Forum: If You Could Have A Different Career What Would It Be?

Every week, the WoW! community and our invited guests weigh in at the Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question: If You Could Have A Different Career What Would It Be?

Bookworm: I've never liked being a lawyer, although I'm reasonably good at it. It's honed my analytical abilities and my writing skills. It makes possible the blogging I enjoy doing, although I don't seem to be able to make money as a blogger.

What I'd really like to be is a member of the idle rich. My favorite pastimes are reading books; writing short, horribly proofread essays off the top of my head; and eating chocolate ice cream. I'm really not sure there's a career pathway for all of that.

Rob Miller:I have to giggle a little when I think of the word 'career' applied to me.Everything I ever did that was reasonably successful, I just sort of fell into.

One day I accidentally strummed a cheap guitar my parents brought home from a trip to Mexico and fell in love. I never wanted to do anything else afterwards, so that became my 'career.' even if I wasn't earning anything from it. I had a lot of different jobs,(I left home at 18) some of them quite interesting, but they were always just to finance and pave the way towards playing music for a living.

Eventually I managed to do that after a few false starts and made a fairly decent living out of it. It also was something of a fascinating sort of sub culture in which I was a 'semi-celebrity.' In other words, I wasn't any multi- millionaire, but I was known, sort of, whatever that means. I could get into  clubs for free and into their VIP sections all across the country, get backstage at concerts to 'say hello' and enjoy the adult refreshments and other diversions, drink for free in certain watering holes (thank you, Esther and George Wong) meet a lot of interesting people and fulfill a fair amount of fantasies. And the money wasn't bad at all.

The way that sort of ended was that I became a hired hack basically playing music I didn't really like at all for other people.  And for someone who loves music the way I did, that made it just another job, a way to make some money. About that time, I met my wife and we married, and I wasn't exactly rabid with excitement over the offers I had. So I went back to just doing sessions, mostly commercials, and working as a customer service manager for a large office supplies company.

When business went down at the office supply company and I was fired, it was time for another accident in my 'career.' I met an Israeli contractor (we knew some of the same people in Israel) who I got some jobs for in exchange for some baksheesh, and he told me about an Israeli friend of his who was 'doing loans' and that it was commission only, 'but you talk nice to people chaver, and you could make some nice money.'

Well, OK. Todah rabah.

I had a friend who was refinancing her house and I knew she'd give me the job, so I figured I'd do this once, make some money, hate it and move on. The Israeli broker hired me and I proceeded to learn about the paperwork and other things I needed to know. Instead of hating it, once I saw that first commission check I wanted nothing more but to master this new occupation the way a Samurai wanted to master his swordsmanship and do a lot more business.I ended up being pretty good at it.

After three years working for my Israeli boss (lots of fun!), I got my broker's license, opened up my own business and ended up being rather successful. For me, the 1990's and early 2000's were literally golden years. Aside from mortgages and refis, we also listed and sold houses and I also did quite well buying foreclosures once I learned how to do it properly. I'd refurbish them and either sell them or rent them out.

I sold my business right before the nasty stuff hit the fan in 2008, and I'm still not exactly sure why I did but the timing was right.  Now, I'm semi retired, mostly manage my properties, and partner up now and then with a couple of brokers I know to find refurb houses, fix them up, and sell them. It bothers me a bit because it's mostly investors buying them to rent out rather than families who want a home of their own, but so be it.

All in all, considering where I started, I'm quite grateful to the Almighty for the life I have. I wouldn't change a thing.

Jeffrey Avalon Freidberg: Like one of my personal idols, Bookworm, I am really really really good with ice cream.

However, I tend to specialize in Hagen Dazs chocolate covered ice cream popsicles and Julie’s Organic ice cream sandwiches, which kind of limits my style and reach.

I too think I’d be really good at being filthy rich like Diane Feinstein and practically the entire senate.

Amazing how they go to DC poor and leave rich as kings and queens, with unlimited lifetime medical, insurance, pensions, and all....

I guess they get smarter when they get off the bus?

