Extra! Extra!

The following was the introductory paragraph to a story reported by Pix 11 News in New York City this morning.  Any story that starts like this cannot possibly end well.

8:04 p.m. EST, December 6, 2011

COLTON (KTLA) -- A 300-pound body builder remains hospitalized after allegedly attacking a couple and terrorizing a neighborhood during a naked rampage.

Long Live #iamthe53 !!!

For the last several weeks, the "Occupy Wall Street" protests have persisted without any kind of coherent or cogent message.  Mainstream media seems somewhat baffled as the movement has no "head" or "speaker" or representative to outline the presumed demands of the movement.   Their behavior, particularly in New York City and Oakland, California, has been chaotic and anarchistic.  This has led not only to an absence of clear message, but to a backlash.  Even CNN Money, usually a politically liberal news outlet, has joined the fray.  Below is a story posted by CNN Money last week.

The 53%: We are NOT Occupy Wall Street

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Occupy Wall Street protesters might say they represent 99% of the nation, but there's a growing number of Americans who are making it clear they are not part of the dissident crowd.

They call themselves the 53%...as in the 53% of Americans who pay federal income taxes. And they are making their voices heard on Tumblr blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages devoted to stories of personal responsibility and work ethic.

The number originates in the estimate that roughly 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The 53 percenters stress the fact that they are paying the taxes that support the government assistance the protesters say they want.

Kevin Eder was among the first to galvanize those who wanted to differentiate themselves from the thousands of people rallying across the nation to raise awareness of the growing economic gap between the rich and everyone else.

In early October, Eder created the Twitter hashtag #iamthe53, which has since been posted in hundreds of tweets as the backlash to Occupy Wall Street mounts.

"I would never identify myself with those occupying Wall Street," said Eder, 26, a business analyst in Washington D.C. "The frustration was born out of people claiming to speak for me who don't."

Meet the Occupy Wall Street protesters

Many of those tweeting share the belief that the protesters need to stop complaining about the government and financial institutions and start looking for work. Ken Gardner, an attorney in Dallas, joined the conversation because he opposes government handouts.

"We don't want to be the 53% who carries the 47% on our shoulders," said Gardner, who thinks more people should pay federal income taxes.

Eder's hashtag helped inspire Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of the conservative website RedState.com and a CNN contributor, to set up a Tumblr blog called "We are the 53%." It mimics Occupy Wall Street "We are the 99 percent" site.

The 53% site gives a voice to those who reject the contention that most Americans are victims of the system, said Josh Trevino, "quasi-official spokesman" for the blog.

"What the 99% is missing is the element of personal responsibility," said Trevino, who is also vice president at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. "The 53% want to bring that into the conversation."

More than a thousand people have sent in entries to the 53% site, which generally features their photo next to a piece of paper that outlines their views, as well as their struggles and work histories.

"I am responsible for my own destiny," writes one 34-year-old father of three. "I will succeed or fail because of me and me alone."

"I took jobs I didn't want. Why don't you?" says one poster to the protesters. "Suck it up and become part of the 53%."

As Frank Decker read through the posts, he felt he could relate. A public school teacher in Vancouver, Wash., Decker and his wife lived below the poverty line until they decided to go back to school to become educators. He sent in a post because he wanted to share his story.

"We didn't go through all that struggle while raising three kids to support people who don't feel they need to work or people who feel they are entitled to something they haven't earned," said Decker, 44.

At this point, neither Keder nor Trevino plan to shift their 53% efforts from the online world to the physical one. But they are both surprised at how popular the backlash has become.

"It's lasted far longer than we thought and it's become much bigger than we thought," Trevino said. "It's not over yet."

*     *     *

Disregarding all of the protests, lack of clarity, and obfuscation, the REAL question is, how do we get America to return to the positive, upwardly mobile values that have characterized its history?  No one would argue that "the system" was gamed during the last decade to the detriment of almost everyone if not everyone.  That is not the REAL question at issue.  The system WAS gamed and, as with almost every taxpayer (whether an individual or an investment banking firm or a dairy farm or a taxidermy shop), if there is a legal way to either reduce liability or expand profit, each would do so because the system provides us with those incentives.  The rules of the game are provided to each us, and each of us modifies our behavior to make the most of (aka "game") the rules.

