Photo above Heyzel Obando with husband Tony Joiner Folks The Chief has no reservations about calling you out when you harm your squaw. Sadly today is such a day.
Happy Sunday, I guess. I was greeted with a reader email saying the University of Florida was back in the news, as former Safety (didn’t keep her safe) Tony Joiner was arrested for the murder of his wife today.
Earl Tony Joiner
Joiner played at Florida from 2004-2007. He was captain of the team that featured Aaron Hernandez. Joiner, I guess you could call him alumni, is charged with the death of his wife; who died…guess this, in 2016! In addition, it wasn’t until 2 months after her death the police ruled it a homicide…I guess some things take longer in Florida since they cancelled CSI Miami. Then again, this state tried to cry voter fraud regarding “hanging chads” and other shenanigans. He murdered her on Valentine’s Day; a day most couples are looking to celebrate as one, not looking to be killed by someone.
Joiner, who won a national championship at Florida and was a distinguished member, made a fatal mistake! When you’re a disciple of now deceased (thank god) piece of human excrement Aaron Hernandez, you need to clean the scene of the crime! Have a fall guy! Did you learn nothing at Florida?
Aaron Hernandez — murderer
Joiner was a standout safety for the Gators from 2004-07 under former head coach Urban Meyer. He served as a team captain during his senior season.
Joiner is the second player from the 2007 Gators team to be charged with murder, following Aaron Hernandez’s conviction.
I understand you likely never found the inside of a classroom there but still, be a good disciple! Maybe you missed a chapter in the book, but now you’re caught. When reached for comment, Joiner said “dindu nuffin” so I guess let’s release him. I hear nothing from Black Lives Matter on this…so I guess his wife (who is black by the way) didn’t matter either? You are literal scum Joiner; your mug shot proves it. Don’t drop the soap, you worthless scum! Real men don’t kill women.
However, congrats on finding a new daddy in jail, trust me it’ll happen. I hope you like jailhouse oatmeal, and if you’re, lucky you can get some food from the commissary. Depending on the jail you may even have an ocean view. No word yet on whether you are kicked out of Aaron Hernandez church, but I guarantee Urban “Oscar” Meyer your former coach is disappointed you didn’t learn what he taught you.
Did we do it again or did we do it again! We said in this very space on a couple occasions that San Francisco could be a buyer of Pacific Bankrupt Gas & Electric’s assets, well the city has hired a prominent investment banker from Jefferies LLC to assist in exploring buying the assets. When you hired a firm like Jefferies you are very serious. The fee’s charged by this prestigious firm are so high a credit card company would be jealous.
Jefferies LLC consultant team tackling options on buying PG&E assets
While nothing is final, I would say the assets the City wants are as good as sold since PG&E needs cash to pay off its fire liabilities in both the Bay Area and “Paradise”.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said on Tuesday it has hired an adviser to explore the potential acquisition of PG&E Corp’s distribution assets, sending shares of the power company up 2.6% at $18.37.
San Francisco has hired Jefferies LLC as buy-side financial adviser, the utilities commission’s Press Secretary Will Reisman told Reuters in an e-mail statement.
In some ways this makes sense. The City can keep the rates cheap as it won’t have to subsidize rural areas. The lines are almost entirely underground so fire liability is essentially nil. The City desires to be greenhouse gas free in the near future, so I guess it reduces fossil fuel reliance.
Bloggers note: What fossil fuel plants are left here? However the burning question is how will they generate power? In a post Enron era would you really want to rely on an out of area producer? A jilted PG&E who you bought the assets on the cheap from? Sun? Water? Wind? Waves? Biomass?
Green energy production, the future of San Francisco
I guess being able to sell the masses on lower rates and “transparency” makes sense in some ways but I don’t see the end game here. Additionally as discussed here, the infrastructure is very old, outdated and more saliently what exactly does the City think its purchasing? Wires and pipes underground are very easy to maintain, you just ignore them until there is an issue, but how old are these pipes and wires and are we sure we know where they are buried? What if the “big one” finally happens? Is this really the liability I would want to take on as a city? Well I suppose if you want lower rates.
I guess Rahm Emanuel was onto something when he said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”, but I just don’t see this penciling out.
Rahm Emanuel
In a way I feel bad for the ratepayers in San Francisco. While SMUD may not be perfect, I wouldn’t want any PG&E assets within a 90 mile radius of my house.
