Charles Socci Dot Com

I’m not much of a businessman. I’d rather be alone with my tools than working the crowd. I often say what I feel off the cuff instead of calculating my strategy. This is who I am.

But I’ve made some observations in my nearly twenty-year association with corporate America. There are two basic philosophies when it comes to any business’s most valuable asset - it’s people.

The first is the most common. Phrases like “Don’t take it personally, it is just business” come to mind. Business hires and fires as business demands. Its just business. If the bottom line isn’t being met we cut or losses. We lay off.

The other values it’s people in a different way. “Its just business” loses it’s meaning, because the people *are* the business.

Perhaps this is naive… Perhaps meeting the bottom line at all costs is just the American way… A few years back I might have been convinced.

But lately… looking at the state of business… I have to wonder.

I write a lot about the subway. I spend a lot of time there. It can be a depressing place. It can be a fascinating place.

The train was not full today. I left for work quite a bit later than usual and missed all the rush. I sat down in my favorite seat on the end near the door. A man got on the train and began to panhandle for change.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen… My name is John… I am homeless… Can you spare some change so I can get something to eat…?”

This is a daily event. There is always someone who gets on the train asking for money. As a rule, I do not give out money in the subway. I just don’t. I don’t often have money readily accessible and getting one’s wallet out in public in New York City is one of those things you try not to do.

John was nicely dressed in comparison to some of the other panhandlers. He was young and wearing clean clothes.

When John got to the other end of the train, he said,

“Thank you, God bless, have a nice day…”

This is typical - but I always thought it was at least somewhat polite.

At this point, a middle-aged man sitting at the other end of the car spoke to John,

“Are those ROCKPORTS you are wearing on your feet…?”

John replied, “Rock WHAT…?”

Man, “Those are $200 shoes… and you are here begging in the subway… why are you begging…”

John, “WHAT? $200? Hell no! If that’s true, I’ll sell them to you for $100 right now!”

Then there was more conversation back and forth… the self-righteous comments from the man; and John’s replies… it was pretty clear John was a bit off balance…

As I listened to this unfold, the anger in me began to grow, and grow, and grow…

Finally I walked over to them. I spoke to the man -

“What gives you the right to pass a judgment on him? What do you know?”

The man laughed uncomfortably and mumbled something about begging and handouts…

I said, “Would you like me to pass a judgment against you…? Well… I think you are an ASSHOLE”

At this point I pulled out my wallet, gave John $20 and returned to my seat.

You could have heard a pin drop.

John got off the train and as we pulled into the next stop, a man across from me said, “I really respect that…”

He and another man across from him were talking about it - and there was a LOT of love coming my way this morning on the subway… People were smiling at me and nodding their heads in approval.

I just felt shaken. I still feel shaken - out of breath and a little sick to my stomach.

I’m not sure I believe in Karma or rewards anymore. That wasn’t why I did it. I fully expected nobody would say a thing to me. I did it because I was angry. I did it because somebody needed to say SOMETHING.

Nobody has a right to sit in judgment. Nobody knew what John’s situation was. Maybe he’s an addict, maybe not. Maybe he is schizophrenic and lives on a substinance income from the government. Maybe this is just his way of getting a little extra coin - for whatever he needs it for. Maybe he can’t work. Maybe he really is homeless.

If you don’t want to give people money in the subway, don’t. That is a perfectly acceptable choice. In fact, the MTA asks that you do not.

Just don’t make judgments against people. You don’t have the right.

I haven’t had much of a muse lately; but I just have to voice my two cents. It seems everyone has a strong opinion - from the folks who think the world is surely going to end, to the folks who think Obama is going to single-handedly solve every social, economic, and foreign issue we have.

I supported Hillary. I always liked the Clintons. It always seemed to me - real or not - that Bill was human. He just seemed real to me. I know it is wrong to cheat on your wife in the Whitehouse… and then lie about it no less… But presedential hanky-panky certainly didn’t start with Bill Clinton. Contrast this to sending thousands of troops to die in Iraq. With a lie.

