Point of View »Ken Williams: Health Care Is Failing Us

Ken Williams: Health Care Is Failing Us

By Ken Williams | Posted on 01/06/2009

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In the view from the streets, everyone sinks under a system of "lifeboat ethics."

“Berry,” a short, slightly built man in his early 50s struggled to stand, but his damaged knees refused to hold him upright. He teetered and then swayed precariously threatening to fall hard onto the unforgiving blacktop. With traffic already stopped for him, the last thing he needed was to take a header with an audience looking on. Panic warred with the pain that was already tattooed onto his face. I saw him quickly look back to his useless walker by the curb. He had been given knee braces but he had discovered they prevented him from accessing a standing position once seated at the curb, thus he had discarded them. Yet, without them, even the walker couldn’t prevent him from toppling over.

Cutting a quick glance to the stalled traffic left and right, I hurried over to him with a wheelchair. I promptly grabbed him by the arm and sat him down as quickly as possible. Time became an enemy as the stopped traffic was unsure what to do. It was a testimony to the good people that none of them blew horns or cursed us. Instead, looks of compassion and sadness leaked from the cars, as did confusion.

My plan to rapidly expedite us from this situation ran into the hard reality that Berry’s legs didn’t have the strength to lift his feet. If I pushed the wheelchair forward they would become trapped under the chair and flip him to the ground. But where there’s a will there’s a way, so I turned the wheelchair around and instead of pushing it I pulled it backward. Still his feet dragged along the ground. Dr. J rushed over, grabbed Berry’s pants leg and gently lifted them up, allowing greater speed for us and less pain for him. A moment later, success was obtained when we wheeled Bery into the homeless shelter. After confusion was cleared as to if he had a bed or not, and only after Dr. J and I pleaded our case to Imelda Loza, Casa Esperanza’s assistant executive director, was his placement secured.

It had been a hard day at the shelter. During the morning, I met with the kind and harried social workers at the shelter, David, Katie and Maureen, trying to get beds for an impossible flood of disabled and senior citizens who found the streets their mocking safety net. Was the man with a deadly disease more in need of a shelter bed than the one crippled by a car accident? Or was the woman trapped in her wheelchair by a lifelong disability more in need of a bunk rather than the man who could hardly walk as a result of a stroke? Was the senior citizen supposed to sleep on the street so a mentally ill homeless woman who thought terrorists were after her could get one night in the safety of the shelter? This is what the health-care delivery system has come to: lifeboat ethics — who lives and who dies because of lack of resources, lack of affordable housing and shelter beds.

I flashed back to a few days earlier to the Community Kitchen, where I am privileged to serve lunch once a week. We have a custom of allowing the disabled to be served first. The first four people in line were in wheelchairs, the next four on crutches and canes, the ninth man walked with his blind stick held out in front of him. Then came the women, seniors and the disabled who hold their wounds within — the legion of mentally ill who roam our streets.

I think fondly of “Nancy,” a mentally ill homeless woman whom Dr. J and I have been treating in the streets for weeks. All that prevented her from losing her leg was the tenuous link of Dr. Lynne Jahnke and me running her down two to three times a week so her wounds could be cleansed and bandaged. This propels us on our weekly hunt through the bright city streets and dark back alleys.

Every one of these tragic tales speaks to a health-care delivery system not only in crisis but in a state of failure. Their stories speak to the denial of us all to this tragic fact. Politicians debate if health care is a right or a privilege in today’s America? How about if we view it for what it is: a matter of life and death. Who among us can be certain that we are not the next Nancy? The next Berry? Or the others, all those unfortunate souls who instead of homes and nursing facilities to care for them after catastrophic illnesses or injuries, find the streets or a shelter their recuperating station? Who among us is next?

Ken Williams has been a social worker for the homeless for the last 30 years. He is the author of China White and Shattered Dreams, A Story of the Streets.

Point of View »Clay Nelson, Life Balance: The Keys to Having the Year You Want

Clay Nelson, Life Balance: The Keys to Having the Year You Want

By Clay Nelson, Life Balance | Posted on 01/05/2009

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Here's how to see your resolutions through this year.

