Sally Kern is a disgrace not only to the state of Oklahoma, but to the entire human race. If you voted for her, you should feel ashamed. Seriously, just stay home next time.
Source: http://www.acluok.org/NewsEvents/Rep.Kern.htm
The Washington Post reports that the House is looking to pass a bill that would heavily tax bonuses paid by firms that received TARP funds. In fact, it would tax 90% of the bonuses paid out to the AIG execs that had $250k or more in household income.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/19/AR2009031901542.html?hpid=topnews
You have until 4:00 p.m. to name names or we will subpoena you. Awesome. Here's the letter.
March 16, 2009
Edward M. Liddy, Chairman & CEO American International Group, Inc.
70 Pine Street New York, NY, 10270
Re: AIG Compensation Investigation
Dear Mr. Liddy:
The Office of the New York Attorney General has been investigating compensation arrangements at AIG since last Fall. We were disturbed to learn over the weekend of AIG's plans to pay millions of dollars to members of the Financial Products subsidiary through its Financial Products Retention Plan. Financial Products was, of course, the division of AIG that led to its meltdown and the huge infusion of taxpayer funds to save the firm. Previously, AIG had agreed at our request to make no payments out of its $600 million Financial Products deferred compensation pool.
We have requested the list of individuals who are to receive payments under this retention plan, as well as their positions at the firm, and it is surprising that you have yet to provide this information. Covering up the details of these payments breeds further cynicism and distrust in our already shaken financial system.
In addition, we also now request a description of each individual's job description and performance at AIG Financial Products. Please also provide whatever contracts you now claim obligate you to make these payments. Moreover, you should immediately provide us with a list of who negotiated these contracts and who developed this retention plan so we can begin to investigate the circumstances surrounding these questionable bonus arrangements. Finally, we demand an immediate status report as to whether the payments under the retention plan have been made.
We need this information immediately in order to investigate and determine:
(l) whether any of the individuals receiving such payments were involved in the conduct that led to AIG's demise and subsequent bailout;
(2) whether, as you claim, such individuals are truly required to unwind AIG Financial Product's positions;
(3) whether such contracts may be unenforceable for fraud or other reasons; and
(4) whether any of the retention payments may be considered fraudulent conveyances under New York law.
Taxpayers of this country are now supporting AIG, and they deserve at the very least to know how their money is being spent. And we owe it to the taxpayers to take every possible action to stop unwarranted bonus payments to those who caused the AIG meltdown in the first place.
If you do not provide this information by 4:00 p.m. today, we will issue subpoenas and seek, if necessary, to enforce compliance in court.
Andrew M. Cuomo
Attorney General of the State of New York
cc: AIG Board of Directors
Wow. Just wow. AIG execs are getting $165 million in bonuses after accepting bailout dollars.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html?_r=1
Rep. Ted Thomsen of Ada has filed a resolution to try to prevent Richard Dawkins, a British evolutionary bioligist, from speaking at the University of Oklahoma. Whether you believe in evolution or not, I disagree with any attempts to stifle free speech. This truly is a backwards state.
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-lawmaker-filed-resolution-opposing-tonights-lecture-by-evolutionary-biologist-at-ou/article/3351041
I have to hand this to Obama, he's at least attempting to make things more transparent. I can't really ever jump 100% on board with any politician, but I have to give kudos to his administration for setting up this site. It's got a complete copy of the stimulus bill and is supposed to be updated with how it is being spent. If this works as advertised, it will be a completely amazing thing to see.
http://www.recovery.gov/
Maybe some of these banks wouldn't need bailout money if they had halfway intelligent people working for them. Citibank tried to wire the $27 million to various banks in several countries after falling for a Nigerian scam. Several of the banks refused the transactions, which ultimately led to one of the criminals being caught.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/nyregion/21scam.html
An update to an earlier post:
Factcheck.org debunked the claims that were being spread by the Republicans(most loudly by former New York lt. governor Betsy McCaughey(R) and Rep. Tom Price(R) of Georgia) regarding the details of the health care provisions in Obama's stimulus bill. It's pretty much a summary of what I stated with more sources, but a great read.
Source: http://www.factcheck.org/politics/doctors_orders.html
The U.S.A. has defeated Darwin. The stupid shall inherit the Earth because they're the ones having all the babies and while the intelligent people are waiting for the economy to recover. However, the economy is not getting any favors from said stupid people having babies and using government welfare.
Oh yeah, Nadya Suleman, the octuplet mom is not only on food stamps and disability, is about to lose the house to foreclosure. It's not really their house; they live with grandma. A local TV station tried to call them, but the phone was disconnected. Sure, she can take care of the kids on her own. Yeah. Sure.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/19/octuplets.foreclosure/
An update on an earlier post:
The good news is that he was not found guilty of violating the civil rights of the illegal aliens he caught on his property. This is a good precedence for future cases. In my opinion, if you are on his property illegally, your civil rights do not trump his right to defend his home. That said, I welcome anybody with open arms that is willing to attempt to become a legal citizen through the proper channels.