The REAL question is, how do we re-introduce into American society the spirit of entrepreneurialism and feeling that "WE CAN ACHIEVE THROUGH HARD WORK", which are markedly absent from most people today.  The answer lies in small business and the rules provided to us.  America was built on the growth of small business.  Exceedingly few companies started their existence as highly capitalized mature enterprises.  Most successful companies grew from idea to concept, concept to plan, plan to model, model to prototype, prototype to product, product to commercial success.  This, I believe, is what is the root of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, although their anger is directed against the wrong target.  

The fact is that we are over-regulated and, even more importantly, improperly regulated by those who do not fully understand what they are regulating (e.g., Lehman Brothers could have a 33x debt to equity ratio under then existing regulations, but the regulators will argue ad nauseum and regulate whether the term "common stock" needs to be defined in registration statements and whether a brokerage firm can accept the deposit of certificates for shares of stock valued at less than $1.00 per share).  This phenomenon is a problem which has existed at least since the late 1980's or early 1990's and is not limited, by any means, to my examples.  America has lost its way, it has too many and incorrect rules and regulations, and it and needs to find the route home.  

What is needed first is accessible credit, incentives for investors to provide reasonably priced non-predatory equity financing, an easily accessible public marketplace, and massively reduced regulation for small enterprises so that they are not driven to the venture/vulture capital community to seek growth capital.  America has never had a revenue problem.  We have had a problem of regulation and spending.

Some of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests have decried what is someone's "fair share".  First, the facts.  Of all Americans, only 53% pay taxes.  This is an astounding fact and is clearly "unfair".  Whether the lowliest or the highest, we all receive benefits of our citizenship and the "social contract" which our Constitution affords us.  Further, according to the National Taxpayers Union, an independent non-partisan advocate group, based on 2008, the top 5% earners of adjusted gross income in the United States paid 58.72% of all Federal personal income taxes.  The top 50% paid 97.3%.  In other words, 50% of the taxpayers are basically providing a "free ride" for the remaining 50%.  A situation which, by definition, is "unfair".

There are no quick and easy solutions.  For America to regain its entrepreneurial spirit and to become re-engaged, basic systemic changes will need to be made, and they will not be easily accomplished.  Entitlements are very difficult to reduce, no less eliminate.  That being said, all of the entitlement programs are wonderful if there was a realistic way to pay for them.  Unfortunately in today's environment, no one can afford them.  Many of us have lived well beyond our means and have not even realized it.  The only way to enhance our Constitutional "social contract" is to encourage greater economic growth, the bulk of which will come through small business.  It is not possible for IBM to grow at 100% per year, but 10,000 small companies could, however, each grow at the rate of several hundred percent per year with very little cost to "the system".    Our goal, as Americans, should be to encourage this growth by small business, which requires a massively reduced and simplified regulatory environment.  Small business has roots in its community, it cares about its employees because they are not cogs or numbers, but members of a team with names, families, and relationships, it trains employees because it is in their best interests to do so, it pays employees, it pays taxes, and it provides a portion of the social backbone which America has, in large part, lost.  

My call to Occupy Wall Street  is as follows:  You are protesting the wrong things and you are vilifying the wrong people.  Help to simplify the system.  Bring back America's entrepreneurial spirit and "can do" attitude.  Bring your skills to bear and find a position in a field which you love or can at least tolerate, not with a behemoth firm if that is not what suits you, but with a small business where you can contribute and make yourself indispensible.  By doing so, you not only resolve your own financial situation, but may find that you build yourself a permanent home and career with a firm and people who actually care. By doing so, you may ultimately help in addressing the basic systemic issues which are plaguing America and bring us back to the greatness which I believe will all deserve.    

Father: Letting 9-Year-Old Drive Was a 'Mistake'

The following is the introductory paragraph from a Fox News article on December 3, 2011 (emphasis added).  Really ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich.-- A suburban Detroit man says letting his 9-year-old daughter drive him around after he had been drinking was a bad idea that grew out of good memories from his youth.

Shawn Weimer tells the Detroit Free Press for a story Saturday that he made a mistake asking his daughter to drive in the early morning of Oct. 8. He faces trial on a felony child abuse charge.

The 39-year-old says he wanted to share the experience of driving with his daughter. His family owned a junkyard and he had access to many vehicles at her age.

Police arrested Weimer after pulling over the van and finding his daughter behind the wheel near their home. Surveillance video from a Brownstown Township gas station shows Weimer bragging about her driving skills.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/03/father-letting-year-old-drive-was-mistake/#ixzz1fXBgvq20

Good Bye Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, Apple's founder and former CEO, the driving force behind some of the most revolutionary and popular gadgets and technology in recent history, died today at age 56 after battle with cancer.


