Day Off

I'm taking the day off today to celebrate the Gotham Gal's birthday with her. The AVC community should feel free to talk about whatever you want. Things on my mind include Occupying Wall Street and the unfortunate news that Chris Christie won't throw his hat in the ring.

#Random Posts

Comments (Archived):

  1. Matt A. Myers

    So what shall we talk about?P.S. Happy Bday Gotham Gal!

    1. Ccowan81

      How about the fact that Apple (AAPL) just killed Shutterfly (SFLY)? btw ( a plug) I have musicfy.com and its looking for a cool music related startup to claim it. contact me if you (or anyone you know) is interested. Startups only, not looking for someone who wants to “flip” it at a ridiculous price. But yeah if Apple’s ecosystem continues to expand it will kill off a few companies. When is it too big?

  2. Brandon Burns

    Considering the previous robust discussion around identity on this blog, how ’bout talking about Vibe, the anonymous geo-location app that’s fueling a lot of the #OccupyWallStreet activity, brought to my attention @dteten:disqus http://www.betabeat.com/201…

    1. fredwilson

      ooh. i will check this out. i hope it runs on android

      1. Brandon Burns

        it doesn’t, unless i just can’t find it in the Market 🙁  fortunately, i have both an android device and iPhone 🙂

        1. fredwilson

          these private versions of twitter are interesting but none have yet taken off

          1. Brandon Burns

            the key word is “yet”. i’m trying my darndest, but if i don’t get there hopefully the code will be cracked by someone. the world will be a better place for it.i’m betting that the key is anonymous-optional, in an environment where it’s not mandatory but there are real benefits to communicating privately… but the experience is still of real value to people who want to be open. have to do something bigger than privacy, and then insert privacy as a really attractive option inside of it to get the skeptics to slowly adopt. 

          2. Brandon Burns

            combining this privacy thread with the later political ones… an interesting article about “closet atheists” in politics appeared today*** a friend of mine left a comment about how one shouldn’t be ashamed of his beliefs, or lack thereof. that comment, in conjunction with the article’s integration with the Facebook Comment API, came back to bite him in the ass on his news feed mere minutes later.we just finished a frustrating chat about how connecting with people you know doesn’t always mean connecting with like-minded people.privacy is one thing, but what it can lead to — connecting people based on common interests that they may not want to share on facebook/twitter/etc — is the big get. and it doesn’t always need to be subversive. right now i have a McDonald’s-induced stomach ache that my Facebook friends probably don’t want to hear about but someone, somewhere, wants to commiserate with me… i’m sure of it…***http://www.christianpost.co…¬if_t=open_graph_comment#ff2aa6f

      2. Brandon Burns

        FYI, there was a stray colon at the end of the URL rendering it inactive. i’ve deleted it an it should work now. 

  3. Vineeth Kariappa

    Happy B’day, Mrs. Wilson.

  4. RichardF

    Seems like a great reason to take the day off.  I hope you are all enjoying Gotham’s birthday.What’s on my mind right now is whether the new iPhone announcement will dissuade me from buying a Galaxy S II this week.  Shallow I know 🙂

  5. JimHirshfield

    A century combined. Congrats.

  6. Donna Brewington White

    We don’t need you in order to have a lively discussion — based on “Occupy AVC” in full force on yesterday’s post.  Maybe they’ll move the party over to this quasi-post.  But I’m getting on a plane to return home, so won’t be able to join in whatever convo they cook up for today.Appreciating you especially right now because just commented on a post by @Tara:twitter (Tiger Brown) on why more women aren’t commenting on VC’s blog posts and once again reflecting on the beauty of AVC and what you have done to make this community happen.  http://bit.ly/riNLPC  A couple other AVC’ers made a showing over there — which doesn’t surprise me.So, go enjoy GG’s birthday and celebrate the wonderful gift that she is! Happy Birthday @GothamGal:disqus !

    1. ShanaC

      I don’t understand why it matters…even if a chunk of my friends want to be independent business owners, almost none want to be in businesses that would require talking to a tech vc…(maybe biotech)

      1. Donna Brewington White

        You’d have to see the post.  It’s in the same vein as the change the ratio discussions going around.

        1. ShanaC

          I did, I still think we’re worrying too much about change the ratio.

          1. Donna Brewington White

            Ach!  I knew I shouldn’t have used that phrase, but it was the wee hours after getting off a long flight and I was looking for a catchall.  It’s not so much about changing ratios for me either, but asking questions, especially about the status quo — and quite honestly the status quo has just NEVER been my personal friend, ever, and also about building bridges, blazing trails, breaking down barriers, being an encourager, trying to help others have opportunities I didn’t. Really, wanting as many people as possible to have as much opportunity as possible.And, probably, that will result in some ratios being changed.

          2. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            Donna,I think most of us realize we cannot change the world, but rather we should focus on making a difference.

          3. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            Here is a little information, http://wearethe99percent.tu…If you notice women seem to be the only ones posting their stories….I think you will find that women have always been the “social conscious” of society.

  7. JLM

    How about the importance of celebrating ritual in our lives such as —- birthdays.Businesses need to celebrate the same “wisdom of the campfire” to ensure that new employees are able to learn from the wisdom of the more senior employees but also to perpetuate the legends and learnings of the company not as edited by the senior management but as told by the actual participants at all levels.Believe it or not, the current economy will one day pass and improve and the lessons learned will become valuable teachings to be used in the future.Here’s to the wisdom of the campfire.