William and I have been surprised lately by the statistics showing “jobs growth,” most of which coming from low skilled positions by the way, however an advertisement caught my eye in my inbox yesterday. I shop, like many other Americans online; usually getting free shipping and most of the time paying no sales tax. Under Armour basically spams my inbox daily; however, this one was a doozy and the guy who sent it out probably should be re-assigned. Here at reallyright.com we don’t have a practice of call for people to be fired (unless they work at ESPN or for taxpayers). Take a close look at the email…it says additional 30% off! Yet the prices of said items have actually been marked up by 30%. Not a great look if you are a major, publicly traded company, especially one with a ton of people who consume your products.
Under Armour plus 30 percent sale Hurry 05/22/2019 Only
This is really a rough look, which makes me wonder if they decided to switch to an inflation model where the price changes as inflation rates are dictated? Or is this a new Venezuela based system that since the value of the currency is so low the price must keep going up? Either way rough look, nonetheless. What’s even more disturbing? The original email went out at 9:58 am and the retraction didn’t go out until 6:15 pm. Who was minding the store? I find it hard to believe no one caught this…this is a pretty large error? The retraction gets sent at the end of the day? I wonder what sales were like? The types of things in this society that go unnoticed blows my mind.
As an additional nugget a “pride email” showing off their newest “pride offerings” went out as well, and there were no errors in that, so I guess we see where they stand on “the issues.”
This is an issue that has been building for a while now, I will detail it in a future blog, but the “job growth” is happening at the high end, or the very low end. The 90-day types will cheer the job reports, but mass layoffs have started, and it is not pretty. These are low skilled workers assigned to social media/email accounts trusted with sending the info out. They are monitored by aloof absentee middle managers who spend most of their time applying for their next job, so retractions don’t go out till later. Anyone want to take bets; if the “pride email” was screwed up, a couple of people would be paying with their jobs?
In a shock to no one with an IQ north of a potted plant and no genetic relation to a Park Brother, the College Board is adding a new “adversity score” to students who take the SAT. This adversity score will add and likely subtract from a student’s score based on several things: neighborhood they live in, school they attend, number of parents/siblings in household, household income, marital status of parents, and if the applicant has a child among other things. This has finally gone way too far and there will be major pushback from several different ethnic groups. While the “adversity score” doesn’t mention skin color, I’m sure it’s included somewhere. This whole thing is a tragedy, and a direct attack on college access based on hard work, I’ll continue later.
Truth is this has been in the works since “no child left behind” or as I call it “no child turned down until you cannot afford tuition” was written by Sen Kennedy and signed by George W Bush.
George W Bush signing No Child Left Behind
While that law has been a disaster, this amendment has been in the works for a while. The backlash will be interesting on this one. As you may recall, we had SB 1 here in California and the Asian community caused such uproar it was instantly squashed. This is about equal results folks, it has nothing to do with equal access or any other line of BS put out by the elite. This is an affirmative action plain and simple, and forcing college compliance with mandatory minimum quotas of people from all socio-economic status. Instead of SAT score, academic achievement, extra-curricular involvement you will be scored as well on “adversity?” How exactly does that work? So if you live in a bad zip code, attend a bad school, come from a broken home and have a single parent who doesn’t work, that makes up for the lower test scores/grades? If you attend a private school, live in a nice neighborhood, have 2 parents who work, your score will be reduced because you’re privileged? According to what metric? What about the gender/sex of the parents? I would assume if your parents are a same sex couple you get a higher score since there’s “adversity?” I would assume if the student or a parent is transgendered it would be like hitting the jackpot since they seem to be getting all the sympathy in America now?
Here at Really Right we see this as an attempt by the powers that be to put their hand (not just their finger) on the scales to get the outcome they desire. The dirty little secret is they do not like the fact that Asian students dominate all the supposed “elite schools” in America and want to change all that. Have a student who is very talented academically and you hire a tutor and put them in advance placement classes? You will be knocked down a peg or two as a result. Now we won’t be accepting the most qualified, we will be trying to have a completely gentrified campus with no one socio-economic status dominating the student body. Lawsuits will start flying and we will rue the day this became a qualifier to gain acceptance.
Martin Luther King told everyone no one should be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…..too bad, those times are long gone. I have a hard time believing he is agreeing with this type of scoring model.
However this should surprise no one, all politicians preach inclusion and equality so as a result we have new rules like these. By the way if you go to DC and see the MLK Jr Memorial look for that quote, but don’t take too much time since you will not find it on the statue. (Hat Tip to William on this one)
I for one would like to see this applied to the football and basketball teams at colleges, boy how funny would that be, imagine the outrage in certain communities that their children cannot apply since there is a “adversity score” added to short/un-athletic people. Oh by the way the guy who helped birth Common Core David Coleman, is the same guy who is behind this.
