THE END OF NEWSPAPERS AS WE KNOW IT

My local paper is the Orange County Register in Southern California. I am sure it's pretty comparable to any hometown fish wrap.

Every morning when the newspaper hits my doorstep it is full of news that everyone already knows about. In fact, the news in the OC Register is as much as 24 hours old. News information that we read the night before immediately on the internet or that was SMS'd to my iPhone the second it happened.

How the OC Register stays in business is anyone's guess. They print on paper which is wasteful, their news is outdated, and their articles are grossly exaggerated if not completely incorrect.

Let's take this last Sunday's paper (10/12/09) for example. On the front page of the "Local" section of the OC Register there was an article titled:

SWAP MEET CROWDS THIN

It's an article stating that the Orange County Market Place in Costa Mesa is hurting do to the bad economy. I admit that the economy has affected all areas of the world, but this article is grossly exaggerated. Everyone knows the best deals are at the swap meets and when times are tough people head out there to save their hard earned dollars.

So the OC Register prints a picture of a kid at a produce stand selling avocados. In this photo, they try to make it look like the produce stand has no customers.

First of all, if you knew anything about this produce stand, you would know that the kid in the picture only comes to the produce stand during the last hour of the day right before closing. He bargains the last few produce items before they close up for the day. To make their story look legit, the OC Register takes a picture at closing time. Nice job guys. That's top notch reporting.

Here are pictures near that same produce stand the next day when this particular article came out. Yeah. This place looks like a ghost town. NOT!



To really pour on the lies, the OC Register interviews one of the vendor at the Orange County Market Place. The vendor they strategically choose to interview sells beaded furniture covers. Yes! You heard me; beaded furniture covers. NO WONDER SALES ARE HORRIBLE. NO ONE USES BEADED FURNITURE COVERS. I can't even imagine buying beaded furniture covers as a gift. I don't think I hate anyone that much.

Wonder why they didn't interview Papa Dan's Beef jerky, or "The Best Barbeque Sauce You'll Ever Taste?" I will tell you why. Because they are still doing good sales and that would have ruined this horrific newspaper article.

Thank God for the internet. It gives real honest people a change to speak out on companies like the OC Register and prove them wrong. It let's us shine the light on the cock roaches of the world and watch them scatter.

I subscribe only to the OC Register Sunday edition. I do this so my wife can have the Sunday ads. The OC Register is hurting so bad, they called me recently to offer me the rest of the week for FREE!!!! Wow. That's embarrassing. I would have at least asked for a penny.

The writing is on the wall so let me give a tip to the OC Register. Stop writing lies. Stop wasting trees. Shut your doors with dignity while you can.

If you'd like to express your concerns for this article not being true to form please contact the writer of the article: 714.445.6604 or at epak@ocregister.com

BARACK OBAMA TIES TO ACORN GROUP

I just received the following message and link to a disturbing video. Please watch and let me know what you think:

Dear Supporter,

Our campaign just released a new web video detailing the ties between Senator Barack Obama and ACORN, the organization currently under investigation for massive voter fraud in a number of battleground states.

Please follow this link to watch "ACORN."

As a result of Senator Obama's blind ambition, he has a long history with the group. Barack Obama trained members of the Chicago ACORN staff, and his campaign has paid more than $800,000 for "voter registration" to an ACORN front group.

We're asking you to take a few minutes this evening to watch the ad and learn more about the relationship between Senator Barack Obama and ACORN.

After watching the video, please forward along to at least five others. It's up to us to hold Senator Obama accountable for his questionable judgment and blind ambition.

Thank you,
The McCain-Palin 2008 Team

I DO NOT LIKE THE COLOR GREEN.

Last year I did a cooking video called "How to peel an egg" and the number one comment on Youtube what about how much water I wasted rinsing the egg off for 10 seconds. Seriously! People complained that I wasted 10 seconds of running water to cool the egg off.

I can guarantee that the people who wrote those comment NEVER turn off their water when they soap up in the shower. I bet they ALWAYS water the grass when the sun is out and I am sure they NEVER call in a broken sprinkler on city property.

The only reason they are worried about wasting water is because it's all about going GREEN. It's a way of life for some people to complain about the environment and to just be bitter about the whole thing.

I like a lot of the ideas of recycling and going back to paper produces and repackaging products. I am totally for that. It saves money and helps the environment.

I don't like all the talk about how we are killing the earth, global warming, and everything else that has no proof. Sure the ice is melting away at the poles, but there is no proof that we are the cause.

I also can't stand two faced green people. Like the parents who drive their kids to school. Have you ever seen the line of cars just to drop kids off for school. When did we become chauffeurs. Some of these kids live blocks away. What a joke. Preach to me about clean air, but don't let Johhny walk a block to school. It's as bad as ordering a Diet Coke with a donut.

Here is a thought. Last year there were blizzards that had record low temperatures on the east cost of the USA. You didn't see people screaming global warming then. In fact, it's funny that you never hear talk about global warming in the winter.

