Pure Blue Michigan

Conventional wisdom holds that the party of the sitting President takes a beating in the midterms. There was talk about a "Red Wave." I had my doubts of a wave but I did expect the Republicans to claw back enough seats to flip the House and maybe the Senate. It was just a question of how much. To my surprise the Democrats have done very well. As I write this, there are still enough seats in a tossup that no party has control of either chambers yet.

The Dems in my home state of Michigan did very well. Governor Whitmer was able to fend off Tudor Dixon. The Attorney General and Secretary of State also held their seats. Proposition 3 which would protect abortion access in the state constitution also passed. These wins weren't unexpected though. What I wasn't paying attention to was that the Democrats have now taken the State House and State Senate. I have always accepted that the Republicans would hold on to the legislature and it would take a massive shift in public opinion to kick them out. While I wouldn't say that there is a massive shift, I'm happy to be wrong all the same.

I expect the governor to take this power and run with it but let her be warned--what happens in the next two years will be on her and her party. I wish her well.

The Queen is Dead.

Queen Elizabeth II died today. It wasn't a surprise as she was up there in years and we have seen her health decline. The last I had heard about her in the news was greeting the new Prime Minister. Then the very last was this morning when it was announced that the palace was concerned about her health and that family were being called in. 

My republican, anti-monarchy views aside, I have, on the whole, viewed the Queen in a positive light. It was evident that she was devoted to her people and her committed to her duty. There was something about her commitment to constitutional monarchism that was comforting but also frustrating. How can remaining above politics be a force for change or for good?

An age ends and another begins. I do not hold hope that King Charles III or Prince William will exude the same aura and presence. No they seem like common folk to me. Queen Elizabeth seems like she was the last of the grand monarchies. The ones shrouded in mystery and magic. And into history those should go.

I will be interested to see how the new king reigns. Will he be reserved like his mother or will he use his power to advocate for the changes he wants? I don't know yet. I'll be watching. Long live the King.

Abortion, Cake, and a Roof

I was a little too heated to write about my reaction to the SCOTUS leak that Politico published. The published draft of the majority opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and remove the federal protection granting the right to abortion. It's not surprising and we knew where this was headed with Trump's justices. Still it is shocking and deeply disappointing. 

What is still making me angry are conservatives making hay over the leak of the opinion. Really? That's what's important? Not the overturning of Supreme Court precedent that expanded the rights of women? Democrats better take this issue and beat the drum into the next elections.

*  *  *

I went all the way to Chicago for a cake. Yup. A cake. Mother's Day is coming up and I wanted to get my mom a mango cake that is made at a Filipino chain bakery called Red Ribbon. From her facebook post... looks like it was a smashing success.

*  *  *

I've sent out signed paperwork to start the roof repairs. So now I've got to wait until I'm put on the schedule and that should be a week or two from what I've been told. I've also secured an extension of an existing loan that I have with my credit union. Based on the estimates, I will be able to get this paid and financed without too much trouble.

There is one thing that I still need to tie up and that is getting rid of the threat from the tree that still hangs over my house. I'm not willing to leave it up to chance anymore. All of it or at least the overhanging bit is coming down. However, I'm running into a problem where I've got three places that have still not returned my call. It feels like I've been blacklisted or something.

I Think I Lost Something

 I have been following the war in Ukraine by the Russians and I have come to a disturbing place. Fuck the Russians. Fuck them all.

The other day, I came across a picture of a Russian with his head blown off and his clothes burnt off his body. I saw a video of a Russian whose skeletal remains were being picked at by puppies. Things that should rock to me to my core no longer do and I look at these bodies and feel that what has happened to them was deserved.

It appears that this war (and it is a war--not a "special operation") is supported by the Russian people. State propaganda has done its job well. Yet, it is amazing to me that the people cannot see through all the bullshit. Instead, what they can see with their own eyes, what they can hear with their own ears, is dismissed as "fake." They prefer their truth be given to them by a government that will lie, censor, and get rid of anyone that stands in their way.

