For the Record

During the first Gulf War, US troops overwhelmed Iraq’s military and were set to attack Baghdad in order to seal the deal.  NO! came the cry from all over the world, including the US.  Iraq is defeated, and attacking Baghdad is unnecessary; it will only result in tens of thousands of innocent civilian deaths, not to mention many more US military deaths.  And besides, Saddam Hussein will become so impotent when we get done with him that he’ll never be a threat to anyone again.  Well, President Bush listened, and the world sighed in relief as he ordered US troops not to invade the city.  Bush was seen as a humanitarian hero back in 1991!

Fast forward ten years, when Saddam Hussein was causing all kinds of trouble for the West and for his own people.  Bush blew it, everyone said.  Why didn’t he finish Hussein off by taking over Baghdad when we had the chance?  Moron!

Wait, what?  What just happened?  Don’t people remember what they said a few years earlier?  Don’t they remember urging Bush to be the bigger man, to do the humane thing?  No – no they don’t.  People have short memories, and are quick to find fault with others, while forgetting what they themselves believed in the past.  

I’m writing this because it will happen again.  I fear that already people are forgetting why more than half of American voters were appalled at the Republican candidate for President, Donald J. Trump.  It’s not that I “can’t get over it”.  It’s just that I want a written record of what actually happened, something we can refer to later, after memories get wobbly.  And it matters; this is a really important issue, because…..

I say it is beyond dispute that much of the support for Donald Trump in the presidential election was a result of misinformation.  Another way to put it is that his supporters believed a lot of things that he and his camp said, even though they were demonstrably (could be proven) wrong.  Many of these things were demonstrably false at the time to anyone who bothered to do a quick check; others were proven wrong at a later time.  Trump and his campaign intentionally put things out there that they simply had to know were wrong; this is in addition to a number of pronouncements that they may genuinely have believed, but wrongly so.  Taken together, they foisted false information on the voting public on a massive, never before seen scale. 

My claim is a fact that will be proven here.  It leads to another claim that cannot be undeniably proven, but is almost certainly true: if Trump’s campaign had not used misinformation on an unprecedented scale, Hillary Clinton would have been elected President. 

We know that a great many Trump supporters hated Clinton and Obama; they hated Establishment politicians of both parties; they wanted a more isolated and self-interested US; they wanted more and better blue-collar jobs.  For those millions of American voters, a better understanding of the truth vs. misinformation probably wouldn’t have made much difference.  They wanted Trump as president, no matter what.  But for many other voters, it seems likely that they wouldn’t have voted for Trump if they had known the truth about his claims.  Clinton did win a clear victory in the popular vote; it’s reasonable to think that only small changes in voting patterns would have done the same for her in the Electoral College vote.

Trump constantly referred to his opponent as “Crooked Hillary” and a “world-class liar”, when it was Trump himself who was involved in numerous lawsuits regarding his own sketchy deals.  And a report that analyzed his statements found that only 9% were true or mostly true.  “Crooked” Hillary’s statements, by contrast, were true or mostly true 51% of the time.  But as his supporters always point out, that 9% number came from a “liberal” source.  Fine – but that doesn’t mean it is wrong. 

Here are some of the more notable examples of the systematic misinformation that characterized Trump’s campaign, making him probably the least honest of any US politician ever:

·       Barack Obama isn’t an American citizen (Trump finally admitted he was wrong in September, 2016)

·       Obama is a Muslim (there was never any credible evidence to support this)

·       Mexicans are rapists and criminals (a very few are; the vast majority are hard-working and honest)

·       “I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”  (Mexico has vowed that it would never do such a thing, and now such a wall is seen as very unlikely)

·       China manipulates its currency to keep it artificially low (it hasn’t done so for nearly 3 years, and its currency is now overvalued, not undervalued as Trump claimed)

·       Bad trade deals have cost the US millions of good jobs (by far most job losses are due to technology and communication improvements, not trade.  A Ball University study released on 12/27/2016 says only 13% of US manufacturing job losses came from trade deals)

·       NAFTA has been a disaster for the US (a Wharton School of Business study in 2014 concluded that NAFTA has overall had a modest positive impact on the US)

·       Speaking of the prestigious Wharton School, Trump claimed to have graduated first in his class of 1968.  In fact, he only went to Wharton for 2 years, and his name is not shown at all on the list of students who graduated with honors from Wharton.