So basically what we have here is legalized reverse racism with a voodoo scoring model that no one will have any clue how it’s calculated.
I for one, went to private school my whole life, attending prestigious Jesuit High and was a player on the only football team to go undefeated in school history, ask for a look at my football championship ring, I’ll show it to you! I would be given negative marks, I’m also white, and have 2 working parents and live in a nice part of South Sacramento County.
Now let me add an “adversity” to my score. If instead I had attended Pleasant Grove High School, while it is considered one of the best, my school district, since it has a very high level of people on free or reduced lunch program, I would get added adversity to my SAT score! By the way as William can likely attest getting on this program is not very hard.
The overall point we try to strive for here at reallyright.com is to present facts and have you decide. We both believe students get out of school what effort they put in. Why should one be punished for getting a tutor to help, or taking AP classes? Or the color of their skin? Or if their parents are married/or any other factor? I thought this was America? The republic is at a tipping point. Once again we see the elites switching equality of opportunity for equality of outcome and hoping no one notices. I’m not sure if the emperor ever had any clothes on but thinking he can pull this off with a straight face is stretching credulity.
“The Chief”
Editor’s note: Thankfully there is an alternative to the SAT called ACT. If students quit taking SAT as a result of adversity scores, this social experiment will go away quietly. Liberals claim they are all in on socialism but the truth is that they will follow the money.
In case you missed it, PG&E is bankrupt; however, they are allowed to continue to operate while the state regulator figures out whether to let them re-organize or partout the company. PG&E has been wallowing for about a year now, trying to convince legislators to overturn the “inverse condemnation” law that forces them to repay any damage done by their equipment in the event of a wildfire. This has gone nowhere and predictably the utility has responded by saying they are going to implement “rolling blackouts.” The policy, as explained by the utility, is that PG&E will attempt to reach out to affected customers within a day or two of the scheduled blackout. Such blackouts are contemplated when high winds are in the forecast. They will send out a warning, and then cutoff all power to the area. The company goes on to add, the power will be restored when danger of their equipment causing wildfire is no longer imminent. The spokesperson added that some customers could be without power for days.
Under intense scrutiny from regulators and an unsympathetic federal judge, the utility Wednesday rolled out a fire-safety plan for 2019 that calls for shutting power to vast chunks of its territory when winds kick up and other fire perils abound. It’s designed to curtail the type of deadly wildfires that drove PG&E into Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.
…PG&E is still evaluating the criteria it uses for blackouts, which are based on heat, lack of humidity, high winds and other factors.
In any event, he said the company is committed to a system that, when blackouts are imposed, will spread the impacts to much wider areas than before.
On one hand I understand why the company is doing this. If the windstorm knocks over the power lines causing a fire to spark, they are on the hook for all damages. Easiest way to prevent said liability? Cut the power! If you happen to live in an area where a wildfire could start if their equipment is knocked over? Too bad, so sad. Have solar on your roof? Thanks for your service….but your power is still being cut. If you’re thinking about buying a Tesla emergency battery generator…in addition to reading some of Williams articles, just understand that battery could either catch fire….or not last long enough to generate power for your dwelling. In addition, if you live in a rural area, you are automatically a low priority for having your utility service restored. So if you live in the sticks, or a tee pee like me, you could be without for several days. The battery power generator you are buying will only work for a few hours at most, keep in mind most houses in rural areas tend to be much bigger than a standard tract home in the city or suburbs.
Who Decides
The scariest part of this is that you are at the mercy of a very corrupt and morally bankrupt PG&E. It’s frightening that their “meteorologists” (no doubt overseen by a team of lawyers) will determine when the power should be cut and restored. It’s alarming to be at the mercy of the only utility on the planet whose carbon foot could be seen last summer with the naked eye from the International Space Station.
Camp Fire Satellite Image
In California where the utility pays for all damage caused by their equipment, you can rest assured your power isn’t being restored until everyone is certain the storm has more than passed. Even more worrisome are the practical ramifications of this policy. While hospitals and maybe assisted living centers will have a backup generator, it will not power the facility very long. The entire community, city, or region will be without power meaning no street lights, gasoline or other fuel sales, restaurants, stores, everything will be down.
Summary
Thanks to Pacific Gas and Electric, this summer you can relive the glory days of Governor Gray Davis and simultaneously live like the folks in Venezuela. From now on, in the PG&E service area, electrical service is a privilege not a right. What’s the old saying, “Forewarned is forearmed”? Unlike the Gray Davis era, in the enlightened age of Gavin Newsom, they’ll let you know when it’s convenient to provide electrical power. But remember, you only get billed for what you actually use.