Aside for the few flickers of light in that dreary place, I have no sympathy for them. Let them live in this nightmare of a world that they are brining upon themselves.

How Lucky We Are, Indeed

NASA held a press conference to announce that a small star designated TRAPPIST-1 about 40 light years away has seven terrestrial planets orbiting it with three well within the goldilocks zone and prime candidates for hosting life.

Take this quote from Carl Sagan:

How lucky we are to live in this time – the first moment in human history when we are, in fact, visiting other worlds. 

I consider myself fortunate to be a witness to human discoveries. I know things that people who came before did not know maybe never even dreamed of. Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto but I have seen the geological feature named after him. I have seen Pluto’s demise as a planet but may be around to see its replacement.

What makes me sad, though, is that I will not be around to see some other fantastic discoveries. While I am optimistic that one day humans will explore other worlds outside our solar system, I am not so optimistic that that I will be around to see it happen. Forty light years doesn’t seem far and at the same time, it is depressingly far. Even the nearest star system seems just beyond our reach.

When those new worlds come into view and when new life is discovered, I hope that our descendants will realize how lucky they are to be living in their time. Each generation gets to make their mark on history and I must remind myself that we don’t get to make all of them.

When the World Around You Seems Insane

Lately I have been feeling a bit alienated from a good number of my friends and acquaintances. Sometimes I think, "what the fuck is going on? Is everyone batshit crazy?"

I have had to block a friend on Facebook because of his constant posting about the new Philippine president. He is a strong supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte. He and the vast majority of Filipinos (at least in the Philippines) are supporters. While I can overlook Duterte's colorful personality, it is the policies that he is pursuing that are worrying to me. His foreign policy is becoming misaligned with the United States' interests--particularly over the South China Sea. That isn't my problem with him though. It is his willingness to forgo liberal democratic principles for political expediency. In his fight against drugs, he is willing to abrogate Due Process and neglect his duty to protect citizens. Thousands have died in his goals of eliminating drugs. Not only does vigilante crime have his explicit encouragement, there are accusations that he is directly involved with them.

I would have hoped that Filipino Americans would see how destructive Duterte is but even my mother has noticed that many of her friends here are also supportive of the Philippine President. With some relief, she is not one of them but it seems that mom and me are in a minority. Perhaps that shouldn't be at all surprising since many Americans are hellbent on getting Donald Trump into the White House.

The polls are tightening in the US Presidential Elections. Hillary Clinton's commanding lead in the national polls have slipped to only a couple of points. However, she still holds an advantage when it comes to the Electoral College and Donald Trump has a narrow path to victory. If the trend continues where Trump continues to climb in the polls, we could very well see some of those battleground states flip from lean democrat to republican wins. While I understand why some of my friends are supporting Trump, I just can't even comfortably fathom why I would or could.

Perhaps the most distressing is the increasing xenophobic posts by one person that I highly admired. His constant attacks on Islam and muslims have caused me to de-friend him. It is one thing to criticize a religion (I do that constantly) but his posts have crossed into hatred of the Islam and those who follow it and advocated policy positions of open discrimination.

I used to believe that I could get along with anyone who had differing beliefs. Then again, I didn't have lines in the sands that I do now.

"Debate"

The final debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has wrapped up. That is, if you can call them debates.

This is the first election cycle where I have watched every single Presidential Debate. In the past I had always made a decision on who I was going to vote for before the debates occurred. This time, however, I wanted to see the interaction between the two candidates. In particular, I wanted to see Donald Trump put under pressure to see how he would react. Based on his past behavior and how insulated he is on the campaign trail, I didn't think he would react well. I think it is safe to say that I was right.

