We the people

...apparently flunked our high school government classes.

As you probably know, the Obama administration has set up a "We the people" section on the White House web site so as to solicit petitions from the American people. While there are a few well thought-out petitions, the majority just serve to demonstrate that many Americans have no idea how our federal government is designed to work nor what the function of the Executive branch is. For example:

• Amend the Constitution, making the Internet an unalienable right. Newsflash: the president does not have the power to add amendments to the constitution. Not even close. Petition for it all you want, he can't make this happen.
• Void the voting results that took place in Nicaragua this past Sunday 06 of November due to fraud by the FSLN. Seriously? He's the President of the United States. When did Nicaragua become a state?
• Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York. The President doesn't pass laws, much less state laws. You too are barking up the wrong tree.
• Re-establish and maintain the separation between investment banks and commercial banks. I'm 100% for the restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act...but the President doesn't pass laws. You need to petition your Congress-critters to get this done, not the Obama administration.
• Bar courts and lawmakers from a "second-class religion" status for minority religions like Wicca and NeoPaganism. He's the President, not Dictator; he can neither tell courts nor lawmakers what to do. Have you not heard of the separation of powers?
  
• Actually take these petitions seriously instead of just using them as an excuse to pretend you are listening. See above. I imagine it is hard to respond to petitions demanding the President to do things he has no legal power to do. Well, respond with something other than "/facepalm", that is.

I'm sure some of the authors of the above petitions would try and defend their misdirected efforts at government participation by pointing out that neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives offers a similar venue for soliciting petitions. That is true, and it is unfortunate. But that doesn't change the fact that the White House cannot act on many of the petitions. And, when some staffer writes a lengthy explanation of what the Executive branch has been doing to try and support your cause, it is doubly unfortunate that you don't seem to comprehend that it is all that he can do to support your cause.

If you want to change the laws, you need to write your Congressman. It isn't the President's job to get your Congressman to vote the way you want.

Ken Burns: The National Parks

We finished watching six of the most inspirational movies I've ever seen: the six part series that is Ken Burns' The National Parks: America's Best Idea. Each part runs at a little over 2 hours long, full of American history set to the most beautiful scenery in the country.

Starting with the founding of the first national parks, with Yosemite and Yellowstone, and continuing through to the present, the series chronicles the American values that led to the creation of the national park system. And, rather than just painting the picture in broad stokes, the series follows the individuals who fought to establish the parks for the common good as well as those who wanted to exploit the land for private gain.

I can't recommend the series enough. Of course, PBS airs them from time to time, but you can also watch them on Netflix (which is what we did). The visuals are breathtaking, the history illuminating, and the issues as topical today as they were 150 years ago.

Ingenious fraud

I just got a SMS from 503-929-3160 with the text

WELLS FARGO ALERT: Your ATM CARD has been DEACTIVATED. Please contact us at: 650-550-9255.

There were 2 tip-offs that this was a fraud: first, the stereotypical use of unnecessary capitalization and, second, the fact that I don't have an account with Wells Fargo.

Out of curiosity, I called the number to be greeted with an automated voice claiming to be the Wells Fargo card activation line and asking me to enter my 16 digit card number. I entered a bogus card number (sixteens ones) and was promptly cut off. Rumor has it that if you enter something with a valid check digit that the automated service will then prompt for your PIN number and then proceed to drain your account empty.

The ingenious part of this scam is that it relies on the fact that there is no way to authenticate who sent a SMS. With online phishing attacks you can look at the URL to confirm that you are dealing with the entity that you expect. In addition, banks and other high-profile web sites get Extended Verification Certificates for their websites to help make it more clear when you are interacting with the real thing. But there is no such thing for text messages: you just see a phone number. How many people know the phone number of their bank and/or have entered it into their phone's address book?

With services like Twilio making it trivial for ne'er-do-wells to extend their phishing attacks out of cyberspace into telephony, I suspect we'll be seeing more of these types of fraud attempts in the future. Of course, savvy people will never trust random text messages, but that still leaves a huge potential target for increasingly sophisticated fraud. God knows I hope my mother doesn't get one of these texts.

Introducing Jamie

Born 4:30am this morning at 20 inches long and 9 pounds. Both he and Mom are doing fine.

The "Keep Houses Unaffordable" Initiative

In a misguided attempt to prop up the "values" of homes, the Federal Government is giving free money to people who bought houses they couldn't afford by extending low- or zero-interest loans with an option to not repay the loan. There are two separate programs: the HUD Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program and the Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund.

As a responsible family that did not overextend ourselves to by a house that we couldn't afford, this is just a slap in the face. I don't begrudge people who bought homes and have now fallen on hard times...although the possibility of job-loss is supposed to factor into the calculation of how much house you can afford. No, I'm irritated because these programs are feel-good attempts to prop up the still-overpriced housing market so that banks don't have to recognize the true value of their mortgage-backed assets. You see, as a lender, banks should care about the borrowers ability to repay. So long as the government is willing to step in and pay when borrowers can't, it just reinforces bad lending practices.

Meanwhile, keeping home prices high is in no way good for us little people. It doesn't help people to have the burden of a home they can't afford hanging like an albatross around their necks. It doesn't help young families (such as my own) buy their first home...in fact, it actively obstructs that. Unless income rises to the point that homes are no longer ridiculously overpriced, which -- with real wages falling for 40 years -- doesn't seem likely, it does nothing to make homes more affordable. And affordability is the real problem with the housing market.

The Robber Barons of the 21st Century

I guess this is old news for subscribers of Rolling Stone, but I just ran across this excellent article they published in 2009 regarding the role the Goldman Sachs plays in the U.S. economy. In contrast to the random sound bites that fill so much of our media, it is well-researched article that it well worth the long read. Here is a link directly to the print version so you don't have to click through the 8 pages.

If, after reading that article, you are left with any doubt regarding Goldman Sachs' rigging of the U.S. economy in favor of themselves (not even their investors...just the bankers!), here is a current article from the Wall Street Journal chronicling their manipulation of the aluminum commodities market.

Folks, deregulation has gone too far. Over the last 25 years, Goldman Sachs has spearheaded the dismantling of the protections put in place in the wake of the Great Depression and look where it has gotten us.

Update 2011/07/04:

The Wall Street Journal has replaced their article with a partial snippet. Here are a few more articles on Goldman Sachs' manipulation of the aluminum commodities market.

I can haz free house?

In case anyone was wondering, I'd like a free house. Shoot, I'm not greedy, I'd settle for just not paying rent for a couple of years. Oh, and some free money too. Thanks!