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Last week’s commentary was short and sweet. I just didn’t have much to say because I was focused on my personal endeavors’. I started a new job Monday, and I was busy sorting and buying tools that I haven’t owned for three years or more. I spent my last dollar purchasing tools and paying bills.

We are nearing the end of the Bush era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans which are only pertinent to the top 6% earners in this country and come mainly in the form of corporate tax loop holes. The conservatives’ are calling for a continuance of these breaks stating the economy will suffer because the wealthiest Americans who these tax breaks effect may not reinvest in their own corporations via not hiring more workers or producing more product. The Ultra Right is calling the lifting of these tax breaks tax increases and our media and John Q. Public is buying it. This is absurd!

During the later part of the depression taxes on the wealthiest Americans fell between 20-25%, that’s more than double what taxes are now when you take into account all the loop holes that are misrepresented as incentives, and that didn’t hold back the Rockefeller’s, Getty’s, or Hurst’s; now did it?

Paul Allen has just announced that he is giving away 80% of all his wealth. Bill and Malinda Gates have a charitable fund which diverts 20% of all their profits directly in to it. Warren Buffet gives away over 10% of his empire after taxes to charitable organizations and has a living will that leaves near nothing to his only son, but instead gives it to charity. If it were not for Andrew Carnegie who willed all his money to the Department of the Interior to start public libraries where would we be?

I tithe 10-15% of my income to various charities during a good year, and yes, I get tax breaks for doing so, but I’m just a teeny tiny fish. Do you honestly feel large corporations will either flee America or not produce nor hire just because we are rolling back taxes to pre Bush administration levels? That Nuts!

If you believe that then you probably feel the Tee Party is not a bias group.

And those who think that the stimulus plan isn’t working must not be driving on the nation’s highways. I have traveled all though out the Western half of the United States, and I haven’t been through a state yet that doesn’t have major road and highway construction prominently pointed out by signage pointing out, “tax dollars at work”, or something of similar nature. Things got so bad under the past three administrations that we have a hard time conceptualizing what things would be like if we had kept on the same path.

Traveling across the country opened my eyes to so much. My cousin told me she was headed to Oregon on what can only be described as a search for the exceptional place to set roots. She calls it “Recon.” I like that and I also laugh inwardly because that is what they use to call what I did in 80’s.

But here’s the point. I went on several mini trips all over our beautiful country to see the sites, to look at land, to investigate energy business opportunities, to visit relatives I have fallen out of touch with over the years, and to have a personal adventure; what ended up happening was totally unexpected.

What I found was a part of me I had lost. Visiting family I found the roots of what formed me. Visiting and talking to relations I haven’t spoken to on a personal level for some time woke-up the feelings and attitudes I have deep inside that I can only describe as an awakening of ideals formed from childhood derived from their parents and their parents parents. Memories of conversations between Aunt’s and Uncle’s and Parents and Grand Parents came flooding back into focus as I discovered how much I am today the sum of all their thoughts expressed so many years ago. They live on in ways that cannot be put into words, and only expressed through the sharing of their memories in us living who pass on their stories and therefore some of their legacies. Many things can only be expressed in a look or a hug.

I went to windmill farms and idle oil fields, I visited a site determined to be the new headquarters for our nations up and coming commercial space program. I engaged in conversations with the locals at their watering-holes, markets, and dinners, and what I found out was that no matter how far apart our political dispositions were; we had more in common than we had things that set us apart.

I saw the vastness of our nation. I slept in the domiciles of my cousins, in cheap motels, elaborate hotels, in my car, and even in a barren corn field one night. I had great conversations at the black-jack tables in Las Vegas with folks from all over the country, and with soldiers at a café outside of Fort Lewis in Tacoma. I am so lucky to be an American, as cliché as that may sound.

What I found on my travels was me, and that was the unexpected pleasure of the whole experience.

What I found is that I still need to follow my heart. I don’t need to settle for status quoi. I live in a land where I can achieve my wild dreams.

For the first time in my life I lost a job without quitting or leaving. It was a job that I loathed. I filed unemployment just to find out that the Salvation Army never paid into the unemployment fund. Two weeks to the day I was hired on to a finish carpentry job that I love and at the same time shall enable me to have time and the tooling needed to achieve my longer range goal of building low cost biodegradable coffins. Within a year I shall have my first prototype and I have two very different locations to look at setting up manufacturing them as a direct result of my travels.

It is so funny what you find on a trip. What I found was the gift in the journey.

07/18/2010

Summer finally arrived in Los Angeles. I have been without work for almost 3 weeks, so I’ve had to watch my pennies. I took the opportunity to visit some of the places listed on this website, relaxing and taking pictures I have posted below.

I go back to work at a new job tomorrow and I’m suffering from a case of the “new job jitters.” In this job market I have had to leave an open mind towards stepping back and taking on less responsibility. Having said that, I have also had to dip down into the bottom of my bank account and invest in almost two thousand dollars worth of tools that I have not had to personally own for many years. This is one of those rare exceptions that I truly believe the old adage “you got to spend money to make money.”

 Having said all of that I would like to add that things would have been very tough if it wasn’t for the help of my bank, Wells Fargo.

Warren Buffet was at the White House this week visiting with President Obama. He is and has been an unofficial advisor since Obama took office.

Obama’s ratings have taken a beating lately, and that’s not surprising. He has taken middle ground stances on many issues in order to create a little more cohesiveness and a little less wrangling. Many have said he has taken on too much, and perhaps he has because the more issues you take on, the more likely you are to have disagreements with more people because not everyone agrees on every issue. It is just a matter of numbers.

The point to this is that Obama has taken on all the issues he has promised to take on plus all the relevant issues of the day that have arisen since he has taken office. Even if you don’t like the guy, you must admit he has not ducked any issues and he has been extremely active. He has acted!

Look at the mess he was left with. One issue that kind of leaves me scratching my head is that he has been accused of wanting to raise taxes. If you are at all informed, you know that he is just against extending a temporary tax break on the wealthiest 6% of Americans. The wealthiest 6% of Americans spend a lot of money filling the media with spins telling half of a story because they know that most Americans only get their information in and on the headlines of the mega network medias, so they are feed half truths because they are uneducated by the sheer reluctance to seek more information.

In other words some folks are uneducated because they don’t want to be educated; it is much easier to follow suit with the crowd that surrounds you.

The stock market is starting to line itself with the economy. There is no reason the DOW should be even close to 12000. It should be around 9500. The economy is growing extremely slowly; if it were to grow as quickly as we may like then the result could be runaway inflation.

We are experiencing high casualties in Iraq and in Afghanistan. We are making a push in order to level the playing field, and cause less of a power vacuum when we leave which is on schedule. We are moving towards a more regulated banking structured. We are going to have a health care system that will give everyone a chance to be covered without tearing down the huge medical conglomerates.

Things are moving towards center. The stock market hasn’t risen like I thought it would and that’s a good thing.

07/11/2010

I have been slapped in the face with reality and I’m looking into the past for answers to current issues.

I find myself out of work and my past employer (the Salvation Army) did not pay into the unemployment fund, so California’s EDD says that there are no benefits in my account. From what I understand some charitable organizations do not have to pay into this fund. The state is not so sure about that so they are looking into it. Either way the Salvation Army in Santa Monica did not pay in to this fund for anyone.

I was paid more than most while I was there, but they did have the common practice of paying only minimum wage and working their thrift store employees just under the 30 hours per week so that they were able to keep its benefits minimal. In effect they have almost slave labor as they also work the men in their drug and alcohol program in return for room and board (they use to work them over 40 hours a week at times until the state got involved).

Back to me; I had to go into action. I paid all my bills, my rent, and when grocery shopping, and then I set about sending out resumes daily, setting up a business plan of my own, registering for extra work with the studios and last but not least checking the help wanted ads. Checking the help wanted ads and going on two interviews was an eye opener to say the least. Everyone wants something for next to nothing. Companies working on the fabrication end of construction want to pay between $10.00 and $15.00 an hour because they are finding people who will do it.  The interviews I went on were also eye openers; seems everyone was speaking Spanish and I was the outsider.

I am half Mexican but rose to speak English and I was polished in fairness. Do we punish a whole culture because of the ill will presented by some of its people? Is it fair that people come in to our country willing to accept much less in pay and willing to live three families living in domiciles built to house one?

What is fair here? We cannot blame these people so much because living the way in which they do here in this country is still on many occasions better then the conditions they came from. We all try to better our quality of life. We all deserve to live where ever we want, and I do not believe in stopping folks to see if they are citizens or not. That makes one Policeman prosecutor, judge, and jury all at the same time, which is unfair to everyone.

When we look at Germany and we were able to quickly forgive yet the stark reality that no one discusses is that 99% of all Germans during World War ll (or at least towards the end) knew that the justification of the war in the first place was to take over the world and eliminate very type of human that was considered inferior by their standards and enslave many more; the Allied forces rushed in on one end and the Russian forces the other splitting Germany and Berlin in two where the Soviets eventually built a wall using the excuse that they were keeping Westerners out while in reality they were imprisoning.

Soon after the European theater was freed we were able to end the war with Japan (which wanted regional domination) by dropping bombs killing thousands of innocent people thus ending the war.

Thank G-d we won.

Today there is a cry for building a wall right here on our southern border. I believe when we build walls to keep others out, us (human-kinds) end up using those walls to keep people in. I do believe we need to do something about the influx of those wanting to take lesser wages and who are willing to live in dwellings made to house one family with multiple families thus making our whole communities standards of living go down because those of us who try to live on par with our historically quality of life cannot compete. Most everyone is a victim of circumstance in this situation.