Hillary Clinton and her team have not only prepared well for the issues in these debates, she prepared for her opponent. What I mean by that is that she was able to figure out Donald Trump's weakness and exploit them. Everyone knew that she was the erudite candidate and that wasn't going to be enough to win a debate. Clinton knew that what worries people about Donald Trump was his temperament. If she could trip him up, Trump would show that not only didn't he have a grasp of the issues but that he didn't have the traits needed for the office. In all the debates, Trump started off well but Clinton would start getting under his skin and by the last half hour was rolling around, he was unhinged.

One thing of note about this third and last debate, the moderator, Chris Wallace, did a great job in bringing up great questions and this one probably had the most substance. I wish the previous two had more substance and I wish there were additional topics that were covered. There wasn't much on LGBT rights, climate change, infrastructure, the South China Sea dispute, and public education.

Incarceration

See Also: Freedom

For two weeks in June I sat on a jury listening at a murder trial. I, along with eleven other jurors found the defendant guilty of murder. Ever since then, the consequence of my vote has occupied my thoughts. Although I do not decide the convicted's sentence, what I did now allows it to come forth.  For second degree murder, the sentence was a minimum of 37 years and a maximum of 60.

Brexit - A Decision to Live With?

Brits went to the polls yesterday to vote on a referendum on whether to leave or remain in the European Union. Then polls had just closed when I was getting ready for bed and only a few locations had reported their results. With the vote expected to be close, I went to bed as I figured that the result would be known by the time I woke up.

It came to 51.9% to 48.1% in favor of leaving.

Much like what happened in the Scottish Independence referendum, I had expected people who were dissatisfied with the system to do a last minute realization and vote to stay. Again the lessons are that all votes count and never underestimate the electorate.

Now that Leave has won, PM Cameron will be leaving. Perhaps the government will fall as well? Also, the UK will have to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the exit process which will probably take a couple of years. This is going to give the Brits some time think about what they have done and until Article 50 is triggered, they still have time to walk back from the cliff.

Most of the powers in Westminster and London will want to stay in the EU but now the will of the people has spoken. They can either live with this decision or find a way to get what they want. Parliament is supreme and they could refuse to accept the result. Not very democratic, though, is it? 

Personally, I think they should dissolve parliament and call for new elections, campaigning on whether to elect a government to affirm the exit or to not or perhaps on a second referendum.

Considering that the pound had taken a plunge in value, markets are being volatile, Scotland is talking about another independence referendum, and uncertainty about their own government, I wonder if the Brits are waking up with a hangover.  

Brexit to Nowhere

We are now beginning to see political ads running on the television because Indiana’s primary is coming up soon. While I was visiting my parents this afternoon, a series of them came on and I complained to my father that we were going to be subjected to this until November.

“The UK is going to have two campaigns over and done with by the time our campaign season is done!”

Normally my dad doesn’t concern himself with foreign politics so he surprised me when he asked me if I was referring to Brexit. If you don’t know, the United Kingdom is holding a referendum in June. Voters will decide whether they want to exit the European Union or remain a member.

President Obama recently weighed in on the issue and is urging the UK to stay. Usually I would rather not have us meddling in the political affairs of another country just as I would not want another country meddling in ours. I do think that this is a special case though.

My Dad probably can’t find much common ground with President Obama but all three of this are pretty much on the same page. The UK would not do well to leave the European Union. Let’s take it from the American perspective. The US has been pursuing trade agreements in Asia (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and in Europe (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). The President is quite right to say that a seceding UK would be put on a back burner as the US would be looking to these two larger markets. Sure, a lone UK could secure a free trade agreement and perhaps bring about an economic Anglosphere. However the agreements with Canada (NAFTA) and Australia (AUSFTA) took the US years to negotiate and finally ratify.

Then there are the uncertainty issues that an exit would create. What does it say about EU integration? What are the repercussions? 