    1. Adrian Palacios

      Sorry @JLM:disqus , not related to rituals, but it is related to something you said a few posts ago: How do you know the difference between over-thinking a decision vs. not making a wise decision?And Happy Birthday Gotham Gal! 🙂

      1. JLM

        Adrian, I don’t think those are the right alternatives.I personally believe that business people do not spend enough time thinking — just garden variety brainstorming.  So I am a huge advocate of thinking.On the other hand, I find that most big decisions and big policy decisions entail making “perfect” the enemy of “good”.  They get way overthought before taking action.When flying an airplane, and coming around to another heading, an experienced pilot cuts the angle by half, then half again and makes minute changes until the new heading is being flown.Take health care as an example — why not implement the small changes that everyone can agree upon, then a few more and then a few more until you can prove to yourself that the change are working.For over a third of a century I have figured out as a CEO how to provide health, dental, vision insurance and a wellness program (cancelled in 2008).  A little at a time and no master strokes.Occam’s Razor

        1. Adrian Palacios

          Thanks JLM…sounds like I also need to learn patience too!

          1. JLM

            Now, Adrian, I sure don’t want to be accused of advocating patience — well, too much patience.All things in life are like spice — a pinch makes the soup pot more savory and a handful ruins the flavor.I always err on the side of adding spice but being careful not to over spice.Recon BEFORE you attack, but when you attack, attack like a MFer.

          2. Tereza

            Isn’t your tagline “urgent excellence”?  :-)BTW — meant to tell you this a long time ago.  Your “pinch of spice” is generally correct.  Unless you’re Hungarian and talking about paprika, in which case all bets are off.  Paprika is a food group and a nutrient.So what the situation clearly calls for is at least one heaping tablespoon per pound of meat.  And you wouldn’t bother unless you were doing at least 5 pounds for a Chicken Paprikash or a Goulash, Halaszle  or maybe a lovely Szegedin Goulash, which as a chill enters the air here in NY I can practically smell it.  Oh, yeah, and Lecso, which is a fresh vegetable stew which’ll make the most U.S.-flag-waving Hungarian-American feel wistful for the old country.Naturally when you’re talking about massive handfuls of the bright red elixir, it must be top-quality and fresh. straight from the source.  I have my relatives from  their gardens.  There is no substitute.Just sayin’.

        2. Alexander Close

          A great way to see your point in action is by browsing the web archives of websites/companies of today.  Comparing their original work, (not tech specific, but the copy, procedures, etc) it’s almost hilarious how much better some of their products/services are now.Point is, they didn’t wait until perfection to launch.  It was little improvements at a time.

          1. JLM

            Exactly.  Iterative improvement, a great frame of reference for building anything.

        3. JamesHRH

          Generally a fan of this approach……However, NA healthcare is not wellness based, it is illness based.The purpose of the system needs to be rethought and restructured.

          1. JLM

            I agree w/ you so perhaps not a very good example.The big problem w/ healthcare is that it is not insurance like auto insurance but “first dollar” protection.I suspect that if it were viewed as “catastrophic” coverage — like auto insurance which does not pay for tires and oil changes and fuel — it would be more successful.

          2. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            The trouble with “catastrophic” coverage in regards to healthcare is that catastrophic refers to illnesses that have a high likelihood of ending in death.The logical risk/reward analysis make catastrophic coverage illogical, for both the insurer and the insured.The reality is to compare health insurance to auto insurance is a apple to orange comparsion.If you have a car accident because you did not performance necessary maintenance then your insurer can limit their payment.For health insurance the key to avoiding a catastrophic illness is to go to the doctor regularly.The comparsion of “tires, oil change, and fuel” would be like having insurance to cover your food, your vitamins, your gym membership, and clothing….Not a logical comparsion at all.

          3. ShanaC

            More complicated than that….It is cheaper to have insurance cover screening for really terrible diseases, like cancer, to catch them early, than to pay off the cost of late discovery and complicated treatments.Even something simple like a mammogram is costly out of pocket (which is why some state governments cover the cost).  But doing mammograms regularly would lower the cost of treating breast cancer….

          4. laurie kalmanson

            the way it’s set up now, every payer/plan is in the business of avoiding cost by denying care, which is different from increasing wellnessit’s a classic free rider problema single payer system would have incentives from top to bottom to lower costs for real, not just by denying care — which is accomplished by increasing wellness

          5. Tereza

            Yeah.  You know, I’m annoyed at the moment bc we’re (still) getting bills from my daughter’s 36-hour constipation and UTI episode from July.  She was in such pain she couldn’t stand up so we thought appendicitis which in order to eliminate as a threat did ER visit w X-Ray, MRI, sono.  Turned out to be this late blooming UTI which didn’t show up in the urine until Hour 36.Anyway, suffice to say, this is absolutely garden-variety stuff and as a parent you musts make sure that your child does not have appendicitis as that could be life-threatening.  And we’re on a gold-standard plan from my husband’s blue chip job and it still cost us about $1000 to go through this rigamaroll.  (not to mention I lost a day of work and my husband was in the ER with her all night long).Even the good plans and the overall design of the system are still…..pardon my French….shitty. Garden variety care remains confusing and expensive, such that people just skip it.  And it leads to downstream bigger problems.

      2. FAKE GRIMLOCK

        NO CAN HAVE TOO MUCH THINK.ONLY TOO MUCH THINK ABOUT WRONG THING.

        1. K_Berger

          Too much think without action is too much think.

          1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

            THINK, DO, NOT EXCLUSIVE. DO BOTH SAME TIME BEST.

    2. FAKE GRIMLOCK

      RITUALS ARE METHODS TO ENCODE CULTURE.NO RITUALS, CULTURE NOT HAPPEN.

      1. vruz

        Social communication protocols, if you will.

        1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

          MORE INFECTION VECTORS.RITUAL INJECT SOCIAL CODE INTO HUMAN.MORE EFFECTIVE THAN JUST USE WORDS.