I am awed by Mr. Jobs and his abilities.  A particular quote of his caught my attention.


‎"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma--which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."


Clayton Morris of Fox News wrote as follows:


"Like millions of others, in the days since the passing of Steve Jobs, I've found myself far more broken-hearted than I ever thought I would be. I wasn't friends with Jobs. I didn’t know him personally. I met him once, last year at the launch of the original iPad. He walked up to the table I was standing at and simply said, “What do you think?” And we talked for only one or two minutes after that.

I never knew personally, but he has spoken to me personally many times -- through his products. I respected Jobs immensely, and I find myself asking not only how I can implement his passion in my professional life, but in my personal life as well. That is what it means to inspire people."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/10/whats-next-for-apple/?test=faces?test=faces#ixzz1aR0DKtJr

Thank you, Steve Jobs,  and good bye.  We will miss you.

Steve Jobs

Admittedly, I am a big Apple fan and follower.  The ability of Apple to conceive, design, execute, and commercialize spectacular consumer products that do not simply work, but excel, has awed me and has captivated the world.  There are likely many reasons for Apple's success, not the least of which, and perhaps the greatest of which, is Steve Jobs.  Yesterday, Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple, stating "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

 Below is a story which I have copied from a Google+ entry by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice-President of Social Business for Google.  I think it exemplifies why Steve has been so influential and why Apple has been so successful.  Vic, if you are reading this, I am awed by this story, but will gladly delete this post if you prefer that I do so.


"Icon Ambulance

One Sunday morning, January 6th, 2008 I was attending religious services when my cell phone vibrated. As discreetly as possible, I checked the phone and noticed that my phone said 'Caller ID unknown'.  I choose to ignore.

After services, as I was walking to my car with my family, I checked my cell phone messages. The message left was from Steve Jobs. 'Vic, can you call me at home? I have something urgent to discuss' it said.

Before I even reached my car, I called Steve Jobs back. I was responsible for all mobile applications at Google, and in that role, had regular dealings with Steve. It was one of the perks of the job.

'Hey Steve - this is Vic', I said. 'I'm sorry I didn't answer your call earlier. I was in religious services, and the caller ID said unknown, so I didn't pick up'.

Steve laughed. He said, 'Vic, unless the Caller ID said 'GOD', you should never pick up during services'.

I laughed nervously. After all, while it was customary for Steve to call during the week upset about something, it was unusual for him to call me on Sunday and ask me to call his home. I wondered what was so important?

'So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I've already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow' said Steve.

'I've been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I'm not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn't have the right yellow gradient. It's just wrong and I'm going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that okay with you?'

Of course this was okay with me. A few minutes later on that Sunday I received an email from Steve with the subject 'Icon Ambulance'. The email directed me to work with Greg Christie to fix the icon.

Since I was 11 years old and fell in love with an Apple II, I have dozens of stories to tell about Apple products. They have been a part of my life for decades. Even when I worked for 15 years for Bill Gates at Microsoft, I had a huge admiration for Steve and what Apple had produced.

But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I'll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

To one of the greatest leaders I've ever met, my prayers and hopes are with you Steve.

-Vic"


Steve, we wish you the best.  Indeed our prayers and hopes are with you.  You continue to inspire us all.

One in a Million!

"The Fusilli Jerry" is the 107th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 21st episode of the 6th season. It aired on April 27, 1995.  In this episode, in Jerry's apartment, Kramer enters presenting Jerry with a small statue of Jerry made with fusilli pasta, also known as the corkscrew pasta, a "Fusilli Jerry". When Jerry questions Kramer as to why he chose Fusilli, Kramer replies, "Because you're silly!"

At the Department of Motor Vehicles office, Kramer had received someone else's vanity license plates which read "ASSMAN".  While in Jerry's apartment, Kramer indicates that he believes that the real owner of the plates is a proctologist. He tells Jerry and George that if they ever meet a proctologist at a party, they should stand nearby to be assured of hearing a funny story that will inevitably end with someone claiming "It was a million-to-one shot, Doc".  The "PS" of the episode is that Frank Costanza accidentally sits on "Fusilli Jerry" and needs to be rushed to a proctologist.  At the doctor's office Jerry, George and Elaine shift uncomfortably in their seats at the thought of "corkscrew pasta." Kramer spots a picture on the wall of the doctor's office portraying the doctor's boat with the name "ASSMAN" on it. Kramer asks the proctologist if his recently renewed license plates had perhaps been mixed up with someone else's and whether he is the "assman"; the doctor winks back. From off-screen, Frank is heard saying, "It was a million-to-one shot, Doc, one in a million."


