Prayers for Bombay

This photo was taken a little over a year ago from the second floor of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, where I was attending a conference. Only a few steps away from the Gates of India, the waterfront is a popular place for morning prayers.....

The Beg Three?

It sure was a sorry sight to watch the heads of the Big Three--not to mention the bone-headed academic, Peter Morici, who contradicted himself at least half dozen times during his counterpoint, before Congress this week. But subpar performance seemed to be the order of the day in Congress as well---any measure to save the domestic auto industry from collapse is pennies on the dollar versus the yet unseen impact of the financial services bailout. On balance, it was all so bad from so many points of view that after a while, seeing it almost as Sarah Palin redux, I had to stop watching.


A lot has been made of the fact that these guys hopped corporate jets to arrive in Washington. Personally, I think they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time--there's no way that the heads of Lehman Brothers or AIG took Amtrak the other week when they, too, were on the firing line--they just didn't get called on it. Used judicially and structured properly, a corporate jet may save both time and money--as the head of a company typically has security and staff that travel with him/her, and commercial flights are notably unreliable. Having said this I agree with the uproar, because it's clearly a perq that has become a symbol of corporate greed and privilege as well (e.g. why does a guy who makes $21 million a year need to have the company pay for his family to travel--other than ego)? The criticism could be leveled, however, at countless other companies, including some of the other ones asking for government money. So to me, this issue, while valid, is also something of a red herring.



No, the bigger problem was that these guys were, to a person (including Gettelfinger), poorly prepared and out of touch with public perception, and they came across like corporate suits, not heads of organizations that may be bigger than some countries. Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for what Alan Mulally has done at Ford, and it's a credit to him that the company is in the best shape of the three. But, for none of these men to be able to answer how they would use the money--or give any assurance that they "got it" re: executive compensation (how it's possible that this question wasn't anticipated and well prepared for is beyond me) was stunning.



Their poor performance aside, the hostility of the questioning was also a testimony to the sentiment that still exists towards the domestic car industry in general, including some perceptions that are clearly outdated. I do find it ironic that members of Congress could not get past this emotion, when they agreed with very little debate to bail out the even more egregious financial services industry---if you want to see really lavish living on abysmal performance, go to the Hamptons and not metro Detroit. But, I really don't see how any of the Big Three heads earned even half their salaries this past week. In the parlance of Jack Welch, they all acted like "C" players.

An Amazing Time

As we now wait for the inauguration of a new president, this is a time that many Americans, including me, will long remember. The day after the election, I put aside the front section of The New York Times--much as my dad did for the end of World War II and the first man on the moon. I found those editions, and several other headlines of momentous events, wrapped in plastic in the basement when I cleaned out the family homestead a few years ago. Now I have another to add to the collection, equally momentous. Like many Americans, I feel an enormous sense of relief that the long election campaign is over--but equally, pride at the outcome. The news media seems to be reeling as well--there just isn't as much to cover on the transition, and they have been struggling to fill the gap---with all the Sarah Palin interviews, I have to hope....isn't it moose season yet?

There are some events that you always remember where you were--for me, those include the assassination of President Kennedy, the first man on the moon, the blow up of the Challenger, and 9/11. Now I will always be able to see the news flashing across the screen, when shortly after the California polls closed, the election was called for Obama. Despite the terrible times we are in, this is a kind of sea change--a shift that had already started to happen before the election, and is being coalesced by it. I'm glad I was here in America for this. Although there is so much work ahead of this country and it doesn't appear we have hit bottom yet, there is also a feeling of hope and movement. The news channels have moved over to "the transition" and trying to second guess Presidential appointments and policies. In due course, we will know all of this for sure, just like the outcome of the election, but it's fun re-watching Saturday Night Live just being able to laugh, this time with no sense of stress at the outcome.

Within a couple of days of the election, fall went into its blustery stage. We had Indian summer days for the election and the days leading up to it, but for the past two weeks it has been windy, cold, and the trees are mostly bare. This is the first sign of winter. I am in Keene at the moment, which is at the eastern end of the time zone, and it is getting dark very early--around 4:30 p.m. That's another harbinger of winter. Seems impossible that it's already a year that I was getting ready to come back to the U.S.

Seward's Folly Revisited

Only four more days until the U.S. presidential election. I know people are watching this around the world, and some are doing even more than that--I saw a newscast the other day about an Australian who felt so strongly about it that she came to the U.S. to volunteer on the Obama campaign, and I've gotten notes from people in other parts of the world, as well. The U.S. still casts an incredibly long shadow, and our choice here really matters.

So that I could volunteer on Election Day, I filed my absentee ballot a couple of weeks ago. I also helped my dad with his. Although he understands very little, I still went through the process of showing him, and trying to explain, the ballot. I got the shock of my life. This is a man who can say "I love you" , "I love everybody" and very little else--he certainly can't carry on a conversation (though at times he tries). But, when I showed him the ballot, pen in hand, and said, "Dad, are you still a Democrat?" he looked right at me and replied, his eyes flashing, "You're damn right I am!" Well, I guess we know his vote.....