    3. Tereza

      What…JLM….we’re supposed to talk to each other?    What could we possibly gain from not having an algorithm involved?

  8. Ela Madej

    Question –  what do you think of the recent Anonymous statement to the media? http://www.youtube.com/watc… (and well – happy birthday Gotham Gal!!)

  9. Dave Pinsen

    Sad about Christie not running? I guess Fred’s no longer an Obama man.Enjoy celebrating with the Mrs. 

    1. fredwilson

      that’s not exactly correcti just would have enjoyed having someone worth considering on the ballot against Obama

      1. ObnoxiousGeek

        Huntsman is not “worth considering”? Why not?

        1. ShanaC

          I like his policies, but my doornob has more personality, and in a world with Twitter and 24/7 tv, you need some sort of personality to make an impression

          1. Aaron Klein

            Looks like Huntsman should have hired @FakeGrimlock:disqus as his “voice” consultant…

          2. ShanaC

            I think he may eat Huntsman first….

          3. ObnoxiousGeek

            “Personality” is an overrated characteristic for good leadership.Please read “Built to Last”. True for CEOs, true for military leaders, true for political leaders.Unfortunately, it sounds like a lot of our citizens (not referring to you, but general citizenry) want our political leaders to be entertainers. End result = Our country is on fast track to turning into a real-life imitation of the movie “Idiocracy”.

          4. ShanaC

            Oh, I agree with you, but you need to have personality in order to get elected first – a lot of that is sales….

        2. fredwilson

          Huntsman is worth considering but from what I can tell the GOP isn’t very interested in him

          1. ObnoxiousGeek

            True, the GOP is not interested in Huntsman. That’s so sad.

      2. Dave Pinsen

        If Romney wins the nomination on the GOP side, you don’t think he’d be worth considering? If not, why not?________________________________

        1. fredwilson

          I don’t believe a word he says. He seems more dishonest than the average politician which is saying something

          1. Dave Pinsen

            He’s been in the public eye for years, and seems pretty spotless. I can’t think of any claim offhand that’s made me question his integrity. But I can see where you’d get the impression he’s not playing it straight sometimes. I think his fundamental niceness has made him to tap dance a little during the campaign, to appease his critics. What I like about Christie is that he doesn’t tap dance — he’ll come straight out and explain where he disagrees with you, why he disagrees, and where there’s potential common ground.Romney doesn’t have that ability. But what he does have is a sharp, numerate mind, and a successful track record as a leader in the business, non-for-profit, and government sectors. Unlike Obama, I think he’d have a Rolodex of competent lieutenants with real-world experience to call on to fill out his staff.________________________________

          2. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            If this “Occupy Wall Street” movement keeps growing the way it has then the reality is that 2012 will represent a totally different election than what we currently envision.It is probably more threatening to Obama….but the debate of the election will have changed dramatically.We just might be on the cusp of something totally new.

          3. fredwilson

            i’m craving a leader who will shoot straight

          4. Dave Pinsen

            To paraphrase David Brooks (worth reading his column, “In Defense of Romney”), the strongest case for Romney is that no one is craving him.________________________________

  10. kidmercury

    occupy wall st is ineffective. all that matters is debt and by extension monetary policy which is used to create debt by rule of law in spite of no market demand. sitting in a park does not address these matters. the real solution is to create local economies powered by local currencies, and financial markets outside of the parasitical wall st system. there is already greater entrepreneurial activity in this sector and it will continue, as entrepreneurs by definition are super cool (and good looking) people who solve real problems. investors could do something revolutionary like refuse to sell out to wall st, create their own secondary markets, and basically engage in relevant forms of civil disobedience. they are probably too scared to do this though. #ohsnap #truthhurtsas for 2012 US elections, it is the same as 2008, all the candidates who get on tv are fake except ron paul and gary johnson (people who don’t like ron paul because all the crazy people like me support him should look into gary johnson). anyone who is (1) pro-war (2) ridiculously pro-israel (like to an unconstitutional extent) or (3) makes no mention of monetary policy reform is basically a liar who is bought and paid for, or just dumb — probably a combination of both. anyway the election stuff is largely irrelevant as the election process is broken and most people don’t know or care to fix it. peaceful revolution via economics and civil disobedience is the most direct and feasible route to solving the governance problem. failure to engage in peaceful revolution against a government that has lost all moral authority (as evidenced by 9/11 being an inside job) will result in a much, much larger problem.   “when peaceful revolution becomes impossible, violent revolution becomes inevitable.” — john f kennedy9/11 was an inside job,kid mercury

    1. JamesHRH

      Wow. As intriguing a post as I have read here.The simple idea that Wall St has outlived its initials purpose – to supply capital to growing businesses – is one that makes complete sense. But, I have never seen an alternative so eloquently proposed.How many currencies in NA? about 4 or 5?Still, lose the sign off……

      1. kidmercury

        the sign off is the only part that matters, and is the key to real reform in governance. 

    2. Donna Brewington White

      I don’t always agree with everything you say, but I constantly learn from you and am amazed by your thinking capacity.  You do make me think. Thanks.

  11. Jasonpwright

    Smartphones – following Apple’s somewhat underwhelming iphone4S announcement what would the discerning entrepreneur recommend as the handset to have at the moment?

    1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

      IPHONE.

      1. K_Berger

        Speaking of iPhone, maybe someone can answer something for me.  I ran into a problem using my iPad on a plane which is keeping me from trading in my Blackberry for iPhone.  When I am not connected to my email server (hosted MS Exchange), it wasn’t letting me delete emails or move them to folders.  Cleaning up email is a favorite airplane activity of mine and not being able to delete emails is a deal breaker.  Am I doing something wrong or is that the way it is?  (And let’s assume I can’t change my mail server so Google Apps is not an option.)  Thanks.