The bad news in this case is that 6 of the illegals were awarded $78,000 in punitive damages for assault and emotional distress.
Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/17/jury-rancher-did-not-violate-mexicans-rights/
I really expect this to be a VH1 reality show in the near future. Basically, a married Chinese businessman thought he needed to cut back on expenses, so he had a contest between his 5 mistresses to determine which one he would keep because paying for 5 different apartments and giving monthly allowances can really get expensive quick. So, the first one he decided to cut loose over her looks ended up driving him and the other women off a cliff. The others were injured, but she died. The guy's wife and the 4 remaining mistresses finally broke up with him. I guess it takes driving off a cliff for some people to see how stupid they really look.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/17/china.mistress.contest/index.html
I can't believe I'm praising cell phone manufacturers, but they have made a great move. They just agreed to use a universal charger that will work between them. LG, Motorola, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung and Sony Ericsson agreed to manufacture future phones with a micro-USB charger. These are expected to start shipping this year. This will help avoid discarding chargers when you replace a phone and makes life a lot simpler for my charging station. Our wallets (and landfills) are grateful for this uncommon use of common sense.
Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/159630/universal_chargers_to_finally_become_a_reality.html
The stimulus bill and its effect on health care was a big topic by some of my family members over the weekend. Unfortunately, some of them rely on emails that quote no sources as factual. I won't rant on it, but it really drives me nuts to have to hold my tongue when this misinformation is being spewed. I guess civility and maintaining a good relationship with the in-laws is preferable. Per this article from the New York Times, I feel much more comfortable with the proposals that will soon be signed into law. Basically, there will be a committee to review effectiveness of different treatments and compile measurable results of which treatments are effective and which are wastes of resources.
This is done in almost any other industry, and it's beyond time to have it done in health care. I always question why my doctor writes a particular prescription over another. It's no secret that pharmaceutical companies send reps to visit doctors and offer incentives for them to prescribe their products. It makes me wonder if I am being prescribed a particular type of antibiotic because it's better, or if it's because my doctor is trying to accumulate airline miles or get a new set of golf clubs. At least with this in place, the doctor will have access to unbiased results and can compare which medicines are the most effective for a given condition.
This is just another example of the lack of common sense with our justice system. I don't see how this wasn't thrown out immediately. I'll admit, I may be biased after my little brother lost his leg and incurred $2 million in medical bills because of an illegal alien. He was crossing the street and was run down by a drunk-driving illegal. In this case, a guy has been vandalized by illegal immigrants and detains them at gunpoint until the Border Patrol can show up. For his trouble, he is sued for $32 million.
From the Washington Times:
Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.
----
The lawsuit is based on a March 7, 2004, incident in a dry wash on the 22,000-acre ranch, when he approached a group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog.
Attorneys for the immigrants - five women and 11 men who were trying to cross illegally into the United States - have accused Mr. Barnett of holding the group captive at gunpoint, threatening to turn his dog loose on them and saying he would shoot anyone who tried to escape.
Kelvin Sampson, the former Sooners and Indiana Hoosiers coach that caused the NCAA to come down hard on both teams for recruiting violations was hired by the Milwaukee Bucs. Unfortunately for them, Kelvin could not keep his mouth shut and complained that his 5 year suspension from the NCAA was unjust and appealed it, according to ESPN in an article published on January 28.
That's when the Bucs found out about karma. They were in playoff contention, but after his appeal was filed they lost Michael Redd for the season and the following week Andrew Bogut went down for the season, too. As if losing two starters for the year wasn't enough, they lost Luke Ridnour for 4 weeks after a practice injury on Friday when he was attacked by a teammate's jersey. So, three of his best players went down in the past two weeks. You have to wonder if they will have anybody left by the end of the month. I just wonder why anybody would think hiring Sampson was a good idea. I guess you get what's coming to you if you do.
Sources:
http://rumorsandrants.com/2009/02/instant-karmas-gonna-get-you.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3863881
A company is selling a Caylee Anthony doll. That's right, the little girl that went missing and was later found murdered. What a sick world we live in.
Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-caylee-anthony-doll-012609,0,523114.story
Update(1/27/09 10:54 am CST):
Apparently, they have decided to pull the doll due to consumer uproar. Power to the people.
Source: http://consumerist.com/5140008/caylee-anthony-doll-wont-be-sold
Chrysler apparently thought that taking taxpayers dollars and spending them for full page ads in newspapers like USA Today and The Wall Street Journal (prices range from $206,000 - $264,000 and $112,000 and $217,000 respectively) was a good idea. What was the purpose of the ad? To thank the taxpayers for the money. That's a huge slap in the face to all of us and just another reason I personally will never own a Chrysler vehicle again.
Here's the ad:
In a word, yes. According to 60 Minutes, deregulation efforts by Enron helped push the oil price surges over the past year and the electricity prices in the western United States.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/08/60minutes/main4707770.shtml
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