actually returned the survey.  Only 105 businesses out of a 1000 even bothered to answer and return the survey. OUCH!!! Disenchantment or Apathy? Aversion for a request to share the requested business information? Distrust of what they felt was an intrusive survey? Unwillingness to  sacrifice the valuable time needed to complete the survey? Animosity for the QCCVB or its members? Whatever the reason, it is hard to make valuable property assessments, from a minority of responses to any information designed to enlighten and direct long-term operations for  political leadership and manufacturing corporations.  I don’t see much visible gold to be obtained from a ten percent survey of the plotted region.  In fact, I would be worried that my mining claim I just bought into, might have been salted by unscrupulous operatives to spur interest in mineral barren pits. Hopefully the surveyors of this parcel will be able to find some actual valuable minerals from this small sampling.

Best Buy and Wal-Mart Retail Fail

A couple of recent retailer experiences make me wonder just how interested local retailers are in seeking business. In my twenty-nine+ years on this planet I have managed to gain a great deal of insight to the retail world. I have been involved on both sides of the retail universe – as a purveyor of goods and services and as a consumer looking to make purchases of those same goods and services. Today I thought I would poke a textual stick in the eyes of two of the current-wave of giant retailers- Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

A thing about retail is you should never promise goods or services that you can’t deliver. It makes for an unhappy customer who in turn tells the tale to at least nine of their friends and family. Such was/is the story about Best Buy. An individual I know went to purchase an appliance from them recently. They were looking to take advantage of the next day delivery they offered. In what was probably a combination of poor store planning and of poor salesmen competence – the appliance was incapable of being delivered the next day. (Now in all fairness to BB they were not the only Big Box Store incapable of delivering on the next-day delivery promise in this tale I am sharing,  BB is getting the stick in the eye because they closed the sale.)  Now I am laying the blame on both the Store and the Salesman because in the end they are the ones responsible on keeping the next-day delivery promise. In fact the best date they could offer was over a week past the order date. There are numerous reasons why they probably could not fulfill their swaggering claims. Some of those could include the stores overselling of a particular model, poor delivery scheduling, the stores decision to purposely limit stock of certain items (this one happens a lot on low profit items at Big Box retailers), the stores incompetence of keeping sales staff aware of inventory shortage or it could have bee the sales staff incompetence of by not staying aware of stock availability. Whatever the reason the – store failed at fulfilling their advertised promise. And to make matters worse their delivery service exasperated the problem. In what was supposed to have been a case of delivery, setup and haul away the old product – the promised setup (for a couple in their 80’s) never happened. Plus the delivery drivers had to be cajoled into hauling the old product away. From start to finish the sale was a total failure.

In an instance more close to home, I was shopping at Walmart a few days back. I was in the market for a new fan. I have an extensive history in setting up retail merchandise displays. A pattern I have noticed at the Big Box stores (even grocery stores) is what seems a lack of ability to create customer friendly displays. Perhaps one of my biggest gripes is walking into a store where they have failed to properly sign and arrange merchandise.  Walmart as well as most other Big Box Stores are atrocious at signing and arranging  merchandise for customer usefulness. Which is made even more exasperating because they use a minimum of sales associates to operate their stores. On that day their merchandising incompetence cost the local Walmart the sale of a high-velocity fan.  When I went into the store many of the items were not signed in any discernible manner. In my experience that has become common practice for Walmart as well as many other big box retailers.  The items I was looking at were not signed on the shelves or even marked with any way telling the price on the boxes they were contained in. We are talking a $70 fan and the store did not have the foresight or protocol to properly sign their merchandise in order to sell it. A real stupid is as stupid does moment for Walmart- that has become a constant occurrence.  That is an inexcusable failure of management at all levels.

When considering both retail events – all I can see is a colossal failure of management, at all levels of Best Buy and Wal-Mart! You have to ask yourself – in an overflowing market of retail stores – are the two Big Box Giants really interested in our business? They certainly are not acting as if they are interested in our business!

Best Buy & Wal-Mart  – Retail Fail

Illinois is Burning

It seems that almost daily the State of Illinois is slapped in the face with some vulnerability created by our hopelessly inept State legislature.  Their inability to manage finances is like dealing with a credit card addicted spendthrift borrowing money from one credit card in order to payoff the accrued interest on another credit card. That is a losing proposition.  According to a QCOnline article the latest risk created by our borrow-borrow-borrow spend-spend-spend and just ignore your repayment responsibilities legislation ( 5 billion unpaid bills, and counting) – centers around the information that RI County is facing possible layoffs in the probation officer force, which keeps track of two-thousand+ non-incarcerated criminals walking our Quad-City streets. It seems that the State of Illinois is $400,00 dollars in the money owed the county that pays the salary of the parole officers. Government over-indebtedness is a nationwide problem. It sounds like it is time to stock-up on weapons, ammunition and  trained guard dogs in order to protect mans-castle(or womans-castle if that is the situation).