For many of us, each year starts off just like every other. We have big ideas about how the year is supposed to go, we make resolutions, we say that this year will be the year we stick to those resolutions, and within weeks many of those big aspirations and resolutions fall by the wayside.

Would you like to make this new year different?

I’d like to tell you that I am the sole keeper of the secret to actually seeing your resolutions through. However, deep down inside we all know what it takes to do what we say we are going to do, when we say we are going to do it. But every now and then, we need a nudge and reminder of the tools we need to put in place if we’re going to get what we want in the new year.

I’m going to be that nudge to see your 2009 resolutions through. Simply speaking, what you want to accomplish isn’t enough. You also must have:

Clarity and Commitment

Without being 100 percent clear about where you want to go, what you want to have, why you want it and when you want to accomplish it, the circumstances of life will take you off track. As we all learned in 2008, there is no shortage of distractions out there. Clarity is a must. With clarity around what you want and when, you have to really want what you want and be committed to having it no matter what.

Direction

In other words, you need a written plan. Without a written plan that succinctly spells out where you’re going, the steps you need to take and the specific measurable results you’re committed to attaining and when, reaching your resolutions will be very difficult.

Your written plan will:

» Show you what you should be doing to get what you want.

» Identify where you need help and who you need to ask for help from.

» Keep you focused and directed when life’s circumstances get in the way.

Team

Often people give up on what they want because somewhere along the line they discover they need help; instead of asking for what they need, they just quit. Given today’s ever increasing economic and social pressures, you don’t have that luxury. You can’t just quit and be at the mercy of the circumstances around you. You have to ask for help instead, which is why you need a team of people who can help and support you when you need it.

Remember: If you could get to where you are going without a team, you would be there already.

Accountability

If we and the people around us would just get the power of accountability, the world would be a different place. Do you want to start a new trend — the trend toward true personal accountability? All you have to do is ask for it. When you ask your team to hold you accountable for doing what you say you are going to do, doing what your plan says and taking care of you, there is no room for excuses or to give up; there is room, however, for focused and unstoppable action that gets results.

Fun

Do you want to know the fastest way to create a barrier to getting what you want in this new year? Take the fun out of doing what you need to do to get there. Anytime you take on a project or a direction perceived as a burden, you take the fun out of doing it. So, you’ve got to remember to have fun doing what you are doing. There are very few have-tos. Most of all, remember that there is no fun prison.

Do you want to know the key to keeping the fun in what you are doing?

Stay clear and present not only to what you resolve to do, but why you are doing it, which happens to be the first step to seeing your 2009 resolutions through. The truth is that every single one of the points above work together to support you in having the life and the new year you want. You can’t take on one without the other and expect to have your year turn out the way you want it to.

So, do you want to play? Then get going. There is a whole world of possibilities out there waiting for you.

Santa Barbara resident Clay Nelson founded Clay Nelson Life Balance™ to provide businesses and individuals with what may be missing in their lives: purpose, personal and business planning, fun, effective delegation through team management, and accountability. Click here to download Clay’s complimentary e-book, The Balanced Life — How to Put Fun, Family and Financial Freedom into Your Business and Personal Life. Click here to subscribe to the free podcast of The Clay Nelson Life Balance™ Hour radio show at 2 p.m. Wednesdays Pacific time.

Point of View »Orfalea Center at UCSB Awarded $400,000 for Global Initiative

Orfalea Center at UCSB Awarded $400,000 for Global Initiative

By UCSB Public Affairs | Posted on 01/05/2009

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The Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies at UCSB has been awarded a $400,000 grant by the Henry Luce Foundation to launch a new research and educational initiative that will advance understanding of the impact of religion on international humanitarian efforts and human rights organizations around the world.

“Since religion plays such a vital role in world affairs, it is mandatory that we understand better how it both helps and hinders humanitarian efforts in building a global civil society,” said Mark Juergensmeyer, director of the Orfalea Center and an international expert on religious violence and conflict resolution who will lead the three-year project. “This generous grant will fund a very important venture.”