        1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

          ME NOT KNOW. ME GRIMLOCK ONLY USE WEB MAIL.

  12. Tom Labus

    Days off are good, what am I saying, days off are great!!!Enjoy.

  13. Neil Braithwaite

    O.K. Shameless self promotion. For the privileged few not commenting on Fred’s wisdom today, take a spin on the beta version of my start-up site designed to disrupt politics as we know it:Register and let me know what you think. http://showgov.cloudfoundry

    1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

      NOT BETTER THAN JUST USE TWITTER.

      1. leigh

        Dunno about that. Lots of room to innovate Gov’t 2.0.  (although did not register being Canadian and all 🙂

        1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

          LOTS OF ROOM, YES.NOT SEE IT TAKE ANY OF THAT ROOM ON HOME PAGE.

  14. Dale Allyn

    Yep, the AVC commenter community never takes a day off, even when our bartender takes a much deserved break. All hail AVC!;) 

    1. Alexander Close

      His “break” got me up and out of my RSS reader, and into Disquis and comments.  It’s nice here.

      1. Donna Brewington White

        Don’t be a stranger.

      2. ShanaC

        Come more often…

    2. Tereza

      Actually I missed yesterday and just came in and saw — no post — 73 comments.Just like Seinfeld – a brilliant show about nothing!  🙂  Love it.

      1. fredwilson

        Its about something sometimes

  15. Mark Essel

    Enjoy it and the rest of your vacation (if you are still on one), and of course happy BDay to the Mrs.

  16. William Mougayar

    The difference between a man or woman’s birthday? Man takes a day off.Woman takes a year off.(ouch…i don’t mean to offend anyone)

    1. JLM

      Spoken like a man who has a very comfortable guest room bed.  Ouch, indeed!

      1. William Mougayar

        Would gladly exchange woman/man in that saying (as I pull foot out of mouth).

    2. Donna Brewington White

      So, tell me,  Mougayar… what sort of women have YOU been hanging around? I want to learn their secret!

      1. William Mougayar

        As I said to JLM, would gladly exchange the woman/man in that play on words. Not meant to annoy anyone. 

        1. Donna Brewington White

          Annoyed?  Heck no.  Inspired!

      2. Carl J. Mistlebauer

        I don’t know Donna…I have been out of town for over 2 weeks; got home last night.  This morning I am told that our house is “filthy” and that I must get busy cleaning windows.I could not respond at all except to agree.  When I offered “…hell, hire someone…” I am informed that we cannot trust others to clean and by the way, you do windows better than anyone else.I want to know why democracy does not apply to marriage?  I want this cleaning stuff put up to a vote!  But then again my vote would only count 3/5th to her 1.I wonder what my wife would say if she finds out that I ALWAYS hire folks to clean the house and take care of the yard whenever she leaves town for a while!She really can’t believe that I did it all myself now can she?  :)But I also believe that two people living in one home only need one bedroom and one bathroom.  This 3 baths, 4 bedrooms, a family room, living room, formal dining and dine in kitchen is stupid for two people….and two fireplaces!  Get real, who ever uses them.I also remember the time I took my wife seriously about not having to buy her anything for her birthday!  That was REALLY stupid!

        1. Donna Brewington White

          Carl, you should try MY trick.  Prove to be completely inept at housework and then very little is expected of you.  ;-)My husband actually enjoys housework, which completely baffles me!  He thinks of it as a form of athletics.  I say, have at it.Oh, and the birthday thing. Ha! Well, you learned.

          1. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            Too damn late! My wife knows me too well! If I do anything, which is why I try to do as little as possible at home, I have to do it “right”Now, what I want to know, is when Fred’s next investment can’t be in a company that makes self cleaning windows? Or maybe a system that keeps un-used rooms clean! I mean the world does not need another community….I know that my wife has been visiting with someone and she got all worked up because their house was cleaner than ours….yeah, they have folks that come in and clean…For her next birthday I am buying her a cleaning service….I will tell her that I love her so much that I want her to never have to clean again!Then they can do windows and I can do absolutely nothing.

          2. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            I tried the “job creators” line on her and it didn’t work! 🙂 I want to be a job creator so bad!

          3. Donna Brewington White

            There you go!You can also argue that you will have more time for HER!

  17. ShanaC

    Well happy birthday Gotham Gal…Enjoy your day off!

  18. FAKE GRIMLOCK

    HAPPY START EXISTING DAY FREDWIFE!

    1. Rob Ganjon

      You were late chiming in today GRIMLOCK…. Was starting to think you were on holiday with the Wilson clan.

      1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

        SOMEONE ALLOW BUG INTO PRODUCTION.ME, GRIMLOCK, BUSY FIX ON LIVE SITE.THEN BUSY UN-LIVE-ING PERSON THAT DO IT.

        1. ShanaC

          Was s/he tasty?

          1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

            TASTE LIKE DEVELOPER.KIND OF LIKE GYM SOCKS AND CHEETOS.

          2. Kenyan

            FG you crack me up!Don’t get too full on developers.Happy birthday Fredwife.

        2. fredwilson

          Oh man. That’s good

    2. Rohan

      ‘fredwife’ classic 

    3. Rohan

      Grimster, I’d like to invite you to my blog sometime. It would be an honor to have you on board. 🙂 Maybe after you’ve finishing eating the next living person.. ??

      1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

        WILL CONSIDER.BUSY COLONIZING BRAD FELD RIGHT NOW.

