Government Managed For Sure

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31holstein.html?_r=1

Did the President ask Rick Wagonner to step down in a pre-emptive move to prevent AIG like backlash? William Holstein make sit sound like Mr. Wagonner's stepping down was a bad move. Especially in light of his named replacement, Mr. Henderson, who has more experience on Wall St. and not so much car building experience.

Even scarier is the perception of zealotry within the immediate Obama White House aides who have been quoted as saying "they are going to remake the entire G.M. board." This statement should be scarier than Freddy Kruegger on Elm St. This "we know better than you about everything" attitude is going to get us into trouble. The last things we need are political hacks messing up the economy further.

I think GM is about to get "Government Mis-managed."

GM (Government Managed)

Obama says GM, Chrysler "not there yet"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that struggling U.S. automakers had not done enough yet to become "lean, mean and competitive" under federal oversight.

Lead by example? BO is not exactly running the most efficient ship on the financial waters these days.

"We're trying to let them know that we want to have a successful auto industry, U.S. auto industry. We think we can have a successful U.S. auto industry. But it's got to be one that's realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge ... much more lean, mean and competitive than it currently is," Obama said.

Wonder what kind of cars we can expect from Detroit once the administration completes the takeover of the auto industry. Me thinks if you want an American car with more than 100 HP and most of the parts installed and working you better hurry.

Gene

The Website

President Obama promised the Nation a website to track the Stimulus Bill money. Has anyone seen it? I sure hope they know where that money went especially after he criticized the Bush administration for not keeping track of the first TARP installment. Personally, I've never had good luck taunting or second guessing other's actions. I find that if I do taunt someone, I end up making a similar mistake in the future. I always have a moment of recognition like God flicking me in the back of the head and saying "did you just make the same dumbass mistake that Bozo did earlier?" Sure enough, it happens. If anyone finds this Stimulus website, send me the link please.

AJ

Chili Dogs and $10 Beers

The new President is getting around town. Careful, you may bump into him or his Secret Service detail!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/fashion/26washington.html?hp

My first reaction was "shouldn't you be home working on the economy?" But, everyone needs a break once in a while to keep their edge. I think its good that he's out with his family. He will stay more human and real if they can keep up their public social activities and help with the public's expectation management. We may not expect him to perform miracles as often if we realize that he likes to drink a beer at the game just like us.

Mislaid Blame And The Cost

The NY Times featured an op-ed contribution by Jake DeSantis, former VP of the AIG Financial Products division. Mr. DeSantis posted his resignation letter to AIG's CEO, Ed Liddy to the NYT. To read the full letter...http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/opinion/25desantis.html?_r=1. Its worth your time.

Based on this letter, there are a lot of wrongly maligned, hard working people at AIG. These people are owed very public apologies from Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Andrew Cuomo and Richard Blumenthal

Renewable Energy vs. Pristine Vistas

We have been bombarded in the last two years with infomercial after infomercial about how nuclear power, coal and oil are evil and renewable energy from the wind and sun is the future. I agree that we need to be smarter about how we generate and utilize electricity.

Well now the evironmental groups are fighting each other. One group wants to cordon off a huge are of the Mojave Desert in order to preserve the pristine vistas. Other environmentalists are helping energy companies to place solar power plants in the same are because the sunlight is abundant.

I can not make this stuff up. Environmentalists are fighting each other. Senator Diane Feinstein is on the side of keeping the views pretty. She was quoted in today's NY Times as saying “I’m a strong supporter of renewable energy and clean technology, but it is critical that these projects are built on suitable lands.” In other words, find an uglier piece of land that no one wants and build your solar power plant there. Unbelievable.

The uglier half or the power plant is the high voltage power transmission lines that have to run from the desert to the coast to supply the energy demand.

I can't wait to see which "high-minded" issue wins out.

Searching For A Good Explanation...

In 2003, Samantha Redding was strip-searched by two female school officials in search of a prescription strength, 400 mg, ibuprofen pill. Samantha was fingered by another student who was suspected of having prescription strength pain reliever, too. Samantha was 13 at the time and an honor student with a good track record at the school.

The assistant principal ordered a strip-search to be conducted after a cursory search (stop and frisk in law enforcement terms) of Samantha's outer clothes (black stretch pants and a pink t-shirt) revealed nothing.

A 1985 Supreme Court Case, New Jersey vs. T.L.O., ruled that school officials may conduct a strip search only if there is:
1) a suspected violation of a rule that places a student's health and safety at risk, and;
2) particularized suspicion that the contraband is hidden in the student's clothes.

'Particularized suspicion' seems to be lacking on the school's part. Not finding a pill in the outer garment does not mean that it is hidden in the girl's undergarments. Specific information is necessary to achieve 'particularized suspicion' to conduct a strip search.

The shear fact alone that school officials feel comfortable conducting strip searches worries me. Searching a person is tricky thing and best left to professionals who will conduct a proper search in accordance with the law. Illegal searches result in blown criminal cases all of the time. I would not be comfortable conducting a search of a student like. Better to call in the police or the school resource officer (policemen assigned to the schools for security and education reasons). School resource officers were instituted for this reason.

Samantha's case was upheld on appeal by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and will be heard by the Supreme Court on April 21. The Court of Appeals ruled that the assistant principal does not qualify for immunity from civil penalties since he acted outside the law. The courts are working in this particular case.