Although international politics is increasingly challenged by the national and transnational movement of religious politics, the study of religion has been surprisingly absent from the established curricula of most graduate programs that prepare workers for positions in humanitarian and service agencies associated with international nongovernmental organizations. NGOs are now in the forefront of efforts to develop a global civil society, said Juergensmeyer, who is also a professor of global studies, sociology and religious studies at UCSB.

The Orfalea Center project will focus on issues related to religion that are relevant to all humanitarian organizations working abroad. It will bring together for the first time NGO leaders and scholars from international affairs graduate programs in the United States and in Europe for a series of UCSB workshops, conferences and public lectures to identify and address real-life issues connected to religion that are important in the field.

“We thank the Henry Luce Foundation for this extraordinarily generous support of our Orfalea Center project on the impact of religion and humanitarian service on our global society,” UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang said. “Scholarly exchange with international experts will stimulate and advance the research of our outstanding faculty and will inspire our students to help make a better world.”

International workshops will be held at UCSB on Africa, the Middle East, South and East Asia, and Latin America, and partnerships will be established with centers and NGOs in these regions. Research findings and discussions will be made widely available, and a Handbook on Religion in Global Civil Society will be compiled for use by academic and international NGO communities.

The project also will lead to the development of a new concentration on religion in UCSB’s master’s program in global and international studies that will serve as a model for other international studies programs nationwide.

“UCSB’s new graduate program in global and international studies is the first to focus on these issues in a global context,” Juergensmeyer said.

Other UCSB faculty involved in the initiative are Richard Appelbaum, professor of global studies and sociology; Giles Gunn, professor and chair of global studies and professor of English; Wade Clark Roof, J. F. Rowney Professor of Religion and Society; and Richard Falk, visiting distinguished professor of global studies at UCSB and the Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University.

The Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies was established at UCSB in 2006 with the support of Paul and Natalie Orfalea and the Orfalea Family Foundation.

The UCSB project is part of the Luce Foundation’s Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs that seeks to deepen U.S. understanding of religion as a critical, but often neglected, factor in international policy issues. It supports projects at U.S. institutions in the academic, public policy and media sectors to enhance programs and projects on religion and international affairs.

Point of View »Cinema in Focus: ‘Gran Torino’

Cinema in Focus: ‘Gran Torino’

By Hal Conklin and Denny Wayman | Posted on 01/05/2009

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Sacrificial love transforms the lives of those who least expect it.

4 Stars — Profound

There are few of us who don’t have significant regrets about our past behaviors. How we deal with those regretful behaviors deeply impacts our lives. When we confess our sins, we receive forgiveness. When we deny our sins, we project our regrets on others and become judgmental and unsatisfiable. This reality is profoundly presented in Clint Eastwood’s film Gran Torino. As director, producer and star of the film, he creates vintage Eastwood magic at the top of his game.

Based on a story by Dave Johannson, the central character is a septuagenarian who has just lost his wife. Standing at the head of the casket at her funeral and obviously dissatisfied with his sons, grandchildren and priest, Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a lonely man. He is also a crusty old man with a racist bigotry, obscene vocabulary and violent past who lives in his lifelong home in the middle of a neighborhood that changed long ago. His now dangerous neighborhood is inter-racially populated with conflicting gangs, the white flight happened years before, and this is a topic of concern among his adult children. Next door to his carefully maintained older home lives a Hmong family he despises without even knowing them. But providence provides him with the opportunity to find love and redemption.

The unexpected love comes from the two teenagers of his next-door neighbor’s family. Thao Vang Lor (Bee Vang) is an insecure high school student who is pursued by his cousin’s Hmong gang. Harassed by a Hispanic gang, Thao’s cousin and other gang members come to his rescue. But when he rejects their demand to join the gang, the violence escalates. When an altercation occurs in front of their house and spills over into Walt’s yard, he enters with armed force to stop it. This is experienced by the Hmong community as a heroic protection of young Thao. They respond with abundant, although unwelcomed, expressions of appreciation.

Thao’s sister, Sue (Ahney Her), reaches out to Walt with an unconditional acceptance that softens his heart. Regretting his lack of relationship with his own sons, Walt’s empty heart is touched by her love and eventually by Thao’s need for a guiding hand.