As an added bonus, PG&E could now consider letting their union workers have holidays like the Fourth of July and Labor Day off. This will save them having to pay double and triple time to their union employees working on legal holidays and it won’t inconvenience many customers because most folks are eating out of their ice chests and picnic baskets during these holidays.
There is Hope
Despite these ominous threats, fear not fellow Californians. Our leader of the republic, Gavin Newsome, has committed $75 million to the cause. No word on what that money will be spent on. We wait patiently to hear more about the other added millions later in this process. Newsome added he is “scared.” Well rest assured sir, your house in Fair Oaks is in SMUD’s service area, and chances of a wildfire causing your power to be cut are NILL. In addition if your power were to go out, I’m sure you won’t have to wait in line like the rest of the unwashed masses, his majesty will have power turned on far before any of us.
Stripping PG&E’s Carcass
In related news: The City of San Francisco has begun discussions to look into buying the local SF portion of PG&E during the bankruptcy process.
As PG&E (PCG) continues to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the city of San Francisco is reportedly considering offering a deal to the utility for some of its power assets.
The multimillion-dollar deal is expected to happen within the next few months as Mayor London Breed told PG&E back in March that a formal bid would come if it proves feasible for the city, Bloomberg reported.
San Francisco is looking to purchase PG&E’s electric distribution system in the city, which it estimates “in the range of a few billion dollars,” according to Monday’s report from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
I’m unsure of what they are thinking because the city would be liable for any equipment damage causing a resulting fire. In addition, does anyone know what infrastructure is even located under the city’s streets? Also, where do they plan on getting the power needed for their city? As William pointed out, there is precious nothing as far as electricity generating assets around the City, please don’t think Hetch Hetchy is capable. Maybe using the methane from their own citizens “deposits” found all over the town’s sidewalks? I know liberals want to send us to a Dark Age with all the green new deals; however, it seems like PG&E wants to do one better and send us to the Stone Age; less the ability to wield fire.
The Oracle of Omaha, AKA the world’s best investor ever, AKA rich Uncle Penny Bags pulled off a move this past week that will make anyone jealous.
As always, the context of the story first…. a company called Anadarko Petroleum accepted a takeover bid by Chevron, with Chevron offering to pay to buy the entire company and merge the two together.
Another oil and gas company, Occidental Petroleum decided to join the bidding as well. Chevron being much larger than Occidental meant Occidental needed to find big pocket investors to outbid Chevron. Enter Penny Bags, stage left.
Buffett, through his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway, offered to lend Occidental 10 billion in return for 8% interest. In today’s world of low interest rates, why not go to an investment bank? While the oil patch had a rough go for several years, things are looking brighter, and I have a feeling someone would have lent them the money far cheaper. Just to give you an idea of how great Buffett’s return is, experts in the investment world consider 7% returns a year being good, well Buffett is getting that, plus 1% essentially risk free. I say risk free because if the corporation goes bankrupt, Buffett is in line for payback far before the shareholders are. But as the guy pitching Ronco Knives on late night TV infomercials will say, “But wait, there’s more”! Buffett added a deal any of us unwashed masses can only dream off; he gets a signing guarantee fee, meaning if Occidental does or doesn’t end up buying Anadarko, Buffett gets $50 million. That’s right folks, there you have it…literally risk-free money! Chevron got in on it as well, since they get a 1 billion breakup fee if Occidental does in deed buy Anadarko as well.
Just to summarize, when I bought my house, the interest rate I took was 4.125%. I got the best rate possible at the time. Why on God’s green earth would anyone take 8%, when alternatives were available? I’ll explain more later, but this is usury on Buffets part, and I think it should be investigated. He is essentially making a payday loan to Occidental and holding them and their shareholders hostage for a ransom, win or lose. Keep in mind that Occidental has a very clean balance sheet and could have issued more stock or even done a bond offering for quite less then Buffett’s offering but oh well.
Buffett’s imprimatur is apparently valuable to Occidental Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub: The 8 percent that’ll be paid out on the preferred shares is more than twice the average coupon on Occidental’s debt.
Now here is where Elon Musk makes Occidental look foolish. Tesla borrowed 1.6 billion in the form of a convertible bond (can be exchanged for equity in the company) issued by investment bank Goldman Sachs (one of the best in the business mind you) for 2%. By the way, Goldman is currently telling investors to sell Tesla; at least that’s what their analysts say publicly. So just to break it down here, Occidental a well-run oil company, and a good balance sheet got the money for 8%. Whether they win the bid, they have to pay 50 million. Penny Bags gets his cut up front win or lose, yet Tesla who lacks any business acumen is able to get the money from Goldman for 2%? I guess in the weird world we live in–William has done a fantastic job lighting Musk on fire–but here Musk comes off as a winner. Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub comes off as a very aloof Chief Executive. I guess in the next 90 days we will find out who won.