What I do think is that employers need to be more rigorous in their hiring practices. The Federal government needs to make social security cards harder to duplicate. Just look at our social security cards we have now. Someone could make them on a home computer. I think believe that property owners need to be checked on by our various health departments more often and that those who rent out properties like apartments need to verify citizenship or right to work here when they rent.

I believe that if we strengthen the powers of city health departments, and come up with a more unique social security card, this would help apartment owners and business owners are more accountable.

When a company hires someone working here illegally they need to have their businesses closed. When we find an apartment owner in violation we should have them heavily fined. We should also have an anonymous hot-line available to turn in offenders. Now before you go on thinking that I have flipped just because I have become affected, I would also like to see it become easier to become a citizen.

We are one world. I think that some manufacturing jobs should go to those countries that share our borders, and the last time I checked China is not one of them. Every 10 times you by a product made in China you are taking away a day’s worth of work from us at home in a very roundabout way.

Think about it. When you buy something made in Canada, Mexico, or the USA, you are supporting our economy. Hey, do you remember when Wal-Mart use to sell only products made in the USA? I do.

Now Wal-Mart is screwing its own, while we buy Chinese made products and ask for walls to be built and for policemen to fight things other than crime. Hhmmm

Oh yah, by the way, my new business idea can be found at santamonicasalvage.org

4th of July 2010

Benjamin Franklin was a Loyalist until he was called to England and verbally berated and ridiculed before Parliament for over an hour and a half, during which time he kept silent. The reason he was called upon the carpet was because he had illegally held letters (communications) between then England’s Governor, and shared them with political rivals who intern published them causing even more rebellion.  If it were not for his ego; he may very well have remained loyal to England. Furthermore he disowned his one and only son.

Thomas Jefferson was a Virginia Plantation and slave owner, and he wasn’t the only one. Almost half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were lawyers, all were land owners and wealthy.

The point I am trying to establish is not that these were either good or bad men. The point is that many of these men had ulterior motives for an independent union. They did not want to be taxed. They wanted to expand their land grab potentials. Many from the south wanted to be able to keep their ability to buy and use slaves that were captured overseas while England was moving away from the barbaric practice. They did not want to pay England back for cost of the war against the French which kept the colonies self governing and almost bankrupt England.

Sometimes we make decisions based on emotions and personal gain without regard to peripheral effects. Sometimes the cause does not justify the effect and vice-versa. Sometimes we make decisions and regret them later and sometimes we make haste decisions and find things work our swimmingly.

The one commonality that the signers of the Declaration of Independence have was that they all went forward with their hearts. They followed their hearts and the outcome earned them one of the most honorable places in modern history.

We never know the chain of events our ambitions, hopes, emotions, and thoughts that ignite our actions sets into motion. The only gage we have to measure our future is our past and at the same time we only have our own personal experiences of our own personal history to serve as guidance into what actions to take in any given situation, but there is always that small still voice that resides in each and every one of us that gives us a nudge in what is usually an appropriate action. It is that nudge or inclination that I or we often call “our heart.”

It is that same “follow your heart,” scenario that gave birth to our nation. Some of the reasoning may have been wrong, and even amoral to some degree, yet they were based on an emotional decision.

The Boston Massacre was not a massacre at all; it was a fear based reaction by some British Regulars, that have been threatened, bullied, and harassed by an unruly mob who threw snowballs, rocks, and sticks until they felt so threatened that they shot into the crowd in self defense ultimately killing five. Later this incident was exaggerated by plate maker Paul Revere in all the colonial presses.

It seems no matter what it is in life that we do as much as why we do what we do that makes the difference in our personal successes. It almost seems like things have been predetermined on a grander scale. Perhaps the little stuff that we experience is always in flux determined on a whim of sorts. But my new train of thought leads me to believe that for everything there is a reason more so than there is a reason for everything. No matter how much I try to control things, the tighter my grip, the more things slip out of reach or just keep going the way they were meant to be.

Is everything predetermined? I don’t think everything is, and at the same time I have noticed that when it appears to be the end of the world it turns out just to be the beginning.

Times I thought were the end of the world turn out to be gifts. Usually the best gift is the one of experience. It gives me the comfort that everything is going to be okay. The gift of experience also lets me view life around me with a little more patience, tolerance, and acceptance. I also get a view of cycles, and know that like seasons, things go around, and come back. I view the stock market this way.

Call it dumb luck or an educated guess. Last week 06/25/2010, I notice that the stock markets didn’t budge on what should have been very positive news. The positive news was that China allowed its currency to devalue making our products more competitive.

I noticed that all of Europe levied austerity programs in the face of their weak currencies’ while we stayed the course keeping our interest rates low in order to promote lending. Simply put; this means that the European communities of finances are promoting saving money and here in the good old USA, we are promoting spending.

I noticed that while there is just a tiny bit less unemployment, there is no job growth. So what this translates to be is that there is just less of a bad thing, and as I commented months ago, big corporations are making profits only because they are signing less paychecks’ while keeping inventories low.

The Friday before last I caught the smell of lay-off in the air at work; filed unemployment the minute after I called into work and found out that they had none for me that day and sold both of my only two positions in the stock market (Evergreen Solar and Easylink Int.).

Like I noted last week, sometimes the best action is either no action or to stand back and gain a more vivid prospective while concentrating on the things that are most important in life, such as friends, family, and health.

I would like to point out one more thing; property values have risen a bit and many see this as great news because they feel that now homeowners have more spending power.

HELLO!!!! REMEMBER HOW WE GOT INTO THIS FREAKING MESS? CAN YOU SAY, “HIGHER TAXES?”

And how about those who rent and are caught in the middle? And getting back to China’s currency devaluation making our manufactured goods more affordable; does anyone notice that, “WE DON’T MAKE ANYTHING ANYMORE,” thanks to WTO and some stretches of NAFTA.

We have been talked into buying foreign products by our government and the more we bought elsewhere the lower the quality of what we accepted as quality went down and our products got in order to compete with cheap overseas labor. This was one of the most masochistic acts on our economic policies ever.

Well it shall all come to pass in time I guess. As unemployment checks stop for those who have been out of work for months, thousands of families shall become homeless. I know that we need to stop these run-away spending policies, and I know we need to stop those who abuse unemployment; but at what cost. Won’t it cost more in the long run to figure out what to do with all the homeless? It’s a tough question indeed. Only time will tell.

I found out I will not receive unemployment because I worked for a charitable organization that decided to not pay in to the fund. This charitable organization (the Salvation Army) has been charitable only when it comes to others outside of its own organization. Can you say hypocrites? Many flaws have been uncovered by newspapers like “the Oregonian” about this organization. But I can say for certain that the good they do on accident far outweighs the hypocrisy they’re involved in internally.

Some things are best left alone. But what we do act on might be best guided with our hearts.

Happy 4^th of July 2010. Have an awesome day!

06/27/2010

Today’s column posting was late because life just seemed to catch up with me, which brings me to a topic that I had absolutely no intension of writing about.

I was going to write about the resignation of General Mc Crystal, the importance of mineral deposits found in Afghanistan, the stock market and the WTO but every now and then Life just smacks me in the face when I least expect it and I like to share these little life lessons with the reader.

It wasn’t till later in life that I gained any form of insight into my own spirituality and I am still. Now I’m not about to begin any rant, nor am I going to carry on about how folks could benefit by treating each other with a bit more dignity or compassion, even while that may be true. I am just relaying a little experience in my own personal life.

Often times I have tried to gain or possess something I wanted so vigorously that I lose sight of that which I wish to obtain because my tunnel vision excludes the needed peripheral view that is necessary to maintain a balanced prospective, thus I come up missing my mark completely.

Sometimes I try to hold on to something I consider dear by holding it with such a tight grip that I squeeze the life out of whatever it is I am trying to either hold onto or maintain.

In either case it has been a lack of perception that has been clouded or tainted by my reliance on self will feeding upon itself. Many call this obsession, but I do not believe that a concept or a drive to reach or obtain, needs to reach such a frenzied state for it to become counterproductive.

Many of my newer ideas and ideals are counterintuitive. I find in many cases when I release control over an idea, ideal, or emotion, I gain a perspective that creates a balance in which I can maneuver without emotional restraints that can entangle judgments and simple right and wrong, thus forming composure.

Of course this is not a new idea, yet it has been a new practice. Emotion is one of the most powerful essences in human nature. The Buddhists’ call this the Yin and Yang; Jews’ call it the Yatzer Tov and Yatzer Harra (the good and bad inclination). Both are important for survival and even happiness in a well balanced life.

Which is the stronger of the two?

It is said that whichever one of the two you feed or serve more is the stronger.

In addition to all this I find that when I am running towards something I am also running equally away from something.

This has been true for me with employment, relationships, and locations.

I am convinced through recent experiences that we as individuals do not always know what is best or meant for us.

In 1920 American Great Robert Frost wrote “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” I am sure this line in his poem was given great thought by this great American. I now have a stronger than ever belief that sometimes the best action to take is no action at all.

I have made life altering decisions in an instant and have absolutely tormented myself by way of mental masturbation over what to wear.

I have had problems with my new job; promises not kept, alterations in job description, inept leadership, days off from work without warning, dates of paydays, and even waiting 3 ½ weeks for my first paycheck. During these tough economic times employers can hold employees hostage due to the need of weekly income; this has been giving me some stress and at the same time a chance to look for something a bit more stable.