This election has consumed most of America for the last couple of months, and a lot of the people I talk to will be relieved when it's over. The daily polls, campaign speeches (we went to see Joe Biden when he spoke here several weeks ago), the ad campaigns, exhaustive commentary and analysis, and the political satire--it's gotten old, and enough already (especially "Joe the Plumber"). There is one impact of the last few weeks, however, that I didn't expect, and it's a little odd--maybe it's something I will get over in the fullness of time. And that is my sudden and visceral aversion to Alaska.

The press and bloggers--not to mention Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show--have commented on Sarah Palin ad infinitum. Think of her what you will, you have to give her credit for providing endless fodder for comic relief in what has been a very high stakes, high tension election. But as a candidate for the second highest office in the land, she has also added noticeably to many people's stress level--as unimaginable as it seemed that anyone could top the hubris of George Bush, she has done so. A very scary lady indeed to have in a position of power.

I didn't realize quite how I had been impacted by this ongoing saga until the other day when I came across a beautiful 2009 calendar of scenic Alaska that I picked up when Marty and I went on our cruise earlier this year. I looked at it and found myself thinking, "nah, I really don't want to hang this anywhere--maybe I need to look for another one." Then, a day or so later, we got a promotional flyer from Princess Cruises on Alaska offerings next year. While we didn't plan to go back for another four or five years, I now found myself thinking, as I pitched the flyer onto the newspaper recycling pile, "I don't EVER want to go back." Of course, this is just unfair--Alaska boasts spectacular scenery and there were places we didn't get to see that we thought we might enjoy next time. But, at least for now, I'm completely soured on the place.

In American history, the acquisition of the Alaska territory was known for many years as "Seward's Folly" --for William Seward, Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln/Andrew Johnson, who negotiated the purchase from Russia of what was widely considered a frozen wasteland. That moniker got submarined when gold, and then later oil, were discovered. Sourpuss that I've become, I'm thinking maybe it's time to bring it back...

What I Thought I'd Never Be.....

Effective this week, I'm working. I've signed on with a consulting company based in the East Coast whose clients need help with international HR matters. The work so far is by email and phone, although the company is growing rapidly so other projects requiring face to face contact could pop up. For now, this is fine with me and I'm happy to be easing back into the world of work.

The company's prinicipal offered several options for how to work with them, including full time employment, but I decided that I would rather start out as an independent contractor and see how that goes. I set myself up as a limited liability company, got an employee identification number, and opened a bank account. All of this took under two hours, and voila! I'm something I never thought I would be: a consultant.. Now that I'm on this path, I'm also toying around with the idea of trying to teach part time as well--something I had put on hold with the idea that I would be working fulltime and possibly having to commute from another part of the country. But working from home opens that back up as a possiblity.

In the meantime, the job market has all but dried up here in Detroit. Searches are still going on and I continue to get 1-2 calls or emails per week from search firms, but companies are dragging their feet and putting things on hold until the economy picks up--which could be a while.

The other thing that I'm doing is volunteering for the Obama campaign. Although Michigan appears to be solid for Obama--in fact many of the paid staffers are being transferred to the battleground states and ad coverage is being reduced here--the campaign is taking the wise strategy that "no lead is big enough." I'm happy that Obama is ahead in the polls, but the lead is by no means a comfortable one yet. It's very nervewracking as we head closer to election day.

Autumn Splendor

Fellow India blogger Basia writes glowingly of fall ("There's something about September"), and I agree with her. Now October has arrived, and with it, noticeably shorter days, cool--even mildly cold--weather, and best of all, the glorious colors of the trees as they prepare to shed their leaves for winter. After celebrating the Jewish New Year with family in Detroit, Marty and I took a quick trip to our house in Keene to catch this, and you can see that Vermont and New Hampshire did not disappoint.....

There are more photos on top on Flickr (click on one and it will take you to the whole set).

In news on the job front, I have a couple of strong possibilities, one of which I hope pans out in the next couple of weeks. Of course, the state of the economy here is pretty dismal and everyone is nervous because of the crisis on Wall Street and the recent bailout, so nothing is certain. All the more reason to take time to appreciate this glorious scenery, a reminder that the best things in life are those that carry no price tag.