The Chief
Editor’s Note: Buffett’s intervention appears to be tipping the scales away from Chevron and toward Occidental Petroleum. I guess Wall Street wants Buffett to do for the petroleum industry what he has done for Kraft Foods.
First some background of this certified bozo. John Rogers represents Birmingham in the Alabama state house, but in reality, if you are the scum of the earth…congrats he represents you too! Rogers, like any other politician looking for 5 minutes of fame, went on a rant about why mothers should have access to an abortion. He said “Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now, or kill them later. You bring them into the world unloved, unwanted, and you send them to the electric chair, so you kill them now or kill them later.” Wow, a lot to unpack there.
To be fair, he was talking about abortions, more specifically a bill that if signed into law would outlaw all abortions, unless the health of the mother (or do we call them a more binary “carriers” now?) would be impacted. Obviously this is a very highly charged issue but Rogers wasn’t done yet. He added “some children facing abortion could be retarded or half deformed.” Wow!
Despite his valiant argument for its defeat, House Bill 314 passed 74 to 3. Later, other principled Democrats weighed in too:
When HB314 passed the House only three representatives voted against it. A number of Democrats who had left the chamber have since changed their vote to no, so the updated vote is 72 to 26.
Folks think about it. Those words that you and I take offense to; namely, “killing them now”, caused 23 more Democrat legislators to join with John Rogers! Let that sink in for a moment.
But wait there is more… Donald Trump Jr called him out saying he made Virginia Governor and Blackface aficionado Ralph Northam (no friend of the unborn mind you) look like a moderate on the issue, as compared to Rogers who wants a master race.
Saying “Trump Jr. is proof that mothers ought to have access to abortion because he is evidently retarded or crazy.” And further “I know there’s something wrong with that boy,” Rogers said. “I look at him and I can tell there’s something wrong with him. That’s the best defense I have for more abortions right there looking at him.” This is sick, disgusting even.
Donald Trump Jr.
I will say this, Trump Jr definitely lacks in moral department due to his leaving his wife and children for the former first lady of San FranciscoKimberly Newsome er Guilfoyle er Trump….I don’t know. Whatever she calls herself.
Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom Trump
That being said, Roger’s statements are becoming far more mainstream in the Democrat Party. While the anti-abortionists are slowly winning the battle, Roger’s reaction is off the charts crazy. The scary part is not so much his opposition to the bill, which is his right, its being so out of touch.
First of all I doubt this country executes more than 100 people in a year. Truth be told, only a handful of states have the death penalty and carry it out anyway. Planned Parenthood, on the other side, aborts many times that number in a single hour in our state alone, let alone nationwide. Ironically the customers are mostly the same color as Mr. Rogers. Adding insult to injury, Rogers would rather call Don Jr a name, and an offensive one at that. However his words, when taken in full context, are cringe worthy. He talks of aborted fetuses as throwaways not fit for this earth, even going farther to correlate a stay on death row and outlawing abortion, are somehow related. Then he makes a statement that if a fetus is deformed or retarded they should be killed as well…ouch! What is more upsetting is the Democrats are radio silent on this one.
Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood must be the most frightening place imaginable.
This guy is not your father’s Mr. Rogers
The safest place a child should be is with his mother, but this guy wants it to remain the most lethal. This Mr. Rogers is all about human trafficking of the worst sort, murder for hire. The “fit” deciding who is “unfit” (to live). In exchange for reducing the black population of his state, his masters provide him with money and power.
Rogers is now serving in his 10th term in the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the city of Birmingham. He is 78 years old.
Rogers is a professional photographer and according to his bio on the state Legislature’s website, is the director of minority affairs for the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Lest you think his comments are out of context, try this quote:
We were looking for clarification on his remarks and his thoughts on the national response, but our political analysts say anyone who knows Rogers and Alabama politics knows his comments aren’t unusual.
“If you Google John Rogers, you’ll find a whole bunch of ridiculous statements,” said Dale Jackson.
“He’s a very colorful man to say the least,” said Waymon Burke.
Our WAAY 31 political analysts, Dale Jackson and Waymon Burke, agree that remarks like this from Rogers are nothing new.
In conclusion, this guy Rogers should star in a film about why we no longer use lead paint in this country. No word on if he was popping Tide Pods or huffing glue between sentences.