        1. Rohan

          Great. it would be my honor Grimster. I can’t wait! Maybe after you eat some of the others on Brad’s blog.. 😀

        2. Aaron Klein

          DIFFICULT TO COLONIZE BRAD. HE RUN FAST.

        3. fredwilson

          A worthy cause

    4. Tereza

      Hey Grim — could you go ask some Qs on Honestly Now, too?  Would love your voice in the mix.  I’m sure you have some vexing personal questions we’d all benefit from!

      1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

        ME, GRIMLOCK, NO HAVE PROBLEMS.FOR VERY LONG.BUT ME CONSIDER.

        1. Tereza

          :-)What I find frequently effective is when people post about their “friend” who has a problem. Although, they might recognize you with the CAPS.

        2. Rohan

          you’re getting very popular

        3. Donna Brewington White

          Not just problems, but dilemmas — any time you have to choose between options.  Would love to see you there.  Friend me.

    5. RichardF

      Fredwife………………..lmfao

  19. Carl J. Mistlebauer

    Happy birthday to Gotham Gal…As far as Christie goes…lets be honest, you would have to be nuts to run for President today, especially as a Republican.You have to out “social  conservative” Bachmann, then you have to establish “creds” with the Tea Party, whatever that means.  Then of course you have the neo conservatives floating around someplace….I seriously doubt that Christie has the ability to twist himself into so many different shapes to appease all the various groups during the Republican Primary….he is a little too much of a straight shooter for the Republican primary crowd!

    1. fredwilson

      that’s exactly why it is so upsettingit’s not that i would vote for himi might, but i might notbut if a reasonable republican can’t even consider running, what does that mean?

      1. FAKE GRIMLOCK

        IT MEAN SYSTEM READY FOR DISRUPTION.ALREADY HAPPENING. WITHOUT STARTUP NEEDED.

        1. Donna Brewington White

          so ready

        2. andyswan

          Funny how no one was saying the “system” is broken when it gave us a choice between the most “moderate” Republican and a marxist  that had never accomplished anything outside of Chicago Politics.Oh, I forgot.  That WAS “change”.  We “hope”d.

      2. andyswan

        Fred can you please explain what is unreasonable about Mitt Romney or Herman Cain?.

        1. fredwilson

          I am intrigued by Cain. Romney is a lying politician. I would need a shower after hanging with him

          1. andyswan

            Haha I hear ya.

      3. Aaron Klein

        That he just got elected as Governor of New Jersey and wants to finish the job?Timing is everything in presidential politics.

      4. Carl J. Mistlebauer

        Yes, the fundamental problem with our political system, has nothing really to do with government but rather everything to do with the fact that “reasonable” PEOPLE are no longer attracted to politics and or government.The key proof to me was how fast O’Neill was run out of the Treasury Department….he was a traditional business leader, not a financier or banker, and they couldn’t get rid of him fast enough especially when he spoke out about how you could not go to war and lower taxes at the same time.That is exactly the reason that Christie bowed out, and intelligently so; his stock went up with a lot of people by bowing out.

    2. andyswan

      Carl I wonder if you read what you post.Bachman is around 3-4%.   It’s Romney, Cain and Perry.  If Cain isn’t a straight shooter, please tell me who is.  “Creds” with the Tea Party means one thing:  You believe in strict limitations on the Federal Government….you know….something like you might read in those “whacky” Federalist papers from sooooo long ago.  I blame Bush for Obama.  You can blame Obama for the Tea Party.

      1. Carl J. Mistlebauer

        Andy, I have read the Federalist Papers and the Anti Federalist Papers…and I own a copy of both.  I know its hard to believe but “the right” does not have an exclusive on “channeling” the Founding Fathers.You can “…blame Bush for Obama” all you want, but then I blame you for Bush, because I am pretty sure you voted for him twice but do feel free to correct me if I am wrong.If the Tea Party was so intent on limiting the Federal Government then they should have been out in the streets back in the 80’s under Reagan, and they should have really been out in force when GWB was President.    So, its Cain this week and not Bachmann, EXCUSE me for not keeping abreast of the latest conservative popularity contest! I blame Dick Armey for the Tea Party, not Obama… 

        1. andyswan

          You are incorrect about my voting record.”Channeling the founding fathers” isnt necessary….just read the greatest document ever written and tell me where it says the Fed Govt can force me to buy any ptoduct or service.

          1. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            Read the Federalist Papers and tell me where is says “supply side” economics is one of the responsibilities of the Federal Government? Or the Patriot Act, or defining the defense of our borders with sending troops all over the world? Or that corporations have freedom of speech.So, now 235 years after the Founding everyone just wakes up and realizes that step by step, proposal by proposal government has just gotten out of hand on one bill.The “greatest document ever written” also only gave voting rights to white males who owned property and since the writing of this “greatest document” somehow we found a way to bastardize the document to include non property owning white males, blacks, and eventually women in the joys of voting and citizenship.I am not going to defend “Obamacare/Romneycare” because I think it is so convuluted attempt to appease special interests I have ever seen but should government also mandate that healthcare providers treat emergencies? Why not demand that healthcare providers can refuse service?Yeah, on one hand we don’t want government to pick the winners or the losers but on the other hand we want the government to reward the “job creators” to spur them to create jobs.Either start a revolution or accept the fact that what you have today for government is the result of 235 years of voting for “the lesser of two evils….”

          2. andyswan

            “supply side” economics or demand side economics…it’s all bullshit.  The government should have absolutely no role in economics whatsoever.  We need Separation of State and Economics. ESPECIALLY on the federal level (which is clearly what the founders intended).Redistribution is crushing us…and YES I realize this occurs both on the individual and corporate level.Enough.  Economic stimulus in any form is not a proper function of government, and neither is the Fed.Of course healthcare providers should be ALLOWED to refuse service, just as YOU are ALLOWED to continue on your way when you see a child wandering aimlessly in a parking lot, or you are ALLOWED to ignore the teenagers beating a homeless man.