Of course John McCain married the Beer Queen and had so many houses they were almost as many as Obama has—but not as many as John Kerry.

Anyways....

Anyways, I got into the private eye biz by accident and stuck with it for 35 years. I guess I did everything there was to do in that line. I wooda been something else, except I think I liked the private eye gig. I got to be outdoors and run a lot.

Then one day I just could not open one more file and walked away...

...what a DUMB THING TO DO!

Now I have no income, no job, and temp’ services won’t touch me because—even though I built and ran a million dollar business—I don’t appear anywhere in their “categories.” I was never—say—an accountant, lawyer, or secretary. No listing. 

As bugs Bunny said, “Ehhhh...I knew I shoulda took that left toin at Albu-qoikey.”


Laura Rambeau Lee: Once I got past my childhood obsession with dinosaurs and wanting to be an archaeologist I set my sights on becoming a physician. I studied hard and was a pretty good student, often studying beyond what was available in school. Growing up outside of Philadelphia in a small college town the college professors would give me text books which I read voraciously. In junior high I was attacking texts on abnormal psychology, organic chemistry, and books on human anatomy and physiology. I began college with a premed major. That changed when my father died when I was nineteen. At that point I decided I did not want to become a doctor and deal with life and death issues on a daily basis. I quickly lost interest, got married, had a daughter and divorced within six years. At age twenty-five I was a single mom who needed to make money, and make it without a college education. As a vice-president of a local bank my mother introduced me to an owner of a title insurance company and I was hired as a processor. My wages went from $145.00 a week working in a bank to $175.00 a week. That was a big jump back then, especially when child care alone was $45.00 a week.

I learned the business and after a couple of years went to work for an attorney doing real estate closings. Then I went into business with my mother for ten years, she having a mortgage company and me running the title insurance side. After my mom retired my company was bought out by a national title company owned by a national builder. ­(I had let the mortgage company dissolve due to the savings and loan crash in the late 80s early 90s. It became nearly impossible to be a mortgage broker at the time). I worked there for thirteen years until the crash in 2008.

One thing I realized early on was the chairman of the Federal Reserve really controls our country. I would tell people that whoever controls the cost and flow of money controls it all. I was still in my 20s. As I looked into it more I realized how correct I was in my analysis.

Then around 2004 I began to see it coming apart. The mortgages they were selling were certain foreclosures. No doubt about it in my mind. But it became personal when they started selling purchase money first and second mortgages. People could get one hundred percent financing by taking out an eighty percent first mortgage along with a twenty percent second mortgage. They avoided private mortgage insurance and avoided having to put money in escrow with their payments for property taxes and homeowners insurance. We called them NoNo loans – they required no asset and no income verification to qualify for these mortgages, all under full approval of FNMA guidelines. At that point I understood that now we would have a situation where we would have millions of people in homes they couldn’t afford and they would not be able to pay their property taxes either. That would severely cripple our local municipalities and county revenues, meaning we would not have money for schools, firefighters, police, transportation and social services. Where I was naïve was in believing that these lenders would go out of business. I never would have believed our government would steal our savings and wealth to bail out the banks. Americans collectively lost over 19 Trillion Dollars in wealth between savings, stock market accounts and real estate! That was my wake up call. That was my call to action and when I started blogging. It helped that I was laid off from my position as division president of the company I worked for and gave me time to write, get involved with the Tea Party and also help care for my mother who was terminally ill with cancer at the time. I also returned to college to finish my bachelor’s degree, which I did with high honors in American Studies with a major in communication and media. It was also an eye opener to the open Marxist ideology indoctrination occurring on our college and university campuses. I was the token conservative on campus.

Thinking back on everything I am content with the path my life has taken. I am back in the title insurance business, doing real estate closings. It is interesting and challenging and I have always enjoyed the business and the work. I find it amazing that when I was still in college back in 1975 and knowing I no longer wanted to pursue a career in medicine I took a test to see where my interests and abilities might take me. The results came back that a career in politics or the law, or writing and reporting would best serve my personal interests and career goals. Interesting, huh?