So like most anyone else I have focused my attention on this one particular matter.

While all my energy has been directed towards this matter, things that I have taken my eye off of; things that have been in the periphery have been taken shape with absolutely no effort on my part. All I have had to do is show up and be honest and to be no more or less than myself.

The gift of someone has come about without me tainting the gift and the outcome. An opportunity that has lain dormant for months has presented itself in a whole new form which is nothing less than beautiful. I was blessed with circumstances that left me unable to try to control results.

I have often said that the times I felt were the end of the world turns out to be gifts. I find that I just need to keep believing that everything serves a purpose and in the old adage that nothing happens by mistake.

I find that I need to rely on the power of everything else that is not me.

There exists some type of almost cosmic principles that guide all that is around us. When we give out good to the world, there is that much more good to go around the world and as a result there is more likelihood for good to come our way.

Do the birds and most all other living creatures devote much time worrying about what they shall eat tomorrow or where they shall sleep?

Do we know that if it were not for the awful German, barbaric, terrorist that tried to take over the world in World War ll not had existed that perhaps Stalin’s Communism or, the then Italian form of Fascism would not have enveloped the world with even more disastrous and stiffling  effects? No; and thank goodness we will never.

Sometimes I need to step back, check my perspective and motives, and let things just unfold. In addition I need to take things at face value and to seize the moment with opportunities that arise on their own accord and accept that perhaps this was the way that things were meant to be.

I have just recently concluded a chapter in my life that has sucked away any chance for true long lasting happiness through the last 2 ½ decades of my live, and now more than ever it is time to seize the moments and opportunities that have presented themselves in my life without me fertilizing them or maybe fertilizing on them.

06/20/2010

Today is the 100^th official Father’s Day; of all people we have President Richard M. Nixon to thank for the official proclamation declaring the third Sunday of every June being signed into law Sonora Dodd’s vision of this holiday 82 years prior.

Not only was Father’s Day brought into fruition for celebrating our nuclear fathers and in some cases our step fathers, but also a day created to remember our founding forefathers of our great nation.

We're all familiar with names like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams and John Hancock. These men, along with others, were our forefathers and the founders of our nation. They signed the Declaration of Independence and wrote the Constitution. They won the Revolutionary War.

In my case this day conjures up memories of my family and because of this last week’s turn of events I remember friends.

I had two sets of Grandparents like everyone else, and like most everyone else I had my favorites. All my Grandparents have passed, yet live on in my heart, mind, and soul. They live on in some of my character traits and daily actions that manifest themselves in my life.

On my deceased Mother’s side there was Ben and Rhea. My recollections of my Grandpa Ben are rather cloudy. I remember him taking walks daily for many hours and miles (at least he said many miles). He didn’t smile too much. He would use hot mustard with all his evening meals, drink one beer with every dinner and a shot of whiskey with a small block of cheese and crackers prior. After dinner he would sit in front of their vintage round crystal television screen, soak his feet in Epson salts and watch Candid Camera, Ed Sullivan and the Lawrence Welk show.

For some reason I don’t remember too much about him even though I was sentenced to spend a whole summer while attending summer camp with them (the most boring summer of my life).

On my Father’s side was Grandpa Herb. Now his story was very different. He had an opinion on everything, but you had to listen very closely to hear it because his view (usually sarcastic and on point) was uttered in a muffled tone under his breath.

Grandpa Herb was the good man behind the good woman it seemed, yet I believe I was privileged to get another view of this guy. He loved to go fishing. I don’t know if he ever caught anything, but he loved to go fishing. I do not recall him laughing often, but when he did, you didn’t forget it.

When I was first moved down from Oregon and left with my Father, my Grandpa Herb would pick me up once a week from the small apartment I was afraid to leave and take me out to my Auntie and Uncle’s beach house in Malibu, in his 1972 lime green 350 Malibu classic. Many times we would stop off at Sambo’s Restaurant in Santa Monica at Olympic and Lincoln on the northwest corner, where there is now a funky dental office.

Sambo’s was closed due to public pressure for using the name of a character from a tale that was looked upon for being demeaning to African Americans.

I still take Olympic as my choice of through-ways running east and west in West Los Angeles because of him telling me that it was the fastest, least crowded route. Of course he told me some weird stuff too like suggesting that if I ever drive an automatic transmission vehicle; I should always shift it to neutral at a stop so to save the wear and tear on the transmission.

Years later his eye sight started to fail, and he took it hard yet with more courage then I know that I could muster up. We would walk to the grocery store and he use to flirt with the young ladies at the checkout line as though he were still a teen. As his sight started to fade more he would ask me, “What does that gal look like Stevie?”

Eventually his sight would fade to the point where it was pointless him owning a car, and I was called to a family gathering where he ceremoniously handed me the keys as my Uncle Bunsy took care of the paperwork.

I loved that car and at the same time knew that it required a lot of work, so I did what any normal teen would do and rebuilt the top end and refitted it with an Edelbrok high-rise manifold and a Holly 800 four barrel dual action carburetor. I polished that car every weekend and raced Corvettes, Camero, Mustangs, and Firebirds through the canyons of the Santa Monica mountains; usually winning.

I drove it to the ground, but took care of it as though it were the most valuable vehicle to ever hit the high way, and to me it was.

This was the second car given to me. The first by my Father who made a deal with me to buy me a car if I came up with the insurance money, which I did by working hard at my first real job that gave birth to the trade I still mainly work in.

By doing this, my father gave me not only the gift of a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, but also and mainly the gift of a work ethic that has carried me through my whole life and still does.

When Grandpa Herb lost his eye sight completely I was not around too much, but on one occasion that marks my most cherished memory of him, I invited him to go out to Port Hueneme’s fishing pier for a day of fishing and relaxing.

I cleaned up all my fishing gear and cleaned out my station wagon; I went to a cigar shop and bought two of the most exotic cigars I could afford at the time. I packed a couple sandwiches, some crackers and pickled herring, grapes and a six pack of Miller high-life.

He made the only catch of fish that day between the two of us (a 22 inch Spanish mackerel).

But I got an ear full of stories and a heart full of memories. He told stories of peeling grapes for his favorite dog, carrying ice in Chicago, how he met Grandma, and how sassy and beautiful she was, and many stories of his kids and all of us Grandchildren. Many I shall never repeat for fear of losing that special something that exists between us still.

My father, his father, and more than likely, his father’s father are a part of the fabric that makes up who I am today.

I remember how seemingly important family was to my Grandparents, and this has kind of fallen by the wayside. Slowly but surely I am coming out of my shell and reaching out to family members like cousins, and attempting to open new lines of communication that my insure a bond that perhaps our children and their children may know.

As I get older and make renewed contact with some of my cousins I am surprisingly finding out how much alike we are; in some cases through the modern social vehicle Facebook.

I hope I can live up to the values practiced by the family that took such great care of me while I was growing up; Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, my Sister, and my Father and Step Mother who all who pitched in to take up the slack after being sent away from my Mother in Oregon when I was 14 years old. I spent time living with each and every one of them through-out my early teen and pre-teen years. Thank You All.

I am posting some pictures of family, especially of Gramps on this website today. As I write this I do not know exactly which ones, but Grandpa Herb will grace the Banner.

Last week I miswrote that I had bought some American Apparel stock. I did not at the time; I was about to. I purchase my stocks usually on Tuesday because that is the day ING honors posted trades without a real=time commission. What happened was that in order to save an extra $5.00 on commission I waited and lost my opportunity to make a cool 42% profit. Yes; American Apparel went up 42%, and I believe is still on the rise. It ends up I bought some Easy Link shares for the long term instead. Oh well! Ya can’t get a bull’s-eye ever time. That’s why it is gambling.

There is so much to write about, yet I will save politics, oil spills, and floods till next week because I am going to go out and enjoy time with my Dad and family.

06/13/2010

Viviendo creer, (Living through Believing); this is what I personally believe we as a nation truly stand for. Tomorrow 6/14/2010 is national Flag Day. We pay tribute to a red, white, and blue, piece of cloth that has been a source of controversy, commitment, and encouragement to many.

I remember as a young lad attending three different elementary schools; Shenandoah in Los Angeles, Topeka Drive in Northridge, and Limerick in Canoga Park which were all very different neighborhoods and demographics, that they all had one thing in common. That commonality was the fact that every morning after the first bell all of the student population would stand up and place their right hands over their hearts and recitethe pledge of allegiance.

They still do this in some places across our nation as they do other nations across the globe such as China, Iran, Canada, Brazil, and many others. I personally see this as a good thing. To me it installs a moment of reflection in a common belief as a nation and inwardly towards an individual’s parts in our common national identity.

There are simply too many issues that act as wedges driving our national identity apart, driven by the Ultra Left and the Ultra Right. I would never burn a flag, but it does not bother me when others exercise their 1^st Amendment right to go about flag burning, however I stand firmly against burning books.

Now, please don’t email me with accusations that I am not patriotic. I am more than most. I’ve done my part, and continue to do so through my writing and information sharing. What do you do? Do you vote?

We not only have the right to disagree, we have (as I see it) an obligation to debate. I believe it is our diversity of prospective that binds us together. Of course, our nation and even our world has become more diverse than ever, and the diversity grows daily.

In our country we currently have a two-party system. We have the Ultra Right and the Ultra Left, and everything in between; yet still two participating parties. The problem is that the two party’s loudest voices are extremists that are heavily funded by special interest groups that usually have an agenda that is anything but patriotic.