        2. andyswan

          The tea party sprang up in response to a couple of straws that broke the camels back.Better before than now? Sure. But still….Better now than later.

          1. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            If the tea party had opted to be a third party or had opted to act as a movement outside of the current political system then it would be fair to claim that “they sprang up in response to a couple of straws that broke the camels back” but the reality is they right now are only a response to RINO’s and have done nothing to reach out to small government socialists such as myself.Its like the belief that the right represents personal freedom, and then the social conservatives come along and spoil the belief by demanding that marriage is between and man and a women, homosexuality is a sin, and that our country was founded as a Christian Nation….Or the folks in Elizabethtown who were staunch supporters of the Tea Party who when asked how they could support the Tea Party when the wife was on social security disability and the husband was a retired government employee they claimed that they had “earned” their government benefits.Or Alan West, the darling of the Tea Party movement, who clamors for smaller government the whole time he is one of the top new House members who is directing federal money to his district….Yep in 235 years the world has changed and our country has grown expontenially, and so has government. Now, you can argue that government is not fulfilling its basic premise, but the reality is someone has benefitted from everything government has done, and someone paid big bucks for these benefits.I have no problem supporting the Tea Party, if they would focus on taking money out of politics and returning the nation to “the people” but other than that I cannot stand the Democrats or the Republicans….because BOTH parties are the reason we find ourselves in the mess we are in and I seriously doubt you can change the system from inside the system.

          2. Tom Labus

            Thanks, Carl.

          3. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            Don’t thank me Tom, I hate politics! I am just getting real tired of the right believing that they hold the moral and logical high ground.I respect that Andy Swan is entitled to his opinion and should be respected for it, but don’t tell me that I need to read the Federalist Papers!The reality is we have turned politics and logic into nothing more than an “either or” proposition; you are either with us or against us, and by “us” that refers to the conservative or liberal camps and thus democrats and or republicans.If Andy has an issue with Obamacare, then he cannot claim that Romney would make a great alternative to Obama, because Romney created “Obamacare” long before Obama ever entered the picture.The reality is that it is nothing more than Republican vs. Democrats and the difference between Obama and GWB or Romney for that matter makes the distinction between Democrats and Republicans totally irrelevant.The difference only exists in ones imagination…because in the real world the only difference can be summarized as “…six of one or a half dozen of the other…”Take the money out of politics, take Wall Street out of the Treasury Department, and you will instantly create a smaller government. But none of the Tea Party folks view the Occupy Wall Street as a kindred spirit.Only one senator voted against the Patriot Act everytime it came up….and that was Russ Feingold, a Progressive! But the Tea Party would not support him even though his record on “Personal Freedom” is unsurpassed.Or, if you look at the record of Ron Paul and that of Bernie Sanders, they vote together quiet regularly. But will the supporters of Ron Paul believe they have anything in common with a “socialist” well, of course not!That is what is wrong with our politics, its all about “community” and “circles” none of which have any relation to the other, outside of the labels “conservative” and or “liberal.”We have become a nation of “Pavlovian dogs” reacting to a stimulus not thinking logically or rationally….I spent 20 years with a partner who thought of himself as an Ayn Rand character and who always accused me of being a socialist. All I know is that we needed employees to make tee shirts, because he and I alone could not sew enough tee shirts to support our lifestyles. He still sees labor as a threat and an expense…and I still see labor as an asset. I never once saw myself as a “job creator” because I never got up in the morning and said, “…oh how many damn jobs can I create today?” No, I woke up saying, “…lets make money!”This country needs to quit blowing smoke up its own ass….Its like all the talk of creating democracy in the middle east, which was one of the arguments for invading Iraq. So, now after the Arab Spring, we are beginning to see the birth of democratic tendencies in the middle east and who grips the most? The same folks that defended the invasion of Iraq because all of these arab democracies are now a threat to Israel.Maybe if we weren’t blinded by our own partisanship we could think a little clearer about current events.

          4. andyswan

            The Tea Party didn’t form a 3rd party because it is much much more effective to change the GOP and use its network and “brand” so to speak.  You saw that in 2010 and hopefully we’ll see that in a big way in 2012 with Herman Cain.The PROPER role of government hasn’t changed in 235 years.  That’s the point.And yes, I’m sure we can go back and forth showing they hypocritical stances of each side…but I’m not interested in the flaws of the individual players, I’m interested in the position and the message.   You’d be hard-pressed, but I’m sure it’s possible that even I have some views that don’t completely match up with my actions :)We probably agree on some things, Carl.  But where we disagree is fairly fundamental.  May the best position win.I would love to hear more of how a government can be both “small” and “socialist”.  Have you figured out a way to spread the wealth without the threat of violence?

          5. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            Assumptions Andy, assumptions. You assume that “socialism” requires “big government” just like you assume that “conservatism” assumes “smaller government.” But factually, the last two conservative presidents have dramatically increased the size and scope of government beyond even Obama.The greatest distribution of wealth in this country has been “supply side economics” and yet we all fear “socialism” and the threat it poses to capitalism.The reality is in our fear of socialism we have destroyed capitalism and replaced it with feudalism, which is nothing more than another term for “plutocracy.”Economically we all promote the wonders of free markets and globalization, and the reality is that economically if you no longer have borders and or countries then reality is that politically you can no longer have borders and or countries; so if “one world” works economically then why doesn’t one world government work politically?

