Many others have know this, but now they all have a voice

Welcome everyone to Saturday, February 27, 2010.

It's pouring rain outside at the moment so I thought I'd read through some of the morning headlines when I bumped into this story; Buffett vents on financial fat cats.

Now many of us for quite some time now have felt outrage toward the irresponsibility of top banking and finance officials and management. They get paid outrageous sums of money whether they deliver or not (kinda' like sports figures). And they put all of us in danger by making extremely risky investments with our money. This behavior is not going to change by enacting legislation that they will simply maneuver around. If you want real change then you have to hit them where it hurts, in their pockets.

Let's face it, given the opportunity people will be greedy. That's just human nature and in fact biblical (man is sinful). So in order to prevent certain behaviors there has to be consequences when one has committed a wrongful act. But unless the perpetrators of those acts feel the same pain as the rest of us, nothing will change. Trust me, if these same high level individuals had to deal with the same consequences as you and I for their wrongdoings there would be less trouble in our financial system and a whole lot more fairness.

As always I invite your thoughts.

And so the feeding frenzy begins

Hi folks, it is Wednesday, February 24, 2010.

According to Yahoo News, the conservatives have turned against one of their own. Newly elected Senator Scott Brown is now under attack from those within his own party because he has voiced support for a jobs bill sponsored by the administration. So what's the deal? We need to put people back to work right? If we don't then things are just gonna' get worse for everyone. More local governments are gonna' have to lay off staff to keep their already strained budgets in check. This means more claims for unemployment benefits and food programs which are surely at their breaking points in many states. And if that's not bad enough, all levels of government will get slammed when things like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes occur and there is no revenue to cover the costs associated with rebuilding. Oh yeah, the Federal government will likely keep spending to keep the train on the rails, but at what cost to the future generations of this country.

I have always believed that in order to make money you have to spend money. But it would seem that the government at all levels as well as big business take a dim view of this way of thinking. Politicians don't want to raise taxes so that they can get re-elected. Big business wants to keep every penny and not carry their fair share of the burden. So in the end who really gets stuck paying the bill? That's right; you, me, your friends, your neighbors, your families and so on.

I think it's high time that all of the bickering stop. If that same amount of energy were placed into an effort to do something about job creation we just might start to crawl out of this mess. Granted, there is enough blame to go around such that everyone gets a share. We might not be personally responsible for creating this mess, but by not voicing an opinion to our elected officials we are no less to blame for the problems at hand. We are a country of smart people, educated people, people with common sense. Why don't we all just shut the F**K up and get the job done. The sooner we do the sooner the pain will end for us all.

I invite your thoughts

Wrath from above

Hi all and today is Friday, February 19, 2010.

It's sad that in a civilization that is supposedly so advanced, we have to resort to violence in order to feel that we're heard or that some manner of action will be taken to effect a change. I for one do not believe in violence, but like most folks do have a temper. While I know that there is much in this world that I cannot change, I don't believe violence is the answer. But I have to wonder what happens inside a person's mind when they elect to follow that path. I know in my own life there are any number of things that have happened at the hand of big business and the government. But I know in my heart that while frustrating as those matters might be, violence is not really going accomplish my goals. In fact, it would only result in my being summarily tossed in the pokey. Nevertheless, the thought of Joe Stack slamming a plane into a building full of people who in all likelihood had no idea of his personal struggles is disturbing. What is it that is pushing more and more people to think that this is the answer?

Anywho... I suppose we'll never know, but one thing I know for sure (perhaps only me but I know it in my heart). Society is pushing people to their physical and mental limits. We were not meant to operate in the manner we are all behaving. We were meant to take care of one another given the fact that we are all human beings; at least I think we all are. I think this man's actions represent a serious problem that is bubbling just below the surface of many folks who share similar stories. I think Joe Stack's actions represent some people's outward expression of their inward feelings. Given that, I have to wonder just how many more folks could go rogue without warning.

God bless all the folks who came to the aid of the employees within the building and I pray that they all find peace and forgiveness.

So I'm not alone?

Hi everybody, this is what's left of Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

If you were to ask my wife what I thought of this as it was being reported by the evening news, you would know that I pegged this one before the story even finished. It now appears that the majority of us feel that the US Supreme Court committed a huge gaff when they decided to allow corporations, labor unions, and other organizations to spend money directly from their general funds to influence political campaigns (see accompanying story at Yahoo).

In this regard there are lots of things that folks have strong opinions on but cannot prove: the existence of Area 51, who shot Kennedy, or whether astronauts landed on the moon. But one thing I think is for certain even though I have no concrete evidence; our elected officials are in bed with big business.

As elected officials, there are very specific rules regarding political activities. They are defined within the Hatch Act of 1939. Below are a few thing that are verboten under this act:

• Allow your official title to be used in connection with fund raising activities
• Solicit, accept, or receive political contributions from a subordinate employee
• Solicit, accept, or receive political contributions (except in limited circumstances involving certain Federal labor or employee organizations)
• Engage in political activity while using Government property, including computers, printers, copiers, fax machines, and telephones
  

But now the Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom decides that corporations (which possess many of the same attributes of individuals) can donate whatever they feel to a candidate who supports their particular agenda. Now I have to ask, where is the sense of adhesion to the law in that?

What are your thoughts?