-    The election was “absolutely rigged” against him (17 US agencies confirm that Russia intervened in the election in order to help Trump win)

·       Trump claimed “serious voter fraud” and “millions of illegal votes for Clinton” in the election (his own party confirmed only a handful of questionable voter incidents nationwide)

·       The Clinton family played a role in the plane crash death of John F. Kennedy, Jr., as well as the deaths of various friends and Democrats (originated by LifeZette, a fake news organization run by a Trump crony; totally baseless)

·       Muslims were ordered to vote for Hillary (originated by a fake news outlet run by Floyd Brown – a close ally of Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway; totally baseless)

·       Global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese (the national science foundation of EVERY developed country in the world has signed a statement that global warming is real, and caused by man; there is no evidence that the Chinese are behind a “hoax”)

·       There is no system to vet refugees from the Middle East (vetting of refugees has existed here since 1980)

·       His sister, a US judge, can pass laws (the Constitution only allows Congress to make laws)

·       The actual unemployment rate is as high as 42% (the rate at the time was 4.9% and even economists who use alternative measures don’t cite anything higher than 16.2% )

·       The US is the highest taxed nation in the world (in fact, we fall in the low-to-middle area compared to other countries)

·       The Pope endorsed Trump for President (the Pope has publicly scolded Trump for some of his ideas, and definitely did not endorse him; from another one of his fake news sources)

·       Trump promised to lock Hillary up when he became President (he has upset many supporters by now saying he won’t, adding: “We owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country”)

·       Trump promised to “drain the swamp” of corrupt establishment figures (his appointments so far are mostly former lobbyists, business cronies, and billionaires, and feature people with no qualifications for their new job, e.g. Dr. Ben Carson for HUD Secretary)

·       Only liberals opposed Trump (many top Republicans opposed him, including the last two Presidential candidates, the current Speaker of the House, governors, Cabinet officers, and members of Congress – Republicans all)

And remember - apart from all of these lies, there were all the other reprehensible things Trump said and did.  Here are just a few:

·       - As of a January of last year, Trump was documented as having insulted 289 people, places, and things.  Last October, the NY Times used two full pages to list all of his public insults. 
·       - Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever” during a primary debate 
·       - He disrespected our military heroes, and especially John McCain, saying “he’s not a hero; I like people who weren’t captured.” 
·      -  He made fun of a disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski in what some people consider his worst offense of the whole campaign, by doing an impression of Serge’s spasms 
·      - He bragged about forcing himself on unwilling women, including his classy line about “grab them by the pussy!”  Subsequently, 11 women came forward to claim that it wasn’t just “locker talk”, and that Trump had grabbed and/or sexually harassed them. 
·      -  Trump claimed that he knew more about ISIS than all the generals.  In fact, Trump has made the    ridiculous, narcissistic claim that he knew more than anyone else in the world about: 
              America's domestic and international problems - "I alone can fix it." - July, 2016
              Taxes – “Nobody knows more about taxes” May, 2016  
              Renewables – “I know more about renewables than any human being on Earth." April, 2016 
              Debt – "Nobody knows more about debt.” – May, 2016 
              Banking - "Nobody knows banking better than I do" — February 2016
              U.S. system of government - "Nobody knows the system better than I do."  April, 2016 
              Politicians - "Nobody knows politicians better than Donald Trump." – February, 2016                 
              Trade - "Nobody knows more about trade than me." – March, 2016 
              Jobs – “Nobody knows jobs like I do!” – January, 2016 
              Infrastructure - "Nobody in the history of this country has ever known so much about infrastructure as Donald Trump." – July, 2016 
              The visa system – “Nobody knows it better than me." – March, 2016 
              Nuclear horrors - "There is nobody who understands the horror of nuclear more than me."–June, 2016
              Respect for women - Here's a laugher, which just followed his "locker room" banter about grabbing women's pussies:  "Nobody has more respect for women than I do" - October, 2016

·       
More despicable stuff from The Donald and Co.:
     "I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” 

·       “My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.” 

