Scottsdale | Scottsdale Sucks

Obama's "vision" for America

Just back from New York. While the city has a lot to offer for visitors - lots of restaurants, bars, museums, theater - we observed that the quality of life for residents is, overall, very low, and that everyone is miserable and grumpy for a reason.

It's because New York City epitomizes what Obama wants for us all: People live in tiny, Soviet-style apartments right on top of each other, they get to and from work on Soviet-style trains, they work in big Soviet-style office buildings (again all on top of each other), and otherwise live in a communal society.

What struck me even more than the tiny shoebox sized apartments is the ordeal of mass transit. Outsiders who've never spent much time on the subway seem to think it's a great idea, until they actually ride it and find that sitting makes their clothes dirty, it's hot, smelly, and usually packed tight like a sardine can so some bum is leaning all over you with his greasy clothes.

It seems like only the ultra-rich, the Donald Trumps and Derek Jeters of New York, can really benefit from living there. Everyone else is constantly stressed and on the edge of a nervous breakdown. I can see it when I run into friends from high school who are the same age as me but look at least ten years older.

The bottom line here is that the Soviet lifestyle is exactly what B. Hussein Obama wants for us all. He thinks rising gas prices are good because they will force us to move to urban centers and live in little tiny shoebox apartments, give up our cars for dirty mass transit, and have no life outside our little city centers.

And I'm sure he'll want a big photo of Premier Obama in everyone's Soviet apartment.

You'd better remember all this before considering a vote for the slick talker full of empty promises of change. He wants to change us, all right ... to a miserable Soviet communal lifestyle.

EDIT - I'd like to point out that this isn't about criticizing NYC or the people who live there. Instead I am pointing out the fact that most Americans would not enjoy the NYC lifestyle and should not have it forced upon them by nuts like Obama.

If someone wants to live in a tiny apartment and ride dirty subways, fine, that's their choice, I'm just saying no one should be forced to do it because of socialist desires or crackpot global warming theories or anything else.

Hilarious

Just a quick note from the road:

There are "Scottsdale PD is Now Hiring" posters in the bathrooms at Yankee Stadium.

Yep, you read that correctly. I guess they know exactly what kind of cops they want on their force when they're recruiting from the toilet. Literally.

See you in a few days

I'm outta here for a few days - big 4th of July party with my girlfriend's family in Westchester County, NY, then the Yankee-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night, a couple of days of visiting my family and a meeting with my publisher and then I'll be back... have fun without me!

And someone please make sure Steve takes his pills before he snaps and goes postal.

Scottsdale attitude toward renters

I was surprised at the bit of backlash I got here when I proudly stated that I live in a brand-new $1M+ home for $3,600 rent, and that "ownership" is still considered a status symbol in Scottsdale. In this town it's become a bit of a status symbol to rent a nice house for pennies on the dollar instead of being stupid enough to buy it at current prices. Many of my neighbors sold their homes at the peak in 2005/2006, pocketed the money, and now rent equivalent homes for pennies on the dollar.

(Mine is that cheap mostly because the owner is a wealthy venture capitalist who doesn't give a crap that he's losing money - the market rent on this place is much higher - but still, even then it would be cheaper to rent vs. "buy".)

It blew my mind because the rest of the country has gotten with the times and most people I know - especially around here - congratulate me on being smart for renting and agree that "buying" in today's market is for suckers. Hell, even the local realtors have come to terms with this.

Is Scottsdale really still obsessed with the "status" of "ownership"?

If so, why?

(I mock the words "buy" and "own" with quotes because most Scottsdale mortgagees don't really own anything, and never will thanks to their shyster Countrywide, WaMu, IndyMac, and other bogus loans.)

Why is this, when the rest of America has pulled back the proverbial curtain and exposed the Wizard?

Are they pissed off because renters can live in the same or better house for less than they pay on their mortgage?

Is it because they are hopelessly status-obsessed and, having nothing else going for them, see their "ownership" as their only bragging rights?

Are they pissed off knowing they'll never pay off their toxic Countrywide mortgage?

What is it about Scottsdale that still has people living in the dark ages and believing that whether one rents or "owns" is an accurate indicator of financial status? Or, even more basic, why are they so petty as to even give a crap about someone's financial status?

I suppose the answer is simple - Scottsdale people are hopelessly fake and beyond repair - but still, it boggles my mind. Maybe I've been gone long enough to forget just how superficial Scottsdale really is.

Communist Nationalization: Coming To You Soon!

A day after I posted about how Scottsdale news always consists of the same three stories, this shocker came out today:

The City of Scottsdale intends to take over privately-owned American Water Company!

Yep, you read the correctly. They want to seize the company and make it city-owned, in exactly the same manner that communist dictators seize and nationalize private companies. If they succeed, it will be the beginning of a slippery slope and some day soon the government will be able to come in and seize YOUR business.

Unreal. Absolutely unreal. Just when you think the City of Scottsdale can't get any more slimy and disgusting, they find a way.

People, PLEASE contact the likes of Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Reagan, and so on, because this is the kind of story those guys LOVE and getting the city bad press on a national level will be the first step in reigning in these rogue politicians who have become absolutely drunk with power.

