Archive for May, 2012

To My Fellow 1%ers: A Donation Request

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012


Let’s face it; the recession has been brutal on all of us. My annual bonus has been stuck in the six figures for the last couple of years. High six figures, but still, it’s hard to maintain three staffed homes on that pittance. Most of us have had to make painful sacrifices. I’ve had to put our Palm Beach home on the market, where it’s languished with nary the whiff of a decent offer. And don’t even get me started on the price of jet fuel. But, as bad as things are, they could be worse.

If Obama wins re-election, our beloved Bush tax cuts will likely expire. You’ll hear our critics cry that eliminating those tax cuts on anyone making over $250,000 will reduce the deficit by about a trillion dollars over the next decade. However, remember, that trillion dollars will be coming out of our pockets! And that would only be the beginning… (more…)

Why We Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Friday, May 4th, 2012


Did you know that the first Cinco de Mayo celebration was not in Mexico, but in California in 1863? To this day, the date is still more celebrated in the US than in Mexico. While that probably has more to do with tequila and beer corporations marketing the holiday, there is a good reason for (North) Americans to remember Cinco de Mayo. Contrary to popular belief, May 5th is not Mexico’s Independence Day. It actually commemorates one of the most important battles in the US Civil War and played a part in Lincoln being able to preserve the Union.

After a series of exhausting and expensive wars from 1846 to 1860 (including the Mexican-American War), Mexico was bankrupt. Mexican President Juarez issued a memorandum that all debt payments would have to be suspended for two years. That was enough for the English, Spanish and the French to load their respective armies on their ships to come looking for payment. While the English and Spanish worked out an agreement with Mexico and turned back, Napoleon III (Napoleon I’s nephew) saw an opportunity to make a land grab and establish “The Second Mexican Empire.” (more…)