On one side we have the pro-big business, and on the other hand we have the pro-big government. Personally I think we need one equal and not greater than the other. These are our checks and balances at work, exactly the way that our forefathers meant for them to be.

The oil spill in the gulf is horrific. This is not an issue that should be brought into politics. Does anyone really think that if Bush was still in office or if McCain were in office things would have been any different? Do you think things would have worked out any differently if the oil platform was run by Shell or Exxon? This is not a political issue.

Some want to use the gulf spill politically because they can. There are political issues that are starting to slip under our media radar. Remember the health care reform act. This thing is so big that when I tried to down load it onto my desktop; reaching 16.9 MB I stopped it, and decided to provide this link, (2010 HR ACT 3200). Believe it or not, I found time to read about 450 pages of the over 1000. There are many holes that have been and will need to be filled but at long last someone has done something. No more pre-existing conditions can block treatment after diagnosis. Companies with over”X” amount of employees will be required to adapt some form of health plan, even if it’s augmented by medi-care. Holes have appeared in prescription medication payments that have now been filled or are being discussed. I am on a mailing list which emails me memos from the Whitehouse when they feel needs to pre-empt to a press release. Anyone can get these.

We are a capitalist nation and I am a capitalist. We can invest in the equity markets of companies that sell products in this country and others. 

We can support those we believe in; in effect voting with our dollars, and I just bought some Evergreen Solar and some American Apparel.

As a Capitalist Two Party country we have stagnated some of our possibilities for advancement and change, like more fuel efficient automobiles due to the relaxing of our clean air acts implication nationwide along with required minimal fuel consumption. Guess who is leading the charge to abolish the clean air act? None other than, Republican State Senator of Alaska Lisa Murkowski.

Nobody really wants dirty air, dirty water, or a dirty planet. The difference lies in priorities. It seems that one side wants a black agenda and the other a white. I haven’t seen the two sides of the aisle this far apart in my lifetime.

But like I have stated in the past, “I believe that all negative situations bring forth opportunities for growth through solutions.” This statement rings true, not only in political matters, but even on a micro-level in our communities and our nuclear families. In short change is good!

If you or a community does not like the state of its own affairs, change them. There is always a third solution based on prospective. If you don’t like a job, find a new one. If you don’t like where you live then move. But don’t cut your nose to spite your face. When we search for a new job; keep the old job while looking, and so on. Now compare this to our nation. We have a great system that has been time tested. It hasn’t always been this way, and will not stay this way forever. Times change and people change along with what is important, thus perspectives change.

One problem we have had with the addition of another popular party is that it is usually formed out of the majority of one or the other existing parties, and when that comes about, that party almost assures victory to the very party that it wishes to defeat.

Well, I believe the time is about here. There are a lot of murky issues out there which I will discuss in future commentaries, but I want to plant a seed. I would like you to think about how lucky we are to be able to disagree under a common goal. I want you to think about supporting companies that are ethical through equity shares, while maybe making some money. Think about being happy with your living situation in your family, friends, community, city, state, and under one flag as we move into a new and exciting world.

Have an awesome Flag Day, Steven Polin

06/06/2010

Good Day West L. A. It’s been a relaxing couple of weeks gone by, with the end of May bringing to an end the tribute of Mother’s Day and the Memorial Day’s reflective and subdued three day week end.

We head into June facing the realities of our lives and our nation’s state of affairs while we turn back to life in our communities and fondly hold close the collection of family memories sprung forth during spring. Yes, summer is here unofficially, which prompts us to roll up our sleeves and get back to the day to day business of business and life.

Many things going on in our world are simply maddening. I personally would like to see Mr. Obama stand behind the podium at a press corps conference and lose it; show some aggressive anger. If the president is the leader of our nation I believe he has an obligation to mimic the mood of those he represents; and what this nation is at the moment is pissed-off. Mr. Obama, grow some Cajone’es.

There is an unchecked release of energy establishment greed spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. The volatility on Wall Street has been equaled only by the 2008 fiasco. Israel continues to commit a culture of peoples who want to destroy it to glorified concentration camps called territories as the rest of the world uses this tough situation as a pawn in a political chess game in the hopes that acceptance is gained by the supporters of both sides and by the world’s liberal political structure. The Koreas are saber rattling as though the cold war was still going full throttle after an attack by North Korea on a South Korean sub. I have one question; what was that sub doing there?

There is too much to write about in one commentary, so I shall reflect on our pocket books and the market as promised. Besides; contrary to popular belief, there is always this much turmoil in our world.

 Simply due to our expanded information network we hear about these things in real-time as opposed to reading about them in the newspaper the next day or relying on networks to air them when it serves their conveniences.

We can use these worldwide events to learn and armed with information we are better able to make real-time financial decisions in our own lives.

When our President took office he was left with the biggest economical disaster and cluster muck left by eight years of an uneducated puppet régime that has ever graced the office; cutting taxes on the upper 10% individuals and the top international corporation that reside in this country.

Obama is faced with the effects of 16 years plus of deregulation on Wall Street with the abolishment of the uptick rule and short selling deregulation. Deregulation of Mortgage and Insurance companies. Remember AIG and Fanny Mae?

The movement of International companies through NAFTA and WTO, which enables big business to shelter monies and avoid taxes, has been without equal since we were 13 colonies.

I believe it is finally a good time for an Independent Party to make a move in America. Both parties are way too deep in the pockets of the larger international corporations.

So what do we do on a personal level to aide our community?

First of all we all need to vote this Tuesday, and if you’re not registered; register. We can start buying locally. We can buy from smaller independent business. We can recycle. We can start a savings account and put away 5% of every pay check into it. We can enjoy our vacations locally with our friends and family. We can grow some of our own vegetables no matter where we live. We can spend quality time in our parks that are supported by our taxes. We can look at labels when we shop and purchase items made in the USA, North America, or all the Americas along with smaller struggling countries throughout the world.

Hardly anything bothers me as much as someone who buys a Japanese car uses a Chinese laptop and moans about our own economy.

Just because a car is made here, does not mean that the profit stays here. The Asian investment in our country has diminished by over 40% in the last ten years. As we caution our corporations to be more ecologically responsible, the Japanese, and especially the Chinese have been supporting strip mining in South America, backing hostile régimes and supporting weaponry to our enemies throughout the world.

We shop at Wal-Mart which was started by a penny-pincher named Sam with the intention of selling at the lowest price, products that were made only in America. What happened to that idea?

How many of us hop into our Toyotas and drive to Wal-Mart to buy Chinese products and some produce grown using heavy pesticides and are genetically altered.

We may want to take a look at how we live our everyday lives before we point out the faults of our leaders.

How many know that this BP oil spill is the second or third largest oil spill in the gulf. Pen-Mex, which is a nationalized Mexican oil company, had a spill (the world’s largest spill), that could only be equaled if the current spill were to remain unchecked for over three months; (and guess which Asian country funded that drilling exercise?)

This does not justify what is going on with BP at all. Just Sayin!

Our world is not in as bad of shape as we may make it out to be.

Sixty Six years ago worldwide forces lead by the United States and England formed the largest flotilla since the revolutionary war and stormed the beaches in Normandy and parachuted into the countryside’s of France, Belgium, and Germany, in what we celebrate as D-Day. Yes, 66 years ago on June the 6^th 1944.

How many knew that? Why don’t we hear about this on the network news? In this day of “in a minute” information; we neglect history from time to time.

Things aren’t as bad as they are being made out to be by our media and by the President bashing Ultra Conservatives’ that created the problems that we do have over the previous eight years.

We have a chance to save money and exercise supporting our communities by buying locally. We have an opportunity once again to invest in our equity markets (stock market), in American companies.

I believe the DOW will fall a bit more this Monday and provide buying opportunities. I’m looking at 9000 or so within the next two weeks, followed by a rally. Monday 6/7/2010, I will provide a list of companies I will be looking at and investing.

Stay tight with your family and friends, and enjoy time around town; we are blessed with beautiful beaches, mountains and parks. Don’t wait for someone else to do something because we do have collective power as individuals. Discuss these things mentioned above with others and make informed decisions and vote accordingly. Remember, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”

05/30/2010

It looks like summer has taken hold here in Southern California as it usually does Memorial Day weekend as we fire up our barbeques and gather with friends and family.

How many of us actually celebrate the meaning of this holiday that has acted as the gate-way for summer? How many of us spend any time at all in reflection and thought towards those who gave their lives for us to gather where and when we want? Personally I do not do this enough.

Last night I went out to dinner and a movie with a friend as I do most every weekend; last night we saw The Prince of Persia by Disney. It was a lively film full of action, morals, romance, and tongue-in-cheek comedy. Yes, the good guy wins and gets the girl and as in every Disney movie there is a message of hope and valor. In this case our hero is reminded that sometimes the act of “doing the right thing,” is tantamount to pointing out that the right action is not always the ordained or popular action.

Sir Isaac Newton’s 3^rd law states, “Every action causes an equal and opposite reaction.”  I have seen this law in action, not only in physical example but also in moral and emotional truth. These truths have been held self evidential fact in cultures since time has been measured.

The Buddhists call it Karma. Many other religions and cultures have other names for it thus recognizing this cosmic absolute. Also predominant in Eastern Philosophy is “Yin and Yang,” Which is almost interchangeable with the Jewish concept of “the Yatzer HaRa and the Yatzer HaTov.” This is the good and bad inclinations which reside in all humans and even in humans in groups, therefore groups themselves; meaning friends, family, communities, and even countries through political affiliation.