Part of what makes this film profound is the developing pastoral care of his young priest, Father Janovich (Christopher Carley). Seen by Walt as an “over-educated 27-year-old virgin,” it is Janovich’s persistence and authenticity that finally provides the opportunity for confession and forgiveness. But what Walt does to face the evil of his community is profoundly spiritual. We won’t spoil it for you by telling the ending here, but the redemptive and sacrificial action he takes reveals the genuine transformation that has taken place in him over the course of these relationships.

Deserving of its “R” rating due to obscene language, vile racial slurs and violence, Gran Torino is a study of a life that lost its way and yet is pursued by a love that would not stop. Walt’s ultimate response is both healing and instructive for the young people in his neighborhood who look to him as a model for their new American lives. It is his gradual transformation into a worthy role model who acts out of sacrificial love that makes this film profound.

Discussion:

» As in two previous Eastwood films, Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino is about an older man who becomes an unexpected mentor to a younger person. What do you think changed in Thao’s life because of the mentoring Walt provided?

» The urban jungle with its warring gangs is dangerous. If you were Walt’s sons, what would you have done to help your father?

» The promise that Father Janovich made to Walt’s wife to hear his confession is finally fulfilled because of the priest’s faithful pursuit. Have you ever been pursued by a pastor? What was the result of that journey?

» The plan Walt executes at the end of the film to help Thao and Sue is clearly a Christian act. What do you believe motivated his sacrificial action? Do you believe it was his own health situation, his caring concern for his neighbors, his desire to do something good with his life, or other factors that were primary in his decision to do this?

» How well do you know your neighbors? Have you ever been motivated to extend yourself as a mentor, protector or to provide other support to a neighbor in need?

Cinema in Focus is a social and spiritual movie commentary. Hal Conklin is former mayor of Santa Barbara and Denny Wayman is pastor of Free Methodist Church on the Mesa. For more reviews, visit www.cinemainfocus.com.

Point of View »California Condor Chicks Stretching Their Wings

California Condor Chicks Stretching Their Wings

By Chuck Graham, Noozhawk Contributor | Posted on 01/05/2009

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2008 breeding season called most successful yet for giant birds' recovery program.

After spending six months in its gritty nest cave on a sheer sandstone cliff, a California condor chick takes its first flight over Los Padres National Forest. Its first attempt at flying is a short one, uncertain of the wide-open expanse of forest and scrubby chaparral for which this wilderness is known.

The new fledgling isn’t alone. Six other condor chicks successfully left their nests this past fall, making 2008 the most successful breeding season to date for the California Condor Recovery Program. With these seven new condors and two other chicks in Arizona and Baja successfully leaving their nests, the wild condor population now outnumbers those in captive breeding for the first time since reintroduction of the endangered birds began in 1992.

“This is another big step toward the recovery of the species,” said Mike Woodbridge, public relations officer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Condor Recovery Program. “Seven chicks in California are more than we’ve had in a season. The chicks are doing well, but we still have a long way to go.”

The recovery plan calls for three distinct populations, each with at least 150 birds and 15 breeding pairs in California and Arizona. After the 2008 breeding season, the recovery program has reached an important milestone. There are now 167 condors flying free in the wild, with 160 in the captive breeding program at the Los Angeles Zoo and the San Diego Zoo.

“This is an exciting time for the California condor recovery effort,” said Marc Weitzel, project leader for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in Ventura County.

“We’ve come a long way since the recovery program began, and we still have a ways to go. We are making tremendous progress, with more condors in the wild than there have been in approximately 50 years.”

Nevertheless, condors still face threats from collisions with power lines, accidental and intentional shootings and especially lead poisoning. Even though a bill — proposed by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara — to remove lead ammunition from the condor’s historic range was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a year ago and was implemented in July, the threat remains.

Condors are checked for lead levels after hunting season concludes in late fall. Ingestion of lead has been the main culprit for condors, which doesn’t allow food stored in their crop (the pouch in their neck) to digest properly. According to Woodbridge, several recently tested condors were found to have high levels of lead in their blood.