I hope Samantha wins next month and gets to take the School District and Principal to civil court and sue for damages. Strip-searching a 13 yor honor student with a clean record for two regular strength ibuprofen is beyond reasonable. I hope Samantha gets enough money to make her life comfortable and pay for a decent college education. I wish her good luck moving on with her personal trauma, too. I can only imagine the damage this search did to a normal 13 yor girl. What horror.

I'm chearing on the ACLU who is helping her case. Yes, I'm chearing on the ACLU. I believe in the right to be protected from unlawful searches. Go get 'em boys and girls.

As for the assistant principal and two female school officials, you guys are ass clowns.

This is the begining of the end

Well, Harry and Nancy have done it. The country is ready to lynch the bonus fat executives at AIG. They stirred up enough malice that even op-ed columnists and President Obama were scared of the possible outcomes.

So now 15 of the 20 top bonuses at AIG have been voluntarily returned. The others are still considering their options. What's also happening at AIG is the top talent is leaving. Why stay and try to save the ship working 80-90 hours a week when you don't get adequate compensation? Screw it, I'd go find another job, too.

Granted some of these people who resigned from AIG are the ones that kicked off this mess (they aren't the only ones responsible though). But at the same time, these people leaving the market are the ones with the smarts and situational awareness to help fix the problem. By why stay when there is nothing in it for them? Why stay when your hard work won't be properly rewarded? I don't blame them a bit for resigning.

Harry and Nancy have done a good job at wrecking the capitalists economic model which rewards hard work with financial compensation. The threat of a punitive tax code was enough to send executives searching for other jobs at non-TARP firms. Way to go.

What Harry and Nancy don't understand is that leadership is about motivation and reward. What am I saying, Harry and Nancy know everything there already is to know about leadership. Silly me.

Well congratulations folks. You've successfully de-motivated the top tier of our economic system. Way to go. I'm sure we'll pull out of this recession(a.k.a. depression) in no time.

BTW, look at this video if you have any doubts as to the Democratic party's true path. This video should scare you if you earn a decent salary. Remember, mid-term elections are just around the corner!

The Pot Calls the Kettle Black

Or was he the kettle? I get confused sometimes.

President Obama is outraged that AIG is paying its executives $165 million in bonuses the company is contractually obligated to pay. The President called these payments outrageous and has directed Secretary Geithner to try to recoup the money for the taxpayers.

Let me try this one more time. The man who pushed for, and signed into law, one of the biggest pork bills ever to successfully cross the President's desk is incensed about loose spending of the taxpayer's dollar. Really?

Maybe the President should take care of his own house before cast aspersions at others. There is so much wastage in the Spendulus Bill (I borrowed this term from my friend Stitch...) that several concientious Governors refuse Spendulus money on the account that its wasteful.

I do understand the backlash there is against this company, but if we, as a government, agreed to bail it out to keep it from failing and hurting the economy worse, then AIG needs a mechanism to retain quality management staff. To default on its contractual bonuses would be bad and encourage these executives to walk and find other work. Some would argue that wouldn't be bad given the state we're in, but we did decide to save this company.

I can't argue that bad decisions put the country in this pickle. Life is about surviving bad decisions and moving on. How does the timeless adage go? "Judgment comes with experience and experience is gained from bad judgment."

A Spendocrat calling out the banks for wasteful spending still tickles me. Its even funnier that he doesn't see the joke himself.

Little “V” Victory in Iraq

The troops are coming home from the sand box and less soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are deploying to replace them. The streets of Baghdad are safer and the economy is starting to grow. President Maliki, a Shiite and leader of the coalition government, has called for reconciliation and forgiveness of those who were members of Saddam’s government, essentially Sunnis.

The surge worked despite what the rabid Democratic members of both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees said to General Petraeus when he sat before the committees and recommended a surge in troops to stem the violence in Iraq. But wait, the surge worked.

The Bush administration is gone and President Obama has not followed through with his campaign pledge to bring the troops home in sixteen months. In fact, he’s agreed to a plan to keep the troops in Iraq, up to 50,000 of them, “for several years to come.”

Obama’s change in heart led me to two conclusions. First, Obama figured out after detailed briefings on the factual situation in Iraq that Bush’s strategy was working. GASP. Second, in order for President Obama to keep the troops in Iraq and conduct an orderly turn over of the situation with the Iraqi government he must see victory in the future him. SAY IT ISN’T SO?

Who wants to take a bet that we won’t hear the words ‘victory’ and ‘Iraq’s spoken in the same sentence? Anyone? Come on, just $20. Please? Well, what did I expect? Who would ever bet that a Democrat would say that a Republican was right in the first place? What was I thinking?

I sure hope President Obama has the cojones to use the words victory and Iraq together. If he does, he will honor the men and women that call him Commander in Chief. He will honor the ultimate sacrifice made by great Americans who died defending this Nation and the world from horrible consequences. Those men and women deserve to hear the word victory spoken loud and proud and not mumbled quietly into the Presidential fist.

So here’s where we stand. It’s the bottom of the ninth inning, two outs and President Bush pitched a great game. President Obama steps onto the mound and has to deal with the last batter. Need some advice? Better throw hard and throw strikes, Mr. President. Win the game, fuck the cheerleader. Then and only then, come home.