The State is broke. Gov. Quinn and the Super Majority Democrat led State Legislature talk-the-talk but never walk- the-walk, as they seem clueless on solving the budget problem. They borrow & spend without any idea on how they are going to pay off their financial obligations. They also create legislation that runs off business to other States while creating a dead zone incapable of attracting sustainable new corporate entities. The State is burning to the ground all  around us. But as Rome Illinois is burning, and faced with solving the budget problem – instead of looking for a fire-hose, the lawmakers hide their heads in the sand, as if that will put out the fire.

Miss USA – Girls Gone Wild

The Miss USA contest is no stranger to T & A titillation. According to Wikipedia –> “The Miss USA pageant was conceived in 1950 when Yolande Betbeze, winner of the rival Miss America pageant, refused to pose for publicity pictures while wearing a swimsuit. Miss America Pageant sponsor Catalina (a swimsuit manufacturer) decided to pull their sponsorship off the pageant, and create their own competition.” Considering the current controversy surrounding the publicity photos of contestants in racy lingerie poses, used to promote this years pageant, it looks as if the Miss USA  Beauty Pageant has decided to up the shock-factor.

As a former raging hormonal teenager of the male species, followed up in the 90′s by running with a QC Wolf Pack chasing the local girls-gone-wild and with health permitting, a future member of the dirty old mans club – I can say that the 2010 Miss USA publicity photos definitely have the WOW-Factor!  If the pageant officials and  contestants were seeking to embolden a Caligula status to all  their reputations and increase television ratings – through the pictures of contestants clothed in come-hither attired Penthouse poses designed to produce pervert’s cramps among the pageants spectators, I am guessing that they have succeeded in that endeavor.

However, while capitalizing on the lust factor may increase the beauty pageants  television ratings – I am guessing the pictures will do little for any of the contestants not seeking to use the pageant as a means to jump-start a career in the porn industry or womens underwear modeling. If that is the hope of these Miss USA Contestants, then they have chosen wisely. They are certainly more honorable, dignified  and respectable professions than politicians and lawyers.

On the other hand if the contestants were hoping to use the pageant as a stepping-stone towards becoming the CEO of a fortune 500 company – the pageant  photo-op  is probably a bad idea. Large Corporations tend to be stuffy and prudish when it comes to men or women attempting to climb the corporate ladder. Men and women already sitting in the corporate penthouses tend to see Penthouse/Playboy posing women as carnal entertainment for behind closed doors. If climbing the corporate ladder were the intentions of these young ladies – the photos will probably only help create a more difficult road ahead of them, before they can become the next Martha Stewart.

I have never been a beauty pageant fan, even during my raging hormone days. Not my cup of tea. But I do wish the contestants luck and hope the photo-op works to their advantage. But I am guessing that the only real winner will be the pageant and the television station exploitation as they benefit from making girls-next-door into girls gone wild.

Network Television – Endangered Species

Is the life of free Network Television dying an expensive death? There are many sources predicting the death of free TV by as soon as 2011. Maybe the demise could hold off until 2012, which would be kind of ominous, maybe even ironic to those that claim television as a blight on our culture. It is not as crazy as it may sound to those whom have never considered paying – for the costs of cable and/or satellite television signals.

As an AP article points out network television is bleeding greenbacks and not showing the quality profits as cable/satellite stations. Plus some cable/satellite stations like HBO, Showtime, USA Network, SYFY Network, Lifetime, MTV etc. have began to create their own original programming and movies. With the prodigious procreation of new cable/satellite only stations with a considerable amount of quality original programming- the available advertising dollars are spread thin. And cable/satellite stations are more creative in their selection of advertisers. I can remember 1-800 phone-sex advertising was common in the early 90’s on cable shows like the USA Up All Night with Rhonda Shear late night movie programming. Cable/satellite has also progressed (regressed?) to numerous 24 hour and late-night home-shopping programs; some even consist of selling adult themed sex toys. Trust me there is something a little unnerving, when you fall asleep in your La-z-boy rocker/recliner watching a family oriented television show and wake up to two hot babes selling forearm sized dildos on your 48″ HDTV. The cable/satellite channels have many more advertising sources to create revenue than are possible for standard broadcast television stations.