“We suspect lead was still being used because lead levels were still substantial within the condors tested,” Woodbridge said.

“As people learn more about the law, it will become less and less of a problem for the condors.”

Another concern for North America’s largest flying land bird is encouraging the scavenging raptors to forage on their own do they don’t become dependent on food left out for them. Condors do not kill their food; they locate carcasses while soaring for hours on thermal updrafts, reaching speeds of up to 55 mph and altitudes of 15,000 feet. Condors can cover 100 to 150 miles a day with their impressive nine-foot-plus wingspans.

Since reintroduction began 17 years ago, field biologists have placed stillborn calves at feeding stations to encourage foraging behavior for the new wave of condors. Over time, those feeding stations have included remote locales like Lion Canyon on the Sierra Madre Ridge, the Wind Wolves Preserve and national wildlife refuges at Bitter Creek and Hopper Mountain. The Day Fire in 2006 and the Zaca Fire in 2007 have also helped, burning old-growth chaparral in regions of Los Padres National Forest that had not burned in 100 years. With their incredible vision, condors will be able to locate food easier in the burn areas.

“We’re still leaving them supplemental feedings at various locations throughout their range,” Woodbridge continued. “We’re also encouraging them to feed on their own.”

Local freelance writer Chuck Graham is editor of Deep magazine.

Point of View »Orfalea to Headline Secrets of Survival Forum

Orfalea to Headline Secrets of Survival Forum

By William M. Macfadyen, Noozhawk Publisher | Posted on 01/05/2009

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Panel discussion's aim is to help small business owners SCORE in a challenging economy.

Kinko’s founder, entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul Orfalea will be the keynote speaker at a free forum designed to assist small business owners in a down economy.

Secrets of Survival, sponsored by SCORE-Service Corps of Retired Executives, will be held Jan. 22 at the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Faulkner Gallery. A panel of SCORE experts will share their expertise with small business owners grappling with today’s fragile economy.

Orfalea will speak and introduce the panel, which includes moderator Jim Wolfe, former president and CEO of Balance Bar Co.; consultant and Noozhawk columnist Paul Burri speaking on business management; author and marketing consultant Erin Graffy speaking on sales and marketing; Gary Kravetz, former CEO of National Careers Corp., speaking on employee issues; general contractor Ralph Luikart speaking about negotiation; and Gene Sinser, treasurer of the Montecito Association, speaking about finance.

Among the subjects to be covered are accelerating accounts receivable, bartering, cash discounts, customer acquisition and retention, cutting hours, employee layoffs, extending accounts payable, extending product lines, guerrilla marketing, independent contractors, negotiating leases and other agreements, outsourcing services, renegotiating existing contracts, sales staff training and short-term loans.

Orfalea founded Kinko’s in 1970 to provide UCSB students with competitive copying services. The idea quickly caught on and the Kinko’s chain eventually grew to more than 1,200 stores worldwide. Orfalea retired as chairman in 2000 and FedEx Corp. acquired the company in 2004. He remains involved in a number of business ventures, including West Coast Asset Management Inc.

Orfalea and his wife, Natalie, started the Orfalea Family Foundation, which supports various philanthropic areas, and the Orfalea Fund, collectively known as the Orfalea Foundations. Grants have been concentrated in areas of child development and education, and the Orfaleas also support organizations addressing “learning differences.”

During his school years, Orfalea struggled with dyslexia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, which he credits as the blessings that allowed him to see the world differently from his peers.

“Because I couldn’t read, I learned from direct experience,” Orfalea has said. “Experience is a harsh teacher, because the test comes first, followed by the lesson. But lacking the ability to learn by reading, I embraced every chance to participate in life. I started businesses, like my vegetable stand. I skipped school to watch my father’s stockbroker at work.

“I learned early that I would only get through school with a lot of help from a lot of people. This dependence taught me how to ask for help, and how to provide what help I could.”

Secrets of Survival is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 22 at the library’s Faulkner Gallery, 40 E. Anapamu St. Admission is free but reservations are strongly recommended. Click here for more information or call 805.563.0084.

