Sour Grapes for AIG

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030303764.html

Another [AIG employee] was even more irate, lashing out at the public for scapegoating AIG employees. "To be honest with you, I really hope it blows up. I think the U.S. taxpayer deserves to lose a trillion dollars over this thing for the way they have behaved."

What sort of ignorant, scum-sucking monster would even say something like this?
If there were any real justice in this world, whoever made this ridiculous comment would have their shrivelled balls ripped clean away from their body. NEWS FLASH FOR AIG - you guys actually DID help tank the economy. Bad lending practices were totally in play for you and many other companies. This does not excuse the guilty, however.

This person is clearly upset about not getting their promised bonuses. But what of that? I'm upset because DUE TO THIS ASSHOLE'S COMPANY (and a few others), there is now a massive public debt (to the tune of about 40 grand for EVERY person in this country). Now, I've never owned a credit card. I've never applied for a loan. But in theory, now I won't be able to....credit will invariably tighten up, and due to these horrible lending practices (esp. sub-prime mortgages), I imagine it will take a long time for our economy to recover.

So fuck this AIG employee...he speaks from unenlightened self-interest and ignorance. His puling foolishness has no place in a modern society, and if there is any fairness to be found in this world, this fool will be abducted from his job by men in black jumpsuits and flogged like the whining bitch he surely is.

Trolls and Venting

I hate trolls. Dammit.

I realized that it's impossible to e-mail most politicians "really" because of trolls. In an ideal world, we would be able to get in touch with the people who represent us; directly in touch, as in, actual conversation. But then there would be trolls, and of course that's why we can't have nice things.

A note on my parlance: Trolls in this particular entry refers to those who intentionally try to compromise others (for the lulz, right?). They seriously get off on schadenfreude and attempt to cause suffering in order to laugh at their victims. *insert Ebaums/4Chan reference here*

So I understand the need for these people to keep separate personal and "work" e-mail addresses, but I don't like it. Ultimately, there's nothing to be done about it, though. So until I become a famous political columnist (or equivalent), I'll just have to send the questions out through the normal forums. I'd prefer off-the-record, "real" answers, but anything will work, I guess.

Work sucks; so does being sick. China's dumping US Securities, and my homework for tomorrow is to crosscheck the GDP gap against the US Debt Ceiling for the last 30 years or so, and see how it correlates to the Dollar Inflation vs. CPI graphs. Lots of data, and lots of potential bullshit (I've noticed that certain areas in the data don't match right, but it could be my errors; we'll see).

For now, get some sleep kids. Tomorrow we crunch numbers!!

A note for Mark Lloyd

What sort of jackass bastard has the FCC decided to saddle us with now? According to several sources, (and here, since I said several) the new FCC "Diversity Czar" is an unabashedly racist, excruciatingly ignorant swine.

Anyone who feels that 'white people must step down and let other races have a go at power' is ignorant of the paths of Western Civilization. BY DEFINITION, white people will have some power; this has been true for, oh, say....4000 YEARS OR SO??? Mark Lloyd needs to actually open a history textbook sometime. Oh yes...news flash: the American people just elected a Black man to be President....but I guess it's not good enough that we've reached the point where anyone of any color can grow up and become an elected official in this country. Or maybe Mark Lloyd would like some "No Whites Allowed" signs on our Government buildings?

Forget it - I'm not gonna waste the space calling this asshole out. Mark Lloyd just pisses me off with his flagrant intellectual shortcomings, his calling the First Amendment out as "communications policies", and his genuinely incredible racism. This sort of Loser being in a position of power is the sort of thing that leads to race riots and revolution....I just hope that the administration takes a cue from it's handling of Van Jones and kicks Mark "I'm a racist jerkoff" Lloyd to the curb.

And kids: racism is ugly, immoral, and wrong regardless of what color you are. Hating someone for something they have no control over is a self-defeating policy of persecution that leads to insane levels of racial tensions (think the Deep South in the early 60s) and causes problems on a widespread scale...the kind of problems that end up with large chunks of neighborhoods being burned down (and again in '92).

Anyone who thinks that this wouldn't happen with ANY ethnic/racial group that feels completely disenfranchised needs to be seriously educated; history is full of rebellions and revolutions based entirely on racial tensions. It never ends well, and is something that we can easily avoid....unless people like Mark Lloyd are there to fuck it all up....

The Young Plants

The young plants die too soon.
They wither early, then fade
soft cinders sleeping on the grass.

Contracted, spinning on a wire in
quiet breezes; dangling like
Antarctic explorers grappling
with the Roof of the World.