At first, I resented Obama - a guy who, to me, didn’t really seem black (white mother, Ivy league education). But, I missed the point entirely. The point is that the people of this nation could even consider, let alone actually elect, a man of African decent only four years after giving W a victory. It is simply amazing. I was quick to jump on the Obama bandwagon when Hillary dropped out.

Everything about Obama’s campaign impressed me. His eloquence and dignity only made the outrageous Republican attacks, and the selection of an inexperienced, Pentecostal extremist VP candidate look like a circus.

Honestly I had lost hope in the people of this country. I couldn’t understand how working people could buy the lies and manipulation of a party that was serving only the wealthiest citizens. How could this country bury Reagan as such a hero? To me, that funeral was a sickening display - Reagan - who sold Iran - yes THAT IRAN (the one McCain had so much to say about, threatening Israel) weapons to fund an illegal war in Central America.

Yet it seems that at least some of us woke up. Not only did we elect a liberal Democrat, we elected our first black President. Way to go America!

The funny thing is that Obama isn’t really that radical. Unless you think that the idea about separation of church and state never actually meant separation, or that a woman’s choice isn’t a woman’s choice, or that a dead embryo is more important than reaping a multitude of scientific breakthroughs - breakthroughs that will enhance the quality of human life; there really isn’t much to fear. Of course these ideas are held by most democratic candidates and are certainly not radical or unique to the President-Elect.

Obama isn’t going to single-handedly fix the economic crisis any more than he is going to bankrupt the country any more than Bush and company already have. Israel won’t get nuked. The white supremacists will not cease to exist, and their white children will grow up to be the hateful white teenagers their parents raised them to be.

The NRA will continue to lobby as much as the ACLU. Bad things will still happen to good people. Wal-Mart will continue to hire the poor, old, and under-educated, part-time at or near minimum wage while sourcing all their merchandise in factories in Asia.

Not that much is going to change - at least in regard to those haughty folks who seem to be in mourning; with perhaps a thought akin to “There goes the neighborhood…”.

At least we can hold our heads up in the world again - I love and believe in my country, but honestly, these last eight years made me sick - and embarrassed to say I was an American. Now, there is a glimmer of hope. We made the right decision. We made a noble and proud decision.

I hope we can go forward believing in a government that puts the human race first and the wealth of the over-privileged minority second. I hope we can show the world that we aren’t a myopic band of yahoos who would bring impeachment upon a man for getting an adulterous blow job, yet permit his successor to go to war, on a lie, unchallenged.

I’m optimistic that we are in for a new era of accountability and dignity. I’m optimistic President-Elect Obama is making wise choices in people to help him lead the way.

I hope we can become a nation who has put it’s money where it’s mouth is when it comes to issues like human rights, equality, opportunity and liberty.

I try to keep it pretty positive here. I don’t think I whine too much. But sometimes I just need to bitch and moan a wee bit.

Today was one of those days.

I must rub shoulders with at least a few hundred fellow New Yorkers on a typical day. I have had those occasional experiences they call depersonalization - you know the ones where you look around and feel like everyone is your brother or sister… Nearly hallucinogenic experiences where you feel at one with the crowd. But lately, I just think at least half these people are empty, shallow, self-serving drones - incapable of forming an opinion of their own and relying on pop culture and others nearby to tell them how to think and what to do.

Tonight, for the third night in a row, the escalator at my subway stop was out of order. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that my particular subway stop is over one hundred feet below ground. The escalator was moving after the train got in, so we all got on it. A minute later it stopped. There were some older people ahead of me who paused for a moment then began to slowly climb up the stalled escalator. A woman’s voice from below yelled to the people ahead of me to get moving, soon followed a man. I turned and yelled back, “Not EVERYONE can walk fast! That’s why they DON’T take the STAIRS!”. The yelling stopped and we got to the top and went on our way. It just pissed me off, like so many things seem to do lately.