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Point of View »Commentary: Econophile’s Top 10 for 2008

Commentary: Econophile’s Top 10 for 2008

By Jeff Harding | Posted on 01/04/2009

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The economic reality is that there really were only eight events — but their impact sure was significant.

Econophile could only come up with the top eight most important events for 2008. If I tried for 10 I would be trying to make something that’s not important ... important. These events and ideas that will, in my opinion, have the most impact on your 2009.

1. Barack Obama, an African-American man, is elected president of the most powerful nation in the world.

Phenomenon. I can’t think of a better word to describe it. This charismatic man seemed to sweep across the country with calm dignity and uplifting speeches and gave people hope about the future in an uncertain world. In with the new new and out with the old. Let me set the stage: I don’t think I agree with his policies. I say this because we don’t know what his policies will really be until he assumes the office. I don’t see from his position papers or through the selection of his advisers that he’s bringing anything particularly new to the debate.

The significance of his election to me is that he is black. That alone is a transcending, uplifting event. In light of the record of the United States of America on slavery and race, we’ve all come a long way. Obama is irrefutable evidence of that. His election could mark a new era of good race relations in America. That is change.

2. The Crash of ‘08 nearly takes down the world.

I’ve talked quite a bit about this recently. I spelled out what I thought was the “why.” (Please see “The Law of Unintended Consequences.”) What is interesting to me is that when I go back and read the classic treatises on the subject of business cycles (Ludwig von Mises’ Human Action; Murray Rothbard’s America’s Great Depression) you can see current events unfold exactly as they predicted. Actually, it is rather frightening; no one should be having a schadenfreude moment here. I see this as a failure of current mainstream economic thought. While the Keynesians will try to portray this event as a being caused by deregulation and the “free market”, it is a classic tale of government intervention. I am working an article on the debacle and its future to be published this month.

3. Chalk one up for the Black Swan: The failure of risk analysis.

Very few investment advisers I have talked with have read or understood the risk theories proposed by Nasim Taleb in his books, Fooled by Randomness and Black Swan. The usual responses I get are either: “I don’t need a book to tell me there’s risk in the market,” or, a variant, “We are aware of Taleb and understand SIx Sigma events.” Which answers tell me immediately they don’t have a clue. Taleb’s theories were vindicated by the performance of Universa Investments, which uses his investment philosophy and risk models. Their clients made big gains during the recent market crash — up to 110 percent. (See “Black Swans, White Swans, and Fat Tails.”)

The Six Sigma-type of event utilized by existing risk models (the Black-Scholes-Merton model) is supposed to be an off-the-scale risk event. More correctly referred to as a deviation of 6 on a Gaussian scale, it is an event considered to be so rare as to not be worth considering in investment risk models. The proponents of these models keep getting creamed in the market. (See “Some People Never Learn.”) Taleb turned all this on its head by asserting the model isn’t relevant and these “highly improbable” events happen rather regularly and can’t be predicted. No one listened. So much for safety in numbers.

4. We trusted them: The shattering of mainstream economic assumptions.

The Crash of ‘08 has more significance than just the economic implications. A whole generation or two of people have come face to face with the result of economic mismanagement. This isn’t an event that’s limited to government actors. The supposedly sophisticated investors and advisers have been shaken by their losses and the speed of the collapse. The guy in the Chevy truck is shaken. Our parents or grandparents were shaken by the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II. Most people living today were born after WWII and until now had never been faced with the prospects of a depression. My econ professor in the early ‘60s said we would never repeat the Great Depression because our government knows what it’s doing. Yet the prospect of a depression is raising its ugly head again.

Trust in mainstream economics has been shattered. These economic principles guided our government fiscal and monetary policies, Wall Street, industry and banks. I look at it as a failure of Keynesian, interventionist economics. These guys were the smartest guys in the room, so to speak, and they screwed up–big-time. (See “The Smartest Guys in the Room.”) Now we are allowing them to use failed Keynesian models to get us out of the mess they created. I think the danger is that we will turn away from whatever vestiges we have left of free-market economics and turn to a version of European socialism. This would be the end of America’s greatness.