It was just about nine years ago when I got into a heated discussion over HDTV versus Standard Broadcasting TV signals, with an individual whom preached that broadcast television would always be available in standard format. I said at the time HDTV was a mandated signal switch by the Government and that stations would only broadcast in non-HDTV format as long as it was profitable. Many people told me – that I was talking crazy talk. I was talking reality that has now come to fruition. So when I read an article like the above AP story, where it claims that free network television may be going the way of the dinosaur, I tend to believe them. Companies need profit to operate and as sources of advertising revenue grow thinner – the weaker stations will die off. I suppose they could all apply for a government bailout or for endangered species protection from Obama.

Phil Hare and the Golden Sombrero Fairy Tale

A short time ago some of us in the local blogging community was discussing a situation involving Congressman Philobluster Hare and his media dog and pony show when a local company, Seaford Clothing, was on the verge of being closed due to financial problems. I believed then as I do now, that Hare figured there was no real way to keep the company from closing. Still he put on a veritable media circus promising to be the Superhero that saved the company by forcing the “evil” banking system to bend to Hare’s omnipotence and will.  So then Hare could claim to rescue the crippled company and thus saving all its workers from the fate of unemployment. The media was reporting during that time that Hare was insinuating that he was going to save the current jobs, plus he had also negotiated an expansion of jobs and workers for the local factory. It was a nice fairy tale. But the fairy tale ended on a sour note, as the company was not saved; and the jobs were lost as the mighty Casey/Hare struck out!

As I was reading a 08/31/09 Christina Salter article on QCOnline concerning the Seaford workers, I asked myself – did Philobluster do more than just strike out? According to the article the workers of Seaford and a sister plant down in Georgia have filed a lawsuit against their former employers – claiming they are owed sixty days back-pay and benefits that they are allocated under federal bankruptcy laws – since the shop was closed without proper legal notice. It sounds as if they might have a case. On the other hand the article also stated that –“If a “faltering company” is trying to stay open, and giving notice of a closing could ruin an opportunity to gain new capital or business, the employer is exempt. There is also an exemption for business circumstances that were not “reasonably foreseeable” at the time notice would have been due. In these cases, employers must prove they qualify for an exemption, and must still provide as much advance notice as possible.” That is probably the weak link in the lawsuit for the workers. So now I have to wonder; did Phil Hare’s phony portrayal of Superman, as he preened and bragged for the cameras of his super job saving powers- give the dying company credibility and legal protection to avoid paying the wages and benefits normally due do the workers under law? Has Phil Hares brazen desire to pander for Union votes cost these workers the needed money and benefits they might have been entitled to? It would be a shame if Phil Hare’s ego and political pandering cost these workers money they were due! And if it does affect their final payouts- was Phil just incompetent, uncaring or maybe both? I am worried for the workers sake; that Philobluster didn’t simply strike out, but actually perpetrated a golden sombrero.

The California Asking Price – $20000 For a Child Bride

One of the most important things to consider when selling an item is buyers remorse. Buyers remorse happens when a sold item does not live up to the expectations created by the item features  explained to the customer as benefits during a sales pitch. If it happens before the return or exchange period is up, it can have the affect of devaluing the sold item and/or create a situation where the item is returned by the purchaser or demanded by the seller. It is one of just many things in a business deal that can turn sour and ruin the sale.

In a bizarre Greenfield California case – buyers remorse has also created an illegal marriage dilemma.  It seems that a Mexican immigrant sold his daughter in marriage to another man for $16,000 cash plus the groom was to provide the father with 160 cases of beer, 100 cases of soda, 50 cases of Gatorade, two cases of wine, and six cases of meat. It sounds like dad figured out exactly what his asking price was for his daughter. I am too lazy to figure it out but it probably totals less than $20,000 in most places inside the US. In California maybe more. That is about the cost of some weddings I have been stuck participating in.  Worse there was evidently some buyers remorse on the grooms part. Either he did not have enough cash needed to finalize the sale or the goods delivered did not meet his expectations. For the father of the bride filed a report claiming she was a minor and a runaway when he did not get his expected treasures. Oops! The police investigation found out that this was not a runaway but a bride for sale event brokered by a third party. Although arranged marriages for profit are commonplace  in some countries/cultures; they not are legal or really socially acceptable in the United States.  And the Dad now faces felony charges for his part. And if the Dad, Groom and Brides legal issues were not already a problem it turns out the daughter was underage to get married in California.

A problem faced by many immigrants moving into the US – is that in many countries around the World there are more relaxed age restrictions involved when couple choose to get married. In this case the prospective groom was 18 and the daughter was 14. Ouch – that is a tad younger than allowed in most of the United States. Though I disapprove of the whole scenario I will give the individuals involved some slack with the age thing. If you are an immigrant moving in to the US it will serve you well to study the  Laws of the State where you choose to live in. We are one country but fifty States – Not All laws Interchange from State-to-State. This is especially true when it comes to the age of sexual consent laws and the laws involving what constitutes a Legal Marriage. In this case the groom also has legal issues of his own. It seems the couple never bothered to get married though they traveled to Mexico where they could have been legally married. And though they never married they did consensually consummate the relationship.  The age difference between the would-be bride and groom places the groom in legal jeopardy.