          6. Carl J. Mistlebauer

            Our government has been stimulating the economy for 235 years; that is what they did with tariffs and quotas back in the days of the Founding Fathers.The biggest issue today as I see it, is that we are looking for a scapegoat, and government fits the bill. Which I totally agree with and that is why I cannot support Republicans or Democrats…so I call myself a “socialist.”It seems to be a great “anti-thesis” to the current “thesis” that represents our current political debate.

          7. Tom Labus

            Why do I think they sprang up because Obama was black?

          8. andyswan

            Because you see people in terms of little identity boxes you can put them in?Because you dont know that they started before Obama was elected?Because, like EVERY other person that says that…you have never actually been to a tea party or had a meaningful conversation with one of us?You tell me….On Oct 5, 2011 10:39 AM, “Disqus” <>

  20. vruz

    Nevermind Christie, I’m glad that Sen. Gillibrand spent time with some of you guys at USV.http://twitter.com/#!/SenGi

    1. fredwilson

      We are trying to educate these people about what really matters to startups and the tech business. I wasn’t there but I heard it went well

  21. Prokofy

    I went down to the march at Liberty (Zucotti) Square tonight and talked to the people in the Occupy Wall Street.Very, very heavy on the hate-the-rich, Marxism, socialism stuff. I wish we could have a social movement in this country for change that shed all that outdated and discredited and even murderous garbage.I was particularly interested to study the People’s Library and spent several hours on that. I will blog more in detail. Lefty stuff like Studs Terkel and conspiracy books like Homothug (on Guliani) were more represented than Voltaire, and the only reason Chomsky wasn’t there was because he was the most in demand. A glimmer of hope was a copy of Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons. Bazarov would feel right at home here among the Rastifarians, Trustifarians, and Union Square scenesters in Goodwill jackets and hats and the apple-cheeked college girls from upstate chanting mindlessly like zombies everytime one of the cadres cranked up the People’s Mike, which is a totalitarian chanting ritual where one person shouts and everyone in the crowd repeats them to make a “microphone”. Very creepy.I didn’t see any bankers in pin-striped suits. In fact, as we know, they’re uptown, not down here in the back office of capitalism. The demonstrators (there were really only about 3,000 at the most and about 30 percent or more of the crowd were media and Japanese tourists and gawkers taking photos) all seemed to just show their posters to each other. The pre-printed union posters contrasted sharply with the more heartfelt homemade cardboard signs — my favourite was “Lost My Job, Found My Occupation.”Other than one bored security guard at the big building at Liberty Plaza there, there was no one to represent “The Man” other than the police — but they were indeed rather friendly and casual throughout the evening until “the People” (*cough*) would not clear the area and insisted on blocking the street and road and creating a rumpus. You get a parade permit with conditions, you keep to them — time, place and manner restrictions are legit on the 1st Amendment.What I loathe more than anything in these latter-day Bolsheviks is this “We’re the 99th Percent” crap. It’s such fake populism and straight out of the communist playbook. They don’t represent me, and my story is little different than many of them on the Tumbl site. You cannot really build a movement if you can’t shed this sectarianism fake “People” stuff. Be honest about yourselves, as you are a sect, stop dissembling.The one percent contains Steve Jobs. It’s good that there’s a one percent. And that Steve Jobs is in it for good reason. And unless you have freedom for these disparities to occur because they are natural and some people are just brighter and richer than others, you cannot have good for mankind. That’s all there is to it.Furthermore, nobody ever mentions that the 1 percent pay 40 percent of the taxes, keeping quite a few of those occupiers in their student loans.The absurd way they’ve framed it, why, Fred would be in the 99 percent along with me, despite our wildly divergent incomes and assets, because I gather Fred isn’t in the 1 percent of the billionaires, right?I left tonight just before the billy clubs starting falling. I’ve been in many demonstrations in various countries in the world and in this country, and you can always tell when the mood changes toward ugly on the street and it’s time to go because the provocateurs are going to deliberately create problems so that the police can club them and then they can play victim. I hate that.

    1. fredwilson

      the 1% should join the movement and help shape itsteve jobs was not on all streethe was a maker, not a taker

      1. Prokofy

        Huh? Apple stock was not on Wall Street? Of course it was.Steve Jobs doesn’t have to be a stock broker to be part of Wall Street.He was indeed a maker, not a taker, but those people demonstrating are takers, and not deserving takers.The 1 percent can’t join a movement trying to kill them. 