5. Bernie Madoff: The shattering of financial trust.

Bernie couldn’t have come along at a worse time. On top of all the other economic problems we have, he steals $50 billion from some of the most sophisticated financial operators in the world. I see it as kind of a culmination of the Fed’s easy money policy. How did these sophisticated players let him do it? They abandoned all standards of financial and, often, fiduciary responsibility because of their complacency and belief in the system of government oversight.

I point out in my article (See “Bernie Made Off with the Money.”) that these people believed in the old boy network ("It’s those insiders who make all the money.") They believed the markets were safe from people like Bernie because all those other prominent investors were in it and, as we all know, regulators wouldn’t let this happen. I believe this is a direct consequence of credit bubbles created by our government. Bubbles allow people believe that money is easily made without the necessary hard work. And, they don’t have a clue about real risk. I don’t think hedge funds will be the same for quite some time.

6. The shoe chucker: A symbol of the end of the Bush era.

When reporter Muntadhar al-Zeidi threw his shoes at President Bush in Baghdad he became a world hero. Not just among Muslims, but just about everywhere. Now there are video games where you can throw shoes and other objects at Bush. The point is that this gesture is a fitting end to the Bush era in politics. I can’t really think of anything Bush did right. OK, maybe invading Afghanistan and kicking out the Taliban after 9/11. But he should be harshly criticized for abandoning Afghanistan and invading Iraq. His foreign policy has been a disaster. We went from a world where everyone supported us after 9/11 to everyone hating us, or at the very least, not respecting us. Did we win the war in Iraq? Maybe, but that misses the point. It was a huge mistake to go in there. We could have bombed Saddam Hussein whenever we wanted if we thought he was a real threat. He, as it turned out, was a paper tiger.

How about domestic policy? When Bush first got in office he imposed steel tariffs as a payoff to unions and the steel industry. Then in his second term he promoted the largest increase in federal entitlements in many years with the prescription drug plan. He paid lip service to the free market while doing many things to destroy it. The greatest credit bubble in history took place on his watch. He also took the Republican Party down with him. He and his religious followers turned it from a somewhat free market-oriented opposition party to a force for imposing his moral values on the country, damn the Constitution. Goodbye, George.

7. Derivatives: Not gone, not forgotten.

As Mark Twain said, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” It is true that collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and their derivatives helped cause the Crash of ‘08. Like many new instruments the consequences were not well understood. The introduction of credit default swaps (CDSs, a purported investment insurance) magnified the problem almost geometrically. AIG wasn’t the only one writing swaps. And the same obligations were sold multiple times, all backed by swaps. We are now in the unwinding phase and trying to determine the risk and value of all this paper.

I predict that once all this unwinds that CDOs will still be around. They are a useful finance tool. The bundling up of properly underwritten mortgages, for example, provides capital for the housing market. Because it is new doesn’t mean it is bad. These CDOs were actually well-designed and written for the purpose they served. What went wrong was the deterioration of underwriting standards caused, in large part, by government intervention in the mortgage market (Fannie, Freddie and Congress). I believe that CDSs will also survive, albeit, conforming to better standards. A properly designed exchange market, backed by NASD standards, will allow the market to quantify and rate these guarantees as well as the underlying CDOs.

8. Invasion of the iPhone: 10,000,000 phones; 300,000,000 apps.

The iPhone brings us closer to the handheld computer. The iPhone isn’t new but it really came into its own in 2008. This marks the beginning of the end of the desktop computer. For the first time this year laptops outsold desktops. Something is happening. The promise that Apple offered was not just a cool little phone with a clever screen. The 300,000,000 applications that were sold for it can do almost anything you want, from finding a restaurant while you’re walking through SoHo, knowing where your friends are, wine-buying advice, on-the-fly financial and market data, games, weather, traffic cams, use it as a level or a flashlight, whatever.

They are everywhere now. Even my less than technically astute friends have them. It will take forever for the competition to catch up. Buy one now. Caveat: the battery stinks when you use 3G; the operating system isn’t perfect; it can crash your PC; you’re stuck with ATT.