Beauty hangs, precarious,
stretching forth green wires with
!!Coral explosions!!

Shivering in the biting wind,yet unafraid.
They weather the storms as chance may
guide them,
grasping life by the throat,
taking her in green claws rending
(their only voice)

Some observations on the polls

I was looking over the CNN website this morning, and I noticed that they'd done some sort of nonsense "Second 100 Days" poll, and I decided to check it out. It was actually a series of questions, apparently asked to the population at large (via CNN's website, I believe), and graded along a traditional "school-grade" system. Readers were asked to rate the following:

1. Obama Administration's handling of the economy (C-)
2. Obama Administration's handling of health care reform (D)
3. "" "" handling of foreign affairs (C)
4. Performance of Sec. of State Hillary Clinton (C+)
5. Vice President Joe Biden (C-)
6. The performance of YOUR state's 2 senators (C-)
7. The performance of Congress (D)
8. The performance of the Republican Leadership in Congress (D)
9. The performance of the media (D)
10. Grade President Barack Obama (C-)

The results were kinda fun, if somewhat telling. Most of the grades indicated are averages of huge numbers (388,000) of internet viewers. The numbers also tend to skew HEAVILY into the "F" category, with sometimes 40 or 50% (or more) of those polled responding in this way.

The first thing that popped out at me was the fact that there is no poll to grade Democratic leadership. Are they afraid of the results? The Repulican leadership was roundly denounced in the polls here (although, checking results, they actually do better, on average, than the "Entire Congress" option (question 7), so read that how you will.

Then, looking at question number 6, only one state gave it's senators a grade over a C: North Dakota. I applaud Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad; you both are apparently well-liked by your constituency. I personally think that they just haven't gotten the joke yet (actually read the details of the Dorgan Tourism bill sometime...he's no better than the rest).

Fun Fact: If you check the results of those polled in Question 7, the only place where Congress got better than a D was in Washington D.C. Apparently, they all voted for themselves!

But yeah; I have better things to do than waste my time on internet polls. The internet is an unreliable, fickle creature at the best of times.....and these are definitely not the best of times

In Defense of Obama

I'll keep this one short; no sense getting maudlin about it, because I still have some points of disagreement with the man's policies. But..

After reading this interview from back in April, I come away with two impressions: First, President Obama is a very thoughtful, intelligent man. He does legitimately have a lot on his plate. He's not entirely responsible for policy, but he is the Captain of the Ship of State, and he unfortunately will be seen as being responsible, regardless of the truth....

And secondly, that he's had a lot of insane, horrible things dumped into his lap. He's actually trying to do something good, but he's going about it incorrectly. It doesn't help matters that Congress is packed with corrupt politicians. But he's a lawyer and a college professor; he knows these things.

I would ask anyone reading this blog, regardless of your political views, to take a moment and say a prayer for Barack Obama. I feel that he is a good man, and, however misguided some might think his policies are, he is still the President of the United States, come what may.

......Good luck, sir.

Ways and Means FAQ - some clarification, please?

After seeing this on the House Majority Leaders website, I had a few questions about some of these comments. These questions are generally directed towards members of the House Ways and Means Committee; they are merely items in your press release that I would like some clarification on:

First of all, would any of those who voted to pass the bill please explain to me what "Comparative Effectiveness Research" is? I've heard a lot of things, and I'd like to know exactly what a CER-Panel would be looking for (i.e. criteria for judging different methods of treatment).

Secondly, in reference to Point/Question 27: Is 5 hours really enough time to "walk through" a 1000+ page bill? I like to think that I'm a quick reader, but anyone who can read a 200 page book in only an hour (and still comprehend the ideas expressed), well....that's ability.

Third: I noticced that you mention employers would pay insurance on a sliding scale for employees based on hourly labor. As a part-time employee who didn't qualify for food stamps a month ago (because I didn't work enough hours?), forgive my lack of enthusiasm for a program that would treat my medical care in the same way. Which brings me to point 4.

Question 4: According to this document, anyone who makes $10,000+ a year has "a responsibility" to purchase healthcare. Why? I myself made just over the cutoff for exemption from this "responsibility"; thus, I would be required by law to buy insurance that I could barely afford.

Seriously, guys...I'm a politically-minded constituent. I regularly exercise my voting rights. Why do you want to stick it to me and everyone else in my position? Part-time employees are the backbone of most larger businesses. The student age part-timers are already going to be paying for these "reforms" for the rest of our lives. Now you're going to force some of us further into poverty, simply to provide the somehow "less-fortunate" with governmentally-decided-and-run healthcare.

Thanks, but no thanks.