John Rogers hands out breath mints like these to his constituents
Add Roger’s comments to those made about Obamacare and what a world we would live in. Your grandmother who has a cold…sorry ma’am we have no treatment options available. But get knocked up after a night of drinking and cut to the front of the line. We’ll take care of this problem for you! Service with a smile! Heck, if we were in Washington State, we’d even compost the little rascal for you. Given more time, Democrats will probably make abortion tax deductible. If you aren’t indoctrinated by our school system or way of life…I guess you should have been aborted as well. What a harsh thing to say, but this has been going on in our country for years now so I guess this is what it has come to.
People like Rogers are the worst, enjoy your lead paint and Tide pods this weekend Rogers!!!!
A question I am asked all the time is “How come young people like Bernie Sanders so much?” I guess they ask me because I am young…allegedly. The answer is actually quite simple, it just requires outside the box thinking. Yes, he is very old, and quite frankly looks so disheveled some days I wonder if he is being fed a constant flow of opioids just to stay upright! However that being said, he is offering a message that is very different from other politicians. In a sense Obama started this, (Hope and Change) then Trump had one (Make America Great Again) and Sanders has one (Socialism). People have a tendency to gravitate to something new, and all 3 drew record crowds for the most part. In a way all 3 are similar, as the premise of their campaigns were vague.
Bernie brings gifts to his voters
Back to Sanders, a reason he is so very popular with young people is they see him as Santa Claus. An old man with a big bag of gifts from which you know something in that bag is for you. If you’re illegal, its protection from ICE; if you’re Black, its reparations…which just to add some commentary, none of them deserve…if you’re young, its student loan forgiveness, if you’re unemployed/poor/old free medical coverage, throw in a minimum salary and voila! You have a cult following, as long as you are perceived as able to come close to delivering on said promises. As I stated earlier, there is something in that bag Bernie is holding for you, it’s just a matter of what. Bernie, much like Obama and Trump, speaks directly to the groups he wants to help the most, and they are hearing exactly what they want to hear. I’ll explain this more in depth.
Imagine you’re a 33 year old, you’re toiling away sometimes working 2 jobs just to try to make a student loan payment of which you still owe $100k. You are living at home because you cannot find an apartment to rent that fits your budget.
Living in mom’s basement
You hear the “jobs report” was great, yet you can’t find work and you have come to realize your degree in liberation theology, anthropology, psychology, etc. is worthless. Your parents tell you apply for more jobs…etc. but you find nothing of substance with a wage that allows you to break even. You have a car loan, but we will ignore that since you need a way to get to work. You have 2 maxed out credit cards, and we won’t talk about your frivolous spending on any and everything trying to impress your also broke friends. You go to a party with your parents, and everyone is talking about their new car/boat/house/pool or their 401k and pension or early retirement and you are embarrassed because you have none of those and retirement isn’t even in your vocabulary…enter Sanders!
Those student loans, credit cards, and unaffordable housing? He will handle it with the stroke of a pen. What compassion! Finally a guy who understands the rotten hand that you’ve been dealt. Unlike Trump, he cares. He will create good jobs…or give you a guaranteed salary a month. He will break up those evil corporations and make college free for everyone. Not only will he make rent control widespread, he will roll-back the prices to something you can afford. This guy is literally the Messiah in your eyes, you hear him speak, and you nod your head up and down so much people start mistaking you for a bobble head.
The promise of socialism
While your parents, the Republican Party, and others may try to convince you this is not sustainable….news flash to them, you don’t care! As it’s not your money, and you have been indoctrinated to believe corporations and the rich have ruined your life. Just think how much better your life would be if your debts were all gone and you had a minimum salary each month sent out by the government? Even better, the government will give you a voucher for affordable housing and free meals! Where do I sign up? As far as how do we pay for all of this? We’ll tax the rich, and corporations that’s how. They created the mess you’re in so let them fix it.
Tax the rich…at least ’til they’re not
Of course, I do not support Sanders, I am just laying out a case most of our readers already know. The thing everyone ignored last Presidential primary cycle was Bernie has a major following and his base could care less about anyone else in the race. Had Hillary not already cornered the market on the “super delegates,” in a fair fight, Bernie very well could have been the nominee.
Trying to explain what things cost in the future is fruitless since the people Bernie speaks to have no assets, job or income; they simply can’t relate. Bernie people live in the now, the future isn’t worth planning for if you’re not going to be part of it.
Who has time for the Future?
Also notice how little coverage there is of the crisis in Venezuela right now? That is because Bernie wants us to be Venezuela; a socialist ruled, one-party country, where you get in line for your government rations and when the supplies run out you grab food from the back of the garbage truck. Even chief Kool-Aid drinker Jorge Ramos pointed out his dismay about how the country is being run.
