Uncle Sam, what do you really think of me?

I am soooooooooooo very tired of hearing, "Well, the company was just too big to fail."
Huh?
What does that mean?
Somebody help me with this, because the more I hear it, the less and less sense it makes. If there are companies which are too big to fail, then clearly the government believes there are far more who are small enough to flop. That they want to flop?
Hey, who cares about the guy starting up a lawn service or the woman who makes pottery from home to sell! They don't matter as much as "these people" on Wall St. or who have inhumane towers in large cities across the country. The Tower People are the people who count.
So, i take it the government is now picking which companies are the best for my money? Should I not have some say in whether the company I am financing is big enough to "support?"
When AIG went south and turned belly up like some dead fish, the President said "Whoa! We have to save them boys! I need to talk to my Money Man!" So, off to the dead fish doctor (the US taxpayer) he went, got a script (relax, Rush...) for billions of dollars, and pumped the medicine (money) into Flipper...who is now splashing away with my cash. Just don't get caught in some tuna net, now!
Nice save, W!
But wait...he started looking around and saw the ocean was filling up with dead fish...Fannie May, Freddie Mac, Wakovia, and we can't forget about GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Oh! That's right... American Express (anyone else see the irony in AMEX not being able to pay their bills? Next time anyone gets a statement from them they should send them a copy of their tax return and say this should be good enough for awhile).
I guess America is no longer a Capitalistic nation.
Because if we were, we would remember two big things.

ONE, Capitalism only works in a moral environment. That is to say, the playing field must be even for ALL who participate in it...no matter how small or big they are.

TWO, as a direct result of number one, failure is not only a risk facing those entering this fair and even market, by some...it is REQUIRED! Wait as second...let me try that again in case it passed you by... IT IS REQUIRED!!!!!!!! It is not the government's place to say who makes it and who does not. People decide it...People both in the company (by how they run the thing) and outside of it (whether the product/service offered by the company is worth buying). Both are needed for success and in equal parts. I don't see where Uncle Sam has much to do with any of that?

There, it has been said.

I have seen or heard or read no one else who says the same, but it is true. In order for there to be success, failure is required. People must fail so others can grow. How else can you measure the strength of a business unless you see others failing?
"But what about the workers! Their pentions!"
What about them??
If they are lost, then they are lost.
People forget investments are not promises. They are wishful thinkings and gambles a company or product will move ahead. Nothing more.
People with pentions gambled the money they put into their own company would be worth more than if they were to place it in a bank or hide in a box inside a bathroom wall. They are also betting their company will be around long enough for them to collect the cash.
There's this funny this I learned about betting when I was about 10 years old...you don't always get it right. I am the only person who learned that lesson?

But more than anything, I think the government has insulted me.
They have said, "John, you suck and we want to make sure you know you suck. You are going to send money to a company to you have never used a service of, may never use the services of, and, because you suck, you will have no say at all in the matter. AND, if we want, we may come back to you for more money in the future. Oh, by the way, you suck, in case you forgot."
That's the message I got.
Blah, blah, blah, John, you suck, blah, blah, blah, you suck.
If I worked for AIG, they would have been on their knees looking up at me with those "I want to make you happy eyes"and licking their lips.
But, I don't work for AIG. I am only John...and I suck (there is a pun in there).

Someday people will look back at this and realize how bad an idea it was to try and save all the dying fish, but maybe by then it will be too late the sea itself will have dried up.
So, Flipper, swim! Swim as fast as you can!




P.S. Yes, I know Flipper was a dolphin and not a fish.

Honesty Does NOT Pay...by GregK

I was recently forwarded a story about a contractor in Ohio that found $182,000 in depression-era currency hidden in the walls of a house that he was contracted to remodel. He notified the slumlord owner of the property of his find and, yep, you guessed it, she thanked him for finding HER money in the walls of HER house!! She magnanimously offered him 10% as a reward for his honesty, but it turned out that his honesty was, in his opinion, worth more like 40%. Their dispute became public and, long stupid story short, the heirs of the guy that originally put the money in the wall made a claim on the money, the courts got involved, yada, yada, yada.....the contractor ended up holding the bag.....pretty much an empty one!!