  22. Prokofy

    You know, Fred, I’ve been meaning to mention this story to you — when you say you want to occupy Wall Street yourself and you somehow identify with the Bolsheviks down there, I have to tell you — you made your money from Chase [corrected], but you should really understand where some of those profits came from, the soaking of poor people like me with the horrid $35 charges, which are like payday loans in poor neighbourhoods, and their unconsionably bad practices with consumers. I don’t normally whine about this, I suck it up and simply try to address it one day at a time, but it does bear telling the story regarding the larger issues.Some years ago I was paying off a credit card I had closed, a small amount each month, when suddenly, the debt collector decided to try to grab the whole thing at once, without notice. They sent me a demand for it, and included within it something that looked like a threat of a lawsuit and a statement that they were already suing me in court.I had never seen a document like that, and I thought they were surely just trying to intimidate me and kept sending in the payments. Whenever I had been to court before, i.e. for jury duty or housing court, I had received formal notices from the court itself in the mail, not from some sewer-service debt extracting law firm. I didn’t realize what was happening, my case was heard without me, and whoops, within days they slapped a lien on my bank account at Chase [corrected]I walked right into it, bringing a monthly paycheck of $3,000 on a Friday, depositing it, and thinking I would cover my bills. But whoops, AFTER I deposited the check, I was told there was a lien on my account. My deposit was nearly three times the amount of the lien, which was some $1000, and they had a rule that they required double the lien amount to remain in the account, but because they had a rule that the entire account had to be frozen and nothing could be extracted from it, my entire pay was tied up. I couldn’t even buy groceries or pay rent.I was then told that all I had to do to release it was to sign a notarized letter that they could pay the lien. I found a branch on a Saturday that would do this, even, and figured it would be fixed by Monday. But it wasn’t. I kept trying to get them to simply pay the lien, but because they take days to clear checks — 5 usually — although if you come in person with ID they will cash the check (!) — they wouldn’t clear it faster. Meanwhile, the law office demanded proof that I had the full amount available to cover their lien.I spent the next MONTH trying to solve this problem — trying to call all kinds of offices, trying to go in person, trying to get the bank to move. My money cleared and sat there, but they wouldn’t pay the lien. Why? Because they needed proof from the law firm that it would be satisfied with only that amount (!). And the law firm required proof that there was X amount in the account, and the bank refused to release my bank statement to the firm to satisfy their demand, citing privacy concerns. I asked to give it to me and I’d fax it, but they refused, and a print-out from the ATM was not sufficient for the law firm. It was insane banking hell.Meanwhile, all my regular scheduled payments came in — for the IRS installments, for insurance, for this and that, and a check for the phone, my daughter’s school, etc. Every single one of these payments then bounced, despite having ample money to cover them even AFTER the lien would have been paid — yet they bounced each and every little check or automatic deduction, for $35 each.  It wasn’t long before I had something like $500 in these $35 fees, then $35 penalties added to that over and over again for “extended overdrawn” account — all while my funds sat there. This all really hurt. I had to borrow money from relatives just to feed my family.I struggled and struggled with these Chase [corrected] people — it meant calling these total incompetents in Louisiana ten times a day, then some other lien department somewhere else — it was like Kafka. During this period my children’s insurance was terminated because the check hadn’t cleared, and my installment plan was cancelled because of a bounced check. This was enormous harm — all because Chase simply wouldn’t pay the stated amount on the lien letter and wouldn’t break the deadlock with the predatory law firm by issuing them a statement of my balance.Six weeks after this began, with my account nearly drained in fees, finally it was resolved. I closed my account, and never looked back. I had worked at Citibank years ago and liked my job there; I had accounts there for decades — [addition] so I didn’t hate banks. But not after they began this gouging $35 fee practice.Bank of America is no better. The other day I had to sign up to use the Facebook “like” ap. They really grab you these days for those things. You have to supply a credit card. I’m all for accountability of anonymous geeks with those aps that grab all your data. It’s good to do this. But the problem is, they send that $1.00 check-up debit to your account. And that’s enough to trigger $35 fees on an account where you have a zero balance. Truly aggravating.No, they aren’t supposed to have this $35 stuff after some Congressional resolution, but they all do. You can ask to opt out and they seem to ignore you or lose your application. I’m thinking of moving to Toronto Dominion (TD) which I’m told has no $35 fee.So Fred, when you made money from that bank, you have to think how their profits were achieved — gouging people like me millions of dollars in $35 fees.I don’t want to occupy Wall Street. I’m happy to have Wall Street go on doing its thing. I just want to stop the $35 fees. Bounce the item if you must and charge some small fee, but don’t clear it and charge $35 — or worse, not even clear it and charge $35 anyway. decided to try to grab the whole thing at once, without notice.

    1. fredwilson

      i have no relationship with citibank and never have

      1. Prokofy

        It was Chase in fact. Citibank was another story. But this story was Chase. You did invest in Chase, no?Many of these banks have this awful practice — you should denounce it.

        1. fredwilson

          they fucked me over good. probably the beginning of my hate of banks and brokerages

          1. Rwingender

            I consider myself a customer service guru. Some of my expertise comes from observing the banking and cable industries, which have often illustrated what NOT to do to customers. Some companies bask on reputation and past accomplishments – Nordstrom is the prime example – there is nothing special about Nordstrom’s service anymore.If I were the CEO of a bank right now, I would requireALL of my executives to go work at the counter of Enterprise Rent-a-Car for acouple of days. That IS the premier American company in terms of customerservice – with Zappos.com as a strong #2.  

          2. Prokofy

            Oh, I hadn’t realized. I thought you made your first millions with Chase.Well, to be honest, I have ceased using banks for these reasons — the 5 day wait while they take my hard-earned money on a float and make money on it before they turn it over to me for my use; these insane $35 charges; the $12 monthly charge that Bank of America has if you don’t maintain a $300 balance; now the $5 debit charge; the limited hours; the long lines.I have taken my business over to the US Post Office. For $1, I can purchase a money order that either debits from a bank account definitely, or, if I have cash, gives me an instrument with a receipt and a number that I can use to trace if there is a claim of non-payment. Once the transaction is done, it’s done. No waiting while the check clears, only to collide with some $3.50 latte or $1.00 credit card check result in two $35 charges.The lines are shorter there, especially later in the afternoon.To save the post office, I think they should:o sell state and federal lottery tickets — we need a federal lottery for education and trainingo sell cigarettes and alcohol — these are controlled substances regulated by the government, why not have a “package store” as they have in Canadao sell gum and candy and kleenex packso sell envelopes, tape, cards etcI would also take those big buildings they are heating for nothing and all that wasted space with the murals and put the public library in there or after school computer classes or something, keep them open from 9 am to 9 pm.

          3. fredwilson

            made and lostit’s a good thing to get and give back while you are still young

  23. Rwingender

    I like Christie. Unfortunately, the things that make him a great governor would doom him as President. His was a smart decision.