·       “My IQ is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.  I know words, I have the best words. I have the best, but there is no better word than stupid.”

"    Refused to release his tax returns, unlike every other Presidential candidate for decades.  Later, we found out he paid no federal taxes for 9 year, due to business losses from the one who knows banking and debt better than anyone else.

      Wife Melania delivers speech to the Republican convention with entire sections stolen word for word from Michelle Obama's speech to the 2008 Democratic convention.
 

·       And the latest: Trump doesn’t believe our intelligence agencies about Russian election hacking because he has “information that nobody else has.”

No one can know how Trump’s four (or eight?) years will turn out.  He has some good ideas, and may in some ways “Make America Great” again.  But he also has some very bad ideas, and they could be disastrous for the country.  So we’ll just have to see how it all works out.

But whatever happens, we know that the country has elected someone with no moral compass, who will say and do anything with no concern for the facts.  He never admits he was wrong (Obama birth being so far the sole exception, and even there, he followed with the preposterous claim that Clinton actually started the birther movement).  And he never apologizes, not even with the Obama thing. 

A big question in my own mind:  Which is better for the country – A person with no moral compass, but who (let’s just say) does improve the country materially? Or a decent, moral person who doesn’t have so much success (such as Republican John Kasich)?  The country chose the former in November.  I wonder if it will do the same thing in 2020? 

San Ysidros's "Ready Lanes" - How to find them!

GETTING TO SAN YSIDRO’S “READY LANES”

 
Come into TJ from the toll road the same way as always, although now you don’t have to turn off to the right to “Periferico y o Librimiento Sur” a mile or so from Playas, drive ½ mile and then do a U-turn to head up the hill along the border.  (Thanks to Baja Bound Insurance Services - www.bajabound.com - for the helpful pictures!)  Now, you simply stay on the highway and there’s a normal, civilized turn off that takes you directly onto the road heading up the hill and to the border, as this photo shows (the sign says San Diego, Rio Zona):

    #1

So you drive along the border fence; watch for the SAN DIEGO/INTERSTATE 5 signs and continue to follow them.  Then there’s a tricky turn-off that we missed the first time around.  Here’s how you can avoid our mistake - After you pass under the bridge in the next photo,

get ready to turn off to the right.  You want to turn right at the Pemex station, where the sign says Paseo de los Heroes, as these cars are doing (#2)

    

After that, it’s really not too hard.  At the end of the block is Calle Segunda, and you can only turn left there (#3).  As soon as you do, get in the middle lane (#4), which is identified by signs saying Colonia Federal and marked on the pavement as Medical Services Lane. 

You’re going to go a ways, curving to the right and up a hill and then past the little kiosk that lets vehicles into the Medical Lane.  Stay to the right of the kiosk, and then get in the left lane (after the kiosk).  You’ll head down a little hill to a stop sign, where in front of you is a big building with MEDAC on it.  You’ll make a U-turn here (#5), along with a lot of the other cars. 

This takes you basically back in the direction you just came, where you’ll soon come to a big speed bump and stop sign.  Stop (duh!), then curve to the right. This is a little tricky, so pay attention here.  Get in the middle lane (#6), which is identified by “San Diego” and an arrow.  

 

Go through the next stop sign (after stopping!), and past a casino on the right.  Through another stop sign, and then up to the stop sign at a roundabout, where you’ll see a big LEY business sign on your right.  Turn right at the roundabout (#7), go a ways, then turn right at the next stop sign (#8). 

Now you’re heading towards the border again, and are not far from it.  As soon as you’re on this road, ease over into the left lane.  Pretty soon there’s a gap in the left hand side of the road, and you merge left through it onto the Via Rapida (#9), as this red car is doing.

 

This takes you up a little hill and to the Ready Lanes, and soon you’re back in the USA!

Here are a couple of maps to help you visualize the route; you can click on them to make them bigger.  The red numbers correspond to the numbers in the text.   

Again, thanks to Baja Bound Insurance Services - BajaBound.com - for the helpful pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Labor Day!