As an American, it actually puzzles me as to the reasons why the UK wants to leave the EU. I think that the biggest argument is that Brussels is riding roughshod over their interests. If that is the case, isn’t that more of the UK’s fault than the EU’s? The UK is the third largest member of the EU after Germany and France. When it comes to the table, it has a large voice and it’s not like it hasn’t used its weight to carve out special deals for itself. Now, however, the UK punches way below its weight when it comes to manipulating policy in the EU. It shows up but it doesn’t play the game. The Brits have the potential to be a super player in EU, directing and shaping the largest economic and political union in the world. Why would they want to walk away from it?

Re: Prince. Am I missing something here?

News broke at work that Prince had died. My officemate seemed a little upset as she and her husband seem to be big fans. Me, not so much. I wasn't into much of his music.

Towards the end of the night, I got into a conversation with a UPS driver while his truck was was being loaded. We got onto the purported cause of death being the flu. He was under the impression that Prince was gay and that he had AIDS.

Now I can understand the perception that Prince was gay. His flamboyancy and androgynous features had made that impression on me years ago too. I must admit that the cause of death being the flu did cause me to think of a compromised immune system. By now, however, I have learned enough about Prince to doubt that he was gay or that he had AIDS. Drugs are what came to my mind.

As I watch some of the tributes roll in on facebook and other sites, I am a bit bothered especially by those coming in from the queer community. You see, I think that Prince was rather a homophobe. He was against gay marriage and even brought up Sodom and Gomorrah-that God was justified in killing gays. His death doesn't seem like it is something I need to get worked over.

Disruption in the Cosmic (Company) Order

The New Horizons probe made its closest pass to Pluto. For us who have grown up with nine planets, this marks the completion of the solar system family portrait. It is an amazing experience. We have never seen a clear shot of Pluto and now for the first time, the whole world can. A new world seen for the first time.

I entertained the thought that there may be something to astrology. As this new world was being revealed, there was some major upheavals at work. Carmen, one of our most beloved coworkers didn't show up for work. It took us a bit to realize that she wasn't there because we are not always at our desks but once we did, we got worried because it was so unlike her to miss work and not call in. My supervisor called and there wasn't an answer but a little while later he got a call from her. She quit. Just like that. I didn't even notice last night when she left that she had put her badge in the drawer and took her big tube of M&Ms with her. It was stunning when we were told. Apparently she claimed that it was personal issues and that it was nothing to do with us. We can only speculate as to what she meant by that. Within a couple hours, news had spread to the other buildings on campus. Jim, our IT guy, even called asking why he got a termination ticket for Carmen--as if someone was playing a joke on him. It is going to be tough until we can get some replacement help. I plenty of people that the company could hire two people and they still wouldn't be able to do as much as she did. It is such a mystery why she left so suddenly.

Most of the day was talking about Carmen and the various reasons why she might have left but to finally end it, we had two temps get into a verbal showdown that escalated to one of them threatening to kill the other. Of course, that kind of threat isn't going to be tolerated so one of them was immediately let go. I'm not sure if the other one is going to be there tomorrow.

An important victory but not the end.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that bans on same-sex marriages were unconstitutional. It was expected that the court would rule on this beginning sometime last week but most thought that it would come towards the end of this week or possibly on Monday. While I was at work, Roy sent me this message about 15 minutes after the decision was released. I found a bit of humor that I would be getting US news first from Great Britain. 

I am happy with the decision and I think it was a correct one but I am disappointed that it was a 5-4 decision. I had really hoped that Chief Justice Roberts would have joined in with a 6-3 decision. In the arguments, he brought up that this could be gender discrimination and teased the possibility that he could be another pro-gay vote. It has been said that Roberts wants to avoid 5-4 decisions and has angered the right when he sided with the liberals when it came to the Affordable Health Care cases. On the other hand, his positions in the cases on DOMA and Prop 8 suggested otherwise.

I’ve been busy at work but I do intend on reading the opinion.

Just because gays can now marry, it doesn’t mean the march for equality is over. It seems that the backlash is going to be in the form of religious freedom (to discriminate) laws. And it is still true that society is divided. Even my own family.

