Will the antics never cease?

I don't believe any of the crap I hear from the Government, my employer, nobody. "Just trust us" is all of the BS I keep hearing. I heard that for Iraq, I've heard that for this financial mess created by the greedy bastards that are charging 21% interest rates. On and on. I haven't seen any justification or evidence to lead to me to believe the right thing is getting done for the economy. We still seem to tie our financial well-being to our real freedoms and I think that's a mistake.

It isn't that I don't want to trust people. I actually still do trust people, real people that is. Companies and governments hide behind contracts, emails, call centers and especially fine print. I'm watching one of my friends try to keep his house. He's a brilliant woodworker, probably one of the best anywhere. Yet the bank is trying to foreclose on his home, eventhough it burned down, he was divorced and his carpentry contracting has gone to exactly zero. All in one year.

I could go on about my own experiences however I am a little leery of discussing them in a blog. I am still livng them and frankly, my employer is fairly punitive, they wouldn't hesitate to fire me in a NY Minute.

So let's leave it at this: maybe before everyone starts saying how bad everyone else sucks we try to walk a mile or two in their shoes. It'll change your perspective.

I know this is an old line but it is one that most of the CEO's of our country seem to have found elusive: Do unto others as you would have them to unto you....

Marc

Obama's Afganistan Policy Is Wrong

The generals asked for 30,000 more troops to fight in Afghanistan, and Obama gave them 17,000. That was a mistake. Afghanistan is a quagmire, another Vietnam/. What is the exit strategy? What form would victory take? Meanwhile we bomb and kill innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, further enraging the people against up and risking further destabilizing nuclear armed Pakistan. Obama is merely continuing down the same road as George Bush.

When will the progressive left begin to denounce Obama's war mongering?

The answer in Afghanistan and Pakistan requires a multi-national diplomatic and economic approach. As was the case with Vietnam and Iraq, there is no military solution.

Jim

The Stimulus Plan and Bailouts are jokes

Let me warn you, this is a bit of a rant. It seems as though our politicians are fixated on quick fixes. Hell, if a Nigerian Prince sent them an email saying he had $100 billion he needed to get out of the country and all our congress needed to do was send $2 million bucks, I think we'd be seeing half these idiots on the front steps of House prattling on about why they sent money to Nigeria....

The only way to get out of our current mess is to admit some mistakes and attempt to get everyone in our country working. Oh yes, and maybe we should put a few more dollars into education....

Let me ask you dear internet folks, what shred of evidence have you seen that will lead anyone to believe that pouring money into AIG or Citigroup will yield a single new job for American workers?

I happen to agree with Dave Ramsey. At the beginning of this mess, Dave Ramsey said we shouldn't give out a dime in bailout anything. We can't track it and Citigroup can't seem to track it either (except when their executives check their paystubs). Citigroup sure will punish you (but good) if you miss a credit card payment though. They seem to know where every dime is for every loan they've ever made. We are throwing money away dear taxpayers.

There is no oversight. There is no goal and more importantly, I don't know where all of this cash is going. Yet it is going to people who are supposed to know exactly where it is going (bankers).

This whole thing is a scam and I pissed the whole Obama administration is buying into this utter bullshit. It's all a quick fix that isn't fooling the other 19 countries in the G20. And it shouldn't fool you either my fellow Americans. We shouldn't be borrowing money from our kids, we shouldn't be trusting these Wallstreet motherfuckers any farther than we can throw them and we shouldn't be spending money on savings banks or fucking with Afghanistan.

Banks and brokerages were never supposed to co-pollinate. Banks are supposed to be safe places where people put their money and it gets loaned out to do real things like build homes and schools. It was never supposed to be a fucking casino!

By the way everyone, the market to market legislation seems to be flying through Congress. You do know that this is every bit a clusterfuck like the Gramm-Lilley act, right? Market to Market is great for businesses that do financial speculation and is incredibly bad for people that have to value assets those businesses purchase. Just an FYI....

Obama, is this what we have to look forward to for the next four years? This isn't why we elected you.

The bottom line of this rant - No quick fixes folks. Everyone needs to have a job. And the Nigerian guys that send out all of those spam rip off letters also happen to work near or around Wall Street!