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day was officially created in 1894 and is “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.”  Working conditions a dozen decades ago were intolerable by today’s standards, and there wasn’t a lot that workers themselves could do in the vastly unequal equation between businesses and labor.  But huge strides for America’s workers in the succeeding years make me wonder how relevant Labor Day is in these times.  Mostly, its value just seems to lie in marking the unofficial end of summer and giving us yet one more three-day weekend.

I’m not sad to see summer go.  San Diego has joined the rest of the country in a series of hot, humid days that remind me of why I’m happy to live in a place where such an occurrence is a rarity rather than the norm.  And the investments world has lived up to the old saw of “sell in May, buy back on Labor Day”, with the Dow down some 500 points since Memorial Day – the unofficial start of summer.  Meanwhile, silver’s a bit higher since May, but gold and the mining shares – despite lots of interim movement – are right back where they started.  Yeah, why didn’t I just sell everything 3 months ago and forget about them over the summer?

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          * 

In honor of the holiday, fast food workers are demanding $15/hour, about double what most make now.  Classic economic analysis tells us that doubling their wages should result in some combination of higher fast-food prices and fewer burger flippers – not such a good outcome.  Numerous studies question that conventional analysis, however, implying that raising the minimum wage would benefit low-income workers without really hurting the rest of us.  Whether that’s true or not, I still don’t have a lot of sympathy for those working entry-level jobs that don’t pay enough to live on.

Look – most of us started out working at those kinds of crappy jobs.  The point wasn’t to support a family.  It was to make a few bucks while learning some workplace skills; a first, necessary step up the ladder, rather than an end in itself.  And to give you a wake-up call; figure out a better way to make a living!   If you’re well into your 20s or older, and you’re stuck at Mickey D’s or KFC, chances are you didn’t have much of a game plan when you were in school.  I see it all the time: kids with tons of potential, but not putting in the effort.  Or going on to college, but majoring in something that “speaks to them”, rather than something that society values – as evidenced by decent-paying jobs.  So they’re stuck with only a U.S. high-school diploma which, if you didn’t know this, is seen by the rest of the world as not worth the paper it’s printed on, or a college degree that’s worth not a helluva lot more.   

Surely there are many people stuck in minimum-wage jobs for reasons beyond their control, but I think they are more the exception rather than the rule. For the rest – for the majority – I don’t know why we should guarantee them a “living wage”, basically rewarding them for making poor choices.  This is part of the cult of entitlement that so many Americans, especially younger ones, have embraced.  It basically says: “Enjoy life!  Do whatever you want, and don’t worry.  You’re an American, so somebody will take care of you no matter what.”  

What if, on the other hand, the message to young people was: “If you want a good life, you need to – YOU MUST – really apply yourself.  Otherwise, your life is going to be really tough.”  It kind of reminds me of the claim that most of us only use something like 10% of our brains (very high achievers, people with ESP, etc. apparently use more of theirs).  In the classroom, most students don’t work to their full potential.  They put in, on average, perhaps half the effort they’re capable of because – well, because of the “you’re an American, your life will be good regardless” idea.   As an experienced classroom teacher, even in a very high-performing school, I see this all the time; kids turning in crap, kids not studying when they know they should, not doing assignments that they could easily do, and so on.    

Now I don’t think that was the case 40 or 50 years ago, and I don’t think that’s the case in most of the rest of the world.  I think that earlier, and elsewhere, kids worked and work harder because they knew they’d be screwed otherwise.  It’s cause and effect.  We’ve had 20, 30, 40 years of good times in the U.S. – even during the Great Recession of 2008-2011, how many people didn’t have a place to sleep, food to eat, and unlimited texting on their iPhones?  As a result, trying to tell kids about the necessity of actually doing their best, rather than just whatever they feel like doing, simply doesn’t register with them.  Meanwhile, in most of the world – it does.  Not surprisingly, that’s where many of the high-paying jobs have gone, leaving fast-food and WalMart jobs as the only option for so many Americans.  

So good luck on the $15/hour thing.  I rarely buy that horrid, unhealthy food anyway, so it’s no skin off my nose.  But I won’t feel sorry for them if they don’t get it either.

JSS

9/2/2013

BIG CORPORATIONS HAVE RUINED AMERICA

We hear it so often: Big corporations determine, through their massive financial and political power, virtually everything the government does or does not do.  As a result, the rich only get richer while the majority of us are progressively worse off, true democracy in America is a chimera, and our country as the “City on the Hill” is but a memory of either what once was or could have been, depending on your politics.