If I Was on the Jury

I’ve been following the trial of George Zimmerman over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin with some interest ever since the news first broke over a year ago. The subjects of racial profiling, concealed carry, and the stand-your-ground law, all thrown together made for an interesting story.

Shortly after the shooting and while Zimmerman had yet to be arrested, there was growing outcry by the Martin family and their supporters to hold Zimmerman responsible for Martin’s death. While I could certainly see and believe a story that Zimmerman would have been overzealous in his pursuit of Martin because of racial prejudice, I had more difficulty believing that that was sufficient reason to shoot Martin dead. Follow? Yes. Confront? Okay, sure. Shoot? No.

George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin

So I had to boil it down to a self-defense issue. Who was the aggressor here? If it was Zimmerman that came barging on Martin and being a little more than threatening, then Martin had a right to self-defense. I mean, I’d be pretty fearful for my life if a man was coming at me in the middle of the night in aggressive manner. If it was as Zimmerman said, Martin attacking him, well then stand-your-ground would seem to be on his side.

It was argued that Zimmerman was the aggressor because he had followed Martin, ignoring a dispatcher’s suggestion* that he remain where he was. Well, that is not illegal. Even Zimmerman confronting Martin as he said he did, was not illegal. So that gets us to the fight.

The fight lasted at least 45 seconds as recorded by a phone recording from the time screaming began to when the shot occurred. Who was the aggressor was not clearly established based on the eye witnesses who were uncertain and whose conclusions were differing. Forensic evidence established that Martin was on top of Zimmerman when he was shot. This is in line with Zimmerman’s story claiming that he was in fear for his life and had no way to retreat even if he wanted to. (45 seconds of fighting, lying on the ground, being beaten by Trayvon who was on top.) So with this evidence, it suggests that at the point of the shooting, it was Martin who was aggressing and it was Zimmerman that was defending.

Originally, Zimmerman was charged with 2nd Degree Murder which in Florida law is when Zimmerman did not plan to kill Martin but acted with malice, ill-will, a “depraved mind,” or regard for human life. Interestingly, the law requires that this be in commission of a felony which to my understanding, Zimmerman was not committing. The prosecutors, in their case, could not establish—beyond a reasonable doubt—that Zimmerman was guilty of any of that. Most news and legal analysts openly acknowledged that. Even the prosecution knew that so they hoped that they could get him at the last minute by adding a manslaughter charge that the jury could consider if they couldn’t find him guilty of the 2nd Degree Murder charge.

Even with the manslaughter charge, I’m not sure they could have found him guilty of that either. Remember, the burden of proof—beyond a reasonable doubt is the same for manslaughter. I think we can safely say that this case is not a voluntary manslaughter otherwise the “intent” would have transferred also to a 1st Degree Murder charge. So that leaves us with involuntary manslaughter. Was it a constructive manslaughter? No again, Zimmerman did not kill Martin in the commission of a crime. Was it criminally negligent manslaughter? I think that this is the more probable but it would require proof of a high degree of recklessness. We can’t say for certain that Zimmerman’s confrontation met that kind of recklessness so again—we can’t meet the burden of proof.

If I was on the jury, I think I would have come to the same conclusions. The state could not prove its case and there is a good degree of doubt. The defense that Zimmerman defended himself is reasonable based on the evidence. That said, I don’t believe that Zimmerman is completely innocent here. I do believe that he escalated the situation unnecessarily at the point where he got out of his truck to follow Martin. He set in motion the events that led to an altercation between Martin and himself.


*Dispatcher in his own testimony said that it was not an order and that they do not give orders due to liability.

Death and Taxes

Like usual, I waited until the tax filing deadline before I completed my returns.  While I was filling them out I thought about these people that do not pay any income taxes because they are so poor.  Where are these people?  I'd like to meet them so they can tell me their secrets on how they manage to get by on less than what I make!  I pay in and I think that I'm scraping out of the end of a barrel sometimes looking for some loose change.  Really, who can possibly be poorer than I and not have to pay in?  Anyways, I got my fed and state forms sent in Sunday night via e-file.  Local got mailed off Monday morning.