Dave Schuler:If I knew then what I know now, I would have swallowed, sucked it up, and remained in the corporate world rather than going off on my own and starting my own business. I would have been less happy then but probably happier now.

 Well, there it is!

Make sure to drop by every Monday for the WoW! Magazine Forum. And enjoy WoW! Magazine 24-7 with some of the best stuff written in the 'net. Take from me, you won't want to miss it.

Forum:Will Judge Kavanaugh Be Confirmed And What Will The Vote Be?

Every week, the WoW! community and our invited guests weigh in at the Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question: Will Judge Kavanaugh Be Confirmed And What Will The Vote Be?

Don Surber: Yes.

50-50 with Pence breaking the tie.
Democrats are too dumb to allow Trump State Democrats to save their hides and one of RINOs will bolt.

Rob Miller: I have no doubt Kavanaugh will be joining the Supreme Court.

I see the vote as 52 to 54 in favor, 48 to 46 against, not accounting for any abstentions.

The only Republicans I see trying to sabotage this are Ben Senseless from Nebraska, Jeff Flake from AZ because he's leaving and (long shot) Lisa Murkowski from Alaska. I doubt that Susan Collins votes against Kavanaugh. I've never agreed with her politics, but she has guts and integrity. The threats she's been getting from the Left are exactly the sort of thing to make her dig her heels in. They grow 'em tough in Maine.

The Dems I see crossing over to vote for Kavanaugh are Heidi Hightkamp, Joe Manchin, and Claire McKasskill, with Doug Jones, Jon Tester and Joe Donnelly as possibles. With the exception of Jones (whose going to want to be re-elected in a Trump state) they're all in tough races for re-election in states Trump carried.

As an aside, I think the Dems erred badly in trying to smear Kavanaugh with a #metoo accusation at the last minute by a Left wing nut job. It's like a baseball pitcher with a hot curve ball or fast ball he keeps relying on to do the job. Eventually the batters get wise, expect that it's coming and start
hammering it. As another aside, I'm eagerly waiting a thorough investigation into DiFi's Chinese spy and the huge profits she and her husband made in China.


Jeffrey Avalon Friedberg: Yes he will be confirmed: 53-47.

The Democrat Violent Dementia was just Showtime...and their Audience appears to have been Everybody Else!

Doug Hagin: Yes, he will. Sadly, the Democrats will make it party line, with two maybe three exceptions

Dave Schuler: I agree with Don. Kavanaugh will be confirmed 50-50 with Pence breaking the tie. The vote will be essentially along party lines with Susan Collins joining the Democrats to vote against confirmation.

Bookworm Room: I believe that Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed despite the latest accusations -- claims that have no contemporaneous corroboration and that come from a hard Left, Bernie-supporting academic. The Left will believe them (or will pretend to believe them), conservatives will not (and will not be pretending), and the Senate will split on straight party lines. The only risk is that Sen. Collins will have a panic attack, but I think Trump will call her with something akin to Margaret Thatcher's famous reminder to Ronald Reagan not to go "wobbly."

Laura Rambeau Lee: : One thing we can count on. The left always resorts to unsubstantiated claims of sexual misconduct when they have nothing else. They bring forth salacious unproveable accusations from, this time, a lefty professor related to an “incident” that happened over three decades ago in high school and then go on the Sunday morning mainstream media circus circuit, expressing the need for a delay in the vote until everything is thoroughly investigated. The fact that Senator Dianne Feinstein knew in July and kept this information from everyone throughout the personal meetings and public “inquisition” of Judge Kavanaugh until the final week of the process proves they have nothing valid to use as a reason for denying his appointment.

Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed. He is extremely qualified and as an originalist who believes in a strict textual interpretation of the Constitution will ensure the court remains conservative for decades to come. His nomination affirms again that our vote for President Trump was the right one for the future of our country.

One has to believe there are a few Democrats who remain silent but are appalled by the tactics of those within their party. The vote will be close, perhaps 52 or 53, but in the end Brett Kavanaugh will be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Well, there it is!