Looks like a fair exchange to me
The 2020 election appears to be offering many American voters what they say they want, the ability to view socialism firsthand.
San Francisco poop map as of this week
If you can’t wait then visit San Francisco.
The Chief
PS in a capitalist society the bread waits for you
The Chief takes another scalp in this real-life story of how a jerk reacted to not getting his fries piping hot at a local Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in Elk Grove.
The jerk was unhappy about not getting his fries piping hot as described above, so how does he react? Well like any other irrational prick would when complaining on the Internet; he fills out the online survey attached to his receipt and proceeds to light both the store and his waiter on fire. I guess it makes him feel better. After doing so he said he didn’t want a coupon…a first for him, didn’t want free food, also a first, and said he will never go back because the experience was so bad. Keep in mind he paid $10 for a burger, fries and coke, and left no tip.
For those unfamiliar with Red Robin, they are a sit-down place not a fast casual order at the counter place. Leaving no tip is the ultimate jerk move, especially when you ordered the loss leader and complained about your order not being adequate.
The only comments I’ll make on Red Robin is they never have a consistent experience. I have always loved their burger, but the fries run the gamut of being piping hot; lukewarm, and soggy; and being almost straight out of the freezer cold. However, since they are “bottomless” I just order another basket and move on.
Bottomless fries–your temperature may vary (a lot)
I have always found the food to be decent. If a complaint is warranted, it would be they don’t have a niche market and are trying too hard to be all things to all people. All you can eat fries draws a certain crowd, high priced entrees draw a different crowd, just like a dollar menu draws its own crowd. Pick a lane, decide what customer you want to attract and go from there. There is a reason if I go to a fast food place that I go inside to order and eat. I’ve gotten short changed at the drive thru too many times! I never once felt like lighting the store up.
This however wasn’t even the best part of the story. Literally a week later, he spoke about wanting to go back to the same Red Robin for the same deal! Hubris? Holy smokes man, the embers aren’t even out yet, and here you are wanting to go back? For what? A chance to light them up again? Little does the jerk know, he paid with a credit card so the transaction has time and date stamped, so the store knew what he ordered and who his waiter was. Suffice to say the waiter was likely “axed” the question a few days later and terminated for having a horrible complaint filed. Like I said now you’re going to return to the scene of your 1-star service experience?
At least Steve Martin is funny, but not this jerk
The jerk doesn’t get it, and likely never ever will. The jerk consumes more television in a week than William and I combined in a month. He knows very little about current events or history, but knows everything going on, on every reality TV show or soap opera…. all while claiming that he watches no TV mind you. He embodies the millennial generation in a nut shell. He lit both the business and his server on fire, and then believed he could just walk on in and all will be forgotten? Sorry dude, your credibility goes out the door with me. A complaint would be justified if a trip to Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris was subpar, but a local chain restaurant? I also believe the jerk lacks cognitive ability to reason. A rational human looks at the experience and says, well I have never been here before, didn’t know what to expect, came in the door for the cheap meal, and left saying I won’t be back…no negative review needed or necessary. Alternatively, a rational person who is a regular might say he is disappointed but is willing to reserve judgment until a future trip can confirm said slippage of service and product. However, this would require far too much from your reality TV aficionado.
It’s Red Robin not Ruth’s Chris
It takes a very special person to light-up a waiter who buy the way, is likely doing this while attending school trying to eke out a little spending money on the side. Your complaint likely got him terminated, and likely got the manager a call from corporate about poor customer service.
PS Truth is I visit Red Robin maybe 4 times annually, and I know what I am getting as a result, I ignore the noise and tune out poor experiences.
Kraft Heinz Co reported earnings February 21st and the results were well, not great, Sales were up, but they literally cooked the books as far as compliance goes, slashed the dividend, and wrote down the value of their products.
Before I break down that long sentence I’ll give a little background. Heinz was bought out by Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway Investment arm back in 2013 for 23 billion. He partnered with a Brazilian PE Firm 3G Capital and gave them a mandate to cut expenses. 3G obliged and what used to be a great place to work and make a living turned into hell on wheels at Heinz.
Gordon Ramsey–Hell on Wheels who unlike Buffett tried to help people
Manufacturing plants were closed, employees could no longer have free products or a mini-fridge at their workstation. To make a copy, employee’s had to ask permission from their supervisor; plus, they couldn’t print in color and were required to print double sided. Essentially employees were made to feel like they were back in school, under a ruthless teacher.