Recently, as reported by Pix11 News in New York, there was a true "Fusilli Jerry" incident.  I am not relaying this story to be critical or to poke fun in any way, but the parallels are uncanny.  


Without going into too much detail, the story relates the following:

"WHAKATANE, NZ (PIX11) -- New Zealand trucker Steven McCormack is either the luckiest or unluckiest person in the world, depending on one’s perspective.

"McCormack was working on his tractor trailer at a gas station in Whakatane, on the North Island’s east coast, when he slipped and fell, landing on a broken high pressure air valve.

. . .

"The nipple of the valve punctured the 48-year-old’s left buttock, pumping air into his body at 100 lbs. per square inch.

. . .


"It took the trucker about three days to shrink back to his normal size, the time for the air to naturally disperse.


"McCormack is now looking forward to getting back to work after making a miraculous recovery, considering that he didn’t suffer any permanent damage."


Mr. McCormack, I give you a lot of credit, and frankly, you deserve it.  Your situation was unbelievably serious, embarrassing, and perhaps even humiliating, but you have taken it in stride.  Like Frank Costanza, you have shown immense personality and strength of character.  I think Frank Costanza was right when he said "It was a million-to-one shot, Doc".  Thankfully, both you and Frank Costanza survived the incident unscathed.

The People and The System

I am an avid reader of The New York Times and on Saturday read a story of limited significance to us in the United States perhaps regarding tens of thousands of protesters who have protested in Madrid notwithstanding a ban on such protests.  The Times states, "Fueling the demonstrators' anger is the perceived failure by politicians to alleviate the hardships imposed on a struggling population".  In addition, the protesters demand improvements to the judiciary, ending political corruption, and revising the electoral system of Spain to permit the selection of candidates by the people, much like the primary electoral process in the U.S.

The most powerful part of the article, however, was the quotation of several of the banners raised by the protesters:

"The voice of the people can never be illegal" and

"We are not against the system but the system is against us".

Thought provoking.

Finger Pointing In Milan

In Bowling Green Park near Wall Street stands what has become known as the Charging Bull, which is sometimes referred to as the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull, a 3,200 kilogram (7,100 lb) bronze sculpture by Arturo DiModica, standing 11 feet (3.4 m) tall and measuring 16 feet (4.9 m) long.  The oversize sculpture depicts a bull, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, leaning back on its haunches and with its head lowered as if ready to charge.   The image is iconic and has served as the backdrop for financial reports, news programs, films, and documentaries, and has been used to represent the resiliency and strength of the American people, as well as the strength and unpredictability of the financial markets. 


Italy has taken a different path.  Outside of the bourse in Milan is Italy's equivalent of Wall Street's Charging Bull, a 36-foot white hand displaying its middle finger called "Il Dito" (The Finger).  Perhaps it is a national response to the financial crises which have wreaked so much global havoc, or perhaps it is a physical manifestation of Italy's reputation for expressiveness.  In any event, I believe that the symbolism is reasonably clear.

The full article can be found in The Wall Street Journal at Up in Arms Over Finger Pointing.

Milan, I salute your spirit, your brazenness, and your sense of decorum. Message received. Bravo. Molto Buono. 

"Detroit, Detroit, A Hell Of A Town . . ."

Life is stranger than fiction.  You just can’t make this stuff up.  This is why they pay Michael Bloomberg the big bucks.

A humorous excerpt from:

Bloomberg: U.S. Should Make All New Immigrants Live in Detroit 

Published May 01, 2011, FoxNews.com.

Detroit needs residents. Immigrants want to live in America.

Michael Bloomberg says he's got a simple solution for both needs -- send all new immigrants to Detroit.

In a novel approach to immigration reform, the New York City mayor said Sunday that if he could have his way, he'd use the immigrant workforce to jump-start the Motor City's economy by requiring Detroit residency.

"The population has left. You've got to do something about that," Bloomberg said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "And if I were the federal government, assuming you could wave a magic wand and pull everybody together, you pass a law letting immigrants come in as long as they agreed to go to Detroit and live there for five or 10 years. Start businesses, take jobs, whatever.

"You would populate Detroit overnight because half the world wants to come here," he said.

Bloomberg has long advocated for changes in immigration policy. He said Sunday that America's "superpower" status depends on its ability to continue letting immigrants in.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/01/bloomberg-make-new-immigrants-live-detroit/#ixzz1LIZaDyEJ

Michael Scott

Goodbye Michael Scott and good luck.  Thank you for the memories.  We will miss you. Don't be a stranger.  You were the best boss ever.