Now, I know that it may seem that I am getting way off track here, and that, (once again) I am engaging in some form of public piety; let me assure you that I am more flawed than most and this is why I use this page as a form and forum of self realization, but bare with me while I bring this back down to Earth and get back to point.

These are fantastic times we live in, full of excitement and opportunity as a nation, as a world, as a community, and individuals. We are surrounded by paradoxical situations and events.

There is the nastiest oil spill in our nation’s history unfolding right before our eyes; how can this be good? In and of itself, it is not, yet look at the transparency that is formulating through this event and how our leaders are disassembling the cozy relationships between our energy companies and their monitors. Look at our nation’s drive to rid us of dependency on nations that would like us annihilated.

I look at our men and woman in Afghanistan and in Iraq wondering, what if any good is coming out of this ridiculous situation and have yet to come up with an answer.

We are there because our nation rallied with patriotic blindness around an ill informed President that was in my opinion a puppet of the then Vice President.

A need to strike out somewhere was a predominant emotion in our country after 9-11, and much like an errant school boy lashing out blindly, we took aim at a culture we didn’t understand and that we knew didn’t much care for us.

We have neighbors to our south that we have little understanding of, yet we use their need for money to fulfill our delight in saving a buck through cheap labor by paying them to do jobs that many of us would not do; just like the Irish, German, Jewish, and African Americans that have immigrated to this nation since its conception; and now we want to stop the flow by checking papers and by building fences.

Would it be different if they were Anglo, spoke English, and were from across an ocean?

So now we have service men and women all over the globe and are making ready to be deployed to our borders; brave men and women who follow the call of our national conscience as their predecessors have done in wars across the globe since we have had standing armed forces.

As I write about some of these issues I try to remember the Yin and Yang, the good and bad inclination.  I try to remember that we cannot make evil of good and that out of all bad comes an equal and opposite reaction of good.

Today we remember those who have given their lives so that we have the freedom to make mistakes. Voltaire once wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it.”

Our brave service people are not serving blindly, they are serving for our right to be right and or wrong; their calling is without measure, and I have seen with my own eyes the disobedience that comes about on the fields of battle at a time of spontaneous decision making, that can only come to exist in an armed forces that fights for a country as free as ours.

During a time when we pick up the newspaper or turn on the television and focus on what is wrong with this world, let us try to focus on everything that is or can be right. Let’s give thanks to our fallen troops that have woven their names into the fabric of our freedoms we take for granted.

As a nation we are always making attempts to right our wrongs knowing full well that we shall make more mistakes still to come.

One of the reasons this website exists is to try to give back to the community through experiences, education, and connections in community.

This is my own human struggle to add to my positives, balancing them against the negatives I have consciously and unconsciously left as a residue of my existence on this planet.

We can all be a part of the solution in one way or another; in fact I have a friend who dances her way to being a part of the solution, another who gardens her way, a man who teaches his way, and still another who consoles the fallen. I write. What are you doing?

As our nostrils flare providing salivation from the aroma of a barbeque at a gathering, as we walk down the block in our community and take in the essence of a fresh mowed lawn, as we take in a movie holding the hand of a loved one, or simply take a drive to where ever and freely pump gasoline into our tanks, let’s remember those who have fallen since our nations humble beginnings to make this all possible.

Whether or not you agree with the issue we fight for; remember as an individual the individual sacrifices given for us to continue making mistakes in an effort for the greater good and take our place.

We have not only a right to enjoy life, but also an obligation to do so. Fore without enjoyment and happiness what is the use of freedom.

Let’s remember those who declared war through a Declaration of Independence written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, some basic unalienable rights, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

It is only in the practice and participation of these rights that we pay homage and give credence to our Forefathers and Mothers.

We can all live in a state of contentment if we so choose. We can all balance the scales of life’s Yin and Yang in our personal life. We have a choice to be part of the solution.

We have an obligation to question authority, and we have an obligation to learn from our mistakes and to live a full life in a state of happiness, thus providing examples for our children and those who come after us.

Next week I will write on finances, both personal and communal; this week I leaned towards a more reflected posture out of what I feel to be obligation.

P.S. I have added a couple pictures from my Urban Garden I write about on the Victory Garden Page, below just to add some lightness.

Thanks and have an awesome week, Steven Scott Polin

05/23/2010

Puffy clouds hover over West Los Angeles this morning and the air is crisp and clean. It is a wonderful day to get out and about in our community and for that matter adjacent community.

Perhaps go out and visit friends or family. Perhaps a trip to the flight museum or the local park, or even a trip to downtown Los Angeles and visit China Town or Olvera Street.

This brings up two topics; Community and Public Transportation. I like to take drives and visit with friends and family. If there was more public transportation in Los Angeles like there was many years ago I would like to think I would use it. My Grandparents use to tell me stories about the Red Car, which ran adjacent to Venice Blvd. and how they would ride it from West Los Angeles both too Downtown and westward to POP.

Both places have always been a destination for all communities in-between.

In a past commentary I wrote much on the idea of a bicycle trail along the old rail road right-of-way that ran along Exposition Blvd. I thought it would be a great ideal and still do. At that time, after attending meetings and speaking with some public officials I firmly believed that they were going to place a new light rail along the route that the Red Car use to take before 1962.

Since then I have focused my attention on many more issues and not so much on the light rail and bike path. There is little doubt to anyone that a rail system is needed between downtown and Santa Monica in order to relieve the insane traffic that persists. There was even a proposal to convert Olympic Blvd. and Pico Blvd. into one way streets, (which I still think is a good idea).

Now the MTA and Expo Authorities have jumped all the hurdles needed to run the light rail along the very same route that I had suggested the bike path.

This route was the same route in which rail cars ran between war-time industrial Santa Monica, (Cloverfield and Mc Donald Douglas) and Long Beach and downtown.

When I was a kid we use to smash pennies on the rail road tracks by placing them on the rails and waiting for the next train. This rail-way was in heavy use up until the 70s. People bought homes along them knowing full well the noise and traffic they would incur, yet now, 40 years latter nobody wants the rail by their home. They want light rail somewhere, but not in their neighborhood.

The alternative in this case would be along Venice Blvd. This is a great idea, or underground would be even better. The one problem with running the system underground is the fact that the soil is such that reinforcement would be of tremendous impact to traffic and communities along the route. Venice Blvd. is as overcrowded as it is, and the environmental impact would be equal to taking something from bad to worse.

Below is an interactive map pin pointing Westwood Blvd. and the proposed rail along with pictures of the old railway and effected areas. The positive aspects of utilizing this rite-a-way is the minimal environmental impact coupled with the ability to quickly facilitate the building of such a system.

Of course the surrounding neighbors have made some valid points and their concerns should be heard. That is why I have a link to their supportive website, (click here for that). I think the main impact would be to their real estate value. This is truly a case of someone has to suffer for the greater good, but let it be someone else. I would rather this be a bike path and rather there be a rail underground as I have expressed before on this very page; yet after looking at this issue from many prospective I view the current plan as sound. I would also like to see tax breaks for those adjacent to the rail, and I believe that the MTA should pay for double paned windows and R48 insulation for those same people, much like they do for those whom live around LAX.

I also believe they should make Olympic and Pico one way streets. In addition they should provide open green areas along the path complete with bike trails and restrooms. What do you think?

All this is about connecting people with people and commerce; it’s about community and connecting communities. There are many different types of communities. There are macro and micro communities.

I have been reconnecting with family. Family can also be a community as communities can become extended families. I have come to believe that the quality of life itself is proportionate to the quality of community, family, and friends.

Our very country is in some form a mega community, and there is much going on with our country and its relationship with the world; especially the European Community. Next week I shall start writing more on world issues and the equity markets and how they can relate in to dollars and cents for us.

I have reestablished my ING start up portfolio. I have already bought some shares in Evergreen Solar when it dipped below a dollar a share. We are experiencing that second dip in the market that was noted on this web page only 16 months ago.

I will be investing into BP, believe it or not, (read last week’s commentary to find out why). Out of necessity they have become so transparent that they even have a web posting of a real-time video of the leak itself. I like to make money and I like to invest in ethical companies.

I also like the idea of using natural gas as a bridge towards clean energy. We need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels, and we need to realize that we can’t do it with the simple flip of a switch; it will take time, and the time to start is now.

Strengthen your community. Reach out to someone you haven’t spoken with for a while.

05/16/2010

I’m posting a bit early today because a friend and I are catching a movie, (Robin Hood) at the Landmark Theater on Pico Blvd; one of my favorite things to do at one of my favorite venues. In the next week or so I shall be updating the movie rating scale on the Forum page of this website by continuing the grueling task of taking in a movie every week, and if I list them and rate them I can write them off of my taxes at the end of the year.

Usually I try to set Sundays aside to spend a little time to myself. But hanging out with a friend is truly priceless, and I did get my (me) time on Saturday washing my car and turning my Urban Concrete Jungle of a back yard a little greener by starting a mini vegetable garden. (Picture below)

This brings me to today’s main topic; “Friends.” [Middle English, from Old English fr ond;].  I like the older original definition found the previous link. Of course I shall write about the stock market and today’s political scene, and provide some links and some of my thoughts on local and world issues, yet the overwhelming response from last week’s commentary coupled with my personal experiences on and around my birthday have set a precedent to augment future commentaries with more human emotion based on my personal experiences in an attempt to provoke further thought in the reader.