Marc

Hint - maybe it's time we stop buying imported shit from China and Singapore built by slave labor? Maybe our government should put some trade sanctions in place? Maybe our government should start to tax the shit out of companies that build all of their shit in slave labor countries? Maybe the government should take scumbags like AIG and just plain grab them by the balls and put them out of business (or let them go out of business). Enough already.

Obama Not Moving To End DADT

In regard to Obama and DADT, I'm afraid that it does not appear to look good for its demise at this point:

"On FOX News Sunday, Chris Wallace asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates about White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' statement earlier this year that "yes," Obama planned to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.Said Gates: "[DADT] continues to be the law, and any change in the policy would require a change in the law. We will follow the law whatever it is. That dialogue, though, has really not progressed very far at this point in the administration. I think the president and I feel like we've got a lot on our plates right now and let's push that one down the road a little bit." (Source: Towleroad)

Push it down the road? Are they serious? I'm just not feeling good about Obama at this point. Where is the "change we can believe in?"

Pride 2009 - official video release

40 years oif Gay Pride compressed into this video...

Draconian NYC Transit Increases Penalize Poor

The New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority is broke, so they have voted to raise fares through the roof and cut services. Whom does this primarily affect? The poor, the working and middle classes, of course...those who have to take the bus or the subway to get to thier jobs. Yet I see no outrage coming from politicians and no one stepping forward to speak up for those most affected by this outrage. From the Times:

Under the plan approved Wednesday, the base subway and bus fare rises to $2.50 from $2, with the change taking effect May 31. A monthly MetroCard would cost $103, up from $81. Riders on the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road would see increases of at least 20 to 30 percent, beginning June 1. The fare on Long Island Bus, which serves Nassau County, would rise to $3.50 from $2.

Annuities Are Confusing? Really?

There is an interesting article in today's New York Times about 401K plans and how they have lost so much value in the current downturn. It sems that they are not the retiremkent panacea that was hoped for by so many. When Dan retired we bought an annuity with his retirement assets. One of our friends, an accountant no less, thinks annuities are "kinky." Well, it turns out that we did the right thing:

Older investors now want what their elders had: a pension income they can count on for as long as they live. A Fidelity Investments survey released last week found that 85 percent of investors 55 to 70 years old placed greater importance on a guaranteed monthly retirement income than on above-average investment gains. Expect to see new, more conservative financial products and government initiatives to encourage voluntary savings plans. But few have figured out how to get there. A 2007 consumer finance survey by the Federal Reserve Board found that only 5.5 percent of families owned an annuity, a financial product designed to provide reliable retirement income but rarely chosen by the layman because they tend to be complex and confusing.

Good News! A New "Stooges" Movie!

From today's New York Times...a new movie is coming about my favorite vintage comedy team...Moe, Larry, and Curly:

To his allies, Sean Penn is a wise guy; to his adversaries, he’s a stooge. Now they’re both correct: the actor has joined the cast of “The Three Stooges,” a new MGM comedy based on the vintage film shorts of that knockaround trio, Variety reported. Mr. Penn, who recently won his second Academy Award, for playing the title role in Gus Van Sant’s “Milk,” is set to play Larry, the wire-haired, Stradivarius-wielding Stooge. The studio is also said to be in final negotiations with Jim Carrey, who will gain weight to play the rotund Curly, and is pursuing Benicio Del Toro (“Che”) to play the irritable Moe. The film is to be written and directed by Bobby and Peter
Farrelly (of “There’s Something About Mary” and “Kingpin” fame), and is planned for a 2010 release.

Happy Paddy's Day, And A Blot On The Emerald

I'm always a bit torn about identifying with the Irish. Sure, I qualify because I'm mostly Irish...but there is so much homophobia among particularly the American Irish and especially Irish Catholics that it sickens me. So I avoid the St. Patrick's Day parade here in Philadelphia, that excludes open gays just like they do in New York City. I don't paint all people of Irish extraction with this broad brush and so I'll celebrate with those who are decent and not bigoted. But the rest of them need to stop hating gay people. It's a blot on the emerald.

Financial Responsibility Disconnect

The auto workers are told that they must re-negotiate their contracts if they expect the government to help, but AIG can't do the same with the incompetent executives that stand to gain millions of taxpayer bailout dollars?