Caveat Emptor

Tourists, beware: Proposed law would make it crime to buy knockoff goods - NYPOST.com

Honesty, this just strikes me as bizarre.  I suppose that purchasers will now need to conduct a full due diligence review on each product prior to purchase in order to ensure compliance.  Unfortunately, another case of regulation gone completely amuck.  Granted, I am not in favor of intellectual property infringement.  At least in my opinion, logic dictates that enforcement take place at the active infringer level (e.g., manufacturer or retailer), rather than by means of the consumer.

Inglourious Basterds

"As war rages in Europe, a Nazi-scalping squad of American Soldiers, known to their enemy as 'The Basterds', is on a daring mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich."

Written in the classic Quentin Tarantino style of Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds does not disappoint.  The film is action packed, full of irony and occasional unexpected insertions, whether graphic or musical.

My conclusion: a bit gory, but incredibly done, and highly recommended.  If you have the stomach for a bit of gratuitous violence, it is a "DO NOT MISS" film.

New British Beer Is Laced With Viagra

A brilliant combination and possibly the ultimate "Beer Goggles".  I only wish that I had thought of it first.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/04/19/new-british-beer-laced-viagra/?test=faces

Poke The Box

I just completed reading Poke The Box by Seth Godin.  And, for you perverts out there (and you know who you are), NO, it is not what you think.

“Poke The Box is a manifesto about producing something that’s scarce, and thus valuable.  It demands that you stop waiting for a road map and start drawing one instead.  You know how to do this, you’ve done it before, but along the way, someone talked you out of it.”

Some people believe that if you say something enough times it will come true.

Written almost as a collection of related, but semi-free-standing blog entries with a casual conversational style, the book implores us to act, to start things and to finish them.  Take chances!  Be innovative!  Create the status quo!  Draw your own road map!  And repeat those statements again and again and again and again and again.

A quick easy read.  I recommend it and hope that some of you will go out there and start something (or at least repeat this post again and again and again and again and again).

George Soros On Change

A Humorous Except From:

Two George Soros Events Aim to Remake the Financial Order and the Media -- So Where's the Reporting? By Dan Gainor, Published April 06, 2011, FoxNews.com

Apparently, megalomaniacs need schedulers.

Just ask George Soros. The left-wing billionaire is helping fund two major conferences that start on the same day, in two different locations just a three hours apart by car. Two liberal events packed into one long weekend. God created the world in six days. Apparently, Soros, who sees himself as “some kind of god,”needs just a long weekend to start remaking today's world in his image.

The emphasis of both conferences is a familiar one to American voters – change. Soros wants to begin changing the global economy in one event. In the other, his flunkies want to “Change the world. Change the media.”

Now that is change you can believe in. Sadly, those who actually report the news must believe in it because they sure as heck aren’t reporting on Soros or either event. And that’s even though staffers or even executives from Reuters, the Financial Times, NPR, PBS, The Washington Post and other major media outlets are speaking at one event or the other.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/04/06/george-soros-events-weekend-aim-remake-financial-order-media-wheres-reporting/#ixzz1IpzdYMtt

Advice From The Doctor

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat... I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with ME!"

Dr. Seuss

Three Cups of Tea

I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.  A fantastic read about Greg Mortenson's amazing mission to promote peace and fight radical Islam through the establishment of schools, principally schools for girls, and humanitarian public works projects in northern and western Pakistan.  I find Mr. Mortenson to be  an incredible humanitarian.  I highly recommend the book and had a difficult time putting it down once I started.

I just ordered Greg Mortenson's second book, Stones into Schools, about his subsequent efforts to do the same in Afghanistan following the war with the United States.

Below is a link to a list of news articles regarding Greg Mortenson and his efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

www.threecupsoftea.com/media-and-press/articles/

Introduction To The Browniac

I am Robert Steven Brown, a founder and a Managing Director of New World Merchant Partners LLC, a corporate transactional advisory firm.  In the course of my work and my life I come across some interesting people, antecdotes, statements, and stories, which I feel should be expressed to someone or at least anyone who will listen, but which are somehow inappropriate for posting on my work blog (newworldmp.blogspot.com) or other blogs.  I hope that you find these little posts as humorous, interesting, or illuminating as I do.  Please feel free to post comments, whether or not offensive.

See my new profile at www.about.me/rsbrown.