The worst part of the whole event is that now three lives are in shambles. The daughter will probably lose her father to jail. The father will have a felony on his record. And the groom faces charges of statutory rape. This was  an illegal business arrangement caused by ignorance of the laws that went from bad to worse.

Black Friday Mayhem

Black Friday is over for the year 2008. I did not sit out overnight waiting for the sale to start. I did not rush to the store and stand in first rush long lines. And I managed to land a very nice 19″ LCD TV for the bedroom at a great price at the Silvis, Illinois Wal Mart. I read that other shoppers were not so lucky at stores across the nation.

As is not so uncommon during special events, the crowds were out of control in several stores across the nation. One Wal Mart store in Long Island, New York reported Black Friday mayhem, which revolved around an unruly crowd tragically stampeding an employee to death. I have read several stories on the event including a couple of QCOnline postings where the blame game has already started in the comments sections of the posts. So far I have read many reasonings for the tragic affair by posters including placing the blame on: the nationwide event of Black Friday, Christmas, Security and several irrational jabs at blaming Wal Mart. I have been on both sides of the Black Friday line. I have worked retail many times during Black Friday Events and on rare occasions I have been a consumer during Black Friday events. Despite my numerous presence at many Black Friday events there was never an injury occurrence. There were consumer temper tantrums galore. But the only time I can ever remember actual violence was when I was a kid being dragged into K-Mart Blue Light Special Nights. Most Blue Light Special Nights were not Black Friday Events.

Neither the Black Friday event, Christmas, Security nor Wal Mart was the cause of this individual’s death. Black Friday and Christmas have been celebrated events for years. The violence that broke out this Friday was not representative of the events themselves. If we were to cease these events as some would call for, then will we cease very other event where a handful of individuals stir-up violence and mayhem? Shall we shut down sporting events, rock concerts, political rallies and media events? All have been home to various acts of violence. Shall we reduce the Interstate speed limit to thirty miles an hour that would reduce more injuries and deaths in weeks than have ever been accounted for during the history of shopping events. Also, if the company had a security guard at every entrance it is highly unlikely they could have slowed down the stampede of 2000 anxious people. And because Wal Mart offers great deals to their customers is not what killed this man. Lots of stores were mobbed with customers chomping to buy products at special prices. Violence is rare and not the norm at these events. There is blame to go around. But the blame belongs to the people who pushed, shoved and trampled the poor man to his death and injured several others. A combination of personal greed, envy, gluttony and pride all helped inflame the passions of anger and impatience, which is a deadly combination. It was mob mentality created from anger and impatience that killed the Wal Mart Employee. Sadly anger and impatience effect too many day-to-day activities.

This Friday, millions of people lined up across the nation to take advantage of special bargains and a fraction of those people lost control of their senses in a hand full of places. In the one case, they turned in to a mob that recklessly killed a man. And the facts are that even if someone is finally brought to justice for the event, the individual/s will be scapegoats for the throng of 2000 individuals that turned in to a mob. The cry for justice should be turned towards the mob not the events and institutions they tarnished.

To Bail Out US Automakers or Not – That is the Multi Billion Dollar Question

I have been reading about the recent suggested bailout of the US Automaker Corporations Ford, GM and Chrysler that just fell apart in the Senate. There seems to be lots of pros and cons concerning the bailout being tossed around the Internet. A poll on QCOnline seems to be leaning against the idea.  I am not sure if it is/was a good idea or not. If you consider past examples such as the TV/Electronics Industries, once a huge manufacturing base here in the US, government and history has not usually been kind to businesses that fail to stay competitive. Today’s electronics market is made up of items mostly made in Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and China. When US Electronics companies were being battered by foreign imports the US government did not rush to save American Electronic Corporations that either went out of business or was absorbed by foreign companies. There are no major manufacturers of televisions based inside the US that I am familiar with other than Vizio. And I do not even know if they build them here in the US. Curtis Mathis was down to one location in Texas but has recently been bought out with claims that they will become a force in the market again. Yet all the more well-known US Television Manufacturers that built the industry like Philco (1976), Magnavox (1976), Admiral (1979), Sylvania (1983), RCA (1986), GE (1986), Zenith (1999) have all went bankrupt or have been sold off to foreign companies as they became uncompetitive with foreign electronics manufacturers. No one in government saved their companies with bailouts. They were just allowed to become part of American Manufacturing History. I guess my question is why save Ford, Chrysler and GM from their own greed and incompetence when we never lifted a money-filled hand to save any of those companies?