So here's my question(s).....
What motivates someone to be this painfully honest? Has this moron not lived long enough to learn that honesty DOES NOT pay? Was his 15 minutes of fame worth more than the $182,000? Was his picture in the Cleveland Plain Dealer worth losing a once-in-a-lifetime find? Is this even dumber than not knowing that Africa is a fucking continent? Am I only one that sees the stupidity in his actions? Am I just jaded?

The questions that pop into my head are endless when I read something this inane. Does that say something about me or am I not alone in my bewilderment?? Is he waiting for his reward in the afterlife or did he just not think it through? Does God even have $182,000 or do you think his interests have been hit by the recent global recession?

Just sooooo darn cute!!!

I have done some mind reading and found the cities Sarah Palin is sure are the capitals of the world's countries...
The capital of...
Africa...Africa City
Asia...China
Europe...Europa
Australia...it doesn't really have one because people only go there for vacations
South America...Miami
North America...the White House
Antarctica...the South Pole

In some ways it is so sad to see a mental giant like Sarah head back to Alaska. It is just "Sarah," isn't it? After all, that is how she wanted us to address her. The hocky mom...the pitbull with lipstick....that is always a nice thought.
"Hey, Billy? Where's your mom??
"Over there...see the woman who looks like a pitbull with lipstick...that's her."
To be honest, though, pitbull or no, lipstick or no, I am not sure I ever wanted a "mother" for a President. I don't mean it in the female sense of the word, because I have no issue at all with a woman as President. I am talking about a mothering, hugging, pat me on my ass and give me a twinkie when I get a "B-" on a test type President. I want someone who will say we can do better. I want someone who says we can always try harder, look deeper, move ahead, and yet come together at the same time.
In order for progress and change (yes, change, I am so sick of the "what does 'change' mean" chatter...would you rather things be as they are?) to occur, it means people may have to be uncomfortable for awhile. Maybe they have to see things, people, or the world differently. In the end, however, the clarity will be worth discomfort.
But, back to Sarah...
Where will all of our fun come from now? I worry for America, in that we may have a flood of logic and reason. America may loose her sense of humor. Jesters like Palin are not only desired, they are needed for us to keep balance.
I mean, really, when was the last time you heard a politician use the word "clobbered," let alone four times in three sentences?
Just think if Reagan had told the Soviets...."Tear down this wall or I will clobber you!"
Hey, he could have ended the cold war then and there...you never know!
Tony Blair, the elegant speaker that he is, I'm sure he used the word "clobbered" several times when speaking before Parliment.
I think Osama used it in his last video taped message..."...And the Muslims will clobber the Americans..."
Clobbered.
What in the hell is clobbered? Is Freudian slip/hint at a caveman-like mind set? Clobbered.
Clobbered.
I'll tell you who got clobbered...nevermind, we all know.
I think the last person I heard use that word (other than Sarah Palin) was Lucy warning Charlie Brown...but, you speak what you read...
Yes, I will miss that fine gal...that lipstick slathered pitbull with glasses.
I was starting to think she had a crush on me with all the winking and tilting of her head. I know she was doing it just for me and it wasn't part of some siren-like song to win over the world. That is something an anti-christ would do and since she was "blessed" by a witch-hunter, we know she couldn't be line with the Devil.
I want to see more of those ruby slippers and $50,000 suits by the woman who is just a regular mom, sick of Washington spending our money.
And the stories of her coming to the door in a towel? ooooo ooooo oooooo, I'd much rather her come to the door naked than George W!
And who could blame her for thinking Sarkozy was really on the phone with her? I'm sure Sarkozy really sings to other politicians, explains how hot his wife is in bed, "loves to take the life of the animals," knows the PM of Quebec (whenever they become a country and get one), and really liked the "documentary, Nalin Palin," because it was so "edgy."
You know what? Maybe we won't miss her...there is enough shit on her to last for/four years! Lord knows she too stupid to not run in 2012.
But...maybe by then she can tell us who the President of Africa is.

Popping my Cherry...

So, here I am..
This is the first blog I have ever done and I have no idea if I will ever do another. I have to say I love the sound of my own voice and, equally, I love the imaginary voice I use to read what I have written.
I am so vain at times.
I like to think I am clever. I like to make people laugh, however, I hate comedies. It is not that I don't like to laugh...I just don't like funny movies.
Enough is enough for a first try...I can see why people like this.