Because of the power the big banks and other greedy corporations wield, millions of hard-working Americans cannot find a job, millions have lost their homes, and even more millions can’t afford health care.  All of this against a backdrop of record multi-billion dollar profits for the corporations, with compensation for top executives running into the tens of millions annually, in no small part made possible by government subsidies and bailouts.  Just this week, $27 million – minimum guaranteed - over three years for a Padres player I’ve never even heard of.  (Yep, pro sports in America is nothing if not Big Business). 

Big Business defeats legislative changes that would give us healthier food, more fuel efficient cars, affordable health care, fewer Columbines and Auroras, and a decent living wage.  It promotes income inequality and social division, crass materialism, and devalues true art for art’s sake.  Big corporations have ruined America, and most of us – the little guys and gals – are merely powerless pawns, manipulated for their greater aggrandizement.

Sort of. 

Big corporations DO have way too much power over America and its people, and their endless search for greater earnings, at almost any cost, disgusts me.  But I disagree with the implicit message that commonly follows this type of thinking:  That (1) it’s the corporations’ fault (not ours), and that (2) there’s not much the little guy can do about it. 

Look – businesses exist to make profits, and they do so by convincing us to give them their money.  It’s OUR job to be careful with our money, to say “No!” to business more often than not.  I have a big problem accepting that it is our lot in life to pay $200 a month so we can chat and text endlessly on our cell phones day and night.  I reject the premise that somebody forced Americans to buy bigger, more expensive cars and houses than they need or can afford.  I call bullshit on the claim that people don’t have time to fix a decent cup of coffee in the morning or to cook, and therefore they’re forced to spend $4 on a Starbucks Vente Mocha each morning and eat fast food crap for lunch and dinner.  I don’t understand why they have to buy designer jeans or handbags or polo shirts and whatnot at prices 2 or 3 or 10 times higher than what a perfectly serviceable generic substitute would cost.  I say it’s just plain stupid that the average American household has zero savings and an average $16,000 in credit card debt, as a result of decisions such as these. 

How in the hell did Americans get so gullible, so ignorant?  When and why did we abrogate our responsibility to spend wisely, to say “No!” to spending decisions that people 50 years ago would never dreamed of making, to limit corporations’ ability to take advantage of us? 

Decisions like those have played a key role in allowing Big Business to become so powerful.  Verizon and Cadillac and Starbucks and Donald Trump and Nordstroms and McDonalds wouldn’t be nearly so large, not nearly so powerful, if we hadn’t voluntarily opened our wallets and invited them to take whatever they want.  Even on the lower end, WalMart – the world’s largest corporation – has prospered not by selling us higher-quality (and priced) goods than we need, but have become immensely powerful by selling us a greater quantity of goods than what we really need.  So it’s our endless search for more and better controlling us that has given power and money to Big Business.

This is not to give the businesses themselves – and our political leaders – a pass.  Shameless advertising tactics that appeal to our baser emotions have been perfected over the years.  Predatory business practices have similarly been improved, to great effect.  Investors have focused more and more on short-term profits rather than ethical actions and long-term value. Meanwhile, governments on all levels have allowed big corporations to flourish via a number of active means: subsidies, bailouts, bribes, waivers, as well as passively by failing to pass and enforce legislation that might better control business excesses. 

But the buck stops, or should stop, with the individual – with us.  We’re the ones who should and can have the power.  Not in every case, of course, but to a great enough degree to not be mere pawns, jerked around by the corporations.  Why aren’t we the ones who are jerking them around?  This takes us to my second main point of the essay.

Putting it into a first-person perspective, my wife and I are regular old, middle-class folks.  We don’t come from a privileged background; never had high-paying jobs (OK – there were a few pretty good years when we had business careers a long time ago).  Yet as people of modest means, we live really good lives.  And we don’t feel at all like Big Business’s helpless bitches.  In fact, we take advantage of what the big corporations offer, so it’s more like we're the boss of them.  I realize that what follows is going to sound like bragging, but it’s the way to make a point, so bear with me.

