Kaulapi World

With a few days left in 2011 it seems right to write a quick post to sum up a huge year personally. My son is quickly approaching the 2 year mark, and has progressed all of the milestones without a hitch. Work for both me and Hana have had the expected bumps, bit have been decent so far. The parents came for a short but sweet visit, been a blast so far.

Financially, I’ve made a few risky trades that have paid off so far. Especially on the fast week, one move i made that i had second thoughts on ended up being a good one afterall. Been an interesting year, for sure. Looking forward to what 2012 will bring.

Thought I’d kill some time uploading a post. As the title suggests its a little after one and I am sitting in the amtrak waiting area of union station waiting for the 3:15am train to New York. I’m scheduled to meet with some attorneys for work, the trip was initially supposed to be a 2 day gig, but ended up being a one day affair. Given my alternate work schedule it was a little tricky to free up some time to make the trip up the night before, so this why I’m most likely the most overdressed person in the station right now.

A little surmised how crowded the station is at this hour. Only wish there was a cafe or something open where I could hang out. The Amtrak announcement tv has already gone through a few cycles already. Mostly security notices and the usual, I’m glad I was able to arrange travel by train vs flying. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I flew. Maybe the last work trip?

Things have been very busy lately, work, watching the little guy grow up. He’s saying a few words, in cadence like full sentences, although its still in baby talk for now. Latest on the budget front is another threat of a shutdown looming this Friday. I’ve gotten so sick and tired of worrying about it that I try not to talk too much of it, but obviously ts on the mind.

The Senate just voted yesterday to approve a measure that would open the door to the indefinite detention of US citizens.  Given the historical track record of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII under the grounds of military necessity, I am more than ashamed that this type of legislation could get this level of support in the current representative democratic system.

Anyone who has been paying attention to the extent by which civil liberties have been outright abolished or at the very least eroded through years of attrition would be alarmed at the potential prospects of this legislation.  Some of the worst policies are created by a people driven by fear.  I hope the president has enough sense to veto this bill.

Been a few weeks so far for the occupy ___ movement which has gotten a considerable amount of attention and momentum. When it first began I wondered whether it could develop into something significant, whether enough of a movement could build to actually occupy the square. today the DC movement which has been camping out downtown tried to shut down the senate building, although their numbers weren’t very large.

The sound bite in the media is that it is a decentralized movement that while becoming increasingly more organized, it lacks an overall message. I think there are a few themes that are actually very clear. Decouple the amount of money and influence between the financial industry over politicians, and recognize the human toll that our system of debt has had on the majority of Americans.

In many ways I’m recalling a sense of frustration and outright rage that seems to have been building since 2008, but back then a lot of folks still had their jobs, still had some balances in their 401k accounts, still had some positive equity in their homes.

It is becoming apparent that all the hope and promises of change that came with a new party in power have been largely empty, and at least some of the folks organizing in the streets may be waking up to the sorry state of our political systems.

Meanwhile I’ve been reading up on the faces of the 99%, some stories are pretty gut wrenching. I’ve been struck by the number of students and recent grads in pretty depressing situations in terms of student loan debt.

I was recently introduced to the cable TV series featuring Madison Ave. advertising executives set in the 1960s by recently, honestly due to my pake tendencies, the mere fact that it was recently made available on demand via netflix.  I had heard a lot about the series in general, but never really looked into it until recently.  I just finished the season 4 finale a few nights ago, which left me looking forward to the season 5 starting early 2012.  Hana is several episodes behind, so I have to be careful not to ruin the various plot lines abound in the day to day operations.

For me, I’m especially drawn to the complexity of the characters that come and go in the storyline, no matter how little or brief the side plot around the main character, Don Draper, the writers captured very well the essence of human beings living more than half a century ago, in an America very different to what we see today.  Throughout the series there is this tense nostalgia for the simplicity of the 1950s and the dread of what the future may bring.  Vietnam, Civil rights movement, stagflation and recession, break up of societal norms and values all looming in the viewers mind who have the benefit of being a witness to history. Meanwhile, the characters are dedicated to writing advertisements for consumer products reflecting the norms and values of the times.

Adding to the enjoyment of the series, we have over the years run into more than a handful of people that actually would’ve fit in much better back then as opposed to know.  It seems strange how little nuggets of culture and attitudes linger on several decades later, sometimes unconsciously.  In some aspects, I too may fall squarely in that camp, although wearing a suit and hat all the time wouldn’t quite be my speed.

It’s slightly scary at times, really how despite it being a period piece, there are several parallels to the world of Mad Men that still without a doubt exist today.   Maybe not as brash and out in the open, but the attitudes, hopes and dreams, lightness and darkness still linger in American society.  Especially in professions that command a level of societal power and influence.

Just after midnight, and the winds are really picking up now. Maybe after suffering from some news overload during the day, I started wondering whether the hurricane was going to make much of an appearance inner area after all. We seem to have dodged a bullet here, the storm took just enough of an eastern path that we are just out of the hurricane force wind range, but checking outside real quickly I can definitely say this is much more than an usual dc area summer storm.

Lights just started flickering, and there is a low rumbling outside with the wind whipping around. Some of the larger trees on our street have started to sway, increasingly more just in the past hour or so. Maybe a metaphor how thing don’t seem that different at first, but give it some time for shit to get real.

