Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

1. OBAMA AND ROMNEY

The conventional wisdom says that when a presidential incumbent has a bad economy he will lose. This is one of the shittiest economies this country has ever had, but Obama stands quite secure in his lead over Mitt Romney in the polls. Is Obama that good of a politician? Not quite. It is that Mitt Romney is just that bad.

All politicians are liars. We know this. These people disgust us. Mitt Romney pushes that disgust to its zenith. The only true and sincere thing he ever said was captured on a cellphone video where he effectively dissed half of the country into never voting for him. EVER. This wouldn't have been so bad since all Romney needs is for Obama voters to stay home. But this Mormon clown not only manages to piss people off, he does it so well that they will actually get off their asses to go to the polls just to vote against him. And Republicans will almost certainly sit this one out.

If John McCain were in Romney's place right now, he would be winning. This is how bad Romney is doing. I suspect that even Sarah Palin would have a better showing than Romney right now. How did this guy ever get the nomination? Who voted for Romney?

I am no fan of Barack Obama. I had tempered hopes when he came into office, but he managed to fail on the low expectations I had of him. Guantanamo Bay is still open for business. We are pursuing war in new nations. Big business and the banks know they can always get a bailout from this administration. Obama has been a terrible president.

Romney is no different than Obama. They are indistinguishable on the substantive issues. In that context, the voters aren't voting on the basis of the lesser of two evils so much as voting for the devil they know over the devil they don't know. That is some sad shit. I weep for this nation. It is going to be another long four years.

2. SMARTPHONE MADNESS

This article in the WSJ is just the latest evidence for what I am beginning to call the "smartphone bubble." Families are cutting back on luxuries and even necessities to pay for their smartphones. This isn't talking and texting on a dumbphone like I do. These are streaming data plans on Android and iPhone devices. This sort of thing can't go on forever, and it won't.

I sound like a Luddite when it comes to smartphones, but it is my contention that they are an expensive fad. They are the cellphone equivalent of the McMansion and the SUV. Recently, when the iPhone 5 hit the market, there was a crowd outside of a local AT&T here waiting for the place to open, so they could get one of the things. Yet, the reviews I got from people on the street were that the improvements over the iPhone 4 were marginal. People just want the latest phone to impress their friends.

We have become a nation of game playing idiots and constant Facebookers. You can't drive down a road without having to play Dodgecars with people on their smartphones texting and updating their Facebook status. I sound like such a crusty old man on this shit, but people clearly can't afford this crap. But they are making sacrifices and running up credit cards to buy these phones and pay for the data plans. The only advantage these people have over me with my dumbphone is that they can surf the internet while waiting in line at the DMV. I usually just bring a magazine.

I spent some time talking with a lady at the AT&T phone store, and she made the standard claim against my fad argument that everything was going to smartphones. It was merely the next step in the chain of evolution. She said that people use their cellphones now instead of credit/debit cards at the checkout lines. I have yet to witness one of these transactions anywhere. I'm sure you can swipe your cellphone at some trendy shops, but I don't ever go to those places. She said that the cellphone companies were "forcing" everyone to go with smartphones. Yet, I had no trouble buying a dumbphone less than a year ago.

The reality is that the cellphone companies like AT&T and Verizon are much like the banks and real estate companies during the housing boom riding the wave until it crests and crashes. People are now literally slaves to a device that fits in their pocket. They work harder and harder just to pay to enjoy a few moments playing Angry Birds. 

I am going to double down on my prediction and say it again. Smartphones are a fad, and they will end. People are going to get tired of paying for all that shit. Unlike dumbphones or laptops or even the Blackberry, smartphones are merely toys. They are really neat toys, but so are Jet Skis and motorcycles. At the end of the day, you stop playing with toys because they cost too much, or you simply get bored with them. Despite the big sales, Apple admits that the iPhone 5 has turned out to be a disappointment for the company with sales failing to meet expectations. When you can get an old iPhone for 99 cents with a service contract, that should tell you something.

3. ODDS AND ENDS

--Suicide has now surpassed car crashes as leading cause of death. I don't think this is because cars magically got safer.

--Parents get happy now when their kids choose not to go to college but get a job and work straight out of high school.

--Steve Jobs would not have allowed Apple Maps to suck so badly. Tim Cook apologizes. Apple's days are numbered.

--You can't be both Catholic and Libertarian. Neither the Bible nor church teachings allow it. "The worldly ruler bears the sword, and serves God with it, not as a terror to the good, but to the evil." (Romans 13:4.)

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