The Future of This Site

I'm going to be honest here - continuing to blog on this site is getting boring. Long gone are the days when I lived in Scottsdale and would come home fuming at all the nasty, rude, inept people and needed an outlet to vent. On top of that, browsing AZCentral.com for news items to blog about is getting boring since everything from Scottsdale is always one of the following:

- Armed robbery
- City wants to ban something else
- Whiny NIMBYs are petitioning against something else

In addition, this year's Presidential race may be the most important ever. (The news says that every time, but this year it's true.) While McCain was never my first choice, his opponent is an extreme, radical, whack-job of a Marxist and must be stopped. Therefore, I think the few minutes each day I spend on this site would be better spent on waking people up about the catastrophe this nut would wreak on America, and work on opening people's eyes to the fact that he's no agent of change but in reality is more corrupt and dirty than most politicians in DC.

So, thoughts or input on where to take this site? A voice for freedom lovers? An anti-Obama site? (I've had conversations with the ExposeObama.com people but they're slow to implement my internet marketing tips ... I'd love to create a site that just blows up). Also, I have a full HD video studio that cost an absolute fortune, and when I'm not using it for my marketing products and podcasts, it can be used for a political one. HD podcasts on iTunes get a LOT of exposure and I'm already in there and able to do that.

I thought about replacing the blog with a Scottsdale Sucks discussion forum, but based on what I've seen from certain trolls on this site, that would just be one big shouting match and wouldn't accomplish anything.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your input on this.

EDIT - How about this idea - a site laid out like my marketing blog MarketingOpus.com with a news category dedicated to Scottsdale? That would not only keep this blog going, but would spread the truth about Scottsdale to a national audience!!!

Real Estate Reports from the Field

Thanks, Sid, for this:

A few observations:

1) While looking at a few overpriced homes in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley/Arcadia areas we met both types of realtors that generally fall into one of 2 categories. The first were the old hardened and experienced agents who flatly acknowledged prices are unrealistically high and sellers are not gripping reality yet in too many cases. Most openly admitted it'd be stupid to buy now. The second group were the younger group who came on with anecdotes about who's who in the neighborhood, espousing the "bottom is here" baloney etc. They tended to cover the lame Mcmansions in north Scottsdale more than those in more centrally located Arcadia and Paradise Valley.

2) MUCH MUCH cheaper to rent. We sold our overpriced San Fran area home in early 07' and banked the dough. We ultimately rented a brand new 6600 sq. foot home in Arcadia, 1 acre, extremely high end finishes for $7k on a 12 mo. lease, including landscape and pool maint. It was on the market at $3.9, then $3.7, then $3.499M when I leased it last month. It probably sells in the mid $2.5M range when reality finally strikes the owner in a year or 2. It was on the market since 5/07'. Is it cheaper to rent? Do the math. Only an idiot would buy anywhere, let alone Scottsdale right now. This market has another 20-30% unrealized drop in my opinion before a bottom can be close.

Make Your Voices Heard

The Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, which would ban affirmative action programs from the state, is now under fire and under suit from a radical group attempting to have it thrown out.

And hey, that's all radicals can do when they know the people will vote them out of existence. After all, even the people of California voted to ban affirmative action in the state (Prop 209) so you know it's going to pass in Arizona.

This is a very important move away from the unfair, discriminatory practices of affirmative action and back to hiring people based on merit and ability alone. I just learned of this today so I don't have much information but a good start would be contacting the American Civil Rights Institute, the group behind the initiative, to find out how you can make your voice heard and get this junk lawsuit, filed by radicals to attempt to stop the initiative, thrown out:

American Civil Rights Institute

Welcome to Arizona's state capitol, the "New Sacramento"

Wow ... thanks guys for posting this in the commentary:

"On Thursday the Arizona legislature approved a budget plan for the coming year that eliminated a $2 billion shortfall by cutting spending for college construction projects and expanding revenue by beefing up photo enforcement and the state lottery."

Actually, calling Phoenix the "New Sacramento" is being generous because Sacramento reigned in photo radar. That's the irony of blue vs. red states. Red states will give you freedoms in some areas, like guns, but are notorious for things like abusive traffic enforcement and photo radar, while blue states ban that stuff. Strange - I suppose there's no winning with either anymore. We need to fire them all and get some true libertarians in office.

Anyway, back on topic, the state's big plan for revenue generation is to extort money from people through statewide photo radar (which always backfires because cameras stop being profitable once everyone learns the locations), and to entice people to gamble their money away in the lottery.

Amazing. Especially since they could probably fix all their budget problems by expelling the illegals, but no.......

I'm almost tempted to change the name of the site to Arizona Sucks after reading this.

Your thoughts on cell phone bans while driving?

This week, California's ban on handheld cell phones while driving goes into effect. Since I already have handsfree in my car, it won't effect me, and there's nothing unconstitutional about the law, and it is entirely within the state's power to impose it under the 10th Amendment, so I'm not sure what I think of it. It's necessary for all the idiots who weave all over the road and don't pay attention while on their cell phones, but on the other hand I hate government meddling and increased nanny-state laws. On a positive note, it's only a $20 ticket with no points on your record, unlike states like New York where it's a very expensive ticket in the hundreds of dollars.

I'm curious to hear all your thoughts on this, because idiots driving badly while talking on the phone is a *HUGE* problem in Scottsdale, especially those idiots who drive huge SUVs and can't handle them safely as it is. And, let's be honest here, Arizona has become one of the more big government nanny states in the nation, so your cell phone ban is undoubtedly right around the corner.

Would you support or oppose a ban on cell phones while driving, considering what a problem it has become in Arizona?