Sometimes people stand in the doorways to the train when you need to get on… or they start getting on before you can get off. I hate that.

I see people throw their trash on the tracks. The other day a young man and woman got on with a full take out meal from Wendy’s. They ate, then promptly threw their trash under the seat and moved to another part of the car. It pisses me off.

Then there are the ones who play their music out loud with no headphones. What makes them think I want to listen?

I’ve already written about the evangelicals preaching at the top of their lungs, using the Bible to justify their gay bashing and other intimidation. Recently I passed them in the station only to find two of the fine cops of the NYPD busting a subway musician for performing without authorization. Hey, if you want to believe in salvation through Jesus, or the Easter Bunny it is up to you - but it would be sweet if I could get through my day without listening to your shit. Somehow subway musicians don’t bother me - well maybe the guy sawing away on that Asian stringed instrument - but at least he isn’t telling me I’m going to hell.

Then of course there are the folks who forget that the subway does require a fare, and stop inside the turnstile to dig out their wallet - thus blocking access to any of the ten people who could have passed through in the mean time. Likewise the thoughtless folks who stop to chat on the landings or stand at the top and bottom of stairwells blocking access to anyone else needing to get by.

But then again, we WON THE ELECTION!

Yeah, I’m in a shitty rotten subway mood… but thanks for listening…

Consider the costs…
* $4,681 per household.
* $1,721 per person.
* $341.4 million per day.

How much money is 500 BILLION dollars?

It is enough to ERADICATE ALL WORLD POVERTY FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS. (United Nations report here). (put that into the ’saving the world’ pipe and smoke it…)

The Cost of Iraq War ticker is brought to you by
Mediazine.net and NationalPriorities.org

My wife Kristin and I recently enjoyed watching the movie, 21. In the movie, loosely based on a true story, a professor recruits his brightest math students into a card counting scheme. They win millions of dollars playing blackjack.

In one scene, the professor poses the following question to his class - the classic “Monty Hall” question: There are three doors. Behind one door is a new car. Behind the other two, goats.

He asks the bright young student (whom he is about to recruit into the blackjack group) to pick a door. The student picks door number one.

The professor then opens door number three to reveal a goat. At this point, he gives the student a choice: to stay with his original choice, or to switch to door number two.

The student chooses to switch to door number two.

The professor then poses the question of why. Many people would stay with their first choice, but why?

The  young student then explains that by switching, he has a 66% probability of choosing the car.

I couldn’t figure this out. It seemed to me that it would be a 50% chance… I mean now he has to make a choice and either it is the goat or the car…

Here is the solution - it is really quite simple, but not immediately obvious.

1. When he makes his first choice he has ONE chance in THREE of making the correct choice (although it isn’t immediately revealed to him).

2. After Monty opens the first goat door (we know Monty knows where the car is) we are left with a choice of two doors.

3. The correct choice now depends on whether we were right, or wrong with our first choice. If we were RIGHT on our first choice, switching doors will LOSE. If we were WRONG on our first choice, switching doors will WIN. Since we only had one chance in three of being RIGHT the first time, and TWO chances of being wrong, the odds are that we are WRONG and therefore switching gives us a TWO in THREE chance of being correct if we SWITCH.

In 1996 I worked as a musician aboard a cruise ship. One of our exotic ports of call was Bombay, India.

We stayed in Bombay for a few days, which gave us time to get of the ship and get around. Usually, we would find a local taxi or guide who would escort us around to see all the sights.

My friend went out on the first day and made the aquaintence of a local driver who called himself Billy. Billy took us off one morning to show us around. We weren’t really interested in the typical sightseeing so much - so Billy gave us the alternate tour.