My Birthday was last Friday and I had to work, or should I say, “I get to work?” Throughout the day I received phone calls, text messages, emails, and Face book notifications from friends and family wishing me a good day. The best was a semi-unexpected call from my favorite friend that I had not spoken to for almost 6 months because of my own character defects. Somehow I knew they would call, just like I’m sure they knew I would send a message on Mother’s day. Little things like knowing one another’s thought patterns are a mark of true and tested friendship.

My parents took me out to dinner for my birthday. Now-a-days I enjoy spending time with them and reminiscing the past while debating the future. Today I can call them friends. My sister and I speak once every other week or so. I lived with her and her family when I was a teen and we have always been close no matter how seldom we talk. She is a friend.

My cousins are friends even though we have lost and regained communication over the years because not only do we have formative history in which we can draw back on, (both good and bad). But because I have always enjoyed talking to them and hanging out with them and those whom I have been reunited with still bring that feeling of warmth and comfort that comes with history and knowing that they know you.

Friends I have had during my school years filter in and out of my life. I do not speak to them often and they run a broad spectrum of diversity in economical and political demographics and at the same time my past interactions with them and views they have shared with me as youths form the person I am today. Much like lion cubs who play fight in order to gain experience for possible defensive and offensive posturing, I feel that our interactions have trained us to feel and express our feelings.

I was so spoiled as a teen. I was surrounded by great men and especially women who in effect have conditioned me to be a better and more caring human being. My Grandmother, My Dad, Step Mom, Sister, Cousins, Aunts and Uncles and especially the Girlfriends from my teenage years were of the highest caliber human beings that I have ever met. The good news is that I was taught well, and through these lessons I have been able to make decisions based upon my interactions with them. The bad news is that I am indeed spoiled, and rarely satisfied with those who I meet these days. I admit that I am a bit of a snob; I suffer from a state of grace that was bestowed on me when I was too damn young to realize it.

Today all the thoughts and relations from my past and present even form my opinions that I write about in this commentary. They formulate the companies I invest in on Wall Street, and the companies I form and the companies I work for.

I invest only in companies I believe in. Now this can be a paradox from time to time because I don’t like banks, yet they are necessary, and I will be investing in Citi-Group; but there is even a more paradoxical investment I shall be making. I will be investing this coming year in BP. That’s right; BP. They have waved their limited liability in order to take on more of a financial burden. What happened in the Gulf of Mexico is and was horrific to say the least. Yet it could have been any oil company and in this case it is an oil company that had made a conscience decision to Not Get Crude from any Middle Eastern company or country, thus leaving them open to more exposure to geographically sensitive areas. This is a tough call, but us as a nation need to wean ourselves from foreign energy dependency.

There is so much more I want to write about like the contrails we have seen in the skies above the Pacific Ocean (see picture in top header of website) this last week coming out of Vandenberg Air Force Base by Lompoc, and the effect the Euro-crisis will have on our economy.

There is another issue rearing its ugly head in Arizona. I have many mixed thoughts and feelings on this emotional topic, and as if Obama doesn’t have his hands full enough, he has promised to take the state of Illegal immigrants to task before his term is up.

This topic came up with my father on my birthday, (and I respect his views implicitly), and we thus far disagree. He is also my friend as well as my father. We have total respect for each other’s opinions. He feels that they are taking jobs away from U.S. citizens. I feel that many who are here illegally are taking jobs that others don’t want or that we would rather exploit.

I also feel that these are people who work hard and pay taxes out of their pay checks, knowing full well that they will never see a refund.

He also shares a common misnomer that many come here and have babies thus making them instant citizens. What is true is that the baby can be a citizen but not the parents by way of boring a child here. As far as paying taxes go; unless the persons are paid in cash and or they do not provide you with a business license, they can indeed get away without paying taxes. I know someone who pays their gardener cash and does not ask for a business license, yet calls them illegal aliens and are steadfastly supportive of the Arizona law????         

I don’t get it myself. How can you be against something that you support? Many good folks feel we should put up a wall. To this I argue, “every time in history a wall has been built to keep others out, it eventually serves to confine the builders.” The names, “Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall come to mind front and center.

I am not naive. I do believe that a person should learn English if they are of working age and younger and want to reside here. I also believe that when people here illegally are picked up for a felony, they should automatically be deported.

I further believe that when illegal immigrants go to our emergency rooms to get health care should be treated as kindly and caringly as any citizen, yet should be reported to their own consulate thus putting the burden of financial responsibility on them by subtracting it from foreign aid packages that we so freely give out. This would amount to millions that should be funneled directly back into our national health care system.

These are people not aliens. As we move towards a worldwide financial policy we should at the very least move towards an America’s, (that’s central, south, and north) worldwide politically and socially along with all the responsibilities’ that come with that. These people are our friends.

One last word about friends. If you looked up the older Middle English definition of friend in which I have provided a link, you shall see that it says someone you love; there is a saying that came out of the 1970’s that says, “that love is never having to say you’re sorry.” I think that is the biggest bunch of bull I have read. If you love someone you not only owe them an apology when you do wrong but it should probably include a stated and planed course of action to prevent the same mishap from reoccurring. Friendship is based on respect.

Today I will try to befriend many.

Oh; by the way, if you have any interest in plants check out the recently started Victory Garden page on Pistolnstamen.

Make a difference; make a friend.

Mother's Day 05/09/2010

Happy Mother’s Day!

I know, I know that many view this as another Hallmark made holiday for the sole purpose of Capitalist venture, but I say “so what!” Every other great culture has a day if not a longer period of celebration devoted to paying homage to motherhood; why shouldn’t ours as well? In addition what’s wrong with a little commercial stimulus anyway?

I was adopted at only months old. My biological mother held the last name of Espinoza. I have done a lot of research on this relatively common Hispanic name and found that almost without acceptation that the name has direct routes from the Jews pushed out of Spain and southern Europe during the Spanish inquisition, along with many multi-syllable Hispanic names that end with a (Z or S) towards the latter part of their name.

On my adoption papers and birth certificate’s amended records I was called the baby Espinoza. I have never had a driving desire to find my birth mother other than perhaps medical records.

I have a posting on an adoption referral recorded records website in case someone desires to find me, but I’m quite content with my parental and family history. My parents chose me and with that I was given the blessings of their history.

Along with my rich family history I have gained some wonderful insights, education, and mannerisms. My mother Thelma Jean, taught me tenderness and compassion, but most of all she taught me survival and the ability to change with surroundings no matter what they were while keeping your head held high. She passed away some years ago on Mother’s day which happened to be the day before my birthday. She lived in the San Francisco Bay area. I am sure to this day that she had waited until my sister and I were there to hear her last, “I love you” to pass. In a way I look upon this event as one of the most beautiful of my life.

This brings me to my sister Carol who took care of me for years teaching me many family values by inviting me to live with her family thus always having a core family to go home to and children running around which taught me patience, love and tolerance at a young age. Nobody was ever expected to eat at the table together but we all did almost every night because we wanted to. One thing my sister the mother of my niece and nephew taught me that haunts me to this day was cleanliness. She was a self proclaimed “clean freak,” and now so am I.

My daughter Ariel turns 25 today, (happy birthday Air-Bear). Her mother Anna, (my ex-wife), is one of the finest woman on this planet. She held things together when I could not. By virtue of motherhood she grew up light-years ahead of me, and was the parent I was incapable of being at the time. She taught me diligence.

My father remarried and now I have a stepmother (Geri), who has been in my life’s forefront for generations now. She has taught me dignity and the importance of realizing that life in and of itself is not supposed to be easy nor always fair. This helps me maintain some semblance of reality.

Many of my friends are mothers who work professional jobs and are still able to organize a family life while keeping motherhood, (the world’s most important job) first and foremost.

All the proceeding paragraphs set the stage for me to write about my Gramma Annie. If you pick up an encyclopedia and look up staunch, you will find her picture. She was radically conservative and conservatively radical yet a democratic liberal. In my mind to this day I view her as being the Matriarch of the Polin Clan.

She was a living paradox; Conservative and a screaming liberal at the same time. She cursed like a sailor and was as passionate and as tender as anyone I have ever known.

Once when I slept over her house I heard her and my Grandpa Herb in what seemed to be a shouting match about some silly thing that I can’t remember.

Later that evening as her and I stayed up late to watch television she got up too use the restroom, came back and sat down at the TV with a slight sigh, sprung back up and walked down the hall towards her their bedroom as I secretly followed in curiosity.

She walked to the bedside of my Grandpa kissed him on the forehead while he slept, pulled off his slippers genteelly, tucked the sheets around him, kissed him on the forehead again, and turned away as I scurried away back to my chair in front of Perry Mason before she could find out that I was anywhere but in the same seat all of that time.

I never wanted to cross this woman or even disagree if in fact I did. The picture that graces the Head banner of this website on this day is in fact a picture of her. Could you imagine doing anything but listen to this woman?

Annie and me spent hours upon hours in the kitchen listing to KFWB and talk radio while she went over step by step every single action into every single recipe she performed as almost in an exotic ballet; never an exact measurement; always “about this much this or that much that;” throwing things around the kitchen without a speck of anything hitting the floor as if by magic, and from time to time, (after hearing something of interest on the radio) grabbing my attention and giving me her pointed political commentary on what she had heard as though she was speaking to congress.

She loved America. She loved her mother, husband, children, and children’s children, and yes, her great grand children, and I am sure she loves all that follows children, living in the memories of us all.