The Elephant in the Room

It's time to comment on the state of the elections, especially for my non-American readers. People outside the U.S. must be shaking their heads in disbelief that the U.S. presidential race is so close. George Bush, in addition to being an unpopular president abroad, is wildly unpopular at home--71% disapprove of his performance in office, a record in U.S. history. The American economy and job losses are the worst since the Great Depression in the 1930's. The budget surplus of the Clinton years has long since disappeared--and the deficit will keep on ballooning with the latest bailout proposal, a byproduct of the un-fiscal policies of the last eight years. America is borrowing from China to wage a war in Iraq against a fictitious enemy, while the Iraqi government runs a $80 billion budget surplus. All but the wealthiest of Americans, asked the question "are you better off today than you were eight years ago" would have to answer no---even those who have avoided personal debt and invested wisely are only treading water because of the ballooning debt and eroded value of the dollar. In my life, I cannot remember a worse time--and I remember Richard Nixon.

Historically, such a scenario would have resulted in a Democratic landslide. Witness what happened to Herbert Hoover in 1932, to Gerald Ford in 1976, and to a lesser extent Clinton's victory over Bush I in 1992 (even with the added complication of Ross Perot running as an Independent). Yet, despite the sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in, many Americans who have felt the brunt of the Bush years in their personal and professional lives firsthand, and who stand to suffer even more in the future if things continue as is, are either still on the fence or siding with the Republican ticket. Are these Americans just crazy, or is something else going on here?

The rational person, including a person outside the U.S. who cannot vote but will be affected by our choice here, would look at the past eight years, review John McCain's voting record in Congress and his hot temper under pressure , look at his choice of a running mate (e.g. I can see Russia from my backyard, so that means I am qualified in foreign policy matters), and easily conclude that things under a new Republican administration will at best be the same, and possibly worse. Even a mediocre candidate from the Democratic party should be a shoo-in this year, shouldn't they? And with a smart, resourceful, inspiring, and hopeful guy like Obama, who maybe comes along once in a generation, who has pulled millions of people of all creeds and colors back into believing in the ability to effect positive change and who actually makes sense when he talks (in grammatical sentences no less)-- it should be a total blowout. Why isn't it?


It's not for one simple reason: common sense and rationality are not on center stage here. Unfortunately, a fair percentage of Americans, perhaps even more than in years past, make important decisions based on single or a few criteria divorced from the issues at hand. This is true of people who typically vote solely based on a candidate's stand on abortion, or gay rights, or gun control--all visceral issues. But it goes beyond that, and I think it's more pervasive this year. Example: a woman who went from being undecided to supporting McCain/Palin was quoted in the Detroit News the other day, saying that her decision was based on her belief that Palin "is a hockey mom like me." If this sounds like a crazy reason to pick a candidate for the highest office in the land. especially such a complicated and screwed-up land, you might ask if this woman would hire a doctor, a lawyer, or other professional on the same basis? The answer is, sad to say--quite likely she would. Because this is America, so even if her choice worked out badly, she could sue for malpractice and probably walk away with a few hundred thousand dollars or even more. Sadly, too many Americans have grown used to blaming others for their own decisions, so there is little incentive to be rational and think through even important life choices. We are simply seeing the effects of this mentality magnified in the presidential election.

But we also have something else going on that, like an elephant, is a huge but mostly silent presence in this election. In the last thirty or forty years, ethnic prejudice has gone underground in America-- but most people would agree that it has far from disappeared.

In fairness, as a country, America is a vastly different place from even 30 years ago--when it was still legal, for example, to try to disqualify me from a government job by stating openly that a woman could not be successful in a management position in Japan (I got the job, and was successful). As a testament to the fact that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama--not to mention Sarah Palin--got as far as they did, many people genuinely are more accepting of women, Jews, gays, and people who are non-Caucasian assuming leadership roles. But, for those who are still unable to trust anyone in a position of authority who is of another religion, sexual persuasian, or ethnicity--and this is no small number of my countrymen and women--the issue has merely gone below the surface, like the larger part of an iceberg. It is not politically correct to be "anti-diversity", so people remain silent, or even lie about where they stand--at least in public. When they talk to a pollster or even to a friend, they may or may not be honest--or they may encode their choice with the "values" pitch--so and so's "values" are like mine, so that's why I'm for them. . But when they go into a voting booth, with its complete privacy, they are far more likely to be true to their own beliefs.


That is why, despite all evidence that the country is on a dangerously wrong track and needs new leadership, Barack Obama's lineage is the silent elephant in this election. A few weeks ago, a union leader spoke frankly to his troops in a white, blue collar area near Detroit that in recent years has voted heavily Republican. "I know you don't like Obama because he's black, and you can't see yourself voting for a black man for president ," said the leader. "I have three words for you--get over it."


McCain's traditional Republican supporters aside, it remains to be seen if those who are undecided because of the Democratic contender's racial background, or those who have traditionally voted Democratic but are switching over because of it, "get over it" on or before Election Day. For love of country, I'm hoping--and praying- that if they can't, these people at least recognize themselves, and have the decency to sit out the election rather than cast a vote that would almost surely contribute to increasing the velocity of our present downward spiral--both at home and in the world.