Make sure to drop by every Monday for the WoW! Magazine Forum. And enjoy WoW! Magazine 24-7 with some of the best stuff written in the 'net. Take from me, you won't want to miss it.

Every week, the WoW! community and our invited guests weigh in at the Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question: What's Your Reaction to Barack Hussein Obama's New Speech?

 Jeffrey Avalon Friedberg: I  didn’t read it, or hear it.

Obama, is—and has always been—a lying bastard. 

1. He lied some 32 times about Obamacare.

 2. His “parents” were never legally married.

Also, what the hell is the deal here ?

Obama was born a Muslim, and is still alive, so, he must still—according to Sharia Law—be a Muslim.

His legal name after he was adopted by his Indonesian stepfather is Barry Soetoro, and he has never, ever legally changed it to his self-chosen, warlike, Arabic names. And there is no evidence—not anywhere—that he has done so.

Early written material, apparently published by him, says he was born in Kenya.

His alleged birth certificate—to me, and I have seen many of them in 35 years as a licensed private investigator—appears to be a poorly made, computer-generated fraud.

Both times he was “elected” he was secretly sworn in twice—each time. Using both alleged names?

Records about his life and education are sealed and not available to anybody.

Who is he?

 Patrick O'Hannigan: My answer isn't as colorful as Jeffrey's, but I did not read or listen to Obama's recent speech, either. I was amused by one caller I heard on Rush Limbaugh's show, where Ken Matthews (?) was guest hosting. The caller said Obama had tried to take credit for the Trump economy. He said that reminded him of when he was a kid, and his mother would strive to open a peanut butter jar before giving up and handing it to him. When he then opened the jar, she'd say, "See! I loosened it for ya." But the funny analogy did not quite fit (according to the caller), because Obama not only did NOT "loosen the lid" for Donald Trump; he (Obama) was twisting it the wrong way.

Rob Miller: I did see it, as well as a transcript. One thing few people noticed is that Obama didn't once refer to his successor as  'President Trump.' 

Other than that, it was quite typical. Filled with classless behavior, mistruths, self-aggrandizement and whining while taking credit for the work and accomplishments of far better men as well as lying about his own 'accomplishments.'

What were they?

He weakened America at every turn, from our military to our basic institutions like the courts, our healthcare system and academia. He came close to ruining the economy and ran up more debt with less to show for it than all his predecessors combined. He exacerbated racial tensions, happily militarized government agencies to go after those he considered his political foes and ended by gifting our sworn enemy, one who was complicit in 9/11 with billions of dollars.

 It doesn't matter, really. The Left will always love him , because he came the closest of any American president of turning America into a socialist hellhole. And of course, because he was the first black president, which also kept him from being investigated and impeached.

He got every benefit and boost up the ladder America has to offer and worked for very little of it. The historians in academia  will paint him in glowing terms, but he remains a classic example of the bird who deliberately crapped in his own nest and did his best to foul it beyond redemption.

Fausta Rodriquez Wertz: I wasn't interested in watching. Former president. Yesterday's news.

Laura Rambeau Lee:  I had two immediate reactions.  President Obama, you didn’t build that! And thankfully …President Obama is #NotMyPresident anymore.

  Well, there it is!

Make sure to drop by every Monday for the WoW! Magazine Forum. And enjoy WoW! Magazine 24-7 with some of the best stuff written in the 'net. Take from me, you won't want to miss it.

Forum: What Will Trump Do About Social Media Bias And Censorship?

Every week, the WoW! community and our invited guests weigh in at the Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question: What Will Trump Do About Social Media Bias And Censorship?

Jeffrey Avalon Friedberg: What would I do? That’s simple, but not “polite,” because the time for that is long past.

Legally: I would....

I would do something to make their by-now-puckering asses hurt really really really really really bad.

I would do something they cannot afford.

I would lock up as many as possible and keep them there—witnesses, protection—whatever.

I would start the break up of any monopoly.

I would shut them all down as much as possible any way allowed.

Legally.