The most memorable stop on our tour was a crematory and grave yard. We walked in not knowing where we were being led - and the first thing I noticed was a feeling of great stillness. I don’t know how else to describe the feeling except as if time stopped for a bit. There were piles of firewood, a large scale, and large metal things that looked like outstretched chaise-lounges many feet up off the ground. After being asked to leave a small donation, we were told the extra large chaise-lounges held dead bodies for cremation, and the scales were to weigh the body to determine how much firewood was required to burn it. There were birds I recognized to be some kind of vulture or buzzard perched on the walls of the open air facility.

We spent a while taking all of this in until Billy motioned we should follow him. We walked out of the crematory area through an opening into a very lush and old looking cemetary. Billy explained this was where Muslim people were buried becuase their religion does not allow cremation.

Billy took a drink from a bucket of water set on a table nearby, and looked at us with a smirk, inquiring if we’d like some too. He knew we wouldn’t drink out of that bucket, so it was all a big joke for him and we laughed.

Next we went around a corner and sat down on a bench where the caretaker’s shed must have been. Several very polite Indian gentlemen came out and sat down with us. One of them pulled out a chillum, which is a cone shaped pipe used to smoke hashish. Another produced a strip of gauze. Billy borrowed a cigarette from my friend and took it apart, cupping the tobaco in his hand. He then broke off a chunk of hashish from a much larger piece, and using his hands as a blender mixed it all together with the tobacco. This went into the pipe, the gauze was placed over the other end and each person had a drag, each moving the gauze down a few inches before they passed it on. The effect was rather instantaneous and quite profound.

So there we were, sitting with a bunch of Indian guys, in Bombay, at a crematorium, in the graveyard, smoking hash. There wasn’t anything negative about it. It was a cultural experience to be quite honest. These guys definitely had a different outlook on life, death, work, and most everything else we thought we knew so much about.

After parting company with our new friends, we went to an Indian restaurant. In India. Where I had Indian food for the very first time. Stoned.

I’ve been sober for over five years now, motivated by a variety of reasons. But let me tell you… smoking never got any better than that.

Ok, I’m pissed.

First, let me get this out of the way - I’m pro green. I recycle. I believe in conserving energy and I fully understand the need to find alternative sources and eliminate the use of fossil fuels.

That said, let me ask a question - why are gas prices so high?

This might come as a surprise, but I read there is enough oil in the United States  to MORE than meet it’s own needs for another FOUR HUNDRED YEARS??? (see url’s I listed below)

I’m not an economist and I don’t know much about oil as a commodity - but I know what supply and demand is. Do you know what else? Regardless of how complicated you want to make it, it is STILL all about supply and demand.

So, if the US has all this oil - why the high prices? There is NO shortage of oil and there never has been. We aren’t running out. We aren’t buying other countries oil because there isn’t enough to go around.

We import over half of our oil.

Why?

The reason the price goes so high is because OPEC, (Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela - see any friends in there?) CUTS production whenever they want to raise the price. There is PLENTY of oil, they just decide to cut production. So you might say, they’ve got us by the throat.

The politics that go into this are hugely complicated - but how can you point the finger at OPEC when we already have enough oil right here?

Of course there is the issue of being able to refine all this oil into gasoline - but who has the power to change that?

This is some dirty, foul, rotten stuff going on… Legal thievery you might say.

The next step in trying to figure this out is to follow the money… Who stands to profit from remaining dependence on OPEC?

Why are we continuing to fund filthy rich foreign regimes, and then turning around and telling the world that they are terrorists?

Who’s expense is all of this? WE pay for it - hard working, modest people who can’t seem to get ahead. Meanwhile, the folks playing with the supply and price of this foreign oil (and some of our very own public officials right here at home) are gaining wealth beyond any of our wildest dreams. Try to imagine this wealth. You can’t.

This just doesn’t make any sense, does it?

Why aren’t more people pissed off? Why aren’t we doing anything about it? Are we stupid or just not paying attention?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_the_US_produce_enough_oil_for_all_of_its_citizens_to_use

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/gas-price1.htm