I spent much time with her as an adolescent, and I feel that she is a major part of who I am today. Now I must say that I feel a little special because I was the only boy out of 7 cousins. Now this maybe wrong, but I do enjoy feeling this way.

I remember things she told me that I hold near and dear to this day. Things like, “Don’t judge your insides by others outsides,” which I would hear echoed in the rooms of twelve step rooms latter in life. She told me more than once, “to remember that you are an American before you are a Jew;” and she was very Jewish; she even spoke Yiddish. She told me to always remember that we are of earth and dirt.

In ending this segment of this commentary I reflect on how I am indeed the sum of all the female parts of the fine women who have been in my life; all mothers and all well educated, both by book and by life. (Pictures below this week’s commentary)

This has posed a quality problem in my life, because I find little interest in those who are not. I’m picky!

I am blessed indeed to have so many to wish a happy Mother’s Day to; those who have taught me morals, compassion, patriotism, ethics, and acceptance. I try bringing these things into my daily life, both personal and business. I try to bring this all to the table when I interact with those whom I choose to work with and for and those who I spend time with, in the stocks I invest in, and even in the things I write about.

We live in strange and fantastic times. We are living in one of those spans of time which those who come after us will look at and say, “Wow what it must have been like to be alive then.”

As I have stated in past commentaries I shall be changing / updating the personal picks on the stock market picks on the almanac page of this website later this month. There is an old saying on Wall Street that says “in May stay away”, I concur, and dive in the last week of May.

Hey, look out for this (Greece thing), to have an infectious quality to it. I feel it shall be much like a mini sub-prime bubble effect, that will be felt world wide as China moves into low gear for a short time.

I believe China shall become more of a consumer nation than anyone ever realized. Look at American Apparel to be a big mover because they have had the foresight to open stores there and they are one of the best run local companies that buys everything locally.

There has also been much said in the news about the ending of the Space Shuttle missions. I personally like the idea of moving towards bigger bolder ambitions in NASA’s space program, and just because the shuttle missions are disbanding, this does not mean the space program has slowed down one iota. You will see many launches out of Florida, California, and New Mexico. In fact, there was a terrific experimental launch out of New Mexico this week, (watch video).

There was also a strange hiccup on Wall Street this week that I don’t even know what to make of, but I do know that this was a great warning that we need more checks and balances on those computerized trading programs. When stuff like this happens my plans are to not make plans.

I’ve started going back to the movies, and once again I will start posting reviews on the forum page. Yesterday I saw Ironman II. I thought it was big fun. Postings will start next week.

I have had the privilege of traveling around the country in the last six months. I have visited and revisited friends and relatives. I have spent time in the oil fields and wind mill farms and some smaller manufacturing arenas’. I have visited with some folks and leaders of small towns and small businesses. Many of you who regularly read this column know this.

You may also know that I believe that out of anything bad, good always has an opportunity to take root. It was through some difficulties in the form of male physical goings on with my body that lead me to make these journeys in addition to getting some help with getting help with some pain medication I was prescribed.

I feel extremely lucky to have had some great health insurance at the beginning of all this and that I made enough money through work and my investments to take business trips masquerading as vacations, even in my own mind at the time. Yes, sometimes I can temporarily fool myself. This also reminds me and gives credence to the idea that physical and emotional challenges manifest themselves in one another.

Good bye for now, and have an awesome Mother’s Day!   Steven Polin

05/02/2010

Another fine Sunday morning and I sit writing which is one of my favorite things to do and look out the window with anticipation of the day to come.

Many changes are upon us as a nation, a neighbor, and as individuals. We live in exciting times. Currently I am working on some changes in regards to this website and even to this weekly column. The readers of this piece will notice more direct links to articles, facts, videos, and recordings almost like an interactive newspaper online. Please excuse some of the commercials attached to some links; this is a price we pay living in a free market society.

Last week I wrote a little about Goldman Sachs. Now that some of Goldman’s executives’ have been called on the carpet in front of the Senate, we have all been able to bare witness to how coy, cold and calculating these guys are. They sit in front of congress and television cameras cool, calm, and collected because they know what they have done has been all legitimate thus far as we now know, but look closer and you see them squirming from the chest down barely able to sit still in their seats. Why? I believe it is because they know in their hearts and souls that what they have done is unethical. They know that they have hurt families across the nation and even the world.

Much like a man cheating on his wife, they must feel sick to their core and walk around with suspicions towards those around them doing to them the equivalent of what they have done to others. It is indeed human nature that we point out, (at least in our minds) the faults of others that exist in us as individuals. “If you spot it, you’ve got it.” We all know right from wrong. We all have that little voice inside that some call a conscience. When we do something wrong we know it, because it doesn’t feel right. If we have ethical turmoil in our decision making process in regards to any one decision that is our moral compass crying out to us “Don’t do it.” Sometimes we can’t see it because we simply don’t want to. The primitive mind is so strong sometimes that it will let our actions override our thoughts. That is why I need people in my life I can trust. Someone I can confide in and know they will tell me when I’m full of self will or self indulgence.

That is why we need regulators in many big business dealings. We need it now on Wall Street. One of my all time favorites, (Jim Cramer) was on the “Good Morning Show” this week and he speaks to this issue. I like Jim, he is truly a wild man and I hold him responsible for attracting me to the stock market. He has a show called “Mad Money” on CNBC.

His stock market pick have out preformed the DOW 5 to 1 over the last 3 years. He is a Liberal Capitalist, in short a conservative liberal. He has been on the bottom and on top. He has had the corner office on Wall Street and has spent 3 years living in his car. He knows America. My favorite thing is that his show is entertaining as well as educational. I believe we need to now lower our exposure to the (European) Market at this time.

I personally do not feel this will affect Citi-Group, which will be affected in the short term, but has been and will continue to be one of my favorite picks for an 18 month projection. Beware of inter-euro financials, which have anything to do with “the five little Pigs, PIIGS… Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain.”

I am adding another pick to my 18 month forecast, Microsoft. You know that little software company out of Washington State that has been undervalued for over 10 years and has a new search engine mode called BING, which is quickly taking market share from the almighty GOOGLE. Yes that so called friendly Google that wanted to charge me a minimum of $2.50 per hit to start this website 2 years ago, verses Microsoft’s less than $19.99 per year.

Down in the Gulf we have some big news with the BP oil spill. You know the one that Palin said would be next to impossible to have happen with today’s technological advancements in submersibles and other fail safes. Remember, “Drill Baby Drill?” And now look at the propaganda that is leaking with or without the recognition of Deepwater Horizon, which is the owner of the BP least rig. What really gets me is that during these tight times and during a period of our nation trying to move to a “Greener Posture;” the oil companies just had one of their best profit taking years ever, and I’ll bet the farm that they will have an even more profitable year this year in spite of the BP spill.

I have another almost fun thing to speak on with more questions than answers. That is Steven Hawking latest quotes on other intelligent life forms in our universe. He raises concerns about us contacting life forms other planets and speaks on them with an overtone that rings like an old (Outer Limits) series. Is anyone else out there old enough to remember the one show where they had aliens from outer space taking selected human beings on their space ship back home with their mission statement being, “To Serve Man?” Then they get to the end of the show where some scientists finally translate the aliens doctrine to read as a recipe book about cooking human beings. Cool stuff!

Steven Hawking is one if not the brightest minds on Earth today. I also believe there is other life forms out there, and even some more intelligent than we are. In fact I think they’re so intelligent that they are smart enough to stay away, unless of course they are seeking lower companionship, like a human who suffers from low self esteem.

When looking at this, I found something even more fascinating, and that is NASA’s belief in other “Earth-like,” planets out here. In fact they have even found relevant sectors in the Milky Way in which they refer to as “the sweet zone” in the “Goldilocks Zone.” Now this is some far out and fun reading. I think we will find that life from outer space will look much like Carl Levin.

I shall be ever so slowly changing many things on this website. Actually I shall be augmenting it. I will be adding to the Parks and Recreation pages to cover more areas to the North and East of current areas. This will be cool in light of the Santa Monica Mountain Park service adding on to its parklands the area adjacent to the Hollywood Sign, thus preventing a company out of Chicago from building multimillion dollar homes there, thanks to Hugh Hefner. Thanks Hugh!

I will be growing some vegetables at home and sharing the process with pictures on pages to be determined. Including more recycling, and update the movie reviews and the things to do. I will also post my 18 month stock picks on the Almanac Page.

I myself have a busy week. I need to reach out to those I have lost contact with due to my ego getting in the way. It’s time to start my house cleaning. Why do I share my short comings? Because we all learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others. I think we can all make money through pushing towards living green,  getting more involved in community, and making prudent investments in our community, nation, and world. My name is Steven Polin. Email me.

04/25/2010

This is an amazing time to be alive. Two years ago our economy and our spirit as a nation were in the toilet. Those periods of adjustment are just that. I hear a lot of folks still complaining about the state of the nation.

Allow me to be so bold as to suggest some absolutes. The first is that hard economic downturns are only opportunities in disguise. For instance unless you believe that the United States is going to be totally annihilated; you had to know we would bounce back to some degree. This in and of itself is a form of patriotism.

The second is that the stock market always rebounds ahead of GNP and our “Main Street” economy. This has always been the case because over stocked inventory starts to move and there is no need to produce until it is depleted. Thus not having to spend money for a short time. When it starts to move there becomes a need to replace it with new product, and this means jobs.