What will Trump do? Something similar to maybe only part of the above, but he will also make their heads explode via his Tweets, etc.—and spread their madness, like a plague of fleas up their hairy undies.

He will allow it to go on until it is much worse, and then he will set his machinery in motion.

Right now, this (his machinery) is all just waiting, poised—on standby....

“...not polite....”
Rob Miller : I think there's some real meat here, and ironically, the Obama Administration paved the way. For one thing, the major Social Media sites are obviously colluding to effect the coming election. That's illegal, especially since these sites call themselves public platforms. They also have a clear record of discrimination against certain points of view based on their own arbitrary whims, which are kept secret precisely so that they can be used in an arbitrary way and never ever revealed, merely referred to as 'community standards.' Since these are also media companies, this may very well be an FCC violation since sites that are banned or discriminated against in such a fashion are never informed of what violations they may have committed, if any. That is, besides having conservative views.

This combined with their open efforts to collude to influence elections could be real red meat. It might even lead to an anti-trust suit. And certainly to FCC and IRS examinations of, respectively, their corporate practices from a media standpoint and their finances, both on a corporate level and a personal one for their major executives.

Yes, these are private companies, but such companies have been successfully sued before for restraint of trade or other monopolistic practices. We'll see.

At the very least considering how these companies bowed down to the Chinese and the EU, it might make them a lot less likely to act in such a biased manner.

Patrick O'Hannigan: I can't remember where I first saw the idea (meaning either at "Instapundit" or "Ace of Spades"), but I do think the president and his administration can exploit the legal differences between "platforms" and "publishers." Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media players like to think of themselves as platforms, because that allows them the fig leaf of neutrality between competing points of view. There are people who make a good case that these technologies are not platforms, so much as publishing apparatuses (apparati?). Publishers can be sued for libel, among other things. The other thing President Trump could do continues his current strategy of tweeting to his heart's content, knowing that his tweets drive people crazy, while continuing to appoint lower-court judges, keep an eye on the FCC, etc. It's sleight-of-hand, and it lets the president take advantage of the manufactured outrage directed against him 24/7 to get things done while the media wastes time on stupid questions like whether he honored the late Senator John McCain sufficiently (FWIW, I'm of the opinion that honors for McCain were over the top to begin with. Ronald Reagan didn't get such fulsome praise when he died, and he'd done more for this country. Moreover, when Jeff Flake ("the other Senator from Arizona") said of his late colleague, "Now he belongs to the ages," he was deliberately borrowing a line first used by then Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to describe Abraham Lincoln at Lincoln's death bed -- and John McCain was not in Lincoln's class).

Don Surber: President Trump knows the limitations of his power as president; he hasn't fired Mueller. He will not use the government against the media.

But he also knows his power as the head of a rebellion, and he will continue to push back. Public opinion will change behaviors at Twitter and Facebook.

He is a president the Founding Fathers imagined: a fellow who actually puts country first, upholds the Constitution, respects the office, and does not abuse the power.

The reason is simple, he does not need the job. Fame and fortune, he had. He is an altruistic president along the lines of Coolidge, Eisenhower, and Reagan. He saw a need and filled it.

These are the best eight years of our lives. Enjoy. Mock the media and the critics, and have a blast!

Laura Rambeau Lee: President Trump understands the Constitutional limitations of his power, unlike his predecessor. In his position he speaks loudly and often on behalf of conservative voices and the unfair bias against them by the left-leaning social media platforms.

Hopefully he will continue being our tireless advocate and publicly bring attention and call out the media for their bias. The technology that allows us to communicate with one another can be a double edged sword, especially with the power and control being in the hands of very few individuals. It is up to Congress to pass laws against censorship and to protect everyone’s right to free speech. Our representatives must assure we all receive equal access and our voices not be censored with this rapidly growing and powerful technology. It’s great to know we have such a vocal advocate in the White House.

  Well, there it is!

Make sure to drop by every Monday for the WoW! Magazine Forum. And enjoy WoW! Magazine 24-7 with some of the best stuff written in the 'net. Take from me, you won't want to miss it.