Those who waited until the absolute last minute were probably distracted with the news coming out of Boston where two IEDs were set off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  From what I've read/heard so far, three people are dead.  No clues yet as to who is responsible.  Considering the anniversaries of Waco, and Oklahoma City, plus Patriot's Day and Tax Day, there has been a lot of speculation that it might be an anti-government nutjob.  If it had been al-Qaeda itself, I suppose we would have seen a statement claiming responsibility, but none has surfaced so far.  So it seems we're looking at a lone-wolf type of bomber.

Don't celebrate the BSA just yet.

Last night, I read that the Boy Scouts of America were again revisiting the issue of homosexuals being allowed in their organization.  In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the BSA was allowed to bar gay scouts and adults under the freedom of association.  I agree with the court in that private organizations that have discrimination as part of the creed, have a right to those values.  Of course, I didn't loose any sleep when I heard that some troops here and there were losing privileged access to public facilities.  People who were involved with the organization turned in their badges and medals.  Earlier this year when the board affirmed their anti-gay policies, big corporations such as Intel and UPS cut their funding to the group.

With corporate money being the straw that broke their backs, I do believe that BSA is caving in to societal pressure.  Well... almost.  You see, what they are talking about is that they are going to let the local organizations decide whether they want to exclude gays.  Then they can say to their donors that they don't have any national policy that discriminates against gays.  If they go that route, certainly there are going to be places where gay scouts will be accepted but there are other places where they will not.  That in my mind, just causes more problems.  Instead of one big fight with national, you've got these multiple grass routes ones which will be--they hope--small enough to go unnoticed.

Sorry atheists and agnostics, but you're still banned no matter what.

Regarding the CT Shootings

I’m against the death penalty but when these shootings happen, like the recent one in Connecticut, I always reconsider that position. It’s ridiculous that I would wish that this Lanza guy to be resurrected only to put him on trial, found guilty, and then executed.

On the various websites that I visit, there has been a lot of chatter about gun control. It doesn't surprise me as it always happens. It doesn't interest me to get drawn into a conversation on that but there was a clip that saw posted from Bryan Fischer that really infuriated me:

I know better than to listen to this guy are read his tweets, but the douchebaggery and insanity that spews out from this guy is hard to ignore. He’s actually blocked me on twitter. He’s the only one to do so because I get so riled up by his anti-gay rhetoric that I have to respond.

My heart really goes out to the families and everyone that is touched with grief. It’s always and especially horrible when little children are the victims. I wouldn't dare think that the anguish approaches to what it must be for a parent to lose their child and in such a manner.

Get 'em before they're gone!

See also: Fair Food 3

Today is my sister's birthday and I sent her text wishing her a happy one.  I also told her to go buy as many Twinkies as she could.  You see, I learned this morning that Hostess, the company the sells the Twinkies, is ceasing operations.  What Twinkies that have just fallen off the assembly line are the last ones.  Throughout the day some funny stories of people going out to stores to stock up were told.  I remember one guy who said that he went to his local Jewel and cleaned them out.  His plan is to sell the boxes for $20 when the normal store supplies dry up.

While it sounds like the Twinkie and other Hostess products are going to disappear forever, that may not necessarily be the case.  Given the popularity of the Twinkie, I'm pretty sure that another company would be more than willing to buy it off of Hostess.  Of course, Hostess may also reverse course and try to remain an operating company.

I had planned to go to the store tonight to see if I could pick up a box but I forgot.  It's not big deal as I don't eat those things that often anyways.  Quite honestly, it has been probably been a good three or so years since I last had one.  They happen to be a little diet crimes of opportunity more than anything else.  The person, I know, who would suffer the most would be my friend Dwight who is a big fan of the Ho Hos.