Here is another thought. If we are causing the ice to melt away, then who was responsible for the ice melting after the first ice age? We weren't around to melt the earth that time. How do you explain that? ... Yeah. Thought so!

When it comes down to it, we can destroy the earth only if money is involved. If you don't believe me then as people why they didn't boycott the Beijing Olympics. A place that had to stop manufacturing pollution weeks before the Olympics so people who came to visit could breath. No one made a stand against that event.

That's because Americans like to pick and choose what's important to them. Americans only do the right thing when it's convenient.

So I propose we:
Stop with the color green on product in the store.
Stop with the word green on every magazine cover story.
Stop profiting from people's fears of what would happen if they don't go green.

As a matter of fact, I am changing the color right now. let's go Yellow.

Why?

Because it's my favorite color. :-)

8 MILLION DOLLARS TO CEO OF WAMU

I just heard from the AP news wire that Washington Mutual (WAMU) has a new CEO. They have told the new CEO that if he can keep WAMU alive to 2009, he will receive an $8,000,000 bonus.

I had to play back the AP Video three times to make sure I heard what I heard. Where do they have 8 million dollars to just give away. They are in dire straights and yet there still sees to be millions. How about applying that 8 million dollars to cover those bad loans.

It's amazing how all of the executives get theirs before companies go under. The only person who gets hurt by this is the average Joe taxpayer. We always foot the bill!

THANK YOU FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!

I don't know much about buying and selling homes, or the stock market, or banking, but I do know this.

It seems that this whole economic mess came from banks giving out bad loans to people who should not have received them. It's like anyone could get a loan and these loans had fluctuating interest rates. Greed was running rampant. Then the economy started getting bad and the interest rates went up so fast that people's house payments almost doubled. So the people bailed on their homes and their loans.

The SEC sat back, watched this happen and didn't put the stop to it. That is why John McCain is asking for the firing of the SEC chairman.

I didn't buy a house because I knew I couldn't affor one. I didn't get a loan that had interest rates that could go fluctuate because I know that's the worst type of loan to get. I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was run my two companies, raise my two kids and pay my taxes.

So why did I run to my local Washington Mutual yesterday and empty out all 4 of my bank accounts? Because our government is not doing their job. Because once again greed has blown up and the innocent is being hit with shrapnel. Because when Monday morning comes I don't want to be standing in line looking for my money.

Let me keep this short and sweet.

First Indybank went under and then Lehman Bros., Merrill Lynch, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and WAMU is close behind.

Now President Bush announced that the federal government is going to (bail out) absorb the Billions, maybe even a trillion dollars of bad loans.

Now what these means is that the entire United States (who is already broke and still can't stop giving other countries our money) is going to foot the bill. There is even rumor that our Federal taxes could double by next year.

Wow! $5 a gallon for gas this past summer and now this. Canada is looking sweeter everyday. So much for the land of the free. Nothing is free and the innocent have to always pay.

You know, if they raise our taxes to pay this mistake, those taxes will never come back down again. Gas prices came down, but no one lowered prices on their products. So why should the government be any different.

I am sorry that these companies didn't know how to run a business, but why should the innocent people suffer for their mistakes.

Things are going to get tougher that they already are. The only way to survive in the coming months is to tighten your belts and cut costs in your life. When you have money in the bank and your not living paycheck to paycheck, you have security and your live much happier.

So here is my advice on cutting costs and making things in your life better.


1. RELOCATE - this means either leave the state your in (like California) and move to a state where you can afford to buy a decent home for you and your family. A decent home is between 200k and 300k. Look in places like Boise, ID or Nashville, TN. Great towns with affordable housing and still all the amenities of the big city.


2. REVIEW ALL EXPENSES - Do you need HBO? Do you need gardening service? Do you need a house keeper? Do you need the fastest internet tier? Do you need the newspaper? Do you need satellite radio? You would be surprised how much frivolous spending you are doing.


3. STOP DRIVING - save on gas. don't go anywhere unless it's a have to. Do your errands on the way home from work so your not making an extra trip out. Stop driving 10 hours away on vacation. Vacation locally. You can even stay home and vacation. You'd be surprised how much you will save on hotel, airfare, and gas. Then you can spend all the money you saved right here in your own hometown and have a blast.


4. BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR - The only true way to survive in this world is to work for yourself. Start your own company and work from home. I run two companies from my home. I save thousands of dollars on gas only. I also get to write of tons of household expenese since it's also my office. Read "Inc. and Grow Rich" and read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and read "The Success Principles". All of these books will tell you why you should be an entrepreneur.


5. STOP EATING OUT - you can cut your food bill in half if you just make a menu for the week and go shop for that menu. Stop paying $10 for a burger and fries at Red Robin. Stop adding a 20% tip on top of that. STOP PAYING $0.45 FOR AN EXTRA DRESSING. Not only will you save money, but you might loose a pound or two.

I hope the above suggestions help prepare you for the future.