Probably will stay up at least until the eye if the storm passes the eastern shore, after that I’ve been reading, things will begin to get less intense. NYC is up next on Irene’s warpath. Manhattan in particular, hopefully folks took the evacuation warnings seriously, just in case this thing is as bad as the forecasts have been showing.

5.8, scale tremor, just before 2pm, EST. Was sitting on my couch at home, just about to log in for work, and it felt like someone was shaking the couch violently. Went to check on the little guy, ready to grab him and get out of the house, he was still sleeping.

Kind of freaky, growing up in the ring of fire, I’ve lived through several tremors, but never while living in DC. The local news stations are talking about how unprecedented this is, bot the size and magnitude of the quake.

Updated to 5.9 now. Epicenter near mineral, VA.

I came across this linked C-SPAN clip from one of the economic blogs that I’ve been reading since the great recession came to a head in late 2008 when everything and anything was seriously FUBAR when it came to the financial and politcal state of the country.  I remember appreciating the authors candor to how seriously fucked up things were at that time, and how the policy fixes being crafted at the time ran the risk of putting us in a situation where we would be seeing the same old shit again in just a few years time.

The clip itself features two distinguished senators from both sides of the the aisle actually debating  some of the more underlying, but arguably more meaningful aspects of the ongoing debt ceiling debate.  One of them has come up in past conversation with friendly D-bags over the years, mostly with scorn to his cost-cutting ways.  The other, was once a candidate for the presidency, who many voted for out of default, not out of any meaningful admiration or inspiration.

This clip which I’m sure won’t see the light of day on any major cable news network does raise the question to what is really going on in Washington DC these past few weeks.  Are we really talking about meaningful reductions in government spending or are we just hearing another episode of partisan political theater to prevent our elected officials from making the decisions that are too politically difficult to make?

Flashbacks to 2008, how many hill staffers were put in a hard place answering overwhelming public outcry something like 1000:1 against the bailout of wall street while knowing their respective member had already made up their mind to go along with the leadership?  How many of them have wised up to the reality of the power structures in this country today and how many are still living in fantasy land?  I’m pretty sure that in the next 48 hours there will be some deal to raise the debt ceiling, this current battle is more smoke and mirrors, I’m more concerned with what reality might be waiting for us around the corner, one that won’t give a shit if we  consider ourselves democrat or republican or independent.

Another day spent watching this train wreck unfolding in DC I got to thinking that part of the problem is that both the causes of our current debt situation and the proposed solutions mirror closely to how many of us approach our personal finances. The various parties involved are starting to resemble a dysfunctional family bickering about how to make the latest credit card payment. Many Americans are already in a hole financially when it comes to their personal finances that the solutions being proposed sound more reasonable than not. Basically, get a new credit card to roll over the debt to give us more time to figure out how to pay things off. Rely on the recent hard times to justify why this increase in the credit line is rational.

We have become a buy it now, pay for it later society that relies totally on credit. Not just in the form of consumer credit card debt, but in the form of mortgages, auto loans, student loans. Further, debt is so universal part of daily life that is in fact a marketable asset through the securitization process that to make cuts so severe and too soon would crash the financial system as we know it.

This reliance goes far beyond the access to credit, but to reliance on the systems that revolve around it. Even those who carry no balances on their credit cards and pay off their bills every month, are relying that the transactions will go through without interruption. same goes with those who relying on electronic payment of bills, or those who believe they are adequately diversified in their investments.

That’s the message I’ve been hearing over and over again, and to the most part it makes sense to the academic side of me, the practical side of me has been rejecting this for quite some time now. These past few years have confirmed my belief that the average family in this country needs to prepare themselves not only to survive financially, but to prepare for long periods of hard times. Its better to have a number of lifelines or backup contingency plans in case the things that aren’t supposed to happen actually do.

Or 105 and counting, depending on which date is the real one. Real one I say because over the past week there have been additional analysis put out there on the governments income stream to suggest that the august 2nd deadline isn’t really what it was made out to be by the administration. Also, that there will be more than enough to cover at least one of the sacred cows that both parties claim to be committed to protect, social security. Just recently it came out that there is in fact a contingency plan to prioritize payments after august 2.

One thing I’ve learned is that whenever someone is trying to convince you with extreme emotions, flattery, but more importantly, fear, it’s best to take a step back and see what is really going on. I have to say that although I’m pretty independent of the partisan label, I have to be leaning a bit one way, on the basis that Obama has spent a lot of time getting a message out there that was at time vague, and other times outright false. This pisses me off because it makes it even harder for the responsible people who are trying to prepare themselves and their families for any potential downside that might come from a default. By moving the target date to score some political points seems too much like business as usual in Washington.

This wouldn’t be as bad if he hadn’t run on promises of hope and change, I was skeptical when he was campaigning but was cautiously hoping that he might be able to make good on at least some of his promises. When I mention this supporters are quick to blame the other party, and the previous president, which ironically is the same tactic that bush used time and time again. Supporters also fail to remember that just a year ago the dems had both houses, and the presidency to pass a budget. I guess they didn’t think all those folks who showed up in dc waving flags and talking about tea would actually get elected.

I’ve been running c-span in the background of my workstation these past few weeks and its been a little but of overload. Trying to figure out what is really going on as a passive observer has been challenging, trying to figure out how to best position myself and family has been impossible, not to mention stressful.