Who is Barack Obama?

Since the McCain/Palin ticket keep asking, why not watch the video, and find out for yourselves:



source

Now, go to the Obama website, and educate yourselves some more.

Obama.com

Posh Retreat for Bums on the Plush.

It's been reported that AIG executives were treated to a posh retreat in California, at one of the most exclusive hotels and resorts in the US, to the tune of $440,000.00 of taxpayer's dollars.

That's right, your money. This retreat was implemented after the $85 billion dollar bailout of the insurance giant that almost tanked, helping to undermine the US's economy so much so that the US government had to step in, and take control, using tax payer's money to bail them out of trouble. From the CNN.com:

Days after it got a federal bailout, American International Group Inc. spent $440,000 on a posh California retreat for its executives, complete with spa treatments, banquets and golf outings, according to lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown.

The resort tab included $23,380 worth of spa treatments for AIG employees, according to invoices the resort turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Now, is there any wonder why our economy is in the tank? Is there any wonder why these massive companies, charged with fraudulent behaviors and corrupt practices are going under, to the great expense of the US economy, and all of the citizens in it?

This company took huge risks (with your insurance premiums, I might add) lost it all, gave their former CEO a raise bringing his enormous salary up to $13.7 million dollars per year, excluding perks and compensation of stocks while the company was going under, cooked the books AND THEN...

Had the government bail them out with $85 billion dollars of tax payer's money who then has the audacity to turn around and pamper the executives with a retreat that cost US - you and me - nearly a half of a million dollars?!

It is more than obvious that corporations cannot be trusted to do business ethically, or intelligently and those who stand to gain the most but risk the least who have such a major influence on the domestic and global economy should not be allowed to make decisions for themselves.

It's like letting a baby play with a samurai sword. It won't end well. And it hasn't.

Have we forgotten history?

In the meantime, you have McCain supporters crying that they don't want their tax dollars going towards a national health care system because "other people" will be able to get health care off 'their dime". And yet, "other people" namely CEO's executives, and massive corporations are getting spa treatments off their dime. Off of, actually millions of their dimes.

Where are they? Are they screaming from the rooftops about this yet? Or is anything corporate good - particularly the pampering of executives of corporations by way of tax payer dollars, yet helping individual citizens get proper health care through tax dollars "socialism"?

I don't even want to know how they justify this. From the article:

"I do agree there is some profligate spending there, but the concept of bringing all the major employees together ... to ensure that the $85 billion could be as greatly as possible paid back would have been not a crazy corporate decision," Dinallo told the House committee.

What, they couldn't have them gather at the headquarters for a meeting? They had to play golf, and get their nails done too?

This is no excuse. This is the poorest rationalization I've seen.

It's no wonder why we are in the mess we are in, corporate budgetary priorities are entirely backwards. They pay millions upon millions of dollars to the people who do the least work, and lay off the people who produce the product and services that make them millions of dollars. They could create thousands of jobs on their salaries, yet squander their money away on perks and overgrown children who apparently can't do business unless they are getting an avocado facial.

They take huge risks with your money, then ask for more of your money to bail them out, and then squander what they've borrowed on more perks.

And they complain about their "tax burden" Hello? Is anyone there?

This is ridiculous. Utterly. Ridiculous.

From the article:

"You have cost my constituents and the taxpayers of this country $85 billion and run into the ground one of the most respected insurance companies in the history of our country," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York. "You were just gambling billions, possibly trillions of dollars."

Damn straight. By the way, Presidential hopeful, Obama expressed the sentiment that the executives of AIG should be fired over this.

And I agree.

Plain talk or just plain out of touch?

The a thread on BlogCatalog about McCain's "that one" and numerous "attacks" on Palin about her folksy demure got me to thinking - how many people really relate to that type of speech? I know that Palin chided the East Coast as being bad...somehow - of course the West coast has it's fair share of metropolitan areas, as does middle America where "down home farm talk" just doesn't fit in.

Where I live is considered "rural" compared to the massive cities I am surrounded by. Even still, we aren't very "rural" and we don't speak in any discernible manner in the way that "country folk" do. (or, are apparently supposed to). Only in the more rural New England states does this happen.

So, I got to wondering, how many "Big city folk" are actually out there listening? I did a quick search of populations in 10 major cities in the US:

Boston MA has 600,000 residents.
New York NY has 8 million.
Brooklyn NY has 2.5 million.
Bronx NY comes in fourth in NY at 1.3 million residents.
Queens NY has 2.2 million.

Washington DC, which isn't even a city, per se even though it is is home to 575,000 residents.

Miami FL, that mecca of nightlife has 409,000 very tan residents.

LA is home to 3.8 million people, and
Sand Diego has 1.2 million.

Columbus OH has 711,000 residents.

Total residents for just ten metropolitan cities around the US comes in at 20,125,000.

That's over 20 million people, between ten cities that do not relate to "folksy straight talk". Never mind the surrounding suburban areas that are filled to capacity with people.

The largest population in such Midwest "farmtowns" as Fargo, ND is 90,000.

Really, how much of the US population relates to this rural farm talk? Is the "Straight talk express" complete with farm house colloquialisms just another nail in the McCain/Palin ticket?

November Fourth a Cometh

I came across this video on Youtube. Now, I have always said that if there is an election, and you feel that you have no real choice in candidates, you should still go into the voting booths and select the write in option, then write in "NONE OF THE ABOVE". But I have always advocated that you vote and make your voice heard. It's not the only way, and it's not the best way - but this election, even I think it's necessary.

If you aren't registered to vote, you'd better get on it, and DON'T do it at the DMV.

Go directly into your town hall, and fill out the registration form, and hand it directly to the registrar, or registrar's secretary.

If you aren't sure when the deadline is, go here and check.

Get it done.

NOW!!