Jeff Harding is a lawyer, developer and principal of Montecito Realty Investors LLC. A student of economics, he has a strong affinity for free-market economics. This commentary originally appeared on his blog, Subprime Crisis Forum.

Point of View »She Said, Z Said: Obama Schmobama

She Said, Z Said: Obama Schmobama

By Leslie Dinaberg and Zak Klobucher, Noozhawk Columnists | Posted on 01/04/2009

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He wowed us and wooed us, and now he doesn't write or call. Is he really The One?

Z: I am so disappointed in Barack Obama.

She: The man’s been our almost-president for two months now, and what has he done?

Z: Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

She: I Karaoked for Obama, I went to parties for Obama, I gave him some of my hard-earned cash. I still have his bumper sticker on my car, which is more than I’ve ever done for any presidential candidate.

Z: True that.

She: And what has he done for me this year?

Z: The big O. Make that the big O-bama.

She: Exactly. I don’t have my personal unicorn yet. Do you?

Z: Not even a lousy golden-egg-laying goose.

She: Maybe we’re being too selfish. Has he done anything for the rest of the world?

Z: Nope. The economy is still tanking, the war is still going on in Iraq, and people in Goleta are still convinced it’s a real city.

She: He has given us a few shirtless moments. I like that.

Z: And he made a bunch of competent appointments — except, none of those people think exactly like I do. Smart and capable? Really? That’s it?

She: I was so excited about him, too. Why did we elect this guy?

Z: I don’t know. But I’m in no mood to get burned again.

She: Do you remember that incredible sense of optimism at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration? I think he was the first person I ever voted for who won.

Z: I can still feel the tingling wonder of Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant singing “To Sir With Love” at one of the Inauguration parties, and being sure that everything was going to be good with the world.

She: And then we got burned. I just don’t know if I can love again.

Z: And then there was President Bush in 2004. He told us we were fat and ugly and scared, and so we begged him to get back together with us.

She: We may have been in a bad head space, but we totally deserved waking up to him every morning.

Z: But then Obama came along and told us we were pretty and smart.

She: And we believed him. Why doesn’t he call any more? I only got six e-mails from MoveOn last week. I feel so neglected.

Z: Does it seem maybe a little premature to be disappointed?

She: I felt the same way on Christmas Eve, preparing myself for the possibility that Santa might not be coming, and knowing that you bought me a present “just in case.”

Z: Do you think we’re being hard on Obama?

She: No. You remember how I always know what TV characters are thinking and doing when they’re not on the screen?

Z: I still find it shocking that Radar and Hotlips were an item off screen. How do you know these things?

She: It’s a gift. Even though Obama said that times were going to be tough and we’d all have to work together to make things better, I’m sure what he really meant to say, what he was saying off screen, was that he would perform miracles and make it all better for us.

Z: Exactly. That’s why they call him The One.

She: Why else would there be that awesome music on Jon Stewart whenever they said his name?

Z: You’re probably right. So how do we protect ourselves?

She: Uh, I’m not sure. Some of our friends are shrouding themselves in hopefulness.

Z: That’s not really our style.

She: What about cautious optimism?

Z: And lowering the bar a little?

She: That sounds more like us. Although I still keep looking in my stocking for my unicorn.

Z: Is that why your stocking is still up?

She: Of course. Hope springs eternal — or at least until Inauguration Day.

Z: We can only hope. Here’s to Sir with love.

She: Yes, dear.

Has anyone gotten a unicorn yet? Share yours with She and Z at .

Point of View »Michelle Malkin: The Sad State of Our Borders

Michelle Malkin: The Sad State of Our Borders

By Michelle Malkin | Posted on 01/04/2009

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Homeland security stiffens amid crackdown on illegal aliens — but it's happening in Mexico and not here.

If you think the bad economy has “solved” America’s immigration problems, welcome to your new year’s reality check. It’s certainly true illegal crossings from the south are down and that many foreign workers are returning to their native lands as work dries up. But border chaos, haphazard enforcement, massive backlogs and deportation negligence remain the order of the day.