This brings me to number three. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” When product is depleted and we have competition from around the globe, (i.e. China, India, and Brazil), we are forced to produce a better or more sophisticated product. “When the going gets tough the tough get going,” and nobody gets going like visionaries and inventores from the USA. We are and will be at the forefront of “Green Technology,” space exploration and sophistication. We invent the stuff; it’s just that we don’t often times make the stuff.

Number four; hard times weed out a healthy garden. We should take the same lesson in personal finance. Some of us became fat and ugly with the overextension of our credit and our over inflated real estate values. Like an Ostrich, many of us had our heads in the sand. Seconds and third mortgages, having to keep up with or look better than our neighbors.

Companies and in some cases individuals where turning their backs on old fashion ethics, morals, and thrift. Many companies fell by the wayside, and rightly so. Many families had to group up and live with one another. All this seems severe but is in reality a good thing. We lick our wounds and take a lesson. We gain ethical and moral ground through tough lessons. We become closer to those with which we had taken for granted.

So enough about the lessons, what do we do now? Simple; stay true to values, both ethical and real, like watching your pennies, if you watch your pennies the dollars will take care of themselves. It's not so much how much cash we make as it is in how much we do not spend. The old addage of it takes money to make money doe's not always apply. 

I’m keeping the car I have now until I can afford (through saving) a leaner greener vehicle which has some comforts. IFor the last 18 months I've been dropping the names of others that I know do good work and are good folks. Last year I dropped the name of a tree service into service for a municipality (Los Angeles County), simply because I liked these people and know that they would do a good job. This is "pay forward" net-working.

Save your money in places that will put them to work without leveraging against over inflated property. In Los Angeles we should call real estate unreal estate.

I like the stock market. During the hard times that we are rebounding from now I was fortunate enough to remember some of the advice that my favorite uncle of had  told me. Buy low sell high, when others sell then you buy, when others buy, you sell, and never spend more than you can afford to lose.

As an aside my uncle left all of us cousins 1000 shares of a stock called, “Continental Mines International.” It was left to us with the caveat, that it wouldn’t come to bare fruit for years to come, and some say that it never did. To me it paid big dividends. The prize was in the journey. The stock never amounted to a hill of beans, but knowing my uncle the way few did, that was not the point. The point was that just having the stock lead me to watch the stock market and gain interest. That my friends, was the point! Thank you uncle.

This sounds like common sense, right? But rarely is it practiced. We let our emotions get in the way. We cannot get emotional about money and property! This is a sure recipe for disaster.

We, or should I say I should become more emotional about friends and family. I have been guilty of procrastinating. I have put off writing or calling a couple close friends whom I had dismissed because of ego and pride. I have been good in business, but not so much in relationships.

There is an old saving that was popular during the 70s; “love is never having to say you’re sorry.” This is pure bullshit. If I love and or care for someone I need to let them know when I mess up, so they know that I am aware of my infraction and we can move on with a clear slat. Now a day in business and in personal relationship I try to start each day with a clean slate. I’m still working on it!

I am always learning and one of my favorite people in history to quote and to read is Baruch Espinoza.  When reading some of his works yesterday I took this pertinent little piece that inspired this week’s quote. “The solution to this predicament is an ancient one. Since we cannot control the objects that we tend to value and that we allow to influence our well-being, we ought instead to try to control our evaluations themselves and thereby minimize the sway that external objects and the passions have over us.” I read his works often and I’m disturbed. I’m disturbed because so much of what I read is so relevant today. There is so much I overlook and at times I just “can’t see the forest for the trees,” and this disturbs me.

I want to end this week’s commentary with some of my little suggestions for things to watch.

Look to Boise Idaho to become a technology leader and green manufacturing base as well as a top ranked quality of life metropolitan area. Look at Southern and Eastern New Mexico to become the worldwide leader in private space travel and communication along with an underlying green tone. In the Los Angeles basin we have three electric vehicles looking to set up production in a big way.

And as a capitalist I’m looking at Citi-Group as a winner in the 18 month range with a target price of $10.80. AMD, over 18 months with a target of $14.25. GE, as at 18 month with a target of $26.05 and Cemex, with a target of $18.90. Also look at ING for a savings or Money Market institution.

Think Green! Shop local! And for goodness sake remember that we cannot buy friends and family. Times without friends are much rougher than times without money. Money doesn’t buy you happiness but friends afford you happiness.

 04/18/2010

I have gained new insights in the last few months, through meeting new people, moving, traveling across out nation’s mid-west, and making mistakes in my relationships with friends and family. I have reunited with some family I haven’t seen for years, and the strange thing is not only do I love them as family, but I genuinely like them as human beings. I have realized how much I love and miss my family of friends I have cut ties with and continued relationships with and who I have been reunited with.

The truth is that I have made mistakes and in some cases need to make amends. Not wait to make amends till I think the time is right, but to do it as soon as possible in a direct and genuine fashion. Yes, sometimes I cut my nose to spite my face. I will comment on a personal level more towards the end of today’s commentary, but first I want to get current before its noon.

On December 16^th 1773 a group of about 200 men marched two by two into Boston Harbor and dumped the cargo which was tea into the sea. They were protesting by disruption taxation without representation. This was a diverse group (some dressed as natives) in front of a group of about 7000 onlookers; they were a majority. Today in the news we hear about a new T Party that protests taxes. This is appalling. To take the name of this historic event and give it a misrepresentative twist in order to draw the respect and following of under educated and misguided is without equal.

Let’s look at these folks and see how much they have in common with the average man or woman in America. They are all far-right wing conservatives. They are 99% Caucasian. They are mostly in the middle-middle and higher class. Almost all of them live outside the inner cities of America, and almost without exception, when asked about what taxes they would like to abolish or diminish have no answer or digress to the “Big Government,” issue.

OK, so maybe we are growing the regulatory arms of our government a little broader and larger than is comfortable for even the likes of me. But look at another issue; the SEC has fired, “a shoot over the bow,” of the almighty Goldman Sachs. This would have been absolutely unheard of a short time ago.

The major financial institutions of our nation and the world have held us hostage for decades, and in the process have convinced us that they are too big to prosecute because they are to big to fail. Well, there is some truth to that as proven early last year, however if they continue to take the tact of going after the individuals who work for these giants, they just might have something.

Look at the misrepresentation of many mortgage documents through omission, and sometime worse, has been a long standing practice. In fact I sat at the dinner table with the former CEO of the once nationwide and semi-international Aames, who boasted, “We invented that!” In his defense he also said, “But we remembered equity which these present day idiots did not.”

It’s good to see our government have the balls to stand up and suggest that our major institutions have been unethical and we are going to look into it! I hope the “T” Party knows that without taxes we wouldn’t have an SEC strong enough.

And look at the timing of all this; right before Obama’s financial reform bill comes up. Hhmmm, both sides are positioning themselves to look like the (fair haired boys), it appears. 

On another front Obama has ruffled some feathers by preempting future nuclear arms and materials negotiations by offering up a cut in our nuclear offensive weaponry numbers. I mean, how many times over do we need to destroy the same target? I see a move towards technology funding rather than archaic defense through offensive deterrents. Such postures date back to the Middle Ages went battles were won over, (who had the biggest cannon).

I speak of course in layman’s terms in order to make many points on many issues, and that is why I provide so many links in each commentary.

Obama has taken a page from John Kennedy’s 1962 speech challenging the United States to send a man back to the moon, saying its time to take the nation’s space program into a new direction, at the same time paving the way to a 6 billion dollar budget increase for NASA and suggesting the program head into a direction of heavier rockets to carry more materials in a push seemingly so provocative as to awaken the childhood dreams of space travel in all of us.

Most of the former astronauts are opposed to forgoing the prospect of revisiting the moon, but I personally see this as an emotional twist. On astronaut who stands in favor of these plans as vague as they maybe in Buzz Aldrin.

Daryl Gates passed away, and its sad when anyone passes. He will be remembered as a policeman’s, policeman and the father of battering rams and the Rodney King riots. But I shall not talk negatively about a brave man who thought he was doing right. Because when you think you’re doing right, you are. At least in your mind and that’s a big deal. It’s called ethics.

In Iraq they voted in an government that is not 100% pro USA. Imagine that, a free country acting freely? How strangely cool is that. It seems to be going accidentally as it should go.

We live in exciting times! We have learned much from these tough times and we are brave and unexpectedly flexible enough to deal with the tough choices these tough times has presented.

We are divided individually yet united as a whole! And it is with this spirit I have made a decision to move more and more into a green posture, I shall be selling solar units on a small scale.

I will work in a related yet greener line of work.

More and more of this website will be dedicated to hands on green living. I will reach out to friends new and old and let them know how much I need them in my life, for what is life without life surrounding it.

I had a friend email me and she asked me if I had fallen out of contact because I was mad that I didn’t see her. Wow, I felt horrible. I need to be more responsible in keeping open lines of communication. I only have one life, and this person lives in my history to be forever etched upon my mind with good and happy and sad memories, which is the true beauty of the human condition. She and others like her are the very fabric of the cloth that my life is now. Everyone I have met throughout my life has played a part of forming the person I am today.

Some of these last months have been seemingly dark times for many, including myself. But without the darkness I’d have never found the light!

Thank You, Steven Scott Polin  steve@pistolnstamen.com

Contact your Representatives:

Barbra Boxer

312 N. Spring Street, Suite 1748 Los Angeles, Ca. 90012

(213) 894-5000 (202) 224-3553 or fax (202) 224-0357

112 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510