Bruce, Penn, Sally, and the Crazy

I was able to see The Dark Knight Rises yesterday and I must say that I liked the final installment of the Nolan Batman series.  I had to suffer some boring stretches in the middle of the film but it all picks up nicely at the end.  I liked how previous characters from the previous films were able to make an appearance in some way.  Dr. Crane/Scarecrow was especially memorable.  The film’s slight twist on the fates of the characters was even better.  It wasn’t what I was expecting and yet I wasn’t terribly surprised so I left the theater satisfied with a movie series which I haven’t done so since Jackson’s Lord of the Rings.

News of the penalties that the NCAA is going to exact on Penn State came in while I was having lunch.  The most notable of these are the post-season bans for four years, $60 million fine, and vacated victories back to 1998.  I am fine with most of it but not the vacated victories.  It seems like a smack in the face for all those past players who actually had success on the field and is a divorce from reality.  If I had my way, I would have kept the focus on punishment from this point forward so I would have traded off the vacated wins with a 1 year regular season ban and 1 year extension on the post season ban, and increase in the monetary penalty to $100 million.  But you know, that’s just me.

I also learned that Sally Ride, the first American woman to go into space, has died from pancreatic cancer.  I was a little saddened to see that she has gone so early.  Not that I knew her personally or was inspired by her story but I do recognize her importance to so many others out there especially women who saw her as a role model.  In that way, I am sad to see a significant highlight of our national history slipping off into actual history.

One of my coworkers has tried to set me up with this guy who lives in Grand Rapids.  I have been talking to him for a few days and I have come to the conclusion that this guy is a few fries short of a happy meal.  The guy is 24 years old and has to ask me what “tsk-tsk” and “SPF” mean.  He can’t spell the most basic of words, insists on using text speak, and needs to call me hun or boo.  He also has to text me at night and while I’m at work and usually to tell me something random and pointless like, “I’m tanning,” “I’m going for a walk,” “I want a taco.”  He’s a nice guy but my God, he needs to calm down and grow up a little.  Sometimes I wonder if the 24 year old is actually 14.  Like OMG dats nutz!

Earlier this week I read that Verizon was introducing a new phone plan called “Share Everything.” There isn’t much growth room in the mobile phone market. Any real growth has to be by cannibalizing other customers from customers. So without new contract customers and existing ones decreasing voice and text usage, the revenue stream for providers is plateauing. Apparently Verizon has decided that revenue growth is going to be in data because that is the only thing that customers seem to want more of. And boy does Verizon intend to squeeze every buck out of you that it can.

Under the new Share Everything plan, an account (not a line) is set up. This account is sort of like a pot in which voice, texts, and data will sit and can be “shared” with other devices that are plugged into the account. Voice and texts will be unlimited but the data will be capped and that determines the tiered charges. $50 for 1GB, $60 for 2GB all the way up to $100 for 10GB. The device fees are basically plug-in charges into this pot. Smartphones are $40, tablets $10.

 If I was a new customer and coming to Verizon and I wanted a plan that was comparable to what I have and use now, I would have to shell out about $100/month which doesn’t include the insurance, taxes, and fees. Take a look at the chart below. With my old plan and the discount I get through my employer, I pay roughly $76 every month. The current Verizon plans are pricier but not shockingly so. The new Share Everything isn’t just sticker shock—it needs to come with a “Danger: High Voltage” sign.

I do not intend to go with Share Everything and I was sitting on an upgrade eligibility that I wanted to hold off on until the new iPhone was announced. But with Verizon putting this plan into effect on June 28th, I had to decide whether I wanted to buy a phone now and grandfather in my contract and rates or go month to month and pay for my next phone at full price.

None of Verizon’s offerings seemed great. I liked the Droid Maxx but that is getting a little old already. It’s a Gingerbread device and still hoping for an Ice Cream Sandwich update. Jelly Bean is around the corner! The Samsung Galaxy S III looked good but it wasn’t going to come to Verizon until after the new plans were in place. But I did wonder what would happened if I preorder.

Turns out I could! So I’m all set for the next two years at least.