Cost cutting class is in session
Every expense was questioned and if unjustified, it was denied. Executives installed by Buffett and 3G used to scold employees saying there is no work/family balance, you should devote all your time to Heinz. Layoffs were plentiful and executives were never afraid to swing the axe. After about 2 years of doing this, and out of ideas they bought Kraft. Buffett & friends, combined the companies and well…lather, rinse, repeat the same process. The combined company now loaded with debt, was aggressively trying to dig its way out…then the problems occurred.
Kraft Heinz fell victim to a corporate profit mentality. They are run by people who have zero experience in the consumer packaged goods field and the results show it. Jim Cramer of CNBC said it best, “Look at these products they make. They are tired and old and not healthy for you. Don’t believe me, look at the ingredients, could win a lot of scrabble games with some of those words!”
Jim Cramer–Mad Money Man
In today’s health conscious society people are reaching for products that are “organic, no antibiotics ever, and even buying the farm to fork lie.” Sadly this company offers nothing as far as those choices go. That being said, the advertising and development budget was essentially cut to zero, so I guess it’s a race to see how many bottles of Heinz Ketchup one can sell each quarter?
This the editor’s go to combo for eating mac and cheese, lots of ketchup
Kraft Heinz also competes in way to many segments where competition is stiff. Just a couple examples: look at the salad dressing market, it’s basically a race to the bottom, look at the competition and there is no more pricing power. The point I’m making is the store brand is selling for $1, it’s very hard to sell your product for $3. While the brand may be worth something, once you taste the cheaper brand and you see there is not much quality difference it’s not hard to make a switch. As a result Kraft Heinz was forced to lower their price to $1, and the margin on products sold for a dollar cannot be very high, likely you see a couple pennies in profit. The company has lost its way.
On to the disaster quarter. They cut the dividend 40%! Keep in mind, while people like Buffett get rich off this money, many retirees depend on it to subsidize their lifestyle. In addition Kraft Heinz was viewed as a stable company, not flashy, but stable in a sense they weren’t going broke like Sears. Also, heck everyone has at least 1 Kraft or Heinz product in their house. Kraft Heinz also wrote down the value of Oscar Meyer and Kraft by 15 billion, essentially saying the brands they paid for aren’t worth near what they thought they were. So in essence they loaded a company with unsustainable debt and now the brands aren’t even worth much anymore. Even more concerning was the report that they are being investigated by the SEC for accounting irregularities. I will say one thing, I don’t want the SEC investigating me for anything because they are not just a regulator agency; they can literally bring your company to their knees. To add insult to injury, the NASDAQ stock exchange has filed a report that the company is not in compliance with their rules after failing to file a 10-K report at the end of the calendar year. Ouch. Employee morale no longer exists, as evidenced by a 20 percent employee turnover rate annually. Also they have explored the idea of selling brands to try to pay down debt.
How to fix the company
If I were in charge, I would ask Buffett to buy the company outright. I would urge him to take us private and then we could work on the accounting and legal issues without being under intense scrutiny. There would be no dividend being paid out so that money could be put toward debt extinguishment. I would ramp up innovation and advertising dollars because it has become clear the brand power is no longer selling itself. Kraft Heinz has exactly two new products they have launched in the past decade, both were successes; Devour frozen food, and Just Crack an Egg by Ore Ida. This shows the company still has it when it comes to innovation. I would raise employee pay and while this may take a short term hit on profitability, I want employees productive and not looking to jump to a competitor. 20% employee turnover is something only a jerk would be proud of. Also there would be a moratorium on closing plants. Employees are the life blood of the company. I would create an incentive plan to bonus all workers based on production and quarterly sales goals.
As far as selling products for a dollar, that is gone. Advertising should be poured in to make our products worthy of customers trading up for value as opposed to buying it for a dollar because it’s on sale. When it comes to Oscar Meyer meats chock full of bad ingredients, the damage is done, I would create a different brand, with clean, simple ingredients and market it and price it as such. Regarding the current product mix, I would eliminate/sell several. Look at the barbecue sauce aisle alone; Kraft BBQ, Bull’s Eye, Heinz BBQ, and Jack Daniels line are all sold by the same company! In essence you are competing with yourself! Holy smokes, even the most uneducated will tell you they will reach for the cheapest one. Look at this example. Say the Chief kills a wild boar and brings it to Williams for a BBQ. William won’t care what kind of sauce I brought unless it’s a horrible tasting or very obscure one. Eliminating brands will go a long way to simplification and increase profitability. Paying down the debt and increasing employee morale, rather than looking for the next acquisition will go a long way toward getting back to prosperity.