Our 3-bedroom house in a decent neighborhood will be paid off in 3 years.  We both own vehicles made in 2012; both cost only about $20,000 but are great cars.  There's nobody we need to impress by driving a $50,000 Lexus or Escalade.  We play (and win) the car dealers’ own weekend ad game every time we buy, and we get sweet deals as a result.  One car is paid off, we owe about half on the other one. 

I love hunting, fishing, and surfing, so I own over a dozen nice guns, about 15 fishing rods/reels, and half a dozen boards; something for every type of hunting, fishing, surfing.  Plus all the necessary gear to go along with those things.  They’re $600 guns with $200 scopes, though, not $2500 guns with $1000 glass; $250 rods/reels, not $700 ones.  I make the boards myself for $250-$300, rather than spend $600-$1500 for them.  But they all look good and work just fine; just as good as the big ticket guns/poles/boards. I go on one or two out of state hunting trips and a few tuna fishing trips each year, along with occasional salmon or trout fishing trips and surfing just about every weekend (neck problems permitting).

Apart from those trips, though, we enjoy traveling, so each year we go to Europe or Asia or Hawaii or whatever for a few weeks.  We usually fly Business or First class, paying little for airfare and for about half of our hotel rooms, using frequent flier miles to get those.  The miles come from paying for virtually everything on credit cards, which cost us basically nothing since we pay off our entire bill each month.  Thank you airlines, hotel chains, big banks, and credit card companies!

We both enjoy good food, so we both cook: chicken, ribs, seafood, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, whatever.  Almost everything is made from scratch, using natural, raw ingredients.  Following doctor’s orders, we usually have a glass of red wine with dinner; often as not, “2 buck Chuck”.  We used to be big wine snobs, but not anymore; we just can’t tell much difference between Chuck and a $30 bottle.  We rarely eat out, not only because the cost is ridiculous, but because the food usually just isn’t better than what we fix at home.  Morning coffee comes from a can of Yuban and a pint of half-and-half at home, not from a trip to Starbucks or 7-11.  We eat VERY well, and in ways that don’t add much to corporate bottom lines.

My jeans come from WalMart or K-Fart, and cost $10 or $12, or from thrift stores and garage sales, which is where my wife buys a lot of my shirts for $2 or $3.  Ditto for her clothes; when she was in the business world, most of her $200-$300 suits were from those places and cost $20 or $30.  But you couldn’t tell; they looked professional and good as new.      

We’ve got 2 flat-screen TVs, a good sound system, 3 laptops and 1 desktop computers, nice artwork around the house, a 3-piece leather sofa set, an antique oak dining table and China cabinet – you get the idea.

And almost no debt.  In fact, other than 3 years of remaining house payments and about $10,000 on one car, we have no debt whatsoever.  What we do have though, are healthy savings accounts, along with even healthier personal retirement accounts.  If either of us were to die, if I were to lose my job tomorrow, if I never got a dime from my pension or Social Security – our lives wouldn’t change much financially. 

We’ve been lucky.  Despite family tragedies and some bad career moves, we haven’t had any financial, health, or legal disasters – thank God.  But mostly – mostly we’re in the rather comfortable situation we’re in because (geez, how do I say this tactfully?) we’re not f#@*ing idiots.  We didn’t spend more than we earned, we didn’t fall for all the marketing hype, we didn’t care much about keeping up with the Joneses or impressing the Smiths, and we saw the corporate world as worthy adversaries, capable of benefiting us if approached wisely.  Please understand - I'm happy, even proud - to be in this situation.  But the point is not to brag, but to show how one has a choice, how a regular person doesn't need to be a pawn at the mercy of big business.  If we could do it, so can most other Americans.

So I reject the “poor me!” mentality that says the big corporations run the world and the little guy can’t get ahead.  Maybe they run it and maybe they don’t; if they do, then the typical American and their foolish decisions over the last four decades are a big part of why that’s the case.  But it almost doesn’t matter as far as I’m concerned.  I can’t do much about the international implications of our military-industrial complex - granted.  Big corporations CAN have more power and influence than we'd like in some cases.  In my little corner of the world though, we’ve managed to eke out a sweet life in spite of, because of, or whatever of, Big Business.  And that’s not so bad.